Ivan Nova Throws Complete Game in 9-1 White Sox Win; Paul Goldschmidt Slam Leads Cards Past Pirates

Players of the Day for Monday, July 22, 2019

American League

Nova: 9 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 5 K

Pitching has changed with the times in the major leagues.

With the advent of pitch counts, closers, holders, and more recently, "openers," complete games have become rarities.

Bucking the trend on Monday night was White Sox hurler, Ivan Nova, who threw 112 pitches en route to a complete game, 9-1, win over the visiting Miami Marlins.

Nova (5-9, 5.49) allowed four hits, giving up the single run on a solo homer by Jorge Alfaro in the second inning. The 32-year-old hurler was helped by two double plays. He struck out five and did not allow a walk.

Nova, acquired by the Sox from the Pirates in the off-season, was able to relax on the mound as his teammates belted four home runs, building a sizable lead.

The complete game was Nova's first since 2017 and ninth of his career.

The White Sox (45-52) are 3-8 since the all-star break and host the Marlins in game two of their three-game series on Tuesday, at 8:10 pm ET.

Notes: The Minnesota Twins turned a triple play in the first inning of their 8-6 win over the Yankees. The win kept the Twins three games ahead of Cleveland - 7-3 winners at Toronto - in the AL Central.

National League

Goldschmidt: Grand Slam

Squeezing out a 10-inning, 6-5, win at Pittsburgh, St. Louis moved into second place in the NL Central, as the Milwaukee Brewers dropped a 6-5 decision to the Reds. With the Cubs losing, 5-4, at San Francisco, the Cardinals find themselves just 1 1/2 games off the division lead.

Paul Goldschmidt socked a grand slam in the 10th to put the Cardinals comfortably ahead, but the St. Louis bullpen, a sore spot all season, nearly gave the game away, giving up three runs before finally closing the book on the Pirates.

The slam was Goldschmidt's only hit of the game. It was his 19th home run of the season, to go with 48 RBI and a .248 average, numbers well short of what the Cardinals thought he would produce when they acquired him from Arizona in the off-season.

Despite Goldschmidt's struggles (he's currently mired in a deep slump, batting .174 over the past seven games), the Cardinals have kept pace in the most contentious division in the majors. St. Louis is also holding the second wild card spot, 1/2-game behind the Nationals and 1/2-game ahead of the Phillies.

Pittsburg hosts St. Louis in game two of their four-game series in the Steel City, Tuesday, at 7:05 pm ET.

Ivan Nova Hurls Complete Game as Yanks Down Giants; A.J. Burnett Throws Seven Strong as Pirates Drop Reds

Players of the Day for Saturday, September 21, 2013

American League

It's a little strange to have interleague games so close to the end of the season, and maybe the people who make up the schedules should reconsider this for future years, being that interleague contests will have an impact on pennant races.

Ivan Nova

The Yankees aren't complaining, however, taking their second straight from the Giants, who are a half game out of last place in the NL West. Ivan Nova pitched his second complete game in less than a month, his third of the season, regaining the form he displayed when he went 16-4 for the Yanks as a rookie in 2011.

Nova blanked the punchless Giants on six hits over the nine frames, walking one and fanning seven. He needed just 108 pitches to put away the visitors while his teammates collected six runs on seven hits for the 6-0 victory.

Nova improved to 9-5 on the year, more importantly, keeping the Yankees three games behind the Indians in the quest for the second wild card berth. New York bypassed both Baltimore and Kansas City. The O's lost their third straight in a 5-1 defeat at Tampa Bay; the Royals dropped a 3-1 decision to Texas, who remains 1/2 behind Cleveland.

The Yankees will be seeking the series split when they take the field against the Giants at 1:05 pm EDT, Sunday at Yankee Stadium.

AL Wild Card Standings (through 9/21)

Team	GB
Tampa Bay	+1/2
Cleveland	--
Texas	-1/2
NY Yankees	-3
Kansas City	-3 1/2
Baltimore	-3 1/2

National League

A.J. Burnett

A.J. Burnett gave the Reds a run in each of the first two innings - the second on a solo homer leading off the second by Zack Cozart - but after that he was nearly untouchable, allowing just one more hit over the subsequent six innings, to lead the Pirates to a 4-2 win over visiting Cincinnati.

Following Cozart's homer, Burnett sandwiched a walk to Ryan Hanigan between three strikeouts, en route to fanning 12 on the day. The Pirates responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning on Russell Martin's 15th homer of the season, then took the lead in the bottom of the sixth, when they got to Reds' starter, Homer Bailey, for another pair of runs.

The win moved Pittsburgh back to a one-game lead over the Reds in the wild card race. The Pirates are two games behind St. Louis in the NL Central; the Reds, three back. The team with the best record gets home field for the one-game playoff between the two wild cards, so the Pirates, for the moment have the upper hand.

The two teams settle up on Sunday at 1:35 pm EDT in Pittsburgh. The series is tied at a game apiece.

Today's Trivia: How many times did "Mr. October," Reggie Jackson, hit 40 or more home runs in a season? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: The .301 batting average that won the batting title for Carl Yastrzemski in 1968 came a year after he won the triple crown and was also the only average above .300 in the AL that season.

Ivan Nova, Robinson Cano Boost Yankees over O's, 2-0; Reds Continue Wild Card Chase as Brandon Phillips Leads 8-3 Win

Players of the Day for Saturday, August 31, 2013

American League

Robinson Cano

Ivan Nova

Baseball can be a fickle mistress, but playing at home - as the Yankees are proving - can be sweet.

Returning from a 2-4 road trip, the Yankees, looking listless and fading, have taken two straight from the Baltimore Orioles, passing them in the standings while closing in on a potential wild card playoff spot.

Their latest victory over the O's came Saturday afternoon, when Ivan Nova hurled a three-hit, complete game shutout for a 2-0 win.

Robinson Cano provided all the offense for the home team, driving in Brett Gardner with a single in the first inning and socking a solo homer - his 25th - in the eighth.

Nova used a mix of sliders, curveballs and and fastballs to keep the Orioles in check, giving up three harmless singles and a walk while striking out five. He threw 104 pitches, 67 of which went for strikes.

The win pushed the Yankees past Baltimore into third place in the AL East, eight games behind the Red Sox, but, perhaps more importantly, just 3 1/2 behind Tampa Bay for the final wild card position. The Rays have lost three straight and the Indians, who were in good position less than a week ago, have dropped five in a row and have been passed by the Yankees.

Game three of the series between New York and Baltimore is Sunday at 1:05 pm EDT with the Yankees looking for the sweep.

National League

Brandon Phillips

Cincinnati continues to trail both the Cardinals and Pirates in the Central division, but they are maintaining a healthy lead over the rest of the league in the race for the final wild card spot.

Brandon Phillips powered the Reds to an 8-3 win at Colorado, evening their series with the Rockies at a game apiece, keeping them six games up on their closest pursuer, the Arizona Diamondbacks.

All Phillips needed to hit for the cycle was a simple single, as he doubled, tripled and homered in five trips to the plate, driving in a pair of runs and scoring three times. Phillips has 99 RBI on the year, second in the league behind Paul Goldschmidt's 104.

The Reds and Rockies wrap up their series at 4:10 pm EDT on Sunday.

Today's Trivia: Who won more batting titles, Tony Gwynn or Wade Boggs? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: False. Johnny Bench led the NL in home runs twice, in 1970 (45) and 1972 (40).

Robert Andino Ruins Red Sox in 7-5 Oriole Win; Kershaw Wins 20th; Pujols, Berkman, Theriot Keep Cards Close

Players of the Day for Tuesday, September 20, 2011

American League

Some things just aren't meant to be. Others are. For the Boston Red Sox, reaching the playoffs by winning the AL wild card seems to be a quest doomed to failure as they lost for the sixth time in eight games, this one another late inning bullpen meltdown against the bottom-feeding Baltimore Orioles, who defeated the Red Sox, 7-5, even as Boston's closest pursuer, Tampa Bay, was losing to the Yankees, 5-0.

Robert Andino

For Baltimore's Robert Andino, until this year a part-time utility infielder since 2004, his moment to shine was Tuesday night in Boston. After singling and scoring Baltimore's first run in the third inning, Andino singled and was stranded in the 4th inning and flied out to end the 6th. But, in the 8th inning, the scrappy second baseman approached the plate with the bases full of his teammates and Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon on the mound. Andino delivered a game-changing, two-out double to right field, plating all three runs and putting the O's up by two runs. Andino promptly stole third, but was stranded there when J.J. Hardy popped out to end the inning.

Nova: 16-4

Orioles' relievers put down the Red Sox calmly in the 8th and 9th, securing the win, keeping Boston just two games ahead of Tampa Bay in the wild card race. The Orioles and Red Sox square off again on Wednesday to complete the series, then, after a day off Thursday, the Sox head down to the Bronx for a three game series with the Yankees before returning to Baltimore for the final three game series of the regular season.

Granderson: 119 RBI

The Yankee win over Tampa Bay was doubly good, as they increased their lead in the AL East to six games over Boston and eight over the Rays. Their magic number dropped to three as rookie sensation Ivan Nova improved to 16-4 with 7 2/3 innings of shutout ball, giving up six hits, walking three and striking out three. Curtis Granderson increased his major league best RBI total to 119 with four RBI, three of them coming on a bases-loaded double in the second inning. The Yankees host the Rays in a double-header Wednesday.

In the West, Texas won its third straight, 7-2, at Oakland, while the second place Angels kept pace, outslugging Toronto, 10-6. The Rangers lead the Angles by five games with eight games left for both teams, who meet in the final three game series for both teams, at Anaheim, September 26-28. The Rangers' magic number is four.

National League

Kershaw: 20 Wins

LA's Clayton Kershaw joined Arizona's Ian Kennedy as the NL's second 20 game winner with a 2-1 win over the Giants, halting San Fran's winning streak at eight and keeping the Giants 5 1/2 games behind the Diamondbacks in the desperate NL West race.

Lance Berkman

Kershaw scattered six hits over 7 1/3 innings, the only run coming with one out in the 7th on a home run by the Giants' Chris Stewart. Kershaw battled Tim Lincecum, who took the loss, falling to 13-13 on the year. After allowing Stewart's home run, reliever Kenley Jansen came on and struck out the next two batters to end the 8th inning and Javy Guerra closed out the game with a perfect ninth inning.

Kershaw now is tied for the NL lead with 20 wins and also leads the league in strikeouts (242) and ERA (2.27), the same as Detroit hurler, Justin Verlander, in the AL who leads all three categories with 24 wins, 244 Ks and a 2.29 ERA. The dual pitching triple crowns would be a first if they hold up for the remainder of the season. There have been 19 pitching triple crowns in the majors and seventeen of those pitchers have reached the Hall of Fame. Grover Cleveland Alexander, Walter Johnston and Sandy Koufax each accomplished the feat three times, but never have two pitchers done it in the same season in opposing leagues.

Ryan Theriot

Albert Pujols

The loss by the Giants kept them in the chase for the NL West title, though time and games are dwindling fast. The Diamondbacks lost to Pittsburgh, 5-3, keeping the magic number at three. San Francisco plays three games at Arizona this weekend, beginning Friday.

In the wild card race, the Atlanta Braves held onto their slim 2 1/2 game lead with a 4-0 shutout over the Marlins, but the St. Louis Cardinals are not going away, as they opened a three-game home series with the Mets with an 11-6 victory. Alberrt Pujols went 4-for-5 with two runs and an RBI (97) and scored the tying run in the 7th inning on Ryan Theriot's pinch-hit, bases-loaded ground rule double. Lance Berkman - 2-for-5, 1 run, 2 RBI - came home right behind Pujols, putting the Cardinals up 7-6. The Cards eventually scored six times in the frame, sealing the win.

Milwaukee kept cruising toward the NL Central crown with a 5-1 win over the Cubs. The Brewers lead St. Louis by 5 1/2 games, their magic number just three.

Super Nova?; Taveras Stars for Comeback Rockies

Players of the Day for Wednesday, March 16, 2011

American League

Ivan Nova

Maybe those die-hard Yankee fans can breathe a little easier over their starting rotation worries, now that Ivan Nova set down the Baltimore Orioles for six straight innings without allowing a hit or a walk. Nova struck out four batters en route to his first win of the exhibition season as the Yankees clobbered Baltimore, 10-0.

Technically a rookie, Nova worked 42 innings with the Yanks in 2010, but did not exceed the 50-inning limit that determines rookie status. In his late-season stint, Nova started seven games and went 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA.

The young hurler was in a perfect groove except for a hit batsman in the first inning and Alex Rodriguez' muff off an Adam Jones ground ball in the 4th. Despite the superlative effort, manager Joe Girardi hedged on whether or not Nova would be in the starting rotation when the regular season commences, saying he wasn't ready to make any decisions.

Competition for the 4th and 5th starting job are a battle between Nova and Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia and Sergio Mitre.

In the loss, the only Baltimore hit was by Vladimir Guerrero, who doubled off Mariano Rivera in the seventh inning, a blemish that may give the Yankee worriers something new to whine about.

National League

Willy Taveras

The Colorado Rockies rallied from a 9-2 deficit to defeat the reigning Al champion Texas Rangers, 11-10, as the Rangers' pitching collapsed in the latter stages of the game.

Colorado scored three runs in the top of the ninth to complete the comeback win. Ty Wigginton and Jason Giambi were among four hitter who homered for the Rockies, but fleet center fielder Willy Taveras was a force, going 3-for-4, driving in three runs.

An old hand in Colorado, Taveras stole 99 bases in 2007-2008 for the Rockies before spending 2009 in Cincinnati and last season with the Nationals. Injuries kept him out of all but 27 games last season, but he's tuning up well this Spring, with a .317 batting average and 5 steals in 15 games.