George Springer Leads Astros to MLB-Best Record; Cardinals Snag NL Central Behind Jack Flaherty

Players of the Day for Sunday, September 29, 2019

American League

Spinger: 4-4, HR, 2 RBI

With all the playoff spots and home fields already set in the AL, only one of the five playoff squads came up with a win on the final day of the regular season.

Houston, led by George Springer's 4-for-4 effort, bombed the Angels, 8-5, finishing with the best record in the majors, at 107-55.

The Astros scored in each of the first four innings and coasted to the win. Springer singled to open the game and scored on Jose Altuve's double. In the second, Springer spanked his 39th home run of the year, a solo shot that put the Astros up, 3-0. In the fourth, Springer doubled in a run and later scored. He finished with a fifth-inning infield single and was lifted for a pinch runner.

Houston's 107 wins are a franchise record, topping last season's mark of 103. In 2017, the Astros captured the first World Series in franchise history, dating back to 1962, when they were established as a National League expansion team known as the Colt .45s.

The Astros will host the first two games of the best-of-five division series starting Friday, October 4, facing the winner of the wild card contest between the A's and the Rays, which is scheduled for Wednesday, October 2.

The Yankees host Minnesota in the other divisional series, also starting on Friday, October 4.

National League

Flaherty clinches for Cards

It took until the final day of the season, but the St. Louis Cardinals are champions of the NL Central, ripping the Cubs, 8-0, behind yet another sparkling performance by Jack Flaherty, who has been one of the best pitchers in either league over the second half of the season.

Flaherty blanked the Cubs on two hits over seven innings while his teammates feasted on Chicago pitching, slugging three home runs as they scored in each of the first four innings.

Going 7-2 in his last 15 starts, Flaherty gave up just 10 earned runs over 99 1/3 innings for an ERA of 0.71. Over that span, Flaherty fanned 124 and walked 23 batters. For the year, he finished with 213 strikeouts.

St. Louis captured the division by two games over Milwaukee, who ended the regular season with a 4-3 loss at Colorado.

The Cardinals will open the best-of-five divisional series at Atlanta on Thursday, October 3, while the Nationals and Brewers play a one-game wild card playoff Tuesday, the winner advancing to meet the Dodgers in the other divisional series, which opens in Los Angeles, also on Thursday.

Gerrit Cole, Jordan Alvarez Lead Houston to 22-1 Blowout of Mariners; Jack Flaherty Rolls, Cardinals Slash Pirates, 2-0

Players of the Day for Sunday, September 8, 2019

American League

Cole fans 15

Gerrit Cole allowed one hit and struck out 15, and the Houston Astros exploded for 22 hits in a 21-1 blowout of the Seattle Mariners.

Alvarez: 3 doubles, 6 RBI

Cole, 16-5, was perfect except for a second-inning solo homer by Shed Long. He did not walk anyone and threw 68 of 96 pitches for strikes, getting first pitch strikes on 18 of the 25 batters he faced. In his last 18 starts, he's 12-0, dating back to May 27. His strikeout total grew to 281, which leads the majors.

On the offensive side, Houston rang up 11 doubles, three of them by rookie Yordan Alvarez, who went 4-for-6 and drove in six runs. Alvarez is a big-time candidate for rookie of the year in the AL, batting .314 with 22 home runs and 70 RBI in just 258 at-bats.

Houston is 16-1 against the Mariners this season and have won 11 straight head-to-head. The season series closes out on September 24-25, with two games in Seattle.

Looking to wrap up their third straight LA West title, Houston holds a 9 1/2-game bulge on Oakland. The A's arrive in Houston Monday for a four-game series against the Astros. Game one starts at 8:10 pm ET.

National League

Flaherty blanks Pirates

Extending his scoreless streak to 18 innings, Cardinals' hurler, Jack Flaherty, delivered eight innings of shutout ball in a 2-0 St. Louis win at Pittsburgh, taking two of three from the Pirates in their final head-to-head series of the season.

Flaherty allowed five hits and one walk, hit a batter, and was picked off first base after a successful bunt advanced runners to second and third bases. He fanned 10 for the third time this season.

While his base-running might have been questionable, Flaherty's pitching was outstanding, a trait developing over his last eight starts, dating back to August first. Over that span, he's 6-1, with an ERA of 0.50, having worked 54 innings and given up just three earned runs. His scoreless streak dates back to August 28, when he finished a six-inning stint with a pair of goose eggs in a 4-1 loss to Milwaukee.

On September 3, he gave up one hit to the Giants over eight innings in a 1-0 St. Louis victory.

Combined with the Cubs' 8-5 loss at Milwaukee, the Cardinals have opened up a 4 1/2-game lead in the Central division, which, until a few weeks ago, had been a see-saw battle between St. Louis, Chicago, and the Brewers. Milwaukee is 6 1/2 back in the division and tied with the Phillies, two behind Chicago for the second wild card. Arizona is only 1 1/2 behind the Cubs.

Since August 18, the Cardinals are 17-5, while the Cubs and Brewers have not been able to keep pace. After a day off Monday, St. Louis opens a three-game series in Colorado with the Rockies.

Jack Flaherty Dominates Giants in 1-0 Cardinal Win; James Paxton Wins 7th Straight As Yanks Bomb Rangers, 10-1

Players of the Day for Tuesday, September 3, 2019

American League

Paxton has 7 straight wins

James Paxton struck out five of the first seven batters he faced and took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, eventually settling for a one-hit effort over seven innings as the Yankees took down the visiting Rangers, 10-1.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa broke up Paxton's no-hit effort with a two-out single in the fifth. Paxton walked one and fanned 12, throwing 66 of 95 pitches for strikes, improving to 12-6 in his first year with the Yankees. Paxton, who extended a personal winning streak to seven straight starts, was acquired from Seattle in the off-season.

The Yankees slugged five homers in support, two by catcher Gary Sanchez, who has 34, a career high.

Winning for the seventh time in their last nine games, the Yankees hold a 9 1/2 game lead over Tampa Bay in the AL East. The Rays split a twin bill with the Orioles.

Texas and New York wrap up their three-game series on Wednesday. Game time is 6:35 pm ET.

National League

Flaherty is 5-1 last 7 starts

St. Louis remains red hot and on top of the NL Central.

On Tuesday, Jack Flaherty took a no-hitter into the sixth inning to pick up his ninth win against seven losses as the Cardinals won for the 14th time in their last 17 games with a 1-0 win over the Giants.

Marcel Ozuna's sixth inning solo homer provided the difference as Flaherty dominated San Francisco batters, fanning eight and allowing one walk over eight innings.

Mike Yastrzemski singled with two outs in the sixth to ruin Flaherty's bid. Carlos Martinez worked a scoreless ninth - giving up a second single to Yastrzemski - to pick up his 18th save.

Flaherty has been exceptional since the start of August, going 5-1 in his last seven starts with an extraordinary ERA of 0.59 over that stretch. He's allowed just 20 hits and three earned runs over his last 46 innings.

Coupled with Chicago's 6-1 win over Seattle, St. Louis maintained a three-game edge over the Cubs in the Central division. Chicago continues to hold the #2 wild card spot, 3 1/2 games behind the Nationals and 2 1/2 up on the Phillies.

St. Louis hosts the Giants Wednesday at 7:45 pm ET in game three of their four-game series.

Elsewhere, the Mets certainly aren't helping themselves in their bid for the playoffs, blowing a six-run lead in the ninth inning to the Nationals, who walked off on Kurt Suzuki's three-run homer off reliever Edwin Diaz.

Philly, Arizona, and Milwaukee all kept pace in the wild card race with wins.

Jack Flaherty Throws 7 Scoreless as Cards Stop Royals; Kyle Seager Rips 3 HRs, Mariners Whip Tigers

Players of the Day for Tuesday, August 13, 2019

American League

Seager: 3 HRs, 6 RBI

Kyle Seager crashed three home runs in Seattle's 11-6 Tuesday win at Detroit.

Seager connected with a solo shot in the fourth inning, a three-run rip in the sixth and a two-run dinger in the ninth, tally six RBI on the night.

Missing nearly all of the first two months of the season due to injury, Seager has 14 homers and 34 RBI in 64 games. The Mariners could have used his bat earlier, as they fell out of contention early, and are currently last in the AL West, a full 29 games out. Seattle is, at least, better than the Orioles and Tigers, the other two division trailers in the AL. Baltimore is 39-81, 40 1/2 off the East division pace. The Tigers, with the worst record in the majors, at 35-81, trail the Twins by 35 1/2 games in the Central.

The Twins lead the division by 1/2-game over Cleveland. The Twins were 7-5 winners at Milwaukee on Tuesday, while the Indians lost at home, 7-6, to the Red Sox.

The Mariners had lost eight of their last nine prior to Seager's performance. They continue their three-game series in Detroit on Wednesday, 7:10 pm ET.

National League

Flaherty: 7 scoreless

Nearly playing themselves out of contention last week with five straight losses, the Cardinals are back in the proper swing of things, winning their fourth straight with a 2-0 victory in Kansas City Tuesday.

Jack Flaherty was on the mound for St. Louis, tossing seven scoreless win for his second straight win and his third consecutive start without allowing a run, a scoreless streak that has now reached 23 innings, dating back to July 26, when the Cardinals topped Houston, 5-3, though Flaherty received no decision, allowing just three hits and two earned runs over six innings.

To say that Flaherty has been the best pitcher in the majors this month would bear some credence. He's given up a mere eight hits and four walks in 21 innings, with 26 strikeouts and a 0.57 WHIP. Opposing batters are operating at a .116 level against him.

St. Louis' win put them only a game back of the Cubs in the NL Central, as Chicago lost at Philadelphia, 4-2. They remained one game behind Washington in the wild card race. The Nationals have won three straight.

Looking to extend their winning ways, the Cardinals are at Kansas City again on Wednesday. Game time is 8:15 pm ET.

Vlad Guerrero Jr. Bombs Orioles with 2 HRs; Cardinals in 1st as Jack Flaherty Blanks Cubs

Players of the Day for Thursday, August 1, 2019

Guerrero Jr.: 2HR, 4RBI

American League

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. smacked a pair of home runs and drove in four as the Blue Jays ripped the Orioles, 11-2, in the opening of their four-game series at Baltimore.

Vlad socked a two-run homer to dead center in the third inning to get Toronto's scoring started. After doubling in another run in the sixth, he mashed a 450-foot solo shot in the eighth, his 13th home run of the year.

Guerrero is batting .267 with 47 RBI, a solid rookie of the year candidate.

Games between the O's and Jays are inconsequential at this juncture, as both teams are hopelessly out of playoff contention.

Elsewhere in the AL East, however, Tampa Bay completed a three-game sweep of the Red Sox in Boston with a 9-4 win. The Rays won their fourth straight and sixth of their last seven. Tampa is seven games behind the Yankees in the division race and have taken over sole possession of the second wild card spot, just 1/2-game better than Oakland. Cleveland holds the first wild card, 1 1/2-games better than Tampa.

With the Red Sox heading to New York for a four-game weekend series with the Yankees beginning Friday, the Rays will be rooting for the team they just swept while they get a rare Friday off before two games against the Marlins, Saturday and Sunday.

National League

Flaherty: 7IP, 1H, 0R, 9K

St. Louis took over first place in the Central division with an 8-0 win over the Cubs.

Taking the series, two games to one, Cardinal starter, Jack Flaherty, showed the way to the top spot in the division, allowing one hit over seven dominating innings. Flaherty walked two and didn't give up a hit until Nick Castellanos laced a single with two out in the sixth.

Flaherty (5-6, 3.91) fanned nine and didn't allow any Cubs past first base. In his second full season, Flaherty is quickly becoming the Cardinals' stopper and most reliable starter.

The Cardinals now hold a one game lead in the division with the Cubs in second place. Milwaukee dropped a 5-3 decision at Oakland and is two games out. All three teams have solid playoff chances to win either the division or take a wild card spot.

Washington, Philadelphia, and Chicago are tied for the wild card lead at 57-51. Milwaukee is a game back, and the Mets, winners of seven straight, are making noise, just four off the wild card pace. In the West, Arizona and San Francisco are also contenting for the wild card, as the Dodgers have run away with the division, now leading by 16 games.

St. Louis has Friday off prior to two weekend games at Oakland.