Jake Arrieta Blanks Marlins, Phillies Extend Lead; Blue Jays Stop Boston Streak, Kevin Pillar 4-for-5

Players of the Day for Friday, July 13, 2018

Pillar: 4-5, 2 2B, 4 RBI

American League

Winners of nine straight, there seemed to be no way to stop the Red Sox.

Toronto figured it out on Friday, outscoring Boston, 13-7, in game two of their three game series at Fenway Park.

Justin Smoak stroked a pair of homers and Kevin Pillar piled up four hits in five at bats with two singles and a pair of doubles, driving in four runs as the Blue Jays rocked Rick Porcello and five Boston relievers for 14 hits.

Pillar broke out of a 4-for-31 slump with his best game of the season.

The win left Boston with a 3 1/2 game lead in the AL East, as the Yankees dropped a 6-5 decision in Cleveland.

Game two is scheduled for Saturday, at 1:05 pm EDT.

National League

Arrieta: 7 scoreless

Jake Arrieta tossed seven scoreless innings as the Philadelphia Phillies opened their three-game series in Miami with a 2-0 victory.

Combined with Atlanta's 2-1 loss to Arizona, the win put the Phillies 1 1/2 games on top in the NL East with just two games remaining before the annual all star break.

Arrieta (7-6) allowed three hits, three walks and struck out three. Relievers Victor Araon and Pat Neschek each pitched perfect frames in the eighth and ninth. Neshek lodges his first save of the year.

The Phillies have been on fire the past three weeks. Starting with a 3-0 win over the Yankees on June 27, they're 12-4, and have surged past the Braves into first place in their division.

Miami hosts the Phillies for game two of the series, Saturday, 4:10 pm EDT.

Cubs Avance with 4-0 Win over Pirates as Jake Arrieta Goes the Distance

Players of the Day for Wednesday, October 7, 2015

National League

Here come the Cubs.

Arrieta hurls 4-hit shutout

Shutting out the Pirates in the NL Wild Card game, 4-0, the Chicago Cubs advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs, to meet the St. Louis Cardinals in a seven-game series starting Friday in St. Louis.

Cubs' starter, Jake Arrieta, once again dazzled hitters, shutting down the Pirates on four hits in a complete game masterpiece. Arrieta didn't walk any batters and struck out 11, earning his first post-season win and the first playoff win for the Cubs since 2003.

Chicago got all of its runs from the first two batters in the lineup. Leadoff man, Dexter Fowler, singled twice, homered and scored three runs. Rookie Kyle Schwarber, who began his season in Double-A, belted a two-run shot off Pittsburgh starter Gerrit Cole in the third inning to put the Cubs up, 3-0. Fowler's solo shot finished the scoring in the fifth.

With the Cubs' ace cruising and Pittsburgh heading for an early exit from the playoffs, Pirates' reliever Tony Wilson plunked Arrieta in the seventh, an action that cleared both benches. Cooler heads prevailed, and only Pirates' first baseman, Sean Rodriguez, was ejected.

Arrieta, the National League's only 20-game winner this season, will likely be the starter for game three of the NLDS, Monday, in Chicago. Jon Lester faces the Cardinals' John Lackey in game one.

With a record of 22-6, Arrieta ended the regular season with 11 straight wins and was 16-1 since June 16.

American League

There were no games in the AL on Wednesday. The Rangers met the Blue Jays in Toronto and the Astros face the Royals in Kansas City on Thursday.

Carlos Correa, Dallas Keuchel Keep Houston in Playoff Race; Cubs' Jake Arrieta Improves to 22-6

Players of the Day for Friday, October 2, 2015

American League

Carlos Correa

Keuchel: 20-8

Houston remained in the running for the AL West, whipping the Arizona Diamondbacks, 21-5, while the Angels took a game from the first-place Rangers, 2-1, leaving Houston two games behind Texas with two games remaining.

Arrieta: 22-6

Houston starter, Dallas Keuchel, picked up what was probably the easiest win of the season, tossing six innings and allowing two runs on six hits, fanning three. The win made Keuchel the sole 20-game winner in the American League, at 20-8.

Carlos Correa was the hitting star for the Astros, going 3-for-4 with a single, triple, solo home run, four RBI and four runs.

The Astros will look to make it three wins in a row and two straight against Arizona when they take the field Saturday at 8:10 pm EDT. Houston is one game up on the Angles and two games better than Minnesota in the race for the second wild card.

They have a chance to be the home team for the wild card game, but the Yankees (postponed Friday) would have to lose all three of their games in Baltimore this weekend. The Yanks have a double-header in Baltimore on Saturday and close out the season at Camden Yards on Sunday.

National League

Jake Arrieta improved to 22-6, as the Chicago Cubs kept pressure on the Pirates in the wild card race with a 6-1 victory over the Brewers in Milwaukee Friday.

Arrieta worked six innings, allowed two hits and no runs, striking out seven.

Chicago remained two games back of Pittsburgh as the Pirates prevailed over the Reds, 6-4, in 12 innings, extending the Reds' losing streak to 13 games.

Both the Pirates and Cubs have two games left to play, so the Pirates, with a win or a Chicago loss, could wrap up the wild card home field on Saturday.

The Cubs go back to work Saturday night at 7:10 pm EDT when they face the Brewers in game two of their three-game series.

Jake Arrieta Improves to 21-6 with 7-Inning 1-Hitter; Josh Donaldson Belts Walk-Off Homer as Jays Down Rays, 5-4

Players of the Day for Sunday, September 27, 2015

American League

Donaldson: 41st HR

Josh Donaldson finished the final home game for the Toronto Blue Jays with a flourish, belting a solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to give the Blue Jays a 5-4 win over Tampa Bay, completing the three-game sweep of the Rays while inching closer to the AL East crown.

Donalson's 41st home run is third in the league behind Seattle's Nelson Cruz and Baltimore's Chris Davis, each with 43, but Donalson leads the league in RBI with 122, and the majors in runs, at 121.

With the Yankees beating the White Sox, 6-1, Toronto remains four games to the good over the second-place Yankees. With seven games remaining in the regular season, Toronto's magic number is four.

The Blue Jays open a four-game series in Baltimore on Monday, then head to Tampa to close out the season with the Rays. New York starts a four-game series with Boston at Yankee Stadium Monday and finishes up in Baltimore with a three game set against the Orioles.

Toronto has already clinched a playoff spot. The Yankees have a 4 1/2 game lead on Houston in the wild card.

National League

That man was at it again.

Arrieta: 21-6

Jake Arrieta shut down the Pirates on one hit over seven innings, helping to avoid a sweep by Pittsburgh, putting the Cubs into the playoffs with a 4-0 win.

Not only did Arrieta record his 10th straight win, he also homered in the second inning, fanned nine and improved his record to a stunning, 21-6, easily the best in the majors. He's the only 20-game winner thus far. In the AL, only Houston's Dallas Keuchel has a shot to win 20. He currently is 19-8. In the National League, it appears only Arrieta will reach the 20-win plateau. the Giants' Madison Bumgarner, Pittsburgh's Gerrit Cole, and LA's Zack Greinke each have 18, but likely have only one start remaining as the season draws quickly to a close this week.

In the strikeout department, Arrieta moved past Bumgarner into third, with 229 Ks. Max Scherzer is second at 249. Clayton kershaw leads the majors with 281.

Chicago's win assured the Cubs that they would be in the playoffs, most likely as the second wild card. They trail Pittsburgh by 4 1/2 games with only seven left on the schedule. Pittsburgh still has a shot at winning the NL Central. They are three games behind the Cardinals and open a three-game series with the Cards in Pittsburgh beginning Monday. Both the Cardinals and Pirates have six games left to play.

The Cubs will play a make-up game of a May rainout with the Royals at Wrigley Field on Monday. The final six games for the Cubs are all on the road: three at Cincinnati and three at Milwaukee.

Greg Bird Lifts Yanks over Jays as Yogi Berra Passes Away; Cubs' Jake Arrieta Becomes 1st 20-Game Winner

Players of the Day for Tuesday, September 22, 2015

American League

Arrieta: 20-6, 1.88 ERA

Bird: Game winning HR

With two on and nobody out in the top of the 10th inning, Greg Bird, who's been playing in place of Mark Teixeira after the all-star first baseman suffered a season-ending injury in August, socked a three-run home run that propelled the NY Yankees to a 6-4 victory over the first place Toronto Blue Jays.

Bird's second hit of the night in five at-bats was the blow that kept the Yanks from falling further behind the Jays in the race for the AL East division crown. New York trails Toronto by 2 1/2 games, with the rubber game of the three-game series in Toronto slated for a 7:00 pm EDT start, Wednesday night.

The Yankees jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but were tied by the Jays, who scored single runs in the third and fourth. New York seemed to have the game in hand after scoring a run n the eighth, but closer Andrew Miller gave up a solo homer to Toronto catcher, Dioner Navarro, sending the contest to extra innings and setting up Bird's dramatic moment.

Wednesday night's game will be the last time the Ynaks play the Blue Jays this season unless they meet in the playoffs. Both teams are virtual locks for the post-season. What still needs to be settled is which will be the AL East champ and which will be a wild card.

NOTE: A sad note, on a night of Yankee exuberance, was learned after the game that Yogi Berra, the three time MVP and hero of many Yankee triumphs - including being on the winning side in 10 World Series - had passed away. The Yankee legend, famous for odd and amusing one-liners, was 90.

Yogi

National League

Chicago's Jake Arrieta became the first 20-game winner in the majors with a three-hit shutout over Milwaukee, the Cubs taking their second straight from the Brew Crew, 4-0.

Arrieta (20-6) gave up a game-opening double to Milwaukee leadoff hitter, Scotter Gennett, but settled in and set down the next 14 batters in order until Hernan Perez singled in the fifth inning. From there, he allowed just one more hit - a single by Khris Davis - and a walk to Martin Maldonado, twirling his fourth complete game and third shutout of the season.

A strong candidate for the Cy Young Award, not only does Arrieta lead the majors in wins, he's also second in the majors in ERA, at 1.88, trailing LA's Zack Greinke's 1.65, and third in the NL in strikeouts (6th in the majors), with 220, including the 11 he fanned in Tuesday's victory.

The Cubs didn't gain any ground, as both the Cardinal and Pirates both won, but, with 11 games left to play in the regular season, Chicago is close to clinching a playoff spot. They trail the Cardinals by six in the NL Central and the Pirates by two in both the division ad the wild card hunt.

Chicago will look for a sweep of the Brewers when the teams take the field for game three, Wednesday night at Wrigley Field (8:05 pn EDT).

Jake Arrieta Wins 19th as Cubs Take Double-Header in Philly; Texas Downs A's, 2-0, on Colby Lewis Two-Hitter

Players of the Day for Friday, September 11, 2015

American League

Lewis: 2-hit shutout

Arrieta: 19-6

Perfect through seven innings, Colby Lewis fired a two-hit shutout over the Oakland A's as Texas took the first of a three-game series at Globe Life Park in Arlington, 4-0.

Improving to 15-8 on the year, Lewis needed just 97 pitches to set down the Athletics, pitching to just two over the minimum.

Danny Valencia's double to open the eighth and a leadoff single by Josh Phegley in the ninth were the only blemishes on Lewis' pitching line, which included four strikeouts and no walks.

It was the second complete game and first shutout for Lewis this season. Since 2010, Lewis has nine complete games and three shutouts.

The Rangers, thanks to Houston's 3-2 loss to the Angels, are just 1 1/2 games out of first place in the AL West. They also picked up a game on the Yankees in the wild card race, as Toronto handed the Bombers an 11-5 defeat. Texas trails the Yankees by 3 1/.2 games and is currently one game ahead of the Twins for the second wild card spot.

The Rangers continue their series with the A's Saturday at 8:05 pm EDT.

AL NOTE: Baltimore's Nolan Reimold and Steve Clevenger became the first teammates this season to club grand slam home runs in the same inning, as the Orioles came from behind with a 10-run eighth inning to defeat the Royals, 14-8. The O's are the first team to hit a pair of slams in the same inning since the Mets did it in 2006. It's the seventh time it's happened in the majors since 1900.

National League

After rain postponed the opening of Chicago's series in Philadelphia on Thursday, the Cubs took both ends of a double-dip on Friday, winning the opener, 5-1, behind the steady arm of Jake Arrieta, and taking the nighcap, 7-3.

Arrieta threw eight innings for his 19th win, the most in the majors, allowing six hits and the lone earned run. He walked two and fanned seven as the Cubs picked up 1/2 game on the Pirates in the wild card race, now trailing by two, but all-but-assured of getting one of the two spots available. The Cubs are 9 1/2 games ahead of the Giants for the second wild card.

The win was the eighth straight for Arrieta, who has won each of his starts since August 4 and will be seeking his 20th win the middle of next week, likely against the Pirates. Chicago opens a four-game series in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

Game three of Chicago's series at Philadelphia is slated for a 7:05 pm EDT start.

Blue Jays Top Orioles, David Price Wins 100th Game; Jake Arrieta Notches 18th Win as Cubs Stump D'Backs, 2-0

Players of the Day for Saturday, September 5, 2015

American League

Arrieta: 18-6 Leads MLB

Price: 100th Career Win

Combined with the Yankees 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay, Toronto's 5-1 win over the Orioles allowed the Blue Jays a bit of breathing room atop the AL East, opening a 1 1/2 game lead over New York.

David Price was on the mound for the Blue Jays and he had his good stuff, allowing just two hits, two walks, and no runs until the seventh inning, when he issued free passes to two batters before Caleb Joseph's single drove in Chris Davis from second with the only run for the Orioles.

Price finished up the seventh without further damage with a pair of strikeouts, giving him eight on the day, and did not return for the next inning, but Aaron Sanchez and Brett Cecil pitched the eighth and ninth respectively, Price getting his fifth win as a Blue Jay and upping his record to 14-5 overall. The win was also his 100th in the majors, against 56 losses.

Price is tied for fourth in wins in the AL, is third in ERA, at 2.43, and his 196 strikeouts are fourth-best in the league.

The series tied 1-1, the Blue Jays host Baltimore in the rubber game at 1:07 pm EDT Sunday.

AL NOTE: Boston's David Ortiz socked his 30th home run of the season, bringing his career total to 496. It's also the ninth time Ortiz has hit 30 or more homers in a season. With the Red Sox out of the playoff hunt, Big Papi can be swinging for the fences the rest of the season and could hit the magic 500 mark before turning 40 in November.

National League

Looking better and better as a wild card, the Chicago Cubs notched another win thanks to the golden arm of their ace, Jake Arrieta, who shut out the Diamondbacks over eight innings in the 2-0 Cubs' victory.

Arrieta allowed just four hits, fanning eight without allowing any walks, stretching his streak of not allowing an earned run to 29 innings, including last week's no-hitter against the Dodgers. The Giants scored an unearned run off Arrieta in the sixth inning of Chicago's 8-5 win on August 25.

Since being roughed up in May with a 1-3 mark, Arrieta has been nothing short of brilliant, gong 3-1 in June, 4-1 in July, 6-0 in August, and 1-0 thus far this month.

Arrieta leads the majors in wins, at 18-6, with an ERA of 2.03, second-bast in the league behind Zack Greinke's amazing 1.59. His 197 strikeouts are fourth in the NL.

Chicago will be seeking the sweep of their series with the Diamondbacks Sunday at 2:20 pm EDT.

Jake Arrieta Deals No-Hitter Against Dodgers, Cubs Win, 2-0; Derek Holland Blanks O's in 6-0 Texas Win

Players of the Day for Sunday, August 30, 2015

American League

Arrieta: No-Hitter

Holland: 3-Hitter

Hotter than a sizzling plate of barbecued ribs, the Texas Rangers completed the three-game sweep of the Orioles with a superb three-hit shutout from Derek Holland who improved to 2-1 in just his fourth start this season.

Following left knee surgery, Holland missed most of 2014 and went back on the DL after only one inning in the home opener April 10 when he strained his left shoulder, but the effects of 4 1/2 months of rehab have been obvious and the lefty veteran has arrived back in action at an opportune time for the Rangers.

Holland struck out 11 batters in the 6-0 Ranger win, getting sluggers Adam Jones and Chris Davis twice each on strikes and struck out every Oriole player in the lineup.

With 79 of 116 pitches going for strikes, Holland had batters confused. Only Jones, Davis and Dariel Alvarez had base hits off Holland, and Jones double was the only one that went for extra bases.

Texas has won four straight and seven of their last nine, closing to within three games of the Houston Astros, who lead the AL West and who dropped a 7-5 decision to the Twins on Sunday.

The rangers are also in line for the second wild card, leading Minnesota by 1 1/2 games. Texas trails the Yankees by four games in the quest for the #1 wild card spot.

The Rangers go on the road Monday, starting a six-game trip with three at San Diego, followed by three more at the Angels in Anaheim, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

National League

In the midst of a west coast road trip and in need of something to snap them out of a four-game losing streak, the Chicago Cubs got a shot in the arm from the arm of their ace hurler, Jake Arrieta, who tossed the season's sixth no-hitter Sunday in a 2-0 Cubs' victory over the Dodgers.

Having a remarkable season which has helped put the Cubs in position for a wild card in the NL, Arrieta was just a few plays from perfection. Stalin Castro's throwing error in the second inning and a sixth inning walk to Jimmy Rollins were the only flaws in an otherwise sensational mound appearance.

Arrieta fanned 12, including striking out the side in the ninth inning to end the game. Arrieta has 190 strikeouts on the season, ranking him fourth in the league, but his record of 17-6 has him atop the wins column. San Francisco's Madison Bumgarner is second in the majors with 16. No AL hurler has more than 15 wins.

With an ERA of 2.11, Arrieta is a serious contender for NL Cy Young honors. Tossing a no-hitter and having your team vying for a playoff spot certainly won't hurt his chances.

For the Cubs the victory moved them 5 1/2 games ahead of the Giants for the second wild card spot. With San Fran losing to the Cardinals, 7-5, LA's loss kept the two separated by 3 1/2 games in the NL West race.

The Cubs open a six-game homestead with a three-game series against Cincinnati starting Monday night. Also beginning Monday night is a critical three-game series in LA with the Dodgers hosting the Giants.

NOTES: Edwin Encarnacion of Toronto has a hitting streak that reached 25 games on Sunday, the longest in the majors this season.

Markakis, Arrieta Lead Orioles to 7-0 Win; Chipper Jones Has Braves on Warpath

Players of the Day for Friday, June 10, 2011

American League

Jake Arrieta

Languishing in their usual position at the bottom of the AL East division, the Baltimore Orioles are actually not that bad a team. At 30-31, they are only six games behind the front-running Red Sox, and have a better record than five other AL teams. There are signs of good things to come.

Nick Markakis

With Friday's 7-0 whitewash of the Rays, Baltimore won its fourth straight and has a chance to get to .500 with a win Saturday. The victory was nearly the exclusive product of two players. One was starter Jake Arrieta, who shut out the Rays for seven innings, allowing just two hits and three walks.

Arrieta had a no-hitter through five innings spoiled by a double and single to lead off the 6th, the only hits he allowed. An inning-ending double play got him out of the inning without a run being scored. He also struck out the side in the 3rd, even though he only had four Ks for the game. The win improved his record to 8-3, tying him with Boston's Jon Lester for the most wins in the league.

While Jake was throwing up goose eggs on Tampa, Nick Markakis was taking care of the run-producing aspect of the game with a grand slam in the 2nd and a two-run double in the 8th, driving in all but one of the Orioles' runs with two swings of the bat. Markakis, one of many players who got off to abnormally slow starts this season, is batting just .241 with five homers and 25 RBI.

National League

Chipper Jones:
Still swinging at 39

Chipper Jones is alive and well and has the Atlanta Braves challenging for the top spot in the rugged NL East.

Jones socked his 6th home run of the season to help the Atlanta Braves win their fourth straight game and remain two games behind the Phillies in the division.

He also singled twice, drove in two runs, scored three times and stole a base. Not a bad night for a 39-year-old player many expected to call it quits after last season.

Others got involved for the Braves, as they pounded out 14 hits in an 11-4 rout of the punchless Houston Astros. With three more games in Houston over the weekend, the Braves have a prime opportunity to string together more wins and maybe run down the Phillies, who have led the division almost all season.

Jones will keep swinging. One look at his career stats assures that he's a first round Hall of Famer. 442 home runs, 1525 RBI and a career .305 batting average.

JETER 3000 WATCH: After losing three straight at home to the Red Sox, the Yankees took out their frustrations on the visiting Cleveland Indians, piling up 15 hits in an 11-7 win. With everyone swing the bats, Jeter came up with just one hit in five at-bats, leaving him nine away from the 3000 club.

The Yankees have a pair of day games in the Bronx scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, both against the Indians.