Yankees Get One Back as Aaron Hicks, James Paxton Stymie Astros in Game Five

Players of the Day for Friday, October 18, 2019

American League

Paxton: 6IP, 4H, 1ER, 9K

New York Yankees 4 Houston Astros 1

After Houston pushed across a run in the top of the first, Justin Verlander ran into immediate trouble in game five of the AL Championship Series, allowing a leadoff home run to DJ LeMaheiu, followed by a three-run blast off the bat of Aaron Hicks in the bottom of the inning.

Hicks belts 3-run homer

Those four runs were more than enough for Yankee starting pitcher, James Paxton, who shut down the Astros over the next five innings, keeping them from scoring again. Paxton worked six solid frames, giving up four hits and four walks, striking out nine. After 112 pitches, Paxton hit the bench, Tommy Kahnle, Zack Britton, and Aroldis Chapman finished up, Chapman firing a hitless ninth inning for his first save of the series.

Paxton was 15-6 with a 3.82 ERA during the regular season. Friday's victory was his first of the post-season. In just 221 regular season at-bats, Hicks batted .235 with 12 home runs and 36 RBI in a season shortened by injuries.

With five games on the books, Houston still leads, three games to two, with game six slated for an 8:08 start on Saturday night at Yankee stadium.

The winner of the AL pennant will face the Washington Nationals, champions of the National League, in the 2019 World Series.

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.

James Paxton Shuts Down Houston In Seattle's 2-0 Win; Eric Thames Leads Brewers Past Dodgers

Players of the Day for Monday, July 30, 2018

American League

Paxton: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER

James Paxton tossed seven innings of shutout ball and Nelson Cruz doubled in two sixth-inning runs for a 2-0 win in the opener of a three-game series between the Astros and Mariners in Seattle.

Paxton (9-4) allowed three hits and no walks, fanning eight, needing only 82 pitches to stymie the first place Astros. Alex Colome worked the eighth, giving way to Edwin Diaz, who picked up his 40th save of the year. Diaz leads the majors in saves.

Seattle's win moved them to within three games of Houston in the AL West. The Astros have lost five straight.

Game two begins Tuesday, at 7:10 pm PDT.

National League

Thames: 3-run homer

In Los Angeles, the Brewers opened a key four-game series against the Dodgers with a 5-2 victory, creeping to within one game of the idle Cobs in the NL Central division.

Eric Thames provided the winning edge, socking a three-run homer in the third inning. Five Milwaukee pitchers held the Dodgers at bay for the duration of the contest, allowing just five hits.

Thames, who missed nearly a month and a half between April and June, has 14 homers and 32 RBI.

The loss left the Dodgers a mere 1/2-game ahead of Arizona in the hotly-contested NL West. The Rockies are one game back.

Directly out of the all star break, the Dodgers took two of three from the Brewers in Milwaukee.

Game two is slated for a 7:10 pm PDT start on Tuesday.