Boston Downs Yankees on Jerrod Saltalamacchia's Grand Slam; Pete Kozma Scores Twice as St. Louis Regains 1st Place with 2-1 Win

Players of the Day for Friday, September 13, 2013

American League

Jerrod Saltalamacchia

Jerrod Saltalamacchia's seventh-inning grand slam broke open a 4-4 tie, catapulting the Boston Red Sox to an 8-4 win over the Yankees in the opener of a three-game series at Fenway Park.

Boston forged a 4-0 lead off Yankee starter Hiroki Kuroda in the first inning, but the visitors gradually sliced into the lead, tying the game on a two-run double by Robinson Cano in the top of the seventh. Cano was 4-for-4 in the game.

Saltalamacchia was part of the Red Sox four-run outburst in the first inning, doubling and scoring a run. He finished the game 2-for-3 with four RBI.

New York could not hold back the Red Sox however, who moved closer to the AL East pennant with the win, their lead over Tampa Bay at 8 1/2 games.

The wild card race got even tighter, as the A's nipped the Rangers, 9-8, while Tampa Bay shut out Minnesota, 3-0, and Baltimore bettered Toronto, 5-3. The Rangers now hold only a one-game edge over Tampa Bay for the first wild card.

AL Wild Card Standings

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

Boston and New York play game two of their series Saturday at 1:05 pm EDT.

National League

Pete Kozma

Taking back the lead in the NL Central, the St. Louis Cardinals opened a three-game series with Seattle with a 2-1, 10th-inning win.

Cardinal starter, Adam Wainwright, and Seattle's Hisashi Iwakuma got into a heated pitching duel with the Mariners holding a 1-0 lead through 7 1/2 innings, but, in the bottom of the eighth, the Cardinals scored a run to tie the game, eventually sending it to an extra frame.

With one down in the eighth, Brock Peterson made it to second base on an error by Seattle second baseman, Nick Franklin. Pete Kozma came in to run for Peterson and promptly stole third base off reliever Charlie Furbush. Kozma then scored the tying run on a fielder's choice, staying in the game to play shortstop.

In the 10th, Kozma singled with two outs and advanced to third after successive walks to Matt Carpenter and Jon Jay, loading the bases. On a passed ball by Seattle catcher, Mike Zunino, Kozma scored the game-winner, sending the 40,000+ fans at Busch Stadium happily home.

St. Louis only had four hits in the game to 10 for the Mariners. Kozma went 1-for-1, scoring both of the St. Louis runs.

The Cardinals are now a game in front of Pittsburgh and 3 1/2 better than Cincinnati in the division.

The Cardinals host Seattle in game two of the series, Saturday at 7:15 pm EDT

Today's Trivia: What major leaguer holds the single-season record for on-base percentage? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: Babe Ruth's career batting average was .342; Gehrig hit .340 and Gwynn finished at .338.

Boston Downs LA on Jarrod Saltalamacchia's Two Homers; Dexter Fowler Polishes off Padres for Rockies

Players of the Day for Sunday, June 9, 2013

American League

Jerrod Saltalamacchia

With a splendid balance of pitching and hitting, the Boston Red Sox keep winning, over the weekend taking another series from the Angels, two games to one, with Sunday's rubber game going Boston strong, 10-5.

At 39-25, the Red Sox have the league's best record and are 1 1/2 clear of the Yankees in the AL East. Baltimore is 3 1/2 back; Tampa Bay, four out.

Sunday's romp at Fenway was a mini home run derby, as LA socked two, but the Red Sox put four out of the park, two of them off the bat of catcher Jerrod Saltalamacchia, who was on the front end of back-to-back solo jacks by him and Mike Carp in the sixth inning, followed by a three-run rip that capped Boston's scoring in the seventh.

Saltalamacchia's homers were his seventh and eighth of the year. David Ortiz got things going with a three-run donk in the third inning, his 12th.

The Angels continue to languish in the West, 10 1/2 behind the Rangers. Boston heads to Tampa Monday, for a series with the Rays, starting at 7:00 pm EDT.

National League

Dexter Fowler

After missing the opener of the Rockies' four-game series with the Padres, Dexter Fowler made his presence felt from the leadoff spot with three superior efforts, going 9-for-16 (.563) with six runs as Colorado earned a split and cut into Arizona's lead in the NL West.

Fowler finished off the Padres with a 4-for-6 performance Sunday, slapping three singles and a double, scoring three runs and driving in the game-winner in the top of the tenth in Colorado's 8-7 triumph.

Down, 7-4, in the ninth, Fowler scored the tying run after singling - sending Tyler Colvin to third - and swiping second base, on a double by Carlos Gonzalez, then slashed the game-winner with two down in the tenth and runners on first and third, singling to center.

The three games against the Padres boosted Folwer's batting average 20 points, to .304.

With the Giants knocking off the Diamondbacks, 6-2, San Francisco and Colorado each picked up a game, ending the weekend 1 1/2 behind the Daimondbacks in the West.

Today's Trivia: The modern era (1900-present) record for stolen bases in a season is 118. Who accomplished that fleet-footed feat?

Yesterday's Answer: Albert Pujols led the majors in runs three straight years (2003-2005) and then led again two straight, 2009 and 2010.

Jerrod Saltalamacchia, Kevin Youkilis Humble Humber, White Sox; Kirk Nieuwenhuis Rallies Mets for Sweep of Marlins

Players of the Day for Thursday, April 26, 2012

American League

Jerrod Saltalamacchia

The baseball gods can be a fickle bunch. One day you're throwing a perfect game in Seattle and the next time you're on the mound, you get roughed up by Red Sox on your home field.

Kevin Youkilis

Such was the fate of Philip Humber, who returned to a hero's welcome in Chicago after twirling el perfecto this past Saturday.

It didn't take long for exhortations of adulation to turn into jeers of derision, however, as Boston humbled Humber with eight hits and nine runs over five innings of work. Most of the carnage was supplied by Kevin Youkilis, who went 3-for-4 with a grand slam and Jerrod Saltalamacchia, who belted a solo homer in the third inning and a two-run blast in the fifth.

Boston rolled to their fourth straight win, the 10-3 victory opening a four-game series in the Windy City.


National League

This current Mets team may turn out to be more amazing than the originals from the halcyon 1969 season.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis

Starting a squad consisting entirely of farm-team-produced players, the 2012 version of the Amazins' completed a three game series sweep of the Marlins, much to the dismay of one Jose Reyes, who skipped town during the off-season to hook up with the newly-minted Miami team, fresh, new stadium, flamingos and all.

Reyes had a miserable time at Citi Field, going 1-for-12, dropping his batting average to a ridiculous .205, as the Marlins lost their fifth straight, the Mets rallying for a 3-2, walk-off win.

The bulk of the thrills were produced by rookie center fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis, who led off the Mets' first with a triple and scored to give the New Yorkers a quick, 1-0, lead, only to come back with the bases loaded and the score tied in the bottom of the ninth to deliver a rope into the right field corner, driving in the winning run.

In between, Nieuwenhuis singled, going 3-for-5 for the game, upping his average to .333. His heroic moment was set up by Miami closer Heath Bell, who threw 46 pitches in the 2/3rd of an inning he worked, walking four of the first five batters he faced, including walking in the tying run when he could not get Justin Turner out with 13 pitches. Nieuwenhuis stroked a 1-0 high fastball down the line and over the head of Giancarlo Stanton for the game-winner. Bell (0-3) blew his third save opportunity in five chances.