Jesus Aguilar Delivers, Milwaukee Forces NLCS Game Seven

Players of the Day for Friday, October 19, 2018

National League

NL Championship Series Game six: Milwaukee Brewers 7 LA Dodgers 2

Aguilar: 3-for-4, 2R, 3RBI

With elimination staring them in their collective faces, the Milwaukee Brewers proved undaunted, getting a huge effort from one of the players that carried them through the regular season, Jesus Aguilar.

Largely frustrated by the Rockies and Dodger pitchers, Aguilar hadn't been much of a factor in any of Milwaukee's eight postseason games - 5-for-29 (.172) 2 HR, 3 RBI - until Friday night. Going 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBI, Aguilar factored in five of the seven Brewers' runs.

After the Dodgers took a 1-0 lead on David Freese's first-inning home run, Aguilar responded in the bottom of the frame with a two-run double and later scored, as the Brewers plated four off Dodger starter, Hyun-Jin Ryu.

Nursing a 5-2 lead, Aguilar led off the seventh inning with his second double, moved to third on a ground out and scored on a wild pitch by Kenta Maeda. In the eighth, Aguilar singled in Lorenzo Cain with the Brewers' final run.

Aguilar had a excellent regular season, batting .274 with 35 homers and 108 RBI.

Milwaukee's win evened the series at three games apiece, bringing up game seven and a trip to the world series to face the AL champion Boston Red Sox. Game time is 8:09 pm ET in Milwaukee. The pitching match-up is the same as game three with Walker Buehler on the mound for Los Angeles against Milwaukee's Jhoulys Chacin. The Brewers won game three, 4-0, behind 5 1/3 inning of shutout ball by Chacin, who is unscored upon this postseason.

Ronald Acuna Jr., Freddie Freeman Lead Braves Past Dodgers; Jesus Aguilar Helps Brewers Eliminate Rockies

Players of the Day for Sunday, October 7, 2018

National League

Milwaukee 6  Colorado 0

Jesus Aguilar

Milwaukee eliminated the Rockies with a shutout victory Sunday, as Wade Miley and five relief pitchers combined to blank the Rockies on four hits. Miley worked 4 2/3 innings, allowing three hits, and the Brewer bullpen took care of the rest.

Jesus Aguilar socked a fourth-inning solo home run to give he Brewers a 2-0 lead. Orlando Arcia and Keon Broxton belted back-to-back solo shots in the ninth inning to seal the deal.

Acuna Jr.: Grand Slam

Red hot late season, the Brewers won eight straight to close out the regular season, capturing the Central division and achieving the best record in the National League. Their sweep of the Rockies left their winning streak at 11. They will host the winner of the Dodgers-Braves series in the NL Championship.

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Freddie Freeman

Atlanta 6  LA Dodgers 5

Staving off elimination, the Atlanta Braves won a close one at home, as Ronald Acuna Jr. smacked a second inning grand slam and Freddie Freeman unknotted a 5-5 tie in the sixth with a solo shot.

Atlanta's win left the Dodgers up two games to one, with game four scheduled for Monday in Atlanta. First pitch is slated for 4:30 pm ET.


American League

There were no games in the American League on Sunday.

Houston will be looking to eliminate the Indians in game three of their best-of-five divisional series, Monday, 1:30 pm, in Cleveland.

With the series tied, 1-1, Boston is at New York for game three between the Red Sox and Yankees, Monday at 7:40 pm ET.

Luke Voit Paces Yankees Over Red Sox; Jesus Aguilar Homers, Drives In 4 As Brewers Triumph

Players of the Day for Wednesday, September 19, 2018

American League

Voit: 4-for-4, 2HR, 3RBI

Their magic number at one, the Boston Red Sox would like to wrap up and claim the AL East title. The Yankees continue to play the denier.

With their second straight win over the Sox, the Yankees kept the Red Sox from celebrating at hallowed Yankee Stadium, taking down Boston, 10-1, as Luke Voit launched a pair of homers to lead New York.

Voit's dingers both came off Boston starter David Price, who was chased after allowing four earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. Luis Severino picked up the win, improving to 18-8. Voit also singled twice, scored four runs ad drove in three.

Having scant hope of catching the Red Sox in the division - they Yanks still trail Boston by 9 1/2 games - the Yankees continue to win and hold onto the top wild card spot, ensuring that the single-elimination game will be played on their home turf. Oakland continued the chase in earnest, topping the Angels, 10-0. The A's are 2 1/2 behind the Yankees.

The Yankees and Red Sox wrap up their series on Thursday. Game time is 7:05 pm EDT.

National League

Aguilar: HR, 4 RBI

With the Cubs losing, 9-0, at Arizona, the Milwaukee Brewers pulled to within 2 1/2 games of the NL Central leaders with a 7-0 blanking of the Reds.

Jesus Aguilar continued his torrid pace with his 33rd home run and four RBI. Aguilar reached on an infield single in the first inning, plating Christian Yelich, then belted a three-run homer in the fourth as Milwaukee pulled away. Gio Gonzalez tossed six innings of shutout ball, earning his eighth win against 11 losses.

Aguilar is tied for fourth in home runs league-wide and is second in RBI, at 103, trailing the Cubs' Javier Baez, who leads with 107.

The Brewers also improved their wild card chances, opening a three-game lead on the Cardinals, 7-3 losers at Atlanta.

While the Brewers won't play the Cubs again, they will face the Cardinals next week in St. Louis. Milwaukee heads off to Pittsburgh for a three-game series beginning Friday, then takes three in St. Louis Monday through Wednesday. They close out their season at home, hosting three games with Detroit.

Jesus Aguilar Knocks In 7, Brewers Bomb Yankees; George Springer Leads Astros In 11-2 Romp Over Jays

Players of the Day for Friday, July 7, 2017

American League

What the Houston Astros are doing to the West division and the rest of the American League is almost embarrassing.

After dropping the opener of a four game series in Toronto, 7-4, on Thursday, the Astros came roaring back on Friday night with an offensive outburst, plating eight runs in the first two innings en route to an 11-2 smackdown of the Blue Jays.

As has been the case all too often this season, leadoff hitter George Springer was at the center of the action, going 4-for-4 with a pair of home runs, five RBI and four runs.

Springer: 4-4, 2HR, 5RBI

Springer, who is averaging .307, led off the game with a single and scored on a Carlos Correa's home run to open what turned into a rout.

In the second, Springer launched a three-run blast - his 26th - as the Astros scored six runs in the inning. He doubled and scored on a single by Josh Reddick in the third, drove in another run with a sac fly in the fifth and capped off his perfect night at the plate with a his 27th home run, a solo shot to right center in the seventh.

The win left the Astros with an absurd 16 1/2 game lead over the Angels and Rangers in the West. Toronto remained tied with Baltimore for last place in the AL East, 9 1/2 games behind Boston.

On Saturday, the Blue Jays and Astros play game three, at 1:07 pm ET at the Rogers Centre.

National League

Extending their winning streak to five straight, the Milwaukee Brewers rolled into New York for a three=game series against the Yankees with their bats booming, taking game one with a 9-4 knockout.

Aguilar: 2 HR, 7 RBI

While the Yankees are being called the "Baby Bombers" the Milwaukee squad is also one of the youngest teams in the league, surprisingly leading the NL Central by 4 1/2 games over the Cubs.

One of those young stars is 27-year-old Jesus Aguilar, who broke out for a career high seven RBI, swatting a pair of home runs, adding a single to go 3-for-4.

Technically a rookie, Aguilar spent small parts of the last three seasons with the Indians, spending the bulk of this time with Colorado in the AAA International League. After getting just six plate appearances in 2016, the Indians dealt him to the Brewers, who brought him right up to the bigs at the start of the season, though he's platooned at first base with veteran Eric Thames, getting primary playing time against left-handers.

In the fourth inning, Aguilar put the Brewers up 2-1 with his first homer of the game, a two-run belt off Yankee starter, Jordan Montgomery. The Yankees made it 4-2 on Aaron Judge's 30th homer of the year in the fifth, but the Brewers tied it in the sixth when Ryan Braun scored on a wild pitch by Tyler Clippard and Aguilar brought home Travis Shaw with a sac fly.

In the seventh, Aguilar went to the plate against Clippard again, this time reaching the seats for a grand slam, his ninth home hun of the year, essentially ending the contest.

The Milwaukee bullpen held the Yankees scoreless the remainder of the game. Overall, New York totaled only four hits, although two of them were home runs, accounting for three of the four runs they scored.

The loss was the third straight for the Yanks, who have been absolutely horrible over the past three weeks, losing 17 of 23 since June 13. They trail the Red Sox by 4 1/2 in the AL East.

Milwaukee is headed in the opposite direction, winning eight of their last nine. Game two of the three-game series is scheduled for 1:05 pm ET, Saturday afternoon in the Bronx.