Cardinals Advance Past Braves as Matt Holliday Homers; Joe Saunders Stifles Rangers, Orioles Move On in Playoffs

Players of the Day for Friday, October 5, 2011

American League

The collapse of 2010 and 2011 AL champion Texas Rangers was completed Friday night when the Baltimore Orioles eliminated them in a one-game wild card playoff,5-1, at Arlington, Texas.

Joe Saunders

Losing eight of their final ten games, the Rangers blew a lead in the AL West to the Oakland A's, who came on to win six straight - including the final three games of the regular season against the Rangers - to capture the division title and force Texas into the one-game wild-card format with the Orioles.

Baltimore scored their five runs on eight hits, while the Rangers squandered their few opportunities, getting nine hits in the contest. Oriole starter Joe Saunders kept the Rangers in check, allowing one earned run on six hits over 5 2/3 innings. Earning his first post-season victory in five starts, Saunders walked one and struck out four, working into and out of trouble in each inning. The Rangers had base runners in every inning in which he worked, except the sixth, when he was lifted for reliever Darren O'Day with two out and nobody on, to face Nelson Cruz, who popped out to end the inning.

O'Day worked two innings before handing the ball over to Brian Matusz, who got the final out of the eighth. The Orioles tacked on a pair of runs in the top of the ninth, setting up a non-save situation for closer Jim Johnson.

Providing one final bit of drama, the Rangers sent the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth after Johnson loaded the bases by allowing a pair of singles and a walk, but then got David Murphy on a harmless pop out to right, ending the game.

Baltimore will host the New York Yankees in the first two of a best-of-five series beginning Sunday. The other divisional series opens Saturday in Detroit between West division champion Oakland and the Tigers, winners of the Central division.

National League

Controversy and an embarrassing display by Atlanta fans aside, the St. Louis Cardinals moved on in the playoffs, eliminating the Braves in a one-game playoff, 6-3, at Turner Field.

Matt Holliday

With the Cards leading 6-3 in the eighth inning, Atlanta had runners on first and second with one out when left field umpire Sam Holbrook called an infield fly rule on a deep pop-up into left field. Shortstop Pete Kozma was settling under the ball, but darted away at the last moment, the ball falling harmlessly between himself and left fielder Matt Holliday.

Because of the call, instead of having the bases loaded and one out, the Braves were left with runners on second and third with two outs. That's when bottles and other debris came flying from the stands, causing a 19-minute delay and Braves' manager Fredi Gonzalez protesting the game. Once play resumed, Brian McCann walked to load the bases, but Cardinal reliever Jason Motte struck out Michael Bourn to end the inning and the threat.

The Braves were their own worst enemy, wasting 12 hits and stranding ten base runners. St. Louis cashed in six hits for six runs, aided by three Atlanta errors. Holliday went 2-for-3, with a single and a solo home run, scoring twice, to lead the Cardinals offensively.

St. Louis advances to the division round against the Washington Nationals starting Sunday. The five game series begins with two games in St. Louis, followed by three in Washington, D.C., if necessary, in the best-of-five series.

The Giants and Reds begin their five-game series on Saturday in San Francisco.

Kris Medlen Goes Full Nine as Atlanta Stops Rockies; Joe Saunders Hurls O's to Victory over Blue Jays

Players of the Day for Monday, September 3, 2011

American League

A week ago, the Baltimore Orioles plucked Joe Saunders away from the Arizona Diamondbacks, giving up reliever Matt Lindstrom and either cash considerations or a player to be named later.

In his second start with the O's, Saunders proved his value, tossing a perfect game over the first 5 2/3 innings and eventually picking up the win, as the Orioles downed the Blue Jays, 4-0, moving to within one game of East division-leading New York.

Joe Saunders

The Yankees lost a crucial 4-3 contest to the Rays, who are also closing in, just 2 1/2 out.

Saunders was perfect from the mound until allowing a single by Toronto's Adeiny Hechavarria, followed by a walk to Rajai Davis, but managed to fan Colby Rasmus to end the inning.

Gassed after throwing 96 pitches, Saunders left the game with one out and the bases full in the seventh, but was bailed out by Luis Ayala, who calmly surrendered the next two Blue Jays to end the threat with the O's up by a 3-0 score.

Saunders finished up throwing 6 1/3 innings, allowing three hits, walking two and striking out a pair. After Ayala's work in the seventh, two O's relievers shut the Blue Jays down the final two innings without a single hit.

J.J. Hardy, who had already doubled in one run, singled home another in the 8th to complete the scoring.

The O's and Jays continue their series in Toronto Tuesday and Wednesday, while the Yanks and Rays battle in Tampa. On Thursday, the Orioles head to New York to open a four game series with the Yankees.


National League

Atlanta continues to hold the #1 wild card spot, three clear of St. Louis, after Kris Medlen improved to 7-1 with a complete game, 6-1, victory over the Rockies.

Kris Medlen

Having done most of his work out of the bullpen, Medlen earned his second complete game of the season in just seven starts, stifling Colorado on five hits, striking out 12 without a walk.

The lone Colorado run was unearned, as Carlos Conzalez scored off Paul Janish's throwing error in the seventh. Otherwise, Medlen was supreme from the mound, throwing 85 of 111 pitches for strikes.

While the Braves keep winning, so too the Nationals, who continue to lead the NL East by 6 1/2 games over Atlanta. With the best record in baseball, at 82-52, the Nats seem assured of taking the division, though the Braves also look like a solid bet to reach the post-season as a wild card.

Having captured the opener, the Braves continue their four game series in Colorado through Thursday.

Longoria Rips Red Sox; Saunders Outduels Greinke; LA's Stults Blanks Giants

Players of the Day for Saturday, May 9, 2009 American League In the AL on Saturday, two players exhibited the kind of performance worthy of POTD status, so we present them both: Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria continues to prove that his outstanding rookie season of 2008 was certainly no fluke. Though the Rays are still under .500 (15-17), Longoria brought the wood with him in Tampa's 14-5 plastering at Boston. After starting the Rays' scoring with a two-run homer in the 1st inning, Longoria capped a 6-run uprising in the 5th inning, doubling home another pair and later scoring, walked and scored in the 6th and finished the scoring for the Rays with a sac fly in the 7th inning. 2-for-4, 3 runs, 5 RBI adds up to a pretty good night. Longoria's 44 RBI leads the majors and his 11 home runs leave him two behind teammate Carlos Pena's 13. Across the country in Anaheim, the Angels figured out a way to beat KC's Zack Greinke (6-1). Start with a third inning double by Gary Matthews Jr., a sacrifice bunt moves him to third and a Chone Figgins sac fly gets him home. Oh, and have your starting pitcher, Joe Saunders (5-1), toss a five-hit, complete game shutout, striking out 6 and giving up just one walk. That's what it took, because Greinke, under any other circumstances, wins the game. He went the distance, allowing just 4 hits, no walks and the one earned run. But last night, Saunders was just a little bit better, resulting in a 1-0 Angels win. National League Out in Chavez Ravine, Eric Stults (4-1) was doing his best to keep the Dodgers in first place in the NL West with a 4-hit, complete game shutout over northern rival San Francisco. Stults didn't necessarily have to be a good as he was, getting plenty of plate support in LA's 8-0 win. While Stultz's numbers aren't all that great (3.58 ERA, 1.41 WHIP), he does produce wins, having gotten a positive decision in 4 of his 6 starts this season. Saturday's win evened his lifetime record at 8-8. NOTES: The red-hot NY Mets won their 6th straight Saturday, tying for first place in the NL East with the Marlins, 1/2 game ahead of the Phillies. On the not-so-hot side of the ledger are the Pittsburgh Pirates, who have dropped seven straight, and the Seattle Mariners, who after a hot start have given up their AL West lead to the Rangers and Angels. Texas leads the division by 1/2 game over LA. The Mariners are 1 1/2 back.