Jose Ramirez Socks Two HRs As Cleveland Dumps Baltimore; Johnny Cueto Hurls Giants Past Angels

Players of the Day for Sunday, April 22, 2018

American League

Ramirez: 2 HR 3 RBI

With the Twins losing three straight and Cleveland triumphant in their last two, the Indians are back where they feel most comfortable, in first place in the AL Central division.

In Sunday's 7-3 win at Baltimore, Manny Machado smashed two solo homers off Cleveland starter, Cory Kluber, but Cleveland third baseman, Jose Ramirez, also socked a pair, as Cleveland pieced together the win and a 1 1/2-game lead over Minnesota in the division.

Ramirez had a solo shot in the third, and provided some breathing room with a two run homer in the ninth. The score was 4-3 before Ramirez struck.

The two homers gave Ramirez seven on the season, but his .236 batting average has limited him to just 12 RBI. Last season, he whacked 29 homers and drove in 83 runs, batting .318.

If Ramirez is beginning to heat up, the rest of the division - and the league - should be on notice.

Having taken two of three in Baltimore, the Indians and Orioles will complete their four-game series on Monday at 7:05 pm EDT.

Cueto: 6 IP, 2 H 0 ER, 7 K

National League

San Francisco hasn't gotten off to the best of starts (9-12), but the team took a collective step in the right direction, winning two of three against the Angels in LA, their first series win of the season.

Sunday's 4-2 victory was the product of starter Johnny Cueto, who held the Angels scoreless over six innings as the Giants forged a 3-0 edge.

Victimized by his own team's lack of hitting and porous bullpen work, Cueto's 0.35 ERA is tops in the majors, but Sunday's win was just his second of the season.

In his first 2018 start, on March 30, Cueto one-hit the Dodgers for seven innings, but he didn't get a decision in the 1-0 win as the Giants scored after he had departed. On April 17, his seven-inning, two hit, 11 strikeout performance was wasted as Arizona's Patrick Corbin matched him with a one-hitter and the Diamondbacks scored the only run of the game in the eighth inning.

Johnny was luckier on Sunday, as his teammates backed him with three runs in the third and one in the fifth inning. The bullpen nearly gave it away, surrendering two runs in the eighth.

Striking out seven, Cueto threw 64 of 98 pitches for strikes and got first pitch strikes on 18 of the 23 batters he faced. The two hits he allowed were singles and he walked a pair.

The Giants head home Monday to meet up with the Washington Nationals. Game time is 7:15 pm PDT.

Johnny Cueto, Royals Put Mets in 2-0 Hole with Game Two Victory

Cueto: Complete Game W

Player of the Day for Wednesday, October 28, 2015

World Series

Having taken game one in a marathon 14-inning, 5-4 win, the Kansas City Royals put the Mets into a two-games-to-none hole with a 7-1 victory in game two.

The Mets scored first, picking up a run off Johnny Cueto in the top of the fourth inning, but the Royals responded with four runs off Jacob deGrom in the bottom of the fifth, adding three more in the eighth to complete the scoring.

Meanwhile, Cueto proved practically untouchable, allowing just two hits while going the distance. Cueto didn't allow a hit after the fourth inning, setting down 15 in a row before yielding a walk to Daniel Murphy with two down in the ninth. Walking three and fanning four, Cueto earned his first World Series victory. Mets' starter, deGrom took the loss.

The series shifts to New York for games three, four, and, if necessary, game five. Game three is scheduled for an 8:07 pm ET start on Friday.

Johnny Cueto Tames Tigers with 4-Hit Shutout; Ian Desmond Homers Twice as Nationals Down Dodgers

Players of the Day for Monday, August 10, 2015

American League

Cueto: 4-Hit Shutout

Desmond: 2HR, 3RBI

Seeking another arm for the run to the AL Central title, the Kansas City Royals acquired Johnny Cueto from the Reds in one of the most significant deals prior to the July 31 trading deadline.

By all appearances, the Royals got what they wanted, as Cueto - following two starts in which he pitched well but received a no-decision and a loss - threw a four-hit shutout at the fading Tigers, opening a three-game series at Kansas City with a 4-0 win.

Cueto was on his game, working the entire nine innings, throwing 86 of 116 pitches for strikes, allowing no walks while fanning eight Tiger batters for his first win in the American League.

The Royals got to Detroit starter, Matt Boyd, early, scoring three runs in their initial at-bat, giving Cueto a nice cushion and allowing the hurler to settle in and throw strikes.

Kansas City pushed the Tigers back to 13 1/2 games off the pace, behind Minnesota, which trails the Royals by 12 games, the largest lead in any division of MLB.

The Tigers will try to get one back from the Royals in game two, Tuesday night, at 8:10 pm EDT.

National League

While the Mets snapped a two-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory over Colorado to stay in first place in the NL East, the Washington Nationals got a big night from their all-star shortstop, Ian Desmond, to take an 8-3 decision over the Dodgers in LA.

The win was essential to keep pace with the Mets, leaving the Nationals just 1 1/2 games behind the division front-runners.

Desmond smacked a pair of homers and drove in three runs with a two-run blast in the second inning and a solo mash in the eighth. He also singled and scored in the sixth as the Nationals put up a five-spot.

Gio Gonzalez started for Washington and threw eight innings of shutout ball for the Nats. Doug Fister  came on in relief and allowed all three Dodger runs in the ninth, all unearned, ironically, due to an errant throw by Desmond.

The Nationals' victory came in the first game of a three-game series in LA. Game two is Tuesday at 7:10 pm PDT.

Johnny Cueto Wins 4th Straight as Reds Retain First Place; Dayan Viciedo Powers White Sox Win

Players of the Day for Saturday, June 23, 2012

American League

Dayan Viciedo

Keeping the AL Central race tight, the Chicago White Sox crept to within 1/2 game of division-leading Cleveland with an 8-6 home win over Milwaukee on Saturday.

Leading the charge was Dayan Viciedo, who went 3-for-4 with his 14th home run, a two-run belt off Brewer starter, Randy Wolf. Viciedo also singled twice, each tie driving home a teammate for a score and scored the tying run in the bottom of the sixth, knotting the game at 6-6. The White Sox added single runs in the seventh and eighth innings for the victory.

Milwaukee and Chicago have split the first two games of the series and play the rubber game Sunday afternoon.


National League

Cueto: 7 scoreless

How good was Johnny Cueto in the Reds' 6-0 win over the Twins?

Well, he did go 0-2 at the plate, but managed to drive in a pair of runs, first on a squeeze bunt that got Scott Rolen across the plate in the bottom of the fourth, to put Cincinnati up 4-0, and then delivered a ground ball with one out and the bases loaded in the sixth to again get Rolen home.

Oh, and besides helping his own cause at the plate, Cueto won his fourth straight start, limiting Minnesota batters to three hits over seven full innings, striking out nine and walking one.

He fanned the last three batters he faced before being lifted to open the eighth after throwing 118 pitches.

Improving to 9-3, Cueto ended the Reds' four-game losing streak and kept them a game up on Pittsburgh, who knocked off Detroit, 4-1.

Cueto is almost a certain lock to make the all star roster for the NL. His 2.21 ERA is the fifth best in the league, his 101.2 innings pitched is tied for second and the nine wins are tied for fourth.

The Twins and Reds split the first two games of the series at Great American Ball Park and finish up interleague play Sunday afternoon.

INTERLEAGUE SCOREBOARD: The National League made up a little ground on the AL, winning seven of 13 games on Friday and going 10-4 on Saturday, though they still trail, 129-106 with one day of interleague games remaining.

Alex Rodriguez Ties Lou Gehrig with 23rd Grand Slam; Johnny Cueto's Complete Game Puts Reds Back on Top

Players of the Day for Tuesday, June 12, 2012

American League

Even though the warning has been issued countless times to managers around the both leagues, some continue to test the theory that it is not a good idea to load the bases by walking Mark Teixeira, putting Alex Rodriguez at the plate.

Alex Rodriguez ties
Lou Gehrig with
23rd Grand Slam

Leading 4-0 into the eighth inning, the Braves seemed to be well on their way to evening their series with the Yankees, when things began to unravel.

With one out in the eighth, Derek Jeter singled, prompting Braves' manager, Fredi Gonzalez, to pull starter Mike Minor in favor of reliable reliever Jonny Venters, but Venters allowed a single to Curtis Granderson and then, not intentionally, but pitching judiciously, walked Teixeira.

Rodriguez and Venters dueled to a 3-2 count before Rodriguez tied the game with his historic grand slam, tying another Yankee great, Lou Gehrig, with a major league record 23. It was A-Rod's tenth homer of the season

Two batters later, Nick Swisher untied the game with a two-run blast, also his tenth, as the Yankees came back to win, 6-4, their fifth straight win moving them to the top of the AL East standings, one game better than the Orioles and Rays.


National League

Cueto: (7-3), 6H CG

Johnny Cueto gave up a run in the opening inning, but that was all, throwing a six-hit complete game for his seventh win of the season against three losses as the Reds took a 7-1 decision over the visiting Cleveland Indians.

After Jason Kipnis singled home Shin-Soo Choo, who had doubled to lead off the game, Cueto scattered another four hits over the remaining innings for the win. Displaying pinpoint control, Cueto struck out seven and issued no walks, throwing 81 of 122 pitches for strikes.

It was Cueto's second complete game of the season and sixth in his five-year major league career.

With the win and Pittsburgh's 8-6 loss at Baltimore, the Reds regained sole possession of first place in the NL Central.

A win in the opener of their series with in-state rival Cleveland in hand, the Reds and Indians play the remainder of their three-game series Wednesday and Thursday at Great American Ball Park.

Verlander Out-duels Weaver with 1-Hitter; Cueto Hurls Shutout as Reds Sweep Giants

Players of the Day for Sunday, July 31, 2011

American League

Verlander: 1 Hit over 8

Justin Verlander became the second pitcher in the majors - along with the Yankees' C.C. Sabathia - to reach 15 wins this season, out-pitching LA's Jered Weaver (14-5) in a 3-2 Tiger win.

Verlander (15-5), who threw a no-hitter earlier in the year, set down the first 11 Angels in order before giving up a walk to Bobby Abreu, and then retired the next eight batters before walking Abreu again in the 7th inning.

Verlander got the final two outs of the 7th, then ran into problems in the 8th, throwing wildly on Erick Aybar's dribbler, sending the LA shortstop to second base with no outs. After Aybar went to third on Matt Trumbo's ground out and scored on Peter Borjous' fielder's choice, Maicer Izturis finally broke through for a single with two out in the 8th to break up the no-hit bid with Borjous racing around from first to score the Angels' second run.

Finishing up the 8th by striking out Torii Hunter with his 111th pitch, Verlander took a seat to watch Jose Valverde earn his 28th save, walking Abreu for the third time in the game, but getting through the 9th without surrendering a hit.

Verlander allowed the one hit to Izturis and both runs were unearned. He struck out eight, increasing his AL-best strikeout total to 178, topping Sabathia's 156.

The Tigers opened up a 2 1/2 game lead on the Indians, who lost to KC, 5-3, while the Angels remained two games behind the Rangers in the West, as Texas dropped a 7-3 decision to Toronto.

National League

After dropping a four-game series at home to the lowly Mets, it appeared as though the Cincinnati Reds were about to fall completely out of the NL Central race.

Cueto: 3-hit Shutout

That was, until the Giants came to town.

The defending Central division champion Reds completed a three-game sweep of the reigning world champion Giants with a 9-0 whitewash, courtesy of dependable Johnny Cueto, who allowed just three hits - to the first three batters in the Giants' order, though not in the same inning - walked one and struck out six for the complete-game, 9-0, shutout victory.

The blowout came after came on the heels of Friday's nail-biting 4-3 win and Saturday's relaxed 7-2 drilling. Despite picking up Carlos Beltran to bolster their offense, the Giants still have trouble scoring runs and crafty Cueto - on top of his game - made the task all but impossible.

Joey Votto cracked his 17th home run of the season and drove in four runs for the Reds, who remained 6 1/2 behind Milwaukee in the Central but picked up ground on second place St. Louis and third place Pittsburgh, as well as gaining on Atlanta in the wild card race.

The win was Cueto's seventh against four losses, his third complete game of the year and first shutout this season.

Rodriguez Lifts Off; Cueto Sharpens Up for Reds

Players of the Day for Sunday, March 6, 2010

American League

Alex Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez hit his first home run of the Spring, and the NY Yankees punished seven Houston pitchers for 21 hits in a 10-8 Yankee win. The Houston hurlers must have been getting the ball over the plate, because, despite recording seven strikeouts, they did not walk a single batter.

A-Rod returns for his 8th season in pinstripes, surpassing the seven years he spent with Seattle, where he began his MLB career. Rodriguez spent three seasons as a Texas Ranger before joining the Yankees.

Rodriguez returns off a pair of 30-home run seasons, and has lost time to injuries in each of the past three campaigns. He played in 137 games last year. Turning 36 this year, Rodriguez is the leading active player in home runs and RBI, with 613 and 1831, respectively.

Currently 6th on the all-time career home run list, he should top recently-retired Ken Griffey Jr.'s 630 homers and is 47 behind Willie Mays, at 660. Rodriguez finished 1 RBI better than Manny Ramirez in RBIs all-time and should surpass many great ones this season, including Griffey, Carl Yastrzemski, Ted Williams, Dave Winfield and Mel Ott. Willie Mays is 1oth on the list at 1903. Rodriguez is currently #17.

National League

Johnny Cueto

Johnny Cueto gave up just one hit and a walk over three innings and the next five Cincinnati pitchers - all working an inning each - no-hit the Cubs in a 10-0 Reds' whitewash.

Donnie Joseph, the final Reds pitcher, allowed a hit and a walk in the 9th, but fanned two batters to preserve the shutout.

Cueto, who was 12-7 with a 3.64 ERA last season, was one of the reasons the Reds captured the Central Division and is expected to remain a solid force in the Cincinnati rotation this season.

The latest work was an improvement for Cueto. In his first start, over three innings he only allowed two hits, but both of them were home runs.

YDelmon Young 4-for-4 in Twins Win; Johnny Cueto Pitches Reds Back Into First

Players of the Day for Saturday, July 24, 2010 American League Along with Detroit, Minnesota continues to pursue the first place White Sox in the AL Central, and the Twins got a little bit closer Saturday as the Sox lost to Oakland, 10-2, while the Twins produced a 7-2 win at Baltimore. As he's been doing over the past few weeks, Delmon Young provided the spark with a 4-for-4 effort, including a two-run homer and a sac fly for 3 RBI in the win. Young has been on a tear, picking up the slack for the injured Justin Morneau. His home run was his 12th of the season, and he's moving up the leader board in RBI, with 73. He's had multiple hits in seven of his last ten games. The Twins closed the gap on the White Sox to two games. With the Tigers dropping a 3-2 decision to Toronto, the Twins took over second place by 1/2 game. National League When the Astros and Reds took the field Saturday in Houston, a lot of eyes were trained on Roy Oswalt, but once the action got started, Houston hitters were frustrated trying to locate Reds' starter Johnny Cueto's sliders and sinkers. With the trade deadline just a week on the horizon, a number of teams are looking at Oswalt as a possible addition, but he was roughed up by the Reds, who banged out nine hits and scored six runs in just five innings off the Houston hurler. Cueto, meanwhile was mowing down the Astros, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out six over 8 innings, improving his record to 10-2 and pushing the Reds back into first place in the NL Central with a 7-0 win. The Cardinals lost their third straight, a 6-5 decision to the Cubs, to fall 1/2 game behind the Reds.

Evan Longoria Keeps Rays on Top; Johnny Cueto 1-Hits Pirates

Players of the Day for Tuesday, May 11, 2010 American League Some players get hot; others, like Evan Longoria, simply hit a certain stride and keep on going. After a pretty fair start, which had the 3rd baseman batting .297 with 3 homers and 13 RBI, Longoria has brought it up a notch against opposing pitchers. Over this last 16 games, he's hit .359, with 5 home runs and 16 RBI, getting his 8th home run of the season as the Rays improved their lead over the rained-out Yankees with a 7-3 win at LA. Already leading 2-0 in the 5th inning, Longoria knocked home Jason Bartlett with the Rays' 3rd run of the game. In the 6th, he launched home run #8, with two men aboard, upping his RBI total to 29, good for second place in the AL behind Miguel Cabrera (33). The Rays continue to hold onto the best record in the majors, at 23-10. They also have, by far, the best road record, 14-4, and will put that to the test Wednesday night in their rubber game against the Angels, who took the series opener by a 5-4 score in 11 innings. National League Other than a third inning single to Ronnie Cedeno, Johnny Cueto didn't give the Pittsburgh Pirates anything, twirling a 1-hit gem as the Reds topped their NL Central rivals by a 9-0 score. When Cedeno came to the plate again in the 6th inning, Cueto plunked him, making him not only the only Pirate to reach base, but the only one to do so twice. As luck would have it, Cedeno never made it to second base - nobody did - as he was thrown out attempting to steal by catcher Ramon Hernandez. (No wonder Cueto plunked him; who tries a two-out steal when you're down 3-0?) Cedeno led off the 9th inning, and this time, Cueto wasn't kidding around. The only batter with whom he had an issue, Cueto set him down on strikes, then proceeded to finish off the final two batters without incident. Of his 102 pitches, 67 went for strikes. Cueto was very judicious in getting his men out. He nailed down 8 on strikes, another 8 on ground balls and 11 by air. The win was only Cueto's second of the season, against one loss. He carries a 4.07 ERA, but what's important is that the win was the Reds' 4th straight, quietly inching them to within 2 games of division-leading St. Louis. At 18-15, the Reds join the Cards as the only NL Central teams with winning records. Cincy is 3 games ahead of 3rd place Milwaukee.

Blalock's 9th-Inning Blast Lifts Rangers; Cueto Leds Reds 1-0 Past Arizona

Players of the Day for Wednesday, July 1, 2009 American League The struggle for supremacy in the AL West reached new heights last night as the Texas Rangers got 2 runs in the bottom of the ninth on Hank Blalock's second homer of the game to knock off the Angles, 9-7. The win was the second straight for the Rangers over LA, giving them a 2-1 edge in their three-game series and shrinking LA's lead in the division to a mere 1/2-game. Blalock, who's struggled with consistency at the plate this season (.245 batting avg.), put on a power display that should keep him in the lineup. Following a solo homer in the 4th, he doubled and scored in the sixth and then delivered the dramatic blow with two outs and Michael Young standing at second. The homers were numbers 15 and 16 for Blalock. The 3 RBI upped his total to 35 for the year. National League The race for the NL Central title has been a see-saw battle all season and shows no signs of change. With all six teams within 6 games of each other, there's reason to believe in every clubhouse, from St. Louis to Pittsburgh to Houston. One team that's remained in the thick of battle - though still considered a dark horse to win the division - is the Cincinnati Reds, currently holding onto 3rd place 3 games off the pace of the Brewers and two behind second place St. Louis. On Wednesday, as pitchers across the league were in control, Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto and three relievers shut down Arizona on two hits in a 1-0 nail-biter. After walking four of the first five batters he faced, Cueto, who worked the first 6 innings, settled down and allowed only a Felipe Lopez single to open the third inning, setting down the last 12 batters he faced in order. Ageless Arthur Rhodes took the ball in the 7th, loaded the bases on a bunt single and two walks, but got out of the inning without allowing a run. David Weathers and Francisco Cordero worked perfect 8th and 9th innings, respectively.

Cueto Blanks Pirates; Guillen Homer Fuels Royal Rally

Players of the Day for Sunday, May 3, 2009 American League The Kansas City Royals are desperately trying to hang in the AL Central race. With their come-from-behind 7-5 win over Minnesota on Sunday the Royals maintained their 1/2 game lead over Detroit in the division. Down 4-0 in the top of the 7th, Jose Guillen's 3-run homer - his third of the season - brought the Royals to within a run. They added two more in the inning to take the lead, then Guillen drove in another run in the 8th, giving KC a 6-4 lead. The veteran outfielder finished with 4 RBI. National League Everybody's chasing the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central, but maybe even more surprising is the early success of the Cincinnati Reds, who remained tied for second in the division with the Cubs at 13-11, 3 1/2 behind St. Louis, with a 5-0 win at Pittsburgh Sunday. One reason the Reds are up in the standings is the emergence of Johnny Cueto as a solid starter. In Sunday's win, Cueto was nearly untouchable, allowing no runs on 4 hits and a walk while striking out 9 over 8 innings. In just his second season, Cueto (2-1) is off to a solid start, having allowed just 2 earned runs over his last 26 2/3 innings on the mound. His ERA has come down to 1.65; his WHIP is a very respectable 1.04.