Damon Homer Helps Rays in Wild Card Chase; Cardinals Win With Dramatic Ninth

Players of the Day for Saturday, September 24, 2011

American League

With divisional races all decided, the focus for the remainder of the regular season will be on the wild card races, which are down to just a few teams in both leagues. In the AL, Tampa Bay improved their chances for post-season play with a 6-2 win over the visiting Toronto Blue Jays, while the imploding Red Sox got the Bronx treatment, pounded by the Yankees, 9-1.

The Rays fell behind 2-0 in the top of the first inning as Jose Bautista socked his major league-leading 43rd home run. Rays' starter Jeff Niemann was lifted after just one inning, having given up two run on two hits and two walks. Niemann had had his start pushed back due to a sore back and clearly was not at his best.

Johnny Damon

Tampa Bay battled right back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first and took the lead on a Ben Zobrist solo homer in the fourth. The Rays' bullpen set a team record, holding the Blue Jays scoreless for eight innings, and Johnny Damon sealed the win with an eighth-inning, three run home run. Gamon had doubled home Zobrist in the first inning and went 3-for-3, with four RBI.

Combined with the Red Sox loss to New York, the Rays trailed Boston by 1 1/2 at the end of the day. Tampa could tie the Red Sox for the wild card spot on Sunday if they beat Toronto and Boston drops both of their games to the Yankees. Boston plays a day-night double-dip due to a rain out of Friday's game.

The LA Angels remained relevant with a 4-2 win over the A's, 2 1/2 games behind the Red Sox. The Angels complete their series with the A's on Sunday.

National League

Blanked for eight innings, the St. Louis Cardinals kept their wild card hopes alive when they scored a pair of run in the bottom of the ninth for a 2-1 win over the Cubs.

Starter Kyle Lohse kept St. Louis in the game, allowing six hits, but only one run over seven innings, striking out eight. Lohse didn't walk anyone, nor did he receive a decision, though the end result was a positive one, as the Cardinals inched to within two games of the Braves in the NL wild card race. Atlanta was defeated 4-1 at Washington.

Kyle Lohse

Carlos Marmol was on the mound in the ninth, looking to close things out for the Cubs, though it did not go well for him. Matt Holliday got things started for the Cardinals in the ninth with a one-out single and was replaced by pinch runner Tyler Greene. Greene stole second and moved up to third as Geovany Soto's throw sailed into center field. After a David Freese strikeout, Yadier Molina walked and was pinch run for by Adron Chambers, Skip Schumaker also walked, loading the bases for Ryan Theriot, who was also issued a free pass, forcing in Greene to tie the game.

When Marmol uncorked a wild pitch to Rafael Furcal, Chambers streaked home from third with the game winner and new life in St. Louis. Marmol (2-6) took the loss. It was his 10th blown save of the season, tops in the majors.

Damon Smokes Sox; Rasmus Keeps Cardinal Hopes Alive

Players of the Day for Thursday, September 9, 2010 American League While it may seem petulant and slightly mean-spirited, the Detroit Tigers, themselves all but eliminated from post-season contention, are making sure their AL Central rivals, the White Sox, watch the playoffs from their living rooms as well. Detroit and Chicago completed a four-game series in the Motor City and, after losing the first game, the Tigers came back to win the next three, seriously dampening Chicago's hope of catching the Twins, who suddenly lead the division by six games. Johnny Damon, who turned down trade offers earlier in the season and stayed with Detroit, went 4-for-4 as the Tigers took a 6-3 decision. Damon scratched out four singles, the first of which drove in Detroit's initial run, plating Austin Jackson in the bottom of the first inning. It was Damon's only RBI of the game, but he scored twice, crossing home plate in the 3rd and 7th innings. Detroit isn't done punishing the White Sox just yet. The two teams meet again for the last time this season in a three game series at Chicago, September 17, 18 and 19. National League In the midst of a losing streak a few weeks ago, Colby Rasmus attracted the attention - and ire - of teammate Albert Pujols when he mentioned something about wanting to be traded. Pujols responded that if he didn't want to be in St. Louis, he should go. Well, Rasmus didn't go anywhere, the two may have patched things up, but Rasmus provided starter Adam Wainwright with enough offense to win his 18th game of the year, going 4-for-4 with a pair of homers as the Cardinals stomped the Braves, 11-4. Pujols hit his 37th home run of the season to put the Cards up, 7-3, and after that it became the Rasmus show as the outfielder homered in the 5th, drove in two more with a single in the 6th and hit his second solo homer of the night in the 9th. The win, coupled with the Reds' 5th straight loss, has the Cardinals back in the hunt for the NL Central, just five games behind the Reds and four games behind in the loss column. Cincinnati spent their day losing the 4th straight to the Rockies, who've won seven in a row and have sliced into San Diego's lead in the West. The Giants topped the Padres, 7-3, and trail by just one game. Colorado is just 3 1/2 off the pace as the season winds down to the final three weeks. Idle Philadelphia benefitted from Atlanta's demise, picking up a half game to lead by one in the NL East.

Yankees Rally in 9th, Put Series on Brink

Players of the Day for Sunday, November 1, 2009 NY Yankees 7, Philadelphia Phillies 4 With one more win, the NY Yankees will become the 2009 World Champions, their first claim to such a title since 2000, when they beat the Mets, 4 games to 1. The Yanks could produce a similar result when they take the field in Game 5, Monday night in Philly. The critical moment in Game 4 came in the top of the 9th inning, with the score tied at 4-4. Solo homer by Chase Utley in the 7th and Pedro Feliz in the 8th set the stage as the Phillies rallied from a 4-2 deficit. With Brad Lidge on the mound for the Phillies, seemingly in control after getting Hideki Matsui and Derek Jeter for the first two outs, Johnny Damon (left) stroked a clean single to left field. Damon's hit was no big deal by itself, but it brought Mark Teixeira to the plate. A dead pull hitter, the Phillies swung their infielders around toward first base, with second baseman Utley playing a rover-like position in short right field and all but third baseman Feliz on the 1st base side of second. With Teixeira taking all the way, Damon broke for second and easily swiped the bag on a one-hop throw from catcher Carlos Ruiz. He popped right up and took off for third, which, due to the shift, was unattended, allowing Damon to take the base uncontested. Feliz had actually collected the throw from Ruiz and chased Damon for a few steps before giving up. Lidge, clearly rattled, hit Teixeira with his next pitch, and then gave up the biggest hit of the series, when Alex Rodriguez lashed a double down the left field line, scoring Damon and leaving Teixeira on third and A-Rod on 2nd base. Jorge Posada stroked a single to left center, plating both of his teammates before being thrown out trying to advance to 2nd. The rest of the script is easy. The Yankees brought in Mariano Rivera to pitch the 9th inning, and the Sandman retired the deflated Phillies in order for the 7-4 win and his 2nd save of the series. He also set a record with his 23rd appearance, passing another Yankee, Whitey Ford. Game 5 is on for Monday night at Citizen Bank Park in Philadelphia. Yankee A.J. Burnett will start against the Phillies' Game 1 hero, Cliff Lee. Lee pitched a complete-game, 6-hitter for a 6-1 Philly win. Since then, they've lost three straight. One more and it's over. Only 6 teams have ever come back from a 3-1 deficit. The last time it happened was in 1985, when the KC Royals took the final three games from the St. Louis Cardinals. Of the 42 teams which have had 3-1 leads in the world Series, 36 have gone on to capture the title.

Damon Ties Records with 6 Hits; Martin, Kemp Power Dodgers over Cubs

Players of the Day from Saturday, June 7, 2008 American League so many players had big nights on Saturday, it was tough to pick just one for POTD in the AL, but Johnny Damon's 6-for-6 performance took the prize as the Yankees outlasted Kansas City, 12-11, in the Bronx. Damon's six hits - five singles and a double - tied both the Yankees' and AL records for hits in a game. Setting Damon's feat apart was his ninth inning single which plated Wilson Betemit with the winning run. Damon drove in four runs total, scored once and stole a base as well.

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Nearly outdoing the Yankee outfielder was KC's Jose Guillen, who hit a two-run homer in the first, singled in another run in the third and blasted a grand slam in the 7th, which, at the time, gave the Royals a 10-6 lead. Guillen finished 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored and seven RBI. Notes: Also putting up big numbers Saturday were Baltimore's Jay Payton (2 singles and a double, five RBI in a 9-5 O's win over Toronto), Edgar Renteria (3-for-4 with a grand slam in Detroit's 8-4 win over the Indians) and Joe Crede, who followed up his 2-homer night on Friday with a pair of 3-run blasts Saturday to propel the White Sox to an 11-2 thrashing of the Twins. It was not a good night to be on the mound in the AL. National League Russell Martin (left) singled twice and homered, driving in three runs, and teammate Matt Kemp singled and cranked a three-run homer in the 7th to send Cubs' starter off the mound and into a rage, as the Dodgers dropped the Cubs for the second straight night, 7-3. Both Kemp and Martin also added a stolen base each, furthering Zambrano's (8-2) frustration. Notes: Complicating matters for the Cubs was St. Louis' 8-4 win over the Astros, which put the Cardinals just 2 1/2 behind Chicago in the Central division. The Phillies won their third straight to maintain their 3 1/2-game lead over Florida in the East. The D-Backs won as well, keeping the Dodgers 4 behind in the West.

Yankees Save Torre; Red Sox Complete Sweep

NY Yankees 8 Indians 4 - New York got back to Yankee Stadium and their bats finally did some talking. Johnny Damon (right) struck the biggest blow, a three-run homer in the 5th inning off Cleveland starter Jake Westbrook, which gave the Yankees the lead for good at 5-3. In the 6th, the Yankees put the game away when Trot Nixon mishandled Robinson Cano's single, allowing three runs to scamper home. Avoiding the sweep, the Yankees possibly saved manager Joe Torre's job for another day.

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Owner George Steinbrenner reportedly said he would not rehire Torre if the team lost the series, though the sole win hardly gets them out of the woods. Still trailing 2 games to 1, New York will use game 1 starter, Chien-Ming Wang on three days rest, against Cleveland's Paul Byrd Monday night in the Bronx. Wang, the game one starter, threw 94 pitches in just 4 2/3 innings this past Thursday, allowing 9 hits, 4 walks and 8 earned runs. Byrd, who had only one win in his last five starts, faced the Yankees only once this season, allowing 7 hits and 7 earned runs over a 2-inning start in an 11-2 August 11 loss, his shortest outing of the season. Wang did not face the Indians during the regular season. Game 4 is scheduled t begin at 7:37 pm ET. Boston 9 LA Angels 1 - David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez hit back-to-back home runs in the 4th inning for an early lead and Curt Schilling (right) blanked the Angels on six hits over 7 innings to lead the Red Sox to a three-game sweep of the divisional playoff series. Schilling walked one and struck out six but Boston waited until the 8th inning to really go on the attack, parlaying 5 hits and a pair of walks into a 7-run outburst. The Angels were thoroughly beaten, outscored 19-4 over the 3 games. Boston will get an extended rest prior to the AL Championship Series, which opens Friday night in Boston against the winner of the Yankees-Indians series.