Cleveland Rips Yankees, 19-5, as Jose Ramirez, Greg Allen Star; Mets Pound Braves Behind Amed Rosario, Pete Alonso

Players of the Day for Thursday, August 15, 2019

American League

Greg Allen

Jose Ramirez uncorked a first-inning grand slam, added a two run blast in the second, and Greg Allen went 4-for-5, scored four times and drove in four as the Indians pummeled the Yankees, 19-5, in New York.

Jose Ramirez

The two Ramirez homers gave him 19 on the year, 11 of which he's hit in his last 30 games. Allen singled twice, doubled and socked his fourth home run of the season.

The game was the opener of a four-game series at Yankee Stadium. Cleveland's visit to the Big Apple also include a trio of game against the Mets, next Tuesday through Thursday.

Putting the game away in the opening frame, the Indians scored seven runs in the first inning and added more as the hit parade carried forward. Cleveland eventually rocked five Yankee pitchers for 24 hits.

Cleveland remained 1/2-game behind Minnesota in the Central division, as the Twins punched out a win at Texas, 13-6. The Yankees dropped a half game on second place Tampa Bay, idle on Thursday.

Game two is Friday, 7:05 pm ET.

National League

Amed Rosario

Staying alive in the wild card race - and on the fringes in the division - the NY Mets managed to avoid being swept by the East-leading Braves, knocking around Atlanta ace, Julio Teheran for six runs in the first two innings en route to a 10-8 road win.

Pete Alonso

The Mets banged out 23 hits, five each by Amed Rosario and rookie phenom Pete Alonso.

Batting in the leadoff spot, Rosario went 5-for-6, with three singles, a double and a triple, scoring four times, driving in one. Alonso was an unstoppable 5-for-5, with four singles, a first-inning, three-run homer, and six RBI.

Alonso's home run was his 39th, which tied him with Milwaukee's Chistian Yelich, one behind NL leader, Cody Bellinger, who smoked #40 in the Dodgers' 13-7 loss at Miami. Alonso is also in the league's top ten in RBI, with 91. Rosario has been recently getting it done as the Met spark plug. In his last 30 games, Rosario is batting .366 (45-for-123) with three homers and 21 runs.

The Mets are in fourth place, nine games behind the Braves in the AL East, but are just two games out of the second wild card spot, currently claimed by the Cubs. Washington holds the top wild card, 1 1/2 ahead of Chicago.

The Mets will complete a six-game road trip with three in Kansas City over the weekend. Friday's game is 8:15 pm ET.

Yasiel Puig's 3 HR Put Dodgers Back In First Place; Yonder Alonso, Jose Ramirez Power Indians To Clinch AL Central

Players of the Day for Saturday, September 15, 2018

Jose Ramirez

American League

The Cleveland Indians clinched the AL Central division outright, doing it in style with a 15-0 blowout of the visiting Detroit Tigers.

Jose Ramirez and Yonder Alonso each had three hits, three scores and two RBI in the rout.

Yonder Alonso

Ramirez, singled, doubled and tripled in four at-bats. Alonso got to the place officially six times, delivering a pair of singles and his 23rd home run of the year.

Mike Clevinger was outstanding on the Cleveland mound, allowing one hit over six innings.

Cleveland is the first team in the majors to clinch a division title and they did it with 14 games left in the regular season.

The Tigers and Indians tangle again in Cleveland, Sunday, 1:10 pm EDT.

National League

Puig: 3 HR, 7 RBI

There was some outstanding work at the plate by the Dodgers in LA's 17-4 hammering of the Cardinals in St. Louis Saturday.

Max Muncy drove in four runs, Cody Bellinger had three hits, one of them a home run, and drove in six, but Yasiel Puig did them all better, smashing three homers and driving in seven runs.

Puig, who was sidelined to open the season and again in mid-July with minor injuries, began his assault on the St. Louis bleachers with a bases empty, 423 bomb to center in the fourth inning, then cracked a three-run homer to left in the fifth, followed by another three-run blast in the eighth.

Puig hit two dingers in the Dodgers' win over St. Louis Monday and is hitting a cool .407 for the month of September. He has 21 homers and 58 RBI on the season.

The third straight win at St. Louis pushed the Dodgers into first place in the NL West, as Colorado dropped its second straight at San Francisco, 3-0. The result also put the Rockies back into the wild card race, now 1/2-game to the good over St. Louis for the second spot.

LA will be looking for a four-game sweep of the Cardinals when the teams hit the field on Sunday, 8:00 pm as the featured game on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball.

Jose Ramirez Powers Cleveland Past Reds; Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies Tighten NL West With 19-2 Win Over Arizona

Players of the Day for Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Ramirez: 2 HR, 5 RBI

American League

With Cincinnati (last place in the NL Central) taking two straight in Cleveland (first place in the AL Central), the series finale proved to be more in line with the standings as the Indians pummeled the Reds, 19-4.

Cleveland, in no danger of being caught any time soon, given their 8 1/2 game bulge in the division, let their efficient hitters loose, banging out 19 hits - including four home runs - as they scored in three of the first four innings.

Jose Ramirez started the parade around the bases with a two-run homer in the first inning, and followed up with a three-run blast in his next at-bat, as the Indians piled on nine third inning runs. Six runs in the fourth inning was more than enough for Cleveland starter, Carlos Carrasco, who notched his 10th win against five losses with five innings of work, allowing one run on five hits.

Ramirez, who will be the starting AL third baseman in next week's all star game, is already approaching his career highs from 2017, when he belted 29 homers and drove in 83 runs. The two blasts in Wednesday's slaughter have him at 27 on the year, with 65 RBI. He's second in AL home runs and tied for second (with Seattle's Mitch Haniger) in RBI.

The Indians open a four game series with the incoming Yankees on Thursday. Game time is 7:10 pm EDT.

National League

Gonzalez: 2 HR, 6 RBI

In his first two at-bats in Colorado's 19-2 romp over Arizona, Carlos Gonzalez grounded into fielder's choices, each time arriving at first safely and driving in a run.

Next time up, in the third inning, Gonzalez ripped a solo shot out of the park, though it hardly mattered, the Rockies already up by an 11-1 score. Adding to Arizona's pain, Gonzalez parked another in the fourth, this time with two men aboard, giving him six RBI on the night.

Gonzalez has 10 home runs, 38 RBI, and a .275 batting average.

The result tightened the already contentious NL West race, as the Dodgers, Giants and Rockies all won on Wednesday. LA trails the Diamondbacks by just 1/2 game. San Francisco is three out; Colorado 3 1/2 back.

It's going to get more interesting as the Diamondbacks wrap up their visit to Colorado, Thursday at 3:10 pm EDT.

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.

Jose Ramirez Leads Indians To 11th Straight Win; Jose Martinez Powers Cardinals Past Giants

Players of the Day for Sunday, September 3, 2017

American League

Ramirez: 5-5, 3 2B, 2 HR

Winning their season-high 11th straight with an 11-1 romp in the final game of a four-game series in Detroit, the Cleveland Indians have opened up a huge lead of nine games in the AL Central over Minnesota and are threatening Houston for the best record - and home field during the playoffs - in the American League.

Houston, winners of four straight themselves, hold a 13 1/2 game advantage in the West and have been virtually assured of a playoff run since going on a 27-7 tear through May and into June, vastly outpacing the rest of the division. However, Cleveland has been on fire since just after the all-star break, going 32-11 from July 21, when they began a nine-game win streak. They are just three games behind the Astros, seeking the league's top mark.

The current 11-game streak has included sweeps of Kansas City, the Yankees, and now Detroit. Cleveland begins a four-game series in Chicago with the last place White Sox (54-81) on Monday.

Sunday's triumph was a highlight reel for infielder Jose Ramirez, who went 5-for-5 with three doubles and a pair of home runs. The 2017 all-star drove in three runs and scored three times, his homers the 21st and 22nd of the year. His 47 doubles lead the AL by a good margin. Oakland's Jed Lowrie is second in the category with 41.

Cleveland opens their series with the White Sox at 2:10 pm ET Monday afternoon.

National League

Martinez: 3-5, HR, 3 RBI

From the perspective of the St. Louis Cardinals, the season is far from over and may, in fact, just beginning to become more interesting.

The Cardinals took the final game of their four-game series in San Francisco with a solid, 7-3 victory over the Giants taking the series three-games to one.

Rookie outfielder Jose Martinez was the offensive star, stroking a pair of doubles and his 11th home run of the season. Martinez was instrumental in roughing up Giants' starter, Madison Bumgarner, wo allowed five runs over six innings.

Martinez socked a solo homer in the fourth, putting the Cards up, 2-1. Martinez doubled and scored in St. Louis' three-run sixth, then added some icing on the cake with a ground rule RBI double in the seventh. Martinez, who has only 197 at-bats this season, is hitting .299.

The win left the Cardinals six games behind the Cubs in the NL Central, with Milwaukee also ahead of them, 3 1/2 out. St. Louis is three games out of the second wild card spot, as Colorado is losing its grip, only 1/2 ahead of the Brewers.

St Louis heads to San Diego for a four game series, and has seven games against the division-leading Cubs near the end of September and closes out the regular season hosting three games with Milwaukee.

Jose Ramirez, Lonnie Chisenhall Power Indians To 1st In AL Central; Yasiel Puig Displays Power In Dodger Win

Players of the Day for Saturday, June 17, 2017

American League

Ramirez: 2HR, 4 RBI

Last season's AL entrant into the World Series, the Cleveland Indians, have gone on a roll, winning four straight, including the sweep of Saturday's doubleheader at Minnesota, winning 9-3 in the first game and continuing with a 6-2 victory in the nightcap. The result of winning the first three games of their four-game series (Friday was an 8-1 Cleveland win) landed the Indians alone in first place in the AL Central, with homesteading Minnesota a game back in second.

Winners of four straight, the Indians are putting it all together while Minnesota has given up control of the division, dropping three straight.

In the opener, Jose Ramirez pretty much won the game all by his lonesome, socking a two-run double sandwiched by a pair of solo home runs. Ramirez his home run number 10 in the first innings, doubled in two runs in the fourth and sent home run #11 over the right field wall in the sixth inning. The Twins were never in the game, as Cleveland built and early 4-0 lead and never was challenged. Ramirez is batting .306 with 19 doubles, 11 homers and 34 RBI this season.

Chisenhall: 2HR, 4RBI

The nightcap saw Lonnie Chisenhall in right field, and the part-timer responded with another sensational game, slugging a pair of home runs for four RBI. In the fourth, Chisenhall poked his 9th - a solo shot - which broke a 1-1 tie. Later, in the sixth inning, Chisenhall smashed his 10th homer with two aboard, putting Cleveland up, 5-1, essentially putting the game away.

Chisenhall has been on a tear recently, slugging three home runs and driving in 11 runs in his last four games. Appearing as a pinch-hitter in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, he was 0-for-1. With that, he's 6-for-12 in the last four.

Minnesota will have an opportunity to stem the tide and re-tie the Indians for the top spot in the division when the two teams meet in game four, Sunday, 2:10 pm at Target Field.

National League

Puig 2 HR, 3 RBI

There's no disputing that the liveliest race in the National League is in the West, where the Rockies, Diamondbacks and Dodgers have the three best records in the league, with Colored at 45-26, and LA and Arizona a game back at 43-26.

Colorado has won four straight, Arizona six straight and the Dodgers took their second straight at Cincinnati, hammering the Reds, 10-2, Saturday.

After building a 7-2 lead through five innings, Yasiel Puig finished off the Reds with a pair of tape-measure home runs in the sixth and eighth innings and a sac fly to complete the scoring in the ninth.

Puig's homers were solo shots, the first traveling 413 feet, the second going 423. The flamboyant right fielder from Cienfuegos, Cuba, has 12 homers on the year, with 37 RBI.

The win kept the Dodgers in the mix, with the series finale set for Sunday, 1:10 pm ET at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The Dodgers begin a none-game home stand on Monday, beginning with the Mets for four games, then a three-game series with the Rockies, followed by two with the Angels.

The Reds have lost a season-high eight straight, dropping to last place, 6 1/2 games out in the NL Central division.