Justin Masterson Perfect in Three Innings for Red Sox; Matt Kemp Making Impact for San Diego

Players of the Day for Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Grapefruit League

Masterson

After a bitterly disappointing 2014 campaign, the Boston Red Sox are undergoing a complete makeover. In the case of Justin Masterson, it's back to where they started, as the 6'6" right-hander returns to the team with which he started, back in 2008.

A trade brought Masterson to Cleveland in 2009, where he spent the next four full seasons, before heading to St. Louis in the middle of 2014. The Red Sox picked him up in a free agency deal and recently signed him to a one-year, $9.5 million deal.

So far, so good, as Masterson has allowed just one hit in five innings this Spring. On Tuesday, his three innings of shutout, no-hit ball propelled Boston to their fifth win in seven outings, a 5-1 victory over the Rays. He fanned four without issing any bases on balls.

five more hurlers followed Masterson to the mound, allowing a total of just three hits. Tampa Bay finally broke through for its only run in the eighth inning, though by then, the result had already been largely determined. Tampa Bay is 1-4 thus far into the Grapefruit League season.

Cactus League

Kemp: .545 BA

The odd man out in the Dodgers' crowded outfield last season, Matt Kemp took the off-season route down the road to San Diego, and, from the looks of things thus far, he's going to add a ton of offense to the Padres' lineup in 2015.

Kemp went 3-for-3 as San Diego doubled up the Giants, 10-5, including his first homer of the pre-season, a three-run, third-inning blast.

A two-time All-Star, Kemp nearly captured the NL MVP back in 2011, when he batted .324 with 39 homers and 126 RBI. He led the league that season in the power categories and his batting average was good for third overall, but he fell short in the voting to Ryan Braun, who was later punished for using performance-enhancing substances.

Kemp should probably have won the award, and while the revelations about Braun may have been somewhat of a tonic to him, his last three seasons with the Dodgers have not been nearly up to the quality of that 2011 season. Everybody in San Diego is hoping Kemp will return to all-star form. He's batting a healthy .545 (6-for-11) thus far.

Jason Vargas Twirls 3-Hitter in Royals Win; Justin Masterson Keeps Cardinals on Track in NL Central

Players of the Day for Wednesday, August 13, 2014

American League

Jason Vargas

After Oakland broke their eight-game winning streak with an 11-3 pounding, the Kansas City Royals bounced right back and held onto first place in the Central division with a 3-0 win over the A's.

Jason Vargas stifled the hard-hitting A's with a complete game shutout, allowing just three hits and no walks over the nine frames. He struck out four and threw 65 of 97 pitches for strikes, improving to 9-5 with a 3.27 ERA on the year. The effort was nothing new for the 31-year-old hurler. He's thrown 11 complete games and six shutouts during the course of his nine-year major league career.

Vargas was in trouble in the first inning, but struck out Derek Norris to end a first-and-third, two out threat. After Jed Lowrie singled to open the second and was erased by a double play, Vargas didn't allow another hit, getting the next 22 batters in order.

The win kept the Royals a half game to the good over Detroit in the division. The Tigers beat Pittsburgh, 8-4.

Games four of the Royals-A's series is slated for an 2:10 pm EDT afternoon start in Kansas City. The Royals lead two games to one.

NOTABLE: Adam Jones' three-run, eighth inning homer, which broke a 2-2 tie and led to a 5-3 Baltimore win over the Yankees, may have been the blast which sealed the deal for the Orioles in the AL East. With a 7 1/2 game lead over Toronto and eight over the Yankees, even if the O's finish up the regular season 20-23, Toronto would have to go 27-13 or the Yankees, 29-14, to beat them. Odds are, since the Yanks and Blue Jays are just barely better than .500 teams, one could contend that the race is over in the division and that Baltimore can coast through the rest of August and September, into the post-season. It may be premature to make that call, but it's a safe bet that the O's are - despite various injuries - the class of the division, and that the two teams chasing them are probably not playoff material.

Presently, the Blue Jays trail Detroit for the second wild card spot by three games; the Yankees are 3 1/2 back.

National League

Justin Masterson

Seeking a sweep of their three-game series with the Cardinals, a win would have gotten the Miami Marlins to 60-60 on the season and made them a viable threat in the NL East.

It wasn't to be, however, as St. Louis hurler, Justin Masterson, silenced Miami's bats for seven innings, allowing three hits and no walks, fanning three, picking up his second win for the Cardinals in three starts since being acquired from the Tigers in late July. St. Louis took the final game of the series, 5-2.

Masterson was lifted for a pinch-hitter after the seventh inning with the Cards on top, 4-0. Daniel Descalso, took a bases-loaded walk in place of Masterson to make the score 5-0 in the top of their eighth.

Miami got its two runs in the ninth, on Jeff Baker's pinch-hit home run off reliever Kevin Siegrist.

The loss left Miami at 59-61, seven games behind the Nationals in the East, while the Cardinals drew to within two games of the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-2 losers to the Cubs on Wednesday. St. Louis trails Pittsburgh by 1/2 game in the red-hot NL Central race and are currently in line for the second wild card spot, though just 1/2 game better than the Giants.

Justin Masterson Goes Distance in 1-0 Tribe Win over White Sox; Rookie Shelby Miller Leads Cardinals with 7 Scoreless

Players of the Day for Friday, April 12, 2013

American League

Justin Masterson

Cleveland's Justin Masterson became the first MLB pitcher to record three wins, twirling a five hit shutout of the visiting White Sox for a 1-0 victory.

The 6'6" right-hander went the distance for the first time this season, blanking Chicago on five hits, with one walk and seven Ks.

Masterson has allowed just 10 hits and one earned run in 22 innings, holding hitters to a combined .141 batting average, while earning all but one of Cleveland's early season wins (4-5).

In his sixth major league season, Masterson has thrown five complete games. The win over the White Sox was his second career shutout.

Th eonly run of the game came with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, when Nick Swisher singled home Michael Bourn, who had doubled off Chicago reliever, Jesse Crain.

National League

Shelby Miller

St. Louis opened up a one-game lead in the Central division, as the Reds lost at Pittsburgh, 6-5, while the Cardinals were dispatching the Brewers, 2-0.

Milwaukee's leadoff hitter, Norichika Aoki, started the game with a single off Cardinals' rookie starter, Shelby Miller, but that turned out to be the only hit the Brewers would get until the ninth inning, as Miller set down 21 of the next 22 batters for seven shutout innings, his only mistake the plunking of Alex Gonzalez with one out in the second.

Trevor Rosenthal worked a hitless eighth, and Mitchell Boggs finished up with his second save of the season, giving up an uneventful single to Jean Segura in the ninth.

Miller threw 113 pitches, 87 of them for strikes as he improved to 2-0. He struck out eight without giving up a walk.

The Cardinals and Brewers go at it again on Saturday at 4:15 pm EDT in St. Louis.

Miguel Montero Leads Arizona over Seattle; Justin Masterson's Complete Game Keeps Indians in First

Players of the Day for Wednesday, June 20, 2012

American League

Cleveland hold onto first place in the AL Central, thanks to a complete game win by Justin Masterson, who struck out nine while holding the visiting Reds to three hits in a 7-1 Indians' victory.

Justin Masterson

Masterson (4-6) didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning and no Cincinnati runner reached second base safely until the eighth inning, when the Reds manufactured their only run of the game - unearned - on an error, double and ground out. Masterson finished in strong fashion fanning the final four batters he faced and didn't issue a walk the entire game.

With the White Sox blanking the Cubs, 7-0, Cleveland maintained their 1/2 game lead in the division and completed the sweep of Cincinnati, who are still 2 1/2 games clear of Pittsburgh in the NL Central.

National League

Miguel Montero

Arizona's Miguel Montero socked a two-run homer and added a pair of singles to go 3-for-4 with four RBI as the Diamondbacks pounded the Mariners, 14-10.

Montero's fourth-inning blast got the Diamondbacks to within one run of Seattle at 5-4, and they tied the score later in the frame. Scoring five in the fifth and four more in the sixth inning, the Diamondbacks pulled away from the visiting Mariners and ended their series taking two of three.

Arizona continues to struggle along in the NL West, a game under .500 at 34-35 and eight games behind the LA Dodgers.

Masterson 2-Hits Red Sox; Cincy Takes Back First; Houston Out of NL Central Cellar

Players of the Day for Wednesday, June 9, 2010 American League On a day in which the Indians scored 11 runs, Tampa Bay, 10; Texas, 12; and the White Sox, 15, the best performance in the American League didn't go to anyone belting from the left or right side of the plate, but to 25-year-old Cleveland starter Justin Masterson, who tossed the first complete game shutout of his brief (3 seasons) career, knocking down the Boston batting order on two hits, walking two and striking out six in Cleveland's 11-0 victory. Masterson didn't allow a hit after J.D. Drew's one-out single in the 5th inning, giving up just the two walks after that and aided by a couple of Indian double plays. Hitting his spots consistently, Masterson threw 75 of 110 pitches for strikes, earning just his second win of the season, against five losses. Cleveland offered plenty of support, including Travis Hafner's grand slam in an 8-run 8th inning. It was the most the Indians have scored since outslugging the Yankees, 13-11 on May 29. The win snapped a three-game losing streak, though the Indians remain in last place, 12 1/2 off the pace in the AL Central. National League The Reds beat the Giants, 6-3, and took back first place in the NL Central when the Dodgers topped St. Louis, 4-3, later in the evening. Cincinnati got a big game out of leadoff hitter Orlando Cabrera (left), who had a single and doubled 3 times in 5 at-bats, scoring runs in the 1st, 3rd and 5th innings, the last of which gave the Reds the lead for good. Prior to Wednesday's win, Cabrera and the Reds had lost two straight to the Giants, and look to even the series in the finale Thursday afternoon. They lead St. Louis by one game in the division. Elsewhere in the division, the Houston Astros emerged from last place when Carlos Lee (right) whacked a 10th-inning grand slam to top the Rockies, 6-2. The blast was Lee's 9th homer of the season, and his 4th in his last 8 games, a span in which he has driven in 12 runs. The homer was his only hit of the game, extending his hitting streak to ten games. Lee's power surge is one of the reasons the Astros have won seven of their last nine and are now a 1/2 game better than the Pirates, who fell to Washington, 7-5, and into last place.