Justin Smoak Drives In 6 As Jays Top Yankees; Paul DeJong's 2 HR Lead Cardinals Past Mets

Players of the Day for Sunday, April 1, 2018

American League

Smoak: 2HR, GS, 6 RBI

Trailing the Yankees 4-1 entering the seventh inning, Justin Smoak took matters into his own hands, socking a two-run homer in the seventh to get the Blue Jays closer, then whacking a grand slam in the eighth to give Toronto a split in the four-game series with a 7-4 come-from-behind win.

Smoak, now in his fourth season as a Blue Jay after four full seasons with Seattle, emerged in 2017 as a legitimate power puncher, socking 38 home runs and 90 RBI while upping his batting average to a career-best .280.

He's off to a fast start this season going 7-for-14 (.467) in four games. Sunday's six RBI gave him eight on the season, tops in the majors.

On Monday, the Blue Jays host the White Sox at 7:07 pm EDT. The Yankees will be at Yankee Stadium for their home opener against Tampa Bay at 1:10 pm EDT.

National League

DeJong: 2 HR, 2 RBI

Spoiling the Mets' chance to open the season with a series sweep, the St. Louis Cardinals got their first win of 2018 with a 5-1 victory over the Mets at Citi Field in New York.

Cardinal starter, Luke Weaver, allowed one run over five innings, good enough for the win as St. Louis built a lead, sterted by Paul DeJong's solo homer in the second.

After Weaver departed, the bullpen came on to hold the Mets scoreless over the final four innings. DeJong added an insurance homer in the eighth, capping off the scoring for St. Louis.

With a solid rookie season under his belt (.285, 25 HR, 65 RBI), DeJong looks like a keeper at shortstop for St. Louis.

The Cardinals improved to 1-2, while the Mets dropped to 2-1, falling into a tie for second place with Atlanta, trailing 3-0 Washington in the NL East.

Remaining at home, the Mets start a series with Philadelphia on Monday while the Cardinals head to Milwaukee for another road series.

Justin Smoak Homers Twice In Toronto Win Over Red Sox; Jake Lamb's 2HR, 6RBI Power Arizona

Players of the Day for Thursday, July 20, 2017

American League

Smoak: 3-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI

It's too late in the season for the Toronto Blue Jays to complain about their poor start to the season. Too many games have been played and the Jays have had ample opportunity to get themselves back into the AL East or wild card race.

The Blue Jays find themselves nine games behind Boston, in last place in the division, even after outlasting the Red Sox at Fenway, 8-6, Thursday, finishing the four-game series tied at two games apiece. That's fine for the Red Sox, but not for Toronto, in need of making up ground.

One bright spot for the Blue Jays is the all-around excellent play of Justin Smoak, the all-star first baseman, who socked a pair of solo homers and drove in another run with a single, going 3-for-5 with three RBI.

Smoak's fifth inning home run padded a 5-3 lead. In the next inning, his single rap put the Jays ahead, 7-3. After the Red Sox plated three on a Dustin Pedroia home run in the seventh, Smoak landed on in the left field stands, giving the Blue Jay relief staff some breathing room.

At .298 with 26 home runs and 62 RBI, Smoak is having a career year. In his eighth year in the majors, Smoak has already surpassed his home run and RBI totals. His batting average is .066 better than his career average.

Roberto Osuna picked up his 24th save, pitching a perfect ninth, fanning two of the three batters he faced.

Toronto opens a three-game series at Cleveland Friday, while the Red Sox - maintaining a 2 1/2 game AL East lead over Tampa Bay - begin a six game westward swing, with three games at the Angels followed by three in Seattle.

National League

Lamb: 2 HR, 6 RBI

Arizona's Jake Lamb is proving to be a hot commodity at the hot corner.

The fourth-year third baseman whacked a pair of three-run homers, driving in six runs in Arizona's 12-2 pounding of Cincinnati Thursday night.

Lamb's power display - his 21st and 22nd home runs - has him trailing just Colorado's Nolan Arenado for the league lead in RBI. Lamb has 76; Arenado leads with 80.

Lamb got the rout started with a first inning blast and ended it with another round-tripper in the ninth inning, giving the Diamondbacks a 2-1 win of the three-game series at Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park.

The 26-year-old's stats are no fluke, nor is Arizona's contention in the National League, thanks largely to his contributions. Last season, Lamb belted 29 home runs and drove in 91 runs.

The win left the Diamondbacks tied with Colorado in second place in the NL West. Even though the Dodgers' 11-game winning streak was broken by the Braves in a 6-3 win, LA leads the division by 10 1/2 games. The Rockies and Diamondbacks have a 5 1/2 game edge over the Cubs in the wild card race.

Arizona hosts a three-game series with the Washington Nationals starting Friday.

Blue Jays Win 7th Straight on Justin Smoak Grand Slam, David Price; Stephen Strasberg Returns for Nationals Win

Players of the Day for Saturday, August 8, 2015

American League

Smoak: Grand Slam

Price: 7 Shutout Innings

New York is in first place in the AL East, but the Toronto Blue Jays are making their stay to the top quite uncomfortable.

Toronto took down the Yankees for the second straight game, blanking them, 6-0, behind stellar pitching from newly-acquired David Price and a grand slam by first baseman, Justin Smoak.

Yankees starter, Ivan Nova, kept the ball game tied at 0-0 through five innings, but got into trouble in the sixth, loading the bases until Smoak unloaded on him for his 10th homer of the season.

Price, confident and dominant throughout, took the four-run advantage and made the best of it, finished after seven complete innings, allowing three hits, three walks, no runs and fanning seven.

Since Price was traded from Detroit to the Blue Jays, he's won both of his starts, allowing six hits and one earned run over 15 innings of work, for an ERA of 0.60.

Strasberg fans 12

Toronto's victory was their seventh straight, and they have closed ranks on the Yankees, now just 2 1/2 games back in the division.

The Blue Jays will have ten more meetings with the Yankees after this series. They look to complete the sweep at Yankee Stadium on Sunday. Game time is 1:05 pm EDT.

National League

While the New York Mets overtook the Nationals in the NL East earlier this week, it appears that Washington is not taking matters sitting down.

Stephen Strasberg returned from a stint on the DL on Saturday, turning in a sizzling pitching performance, with seven strong innings in a 6-1 Washington victory.

Strasberg allowed just three hits, one run (a fourth inning solo homer by Nolan Arenado), didn't walk a batter and struck out 12.

It was just what the Nationals needed, coming off a 2-6 slide recently. Meanwhile, the Mets were cooled down by Tampa Bay, taking a 5-4 loss, leaving them a mere 1 1/2 games to the good over the Nationals.

Washington will try to win the rubber game of the series when the two teams meet at Nationals Park, Sunday afternoon at 1:35 pm EDT.

11-5 Fest: C.J. Cron Sets Angels Soaring; Justin Smoak Powers Blue Jays with Two Homers

Players of the Day for Friday, March 20, 2015

Grapefruit League

Smoak: 2HR

Seemingly on the cusp of greatness for the better part of the past decade, the Toronto Blue Jays continue shuffling, trading and realigning objectives in hopes of finding the right mix for competitiveness in the rugged AL East.

One such element of all this hoopla might be the emergence of long-ball specialist, Justin Smoak, snatched away from the Mariners during the off-season after a 2014 campaign shorted by injury.

Smoak played in just 80 games for Seattle last season, but he's back to good health, Smaok found his stroke in Friday's 11-5 win over the Rays, socking a pair of homers and driving in three runs for Toronto. The Blue Jays banged out 14 hits against five Tampa Bay pitchers, en route to their 10th win against eight losses.

A first baseman by trade, Smoak may end up as a DH, platoon player, pinch-hitter, part-timer or bench warmer for the regular season in the crowded, but power-packed Blue Jay lineup that includes established sluggers Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista.

Cactus League

Talk about burning up the basepaths.

Four LA Angels tripled in one inning - the third - in LA's 11-5 bombastic victory over the Cleveland Indians, a feat which has to be, at least, a Cactus League record.

Erick Aybar, C.J. Cron, Johnny Giavotella, and Collin Cowgill each legged out three-baggers as the Angels assaulted Cleveland starter, Trevor Bauer, for nine hits and eight runs (six earned) in 3 1/3 innings.

Turns out, both teams were just getting started with the hot bats, hammering out a total of 30 base hits in the game, half of them for extra bases.

Cron, a 25-year-old from Fullerton, California, who played college ball at Utah, finished 3-for-5, adding a single and a double, with an RBI and two runs scored. He's batting .395 with two homers, four doubles, six RBI, and yes, a triple.

Justin Smoak, Michael Saunders Lead Mariners in 11-5 Rout of Red Sox; John Lannan's Eight Scoreless Innings Carries Phils over Nationals

Players of the Day for Monday, July 8, 2013

American League

Michael Saunders

Leading the AL East by 3 1/2 games over Tampa Bay, the Boston Red Sox are in the midst of a 10-game road trip that will take them into the All-Star break.

Justin Smoak

After losing the final two games of their three-game series to the Angels, Boston fared no better when they opened a four-game set in Seattle with an 11-4 defeat.

Mariner batters unloaded for 15 hits off starter Jon Lester and two relievers, Justin Smoak and Michael Saunders each delivering with a pair of doubles apiece, Smoak adding a dingle to finish 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs. Saunders was 2-for-4 with three ribbies and two runs.

The win was the second straight for the Mariners, who are still not a factor in the AL West, 12 1/2 games off the pace being set by Oakland.

Game two of the series begins Tuesday night at 7:10 pm PDT in Seattle.

NOTABLE: In Oakland's 2-1 win over Pittsburgh, A's closer, Grant Balfour, converted his 23rd consecutive save opportunity of the season, and 41st overall, dating back to last year, breaking the A's record of 41 straight set by Dennis Eckersley in 1991-92. It's the third-longest consecutive save streak in MLB history.

National League

John Lannan

The final score of 3-2 in Philadelphia's win over Washington doesn't give a fair indication of just how well Phillies' starter John Lannan pitched against the Nats.

Lannan, who missed two months with injuries between the middle of April and the middle of June, improved to 2-3 on the year with eight shutout innings on four hits and two walks, fanning four.

After 109 pitches, manager Charlie Manual's decision to sit Lannan down for the ninth inning in favor of closer Jonathan Papelbon nearly backfired as Papelbon allowed Washington to score its only two runs of the game in their final at-bat. The shaky closer finally got the job done, dubiously earning his 19th save, while making Lannan, who clearly threw his best game out of eight starts this season, sweat out the victory.

The win moved Philadelphia closer to Washington in the NL East standings, where they both trail the Braves - Washington by five games and Philly by 7 1/2.

The contest was the first of four between the two East division contenders; game two scheduled for Tuesday at 7:05 pm EDT.

Today's Trivia: The longest consecutive streak of saves in the major leagues is 54. Which pitcher holds that remarkable distinction?

Yesterday's Answer: Atlanta's Tom Glavine tied for the NL lead in wins in 1991, 1992 and 1993, then led outright in 1998 and 2000, winning 20 games three times, 21 in 2000 and 22 in 1993.

Justin Smoak, Jesus Montero Lead Mariners in 21-8 Rout of Rangers; Carlos Gonzalez Belts 3 HR as Rockies Win 3rd Straight

Players of the Day for Wednesday, May 30, 2012

American League

Jesus Montero

Justin Smoak went 3-for-5 and cracked a pair of home runs as the Seattle Mariners decimated Texas pitching in a 21-8 pounding of the Rangers.

Justin Smoak

Smoak was part of an eight-run outburst in the second innings, as he doubled and scored after Jose Montero singled to lead off the inning. In the third, Smoak drilled one of his two three-run blasts as the Mariners sent 13 batters to the plate and tallied another eight runs, putting themselves comfortably ahead 16-0.

With his second homer of the night in the seventh inning - another three-run shot - Smoak finished up with six RBI and three runs. Jesus Montero singled, doubled and homered in four at-bats, driving in four runs and scoring four times.

The Mariners took two of three from the Rangers in Texas. The 21 runs were the most scored in a single fame by one team. The Rangers and Rockies have each put up 18-run totals this season.


National League

Carlos Gonzalez

Colorado continues to be one of the least-balanced teams in either league. Tied for fifth in the National League with San Francisco, with a 2.59 team batting average, they have plenty of offense, but their combined, league-worst 5.18 ERA is primarily what has kept them near or at the bottom of the NL West division.

The Rockies knocked off the Houston Astros, 13-5, Wednesday night for their third straight win, all over the Astros. The series in Colorado concludes Thursday in Colorado.

Carlos Gonzalez demonstrated why he is regarded as one of the best hitters in baseball, powering three home runs as he went 4-for-5 on the night, driving in four runs and scoring three times.

Gonzalez in among the NL leaders in the main offensive categories, batting .323 with 13 homers (tied for third) and 41 RBI (3rd).

Stubbs, Votto Star for Reds in 7-6 Win; Justin Smoak Socks Detroit

Players of the Day for Wednesday, April 27, 2011

American League

Justin Smoak

After losing the opener of their three-game home series with Seattle, 7-3, the Detroit Tigers brought out their ace, Justin Verlander, for game two, but another the hard-throwing righty was no match for Seattle's Justin Smoak, who smoked a Verlander first inning offering into the stands in left center to give the Seahawks a 3-0 lead before most fans had even settled into their seats.

Working with the lead, Seattle's Erik Bedard cruised to his first win in nearly two years, allowing a solitary run over seven solid innings. Bedard's last win was June 7, 2009.

Verlander departed after six innings, but the Tiger bullpen fell apart in the ninth, allowing Seattle six more runs. Smoak was in the middle of that rally with a two run single, and later scored Seattle's final run in the 10-1 victory. Smoak finished 2-for-5 with five RBI and two runs.

Seattle remains in last place in the AL West, but will still be looking for the road sweep on Thursday.

Smoak, who was traded from Texas to Seattle last season as part of the deal that sent Cliff Lee to the Rangers, had a promising rookie year, hitting 14 home runs and driving in 48 runs in 100 games. This season, he's batting .302 with 4 bombs and 14 ribbies.

National League

Drew Stubbs

Drew Stubbs' 10-inning homer to dead center field gave the Cincinnati Reds a 7-6, 10th-inning win over the Brewers, but they wouldn't have made it to the extra frame were it not for Joey Votto.

Joey Votto

Votto hit is fifth home run of the season in the first inning, a three-run blast off Yovani Gallardo, the Brewers' starter. He also singled in the sixth inning for his fourth RBI of the game, but Milwaukee tied the game at six with two runs in the bottom of the inning.

The teams went scoreless for the next three innings, until Stubbs hit his game winner, a mammoth shot that left the Reds 1/2 game behind St. Louis in the NL Central and the Brewers another 1/2 game behind them. Stubbs, batting leadoff, went 2-for-5 with the lone RBI, but scored three times.

To say that the division is tight would be a sublime understatement. All six teams are within four games of each other.