A's Khris Davis Bangs Two Homers, Walks Off Twins In 10; Yuli Gurriel Pounds 7 RBI For Houston; Matt Adams Delivers For Cardinals

Players of the Day for Friday, September 21, 2018

Davis: 45 HR leads majors

American League

Relentless in their pursuit of both the Yankees in the wild card and the Astros in the West division, the Oakland A's have won 12 of 18 September games, the latest triumph a 7-6, 10th-inning victory over Minnesota in the opener of a three-game series at the Oakland Coliseum.

Leading off the 10th, Khris Davis cracked his league-leading 45th home run to end the game in the bottom frame. Hours earlier, Davis launched his 44th, a two-run shot in the first with Jed Lowrie aboard.

Davis has 119 RBI on the year and is closing the gap on Boston's J.D. Martinez, who leads the majors with 124. Martinez trails Davis in the HR department, with 41.

Gurriel: 2 HR, 7 RBI

The win kept Oakland on pace with the Yankees in the wild card hunt. New York holds a 1 1/2-game edge after slipping by the Orioles, 10-8, Friday night. Oakland also kept pace in the division, as the Astros got a pair of home runs and seven RBI from Yuli Gurriel in their 11-3 stomping of the Angels.

Gurriel got Houston started with a first-inning grand slam, followed by a two-run belt in the third. In the fifth, he singled home another run, which put the Astros up, 7-0, all of the runs delivered by the Houston first baseman.

On the season, Gurriel has 12 homers, 83 RBI and a .283 batting average.

The A's host Minnesota Saturday night in game two of their three-game series. Game time is set for 9:05 pm EDT.

National League

With Matt Carpenter a regular at first base, Matt Adams doesn't get much playing time for St. Louis since being acquired from the Nationals earlier this season, but he was ready when called upon in the Cardinals' 5-3 victory over the visiting Giants.

Adams: clutch double

Pinch-hitting for reliever John Brebbia in the eighth inning with the scored tied 3-all, Adams lashed a two-out double down the left field line, plating Harrison Bader from second and Yairo Munoz all the way around from first with the go-ahead runs.

Carlos Martinez gave up a hit in the Giants' ninth but struck out two, earning his fourth save. Martinez has only recently become the Cards' closer, after a recent spate of blown save opportunities by Bud Norris.

Adams has had just nine hits in 54 at-bats (.167) since joining St. Louis, but his clutch double kept the Cardinals 1 1/2 games ahead of Colorado in the race for the second wild card. The Rockies were 6-2 winners at Arizona. St. Louis trails Milwaukee - holder of the top wild card - by three games. The teams have either eight or nine games left in the regular season and the division races are far from being decided. The Dodgers lead Colorado by 1 1/2 in the West and the Cubs hold the same margin over the Brewers in the Central.

Winners of four of their last five, the Cardinals host the Giants in game two of their their three-game series Saturday at 1:05 pm EDT.

Walker Buehler Blanks Cards In 3-0 Dodger Win; Khris Davis Socks 42nd HR As Oakland Tops Tampa

Players of the Day for Friday, September 14, 2018

Davis: 42 HRs Leads AL

American League

Khris Davis knocked his 42nd home run of the season at an opportune moment for the Oakland A's.

The slugging outfielder/designated hitter put the Athletics on top of Tampa Bay by a run in the top of the 10th inning, and hurler Blake Treinen made it hold up with his second frame of hitless relief as the A's topped the Rays, 2-1, in 10 innings.

For Davis, the long ball not only won the game for Oakland, it put him back in the AL lead for homers. Davis has 42, to Boston's J.D. Martinez's 41. Davis is second in RBI, league-wide, with 111.

The A's kept pace with the Yankees in the wild card, where they trail New York by one game after the Yanks pounded Toronto, 11-0. Oakland also trails Houston by 2 1/2 in the West division.

Oakland visits the Rays again Saturday.

National League

Buehler blanks Cardinals

Walker Buehler fired a two-hit shutout over eight innings as the Dodgers blanked the Cardinals in St. Louis, 3-0, forcing a tie for the second wild card slot in the National League.

Buehler, a 24-year-old rookie, Improved his record to 7-5, pitching brilliantly in the heat of the pennant race, fanning nine, walking two. He took a perfect game into the fifth inning and struck out the side in the sixth. Buehler threw 72 of 105 pitches for strikes.

The result left the Dodgers and Cardinals in a flat-footed tie for the second wild card spot, four games behind the Milwaukee Brewers, who hold the top position. Both teams are 81-67. The Dodgers are 1/2-game behind the Rockies in the West, while the Cardinals now trail the Cubs by 5 1/2 in the Central after losing three straight.

Los Angeles will be looking for their third straight over the Cardinals when they take the field Saturday in St. Louis.

Nationals Swamp Mets, 25-4, Daniel Murphy Drives in 6; A's Stay Hot Behind Kris Davis

Players of the Day for Monday, July 31, 2018

American League

Davis: On a home run spree

Oakland keeps grinding along in the AL West, and they are beginning to look like a significant threat to the first place Houston Astros.

The A's won their second straight at home against the Blue Jays with a 6-2 victory on Tuesday.

Khris Davis socked his 29th home run of the season and drove in a pair of runs, going 3-for-5. Quietly heating up the leader boards, Davis is fourth in AL home runs and second in RBI with 84, trailing only Boston's J.D. Martinez (89).

Davis has been hotter than a pistol of late. Over his last 10 games, he's smacked eight home runs and driven in 20 runs. He batted .323 in July.

The win left the A's in third place in the division, five games off the pace. Seattle is second, trailing the Astros by four.

Oakland will be seeking the sweep over Toronto when they take the field Wednesday, 3:35 pm EDT.

National League

Murphy: 3-4, 2 HR, 6 RBI

The Washington Nationals scored in each of the first five innings and added six runs in the eighth for a 25-4 rout of the visiting New York Mets, the worst defeat in Mets' history.

After a seven-run first inning, the Nats scored three runs in each of the next four, leading by a 16-0 score.

It got worse when the Mets put their seventh pitcher on the mound to work the bottom of the eighth. The pitcher of choice was actually outfielder, Jose Reyes, who, honestly, would stick to being a position player. Reyes allowed five hits, two walks, a pair of homers and six runs before eventually getting the Nationals to make three outs.

The gaudy numbers put up by the Nationals included five doubles, two triples and five home runs. Daniel Murphy drove in six runs with a single and two home runs to lead the 25-hit assault.

Murphy, who only started his 2018 campaign on June 12 due to injury, is batting .287 with four homers and 23 RBI. He hit .347 in July.

Washington's win left the Nationals in third place, 5 1/2 behind Philadelphia in the NL East. Atlanta holds second, 1/2-game back of the Phillies.

Washington has taken the first two games of the series, which concludes Wednesday at 12:05 pm EDT.

Charlie Blackmon Walks Off Astros In Rockies' Win; Khris Davis Powers A's To 5th Straight

Players of the Day for Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Davis: 2 HR, 5 RBI

American League

The Oakland A's won their fifth straight game, with a 6-5, come-from-behind win at Texas.

It was the second straight game the A's have rallied for a win. On Tuesday, Oakland came back from a 10-2 deficit for a 13-10 win in 11 innings.

Khris Davis was almost single-handedly responsible for Wednesday's win, socking a three-run home run in the seventh after the A's trailed, 5-1. In the ninth, Davis launched a two-run shot for a 6-5 A's advantage. Oakland's Blake Treinen struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth for his 26th save.

Davis, who has 27 homers and 77 RBI, has been on a tear, whacking six long balls and driving in 13 runs in the last four games, homering in each. He's fourth in the AL in home runs and second in RBI.

The A's wrap up their series in Texas Thursday at 8:05 pm EDT.

National League

Blackmon: walk-off homer

Charlie Blackmon smacked a one-out solo homer with one out in the bottom of the ninth to walk off a winner in Colorado's 3-2 win over the visiting Astros.

Blackmon, batting out of his customary leadoff spot, had walked twice but was left stranded as Houston's Charlie Morton and the Rockies' Jon Gray engaged in a fierce pitching duel. Morton allowed one run on four hits over six innings, while Gray allowed one hit and one earned run in seven innings of work.

Blackmon's homer was his 20th of the season, and the win left the Rockies in third place, just 1 1/2 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West. Arizona holds second, 1/2 game behind LA.

Houston, despite the loss, still leads Seattle by five games in the AL West.

The teams split the two-game series, Houston taking Tuesday's game by an 8-2 score. Both teams have Friday off and open weekend series at their respective homes. Houston will host Texas while the Rockies welcome the red-hot Oakland A's in for a three-game series in Denver.

Khris Davis Leads Brewers past Padres with 6 RBI; Toronto Wins Fifth Straight Behind Encarnacion Power

Players of the Day for Thursday, August 6, 2013

National League

Davis: 2 HR, 6 RBI

Encarnacion: HR, 2 2B, 4RBI

Even though they just took three of four from the Padres and have won three games straight, the Milwaukee Brewers are still dead last in the NL Central, a whopping 23 games behind the front-running Cardinals.

Regardless, Brewers' left fielder, Kris Davis, had himself one heck of a game as Milwaukee took out the Padres, 10-1, belting a pair of three-run homers and adding a single, going 3-for-5 with six RBI.

In his third season as a Brewer, Davis is batting .244 with nine home runs and 31 RBI in 69 games.

The win left the Brewers at 47-63, which is actually better than three NL teams: Colorado, Miami and Philadelphia.

American League

Anticipating a big weekend series at the AL East-leading Yankees, the Toronto Blue Jays have been playing some quality baseball over the past week, winning five straight and clinging to second place in the division, 4 1/2 games out.

On Thursday, the Blue Jays improved to 58-52, taking their fourth straight from the Twins, 9-3, as Edwin Encarnacion cranked out his 21st homer of the season and added two doubles in four at-bats, driving in four runs.

In 11 major league seasons, Incarnation has blossomed into one of the AL's most feared power hitters. He has gone yard 21 times this year, with 64 RBI.

From 2012 to 2014, Encarnacion has slugged 112 homers and driven in 312 RBI.

On Friday, the Blue Jays travel to New York to meet the Yankees in game one of their three-game series, starting at 7:05 pm EDT. R.A. Dickey starts for the Jays versus Nathan Eovaldi of the Yankees.

Chris Johnson Delivers in Braves Win over Pirates; Luis Martinez, Khris Davis Hit Grand Slams for Brewers in 15-1 Romp

Players of the Day for Thursday, March 26, 2015

Grapefruit League

Chris Johnson

Atlanta third baseman, Chris Johnson, went 3-for-4 in Atlanta's 6-3 victory over Pittsburgh, delivering a single, double and home run, driving in two runs and scoring twice.

The Braves have struggled thus far in the Grapfruit League, the win upping their record to 10-13. The Pirates dropped to an even .500 at 10-10.

Johnson, a major leaguer since 2009, had his best year in 2013, when he had the second-highest batting average in the National League, at a zesty .321. His production fell off in 2014, batting .263 with 10 homers and 58 RBI, but he and the Braves are hoping for improvement this season.

Luis Jimenez

Johnson has a .270 batting average this Spring. The home run was his first.

Cactus League

Khris Davis

Making contact wasn't an issue for the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday, but, runners and base and balls leaving the yard was a major issue for the Mariners as the Brewers amassed 22 hits and two players hit grand slams in a 15-1 laugher.

Khris Davis got things started with his first-inning slam and Luis Jimenez finished off the scoring with a bases-chocked, round-tripper in the eighth.

Davis played full time in the Milwaukee outfield last season, belting 22 homers with 69 RBI. He's batting a robust .389 in Spring training. The homer was his first.

Jimenez will likely end up in the minors, but may get a back-up role behind Aramis Ramirez at third base. His home run was his second of the Spring. Jimenez has limited major league experience, hitting .234 in 141 at-bats over the past two seasons.

Both teams ended up with records of 10-11 at the conclusion of the exhibition.

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