Lonnie Chisenhall Leads Indians' Comeback Over Texas; Zack Greinke 9-4 On 6-1 Arizona Win Over Phillies

Players of the Day for Monday, June 26, 2017

American League

Cleveland took back first place in the AL Central with a come-form-behind, 15-9 victory over the Texas Rangers.

Chisenhall: .390 in June

Together with Boston's 4-1 win over the Twins, the Indians took a 1/2 game lead in the hotly-contested division.

Winning the opener of their three game series with the visiting Rangers, the Indians fell behind 7-1 and 9-3 before rallying for 12 runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings.

In the middle of it all was outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall, a steady performer since returning to the lineup June 6.

Chisenhall was 3-for-5 with two runs and three RBI. after an uneventful single in the second, Chisenhall's bases-loaded infield single in the fifth drove in the first run in the four-run frame. In the sixth, again with the bases chock full of Indians, he singled in a pair of runs, plating Edwin Encarnacion and Carlos Santana, putting the Indians ahead, 10-9. He scored later on a sac fly for a 12-9 Cleveland lead.

June has been Chisenhall's month, batting .390 (23-for-59) with four home runs 18 RBI, and a .438 on base percentage. His solid play has coincided with Cleveland's rise to the top of the division. The Indians are 9-4 since June 15.

Greinke: 9-4, 3.08 ERA

Game two of the series starts at 7:10 pm ET at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio.

National League

Zack Grienke worked only five innings in Arizona's 6-1 triumph over the Phillies, but it was enough for the 2009 AL Cy Young award winner to notch his ninth win against four losses.

Throwing 102 pitches, Greinke limited the Phillies to three hits and three walks while fanning five. The lone earned run he allowed came with two outs in the fifth on a Daniel Nava single after Greinke had put two men on base via walks.

Unfazed, Grienke got the final out of the inning and headed for the showers. Arizona's bullpen took care of the final four innings, holding the Phils to just two hits.

Though the outing was the shortest for the season for Greinke, he still managed the win. Three times before he's gone just five frames, resulting in no decision, a loss, and a win.

Greinke is 9-4 with a 3.08 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 102 1/3 innings.

The win came on a night in which both Colorado and the Dodgers suffered losses, LA snapping a 10-game winning streak with a 4-0 loss to the Angels. The Diamondbacks trail the Dodgers by 1 1/2 games in the NL West. Colorado has dropped 4 1/2 off the pace with their sixth straight loss.

Arizona concluded their series with the Phillies, winning three games to one. They remain home to start a three-game series with St. Louis on Tuesday. Game time is 9:40 pm ET.

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.

Lonnie Chisenhall's 5 RBI Lift Indians Over Dodgers; Colorado Aided By Nolan Arenado's 3 Doubles, 4 RBI

Players of the Day for Thursday, June 15, 2017

American League

An interleave match-up that featured two potential World Series participants was won by the LA Dodgers, two games to one, but the Cleveland Indians avoided being swept at home with a 12-5 victory in the series finale.

Chisenhall: HR, 5 RBI

Cleveland had an early 5-0 lead, but the Dodgers closed to within 5-4 in the fifth inning, until Lonnie Chisenhall stepped in to pinch hit for Austin Jackson with two aboard in the bottom of the frame.

The lefty swinger hooked a three-run shot to over the right field wall, and all of a sudden it was 8-4. Chisenhall was not done, however, getting to the plate again in the following inning with the bases loaded, delivering a single to right, plating two more.

Chisenhall, who finished 2-for-3 with five RBI, plays part-time, platooning in the outfield and pinch-hitting, his left-handed swing often resulting in key moments. He's batting .275 with eight homers and 29 RBI in just 109 at-bats this season.

Snapping a six-game Dodger winning streak, the win for the Indians kept them two games behind AL Central leader, Minnesota. LA's loss left them tied for second with Arizona in the contentious NL West, a game behind the Rockies.

The Dodgers head to Cincinnati on Friday for a three-game series; Cleveland travels to Minnesota for a four game series beginning Friday night, with a double-header set for Saturday.

National League

Arenado: 3 doubles, 4 RBI

Colorado blew a 9-1 lead, but got a game-winning single from Ramiel Tapia for the eventual 10-9 win over the Giants, putting the Rockies back in first place in the NL West as the Dodgers lost and Arizona was idle.

Tapia's RBI single in the bottom of the ninth wasn't the only highlight in the slug-fest which featured 32 hits and 12 pitchers. Nolan Arenado lashed three doubles in five at-bats, scored three times and drove in four runs for the hit-happy Rockies.

Arenado's 24 doubles tops the National League, and his 50 RBI has him tied for seventh in the league with Washington's Bryce Harper. The free-swinging third baseman has a .289 batting average and 14 homers, looking to make his third consecutive all-star team. He trails Chicago's Kris Bryant in balloting for third base.

Colorado's home win came in the opener of a four game series with the Giants which resumes Friday at 8:40 pm ET.

R.A. Dickey Throws Second Straight One-Hitter; Aaron Hill Hits for Cycle; Lonnie Chisenhall Leads Indians in 10-9 Win

Players of the Day for Monday, June 18, 2012

American League

Like it or not, interleague play has its effects on both leagues, and, not insignificant is what has happened in the AL Central, where the race has tightened up over the past two weeks.

Chisenhall: 3-4 3RBI

For the Cleveland Indians, playing the National League has had mixed blessings. After taking two of three from the Cardinals, Cleveland was swept by the Reds and lost two of three to Pittsburgh before opening their three games series at home against those same Reds with a wide-open, 10-9 victory.

It was only Cleveland's second win in seven games, but, because the White Sox were hammered by the Cubs, 12-3, the Indians find themselves only 1/2 game out of first place in the division.

Batting out of the bottom spot in the order, third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall provided just enough of a spark with a single, triple and home run in four at-bats for the Indians to prevail.

Called up from AAA less than a month ago, Chisenhall's two-run homer in the second inning put the Indians up 4-3. After tripling and scoring in the fourth inning, his RBI single in the sixth broke a seven-all tie. He finished 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBI.


National League

R.A. Dickey and his tricky knuckleball are making history and Mets fans are loving it, as the crafty right-hander threw his second straight one-hitter in a 5-0 whitewash of the visiting Orioles.

Dickey: 1-Hitter

Dickey walked two, fanned a season high 13, and took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, when Wilson Betemit delivered the only hit for the O's, a weak single to right field with two outs.

Dickey proceeded to get the final out of the inning and set down 13 of 14 to close out the game, walking Betemit in the eighth.

At 11-1, Dickey leads the majors in wins, his 2.00 ERA tied for the best with Atlanta's Brandon Beachy and his 103 strikeouts are equalled only by Detroit's Justin Verlander.

Hill: Cycle

Over the last 42 2/3 innings, Dickey has not allowed an earned run, and his back-to-back one-hitters make him the first major leaguer to accomplish the feat since Dave Steib did it for Toronto in 1988.

Ike Davis' grand slam in the sixth inning broke a scoreless tie and was more than enough cushion for Dickey's impressive outing.

In Arizona, the Diamondbacks won their series opener against Seattle, 7-1, as Aaron Hill hit for the cycle, scored three times and drove in a run.

Hill singled and scored in the first inning as the D'Backs posted three runs, tripled to lead off the third inning and scored again, doubled in the bottom of the fifth and capped his 4-for-4 effort with a solo homer in the seventh.

INTERLEAGUE SCOREBOARD: The American League continues to dominate their Naional League counterparts. On Saturday and Sunday, the AL won 10 and lost 4 for a combined 20-8 mark over the weekend. The NL won 5 to the AL's 3 on Monday, though it still left the American League with a seemingly-insurmountable lead, at 98-78. Interleague play continues through June 24.