Masahiro Tanaka Hurls Yankees to AL East Crown; Matt Carpenter Homers, Leads Cards Past Cubs

Players of the Day for Thursday, September 19, 2019

American League

Tanaka pitches clincher

Through all the injuries, doubts, and player changes, the New York Yankees managed to overcome all of it and clinch the AL East with a little more than a week left in the regular season.

Masahiro Tanaka controlled the mound and the LA Angels while his teammates knocked out four homers en route to a 9-1, no-doubt victory, their 100th of the season.

Tanaka improved to 11-8, allowing four hits and one earned run over seven innings of work. He fanned six and did not walk any batters.

Tanaka needed to throw only 86 pitches for the win. The lone Angel run came off the bat of Kole Calhoun, who roped a leadoff homer in the fourth inning.

The Yankees are tied with Houston at 100 wins. The Dodgers, leading the National League, have 98.

New York hosts the Toronto Blue Jays in a three-game series beginning Friday.

National League

Carpenter wins it in 10th

If St. Louis wins the NL Central or takes one of the wild card slots, it will be in spite of its bullpen, not thanks to it.

The Cardinals squandered an excellent pitching performance by Jack Flaherty (again) and a 4-1 lead, but were bailed out by Matt Carpenter's 10th inning home run, defeating the Cubs, 5-4.

Flaherty worked eight innings, allowing one run on four hits, the lone Chicago run coming on an Anthony Rizzo solo home run in the third inning.

Carlos Martinez, the on-again, off-again closer for St. Louis, was charged with three runs in the bottom of the ninth, allowing the Cubs to tie the score.

Carpenter socked his 13th home run of the season into the left-center stands of Wrigley Field off Cubs' reliever, Craig Kimbrel. Giovanny Gallegos put down the Cubs in order in the bottom of the inning to seal the win, leaving the Cardinals with a three-game edge over Milwaukee in the Central division, with the Cubs four games out.

Milwaukee defeated the Padres Thursday, 5-1, and has won 12 of its last 14 games.

The St. Louis win opened a four-game series in Chicago. The Cubs and Cardinals go at it again on Saturday, with the series extending through Sunday and game four on Monday. The two NL Central rivals close out the season with three games in St. Louis next week.

Matt Carpenter Ties St. Louis Record in 12-4 Win At Colorado; Jason Kipnis Powers Indians

Players of the Day for Sunday, August 26, 2018

Kipnis: 4-for-5, 4 RBI, 3 R

American League

The biggest lead in any of MLB's six divisions belongs to the Cleveland Indians. Their 13 1/2 game bulge has blown away the AL Central as no other team in the division is even close to .500. Second place Minnesota is 61-69.

On Sunday, the Indians stopped a four-game losing streak, topping the Royals in Kansas City, 12-5.

Jason Kipnis went 4-for-5 with two singles, a double, his 12th home run, four RBI and three runs. For good measure, Kinips stole third base in the seventh inning after doubling in Melky Cabrera, who scored four times in the game.

The Indians will be looking to pad their lead when they return home on Tuesday. Upcoming are three three-game series against the Twins, Rays, and Royals.

Carpenter: 4 doubles

National League

Another St. Louis win. Another record-tying performance by Matt Carpenter.

Cardinals' leadoff hitter had his best strokes Sunday in St. Louis' smashing, 12-4, win at Colorado, roping four doubles in five at-bats.

Carpenter's four two-baggers tied a St. Louis record held by Joe "Ducky" Medwick, set on Aug. 4, 1937. Carpenter drove n a pair of runs and scored twice. He led off the game with a double and scored on a Tyler O'Neill home run. Later in the frame, he doubled in a run. Another two-bagger in the third plated another Cardinal run, as St. Louis swamped Rockies' hurlers, scoring six in the first inning and four in the third.

With a 25-12 record since the all star break, St. Louis has surged into the playoff picture, taking over the top spot in the wild card race while gaining second place in the NL Central behind the streaky Cubs.

The Cubs have won five in a row and lead St. Louis by four games and 4 1/2 over Milwaukee. Colorado's loss dropped them a game behind Arizona in the West division.

On Tuesday, the Cardinals head back to St. Louis for a six-game home stand, with three games each against the Pirates and Reds.

Matt Carpenter Leads NL with 34 HR As Cardinals Down Dodgers; Mike Fiers, Ramon Laureano Lead A's Past Rangers

Players of the Day for Monday, August 20, 2018

Laureano: 2 HR, 5 RBI

American League

Oakland moved back into a tie with Houston for the NL West lead as the A's dumped Texas, 9-0, on Monday.

Fiers: 7IP, 1H, 0ER, 8K

The win came in the opener of a three-game series with the Rangers at Oakland and was the A's seventh in their last nine games.

Mike Fiers tossed seven innings of one-hit ball to improve to 9-6. Nomar Mazara led off the Rangers' second with a double. Fiers plunked the next batter, Jurickson Profar, but retired the next 18 in order as the A's ran up the score. Fiers, who was traded from Detroit on August 5th, fanned eight and walked one. In three starts with the A's, Fiers has been effective, notching two wins without a loss, allowing three runs over 18 1/3 innings with 21 strikeouts and a 1.47 ERA.

Rookie Ramon Laureano ripped his first two major league homers, a two-run blast in the second inning and a three-run shot in the sixth. Laureano has played just 12 games with the A's and is carrying a .291 batting average (9-for-32).

While the A's were plowing ahead, the Mariners were proceeding to send Houston to an eighth loss in their last 10 games, topping the Astros in Seattle, 7-4. The Mariners are within striking range in the division, just 3 1/2 back of the co-leaders.

Game two of the series in Oakland is slated for a 7:05 pm PDT start.

National League

Carpenter's 34 HR leads NL

Opening a three-game series in Los Angeles, the St. Louis Cardinals scored a pair of runs in the top of the ninth on back-to-back home runs by Jedd Gyorko and Matt Carpenter for a 5-3 victory.

With the score tied 3-3 and Dodger closer Kenly Jansen - fresh off the DL - opening the ninth, Gyorko, pinch-hitting, blasted his 11th homer into the center field seats. Carpenter quickly followed with his 34th of the year, also to center, adding an insurance run. Jansen had been sidelined since August 9, when he was hospitalized for an irregular heartbeat.

Carpenter is having an outstanding season as the Cardinals' leadoff hitter. His 34 homers lead the NL. He has 69 RBI and a .277 batting average. His 85 runs is tied for second in the league with Milwaukee's Christian Yellich. Colorado's Charlie Blackmon leads with 89. Carpenter was 3-for-5 with a single and double in addition to his homer.

The win pushed the Cardinals to within 3 1/2 games of the Cubs, leaders of the NL Central and 1/2 game behind Milwaukee in the standings and the wild card race. St. Louis is tied with the Rockies and Phillies. The Dodgers are two games out. With close races in all three divisions, the situation throughout the league is fluid. Currently, Atlanta leads the East by one game and Arizona heads up the West by 1/2 game.

In August, St Louis has been the best in the majors with a 15-4 record.

The Dodgers host St. Louis in game two Tuesday, 7:00 pm PDT.

Matt Carpenter's 5 Extra Base Hits Lead Cardinals Past Cubs; Wade LeBlanc Hurls Mariners Over White Sox

Players of the Day for Friday, July 20, 2018

LeBlanc: 7.1 IP, 1 ER, 10 K

American League

Seattle snapped a four-game losing streak that they took into the all star break with a 3-1 victory over the White Sox as starter Wade LeBlanc (6-1) worked into the eighth inning.

LeBlanc, a long reliever and spot starter, allowed just four hits and one run over 7 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out 10 would-be Chicago hitters. He needed just 84 pitches for the effort.

After allowing a run on two first-inning doubles, LeBlanc settled down, giving up only two more hits, setting down 11 straight before Omar Narvaez's single in the eighth prompted a call to the bullpen.

The Mariners kept pace with Houston in the AL West, trailing the division leaders by five games as the Astros took a 3-1 decision over the Angels.

Seattle hosts Chicago in game two of their three-game series, Saturday, 7:10 pm PDT.

National League

Carpenter ties record.

Matt Carpenter tied a major league record for most extra base hits in a game, going 5-for-5 with three home runs and a pair of doubles, propelling the St. Louis Cardinals to an 18-5 slaughter of the Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Batting in the leadoff spot, Carpenter victimized Cubs' starter, Jon Lester (12-3), with a leadoff homer and a two-run, second-inning blast as the Cardinals built a 5-1 lead. Lester lasted into the fourth inning, allowing a leadoff double by Carpenter, and two walks, leaving the bases loaded for Anthony Bass. St. Louis eventually sent 11 batters to the plate in the frame, including Carpenter again, who doubled in one of the seven Cardinal runs scored in the inning.

Carpenter completed his record-setting spree with a three-run homer in the sixth, driving in seven runs, scoring four times. The record of five extra base hits in a game is held by 14 different players.

St. Louis and Chicago face each other again on Saturday (1:05 pm EDT) in game three of their five -game series.

Charlie Morton Fans 13 In Houston Win; Matt Carpenter 5-for-5 As Cards Top Tribe

Players of the Day for Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Morton 7 IP, O ER, 13 K

American League

While Luis Severino was blanking the Phillies en route to becoming the AL's first 12-game winner, Houston's Charlie Morton wasn't exactly fooling around with Toronto's hitters, fanning 13 over seven strong innings in the Astros' 7-0 triumph.

Morton threw 67 of 98 pitches for strikes, walked two and allowed four hits, improving to 10-1 on the year. He's struck out 122 in 95 2/3 innings, ranking him seventh among AL hurlers. Boston's Chris Sale leads the league with 153 Ks.

The Astros evened the series after dropping a 6-3 decision on Monday and remain in first place in the AL West, 3 1/2 better than the scrappy Seattle Mariners.

The series wraps up in Houston at 2:10 pm EDT Wednesday.

National League

St. Louis has won four straight, the last two against the AL Central-leading Cleveland, including Tuesday's 11-2 rip of the Indians and their ace starter, Cory Kluber.

Carpenter: 5-5, 2HR, 5R

Kluber was clubbed repeatedly by the Cards, allowing six earned runs in just 1 2/3 innings of work, but St. Louis batters were not nearly through, banging out 13 hits, five of them by leadoff hitter, Matt Carpenter, who started the St. Louis scoring with a home run in the first and finished it with another dinger off Reliever Gorge Kontos, both solo shots.

In between, Carpenter singled twice and doubled, finishing with three RBI and five runs while boosting his batting average to .259.

The Cardinals are four games behind Milwaukee in the NL Central and 1 1/2 behind the second place Cubs. While the Indians may have dropped two straight, they are still 7 1/2 up on Minnesota and 8 ahead of Detroit.

A sweep is what the Cardinals will be seeking when the teams take the field Wednesday at 8:15 pm EDT in St. Louis.

Matt Carpenter's Walk Off Grand Slam Lifts Cardinals; Masahiro Tanaka Shuts Down Boston In Yankee Win

Players of the Day for Thursday, April 27, 2017

American League

One of baseball's most-stried rivalries was renewed again on Thursday, as the Red Sox hosted the NY Yankees at Fenway Park.

Tanaka: CG, Shutout

Featuring a pitching match-up between Boston's Chris Sale and New York's Masahiro Tanaka, the game more than lived up to its billing, with New York's fourth-inning unearned run the difference through eight frames. The Yankees finally got to Sale in the ninth, adding two more for the 3-0 victory and a complete game for Tanaka.

New York's ace cruised through the Boston lineup, allowing three hits and no walks, fanning three while raising his record to 3-1. It was the first complete game for the Yankees since 2014, also by Tanaka.

Tanaka threw just 97 pitches for his fifth career complete game and second career shutout.

The Red Sox have scored four runs total in Sale's five starts this season, a primary reason why he's 1-2 with a 1.19 ERA.

The Yankees return home Friday to host the first-place Orioles in the opener of a three-game series beginning at 7:05 pm ET.

National League

Carpenter: Grand Slam

After a rough start (3-9), the St. Louis Cardinals got back to .500, taking two on Thursday from the visiting Blue Jays. Thanks to a walk-off grand slam by Matt Carpenter in the 11th inning of the first game, St. Louis recorded an 8-4 victory over Toronto and took the nightcap, 6-4, evening their record at 11-11.

Carpenter launched his third homer off Toronto's seventh pitcher of that first game, J.P. Howell, 409 feet into the right field stands. The Cardinals trailed most of the game, but tied the score at 4-4 in the bottom of the ninth on Randall Girchuk's two run belt.

The momentum carried over to the second game, as the Cardinals scored all of their runs in the first four innings for a 6-4 win.

The pair of wins put the Cards just 1 1/2 games behind the Cubs in the contentious NL Central where all five teams are within three games of the lead. Pittsburgh is in last place with a 9-12 record.

St. Louis looks to extend their winning streak to three straight when they host the Cincinnati Reds Friday night at 8:15 pm ET. St. Louis is 8-2 in their last 10 games.

A-Rod, Nelson Cruz, Jeurys Familia, Matt Carpenter Highlight POTW through April 19

Players of the Week for w/e April 19, 2015

American League

A-Rod

Infielder of the Week - While he certainly has his hare of detractors, NY's Alex Rodriguez spent the week hammering out hits to the tune of a .333 average (6-for-18) with three HRs, a double and five RBI. A-Rod also worked out five walks and scored seven times as the Yankees went 4-2.

Cruz

Outfielder of the Week - Even though the Seattle Mariners went just 2-4 during the week, that didn't stop right fielder, Nelson Cruz, from doing some serious mashing.

Cruz belted six homers in the week, starting with a pair in a 6-5 loss to the Dodgers, and finishing with a two-homer game in an 11-10 victory over Texas on Sunday.

Cruz extended his hitting streak to eight games. During the week's six games, he went 12-for-24, an even .500. The six homers and other hits yielded 10 RBI for Cruz, who leads the majors in home runs, with eight, and has 14 RBI, two behind Baltimore's Adam Jones in the AL.

Greene

Miller

Starting Pitcher of the Week - Detroit's Shane Greene improved to 3-0 with a pair of victories on the week. On April 14, Greene went eight innings in a 2-0 win at Pittsburgh, allowing just three hits. In his next start, on April 19, Greene got more support, going seven solid innings in a 9-1 win over the White Sox. Greene allowed one earned on five hits, fanning three.

Relief Pitcher of the Week - The Yankees' Andrew Miller has settled into the closer role nicely, picking up three saves in the most recent week to give him four on the season. Miller had a five-out save in a 6-5 win over the Orioles, followed by a four-out save against the Rays and a regular ninth-inning variety again against the Rays, as the Yanks swept Tampa Bay.


National League

Carpenter

Infielder of the Week - St. Louis has surged to the top of the NL Central on the strength of second baseman, Matt Carpenter's torrid hitting streak.

Riding a seven-game hitting streak (two hits in each game) Carpenter ended the week batting an even .400. Nine of his 12 hits went for extra bases - seven doubles and two home runs, including a leadoff blast in Sunday night's 2-1 win over the Reds.

Harvey

Outfielder of the Week - The Mets have won seven straight and are atop the NL East, and that's the same number of games comprising left fielder Michael Cuddyer's hitting streak.

Cuddyer

Cuddyer went 10 for 21 (.476) on the week, driving in our runs with three doubles and a triple in his arsenal.

Starting Pitcher of the Week - Scary as it may be to think about, Matt Harvey is 3-0 and still hasn't displayed his best stuff. Harvey, who picked up two wins on the week, gave up five hits and three earned in the Mets' 6-5 win over Philly on the 14th, striking out eight, then, on the 18th Harvey allowed four earned runs while fanning seven in the Mets' 7-6 win over the Marlins. Harvey worked six innings in each of his starts.

Familia

Relief Pitcher of the Week - Jeurys Familia pitched five innings in relief for the Mets and picked up five saves, tying him with Atlanta's Jason Grilli for the major league lead with six. Familia allowed just two hits and one earned run over the five games, striking out five and issuing two walks. All of his saves occurred at the Mets' home field, Citi.

Sonny Gray, Nate Freiman Lead A's Past Astros, 5-0; Matt Carpenter 4-for-5 as Cardinals Top Pirates in 12, 6-5

Players of the Day for Thursday, August 15, 2013

American League

Gray: 1st MLB Win

By no means are the A's going to allow Texas to run away from them in the AL West.

Nate Freiman

Sonny Gray threw eight scoreless innings to earn his first major league win and Nate Freiman went 4-for-4 at the plate as the A's topped the Astros, 5-0, cutting the Rangers' lead in the division to 1 1/2 games.

Gray (1-1) fanned nine, walked one and allowed just four hits, handing the ball over to reliever Dan Otero after throwing 118 pitches. Otero had an eventful ninth, giving up a hit and walking a batter, but allowed no runs.

Freiman doubled home a pair of runs in the first and stroked a two-run homer in the third inning, staking Gray to a healthy lead. He added a pair of singles later in the game and finished with four of the A's five RBI.

The A's win avoided a sweep by the Astros in the three-game series. Oakland 's home stand continues on Friday when they host the Cleveland Indians at 7:10 pm PDT.

National League

Matt Carpenter went 4-for-5 and scored the game winner when matt Holliday singled to center in the bottom of the 12th as the Cardinals won the finale of their series with Pittsburgh, 6-5.

Matt Carpenter

St. Louis won two of three at home to cut Pittsburgh's lead in the NL Central to two games. Cincinnati won their fifth straight, beating Milwaukee, 2-1, drawing to within 2 1/2 of the division lead.

Carpenter doubled, tripled, singled twice, scored two runs and drove in one, raising his batting average to .315, fifth-best in the National League.

St. Louis travels to Chicago to open a three-game series with the Cubs on Friday; the Pirates, losers of five of their last six, look to right the ship when they host the Diamondbacks for three games, beginning Friday.

Today's Trivia: In their legendary careers, who hit more doubles, Babe Ruth or Lou Gerhig? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: The NL single-season stolen base leader from 2005 through 2007 was Jose Reyes.

Max Scherzer, Victor Martinez Lead Tigers Back to 1st in Central; Matt Carpenter Keeps Cards Close in NL Central

Players of the Day for Wednesday, July 3, 2013

American League

Scherzer: 13-0

Seven games over .500 (45-38), the Detroit Tigers continue battling in the AL Central, re-taking the top spot over Cleveland by 1/2 game after beating the Blue Jays, 6-2, while Cleveland was losing at Kansas City, 6-5.

Victor Martinez

Without Max Scherzer, who earned his 13th straight win without a loss, the Tigers might well be in third place or worst, because Scherzer's wins alone account for all their games over .500 and then some.

Not especially sharp, Scherzer did manage to hold the home-standing Blue Jays scoreless for five innings while his teammates built a 6-0 lead, but was touched up for a pair of runs in the sixth inning and turned the ball over to the bullpen after 6 1/3 frames, striking out eight and walking just one.

Scherzer has a 3.09 ERA, a 0.92 WHIP and his 139 Ks are second-most in the AL, behind Texas' Yu Darvish, who has 151.

Victor Martinez was 2-for-4 with his seventh home run coming in the fifth inning, supplying Detroit final run with the solo shot. Martinez scored on Alex Avila's three-run jack in the second inning and singled in Torii Hunter in the third.

The Tigers have taken two of three from Toronto and will close out the four-game series Thursday night at 7:07 pm EDT.

National League

Matt Carpenter

Batting from the leadoff position, Matt Carpenter had himself a fine game as St. Louis hammered the Angels, 12-2, keeping pace two games behind the Pirates, who took a 6-5 decision over Philly, Wednesday.

The Cards scored seven times in the second inning off LA starter, Jerome Williams who didn't make it to the third, surrendering seven runs on four hits and four walks in 2 1/3 innings.

Carpenter singled in a run and scored on Jon Jay's homer in the second, stroked a ground-rule double in the fifth for another RBI, scoring on Jay's single, and socked his eighth homer of the season - a solo job - in the seventh, going 3-for-6 with three runs, a stolen base and three RBI.

Carpenter's hitting streak reach 12 games and his .324 average is fifth in the NL.

St. Louis and LA have split the first two games of their series on the West coast, which concludes Thursday night at 9:05 pm EDT.

Today's Trivia: Who holds the record for most hits in a single season (262)?

Yesterday's Answer: Nolan Ryan threw seven no-hitters, six in the AL and one in the NL.

Will Middlebrooks, Carlos Santana Star in 13-0 Romps by Boston, Cleveland; Matt Carpenter Leads Cardinals over Giants

Players of the Day for Sunday, April 7, 2013

American League

Carlos Santana

Will Middlebrooks

If you're in a 13-run club pool, you got a double dose on Sunday, as the Indians dumped Tampa Bay and Boston wrecked Toronto by identical 13-0 scores.

Each game produced a no-doubt-about-it player of the day, splitting the AL variety of the award.

At Tropicana Field in Tampa, as the Indians banged out 17 hits, Carlos Santana went 5-for-5 with two doubles and two singles, capping off his night with a ninth-inning, two-run homer off Rays' reliever, Fernondo Rodney. Santana drove in three runs and scored three times.

In Toronto, the Red Sox took over sole possession of first place in the AL East with their 13-0 rout, spearheaded by third baseman Will Middlebrooks' 4-for-4 performance, which included three home runs and a double, resulting in four RBI and four runs scored.

National League

Playing the rubber game of their three-game series in San Francisco, the St. Louis Cardinals made an early season statement to the defending world champs with a resounding, 14-3, victory.

Matt Carpenter

After the Giants nicked starter Adam Wainwright for two runs in the bottom of the third, St. Louis bats exploded for nine runs in the top of the fourth, chasing Giants' starter, Matt Cain after just 3 2/3 innings.

Matt Carpenter got to the plate twice in the inning, singling with a man aboard and later scoring, just moments before he went plate-ward again, delivering a two-out, bases-loaded singled which plated two more runs and sent Cain to the showers.

In the seventh, Carpenter doubled with two outs, driving in Jon Jay, later scoring on Adam Craig's single, finishing up a 3-for-5 effort with three runs and three RBI.

St. Louis took the final two games of the series after losing the opener, leaving both teams with 3-3 records. Carpenter ended the day with a .320 batting average.

Cardinals Take 2-1 Lead in NLCS on Matt Carpenter's Homer; Tigers-Yankees Game Four Postponed

Players of the Day for Wednesday, October 17, 2012

American League

ALCS Game Four was postponed due to rain. The game has been rescheduled for Thursday, 4:07 pm EDT, in Detroit, with the Tigers leading the series three game to one.

National League

NLCS: St. Louis 3 San Francisco 1 - Rookie Matt Carpenter's two-run, third-inning homer provided the winning margin for the Cardinals to take a two to one lead in the best-of-seven championship series.

Matt Carpenter

Carpenter's first post-season blast came after the Giants had plated a run in the top of the inning off St. Louis starter Kyle Lohse, who struggled through 5 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits and five walks, but surrendered only one run. During the regular season, Carpenter batted .294 with six home runs and 46 RBI.

St. Louis added another tally in the seventh inning, just before a 3 1/2 hour rain delay. Officials could have just called the game complete at that point, as both the St. Louis and San Francisco bullpens held strong and did not allow any hits or runs following the delay.

Carpenter was subbed into the game in the top of the second, replacing Carlos Beltran in right field after Beltran strained his left knee running out a double play ball in the bottom of the first. His status is uncertain for game four, slated to start at 8:07 pm on Thursday night in St. Louis.

Matt Carpenter 4-for-4 for Cards; Casey Kotchman Leads Cleveland Sweep of Royals

Players of the Day for Sunday, April 15, 2012

American League

Casey Kotchman

Cleveland's pitching hasn't been anything special during their three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals, but their bats have had extra sauce, putting up 32 runs on the road against their AL Central foes. After topping KC 8-3 and 11-9 on Friday and Saturday, the Indians put together a 13-7 win on Sunday to even their record at 4-4.

Well-traveled Casey Kotchman spearheaded the Indians' assault, going 3-for-4 with a couple of singles and a two-run homer - his second of the season - as the Cleveland hitters teed off on the Royals. Kotchman rounded the bases for three scores and his two RBI gave him four on the year.

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Cleveland is Kotchman's sixth team since breaking in with the Angels in 2004. He spent 2010 with Seattle and 2011 in Tampa Bay, where he batted .306.


National League

Matt Carpenter

After dropping the opener of their three-game home series with Chicago, 9-5, St. Louis came back with wins on Saturday and Sunday to take the series two games to one maintaining their lead in the NL Central by 2 1/2 games with a 7-3 record.

Sunday's event was highlighted by a breakout performance by rookie first baseman Matt Carpenter who, along with Yadier Molina, filled in for Lance Berkamn. Carpenter did his best Albert Pujols impression, going 4-for-4 with a triple, home run, two singles and five RBI. The Cardinals totaled the 3-7 Cubs, 10-3.

A product of TCU, Carpenter - no relation to Cardinal ace Chris Carpenter - has played a total of 15 major league games, but appears to be a prospect deserving of attention.