Manny Machado, Jon Johnson Help Orioles to Tie for First; Michael Morse's Grand Slam Get Nationals Closer to NL East Title

Players of the Day for Saturday, September 29, 2012

American League

Even though they've scored oly eight more runs than the competition all season, the Baltimore Orioles remain in contention for both the AL East title and the wild card, tying the Yankees for first place in the AL East with a 4-3 win over Boston as the Yanks were losing 3-2, to Toronto.

Manny Machado

Jim Johnson

Manny Machado broke a 3-3 tie with a solo homer in the seventh inning and Baltimore's relievers put the game away with hitless eighth and ninth innings. Jim Johnson earned his AL-best 49th save of the season, putting away the Red Sox in order to end the game.

Machado put the O's on the board with an RBI single in the second inning, going 2-for-3 with two RBI.

The Orioles finish up their series with the Red Sox Sunday afternoon, then head to Tampa for a critical three-game series with the Rays which could impact both the AL East, but, more likely, the wild cards.

National League

Michael Morse

Washington's Michael Morse socked a first-inning grand slam, staking the Nationals to a 4-0 lead in the second of their three-game series with St. Louis, eventually winning in 10 innings on Kurt Suzuki's two-run double, for a 6-4 victory.

The win got the Nationals to within one win of wrapping up the NL East, the only division in the National League yet to be decided. Atlanta topped the Mets, 2-0, but remain four games behind the division leaders.

St. Louis' loss left them two games in front of the Dodgers for the second wild card as LA stopped Colorado, 3-0.

Mike Napoli Leads Rangers over A's; Michael Morse Homers Twice as Nats Win

Players of the Day for Thursday, September 27, 2012

American League

Mike Napoli

With a 9-7 win over the A's, the Rangers finished their four-game series with the closest pursuer with a 2-2 split, just fine with the AL West leaders, who once again have opened up a four game ulge in the standings.

Mike Napoli came through with a 2-for-4 effort, as the Rangers scored five in the first and all of their runs in the first four innings. Napoli launched a two-run homer in the first inning and added an RBI single in the third.

Texas has a four-game lead with just six games left. Looks like they'll wrap up their third straight division title in sort order, possibly over the weekend.

National League

Michael Morse

With only the NL East and the second wild card still being contested, the Washington nationals took another step closer to a division title with a 7-3 win over the Phillies.

Michael Morse crushed a pair of homers - his 15th and 16th - and grounded out for another RBI, leading the Nationals to their second straight win over the fading Phils.

Atlanta, winners of five straight, continues in hot pursuit, four game back, but the Braves are running out of time and already have the #1 wild card sewn up. There are just six games left to play for both teams.

St. Louis had the day off, and has a three game lead on the Dodgers for the second wild card after LA topped the Padres, 8-4.

Milwaukee is another game back, losing to the Reds, 2-1.

Prince Fielder's 4 RBI Not Enough to Overcome Rangers; Ian Desmond, Michael Morse, Adam LaRoche Lead Nationals' 12-5 Rout

Players of the Day for Tuesday, June 26, 2012

American League

In a losing effort, Detroit's Prince Fielder had two of the Tigers' five hits and knocked in four of their five runs.

Prince Fielder

Falling to the Rangers, 7-5, which evened their series at a game apiece, Detroit mustered only four hits off Texas starter Yu Darvish (10-4), though the 26-year-old rookie from Kobe, Japan fanned 10.

Fielder got the Tigers started in the right direction with a two-run double in the first and belted his 12 homer of the season in the top of the fourth for a 3-1 lead, but the Rangers rallied for four runs in the bottom of the frame and were never headed thereafter. Fielder added his fourth RBI on a ground out in the eighth.

Winners of eight of their last 10, the Rangers maintained their 4 1/2 game lead in the AL West over the pursuing Angels, while the Tigers dropped a game to the White Sox in the Central, where they trail by three games.

The series concludes Wednesday night in Arlington, Texas.

Michael Morse

National League

Adam LaRoche

Washington's bats went to work Tuesday night in Colorado, as the Nationals banged out 21 hits against the Rockies in a 12-5 slaughter.

Ian Desmond doubled three times and singled in five at-bats, scoring once and driving in a pair of runs, while Michael Morse also went 4-for-5, with a double, three singles, two runs and two RBI.

Adam LaRoche, who's been the teams most consistent power hitter, touched off a pair of homers, drove in three runs and scored three times. LaRoche's homers were his 11th and 12th of the season and upped his team-leading RBI total to 47, tying him for fifth in the league with four other players.

Ian Desmond

The Nationals continue to lead the NL East by 3 1/2 over Atlanta and evened their four-game series in Colorado at a game apiece with the win.

Despite being third in the league in batting with a team average of .267, the Rockies continue to be plagued by poor pitching. Their team ERA of 5.38 is the worst in either league and their 770 hits allowed are easily tops in the National League. The Milwaukee Brewers are a distant second, having given up 690 hits.

At 28-45, the Rockies are 14 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West. Los Angeles holds a one game lead over the Giants after losing their second straight to their northern rivals, 2-0.

Beckett Throws One-Hitter at Rays; Hernandez, Morse Lead Nats to 10-0 Win over Cards

Players of the Day for Wednesday, June 15, 2011

American League

Josh Beckett has his old stuff back and the Boston Red Sox could not be happier.

Beckett's one-hitter
was a real gem.

Beckett tossed a one-hitter at the Tampa Bay Rays Wednesday night in Tampa, setting down the first eight batters in order before surrendering the game's only hit to Reed Brignac with two outs in the 3rd inning.

After that, Beckett was truly unhittable, putting away the next 19 batters in order to close out the game.

Going just 6-6 with a 5.78 ERA in 2010, Boston fans were worried that their ace had lost his good stuff, but the 2003 World Series MVP (then with Florida) has silenced his critics and assuaged the doubters by going 6-2 this season with a 1.86 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP.

Facing one over the minimum, Beckett didn't issue any walks while striking out six, needing only 96 pitches for the 3-0 win, his first complete game shutout of 2011.

Locked into a pitcher's duel with the Rays' Jeremy Hellickson, Beckett got all the runs he would need on Kevin Youkilis' 7th-inning, three-run homer.

Boston maintained its 1 1/2 game lead over the Yankees in the AL East. The Rays dropped 4 1/2 games off the pace.

National League

Michael Morse

Livan Hernandez

At 36, Livan Hernandez still seems to have plenty of giddy-up in his right arm. The veteran starter, who has played on eight different teams, stymied the St. Louis Cardinals on three hits to the delight of the Washington fans.

Hernandez, always an inning-eater, recorded the 50th complete game and 9th shutout of his career in Washington's 10-0 whitewash.

Hernandez threw 105 pitches (71 strikes) without walking a batter while fanning six. Michael Morse blasted a pair of homers in support - a solo shot in the 2nd and a two-run job in the 7th - while also singling and scoring in the 4th, going 3-for-4 with three runs and three RBI.

The win, combined with Philadelphia's twin killing of the collapsing Marlins, losers of 14 of their last 15, got the Nationals into a tie for last place in the NL East, rather than holding it on their own. At 32-36, the Nationals are actually not that bad a team.

For the Cardinals, the setback left them trailing the Brewers by one game in the wide-open Central division, with Cincinnati closing in, just 2 1/2 off the pace.

NOTES: The Phillies have opened up a commanding five-game lead on the Braves in the NL East after dumping the marlins twice on Wednesday, 8-1 and 5-4, in 10 innings. In the NL West, the Giants enhanced their lead with a 5-2 win over second place Arizona, now 2 1/2 back.

The Tigers and Indians are back into a tie in the AL Central. Cleveland recovered from Justin Verlander's 4-0 shutout Tuesday to take a 6-4 decision on Wednesday. The two combatants will settle their differences Thursday afternoon in the rubber game of their three-game series.

Texas lost their 4th straight, dropping a 12-4 decision in New York to the Yankees. Seattle continue pursuit, one game back. In the Texas game, Mark Teixeira connected for two-run homers from both sides of the plate, the 11th time he's he's gone long ball as both a lefty and righty in the same game. That tied him with Eddie Murray and Chili Davis as leaders of that particular feat.