Juan Soto Helps Washington Rip Rockies, Sending NL Into Chaos; Miguel Andujar Breaks DiMaggio Record As Yankees Down Red Sox

Players of the Day for Saturday, September 29, 2018

American League

Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio?

Andujar breaks NY record

Thanks to rookie third baseman, Miguel Andujar, part of him, at least, has gone down a memory hole as Andjusr shattered a record held since 1936 by the Yankee Clipper.

Andujar lashed a pair of doubles and drove in two runs as the Yankees defeated Boston, 8-5, at Fenway Park. DiMaggio's Yankee rookie record of 44 doubles in a season was broken as Andujar hit one on Friday to tie it and upped his total to 46 with his two doubles Saturday.

Andujar should easily capture the AL rookie of the year award.

The Yankees set a major league record in the win. With home runs by Gleyber Torres and Giancarlo Stanton, they surpassed the record set in 1997 by the Seattle Mariners for most home runs by a team in a single season. The previous record was 264, which was tied when Aaron Judge launched the last of four Yankee homers Friday night. The new record of 266 - to which the Yankees can add on Sunday in their regular season finale - also includes a footnote. The Yankees became the first team to get at least 20 home runs from each of the nine batting positions when Gleyber Torres broke the record with his fourth-inning smash.

The Yankees and Red Sox complete the regular season Sunday at Fenway.

National League

Soto: 2-for-4, HR, 4 RBI

The Washington Nationals aren't headed to the post-season, but, in the best baseball tradition, they played spoiler on Saturday by hammering the Colorado Rockies, 12-2, sending the NL West into a tie for first place between the Rockies and Dodgers. Los Angeles defeated the Giants, 10-6, leaving the two teams at 90-71 each with one game left to play.

Rookie outfielder, Juan Soto, got the Nationals on the bard early, knocking in two runs with a double in the first inning. From there on, the Nationals continued to pour it on, racking up 18 hits against five Colorado pitchers as the game got away.

Soto drove in two more runs, one with a solo homer in the fifth (his 22nd), and another on a ground out in the eighth inning. His four RBI gave hime 70 on the year. Soto's numbers, which include a .294 batting average, make him the leading candidate for rookie of the year.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, St. Louis was eliminated from the wild card race, despite their 2-1 win over the Cubs in Chicago. With Milwaukee downing Detroit, 6-5, that left the Cubs and Brewers tied for the lead in the NL Central, at 94-67.

With the Atlanta Braves having already clinched the NL East, the other four post-season positions are up for grabs. The Cubs host St. Louis, the Rockies host Washington, LA is at San Francisco and Milwaukee hosts Detroit. The games are all the last of the regular season for the teams involved. If ties are produced in either division, an additional playoff game would be needed to determine the winner. Either the Cubs or Brewers will host the wild card game against the second place team in the West, either the Dodgers or Rockies.

Yankees' Miguel Andujar Leading AL Rookie Candidate; Javier Baez Approaching 100 RBI For Cubs

Players of the Day for Saturday, August 25, 2018

American League

Andujar: Top rookie

Looking for the next AL rookie of the year?

Look no further than Yankee third baseman, Miguel Andujar.

The 23-year-old native of the Dominican Republic has been racking up hits, homers and RBI all season, outpacing other candidates with a .300 batting average, 21 homers and 70 RBI.

On Saturday, the Yankees took a doubleheader from the Orioles at Baltimore, winning the first game, 10-2, and the nightcap, 5-1. In the early game, Andujar drove in four runs, getting the Yanks on the board in the first inning with a ground out that plated Giancarlo Stanton from third. With the score tied 2-2 in the fourth, Andujar unknotted it with his 21st homer, a three-run dinger into the Camden Yards center field stands.

In the late game, Andujar collected a pair of singles, boosting his average to an even .300, tied for 10th in the league with Cleveland's Michael Brantley.

New York's two wins put them seven games behind the Red Sox in the AL East. New York has won three straight against the Orioles and will be looking for a sweep when they wrap up the series Sunday, 8:00 pm EDT. The Yankees have won seven of their last eight. Boston is just 4-6 in their last ten games, allowing the Yankees to creep closer.

Baez: 97 RBI leads NL

National League

Going almost without notice, Chicago's Javier Baez has been the leading RBI producer in the National League all season long and he added to his top numbers by driving in three runs in the Cubs' 10-6 win over the Reds at Wrigley Field Saturday.

Baez socked his 28th home run (6th in NL) in the fifth inning and singled in a pair in the seventh, completing the scoring for Chicago. Two Cincinnati homers in the eighth made the game closer but in the end could not prevent the Cubs from winning their fourth straight overall, and third in a row over the Reds.

Baez, 25, is emerging as one of the brightest stars in the league, having already set career marks in hits, runs, doubles, triples, home runs, RBI, and stolen bases. If his .297 batting average holds up through the end of the season, that will also be a high mark for the fifth-year player.

With St. Louis and Milwaukee both losing Saturday, the Cubs increased their NL Central lead to four over the Cardinals and 4 1/2 games over the Brewers.

Chicago will be seeking a sweep of the Reds when they take the field Sunday, 2:20 pm EDT.