Ji-Man Choi Homers Twice, But Rays Fall At Texas; Mike Moustakas Celebrates Birthday With 2 HRs and Brewer Win

Players of the Day for Wednesday, September 11, 2019

American League

Choi: 2 HR, 4 RBI

Following a 10-9 loss to the Texas Rangers Thursday, Tampa Bay is clinking to the narrowest lead in the AL wild card contest.

With Cleveland and Oakland both posting wins, the Rays have a 1/2-game edge on the A's and a one-game lead over the Indians.

Despite Ji-Man Choi's perfect night at the plate - two homers and three walks - the Rays were unable to keep the Rangers off the scoreboard sufficiently well, taking their first loss since September 3rd. Choi socked a three-run homer in the first inning and racked a solo shot in the ninth that left the Rays a run short.

Regardless, the Rays will regroup and carry on. They've been in contention all season and have been especially poised the past two weeks, winning 11 of their last 13 games.

They complete their series in Texas Thursday before heading to Los Angeles for five games against the Angels.

National League

Moustakas: 2HR, 5 RBI

Nearing the end of August, the Milwaukee Brewers were left for dead in the NL Central and the wild card race. The Cardinals had surged to the division lead while Washington and Chicago seemed destined for wild cards.

Then things turned around. They took two of three from the Cubs in Chicago, split a pair in Houston and then took three of four from the Cubs and started what is now a six-game winning streak that has them tied with the Cubs for the second wild card.

Wednesday's 7-5 victory at Miami was Milwaukee's first game without 2018 league MVP, Christian Yelich, who is out for the season after fracturing his right kneecap by fouling a ball off of it in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Marlins.

It was also Mike Moustakas's 31st birthday, and he celebrated by smacking two home runs, powering the win. Moustakas connected with a three-run blast in the third inning, then sealed the deal with a two-run rip in the ninth, breaking a 5-all tie.

Going 3-for-4 with five RBI, Moustakas has 33 homers on the season and 81 RBI. The Brewers will be looking for a sweep of the Marlins Thursday, then it's off to St. Louis for three games with the division leaders.

With Washington holding the top spot in the wild card race by 3 1/2 games, Milwaukee has caught the Cubs for the second spot and they are both four games behind the Cardinals in the division.

The Phillies and Mets are both two games back for the second wild card; Arizona is 2 1/2 off that pace.

Salvadore Perez, Mike Moustakas Star For KC In 9-6 Win; Alex Wood 10-0 After 1-0 Win Over Arizona

Players of the Day for Wednesday, July 5, 2017

American League

Perez: 11th-inning HR

Winning for the fourth straight time with a 9-6 win at Seattle in 11 innings, the Kansas City Royals have come all the way from last place in May to a half game out of first in the AL Central five days into July.

Salvadore Perez socked a two-run homer and Alex Gordon knocked in Mike Moustakas with the final run in the top of the 11th.

The Mariners couldn't muster a hit off Kelvin Herrera in the bottom of the frame, the KC closer picking up his 19th save.

Moustakas: 25 HR

Perez's home run was his 17th, the two RBI giving him 55, Moustakas had homered in the first inning with one aboard. He also singled twice, including his key hit in the 11th, going 3-for-5 for the game. His homer was his 25th, tying him with Houston's George Springer for second in the long ball category. He has 54 RBI.

San Diego dumped Cleveland, 6-2. The Indians lead the division by 1/2 game over Kansas City. Minnesota is just 1 1/2 back.

Following the three-game sweep of the Mariners, the Royals head south for a tough three-game meeting with the Dodgers, heading into the all-star break. Game one of the series is Friday at 7:10 pm PT.

National League

LA's Alex Wood continues to amaze, winning his 10th straight game without a loss this season in a 1-0 Dodger triumph over Arizona.

Alex Wood is 10-0

Wood worked seven complete innings, allowing three hits and a pair of walks, striking out 10. He threw just 85 pitches, 61 for strikes.

The Diamondbacks and Dodgers each totaled just four hits each, but LA managed to put two of those together for the game's only run when Chris Taylor singled and Yasmani Grandal doubled him home in the second inning.

Wood's first half odyssey began in the Dodger bullpen, when he threw two hitless innings against San Diego April 5th, but received no decision. His first win came in relief on April 15, when he held Arizona hitless for 3 1/3 innings.

After that, he was inserted into the rotation, but didn't get another win until May 2nd, in a 13-5 win over the Giants. That began a string of nine wins in his next ten starts, including Wednesday's seven inning gem which dropped his ERA to a stunning 1.67. Wood has only tossed 80 2/3 innings, but he's allowed a mere 50 hits, walking 22 while fanning 97.

LA's win was the second straight in the three-game series with visiting Arizona, boosting the Dodger lead in the NL West to 4 1/2 games over the Diamondbacks. LA will be looking for the sweep when the teams take the field at Dodger Stadium Thursday at 7:10 pm PT.

Scooter Gennett Socks Four Homers In Reds' Win; Mike Moustakas, Royals End Houston Win Streak At 11

Players of the Day for Tuesday, June 6, 2017

American League

Moustakas: Game-winner

For now, at least, Houston's reign of terror in the American League is over after the Kansas City Royals ended the Astros' 11 game winning streak with a 9-7 victory Tuesday night.

Mike Moustakas, who's been one of the more consistent performers for the Central division last-place Royals, was the game-changer, going 4-for-5, including the game-winning two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth.

Moustakas singled twice and doubled in his at-bats prior to the dramatic ending. The Royals erased a 7-1 Houston lead and it was 7-2 in the fourth, when Moustakas singled home Eric Hosmer, getting KC a run closer. He also singled and scored as a part of a four-run rally in the eighth inning which tied the game.

There were two outs in the ninth when Moustakas launched the game-winner. It was his 15th of the season.

The result left Houston still leading the NL West, by a mere 13 games over the Angels and Mariners. Kansas City remains in last place, but they are only 5 1/2 games behind division-leading Minnesota.

Game three of the four-game series is set for 8:15 pm ET at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

National League

Gennett ties MLB mark

In the bottom of the first inning, Scooter Gennett singled home Billy Hamilton off Cardinal starter, Adam Wainwright. OK, the guy was batting .270 with 20 RBI in 111 at-bats entering the game, so, nothing really out of the ordinary.

What was about to happen nobody could have predicted.

Gennett, a 5'10", 185-pound utility player, hit home runs in his next four at-bats, starting off with a grand slam in the third inning, putting the Reds ahead, 5-0. After Eugenio Suarez cleared the bases with a three-run triple in the fourth, Gennett did what any self-respecting slugger would, he hit another home run. 10-0 Reds.

After sending the first two balls over the walls in right and center fields, respectively, Gennett went opposite field in the sixth for a solo shot. In the eighth, he did it again, with a two run home run to right. When it was all over, the Reds slaughtered the Cardinals, 13-1 and Scooter Gennett was the talk of the sports world, becoming the 17th major leaguer to hit four home runs in a single game, joining the likes of Lou Gehrig, Willie Mays and Mike Schmidt, who have a combined career total of 1,701 homers.

Gennett's career total: 42... and that's in over 1600 at-bats.

Gennett finished with impressive stats, going 5-for-5, with four runs and 10 RBI, which tied the Reds' franchise record for most RBI in a single game, tying Walker Cooper's mark from 1949. His 17 total bases are now a club record. That's pretty impressive since professional baseball in Cincinnati dates back to 1869.

Accurate records exist from 1876, when the Reds were admitted to the National League. After four years in the senior circuit, the Reds were expelled for nine years for selling beer in the stands! The horror! Cincinnati was readmitted after the 1989, playing the American Association during the National League absence.

The victory moved the Reds 1/2 game ahead of the Cardinals in the NL Central, trailing division co-leaders Chicago and Milwaukee by three games.

Game three of the four-game set in Cincinnati is scheduled for 7:10 pm ET.

Mike Mousttakas Lead Royals to Game Two Win in ALCS; Matt Harvey, Mets Take Game One over Cubs

Moustakas: 2-4, 2 RBI

Players of the Day for Saturday, October 18, 2015

American League


Kansas City took game two of the ALCS with a 6-3 victory over Toronto, giving the Royals a two-games-to-none lead in the best of seven series.

The Royals overcame a 3-0 Blue Jay lead with five runs in the bottom of the seventh. After yielding a leadoff single to open the first, Toronto starter, David Price, set down 18 straight Royals and was cruising along with a comfortable lead into the seventh. Then Kansas City struck like lightning, scoring five runs on five hits, sending Pirce to the showers.

Mike Moustakas singled in a run during the seventh-inning rally and singled home another in the eighth to complete the scoring for Kansas City.

The series takes a day off Sunday for travel. Monday, the venue shifts to Toronto's Rogers Centre for game three, at 8:07 pm EDT.

National League

Harvey: Game One Winner

Matt Harvey worked into the eighth inning while the Mets built a lead on solo homers by Daniel Murphy and Travis d-Arnaud leading to a 4-2 triumph at Citi Field in game one of the NLCS.

The Mets put their ace on the mound at home and Harvey did not disappoint, striking out nine and not yielding a run until the Cubs struck for a single run in the fifth, temporarily tying the game at one apiece. Murphy's first-inning solo shot had given the Mets the lead earlier.

Curtis Granderson singled home a run in the bottom of the fifth, then d'Arnaud smashed his solo shot to dead center, the ball traveling some 436 feet for the 3-1 lead.

Granderson drove in another run in the eighth to complete the scoring for the Mets.

Harvey threw 64 of 97 pitches for strikes and allowed only three hits and one run until Kyle Schwarber touched him up with a solo shot in the eighth. Mets' closer, Jeurys Familia, took over after Harvey's 7 2/3 innings, slamming the door shut with a four-out save.

Game two of the series is scheduled for Sunday at 8:07 pm EDT at Citi Field in New York.

Mike Moustakas 3-for-3 with HR as Royals Clinch AL Central; Cardinals Streak at 5 as Stephen Piscotty Stars

Players of the Day for Thursday, September 24, 2015

American League


Kansas City became the first team to clinch a division title, wrapping up the AL Central with a 10-4 victory over the visiting Seattle Mariners.

Moustakas: 3-3, HR, 3RBI

With their win and the second-place Twins losing to Cleveland, 6-3, Kansas City is 11 games up in the division with just 10 left to play.

Mike Moustakas, who reached base on all five of his plate appearances, broke a 1-1 tie in the second inning with his 21st home run of the season, a solo shot to right field. Moustakas walked in the third, doubled in the fifth, walked and scored in the seventh, and singled in a pair of runs in the eighth, scoring the Royals' final run on a triple by Alex Rios.

The powerful third baseman finished 3-for-3 with three runs and three RBI, raising his season total to 76 and his batting average to a robust .282.

Kansas City currently has the best record in the league at 89-63. Toronto is next, with a 87-65 mark. The team with the best record would have home field through the divisional and championship rounds and would also face the wild card in the first round of the playoffs.

Productive Rookie Piscotty

Winners of their last two, the Royals open a three-game series with Cleveland at Kauffman Stadium, in Kansas City, Missouri, on Friday.

National League

St. Louis extended its late-season winning streak to five straight with a 7-3 win over visiting division rival Milwaukee Thursday night.

The Cardinals continue to remain four games up on the Pirates, winners of six straight with a 5-4 win over the Rockies. A team with the utmost in balance, St. Louis keeps finding new heroes every night. In their latest victory, Stephen Piscotty, a part-time rookie who has played in 58 games this season, took the spotlight by going 3-for-4 and driving in the final four runs for the Cardinals with his 6th home run and a pair of RBI singles.

After Jhonny Peralta tied the game at 3-all with a three-run homer in the fourth, Piscotty unknotted it with a solo shot into the left field seats, then proceeded to drive in a pair of runs in the fifth and one more in the seventh. Piscatory has, in his short time in the big leagues, distinguished himself with 37 RBI and a .313 batting average with 14 doubles and four triples. He was promoted from AAA Memphis earlier this season and is also an excellent fielder at a variety of positions. He played both first base and left field in Thursday's contest.

St. Louis needs a combination of six wins or six losses by Pittsburgh to clinch the division title. Both teams have nine games remaining in the regular season and will meet this coming Monday for a three-game series in Pittsburgh with will likely determine the division crown.

The Cardinals play game two of their four-game set with the Brewers Friday night at Busch Stadium. Game time is 8:15 pm EDT.

Boston's David Ortiz Hits 500th Homer; Mike Moustakas Drives in 9 for Royals; Giants' Madison Bumgarner 1-Hits Padres

Players of the Day for Saturday, September 12, 2015

American League

Ortiz: 500 HR

There were some big games by some big names in the American League on Saturday, but none more deserving of attention than that of David Ortiz, who belted a pair of home runs in Boston's 10-4 win at Tampa Bay, giving him an even 500 for his career in the majors.

Moustakas: GS, 9 RBI

Big Papi, as Ortiz is well known, cranked a three-run blast in the first inning and followed up with a solo shot in the fifth, both off Tampa starter Matt Moore, who was shelled by the Sox for eight runs (six earned) on nine hits over five innings.

Ortiz also singled going 3-for-4 with four RBI on the night. The only downside to his historic feat (he's the 27th player to reach the 500-homer milestone) is that he didn't do it at Fenway Park. There surely will be a hero's welcome for Ortiz when the team returns to Beantown, though that won't be until next Monday (Sept. 21) when the Red Sox open a four-game series with the Rays.

Elsewhere, the Royals continued their slugfest series with the Orioles at tiny Camden Yards with a 14-6 victory after being out-gunned, 14-8, in Friday night's opener.

While the Royals managed to bang out another win, the bulk of the load was carried home by Mike Moustakas. The burly third baseman didn't really get going until the sixth inning, when he singled in a pair of runs, but then smacked a grand slam in the seventh inning and added a three-run belt in the ninth, giving hime nine RBI for the game.

Moustakas has 18 homers on the year, with 71 RBI and a .284 batting average. He turned 27 on Friday.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak and losses in six out of the Royals' last seven games, but they are still 11 games better than the Twins in the AL Central with just 21 games to play, putting their magic number to clinch the division at 10.

Bumgarner: 1-Hitter

The Royals evened the series, with game three set for Sunday night at 8:00 pm EDT.

National League

With almost no chance of reaching the playoffs, it hasn't been the greatest of seasons for the reigning world champion San Francisco Giants.

For starter Madison Bumgarner, however, it's been a full tilt joy ride.

Bumgarner tossed a near-perfect game against the San Diego Padres, allowing just one hit, resulting in an 8-0 win, the second straight in the series in San Francisco.

The Padres didn't get a player to first base until the eighth inning, Bumgarner tossing a perfect game until Melvin Upton Jr. slapped a single to center in his pinch-hitting role for reliever Frank Garces. Bumgarner took the break-up of his perfecto unfazed, getting the final four outs in order for a still-stellar one-hit shutout.

Throwing 75 of 111 pitches for strikes, Bumgarner fanned nine and didn't walk any batters, upping his strikeout total to 212 (third in the league), and improving his record to 18-7, chasing Chicago's Jake Arrieta, who has 19 victories on the year.

Arrieta and Bumgarner are the only pitchers in the league with 17 or more wins, leaving them as the only ones with a chance to reach 20 wins this season. In the AL, Seattle's Felix Hernandez and Houston's Dallas Keutchel each have 17 wins.

The Giants seek the sweep when they conclude their series with the Padres, Sunday at 1:05 pm PDT.

Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford Lead Giants to 1st Place; Mike Moustakas Powers Royals over ChiSox

Players of the Day for Tuesday, July 22, 2014

American League

Moustakas: 2HR

Kansas City evened its series at Chicago at a game apiece, banging out 14 hits to top the White Sox, 7-1.

The two teams are struggling to remain relevant in the AL Central. For now, the Royals have the upper hand, trailing division-leading Detroit by seven games. The White Sox fell to nine games off the pace.

Third baseman Mike Moustakas did his best to hide the fact that he's batting under .200 (.198), going 3-for-5 with a pair of home runs - his 11th and 12th of the season - driving in three runs. Moustakas started the Royals' scoring with a solo shot in the second and finished it off with a two-run dinger in the eighth.

The Royals and White Sox square off Wednesday afternoon in the rubber game of the series at 2:10 pm EDT at Cellular Field in Chicago.

National League

Posey: hot bat

Crawford: 4RBI

Buster Posey is getting into a groove, and the San Francisco Giants are enjoying the top spot in the NL West because of it.

With the Dodgers were losing at Pittsburgh, 12-7, the Giants took a one-game lead in the division, taking their second straight in Philadelphia with a 9-6 victory over the Phillies in 14 innings.

Posey tied the game at 5-all with a solo homer in the ninth inning, and scored the go-ahead run after doubling with one out and coming home to score on Brandon Crawford's bases-loaded double later in the frame.

Posey was 4-for-7 with a pair of doubles, a single and the solo homer - his 12th - scoring twice and driving in a run. Posey's gone 11-for-28 with 11 RBI his last six games. He's at .286 for the season.

Crawford went 2-for-6 with four RBI, giving him 44 on the year.

The Giants will be looking for their third straight when they take on the Phillies Wednesday night at 7:00 pm EDT in the third leg of their four-game series.

Two Homers By Mike Moustakas Lead Royals to 7th Straight; Atlanta Expands NL East lead as Freddie Freeman Homers Twice

Players of the Day for Tuesday, July 30, 2013

American League

The Kansas City Royals are red hot. Problem is, the two teams in front of them in the Central division - Detroit and Cleveland - are just as hot, having won four and six straight, respectively.

Mike Moustakas

So, despite the Royals taking their seventh straight with a 7-2 victory over the fast-fading Twins, they gained no ground in the race and remain seven games off the Tigers' pace.

Mike Moustakas keyed the win for the Royals, belting a three-run, two-out homer in the third inning, putting the Royals up by a 4-1 score. He homered again in the eighth inning, with the bases empty, driving in four runs in the win.

Despite the Royals having a strong season (52-51), Moustakas' numbers are down. He has only nine homers and a mere 24 RBI in 90 games, with over 300 at-bats.

The Royals will try to make it eight straight when they meet the Twins in game two of their three-game series, Wednesday night at 8:10 pm EDT at Target Field in Minneapolis.

National League

Freddie Freeman

As far as the Atlanta Braves are concerned, it seems like the NL East is clearly their division. Everybody else are just spectators.

The Braves won their fifth in a row Tuesday, taking an 11-3 decision over the Rockies at Turner Field in Atlanta.

Freddie Freeman touched off a pair of homers, belting a solo shot in the first inning and putting the icing on the Braves' cake with a three-run blast in the seventh.

The two home runs gave him 13 on the season and four RBI upped his total to 69, tied for sixth-best in the NL.

Atlanta improved it's already-largest lead in the majors to a full ten games as second place Washington fell to Detroit, 5-1.

The Braves and Rockies meet for game three of their four-game set Wednesday night, at 7:10 pm EDT.

Today's Trivia: In their Hall of Fame careers, who had more triples, Lou Brock or Rickey Henderson? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: The most doubles in a single season since Joe Medwick set the mark at 64 in 1936 was achieved by Colorado's Todd Helton, who had 59 in 2000.

Mike Moustakas Leads KC Rout of Blue Jays; Garrett Jones, Andrew McCutchen Power Pirates

Players of the Day for Monday, July 2, 2012

American League

You'd never know it because they get so little coverage, but the Kansas City Royals are right in the middle of the hunt for the AL Central, hanging at 5 1/2 back after their 11-3 win over the Blue Jays Monday.

Mike Moustakas

At 36-42, the Royals aren't even a .500 team, but only division leader Chicago (42-37) and Cleveland (40-39) are above the break even mark in the AL's weakest division.

The Royals have patched together a contender with a combination of fair pitching and solid hitting. At .265, the Royals are tied for fourth in team batting average, though their home runs (65) and RBI (302) numbers rank near the bottom of the league.

One player who can contribute to making those power numbers better is third baseman Mike Moustakas, who doubled and socked a seventh-inning grand slam in five at-bats, driving in five runs to lead KC over Toronto.

In his second year with the Royals, Moustakas has 14 hoers and 43 RBI, to go with a .266 batting average.


National League

The Pittsburgh Pirates will not go away.

Garrett Jones

With their 11-2 win over Houston, the Pirates maintained their hold on second place in the NL Central, one game back of the Reds, who topped the Dodgers, 8-2, holding onto their slim lead.

Andrew McCutchen

The Pirates banged out 18 hits in their rout, six players having multiple-hit games, among them Andrew McCutchen, who went 4-for-5, scored three times and drove in a run, and Garrett Jones, hwo led the team with four RBI, also going 4-for-5 and scoring three runs with a double and a two-run homer in the fourth, when the Pirates broke the game open with four runs.

The win was the opener of a four-game set with the Astros, one of the league's worst teams at 32-48. Pittsburgh will host the Giants for three games following the series with Houston, leading up to the all star break.

Meanwhile, the Reds continue their three-game series at LA, and then move down the coast for four games with the Padres, another of the NL dregs, with a 31-50 record.