Behind Patrick Corbin, Nats Stop Phillies, 7-2; Ji-Man Choi Leads Rays Over Red Sox, 7-4

Players of the Day for Monday, September 23, 2019

American League

Choi: HR, 3 RBI, 2 R

In the only game of importance in the AL, Tampa Bay kept charging toward the post-season with a 7-4 win over the fading Red Sox.

Down 4-0 entering the bottom of the fourth inning, Ji-Man Choi ignited a six-run rally with a three-run homer off Boston starter, Jhoulys Chacin. Two more home runs in the frame - a solo shot by Nate Lowe and a two-run rip by Willy Adames - put the Rays up, 6-4, and they never looked back, the Tampa bullpen blanking Boston over the final five innings on three hits.

Choi also doubled and scored an insurance run in the sixth inning.

Tampa Bay's victory left them 1 1/2 games behind the Oakland A's in the wild card race, with Cleveland just 1/2-game behind the Rays.

Tampa has five games remaining in the regular season. Cleveland and Oakland each have six left.

The Rays took three of four from Boston and host the Yankees for two games Tuesday and Wednesday before closing out the regular season with three games in Toronto.

National League

Corbin stops Phillies

It was the top of the sixth inning that the Phillies finally got to Patrick Corbin for a run, but by then, the Nationals had already scored five times, en route to a 7-2 victory over Philadelphia, pushing them closer to elimination from the playoffs.

Corbin didn't pitch his best game, though he held the Phillies to three hits and four walks and kept them off the scoreboard. Striking out six, Corbin threw 108 pitches, improving to 14-7, in what could be his last start of the regular season.

Acquired from Arizona in the off-season, Corbin has flourished with the Nationals, having his best season in his seven years as a major leaguer. His 3.05 ERA is a career-best and his 230 strikeouts are fourth in the league.

With seven games left on the schedule, the Nationals host the Phillies four more times, including a double-header on Tuesday. Washington needs three more wins or losses by other contenders to secure one of the two wild card spots in the National League.

The Nationals and Brewers are the two likely wild cards, with Washington up by 1/2-game over Milwaukee. Chicago is four games behind the Brewers, the Mets five back, Arizona six behind, and the Phillies 6 1/2 out.

Arizona's Patrick Corbin Blanks Phillies Over 7 1/3; Joey Gallo Wrecks Seattle In 11-7 Texas Win

Players of the Day for Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Gallo: 3-for-5, 2HR, 4RBI

American League

Joey Gallo socked a pair of home runs and drove in four runs, going 3-for-5 in the Rangers' 11-7 win over Seattle.

Gallo, who at age 24 is in his second full season with the Rangers, has 31 homers and 71 RBI. He and his Texas teammates made life miserable for Seattle's visit to Texas, scoring 11 runs in each of the last two games, taking the series two games to one and dropping the Mariners eight games off the pace in the AL West and three behind Oakland for the second wild card slot.

The Rangers reminded the Mariners of how important division contests are. They evened the season series at six games apiece despite being in last place in the division and hopelessly out of contention.

Seattle, which has lost seven of their last nine, have a tough road directly ahead. They open a four-game series in Houston on Thursday, then head to Oakland for three games against the Athletics.

National League

Corbin: 7 1/3 IP, 0ER, 9K

Taking the rubber game of their three-game series with the visiting Phillies by a 6-0 score, the Arizona Diamondbacks regained first place in the NL West by 1/2 game as the Dodgers dropped a 3-2 decision to Oakland.

Arizona's success was aided greatly by starting pitcher, Patrick Corbin, who improved to 9-4 with 7 1/3 innings of shutout ball.

Corbin allowed four hits, walked none, and fanned nine, increasing his strikeout total to 183, tied for second in the league with the Mets' Jacob DeGrom. Max Scherzer leads the league with 216 Ks.

Philadelphia's loss reduced their lead in the NL East to 1/2 game over Atlanta, 8-3 winners at Washington.

Both league leaders have Thursday off. The Phillies open a three-game series at San Diego on Friday while the Diamondbacks open a nine-game road trip with three in Cincinnati.

Mookie Betts Leads Boston's 10-1 Win Over Angels With 3 HR; Patrick Corbin 1-Hits Giants for 1-0 Arizona Victory

Players of the Day for Tuesday, April 17, 2018

American League

Betts: 3-3, 3HR, 3RBI

Mookie Betts was at it again, socking three solo homers in Boston's 10-1 road win over the Angels, spoiling the highly-anticipated match-up between Boston hurler David Price and LA's Shohei Ohtani.

Betts homered to lead off the game, and, after 66 pitches in just two innings, Ohtani was done for the day, having allowed two more runs in the second.

Betts and Boston were far from done against the Angels' pitching staff. Jackie Bradley Jr. and Brock Holt each socked two-run homers in the third inning, followed by Betts' second solo shot of the game. The Angels could only respond with a single run in the bottom of the innings. In the eighth, Betts cracked his third homer, completing the scoring.

Betts has five home runs and 13 RBI. His .389 batting average leads the majors.

The result left LA at 13-4, still 2 1/2 games better than Houston in the AL West. Boston upped its record to 14-2, three games to the good over Toronto. The Yankees feel to Miami, and are stuck in third place, six games out.

The two division leaders return to the diamond on Wednesday for game two of their three-game series at 10:07 pm EDT.

National League

Corbin throws 1-hitter

With the Diamondbacks taking two of three at San Francisco a week ago, the Giants were intent on evening the score in game one of the series in Arizona, sending their ace, Johnny Cueto, to the mound.

Cueto was top shelf, shutting out the Diamondbacks on two hits over seven complete innings, but Arizona hurler Patrick Corbin was better, going the distance for his third win of the season without a loss as the Diamondbacks prevailed in a 1-0 dessert duel.

Corbin was perfect until walking Joe Panik in the fourth and didn't allow a San Francisco hit until Brandon Belt beat out a checked swing infield single with two outs in the eighth, spoiling the no-hit bid. Corbin got the next batter to end the frame and put the side down in order in the ninth for the one-hit victory and the first shutout of his six-year career, all with the Diamondbacks.

Arizona scored the game's only run on David Peralta's RBI single in the eighth. Corbin faced two over the minimum and threw exactly 100 pitches.

Striking out nine, Corbin has 37 Ks on the year, one behind Washington's Max Scherzer for the NL and major league lead. In 27 1/3 innings, Corbin has allowed just 14 hits, five runs and walked just five.

The Diamondbacks lead the NL West by 2 1/2 games over the Rockies. 6-10 San Francisco is six games back.

Arizona and San Francisco square off again on Wednesday, in game two of the three-game series at 9:40 pm EDT.

Patrick Corbin 1-Hits Dodgers In Arizona Win; Miguel Sano 3-for-5, 2 RBI To Lead Twins

Players of the Day for Wednesday, April 4, 2018

American League

Sano: 3-for-5, 2 RBI

The Twins remained tied for first place in the AL Central with the White Sox as they dumped the Pirates, 7-3, in Pittsburgh.

Both the Sox and Twins have yet to see their home stadiums; both are 3-2 on the road.

Minnesota got a home run from Brian Dozier for the third straight game, and Miguel Sano singled twice and doubled in five at-bats, driving in two runs, scoring twice.

Known primarily as a power hitter, Sano showed great patience and skill at the plate, scoring a tying run in the third inning on a sacrifice fly, and tying the game again in the sixth with an RBI single before adding an insurance run with another run-scoring single in the seventh.

Sano has homered twice already this season. Last year, he smacked 28 home runs and drove in 77 runs in 114 games.

The Twins head home on Thursday to host Seattle at 4:10 pm EDT.

Corbin: 7 1/3 IP, 1H, 12K

National League

Humming along like a well-oiled machine, the Arizona Diamondbacks won their fifth game in six outings, downing the visiting Dodgers, 3-0, as starter Patrick Corbin became the first pitcher in the National League to win two games.

Corbin didn't allow a hit until Matt Kemp's two-out double in the fifth inning broke up his bid for a perfect game. In the eighth, Corbin walked Kemp with one out and was done, manager Torey Lovullo pulling the starter after he threw 62 of 98 pitches for strikes, allowed one hit, one walk, struck out 12, and blanked the Dodgers throughout.

Archie Bradley finished the inning without incident and Brad Boxberger picked up his second save of the season walking two and fanning two without allowing a hit in the ninth.

The win left the Diamondbacks two games up on Colorado and the Giants, with Los Angeles 3 1/2 back after the three-game sweep by Arizona.

The Dodgers get a day off before opening a weekend series at San Francisco on Friday. Arizona heads to St. Louis for a three-game series starting on Thursday.

Robinson Cano, Jayson Nix Power Yankees to DH Win over Blue Jays; Patrick Corbin, Paul Goldschmidt Lead Arizona's 5-2 Win at Cincinnati

Players of the Day for Tuesday, August 20, 2013

American League

Robinson Cano

Jayson Nix

The Yankees have gotten hot at an opportune time, taking a double-header from the Blue Jays on Tuesday to creep to within 6 1/2 games of the new leader in the AL East, Tampa Bay.

Robinson Cano has been a mainstay for the Yanks, one of the few regulars that hasn't missed time due to injury, and he was the catalyst for the 8-4 win the afternoon contest, going 4-for-4 with his 200th career homer, his 23rd of the year, a three-run, third inning blast. He also singled twice and doubled in a run in the seventh inning. Cano is hitting .307, seventh in the AL, with 81 RBI, also seventh in the league.

Cano also went 2-for-4 in the nightcap, driving in the Yankees' first run with a single in the third inning, but game two turned into a personal highlight reel for Jayson Nix, filling in at shortstop for the injured Derek Jeter. Nix tied the score at 2-2 with a solo homer in the seventh, then delivered the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth, singling home Ichiro Suzuki for the 3-2, walk-off win.

The Yankees resume their four-game series with the Jays on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm EDT.

National League

Patrick Corbin

Right now, the Arizona Cardinals are on the outside looking in, trailing the Dodgers by 7 1/2 games in the NL West and five games behind the Reds for the second wild card spot, but they are still in contention with the month of September coming up fast.

In Tuesday's 5-2 win at Cincinnati, Patrick Corbin handled all the mound requirements, going the distance for his second complete game of the season, fanning ten without issuing a walk.

Paul Goldschmidt

Corbin didn't allow a run until the eighth inning, after Paul Goldschmidt's grand slam put the Diamondbacks up, 5-0. Chris Heisey socked a two-run homer off Corbin in the bottom of the frame, but that was all the Reds could muster as Corbin held them to six hits.

Making a quiet case for the Cy Young award in just his second season, Corbin has a 13-3 record with a 2.45 ERA and 150 strikeouts, all those figures among the leaders in the National League, tied for fourth in wins, fourth in ERA and 16th in strikeouts.

Goldschmidt tied the Pirates' Pedro Alvarez at 31 home runs, extending his RBI lead to eight over Brandon Phillips, the four ribbies giving him an even 100 on the year.

The four-game series is tied at 1-1, with game three scheduled for 7:10 pm EDT at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

Today's Trivia: Who led the National League in home runs more times, Hank Aaron or Willie Mays? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: While Mickey Mantle led the AL in home runs four times, Harmon Killebrew did it six times, leading three in a row from 1962-64 and tying for the league lead twice, in 1959 (Rocky Colavito, 42) and in 1967 (Carl Yazstremski, 44). Killebrew won it for his final time in 1969, when he belted 49.

Michael Brantley's Two Homers Power Cleveland Past Detroit; Patrick Corbin Hurls Diamondbacks to 6-1 Win over Rockies

Players of the Day for Sunday, July 7, 2013

American League

Michael Brantley

When Miguel Cabrera homered in the first inning, it looked like the Tigers might be on their way to taking the third straight from the home-standing - and second place - Indians, but Michael Brantley was having none of it.

Brantley doubled in a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame to put Cleveland up 2-1 and proceeded to smash a pair of homers, leading to the Indians' 9-6 victory.

Brantley's solo shot in the sixth made it 6-1, but the Tigers came back, eventually tying the game at 6-all when Torii Hunter smacked a three-run home run in the eighth. Again, Brantley came to the rescue, driving a two-run smash into the right field stands, putting the Indians ahead for good, going 3-for-5 with five RBI.

The win got the Indians back to within 2 1/2 of the division-leading Tigers. The finale of the four-game set will be played Monday night at 7:05 pm EDT inside Progressive Field.

National League

Just a week ago, the NL West was a tightly-packed, five team scramble.

No more. The Arizona Diamondbacks won their fifth straight, completing a three-game sweep of the Rockies, with a 6-1 victory, establishing a commanding 4 1/2 game lead in the division.

Patrick Corbin

Patrick Corbin worked eight sensational innings, allowing one run on just three hits, the Rockies only getting on the board in the eighth inning off Jonathan Herrera's one-out, solo homer.

Corbin (10-1) fanned 10 and threw 67 of 97 pitches for strikes, recording his first win since June 2nd. He had gone five straight games without a decision, then lost to the Mets on July 2nd, his first defeat of the year.

With a 2.40 ERA, Corbin joins Paul Goldschmidt as Diamondback representatives in the All-Star Game, July 16.

Today's Trivia: From 1991 to 2000, one pitcher led or tied for the NL lead in wins five times. Who was this ace? (answer tomorrow)

Yesterday's Answer: As a rookie with Philadelphia in 1883, John Coleman went 12-48, giving up 772 hits and 291 runs in 538 1/3 innings, setting the professional standard for pitching futility.

Cleveland Wins 5th Straight on Yan Gomes' Walk-Off Homer; Patrick Corbin Goes Distance for 1st Place Diamondbacks

Players of the Day for Monday, May 20, 2013

American League

Yan Gomes

Having surged to the lead in the AL Central by winning 12 of their last 15 games and their last five straight, the Cleveland Indians completed a four-game sweep of Seattle with a thrilling, 10-8 victory in 10 innings, capped by Yan Gomes' walk-off, three-run homer in the bottom of the final frame.

A rookie catcher who played 43 games with Toronto in 2012, Gomes elevated his game with two homers (his third and fourth), the first of which was a solo shot in the second inning when the Indians plated four to take an early lead. He also singled, going 3-for-5 on the night.

The Mariners trailed most of the way, but tied the game in the eighth and took a brief lead in the ninth on Endy Chavez's solo homer before Cleveland scored a single run to send it to extra innings.

Seattle re-took the advantage when Justin Smoak belted a 422-foot solo shot with two down in the top of the tenth to lead 8-7.

Batting out of the nine-hole, Gomes appeared at the plate with two aboard and nobody out in the 10th, taking an offering from Seattle reliever, Charlie Furbush, over the wall in left field.

Seattle remained nine game behind the Rangers in the West, while the Indians increased their lead to 2 1/2 games over idle Detroit.

National League

Patrick Corbin

Despite the fact that the season is only 1/4 of the way through, the battle in the NL West has intensified, with three teams within 2 1/2 games of each other and San Diego lurking just 4 1/2 out.

While the Giants were trashing Washington, 8-0, Arizona opened a big, three-game series at Colorado with a 5-1 win in which the Diamondbacks banged out 16 hits, each of the position players getting at least one hit.

The fact that his teammates left 10 runners in scoring position didn't seem to bother starting pitcher Patrick Corbin, who cruised to his seventh win without a loss with his first major league complete game, allowing just three hits, fanning 10 while walking one.

The lone run came in the eighth, after the Diamondbacks had already put up their five runs.

Corbin tied Washington's Jordan Zimmermann for the NL lead in wins, is second in ERA, at 1.44, and upped his strikeout total to 51 with a career-high in the game.

Arizona's win left them a game to the good on the Giants and 2 1/2 ahead of the Rockies. Game two of the series is Tuesday at 8:40 pm EDT.

Today's Trivia: Miguel Cabrera's .389 batting average was the highest in the majors since 1994, when the major leagues were led with a .394 average. Who accomplished this hitting marvel?

Yesterday's Answer: The two teammates who had 200 or more hits in 2009 were Derek Jeter (212) and Robinson Cano (204) of the NY Yankees.

Elvis Andrus Gets Rangers Over Angels in 10 Innings; Patrick Corbin Hurls six Scoreless as D'Backs Sweep Dodgers

Players of the Day for Wednesday, August 1, 2012

American League

Life in the NL West has gotten serious.

Elvis Andrus

On Wednesday, the Texas Rangers fought back from a 7-1 deficit with single runs in the bottoms of the eight and ninth innings - the tying run scored on Ian Kinsler's solo shot - to send the second game of their four-game set with the Angels into extras.

In the 10th inning, Los Angeles put up three runs, two courtesy of Albert Pujols' second two-run homer of the game, but the resolute Rangers rebounded with four in the bottom frame, snatching an 11-10 victory from the hard-charging Angels.

After Nelson Cruz homered to cut into the lead by a run, Mitch Moreland delivered a clutch single to score the Rangers' second run. With the bases loaded, Elvis Andrus delivered the game-winning single to left field, plating two runs and the win.

Andrus was spectacular, going 4-for-6 with three RBI including his 24th double of the season and a run-scoring single in the Rangers' four-run fifth.

The result was a four game lead in the division for the Rangers, with Oakland falling to 4 1/2 off the pace, off their 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay.

The Rangers and Angels go at it again on Thursday and wrap up the series on Friday.


National League

Arizona completed their three-game sweep of the Dodgers, as rookie starter, Patrick Corbin, limited Los Angeles to two hits over six innings of superb mound work.

Patrick Corbin

Making just his sixth major league start, Corbin walked two and struck out five, leaving the ball in the capable hands of a trio of Diamondback relievers who each turned in a perfect inning of relief in the 4-0 win.

Corbin took the win, improving to 3-4 while dropping his ERA to a respectable 3.60.

Arizona's sweep of the Dodgers put them right back into the thick of the NL West race, trailing the Giants by games, but just 1 1/2 behind the second place Dodgers. Since July 20, Arizona is 10-3.

After a day off Thursday, the Diamondbacks head East for three game swith the Phillies and four with the NL Central's contentious Pittsburgh Pirates.