Jacob deGrom, Pete Alonso Lead Mets Past D'Backs; Robinson Chirinos Leads Astros in 15-0 Win Over A's

Players of the Day for Monday, September 9, 2019

American League

Chirinos: 2 HR, 6 RBI

On Sunday, the Astros hammered the Mariners, 21-1 and on Monday, opened a four-game series with the A's, in Houston, so, OK, maybe the score would be a little closer.

It was, but not by much. Houston clobbered Oakland, 15-0, putting themselves that much closer to the AL West pennant and showing the wild card contender what they might be dealing with should they reach the playoffs.

The Astros belted seven home runs, all but one coming in the first two innings, as Houston built an 11-0 lead. Zack Grienke, the Houston starter, was the beneficiary of the big advantage, tossing six innings of shutout ball to go 5-1 in an Astros uniform.

Robinson Chirinos and Yordan Alvarez each socked two home runs. While Alvarez was banging out solo shots, Chirinos was doing it with men aboard, mashing a two-run homer in the first and a three-run rip in the seventh. His single in the second innings plated another run, giving him six RBI for the game.

The win left Houston with a 10 1/2 game lead over the A's and a magic number of seven to clinch the division for the third straight season. Game two is set for 8:10 pm ET, Tuesday, in Houston.

deGrom: 7IP, 3H, 1ER, 10K

National League

With three weeks left in the regular season, the wild card race in the National League is shaping up for excitement.

In New York, two contenders for the second and final wild card spot took to the field as the Mets opened a huge four-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Jacob deGrom was at his best for New York, tossing seven innings of three-hit ball, allowing in one run in the Mets' 3-1 victory, pulling them closer to the pack and to Arizona. Striking out 10, deGrom surrendered Arizona's only run in the fifth inning, when Wilmer Flores went deep for his eighth home run of the year.

Alonso's 47 HRs lead NL

Seth Lugo also came up big, fanning four in a hitless six-out save spanning the final two innings.

Aiding the cause was rookie sensation Pete Alonso, who cranked out a pair of solo homers. Alonso leads the league in home runs, with 47 and is fifth in RBI at 109. No rookie has led the National League in home runs since Ralph Kiner socked 23 for Pittsburgh in 1946. Only five players have led their league in home runs in their rookie season, the most recent being Aaron Judge, who hit 52 for the Yankees in 2017.

The Mets gained to within four games of the Cubs for the second wild card, but they have plenty of competition. The Brewers are two games back, the Diamondbacks, 2 1/2, the Phillies, three out. Washington leads all, two games up on Chicago.

The Mets host Arizona Tuesday in game two of the series at Citi Field, starting at 7:10 pm ET.

Robinson Chirinos Delivers Win For Rangers Over Astros; Starling Marte 5-for-5 As Pirates Down Marlins

Players of the Day for Sunday, April 15, 2018

Chirinos: HR, 2B, 3RBI

American League

With five games cancelled due to inclement weather conditions, there were just three AL games played on Sunday.

The nationally-televised meeting between Houston and the Texas Rangers in Arlington, provided a suitable stage for the Rangers and Robinson Chirinos as they took their second straight from the reigning world champions with a 10-inning, 3-1 triumph.

Perhaps the baseball gods were looking in as every player in the majors was wearing number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson, Chirinos offering a meaningful message as he drove in all of the Rangers' runs, including the game-winning double in the 10th, which supplied two runs.

Chirinos belted a solo homer in the third inning, and starting pitcher, Bartolo Colon, made it stand up until the Astros finally broke through with a run in the eighth. Both relief staffs kept the game tied until Chirinos unknotted it with his mighty rip to dead center.

The Rangers have already played the Astros seven times this season, and they've held their own, winning three of the contests. However, Texas has won only three other games and is dead last in the AL West, with a 6-11 mark. Houston is in second place behind the Angels, three back, at 10-6.

Both teams travel and play on Monday, with the Rangers landing in Tampa Bay, while the Astros open a series in Seattle.

Marte: 5-for-5, HR, 4R

National League

At 11-4, the Pittsburgh Pirates continue to alarm opponents throughout the National League. A young team with loads of potential, the surprising Pirates hit he ground running this season and lead the Cardinals by 2 1/2 games in the wide-open NL Central following their 7-3 win at Miami.

The Marlins took a 1-0 lead in the first, but they failed to hold it, mostly because every time Starling Marte stepped up to the plate, he found a way to get on base, going 5-for-5, scoring four times driving in one.

Singling and scoring in the third, fifth, and seventh inning, Marte finished off a perfect day at the plate with a solo home run in the ninth, completing the scoring for the Pirates.

One of the few Pittsburgh players that didn't get off to a blazing hot start, Marte raised his batting average from .241 entering the game, to .305 at its conclusion. He has three home runs and six RBI on the year.

Pittsburgh returns home to host the Colorado Rockies. Game one of the series begins Monday at 7:05 pm EDT.