Carlos Pena, Ryan Roberts and Ben Zobrist Key Rays Comeback Win over Angels; Chris Young Powers Arizona over Astros

Players of the Day for Saturday, August 18, 2012

American League

Taking their third straight from the LA Angels, the Tampa Bay Rays strengthend their hold on the top wild card spot with a come-from-behind, 10-8 victory that may have dealt a death blow to the Angels' post-season hopes.

Carlos Pena

Down 8-0 after just three innings, the road-tested Rays used six different pitchers after starter Alex Cobb couldn't get out of the third inning, allowing all eight runs on 12 hits, including home runs by Albert Pujols and Mike Trout.

While the bullpen heroes were blanking the Angels over the final 6 1/3 innings, the Rays' regulars were banging out the hits, scoring seven times in the fifth inning, tying the game in the sixth when Ryan Roberts scooted home on a Jose Lobaton sacrifice fly, and winning the game on Carlos Pena's two-run, pinch hit homer in the eighth.

Ryan Roberts

It was Pena's only at-bat of the game, though a most meaningful one, perhaps the biggest hit for Pena and the Rays of the season. Roberts' contribution was significant, scoring twice on a 2-for-4 night. Ben Zobrist keyed the sixth inning rally with his only hit in five at-bats, a bases-loaded double that sent all three runners home.

Ben Zobrist

A true team effort, nine different Rays scored for the Rays. Roberts was the only player to touch home plate twice.

The Rays have won three straight and eight of their last ten to take the wild card lead by a game over the Orioles and 1 1/2 over the A's, both of which were winners on Saturday. Tampa Bay and Baltimore each picked up a game on the East division leading Yankees, who fell to Boston, 4-1. New York leads the Rays by five and the O's by six games.

The Angels and Rays wrap up their series at 3:35 pm EDT on Sunday with the Rays seeking a four-game sweep. The Angels have fallen eight games behind Texas in the West and 4 1/2 behind the Rays in the wild card, wiht the O's, A's and Tigers ahead of them.


National League

Chris Young singled twice, doubled and socked his 13th home run of the season, driving in three runs with a 4-for-5 effort with two runs scored to lead the Diamondbacks to their third straight win, a 12-4 romp over the hosting Astros that included a nine-run fifth inning.

Chris Young

Houston was leading, 3-1, after four innings until Arizona sent nine men to the plate in the fateful fifth that featured three walks an error and was capped by Aaron Hill's three run homer. Hill had walked and scored earlier in the inning.

Arizona remained five games back in the NL West as the Giants and Dodgers both won on Saturday. San Francisco leads LA by a slim 1/2 game.

The West appears to be an all-or-nothing division, especially for Arizona, with three team vying for the title with little hope of the second place team earning the second wild card slot. Atlanta leads the wild card card chase with the Pirates four games back in the second spot. LA is 1/2 game behind Pittsburgh, the Cardinals another 1/2 game behind LA and the Diamondbacks four games behind St. Louis.

Arizona will be seeking a sweep of the Astros Sunday at 2:25 pm EDT. Following Houston's 82nd loss of the season against just 39 wins - easily the worst record in the majors - the Astros fired manager Brad Mills, hitting coach Mike Barnett and first base coach Bobby Meacham.

Kevin Millwood, Five Relievers Combine for Mariners' No-Hitter; Ryan Roberts Leads Arizona with Walk-Off Homer

Players of the Day for Friday, June 8, 2012

American League

Kevin Millwood

Kevin Millwood started for Seattle in their interleague game with the Giants, going six innings without surrendering a hit, but a groin injury kept him from returning to the mound in the seventh.

That's when the Seattle bullpen picked up where Millword left off. Three innings and five pitchers later, the Mariners completed the fourth no-hitter in the majors this season, the first thrown by multiple pitchers, as Seattle topped the Dodgers, 1-0.

After taking some warmup tosses, Millwood couldn't continue and was replaced by Charlie Furbush, who recorded the first two outs of the seventh. Stephen Pryor completed the inning, and was replaced by Lucas Luetge, who got the first out of the eighth. Brandon League took the game to the ninth, getting two outs, and 6'6" Tom Wilhelmsen finished off the Dodgers with a perfect ninth inning for his third save.

Millwood struck out six and walked one, but didn't get a decision, as the Mariners scored their only run off a single by Kyle Seager in the seventh inning. The five relievers combined for three Ks and a pair of walks, both surrendered by Pryor, who, oddly enough, earned the win.

It was the second no-hitter thrown at Safeco Field this year. Philip Humber of the White Sox humbled the Mariners back in April.

The six pitchers tied an MLB record for the most pitchers used in a no-hit game.


National League

Arizona knocked off the A's, 9-8 as Ryan Roberts thrilled the hometown crowd with a three-run, walk-off homer with two out in the bottom of the ninth.

Ryan Roberts

Trailing 8-6, when A's closer, Brian Fuentes, took the mound for the ninth, the D'Backs didn't appear to have anything going, the first two batters surrendering on a fly to center and a ground out to short.

But, Fuentes opened the door a crack when he walked Chris Young and Aaron Hill pushed it wide open with a follow-up single, sending Young to second and putting the winning run at the plate in the form of Roberts, who had already doubled twice and scored a run in his previous four at-bats.

Roberts deposited a Fuentes offering deep into the left-center stands, giving Arizona their third straight win and putting them one up on the A's in the opener of their three-game weekend series.

INTERLEAGUE SCOREBOARD: With the results of Friday's games in addition to the games played the weekend of May 18-20, the American League leads the National League, 31-25, after splitting the scoreboard, 7-7. The first weekend of Interleague games went to the AL, 24-18, but the NL will have ample opportunity to even things up as this stretch of games between the opposing leagues stretches until June 24, a span - for most teams - of 15 straight games.

Due to the imbalance between the number of teams in the two leagues (there are two more NL teams than AL), there is normally a series pitting two NL teams. Friday saw the Brewers top San Diego, 9-5, in the opener of a three game set in Milwaukee.

NL Playoffs: David Freese Powers Cardinals Past Phillies; Ryan Roberts (Tat Man) Slams for Diamondbacks; Game Fives Friday; Tigers at Yankees Thursday Night

Players of the Day for Wednesday, October 5, 2011

American League

There were no AL games on Wednesday. The Texas Rangers eliminated the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday and await the winner of Thursday's game five of the Yankees - Detroit series. Game time is 8:07 pm EDT at Yankee Stadium in New York.

National League

Cardinals 5 Phillies 3

David Freese

St. Louis forced a decisive game five with the Phillies, as third baseman David Freese drove in four of the Cardinals' five runs with a 4th inning, two-run double and a monster two-run smash far over the center field wall in the 6th.

Freese hit 10 homers in 97 games with the Cardinals during the regular season. His 6th-inning shot was his first post-season homer. The Cards generated only six hits, all of them off Philly starter Roy Oswalt, who worked six full innings. Edwin Jackson, the St. Louis starter, surrendered two first inning runs, but then settled down and blanked the Phillies over the next five frames.

The series tied at two games apiece, a monumental pitching math-up looms for Friday's series finale, matching former Toronto teammates Roy Halladay for the Phillies against Cardinal ace, Chris Carpenter. Game time in Philadephia is set for 8:37 pm EDT.

Diamondbacks 10 Brewers 6

Arizona bludgeoned their way to a game four victory, setting up a game five showdown in Milwaukee on Friday. The Diamondbacks turned back a 1-0 Brewer lead in the first inning with five runs in the bottom half of the inning, four of the runs scoring on Ryan (Tat Man) Roberts grand slam off Milwaukee starter Randy Wolf, who was slammed for seven hits and eight earned runs over three innings of work.

Ryan Roberts (Tat Man)

Roberts, his arms festooned with colorful tattoos - thus, the "Tat Man" nickname - drove a two-out Wolf offering down the left field line and into the bullpen after Paul Goldschmidt, who socked a grand slam of his own in game three - struck out looking with the bases loaded.

The smash was Roberts' only hit of the game, but it propelled the Brewers to victory and a chance to win a game in Milwaukee, where they lost the first two games of the series.

Starters for the Friday game five are the same pair who started game one: Yovani Gallardo for Milwaukee and 21-game winner, Ian Kennedy for the Diamondbacks. Scheduled game time is 5:07 pm EDT.