Trevor Cahill Hurls A's Into 1st Place Tie With Houston; Miles Mikolas Is 13-3 As Cardinals Overtake Brewers

Players of the Day for Saturday, August 18, 2017

Trevor Cahill

American League

The Oakland A's tied the Astros for first place in the AL West with a 7-1 win over Houston Saturday as starter Trevor Cahill tossed seven innings of one-hit ball.

Cahill gave up a second inning single to Yuli Gurriel, but didn't allow another hit, putting down 14 straight until walking Alex Bregman to lead off the seventh. Bregman was erased on a double play and Cahill ended the inning by striking out Marwin Gonzalez. Cahill threw 100 pitches and struck out seven, improving to 5-2. His walk to Bregman was the only one he allowed.

Cahill has a 3.12 ERA in 15 starts this season.

Oakland has been tearing it up since the all star break, going 19-7 and are 11-3 in August.

With game three on tap for a 4:05 pm EDT start on Sunday, the A's have the opportunity to take over sole possession of first place in the division.

Miles Mikolas

National League

Surging St. Louis took over second place in the NL Central and are 1/2-game behind Philadelphia in the wild card race after defeating the visiting Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday, 7-2.

Winners of 10 of their last 11, St Louis got another prime pitching performance from Miles Mikolas, who gave up five hits over six strong innings for his 13th win against three losses. A second inning solo shot by Milwaukee's Travis Shaw was the only earned run Mikolas surrendered, as he struck out seven and did not issue any walks.

After spending parts of three seasons with San Diego and Texas and various stints in the minors from 2012 through 2014, Mikolas played three seasons in Japan with the Nomuri Giants compiling a 31–13 record with a 2.18 ERA in 62 starts. He joined St. Louis in 2018 and has won five straight decisions.

The Cardinals, now 14-3 in August, has whittled the Cubs' lead is down to four games. Milwaukee, thanks to losing the first two games of the three-game series at St. Louis, is 4 1/2 out.

In 30 games since Mike Shildt took over as interim manager after the firing of Mike Matheny at the all star break, St. Louis is 20-10.

Game three is Sunday, 2:15 pm EDT.

Matt Moore Allows One Hit over Seven as Rays Pummel Miami, 11-0; Trevor Cahill Leads Arizona Past Angels

Players of the Day for Friday, June 15, 2011

American League

Matt Moore

Tampa Bay kept pace with the red-hot Yankees - winners of seven straight - as starting pitcher Matt Moore held the Miami Marlins scoreless through seven innings, allowing only one hit - a first inning single by Donovan Solano - in an 11-0 rout.

While his regulars were piling on the runs, Moore was mowing down Marlins, striking out eight and walking three until he finished the seventh inning and Tampa Bay's bullpen mopped up. Burke Badenhop held Miami hitless in the eighth; Brandon Gomes walked one, but fanned three in the ninth to complete the victory.

The Rays had been atop the AL East until recently, but opened their three-game set in Tampa with a needed win and trail the Yankees by 2 1/2 games.

National League

Trevor Cahill

Jason Kubel staked Arizona starter, Trevor Cahill, to a one run lead with a first inning RBI single and the 6'4" righty made it stand up, out-dueling the Angels' Dan Haren through seven full innings.

Cahill gave up just three hits, walked two and struck out eight, evening his record at 5-5 and keeping the Diamondbacks 8 1/2 games behind the Dodgers in the AL West with a 5-0 win.

Haren was rocked from the mound when Arizona put up four runs in the top of the sixth.

An off-season pick-up from Oakland, Cahill has won his last three starts after a rocky, 2-5 start in Arizona.

Topping the Angels in the opener of their three-game series, the Diamondbacks remain mired in third place at 32-32, with the Giants stalking the Dodgers from second place, four games out.

The second place Angels fell another game behind Texas in the AL West with the loss and a 6-2 Rangers win over Houston.

INTERLEAGUE SCOREBOARD: The leagues split Friday's games, each winning seven, keeping the AL edge at ten games, 75-65.

Carlos Gonzalez Goes 4-for-5, Rockies Win; Trevor Cahill Stumps Tigers

Players of the Day for Sunday, April 17, 20101

American League

Trevor Cahill

The Detroit Tigers started out well in their 4-game series at Oakland, winning the first two games, but since then the A's have had their way taking their second straight from the Tigers Sunday, as Trevor Cahill shut Detroit down on 4 hits in a 5-1 A's win.

The win was Cahill's second of the season without a loss, going 8 innings, fanning 9 and allowing one run, which came in the 6th inning, after the A's had already forged a 4-0 lead.

Cahill was strong, throwing 80 of 112 pitches for strikes as the A's moved back to .500, at 8-8, five games behind NL West leader, Texas.

Carlos Gonzalez

National League

The Cubs may have snapped Colorado's win streak on Saturday, but the Rockies went right back to starting another one with a 9-5 win at Coors Field on Sunday.

Doing his fair share to keep Colorado in first place in the NL West, Carlos Gonzalez went 4-for-5 (all singles), scored a run, stole a base and drove in two runs.

Gonzalez has 12 RBI on the season, and has hit only one home run thus far, but it's not a worry as the Rockies lead the Giants by 3 1/2 games in the division.

Trevor Cahill Shuts Out KC on 3 Hits; Prince Fielder Has 5 Hits, 5 RBI in 18-1 Win over Cubs

Players of the Day for August 2, 2010 American League Eight games behind the Texas Rangers in the AL West, the Oakland A's still have plenty of reasons to be optimistic about their chances of running down the Rangers in August and September. They've managed to catch the Angels for second place in the division by winning 10 of 16 games since the all star break and they've been getting excellent pitching from their starters, such as the complete game, 3-hit shutout tossed by Trevor Cahill in the A's 6-0 home win over Kansas City. Cahill used his pitches effectively in posting his 11th win against four losses, throwing just 61 of 109 pitches for strikes. Though he walked four batters and only struck out three, Cahill was never in danger as the only time there was more than one runner aboard was in the 8th inning and the A's turned five double plays to quickly erase any signs of life from the Royals. The 6'4" righty dropped his ERA to 2.72 and his WHIP to 0.99 and extended his scoreless streak to 18 innings. The win was the second-year hurler's first complete game and first shutout in the majors. Oakland picked up 1/2 game on the idle Rangers and will have the opportunity to gain some more ground when they host Texas for a three-game series beginning Friday, August 6. National League The season's pretty much over for the Chicago Cubs - for their worn-out pitching staff, at least. After being routed 17-2 in Colorado on Friday, Chicago lost two more over the weekend and extended their losing streak to six games in a humiliating 18-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday at Wrigley Field. The Brewers banged out a season-high 26 hits in 53 at-bats (.491) and scored in every inning from the 3rd on, off four Chicago pitchers. Yovani Gallardo (10-5) pitched better than he had to, allowing just one run on two hits over six innings, striking out 12 batters. Ryan Braun had five hits for the Brewers, as did Prince Fielder, who drove in five runs and scored twice in seven official at-bats. Only four of the Brewers' hits went for extra bases, and just one was over the ivy, Casey McGahee's three-run shot in the 4th. The result of the game dropped the Cubs into 5th place in the NL Central, 13 1/2 behind the Reds. The Brewers remained mired in 3rd place, 11 games out.

Phillips, Votto Smash Brewers; Trevor Cahill Shuts Down Rangers

Players of the Day for Wednesday, July 28, 2010 American League With a 7 1/2 game lead in the AL West, deep in the heart of Texas many are thinking that the divisional race is all but over. Don't tell that to the Oakland A's. The A's evened their three-game series with the Rangers by taking the second game, 3-1, exactly the score they were beaten by in the opener. Trevor Cahill came up big against the Rangers, blanking them on two hits over eight innings, walking three and fanning four. Coupled with the Angels' 7-3 loss to Boston, it's now the A's, not the Angels, in second place. Since the all star break, Oakland has kept pace with the Rangers, going 8-3 while the Rangers were 9-4. The Angels have fallen on hard times, with a 5-8 record over the same span, losing their last four straight and have fallen into third place 8 1/2 games out. Cahill (10-4) has started three times against Texas this season and has recorded two wins and one no decision, though the A's won that game. On Wednesday, he allowed just one hit until the 4th inning, when Josh Hamilton singled, sending Vlaimir Guerrero, who had earlier walked, to third base, but Cahill stuck out Nelson Cruz to get out of the inning. He didn't allow a hit after that, turning the ball over to the bullpen after eight innings. The Rangers scored their only run of the game off reliever Michael Wuertz in the 9th, but Craig Breslow came in and fanned Hamilton and Cruz to end the game. National League St. Louis and Cincinnati are dead even again in the NL Central... almost. The Reds have played two more games than the Cardinals, and have one more win and one extra loss, so technically, the Cards lead the division by .001. While St. Louis was busy blowing leads to the Mets, finally winning in 13 innings on (who else?) Albert Pujols' RBI single, Brandon Phillips (left) and Joey Votto (right) were taking care of business in Milwaukee with a 10-2 win. The Brewers were leading until the top of the 6th, when Phillips singled, stole second and scored on Votto's single to right. The Reds would score four more in the frame, and their bullpen wouldn't allow another Milwaukee run. In the 8th, the Reds scored five more runs, four of them on Phillips' grand slam, his 14th homer of the year. Votto put his stamp on the game with his league-leading 26th homer, a solo shot to center. The Cardinals and reds have been locked into this duel pretty much all season, leaving the rest of the division in their dust. The two next meet for a three-game series in Cincinnati on August 9, 10 and 11. Still Streaking: Absolutely the hottest rookie in either league, Buster Posey extended his hitting streak to 21 straight with a single in the third inning of San Francisco's 10-9, 10-inning win over the Marlins. Posey has now matched Josh Hamilton and Jose Guillen for the longest streak in the majors this season and is within one of tying Willie McCovey's franchise record of 22 straight. The San Francisco catcher will have his chance on Thursday night when the Giants seek to sweep their three-game set with the Marlins.

Rockies Slip Past Giants; Rangers Folding Fast

Players of the Day for Wednesday, September 17, 2009 American League The Texas Rangers have been hanging onto hopes of catching either the Red Sox for the wild card spot or the Angels in the AL West, but they have run into a slump lately that seems to be scuttling their post-season aspirations. Helping the Rangers fold into the September sunset is divisional rival Oakland, especially the pitching staff of the A's, which completed a three-game series sweep of the Rangers with a 4-0 whitewash in which A's starter Trevor Cahill gunned down the Rangers on one hit and a pair of walks over 7 innings, at one point retiring 16 consecutive Texas batsmen. Cahill (9-12) followed up the outstanding pitching of Brett Tomko, who delivered a 5-hit complete game shutout in the series opener for a 9-0 win, and Edgar Gonzalez and a parade of five relievers who engineered a 6-1 win in the middle game of the series. Cahill, a rookie, has posted wins in three of his last four starts, though Wednesday's effort was far and away his best. The 6'3" righty struck out 7 and needed only 94 pitches to keep the rangers in check. A pair of relievers - Michael Wuertz and Andrew Bailey - pitched perfect 8th and 9th innings, respectively. The Rangers have lost four of their last five and scored just one run in their three straight losses to the A's. With Boston beating the Angels, 9-8, Texas falls further behind - 6 1/2 games - Boston in the wild card race and remained 6 games shy of the Angels, against whom they begin a three-game series Friday in Arlington. The Rangers and Angles meet again in Anaheim later this month for a 4-game set from September 28 through October 1. By that time, however, depending upon the results from this weekend, the division and wild card may be out of reach for Texas. National League After four straight losses, the Colorado Rockies finally snapped out of their funk, but not before almost giving the game away in the 9th inning in a 4-3 win over the resurgent Giants. Jorge De La Rosa (15-9) hurled 8 shutout innings at the Giants, allowing just 3 hits and 2 walks while fanning 9 before turning the ball over to the Rockies' bullpen. Franklin Morales, who racked up six straight saves before a loss last week to San Diego, came on in the ninth and allowed three straight hits before giving way for Rafael Betancourt, who survived a Troy Tulowitzki error to earn his first save of the season. The Rockies' win boosted them back to a 3 1/2 game lead over the Giants in the wild card chase and 5 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West. Colorado's mini-losing streak helped the other wild card contenders. Florida is just 4 1/2 off the pace, the Braves are 5 back.

Cook Skewers Angels; Cahill Cuts Down Giants

Players of the Day for Monday, June 22, 2009 American League The A's cooled off their cross-town rivals, San Francisco, with a 5-1 home win on the strength of rookie Trevor Cahill's 4-hit pitching over seven innings. Cahill evened his record at 5-5 with a third win in his last four starts. The 6'3" California righty gave up his only earned run of the contest on Trevor Ishikawa's 4th homer of the season, a 2nd inning solo shot. Cahill walked one and struck out 4, finishing strong by retiring the Giants in order in the 6th and 7th innings before turning the ball over to the bullpen. The Giants had won three straight before coming to Oakland. The A's remain in last place in the AL West, 6 1/2 games off the pace. National League The Colorado Rockies are tearing it up, be it against National League opposition or teams from the AL. On Monday, the Rockies inflicted some pain on the California Angels, swamping the Halos, 11-1, behind the 3-hit, 7-inning pitching of Aaron Cook. Having spent his entire career - since 2002 - in the Rockies' organization, Cook had his best season in 2008, going 16-9 with a 3.96 ERA. Thus far in 2009, he's on track for an even better seasonal performance, already at 7-3, with a still-high 4.00 ERA, part of the punishment for pitching in thin air. Cook allowed the three Angels' hits in the first four innings, the last of which was Kendry Morales solo home run in the 4th, though by then, Colorado had already put up three runs of its own. In the next frame, Brad Hawpe quickly upped the lead to 6-1, with his 11th home run of the season, a 3-run jolt. Through the 5th, 6th and 7th, Cook retired the Angels in order, except for a 6th inning walk to Vladimir Guerrero. He left after completing seven innings, striking out four in the process. The win put the Rockies 9 games back of the Dodgers, just 1/2 game out of second place in the NL West, behind the Giants. Colorado has won 17 of its last 18 games and six straight. 11 of the wins came against NL teams, 6 against AL teams. The only loss during the streak was a 12-4 home loss to Tampa Bay.