Cardinals Win 6th Straight On Dexter Fowler Grand Slam; Trey Mancini Homers Twice As Orioles Down A's 7-2

Players of the Day for Thursday, August 10, 2017

American League

After making an errant throw in the first inning which led to an Oakland score, Baltimore first baseman, Trey Mancini, would eventually make up for his miscue, backing starting pitcher Wade Miley with a pair of solo homers in a 7-2 Baltimore win at Oakland.

Trey Mancini: 2 HR

While Miley was shutting out the A's on three hits over seven inning after the first-inning unearned run, Mancini was banging balls out of the park, each of his homers a part of a back-to-back set-up. In the fourth, Adam Jones sent one out to break a 1-1 tie (his 21st), with Mancini increasing the lead with his first bomb of the night. Again, in the sixth, Mancini went yard with his 20th, ahead of Mark Trumbo's solo blast (18th).

A pleasant surprise for the O's, Mancini is batting .296 and has driven in 60 runs.

The Oriole win kept them 8 1/2 behind Boston in the AL East. Boston won its eighth straight while the Yankees lost, 4-0, at Toronto, widening the Red Sox lead to 4 1/2 over New York.

Boston and the Yankees will play each other six times in the next ten days, starting with a trio of games in New York over the weekend. The schedule opens up possibilities for the Orioles or Rays, who are seven games back, to make up some ground or improve their position in the wild card race.

Baltimore plays the second game of the four-game series in Oakland, Friday, at 7:05 PT.

National League

Fowler: Grand Slam, 5RBI

Acquired by the Cardinals from the Cubs during the off-season, Dexter Fowler has provided some pop and solid play in center field for St. Louis, despite a couple of stints on the DL this season.

Since coming off the DL for the second time, Fowler has played in four games, going a combined 6-for-13 (.462), capped by his grand slam in the Cardinals' 8-6 victory over Kansas City, the second straight win for St. Louis over the visiting Royals. Fowler's bases-loaded bash in the seventh inning, unknotted a 3-3 tie. An inning earlier, Fowler doubled in the first run for St. Louis, as the Cardinals erased a 3-0 KC lead.

Finishing 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and five RBI, Fowler led the surging Cardinals to their sixth straight triumph, overtaking Milwaukee, losers of five straight, for second place in the NL Central, one game behind the Cubs.

With what may be the best pitching staff in the division, the Cardinals may be able to do themselves more good when they open a three game series with Atlanta at Busch Stadium Friday. Adam Wainwright (11-5) goes to the mound for St. Louis, facing Atlanta's Mike Foltynewicz (10-6). Game time is 8:15 pm ET.

Trey Mancini Lifts Orioles Over Pirates In 11; Nick Markakis Drives In Five In Braves' 14-1 Romp

Players of the Day for Wednesday, June 7, 2017

American League

Mancini: 2 HR, 5 RBI

While the Yankees and Red Sox were splitting the first two games of their three-game series in New York, the Baltimore Orioles were busy making life miserable for the Pittsburgh Pirates, taking two straight from the visitors to Camden Yards, both in extra innings.

The pattern was the same for both games, with the O's falling behind, then rallying to tie the game in the ninth inning and winning in extra frames. On Tuesday, it was Jonathan Schoop who belted a two run homer to tie the game, leading to Mark Trumbo's RBI single in the 10th.

Wednesday's contest was even more dramatic, with rookie Trey Mancini - pinch-hitting for leadoff hitter Seth Smith - socking a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game at six, then launching his 15th belt of the season, a three-run shot, for the 9-6 game-winner.

Pittsburgh had built a 6-1 lead after seven innings, but the Orioles rallied for one run in the eighth and four in the ninth. Seven Pirate pitchers contributed to the losing effort, keeping Pittsburgh in last place in the NL Central, a game behind St. Louis, losers of six straight, and 5 1/2 behind surprising division leader, Milwaukee.

For the Orioles, they can't complain about the split in New York, as they have gained a game on both the Yankees and Red Sox. New York leads the AL East by two over Boston, with the Orioles another 1/2 game back.

Baltimore heads down I-95 to play the Nationals on Thursday, a make-up for a May 11 postponement, before heading to Yankee Stadium Friday for a three-game series with the Bombers.

Pittsburgh heads home to open a four-game series with the Marlins on Thursday.

National League

Markakis: 2 2B, 5 RBI

With the Nationals romping to an 11 1/2 game lead in the National League East, there isn't much to say about the rest of the division's teams, but the Atlanta Braves soldier on in second place, tied with the Mets after dropping the Phillies, 14-1, after losing the
first two games of their four-game series in Atlanta.

Highlighting the effort was outfielder, Nick Markakis, who doubled three times in five at-bats and drove in five runs.

Markakis sent his first two-bagger into the left-center gap in the fourth inning, driving in his first run. He doubled in two in the seventh inning and did the same in the eighth. The Phillies didn't score until their final chance, in the ninth.

Always a reliable performer, Markakis, in his third year with the Braves, is batting .289 with 31 RBI.

Game four of the series is scheduled for Thursday night, 7:35 pm ET, in Atlanta.

Baltimore's Trey Mancini Strikes Twice Again; Bryce Harper Walks Offs Phillies in Nats' 6-4 Win

Players of the Day for Sunday, April 16, 2017

American League

Mancini: 2HR, 4RBI

With their 11-4 win at Toronto, the Baltimore Orioles maintained their tenuous hold on first place in the AL East, 1/2 game ahead of the surging Yankees - winners of seven straight - and 1 1/2 clear of Boston.

Taking the series three games to one, the power-laden Orioles banged out 15 hits in the Sunday finale, led by Trey Mancini, who went 3-for-5 with four RBI and two runs on the strength of a pair of home runs, a three-run belt in the sixth and a solo shot in the eighth.

The Orioles scored five runs in each of the frames in which Mancini homered. It was the second time this season that the rookie has rocked the opponent with a dinger duo. He last did it against the Red Sox on April 12, resulting in a 12-5 Baltimore victory.

Mancini has four homers and nine RBI on the year, and is sporting a solid .364 batting average. MLB may want to check Mancini's seemingly-magical bats. He loaned them to teammates Craig Gentry and Manny Machado and both of them also went deep.

Harper slugs Game-Winner

Baltimore gets a day off Monday before heading to Cincinnati to open a three-game series on Tuesday, completing a nine-game road trip. The O's are 4-2 away from Camden Yards this season.

National League

As the Mets were losing to Miami, 4-2, the Washington Nationals took the initiative, topping the Phillies, 6-4, on Bryce Harper's three-run, walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth.

Washington's victory tied them with the Marlins for first place in the NL East, with the Mets dropping 1/2 game behind.

Harper's heroics happened after the Phillies had scored the go-ahead run in the top of the inning, making the score 4-3, but Joacuin Benoit could not keep the Nationals off the bases in the bottom of the frame, walking Chris Heisey with one away, then allowing a single to right by Adam Eaton. After Anthony Rendon lined out to right, the stage was set for Harper, who delivered a crushing, 419-foot blast over the wall in center field.

It was Harper's second home run of the season, boosting his RBI total to 13, second in the NL behind Miami's Marcell Ozuna with 18.

On Tuesday, Washington will embark on a ten-game road trip, with stops in stops in Atlanta, New York (Mets) and Cincinnati.

Orioles Swamp BoSox As Trey Mancini Belts A Pair; Stephen Piscotty Drives St. Louis Win

Players of the Day for Wednesday, April 12, 2017

American League


On Tuesday, the Orioles were rocked by the Red Sox, 8-1, but, on Wednesday, they got their just desserts, hammering five homers out of Fenway Park in a 12-5 revenge win.

Mancini: 2 HR, 4 RBI

The five dingers, two of which were produced off the bat of rookie left fielder, Trey Mancini, all came in the first three innings as the O's built a 9-0 lead, mainly off knuckle-baller Steven Wright, who was victimized for eight earned runs on eight hits over a mere 1 1/3 of an inning.

In total, the Orioles racked up 17 hits against five Red Sox throwers.

Mancini keyed a five-run first inning via a three-run blast to center field, then completed the home run barrage with a solo shot over the Green Monster in the third. The rookie has played in five games for the O's this season and is currently batting .267. The homers were the first two of the season for the 6'4" right-handed slugger.

Piscotty: 5 RBI

The Orioles head to Toronto for a four game series beginning on Thursday, while the Red Sox host the Pirates in a make-up game from an April 6 rain-out.

At 5-2, the Orioles lead the AL East by one game over Tampa Bay.

National League

The St. Louis Cardinals got a little banged up the at the opening of the season, especially when they visited the Washington Nationals, losing the first two of their three-game series by scores of 14-6 and 8-3.

On Wednesday afternoon, however, life as a Cardinal got a little bit better as St. Louis took the final game, 6-1.

Starter Mike Leake threw seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and no walks, striking out seven en route to his first win of the season, but it was right fielder Stephen Piscotty who carried the day, going 3-for-5 with a single, double and a ninth inning three-run homer to cap the game off, driving in five of the six Cardinal scores.

Piscotty doubled in the first run in the first inning and singled home the third run in the fifth. The homer was the first of the year for Piscotty, who is batting .273, precisely what he hit in 582 at-bats last year.

The St. Louis win was their third of the season against six losses, placing them last in the NL Central division. Washington fell one game behind the Mets in the NL East. St. Louis heads to New York for a three-game series with the Yankees starting on Friday.