Twins Win, 5-2, As Ervin Santana Tosses 5th Complete Game; Vance Worley, Dee Gordon Lead Marlins Past Nats

Players of the Day for Wednesday, August 2, 2017

American League

There were not many runs scored on Wednesday, with 12 of 28 teams on MLB fields scoring two or fewer runs and six of those teams not scoring at all.

Santana's 5 CGs Leads MLB

Of all these low-scoring games, in only one did a starting pitcher go the entire distance, that being Minnesota's Ervin Santana, in the Twins' 5-2 victory at San Diego.

The complete game was Santana's fifth of the season, which is three more than any other pitcher in the league. While there are probably a couple dozen starters who could pitch a full nine innings, the nature of baseball in the age of numbers, studies, and career protection, few do. Santana is a throwback to the 60s, when complete games were the norm rather than the oddity.

In the win over the Padres, Santana allowed four hits and two runs, both of them coming off the bat of Jose Pirela, who socked a two-run homer in the fourth inning. That didn't faze Santana, who set down the first ten batters faced in order before surrendering a single prior to Pirela's homer.

After that, it was lights out for the Padres, able to muster only two hits and a walk the rest of the way. Santana finished with nine strikeouts on 110 pitches, 82 of which were strikes. At 12-7 with a 3.28 ERA, Santana is one of the leading causes for Minnesota's success this season. They've cooled off since the break (6-11), and trail Cleveland in the AL Central by six games.

Worley: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER

The Twins head to home Thursday for the opener of a four-game series with the Rangers. Game one starts at 8:10 pm ET.

National League

Even though the Washington Nationals lead the NL East by 12 games, the division race is far from over, according to the Miami Marlins.

Miami took the final two games of their three-game series with the visiting Nationals, winning the finale, 7-0, as Vance Worley made the most of his spot start, flinging seven innings of shutout ball on two hits for the win and leadoff hitter Dee Gordon went 3-for-4 with two singles, a triple, two stolen bases, three runs and an RBI.

Gordon: 3-4, 3 R, 2 SB

On Tuesday, the Marlins erased a 6-0 win to take the game, 7-6. Washington starter, Max Scherzer, went just one inning, but also homered in his only at-bat, belting a three-run shot. Scherzer didn't take the mound for the second inning, complaining of stiffness in his neck. He expects to make his next start and is set to see a chiropractor this week. Stephen Strasburg is already on the DL and the Nationals cannot afford to lose Scherzer as well for any extended period.

In Wednesday's series finale, Worley allowed a first-inning single to Howie Kendrick, but got out of the frame on a double play. After that, he allowed just one more hit and didn't give up any walks. No Washington batter reached second base with Worley on the mound.

Meanwhile, Gordon was running wild. He walked and scored in the first inning, singled and stole second in the third, tripled and scored in the fifth, singled in a run in the sixth, stole second and scored again.

Gordon is batting an even .300, has scored 71 runs, tied for fifth in the NL, and his 40 steals is second league-wide to Cincinnati's Billy Hamilton (44). Worley is 1-2 with a 5.31 ERA in 14 appearances, six of them starts.

The Marlins head to Atlanta for a three-game series with the Braves starting Friday. On Monday, they'll open a four-game series in Washington. The Nationals open a three-game series with the Cubs in Chicago on Friday.

Vance Worley Shuts Out O's for Four Innings in Pirate Win; Chris Denorfia, Travis Wood Lead Cubs to 4th Straight Victory

Players of the Day for Sunday, March 15, 2015

Grapefruit League

Worley: 4 scoreless

Pittsburgh had one of the best pitching staffs in either league last season, and it appears that management is intent on building on that reputation.

On Sunday, starter Vance Worley blanked the Orioles over four innings, allowing two hits and a walk, striking out two.

Worley went 8-4 with the Pirates last season, his first winning campaign since 2011. He started 17 games and put down a marker with a 2.85 ERA. He bolsters a solid rotation.

The Orioles broke through in the sixth inning on Steve Pearce's two-run homer, but that was all the offense they could muster. After scoring single runs in the first and fourth, the Pirates put up a pair of runs in the eighth inning for the 4-2 win.

Cactus League

Travis Wood

After starting out a dismal 1-8, the Cubs have started winning, and the rest of the NL Central may want to start paying a little closer attention as the Cubs have won four straight.

Denorfia: HR 2RBI

One such team with a front row seat to the remaking of the cuddly Cubs is Cincinnati, which yesterday out-hit their rivals, 7-1, but still lost the game, 2-1. That's because the one hit allowed by Reds' starter Johnny Cueto, was a third inning home run by Chris Denorfia, after putting Dexter Fowler on base via a walk.

It could have been worse. Cueto worked four innings, and, despite just allowing the one hit, he did walk three.

The other part of the Cubs' winning equation was the five scoreless innings thrown by starting pitcher, Travis Wood, who scattered three hits, issue just one walk and fanned four.

Cincinnati (5-7) finally broke through for a run in the ninth inning, but the Cubs held on for the win.

Denorfia was picked up by the Cubs in the off-season, after he split 2014 between San Diego and Seattle. Wood has been a mainstay for the Cubs the past three seasons, after starting his MLB career with the Reds. In 89 starts for the Cubs, Wood has compiled a record of 23-38.

Carlos Beltran Slams Tribe as Derek Jeter Ties Honus Wagner; Vance Worley Leads Pirates into Second Place

Players of the Day for Friday, August 8, 2014

American League

Beltran: GS, 5RBI

Playing solid baseball since the all-star break, the Yankees continue to win, but can't make up any ground on the Orioles.

Jeter ties Wagner

In New York's 10-6 win over Cleveland, Derek Jeter tied Honus Wagner on the all-time hit list and Carlos Beltran socked a sixth inning grand slam that carried the Yankees to victory.

Beltran drove in Jeter with the game's initial score in the first inning after Jeter singled to tie Wagner with 3430 career hits. His next hit will put him in fifth place, all-time.

The slam came after the Indians had whittled into the lead, making the score 5-2, but, Beltran's 14th homer of the season - off John Axford - pretty much put the game away. Both teams made extensive use of their bullpens. The Yankees used six pitchers; Cleveland, seven.

Despite winning seven of their last ten and going 14-7 since the all-star break, Baltimore still leads the Yankees by five full games. New York took over sole control of second place, as Toronto lost to Detroit, 5-4. The Orioles hammered St. Louis, 12-2, matching the Yankees' record since the all-star break, and haven't lost two straight since dropping the final two games of a series against the Rays, June 28 and 29.

Worley: 5-1

Game two of the three-game series against the Indians is Saturday, 1:05 pm EDT at Yankee Stadium.

National League

Pittsburgh's Vance Worley gave up a first-inning run to the Padres, but little more after that, leading the Pirates into second place in the NL Central with a 2-1 victory.

Worley (5-1) went seven innings, allowing five hits and a walk while fanning seven. The Pirates have won three straight and trail the Milwaukee Brewers by 1 1/2 in the hotly-contested division, taking second place away from the Cardinals, 12-2 losers at Baltimore.

The Pirates scored both of their runs in the bottom of the first off Padres' starter Ian Kennedy, who dropped to 8-10 on the season. Both starters were sharp, though Worley lasted an inning longer and got the best of it, throwing 62 of 93 pitches for strikes. Worley has notched victories in three of his last four starts, each against NL West foes, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and, Friday, San Diego.

Game two of the three-game series starts at 7:05 pm Saturday, in Pittsburgh.

Vance Worley's CG Powers Pirates over Giants, 5-0; Melky Cabrera Stars as Blue Jays Club Red Sox

Players of the Day for Monday, July 28, 2014

American League

Cabrera: 2HR 5RBI

R.A. Dickey (9-10) held the Red Sox to one run on three hits over seven innings while his Toronto teammates piled on Boston starter, Clay Buchholz and reliever Felix Doubront for a 14-1 Blue Jay win.

The main protagonist for Toronto was Melky Cabrera, who got the Jays started early, with a two-run homer in the first inning, then followed up with a three-run blast in the 6th off Doubront, amidst of a nine-run outburst which saw 14 Toronto players parade to the plate.

Cabrera also walked in the seventh and came around to score Toronto's final run eventually on a wild pitch, finishing his night at 2.for-5 with five RBI and three runs. He's batting .313 (7th in AL) with 14 homers and 58 RBI.

Toronto's win got them to within 2 1/2 games of the idle Orioles in the AL East. Last place Boston fell 11 games off the pace.

Game two of the series starts at 7:10 pm EDT at Fenway Park.

National League

Worley: 4-hit SO

Sending the Giants to their fifth straight loss, Vance Worley twirled a complete game shutout in a 5-0 Pirates win to open a three-game series in San Francisco.

Worley (4-1) needed just 100 pitches to complete the 4-hitter, getting help from his infield, which turned two double plays. He faced 29 batters, just two over the minimum, throwing 71 strikes, fanning three and issuing one walk.

Called up from Indianapolis of the AAA International League earlier this year, Worley has been a welcome addition to the rotation. In seven starts and one relief appearance he's compiled a 2.54 ERA. The win was his first major league shutout and second complete game. He had a complete game win in 2011 when he went 11-3 with the Phillies.

The Pirates gained to within two games of Milwaukee in the Central, as the Brewers fell, 2-1, to Tampa Bay. The Giants dropped to two games behind idle LA in the West.

Game two of the series is Tuesday, at 7:15 PDT.