Will Middlebrooks, Andrew Cashner Power Padres; Jordany Valdespin, Reid Brignac Wreck Mets in Marlin Win

Players of the Day for Monday, March 9, 2015

Brignac

Grapefruit League

Valdespin

Before some Mets' batters had even gotten to the plate, the Marlins had already put up nine runs on their NL East foes, scoring six in the second and three more in the third inning. The players doing the bulk of the damage were fresh faces on the Miami roster, Jordany Valdespin and Reid Brignac.

Valdespin, who started with the Mets and played in 54 games for the Marlins last season, singled and tripled in four at-bats, driving in three runs and scoring twice. Brignac, who spent last season in Philadelphia, went 3-for-4 (all singles) also driving in three and scoring twice.

When it was all said and done, the Marlins pasted the Mets, 13-2, improving to 3-2 for the Spring while dropping the Mets to a 3-4 mark.


Cactus League

Cashner

Middlebrooks

Will Middlebrooks socked a three-run, second inning homer in support of three innings of no-hit ball from Andrew Cashner as the San Diego Padres evened their record at 3-3 and sent the Cubs to their fifth straight defeat of the spring without a win with a 6-3 victory.

Cashner blanked the punchless Cubs over the first three innings, walking one, while striking out a trio. After going 10-9 in 2013 with the Padres, Cashner dipped to a 5-7 mark over 19 starts in 2014, though his ERA dropped to a very respectable 2.55. He's expected to remain in the San Diego starting rotation.

Middlebrooks, who spent the last three seasons playing part-time for the Boston Red Sox, is looking to catch on as the regular third baseman with the Padres and he's off to a good start with a .400 batting average in two games. The Texas native needs to work on his plate demeanor, as his batting average has gone from .288 in 2012, to .227 in 2013, to a scary .191 last season.

Will Middlebrooks, Carlos Santana Star in 13-0 Romps by Boston, Cleveland; Matt Carpenter Leads Cardinals over Giants

Players of the Day for Sunday, April 7, 2013

American League

Carlos Santana

Will Middlebrooks

If you're in a 13-run club pool, you got a double dose on Sunday, as the Indians dumped Tampa Bay and Boston wrecked Toronto by identical 13-0 scores.

Each game produced a no-doubt-about-it player of the day, splitting the AL variety of the award.

At Tropicana Field in Tampa, as the Indians banged out 17 hits, Carlos Santana went 5-for-5 with two doubles and two singles, capping off his night with a ninth-inning, two-run homer off Rays' reliever, Fernondo Rodney. Santana drove in three runs and scored three times.

In Toronto, the Red Sox took over sole possession of first place in the AL East with their 13-0 rout, spearheaded by third baseman Will Middlebrooks' 4-for-4 performance, which included three home runs and a double, resulting in four RBI and four runs scored.

National League

Playing the rubber game of their three-game series in San Francisco, the St. Louis Cardinals made an early season statement to the defending world champs with a resounding, 14-3, victory.

Matt Carpenter

After the Giants nicked starter Adam Wainwright for two runs in the bottom of the third, St. Louis bats exploded for nine runs in the top of the fourth, chasing Giants' starter, Matt Cain after just 3 2/3 innings.

Matt Carpenter got to the plate twice in the inning, singling with a man aboard and later scoring, just moments before he went plate-ward again, delivering a two-out, bases-loaded singled which plated two more runs and sent Cain to the showers.

In the seventh, Carpenter doubled with two outs, driving in Jon Jay, later scoring on Adam Craig's single, finishing up a 3-for-5 effort with three runs and three RBI.

St. Louis took the final two games of the series after losing the opener, leaving both teams with 3-3 records. Carpenter ended the day with a .320 batting average.

Will Middlebrooks Delivers for Hot Red Sox; Andrew McCutchen, James McDonald Lead Pirates in 9-1 Rout of Twins

Players of the Day for Thursday, June 21, 2012

American League

Will Middlebrooks

There's life in Boston.

Thanks to an eighth-inning home run by rookie third baseman Will Middlebrooks, the Red Sox defeated the visiting Miami Marlins, 6-5, Thursday night at Fenway Park.

Middlebrooks delivered the tying runs with his eighth home run with nobody out in the bottom of the eighth inning, and Daniel Nava drove in Ryan Kalish with the game-winner one out later.

The Red Sox picked up half a game on the idle East division-leading Yankees and second place Baltimore, plus a full game on third place Tampa Bay, 5-2 losers at Washington. Boston is 5 1/2 off the pace.

Middlebrooks has been getting plenty of playing time and producing well, drinving in nine runs over his last six games. Against the Marlins on Thursday, he went 3-for-4, driving in four of Boston's six runs. Middlebrooks is batting .316 with 31 RBI in 38 games

The win was the fifth straight for the surging Beantowners, who swept the Marlins three straight.

National League

Andrew McCutchen

Andrew McCutchen was at it again, as the Pirates pulled to within two games of the first place Reds in the NL Central with a 9-1 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Pittsburgh took two of three from Minnesota, who are circling the drain in the AL Central, with a league-worst record of 27-41.

James McDonald

McCutchen scored twice and drove in three with a 3-for-4 effort - a single, double and triple - raising his batting average to .339, fifth-best in the NL. He's hit safely in five straight games and nine of his last ten and decimated Twins' pitching, going 7-for-11 with five RBI in the three-game series.

With the Pittsburgh regulars piling up the runs, starter James McDonald dictated to the Twins for his first major league complete game, allowing one run on six hits, striking out five without issuing a walk. He is 6-3 with a 2.12 ERA, fourth among NL starting pitchers.

INTERLEAGUE SCOREBOARD: The AL went 8-6 on Wednesday and 3-2 on Thursday, as they continue to dominate the National League with just three days of interleague play remaining. The AL lead has become insurmountable, at 119-90.