Francisco Lindor Leads Cleveland To 5th Straight Win; Jose Martinez Drives In Six As Cards Drub Reds, 13-4

Players of the Day for Thursday, April 12, 2018

American League

Lindor: 2-4, HR, 3R, 3RBI

Winning their fifth straight, he Cleveland Indians completed a four-game home sweep of the Detroit Tigers with a 9-3 laugher over their AL Central opponents.

Francisco Lindor socked his initial home run of the season in the bottom of the first inning to get the Indians started, then doubled in a pair of runs before scoring on Jose Ramirez's two-run homer, putting Cleveland up 6-0.

In the fourth, Lindor was hit by a Michael Fulmer pitch, loading the bases, eventually scoring the last of Cleveland's runs.

Fulmer didn't get an out in the fourth, and was responsible for eight earned runs, officially over three innings.

Instrumental to Cleveland's success the past few seasons, Lindor belted 33 home runs and drove in 89 runs last season, mostly from the leadoff position in the Indians' lineup.

The Indians remain tied with Minnesota for the division lead, 3 1/2 ahead of the Tigers and White Sox. Toronto comes to visit for a three game series starting Friday at 7:10 pm EDT.

National League

Opening a four-game series in Cincinnati, the St. Louis Cardinals got off to a flying start with a 13-4 romp over the Reds, highlighted by a six-RBI effort by second-year star, Jose Martinez.

Martinez: 4-6, HR, 6RBI

Marinez singled in the first to put get the Cards on the board, drew a bases-loaded walk in the fifth to tie the score at 4-4, socked a solo homer in the seventh and doubled in both the eighth and ninth innings, driving in two in the eight and one more in the ninth.

Batting .364 with three home runs and 14 RBI (second in the majors behind Pitssburgh's Gregory Polanco, 15), Martinez is proving that he's a major leaguer for the long run.

Making a bid for rookie of the year in first full season, Martinez batted .309 with 14 home runs and 46 RBI in 109 games for the Cardinals in 2017.

St. Louis, along with the rest of the division is chasing Pittsburgh in the NL Central. St. Louis is 3 1/2 back, the Cubs three behind and Milwaukee in second place, 2 1/2 behind the Pirates. Cincinnati is off to a horrific start, seven games out with a 2-10 record.

Game two of the series is Friday at 6:40 pm EDT at the Great American Ball Park.

Zack Wheeler Pitches Mets To 8th Straight Win; Yankees Even Series In Boston As Gary Sanchez Homers Twice

Players of the Day for Wednesday, April 11, 2018

American League

Sanchez: 2B, 2HR, 4RBI

Heading into his third start of the season, Boston hurler David Price hadn't given up a run, blanking the Tampa Bay Rays in back-to-back seven inning stints.

In a New York minute, the Yankees put an end to that streak, scoring four runs in the first inning on their way to a 10-7 win at Fenway Park, evening their series with Boston at a game apiece.

Giancarlo Stanton tripled in the first pair of runs; Gary Sanchez brought Stanton home with a bomb over the Green Monster, a 432-foot belt that set the tone for the night. Price finished the inning and was not seen again.

Sanchez, however, was not quite finished, doubling and scoring in the third prior to homering again with a man aboard in the fourth.

Beyond the Yankee onslaught, the game also featured a grand slam by Boston's J.D. Martinez and a bench-clearing brawl in the seventh inning after Red Sox pitcher Joe Kelly plunked Tyler Austin in retaliation for a hard slide by Austin earlier in the game. Keely, Austin, Yankee reliever Tommy Kahnle, and third base coach Phil Kevin were all ejected.

With the series squared and Boston's eight-game winning streak over, the Yanks and Sox will finish off the series Thursday at 7:10 pm EDT. Boston remains in first place in the division, with a 9-2 mark. The Yankees are 6-6.

Wheeler: 7IP, 2H, 1ER, 7K

National League

Starting the season off by taking two of three from the Cardinals at Citi Field, the New York Mets were just getting warmed up.

Since that opening series, the Mets haven't lost, winning their eighth straight Wednesday night with a 4-1 win over the Marlins at Miami.

Doing it with a combination of solid pitching and timely hitting, the Mets came through for starter Zack Wheeler after being held hitless for six innings by Maimi starter, Jarlin Garcia.

Wheeler surrendered a first-inning solo homer to the second hitter he faced, Miguel Rojas, but settled in, giving up just one more hit and a walk, fanning seven over seven innings. Pulled in the top of the seventh for pinch hitter, Adrian Gonzalez, Wheeler got the win when Gonzalez mashed a two-run homer and the Mets added two more in the frame.

Having missed all of the 2015 and 2016 seasons, Wheeler returned to start 17 games for the Mets in 2017, going 3-7 with a 5.21 ERA, but his first start of the new season was very encouraging, ensuring he'll see the mound more often.

With the win, the Mets maintained a 3 1/2-game lead over the Braves in the NL East. After a day off Thursday, they open a weekend series at home with the Brewers on Friday.

Mookie Betts 4-for-4, Grand Slam Lifts Boston Over Yanks; Stephen Strasburg Hurls Nats Past Braves

Players of the Day for Tuesday, April 10, 2018

American League

Betts: 4-4, 5R, GS, 4RBI

Opening a three-game series, the Yankees and Red Sox renewed their legendary rivalry on Tuesday at Fenway Park, but, other than Aaron Judge, the Yankees turned out to be largely spectators as Boston beaned the Bombers, 14-1.

Making life difficult for Yankee pitchers was Mookie Betts, Boston's leadoff hitter, who went 4-for-4 with a walk, scored five times and socked a grand slam, capping a nine-run sixth inning that put the game out of reach.

Chris Sale cruised through six innings, scattering eight hits and one earned run for his first decision of the season.

Betts, whose effort put him atop the majors with a .432 batting average, started the Sox off with a leadoff double, scoring the initial run in the first inning, singled and scored in the second, walked and scored in the fourth, doubled and scored in the sixth before his slam in the same inning completed the rout.

The Yankees will try to forget their game one flop when they meet Boston in game two, Wednesday night at 7:10 pm EDT. 9-1 Boston leads the AL East by two games over the Blue Jays. The Yankees are 4 1/2 back, at 5-6.

National League

Strasburg: 8 scoreless

For the second time in as many games, the Washington Nationals scored in the first inning and rode their starter's arm to victory over the Atlanta Braves.

On Monday, Max Scherzer shut out the Braves. Tuesday's mound heroics were performed by Stephen Strasburg, who shut out the opposition on three hits over eight innings, after Ryan Zimmerman's triple put two on the board for Washington en route to a 4-1 victory.

Strasburg improved to 2-1, walking two and striking out eight. After allowing a Dansby Swanson single in the second, Strasburg didn't allow another baserunner until Ender Inciarte singled with one out in the sixth, setting down 12 straight.

Swanson doubled in the only run for the Braves in the ninth, off reliever Ryan Madsen.

Strasburg is working on back-to-back 15-4 seasons, and is off to a solid start with a 2.21 ERA and 21 strikeout victims in 20 1/3 innings.

The Nationals improved to 6-5, tying them with the Braves for second place in the NL East. Both teams are trailing the red-hot Mets, who won their seventh straight with an 8-6 comeback win at Miami. The Mets are 9-1 and lead the division by 3 1/2 games.

The Nationals will be looking for the series sweep Wednesday when A.J. Cole takes the mound against Atlanta's Brandon McCarthy at 1:05 pm EDT in Washington, DC.

Corey Kluber, Max Scherzer's Brilliant Mound Work Results In Shutout Wins For Indians, Nationals

Players of the Day for Monday, April 9, 2018

American League

Kluber: 8IP, 2H, 0ER, 13K

As ESPN reports, cold weather made it tough for hitters, especially against two of the best pitchers in the majors, who were patrolling the mounds in Cleveland and Washington, DC.

In Cleveland, with the thermometer registering a chilly 33 degrees, Corey Kluber picked up his first win of the season, blanking the Tigers 2-0 over eight innings in the opener of a four-game series.

Last year's AL Cy Young award recipient had the Tigers flailing in the wind, allowing just two hits while fanning 13 with one walk.

The Indians got their two runs on a fifth-inning home run by Bradley Zimmer, the second-year player who has taken over the starting spot in center field.

Kluber is 1-1 after three starts, but he's pitched better than his record, allowing 11 hits and four earned runs over 23 innings. His 27 strikeouts lead the AL.

Game two is slated for Tuesday night, at 6:10 pm EDT.

National League

Scherzer: CG, SO, 2H, 10K

In Washington, the temperature was a relatively balmy 45 degrees, but with Max Scherzer toeing the rubber it might as well have been -25 for the overmatched Atlanta batters.

Scherzer went the distance for his second win against one loss, as the Nationals evened their record at 5-5 with a 2-0 triumph over the visiting Braves.

Scherzer struck out 10, didn't walk a batter and surrendered just two hits, a one-out single by Kurt Suzuki in the second inning and a leadoff single by Nick Markakis in the fifth, after which, Scherzer was perfect, setting down the final fifteen Atlanta batters in order.

The Nationals got their two runs off a first inning double by Howie Kendrick, plating Anthony Rendon and Bryce Harper. Staked to that early advantage, Scherzer sliced through the Braves' lineup as only a two-time Cy Young Award winner could. Scherzer took the prize in p2016 and 2017 and is chasing a third straight.

Scherzer improved to 2-1 with his fifth career shutout. His 27 strikeouts lead the National League and are tied with Kluber atop the majors.

Game two of the three-game series starts Tuesday at 7:05 pm EDT.