Phillies' Zach Eflin Blanks Yanks in 3-0 Win; Alex Bregman Walks Off Jays As Houston Wins

Players of the Day for Wednesday, June 27, 2018

American League

Alex Bregman socked a two-run, walk off homer in the bottom of the ninth as the Houston Astros recovered from a 5-0 deficit to defeat the visiting Toronto Blue Jays, 7-6.

Bregman: Walk-off 2R HR

After a disastrous first inning by starter Dallas Keuchel, in which the Houston ace allowed five runs, the Astros went on the offensive immediately, scoring three in the bottom of the frame. Keuchel lasted 5 1/3, allowing another run in the sixth, but Houston kept chipping away, though they still trailed, 6-5 entering the ninth.

Matt Kemp singled to open the ninth, but George Springer pooped out for the first out. Bregman, who had stroked a pair of doubles prior to his final at-bat, smacked an 0-2 pitch from Ryan Tepera deep into the left field stands for the win.

Bregman is batting .277 with 14 homers and 49 RBI.

The Astros took two of three from the Blue Jays and head to Tampa Bay Thursday for a four-game series with the Rays. Game one is scheduled for a 7:10 pm EDT first pitch.

National League

Eflin: 7IP, 4H, 0ER, W

Monday and Tuesday, the Yankees took two straight in Philadelphia, but Wednesday belonged to the Phillies, who avoided being swept on a brilliant pitching performance by Zach Eflin a three-run homer by Rhys Hoskins and a two-inning save from Seranthony Dominguez in the 3-0 whitewash.

Eflin (6-2) pitched his best game of the season, allowing four hits over seven innings, getting first strikes on 22 of the 26 batters he faced, striking out six and walking a pair. Only one Yankee - Miguel Andujar, in the second inning - reached second base as Eflin stymied the Bombers before Dominguez came in to slam the door shut with two perfect innings in relief, striking out three in the process.

Hoskins' homer - his 12th - came in the second off Yankee starter Luis Cessa (0-1), who lasted just three innings.

Eflin, who threw 67 of 92 pitches for strikes, completed his 10th start of the year, one less than in both all of 2016 and 2017, but the results are encouraging for Phillies' fans. In 2016, he was 3-5 with a 5.54 ERA. 2017 was a step back, as the 6'6", 24-year-old hurler went 1-5 with a 6.16 ERA. This season, the 6-2 record comes with a 3.02 ERA, a 1.17 WHIP and a 4-1 K-BB ratio.

The Phillies picked up a game on the Braves, as Atlanta lost, 6-5, to the Reds. They are three games back in second place. Philly hosts the Nationals for four games starting Thursday at 7:05 pm EDT. The Yankees get a day off before opening a three-game set with Boston at Yankee Stadium.

Charlie Morton Fans 13 In Houston Win; Matt Carpenter 5-for-5 As Cards Top Tribe

Players of the Day for Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Morton 7 IP, O ER, 13 K

American League

While Luis Severino was blanking the Phillies en route to becoming the AL's first 12-game winner, Houston's Charlie Morton wasn't exactly fooling around with Toronto's hitters, fanning 13 over seven strong innings in the Astros' 7-0 triumph.

Morton threw 67 of 98 pitches for strikes, walked two and allowed four hits, improving to 10-1 on the year. He's struck out 122 in 95 2/3 innings, ranking him seventh among AL hurlers. Boston's Chris Sale leads the league with 153 Ks.

The Astros evened the series after dropping a 6-3 decision on Monday and remain in first place in the AL West, 3 1/2 better than the scrappy Seattle Mariners.

The series wraps up in Houston at 2:10 pm EDT Wednesday.

National League

St. Louis has won four straight, the last two against the AL Central-leading Cleveland, including Tuesday's 11-2 rip of the Indians and their ace starter, Cory Kluber.

Carpenter: 5-5, 2HR, 5R

Kluber was clubbed repeatedly by the Cards, allowing six earned runs in just 1 2/3 innings of work, but St. Louis batters were not nearly through, banging out 13 hits, five of them by leadoff hitter, Matt Carpenter, who started the St. Louis scoring with a home run in the first and finished it with another dinger off Reliever Gorge Kontos, both solo shots.

In between, Carpenter singled twice and doubled, finishing with three RBI and five runs while boosting his batting average to .259.

The Cardinals are four games behind Milwaukee in the NL Central and 1 1/2 behind the second place Cubs. While the Indians may have dropped two straight, they are still 7 1/2 up on Minnesota and 8 ahead of Detroit.

A sweep is what the Cardinals will be seeking when the teams take the field Wednesday at 8:15 pm EDT in St. Louis.

Tampa Bay Routs Nats on Blake Snell's 1-Hit Effort; Ozzie Albies Leads ATL over Reds in 11

Players of the Day for Monday, June 25, 2018

American League

Snell, 7IP, 1H, 0ER, 10K

Following a rough start to the season, the Tampa Bay Rays may be one of the better teams in the second half.

Winners of four straight, including a weekend sweep of the Yankees and Monday's 11-0 whipping of Washington, the Rays are just under .500 at 38-40.

In the rout of the Nationals, a couple of notable developments included a second-inning grand slam by Kevin Kiermayer, who remains mired in a slump (.147) after coming off the disabled list last week. Catcher Wilson Ramos had additional motivation for a pair of homers against the team that traded him over the off-season, but the show was stolen by starter, Blake Snell, who twirled a one-hitter over seven innings for his 10th win against four losses, the performance all but assuring him a spot on the AL all star team.

Snell, who walked the first two batters he faced - Trey Turner and Bryce Harper - settled in to retire the next 18 straight, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning. The bid was ended on Anthony Rendon's double to left. Snell walked two more batters in the inning, but a double play helped him out of the jam and kept Washington off the scoreboard. He fanned 10, including five straight at one point, striking out the side in the fourth.

A third year starter for Tampa Bay, Snell has lifetime marks of 21-19 with a 3.14 ERA, but this season he's blossomed, dropping the ERA to 2.31 in 17 starts, with 113 strikeouts and a 1.04 WHIP. He's tied for third in the league with Toronto's J.A. Happ at 10 wins, is fourth in ERA and is tied with Cleveland's Cory Kluber for 7th overall in strikeouts.

The Rays host the Nationals in game two of the series, Tuesday, at 12:10 pm EDT.


National League

Albies: 3-6, 2 2B, HR

Opening their three-game home series with the Reds in winning style, Ozzie Albies launched a game-winning homer in the bottom of the 11th off Cincinnati reliever, Dylan Floro, for a 5-4 win.

The smash was not the only contribution Albies made in the game. He started the Braves' scoring in the first with an RBI double, bringing home Ender Inciarte. He scored later in the frame, putting the Braves up by a 2-0 score.

A fifth-inning double helped the Braves load the bases and score another run, though the bullpen would eventually allow the Reds to tie the game and send it to extra innings. The two teams went through a total of 11 relievers before Albies ended the affair with his shot to right, his 17th.

The leading vote-gatherer for second basemen in NL all star balloting, Albies is batting .269 with 46 RBI on the year. A second-year player, Albies batted .286 in 57 games with the Braves n 2017.

Game two of the series is slated for a 7:35 pm EDT start Tuesday night in Atlanta.

Yoan Moncada Powers White Sox Past A's; Enrique Hernandez Homers Twice For Dodgers

Players of the Day for Sunday, June 24, 2018

American League

While the Chicago White Sox probably aren't going to challenge in the AL Central - they're currently 26-51 and 17 1/2 games behind the Indians in the division - with more than half the season remaining, they still have plenty of time to make adjustments and improvements and groom their young players for the future.

Moncada: 2B, HR, 6RBI

One such player is second baseman Yoan Moncada, a 23-year-old, second year player from Cuba who showed off some of his potential in Chicago's 10-3 rout of the Athletics Sunday at home.

Trailing 2-0 in the fifth inning, the Sox loaded the bases for Moncada and the youngster responded by lacing a double, clearing the bases and putting the White Sox ahead, 3-2. It was a lead the Sox would not relinquish, scoring two more in the frame before adding five more in the sixth.

After Daniel Palka and Yolmer Sanchez socked solo homers in the White Sox sixth, Moncada put the game away with a three-run homer, tallying a personal-best six RBI for the game.

Moncada is batting only .228, but he has 10 homers and 32 RBI in 69 games. Chicago's win was just their second in the last 11 games, but they managed a split with the A's, each taking two games in the four-game series.

The White Sox have a day off Monday, prior to host a three-game series against Minnesota starting Tuesday.

National League

Hernandez: 2HR, 3R, 2RBI

In a wild one, the Dodgers smacked seven home runs in their 8-7, 11-inning win over the Mets at New York's Citi Field, the bleacher barrage begun by leadoff hitter Enrique Hernandez, who took a 2-0 pitch from Mets' starter Jerry Blevins into the left field stands.

All of the Dodger homers were solo shots, including two by Cody Bellinger and Justin Turner's game-winner with two outs in the 11th. Hernandez added a second blast in the sixth, tying the game at 4-4, and he also scored the only Dodger run of the game that wasn't via the long ball, scooting home on Matt Kemp's double play ground out in the eighth.

Dodger pitching couldn't protect a 7-4, eighth inning lead, eventually winning it in extra frames.

Hernandez finished 3-for-6 with three runs and two RBI. He's currently batting .232, with 12 homers and 25 RBI.

The Dodgers, who swept the series in New York and handed the Mets their sixth straight loss, kept pace with Arizona, maintaining second place in the NL West, where they trail the Diamondbacks by 2 1/2 games.

Heading back home to LA, the Dodgers open a four-game series with the Cubs on Monday.