Jack Flaherty Dominates Giants in 1-0 Cardinal Win; James Paxton Wins 7th Straight As Yanks Bomb Rangers, 10-1

Players of the Day for Tuesday, September 3, 2019

American League

Paxton has 7 straight wins

James Paxton struck out five of the first seven batters he faced and took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, eventually settling for a one-hit effort over seven innings as the Yankees took down the visiting Rangers, 10-1.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa broke up Paxton's no-hit effort with a two-out single in the fifth. Paxton walked one and fanned 12, throwing 66 of 95 pitches for strikes, improving to 12-6 in his first year with the Yankees. Paxton, who extended a personal winning streak to seven straight starts, was acquired from Seattle in the off-season.

The Yankees slugged five homers in support, two by catcher Gary Sanchez, who has 34, a career high.

Winning for the seventh time in their last nine games, the Yankees hold a 9 1/2 game lead over Tampa Bay in the AL East. The Rays split a twin bill with the Orioles.

Texas and New York wrap up their three-game series on Wednesday. Game time is 6:35 pm ET.

National League

Flaherty is 5-1 last 7 starts

St. Louis remains red hot and on top of the NL Central.

On Tuesday, Jack Flaherty took a no-hitter into the sixth inning to pick up his ninth win against seven losses as the Cardinals won for the 14th time in their last 17 games with a 1-0 win over the Giants.

Marcel Ozuna's sixth inning solo homer provided the difference as Flaherty dominated San Francisco batters, fanning eight and allowing one walk over eight innings.

Mike Yastrzemski singled with two outs in the sixth to ruin Flaherty's bid. Carlos Martinez worked a scoreless ninth - giving up a second single to Yastrzemski - to pick up his 18th save.

Flaherty has been exceptional since the start of August, going 5-1 in his last seven starts with an extraordinary ERA of 0.59 over that stretch. He's allowed just 20 hits and three earned runs over his last 46 innings.

Coupled with Chicago's 6-1 win over Seattle, St. Louis maintained a three-game edge over the Cubs in the Central division. Chicago continues to hold the #2 wild card spot, 3 1/2 games behind the Nationals and 2 1/2 up on the Phillies.

St. Louis hosts the Giants Wednesday at 7:45 pm ET in game three of their four-game series.

Elsewhere, the Mets certainly aren't helping themselves in their bid for the playoffs, blowing a six-run lead in the ninth inning to the Nationals, who walked off on Kurt Suzuki's three-run homer off reliever Edwin Diaz.

Philly, Arizona, and Milwaukee all kept pace in the wild card race with wins.

Mets' Noah Syndergaard Blanks Nationals Over 7; Tommy Pham Leads Rays to 5th Straight

Players of the Day for Monday, September 2, 2019

Pham: 3-for-3, 3 RBI

American League

Three teams are vying for two wild card spot in the American League. Cleveland, Oakland, and Tampa Bay have been engaged since the all-star break as two will make the playoffs and one will go home.

On Monday, Tampa Bay took their fifth straight game, doing so in dramatic fashion, as Tommy Pham singled home Joey Wendle with the game-winner with two outs in the bottom of the 10th for a 5-4 Rays' win over visiting Baltimore.

Pham's walk-off single was the end of a solid day for Pham, who went 3-for-4 and doubled in two runs for the Rays in the fifth inning, putting Tampa up, 4-0. The Orioles battled back to tie the game, sending it into extras, setting up Pham's dramatic poke.

On a youthful team with no superstars, Pham has been stalwart, batting .278, with 20 home runs and 61 RBI. The 31-year-old has also swiped 18 of 21 bases this season.

The Rays lead the wild card chase by 1/2-game over Cleveland, with Oakland 1 1/2 back. The Rays host a double-header with the Orioles on Tuesday, but the wild card battle looks like it will go down to the final weekend of the season.

National League

Syndergaard: 7IP, 3H, 10K

Threatening to run away with the top wild card spot - ensuring home field for the one-game playoff - the Washington Nationals hosted the Mets in the first of a three-game series on Monday.

Winners of four straight and nine of their last ten entering the game, the Nationals were met by Noah Syndergaard, who blanked them for seven innings while his teammates mounted a sizable lead that led eventually to a 7-3 victory.

Syndergaard stopped the Nationals on three hits, striking out 10. Improving to 10-7, the hurler known as "Thor" was aided by Jeff McNeil's two-run homer and a three-hit, two RBI effort from J.D. Davis.

The game result left the Nationals with a 3 1/2-game lead over the Cubs in the wild card and the Mets clinging to playoff hopes, four games behind Chicago. After six straight losses, the Mets have rebounded to win three of their last four.

Game two of the series is Tuesday, 7:05 pm ET.

Freddie Freeman's 2 HR Leads Braves to 4th Straight; Justin Verlander Tosses No-Hitter In 2-0 Win

Players of the Day for Sunday, September 1, 2019

Verlander: 3rd no-hitter

American League

It was only a matter of time before Justin Verlander would throw another no-hitter. On Sunday, time was up.

Verlander blanked the Blue Jays at the Rogers Center in Toronto, fanning 14 for the third no-hitter of his impressive in a 2-0 Houston victory.

After walking Cavan Biggio with one out in the first inning, Verlander set down the next 26 Blue Jays in order, getting the win when third baseman Abraham Toro scorched a two-out, two-run homer in the visitor's half of the ninth. Verlander calmly set down the final three Toronto batters before the Astros broke out in celebration.

Throwing a season-high 120 pitches, Verlander joined the Yankees' Domingo Herman with 17 wins, tops in the majors. He also leads the majors in strikeouts (257) and innings (193). His 2.56 ERA leads the AL.

Verlander joins an elite group with at least three no-hitters, including Nolan Ryan (7) and Sandy Koufax (4). Cy Young, Bob Feller and 1880s-era Larry Corcoran threw three each.

Having already won an MVP and Cy Young award in 2011 as a member of the Detroit Tigers, Verlander is the favorite for this season's Cy Young.

Houston won for the 11th time in its last 14 games, taking a 10-game lead over Oakland in the AL West, as the A's have dropped two straight to the Yankees.

The Astros head to Milwaukee on Monday, opening a two-game series with the Brewers at 4:00 pm ET.

National League

Freeman tearing up NL

Freddie Freeman cracked a pair of home runs and drove in all of Atlanta's runs as the Braves took another step toward their second straight NL East pennant with a 5-3 win over the White Sox.

Backing six innings of mound work by Julio Teheran (9-8, 3.38), Freeman socked a two-run homer in the opening inning, then broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth with another two-run jack. In the eighth, the league's leading RBI guy drove in another with a single.

Freeman leads the majors in RBI with 114. His 38 home runs and a .301 batting average are also among the league's best. With Freeman having what looks like an MVP season, the Braves continue winning, taking their fourth straight while sweeping three from the visiting White Sox. Atlanta has held off a surge by the Washington Nationals by winning 12 of its last 14 games.

The Braves will spend Labor Day hosting the Toronto Blue Jays. Game one of their two-game series starts at 1:20 pm ET.

Stephen Strasburg Fans 14 in Nationals' Victory; Ronny Rodriguez Homers Twice in Detroit Win Over Twins

Players of the Day for Saturday, August 31, 2019

Rodriguez: 2HR, 5 RBI

American League

In Saturday's game at Detroit, Minnesota's Mitch Garver homered to left in the ninth inning, setting an MLB record for most home runs in a season by one team, as the Twins has bashed 268. Unfortunately, the home run barrage (the Twins hit six; Garver had two) was not enough to defeat the Tigers, who outscored the Twins for a 10-7 win.

Ronny Rodriguez had both of Detroit's home runs - a pair of two-run shots - to lead the Tigers to victory. Rodriguez homered in the third and sixth innings, after he had put the Tigers on the board with a sac fly in the first.

A second year shortstop from the Dominican Republic, Rodriguez has 13 home runs and 39 RBI in 223 at-bats this season.

Detroit's win snapped a six-game losing streak while slowing the Twins' race to the AL Central crown, ending their six-game winning streak.

Minnesota's loss was not consequential, however, as second-place Cleveland dropped a 9-6 decision at Tampa Bay. The Twins lead Cleveland by 4 1/2 games in the division.

Their series tied at a game apiece, the Twins and Tigers play two more, Sunday and Monday.

National League

Strasburg: 8IP, 2H, 14K

Because Atlanta continues to play solid baseball, the Washington Nationals - who have been equally excellent through the month of August - may not catch their rival in the NL East, but they may be quite dangerous as a wild card team in the playoffs.

The Nationals closed out the penultimate month of the season with a 19-7 record and have secured the top spot in the wild card race, though they still trail the Braves by 5 1/2 in the division after blanking Miami, 7-0, Saturday.

Stephen Strasburg continued making his case for the Cy Young award, shutting out the Marlins on two hits over eight innings, whiffing 14. Strasberg was on the plate, throwing 81 of 107 pitches for strikes as he improved to 16-5.

Strasburg leads all NL pitchers in wins and is one ahead of the Mets' Jacob DeGrom in strikeouts, with 215. mong strikeout leaders are two of Strasburg's teammates, Max Scherzer (200) and Patrick Corbin (193), a trio of starters which makes Washington a formidable team if they should make the playoffs.

With a 5-3 record at the end of May, Strasburg has gone 11-2 since and has helped put the Nationals in a good spot.

Washington, currently holding a 3 1/2 game lead in the wild card over Chicago, concludes their three-game home series with Miami Sunday at 1:35 pm ET.