Grand Slam, 6 RBI by Alex Rios Keeps White Sox in First Place; Mike Minor Dominates Rockies in 1-0 Braves Win

Players of the Day for Wednesday, September 5, 2011

American League

Rios: GS, 6 RBI

While the battle in the AL East between the Yankees, Orioles and Rays has captured baseball headlines over the past week, the AL Central fight between the White Sox and Tigers might be even more intriguing because the loser is probably not going to the post-season as a wild card.

Chicago has held the lead in the division since before the all star break, but it's been a slim one. The Tigers keep nipping at their heels and remain one game off the pace as Detroit took care of Cleveland, 7-1, while the White Sox took the rubber game of their home series with the Twins by a 6-2 score.

Jake Peavy evened his record at 10-10, but Alex Rios was the real story, driving in all six of Chicago's runs with a first inning grand slam and a two-run homer in the sixth inning.

That gave Rios 22 homers on the year and 82 RBI to go with 20 steals and a .298 batting average, well on his way to his most productive season in his eight-year major league career.

After a day off Thursday, the White Sox host Kansas City for three games before opening a critical four-game series with the Tigers in Chicago beginning Monday. Likewise, the Tigers have Thursday off, but face a more onerous task as they travel to play three against the Angels prior to the series with the Sox.


National League

Blasting six homers, the Nationals clubbed the Cubs, 9-1, and Atlanta kept pace in the NL East with a gutsy, 1-0, win over the Rockies.

Minor: 7IP 1H 0 ER

Mike Minor (8-10) earned the win, taking a no-hitter through six full innings, spoiled by Jordan Pacheco, who singled to left center leading off the seventh.

No damage was done, but Minor sat after throwing 108 pitches, walking four and fanning seven. Criag Kimbrel picked up his 33rd save, getting the final four outs, all on strikeouts.

The Braves remain the #1 wild card with a three game lead over St. Louis, but trail the Nationals by 7 1/2 in the division.

Atlanta has taken two of three from the visiting Rockies, and finish up their four-game series on Thursday afternoon. The Braves will get only one more crack at the front-running Nats, hosting a three-game series September 14-16.

Mark Reynolds, Zach Britton Lead Orioles to First Place Tie with Yankees; Adam LaRoche, Jayson Werth Lead Storming Nationals

Players of the Day for Tuesday, September 4, 2012

American League

Trailing the Yankees by a game in the AL East, manager Buck Schowalter got his team fired up for their game in Toronto against the Blue Jays.

Zach Britton

Whatever the manager said to his troops, it certainly did the trick, or maybe there was a little bit of scoreboard watching, because shortly after the Rays took a 3-2 lead against the Yankees in Tampa, on Evan Longoria's two-run homer, the O's hitters went to work, banging out 18 hits in a 12-0 wipeout of the Blue Jays.

Mark Reynolds

While Zach Britton was blanking the Jays on four hits over seven innings, fanning eight, Mark Reynolds led the offensive assault, first with a three-run homer in the fifth which broke a tie at zero, and later delivering an RBI single and scoring in a five run eighth that padded the O's lead.

After Britton handed the ball over, Baltimore relievers, Kevin Gregg and Zach Phillips each worked a perfect inning of relief, closing out the scoreless mound work.

Red hot Reynolds finished 3-for-4 with four RBI and a pair of runs, helping the Orioles tie the Yankees for first place in the division, the first time the Orioles have had a share of the lead this late in the season since 1997.

Seeing the ball well, Reynolds has been banging it hard, going 8-for-19 over his last five games with five homers and 11 RBI. Reynolds hit 37 homers for the O's last season, but seems to be just hitting his best stride with 17 so far this year.

The Orioles will be looking for the sweep of the Blue Jays when they take the field Wednesday in Toronto. The Jays have not scored a single run off Baltimore pitching over the first two games. The Yankees will try to avoid being swept by the Rays, who are just 1 1/2 back after taking the first two games of their series in Tampa.

Baltimore heads to New York for a four game series with the Yankees beginning Thursday.


National League

Jayson Werth

Whether manager Davey Johnson shuts down Stephen Strasberg after a couple more starts or not, the Washington Nationals keep rolling right along, leading the Braves in the NL East by 7 1/2 games after bombing the Cubs, 11-5, Tuesday night.

Adam LaRoche

The Nats hammered seven Chicago hurlers for 19 hits, scoring in every inning except the third and fifth, not needing to bat in the bottom of the ninth.

From the leadoff spot, Jayson Werth went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in a run. Adam LaRoche homered twice (his 26th and 27th), drove in two runs and scored twice, adding a couple of singles in a 4-for-4 effort.

Washington has won three straight and will be seeking their third consecutive win over the visiting Cubs when they play the third of their four game series on Wednesday night. Nationals' fans can start the countdown to the NL East pennant: the magic number for Washington - which has the best record in baseball at 83-52 - is 20.

This post, and this day are dedicated to Nicholas Gagliano Sr., born this day in 1924 and passed on in July of 2009. He is the author's father.

Kris Medlen Goes Full Nine as Atlanta Stops Rockies; Joe Saunders Hurls O's to Victory over Blue Jays

Players of the Day for Monday, September 3, 2011

American League

A week ago, the Baltimore Orioles plucked Joe Saunders away from the Arizona Diamondbacks, giving up reliever Matt Lindstrom and either cash considerations or a player to be named later.

In his second start with the O's, Saunders proved his value, tossing a perfect game over the first 5 2/3 innings and eventually picking up the win, as the Orioles downed the Blue Jays, 4-0, moving to within one game of East division-leading New York.

Joe Saunders

The Yankees lost a crucial 4-3 contest to the Rays, who are also closing in, just 2 1/2 out.

Saunders was perfect from the mound until allowing a single by Toronto's Adeiny Hechavarria, followed by a walk to Rajai Davis, but managed to fan Colby Rasmus to end the inning.

Gassed after throwing 96 pitches, Saunders left the game with one out and the bases full in the seventh, but was bailed out by Luis Ayala, who calmly surrendered the next two Blue Jays to end the threat with the O's up by a 3-0 score.

Saunders finished up throwing 6 1/3 innings, allowing three hits, walking two and striking out a pair. After Ayala's work in the seventh, two O's relievers shut the Blue Jays down the final two innings without a single hit.

J.J. Hardy, who had already doubled in one run, singled home another in the 8th to complete the scoring.

The O's and Jays continue their series in Toronto Tuesday and Wednesday, while the Yanks and Rays battle in Tampa. On Thursday, the Orioles head to New York to open a four game series with the Yankees.


National League

Atlanta continues to hold the #1 wild card spot, three clear of St. Louis, after Kris Medlen improved to 7-1 with a complete game, 6-1, victory over the Rockies.

Kris Medlen

Having done most of his work out of the bullpen, Medlen earned his second complete game of the season in just seven starts, stifling Colorado on five hits, striking out 12 without a walk.

The lone Colorado run was unearned, as Carlos Conzalez scored off Paul Janish's throwing error in the seventh. Otherwise, Medlen was supreme from the mound, throwing 85 of 111 pitches for strikes.

While the Braves keep winning, so too the Nationals, who continue to lead the NL East by 6 1/2 games over Atlanta. With the best record in baseball, at 82-52, the Nats seem assured of taking the division, though the Braves also look like a solid bet to reach the post-season as a wild card.

Having captured the opener, the Braves continue their four game series in Colorado through Thursday.

Mark Reynolds 2 HR Lead O's over Yanks; Chase Headley Drives in 6, Padres Lose

Players of the Day for Sunday, September 2, 2012

American League

Yankee fans - and players and coaches - have been waiting all season for the Baltimore Orioles to fold up their tents and head for the bottom of the division, where they have been continual residents for the better part of the last fifteen years.

Reynolds: 2HR 4RBI

But, this year's version of the usual unloved losers is a different variety, with solid starting pitching, capable relief and a lineup that seldom goes slumping.

One of the great additions that has helped form the nucleus of the "new" Orioles, is third baseman Mark Reynolds, acquired in an off-season trade with the Diamondbacks following the 2011 campaign.

In Sunday's 8-3 win over the Yankees, Reynolds proved the catalyst for the Baltimore offense, socking a solo homer in the fifth to get Baltimore on the board, and pounding another ball into the left field stands in the sixth, with two aboard, putting the Orioles ahead to stay, at 5-3.

Reynolds also singled and scored in the eighth, when Baltimore plated three runs.

The Yanks leave Baltimore having lost two out of three, their lead trimmed to two games over the O's, and head to Tampa Bay - 3 1/2 back - for a three-game set. On Thursday, the Yankees welcome the Orioles to New York for a crucial four-game series that will go a long way toward determining the AL East champion and wild card standings.

National League

Chase Headley

The divisional races in the National League are taking on a runaway character at the start of September. The smallest lead is 4 1/2 games, the margin that San Francisco has over the Dodgers. In the East, Atlanta has been chasing Washington virtually all season, but can't seem to get much closer than their current 6 1/2 games.

In the Central, it's pretty much over, as the Reds hold a 9 1/2 game bulge over the Cardinals.

With all these big leads, there are a plethora of largely meaningless games, such as Colorado's 11-10 win over the Padres.

In one of the usual of baseball oddities, the Padres banged out 20 hits to the Rockies' 11, but still managed to lose. One cannot lay blame upon Chase Headley, one of the league's hottest hitters, who had a big day at the plate.

Headley cracked his 16th homer, added three and stole a base, scored once and drove in six runs. Headley's big game brought his RBI total to 89 on the year. In his last nine games, he's hit safely in eight, scored six runs and driven in 11.