Alex Bregman Provides All RBI In Houston Win; Trevor Story Powers Colorado Over Dodgers

Players of the Day for Friday, September 29, 2017

American League

Bregman: HR, 3 RBI

With the regular season coming to a close on Sunday, the Astros and Indians know they must keep winning if they hope to have the best record in the American League.

Entering Friday's games, the Indians had a one-game edge in that department and took care of business by swatting the White Sox, 10-1. Houston faced a more arduous task, playing at Boston, where the Red Sox are still embroiled in a pennant race with the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Houston, thanks to third baseman, Alex Bregman, was up to it, topping the Red Sox 3-2 at Fenway Park, as Bregman drove in all three Houston runs.

While a parade of five Houston hurlers were limiting the Red Sox to five hits and two earned runs, Bregman was going 3-for-4, with a single, double, home run, and, as mentioned, all three RBI.

Bregman got the Astros on the board in the third inning, singling home the first run of the game.He put the Astros up, 3-0, with a two-run homer over the Green Monster in the fifth inning and the Houston bullpen managed to hold on for the win, leaving the Astros exactly where they were a day before, one game behind the Indians in the overall AL standings.

Bregman has had an excellent season, batting .287, with 19 homers and 71 RBI.

Houston will go for their third straight win over the Red Sox on Saturday, in game three of their four-game series, starting at 1:05 pm ET.

National League

Story: 3-for-4, HR, 2 RBI

The Colorado Rockies reduced their magic number for clinching the second wild card to one with a 9-1 romp over the visiting Dodgers, highlighted by four homers at high-altitude Coors Field.

Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon got things going early for the Rockies, each swatting their 37th home run of the year. Arenado's came in the first with the bases empty. Blackmon's was a second-inning, two-run variety as the Rockies built a 5-0 lead in the first two innings of Dodger starter, Hyun Jin Ryu.

The hitting star was Trevor Story, who went 3-for-4, with a single, triple, and a two-run, fourth inning home run that essentially put the game away. Story has 24 home runs and 82 RBI on the year.

With Milwaukee dogging the Rockies the past month, Colorado has done just enough to stay ahead of the Brewers down the stretch. Since September 7, they are 12-8, while the Brewers have gone 12-7, keeping on the pressure.

Colorado has to win just one more game or Milwaukee lose one to clinch the wild card spot and play the single elimination game at Arizona on Wednesday, October 4. They host the Dodgers Saturday at 8:10 pm ET and Sunday at 3:10 pm ET. Milwaukee plays Saturday and Sunday in St. Louis.

Giancarlo Stanton Belts 2 HR In Miami Win; Carlos Correa, Houston Bomb Boston, 12-2

Players of the Day for Thursday, September 28, 2017

American League

Correa lashes Red Sox

In what very well could be a preview of the ALDS, Houston smashed Boston, 12-2, in the opener of a four-game series at Fenway Park.

The Astros trail Cleveland by one game in the race for the league's best record. The team with the best mark in the regular season has home field advantage throughout the playoffs and will face the wild card team in the opening round of the playoffs. As it stands, Houston would host Boston in a best of five divisional series, so the spanking taken by the Red Sox should prove a warning to the Boston faithful.

With the Yankees losing to the Rays, 9-6, Boston's magic number was reduced to one, the Yankees missing a golden opportunity to close the gap on the Red Sox, who lead the AL East by three games. With three games remaining, a Boston win or a Yankee loss would secure the division title.

Carlos Correa led the Astros' 17-hit assault on seven Boston pitchers with four of his own, scoring three times and driving in three with a pair of singles, a double and a two-run homer - his 24th - in four at-bats.

Correa, who was the 2015 Rookie of the Year and an all star in 2017, is batting .315 with 84 RBI.

Boston hosts Houston Friday at 7:10 pm ET in game two of their season-ending series.

National League

Stanton: 59 HR, 129 RBI

Back home in Miami, Giancarlo Stanton was back in his best groove, swatting a pair of home runs in the Marlins' 7-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves.

Stanton, chasing Babe Ruth and Roger Maris, has already surpassed all non-steroid-era National Leaguers in the category of most home runs in a single season. His homers on Thursday were his 58th and 59th.

Stanton socked a solo shot in the fourth and followed up with a two-run dinger in the eighth inning. He also singled and scored three times. His total of 129 RBI has him tied with Colorado's Nolan Arenado for the National League and major league lead. Nelson Cruz leads the AL with 117.

Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs for the Yankees in 1927, a record that lasted 34 years, until another Yankee, Roger Maris broke the record with 61 in 1961. It is worth noting when Ruth set the mark, the regular season consisted of 154 games. When Maris did it, teams played 162.

Stanton will have three more chances to hit even more baseballs into the far reaches of Marlins Stadium. Miami hosts the Braves for the final three games of the season. Friday's game is scheduled for 7:10 pm ET.

John Lackey, Addison Russell Lead Cubs To NL Central Title; Xander Bogaerts Powers Red Sox

Players of the Day for Wednesday, September 27, 2017

American League

Bogaerts: 3-5, HR, 4 RBI

Xander Bogaerts went 3-for-5, scored twice and drove in four runs as the Boston Red Sox outslugged the Toronto Blue Jays, 10-7, taking one step closer to winning the AL East division.

Bogaerts' third inning, three-run homer - his 10th of the season - capped a five-run rally by the Red Sox which largely put the Blue Jays away. In the second inning, Bogaerts singled in the tying run at 3-3, and scored the go-ahead run on Dustin Pedroia's single. The Blue Jays re-tied the game with a run in the top of the third, but the bottom of the frame proved decisive.

Boston's win kept them three games up on the Yankees in the division race. With four left to play, the magic number is two for the Red Sox, who open a four-game series at home with the Houston Astros, who are still fighting with Cleveland for the league's best record. Houston is one game behind the Indians in the race, so the upcoming series at Boston should be hard-fought.

Russell: 3-run homer

National League

John Lackey held St. Louis to one run over six innings and Addison Russell's seventh inning, three-run homer off Cardinal starter, Michael Wacha, led the Cubs back to the post-season.

The 5-1 win in St. Louis clinched the second consecutive NL Central pennant for the Cubs. In 2016, they won the division by 17 1/2 games and rode their wave of success all the way to a World Series championship over Cleveland.

Lackey: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER

Lackey (12-11) has not been consistent all season, but dueled until Russell broke up Wacha's shutout performance. The Cubs added two more runs in the frame, both debited to the S.t Louis starter. Lackey allowed only two hits, the Cardinals scratching out their lone run in the second inning as Paul DeJong doubled home Jedd Gyorko.

Russell's home run was his 12th of the season, but none were bigger than Wednesday's game-winner for the Cubs' third-year shortstop.

The Cubs will enter the post-season with the third-best record of the division winners meaning they'll play the them with the second-best record, the Washington Nationals, and will open the series on the road. The Dodgers - who clinched the league's best record and home field advantage - will face the winner of the wild card game.

Chicago finishes up its series in St. Louis on Thursday and end the regular season with a three-game home stand with Cincinnati.

Brian Dozier Powers Twins Past Indians; Corey Seager Leads Dodgers To Best NL Record

Players of the Day for Tuesday, September 26, 2017

American League

Dozier: 3-5, HR, 3 RBI

With an 8-6 win over the Indians in Cleveland, the Minnesota Twins moved one step closer to clinching the second wild card, clinching at least a tie with the LA Angels. Both the Twins and Angels have five games remaining, so any win by the Twins or loss by the Angels would clinch the position outright for Minnesota.

Brian Dozier continued his season of excellence, going 3-for-5 with a single, double and a three-run, eighth inning home run that rallied the Twins from a 6-4 deficit to a 7-6 lead. Minnesota added another run in the top of the ninth for the final score.

Dozier's home run was his 33rd, the three RBI upping his season total to 80, which is incredible considering Dozier is a leadoff hitter.

Dozier led off the game with a double, and scored the first Minnesota run in the first, then singled leading off the the third, scoring on one of Eddie Rosario's two doubles. Rosario was 4-for-5 with three RBI including his 27th home run, in the first with the bases empty.

Minnesota plays game two at Cleveland Wednesday at 7:10 pm ET. The Twins can clinch the wild card outright with a win. Meanwhile, Cleveland has a tenuous hold on the best record in the league, one game better than the Houston Astros.

National League

Seager: HR, 4 RBI

Corey Seager drove in four runs, leading the LA Dodgers to a 9-2 home victory over the San Diego Padres, securing playoff home field advantage with the best record in the National League.

The Dodgers are 101-57. With five games left, the Washington Nationals, at 95-62, cannot match the Dodgers' mark. Thus, the Dodgers will host the winner of the wild card game, which currently will be either Arizona or Colorado, making for an all-NL West series. Washington will host the winner of the NL Central. The Cubs need one more win or a Milwaukee loss to wrap up the division.

Seager singled in a run to put the Dodgers up, 5-2, in the sixth, then wrapped up the scoring with his 21st home run, a three-run blast, in the seventh inning. Seager is batting .295 with 75 RBI.

LA will be looking to add to their win total and sweep the Padres in game three of the series, Wednesday, at 7:00 pm PT. Los Angeles closes out the regular season with a three-game road series at Colorado.