Pirates' Nick Kingham Nearly Perfect In Debut Win Over St. Louis; Ryan Healy's 2 HRs Lead Seattle Over Cleveland, 10-4

Players of the Day for Sunday, April 29, 2018

American League

Healy is heating up

Winning their second straight, the Seattle Mariners took three of four in Cleveland with a 10-4 win the in series finale Sunday.

Cleveland might have kept the game closer if they had only been able to get out leadoff hitter Dee Gordon and the guy in the nine hole, first baseman Ryon Healy.

Gordon Lashed four singles, drove in a Healy with a run and scored another, while Healy doubled and homered twice, driving in four runs and scoring three to lead the Mariners' offense.

Activated off the DL just four days ago, Healy has hit safely in all four of his starts, and has homered in the last two, with six RBI.

Healy got things going in Seattle's second, driving in a run with his two-bagger and scoring on Gordon's single. His solo shot in the sixth put Seattle up, 6-4, and his two-run belt in the eighth put the game away.

The win left the Mariners tied with the Angels - who play the late Sunday game against the Yankees - two games back of Houston, in second place in the LA West.

The Mariners get a day off Monday as they return home to host a series with the A's, beginning Tuesday.

National League

Kingham: Impressive debut

Pittsburgh's Nick Kingham made his major league debut a memorable one, accomplishing a feat only one other pitcher in the past 100 years had done.

Kingham carried a perfect game into the seventh inning to lead the Pirates to a 5-0 home win over the St. Louis Cardinals. He joined Johnny Cueto in 2008 as the only pitchers in the past 100 years with one hit allowed, at least nine strikeouts and no walks in an MLB pitching debut.

Paul DeJong ended Kingham's bid at absolute baseball immortality when he singled with two outs in the seventh. Getting Marcel Ozuna on a groundout to third finished the inning and Kingham's first assault on major league hitters.

A week ago, Kingham was throwing in AAA for Indianapolis, where he had put together a 2-1 record with a 1.59 ERA in four starts, but the Pirates thought it was time to bring him up to the big club.

They were right. Kingham fanned seven and didn't walk a batter, throwing 72 of 98 pitches for strikes.

The Pirates maintained their slim lead in the contentious NL Central, holding off the Cubs by 1/2 game. St. Louis and Milwaukee are a joint 1 1/2 off the lead.

The Pirates head out of town, to Washington, opening a series with the Nationals at 7:05 pm EDT on Monday.

Houston's Lance McCullers Jr. Blanks A's Over 7 Innings; Chase Utley's 3 Doubles Lead Dodgers Past Giants

Players of the Day for Saturday, April 28, 2018

American League

McCullers Jr.: 7IP, 2H 0ER

Obviously, the Houston Astros are one of the best hitting teams in the majors - their combined batting average of .258 is fifth in the AL - but it's their pitching that makes them a serious consideration for a second straight trip to the World Series.

Houston's 2.54 team ERA is easily the best in the league. It's more than a full run better than all but two teams, Boston (3.25) and Cleveland (3.28).

One reason why Houston is so dominant - other than Justin Verlander and Dallas Keuchel - is Lance McCullers Jr., who improved to 4-1 with seven innings of shutout ball in the Astros' 11-0 laugher over the visiting Oakland A's.

McCullers took a perfect game into the sixth inning, but allowed back-to-back singles to open the inning. As it turned out, those were the only hits the A's would get off McCullers, who induced a double play and a fly ball out to escape the threat. Completing his stint by putting down the A's in order in the seventh, McCullers threw exactly 100 pitches, striking out seven without issuing a walk.

With the Angels losing to the Yankees, 11-1, Houston's lead in the AL West division increased to 1 1/2 games.

The win evened the series at a game apiece, with the rubber game scheduled for Sunday, 2:10 pm EDT.

National League

Utley: 4-5, 32B, 4R, 2RBI

Traded to the Dodgers from the Phillies mid-2015, 39-year-old Chase Utley has been playing in the majors since 2003. Proving he still has what it takes, Utely ripped three doubles and a single in five at-bats in LA's 15-6 romp at San Francisco in the first game of their Saturday double-header.

The Dodgers collected 20 hits overall, scoring early and often, building an 8-2 lead by the third inning. Utley walked and scored in the first, doubled and scored in the second, doubled in a run and scored in the third, doubled in another run in the sixth inning, and singled and scored in the eighth.

San Francisco came back to take the nightcap, 8-3, maintaining their 1/2-game edge over the Dodgers in the struggle that is the NL West.

Arizona has thus far been the best in the division, leading Colorado by five games. The Giants are 6 1/2 out, the Dodgers, seven back. It being still April, the Diamondbacks' big lead means little, and both the Giants and Dodgers will be looking to get a little closer when they finish their series on Sunday, at 2:05 pm PDT.

Matt Davidson Delivers Again For White Sox With 2 HRs; Odubel Herrera Socks A Pair As Phillies Top Braves

Players of the Day for Friday, April 27, 2018

Davidson: 2HR, 3RBI

American League

Matt Davidson was at it again, blasting a pair of home runs - including a two-run belt which plated the go-ahead runs in the 11th inning - as the White Sox took their second straight at Kansas City, 7-4.

The second-year slugger launched a 440-foot bases-empty bomb in the fourth inning, putting the Sox up, 3-2, and capped off the night with the game-winner.

Friday night marked the second straight game in which Davidson has gone yard twice, helping produce back-to-back wins for the White Sox. He's now tied for third in the AL with nine. LA's Mike Trout and Yankee Didi Gregorius lead the league with 10 apiece.

Game three of the series in Kansas City starts Saturday at 2:15 pm EDT.

National League

Prospects for a win didn't look very good for the Phillies after starting pitcher, Aaron Nola gave up three runs to Atlanta in the top of the first inning, but that was before Odubel Herrera got to the plate in the bottom of the frame.

Herrera: 2HR, 4RBI

With two aboard, Herrera unloaded off Atlanta hurler, Julio Teheran, restarting the game with his second home run of the season.

The Phillies, hosting the opener of a three-game series with the Braves, took the lead for good in the sixth, when Herrera socked his second of the game, a solo shot that led to the eventual 7-3 Philadelphia victory.

Herrera is off to an exceptional start to the season, batting .348, good for second in the NL. The youthful Phillies have been the biggest surprise of the season, riding Herrera's hot bat and the overall exuberance of the team and fans to a 16-9 mark, remaining 1/2-game behind the Mets in the NL East after NY topped San Diego, 5-1, later in the evening. The loss dropped the third place Braves 2 1/2 games off the pace.

Game two of the series is slated for a 6:05 pm EDT start.

Ronald Acuna Jr. Goes Yard In Atlanta Win; Matt Davidson Socks A Pair of HRs For White Sox

Players of the Day for Thursday, April 26, 2018

Davidson: 2HR, 3RBI

American League

At 6-16, the White Sox aren't likely to make much of an impact this season, but they have a keeper in Matt Davidson, who cranked out a pair of homers in Chicago's 6-3 win at Kansas City.

Davidson ripped a solo shot in the fourth inning and sent Royals' starter Jacob Junis to the showers with his second blast, a two-run rip that traveled some 450 feet. The first home run was a line shot to the left field corner off a fastball, but Junis didn't fool Davidson with a hanging slider in the sixth. Davidson got full extension and parked it.

The two long balls gave Davidson seven on the season, with 15 RBI. In 2017, his first season in the majors, Davidson had 26 home runs and 68 RBI in 118 games.

The win kept the White Sox out of last place, dropping the Royals 1 1/2 games behind them. The game was just the first of a five-game series in Kansas City, with game two slated for a first pitch at 8:15 pm EDT.

National League

Freddie Freeman laced three doubles in four at-bats, Ozzie Albies socked his eighth home run of the season, and highly-touted rookie, Ronald Acuna Jr., unleashed an upper-deck blast to center and doubled home the go-ahead run as the Atlanta Braves scalped the Cincinnati Reds, 7-4.

Acuna Jr.: 3-4, HR, 2B, 3RBI

Freeman and Albies have been instrumental to Atlanta's success this season. Albies is tied for the league lead in hone runs, and is second - with 10 - in doubles to Freeman's 11. Freeman's .326 batting average is tied for fifth in the NL.

Adding Acuna to the mix is only going to inflict more pain on opposing hitters. With just two games under his belt, Acuna is unproven, but his abilities are hard to deny. Moving from A to AAA last season, the 20-year-old phenom batted a combined .325, socked 21 homers, 31 doubles, drove in 82 runs and swiped 44 bases.

Since his call-up, Acuna is 4-for-9 (.444), including Thursday's 3-for-4, 2RBI effort.

The win gave the Braves a 2-2 split in Cincinnati. At 7:05 pm EDT Friday, the Braves open a series in Philadelphia. The Phillies trail the Mets in the NL East by 1/2-game. Atlanta is 1 1/2 back, so this weekend should lead to some changes in the division standings.