MLB Nightly 9: Prince Fielder leads Rangers to 15-run outburst against Yankees

Alec Brzezinski

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MLB Nightly 9: Prince Fielder leads Rangers to 15-run outburst against Yankees image

Each night we'll provide you with the nine top story lines from the day's action, beginning with the stars of the day, and look ahead to the next day's matchups.

On the strength of a 10-run, third-inning explosion, the Rangers scored 15 runs on 15 hits in their 15-4 win at Yankee Stadium. The Royals escaped with a six-inning victory against the Cardinals due to inclement weather. With the win, Kansas City maintained its grip on the best record in baseball.

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Anthony Rizzo sent a moon shot to right-center field that seemingly hovered in the air for an eternity. The three-run shot at the top of the ninth inning broke a 6-6 tie and won the game for the Cubs. Rizzo finished the game 2 for 5 with six RBIs and is now batting .322 on the season.

The Dodgers may have found a real superstar in Mike Bolsinger. The young pitcher hasn't allowed more than one run in his first four outings, including a one-hit, eight-inning shutout on Saturday.

The Giants had a much more positive eight-game streak broken on Saturday than the one they had earlier in the season. The Rockies snapped San Francisco's eight-game winning streak with a 5-3 win in Game 2 of the doubleheader. The Giants had an eight-game losing streak in April, so they've done a good job turning the season around.

Here are more highlights from Saturday's games:

Impact Players:

C — Martin Maldonado, Brewers: Maldonado went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a walk in an extra-innings loss against the Braves.

1B — Mike Napoli, Red Sox: Napoli's hibernating bat has finally awoken. He went 2 for 3 with two home runs, three RBIs and a walk in a win against the Orioles. Napoli’s sixth-inning blast was calculated at 446 feet, which is the longest at Fenway Park this year.

2B — Josh Harrison, Pirates: Harrison went 2 for 4 with a run, two RBIs and a stolen base. He's now 19 for 37 in his last eight games, and has raised his average from .181 to .261 during that time.

SS — Elvis Andrus, Rangers: Andrus played his part in the Rangers' thrashing of the Yankees with a run and three RBIs on a 2-for-4 night.

3B — Maikel Franco, Phillies: Franco went 2 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs in a big win against the Nationals.

OF — Shin Soo-Choo, Rangers: Choo went 2 for 5 with three runs scored, a home run, four RBIs and a walk in a monstrous win over the Yankees.

DH — Prince Fielder, Rangers: Any team that scores 15 runs deserves to have three guys in here, right? Well, we think so. Fielder continued his hot hitting with a 3-for-4 outing. He scored three runs, hit a home run and drove in three more runs in a 15-4 win against the Yankees.

SP — Mike Bolsinger, Dodgers: Bolsinger threw an eight-inning one-hitter in a 2-0 win against the Padres. He struck out eight without a walk to lower his ERA to 0.71 in four starts.

Key Injuries:

Red Sox outfielder Shane Victorino left in the third inning with left calf tightness after chasing down a ball.

Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas left the game against the Cardinals with a bruised clavicle.

Surprise Performers:

Good: Athletics starting pitcher Kendall Graveman: Graveman pitched six scoreless innings after being recalled from Triple-A Nashville. He struck out six batters and allowed only three hits to improve to 2-2 on the season.

Bad: Matt Harvey and Stephen Strasburg: The two aces really struggled. Harvey gave up seven runs to the Pirates in just four innings, and Strasburg allowed six runs (five earned) in 3 2/3 innings against the Phillies. Both pitchers should bounce back, so the film from these outings probably won't be saved.

Web Gems:

The Astros became the second team this season to complete a triple play with this 5-4-3 stop:

Joey Votto shows off his slick defensive skills.

Facts of the Day:

Pirates starting pitcher A.J. Burnett completed his ninth straight start of two or fewer runs, tying Warren Spahn for the second-longest streak by a pitcher 38 or older since 1950.

New Marlins manager Dan Jennings became the just the fifth manager in MLB history to have his first career win and first career loss come in extra innings.

Shelby Miller has allowed two earned runs or fewer in nine straight starts to open season; Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz never did that to start a season in an Atlanta uniform.

C.C. Sabathia is having a rough season:

Prince Fielder, on the other hand, is off to a great start:

These guys need to learn their lesson:

Reactions:

Bryan Price must not have felt like working today:

"It's just things left unsaid yesterday that were said today," Price said after Saturday's game, via reds.com. "I was given fair warning that I would be ejected if I continued to debate yesterday's game."

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman on their 3-2 win over Milwaukee, via MLB.com: "It's awesome to be a part of a pitching duel like that. Shelby was awesome, bullpen was awesome, and [Peterson] started the game with a hit and ended the game with a hit."

Brewers manager Craig Counsell on Saturday's extra-inning loss to the Braves: "It was that kind of game. It was a game where you wish you would have had one out here, a ball placed in a different spot there, but it was a good baseball game. A good, hard-fought baseball game."  

Off the Field:

The Dodgers placed catcher Yasmani Grandal on the 7-day concussion disabled list.

Mets third baseman David Wright has endured another setback after being diagnosed with spinal stenosis.

The Rangers will activate outfielder Josh Hamilton on Monday. He had an impressive .364/.391/.545 slash line with 5 doubles and a home run in 12 games between Double A and Triple A.

Scores:

American League:

Rangers 15. Yankees 4
Mariners 3, Blue Jays 2
Astros 3, Tigers 2
Twins 4, White Sox 3
Athletics 5, Rays 0
Red Sox 8, Angles 3

National League:

Phillies 8, Nationals 1
Pirates 8, Mets 2
Braves 3, Brewers 2 (11)
Giants 10, Rockies 8 (Game 1)
Rockies 5, Giants 3 (Game 2)
Dodgers 2, Padres 0
Cubs 9, Diamondbacks 6

Interleague:

Indians 2, Reds 1
Royals 3, Cardinals 2 (6)
Marlins 1, Orioles 0 (13)

A Look Ahead: (All times Eastern)

Astros (26-16) at Tigers (26-18) 1:08 p.m.: Two of the best teams in MLB wrap up their series at Comerica Park. Anibal Sanchez (3-5, 5.60 ERA) returns to the mound hoping to find some of the form the Tigers saw when they awarded him with an $80 million deal in 2012. The Astros continue to be the surprise team of the AL, and winning this series would be huge for the young team's confidence.

Mets (24-20) at Pirates (20-22) 1:35 p.m.: The Mets are just 11-17 since winning 11 straight back in April. The young, talented pitching staff is getting a lot of accolades, but the lineup is struggling to consistently score runs. They've only scored more than two runs once in their last six games. The Pirates, on the other hand, are starting to heat up. Led by hot-hitting Josh Harrison, Pittsburgh's heading back toward .500.

Cardinals (27-15) at Royals (27-14) 2:10 p.m.: The Royals won a weather-shortened game on Saturday to remain the best team in baseball. This series could be a World Series preview, so it will be interesting to see if the Royals can complete a sweep of the perennial NL powerhouse. 

Alec Brzezinski