Jonathan Lucroy Powers A's Past Jays; Yasmani Grandal Walks Dodgers Off Over Brewers

Players of the Day for Wednesday, August 1, 2018

American League

Lucroy: 3-for-4, 4 RBI

Winning their third straight over the visiting Blue Jays for a series sweep, the Oakland A's tied Seattle for second place in the AL West with an 8-3 win.

Jonathan Lucroy let his bat do the talking, going 3-for-4 with two singles, a double, four RBI and two runs as the Athletics built a 7-0 lead through six innings.

Lucroy was acquired from Colorado during the off-season and has been a solid contributor as the A's catcher.

While Seattle was taking an 8-3 beating by the Astros, the A's caught them in the division. Both teams trail the Astros by five games, but the A's have been steaming, winning nine of 13 since the all star break.

Oakland gets a day off on Thursday, their home stand continuing on Friday with the opener of a three-game series against Detroit.

National League

Grandal: 2 HR, 3 RBI

With both teams vying for their respective division titles or a potential wild card spot, the series in Los Angeles between the Brewers and Dodgers figured to offer plenty of pennant race excitement.

The series has not disappointed, as the visitors took the first two games, 5-2, and 1-0. Game three would not be decided until the 10th inning, when Yasmai Grandal stroked a game-winning home run down the right field line, providing the Dodgers with a 6-4 victory.

Grandal, the regular catcher for the Dodgers, had a heck of a night, socking a solo homer in the fifth and singling, going 3-for-5 with three RBI. On the season, Grandal has 19 home runs and 53 RBI.

At the end of the day, the Dodgers remained tied for first place with Arizona in the NL West, the Brewers trailed the Cubs by a game in the NL Central, and LA trailed Milwaukee by two games for the top wild card spot.

Thursday's game four promises to be delightful. The teams take the field at 6:00 pm PDT.