George Springer, Josh Reddick Power Astros; Stephen Strasburg Fans 13 As Nationals Club Cubs, 8-4

Players of the Day for Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Springer socks 24th HR

American League

On a breakneck pace (53-26) to win 108 or 109 games, the Houston Astros continued their domination of the AL West with an 11-8 win over visiting Oakland.

Houston, 9-2 against the A's this season, got plenty of offense from the top two hitters in their lineup, George Springer and Josh Reddick.

Reddick: 3 RBI, 2 SB

Springer lashed a pair of doubles and his 24th home run, drove in two runs and scored three times, while Reddick singled three times, drove in three runs, stoa pair of bases and scored twice.

Springer is second in the AL in home runs behind Arron Judge, who belted his 27th on Wednesday. Reddick is batting .305, well beyond his .259 career average.

The Astros have won seven of their last nine and evened their three game series with the visiting A's at a game apiece with the rubber game scheduled for Thursday, 2:10 pm ET. Houston leads the AL West by a staggering 12 1/2 games.

National League

Stephen Strasburg got plenty of help from his position players as the Washington Nationals doubled up on the visiting Cubs, with an 8-4 win, taking a 2-1 lead in their four game series.

9-2 Strasburg fans 13

Strasburg worked seven full innings, improving to 9-2 on the year, as his teammates built an early 6-0 lead off Chicago starter, John Lackey. The Cubs didn't get to Strasburg until the fourth inning, when Willson Contreras connected for a two-run homer. Strasburg would give up another run in the fifth, though it was unearned. Overall, he allowed just four hits, walked one and struck out 13.

At one point, Strasburg fanned six straight, putting down the Cubs in order on strikes through the second and third innings. The win tied Strasburg with teammate Max Scherzer, Arizona's Zack Greinke, and Colorado's Antonio Senzatella for at nine victories, all chasing LA's Clayton Kershaw, who is 11-2. His strikeout total for the season now stands at 122, one behind Kershaw, but well distant from Scherzer, who leads the league with 151.

The Cubs trail Milwaukee by one game in the central, while the Nationals continue to lead the NL East by 9 1/2 over the Braves. The series concludes Thursday at Nationals Park, first pitch scheduled for 4:05 pm ET.