Curtis Granderson, Yasiel Puig Power Dodgers Past Pirates; Adam Jones 2 HRs Lead Orioles

Players of the Day for Monday, August 21, 2017

Jones: 2 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI

American League

Adam Jones lifted a pair of home runs out of Camden Yards as the Orioles got back on the winning track with a 7-3 victory over the Oakland A's in the first of three.

Jones added two singles, going 4-for-4 on the night. His first homer was a solo blast in the fourth inning, breaking a 1-1 tie. The second came back-to-back with Jonathan Schoop's three-run belt, another solo shot in the fifth as the Orioles scored four runs.

Jones' homers were his 23rd and 24th of the year. He has 63 RBI and is batting .281. The Orioles are 3 1/2 games behind Minnesota for the second wild card spot, but the field is loaded, with eight teams vying for that single spot. The Yankees continue to hold the first wild card by 2 1/2 games.

Game two of the series is scheduled for Tuesday at 7:05 pm ET.

Granderson: Grand Slam

National League

The Dodgers picked up Curtis Granderson from the Mets last week, and the veteran outfielder is apparently enjoying the cross-county move, socking a pair of home runs in his first three games in Dodger blue, the latest a grand slam in LA's 12-inning, 6-5 win at Pittsburgh.

Granderson's fifth inning slam put the Dodgers up, 5-3, but the Pirates - still fighting for contention in either the NL Central or the wild card race - came back to tie the game with two runs in the eighth.

Puig's HR won game

Neither team could come up with a run until the 12th inning, when Yasiel Puig launched his 22nd home run of the season, a solo shot that proved to be the game-winner. Ross Stripling, the eighth Dodger pitcher, gave up a hit and a walk in the bottom of the inning, but managed to keep the Pirates off the scoreboard, earning his second save.

The win left the Dodgers 20 1/2 games up on Colorado in the NL West with the best record in the majors, an amazing 88-35 (.715). At their current pace, the Dodgers would end the season at 116-46 and would clinch the division sometime around September 10.

Pittsburgh fell seven games behind Chicago in the NL Central and 8 games out of the second wild card.

The four-game series resumes Tuesday at 7:05 pm ET with game two.