Elvis Andrus Leads Texas Past Tigers, 12-6; Trevor Story's 2 HR Power Rockies Over Braves, 17-2

Players of the Day for Wednesday, August 16, 2017

American League

Anrdus: 3-for-4, HR, 4 RBI

Hopelessly outpaced in the AL West by Houston but still in the hunt for a wild card spot, the Texas Rangers took a step forward, improving to just a game below .500 (59-60) with a 12-6 win over Detroit, sweeping the three-game series at Arlington.

Elvis Andrus had a big night, contributing three of the 17 Texas hits with two singles and his 16th home run, a solo whack that snapped a 4-4 tie in the fifth inning. Previously, Andrus had walked and scored on Adrian Beltre's two-run, third inning homer. Andres singled in two runs in the sixth, then stole second and scored on Nomar Mazara's three-run homer. Finally, Andrus singled home another score in the seventh, tallying four RBI and scoring three times.

Texas completes the sweep at an opportune time, hosting a four game series with the slumping White Sox - losers of four straight - beginning Thursday. After that, the Rangers head to LA for a four-game set with the Angels, the current holders of the second wild card slot, just two games in front of Texas.

National League

Story: 2 HR, 6 RBI

With Arizona losing at Houston, 9-5, the Colorado Rockies took back sole possession of the first wild card position with a 17-2 mauling of Atlanta at Coors Field in Denver.

The Rockies exploded for 18 hits, nine of them for extra bases. Nolan Arenado increased his RBI by two, to 103, which leads the majors. Trevor Story measured the tale of the tape, going 3-for-4 with a single and two hoe runs (17 & 18), knocking in six runs.

Story singled home a run in the third inning, then followed with a two-run blast in the fourth. In the seventh inning, he completed the Rockies' scoring for the game with a three-run shot to left. He has 56 RBI on the year.

Colorado leads the four-game series with the Braves, two games to one, with the finale scheduled for Thursday afternoon, at 3:10 pm ET. The Rockies hold a one-game lead in the wild card with Arizona second. NL Central contenders, St. Louis and Milwaukee trail the Diamondbacks by four and five games, respectively.

Streak Ended: While Miami was winning, 8-1, over the Giants, Giancarlo Stanton's six-game home run came to an end, though Stanton did single twice in four at-bats.