Manny Machado Grand Slam Lifts O's Over Angels; Chris Taylor Leads Dodgers To 5th Straight

Players of the Day for Friday, August 18, 2017

American League

Machado: 3HR, GS, 7RBI

Baltimore remained a serious contender in the wild card hunt with a wild, 9-7 win over the LA Angels on Manny Machado's dramatic, walk-off grand slam, his third home run of the game.

Machado socked a two-run homer in the third inning, adding a solo shot in the fifth, but his power display still wasn't enough, as the Orioles went scoreless in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, trailing the Angels at Camden Yards, 7-5.

In the ninth, Angel reliever Yusmeiro Petit got one out, but left with runners aboard first and second for Kenyan Middleton. After allowing a single by Tim Beckham to land the bases, Machado continued his mashing, sending the ball deep into the center field stands to the cheers of the partisan Baltimore crowd.

Machado, who drove in seven of Baltimore's nine runs, has been on a tear in August. Riding a six-game hitting streak, the Oriole third baseman is batting .360 for the month, with eight home runs and 28 RBI. He has 26 home runs and 81 RBI after a slow start.

The win put the Orioles two games behind the Angels, who are currently tied with the Twins for the second wild card. The Yankees lead the wild card standings by 3 1/2 games.

Baltimore can do itself more good in games two and three of their series with the Angels. Game two is scheduled for Saturday night, a 7:05 pm ET start.

Taylor: 4-for-5, 2 RBI

National League

Just in case the LA Dodgers need extra hitters in their already power-laden lineup, the team that's leading the NL West by a shocking 19 games activated slugger Adrian Gonzalez for the disabled list on Friday, where he's been since June 11.

In his first at-bat in his first game back, Gonzalez lashed a double and scored for LA on Chris Taylor's second inning double as part of a four-run rally that put the Dodgers on a path to an 8-5 win over the homesteading Tigers.

While Gonzalez went hitless the rest of the game, Taylor, batting from the leadoff spot, Taylor would produce three more hits, going 4-for-5 with two doubles and a pair of singles, two RBI, a run and his 14th stolen base of the season.

In his first full season with the Dodgers (traded from Seattle last season), Taylor has become the go-to utility fill-in, playing left and center field, shortstop, second, and third base at various times this year. On Friday, Taylor was at short for the fifth time this season. On the year, he's batting .310, with 17 home runs, 58 RBI and 69 runs.

The Dodgers, winners of five straight, play game two of the three-game series in Detroit Saturday at 4:05 pm ET.