Players of the Day for Monday, August 26, 2019
American League
Embroiled in a heated wild card race with Cleveland and Tampa Bay, the Oakland A's tore up the lower-tier Kansas City Royals, banging out 22 hits in a 19-4 romp.
Shortstop and leadoff hitter, Marcus Semien, was outstanding at the plate, racking his a three-run homer in the fourth inning after clearing the bases in the second with a triple. For good measure, Semien grounded into a force play, driving in his seventh run of the game in the eighth inning.
The 28-year-old is having an exceptional season, averaging .273 while smacking 23 home runs with 69 RBI and 93 runs scored. He's on pace for career marks in all of those categories.
With the win, Oakland is one game behind Tampa Bay for the #1 wild card with Cleveland sandwiched in between, 1/2-game behind the Rays. The A's also trail Houston in the AL West by nine games, but, with 32 games remaining, there's scant hope of catching the defending division champs.
The Athletics should be able to rack up some wins this week, as they have three more games in Kansas City before heading to New York for a return engagement with the Yankees. The A's recently swept three games from the Yanks in Oakland.
National League
With a 12-2 win at NL Central rival Milwaukee, the St. Louis Cardinals won their fifth straight and eighth of their last nine.
St. Louis has gotten hot at the optimum point of the season and has wedged out a 2 1/2-game lead over the Cubs in the division. Their win over the Brewers sent Milwaukee back to five games off the pace and in danger of losing touch in not just the division, but the wild card as well. The Brewers trail the Cubs by 2 1/2 games for the second wild card.
The Cardinals' rise in the standings has coincided roughly with the return of Marcell Ozuna, who spent the entire month of July on the IL. After five losses from August 3rd through 7th, St. Louis has been binging on wins, going 14-3 through Monday's contest.
From the ninth through Mondays game, Ozuna has gone 22-for-61 (.360) with three homers and 14 RBI, including a 2-for-5 effort Monday, highlighted by a three-run double in the second inning which put the Cards up, 6-0.
Milwaukee has dropped three of its last four games against St. Louis, and the two match up again Tuesday at 7:40 pm ET in game two of the series in Milwaukee.
 |
| Semien: 3B, HR, 7 RBI |
Embroiled in a heated wild card race with Cleveland and Tampa Bay, the Oakland A's tore up the lower-tier Kansas City Royals, banging out 22 hits in a 19-4 romp.
Shortstop and leadoff hitter, Marcus Semien, was outstanding at the plate, racking his a three-run homer in the fourth inning after clearing the bases in the second with a triple. For good measure, Semien grounded into a force play, driving in his seventh run of the game in the eighth inning.
The 28-year-old is having an exceptional season, averaging .273 while smacking 23 home runs with 69 RBI and 93 runs scored. He's on pace for career marks in all of those categories.
With the win, Oakland is one game behind Tampa Bay for the #1 wild card with Cleveland sandwiched in between, 1/2-game behind the Rays. The A's also trail Houston in the AL West by nine games, but, with 32 games remaining, there's scant hope of catching the defending division champs.
The Athletics should be able to rack up some wins this week, as they have three more games in Kansas City before heading to New York for a return engagement with the Yankees. The A's recently swept three games from the Yanks in Oakland.
National League
 |
| Ozuna's hot bat helps Cards |
With a 12-2 win at NL Central rival Milwaukee, the St. Louis Cardinals won their fifth straight and eighth of their last nine.
St. Louis has gotten hot at the optimum point of the season and has wedged out a 2 1/2-game lead over the Cubs in the division. Their win over the Brewers sent Milwaukee back to five games off the pace and in danger of losing touch in not just the division, but the wild card as well. The Brewers trail the Cubs by 2 1/2 games for the second wild card.
The Cardinals' rise in the standings has coincided roughly with the return of Marcell Ozuna, who spent the entire month of July on the IL. After five losses from August 3rd through 7th, St. Louis has been binging on wins, going 14-3 through Monday's contest.
From the ninth through Mondays game, Ozuna has gone 22-for-61 (.360) with three homers and 14 RBI, including a 2-for-5 effort Monday, highlighted by a three-run double in the second inning which put the Cards up, 6-0.
Milwaukee has dropped three of its last four games against St. Louis, and the two match up again Tuesday at 7:40 pm ET in game two of the series in Milwaukee.
No comments:
Post a Comment