Dodgers Clinch NL West Behind Walker Buehler, Corey Seager; A's Rip Astros, 21-7, Sean Murphy, Matt Olson 2HR Each

Players of the Day for Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Olson: 2 HR, 4 RBI

American League

After being hammered, 15-0, in the opener of their four-game series at Houston, the Oakland A's did some mashing of their own, socking six homers in a 21-7 payback over the Astros in game two.

Ripping a total of 25 hits, the A's scored in every inning except the seventh and eighth, putting up seven in the first and six more in the fourth.

Murphy: 2 HR, 4 RBI

Sean Murphy and Matt Olson each sent two into the stands. After singling in a run in the opening frame, Murphy launched a two-run job in the fourth and a solo shot in the sixth. Olson's homers - his 30th and 31st - were each of the two-run variety, one each in the third and fourth innings.

Murphy has been in the majors only enough to amass 14 at-bats, but he has three homers to his credit and six RBI with a .357 batting average.

Trailing the Astros now by 9 1/2 games, the A's will try to go one up on Houston in the series on Wednesday. Game time at Minute Maid Park is 8:10 pm ET.

National League

Buehler: 7IP, 4H, 0ER, 11K

Walker Buehler kept the Orioles scoreless over seven innings and Corey Seager knocked two balls out of Camden Yards as the LA Dodgers defeated Baltimore, 7-3, clinching the NL West in the unlikeliest of locations.

Buehler (13-3, 3.14), the second year phenom, held the O's to four hits, notching his third win in as many starts. He fanned 11, walked none, and no Baltimore base runner got past second. Buehler struck out the side in the third inning and upped his overall total to 201, becoming the eighth National League hurler to record 200 or more strikeouts this season. Jacob deGrom leads the league with 231.

Seager: 2 HR, 5 RBI

Seager's two homers resulted in five early runs. The Dodger shortstop belted a three-run shot in the first, and followed up with a two-run dinger in the third inning. He has 16 on the year to go with 74 RBI. Seager has three homers in his last two games.

The result landed the Dodgers the NL West crown, with an 18 1/2 game lead on second place Arizona. The September 10 division clinch was the earliest of any team in the majors since the 1998 Yankees nabbed the AL East on September 9. The Indians clinched the AL Central on September 8, 1995, the first year of the wild card.

Elsewhere, the six teams vying for the two wild card spots stack up this way after Tuesday's games:

Washington +2 1/2
Chicago ---
Milwaukee -1
Philadelphia -2
Arizona -2 1/2
New York Mets -3

Oakland's Matt Olson Belts 2 HR, A's Down ChiSox, 10-2; Trea Turner, Michael Taylor Lead Nats' 18-3 Rout Of Reds

Players of the Day for Saturday, June 25, 2017



American League

Olson: 2HR, 4RBI

With a record of 33-42, and already 17 1/2 games behind division-leading Houston in the AL West, the Oakland A's may be thinking about the future, as in, next season.

One of their top prospects is 23-year-old right fielder, Matt Olson, who seemed to be rounding into major league form this season season with AAA Nashville in the Pacific Coast League.

In 58 games with the Sounds, Olson is batting .271 with 17 home runs and 43 RBI and has been up and down with the A's a few times this season.

In Chicago to play the White Sox, rookie Olson had a breakout game, socking his first two home runs, accounting for four RBI. Olson started and finished the scoring for the A's in their 10-2 romp, hitting his first two-run homer in the opening frame, then finishing off the Sox with another two-run blast in the seventh.

The win was only Oakland's 11th, against 25 road losses and dropped the White Sox to 15-14 at home. Oakland will be seeking the sweep of the three-game series on Sunday, when the teams meet at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, 2:10 pm ET.

Turner: 5-for-5, 4R, 2RBI

National League

What happens when the Washington Nationals run into a team with a weak and/or depleted pitching staff.

Maybe Washington's 18-3 win at Cincinnati can provide a suitable explanation.

The Nationals teed off on Reds' starter, Homer Bailey, who was making his first major league start of the year after Tommy John surgery in May 2015 and was limited to eight starts in 2016. Bailey lasted just 1 2/3 innings, giving up six hits, three walks and eight runs, all earned.

Taylor: 4-5, 2HR, 3RBI

Neither were the visiting Nationals particularly kind to the Cincinnati relief staff. They pounded three relievers for 13 more hits and 10 more runs in the blowout.

The Reds have the worst ERA in the NL, at the astonishing level of 5.27.

At the top of Washington's batting order, Trea Turner lashed five singles in five at-bats, scoring four times and driving in a pair, while #8 hitter, Michael Taylor, delivered the bigger blows, going 4-for-5 with a double and two home runs, driving in three, also scoring four times.

The win kept the Nationals nine games ahead of the rapidly-improving Atlanta Braves, winners of four straight and eight of their last 10.

Washington will be seeking a sweep of the the three-game series at Great American Ball Park on Sunday, 1:35 pm ET.