Starting The Last Week of August

Arizona breaks into sole possession of first place in the NL as the A’s continue to chase the hot Astros in the AL. Both leaders won their game and Houston pushed their win streak to 5 games as things seemed to remain fairly stable in the standings Sunday. Colorado was the only team to see a change as they lost ground and now are only 1.5 games ahead of the Dodgers. As far as the wildcard goes, it looks like there very well could be a West Coast representative in the AL as both the A’s and Mariners are within striking distance though the Yankees seem to have a lock on the 1st spot. In the NL, 5 teams are within 3 games of the top wildcard spot so things look like they’re gonna get a bit wild. Coupled with the fact that the division leaders are at most 4 games ahead in each division leads me to think there’s gonna be some chaos in the NL heading down the stretch. Finally, in the AL, no one is even close to the Red Sox who are 6 games up on their nearest competition – the Yankees. They look good but I wonder how much competition they’ve had with the 37–94 Orioles in their division. Regardless, things are getting pretty interesting heading towards September.

Astros and Athletics stay Hot and the Dodgers win 3 in a Row

Astros 3, Angels 1
Padres 3, Dodgers 7
A’s 6, Twins 2
Cardinals 12, Rockies 3
Rangers 1, Giants 3
Mariners 2, D-Backs 5

The Astros picked up their 5th in a row and handily swept the Angels in Anaheim. Framber Valdez held the Angels offense in check as he threw 5 innings of 2-hit ball giving up only a single run while Felix Pena allowed 3 over 6 innings for the Angels. Hunter Renfroe and Justin Turner had competing 3 for 5 games on Sunday but while Renfroe’s included a home run and 2 RBIs, Turner hit a couple of doubles and drove in 5 as the Dodgers swept the Padres. In another pair of 3 for 5 outings, the Athletics’ Matt Chapman and Jed Lowrie each contributed to the win as Chapman hit 2 home runs and Lowrie had an HR and a double to power the A’s over the Twins in Minnesota.

In Colorado, St. Louis continued their torrid hot streak crushing the Rockies 12 to 5. Tyler Anderson didn’t even get outta the first inning as he gave up 6 runs on 7 hits in only 2/3 of an inning. That knocked the Rockies outta first place as Arizona beat up on the Mariners behind a solid outing from Zack Greinke. He went 6 2/3 innings giving up only an unearned run and struck out 6. His performance wins him my Pitcher of the Day. In San Francisco, Derek Holland picked up his 7th win of the season bringing him closer to the .500 mark as he bested the Rangers by scattering 3 hits and giving up a run.

Pitcher of the Day: Zack Greinke, Arizona – 6 2/3 innings, 0 ER, 6 K
Player of the Day: Matt Chapman, Oakland – 3 for 5, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 3 Runs

Sports – West Coast Baseball – Starting The Last Week of August