Rangers complete sweep over Astros, increase lead in AL West

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Take a look around the league with Big League Stew's daily wrap up. We'll hit on all of the biggest moments from the day that you may have missed, while providing highlights, photos and interesting stats.
The Texas Rangers picked one heck of a time to go on a hot streak. The club completed a four-game sweep over the Houston Astros on Thursday, winning 8-2.*With the victory, the Rangers now have a 2.5 game lead in the American League West.*
Mitch Moreland and Shin-Soo Choo led Texas at the plate during the contest. Moreland clobbered a three-run homer in the third inning, breaking open the scoring. Choo went 4 for 5 at the plate, with two runs scored and two RBI.*
Colby Lewis was solid on the mound. The right-hander allowed two runs on seven hits over six innings. Lewis struck out three, and did not issue any walks.
While the first two games of the series were close, the Rangers broke out in at the plate in a big way during the final two. The club scored 33 runs and gave up just 13 during the sweep.*
After struggling early in the season, Texas has arrived.

The Texas Rangers were 9.5 games out of first on May 20th. They are 2.5 games up on September 17th.
— Kate Morrison (@unlikelyfanatic) September 18, 2015​

With the win, the Rangers improved to 79-67 on the season.


TROUT LIFTS ANGELS
The AL MVP narrative may have shifted towards Josh Donaldson in recent weeks, but Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout is still in the race. Trout was excellent during the team's 11-8 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday.
At first, things looked bleak. The Twins managed five runs in the bottom of the first inning. But with Trout on your team, anything is possible.
He proved that the following inning. Tommy Milone was already having trouble on the mound by the time Trout stepped to the plate with the bases loaded. As he's done many times before, Trout made things worse for the pitcher.
On the third pitch of the at-bat, Trout blasted an 89 mph fastball out to right center for a grand slam. He wasn't done for the night, though. In his next at-bat, Trout added a solo shot, giving him two home runs on the night.
Trout finished 2 for 3, with three runs scored and five RBI. He walked in his other three plate appearances, reaching base five times.
With the win, the Angels improved to 74-72. The team remains 2.5 games out the second wild card spot in the AL.


CUBS INCH CLOSER
If the Chicago Cubs are going to win a wild card spot, they are hoping they can host the game at Wrigley Field. The club got closer to that goal Thursday, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-6.*
It should come as no surprise that Anthony Rizzo played a role in the team's win. Rizzo belted his 30th home run of the season during the team's six-run fifth inning.*
With the blast, Rizzo set a fair amount of milestones.*

Anthony Rizzo: 21st player (6th lefty) to hit 100 home runs in a #Cubs uniform.
— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) September 17, 2015​

That seems significant, as does this one:

Rizzo is the second left-handed hitting #Cubs player to record multiple 30-homers seasons. The other was Billy Williams.
— Bruce Miles (@BruceMiles2112) September 17, 2015​

With the performance, Rizzo is now hitting .278/.387/.524 over 635 plate appearances. If not for Bryce Harper, he would be making a serious push for NL MVP.
The Cubs improved to 85-61 with the win. The team is just two games behind the Pirates for the first wild card spot.


INFANTE DOMINATES FOR ROYALS
Kansas City Royals infielder Omar Infante caught a lot of flak for nearly making the All-Star team earlier in the season. While he didn't make the AL squad, he definitely played like an All-Star during Thursday's 8-4 win over the Cleveland Indians.
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Infante came into the contest hitting just .217, and hadn't played in more than a week. No one expected Infante to play the hero Thursday, but that's exactly what he did.

And Omar Infante has set a career high with 7RBI. He's a triple shy of the cycle
— Joel Goldberg (@goldbergkc) September 18, 2015​

That's right, Infante drove in a career-high seven runs during the game. He finished 3 for 4, with one run scored and seven RBI. Infante had just 37 RBI coming into the contest.
With the win, the Royals improved to 86-60 on the year.
Want to see more from Thursday’s slate of games? Check out our*scoreboard.
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