First Base: Christian Yelich hit for the cycle for the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday in a 13-12 victory against the Cincinnati Reds. Yelich went 6-6 with three singles, a double, triple and home run. He became the second player in the league to hit for the cycle this year, joining Mookie Betts of the Red Sox, who hit for the cycle in Toronto in early August. Yelich is also the first Brewer to hit for the cycle since George Kottaras in 2011 and the eighth Brewer to do so in franchise history. After having a solid first half in which he hit .292/.364/.459, Yelich has been on fire since the All-Star Break, hitting .363/.409/.738 while leading the majors in batting average, runs, RBIs, slugging percentage and being tied for first in home runs since the Midsummer Classic. The Brewers acquired Yelich from the Marlins this past offseason for several prospects, and he has been a key piece to their success this year. The Brewers (77-61) currently have top Wild Card spot in the National League, and are five games out of first place in the NL Central behind the Cubs.
Second Base: The A’s Khris Davis hit his 40th home run of the season on Saturday, becoming the first player in the league to reach 40 home runs this year. Davis also became the first player since Ryan Howard to have three straight 40+ homer/100+ RBI seasons in a row. The A’s have continued to play well as of late and are 82-56 after beating the Mariners on Sunday. They currently hold the second Wild Card spot in the American League, and are two games behind the first place Astros in the AL West. The A’s have finished in last place in their division the previous three seasons in a row. They are looking to make their first postseason appearance since 2014, when they lost to the eventual American League champion Kansas City Royals in an epic AL Wild Card game.
Third Base: With the waiver deadline looming on September 1st at 12 AM, several notable trades occurred on Friday. Josh Donaldson got dealt from the Blue Jays to the Indians. The former AL MVP has been injured for most of the year and is a free agent after this season but has been rehabbing lately and will likely be back soon for the September stretch run. Donaldson will join a star-studded infield that already features Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez. The other most notable trade was Andrew McCutchen going from the Giants to the Yankees. McCutchen, who is also a free agent after this season, has had a solid season in the Bay Area, hitting .255/.357/.415 with a 111 OPS+. McCutchen will be filling in for the injured Aaron Judge. Other noteworthy trades include the Brewers acquiring Curtis Granderson from the Blue Jays and Gio Gonzalez from the Nationals, and the Dodgers trading for Ryan Madison from the Nationals and David Freese from the Pirates.