With a win over ace Chris Sale and the White Sox, the Yankees reduced their magic number to clinch a playoff spot to six and closed the AL East gap with the first-place Blue Jays to three games.
On a Carlos Beltran three-run homer, Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez recorded his 2,000th career run scored. A-Rod is just the eighth player in MLB history to score 2,000 runs. He joined Hank Aaron as the only players with at least 3,000 hits, 2,000 RBIs and 2,000 runs scored.
Meanwhile, for the first time in 30 years the Royals (89-63) clinched their division. With a 10-4 win over the Mariners and a loss by the Twins, the Royals punched their ticket into the postseason for the second straight year.
Star performers:
AL:
Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre continued his red-hot September, going 2 for 5 with three RBIs as the Rangers swept the A's with an 8-1 win. Beltre's multi-hit performance was his eighth in the past 11 games. With the Astros off, the Rangers extended their lead in the AL West to 3 1/2 games.
NL:
Stephen Piscotty went 3 for 4 with a homer and four RBIs as the Cardinals came from behind to beat the Brewers 7-3. The win was the Cards' fifth in a row. The club holds a four-game lead over the Pirates in the division.
Play of the day:
Chris Heisey hit his first home run of the season — a grand slam — to propel the Dodgers past the Diamondbacks 6-3. The win, paired with a Giants loss, narrowed Los Angeles' magic number to clinch the NL West to three.
Key injuries:
Former Royals closer Greg Holland has a "significant" tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow and will not pitch again this season.
The Yankees announced starter Masahiro Tanaka (hamstring) could be cleared to rejoin the rotation as early as Monday or Tuesday.
A look ahead: (All times Eastern)
Pirates (93-60) at Cubs (89-63), 2:20 p.m.: With wild-card implications on the line, Gerrit Cole (17-8, 2.64 ERA) and the Pirates open a three-game series against Jon Lester (10-11, 3.46 ERA) and the Cubs. With the Cubs 3 1/2 games behind the Bucs with 10 games remaining, the series may decide the location of the one-game wild-card playoff. The Cubs can secure a wild-card spot with a win.
Rangers (83-69) at Astros (80-73), 8:10 p.m.: In desperate need of a September spark, the Astros send Scott Kazmir (7-10, 2.73 ERA) to the hill in the first game of a three-game series against the AL West-leading Rangers. Yovani Gallardo (12-11, 3.41 ERA) toes the rubber for the Rangers looking for a spark of his own. Gallardo has pitched into the sixth inning just once in his past four starts.