Each night we'll provide you with the nine top story lines from the day's action, beginning with the stars of the day, and look ahead to the next day's matchups.
With a dominating 9-3 win, the Blue Jays swept the Twins in a four-game series that put the red-hot Jays in sole possession of the second American League wild card spot and 4.5 games back of the Yankees in the AL East. Edwin Encarnacion homered, doubled twice and drove in four runs, while newly acquired Troy Tulowitzki went 2 for 5 with a run scored. The Jays moved to 8-0 with Tulo in starting lineup, with Tulowitzki becoming the first player in club history to win in his first eight starts.
The recent acquisitions of Tulowitzki, David Price and Ben Revere have Toronto and MLB believing the hype.
"It’s fun. City’s buzzing, the clubhouse in here, you’ve got that feel every day coming to the field, ‘Who’s next?'" Blue Jays starter Mark Buehrle said after the game. "No matter if it’s a rookie pitching or a guy that’s been around for a while, we’ve got that feel of, ‘whose butt we gotta kick today?’ That’s a good feeling. We haven’t had that in the couple of years that I’ve been here."
Also playing meaningful baseball for the first time in more than a decade, the Cubs beat the Giants 5-4 to take a half-game lead over San Francisco for the second wild card spot in the National League. Chicago's win was its seventh in the past eight games. If the Cubs keep up this pace, they might just end up in the World Series like Sporting News predicted before the season.
Here are more highlights from Thursday's games:
Impact players:
C — Kyle Schwarber, Cubs: The rookie homered in his second consecutive game, connecting on a three-run homer, to go along with a walk and two runs scored.
1B — Adrian Gonzalez, Dodgers: Gonzalez blasted his 22nd homer of the season and drove in three runs in a 2-for-5 performance.
2B — Ian Kinsler, Tigers: Kinsler launched a two-run home run to left field in the bottom of the ninth to give the Tigers an 8-6 walkoff win against the Royals.
SS — Ian Desmond, Nationals: Desmond went 2 for 4 with a solo homer, a walk and an additional run scored as the Nats moved within 1.5 games of the Mets in the NL East with an 8-3 win over the Diamondbacks.
3B — Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays: Filling up the stat sheet, Donaldson was 2 for 3 with an RBI, a stolen base, two walks and two runs scored.
OF — Khris Davis, Brewers: For the second time this season, Davis bashed two homers in a game. He finished 3 for 5 with a career-high six RBIs.
DH — Victor Martinez, Tigers: V-Mart finished with two home runs and five RBIs, marking his first multi-homer performance in 531 games with the Tigers.
SP — Michael Wacha, Cardinals: Wacha hurled seven innings of shutout ball against the Reds, scattering four hits while striking out six.
Key injuries:
Out since June 22 with a right ankle injury, Phillies second baseman Chase Utley will be activated from the disabled list Friday.
Mets first baseman Michael Cuddyer (knee) may not return to the Mets lineup until Monday's series opener against the Rockies.
Newly acquired Giants starter Mike Leake (left hamstring strain) was scratched for Friday's game against the Cubs; Ryan Vogelsong will start in his place.
Mets reliever Jerry Blevins will miss the remainder of the season and undergo surgery after slipping while stepping off a curb and re-fracturing his left arm.
Web gems:
Brewers shortstop Jean Segura ranges up the middle and makes a terrific diving stop, then fires to first to nab San Diego's Justin Upton to end the game.
Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar added another suburb defensive play to his résumé as he sprinted to his left and made a diving catch to rob Minnesota's Miguel Sano of an extra-base hit.
Newly acquired Astros outfielder Carlos Gomez runs with his back to the infield and slides to make a basket catch in deep center to take a hit away from Oakland's Eric Sogard.
Surprise performers:
Good: Brewers starter Matt Garza allowed just one run on two hits over seven innings as the Brewers won their third straight over the Padres. Despite the great outing, Garza owns a 4.95 ERA and 1.48 WHIP.
Bad: Dodgers ace Zack Greinke let his hitting outshine his pitching Thursday. He allowed six runs (five of them in the first inning) over six innings of work, but went 3 for 3 at the plate, including his fifth career home run.
Facts of the day:
Although the Home Run Derby was one of the most exciting derbies in recent years, players (not named Josh Donaldson) have struggled since the All-Star break as Sporting News' Ryan Fagan points out.
With the conclusion of Wacha's performance, all five current Cardinal starters have a sub-3.00 ERA — Jaime Garcia, 1.98; Carlos Martinez, 2.57; John Lackey, 2.85; Lance Lynn, 2.89; and Wacha, 2.92.
Nationals rookie pitcher Joe Ross owns the highest K:BB ratio (11.8) through a pitcher's first seven career starts in modern MLB history (since 1900), per the Elias Sports Bureau.
Forty-three years ago Thursday, Hank Aaron hit his 660th and 661st career homers, tying and eclipsing the eventual career total of Willie Mays.
Reactions:
"I'd rather be talked to like a baseball player, not a patient at a therapy clinic," Mets third baseman David Wright said via MLB.com after increasing baseball activities in Florida. "It's been nice to start getting in the grind again and start thinking about baseball and talking shop with the coaches and guys, rather than being secluded in the training room or a therapy table getting worked on."
In the eighth inning of the Tigers-Royals game, a squirrel sprinted around Comerica Park to cause a delay of nearly two minutes. The game was tied 6-6 at the time, but the Tigers went on to win 8-6 on Kinsler's walkoff.
Off the Field:
Pete Rose and his attorney have denied "malicious" statutory rape accusations aired by John Dowd, the lead investigator in the 1989 probe that concluded Rose bet on baseball.
Struggling Nationals starter Doug Fister (4.60 ERA, 1.42 WHIP) will be moved to the bullpen when Stephen Strasburg returns from the disabled list Saturday. Rookie Joe Ross (2.80 ERA, 0.91 WHIP) will remain in the rotation.
Brewers starter Kyle Lohse (6.31 ERA, 1.47 WHIP) was also demoted to the bullpen. Tyler Cravy (3.60 ERA, 1.27 WHIP) will take over Lohse's rotation spot.
Scores:
American League:
Tigers 8, Royals 6
Yankees 2, Red Sox 1
Blue Jays 9, Twins 3
Astros 5, Athletics 4 (10 innings)
National League:
Cardinals 3, Reds 0
Brewers 10, Padres 1
Dodgers 10, Phillies 8
Braves 9, Marlins 8
Cubs 5, Giants 4
Nationals 8, Diamondbacks 3
A look ahead: (All times Eastern)
Dodgers (62-46) at Pirates (62-44), 7:05 p.m.: NL Cy Young candidates Clayton Kershaw (9-6, 2.37 ERA) and Gerrit Cole (14-5, 2.29 ERA) square off as the Dodgers visit the Pirates to begin a three-game series. Kershaw looks to extend his scoreless innings streak of 37, while Cole and the Pirates look to continue their dominance on the NL West. Pittsburgh has an 11-2 record and a 56-36 run advantage in 13 games against its westward foes.
Mets (58-50) at Rays (54-55), 7:10 p.m.: The Mets continue their Florida road trip as they travel to the Trop for the first time since June 2012. Jacob deGrom (10-6, 2.09 ERA) toes the rubber against Jake Odorizzi (6-6, 2.86 ERA) as the Mets look to stay on top of the NL East. Although Odorizzi has never faced the Mets, he does own a 1.41 ERA in seven starts at Tropicana Field this season.
Orioles (55-52) at Angels (57-50), 10:05 p.m.: In an important series in the race for the AL wild card, Andrew Heaney (5-1, 1.97 ERA) and the Angels host Kevin Gausman (2-2, 3.97 ERA) and the Orioles. Heaney has not allowed more than two runs in any of his seven starts with the Halos, who have lost seven of their past nine games.