Cubs ace Jake Arrieta became the majors' first 20-game winner this season with a complete-game, 4-0 shutout of the Brewers on Tuesday.
Arrieta, who owns a 0.48 ERA since the start of August, became the fifth Cubs pitcher in the last 100 years to be the first in the big leagues to 20 wins.
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Kris Bryant drove in three of the four Cubs runs in support of Arrieta, including his 26th homer of the season to pass Hall of Famer Billy Williams for the franchise rookie record.
Also connecting on a record-setting home run was Angels slugger Albert Pujols, who passed Manny Ramirez for sole possession of 14th place on the all-time list with his 556th career homer as the Halos topped the Astros, 4-3. With the loss, the Astros are just two games in front of the Twins for the second wild card.
Star performers
American League
Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano homered twice and drove in four runs in Seattle's 11-2 bashing of Kansas City. The Royals lost for the 12th time in their last 17 games.
National League
Pirates outfielder Starling Marte went 2 for 4 with two RBIs and a stolen base as the Pirates trumped the Rockies 6-3. With the win, the Bucs remain two games ahead of the Cubs in the NL wild-card race.
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Play of the day
Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista threw out the Yankees' Chris Young at home in the top of the ninth inning. It was his second outfield assist of the game. The Yankees would get the last laugh, however, as Greg Bird hammered a three-run homer in the next inning and the Yanks held on for a 6-4 win. They now sit 2 1/2 games behind the Jays for the AL East lead.
Key injuries
Royals pitcher Wade Davis will spell Greg Holland as the club's closer for the foreseeable future. Holland, who will sit out the next few games with tightness in his throwing elbow, owns a 3.83 ERA and 1.46 WHIP in 44 2/3 innings this season.
Holland's teammate Omar Infante has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 oblique strain. The second baseman will be out two to three weeks.
Giants slugger Brandon Belt will travel to Pittsburgh on Wednesday to visit with a concussion specialist. He is likely done for the season.
Indians outfielder Michael Brantley, who battled left shoulder problems this season, was forced to exit against the Twins after injuring his right shoulder on a diving catch attempt in the third inning.
Pirates third baseman Aramis Ramirez departed against the Rockies with left groin tightness after legging out a triple. He is day to day.
A look ahead
(All times Eastern):
Angels (77-74) at Astros (80-72), 2:10 p.m.: Mike Fiers looks to stay hot against Nick Tropeano (2-2, 5.06 ERA) and the Angels. Not only has Fiers allowed just 11 earned runs in his past seven starts, but the Houston trade-deadline acquisition is 1-0 with a 0.89 ERA in three home starts. Tropeano, a former Astros prospect, will make just his sixth start of the season as the Angels try to weaken the Astros' grip on the second AL wild-card spot.
Yankees (83-67) at Blue Jays (86-65), 7:07 p.m.: Marcus Stroman (2-0, 3.00 ERA) makes his third start since recovering from a torn ACL. He should get the run support he needs as the Jays take on Ivan Nova (6-8, 5.11 ERA), who is starting in place of the injured Masahiro Tanaka (hamstring). Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Josh Donaldson have all hit .333 or higher against Nova over the last five seasons (minimum 12 at-bats).
Diamondbacks (72-78) at Dodgers (85-64), 10:10 p.m.: Zack Greinke (18-3, 1.65 ERA) will continue his campaign for the NL Cy Young Award when he faces Chase Anderson (6-6, 4.52 ERA) and the D-backs. Greinke has allowed one run or fewer in 20 of his 30 starts this season. This will likely be his second-to-last start of the regular season as he eyes his first 20-win season.