Each night in the 2016 baseball season we'll run down the top news, facts and highlights from around Major League Baseball.
The St. Louis Cardinals may not have to watch the postseason from home after all.
Aledmys Diaz led the Red Birds to a clutch 3-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants in a game dripping with playoff implications. Diaz, who recently returned from the disabled list, hit his 16th home run of the season while driving in two batters. He is hitting .307 this year.
Young starting pitcher Alex Reyes tossed a gem for St. Louis. The 22-year-old stud spun seven shutout innings with six strikeouts and just two walks, improving to 3-1 on the season.
There has been a lot of attention on the American League playoff picture this season, but the National League has some intriguing teams fighting for a spot as well.
The New York Mets completed their sweep of the Minnesota Twins with a 3-2 win. Entering play one month ago (Aug. 18), the Mets were 60-60, six games back of the Giants. They've since gone 20-9, which is good for the best record in MLB during that stretch.
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If the season ended today, the Mets and Giants would earn the two wild-card spots, but the Cardinals are now just one game back.
Player of the day
Joey Votto helped the Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-4, by collecting four hits, including his 25th home run of the season and two runs scored. Votto has shined despite persevering through another long season in Cincinnati. He carries a .319 average into the final weeks of the season.
Highlights
Miguel Cabrera became the 100th player in MLB history to record 2,500 hits with this single:
.@MiguelCabrera is the 8th @MLB player ever to reach 2,500 career hits by age-33 season. https://t.co/hukG60sdGz pic.twitter.com/HAjkFkIoCc
— MLB Stat of the Day (@MLBStatoftheDay) September 18, 2016
J.D. Martinez led the Tigers to a much-needed win against the Indians after recording three hits, a home run (21) and three RBIs.
Three things to know
— Houston Astros star Carlos Correa joined Alex Rodriguez as the only shortstop to hit 20 home runs twice by their age-21 seasons. Despite the effort, Houston lost 7-3 to the Seattle Mariners.
— New York Yankees phenom Gary Sanchez became the second-fastest player to record 16 career home runs since 1900 (158 at-bats). The only player to reach the number faster was Wally Berger in 1930 (148 AB).
— Kendrys Morales led the Kansas City Royals to a big 10-3 win against the Chicago White Sox when he collected three hits with a home run (28) and four RBIs. Alex Gordon also added his 16th home run of the season.
MORE: Seven managers that could be shown the door following 2016
What's next
Giants (79-70) at Dodgers (84-65), 10:10 p.m. ET — This game features a pitching matchup baseball fans dream of: Madison Bumgarner (14-9, 2.66 ERA) faces off against Clayton Kershaw (11-3, 1.81 ERA). The Dodgers' ace has failed to pitch longer than five innings since returning from injury earlier this month, but should have the training wheels off in this one.