The Royals dealt the Twins a critical blow to their postseason chances, as Ben Zobrist connected on a go-ahead RBI double in the eighth in a 3-1 win on Friday night at Target Field.

Jake Arrieta tuned up for the National League Wild Card Game presented by Budweiser, striking out seven over six scoreless innings, and Anthony Rizzo drove in three runs, including one on his 31st home run, to power the Cubs to a 6-1 victory Friday night over the Brewers. Arrieta finished the regular season with a 0.75 ERA since the All-Star break, the lowest ERA in the second half in Major League history.

The Rangers missed out on a chance to clinch the American League West, as the Angels pulled out a 2-1 victory in the ninth inning on Friday night.

Edwin Encarnacion and Russell Martin homered while Mark Buehrle picked up win No. 15 with 6 2/3 innings as the Blue Jays inched closer to clinching home-field advantage throughout the postseason with an 8-4 victory over the Rays on Friday night at Tropicana Field.

Astros shortstop Carlos Correa set the club rookie record for homers in a season when he clubbed his 22nd in the fourth inning of Friday night’s game against the D-backs at Chase Field, giving Houston a 7-1 lead.

The White Sox single-season strikeout record set at 269 by Ed Walsh in 1908 officially moved to Chris Sale’s resume during Friday’s 2-1 win over the Tigers at U.S. Cellular Field. Sale’s third strikeout, and 270th of the season, came against James McCann with one out in the second.

Troy Tulowitzki took part in a simulated game on Friday afternoon and declared himself ready to return to the Blue Jays’ lineup. Manager John Gibbons must have agreed, because Tulowitzki was back in the starting lineup at shortstop and batting seventh for Toronto vs. the Rays on Friday night.

Another day, another amazing grab by the Blue Jays’ Kevin Pillar, who ranged deep into the gap in right-center and lunged for a sprawling catch to rob the Rays’ Luke Maile in Toronto’s 8-4 win on Friday night.

Robin Ventura will return for his fifth season as White Sox manager, general manager Rick Hahn said prior to Friday’s game against the Tigers.

Yasiel Puig will be back in Los Angeles this weekend after playing in simulated games on back to back days at the Dodgers’ extended spring training facility in Arizona.

Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano will undergo surgery to repair a sports hernia Oct. 13 in Philadelphia, Mariners Medical Director Dr. Edward Khalfayan announced Friday.

As he closes in on 300 strikeouts, Clayton Kershaw will pitch only three or four innings in his final start of the season on Sunday against the Padres, according to manager Don Mattingly.

As rain and winds continue to hit the East Coast, Friday night’s game between the Orioles and Yankees was postponed and will be made up on Saturday as part of a day-night, split-admission doubleheader at Camden Yards, with the first game starting at 12:05 p.m. ET and the nightcap starting at 7:05.

While the Twins will need some help if they’re to make the postseason for the first time since 2010, it hasn’t stopped them from planning ahead.

When the Braves acquired Paco Rodriguez from the Dodgers on July 30, they hoped his injured left elbow would be healthy enough for him to be a part of their bullpen in September. But it now looks like the left-handed reliever will remain sidelined through the end of the 2016 season.

Large amounts of rainfall approaching the East Coast has forced a number of postponements across baseball on Friday, with the Phillies, Orioles and Mets calling off their respective home games.

The Nationals have begun making changes in their front office, according to a baseball source. The team has dismissed Bill Singer, who was the director of international scouting and a special assistant to general manager Mike Rizzo, and advanced scout Bob Johnson. The Nationals did not confirm the report.