With their magic number to clinch a postseason berth at one, a Cardinals win would punch their ticket to October. Lance Lynn will try to lock the victory and sweep down against Alfredo Simon and the Reds on Sunday night in St. Louis.

Captain Derek Jeter scored the 1,920th run of his career in the Yankees’ 6-3 loss to the Blue Jays on Saturday, breaking a tie with Alex Rodriguez for sole possession of ninth place on baseball’s all-time list.

Facing the prospect of an impending six-game suspension from Major League Baseball, Marcus Stroman delivered another strong start in this impressive rookie season and led the Blue Jays to a 6-3 victory over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.

Jerome Williams made baseball history on Saturday — albeit in bizarre fashion — as he became the first pitcher ever to earn three wins against the same team in one season as a member of three different clubs.

Jose Bautista had a firsthand exchange with the fans in right field, the so-called “Bleacher Creatures,” at Yankee Stadium during Saturday’s 6-3 Blue Jays victory. It was Bautista who had the last laugh, securing two club milestones in Toronto’s win.

After further review, a Tigers middle-infield calamity became a game-changing escape. However, it wasn’t replay, but an umpires’ conference, that ruled Salvador Perez never tagged up for the Royals’ would-be go-ahead run in the sixth inning of their AL Central showdown on Saturday at Kauffman Stadium.

Max Scherzer fired seven strong innings and pinch-hitter Tyler Collins delivered the go-ahead RBI single in the the seventh to help lift the first-place Tigers to a 3-2 win over the Royals on Saturday.

Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig put his immense athletic skills on display again Saturday with a spectacular diving catch in the Dodgers’ game with the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

What’s impressive about this season is that Clayton Kershaw is 20-3 and missed a month. He has one start left so he will win at least 20 games — possibly 21 — in 27 starts. He is only the second Major League pitcher to win 20 games in a season of 27 or fewer starts, according to Stats Inc., advance leaders search.

Every lineup, every day, as they are made public by the clubs.

The A’s are back on top again, at least in the American League Wild Card standings, and they have Jon Lester to thank. The lefty twirled seven innings of one-run ball, lifting the A’s out of the loss column with a 3-1 series-opening victory over the Phillies in front of a sellout crowd at the Coliseum on Friday evening to give them a half-game lead on the Royals with nine to play.

James Shields and the Royals will look to bounce back in a key series to close the gap on Max Scherzer and the first-place Tigers on Saturday at Kauffman Stadium.

The Tigers and Royals have staged a summer-long battle for the American League Central, and it’s a fair bet their three-game set this weekend will go a long way toward determining the outcome. If that’s the case, Detroit made quite the opening statement Friday night, with a 10-1 win.

Justin Verlander fired 7 1/3 strong innings, while Ian Kinsler’s two-run homer capped a five-run fifth that sealed the first-place Tigers’ 10-1 win over the Royals on Friday night.

Baseball managers are fond of saying that it’s the little things that make a difference for winning teams. But sometimes big things work just fine, too, such as the three-run homers by Mike Zunino and Kyle Seager that highlighted the Mariners’ 10-5 victory over the Astros on Friday.

Pirates catcher Russell Martin knocked a three-run homer in the eighth inning off Jonathan Broxton to stun the Brewers, 4-2, in front of 37,974 revelers Friday night at PNC Park. With their fifth straight win, the Bucs reduced their magic number for clinching a postseason berth as at least the National League’s No. 2 Wild Card to 5. Their lead over Milwaukee grew to 4 1/2 games.

Jason Vargas labored in a three-run first and exited after 3 1/3 innings, while the Royals fell to 1 1/2 games back of the first-place Tigers with a 10-1 loss on Friday night.