Hunter Pence hit the Giants’ first grand slam of the season and drove in a career-high seven runs Saturday night to pace a 19-3 rout of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Brandon Belt recorded career highs with five hits and six RBIs.

After a two-hour rain delay in the mid-fourth, the Rays beat the Twins, 7-0, at Target Field on Saturday, joining Texas atop the AL Wild Card standings. Matt Moore tossed three solid frames, and the bullpen completed the shutout.

First baseman Todd Helton, the longest-tenured and arguably greatest player in Colorado Rockies history, announced he will retire at season’s end. Helton, who turned 40 on Aug. 20, is in the final year of his contract, and his retirement has been expected all along.

Baseball’s postseason races checked in early with games under the mid-September sun on a spectacular Saturday afternoon across the Majors, and the contenders kept on churning into Saturday night, juggling and jostling for position.

Vladimir Guerrero, who won the 2004 American League Most Valuable Player Award, is officially retiring from baseball nearly two years after playing his last game in the big leagues, according to the Associated Press.

Gerardo Parra and Aaron Hill both had three RBIs and Miguel Montero went 3-for-4 in support of Wade Miley, who added an RBI double to 6 1/3 solid innings to join Randy Johnson as the only D-backs lefties with back-to-back seasons with at least 10 wins.

Right-hander Ervin Santana pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings and Eric Hosmer’s RBI triple stood as the defense helped preserve the Royals’ 1-0 win over the Tigers on Saturday night.

Ubaldo Jimenez continued his run of stellar pitching in the Indians’ 8-1 victory over the White Sox on Saturday night. Asdrubal Cabrera and Lonnie Chisenhall each homered during a five-run fourth inning.

Kris Medlen scattered four hits over 7 1/3 scoreless innings as the Braves drew even in their weekend series with the Padres, notching a 2-1 win Saturday night. Freddie Freeman’s 3-for-3 night helped lower the Braves’ magic number for clinching the National League East to four as the second-place Nationals lost to the Phillies.

James Paxton fired six scoreless innings at the Cardinals in his second Major League start on Saturday as the Mariners rookie southpaw continued making an excellent late-season impression in a 4-1 victory.

New York salvaged a 3-1 victory behind Daisuke Matsuzaka, whose second consecutive strong start put a positive spin on an otherwise dreary day Saturday.

The Pirates rallied to defeat the Cubs, 2-1, in front of a sold-out crowd of 35,534 on Saturday night at PNC Park as Pittsburgh moved back into a first-place tie with the Cardinals in the National League Central after St. Louis lost to the Mariners.

Shin-Soo Choo supplied the early offense and Joey Votto chipped in late as Homer Bailey held off the Brewers for a 7-3 win, evening the three-game set at Miller Park, and helping the Reds gain a half-game on the Cardinals and Pirates, who each play on Saturday night.

Hanley Ramirez thought he could continue to play through the discomfort he’d been feeling in his left hamstring for several weeks, but it reached a tipping point Thursday night, the shortstop said.

Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier won’t play for at least a couple of days because of a left ankle issue, manager Don Mattingly said Saturday.

Matt Kemp progressed to running the bases Saturday, one of the final steps for the Dodgers outfielder as he works his way back from a sprained left ankle and tight right hamstring.

With Jose Fernandez shut down, the Marlins are looking for their other starting pitchers to step up. Henderson Alvarez did just that in Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Mets. Alvarez threw seven shutout innings, scattering four hits while striking out five in Miami’s 3-0 win at Citi Field.