Padres closer extraordinaire Craig Kimbrel had pitched in 288 Major League games over six seasons without taking one hack at the plate. That was bound to happen, and it finally did in the top of the ninth inning on Wednesday night

There has been no letup for the Rangers in their four-game showdown with the Astros. All they did on Wednesday was eliminate the late-inning drama and settle the issue early.

In what was the biggest start of his career, Dallas Keuchel was rocked for a career-high nine runs and 11 hits — including three home runs — in 4 2/3 innings as the Rangers opened up a 1 1/2-game lead in the American League West with a 14-3 rout at Globe Life Park.

Here are the Top 5 GIFs of the day, courtesy of @MLBGifs.

Bryce Harper is having a season for the ages. He leads the National League in several offensive categories, including home runs, on-base percentage and batting average.

Here are a few matchups and games to look forward to today.

The Rangers struck for six runs in the first inning off American League Cy Young candidate <span class=”token token-playerCard” id=”token-15DF2D3AB85FEDC2F899A”>Dallas Keuchel</span> and opened up a 1 1/2-game lead in the AL West with a 14-3 victory over the Astros on Wednesday night. The Rangers lead by two games in the all-important loss column.

The players listed below could provide difference-making stats for DraftKings participants today.

For the umpteenth time in the last umpteen days, Mets manager Terry Collins opened his Wednesday afternoon at the ballpark with a barrage of questions about the playoffs. “We are not talking about the postseason again,” Collins said, all but throwing his palms to the sky before his team went out and lost, 6-0 to the Marlins at Citi Field to shrink their National League East lead to 7 1/2 games.

The White Sox recalled Scott Carroll from Triple-A Charlotte prior to their Wednesday night game against the Oakland A’s. Carroll, 30, has posted a 1-1 record with a 3.41 ERA in 13 relief appearances with the White Sox, and he was 7-4 with a 3.47 ERA in 16 starts for Charlotte this season.

The world has adopted Roberto Clemente. But he has always belonged to Pittsburgh. This is where he left footprints in the grass before sprouting angel’s wings, so Clemente Day isn’t a formality in this city; it’s a sacred rite.

They hit for power and average, they field their positions with aplomb, they run the bases with measured aggression and they delight their fans. Perhaps most important is the fact that they do it for 162 games. Baseball’s best everyday players are among the most talented and durable athletes in sports.

Major League Baseball and Chevrolet on Monday announced the names of the 30 club nominees for the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet, and voting is now underway.

Online fan voting at MLB.com and the official club sites begins today for the 2015 Esurance MLB Awards, an expanded awards program that recognizes Major League players, baseball fans and memorable moments in unique categories and not limited by league affiliation.

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

Major League Baseball has been looking at expanding beyond the USA and Canada into Mexico as well as Central and South America. It would make perfect sense for a sport already populated with a high percentage of hispanic players to feature teams in these regions. The first two countries which have been under discussion for MLB expansion include Mexico and Venezuela. The cities of Mexico City and Monterrey are highly favored in Mexico, due to the large population and popularity of the sport on tv.

While it could take years for the major league baseball expansion to take place, for stadiums to be built, etc., these market areas are ripe for the MLB to develop. The major issues in introducing MLB to these countries includes fan support to maintain a profitable level of revenue needed to support expansion teams. All the systems to be in place here to support the business of baseball itself. Everything from buying tickets via credit cards at retail locations, international credit card processing, parking, food concessions, security, radio and television coverage and more will have to be in place. It was Bud Selig’s dream to see MLB expand overseas. Now we’ll see if Commissioner Rob Manfred can make it happen.

Less than three weeks to go. In the National League, it’s all about seeding, while the American League still offers two earnest division battles and at least a five-team bout for two Wild Card spots.