Curtis Granderson becomes only the fifth player in franchise history to hit 40 home runs in consecutive seasons when he goes deep into the upper deck at Target Field in the Yankees’ 6-3 victory over Minnesota. The 31 year-old southpaw-swinging slugger joins Jason Giambi and Hall of Famers Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Mickey Mantle as the only other Bronx Bombers to accomplish the feat.

Jered Weaver wins his 19th game of the season to help the Angels complete a three-game sweep of the White Sox, 4 – 1. Albert Pujols records his 100th RBI in the win, the 11th time he has been in triple digits in his 12 major league seasons. The win brings the Halos within 2 1/2 games of a wild card berth, but they are finding it hard to overcome a 6-20 start, and a 14-22 streak immediately after the All-Star break.

With their sixth straight win, 8 – 4 over the Padres, the Giants clinch the NL West title. They have won 18 of their last 24 games to turn what was a close race with the Dodgers into a blowout. Madison Bumgarner picks up his 16th win.

The Yankees and Orioles both win in extra innings as they remain separated by one game in their epic race for the AL East crown. New York trails Oakland, 9 – 5, going into the bottom of the 13th after three A’s homers, but the Yankees manage to tie the game and win, 10 – 9, on a 14th-inning run. For its part, Baltimore scores three times in the 13th to beat Boston, 9 – 6, for the team’s 16th consecutive extra-innings win.

Gio Gonzalez becomes the second pitcher in franchise history to win 20 games in a season when Washington beats Milwaukee at Nationals Park, 10-4. The 27 year-old southpaw joins Ross Grimsley, who accomplished the feat in 1978 when the club played in Montreal as the Expos.

Suspended Giants OF Melky Cabrera asks that his name be taken out of consideration for the National League batting crown. Cabrera was hitting .346 while one plate appearance short of qualifying for the batting title when he was suspended for PED use on August 15th. In an agreement between Major League Baseball and the Players Association that ends a budding controversy, Cabrera agrees that rule 10.22 (a) which allows additional hitless plate appearances to be added to a player who falls just short of meeting the qualifying minimum, will not be applied to him this year, thus making him ineligible for the prestigious honor. Andrew McCutchen is currently leading the batting race with a .339 average, well behind Cabrera’s immutable number.

The Yankees win their 6th straight game, 2 – 1, on Russell Martin’s walk-off homer off Oakland’s Sean Doolittle in the 10th inning. However, the surprising Orioles continue to keep pace, with a 4 – 2 win over the Red Sox, staying one game behind. Matt Wieters drives in three runs and Jim Johnson saves his 46th game of the year, passing Randy Myers for the team record.

Ichiro Suzuki continues his hot hitting as he homers off Aaron Laffey in the 3rd to open the Yankees’ account, then hits a two-run double in a seven-run 4th inning, leading the Yankees to a 10 – 7 win over the Blue Jays. Nick Swisher adds a grand slam during the big outburst, as the Bronx Bombers move to one full game ahead of the idle Orioles in the AL East.

With Manager Dusty Baker still hospitalized with an irregular heartbeat, Cincinnati becomes the first major league team to clinch a postseason spot this year, thanks to a 5 – 3 victory over the Cubs. Johnny Cueto improves to 18-9. The Nationals then join them a few hours later, when they defeat the Dodgers, 4 – 1. It will be the first postseason appearance for the franchise since the then-Montreal Expos lost the 1981 NLCS, and the first postseason appearance by a team from Washington since the 1933 World Series.

Washington secures a playoff spot when they beat the Dodgers at Nationals Park, 4-1. The last time there was postseason baseball in the nation’s capital occurred 79 years ago, when player-skipper Joe Cronin and the Senators lost to the Giants in five games in the 1933 World Series.