The young Atlanta Braves clinch the NL East title with a 5 – 3 win over the Phillies. This caps a remarkable season in which the Braves inserted themselves among the league’s best teams ahead of schedule after completing a thorough rebuilding.
2017 – The Dodgers clinch a fifth consecutive NL West title with a 4 – 2 win over the Giants. In the game, Cody Bellinger hits his 39th homer of the year, setting a new National League record for rookies, erasing the mark of 38 that was shared by Wally Berger and Frank Robinson.
2016 – The Pakistani national team makes its debut in a global event, having previously finished as high as 5th in the Asian Games and Asian Championship. As anticipated, they lose to Brazil in the opener of the 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers Pool D, but they are not overmatched, losing 10 – 0 and getting four hits while making one error. Faqir Hussain goes 2 for 2 as their top performer. Brazil’s Jean Tomé, Eric Pardinho and Edilson Batista combine on the shutout, while Juan Carlos Muniz hits an inside-the-park two-run homer.
Jake Arrieta of the Cubs becomes the first 20-game winner in the major leagues this year when he defeats the Brewers, 4 – 0, becoming the first Cubs pitcher tor each the mark since Jon Lieber in 2001. 3B Kris Bryant sets a club record for a rookie by belting his 26th homer.
Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra, winner of three MVP Awards who also holds the all-time record by playing in 14 World Series, passes away at age 90. He is just as famous for his aphorisms, and one of them is appropriate for the occasion: “You should always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise, they won’t come to yours.”
The Fresno Grizzlies beat the Columbus Clippers, 7 – 0, in the Triple-A National Championship Game. Chris Devenski throws a perfect game for five innings before Audy Ciriaco singles; Devenski fans 9 in 7 innings of one-hit ball. Alex Presley has 3 hits, two runs and a RBI.
One day after being mathematically eliminated at the end of a disappointing season, the Braves fire General Manager Frank Wren, who had been in place since 2007. John Hart takes over on an interim basis.
The Royals split a sort-of doubleheader with the Indians to move within one game of the Tigers in the AL Central. The evening starts with Kansas City taking a 4 – 3 loss in the completion of a game suspended on August 31st with Cleveland having just taken a 4 – 2 lead in the 10th; the Royals score a run in the bottom of the inning but fail to extend the contest. In the regularly scheduled game, Danny Duffy pitches 6 scoreless innings for a 2 – 0 win. Cleveland is now 3 1/2 games behind K.C. and is virtually eliminated from contention.
The Pirates play their third consecutive 1 – 0 game as they defeat the Braves by that score, reducing their magic number to clinch a postseason slot to 2. Francisco Liriano is the winner, thanks to a 6th-inning solo homer by Andrew McCutchen. The Bucs won two of the three contests, whereas the last team to play three such games before them, the 1960 Phillies, had lost all three.
Felix Hernandez, making his first appearance since suffering a strained oblique, sets a record for strikeouts in a start lasting four or fewer innings when he whiffs ten batters before the fifth frame in the Mariners’ 3-2 victory at Angel Stadium. The fans aren’t the only ones buzzing during King Felix’s performance as a swarm of bees in the outfield delays the contest for 23 minutes during the third inning.