LEADING OFF: Yanks try for HR record, Wright closes career
A look at what's happening around the majors today:
BRONX BOMBERS
The New York Yankees take aim at baseball's single-season home run record, a day after tying the mark of 264 set by the 1997 Seattle Mariners. The Yankees connected four times Friday night in Boston, with Aaron Judge hitting the homer that matched a Mariners club that included Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Jay Buhner and Edgar Martinez.
The Yankees are the only franchise with more than 15,000 home runs, nearly 1,400 more than the second-place Giants, according to baseball-reference.com. They can add to their total and set the record at Fenway Park when they face ex-Yankees starter Nathan Eovaldi.
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
David Wright will start at third base for the New York Mets against Miami in his farewell game before a sellout crowd at Citi Field. "It's going to be a sleepless night, I know that," Wright said Friday. "I'm just trying to enjoy it, but tomorrow is going to be surreal for me." Longtime teammate and friend Jose Reyes, perhaps also nearing the end of his career, will play shortstop alongside Wright. "I think he's hitting leadoff and I'm hitting third. It's like Old-Timers' day around here, so it'll be nice," Wright said. "It's going to bring back obviously a lot of memories."
The Mets captain finally made it back into a major league game Friday night, grounding out in his first plate appearance in nearly 2½ years as New York lost 8-1 to the Marlins. Unable to overcome all the injuries, the 35-year-old Wright said he expects this weekend to mark his final appearance in the big leagues.
GETTING CLOSE
Kris Bryant and the Cubs can clinch their third consecutive NL Central crown — and home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs — with a win over St. Louis and a Milwaukee loss to Detroit. Chicago, with a one-game lead in the division, sends left-hander Cole Hamels to the mound at Wrigley Field. Miles Mikolas (17-4, 2.94 ERA) looks to win his fifth straight start for the Cardinals, clinging to fading wild-card hopes following four losses in a row. "Clearly the back is completely against the wall," St. Louis manager Mike Shildt said.
Up in Milwaukee, left-hander Wade Miley (5-2) tries to pitch the Brewers to their sixth consecutive victory. Both the Cubs and Brewers are assured at least a wild card.
MOUNTAIN WEST
The Rockies try to move closer to clinching their first NL West championship when they host Washington. Colorado locked up at least a wild card Friday night by beating the Nationals at Coors Field for their eighth straight win. They hold a one-game edge over the Dodgers for the division lead — Los Angeles is two games ahead of St. Louis for the second NL wild card with two to play. David Dahl homered for the fifth game in a row to extend the Rockies' winning streak. Next, Jon Gray (12-8, 4.91 ERA) starts for Colorado vs. Stephen Strasburg (9-7, 3.77).
