The Yankees and Cubs kick off the day in Chicago with an afternoon game as Luis Gil takes on Jordan Wicks. The Cubs have been hot for over month, 23-12 since July 27th. That .657 winning percentage was only exceeded by the Diamondbacks and Padres. They remain, however, nine games back in the division and four games behind the Braves and Mets for the third wild card slot. The Yankees are 20-15 in that stretch.

The battle for the second wild card slot in the AL takes place in Kansas City as the Twins visit the Royals. Zebby Matthews takes on Cole Ragans. Matthews makes the fifth start of his career. He was doing well until Toronto score nine runs in two innings off the rookie. On the plus side, he walked just two batters in seventeen innings. Ragans, with 2/3 of an inning, moves into ERA qualification territory for the first time in his career. He struck out 197 batters in his 161 1/3 innings.

The Guardians face the Dodgers in a matchup of first place teams. The Dodgers have yet to announce a starter, but the game does feature two of the great doubles hitters of the decade. Freddie Freeman and Jose Ramirez rank 1-3 in doubles respectively since the start of the 2021 season. Freeman knocked out 162 two-baggers, while Ramirez comes in at 143. Mookie Betts is up there with 130, and Shohei Ohtani has a respectable 112.

Enjoy!