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Wednesday's games saw incredible performances from some of the biggest names in baseball. The regular season closes in just over a month. With big players getting into their groove, it makes for more intense battles when the postseason starts in October.
The Yankees and the Dodgers, on the back of top performances, have solidified the lead atop their respective divisions. Let's take a look:
1) Aaron Judge and Juan Soto continue to launch missiles
The duo of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto has been unmatched this season. They showed why they are the most feared hitters in baseball on Wednesday as they demolished the Cleveland Guardians 8-1.
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Judge homered twice and extended his major league home-run lead to 45. On the other hand, Juan Soto drove in five runs on top of a homer in the third inning.
Both drove in all eight runs of the Yankees offense. On the mound, Nestor Cortes Jr. threw seven scoreless innings in the win.
2) Shohei Ohtani is on the verge of 40-40 season
On Wednesday, the LA Dodgers completed a three-game sweep over the Seattle Mariners by winning the third game 8-4. Ohtani went 1-4, including one walk and one steal.
The steal puts him at 39 steals. With 39 home runs already, the two-way star can become the sixth player in MLB history to record 40 home runs and 40 steals in a single season. Of course, he would become the first Dodger player to do so.
Jose Canseco (1988), Barry Bonds (1996), Alex Rodriguez (1998), Alfonso Soriano (2006) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (2023) are the only ones to have reached this season milestone. He has a chance to become the first player in history to post a 45-45 season, something that also seems likely before the regular season closes.
Joey Votto says goodbye to Reds and MLB fans
After his failed attempt to reach majors through the Blue Jays minor league system, Joey Votto has retired. In an eight-second video on his Instagram, he said:
“That’s it. I’m done. I am officially retired from baseball.”
This was on the cards, but many thought it should have been done while he was with the Cincinnati Reds, with whom he played 17 seasons.
