Author: Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY

Seattle last made the MLB playoffs in 2001, back when Ichiro Suzuki was a rookie.

Ten years to the day, the Boston Red Sox returned to the site of one of the most calamitous and pivotal evenings in their oft-tortured history.

Should the clubs maintain their breakneck pace, it will leave one club as the most decorated wild-card team ever.

Baseball got it just about right in adding a second wild card berth in 2012 – and one-game elimination showdowns in each league.

The Los Angeles Dodgers finally climbed atop the San Francisco Giants to claim first place in the NL West for the first time since April 28.

For the next five weeks, the AL East may very well play host to a compelling four-team jamboree, with teams vying for division and wild card.

Perhaps receiving a boost from their superstitious practices, the Orioles rallied to defeat the Angels and snap their 19-game losing streak.

Bauer’s leave – which began July 2 – was extended another week, hours after a Los Angeles judge rescinded a restraining order against him.

With the NL’s longest postseason drought, the 2021 Phillies have a chance to break a string of recent late-season collapse.