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Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Chris Archer broke his franchise’s single-season strikeouts record during the third inning of Wednesday’s 3-1 loss to the New York Yankees, fanning Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner for his 240th punchout of the season, per Sportsnet Stats.

Archer entered the game with 236 strikeouts, needing just four to break Scott Kazmir’s prior franchise record of 239.

Though his record dropped to 12-12 in the losing effort, Archer did mange to strike out seven batters over six innings, giving up just two runs on four hits and four walks.

His breakout season hasn’t quite been enough to keep the Rays in the playoff picture, but Archer does have a fringe case for the American League Cy Young Award, ranking fifth among the league’s qualified starters in ERA (2.95), fourth in WHIP (1.07), fourth in innings (198.1) and second in strikeouts (243).

Per Fangraphs’ measurement of the statistic, Archer ranks fourth among American League starters with 5.5 Wins Above Replacement (WAR), trailing only Chicago White Sox pitcher Chris Sale (6.0 WAR), Toronto Blue Jays pitcher David Price (6.0 WAR) and Houston Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel (5.5 WAR).

With pitchers on successful teams typically getting a boost in the voting, Keuchel and Price appear to be the favorites, although Keuchel’s case took a big hit when he gave up nine runs to the Texas Rangers in Wednesday’s 14-3 loss.

Archer could perhaps push his name back into the conversation, but he’d likely need to dominate in his final three starts, with Keuchel and Price (and maybe even Sale) falling apart over the same stretch.

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Chicago White Sox third baseman Mike Olt hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning of Wednesday’s 9-4 win over the Oakland Athletics, becoming the first player ever to homer for both the White Sox and crosstown-rival Chicago Cubs in the same season, per MLB Stat of the Day.

The 27-year-old Olt is just the 14th player and sixth position player to even suit up for both Chicago teams during the same season, with catcher Josh Paul (2003) the last to do so, per MLB.com.

Olt opened his season as the Cubs’ starting third baseman, with the caveat that top prospect Kris Bryant was expected to take over at some point in April or May.

Olt still had a nice opportunity to make an impression in the majors, until he was hit by a pitch during an April 11 game against the Colorado Rockies, then diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his wrist a few days later.

Bryant was called up shortly thereafter, and he quickly emerged as the favorite to win the National League Rookie of the Year Award, which he now appears to be a near lock for.

Olt, meanwhile, was unable to play in games for two months, then had an extended stint with Triple-A Iowa from late June through the end of August.

He posted a middling .265/.330/.460 batting line for Iowa while continuing to strike out at a high rate (30.3 percent of plate appearances), leading the Cubs to designate him for assignment Aug. 31 when they needed a free spot on the 40-man roster.

The White Sox claimed him off waivers Sept. 5, with manager Robin Ventura saying that Olt will likely get most of the playing time at third base for the rest of the season, per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Even after Wednesday’s homer, the results so far have been unimpressive, with Olt striking out 12 times in 35 at-bats and owning a .257/.316/.343 batting line since joining the White Sox.

His power has never been in question, but he now has a whopping 131 strikeouts in 308 career big-league at-bats.

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Jake Peavy hit a home run off Cincinnati Reds pitcher Collin Balester during the fourth inning of Wednesday’s game, becoming the fifth different Giants pitcher to homer this season, which ties an MLB record, per MLB Stat of the Day.

Peavy was an unlikely candidate to help San Fransisco match the record, as he only had two career home runs before Wednesday’s game, with both of those coming back in 2006 as a member of the San Diego Padres.

He does now have a .226 batting average for the season, but his career batting line of .168/.205/.226 is only somewhat above average for a pitcher.

Teammate Madison Bumgarner, who has been the best-hitting pitcher in all of baseball the past two seasons, unsurprisingly accounts for five of the nine home runs hit by San Francisco hurlers, with Tim Hudson, Ryan Vogelsong and Mike Leake each chipping in one.

Leake is also unusually good in the batter’s box for a pitcher, but Vogelsong and Hudson are closer to Peavy’s level.

With one current member of the starting rotation (rookie Chris Heston) yet to go deep this year, the Giants have a reasonable chance to be the first team ever with six different pitchers to homer in a season.

Heston doesn’t have any home runs in his 49 career at-bats, but he does have a pair of doubles, along with a strong (for a pitcher) .204/.204/.245 batting line.

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Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz hit his 35th home run of the year in the first inning of Wednesday’s 10-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles, giving him a franchise-record six seasons with 35 or more home runs, per Sportsnet Stats.

Previously tied with Ted Williams, Jimmie Foxx and Manny Ramirez with five such seasons, Ortiz hit a solo shot to center field off Orioles pitcher Mike Wright to set the new franchise record.

Ortiz also became just the fourth player in MLB history to hit 35 home runs at the age of 39 or older, joining Steve Finley, Barry Bonds and Hank Aaron, per Sportsnet Stats.

Boston’s longtime designated hitter got off to a slow start in the first half of the season, which led to speculation he might finally be nearing the end of the line.

However, Ortiz has put any questions to rest with his impressive second-half hot streak, improving his season-long batting line to .273/.361/.555 at the end of Wednesday’s game, with his 35 home runs supplemented by 97 RBI, 68 runs and 31 doubles.

There’s now little question he will play at least one more season, with his current contract running through 2016.

Ortiz’s 501 career home runs are good for 27th place on the all-time list, and he appears primed to eventually finish his career with a spot in the top 20.

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New York Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez moved past Craig Biggio into sole possession of 21st place on the all-time hits list with a solo home run off of Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Jake Odorizzi in the first inning of Tuesday’s 6-3 loss to the Rays, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Sitting at 3,060 career hits before the game, Rodriguez used the 686th home run (and 3,061st hit) of his career to vault ahead of Biggio on the all-time hits list.

A-Rod got a 1-0 fastball from Odorizzi that caught too much of the plate, and he promptly deposited it in the right field stands at Tropicana Field for his team-high 32nd homer of the year.

Rodriguez didn’t have any other hits in the game, but he did later draw a walk and come around to score.

He already has six homers and 12 RBI through just 13 games in September. That follows a dreadful month of August in which he posted a .153 batting average, .273 on-base percentage, two home runs and 10 RBI.

The ugly slump led some to question whether the 40-year-old’s excellent first half might have just been a fluke. But it now seems quite clear that Rodriguez’s surprising bounce-back season is the real deal, as Tuesday’s effort boosted his batting line to .257/.360/.506.

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Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper hit his 38th and 39th home runs of the season during Tuesday’s 4-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, tying Vladimir Guerrero for fourth place on the franchise single-season home runs list, per Baseball-Reference.com.

Harper started with a solo shot off of Phillies pitcher David Buchanan in the first inning, then drove in the Nationals’ second run with a third-inning single off of Buchanan.

Following a walk in his third at-bat, Harper hit a short two-run homer to left field in the eighth inning against Phillies reliever Adam Loewen.

Harper thus provided all four of the Nationals’ RBI in the victory, improving his team-high total to 90 for the year.

Already tied for fourth place with Guerrero’s 2002 campaign, Harper needs three more homers to match Guerrero’s 1999 season (42 homers) for third place on the single-season franchise homers list.

Guerrero also holds second place with 44 homers (2000), but Alfonso Soriano’s 46 home runs in 2006—his only season with the Nationals—are good for the all-time Nationals/Expos record.

Already a favorite for the MVP award despite his team’s late-season struggles, the 22-year-old Harper needs seven more home runs to match Soriano’s record.

He also needs just two more homers to pass Alex Rodriguez for fourth place on the list for most home runs before a player’s 23rd birthday, per Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN Stats & Info).

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Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson hit the 100th home run of his career in the first inning of Monday’s 11-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox, going deep off Rick Porcello to give the Jays an early 1-0 lead, per Sportsnet Stats.

Part of MLB‘s most dangerous lineup, Donaldson already has a career-best 37 home runs this season, after hitting 24 (2013) and 29 (2014) in his final two years with the Oakland Athletics.

He has more than justified the hefty price the Jays paid to acquire him in the offseason, with his 37 homers (third in MLB) complemented by MLB-leading totals in RBI (115) and runs (107).

Also boasting a .306 batting average and an excellent defensive reputation, Donaldson leads all American League players with 7.7 Wins Above Replacement (WAR), per Fangraphs.

With Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout in second place at 6.6 WAR and Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado in third at 5.5, it appears Donaldson is the favorite for MVP honors.

If he does in fact win, Donaldson will become the first AL player since 1972 (Dick Allen) to earn the award after being traded in the offseason, per ESPN’s Buster Olney.

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Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Chris Archer tied a franchise record Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins by recording his ninth double-digit strikeout game of the season, per Sportsnet Stats.

The mark was previously set last season by David Price, who has since pitched for both the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays.

Unfortunately for the Rays, Archer’s 12-strikeout effort came in a 5-3 loss, with the ace allowing four runs on nine hits and a walk to drop the club’s record to 62-64 and his own record to 11-10. Despite the loss, the 26-year-old remains among the league’s top pitchers and has a legitimate shot at the AL Cy Young Award.

Archer represents one of the few bright spots for the 2015 Rays, who have fallen out of playoff contention over the last couple of weeks. After trading away Price in July 2014, the team needed another pitcher to step up and grab the ace role, and Archer has more than capably filled that void.

Over 194.2 innings last season, Archer posted a 3.33 ERA and 1.28 WHIP with 173 strikeouts and a 10-9 record. He’s taken it to another level this year, potentially finishing with a sub-3.00 ERA (currently sitting at 2.88) while upping his strikeout rate to a career-high 11.2 per nine innings.

Although the Rays probably won’t be taking home any hardware as a club this season, it wouldn’t be a shock if Archer brings some back to the Tampa area himself. It should also be a comfort to know that the team has one of the league’s top pitchers under contract for the next four seasons.

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner had an incredible Sunday against the Washington Nationals.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau (h/t ESPN Stats & Information), he joined Hall of Famer Early Wynn (1959) as one of just two players in the modern era to hit a home run, record a complete-game shutout and strike out 14 batters in the same game.

In addition to his 14 strikeouts, the lefty allowed just three hits and a lone walk, needing 112 pitches to make it through the full nine innings in a 5-0 Giants victory.

San Francisco’s batters provided a 3-0 lead by the end of the fourth inning, but it was Bumgarner who knocked in the insurance runs—first with an RBI double in the fifth inning, then with a solo home run in the seventh.

Despite his 20 strikeouts in 53 at-bats, the 26-year-old lefty owns a solid .245/.273/.491 batting line for the season, thanks mostly to his four home runs.

He also hit four homers last year, with his eight since the beginning of 2014 putting him five ahead of any other pitcher, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Bumgarner‘s all-or-nothing approach at the plate may be highly unusual for his position, but its effectiveness can no longer be questioned.

More importantly for the Giants, he owns a 14-6 record, 2.98 ERA and 1.03 WHIP for the season, with a 174-27 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 163.1 innings.

Those numbers would make him a top contender for a Cy Young Award in many seasons, but he may have trouble drawing consideration as part of an unusually loaded National League field.

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Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun hit a fifth-inning grand slam in Sunday’s 6-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, tying Robin Yount at 251 homers for first place on the all-time franchise list, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Braun finished his day with just the one hit in four at-bats, but he did pick up another RBI on a groundout in the first inning.

Now sitting at 21 home runs with a .272/.340/.491 batting line for the season, the 31-year-old outfielder is having a great campaign by the standards of most players, yet his production has arguably been somewhat disappointing for a second straight year.

After posting an OPS above .860 in each of his first seven big league seasons, Braun had a .777 mark in 2014 and is now at .831 in 2015.

Still the centerpiece of a respectable Milwaukee lineup, Braun has fallen from superstar status since memorably being suspended for performance-enhancing drugs in 2013. He is instead settling in as merely a very good player.

There was still little question that he’d eventually set the all-time franchise record for home runs, and it now seems likely the record will be his alone at some point within the next week or two.

With his contract running through 2021, Braun will also have plenty of time to pad his lead over Yount, potentially even crossing the 400- or 500-homer mark in a Milwaukee uniform some day.

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