Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a two-run shot to become the first Cubs player with 30 homers, 30 doubles and 30 stolen bases in a season as Chicago pounded the St. Louis Cardinals 12-1 on Friday.

The Chicago Cubs want to make sure everything is OK with rookie right-hander Cade Horton, who could start one of their wild-card games next week.

The Detroit Tigers have squandered a double-digit division lead over the Cleveland Guardians in just three weeks. The New York Mets are barely clinging to their wild-card spot, the Houston Astros are suddenly on the outside looking in, and every other team seems flawed in some way.

Since 2016, when the Chicago Cubs won the World Series, the team has not played their best to finish a season, especially against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs have struggled to win games at the end of the season at Wrigley and against the Cardinals.

The Mets overcame a brutal David Peterson start and ugly defensive play, finally going ahead after the Reds had already lost their game against the Pirates.

The San Diego Padres pulled within 2 1/2 games of the idle Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West race and 2 1/2 games behind the Chicago Cubs in the race for the NL’s first of three wild card

The Reds surged their way into the wild card standings with the sweep and now the Cubs have officially yielded the National League Central to the Milwaukee Brewers. So, as the Cubs prepare for a wild card playoff series of their own ahead, they are focused on ending the regular season with as complete and healthy a roster as possible.

Powered by four home runs, the Chicago Cubs crushed the visiting St. Louis Cardinals 12-1 on Friday and moved closer to securing home-field advantage in next week's National League wild-card series.