With the Yankees and Brewers securing their postseason tickets yesterday, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on in the baseball world today:

1. Ohtani approaches 50-50:

700 million dollar man and two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani began the 2024 season without pitching after undergoing elbow surgery last September, so he’ll have to operate as a pure DH this season (at least for now). That fact suggested the rest of the National League might avoid being eclipsed by the Dodgers’ new star in the first year of his contract, but Ohtani appears poised to make history in a new way: by becoming the first MLB player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season.

With this performance, Ohtani could achieve another historic feat: the first MVP award for a full-time DH. With ten games left in the regular season, Ohtani is agonizingly close to that milestone with 48 home runs and 49 steals. This afternoon in Miami, he wants to take another step toward history. First pitch is scheduled for 4:40 p.m. local time.

2. Important matches for NL Wild Card contenders:

The race for the NL Wild Card has tightened. The Mets (84-68) and Diamondbacks (84-68) are now tied for second and third place. The Braves (82-70) are also still in the thick of the race, currently two games behind Arizona and New York. Today could be an opportunity for Atlanta to make up ground in the race, as both the Mets and Diamondbacks face strong opponents in the series.

The Snakes are headed to Milwaukee for a set against a Brewers club that just won the NL Central, while a Phillies club hoping to punch its own ticket to the postseason is headed to an evening game in Queens. Meanwhile, the Braves will have ace Chris Sales on the hill for a game against the Reds and Rookie Julian Aguiar (4.88 ERA in six starts). The 35-year-old Sale will be looking to put the finishing touches on his resume to win the NL Cy Young Award and move closer to a possible pitching Triple Crown: Sale leads the majors with a 2.35 ERA and is tied with the major league leader with 17 wins this year. He is just two strikeouts away from the MLB leader with 219 to Tarik Skubal221, and only one behind Dylan CeaseWith 220 strikeouts, he leads the National League.

3. Twins barely hold each other:

The Twins (80-72) have struggled in the final stretch this year, going 5-10 in their last 15 games. Those struggles have opened the door for the up-and-coming Tigers club (80-73) to force their way into contention for the AL Wild Card spot with the exact opposite record of 10-5 in their last 15 games. With Detroit having a day off today, the Twins will either extend their lead to a full game or slip into a tie. Although Minnesota holds the tiebreaker after winning the season series between the two clubs, the Twins certainly don’t want the race to get any tighter.

To avoid that, they must beat a Guardians team with an 88-65 record that is pulling away in the AL Central and will likely enter the postseason with a bye through the Wild Card round. Cleveland won yesterday’s game between the two clubs by just one point in a heart-stopping finale that went into overtime. The Twins are sending their rookie Simeon Woods Richardson (4.08 ERA in 26 starts) on the mound against the weakening Guardians rookie Joey Cantillo (4.99 ERA in six starts). The game is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. local time.