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David Ortiz breaks record held by Shoeless Joe Jackson

Welcome to The Walk Off, the nightly MLB recap from Big League Stew. Here we’ll look at the top performers of the night, show you a must-see highlight and rundown the scoreboard. First, we start with a game you need to know about.

We knew David Ortiz wouldn’t go away quietly in his final season. What he’s done so far and continues to do though has been nothing short of extraordinary.

With each passing week, it seems “Big Papi” reaches another milestone or breaks another record. That continued in Friday’s 2-1 win against the Tampa Bay Rays, as Ortiz’s two-run first-inning home run helped him break a record previously held by “Shoeless” Joe Jackson.

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Ortiz now has 124 RBIs on the season, which is the most ever in a player’s final season, topping Jackson’s 1920 season.

Of course, we all know Jackson’s career ending wasn’t his choice. He was forced out of the game at age 33 after being banned for his alleged association with the Black Sox Scandal. He was still in his prime when that number was set, though some might argue the same could be said of Ortiz.

David Ortiz follows through on yet another historic home run in Boston's 2-1 win against Tampa Bay. (AP)
David Ortiz follows through on yet another historic home run in Boston’s 2-1 win against Tampa Bay. (AP)

If that’s not impressive enough, Ortiz also tied Lou Gehrig for the 10th-most extra-base hits all-time with 1,190.

Ortiz is in elite company in several offensive categories. He should also be a leading contender for AL MVP, despite his designated hitter status. He’s a major reason the Red Sox have won nine straight games. He’s an even bigger reason they’re about to win the AL East.

TOP PERFORMERS

Mark Trumbo: After dropping four straight to the Boston Red Sox this week, the Baltimore Orioles were desperate for a win against Arizona. It nearly eluded them, as they entered the late innings trailing by two runs. However, a trio of solo homers saved them, including Mark Trumbo’s walk-off in the 12th inning. The homer was Trumbo’s 44th of the season, which still leads baseball. Pedro Alvarez got them on the board with his solo shot in the eighth. Then in the ninth Matt Wieters tied it. That led to Trumbo’s heroics and a 3-2 win, which keeps Baltimore a half-game behind Detroit for the second wild card spot.

Chicago Cubs: For the first time since 1945 — the last year they appeared in the World Series — the Cubs have won 98 games in a season. Chicago reached that mark with a 5-0 win against the rival Cardinals, and they did so with nine games to spare. That essentially guarantees their first 100 win season since 1935. The Cubs have also set a franchise record with 56 home wins and with the Nationals win later have clinched home field advantage in the NL playoffs.

Robinson Cano & Nelson Cruz: The surging Mariners stayed hot, dismantling the Twins 10-1 at Target Field. They were led by Cano and Cruz, as they combined for six hits, six RBIs and four runs scored. Cano knocked in his two on a pair of singles. Cruz delivered a two-run double and a two-run homer as Seattle remained two games back in the wild card race. They also moved ahead of Houston.

Jose Ramirez: Perhaps the most underrated player in MLB, Ramirez continued his sensational season for the Indians in their 10-4 win against the White Sox. Ramirez went 2-for-5 with a homer — his 11th this season — four RBIs and three runs scored. On the season, he’s hitting .315/.366/.463, which has some people arguing that he deserves MVP consideration. He won’t win it, but he can hang his hat on being a big part of the Indians likely return to the postseason. Their magic number to clinch the AL Central is down to three.

MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT

We’re guessing you had something better to do than watch Reds-Brewers on Friday. If you missed it though, you did miss something notable as Chris Carter and Jonathan Villar teamed up for a rare 3-6 triple play. It happened in the first inning when Carter caught a liner off the bat of Joey Votto. With the runners moving from first and second, Carter simply tossed to Villar who tagged the bag and the runner to complete the crazy play. Carter later added his career best 38th homer to lead the Brewers to a 5-4 win against the Reds.

REST OF SCOREBOARD

Pirates 6, Nationals 5 (11 innings): Washington entered needing a win and a Mets loss to clinch the NL East. Neither happened, as closer Mark Melancon blew a save in his return to Pittsburgh following the deadline trade. The Pirates would go on to win in 11 on rookie Jacob Stallings’ walk-off single.

Mets 10, Phillies 5: It wasn’t pretty, but the Mets mixed and matched their way to another big win. New York took control with a six-run fifth inning, which Michael Conforto capped with an opposite field three-run homer. The win moved the Mets into sole possession of the first wild card spot, one game ahead of St. Louis and San Francisco.

Rangers 3, A’s 0: The lone clinch of the evening belonged to Texas. They won the AL West for the second straight season behind seven scoreless innings from Cole Hamels and a two-run homer from Adrian Beltre.

Blue Jays 9, Yankees 0: Toronto will continue setting the pace in the AL wild card race after crushing the Yankees. Troy Tulowitzki led the way with four RBIs while Josh Donaldson delivered his 36th home run.

Braves 3, Marlins 2: The season has all but slipped away from Miami, as they fall to six games back in the wild-card race. Atlanta, meanwhile, has won seven straight in the spoiler role.

Tigers 8, Royals 3: Detroit maintained its grip on the second wild card by scoring two runs in four different innings. Victor Martinez, Justin Upton and Cameron Maybin all homered.

Angels 10, Astros 6: The Astros are losing ground quickly after losing their second straight to the Angels. With the loss, they’ve fallen to 2 1/2 games back in the wild card race. Making matters worse, Carlos Correa aggravated his left shoulder injury with a diving attempt that missed.

Dodgers 5, Rockies 2: The Dodgers magic number to clinch the NL West is down to two after Friday’s win on Vin Scully Appreciation Day. They needed five relievers after Scott Kazmir left after the first inning due to right intercostal spasms, and those relievers tossed eight innings of two-run baseball.

Padres 7, Giants 2: The Giants never overcame Wil Myers’ first-inning three-run homer.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!