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Miami Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki hit a pinch-hit double in the seventh inning of Thursday’s 5-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, giving him 2,998 career hits to move within just two of the 3,000-hit barrier, per ESPN Stats & Info.

With the Marlins trailing 5-3 and catcher J.T. Realmuto on first base with one out, Suzuki was brought in to replace relief pitcher Mike Dunn, who had earlier taken over for a struggling Jose Fernandez.

Suzuki roped a ground-ball double to right field on the second pitch he saw from Cardinals reliever Jonathan Broxton, but right fielder Stephen Piscotty was able to cut the ball off before it reached the wall, holding Realmuto at third base and Suzuki at second.

Light-hitting Marlins shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria then grounded out to bring Realmuto home, but Suzuki (who represented the tying run) was stranded at third after infielder Chris Johnson was called out on strikes.

Although they got two more chances, the Marlins never got another runner past first base, grounding into double plays in both of the last two innings.

In any case, the 42-year-old Suzuki will soon become the 30th member of the 3,000-hit club, despite playing in his native Japan for his first nine professional seasons (from 1992 to 2000).  

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One day after losing his streak of 52 consecutive successful save opportunities, New York Mets closer Jeurys Familia shockingly blew another save in Thursday’s 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Familia was charged with a loss in addition to the blown save in both games, first turning a 4-3 lead into a 5-4 loss Wednesday night against the St. Louis Cardinals, and then turning a 1-0 advantage into a 2-1 deficit Thursday afternoon against Colorado.

Per ESPN Stats & Info, Familia owns the third-longest streak since saves became an official stat in 1969, trailing only Eric Gagne (84) and Tom Gordon (54), with Jose Valverde (51) just a tick behind.

Arguably the most dominant closer in MLB history, albeit for a rather short period, Gagne had a streak that lasted from 2002 to 2004, helping him earn the National League Cy Young Award in 2003, following a fourth-place finish the previous year.

Familia‘s streak stretched back to August 1 of last season, though he did have three blown saves in the 2015 World Series against the Kansas City Royals, despite allowing just one earned run and one unearned run during the series.

The 26-year-old was rather lucky to enjoy such a remarkable streak, as he doesn’t have dominant numbers this season apart from his MLB-leading save total (36), carrying a 3.14 ERA and 1.36 WHIP, with 49 strikeouts and 22 walks in 48.2 innings.

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The San Diego Padres tied a franchise record during Wednesday’s 8-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, hitting at least one home run as a team in a 25th consecutive game, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Infielder Adam Rosales did the honors with a two-run shot off of Blue Jays starter R.A. Dickey in the top of the third inning, and was later joined by first baseman Brett Wallace (fifth inning) and outfielder Alex Dickerson (eighth inning), both of whom hit solo home runs that provided insurance.

Per ESPN Stats & Info, 10 different Padres have hit home runs during the 25-game stretch, including outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. (five), who was traded to the Blue Jays on Tuesday.

Upton made his first start for Toronto on Wednesday, recording a single and a run scored in four at-bats.

Padres second baseman Ryan Schimpf (nine homers) leads the team in home runs over the course of the streak, followed by outfielder Matt Kemp (eight), utility man Yangervis Solarte (six) and the aforementioned Dickerson (five).

Rosales and Wallace have contributed just two apiece, both serving in part-time roles.

While encouraging for the franchise’s future, the recent power surge hasn’t led to improvement in the win column, with San Diego going just 11-14 during the streak.

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Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jay Bruce tied a franchise record during the seventh inning of Wednesday’s 2-1 win over the San Francisco Giants, hitting a home run in a fifth consecutive game, per Sportsnet Stats.

Stepping up to the plate with no outs and nobody on base, Bruce got a first-pitch fastball from Giants ace Madison Bumgarner and lined it over the right field fence at At&T Park.

Bumgarner then retired the final six batters he faced, but his eight-inning, two-run effort wasn’t quite enough, as Reds starter Dan Straily limited the Giants to just one run over 7.2 innings.

Giants outfielder Angel Pagan singled off Reds closer Tony Cingrani to open the bottom of the ninth, but the 27-year-old lefty then retired San Francisco’s 3-4-5 hitters in order to close out the game.

In addition to tying a team record shared by a slew of players, Bruce joined Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis as the only MLB players with five-game homer streaks this season, per MLB Stat of the Day.

The 29-year-old could likely return a top prospect if he’s traded before Sunday’s deadline, as he carries a reasonable $12.5 million salary for 2016, along with a $13 million team option for 2017, per Spotrac.

Already enjoying a strong season before his recent outburst, Bruce is now on pace for 40 home runs, 127 RBI and 95 runs—each of which would represent career-high marks.

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When Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion took Seattle Mariners pitcher Wade Miley deep in the fourth inning of Sunday’s series finale, he surpassed Vernon Wells for third place on the all-time franchise leaderboard for home runs, per ESPN Stats & Info.

With Wells now in the rear-view mirror, Encarnacion (224 home runs) only trails teammate Jose Bautista (255) and Carlos Delgado (336) for the most home runs in Blue Jays history.

Encarnacion and Bautista are both currently playing on the final year of their respective contracts, which could wind up concluding the career of one of the two in Toronto.

Neither of the two is necessarily headed out of town, but that will likely be decided in the offseason. However, the two have had vastly different contract seasons.

Bautista returned to action Monday after missing extended time due to a toe injury and has hit just .231 with 12 home runs over 66 games, while Encarnacion owns a .262 average with 27 long balls over 98 contests and was named to the American League’s All-Star team.

In addition to his home runs, Encarnacion has a league-leading 87 RBI heading into Tuesday’s game against the San Diego Padres. Assuming he continues at his current pace, the 33-year-old should near 40 home runs for a second straight year after finishing with 39 in 2015.

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Making just the 43rd appearance and 42nd start of his young MLB career, New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard recorded his 300th career strikeout during Tuesday’s 2-1 win over the Chicago Cubs, becoming the third-fastest active pitcher (in terms of games played) to reach the 300-K plateau, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Despite having some recent issues with arm fatigue leading up to the All-Star break, Syndergaard was apparently unfazed by a tough road matchup against Cubs ace Jake Arrieta, a reigning Cy Young Award winner who has the backing of a lineup that averages more than five runs per game.

The 23-year-old righty proceeded to strike out eight batters while allowing only one run (unearned) on seven hits and two walks, though he did need 105 pitches to make it through just 5.2 innings—which is perfectly excusable when facing a notoriously patient Cubs lineup that leads the majors in walk rate (10.7 percent).

While neither starting pitcher factored into the decision, Syndergaard still owns an impressive 9-4 record in 19 appearances (18 starts) this season, with a 2.43 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and ridiculous 136-to-20 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 111.1 innings.

Now sporting 302 strikeouts in 43 career appearances, Syndergaard trails only Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish (37 games) and Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez (42) as the quickest active players to reach the aforementioned plateau.

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Suddenly one of the hottest hitters in all of baseball, Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Albert Pujols recorded his 54th career multi-homer game in Tuesday’s 8-6 win over the first-place Texas Rangers, tying Frank Robinson and Manny Ramirez for 10th place on the all-time list for multi-homer performances, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Although the 2016 season has mostly been a prolonged headache for the underperforming 36-year-old slugger and his non-contending team, there have finally been some signs of life in July, with the Angels winning 10 of their 15 games for the month, including all five contests since the All-Star break.

Pujols actually continued to struggle throughout much of that stretch, going 10 straight games without a home run from July 3 through Saturday, nearly dropping his slugging percentage below .400 in the process.

Naturally, he ended the brief slump in a huge way Sunday against the Chicago White Sox, cranking a pair of home runs that moved him into sole possession of 10th place on the all-time list for extra-base hits, in addition to giving him 53 multi-homer games.

Pujols then went hitless during Monday’s 9-5 win in Anaheim, but he bounced back in enormous fashion Tuesday night, reaching base in all four of his plate appearances—highlighted by a pair of three-run homers (in the fourth and fifth innings) off of Rangers starter Kyle Lohse.

The future Hall of Famer needed just three days to raise his slugging percentage from .409 to a season-high .447, and he’ll also enter Wednesday with his on-base percentage (.331) at a high-water mark for the year.

Of course, even with Pujols heating up and the team playing its best ball all season, the Angels still own an ugly 42-52 record that leaves them 12.5 games back in the division and 10.5 back of the final wild-card spot.

As for the record for multi-homer games in a career, Babe Ruth (72) and Barry Bonds (71) are unlikely to face competition from Pujols for the top two spots, per Baseball Almanac.

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New York Yankees outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury broke an obscure record during the first inning of Tuesday’s 7-1 thumping of the Baltimore Orioles, becoming the first player in MLB history to reach base on a catcher’s interference nine times in a single season, per MLB Stat of the Day.

Stepping up to the plate with nobody on base and one out in the bottom of the first, Ellsbury appeared to hit a routine grounder to Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy on a 1-2 offering from Baltimore starting pitcher Vance Worley.

After briefly glancing backward, the 32-year-old speedster hustled down the first-base line and even came within a half-step of beating the throw, nearly taking advantage of the soft contact that was caused in part by the collision between his bat and Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph’s glove.

While catcher’s interference is often a difficult call, home plate umpire Todd Tichenor didn’t have much trouble with this one, as Joseph’s catcher’s mitt instantly fell off his hand.

Worley then induced a double play to escape the opening frame unscathed, but Yankees second baseman Starlin Castro hit a two-run homer the next inning, providing all the runs that would ultimately be needed.

One of the true oddities of baseball, catcher’s interference counts as an error against the catcher and a plate appearance for the batter, but it isn’t recorded as an at-bat and also isn’t factored into on-base percentage.

The Bronx Bombers apparently have a knack for this unusual play, as the old single-season record of eight was set by Yankees outfielder Roberto Kelly in 1992, per YES Network on Twitter.

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When Miami Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki legged out an infield single in the bottom of the eighth inning during Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals, the hit represented his third of the day and 2,994th of his MLB career, per MLB.com.

There aren’t many players in baseball that can be described by simply using their first name, but Ichiro certainly fits that mold both in uniqueness of name and level of play deserving of the honor.

Unanimously regarded as the greatest MLB player to ever come from Japan, the 42-year-old outfielder started a phenomenon following his migration to the United States in 2001 and instantaneous success at the major-league level.

When discussing his MLB hitting numbers, it’s certainly worth noting that he spent nine years playing in Japan prior to leaving his home country. When adding those totals to his 2,994 in the MLB, his total skyrockets to an astounding 4,272 career professional hits.

The tally would make him the all-time hits leader, but many, including MLB hit leader Pete Rose, believe the numbers from Japan shouldn’t count toward Ichiro’s total. Even with the Japanese numbers not taken into account, Ichiro has a real shot at cracking the all-time top 25, needing just 29 more hits to match Lou Brock (3,023) in 25th place.

He figures to be a lock for the Hall of Fame and deservedly so. Among his accomplishments are a Rookie of the Year Award, an MVP, a Golden Glove and a Silver Slugger…and that’s just from his 2001 rookie season. He’s since added nine more Gold Gloves and three more Silver Slugger trophies, not to mention qualifying for 10 straight All-Star Games.

Unlike many of today’s stars who make their names racking up home runs, Ichiro has broken double digits just three times in his MLB career, relying primarily on making contact (.314 career average) and wreaking havoc on the basepaths (more than 30 stolen bases in 10 of his first 11 major league seasons), in addition to his well-known prowess as an outfielder.

While many of the commonly named best hitters in the history of baseball are known for power, when Ichiro’s career gets looked back on, an argument could be made for him being near the top.

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Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Chris Tillman accomplished a rare feat over the weekend, becoming just the fifth hurler in franchise history to win 13 of his first 15 decisions to begin a season, per Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN Stats & Info).

Tillman needed everything he had to improve to 13-2 in Saturday’s 2-1 road win over the Tampa Bay Rays, as Tampa lefty Matt Moore held the powerful Orioles lineup to just two runs on five hits and a walk over 7.1 innings at pitcher-friendly Tropicana Field despite striking out only one of the 27 batters he faced.

Tillman was just a bit better, striking out three batters over seven innings of one-run ball, with the Rays scraping out four hits and three free passes along the way.

The standout Baltimore bullpen held things down from there, as setup man Brad Brach (0.88 ERA, 17 holds) and closer Zach Britton (0.68 ERA, 29 saves) showcased their typical dominant form by tossing a perfect inning apiece.

The 28-year-old Tillman has more than bounced back from an ugly 2015 campaign, dropping his ERA from 4.99 to 3.29 and his WHIP from 1.39 to 1.21. Although he’s been fortunate to strand 81.1 percent of baserunners while also holding opponents to a .263 batting average on balls in play (BABIP), Tillman deserves major credit for increasing his strikeout rate from last year’s 16.2 percent to this season’s 20.6 percent.

And while his record may come under scrutiny due to his team’s prolific offense, the Orioles have actually averaged 4.6 runs in Tillman’s 20 outings, compared to 5.1 in the team’s other 70 games. Granted, nine of the 13 wins came in games decided by three or fewer runs, which speaks volumes to Baltimore’s perennially strong relief corps.

Regardless, Tillman is starting to build a dark-horse Cy Young Award case for the first-place O’s, ranking second in the American League in wins (13), ninth in innings (120.1) and 17th in strikeouts (101) as well as ninth among qualified starters in ERA (3.29) and 15th in WHIP (1.21).

Those numbers wouldn’t stand a chance most seasons, but a strong second half could still put him right in the mix, as only four qualified AL starters enter Monday with sub-3.00 ERAs.

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