9/28/2016 baseball Edit

Gamecocks in the pros: Sept. 21-27

Collyn Taylor • GamecockScoop

Beat Writer

GamecockCentral.com offers in-depth & insider coverage of South Carolina Gamecocks football, recruiting, baseball, basketball. News, rosters, schedules, scores, message boards, rankings, stats, polls.

Also see: Wednesday's Insider Report

MLB

--Jackie Bradley Jr. wetn 3-for-16 (.188) with Boston as the Red Sox clinched a playoff berth this week. They could clinch the AL East as early as Wednesday night with a win or a Blue Jays loss.

--Sam Dyson picked up two saves this week in two appearances for Texas, pitching two shutout innings and giving up just one hit. He has 37 saves this season, good for third in the AL and seventh in the majors. The Rangers clinched the AL West Tuesday night.

--Steve Pearce underwent season-ending forearm surgery Sept. 13 that will sideline him for four to six months. This will affect his offseason opportunities because he is a free agent and teams could opt not to sign him. In his lone game this week he went 0-for-3 with Baltimore.

Also see: Up-tempo offense could eliminate mental mistakes

--Justin Smoak went 1-for-3 (.333) in two games for Toronto. The Blue Jays are leading the American League Wildcard race currently and have an outside shot of winning the division.

--Whit Merrifield went 7-for-22 (.318) with five runs and a RBI for Kansas City. He's hitting .350 since Sept. 17 and the Royals have an outside shot of making the playoffs sitting five games back in the wildcard.