As usual, Friday brings us a full 15-game slate of big-league action, including the start of a very important series at Coors Field. Here is everything you need to know about Friday's MLB action.

Friday's scores

Cards top Rox

The Cardinals and Rockies are playing baseball's most important series this weekend, as they jockey for position in the NL wild-card race. On Friday, the Cardinals took the opener.

St. Louis jumped out to a 4-0 lead and later led 7-0 entering the bottom of the fifth. That's when things got dicey for the Cardinals, as the Rockies were able to put up a five-spot against Miles Mikolas who, it should be noted, delivered a home run in support of himself earlier in the game.

The Cardinals turned to their bullpen from there, and that proved to be a wise call. Chasen Shreve, Carlos Martinez, Jordan Hicks, and Bud Norris combined for 4⅓ innings while permitting three hits, four walks, and striking out four batters. Pretty? Not really, but effective.

The win gives the Cardinals two more than the Rockies. More importantly, it means the Cardinals have one fewer loss. 

Braves win despite loss

The Braves fell 1-0 to the Marlins on Friday night, but in a sense they won anyway.

Atlanta entered the night with a three-game lead in the division over the Phillies and an 8 1/2-game lead over the Nationals. Both the Phillies (to the Blue Jays) and Nationals (to the Mets) lost, meaning the Braves surrendered no ground in the standings.

If anything, the Braves came out ahead, since it means there's one fewer game on the schedule for either the Phillies or Nationals to pull closer. There's no such thing as a "good" loss, but count Friday's against the Marlins as a tolerable one.

Voit homers twice to lead Yankees

Where were you when Luke Voit became a True Yankee?

OK, so that's overstating it. But Voit -- acquired in a July trade -- had a big Friday. He homered twice and drove in four of the Yankees' seven runs in a win against the Orioles.

Voit is unlikely to enter into New York folklore anytime soon -- he entered the night hitting .222/.263/.222 in seven games with the Yanks -- but both sides will take it all the same.

Bote swats game-winning homer

What can we say at this point other than David Bote seems to have a thing for collecting big hits.

On Friday, Bote slugged a walk-off homer off a Raisel Iglesias hanger to give the Cubs their 74th win on the season. Here it is in color:

Bote, of course, hit a walk-off grand slam recently that spurred some controversy because of his bat flip. It seems he's still OK with celebrating his big hits -- and why shouldn't he be? He entered Friday hitting .272/.364/.456 (113 OPS+) in 103 at-bats.

Quick hits

  • The Brewers claimed RHP Matt Harvey off trade waivers from the Reds, but the two sides were unable to work out a trade before Friday's deadline. Harvey, an impending free agent, will remain with Cincinnati the rest of the season.
  • Hip surgery for Giants C Buster Posey is "really imminent," president of baseball operations Brian Sabean said to KNBR. Posey has been dealing with hip trouble for a while now. "Recovery time is what it is, it's six-plus months, and if you hit the mark well enough you should be able to perform in spring training and hopefully start the season on time," said Sabean.
  • Yankees closer LHP Aroldis Chapman received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his knee, reports MLB.com. Chapman has been pitching through left knee tendinitis all season. He was placed on the 10-day DL earlier this week.
  • Red Sox LHP Chris Sale has not yet resumed throwing, reports the Boston Herald. Sale is currently on the 10-day DL with shoulder inflammation. There does not appear to be a firm timetable for his return, but obviously he won't be rushed.
  • The Yankees have activated LHP CC Sabathia off the 10-day DL, the team announced. Sabathia missed the minimum 10 days with right knee inflammation. He's been dealing with a chronic knee condition for years.
  • The Mets have activated 1B/OF Jay Bruce off the 10-day DL, the club announced. Bruce had been out since mid-June with a hip injury. He is expected to play first base primarily the rest of the season.
  • The Twins placed C Bobby Wilson on the 10-day DL with a sprained right ankle, the club announced. Wilson got hurt covering third base Thursday night. Folk hero UTIL Willians Astudillo was called up in a corresponding move.
  • White Sox manager Rick Renteria has been cleared to return to the dugout, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. Renteria missed the last four games after being hospitalized with lightheadedness.

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