It was a weekend to honor a couple of baseball’s distinguished sluggers.

Adrian Beltre received a standing ovation in the Texas Rangers‘ home finale Sunday. The star third baseman’s future is uncertain http://www.piratesfanproshop.com/authentic-adam-frazier-jersey , but the fans showed their appreciation in case this turns out to be his final season. There was less ambiguity in Detroit, where Victor Martinez is calling it a career, and he played his last game Saturday.Beltre has been noncommittal about his future, saying he’ll make a decision after discussions with family. He said he’s ready to accept that “maybe this is it” — but the door still seems at least somewhat open to a return. If he retires, he’s already done enough to earn plenty of Hall of Fame support, with over 3,100 hits in 21 seasons. This is his eighth season with the Rangers.Martinez made his big league debut with Cleveland in 2002. He also played briefly with Boston before joining the Tigers prior to the 2011 season. Detroit immediately won four straight division titles after his arrival.Martinez finished second in the American League MVP vote in 2014. His production slowed considerably after that, but he retires with a career average of .295, 2 Chad Kuhl Jersey ,153 hits and 246 home runs.Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said although Martinez is done playing, he still wants the veteran’s help in the dugout during the team’s last road trip of the season.Another big name who is retiring after this season is Chase Utley of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Utley’s best seasons came with Philadelphia, but he received a standing ovation Sunday in his final regular-season home game at Dodger Stadium. The NL West-leading Dodgers have a good chance to reach the postseason, but it’s hard to say what Utley’s role would be. He has only 28 at-bats since the All-Star break.Elsewhere around the majors:COSTLY SLIDEYankees shortstop Didi Gregorius scored the run that clinched a postseason spot Saturday, but that headfirst slide left him with torn cartilage in his right wrist. His status is now uncertain for the AL wild-card game Oct. 3.New York will likely face Oakland in that game in what would be a renewal of a postseason rivalry that included Division Series meetings in 2000 and 2001. Both those series went the full five games, with the Yankees prevailing. New York also swept Oakland 3-0 in the 1981 AL Championship Series.HIGHLIGHTIt all went terribly wrong for Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Michael Feliz in the sixth inning Sunday against Milwaukee. First, he walked in two runs. Then the bases cleared in bizarre fashion. Feliz threw a wild pitch, which skipped all the way over near the Brewers‘ dugout. Jesus Aguilar and Ryan Braun both scored, and first baseman Josh Bell’s throw — to try to get Braun — got away http://www.piratesfanproshop.com/authentic-ivan-nova-jersey , allowing Orlando Arcia to score as well. The play was scored a wild pitch, with an error on Feliz, who was covering home when Bell’s throw came in.The Brewers won 13-6.LINE OF THE WEEKChristian Yelich of Milwaukee became the first major leaguer to hit for the cycle twice in one season against the same team. He pulled that off when the Brewers beat Cincinnati 8-0 on Monday night. Yelich, who had hit for the cycle against the Reds less than three weeks earlier, did it again with a first-inning single, a second-inning double, a fifth-inning homer and sixth-inning triple. CHICAGO — Just when it appeared the Chicago Cubs‘ offense had run out of bats with the two-time defending National League Central Division champions on the verge of falling out of first place, the Cubs showed their sticks still have some life.A 7-6, extra-inning victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday capped by Albert Almora http://www.piratesfanproshop.com/authentic-jameson-taillon-jersey , Jr.’s two-out single in the 10th inning allowed the Cubs to preserve their half-game margin for the divisional lead. The Cubs will attempt to move closer to their third straight Central crown when they wrap up their four-game series against the Pirates on Thursday.The Cubs also clinched a playoff berth Wednesday.Article continues below ...The seven-run explosion arrived after the Cubs had struggled to score runs against the Pirates. After dropping the first two games of the series when the Cubs managed only two runs, Chicago gave its pitching staff some run support and pulled out the win after the bullpen blew a 6-1 lead.“There’s no pressure, no panic,” Almora said in a postgame televised interview.Now, they’ll look to continue the trend Thursday.“If we could just get on the board early, that would be very helpful,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon told reporters Wednesday.“If we get a chance to get on (Pirates) starters early, we need to do that because they seem to get better games in progress.”With a win Thursday, the Cubs will earn a series split and create a bit more distance between themselves and the idle second-place Milwaukee Brewers Brad Hand Jersey , who clinched their first playoff berth since 2011 on Wednesday. Milwaukee finished off a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals with a 2-1 victory Wednesday.The Cubs hope to get third baseman Kris Bryant back in the lineup after Bryant missed Wednesday’s game with a sore wrist. Bryant left Tuesday night’s game after being hit by a pitch and sustaining a wrist contusion. Maddon told reporters that the swelling wasn’t as bad as expected, but that it was enough to keep Bryant from playing.Jon Lester (17-6, 3.43 ERA) takes the mound hoping to give the Cubs some momentum heading into another tough test this weekend against the Cardinals. Lester has won three of his four September starts and has allowed five earned runs in the four outings. Lester is 8-6 with 3.38 ERA in 17 career starts against the Pirates, including 3-1, 3.72 in five outings this season.Trevor Williams (14-9, 3.04) will take the mound for the Pirates. Williams has also been impressive throughout September and has won three of his four starts with a no-decision. Williams has not allowed an earned run in three of his four starts and has struck out seven in each of his past two outings. Williams is 2-3 with a 3.41 ERA in seven career outings (five starts) against the Cubs, including 1-1, 1.38 in two turns this season.Williams has been among the Pirates’ most effective performers in the second half but has done so while not gaining much notoriety for his efforts. While he isn’t flashy or doesn’t overpower hitters with his approach, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said Williams is one to simply get the job done.“It’s pitchability http://www.padresfanproshop.com/authentic-chase-headley-jersey , it’s pitch execution,” Hurdle told reporters earlier this month, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “He’s hitting spots. He’s throwing his fastball where he wants. He’s changing speeds. And it’s really hard to hit. He’s getting it done the old-fashioned way. He’s flat-out pitching.”