Not only does Wednesday afford the baseball enthusiast a healthy slew of day games, but also we've got a pair of doubleheaders, which means 17 games in total. Seventeen, people. Let's light this candle ... 

Final scores

Braves 9, Phillies 1, Game 1 (box score)
Indians 2, Yankees 1, Game 1 (box score)
Brewers 6, Cardinals 5 (box score)
Orioles 8, Mariners 7 (box score)
Tigers 6, Rockies 2 (box score)
Braves 5, Phillies 2, Game 2 (box score)
Nationals 4, Marlins 0 (box score)
Indians 9, Yankees 4, Game 2 (box score)
Red Sox 7, Blue Jays 1 (box score)
Rangers 8, Astros 1 (box score)
Mets 2, Reds 0 (box score)
Cubs 17, Pirates 3 (box score)
Twins 11, White Sox 1 (box score)
Rays 5, Royals 3 (box score)
Padres 5, Giants 0 (box score)
Diamondbacks 6, Dodgers 4 (box score)
Angels 10, Athletics 8 (box score)

Broxton saves the day

The Brewers entered Wednesday some 3 1/2 games back in the NL Central race. They're still in it, but they need every thing to go their way with how well the Cubs are playing.

One thing that did go the Brewers way? A victory over the Cardinals on Wednesday that was cinched by an outstanding catch on the part of Keon Broxton. Take a look:

A catch like that in those circumstances -- two outs, ninth inning, one-run game -- is what everyone grows up dreaming about making while playing in their backyards. Broxton just so happened to get to live out his dream.

The Brewers have an uphill battle to fight if they're to make the postseason. Broxton's potential game-saving catch did make things a little easier, however.

Strasburg hits a dinger

Stephen Strasburg threw a fantastic game against the Marlins -- a shutout -- but that's not what'll get all the headlines. Rather, Strasburg's work at the plate will be what many people remember.

Why? Because Strasburg hit the third home run of his career. Here it is, coming against lanky lefty Adam Conley:

There was a time when Strasburg seemed like a decent hitter. Back in 2012, he batted .277/.333/.426 in 53 plate appearances. Since then, he's hit .140/.188/.169. Oh well. An opposite-field home-run is nothing to sneeze at -- even if the overall body of work is less than inspiring. 

And the first losing team of 2017 is ... 

The Phillies! As you see above, the Phillies got wrecked at home by the Braves in the first game of a Wednesday doubleheader, and as a result dropped to 49-82 on the season. Those 82 defeats of course ensure a losing season for the Phillies -- their fifth-straight losing season, as it turns out. 

Their run differential suggests they should have a handful more wins than they do, but this is a bad team by any measure. At present, they rank 13th in the NL in runs scored and 10th in runs allowed. The Phils' had a reasonably active offseason, and coming in this looked like a bridge year between the deep rebuild behind them and possible contention in, say, 2019. Instead, it's looked more like a bottoming out. 

The upside? At this writing, the Phillies have a 2 1/2-game lead over the Giants in the "race" for the top overall draft pick in 2018. So that's the thing to watch in Philly the rest of the way. Trust the process, people. 

Phillips reaches milestone

Braves second baseman Brandon Phillips on Wednesday notched the 2,000th hit of his big-league career. Here's a look at the knock that did it ... 

And best of all, Phillips' mom was on hand to witness it ... 

With that hit, Phillips became the 286th player in MLB history to reach 2,000 hits. He's also the 12th active player to reach this particular milestone. The 36-year-old second baseman this season is batting .293/.331/.427 (98 OPS+) while leading NL second basemen in games played. Earlier in 2017, Phillips registered his 200th career home run and 200th career stolen base. He's racked up all those numbers across parts of 16 big-league seasons. 

Pujols hits no. 612

Albert Pujols is now tied with Jim Thome for the seventh-most home runs of all-time.

O's win seventh in a row

The AL wild card race keeps getting crazier. 

M's acquire Leake from Cards

On Wednesday, the Mariners acquired right-handed starter Mike Leake along with cash and international slot money from the Cardinals in exchange for minor-league infielder Rayder Ascanio. Read all about it here. 

Quick hits