MOBILE, Ala. – With approximately three weeks left in Major League Baseball’s regular season, a few former Jaguars are trying to help their clubs make a playoff push.

No one has been eliminated from the playoffs just yet, mathematically, but it is an uphill climb to make a run – even with expanded rosters.

Adam Lind and his Toronto Blue Jays enter Wednesday’s game 18 games back of the division-leading New York Yankees, and 15 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the American League Wild Card race. The problem lies with the fact that the Jays have just 20 games remaining, and would need the Yankees to completely crash while essentially winning out to have a shot at the division title.

But beyond the standings, Lind has put together a solid year. He enters Wednesday’s contest against Boston hitting .252 with 24 home runs and 79 RBI in 113 games. His 24 homers rank as the second-highest total of his career in any season behind the 35 he hit in 2009 when he earned the Silver Slugger Award as a designated hitter.

P.J. Walters was traded to Toronto from St. Louis on July 27, and appeared in one game with the Blue Jays in which he pitched one inning and struck out one. The Jays then sent Walters to Triple-A Las Vegas, where the right-hander is 1-3 with an 8.38 ERA in seven starts. However, Walters is 8-7 overall this season between Las Vegas and Memphis while recording 113 strikeouts against 58 walks.

Juan Pierre and the Chicago White Sox are attempting to run down the red-hot Detroit Tigers, who have won five straight games entering Wednesday. The White Sox are eight games behind the Tigers in the AL’s Central Division, and 13 1/2 games back of the Red Sox in the wild card standings.

Pierre has been solid for the White Sox this season, and enters Wednesday’s game at Minnesota hitting .283 with 13 doubles, four triples, two homers and 42 RBI. One personal milestone that is in jeopardy in the regular season’s final weeks is Pierre’s streak of 30-plus stolen base seasons. Pierre has recorded 30 or more stolen bases in 10 consecutive seasons, and needs five in the next few weeks to reach that mark. He enters Wednesday’s contest with 25 steals, and is MLB’s active leader in the category.
 
Pierre ranks 26th all-time with 552 stolen bases and needs only five to tie Davey Lopes (557) for 25th on the all-time list.

After suffering a broken wrist early in the season, St. Louis Cardinals third baseman David Freese has rebounded and turned in a solid year at the plate. Freese heads into Wednesday’s game at Central Division-leading Milwaukee hitting .298 with 11 doubles, nine homers and 46 RBI.

The Cardinals sit 9 1/2 games behind the Brewers heading into Wednesday’s contest, but are 7 1/2 games behind Atlanta for the National League Wild Card.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).