St. Louis Cardinals' Harrison Bader celebrates after scoring during the third inning in the second game of a baseball doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)ST. LOUIS Backup catcher Matt Wieters acknowledges he might have to get in better shape for the St. Louis Cardinals. Wieters hit 14 foul balls during a grueling 19-pitch at-bat that finished with a deep flyout with the bases loaded during a wild rally that sent the Cardinals over the Minnesota Twins 6-4 Tuesday night for a doubleheader split. Wieters set the Cardinals record for a plate appearance in that span, topping 17 pitches seen by Rick Ankiel in 2008. Everyone says St. Louis is a baseball town, and my father absolutely was a baseball guy.

Pitcher Jake Odorizzi accepted a $17.8 million qualifying offer to stay with the Minnesota Twins and first baseman Jos Abreu took the same amount to remain with the Chicago White Sox as general managers headed home following their four-day annual meeting. Using the threat to accept San Franciscos offer, reliever Will Smith became the first of the 168 free agents to switch teams, agreeing Thursday to a $40 million, three-year contract with the Atlanta Braves. Just 10 free agents received the offers on Nov. 4, and their former teams will receive draft-pick compensation if they sign elsewhere. Qualifying offers began after the 2012 season, and only eight of 90 offers have been accepted. ___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports