Miguel Cabrera homers twice to reach 40 for the first time - MLB

Miguel Cabrera hit a pair of homers, including the Tigers’ first grand slam of the year, in Tuesday’s win over the A’s to get to 40 for the first time in his career.

Cabrera also collected his 38th double. He was removed after his slam off Jesse Chavez made it a 12-2 game in the bottom of the eighth.

The two-homer game is just what Cabrera needed to enter the final two weeks with a serious chance at the game’s first Triple Crown since 1967. He leads the AL with a .333 average, and he broke his tie with Josh Hamilton atop the RBI standings tonight. His 40 homers are tied with Edwin Encarnacion for second place, two behind Hamilton.

If Cabrera can win the Triple Crown, it’d probably lock up his first MVP award, even if the Tigers can’t make their way into the postseason. Advanced stats would still give Mike Trout a significant edge, but it’d be hard to sway the voters in the event of a single player leading the league in average, homers and RBI for the first time in 45 years.

PITTSBURGH — The New York Mets will have to dig out of an early-season hole without star first baseman Pete Alonso.

The leading home run hitter in the majors will miss three-to-four weeks with a bone bruise and a sprain in his left wrist.

The Mets placed Alonso on the 10-day injured list Friday, retroactive to June 8. Alonso was hit in the wrist by a 96 mph fastball from Charlie Morton in the first inning of a 7-5 loss to Atlanta on Wednesday.

Alonso traveled to New York for testing on Thursday. X-rays revealed no broken bones, but the Mets will be missing one of the premier power hitters in the game as they try to work their way back into contention in the NL East.

“We got better news than it could have been,” New York manager Buck Showalter said. “So we take that as a positive. It could have been worse.”

New York had lost six straight heading into a three-game series at Pittsburgh that began Friday. Mark Canha started at first for the Mets in the opener. Mark Vientos could also be an option, though Showalter said the coaching staff may have to use its “imagination” in thinking of ways to get by without Alonso.

“I’m not going to say someone has to step up and all that stuff,” Showalter said. “You’ve just got to be who you are.”

Even with Alonso in the lineup, the Mets have struggled to score consistently. New York is 16th in the majors in runs scored.

The team also said Friday that reliever Edwin Uceta had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Uceta initially went on the IL in April with what the team called a sprained left ankle. He is expected to be out for at least an additional eight weeks.

New York recalled infielder Luis Guillorme and left-handed reliever Zach Muckenhirn from Triple-A Syracuse. The Mets sent catcher Tomás Nido to Triple-A and designated reliever Stephen Nogosek for assignment.

Nogosek is 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA in 13 games this season.