Bautista Becomes 10th Active Player with 300 Career Home Runs

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista hit the 300th home run of his career during the third inning of Tuesday's 2-1 win over the Houston Astros, becoming the 10th active player with 300 or more homers, per Sportsnet Stats.

Bautista's line-drive shot over the left field fence broke a scoreless tie, accounting for one of the two runs Toronto managed against Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers, who was removed after just 4.2 innings due to what was later diagnosed as a mild elbow sprain, per Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle.

Tuesday's game could end up being a turning point in the American League wild-card race, as the Blue Jays eked out a one-run victory against a team they may battle for a playoff spot down the stretch, while the Astros will now be without the previously red-hot McCullers for at least a couple of weeks.

In any case, Bautista now ranks 10th on the all-time home runs list among active players, trailing Alex Rodriguez (696), Albert Pujols (580), David Ortiz (528), Miguel Cabrera (432), Adrian Beltre (429), Carlos Beltran (414), Mark Teixeira (403), Ryan Howard (371) and Prince Fielder (319).

Adrian Gonzalez (299) and Edwin Encarnacion (297) figure to join the 300-homer club in the coming weeks, with Matt Holliday (293) also having a shot to get there by the end of the season.

In addition to his standing among active players, Bautista is just the 10th Dominican-born player in MLB history to reach 300 home runs, though he'll undoubtedly be joined by long-time teammate Encarnacion soon enough, per Sportsnet Stats.