Stanton hit in face by pitch, exits on stretcher  —  Miami Marlins star outfielder Giancarlo Stanton was driven off the field in an ambulance after being hit in the face by a pitch during Thursday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers.  —  Stanton was bleeding from the face after being struck …

Happ, Blue Jays commence series with Rays in Toronto  —  The Sports Network  —  J.A. Happ wants to be like his teammates.  —  The left-hander gets a chance to prolong a stretch of recently solid starting pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night, when they host the Tampa Bay Rays …

Game Recap: Nationals 6 - Mets 2  —  Result: The Mets lost to the Nationals, 6-2, Thursday night at Citi Field.  —  Need to Know: Bartolo Colon was ejected in the fourth inning after the umpire thought Jayson Werth was hit on purpose.  Terry Collins came out to argue in favor of his pitcher and was also ejected in the process.

Red Sox beat first-place Royals in series opener  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The last-place Boston Red Sox took advantage of three critical errors by the first-place Kansas City Royals, pulling away late in a 6-3 victory Thursday night that ended a four-game losing streak.

Chris Davis Suspended 25 Games For Adderall Use  —  10:31am: Davis was indeed suspended for Adderall usage, he announced in a statement (All Twitter links to MLB.com's Britt Ghiroli): … That Davis has been suspended means that would have had to test positive twice for a banned stimulant such as Adderall.

Postseason schedule set; Fall Classic opens Oct. 21 Playoffs begin with AL Wild Card Game on Sept. 30, followed by NL game a day later  —  Major League Baseball announced the postseason schedule on Thursday, starting on Sept. 30 with the American League Wild Card Game presented by Budweiser …

Yankees' VP of baseball operations Mark Newman retiring: sources  —  BALTIMORE — According to voices inside and outside the Yankees' organization, the minor league development program will have a new leader next year, The Post has learned.  —  Mark Newman, a senior vice president …

Matt Harvey promises to be ready for Opening Day, Mets ace predicts win over Nationals on April 6  —  Harvey said that his elbow feels good and confirmed that he will end his season soon with a bullpen session, never facing batters and not throwing at 100%, as The New reported Sept. 4.

ROCKIES MANAGER WALT WEISS WON'T LET HIS PLAYERS GO ON CRUISE CONTROL  —  Rockies manager Walt Weiss occupies the dugout during a game against the Washington Nationals at Coors Field.  (The Associated Press)  —  NEW YORK — The Rockies, mercifully, were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention this week.

Duffy says left shoulder is feeling much better  —  9/6/14: Danny Duffy leaves the game with soreness in his left shoulder after throwing one pitch in the 1st inning  —  KANSAS CITY — Will Royals left-hander Danny Duffy be able to make his next start on Tuesday night against the White Sox?

BASEBALL'S NEXT BIG COMPETITIVE EDGE … Everything a front office or MLB GM does comes down to one mandate: gain a competitive edge over the other 29 teams.  This has been explored from multiple angles since baseball's inception.  Most recently, the introduction of advanced metrics …