Span exits in 3rd but Nationals beat Mets 4-2  —  WASHINGTON (AP) Nationals center fielder Denard Span left in the third inning after making a diving, tumbling catch, and NL East champion Washington went on to a 4-2 victory over the New York Mets on Tuesday night.

Martinez earns win as Rangers beat Astros  —  ARLINGTON, Texas — Nick Martinez pitched 6 2-3 scoreless innings and Robinson Chirinos homered to lead the Texas Rangers to a 2-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.  —  The Rangers won their third straight and 10th of their last 11 games.

Benches empty after Bumgarner hits Puig  —  LOS ANGELES — Benches emptied in the first inning of the Los Angeles Dodgers-San Francisco Giants game Tuesday night after Madison Bumgarner hit Yasiel Puig with a pitch in the left ankle.  —  Puig lay in the dirt for a few seconds before he got …

Gibson pitches seven strong as Twins top Diamondbacks  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Kyle Gibson matched a career high with eight strikeouts, Chris Parmelee hit a two-run single after entering the game for an injured Joe Mauer, and the Minnesota Twins beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-3 on Tuesday night.

The First Slay of Pompey  —  Dalton Pompey hits his first major league home run for the Blue Jays in the bottom of the fifth against Felix Hernandez and the Mariners.  The solo shot ties the game at two.  He came into the the game just 3 for 19 with no extra base hits during his cup of coffee.

O's hold off Jeter, Yanks as Cruz belts 40th  —  Recap  —  Box Score  —  Play-By-Play  —  Photos  —  Conversation  —  Nelson Cruz lifts Orioles with 40th homer; Derek Jeter fans to end it  —  NEW YORK — Nelson Cruz hit his major league-leading 40th home run and the Baltimore …

Hitters' penchant for swinging at first pitch of an at-bat among possible causes  —  9/13/14: Brewers manager Ron Roenicke talks about his team's 5-1 loss to the Reds and assesses the struggling offense  —  PITTSBURGH — Before the reporter could finish a question about the Brewers' recent …

Pirates edge Braves to clinch at least an NL wild-card berth  —  ATLANTA — Gerrit Cole retired the final 17 hitters he faced, and the surging Pittsburgh Pirates clinched a spot in the playoffs with a 3-2 win over the free-falling Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night.

Cueto, Reds push Brewers to brink of playoff elimination  —  CINCINNATI, Ohio — Johnny Cueto kept his hopes of a 20-win season in play, and Todd Frazier and Devin Mesoraco hit back-to-back homers on Tuesday night, sending the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-1 victory that pushed the Milwaukee Brewers …

Cabrera's RBI single lifts Tigers over White Sox  —  DETROIT - Miguel Cabrera's RBI single in the bottom of the ninth lifted the Detroit Tigers to a key 4-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night.  —  The win kept Detroit a game ahead of Kansas City atop the American League Central …

Wally Backman could join Terry Collins' Mets coaching staff full-time in 2015: source  —  Backman, the team's Triple-A manager, could be Collins' third base coach if the team moves Tim Teufel off of third and into the role of hitting coach.  ‘There was some talk about it,’ a source said.