Rangers' Prince Fielder may need neck surgery; Shin-Soo Choo on DL  —  Texas Rangers slugger Prince Fielder is facing the prospect of season-ending surgery after an MRI revealed a herniation of disks in his neck just above an area that was repaired two years ago.

Homer-Happy Hanley (3) Powers Boston to 11-7 Win Over Giants  —  By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSJULY 21, 2016, 12:00 A.M. E.D.T.  —  BOSTON — Hanley Ramirez told his Red Sox teammates in the dugout that he wasn't going to swing for the fences in his final at-bat.  —  It doesn't work for him that way.

Mariners, Cubs Swap Mike Montgomery, Dan Vogelbach In Four-Player Deal  —  The Cubs have long been tied to left-handed relief help, and they landed just such an asset today (although not one that many expected), announcing that the acquisition of Mike Montgomery and minor league right-hander Jordan Pries from the Mariners.

Marte Homers, Angels Sweep Rangers to Get Out of Last Place  —  By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSJULY 21, 2016, 1:21 A.M. E.D.T.  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jefry Marte hit a three-run homer and the Angels shut down a late rally by the AL West-leading Texas Rangers for a 7-4 win Wednesday night that gave Los Angeles a three-game sweep.

Pineda Pitches 6 Strong Innings, Yankees Beat Orioles 5-0  —  NEW YORK — The Yankees are finally hitting and pitching well at the same time, and that may keep these batters and hurlers together in New York for at least a little while longer.  —  Michael Pineda didn't allow a run …

Are Juiced Balls The New Steroids?  —  Maybe it was the 23 first-half homers hit by unknown outfielder Adam Duvall.  Maybe it was when Giancarlo Stanton kept making Chris Berman say “back-back-back,” or when Bartolo Colon broke into a 30.6 second trot around the bases.

Hellickson, Goeddel Lead Phillies to 4-1 Win Over Marlins  —  PHILADELPHIA — Jeremy Hellickson struck out eight in eight impressive innings, Tyler Goeddel hit a two-run homer and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Miami Marlins 4-1 on Wednesday night.  —  Hellickson (7-7) …

Games of the Day  —  The two best games take place Thursday afternoon, starting with the rubber game of the series between the Dodgers and the Nationals.  Julio Urias takes on Stephen Strasburg.  The 19-year-old rookie Urias posted a high strikeout rate so far.

Gyorko Hits 2 More HRs, Cardinals Beat Padres 3-2 for Sweep  —  ST. LOUIS — Jedd Gyorko homered for the fifth straight game off San Diego pitching, connecting twice with all three RBIs in a 3-2 victory that gave the St. Louis Cardinals a doubleheader sweep Wednesday night.

Indians, Brewers Discussing Jonathan Lucroy  —  JULY 21: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that Cleveland, above all else, is still seeking to upgrade its bullpen, downplaying the Lucroy matchup.  Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, meanwhile, tweets that …

Naquin, Carrasco Send Indians to 11-4 Romp Over Royals  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In the span of three innings, the Indians' Tyler Naquin homered to left field, sent a two-run double down the right-field line and connected on a three-run homer over the center-field wall.  —  Talk about using all fields.

The potential bombshell Cubs trade that never materialized  —  Plus Jerry Manuel's new calling and more in Ken Rosenthal's latest notes.  —  Every year before the non-waiver deadline, I write that we should expect the unexpected.  Something will happen to make our heads spin.  Something always does.