Blue Jays Option Aaron Sanchez To Minors  —  In a surprise move, the Blue Jays have optioned one of the American League's best starters, right-hander Aaron Sanchez, to Single-A Dunedin, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet (Twitter link).  To take Sanchez's roster spot, the club recalled left …

Forsythe Homers in Return, Rays Beat Rangers 8-4  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Logan Forsythe homered after missing four games due to back spasms, and the Tampa Bay Rays took two of three from the AL West-leading Texas Rangers with an 8-4 victory on Sunday.  —  Forsythe hit an opposite-field …

How Danny Duffy became the Royals' next homegrown ace  —  The pitch began as an experiment, a curious blend of desperation and preservation, a pitcher looking for something to spark a career.  It was a quiet afternoon last October, during the early days of the American League Championship Series …

Billy Butler Injured In Clubhouse Altercation With Danny Valencia  —  9:48pm: In an update to her original story, Slusser reports that the dispute between Butler and Valencia stemmed from Butler informing “an equipment representative that Valencia had not, in fact, been wearing the spikes …

Syndergaard Outduels Samardzija in Mets' 2-0 Win Over Giants  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Noah Syndergaard and Jeurys Familia combined on a three-hitter and Yoenis Cespedes homered off Jeff Samardzija, leading the New York Mets over the San Francisco Giants 2-0 on Sunday night.

Astros To Promote Yulieski Gurriel  —  Over a month after signing him to a five-year, $47.5MM contract, the Astros will promote infielder Yulieski Gurriel to the majors Sunday, reports Julia Morales of ROOT Sports (Twitter link).  —  [RELATED: Updated Astros Depth Chart]

Marlins Activate A.J. Ramos From DL  —  The Marlins have activated closer A.J. Ramos from the 15-day disabled list and optioned right-hander Brian Ellington to Triple-A New Orleans, tweets Joe Frisaro of MLB.com.  Ramos landed on the DL Aug. 9 (retroactive to Aug. 6) with a finger injury …

Yelich Hits Early Homer as Marlins Top Pirates 3-2 for Sweep  —  PITTSBURGH — Christian Yelich homered in the first inning, Miami added a pair of unearned runs and the Marlins rallied past the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 Sunday to complete a three-game sweep.  —  Jose Urena (2-4) …

Ortiz homers after being honored to lead Red Sox past Tigers … DETROIT — The Detroit Tigers honored David Ortiz with a pregame ceremony that included two of his closest friends in baseball.  —  It didn't help.  —  Ortiz's two-run homer in the fifth inning turned out to be the difference …

Bats overcome Stephenson's struggles, delays  —  In a game that seemed like it would never end, the Louisville Bats rallied past rival Indianapolis for an 11-7 win Saturday night at Slugger Field.  —  The game started around 6 p.m. and ended just a few minutes shy of midnight, due primarily to a 2:40 minute rain delay.

Quintana Wins 10th, Abreu Homers to Lead White Sox Past A's  —  CHICAGO — Jose Quintana pitched into the eighth innings to earn a career-best 10th win and Jose Abreu homered for the second straight game to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 4-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday.

Leake Strong, Cardinals Hit 4 Homers to Rout Phillies  —  PHILADELPHIA — Mike Leake pitched seven strong innings and hit a two-run single and the St. Louis Cardinals homered four times Sunday to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 9-0.  —  Jedd Gyorko, Stephen Piscotty, Brandon Moss and Jeremy Hazelbaker went deep.