Donaldson Homers Again, Blue Jays Beat Orioles 5-1  —  BALTIMORE — Josh Donaldson hit his fourth homer in two days and Jose Bautista also went deep in support of Marco Estrada, leading the Toronto Blue Jays over the Baltimore Orioles 5-1 on Monday night.  —  Toronto leads third-place Baltimore by four games in the AL East.

Gee, Escobar Lead Red-Hot Royals to 8-5 Win Over Yankees  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Dillon Gee kept the Royals' momentum going with six sharp innings, Alcides Escobar hit a three-run homer and Kansas City beat the New York Yankees 8-5 on Monday night to open their three-game set.

Cubs star Kris Bryant has a chance to be a very unique MVP  —  Bryant's versatility makes him a rare breed.  —  Jonathan Daniel  —  Shall we call him Kris “The Man” Bryant?  —  Heaven forbid, it might offend the Best Fans in Baseball, who would consider it sacrilege to bestow upon Bryant …

Kipnis' Single in 10th Gives Indians 1-0 Win Over  —  CLEVELAND — Jason Kipnis' 10th-inning single scored Chris Gimenez and gave the Cleveland Indians a 1-0 victory over Minnesota on Monday night, the Twins' 11th straight loss.  —  Kipnis lined a 1-0 pitch from Brandon Kintzler (0-1) …

Mondesi's triple keys big inning, Royals beat Red Sox 10-4 … BOSTON — The Kansas City Royals keep finding different sources for timely hits during a red-hot August.  —  Raul Mondesi hit a bases-loaded triple and Eric Hosmer added a two-run single during an eight-run sixth inning …

Royals Acquire Daniel Nava  —  The Royals have acquired outfielder Daniel Nava from the Angels for a player to be named later or cash, the club announced.  Nava will head to Triple-A Omaha.  —  Nava, 33, has spent the last month at the highest level of the minors after previously losing his roster spot with the Halos.

Dave Dombrowski doesn't sound optimistic Jonathan Papelbon will be option for Red Sox  —  The Jonathan Papelbon Watch has lingered for most of August, and figures to continue to do so until the end of the month.  —  But with Papelbon still not choosing to sign with a team since his release …

Hey, ump!  Why'd you eject that player or manager?  —  The pitch is called a strike, and suddenly a player or manager is in the umpire's face, gesturing and shouting ferociously.  How the ump reacts depends on several factors, including the exact verbiage used.

Drew Stubbs Rejects Outright Assignment From Rangers  —  The Rangers announced this afternoon that outfielder Drew Stubbs has rejected an outright assignment to Triple-A following his recent DFA.  The 31-year-old has been placed on irrevocable waivers and will be a free agent if he clears.

Kevin Cash frustrated by Rays' fundamental flaws  —  Chris Archer avoided tying the team record of 18 losses, and the Rays avoided a rare sweep that would have dropped them back under .500 post-All-Star break with a 10-4 win Sunday over the contending Astros.

Red Sox seeking base stealing threat off bench, Yoan Moncada in mix  —  One of the features of the Red Sox' September and October rosters in recent years has been having a player who can come off the bench and be a base stealing threat.  —  In 2004 that was Dave Roberts and in 2013 it was Quintin Berry.

Arenado Homers Among 4 Hits to Power Rockies Past  —  WASHINGTON — If the Colorado Rockies faced contenders like the Washington Nationals more often, they might also be in the playoff race.  —  Nolan Arenado went 4 for 4, including his 35th home run and a triple, and drove in three runs …