Mets prepare for emotional series in Miami after 17-0 blowout against Phillies  —  Six games remain now for the Mets to determine whether they will be returning to the playoffs, beginning with one many of them acknowledged will be an emotional and difficult night on Monday in Miami.

Mariners, Astros battle to stay alive  —  HOUSTON — Both the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners spent the afternoon on Sunday discussing math, doing so in the context of the American League wild card and their respective odds of qualifying for the playoffs with a week left in the regular season.

Red Sox set MLB record as Eduardo Rodriguez, Heath Hembree K 11 Rays in row  —  Boston Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez and right-hander Heath Hembree combined to strike out 11 consecutive batters to establish a major league-record on Sunday in a 3-2, 10-inning victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Twins To Hire Derek Falvey To Oversee Baseball Operations  —  11:43am: Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger both caution that the team's executive search “is still ongoing” (links to Twitter), and the team has, of course, yet to make an announcement on the hiring.

Vin Scully's last game at Dodger Stadium provides another storybook ending  —  LOS ANGELES — In apparent corroboration for those who assert the existence of sky-based phantoms often dubbed “baseball gods,” something really, really strange happened Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.

Washington Nationals: Bryce Harper Leaves Game With Left Hand Injury  —  The Washington Nationals continue to get big injuries as Bryce Harper left in the bottom of the third with a left hand injury  —  A day after the Washington Nationals celebrated a NL East title, they may have had another …

Led by Paulo Orlando and Eric Hosmer, Royals roar back to beat Tigers 7-4  —  DETROIT  —  After Eric Hosmer had silenced Comerica Park with one swing, and after thousands of stunned fans had streamed to the exits through the afternoon sunlight, the Royals retreated to the quiet of the visitors' clubhouse.

Rangers Reaction from Sunday's 7-1 loss  —  The hits keep coming for Adrian Beltre, who with a single and a home run Sunday continued his climb of the career hits list at the expense of some of the game's all-time greats.  —  The two hits on another wise lousy day for the Texas Rangers gave Beltre 2,937 …

Ross Helps Cubs Edge Cardinals 3-1  —  CHICAGO — David Ross homered and teamed with Jon Lester for another scoreless performance, and the Chicago Cubs hurt St. Louis' wild-card chances with 3-1 victory over the Cardinals on Sunday night.  —  Ben Zobrist had three hits and scored two runs …

Why 2016 is the Year of the Home Run  —  The Year of the Home Run is almost over, and nobody seems to realize it's the Year of the Home Run.  It's been furtive like that.  Barring a final-week onslaught, the major league leader won't reach 50.  Only six players have 40, and just one is a star, and calling him that may be a stretch.