Cardinals' Aledmys Diaz hits emotional grand slam, honors Jose Fernandez  —  ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Aledmys Diaz, grieving with his best friend's family Monday in Miami, didn't feel like getting back on that plane to St. Louis.  —  He was saying goodbye …

White Sox will retain Robin Ventura, if he wants to return  —  The Chicago White Sox have decided to retain manager Robin Ventura and will sign him to new contract providing Ventura wants to return, a high-ranking White Sox official told USA TODAY Sports.  —  The official spoke on the condition …

Cubs Extend Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer, Jason McLeod  —  3:12pm: USA Today's Bob Nightengale tweets that Epstein's contract is believed to be worth more than $50MM in total, which would make him the highest-paid baseball executive on record.  Additionally, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports …

Scherzer Finds His Form, Rendon Homers as Nats Beat D-Backs  —  WASHINGTON — Max Scherzer struck out 10 and allowed two runs in six innings and Anthony Rendon hit a go-ahead three-run homer as the Washington Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-2 on Tuesday night to inch closer to home-field advantage in the NL Division Series.

Corey Kluber has mild quadriceps strain  —  Cleveland ace Corey Kluber, who won the 2014 AL Cy Young Award and is a top contender for the honor this year, had an MRI on Tuesday in Cleveland that confirmed he has a mild quadriceps strain.  —  The Indians say his timetable for returning …

Banned Rose Appeals to Hall of Fame for Eligibility  —  COLUMBUS, Ohio — Pete Rose is appealing directly to baseball's Hall of Fame to restore his eligibility, arguing the lifetime ban he agreed to in 1989 was never intended to keep him out of Cooperstown.  —  A seven-page letter …

Posey, Pence Go Back-To-Back as Giants Beat Rockies 12-3  —  By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSSEPT. 28, 2016, 1:45 A.M. E.D.T.  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Buster Posey homered for his 1,000th hit, Hunter Pence went deep one batter later and the San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies 12-3 on Tuesday night.

Joe Maddon matching higher expectations in second year with Cubs  —  CHICAGO — Joe Maddon has a new thing.  Or an old thing that he's making new, anyway.  Flamingos.  Pink flamingos.  Five plastic ones of various detail sit on his desk and around his office in the stunning new home clubhouse under otherwise ancient Wrigley Field.

Tebow homers on first instructional league pitch  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — It was the first chance for Tim Tebow to show that everything he'd done was worth it — the change of sports, the open workout for nearly every Major League team, the ensuing media and fan circus that followed everything he did.

Marlins outfielder turned down invitation for ride on Jose Fernandez's boat  —  Marcell Ozuna remained stoic during the Marlins' first public appearance following the death of Jose Fernandez on Sunday.  —  Following Monday's game, Ozuna said he turned down an invitation from Fernandez …

Yankees Beat Red Sox 6-4, Ending Boston's Win Streak at 11  —  NEW YORK — Gary Sanchez, Didi Gregorius and Tyler Austin homered off David Price, and the New York Yankees beat the Red Sox 6-4 Tuesday night to end Boston's 11-game winning streak and delay its AL East title celebration.