Tyler Clippard tabbed as closer after White Sox trade top two relievers  —  New arrival Tyler Clippard will be the White Sox's closer.  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Tyler Clippard arrived for his first day in a White Sox uniform and manager Rick Renteria wasted little time giving him the pressing news.

DeGrom wins seventh straight start, Mets top Cardinals 7-3 (Jul 19, 2017)  —  NEW YORK (AP) Staked to an early lead, Jacob deGrom pitched into the seventh inning and won his career-best seventh straight start as the Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-3 on Wednesday.

Pomeranz, Pedroia strong in Boston's 5-1 win over Blue Jays (Jul 19, 2017)  —  BOSTON (AP) Dustin Pedroia drove in three, Drew Pomeranz pitched three-hit ball into the seventh inning and the Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 on Wednesday night.  —  Pomeranz (10-4) …

Bartolo Colón told me that he has been considering retirement and that his next start against the Dodgers could be a determining factor in making a decision.  —  Read more on ESPN

Montgomery homers as Cubs beat Braves 8-2 for 6th straight (Jul 19, 2017)  —  ATLANTA (AP) Mike Montgomery hit his first home run and allowed two hits and one run in six innings to lead the streaking Chicago Cubs to an 8-2 win over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday.

Phillies total season-high 20 hits, beat Marlins  —  MIAMI (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies began slowly this season and then got worse, which made their fast start on Wednesday a surprise.  —  First pitch was at 12:10 p.m. and the Phillies were ready, scoring twice in the first inning …

Gausman sharp on mound as Orioles overpower Rangers 10-2 (Jul 19, 2017)  —  BALTIMORE (AP) Kevin Gausman pitched six innings of four-hit ball, Adam Jones homered and scored three runs and the Baltimore Orioles beat the faltering Texas Rangers 10-2 on Wednesday night.

Angels put stolen base leader Cameron Maybin on DL with MCL sprain  —  The Los Angeles Angels have officially placed AL stolen base leader Cameron Maybin on the 10-day disabled list with an MCL sprain in his right knee and recalled right-hander Alex Meyer from Triple-A Salt Lake.

Beltre to GM Daniels: Rangers are buyers, not sellers  —  BALTIMORE  —  The Texas Rangers, the future Hall of Famer said, do not need to be sellers at the July 31 trade deadline, but in order to convince Jon Daniels of that, the team needs to start winning more games.

Reds not shopping long-term pieces, but listening is free  —  In the last calendar year, the Cincinnati Reds have made two trades that involved major-league assets.  They represent dramatically different approaches that the organization could take as the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline approaches.

Braves Telling Teams They Will Likely Keep Matt Adams  —  The Braves are informing rival organizations that they expect to hold onto first baseman Matt Adams through the trade deadline, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports on Twitter.  —  Adams has generally been viewed as a plausible trade chip …

JaCoby Jones passed over for Jim Adduci to fill Detroit Tigers OF void … KANSAS CITY, Mo. - JaCoby Jones was not considered for a promotion following the trade of J.D. Martinez.  —  The Detroit Tigers opted instead to recall Jim Adduci from Triple-A Toledo.

Rumor Central: Correa injury won't change Astros' deadline plans  —  All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa will be sidelined up to eight weeks with a torn ligament in his left thumb, but the Houston Astros have no plans to deal for a position player, reports Hunter Atkins and Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle.

Report: Rangers interested in trading catcher Jonathan Lucroy  —  The Texas Rangers could be looking to trade catcher Jonathan Lucroy, according to a report from ESPN Wednesday afternoon.  —  According to EPSN and MLB.com the Rangers are interested in acquiring bullpen help or a young starting pitcher for Lucroy.

Posey's pinch hit powers Giants past Indians 5-4 … Buster Posey pinch hit a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the eighth inning as the  —  Cleveland Indians 5-4 on Wednesday.  —  Posey, on a scheduled rest day, doubled off the wall on a 3-2 slider on the seventh offering from Indians reliever Bryan Shaw (2-4).

Yoan Moncada could ‘feel excitement’ from White Sox fans about call-up  —  White Sox second baseman Yoan Moncada talks about being called up to the majors.  (Colleen Kane/Chicago Tribune)  —  Chicago Tribune  —  As Yoan Moncada rode with Jose Abreu from O'Hare Airport to the South Side on Wednesday …

LEADING OFF: Bryant's pinkie problem, MadBum back in SF  —  A look at what's happening all around the majors Thursday:  —  The Cubs are hopeful that NL MVP Kris Bryant won't miss much time after he sprained his left pinkie during a headfirst slide in Wednesday's win over Atlanta.

Reds' Devin Mesoraco returns from DL  —  Devin Mesoraco's rehab stint in Louisville was brief, ending after two games when the Reds activated the catcher for Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks.  —  Mesoraco, who was placed on the disabled list on July 3 with a left shoulder injury …