Nationals hit 8 HRs to blast Brewers 15-2 (Jul 27, 2017)  —  WASHINGTON (AP) The Washington Nationals staged their own version of the Home Run Derby, with Michael Blazek serving as the unwilling batting practice pitcher.  —  Washington tied a franchise record with eight homers and matched …

Pace of play remains a big issue  —  With the span of 72 hours, only some of which seemed far longer than others, the Cardinals played in two games that captured baseball's struggle with the clock.  —  On Monday, the Cardinals and Colorado Rockies experimented with shorter breaks between innings …

Year removed from rookie ball, Aaron Bummer joins bare White Sox bullpen  —  White Sox reliever Aaron Bummer on being promoted from Triple-A Charlotte on Thursday, July 27, 2017.  (Colleen Kane/Chicago Tribune)  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Aaron Bummer said he was wearing a dumbfounded smile …

Cubs offense is starting to perk up, meet manager Joe Maddon's standards  —  Cubs manager Joe Maddon weighs in on players scoreboard watching on Thursday, July 27, 2017.  (Mark Gonzales/Chicago Tribune)  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Manager Joe Maddon is fond of praising his Cubs offense for adding “jug” runs late in games.

Curtis Granderson tried to physically stop Lucas Duda from leaving the clubhouse after trade  —  The New York Mets are obvious sellers at the trade deadline, and the team has already started to make some moves ... even if Curtis Granderson tried to stop it.  —  The Mets traded Lucas Duda …

Contending teams thrive off MLB trade deadline deals  —  ST. LOUIS — The sound of the showers hitting the tile floor in the Colorado Rockies' visiting clubhouse at Busch Stadium was deafening.  —  The Rockies, one of baseball's most surprising teams with their kiddie corps rotation …

Column Note to Dodgers: It's OK to trade prospects to give your team a chance to win it all  —  Texas Rangers starting pitcher Yu Darvish walks by catcher Jonathan Lucroy after giving up a bases-clearing triple to the Miami Marlins' Marcell Ozuna July 26.  (Tony Gutierrez / Associated Press Photo)

Rangers' Adrian Beltre on the brink of 3,000th career hit  —  ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Adrian Beltre just wanted to work hard, be consistent and earn respect in the game.  As a young player, he never even thought about historical numbers like 3,000 hits.  —  “Never in my mind …

Pitcher Tom Eshelman will remain on the disabled list for the IronPigs  —  Lehigh Valley IronPigs righthander Tom Eshelman threw a side session on Tuesday but felt discomfort as he battles back from a strained right hip flexor.  Lehigh Valley manager Dusty Wathem said Eshelman will remain on the disabled list and skip his next start.

MLB: Derek Dietrich's 3 RBIs lead Miami Marlins over Cincinnati Reds  —  MIAMI — Derek Dietrich hit a solo homer and drove in three runs, and rookie left-hander Chris O'Grady pitched seven scoreless innings to lead the Miami Marlins to a 4-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Marlins Park.

Indians top Angels 2-1; Bauer, Lindor key 7th straight win (Jul 27, 2017)  —  CLEVELAND (AP) Trevor Bauer pitched a season-high eight innings, Francisco Lindor singled to break a tie in the seventh and the Cleveland Indians won their seventh straight game Thursday with a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

MLB: Different eras to come together at Hall of Fame induction  —  There will be plenty of reminders, even some imperfect ones, of baseball's ability to connect different eras on Sunday afternoon, when a quintet of men — former players Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Ivan Rodriguez …

Dodgers call up catcher Kyle Farmer  —  Catcher Kyle Farmer, left, warms up with other Dodgers players at the start of spring training on Feb. 22.  Farmer has been called up from triple A.  (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)  —  This has been quite a year for Alex Wood.

Twins send catcher Murphy to D-backs for left-hander Moya  —  PHOENIX (AP) — The Minnesota Twins are sending Triple-A catcher John Ryan Murphy to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Double-A left-hander Gabriel Moya.  —  The deal agreed to Thursday was pending physicals for both players.

Royals linked to Toronto's Francisco Liriano as trade deadline looms  —  On Tuesday evening, a pair of relievers skipped down a long flight of stairs and appeared inside the first-base dugout at Comerica Park.  In their first moments as Royals, as the bottom of the second against the Detroit Tigers played …