Nicasio shines in Cardinals' debut  —  Juan Nicasio made quite the initial impression Friday night at Busch Stadium.  —  In his Cardinal debut and pitching against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team he competed for through most of the last two seasons, Nicasio came up with a highlight-reel defensive play …

Rockies beat Dodgers 5-4, hand LA 8th straight loss  —  LOS ANGELES  —  Yu Darvish couldn't ease the Los Angeles Dodgers' woes any more than ace Clayton Kershaw.  —  A night after the Rockies jumped on Kershaw in a 9-1 victory, Darvish was tagged for all their runs in Colorado's 5-4 victory Friday night …

Rosario Drives In 4 To Lead Twins Over Royals 8-5  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — With the start Eddie Rosario gave Minnesota, manager Paul Molitor was hoping to for an easier win.  This time of year, of course, he'll take it.  —  Rosario homered and drove in four runs over the first four innings …

With latest loss, Yankees still wondering where Masahiro Tanaka fits in playoff plans  —  ARLINGTON, Texas — The Yankees handed $22 million pitcher Masahiro Tanaka a four-run lead on Friday night.  And for that amount of money, Tanaka should've been able to take it from there …

Tigers' total team effort turns first triple play since 2001, vs. Toronto  —  Justin Verlander's 13-year stint with the Detroit Tigers was nothing short of remarkable.  We look back at the right-handed ace's MLB career thus far as he moves on to the Houston Astros.  Video produced by Brian Manzullo, DFP.

Mets finally put it all together when it doesn't matter  —  Jose Reyes celebrates his third-inning home run, the first of two blasts he hit Friday in the Mets' 5-1 win over the Reds.  —  Robert Sabo … This is how the Mets were supposed to win this year: strong starting pitching and power.

MLB notes: Rays-Yankees series moved to New York's Citi Field  —  The Tampa Bay Rays, who opened their stadium to the Astros and Rangers after Hurricane Harvey, will now be the guests of the New York Mets.  —  Major League Baseball announced that Citi Field will host what was supposed to be a Yankees at Rays series that starts Monday.

Leake stopped: Seattle snaps 3-game skid, beats Angels 4-3  —  It was almost eerie how the beginning of Mike Leake's second start for the Seattle Mariners mirrored his first.  —  A shaky first inning was followed by six innings of strong pitching and ultimately a needed victory to help Seattle stay …

Arizona Diamondbacks' Paul Goldschmidt out of the lineup but his elbow is improving … When the doors to the Diamondbacks' clubhouse opened at 2:15 p.m. Friday reporters immediately flocked to the wall where the team's lineup is electronically posted every day.  —  Only this time, there was no lineup.

Jed Lowrie hits game-ending single as A's top Astros 9-8  —  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Houston's Josh Reddick has seen enough walkoff Oakland wins from his time with the Athletics that he knows no lead is necessarily safe.  —  Even after his go-ahead double in the ninth inning Friday night.

AL Wild-Card Standings  —  2017 Overview  —  One of the most crowded postseason races in baseball history could go right down to the last day of the season—and maybe beyond.  While the Yankees have managed to hold on to a small edge, at least seven other teams are lingering with realistic hopes of making it to October.

Irma could force Marlins to extend road trip  —  ATLANTA  —  The baseball calendar has the Marlins returning home at the end of next week to face the Brewers.  —  Hurricane Irma could dictate otherwise.  —  Some players are bracing for the possibility their road trip to Atlanta …

With 7-2 loss to Giants, White Sox gain ground in race to the bottom  —  White Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito reacts after his ejection and outing in the 9-2 loss to the Giants on Friday, Sept. 8, 2017.  (Chris Kuc/Chicago Tribune)  —  Chicago Tribune