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 …

Royals remove Kelvin Herrera as closer, go with committee  —  Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost on Friday said he's removed Kelvin Herrera, who blew a save Thursday, from the closer's role.  —  Herrera gave up two runs on two hits in the eighth inning of Friday's 8-5 loss to the Twins …

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 …

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 …

Jose Reyes makes case to stick with Mets, but will it be enough?  —  Jose Reyes (right) celebrates with Seth Lugo after Reyes hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning of the Mets' 5-1 win over the Reds on Friday.  —  MORE FROM: … As teammates were scurrying in and out of the Mets' clubhouse Friday …

Detroit Tigers turn triple play in Toronto; the first by team since 2001  —  The Detroit Tigers turned a triple play in the sixth inning of tonight's game against the Blue Jays in Toronto.  —  With a run in and runners on first and second, Drew VerHagen entered the game to replace Buck Farmer on the mound.

Jimmy Nelson Out For Season  —  The Brewers announced that Jimmy Nelson will miss the rest of the season with a right rotator cuff strain and a partial anterior labrum tear.  General manager David Stearns said Saturday that it's unclear whether Nelson will require surgery …

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.

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.

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.

Aroldis Chapman will be back in the closer role for Yankees Saturday  —  ARLINGTON, Texas - Aroldis Chapman will have a chance to lock down the closer's role again, and will likely close for the Yankees on Saturday if the situation arises.  —  “If we had a closer situation today, I'd probably use Chappy,” Joe Girardi said.

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.

Orioles on deck: What to watch Saturday at Indians  —  The Orioles lose to the Yankees, 9-1.  (Denise Sanders, Baltimore Sun video)  —  Orioles manager Buck Showalter talks about beating the Yankees, 7-6.  (Kenneth K. Lam, Baltimore Sun video)  —  Orioles (71-70) vs. Indians (85-56)

Tanks for Something: Sliding Mets need to lose to win in draft  —  As the injuries keep coming, the depleted and overmatched Mets could very well wind up with their worst record since 2003, when they finished 66-95 and began to convince Fred Wilpon that maybe Art Howe didn't light up the room so much, after all.