Real or Not?  Shohei Ohtani gives Mike Trout a birthday blast  —  Mike Trout sat out on his birthday party, so Shohei Ohtani partied all on his own.  Trout was on hand for the Los Angeles Angels' 11-5 win over the Detroit Tigers on the 27th anniversary of his birth, but for the first time in his MLB career …

Rich Hill pitches Dodgers past his former A's club 4-2  —  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Rich Hill played just long enough for the Oakland Athletics two years ago to get a feel for how they can come back when it's close and win in the late innings, a signature of his former club this season.

Andujar hit, Gray relief lift Yankees over White Sox in 13  —  CHICAGO (AP) A couple of costly errors at third base over the weekend contributed to Miguel Andujar being the designated hitter the last two games.  —  There's no issue with the 23-year-old's bat, though.

Signs of life from offense  —  It started on Monday night, with better at-bats, some walks, and continued into the first inning against left-hander Andrew Heaney.  The Tigers knocked Heaney around back in May, and were all over him again.  Iglesias and Nicholas Castellanos singled and then Candelario doubled to open the scoring.

Mets looking to limit how often Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo pitch  —  NEW YORK — Mets manger Mickey Callaway said the team is installing rules regarding how often Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo pitch down the stretch.  —  The former starters are on pace to throw at least 90 innings this season.

Braves beat Nationals 3-1 to salvage split after 8-3 defeat  —  WASHINGTON — Not too many teams locked in a pennant race get excited about a doubleheader split.  —  That wasn't the case with the  —  Atlanta Braves, who were absolutely delighted after  —  Ender Inciarte snapped …

Pivetta, Williams lead Phillies past Diamondbacks 5-2  —  PHOENIX  —  Nick Pivetta threw six scoreless innings, Nick Williams homered and the Philadelphia Phillies bounced back from their marathon loss the previous night to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-2 on Tuesday night.

Red Sox analyst Jerry Remy again diagnosed with cancer  —  TORONTO (AP) - Boston Red Sox television analyst Jerry Remy is again battling cancer.  —  NESN announced Remy's latest diagnosis in a statement Tuesday.  The network says “at this time, Jerry's focus is on his medical treatment.”

Does everything Javier Baez brings add up to an MVP?  —  KANSAS CITY — It's a topic gaining momentum, at least in Chicago, where you can't turn on a sports-radio talk show without someone claiming that Chicago Cubs All-Star infielder Javier Baez is the leading candidate for National League MVP honors.

White's 2-run HR in 8th lifts Astros over Giants 2-1  —  The win followed the Astros' 3-1 victory Monday night in which Marwin Gonzalez hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth.  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Tyler White hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning and the Houston Astros pulled off …

Fernando Rodney K's Francisco Lindor to end Minnesota Twins' 3-2 win over Cleveland Indians  —  Cleveland managed only two hits through seven innings, but were able to claw back to within one run of the Twins.  —  CLEVELAND (AP) - Fernando Rodney struck out Francicso Lindor with the tying run …

King Felix falters again for Mariners against Rangers  —  ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Felix Hernandez briefly looked like the ace he used to be for the Seattle Mariners, even playfully pointing former teammate Adrian Beltre back to the dugout after striking out baseball's active career hits leader.

Breaking down Jacoby Ellsbury's burdensome $153 million Yankees contract  —  Jacoby Ellsbury, who hasn't touched the field for the Yankees since Game 4 of the 2017 ALCS, will miss the entire 2018 season after undergoing hip surgery Monday.  —  The 34-year-old signed with the Bombers …

Pitching coach Jim Hickey senses Cubs hurlers turning corner on high walk rates  —  Chicago Tribune  —  As frustrating as it was for Jim Hickey to watch his pitchers struggle to limit their high walk rates, the Cubs pitching coach senses there will soon be better days ahead.

Adames hits solo HR with 2 outs in 9th, Rays top Orioles 4-3  —  Willy Adames hit a solo home run with two outs in the ninth inning, giving the  —  Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night.  —  Adames' fifth home run of the season came off  —  Miguel Castro (2-6).

Jason Vargas puts Mets in tough spot early and they can't recover after rain delay as Reds prevail, 6-1  —  Jason Vargas didn't last long, but this time it wasn't his own fault.  At least not entirely.  —  And maybe the torrential downpour in Flushing saved him from allowing a flood of runs in yet another outing.