Why Urena hitting Acuna needs to be a wake-up call for MLB  —  Headhunting, knockdowns, chin music, brushbacks, rib-roasting — the practice has been around so long, there are all sorts of terms for it.  In the 21st century, there is only word we need: unacceptable.

NL Cy Young race likely will be a battle between NL East aces  —  Jacob deGrom on his outing in the 2-1 loss to Atlanta Matt Ehalt, Staff Writer, @MattEhalt  —  With the season winding down, the top candidates are starting to emerge in the awards races.  Several should come down to the wire.

The many sides of Joe Maddon: The best moments from ‘The Joe Show’  —  Photos of Joe Maddon, the 2015 NL Manager of the Year.  —  Chicago Tribune  —  It's difficult to contemplate life without Joe Maddon, but one day he'll be gone and we'll all have a lot less to talk about.

Texas Rangers turn rare triple play vs. Los Angeles Angels not seen in 106 years  —  The 2017 World Series teams are struggling with injuries and depth.  Can they make it back to the postseason?  USA TODAY Sports  —  CONNECT  —  The sixth triple play in Texas Rangers team history turned out to be an incredibly rare one.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Carlos Gomez tossed a ball with phone number on it to female fan at Yankee Stadium  —  Even from the dugout, Carlos Gomez plays the field.  —  During the Tampa Bay Rays' visit to the Bronx this week to play the Yankees, the 32-year-old outfielder found time to hit …

Harper drives in 3, Nationals snap skid, beat Cardinals 5-4  —  ST. LOUIS (AP) Koda Glover rewarded his manager's faith.  —  Bryce Harper had three hits and drove in three runs, Glover earned the save in the first opportunity since Ryan Madson was placed on the disabled list …

Forsythe gets 5 hits, Twins outslug Tigers in 15-8 win  —  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) All that Logan Forsythe has done since arriving in Minnesota is get hits.  —  The veteran infielder joined the Twins at the beginning of August in a trade that sent popular second baseman Brian Dozier to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Recapping the slam: An oral history of David Bote's big blast  —  PITTSBURGH — It'll be a night they'll tell their grandkids about, especially Chicago Cubs rookie David Bote.  Last Sunday, on national television, Bote hit the only walk-off grand slam in baseball history in which a team …

Joey Votto (leg bruise) moved to 10-day DL  —  The Cincinnati Reds have placed first baseman Joey Votto on the 10-day disabled list with a right lower leg contusion, the team announced Friday.  —  Votto suffered the injury nearly two weeks ago when he was hit by a pitch from the Washington Nationals' Ryan Madson on Aug. 4.

Lester, Happ combine to lead Cubs to 1-0 win over Pirates  —  Jon Lester pitched six innings to win for the first time in just over a month and  —  Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0 on Thursday night.  —  Lester (13-5) allowed five hits, struck out eight and had no walks while improving to 3-1 against the Pirates this season.

Mets Set Franchise Mark With 24 Runs  —  PHILADELPHIA — Jose Bautista hit a grand slam and had a career-high seven runs batted in, and the Mets set a franchise record for runs as they forced the Phillies to use two position players for the final three innings of a 24-4 victory in the first game of a doubleheader Thursday.

How Billy Beane rediscovered his mad scientist genius at the Oakland A's  —  The club's sudden and unexpected upturn is a serious threat to American League powerhouses, and confirmation of one man's skills  —  Billy Beane, the executive VP of baseball operations and resident mad scientist …

Royals manager Ned Yost: The young guys will play in season's final six weeks  —  For four-plus seasons, filling out a lineup card was a relatively easy chore for Royals manager Ned Yost.  There was a consistency to the nine names, even if they occasionally changed order.  —  That has slowly evaporated in 2018.