Yankees, A's look to set tone in likely wild-card preview  —  OAKLAND, Calif. — Now that the calendar has turned to the final month of the regular season, brace yourself: The postseason push is about to get more intense, more serious and, most of all, more fun.

Red Sox to call up veteran infielder Brandon Phillips on Tuesday  —  The Boston Red Sox will call up veteran infielder Brandon Phillips on Tuesday.  —  Phillips signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox in late June and has played in 38 games with Triple-A Pawtucket …

Springer, Astros beat Angels 4-2 in Ohtani's pitching return  —  Houston starter Gerrit Cole (13-5) allowed six hits and two runs in 5 2/3 innings for his third straight win after losing three in a row.  —  HOUSTON — George Springer hit a two-run homer and finished a triple shy of the cycle …

Rays ride 3 RBI from rookie Brandon Lowe to topple Indians 6-4  —  Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash is excited about how his team is playing.  The only thing missing for the Rays: a clear path to the playoffs.  —  Rookie Brandon Lowe homered and drove in three runs, and the Rays hung …

Brewers lead Cubs 2-1 in 7th  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Javier Baez continued his flare for dramatic moments Monday, but the Cubs will need more heroics as they trail the Brewers 2-1 entering the bottom of the seventh inning in a National League Central showdown at Miller Park.

Surging Dodgers take crack at Mets ace deGrom  —  LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers recent tendency to score late and win often will probably have to continue Monday, whether they want to operate that way or not.  —  The reason is they are facing New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom …

Up next  —  San Diego Padres  —  Padres update: Though they're in last place and on pace for nearly 100 losses, the Padres have had a chance to impact the National League West race with their head-to-head play.  They dropped three of four to the Diamondbacks in mid-August, then lost series to the Rockies and Dodgers.

Last Slide  —  The Diamondbacks are adding a power-armed reinforcement to their bullpen on Monday, promoting prospect Yoan Lopez from Double-A Jackson.  He is expecting to be with the team for Monday evening's game against the San Diego Padres.  —  Lopez has had an impressive season …

Louisville Bats' Iribarren plays all nine positions in season finale  —  Long-time Louisville Bats utility player Hernan Iribarren ended the season on Monday with a little bit of baseball history.  —  The 34-year-old from Venezuela played all nine positions in the Bats' 4- loss …

Gwinnett Stripers finish season above .500 for first time since 2015  —  The Gwinnett Stripers ended the season Monday with a 6-1 loss to the Charlotte Knights at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville, to finish above .500 for the first time since 2015.  —  Gwinnett left-hander Corbin Clouse got …

Joe Maddon: Ben Zobrist deserves the NL Comeback Player of Year honor  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Matt Kemp hit a game-winning three-run home run and a two-run walkoff double in consecutive games this weekend.  —  But Cubs manager Joe Maddon stopped short of anointing the Dodgers outfielder …

Tyler Chatwood faces an uncertain offseason: 'He doesn't know where the ball is going right now'  —  Manager Joe Maddon on Tyler Chatwood's return to the Cubs on Sept. 3, 2018.  (Mark Gonzales/Chicago Tribune)  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Manager Joe Maddon admits he doesn't have any immediate answers …

Norris' blown save leads to another tumble in the 10th for Cardinals  —  Harper ties games with homer in the ninth, wins 4-3 with sacrifice fly in the 10th innings.  Also: Adam Wainwright, who has been on the disabled list with an elbow

Marlins 3, Phillies 1: Offense stuck on 1 run as trip vs. bottom of NL East starts with loss  —  Phillies' offense continued its September disappearing act in a 3-1 loss to the  —  Miami Marlins on Monday afternoon.  —  The Phillies are 0-3 in September.  They have scored one run in each game.

Last Slide  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Noah Syndergaard stopped worrying about his mechanics and focused on making pitches.  —  In doing so, the New York Mets right-hander might have solved one of the biggest issues that has plagued him most of the year.  —  Syndergaard pitched a two-hitter …