Top News:
David Schoenfield / ESPN:
Trevor Story is pushing Javier Baez in crowded NL MVP race — The Rockies pretty much buried the Diamondbacks with a 10-3 victory at Coors Field on Thursday to take three out of four in the series. Back on Aug. 22, the Diamondbacks led the NL West by 1 1/2 games and FanGraphs gave …
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Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:
Kris Bryant helps Cubs come through in crucial game against Nationals — Chicago Tribune — Kris Bryant called Thursday's game “kind of a must-win” before it started, and the Cubs came with a 4-3 nail-biter in 10 innings to gain a half game on the idle Brewers.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
The Brewers' magic number is down to 12; here's who to cheer against the rest of the way — The Milwaukee Brewers' “magic number” to earn a spot in the 2018 playoffs is down to 12 after a win over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. That's only part of the story - the team also finds itself within …
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News … and True Blue LA
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Jesse Rogers / ESPN:
Cubs know Brewers are coming for them as NL Central tightens
Cubs know Brewers are coming for them as NL Central tightens
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News …, Brew Crew Ball, Bleacher Nation and MLB Daily Dish
Mark Gonzales / Chicago Tribune:
Time for Cubs to pull out all the stops in NL Central race
Time for Cubs to pull out all the stops in NL Central race
Discussion:
Bleed Cubbie Blue and Federal Baseball
Michael Kelly / Associated Press:
Arenado, Story homer to help Rockies beat Diamondbacks 10-3 — DENVER (AP) - Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story homered, Kyle Freeland pitched effectively into the seventh, and the Colorado Rockies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-3 on Thursday to extend their NL West lead.
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News … and baseballmusings.com
Rob Longley / Toronto Sun:
Fenway farce: Blue Jays swept away in Beantown thanks to Solarte error — BOSTON - Fenway Park, cloaked in all its historic and old-school splendour, has been a disaster for the Blue Jays this season in almost every way related to the box score. — In the midst of their worst season in almost a decade …
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Daily Record:
Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka or J.A. Happ: Who starts New York Yankees' wild-card game? — Yankees manager Aaron Boone discusses Luis Severino's start prior to game vs. Twins at Minnesota on Wednesday Pete Caldera, Staff Writer, @pcaldera — NEW YORK - Open casting continues …
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Arizona Republic:
Game Day: Diamondbacks visit Houston to take on defending World Series champion Astros — The Arizona Diamondbacks hit the road for a critical series against the defending World Series champions, the Houston Astros. Stay with this page for pitching matchups, scoring updates and more.
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News …
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Andy Clayton / New York Daily News:
David Wright will be activated for the Mets' final homestand, will start at third base on Sept. 29 — David Wright will get to wear a major-league uniform one more time. Then the captain is done with baseball. — The Mets announced Thursday that Wright will be activated on Sept. 25 …
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ESPN:
A's starter Trevor Cahill scratched with strained muscle in back — The surging Oakland Athletics won't have Trevor Cahill on the mound Saturday. — The right-hander had been scratched from his scheduled start at Tampa Bay with a rhomboid (upper back) muscle strain. — Cahill has returned to Oakland for an MRI.
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Rick Hummel / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cardinals notes: Molina recovers enough to play — Yadier Molina, hardly the fleetest of players, ran his way into the Cardinals' lineup Thursday night with his pre-game work. Molina, recovering from a strained left hamstring, showed manager Mike Shildt and head athletic trainer Adam Olsen enough …
Joe Reedy / MLB Baseball News, Scores …:
Cruz, Leake lead Mariners to 8-2 victory over Angels — Mike Leake pitched seven strong innings and the — Seattle Mariners started an 11-game road trip with an 8-2 victory over the Los Angeles — Angels on Thursday night. — Cruz's three-run shot to center field in the fourth inning …
Discussion:
Lookout Landing
Associated Press:
Baseball notebook: Cubs' Rizzo wears uniform on team flight — Cubs' Rizzo wears uniform on team flight — Unusual scheduling spawned even more atypical travel attire for Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo. — The three-time All-Star wore a uniform, complete with a blue jersey and gray pants …
David Schoenfield / ESPN:
Why this AL race is the best MVP race ever — Here's the hypothesis: The American League MVP race is arguably the greatest MVP race ever. — Here's the evidence: We already have six position players with a WAR of 7.0 or higher, plus a seventh candidate who is merely chasing a Triple Crown.
Alden Gonzalez / ESPN:
'He's addicted to winning': Clayton Kershaw's battle to remain elite — LOS ANGELES — It was the onset of spring training in 2015, Andrew Friedman's first as the Los Angeles Dodgers' president of baseball operations. “Player plan” meetings — basically, an analytics session with players, coaches and executives — were being held.
Discussion:
Viva El Birdos and DodgerBlue.com
Mike DiGiovanna / Los Angeles Times:
Angels' Mike Trout makes a push toward his first Gold Glove award — For all of Mike Trout's individual honors — two American League most valuable player awards, AL rookie of the year, five Silver Slugger awards, seven All-Star Game selections and two All-Star Game MVPs …
Discussion:
McCovey Chronicles
Marlowe Alter / Detroit Free Press:
Detroit Tigers' Casey Mize will be top-10 prospect in MLB, analyst says — Who are Detroit's next batch of star athletes? We looked at the rosters of the Lions, Tigers, Red Wings and Pistons, and came up with a ranking of who could become our city's next big talent.