Column: Cubs need unlikely leader to emerge from bullpen  —  Chicago Tribune  —  For context on the quandary that is the Cubs bullpen, consider that the defending World Series champion Astros closed out their two most important games last season without a pitcher whose primary purpose was to get the final three outs.

Yankees activate Aaron Judge from DL, but will be limited  —  Check back for updates  —  The New York Yankees activated Aaron Judge before Friday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays.  —  However, Judge will be limited to only defense and base running.  He will not be able to hit yet.

Flaherty-Buehler rematch highlights Cards vs. Dodgers  —  Two of baseball's top young righthanders — Jack Flaherty of the Cardinals and the Dodgers' Walker Buehler — will square off Friday in a 7:15 p.m. showdown at Busch Stadium.  —  Los Angeles won 9-7 in the opening game of the four-game series …

Braves to begin sales of single-game NLDS tickets next week  —  The Braves announced that single-game tickets for a potential National League Division Series will go on sale Wednesday.  —  The Braves lead the National League East Division by 7-1/2 games over the second-place Phillies entering play Friday.

Last Slide  —  DENVER — Eleven years ago, the Colorado Rockies sat 4 1/2 games out of a playoff spot with 15 games to play.  They wound up in the World Series.  Four years later, the Tampa Bay Rays were 2 1/2 out with five to play.  They got in.  The next year it was the Oakland Athletics who were five back with nine remaining.

How the Brewers' rotation defied low expectations  —  What would your expectations have been for the Milwaukee Brewers' starting rotation during the 2018 season if you had this information at the outset:  —  » Jimmy Nelson would not throw a pitch in a major-league game.

David Wright finale turns meaningless Mets game into city's hottest ticket next week  —  News of retiring Mets star David Wright's Citi Field farewell instantly turned a meaningless September game into the city's hottest sports ticket.  —  The average resale price for tickets to the Sept. 29 contest …

MLB playoff picture: Updated look at division, wild card races  —  With just more than two weeks remaining, the Boston Red Sox are the only team to officially punch their ticket to the postseason.  —  The Red Sox still have work to do to clinch the American League East, although that …

Matt Kemp is finally home again in LA  —  There is no easy way to tell a player he's been traded.  But generally whatever awkwardness or emotion an executive feels from those calls is offset by the excitement of the calls welcoming the players joining the club.

How big is Rays-A's this weekend?  Well ...  That the Rays are playing a series with even the slightest amount of playoff implications in mid-September is somewhat of an accomplishment.  —  How big the matchup with the A's that starts tonight at the Trop is depends on your perspective.

The 2018 Phillies.  So what the heck was that?  |  Bob Ford  —  The lone saving grace of the Phillies' late tumble from postseason contention was that the baseball they played while exiting the race wasn't much uglier than what they played while taking part.

'It's like group therapy': How a rookie skipper won over the Cards clubhouse  —  Somehow, Mike Shildt got the St. Louis Cardinals to buy into “Ball Talk.”  —  It would've been all too easy for the Cardinals players, especially the veterans, to roll their eyes.

Mike Trout Reportedly Expected to Receive ‘Lifetime’ Contract Offer from Angels  —  While Bryce Harper and Manny Machado will be the biggest names on the free-agent market this offseason, it could be a player already under contract for the foreseeable future who could make the biggest splash.

Braves, Giants franchises molded by 1993, MLB's last great pennant race  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The last great pennant race left some with the most beautiful memories in their careers and others with the ugliest of scars.  —  It created the most radical change in baseball's playoff format …

Former Reds exec Bob Miller of Nats auctions World Series ring for colleague with leukemia  —  Washington Nationals assistant general manager Bob Miller, who spent nine seasons with the Cincinnati Reds as vice president and assistant general manager, put the World Series ring he earned …

Kyle Schwarber not in lineup against Matt Harvey, Reds  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Kyle Schwarber worked out in left field before Friday night's game but wasn't in Joe Maddon's lineup against Reds right-hander Matt Harvey.  —  Schwarber, who didn't travel to Washington because of a sore back, is only 2-for-12 lifetime against Harvey.