Cubs return home to face Reds  —  CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs have a razor-thin margin for error as they attempt to hold onto first place in the National League Central down the stretch.  —  So if there was a time when a team that has already experienced its share of injuries this season …

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 …

Gregory Polanco likely to miss 7-9 months after shoulder surgery  —  PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates say right fielder Gregory Polanco could be out until June after having surgery on his left shoulder.  —  Polanco dislocated his throwing shoulder on an awkward slide into second base on a double last Friday against Miami.

Jon Jay's bizarre triple lifts Diamondbacks to much-needed win over Astros  —  HOUSTON - A small shard of wood broke off Jon Jay's bat in the eighth inning on Friday night, and in the moment Jay did not seem to know just what had happened.  He stood briefly in the box after his swing, as he would after a foul ball.

Mets' Noah Syndergaard on Boston rodent: New York rats way worse  —  Noah Syndergaard's first start at historic Fenway Park was everything the right-hander could have asked for.  —  Seven shutout innings.  Three hits allowed.  An 8-0 New York Mets win.  —  The only thing not that impressive to Thor?

Kansas City Royals beat Minnesota Twins 8-4 to lower Cleveland Indians' magic number to 1  —  Salvador Perez's walk-off grand slam provided the difference.  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Salvador Perez capped Kansas City's five-run ninth inning with a game-ending grand slam …

Trey Mancini homers twice, but Orioles' pitching crisis continues in 8-6 loss to White Sox  —  Orioles manager Buck Showalter has spent the past week trying desperately to backfill his beleaguered starting rotation, but if it isn't one minor disaster it's another.

Clay Buchholz's resurgent season with D-backs ends early  —  Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Clay Buchholz won't pitch again this season, manager Torey Lovullo said Friday night.  —  Buchholz was scratched from his scheduled start Thursday because of tightness in his right elbow …

WATCH: Josh Donaldson hits first home run as member of Cleveland Indians  —  Third baseman Josh Donaldson hit his first home run as a member of the Cleveland Indians in the sixth inning of Friday's game against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field.  —  CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians …

Khris Davis homers as A's edge Rays in 10 to win another one-run game  —  Tampa Bay Rays' C.J. Cron breaks his bat as he lines out during the 10th inning of Friday's loss to the A's.  —  Khris Davis helped Oakland win another close one.  —  Davis led off the 10th inning …

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 …

Acuna goes 4 for 5, Braves win 6th straight  —  ATLANTA — Ronald Acuna Jr. struck out twice and reached base once in his first six at-bats against Nationals ace Max Scherzer.  —  “I think it helps having some previous at-bats against him,” Acuna said through a translator.  “I just went in with the same approach.

Chris Stratton throws first career complete game, shuts out Rockies as Giants break losing streak  —  AT&T PARK — In back-to-back starts against the Colorado Rockies earlier this summer, Chris Stratton couldn't get out of the sixth inning.  —  The 28-year old righty, in his first full season in the majors …