Votto, VanMeter go deep, Reds beat sinking Diamondbacks 4-3  —  Luis Castillo pitched five solid innings and the  —  Arizona Diamondbacks 4-3 on Friday night.  —  The Diamondbacks lost their sixth straight to tumble further out of the NL wild card race.  They won 11 out of 12 …

Jorge Lopez has put himself back in the Royals starting pitching discussion for 2020  —  The Royals left the door open for pitcher Jorge Lopez when they banished him to the bullpen in May after having been battered and beaten by opposing hitters and toting a bloated ERA after 10 starts.

Encarnacion, Sanchez hurt again, sent for tests  —  DETROIT — Just when they seemed to be getting healthy, the New York Yankees have been hit with more injury concerns.  —  Designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion and All-Star catcher Gary Sanchez both suffered injuries during a sweep …

Twins DFA Marcos Diplan, Select Jorge Alcala  —  The Minnesota Twins designated Marcos Diplan for assignment, per MLB.com's Do-Hyoung Park (via Twitter).  Diplan's designation paves the way for Jorge Alcala to join the big league club at Progressive Field for today's doubleheader against the Indians.

How many bad teams would it take to beat the Astros, Dodgers or Yankees?  —  It is, like the story began, the best of times and the worst of times — an era received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.  —  There are three major league teams on pace to win 104 …

NL Notes: Dodgers, Brewers, Cubs, Padres  —  It's “very unlikely” outfielder Alex Verdugo will return for the Dodgers' National League Division Series matchup, manager Dave Roberts told Ken Gurnick of MLB.com and other reporters Friday (Twitter links).  The rookie originally landed …

Davis hits 2 HRs, A's top Rangers 14-9, keep wild-card lead  —  Ramon Laureano connected on the game's fourth three-run shot to break a tie in the sixth inning and the  —  Oakland Athletics stayed in front in the AL wild-card race with a 14-9 victory over the  —  Texas Rangers on Friday night.

Kershaw, Dodgers catch Syndergaard on bad day, beat Mets 9-2  —  Clayton Kershaw was right in the pocket, sending the Los Angeles  —  New York Mets 9-2 Friday night.  —  Kershaw (14-5) stopped a rare three-start skid and improved to 10-0 in regular-season play against the Mets.  Rookies

Soroka silences Nationals' bats in 5-0 Braves win  —  Mike Soroka allowed one hit over six innings,  —  Ozzie Albies had three hits including a home run and the  —  Washington Nationals 5-0 on Friday night.  —  Atlanta moved 9 1/2 games in front of Washington in the NL East and reduced its magic number to six.

Rizzo's slam among 5 Cubs homers, Chicago rips Bucs 17-8  —  Willson Contreras launched two long solo homers and the  —  Chicago Cubs kept pace in the NL wild-card race with a 17-8 win over the  —  Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.  —  Rookie Nico Hoerner hit a two-run shot …