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 …

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 …

Abreu, Moncada lift White Sox over Mariners 9-7  —  Yoan Moncada drove in four runs and the Chicago  —  Seattle Mariners 9-7 on Friday night.  —  The top half of Chicago's lineup dominated early in the game as the White Sox snapped a two-game losing streak.

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.

The state of MLB's terrible teams as the very worst meet  —  The Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers start a four-game series tonight as the two worst teams in baseball during a season in which the difference between the top-tier clubs and those on the bottom rung has never been more pronounced.

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 …

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 …

Indians Recall Bradley Zimmer  —  2:11pm: This move is now official.  —  12:16pm: The Indians are “expected” to recall outfielder Bradley Zimmer from Triple-A Columbus, tweets Zack Meisel of The Athletic.  He'll join righty James Karinchak as a late September call-up for an Indians club …

Nationals' win helps them keep other wild-card contenders at bay  —  The Nationals finished in Minnesota by taking the final two games.  Thursday became Friday before a 12-6 win was finished following a rain delay and extended (3:45) game.  —  Aaron Barrett jam.  —  Anthony Rendon,