EARLY HOMERS GIVE CARDS BIG CUSHION  —  Dexter Fowler, one for his past 26, set a career high Sunday with his 19th homer, a 430-foot blast to center field, in the second inning at Busch Stadium.  —  That gave the Cardinals a four-run edge over the Chicago Cubs and the Cardinals continued to pile on.

Bochy loses to Dodgers 9-0 in final game as Giants manager  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Bruce Bochy spoke to a ballpark filled with thousands of lives he touched in some way and thanked them all straight from the heart, no notes necessary.  —  Bochy bid an emotional farewell following 2 1/2 decades …

Orioles Notes: Anderson, Mancini, Hays  —  Brady Anderson, who formerly served as the Orioles' vice president of baseball operations, is “stepping aside” and leaving the organization, MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko reports (via Twitter).  Anderson, Gary Rajsich and Brian Graham were entrusted …

Post-Dispatch's Goold helps save man's life at Busch Stadium  —  Before he chronicled the Cardinals' first division title clinching since 2015, Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold helped save a man's life Sunday at Busch Stadium.  —  St. Louis-based videographer Mike Flanary, 64 …

In the diary of a season, here are five moments that mattered for Rays  —  A pair of reinforcements helped Tampa Bay overcome injuries and a wobbly bullpen to go 36-18 down the stretch and return to the postseason.  —  Published Earlier today  —  TORONTO - The Rays completed …

Houston Astros' Justin Verlander reaches 3,000 career strikeouts, 300 in '19  —  Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander reached a pair of milestones Saturday night, becoming the 18th major league pitcher with 3,000 career strikeouts and the 19th in the modern era (since 1900) to record 300 strikeouts in a season.

Carolina League Top 20 Prospects For 2019  —  Neither Frederick lefthander DL Hall nor Lynchburg third baseman Nolan Jones is a finished product by any means.  Hall still has trouble commanding his mid-90s fastball and two plus breaking pitches, while Jones might eventually have to move to the outfield.

Average time of 9-inning MLB game a record 3:05:35  —  NEW YORK — The average time of a nine-inning game reached a record length in the major leagues this season.  —  Major League Baseball said Sunday the final figure for the 2019 regular season was 3 hours, 5 minutes, 35 seconds.

Boston Red Sox trading Mookie Betts seems like realistic possibility; Ownership has ‘right to decide what they want to do,’ Alex Cora says  —  BOSTON — The Red Sox trading Mookie Betts this offseason seems like a realistic possibility if he won't sign a contract extension.

Mets' Pete Alonso breaks Aaron Judge's rookie HR record  —  NEW YORK — Mets slugger Pete Alonso hit his 53rd home run of the season Saturday night, breaking the MLB rookie record that Yankees star Aaron Judge set in 2017.  —  Alonso launched a 93 mph fastball on a 1-2 count …