Mets at Phillies prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, betting trends, and stats for September 8  —  Division rivals New York (76-66) and Philadelphia (83-59) begin a four-game series beginning tonight at Citizens Bank Park.  —  Rookie phenom Nolan McLean is slated to take the mound …

Exclusive: MLB's fired managers plot their returns after a most unusual summer … They have been bird-hunting and fly-fishing, watching their daughters play volleyball, hanging with their grandkids and attending World Series reunions.  —  They live in San Diego, Florida and Tennessee …

Phillies put Trea Turner, Alec Bohm on IL, expect both to avoid lengthy absences  —  PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies put the left side of their infield on the injured list Monday afternoon, a foreboding development with three weeks to go in the season, but the club believes it could avoid significant absences for Trea Turner and Alec Bohm.

Cal Ripken's streak remains a marvel, three decades after he broke Lou Gehrig's record  —  BALTIMORE — The Orioles celebrated the 30th anniversary of Cal Ripken's record-breaking 2,131st consecutive game.  —  If anything, that streak looks even more preposterous now.

Precision and power: Boston's Aroldis Chapman still dominating at 37  —  PHOENIX — Aroldis Chapman has a reputation as a power pitcher, built through 16 years of routinely popping 100 mph on the radar gun.  —  As the Boston Red Sox closer has gotten older, the 37-year-old added craftiness to the power …

Phillies invite young fan to meet Harrison Bader after dispute over home run ball  —  The Philadelphia Phillies invited a young fan to meet Harrison Bader following their 9-3 win over the Miami Marlins on Friday night after an apparent dispute over a home run ball hit by the center fielder during the game.

Nola returns to form, Duran holds on in 9th, Phillies edge Mets 1-0 to extend NL East lead  —  PHILADELPHIA — Aaron Nola returned to form with three-hit ball over six innings and Jhoan Duran stranded two runners when he struck out the final two batters to help the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets 1-0 on Monday night.

Shohei Ohtani sets the tone as Dodgers end uncharacteristic skid  —  BALTIMORE — Coming off an excruciating defeat that stretched their losing streak to five games, the Los Angeles Dodgers desperately needed a spark in the finale of a horrid East Coast trip.

Yankees ‘in a position to go get it’ as their September standing improves  —  NEW YORK - Halfway through their Defining Dozen games, the Yankees have at least kept their best October hopes intact.  —  There was no denying that Sunday's 4-3 win against the first place Blue Jays “was huge,” as Ben Rice said at Yankee Stadium.

Blue Jays: ‘Pretty obvious’ Max Scherzer was tipping pitches ahead of Yankees' home run  —  NEW YORK — The New York Yankees held on for their biggest win of the season Sunday after getting help from an unlikely source: future Hall of Fame starting pitcher Max Scherzer, who was tipping his changeup in the first inning.

Rest in Peace, Davey Johnson  —  I'm glad I got to say my goodbyes in person last February.  Last night around midnight I got a call that I had been dreading.  When I saw Susan Johnson's name appear, I knew that news would not be good.  —  Susan, Davey Johnson's wife …