Raleigh hits HRs No. 55, 56 to pass Mantle, tie Mariners' mark  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Cal Raleigh broke Mickey Mantle's record for homers by a switch-hitter and tied the Mariners record set by Ken Griffey Jr. when the Seattle star hit his 55th and 56th of the season in consecutive at-bats against the Royals on Tuesday night.

MLB Power Rankings: Brewers, Phillies clinch playoff spots, Mariners surging, races galore  —  Featured in this week's MLB Power Rankings, we've officially entered clinching season, the Mariners surge into first place, the final spot in the NL Wild Card race is up for grabs …

Giants calling up top prospect Bryce Eldridge to help their playoff bid  —  With 13 games left in the season and the team still in the pennant race, the San Francisco Giants are calling up their top prospect, first baseman Bryce Eldridge, the Chronicle has learned.

Odds by Looking for a pesky spoiler?  The Athletics just swept the Reds — and have been above .500 since the break  —  It won't exactly make up for the 1990 World Series — won by Cincinnati in a sweep over Oakland — but the Athletics played the role of spoiler to perfection after they won three straight over the Reds.

Mets likely moving Sean Manaea to bullpen temporarily as losing streak continues  —  NEW YORK — With their starting rotation in constant flux, the Mets are planning to temporarily move Sean Manaea to the bullpen.  Manaea will be available out of the pen for the Mets in Sunday's series finale with the Texas Rangers.

Yanks' Volpe won't start in Red Sox series after cortisone shot  —  BOSTON — New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe is unlikely to start any of the team's three games against the Boston Red Sox this weekend as he recovers from receiving a cortisone shot in his injured left shoulder …

Dodgers put All-Star catcher Will Smith on 10-day injured list with bruised right hand  —  All-Star catcher Will Smith was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday by the Los Angeles Dodgers because of a bruised right hand.  The move was made retroactive to Wednesday.

Kurtz hits 493-foot grand slam, longest MLB homer this season  —  Nick Kurtz launched a 493-foot grand slam — the longest home run in the majors this season — and the Athletics hammered Hunter Greene early in an 11-5 victory Saturday night over the Cincinnati Reds.

Astros receive injury scare as 9-time All-Star Jose Altuve leaves game with right foot discomfort  —  ATLANTA — The Houston Astros received an injury scare in Saturday night's 6-2 win over the Atlanta Braves when nine-time All-Star Jose Altuve was pulled after complaining of right foot discomfort.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. on Yankees' surge: 'We're the team to beat'  —  BOSTON — The New York Yankees outlasted the Boston Red Sox for the second straight day Saturday, beating their rivals 4-3 in front of a sellout crowd at Fenway Park to expand their lead for the top American League wild-card spot to 1½ games.