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.

Astros' Yordan Alvarez out ‘a while’ with left ankle sprain  —  Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez has a “pretty significant” left ankle sprain and will be out of the lineup indefinitely as Houston battles for a division title and an American League playoff spot as the season winds down, manager Joe Espada said Tuesday.

Ohtani throws 5 hitless innings but bullpen dooms Dodgers again  —  LOS ANGELES — In the brief moment between when Shohei Ohtani completed his fifth inning of no-hit baseball as a pitcher and prepared to lead off the next half-inning as a hitter, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts seized on an opportunity to gather intel.

Tests OK on Bo Bichette's knee; he could return for playoffs  —  TAMPA, Fla. — Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette will miss the remainder of the regular season with a sprained left knee, but the AL East leaders hope to get him back during the playoffs.  —  Bichette has been sidelined since Sept. 7.

Which Teams Have Suffered the Most From Injuries?  —  Major League Baseball's injured list is the sport's unofficial 31st team, one that never makes the playoffs but always plays spoiler.  In the last week, 22 players were placed on the IL.  The biggest name was Will Smith …

Four rivals, 13 days: Five things we learned about Yankees  —  With his New York Yankees in the thick of a 12-game gauntlet against four American League playoff contenders, manager Aaron Boone divulged his sleep strategy to manage the stress.  —  “Melatonin makes sure it doesn't keep me up,” Boone said last week.

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.

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 …

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.

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.