deGrom reaches 2,000-K milestone in dominant performance, much-needed win  —  ARLINGTON — For a brief moment in the middle of the first inning Thursday night, Jacob deGrom stood on the mound at Globe Life Field and tipped his hat to the crowd.  —  The Rangers' ace opened the series finale …

‘It just glanced off.’ Inside the critical play in the Reds loss to St. Louis … The Cincinnati Reds' series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals was the 3,912th game of future Hall of Fame manager Terry Francona's career, and he agreed the game featured one of the wildest endings he'd ever seen.

Sources: Mariners calling up top pitching prospect Kade Anderson  —  The Seattle Mariners are calling up left-hander Kade Anderson, the best pitching prospect in baseball, to start Saturday against the Chicago Cubs as the Mariners try to salvage their postseason hopes, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

He was MLB's worst starter, and now he's the best reliever — all in one season  —  Brayan Bello's down-and-up season is in unprecedented territory  —  Brayan Bello has a 10.35 ERA.  He's been the least effective starter in baseball.  Earlier this season, it got him sent down to Triple-A …

Marte meets with manager, GM and is placed on injured list  —  PHOENIX — Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte and his agent met with Arizona general manager Mike Hazen and manager Torey Lovullo for a few hours on Thursday afternoon at Salt River Fields to discuss the events of the past week …

The Royals are moving downtown.  KC leaders approve city funding plan for new stadium  —  AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.  — Kansas City Council approved a $600 million funding commitment for a new Royals stadium.  — The Royals plan a $1.9 billion stadium anchoring a $3 billion entertainment district.

The AL Wild Card Mess Is Competitive Balance, and It's Not Pretty  —  In 1981, when a seven-week players' strike split the season into two “halves,” and in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic shortened the season to 60 games, teams with sub-.500 records snuck into the postseason via expanded …

How Iowa team was assembled, qualified for Little League World Series  —  Davenport Northwest Little League manager Mark Erwin's team had yet to be assembled, let alone play a game, but he could see plenty of possibilities for an all-star squad back in March.

Royals Release Starling Marte  —  The Royals moved on from veteran outfielder Starling Marte, per his MLB.com transactions tracker.  Marte's release comes after he was designated for assignment on Monday.  He had the right to reject an outright assignment given his service time, but Kansas City opted to skip that step.

Arctos agrees to buy 10% of Atlanta Falcons at $10.6 billion valuation, sources say … Private equity firm Arctos has agreed to buy 10% of the Atlanta Falcons, according to two people who asked not to be named because they are not authorized to speak on the matter.  Arthur Blank currently owns just under 73% of the Falcons.

Lane Thomas, Sean Murphy back in lineup for Braves-White Sox series finale  —  Before we get to the Pokemon card collector battle that is Sale vs. Misiorowski tomorrow afternoon, there's one left to play in Chicago.  —  Returning to Rate Field, the Braves will be trying to salvage a series …