Jays trade veteran Steve Pearce to Red Sox for minor leaguer, cash  —  BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox acquired veteran first baseman/outfielder Steve Pearce in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday night.  —  Dave Dombrowski, the Red Sox president of baseball operations …

MLB: Bosio: remark was not racial  —  Pitching coach Chris Bosio said Thursday that he was fired by the Detroit Tigers for using the word “monkey,” but insisted he didn't say it in a racial or demeaning context.  —  Bosio told USA Today that he used the word while talking about pitcher Daniel Stumpf, who is white.

Cubs emphasize positives after salvaging up-and-down trip  —  LOS ANGELES — Perhaps Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon's analysis of his team's woeful-looking road trip was spot on.  —  “The Reds are screwing this whole thing up,” Maddon said before the Cubs' 11-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.

Astros beat Rays 1-0 for 11th straight road win  —  The Astros have won Lance McCullers' last six starts and have won 18 of 21 overall.  Their latest win matched the club record set last May 14-June 5 on the way to winning the franchise's first World Series title.

Seranthony Dominguez proves he has the short memory required to be an excellent reliever |  Extra Innings  —  Aaron Nola did it again.  For the seventh time in 11 starts, the Phillies' ace righthander allowed fewer than two runs.  His latest gem — a 114-pitch mastery of the Nationals …

Joey Votto says benches-clearing incident against Brewers was a ‘misunderstanding’  —  After watching a called strike in his second at-bat of Thursday's 6-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, Joey Votto turned toward home-plate umpire Roberto Ortiz.  —  Votto stepped out of the batter's box and appeared to say a few words.

Midseason awards, bad All-Star positions and MLB's next big thing  —  At some point Friday evening, the 1,215th final score of the 2018 Major League Baseball championship season will be entered in the logs.  It's the natural halfway point — peak baseball — when we have as many games behind us as we do ahead.

Cincinnati Reds notebook: Hunter Greene continues to pitch well; Nick Senzel has surgery  —  Reds pitcher Anthony DeSclafani discusses his third-inning grand slam in an 11-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.  It was the first grand slam by a Reds pitcher since 1959.  The Enquirer/Bobby Nightengale

Prodigal Panda: Pablo Sandoval enjoying renaissance with Giants  —  SAN FRANCISCO - Pablo Sandoval's loud banter resonates often throughout the San Francisco Giants' clubhouse.  Fans at AT&T Park greet the announcement of his name cheerfully.  Some teammates wear T-shirts bearing his likeness.

Cardinals host NL East-leading Braves  —  Another series, another opponent sitting at the top of its division.  —  That's the scenario for the St. Louis Cardinals this weekend as they welcome the Atlanta Braves, who lead the National League East, for a three-game series at Busch Stadium starting Friday.

Tim Tebow improving, but call-up to majors would be a stretch  —  There has been some buzz around Tim Tebow of late.  After a slow start, he went 2-for-4 on Thursday, raising his average for Double-A Binghamton to .318 in June and .261/.335/.398 with five home runs on the season.  —  EDITOR'S PICKS

Next Slide  —  Detroit Tigers right-handed pitching prospect Alex Faedo took the latest questions about his velocity dip in stride.  He said he was asked similar questions early in 2017 as a junior at Florida, before being named Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series.