Giancarlo Stanton continues power surge as Yankees blast Blue Jays 11-6  —  Greg Bird is congratulated by teammates after his homer in the eighth helped the Yankees create a little breathing room in Saturday's win.  —  Giancarlo Stanton hit one of New York's four homers …

Last Slide  —  SAN DIEGO - Left fielder David Peralta was out of the lineup for a second consecutive day on Saturday due to a stomach issue, but unlike on Friday he was at Petco Park, hit in the cage pregame and seemed more likely to be available off the bench than the day before.

Matt Olson homers in 10th, A's pull within game of Astros  —  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) With September approaching, the Oakland Athletics are showing the baseball world what they believed from the start: This group and its young sluggers are ready to make a playoff push.

Cubs' Cole Hamels doubles his pleasure with record-setting defense  —  Photos from the Cubs-Pirates game on on Aug. 17, 2018 in Pittsburgh.  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Even at 34 years old and with 13 years of major-league service, Cole Hamels is learning about the talent of his new Cubs teammates at a rapid pace.

Cleveland Indians recall Adam Plutko to replace injured Trevor Bauer in rotation  —  Bauer is out four to six weeks with a stress fracture in his right leg.  —  In a move that was widely expected, the Indians recalled pitcher Adam Plutko from Triple-A Columbus Saturday to take injured …

No one is wondering why the Cincinnati Reds traded for Curt Casali now  —  When the Reds traded for Curt Casali on May 31, the reaction in a lot of circles was the same: Why?  —  Tony Cruz was backing up Tucker Barnhart after the trade of Devin Mesoraco.  —  “I didn't know anything about Casali,” Reds manager Jim Riggleman said.

Avisail Garcia returns to White Sox lineup against Royals  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Avisail Garcia returns to the White Sox lineup Saturday night against the Royals.  —  Garcia, who is fighting pain in his right knee, was pulled from Friday night's game by manager Rick Renteria for not running hard …

Dodgers had the depth to survive key injuries in the past; Kenley Jansen is a different story  —  When the New York Mets spent the first pick of the 1961 expansion draft on a catcher, manager Casey Stengel explained why.  —  “You gotta have a catcher,” he said, “or you're gonna have a lot of passed balls.”

What Aaron Judge's absence means for the rest of his season  —  NEW YORK — Aaron Judge has willingly embraced his current role as the New York Yankees' big-bodied hype man and cheerleader on the bench.  —  But he's long past ready to retire from it.  —  When the right fielder was taken …

Wong's ‘next to impossible’ play saves the day for Cardinals  —  From his ringside spot at first base, Matt Carpenter, who knows a thing or two about playing second base, saw what Kolten Wong did in the eighth inning and was amazed.  —  “It's next to impossible,” Carpenter said.  “An amazing play.

10 years later, Cincinnati Reds still trying to make a big splash in the international market  —  On Aug. 17, 2008, the Reds signed Yorman Rodriguez, out of Venezuela for $2.5 million.  It was a big deal at the time, a sign the Reds were going to get back into the international market in a big way.

Closer Brandon Morrow aiming for September return to Cubs bullpen  —  Cubs reliever Brandon Morrow discusses his bullpen sessionon Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018.  (Mark Gonzales/Chicago Tribune)  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Closer Brandon Morrow believes he could rejoin the Cubs as soon as early September …

How far have the Phillies come?  Ask pair who started at the bottom  —  The Philadelphia Phillies have been through darker periods before.  After all, they had a record-setting steak of 16 consecutive losing seasons on their way to becoming the first team in professional sports to lose 10,000 games.

Surging Ben Zobrist bats leadoff against the Pirates  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Ben Zobrist will become the Cubs' fourth leadoff hitter in their last five games when they face the Pirates on Saturday night at PNC Park.  —  Zobrist will play right field as Tyler Chatwood makes …

Little Leaguer Aukai Kea does Bryce Harper bat flip after walk-off home run in LLWS game  —  The 2017 World Series teams are struggling with injuries and depth.  Can they make it back to the postseason?  USA TODAY Sports  —  CONNECT  —  A Little League star paid homage …

Cy Young candidate Aaron Nola outpitches Noah Syndergaard in Mets' loss to Phillies  —  Philadelphia ace allows one run and three hits in seven innings, striking out 11.  —  PHILADELPHIA — The Mets helped build the case for a National League Cy Young Award candidate on Friday.

Column: Hitting refresh button may be Chris Sale's key to winning 1st Cy Young Award  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Red Sox ace Chris Sale has a career ERA of 2.82 or lower for April, May, June and July.  But the number rises to 3.16 in August and 3.78 in September, suggesting he tires as the season wears on.