Cincinnati Reds go streaking again with 2nd straight win behind Andrew Abbott, big hitting  —  The Cincinnati Reds are back.  —  Those pesky-hitting, walk-drawing, base-stealing, outs-on-the-bases-making, Andrew Abbott-baffling, Elly De La Cruz-pea-throwing Reds were at it again …

A boy was dying.  Hall of Fame inductee Scott Rolen quietly became his best friend  —  At Tyler Frenzel's funeral mass, after his frail, worn out, cancer-ridden body had endured all it could, Scott Rolen stood up inside St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church in Carmel to eulogize the 9-year-old athlete …

Orioles acquire right-handed reliever Shintaro Fujinami from Athletics for minor leaguer  —  The Orioles are adding to their bullpen.  Baltimore on Wednesday acquired right-handed reliever Shintaro Fujinami from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Triple-A left-hander Easton Lucas, the team announced early in the evening.

Dipoto: Mariners may use deadline to ‘better situate’ team for 2024  —  After another frustrating loss on Wednesday - this time a 6-3 defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Twins - the Seattle Mariners are back under .500 with the Aug. 1 trade deadline less than two weeks away.

Elly De La Cruz breaks his own record with a 99.8 mph throw  —  A few days ago, Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell asked one of the Reds' coaches to check the velocity of infielder Elly De La Cruz's throws.  When Bell learned that De La Cruz set a record with a 97.9 mph throw last Sunday, he was surprised.

Sources: MLB commissioner Rob Manfred expected to be re-elected in vote next week  —  A re-election vote for commissioner Rob Manfred is scheduled for next week and he's expected to have sufficient support for another term, people close to the process who were not authorized to speak publicly told The Athletic.

Detroit Tigers draft pick Brady Cerkownyk has lightning bat, chance ‘to be special’  —  Brady Cerkownyk got the phone call after he landed at an airport in Boston.  —  “What are you doing?” his advisor asked.  —  “I'm just about to get on the bus to go to the Cape,” Cerkownyk said.

Kepler scores the go-ahead run on a passed ball in the Twins' 6-3 win over the Mariners  —  Max Kepler scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball in the eighth inning and Minnesota pitchers struck out 14 in the Twins' 6-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night.

Justin Verlander no-hits White Sox through 6 innings, Brett Baty homers in Mets' win  —  Don't look now, but the Mets might be on another run.  —  After two ugly but gutsy wins Sunday and Tuesday, the Mets finally played sound baseball and cruised to a 5-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night at Citi Field.

Red Sox lose one DFA'd pitcher to A's on waivers, keep another after he clears waivers  —  The Red Sox kept one veteran pitcher who they had designated for assignment and lost another via waivers Wednesday.  —  Boston announced that righty Jake Faria cleared waivers and was sent back to Triple …

Orioles' Cedric Mullins returns to injured list with right groin strain; team signs 15 more draft picks  —  Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins seemed to be finally returning to himself when he pulled up going into third base on a foul ball Saturday.  It turns out that injury will keep …

If Shohei Ohtani is available, Orioles should go for it; plus Yankees' deadline direction and more  —  Sign up for The Windup newsletter |  Levi Weaver and Ken Rosenthal deliver expert analysis on the biggest MLB stories every weekday.  Get it sent to your inbox.