LUIS CASTILLO

Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout has struck out in seven straight at-bats during a tough series in Houston.

Philadelphia slugger Bryce Harper could return to the lineup Wednesday for the finale of a two-game series at Texas after an infected blister on his left index finger sidelined him for two games last weekend at Washington.

Josh Rojas hit a go-ahead single during a four-run rally in the ninth inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Cincinnati Reds 5-4, earning a split in the four-game series.

Shane McClanahan pitched eight superb innings to win his fifth consecutive start and the Tampa Bay Rays completed a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals with a 2-1 victory.

Hunter Greene allowed a bunt single to begin the game and then faced the minimum through seven innings, retiring his final 20 batters as the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-0 in a rain-shortened game.

Luis Castillo struck out 10 while pitching six innings of one-hit ball, and the Cincinnati Reds beat Boston 2-1 for their first victory at Fenway Park since Game 7 of the 1975 World Series.

Healthy for much of this season, the AL-leading Yankees are suddenly dealing with injuries to several key players.

The scraped-up White Sox hope third baseman Yoán Moncada can make his season debut when Chicago opens a three-game home series against Cleveland.

José Ramírez hit a grand slam and drove in six runs, remarkable rookie Steven Kwan reached base three more times and the Cleveland Guardians spoiled Cincinnati’s home opener by beating the Reds 10-5.

Hunter Greene won his major league debut, Kyle Farmer hit a two-run single in a five-run third inning and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves 6-3.

The second act of Madison Bumgarner’s career hasn’t been nearly as successful as the first.

Michael Hermosillo homered for the first time since 2018 and the Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-1.

Newcomer Anthony Rizzo has become the latest Yankees player to test positive for the coronavirus.

Dansby Swanson looks to continue his tear at the plate when the Braves host the Dodgers, their first meeting since Los Angeles rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to beat Atlanta in last year’s NLCS.

David Bote homered, Adbert Alzolay wriggled out of several jams while pitching into the sixth inning and the surging Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 1-0.

Milwaukee Brewers ace Corbin Burnes is set to face St. Louis on Thursday in his first start since testing positive for the coronavirus last month.

The San Diego Padres and New York Yankees are both short-staffed due to COVID-19 outbreaks, but neither has had to interrupt their schedule.

Shane Bieber kept up his record strikeout run, fanning 13 and pitching the Cleveland Indians past the Cincinnati Reds 6-3.

Tyler Naquin hit another leadoff home run and the high-scoring Cincinnati Reds kept rolling, backing Luis Castillo to rout the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-4 for their fifth straight win.

Both winless teams in the majors are defending division champions.

Now that Fernando Tatis Jr. has been placed on the injured list, the San Diego Padres hope their electrifying shortstop won’t be sidelined too long.

Miami Marlins relief pitcher Brandon Kintzler, left, and catcher Chad Wallach (17) celebrate a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs in Game 2 of a National League wild-card baseball series Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)CHICAGO – The Miami Marlins didn't need a hand from a fan at Wrigley Field to knock the Chicago Cubs out of the playoffs this time. Led by manager Don Mattingly and CEO Derek Jeter, the Marlins remained unbeaten in all seven postseason series they have played following triumphs in the 1997 and 2003 World Series. The Cubs haven’t advanced since the 2017 team lost in the NLCS. You can make your first half disappear.”BRAVE WORLDThe Marlins lost six of 10 against the Braves, including a 29-9 romp at Atlanta on Sept. 9.

Atlanta Braves' Marcell Ozuna (20) hits a two-run home run during the eighth inning against the Cincinnati Reds in Game 2 of a National League wild-card baseball series, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)ATLANTA – It had been so long since the Atlanta Braves won a postseason series, Marcell Ozuna wanted to make sure he captured the moment. After winning Wednesday’s series opener 1-0 in 13 innings, Atlanta broke open Game 2 on two-run homers by Ozuna and Duvall off Raisel Iglesias in the eighth. Anderson struck out nine in six innings as the Braves snapped their record-tying string of losses in 10 consecutive postseason rounds since their last playoff series win in 2001. Braves: After sitting out the final two regular-season games with a sore quadriceps, Riley had no setback in the series opener.

The Marlins are hoping center fielder Starling Marte can play through a broken bone in his left hand as they try to eliminate the Cubs at Wrigley Field. To do it, the Braves might need to make a whole lot more contact at the plate than they did Wednesday while beating the Reds 1-0 in 13 innings — the first postseason game to be scoreless after 11. They’ll be up against Luis Castillo (4-6, 3.21), who makes his first career playoff start for the Reds. He was out for a second straight playoff game because of a sprained right foot that kept him out of the final three games of the regular season. Wainwright closed out the Padres at Petco Park in their previous postseason appearance in 2006.

Atlanta Braves Freddie Freeman (5) celebrates driving in the game-winning run against the Cincinnati Reds in the 13th inning during Game 1 of a National League wild-card baseball series, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, in Atlanta. The Atlanta Braves won 1-0. The East champion Braves won a postseason opener for the first time since Game 1 of the 2001 NL Division Series. In Game 5 of the 2019 NL Division Series, Atlanta gave up a record 10 runs to the St. Louis Cardinals in their first at-bat. Braves: There were injury concerns after Atlanta's last series of the regular season, but everyone was good to go in the playoffs.

If St. Louis loses and San Francisco wins, the Cardinals would make up two games against Detroit on Monday that were postponed this season due to St. Louis' coronavirus outbreak. Brewers (29-30) — Qualify with a victory over St. Louis, or with losses by the Giants and Phillies. If the Giants and Cardinals win, San Francisco needs St. Louis to lose both games against the Tigers on Monday. A career .279 hitter, he had 244 home runs and 942 RBIs for Houston, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Texas. “He had a tremendous career, did a ton for the community in San Francisco and obviously for the San Francisco Giants,” Kapler said.

Cincinnati Reds players climb over the dugout fence and head to celebrate with pitcher Wade Miley after the Reds earned a playoff berth with a 7-2 over the Minnesota Twins in a baseball game Friday, Sept. 25, 2020, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)MINNEAPOLIS – Mike Moustakas homered twice, Freddy Galvis hit a solo shot and the Cincinnati Reds clinched their first playoff spot since 2013, beating the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins 7-2 Friday night. Joey Votto and the Reds had endured six straight losing seasons before advancing this year under manager David Bell. Twins: RHP Homer Bailey, who spent 12 of his 14 major league seasons with the Reds, was designated for assignment prior to the game. Twins: RHP Michael Pineda (2-0, 3.18 ERA) pitches the middle game of the series.

San Diego Padres shortstop Eric Hosmer, center, celebrates after the Padres beat the Seattle Mariners in a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020, in San Diego. The Padres clinched a spot in the playoffs. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

But going into this last week, a lot of postseason spots are still wide open. Tampa Bay, Oakland, the White Sox and Minnesota also have earned AL spots, and Cleveland, Toronto and Houston have the inside track on the three remaining positions. With six spots in play, it should be an entertaining week with Cincinnati, Milwaukee and San Francisco all at .500. NICE STARTDane Dunning is 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA in five starts for the White Sox since making his major league debut this season. The White Sox lead second-place Minnesota by 2 1/2 games.

Chicago Cubs' Kyle Schwarber reacts after hitting a grand slam in the ninth inning during a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster)CINCINNATI With one massive drive in the ninth inning, Kyle Schwarber made history for the Chicago Cubs. Schwarber, Jason Heyward and Ian Happ became the first starting outfield to hit multiple homers in the same game, and the Cubs pounded the Cincinnati Reds 10-1 on Sunday for a split of their four-game series. Schwarber hit the first and the last of the Cubs' season-high six homers, belting a solo drive in the fourth against Luis Castillo (0-5) and a grand slam off Jos De Len in the ninth. When you have a little piece of history, you always keep that with you.The NL Central-leading Cubs hit 14 homers in the series.

Players, coaches and other organization members were retested for the coronavirus Saturday and Sunday after one player was sidelined because of a positive result. The Reds made travel plans for Kansas City and expected to start Luis Castillo (0-2) in the series opener, assuming its played. TIGER TRYOUTSDetroit is unleashing a few of its top prospects this week, including left-hander Tarik Skubal. The Braves hope that formula works again with Tomlin, used mostly as a reliever during his two seasons in Atlanta. But, for now, the team has decided not to turn to a pair of top prospects, Ian Anderson and Tucker Davidson.

Detroit Tigers' JaCoby Jones reacts after hitting a two-run home run in the ninth inning during a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Saturday, July 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster)CINCINNATI Miguel Cabrera passed two superstars with a homer Saturday night, and JaCoby Jones hit a two-run shot in the ninth off Raisel Iglesias, rallying the Detroit Tigers to a 6-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. The two RBIs boosted Cabrera past Hall-of-Famer Cal Ripken Jr. and into 25th place on the career RBI list with 1,696. Reds: The Reds placed infielder Matt Davidson on the 10-day injured list after he tested positive for COVID-19 and put catcher Tucker Barnhart on the three-day paternity list. Reds: RHP Trevor Bauer (combined 11-13 in 2019 with Cleveland and Cincinnati) makes his 20th career start against Detroit.