ZACK WHEELER

Toronto left-hander Robbie Ray bounced back from a dismal season to win the AL Cy Young Award and Milwaukee righty Corbin Burnes returned from a bout of COVID-19 to win the NL’s top pitching prize.

Bryce Harper logged off his final Zoom of the season — a 2021 in which the Philadelphia Phillies slugger hit .309 with 35 homers and led baseball in OPS — with a hopeful hint about a future conversation. Harper may get the call next month that he is the National League MVP after he carried the Phillies into NL East contention down to the final week of the season. Hey, the Phillies might have to set up a postseason awards hotline, with ace Zack Wheeler a top candidate for NL Cy Young.

Trea Turner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston’s Yuli Gurriel won their first batting titles in a season of boom and bust that saw four teams lose 100 games for only the third time, and four 90-game winners in the AL East alone.

Four teams are separated by two games in the AL wild-card chase, with the Yankees clinging to a one-game lead for the top spot with two games remaining.

Zack Wheeler pitches Tuesday night for Philadelphia in the opener of a pivotal three-game series at Atlanta.

Bryce Harper had three hits, drove a three-run homer and had four RBIs to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 17-8 win over the Chicago Cubs.

Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado each hit one of St. Louis’ four homers, and the Cardinals flashed some fantastic outfield defense in beating the New York Mets 11-4 for their fifth straight victory.

A day after New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole exited his start because of tightness in his left hamstring, manager Aaron Boone says the star right-hander is feeling better about his situation.

Derek Jeter, Larry Walker, Ted Simmons and the late Marvin Miller will be enshrined Wednesday at the Hall of Fame, a year after the induction ceremonies were called off because of the coronavirus pandemic.

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole has exited his start against the Toronto Blue Jays with two outs in the fourth inning because of left hamstring tightness.

Rays rookie Wander Franco has reached base safely in 36 straight games.

Daniel Vogelbach delivered a pinch-hit grand slam off Alex Reyes to cap a five-run rally in the ninth inning that gave the Milwaukee Brewers a 6-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Miguel Cabrera is back home in Detroit on Friday night, one home run shy of 500, when the Tigers face Cleveland right-hander Zach Plesac.

Bryce Harper homered, Ian Kennedy escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning and the Philadelphia Phillies held off the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1.

Zack Wheeler pitched a two-hitter and struck out 11, Bryce Harper homered and the first-place Philadelphia Phillies finished off a three-game sweep for their eighth straight victory, 3-0 over the fading New York Mets.

Max Scherzer delivered a signature performance in what might be his last start for the Nationals, allowing three hits in six innings as Washington beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-1 in the opener of a doubleheader.

Nelson Cruz is headed to a contender in the biggest deal yet ahead of the July 30 trade deadline.

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The Shohei Ohtani Show at Coors Field starts with the All-Star Home Run Derby, with fans wondering how far the Angels’ two-way sensation and other sluggers can hit the ball in Denver’s thin air.

Mets ace Jacob deGrom gave up two runs for the first time this season and New York rallied after he exited, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 on Michael Conforto’s sacrifice fly in the ninth inning.

Max Scherzer threw his glove and hat to the grass, then stared down Phillies manager Joe Girardi after getting checked for a third time by umpires for sticky stuff as the Washington Nationals beat Philadelphia 3-2.

Mookie Betts hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 at Dodger Stadium before the largest crowd to attend a baseball game in the United States since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Jon Lester is set to start for the Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field after spending the past six seasons with the Chicago Cubs.

Bryce Harper treated heckling fans to a long home run, Andrew Knapp delivered a key pinch-hit in place of injured catcher J.

Gerrit Cole starts against Houston on Thursday for the first time since leaving the Astros for a $324 million, nine-year contract with the Yankees before the 2020 season.

Zack Wheeler took a one-hit shutout into the ninth inning and Rhys Hoskins homered twice as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1.

Atlanta pinch-hitter Pablo Sandoval drove a two-run homer to the deepest part of the ballpark off a Washington reliever who took over after Stephen Strasburg’s six scoreless innings to lift the Braves to a 2-0 victory over the Nationals and a doubleheader sweep.

Alec Bohm hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning, Zach Eflin gave Philadelphia another strong start and the Phillies completed a three-game sweep of the defending NL East champion Atlanta Braves with a 2-1 win Sunday.

He was 2-1 with a 6.35 ERA in three spring starts, including allowing six earned runs against Cincinnati on Friday. Alec Bohm had two hits, including his fourth double. AdFreddie Freeman had two hits, including a double and his first homer — a two-run shot in the sixth. Victor Robles had three hits, including his sixth double, with an RBI, and Kyle Schwarber doubled and walked three times. Adalberto Mondesi singled and homered and Jorge Soler had two hits, including a double.

The Padres said Tatis had discomfort in his non-throwing left shoulder and would be reevaluated on Wednesday. Corbin Burnes turned in 4 2/3 innings, striking out six while allowing two runs on three hits. Jon Lester allowed one run and three hits in 3 2/3 innings in his second start of the spring for Washington. He gave up five hits, hit two batters and struck out three. PADRES 5, REDS 4MacKenzie Gore worked 3 2/3 innings in his third start for San Diego, allowing two runs on three hits.

On that one, we are probably on the same page.”RED SOX 8, RAYS 2Garrett Richards struck out seven in four scoreless innings for Boston. ATHLETICS 5, PADRES 4Fernando Tatis Jr. led off the game with his second spring home run, a smashing return after missing six days with a non-virus bug. The 30-year-old left has pitched four scoreless innings this spring. BREWERS 8, CUBS 3 (7)Brandon Woodruff made his second start for Milwaukee, allowing five hits in two scoreless innings. BRAVES 8, TWINS 5Michael Pineda, who last pitched a full season in 2016, made his first spring start for Minnesota.

New York starter Jordan Montgomery gave up two hits in three scoreless innings. Brubaker allowed two hits over two scoreless innings and Chase De Jong followed with two shutout innings. MARLINS 4, METS 4Miami starter Pablo Lopez gave up a hit and a walk over three scoreless innings. German Marquez scattered three hits and a walk over three scoreless innings for Colorado. Kansas City starter Jakob Junis pitched three innings and gave up one hit, a leadoff homer to Trent Grisham.

The two-time AL Central champion Twins are hoping Happ can give them a veteran presence at the back of their rotation. Ian Anderson pitched two scoreless innings, allowing three hits and a walk. Houston piggy-backed a pair of starters with Framber Valdez yielding McNeil's homer in the first two innings, striking out two. AdBLUE JAYS 4, PHILLIES 2 (6)Steven Matz allowed a hit in two scoreless innings, striking out three without a walk. CUBS 3, ROYALS 2 (7)Outfielder Rafael Ortega, who signed a minor league deal with Chicago after playing 34 games for Atlanta last season, hit a bases-loaded triple.

His next challenging project: a Philadelphia Phillies team that's gone nine years without a winning record. Dombrowski joined the Phillies as president of baseball operations on Friday. He said in October he would be willing to step aside sooner to make way for a new baseball operations boss. The 64-year-old Dombrowski has led baseball operations for four teams over more than three decades in the majors, taking a trio of franchises to the World Series. He joined the Red Sox as president of baseball operations the following August and made a number of key acquisitions — including ace Chris Sale, slugger J.D.

New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom points to the outside during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)PHILADELPHIA – Jacob deGrom exited early from a rare rough outing because of a right hamstring spasm, but the New York Mets overcame a four-run deficit and rallied past the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 on Thursday night. They hit deGrom uncharacteristically hard in the second to take a 3-0 lead. Andrew Knapp knocked an RBI double to right, Haseley hit a sacrifice fly and Andrew McCutchen’s fielder’s choice capped the scoring against deGrom. Like deGrom, Wheeler was bothered by an injury — though one more gross than severe.

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Dean Kremer delivers against the New York Yankees during the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2020, in Baltimore, Md. Kremer limited the Yankees to one hit, struck out seven and retired 14 of his final 15 batters. NAILEDRookie right-hander Spencer Howard will replace Zack Wheeler as the Phillies’ starter in Game 4 of their seven-game series at Miami. Wheeler ripped a fingernail putting on his pants Wednesday, delaying his next start until at least Monday and perhaps longer. While some teams have started a lineup in which all batters hit from the left side the first time up, all previous occasions since 1901 included at least one switch-hitter.

MIAMI – Undefeated Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler ripped a fingernail putting on his pants, delaying his next start for two days and perhaps longer. Wheeler might lose the nail on the middle finger of his right hand. “We don’t think it’s a DL thing, but it depends on what happens to the nail,” Girardi said. Wheeler said the nail has been an issue throughout his career, and it’s prone to catch on things. “We’ll see how the soreness goes, and see how this thing starts healing up.”Spencer Howard is scheduled to start in place of Wheeler on Saturday.