PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bob Boone waved to the Phillies crowd that accentuated the “Booooo” in his name in honor of the Gold Glove-winning catcher that caught the last out of the 1980 World Series.

He was an All-Star, a defensive whiz in Philly, a revered member of that championship season who, along with late Tug McGraw — his arms stretched high to the sky, bounding on the turf — was swallowed up into a mass of burgundy pinstripes in an image that resonates here to this day.

This year's Phillies are on a 10-1 winning streak, have an NL wild-card berth in sight and have the city again in a frenzy. And Boone, on Sunday, fumbled the endorsement of the Phillies as a contender as much as he did a Frank White pop foul in Game 6 of the 1980 playoffs.

“I’m a Yankees fan now, sorry. My son’s there,” Boone said of Aaron Boone, who has the Yankees at an American League-best 70-39. He added of the Phillies: “They ain’t beating the Yankees, I’ll tell you that.”

Aaron Nola and Rhys Hoskins; Kyle Schwarber and Alec Bohm; Zack Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard — they all may disagree. Their team is looking to crack the postseason for the first time since 2011 and break the longest playoff drought in the National League.

If they can, they'll have a shot at the franchise’s third World Series championship in their 139-year history, though this year's Phillies aren’t quite the no-doubt-about-it contenders as the 1980 and 2008 teams that had MVPs and All-Stars like Pete Rose, Chase Utley, Steve Carlton, Cole Hamels, Mike Schmidt and Ryan Howard.

But with Hoskins, Schwarber and a stout front end of the rotation leading the way, anything less than a playoff berth would be considered a bust.

The Phillies open a three-game home series Tuesday against the Marlins. The Phils are 60-48 — 12 games over .500 for the first time since Aug. 20, 2018 — and are coming off of their third four-game sweep of the season.

They moved ahead of San Diego for the second NL wild-card spot and interim manager Rob Thomson is a whopping 38-19 since he took over for Joe Girardi, who was fired June 3.

The Phillies are doing all of this without league MVP Bryce Harper, who is still out indefinitely with a broken left thumb that happened when he was hit by a pitch at the end of June. The Phillies are 21-13 since then.

Harper, hitting .318 with 15 home runs, 48 RBIs and .985 OPS, had pins removed last week and hit Sunday off a tee. So when he comes back, it will be like the Phillies made a Juan Soto-esque trade deadline deal without giving up any prospects.

With apologies to the 76ers, here they come. Is this Philly's team of the year?

“Usually, winning teams have to face some sort of adversity throughout the year,” Hoskins said. “We have. Not to say we won’t these last couple of weeks of the season, last six weeks of the season, but we know that we can.”

Hoskins has seen his share of sizzling summer stretches melt into fall swoons during his first five seasons with the Phillies. But right now, they're peaking in early August, doing what’s needed (winning 19 of the last 26 games against the NL East) and hoping trade-deadline acquisitions Syndergaard, veteran reliever David Robertson and center fielder Brandon Marsh will push the Phillies into the playoffs.

It's not all outsiders contributing to the success: Hoskins, Nick Maton, Bohm and Bryson Stott comprise a completely homegrown infield, and Maton had four RBIs and Stott three in Philadelphia’s 13-1 win Sunday over the Nationals.

As a coach with the Yankees, Thomson saw Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford and other franchise legends come through the clubhouse with a World Series ring or two ... or 10. Catching up with Rose, Carlton and other 1980 winners over the weekend stirred championship feelings.

“Any time you can hang around a world champion and start talking about that stuff, I think it helps,” Thomson said.

The Phillies play 35 of their final 54 games against teams with losing records, and Thomson can’t wait see to see how far the Phillies can go.

“I know the last few years we haven’t played well in September. But each team was a little different,” Thomson said. “It wasn’t the same exact group. This is a different group and there’s a lot of leadership in the clubhouse and a lot of winners on the field and they’re playing well. We’ve got an outstanding bullpen that’s pitching very well.

“I have a lot of confidence that this team can get right through at the end.”

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MILWAUKEE (AP) — In the week since trading of four-time All-Star closer Josh Hader, virtually nothing has gone right for the Milwaukee Brewers.

They owned a three-game lead in the NL Central when they sent Hader to the San Diego Padres, but have gone 1-5 since and trail the streaking St. Louis Cardinals by two games.

“It’s easy to go out and make excuses,” reigning Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes said Sunday after a 10-inning, 4-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. “That’s the easy route, is to make excuses for the way we played this last weekend and blame it on someone else. But we’ve got to point the fingers at ourselves here.”

If the season ended Monday, the Brewers would miss the playoffs for the first time since 2017 — 1/12 games behind the Padres in the race for the final wild-card spot.

The Brewers struggled against two of the NL's weaker teams, losing three straight at Pittsburgh despite leading by multiple runs in the sixth inning or later in each game and then losing two of three at home to the Reds.

“We didn’t have a good week, but we have to look forward because we have a lot of baseball left,” manager Craig Counsell said. “The season is going to throw you things that you don’t like."

NL Central rival St. Louis, meanwhile, won seven straight, including a sweep of the AL East-leading New York Yankees.

Milwaukee's schedule is about to get tougher: a 15-game stretch that includes a three-game series at St. Louis and seven meetings with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who own baseball’s best record.

Coincidental or not, the Brewers’ issues began immediately after they dealt Hader for pitchers Taylor Rogers and Dinelson Lamet, outfield prospect Esteury Ruiz and pitching prospect Robert Gasser. ( Lamet was designated for assignment and claimed by the Colorado Rockies.)

The Brewers later acquired relievers Matt Bush and Trevor Rosenthal in separate deals. Rosenthal hasn’t pitched since 2020 due to injuries but could return by the end of the month.

Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio and president of baseball operations David Stearns have said trading Hader wasn’t a cost-cutting measure, but rather that they believed they could get a better return now than in the offseason. Hader makes $11 million this season, is eligible for arbitration in the offseason and could become a free agent after 2023.

“We are trying to avoid the ‘boom or bust’ cycle,” Stearns said. “We want this organization this year, next year, three years from now, five years from now, seven years from now, that when fans come and watch a Brewers game, they are watching a meaningful game. They are watching a game and a team that can and does go to the playoffs, and a team that has a legitimate chance to win a World Series.”

But without Hader, the bullpen hasn’t performed well, and a playoff bid isn't for certain.

All-Star reliever Devin Williams’ string of 30 consecutive scoreless appearances ended when he allowed a walk-off homer to Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds two days after Hader’s departure. Bush has given up four runs — three earned — over 2 1/3 innings since joining the Brewers and threw a wild pitch to end another 10-inning one-run loss at Pittsburgh on Thursday. Rogers yielded a go-ahead run in the eighth inning Sunday.

The Brewers also have dealt with bad luck. After they designated reserve catcher Pedro Severino for assignment Wednesday, starting catcher Omar Narváez strained his left quadriceps and landed on the injured list.

Outfielder Hunter Renfroe believes in the bullpen, saying he doesn't believe there's a hangover effect from the trade-deadline moves.

“I think Hader obviously was a lifeblood of the team,” Renfroe said. “He did a great job for us for a long time. It’s one of those things where, you lose a closer like that, it’s going to be tough for you for a little bit, but I think Devin’s got the stuff that he can come out there, step forward and do what he needs to do."

If the Brewers stay afloat over the next month, their schedule provides the opportunity for a late surge — they play 20 of their last 26 games at home. And they’ve withstood rough patches before, dropping eight straight games from June 3-11 but regaining the division lead later that month.

“We know what we can do out there,” Burnes said. “So it’s just a matter of getting things going back on track.”

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BOSTON (AP) — Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley said Monday that he will be leaving the Boston Red Sox broadcasts at the end of the season, his 50th in Major League Baseball.

Eckersley, who was drafted by Cleveland as a California high schooler in 1972, went on to pitch 24 seasons as both a 20-win starter and a 50-save reliever for Cleveland, Boston, the Cubs, Oakland and the Cardinals. He won the AL Cy Young and MVP awards in 1992 while playing for the Athletics.

He joined NESN in 2003 and stood out for his outspoken and colorful analysis on the Red Sox broadcasts.

“After 50 years in Major League Baseball, I am excited about this next chapter of my life,” Eckersley said. “I will continue to be an ambassador for the club and a proud member of Red Sox Nation, while transitioning to life after baseball alongside my wife Jennifer, my children and my grandchildren."

Eckersley, 67, was a six-time All-Star who went 197-171 with a 3.50 ERA in a career in which he pitched 100 complete games as a starter before pioneering the role of the one-inning closer and earning 390 saves.

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Aug. 9

1916 — The Philadelphia A’s ended their 20-game losing streak as Joe Bush beat the Detroit Tigers 7-1.

1939 — Red Rolfe of the New York Yankees started a streak of 18 consecutive games in which he scored at least one run. During those games, he scored a total of 30 runs.

1960 — Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox hit home run No. 511 to tie Mel Ott for fourth place on the all-time list.

1975 — Davey Lopes of the Los Angeles Dodgers stole his 32nd consecutive base without being caught in a 2-0 victory over the New York Mets, breaking Max Carey’s 1922 record. Lopes tacked on six more steals before being caught on Aug. 24.

1976 — John Candelaria became the first Pirate pitcher in 69 years to throw a no-hitter in Pittsburgh by blanking the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0. Candelaria’s no-hitter came at Three Rivers Stadium. No Pirate ever threw a no-hitter at Forbes Field.

1981 — Baseball returned following the strike with the All-Star game in Cleveland before a crowd of 72,086. Gary Carter of the Montreal Expos hit two home runs to give the NL a 5-4 triumph over the AL. Vida Blue became the first pitcher to win an All-Star game in both leagues. His AL victory came in 1971 at Detroit.

1988 — The Chicago Cubs won the first official night game at Wrigley Field by beating the New York Mets 6-4.

1998 — Dennis Martinez became the winningest Latin pitcher in baseball history, breaking Juan Marichal’s record of 243 victories. Martinez pitched a perfect eighth inning and got the victory when Chipper Jones hit a tiebreaking, two-run single in the ninth inning and the Atlanta Braves held on for the win.

2001 — Mike Hampton tied the NL record for pitchers with his seventh homer as the Rockies beat the Cubs 14-5. Hampton’s seventh homer matched the NL mark shared by Don Drysdale (1958, 1965) and Don Newcombe (1955). The major league record is nine by Cleveland’s Wes Ferrell in 1931.

2002 — Barry Bonds hit his 600th homer, becoming the fourth major leaguer to reach the mark. With a 421-foot, solo shot off Pittsburgh’s Kip Wells, the San Francisco Giants slugger joined Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays in the exclusive club.

2007 — Failed pitcher Rick Ankiel hit a three-run home run to cap his debut as a major league outfielder in St. Louis’ 5-0 victory over San Diego.

2018 — Mookie Betts homered for Boston in the ninth inning to complete his first career cycle, and Toronto held on to beat the Red Sox 8-5.

All Times EDT

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Cleveland 1, Houston 0

Tampa Bay 7, Detroit 0

Pittsburgh 8, Baltimore 1

Kansas City 13, Boston 5

Toronto 3, Minnesota 2, 10 innings

Chicago White Sox 8, Texas 2

St. Louis 12, N.Y. Yankees 9

Seattle 6, L.A. Angels 3

San Francisco 6, Oakland 4

Toronto at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m.

L.A. Angels at Oakland, 9:40 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees at Seattle, 10:10 p.m.

Chicago White Sox (Lynn 2-4) at Kansas City (Singer 4-4), 4:10 p.m., 1st game

Toronto (Manoah 12-5) at Baltimore (Bradish 1-4), 7:05 p.m.

Atlanta (Morton 5-5) at Boston (Hill 4-5), 7:10 p.m.

Cleveland (Bieber 6-6) at Detroit (Alexander 2-5), 7:10 p.m.

Chicago White Sox (TBD) at Kansas City (TBD), 7:40 p.m., 2nd game

Tampa Bay (TBD) at Milwaukee (Woodruff 9-3), 8:10 p.m.

Texas (Pérez 9-2) at Houston (Urquidy 10-4), 8:10 p.m.

L.A. Angels (Ohtani 9-7) at Oakland (Kaprielian 3-5), 9:40 p.m.

Minnesota (Ryan 8-4) at L.A. Dodgers (Urías 11-6), 10:10 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees (Cole 9-4) at Seattle (Castillo 5-4), 10:10 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Milwaukee, 2:10 p.m.

L.A. Angels at Oakland, 3:37 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees at Seattle, 4:10 p.m.

Toronto at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m.

Atlanta at Boston, 7:10 p.m.

Cleveland at Detroit, 7:10 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Kansas City, 8:10 p.m.

Texas at Houston, 8:10 p.m.

Minnesota at L.A. Dodgers, 10:10 p.m.

All Times EDT

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Cleveland 1, Houston 0

Tampa Bay 7, Detroit 0

Pittsburgh 8, Baltimore 1

Kansas City 13, Boston 5

Toronto 3, Minnesota 2, 10 innings

Chicago White Sox 8, Texas 2

St. Louis 12, N.Y. Yankees 9

Seattle 6, L.A. Angels 3

San Francisco 6, Oakland 4

Toronto at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m.

L.A. Angels at Oakland, 9:40 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees at Seattle, 10:10 p.m.

Chicago White Sox (Lynn 2-4) at Kansas City (Singer 4-4), 4:10 p.m., 1st game

Toronto (Manoah 12-5) at Baltimore (Bradish 1-4), 7:05 p.m.

Atlanta (Morton 5-5) at Boston (Hill 4-5), 7:10 p.m.

Cleveland (Bieber 6-6) at Detroit (Alexander 2-5), 7:10 p.m.

Chicago White Sox (TBD) at Kansas City (TBD), 7:40 p.m., 2nd game

Tampa Bay (TBD) at Milwaukee (Woodruff 9-3), 8:10 p.m.

Texas (Pérez 9-2) at Houston (Urquidy 10-4), 8:10 p.m.

L.A. Angels (Ohtani 9-7) at Oakland (Kaprielian 3-5), 9:40 p.m.

Minnesota (Ryan 8-4) at L.A. Dodgers (Urías 11-6), 10:10 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees (Cole 9-4) at Seattle (Castillo 5-4), 10:10 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Milwaukee, 2:10 p.m.

L.A. Angels at Oakland, 3:37 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees at Seattle, 4:10 p.m.

Toronto at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m.

Atlanta at Boston, 7:10 p.m.

Cleveland at Detroit, 7:10 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Kansas City, 8:10 p.m.

Texas at Houston, 8:10 p.m.

Minnesota at L.A. Dodgers, 10:10 p.m.

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Pittsburgh 8, Baltimore 1

Philadelphia 13, Washington 1

Miami 3, Chicago Cubs 0

Cincinnati 4, Milwaukee 2, 10 innings

St. Louis 12, N.Y. Yankees 9

N.Y. Mets 5, Atlanta 2

San Francisco 6, Oakland 4

Arizona 6, Colorado 4

L.A. Dodgers 4, San Diego 0

Cincinnati at N.Y. Mets, 7:10 p.m.

Washington at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Arizona, 9:40 p.m.

San Francisco at San Diego, 9:40 p.m.

Miami (Garrett 2-5) at Philadelphia (Wheeler 10-5), 7:05 p.m.

Atlanta (Morton 5-5) at Boston (Hill 4-5), 7:10 p.m.

Cincinnati (Minor 1-8) at N.Y. Mets (Carrasco 12-4), 7:10 p.m.

Washington (Espino 0-4) at Chicago Cubs (Stroman 3-5), 8:05 p.m.

Tampa Bay (TBD) at Milwaukee (Woodruff 9-3), 8:10 p.m.

St. Louis (Mikolas 8-8) at Colorado (Kuhl 6-7), 8:40 p.m.

Pittsburgh (Thompson 3-8) at Arizona (Henry 0-1), 9:40 p.m.

San Francisco (Cobb 3-6) at San Diego (Musgrove 8-5), 9:40 p.m.

Minnesota (Ryan 8-4) at L.A. Dodgers (Urías 11-6), 10:10 p.m.

Cincinnati at N.Y. Mets, 1:10 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Milwaukee, 2:10 p.m.

Washington at Chicago Cubs, 2:20 p.m.

San Francisco at San Diego, 4:10 p.m.

Miami at Philadelphia, 7:05 p.m.

Atlanta at Boston, 7:10 p.m.

St. Louis at Colorado, 8:40 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Arizona, 9:40 p.m.

Minnesota at L.A. Dodgers, 10:10 p.m.

All Times EDT

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Pittsburgh 8, Baltimore 1

Philadelphia 13, Washington 1

Miami 3, Chicago Cubs 0

Cincinnati 4, Milwaukee 2, 10 innings

St. Louis 12, N.Y. Yankees 9

N.Y. Mets 5, Atlanta 2

San Francisco 6, Oakland 4

Arizona 6, Colorado 4

L.A. Dodgers 4, San Diego 0

Cincinnati at N.Y. Mets, 7:10 p.m.

Washington at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Arizona, 9:40 p.m.

San Francisco at San Diego, 9:40 p.m.

Miami (Garrett 2-5) at Philadelphia (Wheeler 10-5), 7:05 p.m.

Atlanta (Morton 5-5) at Boston (Hill 4-5), 7:10 p.m.

Cincinnati (Minor 1-8) at N.Y. Mets (Carrasco 12-4), 7:10 p.m.

Washington (Espino 0-4) at Chicago Cubs (Stroman 3-5), 8:05 p.m.

Tampa Bay (TBD) at Milwaukee (Woodruff 9-3), 8:10 p.m.

St. Louis (Mikolas 8-8) at Colorado (Kuhl 6-7), 8:40 p.m.

Pittsburgh (Thompson 3-8) at Arizona (Henry 0-1), 9:40 p.m.

San Francisco (Cobb 3-6) at San Diego (Musgrove 8-5), 9:40 p.m.

Minnesota (Ryan 8-4) at L.A. Dodgers (Urías 11-6), 10:10 p.m.

Cincinnati at N.Y. Mets, 1:10 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Milwaukee, 2:10 p.m.

Washington at Chicago Cubs, 2:20 p.m.

San Francisco at San Diego, 4:10 p.m.

Miami at Philadelphia, 7:05 p.m.

Atlanta at Boston, 7:10 p.m.

St. Louis at Colorado, 8:40 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Arizona, 9:40 p.m.

Minnesota at L.A. Dodgers, 10:10 p.m.

All Times EDT

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Cleveland 1, Houston 0

Tampa Bay 7, Detroit 0

Pittsburgh 8, Baltimore 1

Kansas City 13, Boston 5

Toronto 3, Minnesota 2, 10 innings

Chicago White Sox 8, Texas 2

St. Louis 12, N.Y. Yankees 9

Seattle 6, L.A. Angels 3

San Francisco 6, Oakland 4

Toronto at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m.

L.A. Angels at Oakland, 9:40 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees at Seattle, 10:10 p.m.

Chicago White Sox (Lynn 2-4) at Kansas City (Singer 4-4), 4:10 p.m., 1st game

Toronto (Manoah 12-5) at Baltimore (Bradish 1-4), 7:05 p.m.

Atlanta (Morton 5-5) at Boston (Hill 4-5), 7:10 p.m.

Cleveland (Bieber 6-6) at Detroit (Alexander 2-5), 7:10 p.m.

Chicago White Sox (TBD) at Kansas City (TBD), 7:40 p.m., 2nd game

Tampa Bay (TBD) at Milwaukee (Woodruff 9-3), 8:10 p.m.

Texas (Pérez 9-2) at Houston (Urquidy 10-4), 8:10 p.m.

L.A. Angels (Ohtani 9-7) at Oakland (Kaprielian 3-5), 9:40 p.m.

Minnesota (Ryan 8-4) at L.A. Dodgers (Urías 11-6), 10:10 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees (Cole 9-4) at Seattle (Castillo 5-4), 10:10 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Milwaukee, 2:10 p.m.

L.A. Angels at Oakland, 3:37 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees at Seattle, 4:10 p.m.

Toronto at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m.

Atlanta at Boston, 7:10 p.m.

Cleveland at Detroit, 7:10 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Kansas City, 8:10 p.m.

Texas at Houston, 8:10 p.m.

Minnesota at L.A. Dodgers, 10:10 p.m.

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Pittsburgh 8, Baltimore 1

Philadelphia 13, Washington 1

Miami 3, Chicago Cubs 0

Cincinnati 4, Milwaukee 2, 10 innings

St. Louis 12, N.Y. Yankees 9

N.Y. Mets 5, Atlanta 2

San Francisco 6, Oakland 4

Arizona 6, Colorado 4

L.A. Dodgers 4, San Diego 0

Cincinnati at N.Y. Mets, 7:10 p.m.

Washington at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Arizona, 9:40 p.m.

San Francisco at San Diego, 9:40 p.m.

Miami (Garrett 2-5) at Philadelphia (Wheeler 10-5), 7:05 p.m.

Atlanta (Morton 5-5) at Boston (Hill 4-5), 7:10 p.m.

Cincinnati (Minor 1-8) at N.Y. Mets (Carrasco 12-4), 7:10 p.m.

Washington (Espino 0-4) at Chicago Cubs (Stroman 3-5), 8:05 p.m.

Tampa Bay (TBD) at Milwaukee (Woodruff 9-3), 8:10 p.m.

St. Louis (Mikolas 8-8) at Colorado (Kuhl 6-7), 8:40 p.m.

Pittsburgh (Thompson 3-8) at Arizona (Henry 0-1), 9:40 p.m.

San Francisco (Cobb 3-6) at San Diego (Musgrove 8-5), 9:40 p.m.

Minnesota (Ryan 8-4) at L.A. Dodgers (Urías 11-6), 10:10 p.m.

Cincinnati at N.Y. Mets, 1:10 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Milwaukee, 2:10 p.m.

Washington at Chicago Cubs, 2:20 p.m.

San Francisco at San Diego, 4:10 p.m.

Miami at Philadelphia, 7:05 p.m.

Atlanta at Boston, 7:10 p.m.

St. Louis at Colorado, 8:40 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Arizona, 9:40 p.m.

Minnesota at L.A. Dodgers, 10:10 p.m.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets mostly ceded the spotlight at the trade deadline.

Then they played like they didn't need much help.

The Dodgers swept a three-game series against San Diego to take a 15 1/2-game lead in the NL West, and the Mets took four of five from Atlanta to move 6 1/2 up on the Braves in the NL East. That was after the Padres made serious waves at the deadline by acquiring Juan Soto, and the Braves added Jake Odorizzi and Raisel Iglesias.

Los Angeles wasn't all that active. The Dodgers took Joey Gallo off the Yankees' hands but otherwise seemed content to lie low. Then they beat Soto, Manny Machado and the Padres three times by a combined 20-4. Los Angeles has won eight in a row and 30 of its last 35.

The Mets were also fairly quiet at the deadline. Of course, they made a pretty big recent addition internally when Jacob deGrom returned to the mound for the first time in almost 13 months. New York lost his first start but won his second — when he took a perfect game into the sixth inning against Atlanta on Sunday.

The Braves have recovered nicely from a mediocre start, and at times they've seemed poised to overtake the Mets. But New York won two of three at Atlanta in the middle of last month and got the better of the Braves again this time.

If deGrom and Max Scherzer are healthy and Edwin Diaz keeps rolling, the Mets can certainly feel good heading into any playoff series.

Los Angeles, meanwhile, has won 17 of its last 19 meetings against San Diego. The scary thing about the Dodgers is they can still improve. Justin Turner, for example, is expected back this week. And Los Angeles has gone on this extended run without Walker Buehler, who hasn't pitched since June 10.

PLENTY TIGHT

What the AL Central and NL Central lack in dominant teams, they may make up for in excitement. Minnesota leads the AL Central by one game over Cleveland and two over the White Sox. That could be a wild race, since none of those teams is assured a wild card.

St. Louis has won seven in a row and leads Milwaukee by two games in the NL Central. The Cardinals took three straight from the New York Yankees to end the week. The Brewers have lost six of seven and are 1 1/2 games out of a wild card.

TRIVIA TIME

Who was the last team to win its division by more than the Dodgers' current 15 1/2-game margin?

LINE OF THE WEEK

DeGrom was impressive against the Braves but ultimately didn't make it out of the sixth, so this honor goes to Miami's Sandy Alcantara, who threw his third complete game of the season in a 3-0 win over Cincinnati on Wednesday night. Alcantara allowed six hits and a walk and struck out three.

COMEBACK OF THE WEEK

The Cardinals beat the Cubs 4-3 in the opener of Thursday's doubleheader after trailing 3-0 in the seventh. St. Louis scored three in the seventh on homers by Nolan Gorman and Paul Goldschmidt and a sacrifice fly by Lars Nootbaar. Then Nootbaar hit an RBI single in the ninth to win it.

TRIVIA ANSWER

The Dodgers themselves, who ended the 2019 season 21 games ahead of second-place Arizona.

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Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister

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