The Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays will open a four-game series on Monday and will do it showcasing a pair of arms that could play a big role in their futures.

Having won four straight games, the American League East-leading Blue Jays (87-62) do not have the luxury of putting it on cruise control and riding out their final 13 regular-season games, despite owning the junior circuit’s best mark and being red-hot the second half of 2025.

In an intriguing development, Toronto will send out its top prospect, pitcher Trey Yesavage, in his debut.

Manager John Schneider said the move is closer to one of necessity rather than just a late-season dalliance to see what the Canadian club might have for next year.

“This isn’t an open tryout,” said Schneider. “This is a very, very deliberate decision that we think he can help us. I don’t want to experiment too much, and I don’t want to ruffle any feathers more than we already have.”

To say the 2024 first-round pick (No. 20 overall) has had a meteoric rise this season is a gigantic understatement.

In stops at Class-A Dunedin, High-A Vancouver, Double-A New Hampshire and Triple-A Buffalo, the former East Carolina right-hander went 5-1 with a 3.12 ERA in 25 outings, 22 of them starts.

Despite firing only 98 innings overall, the 22-year-old Yesavage whiffed 160 and allowed just 54 hits and 41 walks, opening eyes within the organization and fast-tracking him through the farm system.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Pennsylvania product said he isn’t worried about his first big league start.

“There’s not much pressure at all. I’m still playing a children’s game for a living,” Yesavage said.

While the Blue Jays are scorching, the Rays (73-76) have wasted plenty of opportunities to try to return to serious wild-card consideration.

In the Windy City, they dropped two of three to both the AL-worst White Sox and playoff-slotted Cubs, almost decimating any playoff hopes and inching closer to missing the postseason for the second consecutive campaign.

Entering Monday, the Rays sit 7 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros, who descended into the third wild-card spot after being passed by the sizzling Seattle Mariners, who have won nine straight to assume the lead in the AL West.

Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash’s club has seen his club fizzle after winning a season-high seven straight and getting within a couple of games of the Mariners.

The Rays have dropped seven of their past nine but are 5-1 against Toronto. However, they haven’t faced this version of the Blue Jays: The clubs last squared off in a May 25 affair.

No announcement was made for Monday’s Rays starter, and it won’t be a bullpen game. Speculation is that it could be right-hander Joe Boyle (1-3, 5.40), who was scratched from his start at Triple-A Durham on Sunday.

Ryan Pepiot, who was expected to be done for the season due to fatigue and a career high in innings (163), will start Tuesday.

“I think the extra rest and the extra days (helped), spending some time in the training room, getting everything back right,” the righty said after a bullpen session. “Everything came out good, stuff was good, so I’m looking forward to getting back out there.”

–Field Level Media

Nine years ago, Jameson Taillon was a pitching prospect with Pittsburgh, part of a core that the Pirates hoped would turn around the long-suffering franchise.

Fast forward to Monday and Taillon will take the mound, looking to help another one of baseball’s most famously tortured franchises get back to the playoffs — and the right-hander will do so against the team that first turned to him nearly a decade ago.

Taillon, 33, will be on the mound for Chicago on Monday when the Cubs visit Pittsburgh for the first of a three-game series — the opening series of the Cubs’ final road trip of the season.

The Cubs (85-64) will take the field 5 1/2 games behind the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers, but also sitting in the first wild-card spot in the NL, 10 games ahead of the San Francisco Giants — the first team out of a wild-card berth. Chicago is looking to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2020, when the Cubs were swept by the Miami Marlins in the wild-card round in the COVID-shortened season.

That ended a run for the Cubs of five postseasons over a six-season span — a run that included winning the World Series in 2016 to break a 108-year title drought.

Taillon (9-6, 4.15 ERA), a nine-year veteran who has played for the Pirates, Yankees and Cubs in his career, will be making his second start since being activated from the injured list after dealing with a groin strain. In his first game back on Wednesday, Taillon gave up two runs on six hits and two walks with two strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings. He did not get a decision as the Cubs won 3-2 in Atlanta.

“(Taillon) gave what we needed,” Cuba manager Craig Counsell said after the game. “You’re facing (Braves left-hander) Chris Sale and you know it’s not going to be easy to score. He wasn’t making it look like it was going to be very easy to score, that’s for sure. We did a nice job and (Taillon) hung in there and gave us a good effort.”

Taillon is 3-2 with a 4.25 ERA in 36 innings over six career starts against the Pirates, who took him No. 2 overall out of The Woodlands High School in Texas in 2010.

Opposing him will be rookie righty Braxton Ashcraft (4-2, 2.47). Postseason dreams have long been extinguished for the Pirates (65-85), who own the worst record of any team not yet officially eliminated from the playoffs. But that won’t render the rest of this season meaningless.

Much like Taillon nine years ago, Ashcraft represents what the Pirates hope will be the foundation of that long-awaited emergence. With reigning NL Rookie of the Year and current Cy Young Award favorite Paul Skenes set to take the mound Tuesday, Ashcraft will face the Cubs for the third time in his debut season.

In his first game at Wrigley Field on June 14, Ashcraft pitched the final two innings of a 2-1 Pirates loss, retiring all six batters he faced, including striking out the final two.

Then in Chicago on Aug. 15, Ashcraft got the start and was again stellar, giving up one run on three hits over five innings. He struck out four and did not walk a batter en route to a no-decision in a 3-2 Pirates win.

In his most recent outing, Ashcraft pitched three innings of relief in a game the Pirates lost 3-2 in 11 innings in Baltimore on Tuesday. He gave up one run on two hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

After the game, Ashcraft was asked what he hopes his recent performances have shown the Pirates.

“(That) I want the ball,” said Ashcraft, a second-round pick in the 2018 draft out of Robinson (Texas) High School. “I think at the end of the day, the willingness to fill roles boils down to wanting to take the ball and be on the bump. That’s how I grew up and that’s how I know this game. Go compete when you have the opportunity to. I’m looking to do more of that this year.”

–Field Level Media

After a lost weekend for both teams, the Chicago White Sox and visiting Baltimore Orioles look to regroup when they begin a three-game series on Monday.

Chicago (57-93) lost three straight to the host Cleveland Guardians over the weekend, while Baltimore (69-80) was swept in three games by the host Toronto Blue Jays.

One bright spot for the Orioles was the play of first baseman Coby Mayo, who hit his second home run in as many games during an 11-2 loss to the Blue Jays on Sunday.

The 23-year-old Mayo enters Monday’s play batting .193 with nine homers and 24 RBIs. Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino is hoping the young slugger can build on his success from the weekend.

“It’s a good couple days right there,” Mansolino said. “I just think with young players, there’s going to be some ups and some downs, and Coby’s gone through both sides of it a little bit. The last couple days, he’s trending up a little bit … a couple nice things right there, promising, exciting.”

The White Sox have been similarly encouraged by the play of infielders Chase Meidroth and Lenyn Sosa.

Meidroth extended his hitting streak to 10 games and hit his fifth homer of the season in a 3-2 loss to Cleveland on Sunday. Meidroth is batting .471 (16-for-34) during his streak.

Chicago manager Will Venable has also been impressed by Sosa, who has set career highs in every offensive category and leads the team in RBI (68) and home runs (20).

“He’s just consistently been a guy that has a dangerous bat,” Venable said. “Now he’s really calculated, and when he wants to let it go early in the count, he’s seeing some good pitches, getting his timing right and having some good results.”

The pitching matchup for the series opener features a pair of right-handers as Baltimore’s Kyle Bradish (0-1, 2.65 ERA) faces Chicago’s Sean Burke (4-10, 4.35).

Bradish, 29, has completed six innings in two of his three starts since returning from Tommy John surgery. He allowed four hits and one run over seven innings with two walks and six strikeouts in a no-decision against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates last Tuesday.

“Getting through seven is always good for everybody — team, bullpen, myself,” Bradish said. “But yeah, just knowing I can be efficient like I was and get through seven and give the team a quality start, that’s always the goal.”

Bradish is set to make his second career start against the White Sox after tossing seven no-hit innings with 11 strikeouts in a 4-1 victory on May 26, 2024.

Burke, 25, was recalled after making three starts for Triple-A Charlotte and allowed three runs across 4 1/3 innings in a no-decision at home against the Tampa Bay Rays last Wednesday.

“I really liked where all my stuff was at,” Burke said. “Having the two or three weeks to kind of focus on getting back and (the) feel with everything was nice. Now that I’m in a good spot with that, it’s about continuing to get ahead of guys and do everything I can to get guys out here.”

Burke is making his first career start against Baltimore. He followed the opener and allowed two runs over six innings in a 2-1 loss to the host Orioles on May 30.

Baltimore leads the season series, 3-0, after sweeping the White Sox at Camden Yards from May 30-June 1.

–Field Level Media

Two teams experiencing contrasting months meet when the Atlanta Braves open a three-day, four-game series at the Washington Nationals on Monday.

The Braves (66-83), who will soon see their streak of seven straight postseason appearances end, are limping home and sport a 4-8 September record after snapping a four-game losing streak on Sunday.

The Nationals (62-87), who will extend their streak of missing the playoffs to six, improved to 9-4 this month when they rallied for a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.

Atlanta will send right-hander Spencer Strider (5-13, 4.86 ERA) against Washington left-hander Mitchell Parker (8-15, 5.69) on Monday.

After a brutal early August (15.43 ERA in three starts), Strider has bounced back. Over his last three starts, he has given up six earned runs in 18 innings (3.00 ERA). The Braves have lost all six games.

Last time out, Strider gave up two runs on six hits over six innings in a loss to the Chicago Cubs. He struck out eight — his most since July 18 — and walked three.

“It was good to see him clear through six innings,” manager Brian Snitker said. “He really wanted to go back out for the sixth, too. I’m glad we sent him back out there. It’s part of the process. That was good. It was a step in the right direction.”

Strider is 4-2 with a 5.03 ERA in seven games (six starts) versus Washington. He lost to them on May 20, allowing four earned runs in 4 1/3 innings.

Parker endured a tough August and saw his ERA climb to 6.01. He has had two quality outings in his past three starts, including last Tuesday against the Miami Marlins, when he earned his first win since July 26.

“It’s good to build good momentum,” said Parker, who gave up two runs on four hits over 7 2/3 innings. “We’re building off of each one and hopefully improving something in all of them. It’s a good confidence-booster to build off of.”

Parker is 2-0 with a 4.63 ERA in four career starts against the Braves. He has not faced them this season.

On Sunday, Daylen Lile’s eighth-inning double drove in the go-ahead run against the Pirates. Lile, Andres Chapparo and Paul DeJong had two hits each for Washington, which has won three of its past four series and split the other.

Lile has reached safely in 14 straight and is batting .415 (22-for-53) over that stretch.

Interim Washington manager Miguel Cairo opted to give closer Jose A. Ferrer the day off, opening the door for Clayton Beeter to earn his first career save.

“I just wanted to give a little break to him,” Cairo said of Ferrer. “He’s been pitching a lot. And like I say, I want to make sure everyone pitches in different leverage. … He will be ready (Monday).”

Ozzie Albies drove in three runs with two hits in Atlanta’s 8-3 win over the Houston Astros on Sunday. Matt Olson had two hits, including a homer, and Sandy Leon homered in his first start in over two years and notched three RBIs.

Albies has 39 RBIs in 54 games since the All-Star break.

“It feels amazing,” he said. “Anything to help the team win is special. I’m just putting good (at-bats) up, and I’m looking forward to more of those.”

–Field Level Media

Pete Alonso hit a walk-off three-run homer with nobody out in the 10th inning as the New York Mets ended a season-worst eight-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the visiting Texas Rangers on Sunday afternoon.

The Mets (77-73) avoided their first nine-game skid since an 11-game slide in 2004 when Alonso came through following an intentional walk to Juan Soto by rookie Luis Curvelo (1-1).

Alonso won it when he hit a 1-1 sinker over the right field fence. He flipped his helmet in the air and ripped off his jersey as his teammates awaited him at the plate. It was Alonso’s fifth career walk-off homer and first since May 17, 2023, against Tampa Bay’s Pete Fairbanks.

Alonso’s clutch homer allowed the Mets to remain in the NL’s third wild-card spot. New York leads the San Francisco Giants by 1 1/2 games.

Texas (79-71) saw its six-game winning streak stopped. The Rangers trail the Houston Astros by two games for the third wild-card spot in the American League.

Mariners 11, Angels 2

Cal Raleigh hit his major league-leading 54th home run of the season, tying Mickey Mantle’s record for a switch hitter set in 1961, as host Seattle took sole possession of first place in the American League West with a victory against Los Angeles.

Jorge Polanco tied a franchise record with three doubles and Julio Rodriguez added two more with two runs and two RBIs as the Mariners won their ninth game in a row. Starter George Kirby (9-7) gave up two runs on three hits over 6 1/3 innings. The right-hander didn’t walk a batter and tied his career high with 14 strikeouts.

Christian Moore and Oswald Peraza hit solo homers for the Angels. Kyle Hendricks (7-10), who gave up Raleigh’s two-run homer on a first-pitch sinker, allowed nine runs on 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings, with two walks and six strikeouts.

Royals 10, Phillies 3

Salvador Perez homered and drove in five runs as Kansas City salvaged the finale of its three-game series with host Philadelphia, though the Phillies clinched a playoff spot despite the loss.

After homering twice in Saturday’s defeat, Perez lifted his team to victory in this one with plenty of help from Noah Cameron (8-7). The rookie left-hander allowed two runs and four hits in seven innings, walking one and striking out seven.

Kyle Schwarber hit his 52nd home run for Philadelphia, which squandered a chance to clinch the National League East but clinched a playoff spot when the San Francisco Giants lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers later in the day.

Nationals 4, Pirates 3

Daylen Lile’s eighth-inning double drove in the go-ahead run and host Washington rallied past Pittsburgh to take the rubber game of the series.

James Wood walked leading off the eighth against Isaac Mattson (3-3). With one out, Lile doubled to left center and when Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz couldn’t cut the ball off, Wood came all the way around to score the go-ahead run. The Nationals have won three of their past four series and split the other one. Jackson Rutledge (4-2) pitched one inning for the win.

Pittsburgh’s Jared Triolo walked with two outs in the ninth and Spencer Horwitz singled, but Clayton Beeter struck out Bryan Reynolds for his first major league save. Cruz had two hits for the Pirates, who have lost eight of nine.

Dodgers 10, Giants 2

Michael Conforto contributed a two-run, pinch-hit single to a four-run fifth inning, Tyler Glasnow pitched effectively into the seventh and Los Angeles secured a second consecutive road in San Franscisco.

Teoscar Hernandez collected four hits while Conforto, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman all finished with three for the Dodgers, who needed the win to remain 2 1/2 games up in the National League West over the San Diego Padres.

San Francisco’s loss narrowed the gap between the Giants and the Diamondbacks for fourth place in the NL wild-card race. Giants starter Robbie Ray (11-7) was charged with five of the six runs in his four-plus innings.

Braves 8, Astros 3

Ozzie Albies drove in three runs to help Atlanta defeat visiting Houston and end its four-game losing streak.

The win allowed Atlanta to salvage a game in the three-game series. Houston finished its road trip with a 4-5 record. Albies was 2-for-5 with three RBIs. He drove in two runs on a single in the fifth inning, when Atlanta rallied for three runs to break a 2-2 tie and take the lead for good. He added an RBI double.

The winning pitcher was Hunter Stratton (1-1), who followed Wentz with two innings and allowed only a 446-foot homer to Cam Smith. Houston starter Framber Valdez (12-10) lost his third straight start and for the sixth time in his last seven decisions. He pitched four innings and allowed five runs on six hits.

Blue Jays 11, Orioles 2

Shane Bieber pitched six effective innings, George Springer had a homer and two doubles, and Toronto defeated visiting Baltimore to complete a three-game sweep.

Bieber (3-1) allowed one run, four hits and one walk with five strikeouts for the American League East-leading Blue Jays. Alejandro Kirk had three hits and Addison Barger collected three RBIs as Toronto took the season series 7-6. Coby Mayo and Colton Cowser hit solo home runs for the Orioles.

Mayo homered for the second consecutive at-bat when he slugged an 0-1 fastball from Bieber to center with one out in the second inning. He also homered in the ninth on Saturday. Baltimore starter Albert Suarez allowed one run and two hits in three innings.

Athletics 7, Reds 4

Nick Kurtz and Brent Rooker each homered and drove in a pair of runs to help the Athletics post a victory over Cincinnati in West Sacramento, Calif.

Jacob Wilson and Colby Thomas also homered for the A’s, who swept the Reds and won their fourth straight game. Luis Morales (4-1) threw five innings of three-run, four-hit ball. Michael Kelly threw a perfect ninth, securing the win while recording his first career save.

Nick Lodolo (8-8) allowed five runs on eight hits across 5 1/3 innings for the Reds, who fell 2 1/2 games behind the New York Mets for the National League’s final wild-card spot. Will Benson homered and drove in two for Cincinnati, which was swept after winning four of its previous five games.

Red Sox 6, Yankees 4

Boston scored five times on five hits to begin a six-run first inning and Garrett Crochet matched a season-high 12 strikeouts across six innings en route to a win over visiting New York.

Carlos Narvaez punctuated the big inning with a two-out solo homer to deep center field while Trevor Story, Nathaniel Lowe, Romy Gonzalez (double) and Masataka Yoshida all had multiple hits for Boston, which lost the first two games of the three-game series. Crochet (16-5) allowed just two baserunners through the first three innings and finished with six innings of three-run ball.

New York fell four games behind the first-place Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East but lead the Red Sox by 1 1/2 games for the top AL wild-card spot. Two of the five hits off Crochet were solo home runs by Amed Rosario and Aaron Judge, who hit his 48th of the season.

Tigers 2, Marlins 0

First-place Detroit capitalized on three errors — all on the same play — to defeat host Miami and trim its magic number to win the American League Central to seven games.

Detroit snapped a three-game losing streak and avoided a Marlins sweep. Tigers right-hander Keider Montero (5-3) earned the win as he allowed three hits, no walks and no runs in five innings.

Marlins right-hander Adam Mazur (0-4) took a tough-luck loss. He matched his career high by lasting six innings while giving up just one hit, two walks and two unearned runs. It was the first time in Mazur’s 13-start MLB career that he lasted at least five innings and allowed no earned runs.

Guardians 3, White Sox 2

Bo Naylor hit a go-ahead solo home run in the seventh inning and drove in all three runs as Cleveland completed a three-game sweep of visiting Chicago.

Naylor also had a two-run double for Cleveland, which has won four straight and nine of its last 10 games to remain in the American League wild-card chase.

The White Sox were held to five hits and lost for the 11th time in 13 meetings with the Guardians this season. Chase Meidroth extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a solo homer.

Diamondbacks 6, Twins 4

James McCann went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs, and Arizona held on to beat Minnesota in Minneapolis.

Alek Thomas went 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and an RBI for the Diamondbacks, who won the rubber match of the three-game series. Tim Tawa also drove in a run. Right-hander Nabil Crismatt (3-0) allowed two runs (none earned) in five innings.

Matt Wallner and Mickey Gasper each hit a solo home run for the Twins. Right-hander Bailey Ober (5-8) surrendered four runs on four hits in six innings.

Cubs 4, Rays 3

Nico Hoerner doubled in two runs with two outs in the seventh inning to lift host Chicago over Tampa Bay and keep the Cubs in the first wild-card spot in the National League.

Javier Assad (3-1) picked up the win in relief, and Andrew Kittredge pitched the ninth for his fifth save as the Cubs won for the fourth time in their past five games. Edwin Uceta (9-3) took the loss for the Rays, who fell for the fourth time in five games.

Uceta gave up a leadoff single to Willi Castro in the seventh, and Matt Shaw singled with one out. Michael Busch struck out for the second out, but Hoerner capped a three-RBI day with his double down the left field line to provide the winning margin.

Padres 9, Rockies 6

Jackson Merrill belted a three-run homer to help host San Diego overcome Mickey Moniak’s two-homer, five-RBI performance in a victory versus Colorado.

Fernando Tatis Jr. collected three hits and four of his teammates had two for the Padres, who bolted to a 7-0 advantage after three innings. Yu Darvish (4-5) allowed three runs on four hits in five-plus innings.

Moniak recorded four hits to lead the comeback bid of the Rockies. He homered off to lead off the fourth inning, had a three-run shot in the sixth and added an RBI single in the seventh to trim San Diego’s lead to 7-6. Losing pitcher German Marquez (3-14) permitted seven runs (six earned) on nine hits in 2 1/3 innings.

Cardinals 3, Brewers 2

Miles Mikolas allowed two runs in five innings and visiting St. Louis held on for a victory over Milwaukee to avoid a sweep in the three-game series.

Milwaukee, which clinched a playoff berth Saturday and owns the best overall record in the majors, saw its National League Central lead trimmed to 5 1/2 games over the Cubs after their win over Tampa Bay. St. Louis, which snapped a five-game losing streak, is four games back in the chase for the final NL wild-card spot.

Mikolas (8-10) allowed two runs on a pair of solo homers, scattering five hits with five strikeouts and no walks. The Cardinals tagged Jose Quintana (11-7) for three runs in the second. Quintan exited after the fourth inning with a calf strain and will undergo an MRI, Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy told reporters after the game.

–Field Level Media

The Boston Red Sox scored five times on five hits to begin a six-run first inning and Garrett Crochet matched a season-high 12 strikeouts across six innings en route to a 6-4 win over the visiting New York Yankees on Sunday night.

Carlos Narvaez punctuated the big inning with a two-out solo homer to deep center field while Trevor Story, Nathaniel Lowe, Romy Gonzalez (double) and Masataka Yoshida all had multiple hits for Boston (82-68), which lost the first two games of the three-game series.

New York (83-66) fell four games behind the first-place Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East but lead the Red Sox by 1 1/2 games for the top AL wild-card spot.

Crochet (16-5) allowed just two baserunners through the first three innings and finished his outing with six innings of three-run ball. Two of the five hits off him were solo home runs by Amed Rosario and Aaron Judge, who hit his 48th of the season.

Steven Matz and Garrett Whitlock bridged the gap to Aroldis Chapman in the ninth, who benefited from second baseman Gonzalez’s diving stop on Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s hard grounder and struck out Jose Caballero to post his 30th save of the season.

Judge was 2-for-4 and Rosario had two RBIs to lead New York. Will Warren (8-7) put up four straight scoreless innings after the first.

After Crochet’s 1-2-3 top of the first included a Judge strikeout, Duran got the Red Sox offense off to a lightning-quick start with a leadoff triple that took a bad bounce off the Green Monster and away from left fielder Giancarlo Stanton. Duran immediately scored on Bregman’s bounding single up the middle.

Singles by Story and Lowe continued the early onslaught, with the latter knock to right doubling the lead. Gonzalez’s RBI double into the right-field corner made it 3-0 and ended a game-opening stretch of five straight hits.

The first two outs — a Yoshida sacrifice fly and Rob Refsnyder RBI grounder — both produced runs before Narvaez’s round-tripper.

Crochet did not allow a hit until Ben Rice’s ringing double to center with one out in the third. The Boston lefty, though, fanned Austin Slater and Judge back-to-back to end a three-strikeout third.

New York got on the scoreboard at 6-2 in the fourth. Stanton hit a one-out single past shortstop before Rosario just cleared the Green Monster in left-center field for a two-run homer.

In the fifth, a batter after Crochet picked up his 10th strikeout, Judge hit a solo shot into the right-center field bullpen to bring the Yankees another run closer.

Caballero cut the New York deficit to 6-4 in the seventh, sending a one-out solo homer totally out of the ballpark in left field off Matz.

The visitors’ eighth began with Judge lining a hard-hit single off the left-field wall against Whitlock, who recovered to strike out the heart of the lineup in order.

–Field Level Media

Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy provided some clarity on Jose Quintana’s early exit in Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, saying the starter suffered a calf injury.

Per Murphy, Quintana sustained the injury while covering first base. He was pulled after just four innings and 67 pitches, taking the loss to fall to 11-7 on the season after allowing three runs on four hits with two strikeouts and two walks.

Murphy said that Quintana left for the day in a walking boot and would be getting an MRI, so the severity of the injury is not yet known.

The 36-year-old southpaw has a 3.96 ERA over 131 2/3 innings — on the verge of his fourth straight season with a sub-4.00 ERA — with 89 strikeouts to 50 walks.

The Brewers’ bullpen combined for five shutout innings in relief of Quintana Sunday, but the pitching staff of the team with the best record in baseball (91-59) has already been quite taxed with injuries.

Right-hander Shelby Miller (elbow) is done for the year while right-hander Logan Henderson (flexor) is done for at least the regular season. There’s hope that relievers Trevor Megill (flexor), Nick Mears (back) and DL Hall (oblique) will return from the IL in the next few weeks as the postseason nears.

–Field Level Media

Cal Raleigh hit his major league-leading 54th home run of the season, tying Mickey Mantle’s record for a switch hitter set in 1961, as the Seattle Mariners took sole possession of first place in the American League West with an 11-2 victory against the visiting Los Angeles Angels on Sunday afternoon.

Jorge Polanco tied a franchise record with three doubles and Julio Rodriguez added two more with two runs and two RBIs as the Mariners (82-68) won their ninth game in a row.

Mariners starter George Kirby (9-7) gave up two runs on three hits over 6 1/3 innings. The right-hander didn’t walk a batter and tied his career high with 14 strikeouts.

Kirby retired the first 13 batters he faced before Christian Moore homered to deep left-center with one out in the fifth for the Angels (69-81), who lost their fourth straight. Oswald Peraza went deep an inning later.

Randy Arozarena led off the bottom of the first with a single and Raleigh hit the next pitch from Kyle Hendricks (7-10), a sinker on the outside corner, 409 feet into the Seattle bullpen in left-center field.

The Mariners added three runs in the third and six more in the fourth to pull away.

Raleigh led off the third with an infield single and Rodriguez followed with a run-scoring double to left-center. Rodriguez stole third and Josh Naylor lifted a sacrifice fly to center. Polanco doubled to left and Dominic Canzone lined a two-out single to right to make it 5-0.

Rodriguez hit a run-scoring double to left in the fourth after a single by J.P. Crawford and a one-out walk to Raleigh. Naylor grounded a two-run single to right before Polanco greeted reliever Connor Brogdon with a double to left. With two outs, Canzone lined a two-run single to center and Crawford doubled to center to make it 11-0 after a Leo Rivas walk.

Hendricks gave up nine runs on 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings, with two walks and six strikeouts.

–Field Level Media

Jackson Merrill belted a three-run homer to help the host San Diego Padres overcome Mickey Moniak’s two-homer, five-RBI performance in a 9-6 victory versus the Colorado Rockies on Sunday.

San Diego’s Gavin Sheets provided insurance with a two-run double in the eighth inning, and Jose Iglesias had a two-run single in the first

Fernando Tatis Jr. collected three hits and four of his teammates had two for the Padres (82-68), who bolted out to a 7-0 advantage after three innings.

The fast start led San Diego to its sixth win in the last nine games overall and 10th in 13 meetings this season with Colorado. The Padres are 2 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.

Moniak recorded four hits to lead the comeback bid of the Rockies (41-109). He homered off Yu Darvish (4-5) to lead off the fourth inning, had a three-run shot in the sixth and added an RBI single in the seventh to trim San Diego’s lead to 7-6.

Darvish allowed three runs on four hits with five strikeouts in five-plus innings. Robert Suarez struck out three batters in the ninth to secure his 38th save of the season.

Ezequiel Tovar ripped an RBI double in the seventh inning for the Rockies, who lost for the 19th time in the last 23 games.

San Diego’s Manny Machado (rest) sat out his first game of the season and Luis Arraez (head) also was a spectator for the series finale.

The Padres quickly loaded the bases against German Márquez (3-14) in the first inning before Jake Cronenworth’s bunt single up the third-base line scored Tatis with the game’s first run. Iglesias’ single up the middle plated a pair of runs to extend the Padres’ lead to 3-0.

Merrill doubled the advantage in the second inning after depositing a 2-0 sinker from Marquez over the wall in left-center field. The homer was Merrill’s 13th of the season and third in his last four games.

San Diego increased its lead to 7-0 after Freddy Fermin registered the team’s third straight single to start the third inning.

Marquez permitted seven runs (six earned) on nine hits in 2 1/3 innings.

–Field Level Media

Michael Conforto contributed a two-RBI, pinch-hit single to a four-run fifth inning, Tyler Glasnow pitched effectively into the seventh and the Los Angeles Dodgers secured a second consecutive road win over the San Francisco Giants with a 10-2 thumping Sunday afternoon.

Teoscar Hernandez collected four hits while Conforto, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman all finished with three for the Dodgers (84-65), who needed the win to remain 2 1/2 games up in the National League West over the San Diego Padres (82-68), who won at home over the Colorado Rockies.

San Francisco’s loss, coupled with Arizona’s 6-4 win at Minnesota earlier in the day, narrowed the gap between the Giants (75-74) and the Diamondbacks (75-75) for fourth place in the NL wild card race on the eve of a three-game head-to-head in Arizona.

After the Dodgers had built an early 2-1 lead, the visitors knocked out Giants starter Robbie Ray (11-7) when Freeman doubled home Betts, who had walked, with no outs in the fifth.

Reliever Joel Peguero then walked Tommy Edman to load the bases, before Conforto was summoned from the bench and delivered his two-run hit to right field.

Edman was later awarded home plate on a disengagement violation on Peguero, capping a four-run uprising that gave LA a 6-1 lead.

Ray was charged with five of the six runs in his four-plus innings. He gave up six hits and four walks while striking out five.

Glasnow (3-3) kept the Giants at arm’s length for the duration of his 108-pitch effort, calling it a day after allowing just one run and three hits in 6 2/3 innings. He walked four and struck out four.

Miguel Rojas helped break the game open with a two-run single in the sixth, and Conforto completed a three-RBI day with a run-scoring single in the eighth.

Betts scored three times, while Hernandez, Freeman and Edman tallied twice for the visitors, who out-hit the Giants 18-5. Edman, with a pair of singles, was a fifth Dodger with multiple hits.

Wilmer Flores had two hits and an RBI for the Giants in a game in which there were no home runs.

–Field Level Media