The San Francisco Giants placed shortstop Brandon Crawford on the 10-day injured list Thursday in advance of a four-game series against the host Los Angeles Dodgers.

Crawford, 36, strained his right hamstring during Wednesday’s 7-1 loss at Arizona.

If Crawford is unable to return by the Oct. 1 season finale, and the Giants don’t rally to earn a wild-card berth, the three-time All-Star’s 13-season run with San Francisco could be over.

The Giants are three games out of the final National League wild-card spot with 10 games to play, seven of which are against the Dodgers.

Crawford is batting a career-worst .197 with seven homers and 38 RBIs in 92 games this season, the final season of a two-year, $32 million extension he signed in August 2021.

A two-time World Series champion and four-time Gold Glove winner, Crawford is a career .250 hitter with 146 home runs and 744 RBIs in 1,653 games since making his MLB debut with the Giants in 2011.

Also Thursday, San Francisco called up right-hander Tristan Beck, infielder Marco Luciano and infielder/outfielder Tyler Fitzerald from Triple-A Sacramento.

Right-hander Sean Hjelle was optioned to Sacramento after recording four outs during Wednesday’s game, while infielder Paul DeJong was placed on unconditional release waivers.

–Field Level Media

Teams trending in all the wrong directions will meet Friday night when the visiting Chicago White Sox open a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox.

The Red Sox (75-78) have lost six of their last seven games and 12 of their last 15. They’re in last place in the American League East and three games below .500 for the first time since the second week of the season.

The White Sox (58-95) have lost nine of their last 12 games and are 37 games below the .500 mark for the first time since 2018.

Both teams are coming off lopsided losses Wednesday. Boston allowed a season-high run total in a 15-5 setback against Texas, while Washington beat Chicago 13-3.

Boston’s Brayan Bello allowed eight runs in three innings during Wednesday’s loss. It was the most runs a Red Sox starting pitcher has given up in a game this season.

“Not a good one,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “They put some good swings on pitches in the zone, the command was off, and it’s one of those that we have to turn the page and be ready for the next one.

“That’s a team that, similar to Toronto, Houston, the Dodgers, it’s a fast-break offense, and when they get going it’s hard to stop. And we weren’t able to do that (Wednesday).”

Boston committed its 100th error of the season Wednesday when Rafael Devers made a fielding miscue in the fifth inning. Red Sox second baseman Luis Urias left the game with calf tightness after beating out an infield single in the seventh inning.

The White Sox surrendered 14 hits in Wednesday’s loss, which dropped the team’s road record to 28-50. The Nationals scored in six of the eight innings they came to the plate.

“We didn’t pitch very well, and we didn’t hit,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “Nine free passes (seven walks and two hit batters), a couple errors. There’s not much to really talk about in this game.”

Left-hander Chris Sale (6-4, 4.66 ERA) is scheduled to start on the mound for Boston on Friday against his former club. Righthander Touki Toussaint (4-7, 5.40) is Chicago’s probable starter.

Toussaint is 0-1 with a 5.79 ERA in his career against the Red Sox. His only start against Boston came in 2018 when he was a member of the Atlanta Braves.

Toussaint struck out eight in five innings during Saturday’s 7-6 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Sale spent six seasons with the White Sox before he was traded to the Red Sox in 2016 for Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Luis Alexander Basabe and Victor Diaz. He’s 2-1 with a 3.96 ERA in four career starts against his former team. He recorded 39 strikeouts in 25 innings during those four starts.

Sale had a no-decision in his last start, that ended in the Red Sox’s 4-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. He allowed a run on two hits and walked two in six-plus innings, with 10 strikeouts. Sale has given up two runs or fewer in seven of his last 11 starts.

“Obviously, we’re in a tough situation,” Sale said. “At least we can go out there and play for pride, and I’m not going to give up. We’re not going to cash it in.”

–Field Level Media

The Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers may determine which of them makes the postseason field.

The teams close their regular seasons by playing seven of the final 10 games against one another, beginning with Friday’s opener of a three-game series at Arlington, Texas.

The Mariners (84-68) and Rangers (84-68) trail the American League West-leading Houston Astros (85-68) by a half-game in the division race. Both teams are also competing with the Toronto Blue Jays (85-67 entering Thursday) for the final two AL wild-card spots.

Texas holds a 5-1 lead in the season series, including victories in which it scored 16 and 12 runs. The teams conclude the regular season next week with four games in Seattle.

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy is thrilled to be in this situation. The likely Hall of Famer retired following the 2019 season and returned to the dugout prior to this campaign.

“To be in this situation, you couldn’t ask for more,” Bochy told reporters after Wednesday’s 15-5 rout of the visiting Boston Red Sox. “You’ve been out for three years and come back, to be in a fire like this, it is definitely a privilege.

“We get to have a good team (the Mariners) coming into town and it’s going to be exciting. It’s what we play for.”

Bochy’s offense has scored in double digits a franchise-record 26 times. Wednesday’s game marked the sixth time Texas scored 15 or more runs.

The offense got stronger this week with the return of All-Stars Adolis Garcia (knee) and Josh Jung (thumb). Garcia scored his 100th run Wednesday to go with his 102 RBIs, while Jung went 3-for-5 and belted his 23rd homer.

“You look at the two guys we just got back, I love their at-bats,” Bochy said. “It stretches out your lineup. … It’s always good to have success, it breeds confidence as they say, and you can see it in the guys right now.”

Despite the gaudy offense, the Rangers are just 9-11 over their past 20 games, a stretch that includes a six-game winning streak.

Seattle is just 7-10 over its past 17 games after producing a three-game road sweep of the Oakland Athletics.

Mariners second-year star Julio Rodriguez hammered his 31st homer of the season in Wednesday’s 6-3 victory over the A’s to reach 100 RBIs.

“It means that we definitely put a lot of team effort in that,” Rodriguez said. “I didn’t get 100 home runs. There were definitely guys on base, there were a lot of good at-bats and things like that.”

Rodriguez homered in the fifth inning. Two innings earlier, he was plunked on his left hand by a pitch and Seattle manager Scott Servais said afterward that Rodriguez will undergo precautionary X-rays.

Servais also saluted the performance of the team’s star attraction.

“He has been awesome for us, and we’re going to need him over the next 10 days and in the playoffs,” Servais said.

Rookie right-hander Bryce Miller (8-5, 3.88 ERA) will start the opener for Seattle.

Miller is winless over his past five starts (0-1) but allowed just four hits over 5 1/3 innings in a no-decision against the Los Angeles Dodgers last Saturday.

Miller, 25, was torched for seven runs and eight hits over 2 1/3 innings while losing to Texas on June 4. He allowed a homer to Corey Seager.

Right-hander Dane Dunning (10-6, 3.78) will take the mound for Texas. He gave up six hits in five shutout innings during a no-decision against the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday.

Dunning, 28, beat the Mariners on May 10 when he gave up two runs and six hits over six innings.

Dunning is 2-1 with a 4.02 ERA in six career starts against Seattle. Cal Raleigh (4-for-11) and Rodriguez (3-for-13) have both gone deep against him.

–Field Level Media

The Detroit Tigers named Jeff Greenberg as the franchise’s 20th general manager on Thursday.

Greenberg, 37, spent 11 seasons in the Chicago Cubs organization — the last three as assistant general manager — before working the last 16 months as an associate GM with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks.

The Tigers (71-81 entering Thursday), who are about to miss the playoffs for the ninth straight season, have been without a GM since firing Al Avila in August 2022.

Greenberg will report to Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris, whose time with the Cubs (2012-19) overlapped with Greenberg.

“I’m thrilled to add an executive of Jeff’s quality to our baseball operations leadership team,” Harris said. “Throughout this search, it was important for me to find someone who can fit seamlessly into the culture we’re building here.

“I also wanted to bring in someone with a fresh perspective and new ideas that could challenge us on a daily basis and make us all better as we strive towards our goal of bringing postseason baseball back to Detroit.”

In his most recent role with the Blackhawks, Greenberg worked across all functions of hockey operations, including scouting, development and coaching.

“It’s an extraordinary honor to take on this role with one of the most historic franchises in Major League Baseball,” Greenberg said. “Throughout my conversations with Scott, (owner) Chris Ilitch and the rest of the team with the Tigers, it became clear that this organization is headed in a great direction with an incredible culture of development and innovation that I’m excited to be part of.

“Another constant message in those conversations was that Tigers fans want to see winning baseball deep into October. I’m excited to get to work with our front office on offseason and longer-term plans to make that our reality.”

Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson offered the following statement:

“We will miss Jeff’s expertise and appreciate the contributions he made to the Blackhawks. We all wish him and his family the best in this incredible opportunity with the Detroit Tigers. Our Hockey Operations department is full of talented leaders and I have full confidence in that team to continue working towards our goals of sustained success. Off the ice, the processes and systems are in place to develop our team on the ice. I look forward to continuing that journey with our group.”

Before his time in Chicago, Greenberg was an intern with the Pittsburgh Pirates (2006, 2008), Arizona Diamondbacks (2010) and Major League Baseball (2009-11).

–Field Level Media

With their playoff hopes fading fast, the San Francisco Giants will face their fiercest rival in the hopes of making up ground in the wild-card chase.

The Giants (76-76) will open a four-game series against the host Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday. They are hoping to find some success on what has been a difficult final road trip of the regular season.

Since hitting the road on Friday, San Francisco has gone 1-5 on stops at Colorado and Arizona. The Giants were swept in a brief two-game series at Arizona, losing the finale 7-1 on Wednesday.

The Giants have won just five times over their past 30 road games.

San Francisco is now three games back of the final wild-card spot in the National League with 10 games to play. And seven of those games are against the NL West champion Dodgers, including three to close out the season in the Bay Area from Sept. 29-Oct. 1.

To make matters worse, the Giants would have to jump three teams to become playoff eligible.

“Obviously, these were must-win games,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “Going back several games, those were also must-win games. Now, the math is not on our side. Every game is one that we have to win.”

San Francisco rookie left-hander Kyle Harrison (1-1, 5.18 ERA) is expected to start on Thursday in his first career appearance against Los Angeles.

The Dodgers (93-58) will send rookie right-hander Emmet Sheehan (3-1, 5.44) to the mound Thursday. Sheehan pitched three scoreless innings of relief Saturday against the Seattle Mariners on a night when the Dodgers clinched the division title.

Sheehan likely isn’t to be used as a starter in the upcoming playoffs, but he could have value if the Dodgers mix and match their pitchers in games. Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts has hinted an at unconventional pitching plan for the postseason.

Roberts was asked about his comfort level with a starting rotation that hardly resembles the one that started the season and has Clayton Kershaw struggling with his mechanics as recently as earlier this month.

“I’m much more comfortable and I think that stems from their confidence,” Roberts said. “I can trust them all I want, the (coaching) staff can trust them all they want, but they have to trust themselves and believe in themselves.”

Lance Lynn, Bobby Miller and Kershaw will comprise the starting staff when the division series begins. Things could get interesting if the Dodgers advance, with bullpen games not out of the question, or even piggy-back games where multiple pitchers contribute two or three innings.

Much of the final stages of that pitching preparation for the Dodgers will come in the games ahead against the Giants.

“Just keep the focus narrow,” Roberts said. “We don’t expect them to change. The stakes are different but I think they can handle it. Just be who they are and use their strengths and make good pitches.”

The Dodgers saw their five-game winning streak come to an end Wednesday in a 4-2 defeat to the Detroit Tigers, with the offense collecting just three hits. One was Max Muncy’s 36th home run to tie a career high.

–Field Level Media

Two teams finishing the season far better than they started get an opportunity to show off their improved product to one another when the Detroit Tigers open a four-game series against the host Oakland Athletics on Thursday.

A pair of the franchises’ most promising players — Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal (6-3, 3.25 ERA) and A’s righty Luis Medina (3-9, 5.56) — will get the ball when the clubs meet for the first time since early July. Oakland won two of the three games in that series in Detroit.

The Tigers (71-81) improved to 12-7 in their last 19 games with a 4-2 road win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.

Detroit’s non-contending overall record is mostly the product of two bad months — a 10-17 start in March/April and a 9-18 slump in June. Other than that, the team has gone 52-46, a .531 winning percentage that is better than the overall mark of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

One of the Tigers’ biggest reasons for 2024 optimism has been the season turned in by Skubal, who was unable to pitch until July 4 because of an elbow injury. He gave an indication of things to come when he made his 2023 debut against the A’s, throwing four no-hit innings with six strikeouts before being pulled after 57 pitches.

The 26-year-old has allowed no earned runs in five of his 13 starts, and he’s been on top of his game in September. He’s gone 3-0 with a 1.42 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 19 innings this month.

Skubal has gone 2-2 with a 2.42 ERA in five career starts against the A’s.

He’ll be matched up against the 24-year-old Medina, who served as a bulk-innings reliever in his last appearance and performed well. Medina limited the San Diego Padres to one earned run in 3 2/3 innings, recording strikeouts for seven of the 11 outs.

Medina has never faced the Tigers.

The A’s (46-106) have dropped seven in a row, but the journey to next week’s finish line is about more than just wins and losses.

“I’m just happy to be living in this moment,” said A’s pitcher Joey Estes, who made his major-league debut in Wednesday’s 6-3 home loss to the Seattle Mariners. “Once you leave that tunnel, it’s like it’s everything you want to walk out into. It’s what you dream of.”

Oakland has enjoyed its greatest monthly success of the season in September, when it has gone 7-11 (.389). It’s been part of a 21-39 second half during which the A’s have won just four fewer games than in the first half (25-67) despite playing 32 fewer games.

Coincidentally, it could be the Tigers who are debuting a new pitcher in this series. Right-hander Brenan Hanifee, selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB Draft, was promoted to the majors for the first time Wednesday. He has yet to appear in a big-league game.

“For all seven years that I’ve been in pro ball, I’ve thought about this day,” Hanifee said Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium. “What a great group of guys to come into.”

–Field Level Media

Baltimore right-hander Grayson Rodriguez will look to continue his recent good form on Thursday night when the visiting Orioles open a four-game series against the Cleveland Guardians.

Rodriguez (6-4, 4.53 ERA) improved to 4-1 in his past six starts when he tossed a career-high eight innings in an 8-0 romp over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. The 23-year-old rookie scattered five hits and struck out seven without walking a batter.

That was quite a performance from Rodriguez, who struggled out of the blocks after entering the season as Baseball America’s second-rated pitching prospect. He posted a 2-2 record and a 7.35 ERA in his first 10 starts before being demoted to the minors.

“He’s a tough kid, and that was a tough pill for him to swallow with all the expectations this year,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said, per the Baltimore Sun. “Give him a ton of credit for dealing with that, looking in the mirror a little bit, understanding that there’s some work to do, not a finished product.

“Still got some work to do, but he is going to be an excellent starting pitcher in this game for a long time.”

Rodriguez will make his 22nd start of the season and the first of his career vs. Cleveland.

The Orioles (95-57) received a strong pitching performance from Kyle Bradish on Wednesday before seeing their four-game winning streak end in a 2-1 setback to the Houston Astros.

Although his team’s desired result wasn’t achieved in the finale at Houston, Orioles second baseman Adam Frazier said winning the series was a “big deal.”

“We know there’s a good chance we’ll see ’em again in a couple weeks (in the playoffs),” Frazier said, according to the Sun. “But until then, we’ve got to finish strong.”

The Orioles’ lead in the American League East remained 2 1/2 games over the Tampa Bay Rays (93-60), who lost 8-3 to the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night.

The Guardians (72-81) followed a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers by losing all three contests in a set against the 102-loss Kansas City Royals to open the week. The setbacks cut Cleveland’s tragic number to one, leaving the Minnesota Twins on the verge of clinching the AL Central title.

“I think it’s just baseball,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said after the team’s 6-2 loss to the Royals on Wednesday. “If you asked (Rangers manager) Bruce Bochy, he’d probably say the same thing. They swept Toronto and came into Cleveland and got swept.

“When you don’t play the way you’re supposed to, you generally get beat.”

Cleveland’s Josh Naylor has played well since returning from the injured list at the start of the month. He went 2-for-4 on Wednesday and is 21-for-61 (.344) with two homers, 14 RBIs and eight runs in September.

Naylor went 4-for-5 with a homer, two doubles, six RBIs and three runs in Cleveland’s 12-8 victory at Baltimore on May 31 in the rubber match of the three-game series.

The Guardians hadn’t officially named their starting pitcher for the series opener as of Wednesday night, although right-hander Hunter Gaddis (2-1, 4.85 ERA) likely will be summoned from Triple-A Columbus to get the nod.

Gaddis, 25, last pitched for Cleveland on Aug. 29. He allowed one run on four hits in three innings to pick up a 4-2 win over the Twins.

Gaddis has yet to face the Orioles in his career.

–Field Level Media

After winning two of three on the road against the Atlanta Braves, the Philadelphia Phillies will return home to open a four-game series against the New York Mets on Thursday night.

The Phillies (83-69) strengthened their hold on the first National League wild-card spot with a stirring 6-5, 10-inning win over the Braves on Wednesday.

Philadelphia right fielder Nick Castellanos homered twice and threw out a runner at home plate to help secure the key victory over the NL East champions.

Last season, the Phillies ousted the Braves in four games in the National League Division Series.

“We want to play some tight baseball because October is getting pretty close,” Castellanos said.

Bryson Stott delivered a go-ahead, two-run double for the Phillies in the 10th on Wednesday.

“One swing determines each game, it feels like,” Stott said. “We want it to be our swing.”

Ranger Suarez (3-6, 3.80 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Phillies in the opener against New York. In his latest outing, against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday, the left-hander allowed four hits and one run in six strong innings.

“I feel healthy, which is the most important thing,” Suarez said. “I’m able to compete. I missed (time due to elbow and hamstring injuries), so I want to make up for it. If it’s tomorrow, in a week, two weeks, in the postseason, whenever I have to make up for it, I’ll be ready for that.”

Suarez is 1-3 with a 3.73 ERA in 12 career games (five starts) against the Mets. He took a tough-luck loss in his lone appearance against New York this year, when he gave up two runs in 6 2/3 innings as the Phillies fell 2-0 on May 30.

The Mets are coming off winning two of three games in a series at Miami, capped by an 8-3 victory on Wednesday.

New York (71-81) ripped four home runs, two by Mark Vientos for his first career multi-homer game. Brandon Nimmo had three hits, including a homer, and Brett Baty also went deep.

“We push each other to hit the ball hard,” Baty said of a friendly rivalry with Vientos. “It’s fun.”

It was the type of victory that has been rare for the Mets, who have struggled for much of the season under 67-year-old manager Buck Showalter.

Showalter is under contract through the 2024 season, but there have been whispers about his exit.

“Buck holds everybody accountable, he’s a great leader, he’s outstanding at quieting the noise here in the clubhouse, which sometimes can be tough in New York, and he cares for the players,” shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “He checks in with the players, he listens, he gathers information.

“There’s a lot of things I like about him. He’s been through good things and bad things, and I think he’s an amazing manager, a Hall of Fame manager.”

Showalter will hand the ball to left-hander David Peterson (3-8, 5.22 ERA) on Thursday.

In his most recent start, on Friday against the Cincinnati Reds, Peterson gave up six hits and three runs, two earned, in 5 2/3 innings. He walked two and tied his career high with 10 strikeouts.

“Pete presented himself well,” Showalter said after the outing. “Very competitive outing, one that we should have taken better advantage of.”

Peterson is 1-2 with a 4.83 ERA in seven career games (six starts) against the Phillies, though he hasn’t faced them this year.

–Field Level Media