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The Rangers clinched the American League West title on Sept. 23. Seven days later, Texas secured the best regular-season record in the AL and the No. 1 seed for the playoffs. MORE: Major league standings Entering Friday’s play with a magic number of one to clinch home-field advantage over the Red Sox, the Rangers locked up the top spot with a 3-1 win over the Rays. Carlos Beltran and Rougned Odor went deep for Texas while Yu Darvish hurled six innings of one-run ball with 12 strikeouts for his seventh win of the season....

It always seems that on cold October nights, whoever is manning the hot corner for the Yankees tends to play a big role in the team’s postseason success. Each third baseman listed had his moment(s). Each of them meant something to the team’s playoff runs. Enter Todd Frazier. Now with his third team in seven seasons in The Show (and his second team this year), Frazier is anything but conventional: the swing, the Frank Sinatra walk-up music, the natural charisma and the “it” factor....

Certainly, a lot of your Mets teammates — teammates you may feel you have to prove something to after your September kerfuffle over innings limits — expect you to do it. Don’t do it. MORE: Top 10 October moments for Mets | Infamous postseason memories Mets fans — out for revenge and full of bloodlust, especially after seeing the Dodgers win Game 2 of the National League division series — may go so far as to demand that you do it....

Terry Francona, who called on relief ace Andrew Miller in the fifth inning of Cleveland’s win over Boston on Thursday, may be the lead author, but Roberts is in on the revolution, maybe the John Jay (no, not the Padres outfielder) to Francona’s Alexander Hamilton if you think of each of these playoff games as something like the Federalist Papers. MORE: The 50 best players in the playoffs The keyword of the new book is leverage, namely, getting the best relievers into the game in the situations where they will have the most effect, rather than managing to statistics like the save....

Will Mets fans look at this season as a thumbs up or thumbs down? Let’s look at how things stand heading into September. MORE: Braves’ Ron Washington is a master of the fungo: “He’s the GOAT” Orioles (Aug. 2 ranking: 23). The Orioles beat the Yankees, 7-1, on Aug. 2. Since then, they’re 2-23. Yep, that’s last-place stuff. Fun fact, though: The two wins came on back-to-back days, by a combined score of 23-7 against the Angels....

Smith was suspended on May 21 after it was discovered he had a “foreign substance” on his arm. He appealed the suspension and won, leading to the lesser amount of games. Shortly after Smith’s suspension, the league punished Orioles pitcher Brian Matusz eight games for also having a foreign substance. Matusz also appealed his suspenion, but there’s been no word on his status. Smith provided a brief explanation for the substance to reporters after he was ejected from the May game....

MORE: The worst (and best) MLB trade rumors The Red Sox just signed David Price to a seven-year, $217 million deal Tuesday, and the Tigers signed Jordan Zimmermann to a five-year, $110 million deal on Monday. The moves seem to have prompted Los Angeles into action as they look to tie down last season’s NL Cy Young runner-up. It’s worth mentioning the proposed deal could also be a smokescreen set out by the Dodgers hoping to raise the price for the Giants....

The Pirates general manager said he thinks players should be able to re-enter games if they clear concussion protocol at the ballpark. “The player has to feel pressure, as he’s standing there with 10,000 or 30,000 or 50,000 eyes on him, to make a decision, ‘Am I in or out of this game?’” Huntington said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “He knows if he takes himself out and he’s the catcher, there’s only one other catcher, and the game becomes a fiasco if that other catcher gets hurt....

There’s a reason that hope “springs” eternal, after all, and not “winters” eternal. Or something. FOSTER: 18 things I really want to see during the 2018 MLB season In any case, the shortening of spring training by two days this year means you’ll have a little less time to wait between pitchers and catchers reporting and opening day 2018. So, here are the 2018 spring training reporting schedules and dates for all 30 MLB teams (some still to be announced), divided into Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues:...

RELATED: 5 Best Baseball Games Ever (& 5 Worst) Of course, one of the most discussed topics whenever a sports game arrives involves the ratings for the players. Fans are eager to see who was given too much love in that department, who was rated too low, and everything in between. These impressive players had the highest ratings and are among the best in the world. 10 Christian Yelich/Ronald Acuna Jr....

In the latest MLB The Show 21 trailer featuring puppet Tatis and Coach, the Road to the Show game mode is highlighted along with a new feature for created players. Normally in The Show, created players are locked into Road to the Show mode with players customizing their player’s look, and working their way up to the big leagues. RELATED: Predicting MLB The Show 21’s Team Ratings According to the newest trailer, in The Show 21, created players can be used outside of Road to the Show mode and will be playable in the game mode “Diamond Dynasty,” which is The Show’s version of Ultimate Team....

RELATED: MLB The Show 22: 11 Best Starting Pitchers But teams that don’t have their starting lineups figured out are usually not going to contend for a title. It’s a careful balancing act; how quickly do players want to get to the big leagues versus how much do players want to contend for a World Series title. These are the best landing spots in MLB The Show 22 for gamers to consider....

The Orioles have already lost two key pieces of their 2014 lineup this offseason, as Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis have signed elsewhere as free agents.So it makes sense that they’d be interested in Kemp and Atlanta Braves outfielder Justin Upton. While Kemp to Camden Yards would seem like a perfect fit for the 30 year-old slugger, the Orioles in the past have shied away from players who have have multiple injury issues in past....

RUMOR: The Pirates are actively trying to trade center fielder Andrew McCutchen. MORE: Baseball’s most disappointing players in 2016 REPORTED BY: Stephen J. Nesbitt, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette DETAILS: The Pirates feel the 30-year-old McCutchen’s speed and defense have declined with age, and they have begun reaching out to potential trade partners. They’re seeking “young talent” in exchange for the 2013 NL MVP, per the report. The Pirates’ biggest need is major league-ready pitching....

On that note, the Indians traded Asdrubal Cabrera to the Nationals for INF Zach Walters. Cabrera will presumably play second base in D.C., which should come in handy for fantasy owners after about 5-10 starts. It’s actually a slight lineup downgrade for Cabrera, as the Nats have scored 36 less runs than Cleveland entering Thursday. Maybe Cabrera can help close that gap, though. Now it will be interesting to see if the Indians promote top prospect Francisco Lindor, our No....

The baseball world was rocked by several big trades ahead of July 31, and there were even more on Tuesday before the 4 p.m. ET deadline. FAGAN’S DEADLINE WINNERS, LOSERS: Bucs among those who get a W Here are the trades that were been made before the deadline. MORE: The greatest pitching performance you’ve never heard of MLB trade tracker Brewers acquire Jonathan Schoop from Orioles Players involved: 2B Jonathan Schoop to Brewers; IF Jonathan Villar, minor league RHP Luis Ortiz and minor league SS Jean Carmona to Orioles...

Oakland is using a heck of a weekend against the AL West-leading Astros to cut into an already diminishing Rays lead on the second wild-card spot. But fortunately for the Rays, they were able to get a 1-0 win over the Tigers to keep the Athletics at bay — the A’s did beat the Astros, 8-4, for a third consecutive win over the 2017 World Series champs. The lead though is small and it took every single thing possible from the Rays’ pitching staff to maintain it....

MORE: Why is MLS competing with NFL? | Top 25 American players But it is unlikely those memories that have Donovan so singularly focused on his seventh MLS Cup final, even with retirement looming just one game away. If there is a memory, or experience, that has Donovan attuned to the task of leading the LA Galaxy to a record fifth MLS Cup on Sunday, it is the experience he went through during the one of six MLS Cup finals he didn’t win....

The good news is we are set to be blessed with a pair of conference final series loaded with storylines, subplots and the potential for some attractive soccer. We’ve seen a fair share of ugly matches so far this postseason, but the four teams left all have the attacking weapons to make the fight for MLS Cup berths very entertaining. The international break couldn’t have come at a better time for the Seattle Sounders, with the defending champions having the opportunity to rest up and heal up over a nearly three-week layoff....

It’s going to be a full weekend of festivities, culminating in the Home Run Derby on Monday, July 18 and the All-Star Game itself on Tuesday, July 19. While most of what fans can experience will be at Dodger Stadium, there are events leaking into Santa Monica, L.A. LIVE, and Xbox Plaza. MORE: MLB All-Star Game ticket prices for 2022 Here’s a full look at the schedule, by day, of MLB All-Star weekend....