The Blue Jays continued to jockey for position atop the AL East standings with a week full of tight games, and their bullpen was up to the task.

Max Kepler and Joe Mauer have been named co-American League Players of the Week after leading the Twins to a 5-2 record last week.

Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks’ breakout season now includes a National League Player of the Week Award, which he shared with Marlins outfielder and newest 3,000-hit club member Ichiro Suzuki.

The dry heat of the desert suits Michael Bourn well. A few months into his tenure with the D-backs, Bourn has proven a bright spot in an otherwise bleary season for Arizona.

One day after becoming the 30th Major League player to record 3,000 career hits, Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki reflected on the accomplishment Monday at Marlins Park.

MLBPipeline.com’s Prospect Team of the Week honors the best performances from the previous seven days. Any player currently on an organization Top 30 Prospects list on our Prospect Watch is eligible, including big leaguers.

Ken Griffey Jr., who played with Ichiro in his final two seasons with the Mariners in 2009-10, relished seeing his former teammate and friend achieve his own march into the history books.

Ten of the last 13 games in South Beach — including the last five straight — between the Marlins and Giants have been decided by two runs or fewer. And with a premier pitching matchup of All-Stars Johnny Cueto and Jose Fernandez on tap for Monday’s opener, runs and advantages may be few and far between for these two potential playoff contenders.

Are the recent struggles of the Tribe’s rotation related to catchers Roberto Perez and Chris Gimenez? Beat reporter Jordan Bastian answers this question and more in the latest Inbox.

Tyler Anderson has been a surprisingly effective member of a surprisingly good Colorado rotation. He talked to MLB.com about limiting hard contact, free passes, and a resemblance to a certain left-handed superstar.

The primary goal for Chris Sale was paying tribute to Tony Gwynn, one of the game’s most talented and beloved players. But the White Sox hurler also had a personal message to deliver in San Diego in relation to the Padres’ legend.

The first Trade Deadline is in the books. The second one is almost a month away. So instead of spending most of our non-baseball-game-watching hours wondering where the Hot Stove smoke might lead us, we’re back to staring at the standings once again.

MLB.com fantasy expert Fred Zinkie fielded questions from fans during a live Twitter chat (at @fantasy411) on Monday. Read through the best of the Q&A.

The Royals just completed a series win over the Blue Jays — their first in a three-game series or more since June — and it reminded everyone of the Royals team of 2015.

Cuban infielder Yulieski Gurriel, who the Astros signed to a 4 1/2-year, $47.5 million contract on July 16, has been promoted to Double-A Corpus Christi, the team announced Monday. He’ll be in the lineup for the Hooks at home against Northwest Arkansas on Tuesday in what should be his last Minor League stop before reaching the big leagues.

Javier Baez’s defensive skills, Carl Edwards Jr.’s future and what manager Joe Maddon drinks in-game are among the topics in this week’s Cubs Inbox. Beat reporter Carrie Muskat fields Cubs fans’ questions.

Maybe it’s an exaggerated recollection, because ballplayers have been known to weave tapestries out of tall tales. But Jon Lester claims that somewhere among the more than 30,000 pitches he’s thrown in his time in the big leagues was a curveball that bounced in the Seattle dirt — “It barely reached the cut of the grass,” Lester said — and then into the bat of one Ichiro Suzuki, who turned the bouncer into one of his now 3,000 base hits.