A.J. Burnett fired seven strong frames and Ryan Howard hit a decisive two-run single in the third inning as the Phillies rolled to a 3-1 win over the Nationals on Saturday.

The Rangers have made it official: Yu Darvish will not pitch again this season. Darvish was placed on the disabled list on Aug. 13 due to mild inflammation in his right elbow. The ace right-hander is close to being fully recovered, but he has not begun a throwing program and the Rangers have decided not to push him to pitch again this season.

Pretty, it wasn’t. But despite a partial breakdown in the “Jake and The Box” machine, the Rays came up with a 3-2 walk-off win over the Orioles on Saturday at Tropicana Field. With two outs in the ninth inning, Yunel Escobar scored the winning run on a passed ball by Baltimore catcher Nick Hundley.

With a pair of strikeouts in the eighth inning of Friday’s 1-0 loss to the Royals, Dellin Betances (124 K’s) surpassed Goose Gossage (122) for the second-most strikeouts by a reliever in one season in Yankees history. With 23 games left in the Yankees’ season including Saturday, Betances will almost certainly pass Mariano Rivera’s single-season club record of 130 strikeouts in 1996.

Josh Harrison’s 11th-inning single — his fourth hit of a two-day game — snapped a 3-3 tie as the Bucs went on to a 5-3 victory over the Cubs, halting their four-game skid in Saturday afternoon’s conclusion of a game suspended Friday in the seventh inning with the teams tied at 3.

Masahiro Tanaka believes his arm fatigue is now behind him after completing his latest progression — a 34-pitch bullpen session featuring all his pitches on Saturday — toward rehabbing his injured right elbow.

As first baseman Joey Votto continues to recover from a left distal quad strain, this question is becoming more and more relevant with the season drawing to a close: Will he play at all again in 2014, or will the Reds shut him down?

Derek Jeter says he has not been told any details about Sunday’s ceremonies for “Derek Jeter Day” at Yankee Stadium. He is not sure what time he is supposed to arrive or the guests who are coming. And he certainly has not thought about what the day will be like.

Nationals closer Rafael Soriano will take two days off and then have a bullpen session by Monday to work on his mechanics. He is trying to fix his slider, which has given him problems after the All-Star break.

Starlin Castro, sidelined with a sprained left ankle, has told Cubs manager Rick Renteria that he plans on coming back before the season ends. Unfortunately for the shortstop, he has only three weeks to do so.

The Orioles entered Saturday with a 9 1/2-game lead that was the biggest in any of the six divisions, but they certainly aren’t taking for granted the likelihood of their first AL East title since1997.

Time is running out on the Marlins’ playoff chances, but Jarred Cosart is doing his part to keep his team in the race. The right-hander allowed three runs and struck out six in 7 2/3 innings, collected a hit and scored a run in an 11-3 victory over the Braves at Marlins Park on Friday night.

Before the start of the Royals’ crucial six-game road swing, manager Ned Yost was asked why his team should be considered dangerous. His answer was simple. Starting pitching and a dominant bullpen. On Friday night at Yankee Stadium, Yost’s diagnosis was reaffirmed. Starter James Shields spun 8 1/3 scoreless innings against the Yankees, and Wade Davis locked down the final two outs, leading the Royals to a narrow 1-0 victory and extending their lead in the American League Central to 1 1/2 games over the Tigers.

The Rangers may hire another good manager, but Ron Washington’s departure leaves a huge hole in the franchise. Here’s hoping that this is a brief interruption and that he’ll soon be back in the game.

Ron Washington has resigned as manager of the Rangers on Friday. He was replaced by bench coach Tim Bogar, who will be the team’s interim manager for the remainder of the season. Washington resigned to take care of a personal problem, he and the club said.

Injured Dodgers pitcher Josh Beckett on Friday said he hasn’t decided whether to retire, but he isn’t planning to have a necessary hip surgery that will require a four-month rehab until May.

The Cubs lineup that took the field Friday afternoon included only two players who were in the Major Leagues at the start of the season. The reinforcements, meanwhile, have been more than holding their own.