During a mound visit on Tuesday night, while the Indians were trying to claw back into the game against the Twins, second baseman Jason Kipnis had an emphatic message for manager Terry Francona.

There’s no way to sugarcoat what the loss of Garrett Richards could mean to the Angels. It’s a punch to the gut, one that will shake the team both in the clubhouse and on the mound. But on tough days like this, the Angels will have to turn the focus from what they’ve lost to what they still have. They’ve got enough.

The Astros used Jose Veras to close out Wednesday’s 5-2 win over the Yankees because Chad Qualls was dealing with a stiff lower back, and Qualls said Thursday he was likely going to need another day to get healthy.

Few could have envisioned the Marlins making such a dramatic turnaround, and quite frankly, some in the organization are included. In a conversation with MLB.com, president David Samson spoke about the process of rebuilding the Marlins brand.

Miguel Cabrera served as the Tigers’ designated hitter on Thursday after tweaking his right left ankle while running the bases during Wednesday night’s win over the Rays.

Tigers starter Justin Verlander strode into Brad Ausmus’ office, high-fived his manager and walked out without a word. Translation: Verlander’s bullpen session on Thursday went well and he’s on target to start one half of Saturday’s doubleheader at Target Field.

Jonathan Lucroy’s impressive stats and importance to the first-place Brewers have earned him a spot in the National League Most Valuable Player race.

Matt Moore is out for the season while recovering from season-ending Tommy John surgery, but the left-hander remains a familiar face around the Rays’ clubhouse and he’s making progress with his rehab.

Robinson Cano, Adam Jones, Albert Pujols and Yasiel Puig will highlight a group of MLB stars, led by Rangers manager Ron Washington, who will travel to Japan in November to take part in a five-game All-Star Series against Japan’s national team, Samurai Japan.

Masahiro Tanaka will make the next step in his rehab program on Saturday, when he faces hitters during live batting practice. That is likely to come at Yankee Stadium, although the Yankees are still trying to work out the details of who he will face.

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge continued to make its rounds through Major League Baseball on Thursday morning, as nearly 400 participants from MLB Advanced Media completed the challenge.

Every lineup, every day, as they are made public by the clubs.

When Buffalo welcomes Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for the start of an two-game series on Thursday, Dalton Pompey will make his Triple-A debut with Daniel Norris on the mound. The game, which begins at 7:05 p.m. ET, can be seen on MiLB.TV.

The Orioles, winners in nine of their past 10 series, have their largest lead — nine games — in the American League East since 1997, and they are playing some of their best baseball down the stretch. So what’s going exactly? And how did the O’s get here? Let’s take a closer look at some of the questions, numbers and overall chatter surrounding first-place Baltimore.

There had been successful pitchers from Texas from baseball’s earliest days, but right-hander Nolan Ryan from tiny Alvin became the archetype. Talented. Strong but silent. Rawhide tough. All traits backed up by 324 wins, 5,714 strikeouts, seven no-hitters and induction into the Hall of Fame in 1999.

The Giants won a protest Wednesday over Tuesday night’s rain-shortened 2-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs. The game will resume where it left off, with the Cubs coming to bat in the fifth, before Thursday’s regularly scheduled game.

Garrett Richards’ left knee buckled while sprinting to cover first base in Wednesday’s second inning at Fenway Park and had to be carted off the field in a stretcher.