If Jason Heyward’s hard-hit liner in the seventh inning gets past Rangers first baseman Prince Fielder, the Cubs might be celebrating an Interleague sweep on Sunday. But Fielder caught the ball and stepped on first to pick off runner Addison Russell for a double play and end the Cubs’ threat. It was a key moment for the Cubs, who got another lesson in what baseball could be like in October.

Despite a quick turnaround from Saturday night’s game that ended just after 12:30 a.m. local time, Cleveland’s big bats woke up for the series finale. The Indians received a strong effort by starter Josh Tomlin and blasted three homers over 400 feet to pick up a 6-1 victory on Sunday afternoon at Target Field.

This was as good as a no-hitter as far as the Rangers were concerned. This is what the Rangers badly needed from their All-Star left-hander to help boost their beleaguered rotation.

After hitting .235 in 51 at-bats since getting called up from Triple-A, Brandon Nimmo is headed back to Las Vegas. He and Michael Conforto will again trade teams, as they did when Nimmo got the call three weeks ago.

Jacob deGrom, surrounded by a swath of reporters, smiled and said that he was well aware of who got the only hit off him in Sunday’s 5-0 Mets win.

The Mets arrived in Philadelphia closer in the National League East standings to the fourth-place Phillies than the first-place Nationals, desperate for a series win. Jacob deGrom delivered just that in a 5-0 win over the Phillies on Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.

The first RBI of Sunday afternoon for the Tigers came on the last swing of the day. Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth was a walk-off blast, sending Detroit to a 4-2 win over Kansas City to take the three-game series at Comerica Park.

The Dodgers haven’t set a date for the return of ace Clayton Kershaw, but it won’t be Thursday in Washington. Manager Dave Roberts said Kershaw came out of his 60-pitch simulated game on Saturday healthy, but management apparently wants to avoid any chance of rushing him back from a slight disk herniation in his lower back and risk a re-injury.

Jake Arrieta’s phone is filled with photos of his son, Cooper, near the batting cage with Giancarlo Stanton and being held by David Ortiz and cheering on homers during the festivities at last week’s All-Star Game. It’s a week the Cubs’ pitcher won’t forget, and which should benefit him in the second half.

Now that’s being on the ball.

The Pirates and Rangers will each welcome back starting pitchers who have been out of action for more than a month today when Pittsburgh’s Gerrit Cole and Texas’ Yu Darvish come off the disabled list.

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

Home-plate umpire Chad Fairchild was struck near his right elbow by a foul tip in the first inning on Friday and removed from the game between the Marlins and Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

In a game that was dominated by offense, it was a throw from center field and a close play at home that were the difference in the the Blue Jays’ 8-7 loss to the A’s on Friday night.

The Dodgers opened the second half by picking up right where they left off. Chris Taylor went 3-for-5 with a grand slam, his first career homer, and six RBIs to finish a single shy of the cycle in a 13-7 victory over the D-backs at Chase Field on Friday night.

The Cardinals showed their power on Friday night, belting four home runs, but the back-and-forth contest was decided by a two-out RBI single from Miguel Rojas, which ultimately gave the Marlins a 7-6 win at Busch Stadium in a game in which the lead changed five times.

Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier’s broken right leg still isn’t completely healed, but he will ramp up workouts as his pain tolerance allows, manager Dave Roberts said Friday night after a 13-7 win over the D-backs.