Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said Matt Kemp’s at-bats are improving at Class A Rancho Cucamonga, where the outfielder is likely to continue rehab work during the California League postseason.

Derek Norris was set for his third and final rehab game on Monday, and the A’s plan to activate him from the DL (broken toe) when the 15-day period ends.

Chase Headley’s sore lower back continues to plague the third baseman, keeping him out of his fifth straight game Monday. But manager Bud Black said Headley is improving.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy says he’s seen no trace of the hamstring injury that sidelined center fielder Angel Pagan for more than three months. A full recovery for Pagan, who underwent hamstring surgery in June and returned to the lineup Friday, would give the Giants some stability heading into the offseason, when fellow outfielder Hunter Pence will be a free agent.

Matt Cain threw 90 pitches in the Petco Park bullpen before Monday’s game against the Padres. Giants manager Bruce Bochy said the right-hander felt fine and is on track to start Saturday’s game against Arizona at AT&T Park.

On the shelf since Aug. 21 with a bone bruise in his left hip, Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista flew to New York City on Monday for a medical evaluation of the injury. The Blue Jays will wait to hear the results from the doctor’s appointment before determining what is next.

With the Pirates steaming toward their first postseason berth in 21 years, general manager Neal Huntington hasn’t taken his foot off the gas pedal, acquiring three players last week — including longtime Twins slugger Justin Morneau.

Pitcher Michael Kirkman started the season with the Rangers, but he was gone for almost three months while being treated for lymphoma.

Lance Berkman was in the lineup against the A’s on Monday, batting eighth in his first game since going on the DL with various injuries on July 7.

Already short-handed at catcher, the Astros lost starter Jason Castro early in Monday’s game against the Twins with a right knee sprain. Castro was pulled from the game after an RBI single in the second inning, his second RBI hit of the game.

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina left Monday’s 7-2 loss against the Reds at Great American Ball Park after four innings with soreness in his left wrist. He was listed as day to day.

The Tigers entered their important three-game series against the Red Sox with Miguel Cabrera still out of the lineup. The swings Cabrera put on during batting practice Monday morning suggest he might not be out much longer.

Jose Iglesias played just 45 games at Fenway Park in his Red Sox career, so it was hard to call Monday a homecoming for the former Boston prospect. Still, a month after the three-team trade, it was another moment to reflect on the way the trade changed Detroit’s fortunes this season.

Outfielder Juan Pierre and manager Mike Redmond have vivid memories of what happened at Wrigley Field 10 years ago this October. The Marlins, down three games to one in the National League Championship Series against the Cubs, came back to win Games 6 and 7 to advance to, and ultimately win, the World Series.

Shane Victorino, who left in the sixth Sunday with a hip contusion and Jacoby Ellsbury, who left in the ninth when he aggravated a left thumb injury, were both in Boston’s lineup Monday afternoon. Victorino went 1-for-3 and made a nice running catch, while Ellsbury went 0-for-3 and made a spectacular diving grab in a 3-0 loss.

John C. McGinley played Brooklyn Dodgers announcer Red Barber in “42,” the thought-provoking film about Jackie Robinson’s historic foray into Major League Baseball as its first African-American player.

After getting called up and sent down five times over a 10-day period in August, reliever Preston Claiborne looks to be back with the Yankees for good this season.