Phil Hughes’ spot in the Yankees rotation has been tenuous at best this season, but manager Joe Girardi has had few options to replace him because of injuries. Now with expanded rosters, Girardi can use his bullpen to cover if necessary.

The Reds made a trio of roster moves on Monday, including selecting the contract of outfielder Billy Hamilton from Triple-A Louisville. Catcher Corky Miller (right quad contusion) also returned from the disabled list, while infielder Neftali Soto’s contract also was selected from Triple-A.

With league-leading totals in doubles and hits, and batting at the top of a Cardinals lineup that is proving historically adept at collecting hits with runners in scoring position, Matt Carpenter also paces the NL in runs scored. If he can end the season as the league leader in all three categories, he will join a select group of St. Louis hitters in the modern era who have done this.

Mariano Rivera notched his 16th career postseason save on Oct. 8, 2000, in Game 5 of the American League Division Series against the A’s to pass Dennis Eckersley for the all-time record.

If you are the manager of the Royals, D-backs, Indians, etc., you might want to remind your players of baseball’s recent history. To sum up: It ain’t over ’til it’s over.

Hello September, hello Labor Day, and hello, Major League crunch time. The last month of the big league season began on a scintillating Sunday and provided enough drama to carry us through a long weekend.

Todd Helton reached what may be the final major milestone of his Major League career Sunday afternoon, shooting a double down the third-base line in the seventh inning against the Reds for his 2,500th career hit.

Zack Greinke allowed one run on two hits while striking out seven in seven innings, and Yasiel Puig’s 14th home run secured the right-hander his sixth straight victory and a series sweep of the Padres on Cuban Heritage Day at Dodger Stadium.

The A’s completed a three-game sweep of the Rays with a 5-1 victory Sunday at O.co Coliseum, pulling within one game of the Rangers in the American League West.

Jake Arrieta allowed one run on three hits with four strikeouts to win his second game as a Cub, as Chicago plated three runs in the fourth inning en route to a 7-1 victory over the Phillies Sunday at Wrigley Field.

Felix Doubront was unable to get out of the fourth inning, but the Red Sox offense, led by David Ortiz and Jacoby Ellsbury, continued its onslaught against White Sox pitching in a 7-6 victory at Fenway Park on Sunday. The Red Sox swept the three-game series.

Led by a pair of three-run homers from J.J. Hardy and Adam Jones, The Orioles rallied for a seven-run seventh inning to cap a 7-3, sweep-avoiding win against the Yankees to move back ahead of the New York for third place in both the AL Wild Card and AL East races.

The Cardinals head next to Cincinnati, where they’ll arrive as co-leaders in the National League Central after silencing the Pirates with a 7-2 victory Sunday afternoon at PNC Park. An offense that had scored just once since Tuesday broke out early, setting Joe Kelly up to shine again in his newly claimed stopper role.

James Shields turned in one of his strongest performances of the season to help the Royals drop the Blue Jays, 5-0, at Rogers Centre on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.

The Angels capped their 8-1 road trip with a sweep of the Brewers, beating Milwaukee, 5-3, on Sunday afternoon at Miller Park. J.B. Shuck knocked the go-ahead, three-run double, Kole Calhoun added two RBIs and Mike Trout was a homer shy of the cycle.

Jose Altuve started off September with three hits and scored the winning run to back Brett Oberholtzer’s first career shutout in a 2-0 victory over Seattle at Minute Maid Park.

Josh Reddick remains confident that his stint on the disabled list will take no more than the 15 days allotted as he recovers from a right wrist injury for the second time this season.