David Wright is heading down to Port St. Lucie, Fla., on Thursday to continue his recovery from a strained right hamstring.

The last gasps of summer give way to the homestretch of a baseball season with so much still unresolved. This is what we’ll be paying particular attention to in the American League.

Catcher Joe Mauer was able to do light exercises for the first time on Wednesday at Target Field, and said he’s doing better after spending the last week resting at home. But he said he’s still feeling some symptoms such as sensitivity to light and sound.

Bob Melvin, manager of the Oakland Athletics, is firmly convinced that his club will have another stretch of very good baseball. That stretch may have already begun.

The Red Sox are being transformed right in front of our eyes. They were already a really good baseball team. They scored runs in bunches. They had solid pitching. They had leadership and heart and a lot of the stuff that’s difficult to measure. All that said, it was tough to see them as a championship team. No more.

Rookie left-hander Martin Perez continued his outstanding August for the Rangers, while Felix Hernandez, pitching in his home park in front of his yellow-clad cheering section, was the one who had the miserable afternoon for the Mariners. Perez beat Hernandez for the second time in less than two weeks in a battle of Venezuela natives, as the Rangers defeated the Mariners, 12-4, on Wednesday afternoon at Safeco Field.

Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos recently went through a lengthy list of pitchers who might be under consideration for a job next spring, and one conspicuous absence from the discussion was left-hander Ricky Romero.

Ricky Nolasco fired eight scoreless innings, Hanley Ramirez and Andre Ethier each homered and the Dodgers beat the Cubs, 4-0, on Wednesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium to tie a Los Angeles franchise record with 21 wins in a calendar month.

The baserunning gaffe by Reds shortstop Zack Cozart in the fourth inning of a 6-1 Reds loss on Tuesday was not an isolated incident to manager Dusty Baker.

Kevin Gausman, the fourth overall pick in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft, was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday and will pitch out of the bullpen for the rest of the year.

The long-anticipated arrival of Taijuan Walker, the Mariners’ top prospect, in the Major Leagues will occur on Friday in Houston. When he makes the start, Walker will be just 21 years, 17 days old, making him the fifth-youngest starter in team history.

Wanting to ensure that Carlos Martinez stays stretched out in case he is needed for a start, the Cardinals optioned the 21-year-old to Triple-A on Wednesday with the intent of having him start for Memphis one day later.

Don Mattingly referred to Yasiel Puig’s effort in regard to his decision to remove the rookie outfielder from Wednesday’s 4-0 win, but the Dodgers’ manager did not specifically explain what Puig did or didn’t do, saying he wanted to keep it “in-house.”

One day after the shortest start of Wei-Yin Chen’s Major League career, the Orioles optioned him all the way down to their affiliate in the Gulf Coast League.

Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp is scheduled to begin a Minor League rehab assignment Thursday with Class A Rancho Cucamonga.

Not too many people know what the future holds for Phillies interim manager Ryne Sandberg, but at the moment the smart bet is he will be in the dugout managing the Phillies in 2014.

The Rays acquired right-hander Jesse Crain before the July 31 Trade Deadline knowing he was injured, but hoping he would boost their bullpen come September. But Crain, out since June 29 with a right shoulder strain, is recovering slowly enough to wonder whether he’ll pitch at all for Tampa Bay.