After broadcasting Thursday night’s game against the Cardinals for MLB Network, John Smoltz returned to the Braves’ team hotel and gave manager Fredi Gonzalez further reason to hope Brandon Beachy is simply experiencing one of the many pitfalls a pitcher can experience when returning from Tommy John surgery.

By the time the Brewers made it to Great American Ball Park on Friday afternoon, they had almost 24 hours to read and digest the statement released by left fielder Ryan Braun, who admitted to and apologized for taking a banned substance as he recovered from an injury late in the 2011 season.

The Giants placed right-hander Matt Cain on the 15-day disabled list on Friday. The hurler sustained a right forearm contusion on Thursday, when he exited his start in the fourth inning after being struck by a line drive.

David Wright, who has been on the disabled list since Aug. 3 with a strained right hamstring, took ground balls for the first time Friday.

Major League Baseball, under the leadership of Commissioner Bud Selig, has taken gigantic steps in its effort to not only diversify the game, but also create opportunities for young people to someday pursue careers in the industry, both on the field and off.

The Cardinals entered a four-game set with the Braves batting a Major League-best .299 with two outs and runners in scoring position, and when that clutch situation came around Thursday night, it showed. St. Louis strung together three consecutive two-out RBI doubles in the fifth en route to a 6-2 victory before 37,363 at Busch Stadium.

Right-hander Kyle Kendrick gave up a go-ahead three run homer in the sixth, but the Phillies rallied for four runs in the final two innings, including Domonic Brown’s RBI single for a 5-4 walk-off win over the Rockies on Thursday night.

For the last couple of months, it looked like the Yankees might be playing a spoiler role in the final weeks of the season, but a 10-2 run has put them back into contention, which is a testament to the determination of a group that looked dead in the water a month ago.

Stephen Strasburg was dominant for eight innings but gave up a game-tying, two-run homer to Donnie Murphy with two outs in the ninth before the Nationals answered with a run in the 13th for a 5-4 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Thursday. Denard Span led off the 13th with a double, and pinch-hitter Chad Tracy scored him on a groundout with one out.

In a written statement through the Brewers on Thursday, outfielder Ryan Braun acknowledged taking banned substances — “a cream and a lozenge” — to recover from an injury in late 2011 and apologized for “any damage done to the game.”

Derek Jeter admitted that, if it was up to him, he’d have played at Yankee Stadium against the Blue Jays on Thursday. Instead, he 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored for the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders against the Pawtucket Red Sox, beginning his third rehab assignment of the season.

Andy Pettitte’s strong effort on the mound after a three-hour and thirty-two minute rain delay at the start combined with some timely hitting by the Yankees’ offense to help lead New York to a 5-3 victory and a four-game sweep of Toronto on Thursday at Yankee Stadium.

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons and left-hander Mark Buehrle were both ejected for arguing a disputed call on a fly ball hit to Rajai Davis during the fifth inning of Thursday afternoon’s game against the Yankees.

The very kindest thing you could say about Ryan Braun at this point is that he’s badly advised. For all the damage that Braun has done — to the Brewers organization, to Brewers fans and to the game of baseball — much more than a prepared statement will be required.

The sixth annual National Youth Baseball Championships will crown a 12-and-under champion with a tournament that begins Friday in Memphis. Games will be featured on MLB.com and the CBS Sports Network.

Brandon Beachy knew something was not right as his fastball velocity suddenly dipped during the sixth inning of Tuesday night’s game against the Mets. Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez gained the same sense when Beachy informed him the 82-mph pitch Juan Lagares popped up to end the inning was a fastball.

Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton have had off years, promising prospects are mostly in the lower Minor League levels, basically every aspect of the big league club has struggled, many of the moves the front office made have backfired, and the Angels could finish with 90 losses for the first time in 14 years. Where do they go from here?