Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez played a simulated game Thursday at George M. Steinbrenner Field, setting him up to start another Minor League rehabilitation assignment this weekend with Double-A Trenton.

There was life before the Phillies for David Montgomery, but it seems that baseball was always in his blood. Montgomery, the general partner, president and chief executive officer of the Phillies, issued the opening remarks at the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) 43 Convention on Thursday and spoke warmly about his life in the game.

The thirst for wanting to pitch in a pennant race when an entire city is depending on you is just one of the reasons Jake Peavy was so excited that the Red Sox were the team that acquired him in a trade with the White Sox late Tuesday night.

Domonic Brown said his head was feeling much better and plans to be back on the field next week.

Lance Berkman plans to continue rehabbing left hip inflammation that caused the designated hitter to contemplate retirement. He met with general manager Jon Daniels before Wednesday’s game and felt his return was in the best interest of a club that didn’t acquire a bat at the Trade Deadline and could lose Nelson Cruz pending the ongoing Biogenesis investigation.

B.J. Upton went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in his first rehab start for Triple-A Gwinnett on Wednesday, leaving the center fielder with two more games in the Minors before he is slated to rejoin the Braves.

If winning is contagious, the Royals have got a good case of it. They reeled off their ninth straight victory by knocking off the Minnesota Twins, 7-2, on Thursday afternoon. It’s Kansas City’s longest streak since the first nine games of 2003. James Shields pitched six strong innings, and center fielder Lorenzo Cain made a spectacular catch to rob a home run.

The big news at Camden Yards on Thursday surrounded Orioles manager Buck Showalter, who found out earlier in the afternoon that recent comments he made — thinking they were off the record — about the ongoing Biogenesis investigation were published in USA Today.

Ryan Raburn homered twice and drove in four runs, Carlos Santana and Drew Stubbs also had three hits and Justin Masterson allowed one run over 6 2/3 innings as the Indians pushed their winning streak to eight with a 6-1 victory over the White Sox at Progressive Field on Thursday.

Major League Baseball reportedly has told the Players Association that it intends to suspend Alex Rodriguez and eight other players this week for acquiring performance-enhancing drugs from the Biogenesis clinic in Miami. An announcement is expected to be made this week.

Clayton Kershaw’s eight scoreless innings against the Yankees on Wednesday night were good for a mere no-decision in a Dodgers loss, but they further solidified his stature as the Majors’ most dominant pitcher this season.

Lyle Overbay delivered a pinch-hit RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning before two more runs scored on an error, helping the Yankees take advantage of another Hiroki Kuroda gem with a 3-0 victory over the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

Righty Jeremy Guthrie fanned five in six solid innings and Alex Gordon scored the go-ahead run on an error as the Royals ran their win streak to eight with Wednesday night’s 4-3 victory over the Twins.

No one in the Red Sox clubhouse could recall a play quite like the one left fielder Jonny Gomes made in Wednesday night’s 5-4, 15-inning win over the Mariners.

Stephen Drew played the role of early-morning walk-off hero on Thursday at Fenway Park, belting a bases-loaded RBI single down the line in right with two outs in the bottom of the 15th inning, capping a 5-4 win over the Mariners. The victory, coupled with the Rays’ loss, vaulted the Sox back into first place in the AL East.

Carlos Santana led off the 10th inning on Wednesday night with a home run to give the Indians a 6-5 comeback victory over the visiting White Sox and extend the club’s winning streak to seven.

The Rangers completed a three-game sweep of the Angels with their third consecutive walk-off home run. On Wednesday night, it was Adrian Beltre who was mobbed at home plate in a 2-1 win at Rangers Ballpark.