After the Rays polished off the Blue Jays, 4-1, on Tuesday, most of the buzz in the giddy clubhouse was about how much the return of Evan Longoria meant to a team with its sights set on landing in the postseason for the fourth time in five years.

The Twins rallied from four runs back, including a one-run deficit in the ninth, scoring three runs in the final inning off closer Chris Perez to hand the Indians their 11th straight loss with a 7-5 win.

Shut down by Jake Peavy through five innings, the Royals awoke in the late innings to grab a 5-2 victory over the White Sox on Tuesday night in Chicago. Billy Butler hit a two-run homer and Bruce Chen ended a seven-start winless streak.

Rays closer Fernando Rodney entered the club record books with his 22nd consecutive scoreless inning — the most by a Tampa Bay reliever — as he nailed down the save in Tuesday's 4-1 win over Toronto.

Other Trade Deadline pickups have gotten more attention, but the D-backs could not be happier with what they've gotten from third baseman Chris Johnson, who hit a pair of homers to help the D-backs beat the Pirates, 10-4, on Tuesday at PNC Park.

Ryan Dempster picked up his first victory for the Rangers by pitching them to a 6-3 victory over the Red Sox on Tuesday night at Fenway Park.

With eight weeks of games still to play, Giancarlo Stanton had to stop himself from talking about the season as though October had already come and gone with the Marlins nowhere to be seen.

Right-hander James Shields threw eight strong innings with six strikeouts for his 10th victory as the Rays rolled to a 4-1 win over the Blue Jays on Tuesday in the series opener at Tropicana Field.

Cole Hamels hurled his fifth career shutout, Domonic Brown showed off his enormous potential and Ryan Howard homered for the first time since July 23 in the Phillies' 3-0 win over the Braves on Tuesday night.

Wade LeBlanc, who turned 28 on Tuesday, set the tone by throwing four-plus effective innings. While the lefty didn't qualify for the victory, he put his team in position to win. LeBlanc and five relievers held the Mets in check, and John Buck delivered a two-run double as the Marlins preserved a 4-2 victory in front of 28,968 at Citi Field.

The softball portion of the 2012 Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities World Series got under way with round-robin play on Tuesday, with two teams finishing the day undefeated.

When he was last in New York in late April, Jose Reyes was struggling at the plate and the Marlins were off to a rough first month of the season. Much has changed in Reyes' second trip to Citi Field, where he once again faces his former team.

Mariah Campbell was announced as the winner of the Breaking Barriers essay contest among softball participants in the 2012 Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities World Series.

Mike Trout turned 21 on Tuesday and, aside from dinner with his parents, he planned on simply playing baseball, trying to beat his opponent, as he usually does.

Major League Baseball announced on Tuesday that it will host a four-day tournament that will feature amateur teams from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and USA Baseball in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, starting Sunday.

When Justin Morneau connected on No. 200 on Monday night, the sight was a joy for all those who know how hard he's worked, how much he cares, how far he's come. And Morneau himself felt a distinct sense of accomplishment that wasn't as apparent when he hit No. 100.

If all keeps going well in Pablo Sandoval's rehabilitation for his strained left hamstring, the club could have him back in the lineup during its next homestand.