At the age of 16, Bryce Harper adorned the cover of Sports Illustrated. He was labeled Baseball’s Chose One, and an accompanying article proclaimed him the sports world’s most exciting prodigy since Lebron James went from high school to the NBA.

Pitcher Daniel Norris hit a two-run homer in his first professional at-bat and Nick Castellanos smacked a grand slam and a solo home run as the Tigers romped, 15-8, Wednesday night over the Cubs.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy decided to go with the hot hand off the bench down one in the ninth inning against the Cardinals on Wednesday. That meant pulling back pinch-hitter Ryan Lollis for Madison Bumgarner to face Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal with the bases empty and two out.

Thin on middle-of-the-order bats given the growing crowd in the trainer’s room, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny chose to take an unorthodox approach when selecting a cleanup hitter for Wednesday. Matheny settled on Yadier Molina, he explained before the team’s 4-3 win, not because of any potential power factor, but rather banking on experience and familiarity with Giants starter Matt Cain. Six hours later, Molina blasted a solo home run to propel the Cardinals to a series victory.

Giants center fielder Juan Perez even fooled the fans at Busch Stadium with a highlight-reel catch in the bottom of the first against the Cardinals on Wednesday. Perez climbed the wall and reached well into the shrubbery separating the fence from the seats to glove a Stephen Piscotty drive that seemed destined to give the Cardinals an early lead.

Not many teams have a center fielder who can make highlight-reel catches on a regular basis. The Red Sox are fortunate enough to have two, as shown in Wednesday night’s 6-4 win over the Indians at Fenway Park.

Facing reigning American League Cy Young winner Corey Kluber, a red-hot Red Sox offense battered the Indians’ ace early on Wednesday night, swatting four home runs and holding on for a 6-4 rubber-game victory at Fenway Park.

Since Henry Urrutia first set foot in the United States, flying into Miami on Feb. 27, 2013, he had dreamed of moments like Wednesday.

The Dodgers didn’t confirm the widely reported acquisition of Chase Utley on Wednesday and neither did Jimmy Rollins, though the former Phillies shortstop sounds eager for a stretch-run reunion with his former double-play partner.

Led by six scoreless innings from left-hander J.A. Happ, the Pirates continued their season-long dominance along the Allegheny River with a 4-1 win over the D-backs on Wednesday night at PNC Park.

The players listed could provide difference-making stats for DraftKings participants on Thursday.

The Cubs are currently in position for the National League’s second Wild Card slot and they’ll have one of the hottest pitchers in the game heading to the mound Thursday against the Braves as Jake Arrieta will be going for his 12th straight quality start and his league-leading 15th victory. Here are a few other matchups and games to look forward to on Thursday.

Making a spectacular catch to rob an extra-base hit is apparently the cool thing to do on Wednesday night. A trio of outfielders has already turned in their submissions for the day’s top play.

Though Dave Dombrowski will make the baseball decisions for the Red Sox, he has no intention of going through that process alone.

Ryan Braun became the Brewers’ all-time home run leader and Khris Davis added two homers of his own to fuel Milwaukee’s offense as the Brewers topped the Marlins, 8-7, on Wednesday at Miller Park.

It was the biggest day of Greg Bird’s six-day-old Major League career Wednesday, when he notched his first Major League homer in the fourth inning, only to follow it up with another two-run shot in the sixth, lifting the Yankees to a 4-3 win over the Twins.

Ian Kinsler had been in this situation before, when all he needed was a triple to hit for the cycle. This time, though, Kinsler wasn’t worried about reaching third or becoming one the 21 players to hit for the cycle multiple times.