A season after leading the Major Leagues with 98 wins, Mike Scioscia’s team finds itself in a dogfight with the Astros and surging Rangers in the American League West.

For all the hype over Troy Tulowitzki and David Price, the Toronto pitching has been key to the Blue Jays hot streak. How have they done it? With a little defense, and a little velocity from an unlikely source.

More than half of the teams in baseball had the day off Monday, but everyone will be back in action tonight with a full 15 games on the schedule. Here are six things to watch for.

When asked about the various injured players on his roster, Terry Collins typically insists upon worrying solely about the 25 men who are healthy. Yet even Collins admits to a certain curiosity about third baseman David Wright.

Carlos Gonzalez’s grin seems permanent — 12 homers, including four multi-homer games since July 24 will do that for one’s face. But he deserves to smile after all the tears he shed on March 27.

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman celebrated the game of baseball Monday at Huggins-Stengel Field as part of the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) support of Major League Baseball’s Play Ball initiative, which focuses on the fun nature of baseball and encourages widespread participation in related activities.

The Dodgers acquired Jimmy Rollins over the winter to play shortstop and serve as an offensive catalyst. There was another factor involved in their pursuit, an intangible impossible to measure in numbers.

Phillies second baseman Chase Utley has been placed on revocable waivers, according to FOXSports.com. It is noteworthy because the Phillies would trade Utley for the right deal. The report had Utley placed on waivers Sundy, which means he has until 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday to be claimed.

Royals reliever Wade Davis isn’t worried by the lingering tightness in his back. Manager Ned Yost isn’t worried, either. “It’s not serious,” Yost said.

Red Sox closer Koji Uehara will be placed on the disabled list and will miss the rest of the season with a non-displaced distal radius fracture in his right wrist, the club revealed on Monday.

Marcus Stroman has been officially cleared to begin throwing, and it’s looking increasingly likely that he will be able to start a rehab assignment later this month.

After helping draw the Blue Jays closer to first place in the American League East race, Toronto teammates Josh Donaldson and David Price were named AL co-Players of the Week on Monday.

Dan Haren already has beaten all 30 Major League teams — 31, if you count the Expos. He started for the American League in the 2007 All-Star Game. He pitched in a World Series. He now needs one win for No. 150 of his career. He’s 28 strikeouts shy of 2,000. The right-hander hopes to get both of those milestones with the Cubs, pitch deep into the postseason and then head home to California for good.

It took Michael Morse less than a week with the Pirates to figure out what everyone else in Pittsburgh has learned over the course of the last four months.

Sure, the really fun stuff was happening at Yankee Stadium this past weekend. But the Tampa Bay Rays made a statement of their own by winning two of three from the Mets. Meanwhile, the Baltimore Orioles have won 10 of 15 as they finish up a West Coast swing. With 56 days remaining in the regular season, here’s a snapshot of the AL East.

With roughly two months left in the season, fantasy owners are starting to take aim at improving in specific categories. While trading for value still usually makes sense, finding the right fit based on the current league standings is also essential.

Richie Shaffer came up big on Sunday, delivering the game-winning solo home run in the seventh inning to lift the Rays past the Mets, 4-3, and take two three in the series.