Billy Burns left Friday’s game vs. the Giants in the fourth inning after he fouled a ball off the ground and it bounced up to hit him in the groin in the third inning.

No pitcher is more locked in at the moment than Zack Greinke. The Dodgers right-hander will ride a 43 2/3 scoreless-innings streak into Sunday’s series finale against the Mets at Citi Field.

Jon Niese will surely remember Friday night, but he may try forgetting the game, a 7-2 loss to the Dodgers at Citi Field. With his wife, Leah, about to deliver the couple’s second child in Toledo, Ohio, Niese spent Thursday afternoon more than 500 miles away unsure if he would even pitch at all.

As Corey Kluber walked off the field to end his outing Friday night, a crowd of 26,553 rose to its feet and cheered the reigning Cy Young Award winner.

The Pirates clubbed three home runs off Max Scherzer and rallied for two more runs in the sixth inning as they beat the Nationals, 7-5, on Friday night at PNC Park.

Stuck among the National League’s worst offensive teams for most of this summer, the Mets on Friday saw their season-long hunt for offense finally bear fruit. The club announced late Friday that it has acquired third baseman Juan Uribe, utility man Kelly Johnson and cash from the Braves, in exchange for pitching prospects John Gant and Rob Whalen.

The first complete game of Jose Quintana’s career also just happened to be Quintana’s first career shutout. They came Friday night at Progressive Field during a 6-0 White Sox victory over the Indians.

After seeing Max Scherzer carve Pittsburgh’s lineup to shreds for a no-hitter just over a month ago, Nationals manager Matt Williams had a feeling how his ace’s Friday night outing would go.

After opening his career with five no-decisions, lefty Tim Cooney notched his first Major League win while throwing a career-high seven innings in the Cardinals’ 4-2 victory over the Braves at Busch Stadium on Friday night.

New father Zack Greinke is tentatively set to start Sunday for the Dodgers against the Mets, manager Don Mattingly indicated Friday night after Los Angeles’ 7-2 win.

Multiple sources say the A’s are actively shopping infielder Ben Zobrist now that left-hander Scott Kazmir is out the door and with his hometown Houston club. The impending free agent, whose value lies in his versatility, is very much privy to such rumors and acknowledged Friday he wouldn’t be surprised to be dealt.

Craig Biggio, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz were all contemporaries, but the history of their head-to-head battles is spotty. Some pairs, such as Martinez and Smoltz, had their share of encounters. Others, such as Martinez and Johnson, were ships passing in the night. Here is a breakdown of each combination’s history, plus a look at how they fared against some other Hall of Famers.

The Rangers have re-engaged the Phillies in trade discussions concerning left-hander Cole Hamels. There is still no indication if a deal will get done because the Rangers remain uneasy about the quality of prospects they would have to give up and the size of the contract they would have to take.

Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon almost looked like a salesman Friday at Wrigley Field, chatting up Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer hours before he earned his 17th save in 17 opportunities in a 5-3 victory over Chicago.

In the aftermath of Oakland acquiring lefty Jon Lester from the Boston Red Sox on July 31 last year, the Tigers, less than 20 minutes before the non-waiver Trade Deadline that afternoon, swung a three-team deal that brought lefty David Price to Motown.

Though their bullpen boasts the Majors’ second-lowest ERA (2.37), the Cardinals had enough growing concern over the heavy usage of their three late-inning relievers to pounce a week before the non-waiver Trade Deadline and acquire right-hander Steve Cishek from the Marlins.

Might be best to take a break from blinking during the next week-plus. Because in this 24/7 Trade Deadline news-and-rumors cycle, you don’t want to miss a beat.