MAURICIO DUBON

Houston Astros star Jose Altuve has a broken right thumb and needs surgery after getting hurt in Venezuela’s 9-7 quarterfinal loss to the United States at the World Baseball Classic.

Houston Astros star Jose Altuve has a broken right thumb and needs surgery after getting hurt in Venezuela’s 9-7 quarterfinal loss to the United States at the World Baseball Classic. The Astros said Sunday they will announce a prognosis for the second baseman after the operation. The ight-time All-Star and the 2017 American League MVP fell after he was struck by a 95.9 mph sinker from Colorado reliever Daniel Bard in the fifth inning Saturday night.

Astros reliever Phil Maton says he broke his right pinkie when he punched a locker in frustration after Houston’s regular-season finale and will miss the postseason.

Aaron Nola took a perfect game into the seventh inning and Kyle Schwarber homered twice as the Philadelphia Phillies clinched their first playoff berth in 11 years with a 3-0 win over the Houston Astros Monday night.

Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies hoped to be in this position.

After eight strong innings from Shohei Ohtani on Saturday night, the last thing Matt Duffy and the Los Angeles Angels wanted was to make sure that effort was in vain. Duffy's bloop single in the 12th inning drove in Taylor Ward with the winning run as the Angels rallied for a 2-1 victory over the Houston Astros. Earlier in the game, Ohtani reached 400 major league strikeouts.

TTHANK GOODNESS for baseball. Without it I would have little to write about. With Donald Trump gone, our national pastime is the craziest topic in America.

Carlos Carrasco pitched into the eighth inning for the first time in almost three years, leading the New York Mets over the San Francisco Giants 6-2.

Manny Machado’s RBI groundout in the seventh inning put San Diego ahead, Austin Nola hit his first home run of the season and the Padres beat the San Francisco Giants 4-2.

Kevin Gausman pitched six shutout innings and Mauricio Dubón hit one of two homers off Clayton Kershaw, helping the San Francisco Giants beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-4.

Seattle Mariners left fielder Tim Lopes reaches into seats occupied by cutouts while unsuccessfully trying to catch a foul by hit by San Francisco Giants' Wilmer Flores during the third inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020. Donovan Solano and Mauricio Dubon hit early RBI singles as the Giants backed Drew Smyly (1-0) and snapped a three-game losing streak with a “road” victory at Oracle Park. Crawford contributed a two-out shot in the seventh and Mike Yastrzemski added an RBI double as the Giants pounded out 15 hits. Some went straight to Oracle Park upon landing in San Francisco, while others opted to stop by the team hotel. Game time temperature in San Francisco, 71 degrees.

Los Angeles Dodgers' Max Muncy, right, celebrates with Justin Turner, second from left, and A.J. Sam Selman (1-0) recorded the final out in the top of the 11th for the victory. Justin Turner began on second base in the 10th inning and scored the go-ahead run on Bart's wild throw past third immediately after a passed ball. The Dodgers flew late in the day to the Bay Area to give players time for treatment or optional workouts. ... RHP Jeff Samardzija, sidelined by inflammation in his throwing shoulder, is throwing on flat ground and is scheduled for his first bullpen Wednesday.

SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Missions unleashed their power potential by swatting four home runs en route to a 10-2 victory over the Iowa Cubs Sunday night at Wolff Stadium. Missions starting pitcher Thomas Jankins pushed a base hit to right field to score Troy Stokes Jr. from second base. It was the first time the Missions hit back-to-back home runs since May 31, 2018 when Michael Gettys and Taylor Kohlwey achieved the feat at Tulsa. Sundays four-homer outburst was the third time this season the Missions have hit at least four home runs in a game. Sunday nights 10-run game for the Missions was their seventh 10+ run game of the season and fifth in June.