Mike Trout homered on Tuesday night against the Red Sox, making him the first rookie and youngest player in history to amass 25 home runs and 40 steals.

"It's awesome, it's great," said Trout. "I really don't look at the individual stuff right now -- not until the season's over. First goal right now is to get to the playoffs."

Trout wasn't called up from Triple-A Salt Lake until April 28, but he leads the AL in batting average (.340), OPS (.995), steals (41), runs (101) and Wins Above Replacement (8.8).

The Pirates are still haunted by last season's late summer collapse.

Pittsburgh lost a 19-inning marathon on July 26, 2011 and never recovered. They would lose 11 of their next 12 games.

The Pirates edged the Cardinals in an extra-inning battle last week, but have dropped five of six since. The Pirates and Cardinals will face off in a series this week, beginning on Monday night.

"We've had a tough stretch here. Every team goes through it," general manager Neal Huntington said. "It's time for our guys to regroup, and refocus our energies on what we have to take care of. This is exciting -- this is why we do this, to play meaningful games late in the season. To do that, you've got to beat the good teams. It's going to be a fun series."

The Pirates are eight games back of the Reds in the National League Central at 68-59. They are just two games back of the Braves and Cardinals for one of the two Wild Card berths.

Curtis Granderson hit the 200th home run of his Major League career in New York's 4-2 win over Cleveland on Sunday afternoon.

The shot gave the Yankees a record eight players with at least 200 career home runs.

"It's cool to accomplish that," said Granderson. "When you see the list of names, all the guys together on this club, it speaks to what the organization is doing."

Granderson joins Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira, Raul Ibanez, Eric Chavez and Andruw Jones in the 200-home run club.

The National League

The Kevin Towers

Tyler Emerick of MLB.com: “Paul Goldschmidt hasn't missed a game since July 22. In 84 at-bats in August, Goldschmidt is hitting .262 with three homers, six doubles and 13 RBIs. The improvement in his defensive game, however, has been what's impressed Kirk Gibson the most.”

The Frank Wren

David O’Brien of Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Dan Uggla was 2-for-28 with one extra-base hit and no RBIs in his last nine games, yet had started more games (122) than any Brave except All-Star center fielder Michael Bourn (124) before Sunday.”

The Jed Hoyer

Neil Hayes of Chicago Sun-Times: “Darwin Barney has a franchise- record 110-game errorless streak at second base. His last error came in the eighth inning of a game against the Miami Marlins on April 17. He had been on a tear at the plate, as well, hitting .340 in 14 games from July 29 through Aug. 13, before he began struggling.”

The Walt Jocketty

Mark Sheldon of MLB.com: “Reds manager Dusty Baker has demonstrated a keen eye for knowing when his players need to be rested. Baker gave Brandon Phillips and Scott Rolen days off on Thursday and both responded with two hits in Friday's 8-5 loss to the Cardinals.”

The Dan O’Dowd

Troy E. Renck of Denver Post: “Oct. 24, 2007 marked the last time that Jeff Francis faced Josh Beckett.”

The Michael Hill

Juan C. Rodriguez of South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “Ozzie Guillen likes Rob Brantly fine. He thinks in the long run he'll be a productive major leaguer. Guillen also said that under optimal circumstances, Brantly would still be developing in the minors.”

The Jeff Luhnow

Zachary Levine of Houston Chronicle: “Former Diamondbacks righthander Edgar Gonzalez, whom the Astros have signed out of the Mexican League, could figure in their plans as they look to bolster their pitching staff in September.”

The Ned Colletti

Dylan Hernandez of Los Angeles Times: “Adrian Gonzalez’s reputation took a hit over the last two seasons with the Boston Red Sox, to whom he was traded before the 2011 season. He became one of the symbols of the team's failures, and questions were raised about the kind of influence he was on the clubhouse.”

The Doug Melvin

Tom Haudricourt of Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: “In acquiring Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto, the Dodgers picked up some $250 million in salary obligations, even with the $12 million the Red Sox kicked into the deal. By comparison, the Milwaukee franchise was purchased by Mark Attanasio for $223 million in 2005.”

The Sandy Alderson

Mets Blog: “In Sunday’s 2-1 win over the Astros, Jeremy Hefner allowed a run on five hits with a walk and seven strikeouts in eight innings.”

The Ruben Amaro Jr.

Ryan Lawrence of Philadelphia Daily News: “In his last 12 games, Ryan Howard is hitting .347 with a 1.058 OPS, four doubles, four home runs and 13 RBIs.”

The Neal Huntington

Charlie Wilmoth of Bucs Dugout: “The Pirates’ rotation appears to be coming apart down the stretch, and if the Bucs want to reverse course, they might want to consider making some more high-upside moves. It’s one thing to start fading, pull out all the stops, and still fail; it’s another to start fading and fail anyway with the likes of Erik Bedard, Rod Barajas and Chad Qualls.”

The John Mozeliak

Viva El Birdos: “While the weekend series was important and certainly it was enjoyable to watch the Cardinals trounce the Reds in two of three games, arguably, the more important series begins Monday.”

The Josh Byrnes

Gaslamp Ball: “Marty Caswell interviewed Dodger owner Magic Johnson right after the blockbuster trade happened between the Dodgers and the Red Sox that sent former Padre Adrian Gonzalez to L.A. Magic suggested that Padres fans will now root for the Dodgers because of Adrian.”

The Brian Sabean

Chris Quick of ESPN.com: “The theory is that in 0-0 counts batters are most likely to see a fastball. I think that makes sense to almost anyone that's watched five minutes of baseball in their life. Pitchers often start hitters off with the hard stuff -- fastballs, cutters, sinkers -- and then proceed to use their specialty pitches -- sliders, curveballs, changeups -- in order to finish them off.”

The Mike Rizzo

James Wagner of Washington Post: “Roger Bernadina’s teammates tease him, as good teammates often do, about his build. But it’s really flattery. He’s a chiseled 6-foot-2 outfielder in the midst of the best season of his career. He’s perhaps the most muscular player on the Nationals, a team full of 6-foot-plus, well-built athletes.”

The American League

The Dan Duquette

Dan Connolly of Baltimore Sun: “Dan Duquette met with the Baltimore media about the deal today that sent reliever Matt Lindstrom and a player to be named to the Arizona Diamondbacks for lefty starter Joe Saunders and cash.”

The Ben Cherington

Stephen Hewitt of WEEI.com: “Tony La Russa knows what it takes to build a baseball team to the top, even if it requires some difficult times along the way. So when he watches this 2012 Red Sox team fail to meet expectations like it has, he knows what he’s talking about. And when he hears people calling for Red Sox skipper Bobby Valentine to be fired because of how disastrous his first season in Boston has been, he can definitely relate.”

The Kenny Williams

Dave van Dyck of Chicago Tribune: “Ozzie Guillen may be gone to Florida, but that doesn't mean the White Sox are done hearing from the commissioner's office. Manager Robin Ventura and broadcaster Ken "Hawk" Harrelson could face reprimands following their actions and words Saturday.”

The Chris Antonetti

Dennis Manoloff of Cleveland Plain-Dealer: “Indians center fielder Michael Brantley, as Lt. Tom Kazanski flew fighter jets in "Top Gun,” plays baseball ice-cold. His facial expression is serious, almost grim. It rarely changes from the moment he steps out of the dugout until the moment he steps back in.”

The Dave Dombrowski

Bob Wojnowski of Detroit News: “Miguel Cabrera is the Tigers’ best hitter and most-dependable star. For the first time in slightly more than a year, Cabrera didn’t play Sunday, to let his sprained right ankle heal. And the oddest thing happened -- sometimes when you’re missing something, you realize what else you have.”

The Dayton Moore

Craig Brown of Royals Review: “The Royals have played close to .460 baseball since the All-Star Break. Not great, by any stretch of the imagination. But it’s an improvement over the .440 they played in the first half.”

The Jerry DiPoto

Lance Pugmire of Los Angeles Times: “Maicer Izturis had three-hit games Thursday and Friday. Saturday, he wasn't in the Angels lineup. Sunday, he was.”

The Terry Ryan

Twinkie Town: “About 48 and one half weeks ago, we were talking about Ben Revere being the owner of the Minnesota Twins stolen base record for rookies.”

The Brian Cashman

Mark Feinsand of New York Daily News: “The midges are back in Cleveland, providing an irksome reminder to the Yankees about their first-round playoff loss in 2007, which began when Joba Chamberlain fell apart on the mound while being swarmed by the bugs.”

The Billy Beane

Susan Slusser of San Francisco Chronicle: “Well, hello there again, Grant Balfour, A's closer. Balfour, the right-handed Australian reliever, opened the season as the Oakland closer. He lost the job in May. The A's tried Brian Fuentes there, it didn't work and Fuentes is no longer with the team. Then they tried rookie Ryan Cook in save situations. He was spectacular for a month and made the All-Star team. Cook began to struggle in August, and on Aug. 11, Balfour was back.”

The Jack Zduriencik

Geoff Baker of Seattle Times: “Given the way things have played out, there's an excellent chance the Mariners could come off this road trip to Chicago and Minnesota a .500 team. All that is required is a 5-2 record and given how the teams involved have played lately, including the surging Mariners and faltering Twins, that kind of record is entirely doable.”

The Andrew Friedman

Roger Mooney of Tampa Tribune: “Sometimes it takes a short outing like the one Alex Cobb had in Anaheim on the last road trip or a first inning like the one Jeremy Hellickson experienced Saturday to realize just how good the Rays pitching staff has been this season.”

The Jon Daniels

Gerry Fraley of Dallas Morning News: “Right-hander Scott Feldman’s season of streaks continued on Sunday in a 6-5 loss to Minnesota at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Feldman lost his fourth consecutive decision, allowing all the runs in 5 2/3 innings. This is Feldman’s third streak of the season. He opened by losing his first six decisions, following with a six-game winning streak.”

The Alex Anthopoulos

Tom Dakers of Bluebird Banter: “After last year, I really hoped we wouldn't see Carlos Villanueva making starts for us again, but when 3 starters go down in a week, things happen. Last year, after joining the rotation, Carlos looked pretty good for a few starts, but you had the feeling that he was getting by on smoke and mirrors. After a bit the league seemed to catch up with him, or perhaps he tired, having not been prepared to be a starter.”

The Orioles equaled their 2011 win total of 69 in 36 fewer games this season.

Baltimore, however, has their sights set on a playoff berth.

"I don't think you're going to find anybody in that locker room who knows that unless you tell them," manager Buck Showalter said.

The Orioles are in contention for a Wild Card spot in the American League and within striking distance of first-place in the AL East.

"We're not playing to try and beat last year," Matt Wieters said.

"Last year was not the year we wanted to have this year. We wanted to have a chance for the postseason. We wanted to have a chance for the playoffs."

The Nationals have considered sitting Bryce Harper against left-handed pitchers down the stretch.

"[Harper is] hitting around .250 and he feels like he probably should hit .400," manager Davey Johnson said. "Instead of trying to be a good hitter and hit line drives everywhere, that you did more so when you first came up here, he's now trying to juice the ball. That's normal with his ability."

Left-handers have been exposing Harper's weakness against off-speed pitches away. At one point in June, the rookie was hitting .366 (15-for-41) with two home runs, two triples, three doubles and four walks against lefties.

In 108 at-bats since then, he is hitting .167 against left-handers.

Albert Pujols has not played since Wednesday because of an injured right calf.

The Angels are averaging 6.3 runs in the three games since the first baseman last played. They have won twice, including a 14-13 win over the Red Sox on Thursday night that skewed the team's scoring average.

Pujols is hitting .283/.344/.533 this season and Los Angeles is averaging 4.7 runs per contest.

The Athletics had Josh Reddick hit sixth in the team's game against the Rays on Saturday.

Reddick hasn't hit sixth since March 28 when Oakland faced off against Seattle in Tokyo.

The outfielder has hit fifth and seventh once, with 113 of his starts coming in the No. 3 hole.

"I think any time a guy goes through some struggles, you want to change it up a bit," manager Bob Melvin said. "We expect him to be back in the three spot before long, whether it's a couple of days or whatever. But this isn't uncommon over the course of a 162-game season. I can't remember a season where I've had someone hit in the same spot the whole year."

Reddick is batting .149 over his last 23 games.

Adrian Gonzalez is headed back to the National League West as a member of the Dodgers. He began his career with the Padres.

In 45 games at Dodgers Stadium,  Gonzalez is a .212 career hitter. The average is the lowest for Gonzalez at any ballpark.

Adrian Beltre hit for the cycle on Friday night as the Rangers defeated the Twins 8-0.

Beltre completed the feat with a single in the seventh inning, only minutes after Rangers left-hander Matt Harrison lost his bid for a no-hitter.

His cycle came two nights after he hit three homers in a game against Baltimore. Over the past four games, Beltre is 12 of 18 with five homers, three doubles and a triple.