THREE UP ▲ THREE DOWN ▼

WHAT’S TRENDING IN MLB

The ups

The San Francisco Giants are hanging around the neighborhood of .500 after winning 14 of their last 17 games. The recent bout of winning may complicate the team’s plans of selling Madison Bumgarner and Will Smith at the trade deadline. Kyle Schwarber might be heating up at a time when the Chicago Cubs could pull away from the rest of their division. Schwarber hit home runs in three consecutive games last week. Seattle Mariners pitcher Mike Leake threw one of the best games of the season, a six-strikeout shutout of the Angels on Friday. It wasn’t a perfect game, as Leake flirted with for most of the night, but it was still a highlight for the otherwise flailing Mariners.

The downs

The Matt Har vey era in Anaheim ended quietly Friday when the Angels designated the righthander for assignment. He had a 7.09 earned-run average in 12 starts, and received $11 million for his effort. Jacob deGrom struck out 10 batters and did not give up any runs in seven innings Friday, but because he plays for the New York Mets, that was not enough to earn a victory. Since 2018, deGrom has had a 2.18 ERA — and a 15-16 record. The Tampa Bay Rays had descended from first place in the American League East to third place in the wild-card standings as of Friday. With the Cleveland Indians getting their feet under them, the Oakland Athletics surging and the Boston Red Sox still looming, the Rays might not reach the playoffs at all.