Mets’ deGrom, Syndergaard progressing

New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom played catch at Citi Field on Wednesday after an MRI showed improvement with the right forearm tightness that has sidelined him since July 7, while Noah Syndergaard will begin a minor league rehab assignment with high-A Brooklyn on Thursday.

It was the first time deGrom had played catch since being shut down from throwing entirely four weeks ago.

“We’ll see where we go from here,” manager Luis Rojas said. “There’s not a progression mapped out yet on how things are going to keep going, but at least

Baseball notebook

getting to play catch today, that’s great news for us.”

Cardinals

Pitcher Jack Flaherty is returning to the injured list with a right shoulder strain, manager Mike Shildt said. Flaherty (9-2) left after two-plus innings in Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers. He allowed four runs on four hits with three walks on 46 pitches, with his velocity dropping dramatically after the first inning.

Indians

Cleveland placed righthanded pitcher Triston McKenzie on the 10-day injured list because of shoulder fatigue. McKenzie dominated in winning his past two starts, allowing one run and three hits with 19 strikeouts in 15 innings.

Elsewhere

Game 7 of the World Series is scheduled for Nov. 3, its latest since 2009. Major League Baseball said that its postseason will start with the AL wild-card game on Oct. 5, followed by the NL wild-card matchup the next day. The AL Championship Series begins Oct. 15 and the NL Championship Series the next day. The World Series is scheduled to start on Oct. 26 at the home of the pennant winner with the better regular-season record, and Game 7 would be Nov. 3.