AROUND THE HORN
Angels: Angels star Mike Trout is officially shut down for the season. The threetime AL MVP suffered a calf strain on May 17 and hasn’t returned to the lineup since. The original prognosis was six to eight weeks of rehabilitation, but the injury was worse than originally thought. Trout was trying to get back this season, but recently made the decision that he was done this year. The 30-year-old outfielder said he’s healthy and should have a normal offseason in New Jersey. “It’s been tough for me, but now looking back and learning from everything, this was the biggest injury of my career,” Trout said. “It came down to we were trying everything the last month and a half to get back out there. My calf and my body weren’t cooperating. It was frustrating. I took a week, 2 weeks off and I feel almost 100%.” Trout hit .333 with eight home runs, 18 RBIs and a 1.090 OPS in 36 games this season.
Cardinals: Cardinals set a franchise record with their 15th straight win, boosted when catcher Yadier Molina and center fielder Harrison Bader helped pull off a wild double play Saturday in an 8-5 win over the Chicago Cubs. Bader, Tyler O’Neill and Paul DeJong homered as these Cardinals broke the team record of 14 wins in a row set in 1935, a year after Dizzy Dean and the Gas House Gang won the World Series. Bader went 4 for 4 and scored three times as the Cardinals held their comfortable lead for the second NL wild-card spot -- they began the day five games ahead of Philadelphia and six in front of Cincinnati. And in a charmed final month, St. Louis preserved a late lead with a crazy play that resulted in a pair of rundowns and two outs. After Nolan Arenado doubled to spark a three-run rally in the seventh, the Cardinals took a 5-4 lead into the eighth at Wrigley Field. The Cubs quickly threatened when David Bote led off with a triple and Trayce Thompson walked. One out later, with runners still at the corners, Rafael Ortega hit a grounder to first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who threw home to Molina. After a short rundown, Arenado tagged out Bote. The star third baseman then cut across the diamond to trap Ortega off first. Another rundown ensued, with Molina catching a throw between second and third base before tossing to Bader, who had alertly rushed in join the play and led to Thompson being tagged, too. The official scoring read like a phone number -- 3-2-54-2-8-6 -- it was the fourth double play of the afternoon for the dialed-in Cards, and kept them ahead by a run. DeJong hit a two-run drive in the ninth. Far back in the playoff race heading into September, St. Louis moved closer to clinching a spot by extending its extraordinary streak.
Athletics: Starling Marte hit a game-ending double with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the Athletics past the Astros 2-1 on Saturday. The A’s are four games behind AL wild card co-leaders Boston and New York, with Seattle and Toronto also in their way. “There’s an element of desperation,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “You have to win. That’s what permeates our dugout right now.” Houston’s magic number to clinch the AL West remained at three over Seattle. Elvis Andrus singled off Ryan Pressly (5-3) to begin the Oakland ninth. After Josh Harrison struck out swinging, Marte lined an 0-1 pitch into the gap in right-center for his 500th career RBI.