AROUND THE HORN
Phillies: Bryce Harper keeps earning those “MVP!” chants in Philly. Harper doubled to start a sevenrun, game-tying rally in the fourth inning, doubled in the go-ahead run in the sixth and sealed the Phillies’ 17-8 win over the Cubs on Thursday night with a threerun homer in the seventh. Harper’s NL MVP candidacy — Philly fans call him MV3 — is thriving. Also alive, improbably, given the start in this one, is Philadelphia’s playoff push. The Phillies entered Friday three games behind the first-place Braves in the NL East with 16 games left this season, and 2 games behind the Cardinals for the second wild card. The Padres and Reds also lead the Phillies in the wild-card chase. With Harper as hot as can be, can the Phillies be counted out yet? “It feels good but we’ve got a while to go,” Harper said. “I want to keep playing well and have good at-bats, have good games and just be where we need to be down the stretch.”
Reds: Reds left fielder Jesse Winker was activated from the 10-day injured list on Friday after being out since Aug. 16 with an intercostal strain. “I don’t think, realistically, feeling 100% was on the table,” Winker said. “I just wanted to get it good enough to just be able to come back and help. That’s all I wanted to do.” Tyler Naquin was placed on the 10-day IL with bruised ribs that could keep him out for the rest of the regular season. Winker, 28, entered Friday batting .307 with a .955 OPS and 24 home runs.
Astros: Carlos Correa and the Astros are closing in on another AL West title after dominating their last-place Texas rival again. Manager Dusty Baker just isn’t sure how much his club is paying attention to the standings. Correa triggered a seven-run fourth inning with a three-run homer, replacement starter Luis Garcia took a shutout into the sixth, and the Astros beat the Rangers 12-1 on Thursday night. The division-leading Astros stayed seven games in front of the A’s with 16 games remaining. They took three of four in their final series with the last-place Rangers. The Astros opened up a threegame series against the Diamondbacks on Friday, which has the worst record in the National League. The magic number for the 2017 World Series champs to clinch a fourth division title in the past five seasons entering Friday was 10. “I haven’t heard anybody discuss that or talk about it at all,” Baker said. “We’re just going out there and playing ball. Whatever that number is, you’re just trying to win and finish strong.”
Padres: Longtime Phillies starter Vince Velasquez made his first start since signing a minor league deal with the pitching-depleted Padres on Friday. Cut by the Phillies this week, the 29-year-old righty started the series opener at St. Louis in a matchup of NL wildcard contenders on Friday night. Blake Snell was originally lined up to pitch, but he was put on the injured list with a strained adductor. Padres starter Chris Paddack also is out with elbow inflammation. Velasquez was 3-6 with a 5.95 ERA for the Phillies this year. He was 30-40 for Philadelphia over six seasons. “Knowing the opportunity at hand, that they’re down a couple starters, I have three weeks left to help them in a push,” he said. In August, the Padres tried to boost their rotation with a veteran pitcher, signing Jake Arrieta after he was released by the Cubs. Arrieta is 0-2 with an 8.25 ERA in three starts for the Padres.