AROUND THE HORN

Indians: LHP Andrew Miller, nursing a sore shoulder, threw 33 pitches off a mound and said he’s ready to pitch in a game. “I think the next step is to handle that adrenaline again,” said Miller, who has been out since Aug. 29. ... 3B Josh Donaldson is expected to be activated for the upcoming series against the Rays.

Rangers: RHP Bartolo Colon was told he will pitch out of the bullpen as the Rangers try September call-up Adrian Sampson in the rotation. Sampson will start Tuesday against the Angels, manager Jeff Banister said. Colon (7-12, 5.55) allowed five runs in four innings in his last start. Colon, 45, is unlikely to return next season.

Twins: RHP Ervin Santana might miss the rest of the season while receiving a series of platelet-rich plasma injections in the middle finger of his pitching hand. The two-time All-Star had surgery Feb. 6 to remove a calcium deposit on the finger and didn’t make his season debut until July 25. Santana is 149-125 with a 4.06 ERA in 14 seasons.

Reds: Joey Votto ended a two-month homer drought with the Reds’ 11th grand slam, one shy of the NL record, in a 7-2 victory over the Padres that was called because of rain in the seventh inning. Votto’s first home run since July 9 ended the second-longest drought of his career. He had gone 36 games without a home run. Matt Harvey struck out 10 in six innings, giving up two runs on four hits.

Pirates: Josh Bell homered for the second game in a row, Ivan Nova got his first victory in a month and the Pirates beat the Marlins 5-1 for their fifth consecutive win. Nova gave up three hits in six shutout innings, striking out nine. Marlins starter Wei-Yin Chen dropped to 1-7 with a 9.13 ERA in 11 road starts. He is 5-3 with a 1.77 ERA in 12 home outings. ... RF Gregory Polanco will miss the rest of the season because of a bone bruise in his left knee. Polanco leads the team with 23 home runs and 81 RBIs. He also had a team-high 61 extra-base hits.