Tyler Stephenson (8th home run) and TJ Friedl (10th) went deep in this game. Rays starting pitcher Zack Littell (8-8, 3.72 ERA) came into this game having allowed the most home runs in the major leagues and that continued.

Tyler Stephenson homered and drove in three runs and Nick Martinez struck out five in five innings as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-2.

Trade Deadline winds are blowing stronger with moves starting to happen around Major League Baseball the past couple of days. For the Reds, the time is ripe for catching a breeze to both stay in the postseason hunt and position themselves for dealing before Thursday.

For a while on Friday night, things were going pretty well for the Tampa Bay Rays in their 7-2 series-opening loss against the Cincinnati Reds. The Rays enjoyed

The managers became close when Cash played for the Red Sox, and they keep trying to one-up each other with pregame hijinks.

Workers have some finishing touches to put on the field inside the racetrack at Bristol Motor Speedway, where officials are expecting a record crowd to watch the Cincinnati Reds play the Atlanta Braves in the MLB Speedway Classic next Saturday.

Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona has coaxed significantly better performance in his first year with every team he's managed.

With the MLB trade deadline looming, the Arizona Diamondbacks have traded first baseman Josh Naylor to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for two pitching prospects. The Mariners sent their 13th-ranked prospect Brandyn Garcia and their 16th-ranked prospect Ashton Izzi in return, both pitchers.