AL East

The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays combined for an unusual feat in Thursday's game at Yankee Stadium, playing the first MLB contest all season that included multi-homer efforts from three different players, per Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN Stats & Info).

Here come the New York Yankees.

Seriously, they're in this thing.     

That seemed like an absurd notion when the Yankees went into full-blown sell mode just before the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline, jettisoning veteran pieces such as relievers Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller and outfielder Carlos Beltran. New York was building for the future, the narrative went, waving a white flag and restocking its farm system.

A week ago, a popular view among American League East scouts was that the Baltimore Orioles were a lot more likely to finish fourth than first.

They weren't catching the Toronto Blue Jays or Boston Red Sox. Not with that starting rotation.

As David Ortiz approaches the end of his Hall of Fame-caliber career, the Boston Red Sox slugger made his feelings known regarding a number of subjects Tuesday, including presidential candidate Donald Trump's comments on Latinos. 

The Tampa Bay Rays announced Evan Longoria was suffering from right hand soreness when he exited Monday's game against the Baltimore Orioles, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

The Boston Red Sox will recall their top prospect, second baseman Yoan Moncada, from Double-A on Friday, according to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal on Wednesday. 

The 21-year-old isn't just the Red Sox's No. 1 prospect, but he was also rated as the top minor leaguer by MLB.com. 

The day the Baltimore Orioles first called up Manny Machado, they were in a three-way tie for the American League wild-card lead, and third base was a problem.

Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz moved up another notch on the all-time home run list in Sunday's 10-4 loss to the Kansas City Royals, joining former Red Sox slugger Jimmie Foxx in a tie for 18th place at 534 career home runs, per ESPN Stats & Info.

The Baltimore Orioles' starting rotation is a mess bordering on a full-blown garbage fire. That's no secret, and it's certainly not hyperbole. 

Kevin Gausman to the rescue?

That sentence contains a question mark for good reason. Gausman's ERA hovered over 4.00 for most of August, and he's lost five of his last 10 decisions.

We've talked plenty about David Ortiz, for reasons that amount to "duh." We've talked about Mookie Betts, who's an MVP candidate. We've had good things to say about Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley Jr., too.