Mariners: Major League Baseball owners approved the sale of a controlling stake in the Mariners from Nintendo of America to a group of minority owners led by Western Wireless Corp., founder John Stanton and retired Microsoft executive Chris Larson. The sale was announced in April and approved Thursday. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said the deal will close Friday or Monday. This will be the first transfer in control of an MLB team since Ron Fowler led the purchase of the Padres in August 2012.
Tigers: OF Andrew Romine drew a bases-loaded walk to cap a three-run eighth inning and the Tigers snapped the Red Sox's six-game winning streak with a 4-3 victory. Reliever Francisco Rodriguez earned his 34th save in 37 chances when he stranded two Red Sox runners in scoring position in the ninth.
Phillies: 3B Maikel Franco hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning and the Phillies beat the Dodgers 5-4. 1B Ryan Howard also homered for the Phillies, while 3B Justin Turner and C Yasmani Grandal went deep for the National League West-leading Dodgers.
Reds: C Ramon Cabrera hit a three-run homer, RHP Dan Straily continued his second-half surge and the Reds made it eight wins in 10 series since the All-Star break with a 5-4 victory over the Marlins. Straily, who struck out seven and threw a shutout for the first five innings, improved to 5-0 with a 2.68 ERA over his last six starts. ... Marlins RHP Jose Fernandez's second strikeout gave him 200 for the year, a feat accomplished in just %1392/3 innings, the second-fewest needed to reach the milestone.
Orioles: SS J.J. Hardy and 1B Chris Davis each hit two home runs, OF Hyun Soo Kim had a career-high four hits and the Orioles beat the Astros 13-5. OF Mark Trumbo and 3B Manny Machado also homered to help the Orioles improve to 40-19 at home and climb into a second-place tie with the Red Sox in the American League East.
Royals: OF Alex Gordon hit a grand slam and RHP Dillon Gee threw seven strong innings as the Royals beat the Twins 8-1. The Royals have won eight of nine.
Extra innings: Angels C Geovany Soto was placed on the 15-day disabled list with right knee inflammation. C Carlos Perez was called up to take his place on the roster. ... Mets INF Asdrubal Cabrera and OF Yoenis Cespedes will be activated off the DL on Friday.