A look at what’s happening around the majors today:d Sox manager Alex Cora is brushing off the notion that Boston might be motivated for Game 3 of the AL Championship Series by a brazen social media post Monday from Astros star Alex Bregman. Houston’s third baseman shared a video on Instagram of his club hitting back-to-back-to-back home runs off Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi during a game in June captioned “lil pregame video work.” Eovaldi was with Tampa Bay at the time and allowed a career-high four homers in a 5-1 loss. Eovaldi will oppose Dallas Keuchel as the series shifts to Houston.Astros manager AJ Hinch had no issue with the online barb but implored Bregman to “go out and back it up.” Eovaldi didn’t seem bothered by the video Nolan Arenado Jersey , saying he doesn’t have social media, and Cora dismissed the idea that the post will give the Red Sox any added push.“If you need motivation in Game 3 of the ALCS, you better check yourself,” he said. “Because you win three more games, you go to the show, and that’s what should motivate you. Alex has different ways of motivating himself. And whatever. I’ll leave it at that.”DODGER BLUESAustin Barnes is subbing into the Dodgers‘ lineup at catcher in place of struggling Yasmani Grandal for Game 4 of the NL Championship Series. Los Angeles fans were chanting “We want Austin!” during a 4-0 Game 3 loss Monday night, and that was before Grandal struck out on three pitches with the bases loaded in the ninth. Grandal dropped to 3 for 22 in the playoffs with 10 strikeouts and also committed his third passed ball of the series.The Dodgers’ offensive woes aren’t just about Grandal. The club went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position, struck out 14 times and had just five hits Monday against Jhoulys Chacin and Milwaukee’s bullpen. Even worse for LA, the Brewers only needed shutdown lefty Josh Hader for eight pitches and two outs, meaning the All-Star could be available for manager Craig Counsell again Tuesday.HEALING UPChris Sale is expected to rejoin Boston in time for Game 3 after an overnight stay in a hospital in Boston because of a stomach illness. Boston said it planned to wait until he rejoins the team in Houston before deciding when the lanky lefty will get back on the mound. Sale was released Monday from Massachusetts General Hospital, where he had gone because of a stomach illness after he pitched in the series opener at Fenway Park. He was hospitalized Sunday night for observation and did not travel with the team to Houston.“Everything’s fine Charlie Blackmon Jersey ,” manager Alex Cora said Monday night. “So we’ll see how he feels physically, and then after that we’ll decide what we’re going to do.”RANGER RESEARCHThe Rangers have conducted interviews with a half-dozen candidates in their search for a manager after speaking with Rocco Baldelli and David Bell on Monday, according to people familiar with the details. Baldelli is the major league field coordinator for the Tampa Bay Rays. Bell is vice president of player development for the San Francisco Giants and the son of former Rangers third baseman Buddy Bell.Texas is looking to replace Jeff Banister, who was fired with 10 games left the team’s second consecutive losing season.Of the candidates interviewed so far, former New York Yankees and Florida Marlins manager Joe Girardi is the only one with major league managerial experience. This season is proving to be pretty dismal for the Cincinnati Reds, much like their recent past. However, Luis Castillo offers hope for the future.This season is also a lost cause for the San Diego Padres, much like their recent past. Eric Lauer, though, is San Diego’s version of Castillo.Two of the National League’s three last-place teams, the Reds and the Padres http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-jake-mcgee-jersey , open a four-game series Friday night at Great American Ball Park, and both clubs have long since begun looking to 2019 and beyond.Article continues below ...The Reds are counting on Castillo and the Padres are counting on Lauer to be an integral part of that rebuilding. After all, the present isn’t proving very kind to either team.The Pittsburgh Pirates finished off a three-game sweep of the Reds on Wednesday night, winning 3-2 at PNC Park to deal Cincinnati its 11th loss in 14 games. The Reds scored once in the ninth, put the potential tying run on second with none out and loaded the bases with two out, but still couldn’t get the tying run home against Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez.It’s been that kind of season for a team that lost 15 of its first 18 games and, except for a midseason surge that lasted about a month, hasn’t had much to cheer about. Especially right-hander Homer Bailey, who lost for the 14th time in 15 decisions. The Reds are 1-19 when he starts.“(We’re) just coming up short,” Reds interim manager Jim Riggleman said. “I’m satisfied with the effort we get. The guys play hard, play with intensity. But we’re not getting results.”The right-handed Castillo is up and down Trevor Story Jersey , but the right-hander’s 8-11 record and 4.83 ERA are a bit of a misnomer because he’s given Riggleman a number of good starts, including his last one. He struck out a career-high 11 while shutting out the surging St. Louis Cardinals on two hits for 6 2/3 innings of the Reds’ 4-0 victory Saturday at Busch Stadium.“We’ve seen it a number of times this year,” Riggleman said. “We feel like he can do this. He’s not 21, he’s 25, (and) it’s time. We just hopes he builds on that, has a good September and takes us into ’19 as one of the guys that can anchor our staff.”For the hard-throwing Castillo, September starts Thursday night.Likewise, the 23-year-old Lauer keeps offering the Padres hope for the immediate future. He pitched five no-hit innings Thursday against the first-place Colorado Rockies in his first start since spending a month on the disabled list with a left forearm strain. Lauer allowed only an unearned run, and the Padres went on to win 3-2 in 13 innings.Manager Andy Green kept him in long enough to throw 81 pitches, or probably more than was planned. Lauer breezed through his fifth and final inning, retiring all three batters he faced.“I think it was great for him to get through that Ian Desmond Jersey ,” Green said.Lauer is 5-7 with a 5.01 ERA in his first major league season with the Padres, and he’s offered up enough starts like that to suggest to them he’ll be a big part of their staff going forward.The left-hander from Kent State has given up two runs or fewer in seven of his last 12 starts, a span marred only because he permitted 14 runs in three starts just before going on the disabled list. He’s faced the Reds only once, holding them to one run on five hits over five innings of an 8-2 Padres victory June 2 at Petco Park.Castillo is 0-1 with a 5.91 ERA in two career starts against the Padres, including a 6-3 loss on June 3, when he gave up four runs and six hits in 4 2/3 innings.The Padres are 2-1 against the Reds this season and 22-13 against them since 2012, when Cincinnati last won the season series. San Diego was idle Wednesday after splitting a two-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Padres have lost three of four.