Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is ready to sell if his club can’t turn it around before the trade deadline. But the Yankees began an important four-game series with the AL East-leading Orioles on Monday with a needed victory. 

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Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez blasted career home run No. 696 and closer Aroldis Chapman hit 105 mph while locking down his 19th save in a 2-1 win that moved the Yankees to .500 for the 12th time this season and 7 1/2 games behind the O’s in the East. 

Rodriguez, who busted out of a 1 for 10 slump since the All-Star break, needs 19 homers to pass Babe Ruth for the third most in MLB history. 

Chapman also made history with a 105.1 mph pitch to J.J. Hardy, which ties the MLB mark for the fastest recorded pitch, also thrown by Chapman in 2010.

Player of the day

Jarrod Dyson, Royals: The speedster picked a great time to hit his first career grand slam. Dyson, who hit a triple earlier in the game, took Indians reliever Jeff Manship deep as Kansas City scored seven runs in the bottom of the eighth. 

Highlight

The Mariners scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth to spoil a stellar outing by White Sox ace Chris Sale. Mariners slugger Adam Lind ended it with a three-run walk-off homer. 

Three things to know

— With 11 strikeouts against the Padres, Cardinals starter Mike Leake became only the second pitcher in franchise history (Bob Gibson,1968-69) to have 10 strikeouts and zero walks in back-to-back games. 

— In tying a career high with 14 punch-outs against the Phillies, 23-year-old Jose Fernandez enjoyed his 36th career game with at least eight strikeouts, passing A.J. Burnett (35) for most in Marlins history. Fernandez also became the third-fastest pitcher to 500 strikeouts, behind only Dwight Gooden and Yu Darvish.

— Joe Nathan (elbow) could join the Cubs’ bullpen as soon as this weekend. Nathan, 41, is recovering from Tommy John surgery, but has pitched well in the minors, albeit a small sample size (2.00 ERA and 9:2 K:BB ratio in nine innings).

What’s next

Dodgers (52-42) at Nationals (56-37), 7:05 p.m. ET: Washington’s Reynaldo Lopez will make his MLB debut against Scott Kazmir (7-3, 4.52 ERA) and the Dodgers. Lopez made 16 starts in Double-A and Triple-A this season, combining for 109 strikeouts with a 3.19 ERA. 

Mets (49-43) at Cubs (56-36), 7:05 p.m. ET: There will be a duel of aces Tuesday at Wrigley Field as reigning Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta (12-4, 2.68 ERA) and the Cubs host Noah Syndergaard (9-4, 2.56 ERA) and the Mets. Arrieta hasn’t been himself lately and will have to be careful against Curtis Granderson, who owns a .360 average with three homers and eight RBIs against him.