First number, last word

By Tom Singer and Teddy Cahill

August 1, 2014

16: Home runs by Neil Walker, through Thursday, tops among all National League switch-hitters. Only Detroit's Victor Martinez (21) and the Yankees' Mark Teixeira (18) had more in the Majors.

"I don't recall any of those conversations since I've been here. 'What if? Do we claim him just to block?'" -- Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, on the common practice of putting in a claim for a player on the waiver list just to prevent a team lower on the claim chain from having a shot at him.

Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog Change for a Nickel. He can also be found on Twitter @Tom_Singer. Teddy Cahill is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter at @tedcahill.