A look at MLB’s stretch run, who’s in, who’s hanging on: The week in baseball

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A long time ago, Andre Thornton, the lone bright light on so many low-wattage Indians teams, was asked if Cleveland was in the stretch run after a rare winning streak in the middle of August.

The man nicknamed Thunder, taking pity on the person that asked the question, said the stretch run doesn’t start until the middle of September.