LOS ANGELES--Adrian Gonzalez knew the reception that awaited him. As he walked toward his dugout, moments after squaring up his first homer of 2017, Gonzalez locked eyes with Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.

Gonzalez raised both his hands toward the sky: Hallelujah. Roberts howled in response.

Inside the dugout, during the sixth ...Read more

CHICAGO -- There was a time on Friday night when the Detroit Tigers had runners on second and third base with nobody out. It was in the top of the fourth inning.

Nick Castellanos was at the plate, Mike Pelfrey was on the mound and there were three balls and no strikes.

The Tigers did not score that inning. On the next pitch, Castellanos ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO -- Jaime Garcia was the only obstacle standing between Matt Cain and another dominant performance at AT&T Park Friday night.

Garcia (2-3) handed Cain (3-3) his second home loss of the season by stifling the Giants (20-30) bats over 62/3 innings and driving in the decisive run in a 2-0 win by the visiting Atlanta Braves.

The ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS -- Before Friday's game, Twins manager Paul Molitor spoke of the harsh reality some of his hitters were about to experience when facing Rays right-hander Chris Archer.

"It is going to be tough to have a good at-bat against him every time," Molitor said. "You're going to have to understand that when a guy has this quality of pitches ...Read more

DENVER -- Not even the ballpark known throughout baseball for its ability to heal the sickest lineup could comfort the Cardinals and their ongoing search for runs.

Not with the kind of club that calls Coors Field home.

Against a Colorado team clicking in every way they wish they could, the Cardinals fell, 10-0, on Friday night. Following ...Read more

HOUSTON -- The Orioles' May swoon continued in Texas on Friday night with a 2-0 loss to the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.

The Orioles' fifth straight loss was also their 11th in 14 games. Fifteen of their past 16 games have been decided by two runs or fewer, with 10 of those games being losses.

Astros starter Joe Musgrove (4-4), who ...Read more

MIAMI -- The rarely seen opponents from the opposite coast arrived Friday for their first visit to Marlins Park with one of the most accomplished hitting tandems in baseball.

Albert Pujols needs three home runs to become the ninth player with 600. Mike Trout was tied for the American League lead in homers and at or near the top in every ...Read more

TORONTO -- Rangers starter A.J. Griffin surrendered a second-inning grand slam to Devon Travis and left the game with an injury one batter later as the Blue Jays held on to take the series opener, 7-6, Friday night at Rogers Centre.

Griffin allowed the slam in the second inning and left after striking out the next batter Ezequiel Carrera with a...Read more

BOSTON -- The four-run "outburst" less than 24 hours earlier seems to have been the outlier for the Mariners in this run of futility and losing.

After snapping a five-game losing streak -- in which they scored one run in each of the losses -- on Thursday, the Mariners had a worse showing in a park where runs are fruitful.

On a cold and drizzly...Read more

NEW YORK -- The A's had to turn to Sean Manaea with the knowledge that Kendall Graveman was unavailable to pitch and likely headed for the disabled list.

Manaea responded with a masterful showing in his first career performance in Yankee Stadium. The 25-year-old left-hander issued a leadoff walk to start the game, then settled in for some of ...Read more

CLEVELAND -- The Royals played power ball once again and rolled to a 6-4 victory over the Indians in the series opener on Friday.

The Royals trailed 4-0 when Brandon Moss lined a three-run shot into the right-field seats in the fourth.

An inning later, Mike Moustakas tied it with a solo blast, his team-leading 12th home run this season.

The ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Yangervis Solarte swung over the top of an 0-2 slider, and the disgust spread across his face. He spiked his bat to the ground. His helmet followed.

It was that kind of Friday night for the Padres, overmatched by a superior opponent, compelled to find positives amid a 5-1 loss to the Washington Nationals.

There were at least two....Read more

MIAMI -- When Mike Trout won his MVP Award in the American League in 2014, Giancarlo Stanton was making a strong run for the same distinction in the National League before a beaning ended his season early that September.

With the two sluggers meeting this weekend in a series at Marlins Park for the first time, it is a reminder of how their ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda underwent surgery Thursday to replace the pacemaker in his heart.

The procedure was confirmed by the Dodgers on Friday morning. The team added in a release that Lasorda is "doing well and looking forward to returning to Dodger Stadium."

Lasorda, 89, has been hospitalized for more than two ...Read more

LOS ANGELES--Just past 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Hyun-Jin Ryu rose from his seat inside the Los Angeles Dodgers' bullpen and climbed atop a mound. A pitcher warming up should not sound an alarm. But these are strange times for the pitching staff of the Dodgers.

Earlier in the afternoon, hours before a 7-3 victory over St. Louis, manager Dave ...Read more

Dee Gordon, antsy as always on first base, took off for second. In a matter of a few steps and even fewer seconds, he not only swiped second but also moved to third when an errant throw sailed into center.

The sequence was a productive one for Gordon on two fronts. For the Miami Marlins, he moved closer to scoring the first run of the team's ...Read more

MILWAUKEE -- Did the rebuilding Milwaukee Brewers provide their fans false hope by playing much better than expected for the first seven weeks of the season?

We are about to find out.

The Brewers are in their first real funk of the season after dropping their fourth game in a row Thursday night, 4-0, to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Miller Park....Read more

BOSTON -- Drew Pomeranz tied his career-high with 11 strikeouts in six innings Thursday, and Xander Bogaerts connected for his first homer of the season as the Boston Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers, 6-2, to complete a three-game sweep.

Elvis Andrus homered for the Rangers, and Nomar Mazara had two hits and an RBI, but two-run innings in the ...Read more

HOUSTON -- This was Justin Verlander's kind of game.

His team was trying for a split against one of the best teams in baseball. They needed a good taste in their mouths, for the late-night flight that would follow and the straight doubleheader to come after that.

They needed innings, quality innings, to beat the Astros and save the bullpen.

...Read more