A's beat O's; win third straight behind McCarthy … BALTIMORE — Brandon McCarthy won for the first time this season, pitching seven solid innings, and Eric Sogard hit a two-run home run in a three-run second as the Oakland Athletics beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-2 on Friday.

Detroit Tigers slugger Delmon Young busted after Midtown hotel brawl  —  Detroit Tigers slugger Delmon Young was arrested early this morning after he allegedly assaulted a man in front of a Midtown hotel, police sources told The Post.  —  Cops were called to the Hilton Hotel on Sixth Avenue around 2:40 …

Nationals to bring up top prospect Bryce Harper  —  Bryce Harper tends to do things ahead of schedule, so it should surprise no one he's already heading to the major leagues.  —  The 19-year-old outfielder, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 amateur draft, will be recalled …

Moose Skowron, Yankee fan favorite, passes away at 81  —  Bill “Moose” Skowron, a mainstay of the great Yankee dynasty of the 1950s and long-time fan favorite at Old Timers' Day, has passed away at the age of 81.  Moose was a first baseman during the years of Mickey Mantle and was a five-time All Star with the Yankees and White Sox.

Longoria's 4 RBIs propel Rays past Rangers … ARLINGTON, Texas — Evan Longoria homered and drove in four runs to help the Tampa Bay Rays extend their winning streak to six games with an 8-4 victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday night.  —  Longoria hit a three-run homer in the first inning …

Yanks: Pineda ‘massive decision gone wrong’  —  Girardi: ‘We Were Counting on Him’  —  Yankees manager Joe Girardi discusses the loss of Michael Pineda for the 2012 season and how the team will move on without him.  —  NEW YORK — Two days after the announcement that his prize offseason acquisition …

It's time for Angels to find a quck fix  —  And you thought the Red Sox were the Titanic.  —  Hah!  —  The S.S. Valentine is the QE2 compared to the S.S. Pujols, also known as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  —  Some of the Angels' struggles are predictable; they began the season …

Cardinals score 8 in 3rd in 13-1 win over Brewers  —  ST. LOUIS—Jake Westbrook gave up one run over seven innings and St. Louis exploded for eight runs in the third inning in a 13-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night.  —  St. Louis, which set a season high both for runs …

Jeter Scores on Passed Ball, Yanks Beat Tigers 7-6  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Derek Jeter scored on a passed ball with one out in the ninth inning and the New York Yankees rallied to hand the Tigers their fifth straight loss, 7-6 on Friday night, hours after Detroit left fielder Delmon Young was arraigned on a hate crime harassment charge.

Peter O'Malley pushing to buy Padres  —  Peter O'Malley, unsuccessful in his effort to regain ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is now trying to buy one of the Dodgers' NL West rivals.  —  O'Malley, his son Kevin and nephew Tom Seidler are mounting an aggressive push for the San Diego Padres …

Myth vs. reality — April edition  —  What's the verdict on the Red Sox, Phillies, Nationals, Angels, Dodgers, Blue Jays?  —  We're three weeks into another fun-filled baseball season.  And here's what we know:  —  Matt Kemp has a chance to be pretty good. ...

Knowing modern “stats-speak” in baseball versus understanding the major league game  —  Here's a first on this blog.  I will be doing one of those Cover-It-Live chats today at noon Pacific time from Toronto.  No video, just plain old print where I can answer some of your questions and have it all preserved for eternity.

Saltalamacchia, Red Sox catching fire  —  His two HRs lead to 4th straight win  —  CHICAGO - There were days in spring training when Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia would forfeit his time in the batting cage to spend extra time working with a particular pitcher.