Jays drop Yankees into 4th  —  TORONTO (AP) - Jose Bautista and J.P. Arencibia each hit two-run home runs, Drew Hutchison won consecutive starts for the first time and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the New York Yankees 4-1 Thursday night, sweeping their two-game series.

Wieters earns break after marathon duty  —  KANSAS CITY — Orioles manager Buck Showalter had a preliminary plan to pencil in Matt Wieters as his starting catcher on Thursday.  But the plan changed after Wieters worked 15 innings in a 4-3 win over the Royals on Wednesday night.

Harang Pitches Dodgers Past Hometown Padres, 8-1  —  SAN DIEGO (AP) — Aaron Harang held his former team to four hits in seven shutout innings and had one of Los Angeles' 12 hits as the Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 8-1 Thursday night to split a two-game series.

Beachy Throws Shutout, Braves Beat Marlins 7-0  —  ATLANTA (AP) — Brandon Beachy improved his major-league best ERA with a couple of career milestones and the Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins 7-0 Thursday night.  —  Beachy (5-1) threw a five-hit shutout, the first of his career, in the first complete game of his career.

Cooperstown Confidential: The tale of Charley Lau  —  Mickey Hatcher had become a polarizing figure in Southern California.  The Angels' manager, Mike Scioscia, felt fierce loyalty to his batting coach, who had worked with him for the past 13 seasons.  Many in the organization liked Hatcher's sense …

Chapman to stay in Reds 'pen for now  —  NEW YORK  —  One day, the Reds promise, left-hander Aroldis Chapman will be a starting pitcher.  But it can't happen yet, not when two of the team's top setup men remain on the disabled list.  And not everyone with the team is certain it should happen it all.

Interleague Play set to add intrigue to season  —  When Jeff Samardzija throws the first pitch for the Cubs in their Friday afternoon game against the White Sox at Wrigley Field, it will signify a powerful and memorable moment for Major League Baseball in 2012: the return of Interleague Play.

Lowrie, Happ Lead Astros Past Brewers 4-0  —  HOUSTON (AP) — Jed Lowrie hit a two-run homer and J.A. Happ threw six sharp innings before three relievers completed the Houston Astros' 4-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night.  —  The win wrapped up a two-game sweep for the Astros, who took the opener 8-3.

McCutchen, McDonald lead Pirates over Nats 5-3  —  WASHINGTON—James McDonald had a nasty curveball Thursday night, and the Washington Nationals couldn't lay off.  —  McDonald took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and struck out a career-high 11, and the Pittsburgh Pirates got two home runs from Andrew McCutchen in a 5-3 victory.

Venezuelan Links: Mora, Escobar, Cervelli  —  A trio of venezolanos try to claw their way back to la gran carpa.  Yes, that literally translates to “the big carp,” but it also means “the big top.”  Links are in Spanish...  - Melvin Mora will fly to the states this weekend to begin negotiations …

Upton's 2-run homer lifts D-backs to 9-7 win  —  DENVER—Justin Upton hit a two-out, two-run homer off closer Rafael Betancourt in the ninth inning to help the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies 9-7 on Thursday in a game that was briefly delayed by a swarm of bees.

A's overcome disputed call to beat Rangers 5-4  —  ARLINGTON, Texas—Kila Ka'aihue had a tiebreaking single in the 10th inning, and the Oakland A's bounced back from a disputed call on squeeze play that cost them the lead to beat the Texas Rangers 5-4 Thursday.

Rays 2B Rhymes passes out after hit by pitch … ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A scary moment occurred Wednesday night at Tropicana Field when Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Will Rhymes collapsed and passed out on the field in the bottom of the eighth inning because of what the Rays called …