Manfred to succeed Selig as next Commissioner  —  BALTIMORE — Rob Manfred will be the next Commissioner of Major League Baseball.  —  The 55-year-old Manfred, currently MLB's chief operating officer, was elected in a vote by representatives of the 30 clubs on Thursday, the final day of the quarterly Owners Meetings.

Terry Collins: Matt Harvey out for '14  —  NEW YORK — New York Mets manager Terry Collins had a blunt message for rehabbing ace Matt Harvey during a phone conversation with the ace on Thursday: “Back off.”  —  Concerned Harvey is doing too much, too fast in his return from Tommy John surgery …

Culberson breaks lengthy HR drought as Rockies beat Reds  —  DENVER — Charlie Culberson hit his first homer in more than a month — a three-run shot in the fifth — and Jorge De La Rosa pitched seven effective innings to lift the Colorado Rockies over the Cincinnati Reds 7-3 on Thursday night.

Marlins Rally, Beat Diamondbacks 5-4 in 10 Innings  —  MIAMI — Marcell Ozuna doubled home Garrett Jones with the winning run in the 10th inning, and the Miami Marlins topped the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 on Thursday night.  —  Ozuna's line-drive to left-center came off Bradin Hagens (0-1), who was making his major league debut.

Mets swept by power-hitting Nationals as Adam LaRoche, Bryce Harper go deep off Dillon Gee  —  The Mets righthander went six innings and allowed four runs on two home runs.  Gee gave up four hits, struck out three and tied a season-high by walking four.  —  The Mets may not have embraced Citi Field …

Amaro formulating plan for Phillies' future  —  GM acknowledges team's needs, but not ready to share specific ideas  —  ANAHEIM — There are more questions than answers at this point.  At least everybody seems to agree on that.  —  The Phillies open a three-game series Friday against the Giants …

Yadi catches for first time since surgery  —  ST. LOUIS — On Thursday, 34 days after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb, veteran catcher Yadier Molina crouched down to catch his first bullpen session since the injury.  —  Manager Mike Matheny noted afterward …

Pirates Acquire John Axford  —  The Pirates have officially acquired righty John Axford from the Indians, the clubs have announced.  Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the transaction (via Twitter).  Axford, 31, joined Cleveland on a one-year, $4.5MM free agent contract after being non-tendered by the Cardinals.

Cardinals top Padres to leapfrog Pirates in NL Central  —  ST. LOUIS — Pinch-hitter Jon Jay delivered a two-run double in the eighth inning and right fielder Shane Robinson threw out the potential tying run at the plate in the ninth to help the St. Louis Cardinals hold off the San Diego Padres 4-3 Thursday night.

Comedian adores his Amazin's — and admits he thinks about baseball ‘all day’  —  What's the deal with instant replay?  Jerry Seinfeld doesn't mind if the umps get it wrong sometimes. … What was your first baseball memory?  —  It's a cliché, but walking through the tunnel …