Richards carted off field after serious knee injury  —  Angels may lose top pitcher for rest of season as club awaits further evaluation  —  BOSTON — Jered Weaver could hear Garrett Richards' scream from the dugout.  —  The Angels' young starting pitcher was lying on the ground near …

Lucas Duda's 3-run HR highlights Mets' offensive revival in win over A's … OAKLAND, Calif. - With their postseason chances all but extinguished, the only meaningful baseball ahead for the Mets will come as spoilers against teams with brighter days ahead.  —  The Mets thrived in that role Wednesday …

Angels Acquire Gordon Beckham  —  6:01pm: The Angels initially claimed Beckham off waivers, MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez reports (on Twitter).  —  5:07pm: Kay clarifies that the Angels will send a PTBNL or cash considerations to the White Sox in exchange for Beckham, not both, as he initially announced (Twitter link).

Cubs defend Wrigley Field's grounds crew  —  The Cubs are backing their grounds crew after a report they were inadequately staffed to handle the rain delay that led to Tuesday's suspended game against the Giants.  —  Cubs spokesman Julian Green said the sudden downpour was a “freak occurrence” …

Gomes exits an inning after being hit in mask  —  MINNEAPOLIS — The Indians were not going to take any chances when catcher Yan Gomes began to feel ill after absorbing a deflected pitch off the mask on Thursday afternoon.  —  In the sixth inning of the Tribe's 4-1 loss to the Twins …

Rays Get Just 1 Hit Off Price, Beat Tigers 1-0  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — David Price allowed only a first-inning RBI triple to Brandon Guyer in his first start against his former team, and Alex Cobb and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Detroit Tigers 1-0 Thursday to avoid a three-game sweep.

Phillies have decisions to make heading into '15  —  Offensive upgrades, addressing positional logjams at forefront for GM Amaro  —  PHILADELPHIA — Everybody wants to know if the Phillies have a plan for the future.  They say that they do.  —  But general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. is keeping quiet about it.

Judge rules in favor of former Tigers P Reed  —  DETROIT — A judge on Thursday dismissed rape charges against former Detroit Tigers pitcher Evan Reed, saying the testimony of the woman who accused him wasn't credible and prosecutors failed to show that force or coercion took place.

Neal Cotts Staying With Rangers  —  Rangers left-hander Neal Cotts will not be traded, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  Cotts was recently claimed by an unknown club, giving the Rangers and this mystery team a 48.5-hour window to work out a trade.

Astros Could Still Reach Deal With Brady Aiken  —  11:46am: “There's nothing to report, nothing going on there,” Astros owner Jim Crane tells Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (Twitter link) in regards to a possible Aiken deal.  —  11:25am: The Astros could still end up signing …

Sources: Three teams in mix to sign Cuban free agent Rusney Castillo  —  The Rusney Castillo negotiations continue to progress rapidly, and the Red Sox are one of the three clubs most actively involved for the Cuban free-agent outfielder, according to major-league sources.

Verlander expects to start Saturday vs. Twins  —  Right-hander will work one half of the scheduled twin bill barring setbacks  —  ST. PETERSBURG — Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander expects to avoid going on the disabled list and start on Saturday against the Twins.