Cole Outduels Syndergaard, Pirates Top Mets 4-1  —  PITTSBURGH — Gerrit Cole struck out 10 over 8 1-3 dominant innings to outduel New York Mets rookie Noah Syndergaard and lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-1 win Friday night.  —  Cole (6-2) gave up just six hits — all singles …

Inside Baseball: Blue Jays tried for Hamels, stick with Gibbons; plus notes  —  Both the Blues Jays front office personnel and players are wholly unsatisfied with their up-and-down start, and while there's little question they all expected much better play and rumors have been circulating …

Rays' Minor League Team Cancels ‘A-Rod Juice Box’ Promotion  —  NEW YORK — What began as “A-Rod Juice Box” promo night for a Tampa Bay Rays minor league team quickly became Apology Night.  —  The Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Florida State League on Friday night abruptly canceled the promotion …

Brewers' Will Smith suspended 8 games for foreign substance on forearm  —  Milwaukee Brewers reliever Will Smith was suspended eight games Friday by Major League Baseball for having a foreign substance on his non-throwing arm Thursday night against the Atlanta Braves.

Harper, Scherzer Carry Nationals to 2-1 Win Over Phillies  —  WASHINGTON — Bryce Harper hit another home run and Max Scherzer had another dominant outing to help the Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 on Friday night for their sixth straight win.

Two years after scandal, A-Rod has unlikely admirer: Rob Manfred  —  NEW YORK - This time, he didn't grimace.  There were no terse statements.  —  Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred didn't even have the slightest bit of apprehension talking about one of the game's most ignominious figures in recent years.

MLB Mock Draft 2015: Version 3.0  —  College conference tournaments dominate much of the draft world this week, with scouts descending on the Southeastern, Atlantic Coast, Big Ten and other conferences for long looks at some of the nation's top college players.

For baseball lifer, game goes on  —  The only retirement I ever cared about was Charlie Hough's.  —  That was 20 years ago and was meaningful to me because, for the first time in my life, I was older than every major league player.  —  And I got to write about what a strange rite of passage that was.

In one afternoon Brandon Barnes had almost as many hits as Drew Stubbs  —  The Denver Post  —  Colorado Rockies left fielder Brandon Barnes reaches bases on an error by Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis in the seventh inning of a baseball game Thursday, May 21, 2015, in Denver.

Diamondbacks complete 4-game sweep of Marlins  —  MIAMI (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks scored the run that put them ahead to stay Thursday thanks to a walk, a bobbled bunt and two infield singles.  —  “It wasn't very conventional,” manager Chip Hale said.

Pirates Star McCutchen Laughs Off Leaked Pay Stub  —  PITTSBURGH — Good thing Andrew McCutchen has direct deposit.  —  The Pittsburgh Pirates star centerfielder laughed off a leaked photo of his pay stub Friday, joking he can handle the attention so long as he still gets paid.

WHAT MLB CAN LEARN FROM JAPAN  —  TOKYO — If you're a baseball fan with an Internet connection, you've undoubtedly read scary stories about how the sport's popularity in the U.S. is circling the drain.  And while reports of Major League Baseball's imminent demise are greatly exaggerated …