Tigers are frustrating, but we can't look away  —  By now, it's easy to see the Tigers are not the team that started 11-2.  But they also aren't the team that lost eight straight this month.  —  They are worse.  —  If you care about them anyway — because .500 baseball gets you nothing but frustration.

Jacob deGrom tosses eight scoreless innings as Mets snap seven-game streak with 2-0 win over Brewers  —  METS 2, BREWERS 0  —  MILWAUKEE — Get ready to meet the Matz.  —  As Jacob deGrom was pitching a brilliant game to stop the Mets' seven-game losing streak with a 2- win over the Brewers …

OPENLY GAY PITCHER DELIVERS HISTORIC GEM  —  Thursday night, I wrote a blog post about Sean Conroy, scheduled for his first professional start for the Pacific Association's Sonoma Stompers.  Well, things could hardly have turned out better for everyone involved...

ICYMI: News on Matz, 6-man rotation, Wright, Murphy and Trades  —  Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins talked with reporters today for roughly 20 minutes, which you can listen to here...  In short, Triple-A LHP prospect Steven Matz will start for the Mets on Sunday, again creating a six-man rotation.

Ryne Sandberg Resigns As Phillies Manager  —  Ryne Sandberg has resigned his role as the manager of the Phillies, he announced today.  The Hall-of-Fame second baseman was hired late in the 2013 season after Charlie Manuel lost his job.  He'll be replaced on an interim basis by Pete Mackanin.

Astros Recall Jon Singleton, Place Chad Qualls On DL  —  The Astros announced today that setup man Chad Qualls has been placed on the 15-day DL (retroactive to June 25) with a pinched nerve in his neck.  To fill his spot on the roster, Houston recalled first baseman Jon Singleton.

Holliday better, but not yet ready  —  MIAMI  • Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday won't be ready to come off the disabled list when the team returns to Busch Stadium on Friday to begin a home stand, but he has been able to increase his activities while the team has been away.

Keuchel Strikes Out 12 to Lead Astros Past Yankees, 4-0  —  HOUSTON — Dallas Keuchel pitched a six-hitter and struck out a career-high 12 in his second shutout in less than a month to lead the Houston Astros to a 4-0 win over the New York Yankees on Thursday night.

Pats shouldn't be Super Bowl champs  —  KUSA—It took a kid to pry the most honest reaction, yet, to #Deflategate.  —  Denver Broncos' receiver Emmanuel Sanders told a group of young football campers Thursday that he doesn't think the New England Patriots should be Super Bowl champions because they cheated.

Astros way ahead of schedule?  —  You know what's really wild about what the Astros are doing?  —  This isn't going at all according to the script.  —  Oh, maybe not the Astros' script.  We don't have a copy of that one.  —  But remember when the Astros were losing TONS of games?

Royals return to Oakland for rematch with April antagonists  —  Kansas City Royals fans yelled at Oakland's Brett Lawrie as he left the first during a game on April 17.  JOHN SLEEZER jsleezer@kcstar.com  —  Royals relief pitcher Kelvin Herrera was escorted from the field by umpire Marvin Hudson …

Reds outlast Pirates in 13 innings on Phillips' homer  —  PITTSBURGH — An X-ray on Wednesday let Brandon Phillips know his left thumb was OK.  His performance in the Reds' 5-4 victory over the Pirates on Thursday night and Friday morning showed everyone else.

Joe Maddon: Deficiency in replay ‘screams for independent group’  —  5h - MLB CHRIS DENORFIA CHICAGO CUBS LOS ANGELES DODGERS + more  —  The Dodgers top the Cubs 5-2 to pick up their 40th victory of the season.