Encarnacion Homers Twice, Jays Rout Rangers 12-2  —  TORONTO — Edwin Encarnacion hit his seventh career grand slam and a solo homer as the Toronto Blue Jays handed the slumping Texas Rangers their season-high sixth straight loss, 12-2 Friday night.  —  Russell Martin and Danny Valencia …

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.

Orioles Use 8th-Inning Run to Beat Indians 4-3  —  BALTIMORE — Chris Davis singled in the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning, J.J. Hardy homered and had two RBIs and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Cleveland Indians 4-3 Friday night.  —  Jimmy Paredes had three hits and scored twice for the Orioles …

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...

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.

Holt's 10th-Inning Single Lifts Red Sox Over Rays 4-3  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Mookie Betts doubled to extend his career-best hitting streak to 13 games and scored on Brock Holt's 10th-inning single to give the Boston Red Sox a 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night.

Mercer's Walk-Off Lifts Pirates to 3-2 Win Over Braves in 10  —  PITTSBURGH — Jordy Mercer doubled home Andrew McCutchen with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night.  —  McCutchen doubled off Jason Grilli …

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.

Brett Anderson Pitches Dodgers Past Slumping Marlins 7-1  —  MIAMI — Brett Anderson tied a career high with 10 strikeouts and allowed only one fly ball in seven innings Friday night to help the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 7-1 victory over the Miami Marlins, who lost their fifth straight game.

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.

Syndergaard sharp as Mets beat Reds, 2-1  —  Despite only recording two hits, Noah Syndergaard threw eight solid innings as the New York Mets beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-1, Friday at Citi Field.  —  Syndergaard (3-4) gave up five hits and one run in a career-high eight innings, striking out five batters on 89 pitches.

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 …