Padres, Preller prepared to sell and buy  —  Change, not fire sale, coming as trade deadline approaches  —  San Diego Padres A.J. Preller talks on the phone during a spring training practice.  — K.C. Alfred … PITTSBURGH — As it was in the offseason, predicting exactly what Padres General Manager …

Royals could lose Alex Gordon for months after left fielder strains groin  —  Royals left fielder Alex Gordon (4) was taken off the field on a cart after being injured chasing a fly ball by Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Logan Forsythe in the fourth inning Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium.

MLBTR Podcast: Jon Heyman Chats Deadline  —  Jeff runs down the week's news, and then welcomes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports to the show for an overview of the market for key teams and players as the trade deadline approaches.  Among the clubs covered are the Brewers, Padres, Twins, Rangers, and Rockies.

Trout Hits 2 HRs, Giavotella Lifts Angels Over Rockies 3-2  —  DENVER — Mike Trout homered twice and Johnny Giavotella singled in the tiebreaking run with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Los Angeles Angels over the Colorado Rockies 3-2 Wednesday night for their fifth straight win.

Kershaw Strikes Out 13 in Shutout, Dodgers Beat Phillies 5-0  —  LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw struck out 13 in an eight-hit shutout that snapped a five-start winless streak, and Jimmy Rollins hit a three-run homer against his former team to help the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-0 Wednesday night.

Fosse Still Feels Effects From 1970 All-Star Game Collision  —  OAKLAND, Calif. — Ray Fosse's body still aches, 45 years later.  —  He never did fully recover physically from one of the most infamous plays in All-Star Game history, when Pete Rose bulled him over in 1970 to score the winning run …

Peralta Hits 2-Out, 2-Run HR in 9th, Cardinals Jolt Cubs 6-5  —  CHICAGO — Jhonny Peralta hit a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning and the St. Louis Cardinals jolted the Chicago Cubs 6-5 Wednesday night.  —  The Cardinals trailed 5-4 and Cubs reliever Pedro Strop (1-4) quickly retired the first two batters in the ninth.

DeGrom dominates as Mets top Giants, 4-1  —  Jacob deGrom tossed eight shutout innings and the Mets got a solid offensive output as they beat the Giants, 4-1, on Wednesday afternoon in San Francisco.  —  The Mets opened the scoring in the sixth when a Brandon Crawford throwing error allowed Ruben Tejada to score from first base.

Defying Time and Space … He looks out of place, at least at first.  Wearing a Mets uniform that grants no slimming effect to his block of a body, he could easily be mistaken for an overinvested fan who has wandered past assorted “Authorized Personnel Only” signs at Citi Field, onto the outfield grass.

Teixeira Homers Twice to Help Sabathia, Yankees Beat A's 5-4  —  NEW YORK — All-Star slugger Mark Teixeira homered twice after Scott Kazmir left his start with triceps tightness, and CC Sabathia won for the first time in a month when the New York Yankees held off the Oakland Athletics 5-4 Wednesday night.

Porcello Ends 7-Game Skid; Red Sox Beat Marlins 6-3  —  BOSTON — Rick Porcello held Miami to two runs in six innings to snap a career-worst, seven-game losing streak, David Ortiz hit a two-run homer and the surging Boston Red Sox won their season-high fourth straight, 6-3 over the Marlins on Wednesday night.