Rangers' bats frozen again in loss to Mariners  —  SEATTLE  —  Tyler Motter's three-run homer in a five-run sixth inning spoiled Andrew Cashner's Texas Rangers debut Saturday night, and James Paxton didn't allow a hit until the sixth inning in the Seattle Mariners' 5-0 victory.

Reds bullpen comes up big again, but at what cost?  —  The Cincinnati Reds always planned to do new and fancy things with their bullpen this year, and touted the versatility and compatibility of their relief pitchers all through spring training.  —  But things are getting ridiculous.

Yelich, Stanton homer in 8th as Marlins beat Mets 5-4 … MIAMI — Christian Yelich gave Giancarlo Stanton a playful punch in the arm as they passed each other in the dugout during a comeback celebration, not nearly their hardest hit of the inning.  —  Yelich and Stanton whacked back-to-back homers …

CC Sabathia dismayed by declining number of African-Americans in baseball … He was little CC Sabathia then, a 5-year-old California kid listening to his grandfather regale him with tales about a late, great player for the Brooklyn Dodgers, the baseball legend who starred as No. 42, Jackie Robinson.

Orioles Place Zach Britton On 10-Day DL  —  The Orioles have placed superstar closer Zach Britton on the 10-day disabled list with a left forearm strain, reports Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun.  Right-hander Stefan Crichton will take Britton's roster spot, per Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com (Twitter links).

Rangers Acquire Clayton Blackburn From Giants  —  The Rangers have acquired right-hander Clayton Blackburn from the Giants for minor league infielder Frandy De La Rosa, per announcements from both teams.  —  It's no surprise that San Francisco found a taker for the 24-year-old Blackburn …

Blue Jays Send Aaron Sanchez To 10-Day DL  —  Blue Jays right-hander Aaron Sanchez is headed to the disabled list, retroactive to Saturday, with a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand, according to the team.  Toronto has recalled left-hander Matt Dermody from Triple-A to take Sanchez's roster spot.

Braves top Padres 4-2 as Dickey pitches in 3rd Atlanta park  —  ATLANTA (AP) — After giving up a home run on his only curveball, R.A. Dickey went back to his knuckleball.  He knows that pitch is the reason he's still in the major leagues at age 42.  —  Winless at Turner Field …

Revisiting Jackie Robinson's Major-League Début, Seventy Years Later  —  On April 15, 1947, Ed Silverman, a reporter for Sports-Week magazine, took the subway from his apartment, on West Twenty-fourth Street in Manhattan, to the Prospect Park stop, in Brooklyn, walked to Empire Boulevard, and crossed the street to Ebbets Field.

The Secret Life of Pitchers  —  the major league baseball commissioner, Rob Manfred, will never be mistaken for a rebel.  He's a 58-year-old Harvard Law School grad who clerked for a U.S. district judge appointed by Richard Nixon; became a partner at the lofty Philadelphia law firm Morgan …

Jarrett Parker Suffers Broken Clavicle  —  Giants left fielder Jarrett Parker suffered a broken right clavicle during the team's 5-0 loss to Colorado on Saturday, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link).  The injury occurred when Parker crashed into the left field wall …

Springer's 2-run homer completes Astros comeback vs A's  —  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — George Springer hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning after Nori Aoki put Houston ahead with one of his two RBIs, and the Astros rallied from a five-run deficit to beat the Oakland Athletics 10-6 on Saturday.