Bullpen backs Darvish as Rangers top Tigers  —  DETROIT  —  Mike Napoli and Pete Kozma connected for home runs Sunday night, and the Texas Rangers' bullpen tossed four scorless innings after a short outing by Yu Darvish in a 5-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers.  —  Napoli's blast in the fifth traveled 446 feet.

Wong, Piscotty not in lineup  —  Photo by Chris Lee, clee@post-dispatch.com  —  Second baseman Kolten Wong (sore left elbow) and right fielder Stephen Piscotty (bruised left forearm) were out of the Cardinals' lineup Sunday, but apparently they won't be out terribly long, and Piscotty actually pinch hit a single in the eighth inning.

Jake Junis offers solid cameo as Royals open twin bill with 6-4 victory  —  MINNEAPOLIS  —  He had just 24 hours to prepare for his first career start, enough time to make the 381-mile journey from his season home in Omaha, Neb., to downtown Minneapolis.  —  On Sunday morning …

Atlanta Braves: Is Rio Ruiz the long-term answer at third base?  —  Rio Ruiz was just called up after the Freddie Freeman injury.  Now he has a chance to prove himself to a be a long-term answer for the Atlanta Braves at third base.  —  Rio Ruiz was once paid greatly above slot …

Bronson Arroyo gives up four homers as Cincinnati Reds lose  —  In the immediacy of his team's 6-4 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price misunderstood a question from a television reporter.  He thought he'd been asked about Bronson Arroyo's job security.

Monday's game  —  White Sox at Diamondbacks  —  Where: Chase Field (Roof hotline: 602-462-6262).  —  Pitchers: Diamondbacks RHP Zack Greinke (5-2, 3.09) vs. White Sox RHP Miguel Gonzalez (3-4, 4.29).  —  TV/Radio: FSAZ/KMVP-FM (98.7), KHOV-FM (105.1).  —  Greinke gave up four runs …

Pirates Edge Phillies 1-0 In Rain After Freese HBP  —  PITTSBURGH (AP) — Chad Kuhl and four relievers combined on a three-hitter, and the Pittsburgh Pirates scratched out the only run of a rainy game Sunday when David Freese was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in a 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Tommy Milone implodes early as Mets drop series finale to Angels  —  Things looked bleak for the Mets while fans were still filing into the ballpark Sunday afternoon.  The first five batters of the game all scored against Tommy Milone, who was torched for eight runs in just 1 1/3 innings …

Rangers not yet focused on future roster decisions  —  DETROIT  —  Adrian Beltre showed up at the ballpark Sunday afternoon with his right calf feeling fine some 24 hours after running the bases for the first time in six weeks.  —  That's exactly what the Texas Rangers needed to hear …

Yankees try to get back on track vs. Royals (May 22, 2017)  —  NEW YORK — Seven losses in 11 games may constitute a slump for the New York Yankees.  —  Meanwhile, Brett Gardner and Aaron Judge are hardly slumping as New York opens a four-game series with the Kansas City Royals on Monday night at Yankee Stadium.

Dodgers' newest pitcher could be outfielder Brett Eibner  —  The Dodgers manage their roster with a short bench and a surplus of creativity.  The player who has pinch-run most often this season is pitcher Ross Stripling.  —  So it might come as little surprise that the Dodgers are experimenting …

A's denied what would have been historic sweep  —  Oakland winning streak grinds to a halt with Red Sox rolling, 12-3  —  OAKLAND - The A's fell short in their effort to pull off what would have been a once-in-almost-a-century feat with a 12-3 loss to the Red Sox Sunday.

Warriors' Zaza Pachulia, family threatened after Kawhi Leonard incident  —  SAN ANTONIO — Zaza Pachulia can handle being the villain of the Western Conference finals.  —  The Golden State Warriors big man would even understand if Kawhi Leonard were angry with him after the ill-fated meeting …

Pirates notebook: Huntington says he'll ‘gladly pour’ found money back into club  —  Over the offseason, the Pirates spent to their self-imposed budget for 2017 — but the club was given a financial reprieve via a variety of circumstances.  —  Given the chance, will they re-invest those savings back into the roster?

Despite recent struggles, Masahiro Tanaka will make next scheduled start for Yankees  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Masahiro Tanaka will make his next scheduled start on Thursday while Greg Bird should start tee-and-toss on Monday when the Yankee return home, Joe Girardi said.

Next Slide  —  It's not the numbers that J.D. Martinez is concerned about, it's how well he's seeing the pitches that matters most.  —  He just happens to be watching a few more fly by out of the strike zone in the past week and a half.  —  Yet beyond the six home runs and 11 hits …

Eric Gagne Ends Comeback Attempt  —  Former star closer Eric Gagne has elected to end his comeback bid, reports Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (Twitter link).  The 41-year-old told Cotillo that he plans to turn his attention to coaching.  —  Gagne, who last pitched in the majors in 2008 …

GM Mike Rizzo vows to fix long Nationals nightmare - their flailing bullpen  —  It's easy to forget that the Washington Nationals are in the most envious position in baseball, sitting with a fat seven-game lead in the National League East with no one else in the division even sniffing .500.

Charlotte Knights pitcher showing once more why he's a top Chicago White Sox prospect  —  Through his first three starts of the season, Charlotte Knights right-hander Reynaldo Lopez struggled to find the stuff that made him one of baseball's most promising pitching prospects.