Brad Peacock helps Astros to combined 1-hitter in spot start for Dallas Keuchel … HOUSTON — The Houston Astros used a group effort to make up for what they hope is the one start ace Dallas Keuchel will miss with a pinched nerve in his neck.  —  Brad Peacock and three relievers combined …

Ty Blach battles, leads San Francisco Giants past Chicago Cubs  —  CHICAGO — Ty Blach set the tone on Monday when he prevailed in a 13-pitch showdown with Chicago Cubs leadoff batter Ben Zobrist.  —  The San Francisco Giants right-hander caught Zobrist looking at a third strike …

Winning bidding war for Luis Robert shows White Sox are serious about rebuild  —  Baseball's most interesting mediocre team arrived in Arizona on Monday undeterred by the present and overjoyed about the future.  —  The White Sox, 20-22 as a three-game series against the Diamondbacks began …

Braves get to Cole; Hurdle, Freese ejected in Pirates' loss  —  ATLANTA — Manager Clint Hurdle and David Freese were told to leave in the fourth inning.  Gerrit Cole slunk away in the fifth.  Jordy Mercer had to go in the seventh.  —  It was that kind of Monday night for the Pirates …

Trying times for John Farrell as Boston Red Sox manager  —  Dave Dombrowski, the Red Sox's president of baseball operations, can play the “Fire John Farrell” card at any time.  —  That time might have come Monday, if the Red Sox had not avoided getting swept four straight in Oakland by winning the final game of the series.

Royals are on pace to break their other paltry home-run record  —  NEW YORK  —  So the Royals have this home-run record, and it has somehow survived for three decades.  —  The mark has lasted through 100-loss seasons, and it has endured through American League pennants and championship parades.

The Aaron Judge home run tracker  —  New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge's prolific rookie season, and the home runs that come with it, have captivated fans across the country.  Courtesy of ESPN Stats and Information research, we've captured every one of the first-year slugger's homers …

Michael Pineda continues to make case for Yankees ace  —  Michael Pineda baffled the Yankees in 2016 with his inability to finish off innings, but this season he's bearing down and getting big outs when he needs them.  —  The best example of that on Monday night: when Pineda won a 12-pitch battle …

Wild pitch helps Angels beat Rays 3-2  —  ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.  —  Jefry Marte scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the seventh inning to help the Los Angeles Angels' beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 on Monday night.  —  The Angels, who have won six of eight, pushed across the run without …

After Klentak assures McClure's job security, slow down calls for pitching coach's firing … CONNECT  —  PHILADELPHIA - Phillies pitching coach Bob McClure isn't going anywhere.  —  For any fans hoping for a change amid the pitching staff's struggles, general manager Matt Klentak made clear …

If the MLB is trending young, look to these Rangers stars for the next big thing  —  Now that the Rangers have convincingly pulled off their Lazarus act, let's see what they do for an encore.  —  Can they keep whittling away at the Astros' lead?  What about their window?  Is it closing?

Brandon Phillips hits home run No. 200  —  Braves second baseman Brandon Phillips, who played for the Reds from 2006 until he was traded to the Braves in February for Carlos Portuondo and Andrew McKirahan, hit his 200th career home run on Monday night in Atlanta, off of Pirates starter Gerrit Cole …

The Nats own the NL East, but they could be playing with fire  —  It's only May, but the Washington Nationals are running away with the NL East.  The problem is that come October, their rotation might be running on empty.  —  On Sunday, Stephen Strasburg became the latest Washington starter …