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 …

Could stopping a Cubs dynasty be in the Cards?  —  While the Red Sox-Yankees and Dodgers-Giants rivalries have gotten the most historical ink, Cubs vs. Cardinals is also one of baseball's best long-term feuds, pitting the Wrigley Field faithful against the self-proclaimed “Best Fans in Baseball.”

Chris Carter's glove, bat help New York Yankees defeat Kansas City Royals  —  NEW YORK — From various vantage points at Yankee Stadium, the New York Yankees could not tell if Alcides Escobar was out or safe after first baseman Chris Carter made a nice scoop of Starlin Castro's off-balance throw in the seventh inning.

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 …

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.

Braves' Dickey goes on three days' rest vs. Pirates (May 23, 2017)  —  ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves will go old-school with their pitching staff on Tuesday when they send starter R.A. Dickey to the mound on three days' rest.  —  Dickey (3-3, 4.13 ERA) will start the second game of a four-game series with the Pirates.

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 …

Cincinnati Reds top Cleveland Indians, 5-1  —  CINCINNATI — Scott Schebler went hitless in 13 consecutive at-bats last week but only struck out twice.  He figured it was just a matter of time before a few of his hard-hit balls would start to find gaps.  —  On Monday night …

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 …

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?

Nationals vs. Mariners series preview: An unfamiliar foe  —  The Washington Nationals and Washington state baseball club have not met since 2014, when Trea Turner was a teenager and Matt Williams was their manager.  The teams have met 12 times since the Nationals moved to the District, six times at Nationals Park.

‘Sneaky good’ Gyorko doing more than hitting homers  —  Photo by Chris Lee, clee@post-dispatch.com  —  Through the first seven weeks of the season, there is little question that Jedd Gyorko, the Cardinals' leader last season with 30 homers, 23 after the All-Star break, has been their best player.

Charlie Blackmon leads Colorado Rockies past slumping Philadelphia Phillies  —  PHILADELPHIA — Most leadoff hitters are content with setting the tone for their team's offense, getting on base and letting their teammates drive them home.  —  Not so with the Colorado Rockies' Charlie Blackmon.