Morton, Altuve lead Astros over Mariners 9-2  —  SEATTLE (AP) — Charlie Morton pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, Jose Altuve had a three-run double and the Houston Astros beat the Seattle Mariners 9-2 on Thursday after Evan Gattis hit into a bizarre 5-4-3 triple play in the fourth inning.

Greinke, D-backs beat Giants 3-1 to win 6th straight series  —  PHOENIX — A 10-inning loss on Wednesday night stung the Arizona Diamondbacks.  They let too many opportunities slip away and put their run of series victories in jeopardy.  —  A dominant performance by Zack Greinke and clutch hitting kept the streak going.

Mets' Matt Harvey bristles over job security question: 'I'm a starting pitcher'  —  ATLANTA — Five years ago Thursday, Matt Harvey had the Citi Field faithful chanting “Harvey's better” as the young right-hander outdueled Washington's Stephen Strasburg.  —  Harvey is no longer that caliber of pitcher …

Jake Arrieta strikes out 10, allows 1 hit in 7 innings to move to 2-0  —  Jake Arrieta flashed the All-Star form that made Philadelphia covet the free-agent ace, striking out 10 and tossing one-hit ball over seven innings to lead the Phillies to a 7-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night.

Link between Alex Rodriguez, kidnapping victim questioned  —  Norberto Susini has told people that he was Alex Rodriguez's nephew for years - a familial link that was called into question after Susini was abducted Wednesday.  —  Susini allegedly was held hostage by two men after a deal to sell a Lamborghini went bad.

Preview: Cardinals vs. Cincinnati  —  • Interim Cincinnati manager Jim Riggleman, who took over from Bryan Price Thursday, is a former Cards farmhand, minor league manager, big-league coach and director of player development.  He has managed with San Diego, the Cubs …

A's deal Trayce Thompson to White Sox, who send Tylder Saladino to Brewers  —  The Chicago White Sox have acquired outfielder Trayce Thompson from the Oakland Athletics for cash considerations, after the A's designated him for assignment on Tuesday.  —  The White Sox also sent Tyler Saladino …

Robertson 'doesn't blink' in jam to lift Yanks over Jays  —  Toronto Blue Jays' Teoscar Hernandez, left, scores on a base hit by Curtis Granderson as New York Yankees pitcher David Robertson (30) look to back up a throw home during the eighth inning of a baseball game Thursday, April 19, 2018, in New York.

Who's hot (Gyorko), who's not (Fowler) for Cards  —  TRENDING UP  —  Jedd Gyorko, INF: He reached base four times Thursday with two singles and two walks in the 8-5 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.  While Gyorko is still scraping off some fielding rust after his stint on the disabled list …

Column: Wrigley Field renovations continue as a work in (mostly favorable) progress  —  Photos of the ongoing renovations at historic Wrigley Field.  —  Chicago Tribune  —  When team officials gave the first slideshow presentation of the Wrigley Field renovation plans at the 2013 Cubs Convention …

Clayton Kershaw vs. Max Scherzer: Showdown in L.A. highlights a dying breed of ace  —  They won't be taken out of the game just because the opposing lineup is about to get a third crack at them.  —  That's one of the certainties of Friday night's scintillating matchup between three …

Wall Street Journal: Baseball in Florida ‘has been a disaster’  —  The Rays and Miami Marlins “are at a moment of reckoning” after histories of low attendance and an offseason in which they sold off many of their top players and were singled out by the MLB Players Association for failing …

Brewers clobber Marlins, 12-3, as Miami's struggles continue  —  Miami Marlins relief pitcher Junichi Tazawa reacts during the sixth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday.  Tazawa gave up six runs in 2/3 of an inning.  (Morry Gash / AP)  —  Lorenzo Cain homered …

Charlie Morton dominant as Astros silence Mariners  —  SEATTLE (AP) - Charlie Morton pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, Jose Altuve hit a three-run double and the Houston Astros beat the Seattle Mariners 9-2 on Thursday.  —  After losing the series opener, the Astros won …

The case for 154 games, Fenway's quest and MLB's next big thing  —  Baseball needs to shorten the regular-season schedule.  —  Pausing.  —  Pausing.  —  OK, I guess I can't just leave it at that because that declarative statement is far from self-evident.  Allow me to explain.

Taylor leads Modesto to 13-6 win over San Jose  —  SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Logan Taylor had two hits and three RBI, as the Modesto Nuts exploded for a season-high in runs in a 13-6 win over the San Jose Giants on Thursday.  —  Modesto had a pair of big innings in the blowout victory …