Yankees drop struggling Giancarlo Stanton to 4th in lineup  —  NEW YORK — In the hopes of heating up Giancarlo Stanton's cold bat in the Bronx, the New York Yankees on Thursday are moving him in the batting order.  —  The power hitter, who had spent all of this young season hitting third …

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 …

Matt Harvey not helping cause to stick in rotation, flops against Atlanta in 12-4 loss  —  ATLANTA — Five years ago Thursday, Matt Harvey had the Citi Field faithful chanting “Harvey's better” as the young righty outdueled Washington's Stephen Strasburg.  —  Harvey was well on his way to …

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 …

Celebrated closers for the St. Louis Cardinals  —  Hall of Fame baseball writer Rick Hummel highlights the multi-year standouts and the one-year wonders among the Cardinals' 9th-inning specialists of the past 40 years.  —  BEST OF THE MULTI-YEAR STANDOUTS  —  When newly-signed relief …

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.

Game Day: Diamondbacks meet the Padres for first time in 2018  —  The Arizona Diamondbacks take on the San Diego Padres for the first time this season in a weekend series.  Follow this page for updates, pitching probables and more.  —  MORE: Diamondbacks catcher Alex Avila is off to a rough start at the plate

Red Sox Triple-A team banning people named Tyler and Austin as part ‘Evil Empire Weekend’ promotion  —  In a city far, far north of the Bronx, The Evil Empire's biggest foe is striking back.  —  The Pawtucket Red Sox, Boston's Triple-A affiliate, is banning all people named Tyler and Austin …

Plate umpire Jerry Layne struck by foul ball, exits in first inning  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. — Plate umpire Jerry Layne has left the Los Angeles Angels' game against Boston after a foul ball from Mike Trout hit him on the right arm.  —  Layne went to the locker room in the bottom of the first inning Thursday night.

Next Slide  —  The Detroit Tigers optioned left-handed pitcher Chad Bell back to Triple-A Toledo after he gave up two runs in a 13-8 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park.  —  Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said the team will call up another pitcher to replace Bell …

Alex Rodriguez's cousin held captive after Lamborghini deal goes bad  —  Two men were arrested after they allegedly held a cousin of former slugger Alex Rodriguez for ransom Wednesday night, New York police confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.  —  Norberto Susini was held hostage at a New York hotel …

Nogowski hits grand slam, leads Springfield over Arkansas  —  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — John Nogowski hit a grand slam in the seventh inning, leading the Springfield Cardinals to a 6-4 win over the Arkansas Travelers on Thursday.  —  Jacob Evans struck Chuck Taylor out with runners …

Ferrell induces groundout, leads Corpus Christi to 5-3 win over Frisco  —  FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Riley Ferrell got Luis La O to ground out with the bases loaded to end the game, leading the Corpus Christi Hooks to a 5-3 win over the Frisco RoughRiders on Thursday.