Why the Red Sox are the best team in baseball - and may retain that status  —  OAKLAND - It took more than three weeks and a masterful performance by one of the game's up-and-coming pitchers for the Red Sox to come to grips with a baseball reality: You don't play .900 baseball and average 6.5 runs …

Red Sox lose consecutive games for 1st time this year  —  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Khris Davis hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer off David Price with two outs in the eighth inning and the Oakland Athletics beat Boston 4-1 on Sunday, to deal the Red Sox consecutive losses for the first time under new manager Alex Cora.

Dodgers come from behind against Nationals to get back to .500  —  LOS ANGELES  —  The Los Angeles Dodgers slumbered through half the game, awakening with a bolt of energy that revitalized the fans and players within the grand old ballpark.  —  The Dodgers were three outs from winning …

Carloz Gomez homers in 9th to lift Rays past Twins 8-6 for series sweep  —  It seemed unlikely that slumping Carlos Gomez would follow through on hitting a home run for his son.  —  He had struck out three times in his first four hitless at-bats.  His last trip to the plate, however, produced something special.

Motivated, refined Indians' Mike Clevinger holding his own in starting rotation  —  BALTIMORE  —  When Mike Clevinger was awarded the No. 4 spot in the Indians starting rotation this spring, he knew he'd have his work cut out for him to carry his weight in one of the best rotations in baseball.

Houston Astros look to keep rolling vs. Los Angeles Angels  —  Last Sunday night, after Texas Rangers veteran right-hander Bartolo Colon carried a perfect game into the eighth inning at Minute Maid Park, the Houston Astros closed that three-game series having scored a total of nine runs …

Report: White Sox pitcher Danny Farquhar has surgery  —  White Sox manager Rick Renteria discusses keeping players updated on Danny Farquhar's status on Sunday, April 22, 2018.  (Teddy Greenstein/Chicago Tribune)  —  Chicago Tribune  —  White Sox reliever Danny Farquhar remained in stable …

Yankees' youth movement in full swing as Gleyber Torres finally arrives  —  On a day when the 23-year-old third baseman stole the spotlight from the 21-year-old second baseman making his major league debut, catcher Austin Romine noticed a semi-related text a friend sent him an hour or so before game time.

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. San Diego Padres … Only a handful of Diamondbacks hitters are off to good starts at the plate.  Two starting position players and a key reliever remain on the disabled list - and all three have suffered some form of a setback during the rehab process.

No-hitters like Sean Manaea's will become rarer and rarer  —  When Oakland Athletics left-hander Sean Manaea completed a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday night, you might have thought, “About time!”  This has been the April of the no-hit bid, as Buster Olney relayed this weekend:

MLB: Kris Bryant is hit on head by a pitch  —  Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant left Sunday's game after being hit on the head with a 96-mph pitch from Colorado right-hander German Marquez.  —  The ball made a loud sound as it hit off the underside of the flap of Bryant's helmet.

Cardinals' Holland shows lots of progress  —  It's the situation that closers, and the managers of closers, hope for: taking the mound in the ninth inning and getting a 1-2-3 inning.  A minimal amount of drama, a maximum amount of satisfaction.  —  That's what the Cardinals got from Greg Holland …

Who's signed to baseball's worst contracts?  —  If you're one of the remaining fans wondering why analytics-friendly teams — now nearly every team in baseball — are stingy in the free-agent market, this is the list for you.  Drop an easy popup?  Leave a hanging curve in the strike zone?

Brewers television analyst Davey Nelson dies at age 73  —  Davey Nelson, a former All-Star infielder for the Rangers and television analyst with the Brewers, has died at the age of 73.  —  The Brewers announced that Nelson, who was a coach in the organization for five years before moving …

Power Rankings: Blue Jays crowd into more than just the AL East picture  —  Just three weeks into the season, there's some consensus among our voters for the Power Rankings: The Red Sox and Astros are the two best teams in baseball.  And the Reds and Marlins are the two worst.  But everything in between?