Brewers put Ryan Braun on DL with tightness in his back  —  The Milwaukee Brewers placed Ryan Braun on the 10-day disabled list Thursday with tightness in his middle back.  —  Braun missed all three of the Brewers' games with the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field this week.

Rangers scratch Cole Hamels from tonight's start with neck stiffness  —  CHICAGO  —  The Texas Rangers have scratched left-hander Cole Hamels from his scheduled Thursday start against the Chicago White Sox.  —  Doug Fister, who was slated to pitch Friday, will start in Hamels' place.

Verlander throws 5-hit shutout, Astros blank Angels 2-0  —  Houston took two of three in the series and holds a two-game lead in the AL West over the Angels.  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Justin Verlander pitched a five-hitter for his first shutout in three years and Evan Gattis hit a two-run homer …

Carson Kelly goes to DL; Cards will call up catcher Steven Baron  —  Another day, another Cardinal bound for the disabled list.  Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold reports that catcher Carson Kelly is headed there because of a hamstring strain.  —  Steven Baron, a 27-year-old catcher …

Phillies rained out; Klentak offers optimistic, but realistic view of team's hot start  —  But he never pitched an inning for a Dodgers minor-league affiliate and was released by the organization in July 2016.  —  “They let me go because I wasn't pitching well,” Rosso said Monday through …

J.P. Crawford takes next step toward return to Phillies  —  ST. LOUIS — J.P. Crawford tested his right forearm one last time Thursday afternoon before he shuffled out of Busch Stadium and headed to Florida to ramp up his rehab.  —  The shortstop flew to Florida on Thursday night and expects …

Ex-teammate Mark Teixeira ‘not surprised’ by Robinson Cano suspension  —  Robinson Cano's positive test for a banned substance and subsequent 80-game suspension announced this week came as no surprise to one of his former New York Yankees teammates.  —  Mark Teixeira overlapped with Cano for five seasons in New York.

Wiel's homer leads Chattanooga to 6-4 win over Biloxi  —  BILOXI, Miss. (AP) — Zander Wiel hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning to give the Chattanooga Lookouts a 6-4 win over the Biloxi Shuckers on Thursday.  —  The home run by Wiel capped a three-run inning for the Lookouts that started when LaMonte Wade hit a home run.

Ornelas' single leads Fort Wayne to 7-3 win over West Michigan  —  FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — Tirso Ornelas hit a two-run single in the fifth inning, leading the Fort Wayne TinCaps to a 7-3 win over the West Michigan Whitecaps on Thursday.  —  The single by Ornelas started the scoring …

Next Slide  —  SEATTLE — Everyone, even those who are injured and won't play in the four-game series against the Mariners, made the trip west for the Detroit Tigers.  —  Injured players like right-handed reliever Alex Wilson, who aren't going to return in the span of a road trip, may not travel with the club in the future.

Rockies' DJ LeMahieu has no ligament damage in left thumb  —  Follow-up tests on the left thumb of Colorado Rockies All-Star second baseman DJ LeMahieu revealed a small fracture and a sprain, the team said Thursday.  —  The news could have been worse.  —  There was some fear that LeMahieu …

Zimmermann, Encarnacion lift Rome over Asheville 1-0  —  ROME, Ga. (AP) — Jean Carlos Encarnacion homered and had three hits, and Bruce Zimmermann struck out nine hitters over seven innings as the Rome Braves defeated the Asheville Tourists 1-0 on Thursday.  —  Zimmermann (4-2) allowed two hits while walking one to pick up the win.

Polanco, Pirates beat Padres 5-4 for 8th win in 9 games  —  Gregory Polanco led off the seventh inning with a double and scored the go-ahead run on an error, leading the  —  San Diego Padres 5-4 Thursday night for their eighth win in nine games.  —  Polanco took third on

Nationals catcher Wieters has surgery on left hamstring  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Nationals say catcher Matt Wieters had an operation on his left hamstring.  —  The team announced Thursday that Wieters had the surgery on Wednesday.  —  The Nationals indicated more information …

How Jacob Hannemann became a minor league Gold Glove winner for the Iowa Cubs  —  Triple-A baseball came to Des Moines in 1968 with the Iowa Oaks, and the Iowa Cubs have carried the torch since 1982.  Here's a collection of some of the biggest names and best players during that time.

MLB takes a step forward in solving large problem with inaugural class of diversity fellows  —  On the diversity scorecard, the numbers were poor again for Major League Baseball this season.  None of the 30 teams had a minority chief executive, three had a minority in charge of baseball operations, four had a minority as manager.

Orioles star Adam Jones buys Cal Ripken Jr.'s former home, per report  —  The mansion and 25-acre estate where Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. once lived will soon become another Bird's house.  —  According to The Athletic, Orioles center fielder Adam Jones …