Exclusive: Pirates poised to call up Austin Meadows, their No. 2 prospect  —  Outfielder Austin Meadows, the Pirates' top position player prospect, is on his way to the big leagues, a source confirmed to The Athletic.  —  The Pirates intend to call up Meadows from Triple-A Indianapolis …

Court hits walk-off single in 11th, Iowa beats Omaha 4-3  —  DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Ryan Court hit a walk-off single with one out in the 11th inning, as the Iowa Cubs defeated the Omaha Storm Chasers 4-3 on Thursday.  —  Mark Zagunis scored the game-winning run after he started the inning …

Castillo helps White Sox rally past Rangers 4-2  —  CHICAGO (AP) — When Delino DeShields swung and missed at strike three, Welington Castillo stood up, pumped his right arm a couple times and headed out to the mound as the Chicago White Sox poured onto the field.  —  It was a rare Windy City party for the South Siders.

Next Slide  —  What happened: The Detroit Tigers (20-23) defeated the Seattle Mariners, 3-2, on Thursday night.  —  José Iglesias delivered a two-out, two-run single off the glove of diving Mariners shortstop Jean Segura to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead in the eighth. ...

Robinson Cano can go to Hall, Mark Cuban's pitch and MLB's next big thing  —  Breathless reactions aside, we can at least agree that Robinson Cano has done a very stupid thing, even if he's genuine in his explanation.  A professional ballplayer in his 14th major league season has to know what is being put into his body.

As Cubs look for first-half surge, can Willson Contreras find his hot streak?  —  Photos of Cubs catcher Willson Contreras.  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Before most games, Willson Contreras finds his way to Cubs manager Joe Maddon with his head bobbing.  The two will link hands and pull in for a hug.

Jorge Alfaro's ‘presence’ behind the plate boosting Phillies  —  Jorge Alfaro was still at his locker, still stewing.  —  Alfaro didn't throw the back-to-back pitches that landed in the bleachers in the ninth inning May 11 at Citizens Bank Park, but he did call them.

11. Orioles: Shane McLanahan, LHP, South Florida  —  After the run on high school players from 6-10, it makes sense for the Orioles to pounce on McLanahan, who has seen his stock drop after some struggles this spring.  Still, the lefty is a strikeout wizard and can light up the radar gun.

Sir Didi's disappearing act: Gregorius' slump stumps Yanks  —  Didi Gregorius stepped back onto first base — a place that has become foreign to him lately — and looked into the New York Yankees' dugout.  —  Laughing, the slumping shortstop waved at his applauding teammates …

Matheny pinch-hit for Matt Carpenter.  Didn't work, but spoke volumes.  —  Benjamin Hochman is a sports columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch  —  When it happened, it hit me immediately - this wasn't just a significant Mike Matheny move in Thursday's game ... this was also a significant move in Mike Matheny history.

Buck Showalter starts pitching change before Red Sox finish home run trot  —  Things are going so poorly for the Baltimore Orioles, manager Buck Showalter just can't wait to give his pitchers the hook.  —  As the O's were on their way to tying a franchise record with their 13th consecutive road loss …

C.J. Cron homers vs. former teammates, Rays rout Angels 7-1  —  Tampa Bay Rays designated hitter C.J. Cron, right, gets congratulations from Daniel Robertson after hitting a solo home run against the Los Angeles Angels during the sixth inning of a baseball game in Anaheim, Calif., Thursday, May 17, 2018.

Rays have another new, different pitching plan - starting Sergio Romo vs. Angels  —  New frontier, or old tricks?  —  The Rays are again plotting to try something else significantly different and extremely unusual with their starting pitching plans.  —  Which is beginning the game …

Cards notebook: Wait and see approach for Waino  —  Injured veteran Adam Wainwright still may be an on-field contributor to the Cardinals' pitching staff at some point this season and John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations, didn't reject that theory Thursday.  But that time will not come for at least two more months.

As Phillies win again, why ‘Bullpen by Gabe’ might actually work |  Extra Innings  —  If the believers held up Nick Pivetta's 11-strikeout domination Wednesday in Baltimore as Exhibit A for why these Phillies might actually be for real, then surely Vince Velasquez's gem Thursday night …