Top News:
Joe Lyons / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
A day off pays dividends for Cardinals' Ozuna — When manager Mike Matheny approached him about taking a day off, Cardinals left fielder Marcell Ozuna not only didn't fight it, he embraced it. — Struggling to work through an -for-22 slump that saw him strand 13 runners in the first three games …
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Rick Hummel / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Mikolas puts up nine zeros against Royals
Joe Lyons / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
O'Neill starting in third consecutive game; Garcia at SS
O'Neill starting in third consecutive game; Garcia at SS
Discussion:
Viva El Birdos and Royals Review
ESPN:
Cards' Alex Reyes to start, could return next week — Cardinals pitching prospect Alex Reyes will return to the majors as a starter and could rejoin St. Louis' rotation as early as next week. — Reyes, 23, has been dominant in three minor league starts this month and is eligible to return from the 60-day disabled list next Monday.
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Rick Hummel / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Martinez starts road to returning
David Haugh / Chicago Tribune:
Column: Manny Machado, the ideal Cub, handles hoopla over arrival like superstar he is — Orioles slugger Manny Machado fields questions about being the focus of trade rumors on Monday, May 21, 2018. (David Haugh/Chicago Tribune) — Chicago Tribune — About 20 Chicago media members filed …
Discussion:
Baltimore Sun and Camden Chat
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Pete Grathoff / Kansas City Star:
Ex-Royals lefty Tim Collins pitches in majors for first time since 2014 World Series
Ex-Royals lefty Tim Collins pitches in majors for first time since 2014 World Series
Discussion:
Washington Post and Federal Baseball
Anthony Fenech / Detroit Free Press:
Detroit Tigers developing a theme for this season. It's frustrating. — Albert Pujols picked up his 3,000th hit on May 4. Which active player will be the next one to reach the milestone? Video by Ryan Ford/DFP Wochit — CONNECT — MINNEAPOLIS - Ron Gardenhire's phone rang …
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Joe Totoraitis / Associated Press:
Brewers hit 3 HRs off Greinke, beat Diamondbacks 4-2 — MILWAUKEE (AP) — Travis Shaw, Domingo Santana and Lorenzo Cain each hit home runs off Zack Greinke, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-2 on Monday night. — Arizona has lost five in a row and 11 of 12, scoring just 24 runs in that span.
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David SchoenfieldESPN Senior / ESPN:
Paul Goldschmidt's season-long slump should be cause for concern
Paul Goldschmidt's season-long slump should be cause for concern
Discussion:
Federal Baseball
Joe Knowles / Chicago Tribune:
Baseball's weirdest uniforms get shredded in ‘Winning Ugly’ — Reynaldo Lopez and the White Sox wore their '80s throwback uniforms in Sunday's win over the Rangers. (Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune) — Chicago Tribune — Where were the baseball fashion police in the 1970s and '80s when we really needed them?
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Phil Thompson / Chicago Tribune:
‘Nothing’ is best prescription for Nicky Delmonico's broken hand
‘Nothing’ is best prescription for Nicky Delmonico's broken hand
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News … and South Side Sox
Jay Cohen / MLB Baseball News, Scores …:
Machado hits 15th homer as Orioles edge White Sox 3-2
Machado hits 15th homer as Orioles edge White Sox 3-2
Discussion:
Camden Chat, South Side Sox and MLB Trade Rumors
ESPN:
Rangers GM Jon Daniels not blaming coaching staff for struggles — As the Texas Rangers continue to fall off the pace in the American League West, president and general manager Jon Daniels isn't looking for scapegoats on his coaching staff. — “When we took the approach we took this offseason …
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Steve Habel / UPI:
Struggling Rangers look to pick up pieces vs. Yankees
Jorge L. Ortiz / USA Today:
Phillies' Gabe Kapler: Jorge Alfaro and Pudge Rodriguez are ‘neck-and-neck, at worst’ — PHILADELPHIA — Even at this early stage of the season, a series for first place in the National League East elicits extra excitement from already-pumped up Phillies manager Gabe Kapler — and more than a touch of hyperbole.
Discussion:
Indianapolis Star
Tom Haudricourt / JSOnline:
Notes: Brewers activate Chase Anderson, send Freddy Peralta back to Class AAA Colorado Springs — Freddy Peralta's first stay in the majors ended Monday but it won't be his last. — The Milwaukee Brewers optioned the 21-year-old right-hander to Class AAA Colorado Springs to activate Chase Anderson …
Discussion:
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Nick Tricome / Philly.com:
Phillies minor league report: IronPigs homer four times to beat Rochester — The IronPigs, Fightin Phils, and BlueClaws were all in action, while the Threshers were rained out. — Phillies minor league report: Dylan Cozens leads IronPigs to sweep, JoJo Romero picks up first win for Reading
Discussion:
The Good Phight and Philly.com
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Associated Press:
Mets open series with 2-0 win over Marlins — Fish fall in New York — NEW YORK - Jason Vargas returned to the rotation with five excellent innings, AJ Ramos pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth and the New York Mets beat the Miami Marlins 2-0 on Monday night.
Discussion:
Fish Stripes
RELATED:
ESPN:
The Shohei Ohtani experiment isn't just working — it's been perfect — I just got a calendar reminder that I set a little more than a year ago, to make fun of my friend Daniel. “There's no way a major league team will let Shohei Ohtani hit,” he swore to me last spring. “Zero chance. Way too risky.”
Greg Auman / UPI:
Tampa Bay Rays will try to slow down Boston Red Sox's power — The Tampa Bay Rays get back to having a traditional starting pitcher on the mound, but they'll do so Tuesday night against the best hitting lineup in the majors as the Boston Red Sox come to town.
Discussion:
Over the Monster
Associated Press:
Soto, 19, homers in first start for Nationals — Juan Soto, the youngest player in the majors at 19, hit a three-run homer in his first career start as the Washington Nationals defeated the San Diego Padres 10-2 on Monday. — Mark Reynolds had two solo home runs for the Nationals, who snapped a three-game losing streak.
Discussion:
Baseball Prospectus
Bobby Nightengale / Cincinnati.com:
Reds Beat Blog: Starting pitching halting momentum, updates on the Reds' top prospects — Welcome to the first edition of the Reds Beat Blog: a new home for updates on the Reds' top minor league prospects, some tidbits about the big topics across MLB and another place for more opinions on the Reds.
Discussion:
Washington Post
Alex Butler / UPI:
Sean Casey hits Billy Ripken in face during studio batting session — Former players turned MLB Network analysts Sean Casey and Billy Ripken had a bit of a mishap during an in-studio batting session, with Ripken taking a hit to the face. — The batter-pitcher matchup went down on Monday during a segment on the network.
Scott Gleeson / USA Today:
Rafael Palmeiro, 53, smacks his first home run for independent league baseball team — SportsPulse: MLB insider Bob Nightengale looks at the historic season Shohei Ohtani is putting together and if he truly can become the ‘next Babe Ruth.’ USA TODAY Sports — Former MLB star Rafael Palmeiro homered like it was 2005 on Monday.
Discussion:
TMZ.com and MLB Baseball News …
Ralph D. Russo / Associated Press:
MLB, USA Baseball modify youth game to pick up pace — NEW YORK (AP) — MLB and USA Baseball are promoting a modified version of youth baseball with fewer innings, batters and pitches to pick up the pace. — Hit and Run Baseball is part of the MLB's Play Ball initiative announced Tuesday.