Cubs' Kyle Schwarber showing improved defense in left field  —  Cubs manager Joe Maddon discusses how starter Jon Lester has maintained his success and the play of Ian Happ on Wednesday, May 23, 2018.  (Mark Gonzales/Chicago Tribune)  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Left fielder Kyle Schwarber …

Ex-bat boy on working for 1948 White Sox: ‘I learned an awful lot as a 14-year-old’  —  Ron Meadows, former White Sox bat boy, throws the first pitch before the Sox played the Orioles Thursday at Guaranteed Rate Field.  (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)  —  Chicago Tribune

Arizona Diamondbacks at Milwaukee Brewers … OAKLAND - A year ago, right-hander Taijuan Walker was a steady presence in the rotation and infielder Ketel Marte was a late-season lifesaver from Triple-A Reno.  Both came to the Diamondbacks in the same offseason trade with the Seattle Mariners …

ON DECK: Blue Jays at Phillies  —  STARTING PITCHERS  —  Series kickoff features two hurlers with a combined four starts this season.  How Gaviglio fares after a terrific, but heartbreaking, first start for the Jays last Saturday against the A's, will be important to the team's immediate pitching plans.

Rays ‘bullpenning’ experiment continues: Relievers to start next three games vs. Orioles  —  The Tampa Bay Rays will spend the holiday weekend taking their pitching revolution to another level.  —  The Rays announced on Thursday that relief pitchers will start all three games of their series …

Snell goes 6 scoreless innings, Rays beat Red Sox 6-3  —  Blake Snell threw six scoreless innings,  —  Wilson Ramos drove in two runs, and the  —  Tampa Bay Rays avoided a three-game sweep by beating the  —  Boston Red Sox 6-3 on Thursday night.  —  Snell (6-3) allowed three hits, walked two and struck out eight.

Will Trevor Bauer-Gerrit Cole beef ever die?  ‘Not going to happen,’ says one  —  Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer won't bother to sugarcoat it: They can't stand one another.  —  These two celebrated pitchers, former collegiate teammates at UCLA, still don't talk to one another.

Angels push back Shohei Ohtani's next outing as starting pitcher  —  TORONTO — The Los Angeles Angels are pushing back Shohei Ohtani's next outing as a starting pitcher to manage the workload of the two-way rookie.  —  Angels manager Mike Scioscia made the announcement Thursday.

'Wasn't ready to give up': Coleman seizing chance with Tigers  —  Detroit— How about a tip of the cap to Tigers assistant general manager David Chadd and his big-league scouting staff — also throw a bouquet out to the club's analytics staff.  —  Think about where the organization was this winter, embarking on a full rebuild.

Reyes fans 13, allows one hit at Memphis  —  Alex Reyes emphatically answered Thursday night in Memphis any questions that somehow might have lingered after his first three starts on the Cardinals' medical rehabilitation program.  —  After making three outings covering 16 scoreless innings …

Suspected spider bite lands Astros OF Josh Reddick on the disabled list  —  Houston Astros outfielder Josh Reddick believes a spider bite is responsible for his trip to the disabled list.  —  Reddick was placed on the 10-day DL on Wednesday with a leg infection, which he believes is the result …

Latcham gets big strikeout, leads Palm Beach to 7-6 win over Clearwater  —  JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Will Latcham struck Mickey Moniak out with the bases loaded to end the game, leading the Palm Beach Cardinals to a 7-6 win over the Clearwater Threshers on Thursday.

Margevicius, Ornelas lead Fort Wayne to 3-0 win over West Michigan  —  COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. (AP) — Tirso Ornelas tripled and doubled twice, and Nick Margevicius allowed just five hits over seven innings as the Fort Wayne TinCaps defeated the West Michigan Whitecaps 3-0 on Thursday.

Carpio's double leads St. Lucie to 4-2 win over Daytona  —  DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Luis Carpio hit a bases-clearing double in the third inning, leading the St. Lucie Mets to a 4-2 win over the Daytona Tortugas on Thursday.  —  Matt Pobereyko struck Mitch Nay out with runners …

Video: Ramon Torres hits little league home run in first at-bat of season  —  The Royals recalled infielder Ramon Torres from Triple-A Omaha on Saturday.  He didn't get into a game until starting Thursday night's game against the Rangers, batting ninth.  —  In the top of the second inning …

Eugenio Suarez blasts grand slam, Luis Castillo solid in Cincinnati Reds win over Pittsburgh Pirates  —  Utility player Brandon Dixon was promoted from Triple-A Louisville to the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday.  He discusses how he found out and what he expects his role will be in the big leagues.

Greg Bird expected back to New York Yankees on Saturday, Aaron Boone says  —  NEW YORK - Greg Bird could be back in the Yankees' lineup as early as Saturday.  —  The plan is for the lefty-hitting first baseman to be activated from the disabled list for Saturday's game against the Angels at Yankee Stadium …

Neidert's single leads Jacksonville to 8-1 win over Mississippi  —  PEARL, Miss. (AP) — Nick Neidert hit a run-scoring single in the second inning, leading the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to an 8-1 win over the Mississippi Braves on Wednesday.  —  The single by Neidert, part of a two-run inning …

Jacob deGrom has been stellar, but NY Mets haven't taken advantage  —  Chris Iseman, Staff Writer, @chrisiseman  —  NEW YORK — Jacob deGrom has delivered solid outing after solid outing this season, but the Mets haven't been able to take advantage.  —  Wednesday's start was the latest example.

Royals are open for trade business  —  are said to be “quietly” letting other teams know they expect to have a “for sale” sign up soon.  That is not to say trades are expected immediately, but Royals people appear realistic about where things stand.  —  They are currently vying …

Column: ESPN's Matt Vasgersian to call Cubs-Giants from bleachers, maybe ‘wearing a Hawk Harrelson T-shirt’  —  Matt Vasgersian, left, Alex Rodriguez, center, and Jessica Mendoza will call the Cubs-Giants game on ESPN's “Sunday Night Baseball” from the bleachers this weekend.  (Bob Levey/Getty) Chicago Tribune

Gleyber Torres thriving with the Yankees while also rewarding his evaluators  —  NEW YORK - Didi Gregorius came up with a sore shoulder at the World Baseball Classic - a March 2017 injury that would keep him sidelined for the season's first month.  —  Meanwhile...

Iowa baseball: A look at what could be next for the Hawkeyes' top stars  —  Rick Heller: 'We put ourselves in a position to control our own destiny, & we didn't get it done' Dargan Southard, msouthard@gannett.com  —  Thursday's 2- loss to Ohio State brought a disappointing end …