Morton stays unbeaten, leads Astros over Indians  —  CLEVELAND (AP) — Charlie Morton remained unbeaten this season with six solid innings, Alex Bregman and Jake Marisnick hit three-run homers and the Houston Astros defeated the Cleveland Indians 8-2 on Thursday night.

Steven Matz continues Mets' pitching hot streak with six scoreless innings in 5-0 win  —  MILWAUKEE — One by one, the starters each put forth a strong effort.  —  This Mets' team is built to win on the strength of its starting pitching, and these past five games marked the best turn through the rotation this season.

Dose: The Rays Shake It Up  —  The A's had Moneyball.  The 76ers had The Process.  And now the Rays have ... well we don't have a name for it yet (somebody get on that).  But whatever this unnamed thing is, it's weird ... and I like it.  —  But not everyone is enjoying the Rays' grand experiment.

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 …

DeJong could be out of Cardinals lineup 4-8 weeks  —  St. Louis Cardinals' Paul DeJong (left) talks with third base coach Jose Oquendo as assistant athletic trainer Chris Conroy approaches from the dugout to check on DeJong after DeJong was hit in the hand by a pitch in the eighth inning during …

Oldest in majors, Rangers' Bartolo Colon celebrates 45th birthday  —  From across the diamond, Kansas City closer Kelvin Herrera marveled at the oldest player in the major leagues, Texas Rangers pitcher Bartolo Colon, who turned 45 on Thursday.  —  “I used to have pictures of him in my bedroom …

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 …

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 …

Closer Roberto Osuna's absence really starting to be felt by Blue Jays  —  Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker let out sort of half laugh, half gasp on Thursday when asked how much his team misses closer Roberto Osuna.  —  “(Wednesday) night was certainly one time we really, truly recognized Osuna's absence,” said Walker.

Welington Castillo is the 1st Chicago baseball player suspended under MLB's drug policy.  Here are the other 87 players since 2005.  —  Players that have been suspended for violations of the Major League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program since 2005 when testing with penalties for first violations began …

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.

Yankees need more pitching if they want to make a World Series run  —  Even though the baseball season is barely two months old, it is not too early to draw some conclusions about this fun-to-watch (but otherwise possibly doomed) Yankee ballclub and they are these:

Cubs' offense might not need a splashy fix as badly as you think  —  CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs are seemingly stuck in mud, hovering a few games over .500 (25-21) as we head toward Memorial Day.  That usually equates to “wild-card contender” status, but Chicago's talent and payroll scream more.

Juiced baseballs, starting relievers and MLB's next big thing  —  It's a cliche to say something “came out of left field,” but when you're writing about baseball, you get to use that particular cliche.  MLB's league office sent out a press release Thursday that came out of that proverbial left field …

Series Preview: Cardinals at Pittsburgh  —  Scouting Report  —  The Pirates have been a surprise in the National League, jumping out to a 27-22 start.  They swept the Cardinals when Mike Matheny's team visited PNC Park in April.  —  The Pirates boast the fourth-best team batting average in the majors at .259.

Carlos Rodon appears OK after taking line drive off forehead in minor-league rehab start  —  Carlos Rodon delivers a pitch on Thursday, May 24, 2018 in Charlotte, N.C. Rodon was taken out of the game after he was hit with a line shot to the forehead off the bat of Norfolk Tides D'Arby Myers during the third inning.

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 …

Noll's single leads Potomac to 10-7 win over Wilmington  —  WOODBRIDGE, Va. (AP) — Jake Noll hit a two-run single in the fifth inning, leading the Potomac Nationals to a 10-7 win over the Wilmington Blue Rocks on Thursday.  —  The single by Noll came in the midst of an eight-run inning and gave the Nationals a 5-4 lead.