Red Sox designate Hanley Ramirez for assignment  —  BOSTON (AP) Hanley Ramirez was designated for assignment by the Boston Red Sox, who are responsible for the $15.25 remaining on his contract but avoided him triggering a $22 million salary for 2019.  —  Boston made the move Friday to clear …

Matheny would rather have had Reyes earlier but understands  —  PITTSBURGH  • Cardinals manager Mike Matheny admitted he would have liked to have righthander Alex Reys before he will get him next week.  Reyes, recovering from Tommy John elbow surgery from February, 2017 …

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.

Cubs pull away for 6-2 win over Giants  —  Photos from the Cubs-Giants game at Wrigley Field on May 25, 2018.  —  Chicago Tribune  —  The Cubs stacked their lineup with right-handed and switch hitters Friday against Giants left-hander Derek Holland at Wrigley Field.

Trout, Pujols hit solo HRs as Angels beat Blue Jays  —  Mike Trout and Albert Pujols each hit solo home runs, Shohei Ohtani doubled twice and the Los Angeles Angels beat the host Toronto Blue Jays 8-1 on Thursday.  —  Nick Tropeano (2-3) pitched a season-high 7 1-3 innings to snap a five-start winless streak.

Brewers Acquire Erik Kratz, Designate Jett Bandy, Option Orlando Arcia  —  The Brewers made a significant series of roster moves on Friday, acquiring veteran backstop Erik Kratz from the Yankees in exchange for cash and designating Jett Bandy for assignment to clear a spot on the roster.

Reynaldo Lopez looks to build momentum as he takes on Tigers Friday night  —  Photos of the White Sox pitcher.  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Reynaldo Lopez shut out the Rangers for eight innings his last time out, so where does he go from here?  —  In Detroit on Friday, the right-hander (1-3 …

Yankees sign former Reds catcher Wilkin Castillo  —  The Yankees are one of baseball's best and hottest teams, and apparently they don't need beds to get comfortable when they're on the road.  Veuer's Nick Cardona has that story.  Buzz60  —  CONNECT  —  Wilkin Castillo …

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 …

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 …

Angels C Rene Rivera out 4-6 weeks after knee surgery  —  Los Angeles Angels catcher Rene Rivera had surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee on Friday and is expected to miss four to six weeks, the team announced.  —  The veteran Rivera is hitting .259 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in 22 games this season.

Breaking down the advanced metric Gabe Kapler uses to evaluate his bullpen arms  —  One day, maybe, we will understand the method to Gabe Kapler's madness and we will not find it to be mad at all.  For now, however, we still must pick the brain of the Phillies' rookie manager to determine …

Paul Lo Duca on sports gambling: Pete Rose is why I never bet on baseball  —  MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on Pete Rose and the Cincinnati Reds Wochit  —  An excerpt of the interview from Strang: … Earlier this week, a Boston columnist condemned MLB's hypocrisy with Pete and gambling.

Mariners Acquire Alex Colome, Denard Span  —  In a stunning early-season swap, the Mariners have acquired reliever Alex Colome and outfielder Denard Span from the Rays, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times originally reported on Twitter.  Righties Andrew Moore and Tommy Romero will go to Tampa Bay …

Rays P Nate Eovaldi set to make first start in nearly two years  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Nate Eovaldi is scheduled to make his first major league start since having a second Tommy John surgery when the Rays face Oakland on Tuesday night.