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12:25 PM ET, June 11, 2018

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 Top News: 
Associated Press:
Cabrera hurt, Cespedes' rehab cut short after setback  —  Sidelined for nearly a month by a nagging hip injury, Cespedes had his minor league rehabilitation assignment cut short Sunday following a setback.  —  On the disabled list since May 14 because of a strained right hip flexor …
Discussion: Amazin' Avenue
RELATED:
ESPN:
New York Mets release veteran 1B Adrian Gonzalez
Matt Ehalt / Detroit Free Press:   Yoenis Cespedes suffers setback while rehabbing that will delay return to Mets
John Harper / New York Daily News:   As Yankees continue to roll, the Mets' injury-riddled, drama-filled season continues to go off the rails
Jake Becker / New York Daily News:
Shohei Ohtani could be out until 2020 season after Tommy John surgery: report  —  The Shohei Ohtani show may be put on hold until 2020.  —  ESPN has reported that the Angels' two-way star is expected to undergo Tommy John surgery that would sideline him for the rest of this season and possibly the entire 2019 season as well.
Discussion: MLB Baseball News … and ESPN
RELATED:
Jordan Heck / Sporting News:
Shohei Ohtani needs Tommy John surgery, could be out until 2020, per report  —  Shohei Ohtani's rookie season is likely over, and he may not be able to return to MLB until 2020.  —  ESPN's Pedro Gomez reported on SportsCenter early Monday morning that the Angels pitcher will need Tommy John surgery …
Associated Press:
Lopez, Palka help White Sox beat Red Sox 5-2  —  BOSTON (AP) - The Chicago White Sox had a tough time scoring runs during their weekend in Boston.  However, the pitching staff came through to deliver a big series victory over the Red Sox.  —  Reynaldo Lopez pitched into the seventh inning …
RELATED:
Steve Buffery / Toronto Sun:   Pillar pushing his outfield mate Hernandez to get better every day
Tom Musick / UPI:   Indians look to extend division lead in series with White Sox
Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:   White Sox keeping the faith in Yoan Moncada
Anthony Fenech / Detroit Free Press:
Detroit Tigers observations: Victor Martinez isn't hitting cleanup anymore  —  The Tigers went 10-8 over the past 17 days.  —  But their 3-5 record against the Yankees, Red Sox and Indians best represents the stretch they've been on.  In the wins — and stop me if you've heard this before — they showed resiliency.
RELATED:
Detroit Free Press:   Next Slide  —  The Detroit Tigers (31-36), who have lost …
Detroit Free Press:   Next Slide  —  Before the Detroit Tigers could enjoy …
Anthony Fenech / Detroit Free Press:   Former Detroit Tiger Torii Hunter still thinks about 2013 ALCS
Associated Press:
Balk gives Astros 8-7 win, first 4-game sweep of Rangers  —  Texas closer Keone Kela had already thrown a pitch to Evan Gattis with two outs when Astros manager A.J. Hinch came out of the dugout apparently to question whether Kela had balked.  After a brief conversation among the four umpires …
RELATED:
Alex Butler / UPI:
Houston Astros beat Texas Rangers on balk call  —  The Houston Astros wrapped up a series against the Texas Rangers with a balk call in the ninth inning.  —  Houston earned the 8-7 win Sunday at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas.  World Series MVP George Springer scored the winning run.
Gabe Lacques / Detroit Free Press:
Giants' Brandon Crawford handed Nationals' Max Scherzer his first loss in over 2 months  —  WASHINGTON — For more than two months, Max Scherzer could not be beat, mowing through opponents and racking up National League Pitcher of the Month honors for April and May, an indomitable ace sure …
Discussion: Federal Baseball
RELATED:
Walter Villa / UPI:
San Francisco Giants, Miami Marlins ready to open series  —  MIAMI — The Miami Marlins and the San Francisco Giants, who meet Monday night to start a three-game series, have vastly different objectives this season.  —  The Giants (33-32) are trying to win now, and they have remained competitive …
Andrew Wagner / UPI:
Cubs, Brewers face off in battle of NL Central front-runners  —  If the Milwaukee Brewers want to win the National League Central and make the playoffs for the first time since 2011, they will need to find a way to get past the Chicago Cubs.  —  The Cubs have had the Brewers' number this year …
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Baseball roundup: Brewers and Cubs fall before starting series against each other
Teddy Greenstein / Chicago Tribune:   Anthony Rizzo expects Cubs-Brewers series to be ‘fun, loud and exciting’
Associated Press:
Brewers get Brad Miller from Rays for Ji-Man Choi  —  MILWAUKEE — The Brewers have acquired infielder Brad Miller and cash from the Tampa Bay Rays for first baseman/outfielder Ji-Man Choi.  —  The NL Central-leading Brewers made the deal Sunday and assigned Miller to Triple-A Colorado Springs.
RELATED:
Mark Didtler / Associated Press:   Mariners throw out runner at plate to end it, beat Rays 5-4
David SchoenfieldESPN Senior / ESPN:
Ross Stripling, Max Muncy, Matt Kemp give Dodgers unexpected lift  —  The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 7-2 on Sunday and these three all contributed to the win:  —  • Ross Stripling allowed two runs over 6 innings, striking out six with no walks, improving to 5-1 with a 1.65 ERA.
Discussion: Dodgers Nation
Sarah Brookbank / Cincinnati.com:
Reds fan wins Toyota Tundra after close Jesse Winker home run  —  No one has ever hit the promotional Toyota sign in Great American Ball Park, but a Reds fan still will be driving a shiny new Tundra this weekend.  —  During the Reds game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday …
RELATED:
Rick Hummel / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:   Martinez is never in control as Cardinals lose to Reds
ESPN:
Power Rankings: Rivals stake their claims for Astros' throne  —  The voting is in, and what figures to be a season-long three-way wrestling match for top honors in our Power Rankings has a new champ.  After reclaiming the highest perch for just two weeks, the Astros, defending world champs …
Nick Piecoro / Arizona Republic:
Arizona Diamondbacks at Colorado Rockies … PREGAME READING  —  Up next  —  Pittsburgh Pirates  —  Pirates update: The Pirates traded OF Andrew McCutchen and RHP Gerrit Cole in the offseason, but they don't appear to have gone into a full-fledged rebuild.
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Goldschmidt stays hot as Diamondbacks beat Rockies 8-3
Discussion: Purple Row
John Healy / New York Daily News:
Seth Lugo, Todd Frazier lead Mets to 2-0 win over Yankees in Subway Series finale to snap eight-game skid  —  Perhaps the loud “Let's go Yankees” chants reverberating throughout Citi Field early Sunday night convinced the Mets they were no longer playing at home.
Discussion: Amazin' Avenue
RELATED:
Matt Ehalt / NorthJersey.com:   Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman shine as Mets beat Yankees on Todd Frazier homer
ESPN:
Bullpen Power Rankings: Who's best at locking down their leads?  —  If you asked fans of 30 teams how they feel about their team's bullpen, you'd probably get 25 or so responses indicating how much better their teams would be without those bums in the pen.  People instinctively remember …
Gabe Lacques / USA Today:
MLB power rankings: Are the Mariners for real?  We're about to find out  —  Perhaps the time has come to take the Seattle Mariners seriously.  —  Oh, it's possible their .631 winning percentage and first place standing in the AL West is as much about schedule - they've played 26 games against the Rays …
Alex Butler / UPI:
Oakland A's fan catches two foul balls on two straight pitches  —  An Oakland Athletics fan caught foul balls on consecutive pitches during a win against the Kansas City Royals.  —  The man was sitting between home plate and first base Sunday at Oakland Coliseum.
Discussion: Kansas City Star
FanGraphs Baseball:
The Updated Top 131 Prospect Rankings  —  With two months of the minor-league season now complete and the draft also finished, it's an appropriate time to publish a revised version of our preseason top-100 list.  The list is below.  Notes about methodology and specific players appear below that.
 
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 More News: 
Tampa Bay Times:
Sports Day Tampa Bay podcast: Base-running blunder again costs Rays
WSYM-TV:
Riger on the 7 Sports Cave: Tigers are rebuilding, but should they try to contend this year?
Rick Hummel / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cecil understands why Cards have used him sparingly
Mark Gonzales / Chicago Tribune:
More challenges await Cubs' Brian Duensing
 Earlier Picks: 
Mark W. Sanchez / New York Post:
Brandon Drury doesn't sound happy with tough Yankees reality
Discussion: Pinstripe Alley
Eduardo A. Encina / Baltimore Sun:
As losses pile up, Orioles still haven't done much to shift focus to future
Discussion: Camden Chat
Tampa Bay Times:
Greg Auman's takeaways from Sunday's Rays-Mariners game
David O'Brien / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Five things about Braves' West Coast trip
 

 
From WeSmirch:

Susanne Craig / New York Times:
R.F.K. Jr. Says Doctors Found a Dead Worm in His Brain

Pitchfork:
Steve Albini, Storied Producer and Icon of the Rock Underground, Dies at 61

TMZ.com:
Director Sam Raimi's Wife of 31 Years Files for Divorce

 
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