Struggling Gary Sanchez to return to Yankees lineup Thursday after two-game absence  —  Gary Sanchez's break lasted a total of two games.  After sitting out the Yankees' 5-4 loss Wednesday to the Nationals, Aaron Boone said the struggling catcher will return to the lineup for Thursday's series opener against the Rays.

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Pittsburgh Pirates … After the pitch crossed the plate, right-hander Zack Greinke sort of froze.  So did catcher Jeff Mathis.  Both wanted the call.  They didn't get it.  Later, in the aftermath of a 5-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday afternoon …

Nationals GM Mike Rizzo defends Bryce Harper, calls anonymous exec ‘chicken’ and ‘gutless’  —  Washington Nationals star Bryce Harper has been a lightening rod for criticism since the day he graced the cover of Sports Illustrated in 2009 and was touted as 'Baseball's Chosen One' at age of 16.

Los Angeles Angels' hot Mike Trout tries to prevent sweep by Seattle Mariners  —  Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout entered his team's three-game series in Seattle mired in a 2-for-19 slump with no extra-base hits, no RBIs and seven strikeouts in his previous five games.  —  Consider that mini-slump a thing of the past.

Jays considering ‘all of our alternatives’ ahead of trade deadline  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It has come to that point of the season where Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins must carefully balance his outlook between optimist and realist.  —  Fortunately (or unfortunately) …

Baltimore bar offering free shots when slumping Chris Davis records a hit  —  Looking to drink those sorrows away Orioles fans?  —  At 19-47 — the worst record in baseball — a bar in Baltimore is offering free shots for whenever Chris Davis gets a hit.  —  Now before fans begin flocking …

Detroit Tigers move on without Miguel Cabrera vs. Minnesota Twins  —  Miguel Cabrera's season is over.  The Detroit Tigers will have to try to get through the next 94 games without their veteran slugger, starting on Wednesday.  —  Cabrera suffered a ruptured left biceps tendon while taking …

Game Day: Arizona Diamondbacks play host to New York Mets  —  The Arizona Diamondbacks welcome the New York Mets to Chase Field for a weekend series.  Follow this page for scoring updates, pitching updates, news and notes.  —  READ MORE:  —  Thursday's game  —  Mets at Diamondbacks

Covey outduels Bauer as White Sox top Indians, 3-2  —  Dylan Covey outdueled another ace-caliber pitcher Wednesday night, as the  —  Chicago White Sox made their four hits count in a 3-2 win over the Cleveland Indians at Guaranteed Rate Field.  —  The White Sox have won the middle two games …

Desmond, Anderson help Rockies beat Phillies 7-2, end slide  —  Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer in a five-run fourth inning,  —  Tyler Anderson pitched seven strong innings and the  —  Philadelphia Phillies 7-2 on Wednesday night to end a five-game losing streak.

He's on pace to do what!?  Big surprises on MLB leaderboards  —  MLB leaderboards are a fascinating thing this time of year.  It's too late to completely write off anything surprising as a small-sample-size fluke, but also too early to believe something will hold up just because it's happening now.

Star-studded roundtable: Revisiting award predictions and more  —  The first All-Star voting results came out this week, and we've got just about a month to go before the game's brightest stars shine at the Midsummer Classic, so it's a great time to focus on the individual achievements of the season to date.

Mets Claim Chris Beck  —  The Mets have claimed righty Chris Beck off waivers from the White Sox, per club announcements.  The 27-year-old had been designated for assignment by the Chicago organization.  —  Beck came up as a starter but has mostly worked in a relief role in recent years.

A frustrated Odubel Herrera isn't sure what's wrong  —  Gabe Kapler has watched each of Odubel Herrera's at-bats this season from his dugout perch just 30 feet from home plate and is pretty sure he knows why Herrera has fallen into a month-long slump.  —  “I'm very confident it's a timing thing,” Kapler said.

Iowa native Colin Rea trying to prove to Padres he belongs in big leagues again  —  Even Colin Rea wondered if he'd ever be the same.  —  When the Iowa native struggled to recover from some of his bullpen sessions in spring training, Rea would sometimes worry that all the injuries he'd suffered …