Top News:
Bradford DoolittleESPN / ESPN:
MLB's next big thing: Red Sox vs. 116 and more races to watch — Baseball is a story, one that never ends and one that never follows any pat formula. Each season is a chapter in the longest novel ever written. The chapters achieve closure; the novel does not. We just have to keep reading.
Discussion:
The Crawfish Boxes
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Kristie Rieken / Associated Press:
M's jump on Verlander early in 8-6 win over Astros — HOUSTON (AP) - Justin Verlander got pushed around by the Seattle Mariners early Thursday night, and then umpire Nic Lentz sent him off for an early shower. — Certainly not what the former Cy Young and MVP Award winner had in mind for his first shot at career win No. 200.
Discussion:
The Crawfish Boxes
Kristie Rieken / Associated Press:
Mariners jump on Verlander early in 8-6 win over Astros — Justin Verlander (11-7) was ejected for arguing a balk call after setting a season high for runs allowed. He failed hard in his bid for his 200th career victory. — HOUSTON - Mitch Haniger homered while Seattle jumped …
Jesse RogersESPN / ESPN:
It's time to talk about Bryce Harper and the Cubs again — CHICAGO - Let the hype begin anew. — Washington Nationals star Bryce Harper will make his final appearance at Wrigley Field this weekend — barring a playoff matchup — before hitting free agency this winter.
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Associated Press:
Stunner: Mariners demote ace Felix Hernandez to bullpen — HOUSTON (AP) — Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez has lost his spot in the rotation in the wake of his latest terrible start in a season filled with struggles. — The right-hander, who threw a perfect game in 2012 …
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors and MLB Baseball News …
RELATED:
Reuters:
Mariners demote Hernandez to bullpen — Longtime Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez is moving to the bullpen. — Hernandez will not make his next scheduled start Sunday at Houston as he transitions out of the rotation and into a bullpen role, manager Scott Servais said.
Discussion:
Lookout Landing
Kristie Ackert / New York Daily News:
Aaron Judge behind schedule — though Aaron Boone is optimistic — as Yankees in need of right-handed power — Thursday afternoon, Aaron Judge walked over to home plate at Yankee Stadium and pretended to hit before sprinting out of the box. It was just a running drill for Judge …
Discussion:
Pinstripe Alley
RELATED:
Daily Record:
A's bolster deep bullpen by acquiring Twins closer Fernando Rodney — OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland Athletics, who are a potential wild card opponent of the Yankees, have acquired closer Fernando Rodney from the Minnesota Twins. — The A's sent minor league right-hander Dakota Chalmers …
Discussion:
Minor League Ball and Twinkie Town
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Susan Slusser / San Francisco Chronicle:
A's add Fernando Rodney to already packed bullpen
A's add Fernando Rodney to already packed bullpen
Discussion:
Athletics Nation
Jon Meoli / Baltimore Sun:
Orioles call up outfield prospect Cedric Mullins — Orioles' Cedric Mullins hits a sacrifice fly to score teammate Austin Hays during spring training. (Lloyd Fox / Baltimore Sun) — Orioles outfield prospect Cedric Mullins earned his first major league call-up Friday, the team has announced …
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors and Camden Chat
ESPN:
Wackiest stat of the season for every MLB team — Baseball's numbers may not necessarily lie, but they don't always make a lot of sense. — Consider that a pitcher traded at the deadline made a leap not seen in 104 years, a leadoff hitter has more than three times as many home runs as steals …
Mark Polishuk / MLB Trade Rumors:
Phillies Acquire Justin Bour — 2:15PM: The Marlins will receive left-hander McKenzie Mills, Fancred's Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link). Mills was an 18th-round pick for the Nationals in the 2014 draft, and the 22-year-old has a 3.51 ERA, 2.58 K/BB rate, and an 8.5 K/9 over 89 2/3 IP …
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News …, Fish Stripes, FanGraphs Baseball and Phillies Nation
Kerry Crowley / Mercury News:
Giants fall further back in NL West after blowout loss to Pirates — SAN FRANCISCO-As the Giants' highest-ranking executives looked back on the 2017 season last October, they termed it an “aberration” and felt convinced every break that could have gone in their favor instead went the other way.
Discussion:
McCovey Chronicles
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Kerry Crowley / Mercury News:
Giants' elephant in the room: Must Madison Bumgarner go to spark rebuild?
Giants' elephant in the room: Must Madison Bumgarner go to spark rebuild?
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News …, Bucs Dugout and MLB Trade Rumors
KHOU-TV:
Justin Verlander details how Kate Upton pulled him out of depression — The pitcher opened up to Bleacher Report saying after one of his worst seasons in 2014, the supermodel saved his career, and possibly even his life. — Author: CBS Sports — Athletes opening up about their mental health is becoming more and more common.
Discussion:
NESN.com
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Brandon Sneed / Bleacher Report:
How Kate Upton Saved Justin Verlander's Career
How Kate Upton Saved Justin Verlander's Career
Discussion:
NBCSports.com, Bless You Boys, MLive.com, baseballmusings.com, MLB Baseball News … and USA Today
Pat Graham / MLB Baseball News, Scores …:
Taylor, Dozier homer in ninth as Dodgers beat Rockies 8-5 — Chris Taylor and Brian Dozier homered off closer — Wade Davis in the ninth inning and the — Los Angeles Dodgers exploited Colorado's shaky bullpen to beat the Rockies 8-5 on Thursday night.
Discussion:
True Blue LA and Purple Row
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Next Slide — After playing maybe their worst game of the season in the series opener against the San Diego Padres two nights earlier, the Milwaukee Brewers somehow managed to top that performance Thursday afternoon. — Corey Knebel failed to retire any of the four batters he faced …
Discussion:
Talking Chop and MLB Baseball News …
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Teddy Greenstein / Chicago Tribune:
Cubs skip Mike Montgomery's next start: ‘We want to monitor his time’ — Chicago Tribune — The Cubs will skip Mike Montgomery's next start, but manager Joe Maddon said not to sound the alarms. — “We're just trying to be pro-active with Mike,” Maddon said before Friday's game against the Nationals.
Bob Brookover / Philly.com:
Freddy Galvis was Phillies' best option at shortstop this season | Bob Brookover — It's too soon to grade the trade. We do not know what Enyel De Los Santos, the player the Phillies acquired for shortstop Freddy Galvis, is going to become. He pitched well enough in his first season …
Discussion:
Phillies Nation
Rotoworld.com:
DRAFT MLB Strategy: Friday — Building a team on DRAFT's DFS platform is an excellent way to make the action even more exciting than just following your favorite team. If you aren't familiar with DRAFT's DFS platform, it's an innovative daily fantasy game with a live draft feature …