Verlander sharp against old team, Astros top Tigers 5-1  —  Verlander (7-1) struck out nine in his second start at Comerica Park since his 2017 trade from Detroit to Houston.  —  Author: The Associated Press, NOAH TRISTER  —  DETROIT — Justin Verlander allowed two hits in seven impressive innings …

Real or not?  Mike Soroka the best rookie over first quarter of season  —  Everything about Braves right-hander Mike Soroka is a little funky.  —  He's Canadian, for starters.  That's a rarity.  There are only eight Canadians who have played in the majors this season …

Seth Lugo has been an island of reliability in Mets bullpen  —  WASHINGTON - Seth Lugo is establishing himself as the anchor in a Mets bullpen that's been turbulent to start the season.  —  The right-hander entered Wednesday on a streak of 12.1 scoreless innings dating back to April 22.

Diamondbacks capitalize on Chris Archer insight, roll to win despite in-game injuries  —  The Diamondbacks rolled to an 11-1 win over the Pirates Wednesday, and they got their bats going early against Pittsburgh starter Chris Archer.  —  “I think the key with Archer is when he's not commanding the baseball …

Dodgers' Kenta Maeda carves up Padres behind dominant performance  —  The stuff has rarely wavered.  Since Kenta Maeda joined the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016, he has relied primarily on a fastball that he throws from between 90 and 93 mph, a slider ranging from 82 to 85 mph and a split-fingered change-up he throws between 83 to 86 mph.

7 Rays pitchers combine to hand Miami 7th straight loss, 1-0  —  Seven pitchers combined on a seven-hitter for Tampa Bay, and the Rays shut out the Miami Marlins for the second straight game, 1-0 on Wednesday night.  —  The Marlins (10-31) lost their seventh consecutive game and are on pace for 122 losses.

Calhoun's back for the Rangers.  And he didn't hesitate to flash that sweet swing again  —  Willie Calhoun ignored the call at midnight.  —  Calhoun figured his mom would be on the other end, just wanting to chat.  But his phone rang a second time early Wednesday morning, and he didn't ignore it this time.

Yanks' Andujar to have season-ending surgery  —  NEW YORK — Yankees third baseman Miguel Andujar will have season-ending surgery to repair a small labrum tear in his right shoulder.  —  New York announced the decision Wednesday night during the second game of a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles that the Yankees swept.

Yankees rain homers on David Hess to beat Orioles, 5-3, in first game of doubleheader  —  After two wet days in the Bronx, the New York Yankees rained home runs in the opening game of their doubleheader against the Orioles.  —  In a 5-3 loss Wednesday, Orioles right-hander David Hess …

Good news: Alex Wood is about to start throwing.  Bad news: He's a long way from pitching.  —  Reds left-hander Alex Wood is about to resume throwing.  —  That's the good news.  The bad?  He's starting from scratch.  Wood has been out since spring training with a lower back strain.

Giants beat Toronto in Shaun Anderson's MLB debut  —  In an interesting riff on pitching future vs. pitching past, Shaun Anderson made his big-league debut Wednesday afternoon against Edwin Jackson, who was starting for his major league-record 14th team.  —  The young guy's team won.

Top games in Cincinnati Reds history: No. 46 - Chico Ruiz stealing home starts Phillies' slide  —  Most baseball fans have at least heard of the Philadelphia Phillies' epic 1964 collapse, when they had a 6-½ game lead over Cincinnati and St. Louis with 12 to play and blew it all with a 10-game losing streak.

So just how far did that Tuesday homer by Rays' Avisail Garcia go?  —  The team seems pretty sure it was more than the MLB Statcast estimation of 471 feet; Morton set for Sunday start vs. Yankees.  —  MIAMI — Avisail Garcia seemed to get every bit of the Caleb Smith pitch he launched …