Top News:
Associated Press:
Rangers belt 5 home runs in 16-1 rout of Royals — KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Rougned Odor and the rest of the Texas Rangers had been using the Kansas City Royals' beleaguered pitching staff for batting practice most of the sun-splashed afternoon. — Then the Rangers used their backup second baseman for it, too.
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Drew Davison / Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
Texas Rangers end road trip with offensive onslaught against the Royals — The Texas Rangers salvaged what had the makings of becoming a disastrous road trip. — After being swept by four games in Houston and losing the opener to the Kansas City Royals, the Rangers responded by taking …
Sam McDowell / Kansas City Star:
'It's a special trip.' Royals players will bring their fathers to upcoming road stops
Jeff Passan / ESPN:
Joey Gallo, king of baseball's Three True Outcomes era
Joey Gallo, king of baseball's Three True Outcomes era
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
Anthony Fenech / Detroit Free Press:
Detroit Tigers observations: The defense was bad, and then the game got embarassing — It hasn't been a good week for the Detroit Tigers. — They haven't won a game — and haven't even led for an inning — and were thoroughly shellacked again on Thursday afternoon by the Athletics, 17-3.
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Anthony Fenech / Detroit Free Press:
Detroit Tigers designate Rule 5 pick Reed Garrett for assignment — There was one roster casualty after the Detroit Tigers' blowout loss to the Athletics on Thursday afternoon, one that was a long time coming: Right-hander reliever Reed Garrett, the Tigers' Rule 5 Draft pick in December , was designated for assignment.
Mark Polishuk / MLB Trade Rumors:
Tigers Designate Reed Garrett For Assignment
Tigers Designate Reed Garrett For Assignment
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
Anthony Fenech / Detroit Free Press:
Detroit Tigers send struggling Jeimer Candelario to Triple-A Toledo
Detroit Tigers send struggling Jeimer Candelario to Triple-A Toledo
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News …
KHOU-TV:
Verlander sharp against old team, Astros top Tigers 5-1
Verlander sharp against old team, Astros top Tigers 5-1
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News … and Bless You Boys
Shawn Windsor / Detroit Free Press:
Justin Verlander's 2nd return against Detroit Tigers ‘kind of sad’
Justin Verlander's 2nd return against Detroit Tigers ‘kind of sad’
Discussion:
Bless You Boys
Rick Hummel / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cards trampled by Braves 10-2, lose fourth consecutive series — ATLANTA — Manager Mike Shildt almost always looks for a positive spin he can put on a Cardinals defeat, if there is one. And there have been plenty lately, 11 losses in 14 games, which would test even college graduate Shildt's ample vocabulary.
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Rick Hummel / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
C. Martinez will join Cardinals in Texas — ATLANTA — The Cardinals will stay with 13 pitchers when they play an interleague series against the Texas Rangers at Arlington, Texas this weekend and one of them will be righthander Carlos Martinez. — Martinez returned to St. Louis after pitching …
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News …
Rick Hummel / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Waino bedeviled by leadoff walks, falls behind 5-0 after three — ATLANTA — Native Georgian Adam Wainwright was pitching in his 31st major league stadium, including Monterrey, Mexico, Thursday night when he made his first appearance in SunTrust Park. — The Cardinals' righthander was 4-1 …
Eddie Matz / ESPN:
How the Nationals won a series for the first time in a month — WASHINGTON — Nothing has come easy for the 2019 Washington Nationals. — That includes simple tasks like ... winning a series. On Thursday, the Nationals eked out a 7-6 victory over the visiting New York Mets, giving them their first series win in a month.
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Deesha Thosar / New York Daily News:
Steven Matz ‘feels good,’ expected to make start in Miami this weekend — WASHINGTON - While the Mets remain hush-hush on Steven Matz's next start, the left-hander said he feels good and is waiting for the green light from the team. — Matz is forging ahead in his recovery from a nerve irritation in his left forearm.
Tim Healey / Newsday:
Jeff McNeil, Michael Conforto leave injured in Mets' loss to Nationals
Jeff McNeil, Michael Conforto leave injured in Mets' loss to Nationals
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors and Newsday
Deesha Thosar / New York Daily News:
Mets fall as Font spot start fails
Mets fall as Font spot start fails
Discussion:
Amazin' Avenue and MLB Baseball News …
Mike Vaccaro / New York Post:
Frustrating loss exposes all that is wrong with Mets
Field Level / MLB Baseball News, Scores …:
Inconsistent White Sox welcome Jays for 4-game set — Cleveland Indians to two runs and two hits in a Chicago victory on Monday night. — The following afternoon, the Indians torched White Sox hurlers for nine runs behind a five-homer barrage. — Pitching has remained inconsistent as Chicago keeps pushing to reach the .500 mark.
Discussion:
South Side Sox, Bluebird Banter and Batter's Box Interactive …
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Steve Adams / MLB Trade Rumors:
Blue Jays Option Teoscar Hernandez, Outright Socrates Brito
Blue Jays Option Teoscar Hernandez, Outright Socrates Brito
Discussion:
Bluebird Banter
Bobby Nightengale / Cincinnati.com:
Cincinnati Reds Beat Podcast: Breaking down the slow start and the slumping offense — Cincinnati.com's Bobby Nightengale and John Fay breakdown the Reds' slow start to the season, the offense's slump throughout the season and evaluate David Bell's managerial style. — How to listen:
RELATED:
Bobby Nightengale / Cincinnati.com:
Cincinnati Reds complete comeback against Chicago Cubs with Yasiel Puig walk-off single
Cincinnati Reds complete comeback against Chicago Cubs with Yasiel Puig walk-off single
Discussion:
Bleed Cubbie Blue and Red Reporter
Ryan Divish / The Seattle Times:
Mariners recall outfielder Mallex Smith from Class AAA Tacoma, send down Shed Long — With the hope that his timing issues at the plate and mistakes in the field that seemed to follow are fixed, outfielder Mallex Smith will return to his center field spot for a Mariners team that desperately needs …
Discussion:
Lookout Landing and MLB Trade Rumors
MLB Baseball News, Scores, Standings …:
Kipnis helps Indians pull away from O's late — Jason Kipnis belted two homers, drove in a career-high six runs and scored three times as the host Cleveland Indians posted a 14-7 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday. — Carlos Santana had three RBIs, and Francisco Lindor …
Discussion:
Camden Chat
Bradford Doolittle / ESPN:
Is the .300 hitter a thing of the past? — The history of baseball is so remarkably well chronicled in both statistical and narrative forms that there are countless good stories through the eons that we've forgotten. They happen every day, even now, events notable enough that they might lead …
Marc Topkin / Tampa Bay Times:
Ten things to know about new Rays catcher Travis d'Arnaud — For one, the name may sound familiar. For another, he happened to be at the Trop for a pretty big moment in Rays history. — NEW YORK — There's an apartment in Manhattan with a rented couch waiting to be picked up, and a couple weeks of mail in the box to be collected.
Tommy Birch / Des Moines Register:
‘This year is going to be the year’: Adbert Alzolay ready to make big-league debut — Adbert Alzolay on coming back to Iowa Cubs and his spring training injury — Cubs pitching prospect Adbert Alzolay can't help but think about what could have been in 2018 had injures not slowed him down and even cost him the end of his season.
Kent Somers / Arizona Republic:
What we think we know about the Arizona Diamondbacks with a quarter of the season gone — Given all the changes to the Diamondbacks roster over the winter, the first part of this season figured to be an exploration for answers to significant questions. — The quarter mark of the season just passed …