Swanson homers twice as Braves beat Cardinals 5-2  —  ST. LOUIS — A little lineup tweak is working out quite well for Dansby Swanson and the Atlanta Braves.  —  Swanson homered twice and Freddie Freeman also connected, helping Mike Foltynewicz and Atlanta beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-2 on Friday night.

5 Home Runs Aren't Enough for the Mets Against the Tigers  —  JaCoby Jones homered and drove in four runs, including a go-ahead double in the seventh inning, and Miguel Cabrera also connected as the visiting Detroit Tigers halted their nine-game losing streak on Friday night with a wild 9-8 victory over the Mets.

Nats GM says manager Martinez safe for now despite struggles  —  WASHINGTON — Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo says second-year manager Dave Martinez's job is safe for now despite Washington's sluggish start to the season.  —  The Nationals have lost five straight and entered Friday at 19-31 …

Paxton still has knee issue; Gregorius to start 20-day clock  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The only New York Yankees in action Friday were those on the injured list.  —  While the big league club was rained out in Kansas City, Yankees pitcher James Paxton and shortstop Didi Gregorius continued testing …

Cleveland Indians Scribbles: 2019 season has been a worst-case scenario  —  CLEVELAND, Ohio - Scribbles in my Cleveland Indians notebook as they wrestle with so many different problems:  —  1. In spring training, the Indians' battle plan to win the Central Division was to rely …

Diamondbacks break out of slump with 18-2 win over Giants  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Ildemaro Vargas had five hits and a home run,  —  Adam Jones added four hits and a homer, and the  —  Arizona Diamondbacks broke out of a slump in a big way, beating the  —  San Francisco Giants 18-2 on Friday night.

Braves option reliever Sobotka to Gwinnett  —  The Braves reinstated relief pitcher Chad Sobotka from the injured list Saturday and optioned him to Triple-A Gwinnett.  He had been on the IL since April 29 with a left abdominal strain.  —  Sobotka, 25, was an effective member …

MLB draft: The best player ever picked at every spot from 1-30  —  Top picks in the Major League Baseball turn out to be busts at a fairly high rate, but that's not to say that some of the greatest players in history have been selected early in baseball's draft through the years.

White Sox Notes: Jay, Castillo, Zavala, Banuelos  —  White Sox outfielder Jon Jay is finally showing some signs of progress in his effort to return from a groin strain.  As Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets, GM Rick Hahn says that Jay may not be far from a rehab stint.

Freese's grand slam powers Dodgers by Pirates 10-2  —  David Freese hit a grand slam off opener Michael Feliz and Cody Bellinger added his 18th homer, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-2 on Friday night.  —  The Pirates gave Feliz his first major league start …

Phillies to place Pat Neshek on the injured list with shoulder injury  —  MILWAUKEE - Pat Neshek's challenging week will end Saturday with him being placed on the injured list after he felt pain in his shoulder while playing catch on Friday afternoon at Miller Park.

Stu Sternberg and his Wall Street cohorts didn't set out to change baseball, it just worked out that way  —  Fifteen years ago this month, Stu Sternberg bought a majority share of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  His first three hires had never before worked in baseball, but they quickly turned heads.

Brewers Reinstate, Option Jimmy Nelson  —  In something of a surprise move, the Brewers announced today that they have reinstated Jimmy Nelson from the injured list and optioned him to Triple-A. He is finally back to health after a long layoff but won't come straight up to the majors.