Royals' Seth Lugo will miss start vs. the Cardinals with middle-finger injury  —  Kansas City Royals right-hander Seth Lugo will miss his upcoming start on Saturday against the St. Louis Cardinals at Kauffman Stadium.  —  Lugo is dealing with inflammation in his right middle finger.

Yankees reliever Jake Cousins has injury setback, this time a pec issue  —  NEW YORK — Yankees reliever Jake Cousins felt pectoral discomfort after throwing a pair of batting practice sessions, another setback in his bid to return to the mound for the first time since last fall.

Braves at Red Sox Prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, betting trends and stats for May 16  —  It's Friday, May 16 and the Braves (22-22) are in Boston to take on the Red Sox (22-23).  Chris Sale is slated to take the mound for Atlanta against Garrett Crochet for Boston.

Last-place Orioles fire manager Brandon Hyde after falling 13 games under .500  —  The Baltimore Orioles fired manager Brandon Hyde on Saturday after a dismal start to the season by a team coming off two consecutive playoff appearances.  The Orioles are 15-28 and in last place in the AL East following …

Juan Soto greeted with standing jeer in Yankee Stadium return, then touches heart with helmet  —  Fans rose to their feet for Juan Soto's Yankee Stadium return in a rare standing jeer, and he responded by taking off his helmet, tipping it to the crowd and touching it against his heart.

Astros' Lance McCullers Jr. returns to mound after online threats that followed his previous start  —  ARLINGTON, Texas — Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. allowed two unearned runs over four innings against the Texas Rangers on Friday, six nights after the right-hander failed …

Flores hits three home runs, drives in eight runs to back Webb as Giants thump A's 9-1  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Wilmer Flores homered three times — including a grand slam — and drove in eight runs to back a strong start by Logan Webb, leading the San Francisco Giants past the Athletics 13-5 on Friday night.

Fantasy Baseball Closer Report: Justin Martinez progressing towards return, Ryan Walker on the hot seat  —  In this week's Closer Report, Jeff Hoffman and Ryan Walker are among the closers struggling to keep runs off the board.  Who's most at risk of losing the closer role?

Bryce Harper reaches 1,000 RBIs in the Phillies' 8-4 victory over the Pirates  —  PHILADELPHIA — Bryce Harper reached 1,000 RBIs and was part of a wild seventh inning rally in which the Philadelphia Phillies scored four runs on just one hit in an 8-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw Gets Honest About Retirement Ahead of Return  —  Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw spoke about his motivation to continue pitching before his return from injury on Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels.  —  “I think not letting an injury …

Versatile Red Sox rookie emerges as first base solution: ‘I get to knock it off my bucket list’  —  BOSTON — More than four hours before first pitch Friday at Fenway Park, there was Kristian Campbell working with Boston's coaches on adding yet another position to his already-vast repertoire.

Cubs agree to minor league deal with struggling right-hander Kenta Maeda  —  CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs have agreed to a minor league contract with Kenta Maeda, giving the struggling right-hander another chance to regain his form.  —  Cubs manager Craig Counsell confirmed the deal before Friday's game against the White Sox.