Phillies at Pirates prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, betting trends, and stats for June 6  —  It's Friday, June 6 and the Phillies (37-25) are in Pittsburgh to take on the Pirates (23-40).  Joe Ross is slated to take the mound for Philadelphia against Bailey Falter for Pittsburgh.

Cam Smith's meteoric rise to the majors: A story of dedication and discipline  —  HOUSTON — When Cam Smith made his MLB debut on opening day for the Houston Astros, it was the third-fastest that someone had gone from the draft to the majors.  —  Selected 14th overall by the Cubs in last year's draft …

Teen girl testifies behind closed doors in Wander Franco trial in the Dominican Republic  —  SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco appeared in court Thursday in the Dominican Republic in a sexual abuse case involving a 14-year-old girl who testified behind closed doors.

Mets takeaways: Bad defense leads to split with Dodgers, Francisco Lindor's toe  —  LOS ANGELES — For most of their four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Mets played well — well enough to win at least three games, if not all four.  That changed dramatically …

White Sox reach agreement for potential future sale of controlling interest to Justin Ishbia  —  CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox have reached an agreement that will give Justin Ishbia, the brother of Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia, the chance to buy a future controlling interest in the club.

MLB reinstates 4 players after yearlong bans for betting on baseball  —  Major League Baseball's one-year suspensions for betting on the sport ended for four players Thursday — San Diego starter Jay Groome, Athletics relief pitcher Michael Kelly, Philadelphia infielder José Rodríguez and Arizona reliever Andrew Saalfrank.