Yankees place Alex Rodriguez on the 15-day DL with strained right hamstring  —  BALTIMORE - What's worse than the Yankees' struggling offense?  That same lineup without Alex Rodriguez.  —  That's what the Yankees will face for at least the next two weeks, as the 40-year-old designated hitter …

Braves are going to fire Fredi Gonzalez soon, but then what?  —  MORE FROM:  —  The Braves have an off-day Thursday.  That normally would not be the first sentence of a column.  But they have an off-day coinciding with a major league-worst 7-20 start, manager Fredi Gonzalez being on the hot seat …

Dodgers suspend SS Erisbel Arruebarrena for remainder of season  —  The Los Angeles Dodgers have suspended minor league shortstop Erisbel Arruebarrena for the remainder of the season, marking the second consecutive year they have done so.  —  The Dodgers confirmed the suspension Wednesday …

With focus on a ‘special summer,’ White Sox part with veteran John Danks  —  General manager Rick Hahn believes the White Sox could be in for a “special summer” after their quick start to the season, and so the club cut loose one piece they didn't think was contributing to that goal.

OTL: More PED busts coming from Major League Baseball  —  Major League Baseball is expected to announce in the next few days that another player has tested positive for the steroid Turinabol, a drug that was commonly used by East German athletes in the 1970s.

Aroldis Chapman willing to play for Team USA at WBC  —  TAMPA, Fla. - Aroldis Chapman has no concerns about being banned from the Cuban National Team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.  —  And that's because the embattled Yankees closer has another uniform in mind, that of Team USA.

Brewers Claim Michael Kirkman From Padres  —  The Brewers announced today that they have claimed left-hander Michael Kirkman off waivers from the Padres.  San Diego had designated Kirkman for assignment earlier in the week after just one appearance.  Kirkman, 29, allowed four runs …

Antonio Longino, days away from Bengals tryout, in custody as part of ongoing homicide investigation  —  Local football player Antonio Longino, who was days away from a tryout with the Cincinnati Bengals, is in custody at the Cleveland Heights police department, charged with tampering with evidence in a homicide investigation.

Six-run first powers Nationals to 13-2 win over Royals  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Wednesday's Nationals-Royals game was all but decided before Stephen Strasburg even stepped to the pitching mound in the bottom of the first inning at Kauffman Stadium.  Washington scored five runs …

Castro homers, drives in 4 to help Astros rout Twins 16-4 (Yahoo Sports)  —  Jason Castro homered and drove in four runs, and Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa both homered and knocked in three as the Houston Astros won consecutive games for the first time this season with a 16-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night.

Mariners rally against A's bullpen for first sweep of season (Yahoo Sports)  —  Dae-Ho Lee hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh after an earlier solo shot for his first career multi-homer game, and the Seattle Mariners rallied for a back-and-forth 9-8 win over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday and their first 2016 series sweep.