All you need to know about Yankees' toughest stretch of 2018  —  The final weekend in April and the beginning of May will feel a whole lot like October for the New York Yankees.  —  The Bronx Bombers kick off a 13-game stretch Friday night in Anaheim that will see them play the four teams …

Neil Walker, filling in for Tyler Austin at first base, is getting one more shot to stay on Yankees roster  —  It may only be a short window of opportunity, but Neil Walker needs to take advantage of it - more so for himself than for the Yankees, who have managed just fine despite his struggles at the plate.

Marte's 11th-inning single rallies Pirates over Cardinals  —  PITTSBURGH (AP) — Starling Marte's game-ending single in the 11th inning lifted the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 6-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night.  —  David Freese drew a one-out walk from rookie Jordan Hicks …

Arizona Diamondbacks at Washington Nationals … WASHINGTON - The last time the Diamondbacks were here, almost exactly a year ago, Archie Bradley was set for a role change.  Shelby Miller had just gone down with an injury and Bradley was told he was going to replace Miller in the rotation.

A highlight from Joe McEwing's playing days — helping survivors on 9/11  —  White Sox's Lucas Giolito on Thursday's start: ‘Big step in the right direction.’ (Teddy Greenstein/Chicago Tribune)  —  Chicago Tribune  —  The big leagues are generally no place for a 28th-round draft pick who stands 5-foot-10.

Strikeouts being looked at in a new light |  Bob Brookover  —  Strikeouts are good.  Yes, of course, they are.  Who didn't know that?  Those of us who had the pleasure of watching Steve Carlton as a kid or Curt Schilling as a beat writer were well aware of how incredible it was to watch a strikeout artist.

Column: The fun never stops for Cubs' Javier Baez  —  Cubs' Javier Baez on top of the order success with Albert Almora Jr. (Paul Sullivan/Chicago Tribune)  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Cubs second baseman Javier Baez was pointing his fingers in the air Friday after delivering an RBI single in the first inning …

Rays journal: Matt Duffy's return will force Kevin Cash to be creative  —  BOSTON — Putting 3B Matt Duffy back into what had been an historically prolific lineup during his 10-day DL stint was a no-brainer for Rays manager Kevin Cash.  —  “Duff is a big part of our offense,” Cash said.

Candelario back in lineup for Detroit Tigers after day off  —  BALTIMORE — Jeimer Candelario was due for a day off.  —  Entering Thursday's series finale against the Pirates, the young Detroit Tigers third baseman had played in every inning so far this season.

Mets' coaches stress to Steven Matz to slow things down after a bad play  —  Mets manager Mickey Callaway on adding reliever Buddy Baumann Matt Ehalt, Staff Writer, @MattEhalt  —  SAN DIEGO — Slow down.  —  That's the message the coaching staff stressed to struggling lefty Steven Matz …

Lago, Neslony and Demeritte lead Mississippi in win  —  PEARL, Miss. (AP) — Alay Lago, Tyler Neslony and Travis Demeritte each had three hits, as the Mississippi Braves beat the Jackson Generals 6-3 on Friday.  —  Lago doubled and singled twice, scoring two runs.  Neslony tripled and singled twice, driving in three runs.

Taijeron's triple leads Okla. City to 4-1 win over Iowa  —  OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Travis Taijeron hit a two-run triple in the fourth inning, leading the Oklahoma City Dodgers to a 4-1 win over the Iowa Cubs on Friday.  —  The triple by Taijeron started the scoring in a four-run inning and gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.

Brewers' Eric Thames out 6-8 weeks after thumb surgery  —  CHICAGO — Brewers first baseman Eric Thames had surgery on his left thumb, and Milwaukee said it expects him to return in six to eight weeks.  —  Dr. Donald Sheridan operated on Thames on Friday in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Mets, who finished 2017 last in NL runs saved, are still struggling defensively  —  SAN DIEGO — Last fall, Sandy Alderson realized the Mets had to change their approach to defense.  It had never been a high priority when he was building around arms that overpowered hitters.

Three up, three down: Angels' 2009 draftees have big week; Mets' Dark Knight has dark days  —  Who had a good week, and who had a bad week in MLB?  —  THREE UP  —  Angelic draft: What might be the best draft class in recent memory — the Angels' class of 2009 — had quite a week.

Mariners needed to be nearly perfect against Indians and Corey Kluber.  They weren't  —  Erasmo Ramirez gave up five homers to the Indians, and Cleveland's ace nearly went the distance to beat the Mariners 6-5.  —  CLEVELAND — The odds of beating Corey Kluber and the Indians at Progressive Field weren't good coming into the game.

Raudes, Scott lift Salem over Myrtle Beach 9-3  —  SALEM, Va. (AP) — Ryan Scott had two hits and scored two runs, and Roniel Raudes tossed six scoreless innings as the Salem Red Sox topped the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 9-3 on Friday.  —  Raudes (2-1) allowed two hits while striking out three and walking one to pick up the win.