Mets trounce Padres, 14-2, but Yoenis Cespedes suffers sore left thumb  —  Yoenis Cespedes discusses his sore left thumb Matt Ehalt, Staff Writer, @MattEhalt  —  SAN DIEGO — The final test to see if April truly has been a successful month for the first-place Mets is scheduled to happen Monday in New York.

Surging Pittsburgh Pirates begin series with Washington Nationals  —  The visiting Pittsburgh Pirates will be looking for their sixth straight win when they open a four-game series against the Washington Nationals on Monday.  —  Pittsburgh (17-11) completed a sweep of St. Louis on Sunday as Nick Kingham …

Surging Yankees sweep Angels  —  The Angels aren't hitting, aren't scoring, aren't winning.  —  There's one other thing they aren't doing, not even after another low-octane loss that gave the New York Yankees a three-game sweep at Angel Stadium.  —  “I'm not panicking,” infielder Zack Cozart said after Sunday's 2-1 loss.

Baseball roundup: Cubs blank Brewers again, sweep series  —  Cubs blank Brewers again to sweep series  —  Tyler Chatwood allowed two hits, struck out four and walked three over seven innings and had an RBI single, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 2-0 victory at home over Milwaukee on Sunday for a sweep of a four-game series.

Cuthbert homers twice in Royals' 5-4 win over White Sox  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Cheslor Cuthbert homered twice and drove in four runs as the Kansas City Royals won consecutive games for the first time this season, defeating the Chicago White Sox 5-4 on Sunday.

Healy hits 2 homers in Mariners' win over Indians  —  CLEVELAND (AP) - Ryon Healy hit two home runs and had four RBIs, Robinson Cano and Mitch Haniger also homered, and the Seattle Mariners defeated the Cleveland Indians 10-4 on Sunday.  —  Healy had an RBI double in the second inning …

Cardinals Notes: A curve in Memphis brings Gomber to Cardinals bullpen  —  PITTSBURGH  • If asked to describe the “ideal pitcher” he could be, lefty Austin Gomber said he would be able to provide a description, maybe a list.  —  Now, though, he just has to point to a box score.

No decision made, but Brandon Drury may return to Yankees this week, Clint Frazier homers in Class A Tampa rehab game  —  ANAHEIM — Aaron Boone said no decision has been made yet whether Brandon Drury will rejoin the Yankees in Houston this week, but the manager wouldn't rule it out.

Cole strikes out 12, Astros capitalize on errors to beat A's  —  HOUSTON (AP) — Gerrit Cole worked into the seventh inning and struck out 12, George Springer and Jose Altuve each drove in two runs and the Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 8-4 on Sunday.

Which players' slow starts should scare you, and why  —  “It's still early!” is the motto of April baseball.  Everyone knows in their hearts that the guy on pace for 324 home runs after Opening Day and the slugger hitting .090 are not going to finish the season anywhere near those figures.

Diamondbacks LHP Robbie Ray leaves start with oblique injury  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Arizona Diamondbacks left-handed pitcher Robbie Ray left Sunday's game against the Washington Nationals in the bottom of the second with a strained right oblique muscle.  —  Ray waved to the dugout after throwing …

Detroit Tigers: 10 players they should consider drafting No. 1 overall  —  Matthew Stevens, Montgomery Advertiser  —  Auburn right-handed pitcher Casey Mize emerged as the early favorite to be chosen No. 1 overall by the Detroit Tigers in the MLB draft in June.

Nobody is grouchy when Blue Jays' Teoscar is on  —  When the Blue Jays start getting guys back from the disabled list (Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki), there will be some tough decisions that will have to be made.  —  But it's becoming pretty clear that one of those decisions …

Cubs' pitching could be challenging for Rockies  —  The way the Chicago Cubs' starting pitching has been rolling, any shortage of offense has not caused negative results.  —  That may be bad news for the Colorado Rockies, who Monday at Wrigley Field struggling to score runs.