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12:15 PM ET, April 30, 2018

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 Top News: 
Associated Press:
Gonzalez leads Mets' hit parade in 14-2 drubbing of Padres  —  SAN DIEGO — Adrian Gonzalez had a spectacular homecoming at Petco Park.  —  Facing the hometown team he once played for, Gonzalez homered, doubled and drove in five runs on Sunday to help the New York Mets overwhelm the San Diego Padres 14-2.
RELATED:
Bobby Nightengale / Cincinnati.com:
Meet Bobby Nightengale, your new Cincinnati Reds beat reporter.  —  I'm a baseball addict.  —  But I'm not looking for a cure.  —  I blame my parents, really, for this baseball disease.  You see, I was in the San Diego Padres spring training camp when I was one week old.  And that was just the start.
Kristie Ackert / New York Daily News:   Mets pushing back Steven Matz's scheduled start due to soreness, will go with Noah Syndergaard vs. Braves on Tuesday
Matt Ehalt / NorthJersey.com:   Mets trounce Padres, 14-2, but Yoenis Cespedes suffers sore left thumb
Matt Ehalt / Daily Record:
Steven Matz dealing with back stiffness, no decision yet on whether he will start Tuesday
Discussion: Amazin' Avenue
Jeff Miller / Baltimore Sun:
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.
Discussion: Halos Heaven
RELATED:
Steve Gardner / USA Today:   Shohei Ohtani has next start pushed back for Angels
Jeff Miller / Los Angeles Times:   Angels are cautious about Shohei Ohtani's return
Casey L Moore / USA Today:   Shohei Ohtani exits Los Angeles Angels' game with mild ankle sprain
ESPN:   Sprained ankle pushes Shohei Ohtani's next start back at least one day
Harvey Valentine / UPI:
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 …
Discussion: Bucs Dugout
RELATED:
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:   Bucs rookie nearly perfect in debut to complete sweep of Cardinals
ESPN:   Pirates' Nick Kingham toys with perfect game in MLB debut
Associated Press:
Kingham perfect through 6 innings for Pirates in MLB debut
Discussion: baseballmusings.com
Joshua Koch / Associated Press:
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.
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MoiseKapenda Bower / UPI:
Houston Astros, New York Yankees kick off ALCS rematch  —  HOUSTON — Despite all of the offseason hype celebrating the power potential of the New York Yankees following their acquisition of National League Most Valuable Player Giancarlo Stanton, what makes the Bronx Bombers truly formidable is their exceptional pitching depth.
Arizona Republic:   Last Slide  —  WASHINGTON - The Diamondbacks already …
Mike Shalin / UPI:
Red Sox could set record for April wins vs. Royals  —  Eduardo Rodriguez looks to continue his early season roll when he opens the Boston Red Sox's three-game series against the Kansas City Royals on Monday night at Fenway Park.  —  Rodriguez, whose season debut was delayed after offseason knee surgery …
Discussion: Over the Monster
RELATED:
Tom Schad / USA Today:
Suspended Red Sox pitcher Joe Kelly watches game from the Fenway bleachers
Associated Press:   Cuthbert homers twice in Royals' 5-4 win over White Sox
ESPN:
Red Sox's Joe Kelly heads to Fenway's bleachers in search of rally
Discussion: Sports Illustrated
Jim Ingraham / UPI:
Indians continue long homestand against Rangers  —  Halfway through Cleveland's longest homestand of the season that spans 11 games, the Indians are 2-4 and licking their wounds after losing three of four games to the Seattle Mariners, including a 10-4 loss on Sunday.
Discussion: Let's Go Tribe
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Healy hits 2 homers in Mariners' win over Indians
Rotoworld.com:   Daily Dose: Spectacular Debut
Associated Press:
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.
RELATED:
Pedro Gomez / ESPN:
Dodgers' Cody Bellinger surprised by benching: 'I'm always hustling'
Discussion: baseballmusings.com
Andy McCullough / Los Angeles Times:
Dodgers' frustrations boil over as Cody Bellinger benched in loss
Discussion: Deadspin and DodgerBlue.com
Steve Buffery / Toronto Sun:
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 …
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Baseball notebook: Arizona pitcher Ray probably will go on DL  —  The Diamondbacks' Robbie Ray suffered a strained abdominal muscle while pitching in the second inning Sunday and probably is headed to the disabled list.  He waved to the dugout after throwing a ball to Washington's Matt Wieters with one out.
RELATED:
R.J. Anderson / CBSSports.com:
Robbie Ray strains oblique, potentially leaving Diamondbacks down another starter
Discussion: Arizona Sports
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
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.
RELATED:
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:   Cardinals notebook: Fowler ready Tuesday
Pete Caldera / Daily Record:
Extra-base hit machine Miguel Andujar cementing his status as the Yankees' third baseman  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. - Brandon Drury continues to progress, getting past the migraine headaches that contributed to blurred vision - a problem he'd dealt silently with since his Arizona Diamondbacks days.
Discussion: USA Today and Pinstripe Alley
RELATED:
Mike Mazzeo / New York Daily News:   No decision made, but Brandon Drury may return to Yankees this week, Clint Frazier homers in Class A Tampa rehab game
Tommy Birch / Des Moines Register:
Observations from the first month of the Iowa Cubs season  —  Chicago Cubs pitching prospect makes Triple-A debut Friday  —  That went by fast.  —  The first month of the Iowa Cubs season is complete.  And boy was it an interesting.  —  Fans are Principal Park got to see the Chicago …
Bob Brookover / Philly.com:
Phillies in need of a lefthander |  Extra Innings  —  One of the reasons the Atlanta Braves have dominated the season series against the Phillies so far is quite simple to figure out.  They have a lineup loaded with dangerous lefthanded hitters whenever the opposition sends a righthander to the mound.
Jeff Arnold / UPI:
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.
Discussion: Bleed Cubbie Blue
Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:
Yosh Kawano's old Chicago friends buy him a Cubs' World Series ring  —  Photos of the rings the Cubs received to commemorate their 2016 World Series championship.  —  Chicago Tribune  —  One of the best things I saw over the weekend at Wrigley Field was a photo of Yosh Kawano wearing a replica Cubs' championship ring.
ESPN:
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.
Gabe Lacques / USA Today:
MLB power rankings: Yankees' nine-game winning streak vaults them toward the top  —  The New York Yankees have shaken their early-season doldrums, sweeping the Los Angeles Angels for their ninth consecutive win.  —  Now 18-9, the Yankees have outscored opponents 64-18 during that streak …
George Sipple / Detroit Free Press:
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.
 
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 More News: 
ESPN:
Power Rankings: How long can the Red Sox hold on to No. 1?
Jeff Passan / Yahoo Sports:
10 Degrees: The ugliness of April baseball personified by 7 teams on pace to lose 100-plus games
Discussion: Lone Star Ball
Rotoworld.com:
Top 10 Prospects: April 30
Detroit Free Press:
Detroit Tigers vs. Tampa Bay Rays: How to watch tonight at Comerica Park
Discussion: Bless You Boys
 Earlier Picks: 
Mike Mazzeo / New York Daily News:
CC Sabathia jaws with umpire Angel Hernandez during Yankees-Angels game: ‘Call f—ing strikes!’
Discussion: MLB Baseball News …
Kristie Ackert / New York Daily News:
Adrian Gonzalez powers Mets to 14-2 blowout win over Padres, but they lose Yoenis Cespedes in the process
Discussion: Amazin' Avenue
Associated Press:
Galindo's double leads Myrtle Beach to 5-3 win over Salem
Discussion: Bleed Cubbie Blue
 

 
From WeSmirch:

TMZ.com:
SUNDANCE HEAD COUNTRY SINGER SHOT IN TEXAS ... Wife Asking For Prayers

Sameer Suri / Daily Mail:
Friday Night Lights reboot ‘in the works’ with new characters as ‘bidding war’ erupts over streaming rights

Dave Simpson / The Guardian:
'Don't Speak changed everything - it's the heartbeat of who I am'

 
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