Yankees' Jordan Montgomery could miss 6-8 weeks with forearm strain  —  HOUSTON - Yankees lefty Jordan Montgomery will be out of the rotation for six-to-eight weeks, having been diagnosed with a strained left flexor tendon.  —  Right-hander Domingo German is the immediate replacement for Montgomery …

Is Trevor Bauer hinting that the Astros are doctoring baseballs?  —  Cleveland Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer seemingly implied via Twitter on Tuesday that the world champion Houston Astros are using nefarious means to improve the performance of their pitching staff.

Mookie Betts returns to starting lineup for Red Sox  —  Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts, who returned to action in the ninth inning Tuesday, is in the starting lineup for Wednesday's game against the Kansas City Royals.  —  Betts had not played since suffering right hamstring tightness …

Fernando Romero wins MLB debut for Twins, 4-0 over Blue Jays  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Fernando Romero's major league debut for Minnesota carried the extra weight of a Twins team that won only once in its previous 12 games.  —  No pressure, kid.  —  Well, he sure didn't appear to feel any.

Cubs' Yu Darvish surrenders 2-run HR in 1st  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Albert Almora Jr. and Javier Baez returned to the topfof the Cubs' lineup Wednesday in the series finale against the Rockies at warm Wrigley Field.  —  Neither Almora nor Baez played in Tuesday's 3-1 loss that snapped a five-game winning streak.

Jacob deGrom exits Mets start with hyperextended right elbow  —  NEW YORK — Jacob deGrom, the New York Mets right-hander, has left the game against the Atlanta Braves after hyperextending his right elbow.  —  DeGrom departed after four dominant innings Wednesday night.

Edwin Encarnacion, Corey Kluber lead Cleveland Indians past Texas Rangers 12-4  —  Encarnacion homered three times and drove in six runs.  —  CLEVELAND (AP) - Edwin Encarnacion homered three times and drove in six runs, helping Corey Kluber and the Cleveland Indians beat the Texas Rangers 12-4 on Wednesday.

C. Martinez sparks Cards to victory over White Sox  —  Cardinals righthander Michael Wacha arrived in the clubhouse in workout gear well after Wednesday's 3-2 Cardinals victory over the Chicago White Sox at Busch Stadium.  The one-run difference could be traced to the first home run struck _ anywhere …

Tom Ricketts looks to stamp 'family's legacy' on Wrigley Field and neighborhood  —  Cubs owner Tom Ricketts talks with members of the press while attending the eighth annual Bricks & Ivy Ball at Navy Pier to benefit Cubs Charities Wednesday April, 18 2018.  (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

John Hicks surprised both Detroit Tigers and Rays with winning bunt  —  Detroit Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire wasn't expecting it.  —  Neither was JaCoby Jones, the runner at third, or third base coach Dave Clark or almost anyone else in Comerica Park on Wednesday afternoon.

Mets GM isn't thrilled with reliever Matt Harvey partying in Los Angeles  —  NEW YORK — Matt Harvey can't stay out of the headlines.  —  The embattled starter-turned-reliever partied in Los Angeles on Thursday night, a day before the Mets faced the Padres in San Diego, as first reported by the New York Post.

Yoenis Cespedes snaps chain sliding into 2B, leaving diamonds on the diamond  —  NEW YORK — Yoenis Cespedes left it all on the diamond Wednesday night — or, at least, probably several thousand dollars' worth of diamonds.  —  The New York Mets slugger snapped his glitzy necklace during …

Yankees' Didi Gregorius named AL Player of the Month  —  HOUSTON — Didi Gregorius was named AL Player of the Month for April.  —  The Yankee shortstop leads the majors with 10 homers, 30 RBI and a 1.159 OPS after the first full month of the season.  He batted .330 in an April filled with clutch hitting …

Iowa Cubs hitting coach Chris Valaika holds onto faith, waits for dad to wake from coma  —  Triple-A baseball came to Des Moines in 1968 with the Iowa Oaks, and the Iowa Cubs have carried the torch since 1982.  Here's a collection of some of the biggest names and best players during that time.

Cincinnati Reds reliever Dylan Floro develops strikeout pitch  —  Riggleman on Reds' loss to Milwaukee Wochit  —  Playing catch with Dylan Floro earlier this year, fellow relief pitcher Amir Garrett noticed all of the late movement on the ball when Floro threw his sinker.

This Date in Baseball  —  1927 — Brooklyn's Jesse Barnes defeated his brother Virgil Barnes for a 7-6 victory over the New York Giants.  It was the first matchup of pitching brothers in major league history.  —  1936 — Joe DiMaggio made his major league debut for the New York Yankees …