Yankees manager Aaron Boone says Jordan Montgomery out 6-8 weeks with elbow strain  —  HOUSTON — New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that left-handed pitcher Jordan Montgomery will miss between six to eight weeks due to a flexor strain in his elbow.

Aaron Nola cements ace status, stops Phillies' skid by dominating Marlins  —  MIAMI — It started to happen last summer.  —  Pitch by pitch, start by start, every five days or so, Aaron Nola began to resemble the honest-to-goodness ace the Phillies lacked since they traded Cole Hamels midway through 2015.

Mets' deGrom leaves loss to Braves with hyperextended elbow  —  NEW YORK - Jacob deGrom was pulled after four dominant innings with a hyperextended right elbow, and the Atlanta Braves broke out against the bullpen to back a stellar start by Sean Newcomb and beat the New York Mets 7-0 Wednesday night.

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.

Betts homers 3 times as Red Sox beat Royals 5-4  —  BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts belted three solo homers and J.D. Martinez also went deep, powering the Boston Red Sox to a 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.  —  It was the fourth three-homer game for the 25-year-old Betts …

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.

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.

Dodgers' Ryu leaves game with apparent injury  —  PHOENIX (AP) — Los Angeles starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu left the Dodgers' game against the Arizona Diamondbacks with an apparent injury in the bottom of the second inning Wednesday night.  —  Ryu stretched his legs before walking off …

Cardinals' Fowler makes big splash in dugout, at bat  —  Dexter Fowler was in the Cardinals' video room Wednesday when Carlos Martinez hit a home run in the seventh inning, the first of his big-league career.  —  Martinez has made a practice of throwing water in the face of home run hitters upon …

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.

Scooter Gennett will test his arm Friday, if it doesn't pass, Cincinnati Reds may be forced to make a move  —  Riggleman on Reds' loss to Milwaukee Wochit  —  Scooter Gennett was out of the lineup again Wednesday as planned.  The Reds' hope is he'll return Friday in the series opener against the Miami Marlins.

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)

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 …

Harper homers, Strasburg whiffs 11 as Nats top Pirates 9-3  —  Bryce Harper hit a leadoff homer and drove in three runs,  —  Stephen Strasburg struck out 11 and the  —  Pittsburgh Pirates 9-3 on Wednesday night for their fourth straight win.  —  Matt Adams clubbed his third homer in two games for Washington.

Dedelow, Gonzalez lead Kannapolis to 9-6 win over Hickory  —  KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (AP) — Craig Dedelow hit a three-run double in the fifth inning, and Luis Gonzalez singled three times as the Kannapolis Intimidators topped the Hickory Crawdads 9-6 on Wednesday.

Brewers 3, Reds 1: Road trip finishes on high note  —  CINCINNATI - Get out the brooms.  —  Responding in the best way possible to their four-game sweep at the hands of the Chicago Cubs last weekend, the Milwaukee Brewers took care of business with a sweep of their own of the Cincinnati Reds.

SEE IT: Mike Trout hits estimated 524-ft home run, Angels OF tied for MLB lead with 11 … The Angels up in heaven better duck, because there's a good chance that's where Mike Trout's home run ended up.  —  Trout smacked a mammoth home run in the first inning of the Angels' game against the Orioles in Anaheim Wednesday night.