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 …

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' 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 …

Severino hurls shutout, Stanton powers Yanks past Astros 4-0  —  New York has taken two of three in a four-game series against Houston.  —  HOUSTON - Luis Severino pitched a five-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts for his first career complete game, Giancarlo Stanton homered twice and drove in four runs …

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

PUJOLS' PATH  —  Albert Pujols is two hits from No. 3,000.  He got two Wednesday night for the Los Angeles Angels, and can reach the milestone at home against Baltimore.  Chris Tillman is set to pitch for the O's — Pujols is 4 for 15 against him.  Starting this weekend, the Angels begin a five-game trip to Seattle and Colorado.

Yelich homers, Miley wins debut, Brewers sweep Reds 3-1  —  CINCINNATI (AP) — Wade Miley made a positive first impression in his debut with the Milwaukee Brewers.  —  Miley pitched six effective innings, Christian Yelich homered and the Brewers swept the sloppy Cincinnati Reds with a 3-1 win on Wednesday night.

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.

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.

Mark Canha's clutch ninth-inning homer lifts A's past Mariners  —  SEATTLE — The A's offense has the ability to strike at any moment, even when looking bad most of the night.  That's exactly what happened Wednesday night.  —  A's hitters were overpowered by Mariners starter James Paxton …

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.

Bundy allows 3 homers in Orioles' 10-7 loss to Angels; loss is club's 14th in past 17 games  —  The Orioles lose to the Angels, 10-7.  (Denise Sanders, Baltimore Sun video)  —  Orioles right-hander Dylan Bundy took the mound Wednesday night hoping to put the memories of his worst big league start behind him.