Verdugo, bullpen help Dodgers end skids, 2-1 over D-backs  —  PHOENIX (AP) Alex Verdugo doubled and scored twice, and a struggling Los Angeles bullpen picked up injured starter Hyun-Jin Ryu to help the Dodgers defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-1 on Wednesday night.

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 …

Trout, Pujols, Upton HRs power Angels' 10-7 win over Orioles  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) Albert Pujols reached 2,998 career hits with a home run and a double, and Justin Upton hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning of the Los Angeles Angels' 10-7 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

Warming Indians play two vs. Blue Jays  —  CLEVELAND — After an extremely slow start to the season offensively, Cleveland Indians hitters have warmed with the weather.  Cleveland will conclude its longest homestand of the season, 11 games, on Thursday with a doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays.

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.

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.

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 …

Grading early returns on the MLB offseason's biggest moves  —  Grading a hot stove transaction in early May is the baseball equivalent of judging Tiger Woods' round when he's standing on the fourth tee at Augusta National.  In the face of such a limited sample size, the numbers are subject to constant re-evaluation.

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.