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 …

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.

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.

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.

Column: Cubs-Cardinals rivalry isn't living up to the hype — so far  —  Cubs manager Joe Maddon discusses the team's 11-2 loss to the Rockies on Wednesday, May 2, 2018.  (Mark Gonzales/Chicago Tribune)  —  Chicago Tribune  —  As Cardinals manager Mike Matheny addressed the media …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

Cards notebook: Waino sharp, but unlikely to start this weekend  —  Cardinals righthander Adam Wainwright, recovering from a sore right elbow, threw his first bullpen session in two weeks and was pleased.  He threw 35 to 40 pitches in a couple of increments with no pain as he renewed his lower arm slot.

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.

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.

Jessica Bryant and fellow Cubs players wives ‘little nervous’ about Brewers softball game  —  Jessica Bryant, wife of Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant, stands with other Cubs wives and girlfriends during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Winnemac Park on Tuesday (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)  —  Chicago Tribune

Column: Did the Cubs get the extended warranty when they purchased Yu Darvish?  —  Cubs starter Yu Darvish discusses his “bad rhythm” in the team's 11-2 loss to the Rockies on Wednesday, May 2, 2018.  (Mark Gonzales/Chicago Tribune)  —  Did the Cubs also pay for the extended warranty with Yu Darvish?