Braves, Mets duke it out for early lead in NL East  —  NEW YORK — Jason Vargas will take the mound Thursday afternoon for the New York Mets against the Atlanta Braves as the Mets try to return to first place after spending most of the season's opening five weeks atop the National League East.

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.

Ichiro Suzuki Moves To Front Office Role, Will Not Continue Playing In 2018  —  The Mariners announced today that future Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki has is moving to a front office role where he'll serve as a special assistant to the chairman, effective immediately.

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.

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.

Joey Votto reminds St. Louis Uber drivers that he won an MVP over Albert Pujols  —  Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto was the National League MVP in 2010, beating out then-Cardinals star Albert Pujols, who had won the award the previous two years.  —  Votto is so proud of this that he brags …

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.

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.

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?

Carl Edwards Jr.'s ‘nasty’ stuff earns praise from fellow Cubs pitchers  —  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  —  New Cubs closer Brandon Morrow didn't know much about Carl Edwards Jr. outside of one trendy statistic.

MLB to announce Yankees-Red Sox games in London  —  Major League Baseball intends to announce next week that the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will play two games at London's Olympic Stadium in June next year, a person close to the planning told The Associated Press.

Harper shining as Nats go for sweep of Pirates  —  WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals can reach the .500 mark when they go for their fifth straight victory Thursday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  —  Washington, led by new leadoff hitter Bryce Harper, pounded the Pirates again Wednesday night, this time 9-3.

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.

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.

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 …