Gordon gives Ichiro fitting tribute in Mariners' win vs A's  —  SEATTLE (AP) - Dee Gordon had a big night on the bases, Nelson Cruz hit a two-run home run and the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 4-1 on Thursday night in their first game since Ichiro Suzuki was moved from the roster to the front office.

LEADING OFF: Dodgers-Padres in Mexico, Kingham pitches again  —  A look at what's happening all around the majors Friday:  —  MEXICAN FLAVOR  —  Major League Baseball returns to Mexico in the regular season for the first time in nearly two decades when the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego play a three-game series in Monterrey.

Yankees rally past Astros for wild 6-5 win  —  HOUSTON (AP) — Aroldis Chapman struck out AL MVP Jose Altuve on three straight 101 mph fastballs with two on to end the game, and the New York Yankees got a key hit from rookie Gleyber Torres during a three-run rally in the ninth inning to seesaw past the Houston Astros 6-5 Thursday.

Is Diamondbacks-Astros a World Series preview?  The D'backs aren't afraid to dream  —  PHOENIX - The Arizona Diamondbacks realize there are still 21 weeks left on the baseball calendar, and early-season leads can melt quicker than a frozen margarita in the sweltering summer months in Phoenix.

Mookie Betts hits another home run, ties long-standing Boston Red Sox record  —  Mookie Betts keeps hitting home runs and his latest dinger put the Boston Red Sox right fielder in exclusive company.  —  Betts' third-inning home run in a 11-5 loss to the Texas Rangers on Thursday night tied …

Tipsheet: Matt Adams helps revive Nationals with power surge  —  The Washington Nationals have come back to life, with notable help from a face quite familiar to Cardinals fans.  —  First baseman/outfielder Matt Adams went on an 11-for-27 tear during the last two weeks in his part-time role, posting a .407/.448/.778 slash line.

Too long: Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland Indians split lengthy doubleheader  —  The Indians Game 2 win was the 1,500th victory for Terry Francona, who became the 24th manager to reach the milestone.  —  CLEVELAND (AP) - The Blue Jays and Indians won't meet again until the first week in September.

Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees series preview, pitching matchups  —  Gallery: Josh Tomlin: Cleveland Indians  —  CLEVELAND, Ohio - Here is the preview and pitching matchups for the Indians weekend series against the Yankees.  —  Where: Yankees Stadium, Friday through Sunday.

Radical Ideas Series: What if MLB teams could bid for more home games?  —  Welcome to the third and final installment of the Radical Ideas Series, in which we “fix” baseball not merely by limiting mound visits or even instituting pitch clocks but by revolutionizing the game's competitive structure …

It's time for the Mets to part ways with Matt Harvey  —  Let's be honest, the only reason Matt Harvey is still a Met is that Jeff Wilpon can't bear the thought of releasing the former star pitcher and then seeing him come back to life across town as a Yankee.  —  What else could it be at this point?

White Sox's Joakim Soria says he won't let blown save have negative affect on him  —  White Sox starter Lucas Giolito discusses convincing manager Rick Renteria to keep him in the game against the Cardinals on Wednesday, May 2, 2018.  (Paul Sullivan/Chicago Tribune)  —  Chicago Tribune

Week Ahead: Beware of Shark  —  Several times in the early season we've looked at velocity readings.  Continuing with that theme, there's reason to be very concerned about Jeff Samardzija.  —  I was one of many very high on the Giants starter entering the season based on his elite control and ERA metrics from 2017.

Rivalry on the field more intense for Cardinals now that Cubs rule NL Central  —  Emily White, a Cardinals fan, and Corbin McCall, a Cubs fan, both from Monticello, Illinois, arrive at Busch Stadium on Monday, Sept. 25, 2017, for the first game of the Cardinals' final home stand of the regular season.

Yankees, Mets learning the hard lesson that you can never have too many pitchers  —  Wise old Gabe Paul, the longtime baseball executive and architect of the 1976-78 Yankee championship teams, was famous for his many sayings; some of them — like “it's not the hole in the donut but the whole donut” — were real head-scratchers.

Trade Machado now, tracking aces and MLB's next big thing  —  When does reality become reality?  —  No, I'm not trying to pose a “Matrix"-style riddle here.  That was the question that popped in my mind when Orioles general manager Dan Duquette told the Baltimore Sun …

Short hits two homers as Tennessee tops Birmingham 8-5  —  KODAK, Tenn. (AP) — Zack Short hit a pair of homers, leading the Tennessee Smokies to an 8-5 win over the Birmingham Barons on Thursday.  —  Jeffrey Baez and Jason Vosler also homered for the Smokies.