Diamondbacks' Yoshihisa Hirano riding splitter to big-league success  —  With the game on the line at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night, Diamondbacks reliever Yoshihisa Hirano went to the pitch he taught himself to throw as a young pitcher in Japan more than a decade ago.  Over and over, Hirano fired splitters.

Phillies demote Zac Curtis, going with right-handed pitchers only  —  PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies have demoted their only left-handed pitcher, optioning reliever Zac Curtis to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and recalling right-hander Jake Thompson.  —  The move Thursday left the Phillies with 13 right-handed pitchers on the 25-man roster.

Pham returns to the lineup, but former Padre Gyorko does not  —  SAN DIEGO  • If there was one bat, one hitter, one Cardinal that the San Diego Padres were braced to see early and often during this four-day visit to Petco Park, it was the one they knew best.

David Price expects to be OK for Saturday start vs. Blue Jays  —  Boston Red Sox left-handed pitcher David Price says he expects to start Saturday against the Blue Jays in Toronto.  —  “I'm pitching for the rest of the season,” he told reporters at Yankee Stadium before Thursday night's game against the Yankees.

Reds Promote Nick Krall To General Manager  —  The Reds announced this afternoon that assistant general manager Nick Krall has been named the club's new general manager.  President of baseball operations Dick Williams will continue to oversee the club's entire baseball operations department, per the announcement.

Evan Longoria suggests it might be best for Rays to move, and maybe not to Tampa  —  One of the greatest players in Tampa Bay Rays history is no fan of the only place the franchise has called home.  And he suggests it might be time to move.  —  Evan Longoria spent the first 10 seasons …

Matt Harvey's fresh start with the Cincinnati Reds will start with a start Friday  —  LOS ANGELES — The Reds were vague about their plans for Matt Harvey after trading for him.  They cleared that up in a big way Thursday.  —  Harvey will start Friday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers here.

MLB Hires Chris Young As VP Of On-Field Operations  —  Former MLB hurler Chris Young has joined Major League Baseball as vice president of on-field operations, initiatives, and strategy, per a league announcement.  It seems fair to presume, then, that his playing days are over.

Orioles Notes: Machado, Brach, O'Day, Vielma  —  In his latest Inside Baseball notes column, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports writes that while many expect the Orioles to focus on pitching help in the seemingly inevitable event that they shop Manny Machado to contending clubs …

Column: Sorry White Sox fans, but there's no guarantee your rebuild will turn out like the Cubs'  —  Cubs' Anthony Rizzo on upcoming series vs. the White Sox: “You can't take them for granted.”  (Mark Gonzales/Chicago Tribune)  —  Chicago Tribune  —  As James Shields looked around …

Gonzalez hits grand slam, leads Augusta over Rome  —  NORTH AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Jacob Gonzalez hit a grand slam in the seventh inning, leading the Augusta GreenJackets to a 15-1 win over the Rome Braves on Thursday.  The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the GreenJackets and a three-game winning streak for the Braves.

Mendoza, Fiedler lead Palm Beach to 7-5 win over Bradenton  —  BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Evan Mendoza hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning, and Matt Fiedler hit a two-run home run and had two hits as the Palm Beach Cardinals defeated the Bradenton Marauders 7-5 on Thursday.

Rays calling up LHP Anthony Banda  —  Left-hander Anthony Banda, the promising prospect acquired from Arizona in the Steven Souza Jr. trade, has been called up, the Times has learned.It was not immediately clear if he would be added to t

Nationals' Adam Eaton has ankle surgery, no return timetable  —  PHOENIX (AP) — Washington Nationals center fielder Adam Eaton had surgery on his troublesome left ankle Thursday with no timetable given for his return.  —  The arthroscopic surgery was performed in Green Bay by the Packers' orthopedist …

Franco scores winning run in 10th, St. Lucie beats Lakeland 4-3 in walk-off finish  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — J.J. Franco scored the winning run on a wild pitch with one out in the 10th inning, as the St. Lucie Mets beat the Lakeland Flying Tigers 4-3 on Thursday.

Albies hits a slam, Braves roll past Marlins 9-2  —  Ozzie Albies hit Atlanta's first grand slam of the season to highlight a seven-run sixth inning,  —  Freddie Freeman had a career-high five hits and the NL East-leading  —  Miami Marlins 9-2 on Thursday night.

Rafael Palmeiro, 53, singles in first action with independent team  —  CLEBURNE, Texas — Rafael Palmeiro isn't playing for a minor league team at age 53 just so he can be teammates with his son.  —  Palmeiro said he knows there are people who think he has lost his mind …