Familiar Forces: Pham scores twice, Mikolas makes that enough in 2-1 win vs. Padres  —  SAN DIEGO  • As much as the Cardinals have been waiting for some of their stalwarts to halt their struggles and catch fire, they remain in first place as Mother's Day approaches because of a trio of constants they've been able to count on.

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Washington Nationals … Things got weird for “The Beard” on Saturday night.  —  Brought in to replace a dominating Zack Greinke with nobody out and a runner at second in the seventh inning, Diamondbacks relief ace Archie Bradley couldn't bail out Arizona's starting ace …

Baseball roundup: Albies hits grand slam as Braves beat Marlins  —  Albies, Freeman key Braves' rout of Marlins  —  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 Braves beat the Marlins 9-2 in Miami on Thursday night.

Evan Longoria: Rays might be better off leaving Tampa Bay  —  PHILADELPHIA — At a critical juncture when Rays, business and government leaders are trying to secure the long term future of baseball in the Tampa Bay area by building a new stadium, the greatest player in franchise history said they may be wasting their time.

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.

Martinez homers, Red Sox rebound to cool off Yankees, 5-4  —  Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts, left, center fielder Mookie Betts, center, and right fielder J.D. Martinez celebrate after the Red Sox defeated the New York Yankees 5-4 in a baseball game in New York, Thursday, May 10, 2018.

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 …

Gabe Kapler's young Phillies unfazed by deficits and difficult defeats  —  This was another test of the Phillies' emergency downcast system.  Four days earlier, they dressed quietly in the visiting clubhouse at Nationals Park after watching what would have been their best win of the season dissolve into their worst loss.

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 …

White Sox reliever Danny Farquhar says ‘thank you’ to fans in Instagram post  —  White Sox reliever Nate Jones discusses seeing fellow reliever Danny Farquhar in the clubhouse again on Tuesday, May 8, 2018.  (Teddy Greenstein/Chicago Tribune)  —  Chicago Tribune

MLB hires former pitcher Chris Young for executive role  —  NEW YORK — Former pitcher Chris Young has been hired by Major League Baseball as an executive.  —  Young's title will be Vice President, On-Field Operations, Initiatives & Strategy.  The move was announced Thursday, and Young will begin Monday.

Gonzalez, Long lead the way for Pensacola  —  BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Luis Gonzalez doubled twice and singled, driving in two runs as the Pensacola Blue Wahoos beat the Birmingham Barons 6-2 on Thursday.  The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Blue Wahoos and a three-game winning streak for the Barons.

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

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.

Brusa, Franco lift San Jose over Modesto in a 13-7 slugfest  —  MODESTO, Calif. (AP) — Gio Brusa homered, doubled and singled, driving in four runs and scoring a pair as the San Jose Giants topped the Modesto Nuts 13-7 on Thursday.  —  Wander Franco doubled twice and singled with three runs and two RBIs for San Jose.

Jose Berrios struggles again as Twins' five-game winning streak ends with loss to Angels  —  Twins erased a 4-0 deficit, but that didn't last long.  —  TEXT SIZE  —  ANAHEIM, CALIF. - Jose Berrios wasn't sizzling, he was surviving.  —  He was stung a couple times Thursday night …

Castellanos, Greene emerge as leaders in Tigers' clubhouse  —  Albert Pujols picked up his 3,000th hit on May 4.  Which active player will be the next one to reach the milestone?  Video by Ryan Ford/DFP Wochit  —  CONNECT  —  It's become a familiar sight with the Detroit Tigers this season …