What does being in first place on June 1 mean?  —  As baseball enters June, the Red Sox, Indians, Astros, Braves, Brewers and Rockies might feel like they're sitting pretty, holding the division lead as the season enters the summer months.  —  But the longevity of that divisional prowess is not a given.

Cardinals notebook: Martinez goes four innings for Springfield  —  Carlos Martinez, who last pitched for the Cardinals on May 8 when he sustained a strained right lat, took what is presumed to be his last step toward rejoining the club when he worked four innings at Class AA Springfield Thursday night …

Next Slide  —  It was, in a word, impressive.  —  Most series wins are for the Detroit Tigers.  But this one, over a team considered to be one of the top-heavy American League's best, in a four-game set, counted as their most impressive of the season.  —  The Tigers — without Miguel Cabrera …

Nola shuts down Dodgers as Phillies spoil Kershaws return  —  Aaron Nola pitched seven innings of two-hit ball and the  —  Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 Thursday, spoiling  —  Clayton Kershaw's first start in almost a month.  —  Hitting out of the No. 8 spot in the Phillies' lineup …

Baseball roundup: Newcomb dazzles as Braves beat Nats  —  Sean Newcomb pitched seven strong innings for his sixth straight win, leading the Atlanta Braves back into first place with a 4-2 victory over the visiting Washington Nationals on Thursday night.  —  In the start of a four-game series between …

Karablog: What to do with Clayton Kershaw  —  The only thing that seems to be able to derail Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw, other than the occasional October outing, as one is certainly obligated to point out, is injury.  The team's ace — or is that Ross Stripling now? …

Mets' bullpen spoils strong outing by Seth Lugo in 5-1 loss to Cubs  —  NEW YORK - Point to the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's...  A home run given up by Hansel Robles.  —  The Mets' reliever has a habit of doing this.  He often has trouble differentiating between a fly ball and a home run.

Cruz homer sparks Mariners to 6-1 win over Rangers  —  SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners have been waiting for Nelson Cruz to get going.  They have been waiting for Dee Gordon to return from the disabled list.  And they had been waiting for a victory after two losses at home.

Lindor's pair of homers leads Indians past Twins 9-8  —  MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins were surging into the eighth inning after erasing Cleveland's eight-run lead, chasing what would have been a club-record comeback.  —  Ah, but Francisco Lindor still had another at-bat, and that's all the Indians needed to regain control.

Ten players who should be first-time All-Stars  —  Not only has Major League Baseball welcomed wave after wave of young, exciting talent into its player ranks in recent seasons, but science and technology advances — combined with testing conventional thinking — are allowing more veteran players to remake and improve themselves.

Vlad Jr. fever, the clutch factor and MLB's next big thing  —  The baseball world waits impatiently for the arrival of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. With each homer, with each day ending with a batting average north of .400, the impatience grows.  Yet the Toronto Blue Jays make us wait — and that's fine.

Column: Brewers' return to South Side rekindles memories of a once-heated rivalry  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Brewers owner Mark Attanasio tried to prevent Cubs fans from taking over Miller Park this year, approving a presale of tickets to Cubs game to Wisconsin residents only.

Dodgers Rumors: Some Within Organization Believe Cody Bellinger Is Better Suited For Center Field Than First Base  —  Corey Seager's season-ending Tommy John surgery has set off a chain reaction of position changes for the Los Angeles Dodgers.  —  Among those affected include Chris Taylor …

Will a major league team take a chance on Oregon State's Luke Heimlich?  —  On the eve of last year's baseball draft, there was a chill wind.  —  This was not a late injury scaring off a team, or a bonus demand with too many zeroes attached.  This was the sudden revelation …

A by-the-numbers look at the New York Yankees two months into the season  —  BALTIMORE — Tonight, weather permitting of course, the Yankees (35-17) reach the one-third mark of their 2018 season.  —  So, with two months in the books, trailing Boston by 1.5 game in the AL East, here's a brief look at the Yanks' season by the numbers: