Cubs' Hendricks looks to pull plug on Dodgers' power  —  LOS ANGELES — At 48 home runs this month and counting, the Los Angeles Dodgers are closing in fast on a franchise record that, while impressive, has not been around all that long.  —  In June of last season, buoyed by the arrival …

Yankees' Luis Severino powers his way to 12th win, tops in majors  —  PHILADELPHIA — New York Yankees starter Luis Severino employed an electrifying array of triple-digit pitches Tuesday night to overpower the Phillies on his way to sole possession of the league lead in pitchers' wins.

Every general manager's No. 1 priority for the second half  —  No MLB team can afford to take a year off.  Whether they are contenders, a year or two away, or heading downhill in need of a rebuild, all teams must work to further their goals.  With inaction not being a reasonable option …

The best pitching performance ever for all 30 teams  —  On May 4, Gerrit Cole pitched one of the best games you will ever see.  He fired a 16-strikeout shutout against the Diamondbacks, allowing just one hit and one walk.  As a remarkable side note, Cole didn't strike any batters …

Rockies' Freeland tries to continue mastery of Giants  —  SAN FRANCISCO — One hot pitcher and one who hopes he's heating up go head-to-head Wednesday night when the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants continue their three-game series.  —  The Giants outlasted the Rockies in a pitchers' duel …

Arizona Diamondbacks at Miami Marlins … MIAMI - It seems that opponents facing Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Godley must have seen the 2012 Clint Eastwood movie, “Trouble with the Curve,” because he continued to tantalize NL batters with his trademark spiked-curveball in a 5-3 victory over Miami Tuesday night.

Carpenter homers twice, Cards chase Kluber to thump Indians  —  Matt Carpenter homered twice, matched a career best with five hits and helped chase  —  Corey Kluber in the shortest start of the right-hander's career in the  —  St. Louis Cardinals' 11-2 victory over the  —  Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.

What happens as baseball players age?  —  23.  —  There are two outs, the bases are empty and the batter is 23.  —  He is, as he steps into the batter's box, the most exciting player in baseball.  As a rookie, he has hit a ball 513 feet in batting practice, thrown a pitch 102.5 mph …

Wait ... Matt Kemp is a star again?  —  In his book, “Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame?” in 1995, Bill James gave us the Keltner List — 15 questions meant to aid the thought process while evaluating the Hall of Fame worthiness of a player.  The first question, and perhaps the most well known …

Astros Balls & Strikes: Jake Marisnick rakes and takes away  —  Takeaways from the Astros' 7-0 win Tuesday over the Blue Jays:  —  The Catch: Judging by the pitchfork-wielding mob of Astros Twitter, Jake Marisnick is the most infuriating player for fans to watch this season.

Braves' organist trolls Reds' Matt Harvey with ‘New York, New York’ and ‘Party All the Time’  —  The Atlanta Braves' organist strikes again.  —  Matthew Kaminski, the fan favorite who once played “Lady Madonna” for Alex Rodriguez (when he was dating Madonna) and “Puff the Magic Dragon” …

Jayson Werth To Retire  —  Veteran outfielder Jayson Werth tells Jon Heyman of Fancred Sports that he will retire.  He had been with the Mariners organization on a minor-league deal.  —  Though Werth declined to describe the situation in precisely those terms, he told Heyman: “I'm done ... whatever you want to call it.”

Cubs' Jon Lester knows Dodgers lurk in postseason  —  Cubs starter Jon Lester discusses his start against the Dodgers on Tuesday, June 27, 2018.  (Mark Gonzales/Chicago Tribune)  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Jon Lester wanted to pitch longer than five innings Tuesday night …

Frank Thomas, Jack McDowell, Bo Jackson and Tim Raines headline 1993 White Sox reunion  —  Former White Sox players Frank Thomas, from left, Bo Jackson and Tim Raines will be among a group that will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 1993 division champions.  (James C. Svehla / For the Chicago Tribune)

Cubs first-round pick Nico Hoerner shines in pro debut; Cole Roederer signs  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Tuesday marked a promising day for the Cubs' future.  —  Nico Hoerner, the Cubs' first-round pick in the June draft, went 2-for-3 with a triple and three runs in his professional debut in the Arizona League.

Enyel De Los Santos: A bulldog of a pitcher at triple-A  —  ALLENTOWN — Lehigh Valley righthander Enyel De Los Santos has made a favorable impression on the Phillies organization since being traded from San Diego for shortstop Freddy Galvis in December.  —  The Phillies brass like his command …

Exiled by the Cubs, Sammy Sosa Is Enjoying the Life He Wants You to See  — Twenty years ago he and Mark McGwire juiced baseball with their home run chase—and while we view that era differently now, time has largely healed baseball's PED wounds.  Sosa, though, has been mostly absent …

Phillies' best trade policy is still restrained opportunism |  David Murphy  —  There is a compelling argument for the Phillies to be aggressive at the trade deadline, but it isn't the one that most people are putting forward.  Despite how competitive the Phillies have been this season …