Yanks' new strikeout king?  Severino chases Louisiana Lightning  —  NEW YORK — It was the day Bucky Dent became a household name.  —  Still, the shortstop's three-run, go-ahead homer over the Green Monster in a single-game playoff with the Boston Red Sox wasn't the only performance …

Marquez pitches Rockies to 3-1 win over Dodgers  —  LOS ANGELES (AP) A fist pump and a late fastball on the cusp of 100 mph was all the indication needed to know just how good German Marquez felt Saturday.  —  He pitched two-hit ball over eight innings and Ian Desmond homered as the Colorado Rockies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1.

Royals face Mariners thankful dismal June is over  —  With apologies to Little Orphan Annie, the sun'll come out today.  —  Considering the month the Kansas City Royals just went through, and that they're currently in often-overcast Seattle, that was no guarantee.

Giants, Diamondbacks in good spot despite injuries  —  PHOENIX — As the second half of the season commences, both Arizona and San Francisco have reasons to feel confident as they prepare for the third game of a three-game weekend series Sunday.  —  Both are nearing full health …

Rangers Reaction: Growing group believes Beltre would nix a trade  —  ARLINGTON  —  Just think: In less than two years the Texas Rangers won't have to worry about how to juggle the Fox Sports broadcast window and the sizzling summer heat.  —  The Rangers and Chicago White Sox played …

Cubs' Lester tries to stay hot versus Twins  —  CHICAGO — Jon Lester may be having the best season of his career and the timing couldn't have been better for the Chicago Cubs.  —  While the starting rotation has experienced its share of issues and the Cubs have struggled to find consistency, Lester has been more than steady.

Rays hope to ride Snell's pace vs. Astros  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays were a wobbly 34-40 on June 20, but have pitched their way back to .500 mostly without true starting pitchers.  —  On Saturday, five relievers combined to outduel Justin Verlander in a 5-2 victory …

Nolan Arenado is tired of losing.  Will he have to leave the Rockies to win?  —  SAN FRANCISCO - While the baseball world laments not seeing the game's greatest player perform on the biggest stage in October, forgotten is that Mike Trout actually once played in the postseason.

Reds pitcher Michael Lorenzen hits homer in third straight at-bat  —  Pitcher Michael Lorezen now has three homer runs in his last three at-bats for the Cincinnati Reds.  —  He continued the swat streak during the Reds 12-3 win against the Milwaukee Brewers Saturday at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

Jacob deGrom now slumping as Mets fall into NL basement  —  MIAMI — This constitutes a slump for the Mets' best pitcher.  —  Jacob deGrom was rolling, providing a typical deGrom-like performance when the sixth inning hit Saturday at Marlins Park.  Suddenly, the ace right-hander “hit a wall” and stopped getting outs.

Olney: Contenders consider buying low, buying late  —  BRONX, N.Y. — More than a handful of teams benefitted last winter from slow-playing the free-agent market and waiting for the asking prices to fall inevitably.  This is how the Phillies landed Jake Arrieta on a three-year contract …

Tigers face Blue Jays, hope to snap nasty skid  —  TORONTO — The Detroit Tigers will be trying to avoid making more history Sunday afternoon when they face the Toronto Blue Jays on Canada Day at the Rogers Centre.  —  After Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak smacked a 1- fastball …

DRAFT MLB Strategy: Sunday  —  Building a team on DRAFT's DFS platform is an excellent way to make the action even more exciting than just following your favorite team.  If you aren't familiar with DRAFT, it's an innovative DFS game with a live draft feature — instead of building within a salary cap …