Yankees slugger Aaron Judge injures side during win over Royals  —  All-Star slugger Aaron Judge hurt his left oblique while taking a swing and likely was headed to the injured list as the already banged-up New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 9-2 Saturday.

Chris Flexen gets roughed up as Mets get crushed by Cardinals, 10-2  —  ST. LOUIS — Miles Mikolas tossed eight stellar innings and also drove in two runs, leading the St. Louis Cardinals over the New York Mets 10-2 on Saturday.  —  Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter left the game after the sixth inning with a bruised left knee.

Corey Kluber, Indians down Atlanta Braves 8-4 in opener of doubleheader  —  Max Moroff homered and had two RBIs for Cleveland, which won its fourth straight.  —  CLEVELAND (AP) — Corey Kluber bounced back from one of his worst outings in recent years by working seven innings …

Amid plunking debate, MLB's marketing is all-in on bat flips  —  NEW YORK (AP) — When Tim Anderson spiked his bat and yelled toward his White Sox teammates, Major League Baseball's self-described “spicy” Twitter account was among the first to weigh in.  —  “LET THE KIDS PLAY,” proclaimed @Cut4 …

Arizona Diamondbacks jump on Yu Darvish early in win over Chicago Cubs 6-0  —  CHICAGO — Zack Greinke pitched three-hit ball over six innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks supported him with three home runs in a 6-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.

Marlins offense comes up big against Max Scherzer to clinch series over the Nationals  —  This is the offense the Miami Marlins have been looking for.  —  String together quality at-bats.  Scratch home a few runs.  Be tough outs at the plate.  Be aggressive on the basepaths.

Collision sends Pirates' Marte, Gonzalez to IL  —  PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Starling Marte and shortstop Erik Gonzalez's full-speed collision in the outfield on Friday night sent both players to the injured list.  —  Marte will be out at least 10 days while recovering …

DeGrom (elbow) tosses day after IL, MRI planned  —  Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom says his elbow felt better Saturday, one day after the team had said he would return to New York for an MRI.  —  Manager Mickey Callaway said deGrom now may not need to have the MRI, but will be checked …

FANTASY FARE: Struggling rotation aces starting to come around  —  This particular column is all about pitching.  Bad pitching.  Lots of it, and from good pitchers.  If you're befuddled by how poorly your ace is pitching so far, join the club.  We've talked about Chris Sale's ugly …

Fifth-inning implosion costs Braves in Game 1 of doubleheader  —  Julio Teheran, who outpitched his numbers through four starts, certainly didn't do so Saturday.  —  In Teheran's most erratic showing of the season, a couple of struggling Indians made him pay, resulting in an 8-4 Braves' loss in Game 1 of a doubleheader.

Hitting .239 with 1 home run, Kris Bryant is staying calm while the madness swirls around him: 'I've been down this road'  —  Photos from the Cubs' 6-0 loss to the Diamondbacks on Saturday afternoon, April 20, 2019 at Wrigley Field.  —  Chicago Tribune  —  After a gale wind caught a popup …

Diamondbacks' Blake Swihart could spell starters on outfield corners  —  CHICAGO - Blake Swihart, acquired in a trade on Friday with the Boston Red Sox, isn't expected to join the team until Monday in Pittsburgh, but Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo already has some ideas of how he plans to use him.