Fatherhood leads me to Red Sox, being a Yankees traitor  —  There's no point being in denial about my unanticipated baseball transformation, Benedict Arnold-ish as it may seem to a lot of people.  —  I blame being a father for the weird loyalty switch of going from the most diehard …

Means leads Orioles past Blue Jays 4-2 in series opener  —  John Means tied a season-high with seven strikeouts and the  —  Baltimore Orioles took the series opener from the  —  Toronto Blue Jays 4-2 on Tuesday night.  —  Means (6-4) allowed one run on four hits with three walks over five innings and lowered his ERA to 2.60.

Cardinals notebook: Redbirds can pick up ground with softer schedule  —  MIAMI — It starts now for the Cardinals.  It has to.  With the Cardinals playing the last-place Marlins seven times in 11 days, the Cards are in the midst of what could be the least-challenging part of their schedule.

Fan struck by foul ball in Chicago out of hospital  —  CHICAGO — The woman struck by a foul ball during Monday night's game at Guaranteed Rate Field was treated at a nearby hospital and released Tuesday morning, according to a Chicago White Sox spokesman.  —  The unidentified woman was sitting …

Keep calm and mash: How the relaxed Twins are rewriting HR-hitting history  —  On Sunday, Nelson Cruz homered again.  It was his fourth straight game in which he went yard, in his first five games back from the injured list.  No big deal for a guy who came into this season with 203 home runs over the previous five seasons, right?

Detroit Tigers' injured starting pitchers set back, rotation still in flux  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Ron Gardenhire pulled out a binder.  —  It was Tuesday afternoon and time for another edition of injury updates, or, as Gardenhire also referred to them as, “Down-dates.”

Pence hits inside-the-park HR, Rangers beat Red Sox 9-5  —  BOSTON (AP) — Hunter Pence hit a stand-up, inside-the-park home run and the Texas Rangers beat the Boston Red Sox 9-5 Tuesday night after both managers were ejected.  —  Ariel Jurado (4-2) struck out six while pitching six innings …

Astros 10, Brewers 8: Houston roughs up starter Freddy Peralta and hangs on to capture slugfest  —  HOUSTON - Freddy Peralta's search for consistency remains an elusive one.  —  As he has done throughout the season, Peralta followed a good outing with a bad outing Tuesday night …

How to tell when a pitcher is about to bring the heat  —  It's usually a big moment in the game if Andrew Miller is pitching, and April 21, 2018, was no exception.  Miller was protecting a one-run Indians lead in the eighth inning, with two runners on and two men out.

Giants take late lead, hang on to beat Padres  —  Evan Longoria's two-run, go-ahead double in the seventh inning allowed the host San Francisco Giants to survive a crazy play that saw them surrender two runs earlier in the game en route to a 6-5 win over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night.

Pete Alonso right at home in Subway Series pressure cooker  —  Pete Alonso's indoctrination into the Subway Series wouldn't have been complete without a jog around the bases Tuesday.  —  Add Yankee Stadium to the list of launch sites for the Mets rookie, who homered in the first inning in Game 2 of the split doubleheader.

Braves recall Minter, put him back in closer's mix  —  ATLANTA — A.J. Minter is back with the Atlanta Braves after a five-week stay at Triple-A Gwinnett, getting a chance to reclaim the job he lost as closer.  —  Atlanta recalled Minter on Tuesday to add another arm to its uncertain bullpen …

Yes, that's Rays' Yonny Chirinos among AL pitching leaders  —  Chirinos goes into Wednesday action among AL's best at 7-2, 2.87.  Also, Wendle update, Choi success, more draft news.  —  ST. PETERSBURG — Yonny Chirinos doesn't get a lot of attention.  Heck, he doesn't even get to start every game he pitches.