Ryan Braun delivered two key late-inning home runs to back up a quality start by Jimmy Nelson, leading the Brewers to an 8-4 win over the Pirates on Friday night at PNC Park.

Rick Porcello worked around a pair of home runs by Edwin Encarnacion en route to a strong start that led the Red Sox to a 5-3 victory over the Blue Jays in the opener of a four-game series on Friday night at Fenway Park.

Houston’s win on Friday not only snapped the Astros’ three-game skid and the Tigers’ three-game win streak, it extended Dallas Keuchel’s home winning streak to 17 games dating back to his final start of the 2014 season.

Kiké Hernandez homered twice and doubled while driving in four runs for the Dodgers off San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner, who lost the latest showdown with Clayton Kershaw, 7-3, on Jackie Robinson Day on Friday at Dodger Stadium.

When trying to answer the question why the Rangers extended Adrian Beltre’s contract, a deal that will take him to nearly 40 years old in 2018, it’s simple: They couldn’t picture the team without him.

Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval will get a second opinion on his ailing left shoulder from Dr. James Andrews on Monday.

Starlin Castro has fewer than 50 games as a second baseman to his name, but plays like the one he made Friday night during a 7-1 loss to the Mariners make it look like he’s been at the position his entire life.

Every team in Major League Baseball celebrated Jackie Robinson Day on April 15, but it was Robinson’s own team that welcomed his family and honored a long-held dream of his in a ceremony recognizing of one of the most important figures in both baseball and civil rights history.

The Twins rallied for two runs in the seventh before Byung Ho Park put in them in front with an RBI double in the eighth in a 5-4 win over the Angels on Friday night at Target Field.

Buck Showalter has been impressed with what little he’s seen of Mark Trumbo, who homered twice more on Friday night to give him five in his past five games.

One of the biggest questions surrounding the Cardinals in the offseason was: Would there be enough power? For at least one night, the offense emphatically answered yes.

By the end of his dominant night, White Sox left-hander Chris Sale faced reporters at his locker with someone suggesting that he could have completed his best game of the season.

The Twins and Braves posted their first victories of the season on Friday night, and history does provide an example that could stir some hopes for a significant turnaround.

Dallas Keuchel pitched eight scoreless innings to stymie the American League’s highest-scoring team, helping the Astros beat the Tigers, 1-0, at Minute Maid Park on Friday. Detroit’s Mike Pelfrey took the loss despite allowing just one run in six solid frames.

Working off the strength of three RBIs from Chris Iannetta, the Mariners snagged the opener of this weekend’s three-game tilt versus the Yankees, 7-1.

In the top of the fourth of a scoreless game between the Rays and White Sox Friday night, Tampa Bay center fielder Kevin Kiermaier and second baseman Logan Forsythe were involved in an ugly head-to-head collision tracking a fly ball in shallow right field.

Tim Lincecum has yet to find a new team, and his potential return date remains a mystery.