The Tigers capitalized on some sloppy play by the White Sox in a five-run fourth inning and cruised to a 7-1 victory behind Justin Verlander on Friday night in Chicago. Verlander allowed one run on nine hits, striking out eight, over seven innings as Detroit closed the gap on first-place Kansas City to a half-game.

The Cardinals activated Yadier Molina from the disabled list on Friday night, 40 games after a thumb injury that required surgery. He caught all nine innings, went 0-for-3 and received a heartwarming standing ovation from the Busch Stadium crowd.

Yankees center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury injured his left ankle on a play at the plate in Friday’s 6-3 win over the Blue Jays.

Jacoby Ellsbury homered during a five-run seventh inning to power the Yankees to a 6-3 series-opening victory over the division-rival Blue Jays on Friday night at Rogers Centre.

Jorge Soler had two home runs in his third career game and Javier Baez gave the Cubs the lead with a two-run double as Chicago’s rookies stole the spotlight in a 7-2 win over the Cardinals on Friday night in St. Louis.

The Padres honored Greg Maddux on Friday night as San Diego manager Bud Black presented him with a plaque prior to the home game against the Dodgers. Maddux was the 10th player to at least play a portion of his career with the Padres now to have a plaque in the hallowed Hall led by the late Tony Gwynn, the only one in that group to play his entire 20-year career in San Diego.

Chris Davis broke the game open with a grand slam in the fourth inning to lead the Orioles to a 9-1 win over the Twins in the series opener Friday night.

Jason Heyward took advantage of his leadoff role and Justin Upton launched a two-run shot in the Braves’ 5-2 win over the Marlins on Friday night at Turner Field.

Eric Campbell must have been wearing his PF Flyers on Friday night. The Mets utility man, who entered the 4-1 win over the Phillies as a pinch-hitter in the seventh, stole home on a double steal minutes later to cap an eventful go-ahead rally at Citi Field.

Jacob deGrom allowed just an unearned run on four hits over seven stellar innings, and the Mets got a little lucky in the seventh, scoring twice on an error before Eric Campbell swiped home on a double steal in a 4-1 victory over the Phillies on Friday night at Citi Field.

A’s third baseman Josh Donaldson is the highest-rated Wins Above Replacement position player in the Major Leagues, according to Baseball-Reference.com. He is a half-tick higher than Angels center fielder Mike Trout, the two-time reigning American League WAR kingpin.

Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe made history Friday night, as he connected on the 10,000th home run in franchise history in the seventh inning of Minnesota’s 9-1 loss to the Orioles.

After watching Matt Garza face hitters Friday for the first time since the right-hander suffered a rib-cage strain earlier in the month, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke declared, “He’s ready to go.”

Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman had an MRI on Monday and the results yielded good news, according to manager Matt Williams. Zimmerman’s right hamstring is healing nicely. He has already started jogging and has been throwing every other day.

Hyun-Jin Ryu was disabled with a strained right glute muscle and will miss the minimum 15 days. His return, coming one day before rosters expand, will require a corresponding roster move

The Mariners issued a statement regarding an incident involving Mariners national cross-checker Butch Baccala and first baseman Jesus Montero during a Boise Hawks-Everett AquaSox matchup in Boise, Idaho, on Thursday night.

Cubs GM Jed Hoyer repeated Friday that Kris Bryant, the club’s No. 1 prospect, will finish his season at Triple-A Iowa and not be one of the players added when big league rosters expand on Monday.