A’s manager Bob Melvin used a challenge successfully early in Thursday’s game against the Yankees after a review overturned Jacoby Ellsbury’s home run in the first inning.

The Twins selected Florida high school shortstop Nick Gordon, the son of former pitcher Tom Gordon and brother of Dodgers second baseman Dee Gordon, with the fifth overall pick in the First-Year Player Draft on Thursday night.

He is one of the best-hitting catchers in baseball history and a top-of-the-list Hall of Fame candidate, but Mike Piazza doesn’t know what it’s like. He’s a 284-game winner who was enshrined in Cooperstown in 1991, but Fergie Jenkins never had the experience of being picked in the first round, either.

For the 28th game, the Nationals scored four or more runs. And for the 26th time in those 28 contests, Washington earned a victory, defeating Philadelphia, 4-2, at Nationals Park on Thursday afternoon behind more timely hitting and solid pitching.

Masahiro Tanaka fired six strong innings after yielding an early homer and Brett Gardner belted a decisive jack in the third to help the Yankees post a 2-1 win over the A’s on Thursday.

A solid start from J.A. Happ and three home runs helped lead the Blue Jays to a 7-3 win over the Tigers on Thursday, Toronto’s first sweep in Detroit in 11 years. Juan Francisco and Brett Lawrie went back-to-back in a big sixth inning, and Melky Cabrera hit a solo shot.

Carlos Rodon, the 6-foot-3, 235-pound left-handed throwing standout from North Carolina State, was selected No. 3 overall by the White Sox in the first round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft on Thursday.

Pitcher Tanner Scheppers had been sidelined since April 18 with inflammation in his right elbow. To make room, the Rangers optioned pitcher Aaron Poreda back to Triple A Round Rock.

Angels outfielder Mike Trout returned to the starting lineup Thursday night after missing three of the last four games with stiffness in his upper back.

Mark Appel, the top overall pick by the Astros in last year’s First-Year Player Draft, was scratched from his scheduled start Thursday for Class A Lancaster after developing tendinitis in his right thumb, general manager Jeff Luhnow said.

Two hours before the First-Year Player Draft begins at 7 p.m. ET, there still was no word that the Astros had made any final decisions regarding the No. 1 overall pick. That’s par for the course, because that’s exactly what happened the previous two years when Houston also had the top selection.

This is it, the last crack at projection the first round of the 2014 Draft. With still no real clarity about who the Houston Astros are going to take at the top, it’s tough, not just for us prognosticators, but also for the teams picking behind them, to line things up.

Madison Bumgarner picked up where he left off after a memorable May and Michael Morse and Brandon Crawford hit home runs Thursday afternoon as San Francisco wrapped up its road trip with a 6-1 win and a rare series victory in Cincinnati.

The Cubs are waiting for the city of Chicago Landmarks Commission to set a date to review the revised Wrigley Field renovation plans with hopes they can break ground on the project this summer.

Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper (torn left thumb ligament) confirmed Thursday that there is no set timetable for his return. Manager Matt Williams said Wednesday he hopes for a July 1 return for Harper, but the 21-year-old slugger is not as set on any specific date.

They are seven prep prospects with a dream, and they are living it, taking in the sights and sounds of New York before attending the 2014 First-Year Player Draft.

Carlos Beltran returned to the Yankees lineup on Thursday — hitting fifth as the designated hitter vs. the A’s — after a successful rehab stint in Tampa, Fla. To make room on the roster, Scott Sizemore was designated for assignment.