Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado arrived loudly Monday night, blasting a two-run homer in the second inning off Rangers starter Martin Perez to run his hit streak to 25 games.

Mike Matheny made a number of lineup changes for Sunday night’s game, none more important than moving Yadier Molina up from fifth to second. Molina started the game 0-for-4 but came through with the go-ahead two-run single with two outs in the ninth inning in the Cardinals’ 5-4 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs and Cardinals were each successful on replay challenges at first base in Sunday night’s series finale at Wrigley Field.

Human nature, Rangers manager Ron Washington called it. Prince Fielder nodded, knowing precisely what his boss meant. Fielder has struggled to start the season, but he is finding himself, and his swing, again with the Rangers.

Bud Black’s second successful challenge on Sunday proved to be an especially crucial one. After already having a call at first base overturned in the seventh inning, Black challenged a ruling at first that Cameron Maybin had not beaten the throw on a slow grounder to open the ninth. The play was reversed and Maybin later scored the game-winning run as the Padres prevailed, 4-3, over Arizona in walk-off fashion to snap a four-game losing streak.

Dillon Gee pitched into the seventh and threw a season-high 113 pitches Sunday as the Mets beat the Rockies 5-1 to avoid being swept in a four-game series at Coors Field.

Reds right fielder Jay Bruce was scratched from Sunday’s lineup due to left knee soreness. Chris Heisey replaced Bruce in right field and batted in the cleanup spot.

With slumping hitters coming alive all through the lineup, Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish finally received plenty of run support. It just took him a couple of innings to figure out what to do with it as the Rangers crushed the Angels, 14-3, on Sunday afternoon.

Todd Frazier’s two-out double drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning on Sunday as Cincinnati outlasted Milwaukee, 4-3, at Great American Ball Park.

Matt Cain has been placed on the 15-day disabled list, and the Giants will recall Jake Dunning from Triple-A Fresno.

Excitement over Jaime Garcia’s first rehab start quickly turned into concern Sunday afternoon after Garcia was hit in the left elbow by a pitch in his second-inning at-bat and was removed from the game.

A’s outfielder Josh Reddick exited Sunday’s 3-2 extra-inning win in Boston after nine innings because of a sprained left ankle he sustained running out of the box.

Roberto Hernandez tossed 7 1/3 shutout innings and the bullpen closed out the win as the Phillies took the series finale, 1-0, against the Nationals on Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.

Who ya got in the National League East? Go ahead and check out the standings. Take all the time you need. If you’re looking for baseball’s craziest division race, you’ve come to the right place.

Justin Verlander went 5 2/3 innings before yielding a hit, while Nick Castellanos’ early homer helped the Tigers roll to a 9-4 win over the Royals on Sunday for their fifth straight victory and a series sweep.

When circumstances become more difficult for the Athletics, they respond in a very interesting way: They play better. This quality was on display on Sunday on a windy afternoon at Fenway Park, as the A’s defeated the Red Sox, 3-2, in 10 innings. But this quality has basically been on display with the Oakland club for the last two-plus seasons.

Brandon Crawford’s two-run, eighth-inning homer on Sunday sealed his first career multihomer game along with the Giants’ 4-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves.