Monday’s hard-earned 6-5 triumph over the visiting Reds felt more significant than your usual April affair for the Pirates, if only because this was the first night this season in which Andrew McCutchen, the reigning National League Most Valuable Player Award winner, looked to be in control.

The last time Jose Fernandez faced the Braves, he gave up an Evan Gattis homer and little else in seven strong innings. But the story of the night on Sept. 11, 2013, was Fernandez’s two-run home run off Mike Minor in the sixth. After standing at the plate to admire his shot, the benches cleared.

Ian Kennedy’s last time out, he opened his start with five no-hit innings against the Rockies. On Tuesday, he’ll need that kind of stuff against the team with the best record in baseball. Kennedy makes his fourth start of the season when the Padres face the Brewers and ace Yovani Gallardo at Miller Park.

Down a run and four outs away from being shut out, Erick Aybar tied the game with a single, and Raul Ibanez cleared the bases with a pinch-hit three-run double, leading the Angels to a come-from-behind 4-2 victory at Nationals Park on Monday night.

Neil Walker singled with two outs in the ninth to deliver the tie-breaking run and give the Pirates a 6-5 walk-off over the Reds in front of 12,864 in PNC Park on Monday night.

The Mets peeked back above .500 with a 2-0 win over the Cardinals on Monday, riding Jenrry Mejia’s career-long scoreless innings streak, Travis d’Arnaud’s improved hitting, some sharp defensive plays and Kyle Farnsworth’s first save to a victory at Citi Field.

The must-see high school game of the week, if not the month, takes place on Thursday when Lee’s Summit (Mo.) West High visits Lawrence (Kan.) High in the opening round of the River City Baseball Tournament.

Hard as it may be to believe, NCAA Division I’s strikeout leader has a fastball that sits around 90-91 mph and lacks an above-average secondary pitch. Neverthless, hitters struggle to make contact against Cal Poly left-hander Matt Imhof.

North Carolina’s coaching staff persuaded Stone Bridge High (Ashburn, Va.) right-hander J.B. Bukauskas to reclassify last summer, so he could graduate early this June and become a Tar Heel a year ahead of schedule. But with the way he has thrown this spring as a junior-turned-senior, he may never set foot on campus.

Left-hander Chris Sale, who threw a career-high 127 pitches against Boston on Thursday, is headed to the 15-day disabled list with a flexor muscle strain.

Mike Trout and Bryce Harper may be inextricably linked, now and for some time to come, as phenoms of the same generation. But they are distinctly different people.

Astros owner Jim Crane, whose freight and shipping business has one of its 100 offices in Seattle, was at Safeco Field for Monday’s game against the Mariners and spoke on a variety of topics.

Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw will throw a bullpen session on Tuesday that will set him up to begin a Minor League rehab assignment Friday.

The Astros enjoyed all the laughs in their first meeting of the season against the Mariners on Monday, getting a two-run homer from Matt Dominguez and a solid performance from starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel to snap a seven-game losing streak with a 7-2 victory.

The Red Sox and Orioles did themselves proud on this Patriots’ Day, folks. Take a bow, fellas. Nice job all around. The O’s won it, 7-6, in front of a packed house of 37,513 at Fenway Park, but given how the Red Sox fought and clawed back from a 6-0 deficit, given how Red Sox Nation has a month’s worth of storylines to digest, there surely won’t be much disappointment.

Astros right-hander Scott Feldman was placed on the 15-day disabled list with biceps tendinitis, general manager Jeff Luhnow said Monday.

Aroldis Chapman, who is trying to return from being hit in the face by a line drive last month, could likely throw live batting practice to hitters as soon as Wednesday at PNC Park.