After twice challenging calls to have instant replay overturn rulings in the Rays’ favor, manager Joe Maddon’s streak ended in the eighth inning on a bang-bang play at first base.

Royals second baseman Omar Infante was undergoing tests to determine if his jaw was broken or if he had a concussion after being hit with a pitch in Monday night’s 4-2 win over the Rays.

The trade that helped both teams is generally more rhetoric than reality. Most trades produce two things: one winner and one loser.
But at Kauffman Stadium this week we have an example of a trade that really did help both clubs. This trade was so good that it deserves a merit badge for making a huge difference in the fortunes of two American League franchises.

With today being the 40th anniversary of Hank Aaron connecting on career homer No. 715 to pass Babe Ruth as the game’s all-time home run leader, Hammerin’ Hank’s former teammate Dusty Baker and former opponents Davey Lopes and Al Downing, who gave up the homer, fondly recall bearing witness to the record-setting event.

Jackie Bradley Jr. hasn’t locked down a permanent spot at Fenway Park just yet, but he made it very easy to envision that scenario with a solid two-way performance while leading the Red Sox to a 5-1 victory.

Brian Wilson on Monday night pitched his second straight scoreless inning in his Minor League rehab assignment with Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga. The Dodgers reliever is eligible to come off the disabled list on April 15.

Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis will have surgery Tuesday to repair a torn cartilage in his left knee, the club announced Monday night.

Yadier Molina energized a sellout crowd with a first-inning, bases-clearing double off lefty Tony Cingrani. Their lead later padded by some necessary insurance scoring in the seventh, the Cardinals treated the largest crowd (47,492) in Busch Stadium III history to a 5-3 victory over the Reds in their home opener.

The A’s sure do like to beat up on the Twins, and this time, they spoiled their home opener. Oakland’s 8-3 series-opening victory at Target Field on Monday was its seventh straight win against Minnesota, and 12th in its last 14 tries.

Don Baylor was getting wheeled into the operating room last Tuesday afternoon, about to undergo the five-hour surgery that would repair a broken right femur, and already the Angels’ hitting coach was bargaining for a shorter recovery time. He has a follow-up doctor’s appointment on Tuesday, and his quest will continue.

The season is only a week old, but the South Florida baseball fans have had plenty to cheer about. The Marlins finished the week sitting atop the National League East thanks to a 5-2 start. They have scored 42 runs already, a mark it took 19 games for them to reach last year, and lead the Majors in runs scored while hitting .294, second to only Colorado.

Another 90 minutes would pass before the Core Four would reassemble one more time on the Yankee Stadium turf that had been their primary stage. It was one level down and back under the third-base stands that Buck Showalter began singing one of his country favorites, a hit for the late George Jones entitled “Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes?”

Captain Derek Jeter legged out a fifth-inning double on Monday afternoon, his left hand grasping the bag just ahead of the tag, and he could exhale with relief. He would score as part of a two-run rally, helping the Yankees post a 4-2 victory over the Orioles in the season’s first game in the Bronx.

C.J. Wilson pitched eight innings of one-run ball, Josh Hamilton walked three times for the first time in five years and the Angels’ offense continued to add on in a 9-1 victory over the Astros at Minute Maid Park on Monday, capping a series that saw them take three of four from their division rivals.

The life of pioneering orthopedic surgeon Dr. Frank Jobe was celebrated at a private memorial held Monday at Dodger Stadium. Jobe, inventor of the career-saving Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery and career-extending “Jobe Exercises,” died March 6. He was 88 and in his 50th season with the Dodgers.

Red Sox right fielder Shane Victorino continues to receive treatment on his strained right hamstring, which landed him on the disabled list retroactive to March 30. Manager John Farrell said before Monday’s game against the Rangers that Victorino’s flu symptoms are subsiding and that he’s begun some physical activity.

With a steady rain falling on Progressive Field, and no clear window to play, the Indians’ night game against the Padres was called on Monday night. The teams are scheduled to make up the contest as part of a traditional doubleheader on Wednesday, beginning at 12:05 p.m. ET. The second game will start roughly 20 minutes after the first contest.