Hiroki Kuroda returned from a 73-minute rain delay to provide a five-inning start, and Boone Logan recorded three clutch seventh-inning strikeouts to preserve the lead, leading the Yankees to a 2-0 victory over the Twins at Yankee Stadium.

Padres manager Bud Black was ejected from Friday’s game against the Giants for arguing an obstruction call on the bases in the seventh inning.

Jordy Mercer’s walk-off single with two outs in the 11th inning gave the Pirates a 3-2 victory over the Mets on Friday night at PNC Park. Pedro Alvarez belted a two-run homer and Charlie Morton pitched seven solid innings.

Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez met with Major League Baseball officials on Friday to discuss his alleged connections to the defunct South Florida Biogenesis anti-aging clinic, according to The Associated Press.

Right-hander Corey Kluber fired 7 2/3 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts, while Carlos Santana’s RBI single fueled a decisive three-run seventh for the Tribe in a 3-0 win over the Royals on Friday night at Progressive Field.

The countdown for next week’s All-Star Game respite is underway, and just when the Rays are playing their best baseball of the summer, they have to put their bats, balls and momentum away for four days.

Doug Fister allowed two runs in six strong innings and the Tigers’ offense gave him plenty of early support with five runs in the first and two in the second in Friday’s 7-2 win over the Rangers.

Jarred Cosart kept the Rays off balance all night with his curveball as he recorded the majority of his outs on ground balls and kept the Rays hitless through 6 1/3 innings, leading the Astros to the 2-1 win in the series opener at Tropicana Field.

On Friday night, Baltimore’s trio of All-Star starters, J.J. Hardy, Adam Jones and Chris Davis, showed the kind of star power they possess. Each blasted a home run, as the Orioles — baseball’s far-and-away leader with 128 home runs on the season — mashed their way to an 8-5 series-opening win over the Blue Jays.

Giancarlo Stanton homered for the first time since June 29, and Miami chased Stephen Strasburg after only two innings in an 8-3 win against Washington in front of 16,861 at Marlins Park.

Home-plate umpire CB Bucknor exited in the second inning of the Red Sox-A’s matchup after taking a pitch to his face mask on Friday evening.

Joe Kelly allowed one run over 5 1/3 innings and the bullpen closed things out as the Cardinals beat the Cubs, 3-2, on Friday at Wrigley Field.

One night after Jason Heyward left with a strained right hamstring, the Braves lost the rest of their Opening Day outfield to a pair of muscle strains that have pushed the Braves’ depth to its outer limits. Jose Constanza was recalled from Triple-A.

The Yankees’ tough season continued Friday with another setback, this one to Derek Jeter. First it was Curtis Granderson, then Kevin Youkilis, Mark Teixeira and Jeter. The faithful all awaited these players’ return, believing the impact would be significant. But it wasn’t to be. All four returned for what seemed like a brief moment before being injured once again, placing the Yankees in a hole that’s getting tougher to climb out of.

David Wright picked Carlos Gonzalez, Bryce Harper and Michael Cuddyer for the Chevrolet Home Run Derby originally, leaving fans from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, among others, unhappy. But Gonzalez pulled out because of a finger injury, so Wright appeased the Steel City faithful by replacing him with Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez.

Nationals right-hander Jordan Zimmermann has decided not to play in the 2013 All-Star Game because of tightness in his neck. Zimmermann will, however, take his family to the event at Citi Field in New York and suit up for the National League in Tuesday’s Midsummer Classic.

Derek Jeter has a Grade 1 quad strain, it was revealed on Friday, and will not play this weekend, meaning he won’t play again until at least July 19, when the Yankees resume their season following the All-Star break.