The Cardinals opened a nine-game road trip on Friday night by cushioning their NL Central lead by another game and flexing their division superiority with a 9-2 victory over the Reds in front of 38,874 at Great American Ball Park. Now 5-2 against Cincinnati this season, St. Louis now enjoys a season-high four-game division lead.

Josh Donaldson’s opposite-field grand slam in the sixth inning erased a three-run deficit and sent the A’s on to yet another victory, 4-3, over the White Sox on Friday in Chicago. Jarrod Parker picked up the win, but not before Josh Reddick robbed a home run in the ninth inning.

The Astros got the second day of the First-Year Player Draft out to a familiar start on Friday by picking a college pitcher at the top. Houston selected southpaw Kent Emanuel with the top pick in the third round, giving the Astros three pitchers in the first three rounds of the Draft.

Francisco Liriano allowed two singles in seven shutout innings to make Russell Martin’s run-scoring double in the sixth stand up as the difference maker as the Bucs held off the Cubs, 2-0, to snap a three-game losing streak on Friday at Wrigley Field.

Indians closer Chris Perez and his wife have been charged with misdemeanor counts of drug possession after an investigation opened in response to a shipment of drugs mailed to their rental home on Cleveland’s west side.

In a deep class of high school catchers, there might be other names who have gotten more attention to date, but Jon Denney could be as good as, if not better than, all of them when all is said and done. The Red Sox made Denney the 81st overall pick, taking him with their first selection on Day 2 of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft.

Prep outfielder Ivan Wilson has good power and can hit home runs to any part of the ballpark. He takes advantage of his power-speed combination thanks to good instincts on the basepaths.

Dace Kime’s career with the Cardinals has been a good one, and that’s what led to his status in this year’s Draft, as the Indians selected the Louisville right-hander in the third round on Friday with pick No. 79.

Friday’s opener between the Nationals and Twins was postponed due to rain and rescheduled as part of a split doubleheader on Sunday.

As the Friday starter for one of the top-ranked college programs in the country, North Carolina product Kent Emanuel undoubtedly had plenty of intrigue surrounding him entering the Draft. The Astros made Emanuel the first player to be taken on Friday, Day 2 of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft.

Friday’s series opener between the Red Sox and Angels at Fenway Park has been postponed due to continued rain and inclement weather expected throughout the day in Boston.

Yonder Alonso said it best late Thursday night on his Twitter account: “No fun having a broken hand.”

Zack Wheeler’s big-league promotion has seemed imminent for days now with the most recent sign of a looming callup, as ESPN reported that Wheeler’s first start would occur next Friday.

Tigers stater Max Scherzer allowed one run and struck out nine in seven innings Thursday to improve to 8-0. He’s the first Detroit pitcher to open with eight consecutive winning decisions since Jeremy Bonderman in 2007.

Cardinals rookie Shelby Miller’s one-hit shutout vs. the Rockies on May 10 was selected as the May Pitching Performance of the Month presented by Head & Shoulders.

Every lineup, every day, as they are made public by the clubs.

The Mariners honored all-time saves leader Mariano Rivera on the field before Thursday’s 6-1 Yankees win at Safeco Field to commemorate the start of Rivera’s final regular-season series in Seattle.