Mat Latos pitched six scoreless innings, and the Reds held on for a 2-1 win over the Cardinals on Monday.

With concern centering around Stephen Strasburg following Monday’s 3-2 loss to the Braves, the offense also may not have come out unscathed. Right fielder Jayson Werth, the team’s second-leading home run hitter and run producer, injured his groin and his left shin.

Monday night was uncomfortable for the Nationals. Starter Stephen Strasburg pretty much looked and pitched that way his entire six innings. Manager Davey Johnson looked and spoke that way afterward about the game, a 3-2 Washington loss, and his ace, who maintained he was fine.

Darwin Barney hit two RBI doubles and Scott Hairston and Cody Ransom smacked back-to-back home runs to lift the Cubs to a 5-3 victory over the Padres on Monday night for their fourth win in five games.

Right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez turned in his strongest outing of the season, firing seven scoreless innings, while Ryan Raburn belted two homers in Monday night’s 9-0 win over the Royals to give the Indians a split of the four-game set.

After Minnesota’s Mike Pelfrey spent five innings flustering the same Tigers offense that beat up on the Braves for three days, Prince Fielder changed the theme with one dramatic sixth-inning swing. His three-run home run put the Tigers on track for their fourth straight win with a 4-3 victory over the Twins Monday night at Comerica Park.

Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval left Monday night’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the middle of the sixth inning with right elbow discomfort.

Andrelton Simmons’ seventh-inning sacrifice fly proved decisive for the Braves as they snapped a four-game losing streak and remained perfect against the Nationals with Monday night’s 3-2 win at Turner Field.

Led by Carlos Corporan’s four RBIs, the Astros played one of their most inspired and complete games of the season on Monday, rocking left-hander Andy Pettitte and stunning the Bronx crowd by snapping a nine-game road losing streak with a resounding 9-1 win over the Yankees.

An MRI exam taken on Kevin Youkilis’ stiff lower back came back negative, according to Yankees manager Joe Girardi, but the infielder is scheduled to receive an epidural injection on Tuesday and could be placed on the 15-day disabled list.

Mickey Mantle’s 1960 contract for $60,000, the original contract painstakingly preserved by Mantle’s wife, Merlyn, goes on auction Wednesday as part of an effort by Steiner Sports to raise funds to help victims of Hurricane Sandy. The auction concludes June 2.

A day after suffering a strained left rotator cuff on Sunday, Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki felt good enough to take batting practice in the indoor cage at Dodger Stadium.

NBA center Jason Collins became the first active player in a major American team sport to announce that he’s gay, detailing his story in a piece for Sports Illustrated on Monday. The reaction across the baseball world was almost universal: Collins should be applauded for his courage in making such an announcement while he’s still playing, for finally breaking a barrier in a sports culture.

Hanley Ramirez was activated from the disabled list before Monday’s game against the Rockies, but was not in the lineup. The Dodgers placed left-hander Clayton Kershaw on the bereavement list in a corresponding roster move.

Arsema Tesfai, a seventh-grader at St. Thomas of Canterbury School in Chicago and “2013 Breaking Barriers: In Sports, In Life” essay contest winner, was honored before Monday’s Cubs game in a ceremony that included Sharon Robinson, daughter of Jackie Robinson.

Johnny Cueto, on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right lat, threw a 45-pitch bullpen session on Monday. It was his second time working off a mound since going on the DL.

Major League Baseball is investigating a back-and-forth exchange between Rays ace David Price and home-plate umpire Tom Hallion.