What started as a feel-good day for John Lackey suddenly took a dark turn when the veteran starter suffered a right biceps arm strain Saturday in the midst of his first regular-season start since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2011.

This is a great time to be a Giants fan. With arguably the best GM, manager and ballpark in the game, San Francisco also has the kind of rotation needed to win a third World Series championship in four years.

Alongside his parents, grandparents, wife, two children, four former Giants National League MVPs and in front of a warm AT&T Park crowd, Buster Posey got his NL MVP and Silver Slugger Awards during a pregame ceremony Saturday near the pitcher’s mound.

Dylan Axelrod knew there wasn’t much margin for error against Felix Hernandez, and he was nearly flawless over 5 2/3 innings in the White Sox 4-3 victory on Saturday at U.S. Cellular Field.

The Tigers are continuing with their bullpen-by-committee approach as they roll through the first weekend of the regular season. They might be getting close, though, to finding a committee chairman.

Yankees captain Derek Jeter took 41 ground balls hit directly at him on the grass near the left-field fence at the club’s Minor League complex in Tampa, Fla., on Saturday morning, according to The Associated Press.

Orioles Minor League pitcher Daniel McCutchen received a 50-game suspension on Saturday following a positive test for performance-enhancing substances.

Nationals manager Davey Johnson decided not to start first baseman Adam LaRoche on Saturday against the Reds. LaRoche has been experiencing back tightness since Wednesday against the Marlins. It didn’t help that LaRoche was dealing with the cold weather that day. Johnson started Chad Tracy instead.

Jose Bautista was forced to miss his second consecutive game on Saturday afternoon because of a twisted right ankle.

Using a barrage of six home runs, Zack Cozart’s five RBIs and a solid effort by starter Homer Bailey, the Reds rolled over the Nationals with a 15-0 win during Friday night’s three-game series opener at Great American Ball Park.

Jackie Robinson’s story of breaking baseball’s color barrier by enduring racial abuse with the eyes of America watching and, in doing so, helping start the civil rights movement, emerges on the big screen in “42.”

Yankees infielder Eduardo Nunez left Friday’s game against the Tigers after being hit by a pitch in the fourth inning.

When the Angels arrived in Arlington for the series with the Rangers beginning on Friday, Josh Hamilton was on center stage. And without being asked, he attempted to explain his comments about area fans before saying, “Texas is home. … It’s good to be back home.”

Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts will be sidelined three to four weeks with a ruptured tendon behind his right knee.

The World Baseball Classic was unforgettable for players and fans who took the ride to the exhilarating finish in San Francisco. Now it’s back to the real world and grind of a long season, after what Edinson Volquez of the champion Dominican Republic referred to as “another World Series.”

The Brewers are answering all the challenges of building a consistent club in a small market. They have structured their club to be competitive every year, and that doesn’t look like it’ll change any time soon.

As Mark Teixeira walked into the visiting clubhouse at Comerica Park on Friday morning, he went past a television showing MLB Network. The headline on the screen said Teixeira could be back sooner than expected. The first baseman saw it, flashed a big smile and laughed before updating the status of the partially torn tendon sheath in his right wrist.