Astros second baseman Jose Altuve's return to the lineup has been pushed back to no sooner than Sunday as part of a more cautious approach to treating the hamstring injury he suffered last Sunday against Cleveland.

Five hundred of the world's most ardent baseball fans met at the Marriott City Center on Thursday for the opening day of SABR 42, the flagship conference of the Society for American Baseball Research.

Many of Don Zimmer's friends and family keep asking if they can get their hands on a Zim Bear, a doll that will be given out as a promotional item for the first 10,000 fans at Friday's game against the Tigers.

Given another day to think about it, Chipper Jones said there will be some days — like Thursday — when he will not have the energy to perform the spirited pregame dance he created on Tuesday.

The good news on Victor Martinez's knee is that it's healing fine for him to fully recover. The bad news for some Tigers fans who got their hopes up is that he won't be recovering in time for an August return.

The Pirates gave A.J. Burnett an early cushion with five first-inning runs as the veteran right-handed starter won his eighth consecutive start, this one a 5-4 victory over the Phillies on Thursday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.

Boasting a 4-2 record against Pittsburgh this year, the Cardinals send Adam Wainwright against Kevin Correia on Friday, when the Pirates come to St. Louis for a key three-game series at Busch Stadium.

The Angels have gone 34-19 in 53 games since Mike Trout, who leads the American League in batting average and stolen bases, joined the lineup, and the 20-year adds excitement to every game he plays.

For all the shifting going on at the Major League level, one of the game's hottest trends isn't seen all that often in the Minors. However, the trend could see a sharp spike soon with increased technology.

Homerless in almost a full calendar year, Daniel Murphy ended that streak with a two-run homer in the fourth. Then he went deep again in the fifth. It wasn't all about Murphy, however. The Mets completed the home run cycle in a 17-1 throttling of the Cubs on Wednesday.

Angels catcher Chris Iannetta has essentially recovered from the right wrist surgery he underwent on May 11, but continues to fight the forearm strain he suffered when trying to come back too fast about three weeks ago.

Chase Utley hit a 2-2 curveball to right-center field for a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning against Pirates right-hander James McDonald on Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park. It was Utley's first at-bat this season after opening the season on the disabled list because of chondromalacia in his left knee.

Wednesday was a very bad day for the Yankees, regardless of the final score of their matinee against the Indians. It wasn't their Waterloo.

On Wednesday, Giancarlo Stanton confirmed to reporters coming off the field after batting practice that he has accepted an invitation to represent the National League in the Home Run Derby on July 9 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

Chris Carpenter took part in a long-toss session at Marlins Park on Wednesday afternoon, two days ahead of when the team said the righty would resume work on his road to recovering from a shoulder injury that has sidelined him since Spring Training.

Tim Lincecum pitched seven encouraging innings and ended a 10-game winless streak Wednesday as the Giants completed a three-game series sweep with a 3-0 triumph over the Dodgers.

David Ortiz led off the eighth inning Wednesday afternoon having already hit one home run, the 399th of his career, in a 10-4 Red Sox win over the Blue Jays.