The Royals picked a strange way to end their scoreless streak at 17 innings.

After he lined a third-inning fastball to the left-field wall, Jorge Soler slowed up between first and second and retreated back for a single.

Cardinals top prospect Alex Reyes takes the ball for Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday. He’s been dominant in his first three starts of the year, posting a 1.08 ERA and 0.93 WHIP with 26 strikeouts in 15 innings.

It’s pretty grape.

Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig and Los Angeles Rams first-round pick Jared Goff had buried the hatchet via Twitter back in April, but Rams Night at Dodger Stadium allowed the pair to prove it with a batting practice photo op.

Dad power.

Indians manager Terry Francona echoed earlier comments by GM Chris Antonetti on Monday in saying that there was no change in the status of injured outfielder Michael Brantley, despite a Yahoo! Sports report to the contrary.

A few hours after arriving Monday at the clubhouse in Pittsburgh, both his hometown and longtime Major League home, Neil Walker hopped out of the PNC Park dugout for batting practice. As Walker ascended the steps, a group of several dozen stadium employees began clapping, whistling and cheering, their private ode to a native son.

The Indians are extra careful with their pitchers, and as a result, Danny Salazar will miss his scheduled start on Wednesday and the Mariners will get a break from having to face one of the American League’s emerging stars.

Outfielder Juan Lagares has a partially torn ligament in his left thumb, the Mets announced Monday, but he will attempt to play through the injury. Lagares was scheduled to rejoin the Mets on Monday in Pittsburgh, where their scheduled game against the Pirates was postponed due to rain.

Evan Longoria, coming off a pair of series in Kansas City and Minnesota that he spent crushing opposing pitching, was named the American League Player of the Week on Monday.

Dodgers starting pitcher Scott Kazmir, who left Sunday’s game in the sixth inning with a left thigh cramp, will get an extra day of rest with a day off on Thursday and said he still expects to make his next scheduled start on Saturday in San Francisco.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard remains a hot topic of conversation, partly because of his iconic status in franchise history, partly because his role on the team remains uncertain, partly because reporters keep asking about him, and partly because a fan threw a beer bottle at him Saturday.

Phillies amateur scouting director Johnny Almaraz has studied every Draft since the A’s selected Rick Monday with the first overall pick in in the first Draft in 1965.

Charles Barkley stopped by Citizens Bank Park prior to Monday’s Cubs-Phillies game, and he brought a bold take with him.

The Cardinals optioned second baseman Kolten Wong to Memphis (AAA) following Sunday night’s 6-3 win over San Francisco. The move opens up space on the team’s 25-man active roster for the anticipated activation off the disabled list of infielder Jhonny Peralta.

MLBPipeline.com’s Prospect Team of the Week honors the best performances from the previous seven days. Any player currently on an organization Top 30 Prospects list on our Prospect Watch is eligible, including big leaguers.