During Spring Training, Nationals manager Dusty Baker often said he needed a productive bench to win the National League East. On Friday night, the bench came through in the clutch with two pinch-hit home runs in a 5-3 victory over the Marlins.

After Royals right-hander Edinson Volquez’s last outing, in which he lasted a season-low 4 1/3 innings against the Indians, he vowed not to be so precise with his approach again.

Getting the best of his college teammate by hitting a home run in their second head-to-head meeting was something Astros outfielder George Springer couldn’t help but smile about, but sending his team to a 7-6 come-from-behind win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park was even better.

Jonathan Papelbon recorded his 10th save of the season to secure the Nationals’ 5-3 victory over the Marlins on Friday night. It was the 359th of his career, moving him past Troy Percival for sole possession of 10th place on the all-time saves list.

A group of perhaps 20 youth ballplayers dressed in their Little League uniforms gathered around Kansas City Royals great Dennis Leonard to get baseball instruction from a Royals Hall of Famer whose name is all over the club’s record book.

At last, Danny Valencia disrupted the home run column — not once, but twice, against the Rays at Tropicana Field on Friday night, leading an A’s power barrage that helped the club snap a five-game losing streak.

Chris Sale is tough to beat even on a night when the White Sox offense is not clicking on all cylinders. Spot the four-time All-Star a six-run advantage, as the South Siders did during their 7-1 victory over the Yankees on Friday night at Yankee Stadium, and he’s virtually unstoppable.

Miguel Sano hit an absolute no-doubter in the first inning against the Indians on Friday, as the solo shot to left field was projected to go 464 feet, per Statcast™, making it the fourth-longest-hit homer this season.

Giants closer Santiago Casilla apologized to manager Bruce Bochy on Friday for his outburst on the mound after being removed from Thursday’s victory over the D-backs.

So much for the Cubs’ losing streak. Both Addison Russell and David Ross hit a three-run homer while Kris Bryant added a two-run shot to power the Cubs to a 9-4 victory over the Pirates on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field, snapping their skid at two games. Chicago is now 4-0 against Pittsburgh this season.

Dylan Bundy is pitching out of the Orioles’ bullpen this season as a matter of necessity, but that doesn’t mean the organization’s No. 2 prospect is there for the long haul.

Todd Frazier has a great deal to celebrate. He entered Friday’s series opener at Yankee Stadium with six hits, three homers and 10 RBIs over his last three games. He also spent Thursday’s off-day in his hometown of Toms River, N.J., which is a little over a one-hour drive from work. And most important, Frazier was ready to go despite leaving Wednesday’s contest in Texas in the fourth inning after going face-first into an armrest while chasing Prince Fielder’s foul ball and needing five stitches.

Max Pentecost was anxious to get back into game action and understandably so. The Blue Jays’ No. 7 prospect hadn’t played in a real game since Aug. 7, 2014 as he had surgery to repair a partially torn right labrum and then arthroscopic surgery to clean up the right shoulder.

Mother’s Day was last weekend, Father’s Day is next month, and now kids are front and center as Major League Baseball introduces its inaugural Play Ball Weekend. Expect youth clinics galore, surprise visits by players, cap exchanges, warning-track parades, kids running the bases, ticket and equipment donations and a whole lot more.

The highly anticipated pitching matchup between Arizona’s Zack Greinke and San Francisco’s Johnny Cueto lived up to the hype Thursday night at Chase Field. For three innings. Then Cueto and his Giants teammates took command to pave the way to a 4-2 victory in the opener of a four-game series.

Matt Holliday homered twice, Matt Carpenter went deep for the third time in this series, and Matt Adams drove in three runs as the Cardinals’ offense throttled the Angels in Southern California on Thursday night, notching 18 hits en route to a 12-10, sweep-clinching victory.

The red-hot Orioles offense got going late and rallied the team to a 7-5 victory over the Tigers on Thursday night at Camden Yards. The series-opening victory was Baltimore’s fifth in a row and 10th in 14 games, while Detroit lost for the ninth time in 10 games.