Words were exchanged, but that’s all the drama that ensued after reliever Tony Cingrani hit Bryce Harper with a pitch in the series opener between the Reds and Nationals.

Josh Hamilton wasn’t bothered by his cold or Red Sox pitcher Steven Wright’s knuckleball. Hamilton took Wright deep twice for his first two home runs of the season that helped lead the Rangers to a 7-4 victory.

Meeting the Dodgers for the first time since sending them home in the 2014 postseason, the Cardinals ran their winning streak to five games with a 3-0 win in front of 44,223 at Busch Stadium on Friday. The two teams entered the night boasting the National League’s best records.

The problem with breaking down Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki’s season-long slump and home run drought is he has the power to change things quickly.

J.J. Hardy’s RBI single in the bottom of the ninth sent the Orioles to a 2-1 win over the Rays on Friday night.

If Rockies pitcher Chad Bettis is awful in warmups, look out. Of Friday night’s pregame bullpen, Bettis said, “This was by tenfold worse. Coming into the game, there was nothing that was working for me.”Evidently, all he needs to hear is, “Play ball.” Bettis carried a perfect game into the seventh and a no-hitter into the eighth. He threw eighth scoreless, two-hit innings as the Rockies beat the Phillies, 4-1.

Jerry Dior, the man who designed the Major League Baseball logo, has passed away. Dior died at his home in Edison, N.J., according to The New York Times. His wife, Lita, told the newspaper that the cause was cancer.

In an attempt to silence the alarms and call off the hounds before Friday’s 4-3 loss to the Marlins, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson amended a description of the scary-sounding term that ace Matt Harvey has spent the last week semi-diagnosed and maybe unfairly labeled with — “dead arm.”

The Royals, who are visiting Wrigley Field this weekend, are a team that is clearly being seen as what it is — a collection of two-way players who are as committed to each other as they are fundamentally sound, and who make new fans every time they pull on their cleats.

Ace right-hander Masahiro Tanaka will be activated from the disabled list to start the Yankees’ game against the Mariners on Wednesday in Seattle, manager Joe Girardi said Friday.

Major League Baseball Advanced Media is introducing its new Web-based media player (version 5.0), for those who currently subscribe or those who sign up now for MLB.TV Premium ($114.99 a year or $24.99 a month) or regular MLB.TV ($94.99/$19.99). You’ll notice the difference right away as the HD media player has an in-page layout, so it all happens in your browser with no need for an additional download.

The Indians got another good outing from their rejuvenated Cy Young Award winner and the Mariners were left with concerns about their emerging young starter in a 5-3 Cleveland win that opened a four-game series at Safeco Field on Thursday night.

Albert Pujols and Matt Joyce hit early home runs, and Chris Iannetta came through with a late grand slam, to lead the Angels to a 12-2 win over the Tigers in Thursday’s series opener at Angel Stadium.

Chris Heston logged 7 1/3 shutout frames, while Brandon Belt homered in the seventh before a six-run eighth sealed the Giants’ 7-0 victory over the Braves on Thursday night at AT&T Park. Atlanta starter Shelby Miller logged seven solid frames in the loss.

The Pirates continued to ride their starting pitching Thursday night against the Padres at Petco Park as they won their seventh in a row, 11-5, this time behind veteran right-hander A.J. Burnett.

With a baker’s dozen of strikeouts, Corey Kluber ended this month with 60 punchouts, which moved him past Washington’s Max Scherzer for the most whiffs in the Majors (96) at the moment.

Miguel Cabrera’s 1,402nd career RBI was just his second through a hit-by-pitch. It nearly came at a steep price.