Maholm, Young lead Pirates past Royals 6-2 (AP)
Delwyn Young waited a long time just to drive in a run. So getting four RBIs may have been worth the wait. Young homered and drove in a career-high four runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to their fourth straight win, 6-2 over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday night. “I haven't driven a run in it seems like six months,” Young said, “so just to get one — let alone four — is a…

Playing time at a premium for Pearce
Playing time at a premium for Pearce When the Pirates open a three-game series against the Cubs on Monday, it will mark Steve Pearce’s eighth game with the team since being recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. In that span, he’s made just one start, had six at-bats and remains hitless.

Yankees rout Mets as A-Rod passes Reggie on career home run list
Alex Rodriguez hit his 564th home run to pass Reggie Jackson on the career home run list, and CC Sabathia pitched the Yankees to a 9-1 win Friday night in the first Subway Series game at Citi Field.

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Fielder on fire as Brewers rally in ninth to edge Giants
Prince Fielder hit a three-run homer in the sixth and then knocked in the winning run as the Milwaukee Brewers rallied with three runs in the ninth for a wild 7-6 win over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night.

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Bucs denied sweep by Greinke, Royals
Bucs denied sweep by Greinke, KC Andy LaRoche hit a seventh-inning RBI triple in the rain, and he scored after a delay, but the Bucs were unable to do much after that Sunday, falling, 3-2, in the finale vs. the Royals.

Hamels ejected as Blue Jays shut down Phillies again
Ricky Romero held Philadelphia hitless for six innings and Aaron Hill hit a two-run double in the Toronto Blue Jays’ 6-1 victory over the slumping Phillies on Friday night.

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Doumit likely to return after break
Doumit likely to return after break Though nothing is set in stone, it appears as if catcher Ryan Doumit won’t likely rejoin the Pirates until after the All-Star break.

Lopez, Beltre propel Mariners past Dodgers
Jose Lopez had three hits including a two-run double, Adrian Beltre singled home a run in his last game before undergoing shoulder surgery, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 on Sunday.

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Nationals Interested in Nyjer Morgan

The teams began discussing this eight days ago, and a Washington proposal in which the Pirates would get younger outfielder Lastings Milledge crumbled when the Pirates came back seeking Milledge and starter Craig Stammen .

Vasquez, Morton set for rotation starts
Vasquez, Morton set for rotation starts In a revamped rotation, Virgil Vasquez will make his Major League debut on Friday and Charlie Morton will have his start pushed back to Sunday.

Power Rankings: Tigers jump five spots (Yahoo! Sports)
The Yankees, Brewers, Phillies, Rangers and Mets dip. The Cardinals get a boost along with Detroit.

Rain keeps Manny out of lineup; Class A expected next
Manny Ramirez went silent.Then, Manny left the building.

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A-Rod powers potent Yankees past Braves
Alex Rodriguez tied Reggie Jackson with his 563rd home run and Mariano Rivera earned his 499th career save in the New York Yankees‘ …

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Pirates Team Report (Yahoo! Sports)

Ian Snell claims he asked to be demoted to the minor leagues. Pirates general manager Neal Huntington says the semantics don’t really matter.

Regardless, the Pirates optioned the enigmatic right-hander to Class AAA Indianapolis prior to Thursday night’s 3-2 win over Cleveland.

Snell is 2-8 with a 5.36 ERA in 15 starts this season, looking like a shell of the pitcher who won 14 games in 2006 during his first full season in the major leagues. In 61 starts since the 2007 All-Star break, he is 11-27 with a 5.24 ERA in 61 games.

“I think it’s for my own good,” Snell said. “I can go down and work on my stuff. I feel there’s too much negativity here. I need to be somewhere positive.

Rangers defeat Diamondbacks 9-8 in 12 innings
Chris Davis and David Murphy hit back-to-back homers in the 12th inning, Andruw Jones also homered and the Texas Rangers defeated …

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Morton questionable for Friday start
Morton questionable for Friday start Right-hander Charlie Morton continues to battle some tightness in his left hamstring, an injury that could keep him from making his scheduled start on Friday.

Pirates looking toward team speed in future

Turning over an entire outfield, especially one as productive as the starting trio the Pirates had in place early last season, is a gutsy move.

Bucs turning corner on offensive woes
Bucs turning corner on offensive woes Despite struggling in the early innings for the past seven games, the Pirates may finally be climbing out of their offensive woes, as evidenced by Wednesday night’s 10-6 victory.

Pirates Team Report (Yahoo! Sports)

The Pirates took their share of heat for not bringing Andrew McCutchen north at the end of spring training.

The 22-year-old outfielder was the phenom of spring training, and many felt the Pirates should have picked him as the starting left fielder over Nyjer Morgan. Yet, the Pirates sent McCutchen back to Class AAA Indianapolis, where he spent all of last season.

McCutchen has gotten off to a great start in his major league career. He is hitting .325 with one home run, 14 RBIs and three stolen bases in 18 games after going 1-for-5 with an RBI in a 5-4 loss to Cleveland on Tuesday.

That would seem to leave the impression McCutchen would have helped the Pirates from the beginning of the season.

Morton questionable for Friday start
Morton questionable for Friday start Right-hander Charlie Morton continues to battle some tightness in his left hamstring, an injury that could keep him from making his scheduled start on Friday.

Lincoln finally makes Triple-A debut
Lincoln finally makes Triple-A debut Former No. 1 pick Brad Lincoln took a one-hitter into the seventh inning in his Triple-A debut Wednesday as Indianapolis beat Lehigh Valley, 4-1.

Offensive eruption ends skid for Bucs
Offensive eruption ends skid for Bucs The Pirates broke out of a five-game losing skid on Wednesday night, batting around the order in two of the first four frames as the club survived a late scare for a 10-6 win over the Indians.

Snell’s status undetermined for next start
Snell’s status undetermined for next start Early on Wednesday it was determined that Ian Snell, despite his season struggles and a tumultuous outing on Tuesday, would remain in the rotation for his next start, but that status has apparently changed.