Adrian Morejon Turns 21, Gifts Padres With Strong Outing

Lots of people have fun on their 21st birthday. Few have as much fun as Adrian Morejon did on Thursday afternoon in Tempe.

San Diego Official Site

Padres Signed Brian Dozier To Minors Deal With MLB Spring Invite

AJ Cassavell Twitter

Diamondbacks Interested In Brian Dozier

Jon Heyman Twitter

Who Has NLCS Edge? Position By Position Look

The Nationals didn't win the NL East, settling for the Wild Card Game, where they advanced in some part due to a monumental Milwaukee fielding mistake. Then, they toppled the mighty 106-win Dodgers in a thrilling extra-innings Game 5 topper to the NLDS, which earns them the prize of facing the Cardinals ... who finished off their own five-game NLDS by putting up a 10-run first inning on their way to a 13-1 blowout of the Braves.

St. Louis Official Site

Nelson Cruz Joins 400-Home Run Club On Swat No.40

Nelson Cruz said to Twins senior director of communications Dustin Morse at the end of Spring Training that he planned to hit his 400th career home run this season -- and to expect playoff baseball in October at Target Field.

Minnesota Official Site

Nationals Activated Max Scherzer From The Injured List

Washington Official Twitter

Sandy Alcantara's Consistency A Work In Progress

Before the ball landed 406 feet away from home plate in the Marlins’ bullpen, Sandy Alcantara knew. Before Brian Dozier’s two-run shot touched turf, Alcantara had his hands on his hips after slapping one against his jet black glove and letting out a huff of frustration through a tucked bottom lip.

Miami Official Site

Max Scherzer Dominates With Broken Nose, Black Eye

The ball left a sizeable imprint around Max Scherzer’s right eye, the blue one, now marked with a large bruise to go along with his swollen nose. Fluid had built up from the swelling underneath his eye, and it took him some time pregame to get used to his face “jiggling” around as he warmed up.

Washington Official Site

Max Scherzer Plays Stopper; Brian Dozier Heats Up

Predictability in baseball is generally a bad thing. Pitchers, batters, managers -- none of them want to fall into patterns that allow the opposition to anticipate what’s coming.

Washington Official Site

Max Scherzer Strikes Out 15 After Refusing To Leave Game

With Max Scherzer sitting on 117 pitches and Joey Votto stepping to the plate in the eighth inning on Sunday, Nationals manager Dave Martinez visited the mound to see what his right-hander had left in the tank.

Washington Official Site

Patrick Corbin Spins Shutout Against Marlins

Soon after the Nationals’ wild series-opening win over the Miami Marlins on Friday, manager Dave Martinez conceded that it was hardly the way they drew it up. Few Nationals games this season have been.

Washington Official Site

Patrick Corbin's Heavy Dose Of Sliders The Cure For Nationals

When the Nationals have needed a “stopper” this season, someone to almost single-handedly take the game into his own hands and halt a losing skid, they have routinely been able to lean on Patrick Corbin. It’s a luxury for a team that also employs Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, to be able to lean on the “No.3” starter the way most teams would count on their ace.

Washington Official Site

The Adam Wainwright Rebirth Is Paying Big Dividends For The Surging Cardinals

I counted Adam Wainwright out.

KSDK

Marwin Gonzalez & The Flattening Of Player Valuation

Everyone remembers the first sign of labor trouble. No, no, it wasn’t Bryce Harper or Manny Machado, nor was it JD Martinez a season ago. In fact the first sign that there was divergence between how front offices perceived a player and how players themselves (and agents) valued themselves was actually during the 2013-14 offseason, during the fiasco involving Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales.

Beyond The Boxscore

Rich Hill Is A Man On A Mission

In Game 4 of the World Series, Dodgers lefthander Rich Hill took the mound in the seventh inning after absolutely silencing Red Sox bats, holding them to one hit. He walked leadoff hitter Xander Bogaerts and then struck out Eduardo Nunez.

Boston Globe

Nationals Signed Brian Dozier For One-Year/$9M

Jeff Passan Twitter

Mets Have Talked With Brian Dozier

Jon Heyman Twitter

Rockies Showing Interest In Brian Dozier

The Rockies are considering pursuing free-agent second baseman Brian Dozier on a short-term deal, but have to balance the pursuit against payroll concerns, according to multiple Major League sources.

MLB Official Site

Don't Bet On Giants Landing Bryce Harper

Things to know about Bryce Harper and the Giants, with a prediction:

SF Gate

What Is Manny Machado Doing Besides Convincing Teams That He's Not Worth Signing?; Can Cardinals Take Advantage Of Mets Issues?

The St. Louis Cardinals — and any other team that might have interest in pending free agent slugger Manny Machado — must be absolutely perplexed as the Los Angeles Dodgers infielder seems to be doing anything he could during the World Series to destroy his own market.

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