SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Sweating, sniffling and sneezing, Pablo Sandoval felt horrible until his final swing.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Mike Trout even surprised himself in adding to his growing list of impressive big league achievements.

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After Mike Trout’s monster rookie season in 2012, many believed it wasn’t a matter of if, but when he would achieve some of baseball’s most distinguished feats. Like, for instance, hitting for the cycle.

Trout can check that off his to-do list after Tuesday night’s Los Angeles Angels game. All told, he was 4-for-5 with two runs, five RBIs and a stolen base. His at-bats went like this: strikeout in the first inning, single in the third, triple in the fourth, double in the sixth and in the eighth inning — with everyone watching to see if he could do it — a home run to complete the cycle.

“I didn’t really think of it until about the eighth inning. I’m in the outfield, I’m like, ‘Man, I got a triple, double and a single,’” Trout said on the field, in a post-game interview. “And I got to 2-0 there, and I said, ‘Hey, if I’m going to hit one, it’s going to be this pitch.’ So I hit it and it went out.”

A few notes of historical context:

• Trout is the youngest player in American League history — at 21 years, 288 days — to hit for the cycle. Mel Ott, who achieved the cycle in 1929 at age 20 — is the youngest overall.

• Other younger-than-22 cycle-hitters: Cesar Cedeno (1972), Arky Vaughan (1933) and Alex Rodriguez (1997), .

• Trout is the first hitter this season to hit for the cycle.

• He’s the sixth Angel overall to do it, and first since Chone Figgins in 2006.

The Angels didn’t really need Trout to go nuts at the plate. They routed the Seattle Mariners 12-0. Josh Hamilton hit a two-run homer in the first inning and Albert Pujols singled in a run.

But for the Angels, who have performed far below expectations thus far, Trout’s cycle is a good opportunity to get excited. The team has won three straight game and are now are a game a half behind the Mariners for third place in AL West.

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ATLANTA (AP) — Evan Gattis just keeps coming through for the Atlanta Braves.

CHICAGO (AP) — Jose Quintana looked up in the fifth inning and started thinking about the possibility.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Oakland rookie right-hander Dan Straily was well aware of the ace pitcher and the powerful lineup he was facing.

MIAMI (AP) — Just as the Philadelphia Phillies welcomed back Ryan Howard from injury, the team may have lost Chase Utley.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Other than the first inning, Max Scherzer was flawless.

BALTIMORE (AP) — The shaving cream was still glopped on Chris Dickerson’s head and shoulders long after the final pitch, a tell-tale indicator that the Baltimore Orioles had finally returned to celebratory mode at Camden Yards.

NEW YORK (AP) — Any time a starting pitcher steps into the batter’s box before he stands on the mound, he’s in pretty good shape. Mike Leake enjoyed that luxury Tuesday night.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Travis Snider hit a pinch-hit grand slam during a five-run sixth and the Pittsburgh Pirates spoiled a strong return to the mound for Matt Garza with a 5-4 win over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — With Ryan Vogelsong sidelined for the foreseeable future, the San Francisco Giants are facing more change and challenges for their struggling starting rotation.

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox have scratched Chris Sale from Wednesday’s start against the Boston Red Sox because of a mild tendinitis in his left shoulder.

CHICAGO (AP) — The Boston Red Sox held Shane Victorino out of the lineup Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox because of tightness in his left hamstring.

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox confirm a report that chairman Jerry Reinsdorf has recommended a family succession plan that includes selling its interest in the franchise.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Left-hander Neal Cotts is back in the major leagues for the first time since ligament replacement surgery four years ago.

CHICAGO (AP) — John Danks believes he’s just about ready to return to the Chicago White Sox’s rotation.

The New York Yankees proved Tuesday they won’t be confined — not to baseball and maybe not to New York City either.

A $100 million partnership was announced Tuesday between the Yankees and Premier League club Manchester City to create a Major League Soccer team called New York City FC. Yahoo! Sports soccer blog, Dirty Tackle, has more of the particulars. But here’s one interesting tidbit that’s emerged on the baseball side: This could open the door for the Yankees to play in England.

From London newspaper The Telegraph:

With London playing host to American football and NBA basketball fixtures in recent years, Yankees president Randy Levine admitted his interest in taking his baseball team to Manchester for a Major League Baseball game.

“The idea has come up through Major League Baseball about us maybe coming over to play,” Levine said. “I don’t think they have actually said it yet, but we’d love to come over to play at the Etihad Stadium.

Such a move — if nobody beats the Yankees to it — would be the first MLB game in England, and in Europe as a whole. Games have been played in Tokyo in recent years, as part of expanded efforts by Major League Baseball to market the game outside the United States. There also have been games in Puerto Rico, both neutral-site games in 2010 and about 20 games in 2004 games when the Montreal Expos used it as an alternate home site.

MLB has been eyeing expanding into Europe in recent years, with England and the Netherlands among the possible destinations. Netherlands and Italy both having better-than-expected runs in the 2013 World Baseball Classic might help the MLB-in-Europe idea move forward. But having the Yankees — baseball’s most prestigious and valuable brand — on board with a business partner that has its own facilities might just kickstart the idea better than anything.

Important question: Is it too late to get a Manchester date booked for Mo Rivera’s farewell tour?

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CLEVELAND (AP) — Indians closer Chris Perez deactivated his Twitter account following two rough outings, and after receiving a slew of negative comments.

TORONTO (AP) — Rays manager Joe Maddon changed course Tuesday, saying he has no problem with the way shortstop Yunel Escobar celebrates home runs.

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Indians have placed first baseman Nick Swisher on the paternity list after he and his wife welcomed their first child.

Catcher Gary Carter has already been immortalized in the Baseball Hall of Fame, but now he’s immortalized in Montreal too, where he used to star for the Expos.

At a Tuesday ceremony, Montreal officially renamed a street in his honor, or in this case, honour. Gary Carter Street will now replace Faillon Street West on Montreal maps. According to the Montreal Gazette, the street was chosen because it’s near the ex-Jarry Park Stadium, where the Expos played 1969-1976.

Carter, who died in 2012 from brain cancer at age 57, played for the Expos 1974-1984. He was a seven-time All-Star and MVP runner-up in 1980. He later played for the New York Mets, San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Gary Carter Street is the first of two namings in Montreal to honor Carter. Gary Carter baseball park is opening June 15. From the Gazette:

Little league teams from across Quebec are to participate in a series of baseball games for the park’s opening. Montreal sportscaster Rodger Brulotte, who will emcee Tuesday’s event, has been working on the park opening for months and described Carter as “legendary” among Quebec baseball fans.

While the Expos might be gone, it’s nice to know that Montreal will always remember “The Kid.”

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Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
• Marlins’ Alex Sanabia proves it’s time for pitchers to step up their cheating games
• Busch Stadium pitcher’s mound flattened for Man City-Chelsea match
• Robinson Cano surprises 13-year-old leukemia survivor

MIAMI (AP) — Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard was in the lineup for Tuesday night’s game at Miami after missing two games with a sore left knee.

NEW YORK (AP) — Hoping their baseball success will translate to titles in another sport, the Yankees are combining with English power Manchester City to own a Major League Soccer expansion team in New York that will start play in 2015.

When baseball legend and St. Louis icon Stan Musial died in January at 92 he left behind a legion of fans and a long list of honors, including having the fourth-most hits in MLB history. He also left behind a 5,286-square-foot, three-acre estate in St. Louis that was built in 1962. The house is now on the market for $1.795 million.

It has four bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a pool and a mid-century style you’d expect from someone born in 1920 — like a checkered marble floor in the entry way and a decent amount of pastel in the living room.

We’ve heard of people buying old cars owned by famous people, but how about Musial’s house? For a hardcore Cardinals fan, that’s a one-of-a-kind souvenir, definitely something to talk about at dinner. And at a modest price when you consider what some houses sell for. Andruw Jones’ mansion cost $5 million, and he didn’t have anything near Musial’s 3,630 career hits. Though, as was Stan “The Man’s” style, he lived modestly compared to Andruw Jones’ of the world.

Worth a note here: Musial died in his home. That might be a morbid thought to some, but others might believe it means the spirit of a great ballplayer lives on there. If that rubs off on a young hitter, that might be worth an extra million dollars.

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In sticking up for one of his struggling players over the weekend, Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost introduced a neoclassical term to the world. Coming into play Tuesday, third baseman Mike Moustakas was batting .240/.294/.384 with 29 home runs in 1,130 career plate appearances. This season alone, his numbers are much, much worse.

It appears Royals brass has overreached in expecting Moustakas and first baseman Eric Hosmer to develop into reliable corners this season. But it’s too soon to give up on Moustakas — even for a while, by demoting him to the minors — Yost said to Kansas City Star reporter Bob Dutton:

“You know what?” Yost said. “Maybe when we get home, I can go to the third base tree and pick another third baseman. … Obviously, third basemen who can hit and hit with power, they must grow on trees.”

There it is. “The Third Base Tree.” Soak it in, in all of its grandeur. If he contributes nothing else in his managerial career, either on the field or in a press conference, Yost has borne fruit by conjuring a mystical tree from which any major league team can pluck a ripe stud for the hot corner.

• Miguel Cabrera would be the trunk.

• David Wright, Adrian Beltre, Evan Longoria and (UPDATE) Manny Machado (who someday will cross-pollinate over to the Shortstop Tree) would be the biggest branches.

• Kyle Seager would be a blossoming bud.

• George Brett would still be attached, double-tapered and tan.

• Moustakas would be a fallen leaf.

• (UPDATE) Jeff Keppinger is poison oak.

Later in the interview, in case you weren’t sure that Yost’s quote didn’t drip with sarcasm, he broke it to everybody:

“There is no third baseman tree. You don’t go grab another one. You let him develop. Look at Gordy (Alex Gordon). When I came over here (in 2010), all I heard (from fans) was this kid is never going to be anything.

“No. You’re wrong. Give them time to develop. But I understand it. I know what the fans want. They want it, and they want it now. Instant gratification just doesn’t work (in baseball).”

He’s right that the Royals have needed patience, but we’re more than 1,000 at-bats into Moustakas’s career. His adjusted OPS this season is 52. Average is 100. Seager’s is 130.

Opening day is no longer an “instant” ago. Yost knows this, but he’s being willfully dishonest in order to be seen as “in his player’s corner.” If he really wanted to help Moustakas, not to mention the team, he would tell GM Dayton Moore to send Moose to Omaha and bring in another player to play third. It doesn’t have to be forever, but it should be now.

There’s a lot more fruit on the tree than Yost lets on. Kings of Kauffman has more.

In closing: Thanks, skipper, for the imagery of the Third Baseman Tree. It will remain planted in our memories long after Ned has gone.

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After a horrific tornado ripped apart Oklahoma City on Monday, killing 24 people and injuring 233 at last count, Los Angeles Dodgers star Matt Kemp proclaimed that he’d help relief efforts in Oklahoma with his bat and checkbook.

I’m giving $1000 for tonight’s HR and every HR until the All-Star break for the victims of my hometown in OKC. #PrayforOklahoma

— Matt Kemp (@TheRealMattKemp) May 21, 2013

But here’s the thing: Kemp, who is from nearby Midwest City, hit only his second home run of of the season on Monday. That’s in 165 at-bats. Kemp makes $20 million this year from the Dodgers, as part of a $160 million contract he signed in 2011. It’s easy to look at this all this and say Matt Kemp is being “cheap” — oh, and people have.

It didn’t help matters when NBA star Kevin Durant, who plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder, donated a flat $1 million dollars on Tuesday.

Kemp is one of baseball’s good guys. He doesn’t get in trouble off the field and about the worst thing he’s done on the field — besides having a down year — is getting in the face of Carlos Quentin after that recent Dodgers-Padres brawl. You’ll recall he also recently made headlines for giving a teenager with cancer his jersey, cap and cleats in a touching moment after a game.

One point Kemp’s detractors have on their scorecard is that he’s seen firsthand the damage tornadoes can inflict. MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick talked to Kemp after Monday’s game detailing what he remembers about previous tornadoes in Oklahoma:

[Kemp] said he was in junior high school when an E-5 tornado with 300-mph winds hit the same area in 1999 and killed 36 people. He remembered accompanying a cousin who was hit by a foul ball in a baseball game to the local hospital and not knowing the tornado hit until the mangled patients started to arrive.

He vividly described the carnage he saw 14 years ago.

“And this one hit a school,” he said. “I know where the schools are. My mom lived in a house in Moore and we gave it to my aunt and uncle. They weren’t home today, but they said two blocks away there’s nothing left. I’ve never been through an earthquake, but I’ve seen what a tornado can do and you just can’t even believe it.”

The people upset at Kemp have three main complaints: he’s not giving enough, he’s making this too much about himself and he’s not hitting the home runs necessary to justify a pledge-drive. Here’s a smattering of the negative things people are tweeting at him:

@therealmattkemp you’re wack for that 1, you make millions every year, tellin me you can’t just donate 1,000 or 2,000 for every HIT you get?

— Jimmy (@JDSantos23) May 21, 2013

@therealmattkemp you mean to tell me you can’t afford that? I wish I was a Millionaire #Selfish you got 2 hr’s & only by All-Star? — Jimmy (@JDSantos23) May 21, 2013

Durant makes @therealmattkemp look like a little boy with a lemonade stand.

— Adamn Foglio (@FoglioA) May 21, 2013

@therealmattkemp you’ll prob hit no more than 3, so $3000 outta the 20 mil you’re making this year? #cheapbastard — Josh (@JDotKr1s) May 21, 2013

@therealmattkemp how much do you make per game? durant is giving 1 million to help red cross. Couldnt you spare more from 120 million deal?

— Michael Gates (@RecDawg34) May 21, 2013

Hey @therealmattkemp, why not help your hometown without making it about you.Do something admirable, something fitting of real heart! — CykoDad (@CykoDad408) May 21, 2013

Matt Kemp is on a blistering pace to donate 2000 dollars toward Oklahoma, he makes 20 million dollars a year, nice gesture but really cheap.

— Bobby Brown (@MrBobbySocks) May 21, 2013

Kevin Durant is donating $500K for each home run Matt Kemp has hit this season.

— ‘Duk(@KevinKaduk) May 21, 2013

Geez, by that kind of talk you’d think he’s the villain here, not a guy trying to help out. Could he give more? Sure, obviously. Is he beholden to you, me or anybody else about how he chooses to donate his money? Hardly.

If nothing else, maybe this will motivate him to find his home-run stroke — the one responsible for 116 dingers in his last four seasons (including 39 in 2011). That would benefit both the people of Oklahoma and his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates.

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Can you “jump the shark” while dressed as a “Killer” pea? Fans of the San Francisco Giants might have found out Monday night at AT&T Park when four folks in the bleachers tried to nickname a segment of the team’s roster.

Did you know that Hunter Pence, Angel Pagan, Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval (head obscured by child) form the “Killer P‘s”? It’s a riff on what the Houston Astros used to call the “B” part of their lineup, which included at times in the late 1990s and early 2000s: Craig Biggio, Derek Bell, Lance Berkman, Jeff Bagwell, Sean Berry, Carlos Beltran, Chris Burke, Eric Bruntlett, Michael Bourn, Geoff Blum, Tim Bogar, Doug Brocail and Brandon Backe.

This “P” phenomenon is not as phenomenal.

The pod costumes are great. But, as noted curmudgeon Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote in April, stuff like “Killer P’s” has been done. It’s time to eat your peas, grab a giant Bruce Bochy head and do something with that.

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For a guy who hasn’t played in the majors in a dozen years, Jose Canseco sure does find ways to hang around the game. This week, he’s in Texas, serving as a player-coach for the independent Fort Worth Cats for a homestand. And if that wasn’t enough to interest you, his first opponents are the Edinburg Roadrunners, coached by none other than Canseco’s brother Ozzie.

“I am excited to come to Fort Worth and mentor the young ballplayers,” Jose said in a statement. “I love Dallas/Fort Worth and I can’t wait to go up against Ozzie.”

The player/coach is a noble profession, but one that’s fallen into disfavor in these days of specialization. The last player/manager in the majors was Pete Rose back in the late 1980s. As recently as 2011, the White Sox toyed with the idea of making Paul Konerko a player/manager, but ended up hiring former player Robin Ventura instead. Jose Canseco was, apparently, not considered for the position.

And in other “what the heck…?” news, Canseco has written the foreword to the novel “Air Force Gator 2: Scales of Justice.” In case you missed the first installment — come on, get with the program — “Air Force Gator” is the tale of an alcoholic alligator that flies a plane shaped like a gator’s head. It’s fiction, we’re assuming, but you never know. Anyway, the author, Dan Ryckert, apparently got into a Twitter war with Canseco and somehow persuaded him to write the foreword for free.

After Ryckert insulted Canseco on Twitter, the erstwhile Bash Brother replied, “how many copies of Air Force Gator did you sell dan? Let me know if u need help mine made the NY Times Best Seller list.”

Canseco later offered to write the foreword, and Ryckert agreed: “I am not kidding at all when I say you can write the foreword for Air Force Gator 2. I’m totally not spellchecking it, though.”

Canseco wants to play the gator in the movie version, because of course he does. If you’re interested in checking out some of the literary stylings of Canseco, as well as the tale of a gator who flies a plane, click here to see the book’s Amazon page.

Related: the Internet is weird.

While it hasn’t been confirmed yet by Major League Baseball, Paul Lukas of Uni-watch reports that every team will wear camouflage jerseys and caps come Memorial Day on Monday. Lukas notes that replicas of the uniforms, which are on sale at MLB.com, appear to be similar to the camo colors the White Sox and Angels recently wore on Armed Forces Day.

How does Lukas know MLB’s plans for May 27? The league gave them away on its website:

In each case, the team’s online shop only shows a home camo jersey or a road camo jersey — not both — depending on whether the team is playing at home or on the road next Monday. Tucked away in the fine print is the following line: “As worn on-field Memorial Day May 27th, 2013.”

Yes, they did:

(So, the Marines trademarked the digital camo pattern, eh? Interesting.)

Lukas was hardly patting himself on the back. He has a problem with MLB’s plans, and he makes at least one great (and angry) point:

Memorial Day is not a day for celebrating the military. It’s a day for honoring the military dead. A more appropriate gesture would be an MLB-wide black armband. An even better gesture would be a pregame moment of silence, without anything on the uniform. But as is so often the case nowadays, merchandising and pandering trump common sense.

I’m only guessing, but my grandfather probably would agree. He was among the Allied troops to risk life and limb on D-Day. He also knew the difference between Memorial Day and, say, Veterans Day. Grampa was funny; he didn’t even like people to applaud the playing of the “Star Spangled Banner” because it was not to be viewed as a performance, like some kind of top 40 hit. So he was principled in his patriotism. Regardless that you might clap after the national anthem, it was something he put some thought into.

As Lukas said, Memorial Day originated to honor men and women who died while fighting. I can’t imagine Grampa would find it appropriate to be honored on Memorial Day because he didn’t die until World War II had been over for 50 years. Now, there’s nothing wrong with honoring the dead, and there’s nothing wrong with honoring veterans. And there’s nothing wrong with honoring the military. The San Diego Padres manage to be tasteful in doing so at Petco Park on a frequent basis. It’s just disturbing how many people don’t know what Memorial Day is for, and that they’ll just mindlessly go along with anything that sounds remotely patriotic. Memorial Day has become a synonym for anything at all to do with ” ‘Merica,” and it’s a disgrace.

MLB contributes to this cognitive dissonance by having the players wear these inappropriate jerseys. It makes it look like all they want to do is sell more merchandise. That’s not the kind of message they want to project, I would imagine, even as they prepare to sell “stars and stripes” caps come July 4 and Sept. 11.

UPDATE: MLB spokesperson Jeff Heckelman would like to note:

Major League Baseball has long been a supporter of the military including active military, military families and veterans. The camouflage caps and jerseys are being sold with 100% of MLB’s proceeds going to Welcome Back Veterans, a program which raises money to provide grants to hospitals and clinics that provide post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) treatment to veterans at university hospitals throughout the country. Welcome Back Veterans is funding programs at Weill Cornell in New York City, The University of Michigan, Rush University Medical Center, Duke university, Emory University, UCLA and the Boston Red Sox’ Home Base Program at Mass General Hospital in Boston.

This program is part of $23 million commitment from MLB to Welcome Back Veterans since 2008.

He also notes that a moment of silence is observed at each game played on Memorial Day, even if it comes in the middle of an inning. All good deeds, and all show that MLB has its heart in the right place when it comes to helping those who have served. Another step it could take that would help. Use the camo uniforms in another way. They shouldn’t be worn Memorial Day.

And finally, just imagine: What are the New York Yankees uniforms going to look like in a camo theme? Hey, you don’t have to imagine:

And for what? Not for what MLB would like us to think.

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• Robinson Cano surprises 13-year-old leukemia survivor
• Are Dodgers too soft to save Don Mattingly’s job?
• Phil Jackson now an adviser to MLB managers

It remains to be seen what Major League Baseball will do, if anything, to right-hander Alex Sanabia of the Miami Marlins for spitting on the ball Monday night. Umpires didn’t seem to notice. The Philadelphia Phillies didn’t seem to notice. Broadcasters didn’t either. But fans did.

While Sanabia awaits his fate, if he’s waiting, let’s give him a nickname. Any one of these 10 would do:

10. Alex Salivia: Sanabia’s name lends itself perfectly to our game.

9. Oscar Spitorius: It’s not baseball, but it’s too good to go unused.

8. Rob Dribble: Can strike the grandstand with a mouth projectile from 400 feet away.

7. Hakan Loogey: Or go with “Hawk Harrelson” to keep hockey out of it.

6. Spew Burdette: Spahn and Sain and you don’t want to pray for this kind of rain.

5. Drip Sewell: Threw a famous “esophagus pitch” to Ted Williams.

4. Dave Phlegmanczyk: Blue Jays, represent! (Would also make a good “Garbage Pail Kid,” while we’re at it.)

3. Squirt Schilling: Ickiest-sounding of them all?

2. Larry Frothschild: Wise and well-coiffed in the way of wetting the ball.

1. Vern Druhle: Played with Joe Niekro, who knew a thing or two about doctoring a ball.

Bonus: Mucus Harrell.

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Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
• Are Dodgers too soft to save Don Mattingly’s job?
• Phil Jackson now an adviser to MLB managers
• Playing catch with kids in the stands is MLB’s latest trend

The Juice returns for season No. 6! It’s almost eligible for free-agency! Stop by daily for news from the action, along with great photos, stats, video highlights and more.

Right-hander Ryan Vogelsong was having perhaps his best start of the season for the San Francisco Giants on Monday. But this is the National League, where pitchers bat and accidents happen, and now Vogelsong is slated to have surgery Tuesday to fix a broken pitching hand. He had pitched five innings of three-hit ball against the Washington Nationals in an 8-0 victory at AT&T Park, but that’s the extent of the good news. (And Brandon Belt had four hits and scored four runs — that’s also good.)

Swinging in self-defense during his at-bat against Craig Stammen in the fifth inning, Vogelsong didn’t get enough wood on the ball. The Associated Press reports:

Vogelsong broke two bones along the right pinkie and dislocated a knuckle the area that the medical staff couldn’t get popped back into place. He was scheduled for surgery Tuesday morning at Stanford and said he likely would have pins inserted to stabilize the hand and help speed the healing process.

”We’re not talking about Tommy John or anything here,” Vogelsong said, his eyes misty. ”Basically as fast as we can get it to heal so I can start throwing again.”

Someone lend a hand: Remarkably, we have another broken hand to announce regarding a pitcher named Ryan on one of these teams.

Washington manager Davey Johnson said that right-hander Ryan Mattheus broke his pitching hand punching a locker in frustration Sunday. Mattheus had been pitching well, but allowed five runs in a blowout loss at San Diego and took out his frustration on himself. Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post described the Nats pitching staff as already being in disarray before Mattheus lost his cool.

“It’s pretty embarrassing,” Mattheus said. “I let the whole Washington Nationals organization down by doing something stupid.”

Ain’t broke, so don’t fix it: Rookie left-hander Patrick Corbin of the Arizona Diamondbacks tossed a three-hitter at the Colorado Rockies in what was described as a “virtuoso performance.” He lowered his ERA to 1.44 in joining Randy Johnson as the only lefty in team history (brief as it is) to start a season 7-0. If there was such a thing as a Cy Young Watch List in May, he’d be on it.

MORE SCORES

Indians 10, Mariners 8 (10 inn.) : Close your glove, Wilhelmsen!

Blue Jays 7, Rays 5: Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey might be coming around.

Yankees 6, Orioles 4 (10 inn.): Yikes! Orioles closer Jim Johnson has blown three straight save opportunities after nailing down 35 in a row. It all started with a tying home run by Travis Hafner. The O’s have lost six in a row.

Padres 4, Cardinals 2: Jason Marquis has won five straight starts. He does this sometimes, though not since 2007 with the Cubs.

Braves 5, Twins 1: They should have had Kent Hrbek ceremonially lift Ron Gant off first base to celebrate the ’91 Series. Instead, they just had Julio Teheran and Dan Uggla go to work.

Dodgers 3, Brewers 1: Manager Don Mattingly is done a solid by ace Clayton Kershaw.

Astros 6, Royals 5: Young third baseman Matt Dominguez had a big night: A homer and three RBIs, all on one swing. K.C. drops to 20-21.

Is it time to start the Ned Yost watch?

White Sox 6, Red Sox 4: Boston ace Jon Lester has a 5.43 ERA in 10 career games against the White Sox for some reason.

Reds 4, Mets 3: Aside from a rough third inning, Johnny Cueto pitched like himself in a return from the DL.

Athletics 9, Rangers 2: Happy 40th birthday, Bartolo Colon (on Friday, but let’s celebrate now)!

”I asked myself, ‘What was going on, what happened?’ I told myself I have to start pitching the way I am. Then after that, I said, ‘That is me.’ “

— Johnny Cueto of the Reds, using a translator. Perhaps he should have used two of them.

Now watch Carlos Gonzalez catch it on video.

• The Miami Marlins scored at least three runs for the second time in 13 games.

• With Ian Kinsler injured and on the disabled list, Jurickson Profar made his 2013 debut for the Texas Rangers. He went 0 for 2 with two RBIs, which is unusual.

• Shelby Miller of the St. Louis Cardinals allowed three runs, just the second time this season he’s permitted that many in nine starts.

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A funny thing happened after Alex Sanabia of the Miami Marlins allowed a home run to Domonic Brown of the Philadelphia Phillies in the second inning Monday night: He didn’t allow any more runs over his 6 1/3 innings of work and picked up his first victory since April 16.

Was it in part because Sanabia was aided by putting a foreign substance on the baseball? The question arises naturally because the Phillies broadcast clearly shows Sanabia spitting on a new ball as Brown circled the bases in Miami’s 5-1 victory at Marlins Park.

[Jeff Passan: Cheating has become a lost art form]

The Phillies might be looking at a case of highway slobbery right here. It doesn’t appear that any reporters covering the game asked Sanabia about his spit take. They probably will Tuesday, if he’s around the clubhouse. Heck, Major League Baseball might even try to get him to spit into a beaker.

In the meantime, let’s take a look, frame by frame, to see what Sanabia might have been up to:

From that point on, Sanabia must have been licking his chops because the Phillies couldn’t find home plate with a compass. As for Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels, he obviously was upset about losing to the Marlins. He didn’t say spit to reporters.

Now, I’ve always thought that the term “spitball” was something of a euphemism for loading up the pelota with anything. Burleigh Grimes — one of the last pitchers to legally throw a spitter before it became outlawed in 1920 — would put so much spit and juice on the ball that fielders would complain about fielding it. Other pitchers, like Eddie Cicotte of the White Sox, were reputed to throw balls loaded with shoe polish.

“You put snot … on the ball?” — Ricky Vaughn, to Eddie Harris in “Major League“

Sanabia’s case is different. In fact, he loaded up the ball so quickly after Brown’s at-bat, and appeared to rub the ball with such force, it’s hard to imagine the ball not being all-but dried by the time he threw his next pitch to Delmon Young. Did he really get any extra drop or action on the ball because of his saliva? He had two strikeouts the rest of the game, if that’s any indication.

To compare: Clay Buchholz of the Red Sox caught flak for apparently using sunscreen and rosin to take moisture off the ball for a better grip. Sanabia appeared to be adding it for the same purpose.

He’s a regular Rob Dribble.

Still, it’s against the rules. Expect him to be warned by the league, if not fined, and probably not suspended — unless there’s more evidence or repeated charges.

Big BLS H/N: Dave Cameron of Fangraphs

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Related MLB coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
• Are Dodgers too soft to save Don Mattingly’s job?
• Phil Jackson now an adviser to MLB managers
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Ryan Vogelsong felt the best he had in months, then it all ended on one painful swing.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — At age 34, Jason Marquis is pitching as smart as ever.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — With speculation that Don Mattingly could be fired sometime this week, the Los Angeles Dodgers manager needed Clayton Kershaw to pitch well in the worst way.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Bartolo Colon celebrated his 40th birthday a few days early with something he’s enjoyed quite a few times over the years: a win over the Texas Rangers.

CHICAGO (AP) — Adam Dunn has been insisting all season he feels great, even while he was piling up strikeouts at the beginning of the year.

MIAMI (AP) — In a game between struggling starters and offenses, the Miami Marlins came out on top.

BALTIMORE (AP) — A tense AL East duel between the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles revealed the strengths and weaknesses of each team.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Outfielder Bryce Harper is back in the Washington Nationals’ lineup after missing two games because of a bruised left knee.

DENVER (AP) — Patrick Corbin tossed a three-hitter for his first complete game and struck out a career-high 10, lifting the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 5-1 win over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night.

ATLANTA (AP) — Even without an effective change-up, Julio Teheran still had enough to pitch into the ninth inning.

NEW YORK (AP) — Jay Bruce hit a tiebreaking homer and drove in two runs to back Johnny Cueto’s wild but effective return from the disabled list, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the New York Mets 4-3 Monday night.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Clayton Kershaw scattered three singles in his second complete game of the year and Matt Kemp hit his first home run since April 24, lifting the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Beleaguered manager Don Mattingly insisted Monday he doesn’t feel he’s about to be fired by the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he has no idea whether he needs to win a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers to keep his job.

Before the walkoff, came the muff.

Seattle Mariners closer Tom Wilhelmsen, messing up a play that pitchers and first basemen across the league have worked on, time and again, during spring training, muffed a flip from first baseman Justin Smoke in the bottom of the ninth inning Monday afternoon, dropping the ball for an unbelievable error that allowed the Cleveland Indians to score the tying run.

It was right of Smoak to throw the ball, after a grounder came his way, and not try to beat Carlos Santana to the bag himself. Smoak’s flip didn’t have too much on it, or not enough. It wasn’t too high that Wilhelmsen had to reach, and it wasn’t too low that he had to stoop. Wilhelmsen wasn’t late covering the bag, and Smoak didn’t lead him too much. The ball hit him right in the leather. Everything about the play was right — except for the catch. Wilhelmsen, who came in 11 of 11 converting saves and really had pitched as well as anyone in ninth innings this season, just didn’t catch it. After time was called Smoak bent over at the waste in apparent disbelief.

The Mariners re-took the lead in the top of the 10th, but manager Eric Wedge chose not to use Wilhelmsen for another inning, and they lost on a three-run home run by Yan Gomes — Cleveland’s backup catcher — in the bottom half. It was an exhilarating ending to one of the more entertaining games of the season. For one side, anyway.

Wilhelmsen spoke matter-of-factly about his error, via Geoff Baker’s Mariners Blog in the Seattle Times:

“Smoakie made a great play and threw a perfect ball right to me,’’ Wilhemsen said. “I simply took my eyes off it and it fell out.’’

The Smoak homer nearly made everyody forget about that. But then the Mariners couldn’t get anybody out in the bottom of the 10th and all their efforts went for naught.

Smoak said the late loss clearly hurt in a clubhouse where many of the players seemed stunned and angry.

It was a total capsizing by the M’s, who probably won’t endure a tougher loss this season. M’s fans might disagree, but this might be one of their 10 worst losses ever — though they’ve been creative enough through the years to maybe make it a top 20 instead. Instead of averting a sweep, the Mariners dropped their fifth straight. Three of the four losses at Cleveland came in the last at-bat. All gut-wrenchers, but this one was the hardest to stomach.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this post read, in the first graf: “time and memorial,” which is not the intended saying. H/N: @Bonanos.

Baseball is in full swing! Interact with @AnswerDave, @MikeOz, @Townie813and@bigleaguestewon Twitter, along with the BLS Facebook page!

Here’s a fun fact: The number of NBA championships won by Phil Jackson as a basketball player and coach is more than every baseball team except the New York Yankees has won World Series rings. Jackson has won 13 NBA Finals. After the Yankees’ 27 titles, the next highest is the St. Louis Cardinals, who have 11.

That’s a weird set-up for two weird tidbits: (1) Phil Jackson might want to be a baseball coach. (2) He’s already an adviser to a couple MLB managers.

The New York Times’ magazine detailed at length how NBA teams are still chasing Jackson and how he can’t really leave the game. One passage reads: “Jackson will almost certainly return to basketball. One of his other great talents is coming out of retirement.”

But about three-fourths into the story comes this baseball-centric nugget:

Jackson has been serving as a kind of intersports guru, giving informal advice to an Israeli soccer coach — “All soccer involves triangles,” Jackson says — as well as to a couple of baseball managers. He grew up playing baseball and still thinks he would make a good coach. He has told the owner of the Chicago White Sox — his former boss with the Bulls, Jerry Reinsdorf — that he’s available. He seems to be only half joking.

Phil Jackson, baseball coach. How crazy would be if the guy all these NBA teams are chasing made the jump — like a certain star player of his did — to baseball? Maybe Jackson could take over the Dodgers. L.A. fans could get behind that, right? I mean, they’ve already accepted Magic Johnson as their savior.

OK, so Phil Jackson in baseball probably isn’t not going to happen, but it is interesting to learn that Jackson is giving advice to MLB managers. Who do you think they are? I dunno, but it sure would be funny if it were Jim Leyland. Let’s hope it’s not Don Mattingly. That wouldn’t bode well for Jackson’s coaching prospects.

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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Texas Rangers designated right-hander Derek Lowe for assignment Monday, clearing the way for Josh Lindblom to make his first career major league start against Oakland.

NEW YORK (AP) — Cincinnati Reds ace Johnny Cueto has been activated from the 15-day disabled list, and he is set to make his first start in more than a month on Monday night.