MLB: Breaking Stories and all the Latest from MLB.com

Hahn trying to prove his worth in Triple-A
With results comes confidence, and right-hander Jesse Hahn has discovered both in a hurry during an unexpected stay in the Minor Leagues. The 26-year-old Hahn, demoted to Triple-A Nashville during the final week of exhibition play, has responded to the surprising move with a pair of excellent outings; his ERA has yet to budge from zero after two starts with the Sounds.

Ortega gives Angels ‘plus, plus, plus’ arm in left
When Rafael Ortega signed his first professional contract with the Rockies, the local newspaper in Venezuela ran his picture. It showed a 16-year-old Ortega, with his glove positioned just below his face while standing on top of a mound.

Nine years ago, Buehrle no-hit Rangers
The date of April 18 holds special significance in White Sox lore. Mark Buehrle threw a no-hitter against the Rangers on a cold night at U.S. Cellular Field on this day in 2007.

Castellanos isn’t dwelling over red-hot start
Tigers third baseman Nick Castellanos doesn’t make much of it yet. “I’m seeing the ball well,” he said after a three-hit, four-RBI game in Pittsburgh last Thursday continued his hot start. Manager Brad Ausmus believes it’s neither a revelation nor a confidence boost.

Arcias aim to realize dream of meeting in bigs
Orlando Arcia is the Brewers’ top prospect and the sixth-best prospect in baseball, according to MLBPipeline.com. But he’s also a typical kid brother, so when Oswaldo Arcia hit a walk-off single in the 12th inning for the Twins on Sunday, Orlando could not help but pick up his cellphone to compose a tongue-in-cheek text.

Arenado ‘all about winning, all about producing’
The card games, the video study and the preparation of equipment in the Rockies’ clubhouse slowed to a near halt as third baseman Nolan Arenado carried the Rockies’ banner Monday.

Plouffe held out of lineup, likely faces DL stint
Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe was held out of the lineup on Monday, and is expected to be placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right intercostal muscle on Tuesday.

Heyward back in St. Louis on other side of rivalry
Jason Heyward wasn’t sure what to expect as far as how Cardinals fans would welcome him back to Busch Stadium, but he did want to make one thing clear: He enjoyed his time with the team and would’ve stayed. It simply came down to taking advantage of the opportunity to choose where he could play.

Ortiz out of starting lineup for matinee finale
Though the season will be chock full of final moments for David Ortiz, Monday was not one of them as the retiring Red Sox slugger was not part of Patriots’ Day starting lineup for Boston.

Farrell’s use of Kimbrel correct despite result
Forget the result. No manager can control that. John Farrell wasn’t sleep-deprived because of the early Patriots’ Day start on Monday in Boston. Turning to Craig Kimbrel in the eighth inning of the Red Sox’s 4-3 loss shows he was on top of his game.

Harper, Arenado are NL Players of the Week
Two of the National League’s top power hitters were named co-NL Players of the Week on Monday, as Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper and Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado shared the honor.

MLB employees help with mural, garden cleanup
Employees from MLB Advanced Media, MLB Network and the Office of the Commissioner spent Saturday afternoon participating in MLB’s “New York Cares Day” employee volunteer event.

Story, White, Mazara lead Prospect Team of the Week
MLBPipeline.com’s Prospect Team of the Week honors the best performances from the previous seven days. Any player currently on an organization Top 30 Prospects list on our Prospect Watch is eligible, including big leaguers. Welcome to MLBPipeline’s inaugural Prospect Team of the Week for 2016. We’re bending our rules slightly for this first edition and considering the entire season to date rather than the last seven days.

Trumbo, Altuve named AL Players of the Week
Mark Trumbo and Jose Altuve’s recent homer barrages have powered the pair to American League Player of the Week honors.

Bradley wows with mad dash and grab
On a day in which the Red Sox turned five double plays, it was the soaring Jackie Bradley Jr. who made the most aesthetically pleasing play in a 4-3 loss to the Blue Jays on Patriots’ Day.

Close to returning, deGrom takes baby home
A week after their baby son Jaxon’s birth, Mets starter Jacob deGrom and wife Stacey brought him home from the hospital Monday for the first time. The couple had been dealing with complications regarding Jaxon’s birth, resulting in deGrom’s placement on MLB’s family-emergency list.

Bauer trying to make most of time in bullpen
It took Trevor Bauer a few days to digest the news that he was going to start this season in the bullpen. Even now, two weeks into the regular season, the young pitcher still states that his preference would be to eventually return to the Indians’ rotation.

How to get away with SBs: Yanks swiping more
Teams that have almost as many players in their 40s as players in their 20s starting every day aren’t often known for their prowess on the basepaths. But 11 games into the 2016 season, the Yankees are showing not just a marked improvement in stealing bases from last year, they’re showing the league up.

Tejada comes off DL to join Cardinals
Shortstop Ruben Tejada has been activated from the 15-day disabled list and is set to join the Cardinals for the first time Monday night against the Cubs.

Plenty of good vibes in baseball’s opening weeks
Nothing gets cleared up these first two weeks. We think we know and then we don’t. Every game has more importance than it should. That said, there are definite positive vibes in at least a few places.

MLB announces Breaking Barriers winners
Kendal Young is a fifth-grader in Spring Lake, a West Michigan village where growing up as one of the few Africans-Americans became the subject of her powerful essay. Sadie Chamberlain is an eighth-grader in West Burke, Vt., and her writing was an inspirational account of overcoming stereotypes related to life with cerebral palsy.

5 players to target in fantasy right now
Winning fantasy baseball is all about buying low. Let’s take a look at five players to target today.

Twins bring back Gardenhire in front-office role
Former Twins manager Ron Gardenhire is rejoining the organization, as he was hired as a special assistant to general manager Terry Ryan, the club announced Monday.

Sox begin Patriots’ Day with Marathon tribute
Under sunny skies on a crisp, clear day, the Red Sox celebrated Patriots’ Day in grand fashion on Monday at Fenway Park before falling to the Blue Jays, 4-3.

Late rally helps Blue Jays earn split with Sox
J.A. Happ allowed just one run in seven-plus innings and the Blue Jays rallied with four runs in the eighth before holding on for a 4-3 victory over the Red Sox on Patriots’ Day at Fenway Park.

What’s the average age of each big league club?
You have heard players, coaches, managers, front office personnel all say something like this: “We have a good mix of veterans and young players.” This just in: Everybody has that mix in varying degrees. The difference from club to club is whether the veterans and the young players are any good.

Stats of the Day: Bautista, before and after
In Toronto’s 5-3 win over Boston on Sunday, Jose Bautista doubled and homered. Consider the extraordinary turnaround in the career of this six-time All-Star.

Tanaka relishes beating Iwakuma, playing stopper
Sure, it was meaningful that Masahiro Tanaka walked away with the victory after going head-to-head with the Mariners’ Hisashi Iwakuma, whom he admired greatly back when they were teammates with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.

Artificial turf debuts in Majors 50 years ago
On April 18, 1966, the Astros hosted the Dodgers in their home opener at the Astrodome in Houston, in the first Major League game played on artificial turf, which at that point covered only the infield.

Ortiz gets routine day of rest for matinee finale
Though the season will be chock full of final moments for David Ortiz, Monday was not one of them as the retiring Red Sox slugger was not part of Patriots’ Day starting lineup for Boston.

Harper, Trout among young talent in peak form
Outfielders Bryce Harper of the Nationals and Mike Trout of the Angels have become the face of baseball’s youth movement. They do, however, have plenty of company. Baseball, arguably, has as many young stars today as it has ever had.

Sox reflect on Boston Marathon bombing on Patriots’ Day
Patriots’ Day was once again a festive occasion at Fenway Park, with the Red Sox hosting the Blue Jays Monday at 11:05 a.m. ET, and the Boston Marathon passing through Kenmore Square in the early afternoon. But Monday was also a time to reflect on the Boston Marathon bombing of 2013.

Cubs-Cards clash rekindled tonight on MLB.TV
Today’s slate of games opened with the return of a deeply loved tradition in Boston, where the Red Sox hosted the Blue Jays as part of the city’s Patriots’ Day festivities, taking the field for a late-morning contest before which they honored victims and survivors of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Tonight on MLB.TV, we’ll get to see the first 2016 installment of one of the great all-time and recent rivalries in the game

Better than ever? Harper off to hot start in ’16
One of Bryce Harper’s walk-up songs at Nationals Park is “The Best is Yet to Come” by Frank Sinatra, which Harper started using on his way to winning the National League MVP Award last season. After that breakout season, considered historic by some measures, Harper kept Sinatra’s song in his rotation of walk-up music, even though expecting Harper to improve upon last year was a tall and somewhat unfair task.

Today’s starting lineups: April 18
Every lineup, every day, as they are made public by the clubs.

Oh Maeda! Dodger outduels Shark, sinks SF
A pitchers duel went the Dodgers’ way Sunday as Kenta Maeda shined yet again to continue an excellent start to his MLB career. With the 3-1 win, the Dodgers took the weekend series over the Giants and a division lead in the NL West.