MLB scores and more: Cliff Lee to be trade bait?, Billingsley goes down, Rangers not looking for starters

Sunday’s scores

Blue Jays 8, Yankees 4 - Boone Logan and David Phelps blew a two-run Yankees lead by allowing six runs in a two-inning span. Brett Lawrie's two-run double proved to be the difference in the Jays' mid-inning rally.

Reds 10, Marlins 6 - Cincy piled on eight runs in the seventh to take the series from the Marlins. The rally was led by OBP machines Shin-Soo Choo and Joey Votto, who have both reached base at least once in all 19 games this season.

Mets 2, Nationals 0 - Don't look now, but the Mets actually got a solid pitching performance from someone not named Harvey or Niese. Dillon Gee scattered three hits over 5⅔ to get his first win of the year. John Buck continues to channel Johnny Bench; he hit his seventh long ball of the year.

Pirates 4, Braves 2 - Time for Atlanta to fall back to earth, apparently. The Bucs took their third straight over the Braves on Sunday, despite Jonathan Sanchez's best efforts to give the game away. Clint Barmes had a two-RBI day for the Pirates.

Royals 4, Red Sox 2 (Gm. 1) - Hero-of-the-Day Lorenzo Cain started a three-run rally in the fourth with an RBI double, then scored to give the Royals the lead. Ervin Santana again pitched well, holding to Sox to two runs and striking out seven over seven frames.

Royals 5, Red Sox 4 (F. 10) (Gm. 2) - Alex Gordon hit one of three home runs for KC, but it was Cain's bases-loaded walk in extras against Andrew Miller that made the difference. Also, I think Rany Jazayerli might be a wizard, you guys.

Dodgers 7, Orioles 4 - The Dodgers halted their losing streak at six, getting solid performances from Matt Kemp, Mark Ellis, and their entire bullpen corps. I still can't believe their eight-man rotation is down to four after just three weeks.

Rays 8, A's 1 - Roberto Hernandez notched his first MLB win as Roberto Hernandez with six innings of one-run ball. Yunel Escobar finally showed some signs of life at the plate with a three-hit, two-RBI day.

Brewers 4, Cubs 2 - When Milwaukee can keep their bullpen from imploding, they're actually pretty good. A three-run blast from Ryan Braun catapulted the Brewers to their seventh straight win.

Indians 5, Astros 4 - The Tribe took the series from Houston on the back of four solo blasts Sunday. Chris Perez made things interesting by loading the bases in the ninth, then induced a harmless ground ball to seal the win.

Twins 5, White Sox 3 - Minnesota earned its fourth consecutive victory by rallying for four runs in the seventh, aided by a three-run double from Josh Willingham. Adam Dunn "broke" his 0-for-31 slump with a solo blast, but for all intents and purposes he's still in a terrible slump.

Rangers 11, Mariners 3 - It was homer day at Arlington as Nelson Cruz hit a grand salami and Leonys Martin notched his first big-league dinger. Two other Rangers went deep as well, ensuring that Aaron Harang's second start with the M's was a complete disaster.

Angels 4, Tigers 3 (F. 13) - The Halos earned their first series sweep of the year, outscoring Detroit 22-4 in the three-game set. Mark Trumbo launched the solo walk-off blast in the 13th, and Anaheim's bullpen shut out the Tigers for seven innings.

Giants 5, Padres 0 - After turning pumpkin last week, Barry Zito turned back into Cinderella on Sunday, shutting out the Friars for seven innings. It's not clear whether that's a huge accomplishment or not anymore, as San Diego hasn't scored a run against anyone in its last 21 innings.

D'Backs 5, Rockies 4 - Didi Gregorius' hot start continued Sunday. The young shortstop homered and ignited a two-run, ninth-inning rally for Arizona that halted the Rockies' win streak at eight.

Phillies 7, Cardinals 3 - Perhaps Mitchell Boggs isn't the answer to St. Louis' closer problems. Called on in the eighth to keep the game knotted at three, Boggs surrendered an RBI single and a three-run blast to take the loss.

The Big Three

1. Speculation surfaced over the weekend that the Phillies could look to deal Cliff Lee at the trade deadline if the club is not in contention at that point. So, since that whole "in contention" part isn't going to happen, it really comes down to whether Ruben Amaro wants to pull the trigger on trading Lee for a second time. The return they got last time w was/is pretty abysmal, so I'd totally understand some hesitancy in sending him away again. Hooked on to the trade this time would be the additional $50 million Lee's owed for the next two seasons, so the return might not be great if Amaro doesn't agree to eat a bunch of salary. I could envision Angels owner Arte Moreno agreeing to take on all the salary as his club struggles to stay in contention come July -- much like last year with Zack Greinke -- but I don't think the Halos have anyone of value left in their farm system to give up.

2. Amazingly, the Dodgers' incredible wealth of starting pitchers has dwindled from eight down to four, and we're not even through the first month of the season. Anyone else imagine a scenario in which Stephen Fife would start a game for L.A. in April? You really can never have too much pitching, I guess. Chad Billingsley is the latest Dodgers starter to go to the disabled list, as his balky elbow continues to give him problems. L.A. opted to go the rehab route with Billingsley over the winter rather than concede to an operation, a move that's now looking pretty costly. Had the right-hander gone under the knife last fall -- likely for Tommy John -- he would have missed all of 2013 but been ready to go by Spring Training next year. Now, however, if TJS is back on the table, he'll miss the rest of this year and part of next season. To add insult to the confluence of injuries, former prospect Allen Webster made his big-league debut on Sunday for the Red Sox and pitched well.

3. The Texas Rangers have lost left-hander Matt Harrison through the All-Star break due to back problems, but the club is not interested in looking for external solutions to their current rotation shortage. Texas has been a constant on the starting pitching rumor mill since long before Harrison began experiencing back pain, but the organization's response has always been that they're happy with their internal options, namely Nick Tepesch and Justin Grimm. The pair of rookies have been solid for the Rangers thus far, and are likely to hold down rotation spots until Colby Lewis and Martin Perez return from the DL sometime in the next two months. Even if Tepesch and Grimm start to struggle, don't expect Texas to make any sudden moves, as they have plenty of other young options -- like Robbie Ross and Josh Lindblom -- on the farm.

In Other News...

1. Shortstop prospect Hak-Ju Lee is likely done for the season after running his knee into Travis Ishikawa's face over the weekend, tearing all sorts of ligaments in the process. Tough break for the Rays.

2. The Nationals placed third baseman Ryan Zimmerman on the DL with a hamstring injury and called up top prospect Anthony Rendon to take his place. The young infielder went hitless in his MLB debut on Sunday.

3. The Mets DFA-ed left-hander Aaron Laffey on Sunday in a move that seems a little premature. Shaun Marcum is set to return to the rotation next Saturday, but that's barring any sort of setback, which he seems to be a pro at.