Baseball

Usually there isn’t much hype for the Boston Red Sox’s first game against the Toronto Blue Jays, but with John Farrell making his first appearance in Toronto since he left the Canadian organization, there were plenty of storylines.

The Boston Red Sox have started their 2013 season off in an impressive fashion, taking three out of four games on the road against the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays. They will soon get even stronger, as the impending returns of injured players Stephen Drew and David Ortiz will shake up the roster.

Heading into the 2013 season, Orioles first baseman Chris Davis wasn't a well-known star in the Baltimore lineup.

Within four games, that's changed.

Mike Minor carried the Atlanta Braves to a 4-1 win over the Chicago Cubs on Friday night.  Justin Upton hit another home run, and Evan Gattis had three hits in the victory.

The Cincinnati Reds clobbered the Washington Nationals 15-0 Friday night to take home their third win of the young MLB season.

Once the Cardinals finish up their West Coast swing through Arizona and San Francisco, they'll find themselves smack-dab in the middle of a duel against their fiercest competition for the NL Central crown, the Cincinnati Reds.

Welcome to the big leagues Brandon Maurer.

Thursday afternoon, fans of the Seattle Mariners had hoped to see the rookie hurler make the leap from Double-A to the majors unscathed following his impressive showing at spring training.  

Unfortunately, the Oakland A's had other plans (Yahoo!Sports).

Fresh off of winning the National League Central crown in 2012, the Cincinnati Reds are the favorites to repeat but could face some roadblocks in their quest to get back to the postseason.

The team won 97 games and were the first team to clinch its division last season, so it had plenty of time to prepare for the playoffs. Unfortunately, the Reds were sent home earlier than expected, and they are hoping to avoid an even bigger letdown this season.

The Chicago Cubs are ready to spruce up Wrigley Field. When they do, they'll be looking to usher in an entirely new era of Cubs baseball.

But first, the news itself.

Milwaukee Brewers star outfielder Ryan Braun was scratched from the lineup prior to his team's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night.

The club's official Twitter account reported the scratch before game time, citing neck spasms as the culprit: