Each night we'll provide you with the nine top story lines from the day's action, beginning with the stars of the day, and look ahead to the next day's matchups.
Nelson Cruz, April's American League Player of the Month, hasn't shown any signs of slowing down as the season rolls into May. Cruz hit his major league-leading 14th home run Monday and is batting a cool .343 for the season.
MORE: Fantasy rankings, sleepers for Tuesday | NL MVP Watch | Counsell had one of best batting stances ever
There were quite a few interesting events across baseball Monday. A fan sprinted across the diamond in St. Louis and capped his spirited run with a somersault on home plate. Hanley Ramirez injured himself attempting to catch a fly ball when he ran into one of Boston's green walls. The Astros finally lost, ending their 10-game winning streak, and Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers lost to the Brewers in Craig Counsell's debut as Milwaukee's manager.
More of Monday's highlights:
Impact players
C — Stephen Vogt, Athletics: Vogt remained hot at the plate. He went 3 for 5 with a home run and five RBIs against the Twins after hitting two home runs Sunday against the Rangers.
1B — Darin Ruf, Phillies: Ruf went 3 for 5 with two runs scored in a 5-2 win against the Braves.
2B — Jose Altuve, Astros: The Astros' winning streak may have ended, but Altuve remained hot. He went 1 for 3 with a run, a walk and a stolen base.
SS — Hector Gomez, Brewers: Gomez hit his first career home run and scored two runs in a 2-for-3 day.
3B — Yunel Escobar, Nationals: Escobar continued to fill in nicely at the position for the injured Anthony Rendon. He went 5 for 5 with a run and two RBIs in a 6-4 win against the Marlins.
OF — Jeff Francoeur, Phillies: Francoeur went 4 for 5 with a run and two RBIs.
DH — Joey Butler, Rays: Butler went 1 for 3 with his first career home run in a 5-1 win against the Red Sox.
SP — Madison Bumgarner, Giants: Bumgarner took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, then had to "settle" for 7 1/3 innings of shutout baseball after allowing two hits. He also struck out six in a 2-0 win against the Padres.
Key injuries
Ramirez suffered a left shoulder sprain while trying to catch a James Loney fly ball in the first inning. The Red Sox say Ramirez is day to day. Ramirez tweeted an update after Monday's game:
A bit sore, but back soon. Hang in there #RedSoxNation, and thanks for all the prayers
— Hanley Ramirez (@HanleyRamirez) May 5, 2015The Mariners placed outfielder Austin Jackson on the 15-day disabled list with a right ankle sprain.
Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino will have season-ending Tommy John surgery. He has a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right (pitching) elbow.
The Twins placed outfielder Oswaldo Arcia on the 15-day DL a with right hip flexor strain.
Surprise performers
Good: The Cardinals (19-6) tied the best start in franchise history by winning a 10-9 slugfest over the Cubs. In fact, one would have to go back to 1899, when Cy Young pitched for the Perfectos, to find the franchise's previous 19-6 start.
Bad: Starting pitching in the Cubs-Cardinals game: St. Louis' Carlos Martinez had been excellent to start the season, but he was dismantled against Chicago. He allowed seven runs on nine hits in 3 2/3 innings of work. Five of those runs came in the first inning. Travis Wood wasn't much better for the Cubs. He allowed six runs in five innings. Somehow, neither pitcher earned a loss.
Web gems
Kershaw makes a great spinning stop:
When you’re that good, this is easy: http://t.co/0JKlIhcBoA pic.twitter.com/uP76rxN3OP
— MLB (@MLB) May 5, 2015Now this is how you slide into a wall — Hanley, we're looking at you:
George Springer puts it ALL on the line: http://t.co/r43FKjtFJR pic.twitter.com/FHfzgAIzYe
— MLB (@MLB) May 5, 2015Fact of the day
No one said it would be easy:
Craig Counsell is the 1st manager in MLB history to have his debut come against a defending Cy Young & MVP winner (via @eliassports)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 4, 2015All good things come to an end:
Astros lose, ending their 10-game win streak. Tonight was the 1st time this season the Astros lost a game after holding a lead at one point.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 5, 2015Nationals reliever Tanner Roark picked up his first career save after pitching a scoreless ninth inning against the Marlins.
Reactions
This is not the response Tigers fans are looking for:
"Dear haters... I have heard you. Therefore since I have done all of the rehab I can possibly do already I shall not move from my bed nor enjoy my life whatsoever for the rest of the day so you think I'm trying." — Justin Verlander, via his Instagram account.
The Rams should have drafted this guy — look at those moves!
#Cardinals fan runs onto field, eludes security, somersaults onto home plate http://t.co/tm7Pm1rwgV pic.twitter.com/7A2nvefdH0
— Mike Oz (@mikeoz) May 5, 2015Off the field
Rendon, who has been rehabbing an MCL sprain, was shut down indefinitely after being diagnosed with a left oblique strain.
Blue Jays shortstop Jose Reyes is scheduled to have an MRI this weekend on his cracked rib.
Scores
American League
National League
Diamondbacks at Rockies, ppd., rain
A look ahead
Tuesday's three best games (All times Eastern):
Orioles (12-11) at Mets (16-10) 7:10 p.m.: This is an intriguing interleague matchup between a team that's scoring a lot of runs (Orioles) and a team that has been struggling to get guys across home plate. Bartolo Colon (4-1, 3.31 ERA) takes the mound for New York.
Rays (14-12) at Red Sox (12-14) 7:10 p.m.: This division rivalry gets an extra boost with former teammates facing off against each other. After pitching together in Detroit, Drew Smyly and Rick Porcello will be mound opponents for the first time in their careers. Porcello (5.34 ERA) needs to get things going.
Athletics (11-16) at Twins (14-12) 8:10 p.m.: Don't look now, but the Twins are winners of eight of their past 10 games and are riding a five-game winning streak. Torii Hunter's bat is starting to heat up, but the loss of Oswaldo Arcia (hip) will hurt Minnesota's offense.