The Latest on Major League Baseball trades on the deadline day for deals without waivers (all times Eastern):1:05 p.m.Badly needing outfield help, the Cleveland Indians have acquired center fielder Leonys Martin from the Detroit Tigers.Cleveland also received right-hander Kyle Dowdy in the deal in exchange for shortstop prospect Willi Castro.The AL-Central-leading Indians have been pursuing an outfielder for weeks and pulled off the deal just hours before Tuesday's non-waiver deadline. The 30-year-old Martins batted .251 with nine homers and 29 RBIs this season for the Tigers, who are 18 ½ games behind Cleveland.Martin has also scored 78 runs in his first season with Detroit and he leads the AL with nine assists. He missed time in July with a strained hamstring.The Cuban has a career .248 average with 47 homers and 205 RBIs in 699 games with Texas, Seattle, the Chicago Cubs and Tigers.Dowdy, 25, is 8-8 with a 4.74 ERA between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo this season.___11:50 a.m.Washington... [More]

The Latest on Major League Baseball trades on the deadline day for deals without waivers (all times Eastern):11:50 a.m.Washington Nationals president and general manager Mike Rizzo says Bryce Harper will not be traded before Tuesday's deadline.Rizzo tells the Washington Post in a text message that Harper "is not going anywhere."The Nationals have been one of baseball's biggest disappointments. They entered Tuesday with a 52-53 record, but they are still within 5 ½ games of the NL East lead and the second wild card.___11:30 a.m.The St. Louis Cardinals have traded outfielder Tommy Pham to the Tampa Bay Rays for three minor leaguers — outfielder Justin Williams, left-handed pitcher Genesis Cabrera and right-handed pitcher Roel Ramirez.The Cardinals also received international cap space in the four-player trade announced Tuesday, baseball's deadline for trades without waivers.There had already been a flurry of moves this week, including closers Roberto Osuna (to Houston) and Ken Giles (to Toronto)... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Sergio Romo relieved in the eighth inning, shifted to third base when Jonny Venters replaced him in the ninth, then struck out Brett Gardner to end the game with two on and give the Tampa Bay Rays a 3-2 win over the New York Yankees on Wednesday.Scheduled Rays starter Nathan Eovaldi was traded to AL East-leading Boston about two hours before game time, and six pitchers combined on a seven-hitter.New York has lost just two series since May, and both are against the Rays. Tampa Bay swept three games in late June, took two of three this week and has won six of its past seven against the Yankees. New York, 14-14 over its past 28 games, acquired reliever Zach Britton from Baltimore late Tuesday but said he will not report until Thursday's homestand opener against Kansas City.Neil Walker hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning, but the Rays took a 3-1 lead in the sixth when Kevin Kiermaier hit a two-run homer off Luis Cessa (1-2) and C.J. Cron added a solo drive against... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Sergio Romo relieved in the eighth inning, shifted to third base when Jonny Venters replaced him in the ninth, then struck out Brett Gardner to end the game with two on and give the Tampa Bay Rays a 3-2 win over the New York Yankees on Wednesday.Scheduled Rays starter Nathan Eovaldi was traded to AL East-leading Boston about two hours before game time, and six pitchers combined on a seven-hitter.New York has lost just two series since May, and both are against the Rays. Tampa Bay swept three games in late June, took two of three this week and has won six of its past seven against the Yankees. New York, 14-14 over its past 28 games, acquired reliever Zach Britton from Baltimore late Tuesday but said he will not report until Thursday's homestand opener against Kansas City.Neil Walker hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning, but the Rays took a 3-1 lead in the sixth when Kevin Kiermaier hit a two-run homer off Luis Cessa (1-2) and C.J. Cron added a solo drive against... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Sergio Romo relieved in the eighth inning, shifted to third base when Jonny Venters replaced him in the ninth, then struck out Brett Gardner to end the game with two on and give the Tampa Bay Rays a 3-2 win over the New York Yankees on Wednesday.Scheduled Rays starter Nathan Eovaldi was traded to AL East-leading Boston about two hours before game time, and six pitchers combined on a seven-hitter.New York has lost just two series since May, and both are against the Rays. Tampa Bay swept three games in late June, took two of three this week and has won six of its past seven against the Yankees. New York, 14-14 over its past 28 games, acquired reliever Zach Britton from Baltimore late Tuesday but said he will not report until Thursday's homestand opener against Kansas City.Neil Walker hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning, but the Rays took a 3-1 lead in the sixth when Kevin Kiermaier hit a two-run homer off Luis Cessa (1-2) and C.J. Cron added a solo drive against... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Starling Marte, Gregory Polanco and Josh Bell each hit a two-run homer, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cleveland Indians 9-4 on Tuesday night for their 11th straight win.The Pirates routed the Indians for the second straight night. Marte homered in the first inning, drove in three runs and extended his career-high hitting streak to 17 games.Polanco homered and Corey Dickerson tripled in two runs when Pittsburgh scored five times in the second. Bell hit a home run in the fifth. The Pirates have homered in a season-high nine straight games, hitting 22 home runs in that span.Pittsburgh has won 11 in a row for the first time since Sept. 12-22, 1996. The Pirates have won 13 of 14 and are 17-8 since June 24. Pittsburgh has outscored its opponents 43-8 in the last five games.Joe Musgrove (4-4) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings for his first win since June 29.Shane Bieber (5-2), called up from Triple-A Columbus to make the start, allowed seven runs in 1 2/3 innings.... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Starling Marte, Gregory Polanco and Josh Bell each hit a two-run homer, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cleveland Indians 9-4 on Tuesday night for their 11th straight win.The Pirates routed the Indians for the second straight night. Marte homered in the first inning, drove in three runs and extended his career-high hitting streak to 17 games.Polanco homered and Corey Dickerson tripled in two runs when Pittsburgh scored five times in the second. Bell hit a home run in the fifth. The Pirates have homered in a season-high nine straight games, hitting 22 home runs in that span.Pittsburgh has won 11 in a row for the first time since Sept. 12-22, 1996. The Pirates have won 13 of 14 and are 17-8 since June 24. Pittsburgh has outscored its opponents 43-8 in the last five games.Joe Musgrove (4-4) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings for his first win since June 29.Shane Bieber (5-2), called up from Triple-A Columbus to make the start, allowed seven runs in 1 2/3 innings.... [More]

Bryce Harper had a chance to shine in front of his home fans during the All-Star break, and he took advantage by winning the Home Run Derby .Then it was back to reality for Harper and the Washington Nationals, who will need to turn things around soon if they want to avoid a disappointing season.After hosting the All-Star festivities, Washington split two home games against NL East rival Atlanta, with a postponement in between. In a loss Friday night, the Nationals' frustration seemed evident when star pitchers Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg had a heated exchange in the dugout. Even after a win Sunday, Washington is six games behind first-place Philadelphia and five behind the Braves, who are in position for the second wild card.Harper has taken a lot of the heat for Washington's underachieving, and his .218 batting average certainly sticks out. But he does have 24 homers and a .366 on-base percentage, so it's not as though his offensive approach has completely fallen apart.Harper is... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Mookie Betts and the major league-leading Red Sox are on pace for 100-plus wins. Same for Aaron Judge and the Yankees, and the World Series champion Astros, too.The Orioles, White Sox and Royals are on track to lose more than 100.It's the haves and the have-nots as baseball returns after the All-Star break."There's a few good teams out there that they're going to make it interesting in the second half," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "That's why you got to show up every day and keep playing. We had a great first part of the season, but that doesn't guarantee us anything in October, going to October."The Dodgers know all about October, and they are a World Series contender once again. Especially with the addition of Manny Machado.The NL West leaders got a head start on the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline by sending five prospects to Baltimore on Wednesday for Machado, an All-Star shortstop capable of powering Los Angeles to its first title in 30 years."Any time you have... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — For Max Scherzer, Bryce Harper and any Nationals Park regulars in attendance, this home All-Star Game probably felt rather familiar. A lot of hype, some so-so performances and, at times, a nearly silent ballpark.Washington righty Scherzer became the first reigning Cy Young Award winner to start a Midsummer Classic at home, and delighted the fans singing his name with four strikeouts in two innings for the National League on Tuesday night — but he also gave up a homer to Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge in what became an 8-6 victory in 10 innings for the American League."I threw a fastball up, and I hit my spot. ... I was like, 'Man, I really thought I threw that high.' And you've got to go higher than higher than high against him," said Scherzer, who was making his third All-Star start and second in a row. "He's 6-foot-7. It's incredible. He put a good swing on it. ... I realize now, pitching against tall guys, you've got to go high."Nationals outfielder Harper's encore... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on baseball's All-Star Game (all times local):12:08 a.m.Alex Bregman has been named the All-Star Game MVP for his go-ahead homer in the 10th inning that sent the American League to an 8-6 victory.Bregman's homer was one of a record-breaking 10 in the game, but it put the AL ahead for good as baseball's best put on a power exhibition in the late innings. His Astros teammate George Springer hit one out immediately after Bregman.The 24-year-old Bregman is a first-time All-Star in his third major league season. He hit 19 homers last year and has 20 so far this year.___11:59 p.m.Alex Bregman and George Springer hit back-to-back homers in the 10th inning, and the American League beat the National League 8-6 in a power-crazy All-Star Game.There were 10 homers on the night at Nationals Park, shattering the previous All-Star Game record of six. Seven came in the seventh inning or later.While the power display entertained the fans who stuck around for the end of the 3... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on baseball's All-Star Game (all times local):11:59 p.m.Alex Bregman and George Springer hit back-to-back homers in the 10th inning, and the American League beat the National League 8-6 in a power-crazy All-Star Game.There were 10 homers on the night at Nationals Park, shattering the previous All-Star Game record of six. Seven came in the seventh inning or later.While the power display entertained the fans who stuck around for the end of the 3 hour, 34-minute game, the one-dimensional exhibition won't allay any concerns about a sport that's becoming defined by home runs, strikeouts and walks.Thirteen of the 14 runs came in on homers. All but two of them were solo shots. Jean Segura's three-run homer in the eighth was the only hit with a man in scoring position.Scooter Gennett tied it for the National League in the ninth with a two-run homer. Then Astros teammates Bregman and Springer took Ross Stripling deep.___11:45 p.m.Astros teammates Alex Bregman and George... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — For Max Scherzer, Bryce Harper and any Nationals Park regulars in attendance, this home All-Star Game probably felt rather familiar. A lot of hype, some so-so performances and, at times, a nearly silent ballpark.Washington righty Scherzer became the first reigning Cy Young Award winner to start a Midsummer Classic at home, and delighted the fans singing his name with four strikeouts in two innings for the NL on Tuesday night — but also gave up a homer to Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge.Harper's encore to his Home Run Derby triumph was to go 0 for 2, striking out in both of his at-bats for the NL — once looking, once swinging. And while his theatrics a night earlier got the Washington crowd roaring during the slugging contest, the place was quiet as can be for stretches of the game.Sort of the way things have been at times in 2018 for the Nationals, who were coming off two consecutive NL East titles and were a popular pick to make it three in a row. Instead, it's been a... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on baseball's All-Star Game (all times local):11:05 p.m.Jean Segura hit a 3-run homer after first baseman Joey Votto's error gave him another chance, and the American League took a 5-2 eighth-inning lead over the National League in the All-Star Game.Votto dropped a foul popup along the NL dugout railing with runners on first and second and a 3-2 count on Segura, who launched the next pitch over the left-field wall.It was the first hit with a runner in scoring position in the game. All seven runs were scored via home runs, the first four coming on solo shots.Segura went deep off Josh Hader. He became the third player in the game to homer in his first career All-Star at-bat, following Willson Contreras and Trevor Story.___10:45 p.m.Trevor Story has homered in the seventh inning to draw the National League even 2-2 in the All-Star Game.Story pulled his hands in and ripped an inside fastball from Charlie Morton down the left-field line and into the first row of... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on baseball's All-Star Game (all times local):10:20 p.m.Light rain has begun falling at the All-Star Game as a small band of showers moves through Washington.The rain caused some fans to head for the concourses but appeared unlikely to delay the game.Earlier Tuesday, strong thunderstorms led to standing water in the National League dugout. But the field was in good shape by the time the game started after 8 p.m.The American League leads the National League 2-1 in the top of the seventh inning.___9:10 p.m.Willson Contreras put the National League on the board in the All-Star Game by homering off Blake Snell in the third inning.Contreras hit the first pitch from Snell just over the wall in left field to cut the American League lead to 2-1.All three runs have scored on solo homers.In the top of the third, Mike Trout homered off Jacob deGrom.Trout went deep on a 1-2 fastball, sending it into the AL bullpen in left field.It was Trout's second homer in five All-Star... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on baseball's All-Star Game (all times local):9:10 p.m.Willson Contreras put the National League on the board in the All-Star Game by homering off Blake Snell in the third inning.Contreras hit the first pitch from Snell just over the wall in left field to cut the American League lead to 2-1.All three runs have scored on solo homers.In the top of the third, Mike Trout homered off Jacob deGrom.Trout went deep on a 1-2 fastball, sending it into the AL bullpen in left field.It was Trout's second homer in five All-Star Game appearances and improved him to 7-for-14 in his All-Star career. He later popped out to foul territory in the fifth. He was named MVP of the game in 2014 and 2015.___8:45 p.m.Aaron Judge has given the American League a 1-0 lead in the All-Star Game with a homer off Max Scherzer.Leading off the second inning, the Yankees slugger got ahold of a belt-high 0-1 fastball from Scherzer and sent it into the bullpen beyond the left field fence.It was Judge's... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Major League Baseball wants a broad discussion with players about rule changes to combat decreased offense and longer games, an initiative likely to be met by a testy union stung by declining free-agent prices and already raising the possibility of a work stoppage after the 2021 season.Commissioner Rob Manfred and players' association head Tony Clark outlined their differing agendas during separate sessions with the Baseball Writers' Association of America before Tuesday night's All-Star Game."There is a growing consensus or maybe even better an existing consensus among ownership that we need to have a really serious conversation about making some changes to the way the game is being played," Manfred said. "We are not at the point where I can articulate for you what particular rule changes might get serious consideration. I can tell you the issues that concern people: I think that the period of time between putting balls in play, the number of strikeouts, to a lesser extent... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on baseball's All-Star Game (all times local):9:10 p.m.Willson Contreras put the National League on the board in the All-Star Game by homering off Blake Snell in the third inning.Contreras hit the first pitch from Snell just over the wall in left field to cut the American League lead to 2-1.All three runs have scored on solo homers.In the top of the third, Mike Trout homered off Jacob deGrom.Trout went deep on a 1-2 fastball, sending it into the AL bullpen in left field.It was Trout's second homer in five All-Star Game appearances and improved him to 7-for-15 (.467) in his All-Star career. He was named MVP of the game in 2014 and 2015.___8:45 p.m.Aaron Judge has given the American League a 1-0 lead in the All-Star Game with a homer off Max Scherzer.Leading off the second inning, the Yankees slugger got ahold of a belt-high 0-1 fastball from Scherzer and sent it into the bullpen beyond the left field fence.It was Judge's first All-Star Game hit in his second... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on baseball's All-Star Game (all times local):8:45 p.m.Aaron Judge has given the American League a 1-0 lead in the All-Star Game with a homer off Max Scherzer.Leading off the second inning, the Yankees slugger got ahold of a belt-high 0-1 fastball from Scherzer and sent it into the bullpen beyond the left field fence.It was Judge's first All-Star Game hit in his second appearance. He went 0-for-3 last year.National League manager Dave Roberts tapped Scherzer to start the game in part because it's being played at his home ballpark. The Nationals right-hander made his third All-Star start.___8:10 p.m.A combat medic who received the Medal of Honor for his service in Vietnam has thrown out the ceremonial first pitch for the All-Star Game at Nationals Park.James McCloughan was one of 30 Medal of Honor recipients to be honored before the game. After serving in Vietnam, McCloughan spent 38 years as a high school baseball coach in Michigan.In choosing McCloughan, Major... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on baseball's All-Star Game (all times local):8:10 p.m.A combat medic who received the Medal of Honor for his service in Vietnam has thrown out the ceremonial first pitch for the All-Star Game at Nationals Park.James McCloughan was one of 30 Medal of Honor recipients to be honored before the game. After serving in Vietnam, McCloughan spent 38 years as a high school baseball coach in Michigan.In choosing McCloughan, Major League Baseball stayed away from political controversy during the first All-Star game in 49 years in Washington. President Donald Trump did not attend the game a day after he drew bipartisan criticism for siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Russian meddling in the 2016 election.Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy threw out the first pitch at All-Star games in Washington during their terms. Dwight D. Eisenhower declined because he was recovering from surgery, while Richard M. Nixon had to delegate the responsibility to Vice... [More]