ATLANTA (AP) — Braves starter Charlie Morton lost his no-hit bid with one out in the seventh inning when Paul Goldschmidt singled for the St. Louis Cardinals. Morton hit Matt Carpenter with a pitch in the third inning Thursday night and also drilled Dylan Carlson in the fourth, the only baserunners he allowed before Goldschmidt ripped a full-count sinker, the 10th pitch of his at-bat. The 37-year-old Morton entered the seventh with six strikeouts and 72 pitches thrown. St. Louis starter John Gant didn't allow a hit until Ronald Acuña Jr. singled to open the fourth. Freddie Freeman followed with a single, but the inning ended when Austin Riley lined out to third. Morton entered 2-12 with a 5.68 ERA in 18 career starts against St. Louis. The two-time All-Star signed a $15 million, one-year deal with Atlanta this winter after helping Tampa Bay win the AL pennant in 2020. Plagued often by big innings this year, Morton was steady with a fastball up to 96 mph, mixing in plenty of curves and cutters,... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Braves starter Charlie Morton has not allowed a hit through six innings against the St. Louis Cardinals. Morton hit Matt Carpenter with a pitch in the third inning Thursday night and also drilled Dylan Carlson in the fourth, the only baserunners he's allowed. The 37-year-old right-hander has struck out six and thrown 72 pitches. St. Louis starter John Gant didn't allow a hit until Ronald Acuña Jr. singled to open the fourth. Freddie Freeman followed with a single, but the inning ended when Austin Riley lined out to third. Morton entered 2-12 with a 5.68 ERA in 18 career starts against St. Louis. Plagued often by big innings this year, Morton has been steady with a fastball up to 96 mph, mixing in plenty of curves and cutters, too. The Braves led 2-0 on Guillermo Heredia's third homer in the fifth and Ozzie Albies' RBI triple in the sixth. There have been six no-hitters already this season, and a seventh would match 1990, 1991, 2012 and 2015 for the most since 1900, one shy... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today: ___ AILING ACE Jacob deGrom once again has Mets fans crossing their fingers after leaving his start Wednesday with right shoulder soreness. One outing after being pulled from a gem against San Diego with right flexor tendinitis, deGrom exited after three perfect innings against the Chicago Cubs. He struck out eight, the first time a pitcher has punched out at least eight over three perfect innings since at least 1901, per STATS. The team did not immediately announce how long deGrom might be out, or if he’ll need an MRI or other medical testing. DeGrom pitched one-hit ball over six scoreless innings against the Padres on Friday night before leaving with the flexor issue in his right arm. He had an MRI the next day that revealed no damage, and he resumed his usual between-start routine. He started Wednesday on his standard four days of rest. DeGrom lowered his ERA to 0.54, the best ever by a pitcher through 11 starts. He also had an RBI... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Thursday: ___ AILING ACE Jacob deGrom once again has Mets fans crossing their fingers after leaving his start Wednesday with right shoulder soreness. One outing after being pulled from a gem against San Diego with right flexor tendinitis, deGrom exited after three perfect innings against the Chicago Cubs. He struck out eight, the first time a pitcher has punched out at least eight over three perfect innings since at least 1901, per STATS. The team did not immediately announce how long deGrom might be out, or if he’ll need an MRI or other medical testing. DeGrom pitched one-hit ball over six scoreless innings against the Padres on Friday night before leaving with the flexor issue in his right arm. He had an MRI the next day that revealed no damage, and he resumed his usual between-start routine. He started Wednesday on his standard four days of rest. DeGrom lowered his ERA to 0.54, the best ever by a pitcher through 11 starts. He also had an RBI... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today: DR. DEGROM No doubt every Mets fans shuddered when they heard the news that star pitcher Jacob deGrom was pulled from his latest start with an elbow injury. But the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner says not to fret. “My level of concern is not too high,” deGrom said Friday night. DeGrom exited with right flexor tendinitis. He tore the ligament in his pitching elbow as a minor leaguer and needed Tommy John surgery in 2010 and said “this didn’t feel anything like that.” “Whenever you say elbow anything for a pitcher, everyone gets nervous about that,” deGrom said. “But like I said, I do a lot of ligament tests on my own, and doing those, knowing what those feel like, it’s a totally different spot.” DeGrom doesn’t plan to seek an MRI or other imaging, and he expects to proceed with his normal between-start routine and pitch next time his rotation spot comes up. DeGrom pitched six shutout innings of one-hit ball and struck out 10 in a 3-2... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Saturday: DR. DEGROM No doubt every Mets fans shuddered when they heard the news that star pitcher Jacob deGrom was pulled from his latest start with an elbow injury. But the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner says not to fret. “My level of concern is not too high,” deGrom said Friday night. DeGrom exited with right flexor tendinitis. He tore the ligament in his pitching elbow as a minor leaguer and needed Tommy John surgery in 2010 and said “this didn’t feel anything like that.” “Whenever you say elbow anything for a pitcher, everyone gets nervous about that,” deGrom said. “But like I said, I do a lot of ligament tests on my own, and doing those, knowing what those feel like, it’s a totally different spot.” DeGrom doesn’t plan to seek an MRI or other imaging, and he expects to proceed with his normal between-start routine and pitch next time his rotation spot comes up. DeGrom pitched six shutout innings of one-hit ball and struck out 10 in... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Saturday: AILING ACE The Nationals will see how Max Scherzer is feeling, a day after he exited a start against San Francisco in which he threw just 12 pitches. There was no immediate report on Scherzer’s condition. Scherzer got Giants leadoff hitter LaMonte Wade Jr. to fly out for the first out of the game. Washington manager Dave Martinez and trainer Paul Lessard went out to the mound to check on Scherzer after he threw a 96 mph fastball that made the count 3-2 on Brandon Belt. Scherzer got down and squatted, then stretched from side to side before throwing one pitch in front of Martinez and Lessard. Scherzer left after that warmup throw. The three-time Cy Young Award winner entered the game with a 5-4 record and a 2.22 ERA. HAPPY HOMETOWNERS Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove (4-5, 2.33 ERA) faces Mets righty Marcus Stroman (5-4, 2.41) in a showdown of veteran pitchers who are with their hometown teams. Musgrove was traded to San Diego in... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Kiké Hernández snapped an 0-for-27 skid with a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning and the Boston Red Sox completed their major league-best 20th come-from-behind victory, beating the New York Yankees 5-3 Saturday night. Hernández got his first RBI since May 20 by roping a two-out fastball from Chad Green (0-4) to the wall in left, scoring Rafael Devers from first. Christian Vázquez scored Hernández a batter later with a grounder that skipped over the first-base bag, and Bobby Dalbec followed with a two-run homer. Former Yankees minor leaguer Garrett Whitlock (1-1) was credited with his first major league win. Closer Matt Barnes earned his 14th save. Gleyber Torres hit a two-run homer for New York and added a sacrifice fly. GIANTS 4, CUBS 3 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Unbeaten Kevin Gausman struck out 10 in seven innings, Alex Dickerson homered for the second consecutive game and San Francisco beat Chicago. San Francisco won its third straight over the Cubs. The Giants have... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today: ___ DEGROMINANT Mets ace Jacob deGrom (4-2, 0.71) finished May with the lowest ERA by a qualified starter since 1964, a mark he'll try to lower in a start at San Diego. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner pitched six scoreless innings against Arizona in his previous start and has allowed just four earned runs in 51 innings. Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove (4-4, 2.08) could compete with deGrom for Cy Young votes. He threw the season's first no-hitter in April and hasn't allowed an earned run in his past three outings, spanning 16 2/3 innings. NOT OVER HILL Tampa Bay’s Rich Hill (4-2, 3.32 ERA), the 41-year-old left-hander who was the AL pitcher of the month in May, makes his first June start for the defending AL champion Rays. It comes in the second game of a weekend series at Texas in their return to the host of last year’s neutral-site World Series. Hill, who signed with the Rays as a free agent in February after pitching for Minnesota... [More]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Padres left-hander Blake Snell lost a no-hit bid Friday night with no outs in the seventh inning when New York Mets star Francisco Lindor lined a clean single to left field. Outfielder Tommy Pham misplayed the ball, allowing Lindor to reach third on a two-base error. Snell pitched into the seventh inning for the first time this season. The only previous batter to reach against the 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner Friday night was Billy McKinney, who walked with two outs in the fifth inning. Snell entered the seventh with eight strikeouts on 80 pitches. Lindor also hit a deep fly to center that was caught at the wall in the fourth inning. San Diego led 1-0 behind Manny Machado's home run in the first inning off Joey Lucchesi. There have been six no-hitters in the majors already this season. Seven no-hitters would match 1990, 1991, 2012 and 2015 for the most since 1900, one shy of the record eight in 1884 — the first season overhand pitching was allowed. Joe Musgrove pitched... [More]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Padres left-hander Blake Snell has thrown six no-hit innings against the New York Mets. The only batter to reach against the 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner Friday night was Billy McKinney, who walked with two outs in the fifth inning. Snell has eight strikeouts on 80 pitches. Snell hasn't gotten an out in the seventh inning yet this season, and his highest pitch count was 97 pitches on May 18. There have been six no-hitters in the majors already this season. Seven no-hitters would match 1990, 1991, 2012 and 2015 for the most since 1900, one shy of the record eight in 1884 — the first season overhand pitching was allowed. Joe Musgrove pitched the first no-hitter of the season and the first in San Diego franchise history on April 9. The Padres have never thrown a no-hitter at home. He was followed by Carlos Rodón of the Chicago White Sox against Cleveland on April 14, Baltimore’s John Means against Seattle on May 5, Cincinnati’s Wade Miley against Cleveland on May 7, Detroit’s Spencer Turnbull against Seattle on May 18 and Corey Kluber of the New York Yankees against Texas on May 19. In addition, Arizona’s Madison Bumgarner had a seven-inning hitless game in a doubleheader on April 25 that is not recognized as a no-hitter by Major league Baseball. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta celebrated his 25th birthday with a no-hit bid that was ended by Arizona's Nick Ahmed with one out in the eighth inning. Ahmed blooped a soft single into left field on Peralta's 109th and final pitch Friday night. Fans stood and cheered as manager Craig Counsell took the ball from the pitcher, and Peralta tipped his cap to the crowd as he walked off. Peralta walked Josh Rojas to start Friday night's game, then retired 14 straight batters before walking Josh Reddick with two outs in the fifth. He struck out nine and walked three, setting a career high for pitches thrown. The Brewers led 4-0. Arizona nearly got its first hit with one out in the seventh, but second baseman Luis Urías went well onto the shortstop side of second base to catch a blooper from Christian Walker just before it hit the ground. The Diamondbacks came close to a hit on a few other occasions. After Rojas drew his leadoff walk in the first, Carson Kelly hit... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta is celebrating his 25th birthday with a no-hit bid through six innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Peralta walked Josh Rojas to start Friday night's game, then retired 14 straight batters before walking Josh Reddick with two outs in the fifth. He has struck out nine and walked two on 91 pitches. The Brewers lead 4-0. Arizona has come close to a hit on a few occasions. After Rojas drew his leadoff walk in the first, Carson Kelly hit a long drive to center that Jackie Bradley Jr. caught at the warning track. Bradley also made a diving catch in the second to retire Pavin Smith, who has a 14-game hitting streak. Brewers first baseman Daniel Vogelbach snared a liner from Smith in the fifth. There have been six no-hitters in the majors already this season. Seven no-hitters would match 1990, 1991, 2012 and 2015 for the most since 1900, one shy of the record eight in 1884 -- the first season overhand pitching was allowed. The... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Saturday: ___ DEGROMINANT Mets ace Jacob deGrom (4-2, 0.71) finished May with the lowest ERA by a qualified starter since 1964, a mark he'll try to lower in a start at San Diego. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner pitched six scoreless innings against Arizona in his previous start and has allowed just four earned runs in 51 innings. Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove (4-4, 2.08) could compete with deGrom for Cy Young votes. He threw the season's first no-hitter in April and hasn't allowed an earned run in his past three outings, spanning 16 2/3 innings. NOT OVER HILL Tampa Bay’s Rich Hill (4-2, 3.32 ERA), the 41-year-old left-hander who was the AL pitcher of the month in May, makes his first June start for the defending AL champion Rays. It comes in the second game of a weekend series at Texas in their return to the host of last year’s neutral-site World Series. Hill, who signed with the Rays as a free agent in February after pitching for Minnesota... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The major league batting average rose slightly in May, though it remained at its lowest level in 53 years. Hitters batted .239 in May, up from .232 in April and the lowest average for May since .237 in 1972, the Elias Sports Bureau said Tuesday. The .236 average for the season through May 31 is the lowest since .229 in 1968 — the last season before the pitcher's mound was lowered from 15 inches to 10. May's .315 on-base percentage was up from .309 in April but the lowest for May since .314 in 2015. The .312 through May 31 is the lowest since .309 in 1972. In an era of dominance on home runs, slugging percentage did not decline as much. The .397 percentage in May was the lowest since .395 in 2014 and the .393 percentage for the season through May 31 was the lowest since .392 in 2014. Strikeouts exceeded hits by 838 in May after topping them by 1,091 in April, Elias said. Strikeouts had never exceeded hits over a full calendar month before May 2018. Strikeouts have averaged... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Carlos Martinez's no-hit bid ended in the seventh inning when the St. Louis right-hander gave up a leadoff single to Arizona's Ketel Marte on Thursday night. Marte lined a single into left field that fell in front of Tyler O'Neill, and Eduardo Escobar followed with a single to right. David Peralta then hit a double to deep left-center that scored Marte and chased Martinez from the game. The Cardinals still led 4-1. Martinez, a two-time All-Star, retired the first nine batters he faced, including six on strikeouts. He walked Josh Rojas to lead off the fourth and hit pitcher Caleb Smith with a pitch in the sixth. Martinez got the final two outs in the sixth inning when Rojas hit a hard liner right at third baseman Nolan Arenado, who caught it and then doubled off Smith at first base. But the pitcher's luck ran out in the seventh when Marte smacked a line drive into left. Martinez also had a hit at the plate, delivering a single in the second inning that was part of a three-run... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — St. Louis' Carlos Martinez has a no-hitter through six innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The two-time All-Star retired the first nine batters he faced, including six on strikeouts. He walked Josh Rojas to lead off the fourth and hit pitcher Caleb Smith with a pitch in the sixth. He's struck out six and thrown 77 pitches. Martinez got the final two outs in the sixth inning when Rojas hit a hard liner right at third baseman Nolan Arenado, who caught it and then doubled off Smith at first base. The Diamondbacks have lost 10 straight games. Martinez is trying to become the seventh pitcher to throw a no-hitter in 2021, even though the season isn't even one-third through the schedule. Seven no-hitters in a season would tie the record for the most since 1900 and be one shy of the all-time mark set in 1884. He would joined San Diego’s Joe Musgrove (April 9), Carlos Rodón of the Chicago White Sox (April 9), Baltimore’s John Means (May 5), Detroit’s Spencer Turnbull (May 18) and the New York Yankees’ Corey Kluber (May 19). In addition, Arizona’s Madison Bumgarner had a seven-inning hitless game in a doubleheader on April 25 that is not recognized as a no-hitter by Major league Baseball. The Cardinals lead the game 4-0. Tyler O'Neill hit a two-run homer off the center field scoreboard in the second. Arenado hit a run-scoring double in the fifth. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays’ 11-game winning streak came to an end Tuesday night when Brad Keller pitched seven strong innings and Salvador Perez hit a tiebreaking RBI single to give the Kansas City Royals a 2-1 victory. Rich Hill struck out a career-high 13 for the Rays. Tampa Bay’s winning string was the second-longest in club history, one shy of the record set in 2004 by the then-Devil Rays managed by Lou Piniella. Keller (4-4) allowed one run, four hits, four walks and struck out seven. Jake Brentz went 1 1/3 innings before Kyle Zimmer got two outs to get his second save. Perez put the Royals up 2-1 on a sixth-inning single off Hill (3-2). Hill became the oldest player to appear in a game with the Rays at 41 years, 75 days. Hall of Famer Wade Boggs was 41 years, 73 days old when he played his final game on Aug. 27, 1999. WHITE SOX 8, CARDINALS 3 CHICAGO (AP) — Lucas Giolito beat Jack Flaherty in a major league matchup of former high school teammates, leading Chicago... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays’ 11-game winning streak came to an end Tuesday night when Brad Keller pitched seven strong innings and Salvador Perez hit a tiebreaking RBI single to give the Kansas City Royals a 2-1 victory. Rich Hill struck out a career-high 13 for the Rays. Tampa Bay’s winning string was the second-longest in club history, one shy of the record set in 2004 by the then-Devil Rays managed by Lou Piniella. Keller (4-4) allowed one run, four hits, four walks and struck out seven. Jake Brentz went 1 1/3 innings before Kyle Zimmer got two outs to get his second save. Perez put the Royals up 2-1 on a sixth-inning single off Hill (3-2). Hill became the oldest player to appear in a game with the Rays at 41 years, 75 days. Hall of Famer Wade Boggs was 41 years, 73 days old when he played his final game on Aug. 27, 1999. WHITE SOX 8, CARDINALS 3 CHICAGO (AP) — Lucas Giolito beat Jack Flaherty in a major league matchup of former high school teammates, leading Chicago... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — César Hernández hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning off Alex Colomé, giving the Cleveland Indians a 5-3 victory over Minnesota on Saturday that dropped the Twins to 0-8 in extra-inning games this season. Hernández’s first career game-ending home run led off the 10th and sliced over the right-field wall to score Austin Hedges, who started at second base under pandemic rules. Colomé (2-4) also gave up Jordan Luplow’s leadoff homer in the 10th inning of a 5-3 loss at Cleveland on April 26. James Karinchak (2-0) got four outs, finishing a 4 2/3 hitless scoreless Indians bullpen behind AL Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber. Bieber allowed three runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out six, ending his 23-game streak of at least seven strikeouts. DODGERS 6, GIANTS 3 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Max Muncy hit a home run into McCovey Cove, connecting off Scott Kazmir in the lefty’s first big league game since 2016, and Los Angeles beat San Francisco for its seventh straight... [More]