A look at what's happening around the majors today: ___ BAKER'S DOZEN IN THE BOOKS Oakland goes for its 14th consecutive victory when the Athletics take on Baltimore at Camden Yards. Jesús Luzardo (1-1, 5.89 ERA) is on the mound as the A’s look to complete a three-game sweep. This is the third-longest winning streak in Oakland history. The A’s won 14 straight in 1988 and set a then-American League record with 20 consecutive victories in 2002. Cleveland broke that mark with 22 straight wins in 2017 — Oakland’s string is the longest in the majors since that Indians run. The Athletics, who lost their first six games this season, have outscored opponents 83-36 during the winning streak. John Means (1-0, 1.52) starts for the Orioles after getting an additional two days of rest following seven shutout innings Sunday at Texas in his last outing. Oakland has won nine in a row against Baltimore dating to 2019. SUNDAY NIGHT SPOTLIGHT Fernando Tatis Jr. is coming off consecutive two-homer games as... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Sunday: ___ BAKER'S DOZEN IN THE BOOKS Oakland goes for its 14th consecutive victory when the Athletics take on Baltimore at Camden Yards. Jesús Luzardo (1-1, 5.89 ERA) is on the mound as the A’s look to complete a three-game sweep. This is the third-longest winning streak in Oakland history. The A’s won 14 straight in 1988 and set a then-American League record with 20 consecutive victories in 2002. Cleveland broke that mark with 22 straight wins in 2017 — Oakland’s string is the longest in the majors since that Indians run. The Athletics, who lost their first six games this season, have outscored opponents 83-36 during the winning streak. John Means (1-0, 1.52) starts for the Orioles after getting an additional two days of rest following seven shutout innings Sunday at Texas in his last outing. Oakland has won nine in a row against Baltimore dating to 2019. AILING ASTROS Houston second baseman José Altuve says he tested positive for COVID-19... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Sunday: ___ AILING ASTROS Houston second baseman José Altuve says he’s tested positive for COVID-19 but hasn’t felt badly and hopes to return to the lineup soon. The 2017 AL MVP was among five Astros who were placed on the COVID-19 list on April 14. The four other players were back on the active roster within a few days. It’s unclear how much time Altuve will need before playin again. He said he received the first dose of one of the two-dose COVID-19 vaccines before testing positive, and that he has no idea how he contracted the virus. Altuve is hitting .318 with one homer, three doubles and five RBIs in 11 games. Hours after Altuve spoke, Houston starter Jake Odorizzi was forced to leave after throwing only five pitches against the Angels because of tightness in his right forearm. Odorizzi got a late start to the season after not signing with the Astros until March 8. He entered the game with an 0-2 record and 10.57 ERA in two starts this... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today: ___ WELCOME BACK Dinelson Lamet is set for his season debut with the Padres after working back from elbow discomfort that caused him to miss the end of the 2020 season, including the playoffs. The right-hander was a breakout ace for San Diego last season, finishing fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting. He’s returning to a revamped rotation that includes offseason pickups Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove. He’s slated to start an afternoon game against Brewers right-hander Adrian Houser (1-2, 3.14). DC BLUES The 2019 World Series champion Nationals were dealt yet another setback Tuesday when outfielder Juan Soto went on the 10-day injured list with a strained left shoulder. Soto, the reigning NL batting champion, originally was listed in Washington’s starting lineup facing the St. Louis Cardinals, but less than an hour before the game’s scheduled first pitch, the Nationals tweeted the move. Last-place Washington also has Stephen Strasburg... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday: ___ WELCOME BACK Dinelson Lamet is set for his season debut with the Padres after working back from elbow discomfort that caused him to miss the end of the 2020 season, including the playoffs. The right-hander was a breakout ace for San Diego last season, finishing fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting. He’s returning to a revamped rotation that includes offseason pickups Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove. He’s slated to start an afternoon game against Brewers right-hander Adrian Houser (1-2, 3.14). DC BLUES The 2019 World Series champion Nationals were dealt yet another setback Tuesday when outfielder Juan Soto went on the 10-day injured list with a strained left shoulder. Soto, the reigning NL batting champion, originally was listed in Washington’s starting lineup facing the St. Louis Cardinals, but less than an hour before the game’s scheduled first pitch, the Nationals tweeted the move. Last-place Washington also has Stephen... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Kiké Hernández led off with a replay-aided home run and Bobby Dalbec worked a 14-pitch walk in a six-run first inning against Lucas Giolito, helping the Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox 11-4 on Monday in the first Patriots’ Day game played apart from the Boston Marathon. The Marathon was moved to Oct. 11 because of Massachusetts limits on crowds during the novel coronavirus pandemic. The Patriots Day game, with a start shortly after 11 a.m., has been played by the Red Sox since 1959. It drew a limited crowd of 4,738. Giolito (1-1) was removed with two on and no outs in the second. He allowed eight runs — seven earned — and eight hits as his ERA more than doubled from 2.55 to 5.79. Nathan Eovaldi (3-1) matched his career-high with 10 strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings, allowing four runs and nine hits with no walks. BREWERS 3, PADRES 1 SAN DIEGO (AP) — Brandon Woodruff and three relievers combined on a two-hitter and Luis Urias homered in his return to Petco Park before leaving... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Joey Gallo is getting on base a lot for the Texas Rangers without going out of the park. That is quite a shift for the 6-foot-5 slugger who homered in the only pitch he's faced in an MLB All-Star Game and got to 100 career homers quicker than any player in American League history, at a time when he had only 93 singles. Gallo reached base in each of his first 15 games this season, his only homer being an impressive 450-foot drive to center in the opening series at Kansas City. His other 10 hits were all singles and he had an MLB-high 15 walks. He got on three other times when hit by a pitch and was the only Texas base runner in the game where Joe Musgrove plunked him while throwing the first no-hitter in San Diego Padres history. “When I was younger, I thought it was really cool to hit 40 home runs. And then I remember everyone’s just kind of like bashing me, saying I’m the worst 40 home run hitter,” said Gallo, 27. “And I was like, all right, I guess it’s not that... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today: ___ WELL RESTED Jacob deGrom and the Mets hope to finally play some baseball. New York has had four games in six days either postponed or suspended due to weather, including a snow out Friday night for the opener of their series at Colorado. The club has had seven postponements this season, including all three games of its opening series against Washington, which was called off due to the Nationals’ COVID-19 outbreak. Saturday’s forecast in Denver looks chilly but clear, making it likely deGrom (0-1, 0.64) will finally get back on the mound two days after he was initially supposed to take his turn. New York’s ace will start the opener of a doubleheader against Chi Chi Gonzalez (1-0, 3.60), and Mets lefty Joe Lucchesi (0-0, 0.00) will face Germán Márquez (0-1, 4.02) in the late game. BEAT-UP BEARS Willson Contreras and the Cubs are feeling understandably unsettled in the box. Chicago batters were plunked four times by Braves starter Kyle... [More]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Corey Seager hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer on Tim Hill’s first pitch of the 12th inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 11-6 Friday night in a tense, entertaining first matchup this season between NL West rivals who have visions of deep playoff runs. It took 4 hours, 57 minutes to decide this one, which ended early Saturday morning. The benches emptied after Dodgers reliever Dennis Santana hit Jorge Mateo with a pitch to put runners on the corners with one out in the 10th. Trent Grisham walked to load the bases, but Santana struck out Fernando Tatis Jr. to escape. The teams met for the first time since the Dodgers swept San Diego in their Division Series last year en route to winning the World Series. The Padres responded by beefing up their rotation, trading for Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove. Darvish and Snell are scheduled to pitch in the final two games of the three-game series. Seager homered with Mookie Betts on second base after... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kyle Schwarber hit a game-ending homer in the ninth inning, helping the Washington Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0 on Friday night after Max Scherzer passed Cy Young on baseball’s career strikeouts list. The lefty-batting Schwarber connected on a 2-1 pitch from left-hander Alex Young (0-3), sending a drive to right that traveled an estimated 463 feet for his first homer for Washington. Brad Hand (1-0) worked a scoreless ninth for the win. The Nationals allowed just three hits. Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, struck out the side in the seventh while passing Cy Young to move into 22nd place on baseball’s strikeout list. He finished with 10 on the day, giving him 2,808 for his career. RAYS 8, YANKEES 2 NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Lowe hit a two-run double in the first inning off opener Nick Nelson (0-2), and AL champion Tampa Bay kept up its domination of New York, setting off frustrated fans who caused a brief interruption. The young, athletic Rays... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kyle Schwarber hit a game-ending homer in the ninth inning, helping the Washington Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0 on Friday night after Max Scherzer passed Cy Young on baseball’s career strikeouts list. The lefty-batting Schwarber connected on a 2-1 pitch from left-hander Alex Young (0-3), sending a drive to right that traveled an estimated 463 feet for his first homer for Washington. Brad Hand (1-0) worked a scoreless ninth for the win. The Nationals allowed just three hits. Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, struck out the side in the seventh while passing Cy Young to move into 22nd place on baseball’s strikeout list. He finished with 10 on the day, giving him 2,808 for his career. RAYS 8, YANKEES 2 NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Lowe hit a two-run double in the first inning off opener Nick Nelson (0-2), and AL champion Tampa Bay kept up its domination of New York, setting off frustrated fans who caused a brief interruption. The young, athletic Rays... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kyle Schwarber hit a game-ending homer in the ninth inning, helping the Washington Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0 on Friday night after Max Scherzer passed Cy Young on baseball’s career strikeouts list. The lefty-batting Schwarber connected on a 2-1 pitch from left-hander Alex Young (0-3), sending a drive to right that traveled an estimated 463 feet for his first homer for Washington. Brad Hand (1-0) worked a scoreless ninth for the win. The Nationals allowed just three hits. Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, struck out the side in the seventh while passing Cy Young to move into 22nd place on baseball’s strikeout list. He finished with 10 on the day, giving him 2,808 for his career. RAYS 8, YANKEES 2 NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Lowe hit a two-run double in the first inning off opener Nick Nelson (0-2), and AL champion Tampa Bay kept up its domination of New York, setting off frustrated fans who caused a brief interruption. The young, athletic Rays... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kyle Schwarber hit a game-ending homer in the ninth inning, helping the Washington Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0 on Friday night after Max Scherzer passed Cy Young on baseball’s career strikeouts list. The lefty-batting Schwarber connected on a 2-1 pitch from left-hander Alex Young (0-3), sending a drive to right that traveled an estimated 463 feet for his first homer for Washington. Brad Hand (1-0) worked a scoreless ninth for the win. The Nationals allowed just three hits. Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, struck out the side in the seventh while passing Cy Young to move into 22nd place on baseball’s strikeout list. He finished with 10 on the day, giving him 2,808 for his career. RAYS 8, YANKEES 2 NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Lowe hit a two-run double in the first inning off opener Nick Nelson (0-2), and AL champion Tampa Bay kept up its domination of New York, setting off frustrated fans who caused a brief interruption. The young, athletic Rays... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kyle Schwarber hit a game-ending homer in the ninth inning, helping the Washington Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0 on Friday night after Max Scherzer passed Cy Young on baseball’s career strikeouts list. The lefty-batting Schwarber connected on a 2-1 pitch from left-hander Alex Young (0-3), sending a drive to right that traveled an estimated 463 feet for his first homer for Washington. Brad Hand (1-0) worked a scoreless ninth for the win. The Nationals allowed just three hits. Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, struck out the side in the seventh while passing Cy Young to move into 22nd place on baseball’s strikeout list. He finished with 10 on the day, giving him 2,808 for his career. RAYS 8, YANKEES 2 NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Lowe hit a two-run double in the first inning off opener Nick Nelson (0-2), and AL champion Tampa Bay kept up its domination of New York, setting off frustrated fans who caused a brief interruption. The young, athletic Rays... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Carlos Rodón threw the second no-hitter of the young baseball season Wednesday night, losing his bid for a perfect game on a hit batter with one out in the ninth inning, and the Chicago White Sox cruised to an 8-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians. The left-hander retired his first 25 batters before he plunked Roberto Pérez on the back foot with an 0-2 slider. An incredulous Rodón looked on almost in bewilderment as Pérez made his way to first. Rodón (2-0) regained his composure in time to strike out Yu Chang looking and retire Jordan Luplow on a sharp grounder to third, starting a joyous celebration. It was the first no-hitter for the White Sox since Lucas Giolito pitched one Aug. 25 last year against Pittsburgh and No. 20 in franchise history, second-most among major league teams behind the Los Angeles Dodgers (23). Rodón’s gem came just five days after Joe Musgrove threw a no-hitter for his hometown Padres at Texas. Rodón threw 75 of his 114 pitches for strikes. He struck... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Carlos Rodón threw the second no-hitter of the young baseball season Wednesday night, losing his bid for a perfect game on a hit batter with one out in the ninth inning, and the Chicago White Sox cruised to an 8-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians. The left-hander retired his first 25 batters before he plunked Roberto Pérez on the back foot with an 0-2 slider. An incredulous Rodón looked on almost in bewilderment as Pérez made his way to first. Rodón (2-0) regained his composure in time to strike out Yu Chang looking and retire Jordan Luplow on a sharp grounder to third, starting a joyous celebration. It was the first no-hitter for the White Sox since Lucas Giolito pitched one Aug. 25 last year against Pittsburgh and No. 20 in franchise history, second-most among major league teams behind the Los Angeles Dodgers (23). Rodón’s gem came just five days after Joe Musgrove threw a no-hitter for his hometown Padres at Texas. Rodón threw 75 of his 114 pitches for strikes. He struck... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today: ___ VIRUS SCARE The Chicago Cubs hope to stay on schedule amid a coronavirus scare that’s landed four players on the COVID-19 injured list the past two days. Scheduled starter Kyle Hendricks was scratched Tuesday after the right-hander indicated he wasn’t feeling well — the team didn’t immediately provide more info on his status, other than to say the move was made out of caution. The team said prior to Tuesday's game that no players have tested positive. Bullpen coach Chris Young and first base coach Craig Driver have been flagged for positive tests. Chicago is set to wrap a series in Milwaukee, with Brewers ace Corbin Burnes (0-1, 0.73) facing Jake Arrieta (2-0, 2.25). CUP OF JOE Joe Musgrove is back on the mound after pitching the first no-hitter in Padres history in his previous start. This time, he’ll face the Pirates at PNC Park -- the 28-year-old righty played three seasons for the Pirates before getting traded to San Diego last... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday: ___ VIRUS SCARE The Chicago Cubs hope to stay on schedule amid a coronavirus scare that’s landed four players on the COVID-19 injured list the past two days. Scheduled starter Kyle Hendricks was scratched Tuesday after the right-hander indicated he wasn’t feeling well — the team didn’t immediately provide more info on his status, other than to say the move was made out of caution. The team said prior to Tuesday's game that no players have tested positive. Bullpen coach Chris Young and first base coach Craig Driver have been flagged for positive tests. Chicago is set to wrap a series in Milwaukee, with Brewers ace Corbin Burnes (0-1, 0.73) facing Jake Arrieta (2-0, 2.25). CUP OF JOE Joe Musgrove is back on the mound after pitching the first no-hitter in Padres history in his previous start. This time, he’ll face the Pirates at PNC Park -- the 28-year-old righty played three seasons for the Pirates before getting traded to San Diego... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — This no-hitter, it turned out, came with a cup of Joe. Fresh off pitching the first no-no in the San Diego Padres' 52-year history, Joe Musgrove found out his achievement served up a positive effect on his family, too. The right-hander’s parents own and operate a coffee shop in the San Diego suburb of Alpine, California. Padres fans have been flocking there since Musgrove tossed his gem last Friday against the Texas Rangers in Arlington. “It’s something that’s been in the family for 20 years, a small drive through in a small town, so they don’t usually do crazy business,” Musgrove said Tuesday. “But the last few days have been some of the best days they’ve ever had. I really appreciate people helping support their small business," he said. Musgrove will see some familiar faces in his first start since the history-making effort. He's set to pitch Wednesday night in Pittsburgh — last January, after three seasons with the Pirates, he was traded to the hometown Padres. Musgrove... [More]

The new-look Mets have a familiar problem so far: Even when Jacob deGrom is on the mound, they're surprisingly beatable. DeGrom struck out 14 on Saturday, but New York lost 3-0 to the Miami Marlins. In his other start this season, deGrom held Philadelphia scoreless for six innings, but the Mets gave up five runs in the eighth and lost 5-3. Whether it's blamed on poor run support or shaky relief pitching, New York hasn't taken advantage of deGrom's brilliance the last few years. The right-hander won the Cy Young Award in both 2018 and 2019, but since the start of the 2018 season, he's just 25-20 despite posting a stellar 2.06 ERA. He has 33 no-decisions in that span, and the Mets have lost 22 of those games. Among the pitchers who have more wins than deGrom since the start of 2018: Marco Gonzales (36-25 with a 4.00 ERA), Jon Lester (34-19, 4.06), Rick Porcello (32-26, 4.98) and J.A. Happ (31-16, 4.13). What's remarkable is that over the past three-plus seasons, the Mets have been mediocre,... [More]