NEW YORK (AP) — Desperate for a powerful, left-handed bat to park balls in the short porch at Yankee Stadium, the New York Yankees got two of them. Hours after announcing their trade to acquire All-Star slugger Joey Gallo from Texas, the playoff-chasing Yankees worked out a deal for longtime Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo on Thursday. The swaps came on a day the Yankees lost at Tampa Bay 14-0, leaving them far behind Boston in the AL East and fourth in the chase for two wild-card spots. Team officials, including owner Hal Steinbrenner and general manager Brian Cashman, have been holding meetings in nearby Tampa, Florida. “Part of the reason I’m here is because Hal always goes for it, and so does Brian,” Yankees ace Gerrit Cole said after the lopsided loss. “Continue to push chips in. I trust that they’re going to do what’s best for the organization, what’s best to win. I trust they’re going to try and make us better one way or another, and they did.” The Yankees made the moves... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Desperate for a powerful, left-handed bat to park balls in the short porch at Yankee Stadium, the New York Yankees got two of them. Hours after announcing their trade to acquire All-Star slugger Joey Gallo from Texas, the playoff-chasing Yankees worked out a deal for longtime Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo on Thursday. The swaps came on a day the Yankees lost at Tampa Bay 14-0, leaving them far behind Boston in the AL East and fourth in the chase for two wild-card spots. Team officials, including owner Hal Steinbrenner and general manager Brian Cashman, have been holding meetings in nearby Tampa, Florida. “Part of the reason I’m here is because Hal always goes for it, and so does Brian,” Yankees ace Gerrit Cole said after the lopsided loss. “Continue to push chips in. I trust that they’re going to do what’s best for the organization, what’s best to win. I trust they’re going to try and make us better one way or another, and they did.” The Yankees made the moves... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Luis Patiño outpitched Gerrit Cole, Brett Phillips hit a grand slam during a 10-run sixth inning, and the Tampa Bay Rays avoided a three-game sweep by routing the New York Yankees 14-0 on Thursday. Patiño (2-2) allowed three hits in six innings. The 21-year-old right-hander, acquired in the trade that sent Blake Snell to San Diego last December, struck out eight and walked two. Cole (10-6) gave up a season-high eight runs — seven earned — on six hits over 5 1/3 innings and saw his ERA jump from 2.74 to 3.11. He had 10 strikeouts and two walks. Austin Meadows homered twice and drove in five runs for the Rays. Louis Head and Ryan Sherriff completed a four-hitter. All nine batters in the Rays’ lineup reached base in the sixth. It was the biggest scoring inning by Tampa Bay since a 10-run fifth at Miami on June 5, 2008. NATIONALS 3, PHILLIES 1, GAME 1 PHILLIES 11, NATIONALS 8, 8 INNINGS, GAME 2 PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Max Scherzer delivered a signature performance in... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Yankees have answered questions about how they would proceed heading into Friday's trade deadline. They are big-time buyers. All-Star slugger Joey Gallo's trade to New York from the Texas Rangers was completed Thursday, giving the heavily right-handed Yankees a much-needed powerful lefty bat. New York acquired Gallo and left-hander Joely Rodriguez from the Rangers for minor league right-hander Glenn Otto and infielders Ezequiel Duran, Trevor Hauver and Josh Smith. The Yankees will receive $2,722,865 from the Rangers plus another $500,000 in January that is conditioned on Rodriguez’ 2022 option buyout being paid. With switch-hitting center fielder Aaron Hicks hurt, second baseman Rougned Odor and outfielder Brett Gardner have been the only left-handed hitters to see substantial playing time. “Sign me up for the guy that’s on base almost 40% of the time and has power and provides the kind of potential balance for our lineup,” Boone said before New York lost... [More]

New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole took the loss in a 14-0 rout at the hands of the Rays. Cole ran into trouble in the first inning, allowing four earned runs before getting one out, the first time such an instance has occurred in his career. He later retired nine batters in a row. Cole's final line reflects the highs and lows he experienced in this outing- a season-high seven earned runs allowed but 10 strikeouts and an eye-popping 23 whiffs in 5 1/3 innings of work. Cole's strikeout rate has jumped from 25.4 percent in June to 37.2 percent in July, meaning he's figured out a different way to fool hitters despite lower spin rates. While these poor outings are frustrating, it's encouraging that the strikeouts are back, which should lead to an ace-like performance more often than not moving forward.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Yankees have answered questions about how they would proceed heading into Friday's trade deadline. They are big-time buyers. All-Star slugger Joey Gallo's trade to New York from the Texas Rangers was completed Thursday, giving the heavily right-handed Yankees a much-needed powerful lefty bat. New York acquired Gallo, left-hander Joely Rodriguez and cash from the Rangers for minor league right-hander Glenn Otto and infielders Ezequiel Duran, Trevor Hauver and Josh Smith. With switch-hitting center fielder Aaron Hicks hurt, second baseman Rougned Odor and outfielder Brett Gardner have been the only left-handed hitters to see substantial playing time. “Sign me up for the guy that’s on base almost 40% of the time and has power and provides the kind of potential balance for our lineup,” Boone said before New York lost 14-0 to Tampa Bay. “And on top of it, he’s a two-way player. This is a guy that really defends, can run and do all those things. It’s hard to argue... [More]

Second overall pick Jack Leiter signed Wednesday with the Texas Rangers, getting a $7,922,000 signing bonus that is the largest for a drafted pitcher in 10 years. The deal for the right-hander out of Vanderbilt, and the son of former big league lefty Al Leiter, was for just above the recommended $7,789,900 slot for the second player taken in baseball’s amateur draft on July 11. That was the largest signing bonus for a pitcher since Gerrit Cole got $8 million after the Pittsburgh Pirates took him first overall in 2011. That was the last draft before Major League Baseball guidelines for signing bonuses of drafted players went into effect. “Even before the selection was made, (the Rangers) made it clear to me and my family that this was kind of what they wanted to happen. And through the whole process, it just felt like I was the right fit for them. And it kind of felt the other way around, it felt like they were the right fit for me,” Leiter said. “It was kind of just a perfect match.” The... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Rafael Devers hit two home runs, including a go-ahead blast in the fifth inning, to help the Boston Red Sox best New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole for the second straight time at Fenway Park in a 6-2 victory Friday night. Devers followed his two-run with a three-run homer in the seventh — the 100th of his career — to help Boston improve to 9-2 against New York this season. The Red Sox maintained their one-game AL East lead over Tampa Bay and increased their lead to nine games over the third-place Yankees. Yacksel Rios (3-0) got the victory, pitching two scoreless innings to cap a strong night from the bullpen after starter Eduardo Rodriguez left in the second inning after experiencing migraine symptoms. Cole (10-5) started strong for New York, but was pulled after fiving innings, giving up three runs off six hits, striking out eight and walking two. METS 3, BLUE JAYS 0 NEW YORK (AP) — Tylor Megill threw six scoreless innings for his first big league victory and got his first... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Rafael Devers hit two home runs, including a go-ahead blast in the fifth inning, to help the Boston Red Sox best New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole for the second straight time at Fenway Park in a 6-2 victory Friday night. Devers followed his two-run with a three-run homer in the seventh — the 100th of his career — to help Boston improve to 9-2 against New York this season. The Red Sox maintained their one-game AL East lead over Tampa Bay and increased their lead to nine games over the third-place Yankees. Yacksel Rios (3-0) got the victory, pitching two scoreless innings to cap a strong night from the bullpen after starter Eduardo Rodriguez left in the second inning after experiencing migraine symptoms. Cole (10-5) started strong for New York, but was pulled after fiving innings, giving up three runs off six hits, striking out eight and walking two. METS 3, BLUE JAYS 0 NEW YORK (AP) — Tylor Megill threw six scoreless innings for his first big league victory and got his first... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Rafael Devers hit two home runs, including a go-ahead blast in the fifth inning, to help the Boston Red Sox best New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole for the second straight time at Fenway Park in a 6-2 victory Friday night. Devers followed his two-run with a three-run homer in the seventh — the 100th of his career — to help Boston improve to 9-2 against New York this season. The Red Sox maintained their one-game AL East lead over Tampa Bay and increased their lead to nine games over the third-place Yankees. Yacksel Rios (3-0) got the victory, pitching two scoreless innings to cap a strong night from the bullpen after starter Eduardo Rodriguez left in the second inning after experiencing migraine symptoms. Cole (10-5) started strong for New York, but was pulled after fiving innings, giving up three runs off six hits, striking out eight and walking two. METS 3, BLUE JAYS 0 NEW YORK (AP) — Tylor Megill threw six scoreless innings for his first big league victory and got his first... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The game between the San Diego Padres and Washington was suspended in the sixth inning Saturday night after police said there was a shooting outside Nationals Park. The shooting, an exchange of gunfire between people in two cars, left three people injured, according to Ashan Benedict, the Metropolitan Police Department’s executive assistant police chief. One of the people who was shot was a woman who was attending the game and who was struck while she was outside the stadium, he said. Her injuries weren’t considered life-threatening. Two people who were in one of the cars later walked into a local hospital with gunshot wounds and were being questioned by investigators, Benedict said, and the extent of their injuries wasn’t immediately clear. Investigators were still trying to locate the second vehicle involved in the shooting. The gunshots caused panic among fans inside the stadium, some of whom ducked for cover, hiding underneath tables and behind seats as announcers... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The game between the San Diego Padres and Washington was suspended in the sixth inning Saturday night after police said there was a shooting outside Nationals Park. The shooting, an exchange of gunfire between people in two cars, left three people injured, according to Ashan Benedict, the Metropolitan Police Department’s executive assistant police chief. One of the people who was shot was a woman who was attending the game and who was struck while she was outside the stadium, he said. Her injuries weren’t considered life-threatening. Two people who were in one of the cars later walked into a local hospital with gunshot wounds and were being questioned by investigators, Benedict said, and the extent of their injuries wasn’t immediately clear. Investigators were still trying to locate the second vehicle involved in the shooting. The gunshots caused panic among fans inside the stadium, some of whom ducked for cover, hiding underneath tables and behind seats as announcers... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today: SHORT STORY The first-place Mets are waiting for news on Francisco Lindor, who left Friday night's heated 4-1 loss in Pittsburgh with soreness on his right side. New York manager Luis Rojas had no further update after the game other than to say the star shortstop would be examined in the morning. Lindor winced after grounding out to second base in the fifth inning. The four-time All-Star took a few steps out of the batter’s box but then peeled off toward the Mets’ dugout on the first base side. In his first season with the Mets after being acquired from Cleveland in a January trade, Lindor is hitting .228 with 11 home runs in 88 games. He agreed to a $341 million, 10-year contract just before opening day. PITCHING A SHUTOUT Nathan Eovaldi (9-5, 3.66 ERA) and the Boston Red Sox try to improve to 8-0 against the rival New York Yankees this season when they face Gerrit Cole (9-4, 2.68) in a prime-time matchup of AL All-Stars in the Bronx.... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Yankees' post-All-Star break opener against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night was postponed because of positive COVID-19 tests among vaccinated New York pitchers Jonathan Loaisiga, Nestor Cortes Jr. and Wandy Peralta. “It’s a fluid situation that could spread. It has spread to some degree," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “We have three positives and we have three pending that we’ve had rapid tests on. ... We’ll wait now for the lab tests to come back, which I’m assuming is going to be positive, as well. So that would increase our number to six, but we're not at six yet. We're at three confirmed.” Loaisiga went on the COVID-19 injured list Saturday, when the Yankees were in Houston, and he did not travel home with the team Sunday. Cortes and Peralta went on the COVID-19 IL on Thursday. Cashman said all three were fully vaccinated, as are most of the players on the team. Among the three, two received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and the other was... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Across the globe, everybody is watching Shohei Ohtani in awe and intrigue. Major League Baseball can only love the attention from around the world surrounding the Angels' two-way star and the spotlight he's brought to the sport. Can Ohtani keep this up? An encore to a sensational first half? He leads the majors with 33 home runs and has shown no signs of slowing down or slumping — and should soon have a healthy Mike Trout back in the lineup with him. Pitchers across the big leagues are doing their part so far, too. There have already been seven no-hitters in the majors this season, matching the mark for most in one year during the modern era. The record of eight was set in 1884, the first season overhand pitching was allowed. Will Jacob deGrom, Walker Buehler and Gerrit Cole join the list soon? And will the uproar over sticky substances tamp down? Manager Torey Lovullo and the Arizona Diamondbacks are eager for a fresh start, determined to forget that record 24-game... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Across the globe, everybody is watching Shohei Ohtani in awe and intrigue. Major League Baseball can only love the attention from around the world surrounding the Angels' two-way star and the spotlight he's brought to the sport. Can Ohtani keep this up? An encore to a sensational first half? He leads the majors with 33 home runs and has shown no signs of slowing down or slumping — and should soon have a healthy Mike Trout back in the lineup with him. Pitchers across the big leagues are doing their part so far, too. There have already been seven no-hitters in the majors this season, matching the mark for most in one year during the modern era. The record of eight was set in 1884, the first season overhand pitching was allowed. Will Jacob deGrom, Walker Buehler and Gerrit Cole join the list soon? And will the uproar over sticky substances tamp down? Manager Torey Lovullo and the Arizona Diamondbacks are eager for a fresh start, determined to forget that record 24-game... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Across the globe, everybody is watching Shohei Ohtani in awe and intrigue. Major League Baseball can only love the attention from around the world surrounding the Angels' two-way star and the spotlight he's brought to the sport. Can Ohtani keep this up? An encore to a sensational first half? He leads the majors with 33 home runs and has shown no signs of slowing down or slumping — and should soon have a healthy Mike Trout back in the lineup with him. Pitchers across the big leagues are doing their part so far, too. There have already been seven no-hitters in the majors this season, matching the mark for most in one year during the modern era. The record of eight was set in 1884, the first season overhand pitching was allowed. Will Jacob deGrom, Walker Buehler and Gerrit Cole join the list soon? And will the uproar over sticky substances tamp down? Manager Torey Lovullo and the Arizona Diamondbacks are eager for a fresh start, determined to forget that record 24-game... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Fashion forward? Maybe more like fashion faux pas. The fans on social media weren't exactly raving about the new All-Star jerseys that were on display Tuesday night. No classic birds-on-a-bat design for the Cardinals at Coors Field, no sweet script for the Dodgers. No brown pinstripes on the shirts for the Padres, no recognizable “NY” logo prominently on the hat for the Yankees. Nowhere close. Bring back the rainbow of colors, many said, with players wearing their own team’s uniforms. That was a big part of the game's charm, they said. Brett Anderson, a pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers, posted on Twitter: “MLB should just let the players wear their own uniforms instead of these slow pitch softball ones.” The AL wore blue uniforms in its 5-2 win that reminded some of jumpsuits. The NL had an all-white ensemble that had many commenting they look, well, bland. Rather than familiar logos and names, there were three-letter abbreviations on the jerseys for what team they represented.... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The Latest on the All-Star Game on Tuesday night at Coors Field (all times local): 9:20 p.m. Shohei Ohtani unleashed his 100 mph heat while pitching a perfect inning for the win in becoming baseball’s first two-way All-Star, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. rocked Coors Field with a 468-foot home run and the American League breezed 5-2 for its eighth straight victory. Ohtani was 0 for 2 at the plate, grounding out twice as the AL's leadoff man and designated hitter. The Angels phenom pitched a 1-2-3 first inning on 14 pitches a night after competing in the Home Run Derby. Mike Zunino of the Rays also connected for the AL, which has won 20 of the last 23 All-Star Games, not including a tie in 2002. Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto homered for the National League, which had just seven hits at mile-high Coors. Jared Walsh, Ohtani’s teammate on Los Angeles, got a save — with his glove. He made a sliding catch in left field on Kris Bryant’s tricky liner with the bases loaded to end the eighth... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The Latest on the All-Star Game on Tuesday night at Coors Field (all times local): 8:30 p.m. Milwaukee right-hander Freddy Peralta went 3 for 3 in the seventh inning — three batters faced and three strikeouts. Peralta and the NL trail the AL 5-2 after seven innings at the All-Star Game. Peralta struck out Adolis García on a slider, J.D. Martinez with a fastball and Matt Olson with another fastball. Rays reliever Andrew Kittredge — a last-minute replacement on the AL roster — produced three straight groundball outs in the bottom half of the inning. ___ 8:15 p.m. First-time All-Star Mike Zunino of the Tampa Bay Rays homered off Mets right-hander Taijuan Walker in his first at-bat in the sixth. The right-handed hitter crushed one to the second deck in right field to put the American League ahead 5-1. The 30-year-old Zunino has 19 home runs already this season, nearing his career high of 25. His power and defense behind the plate enabled him to be an All-Star despite a .198 batting... [More]