NEW YORK (AP) — José Altuve responded to jeering fans by marking his 31st birthday with a go-ahead, three-run homer off Chad Green in the eighth inning, and the Houston Astros beat the New York Yankees 7-4 on Thursday to avoid a three-game sweep. Booed throughout the series by fans getting to express their anger directly at the Astros since their cheating scandal en route to the 2017 World Series title was exposed, Altuve turned on a shoulder-high 96 mph 3-2 pitch and drove it over the left-field scoreboard for a 5-3 lead. Gleyber Torres made an incredible, daring dash for the Yankees, scoring from first base on an infield single, but New York’s five-game winning streak ended. Yordan Álvarez hit a pair of solo homers off Gerrit Cole, who turned a 3-2 lead over to Green (0-3) starting the eighth. After Torres pulled the Yankees within a run in the bottom half, Martín Maldonado hit a two-run homer off Justin Wilson in the ninth, ending a streak of of 75 plate appearances without an RBI. Cole... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — José Altuve responded to jeering fans by marking his 31st birthday with a go-ahead, three-run homer off Chad Green in the eighth inning, and the Houston Astros beat the New York Yankees 7-4 on Thursday to avoid a three-game sweep. Booed throughout the series by fans getting to express their anger directly at the Astros since their cheating scandal en route to the 2017 World Series title was exposed, Altuve turned on a shoulder-high 96 mph 3-2 pitch and drove it over the left-field scoreboard for a 5-3 lead. Gleyber Torres made an incredible, daring dash for the Yankees, scoring from first base on an infield single, but New York’s five-game winning streak ended. Yordan Álvarez hit a pair of solo homers off Gerrit Cole, who turned a 3-2 lead over to Green (0-3) starting the eighth. After Torres pulled the Yankees within a run in the bottom half, Martín Maldonado hit a two-run homer off Justin Wilson in the ninth, ending a streak of of 75 plate appearances without an RBI. Cole... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — José Altuve responded to jeering fans by marking his 31st birthday with a go-ahead, three-run homer off Chad Green in the eighth inning, and the Houston Astros beat the New York Yankees 7-4 on Thursday to avoid a three-game sweep. Booed throughout the series by fans getting to express their anger directly at the Astros since their cheating scandal en route to the 2017 World Series title was exposed, Altuve turned on a shoulder-high 96 mph 3-2 pitch and drove it over the left-field scoreboard for a 5-3 lead. Gleyber Torres made an incredible, daring dash for the Yankees, scoring from first base on an infield single, but New York’s five-game winning streak ended. Yordan Álvarez hit a pair of solo homers off Gerrit Cole, who turned a 3-2 lead over to Green (0-3) starting the eighth. After Torres pulled the Yankees within a run in the bottom half, Martín Maldonado hit a two-run homer off Justin Wilson in the ninth, ending a streak of of 75 plate appearances without an RBI. Cole... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge homered twice, including a grand slam, Gerrit Cole struck out 12 and the New York Yankees routed the Detroit Tigers 10-0. The frequently injured Judge was held out of New York’s starting lineup in its previous two games with what the Yankees described as lower body soreness. Clint Frazier, Aaron Hicks and Rougned Odor also homered, and Giancarlo Stanton had three hits. The Yankees set highs for runs, hits (15) and homers (five). Cole (4-1) allowed four hits and no walks during six innings, and New York pitchers had 18 strikeouts to tie a franchise record for a nine-inning game. Tarik Skubal (0-4) allowed four runs in three innings. NATIONALS 2, MARLINS 1 MIAMI (AP) — Kyle Schwarber led off the bottom of the 10th inning with a two-run homer off Yimi García (2-2), his second walk-off homer this season. Garrett Cooper’s single scored Jose Devers to the Marlins a 1-0 lead in the top of the 10th. Brad Hand (2—0) pitched two innings for the win. Jon Lester allowed... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge homered twice, including a grand slam, Gerrit Cole struck out 12 and the New York Yankees routed the Detroit Tigers 10-0. The frequently injured Judge was held out of New York’s starting lineup in its previous two games with what the Yankees described as lower body soreness. Clint Frazier, Aaron Hicks and Rougned Odor also homered, and Giancarlo Stanton had three hits. The Yankees set highs for runs, hits (15) and homers (five). Cole (4-1) allowed four hits and no walks during six innings, and New York pitchers had 18 strikeouts to tie a franchise record for a nine-inning game. Tarik Skubal (0-4) allowed four runs in three innings. NATIONALS 2, MARLINS 1 MIAMI (AP) — Kyle Schwarber led off the bottom of the 10th inning with a two-run homer off Yimi García (2-2), his second walk-off homer this season. Garrett Cooper’s single scored Jose Devers to the Marlins a 1-0 lead in the top of the 10th. Brad Hand (2—0) pitched two innings for the win. Jon Lester allowed... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Madison Bumgarner threw a seven-inning no-hitter, an achievement that won’t count in the Major League Baseball record book but completed a dominant day of Arizona Diamondbacks pitching for a 7-0 win over the Atlanta Braves and a doubleheader sweep Sunday. Bumgarner (2-2) struck out seven and walked none. The only Braves batter who reached base against him came on shortstop Nick Ahmed’s throwing error in the second inning. Officially, Bumgarner’s gem won’t count in the list of no-hitters. MLB’s eight-man committee on statistical accuracy decided in 1991 that a no-hitter was a game of nine or more innings that ended with no hits. In the opener, Zac Gallen (1-0) pitched a one-hitter, allowing Freddie Freeman’s sharp single to right-center field with one out in the sixth of a 5-0 win. This was the first time a team pitched two complete-game shutouts in a doubleheader since Boston’s Reggie Cleveland and Don Aase at Toronto on Sept. 5 1977 Arizona has won six of seven. Stephen... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Madison Bumgarner threw a seven-inning no-hitter, an achievement that won’t count in the Major League Baseball record book but completed a dominant day of Arizona Diamondbacks pitching for a 7-0 win over the Atlanta Braves and a doubleheader sweep Sunday. Bumgarner (2-2) struck out seven and walked none. The only Braves batter who reached base against him came on shortstop Nick Ahmed’s throwing error in the second inning. Officially, Bumgarner’s gem won’t count in the list of no-hitters. MLB’s eight-man committee on statistical accuracy decided in 1991 that a no-hitter was a game of nine or more innings that ended with no hits. In the opener, Zac Gallen (1-0) pitched a one-hitter, allowing Freddie Freeman’s sharp single to right-center field with one out in the sixth of a 5-0 win. This was the first time a team pitched two complete-game shutouts in a doubleheader since Boston’s Reggie Cleveland and Don Aase at Toronto on Sept. 5 1977 Arizona has won six of seven. Stephen... [More]

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 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]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Atlanta Braves say Ronald Acuña Jr. had an MRI on Monday that revealed a mild abdominal strain and that the star outfielder is day to day heading into a series at Yankee Stadium beginning Tuesday. Acuña was injured in the fourth inning of Atlanta's 13-4 win over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday night. He led off the fourth inning with a walk, and pitcher Kyle Hendricks threw over a couple of times while he was on first. It looked as if Acuña did something to his midsection on a dive back to the bag. The All-Star was checked by a trainer while he was on second, but he stayed in. He got up slowly after diving home to score on Travis d’Arnaud’s sacrifice fly, and then was replaced in the field in the bottom half. Acuña is off to a terrific start this year, batting .419 with seven homers and 16 RBIs in 16 games. The outfielder also has scored a major league-high 21 runs. He was honored as the National League's player of the week Monday. The reigning NL East champions have been hit hard by injuries during a rough start to the season. Pitchers Max Fried, Drew Smyly and Sean Newcomb and outfielders Cristian Pache and Ender Inciarte have been placed on the 10-day IL since Wednesday. Atlanta plays the Yankees in the Bronx on Tuesday and Wednesday before opening a home series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

A look at what’s happening around the majors on today: ___ WAKE UP! The White Sox and Red Sox begin at 11:05 a.m. at Fenway Park in the annual Patriots’ Day game. Could mean early-morning batting practice for J.D Martinez and José Abreu. The event usually coincides with the Boston Marathon -- in past years, fans in the Green Monster seats would turn around to catch a glimpse of the leaders while others headed over after the final out to cheer on the runners in Kenmore Square, about a mile from the finish line. This year, the famous race has been moved to Oct. 11 due to the pandemic. Chicago ace Lucas Giolito (1-0, 2.55 ERA) is slated to start the series finale against Nathan Eovaldi (2-1, 2.08). STILL WAITING The Twins will continue coronavirus testing and contact tracing with the hope of getting back on the field Tuesday for a doubleheader at Oakland. Minnesota had games against the Angels in Anaheim on Saturday and Sunday postponed. The Twins-Athletics game Monday also was called off.... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. left Sunday night's 13-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs after experiencing pain in his lower abdominal muscles. Acuña led off the fourth with a walk. Kyle Hendricks threw over a couple times while he was on first, and it looked as if Acuña did something to his midsection on a dive back to the bag. He was checked by a trainer while he was on second, but he stayed in. He got up slowly after diving home to score on Travis d'Arnaud's sacrifice fly, and then was replaced in the field in the bottom half. “He’s got an abdominal strain, and we’ll know more tomorrow,” manager Brian Snitker said. Snitker said he isn’t sure if Acuña is going to need a stint on the injured list. “It was so late here that they couldn’t get the test that they wanted, so they’ll get it tomorrow in New York and, like I said, we’ll know more then,” he said. Acuña is off to a terrific start this year, batting .419 with seven homers and 16 RBIs in 16 games. The outfielder... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. left Sunday night's game against the Chicago Cubs after experiencing pain in his lower abdominal muscles. Acuña led off the fourth with a walk. Kyle Hendricks threw over a couple times while he was on first, and it looked as if Acuña did something to his midsection on a dive back to the bag. He was checked by a trainer while he was on second, but he stayed in. He got up slowly after diving home to score on Travis d'Arnaud's sacrifice fly, and then was replaced in the field in the bottom half. Acuña is off to a terrific start this year, batting .433 with seven homers and 16 RBIs heading into the series finale against the Cubs. The outfielder also had scored a major league-high 20 runs coming into the day. Atlanta has been hit hard by injuries early in the season. Pitchers Max Fried, Drew Smyly and Sean Newcomb and outfielders Cristian Pache and Ender Inciarte have been placed on the 10-day IL since Wednesday. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

A look at what’s happening around the majors on Monday: ___ WAKE UP! The White Sox and Red Sox begin at 11:05 a.m. at Fenway Park in the annual Patriots’ Day game. Could mean early-morning batting practice for J.D Martinez and José Abreu. The event usually coincides with the Boston Marathon -- in past years, fans in the Green Monster seats would turn around to catch a glimpse of the leaders while others headed over after the final out to cheer on the runners in Kenmore Square, about a mile from the finish line. This year, the famous race has been moved to Oct. 11 due to the pandemic. Chicago ace Lucas Giolito (1-0, 2.55 ERA) is slated to start the series finale against Nathan Eovaldi (2-1, 2.08). STILL WAITING The Twins will continue coronavirus testing and contact tracing with the hope of getting back on the field Tuesday for a doubleheader at Oakland. Minnesota had games against the Angels in Anaheim on Saturday and Sunday postponed. The Twins-Athletics game Monday also was called off.... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. left Sunday night's game against the Chicago Cubs after experiencing pain in his lower abdominal muscles. Acuña led off the fourth with a walk. Kyle Hendricks threw over a couple times while he was on first, and it looked as if Acuña did something to his midsection on a dive back to the bag. He was checked by a trainer while he was on second, but he stayed in. He got up slowly after diving home to score on Travis d'Arnaud's sacrifice fly, and then was replaced in the field in the bottom half. Acuña is off to a terrific start this year, batting .433 with seven homers and 16 RBIs heading into the series finale against the Cubs. The outfielder also had scored a major league-high 20 runs coming into the day. Atlanta has been hit hard by injuries early in the season. Pitchers Max Fried, Drew Smyly and Sean Newcomb and outfielders Cristian Pache and Ender Inciarte have been placed on the 10-day IL since Wednesday. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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]