SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Switch-hitting, versatile infielder Yangervis Solarte has reached agreement on a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants.He will provide infield depth for manager Bruce Bochy. Solarte played every infield position last season for the Blue Jays, making 83 starts at third base and 28 at second.San Francisco dealt with significant injuries to first baseman Brandon Belt, second baseman Joe Panik and third baseman Pablo Sandoval last season and all missed extended time. Sandoval is recovering from August surgery to repair a torn right hamstring, while Belt has had repeated concussions and underwent season-ending right knee surgery in September.The 31-year-old Solarte batted .226 with 17 home runs and 54 RBIs in 122 games last season for Toronto. He played in the NL West the previous three-plus years with the Padres.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CINCINNATI (AP) — The San Francisco Giants have activated reliever Hunter Strickland from the 60-day disabled list.Strickland broke his pinkie finger on his right hand when he punched a door in frustration after a blown save against Miami on June 18. He is 3-3 with a 2.84 ERA and 13 saves in 34 games.Strickland takes the roster spot of rookie right-hander Dereck Rodriguez, who was placed on the 10-day disabled list Thursday after he strained his right hamstring during a brawl with the Dodgers on Tuesday. Infielder Pablo Sandoval, who is out with a strained right hamstring, was transferred to the 60-day disabled list on Saturday to open a 40-man roster spot.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DENVER (AP) — To summon a recent reliever, Cubs manager Joe Maddon didn't even need to signal his bullpen. He just pointed toward his first baseman.Now pitching: Anthony Rizzo .That's no sort of curveball, either.In an increasing trend this season, position players are making more appearances on the mound to save wear and tear on the bullpen in games that have spiraled out of hand or as a last resort.Through Thursday, there have been 49 appearances by 39 non-pitchers (not counting two-way player Shohei Ohtani ). Both figures are major-league highs for the expansion era starting in 1961, according to the Elias Sports Bureau."It's just cool to be up there and get to do something that you don't get to do," said Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer, who was a closer and infielder at Oklahoma State but has never pitched in the majors despite his best lobbying efforts. "You have the ball in your hands nonstop."Rizzo pleaded for a while to get into a game. His chance arrived on July 23 with the Cubs... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — San Francisco Giants infielder Pablo Sandoval will miss the remainder of the season after tearing his right hamstring while sliding.Giants manager Bruce Bochy said Thursday that the 2012 World Series MVP has a significant tear requiring surgery. Sandoval was injured while sliding into home plate Sunday against San Diego.The 31-year-old Sandoval was hitting .248 with nine homers and 40 RBIs. He also played first and third base during his second stint with San Francisco.Sandoval played his first seven seasons with the Giants, then became a free agent and signed a $95 million, five-year contract with Boston after the 2014 season.He was released by the Red Sox in 2017 and signed with the Giants three days later. San Francisco is paying the $545,000 minimum this year, which is offset against the $18 million Sandoval is owed by Boston.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/MLBbaseball

SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Francisco Giants right-hander Johnny Cueto was placed on the disabled list Monday with a sprained right elbow, and manager Bruce Bochy said there's a "strong possibility" he will need reconstructive surgery.The issue with Cueto, who has been limited to nine starts this year, has "been lingering quite a while," Bochy said before the Giants opened a two-game series against the Padres. "We battled it, we fought this elbow issue, had it looked at, it's just not going away. If that's the case, where he does have surgery, Tommy John, then I'm sure he'd like to get that behind him. Again, I hate to talk about that because that has not officially been determined yet."The 32-year-old Cueto is 3-2 with a 3.23 ERA. He was on the 60-day DL earlier this year with the elbow injury.The Giants also placed infielder Pablo Sandoval on the DL with a strained right hamstring. Sandoval had an MRI exam and doctors in San Francisco were still reading it Monday afternoon to determine the degree, Bochy said.Sandoval is hitting .248 with nine homers and 40 RBIs.To take their roster spots, the Giants recalled infielder Kelby Tomlinson from Triple-A Sacramento and reinstated infielder Joe Panik from the disabled list.Bochy said right-hander Chris Stratton probably will step into Cueto's spot in the rotation, although it hasn't been determined which day he will pitch.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Francisco Giants right-hander Johnny Cueto has been placed on the disabled list with a sprained right elbow, and manager Bruce Bochy says there is a "strong possibility" he will need reconstructive surgery.The Giants also placed infielder Pablo Sandoval on the DL with a strained right hamstring. Sandoval had an MRI exam and doctors in San Francisco were still reading it Monday afternoon to determine the degree for the injury.Sandoval is hitting .248 with nine homers and 40 RBIs.To take their roster spots, the Giants recalled infielder Kelby Tomlinson from Triple-A Sacramento and reinstated infielder Joe Panik from the disabled list.Bochy said right-hander Chris Stratton probably will step into Cueto's spot in the rotation, although it hasn't been determined which day he will pitch.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

A look at what's happening around the majors today:TWEET TROUBLEAtlanta pitcher Sean Newcomb and Washington shortstop Trea Turner will face the fallout from their tweets, a day after they apologized for offensive posts from 2011 and 2012.The 25-year-old Newcomb came within one strike of a no-hitter Sunday at SunTrust Park against the Dodgers. Less than an hour later, after the racist, homophobic and sexist tweets came to light, he said he regretted his actions. Major League Baseball, which dealt with a similar situation involving Milwaukee reliever Josh Hader on the night he pitched in the All-Star Game, said it will determine a course of diversity training for Newcomb.Homophobic and racially insensitive tweets by Turner surfaced Sunday night. The 25-year-old Turner apologized in a statement released by the team.The Braves are home Monday night against Miami. The Nationals begin a home series against the New York Mets on Tuesday night.GROUNDEDThe World Series champion Astros have lost a... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Sean Newcomb came within one strike of pitching the first no-hitter by the Atlanta Braves since 1994, denied when Chris Taylor sharply singled in a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.Newcomb had a 2-2 count with two outs in the ninth inning when Taylor hit a hard grounder beyond the reach of diving third baseman Johan Camargo. That came on the career-high 134th and final pitch by the 25-year-old lefty.Newcomb (10-5) left to a thunderous standing ovation from the sellout crowd at SunTrust Park as manager Brian Snitker removed him. Snitker took the ball and gave it back to Newcomb as a keepsake — instead, Newcomb simply tossed it toward the Atlanta dugout as he walked off, wanting no souvenir of the near-miss.Newcomb apologized about an hour after the game for racist, homophobic and sexist tweets he sent as a teenager, calling them "some stupid stuff."Ross Stripling (8-3) was subpar in his second straight start, allowing four runs, seven hits and one walk with five... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Monday:TWEET TROUBLEAtlanta pitcher Sean Newcomb and Washington shortstop Trea Turner will face the fallout from their tweets, a day after they apologized for offensive posts from 2011 and 2012.The 25-year-old Newcomb came within one strike of a no-hitter Sunday at SunTrust Park against the Dodgers. Less than an hour later, after the racist, homophobic and sexist tweets came to light, he said he regretted his actions. Major League Baseball, which dealt with a similar situation involving Milwaukee reliever Josh Hader on the night he pitched in the All-Star Game, said it will determine a course of diversity training for Newcomb.Homophobic and racially insensitive tweets by Turner surfaced Sunday night. The 25-year-old Turner apologized in a statement released by the team.The Braves are home Monday night against Miami. The Nationals begin a home series against the New York Mets on Tuesday night.GROUNDEDThe World Series champion Astros have lost... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Monday:TWEET TROUBLEAtlanta pitcher Sean Newcomb will face the fallout from his tweets, a day after he apologized for racist, homophobic and sexist posts he put on social media as a teenager.The 25-year-old came within one strike of a no-hitter Sunday at SunTrust Park against the Dodgers. Less than an hour later, after the old tweets came to light, he said he regretted his actions. Major League Baseball, which dealt with a similar situation involving Milwaukee reliever Josh Hader on the night he pitched in the All-Star Game, said it will determine a course of diversity training for Newcomb.The Braves are home to open a series against Miami.GROUNDEDThe World Series champion Astros have lost a season-high four in a row, getting swept for the first time this year when Texas took three straight at Minute Maid Park over the weekend. Houston also is minus its star middle infielders — second baseman Jose Altuve has a sore knee and is on the disabled... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Sean Newcomb came within one strike of pitching the first no-hitter by the Atlanta Braves since 1994, denied when Chris Taylor sharply singled in a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.Newcomb had a 2-2 count with two outs in the ninth inning when Taylor hit a hard grounder beyond the reach of diving third baseman Johan Camargo. That came on the career-high 134th and final pitch by the 25-year-old lefty.Newcomb (10-5) left to a thunderous standing ovation from the sellout crowd at SunTrust Park as manager Brian Snitker removed him. Snitker took the ball and gave it back to Newcomb as a keepsake — instead, Newcomb simply tossed it toward the Atlanta dugout as he walked off, wanting no souvenir of the near-miss.Newcomb apologized about an hour after the game for racist, homophobic and sexist tweets he sent as a teenager, calling them "some stupid stuff."Ross Stripling (8-3) was subpar in his second straight start, allowing four runs, seven hits and one walk with five... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — J.D. Martinez hit his major league-leading 32nd homer, Mookie Betts had two RBI doubles and the Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 10-4 on Saturday night for their 17th win in 21 games.Betts raised his MLB-leading average to .346 and Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a two-run triple for the Red Sox. They have a 5 1/2-game lead over the New York Yankees atop the AL East and own the majors' best record at 73-33.Logan Morrison hit a solo homer for the Twins, a night after they appeared to throw in the towel a bit in pursuit of a playoff spot following a pair of trades that sent away infielder Eduardo Escobar and reliever Ryan Pressly.Boston starter Rick Porcello (13-4) labored through 5 2/3 innings on a steamy night, giving up four runs on five hits, striking out five and walking one. Jake Odorizzi (4-7) gave up five runs on nine hits in five innings.Trailing 4-1, Boston scored three times in the fourth and moved ahead on Martinez's shot that left Fenway Park over the Green Monster... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — J.D. Martinez hit his major league-leading 32nd homer, Mookie Betts had two RBI doubles and the Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 10-4 on Saturday night for their 17th win in 21 games.Betts raised his MLB-leading average to .346 and Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a two-run triple for the Red Sox. They have a 5 1/2-game lead over the New York Yankees atop the AL East and own the majors' best record at 73-33.Logan Morrison hit a solo homer for the Twins, a night after they appeared to throw in the towel a bit in pursuit of a playoff spot following a pair of trades that sent away infielder Eduardo Escobar and reliever Ryan Pressly.Boston starter Rick Porcello (13-4) labored through 5 2/3 innings on a steamy night, giving up four runs on five hits, striking out five and walking one. Jake Odorizzi (4-7) gave up five runs on nine hits in five innings.Trailing 4-1, Boston scored three times in the fourth and moved ahead on Martinez's shot that left Fenway Park over the Green Monster... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts homered on the second pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Boston Red Sox a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.Betts' first career game-ending homer capped a wild last few innings. The Twins rallied from a 2-1 deficit to take a one-run lead in the top of the ninth. Rafael Devers hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the inning to force extras. Betts drove Matt Belisle's first pitch of the night over the Green Monster setting off a celebration to end a hot, muggy night at Fenway Park.Betts' teammates cooled him off by dousing him with a cooler full of ice water when the All-Start right fielder stepped out of the dugout for a curtain call.Belisle (1-1) faced only Betts, who ended it with his 25th homer of the season. Tyler Thornburg (1-0) held the Twins scoreless in the 10th after Craig Kimbrel blew a shot at his 33rd save in the ninth.Eddie Rosario hit a two-run double with two outs in the ninth to give Minnesota its first lead.Jackie... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts homered on the second pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Boston Red Sox a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.Betts' first career game-ending homer capped a wild last few innings. The Twins rallied from a 2-1 deficit to take a one-run lead in the top of the ninth. Rafael Devers hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the inning to force extras. Betts drove Matt Belisle's first pitch of the night over the Green Monster setting off a celebration to end a hot, muggy night at Fenway Park.Betts' teammates cooled him off by dousing him with a cooler full of ice water when the All-Start right fielder stepped out of the dugout for a curtain call.Belisle (1-1) faced only Betts, who ended it with his 25th homer of the season. Tyler Thornburg (1-0) held the Twins scoreless in the 10th after Craig Kimbrel blew a shot at his 33rd save in the ninth.Eddie Rosario hit a two-run double with two outs in the ninth to give Minnesota its first lead.Jackie... [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]

BALTIMORE (AP) — Brett Gardner had four hits, homered and drove in three runs to help the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 10-2 Monday night for a doubleheader split.In the opener, Danny Valencia snapped an 0-for-25 skid with a three-run homer off CC Sabathia, and Baltimore ended a six-game losing streak with a 5-4 victory.The split left the Yankees a 4-4 record against Baltimore and dropped them 2½ games behind first-place Boston in the AL East.The first game ended with Gardner grounding out as a pinch hitter with the potential tying run on third base. He returned in the nightcap to torment the Orioles at the plate and in center field, where he made several fine, running catches.Gardner led off with a single off Jefry Ramirez (0-3) and scored on a double by Didi Gregorius. In the fourth, Gardner hit his seventh homer, a two-run drive that made it 3-0.That was enough offense for Luis Cessa (1-1), who allowed three hits over six shutout innings.RED SOX 5, RANGERS 0BOSTON (AP)... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani's pinch-hit home run in the seventh inning sent Andrew Heaney and the Los Angeles Angels to a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.Albert Pujols also went deep for the Angels, tying the score at 3 in the sixth. Justin Upton had a two-run single.Heaney (5-6) allowed only three hits and equaled a career high with 10 strikeouts in seven innings to help the Angels take two of three at home in the Freeway Series. He gave up an early three-run homer to Yasiel Puig, who later left with an oblique injury.Ohtani drove his first career pinch-hit homer a projected 443 feet to center field off reliever JT Chargois (2-2). It also was the Angels' first pinch-hit home run of the season and Ohtani's seventh in the majors.The two-way rookie star from Japan, unavailable to pitch lately because of an elbow injury, fouled a ball off his knee one day earlier and experienced soreness. Before the game, it was unclear if he would be able to come off the bench.Justin... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Brett Anderson came off the disabled list and pitched effectively into the sixth inning before turning things over to Oakland's outstanding bullpen as the Athletics downed the Cleveland Indians 6-0 on Sunday.Anderson (1-2) had been sidelined with a shoulder strain, one of several injuries to the A's starting staff. But the left-hander looked sharp in his first start since May 18, limiting the Indians to three hits and leaving with a 4-0 lead.Stephen Piscotty hit a two-run homer off rookie Shane Bieber (4-1), and Jed Lowrie had a solo shot as Oakland won for the 10th time in 12 games to take two of three from the Indians.The A's are 18-6 against AL Central teams.Yusmeiro Petit, Ryan Buchter and Emilio Pagan finished the combined five-hitter as the A's moved 10 games over .500.ASTROS 2, WHITE SOX 1HOUSTON (AP) — Dallas Keuchel pitched seven strong innings, Jose Altuve homered and Houston manufactured the go-ahead run in the seventh to complete a four-game sweep of Chicago.Altuve's... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Brett Anderson came off the disabled list and pitched effectively into the sixth inning before turning things over to Oakland's outstanding bullpen as the Athletics downed the Cleveland Indians 6-0 on Sunday.Anderson (1-2) had been sidelined with a shoulder strain, one of several injuries to the A's starting staff. But the left-hander looked sharp in his first start since May 18, limiting the Indians to three hits and leaving with a 4-0 lead.Stephen Piscotty hit a two-run homer off rookie Shane Bieber (4-1), and Jed Lowrie had a solo shot as Oakland won for the 10th time in 12 games to take two of three from the Indians.The A's are 18-6 against AL Central teams.Yusmeiro Petit, Ryan Buchter and Emilio Pagan finished the combined five-hitter as the A's moved 10 games over .500.ASTROS 2, WHITE SOX 1HOUSTON (AP) — Dallas Keuchel pitched seven strong innings, Jose Altuve homered and Houston manufactured the go-ahead run in the seventh to complete a four-game sweep of Chicago.Altuve's... [More]