HOUSTON (AP) — Nestor Cortes and three relievers combined for a three-hitter and Brett Gardner and DJ LeMahieu each drove in two runs to lead the New York Yankees over the Houston Astros 4-0 on Friday night. Making a spot start, Cortes permitted two hits in 4 2/3 innings, striking out two and walking two and lowering his ERA to 1.05. Lucas Luetge (3-1) pitched 1 1/3 hitless innings for the win. Chad Green gave up one hit in two innings and Jonathan Loaisiga threw a perfect ninth. It was New York’s first visit to Houston since Game 6 of the 2019 AL Championship Series. The Astros advanced to the World Series with a 6-4 win in that game on a two-run homer by Jose Altuve with two outs in the ninth. The Astros are commemorating the event by giving away replica 2019 AL champions trophies on Friday night, 2019 AL champions replica rings on Saturday and Altuve jerseys for the finale on Sunday. GIANTS 5, NATIONALS 3 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Curt Casali hit a two-run homer while filling in for injured... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Nestor Cortes and three relievers combined for a three-hitter and Brett Gardner and DJ LeMahieu each drove in two runs to lead the New York Yankees over the Houston Astros 4-0 on Friday night. Making a spot start, Cortes permitted two hits in 4 2/3 innings, striking out two and walking two and lowering his ERA to 1.05. Lucas Luetge (3-1) pitched 1 1/3 hitless innings for the win. Chad Green gave up one hit in two innings and Jonathan Loaisiga threw a perfect ninth. It was New York’s first visit to Houston since Game 6 of the 2019 AL Championship Series. The Astros advanced to the World Series with a 6-4 win in that game on a two-run homer by Jose Altuve with two outs in the ninth. The Astros are commemorating the event by giving away replica 2019 AL champions trophies on Friday night, 2019 AL champions replica rings on Saturday and Altuve jerseys for the finale on Sunday. CUBS 10, CARDINALS 5 CHICAGO (AP) — Kyle Hendricks won his ninth straight decision, Patrick Wisdom hit... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Kyle Hendricks won his ninth straight decision, Patrick Wisdom hit a two-run homer and Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-5 on Friday afternoon. Kris Bryant drove in three runs with a pinch-hit double to start Chicago’s five-run burst in the seventh inning before Wisdom went deep against his former team. Joc Pederson doubled twice, including a three-run hit in the first. Chicago won for the second time in three games following an 11-game losing streak. Bryant didn’t start for a second straight game because of a strained right hamstring, but hit the first pitch he saw from Junior Fernández to the wall in left filed with the bases loaded. The All-Star came home when Wisdom connected for his 12th homer to make it 9-2. Hendricks (11-4) allowed two runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings while walking one and hitting a batter. INDIANS 2, ROYALS 1 CLEVELAND (AP) — Bobby Bradley homered leading off the ninth inning as Cleveland overcame some brutal baserunning that led to... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Kyle Hendricks won his ninth straight decision, Patrick Wisdom hit a two-run homer and Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-5 on Friday afternoon. Kris Bryant drove in three runs with a pinch-hit double to start Chicago’s five-run burst in the seventh inning before Wisdom went deep against his former team. Joc Pederson doubled twice, including a three-run hit in the first. Chicago won for the second time in three games following an 11-game losing streak. Bryant didn’t start for a second straight game because of a strained right hamstring, but hit the first pitch he saw from Junior Fernández to the wall in left filed with the bases loaded. The All-Star came home when Wisdom connected for his 12th homer to make it 9-2. Hendricks (11-4) allowed two runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings while walking one and hitting a batter. INDIANS 2, ROYALS 1 CLEVELAND (AP) — Bobby Bradley homered leading off the ninth inning as Cleveland overcame some brutal baserunning that led to... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit his major league-leading 31st homer in the third, and Juan Lagares ended it with a two-run double in the ninth inning of the Los Angeles Angels’ 6-5 comeback victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday. Cedric Mullins hit a tiebreaking homer for Baltimore in the ninth in his first game after making his first All-Star team, but the Angels jumped all over Cole Sulser (2-1) without making an out in the bottom half. After Los Angeles loaded the bases on a walk and two short singles, Lagares doubled to the gap in right-center, extending the Angels’ winning streak to five games. Raisel Iglesias (6-3) got the win. Ohtani tied the MLB record for the most homers in a season by a Japanese-born player when he blasted a 459-foot solo shot off Thomas Eshelman to straightaway center. It was his 14th homer in 17 games overall. Less than an hour later, Ohtani became the first player in major league history to be picked for an All-Star Game as both a hitter and... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit his major league-leading 31st homer in the third, and Juan Lagares ended it with a two-run double in the ninth inning of the Los Angeles Angels’ 6-5 comeback victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday. Cedric Mullins hit a tiebreaking homer for Baltimore in the ninth in his first game after making his first All-Star team, but the Angels jumped all over Cole Sulser (2-1) without making an out in the bottom half. After Los Angeles loaded the bases on a walk and two short singles, Lagares doubled to the gap in right-center, extending the Angels’ winning streak to five games. Raisel Iglesias (6-3) got the win. Ohtani tied the MLB record for the most homers in a season by a Japanese-born player when he blasted a 459-foot solo shot off Thomas Eshelman to straightaway center. It was his 14th homer in 17 games overall. Less than an hour later, Ohtani became the first player in major league history to be picked for an All-Star Game as both a hitter and... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Tyler Anderson pitched seven sparkling innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates snapped Milwaukee’s 11-game winning streak Sunday with a 2-0 victory over the Brewers. Kevin Newman homered and Wilmer Difo had an RBI double as the Pirates stopped a six-game slide. Milwaukee managed just three hits off Anderson (4-8), who broke a personal five-game skid. The left-hander struck out six and walked two while throwing 93 pitches. Milwaukee’s win streak was the second-longest in franchise history. The Brewers won their first 13 games in 1987. David Bednar and Richard Rodriguez finished the four-hitter with one inning apiece. Rodriguez earned his 11th save in 13 opportunities by completing the Pirates’ third shutout of the season. Milwaukee's Freddy Peralta (7-3) had control issues with five walks in six innings. But he allowed just two runs and three hits. METS 10, YANKEES 5, GAME 1 NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Alonso hit a tying homer off Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman, and José Peraza lined... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Tyler Anderson pitched seven sparkling innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates snapped Milwaukee’s 11-game winning streak Sunday with a 2-0 victory over the Brewers. Kevin Newman homered and Wilmer Difo had an RBI double as the Pirates stopped a six-game slide. Milwaukee managed just three hits off Anderson (4-8), who broke a personal five-game skid. The left-hander struck out six and walked two while throwing 93 pitches. Milwaukee’s win streak was the second-longest in franchise history. The Brewers won their first 13 games in 1987. David Bednar and Richard Rodriguez finished the four-hitter with one inning apiece. Rodriguez earned his 11th save in 13 opportunities by completing the Pirates’ third shutout of the season. Milwaukee's Freddy Peralta (7-3) had control issues with five walks in six innings. But he allowed just two runs and three hits. RAYS 5, BLUE JAYS 1 BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Austin Meadows had three hits, including two RBI doubles, and the Rays ended their 10-game... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Kevin Kiermaier doubled off reliever Darwinzon Hernández with one out in the eighth inning for Tampa Bay's first hit against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night. Nick Pivetta and Josh Taylor combined to hold the Rays hitless through seven innings. Hernández entered a scoreless game and struck out Francisco Mejía to begin the eighth before Kiermaier doubled to left field on a 1-1 fastball clocked at 94 mph. Pivetta was pulled with a runner on second and two outs in the seventh after throwing 100 pitches. His career high is 116. Pivetta finished with eight strikeouts, two walks and one hit batter. Austin Meadows reached with one out in the seventh when Red Sox first baseman Michael Chavis was charged with an error after misplaying a routine grounder. After Pivetta retired Yandy Díaz on a grounder, manager Alex Cora went to the mound to make a pitching change. Josh Taylor intentionally walked pinch-hitter Manuel Margot before getting a fly to left from Joey Wendle.... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani struck out nine over six innings of one-run ball for the Angels, but the San Francisco Giants rallied for seven runs in the 13th inning of a 9-3 victory over Los Angeles on Wednesday. Steven Duggar had an RBI double in the 12th and a two-run single in the 13th for the Giants, who finally blew it open while the Angels had outfielder Taylor Ward playing catcher and starting pitcher Griffin Canning playing left field as the fallout from an untimely injury to Kurt Suzuki and a series of strategic decisions made to allow Ohtani to hit for himself. Mike Tauchman struck out five times before hitting a three-run homer to cap the Giants’ 13th-inning rally. Brandon Crawford put San Francisco ahead to stay with a bases-loaded walk from Alex Claudio (1-2), who walked three straight in the 13th. The 13-inning game matched the longest in the majors since the institution of the runner-on-second-base rule to open extra innings last season. Dominic Leone (1-0) won despite... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani struck out nine over six innings of one-run ball for the Angels, but the San Francisco Giants rallied for seven runs in the 13th inning of a 9-3 victory over Los Angeles on Wednesday. Steven Duggar had an RBI double in the 12th and a two-run single in the 13th for the Giants, who finally blew it open while the Angels had outfielder Taylor Ward playing catcher and starting pitcher Griffin Canning playing left field as the fallout from an untimely injury to Kurt Suzuki and a series of strategic decisions made to allow Ohtani to hit for himself. Mike Tauchman struck out five times before hitting a three-run homer to cap the Giants’ 13th-inning rally. Brandon Crawford put San Francisco ahead to stay with a bases-loaded walk from Alex Claudio (1-2), who walked three straight in the 13th. The 13-inning game matched the longest in the majors since the institution of the runner-on-second-base rule to open extra innings last season. Dominic Leone (1-0) won despite... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — José Ramírez picked up a pair of RBIs — made possible by Baltimore blunders in the field — and the Cleveland Indians extended the Orioles’ road losing streak to 16 games with a 4-3 victory on Monday night. Ramírez drove in a run off Dean Kremer (0-6) in the first inning when Baltimore left fielder DJ Stewart slipped in the wet grass going after a routine fly. Ramirez added an RBI double in the sixth after Orioles second baseman Stevie Wilkerson dropped his foul pop, giving him another try. Indians rookie reliever Nick Sandlin (1-0) picked up his first career win by striking out three of the five batters he faced. Emmanuel Clase worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 10th save. RAYS 5, WHITE SOX 2 CHICAGO (AP) — Austin Meadows, Brandon Lowe and Randy Arozarena homered and Tampa Bay beat Chicago for its fourth straight win. Tampa Bay improved to 43-24, 1 1/2 games ahead of the White Sox for the best record in the majors. The Rays have won seven of eight. Tampa Bay starter Tyler Glasnow... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — José Ramírez picked up a pair of RBIs — made possible by Baltimore blunders in the field — and the Cleveland Indians extended the Orioles’ road losing streak to 16 games with a 4-3 victory on Monday night. Ramírez drove in a run off Dean Kremer (0-6) in the first inning when Baltimore left fielder DJ Stewart slipped in the wet grass going after a routine fly. Ramirez added an RBI double in the sixth after Orioles second baseman Stevie Wilkerson dropped his foul pop, giving him another try. Indians rookie reliever Nick Sandlin (1-0) picked up his first career win by striking out three of the five batters he faced. Emmanuel Clase worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 10th save. RAYS 5, WHITE SOX 2 CHICAGO (AP) — Austin Meadows, Brandon Lowe and Randy Arozarena homered and Tampa Bay beat Chicago for its fourth straight win. Tampa Bay improved to 43-24, 1 1/2 games ahead of the White Sox for the best record in the majors. The Rays have won seven of eight. Tampa Bay starter Tyler Glasnow... [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]

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]

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]

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]

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Joe Panik homered, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Houston Astros 6-2 on Saturday. Panik’s tiebreaking three-run shot off José Urquidy gave Toronto a 4-1 lead in the fourth inning. Guerrero connected in the fifth, sending a two-run drive deep to left for his 18th homer. Guerrero finished with three hits, raising his batting average to .338. Ross Stripling pitched five innings of one-run ball for the Blue Jays, who improved to 3-1 at their temporary home in Buffalo. Stripling (2-3) allowed seven hits, struck out four and walked one. Carlos Correa had three hits and Myles Straw drove in two runs for the Astros. Urquidy (4-3) was tagged for a season-high six runs in 4 1/3 innings. He allowed two or fewer earned runs in seven of his previous nine starts this season. RAYS 3, RANGERS 0 ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Rich Hill pitched another five scoreless innings as Tampa Bay blanked Texas. The 41-year-old Hill (5-2) struck out three and allowed two... [More]

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Joe Panik homered, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Houston Astros 6-2 on Saturday. Panik’s tiebreaking three-run shot off José Urquidy gave Toronto a 4-1 lead in the fourth inning. Guerrero connected in the fifth, sending a two-run drive deep to left for his 18th homer. Guerrero finished with three hits, raising his batting average to .338. Ross Stripling pitched five innings of one-run ball for the Blue Jays, who improved to 3-1 at their temporary home in Buffalo. Stripling (2-3) allowed seven hits, struck out four and walked one. Carlos Correa had three hits and Myles Straw drove in two runs for the Astros. Urquidy (4-3) was tagged for a season-high six runs in 4 1/3 innings. He allowed two or fewer earned runs in seven of his previous nine starts this season. RAYS 3, RANGERS 0 ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Rich Hill pitched another five scoreless innings as Tampa Bay blanked Texas. The 41-year-old Hill (5-2) struck out three and allowed two... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Brandon Crawford homered and drove in four runs, Anthony DeSclafani pitched six solid innings and hit an RBI double, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs 7-2 on Thursday night. Buster Posey and Alex Dickerson added two hits apiece to help the Giants win the opener of a four-game series between two of the hottest teams in the National League. DeSclafani (5-2) allowed two runs and four hits for his first win at home since April 26. San Francisco has won seven of nine to improve to an NL-best 35-21. Joc Pederson hit his fifth homer for the Cubs, who had won nine of 10 before losing in their first trip to the West Coast since 2019. Zach Davies (2-3) lost for the first time since April 16, allowing four runs in 4 1/3 innings. RAYS 9, YANKEES 2 NEW YORK (AP) — Ryan Yarbrough ended a 24-start winless skid with Tampa Bay’s first complete game in more than five years. Austin Meadows homered off Gerrit Cole and drove in five runs for Tampa Bay. Yarbrough (3-3) hadn’t... [More]