HOUSTON (AP) — Rafael Devers homered off Justin Verlander, and the Boston Red Sox took advantage of two errors by the Houston Astros to avoid a series sweep with a 4-1 victory Sunday.Eduardo Rodriguez (5-3) held Houston to one run and four hits in six innings, improving to 5-1 in his last eight starts.The Astros lost for just the fifth time in 22 games and finished the regular season 4-2 against the Red Sox, who beat them 4-1 in the ALCS last season on the way to a World Series championship.Devers' solo shot in the fourth gave the Red Sox a 2-1 lead. It was Devers' seventh homer of the season and fourth in six games.Marcus Walden earned his second major league save and first this season.Verlander (8-2) permitted three runs and six hits in seven innings, striking out six.ATHLETICS 7, MARINERS 1OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Matt Chapman homered for the second consecutive day, Josh Phegley also went deep and had three RBIs, and the streaking Oakland Athletics won their ninth straight, beating Seattle... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Willson Contreras homered in the 15th inning to give the Chicago Cubs a 2-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday.Contreras turned on a 1-2 pitch from Burch Smith (0-1), sending a long shot to left field that gave Chicago its 11th win in 13 games. He spun and flipped his bat toward the Cubs' dugout as the ball sailed toward the bleachers and was mobbed by teammates when he crossed the plate.Chicago moved back ahead of the Brewers for the NL Central lead after falling into a virtual tie with Friday's 7-0 loss. Milwaukee had its season-high seven-game win streak snapped.Tyler Chatwood (2-0) struck out seven in four innings to cap a strong effort by the bullpen after Cole Hamels worked seven solid innings.Hamels gave up a run and three hits in his fourth straight no-decision. Seven relievers combined to give up one hit the rest of the way.RAYS 7, YANKEES 2ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Willy Adames and Ji-Man Choi hit run-scoring infield singles in the sixth after tempers... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Kyle Hendricks needed just 81 pitches for a four-hitter, Anthony Rizzo homered for his third straight game and the Chicago Cubs beat the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 on Friday.The second-place Cubs won their season-high fifth in a row while cutting St. Louis' lead to 1½ games. The Cardinals have back-to-back losses after five consecutive victories.Hendricks (2-4) pitched his third career shutout and fourth complete game, his first since he shut out Miami on Aug. 1, 2016. The right-hander struck out three and did not walk a batter, after getting pounded in a loss at Arizona last week. Hendricks improved to 6-2 in 15 starts against St. Louis.Rizzo made it 3-0 with a three-run drive against Jack Flaherty (3-2) in the third and finished with three hits. Javier Baez added an RBI single in the seventh, and the Cubs opened a 10-game homestand with a win.Flaherty allowed three runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings.BRAVES 7, MARLINS 2MIAMI (AP) — Freddie Freeman and Brian... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Kyle Hendricks needed just 81 pitches for a four-hitter, Anthony Rizzo homered for his third straight game and the Chicago Cubs beat the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 on Friday.The second-place Cubs won their season-high fifth in a row while cutting St. Louis' lead to 1½ games. The Cardinals have back-to-back losses after five consecutive victories.Hendricks (2-4) pitched his third career shutout and fourth complete game, his first since he shut out Miami on Aug. 1, 2016. The right-hander struck out three and did not walk a batter, after getting pounded in a loss at Arizona last week. Hendricks improved to 6-2 in 15 starts against St. Louis.Rizzo made it 3-0 with a three-run drive against Jack Flaherty (3-2) in the third and finished with three hits. Javier Baez added an RBI single in the seventh, and the Cubs opened a 10-game homestand with a win.Flaherty allowed three runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings.BRAVES 7, MARLINS 2MIAMI (AP) — Freddie Freeman and Brian... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — James Paxton became the latest New York Yankees player to get hurt, leaving his start against the Minnesota Twins after three innings because of soreness in his left knee.The team says Paxton will undergo an MRI on Saturday.Already with 13 players on the injured list, the Yankees can only hope Paxton won't be sidelined long, if at all. The oft-injured lefty, acquired from Seattle in an offseason trade to be a front-end starter, entered 3-2 with a 3.38 ERA in his first six outings for New York.Paxton threw 32 of 64 pitches for strikes Friday on a nippy, 51-degree night. He exited leading 2-1 and was replaced by Jonathan Holder to begin the fourth.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports