CHICAGO (AP) — Jon Lester won his fifth straight start, Javier Baez backed him with three hits and two runs, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 on Wednesday.Lester (9-2) gave up five hits over seven innings. Baez had two doubles, a triple and a steal. He also made some solid plays at shortstop and second base.Kyle Schwarber hit his 14th homer, and Kris Bryant added two hits and an RBI. And the Cubs handed Ross Stripling his first loss since April 30, taking two of three in a rematch of the past two NL Championship Series.Lester walked three and struck out one batter. Anthony Bass worked the final two innings to finish the six-hitter.Stripling (6-2) had won six straight starts. The right-hander went six innings, allowing three runs and eight hits while striking out seven without a walk.YANKEES 7, MARINERS 5NEW YORK (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton lined a two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, and New York erased a five-run deficit to beat Seattle.Gary... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Jon Lester won his fifth straight start, Javier Baez backed him with three hits and two runs, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 on Wednesday.Lester (9-2) gave up five hits over seven innings. Baez had two doubles, a triple and a steal. He also made some solid plays at shortstop and second base.Kyle Schwarber hit his 14th homer, and Kris Bryant added two hits and an RBI. And the Cubs handed Ross Stripling his first loss since April 30, taking two of three in a rematch of the past two NL Championship Series.Lester walked three and struck out one batter. Anthony Bass worked the final two innings to finish the six-hitter.Stripling (6-2) had won six straight starts. The right-hander went six innings, allowing three runs and eight hits while striking out seven without a walk.PHILLIES 4, CARDINALS 3PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Odubel Herrera hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the seventh inning, Cesar Hernandez had a two-run shot and Philadelphia beat St. Louis.Herrera ripped... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Odubel Herrera hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the seventh inning, Cesar Hernandez hit a two-run homer and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 Wednesday.Yadier Molina hit a pair of homers for the Cardinals, who lost starter Michael Wacha to injury. Both came off Phillies starter Jake Arrieta.Philadelphia's beleaguered bullpen tossed three scoreless innings after Arrieta had another so-so outing. Edubray Ramos (2-0) got five outs and Adam Morgan retired the last two batters with the tying run on second for his first career save.The Phillies took two of three to win a series against the Cardinals for the first time since August 2014.Arrieta gave up three runs and four hits in six innings to remain winless in June after posting a 0.90 ERA in five starts in May. Arrieta, who is earning $30 million this season as part of a three-year, $75 million contract, has a 6.97 ERA in four starts this month.Wacha left in the fourth with a left oblique strain.... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Bartolo Colon worked five innings for his 243rd career victory, matching Hall of Fame pitcher Juan Marichal for the most by a player born in the Dominican Republic when the Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics 8-2 on Wednesday night.The 45-year-old Colon (3-3), in his fourth attempt at the milestone victory, got it against one of the 10 other major league teams he has pitched for since his big league debut in 1997 with Cleveland. He allowed Khris Davis' two-run homer and had one strikeout and two walks.Colon leads active pitchers with 243 wins and 3,383 2/3 innings pitched. His 2,499 strikeouts are third among active pitchers, behind CC Sabathia and Justin Verlander. Nicaragua's Dennis Martinez, with 245 wins, is the only Latin American native with more victories than Colon.Jurickson Profar homered twice and had a career-high five RBIs, while Joey Gallo and Ronald Guzman also went deep for the Rangers in the first four innings against Daniel Mengden (6-5).YANKEES... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Bartolo Colon worked five innings for his 243rd career victory, matching Hall of Fame pitcher Juan Marichal for the most by a player born in the Dominican Republic when the Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics 8-2 on Wednesday night.The 45-year-old Colon (3-3), in his fourth attempt at the milestone victory, got it against one of the 10 other major league teams he has pitched for since his big league debut in 1997 with Cleveland. He allowed Khris Davis' two-run homer and had one strikeout and two walks.Colon leads active pitchers with 243 wins and 3,383 2/3 innings pitched. His 2,499 strikeouts are third among active pitchers, behind CC Sabathia and Justin Verlander. Nicaragua's Dennis Martinez, with 245 wins, is the only Latin American native with more victories than Colon.Jurickson Profar homered twice and had a career-high five RBIs, while Joey Gallo and Ronald Guzman also went deep for the Rangers in the first four innings against Daniel Mengden (6-5).YANKEES... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Verlander tamed the Yankees again, slowing down the highest-scoring team in the majors and pitching the Houston Astros past New York 5-1 Monday.Verlander exited in the seventh inning with a major league-best 1.11 ERA. J.D. Davis hit an early three-run homer and Jose Altuve had a solo drive, helping Houston win for the sixth time in eight games.Davis hit his first homer of the season, connecting in the second off Domingo German (0-3).Closer Ken Giles, tagged Sunday as the Astros blew a five-run lead in the ninth at Cleveland, pitched the final inning and worked around a leadoff single.Facing the only club in baseball that hasn't been shut out this season, Verlander (7-2) blanked the Yankees until Greg Bird hit a leadoff home run in the seventh.As he left, Verlander took off his cap and waved it toward a solid contingent of Astros fans wearing bright orange behind the dugout.NATIONALS 6, ORIOLES 0BALTIMORE (AP) — Anthony Rendon hit a three-run homer to back a sharp... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Verlander tamed the Yankees again, slowing down the highest-scoring team in the majors and pitching the Houston Astros past New York 5-1 Monday.Verlander exited in the seventh inning with a major league-best 1.11 ERA. J.D. Davis hit an early three-run homer and Jose Altuve had a solo drive, helping Houston win for the sixth time in eight games.Davis hit his first homer of the season, connecting in the second off Domingo German (0-3).Closer Ken Giles, tagged Sunday as the Astros blew a five-run lead in the ninth at Cleveland, pitched the final inning and worked around a leadoff single.Facing the only club in baseball that hasn't been shut out this season, Verlander (7-2) blanked the Yankees until Greg Bird hit a leadoff home run in the seventh.As he left, Verlander took off his cap and waved it toward a solid contingent of Astros fans wearing bright orange behind the dugout.NATIONALS 6, ORIOLES 0BALTIMORE (AP) — Anthony Rendon hit a three-run homer to back a sharp... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies have demoted their only left-handed pitcher, optioning reliever Zac Curtis to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and recalling right-hander Jake Thompson.The move Thursday left the Phillies with 13 right-handed pitchers on the 25-man roster. Philadelphia hasn't had a left-handed starter since Adam Morgan on Sept. 28, 2016. Morgan, now a reliever, was placed on the 10-day disabled list Monday with a back strain.Curtis allowed two runs and three hits with three walks in two innings on Wednesday in the Phillies' 11-3 win over San Francisco.Thompson has a 7.27 ERA in three big league appearances this season.

HOUSTON (AP) — Justin Verlander pitched seven sharp innings, AL MVP Jose Altuve hit his first home run of the season and the Houston Astros beat the Angels 5-2 on Wednesday, ending Los Angeles' road winning streak at a team record-tying 11.Albert Pujols connected off Verlander for his 619th career homer. Pujols has 2,994 hits.Alex Bregman hit a three-run double and Jake Marisnick homered as Houston avoided a three-game sweep. The Angels also won 11 straight road games in 1988.Verlander (4-0) held the Angels hitless into the fifth inning. He gave up two runs and four hits, striking out nine without a walk. Verlander won his 11th regular-season decision in a row.Ken Giles pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save. Nick Tropeano (1-2) retired the first 11 batters he faced, striking out six.INDIANS 4, CUBS 1CLEVELAND (AP) — Indians reliever Andrew Miller exited with tightness in his hamstring in the win over Chicago and could miss a few days.Miller grabbed the back of his leg after throwing... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani retired the Oakland Athletics' first 19 batters and yielded one hit over seven shutout innings in his home pitching debut, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 6-1 victory Sunday.Marcus Semien's clean one-out single to left broke up Ohtani's bid for a perfect game,Ohtani (2-0) struck out the side twice and finished with 12 strikeouts in all. He won his pitching debut in Oakland last weekend with six strong innings, then homered in three consecutive games in Anaheim between starts in his attempt to become the first regular two-way player in decades.Mike Trout and Ryan Schimpf homered, and Albert Pujols had an RBI double in the Angels' seventh win in nine games. Kendall Graveman (0-2) gave up five hits and four walks while failing to get out of the fourth inning for the A's, who have lost seven of 10.METS 6, NATIONALS 5, 12 INNINGSWASHINGTON (AP) — Yoenis Cespedes scored Juan Lagares with a broken-bat single in the 12th inning to help New York complete... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani retired the Oakland Athletics' first 19 batters and yielded one hit over seven shutout innings in his home pitching debut, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 6-1 victory Sunday.Marcus Semien's clean one-out single to left broke up Ohtani's bid for a perfect game,Ohtani (2-0) struck out the side twice and finished with 12 strikeouts in all. He won his pitching debut in Oakland last weekend with six strong innings, then homered in three consecutive games in Anaheim between starts in his attempt to become the first regular two-way player in decades.Mike Trout and Ryan Schimpf homered, and Albert Pujols had an RBI double in the Angels' seventh win in nine games. Kendall Graveman (0-2) gave up five hits and four walks while failing to get out of the fourth inning for the A's, who have lost seven of 10.MARLINS 6, PHILLIES 3PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jake Arrieta (0-1) lasted just four innings in his Philadelphia debut, allowing three runs — two earned — and three... [More]

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Robbie Ray worked around five walks over six innings and the bullpen closed out a two-hitter, helping the Arizona Diamondbacks spoil the St. Louis Cardinals' home opener 3-1 on Thursday night.Arizona improved to 6-1 for the second straight season and tied a franchise record for its best seven-game start. The team was also 6-1 in 2000. St. Louis dropped its first home opener since 2015.Ray (2-0) gave up a run and two hits while striking out nine. He was making his first appearance in St. Louis since being knocked out of a game by a line drive off his head on July 28, 2017.David Peralta capped off a two-run second inning with an RBI single. He pushed the lead to 3-0 with a double in the fourth.Brad Boxberger picked up his third save in three chances. Four Arizona relievers were perfect except for an error by first baseman Paul Goldschmidt in the eighth.Adam Wainwright (0-1) came off the 10-day disabled list to make the start for St. Louis. He gave up four hits and three runs... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michael Conforto came off the disabled list to hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer off Stephen Strasburg, Yoenis Cespedes also went deep against the ace, and Jay Bruce tacked on an insurance gland slam, leading the New York Mets to an 8-2 victory Thursday in Washington's chilly home opener.Jacob deGrom (2-0) wiggled out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam to finish is six-inning outing with a flourish. After walking Bryce Harper to fill the bags, deGrom got Ryan Zimmerman to fly out to shallow right and Howie Kendrick to line out to shortstop, before Trea Turner looked at a 94 mph fastball for strike three. Turner argued and was ejected for the first time in the majors.Zimmerman, who only got two at-bats in spring training, went 0 for 4 on Thursday and is 3 for 22 (.136) with six strikeouts this season.The Mets improved to an NL East-leading 5-1, while the two-time reigning division champion Nationals have lost three in a row after a 4-0 start under rookie manager Dave Martinez.Conforto... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michael Conforto came off the disabled list to hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer off Stephen Strasburg, Yoenis Cespedes also went deep against the ace, and Jay Bruce tacked on an insurance gland slam, leading the New York Mets to an 8-2 victory Thursday in Washington's chilly home opener.Jacob deGrom (2-0) wiggled out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam to finish is six-inning outing with a flourish. After walking Bryce Harper to fill the bags, deGrom got Ryan Zimmerman to fly out to shallow right and Howie Kendrick to line out to shortstop, before Trea Turner looked at a 94 mph fastball for strike three. Turner argued and was ejected for the first time in the majors.Zimmerman, who only got two at-bats in spring training, went 0 for 4 on Thursday and is 3 for 22 (.136) with six strikeouts this season.The Mets improved to an NL East-leading 5-1, while the two-time reigning division champion Nationals have lost three in a row after a 4-0 start under rookie manager Dave Martinez.Conforto... [More]

Capsules of National League East teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Washington Nationals2017: 97-65, first place, lost to Cubs in NLDS.Manager: Dave Martinez (first season).He's Here: 1B-OF Matt Adams, C Miguel Montero, RHP Jeremy Hellickson, RHP Joaquin Benoit, INF Matt Reynolds.He's Outta Here: Manager Dusty Baker, LF Jayson Werth, 1B-LF Adam Lind, C Jose Lobaton, RHP Matt Albers.Projected Lineup: SS Trea Turner (.284, 11 HRs, 45 RBIs, 46 SBs in 98 games), LF Adam Eaton (.297, 2, 13 in 23 games), RF Bryce Harper (.319, 29, 87), 3B Anthony Rendon (.301, 25, 100, 41 2Bs), 2B Daniel Murphy (.322, 23, 93, 43 2Bs; expected to begin season on DL recovering from knee surgery), 1B Ryan Zimmerman (.303, 36, 108, 33 2Bs), CF Michael A. Taylor (.271, 19, 53), C Matt Wieters (.225, 10, 52).Rotation: RH Max Scherzer (16-6, 2.51 ERA, NL-high 268 Ks, 200 2/3 IP, 3rd Cy Young Award), RH Stephen Strasburg (15-4, 2.52, 204 Ks), LH Gio Gonzalez (15-9, 2.96, 79 walks), RH Tanner Roark (13-11,... [More]

Capsules of National League East teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Washington Nationals2017: 97-65, first place, lost to Cubs in NLDS.Manager: Dave Martinez (first season).He's Here: 1B-OF Matt Adams, C Miguel Montero, RHP Jeremy Hellickson, RHP Joaquin Benoit, INF Matt Reynolds.He's Outta Here: Manager Dusty Baker, LF Jayson Werth, 1B-LF Adam Lind, C Jose Lobaton, RHP Matt Albers.Projected Lineup: SS Trea Turner (.284, 11 HRs, 45 RBIs, 46 SBs in 98 games), LF Adam Eaton (.297, 2, 13 in 23 games), RF Bryce Harper (.319, 29, 87), 3B Anthony Rendon (.301, 25, 100, 41 2Bs), 2B Daniel Murphy (.322, 23, 93, 43 2Bs; expected to begin season on DL recovering from knee surgery), 1B Ryan Zimmerman (.303, 36, 108, 33 2Bs), CF Michael A. Taylor (.271, 19, 53), C Matt Wieters (.225, 10, 52).Rotation: RH Max Scherzer (16-6, 2.51 ERA, NL-high 268 Ks, 200 2/3 IP, 3rd Cy Young Award), RH Stephen Strasburg (15-4, 2.52, 204 Ks), LH Gio Gonzalez (15-9, 2.96, 79 walks), RH Tanner Roark (13-11,... [More]

Capsules of National League East teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Washington Nationals2017: 97-65, first place, lost to Cubs in NLDS.Manager: Dave Martinez (first season).He's Here: 1B-OF Matt Adams, C Miguel Montero, RHP Jeremy Hellickson, RHP Joaquin Benoit, INF Matt Reynolds.He's Outta Here: Manager Dusty Baker, LF Jayson Werth, 1B-LF Adam Lind, C Jose Lobaton, RHP Matt Albers.Projected Lineup: SS Trea Turner (.284, 11 HRs, 45 RBIs, 46 SBs in 98 games), LF Adam Eaton (.297, 2, 13 in 23 games), RF Bryce Harper (.319, 29, 87), 3B Anthony Rendon (.301, 25, 100, 41 2Bs), 2B Daniel Murphy (.322, 23, 93, 43 2Bs, expected to begin season on DL recovering from knee surgery), 1B Ryan Zimmerman (.303, 36, 108, 33 2Bs), CF Michael A. Taylor (.271, 19, 53), C Matt Wieters (.225, 10, 52).Rotation: RH Max Scherzer (16-6, 2.51 ERA, NL-high 268 Ks, 200 2/3 IP, 3rd Cy Young Award), RH Stephen Strasburg (15-4, 2.52, 204 Ks), LH Gio Gonzalez (15-9, 2.96, 79 walks), RH Tanner Roark (13-11,... [More]

RHP Adam Morgan surrendered a game-winning home run to Asdrubal Cabrera in the 11th inning Saturday. It was the first earned run he's allowed since Sept. 7 at Washington.

LHP Adam Morgan pitched one inning of scoreless baseball Tuesday when Philadelphia defeated Washington 4-1. Morgan struck out two and did not allow a baserunner. The lefty own a 0.72 ERA over his last 19 games (two runs in 25 innings). He is averaging 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings during that span.

RHP Adam Morgan pitched a scoreless inning on Saturday. He has given up only two runs in his last 23 innings. He is averaging 10.26 strikeouts over nine innings.