MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kansas City rookie Jorge Lopez came within three outs of a perfect game before Max Kepler walked leading off the ninth inning and Robbie Grossman followed with a single in the Royals' 4-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night.The 25-year-old right-hander made just his seventh big league start, his fifth for Kansas City since he was acquired from Milwaukee in the late-July trade that sent Mike Moustakas to the Brewers.Lopez (2-4) retired his first 24 batters before walking Kepler on a 3-1 fastball. Grossman followed with a clean single to center field on a changeup with a 1-2 count.Lopez was removed from the game after 110 pitches, 11 more than his previous high.Ehire Adrianza hit a sacrifice fly off Wily Peralta, who retired Joe Mauer and Jorge Polanco on flyouts for his ninth save, completing the one-hitter.Jose Berrios (11-11) gave up one run and three hits in six innings.ASTROS 5, RED SOX 3BOSTON (AP) — Alex Bregman hit his 30th home run, Charlie Morton returned... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kansas City rookie Jorge Lopez came within three outs of a perfect game before Max Kepler walked leading off the ninth inning and Robbie Grossman followed with a single in the Royals' 4-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night.The 25-year-old right-hander made just his seventh big league start, his fifth for Kansas City since he was acquired from Milwaukee in the late-July trade that sent Mike Moustakas to the Brewers.Lopez (2-4) retired his first 24 batters before walking Kepler on a 3-1 fastball. Grossman followed with a clean single to center field on a changeup with a 1-2 count.Lopez was removed from the game after 110 pitches, 11 more than his previous high.Ehire Adrianza hit a sacrifice fly off Wily Peralta, who retired Joe Mauer and Jorge Polanco on flyouts for his ninth save, completing the one-hitter.Jose Berrios (11-11) gave up one run and three hits in six innings.ASTROS 5, RED SOX 3BOSTON (AP) — Alex Bregman hit his 30th home run, Charlie Morton returned... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kansas City rookie Jorge Lopez came within three outs of a perfect game before Max Kepler walked leading off the ninth inning and Robbie Grossman followed with a single in the Royals' 4-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night.The 25-year-old right-hander made just his seventh big league start, his fifth for Kansas City since he was acquired from Milwaukee in the late-July trade that sent Mike Moustakas to the Brewers.Lopez (2-4) retired his first 24 batters before walking Kepler on a 3-1 fastball. Grossman followed with a clean single to center field on a changeup with a 1-2 count.Lopez was removed from the game after 110 pitches, 11 more than his previous high.Ehire Adrianza hit a sacrifice fly off Wily Peralta, who retired Joe Mauer and Jorge Polanco on flyouts for his ninth save, completing the one-hitter.Jose Berrios (11-11) gave up one run and three hits in six innings.ASTROS 5, RED SOX 3BOSTON (AP) — Alex Bregman hit his 30th home run, Charlie Morton returned... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Twins right-hander Ervin Santana may miss the rest of the season while receiving a series of platelet rich plasma injections in the middle finger of his pitching hand.Santana is 0-1 with a 8.03 ERA in five major league starts this season."He had one done," Minnesota manager Paul Molitor said Saturday. "I think over a three-week period he'll have that done three times."Santana had surgery Feb. 6 to remove a calcium deposit on the finger. He made his first minor league injury rehabilitation appearance May 23 and didn't make his season debut for the Twins until July 25.The two-time All-Star was still bothered by the finger and after five starts returned to the disabled list on Aug. 19.Santana, 35, is in the final guaranteed season of a $55 million, four-year contract. The Twins have a $14 million option for next year with a $1 million buyout."I'm not really sure if the timing of when he picks up a ball will matter nearly as much as his ability to try to get through the winter and put himself in position to pitch again next spring," Molitor said.Santana is 149-125 with a 4.06 ERA in 14 major league seasons.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

A look at what's happening around the majors today:THE SHO GOES ONShohei Ohtani doesn't need two good elbows to help the Angels. Doctors this week recommended the two-way rookie sensation have Tommy John surgery on his right pitching elbow, but Ohtani has been crushing it at the plate, hitting four homers in his past three games. Ohtani has 19 home runs and leads all rookies with a .579 slugging percentage, and he says he'll keep hitting through the end of the season before deciding whether to have surgery that would keep him off the mound until 2020. The Angels will face White Sox veteran James Shields.NEW BREWGio Gonzalez is set to make his first start with the Brewers against the Giants. The left-hander was acquired from the Nationals a week ago. He had lost three of his final four starts with Washington while posting an 8.71 ERA, but Milwaukee is hoping he can help the team's postseason push.BUCK UPClay Buchholz's resurgent season keeps getting better, a trend Arizona hopes he extends... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Orioles pitcher David Hess might want to stick to baseball.The rookie right-hander was hit in the left eye while playing catch with a football Friday night before Baltimore's game against Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field. He was taken to a specialist for an examination of his left eye."For me immediately I was just trying to make sure I could see and once I could see I knew I was OK," Hess said after the Orioles were beat 14-2 by the Rays. "That was good but definitely something I've got to be careful with going forward"By the early innings, Hess was back in the Baltimore dugout — wearing an LSU football helmet."I could not entirely tell you where the LSU helmet came from," Hess said. "It appeared in the second inning and I was told to wear it so I wore it."It's a normal sight almost across the majors to see pitchers doing running work involving football passes before batting practice."I think going out there and playing around ... that's just kind of part of being... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Saturday:THE SHO GOES ONShohei Ohtani doesn't need two good elbows to help the Angels. Doctors this week recommended the two-way rookie sensation have Tommy John surgery on his right pitching elbow, but Ohtani has been crushing it at the plate, hitting four homers in his past three games. Ohtani has 19 home runs and leads all rookies with a .579 slugging percentage, and he says he'll keep hitting through the end of the season before deciding whether to have surgery that would keep him off the mound until 2020. The Angels will face White Sox veteran James Shields.NEW BREWGio Gonzalez is set to make his first start with the Brewers against the Giants. The left-hander was acquired from the Nationals a week ago. He had lost three of his final four starts with Washington while posting an 8.71 ERA, but Milwaukee is hoping he can help the team's postseason push.BUCK UPClay Buchholz's resurgent season keeps getting better, a trend Arizona hopes he extends... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Orioles pitcher David Hess might want to stick to baseball.The rookie right-hander was hit in the left eye while playing catch with a football Friday night before Baltimore's game against Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field. He was taken to a specialist for an examination of his left eye."For me immediately I was just trying to make sure I could see and once I could see I knew I was OK," Hess said after the Orioles were beat 14-2 by the Rays. "That was good but definitely something I've got to be careful with going forward"By the early innings, Hess was back in the Baltimore dugout — wearing an LSU football helmet."I could not entirely tell you where the LSU helmet came from," Hess said. "It appeared in the second inning and I was told to wear it so I wore it."It's a normal sight almost across the majors to see pitchers doing running work involving football passes before batting practice."I think going out there and playing around ... that's just kind of part of being... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Baltimore Orioles pitcher David Hess might want to stick to baseball.The rookie right-hander was hit in the left eye while playing catch with a football before Friday night's game against Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field. He was taken to a specialist for an examination of his left eye.By the early innings, Hess was back in the Baltimore dugout — wearing an LSU football helmet.It's a normal sight almost across the majors to see pitchers doing running work involving football passes before batting practice.Baltimore manager Buck Showalter didn't rule out Hess missing his start Saturday night against the Rays. The 25-year-old Hess is 3-9 with a 5.27 ERA this season.Hess is not the only issue for the Baltimore rotation this weekend.Showalter said righty Alex Cobb is not expected to start Sunday due to lingering blister problems. Josh Rogers would take Cobb's spot.

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox are ready to slowly ease ace Chris Sale back into action.Manager Alex Cora says the left-hander will be activated from the disabled list and pitch about two innings Tuesday night against Toronto at Fenway Park. Cora said Sale would throw a maximum of 40 pitches for the AL East leaders.Cora made the announcement before Boston hosted Houston on Friday. The Red Sox have the best record in the majors and, if they win their division, would begin the playoffs in exactly four weeks.Sale originally went on the disabled list July 31 with mild left shoulder inflammation. He returned for a start Aug. 12 against Baltimore, going five innings and striking out 12. But he quickly as placed back on the disabled list a week later with the same ailment."Little by little, we're getting healthy," Cora said.Sale has been dominant this season, going 12-4 with a 1.97 ERA. His ERA is the second-best in the majors, and he has struck out 219 in only 146 innings. In July, he started... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Baltimore Orioles pitcher David Hess might miss a scheduled start after being hit in the eye while playing catch with a football.Hess was tossing the ball with teammates before Friday night's game against Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field. He was taken to a specialist for an examination of his left eye.Baltimore manager Buck Showalter didn't rule out Hess missing his start Saturday night against the Rays.It's a normal sight before batting practice to see pitchers doing running work involving football passes.Hess is not the only issue for the Baltimore rotation this weekend.Showalter said righty Alex Cobb is not expected to start Sunday due to lingering blister problems. Josh Rogers would take Cobb's spot.

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox are ready to slowly ease ace Chris Sale back into action.Manager Alex Cora says the left-hander will be activated from the disabled list and pitch about two innings Tuesday night against Toronto at Fenway Park. Cora said Sale would throw a maximum of 40 pitches for the AL East leaders.Cora made the announcement before Boston hosted Houston on Friday. The Red Sox have the best record in the majors and, if they win their division, would begin the playoffs in exactly four weeks.Sale originally went on the disabled list July 31 with mild left shoulder inflammation. He returned for a start Aug. 12 against Baltimore, going five innings and striking out 12. But he quickly as placed back on the disabled list a week later with the same ailment.Sale has been dominant this season, going 12-4 with a 1.97 ERA. He has struck out 219 in only 146 innings.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Nationals have activated All-Star closer Sean Doolittle from the 10-day disabled list.The Nationals made the move before Friday night's game against the Cubs. The left-hander missed 54 games with a stress reaction in his left foot.Doolittle is 3-2 with a 1.45 ERA in 35 appearances. He has 22 saves in 23 chances.The 31-year-old was chosen as an All-Star for the second time in his career, but had to miss the game, which was held at Nationals Park.His return likely means a passenger for Washington's bullpen cart, which debuted Aug. 17 but has yet to be utilized by a player. Doolittle has said he will ride in the cart.Washington began the day 8 ½ games behind Atlanta in the NL East and 9 ½ back in the wild card race.

BOSTON (AP) — Dustin Pedroia is back in the Red Sox clubhouse. But the Boston second baseman won't be playing in any games for the rest of the season.Manager Alex Cora said Friday that Pedroia has been officially shut down for the remainder of 2018. Cora revealed the 35-year-old veteran had an additional arthroscopic surgery on his left knee while rehabbing in Arizona in July to cleanup some scar tissue. Pedroia had two initial procedures on the knee last October.The four-time All-Star returned to action in May for three games, but went just 1 for 11 with two walks. Still, Cora left open the possibly for the Boston fan favorite to make it back before season's end. That changed after a conversation with Pedroia recently."It's tough not being able to help out the guys," Pedroia said. "But it's been great watching them and how great the year's been. We've done a lot of great things. It's that time of year where you're pushing to win the World Series."It'll be great to here and watch the guys... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo indicated during a session with reporters Wednesday that first-year manager Dave Martinez will return next season."I haven't considered any other scenario," Rizzo responded when asked if Martinez would be back.The Nationals, expected to contend for a third straight NL East title, entered Wednesday with a 69-70 record, 7 1/2 games behind Atlanta in the East and eight games back in the wildcard.In addition to injuries players including Daniel Murphy, Ryan Zimmerman, Stephen Strasburg and Sean Doolittle, Martinez' work has come under scrutiny."I think Davey's doing a great job in managing this team," Rizzo said. "He's managed them through a lot of trials and tribulations that a lot of first-year managers haven't had to go through, and to have a team playing with the exuberance and energy level that they're playing at at this point I think is a testament to Davey and the staff and the way that they feel about him in the clubhouse."

NEW YORK (AP) — The baseball players' association made the second high-profile addition to its staff in a less than a month, hiring Gary Sheffield business lawyer Xavier James as deputy chief operating officer.James will report to Kevin McGuiness, the union's chief operating officer since January 2014. James has worked as a special adviser to the union and received $215,168 from it in 2017, according to the union's financial disclosure statement.Last week, the union announced Bruce Meyer as its new senior director of collective bargaining and legal. Meyer will report directly to union head Tony Clark, who appears to be reforming his senior management ahead of bargaining for a labor contract to replace the deal that expires after the 2021 season. Some players have criticized the free-agent markets under the current five-year agreement.James, who turns 51 on Sept. 23, is a former attorney at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, where Meyer also worked. James has undergraduate, law and business degrees... [More]

SEATTLE (AP) — A brawl broke out in the Seattle Mariners' clubhouse Tuesday several hours before a game at Safeco Field.Shortstop Jean Segura and teammate Dee Gordon apparently tangled, while catcher Mike Zunino and other players tried to break up the skirmish.Moments after Gordon politely asked reporters to leave the locker room, the double doors burst open with players shoving and shouting. Segura was on the ground in the fracas."Whatever happens in here stays in here," Mariners star Robinson Cano said after a 5-3 loss to Baltimore. "It didn't affect anyone in here. We let it go. We're good. Everyone is good. We left that behind."The Mariners have gone through a rough few months.Seattle was 46-25 on June 16 and 11 1/2 games ahead of Oakland in the wild-card standings. The Mariners are 77-62 and 5 ½ games behind the A's in the chase for the second AL wild-card spot."Things happen in a clubhouse," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "Our guys are working through it and talking through... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Steve Pearce had three hits and three RBIs, Rick Porcello allowed two hits in five innings and the Boston Red Sox beat the Atlanta Braves 5-1 on Tuesday night for their second straight win in a matchup of division leaders.Porcello (16-7) gave up one run and struck out five, improving to 10-3 on the road this year. He had been 0-2 in his previous three starts overall since an Aug. 14 win at Philadelphia.Atlanta pitchers walked nine, including five by starter Sean Newcomb (11-8), who matched his season high. He allowed three runs and four hits in 4 1/3 innings.The Braves' lead over second-place Philadelphia in the NL East was cut to three games.Kurt Suzuki homered for the Braves.BREWERS 11, CUBS 1MILWAUKEE (AP) — Lorenzo Cain reached base five times, Wade Miley pitched six stingy innings and Milwaukee romped past Chicago to climb within three games of the NL Central leaders.Miley (3-2) allowed one run and three hits, struck out five and walked none as Milwaukee won for the... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago White Sox All-Star first baseman Jose Abreu says doctors performed emergency surgery last month to correct a groin condition.Abreu said Tuesday that he had testicle torsion. He had surgery on Aug. 21 at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago."It was one of my testicles turned sideways and was strangled," Abreu said through a translator before a game against Detroit. "The doctor had to perform emergency surgery to save it. I never thought about it, but it was serious.""I'm thankful for all the people who helped me, all the doctors and all the people in the hospital, who helped me to get better. I'm feeling good," he said.White Sox general manager Rick Hahn says he expects the 31-year-old slugger back in the lineup by mid-September.Abreu already has started light cardio activity and should resume on-field baseball activities in the next week. He leads the White Sox with 22 homers and 78 RBIs in 122 games.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich drove in the winning run with the bases loaded in the ninth after beating a throw from third to avoid a double play, and the Milwaukee Brewers opened an important three-game series with the Chicago Cubs with a 4-3 win Monday.The .316 hitter hit a 1-2 fastball from Jesse Chavez right at third baseman Kris Bryant, who touched third for the second out of the ninth before firing to first. The speedy Yelich reached safely just before the throw landed in the glove of the outstretched Anthony Rizzo, allowing Keon Broxton to score the game-winner from third.Cubs reliever Steve Cishek (4-3) loaded the bases in the ninth with a walk, passed ball and two hit batters.The second-place Brewers pulled within four games of the NL Central-leading Cubs.Milwaukee tied the score 3-3 after pinch-hitter Mike Moustakas drew a four-pitch walk with two outs in the eighth from Carl Edwards Jr.Anthony Rizzo hit a two-out, two-run homer off tough left-hander Josh Hader in the eighth.Jeremy... [More]