CHICAGO (AP) — Lance Lynn pitched two-hit ball into the eighth inning in his first start with New York, and the Yankees rebounded from their tough weekend in Boston by beating the Chicago White Sox 7-0 on Monday night.Lynn provided a big boost for New York after it dropped a season-high five straight games, including a four-game sweep by the major league-leading Red Sox. The series concluded with Aroldis Chapman blowing a save opportunity in a 10-inning loss at Fenway Park late Sunday night.Enter Lynn (8-8), who was acquired in a trade with Minnesota on July 30 and tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings in relief in his Yankees debut Wednesday. The veteran right-hander, who replaced Sonny Gray in New York's rotation, retired 19 in a row before Nicky Delmonico led off the eighth with a single to right.After Tim Anderson flied out, A.J. Cole finished the three-hitter for the AL wild-card leaders.Dylan Covey (4-8) was charged with four runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings. The right-hander dropped... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Indians reliever Andrew Miller threw off the mound Wednesday at Progressive Field, a major stride in his recovery from knee inflammation."Really well," manager Terry Francona said describing Miller's workout, which was closely observed by pitching coach Carl Willis. "I think every time he throws, he takes a step in the right direction."Miller has been on the disabled list since May 26, and the left-hander's absence has had a detrimental effect on Cleveland's bullpen, which entered Wednesday's series finale against Cincinnati with the AL's highest ERA.On Tuesday, Indians closer Cody Allen and Dan Otero couldn't protect a 4-0 lead as the Reds rallied for a 7-4 win.Miller has been throwing off a bullpen mound, but the Indians moved his workout onto the ballpark's main mound so the team could better use monitoring equipment to track his mechanics, velocity and location.Francona said the next step for Miller before he returns to the Indians — and that won't be until after the... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Indians manager Terry Francona spent the night tossing, turning and trying to forget.There are tough losses during the course of a season. And then there are troubling ones — like what happened Tuesday night."I thought about it at 1 o'clock. I thought about it at 2 o'clock. I thought about it at 3 o'clock. I thought about it at 4 o'clock," Francona said Wednesday, still coping with the Indians' shocking — and embarrassing — 7-4 loss to Cincinnati. "Between 6 and 8 I actually slept."He wasn't the only one with insomnia.Francona and several of his coaches had trouble moving past a communication breakdown that helped the Reds score seven runs in the ninth inning. As the Reds were rallying, Francona wanted to bring in left-hander Oliver Perez to face slugger Joey Votto with two outs, the bases loaded and the Indians clinging to a 4-3 lead. But pitching coach Carl Willis thought he heard Francona tell him to summon right-hander Dan Otero.Votto promptly hit a three-run double... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Wednesday:BRYANT BACK WITH CUBBIESKris Bryant flew to the Bay Area on Tuesday night and is hoping to play in the Cubs' series finale against the Giants. Bryant has been out since June 23 with inflammation in his left shoulder. He played rehab games for Double-A Tennessee on Monday and Tuesday before making his way to AT&T Park. The 2016 NL MVP is hitting .280 with nine homers and 36 RBIs in 66 games this season. Johnny Cueto will try to bounce back for San Francisco after allowing 10 hits and five runs in his return from the DL last week.POORLY 'PENNEDThe Indians return to the park following an excruciating loss Tuesday, when relievers Cody Allen and Dan Otero combined to allow seven two-out runs in the ninth inning of a 7-4 loss to Cincinnati. Trevor Bauer opened the game with eight scoreless innings for Cleveland, but Allen allowed six runs in the ninth and Otero allowed another before the Reds finally made the last out on the basepaths.... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Joey Votto hit a go-ahead three-run double during a seven-run ninth inning and the Cleveland Indians bullpen wasted a gem from Trevor Bauer in a 7-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night.Indians closer Cody Allen (2-4) allowed six runs after getting two outs in the ninth, the last three charged on Votto's sharp hit to right off Dan Otero. Adam Duvall also doubled in two in the ninth, while Jose Peraza and Eugenio Suarez each hit an RBI single. Cincinnati had seven straight batters reach with two outs, and the inning didn't end until Scooter Gennett ran into the third out at third base on Suarez's single.Cleveland's bullpen entered Tuesday with a 5.13 ERA, better only than the Rockies (5.28) and Royals (5.35).Bauer was brilliant, striking out 12 over eight scoreless innings in his first appearance since being named to the All-Star team for the first time. The right-hander allowed three singles, walked one and didn't allow a hit until Jesse Winker hit a one-out single... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Joey Votto hit a go-ahead three-run double during a seven-run ninth inning and the Cleveland Indians bullpen wasted a gem from Trevor Bauer in a 7-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night.Indians closer Cody Allen (2-4) allowed six runs after getting two outs in the ninth, the last three charged on Votto's sharp hit to right off Dan Otero. Adam Duvall also doubled in two in the ninth, while Jose Peraza and Eugenio Suarez each hit an RBI single. Cincinnati had seven straight batters reach with two outs, and the inning didn't end until Scooter Gennett ran into the third out at third base on Suarez's single.Cleveland's bullpen entered Tuesday with a 5.13 ERA, better only than the Rockies (5.28) and Royals (5.35).Bauer was brilliant, striking out 12 over eight scoreless innings in his first appearance since being named to the All-Star team for the first time. The right-hander allowed three singles, walked one and didn't allow a hit until Jesse Winker hit a one-out single... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Wednesday:BRYANT BACK WITH CUBBIESKris Bryant flew to the Bay Area on Tuesday night and is hoping to play in the Cubs' series finale against the Giants. Bryant has been out since June 23 with inflammation in his left shoulder. He played rehab games for Double-A Tennessee on Monday and Tuesday before making his way to AT&T Park. The 2016 NL MVP is hitting .280 with nine homers and 36 RBIs in 66 games this season. Johnny Cueto will try to bounce back for San Francisco after allowing 10 hits and five runs in his return from the DL last week.POORLY 'PENNEDThe Indians return to the park following an excruciating loss Tuesday, when relievers Cody Allen and Dan Otero combined to allow seven two-out runs in the ninth inning of a 7-4 loss to Cincinnati. Trevor Bauer opened the game with eight scoreless innings for Cleveland, but Allen allowed six runs in the ninth and Otero allowed another before the Reds finally made the last out on the basepaths.... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Masahiro Tanaka pitched six sharp innings and struck out Japanese countryman Shohei Ohtani twice as the New York Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Angels 3-1 Sunday.Brett Gardner had three hits for New York, which won five of six against the Angels this season.Although Ohtani was pushed back from Sunday's scheduled start due to what the Angels called "workload management," Tanaka (6-2) held up his end up of the highly anticipated pitchers' duel that never materialized. Tanaka struck out eight and allowed just Andrelton Simmons' sixth-inning home run in his longest outing in nearly a month.Pitching on his 30th birthday, Angels right-hander Garrett Richards (4-4) allowed three runs over 2 1/3 innings and matched a season high with five walks.Aroldis Chapman walked Ohtani to begin the ninth, but struck out a pair to earn his 10th save in 11 chances.BRAVES 7, RED SOX 1BOSTON (AP) — Prized rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. took a high-flying tumble while beating out an infield hit, exiting... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Mike Trout homered and doubled three times during his first five-hit game in the majors, and the Los Angeles Angels quickly erased an early deficit in beating the New York Yankees 11-4 on Saturday night.Playing not far from his southern New Jersey hometown, Trout went deep for the third straight game to tie Boston's Mookie Betts for the big league lead with 17 home runs. The two-time MVP drove in four runs and set career bests with four extra-base hits and 11 total bases.Jose Briceno homered in his major league debut for Los Angeles, and rookie Jaime Barria (4-1) returned from the minors to win his third consecutive major league decision.Brett Gardner, Aaron Judge and Austin Romine homered for the Yankees. Sonny Gray (3-4) was tagged for five runs in 3 2/3 innings.RED SOX 8, BRAVES 6BOSTON (AP) — Andrew Benintendi homered and drove in three runs, helping Boston top Atlanta.The AL East-leading Red Sox celebrated the return of Dustin Pedroia with their sixth win in seven games.... [More]

Two years ago, the Cleveland bullpen led the way when the Indians overcame significant injuries in their starting rotation and won the American League pennant.Now, the fickle nature of relief pitching is holding the AL Central favorites back.After Sunday night's 3-1 loss at Houston, Cleveland's relievers are 3-11 with an AL-worst 5.72 ERA. It has been a precipitous drop for a team that had the best bullpen ERA in all of baseball while storming to 102 wins a season ago. In fact, the Indians ranked in the top seven in that category every year from 2014-2017.In 2016, Cleveland reliever Andrew Miller was the MVP of the AL Championship Series against Toronto. In Game 3, starter Trevor Bauer had to leave in the first inning, and the bullpen pieced together the final 25 outs of a 4-2 victory.Closer Cody Allen has blown only one save this season, and Miller remains a force — although he has already walked nine hitters in 11 2/3 innings. Those two are the only Cleveland relievers who have been remotely... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Gleyber Torres became the youngest Yankees player to hit a walkoff homer, a three-run shot in the ninth inning that gave New York a 7-4 win over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday for its 15th victory in 16 games.At 21 years and 144 days, bettered Mickey Mantle, who was 21 years and 185 days when he hit three-run, ninth-inning drive of Boston's Ellis Kinder in a 6-3 win on April 23, 1953.Aaron Hicks and Neil Walker, who began the day batting .182, opened the ninth with consecutive doubles to tie it, chasing Allen (2-1). One out later, pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton was intentionally walked and Torres drove a full-count pitch from Dan Otero over the center-field fence.Chasen Shreve (2-0) struck out two in a perfect ninth for the win.ANGELS 8, MARINERS 2SEATTLE (AP) — Shohei Ohtani returned from a sprained ankle and took a shutout into the seventh inning while outpitching Felix Hernandez, Mike Trout hit his 12th home run and the Angels beat the Mariners.Ohtani (3-1) made his... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Gleyber Torres became the youngest Yankees player to hit a walkoff homer, a three-run shot in the ninth inning that gave New York a 7-4 win over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday for its 15th victory in 16 games.At 21 years and 144 days, bettered Mickey Mantle, who was 21 years and 185 days when he hit three-run, ninth-inning drive of Boston's Ellis Kinder in a 6-3 win on April 23, 1953.Aaron Hicks and Neil Walker, who began the day batting .182, opened the ninth with consecutive doubles to tie it, chasing Allen (2-1). One out later, pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton was intentionally walked and Torres drove a full-count pitch from Dan Otero over the center-field fence.Chasen Shreve (2-0) struck out two in a perfect ninth for the win.ANGELS 8, MARINERS 2SEATTLE (AP) — Shohei Ohtani returned from a sprained ankle and took a shutout into the seventh inning while outpitching Felix Hernandez, Mike Trout hit his 12th home run and the Angels beat the Mariners.Ohtani (3-1) made his... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani won his major league pitching debut, throwing three-hit ball over six innings and leading the Los Angeles Angels past the Oakland Athletics 7-4 on Sunday.The two-way star from Japan took the mound three days after he was the designated hitter in the opener. Reaching the upper-90s (mph) with his fastball and showing a nifty splitter, Ohtani struck out six and retired 14 of his final 15 batters.Ohtani didn't hit while pitching. Albert Pujols was the DH and went 0 for 5.Ohtani (1-0) pounded his glove following a 1-2-3 shutdown fifth. He walked one, and the only damage against him came on Matt Chapman's three-run homer in the second.Mike Trout hit a tying double in the fifth and Justin Upton followed with a go-ahead sacrifice fly. Keynan Middleton earned his first save.Daniel Gossett (0-1) allowed four runs in four innings for Oakland.ASTROS 8, RANGERS 2ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Gerrit Cole struck out 11 over seven innings in his Houston debut, and the defending... [More]

Capsules of American League Central teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Cleveland Indians2017: 102-60, first place, lost to Yankees in ALDS.Manager: Terry Francona (sixth season).He's Here: 1B-DH Yonder Alonso, LF Rajai Davis, RHP Alexi Ogando.He's Outta Here: 1B Carlos Santana, OF Jay Bruce, RHP Bryan Shaw, RHP Joe Smith, OF Austin Jackson, LHP Boone Logan.Projected Lineup: SS Francisco Lindor (.273, 33 HRs, 89 RBIs, 44 2Bs, 15 SBs, 10 errors), 2B Jason Kipnis (.232, 12 HRs, 35 RBIs in 90 games), 3B Jose Ramirez (.318, 29, 83, AL-leading 56 2Bs), DH Edwin Encarnacion (.258, 38, 107), 1B Yonder Alonso (.266, career-high 28 HRs, 67 RBIs with Athletics and Mariners), RF Lonnie Chisenhall (.288, 12, 53 in 82 games), C Roberto Perez (.207, 8, 38, club went 44-22 in his starts) or Yan Gomes (.232, 14, 56), CF Bradley Zimmer (.241, 8, 39, 18 SBs, 0 errors), LF Michael Brantley (.299, 9, 52 in 90 games) or Rajai Davis (.235, 5, 20, 29 SBs with Oakland and Boston).Rotation: RH Corey Kluber... [More]

RHP Dan Otero signed a two-year contract with the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday to avoid arbitration. The deal includes a team option for the 2020 season, the Indians announced. Otero posted an 8-1 mark with a 2.14 ERA in 114 relief appearances for the Indians the past two seasons, including a 3-0 record in 2017. The Indians acquired Otero from the Philadelphia Phillies in December 2015 in exchange for cash considerations. The 32-year-old owns a 20-7 mark with a 2.91 ERA in six major league seasons with the San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics and Indians.

RHP Dan Otero was removed Friday from baseball's paternity list. Otero has appeared in 44 games this season, usually in mid- to late-game situations, with a 2-0 record and 3.02 ERA. Otero pitched the seventh inning of the second game, holding Detroit scoreless.

RHP Dan Otero was placed on the paternity list before Wednesday's doubleheader at New York. Otero is 2-0 with a 3.02 ERA in 44 appearances this season. In his last nine games, he has allowed one run in 11 2/3 innings.

RHP Dan Otero will be placed on the paternity list Wednesday. Otero is 2-0 with a 3.02 ERA in 44 appearances this season. In his last nine games, he has allowed one run in 11 2/3 innings.

RHP Dan Otero was scheduled to start one of the two games of the doubleheader on Saturday. Friday's postponement means Otero, who has made 28 relief appearances, won't get the spot start. Manager Terry Francona had opted to go with Otero over left-handed callup Ryan Merritt because of Detroit's predominantly right-handed hitting lineup. Pitching coach Mickey Callaway said the postponement saved the bullpen. "This is going to help us and give everybody an extra day," he said.

RHP Dan Otero gave up two-hits and a run in one-third of an inning in Arizona's five-run fifth inning Friday, but the first hit was on a pitch way inside that LF Yasmany Tomas took down the left field line for a double. "He (Tomas) is so quick in -- that ball was in off the plate. Sometimes it is just circumstances,' Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. "He'll get on a roll."