ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Braves rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. has struck again.The 20-year-old Acuna has become the youngest player in major league history to homer in five straight games, doing it Tuesday night when he hit his third leadoff shot in a row. Then he added another in the seventh inning, a three-run shot for his 19th of the season.A day after hitting leadoff homers in both games of a doubleheader against Miami, Acuna connected. He opened the bottom of the first inning against the Marlins by homering on the first pitch for the second straight day. The Braves went on to win 10-6.Acuna is the first player to hit leadoff shots in three straight games since Baltimore's Brady Anderson did it four in a row in 1996.Acuna has homered in seven of his last eight games, with eight long balls over that span. He tied the Atlanta record of five straight with a homer set by Brian McCann in 2006.The only other player younger than 21 to homer in four straight games was Miguel Cabrera for the Marlins in 2004.Acuna is hitting .352 with 11 homers since moving to the top of the batting over, a stretch of 24 games beginning right after the All-Star break. The outfielder went 5 for 8 with two homers, five RBIs, five runs, two walks, a double and a stolen base in Atlanta's doubleheader sweep of the Marlins.After Acuna circled the bases, Charlie Culberson homered on the second pitch from Miami's Trevor Richards.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday:ACUNA AGAIN!Atlanta rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. has homered five games in a row — at 20, he's the youngest major leaguer to do that. He's also hit leadoff home runs in three straight, connecting the last two days on the first pitch Miami threw.Acuna later added his 20th homer with a three-run drive in the seventh inning Tuesday night.Brady Anderson was last player with so much leadoff success, homering four straight times to start games for Baltimore in 1996.Acuna has matched the Atlanta record for consecutive games with a home run set by Brian McCann in 2006. Acuna will try to keep the streaks going when the Braves face Jose Urena and the Marlins at SunTrust Park.GETTING CLOSEThe Cubs will check on Yu Darvish and if he's OK, the right-hander could go on a minor league rehab assignment. Darvish threw about 55 pitches in a simulated game Tuesday.Sidelined because of triceps and elbow injuries, Darvish has not pitched since he won at Cincinnati... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Braves rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. has struck again.The 20-year-old Acuna has become the youngest player in major league history to homer in five straight games, doing it Tuesday night when he hit his third leadoff shot in a row.A day after hitting leadoff homers in both games of a doubleheader against Miami, Acuna connected. He opened the bottom of the first inning against the Marlins by homering on the first pitch for the second straight day.Acuna is the first player to hit leadoff shots in three straight games since Baltimore's Brady Anderson did it four in a row in 1996.Acuna has homered in seven of his last eight games. He tied the Atlanta record of five straight with a homer set by Brian McCann in 2006.The only other player under 21 to homer in four straight games was Miguel Cabrera for the Marlins in 2004.Acuna is hitting .352 with 11 homers since moving to the top of the batting over, a stretch of 24 games beginning right after the All-Star break. The outfielder went 5 for 8 with two homers, five RBIs, five runs, two walks, a double and a stolen base in Atlanta's doubleheader sweep of the Marlins.After Acuna circled the bases, Charlie Culberson homered on the second pitch from Miami's Trevor Richards.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuna Jr. is only 20 years old, so he never gives much thought to his still-fledgling place in baseball history.There'll be plenty of time for that.So, it wasn't until Acuna got back to the Atlanta clubhouse after a long, brilliant day that he finally realized what a feat he had pulled off.Rarer, even, than a perfect game.Or an unassisted triple play.The brilliant Braves rookie joined a very exclusive club by hitting leadoff homers in both games of a doubleheader Monday, sparking first-place Atlanta to a sweep of the Miami Marlins.Acuna appears to be only the fourth player to go deep at the start of two games in a single day, joining Brady Anderson, Rickey Henderson and Harry Hooper.By comparison, there have been 23 perfect games and 15 unassisted triple plays."I just found out," Acuna said through a translator when asked if he knew what he had done. "I give thanks to God for the opportunity to make history in my own sense."Acuna worked the count in his favor the first... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuna Jr. pulled off one of the rarest feats in baseball history, hitting leadoff homers in both games of a doubleheader to send the first-place Atlanta Braves to a sweep of the Miami Marlins on Monday.The 20-year-old rookie hit an opposite-field drive into the Braves' bullpen in Game 1, powering Atlanta to a 9-1 victory. Haitian-American Touki Toussaint (1-0) pitched six strong innings to win his major league debut.It was more of the same from Acuna in the nightcap. He sent a towering shot into the seats in left-center, sparking the Braves to a 6-1 victory behind another strong outing on the mound from Mike Foltynewicz (10-7).Acuna appeared to be only the fourth player in big league history to hit a pair of leadoff homers in a doubleheader.Merandy Gonzalez (2-1) took the loss in the second game after being called up from Double-A Jacksonville for his first career start.Acuna hit his first leadoff homer off Pablo Lopez (2-3) and added a two-run double in the sixth,... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:SET FREERobinson Cano is set to return from his 80-game suspension for violating baseball's drug agreement when Seattle plays at Oakland. The All-Star second baseman has been out since May 15, though he's been playing in the minor leagues for the past week. Cano is ineligible for the postseason if Seattle makes it, but manager Scott Servais hopes the 35-year-old can help the Mariners get there as a versatile piece around the infield. Servais said the team will work Cano in slowly, getting him reps at first, second and third base."We need to be smart in breaking him in," Servais said. "He wants to get going, he wants to contribute right away. He's missed playing, he's missed his teammates and being around this whole thing. I know he wants to come in and do a lot. But again small little things."Seattle entered Monday 1 1/2 games behind Oakland for the second AL wild card.ROLLING RONALDRonald Acuna Jr. is the youngest player to homer in four... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuna Jr. is only 20 years old, so he never gives much thought to his still-fledgling place in baseball history.There'll be plenty of time for that.So, it wasn't until Acuna got back to the Atlanta clubhouse after a long, brilliant day that he finally realized what a unique feat he had pulled off.Rarer, even, than a perfect game.Or an unassisted triple play.The brilliant Braves rookie joined a very exclusive club by hitting leadoff homers in both games of a doubleheader Monday, sparking first-place Atlanta to a sweep of the Miami Marlins.Acuna appears to be only the fourth player to go deep at the start of two games in a single day, joining Brady Anderson, Rickey Henderson and Harry Hooper.By comparison, there have been 23 perfect games and 15 unassisted triple plays."I just found out," Acuna said through a translator when asked if he knew about his unique double. "I give thanks to God for the opportunity to make history in my own sense."Acuna worked the count in his... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuna Jr. pulled off one of the rarest feats in baseball history, hitting leadoff homers in both games of a doubleheader to send the first-place Atlanta Braves to a sweep of the Miami Marlins on Monday.The 20-year-old rookie hit an opposite-field drive into the Braves' bullpen in Game 1, powering Atlanta to a 9-1 victory. Haitian-American Touki Toussaint (1-0) pitched six strong innings to win his major league debut.It was more of the same from Acuna in the nightcap. He sent a towering shot into the seats in left-center, sparking the Braves to a 6-1 victory behind another strong outing on the mound from Mike Foltynewicz (10-7).Acuna appeared to be only the fourth player in big league history to hit a pair of leadoff homers in a doubleheader.Merandy Gonzalez (2-1) took the loss in the second game after being called up from Double-A Jacksonville for his first career start.Acuna hit his first leadoff homer off Pablo Lopez (2-3) and added a two-run double in the sixth,... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Tuesday:SET FREERobinson Cano is set to return from his 80-game suspension for violating baseball's drug agreement when Seattle plays at Oakland. The All-Star second baseman has been out since May 15, though he's been playing in the minor leagues for the past week. Cano is ineligible for the postseason if Seattle makes it, but manager Scott Servais hopes the 35-year-old can help the Mariners get there as a versatile piece around the infield. Servais said the team will work Cano in slowly, getting him reps at first, second and third base."We need to be smart in breaking him in," Servais said. "He wants to get going, he wants to contribute right away. He's missed playing, he's missed his teammates and being around this whole thing. I know he wants to come in and do a lot. But again small little things."Seattle entered Monday 1 1/2 games behind Oakland for the second AL wild card.ROLLING RONALDRonald Acuna Jr. is the youngest player to homer in... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Tuesday:SET FREERobinson Cano is set to return from his 80-game suspension for violating baseball's drug agreement when Seattle plays at Oakland. The All-Star second baseman has been out since May 15, though he's been playing in the minor leagues for the past week. Cano is ineligible for the postseason if Seattle makes it, but manager Scott Servais hopes the 35-year-old can help the Mariners get there as a versatile piece around the infield. Servais said the team will work Cano in slowly, getting him reps at first, second and third base."We need to be smart in breaking him in," Servais said. "He wants to get going, he wants to contribute right away. He's missed playing, he's missed his teammates and being around this whole thing. I know he wants to come in and do a lot. But again small little things."Seattle entered Monday 1 1/2 games behind Oakland for the second AL wild card.ROLLING RONALDRonald Acuna Jr. is the youngest player to homer in... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuna Jr. has pulled off an exceedingly rare baseball feat, hitting leadoff homers in both games of a doubleheader for the Atlanta Braves.The 20-year-old rookie hit an opposite-field drive into the Braves bullpen off Miami's Pablo Lopez in the first game, powering Atlanta to a 9-1 victory over the Marlins.Acuna sent another one into the seats in left-center to start the nightcap against Merandy Gonzalez, who was making his first major league start.Acuna may be only the fourth player in baseball history to hit a pair of leadoff homers in a doubleheader. Two others, Rickey Henderson and Harry Hooper, went on to the Hall of Fame.The Elias Sports Bureau says Baltimore's Brady Anderson pulled off the rare double during a home doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 21, 1999. Before that, it was accomplished by Oakland's Henderson at home against the Cleveland Indians on July 5, 1993, and Hooper while playing for the Boston Red on May 20, 1913, during a pair of games at the Washington Senators.Acuna has 17 homers this season, four of them leading off games.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuna Jr. has pulled off an exceedingly rare baseball feat, hitting leadoff homers in both games of a doubleheader for the Atlanta Braves.The 20-year-old rookie hit an opposite-field drive into the Braves bullpen off Miami's Pablo Lopez in the first game, powering Atlanta to a 9-1 victory over the Marlins.Acuna sent another one into the seats in left-center to start the nightcap against Merandy Gonzalez, who was making his first major league start.Acuna was apparently only the third player in baseball history to hit a pair of leadoff homers in a doubleheader. The other two went on to the Hall of Fame.The Elias Sports Bureau says Oakland's Rickey Henderson was the last to do it during a home doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians on July 5, 1993. The only other player known to accomplish the feat was Harry Hooper of the Boston Red Sox on May 20, 1913, at the Washington Senators.Acuna has 17 homers this season, four of them leading off games.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHICAGO (AP) — Pinch-hitter David Bote smashed a grand slam against Ryan Madson with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Chicago Cubs to a 4-3 victory over the Washington Nationals on Sunday night.Bote's long drive to center field came after Washington's Max Scherzer and Chicago's Cole Hamels delivered simply dominant starts.Madson (2-5) came in with a 3-0 lead to start the ninth and quickly ran into trouble. He gave up an infield single to Jason Heyward with one out and hit Albert Almora with a pitch. Madson then retired Kyle Schwarber on a foul pop before hitting Contreras to load the bases, but Bote drove a 2-2 pitch well beyond the center-field wall.Bote's drive made a winner of Justin Wilson (4-3), who got the final two outs in the ninth.RED SOX 4, ORIOLES 1BALTIMORE (AP) — Chris Sale celebrated his return from the disabled list by striking out 12 over five dominant innings, and the Boston Red Sox moved 50 games over .500 by completing a sweep of the lowly Orioles.Sale (12-4)... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — Chris Sale celebrated his return from the disabled list by striking out 12 over five dominant innings, and the Boston Red Sox moved 50 games over .500 by completing a sweep of the lowly Baltimore Orioles with a 4-1 victory on Sunday.Sale (12-4) was placed on the DL on July 28 with left shoulder inflammation. Judging by his performance, the injury is no longer an issue.The left-hander allowed just one hit, a clean third-inning single to left field by Renato Nunez, and walked none. Craig Kimbrel, the last of five Boston relievers, worked the ninth for his 35th save.Steve Pearce homered for the Red Sox, who have won 10 of 11 to improve to 85-35.Alex Cobb (3-15) took the loss despite allowing only two runs, one earned, over seven innings.MARINERS 4, ASTROS 3, 10 INNINGSHOUSTON (AP) — Ryon Healy hit a tying homer with two out in the ninth inning, Mitch Haniger delivered an RBI double in the 10th and the Mariners swept a four-game series from the AL West-leading Astros.It's the... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — Chris Sale celebrated his return from the disabled list by striking out 12 over five dominant innings, and the Boston Red Sox moved 50 games over .500 by completing a sweep of the lowly Baltimore Orioles with a 4-1 victory on Sunday.Sale (12-4) was placed on the DL on July 28 with left shoulder inflammation. Judging by his performance, the injury is no longer an issue.The left-hander allowed just one hit, a clean third-inning single to left field by Renato Nunez, and walked none. Craig Kimbrel, the last of five Boston relievers, worked the ninth for his 35th save.Steve Pearce homered for the Red Sox, who have won 10 of 11 to improve to 85-35.Alex Cobb (3-15) took the loss despite allowing only two runs, one earned, over seven innings.MARINERS 4, ASTROS 3, 10 INNINGSHOUSTON (AP) — Ryon Healy hit a tying homer with two out in the ninth inning, Mitch Haniger delivered an RBI double in the 10th and the Mariners swept a four-game series from the AL West-leading Astros.It's the... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton hit the hardest homer ever measured by Major League Baseball's Statcast system, Neil Walker hit two more home runs and the New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 7-3 on Thursday night.Stanton's 28th homer was measured at 121.7 mph, the fastest long ball tracked by Statcast since the system was introduced in 2015. Miguel Andujar and Aaron Hicks also went deep, helping the Yankees win their fourth straight since a five-game skid that included a four-game sweep at AL East-leading Boston.J.A. Happ (12-6) pitched six effective innings in his return from hand, foot and mouth disease. Happ was acquired from Toronto last month and has won both his starts with New York. He allowed three runs, four hits, a walk and struck out nine Thursday.Rookie Ariel Jurado (2-2) got Stanton to hit into a double play in the first inning, then intentionally walked Didi Gregorius before Hicks homered to make it 2-0.All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman walked two in the ninth before getting... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton hit the hardest homer ever measured by Major League Baseball's Statcast system, Neil Walker hit two more home runs and the New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 7-3 on Thursday night.Stanton's 28th homer was measured at 121.7 mph, the fastest long ball tracked by Statcast since the system was introduced in 2015. Miguel Andujar and Aaron Hicks also went deep, helping the Yankees win their fourth straight since a five-game skid that included a four-game sweep at AL East-leading Boston.J.A. Happ (12-6) pitched six effective innings in his return from hand, foot and mouth disease. Happ was acquired from Toronto last month and has won both his starts with New York. He allowed three runs, four hits, a walk and struck out nine Thursday.Rookie Ariel Jurado (2-2) got Stanton to hit into a double play in the first inning, then intentionally walked Didi Gregorius before Hicks homered to make it 2-0.All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman walked two in the ninth before getting... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton hit the hardest homer ever measured by Major League Baseball's Statcast system, Neil Walker hit two more home runs and the New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 7-3 on Thursday night.Stanton's 28th homer was measured at 121.7 mph, the fastest long ball tracked by Statcast since the system was introduced in 2015. Miguel Andujar and Aaron Hicks also went deep, helping the Yankees win their fourth straight since a five-game skid that included a four-game sweep at AL East-leading Boston.J.A. Happ (12-6) pitched six effective innings in his return from hand, foot and mouth disease. Happ was acquired from Toronto last month and has won both his starts with New York. He allowed three runs, four hits, a walk and struck out nine Thursday.Rookie Ariel Jurado (2-2) got Stanton to hit into a double play in the first inning, then intentionally walked Didi Gregorius before Hicks homered to make it 2-0.All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman walked two in the ninth before getting... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton hit the hardest homer ever measured by Major League Baseball's Statcast system, Neil Walker hit two more home runs and the New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 7-3 on Thursday night.Stanton's 28th homer was measured at 121.7 mph, the fastest long ball tracked by Statcast since the system was introduced in 2015. Miguel Andujar and Aaron Hicks also went deep, helping the Yankees win their fourth straight since a five-game skid that included a four-game sweep at AL East-leading Boston.J.A. Happ (12-6) pitched six effective innings in his return from hand, foot and mouth disease. Happ was acquired from Toronto last month and has won both his starts with New York. He allowed three runs, four hits, a walk and struck out nine Thursday.Rookie Ariel Jurado (2-2) got Stanton to hit into a double play in the first inning, then intentionally walked Didi Gregorius before Hicks homered to make it 2-0.All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman walked two in the ninth before getting... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Michael Brantley's ninth-inning single gave the Cleveland Indians a 5-4 win over Minnesota on Thursday, their second straight walk-off victory over the Twins.Brantley grounded a 2-1 pitch off Addison Reed (1-6) past the diving Miguel Sano at first base to score Greg Allen. Francisco Lindor's three-run homer in the ninth inning Wednesday gave Cleveland a 5-2 victory. Brantley's hit set off another celebration as he was mobbed by his teammates.Allen started the rally with a single off Reed and stole second with Lindor batting. Lindor's groundout to first moved Allen to third.Andrew Miller (2-3) struck out a batter in the ninth. The left-hander made his fourth appearance since missing two months because of an inflamed right knee.Minnesota rallied from a 4-0 deficit against reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber. Jake Cave's fifth-inning sacrifice fly scored a run before Jorge Polanco hit first home run of the season — a three-run shot in the sixth — to tie the game.... [More]