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

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Seattle Mariners ace James Paxton was pulled in the first inning Tuesday night after being hit by a line drive and replaced by Felix Hernandez.Paxton allowed a leadoff home run to Oakland's Marcus Semien and struck out Matt Chapman before Jed Lowrie lined a 2-1 pitch back up the middle. The ball appeared to hit Paxton on or near his pitching arm.Manager Scott Servais and a team trainer rushed from the dugout to check on Paxton, who seemed hesitant to move his left arm.Paxton is 10-5 with a 3.68 ERA this season. He entered the day 11th among qualified starters with 3.6 wins above replacement, per Fangraphs.Hernandez quickly began warming up to make his first career relief appearance following 398 starts. The 32-year-old was removed from the rotation last week amid a season full of struggles.Hernandez walked Khris Davis before getting a double-play grounder from Matt Olson.Seattle began the day 2 1/2 games behind Oakland for the second AL wild card.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Robinson Cano is back in the major leagues with the Seattle Mariners after serving an 80-game drug suspension.The eight-time All-Star has a new position — first base, for the first time — and a new spot in the batting order, too."It feels great to be back, especially the way the team is playing," Cano said before Tuesday night's game against the Oakland Athletics. "I'm excited. I was waiting for this moment."Cano arrived in Oakland late Monday, woke up early Tuesday and was at the Coliseum taking batting practice underneath the outfield stands three hours before the scheduled first pitch."It was really hard, I'm not going to lie," Cano said. "It was so hard watching the game from home knowing that (I) should be in there. My daughter was the thing that kept me positive. That was the biggest thing, being around my family."The 35-year-old Cano rejoins a Seattle team that is in the middle of a playoff race. The Mariners entered the day 1 ½ games behind the Athletics for... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Ben Zobrist figured plate umpire Phil Cuzzi was going to give him the boot regardless, so the Chicago Cubs veteran didn't hold back during his first career ejection.Zobrist told Cuzzi he would prefer an "electronic strike zone" before being ejected in the eighth inning of Chicago's 7-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night. That came two innings after Cubs manager Joe Maddon was tossed for the second time in four games after Cuzzi called Zobrist out on strikes.Zobrist was waiting on deck in the eighth when Javier Baez struck out to end the inning. Zobrist approached Cuzzi to say he didn't appreciate being told to "be quiet" after getting called out in the sixth on a pitch he thought was a ball. He wanted assurances that the umpire would look over the play and "make an adjustment.""He didn't want me to tell him that," Zobrist said. "I just basically said, 'Well, that's why we want an electronic strike zone.' And that's what obviously got me tossed."The slider that Zobrist took for strike three from starter Jhoulys Chacin has been called a strike 44.7 percent of the time, according to ESPN Stats & Info.Maddon's ejection was his third this season. He also was thrown out Friday against Washington for arguing an interference call against Willson Contreras running out a ground ball.___For more AP baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

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

NEW YORK (AP) — With the final piece now in place, the Tampa Bay Rays feel really good about the package of prospects they received for Chris Archer.Tampa Bay acquired touted minor league pitcher Shane Baz from Pittsburgh on Tuesday as the player to be named in the July 31 trade that sent Archer to the Pirates.The 19-year-old Baz, selected 12th overall in the 2017 amateur draft, was 4-3 with a 3.97 ERA for Bristol in the rookie-level Appalachian League this season. The right-hander had 54 strikeouts in 10 starts covering 45 1/3 innings."I know we're excited to get him. He's a really high-end prospect," Rays manager Kevin Cash said before his team played the New York Yankees. "Very powerful right-handed kid. Probably going to be some time before we see him, but to put a pitcher like that in our system — I know he was a guy that during the draft that we talked a lot about. We were happy with who we picked at (No. 4), but were disappointed that we didn't get the opportunity and now with that... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre has initially avoided going on the disabled list for the third time this season because of a troublesome left hamstring.Beltre was out of the lineup Tuesday, a night after the active career hits leader re-aggravated the hamstring injury that has already put him on the DL twice this year. He got hurt when scoring from second base on a bloop single to left-center field."We're going to give him a couple of days, see how he feels," manager Jeff Banister said before the finale of a quick two-game set against Arizona.The Rangers have a day off before opening a four-game series at home against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday, when the 39-year-old Beltre will be revaluated again. Beltre wasn't seen in the clubhouse when it was open to reporters before Tuesday's game."I don't get any indication that it's going to be anything long-term at this point," Banister said. "But again, still reserve the right to let it kind of settle down... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired minor league pitcher Shane Baz from Pittsburgh as the player to be named in the July 31 trade that sent Chris Archer to the Pirates.The 19-year-old Baz, selected 12th overall in the 2017 amateur draft, was 4-3 with a 3.97 ERA for Bristol in the rookie-level Appalachian League this season. The right-hander had 54 strikeouts in 10 starts covering 45 1/3 innings.The move announced Tuesday completes a blockbuster deal that brought a wealth of young talent to Tampa Bay. The third-place Rays had already obtained rookie outfielder Austin Meadows and hard-throwing pitcher Tyler Glasnow from Pittsburgh for Archer, a 29-year-old right-hander who has made two All-Star teams.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHICAGO (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers have acquired once-promising pitching prospect Jake Thompson from the Philadelphia Phillies for cash considerations and optioned him to Triple-A Colorado Springs.The 24-year-old right-hander is 7-8 with a 4.87 ERA in 18 starts and 30 appearances since debuting with Philadelphia in 2016. He was drafted in the second round by Detroit in 2012.The Brewers also designated right-hander Alec Asher for assignment on Tuesday.___For more AP baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cleveland Indians lost one of their best pitchers Tuesday when they placed right-hander Trevor Bauer on the 10-day disabled list with a small stress fracture in his right leg.Cleveland is in complete control in the AL Central, leading second-place Minnesota by 12 1/2 games coming into the day. But any lingering issue with Bauer could hurt its chances of advancing in the playoffs.Bauer was struck by Jose Abreu's liner in the seventh inning of Saturday night's 3-1 win at the Chicago White Sox. He returned to Cleveland after experiencing soreness and swelling, and an MRI revealed the injury.Bauer is one of the top candidates for the AL Cy Young Award. The 27-year-old right-hander is 12-6 with a 2.22 ERA in 25 starts. This is his first career DL stint."Knowing Trev, he'll keep his arm in shape and he'll be raring to go whenever he's ready," Indians manager Terry Francona said before their game against Cincinnati. "There's never a good time. But he'll keep his arm good... [More]

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Washington Nationals have placed reliever Ryan Madson on the 10-day disabled list with a back injury.Madson surrendered David Bote's game-ending grand slam in Sunday night's 4-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs. The Nationals said Monday that Madson was dealing with back issues, but the plan was for him to pitch through it.The 37-year-old Madson is 2-5 with a 5.19 ERA and four saves in 48 games this season.The Nationals also promoted right-hander Trevor Gott and left-hander Tim Collins from Triple-A Syracuse before Tuesday's game against St. Louis. Lefty Sammy Solis was sent down, and right-hander Erick Fedde was moved from the 10-day to the 60-day disabled list.___For more AP baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre is out of the lineup a day after the active career hits leader re-aggravated the left hamstring injury that already has put him on the disabled list twice this season.Manager Jeff Banister said before Tuesday's game against Arizona that Beltre would get a couple of days down before getting another evaluation. Texas has a day off before starting a four-game series at home Thursday against the Los Angeles Angels.Beltre got hurt when scoring from second base in the eighth inning of a 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks on Monday night. The 39-year-old Beltre, who has 3,137 career hits, came home on a bloop single to left-center. He appeared to pull up a bit after rounding third base.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cleveland Indians placed right-hander Trevor Bauer on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday with a small stress fracture in his right leg.Cleveland is in complete control in the AL Central, leading second-place Minnesota by 12 1/2 games coming into the day. But any lingering issue with Bauer could hurt its chances of advancing in the playoffs.Bauer was struck by Jose Abreu's liner in the seventh inning of Saturday night's 3-1 win at the Chicago White Sox. He returned to Cleveland after experiencing soreness and swelling, and an MRI revealed the injury.Bauer is one of the top candidates for the AL Cy Young Award. The 27-year-old right-hander is 12-6 with a 2.22 ERA in 25 starts. This is his first career DL stint."Knowing Trev, he'll keep his arm in shape and he'll be raring to go whenever he's ready," Indians manager Terry Francona said before their game against Cincinnati. "There's never a good time. But he'll keep his arm good and strong."Left-hander Tyler Olson was recalled... [More]

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cleveland Indians have placed right-hander Trevor Bauer on the 10-day disabled list with a small stress fracture in his right leg.Bauer was struck by Jose Abreu's liner in the seventh inning of Saturday night's 3-1 win at the Chicago White Sox. He returned to Cleveland on Tuesday after experiencing soreness and swelling, and an MRI revealed the injury.Bauer is one of the top candidates for the AL Cy Young Award. The 27-year-old right-hander is 12-6 with a 2.22 ERA in 25 starts.Tyler Olson was recalled from Triple-A Columbus to take Bauer's roster spot. Right-hander Adam Plutko will make his seventh start of the season in place of Bauer on Saturday.

CHICAGO (AP) — Cubs manager Joe Maddon has been tossed against the Milwaukee Brewers, his second ejection in four games.Maddon was tossed by plate umpire Phil Cuzzi in the sixth inning Tuesday after Ben Zobrist got called out on strikes. The ejection was his third this season.Maddon also was thrown out Friday against Washington for arguing an interference call against Willson Contreras running out a ground ball.___For more AP baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs expect Yu Darvish to go on a minor league rehab assignment, assuming he experiences no setbacks after pitching a simulated game on Tuesday.President of baseball operations Theo Epstein says the Japanese right-hander is "just about ready for the next step" after throwing about 55 pitches. The Cubs will see how he feels on Wednesday.Sidelined because of triceps and elbow injuries, Darvish has not pitched since he won at Cincinnati on May 20. He is 1-3 with a 4.95 ERA in eight starts after signing a $126 million, six-year deal with the Cubs in February.___For more AP baseball coverage: 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]