June 231917 — In baseball's greatest relief effort, Ernie Shore of the Boston Red Sox relieved pitcher Babe Ruth with nobody out and a man on first. The base runner was cut down stealing and Shore retired all 26 batters he faced to gain a 4-0 victory over Washington. Ruth walked Eddie Foster to open the game and was ejected after arguing with umpire Brick Owens.1930 — Hack Wilson drove in six runs on five hits, including the cycle, to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 21-8 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field.1950 — Hoot Evers' game-winning home run in the ninth inning gave the Detroit Tigers a 10-9 victory over the New York Yankees as the teams combined for 11 home runs, a major league record. The Yankees hit six and the Tigers five.1961 — The Philadelphia Phillies overcame two, nine-run, deficits to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-11. The Phillies trailed 9-0 and 11-2 before they scored four runs in eighth and six runs in ninth.1963 — Jimmie Piersall, playing for the Mets in New... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Very little has slowed the Minnesota Twins of late. A rare Southern California rain shower did the trick Wednesday night.The Twins had their series finale against the Los Angeles Angels postponed because of weather and unplayable field conditions. It has been rescheduled for Thursday.It is only the third postponement at Angel Stadium since 1995 and the 12th since the stadium opened in 1966. The last postponement occurred on July 19, 2015, against Boston.Minnesota is 31-16 and has a seven-game lead over Cleveland in the AL Central, which is the earliest it has been up that much in the division. The previous earliest was June 24, 2002, when they were seven games ahead of the Chicago White Sox.The Twins — who haven't won a division title since 2010 — have taken five of six on this road trip and are trying to get a sweep in Anaheim for the first time since 1996.Manager Rocco Baldelli wasn't thrilled with the decision to postpone the game, but he also said he realized... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Christian Vazquez hit a sacrifice fly in the 11th inning, and the Boston Red Sox completed an uplifting three-game sweep of the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays with a 4-3 victory Sunday.Rafael Devers singled off Jose Alvarado (0-2) to start the 11th and went to second when Michael Chavis walked.Both runners moved up a base on Jackie Bradley's sacrifice bunt and Vazquez followed with his fly that Kevin Kiermaier ran down in center field.Marcus Walden (3-0) allowed an infield hit over two scoreless innings and Ryan Brasier worked the 11th to get his sixth save.After starting the season by losing eight of 10, the defending World Series champions are 7-5 over the last 12 games and went from eight to five games behind the Rays.DODGERS 6, BREWERS 5MILWAUKEE (AP) — Cody Bellinger reached over the right field wall to rob Christian Yelich in the eighth inning of yet another home run, then hit a solo drive off Josh Hader with two outs in the ninth to lift Los Angeles over... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Christian Vazquez hit a sacrifice fly in the 11th inning, and the Boston Red Sox completed an uplifting three-game sweep of the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays with a 4-3 victory Sunday.Rafael Devers singled off Jose Alvarado (0-2) to start the 11th and went to second when Michael Chavis walked.Both runners moved up a base on Jackie Bradley's sacrifice bunt and Vazquez followed with his fly that Kevin Kiermaier ran down in center field.Marcus Walden (3-0) allowed an infield hit over two scoreless innings and Ryan Brasier worked the 11th to get his sixth save.After starting the season by losing eight of 10, the defending World Series champions are 7-5 over the last 12 games and went from eight to five games behind the Rays.DODGERS 6, BREWERS 5MILWAUKEE (AP) — Cody Bellinger reached over the right field wall to rob Christian Yelich in the eighth inning of yet another home run, then hit a solo drive off Josh Hader with two outs in the ninth to lift Los Angeles over... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Catcher Jonathan Lucroy would earn $4,525,000 under his deal with the Los Angeles Angels if he makes 135 starts behind the plate and has 525 plate appearances.Lucroy gets a $3.35 million salary under the deal announced Saturday and can earn $600,000 for starts at catcher and $575,000 for plate appearances.He would get $50,000 for 100 starts at catcher, $75,000 each for 105 and each additional five though 130 and $100,000 for 135. He also would get $50,000 each for 350 and 375 plate appearances, $75,000 apiece for 400 and each additional 25 through 500, and $100,000 for 525.A two-time All-Star, the 32-year-old Lucroy batted .241 with four homers, 51 RBIs and a .617 OPS in 126 games last year during his only season with the Oakland Athletics. Though he struggled at the plate, he received praise for his management of the A's pitching staff.Lucroy is taking a cut from is $6.5 million salary last year.Before signing Lucroy, the Angels did not have an accomplished major league catcher on their 40-man roster. Jose Briceno made his debut last season, and the team claimed Kevan Smith off waivers from the Chicago White Sox two months ago.The Angels will be Lucroy's fifth team in four seasons. He played his first 5½ seasons with Milwaukee, making All-Star teams in 2014 and 2016.Lucroy, a .277 career hitter, finished fourth in NL MVP voting in 2014.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Veteran catcher Jonathan Lucroy has finalized a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels.The team announced the move Saturday. To make room on the roster, right-hander Austin Brice was designated for assignment.Yahoo Sports reported the deal is for $3.35 million.A two-time All-Star, the 32-year-old Lucroy batted .241 with four homers, 51 RBIs and a .617 OPS in 126 games this year during his only season with the Oakland Athletics. Though he struggled at the plate, he received praise for his management of the A's pitching staff.Before signing Lucroy, the Angels did not have an accomplished major league catcher on their 40-man roster. Jose Briceno made his debut last season, and the team claimed Kevan Smith off waivers from the Chicago White Sox two months ago.The Angels will be Lucroy's fifth team in four seasons. He played his first 5½ seasons with Milwaukee, making All-Star teams in 2014 and 2016.Lucroy, a .277 career hitter, finished fourth in NL MVP voting in 2014.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — A person with knowledge of the agreement says catcher Jonathan Lucroy has agreed to join the Los Angeles Angels.The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Friday because the deal has not been announced by the Angels, who had no accomplished big-league catchers on their 40-man roster.Yahoo Sports reported the one-year, $3.35 million deal contains incentives that could raise the two-time All-Star's compensation to over $4 million.The Angels will be Lucroy's fifth team in four seasons. He batted .241 with 51 RBIs in 126 games last year for the Oakland Athletics.Lucroy played his first 5 ½ seasons with Milwaukee, and he appeared in the All-Star Game in 2014 and 2016 before getting traded to Texas in July 2016. He played briefly for the Rangers and Colorado before joining Oakland in March 2018.Lucroy, a career .277 hitter, finished fourth in the NL MVP voting in 2014 when he batted .301 with 13 homers and 69 RBIs.He hit his 100th homer last season... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Catcher James McCann and the Chicago White Sox have finalized a $2.5 million, one-year contract.Chicago announced the move Wednesday, filling an opening created when it traded Omar Narvaez to Seattle on Nov. 30 for reliever Alex Colome. The White Sox also lost Kevan Smith when he was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Angels in October.McCann hit .220 with eight homers and 39 RBIs in 118 games last season with Detroit.He was selected by the White Sox in the 31st round of the 2008 amateur draft but went to the University of Arkansas. He was drafted by the Tigers in the second round in 2011. McCann debuted in September 2014 and spent his first five seasons with Detroit. He became a free agent when the Tigers failed to offer a 2019 contract by the Nov. 30 deadline.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox answered one of their offseason questions on Friday, agreeing to a $2.5 million, one-year contract with catcher James McCann.The White Sox had an opening at the position after trading Omar Narvaez to Seattle on Nov. 30 for reliever Alex Colome. They also lost Kevan Smith when he was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Angels in October.Zack Collins and Seby Zavala are coming up through the minors, but the addition of McCann allows the White Sox to move slowly with the catching prospects. They also have Welington Castillo on their major league roster.A person with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Associated Press the deal for McCann on condition of anonymity because the contract is pending a physical. Yahoo Sports first reported the agreement.The 28-year-old McCann hit .220 with eight homers and 39 RBIs in 118 games last season with Detroit. The rebuilding Tigers didn't offer him a contract for the 2019 season, making him a free agent.McCann was selected by the White Sox in the 31st round of the 2008 draft, but he decided to go to the University of Arkansas instead. He then was drafted by the Tigers in the second round in 2011.McCann made his major league debut in September 2014 and spent his first five seasons with Detroit, batting .240 with 40 homers and 177 RBIs in 452 games. He set career highs with 13 homers and 49 RBIs in 2017.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox answered one of their offseason questions on Friday, agreeing to a $2.5 million, one-year contract with catcher James McCann.The White Sox had an opening at the position after trading Omar Narvaez to Seattle on Nov. 30 for reliever Alex Colome. They also lost Kevan Smith when he was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Angels in October.Zack Collins and Seby Zavala are coming up through the minors, but the addition of McCann allows the White Sox to move slowly with the catching prospects. They also have Welington Castillo on their major league roster.A person with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Associated Press the deal for McCann on condition of anonymity because the contract is pending a physical. Yahoo Sports first reported the agreement.The 28-year-old McCann hit .220 with eight homers and 39 RBIs in 118 games last season with Detroit. The rebuilding Tigers didn't offer him a contract for the 2019 season, making him a free agent.McCann was selected by the White Sox in the 31st round of the 2008 draft, but he decided to go to the University of Arkansas instead. He then was drafted by the Tigers in the second round in 2011.McCann made his major league debut in September 2014 and spent his first five seasons with Detroit, batting .240 with 40 homers and 177 RBIs in 452 games. He set career highs with 13 homers and 49 RBIs in 2017.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox say outfielder Avisail Garcia has had surgery on his right knee.Limited to 93 games because of discomfort in the knee, Garcia went from batting .330 in a breakout All-Star season in 2017 to .236 this year. The team announced Monday he had surgery.The White Sox also said catcher Kevan Smith had ankle surgery and pitcher Tyler Danish has refused his outright assignment, making him a free agent.Chicago finished fourth in the AL Central at 62-100 — six losses shy of the franchise record.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHICAGO (AP) — Shortly after their playoff spot was assured, the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-6 on Albert Almora Jr.'s single with two outs in the 10th inning Wednesday night.The NL Central-leading Cubs clinched their fourth straight postseason appearance when Milwaukee beat St. Louis. The Brewers, who sealed a playoff slot with their win, are a half-game behind Chicago. One of them will win the NL Central, the other will play in the NL wild-card game.After Pittsburgh tied it in the ninth on a two-out, two-run double by Starling Marte, the Cubs bounced back to win. Ian Happ led off the 10th with a walk and was replaced by pinch-runner Terrance Gore. Mike Freeman's sacrifice moved up Gore, and he took third on a groundout. Almora singled to left on an 0-2 pitch from Richard Rodriguez (4-3).Jason Heyward homered and drove in three runs for the Cubs. Javier Baez singled for his NL-leading 111th RBI as the Cubs won after blowing a five-run lead. Star third baseman Kris Bryant... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Shortly after their playoff spot was assured, the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-6 on Albert Almora Jr.'s single with two outs in the 10th inning Wednesday night.The NL Central-leading Cubs clinched their fourth straight postseason appearance when Milwaukee beat St. Louis. The Brewers, who sealed a playoff slot with their win, are a half-game behind Chicago. One of them will win the NL Central, the other will play in the NL wild-card game.After Pittsburgh tied it in the ninth on a two-out, two-run double by Starling Marte, the Cubs bounced back to win. Ian Happ led off the 10th with a walk and was replaced by pinch-runner Terrance Gore. Mike Freeman's sacrifice moved up Gore, and he took third on a groundout. Almora singled to left on an 0-2 pitch from Richard Rodriguez (4-3).Jason Heyward homered and drove in three runs for the Cubs. Javier Baez singled for his NL-leading 111th RBI as the Cubs won after blowing a five-run lead. Star third baseman Kris Bryant... [More]

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers clinched their first playoff spot since 2011 by ensuring at least a spot in the NL wild-card game, helped Wednesday night when a rookie St. Louis pinch-runner fell on his way to the plate in a 2-1 victory over the contending Cardinals.The Chicago Cubs also sealed a postseason berth because of the Cardinals' loss.Jhoulys Chacin pitched five shutout innings and Travis Shaw hit a pair of RBI singles as the Brewers completed a three-game sweep.The Cardinals missed a big chance to tie it in the eighth inning. Matt Carpenter walked and was lifted for pinch-runner Adolis Garcia. Jose Martinez then hit a slow roller to third baseman Mike Moustakas, who threw wildly to first. Garcia was waved home but fell halfway to the plate, allowing second baseman Hernan Perez to easily throw him out to end the inning.Chacin (15-8), who had lost his last three decisions, gave up one run on just one hit over five innings. Xavier Cedeno, Corbin Burnes, Josh Hader and Jeremy... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — Sonny Gray made the most of a foray into the starting rotation by taking a three-hitter into the seventh inning, and the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-1 Saturday night for a doubleheader sweep.In the opener, rookie Miguel Andujar homered and had four RBIs, J.A. Happ (15-6) won his fifth straight start and New York rolled to a 10-3 victory.Gray (10-8) gave up three hits, a walk and struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings. The right-hander had been exiled to the bullpen after yielding seven runs in a loss to Baltimore on Aug. 1.Gray allowed only one runner past second base in helping the Yankees notch their seventh win in eight games to pull seven games behind first-place Boston in the AL East.Austin Romine homered, had three hits and scored three runs for the Yankees, who led 4-0 after four innings against Andrew Cashner (4-12).Andujar had two hits in each game to raise his batting average to .300. He leads AL rookies in batting, multihit games (43) and RBIs (70).RAYS... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — Sonny Gray made the most of a foray into the starting rotation by taking a three-hitter into the seventh inning, and the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-1 Saturday night for a doubleheader sweep.In the opener, rookie Miguel Andujar homered and had four RBIs, J.A. Happ (15-6) won his fifth straight start and New York rolled to a 10-3 victory.Gray (10-8) gave up three hits, a walk and struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings. The right-hander had been exiled to the bullpen after yielding seven runs in a loss to Baltimore on Aug. 1.Gray allowed only one runner past second base in helping the Yankees notch their seventh win in eight games to pull seven games behind first-place Boston in the AL East.Austin Romine homered, had three hits and scored three runs for the Yankees, who led 4-0 after four innings against Andrew Cashner (4-12).Andujar had two hits in each game to raise his batting average to .300. He leads AL rookies in batting, multihit games (43) and RBIs (70).RAYS... [More]

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]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox placed outfielder Leury Garcia on the 10-day disabled list on Monday with a left hamstring strain.The White Sox also optioned catcher Dustin Garneau to Triple-A Charlotte before their series opener against the New York Yankees. Catcher Kevan Smith was activated from the paternity list, and outfielder Ryan LaMarre was brought up from Charlotte.Garcia got hurt during Sunday's 8-7 victory at Tampa Bay. Garcia, who has made at least one start at six different positions this season, is batting .280 with four homers, 31 RBIs and 11 steals.The White Sox could have promoted Eloy Jimenez to replace Garcia on the roster but decided to keep the young outfielder in Charlotte for now. Jimenez has been tearing up minor league pitching this season and is regarded as one of baseball's top prospects."Ultimately it's for the organization at the top to finally say it's OK, let's make this move," manager Rick Renteria said. "I think he's continuing to have a nice run, continuing... [More]