CHICAGO (AP) — Anthony Rizzo hit a grand slam, Willson Contreras had two long solo homers and the Chicago Cubs kept pace in the NL wild-card race with a 17-8 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.Rookie Nico Hoerner hit a two-run shot for his first major league homer and had four RBIs for the Cubs. Chicago moved a game ahead of Milwaukee for the second NL wild card.Contreras, Hoerner and Nicholas Castellanos homered in the first with the wind blowing out as Chicago scored five times after Pittsburgh jumped on Jon Lester (13-10) for a 4-0 lead.Hoerner elevated a low pitch to the center field batter's eye in his first plate appearance at Wrigley Field. He drove in two more runs with a single in Chicago's seven-run fifth. The 22-year-old infielder made his debut with the Cubs on Monday at San Diego after the team announced All-Star shortstop Javier Báez would be out of the season with a hairline fracture in his left thumb.Alec Mills pitched the final three innings for his first save.... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Anthony Rizzo hit a grand slam, Willson Contreras had two long solo homers and the Chicago Cubs kept pace in the NL wild-card race with a 17-8 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.Rookie Nico Hoerner hit a two-run shot for his first major league homer and had four RBIs for the Cubs. Chicago moved a game ahead of Milwaukee for the second NL wild card.Contreras, Hoerner and Nicholas Castellanos homered in the first with the wind blowing out as Chicago scored five times after Pittsburgh jumped on Jon Lester (13-10) for a 4-0 lead.Hoerner elevated a low pitch to the center field batter's eye in his first plate appearance at Wrigley Field. He drove in two more runs with a single in Chicago's seven-run fifth. The 22-year-old infielder made his debut with the Cubs on Monday at San Diego after the team announced All-Star shortstop Javier Báez would be out of the season with a hairline fracture in his left thumb.Alec Mills pitched the final three innings for his first save.... [More]

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — José Quintana pitched seven crisp innings, Anthony Rizzo hit a two-run homer and the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-1 on Sunday night in the MLB Little League Classic.Nicholas Castellanos and Jason Heyward also connected as Chicago earned its second straight win since consecutive heartbreaking losses to the Phillies and Pirates.The Cubs took two of three in the unusual weekend set and remain in a virtual tie with St. Louis for the top spot in the NL Central.Starling Marté had three hits for Pittsburgh, including his 21st homer in the ninth. Mitch Keller (1-2) allowed six runs in 4 1/3 innings.With grinning Little Leaguers dressed in their uniforms filling the stands at BB&T Ballpark, Quintana (11-7) allowed five hits and walked none. The left-hander improved to 7-0 in nine starts since his last loss June 22.ASTROS 4, ATHLETICS 1OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Zack Greinke threw seven smooth innings for his 200th win, helping the AL West-leading Astros avoid... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Zack Greinke threw seven smooth innings for his 200th win, pitching the first-place Houston Astros past the Oakland Athletics 4-1 on Sunday to avoid a four-game sweep.Alex Bregman had a three-run homer among his four hits to back Greinke, who won his third straight start since joining the Astros from the Arizona Diamondbacks at the July 31 trade deadline.Greinke (13-4) went nine up, nine down on 25 pitches to start the game before giving up Marcus Semien's 21st homer. The right-hander allowed four hits with three walks and six strikeouts. He became the 115th pitcher in major league history to reach 200 career wins, and the second in Houston's rotation along with Justin Verlander.Roberto Osuna finished for his 27th save as the Astros stopped a five-game slide.Yuli Gurriel added an RBI double for Houston, which snapped Oakland's four-game winning streak. The Astros went back ahead of the A's by 7 1/2 games in the AL West race.Athletics lefty Brett Anderson (10-9) allowed... [More]

LONDON (AP) — Gary Sánchez hit a go-ahead, two-run single during a nine-run seventh inning, and the New York Yankees overcame a four-run deficit to beat the Boston Red Sox 12-8 Sunday for a two-game sweep of the groundbreaking, high-scoring trip across the pond.DJ LeMahieu doubled off Marcus Walden (6-1) leading off the seventh and hit a two-run double against Josh Taylor later in the inning as the Yankees opened an 11-4 lead, sending 14 batters to the plate in their highest-scoring inning in four years.Didi Gregorius went deep against Ryan Brasier in the eighth, extending New York's record streak of games with home runs to 31. Combined with the Yankees' 17-13 win Saturday, the teams scored 50 runs on the weekend, four more than their previous scoring mark in consecutive games against each other.Adam Ottavino (3-2), the second of six New York relievers, got the win.Before a sellout crowd of 59,059 at Olympic Stadium, Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez and Christian Vázquez became the first... [More]

LONDON (AP) — Gary Sánchez hit a go-ahead, two-run single during a nine-run seventh inning, and the New York Yankees overcame a four-run deficit to beat the Boston Red Sox 12-8 Sunday for a two-game sweep of the groundbreaking, high-scoring trip across the pond.DJ LeMahieu doubled off Marcus Walden (6-1) leading off the seventh and hit a two-run double against Josh Taylor later in the inning as the Yankees opened an 11-4 lead, sending 14 batters to the plate in their highest-scoring inning in four years.Didi Gregorius went deep against Ryan Brasier in the eighth, extending New York's record streak of games with home runs to 31. Combined with the Yankees' 17-13 win Saturday, the teams scored 50 runs on the weekend, four more than their previous scoring mark in consecutive games against each other.Adam Ottavino (3-2), the second of six New York relievers, got the win.Before a sellout crowd of 59,059 at Olympic Stadium, Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez and Christian Vázquez became the first... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — DJ LeMahieu and Aaron Judge hit back-to-back homers to begin the bottom of the first inning, giving the Yankees a major league-record 28 straight games with a long ball, and New York held off the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 Tuesday night.Gleyber Torres and Edwin Encarnación each poked a solo shot over the short right field porch for the Yankees, who shook off another injury to Giancarlo Stanton and won for the 10th time in 11 games. The AL East leaders are 8-1 on a 10-game homestand that wraps up Wednesday.Aroldis Chapman allowed a run in the ninth before retiring Freddy Galvis on an easy grounder with two aboard for his 23rd save in 25 tries.Stanton exited in the fourth with a bruised right knee and was scheduled for an MRI. He got tangled up with Toronto pitcher Clayton Richard (0-4) in the first while getting thrown out on a headfirst slide into third base.Yankees rookie Nestor Cortes Jr. (3-0) pitched 4 1/3 solid innings in relief of opener Chad Green.RED SOX 6, WHITE SOX... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — DJ LeMahieu and Aaron Judge hit back-to-back homers to begin the bottom of the first inning, giving the Yankees a major league-record 28 straight games with a long ball, and New York held off the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 Tuesday night.Gleyber Torres and Edwin Encarnación each poked a solo shot over the short right field porch for the Yankees, who shook off another injury to Giancarlo Stanton and won for the 10th time in 11 games. The AL East leaders are 8-1 on a 10-game homestand that wraps up Wednesday.Aroldis Chapman allowed a run in the ninth before retiring Freddy Galvis on an easy grounder with two aboard for his 23rd save in 25 tries.Stanton exited in the fourth with a bruised right knee and was scheduled for an MRI. He got tangled up with Toronto pitcher Clayton Richard (0-4) in the first while getting thrown out on a headfirst slide into third base.Yankees rookie Nestor Cortes Jr. (3-0) pitched 4 1/3 solid innings in relief of opener Chad Green.RED SOX 6, WHITE SOX... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — New York Mets manager Mickey Callaway says right-hander Noah Syndergaard has a low-grade hamstring strain and will miss at least one start.Syndergaard underwent an MRI on Sunday and was placed on the 10-day injured list. Callaway hopes Syndergaard misses just one start but says it's too early to tell if he will need more time to recover.Reliever Wilmer Font is a candidate to take Syndergaard's turn in the rotation, but Callaway says Seth Lugo is not."I think he's so valuable in his role right now that it'd be tough to take him out," Callaway said.Syndergaard reached for the back of his right leg after throwing a pitch in the seventh inning Saturday night against St. Louis. He walked off the field with a limp, but wasn't favoring the leg while playing catch and doing agility drills before Monday's game.He is 5-4 with a 4.55 ERA in 15 starts.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Turns out Yoenis Céspedes took the fall, not Mickey Callaway.On a hectic afternoon at Citi Field, the slumping New York Mets announced Monday they are sticking with their embattled manager "for the foreseeable future" — and Céspedes broke his right ankle in an accident on his ranch.The oft-injured slugger has been sidelined most of the past two seasons and was home recovering from surgery on both heels. New York had hoped he could return sometime after the All-Star break, but this latest setback certainly puts Céspedes' entire season, and perhaps his career, in jeopardy.General manager Brodie Van Wagenen said the team was informed Saturday night that Céspedes sustained multiple ankle fractures on his ranch in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where the club's spring training complex is located."He had a violent fall in which he stepped in a hole and put his leg and foot in a difficult position," said Van Wagenen, who was Céspedes' agent before becoming GM of the Mets last offseason.The... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Turns out Yoenis Céspedes took the fall, not Mickey Callaway.On a hectic afternoon at Citi Field, the slumping New York Mets announced Monday they are sticking with their embattled manager "for the foreseeable future" — and Céspedes broke his right ankle in an accident on his ranch.The oft-injured slugger has been sidelined most of the past two seasons and was home recovering from surgery on both heels. New York had hoped he could return sometime after the All-Star break, but this latest setback certainly puts Céspedes' entire season, and perhaps his career, in jeopardy.General manager Brodie Van Wagenen said the team was informed Saturday night that Céspedes sustained multiple ankle fractures on his ranch in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where the club's spring training complex is located."He had a violent fall in which he stepped in a hole and put his leg and foot in a difficult position," said Van Wagenen, who was Céspedes' agent before becoming GM of the Mets last offseason.The... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Turns out Yoenis Céspedes took the fall, not Mickey Callaway.On a hectic afternoon at Citi Field, the slumping New York Mets announced Monday they are sticking with their embattled manager "for the foreseeable future" — and Céspedes broke his right ankle in an accident on his ranch.The oft-injured slugger has been sidelined most of the past two seasons and was home recovering from surgery on both heels. New York had hoped he could return sometime after the All-Star break, but this latest setback certainly puts Céspedes' entire season — and perhaps his career — in jeopardy.General manager Brodie Van Wagenen said the team was informed Saturday night that Céspedes got hurt on his ranch in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where the club's spring training complex is located."He had a violent fall in which he stepped in a hole and put his leg and foot in a difficult position," said Van Wagenen, who was Céspedes agent before becoming GM of the Mets last offseason.The 33-year-old Céspedes... [More]

May 191910 — Cy Young won the 500th game of his career as the Cleveland Indians beat the Washington Senators, 5-4, in 11 innings.1910 — Boston beat the Pirates 6-3 for the first time in 26 tries.1942 — Paul Waner of the Boston Braves got his 3,000th career hit off Pittsburgh's Rip Sewell in a 7-6, 11-inning loss to the Pirates.1956 — Pittsburgh's Dale Long hit a ninth-inning homer against the Chicago Cubs. It was Long's first of eight straight games with a homer.1962 — Stan Musial of St. Louis became the NL career hits leader. The 41-year-old got a ninth-inning single for his 3,431st hit and moved past Honus Wagner. The Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-1.1968 — After hitting 10 home runs in six games, Frank Howard of the Washington Senators was stopped by pitcher Earl Wilson of Detroit, which won the game 5-4.1981 — Pittsburgh's Jim Bibby gave up a leadoff single to Terry Harper of the Atlanta Braves, then retired the next 27 batters for a 5-0 one-hitter. Bibby also hit two doubles.2000... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday:IN THE SWINGRookie Vladimir Guerrero Jr. looks to build off his first huge game in the majors when the Blue Jays continue their series at San Francisco.The highly touted 20-year-old hit the first two home runs of his major league career, becoming the youngest player in Toronto history to touch 'em all. Guerrero's drives were estimated at 438 feet and 451 feet.Two-sport star Danny Ainge had been the youngest Blue Jay to homer, in 1979 — Guerrero was younger by 18 days.The son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero entered the day batting .191 with one RBI in 13 games. The family already had long-ball history at Oracle Park — the elder Guerrero won the 2007 Home Run Derby at the waterfront stadium.TWISTED TWINThe Twins are hoping for good news on breakout backstop Mitch Garver, who suffered a left high ankle sprain tagging out Shohei Ohtani trying to score the tying run in Minnesota's 4-3 win over the Angels on Tuesday night. Garver hit a... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:WHAT NOW?The Cincinnati Reds have had two straight games delayed at the start because of unusual circumstances.On Monday at home against San Francisco, the Reds were held up for about 20 minutes because a swarm of bees flew onto the field at Great American Ball Park.On Tuesday, their game at Oakland began more than 90 minutes late because of a lighting problem at the Coliseum. A bank of lights above the upper deck in left field that had been only partially lit started to flicker on as the game got underway.STEAMEDNationals star Anthony Rendon had a rough and frustrating return to the lineup after missing 14 games because of a bruised left elbow caused when he was hit by a pitch.He went into Tuesday night's game at Milwaukee batting .356, then in his first at-bat was plunked in the upper ribcage by a pitch from Adrian Houser — the pitch barely missed Rendon's left elbow.With two on and two outs in the seventh, Rendon was called out on strikes... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday:WHAT NOW?The Cincinnati Reds have had two straight games delayed at the start because of unusual circumstances.On Monday at home against San Francisco, the Reds were held up for about 20 minutes because a swarm of bees flew onto the field at Great American Ball Park.On Tuesday, their game at Oakland began more than 90 minutes late because of a lighting problem at the Coliseum. A bank of lights above the upper deck in left field that had been only partially lit started to flicker on as the game got underway.STEAMEDNationals star Anthony Rendon had a rough and frustrating return to the lineup after missing 14 games because of a bruised left elbow caused when he was hit by a pitch.He went into Tuesday night's game at Milwaukee batting .356, then in his first at-bat was plunked in the upper ribcage by a pitch from Adrian Houser — the pitch barely missed Rendon's left elbow.With two on and two outs in the seventh, Rendon was called out on... [More]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — With two starters ailing, the New York Mets made a flurry of moves Monday to replenish their banged-up pitching staff.First, the team obtained right-hander Wilmer Font from the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named or cash. Hours later, the Mets placed left-hander Jason Vargas on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring injury and recalled right-hander Corey Oswalt from Triple-A Syracuse.New York also activated lefty reliever Justin Wilson from the 10-day IL and optioned right-hander Tim Peterson to Syracuse. Two relievers remain on the injured list: Jeurys Familia with a sore shoulder, and Luis Avila?n with a tender elbow.The moves came before the Mets opened a three-game series against the Padres.In addition, manager Mickey Callaway said starter Steven Matz had an injection of cortisone and lidocaine after being sent back to New York to have a forearm nerve issue examined. Matz won't be able to throw for a few days and the left-hander will rejoin the club when... [More]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — With two starters ailing, the New York Mets have made a flurry of moves to replenish their banged-up pitching staff.The team obtained right-hander Wilmer Font from the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named or cash Monday. Hours later, the Mets placed left-hander Jason Vargas on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring injury and recalled right-hander Corey Oswalt from Triple-A Syracuse.New York also activated lefty reliever Justin Wilson from the 10-day IL and optioned right-hander Tim Peterson to Syracuse.The moves came before the Mets opened a three-game series against the San Diego Padres.In addition, manager Mickey Callaway says starter Steven Matz had an injection of cortisone and lidocaine after being sent back to New York to have a forearm nerve issue examined. Matz won't be able to throw for a few days and the left-hander will rejoin the club when it returns home later this week following the series in San Diego.Callaway says the team will wait before deciding whether to put Matz on the injured list.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Mets have obtained right-hander Wilmer Font from the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named or cash.The 28-year-old was 1-0 with a 5.79 ERA in 10 appearances, striking out 18 in 14 innings.New York has three relievers on the injured list: Jeurys Familia with shoulder soreness, and Luis Avila?n and Justin Wilson due to elbow soreness.Font is 3-3 with a 6.51 ERA in five starts and 32 relief appearances over five seasons for Texas, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland and Tampa Bay.New York announced the trade Monday. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Mets transferred outfielder Yoenis Céspedes to the 60-day injured list.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bryce Harper crushed a long home run for his third hit while performing to jeers in his return to Washington, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Nationals 8-2 Tuesday night for the franchise's best start in over a century.Maikel Franco also homered for the Phillies, baseball's only undefeated team at 4-0. They had only done that in 1915 and 1897.Harper left Washington after playing 927 games over seven years, participating in six All-Star Games and winning the 2015 NL MVP Award. He listened to what the Nationals had to offer, then signed a $330 million, 13-year contract with the rival Phillies in February.Harper hasn't wasted any time providing returns for the investment. He has three homers and five RBIs in four games, along with a .429 batting average. He drove in three Tuesday.Booed during every at-bat, Harper thumped a "take that," 458-foot shot in the eighth inning off Jeremy Hellickson. As the ball soared toward the second deck in right field, Harper flipped... [More]