ATLANTA (AP) — Sean Newcomb came within one strike of pitching the first no-hitter by the Atlanta Braves since 1994, denied when Chris Taylor sharply singled in a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.Newcomb had a 2-2 count with two outs in the ninth inning when Taylor hit a hard grounder beyond the reach of diving third baseman Johan Camargo. That came on the career-high 134th and final pitch by the 25-year-old lefty.Newcomb (10-5) left to a thunderous standing ovation from the sellout crowd at SunTrust Park as manager Brian Snitker removed him. Snitker took the ball and gave it back to Newcomb as a keepsake — instead, Newcomb simply tossed it toward the Atlanta dugout as he walked off, wanting no souvenir of the near-miss.Newcomb apologized about an hour after the game for racist, homophobic and sexist tweets he sent as a teenager, calling them "some stupid stuff."Ross Stripling (8-3) was subpar in his second straight start, allowing four runs, seven hits and one walk with five... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts homered on the second pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Boston Red Sox a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.Betts' first career game-ending homer capped a wild last few innings. The Twins rallied from a 2-1 deficit to take a one-run lead in the top of the ninth. Rafael Devers hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the inning to force extras. Betts drove Matt Belisle's first pitch of the night over the Green Monster setting off a celebration to end a hot, muggy night at Fenway Park.Betts' teammates cooled him off by dousing him with a cooler full of ice water when the All-Start right fielder stepped out of the dugout for a curtain call.Belisle (1-1) faced only Betts, who ended it with his 25th homer of the season. Tyler Thornburg (1-0) held the Twins scoreless in the 10th after Craig Kimbrel blew a shot at his 33rd save in the ninth.Eddie Rosario hit a two-run double with two outs in the ninth to give Minnesota its first lead.Jackie... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts homered on the second pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Boston Red Sox a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.Betts' first career game-ending homer capped a wild last few innings. The Twins rallied from a 2-1 deficit to take a one-run lead in the top of the ninth. Rafael Devers hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the inning to force extras. Betts drove Matt Belisle's first pitch of the night over the Green Monster setting off a celebration to end a hot, muggy night at Fenway Park.Betts' teammates cooled him off by dousing him with a cooler full of ice water when the All-Start right fielder stepped out of the dugout for a curtain call.Belisle (1-1) faced only Betts, who ended it with his 25th homer of the season. Tyler Thornburg (1-0) held the Twins scoreless in the 10th after Craig Kimbrel blew a shot at his 33rd save in the ninth.Eddie Rosario hit a two-run double with two outs in the ninth to give Minnesota its first lead.Jackie... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Sergio Romo relieved in the eighth inning, shifted to third base when Jonny Venters replaced him in the ninth, then struck out Brett Gardner to end the game with two on and give the Tampa Bay Rays a 3-2 win over the New York Yankees on Wednesday.Scheduled Rays starter Nathan Eovaldi was traded to AL East-leading Boston about two hours before game time, and six pitchers combined on a seven-hitter.New York has lost just two series since May, and both are against the Rays. Tampa Bay swept three games in late June, took two of three this week and has won six of its past seven against the Yankees. New York, 14-14 over its past 28 games, acquired reliever Zach Britton from Baltimore late Tuesday but said he will not report until Thursday's homestand opener against Kansas City.Neil Walker hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning, but the Rays took a 3-1 lead in the sixth when Kevin Kiermaier hit a two-run homer off Luis Cessa (1-2) and C.J. Cron added a solo drive against... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Sergio Romo relieved in the eighth inning, shifted to third base when Jonny Venters replaced him in the ninth, then struck out Brett Gardner to end the game with two on and give the Tampa Bay Rays a 3-2 win over the New York Yankees on Wednesday.Scheduled Rays starter Nathan Eovaldi was traded to AL East-leading Boston about two hours before game time, and six pitchers combined on a seven-hitter.New York has lost just two series since May, and both are against the Rays. Tampa Bay swept three games in late June, took two of three this week and has won six of its past seven against the Yankees. New York, 14-14 over its past 28 games, acquired reliever Zach Britton from Baltimore late Tuesday but said he will not report until Thursday's homestand opener against Kansas City.Neil Walker hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning, but the Rays took a 3-1 lead in the sixth when Kevin Kiermaier hit a two-run homer off Luis Cessa (1-2) and C.J. Cron added a solo drive against... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Sergio Romo relieved in the eighth inning, shifted to third base when Jonny Venters replaced him in the ninth, then struck out Brett Gardner to end the game with two on and give the Tampa Bay Rays a 3-2 win over the New York Yankees on Wednesday.Scheduled Rays starter Nathan Eovaldi was traded to AL East-leading Boston about two hours before game time, and six pitchers combined on a seven-hitter.New York has lost just two series since May, and both are against the Rays. Tampa Bay swept three games in late June, took two of three this week and has won six of its past seven against the Yankees. New York, 14-14 over its past 28 games, acquired reliever Zach Britton from Baltimore late Tuesday but said he will not report until Thursday's homestand opener against Kansas City.Neil Walker hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning, but the Rays took a 3-1 lead in the sixth when Kevin Kiermaier hit a two-run homer off Luis Cessa (1-2) and C.J. Cron added a solo drive against... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Starling Marte, Gregory Polanco and Josh Bell each hit a two-run homer, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cleveland Indians 9-4 on Tuesday night for their 11th straight win.The Pirates routed the Indians for the second straight night. Marte homered in the first inning, drove in three runs and extended his career-high hitting streak to 17 games.Polanco homered and Corey Dickerson tripled in two runs when Pittsburgh scored five times in the second. Bell hit a home run in the fifth. The Pirates have homered in a season-high nine straight games, hitting 22 home runs in that span.Pittsburgh has won 11 in a row for the first time since Sept. 12-22, 1996. The Pirates have won 13 of 14 and are 17-8 since June 24. Pittsburgh has outscored its opponents 43-8 in the last five games.Joe Musgrove (4-4) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings for his first win since June 29.Shane Bieber (5-2), called up from Triple-A Columbus to make the start, allowed seven runs in 1 2/3 innings.... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Aroldis Chapman had flamed out, throwing three of 19 pitches for strikes and enabling the Mets to cut a four-run, ninth-inning deficit in half.Chasen Shreve to the rescue. Yes, Chasen Shreve.Maligned last month, Shreve entered with the bases loaded, got Devin Mesoraco to hit into a run-scoring, double-play grounder and retired Wilmer Flores on a slow roller in front of the mound.With his second big league save and first since August 2016, Shreve preserved a 7-6 Subway Series victory Saturday that enabled Sonny Gray (7-7) to win consecutive starts for the first time since the Yankees acquired him last summer.On another tumult-filled day for the last-place Mets, closer Jeurys Familia was traded to Oakland for a pair of minor leaguers and slugging outfielder Yoenis Cespedes was out of the lineup because of body soreness, one game after returning from a two-month absence. Cespedes said Friday night he may need surgery on both heels that would require an eight-to-10-month recovery.Aaron... [More]

SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto said Friday that Robinson Cano will be used at a few positions when he returns from his suspension next month, including first base.Where Cano ends up defensively is one of the big questions once he's eligible to return on Aug. 14 from his 80-game suspension for violating baseball's joint drug agreement. He's been a second baseman for the entirety of his major league career, but it may not be his primary position when he comes back.Following the suspension, Seattle moved Dee Gordon from center field back to his natural position at second base."We're looking at Dee as our second baseman. There may be a time especially mid-August to the end of the season where he slides out to center field for a day, but primarily he's going to play second base," Dipoto said. "We sat down and talked with Robbie and Robbie said, 'Whatever I need to do to help this team get to the postseason.' He was great about it."Cano recently relocated to the... [More]

SEATTLE (AP) — Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano apologized to his teammates, the organization and the fans for his 80-game suspension for violating baseball's drug agreement.Cano tested positive for Furosemide, a diuretic that can be used to mask performance-enhancing drugs."I wanted to apologize genuinely to the city of Seattle and to all the fans and the young baseball players in the (United) States and the (Dominican Republic) and most importantly to my teammates," Cano said. "I wanted to show my face to you guys. I don't think for me it's fair to just come back and walk into the clubhouse."I wanted to do this earlier. But I don't want to be a distraction for the team. So I was waiting for the right time."Cano said he couldn't discuss details of the testing process but maintained the substance was prescribed to him in the Dominican Republic for the treatment of a medical issue."I've been getting tested for the last 12 seasons and I've never had an issue with MLB policy," he said.... [More]

SEATTLE (AP) — Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano apologized to his teammates, the organization and the fans for his 80-game suspension for violating baseball's drug agreement.Cano tested positive for Furosemide, a diuretic that can be used to mask performance-enhancing drugs.Cano said it was prescribed to him in the Dominican Republic to address a medical issue.He said the suspension was the most difficult thing he's dealt with in his life outside of the death of his grandfather. He's remained close to the team and does workouts at Safeco Field before the team arrives each day. He will head to his father's academy in the Dominican Republic in the near future to begin ramping up his baseball work.With Dee Gordon excelling at second base in Cano's absence, Cano said he was open to whatever role the team wants him to play upon his return. He is ineligible for postseason play.Cano went on the disabled list on May 14 with the suspension being handed down the following day. The Mariners have a 34-16 record in the 50 games Cano has missed. Barring any postponements, Cano is eligible to return to the Mariners on Aug. 14.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

CHICAGO (AP) — Tyler Mahle tossed one-run ball into the seventh inning and the Cincinnati Reds edged the Cubs 3-2 on Friday for their fifth straight victory over Chicago.Adam Duvall and Scooter Gennett drove in runs as the Reds won for the 14th time in 18 games and ended the Cubs' six-game winning streak. Billy Hamilton, Cincinnati's No. 9 hitter, had three hits and leadoff man Jose Peraza had two.Mahle (7-6) allowed five hits and struck out four over 6 2/3 innings to win his fourth straight decision. In his last seven starts, the 23-year-old right-hander has a 2.06 ERA.Raisel Iglesias, Cincinnati's third reliever, got the final five outs for his 17th save in 20 chances.Cubs starter Mike Montgomery (3-3) allowed three runs on six hits in five innings while walking two and hitting two batters.TIGERS 3, RANGERS 1DETROIT — Jordan Zimmermann denied Bartolo Colon's bid at baseball history, striking out 11 batters in eight innings as Detroit beat Texas.Colon (5-6) as trying to become the winningest... [More]

SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Mariners signed general manager Jerry Dipoto to a multiyear contract extension on Friday, a reward for the club being on track to end the longest playoff drought in the four major professional sports in the U.S.The agreement comes with the Mariners 24 games above .500, and striving to make the postseason for the first time since 2001."We're obviously happy with the work he's done so far and look forward to the next several years as well," team president and CEO Kevin Mather said. "We are having some success on the field, but when I said the work he has done so far, I'm referring to day one. We hired him Sept. 28, 2015 and he hasn't stopped since the day he got here."Since the start of the 2016 season, Dipoto's first full year, the Mariners have the eighth-best record in the majors at 220-192. Seattle's 56-32 start through 88 games is tied for the second-best mark in franchise history. Only the 2001 team that tied the major league mark for most wins in a season... [More]

SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Mariners signed general manager Jerry Dipoto to a multiyear contract extension on Friday, a reward for the club being on track to end the longest playoff drought in the four major professional sports in the U.S.The agreement comes with the Mariners 24 games above .500, and striving to make the postseason for the first time since 2001."Jerry arrived here 2½ years ago with a specific plan for our franchise," Seattle president and CEO Kevin Mather said. "He has successfully executed that plan, resulting in a younger, more athletic and, most importantly, far more successful major league team."Dipoto is in his third full season with the Mariners, who are 56-32 and 1½ games out of first place in the AL West. Since the start of the 2016 season, his first full year, the Mariners have the eighth-best record in the majors at 220-192."As I said when I arrived here, I believe this organization has every opportunity to be successful on a consistent basis," Dipoto said in a... [More]

SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Mariners signed general manager Jerry Dipoto to a multiyear contract extension on Friday, a reward for the club being on track to end the longest playoff drought in the four major professional sports in the U.S.The agreement comes with the Mariners 24 games above .500, and striving to make the postseason for the first time since 2001."Jerry arrived here 2½ years ago with a specific plan for our franchise," Seattle president and CEO Kevin Mather said. "He has successfully executed that plan, resulting in a younger, more athletic and, most importantly, far more successful major league team."Dipoto is in his third full season with the Mariners, who are 56-32 and 1½ games out of first place in the AL West. Since the start of the 2016 season, his first full year, the Mariners have the eighth-best record in the majors at 220-192."As I said when I arrived here, I believe this organization has every opportunity to be successful on a consistent basis," Dipoto said in a... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Lance McCullers pitched seven strong innings, Jake Marisnick homered and the Houston Astros beat the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 on Thursday night to tie a franchise record with their 11th straight road win.McCullers (9-3) gave up three hits while striking out seven. The Astros have won his last six starts and have won 18 of 21 overall. Their 11th straight road win matched the club record set last May 14-June 5 on the way to winning the franchise's first World Series title.The Rays, who had won five straight overall and eight straight at home, had runners on first and third with none out in the eighth against reliever Chris Devenski, but Matt Duffy lined into a double play and Jake Bauers grounded out.Hector Rondon pitched the ninth for his fifth save in seven opportunities.Marisnick's homer in the fifth came off Ryan Yarbrough (7-4) and was his seventh of the season. It ended the Rays' streak of 26 scoreless innings, the second-longest in franchise history.RED SOX 4,... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anthony Rizzo's three-run double and Addison Russell's two-run homer highlighted a seven-run seventh inning as the Chicago Cubs broke loose after Clayton Kershaw exited, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-5 on Thursday.The Cubs pounded out 15 hits, including four by Rizzo. Russell drove in four runs in the final regular-season meeting between the teams that played each other in the NL Championship Series the last two years.They met seven times in 10 days, with the Cubs winning four games over the two series.The Dodgers staked Kershaw to a 3-1 lead before he departed after five innings because of a pitch limit.The Cubs jumped on reliever Walker Buehler (4-2), who arrived earlier in the morning from Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he had been set for a rehab assignment. Albert Almora Jr. homered on Buehler's second pitch and Russell's sacrifice fly tied it at 3 in the sixth.Steve Cishek (2-0) got the win with 1 2/3 innings of relief.ROCKIES 9, GIANTS 8SAN FRANCISCO (AP) —... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Luis Severino became the majors' first 12-game winner, Aaron Hicks and Didi Gregorius homered and the New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-0 Tuesday night.Severino (12-2) struck out nine in seven dominant innings, lowering his ERA to 2.10. The ace has allowed three runs or less in 16 of 17 starts.Jake Arrieta (5-6) had another rough outing for Philadelphia, which had won four consecutive series before losing two straight to the Yankees. Arrieta gave up six runs — three earned — and nine hits in five innings.Arrieta was 0-4 with a 6.66 ERA in five starts in June after posting a 0.90 ERA in five starts last month.RAYS 1, NATIONALS 0ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Nathan Eovaldi took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before an unusual combination of relievers in the ninth completed a three-hitter as the Rays beat Max Scherzer and the Nationals.Eovaldi (2-3) lost his no-hit bid when Bryce Harper hit an opposite-field double off the left-field wall with two outs... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Luis Severino became the majors' first 12-game winner, Aaron Hicks and Didi Gregorius homered and the New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-0 Tuesday night.Severino (12-2) struck out nine in seven dominant innings, lowering his ERA to 2.10. The ace has allowed three runs or less in 16 of 17 starts.Jake Arrieta (5-6) had another rough outing for Philadelphia, which had won four consecutive series before losing two straight to the Yankees. Arrieta gave up six runs — three earned — and nine hits in five innings.Arrieta was 0-4 with a 6.66 ERA in five starts in June after posting a 0.90 ERA in five starts last month.RAYS 1, NATIONALS 0ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Nathan Eovaldi took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before an unusual combination of relievers in the ninth completed a three-hitter as the Rays beat Max Scherzer and the Nationals.Eovaldi (2-3) lost his no-hit bid when Bryce Harper hit an opposite-field double off the left-field wall with two outs... [More]

ST. PETRSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Blake Snell took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, Kevin Kiermaier hit a grand slam and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Washington Nationals 11-0 on Monday night.Wilson Ramos homered twice and rookie Jake Bauers had four hits in the Rays' fourth straight win.Snell (10-4) walked Trea Turner and Bryce Harper to open the game before retiring 18 straight, striking out five straight at one point. Anthony Rendon doubled leading off the seventh for the first of Washington's two hits.Kiermaier's first home run of the season came during a six-run second inning against Gio Gonzalez (6-5).It was the eighth loss in 11 games for the Nationals.YANKEES 4, PHILLIES 2PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jonathan Loaisiga took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, Aaron Judge ripped his 20th homer and the Yankees snapped a three-game losing streak.Loaisiga (2-0) didn't allow a hit until Jorge Alfaro lined a single to right leading off the sixth. He struck out eight in 5 1/3 innings in his third start... [More]