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.YANKEES 7, RANGERS 2NEW YORK (AP) — CC Sabathia threw six shutout innings, Giancarlo Stanton homered again and the Yankees won for the sixth time in seven games.Didi Gregorius also homered and turned in a nifty defensive play for New York.... [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]

NEW YORK (AP) — Alex Cobb had gone two months without a win, and the weight became a burden as his record fell to 2-14, the most losses in the major leagues."At a certain point of that stretch, I'm just hoping not to get a loss," he said. "Not even hoping for wins at that point, I'm just hoping not to lose."Given a five-run lead in the second inning, Cobb breezed and ended skids for himself and the Baltimore Orioles.Cobb allowed one run and seven hits in six innings in a 7-5 win over the New York Yankees on Wednesday that ended the Orioles' streak of 11 consecutive road losses."He's handled it so well," manager Buck Showalter said. "I'm sure there's some sarcastic response to that, but he's a pro and he's pitched better than that. He's going to be a good pitcher for us when all's said and done. He's got a lot of ways to get you out."Cobb (3-14) had been 0-7 since a June 5 victory at the New York Mets, losing his last five outings. Since he last won, the Orioles traded Manny Machado, Zach... [More]

DH Renato Nunez collected his first major league homer and RBI with his three-run shot in the seventh inning. Nunez led the Pacific Coast League with 32 homers but Friday was different. "Amazing," he said. "It's a moment that's been in my dreams all my life, so that's pretty exciting."

OF/INF Renato Nunez was recalled on Tuesday from Triple-A Nashville, where he hit .249 with 32 home runs and 78 RBIs in 126 games this season. Nunez tied for second in the Pacific Coast League in home runs and ranked fourth in extra base hits (61). He appeared in 48 games in left field, 44 at third base, 30 at designated hitter, five at first base and two at second base. Nunez was named to the PCL's postseason All-Star team. Nunez has hit 130 home runs in seven minor league seasons, with his single-season high coming this year. Nunez was a September call-up last year and hit .133 with one RBI in nine games and 15 at-bats.

DH Renato Nunez, who hit 26 home runs, including three in the Pacific Coast League playoffs, made his first big league start and was among five rookie starters Tuesday. The A's have used 19 rookies this season, two shy of the Oakland record of 21 in 2008.

3B Renato Nunez, who hit .228 with 23 home runs and 75 RBIs with Triple-A Nashville this year, was recalled by the A's on Monday. He hit three homers with 10 RBIs in the Sounds' five playoff games. Manager Bob Melvin said Nunez, 22, would start Tuesday as the designated hitter. He grounded out as a pinch hitter in the ninth in his big league debut. With the addition of Nunez and Olson, it could shrink the playing time of Yonder Alonso and Danny Valencia as the A's take a look at some of their prospects as the season winds down.

Nunez was placed on the minor league disabled list on Aug. 15 with a hamstring injury.

As a member of the A's 40-man roster, he could still be in line for a September call-up if he can get healthy over the next couple weeks, but that is far from a sure thing. Nunez, whose OPS against lefties is .881 compared to a .736 OPS against righties, is starting to look like he might profile best on the short side of a platoon at third base or first base, which would really hurt his long-term fantasy value.

Nunez, 21, is batting .264/.319/.453 with 15 home runs and 45 RBI through 82 games for Double-A Midland.

Nunez produced 29 home runs and 96 RBI last season at High-A, but has put up much more pedestrian numbers in 2015. Still, he has above-average power and does not strike out a ton. With Josh Donaldson no longer in the mix, Nunez could end up vying for the starting third base job as early as next season.

Nunez is slashing .214/.333/.316 with three home runs in 117 games with Double-A Midland.

While Midland is pretty favorable for hitters, it is still a noticeable downgrade from the very friendly confines Nunez experienced at his home ballpark in Stockton last year. A .243 BABIP is also a sign that bad luck is playing a pretty big role in Nunez's slow start. Despite blasting 29 home runs in 2014, the 21-year-old third baseman is not quite a top-100 prospect at this point.