CHICAGO (AP) — Already concerned about the depth of their rotation, the Chicago Cubs will have to get by for at least a little while without one starter because of a freak injury.Left-hander José Quintana had surgery to repair nerve damage in his pitching thumb Thursday after he cut himself washing dishes.Chicago did not have a timetable for his return.“There's a best-case scenario in which it heals quickly and his thumb feels good and he can resume a pretty rapid ramp up from that point,” president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said. “He's been built up, is pretty far along. But there's certainly another scenario in which the nerve takes longer to heal and is going to be significantly delayed. We really can't forecast it. We just have to wait and see and hope for the best.”Quintana cut his thumb at his home in Miami on Saturday and needed five stitches, according to the team. The damage to the digital sensory nerve was revealed during an exploratory procedure in Chicago on Thursday... [More]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — All-Star shortstop Javier Báez could return to the Chicago Cubs if they reach the playoffs.Báez saw a hand specialist in Chicago who confirmed the slugger has a hairline fracture of his left thumb. He is expected to miss the rest of this month, but the team said Monday he will continue his rehab in hopes of playing in October.The slumping Cubs headed into their series opener at San Diego in the NL's second wild-card slot.Báez got hurt on a headfirst slide into second base during a 4-0 loss to Milwaukee on Sept. 1. He is batting .281 with 29 homers and 85 RBIs."We're just going to have to wait on Javy," manager Joe Maddon said.With Báez and Addison Russell sidelined, touted prospect Nico Hoerner was promoted from Double-A Tennessee and got the start against the Padres.The Cubs also recalled right-hander James Norwood from Triple-A Iowa. To make room for Hoerner on the 40-man roster, lefty Randy Rosario was designated for assignment.Right-hander Adbert Alzolay was optioned... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Chicago Cubs have activated right-hander Kyle Hendricks from the injured list, clearing him to start against the Pittsburgh Pirates.Chicago placed Hendricks on the injured list on June 15 with shoulder inflammation. Hendricks is 7-5 with a 3.36 ERA this season for the Cubs.Chicago also recalled left-handed reliever Randy Rosario from Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday.To make room for Hendricks and Rosario on the roster, the Cubs optioned rookie starting pitcher Adbert Alzolay and reliever Rowan Wick to Triple-A. Alzolay suffered his first big league loss Monday night when the Pittsburgh Pirates got to him for seven runs in 2 2/3 innings.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

A look at what's happening around the majors today:BEAR DOWNThe slumping Cubs hope to get right as rookie Adbert Alzolay (1-0) starts against Pittsburgh. Chicago has dropped three of four and finished June 14-15, its first losing month since May 2017. Alzolay has allowed two runs in 8 2/3 innings over two appearances. He'll oppose Pirates right-hander Trevor Williams (2-2, 4.25).BIG SWINGERSTwo spots remain open for the Home Run Derby and need to be filled before Wednesday's formal announcement of the field. Six of the eight participants are known: Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Milwaukee's Christian Yelich, Atlanta's Ronald Acu�a Jr., the New York Mets' Pete Alonso, Pittsburgh's Josh Bell and Cleveland's Carlos Santana. All-Star Texas slugger Joey Gallo seems a promising fit for one of those slots, but he said Sunday he still hasn't been invited.MINOR'S LEAGUEUnlikely All-Star Mike Minor makes his first start since being added to the roster for his first Midsummer Classic. The Rangers... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Monday:BEAR DOWNThe slumping Cubs hope to get right as rookie Adbert Alzolay (1-0) starts against Pittsburgh. Chicago has dropped 3 of 4 and finished June 14-15, its first losing month since May 2017. Alzolay has allowed two runs in 8 2/3 innings over two appearances. He'll oppose Pirates right-hander Trevor Williams (2-2, 4.25).BIG SWINGERSTwo spots remain open for the Home Run Derby and need to be filled before Wednesday's formal announcement of the field. Six of the eight participants are known: Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Milwaukee's Christian Yelich, Atlanta's Ronald Acu�a Jr., the New York Mets' Pete Alonso, Pittsburgh's Josh Bell and Cleveland's Carlos Santana. All-Star Texas slugger Joey Gallo seems a promising fit for one of those slots, but he said Sunday he still hasn't been invited.MINOR'S LEAGUEUnlikely All-Star Mike Minor makes his first start since being added to the roster for his first Midsummer Classic. The Rangers left-hander... [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]

NEW YORK (AP) — Gary Sánchez, Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu homered in a hurry, connecting in a six-run fourth inning that powered the New York Yankees past the Houston Astros 10-6 on Thursday night for their sixth straight win.Edwin Encarnación hit his AL-leading 23rd home run, and second since being acquired by New York from Seattle, as the Yankees handed Houston its season-worst fifth loss in a row.The Astros dropped a matchup of division leaders despite Jake Marisnick's two home runs and solo drives by Alex Bregman and rookie Yordan Álvarez.Sánchez opened the fourth with his 22nd homer. With rain falling, Torres connected for a three-run jolt off rookie Framber Valdéz (3-3). LeMahieu tagged reliever Chris Devenski for a two-run homer and a 6-0 lead. The inning included two delays — a short break to fix the mound and a 37-minute stoppage when the showers fell too hard.Nestor Cortes Jr. (2-0) pitched three innings after another fine start by opener Chad Green. The veteran reliever struck... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Gary Sánchez, Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu homered in a hurry, connecting in a six-run fourth inning that powered the New York Yankees past the Houston Astros 10-6 on Thursday night for their sixth straight win.Edwin Encarnación hit his AL-leading 23rd home run, and second since being acquired by New York from Seattle, as the Yankees handed Houston its season-worst fifth loss in a row.The Astros dropped a matchup of division leaders despite Jake Marisnick's two home runs and solo drives by Alex Bregman and rookie Yordan Álvarez.Sánchez opened the fourth with his 22nd homer. With rain falling, Torres connected for a three-run jolt off rookie Framber Valdéz (3-3). LeMahieu tagged reliever Chris Devenski for a two-run homer and a 6-0 lead. The inning included two delays — a short break to fix the mound and a 37-minute stoppage when the showers fell too hard.Nestor Cortes Jr. (2-0) pitched three innings after another fine start by opener Chad Green. The veteran reliever struck... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Gary Sánchez, Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu homered in a hurry, connecting in a six-run fourth inning that powered the New York Yankees past the Houston Astros 10-6 on Thursday night for their sixth straight win.Edwin Encarnación hit his AL-leading 23rd home run, and second since being acquired by New York from Seattle, as the Yankees handed Houston its season-worst fifth loss in a row.The Astros dropped a matchup of division leaders despite Jake Marisnick's two home runs and solo drives by Alex Bregman and rookie Yordan Álvarez.Sánchez opened the fourth with his 22nd homer. With rain falling, Torres connected for a three-run jolt off rookie Framber Valdéz (3-3). LeMahieu tagged reliever Chris Devenski for a two-run homer and a 6-0 lead. The inning included two delays — a short break to fix the mound and a 37-minute stoppage when the showers fell too hard.Nestor Cortes Jr. (2-0) pitched three innings after another fine start by opener Chad Green. The veteran reliever struck... [More]