CHICAGO (AP) — Bryce Harper homered and tied a career high with five hits, Andrew McCutchen smacked a grand slam and the Philadelphia Phillies handed Chicago its 11th straight loss, beating the Cubs 15-10 on Tuesday night. Rhys Hoskins also went deep. The Phillies jumped on Jake Arrieta (5-9) and finished two shy of a season high with 16 hits. The Cubs extended their worst skid since they dropped 12 in a row in May 2012. Harper had a three-run homer and a season-high four RBIs. McCutchen smacked his third career grand slam and second this season. Jean Segura chipped in with four hits and four runs. Aaron Nola (6-5) went six innings, allowing four runs and six hits. He struck out eight and walked one. Arrieta matched the second-shortest start of his career, lasting just 1 2/3 innings in his second straight outing. He gave up seven runs, tying a season high, and six hits. Javier Báez hit two homers and Robinson Chirinos added a solo shot for the Cubs. ANGELS 5, RED SOX 3 ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani's debut on the Yankee Stadium mound sure didn't last long. Babe Ruth, he was not. At least on this night. The two-way phenom got only two outs Wednesday for the Los Angeles Angels during his highly anticipated first pitching appearance in the Bronx. Ohtani, who leads the majors with 28 home runs, was chased after four early walks and charged with a career-worst seven runs in a game later delayed more than two hours by rain during a pair of stoppages. Making his career-high 12th pitching start of the season on a 92-degree night, Ohtani flopped long before the showers arrived. He was handed a 2-0 lead on Phil Gosselin's two-run homer in the top of the first but quickly gave it back. The 26-year-old right-hander walked his first three batters and crossed up catcher Kurt Suzuki, resulting in a passed ball that advanced two runners. A visit from pitching coach Matt Wise didn't do the trick, either. Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres hit consecutive RBI singles... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani's debut on the Yankee Stadium mound sure didn't last long. Babe Ruth, he was not. At least on this night. The two-way phenom got only two outs Wednesday for the Los Angeles Angels during his highly anticipated first pitching appearance in the Bronx. Ohtani, who leads the majors with 28 home runs, was chased after four early walks and charged with a career-worst seven runs in a game delayed twice by rain. Making his career-high 12th pitching start of the season on a 92-degree night, Ohtani flopped long before the showers arrived. He was handed a 2-0 lead on Phil Gosselin's two-run homer in the top of the first but quickly gave it back. The 26-year-old right-hander walked his first three batters and crossed up catcher Kurt Suzuki, resulting in a passed ball that advanced two runners. A visit from pitching coach Matt Wise didn't do the trick, either. Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres hit consecutive RBI singles to tie it before Ohtani struck out Rougned Odor... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani's debut on the Yankee Stadium mound sure didn't last long. Babe Ruth, he was not. At least on this night. The two-way phenom got only two outs Wednesday for the Los Angeles Angels during his highly anticipated first pitching appearance in the Bronx. Ohtani, who leads the majors with 28 home runs, was chased after four early walks and charged with a career-worst seven runs in a game delayed by rain in the third inning. Making his career-high 12th pitching start of the season on a 92-degree night, Ohtani flopped long before the showers arrived. He was handed a 2-0 lead on Phil Gosselin's two-run homer in the top of the first but quickly gave it back. The 26-year-old right-hander walked his first three batters and crossed up catcher Kurt Suzuki, resulting in a passed ball that advanced two runners. A visit from pitching coach Matt Wise didn't do the trick, either. Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres hit consecutive RBI singles to tie it before Ohtani struck out... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani's debut on the Yankee Stadium mound sure didn't last long. Babe Ruth, he was not. At least on this night. The two-way phenom got only two outs Wednesday for the Los Angeles Angels during his highly anticipated first pitching appearance in the Bronx. Ohtani, who leads the majors with 28 home runs, was chased after four early walks and charged with a career-worst seven runs in a game that was delayed by rain in the third inning. Making his career-high 12th pitching start of the season, Ohtani flopped long before the showers arrived. He was handed a 2-0 lead on Phil Gosselin's two-run homer in the top of the first inning but quickly gave it back. The 26-year-old right-hander walked his first three batters and crossed up catcher Kurt Suzuki on one pitch, resulting in a passed ball that advanced two runners. An early visit from pitching coach Matt Wise didn't do the trick, either. Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres hit consecutive RBI singles to tie it before... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani struck out nine over six innings of one-run ball for the Angels, but the San Francisco Giants rallied for seven runs in the 13th inning of a 9-3 victory over Los Angeles on Wednesday. Steven Duggar had an RBI double in the 12th and a two-run single in the 13th for the Giants, who finally blew it open while the Angels had outfielder Taylor Ward playing catcher and starting pitcher Griffin Canning playing left field as the fallout from an untimely injury to Kurt Suzuki and a series of strategic decisions made to allow Ohtani to hit for himself. Mike Tauchman struck out five times before hitting a three-run homer to cap the Giants’ 13th-inning rally. Brandon Crawford put San Francisco ahead to stay with a bases-loaded walk from Alex Claudio (1-2), who walked three straight in the 13th. The 13-inning game matched the longest in the majors since the institution of the runner-on-second-base rule to open extra innings last season. Dominic Leone (1-0) won despite... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani struck out nine over six innings of one-run ball for the Angels, but the San Francisco Giants rallied for seven runs in the 13th inning of a 9-3 victory over Los Angeles on Wednesday. Steven Duggar had an RBI double in the 12th and a two-run single in the 13th for the Giants, who finally blew it open while the Angels had outfielder Taylor Ward playing catcher and starting pitcher Griffin Canning playing left field as the fallout from an untimely injury to Kurt Suzuki and a series of strategic decisions made to allow Ohtani to hit for himself. Mike Tauchman struck out five times before hitting a three-run homer to cap the Giants’ 13th-inning rally. Brandon Crawford put San Francisco ahead to stay with a bases-loaded walk from Alex Claudio (1-2), who walked three straight in the 13th. The 13-inning game matched the longest in the majors since the institution of the runner-on-second-base rule to open extra innings last season. Dominic Leone (1-0) won despite... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today: ___ FLYING FISH Miami's Adam Duvall has been wrecking the Cubs at Wrigley Field this weekend, hitting two homers in consecutive games. He hit a grand slam and a two-run drive in Friday's 10-2 romp, then hit two-run shots in the first and third innings against Jake Arrieta in an 11-1 victory Saturday. Duvall joined Derrek Lee in 2002 and Giancarlo Stanton in 2016 as the only Marlins with back-to-back multi-homer games. The Marlins have outscored the NL Central leaders 21-3 through the first two games and put themselves in position to sweep their first series since winning both wild-card games against Chicago last fall. BUX IS BACK Byron Buxton returned to the Twins on Saturday and picked up where he left off with a fourth-inning single. The 2017 Gold Glove center fielder had been out since May 6 with a strained right hip, interrupting a breakout season that was generating early MVP chatter. Buxton is hitting .365 with nine homers. Despite... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Sunday: ___ FLYING FISH Miami's Adam Duvall has been wrecking the Cubs at Wrigley Field this weekend, hitting two homers in consecutive games. He hit a grand slam and a two-run drive in Friday's 10-2 romp, then hit two-run shots in the first and third innings against Jake Arrieta in an 11-1 victory Saturday. Duvall joined Derrek Lee in 2002 and Giancarlo Stanton in 2016 as the only Marlins with back-to-back multi-homer games. The Marlins have outscored the NL Central leaders 21-3 through the first two games and put themselves in position to sweep their first series since winning both wild-card games against Chicago last fall. BUX IS BACK Byron Buxton returned to the Twins on Saturday and picked up where he left off with a fourth-inning single. The 2017 Gold Glove center fielder had been out since May 6 with a strained right hip, interrupting a breakout season that was generating early MVP chatter. Buxton is hitting .365 with nine homers. Despite... [More]

June 20 1912 — The New York Giants outslugged the Boston Braves 21-12 with the teams scoring a total of 17 runs in the ninth inning. The Giants scored seven runs to take a 21-2 lead and the Braves scored 10 runs in the ninth. 1932 — Philadelphia’s Doc Cramer hit six singles in six at-bats and Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Foxx and Mule Haas each drove in four runs in the Athletics’ 18-11 win over the Chicago White Sox. Haas hit a grand slam in the sixth inning to put the A’s up 12-6. 1956 — Mickey Mantle hit two home runs into the right centerfield bleachers at Detroit’s Briggs Stadium. Mantle hit both blasts off Billy Hoeft in the 7-4 win. He became the first player to reach the bleachers since they were were built in the late 1930s. 1973 — San Francisco’s Bobby Bonds broke Lou Brock’s National League record for leadoff home runs. Bonds’ 22nd career leadoff home run came off Don Gullet in a 7-5 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. 1973 — Chicago’s Cy Acosta becomes the first American League pitcher... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks set a major league record with their 23rd straight road loss, making dubious history in getting trounced by the San Francisco Giants 10-3 Thursday. The dejected D-backs trudged off the field after breaking a tie with the 1963 Mets and ’43 Philadelphia Athletics for road futility. Held to just a lone single by pitcher Zac Gallen through six innings, Arizona fell behind 6-0. The Diamondbacks don’t play again on the road until June 25 at San Diego. Gallen (1-2) allowed four earned runs in 2 2/3 innings in his first start back from a sprained pitching elbow. Giants starter Kevin Gausman (8-1) limited the D-backs to two runs on four hits in eight innings. The right-hander struck out six and walked one. Curt Casali homered and drove in four runs for San Francisco, finishing a double shy of the cycle. Steven Duggar went 3 for 3 with an RBI double and Mauricio Dubón and Mike Yastrzemski drove in two runs each as the Giants improved the best record in... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks set a major league record with their 23rd straight road loss, making dubious history in getting trounced by the San Francisco Giants 10-3 Thursday. The dejected D-backs trudged off the field after breaking a tie with the 1963 Mets and ’43 Philadelphia Athletics for road futility. Held to just a lone single by pitcher Zac Gallen through six innings, Arizona fell behind 6-0. The Diamondbacks don’t play again on the road until June 25 at San Diego. Gallen (1-2) allowed four earned runs in 2 2/3 innings in his first start back from a sprained pitching elbow. Giants starter Kevin Gausman (8-1) limited the D-backs to two runs on four hits in eight innings. The right-hander struck out six and walked one. Curt Casali homered and drove in four runs for San Francisco, finishing a double shy of the cycle. Steven Duggar went 3 for 3 with an RBI double and Mauricio Dubón and Mike Yastrzemski drove in two runs each as the Giants improved the best record in... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks set a major league record with their 23rd straight road loss, making dubious history in getting trounced by the San Francisco Giants 10-3 Thursday. The dejected D-backs trudged off the field after breaking a tie with the 1963 Mets and ’43 Philadelphia Athletics for road futility. Held to just a lone single by pitcher Zac Gallen through six innings, Arizona fell behind 6-0. The Diamondbacks don’t play again on the road until June 25 at San Diego. Gallen (1-2) allowed four earned runs in 2 2/3 innings in his first start back from a sprained pitching elbow. Giants starter Kevin Gausman (8-1) limited the D-backs to two runs on four hits in eight innings. The right-hander struck out six and walked one. Curt Casali homered and drove in four runs for San Francisco, finishing a double shy of the cycle. Steven Duggar went 3 for 3 with an RBI double and Mauricio Dubón and Mike Yastrzemski drove in two runs each as the Giants improved the best record in... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks set a major league record with their 23rd straight road loss, making dubious history in getting trounced by the San Francisco Giants 10-3 Thursday. The dejected D-backs trudged off the field after breaking a tie with the 1963 Mets and ’43 Philadelphia Athletics for road futility. Held to just a lone single by pitcher Zac Gallen through six innings, Arizona fell behind 6-0. The Diamondbacks don’t play again on the road until June 25 at San Diego. Gallen (1-2) allowed four earned runs in 2 2/3 innings in his first start back from a sprained pitching elbow. Giants starter Kevin Gausman (8-1) limited the D-backs to two runs on four hits in eight innings. The right-hander struck out six and walked one. Curt Casali homered and drove in four runs for San Francisco, finishing a double shy of the cycle. Steven Duggar went 3 for 3 with an RBI double and Mauricio Dubón and Mike Yastrzemski drove in two runs each as the Giants improved the best record in... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mookie Betts hit his 25th leadoff home run and added a spectacular catch and throw for a double play to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3 on Thursday. Betts took the third pitch he saw from Mitch Keller (3-7) and sent it into the bullpen beyond the centerfield fence for his sixth homer this season. He saved a run in the the second by making a running grab on a sinking line drive by Ka’ai Tom then doing a 360-degree turn before firing a one-hop strike to home plate to throw out Erik Gonzalez. Julio Urías (9-2) allowed three runs and six hits in six innings to become the major leagues' first nine-game winner. Phil Bickford got his first save when the game was called with one out in the the eighth after a rain delay of 1 hour, 15 minutes. Los Angeles completed its sixth series sweep. RED SOX 12, ASTROS 8 BOSTON (AP) — J.D. Martinez hit his 13th homer, Christian Arroyo had a three-run drive and Boston capitalized on a pair of dropped balls in a five-run... [More]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Joc Pederson and Sergio Alcantara homered, and Jake Arrieta threw five strong innings for the Chicago Cubs, who beat former teammate Yu Darvish and the San Diego Padres 3-1 Wednesday to take two of three. The Cubs beat the Padres five times in six games in a 10-day stretch, including a three-game sweep at Wrigley Field last week. Darvish (6-2) retired the first nine Cubs batters before Pederson hit a towering home run to right-center field leading off the fourth to tie it at 1. Darvish pitched well but took the hard-luck loss when the Cubs scored the go-ahead run in the seventh on Anthony Rizzo’s double-play ball. Arrieta allowed one run and four hits in five innings, struck out six and walked one. He allowed Manny Machado’s RBI single in the third. Rex Brothers (2-0) pitched a perfect sixth for the win. Craig Kimbrel pitched a perfect ninth for his 15th save in 17 chances. ATHLETICS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 0 OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Sean Manaea pitched six innings of two-hit ball,... [More]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Joc Pederson and Sergio Alcantara homered, and Jake Arrieta threw five strong innings for the Chicago Cubs, who beat former teammate Yu Darvish and the San Diego Padres 3-1 Wednesday to take two of three. The Cubs beat the Padres five times in six games in a 10-day stretch, including a three-game sweep at Wrigley Field last week. Darvish (6-2) retired the first nine Cubs batters before Pederson hit a towering home run to right-center field leading off the fourth to tie it at 1. Darvish pitched well but took the hard-luck loss when the Cubs scored the go-ahead run in the seventh on Anthony Rizzo’s double-play ball. Arrieta allowed one run and four hits in five innings, struck out six and walked one. He allowed Manny Machado’s RBI single in the third. Rex Brothers (2-0) pitched a perfect sixth for the win. Craig Kimbrel pitched a perfect ninth for his 15th save in 17 chances. ATHLETICS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 0 OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Sean Manaea pitched six innings of two-hit ball,... [More]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Joc Pederson and Sergio Alcantara homered, and Jake Arrieta threw five strong innings for the Chicago Cubs, who beat former teammate Yu Darvish and the San Diego Padres 3-1 Wednesday to take two of three. The Cubs beat the Padres five times in six games in a 10-day stretch, including a three-game sweep at Wrigley Field last week. Darvish (6-2) retired the first nine Cubs batters before Pederson hit a towering home run to right-center field leading off the fourth to tie it at 1. Darvish pitched well but took the hard-luck loss when the Cubs scored the go-ahead run in the seventh on Anthony Rizzo’s double-play ball. Arrieta allowed one run and four hits in five innings, struck out six and walked one. He allowed Manny Machado’s RBI single in the third. Rex Brothers (2-0) pitched a perfect sixth for the win. Craig Kimbrel pitched a perfect ninth for his 15th save in 17 chances. ATHLETICS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 0 OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Sean Manaea pitched six innings of two-hit ball,... [More]

For a third straight year, the Washington Nationals have dug themselves an early hole. Two seasons ago, they recovered and won the World Series. In 2020, they couldn't overcome their poor start, finishing under .500 in that 60-game season. They have more time to rebound this year, but there aren't many positive signs at the moment. The Nationals are in last place in the NL East, and although their mediocrity has company — only one team in that division has a winning record — Washington's run differential of minus-31 suggests this team has earned its current predicament. The Nationals are 24-32 — the same record they had after 56 games during their championship season. Last year, they were 23-33 at this stage, and the season was almost over. Only two teams have scored fewer runs than Washington this season. Last year, the Nationals struggled as a team but still got stellar production from Trea Turner and Juan Soto. This year Turner is hitting .311 with 10 homers, but Soto is batting a more... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Yankees have promoted slugging prospect Chris Gittens from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, hoping the hulking 27-year-old can provide a jolt at first base in his first turn in the majors. New York entered Saturday night's game against Boston with its first basemen hitting .174 with five homers. The group's .531 OPS ranks 29th in the majors, ahead of only Cleveland. The 6-foot-4, 250-pound Gittens was set to bat sixth and make his major league debut against the Red Sox. He received a call from Yankees senior director of player development Kevin Reese late Friday night informing him of the promotion. “I was shocked,” Gittens said. Luke Voit led the majors as the Yankees' first baseman in 2020 but has played in just 12 games this season. He had left knee surgery in March and missed the start of the season, and he's currently back on the injured list with a right oblique strain. DJ LeMahieu and Mike Ford have split the bulk of the playing time at first, with LeMahieu also... [More]