KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Marcus Semien provided just enough early offense and Mike Fiers and three Oakland relievers combined to shut down the Kansas City Royals in a 2-1 victory Tuesday night.Semien scored in the first inning and drove in a run in the second. That was all the offense the A's pitchers needed one day after Oakland had a season-high 19 runs.Fiers (13-3) scattered eight hits in his 5 1/3 innings, but allowed just Alex Gordon's RBI double in the sixth. He's now won 11 straight decisions, dating to May 7, tying Mark Mulder for the second-longest winning streak in Oakland history.Mike Montgomery (3-7) surrendered an unearned run in the first and another run in the second, but gave up nothing else through 6 1/3 innings.ORIOLES 2, NATIONALS 0WASHINGTON (AP) — Aaron Brooks came up with an unexpected pitching gem against the torrid-hitting Nationals, throwing six innings of two-hit ball to help Baltimore end Washington's five-game winning streak.The Nationals were coming off a weekend... [More]

Nationals fourth. Anthony Rendon homers to left field. Juan Soto singles to right center field. Asdrubal Cabrera flies out to deep center field to Jason Heyward. Kurt Suzuki strikes out swinging. Brian Dozier flies out to left center field to Kyle Schwarber.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Nationals 1, Cubs 0.Cubs fifth. Kyle Schwarber strikes out swinging. Jonathan Lucroy grounds out to third base, Anthony Rendon to Asdrubal Cabrera. Addison Russell homers to left field. Ian Happ walks. Cole Hamels strikes out swinging.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 left on. Nationals 1, Cubs 1.Nationals sixth. Juan Soto doubles to right field. Asdrubal Cabrera singles to left field. Juan Soto to third. Kurt Suzuki grounds out to shortstop. Asdrubal Cabrera out at second. Juan Soto scores. Brian Dozier pops out to shallow infield to Kris Bryant.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on. Nationals 2, Cubs 1.Cubs sixth. Jason Heyward hit by pitch. Nicholas Castellanos singles to center field. Jason Heyward to third.... [More]

Giants first. Mike Yastrzemski singles to right center field. Scooter Gennett reaches on a fielder's choice to first base. Mike Yastrzemski out at second. Evan Longoria homers to left field. Scooter Gennett scores. Alex Dickerson doubles to deep right field. Stephen Vogt grounds out to first base, Anthony Rizzo to Yu Darvish. Alex Dickerson to third. Kevin Pillar flies out to right field to Nicholas Castellanos.2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Giants 2, Cubs 0.Cubs first. Jason Heyward walks. Nicholas Castellanos homers to center field. Jason Heyward scores. Kris Bryant flies out to deep right field to Mike Yastrzemski. Anthony Rizzo pops out to shallow center field to Scooter Gennett. Javier Baez strikes out swinging.2 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Giants 2, Cubs 2.Cubs second. Kyle Schwarber grounds out to first base to Brandon Belt. Ian Happ walks. Victor Caratini walks. Yu Darvish singles to left field. Victor Caratini to second. Ian Happ scores. Jason Heyward reaches on a fielder's... [More]

Pirates fourth. Bryan Reynolds grounds out to second base, Tony Kemp to Anthony Rizzo. Starling Marte singles to left field. Josh Bell flies out to right center field to Jason Heyward. Colin Moran singles to right field. Starling Marte scores. Melky Cabrera lines out to left field to Kyle Schwarber.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Pirates 1, Cubs 0.Cubs eighth. Kyle Schwarber lines out to shallow right field to Adam Frazier. Jonathan Lucroy singles to center field. Ian Happ pinch-hitting for Kyle Hendricks. Ian Happ singles to right center field. Jonathan Lucroy to third. Tony Kemp triples to deep right center field. Ian Happ scores. Jonathan Lucroy scores. Jason Heyward walks. Nicholas Castellanos grounds out to shortstop. Jason Heyward out at second.2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Cubs 2, Pirates 1.Pirates ninth. Adam Frazier lines out to right field to Ian Happ. Bryan Reynolds singles to third base. Starling Marte grounds out to shallow infield, Brandon Kintzler to Anthony Rizzo. Bryan Reynolds to second. Josh Bell is intentionally walked. Colin Moran walks. Erik Gonzalez to second. Bryan Reynolds to third. Cole Tucker pinch-hitting for Keone Kela. Cole Tucker walks. Colin Moran to second. Erik Gonzalez to third. Bryan Reynolds scores. Kevin Newman singles to center field. Cole Tucker to second. Colin Moran to third. Erik Gonzalez scores.2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 left on. Pirates 3, Cubs 2.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Addison Russell, who began the season on the suspended list, has been recalled from Triple-A Iowa for the second time this season.The Cubs also activated right-handed reliever Brandon Kintzler from the injured list prior to Friday night's game against the Pirates. Outfielder Albert Almora Jr. and right-hander James Norwood were optioned to Iowa.Russell was suspended for 40 games last September for violating Major League Baseball's domestic abuse policy. He was with the Cubs from May 8-July 24 this season before being sent to the minors.In 15 games with Iowa, Russell hit .333 with four home runs and 13 RBIs. The 25-year-old was an All-Star in 2016 when he helped the Cubs win their first World Series since 1908.Kintzler had been out since Aug. 6 with right pectoral inflammation. He is 2-1 with a 2.33 ERA in 49 games.Almora was hitting .232 with 12 homers and 32 RBIs in 114 games. He made 75 starts in center field but his playing time has decreased since late July when the Cubs acquired outfielder Nicholas Castellanos from the Detroit Tigers in a trade and recalled infielder/outfielder Ian Happ from Iowa.General manager Jed Hoyer said the Cubs plan to recall Almora on Sept. 1 when the roster limit expands to 40 from 25.Norwood pitched once for the Cubs, working one scoreless inning.___More AP baseball coverage: www.apnews.com/MLB and www.twitter.com/AP_Sports

A look at what's happening around the majors today:ZEROED INZack Greinke makes his Houston debut, joining an Astros rotation that is on quite a roll. Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, newcomer Aaron Sanchez and the starters for the AL West leaders are 14-1 in their last 17 games — the Astros held Seattle to a total of seven hits in a three-game sweep over the weekend, including a combined no-hitter.Greinke (10-4, 2.90 ERA) was acquired from Arizona on Wednesday. He'll see a lot of familiar faces when he starts against Colorado at Minute Maid Park.Trevor Story has hit five home runs off Greinke, tied with Carlos Gonzalez and Jason Giambi for the most against the right-hander. Rockies star Nolan Arenado, however, hasn't homered in 75 at-bats vs. Greinke.CAMDEN CRUSHThe Yankees have hit 32 home runs at Camden Yards this year, the most by a visiting team at any stadium in a single season. New York hit five, including two by Mike Tauchman, in a 9-6 win Monday night.That broke the mark of 29 set... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs placed closer Craig Kimbrel on the 10-day injured list Monday and announced All-Star catcher Willson Contreras will be sidelined for four weeks with a right hamstring strain.The pair of injuries will test Chicago's depth and the ingenuity of its front office as it tries to win the roller-coaster NL Central for the third time in four years. While manager Joe Maddon has some veteran bullpen options, the catching situation is more perilous and the team can't trade for help under a new set of rules that began this year.Kimbrel, who got a late start this year after he finalized a $43 million, three-year deal with the Cubs in June, is dealing with inflammation in his right knee. He said it started bothering him while he was closing out Saturday's 4-1 victory over the Brewers."We assessed it yesterday morning and it looked like there was a strain and some swelling in there and we're just going to let it calm down," Kimbrel said before Chicago's 6-5 victory over... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Tuesday:ZEROED INZack Greinke makes his Houston debut, joining an Astros rotation that is on quite a roll. Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, newcomer Aaron Sanchez and the starters for the AL West leaders are 14-1 in their last 17 games — the Astros held Seattle to a total of seven hits in a three-game sweep over the weekend, including a combined no-hitter.Greinke (10-4, 2.90 ERA) was acquired from Arizona on Wednesday. He'll see a lot of familiar faces when he starts against Colorado at Minute Maid Park.Trevor Story has hit five home runs off Greinke, tied with Carlos Gonzalez and Jason Giambi for the most against the right-hander. Rockies star Nolan Arenado, however, hasn't homered in 75 at-bats vs. Greinke.HE'S BACKMike Foltynewicz returns to the Atlanta rotation after getting demoted to the minors. He'll start against the AL Central-leading Twins at Target Field.A 13-game winner and an All-Star for the Braves in 2018, he struggled to regain... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts hit three home runs against James Paxton during the first four innings Friday night in the Boston Red Sox's 10-5 victory over the New York Yankees, whose starting pitchers have stumbled this week in historic fashion.Betts homered on Paxton's eighth pitch in a three-run first that included J.D. Martinez's two-run homer, went deep again leading off the third for a 4-0 lead and hit a two-run drive in the fourth for a 7-0 advantage.Betts added an RBI double in the sixth off David Hale to give him five RBIs and grounded out in the eighth. With his fifth career three-homer game, Betts raised his season total to 18 homers.Batters have had three-homer games on four straight days for the first time in big league history. Betts followed the New York Mets' Robinson Canó, St. Louis' Paul DeJong and Minnesota's Nelson Cruz.Andrew Cashner (10-5), coming off losses in his first two starts after Boston acquired him from Baltimore, allowed three runs and 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings.Martinez... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts hit three home runs against James Paxton during the first four innings Friday night in the Boston Red Sox's 10-5 victory over the New York Yankees, whose starting pitchers have stumbled this week in historic fashion.Betts homered on Paxton's eighth pitch in a three-run first that included J.D. Martinez's two-run homer, went deep again leading off the third for a 4-0 lead and hit a two-run drive in the fourth for a 7-0 advantage.Betts added an RBI double in the sixth off David Hale to give him five RBIs and grounded out in the eighth. With his fifth career three-homer game, Betts raised his season total to 18 homers.Batters have had three-homer games on four straight days for the first time in big league history. Betts followed the New York Mets' Robinson Canó, St. Louis' Paul DeJong and Minnesota's Nelson Cruz.Andrew Cashner (10-5), coming off losses in his first two starts after Boston acquired him from Baltimore, allowed three runs and 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings.Martinez... [More]

July 281931 — Bob Fothergill of Chicago hit a home run and a triple in an 11-run eighth inning. The White Sox set an American League record by recording 12 hits in the inning and beat the New York Yankees 14-12.1940 — King Kong Keller hit three homers to give the New York Yankees a 10-9 win over Chicago in the first game of a doubleheader split.1951 — Clyde Vollmer of Boston hit a grand slam in the 16th inning, the latest ever hit in a major league game. The Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 8-4, in 16.1971 — Sixteen-time Gold Glove winner Brooks Robinson committed three errors in the sixth inning against the Oakland A's. Frank Robinson's three-run homer in the ninth won the game for the Orioles.1976 — John Odom (five innings) and Francisco Barrios (four innings) combined on a no-hitter as the Chicago White Sox beat Oakland 2-1.1983 — AL president Lee McPhail ruled that George Brett's "pine tar" home run against New York on July 24 should count. The umpires had disallowed the homer because... [More]

Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel finally have jobs, and each also has a chance to affect the playoff race in the National League.It was no surprise they both ended up with contenders. Kimbrel signed with the Chicago Cubs, Keuchel with the Atlanta Braves. If the season ended now, those teams would be in the postseason, and adding these pitchers could be the equivalent of making a major pickup at the trade deadline — only the Cubs and Braves did it sooner.Kimbrel's role with Chicago isn't hard to predict. The 31-year-old closer has 333 saves in his career, including 42 last year with the champion Red Sox. The Cubs have been without closer Brandon Morrow, who is coming off elbow surgery. They have some other relievers with closing experience in Steve Cishek, Brandon Kintzler and Pedro Strop, and even without Kimbrel, they're atop the NL Central at the moment. But slotting Kimbrel in as the closer could create a domino effect that makes the whole bullpen more imposing.Keuchel joins an Atlanta... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Charlie Morton allowed five hits in seven innings, extending his unbeaten streak to 20 starts and leading the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-0 win over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night.Morton (7-0) hasn't lost since Aug. 11, and only Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, at 21 starts, has a longer active unbeaten streak. Morton struck out eight with no walks and needed just 83 pitches to complete seven innings.Austin Meadows tripled and scored on a throwing error in the third to open the scoring. Tampa Bay scored two more runs in the fifth and snapped its four-game losing streak.Spencer Turnbull (3-5) allowed three runs in five innings.METS 7, GIANTS 0NEW YORK (AP) — Jason Vargas pitched his first shutout in two years, Amed Rosario hit a three-run homer and New York won despite losing Robinson Canó hours after his return from the injured list.Michael Conforto and Adeiny Hechavarría each had a solo homer for the Mets, who ended a three-game skid with their second win in seven games.Canó... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Charlie Morton allowed five hits in seven innings, extending his unbeaten streak to 20 starts and leading the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-0 win over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night.Morton (7-0) hasn't lost since Aug. 11, and only Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, at 21 starts, has a longer active unbeaten streak. Morton struck out eight with no walks and needed just 83 pitches to complete seven innings.Austin Meadows tripled and scored on a throwing error in the third to open the scoring. Tampa Bay scored two more runs in the fifth and snapped its four-game losing streak.Spencer Turnbull (3-5) allowed three runs in five innings.METS 7, GIANTS 0NEW YORK (AP) — Jason Vargas pitched his first shutout in two years, Amed Rosario hit a three-run homer and New York won despite losing Robinson Canó hours after his return from the injured list.Michael Conforto and Adeiny Hechavarría each had a solo homer for the Mets, who ended a three-game skid with their second win in seven games.Canó... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Charlie Morton allowed five hits in seven innings, extending his unbeaten streak to 20 starts and leading the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-0 win over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night.Morton (7-0) hasn't lost since Aug. 11, and only Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, at 21 starts, has a longer active unbeaten streak. Morton struck out eight with no walks and needed just 83 pitches to complete seven innings.Austin Meadows tripled and scored on a throwing error in the third to open the scoring. Tampa Bay scored two more runs in the fifth and snapped its four-game losing streak.Spencer Turnbull (3-5) allowed three runs in five innings.METS 7, GIANTS 0NEW YORK (AP) — Jason Vargas pitched his first shutout in two years, Amed Rosario hit a three-run homer and New York won despite losing Robinson Canó hours after his return from the injured list.Michael Conforto and Adeiny Hechavarría each had a solo homer for the Mets, who ended a three-game skid with their second win in seven games.Canó... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Charlie Morton allowed five hits in seven innings, extending his unbeaten streak to 20 starts and leading the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-0 win over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night.Morton (7-0) hasn't lost since Aug. 11, and only Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, at 21 starts, has a longer active unbeaten streak. Morton struck out eight with no walks and needed just 83 pitches to complete seven innings.Austin Meadows tripled and scored on a throwing error in the third to open the scoring. Tampa Bay scored two more runs in the fifth and snapped its four-game losing streak.Spencer Turnbull (3-5) allowed three runs in five innings.METS 7, GIANTS 0NEW YORK (AP) — Jason Vargas pitched his first shutout in two years, Amed Rosario hit a three-run homer and New York won despite losing Robinson Canó hours after his return from the injured list.Michael Conforto and Adeiny Hechavarría each had a solo homer for the Mets, who ended a three-game skid with their second win in seven games.Canó... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Charlie Morton allowed five hits in seven innings, extending his unbeaten streak to 20 starts and leading the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-0 win over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night.Morton (7-0) hasn't lost since Aug. 11, and only Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, at 21 starts, has a longer active unbeaten streak. Morton struck out eight with no walks and needed just 83 pitches to complete seven innings.Austin Meadows tripled and scored on a throwing error in the third to open the scoring. Tampa Bay scored two more runs in the fifth and snapped its four-game losing streak.Spencer Turnbull (3-5) allowed three runs in five innings.METS 7, GIANTS 0NEW YORK (AP) — Jason Vargas pitched his first shutout in two years, Amed Rosario hit a three-run homer and New York won despite losing Robinson Canó hours after his return from the injured list.Michael Conforto and Adeiny Hechavarría each had a solo homer for the Mets, who ended a three-game skid with their second win in seven games.Canó... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Ryan Braun's career-high sixth hit, a two-run single with one out in the 18th inning, lifted the Milwaukee Brewers to a 4-3 comeback victory over the New York Mets on Saturday night in the longest game in Miller Park history.Braun stood on first base with his hands raised above his head as Yasmani Grandal slid across home plate with the winning run, ending the game that lasted 5 hours and 22 minutes. A jubilant bunch of Brewers ran out to greet Braun, who was the only Milwaukee player to have multiple hits.The Mets took a 3-2 lead in the top of the 18th on Jeff McNeil's run-scoring single off Taylor Williams (1-1), who was Milwaukee's eighth and final pitcher.But the Brewers were far from done. Eric Thames drew a leadoff walk from Chris Flexen (0-2), who then got Mike Moustakas to fly out to center. Flexen, just recalled from Triple-A Syracuse earlier in the day, walked Grandal and Travis Shaw to load the bases for Braun. The Brewers' longest-tenured hit a sharp grounder... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Boston Red Sox strung together 10 straight hits against White Sox left-hander Manny Bañuelos, ending one hit shy of the major league record during a nine-run third inning in a 15-2 rout of Chicago on Saturday night.Bañuelos (2-1) retired his first eight batters before Christian Vázquez opened Boston's two-out rally with a single. Xander Bogaerts, Michael Chavis and Eduardo Núñez each homered, Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez had RBI doubles, and Vázquez capped the streak with another single before White Sox manager Rick Renteria pulled Bañuelos with a 9-1 deficit. Carson Fulmer replaced Bañuelos and interrupted the hit parade by walking Andrew Benintendi. Betts flew out to right to end the inning after 14 batters.The Colorado Rockies had a major league-record 11 straight hits during a 17-2 win over the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field on July 30, 2010.Chavis added another solo shot in the fifth for his first multihomer game and finished with four hits and three RBIs. All of... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Boston Red Sox strung together 10 straight hits against White Sox left-hander Manny Bañuelos, ending one hit shy of the major league record during a nine-run third inning in a 15-2 rout of Chicago on Saturday night.Bañuelos (2-1) retired his first eight batters before Christian Vázquez opened Boston's two-out rally with a single. Xander Bogaerts, Michael Chavis and Eduardo Núñez each homered, Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez had RBI doubles, and Vázquez capped the streak with another single before White Sox manager Rick Renteria pulled Bañuelos with a 9-1 deficit. Carson Fulmer replaced Bañuelos and interrupted the hit parade by walking Andrew Benintendi. Betts flew out to right to end the inning after 14 batters.The Colorado Rockies had a major league-record 11 straight hits during a 17-2 win over the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field on July 30, 2010.Chavis added another solo shot in the fifth for his first multihomer game and finished with four hits and three RBIs. All of... [More]