ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The San Diego Padres acquired veteran catcher Jason Castro from the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday in a trade for right-handed reliever Gerardo Reyes.The Padres completed their fourth trade in two days by acquiring Castro as they bolster their roster for their first postseason appearance since 2006. San Diego also added reliever Trevor Rosenthal, slugger Mitch Moreland and catcher Austin Nola over the weekend as the trade deadline approaches Monday.Castro will be a free agent this winter after agreeing to a $6.85 million, one-year deal with the Angels in January. The 33-year-old batted .192 with two homers and six RBIs over his 18 games with Los Angeles, but the longtime Astros and Twins backstop is a strong defensive catcher and normally a solid hitter who has produced at least 10 homers in six seasons of his career.San Diego has the NL's third-best record and second-most victories at 21-15 after beating Colorado on Sunday. Steaming toward the playoffs with a deep,... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Max Muncy drove in four runs close to home for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who can still avoid their first series loss of the season after a 7-4 win Saturday night over the Texas Rangers and potential trade target Lance Lynn.Cody Bellinger’s long two-run homer in the third put Los Angeles up 3-0. Muncy, who played high school baseball about 25 miles from the new Rangers ballpark, made it 4-2 with a deep sacrifice fly in the fifth off Lynn (4-1). The slugger then belted a three-run homer in the seventh.Blake Treinen (3-1) worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win. Kenley Jansen got three outs for his ninth save. The trade deadline in MLB’s shortened season is Monday, and Lynn could be a target for contending teams — though it could take a hefty offer to acquire the workhorse veteran who is signed through next season.Lynn is still second in the American League with a 1.97 ERA after giving up three earned runs in six innings.YANKEES 2, METS 1NEW YORK (AP) — Clint Frazier... [More]

Angels first. David Fletcher strikes out swinging. Shohei Ohtani strikes out swinging. Mike Trout singles to shallow infield. Anthony Rendon doubles to deep left field. Mike Trout scores. Albert Pujols grounds out to shallow left field, J.P. Crawford to Jose Marmolejos.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Angels 1, Mariners 0.Mariners second. Austin Nola grounds out to shallow infield to Dylan Bundy. Jose Marmolejos doubles to deep center field. Tim Lopes doubles to left field. Jose Marmolejos scores. Shed Long Jr. grounds out to shallow infield, David Fletcher to Albert Pujols. Tim Lopes to third. Jake Fraley walks. J.P. Crawford pops out to shallow center field to Andrelton Simmons.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Mariners 1, Angels 1.Angels second. Justin Upton walks. Jo Adell homers to left field. Justin Upton scores. Anthony Bemboom flies out to center field to Kyle Lewis. Andrelton Simmons strikes out swinging. David Fletcher lines out to deep left field to Sam Haggerty.2 runs,... [More]

Brandon Lowe homered for the fifth time in six games, Austin Meadows also connected and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the AL East-leading New York Yankees 6-3 Tuesday night.The second-place Rays cut their deficit to 1 1/2 games in the opener of this three-game set. Tampa Bay has won four of five in the season series.Luke Voit hit his third homer in two days and Gary Sánchez also went deep, but New York ended a six-game winning streak and dropped to 10-1 at Yankee Stadium this season. Kevin Kiermaier lined a one-out triple in the third inning and scored on a hit by nine-hole hitter Michael Perez. Meadows followed with a base hit, and then Lowe drilled a three-run shot to center off Masahiro Tanaka (0-1) for a 4-0 lead.Tanaka was charged with six runs — five earned — and eight hits over four innings.Blake Snell (2-0) allowed three runs, four hits and two walks. Nick Anderson and Chaz Roe combined for a scoreless eighth and ninth, with Roe converting his first save opportunity.NATIONALS 8, BRAVES... [More]

Brandon Lowe homered for the fifth time in six games, Austin Meadows also connected and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the AL East-leading New York Yankees 6-3 Tuesday night.The second-place Rays cut their deficit to 1 1/2 games in the opener of this three-game set. Tampa Bay has won four of five in the season series.Luke Voit hit his third homer in two days and Gary Sánchez also went deep, but New York ended a six-game winning streak and dropped to 10-1 at Yankee Stadium this season. Kevin Kiermaier lined a one-out triple in the third inning and scored on a hit by nine-hole hitter Michael Perez. Meadows followed with a base hit, and then Lowe drilled a three-run shot to center off Masahiro Tanaka (0-1) for a 4-0 lead.Tanaka was charged with six runs — five earned — and eight hits over four innings.Blake Snell (2-0) allowed three runs, four hits and two walks. Nick Anderson and Chaz Roe combined for a scoreless eighth and ninth, with Roe converting his first save opportunity.NATIONALS 8, BRAVES... [More]

Brandon Lowe homered for the fifth time in six games, Austin Meadows also connected and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the AL East-leading New York Yankees 6-3 Tuesday night.The second-place Rays cut their deficit to 1 1/2 games in the opener of this three-game set. Tampa Bay has won four of five in the season series.Luke Voit hit his third homer in two days and Gary Sánchez also went deep, but New York ended a six-game winning streak and dropped to 10-1 at Yankee Stadium this season. Kevin Kiermaier lined a one-out triple in the third inning and scored on a hit by nine-hole hitter Michael Perez. Meadows followed with a base hit, and then Lowe drilled a three-run shot to center off Masahiro Tanaka (0-1) for a 4-0 lead.Tanaka was charged with six runs — five earned — and eight hits over four innings.Blake Snell (2-0) allowed three runs, four hits and two walks. Nick Anderson and Chaz Roe combined for a scoreless eighth and ninth, with Roe converting his first save opportunity.NATIONALS 8, BRAVES... [More]

Brandon Lowe homered for the fifth time in six games, Austin Meadows also connected and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the AL East-leading New York Yankees 6-3 Tuesday night.The second-place Rays cut their deficit to 1 1/2 games in the opener of this three-game set. Tampa Bay has won four of five in the season series.Luke Voit hit his third homer in two days and Gary Sánchez also went deep, but New York ended a six-game winning streak and dropped to 10-1 at Yankee Stadium this season. Kevin Kiermaier lined a one-out triple in the third inning and scored on a hit by nine-hole hitter Michael Perez. Meadows followed with a base hit, and then Lowe drilled a three-run shot to center off Masahiro Tanaka (0-1) for a 4-0 lead.Tanaka was charged with six runs — five earned — and eight hits over four innings.Blake Snell (2-0) allowed three runs, four hits and two walks. Nick Anderson and Chaz Roe combined for a scoreless eighth and ninth, with Roe converting his first save opportunity.NATIONALS 8, BRAVES... [More]

Brandon Lowe homered for the fifth time in six games, Austin Meadows also connected and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the AL East-leading New York Yankees 6-3 Tuesday night.The second-place Rays cut their deficit to 1 1/2 games in the opener of this three-game set. Tampa Bay has won four of five in the season series.Luke Voit hit his third homer in two days and Gary Sánchez also went deep, but New York ended a six-game winning streak and dropped to 10-1 at Yankee Stadium this season. Kevin Kiermaier lined a one-out triple in the third inning and scored on a hit by nine-hole hitter Michael Perez. Meadows followed with a base hit, and then Lowe drilled a three-run shot to center off Masahiro Tanaka (0-1) for a 4-0 lead.Tanaka was charged with six runs — five earned — and eight hits over four innings.Blake Snell (2-0) allowed three runs, four hits and two walks. Nick Anderson and Chaz Roe combined for a scoreless eighth and ninth, with Roe converting his first save opportunity.DODGERS 2, MARINERS... [More]

Giants first. Mike Yastrzemski homers. Alex Dickerson flies out to right field to Jo Adell. Donovan Solano grounds out to shortstop, David Fletcher to Tommy La Stella. Brandon Belt strikes out swinging.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Giants 1, Angels 0.Angels first. David Fletcher lines out to second base to Brandon Belt. Tommy La Stella homers to right field. Mike Trout flies out to deep right field to Mike Yastrzemski. Anthony Rendon singles to left field. Shohei Ohtani strikes out swinging.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Giants 1, Angels 1.Giants second. Evan Longoria walks. Pablo Sandoval homers to right field. Evan Longoria scores. Brandon Crawford strikes out swinging. Tyler Heineman pops out to shallow center field to David Fletcher. Steven Duggar grounds out to shallow right field, Luis Rengifo to Tommy La Stella.2 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Giants 3, Angels 1.Giants third. Mike Yastrzemski walks. Alex Dickerson reaches on a fielder's choice to second base. Mike Yastrzemski... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:WILL THEY PLAY?The Reds are scheduled for an early flight to Kansas City for a two-game series against the Royals that was put in doubt after a Cincinnati player tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend. Players, coaches and other organization members were retested for the coronavirus Saturday and Sunday after one player was sidelined because of a positive result. The final two games of a series against Pittsburgh at Great American Ball Park were postponed.The Reds made travel plans for Kansas City and expected to start Luis Castillo (0-2) in the series opener, assuming it’s played. ROUND 2The Yankees look for revenge against the Rays when they open a three-game series in the Bronx. Tampa Bay took three of four from the AL East leaders a week ago and could steal away the division lead with a sweep in the second of three series scheduled between the rivals in this pandemic-shortened season. The Yankees are still without injured stars... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Tuesday:WILL THEY PLAY?The Reds are scheduled for an early flight to Kansas City for a two-game series against the Royals that was put in doubt after a Cincinnati player tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend. Players, coaches and other organization members were retested for the coronavirus Saturday and Sunday after one player was sidelined because of a positive result. The final two games of a series against Pittsburgh at Great American Ball Park were postponed.The Reds made travel plans for Kansas City and expected to start Luis Castillo (0-2) in the series opener, assuming it’s played. ROUND 2The Yankees look for revenge against the Rays when they open a three-game series in the Bronx. Tampa Bay took three of four from the AL East leaders a week ago and could steal away the division lead with a sweep in the second of three series scheduled between the rivals in this pandemic-shortened season. The Yankees are still without injured stars... [More]

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — In the first major league game in Buffalo since 1915, Travis Shaw hit an RBI single in the 10th inning and the Toronto Blue Jays settled into their new nest with a 5-4 win over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night.Barred from playing in Toronto by the Canadian government over concerns about the coronavirus, the Blue Jays spent nearly three weeks on the road before moving into the ballpark of their Triple-A affiliate as their temporary home this year.Francisco Cervelli’s three-run homer with two outs in the Miami ninth made it 4-all. Logan Forsythe then nearly put the Marlins ahead with a long drive in the 10th that originally was ruled a two-run homer, then reversed to a foul ball on review — the replay cameras were among the upgrades made at the park to get it up to big league standards. The Blue Jays loaded the bases with one out in the 10th and Shaw singled to right field for his first RBI in 25 at-bats with Toronto.Bo Bichette hit a three-run homer in the sixth and... [More]

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — In the first major league game in Buffalo since 1915, Travis Shaw hit an RBI single in the 10th inning and the Toronto Blue Jays settled into their new nest with a 5-4 win over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night.Barred from playing in Toronto by the Canadian government over concerns about the coronavirus, the Blue Jays spent nearly three weeks on the road before moving into the ballpark of their Triple-A affiliate as their temporary home this year.Francisco Cervelli’s three-run homer with two outs in the Miami ninth made it 4-all. Logan Forsythe then nearly put the Marlins ahead with a long drive in the 10th that originally was ruled a two-run homer, then reversed to a foul ball on review — the replay cameras were among the upgrades made at the park to get it up to big league standards. The Blue Jays loaded the bases with one out in the 10th and Shaw singled to right field for his first RBI in 25 at-bats with Toronto.Bo Bichette hit a three-run homer in the sixth and... [More]

If you wanted chaos in this abbreviated baseball season, you’re already getting it. The question is: How long it will last?If the playoffs started Monday, the Marlins and Tigers would be in, while last year’s pennant winners — the Nationals and Astros — would not. It still feels early, but some teams have played over a quarter of their 60-game schedules.Now for the reality check: Even after their impressive starts, Miami and Detroit have a long way to go.According to FanGraphs, the Marlins (7-3) still have only a 22.9% chance of making the 16-team postseason field. The Tigers (8-5) have a 32.4% chance. So while a good start could mean more than usual this season, heavy underdogs still have a lot to prove.Miami was quite a story this past week. After finally returning from their layoff brought on by a coronavirus outbreak, the Marlins promptly won their first four games back. That franchise has never won a division title and also has never lost a postseason series, so if the Marlins take... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — Jonathan Villar hit a first-pitch leadoff homer to spark a robust offensive performance by the Miami Marlins, who beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-7 Thursday night to complete a startling four-game sweep and make Don Mattingly the winningest manager in franchise history.Villar had three hits and Brian Anderson drove in three runs for the upstart Marlins, who emerged from a team-wide coronavirus outbreak to dominate the Orioles and forge the best winning percentage in the big leagues.Miami is 6-1 and in first place in the NL East despite putting 18 players on the injured list before the series opener Tuesday.The Marlins were the “home” team because this was a makeup of a July 28 game that was to be held in Miami but postponed in the wake of the Marlins’ COVID-19 outbreak.Batting in the bottom of the seventh, the Marlins broke a 6-6 tie with a sacrifice fly by Jesús Aguilar off Evan Phillips (1-1) and an RBI triple by Anderson.Mike Morin (1-0) pitched two shutout innings and... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — Jonathan Villar hit a first-pitch leadoff homer to spark a robust offensive performance by the Miami Marlins, who beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-7 Thursday night to complete a startling four-game sweep and make Don Mattingly the winningest manager in franchise history.Villar had three hits and Brian Anderson drove in three runs for the upstart Marlins, who emerged from a team-wide coronavirus outbreak to dominate the Orioles and forge the best winning percentage in the big leagues.Miami is 6-1 and in first place in the NL East despite putting 18 players on the injured list before the series opener Tuesday.The Marlins were the “home” team because this was a makeup of a July 28 game that was to be held in Miami but postponed in the wake of the Marlins’ COVID-19 outbreak.Batting in the bottom of the seventh, the Marlins broke a 6-6 tie with a sacrifice fly by Jesús Aguilar off Evan Phillips (1-1) and an RBI triple by Anderson.Mike Morin (1-0) pitched two shutout innings and... [More]

SEATTLE (AP) — Shohei Ohtani homered in his first plate appearance since being shut down as a pitcher, Dylan Bundy struck out 10 in the third complete game of his career and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Seattle Mariners 6-1 on Thursday. Ohtani drove a 1-0 pitch from Seattle starter Taijuan Walker (1-2) to the opposite field just beyond the leap of left fielder Dee Gordon leading off the second inning.Max Stassi added a two-run homer in the eighth inning, his fourth of the season.Bundy (2-1) has been superb since his offseason arrival from Baltimore via trade. The right-hander has pitched at least six innings in all three of his starts, with 25 strikeouts and two walks in 21 2/3 innings.Bundy allowed four hits and picked up his 10th strikeout getting Kyle Seager leading off the ninth. His only mistake was an elevated changeup that Daniel Vogelbach lined into the right field seats for a solo home run in the fourth inning.PIRATES 6, TWINS 5PITTSBURGH (AP) — Kevin Newman’s two-run pinch-single... [More]

Angels second. Shohei Ohtani homers to left field. Tommy La Stella called out on strikes. Justin Upton grounds out to third base, Kyle Seager to Evan White. Brian Goodwin strikes out swinging.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Angels 1, Mariners 0.Angels fourth. Mike Trout singles to center field. Anthony Rendon walks. Mike Trout to second. Shohei Ohtani walks. Anthony Rendon to second. Mike Trout to third. Tommy La Stella singles to right field. Shohei Ohtani to second. Anthony Rendon to third. Mike Trout scores. Justin Upton hit by pitch. Tommy La Stella to second. Shohei Ohtani to third. Anthony Rendon scores. Brian Goodwin pops out to Kyle Seager. Max Stassi out on a sacrifice fly to deep right field to Dylan Moore. Tommy La Stella to third. Shohei Ohtani scores. Luis Rengifo walks. Justin Upton to second. David Fletcher reaches on a fielder's choice to shortstop. Luis Rengifo out at second.3 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 4 left on. Angels 4, Mariners 0.Mariners fourth. Kyle Seager grounds... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland’s Shane Bieber tied the major league record for strikeouts in a pitcher’s first two starts of the season, punching out 13 Minnesota Twins over eight innings in the Indians’ 2-0 victory on Thursday night.Bieber (2-0) fanned 14 over six scoreless innings on Friday against Kansas City. His 27 strikeouts in the two games matched the record set by Karl Spooner of the Brooklyn Dodgers in September 1954 during the first two starts of his short career.Facing a Twins team that came in with the second-best run differential in baseball, Bieber allowed three singles in his eight innings.Francisco Lindor supplied all the offense Cleveland needed with a two-run homer in the third inning off Jose Berríos (0-1). After Jose Ramirez singled with two outs, Berrios left an 0-2 pitch up over the plate, and Lindor drove it over the fence in right for his second homer of the season.YANKEES 8, ORIOLES 6BALTIMORE (AP) — Aaron Judge hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning after New York... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland’s Shane Bieber tied the major league record for strikeouts in a pitcher’s first two starts of the season, punching out 13 Minnesota Twins over eight innings in the Indians’ 2-0 victory on Thursday night.Bieber (2-0) fanned 14 over six scoreless innings on Friday against Kansas City. His 27 strikeouts in the two games matched the record set by Karl Spooner of the Brooklyn Dodgers in September 1954 during the first two starts of his short career.Facing a Twins team that came in with the second-best run differential in baseball, Bieber allowed three singles in his eight innings.Francisco Lindor supplied all the offense Cleveland needed with a two-run homer in the third inning off Jose Berríos (0-1). After Jose Ramirez singled with two outs, Berrios left an 0-2 pitch up over the plate, and Lindor drove it over the fence in right for his second homer of the season.YANKEES 8, ORIOLES 6BALTIMORE (AP) — Aaron Judge hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning after New York... [More]