NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Sale pitched his latest Bronx gem, Rafael Devers went 5 for 5 with a first-inning grand slam and the Boston Red Sox held the New York Yankees to two hits during an 11-0 rout Saturday night to take back baseball's best record.Sale (8-4) allowed only Giancarlo Stanton's clean single over seven innings, striking out 11. He has a 1.73 career ERA against the Yankees, best among pitchers with at least 10 starts against them since 1920. His ERA at Yankee Stadium is 1.86, second only to Seattle's Felix Hernandez among pitchers with five starts.Boston is a major league-leading 56-28, just ahead of the Yankees at 53-27. New York held the majors' best mark by percentage points after winning Friday's series opener 8-1.Yankee Stadium hosted a season-high sellout of 47,125, and the crowd gave starter Sonny Gray (5-6) an earful after he gave up six runs in 2 1/3 innings. The right-hander dropped to 0-4 with a 9.35 ERA against Boston since being acquired by New York from Oakland last... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Sale pitched his latest Bronx gem, Rafael Devers went 5 for 5 with a first-inning grand slam and the Boston Red Sox held the New York Yankees to two hits during an 11-0 rout Saturday night to take back baseball's best record.Sale (8-4) allowed only Giancarlo Stanton's clean single over seven innings, striking out 11. He has a 1.73 career ERA against the Yankees, best among pitchers with at least 10 starts against them since 1920. His ERA at Yankee Stadium is 1.86, second only to Seattle's Felix Hernandez among pitchers with five starts.Boston is a major league-leading 56-28, just ahead of the Yankees at 53-27. New York held the majors' best mark by percentage points after winning Friday's series opener 8-1.Yankee Stadium hosted a season-high sellout of 47,125, and the crowd gave starter Sonny Gray (5-6) an earful after he gave up six runs in 2 1/3 innings. The right-hander dropped to 0-4 with a 9.35 ERA against Boston since being acquired by New York from Oakland last... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — Justin Smoak led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a home run and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Detroit 4-3 on Saturday, handing the Tigers their 11th straight loss.Smoak connected against reliever Joe Jimenez (3-1) for his 11th homer of the season.Seyunghwan Oh (4-2) worked one inning for the win. Randal Grichuk also homered for the Blue Jays, who have won 10 of 11 at home.John Hicks hit a solo homer in the Detroit second off Sam Gaviglio and Nick Castellanos made it 3-0 with a two-run shot in the third, his 12th.Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer to cap Toronto's three-run fifth that tied the score.RAYS 5, ASTROS 2ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Wilson Ramos drove in four runs in the first two innings against Justin Verlander, and Tampa Bay won for the seventh time in eight games.Matt Duffy finished with three hits, including two in the first two innings, to help the Rays move to .500 (41-41) for the first time since June 1. Tampa Bay has held opponents to two runs or fewer... [More]

ST. PETRSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Blake Snell took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, Kevin Kiermaier hit a grand slam and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Washington Nationals 11-0 on Monday night.Wilson Ramos homered twice and rookie Jake Bauers had four hits in the Rays' fourth straight win.Snell (10-4) walked Trea Turner and Bryce Harper to open the game before retiring 18 straight, striking out five straight at one point. Anthony Rendon doubled leading off the seventh for the first of Washington's two hits.Kiermaier's first home run of the season came during a six-run second inning against Gio Gonzalez (6-5).It was the eighth loss in 11 games for the Nationals.YANKEES 4, PHILLIES 2PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jonathan Loaisiga took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, Aaron Judge ripped his 20th homer and the Yankees snapped a three-game losing streak.Loaisiga (2-0) didn't allow a hit until Jorge Alfaro lined a single to right leading off the sixth. He struck out eight in 5 1/3 innings in his third start... [More]

ST. PETRSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Blake Snell took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, Kevin Kiermaier hit a grand slam and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Washington Nationals 11-0 on Monday night.Wilson Ramos homered twice and rookie Jake Bauers had four hits in the Rays' fourth straight win.Snell (10-4) walked Trea Turner and Bryce Harper to open the game before retiring 18 straight, striking out five straight at one point. Anthony Rendon doubled leading off the seventh for the first of Washington's two hits.Kiermaier's first home run of the season came during a six-run second inning against Gio Gonzalez (6-5).It was the eighth loss in 11 games for the Nationals.YANKEES 4, PHILLIES 2PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jonathan Loaisiga took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, Aaron Judge ripped his 20th homer and the Yankees snapped a three-game losing streak.Loaisiga (2-0) didn't allow a hit until Jorge Alfaro lined a single to right leading off the sixth. He struck out eight in 5 1/3 innings in his third start... [More]

ST. PETRSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Blake Snell took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, Kevin Kiermaier hit a grand slam and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Washington Nationals 11-0 on Monday night.Wilson Ramos homered twice and rookie Jake Bauers had four hits in the Rays' fourth straight win.Snell (10-4) walked Trea Turner and Bryce Harper to open the game before retiring 18 straight, striking out five straight at one point. Anthony Rendon doubled leading off the seventh for the first of Washington's two hits.Kiermaier's first home run of the season came during a six-run second inning against Gio Gonzalez (6-5).It was the eighth loss in 11 games for the Nationals.YANKEES 4, PHILLIES 2PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jonathan Loaisiga took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, Aaron Judge ripped his 20th homer and the Yankees snapped a three-game losing streak.Loaisiga (2-0) didn't allow a hit until Jorge Alfaro lined a single to right leading off the sixth. He struck out eight in 5 1/3 innings in his third start... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Veteran right-hander Edwin Jackson has signed a minor league deal with the Oakland Athletics, and the pitcher will match a big league record if he gets back to the majors.Jackson, headed to Triple-A Nashville after the deal Wednesday, has pitched for 12 major league teams. That is one short of the record 13 by former reliever Octavio Dotel.After going 5-6 with a 5.21 ERA for Baltimore and Washington last season, Jackson had spent this season in the Nationals system without pitching in the majors. The 34-year-old right-hander opted out with Washington, and his deal with the A's reportedly has an opt-out of June 20 if he doesn't get back in the majors by then.Jackson has started 288 of his 377 career major league games since his debut in September 2003 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has a 98-120 record with a 4.67 ERA.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

Washington pitcher Jeremy Hellickson, Cincinnati outfielder Ben Revere and St. Louis reliever Jason Motte were among the latest cuts as big league teams reached a deadline to make roster decisions.Kansas City pitcher Ricky Nolasco, Minnesota infielder Erick Aybar and Cubs outfielder Peter Bourjos also were released Sunday, four days before all 30 clubs play their openers.It was the last day for teams to choose what to do with players who chose to become free agents after the World Series and later signed minor league contracts. Clubs could either opt to add them to the 25-man roster for opening day, release them or pay a $100,000 retention bonus if they agreed to begin the season in the minors.Toronto reliever Tyler Clippard, who recently signed after working out at a camp for free agents in Florida, will begin with the Blue Jays. Outfielder Colby Rasmus, who walked away from the game last summer, returns with Baltimore.Milwaukee starter Wade Miley and Nationals pitcher Edwin Jackson got... [More]

Washington pitcher Jeremy Hellickson, Cleveland slugger Mike Napoli and Cincinnati outfielder Ben Revere were among the latest cuts as big league teams reached a deadline to make roster decisions.Kansas City pitcher Ricky Nolasco, Minnesota infielder Erick Aybar and St. Louis reliever Jason Motte also were released Sunday, four days before all 30 clubs play their openers.It was the last day for teams to choose what to do with players who chose to become free agents after the World Series and later signed minor league contracts. Clubs could either opt to add them to the 25-man roster for opening day, release them or pay a $100,000 retention bonus if they agreed to begin the season in the minors.Toronto reliever Tyler Clippard, who recently signed after working out at a camp for free agents in Florida, will begin with the Blue Jays. Outfielder Colby Rasmus, who walked away from the game last summer, returns with Baltimore.Milwaukee starter Wade Miley and Nationals pitcher Edwin Jackson got the retention bonus.Texas said Saturday that it had released pitcher Bartolo Colon. The Rangers are free to rework a contact with the 44-year-old righty

Neil Walker became the latest free agent to take a big pay cut as opening day approaches, joining the New York Yankees on Monday with a one-year deal for $4 million.The veteran infielder made $17.2 million last season while playing for the New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers. He can earn $1 million in performance bonuses this year.The 32-year-old Walker hit .265 with 14 home runs and 49 RBIs last season, then became a free agent. He will likely start at second base, giving prospects Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar more time to mature in the minor leagues."It's certainly a crazy offseason, but more than anything my hope was that I'd land somewhere that's going to be competitive and have a chance to win," Walker said. "I'm happy to be here, happy to be on a contending team."Starting pitcher Lance Lynn got right to work with Minnesota after finalizing his $12 million, one-year deal. He turned down a $17.4 million offer to stay with St. Louis, and looked for a richer contract in free agency.Lynn... [More]

RHP Edwin Jackson gave up two runs and four hits in six innings Thursday against the Pirates. He did not figure in the decision against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jackson may be on the bubble when it comes to making the playoff roster. He has been a No. 5 starter for the Nationals and also pitched out of the bullpen earlier this year for Triple-A Syracuse and in three games with the Baltimore Orioles. "Yes he did and he threw the ball great tonight. Other than that walk to the eighth hitter, which started their rally, he threw the ball well tonight," manager Dusty Baker said. "We still haven't discussed it yet. We got a few days before we have to announce it and so we've semi discussed it but we haven't really, really discussed it yet."

RHP Edwin Jackson Jr. will make his 13th start of the season for the Nationals on Thursday night when he takes the mound to open a four-game series at home against the Pirates. Since he was signed by the Nationals on June 16, he's 5-6 with a 5.26 ERA. His first eight starts went well, as he was 5-3 with a 2.94 ERA, but since then he's been in a major slump. Jackson's four September starts have seen him go 0-3 with a 12.38 ERA (16 IP, 22 ER), and he's failed to get out of the fifth inning in any of those game. Jackson has only faced Pittsburgh once this season, in 2 2/3 innings of relief while he was with the Orioles back in June, giving up four hits and two earned runs.

RHP Edwin Jackson (5-6, 4.96 ERA) makes his 11th start on Friday in New York against the Mets, a team he has a 3.77 ERA against in 12 career games. His only lower ERA against a National League team is 3.71 versus Pittsburgh. Jackson has pitched for 12 teams and this is his second stint with the Nationals after starting the season with Baltimore. He has a 4-3 career record against the Mets.

RHP Edwin Jackson had a rough night Friday against the Dodgers, the team that he made his big league debut with in 2003. He went 2 1/3 innings and gave up seven runs and may have pitched himself off the postseason roster. Jackson figures to be at best a No. 5 starter in the postseason and could be used in long relief if needed. But his second poor outing in a row may have hurt his chances. What went wrong for Jackson, who pitched well when he joined the Nationals earlier in the year? "Mistakes over the zone and not being able to locate and execute my pitches," said Jackson, whose ERA is now 4.96.

RHP Edwin Jackson gave up seven hits and five runs in 3 1/3 innings Saturday against the Phillies. Jackson entered the game with a 6.00 ERA in his career against the Phillies. The right-hander last beat the Phillies as a starter in 2012, when he was a member of the Nationals rotation. "It is the big leagues. You have to be aggressive in the strike zone," Jackson said. "If you don't execute that is what happens."

RHP Edwin Jackson (5-4, 3.62 ERA) will get the start on Saturday night against the Phillies. Jackson, who has pitched with 12 major league teams, is 2-6 with a 6.00 ERA in his career against the Phillies in nine games, with seven starts. He last faced them in 2015 when he pitched out of the bullpen in two games and came away with a win while allowing no runs in two innings. The last time Jackson started against the Phillies was in 2014 when he gave up eight and seven runs (six earned) in a loss while going 4 2/3 innings while pitching for the Chicago Cubs. Jackson last beat the Phillies as a starter in 2012, when he was a member of the Nationals rotation. That year he was 1-3 with a 3.55 ERA in four starts against them.

RHP Edwin Jackson went six innings and gave up three runs (two earned) Tuesday to get his fifth win while he has a 2.94 ERA with the Nationals. It was his eighth start for the Nationals this year after he made three appearances out of the bullpen for the Baltimore Orioles earlier in the season. "He could start a (playoff) game, he could be our long reliever," Washington manager Dusty Baker said Tuesday. "He has done all of those things in his career. We will worry about when we get there."

RHP Edwin Jackson was used as a pinch-runner in the ninth inning of the first game Sunday, a dubious strategy for a team way ahead in the standings. Jackson, part of the rotation for now, was thrown out at home to end the game on a head first slide. Is he OK? "So far, yeah, you hate to see your pitcher headfirst slide, but it's a natural reaction when you're running the bases and you can see the catcher is going to tag you out, so I'll have to check with him. We don't really like running pitchers, but we didn't have a real choice," said manager Dusty Baker, who did have a choice in that Adam Lind could have stayed in the game after he hit a single with two outs.

RHP Edwin Jackson continued his solid work with the Nationals on Thursday at Houston. He recorded his fifth quality start in seven appearances by allowing just two runs on six hits and three walks over six innings. Jackson joined the organization as a minor league free agent on June 16.

RHP Edwin Jackson (4-2, 3.43 ERA) will start for the Nationals against the Astros on Wednesday. It will be his first appearance against the Astros since Aug. 6, 2012, a 5-4 Washington victory. Jackson is 2-1 with a 4.37 ERA over seven career appearances (six starts) against the Astros.