ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay Rays ace Blake Snell has a no-hitter through six innings in Wednesday's game against the AL Central-leading Cleveland Indians.Snell, who is seeking a major league-leading 19th win, has struck out eight batters and walked two. He has thrown 82 pitches.The lefty retired his first seven batters before walking Roberto Perez on a 3-2 pitch with one out in the third. Snell also issued a fourth-inning walk to Edwin Encarnacion, who stared and shook his head toward the mound earlier in the plate appearance after a high-and-inside pitch.Snell made a nice defensive play in the fifth, fielding Melky Cabrera's comebacker and throwing out the Cleveland right fielder at first base.The Rays lead 2-0 on Ji-Man Choi's two-run homer in the first.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kansas City rookie Jorge Lopez came within three outs of a perfect game before Max Kepler walked leading off the ninth inning and Robbie Grossman followed with a single in the Royals' 4-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night.The 25-year-old right-hander made just his seventh big league start, his fifth for Kansas City since he was acquired from Milwaukee in the late-July trade that sent Mike Moustakas to the Brewers.Lopez (2-4) retired his first 24 batters before walking Kepler on a 3-1 fastball. Grossman followed with a clean single to center field on a changeup with a 1-2 count.Lopez was removed from the game after 110 pitches, 11 more than his previous high.Ehire Adrianza hit a sacrifice fly off Wily Peralta, who retired Joe Mauer and Jorge Polanco on flyouts for his ninth save, completing the one-hitter.Jose Berrios (11-11) gave up one run and three hits in six innings.ASTROS 5, RED SOX 3BOSTON (AP) — Alex Bregman hit his 30th home run, Charlie Morton returned... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kansas City rookie Jorge Lopez came within three outs of a perfect game before Max Kepler walked leading off the ninth inning and Robbie Grossman followed with a single in the Royals' 4-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night.The 25-year-old right-hander made just his seventh big league start, his fifth for Kansas City since he was acquired from Milwaukee in the late-July trade that sent Mike Moustakas to the Brewers.Lopez (2-4) retired his first 24 batters before walking Kepler on a 3-1 fastball. Grossman followed with a clean single to center field on a changeup with a 1-2 count.Lopez was removed from the game after 110 pitches, 11 more than his previous high.Ehire Adrianza hit a sacrifice fly off Wily Peralta, who retired Joe Mauer and Jorge Polanco on flyouts for his ninth save, completing the one-hitter.Jose Berrios (11-11) gave up one run and three hits in six innings.ASTROS 5, RED SOX 3BOSTON (AP) — Alex Bregman hit his 30th home run, Charlie Morton returned... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kansas City rookie Jorge Lopez came within three outs of a perfect game before Max Kepler walked leading off the ninth inning and Robbie Grossman followed with a single in the Royals' 4-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night.The 25-year-old right-hander made just his seventh big league start, his fifth for Kansas City since he was acquired from Milwaukee in the late-July trade that sent Mike Moustakas to the Brewers.Lopez (2-4) retired his first 24 batters before walking Kepler on a 3-1 fastball. Grossman followed with a clean single to center field on a changeup with a 1-2 count.Lopez was removed from the game after 110 pitches, 11 more than his previous high.Ehire Adrianza hit a sacrifice fly off Wily Peralta, who retired Joe Mauer and Jorge Polanco on flyouts for his ninth save, completing the one-hitter.Jose Berrios (11-11) gave up one run and three hits in six innings.ASTROS 5, RED SOX 3BOSTON (AP) — Alex Bregman hit his 30th home run, Charlie Morton returned... [More]

C Roberto Perez was manager Terry Francona's choice to catch RHP Corey Kluber in Game 5, despite the fact that C Yan Gomes caught almost all of Kluber's starts during the regular season. Gomes, however, was the catcher in Kluber's disastrous Game 2 start, when he gave up six runs in 2 2/3 innings. "That was the hardest one," said Francona prior to the game, of his decision on who to start at catcher. "Roberto's actually been swinging the bat pretty well." Perez had one of Cleveland's five hits, an RBI single in the fifth inning.

C Roberto Perez has hit seven of his eight home runs in his last 22 games, during which he is hitting .292 with four doubles, seven home runs and 19 RBIs. Indians catchers Perez (38) and Yan Gomes (56) have combined for 94 RBIs this year, the third most among AL teams.

C Roberto Perez provided the Indians with an insurance run in the eighth inning with a solo home run Wednesday. The Indians' two catchers, Perez and Yan Gomes, have combined to hit 17 home runs with 85 RBIs. Gomes has thrown out a major league-best 40 percent of attempted base stealers, and Perez, since the start of the 2016 season, has thrown out 43 percent. "They are two of the best catchers in the American League, and we've got them both," said RHP Mike Clevinger.

C Roberto Perez gave the Indians a 2-1 lead with his solo home run leading off the sixth inning, and Cleveland went on to beat Baltimore 3-2 on Sunday. Four of Perez's five home runs this year have either tied the game or given the Indians the lead. Over his past 13 games, Perez is batting .366 with four doubles, four home runs and 17 RBIs in 41 at bats.

C Roberto Perez's bunt in the bottom of the ninth inning wasn't pretty, but it got the job done. With the score tied at 4-4, and OF Brandon Guyer on second with no outs, Perez laid down an attempted sacrifice bunt that rolled halfway to the mound. 1B Brock Holt raced in, fielded it, hesitated, and then threw wildly to third base in an attempt to get Guyer. The ball rolled into foul territory, and Guyer raced home with the winning run. "Sometimes if you get a bunt down, something good happens just because you got it down," said Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona.

C Roberto Perez had not given the Indians much offensive help until Wednesday. That's when he started a three-run fifth inning with an RBI double into the gap in left-center and eventually wound up 2-for-4. He was on an 8-for-58 slide coming into the game.

C Roberto Perez is only hitting .139 as the backup to starting C Yan Gomes, but Perez has still gotten some of the Indians' biggest hits this season. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Perez is hitting .364 (4-for-11).

C Roberto Perez entered Sunday's game with just three hits for the season, and then he matched that total in Sunday's game. Perez was 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. The three hits raised Perez's batting average from .115 to .200. "It's good to see him back out there and being successful," said manager Terry Francona of Perez, who is the backup to C Yan Gomes.

C Roberto Perez and the Cleveland Indians agreed on a four-year contract with club options for the 2021 and 2022 seasons, the team announced Sunday.Perez, 28, has spent his entire professional career in the Indians organization following his 33rd-round selection in the 2008 draft.Perez owns a career major league batting average of .220, with 11 home runs and 42 RBIs in 160 games since debuting with the Indians in July 2014.

C Roberto Perez hit a solo home run in the fourth inning and a three-run homer in the eighth inning, driving in four of the Indians' six runs. "What he did at the plate tonight, oh my goodness. That was exciting to watch," manager Terry Francona said. Perez is the first player in Indians history to hit two home runs in a World Series game and the first batter in major-league history to hit two home runs in a World Series game while batting in the ninth. "I just went up there and tried to control my emotions, get on base and make something happen," he said. "I've never had a night like that."

C Roberto Perez had an unexpected big offensive night, going 2-for-3 with a third-inning home run. Perez became the first player in Indians history to homer in his first career postseason plate appearance. The lumbering Perez also advanced from first to second on a fly out in the fifth inning, which allowed him to score on a single by 2B Jason Kipnis. "That was a nice piece of heads-up baserunning for us, and that's the kind of things we have to do to win," Indians manager Terry Francona said.

C Roberto Perez got a couple of timely hits Monday night, which Cleveland will need on occasion in the postseason. Perez hit his third home run leading off the seventh and added an RBI single in the eighth, both padding leads. "We've gotten contributions all over the map," manager Terry Francona said.

C Roberto Perez may have made the throw of the year for the Indians in the ninth inning Wednesday. With the Indians clinging to a 4-3 lead and Kansas City PR Terrance Gore on first with no outs, Perez threw out Gore trying to steal second base. "I was hoping (RHP Cody) Allen would give me a chance. He did, and I made a good throw. That was a game-changer, especially when you know nobody had thrown him out," Perez said. Prior to that, Gore was 9-for-9 in stolen-base attempts this year and 17-for-17 in his career. "They had perfect execution. That's the only way you're going to get Gore, and they pulled it off," Royals manager Ned Yost said.

C Roberto Perez, who had to cut short a minor league injury rehab to be activated off the DL when C Yan Gomes went on the DL with a separated shoulder on July 18, is showing signs of life at the plate. His batting average on Aug. 23 was .096, but in five games since then he's hitting .400 (6-for-15). "He went from playing rehab games in Arizona to playing in the middle of a pennant race. I think things are finally starting to slow down for him," Indians manager Terry Francona said.

C Roberto Perez went 4-for-5. The four hits were a career high for Perez, who came into the game with a .104 average. He raised his average to .146. "I really glad for him because he knows he has to catch first," Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. "That's the priority. But it's nice to have him get on base, drive a couple of runs in and feel a little better about himself."

C Roberto Perez accounted for all the Cleveland scoring in Wednesday's 5-1 loss with a solo home run in the seventh inning. The homer was Perez's first of the season, and he had to sweat out a video review. It was ruled the ball had hit a pole beyond the right field fence in Oakland before bouncing back into play, and the home run call was allowed to stand.