BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles placed John Means on the 10-day injured list with a left shoulder strain Sunday, a day after the team’s ace departed in the first inning after facing just five batters. Means (4-2), who pitched a no-hitter at Seattle on May 5, ranks fourth in the American League in ERA (2.28), seventh in innings pitched (71) and tied for 10th in strikeouts (69). He underwent an MRI exam Sunday morning, though the Orioles didn’t have the results when they placed the southpaw on the injured list. “We’re going to side with caution and see what the results say,” manager Brandon Hyde said. Means allowed two solo home runs while recording just two outs in Saturday’s 10-4 loss to the Cleveland Indians. After yielding Eddie Rosario’s two-out single, pitching coach Chris Holt went to the mound. Hyde and head athletic trainer Brian Ebel soon followed, and Means departed. Means said he had similar experiences earlier in his major league career but had avoided shoulder fatigue... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today: BOSTON BROOMS? Rafael Devers and the Red Sox go for a three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium in this week’s Sunday night matchup. Kiké Hernández snapped an 0-for-27 skid with a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning as Boston completed its major league-best 20th come-from-behind victory, beating New York 7-3 Saturday. The Yankees dropped behind Toronto into fourth place in the AL East. They are 3-9 in their past 12 games, averaging just 2.4 runs. After going 9-1 against Boston in 2020, the Yankees have dropped the first two of 19 against the second-place Red Sox this year. Red Sox righty Garrett Richards (4-4, 3.75 ERA) faces righty Domingo Germán (4-3, 3.27) in the finale. SEE WHAT IT MEANS Orioles lefty John Means is getting checked after leaving his latest start in the first inning because of shoulder fatigue. The Baltimore ace faced just five batters Saturday, giving up two home runs and a single in a 10-4 loss to Cleveland. Means pitched... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Kiké Hernández snapped an 0-for-27 skid with a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning and the Boston Red Sox completed their major league-best 20th come-from-behind victory, beating the New York Yankees 5-3 Saturday night. Hernández got his first RBI since May 20 by roping a two-out fastball from Chad Green (0-4) to the wall in left, scoring Rafael Devers from first. Christian Vázquez scored Hernández a batter later with a grounder that skipped over the first-base bag, and Bobby Dalbec followed with a two-run homer. Former Yankees minor leaguer Garrett Whitlock (1-1) was credited with his first major league win. Closer Matt Barnes earned his 14th save. Gleyber Torres hit a two-run homer for New York and added a sacrifice fly. GIANTS 4, CUBS 3 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Unbeaten Kevin Gausman struck out 10 in seven innings, Alex Dickerson homered for the second consecutive game and San Francisco beat Chicago. San Francisco won its third straight over the Cubs. The Giants have... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Kiké Hernández snapped an 0-for-27 skid with a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning and the Boston Red Sox completed their major league-best 20th come-from-behind victory, beating the New York Yankees 5-3 Saturday night. Hernández got his first RBI since May 20 by roping a two-out fastball from Chad Green (0-4) to the wall in left, scoring Rafael Devers from first. Christian Vázquez scored Hernández a batter later with a grounder that skipped over the first-base bag, and Bobby Dalbec followed with a two-run homer. Former Yankees minor leaguer Garrett Whitlock (1-1) was credited with his first major league win. Closer Matt Barnes earned his 14th save. Gleyber Torres hit a two-run homer for New York and added a sacrifice fly. GIANTS 4, CUBS 3 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Unbeaten Kevin Gausman struck out 10 in seven innings, Alex Dickerson homered for the second consecutive game and San Francisco beat Chicago. San Francisco won its third straight over the Cubs. The Giants have... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Sunday: BOSTON BROOMS? Rafael Devers and the Red Sox go for a three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium in this week’s Sunday night matchup. Kiké Hernández snapped an 0-for-27 skid with a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning as Boston completed its major league-best 20th come-from-behind victory, beating New York 7-3 Saturday. The Yankees dropped behind Toronto into fourth place in the AL East. They are 3-9 in their past 12 games, averaging just 2.4 runs. After going 9-1 against Boston in 2020, the Yankees have dropped the first two of 19 against the second-place Red Sox this year. Red Sox righty Garrett Richards (4-4, 3.75 ERA) faces righty Domingo Germán (4-3, 3.27) in the finale. SEE WHAT IT MEANS Orioles lefty John Means is getting checked after leaving his latest start in the first inning because of shoulder fatigue. The Baltimore ace faced just five batters Saturday, giving up two home runs and a single in a 10-4 loss to Cleveland. Means... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Kiké Hernández snapped an 0-for-27 skid with a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning and the Boston Red Sox completed their major league-best 20th come-from-behind victory, beating the New York Yankees 5-3 Saturday night. Hernández got his first RBI since May 20 by roping a two-out fastball from Chad Green (0-4) to the wall in left, scoring Rafael Devers from first. Christian Vázquez scored Hernández a batter later with a grounder that skipped over the first-base bag, and Bobby Dalbec followed with a two-run homer. Former Yankees minor leaguer Garrett Whitlock (1-1) was credited with his first major league win. Closer Matt Barnes earned his 14th save. Gleyber Torres hit a two-run homer for New York and added a sacrifice fly. GIANTS 4, CUBS 3 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Unbeaten Kevin Gausman struck out 10 in seven innings, Alex Dickerson homered for the second consecutive game and San Francisco beat Chicago. San Francisco won its third straight over the Cubs. The Giants have... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Kiké Hernández snapped an 0-for-27 skid with a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning and the Boston Red Sox completed their major league-best 20th come-from-behind victory, beating the New York Yankees 5-3 Saturday night. Hernández got his first RBI since May 20 by roping a two-out fastball from Chad Green (0-4) to the wall in left, scoring Rafael Devers from first. Christian Vázquez scored Hernández a batter later with a grounder that skipped over the first-base bag, and Bobby Dalbec followed with a two-run homer. Former Yankees minor leaguer Garrett Whitlock (1-1) was credited with his first major league win. Closer Matt Barnes earned his 14th save. Gleyber Torres hit a two-run homer for New York and added a sacrifice fly. GIANTS 4, CUBS 3 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Unbeaten Kevin Gausman struck out 10 in seven innings, Alex Dickerson homered for the second consecutive game and San Francisco beat Chicago. San Francisco won its third straight over the Cubs. The Giants have... [More]

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Joe Panik homered, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Houston Astros 6-2 on Saturday. Panik’s tiebreaking three-run shot off José Urquidy gave Toronto a 4-1 lead in the fourth inning. Guerrero connected in the fifth, sending a two-run drive deep to left for his 18th homer. Guerrero finished with three hits, raising his batting average to .338. Ross Stripling pitched five innings of one-run ball for the Blue Jays, who improved to 3-1 at their temporary home in Buffalo. Stripling (2-3) allowed seven hits, struck out four and walked one. Carlos Correa had three hits and Myles Straw drove in two runs for the Astros. Urquidy (4-3) was tagged for a season-high six runs in 4 1/3 innings. He allowed two or fewer earned runs in seven of his previous nine starts this season. RAYS 3, RANGERS 0 ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Rich Hill pitched another five scoreless innings as Tampa Bay blanked Texas. The 41-year-old Hill (5-2) struck out three and allowed two... [More]

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Joe Panik homered, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Houston Astros 6-2 on Saturday. Panik’s tiebreaking three-run shot off José Urquidy gave Toronto a 4-1 lead in the fourth inning. Guerrero connected in the fifth, sending a two-run drive deep to left for his 18th homer. Guerrero finished with three hits, raising his batting average to .338. Ross Stripling pitched five innings of one-run ball for the Blue Jays, who improved to 3-1 at their temporary home in Buffalo. Stripling (2-3) allowed seven hits, struck out four and walked one. Carlos Correa had three hits and Myles Straw drove in two runs for the Astros. Urquidy (4-3) was tagged for a season-high six runs in 4 1/3 innings. He allowed two or fewer earned runs in seven of his previous nine starts this season. RAYS 3, RANGERS 0 ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Rich Hill pitched another five scoreless innings as Tampa Bay blanked Texas. The 41-year-old Hill (5-2) struck out three and allowed two... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher John Means left Saturday’s game against the Cleveland Indians after two outs because of left shoulder fatigue. The left-hander allowed solo home runs to César Hernández and Harold Ramírez, then Eddie Rosario's two-out single. Manager Brandon Hyde then came to the mound along with head athletic trainer Brian Ebel, and Means exited the game. Adam Plutko replaced Means, who threw a no-hitter at Seattle on May 5. Means entered 4-1 with a 2.05 ERA that rose to 2.28. He had gone at least five innings in all but one of 11 starts this season. His ERA at the start of the day ranked second in the American League, while his .173 opponents’ batting average was third in the league. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Padres left-hander Blake Snell lost a no-hit bid Friday night with no outs in the seventh inning when New York Mets star Francisco Lindor lined a clean single to left field. Outfielder Tommy Pham misplayed the ball, allowing Lindor to reach third on a two-base error. Snell pitched into the seventh inning for the first time this season. The only previous batter to reach against the 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner Friday night was Billy McKinney, who walked with two outs in the fifth inning. Snell entered the seventh with eight strikeouts on 80 pitches. Lindor also hit a deep fly to center that was caught at the wall in the fourth inning. San Diego led 1-0 behind Manny Machado's home run in the first inning off Joey Lucchesi. There have been six no-hitters in the majors already this season. Seven no-hitters would match 1990, 1991, 2012 and 2015 for the most since 1900, one shy of the record eight in 1884 — the first season overhand pitching was allowed. Joe Musgrove pitched... [More]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Padres left-hander Blake Snell has thrown six no-hit innings against the New York Mets. The only batter to reach against the 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner Friday night was Billy McKinney, who walked with two outs in the fifth inning. Snell has eight strikeouts on 80 pitches. Snell hasn't gotten an out in the seventh inning yet this season, and his highest pitch count was 97 pitches on May 18. There have been six no-hitters in the majors already this season. Seven no-hitters would match 1990, 1991, 2012 and 2015 for the most since 1900, one shy of the record eight in 1884 — the first season overhand pitching was allowed. Joe Musgrove pitched the first no-hitter of the season and the first in San Diego franchise history on April 9. The Padres have never thrown a no-hitter at home. He was followed by Carlos Rodón of the Chicago White Sox against Cleveland on April 14, Baltimore’s John Means against Seattle on May 5, Cincinnati’s Wade Miley against Cleveland on May 7, Detroit’s Spencer Turnbull against Seattle on May 18 and Corey Kluber of the New York Yankees against Texas on May 19. In addition, Arizona’s Madison Bumgarner had a seven-inning hitless game in a doubleheader on April 25 that is not recognized as a no-hitter by Major league Baseball. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta celebrated his 25th birthday with a no-hit bid that was ended by Arizona's Nick Ahmed with one out in the eighth inning. Ahmed blooped a soft single into left field on Peralta's 109th and final pitch Friday night. Fans stood and cheered as manager Craig Counsell took the ball from the pitcher, and Peralta tipped his cap to the crowd as he walked off. Peralta walked Josh Rojas to start Friday night's game, then retired 14 straight batters before walking Josh Reddick with two outs in the fifth. He struck out nine and walked three, setting a career high for pitches thrown. The Brewers led 4-0. Arizona nearly got its first hit with one out in the seventh, but second baseman Luis Urías went well onto the shortstop side of second base to catch a blooper from Christian Walker just before it hit the ground. The Diamondbacks came close to a hit on a few other occasions. After Rojas drew his leadoff walk in the first, Carson Kelly hit... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta is celebrating his 25th birthday with a no-hit bid through six innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Peralta walked Josh Rojas to start Friday night's game, then retired 14 straight batters before walking Josh Reddick with two outs in the fifth. He has struck out nine and walked two on 91 pitches. The Brewers lead 4-0. Arizona has come close to a hit on a few occasions. After Rojas drew his leadoff walk in the first, Carson Kelly hit a long drive to center that Jackie Bradley Jr. caught at the warning track. Bradley also made a diving catch in the second to retire Pavin Smith, who has a 14-game hitting streak. Brewers first baseman Daniel Vogelbach snared a liner from Smith in the fifth. There have been six no-hitters in the majors already this season. Seven no-hitters would match 1990, 1991, 2012 and 2015 for the most since 1900, one shy of the record eight in 1884 -- the first season overhand pitching was allowed. The... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The major league batting average rose slightly in May, though it remained at its lowest level in 53 years. Hitters batted .239 in May, up from .232 in April and the lowest average for May since .237 in 1972, the Elias Sports Bureau said Tuesday. The .236 average for the season through May 31 is the lowest since .229 in 1968 — the last season before the pitcher's mound was lowered from 15 inches to 10. May's .315 on-base percentage was up from .309 in April but the lowest for May since .314 in 2015. The .312 through May 31 is the lowest since .309 in 1972. In an era of dominance on home runs, slugging percentage did not decline as much. The .397 percentage in May was the lowest since .395 in 2014 and the .393 percentage for the season through May 31 was the lowest since .392 in 2014. Strikeouts exceeded hits by 838 in May after topping them by 1,091 in April, Elias said. Strikeouts had never exceeded hits over a full calendar month before May 2018. Strikeouts have averaged... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Austin Meadows drove in his third run on a tiebreaking RBI infield single during a two-run eighth inning and the Tampa Bay Rays won for the 14th time in 15 games, 5-3 over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday. Randy Arozarena had a leadoff single in the eighth and advanced to third on a wild pitch by Sam Coonrod (0-2). After Yandy Díaz was intentionally walked with one out, Meadows made it 4-3 with his hit off José Alvarado. Tampa Bay took a two-run lead when Alvarado walked pinch-hitter Mike Brosseau with the bases load. Diego Castillo (1-3) worked out of a two-on, two-out jam in the eighth for the Rays, who have won three in a row after Kansas City stopped their 11-game winning streak on Tuesday. J.P. Feyereisen worked the ninth to get his second save. Philadelphia starter Zack Wheeler gave up three runs, four hits, two walks and struck out a career-high 14 over seven innings. Matt Joyce homered for the Phillies, who struck out 15 times. Tampa Bay struck out... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Austin Meadows drove in his third run on a tiebreaking RBI infield single during a two-run eighth inning and the Tampa Bay Rays won for the 14th time in 15 games, 5-3 over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday. Randy Arozarena had a leadoff single in the eighth and advanced to third on a wild pitch by Sam Coonrod (0-2). After Yandy Díaz was intentionally walked with one out, Meadows made it 4-3 with his hit off José Alvarado. Tampa Bay took a two-run lead when Alvarado walked pinch-hitter Mike Brosseau with the bases load. Diego Castillo (1-3) worked out of a two-on, two-out jam in the eighth for the Rays, who have won three in a row after Kansas City stopped their 11-game winning streak on Tuesday. J.P. Feyereisen worked the ninth to get his second save. Philadelphia starter Zack Wheeler gave up three runs, four hits, two walks and struck out a career-high 14 over seven innings. Matt Joyce homered for the Phillies, who struck out 15 times. Tampa Bay struck out... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Austin Meadows drove in his third run on a tiebreaking RBI infield single during a two-run eighth inning and the Tampa Bay Rays won for the 14th time in 15 games, 5-3 over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday. Randy Arozarena had a leadoff single in the eighth and advanced to third on a wild pitch by Sam Coonrod (0-2). After Yandy Díaz was intentionally walked with one out, Meadows made it 4-3 with his hit off José Alvarado. Tampa Bay took a two-run lead when Alvarado walked pinch-hitter Mike Brosseau with the bases load. Diego Castillo (1-3) worked out of a two-on, two-out jam in the eighth for the Rays, who have won three in a row after Kansas City stopped their 11-game winning streak on Tuesday. J.P. Feyereisen worked the ninth to get his second save. Philadelphia starter Zack Wheeler gave up three runs, four hits, two walks and struck out a career-high 14 over seven innings. Matt Joyce homered for the Phillies, who struck out 15 times. Tampa Bay struck out... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Austin Meadows drove in his third run on a tiebreaking RBI infield single during a two-run eighth inning and the Tampa Bay Rays won for the 14th time in 15 games, 5-3 over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday. Randy Arozarena had a leadoff single in the eighth and advanced to third on a wild pitch by Sam Coonrod (0-2). After Yandy Díaz was intentionally walked with one out, Meadows made it 4-3 with his hit off José Alvarado. Tampa Bay took a two-run lead when Alvarado walked pinch-hitter Mike Brosseau with the bases load. Diego Castillo (1-3) worked out of a two-on, two-out jam in the eighth for the Rays, who have won three in a row after Kansas City stopped their 11-game winning streak on Tuesday. J.P. Feyereisen worked the ninth to get his second save. Philadelphia starter Zack Wheeler gave up three runs, four hits, two walks and struck out a career-high 14 over seven innings. Matt Joyce homered for the Phillies, who struck out 15 times. Tampa Bay struck out... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Austin Meadows drove in his third run on a tiebreaking RBI infield single during a two-run eighth inning and the Tampa Bay Rays won for the 14th time in 15 games, 5-3 over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday. Randy Arozarena had a leadoff single in the eighth and advanced to third on a wild pitch by Sam Coonrod (0-2). After Yandy Díaz was intentionally walked with one out, Meadows made it 4-3 with his hit off José Alvarado. Tampa Bay took a two-run lead when Alvarado walked pinch-hitter Mike Brosseau with the bases load. Diego Castillo (1-3) worked out of a two-on, two-out jam in the eighth for the Rays, who have won three in a row after Kansas City stopped their 11-game winning streak on Tuesday. J.P. Feyereisen worked the ninth to get his second save. Philadelphia starter Zack Wheeler gave up three runs, four hits, two walks and struck out a career-high 14 over seven innings. Matt Joyce homered for the Phillies, who struck out 15 times. Tampa Bay struck out... [More]