PITTSBURGH (AP) — A post All-Star game swoon dropped the Pittsburgh Pirates from contention in the NL Central. The freefall, however, wasn't far enough for the team to part with two-time All-Star closer Felipe Vázquez.Pittsburgh opted to hold on to Vázquez at Wednesday's trade deadline, a decision general manager Neal Huntington offered as proof of the club's confidence that it can rebound in 2020 and beyond."While we've not put ourselves at the present time to be a playoff-caliber club, we are going to work to be a postseason club next year and to have a player the caliber of Felipe Vázquez is helpful to doing that," Huntington said.The Pirates did send veteran outfielder Corey Dickerson to Philadelphia in exchange for a player to be named and $250,000 in international signing money. Pittsburgh previously traded pitcher Jordan Lyles to Milwaukee for pitching prospect Cody Ponce on Monday but otherwise stood pat despite a three-week implosion that's dropped the club to last place in the... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Big left-hander Madison Bumgarner is staying put with the San Francisco Giants, who instead determined their bullpen depth provided them the best place to make trades before Wednesday's deadline.Milwaukee acquired left-hander Drew Pomeranz and righty Ray Black from San Francisco for infield prospect Mauricio Dubon."We are pleased to add a veteran presence in Drew Pomeranz and a high-velocity arm in Ray Black to the organization," Brewers president of baseball operations and general manager David Stearns said.Until the Giants recently began winning, there had been thoughts Bumgarner — the 2014 World Series MVP — would surely be on the trading block, but he is staying put as San Francisco (54-53) tries to contend in manager Bruce Bochy's final season before retirement.Bumgarner refused to get wrapped up in the speculation about whether he would be gone, calling it "just noise.""He is a huge tone-setter for our clubhouse," said Farhan Zaidi, Giants president of baseball... [More]

The Latest on Major League Baseball's trade deadline (all times Eastern):5:55 p.m.Mike Minor will make his scheduled start for the Rangers after the trade deadline passed with the All-Star lefty still in Texas.Hunter Pence, the All-Star designated hitter, is also still with his hometown team and in the lineup Wednesday night when Minor and the Rangers play the Seattle Mariners, an AL West rival that traded three pitchers Wednesday.Rangers general manager Jon Daniels says his team, which has dropped a game under .500, explored a lot of different options."There were a couple of things that got close later today that I thought might come to fruition, but ultimately it didn't line up for one side or the other," Daniels said, without getting into specifics.Minor, who is signed with the Rangers through next season, drew interest from teams looking to boost their rotations.Daniels said the Rangers weren't going to force a deal, and that the future options could include Minor pitching in Texas... [More]

The Latest on Major League Baseball's trade deadline (all times Eastern):5:25 p.m.The Chicago Cubs acquired outfielder Nicholas Castellanos from the Detroit Tigers for two minor league pitchers.The 27-year-old Castellanos hit .273 with 11 home runs and 37 RBIs for Detroit this season. He's played third base and in the outfield during his career and has been considered a liability defensively, but Castellanos gives Chicago a productive bat against left-handed pitching.Detroit received right-handers Paul Richan and Alex Lange.Castellanos is tied for the major league lead with 37 doubles. He has a .347 average and a 1.026 OPS this year in 72 at-bats against lefties.___5:20 p.m.Milwaukee has acquired left-hander Drew Pomeranz and righty Ray Black from the San Francisco Giants for infield prospect Mauricio Dubon.Also Wednesday, San Francisco obtained second baseman Scooter Gennett from the Reds for a player to be named. Cincinnati will send cash to the Giants to cover part of Gennett's $9,775,000... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Milwaukee has acquired left-hander Drew Pomeranz and righty Ray Black from the San Francisco Giants for infield prospect Mauricio Dubon.Also Wednesday, San Francisco obtained second baseman Scooter Gennett from the Reds for a player to be named. Cincinnati will send cash to the Giants to cover part of Gennett's $9,775,000 salary.Until the Giants recently began winning, there had been speculation for months that left-handed ace Madison Bumgarner — the 2014 World Series MVP — would be on the trading block, but he is staying put as San Francisco (54-53) tries to contend in manager Bruce Bochy's final season before retirement.The Brewers were looking to add pitching depth given a decision was expected Tuesday on whether left-hander Gio Gonzalez would need a stint on the injured list after he left his start last Friday against the Cubs with tightness in his pitching shoulder. Pomeranz can work as a starter or reliever.Milwaukee acquired right-hander Jordan Lyles from the Pirates on Monday to boost the rotation. Lyles traveled to the Bay Area on Tuesday and was set to start Wednesday night's interleague game at Oakland. The Brewers lost the series opener 3-2 in 10 innings.Lyles was a reliever for the NL Central champion Brewers late last year, going 1-0 with a 3.31 ERA in 11 appearances. He had a 9.58 ERA in eight starts since the end of May, leaving him 5-7 overall with a 5.36 ERA.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

It is easy to become desensitized to all the big home run numbers these days.Still, this past week was pretty special.Robinson Canó, Paul DeJong, Nelson Cruz and Mookie Betts each hit three homers in a game and they did it on consecutive days. The unprecedented streak of home run hat tricks began with Canó on Tuesday and was capped, somewhat fittingly, by Betts on Friday.It was the fifth time in his career — one shy of the major league record — that Betts hit three homers in a game.According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this was the first time in major league history there were three straight days with a three-homer game. There have now been 15 of them this season. The first three-homer game was by Paul Goldschmidt back on March 29. The longest stretch without one was 21 days, between Christian Yelich (April 15) and Justin Turner (May 7).Only two teams this season — the Cardinals and Twins — have had more than one player pull off the feat. Cruz and Max Kepler did it for Minnesota, DeJong... [More]

CINCINNATI (AP) — Jordan Lyles is heading back to the Milwaukee Brewers, who are desperate for starting pitching as they try to repeat as NL Central champions.The Brewers acquired the right-hander from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday for pitching prospect Cody Ponce, giving them a familiar name in their injury-depleted rotation. Lyles has struggled since the end of May."I'm definitely looking forward to a change," Lyles said during a conference call. "This last month hasn't gone in my favor. I've pitched poorly. We got off to a really good start, hot start, and kind of faced after some injuries here and there."Lyles worked out of the bullpen for Milwaukee last fall, going 1-0 with a 3.31 ERA in 11 appearances for the Brewers while helping the club win the NL Central title. Lyles translated his success with Milwaukee into a one-year contract with the Pirates and earned a spot in the starting rotation out of spring training.He won five of his first six decisions, and then fell into a deep... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jordan Lyles is heading back to the Milwaukee Brewers.Milwaukee acquired the 28-year-old right-hander from Pittsburgh on Monday for pitching prospect Cody Ponce.Lyles was 1-0 with a 3.31 ERA in 11 appearances for the Brewers late last season, helping Milwaukee win the NL Central. He agreed to a $2.05 million, one-year contract with the Pirates and earned a rotation spot, going 5-7 with a 5.36 ERA. He won five of his first six decisions with Pittsburgh but has a 9.58 ERA in eight starts since May 28.Lyles was scheduled to start for Pittsburgh on Monday night against Cincinnati and was replaced by Alex McRae (0-2, 7.71). The Pirates are 2-14 since the All-Star break, falling out of contention.Ponce, a second-round pick in the 2015 amateur draft, is 1-3 with one save, 44 strikeouts and a 3.29 ERA in 27 appearances at Double-A Biloxi this season.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Charlie Morton struck out 11 over seven innings and the Tampa Bay Rays avoided a three-game sweep by beating David Price and Boston 3-2 in a game that the Red Sox protested on Wednesday.Confusion reigned in the top of the eighth when a series of defensive changes involving reliever Adam Kolarek prompted Boston manager Alex Cora to protest the game due to the placement of subs into the Rays lineup after the designated hitter was removed.Kolarek replaced Morton and retired pinch-hitter Sam Travis on a pop fly. The left-hander then shifted to first base when Rays manager Kevin Cash brought in reliever Chaz Roe, who got a fly ball from Mookie Betts.After Kolarek then returned to the mound and Nate Lowe entered to play first base, Cora met with the umpires, which prompted around a 15-minute stoppage as the umpires discussed the matter.After the protest was made and the game resumed, Kolarek got a first-pitch grounder from Rafael Devers.An unhappy Cora again talked... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Charlie Morton struck out 11 over seven innings and the Tampa Bay Rays avoided a three-game sweep by beating David Price and Boston 3-2 in a game that the Red Sox protested on Wednesday.Confusion reigned in the top of the eighth when a series of defensive changes involving reliever Adam Kolarek prompted Boston manager Alex Cora to protest the game due to the placement of subs into the Rays lineup after the designated hitter was removed.Kolarek replaced Morton and retired pinch-hitter Sam Travis on a pop fly. The left-hander then shifted to first base when Rays manager Kevin Cash brought in reliever Chaz Roe, who got a fly ball from Mookie Betts.After Kolarek then returned to the mound and Nate Lowe entered to play first base, Cora met with the umpires, which prompted around a 15-minute stoppage as the umpires discussed the matter.After the protest was made and the game resumed, Kolarek got a first-pitch grounder from Rafael Devers.An unhappy Cora again talked... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Charlie Morton struck out 11 over seven innings and the Tampa Bay Rays avoided a three-game sweep by beating David Price and Boston 3-2 in a game that the Red Sox protested on Wednesday.Confusion reigned in the top of the eighth when a series of defensive changes involving reliever Adam Kolarek prompted Boston manager Alex Cora to protest the game due to the placement of subs into the Rays lineup after the designated hitter was removed.Kolarek replaced Morton and retired pinch-hitter Sam Travis on a pop fly. The left-hander then shifted to first base when Rays manager Kevin Cash brought in reliever Chaz Roe, who got a fly ball from Mookie Betts.After Kolarek then returned to the mound and Nate Lowe entered to play first base, Cora met with the umpires, which prompted around a 15-minute stoppage as the umpires discussed the matter.After the protest was made and the game resumed, Kolarek got a first-pitch grounder from Rafael Devers.An unhappy Cora again talked... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Lance Lynn matched the major league lead with his 11th win and the Texas Rangers avoided a series sweep with a 9-3 victory over the grieving Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night, the Fourth of July game that the late Tyler Skaggs had been scheduled to start.The Angels won the first two games of the series after the 27-year-old Skaggs was found dead in his hotel room in Texas on Monday, and that night's scheduled game was postponed until August.Mike Trout hit another impressive homer for Los Angeles in the first inning, his AL best-tying 25th. But Lynn (11-4) limited Los Angeles to only one more run over his seven innings and Rougned Odor homered twice to drive in five runs for the Rangers, who snapped a four-game losing streak.An emotional trip for the Angels that began with them traveling to Texas in cowboy hats and Western attire — a theme initiated by Skaggs — now takes them to Houston for three games this weekend against the Astros before the All-Star break.... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Lance Lynn matched the major league lead with his 11th win and the Texas Rangers avoided a series sweep with a 9-3 victory over the grieving Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night, the Fourth of July game that the late Tyler Skaggs had been scheduled to start.The Angels won the first two games of the series after the 27-year-old Skaggs was found dead in his hotel room in Texas on Monday, and that night's scheduled game was postponed until August.Mike Trout hit another impressive homer for Los Angeles in the first inning, his AL best-tying 25th. But Lynn (11-4) limited Los Angeles to only one more run over his seven innings and Rougned Odor homered twice to drive in five runs for the Rangers, who snapped a four-game losing streak.An emotional trip for the Angels that began with them traveling to Texas in cowboy hats and Western attire — a theme initiated by Skaggs — now takes them to Houston for three games this weekend against the Astros before the All-Star break.... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Anthony Rendon hit his 20th homer and knocked in the go-ahead run to help the Washington Nationals finish a three-game sweep of the last-place Miami Marlins with a 5-2 victory Thursday.Washington has won eight of nine and 13 of 16 to climb to a season-best four games over .500.Kurt Suzuki homered in the second inning to extend the Montreal Expos/Nationals franchise record for consecutive games with a home run to 18. Rendon hit a solo shot in the fourth off Elieser Hernández (1-3) and drove in Gerardo Parra with a single in the fifth.Washington right-hander Aníbal Sánchez (5-6) allowed one earned run and five hits in six innings. Fernando Rodney got three outs for his second save of the season.Miguel Rojas homered for Miami, and Starlin Castro had three hits.YANKEES 8, RAYS 4, 10 INNINGSST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — DJ LeMahieu hit a tiebreaking two-run single and Gary Sanchez had a long three-run homer in the 10th inning, and AL East-leading New York overcome a ninth-inning... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Anthony Rendon hit his 20th homer and knocked in the go-ahead run to help the Washington Nationals finish a three-game sweep of the last-place Miami Marlins with a 5-2 victory Thursday.Washington has won eight of nine and 13 of 16 to climb to a season-best four games over .500.Kurt Suzuki homered in the second inning to extend the Montreal Expos/Nationals franchise record for consecutive games with a home run to 18. Rendon hit a solo shot in the fourth off Elieser Hernández (1-3) and drove in Gerardo Parra with a single in the fifth.Washington right-hander Aníbal Sánchez (5-6) allowed one earned run and five hits in six innings. Fernando Rodney got three outs for his second save of the season.Miguel Rojas homered for Miami, and Starlin Castro had three hits.YANKEES 8, RAYS 4, 10 INNINGSST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — DJ LeMahieu hit a tiebreaking two-run single and Gary Sanchez had a long three-run homer in the 10th inning, and AL East-leading New York overcome a ninth-inning... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates have placed right-hander Jordan Lyles on the 10-day injured list with tightness in his left hamstring.The move came after Lyles gave up three runs, five hits and four walks over three innings in a 5-3 loss at Milwaukee on Saturday.Pirates manager Clint Hurdle says Lyles' hamstring problem caused "collateral damage" to the bullpen. Hurdle said he thought the injury affected Lyles' delivery.Lyles is 5-3 with a 3.64 ERA in 12 starts.Right-hander Montana DuRapau was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis before Monday night's game against the Atlanta Braves.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHICAGO (AP) — Willson Contreras homered in the 15th inning to give the Chicago Cubs a 2-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday.Contreras turned on a 1-2 pitch from Burch Smith (0-1), sending a long shot to left field that gave Chicago its 11th win in 13 games. He spun and flipped his bat toward the Cubs' dugout as the ball sailed toward the bleachers and was mobbed by teammates when he crossed the plate.Chicago moved back ahead of the Brewers for the NL Central lead after falling into a virtual tie with Friday's 7-0 loss. Milwaukee had its season-high seven-game win streak snapped.Tyler Chatwood (2-0) struck out seven in four innings to cap a strong effort by the bullpen after Cole Hamels worked seven solid innings.Hamels gave up a run and three hits in his fourth straight no-decision. Seven relievers combined to give up one hit the rest of the way.RAYS 7, YANKEES 2ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Willy Adames and Ji-Man Choi hit run-scoring infield singles in the sixth after tempers... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Willson Contreras homered in the 15th inning to give the Chicago Cubs a 2-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday.Contreras turned on a 1-2 pitch from Burch Smith (0-1), sending a long shot to left field that gave Chicago its 11th win in 13 games. He spun and flipped his bat toward the Cubs' dugout as the ball sailed toward the bleachers and was mobbed by teammates when he crossed the plate.Chicago moved back ahead of the Brewers for the NL Central lead after falling into a virtual tie with Friday's 7-0 loss. Milwaukee had its season-high seven-game win streak snapped.Tyler Chatwood (2-0) struck out seven in four innings to cap a strong effort by the bullpen after Cole Hamels worked seven solid innings.Hamels gave up a run and three hits in his fourth straight no-decision. Seven relievers combined to give up one hit the rest of the way.RED SOX 9, MARINERS 5BOSTON (AP) — Sandy Leon fouled off a bunt attempt, then hit a three-run homer to cap an eight-run third inning... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:MISTER 3,000CC Sabathia (1-0, 2.40 ERA) needs three strikeouts for 3,000 when the New York Yankees visit Arizona. The 38-year-old veteran, who plans to retire after this season, is trying to join Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton as the only left-handers to reach the milestone. Sabathia would become the 17th member of the club and first to enter since John Smoltz in 2008. With 13 players on the injured list, the depleted Yankees (17-11) have still managed to win three straight and 11 of 13. But in Arizona, they will be facing a team that currently has a winning record for only the second series this season. New York was swept by Houston in three games from April 8-10.INJURY WATCHSome of the game's top stars have hobbled into the work week. NL MVP Christian Yelich sat out Monday, a day after the Brewers right fielder left a game with lower back soreness. Mets second baseman Robinson Canó has a swollen hand after being hit by a pitch, but X-rays... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Tuesday:MISTER 3,000CC Sabathia (1-0, 2.40 ERA) needs three strikeouts for 3,000 when the New York Yankees visit Arizona. The 38-year-old veteran, who plans to retire after this season, is trying to join Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton as the only left-handers to reach the milestone. Sabathia would become the 17th member of the club and first to enter since John Smoltz in 2008. With 13 players on the injured list, the depleted Yankees (17-11) have still managed to win three straight and 11 of 13. But in Arizona, they will be facing a team that currently has a winning record for only the second series this season. New York was swept by Houston in three games from April 8-10.INJURY WATCHSome of the game's top stars have hobbled into the work week. NL MVP Christian Yelich sat out Monday, a day after the Brewers right fielder left a game with lower back soreness. Mets second baseman Robinson Canó has a swollen hand after being hit by a pitch, but... [More]