A look at what's happening around the majors on Wednesday: ___ SHUFFLE OUTTA BUFFALO Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays are set to play their final home game in Buffalo when they host the Red Sox. The teams were rained out Tuesday and will make it up as part of a doubleheader Aug. 7 in Toronto. The Blue Jays will return to Toronto for a homestand beginning July 30 after the Canadian government granted them an exemption to the U.S.-Canada travel ban. The Blue Jays haven’t played at Rogers Centre since 2019 because of coronavirus protocols. Toronto began this season hosting home games at its spring training site in Dunedin, Florida. The Blue Jays then moved to Sahlen Field, home of their Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo, in June. ON A ROLL Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks (12-4, 3.65 ERA) tries for his 11th straight win when struggling Chicago faces Adam Wainwright (7-6, 3.61) and the rival Cardinals in St. Louis. Hendricks is the first Cubs pitcher to go at least 12 consecutive starts... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Eduardo Rodriguez shut down the short-handed Yankees into the sixth inning, Christian Arroyo and J.D. Martinez homered and the Boston Red Sox beat their rivals 4-0 on Friday night with New York missing slugger Aaron Judge and five others due to a coronavirus outbreak. A day after the series opener was postponed for testing and contact tracing, Judge, third baseman Gio Urshela and catcher Kyle Higashioka were added to the COVID-19 injured list. They joined Yankees pitchers Jonathan Loaisiga, Nestor Cortes Jr. and Wandy Peralta, who have also tested positive over the past week. New York was also without first baseman Luke Voit, who went on the injured list Friday with a bone bruise in his left knee. Rodriguez (7-5) allowed two hits over 5 2/3 innings, retiring 10 straight during one stretch and finishing with eight strikeouts. Hirokazu Sawamura got the final out of the sixth, and Tanner Houck pitched the final three innings, closing out Boston’s three-hitter for his first... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Eduardo Rodriguez shut down the short-handed Yankees into the sixth inning, Christian Arroyo and J.D. Martinez homered and the Boston Red Sox beat their rivals 4-0 on Friday night with New York missing slugger Aaron Judge and five others due to a coronavirus outbreak. A day after the series opener was postponed for testing and contact tracing, Judge, third baseman Gio Urshela and catcher Kyle Higashioka were added to the COVID-19 injured list. They joined Yankees pitchers Jonathan Loaisiga, Nestor Cortes Jr. and Wandy Peralta, who have also tested positive over the past week. New York was also without first baseman Luke Voit, who went on the injured list Friday with a bone bruise in his left knee. Rodriguez (7-5) allowed two hits over 5 2/3 innings, retiring 10 straight during one stretch and finishing with eight strikeouts. Hirokazu Sawamura got the final out of the sixth, and Tanner Houck pitched the final three innings, closing out Boston’s three-hitter for his first... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Nestor Cortes and three relievers combined for a three-hitter and Brett Gardner and DJ LeMahieu each drove in two runs to lead the New York Yankees over the Houston Astros 4-0 on Friday night. Making a spot start, Cortes permitted two hits in 4 2/3 innings, striking out two and walking two and lowering his ERA to 1.05. Lucas Luetge (3-1) pitched 1 1/3 hitless innings for the win. Chad Green gave up one hit in two innings and Jonathan Loaisiga threw a perfect ninth. It was New York’s first visit to Houston since Game 6 of the 2019 AL Championship Series. The Astros advanced to the World Series with a 6-4 win in that game on a two-run homer by Jose Altuve with two outs in the ninth. The Astros are commemorating the event by giving away replica 2019 AL champions trophies on Friday night, 2019 AL champions replica rings on Saturday and Altuve jerseys for the finale on Sunday. GIANTS 5, NATIONALS 3 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Curt Casali hit a two-run homer while filling in for injured... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Nestor Cortes and three relievers combined for a three-hitter and Brett Gardner and DJ LeMahieu each drove in two runs to lead the New York Yankees over the Houston Astros 4-0 on Friday night. Making a spot start, Cortes permitted two hits in 4 2/3 innings, striking out two and walking two and lowering his ERA to 1.05. Lucas Luetge (3-1) pitched 1 1/3 hitless innings for the win. Chad Green gave up one hit in two innings and Jonathan Loaisiga threw a perfect ninth. It was New York’s first visit to Houston since Game 6 of the 2019 AL Championship Series. The Astros advanced to the World Series with a 6-4 win in that game on a two-run homer by Jose Altuve with two outs in the ninth. The Astros are commemorating the event by giving away replica 2019 AL champions trophies on Friday night, 2019 AL champions replica rings on Saturday and Altuve jerseys for the finale on Sunday. GIANTS 5, NATIONALS 3 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Curt Casali hit a two-run homer while filling in for injured... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Nestor Cortes and three relievers combined for a three-hitter and Brett Gardner and DJ LeMahieu each drove in two runs to lead the New York Yankees over the Houston Astros 4-0 on Friday night. Making a spot start, Cortes permitted two hits in 4 2/3 innings, striking out two and walking two and lowering his ERA to 1.05. Lucas Luetge (3-1) pitched 1 1/3 hitless innings for the win. Chad Green gave up one hit in two innings and Jonathan Loaisiga threw a perfect ninth. It was New York’s first visit to Houston since Game 6 of the 2019 AL Championship Series. The Astros advanced to the World Series with a 6-4 win in that game on a two-run homer by Jose Altuve with two outs in the ninth. The Astros are commemorating the event by giving away replica 2019 AL champions trophies on Friday night, 2019 AL champions replica rings on Saturday and Altuve jerseys for the finale on Sunday. CUBS 10, CARDINALS 5 CHICAGO (AP) — Kyle Hendricks won his ninth straight decision, Patrick Wisdom hit... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Kyle Hendricks won his ninth straight decision, Patrick Wisdom hit a two-run homer and Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-5 on Friday afternoon. Kris Bryant drove in three runs with a pinch-hit double to start Chicago’s five-run burst in the seventh inning before Wisdom went deep against his former team. Joc Pederson doubled twice, including a three-run hit in the first. Chicago won for the second time in three games following an 11-game losing streak. Bryant didn’t start for a second straight game because of a strained right hamstring, but hit the first pitch he saw from Junior Fernández to the wall in left filed with the bases loaded. The All-Star came home when Wisdom connected for his 12th homer to make it 9-2. Hendricks (11-4) allowed two runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings while walking one and hitting a batter. INDIANS 2, ROYALS 1 CLEVELAND (AP) — Bobby Bradley homered leading off the ninth inning as Cleveland overcame some brutal baserunning that led to... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Kyle Hendricks won his ninth straight decision, Patrick Wisdom hit a two-run homer and Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-5 on Friday afternoon. Kris Bryant drove in three runs with a pinch-hit double to start Chicago’s five-run burst in the seventh inning before Wisdom went deep against his former team. Joc Pederson doubled twice, including a three-run hit in the first. Chicago won for the second time in three games following an 11-game losing streak. Bryant didn’t start for a second straight game because of a strained right hamstring, but hit the first pitch he saw from Junior Fernández to the wall in left filed with the bases loaded. The All-Star came home when Wisdom connected for his 12th homer to make it 9-2. Hendricks (11-4) allowed two runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings while walking one and hitting a batter. INDIANS 2, ROYALS 1 CLEVELAND (AP) — Bobby Bradley homered leading off the ninth inning as Cleveland overcame some brutal baserunning that led to... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today: PRIMED FOR PITCHERS Mets ace Jacob deGrom, Milwaukee’s Brandon Woodruff, Texas' Kyle Gibson and the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole are among those likely to picked as All-Stars when pitchers and reserves are announced at 5:30 p.m. EDT. Each roster will have 32 players for the July 13 game at Denver’s Coors Field. Of course, one pitcher was picked with the starting lineups — Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani, the Babe Ruth-like phenomenon who leads the majors in home runs AND is 3-1 with a 3.60 ERA in 12 starts with 83 strikeouts in 60 innings. Ohtani was elected by fans as the American League's designated hitter, and Angels manager Joe Maddon is in favor of Ohtani pitching in addition to hitting. HOBBLED HULK Big-hitting Kyle Schwarber is expected to be out of Washington’s lineup for a while with a significant hamstring strain. The Nationals put Schwarber on the 10-day injured list after he hurt himself running out a hit Friday night.... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Sunday: PRIMED FOR PITCHERS The Mets’ Jacob deGrom, Milwaukee’s Brandon Woodruff, Texas' Kyle Gibson and the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole are among those likely to picked as All-Stars when pitchers and reserves are announced at 5:30 p.m. EDT Sunday. Each roster will have 32 players for the July 13 game at Denver’s Coors Field. Of course, one pitcher was picked with the starting lineup — Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani, the Babe Ruth-like phenomenon who leads the major league in home runs AND is 3-1 with a 3.60 ERA in 12 starts with 83 strikeouts in 60 innings. Ohtani was elected by fans as a designated hitter, and Angels manager Joe Maddon is in favor of Ohtani pitching in addition to hitting. HOBBLED HULK Big-hitting Kyle Schwarber is expected to be out of Washington’s lineup for a while with a significant hamstring strain. The Nationals put Schwarber on the 10-day injured list after he hurt himself running out a hit Friday night. There... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on today: STICKING TO HIS STORY Major League Baseball will deal with Mariners pitcher Hector Santiago, the first player ejected under the new crackdown against grip-enhancing sticky stuff. He could draw a 10-game suspension. Santiago was tossed Sunday in a 3-2 win over the White Sox. The 33-year-old lefty was checked by the umpires as he exited in the fifth inning and his glove was confiscated. It was later announced that Santiago had been thrown out. “He was ejected for when his glove was inspected, for having a foreign substance that was sticky on the inside palm of his glove,” crew chief Tom Hallion said. Santiago, who began his career with the White Sox, said he did nothing wrong. He explained he had used rosin to stop the sweat from dripping on both his arms on a humid day in Chicago. That was Santiago’s story, and he was sticking to it. “They’re going to inspect it and all this science stuff and it’s going to be sweat and rosin,” he said,... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Monday: STICKING TO HIS STORY Major League Baseball will deal with Mariners pitcher Hector Santiago, the first player ejected under the new crackdown against grip-enhancing sticky stuff. He could draw a 10-game suspension. Santiago was tossed Sunday in a 3-2 win over the White Sox. The 33-year-old lefty was checked by the umpires as he exited in the fifth inning and his glove was confiscated. It was later announced that Santiago had been thrown out. “He was ejected for when his glove was inspected, for having a foreign substance that was sticky on the inside palm of his glove,” crew chief Tom Hallion said. Santiago, who began his career with the White Sox, said he did nothing wrong. He explained he had used rosin to stop the sweat from dripping on both his arms on a humid day in Chicago. That was Santiago’s story, and he was sticking to it. “They’re going to inspect it and all this science stuff and it’s going to be sweat and rosin,” he said,... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Max Scherzer threw his glove and hat to the grass, then stared down Phillies manager Joe Girardi after getting checked for a third time by umpires for sticky stuff as the Washington Nationals beat Philadelphia 3-2 Tuesday night. Scherzer (6-4) looked sharp in his return to the rotation after missing a start due to a groin injury, striking out eight in five innings. Girardi apparently didn’t like what he saw. In the fourth, Scherzer threw high and inside to Alec Bohm, sending him sprawling to the ground before striking him out. Prior to the next batter, Girardi asked the umpires to check Scherzer. Scherzer already had been checked by second-base umpire Alfonso Marquez after the first and third inning. So, when he was approached for a third time, this time at Girardi’s request, Scherzer threw his glove and hat to the ground, unbuckled his belt and appeared ready to take his pants off. Yan Gomes had a pair of RBI singles for the Nationals, who have won three straight and... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Max Scherzer threw his glove and hat to the grass, then stared down Phillies manager Joe Girardi after getting checked for a third time by umpires for sticky stuff as the Washington Nationals beat Philadelphia 3-2 Tuesday night. Scherzer (6-4) looked sharp in his return to the rotation after missing a start due to a groin injury, striking out eight in five innings. Girardi apparently didn’t like what he saw. In the fourth, Scherzer threw high and inside to Alec Bohm, sending him sprawling to the ground before striking him out. Prior to the next batter, Girardi asked the umpires to check Scherzer. Scherzer already had been checked by second-base umpire Alfonso Marquez after the first and third inning. So, when he was approached for a third time, this time at Girardi’s request, Scherzer threw his glove and hat to the ground, unbuckled his belt and appeared ready to take his pants off. Yan Gomes had a pair of RBI singles for the Nationals, who have won three straight and... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Max Scherzer threw his glove and hat to the grass, then stared down Phillies manager Joe Girardi after getting checked for a third time by umpires for sticky stuff as the Washington Nationals beat Philadelphia 3-2 Tuesday night. Scherzer (6-4) looked sharp in his return to the rotation after missing a start due to a groin injury, striking out eight in five innings. Girardi apparently didn’t like what he saw. In the fourth, Scherzer threw high and inside to Alec Bohm, sending him sprawling to the ground before striking him out. Prior to the next batter, Girardi asked the umpires to check Scherzer. Scherzer already had been checked by second-base umpire Alfonso Marquez after the first and third inning. So, when he was approached for a third time, this time at Girardi’s request, Scherzer threw his glove and hat to the ground, unbuckled his belt and appeared ready to take his pants off. Yan Gomes had a pair of RBI singles for the Nationals, who have won three straight and... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Max Scherzer threw his glove and hat to the grass, then stared down Phillies manager Joe Girardi after getting checked for a third time by umpires for sticky stuff as the Washington Nationals beat Philadelphia 3-2 Tuesday night. Scherzer (6-4) looked sharp in his return to the rotation after missing a start due to a groin injury, striking out eight in five innings. Girardi apparently didn’t like what he saw. In the fourth, Scherzer threw high and inside to Alec Bohm, sending him sprawling to the ground before striking him out. Prior to the next batter, Girardi asked the umpires to check Scherzer. Scherzer already had been checked by second-base umpire Alfonso Marquez after the first and third inning. So, when he was approached for a third time, this time at Girardi’s request, Scherzer threw his glove and hat to the ground, unbuckled his belt and appeared ready to take his pants off. Yan Gomes had a pair of RBI singles for the Nationals, who have won three straight and... [More]

A look at what’s happening around the majors today: DEBUT DAY Wander Franco, a 20-year-old infielder considered the best prospect in the minor leagues, is set to make his major league debut for the Tampa Bay Rays against the visiting Boston Red Sox. Franco hit .315 with seven homers and 35 RBIs in 39 games this season at Triple-A Durham. He was 5 for 17 with a long home run in seven spring training games for Tampa Bay this year. Tampa Bay has lost six straight, dropping a half-game back of the first-place Red Sox in the AL East. FAMILIAR FACES Clayton Kershaw will be facing San Diego for the third time this season when the Los Angeles Dodgers play at the Padres. Kershaw (8-6, 3.36 ERA) is 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA against the Padres this season and 22-8 with a 2.04 mark versus San Diego in 42 career starts. Blake Snell (2-3, 5.72) goes for the Padres in a marquee matchup of Cy Young Award winners. Snell has two no-decisions against the Dodgers this season. He was pulled from Game 6 of the World... [More]

A look at what’s happening around the majors today: DEBUT DAY Wander Franco, a 20-year-old infielder considered the best prospect in the minor leagues, was set to make his major league debut for the Tampa Bay Rays against the visiting Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night. Franco hit .315 with seven homers and 35 RBIs in 39 games this season at Triple-A Durham. He was 5 for 17 with a long home run in seven spring training games for Tampa Bay this year. Tampa Bay has lost six straight, dropping behind a half-game back of the first-place Red Sox in the AL East. STICKY STUFF FOCUS Yankees ace Gerrit Cole (8-3, 2.31 ERA) makes his first start since Major League Baseball started mandatory checks by umpires on all pitchers for banned grip-enhancing substances. The right-hander will be pitching on five days' rest when he faces the visiting Kansas City Royals. SLOW BALL Right-hander Kyle Hendricks (9-4, 4.13) has won a career-best seven straight starts for the Chicago Cubs going into an outing Tuesday... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks set a major league record with their 23rd straight road loss, making dubious history in getting trounced by the San Francisco Giants 10-3 Thursday. The dejected D-backs trudged off the field after breaking a tie with the 1963 Mets and ’43 Philadelphia Athletics for road futility. Held to just a lone single by pitcher Zac Gallen through six innings, Arizona fell behind 6-0. The Diamondbacks don’t play again on the road until June 25 at San Diego. Gallen (1-2) allowed four earned runs in 2 2/3 innings in his first start back from a sprained pitching elbow. Giants starter Kevin Gausman (8-1) limited the D-backs to two runs on four hits in eight innings. The right-hander struck out six and walked one. Curt Casali homered and drove in four runs for San Francisco, finishing a double shy of the cycle. Steven Duggar went 3 for 3 with an RBI double and Mauricio Dubón and Mike Yastrzemski drove in two runs each as the Giants improved the best record in... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks set a major league record with their 23rd straight road loss, making dubious history in getting trounced by the San Francisco Giants 10-3 Thursday. The dejected D-backs trudged off the field after breaking a tie with the 1963 Mets and ’43 Philadelphia Athletics for road futility. Held to just a lone single by pitcher Zac Gallen through six innings, Arizona fell behind 6-0. The Diamondbacks don’t play again on the road until June 25 at San Diego. Gallen (1-2) allowed four earned runs in 2 2/3 innings in his first start back from a sprained pitching elbow. Giants starter Kevin Gausman (8-1) limited the D-backs to two runs on four hits in eight innings. The right-hander struck out six and walked one. Curt Casali homered and drove in four runs for San Francisco, finishing a double shy of the cycle. Steven Duggar went 3 for 3 with an RBI double and Mauricio Dubón and Mike Yastrzemski drove in two runs each as the Giants improved the best record in... [More]