Marcus Stroman pitched one-hit ball for eight innings, Dominic Smith launched a grand slam and the New York Mets cruised to a 7-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday. Stroman (7-8) gave up a leadoff single to Aristides Aquino in the third inning and little else. He struck out seven and walked one while giving New York’s beleaguered bullpen precious rest going into Thursday’s day off. Jeurys Familia struck out three in a hitless ninth. Luis Guillorme hit his first homer of the season and Jonathan Villar also connected for the NL East leaders. Mets manager Luis Rojas returned to the dugout after serving a two-game suspension for excessive arguing on Sunday. Jeff Hoffman (3-5) came off the 10-day injured list to make his first start since May 26 and lasted four innings, allowing seven hits — including Smith's slam — and five runs with three walks. RED SOX 7, BLUE JAYS 4 BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — J.D. Martinez and Hunter Renfroe connected back-to-back as Boston won a home run derby in Toronto’s... [More]

Marcus Stroman pitched one-hit ball for eight innings, Dominic Smith launched a grand slam and the New York Mets cruised to a 7-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday. Stroman (7-8) gave up a leadoff single to Aristides Aquino in the third inning and little else. He struck out seven and walked one while giving New York’s beleaguered bullpen precious rest going into Thursday’s day off. Jeurys Familia struck out three in a hitless ninth. Luis Guillorme hit his first homer of the season and Jonathan Villar also connected for the NL East leaders. Mets manager Luis Rojas returned to the dugout after serving a two-game suspension for excessive arguing on Sunday. Jeff Hoffman (3-5) came off the 10-day injured list to make his first start since May 26 and lasted four innings, allowing seven hits — including Smith's slam — and five runs with three walks. RED SOX 7, BLUE JAYS 4 BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — J.D. Martinez and Hunter Renfroe connected back-to-back as Boston won a home run derby in Toronto’s... [More]

Marcus Stroman pitched one-hit ball for eight innings, Dominic Smith launched a grand slam and the New York Mets cruised to a 7-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday. Stroman (7-8) gave up a leadoff single to Aristides Aquino in the third inning and little else. He struck out seven and walked one while giving New York’s beleaguered bullpen precious rest going into Thursday’s day off. Jeurys Familia struck out three in a hitless ninth. Luis Guillorme hit his first homer of the season and Jonathan Villar also connected for the NL East leaders. Mets manager Luis Rojas returned to the dugout after serving a two-game suspension for excessive arguing on Sunday. Jeff Hoffman (3-5) came off the 10-day injured list to make his first start since May 26 and lasted four innings, allowing seven hits — including Smith's slam — and five runs with three walks. RED SOX 7, BLUE JAYS 4 BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — J.D. Martinez and Hunter Renfroe connected back-to-back as Boston won a home run derby in Toronto’s... [More]

Marcus Stroman pitched one-hit ball for eight innings, Dominic Smith launched a grand slam and the New York Mets cruised to a 7-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday. Stroman (7-8) gave up a leadoff single to Aristides Aquino in the third inning and little else. He struck out seven and walked one while giving New York’s beleaguered bullpen precious rest going into Thursday’s day off. Jeurys Familia struck out three in a hitless ninth. Luis Guillorme hit his first homer of the season and Jonathan Villar also connected for the NL East leaders. Mets manager Luis Rojas returned to the dugout after serving a two-game suspension for excessive arguing on Sunday. Jeff Hoffman (3-5) came off the 10-day injured list to make his first start since May 26 and lasted four innings, allowing seven hits — including Smith's slam — and five runs with three walks. PADRES 3, BRAVES 2, 1ST GAME ATLANTA (AP) — Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a two-run homer, starter Chris Paddack reversed his recent struggles and... [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]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Across the globe, everybody is watching Shohei Ohtani in awe and intrigue. Major League Baseball can only love the attention from around the world surrounding the Angels' two-way star and the spotlight he's brought to the sport. Can Ohtani keep this up? An encore to a sensational first half? He leads the majors with 33 home runs and has shown no signs of slowing down or slumping — and should soon have a healthy Mike Trout back in the lineup with him. Pitchers across the big leagues are doing their part so far, too. There have already been seven no-hitters in the majors this season, matching the mark for most in one year during the modern era. The record of eight was set in 1884, the first season overhand pitching was allowed. Will Jacob deGrom, Walker Buehler and Gerrit Cole join the list soon? And will the uproar over sticky substances tamp down? Manager Torey Lovullo and the Arizona Diamondbacks are eager for a fresh start, determined to forget that record 24-game... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Across the globe, everybody is watching Shohei Ohtani in awe and intrigue. Major League Baseball can only love the attention from around the world surrounding the Angels' two-way star and the spotlight he's brought to the sport. Can Ohtani keep this up? An encore to a sensational first half? He leads the majors with 33 home runs and has shown no signs of slowing down or slumping — and should soon have a healthy Mike Trout back in the lineup with him. Pitchers across the big leagues are doing their part so far, too. There have already been seven no-hitters in the majors this season, matching the mark for most in one year during the modern era. The record of eight was set in 1884, the first season overhand pitching was allowed. Will Jacob deGrom, Walker Buehler and Gerrit Cole join the list soon? And will the uproar over sticky substances tamp down? Manager Torey Lovullo and the Arizona Diamondbacks are eager for a fresh start, determined to forget that record 24-game... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Across the globe, everybody is watching Shohei Ohtani in awe and intrigue. Major League Baseball can only love the attention from around the world surrounding the Angels' two-way star and the spotlight he's brought to the sport. Can Ohtani keep this up? An encore to a sensational first half? He leads the majors with 33 home runs and has shown no signs of slowing down or slumping — and should soon have a healthy Mike Trout back in the lineup with him. Pitchers across the big leagues are doing their part so far, too. There have already been seven no-hitters in the majors this season, matching the mark for most in one year during the modern era. The record of eight was set in 1884, the first season overhand pitching was allowed. Will Jacob deGrom, Walker Buehler and Gerrit Cole join the list soon? And will the uproar over sticky substances tamp down? Manager Torey Lovullo and the Arizona Diamondbacks are eager for a fresh start, determined to forget that record 24-game... [More]

July 13 1896 — Philadelphia’s Ed Delahanty hit four home runs in a losing effort, a 9-8 loss to Chicago. 1934 — Babe Ruth hit his 700th home run in a 4-2 victory over Tommy Bridges and the Detroit Tigers. Lou Gehrig left in the first with a severe case of lumbago, the most serious threat to his streak. He returned for one at bat the next day. 1943 — The first night game in All-Star history, at Philadelphia’s Shibe Park, went to the AL, 5-3, despite a single, triple and home run by NL center fielder Vince DiMaggio of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The big blow was a three-run homer by Bobby Doerr of the Boston Red Sox, which gave the AL the lead for good. 1945 — Chicago’s Pat Seerey hit three home runs, a triple and drove in eight runs to lead the White Sox in a 16-4 win over New York at Yankee Stadium. 1954 — Pitcher Dean Stone did not retire a batter but received credit for the AL’s 11-9 All-Star victory at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium. Red Schoendienst tried to steal a run for the NL after... [More]

The Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants are better than just about anyone expected. The Washington Nationals and Minnesota Twins have unexpectedly struggled. Shohei Ohtani has turned into the best two-way player since the Babe. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Fernando Tatis Jr. have continued their evolution into baseball-bashing superstars. Jacob deGrom has a 1.08 ERA, which could threaten the modern-era season record of 1.12 set in 1968 by Bob Gibson. A substance called Spider Tack became the hottest subject in the game for a few weeks. The Arizona Diamondbacks went two months and an MLB-record 24 games without winning a road contest. Seven no-hitters have been thrown (nine if you count Madison Bumgarner's 7-inning gem against the Atlanta Braves, and combo effort by the Rays. MLB doesn't.) The Seattle Mariners were on the losing end of no-hitters two times in less than two weeks — and still finished the first half with an encouraging 48-43 record. Baseball in 2021 may have its issues, but... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco right-hander Kevin Gausman had his no-hit bid ended by St. Louis slugger Nolan Arenado's one-out single to left on Monday. Gausman — named an All-Star on Sunday — issued a one-out walk to Paul Goldschmidt in the first and didn’t allow another baserunner until Matt Carpenter walked with one out in the fifth. Gausman turned an inning-ending double play getting Harrison Bader to fly out and Carpenter was caught off first. Third baseman Wilmer Flores made a nifty diving stop of Edmundo Sosa’s hard grounder to start the sixth and fired to first to catch the speedy runner. Arenado's hit started a two-run rally in what had been a scoreless game. After Yadier Molina struck out, Tommy Edman singled before Carpenter's RBI triple. Gausman began the day with a 1.68 ERA, the lowest through 16 starts of any Giants pitcher since the team moved West in 1958. There have been seven no-hitters in the majors this season, matching the mark for most in a season since 1900.... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco right-hander Kevin Gausman hasn't allowed a hit through six innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday, closing in on what would be the record-tying eighth no-hitter in the majors this season. Gausman — named an All-Star on Sunday — issued a one-out walk to Paul Goldschmidt in the first and didn’t allow another baserunner until Matt Carpenter walked with one out in the fifth. Gausman turned an inning-ending double play getting Harrison Bader to fly out and Carpenter was caught off first. Third baseman Wilmer Flores made a nifty diving stop of Edmundo Sosa’s hard grounder to start the sixth and fired to first to catch the speedy runner. Gausman began the day with a 1.68 ERA, the lowest through 16 starts of any Giants pitcher since the team moved West in 1958. The Chicago Cubs’ combined no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 24 was the seventh in the big leagues this season, matching the mark for most in a season since 1900. The record... [More]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks snapped their record 24-game road losing streak by routing the San Diego Padres 10-1 on Saturday night, getting six scoreless innings from Merrill Kelly and four hits and five RBIs from Eduardo Escobar. Escobar and Christian Walker homered for the Diamondbacks, who hadn’t won away from Chase Field since April 25, when Madison Bumgarner pitched seven no-hit innings at Atlanta. The Diamondbacks had dropped 20 of 21 games and 34 of 37 overall. Escobar connected for a two-run homer, and drove in runs with a double, a single and a groundout. He finished a triple shy of the cycle. Kelly (4-7) allowed five hits, struck out five and walked none. Dinelson Lamet (2-3) took the loss, allowing four runs and six hits in 2 1/3 innings. METS 4, PHILLIES 3 NEW YORK (AP) — Jacob deGrom gave up two runs for the first time this season and New York rallied after he exited, beating Philadelphia on Michael Conforto’s sacrifice fly in the ninth inning. DeGrom’s bid to... [More]

Bryce Harper blew kisses at a booing crowd to punctuate his home run, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets 2-1 in eight innings Friday night for a doubleheader split after Aaron Nola matched a long-standing major league record with 10 straight strikeouts in the opener. Odúbel Herrera drove in the tiebreaking run with a groundout against reliever Sean Reid-Foley (2-1) in the eighth as both games took an extra inning to determine a winner. Nola tied Tom Seaver’s mark for consecutive strikeouts set 51 years ago, but the Mets rallied to win the first game 2-1 in eight innings on big hits by Francisco Lindor and Dominic Smith. Following a costly error by third baseman Alec Bohm in the bottom of the seventh, Archie Bradley (3-1) limited the damage and allowed only pinch-hitter James McCann’s tying sacrifice fly in the nightcap. In the opener, Seth Lugo (1-0) struck out three in the top of the eighth and stranded two runners for the NL East leaders, playing their third doubleheader... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today: JAKE TO BREAK? Mets ace Jacob deGrom can set the team record for scoreless innings when he starts against the Phillies at Citi Field. DeGrom has a 30-inning shutout streak, nearing the club mark of 32 2/3 innings by R.A. Dickey in 2012. DeGrom owns an amazing 0.50 ERA through 12 starts, going 7-2. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner hasn’t allowed a run in his last five starts, giving up just seven hits over a 27-inning span and putting to rest, for now, worries over recent health concerns. TRY AGAIN Arizona makes another attempt to win on the road, where it's been two months since its last victory. The Diamondbacks extended their dubious MLB record by losing for the 24th straight time away from Chase Field, beaten 11-5 at San Diego as Fernando Tatis Jr. hit three home runs for the Padres. The last time Arizona won on the road was April 25, when Madison Bumgarner pitched seven no-hit innings to win at Atlanta. Merrill Kelly (3-7, 5.06... [More]

Bryce Harper blew kisses at a booing crowd to punctuate his home run, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets 2-1 in eight innings Friday night for a doubleheader split after Aaron Nola matched a long-standing major league record with 10 straight strikeouts in the opener. Odúbel Herrera drove in the tiebreaking run with a groundout against reliever Sean Reid-Foley (2-1) in the eighth as both games took an extra inning to determine a winner. Nola tied Tom Seaver’s mark for consecutive strikeouts set 51 years ago, but the Mets rallied to win the first game 2-1 in eight innings on big hits by Francisco Lindor and Dominic Smith. Following a costly error by third baseman Alec Bohm in the bottom of the seventh, Archie Bradley (3-1) limited the damage and allowed only pinch-hitter James McCann’s tying sacrifice fly in the nightcap. In the opener, Seth Lugo (1-0) struck out three in the top of the eighth and stranded two runners for the NL East leaders, playing their third doubleheader... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Kevin Kiermaier doubled off reliever Darwinzon Hernández with one out in the eighth inning for Tampa Bay's first hit against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night. Nick Pivetta and Josh Taylor combined to hold the Rays hitless through seven innings. Hernández entered a scoreless game and struck out Francisco Mejía to begin the eighth before Kiermaier doubled to left field on a 1-1 fastball clocked at 94 mph. Pivetta was pulled with a runner on second and two outs in the seventh after throwing 100 pitches. His career high is 116. Pivetta finished with eight strikeouts, two walks and one hit batter. Austin Meadows reached with one out in the seventh when Red Sox first baseman Michael Chavis was charged with an error after misplaying a routine grounder. After Pivetta retired Yandy Díaz on a grounder, manager Alex Cora went to the mound to make a pitching change. Josh Taylor intentionally walked pinch-hitter Manuel Margot before getting a fly to left from Joey Wendle.... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — Maikel Franco hit a two-run homer with one out in the eighth inning, denying the Houston Astros in their attempt to throw a combined no-hitter Monday night at Baltimore. Astros starter Jake Odorizzi and reliever Cristian Javier held the Orioles without a hit through seven innings. Then there was a 41-minute rain delay in the top of the eighth. Brandon Bielak came on to pitch the bottom of the eighth for Houston, and after he hit Austin Hays with a pitch with one out — just the second baserunner for Baltimore — Franco sent a drive to deep center field. The Astros lead 10-2. Earlier in Franco's at-bat, Bielak appeared to have thrown strike three, but he didn't get the call from plate umpire Angel Hernandez. Houston was looking to pitch the seventh no-hitter in the majors this season. That would have matched 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. Odorizzi pitched the first five... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — Houston Astros starter Jake Odorizzi and reliever Cristian Javier held Baltimore without a hit through seven innings Monday night, and play has resumed after a 41-minute rain delay in the top of the eighth. Houston was looking to throw the seventh no-hitter in the majors this season. That 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. Odorizzi pitched the first five innings before being replaced by Javier. Odorizzi retired his first 13 batters, then walked DJ Stewart on a full count in the fifth. That was the only baserunner for the Orioles. Houston leads 9-0. The teams played for a while in a driving rain at Camden Yards in the top of the eighth, with puddles forming in the infield. Play was finally halted with one out and José Altuve batting. The start of the game was also delayed an hour because of rain. Javier retired Baltimore in order in the sixth and seventh. Pedro... [More]