A look at what's happening around the majors Monday:CHECK HIMThe Indians will see how ace Corey Kluber is feeling, a day after he was pulled from a Triple-A rehab start because of abdominal tightness.The two-time AL Cy Young Award winner pitched one scoreless inning for Columbus before exiting as a precaution. The 33-year-old will be examined in Cleveland.Kluber hasn't pitched in the majors since his right forearm was broken by a line drive on May 1.BRUISED BREWERSThe Brewers are hoping to have outfielder Lorenzo Cain and catcher Yasmani Grandal back in the lineup for the series opener at St. Louis in a matchup of NL Central contenders.Cain injured his oblique on Friday night at Washington and didn't play the rest of the weekend. Grandal didn't start Sunday after manager Craig Counsell said the two-time All-Star lost an excessive amount of weight a day earlier in a 5-hour, 40-minute game.ASCENDING ASTROJustin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and newcomer Zack Greinke get most of the attention in... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:STAR ATTRACTIONSThe top two teams in the National League meet again when Cody Bellinger and the Dodgers visit Atlanta. Los Angeles starter Hyun-Jin Ryu (12-2) leads the majors with a 1.45 ERA. Mike Foltynewicz (4-5, 6.24 ERA) gets the ball for the Braves.Bellinger hit his 41st home run Friday night, tied with Angels star Mike Trout for most in the majors, and the Dodgers won the series opener 8-3 while setting a big league record with 22 homers in a five-game span. The two-time defending NL champions also eliminated the Braves from the playoffs last year and swept them at home in May.Atlanta outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. leads the NL in stolen bases and needs one more to join Trout in 2012 as the only players with a 30-30 season before their 22nd birthday. Acuña has 35 home runs.KEEP 'EM IN THE PARK, KIDTop prospect Logan Webb makes his major league debut for the Giants against Arizona. The 22-year-old Webb has pitched at four minor league... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Houston Astros ace Gerrit Cole said his sore right hamstring is "not super serious" a day after he was a late scratch in the second game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox.Cole experienced discomfort in his leg while warming up and never took the mound. Instead, Chris Devenski opened the game and lasted just two innings in a 4-1 loss that gave the White Sox a split of the twin bill.The right-hander underwent tests on Wednesday in Chicago and talked to reporters following Houston's 13-9 loss to the White Sox."We got some good news," Cole said. "So we'll just take it day by day right now and kind of see how it responds to some treatment and some rest and get back out there as soon as I can."Cole said he never had a similar hamstring injury, but added, "I've had my fair share of stuff that I've had to get through."Manager A.J. Hinch said Cole would remain with the Astros while the injury is treated and expects the 28-year-old will accompany the team to Oakland for a four-game series that opens on Thursday.Cole didn't know if he'd miss his next scheduled start, next Monday against Detroit in Houston."I don't think it has been ruled out, but I haven't really had that conversation yet with the manager," he said.Cole, 14-5 with a 2.87 ERA, has won a career-best 10 straight games.

CHICAGO (AP) — Houston Astros ace Gerrit Cole underwent tests on his right hamstring on Wednesday, a day after he was a late scratch in the second game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox.Cole experienced discomfort in his leg while warming up and never took the mound. Instead, Chris Devenski opened the game and lasted just two innings in a 4-1 loss that gave the White Sox a split of the twin bill.Manager A.J. Hinch says Cole would remain with the Astros while awaiting results. Hinch expects the right-hander will accompany the team to Oakland for a four-game series that opens on Thursday.Hinch says Cole "reports feeling good, he just needs to wait for the results of the tests and the doctors and see what's next for him. He's frustrated that he missed a start last night. Now we've got to run the course of getting him evaluated."Cole, 14-5 with a 2.87 ERA, has won a career-best 10 straight games.

CHICAGO (AP) — Houston Astros right-hander Gerrit Cole didn't make a scheduled start in the second game of doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night because of right hamstring discomfort.Cole was listed on the starting lineup, but righty Chris Devenski took the mound in the bottom of the first. Devenski made his first start of the season and seventh of his career.Cole is 14-5 with a 2.87 ERA and will have to wait to try to extend his career-best winning streak to 11 games. The last team to beat him was the White Sox on May 22.Devenski is 2-0 with a 4.33 ERA in 46 games.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

A look at what's happening around the majors today:ONE-TWO PUNCHHouston goes into a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox with two of the pitchers the Astros hope will carry them deep into October. In the opener, Zack Greinke will make his second start for AL West-leading Houston since he was acquired from Arizona in a blockbuster trade at the deadline. Greinke is a combined 11-4 with a 3.08 ERA and got the win with a middling performance in his Astros debut, allowing five runs in six innings against the Colorado Rockies. Gerrit Cole (14-5, 2.87 ERA) has been an ace for the Astros all season and is among the favorites for the AL Cy Young Award. The last team to beat him was the White Sox — way back on May 22. The doubleheader was scheduled after Monday's Astros-White Sox matchup was postponed by rain.SCHERZER'S SIM GAMEWashington Nationals ace Max Scherzer is expected to throw a simulated game Tuesday as he tries to get closer to returning from a back muscle injury. Manager Dave Martinez... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Tuesday:ONE-TWO PUNCHHouston goes into a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox with two of the pitchers the Astros hope will carry them deep into October. In the opener, Zack Greinke will make his second start for AL West-leading Houston since he was acquired from Arizona in a blockbuster trade at the deadline. Greinke is a combined 11-4 with a 3.08 ERA and got the win with a middling performance in his Astros debut, allowing five runs in six innings against the Colorado Rockies. Gerrit Cole (14-5, 2.87 ERA) has been an ace for the Astros all season and is among the favorites for the AL Cy Young Award. The last team to beat him was the White Sox — way back on May 22. The doubleheader was scheduled after Monday's Astros-White Sox matchup was postponed by rain.SCHERZER'S SIM GAMEWashington Nationals ace Max Scherzer is expected to throw a simulated game Tuesday as he tries to get closer to returning from a back muscle injury. Manager Dave... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Zack Greinke's second start with the Houston Astros has been postponed by rain.The Astros were scheduled to begin a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox on Monday night, but the rain started to pick up in the afternoon and the game was quickly called.The teams will play a traditional doubleheader Tuesday. Greinke and Gerrit Cole will pitch for Houston, and rookie Dylan Cease and Iván Nova are the scheduled starters for Chicago.The 35-year-old Greinke was acquired in a blockbuster trade with Arizona on July 31, giving Houston another ace for its rotation. The six-time All-Star got the win in his Astros debut, pitching six innings of five-run ball in an 11-6 victory over Colorado on Tuesday.Houston has won 12 of 15 to open a 10-game lead in the AL West. It looked as if it was headed for its ninth straight win Sunday in Baltimore, but Roberto Osuna surrendered a two-run homer to Rio Ruiz with two out in the ninth inning of the Orioles' 8-7 victory.Houston's pitching... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:ZEROED INZack Greinke makes his Houston debut, joining an Astros rotation that is on quite a roll. Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, newcomer Aaron Sanchez and the starters for the AL West leaders are 14-1 in their last 17 games — the Astros held Seattle to a total of seven hits in a three-game sweep over the weekend, including a combined no-hitter.Greinke (10-4, 2.90 ERA) was acquired from Arizona on Wednesday. He'll see a lot of familiar faces when he starts against Colorado at Minute Maid Park.Trevor Story has hit five home runs off Greinke, tied with Carlos Gonzalez and Jason Giambi for the most against the right-hander. Rockies star Nolan Arenado, however, hasn't homered in 75 at-bats vs. Greinke.CAMDEN CRUSHThe Yankees have hit 32 home runs at Camden Yards this year, the most by a visiting team at any stadium in a single season. New York hit five, including two by Mike Tauchman, in a 9-6 win Monday night.That broke the mark of 29 set... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Tuesday:ZEROED INZack Greinke makes his Houston debut, joining an Astros rotation that is on quite a roll. Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, newcomer Aaron Sanchez and the starters for the AL West leaders are 14-1 in their last 17 games — the Astros held Seattle to a total of seven hits in a three-game sweep over the weekend, including a combined no-hitter.Greinke (10-4, 2.90 ERA) was acquired from Arizona on Wednesday. He'll see a lot of familiar faces when he starts against Colorado at Minute Maid Park.Trevor Story has hit five home runs off Greinke, tied with Carlos Gonzalez and Jason Giambi for the most against the right-hander. Rockies star Nolan Arenado, however, hasn't homered in 75 at-bats vs. Greinke.HE'S BACKMike Foltynewicz returns to the Atlanta rotation after getting demoted to the minors. He'll start against the AL Central-leading Twins at Target Field.A 13-game winner and an All-Star for the Braves in 2018, he struggled to regain... [More]

Yes, the Houston Astros can still be beat, even after assembling baseball's newest super rotation.The Astros acquired six-time All-Star Zack Greinke from Arizona just before Wednesday's trade deadline, adding him to a pitching staff that already included Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole. Then, as if to show off, Houston threw a combined no-hitter Saturday night against Seattle — with Aaron Sanchez, another new acquisition, tossing six innings.Still, recent history tells us that in baseball's fickle postseason, even a trio of aces often isn't enough. Here's a look at some of the best rotations of the wild-card era — and how those teams ultimately fared.Atlanta Braves (1995-99): The Atlanta trio of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz actually joined forces before the wild-card era and stayed together into the new century, but the peak was probably the mid-to-late 1990s, when the Braves won three pennants and a World series in a five-year span. Maddux won the Cy Young Award in 1995, Smoltz... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Zack Greinke has admired the Houston Astros from afar. Now he gets to see them close up, and the newly acquired ace is looking forward to that opportunity."Probably just being able to watch them play every day ... and just being able to be around some really good players and some talented athletes with a lot of baseball knowledge," he said Friday at an introductory news conference."And I think anytime you're on a new team, but especially a team like this there's a lot of learning you can do. I think they'll be more fun to watch than your average team, so that will be nice, too, watching good baseball," he said.The AL West leaders got Greinke from the Arizona Diamondbacks for four prospects in a startling trade Wednesday minutes before the deadline to complete deals. The 35-year-old righty joins All-Stars Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole in an imposing rotation.Since the trade, many have declared that Houston has the best rotation in baseball."It's up there," Greinke said.... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:NEW FACES AND PLACESFollowing a flurry of deals just before Wednesday's trade deadline, players all over the majors will be joining their new teams. Zack Greinke (Astros), Shane Greene (Braves) and Nicholas Castellanos (Cubs) were among the notable names who got moved on a dizzying day that featured two dozen trades. But perhaps most surprising was the fact the AL East-leading Yankees — and World Series champion Red Sox — didn't make any additions to their major league rosters.LONG WAITCleveland starter Danny Salazar makes his first big league appearance since the 2017 playoffs when the Indians host Houston in the rubber match of a three-game series between AL pennant contenders. Salazar, an All-Star in 2016, missed last season because of arm trouble and had shoulder surgery. All-Star Gerrit Cole (12-5, 2.94 ERA) looks to continue his dominant stretch for the Astros. He's 7-0 with a 1.88 ERA in 11 starts since June 1, piling up 100 strikeouts... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Seconds after Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow pulled off perhaps the most shocking deal of this trade deadline to bring Zack Greinke to an already stacked Astros rotation he surveyed the stunned room in a bit of a daze."I can't believe we just added Zack Greinke to this rotation and this team," Luhnow said, sharing the thought he had as he completed the trade.Luhnow orchestrated the swap to bring the six-time All-Star who won the 2009 AL Cy Young Award to Houston from Arizona in exchange for four minor leaguers as the headliner of a flurry of trades he made on Wednesday to beef up the talented squad.Houston also acquired two other pitchers, getting starter Aaron Sanchez and reliever Joe Biagini from Toronto and bringing back catcher Martin Maldonado, who spent the last 41 games with the team in 2018, from the Cubs.Luhnow said getting Greinke only became a possibility in the last two days and talks for the veteran right-hander didn't really heat up until the final 24 hours."I... [More]

Out of nowhere, the Houston Astros got a huge head start on October.On a dizzying day that featured two dozen trades, the Astros pulled off the biggest and most startling deal, adding ace Zack Greinke to an imposing rotation already loaded with All-Stars Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole.Plenty of familiar names were on the go Wednesday — Shane Greene and Mark Melancon boosted the Braves' bullpen, with Scooter Gennett, Jesús Aguilar, Mike Leake and Tanner Roark among those also moving.But it was the Astros' acquisition of Greinke from Arizona for four minor leaguers that quickly became the talk of baseball. The deal came right before the deadline for swapping players to still have them eligible for the postseason."We had him high on our list and we didn't know this was even remotely possible and it really wasn't until the last 48 hours and really the last 24 hours that we started to get traction on something," Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow said.The AL West leaders and 2017 World Series... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The most stunning deal done at this year's trade deadline didn't come together until the final 20 minutes, and the result is a starting rotation that's sure to be long remembered.The Houston Astros acquired ace Zack Greinke on Wednesday, adding another All-Star and Cy Young Award winner to a formidable rotation that already included Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole.The AL West leaders got Greinke in a startling trade with Arizona for four minor leaguers, a deal in which the Diamondbacks agreed to pay the Astros $26 million to cover much of the roughly $76 million the pitcher is due."We have two pitchers on our team, maybe more that are Hall of Fame-caliber," Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said. "And I think we have a rotation that's set up to compete in any series against any team for the rest of this year."Arizona general manager Mike Hazen said the trade was rushed into place in the final 20 minutes before the 4 p.m. deadline to complete deals to have players eligible... [More]

Out of nowhere, the Houston Astros got a huge head start on October.On a dizzying day that featured two dozen trades, the Astros pulled off the biggest and most startling deal, adding ace Zack Greinke to an imposing rotation already loaded with All-Stars Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole.Plenty of familiar names were on the go Wednesday — Shane Greene and Mark Melancon boosted the Braves' bullpen, with Scooter Gennett, Jesús Aguilar and Mike Leake among those also moving.But it was the Astros' acquisition of Greinke from Arizona for four minor leaguers that quickly became the talk of baseball. The deal came right before the deadline for swapping players to still have them eligible for the postseason."We had him high on our list and we didn't know this was even remotely possible and it really wasn't until the last 48 hours and really the last 24 hours that we started to get traction on something," Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow said.The AL West leaders and 2017 World Series champions... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The most stunning deal done at this year's trade deadline didn't come together until the final 20 minutes, and the result is a starting rotation that's sure to be long remembered.The Houston Astros acquired ace Zack Greinke on Wednesday, adding another All-Star and Cy Young Award winner to a formidable rotation that already included Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole.The AL West leaders got Greinke in a startling trade with Arizona for four minor leaguers, a deal in which the Diamondbacks agreed to pay the Astros $26 million to cover much of the roughly $76 million the pitcher is due."We have two pitchers on our team, maybe more that are Hall of Fame-caliber," Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said. "And I think we have a rotation that's set up to compete in any series against any team for the rest of this year."Arizona general manager Mike Hazen said the trade was rushed into place in the final 20 minutes before the 4 p.m. deadline for trades. Astros players learned about... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Houston Astros acquired ace Zack Greinke on Wednesday, adding another All-Star to a formidable rotation that already included Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole.The AL West leaders got Greinke in a startling trade with Arizona for four minor leaguers, a deal in which the Diamondbacks agreed to pay the Astros $26 million to cover much of the roughly $76 million the pitcher is due. It came right before the deadline to complete deals to have players eligible for the postseason."We are just really shocked and ecstatic," Cole said before Houston played at Cleveland, adding, "I'm really proud to be an Astro right now."Cole said when the players learned of the deal there was "a lot of hooting and hollering at 4:07. We are ecstatic. We're getting a Hall of Fame pitcher, a craftsman."Greinke pitched five innings earlier in the day at Yankee Stadium, giving up two runs to New York. He is 10-4 with a 2.90 ERA this season.The 35-year-old Greinke left the ballpark without commenting... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Houston Astros acquired ace Zack Greinke on Wednesday, adding another All-Star to a formidable rotation that already included Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole.The AL West leaders got Greinke in a startling trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks for four minor leaguers. It came right before the deadline to complete deals to have players eligible for the postseason."We are just really shocked and ecstatic," Cole said before Houston played at Cleveland, adding, "I'm really proud to be an Astro right now."Cole said when the players learned of the deal there was "a lot of hooting and hollering at 4:07. We are ecstatic. We're getting a Hall of Fame pitcher, a craftsman."Greinke pitched five innings earlier in the day at Yankee Stadium, giving up two runs to New York. He is 10-4 with a 2.90 ERA this season.The 35-year-old Greinke left the ballpark without commenting to reporters. The trade was officially announced after 5:30 p.m., following Arizona's 7-5 loss.The Astros won the... [More]