OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Seattle Mariners have placed ace James Paxton on the disabled list with a forearm bruise, one day after the left-hander was struck by a line drive.Paxton was facing the third batter in the first inning Tuesday night when Jed Lowrie lined a ball back up the middle, hitting the pitcher hard. Paxton walked toward second base in obvious pain as a team trainer and manager Scott Servais rushed onto the field.Paxton was replaced by Felix Hernandez.After the game, Paxton told reporters he felt tightness in his arm and could not grip a baseball. X-rays were negative.Paxton is 10-5, including a no-hitter against Toronto, and a 3.68 ERA. Hernandez, who allowed two runs over 5 2/3 innings, is likely to take Paxton's turn in the rotation.Right-hander Christian Bergman was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma to fill Paxton's roster spot.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Aaron Cox, a former Los Angeles Angels pitching prospect and the brother-in-law of Mike Trout, has died. He was 24.The Angels disclosed no further details Wednesday in a statement issued on behalf of Trout and his wife, Jessica Cox."Aaron Cox was a tremendous son, brother, and brother-in-law," the Cox and Trout families said in a statement. "He had a deep love for his family, and a passionate dedication and commitment to his friends. As our families grieve together, we will also celebrate the memories, the laughter, and the love we each shared with Aaron in the short time we had him."Cox was a 19th-round draft pick by the Angels in 2015. He attended Millville High School in New Jersey and Gannon University.Cox spent parts of three seasons in the Angels' system, including 11 games this season with Class-A Inland Empire. He retired from baseball earlier this summer.Trout had been away from the Angels this week due to a personal family matter. The two-time AL MVP is on the disabled list with an injured right wrist.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Aaron Cox, a former Los Angeles Angels pitching prospect and the brother-in-law of Mike Trout, has died. He was 24.The Angels disclosed no further details Wednesday in a statement issued on behalf of Trout and his wife, Jessica Cox.Cox was a 19th-round draft pick by the Angels in 2015. He attended Millville High School in New Jersey and Gannon University.Cox spent parts of three seasons in the Angels' system, including 11 games this season with Class-A Inland Empire. He retired from baseball earlier this summer.Trout had been away from the Angels this week due to a personal family matter. The two-time AL MVP is on the disabled list with an injured right wrist.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

A look at what's happening around the majors today:ACUNA AGAIN!Atlanta rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. has homered five games in a row — at 20, he's the youngest major leaguer to do that. He's also hit leadoff home runs in three straight, connecting the last two days on the first pitch Miami threw.Acuna later added his 19th homer with a three-run drive in the seventh inning Tuesday night.Brady Anderson was last player with so much leadoff success, homering four straight times to start games for Baltimore in 1996.Acuna has matched the Atlanta record for consecutive games with a home run set by Brian McCann in 2006. Acuna will try to keep the streaks going when the Braves face Jose Urena and the Marlins at SunTrust Park.SKIDDINGMinus MVP Jose Altuve, the AL West-leading Astros are struggling. They've matched a season high with five straight losses, have dropped nine in a row at home, and their lead in the AL West is down to just a game over surging Oakland. Houston will try to reverse the slides... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Robinson Cano is back in the major leagues with the Seattle Mariners after serving an 80-game drug suspension.The eight-time All-Star has a new position — first base, for the first time — and a new spot in the batting order, too."It feels great to be back, especially the way the team is playing," Cano said before the game. "I'm excited. I was waiting for this moment."Cano's first game was fairly nondescript. He went 1 for 4 with a single in the Mariners' 3-2 loss to the Oakland Athletics and played error-free in his new position.Cano arrived in Oakland late Monday, woke up early Tuesday and was at the Coliseum taking batting practice underneath the outfield stands three hours before the scheduled first pitch."It was really hard, I'm not going to lie," Cano said. "It was so hard watching the game from home knowing that (I) should be in there. My daughter was the thing that kept me positive. That was the biggest thing, being around my family."The 35-year-old Cano rejoins... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuna Jr. became the youngest player in major league history to homer in five straight games, hitting a leadoff shot on the first pitch and later adding a three-run drive to help the surging Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins 10-6 on Tuesday night.The 20-year-old Acuna homered on Miami's first pitch for the second straight night and became the first player to hit a leadoff homer in three consecutive games since Baltimore's Brady Anderson went deep in four straight in 1996. On Monday, he became the fourth player in major league history to hit leadoff homers in both games of a doubleheader.Acuna connected in the first off Trevor Richards and homered to right-center, his 19th of the year, off Adam Conley (3-3) to give the Braves a 10-6 lead in the seventh.Freddie Freeman hit his 20th homer to tie it in the sixth, and Dansby Swanson had a tiebreaking RBI single in the seventh as the NL East-leading Braves won for the 13th time in 17 games.Acuna, who has homered in seven... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuna Jr. became the youngest player in major league history to homer in five straight games, hitting a leadoff shot on the first pitch and later adding a three-run drive to help the surging Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins 10-6 on Tuesday night.The 20-year-old Acuna homered on Miami's first pitch for the second straight night and became the first player to hit a leadoff homer in three consecutive games since Baltimore's Brady Anderson went deep in four straight in 1996. On Monday, he became the fourth player in major league history to hit leadoff homers in both games of a doubleheader.Acuna connected in the first off Trevor Richards and homered to right-center, his 19th of the year, off Adam Conley (3-3) to give the Braves a 10-6 lead in the seventh.Freddie Freeman hit his 20th homer to tie it in the sixth, and Dansby Swanson had a tiebreaking RBI single in the seventh as the NL East-leading Braves won for the 13th time in 17 games.Acuna, who has homered in seven... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig took a swing at San Francisco Giants catcher Nick Hundley and both players were ejected during a benches-clearing scrap in the seventh inning Tuesday night.Puig swatted his bat in frustration after fouling off a pitch from Tony Watson, and Hundley said something to the mercurial slugger while still in his crouch. Puig turned around and walked toward Hundley, the catcher stood up, and they stood face to face and argued for a moment before Puig shoved Hundley twice.That brought players out of the benches and bullpens. Puig and Hundley were momentarily separated, but Puig ducked around teammates, coaches and manager Dave Roberts before reaching back to hit Hundley. He smacked Hundley with an open hand across the front of his catcher's mask.The players were then separated again for good. After discussing with both managers, the umpires ejected both Puig and Hundley.It was the fourth career ejection for Puig, who had also got into a skirmish with Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner in 2014.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday:ACUNA AGAIN!Atlanta rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. has homered five games in a row — at 20, he's the youngest major leaguer to do that. He's also hit leadoff home runs in three straight, connecting the last two days on the first pitch Miami threw.Acuna later added his 19th homer with a three-run drive in the seventh inning Tuesday night.Brady Anderson was last player with so much leadoff success, homering four straight times to start games for Baltimore in 1996.Acuna has matched the Atlanta record for consecutive games with a home run set by Brian McCann in 2006. Acuna will try to keep the streaks going when the Braves face Jose Urena and the Marlins at SunTrust Park.SKIDDINGMinus MVP Jose Altuve, the AL West-leading Astros are struggling. They've matched a season high with five straight losses and have dropped nine in a row at home. Houston will try to reverse the slides when Gerrit Cole (10-5, 2.75 ERA) starts vs. Colorado lefty Tyler Anderson... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Seattle Mariners ace James Paxton was replaced by Felix Hernandez in the first inning Tuesday night after being hit by a line drive on his pitching arm.X-rays on Paxton's left arm were negative, and he was diagnosed with a forearm contusion.Paxton allowed a leadoff home run to Oakland's Marcus Semien and struck out Matt Chapman before Jed Lowrie lined a 2-1 pitch back up the middle. Manager Scott Servais and a team trainer rushed from the dugout to check on Paxton, who seemed hesitant to move his left arm.Paxton is 10-5 with a 3.68 ERA this season. He entered the day 11th among qualified starters with 3.6 wins above replacement, per Fangraphs.Hernandez quickly began warming up to make his first career relief appearance following 398 starts. The 32-year-old was removed from the rotation last week amid a season full of struggles.Hernandez walked Khris Davis before getting a double-play grounder from Matt Olson.Seattle began the day 2 1/2 games behind Oakland for the second AL wild card.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday:ACUNA AGAIN!Atlanta rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. has homered five games in a row — at 20, he's the youngest major leaguer to do that. He's also hit leadoff home runs in three straight, connecting the last two days on the first pitch Miami threw.Acuna later added his 19th homer with a three-run drive in the seventh inning Tuesday night.Brady Anderson was last player with so much leadoff success, homering four straight times to start games for Baltimore in 1996.Acuna has matched the Atlanta record for consecutive games with a home run set by Brian McCann in 2006. Acuna will try to keep the streaks going when the Braves face Jose Urena and the Marlins at SunTrust Park.GETTING CLOSEThe Cubs will check on Yu Darvish and if he's OK, the right-hander could go on a minor league rehab assignment. Darvish threw about 55 pitches in a simulated game Tuesday.Sidelined because of triceps and elbow injuries, Darvish has not pitched since he won at Cincinnati... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Braves rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. has struck again.The 20-year-old Acuna has become the youngest player in major league history to homer in five straight games, doing it Tuesday night when he hit his third leadoff shot in a row. Then he added another in the seventh inning, a three-run shot for his 19th of the season.A day after hitting leadoff homers in both games of a doubleheader against Miami, Acuna connected. He opened the bottom of the first inning against the Marlins by homering on the first pitch for the second straight day. The Braves went on to win 10-6.Acuna is the first player to hit leadoff shots in three straight games since Baltimore's Brady Anderson did it four in a row in 1996.Acuna has homered in seven of his last eight games, with eight long balls over that span. He tied the Atlanta record of five straight with a homer set by Brian McCann in 2006.The only other player younger than 21 to homer in four straight games was Miguel Cabrera for the Marlins in 2004.Acuna is hitting .352 with 11 homers since moving to the top of the batting over, a stretch of 24 games beginning right after the All-Star break. The outfielder went 5 for 8 with two homers, five RBIs, five runs, two walks, a double and a stolen base in Atlanta's doubleheader sweep of the Marlins.After Acuna circled the bases, Charlie Culberson homered on the second pitch from Miami's Trevor Richards.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Seattle Mariners ace James Paxton was pulled in the first inning Tuesday night after being hit by a line drive and replaced by Felix Hernandez.Paxton allowed a leadoff home run to Oakland's Marcus Semien and struck out Matt Chapman before Jed Lowrie lined a 2-1 pitch back up the middle. The ball appeared to hit Paxton on or near his pitching arm.Manager Scott Servais and a team trainer rushed from the dugout to check on Paxton, who seemed hesitant to move his left arm.Paxton is 10-5 with a 3.68 ERA this season. He entered the day 11th among qualified starters with 3.6 wins above replacement, per Fangraphs.Hernandez quickly began warming up to make his first career relief appearance following 398 starts. The 32-year-old was removed from the rotation last week amid a season full of struggles.Hernandez walked Khris Davis before getting a double-play grounder from Matt Olson.Seattle began the day 2 1/2 games behind Oakland for the second AL wild card.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday:ACUNA AGAIN!Atlanta rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. has homered five games in a row — at 20, he's the youngest major leaguer to do that. He's also hit leadoff home runs in three straight, connecting the last two days on the first pitch Miami threw.Acuna later added his 20th homer with a three-run drive in the seventh inning Tuesday night.Brady Anderson was last player with so much leadoff success, homering four straight times to start games for Baltimore in 1996.Acuna has matched the Atlanta record for consecutive games with a home run set by Brian McCann in 2006. Acuna will try to keep the streaks going when the Braves face Jose Urena and the Marlins at SunTrust Park.GETTING CLOSEThe Cubs will check on Yu Darvish and if he's OK, the right-hander could go on a minor league rehab assignment. Darvish threw about 55 pitches in a simulated game Tuesday.Sidelined because of triceps and elbow injuries, Darvish has not pitched since he won at Cincinnati... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Robinson Cano is back in the major leagues with the Seattle Mariners after serving an 80-game drug suspension.The eight-time All-Star has a new position — first base, for the first time — and a new spot in the batting order, too."It feels great to be back, especially the way the team is playing," Cano said before Tuesday night's game against the Oakland Athletics. "I'm excited. I was waiting for this moment."Cano arrived in Oakland late Monday, woke up early Tuesday and was at the Coliseum taking batting practice underneath the outfield stands three hours before the scheduled first pitch."It was really hard, I'm not going to lie," Cano said. "It was so hard watching the game from home knowing that (I) should be in there. My daughter was the thing that kept me positive. That was the biggest thing, being around my family."The 35-year-old Cano rejoins a Seattle team that is in the middle of a playoff race. The Mariners entered the day 1 ½ games behind the Athletics for... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Ben Zobrist figured plate umpire Phil Cuzzi was going to give him the boot regardless, so the Chicago Cubs veteran didn't hold back during his first career ejection.Zobrist told Cuzzi he would prefer an "electronic strike zone" before being ejected in the eighth inning of Chicago's 7-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night. That came two innings after Cubs manager Joe Maddon was tossed for the second time in four games after Cuzzi called Zobrist out on strikes.Zobrist was waiting on deck in the eighth when Javier Baez struck out to end the inning. Zobrist approached Cuzzi to say he didn't appreciate being told to "be quiet" after getting called out in the sixth on a pitch he thought was a ball. He wanted assurances that the umpire would look over the play and "make an adjustment.""He didn't want me to tell him that," Zobrist said. "I just basically said, 'Well, that's why we want an electronic strike zone.' And that's what obviously got me tossed."The slider that Zobrist took for strike three from starter Jhoulys Chacin has been called a strike 44.7 percent of the time, according to ESPN Stats & Info.Maddon's ejection was his third this season. He also was thrown out Friday against Washington for arguing an interference call against Willson Contreras running out a ground ball.___For more AP baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Braves rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. has struck again.The 20-year-old Acuna has become the youngest player in major league history to homer in five straight games, doing it Tuesday night when he hit his third leadoff shot in a row.A day after hitting leadoff homers in both games of a doubleheader against Miami, Acuna connected. He opened the bottom of the first inning against the Marlins by homering on the first pitch for the second straight day.Acuna is the first player to hit leadoff shots in three straight games since Baltimore's Brady Anderson did it four in a row in 1996.Acuna has homered in seven of his last eight games. He tied the Atlanta record of five straight with a homer set by Brian McCann in 2006.The only other player under 21 to homer in four straight games was Miguel Cabrera for the Marlins in 2004.Acuna is hitting .352 with 11 homers since moving to the top of the batting over, a stretch of 24 games beginning right after the All-Star break. The outfielder went 5 for 8 with two homers, five RBIs, five runs, two walks, a double and a stolen base in Atlanta's doubleheader sweep of the Marlins.After Acuna circled the bases, Charlie Culberson homered on the second pitch from Miami's Trevor Richards.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

NEW YORK (AP) — With the final piece now in place, the Tampa Bay Rays feel really good about the package of prospects they received for Chris Archer.Tampa Bay acquired touted minor league pitcher Shane Baz from Pittsburgh on Tuesday as the player to be named in the July 31 trade that sent Archer to the Pirates.The 19-year-old Baz, selected 12th overall in the 2017 amateur draft, was 4-3 with a 3.97 ERA for Bristol in the rookie-level Appalachian League this season. The right-hander had 54 strikeouts in 10 starts covering 45 1/3 innings."I know we're excited to get him. He's a really high-end prospect," Rays manager Kevin Cash said before his team played the New York Yankees. "Very powerful right-handed kid. Probably going to be some time before we see him, but to put a pitcher like that in our system — I know he was a guy that during the draft that we talked a lot about. We were happy with who we picked at (No. 4), but were disappointed that we didn't get the opportunity and now with that... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre has initially avoided going on the disabled list for the third time this season because of a troublesome left hamstring.Beltre was out of the lineup Tuesday, a night after the active career hits leader re-aggravated the hamstring injury that has already put him on the DL twice this year. He got hurt when scoring from second base on a bloop single to left-center field."We're going to give him a couple of days, see how he feels," manager Jeff Banister said before the finale of a quick two-game set against Arizona.The Rangers have a day off before opening a four-game series at home against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday, when the 39-year-old Beltre will be revaluated again. Beltre wasn't seen in the clubhouse when it was open to reporters before Tuesday's game."I don't get any indication that it's going to be anything long-term at this point," Banister said. "But again, still reserve the right to let it kind of settle down... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired minor league pitcher Shane Baz from Pittsburgh as the player to be named in the July 31 trade that sent Chris Archer to the Pirates.The 19-year-old Baz, selected 12th overall in the 2017 amateur draft, was 4-3 with a 3.97 ERA for Bristol in the rookie-level Appalachian League this season. The right-hander had 54 strikeouts in 10 starts covering 45 1/3 innings.The move announced Tuesday completes a blockbuster deal that brought a wealth of young talent to Tampa Bay. The third-place Rays had already obtained rookie outfielder Austin Meadows and hard-throwing pitcher Tyler Glasnow from Pittsburgh for Archer, a 29-year-old right-hander who has made two All-Star teams.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports