A look at what’s happening around the majors Thursday:PLAYER PROTESTSAfter three games were called off while players used their platform to call attention to racial injustice, the question is whether more postponements or a wider boycott in baseball are possible.Three games that weren't played Wednesday were expected to be made up as part of doubleheaders on Thursday. Those games will be between the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres, and Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.The Brewers were the first team to decide not to take the field as a protest over the shooting by police of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in the team's home state of Wisconsin. Other MLB games had finished, were in progress or just about to start as the Brewers' decision was announced.Braves star Freddie Freeman said he expected his team would discuss the boycotts during its off day. Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez, in emotional postgame remarks, said he would... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Michael Perez hit a go-ahead solo homer in the eighth inning and the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 on Wednesday night.Perez homered to center off Mychal Givens (0-1). It was his first long ball since Aug. 10, 2018.Ryan Sherriff (1-0) worked a perfect eighth in his first big league game since May 7, 2018, due to Tommy John surgery. Diego Castillo pitched the ninth to get his first save. Ten Tampa Bay relievers have a save this season.Brandon Lowe hit his 10th homer for the Rays, who have won nine of 11. The Orioles are 8-3 on the road after losing the first two games of the series. Their only other defeat away from home came opening day at Boston.BLUE JAYS 9, RED SOX 1BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Rowdy Tellez drove in four runs with two homers and a double, and Toronto beat Boston.Vladimir Guererro Jr. hit a pair of doubles, including a three-run bouncer down the left field line that keyed a four-run seventh inning for Toronto (15-14).... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Michael Perez hit a go-ahead solo homer in the eighth inning and the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 on Wednesday night.Perez homered to center off Mychal Givens (0-1). It was his first long ball since Aug. 10, 2018.Ryan Sherriff (1-0) worked a perfect eighth in his first big league game since May 7, 2018, due to Tommy John surgery. Diego Castillo pitched the ninth to get his first save. Ten Tampa Bay relievers have a save this season.Brandon Lowe hit his 10th homer for the Rays, who have won nine of 11. The Orioles are 8-3 on the road after losing the first two games of the series. Their only other defeat away from home came opening day at Boston.BLUE JAYS 9, RED SOX 1BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Rowdy Tellez drove in four runs with two homers and a double, and Toronto beat Boston.Vladimir Guererro Jr. hit a pair of doubles, including a three-run bouncer down the left field line that keyed a four-run seventh inning for Toronto (15-14).... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Three Major League Baseball games were postponed Wednesday as players across the sports landscape reacted in the wake of the weekend shooting by police of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Wisconsin.Games between the Cincinnati Reds and Brewers in Milwaukee, Seattle Mariners and Padres in San Diego and the Los Angeles Dodgers and Giants in San Francisco were called off hours before they were set to begin.Dodgers star Mookie Betts, who is Black, told his teammates he was sitting out and they backed him.“For me, I think no matter what, I wasn’t going to play tonight," Betts said.Other MLB games had finished, were in progress or just about to start as the announcements were made.The baseball postponements came after the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks didn’t come out on the floor for Game 5 of their first-round playoff series with the Orlando Magic on Wednesday afternoon at Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NBA officials later announced that all three of the day’s scheduled playoff games had been... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A pair of Major League Baseball games were postponed Wednesday as players across the sports landscape reacted in the wake of the weekend shooting by police of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Wisconsin.Games between the Cincinnati Reds and Brewers in Milwaukee and the Seattle Mariners and Padres in San Diego were called off hours before they were set to begin.Other MLB games had finished, were in progress or just about to start when the announcements were made.The baseball postponements came after the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks didn’t come out on the floor for Game 5 of their first-round playoff series with the Orlando Magic on Wednesday afternoon at Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NBA officials later announced that all three of the day’s scheduled playoff games had been postponed.Blake was shot multiple times by police in Kenosha, about 40 miles south of Milwaukee. The Blake family’s attorney said Blake was paralyzed and that it would “take a miracle” for him to walk again.The shooting... [More]

White sox second. Jose Abreu flies out to deep right field to Gregory Polanco. Eloy Jimenez walks. Edwin Encarnacion doubles to left field. Eloy Jimenez to third. Luis Robert out on a sacrifice fly to deep center field to Cole Tucker. Eloy Jimenez scores. Nomar Mazara singles to center field. Edwin Encarnacion scores. Danny Mendick homers to right field. Nomar Mazara scores. Tim Anderson strikes out swinging.4 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on. White sox 4, Pirates 0.White sox fourth. Edwin Encarnacion homers to left field. Luis Robert grounds out to shallow center field, Adam Frazier to Jose Osuna. Nomar Mazara grounds out to second base, Erik Gonzalez to Jose Osuna. Danny Mendick strikes out swinging.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. White sox 5, Pirates 0.White sox fifth. Tim Anderson singles to shallow infield. Yoan Moncada lines out to deep right field to Gregory Polanco. Yasmani Grandal singles to center field. Tim Anderson to third. Jose Abreu pops out to shallow center field to... [More]

White sox second. Luis Robert singles to shallow infield. James McCann hit by pitch. Luis Robert to second. Danny Mendick walks. James McCann to second. Luis Robert to third. Adam Engel grounds out to first base to Josh Bell. Danny Mendick to second. James McCann to third. Luis Robert scores. Tim Anderson singles to left field. Danny Mendick to third. James McCann scores. Eloy Jimenez singles to second base. Tim Anderson to second. Danny Mendick scores. Jose Abreu grounds out to second base. Eloy Jimenez out at second.3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. White sox 3, Pirates 0.White sox third. Edwin Encarnacion doubles to deep center field. Yoan Moncada walks. Luis Robert singles to center field. Yoan Moncada to second. Edwin Encarnacion out at home. James McCann out on a sacrifice fly to deep left field to Bryan Reynolds. Luis Robert to third. Yoan Moncada scores. Danny Mendick flies out to deep right field to Cole Tucker.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. White sox 4, Pirates 0.

Pirates first. Erik Gonzalez doubles to deep right field. Adam Frazier singles to right field. Erik Gonzalez scores. Kevin Newman flies out to right field to Ben Gamel. Colin Moran strikes out swinging. Bryan Reynolds lines out to deep center field to Avisail Garcia.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Pirates 1, Brewers 0.Pirates second. Gregory Polanco singles to right center field. Jose Osuna grounds out to shallow infield, Corbin Burnes to Justin Smoak. Gregory Polanco to third. Jarrod Dyson singles to shallow left field. Gregory Polanco scores. Jacob Stallings strikes out swinging. Erik Gonzalez grounds out to shortstop, Orlando Arcia to Justin Smoak.1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 left on. Pirates 2, Brewers 0.Brewers fourth. Christian Yelich grounds out to second base, Adam Frazier to Jose Osuna. Keston Hiura singles to right field. Justin Smoak doubles to deep center field. Keston Hiura scores. Ryan Braun grounds out to shortstop, JT Riddle to Jose Osuna. Ben Gamel strikes out swinging.1... [More]

Brewers second. Justin Smoak strikes out swinging. Ben Gamel homers to center field. Omar Narvaez grounds out to first base, Colin Moran to Chad Kuhl. Luis Urias grounds out to shortstop, Kevin Newman to Colin Moran.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Brewers 1, Pirates 0.Pirates second. Bryan Reynolds homers to right field. Gregory Polanco grounds out to second base, Luis Urias to Justin Smoak. Cole Tucker singles to second base. Adam Frazier reaches on a fielder's choice to first base. Cole Tucker out at second.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on. Brewers 1, Pirates 1.Pirates fourth. Josh Bell singles to shallow center field. Colin Moran singles to shallow center field. Josh Bell to third. Bryan Reynolds singles to shortstop, advances to 2nd. Colin Moran to third. Josh Bell scores. Throwing error by Orlando Arcia. Gregory Polanco singles to center field. Bryan Reynolds to third. Colin Moran scores. Cole Tucker singles to shallow infield. Gregory Polanco to second. Bryan Reynolds scores.... [More]

Indians second. Carlos Santana grounds out to shallow infield, Trevor Williams to Josh Bell. Franmil Reyes singles to shallow infield. Tyler Naquin singles to left center field. Franmil Reyes to second. Domingo Santana lines out to deep right field to Cole Tucker. Beau Taylor singles to deep right center field. Tyler Naquin to third. Franmil Reyes scores. Bradley Zimmer grounds out to shallow infield to Josh Bell.1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Indians 1, Pirates 0.Indians eighth. Franmil Reyes walks. Tyler Naquin singles to left center field. Franmil Reyes to second. Domingo Santana walks. Tyler Naquin to second. Franmil Reyes to third. Beau Taylor reaches on a fielder's choice to first base. Greg Allen to second. Tyler Naquin to third. Franmil Reyes scores. Throwing error by Josh Bell. Bradley Zimmer reaches on a fielder's choice to shallow infield. Beau Taylor to second. Greg Allen to third. Tyler Naquin out at home. Cesar Hernandez strikes out swinging. Jose Ramirez grounds out to shallow infield, Erik Gonzalez to Josh Bell.1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 3 left on. Indians 2, Pirates 0.

Indians sixth. Delino DeShields pops out to Colin Moran. Cesar Hernandez doubles to deep left center field. Jose Ramirez walks. Francisco Lindor called out on strikes. Carlos Santana homers to right field. Jose Ramirez scores. Cesar Hernandez scores. Franmil Reyes strikes out swinging.3 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on. Indians 3, Pirates 0.Indians eighth. Jose Ramirez walks. Francisco Lindor strikes out swinging. Carlos Santana strikes out swinging. Franmil Reyes walks. Tyler Naquin pinch-hitting for Jordan Luplow. Tyler Naquin walks. Franmil Reyes to second. Domingo Santana doubles. Tyler Naquin scores. Franmil Reyes scores. Jose Ramirez scores. Roberto Perez hit by pitch. Delino DeShields strikes out on a foul tip.3 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 left on. Indians 6, Pirates 0.Pirates ninth. Cole Tucker pinch-hitting for Jacob Stallings. Cole Tucker doubles to deep center field. Adam Frazier lines out to shortstop to Francisco Lindor. Kevin Newman singles to deep right field. Cole Tucker to third. Josh Bell out on a sacrifice fly to deep right field to Tyler Naquin. Cole Tucker scores. Colin Moran flies out to deep center field to Delino DeShields.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Indians 6, Pirates 1.

Reds second. Jesse Winker homers to left field. Nick Senzel walks. Josh VanMeter flies out to deep right field to Gregory Polanco. Nick Senzel out at second. Freddy Galvis called out on strikes.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Reds 1, Pirates 0.Pirates fourth. Josh Bell lines out to deep right field to Nick Castellanos. Colin Moran called out on strikes. Bryan Reynolds homers to center field. Gregory Polanco strikes out swinging.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Pirates 1, Reds 1.Reds fourth. Joey Votto doubles to deep right center field. Jesse Winker homers to right field. Joey Votto scores. Nick Senzel flies out to right center field to Gregory Polanco. Josh VanMeter grounds out to shallow right field, Adam Frazier to Chad Kuhl. Freddy Galvis flies out to deep center field to Cole Tucker.2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on. Reds 3, Pirates 1.Reds seventh. Josh VanMeter doubles to right center field. Freddy Galvis singles to shallow infield. Josh VanMeter to third. Tucker Barnhart reaches... [More]

Tigers second. C.J. Cron homers to right field. Christin Stewart grounds out to first base to Josh Bell. Jeimer Candelario strikes out swinging. Victor Reyes grounds out to first base, Josh Bell to Chad Kuhl.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Tigers 1, Pirates 0.Pirates second. Bryan Reynolds walks. Phillip Evans singles to shallow right field. Bryan Reynolds to second. Adam Frazier strikes out swinging. Jacob Stallings walks. Phillip Evans to second. Bryan Reynolds to third. Erik Gonzalez singles to left field. Jacob Stallings to second. Phillip Evans scores. Bryan Reynolds scores. Cole Tucker pops out to shallow center field to Niko Goodrum. Kevin Newman grounds out to third base, Jeimer Candelario to C.J. Cron.2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Pirates 2, Tigers 1.Pirates fourth. Phillip Evans strikes out swinging. Adam Frazier grounds out to shallow right field, Jonathan Schoop to C.J. Cron. Jacob Stallings doubles to deep left center field. Erik Gonzalez homers to left field. Jacob... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — Jonathan Villar hit a first-pitch leadoff homer to spark a robust offensive performance by the Miami Marlins, who beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-7 Thursday night to complete a startling four-game sweep and make Don Mattingly the winningest manager in franchise history.Villar had three hits and Brian Anderson drove in three runs for the upstart Marlins, who emerged from a team-wide coronavirus outbreak to dominate the Orioles and forge the best winning percentage in the big leagues.Miami is 6-1 and in first place in the NL East despite putting 18 players on the injured list before the series opener Tuesday.The Marlins were the “home” team because this was a makeup of a July 28 game that was to be held in Miami but postponed in the wake of the Marlins’ COVID-19 outbreak.Batting in the bottom of the seventh, the Marlins broke a 6-6 tie with a sacrifice fly by Jesús Aguilar off Evan Phillips (1-1) and an RBI triple by Anderson.Mike Morin (1-0) pitched two shutout innings and... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — Jonathan Villar hit a first-pitch leadoff homer to spark a robust offensive performance by the Miami Marlins, who beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-7 Thursday night to complete a startling four-game sweep and make Don Mattingly the winningest manager in franchise history.Villar had three hits and Brian Anderson drove in three runs for the upstart Marlins, who emerged from a team-wide coronavirus outbreak to dominate the Orioles and forge the best winning percentage in the big leagues.Miami is 6-1 and in first place in the NL East despite putting 18 players on the injured list before the series opener Tuesday.The Marlins were the “home” team because this was a makeup of a July 28 game that was to be held in Miami but postponed in the wake of the Marlins’ COVID-19 outbreak.Batting in the bottom of the seventh, the Marlins broke a 6-6 tie with a sacrifice fly by Jesús Aguilar off Evan Phillips (1-1) and an RBI triple by Anderson.Mike Morin (1-0) pitched two shutout innings and... [More]

SEATTLE (AP) — Shohei Ohtani homered in his first plate appearance since being shut down as a pitcher, Dylan Bundy struck out 10 in the third complete game of his career and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Seattle Mariners 6-1 on Thursday. Ohtani drove a 1-0 pitch from Seattle starter Taijuan Walker (1-2) to the opposite field just beyond the leap of left fielder Dee Gordon leading off the second inning.Max Stassi added a two-run homer in the eighth inning, his fourth of the season.Bundy (2-1) has been superb since his offseason arrival from Baltimore via trade. The right-hander has pitched at least six innings in all three of his starts, with 25 strikeouts and two walks in 21 2/3 innings.Bundy allowed four hits and picked up his 10th strikeout getting Kyle Seager leading off the ninth. His only mistake was an elevated changeup that Daniel Vogelbach lined into the right field seats for a solo home run in the fourth inning.PIRATES 6, TWINS 5PITTSBURGH (AP) — Kevin Newman’s two-run pinch-single... [More]

Twins first. Max Kepler grounds out to shallow infield, Adam Frazier to Colin Moran. Jorge Polanco singles to right field. Nelson Cruz pops out to Colin Moran. Eddie Rosario walks. Jorge Polanco to third. Miguel Sano homers. Eddie Rosario scores. Jorge Polanco scores. Marwin Gonzalez called out on strikes.3 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on. Twins 3, Pirates 0.Pirates second. Colin Moran singles to shallow center field. Bryan Reynolds singles to right field. Colin Moran to second. Gregory Polanco homers to center field. Bryan Reynolds scores. Colin Moran scores. JT Riddle grounds out to shallow right field to Miguel Sano. John Ryan Murphy strikes out swinging. Jarrod Dyson grounds out to shallow infield, Ehire Adrianza to Miguel Sano.3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on. Twins 3, Pirates 3.Twins fourth. Ehire Adrianza pops out to shallow center field to JT Riddle. Alex Avila called out on strikes. Byron Buxton homers to center field. Max Kepler flies out to center field to Jarrod Dyson.1... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Jacob deGrom struck out a season-high 10 in six innings and the New York Mets snapped a five-game skid Monday night with a 7-2 victory over the Braves that was overshadowed by a season-ending injury to Atlanta ace Mike Soroka. Soroka tore his Achilles tendon in the third inning as he took a step toward first to cover the bag — a huge blow to the two-time defending NL East champions. Robinson Canó had three RBIs before leaving the game himself — one of three New York infielders who went down with injuries. Wilson Ramos added a two-run homer for the Mets, who avoided a four-game sweep and ended Atlanta’s five-game winning streak. Travis d’Arnaud homered off deGrom (1-0) in the fifth.Soroka (0-1) allowed three hits, walked four and wound up being charged with four earned runs in 2 1/3 innings, the second-shortest outing of his career.The Mets had injury concerns, too. Jeff McNeil was scratched just before the first pitch with back tightness, and Canó exited with left groin tightness... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Jacob deGrom struck out a season-high 10 in six innings and the New York Mets snapped a five-game skid Monday night with a 7-2 victory over the Braves that was overshadowed by a season-ending injury to Atlanta ace Mike Soroka. Soroka tore his Achilles tendon in the third inning as he took a step toward first to cover the bag — a huge blow to the two-time defending NL East champions. Robinson Canó had three RBIs before leaving the game himself — one of three New York infielders who went down with injuries. Wilson Ramos added a two-run homer for the Mets, who avoided a four-game sweep and ended Atlanta’s five-game winning streak. Travis d’Arnaud homered off deGrom in the fifth.DeGrom (1-0) turned in another sterling effort. He threw 104 pitches.When Davis grounded the ball toward first baseman Freddie Freeman, Soroka broke in that direction to cover the bag if necessary — only to go down on his first step off the mound. Soroka (0-1) allowed three hits, walked four and wound... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Jacob deGrom struck out a season-high 10 in six innings and the New York Mets snapped a five-game skid Monday night with a 7-2 victory over the Braves that was overshadowed by a season-ending injury to Atlanta ace Mike Soroka. Soroka tore his Achilles tendon in the third inning as he took a step toward first to cover the bag — a huge blow to the two-time defending NL East champions. Robinson Canó had three RBIs before leaving the game himself — one of three New York infielders who went down with injuries. Wilson Ramos added a two-run homer for the Mets, who avoided a four-game sweep and ended Atlanta’s five-game winning streak. Travis d’Arnaud homered off deGrom in the fifth.DeGrom (1-0) turned in another sterling effort. He threw 104 pitches.When Davis grounded the ball toward first baseman Freddie Freeman, Soroka broke in that direction to cover the bag if necessary — only to go down on his first step off the mound. Soroka (0-1) allowed three hits, walked four and wound... [More]