A look at what's happening around the majors today:SHIFTED SITEThe Mariners and Giants play at Oracle Park after their two-game series in Seattle was postponed because of poor air quality caused by the West Coast wildfires. The teams will now play twice in San Francisco.Forecasters are calling for smoke to reach very unhealthy levels in Western Washington through at least Thursday. There have been smoky skies in the Bay Area, too, but the air quality has remained OK.The Mariners and Oakland split a doubleheader Monday in Seattle. The smoke level reached a level of very unhealthy on the air quality index, even with the roof closed at T-Mobile Park.“I’m a healthy 22-year-old. I shouldn’t be gasping for air or missing oxygen. I’ll leave it at that,” said Jesús Luzardo, who started the opener for the A’s.HAMELS TIMEThe wait is over for left-hander Cole Hamels, who is poised to come off the 45-day injured list and pitch for the first time as a member of the Braves.After signing a one-year contract... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Wednesday:SHIFTED SITEThe Mariners and Giants play at Oracle Park after their two-game series in Seattle was postponed because of poor air quality caused by the West Coast wildfires. The teams will now play twice in San Francisco.Forecasters are calling for smoke to reach very unhealthy levels in Western Washington through at least Thursday. There have been smoky skies in the Bay Area, too, but the air quality has remained OK.The Mariners and Oakland split a doubleheader Monday in Seattle. The smoke level reached a level of very unhealthy on the air quality index, even with the roof closed at T-Mobile Park.“I’m a healthy 22-year-old. I shouldn’t be gasping for air or missing oxygen. I’ll leave it at that,” said Jesús Luzardo, who started the opener for the A’s.HAMELS TIMEThe wait is over for left-hander Cole Hamels, who is poised to come off the 45-day injured list and pitch for the first time as a member of the Braves.After signing a one-year... [More]

A look at what’s happening around the majors today:___NOT JUSTIN, SHANEIt hasn’t taken Shane Bieber long to become Cleveland’s ace — and maybe the best pitcher in baseball this season. The right-hander looks to stay unbeaten as the Indians open a three-game series in Minnesota. Bieber, who is 7-0 with a 1.25 ERA and leads the majors in numerous categories, is already 2-0 against the Twins this year. Bieber began last season as Cleveland’s No. 5 starter, but his ascension and the trades of Trevor Bauer, Corey Kluber and Mike Clevinger have solidified him as the Indians’ No. 1 starter.DODGER (BLACK AND) BLUEA couple of starting pitchers are dinged up for the major league-leading Dodgers. Walker Buehler went on the 10-day injured list Thursday because of a lingering blister on the index finger of his right hand. A little bit later, Dustin May was pulled after just one inning with a bruised left foot after he was hit by a sharp grounder against Arizona. “I think tomorrow when we get back home... [More]

A look at what’s happening around the majors Friday:___NOT JUSTIN, SHANEIt hasn’t taken Shane Bieber long to become Cleveland’s ace — and maybe the best pitcher in baseball this season. The right-hander looks to stay unbeaten as the Indians open a three-game series in Minnesota. Bieber, who is 7-0 with a 1.25 ERA and leads the majors in numerous categories, is already 2-0 against the Twins this year. Bieber began last season as Cleveland’s No. 5 starter, but his ascension and the trades of Trevor Bauer, Corey Kluber and Mike Clevinger have solidified him as the Indians’ No. 1 starter.HELP ON THE WAY?Atlanta's beleaguered rotation took another hit when left-hander Tommy Milone was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday with elbow inflammation. Milone hasn’t been the Band-Aid the Braves hoped they were getting when they acquired him in a trade with Baltimore, pitching to a 14.90 ERA in three starts for Atlanta. The Braves are playing without their entire projected rotation but still lead... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:___REMEMBERING ROBERTOAll Pirates players and coaches will wear No. 21 against the White Sox as part of Roberto Clemente Day. Major League Baseball has also given permission for players of Puerto Rican descent on other teams to wear the number for the day.The Pirates and the family of the late Hall of Fame right fielder are hoping to spark a movement in which No. 21 will be retired throughout Major League Baseball. In 2009, MLB retired No. 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson, who broke the sport’s color barrier in 1947.The star's son, Roberto Clemente Jr., said he received a text from Pirates third base coach Joey Cora on July 29 at the behest of manager Derek Shelton, asking whether all Pittsburgh players could wear the number on Sept. 9.“We are very, very fortunate that someone took that initiative, and it was Derek Shelton and Joey, a very proud Puerto Rican who has always been there pushing the envelope inside,” Clemente Jr. said this week.PAIR... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday:___REMEMBERING ROBERTOAll Pirates players and coaches will wear No. 21 against the White Sox as part of Roberto Clemente Day. Major League Baseball has also given permission for players of Puerto Rican descent on other teams to wear the number for the day.The Pirates and the family of the late Hall of Fame right fielder are hoping to spark a movement in which No. 21 will be retired throughout Major League Baseball. In 2009, MLB retired No. 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson, who broke the sport’s color barrier in 1947.The star's son, Roberto Clemente Jr., said he received a text from Pirates third base coach Joey Cora on July 29 at the behest of manager Derek Shelton, asking whether all Pittsburgh players could wear the number on Sept. 9.“We are very, very fortunate that someone took that initiative, and it was Derek Shelton and Joey, a very proud Puerto Rican who has always been there pushing the envelope inside,” Clemente Jr. said this... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday:___PAIR OF ACESYu Darvish and Trevor Bauer pitch at Wrigley Field in a matchup of ace right-handers headed in different directions. Darvish, one of the front-runners for the NL Cy Young Award, is going for his eighth straight victory for the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs. He has a sparkling 0.98 ERA during his winning streak. Bauer starts for the Cincinnati Reds. He was terrific at the beginning of the season, but he is 0-3 with a 4.08 ERA in his last three starts. BRONX BLUESThe slumping Yankees turn to rookie right-hander Deivi Garcia (0-1, 3.38) in the finale of a critical series against the Blue Jays. The 21-year-old Garcia is set for his third big league start — he overwhelmed the Mets in his debut, but struggled against Baltimore in his second game. The Yankees have lost five straight and 15 of 20 to fall three games behind Toronto for second place in the AL East. New York dropped the first two games of the series despite New... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday:___PAIR OF ACESYu Darvish and Trevor Bauer pitch at Wrigley Field in a matchup of ace right-handers headed in different directions. Darvish, one of the front-runners for the NL Cy Young Award, is going for his eighth straight victory for the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs. He has a sparkling 0.98 ERA during his winning streak. Bauer starts for the Cincinnati Reds. He was terrific at the beginning of the season, but he is 0-3 with a 4.08 ERA in his last three starts. BRONX BLUESThe slumping Yankees turn to rookie right-hander Deivi Garcia (0-1, 3.38) in the finale of a critical series against the Blue Jays. The 21-year-old Garcia is set for his third big league start — he overwhelmed the Mets in his debut, but struggled against Baltimore in his second game. The Yankees have lost five straight and 15 of 20 to fall three games behind Toronto for second place in the AL East. New York dropped the first two games of the series despite New... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday:___PAIR OF ACESYu Darvish and Trevor Bauer pitch at Wrigley Field in a matchup of ace right-handers headed in different directions. Darvish, one of the front-runners for the NL Cy Young Award, is going for his eighth straight victory for the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs. He has a sparkling 0.98 ERA during his winning streak. Bauer starts for the Cincinnati Reds. He was terrific at the beginning of the season, but he is 0-3 with a 4.08 ERA in his last three starts. BRONX BLUESThe Yankees turn to rookie right-hander Deivi Garcia (0-1, 3.38) in the finale of a critical series against the Blue Jays. The 21-year-old Garcia is set for his third big league start — he overwhelmed the Mets in his debut, but struggled against Baltimore in his second game. New York general manager Brian Cashman tried to fire up the slumping Yankees in a meeting prior to Tuesday's game.“We haven’t played well now for quite some time,” Cashman said. “We all know... [More]

The Atlanta Braves' season-long rotation woes continued Tuesday when Max Fried, the top healthy starter, was placed on the 10-day injured list.The latest blow to the rotation could accelerate the team's plans to have Cole Hamels rushed into action for his 2020 debut.Fried had been the only current healthy member of the projected rotation before the season began.Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos said Fried has a left-side muscle spasm in his lumbar spine. Anthopoulos said he hopes Fried can return from the IL as soon as he is eligible on Sept. 16.Fried said his velocity “was definitely down” after he allowed three runs in five innings against the Washington Nationals on Saturday night. He is 6-0 with a 1.98 ERA after not taking a decision in the 10-4 loss.Before the injury, Fried excelled as the team's top starter, filling the void left when the Braves lost opening day starter Mike Soroka to a torn right Achilles tendon suffered on Aug. 3 against the New York Mets.Soroka's season-ending... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves failed to pull off a major deal to bolster their rotation at baseball's trade deadline Monday, leaving the NL East leaders with a huge question mark as they seek a third straight division title and an extended run in the postseason for the first time time since 2001.The only trade made by the Braves came a day earlier, when they acquired journeyman Tommy Milone from the Baltimore Orioles for two players to be named.Milone was thrown right into the mix by the pitching-starved team — and it didn't go well. The 33-year-old left-hander was given a 10-1 lead but lasted just 2 1/3 innings, giving up seven runs, two homers and eight hits to the Philadelphia Phillies. The Braves managed to hang on for a 12-10 victory."There's no doubt things have not panned out the way we hoped," general manager Alex Anthopoulos said on a conference call shortly after the 4 p.m. EDT deadline passed. “We would have loved to add more starting pitching. We had those discussions. Ultimately,... [More]

Sept. 11906 — The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox 4-1 in 24 innings. Jack Coombs of the Athletics and Joe Harris of the Red Sox pitched all 24 innings. Coombs fanned 18.1930 — Wes Ferrell of Cleveland beat the St. Louis Browns 9-5 for his 13th straight victory.1931 — Lou Gehrig hit his third grand slam in four days as the Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 5-1.1945 — The Philadelphia Phillies, behind Vince DiMaggio’s grand slam, beat the Braves 8-3 in Boston. It was the fourth grand slam of the year for DiMaggio to tie a major league mark.1958 — Vinegar Bend Mizell of the St. Louis Cardinals set a National League record by walking nine batters and tossing a shutout. Mizell beat Cincinnati 1-0 in the first game of a doubleheader.1963 — Curt Simmons of the St. Louis Cardinals allowed six hits, drove in two runs with a triple and stole home plate in a 7-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Simmons’ steal of home is the last by a pitcher.1967 — Cincinnati’s Bob Lee walked Dick... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Desperate for starting pitching as they pursue a third straight NL East title, the Atlanta Braves acquired left-hander Tommy Milone from the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday for two players to be named.The division-leading Braves have struggled to put together a rotation behind Max Fried, who is 5-0 with a 1.35 ERA. Ian Anderson, who pitched one-hit ball over six innings in his major league debut last week, is the only other Atlanta starter to earn a win this season.The 33-year-old Milone will be thrown right into the mix, starting Sunday night's game at Philadelphia. The Braves chartered a flight from Buffalo, where the Orioles were playing a weekend series against the Toronto Blue Jays, to ensure their newest starter wasn't subjected to possible exposure to the coronavirus.“We've not had any players join us after after taking a commercial flight, and we'd prefer not to do it," Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos said. “We're not going to take any chances. There's no script... [More]

Aug. 131906 — Jack Taylor of the Chicago Cubs was chased by Brooklyn in the third inning, ending a streak of 187 complete games and 15 relief games that Taylor had finished without relief help.1910 — The Brooklyn Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates played to an 8-8 tie. Each team had 38 at-bats, 13 hits, 12 assists, two errors, five strikeouts, three walks, one hit batsman and one passed ball.1931 — Tony Cuccinello of the Cincinnati Reds had six hits in six at-bats in the first game of a doubleheader at Boston. Cuccinello had a triple, two doubles and three singles to knock in five runs as the Reds won 17-3.1948 — Satchel Paige, 42, pitched his first major league complete game against the Chicago White Sox. Paige gave up five hits en route to 5-0 Cleveland victory.1969 — Jim Palmer of the Orioles, plagued by arm trouble the year before, threw an 8-0 no-hitter against the Oakland A’s in Baltimore.1978 — The Baltimore Orioles benefited from the rain-out rule. The Orioles were leading New York... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:STRASBURG SETWorld Series MVP Stephen Strasburg is scheduled to make his season debut for Washington after being sidelined by a nerve problem in his pitching hand. The right-hander is ready to start at Nationals Park against Baltimore.Strasburg missed what would have been his first two appearances of 2020 after making all 33 starts last year and then becoming the first pitcher to finish a postseason with a 5-0 record.The 32-year-old Strasburg led the NL with 209 innings and 18 wins in 2019.STRAIGHT A’SThe Athletics try for their ninth straight win when rookie left-hander Jesus Luzardo makes his second career start, taking on Houston at the Coliseum. Luzardo threw five scoreless innings Tuesday vs. Texas in his starting debut.Rookie righty Cristian Javier (1-0, 1.42 ERA) counters for the Astros, who have lost four in a row. Houston center fielder George Springer has missed two straight starts because of a sprained right wrist.WELCOMEPrized... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Sunday:STRASBURG SETWorld Series MVP Stephen Strasburg is scheduled to make his season debut for Washington after being sidelined by a nerve problem in his pitching hand. The right-hander is ready to start at Nationals Park against Baltimore.Strasburg missed what would have been his first two appearances of 2020 after making all 33 starts last year and then becoming the first pitcher to finish a postseason with a 5-0 record.The 32-year-old Strasburg led the NL with 209 innings and 18 wins in 2019.STRAIGHT A’SThe Athletics try for their ninth straight win when rookie left-hander Jesus Luzardo makes his second career start, taking on Houston at the Coliseum. Luzardo threw five scoreless innings Tuesday vs. Texas in his starting debut.Rookie righty Cristian Javier (1-0, 1.42 ERA) counters for the Astros, who have lost four in a row. Houston center fielder George Springer has missed two straight starts because of a sprained right wrist.WELCOMEPrized... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Call it a sign of the times.Facing a sprint of a season rather than a marathon because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Atlanta Braves didn’t have time to let Mike Foltynewicz sort out his perplexing problems.So, after a dismal showing in his first outing of an abbreviated campaign, the Braves cut ties with a 28-year-old pitcher who was an All-Star in 2018 and started two games in the NL Division Series last season.It was a stunning turn for a right-hander just entering what should be the prime of his career, who has no apparent injury issues and isn’t eligible for free agency until 2022.The Braves designated Foltynewicz for assignment after a 14-5 loss at Tampa Bay on Monday night, a move that effectively ended his tenure with a team that once viewed him as its staff ace. The move came after Foltynewicz surrendered six runs, three homers and four walks in 3 1/3 innings.“He's been a stuff guy the entire time we've had him,” manager Brian Snitker said. “But his stuff hasn’t... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Call it a sign of the times.Facing a sprint of a season rather than a marathon because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Atlanta Braves didn’t have time to let Mike Foltynewicz sort out his perplexing problems.So, after a dismal showing in his first outing of an abbreviated campaign, the Braves cut ties with a 28-year-old pitcher who was an All-Star in 2018 and started two games in the NL Division Series last season.It was a stunning turn for a pitcher just entering what should be the prime of his career, a right-hander who clearly has plenty of talent, no apparent injury issues and isn’t eligible for free agency until 2022.The Braves designated Foltynewicz for assignment after a 14-5 loss at Tampa Bay on Monday night, a move that effectively ended his tenure with a team that once viewed him as its staff ace. The move came after Foltynewicz surrendered six runs, three homers and four walks in 3 1/3 innings.“He's been a stuff guy the entire time we've had him,” Snitker said.... [More]

The Atlanta Braves will be without their top two catchers, Tyler Flowers and Travis d'Arnaud, for Friday's opening game at the New York Mets after both players showed symptoms of the coronavirus.Manager Brian Snitker said Friday that Flowers and d'Arnaud have tested negative for the coronavirus but did not travel with the team because they had symptoms. Snitker said he did not know what the symptoms were, and he hoped the two just had “a bad cold." Snitker said the team is being careful because “we’ve had guys test negative and the next day they test positive." First baseman Freddie Freeman and right-hander Touki Toussaint are back with the team and on the opening-day roster after testing positive at the start of summer camp. Left-handed reliever Will Smith and infielder Pete Kozma have not returned following positive tests.Freeman said he was grateful Flowers and Contreras reported the symptoms even though it meant they would miss the opener and possibly more games.“I applaud them for... [More]

The Atlanta Braves will be without their top two catchers, Tyler Flowers and Travis d'Arnaud, for Friday's opening game at the New York Mets after both players showed symptoms of the coronavirus.Manager Brian Snitker said Friday that Flowers and d'Arnaud have tested negative for the coronavirus but did not travel with the team because they had symptoms. Snitker said he did not know what the symptoms were, and he hoped the two just had “a bad cold." Snitker said the team is being careful because “we’ve had guys test negative and the next day they test positive." First baseman Freddie Freeman and right-hander Touki Toussaint are back with the team and on the opening-day roster after testing positive at the start of summer camp. Left-handed reliever Will Smith and infielder Pete Kozma have not returned following positive tests.Freeman said he was grateful Flowers and Contreras reported the symptoms even though it meant they would miss the opener and possibly more games.“I applaud them for... [More]