NEW YORK (AP) — Clayton Kershaw was shaky in an abbreviated return to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night.Kershaw came off the disabled list and allowed two runs in three innings against the New York Mets. He threw 55 pitches, starting out strong before laboring through his final inning.The lefty ace was scheduled to make a rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City at Omaha, but Los Angeles decided Friday to have him pitch in New York because of precarious weather in Nebraska. Kershaw had been sidelined since June 1 with a lower back strain.Kershaw was electric in the first inning. He froze leadoff man Brandon Nimmo on a curveball for a three-pitch strikeout, got Todd Frazier looking for a five-pitch K and induced a weak grounder to the mound from Asdrubal Cabrera.The three-time Cy Young Award winner wasn't as sharp after that. Michael Conforto and Jose Bautista lined consecutive doubles off him in the second inning to tie it at 1, and Kershaw threw 25 pitches in the third inning, including... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Carlos Correa and the Houston Astros won their 11th straight game, finishing off a 10-0 trip by rallying past the Kansas City Royals 7-4 on Sunday.The World Series champion Astros swept their swing through Texas, Oakland and Kansas City, outscoring opponents 74-35. Last season, Houston had an 11-game winning streak end in Kansas City. This time, the Astros trailed 4-3 in the eighth inning before Correa led off with a tying homer. Evan Gattis, who had three hits, then put them ahead during a three-run burst.Correa has three home runs and eight RBIs in six games after missing four games with discomfort in his right side. He had a first-inning single and added a sacrifice fly in the ninth.Gattis hit .366 with five home runs and 19 RBIs on the Astros' trip. He singled home Yuli Gurriel in the eighth, and Marvin Gonzalez added an RBI single in the inning.The Royals have lost six straight and 12 of 13. They have dropped 26 of 36 home games.Brandon Maurer (0-3) took the... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Carlos Correa and the Houston Astros won their 11th straight game, finishing off a 10-0 trip by rallying past the Kansas City Royals 7-4 on Sunday.The World Series champion Astros swept their swing through Texas, Oakland and Kansas City, outscoring opponents 74-35. Last season, Houston had an 11-game winning streak end in Kansas City. This time, the Astros trailed 4-3 in the eighth inning before Correa led off with a tying homer. Evan Gattis, who had three hits, then put them ahead during a three-run burst.Correa has three home runs and eight RBIs in six games after missing four games with discomfort in his right side. He had a first-inning single and added a sacrifice fly in the ninth.Gattis hit .366 with five home runs and 19 RBIs on the Astros' trip. He singled home Yuli Gurriel in the eighth, and Marvin Gonzalez added an RBI single in the inning.The Royals have lost six straight and 12 of 13. They have dropped 26 of 36 home games.Brandon Maurer (0-3) took the... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Sandy Alderson all but said "tick, tick, tick."Mets players are running out of time to turn around their season, and New York's general manager took the blame as the person in charge of assembling the roster."When you're scoring runs at the anemic rate that we have, something hasn't worked. So from that standpoint, I take full responsibility for where we are," he said Tuesday during a telephone news conference. "I'm not happy about it. But at the same time the job now is to figure out how to fix it and improve it. And that's what we're focused on over the next several weeks."New York started 11-1 but has fallen to 28-35 and fourth in the NL East, 8½ games behind first-place Atlanta. The injury-ravaged Mets entered Tuesday 28th in runs and 25th among the 30 teams in batting average at .230. The offense has been unable to support a pitching staff that was 15th in ERA at 4.03.As the All-Star Game next month and the July 31 trade deadline approach, Alderson would consider retooling... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Sandy Alderson all but said "tick, tick, tick."Mets players are running out of time to turn around their season, and New York's general manager takes the responsibility as the person in charge of assembling the roster."When you're scoring runs at the anemic rate that we have, something hasn't worked. So from that standpoint, I take full responsibility for where we are," he said Tuesday during a telephone news conference. "I'm not happy about it. But at the same time the job now is to figure out how to fix it and improve it. And that's what we're focused on over the next several weeks."New York started 11-1 but began Tuesday 28-34 and fourth in the NL East, 7½ games behind first-place Washington. The injury-ravaged Mets are 28th in runs and 25th among the 30 teams in batting average at .230. The offense has been unable to support a pitching staff that is 15th in ERA at 4.03.As the All-Star Game next month and the July 31 trade deadline approach, Alderson would consider retooling... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Brandon Crawford went 4 for 4 with a two-run homer, and the San Francisco Giants dealt Max Scherzer his first loss in more than two months, defeating the Washington Nationals 2-0 on Sunday.After Pablo Sandoval walked leading off the fourth, Crawford homered into the second deck in right for his eighth of the season. He singled in the first and doubled in the sixth and eighth innings. Since May 1, Crawford is hitting an MLB-best .439 (58-for-132) and has raised his average to .338.Scherzer (10-2) had won nine straight decisions since his last loss on April 4. He allowed two runs and four hits while striking out nine over seven innings.Derek Holland (4-6), a 10-year veteran facing Washington for the first time, allowed three hits and two walks in five innings as five pitchers combined for the three-hitter. Hunter Strickland pitched the ninth for his 13th save.PADRES 3, MARLINS 1MIAMI (AP) — Clayton Richard became the latest pitcher to flirt with the first no-hitter in San... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Brandon Crawford went 4 for 4 with a two-run homer, and the San Francisco Giants dealt Max Scherzer his first loss in more than two months, defeating the Washington Nationals 2-0 on Sunday.After Pablo Sandoval walked leading off the fourth, Crawford homered into the second deck in right for his eighth of the season. He singled in the first and doubled in the sixth and eighth innings. Since May 1, Crawford is hitting an MLB-best .439 (58-for-132) and has raised his average to .338.Scherzer (10-2) had won nine straight decisions since his last loss on April 4. He allowed two runs and four hits while striking out nine over seven innings.Derek Holland (4-6), a 10-year veteran facing Washington for the first time, allowed three hits and two walks in five innings as five pitchers combined for the three-hitter. Hunter Strickland pitched the ninth for his 13th save.METS 2, YANKEES 0NEW YORK (AP) — Seth Lugo (2-1) pitched six dominant innings in a stellar spot start, Todd Frazier... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — As if the New York Mets needed any more bad news, now Asdrubal Cabrera is ailing and they have no idea when they might get Yoenis Cespedes back.Sidelined for nearly a month by a nagging hip injury, Cespedes had his minor league rehabilitation assignment cut short Sunday following a setback.On the disabled list since May 14 because of a strained right hip flexor, the oft-injured slugger hit two doubles Saturday in his second rehab game for Double-A Binghamton but was removed early with tightness in his right quadriceps."Same thing," manager Mickey Callaway said. "It's where the quad attaches to the hip."A few hours after Callaway spoke, things only got worse when Cabrera exited Sunday night's game against the New York Yankees with a tight left hamstring.The switch-hitting second baseman stumbled awkwardly out of the batter's box and grabbed the back of his left leg when he bounced back to the mound to begin the bottom of the first inning.Cabrera, who leads the team with 11... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Jon Lester combined with two relievers on a one-hitter, and the Cubs took advantage of a first-inning slip by center fielder Starling Marte in a 2-0 victory Saturday over the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago's 11th win in 13 games.Lester (7-2) allowed a two-out triple in the third to Austin Meadows, then retired Starling Marte on a groundout. Lester struck out five and walked two in seven innings, improving to 5-1 in his past six starts.Justin Wilson and Steve Cishek each pitched a perfect inning. Cishek got his second save as the Cubs remained a half-game behind NL Central-leading Milwaukee.Nick Kingham (2-3) allowed both runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings. Pittsburgh lost for the sixth time in seven games and is 5-16 following a 26-17 start, losing seven straight series.YANKEES 4, METS 3NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge hit a tiebreaking drive in the eighth inning and the Yankees won a game of home run derby, beating the Mets for their sixth straight victory in the Subway Series.Rookies... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Jon Lester combined with two relievers on a one-hitter, and the Cubs took advantage of a first-inning slip by center fielder Starling Marte in a 2-0 victory Saturday over the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago's 11th win in 13 games.Lester (7-2) allowed a two-out triple in the third to Austin Meadows, then retired Starling Marte on a groundout. Lester struck out five and walked two in seven innings, improving to 5-1 in his past six starts.Justin Wilson and Steve Cishek each pitched a perfect inning. Cishek got his second save as the Cubs remained a half-game behind NL Central-leading Milwaukee.Nick Kingham (2-3) allowed both runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings. Pittsburgh lost for the sixth time in seven games and is 5-16 following a 26-17 start, losing seven straight series.YANKEES 4, METS 3NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge hit a tiebreaking drive in the eighth inning and the Yankees won a game of home run derby, beating the Mets for their sixth straight victory in the Subway Series.Rookies... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Max Scherzer pitched eight strong innings to become the first 10-game winner in the majors this season, striking out 13 in the Washington Nationals' 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night.Scherzer (10-1) won his ninth consecutive decision while scattering five hits and did not allow a runner past second base until pinch hitter Brad Miller's two-out double in the eighth.Sean Doolittle pitched the ninth for his 15th save in 16 opportunities.Scherzer struck out Johnny Field, Christian Arroyo and Daniel Robertson on a combined nine pitches in the sixth inning. It was the third nine pitch/three strikeout inning in Nationals history and the first since Scherzer did it against Philadelphia on May 14, 2017.Tampa Bay starter Nathan Eovaldi (1-1) gave up four runs in five innings in his second start back from Tommy John surgery.DIAMONDBACKS 3, GIANTS 2SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Madison Bumgarner tossed six solid innings in his long-awaited season debut but was outpitched... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Max Scherzer pitched eight strong innings to become the first 10-game winner in the majors this season, striking out 13 in the Washington Nationals' 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night.Scherzer (10-1) won his ninth consecutive decision while scattering five hits and did not allow a runner past second base until pinch hitter Brad Miller's two-out double in the eighth.Sean Doolittle pitched the ninth for his 15th save in 16 opportunities.Scherzer struck out Johnny Field, Christian Arroyo and Daniel Robertson on a combined nine pitches in the sixth inning. It was the third nine pitch/three strikeout inning in Nationals history and the first since Scherzer did it against Philadelphia on May 14, 2017.Tampa Bay starter Nathan Eovaldi (1-1) gave up four runs in five innings in his second start back from Tommy John surgery.RED SOX 6, TIGERS 0BOSTON (AP) — J.D. Martinez hit his 20th home run, Steven Wright pitched seven sharp innings in his first start of the season... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Max Scherzer pitched eight strong innings to become the first 10-game winner in the majors this season, striking out 13 in the Washington Nationals' 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night.Scherzer (10-1) won his ninth consecutive decision while scattering five hits and did not allow a runner past second base until pinch hitter Brad Miller's two-out double in the eighth.Sean Doolittle pitched the ninth for his 15th save in 16 opportunities.Scherzer struck out Johnny Field, Christian Arroyo and Daniel Robertson on a combined nine pitches in the sixth inning. It was the third nine pitch/three strikeout inning in Nationals history and the first since Scherzer did it against Philadelphia on May 14, 2017.Tampa Bay starter Nathan Eovaldi (1-1) gave up four runs in five innings in his second start back from Tommy John surgery.RED SOX 6, TIGERS 0BOSTON (AP) — J.D. Martinez hit his 20th home run, Steven Wright pitched seven sharp innings in his first start of the season... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Brett Gardner tied it with his second homer of the game, a one-out, two-run drive in the ninth inning, Gleyber Torres hit a winning single in the 10th and the New York Yankees rallied to beat the Houston Astros 6-5 Tuesday night.The Yankees won despite making five errors — including two by Torres at second base — for the first time since 2014. They also came up with a startling defensive play in the 10th when Aroldis Chapman (2-0) threw a 100 mph fastball to the backstop that took a fortuitous carom to catcher Gary Sanchez, who threw out Tony Kemp at third base.Miguel Andujar doubled against Brad Peacock (1-3) with two outs in the 10th, and Torres lined an opposite-field single to right.RED SOX 8, BLUE JAYS 3BOSTON (AP) — Sandy Leon hit a home run and two doubles, Xander Bogaerts also homered and Rick Porcello took a three-hitter into the seventh inning, helping Boston beat Toronto to match the second-best start in franchise history.J.D. Martinez also had two of Boston's... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Brett Gardner tied it with his second homer of the game, a one-out, two-run drive in the ninth inning, Gleyber Torres hit a winning single in the 10th and the New York Yankees rallied to beat the Houston Astros 6-5 Tuesday night.The Yankees won despite making five errors — including two by Torres at second base — for the first time since 2014. They also came up with a startling defensive play in the 10th when Aroldis Chapman (2-0) threw a 100 mph fastball to the backstop that took a fortuitous carom to catcher Gary Sanchez, who threw out Tony Kemp at third base.Miguel Andujar doubled against Brad Peacock (1-3) with two outs in the 10th, and Torres lined an opposite-field single to right.RED SOX 8, BLUE JAYS 3BOSTON (AP) — Sandy Leon hit a home run and two doubles, Xander Bogaerts also homered and Rick Porcello took a three-hitter into the seventh inning, helping Boston beat Toronto to match the second-best start in franchise history.J.D. Martinez also had two of Boston's... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Masahiro Tanaka pitched six sharp innings and struck out Japanese countryman Shohei Ohtani twice as the New York Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Angels 3-1 Sunday.Brett Gardner had three hits for New York, which won five of six against the Angels this season.Although Ohtani was pushed back from Sunday's scheduled start due to what the Angels called "workload management," Tanaka (6-2) held up his end up of the highly anticipated pitchers' duel that never materialized. Tanaka struck out eight and allowed just Andrelton Simmons' sixth-inning home run in his longest outing in nearly a month.Pitching on his 30th birthday, Angels right-hander Garrett Richards (4-4) allowed three runs over 2 1/3 innings and matched a season high with five walks.Aroldis Chapman walked Ohtani to begin the ninth, but struck out a pair to earn his 10th save in 11 chances.BRAVES 7, RED SOX 1BOSTON (AP) — Prized rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. took a high-flying tumble while beating out an infield hit, exiting... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani struck out nine while throwing 7 2/3 innings of excellent six-hit ball in his seventh career start, and the Los Angeles Angels snapped their five-game skid with a 5-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday.Martin Maldonado homered and drove in two runs, and Zack Cozart drove in two more runs on sacrifice flies as the Angels wrapped up a disappointing 11-game homestand with only four victories — including both games started by Ohtani (4-1).Los Angeles' rookie two-way sensation had another strong outing in the longest start of his stateside career. Ohtani retired 12 straight Rays after yielding rookie Johnny Field's homer leading off the third. Blake Parker pitched the ninth for his second save.While Ohtani threw 110 pitches, reliever Sergio Romo started for Tampa Bay for the second consecutive day. He faced the Angels' first six batters and got four outs while becoming the first pitcher in 38 years to last at least one inning in back-to-back starts.... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani struck out nine while throwing 7 2/3 innings of excellent six-hit ball in his seventh career start, and the Los Angeles Angels snapped their five-game skid with a 5-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday.Martin Maldonado homered and drove in two runs, and Zack Cozart drove in two more runs on sacrifice flies as the Angels wrapped up a disappointing 11-game homestand with only four victories — including both games started by Ohtani (4-1).Los Angeles' rookie two-way sensation had another strong outing in the longest start of his stateside career. Ohtani retired 12 straight Rays after yielding rookie Johnny Field's homer leading off the third. Blake Parker pitched the ninth for his second save.While Ohtani threw 110 pitches, reliever Sergio Romo started for Tampa Bay for the second consecutive day. He faced the Angels' first six batters and got four outs while becoming the first pitcher in 38 years to last at least one inning in back-to-back starts.... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Matt Kemp had a pinch-hit, two-run double in the ninth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers survived a sterling performance by Max Scherzer to beat the Washington Nationals 5-4 on Saturday night and sweep a day-night doubleheader.Scherzer struck out 13 in seven innings, and Washington led 4-3 entering the ninth. But closer Sean Doolittle (1-2) allowed singles to Austin Barnes and Logan Forsythe, and Kemp then hit a line drive to the wall in left field to score them both.Erik Goeddel (3-0) worked a scoreless eighth in his Dodgers debut after being acquired off waivers on Friday from Seattle Mariners. Kenley Jansen worked the ninth for his eighth save, and his second on the day.The Dodgers used eight pitchers. Starter Rich Hill threw just two pitches before leaving with a recurrence of the blister on his left middle finger that has already put him on the disabled list twice this season.In the first game, Ross Stripling (1-1) struck out a career-high nine in six strong innings... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Not so fast, Cincinnati Reds.Two days after they caught the Mets batting out of order, the Reds were tripped up in a double-switch that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts successfully argued on Friday night.In the seventh inning, Jesse Winker moved from left to right field and Adam Duvall entered the game in left.Scott Schebler made the last out of the inning and assumed he was coming out of the game, so he left the field.Winker was supposed to come off, but instead went to right as Schebler ran off."I didn't know Schebler ran off the field until Dave Roberts alerted the umpire and I realized then, 'Oh boy, we got a mess here,'" interim Reds manager Jim Riggleman said.Roberts said he knew something was wrong when reliever Amir Garrett was in the leadoff spot, but the Reds had him hitting sixth."The wrong player left and the umpires were on it," he said. "They got it right."Winker raised his arms in right as if to ask what was going on while the umpires convened. Eventually, plate umpire Alan Porter beckoned him to leave the field. Winker did and was replaced by Alex Blandino, who had never played right before."It was a mess," Riggleman said.On Wednesday, the Reds hosted the Mets, whose official lineup card had Asdrubal Cabrera batting second and Wilmer Flores third. But Flores hit second and Cabrera third, leading Riggleman to point out the error.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball