A look at what's happening around the majors Thursday:FANTASTIC FREEMANFreddie Freeman didn't get down on himself after his 16-game hitting streak ended on June 4. Instead, the Atlanta slugger just picked right back up where left off — extending his latest streak to seven games with a pair of hits in a win over the New York Mets on Wednesday. The first baseman has now hit safely in 23 of his last 24 games entering a home series with the San Diego Padres, including homering in his last three games.CY VERLANDER?Justin Verlander matched his season high when he allowed three earned runs in his last start, a 7-3 win for the Houston Astros over Texas last week. The American League ERA leader (1.45) will try and return to his usual dominating self when he starts at Oakland. Verlander (8-2) has allowed only 51 hits in 93 1/3 innings this season, striking out 113 in his first full season in Houston.THE OLD-FASHIONED WAYAfter pitching only relievers during a three-game sweep of Toronto, the Rays... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers and catcher Robinson Chirinos of the Texas Rangers have been ejected in the third inning after a home plate collision that led to a benches-clearing confrontation between the teams.With two outs, Enrique Hernandez singled to right and Kemp tried score from second Wednesday night. Chirinos caught a pinpoint throw by Nomar Mazara and had his glove out to tag Kemp. Kemp barreled into Chirinos with his arms up, leading with his shoulder. Chirinos' helmet flew off as he got knocked over and Kemp fell, too.Chirinos and Kemp jostled as they got up. That led to both benches and bullpens clearing and forming a scrum at the plate. Kemp was restrained by Rangers starter Cole Hamels.No punches were thrown. The umpires convened during the half inning and ejected both Kemp and Chirinos.Rules have been put in place to outlaw runners from plowing into catchers, and catchers have to give runners a lane to the plate in most cases. In this play, the throw home took Chirinos directly into Kemp's path home.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

NEW YORK (AP) — Hal Steinbrenner says his New York Yankees may need a starting pitching upgrade if they're going to reach their first World Series since 2009.Steinbrenner, the Yankees managing general partner, said Wednesday the club will explore the trade market for an arm, especially considering the recent loss of left-hander Jordan Montgomery, who had season-ending Tommy John surgery on June 7.The Yankees entered Wednesday with the best record in baseball, narrowly ahead of AL East rival Boston. The club has space to acquire an impact player and still remain under the $197 million luxury-tax threshold, a goal the team has stated several times."Clearly starting pitching was always a concern," Steinbrenner said, speaking to a small group of reporters at an owners' meeting. "It's definitely one of the areas we're going to be looking at."Purposely left a decent amount of money for just this," he added. "If we decide to go get a pitcher and if a pitcher's available, I think we definitely... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Hal Steinbrenner says his New York Yankees may need a starting pitching upgrade if they're going to reach their first World Series since 2009.Steinbrenner, the Yankees managing general partner, said Wednesday the club will explore the trade market for an arm, especially considering the recent loss of left-hander Jordan Montgomery, who had season-ending Tommy John surgery on June 7.The Yankees entered Wednesday with the best record in baseball, narrowly ahead phoof AL East rival Boston. The club has space to acquire an impact player and still remain under the $197 million luxury-tax threshold, a goal the team has stated several times."Clearly starting pitching was always a concern," Steinbrenner said, speaking to a small group of reporters at a quarterly owners' meeting. "It's definitely one of the areas we're going to be looking at."Purposely left a decent amount of money for just this," he added. "If we decide to go get a pitcher and if a pitcher's available, I think we... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — Chris Sale took a two-hitter into the seventh inning before being ejected, and the Boston Red Sox completed a three-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles with a 5-1 victory Wednesday.After issuing two walks to open the seventh in a 5-0 game, Sale (6-4) was lifted by manager Alex Cora. As he was making his way to the dugout, the left-hander yelled at plate umpire Brian Knight and was promptly ejected.Sale struck out nine, allowed one run and gave up two hits in ending a run of three straight losing starts. Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez homered for the Red Sox, who are 9-1 against the Orioles this season. Baltimore has lost seven straight and 14 of 16.Betts, the major league leader in batting average, came off the disabled list Monday after missing 14 games with an abdominal strain. He played Monday, was rested Tuesday and returned to the top of the lineup in the series finale. Betts hit a 3-2 pitch from Yefry Ramirez over the center-field wall in the third for his 18th home... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox have placed right-hander Nate Jones on the 10-day disabled list with a muscle strain in his forearm.Manager Rick Renteria says Jones told the team about the issue after he faced three batters during Tuesday night's 5-1 victory over Cleveland, allowing a hit, a walk and recording one out. The veteran reliever got an MRI, and Renteria says the injury is "very mild."Jones is 2-2 with a 4.01 ERA and four saves in 27 appearances this year. Renteria says he will stop throwing for six days and then be re-evaluated.Chicago also recalled right-hander Juan Minaya from Triple-A Charlotte before Wednesday night's game against the Indians. Minaya has no record and a 10.80 ERA in five appearances with the White Sox this year.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

ATLANTA (AP) — Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard has been prescribed more rest after getting a second opinion on a strained ligament in his index finger.Manager Mickey Callaway said Syndergaard's right finger is "tender to the touch." Syndergaard, on the disabled list retroactive to May 26, was examined Tuesday in New York. There is no immediate timetable for his return.Callaway added that Syndergaard likely will need a rehab start. The Mets had hoped he could get back this week, but Syndergaard will miss his third straight turn in the rotation.Seth Lugo again will take his place when New York begins a four-game series Thursday at Arizona.Syndergaard is 4-1 with a 3.06 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 64 2/3 innings as one of the Mets' aces, along with Jacob deGrom.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

June 141952 — Warren Spahn of the Boston Braves struck out 18 Cubs in a 3-1, 15-inning loss to Chicago. Spahn also homered.1953 — The New York Yankees swept Cleveland 6-2 and 3-0 to extend their winning streak to 18 games.1963 — Duke Snider hit his 400th career home run to highlight a 10-3 triumph by the New York Mets over the Cincinnati Reds at Crosley Field.1965 — Jim Maloney struck out 18 and no-hit the New York Mets for 10 innings, but Johnny Lewis' leadoff home run in the 11th inning gave the Mets a 1-0 win.1969 — Reggie Jackson knocked in 10 runs with two homers, a double and two singles in Oakland's 21-7 win over the Red Sox in Boston. In the eighth, he drove in three runs with a single when he easily could have made second base.1974 — Nolan Ryan struck out 19 batters in 12 innings to give the California Angels a 4-3 win over the Boston Red Sox in 15 innings. Cecil Cooper of the Red Sox struck out six times.1978 — Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds had two hits in a 3-1 triumph over... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:MIGGY'S DONEMiguel Cabrera's season is over, leaving Detroit without its biggest star at a time when there wasn't much else for Tigers fans to latch onto. Cabrera ruptured his left biceps tendon on a swing Tuesday night, ending the two-time MVP's year just a couple of weeks after he returned from a DL stint due to a right hamstring strain. The 35-year-old Cabrera will have surgery this week. He batted .301 with three homers and 22 RBIs for a team that wasn't expected to compete in the AL Central.POWER PLAYMike Trout leads the majors with 23 home runs and he's gone deep twice each of the last two nights, becoming the first player with consecutive multihomer games at Safeco Field in Seattle. But that hasn't been enough for the Angels, who lost both times. Trout tries to keep it going at the plate when Los Angeles faces left-hander Marco Gonzales (7-3, 3.28 ERA) and the first-place Mariners again. Gonzales has allowed only three earned runs... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:CABRERA DONEMiguel Cabrera's season is over, leaving Detroit without its biggest star during a season when there wasn't much else for Tigers fans to latch onto. Cabrera ruptured his left biceps tendon on a swing Tuesday night, ending the two-time MVP's year just a couple of weeks after he returned from a DL stint due to a right hamstring strain. The 35-year-old Cabrera batted .301 with an .848 OPS, three homers and 22 RBIs for a team that wasn't expected to compete in the AL Central.JAKE-BITTENThe Mets try to snap a most puzzling skid when Jacob deGrom pitches against Atlanta. DeGrom has a 1.24 ERA in his past four starts, and yet New York has lost each of those outings. Only the Marlins and Reds have worse records in the NL than the Mets, and general manager Sandy Alderson is shouldering the blame. "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... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Miguel Cabrera ruptured his left biceps tendon Tuesday night, an injury that will sideline the slugger for the rest of the season, and the Detroit Tigers lost 6-4 to the Minnesota Twins.The two-time AL MVP will have surgery this week, the Tigers said. Cabrera, playing his 12th game since missing 26 with a hamstring strain, exited in the third inning and underwent an MRI during the game.Ehire Adrianza hit his first career grand slam to help Minnesota rally. Ryan Pressly (1-1) got three outs for the win, and Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth for his 14th save.Louis Coleman (3-1) was charged with the loss.ASTROS 6, ATHLETICS 3OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Evan Gattis hit a three-run homer and drove in five runs, Carlos Correa returned from a four-game absence and homered on the first pitch he saw, and the Astros earned their sixth straight win.Lance McCullers Jr. (8-3) pitched seven innings of two-run ball. Ken Giles got three outs for his 11th save in 11 tries.Correa was back in the... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Miguel Cabrera ruptured his left biceps tendon Tuesday night, an injury that will sideline the slugger for the rest of the season, and the Detroit Tigers lost 6-4 to the Minnesota Twins.The two-time AL MVP will have surgery this week, the Tigers said. Cabrera, playing his 12th game since missing 26 with a hamstring strain, exited in the third inning and underwent an MRI during the game.Ehire Adrianza hit his first career grand slam to help Minnesota rally. Ryan Pressly (1-1) got three outs for the win, and Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth for his 14th save.Louis Coleman (3-1) was charged with the loss.ASTROS 6, ATHLETICS 3OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Evan Gattis hit a three-run homer and drove in five runs, Carlos Correa returned from a four-game absence and homered on the first pitch he saw, and the Astros earned their sixth straight win.Lance McCullers Jr. (8-3) pitched seven innings of two-run ball. Ken Giles got three outs for his 11th save in 11 tries.Correa was back in the... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Miguel Cabrera ruptured his left biceps tendon Tuesday night, an injury that will sideline the slugger for the rest of the season, and the Detroit Tigers lost 6-4 to the Minnesota Twins.The two-time AL MVP will have surgery this week, the Tigers said. Cabrera, playing his 12th game since missing 26 with a hamstring strain, exited in the third inning and underwent an MRI during the game.Ehire Adrianza hit his first career grand slam to help Minnesota rally. Ryan Pressly (1-1) got three outs for the win, and Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth for his 14th save.Louis Coleman (3-1) was charged with the loss.ASTROS 6, ATHLETICS 3OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Evan Gattis hit a three-run homer and drove in five runs, Carlos Correa returned from a four-game absence and homered on the first pitch he saw, and the Astros earned their sixth straight win.Lance McCullers Jr. (8-3) pitched seven innings of two-run ball. Ken Giles got three outs for his 11th save in 11 tries.Correa was back in 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]

DETROIT (AP) — Miguel Cabrera ruptured his left biceps tendon Tuesday night, an injury that will sideline the slugger for the rest of the season, and the Detroit Tigers lost 6-4 to the Minnesota Twins.The two-time AL MVP will have surgery this week, the Tigers said. Cabrera, playing his 12th game since missing 26 with a hamstring strain, exited in the third inning and underwent an MRI during the game.Ehire Adrianza hit his first career grand slam to help Minnesota rally. Ryan Pressly (1-1) got three outs for the win, and Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth for his 14th save.Louis Coleman (3-1) was charged with the loss.YANKEES 3, NATIONALS 0NEW YORK (AP) — Didi Gregorius homered twice for New York, Washington slugger Bryce Harper left in the eighth inning after he was hit by a pitch for the second time, and the Yankees earned their 10th win in 12 games.Harper fell to the ground in pain when hit on the right elbow by a 90 mph pitch from CC Sabathia (4-1) in the fifth inning. The 2015 NL MVP... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday:CABRERA DONEMiguel Cabrera's season is over, leaving Detroit without its biggest star during a season when there wasn't much else for Tigers fans to latch onto. Cabrera ruptured his left biceps tendon on a swing Tuesday night, ending the two-time MVP's year just a couple of weeks after he returned from a DL stint due to a right hamstring strain. The 35-year-old Cabrera batted .301 with an .848 OPS, three homers and 22 RBIs for a team that wasn't expected to compete in the AL Central.JAKE-BITTENThe Mets try to snap a most puzzling skid when Jacob deGrom pitches against Atlanta. DeGrom has a 1.24 ERA in his past four starts, and yet New York has lost each of those outings. Only the Marlins and Reds have worse records in the NL than the Mets, and general manager Sandy Alderson is shouldering the blame. "When you're scoring runs at the anemic rate that we have, something hasn't worked. So from that standpoint, I take full responsibility... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bartolo Colon recorded his 2,500th career strikeout against the Los Angeles Dodgers.The 45-year-old right-hander retired second baseman Max Muncy in the first inning on Tuesday night.That made Colon the 34th pitcher in history to reach the 2,500th plateau, according to Elias Sports Bureau.He is tied with Hall of Famer Juan Marichal for most wins by a pitcher from the Dominican Republic with 243.Now in his 21st major league season, Colon left the game in the fourth inning with the Rangers trailing 7-2. He gave up home runs to Joc Pederson, Muncy and Yasiel Puig.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

NEW YORK (AP) — Didi Gregorius ended a long power outage with a pair of home runs, Washington slugger Bryce Harper left in the eighth inning after he was hit by a pitch for the second time, and the New York Yankees beat the Nationals 3-0 Tuesday night for their 10th win in 12 games.Harper returned to Yankee Stadium for the first time in three years and fell to the ground in pain when hit on the right elbow by a 90 mph pitch from CC Sabathia (4-1) in the fifth inning. The 2015 NL MVP initially remained in the game but came out after he was hit on the left foot by Dellin Betances' 89 mph slider leading off the eighth.Gregorius drove a hanging curveball from Tanner Roark (3-7) into the Yankees bullpen in right-center during New York's two-run second. He sent a fastball into the right-field second deck leading off the sixth for his fourth multihomer game.Sabathia allowed four hits in 5 2/3 innings. Aroldis Chapman pitched a perfect ninth for his 18th save.PHILLIES 5, ROCKIES 4PHILADELPHIA (AP)... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga will be brought up from Double-A by the New York Yankees to make his major league debut against Tampa Bay on Friday night.The 23-year-old Loaisiga returned last year following Tommy John surgery. He is 3-1 with a 4.32 ERA in six starts at Double-A Trenton after starting 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA at Class A Tampa this season, striking out 58 in 45 innings."He's really talented. We think he has a very bright future. His stuff is really good. He's a guy that pounds the strike zone," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday. "I don't feel like he'll be overwhelmed."Loaisiga fills the rotation slot that opened when Masahiro Tanaka injured both hamstrings while sprinting home to score on a sacrifice fly last Friday. Domingo German, who entered the rotation after No. 5 starter Jordan Montgomery tore an elbow ligament, will start Thursday. Yankees ace Luis Severino pitches Saturday.Signed by San Francisco in September 2012, the Nicaragua-born Loaisiga was... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga will be brought up from Double-A by the New York Yankees to make his major league debut against Tampa Bay on Friday night.The 23-year-old Loaisiga returned last year following Tommy John surgery. He is 3-1 with a 4.32 ERA in six starts at Double-A Trenton after starting 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA at Class A Tampa this season.He fills the rotation slot that opened when Masahiro Tanaka injured both hamstrings while sprinting home to score on a sacrifice fly last Friday. Domingo German, who entered the rotation after No. 5 starter Jordan Montgomery tore an elbow ligament, will start Thursday. Yankees ace Luis Severino pitches Saturday.___More AP Baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball