BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts fouled off seven pitches before hitting a grand slam that helped the Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-4 on Thursday night, extending their winning streak to 10 games.Boston has the longest current winning streak in the big leagues and hasn't lost since getting routed 11-1 at Yankee Stadium on July 1. At 66-29, the Red Sox are 37 games over .500 for the first time since 1949.David Price (10-6) struck out eight over 6 2/3 innings, and Craig Kimbrel earned his 29th save.All-Star lefty J.A. Happ (10-6) started strong for Toronto, striking out six and holding Boston to two hits before running into trouble and some misfortune in the fourth.YANKEES 7, INDIANS 4CLEVELAND (AP) — Aaron Hicks drove home Didi Gregorius from first base with a one-out double in the eighth inning off Cleveland ace Corey Kluber, sending New York to a win over the Indians.Hicks drove a 3-2 pitch from Kluber (12-5) to deep center field, and Gregorius scored easily when the ball one-hopped... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Angels pitcher Garrett Richards said Thursday he has elected to undergo Tommy John surgery for his damaged ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and will miss the remainder of the season.Reduced to 28 starts over the last three seasons because of multiple injuries, including two UCL issues, Richards' time with the Angels could effectively be finished after eight seasons and a 45-38 record with a 3.54 ERA. The free-agent-to-be expects to be ready to pitch at the start of the 2020 season.Richards, 30, was 5-4 with a 3.66 ERA over 16 starts this season. He was removed in the third inning Tuesday during his outing against the Seattle Mariners. He went on the disabled list Wednesday and was given the choice of a conservative rehabilitation or surgery.The surgery is expected to be performed on July 24 by Neal ElAttrache.___For more AP baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins have placed designated hitter/first baseman Logan Morrison on the 10-day disabled list with a left hip injury.The move was made before Minnesota's game on Thursday against Tampa Bay, making room for utility infielder Ehire Adrianza's reinstatement from the 10-day disabled list.Morrison is batting just .193 in his first season with the Twins, with a .654 on-base-plus-slugging percentage and 11 home runs and 31 RBIs in 264 at-bats. He described his problem as chronic and said before the game he's planning to return when he's eligible on July 22.Adrianza, who was out with a strained left hamstring, is hitting .261 with four home runs and 19 RBIs in 188 at-bats. He missed only 10 games.___For more AP baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

ATLANTA (AP) — As well as things have gone for the Atlanta Braves in the season's first half, lately there are troubling signs that something is not right.Or maybe a lot of things are not right.The Braves have lost six of eight games and this week briefly fell out of the NL East lead for the first time since May 30. They moved back into a first-place tie with Philadelphia with Wednesday night's win over Toronto. Atlanta was off Thursday before Friday night's opener of a home series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.The Braves are looking to regain their momentum entering next week's All-Star break."We've just have to get back to getting the whole thing going," Braves manager Brian Snitker said Wednesday. "We're obviously struggling in a lot of different areas."Snitker was far from panicked. He believes the downturn can be easily explained as a part of the normal flow of a season and said, "I just think teams are going to do that."Even so, Snitker said he has examined all options, including... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox have placed third baseman Rafael Devers on the 10-day disabled list with left shoulder inflammation.The move was retroactive to Wednesday night.Infielder Tzu-Wei Lin was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket to replace him on the roster.Devers was batting.241 with 14 homers and 48 RBIs this season, his first full year in the majors.Lin is batting.162 in 16 games over two call-ups to the majors this season. He was batting.308 with five homers at Pawtucket.

A look at what's happening around the majors today:PAIR OF ACESTwo of the top pitchers in the American League square off when the New York Yankees begin a series in Cleveland. Two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber (12-4, 2.49 ERA) starts for the Indians, while the AL leader in wins, Luis Severino (14-2, 2.12) takes the mound for New York in a matchup of All-Stars. The appearance will be Severino's first against Cleveland since last season's playoffs when he allowed three runs in seven innings and helped the Yankees win Game 4 in the AL Division Series to force a decisive Game 5.PERFECT 10Andrew Benintendi and the major league-leading Red Sox (65-29) seek their 10th straight victory when David Price (9-6) pitches against All-Star lefty J.A. Happ (10-5) and the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park. Benintendi has six consecutive multihit games and has scored in all of them. Working on its second nine-game winning streak of the season, Boston has won 14 of 16 overall and is 36 games above... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Colorado right-hander German Marquez homered against Arizona infielder Daniel Descalso, helping the Rockies pound the Diamondbacks 19-2 on Wednesday night.Marquez (8-8) pitched six innings of two-run ball. He connected for his first career homer in the fifth.Marquez's drive to center was the first homer by a pitcher off a position player since Mike LaCoss went deep for the Giants against San Diego's Dane Iorg on June 23, 1986, according to STATS.Carlos Gonzalez homered twice for the Rockies and drove in six runs. Charlie Blackmon and Ian Desmond also went deep.Arizona right-hander Shelby Miller (0-4) allowed five runs in one inning before departing with right elbow tightness.MARLINS 5, BREWERS 4, 12 INNINGSMIAMI (AP) — Milwaukee slugger Jesus Aguilar was added to the NL All-Star team and then validated the selection with three hits and three RBIs, but the Brewers went 3 for 16 with runners in scoring position.Starlin Castro singled home the winning run for Miami with one out... [More]

Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar and Seattle Mariners shortstop Jean Segura won the final two roster spots for next week's All-Star Game in Washington.Major League Baseball released the results of online balloting for the last slot in each league Wednesday night, with Aguilar drawing 20.2 million votes to secure his first All-Star selection. His total was the second-highest in the history of the All-Star Final Vote, trailing only Justin Turner's 20.8 million votes last year.The 28-year-old Venezuelan was tied for the National League lead with 23 home runs and becomes the fourth Milwaukee player headed to the game."The campaign was unbelievable — the people in Wisconsin and around the world really supported me," Aguilar said. "It's a great thing."Brewers outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich had already been chosen, along with reliever Josh Hader.Aguilar has 67 RBIs, including 12 in his past seven games, and is batting .307."I'm swinging really good right now," he said.Segura... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Colorado right-hander German Marquez homered against Arizona infielder Daniel Descalso, helping the Rockies pound the Diamondbacks 19-2 on Wednesday night.Marquez (8-8) pitched six innings of two-run ball. He connected for his first career homer in the fifth.Marquez's drive to center was the first homer by a pitcher off a position player since Mike LaCoss went deep for the Giants against San Diego's Dane Iorg on June 23, 1986, according to STATS.Carlos Gonzalez homered twice for the Rockies and drove in six runs. Charlie Blackmon and Ian Desmond also went deep.Arizona right-hander Shelby Miller (0-4) allowed five runs in one inning before departing with right elbow tightness.MARLINS 5, BREWERS 4, 12 INNINGSMIAMI (AP) — Milwaukee slugger Jesus Aguilar was added to the NL All-Star team and then validated the selection with three hits and three RBIs, but the Brewers went 3 for 16 with runners in scoring position.Starlin Castro singled home the winning run for Miami with one out... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Washington Nationals slugger Bryce Harper will take on Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman in an all-NL East matchup in the first round of the Home Run Derby on Monday night.The 25-year-old Harper is the second seed at his home ballpark by virtue of his 22 homers through Tuesday's games. Freeman, the top NL vote-getter for Tuesday night's All-Star Game at Nationals Park, is the seventh seed with 16 homers."It should be fun. I'm hoping the fans are excited for him and he gets nervous and gets a zero," Freeman said. "But we'll see what happens."The field was revealed Wednesday night.Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar faces Philadelphia Phillies slugger Rhys Hoskins in the opening round. Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Max Muncy meets Chicago Cubs infielder Javier Baez, and Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman faces Cubs outfielder Kyle Schwarber.It's the second Home Run Derby for Harper, and the first for the rest of the field. Harper lost to Yoenis... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Washington Nationals slugger Bryce Harper will take on Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman in an all-NL East matchup in the first round of the Home Run Derby on Monday night.The 25-year-old Harper is the second seed at his home ballpark by virtue of his 22 homers through Tuesday's games. Freeman, the top NL vote-getter for Tuesday night's All-Star Game at Nationals Park, is the seventh seed with 16 homers."It should be fun. I'm hoping the fans are excited for him and he gets nervous and gets a zero," Freeman said. "But we'll see what happens."The field was revealed Wednesday night.Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar faces Philadelphia Phillies slugger Rhys Hoskins in the opening round. Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Max Muncy meets Chicago Cubs infielder Javier Baez, and Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman faces Cubs outfielder Kyle Schwarber.It's the second Home Run Derby for Harper, and the first for the rest of the field. Harper lost to Yoenis Cespedes... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Starling Marte hit a two-run home run and Trevor Williams combined with four relievers on a five-hitter as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Washington Nationals 2-0 on Wednesday.Williams (7-7) won for just the second time in his past 10 starts, giving up four hits with three strikeouts and three walks.Gio Gonzalez (6-6) remained winless since May 28 despite allowing just two runs, six hits and one walk while striking out four.Washington lost for the 11th time in 16 games and fell back to .500.Richard Rodriguez, Edgar Santana, Kyle Crick and Felipe Vazquez followed Williams with one scoreless inning each. Vazquez earned his 20th save in 24 opportunities.TWINS 8, ROYALS 5MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Brian Dozier hit a two-run home run, going deep for the second straight game to give Minnesota a boost on its way to a win over Kansas City.Lance Lynn (7-7) recovered from a three-run homer by Salvador Perez in the first inning to win his second straight start for the Twins, who used the... [More]

Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar and Seattle Mariners shortstop Jean Segura won the final two roster spots for next week's All-Star Game in Washington.Major League Baseball released the results of online balloting for the last slot in each league Wednesday night, with Aguilar drawing 20.2 million votes to secure his first All-Star selection. His total was the second-highest in the history of the All-Star Final Vote, trailing only Justin Turner's 20.8 million votes last year.The 28-year-old Venezuelan was tied for the National League lead with 23 home runs and becomes the fourth Milwaukee player headed to the game. Brewers outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich had already been chosen, along with reliever Josh Hader.Segura snagged the last American League spot with 13.6 million votes. He was followed by Boston Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi, New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton, Minnesota Twins outfielder Eddie Rosario and Los Angeles Angels shortstop Andrelton... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Thursday:PAIR OF ACESTwo of the top pitchers in the American League square off when the New York Yankees begin a series in Cleveland. Two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber (12-4, 2.49 ERA) starts for the Indians, while the AL leader in wins, Luis Severino (14-2, 2.12) takes the mound for New York in a matchup of 2018 All-Stars. The appearance will be Severino's first against Cleveland since last season's playoffs when he allowed three runs in seven innings of work and helped the Yankees force a decisive Game 5 in the AL Division Series with a 7-3 victory in Game 4.SNELL'S SNUBTampa Bay Rays pitcher Blake Snell (12-4) is second in the AL in ERA (2.09) and has 132 strikeouts in 116 innings this season. The 25-year-old lefty will make his first start since being left off the All-Star team Sunday when he takes the mound at Minnesota.MAX TO THE RESCUEThe Nationals fell back to .500 with a 2-0 loss to Pittsburgh on Wednesday, the 11th loss in their last 16 games. Washington will try to reclaim a winning record when it begins a four-game series in New York against the Mets. Fortunately for the struggling Nationals, they'll open with three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (11-5, 2.33 ERA) on the mound, while the Mets counter with left-hander Steven Matz (4-6, 3.31).___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

NEW YORK (AP) — Washington Nationals slugger Bryce Harper will take on Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman in an all-NL East matchup in the first round of the Home Run Derby on Monday night.The 25-year-old Harper is the second seed at his home ballpark by virtue of his 22 homers through Tuesday's games. Freeman, the top NL vote-getter for Tuesday night's All-Star Game at Nationals Park, is the seventh seed with 16 homers.Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar faces Philadelphia Phillies slugger Rhys Hoskins in the opening round. Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Max Muncy meets Chicago Cubs infielder Javier Baez, and Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman faces Cubs outfielder Kyle Schwarber.It's the second Home Run Derby for Harper, and the first for the rest of the field. Harper lost to Yoenis Cespedes in the 2013 final at Citi Field in New York.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels placed pitcher Garrett Richards on the 10-day disabled list due to ulnar collateral ligament damage in his right elbow.General manager Billy Eppler said before Wednesday's game against Seattle that options to treat the injury will be decided on at a later date. Eppler said Richards would decide on "conservative care" or season-ending Tommy John surgery.This is the third straight season that Richards has dealt with an arm injury. The right-hander had been limited to six starts each of the past two seasons. He missed most of 2016 due to an ulnar collateral ligament injury and had biceps nerve irritation last year."There is a scenario that could bring him back maybe the last couple of weeks, the last week, something like that," Eppler said.Richards, who will become a free agent at the end of the season, is 5-4 with a 3.66 earned run average. He has made 16 starts this season, which is his most since 2015.Richards made his second start on Tuesday since returning from the 10-day disabled list because of a left hamstring strain. He gave up three runs on four hits over 2 2/3 innings and left the game in the middle of an at-bat in the third inning against Seattle's Nelson Cruz.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar and Seattle Mariners shortstop Jean Segura have won the final two roster spots for next week's All-Star Game in Washington.Major League Baseball released the results of online balloting for the last slot in each league Wednesday night, with Aguilar drawing 20.2 million votes to secure his first All-Star selection. His total was the second-highest in the history of the All-Star Final Vote, trailing only Justin Turner's 20.8 million votes last year.The 28-year-old Venezuelan was tied for the National League lead with 23 home runs and becomes the fourth Milwaukee player headed to the game. Brewers outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich had already been chosen, along with reliever Josh Hader.Segura snagged the last American League spot with 13.6 million votes. He was followed by Boston Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi, New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton, Minnesota Twins outfielder Eddie Rosario and Los Angeles Angels shortstop... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas was removed from the National League's active roster for the All-Star Game next Tuesday because he is scheduled to start Sunday for St. Louis against the Cincinnati Reds.Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Ross Stripling was added to the NL pitching staff Wednesday as Mikolas' replacement.Mikolas is 10-3 with a 2.65 ERA and was selected to his first All-Star team last weekend. The 29-year-old right-hander is enjoying a resurgent season in the majors following three years in Japan."He understands how important it is to give us our best shot on Sunday," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "He's got to pitch (Sunday). And that's what he wants to do."Mikolas will still receive full All-Star honors in Washington."There's always the potential that you go there and don't play," Matheny added. "It's just the honor more than anything — and the experience. It will be a great experience for him."Stripling also has been a big surprise since stepping into an injury-depleted rotation for the Dodgers. He is 7-2 with a 2.22 ERA in 24 games, including 13 starts. In his third big league season, he has 103 strikeouts and only 13 walks in 89 1/3 innings.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Starling Marte hit a two-run home run and Trevor Williams combined with four relievers on a five-hitter as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Washington Nationals 2-0 on Wednesday.Williams (7-7) won for just the second time in his past 10 starts, giving up four hits with three strikeouts and three walks.Gio Gonzalez (6-6) remained winless since May 28 despite allowing just two runs, six hits and one walk while striking out four.Washington lost for the 11th time in 16 games and fell back to .500.Richard Rodriguez, Edgar Santana, Kyle Crick and Felipe Vazquez followed Williams with one scoreless inning each. Vazquez earned his 20th save in 24 opportunities.TWINS 8, ROYALS 5MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Brian Dozier hit a two-run home run, going deep for the second straight game to give Minnesota a boost on its way to a win over Kansas City.Lance Lynn (7-7) recovered from a three-run homer by Salvador Perez in the first inning to win his second straight start for the Twins, who used the... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox have designated veteran reliever Bruce Rondon for assignment.The 27-year-old Rondon went 2-3 with an 8.49 ERA and one save in 35 games with Chicago. The right-hander got one out and issued three walks in Tuesday night's 14-2 loss to St. Louis.Manager Rick Renteria said Rondon "wasn't throwing enough strikes."The White Sox also purchased the contract of righty Jeanmar Gomez from Triple-A Charlotte before their game against the Cardinals on Wednesday night.The 30-year-old Gomez was 5-0 with a 2.03 ERA and two saves in 30 relief appearances with Charlotte. He was 3-5 with 37 saves with Philadelphia in 2016.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball