NEW YORK (AP) — The last-place New York Yankees lost their fifth straight game as Yoshi Tsutsugo hit a tiebreaking double off Gerrit Cole in the seventh inning that lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-2 win Sunday and a three-game sweep. Four pitchers combined on the Rays’ second three-hitter of a series in which New York managed 11 hits in all. Cole (2-1) was hurt by slipshod defense that made three mistakes in the third inning alone, two by center fielder Aaron Hicks and one by left fielder Clint Frazier. Joey Wendle added a ninth-inning home run off Darren O’Day. Tampa Bay has won 16 of its last 21 against the Yankees, including in last year’s Division Series. Ryan Yarbrough (2-1) followed opener Andrew Kittredge and allowed one run and two hits in five innings. Diego Castillo got four outs, and Jeffrey Springs pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first big league save. INDIANS 6, REDS 3 CINCINNATI (AP) — Shane Bieber kept up his record strikeout run, fanning 13 and pitching Cleveland past Cincinnati.... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The last-place New York Yankees lost their fifth straight game as Yoshi Tsutsugo hit a tiebreaking double off Gerrit Cole in the seventh inning that lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-2 win Sunday and a three-game sweep. Four pitchers combined on the Rays’ second three-hitter of a series in which New York managed 11 hits in all. Cole (2-1) was hurt by slipshod defense that made three mistakes in the third inning alone, two by center fielder Aaron Hicks and one by left fielder Clint Frazier. Joey Wendle added a ninth-inning home run off Darren O’Day. Tampa Bay has won 16 of its last 21 against the Yankees, including in last year’s Division Series. Ryan Yarbrough (2-1) followed opener Andrew Kittredge and allowed one run and two hits in five innings. Diego Castillo got four outs, and Jeffrey Springs pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first big league save. INDIANS 6, REDS 3 CINCINNATI (AP) — Shane Bieber kept up his record strikeout run, fanning 13 and pitching Cleveland past Cincinnati.... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Right-handed reliever John Curtiss was traded Wednesday by the Tampa Bay Rays to the Miami Marlins for minor league first baseman Evan Edwards. The Rays also dealt minor league catcher Ronaldo Hernández and minor league infielder Nick Sogard to the Boston Red Sox for right-handed pitcher Chris Mazza, left-handed pitcher Jeffrey Springs and cash. Boston placed catcher Kevin Plawecki on the COVID-19-related injured list. Curtiss went 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in 17 games last year. He had a 6.30 ERA in 10 innings in the postseason for the American League champions. Curtiss also has pitched for the Angels and Twins, and he has a 3,83 career ERA. He further strengthens the bullpen for the Marlins, who earlier added left-hander Ross Detwiler and right-handers Dylan Floro, Anthony Bass and Adam Cimber. Mazza pitched nine games as a starter and reliever for Boston last year and went 1-2 with a 4.80 ERA. Springs went 0-2 with a 7.08 ERA in 16 games out of the bullpen. Edwards was a fourth-round... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Right-handed reliever John Curtiss was traded Wednesday by the Tampa Bay Rays to the Miami Marlins for minor league first baseman Evan Edwards. The Rays also dealt minor league catcher Ronaldo Hernández and minor league infielder Nick Sogard to the Boston Red Sox for right-handed pitcher Chris Mazza, left-handed pitcher Jeffrey Springs and cash. Boston placed catcher Kevin Plawecki on the COVID-19-related injured list. Curtiss went 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in 17 games last year. He had a 6.30 ERA in 10 innings in the postseason for the American League champions. Curtiss also has pitched for the Angels and Twins, and he has a 3,83 career ERA. He further strengthens the bullpen for the Marlins, who earlier added left-hander Ross Detwiler and right-handers Dylan Floro, Anthony Bass and Adam Cimber. Mazza pitched nine games as a starter and reliever for Boston last year and went 1-2 with a 4.80 ERA. Springs went 0-2 with a 7.08 ERA in 16 games out of the bullpen. Edwards was a fourth-round pick out of North Carolina State in 2019. He hit .281 with nine homers in 73 games in the low minors that year. Hernández is a career .293 hitter over five minor league seasons. Sogard batted .290 with 20 stolen bases in 63 games in Class A in 2019. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox signed Japanese right-hander Hirokazu Sawamura to a two-year contract on Tuesday. Sawamura joins the Red Sox after a 10-year stint in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league. He went 48-52 with 75 saves, four shutouts, a 2.77 ERA and 790 strikeouts in 352 appearances (88 starts). The deal has a dual club and player option for the 2023 season. Boston made room on the 40-man roster by designating left-hander Jeffrey Springs for assignment. Sawamura would become the ninth player born in Japan to play for Boston. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports