A look at what's happening around the majors today: ___ FLYING FISH Miami's Adam Duvall has been wrecking the Cubs at Wrigley Field this weekend, hitting two homers in consecutive games. He hit a grand slam and a two-run drive in Friday's 10-2 romp, then hit two-run shots in the first and third innings against Jake Arrieta in an 11-1 victory Saturday. Duvall joined Derrek Lee in 2002 and Giancarlo Stanton in 2016 as the only Marlins with back-to-back multi-homer games. The Marlins have outscored the NL Central leaders 21-3 through the first two games and put themselves in position to sweep their first series since winning both wild-card games against Chicago last fall. BUX IS BACK Byron Buxton returned to the Twins on Saturday and picked up where he left off with a fourth-inning single. The 2017 Gold Glove center fielder had been out since May 6 with a strained right hip, interrupting a breakout season that was generating early MVP chatter. Buxton is hitting .365 with nine homers. Despite... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Sunday: ___ FLYING FISH Miami's Adam Duvall has been wrecking the Cubs at Wrigley Field this weekend, hitting two homers in consecutive games. He hit a grand slam and a two-run drive in Friday's 10-2 romp, then hit two-run shots in the first and third innings against Jake Arrieta in an 11-1 victory Saturday. Duvall joined Derrek Lee in 2002 and Giancarlo Stanton in 2016 as the only Marlins with back-to-back multi-homer games. The Marlins have outscored the NL Central leaders 21-3 through the first two games and put themselves in position to sweep their first series since winning both wild-card games against Chicago last fall. BUX IS BACK Byron Buxton returned to the Twins on Saturday and picked up where he left off with a fourth-inning single. The 2017 Gold Glove center fielder had been out since May 6 with a strained right hip, interrupting a breakout season that was generating early MVP chatter. Buxton is hitting .365 with nine homers. Despite... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Jose Altuve belted a grand slam in the 10th inning and the Houston Astros, saved by Carlos Correa’s tying homer in the ninth, beat the Texas Rangers 6-3 on Tuesday night to give manager Dusty Baker quite an exciting birthday gift. After Texas drove in the automatic runner in the top of the 10th for a 3-2 lead, Rangers rookie reliever Demarcus Evans (0-2) walked Myles Straw and pinch-hitter Jason Castro to load the bases with no outs in the bottom half. Altuve then launched his soaring shot into left field to put the Astros on top and start the party. Altuve was doused with water at home plate before sharing a hug with Baker, who celebrated his 72nd birthday. Correa hit a solo homer to the opposite field shot with two outs and two strikes in the ninth off Josh Sborz, making it 2-all. Nate Lowe’s RBI single off Ryan Pressly (3-1) with two outs in the 10th put the Rangers up. GIANTS 9, DIAMONDBACKS 8 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks blew a seven-run lead and lost... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Jose Altuve belted a grand slam in the 10th inning and the Houston Astros, saved by Carlos Correa’s tying homer in the ninth, beat the Texas Rangers 6-3 on Tuesday night to give manager Dusty Baker quite an exciting birthday gift. After Texas drove in the automatic runner in the top of the 10th for a 3-2 lead, Rangers rookie reliever Demarcus Evans (0-2) walked Myles Straw and pinch-hitter Jason Castro to load the bases with no outs in the bottom half. Altuve then launched his soaring shot into left field to put the Astros on top and start the party. Altuve was doused with water at home plate before sharing a hug with Baker, who celebrated his 72nd birthday. Correa hit a solo homer to the opposite field shot with two outs and two strikes in the ninth off Josh Sborz, making it 2-all. Nate Lowe’s RBI single off Ryan Pressly (3-1) with two outs in the 10th put the Rangers up. METS 3, CUBS 2 NEW YORK (AP) — Taijuan Walker struck out a career-high 12, Pete Alonso drove in three... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Jose Altuve belted a grand slam in the 10th inning and the Houston Astros, saved by Carlos Correa’s tying homer in the ninth, beat the Texas Rangers 6-3 on Tuesday night to give manager Dusty Baker quite an exciting birthday gift. After Texas drove in the automatic runner in the top of the 10th for a 3-2 lead, Rangers rookie reliever Demarcus Evans (0-2) walked Myles Straw and pinch-hitter Jason Castro to load the bases with no outs in the bottom half. Altuve then launched his soaring shot into left field to put the Astros on top and start the party. Altuve was doused with water at home plate before sharing a hug with Baker, who celebrated his 72nd birthday. Correa hit a solo homer to the opposite field shot with two outs and two strikes in the ninth off Josh Sborz, making it 2-all. Nate Lowe’s RBI single off Ryan Pressly (3-1) with two outs in the 10th put the Rangers up. METS 3, CUBS 2 NEW YORK (AP) — Taijuan Walker struck out a career-high 12, Pete Alonso drove in three... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Jose Altuve belted a grand slam in the 10th inning and the Houston Astros, saved by Carlos Correa’s tying homer in the ninth, beat the Texas Rangers 6-3 on Tuesday night to give manager Dusty Baker quite an exciting birthday gift. After Texas drove in the automatic runner in the top of the 10th for a 3-2 lead, Rangers rookie reliever Demarcus Evans (0-2) walked Myles Straw and pinch-hitter Jason Castro to load the bases with no outs in the bottom half. Altuve then launched his soaring shot into left field to put the Astros on top and start the party. Altuve was doused with water at home plate before sharing a hug with Baker, who celebrated his 72nd birthday. Correa hit a solo homer to the opposite field shot with two outs and two strikes in the ninth off Josh Sborz, making it 2-all. Nate Lowe’s RBI single off Ryan Pressly (3-1) with two outs in the 10th put the Rangers up. METS 3, CUBS 2 NEW YORK (AP) — Taijuan Walker struck out a career-high 12, Pete Alonso drove in three... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Taijuan Walker struck out a career-high 12, Pete Alonso drove in three runs and the surging New York Mets threw out the potential tying run at the plate in the ninth inning of a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night. Walker (6-2) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings, and he walked none for the third time. Javier Báez put the Cubs ahead 2-0 in the third with his 15th home run. Alonso hit a two-run single in the bottom half and a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Seth Lugo got six outs for his first save since returning on June 2 from elbow surgery, and the NL East-leading Mets (34-25) won for the fifth time in six games to move nine games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2019 season. Alec Mills (2-1) allowed three runs, five hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings. CARDINALS 2, MARLINS 1 ST. LOUIS (AP) — Paul Goldschmidt hit a game-ending homer in the ninth inning and drove in both runs as St. Louis beat Miami. St. Louis has won two in a row... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Taijuan Walker struck out a career-high 12, Pete Alonso drove in three runs and the surging New York Mets threw out the potential tying run at the plate in the ninth inning of a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night. Walker (6-2) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings, and he walked none for the third time. Javier Báez put the Cubs ahead 2-0 in the third with his 15th home run. Alonso hit a two-run single in the bottom half and a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Seth Lugo got six outs for his first save since returning on June 2 from elbow surgery, and the NL East-leading Mets (34-25) won for the fifth time in six games to move nine games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2019 season. Alec Mills (2-1) allowed three runs, five hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings. WHITE SOX 3, RAYS 0 CHICAGO (AP) — Dallas Keuchel pitched seven innings of crisp four-hit ball to win his fifth straight decision, leading Chicago past Tampa Bay. Adam Engel hit a... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mookie Betts hit his 25th leadoff home run and added a spectacular catch and throw for a double play to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3 on Thursday. Betts took the third pitch he saw from Mitch Keller (3-7) and sent it into the bullpen beyond the centerfield fence for his sixth homer this season. He saved a run in the the second by making a running grab on a sinking line drive by Ka’ai Tom then doing a 360-degree turn before firing a one-hop strike to home plate to throw out Erik Gonzalez. Julio Urías (9-2) allowed three runs and six hits in six innings to become the major leagues' first nine-game winner. Phil Bickford got his first save when the game was called with one out in the the eighth after a rain delay of 1 hour, 15 minutes. Los Angeles completed its sixth series sweep. RED SOX 12, ASTROS 8 BOSTON (AP) — J.D. Martinez hit his 13th homer, Christian Arroyo had a three-run drive and Boston capitalized on a pair of dropped balls in a five-run... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mookie Betts hit his 25th leadoff home run and added a spectacular catch and throw for a double play to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3 on Thursday. Betts took the third pitch he saw from Mitch Keller (3-7) and sent it into the bullpen beyond the centerfield fence for his sixth homer this season. He saved a run in the the second by making a running grab on a sinking line drive by Ka’ai Tom then doing a 360-degree turn before firing a one-hop strike to home plate to throw out Erik Gonzalez. Julio Urías (9-2) allowed three runs and six hits in six innings to become the major leagues' first nine-game winner. Phil Bickford got his first save when the game was called with one out in the the eighth after a rain delay of 1 hour, 15 minutes. Los Angeles completed its sixth series sweep. RED SOX 12, ASTROS 8 BOSTON (AP) — J.D. Martinez hit his 13th homer, Christian Arroyo had a three-run drive and Boston capitalized on a pair of dropped balls in a five-run... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mookie Betts hit his 25th leadoff home run and added a spectacular catch and throw for a double play to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3 on Thursday. Betts took the third pitch he saw from Mitch Keller (3-7) and sent it into the bullpen beyond the centerfield fence for his sixth homer this season. He saved a run in the the second by making a running grab on a sinking line drive by Ka’ai Tom then doing a 360-degree turn before firing a one-hop strike to home plate to throw out Erik Gonzalez. Julio Urías (9-2) allowed three runs and six hits in six innings to become the major leagues' first nine-game winner. Phil Bickford got his first save when the game was called with one out in the the eighth after a rain delay of 1 hour, 15 minutes. Los Angeles completed its sixth series sweep. PHILLIES 4, BRAVES 3 PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jean Segura hit a two-run single against Chris Martin (0-2) in the 10th inning. Freedie Freeman hit a solo homer off closer... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Randal Grichuk hit a long home run and the Toronto Blue Jays took advantage of a season-high four errors by Chicago as well as a bases-loaded walk to beat the AL Central-leading White Sox 6-2 on Wednesday night. Grichuk hit a 451-foot drive leading off the second inning. Toronto rookie Alek Manoah threw five solid innings in his third major league start and the Blue Jays won despite another strong start by Chicago’s Lance Lynn. The White Sox were sailing along with a 2-1 lead after Lynn struck out nine over seven innings. But a shaky bullpen and poor defense spoiled things for Chicago. Toronto scored three runs in the eighth and tacked on two more in the ninth. Aaron Bummer (0-4) walked Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with the bases loaded in the eighth to force in the tying run. Two more scored when shortstop Tim Anderson overthrew first trying to complete a double play on Teoscar Hernández’s grounder against Codi Heuer, giving the Blue Jays a 4-2 lead. Toronto tacked on two more... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Phil Nevin’s voice cracked and his face flushed. Forced from the New York Yankees third base coaching box by the coronavirus and infections, he also had to miss his son’s major league debut. “We had talked about that day for a long time,” Nevin said Friday before he returned to the Yankees dugout for the first time since May 9. “Not to be able to see him right after the game, now that part, that gets you a little bit, because we’ve talked about it for so long, I told my other son, l go: 'I can still get this day back. No pressure.'” Nevin, who also suffers from asthma, said he lost 22 pounds and was diagnosed with a bacterial infection in his kidneys and a staph infection. He still has an IV line in an arm that has to be removed before he can be back on the field, but he was back in the dugout and handled the lineup card exchange for Friday night’s series opener against Boston. His last game at third was May 9 — Mother’s Day — against Washington. The 50-year-old learned... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Phil Nevin’s voice cracked and his face flushed. Forced from the New York Yankees third base coaching box by the coronavirus and infections, he also had to miss his son’s major league debut. “We had talked about that day for a long time,” Nevin said Friday before he returned to the Yankees dugout for the first time since May 9. “Not to be able to see him right after the game, now that part, that gets you a little bit, because we’ve talked about it for so long, I told my other son, l go: 'I can still get this day back. No pressure.'” Nevin, who also suffers from asthma, said he lost 22 pounds and was diagnosed with a bacterial infection in his kidneys and a staph infection. He still has an IV line in an arm that has to be removed before he can be back on the field, but he was back in the dugout and handled the lineup card exchange for Friday night’s series opener against Boston. His last game at third was May 9 — Mother’s Day — against Washington. The 50-year-old learned... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Phil Nevin’s voice cracked and his face flushed. Forced from the New York Yankees third base coaching box by the coronavirus and infections, he also had to miss his son’s major league debut. “We had talked about that day for a long time,” Nevin said Friday when he rejoined the Yankees for the first time since May 9. “Not to be able to see him right after the game, now that part, that gets you a little bit, because we’ve talked about it for so long, I told my other son, l go: 'I can still get this day back. No pressure.'” Nevin, who also suffers from asthma, said he lost 22 pounds and was diagnosed with a bacterial infection in his kidneys and a staph infection. He still has an IV line in an arm that has to be removed before he can be back on the field, but he hoped to be cleared to be in the dugout for Friday night’s series opener against Boston. His last game at third was May 9 — Mother’s Day — against Washington. The 50-year-old learned of the COVID-19 diagnosis that night... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today: PINSTRIPE PITCHING Jameson Taillon (1-3, 5.73 ERA) tries to extend a streak of dominant starting pitching by the Yankees when he opposes Dallas Keuchel (3-1, 4.44 ERA) and the White Sox in the Bronx. Following Corey Kluber’s no-hitter at Texas and outings by Domingo Germán against the Rangers and Jordan Montgomery and Gerrit Cole against Chicago, the Yankees have four straight starts of seven shutout innings for the first time since 1932 (Johnny Allen vs. the St. Louis Browns, George Pipgras and Red Ruffing vs. Chicago and Lefty Gomez vs. Cleveland). The Yankees beat Chicago 7-0 Saturday for their fifth win in a row. New York leads the major leagues in shutouts and have eight in the first 46 games for the fourth time after 1958 (nine), 1955 (eight) and 1910 (nine). RAYS NEWCOMER Tampa Bay goes for its 10th straight victory with a lineup now boosted by rookie Taylor Walls. Walls hit two doubles Saturday night in a 3-1 win over Toronto.... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Sunday: PINSTRIPE PITCHING Jameson Taillon (1-3, 5.73 ERA) tries to extend a streak of dominant starting pitching by the Yankees when he opposes Dallas Keuchel (3-1, 4.44 ERA) and the White Sox in the Bronx. Following Corey Kluber’s no-hitter at Texas and outings by Domingo Germán against the Rangers and Jordan Montgomery and Gerrit Cole against Chicago, the Yankees have four straight starts of seven shutout innings for the first time since 1932 (Johnny Allen vs. the St. Louis Browns, George Pipgras and Red Ruffing vs. Chicago and Lefty Gomez vs. Cleveland). The Yankees beat Chicago 7-0 Saturday for their fifth win in a row. New York leads the major leagues in shutouts and have eight in the first 46 games for the fourth time after 1958 (nine), 1955 (eight) and 1910 (nine). RAYS NEWCOMER Tampa Bay goes for its 10th straight victory with a lineup now boosted by rookie Taylor Walls. Walls hit two doubles Saturday night in a 3-1 win over Toronto.... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit his major league-leading 13th home run and the Los Angeles Angels defeated the slumping Cleveland Indians 7-4 on Monday night after star outfielder Mike Trout was injured early. Trout strained his right calf in the first inning. The three-time AL MVP was limping after running to third on an inning-ending popup. Angels manager Joe Maddon said Trout was undergoing further evaluation, including an MRI, and the team would know more on Tuesday. Ohtani connected off Sam Hentges (1-1) during a five-run second to give the Angels a 6-1 lead. The Japanese superstar, who hit the go-ahead homer with two outs in the ninth inning Sunday at Boston, has gone deep in consecutive games twice this season. Tony Watson (2-1), the second of seven Los Angeles pitchers, earned the win and Raisel Iglesias picked up his seventh save. Cesar Hernandez, Franmil Reyes and Harold Ramirez homered for Cleveland, which has dropped four straight. DODGERS 3, DIAMONDBACKS 1 LOS ANGELES... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Willson Contreras, Jason Heyward and Javier Báez homered off Jon Lester in his return to Chicago, and the Cubs beat the Washington Nationals 7-3 on Monday night. Lester and Kyle Schwarber, two key members of Chicago’s 2016 World Series championship team, heard loud cheers all night long in their first game at Wrigley Field against their former team. Contreras put his arm around Schwarber’s shoulders before he batted in the first inning, and the catcher gave Lester a brief hug when the pitcher was at the plate in the third. Schwarber celebrated with a two-run homer into the bleachers in the fourth. Per the custom at Chicago’s iconic ballpark — even for old friends like the affable Schwarber — the ball was thrown back onto the field. In between the standing ovations and cheering for Lester and Schwarber, the Cubs were mostly all business during their third win in four games. Adbert Alzolay (2-3) pitched five innings of three-run ball in his first win since April 29. Lester... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Matt Harvey was greeted warmly by Mets fans in his return to Citi Field and harshly by New York’s hitters as the Mets beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-1 Wednesday. Harvey pitched against his former team for the first time and allowed Kevin Pillar’s two-run triple in a three-run second inning that carried the Mets to their seventh straight win. Wearing orange and black instead of blue and orange, Harvey (3-3) gave up a season-high seven runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings, and his ERA rose from 3.60 to 4.81 as the last-place Orioles lost for the fifth time in six games. Taijuan Walker (3-1) lowered his ERA to 2.20, allowing one run and four hits over seven innings as part of a five-hitter. Dominic Smith had three hits and two RBIs for the NL East-leading Mets, who completed a two-game sweep that finished a 5-0 homestand. New York is on its longest hot streak since winning eight straight from Aug. 3-10, 2019. YANKEES 1, RAYS 0 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Gerrit Cole struck out... [More]