PITTSBURGH (AP) — Left-handers Derek Holland and Robbie Erlin agreed to minor league contracts with the Pittsburgh Pirates along with catcher Andrew Susac and outfielder Charlie Tilson, and all four will report to big league spring training.Pittsburgh also agreed Friday to an $850,000, one-year contract with JT Riddle, who became a free agent when Miami failed to offer a contract by the Dec. 2 deadline. The 33-year-old Holland is 78-78 with a 4.54 ERA in 11 seasons, including eight with the Texas Rangers. Holland split time between the San Francisco Giants and the Chicago Cubs last year, going 2-5 with a 6.08 ERA. He would get a $1.25 million, one-year contract if added to the 40-man roster and could earn $300,000 in performance bonuses for innings: $50,000 each for 50 and 75, and $100,000 apiece for 100 and 125.Erlin, 29, is 13-20 with a 4.57 ERA in 106 appearances with the San Diego Padres. Erlin began his career as a starter but spent the last two seasons working almost exclusively out... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Left-handers Derek Holland and Robbie Erlin agreed to minor league contracts with the Pittsburgh Pirates along with catcher Andrew Susac and outfielder Charlie Tilson, and all four will report to big league spring training.Pittsburgh also agreed Friday to an $850,000, one-year contract with JT Riddle, who became a free agent when Miami failed to offer a contract by the Dec. 2 deadline. The 33-year-old Holland is 78-78 with a 4.54 ERA in 11 seasons, including eight with the Texas Rangers. Holland split time between the San Francisco Giants and the Chicago Cubs last year, going 2-5 with a 6.08 ERA. Erlin, 29, is 13-20 with a 4.57 ERA in 106 appearances with the San Diego Padres. Erlin began his career as a starter but spent the last two seasons working almost exclusively out of the bullpen.Pittsburgh is in need of pitching heading into spring training. Ace Jameson Taillon will miss the entire season after a second Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. Closer Felipe Vázquez... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Left-handers Derek Holland and Robbie Erlin have agreed to minor league contracts with the Pittsburgh Pirates along with catcher Andrew Susac and outfielder Charlie Tilson.All four will report to big league spring training, the Pirates said Friday.The 33-year-old Holland is 78-78 with a 4.54 ERA in 11 seasons, including eight with the Texas Rangers. Holland split time between the San Francisco Giants and the Chicago Cubs last year, going 2-5 with a 6.08 ERA. Erlin, 29, is 13-20 with a 4.57 ERA in 106 appearances with the San Diego Padres. Erlin began his career as a starter but spent the last two seasons working almost exclusively out of the bullpen.Pittsburgh is in need of pitching heading into spring training. Ace Jameson Taillon will miss the entire season after a second Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. Closer Felipe Vázquez remains in jail on felony charges stemming from an improper sexual relationship with a minor.Susac last played in the majors for Baltimore in 2018. The 29-year-old is a career .221 hitter in spot duty for San Francisco, Milwaukee and Baltimore. Pittsburgh's catching situation is murky behind Jacob Stallings.Tilson comes to the Pirates from the Chicago White Sox. He had one home run and 23 RBIs in 96 games with Chicago. Pittsburgh is in need of outfield depth after trading Starling Marte to Arizona on Monday for prospects. ___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHICAGO (AP) — The struggling White Sox got another much-needed boost with the return of a second big bat in three days.Shortstop Tim Anderson was activated from the 10-day injured list by the White Sox, who recalled right-hander Carson Fulmer from Triple-A Charlotte before a series opener against the New York Mets on Tuesday.Anderson was in the lineup batting seventh. He entered the game hitting .317 with 11 homers and 37 RBIs in 70 games before spraining his right ankle on June 25. Anderson was 8 for 23 (.346) with one homer and four RBIs during a five-game injury rehabilitation assignment with Charlotte."He's an elite shortstop,"manager Rick Renteria said. "I think his defense speaks for itself in terms of how he's grown out there, the offense has grown so much."Maybe it will take him a little time to get back in the full swing, but it's nice to have him in the lineup."The 26-year-old Anderson said he was ready to go for the White Sox, who are 4-13 since the All-Star break."I comfortable... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:TRADEWINDSOnly eight games on the schedule, giving contending teams more time to talk about trades. The fourth-place Mets acquired Toronto ace Marcus Stroman for two minor league pitching prospects Sunday and the Rays made three deals, getting .300-hitting Eric Sogard from the Blue Jays.The Yankees are in the market for a top starting pitcher — Mets star Noah Syndergaard is available, and San Diego is interested. Relievers are always in demand, with Pittsburgh lefty Felipe Vazquez attracting attention.The deadline is 4 p.m. EDT Wednesday to make trades for players to be eligible in the postseason.OPPORTUNITY KNOCKSSecond-place Washington gets a chance to cut into Atlanta's 5½-game lead in the NL East when the Braves visit for the opener of a three-game series. Patrick Corbin (8-5, 3.25), ranked second in the majors with a 1.68 ERA at home, starts for the Nationals against Dallas Keuchel (3-3, 3.50) in a matchup of veteran left-handers.... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Monday:TRADEWINDSOnly eight games on the schedule, giving contending teams more time to talk about trades. The fourth-place Mets acquired Toronto ace Marcus Stroman for two minor league pitching prospects Sunday and the Rays made three deals, getting .300-hitting Eric Sogard from the Blue Jays.The Yankees are in the market for a top starting pitcher — Mets star Noah Syndergaard is available, and San Diego is interested. Relievers are always in demand, with Pittsburgh lefty Felipe Vazquez attracting attention.The deadline is 4 p.m. EDT Wednesday to make trades for players to be eligible in the postseason.OPPORTUNITY KNOCKSSecond-place Washington gets a chance to cut into Atlanta's 5½-game lead in the NL East when the Braves visit for the opener of a three-game series. Patrick Corbin (8-5, 3.25), ranked second in the majors with a 1.68 ERA at home, starts for the Nationals against Dallas Keuchel (3-3, 3.50) in a matchup of veteran left-handers.... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — White Sox manager Rick Renteria sees Eloy Jiménez as an outfielder, even after his latest injury.Jiménez was activated from the 10-day injured list Sunday and inserted into the starting lineup for Chicago's matchup with the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins. The rookie slugger will be limited to designated hitter while he completes a throwing program after he was sidelined with a bruised ulnar nerve in his right arm."We're still going to limit for him his outfield play as he continues to throw for the next few days," Renteria said. "But we can at least get his bat in the lineup. He's been doing a lot of work, looks really good. I'm sure he'll be a little bit behind, but getting him back in there, just by putting him in there, creates a presence for us."The 22-year-old Jiménez went 0 for 3 in Chicago's 11-1 loss. He struck out looking with the bases loaded for the first out of the sixth inning.Jiménez is considered one of baseball's top prospects. He is batting .241 with... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — White Sox manager Rick Renteria sees Eloy Jiménez as an outfielder, even after his latest injury.Jiménez was activated from the 10-day injured list Sunday and inserted into the starting lineup for Chicago's series finale against the Minnesota Twins. The rookie slugger will be limited to designated hitter while he completes a throwing program after he was sidelined with a bruised ulnar nerve in his right arm."We're still going to limit for him his outfield play as he continues to throw for the next few days," Renteria said. "But we can at least get his bat in the lineup. He's been doing a lot of work, looks really good. I'm sure he'll be a little bit behind, but getting him back in there, just by putting him in there, creates a presence for us."The 22-year-old Jiménez is considered one of baseball's top prospects. He is batting .244 with 17 homers and 39 RBIs heading into the matchup with the Twins.But Jiménez's adventures in left field have raised questions about whether... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — White Sox manager Rick Renteria sees Eloy Jiménez as an outfielder, even after his latest injury.Jiménez was activated from the 10-day injured list Sunday and inserted into the starting lineup for Chicago's series finale against the Minnesota Twins. The rookie slugger will be limited to designated hitter while he completes a throwing program after he was sidelined with a bruised ulnar nerve in his right arm."We're still going to limit for him his outfield play as he continues to throw for the next few days," Renteria said. "But we can at least get his bat in the lineup. He's been doing a lot of work, looks really good. I'm sure he'll be a little bit behind, but getting him back in there, just by putting him in there, creates a presence for us."The 22-year-old Jiménez is considered one of baseball's top prospects. He is batting .244 with 17 homers and 39 RBIs heading into the matchup with the Twins.But Jiménez's adventures in left field have raised questions about whether... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox have activated rookie outfielder Eloy Jiménez from the 10-day injured list and designated infielder José Rondón for assignment.Jiménez was sidelined by an ulnar nerve contusion in his right arm. He got hurt when he collided with teammate Charlie Tilson while chasing a long fly ball in the first inning of an 11-0 loss at Kansas City on July 16.The 22-year-old Jiménez is considered one of baseball's top prospects. He is batting .244 with 17 homers and 39 RBIs heading into Sunday's game against Minnesota.Rondón is hitting .197 with three homers in 55 games with Chicago this year. He was acquired in a trade with San Diego in January 2018 for cash considerations.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chicago White Sox have placed rookie outfielder Eloy Jiménez on the 10-day injured list with an ulnar nerve contusion in his right arm.The move comes a day after Jiménez collided with outfielder Charlie Tilson in the first inning Tuesday against the Kansas City Royals. In the hours after the game, Jiménez was experiencing numbness down his arm and into his fingers.Jiménez will rejoin the team in Tampa Bay this weekend after flying home to Chicago for a full evaluation. He'll be re-evaluated Monday, and the organization is optimistic Jiménez could only miss a couple of weeks.The 23-year-old is batting .244 with 17 home runs and 39 RBIs.The White Sox purchased the contract of infielder Ryan Goins to replace Jiménez. Goins, who appeared in 41 games with the Royals in 2018, was set to start at shortstop against his former team Wednesday.RHP Juan Minaya was outrighted to Charlotte after being designated for assignment Saturday.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Christian Yelich hit his major league-leading 17th and 18th homers to help Zach Davies and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 11-3 Thursday.Yasmani Grandal and Mike Moustakas also went deep as the Brewers won their third in a row.Davies (5-0) allowed three runs — one earned — and four hits in six innings.Yelich homered in the first for a 1-0 lead off Zach Eflin (5-4) and added a solo drive off Edgar Garcia in the eighth to make it 8-3.ATHLETICS 17, TIGERS 3DETROIT (AP) — Jurickson Profar hit his first career grand slam, and Oakland won its 13th straight over Detroit and its eighth in a row at Comerica ParkJosh Phegley had four hits, including one of Oakland's five home runs. Matt Olson and Marcus Semien also homered for Oakland.Detroit has been outscored 41-9 while losing the first four games of a 10-game homestand.Ohio native Chris Bassitt (2-1) pitched eight shutout innings in front of a large group of friends and family.Spencer Turnbull (2-3) allowed... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Christian Yelich hit his major league-leading 17th and 18th homers to help Zach Davies and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 11-3 Thursday.Yasmani Grandal and Mike Moustakas also went deep as the Brewers won their third in a row.Davies (5-0) allowed three runs — one earned — and four hits in six innings.Yelich homered in the first for a 1-0 lead off Zach Eflin (5-4) and added a solo drive off Edgar Garcia in the eighth to make it 8-3.ATHLETICS 17, TIGERS 3DETROIT (AP) — Jurickson Profar hit his first career grand slam, and Oakland won its 13th straight over Detroit and its eighth in a row at Comerica ParkJosh Phegley had four hits, including one of Oakland's five home runs. Matt Olson and Marcus Semien also homered for Oakland.Detroit has been outscored 41-9 while losing the first four games of a 10-game homestand.Ohio native Chris Bassitt (2-1) pitched eight shutout innings in front of a large group of friends and family.Spencer Turnbull (2-3) allowed... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Jon Jay sees the rebuilding Chicago White Sox poised for big things with promising young players. He's looking forward to being a part of it."It's a great organization, a great city," he said.The free agent outfielder and the White Sox finalized a $4 million, one-year contract on Thursday.The 33-year-old played for Kansas City and Arizona last season, batting .268 with three homers and 40 RBIs in 143 games. He also made at least 24 starts at each spot in the outfield.The addition gives the White Sox another veteran hitter after they struck out 1,594 times last season, tops in the majors. Jay also is friends with slugger Manny Machado, one of Chicago's top targets in free agency."Manny's going to do what's best for his family," Jay said. "That's going to be up to them, privately. I haven't been involved in any of that. Those are their matters. Let's see how everything shakes out. Obviously, would we love to have Manny Machado on the team? Absolutely. The guy is unbelievable.... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Free agent outfielder Jon Jay and the Chicago White Sox have finalized a $4 million, one-year contract.The 33-year-old Jay played for Kansas City and Arizona last season, batting .268 with three homers and 40 RBIs in 143 games. He also made at least 24 starts at each spot in the outfield.The addition of Jay gives the White Sox another veteran hitter after they struck out 1,594 times last season, tops in the majors. Jay also is friends with slugger Manny Machado, one of Chicago's top targets in free agency.The White Sox announced the deal Thursday. They cleared a roster spot by designating outfielder Charlie Tilson for assignment.Jay, a Miami native, is a .285 career hitter in nine years in the majors. He made his debut with St. Louis in 2010 and helped the crosstown Cubs win the NL Central in 2017.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Lance McCullers pitched seven strong innings, Jake Marisnick homered and the Houston Astros beat the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 on Thursday night to tie a franchise record with their 11th straight road win.McCullers (9-3) gave up three hits while striking out seven. The Astros have won his last six starts and have won 18 of 21 overall. Their 11th straight road win matched the club record set last May 14-June 5 on the way to winning the franchise's first World Series title.The Rays, who had won five straight overall and eight straight at home, had runners on first and third with none out in the eighth against reliever Chris Devenski, but Matt Duffy lined into a double play and Jake Bauers grounded out.Hector Rondon pitched the ninth for his fifth save in seven opportunities.Marisnick's homer in the fifth came off Ryan Yarbrough (7-4) and was his seventh of the season. It ended the Rays' streak of 26 scoreless innings, the second-longest in franchise history.RED SOX 4,... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anthony Rizzo's three-run double and Addison Russell's two-run homer highlighted a seven-run seventh inning as the Chicago Cubs broke loose after Clayton Kershaw exited, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-5 on Thursday.The Cubs pounded out 15 hits, including four by Rizzo. Russell drove in four runs in the final regular-season meeting between the teams that played each other in the NL Championship Series the last two years.They met seven times in 10 days, with the Cubs winning four games over the two series.The Dodgers staked Kershaw to a 3-1 lead before he departed after five innings because of a pitch limit.The Cubs jumped on reliever Walker Buehler (4-2), who arrived earlier in the morning from Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he had been set for a rehab assignment. Albert Almora Jr. homered on Buehler's second pitch and Russell's sacrifice fly tied it at 3 in the sixth.Steve Cishek (2-0) got the win with 1 2/3 innings of relief.ROCKIES 9, GIANTS 8SAN FRANCISCO (AP) —... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Jon Lester won his fifth straight start, Javier Baez backed him with three hits and two runs, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 on Wednesday.Lester (9-2) gave up five hits over seven innings. Baez had two doubles, a triple and a steal. He also made some solid plays at shortstop and second base.Kyle Schwarber hit his 14th homer, and Kris Bryant added two hits and an RBI. And the Cubs handed Ross Stripling his first loss since April 30, taking two of three in a rematch of the past two NL Championship Series.Lester walked three and struck out one batter. Anthony Bass worked the final two innings to finish the six-hitter.Stripling (6-2) had won six straight starts. The right-hander went six innings, allowing three runs and eight hits while striking out seven without a walk.YANKEES 7, MARINERS 5NEW YORK (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton lined a two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, and New York erased a five-run deficit to beat Seattle.Gary... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Jon Lester won his fifth straight start, Javier Baez backed him with three hits and two runs, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 on Wednesday.Lester (9-2) gave up five hits over seven innings. Baez had two doubles, a triple and a steal. He also made some solid plays at shortstop and second base.Kyle Schwarber hit his 14th homer, and Kris Bryant added two hits and an RBI. And the Cubs handed Ross Stripling his first loss since April 30, taking two of three in a rematch of the past two NL Championship Series.Lester walked three and struck out one batter. Anthony Bass worked the final two innings to finish the six-hitter.Stripling (6-2) had won six straight starts. The right-hander went six innings, allowing three runs and eight hits while striking out seven without a walk.YANKEES 7, MARINERS 5NEW YORK (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton lined a two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, and New York erased a five-run deficit to beat Seattle.Gary... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Jon Lester won his fifth straight start, Javier Baez backed him with three hits and two runs, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 on Wednesday.Lester (9-2) gave up five hits over seven innings. Baez had two doubles, a triple and a steal. He also made some solid plays at shortstop and second base.Kyle Schwarber hit his 14th homer, and Kris Bryant added two hits and an RBI. And the Cubs handed Ross Stripling his first loss since April 30, taking two of three in a rematch of the past two NL Championship Series.Lester walked three and struck out one batter. Anthony Bass worked the final two innings to finish the six-hitter.Stripling (6-2) had won six straight starts. The right-hander went six innings, allowing three runs and eight hits while striking out seven without a walk.PHILLIES 4, CARDINALS 3PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Odubel Herrera hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the seventh inning, Cesar Hernandez had a two-run shot and Philadelphia beat St. Louis.Herrera ripped... [More]