The Chicago Cubs were planning on Marcus Stroman returning from the injured list to pitch Wednesday.

It turns out he will be sidelined much longer.

Stroman has been diagnosed with a right rib cartilage fracture and is out indefinitely.

Already on the IL due to right hip inflammation, the 32-year-old experienced rib discomfort recently during his rehab and the Cubs announced Tuesday he would not be activated to pitch against the Chicago White Sox the following night.

At this point, the Cubs are going to wait until he's pain-free until he resumes throwing.

While the team is not giving a timeline for his return, recovery for such an injury could be anywhere from two weeks to up to six weeks.

With only 6 1/2 weeks left in the season, it's possible he's done for the year.

It's a tough blow for a Cubs team that entered Wednesday 3 1/2 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central and one game back of the Miami Marlins for the final wild-card spot in the NL.

Stroman, who was Chicago's opening day starter, was sensational early in the season, going 9-4 with a 2.28 ERA in 16 starts through June 20 and earned his second All-Star team selection. At that time, his ERA was the lowest in the NL among the 37 pitchers with at least 70 innings thrown.

The last two months have not gone nearly as well for him, as he's gone 1-4 with a 9.00 ERA in his last seven outings and landed on the IL on August 2.

Despite his recent struggles, the Cubs were hoping a stint on the IL would help Stroman regain his early season form, but now the team is facing the real possibility he won't be able to pitch the rest of the year.

 

Rookie Bobby Miller pitched one-hit ball over six innings to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to their ninth straight win, 6-2 over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday.

Miller allowed his only hit to the first batter he faced and earned his first win since July 22. He struck out four and walked one before Ryan Yarbrough pitched three innings for his first career save.

The Dodgers sent 10 batters to the plate and scored five runs in the sixth to knock out starter Adrian Houser.

J.D. Martinez doubled off the wall in left to score Will Smith, who reached on a throwing error by third baseman Andruw Monasterio.

Pinch-hitter Kike Hernandez singled home a pair of runs off reliever Hoby Milner and scored on Miguel Rojas’ single before Mookie Betts’ RBI single made it 6-1.

Los Angeles has outscored opponents 54-21 during the nine-game streak to open a nine-game lead over San Francisco in the NL West.

Carlos Santana homered for NL Central-leading Milwaukee, which had a four-game winning streak snapped but remained 3 ½ games of the Cubs and Reds.

 

Elder goes 7 as Braves 1-hit sliding Yankees

Bryce Elder was nearly unhittable for seven innings, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Marcell Ozuna went deep and the Atlanta Braves beat the struggling New York Yankees 5-0.

The Yankees’ only hit of the night was a second-inning DJ LeMahieu single off Elder, who bounced back from losses in his previous two starts to pitch his best game of the year.

A.J. Minter and Kirby Yates pitched an inning each to complete the one-hitter for the MLB-best Braves, who have won seven of their last nine.

Acuna stayed on his MVP-caliber pace by hitting his 26th home run and scoring two runs. He is hitting .368 this month with a 1.040 OPS.

The last-place Yankees continued their slide, falling to 11-18 since the All-Star break and dropping to .500 for the first time since May 1.

 

Mariners recover to beat Royals

Ty France singled home a pair in the 10th inning and the Seattle Mariners topped the Kansas City Royals 10-8 after blowing a seven-run lead.

Seattle took an 8-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth but were unable to hold a late lead for the second straight night.

An error and two walks loaded the bases with two outs before Michael Massey delivered a two-run single. Salvador Perez followed with another hit to make it 8-8.

Seattle scored seven runs in the fourth inning off Jordan Lyles, starting with back-to-back home runs by Eugenio Suarez and France before Teoscar Hernandez followed Cal Raleigh’s walk with a longball of his own.

Jose Caballero doubled home a run later in the inning and scored on Josh Rojas’ first home run of the season.

Hernandez tied a career high with five hits and had three RBIs, while France went 4 for 6 with three RBIs.

Kansas City cut the deficit to 7-5 in the fifth, highlighted by Bobby Witt Jr.’s second grand slam in 18 days.

Max Scherzer struck out a season-high 11 batters in seven dominant innings, Adolis Garcia hit his 30th home run of the season and the Texas Rangers routed the Los Angeles Angels 12-0 Monday for their 11th win in their last 13 games.

Scherzer allowed only one hit – an infield single in the second inning to Mike Moustakas – and walked one batter in his best outing of the year. Two of Scherzer’s 11 strikeouts came against Shohei Ohtani in the first ever matchup between the two superstars.

At 39 years old, Scherzer improved to 12-4 this season and 3-0 since being acquired by the Rangers at the trade deadline.

Garcia’s two-run home run in the seventh inning gave him 30 this season and upped his AL-leading RBI total to 91. Marcus Semien hit a two-run homer and had five RBIs.

With the win and the Houston Astros’ loss to the Miami Marlins, the Rangers (71-48) expanded their lead in the AL West to 3 ½ games.

The Angels (59-61) continued their slide down the AL wild card standings and have been outscored by a combined 35-8 over their last four games.

 

Rays’ Glasnow sharp in victorious return

Tyler Glasnow returned from a two-week absence due to back spasms to throw six strong innings and lead the Tampa Bay Rays to a 10-2 win over the San Francisco Giants.

Glasnow allowed three hits and one run while striking out seven in his first start since July 31. The 6-foot-8 right-hander reached 98 mph on the radar gun and improved to 4-1 with a 1.63 ERA over his last six starts.

The Rays’ offence did its job by piling up a season-high 18 hits, including Christian Bethancourt’s first home run since May 20.

Every Tampa Bay starter had at least one hit, and six different players had multiple hits.

The Rays were without shortstop Wander Franco, who was placed on the restricted list while he is being investigated for allegedly having an improper relationship with a minor.

 

Lopez, Fried lift Braves over scuffling Yankees

Nicky Lopez starred in his role as a fill-in, Max Fried collected a win in his first home start in over three months and the Atlanta Braves handled the New York Yankees 11-3.

Lopez tallied three hits and three RBIs while starting in place of second baseman Ozzie Albies, who is expected to land on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring strain.

Fried went six innings in his Truist Park return, allowing eight hits and two runs.

Fried was activated from the 60-day injured list on Aug. 4 for a pair of road starts before returning home. His last start in Atlanta had come on May 5.

The NL-leading Braves (76-42) remained hot, winners in six of their last eight games.

The Yankees (60-59) had 11 hits but grounded into three double-plays, and the loss dropped them 5 ½ back of the Toronto Blue Jays for the final AL wild card spot.

Cedric Mullins sure had a flair for the dramatic on Sunday.

Mullins robbed Ty France of a potential game-tying home run in the ninth inning, and then hit a two-run shot in the 10th to lead the visiting Baltimore Orioles to a thrilling 5-3 win over the Seattle Mariners.

Two pitches after Mullins reached over the centre field wall to catch France's would-be homer for the second out, Seattle ended up tying the game 3-3 on a Dominic Canzone home run.

That set up more late-inning magic from Mullins, who had entered in the sixth inning as a defensive replacement, as his homer in the 10th scored automatic runner Gunnar Henderson to put Baltimore ahead.

Mullins' home run was his first since July 14, as he had been 0 for 9 since being activated from the injured list prior to Friday's series opener.

 

Shintaro Fujinami pitched a perfect 10th for his first save.

It marked the AL-leading Orioles' second straight 10-inning triumph after Saturday's 1-0 victory snapped Seattle's eight-game winning streak.

With the win, Baltimore moved three games ahead of the second-place Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.

The Mariners, who managed just 10 hits in the last two games after averaging 9.7 per game during their winning streak, fell 1 1/2 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays for the final wild-card spot in the AL.

 

Marlins score five runs in bottom of ninth for stunning 8-7 win over Yankees

If the Miami Marlins end up making the playoffs this season, they may point to their 8-7 thrilling comeback win over the New York Yankees as the game that helped catapult them to the postseason.

Trailing 7-3 after eight innings, the Marlins scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth to stun the Yankees, winning on Jake Burger's walkoff single.

Miami scored its first two runs in the eighth on a throwing error by New York closer Clay Holmes and tied the game on MLB batting leader Luis Arraez's two-run triple.

Tommy Kahnle then relieved Holmes, and after Bryan De La Cruz walked, Burger lined a singled to left field to score Arraez and win the game.

 

Burger had three hits and drove in two runs, and is batting .317 with five extra-base hits and six RBIs in 11 games since being acquired by the Chicago White Sox at the trade deadline.

The Marlins won for the fourth time in five games and took a half-game lead over the Chicago Cubs for the NL's final wild-card spot.

The Yankees, meanwhile, wasted a major league-leading 18th quality start from ace Gerrit Cole to fall five games back of the Blue Jays for the AL's last playoff spot.

Cole gave up two runs and struck out six over six innings before handing things over to the bullpen with a 7-2 lead.

Prior to Sunday, the Yankees were 17-0 in games in which Cole pitched and received at least seven runs of support.

 

Urias strikes out 12 as Dodgers win season-high eighth straight game

The Los Angeles Dodgers continued their scorching start to August with an 8-3 win over the Colorado Rockies to extend their season-high winning streak to eight.

Julio Urias matched his career high with 12 strikeouts - punching out seven in a row at one point - while allowing three runs and four hits over seven innings for his 10th win of the season. The veteran left-hander has posted a 1.50 ERA in winning his last three starts.

Miguel Rojas homered and drove in four runs for Los Angeles, which improved to 12-1 this month to take an 8 1/2-game lead over the second-place San Francisco Giants atop the NL West. The Dodgers entered August just 2 1/2 games up on the Giants.

Mookie Betts had a two-run double Sunday and has been instrumental to the Dodgers' surge, batting .367 with four homers, six doubles and 12 RBIs in 12 games this month.

 

Ryan Mountcastle drove in the game’s only run and the Baltimore Orioles pulled out a 1-0 victory to end the Seattle Mariners’ eight-game winning streak on Saturday night.

George Kirby took a no-decision in a masterful start for Seattle, allowing three singles over nine scoreless innings with no walks and seven strikeouts.

Cedric Mullins was placed at second base to start the top of the 10th and stole third. After Anthony Santander grounded out, Mountcastle grounded a pitch from Andres Munoz up the middle to give Baltimore its lone run.

Felix Bautista struck out four in two scoreless innings for the win as the All-Star closer bounced back from his last two appearances, when he gave up five runs in 1 2/3 innings.

The win kept the AL East-leading Orioles two games ahead of Tampa Bay, which rallied to beat Cleveland earlier in the day.

Baltimore starter Cole Irvin worked the first five innings with six strikeouts and four relievers pitched three more scoreless innings before Bautista took over.

The Mariners went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position and remained one-half game behind Toronto for the third and final AL wild-card spot.

 

Dodgers win 7th straight

Tony Gonsolin pitched six strong innings and was backed by three home runs as the Los Angeles Dodgers won their season-high seventh in a row, 4-1 over the Colorado Rockies.

Gonsolin allowed a home run to Ezequiel Tovar on the first pitch of the game but kept the Rockies scoreless the rest of the way with only two hits.

He did not walk a batter and struck out six to win his third consecutive start.

Will Smith answered Tovar’s homer with one of his own in the bottom of the first and James Outman and Amed Rosario also went deep for the Dodgers, who have won 11 of 12.

 

Seager, Garver power red-hot Rangers

Mitch Garver drove in three runs and Corey Seager homered to lead the Texas Rangers to their 10th win in 11 games, 9-3 over the slumping San Francisco Giants.

Garver had a go-ahead single in Texas’ three-run fourth inning and added a two-run single in the ninth.

Seager hit his 20th home run in the first inning and Ezequiel Duran had three hits and a pair of RBIs to help the Rangers improve to 10-1 following a 2-7 stretch.

Michael Conforto and Heliot Ramos homered, but the Giants lost for the sixth time in seven games.

Entering Friday's series opener against the Los Angeles Angels, the last time Astros first baseman Jon Singleton homered in a major league game, the Houston franchise had not yet won a World Series and was mired in a nine-year playoff drought.

Singleton ended an eight-year span between MLB home runs with two majestic shots in the Astros' 11-3 win over the Angels.

Three days after his contract was selected from Triple-A Sugar Land, Singleton put Houston up 3-1 in the second inning with a three-run homer - his first in the majors since he hit one for the Astros in a 6-3 win over the Angels on July 29, 2015.

That gap of eight year and 13 days between homers was the longest stretch by an MLB position player since Rafael Belliard went 10 years and 144 days between the only two homers of his career - for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1987 and for the Atlanta Braves in 1997.

The 31-year-old Singleton, who appeared in 114 games for the Astros in 2014 and 2015 but was then out of organized baseball from 2017 until 2021, then hit a two-run blast in his second at-bat with one out in the third inning.

 

Justin Verlander allowed three runs and six hits while striking out seven over six innings to earn the win in his second start for the Astros since being acquired from the New York Mets at the trade deadline. It was his 500th start, making Verlander the 50th player in MLB history to reach that milestone.

The Astros, who have won two World Series titles since 2017 and are trying to reach the playoffs for the seventh year in a row, remained 2 1/2 games behind the Texas Rangers for first place in the AL West.

 

Mariners rout AL-best Orioles to extend season-high winning streak to eight games

The Seattle Mariners continued their winning ways this month with a 9-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles to extend their season-high winning streak to eight games.

The Mariners jumped out to a fast start with Cal Raleigh hitting a two-run home run in the first inning and Seattle blew the game open with a five-run fourth inning, highlighted by Julio Rodriguez's three-run blast.

Rodriguez also hit a run-scoring double for the Mariners, who are a major league-best 16-4 since July 20 and have moved within one-half game of the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL's final wild-card spot.

Luis Castillo stymied Baltimore's bats, yielding just an Anthony Santander solo homer and one other hit while striking out eight over six innings. Seattle starting pitchers are 5-0 with a 1.20 ERA in the team's last five games.

The AL East-leading Orioles have lost three of four and their lead over the second-place Tampa Bay Rays has been trimmed to two games.

 

 

Franco's walkoff home run helps Rays escape from debacle

Wander Franco helped save the Tampa Bay Rays from a massive collapse, hitting a leadoff home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the AL wild-card leaders to a 9-8 win over the Cleveland Guardians.

Franco's first career walkoff homer secured the Rays' 70th win of the season - a mark the club didn't reach last season until August 28 - and helped the team avoid an embarrassing outcome.

Tampa Bay led 8-4 before giving up one run in the top of the eighth and three more in the ninth, with all three scoring on wild pitches. And that came after closer Pete Fairbanks loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batter.

Isaac Paredes gave the Rays a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning on a two-run home run to tie him with Jose Siri for the team lead with 23 home runs.

Fronco's game-ending homer was his 17th of the season, and sixth in his last 12 games. He's slashing .426/.491/.851 in those contests.

 

Adley Rutschman and Ryan Mountcastle homered and All-Star closer Felix Bautista escaped trouble as the Baltimore Orioles held on for a 5-4 win over the Houston Astros to avoid a series sweep on Thursday.

Bautista was called on to protect a 5-3 lead in the ninth inning for Baltimore but again struggled, giving up a run and loading the bases before getting Jon Singleton to pop up for the final out.

Bautista, who gave up a ninth-inning grand slam to Kyle Tucker on Tuesday, has allowed five earned runs in his last two appearances after giving up just five in his first 48 games this season. His season ERA went from 0.85 to 1.66 in this series.

Dean Kremer limited Houston to two runs and six hits in seven innings to join teammate Kyle Gibson as Baltimore’s 11-game winners.

Rutschman led off the bottom of the first against Hunter Brown with his 16th home run and Mountcastle’s two-run shot in the seventh extended the lead to 5-2.

The AL-best Orioles have gone 76 consecutive series of at least two decisions without being swept for the fifth-longest streak in major league history.

With Tampa Bay’s loss to St. Louis on Thursday, Baltimore owns a three-game lead in the East.

Jose Altuve went 4 for 5 with a home run for Houston, which dropped 2 ½ games behind AL West-leading Texas.

 

Phillies star Harper injured in win

Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos and J.T. Realmuto hit two-run homers and the Philadelphia Phillies overcame Bryce Harper’s injury in a 6-2 win over the Washington Nationals.

Harper left in the top of the fifth inning with what the team called mid-back spasms. He was undergoing evaluation and manager Rob Thomson said he’s day to day.

Philadelphia improved to a season-best 12 games over .500 and moved 1 ½ games ahead of idle San Francisco for the top spot in the NL wild-card race.

Turner’s 12th home run in the sixth inning gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead and Castellanos and Realmuto both went deep in the seventh off reliever Joe La Sorsa to make it 6-1.

 

Kershaw sharp in return as Dodgers stay hot

Clayton Kerhaw worked five effective innings in his first appearance in six weeks and the Los Angeles Dodgers edged the Colorado Rockies 2-1 for their ninth win in 10 games.

Kershaw allowed his only run on Elehuris Montero’s fifth-inning home run and two other hits with no walks and four strikeouts. The left-hander had been sidelined since June 27 with left shoulder soreness.

Ryan Yarbrough fanned four in three scoreless innings before Brusdar Graterol pitched a perfect ninth for his fifth save.

Max Muncy drove in both runs for the Dodgers, hitting his 28th home run in the seventh inning and drawing a bases-loaded walk in the eighth.

Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw will make his first start since June 27 on Thursday after the team activated the veteran pitcher from the injured list prior to their game against the Colorado Rockies.

Kershaw missed the past six weeks with a sore left shoulder that prevented the three-time National League Cy Young Award winner from appearing in last month's MLB All-Star Game.

The 35-year-old prepared for Thursday's assignment by throwing a pair of simulated games, including a four-inning outing last week.

Kershaw was in the midst of another excellent season prior to being sidelined. In 16 starts in 2023, the left-hander has compiled a 10-4 record and a 2.55 earned run average that would lead the majors if he had enough innings to qualify.

The 10-time All-Star is 4-0 with a sensational 1.09 ERA over his past five starts and did not allow a run in three of those appearances. In his most recent start on June 27, Kershaw held the Rockies to one hit over six scoreless frames in a 5-0 Dodgers' victory at Coors Field.

Kershaw's return should help stabilise a Los Angeles rotation that has largely struggled in his absence. Dodgers starters recorded a combined 6.18 ERA in July, the second highest in the majors for the month.

“For the team, I know that we all get excited when he takes the baseball,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Tuesday. “You just feel more comfortable and confident when Kersh is active.

Despite their starting pitching issues, the Dodgers have opened up a six-game lead on the second-place San Francisco Giants in the NL West and have won eight of nine games to begin August. 

Michael Lorenzen made quite the first impression to the Philadelphia Phillies fans.

Lorenzen threw the 14th no-hitter in Phillies' franchise history on Wednesday in Philadelphia's 7-0 win over the Washington Nationals in his first start at Citizens Bank Park in a Phillies' uniform.

Acquired by Philadelphia from the Detroit Tigers at the trade deadline, Lorenzen struck out five and walked four while throwing a career-high 124 pitches in just his second start for the Phillies (63-52).

He got Dominic Smith to fly out to shallow centre field to record the fourth no-hitter in MLB this season and the first by a Philadelphia pitcher since Cole Hamels in 2015.

 

 

Selected to his first All-Star Game this year, the 31-year-old Lorenzen improved to 5-1 with a 1.11 ERA and 0.76 WHIP in six outings since the start of July, which includes his final four appearances for the Tigers.

While Lorenzen shut down Washington (50-65), a couple of Philadelphia batters hit milestone home runs.

Nick Castellanos hit a pair of homers to give him 200 in his career, while Weston Wilson homered in his long-awaited first major league plate appearance.

The 28-year-old rookie had 2,836 plate appearances in the minor leagues before being called up Sunday.

The Phillies have won four of five, scoring seven, eight, eight and nine runs in those victories.

 

Raleigh's eighth-inning homer powers Mariners to seventh straight win

The Seattle Mariners continued their August surge, extending their season-high winning streak to seven games with a 6-1 win over the visiting San Diego Padres.

The score was tied 1-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning before the Mariners (62-52) erupted for five runs, taking the lead on Cal Raleigh's tiebreaking two-run homer with one out.

 

 

 

Mariners top pitching prospect, Emerson Hancock had an impressive major league debut, allowing a run and two hits over five innings.

The 24-year-old right-hander struck out three and walked three, and combined with five Seattle relievers to four-hit the Padres (55-60), who have lost four in a row.

Seattle, meanwhile, has lost just four games since July 20, going a major league-best 15-4 in that span to move a season-high 10 games over .500.

 

Ohtani earns 10th win as Angels top Giants

Shohei Ohtani picked up his 10th win of the season, yielding one unearned run over six innings of three-hit ball in the Los Angeles Angels' 4-1 victory over the visiting San Francisco Giants.

The major league leader in home runs, Ohtani struck out five and walked three, becoming the first player in MLB history to have multiple seasons with 10 or more homers and 10 or more wins.

The two-way sensation, who won 15 games in 2022, has not allowed a run in 19 innings over his last three starts, lowering his season ERA to 3.17.

Ohtani has been stuck on 40 homers since August 3, and went 0 for 2 with two strikeouts at the plate against the Giants (62-53), though he did walk twice and scored on Mike Moustakas' tiebreaking three-run homer in the sixth inning.

Moustakas had two hits, and has driven in 10 runs in his last seven games for the Angels (58-58), who have won two in a row following a season-high seven-game losing streak.

 

 

 

Kyle Tucker came through with a grand slam off All-Star closer Felix Bautista in the ninth inning as the Houston Astros rallied for a stunning 7-6 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.

Bautista was called on to protect a 6-3 lead in the ninth but promptly walked pinch-hitter Jon Singleton before Jose Altuve blooped a single.

After Alex Bregman struck out, Yordan Alvarez followed with a deep drive to centre that Jorge Mateo – a shortstop making only his second start of the year in centre field – failed to make the play on, and the ball bounced off the wall for a very long single.

Tucker battled Bautista for nine pitches, finally hitting a 100-mph fastball into the seats in right-centre for his 20th home run and second grand slam this season.

Bautista had allowed only five earned runs all season before Houston scored four on him in two-thirds of an inning.

Baltimore had a four-game winning streak snapped and its lead in the AL East was cut to two games over Tampa Bay.

Ryan Mountcastle hit a first-inning home run – a two-run blast – and Adley Rutschman added a two-run shot of his own in the second to put the Orioles up 5-0.

Houston starter Framber Valdez, who threw a no-hitter in his previous start, allowed a season high-tying six runs and eight hits in seven innings.

 

Scherzer pitches Rangers to eighth straight win

Max Scherzer pitched seven strong innings and Corey Seager had three hits with a home run to lead the Texas Rangers to their season-high eighth straight win, 6-1 over the Oakland Athletics.

Scherzer limited last-place Oakland to three hits with two walks and six strikeouts in his second start with the Rangers.

Robbie Grossman doubled home a run in the second inning and scored on Sam Huff’s double to trigger a three-run fourth.

Seager capped that outburst with an RBI double and hit his 19th home run in the seventh inning – his sixth homer in his last eight games.

The win was the 68th for the Rangers, equalling their total from all last season. The eight-game streak is their longest since winning 10 straight from May 9-19, 2017.

 

Gilbert shuts down Padres as Mariners stay hot

Logan Gilbert pitched one-hit ball and struck out a career-high 12 over seven innings as the Seattle Mariners beat the San Diego Padres 2-0 for their sixth consecutive win.

Gilbert retired 21 of the 22 batters he faced, allowing only an infield single to Xander Bogaerts in the second inning.

Matt Brash struck out Trent Grisham with runners on the corners in the eighth and Andres Munoz worked the ninth.

Seattle moved a season-high nine games over .500 and pulled within two games of Toronto for the third and final AL wild-card spot.

The Mariners scored the game’s first run in the fifth inning on a bases-loaded walk to Cal Raleigh and Dylan Moore tripled home another run in the sixth.

The Tampa Bay Rays put opening day starting pitcher Shane McClanahan on the 15-day injured list last week.

It appears he'll be sidelined much longer than just 15 days.

Rays manager Kevin Cash told Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times on Tuesday that McClanahan is "highly unlikely" to pitch again this season.

McClanahan has been seeing several specialists to examine his injured left forearm, and is slated to visit at least one more before a decision is made on whether he'll need surgery.

Surgery options include a loose body removal, a flexor tendon procedure and Tommy John surgery, which typically requires at least 12 months of recovery for pitchers.

 

 

McClanahan landed on IL last Thursday, one day after he left his start against the New York Yankees after four innings because of what was later described as left forearm tightness.

The 26-year-old got off to a sensational start to the season, going 11-1 with a 2.12 ERA with 97 strikeouts over 89 1/3 innings in his first 15 starts, but hasn't won since while battling tightness in his mid-back.

In his last six starts, the two-time All-Star is 0-1 with a 7.36 ERA, pitching fewer than four innings in four of those outings.

He was instrumental to Tampa Bay's fast start to the year, as the Rays were a major league-best 51-22 and owned a six-game lead over the second-place Baltimore Orioles atop the AL East at the time of McClanahan's last win on June 16.

Since then, however, they have MLB's eighth-worst record at 17-24, and enter play Tuesday three games back of the division-leading Orioles.

The Texas Rangers overcame a three-run deficit to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games with Monday's 5-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

Mitch Garver led the comeback by going 3 for 4 with a two-run double, and the Rangers scored twice in the eighth inning to break a 3-3 tie and increase their lead over the second-place Houston Astros to three games in the American League West.

After drawing even in the seventh inning with the help of an Oakland error that led to the tying run, Texas put its first two runners on against reliever Dany Jimenez in the eighth before Travis Jankowski drove in pinch-runner Jonathan Ornelas with an RBI fielder's choice. 

Leody Tavares followed with a sacrifice fly to increase the lead to 5-3 before relievers Aroldis Chapman and Will Smith kept the Athletics off the board over the final two innings. Smith notched his 21st save with a scoreless ninth.

Zach Gelof had a two-run double for Oakland, which has the majors' worst record at 32-81 but was coming off a two-game sweep of the Bay Area-rival San Francisco Giants.

A's starter Ken Waldichuk was in line for the win after holding the Rangers to two runs over six innings and striking out seven. 

 

Twins win fifth straight to increase AL Central lead

The Rangers aren't the only AL division leader on an impressive run, as the Minnesota Twins won their fifth consecutive game with Monday's 9-3 rout of the Detroit Tigers.

Carlos Correa went 2 for 3 with a home run and four RBIs for Minnesota, while Pablo Lopez struck out eight over seven scoreless innings as the AL Central-leading Twins increased their lead over second-place Cleveland to 5 1/2 games. The Guardians were dealt a 3-1 loss by the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.

Ryan Jeffers added a three-run homer to help the Twins back Lopez with an 8-0 lead after 2 1/2 innings. Each of those runs came against Tigers starter Joey Wentz, who was tagged for 10 hits and lasted only three innings.

Detroit didn't score until Nick Maton delivered a three-run homer in the ninth. Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter each recorded two hits for the Tigers.

 

Betts' grand slam highlights Dodgers' drubbing of Padres

Mookie Betts capped an eight-run fourth inning with a grand slam as the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied for a 13-7 win over the San Diego Padres in the finale of a four-game series between the National League West foes.

The division-leading Dodgers trailed 5-0 before breaking out against Padres starter Seth Lugo in the fourth en route to their sixth win in seven games.

David Peralta began the comeback with an RBI double and Jason Heyward later knocked in two runs with a double to cut San Diego's lead to 5-3. After Miguel Rojas' bases-loaded single brought in another run, Betts sent Lugo's final pitch of the day into the left field seats for his 31st homer of the season and an 8-5 Los Angeles advantage.

Kike Hernandez tacked on a solo homer in the sixth inning for the Dodgers, while James Outman finished 4 for 4 with two runs scored. Heyward, Peralta and Max Muncy each contributed two RBIs to help Los Angeles maintain a four-game lead on second-place San Francisco in the NL West.

Lugo was charged with eight runs and eight hits before exiting with one out in the fourth.

Luis Campusano paced the Padres offensively by going 4 for 4 with two homers and four RBIs, while Fernando Tatis Jr. had a two-run double in defeat.

 

Chicago's Tim Anderson has been suspended six games and Cleveland's Jose Ramirez has received a three-game ban by Major League Baseball for starting a fight that sparked a benches-clearing brawl between the White Sox and Guardians on Saturday.

MLB announced the penalties on Monday, which also included fines to Anderson and Ramirez. Both players are appealing.

Also receiving suspensions are Guardians manager Terry Francona, closer Emmanuel Clase and third base coach Mike Sarbaugh. All received one-game bans, as did White Sox manager Pedro Grifol.

Francona and Clase will serve their ban Monday, when the Guardians open a four-game series against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays, while Sarbaugh will sit on Tuesday.

Grifol will carry out his suspension Monday in the opener of a three-game set between the White Sox and New York Yankees in Chicago.

 

 

While the White Sox are out of the playoff picture, Ramirez's absence could hurt Cleveland's chances of reaching the postseason.

The Guardians enter Monday 4 1/2 games behind the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins, while the five-time All-Star third baseman leads the team in home runs (18), doubles (27), runs (67) and OPS (.861).

The incident that sparked all the discipline from MLB occurred in the sixth inning of the White Sox's 7-4 win at Cleveland on Saturday on a play that began innocently.

Ramirez slid headfirst into second base with an RBI double and Anderson stood over him, straddling Ramirez. Ramirez was reportedly upset at Anderson's late, hard tag and when he got up, he pointed his finger in the second baseman's face and yelled, prompting the two to square off like a boxing match.

Anderson dropped his glove and threw the first punch, setting off a melee that saw both dugouts empty onto the infield. While trying to be restrained by White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech, Ramirez swung blindly and connected with a right hand to the face of Anderson, who fell backward to the ground.

Anderson got back up incensed and tried unsuccessfully to get at Ramirez while being restrained by several teammates.

The Texas Rangers are now riding a six-game winning streak, but may be without All-Star third baseman Josh Jung for a while after he fractured his left thumb in Sunday's 6-0 victory over the Miami Marlins.

Jung was injured after a scorching line drive off the bat of Miami's Jorge Soler hit his glove in the sixth inning, though he was able to pick up the ball and start a double play before being removed from the contest shortly after.

The rookie is the second Texas All-Star infielder to hurt his thumb within the last three weeks. Shortstop Corey Seager missed nine games with a sprained right thumb before returning Aug. 2, but is still dealing with effects from the injury and missed Sunday's contest.

Ezequiel Duran replaced Jung and had one of four Rangers homers to back 5 2/3 scoreless innings from Andrew Heaney. Nathaniel Lowe, Marcus Semien and Adolis Garcia also went deep to help Texas sweep the three-game series and hand the slumping Marlins a fourth straight loss.

Heaney held Miami to four hits and two walks to win his third consecutive start.

2022 National League Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara was dealt his 10th defeat of the season for Miami, which dropped to 5-16 since the All-Star break. The right-hander allowed five runs - four earned - while striking out seven in six innings. 

 

Surging Cubs down MLB-best Braves for sixth straight series win

Ian Happ and Dansby Swanson each drove in two runs as the Chicago Cubs remained hot with a 6-4 victory over the MLB-leading Atlanta Braves.

The Cubs scored three times in the fifth inning to erase a 3-2 deficit en route to their fifth win in six games. Chicago is 15-4 since July 18 and has now won six consecutive series after taking two of three from Atlanta over the weekend.

Sunday's win moved the Cubs within 1 1/2 games of the first-place Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central.

Happ tied the game at 3-3 in the fifth with an RBI single before scoring the go-ahead run on a double from Cody Bellinger, who later crossed the plate on Jeimer Candelario's two-out single for a 5-3 advantage.

The rally helped Cubs starter Justin Steele improve to 13-3 on the season after the All-Star pitcher gave up four runs - three earned - and struck out seven in 5 1/3 innings.

Matt Olson hit his 39th home run - one shy of Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani for the major league lead, and knocked in three runs for the Braves.

Atlanta's Charlie Morton struggled again by surrendering five runs and issuing four walks in 4 1/3 innings. The veteran has now lost four straight starts and has a 7.32 ERA during that stretch.

 

Rookie Schneider makes history in Blue Jays' rout of Red Sox

Davis Schneider went 4 for 5 with a home run and four RBIs to continue a historic start to his major league career in the Toronto Blue Jays' 13-1 drubbing of the Boston Red Sox.

Schneider is now 9 for 13 with a pair of homers through his first three MLB games. The 24-year-old second baseman is the first player in MLB history to begin a career with nine hits and two home runs over three games.

Matt Chapman added two hits and three RBIs as Toronto completed a three-game sweep of its American League East rivals. The Red Sox are now five games back of the Blue Jays for the AL's final wild card spot.

Toronto also received a strong pitching outing from Chris Bassitt, who scattered seven hits and struck out six while allowing one run in seven innings.

Triston Casas accounted for the Red Sox' lone run with a solo homer off Bassitt in the fourth inning.

Tim Anderson and Jose Ramirez exchanged punches to trigger a benches-clearing brawl in the sixth inning of the Chicago White Sox’s 7-4 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday.

The fight began when Ramirez slid headfirst into second with an RBI double and Anderson stood over him, straddling Ramirez. When Ramirez got up, he pointed his finger in Anderson’s face and yelled, prompting the two to square off like a boxing match.

Anderson dropped his glove and threw the first punch, setting off a melee that saw both dugouts empty onto the infield. Ramirez appeared to connect with a right hand to the face of Anderson, who fell backward to the ground.

Anderson got back up incensed and tried unsuccessfully to get at Ramirez while being restrained by several teammates.

Tempers temporarily calmed before Guardians manger Terry Francona and Chicago manager Pedro Grifol had words, leading to pushing and shoving by players and coaches on both teams.

Anderson, Ramirez, Francona, third base coach Mike Sarbaugh, Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase and Grifol were all ejected. It took 15 minutes before order was restored after multiple flare-ups ensued.

Elvis Andrus hit a two-run homer, while Andrew Vaughn, Luis Robert Jr. and Oscar Colas had solo shots for the White Sox.

Chicago starter Michael Kopech carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings.

 

Verlander loses to begin second stint with Astros

Justin Verlander pitched seven innings but took a loss in his first start since being re-acquired by his old team, as the Houston Astros fell to the New York Yankees 3-1.

Verlander, who was traded by the New York Mets on Tuesday, began his second stint in Houston by allowing seven hits and two runs over seven innings while striking out four.

Jose Altuve hit his 200th career home run in the third inning, but the Astros managed just one other hit the rest of the game.

Nestor Cortes started his first game for the Yankees in over two months after recovering from a rotator cuff injury in his throwing shoulder.

Cortes allowed one run and one hit in four innings and fanned eight.

Jake Bauers provided the go-ahead RBI with a solo shot off Verlander in the fifth inning, and Gleyber Torres’ solo homer added an insurance run in the eighth.

 

Streaking Rangers rally past Marlins

Josh Jung hit the third of three multi-run homers for Texas in the middle innings and the Rangers erased a five-run deficit to beat the Miami Marlins 9-8 for their fifth straight victory.

Texas entered the bottom of the fourth down 5-0, but Adolis Garcia led off with a single and Jung singled before Robbie Grossman belted a three-run homer to right.

The Rangers took the lead for good with a four-run fifth, as Corey Seager’s homer scored Marcus Semien before Jung’s two-run blast made it 7-5.

Texas extended its lead in the AL West to 2 ½ games over the Astros, who lost to the Yankees.

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