Baseball Page 79 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Rays, Nationals turn to struggling pitchers in series opener
Time is running out for the Tampa Bay Rays.,As August winds down, the Rays are lingering on the fringe of the American League wild-card race with three teams between them and the Seattle Mariners, who hold the final spot.,A ray of hope has been provided by the schedule makers. On Friday night, Tampa...

Bottom-third of order slugs Diamondbacks past Brewers
Tyler Locklear, Alek Thomas and Ildemaro Vargas each drove in a pair of runs on Thursday afternoon to propel the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks to a 6-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.,Nabil Crismatt (2-0) threw 5 2/3 innings for Arizona, allowing four runs (two earned) on eight hits, while strik...

Reports: Rangers SS Corey Seager set for appendectomy
Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager is set to undergo an appendectomy, multiple outlets reported Thursday, and is expected to miss multiple weeks, putting the remainder of his regular season in jeopardy.,Seager, 31, hit a home run among his two hits against the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night...

Cardinals break away late to split series with Pirates
Jordan Walker hit a two-run home run to power the St. Louis Cardinals past the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1 Thursday afternoon.,Thomas Saggese went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run as the Cardinals earned a split of the four-game series.,Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas allowed one run on four hits i...

Christian Walker blasts two homers, including game-winner in win over Rockies
Christian Walker's second home run of the game broke a tie in the eighth inning and gave the host Houston Astros a 4-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday.,The Astros, who took the two of three in the series, also got a homer from Jose Altuve.,Ezequiel Tovar and Yanquiel Fernandez homered for ...

Aiming for wild-card catch-up, Guardians enter key series vs. M's
It's now or never for the Cleveland Guardians, who host the Seattle Mariners in a three-game series beginning Friday.,Seattle has taken control of the final American League wild-card position, owning a three-game lead over the Kansas City Royals, a 4 1/2-game advantage over the Texas Rangers and a f...

Mets C Francisco Alvarez plans to play through pinky fracture
Despite yet another injury, this time a small fracture on the pinky finger of his left hand, New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez still intends on playing in the major leagues down the stretch.,Alvarez was on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday when he was hit by a pitch and forc...

Rob Refsnyder homers in return, Red Sox finish 4-game sweep of O's
Trevor Story and Rob Refsnyder homered, and Romy Gonzalez's tiebreaking single in the eighth inning lifted the Boston Red Sox to a 3-2 victory against the host Baltimore Orioles to complete a four-game series sweep Thursday afternoon.,Roman Anthony had two hits for the Red Sox, who went 7-1 on an ei...

Guardians release veteran 1B Carlos Santana
The Cleveland Guardians released veteran first baseman Carlos Santana on Thursday, ending his third tenure with the club.,Santana, 39, is having the least productive season of his career, with a .225/.316/.333 slash line through 116 games. His .650 OPS is the lowest of his career.,The 2019 All-Star ...

Astros RHP Lance McCullers Jr. makes 'short term' move to bullpen
Houston Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. will be available to work out of the bullpen in the "short term," manager Joe Espada said prior to Thursday's game against the Colorado Rockies.,McCullers initially was in line to start Friday's game against the Los Angeles Angels. Right-hander Cristia...

Red Sox activate RHP Justin Slaten, OF Rob Refsnyder
The Boston Red Sox activated right-hander Justin Slaten from the 60-day injured list Thursday and brought back outfielder Rob Refsnyder from the 10-day IL.,Slaten has been out since late May with shoulder inflammation, while Refsnyder was sidelined with a left oblique strain.,To make room on the act...

D-backs 1B/DH Pavin Smith (quad) headed to IL
The Arizona Diamondbacks are expected to place first baseman/designated hitter Pavin Smith on the 10-day injured list with a quadriceps issue, MLB.com reported Thursday.,Smith, 29, was lifted from Wednesday's 3-2 win at Milwaukee in the seventh inning with tightness in his left quad.,He returned to ...

Cubs place RHP Jameson Taillon (groin) on 15-day IL
The Chicago Cubs placed right-hander Jameson Taillon on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a left groin strain.,The move is retroactive to Monday for Taillon, who completed a brief bullpen session without issue on Wednesday. That said, the Cubs opted to exercise caution.,"The way I had this prese...

Yankees look to flex muscles again in opener vs. White Sox
Six different New York Yankees hit home runs during Wednesday's 11-2 rout of the visiting Washington Nationals.,Four players went deep in the bottom of the third inning alone.,"That was some bangin' right there," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.,New York hitters did their share of watchin', too, se...

Mets aim to ride offensive surge into opener vs. Marlins
The Miami Marlins don't know how their pitching will line up for Thursday night's game against the New York Mets.,Whomever takes the mound will have a task as tall as it is simple: Slowing the hottest offense in the game.,The Mets will look to continue surging when they host the Marlins in the opene...

Phillies ask Aaron Nola to spark turnaround vs. Braves
Things have not gone smoothly for Aaron Nola this season, but the Philadelphia Phillies need him now more than ever.,The veteran right-hander takes the ball for the Phillies on Thursday when they open a four-game home series against the Atlanta Braves.,Philadelphia stumbles home after getting swept ...

Cubs eager to avert three-game sweep in San Francisco
The Chicago Cubs and the host San Francisco Giants were headed in opposite directions when their three-game series began this week, but their fortunes have reversed entering the finale on Thursday afternoon.,Riding three consecutive road wins over the Los Angeles Angels, the Cubs had their sights se...

Pirates' Braxton Ashcraft hopes to hold down slumping Cards
As the St. Louis Cardinals are seeing this week, the Pittsburgh Pirates have plenty of excellent young pitching beyond Paul Skenes.,The Cardinals will get another glimpse of it Thursday afternoon in the finale of a four-game home series.,St. Louis won 7-6 on Monday before the Pirates won 8-3 behind ...

Brewers aim to rediscover clutch hitting vs. D-backs
The Milwaukee Brewers had little issue coming through in the clutch during the first two contests of their four-game series against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks.,The Brewers were not as fortunate in the third contest, however, going 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position in a 3-2 setback on ...

Jason Alexander, pitching-rich Astros try to top Rockies again
The Houston Astros are using a six-man rotation after three starters came off the injured list this month, and another rehabbing right-hander is nearing his return, too.,As a result of the club's numerous starting options, the pressure increases on the likes of right-hander Jason Alexander, who will...