LEADING OFF: Kershaw, Strasburg ailing; Cubs get boost  —  A look at what's happening all around the majors today:  —  ___  —  AILING ALL OVER  —  Star pitchers Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers and Stephen Strasburg of the Nationals are recovering after getting injured Sunday, as is Cardinals on-base machine Matt Carpenter.

Royals beat White Sox 5-4, extending Chicago's skid to 9  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Brandon Moss hit a game-ending double off Tyler Clippard that lifted the Kansas City Royals over the White Sox 5-4 Sunday, extending Chicago's longest losing streak in four years to nine games.

Contreras homers as Quintana, Cubs beat Cards, tie Brewers  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Willson Contreras yelled as he rounded first base and the ball landed in the bleachers at Wrigley Field.  —  The Chicago Cubs are having fun again, led by their exuberant catcher.

Odor homers twice, Rangers sweep Rays with 6-5 win  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Rougned Odor homered twice, including back-to-back drives with Carlos Gomez in the eighth inning, and the Texas Rangers rallied beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-5 Sunday and complete a three-game sweep.

Gennett, Suarez, Barnhart homer as Reds top Marlins 6-3  —  CINCINNATI (AP) — Power boosted the Cincinnati Reds to a rare win.  —  Scooter Gennett, Eugenio Suarez and Tucker Barnhart homered, and the Reds beat the Miami Marlins 6-3 Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.

Britton gets AL saves record as Orioles beat Astros 9-7  —  BALTIMORE (AP) — Zach Britton set an American League record by converting his 55th consecutive save opportunity, blanking the Houston Astros in the ninth inning the seal the Baltimore Orioles' 9-7 victory on Sunday.

Kluber strikes out season-high 14, Indians top Blue Jays 8-1  —  CLEVELAND (AP) — Corey Kluber struck out a season-high 14 in 7 2/3 innings and the Cleveland Indians beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-1 on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep.  —  Kluber (8-3) showed no signs of the stiff neck …

Valbuena's solo homer lifts Angels to 3-2 win over Red Sox (Jul 23, 2017)  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) Luis Valbuena hit a tiebreaking solo home run in the seventh inning, Mike Trout and Andrelton Simmons also homered and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Boston Red Sox 3-2 on Sunday.

Which big contract could the Yankees take on to trade Jacoby Ellsbury?  —  Jacoby Ellsbury is about halfway through the seven-year, $153 million contract he signed before the 2014 season, and he has lost his spot in the everyday lineup of the New York Yankees.

New York Yankees put 2B Starlin Castro back on DL  —  New York Yankees second baseman Starlin Castro returned to the 10-day disabled list with another injury to his right hamstring, the team announced Sunday.  —  Castro was activated off the disabled list July 15 but reinjured the hamstring …

Matt Chapman homer lifts Oakland Athletics over New York Mets  —  NEW YORK — The Oakland Athletics lost two games this weekend in New York.  But they also found an eighth-inning reliever and, on Sunday, earned a win when a young player found redemption for an earlier mistake.

San Diego Padres claim road series with 5-2 victory over San Francisco Giants  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The San Diego Padres have beaten the San Francisco Giants so often this season that the wins are starting to look alike.  —  Wil Myers homered for the third consecutive day …

Power Rankings: Pre-deadline deals start shaking things up  —  While the Dodgers and Astros still rule the roost in the rankings, what a difference a few pre-deadline deals can make in this week's shakeup of the top 10.  The Cubs swap for Jose Quintana, the starting pitcher they needed?

Skipping a start not an option for weakened Leake  —  CHICAGO  • Mike Leake's suggestion that he has had a difficult time maintaining strength and weight this season as a result of last year's bout with the shingles was new to the Cardinals, and there have been internal discussions about how to help the righthander.

Freeland's arm, Rockies' bats key 13-3 win over Pirates  —  DENVER (AP) — A two-week stretch between starts didn't seem to bother rookie left-hander Kyle Freeland.  —  Freeland pitched six strong innings in his first start since taking a no-hitter into the ninth the day before the All-Star break …