Contreras homers again as Cubs beat White Sox 7-2 (Jul 25, 2017)  —  CHICAGO (AP) Willson Contreras drove in four runs and Carl Edwards Jr. provided some timely relief, helping the Chicago Cubs beat the Chicago White Sox 7-2 on Tuesday.  —  Ben Zobrist reached four times from the leadoff spot …

Two 3-run homers spark Pittsburgh Pirates' rout of San Francisco Giants  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Pittsburgh Pirates star Andrew McCutchen likes the direction his team's offense is taking lately.  —  At AT&T Park the past three seasons, that direction often has been out of the ballpark.

Rangers ready to move ace Yu Darvish in ‘right deal’  —  The Texas Rangers are ready to move ace pitcher Yu Darvish.  All it's going to take is someone to meet their asking price.  —  Sources told ESPN.com that Rangers general manager Jon Daniels began calling potential suitors Monday …

Nats' Strasburg expected to make next start after early exit  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Nationals are hopeful that Stephen Strasburg will make his next scheduled start despite exiting Sunday's outing after two innings with pain in his forearm.  —  The right-hander met with team doctors …

St. Louis Cardinals place CF Dexter Fowler on DL with wrist injury  —  The St. Louis Cardinals placed center fielder Dexter Fowler on the 10-day disabled list with a left wrist strain, the team announced Tuesday.  —  To replace Fowler on the roster, the Cardinals purchased the contract …

Paxton, Seager pace Mariners past Red Sox, 4-0 (Jul 24, 2017)  —  SEATTLE (AP) James Paxton allowed four singles over seven innings to win his fifth consecutive start in July and Kyle Seager homered to pace the Seattle Mariners to a 4-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Monday night.

How the Royals became the streakiest team in baseball  —  If there was a better way to explain this, Royals manager Ned Yost would do more than just shrug his shoulders and offer his sport's equivalent of what the heck.  —  “It's baseball,” he says.  —  If there was a better way to explain this …

Dodgers look to beat Twins again with Kershaw on DL (Jul 25, 2017)  —  LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers watched their best pitcher walk off the field in pain Sunday afternoon and then saw his name pop up on the 10-day disabled list on Monday.  —  Even that setback hasn't slowed the team down.

Mets look to pick on rebuilding Padres (Jul 25, 2017)  —  SAN DIEGO — The present shows the New York Mets taking on the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night.  —  However, the Padres take the Petco Park field thinking more about the future.  That was clear Monday when they made a multiplayer trade with the Kansas City Royals.

Martinez, Pollock, Greinke power Diamondbacks past Braves  —  PHOENIX (AP) - J.D. Martinez's time as an Arizona Diamondback started a little rough.  Last week in his debut with the team, he was hit in the hand with a pitch, and didn't return to the starting lineup until Monday night.

Brewers, White Sox Discussing Anthony Swarzak Trade  —  The Brewers and White Sox are in talks about a trade that would send right-hander Anthony Swarzak from Chicago to Milwaukee, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).  —  After signing a minor league deal with a $900K base salary …

Altuve 4 hits for 2nd day in row, Astros rout Phillies 13-4  —  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Like any good magician, Jose Altuve isn't sharing his secrets.  —  Once again turning his bat into a wand of sorts, Altuve had four hits for the second consecutive game, extending his hitting streak to 16 games …

Jays put reliever Danny Barnes on 10-day disabled list  —  Dermody back in Toronto, Beliveau in Buffalo as bullpen shuffling continues.  —  A night after John Gibbons called Danny Barnes “a little beat up,” the Blue Jays put the reliever on the 10-day disabled list with a right shoulder impingement.

Olney: Some GMs like to deal with each other — and some don't  —  Every baseball executive understood by mid-June that Washington general manager Mike Rizzo needed bullpen help — again — to help plug the gap at closer.  But Rizzo's choices were far less than perfect …

The Yankees prospects A's covet in Sonny Gray sweepstakes  —  Estevan Florial, Jorge Mateo and Domingo Acevedo  —  Getty Images; Charles Wenzelberg; Getty Images  —  MORE FROM: … A game of chicken revolves around Sonny Gray with wonder if the A's will take the best offer available …

Brewers can correct skid with a splash at the deadline  —  The character-building rough patch that everyone had predicted for the Milwaukee Brewers finally arrived during a recent series at PNC Park.  Clutch hits failed to materialize for Milwaukee, flares kept dropping for Pittsburgh …