Mark Appel is proof that even for a No. 1 draft pick, the road to the major leagues is sometimes a bumpy one.
Appel was called up by the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday, nine years after he was drafted first overall by Houston.
ATLANTA (AP) — Chris Taylor was certain his line drive was hooking foul.
A deflection by Atlanta third baseman Austin Riley changed the path of the ball — and the outcome of a dramatic showdown between the last two World Series champions.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Twins pitching coach Wes Johnson has informed the club he will leave his job this week, reportedly for the same role at LSU.
Johnson traveled with the team on Sunday night to Cleveland, where he will stay on for the five-game series that's scheduled through Thursday, Twins spokesman Dustin Morse said.
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge drove a three-run homer in the 10th inning for his second walk-off hit against the Astros in four days, and the New York Yankees recovered after nearly being no-hit for the second consecutive game to beat Houston 6-3 on Sunday for a four-game split between the AL’s top teams.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies are 2-0 since NL MVP Bryce Harper was lost indefinitely with a broken left thumb.
They all know what they have to do to keep it rolling.
Kyle Schwarber hit a go-ahead, three-run home run in the seventh inning and the Phillies' bullpen threw 6 1/3 lights-out innings in an 8-5 win over the San Diego Padres on Sunday.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — When the Angels made a late decision Sunday to go with little-used reliever Andrew Wantz as their opener on the mound, the Mariners suspected they might be about to get payback for a fastball that got awfully close to Mike Trout's head the previous night.
PHOENIX (AP) — Daulton Varsho hit a three-run homer, Pavin Smith had a career-high four hits and three RBIs and the Arizona Diamondbacks avoided a series sweep with a 11-7 win over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Tyler Mahle pitched into the seventh inning for his first victory in more than a month, and the Cincinnati Reds routed the San Francisco Giants 10-3 on Sunday.
Nick Senzel singled three times to pace Cincinnati on a day when every Reds starter had at least one hit and seven drove in one run or more.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Willson Contreras hit a tiebreaking single in the 10th inning to drive in his third run of the game, and the Chicago Cubs overcame a five-run deficit to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5 on Sunday.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Byron Buxton raced around the bases all afternoon Sunday, his worth-the-price-of-admission speed on full display for the Minnesota Twins.
The right knee trouble he's been fighting all season sure looked like an afterthought.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) —
Shane McClanahan struck out 10 over seven innings, Tampa Bay had a three-run seventh keyed by an overturend call and the Rays completed a three-game sweep by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2 on Sunday.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jackson Tetreault allowed one run in six-plus innings in his third major league start, Josh Bell had his second three-hit game of the weekend and Nelson Cruz drove in three runs as the Washington Nationals beat the Texas Rangers 6-4 Sunday.
CHICAGO (AP) — Dylan Cease made it look easy as soon as he stepped on the mound.
Cease struck out a career-high 13 over seven innings, Gavin Sheets homered and the Chicago White Sox avoided a four-game sweep, hanging on to beat Baltimore 4-3 Sunday after the Orioles scored twice in the ninth inning.
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge walked over to the stands and gave his bat to Spike Lee, a Yankees fan famous for scripting Hollywood dramas.
This weekend's Astros-Yankees series had all the ups, downs and twist endings audiences could handle.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Rowdy Tellez hit a pair of two-run homers against his former team, leading the Milwaukee Brewers over the Toronto Blue Jays 10-3 Sunday.
Milwaukee took two of three in the series between teams meeting for the first time since 2017.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Seth Brown hit his 10th home run of the season, Nick Allen had two RBIs and the Oakland Athletics defeated the Kansas City Royals 5-3 on Sunday.
Brown leads the team in HRs, and belted a solo shot to right in the sixth inning to make it 2-0.
ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuña Jr. is not starting in the Atlanta Braves’ game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday night after fouling a ball off his left foot the previous night.
Acuña moved around the Braves clubhouse Sunday afternoon with his left knee on a medical scooter to keep his foot elevated.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Seattle Mariners and the Los Angeles Angels engaged in a lengthy full-team brawl in the second inning Sunday after tensions over two days of inside pitches boiled over.
Both managers and six players were ejected after the brouhaha, which stopped and started twice before Angels closer Raisel Iglesias came back out to the empty field to throw a tub of sunflower seeds and another bucket of gum onto the infield.
MIAMI (AP) — Rookie Nick Fortes hit a solo home run with two outs in the ninth inning, lifiting the Miami Marlins over the New York Mets 3-2 Sunday.
Fortes drove an 0-1 pitch from Adam Ottavino (2-2) into the left-field seats as Miami avoided a three-game sweep by the NL East leaders.
NEW YORK (AP) — The Houston Astros activated rookie shortstop Jeremy Peña from the injured list Sunday, but star outfielder Michael Brantley left their game against the New York Yankees with right shoulder discomfort.
NEW YORK (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton homered against Houston's José Urquidy with one out in the seventh inning, ending the New York Yankees' hitless drought at 16 1/3 innings and spoiling the Astros' efforts to throw a second consecutive no-hitter in the Bronx.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a broken left thumb and the Philadelphia Phillies haven't yet announced a timeline for his return.
NBC Sports executive producer Sam Flood realizes that game telecasts without announcers have been attempted a couple times, mostly without success. He is hoping the July 3 game between the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers on Peacock will reverse that trend.
NEW YORK (AP) — Plate umpire Mike Muchlinski left a game between the Houston Astros and New York Yankees on Sunday two innings after taking a foul ball off his mask.
Houston's Michael Brantley tipped Nestor Cortes' 92 mph fastball straight back into Muchlinski on the second pitch of the game on a hot, sunny day in the Bronx.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay shortstop Wander Franco was reinstated from the 10-day injured list after missing 23 games with a right quadriceps strain.
The 21-year old was the No. 2 hitter in Sunday’s lineup against the Pittsburgh Pirates.