CHRIS SALE

Two years after winning an AL Rookie of the Year Award, Yordan Alvarez has an AL Championship Series MVP to add to his trophy case.

Boston's bats went quiet for the third straight game and the Red Sox bowed out of the AL Championship Series with a punchless 5-0 loss to the Houston Astros in Game 6.

In the only playoff game of the night Thursday, the Atlanta Braves can win their first pennant in 22 years with a victory in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series at Dodger Stadium.

Framber Valdez gave the Houston Astros the start they were looking for.

Carlos Correa hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh inning that helped the Houston Astros beat the Boston Red Sox 5-4 in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series.

For the second time in four seasons, the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros are set to play for the American League pennant.

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora will look to take down his former team in the AL Championship Series for the second time in four years after beating the Houston Astros on the way to a World Series title in 2018.

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Randy Arozarena became the first player to hit a home run and steal home in a postseason game, and rookie Shane McClanahan pitched the Tampa Bay Rays past the Boston Red Sox 5-0 in their AL Division Series opener.

The 107-win Giants and 106-win Dodgers are ready to throw out all those wins and settle their season-long clash with a best-of-five NL Division Series in San Francisco.

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The Red Sox and Yankees resume their rivalry in the playoffs in Tuesday night's AL wild-card game.

The Boston Red Sox have clinched a playoff berth on the regular season’s final day and will host the New York Yankees in the AL wild-card game after coming back to beat the Washington Nationals 7-5 on a tiebreaking two-run homer by Rafael Devers in the ninth inning.

Red Sox ace Chris Sale takes the mound in Washington with a chance to pitch Boston into the postseason.

Christian Vázquez tripled home the tiebreaking run in the ninth inning and the Boston Red Sox moved to the brink of a postseason berth with a 5-3 win over the Washington Nationals.

Christian Vázquez tripled home the tiebreaking run in the ninth inning and the Boston Red Sox moved to the brink of a postseason berth with a 5-3 win over the Washington Nationals on Saturday. Boston is tied with the Yankees for the top AL wild card entering the final day of the regular season. The Red Sox will send ace Chris Sale to the mound Sunday needing a victory to punch a playoff ticket.

Zack Wheeler pitches Tuesday night for Philadelphia in the opener of a pivotal three-game series at Atlanta.

Aaron Judge doubled in the go-ahead runs to lead the New York Yankees to a 6-3 victory and a wild-card flipping three-game sweep.

Gerrit Cole took a two-hit shutout into the sixth inning to lead the New York Yankees to an 8-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss his next start.

Austin Meadows hit a tying, inside-the-park homer in the ninth inning, Nelson Cruz had a go-ahead single in the 10th and the Tampa Bay Rays rallied from a six-run deficit to beat the Boston Red Sox 11-10.

Albert Pujols is sure to get a big ovation at Busch Stadium when the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger returns to face the Cardinals.

Franmil Reyes homered over the Green Monster to spark a three-run third inning _ Cleveland’s franchise-record tying 19th straight game with a home run _ and the Indians salvaged the finale of the series with an 11-5 victory over the COVID-impacted Boston Red Sox.

Randy Arozarena, rookie Wander Franco and the Tampa Bay Rays won their ninth straight game, breaking away from Boston soon after Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts was pulled because of a positive COVID-19 test.

Major League Baseball teams can now expand their rosters, but there’s something different about September call-ups this season — clubs can add just two players.

Red Sox ace Chris Sale joined Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax as the only pitchers on record with three immaculate innings, Bobby Dalbec homered twice and Boston beat the Minnesota Twins 12-2.

Red Sox ace Chris Sale joined Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax as the only pitchers on record with three immaculate innings when he struck out the side against Minnesota on nine pitches.

Max Scherzer faces a familiar NL East foe when his Dodgers go for a three-game sweep of the Mets in prime time.

Bolstered by Chris Sale’s first major league appearance in just over two years, the Boston Red Sox hit five homers while pounding Baltimore 16-2, handing the Orioles their 10th straight loss.

Boston left-hander Chris Sale is scheduled to make his first big league appearance in just over two years when he faces the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park.

Bobby Dalbec drove in a career-high five runs, Xander Bogaerts and Hunter Renfroe each had four RBIs and the Boston Red Sox routed the Tampa Bay Rays 20-8.

Tampa Bay’s Francisco Mejía singled with the bases loaded in the ninth, Boston’s Hunter Renfroe made a costly error on the play, and it helped the Rays rally past the Red Sox 8-4 on Tuesday night.

Rougned Odor’s two-run double highlighted a four-run rally in the eighth inning after his two errors helped Boston build an early lead, and the New York Yankees beat the Red Sox 4-3.

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The second half of the major league baseball season begins with one game Thursday night when Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers and the AL East-leading Red Sox visit Yankee Stadium.

Shohei Ohtani pitched seven innings of five-hit ball and hit an early RBI double, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 5-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

Kiké Hernández and Rafael Devers homered in the first inning as the Boston Red Sox hammered Gerrit Cole, routing the New York Yankees 9-2 to complete a second straight sweep of their longtime rivals.

Nathan Eovaldi pitched neatly into the eighth inning, Adam Ottavino escaped a pair of late jams and the Boston Red Sox held off the New York Yankees 4-2.

Wander Franco hit a three-run homer and doubled in his big league debut for the Tampa Bay Rays, who lost their seventh straight in falling to the Boston Red Sox 9-5 in 11 innings.

Christian Arroyo hit a two-run single in Boston’s three-run fourth inning, and the Red Sox took advantage of Miami’s shoddy play to hold off the Marlins 5-3 for their fifth straight victory.

Major League Baseball is full of huge numbers.

Nathan Eovaldi will face the Baltimore Orioles in the April 1 opener instead. “With the schedule the way it is, he won’t be able to post,” said Cora, who had announced Rodriguez as the opening day starter last week. Ad“It's just dead arm,” the manager said, adding, "going into '20 he was supposed to be the opening day starter. Cora said it was too early to tell if Rodriguez will need to start the season on the injury list. He did everything possible to make the team, and I know he’s not going to stop," Cora said.

CHICAGO – Outfielder Adam Eaton and the Chicago White Sox have reunited, finalizing a one-year contract on Thursday that guarantees $8 million. Eaton gets $7 million next season, and the White Sox have an $8.5 million option for 2022 with a $1 million buyout. Eaton helped the Nationals win the World Series in 2019. Eaton figures to play alongside Gold Glove center fielder Luis Robert, with slugger Eloy Jiménez in left and Adam Engel likely the fourth outfielder. He would earn $100,000 for World Series MVP, $75,000 for League Championship Series MVP, $25,000 for Gold Glove, $15,000 for Silver Slugger, $25.000 for All-Star election, $15,000 for All-Star selection and $50,000 for making The Sports News all-star team.

Cora was Houston's bench coach when he joined the Red Sox in November 2017, and he led Boston to the 2018 title after a franchise-record 108 regular-season wins. “Alex knows that what he did was wrong, and he regrets it," Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom said. “During his Red Sox career as a player and manager, Alex continually made us better," team president and CEO Sam Kennedy said. With Betts and Price gone, Chris Sale recovering from Tommy John surgery and Eduardo Rodriguez recovering from a COVID-19-related heart problem, the Red Sox went 24-36. And the Red Sox have plenty of salary flexibility gained in the deal that jettioned Betts and Price.

(AP Photo/Elise Amendola, file)ATLANTA – Ron Roenicke waited five years after his previous managerial job for another opportunity. The Red Sox told Roenicke before the final game of the season on Sunday that he will not be back in 2021, ending his tenure as a one-year, shotgun stopgap for a pandemic-shortened season with a last-place finish in the AL East. It’s baseball,” Roenicke said after the Red Sox beat Atlanta 9-1 to wind up 24-36. The Red Sox went on to win the finale; afterward, the team said their goodbyes in the visitor's clubhouse. With Cora gone, the Red Sox promoted Roenicke from bench coach to interim manager.

With an arm repaired by Tommy John surgery and a pandemic locking him out of the Red Sox spring training facility, Boston left-hander Chris Sale is managing his rehab the best he can. The team has moved some weights into an outdoor batting cage, which Sale also uses as a locker room. In fact, he hasnt even been allowed inside the teams spring training facility. And my training room and my locker room." But Sale said being away from the team has allowed him to focus on his rehab.

NEW YORK Boston Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodrguez will miss the entire season because of heart inflammation caused by COVID-19. The Red Sox said July 7 the the 27-year-old had tested positive for COVID-19. "Heres one of the best pitchers in the game last year and he's not able to perform on the field," Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke said. The Red Sox rotation includes Nathan Eovaldi, left-hander Martn Prez and Ryan Weber. This case, while its something that is persistent, is not something that has that has impacted or damaged the functioning of his heart, Bloom said.

BOSTON Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez said he is awaiting results of additional testing after doctors recently discovered an issue with his heart they believe is a result of his recent bout with COVID-19. The 27-year-old left-hander tested positive for the coronavirus before the start of summer camp, but was cleared and returned to workouts on July 18. He hasnt had another positive coronavirus test, but said an MRI revealed a condition called myocarditis, that the teams medical staff felt was serious enough to shut him down for at least a week. That's why the doctors tell me to just take a week, just rest, don't let your heart get too much heart rate, he said. Rodriguez is unsure of how long it will take for him to be ready to pitch in a game.

BOSTON Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez will be shut down from all baseball activities for at least a week after he experienced a setback in his return from COVID-19. Manager Ron Roenicke said Thursday that Rodriguez, who tested positive for the coronavirus before the start of summer camp, hasnt had another positive test. But he didnt arrive in Boston for summer camp until Saturday, leaving him well behind in his throwing program for the start of the season. In his first public comments at camp, Rodriguez said Sunday that his bout with the coronavirus had left him feeling 100 years old. It took him about 10 days before he was able to do any light throwing. Though there isnt a timeline for Rodriguez's return, Roenicke said he is confident the lefty will pitch again this season.

CHICAGO Chicago White Sox prized pitching prospect Michael Kopech chose Friday not to play this season and the team put star third baseman Yon Moncada and pitcher Jose Ruiz on the 10-day injured list because of unspecified ailments. The White Sox believe they are poised for a turnaround after seven straight losing seasons. But losing Kopech for the season and Moncada for at least a little while are big blows. Both players had been absent since the White Sox resumed workouts last week for the first time since Major League Baseball shut down camps in March. Kopech was acquired by Chicago in the December 2016 trade that sent Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox.

After helping the Red Sox win the 2018 World Series, he went 6-11 with a 4.40 ERA in 25 starts last year. In the meantime, the Red Sox reached agreement with pitcher Collin McHugh on a $600,000, one-year contract. ASTROS 5, RED SOX 0Josh James allowed one hit in three innings, and Bryan Abreu fanned four in two innings. WHITE SOX 7 ROCKIES (SS) 6Nomar Mazara hit his first home run since joining the White Sox. DIAMONDBACKS 11, RANGERS (SS) 9Robbie Ray gave up a run on three hits while striking out three over four innings.