MATT BARNES

Astros ace Lance McCullers Jr. has been left off the team’s roster for the AL Championship Series against Boston, a huge blow to a team looking to advance to the World Series for the second time in three seasons.

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

Boston infielder Yairo Muñoz has become the latest Red Sox player to test positive for COVID-19 as the virus surge impacting the team remains unrelenting.

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.

Boston Red Sox star shortstop Xander Bogaerts has tested positive for COVID-19 and been pulled from a game at Tampa Bay.

Wander Franco extended his on-base streak 30 games with a two-run single, fellow rookie Luis Patiño pitched neatly into the sixth inning and the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays won their eighth in a row, beating the Boston Red Sox 6-1.

Mets fans get their say after it was revealed stars Francisco Lindor and Javier Báez were among the New York players making derogatory hand gestures at Citi Field crowds.

Travis Shaw hit a game-ending grand slam in the 11th inning, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers 8-4.

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.

Max Scherzer makes his Los Angeles debut, starting at Dodger Stadium against the Houston Astros on Wednesday night.

Held hitless into the eighth inning by Domingo Germán and looking feeble, Alex Verdugo and the Boston Red Sox suddenly erupted for five runs to shake Fenway Park and storm past the New York Yankees 5-4.

Kiké Hernández hit a two-run double that tied the game with two outs in the ninth inning, and the Boston Red Sox took advantage of a record four wild pitches by Brooks Kriske in the 10th to rally past the rival New York Yankees 5-4 on a rainy night at Fenway Park.

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Nolan Arenado and his National League buddies were unable to come up with a timely hit in a 5-2 loss to the American League in the All-Star Game at Coors Field.

A showcase for Shohei Ohtani became a grand stage for Vladimir Guerrero Jr., too.

Shohei Ohtani achieved a first in the near century history of baseball’s All-Star Game: selection as both a hitter and a pitcher.

Kevin Kiermaier broke up a combined no-hit bid by the Boston Red Sox with a one-out double in the eighth inning and Manuel Margot scored on a wild pitch in the ninth to give the Tampa Bay Rays a 1-0 victory.

Rafael Devers hit a three-run homer in the first inning off Michael King, Marwin González added a two-run double and the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees 5-2 in the first of the rivals’ 19 meetings this season.

Playing their first game in a rejuvenated Fenway Park since the state dropped limits on crowds during the coronavirus pandemic, Nathan Eovaldi went 5 1/3 scoreless innings and the Boston Red Sox beat the Miami Marlins 3-1.

Shohei Ohtani hit a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth inning and the Los Angeles Angels rallied past the Boston Red Sox 6-5, ending a four-game losing streak.

Rafael Devers and Hunter Renfroe homered, Nick Pivetta won his third consecutive start and the Boston Red Sox defeated the Baltimore Orioles 4-3.

Alex Verdugo had three hits, including a two-run single in a six-run fifth inning, and the Boston Red Sox extended their winning streak to nine games, beating the Minnesota Twins 7-1 to sweep a doubleheader.

Rafael Devers homered for the fourth straight game and the streaking Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 4-2 on a snowy afternoon in a series opener moved back following the fatal police shooting of a Black man in the Twin Cities area.

(AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)BOSTON – The pandemic-delayed 2020 season is being followed up by a rain-delayed start to 2021 for the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox postponed their opener against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park on Thursday because of rain that was forecast to last all day. "One day, two days, three days — I really don't care, to be honest with you," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. The Red Sox made the announcement at 9 a.m., about five hours before the scheduled first pitch. “The decision to postpone our first game of the season was not made lightly,” Red Sox President Sam Kennedy said.

The total cut was one more than the previous high at the tender deadline, ahead of the 2004 season. Schwarber earned $2,596,296 in prorated pay from his $7.01 million salary last season but hit .188 with 11 homers in 59 games, down from 38 homers, 92 RBIs and a .250 batting average in 155 games in 2019. Schwarber returned from a serious knee injury and hit .412 with two RBIs in the 2016 World Series as the Cubs won their first championship since 1908. Fifty-nine players agreed to one-year contracts ahead of the deadline, many of them facing a threat of being cut. Minnesota reached deals with five players, including pitcher José Berríos ($500,000 signing bonus plus $5.6 million salary) and center fielder Byron Buxton ($5,125,000).

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge follows through on an eighth-inning, two-run home run against the Boston Red Sox in a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020, at Yankee Stadium in New York. Red Sox catcher Kevin Plawecki is at right. Tell that to his teammates or the Boston Red Sox. Rafael Devers put the Red Sox ahead 7-6 with a titanic drive of his own to right-center in the seventh. Anytime you lose a game like this is tough," Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke said.