Fragen und Antworten » ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Wilson

MILWAUKEE — A little more than five years after he received a $500 bonus after signing as a non-drafted free agent out of Baylor University Melvin Gordon III Jersey , Nate Orf is finally in the big leagues.

The Milwaukee Brewers selected Orf’s contract Monday from Triple-A Colorado Springs, where he was batting .307 with six home runs and 38 RBIs. Those numbers landed him a spot in the Pacific Coast League’s All-Star team but also fueled a social media movement — #FreeNateOrf — amongst Brewers fans wanting the 28-year-old to get his shot.

“This is the day you put all the work in for,” Orf said. “I signed for $500. This is why I signed for $500, to grind out as long as I needed to have this day come.””

Orf made his debut Monday night in Milwaukee’s 6-5 victory over the Twins and will likely be in the lineup against Tuesday afternoon as the Brewers continue their three-game holiday series at Miller Park.

“He’s a good player. He’s a very good hitter,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He has earned this.”

The Brewers are hoping Orf can provide a spark at a position that’s been an offensive liability all season. Though Jonathan Villar has shown improvement after a dismal 2017 campaign, Brewers’ second basemen are seventh in the NL with a .676 OPS this season, ninth with a .252 average and .299 on-base percentage.

Orf will also see time at shortstop, where Orlando Arcia had struggled to get into a rhythm since opening day and was demoted to Triple-A for the second time this season over the weekend.

“I still firmly believe that Orlando Arcia is going to be a very, very good player in this league for a long time,” general manager David Stearns said. “We have continued to see the defensive contributions he makes on a daily basis but we need to do better offensively.

“At this stage of the year, Orlando was not the type of offensive player we needed. I think we all bear some responsibility for that. As an organization, we need to help Orlando get through this.”

Looking to snap a three-game losing streak, the Brewers will turn to Junior Guerra on Tuesday. The right-hander won for the first time since May 14 his last time out despite allowing four runs over six innings against the Reds.

He struck out six in that outing and has 20 over his last three starts.

Right-hander Jake Odorizzi takes the mound for Minnesota hoping to build some momentum after getting back on track with six shutout innings of the White Sox in his last outing.

Odorizzi had a 3.34 ERA and was averaging nearly a strikeout per inning over his first 11 starts but stumbled mightily at the end of May, kick off a five-stark skid that saw him post a 9.74 ERA over the five stars leading up to his appearance in Chicago.

Extra work in the video room revealed a slight flaw in his delivery and during a bullpen session ahead of his last start, he worked on getting back to his normal mechanics.

“Pitching through a (back) injury last year created bad habits,” Odorizzi told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “It you do it for long enough, it creates an even worse habit Joey Bosa Jersey , even when you’re healthy. Muscle memory takes over.”

Tuesday will mark Odorizzi’s third career start against the team that selected him in the first round (32nds overall) of the 2008 MLB Draft but the first time he’ll pitch at Miller Park.

He’s 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA in his two previous starts against Milwaukee and held the Brewers to a run on five hits and a pair of walks while striking out 10 back on May 20, but did not factor into the decision.

Chris Sale pitched his latest Bronx gem, Rafael Devers went 5 for 5 with a first-inning grand slam and the Boston Red Sox held the New York Yankees to two hits during an 11-0 rout Saturday night to take back baseball’s best record.

Sale (8-4) allowed only Giancarlo Stanton’s clean single over seven innings, striking out 11. He has a 1.73 career ERA against the Yankees, best among pitchers with at least 10 starts against them since 1920. His ERA at Yankee Stadium is 1.86, second only to Seattle’s Felix Hernandez among pitchers with five starts.

Boston is a major league-leading 56-28, just ahead of the Yankees at 53-27. New York held the majors’ best mark by percentage points after winning Friday’s series opener 8-1.

Yankee Stadium hosted a season-high sellout of 47,125, and the crowd gave starter Sonny Gray (5-6) an earful after he gave up six runs in 2 1/3 innings. The right-hander dropped to 0-4 with a 9.35 ERA against Boston since being acquired by New York from Oakland last season.

RANGERS 13, WHITE SOX 4

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Bartolo Colon overcame a sluggish start to earn his 245th major league win and match Dennis Martinez for the most by a pitcher from Latin America when Texas beat Chicago.

Joey Gallo and Ryan Rua homered for the Rangers, who won for the 11th time in 13 games and clinched their fifth consecutive series. Robinson Chirinos hit a three-run double in the fourth inning that put Texas ahead to stay.

The 45-year-old Colon (5-5) was done after Matt Davidson led off the sixth with a homer to center field that pulled the White Sox to 5-3.

Colon already had the most wins by a pitcher born in the Dominican Republic, having surpassed Hall of Famer Juan Marichal for that distinction with his 244th victory at Kansas City on June 18, six days before a loss at Minnesota. Colon won in his first start at home since June 6 to match Martinez, who is from Nicaragua.

White Sox lefty Carlos Rodon (1-3) allowed five runs in 5 1/3 innings.

GIANTS 7, DIAMONDBACKS 0

PHOENIX (AP) – Dereck Rodriguez blanked the Diamondbacks into the seventh inning and San Francisco made it two wins in a row at Arizona.

Brandon Crawford, Andrew McCutchen and Joe Panik homered on another rough night for Shelby Miller (0-2) Nick Bosa Jersey , who struggled in his second start since returning from Tommy John surgery.

Panik’s homer, off reliever Jimmie Sherfy in the eighth, was his first since April 3, a span of 162 at-bats.

Ty Blach and Cory Gearrin completed San Francisco’s 10th shutout of the season.

The Giants have won nine of 11 to pull into a tie with the Los Angeles Dodgers for second in the NL West, 3 1/2 games behind the first-place Diamondbacks. San Francisco can complete a three-game road sweep on Sunday.

Rodriguez (3-1), the son of Hall of Fame catcher Ivan ”Pudge” Rodriguez, dominated in his sixth major league start. He allowed six hits in 6 1/3 innings, struck out five and walked two.

MARINERS 6, ROYALS 4

SEATTLE (AP) – Ryon Healy had four hits, including a homer, and drove in three runs to lead Seattle over Kansas City.

Felix Hernandez (8-6) gave up four consecutive hits, including a three-run homer by Mike Moustakas, to start the game. But the right-hander settled down to pitch four scoreless innings after that, helping the Mariners to a season-best sixth consecutive win.

Edwin Diaz worked a perfect ninth for his 31st save. The Mariners (53-31) are 22 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2003 season.

Jason Hammels (2-10) lost his fifth straight, allowing six runs and 13 hits in six innings.

PADRES 4, PIRATES 3

SAN DIEGO (AP) – Wil Myers homered, doubled and drove in three runs L.J. Collier Jersey , and rookie Joey Lucchesi threw five scoreless innings to send San Diego past Pittsburgh.

The Padres had to hold on after closer Brad Hand allowed two runs in the ninth before earning his 23rd save. Hand gave up doubles by Elias Diaz and Austin Meadows, and a triple by Gregory Polanco. The reliever then got Jordy Mercer to fly out to shallow right field, pinch-hitter Jose Osuna to foul out to right and struck out Starling Marte.

Myers, limited to 19 games this season due to injuries, homered off Trevor Williams (6-6) in the third, his second. Myers then chased the San Diegan with a two-run double to give the Padres a 4-0 lead in the fifth.

San Diego won for just the third time in 13 games.

Lucchesi (4-3) won for the first time since April 28. He was making his third start since missing five weeks with a strained right hip. The left-hander allowed one hit while striking out five and walking four.

BLUE JAYS 4, TIGERS 3

TORONTO (AP) – Justin Smoak led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a home run and Toronto handed Detroit its 11th straight loss.

Smoak connected against reliever Joe Jimenez (3-1) for his 11th homer of the season.

Seyunghwan Oh (4-2) worked one inning for the win. Randal Grichuk also homered for the Blue Jays, who have won 10 of 11 at home.

John Hicks hit a solo homer in the Detroit second off Sam Gaviglio and Nick Castellanos made it 3-0 with a two-run shot in the third, his 12th.

Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer to cap Toronto’s three-run fifth that tied the score.

RAYS 5, ASTROS 2

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Wilson Ramos drove in four runs in the first two innings against Justin Verlander, and Tampa Bay won for the seventh time in eight games.

Matt Duffy finished with three hits, including two in the first two innings, to help the Rays move to .500 (41-41) for the first time since June 1. Tampa Bay has held opponents to two runs or fewer in five straight games for only