Andrus, Rangers power past Braves

(TSX / STATS) -- ATLANTA -- Shortstop Elvis Andrus was 4-for-5 with a home run and the Texas Rangers produced a season-high nine extra-base hits in a 12-8 win over the Atlanta Braves in the first game of a day-night doubleheader at SunTrust Park.

Andrus hit his 20th homer, added a double and drove in three runs. First baseman Mike Napoli hit his 29th homer and the Rangers won their third straight game.

Texas took the lead with a four-run rally in the fourth. An opposite-field RBI double by Brett Nicholas and a two-run triple by pinch hitter Will Middlebrooks, who then scored on a wild pitch, gave the Rangers a 6-4 lead.

The Rangers added three runs in the fifth to go ahead 9-4 on a two-run homer from Napoli and an RBI single from Nicholas.

Texas put it away with two more runs in the sixth. Shin-Soo Choo doubled home Delino DeShields and scored on a sacrifice fly by Carlos Gomez.

Texas starter Miguel Gonzalez lasted only three innings in his debut with the team. He allowed four runs on four hits, two of them home runs, and left the game trailing 4-2.

Reliever Austin Bibens-Dirkx (5-2) picked up the slack by throwing three scoreless innings of relief while the Rangers tallied nine runs over three innings to put the game away. Bibens-Dirkx gave up five hits, all singles, and struck out two.

Atlanta's Luiz Gohara (0-1) gave up six runs in four innings in his major league debut. The left-hander allowed four hits and walked four, with six strikeouts.

Atlanta's 15-hit attack was led by center fielder Ender Inciarte, who went 3-for-5 with a homer, his 11th, and two RBIs. Matt Kemp added a two-run homer, his 17th.

NOTES: Atlanta activated LHP Luiz Gohara on Tuesday and he became the fourth rookie pitcher used by the club this season. He is the 11th starting pitcher used by the Braves. Gohara is the fifth Brazilian to play in the major leagues. ... The doubleheader marked the first time Texas has played two games on the same day since May 27, 2013 at Arizona. That was the longest existing span without a doubleheader among major league teams. ... Texas RHP Miguel Gonzalez walked in his first plate appearance. It was his first career base on balls. He came around to score his first career run. ... Texas LF Delino DeShields doubled in the sixth to extend his streak of reaching base in consecutive games to 19. ... Texas C A.J. Jimenez made his major league debut as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning and hit into a double play.

Maybin blasts Astros past Mariners again

(TSX / STATS) -- SEATTLE -- As strong as the top of the Houston Astros' lineup is, it was the back end that did the most damage to the Seattle Mariners the past two nights.

Or just one guy in the back end of the lineup.

Cameron Maybin hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer off Seattle closer Edwin Diaz in the ninth inning Wednesday, and the Astros defeated the Mariners 5-3 to complete a three-game sweep.

It was the second consecutive night Maybin hit a go-ahead homer to beat Seattle after Houston acquired him Aug. 31.

"We knew everybody would like him," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "He's obviously performing at a high level, earning more at-bats. Big swing tonight."

The Astros (86-53) ran their winning streak to seven games. Houston increased its lead over the second-place Los Angeles Angels in the American League West to 14 1/2 and cut its magic number to win the division to nine.

The Mariners (69-71) lost their third straight and dropped 3 1/2 games back of the Minnesota Twins in the race for the second AL wild card.

"Disappointing series, no doubt," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "I thought we were right in every game, we just didn't get big hits late, and that's what it takes.

Diaz (3-6) gave up a leadoff double to Carlos Beltran in the ninth. Two batters later, Maybin took Diaz the other way, homering off the right field foul pole.

Maybin joked that guessing what was coming from Diaz wasn't the hardest part. Not against the heat Diaz throws.

"He throws 100 (mph), so I think it's pretty simple," Maybin said. "Look for one pitch when he throws that hard."

Chris Devenski (8-3) earned the win, pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings to close out the contest.

Early on, the game had the makings of a pitchers' duel between Houston's Lance McCullers Jr. and Seattle's Andrew Moore, two pitchers who had just returned to their rotations this week -- McCullers from the disabled list, Moore from the bullpen.

McCullers was dominant early, retiring the first 11 Mariners. Except for a two-run double by Marwin Gonzalez in the fourth, Moore did a good job of dodging trouble.

Seattle's Kyle Seager hit a solo homer in the fifth.

The wheels came off for McCullers in the sixth, when he surrendered a leadoff triple to Jean Segura before Robinson Cano's flare to left equaled the score at 2-2. Mitch Haniger's two-out single brought home Cruz and gave Seattle a 3-2 lead.

McCullers went 5 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and three runs, before giving way to Francisco Liriano after coughing up consecutive hits to Cano and Nelson Cruz.

Moore went six innings, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three. Servais said Moore's start went beyond his hopes.

However, the bullpen couldn't hold the lead. George Springer evened the score at 3-3 with an RBI single in the seventh off Nick Vincent.

Once again it was the seventh inning that bit the Mariners. It was the same juncture when Houston produced a decisive four-run rally in the series opener, then Maybin's go-ahead shot Tuesday.

Now, Springer's tying single on a lazy liner to center.

"For whatever reason, the seventh inning has been our Achilles' heel in this series," Servais said. "And it got us."

Meanwhile, the Astros look to be finding their stride at the right time of year, with the division title in sight.

"We're pitching, we're hitting, we're playing with some enthusiasm," Hinch said. "Pretty good run."

NOTES: Houston 2B Jose Altuve took a routine day off, and Marwin Gonzalez took his spot in the field. Astros manager A.J. Hinch said Altuve would be back in the lineup Friday in Oakland. ... Astros OF Jake Marisnick (groin) returned to action after missing five games, pinch-running for Carlos Beltran in the ninth. ... Houston RHP James Hoyt was recalled from Triple-A Fresno and slotted into the bullpen. ... Seattle RHP Felix Hernandez (shoulder) and LHP James Paxton (pec) will pitch in a simulated game on Friday. Each is expected to throw 30-35 pitches. ... Mariners RHP Seth Frankoff, claimed off waivers from the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, was optioned to Class A Modesto.

Indians extend win streak to 14 behind Carrasco 3-hitter

(TSX / STATS) -- CHICAGO -- Carlos Carrasco delivered a three-hitter as the Cleveland Indians claimed a landmark victory on Wednesday night.

The Indians tied a franchise record with their 14th consecutive victory, beating the Chicago White Sox 5-1 at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Carrasco came within one out of a memorable shutout performance before giving up a two-out, ninth-inning home run to Adam Engel.

However, Carrasco hardly disappointed with the body of work.

"Everything was good today ... fastball, curve, slider," he said. "But as I said before, I think it was more important that we won the game."

Carrasco (14-6) struck out nine, walked none and threw 97 pitches.

Indians catcher Roberto Perez was disappointed that the shutout slipped away.

"I wanted to call a shutout," he said, "but (Carrasco) was awesome tonight. They got two (early) base hits, but right after those two base hits, we got a double play. He made pitches when we needed to, and we got out of trouble."

Cleveland (83-56) improved to a season-high 27 games above .500 and remained 11 games ahead of the second-place Minnesota Twins in the American League Central.

"This shows what kind of team we are and how we're playing baseball," Perez said. "We're having fun out there and competing. It's fun when guys grind out at-bats, try to get on base and take advantage of the opportunities."

Chicago (54-84) dropped its third straight.

Tyler Naquin's fourth-inning sacrifice fly brought home Carlos Santana. In the eighth, Santana padded the lead with a two-run homer, his 23rd long ball of the season.

White Sox starter Reynaldo Lopez (0-3) worked six innings, allowing one run, six hits and two walks with two strikeouts.

"He did a great job today. The numbers looked good, they could have been even better," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "As well as Lopey threw well, the game just didn't look clean, and our guys know it."

The Indians collected eight hits, three from Santana, who also walked.

With Cleveland up 1-0, Francisco Lindor's bid to double the lead was denied in the seventh. A potential home run was grabbed over the top of the left field fence by Nicky Delmonico.

Santana greeted reliever Danny Farquhar with a towering two-run homer to right with no outs in the eighth inning, driving in Edwin Encarnacion a 3-0 lead.

Farquhar went on to load the bases -- still with no outs -- for Perez, who reached based on an error while grounding into a fielder's choice. Greg Allen scored from third for a 4-0 lead.

Farquhar departed for right-hander Dylan Covey, who gave up a final run as Allen grounded into a ninth-inning fielder's choice to score Jose Ramirez.

Cleveland came up short on two early scoring opportunities.

The Indians had Lonnie Chisenhall at third with one out in the first but couldn't bring him home.

In the second, Naquin doubled up the middle with one out, moving Yandy Diaz to third. But Perez struck out looking and Lindor popped out along the third base line.

Santana led off the Indians' fourth with a single to center, reached second on a Diaz base hit and moved to third on a wild pitch -- all with no outs. This time, the Indians produced a run as Naquin's sacrifice to left brought Santana home for a 1-0 lead.

Carrasco, meanwhile, kept the White Sox off the bases, retiring the first 12 batters he faced and striking out the side in the fourth.

Carrasco gave up a base hit up the middle to Avisail Garcia to open the fifth, but Garcia was snuffed out on a subsequent double-play grounder by Delmonico.

"There are games -- not a ton -- over the course of a year when everything falls into place," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "Tonight, everything was working for (Carrasco)."

Cleveland set a team record for consecutive victories in 2016, winning 14 straight between June 17 and July 1.

NOTES: The Indians are an major-league-best 35-11 since July 21 and 10-0 on their road trip that ends Thursday in Chicago. ... Cleveland will open a 10-game homestead on Friday, starting with a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles. ... The Indians send RHP Corey Kluber (14-4, 2.56 ERA) against White Sox LHP Carlos Rodon (2-5, 4.15) on Thursday in the teams' final meeting of the season. ... RHP Michael Kopech, among top prospects in the White Sox organization, visited Guaranteed Rate Field. "I brought my glove if they need me," he said. ... Before the game, the White Sox reinstated INF/OF Nicky Delmonico (sprained right wrist) from the 10-day disabled list.

Royals' Perez hits two homers in rout of Tigers

(TSX / STATS) -- DETROIT -- Salvador Perez has increased his home run total every year of his career. The Kansas City Royals catcher reached another milestone on Wednesday.

Perez smacked two homers for his fourth career multi-homer game, and the Kansas City Royals manhandled the Detroit Tigers 13-2 at Comerica Park.

Perez, who drove in three runs, has three home runs over the past three games. He has a career-high 24 homers this season after blasting 22 last season. He never had more than 17 in his first four seasons but has reached the 20-homer mark each of the past three years.

"Every year, I feel you're doing something different than the year before, something special for yourself," Perez said. "I feel happy about that."

Kansas City leadoff hitter Whit Merrifield also delivered some thunder with three doubles. He scored twice and knocked in three runs for the Royals (69-69), who took two of three in the series.

"He's been kind of an igniter at the top of the order, but there was plenty of praise to go around from an offensive standpoint," Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Alcides Escobar supplied four hits, two runs and an RBI for Kansas City.

Royals starter Jason Hammel (8-10) gave up two runs on nine hits in six innings. He struck out six and walked just two, pleasing his manager by throwing 73 of his 111 pitches for strikes.

"That's most of it, and he pounded it with a really good fastball with good action on it and a really good slider," Yost said. "At times, the slider was inconsistent, but when it was good, it was really, really good."

Hammel's efforts also helped preserve some bullpen arms for a pivotal four-game series against Minnesota, one of the teams the Royals are chasing for a wild-card spot. The Twins, who hold the second American League wild-card position, are 2 1/2 games up on Kansas City.

"Our bullpen was really thin," Yost said. "Our bullpen's had, pretty much all of them, one day off for the most part. It's really big to protect our lefties with the big series against Minnesota coming up. They've got a lot of switch hitters, a lot of left-handed hitters. Having all our lefties with two days' rest is going to be a big benefit for us."

Detroit starter Matthew Boyd (5-9) allowed four runs on seven hits in six-plus innings. Ian Kinsler hit a solo homer for the Tigers (59-80), who have lost six of their past seven.

The game was tied at 2 before Kansas City's four-run, seventh-inning outburst.

Alex Gordon poked an opposite-field double to score Escobar, who led off the inning with a double. Boyd was removed for Warwick Saupold, who promptly gave up a run-scoring double to Merrifield. Lorenzo Cain brought home Merrifield with a single. The Royals scored another run on a passed ball.

"I thought (Boyd) threw the ball well," Detroit catcher James McCann said. "A little tough luck in his last inning with the double by Gordon. He placed it in perfectly. But other than that, (Boyd) took another step in the right direction tonight."

Merrifield and Eric Hosmer smacked two-run doubles and Perez hit a two-run shot during the Royals' seven-run eighth.

"Today was a good game until the sixth," Kinsler said. "It was a 2-2 game. I thought Boyd pitched well, Hammel threw the ball pretty well, and then after that, the wheels kind of fell off."

Perez homered in the second inning to put the Royals on the board. Kansas City added another run in the inning on Escobar's two-out, RBI triple.

John Hicks scored on Mike Moustakas' error in the fourth for Detroit's first run.

Kinsler tied it when he smoked the first pitch he saw in the fifth into the left field stands.

NOTES: Kansas City 3B Mike Moustakas left the game in the seventh due to right lateral knee irritation. ... Tigers SS Jose Iglesias was placed on the three-day paternity list on Wednesday. He is expected to rejoin the team during its weekend series in Toronto. ... Detroit RHP Anibal Sanchez departed after facing one batter against Kansas City on Tuesday with a right calf contusion but could return this weekend. Sanchez might start against Toronto on Sunday, manager Brad Ausmus announced. ... C Salvador Perez's second-inning homer gave Kansas City 169 for the season, a franchise record. The Royals hit 168 in 1987.

Fister pitches Red Sox to 6-1 win over Blue Jays

(TSX / STATS) -- BOSTON -- Red Sox manager John Farrell admits he did not know exactly what he was getting when Boston picked veteran right-hander Doug Fister off the baseball scrapheap.

"Not in terms of the consistent performance," Farrell said after Fister turned in another strong performance to lead the Red Sox to a rain-soaked 6-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night.

"We knew we were getting a guy with a veteran presence we felt like we needed to add to the starting depth ... but to say that when we got him from the Angels (on waivers) that he would be running a streak of starts consecutively like he is, no -- he's surpassed the initial expectation. He's doing a great job."

Fister, who has gone from an extra starter to forcing his way into the team's postseason thinking, worked seven innings, allowing one run on four hits and striking out a season-high nine. Fister (5-7) is 5-2 in his past seven starts, and Wednesday marked his fourth straight outing of at least seven innings.

In all four games, he has been scored on in the first inning and not scored on again. In fact, hitters are 8-for-20 (.400) with five earned runs allowed in the four first innings, and just 6-for-83 (.072) from the second innings on -- all adding up to a 3-1 record and 1.50 ERA.

"He gets into the rhythm of the game," Farrell said. "Takes him an inning. Takes him an inning to find his release point. It's been uncanny how similar the beginning of games are and how he finishes out.

"To me it's finding that release point and then he stays out of the middle of the plate and then he gets the feel for that curveball, which is, as we've come to find out, that's a key pitch for him."

Said Fister: "The first inning was a bit of a struggle for me (Wednesday). I was having some trouble locating the sinker down and in to the lefties, and that kind of caused me some troubles. I had to make some adjustments."

Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a two-run homer and added another RBI, and Eduardo Nunez had two hits and two of Boston's four stolen bases as the Red Sox made it 12-4 over the last-place Blue Jays this season. Boston is 29 of 32 stealing bases in the 16 games vs. Toronto.

"He's pitched really special," Bradley said of Fister. "It's definitely been a lot of fun. He works really fast, and he attacks the strike zone and is getting outs when he needs to."

A night after the Red Sox drained their bullpen by using 12 pitchers in a 19-inning win, Fister walked in a run in the first but yielded only two hits after the opening inning.

"He really kept us off balance, and I thought he used his breaking ball pretty good and mixed his pitches well under these conditions," said Toronto bench coach DeMarlo Hale, managing his fifth straight game with John Gibbons tending to personal business in Texas. "He's done a very good job. Spotted his fastball, mixed his breaking ball in. Kept us off balance a little bit. So you tip your hat to him, he pitched well."

The win raised the Red Sox's lead over the rained-out New York Yankees to four games atop the American League East.

Bradley's 15th homer of the season capped a four-run fourth inning that chased Joe Biagini (3-10). The Toronto starter allowed five runs on six hits in 3 1/3 innings.

Asked to sum up his outing, which came on the heels of a career-high 10 strikeouts and seven shutout innings, Biagini, who hasn't had a win since June 21, said, "Bad. That's a short answer for you."

Boston relievers Joe Kelly and Matt Barnes worked a perfect inning apiece to finish off the win.

NOTES: Red Sox manager John Farrell, speaking on WEEI radio, said if he had been aware of electronic sign-stealing against the Yankees, he would have shut it down. ... Red Sox LHP David Price (inflamed left elbow) threw 30 pitches in the bullpen before the game, and the plan is for him to throw a simulated game Saturday. ... Boston 2B Dustin Pedroia, still nursing his left knee problem, was slotted in as the DH with the threat of wet grounds. He left for a pinch hitter in the sixth inning ... Both teams are off Thursday. The Blue Jays open a six-game homestand Friday against the Detroit Tigers. The Red Sox continue their nine-game homestand Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays. ... Blue Jays RHP Marcus Stroman, hit on the right elbow by a comebacker in his last start, hopes to start Friday.

Manaea, Davis help Athletics avoid sweep by Angels

(TSX / STATS) -- OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Angels' stay in the American League's second wild-card spot turned out to be a short one.

One day after moving a half game past the Minnesota Twins and into playoff position, the Angels lost 3-1 to the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday afternoon and dropped a half game behind the Twins, who defeated Tampa Bay.

The Angels had no answer for A's left-hander Sean Manaea, who pitched six shutout innings, or for Khris Davis, who went 3-for-3 with his AL-leading 39th home run, a double and two RBIs at Oakland Coliseum.

The A's ended their season-long, eight-game losing streak and avoided a series sweep, but Angels manager Mike Scioscia took some positives out of the loss.

Angels left-hander Tyler Skaggs (1-5) allowed three runs and six hits in six innings, getting back on track after three rough starts and saving an overworked bullpen.

"It was huge. It's really big," Scioscia said. "You always want to win a game. Unfortunately, we didn't do that this afternoon, but the fact that 'Skaggsy' got us through six helped us to at least get some guys some rest and recharge for Friday."

After an off-day Thursday, the Angels open a three-game series Friday night at Seattle.

Manaea (10-9) allowed five hits, walked three and fanned six, his highest strikeout total in his past seven starts. After losing three straight decisions while mired in a nasty skid, Manaea won two of his past three starts. He allowed a combined five earned runs during that span.

"It felt great," Manaea said. "The bullpen has been up a lot this last week, so I knew going into this game I needed to go somewhat deep. I just kept telling myself that I was going to. I was (in) attack mode all day."

Skaggs struck out a season high-matching nine and walked one.

"That's much more in line with what he can do," Scioscia said.

The Angels came into the game after back-to-back wins in extra innings. They beat the A's 11-9 in 11 innings on Monday and 8-7 in 10 innings on Tuesday. Wednesday's game was low scoring but didn't lack drama or controversy.

A's rookie Matt Chapman was ejected from the game by home plate umpire Mike Everitt before his at-bat in the top of the fourth inning after exchanging words with Angels catcher Juan Graterol.

Graterol accused multiple A's hitters of looking back and trying to steal his signs. Chapman took issue with Graterol and kept arguing his point after Everitt told him to stop.

"I think this went back to a couple of games ago," Chapman said. "They thought that we were relaying signs to our hitters from second base, and then they also thought that a couple of guys on our team were peaking at the catcher's signs. So when we were digging into the box today, as you can see on video I'm sure, the catcher kept staring at every single hitter.

"That's not a very comfortable feeling having the catcher stare at you when you're digging into the box. A little disrespectful to be honest. So when I got into the box, I just let him know that we weren't stealing their signs and there was no need for that. He obviously didn't take kindly to those words."

Graterol said the A's hitters were "kind of peaking at signs" and that he was just protecting his teammates when he stared at Oakland's batters in the box.

"Tyler is doing a good job so I just take care of him," Graterol said. "This is my family. That's what we're playing for."

Davis gave the A's a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning when he lined an opposite-field, leadoff homer off Skaggs to right, above the out-of-town scoreboard. Davis moved past the New York Yankees' Aaron Judge into sole possession of the lead in the AL's home run race.

Davis hit a career-high 42 home runs last season, his first with the A's, and now has 81 blasts in 185 games for Oakland. He has a team-high 99 RBIs this season.

"It's been amazing, it really has," A's manager Bob Melvin said of Davis exploits. "Pretty special talent as far as the power goes."

Kole Calhoun went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI triple for the Angels.

The A's increased their lead to 3-0 in the fifth inning. Marcus Semien lined a double down the left field line with one out and scored on Chad Pinder's sharp single to left, barely beating left fielder Justin Upton's strong throw home. Then with two outs, Pinder raced home when Upton lost Davis' fly ball in the sun and it landed for a double.

The Angels cut Oakland's lead to 3-1 in the eighth on Calhoun's RBI triple.

Chris Hatcher pitched a perfect ninth for his first save of the season.

NOTES: Angels 1B/DH Albert Pujols missed Wednesday's game against Oakland and returned to Los Angeles to receive treatment on his sore left knee and to be examined by doctors. The Angels have an off-day Thursday, and Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Pujols "will be ready to go" on Friday when they open a three-game series at Seattle. Los Angeles general manager Billy Eppler, however, told the Orange County Register that a plan for Pujols would be set after he was examined. Pujols aggravated the knee on Friday night against Texas when he slid into second base on a double. ... Angels CF Mike Trout set a franchise record in the first inning when he walked for the 14th consecutive game. ... Los Angeles RHP Bud Norris (right knee inflammation) was reinstated from the 10-day disabled list and pitched a scoreless seventh inning. ... A's rookie 2B Franklin Barreto made his second start since being recalled Friday from Triple-A Nashville. Barreto went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.

Yankees-Orioles game postponed, rescheduled for Thursday

(TSX / STATS) -- BALTIMORE -- The series finale between the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees was rained out Wednesday night, and with much better weather in the forecast, the two teams will play on Thursday at 1:35 p.m. at Camden Yards.

The starting pitchers will remain the same, with Kevin Gausman (10-9, 4.79 ERA) going for Baltimore versus New York's Sonny Gray (8-9, 3.36, with Oakland and the Yankees combined).

These teams have split the first two games of the series, with the Orioles (71-68) winning in dramatic fashion Tuesday -- a contest that was delayed at the start by two hours, 14 minutes by rain -- thanks to Manny Machado's walk-off two-run homer. Both are in the hunt for the playoffs, so this game needed to be rescheduled.

Baltimore and the Yankees (74-64) both lose an off-day due to this game being moved back a day, and the official announcement came around 5 p.m. on Wednesday, just about two hours before the scheduled starting time.

"Our priority (was) to try and play tonight," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said, just before the cancellation was announced. "(We want) to try to be fair to both teams."

It had been raining in Baltimore most of the day and the weather forecast was much better for Thursday (low 70s and sunny), so it's easy to see why the move was made. The Tuesday game did not start until 9:19 p.m. and did not end until nearly 1 a.m., and the forecast for Wednesday night didn't look much better.

"I don't think you want to stick around and maybe start a game at midnight, and then not know exactly when it's going to stop raining," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "It's probably best for (all)."

This was Baltimore's first postponement at home this year although the Orioles have had 18 rain delays already.

Girardi said that he wouldn't be changing much with his lineup on Thursday. Gray has struggled against Baltimore at Camden Yards, with an 0-3 career record plus a 7.53 ERA in three starts there. Overall against the Orioles, Gray is 1-3 with a 5.57 earned run average.

This will be his first start versus Baltimore this year.

Girardi also said that the Yankees will place pitcher Adam Warren on the 10-day disabled list due to lower back pain. It's an issue that started on Sunday, and New York left him at home Monday to be tested. Doctors recommended two weeks of rest.

The skipper also liked the way Aroldis Chapman threw in Tuesday's loss. Chapman retired the Orioles in order, and Girardi said he would have considered using him back in the closer's role if the game had been played on Wednesday.

But Girardi stopped short of saying he is giving the closer job back to Chapman even after Dellin Betances gave up Machado's walk-off blast Tuesday.

"We need (Chapman)," Girardi said. "I would not be afraid to use him at any point. The best thing about all of this is Chappy has thrown the ball well the last two times, and I'd say last night's probably been as good as we've seen in a while."

The Orioles will be getting some bullpen help Thursday as right-hander Mike Wright comes up from Triple-A Norfolk. Wright can help the Orioles in long relief, where Miguel Castro has been their big gun for the last several weeks.

Showalter also said Tuesday that the Orioles are hoping to get shortstop J.J. Hardy off the disabled list Friday after battling elbow problems. He has been on the 60-day disabled list (broken wrist), and the elbow issue came from batting practice. Hardy recently received a cortisone shot.

Gausman has a 7-4 record with a 3.18 in 21 career appearances, including 15 starts, against the Yankees. He is 1-1 with an 8.38 ERA in four starts against New York this season.