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ARLINGTON, Texas — Max Scherzer moved into 11th place on the career strikeout list just before an erratic stretch when he forced in a pair of runs, and the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Texas Rangers 6-2 on Sunday for a three-game series sweep.

Corey Seager hit his 23rd homer for the AL West-leading Rangers (72-52), who matched a season high with their fourth consecutive loss.

No. 9 batter Tyrone Taylor had a two-run triple and scored three times for Milwaukee (68-57), which maintained its three-game division lead over the second-place Chicago Cubs.

Brewers starter Adrian Houser (5-4) struck out seven and allowed one run over five innings. Closer Devin Williams got his 30th save in 33 chances after coming in to get the final out with two on and an unearned run already in.

Scherzer (12-5) had won his first three starts for Texas since his trade from the New York Mets. He got his 3,343rd strikeout when Brice Turang whiffed opening the third inning, the third of four strikeouts for the three-time Cy Young Award winner. Scherzer, the active strikeouts leader, passed Hall of Fame knuckleballer Phil Niekro for 11th place.

“I’m here to win,” Scherzer said. “I’m not here for milestones. I’m not here for accomplishments.”

That third inning featured 42 pitches for Scherzer, who finished with a season-high four walks in 3 2/3 innings. Milwaukee, which has won three games started by Scherzer this year, scored its first run when Scherzer hit Willy Adames on the helmet with a fastball. Five pitches later, Scherzer walked Rowdy Tellez on a 3-1 fastball that just missed low and outside.

Consecutive two-out doubles by Taylor and Christian Yelich in the fourth made it 3-1, and chased Scherzer after 99 pitches.

“Weird start. You know, it’s not like I got hit around,” Scherzer said. “They had a really good approach against me and just found a way to take their walks. It just didn’t feel like I was putting guys away, especially when I got the two strikes.”

Brewers manager Craig Counsell concurred.

“We made him work and that paid off,” he said. “To get Max Scherzer out in the fourth inning, that’s a great job by the offense.”

Texas has lost six of 10 games but remained 2½ games ahead of second-place Houston in the AL West. The defending champions were swept at home by Seattle this weekend.

“We just couldn’t get this offense going,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “We’re in a little bit of a funk right now, but maybe it’s good we’re getting on the road and see if we can tighten some things up and get back on track.”

Left-handed veteran Jordan Montgomery, the other starter Texas acquired at the deadline, will make his fourth start for the Rangers when they are at Arizona on Monday to open a three-city, nine-game trip.

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Sources: Yankees get 3B in Rockies’ McMahon

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Sources: Yankees get 3B in Rockies' McMahon

NEW YORK — The Yankees are acquiring third baseman Ryan McMahon from the Rockies in exchange for minor league pitchers Griffin Herring and Josh Grosz, sources confirmed to ESPN on Friday.

The Yankees will assume the remainder of 30-year-old McMahon’s contract, which includes approximately $4.5 million for the remainder of 2025 and $32 million over the next two seasons.

An All-Star last season, McMahon was batting .217 with 16 home runs and a .717 OPS in 100 games for Colorado in 2025. He hit home runs in the first two games after the All-Star break and another on Tuesday and is on pace to keep his four-year 20-homer streak alive.

While the production has resulted in a 92 OPS+, which suggests McMahon has been 8% worse than the average major league hitter this season, he still represents a significant offensive upgrade at third base for New York.

The Yankees have had Oswald Peraza, one of the worst hitters in the majors, manning third base nearly every day since the club decided to release DJ LeMahieu, another former Rockies player, earlier this month and move Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second base. Peraza, while a strong defender, is slashing .147/.208/.237 in 69 games this season. His 24 wRC+ ranks last among the 310 hitters with at least 160 plate appearances this season.

Defensively, McMahon is a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman whose four Outs Above Average is third in the majors this season. He joins a Yankees club that has been marred by sloppy defense, most recently on Wednesday when it committed four errors in a defensive meltdown against the first-place Toronto Blue Jays.

Herring, 22, has recorded a 1.71 ERA in 89⅓ innings across 16 starts between Low- and High-A this season. He was a sixth-round pick out of LSU in the 2024 draft.

Grosz, an 11th-round pick in 2023, had a 4.14 ERA in 87 innings over 16 games (15 starts) for High-A Hudson Valley this season.

With third base addressed, the Yankees will continue to seek to acquire pitchers to bolster both their rotation and bullpen.

MLB.com first reported on the Yankees trading for McMahon.

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Mets trade for reliever in Orioles left-hander Soto

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Mets trade for reliever in Orioles left-hander Soto

The Mets acquired left-handed reliever Gregory Soto from the Orioles on Friday in exchange for two minor leaguers in what could be the first of multiple moves by New York to bolster its bullpen before the trade deadline Thursday.

The trade, which sent Class A right-hander Wellington Aracena and Double-A right-hander Cameron Foster to Baltimore, gives the Mets a hard-throwing left-hander to complement the club’s only lefty on the roster, Brooks Raley, who returned from Tommy John surgery last week.

Soto, who is 30 and was an All-Star with the Detroit Tigers in 2021 and 2022, has posted a 3.96 ERA with a 27.5% strikeout rate in 45 appearances this season. The Mets will be his fourth team since the 2022 season.

On Monday, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns plainly signaled that upgrading the bullpen for the stretch run is his top priority.

The need is clear. Injuries and overuse have depleted a relief corps that led the majors in bullpen ERA through May 31. Since June 1, the group has posted 4.52 ERA, good for 23rd in the majors.

Aracena, 20, is 1-1 with a 2.38 ERA in 17 games for St. Lucie. The Orioles said he is one of two pitchers in the minors this season to have thrown at least 60 innings without surrendering a home run.

Foster, 26, is 5-2 with two saves and a 2.97 ERA while pitching at the Double-A and Triple-A levels.

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Fenway concession workers strike for Sox series

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Fenway concession workers strike for Sox series

BOSTON — Hundreds of Aramark workers at Fenway Park are on strike and planning to stay out for all of a homestand between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers starting Friday night.

Concession workers had set a deadline of noon Friday for Aramark and Fenway Park to reach an agreement with the Local 26 chapter of the Massachusetts and Rhode Island hotel, casino, airport and food services workers union.

The union went on strike at noon asking for “living wages, guardrails on technology and R-E-S-P-E-C-T!”

With the Red Sox and Dodgers scheduled to start at 7:10 p.m. EDT, union officials had a request for fans attending this homestand with food and beer workers on strike.

“We’re asking you to NOT buy concessions inside the ballpark,” Local 26 wrote on social media. “Tailgate before the games!”

Union workers walked the picket line wearing green T-shirts declaring “FENWAY WORKERS ON STRIKE.” They carried signs in the shape of a baseball proclaiming Local 26.

The Red Sox go out of town Monday with a game that night at Minnesota.

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