Braves Crush Rockies – MLB Roundup For July 31st

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball has told the union which players it intends to suspend in its drug investigation and which ones will receive lengthier penalties for their roles in the Biogenesis case, two people familiar with the talks tell The Associated Press.

The sides are trying to reach as many agreements as possible that would avoid grievance hearings, and talks could push back an announcement until Friday.

Three-time MVP Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees stands to receive the longest suspension. The stiffer penalties for some players are tied to other alleged violations, including not being truthful to MLB investigators.

Three 2013 All-Stars could face bans: Texas outfielder Nelson Cruz, San Diego shortstop Everth Cabrera and Detroit shortstop Jhonny Peralta.

UNDATED (AP) — Boston has acquired pitcher Jake Peavy (PEE'-vee) from the White Sox as part of a three-team, seven-player deal.

The 32-year old Peavy was 8-4 with a 4.28 ERA for Chicago this season. The right-hander is a former Cy Young Award winner and three-time All-Star.

Boston sent a trio of minor leaguers to the White Sox in the deal.

The Red Sox acquired reliever Brayan Villarreal from Detroit and sent shortstop Jose Inglesias to the Tigers. Boston also got outfielder Avisail Garcia from Detroit and sent him to the White Sox.

In other major league trades;

— The Oakland Athletics have acquired third baseman Alberto Callaspo (ky-AS'-poh) from the Angels for infielder Grant Green. Callaspo is hitting .253 with five home runs and 36 RBIs entering Tuesday. Green is hitless in 15 at-bats during his first stint in the major leagues this season.

— The Cleveland Indians have acquired left-handed reliever Marc Rzepczynski (ZEHP'-chihn-skee) from the St. Louis Cardinals. The Indians sent minor league infielder Juan Herrera to St. Louis.

UNDATED (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates have the best record in the majors. They vaulted into the top spot with a doubleheader sweep of St. Louis 2-1 in 11 innings and 6-0.

Alex Presley's single in the bottom of the 11th inning gave Pittsburgh the win in the opener. Brandon Cumpton scattered three hits over seven innings in the nightcap for his first major league win. The Pirates are 64-42 and hold a 1 ½ game lead over St. Louis for first in the NL Central.

The double loss made it six in a row for the slumping Cardinals who scored just five runs in that stretch.

In other big league play;

— Leonys Martin sliced a three-run homer into the left-field corner to complete the Rangers 14-11 comeback win over the Angels in ten innings. Texas overcame a four-run deficit when Giovany Soto hit a three-run homer in the eighth and Adrian Beltre (BEHL'-tray) added a two-out, RBI single in the ninth.

— Toronto's Mark Buehrle (BUR'-lee) allowed five hits over seven innings and combined with two relievers to shutout AL West leading Oakland 5-0. Jose Bautista and Emilio Bonifacio each homered for the Blue Jays who stopped Oakland's four-game winning streak.

— Mark Ellis stroked a two-out, RBI single in the bottom of the ninth that scored Andre Ethier from second and gave the Dodgers a 3-2 win over the Yankees. The Dodgers 27-6 record since June 21 is their best stretch since going 29-5 during a part of the 1953 season.

— Roberto Hernandez came within an out of a complete game shutout in Tampa Bay's 5-2 win over Arizona. Eric Chavez ended the bid with a two-run homer in the ninth. Yunel Escobar and Ben Zobrist each drove in a pair of runs for the AL East-leading Rays who have won 21 of 25.

— Rookie Brandon Workman gave up a run and struck out nine over six innings to lead Boston to an 8-2 win over Seattle. Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia homered in the second, giving Workman an early 5-1 lead that the right-hander never squandered in just his third big league start.

— Alex Avila hit a grand slam to pace Detroit to a 5-1 win over Washington. Avila connected off of Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg in the sixth inning to snap a 1-all tie. Strasburg dropped to 5-9 this season.

— Pinch-hitting Ryan Raburn's two-run single sparked a four-run seventh inning that gave Cleveland a 7-4 win over the White Sox. The victory was the sixth in a row for the Indians who have won 11 of 15.

—Chris Davis hit his major league leading 38th home run and first in ten games to give Baltimore a 4-3 win over Houston. Davis' two-run homer in the sixth inning put the Orioles ahead to stay. Davis also extended his run of games with a strikeout to 23, the longest in team history.

— Freddie Freeman hit a pair of home runs and drove in four to lead Atlanta to an 11-3 romp over Colorado. Brian McCann hit a three-run homer for the NL East leaders who have won five in a row and moved 10 games ahead of second-place Washington.

— Mike Moustakas homered twice and drove in four runs to help streaking Kansas City to a 7-2 win over Minnesota. The Royals have won seven in a row and nine of 11 to get over .500 for the first time since May 18.

— Carlos Ruiz and Michael Young hit two-run homers to help Philadelphia beat the Giants 7-3 and snap an eight-game losing streak. The defending World Series champ Giants have lost five in a row and eight of nine.

— John Buck's two-run single in the tenth inning gave the Mets a 4-2 win over Miami. Mets starter Zach Wheeler tossed 7 1/3 innings of no-hit ball.

— Nick Hundley's two-run double in the bottom of the eighth gave San Diego a 4-2 win over Cincinnati. The Reds have lost five straight.

— Milwaukee swept two from the Cubs 6-5 and 3-2. Jean Segura homered and delivered the go-ahead double in the opener. Jeff Bianchi's two-run single in the top of the ninth was the difference in the second game.