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MINNEAPOLIS Minnesota Twins right-hander Kenta Maeda has a no-hitter through seven innings against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night, setting the club record with eight consecutive strikeouts in the process. Maeda fanned Ben Gamel to finish the fifth for his eighth straight punchout, passing Jim Merritt (1966) and Francisco Liriano (2010), who both fanned seven batters in a row for the Twins. The major league record is 10 consecutive strikeouts, set by Tom Seaver for the New York Mets in 1970. The 32-year-old got two more groundouts by the Brewers to cruise through the inning and retired his 20th straight batter, Justin Smoak, with a strikeout to finish the seventh. Maeda is in his first season with Minnesota, which acquired him this winter from the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol.

People watch from balconies of a building across the street during an exhibition baseball game between the Washington Nationals and the Philadelphia Phillies at Nationals Park, Saturday, July 18, 2020, in Washington. Seems like every day theres a challenge, said Scherzer, the three-time Cy Young Award winner who gave up three-run shots to old friend Bryce Harper and mask-wearing Didi Gregorius in Washingtons 7-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. The energy in the stadium thats usually there, isnt there, per se, Nationals shortstop Trea Turner said. Normally, you pull up and theres a good amount of fans there, Nationals outfielder Michael A. Taylor said after taking pregame batting practice. I got beat around a little bit, but thats good, Scherzer said.

NEW YORK Philadelphia second baseman Neil Walker, Texas pitcher Edinson Vlquez and Pittsburgh pitcher Derek Holland have made opening-day rosters. So have Milwaukee first baseman Logan Morrison, Cincinnati pitcher Nate Jones, Tampa Bay pitcher Aaron Loup and New York Yankees pitcher Luis Aviln. The seven were among the former free agents clubs had to make decisions on by Sunday, five days ahead of opening day. Two players were given $100,000 retention bonuses this weekend, allowing teams to keep them with minor league contracts: New York Mets catcher Ren Rivera and Colorado catcher Drew Butera. Among those released ahead of the deadline were Philadelphia pitcher Francisco Liriano and infielder Logan Forsythe, Mets first baseman Matt Adams and Washington reliever Fernando Abad.

The defending World Series champion Washington Nationals are happy to have their starting center fielder finally in camp and the Detroit Tigers have named their opening day starter. Teams around the league were beginning to make their final preparations Sunday for the start of the abbreviated baseball season. It was definitely very difficult, the fact that I really wasnt able to work much on my swing, Robles said through an interpreter. Pitcher Anthony Bass said Sunday the players have told general manager Ross Atkins theyd prefer to play in a big league stadium if possible. So have Milwaukee first baseman Logan Morrison, Cincinnati pitcher Nate Jones, Tampa Bay pitcher Aaron Loup and New York Yankees pitcher Luis Aviln.