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Major League Baseball roundup

[May 22, 2017] May 20 (The Sports Xchange) - Houston Astros ace Dallas Keuchel, who is 7-0 this season, was placed on the 10-day on disabled list Saturday because of pinched nerve in his neck.

Keuchel, who was scheduled to start on Monday against the Detroit Tigers, is expected miss only one turn in the rotation, according to the Astros.

The move is retroactive to Wednesday and the stint on the disabled list is the first in Keuchel's major league career.

The left-hander has a 1.84 ERA with 54 strikeouts and 14 walks, and held opposing hitters to a .186 batting average in nine starts over 63 2/3 innings this season.

Keuchel leads the American League in wins and ERA, ranks second in innings pitched and WHIP (0.86) and third in batting average allowed. The Astros are 8-1 when he starts this season.

Keuchel, who won the Cy Young Award in 2015, pitched only five innings in his last start -- a 12-2 win over the Marlins on Tuesday when he allowed two runs on four hits while striking out four.

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Former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda has been hospitalized for several days, the Orange County Register reported.

Specifics of Lasorda's illness and condition have been kept private, but the newspaper reported the Hall of Famer been in the intensive care unit at a Los Angeles hospital.

Lasorda, 89, has a history of heart problems and was hospitalized following a heart attack as recently as 2012.

Lasorda is serving as a special advisor to the chairman while in his 68th season with the Dodgers. He managed the club from 1976-96, winning four National League pennants and two World Series.

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Boston Red Sox left-hander David Price will make one more minor league rehab start on Wednesday in his recovery from a strained pitching elbow before rejoining his teammates for his season debut.

Manager John Farrell told reporters he spoke with Price by phone on Saturday and they agreed he needed another start with Triple-A Pawtucket.

Price struggled on Friday night in Buffalo, N.Y., for Pawtucket, throwing 65 pitches in two innings and giving up five hits -- including a home run -- and three runs while striking out four and walking one.

Price returned to Boston and was working out at Fenway Park on Saturday. He is scheduled to throw a light bullpen session on Sunday before making the start for Pawtucket.

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The 31-year-old Price has been out since mid-March because of a left elbow strain as the 2012 American League Cy Young Award winner opened the season on the disabled list.

Price was 17-9 with a 3.99 ERA in 2016 and led the AL with 35 starts and 230 innings. He is in the second season of a seven-year, $217 million contract.

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Cuban prospect Luis Robert agreed to a contract with the Chicago White Sox, multiple media outlets reported.

Robert, a 19-year-old outfielder who is listed at 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, and the White Sox reportedly agreed to a deal worth at least $25 million.

Clubs have been aware of Robert since he was 15, and he became eligible to be signed as a free agent on Saturday, after Major League Baseball informed teams last month that he would not be subject to the June first-year player draft.

The White Sox also acquired two international bonus pool slots worth $756,300 from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for minor-league pitcher Alex Katz.

Katz, a 22-year-old left-hander, is 0-1 with a 4.40 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 10 games for Class A Kannapolis this season. He is 0-4 with a 3.09 ERA and 114 strikeouts over three minor-league seasons after being selected by the White Sox in the 27th round of the June 2015 draft.

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The Oakland Athletics reinstated right-hander John Axford from the 10-day disabled list and placed right-hander Ryan Dull on the DL because of a strained right knee.

Axford was on Oakland's Opening Day roster but was placed on the disabled list on April 5 (retroactive to April 2) because of a strained right shoulder before appearing in a game. He began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Nashville on May 13 and did not allow a run in three appearances over 3 1/3 innings. It was his first career stint on the disabled list.

Dull was 2-2 with a 6.32 ERA in 18 relief appearances with Oakland before straining his right knee in Friday night's 3-2, 10-inning win over the Red Sox. (Editing by Gene Cherry)

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