Oakland’s Guillermo Moscoso loses no-hitter in eighth

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By Matthew PouliotSep 7, 2011, 5:45 PM EDT

5:53 p.m. EDT update: No no-no this afternoon.  Moscoso got Jeff Francoeur to line out and struck out Mitch Maier to begin the eighth, but Royals catcher Salvador Perez battled back after an 0-2 count and singled with two outs to break up the bid.

Moscoso retired Mike Moustakas afterwards, and he may still get a chance to go for his first complete game and shutout.  He’s at 106 pitches after eight.

6:25 p.m. EDT update: Unfortunately, Moscoso ended up getting removed after a Scott Sizemore error put a second runner on base with two outs in the ninth.  Fautino De Los Santos came in and retired Eric Hosmer to end the game at 7-0.  If not for the error, Moscoso would have had his first career complete game and shutout.  He settled instead for the win, moving him to 8-8 with a 3.34 ERA.

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A’s right-hander Guillermo Moscoso has pitched seven hitless innings and faced just one batter over the minimum in Wednesday’s game against the Royals.

Moscoso, 27, is making his 18th big-league start and is 7-8 with a 3.63 ERA for the A’s this season.  He pitched briefly for the Rangers in 2009 and ’10 before being designated for assignment and getting acquired in a minor trade by Oakland last winter.

Aside from a walk to Alcides Escobar in the sixth, Moscoso has been perfect in this one.  He’s struck out three.  Oakland had a 7-0 lead and he’s thrown a modest 90 pitches, so there won’t be any reason for the A’s to pull him until he gives up a hit.

Rockies acquire Zac Rosscup from Cubs

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By Bill BaerJun 26, 2017, 10:08 PM EDT

The Rockies announced a minor swap of relief pitchers on Monday evening. The Cubs sent lefty Zac Rosscup to the Rockies in exchange for right-hander Matt Carasiti.

Rosscup, 29, was designated for assignment by the Cubs last Thursday. He spent only two-thirds of an inning in the majors this year and has a 5.32 career ERA across 47 1/3 innings. Rosscup has spent most of the season with Triple-A Iowa, posting a 2.60 ERA in 27 2/3 innings.

Carasiti, 25, spent 15 2/3 innings in the majors last year, putting up an ugly 9.19 ERA. With Triple-A Albuquerque this season, he compiled a 2.37 ERA and a 43/13 K/BB ratio in 30 1/3 innings.

U.S. Court of Appeals affirms ruling that the minor leagues are exempt from federal antitrust law

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By Bill BaerJun 26, 2017, 9:03 PM EDT

The Associated Press reported that on Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit affirmed a district court ruling which holds that the minor leagues are exempt from federal antitrust law, just like the major leagues.

In 2015, four minor leaguers sued Major League Baseball, alleging that MLB violated antitrust laws with its hiring and employment policies. They accused MLB of “restrain[ing] horizontal competition between and among” franchises and “artificially and illegally depressing” the salaries of minor league players.

The U.S. Court of Appeals said the players failed to state an antitrust claim, as the Curt Flood Act of 1998 exempted Minor League Baseball explicitly from antitrust laws.

This case is separate from the Aaron Senne case in which Major League Baseball is accused of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act. That case was recertified as a class action lawsuit in March. In December, Major League Baseball established a political action committee (PAC), which came months after two members of Congress sought to change language in the FLSA so that minor league players could continue to be paid substandard wages.