AL EAST NEWS AND NOTES

BALTIMORE ORIOLES

It has been a dismal season for the Orioles, but on July 28 they made positive history. The 7-8-9 hitters — Trey Mancini , Joey Rickard and Caleb Joseph — combined to go 10-for-12 with two home runs, two doubles, seven runs scored and nine RBI.

It was the first time in team history (since 1954) the 7-8-9 hitters combined for at least 10 hits. None of the trio was hitting above .220 entering the game.

Mancini had his first career four-hit game, and Rickard matched a career high with five RBI, both games coming against Tampa Bay.

❚ Following the trades of Manny Machado and Zach Britton for eight prospects, executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said he expects the organization to reduce payroll next year and focus resources on developing young players.

BOSTON RED SOX

While Boston has been steamrolling through the American League, right-hander Joe Kelly has been sputtering. In 20 appearances June 1 to July 24, Kelly gave up 18 runs (17 earned) over 15 1 ⁄ 3 innings for a 9.98 ERA with two blown saves. His ERA rose from 1.73 to 4.79.

You look around the league, there’s a lot of relievers struggling, too, and it happens to be the last week of July and everybody kind of gets excited or starts looking at names around the league and all that.

❚ In 10 games July 15-28, Red Sox starting pitchers posted a 1.63 ERA and .201 opponents’ batting average — and that was before right-hander Nathan Eovaldi was acquired from the Rays. Eovaldi pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing only four hits, July 28 against Minnesota.

NEW YORK YANKEES

Right-hander Luis Severino’s candidacy for the AL Cy Young Award has taken a hit in his recent outings.

He lost consecutive starts for the first time in nearly two years and has allowed 19 earned runs in his last four outings, covering 19 1 ⁄ 3innings, to jump his ERA from 1.98 to 2.94. He also lost at Yankee Stadium for the first time since September.

The Yankees addressed the state of their rotation by acquiring two starters, left-hander J.A. Happ from the Blue Jays and right-hander Lance Lynn from the Minnesota Twins.

Happ exacted the higher price — infielder Brandon Drury and outfielder Billy McKinney — but he was outstanding in his first start for New York. He allowed one run on three hits against Kansas City on July 29.

❚ The Yankees added to and subtracted from their bullpen, acquiring Zach Britton from the Baltimore Orioles and sending Adam Warren to the Seattle Mariners and Chasen Shreve to the St. Louis Cardinals.

TAMPA BAY RAYS

Left-hander Jalen Beeks, acquired July 25 from Boston in exchange for Nathan Eovaldi, had a forgettable debut for his new team.

Beeks, who entered after opening pitcher Ryne Stanek gave up three runs in two innings against Baltimore, allowed eight runs on 10 hits and three walks in 3 1 / 3 innings. “Probably wasn’t his best outing,” manager Kevin Cash said. “There were some unfortunate things that took place. Not a ton of hard hits until the end. He got kind of placed to death. They were placing balls everywhere, but they’re hits. They’re runs that scored. You can’t take that away.”

Beeks, 25, was a 12th-round pick by the Red Sox in 2014. He made his major league debut for Boston in June.

❚ The Rays lost that game 11-2, the ninth time this season they have given up 10 or more runs and the first time they’ve done so in back-to-back games.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS

Toronto’s bullpen has been among the worst in the majors this season, so a “bullpen game” was unlikely to be a success. Sure enough, the shaky ’pen contributed to another loss July 28 against the White Sox at Chicago.

John Axford, making the first start of his 10-year career, pitched three scoreless innings, but Tyler Clippard, Jaime Garcia and Ryan Tepera combined to allow eight runs in 1 2 /3 innings.

The bullpen game was necessary because the Blue Jays had traded J.A. Happ to the Yankees and Marco Estrada and Aaron Sanchez were recovering from injuries.

❚ Axford and catcher Russell Martin became the first Canadian- born battery to start a major league game since Denis Boucher and Joe Siddall of the Montreal Expos on Oct. 3, 1993.

In his first 24 games in July, Schoop hit .360 with nine homers, 19 RBI and 14 runs scored. Seven of those homers and 15 of the RBI came in his first nine games of the second half, which means they came

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT

Jonathan Schoop, Orioles: After the Orioles traded Manny Machado — and after Schoop had been moved up to second in the lineup. In 76 first-half