AL EAST NEWS AND NOTES

BALTIMORE ORIOLES

Second baseman Jonathan Villar didn’t take his trade from the playoff-contending Brewers to the woebegone Orioles as a letdown.

Instead, he viewed it as a chance to play and run.

At the time of the trade, Villar hadn’t played since July 14 because of a thumb injury he suffered while sliding into third base.

He first proved that he was ready to play by swinging a bat in an indoor batting cage, and then he wowed the Orioles by going 8-for-17 (.471) in his first four games.

Manager Buck Showalter didn’t waste any time giving Villar, who had 62 stolen bases two years ago, the green light to cause as much havoc as possible on the basepaths.

❚ Mark Trumbo got the 1,000th hit of his career, an RBI single, Aug. 4 at Texas. It came in the same ballpark that was the site of his first career hit in 2010.

BOSTON RED SOX

The Red Sox were on a club record pace before the trade deadline, but the acquisition of right-hander Nathan Eovaldi made them look even more invincible.

Eovaldi went 2-0 and didn’t allow a run in 15 innings to become the third Boston pitcher since 1945 to hold opponents scoreless in his first two starts for the Red Sox.

On Aug. 4 against the Yankees, Eovaldi matched a career high by going eight innings. The last time he pitched that many innings was in 2016, for the Yankees against the Red Sox.

Two other newcomers also provided immediate dividends.

Steve Pearce was hitting .333 through 20 games with the Red Sox, and Ian Kinsler hit .400 in his first three games before going on the disabled list because of a strained left hamstring.

❚ Left-hander Chris Sale has a history of faltering in the second half, so it was alarming when he went on the disabled list because of a sore shoulder. But he insisted it was minor. “If this was something more serious, I would tell you,” he said.

NEW YORK YANKEES

With the Yankees struggling in a four-game series at Boston, it wasn’t the best time for righthander Chance Adams to make his major league debut.

Adams didn’t pitch that poorly Aug. 4; he allowed three runs on three hits (two of them home runs) in five innings. But the Yankees lost, and the next night the Red Sox rallied to complete the four-game sweep.

Adams was filling in for lefthander J.A. Happ, who went on the disabled list because he contracted hand, foot and mouth disease after making one start for the Yankees. Happ was scheduled to return Aug. 9.

❚ The Yankees’ back-to-back 4-1 losses Aug. 3-4 marked the first time since 2009 that they were held to one run or none in consecutive games at Fenway.

TAMPA BAY RAYS

The Rays’ flurry of moves before the trade deadline reduced their payroll commitment for next year while bringing in several major league-ready players as they start to rebuild.

The biggest loss was righthander Chris Archer, who had been one of the Rays’ cornerstones since they acquired him from the Cubs in January 2011. He was sent to Pittsburgh for outfielder Austin Meadows, right-hander Tyler Glasnow and a player to be named.

The Rays also traded pitchers Nathan Eovaldi, Matt Andriese and Jonny Venters, catcher Wilson Ramos and infielder Adeiny Hechavarria. Their most notable acquisition was outfielder Tommy Pham in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals.

❚ Through Aug. 5, the Rays had 19 losses when allowing three or fewer runs and 11 losses when allowing two or fewer runs — both the most in the major leagues. The club record for losses in each category is 24 and 12, respectively.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS

Ken Giles knows he can’t change his public perception overnight after his on-field blowups with the Astros this season.

Giles, whom the Blue Jays acquired before the trade deadline for their troubled closer, Roberto Osuna, is hoping that better results can reverse a negative trend that started late last season and ran into the playoffs.

In his first two outings for Toronto, Giles gave up one run in two innings.

❚ In just his second start since coming off the disabled list, right-hander Marco Estrada had a no-hitter through 6 1 / 3 innings Aug. 4 at Seattle. He finished with seven innings of one-run, one-hit ball, matching his longest outing of the season.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT

STEVE PEARCE, RED SOX

Pearce had a career-high three homers and six RBI against the Yankees on Aug. 2. He added another homer the next day, becoming the first Boston hitter with four homers in two consecutive games against\ the Yankees since David Ortiz in 2003. It was Pearce’s sixth career multihomer game and first since May 2, 2017, while with Toronto, also against the Yankees.