FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — This was not the sight the Boston Red Sox envisioned in Chris Sale's final spring training tuneup: Their ace crumpled on the ground, knocked off the mound by a line drive.Sale quickly got up, flexed his leg a few times and walked off the field under his own power Saturday. The AL East champions called it a bruised left hip, and Sale said the injury wasn't serious and wouldn't jeopardize his opening day start Thursday at Tampa Bay."I don't see anything lingering from this," Sale said. "Looked a lot worse than it really is."Sale was struck by a liner off the bat of Houston's J.D. Davis in the first inning. A day earlier, San Francisco ace Madison Bumgarner sustained a broken pitching hand when he was hit a line drive and will miss at least a month.X-rays were negative."When it first hit me, it kind of got me in the hip, but got the nerve. So it shot all the way down to my foot. So, that's what kind of made me worried," he said. "I was telling them when I was out there,... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — This was not what the Boston Red Sox wanted to see in Chris Sale's final spring training tuneup: Their ace crumpled on the ground, knocked off the mound by a line drive.Sale quickly got up, flexed his leg a few times and walked off the field under his own power Saturday. The AL East champions called it a bruised left hip, and Sale said the injury wasn't serious and wouldn't jeopardize his opening day start Thursday at Tampa Bay."I don't see anything lingering from this," Sale said. "Looked a lot worse than it really is."Sale was struck by a liner off the bat of Houston's J.D. Davis in the first inning. A day earlier, San Francisco ace Madison Bumgarner sustained a broken pitching hand when he was hit a line drive and will miss at least a month.Sale said he would get an X-ray, just for precautionary purposes."When it first hit me, it kind of got me in the hip, but got the nerve. So it shot all the way down to my foot. So, that's what kind of made me worried," he said.... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner has undergone surgery to have three pins inserted into the broken pinkie on his pitching hand.Bumgarner had surgery Saturday, and is expected to miss four to six weeks.The 28-year-old ace was injured Friday when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of Kansas City's Whit Merrifield in a spring training game.The 2014 World Series MVP missed nearly three months last season with a shoulder injury after a dirt bike accident on April 20 during an off day in Colorado.___More AP baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale says he expects to be fine to start on opening day after being hit by a line drive in his final spring training tuneup.Sale was struck on the left hip Saturday by a liner off the bat of Houston's J.D. Davis in the first inning.Sale immediately went to the ground, but walked off the field under his own power. The Red Sox called the injury a bruise.The left-hander later said he was OK and expected to pitch Thursday when the AL East champions open at Tampa Bay. Chris Archer was set to start for the Rays — on Friday, he was hit by a grounder in the forearm of his pitching arm and had to leave a minor league game.Sale led the majors with 308 strikeouts last season, going 17-8 with a 2.90 ERA in his first year with Boston.Sale's injury came a day after San Francisco ace Madison Bumgarner sustained a broken hand on his pitching hand when he was hit by a line drive. He is expected to miss at least a month.The Red Sox already were looking at starting out with a depleted rotation. Manager Alex Cora announced hours earlier that pitchers Drew Pomeranz and Eduardo Rodriguez will begin the season on the disabled list. Knuckleballer Steven Wright has accepted a 15-game suspension under Major League Baseball's domestic violence policy.

Just the thought of Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge in the same lineup sent fans into a frenzy. Come opening day, all of baseball will see which teams really have the muscle.A season of haves and have-nots begins March 29 with Derek Jeter's pared-down Marlins playing the pumped-up Cubs. Later that day, the New York Yankees unleash their most potent pair of sluggers since Mantle & Maris.MVP Jose Altuve and the World Series champion Houston Astros added ace Gerrit Cole to a rotation with Dallas Keuchel and Justin Verlander. The Dodgers and Indians are still poised after coming within one win of that elusive crown. The Nationals hired a new manager to help free agent-to-be Bryce Harper, Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg reach the top. And the Red Sox got the bopper they needed.Where does that leave the Reds, Pirates, Tigers, Rays and A's? Well, better luck next year. Or the year after that.Major League Baseball is in a hurry these days, with record home runs and strikeouts the new norm.... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — For the second consecutive season, the San Francisco Giants will be without injured ace Madison Bumgarner for a while.Bumgarner broke a bone in his pitching hand Friday when it was hit by a line drive off the bat of Kansas City's Whit Merrifield during a spring training game.The Giants said X-rays showed the 28-year-old fractured the fifth metacarpal on the outside of his left hand. Bumgarner said the timeline for recovery is four to six weeks and he will have a pin inserted into his pinkie Saturday."It's tough. But I can handle it," Bumgarner said. "These guys can handle it. This obviously was not what I was expecting out of my last start. But it happened and I can deal with it."Bumgarner, the 2014 World Series MVP, missed nearly three months with a shoulder injury last season after a dirt bike accident on April 20 during an off day in Colorado.His latest setback is a huge blow to the Giants as they try to rebound from a surprising last-place finish in the NL West... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Madison Bumgarner arrived at spring training as fit as ever, ready to forget about the disappointment of last season's injury-shortened year.Now, San Francisco's ace left-hander is hurt again.He fractured the pinkie finger in his pitching hand when hit by a line drive off the bat of Kansas City's Whit Merrifield during a spring training game on Friday and is expected to miss 4 to 6 weeks. This comes after the embarrassment of a dirt bike accident last spring that cost him nearly three months and contributed to his club falling out of contention in a hurry.Bumgarner and all of the Giants are fueled by an uncharacteristic 98-loss, last-place season.The 2014 World Series MVP will be rehabbing again after he was sidelined nearly three months following his dirt bike accident on April 20, 2017, during an off day in Colorado."Because of what happened to me last year, how we did last year, the whole combination of things and the group of guys that we've got here this year and... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — For the second consecutive season, the San Francisco Giants will be without injured ace Madison Bumgarner for a while.Bumgarner broke a bone in his pitching hand Friday when it was hit by a line drive off the bat of Kansas City's Whit Merrifield during a spring training game.The Giants said X-rays showed the 28-year-old fractured the fifth metacarpal on the outside of his left hand. Bumgarner said the timeline for recovery is four to six weeks and he will have a pin inserted into his pinkie Saturday."It's tough. But I can handle it," Bumgarner said. "These guys can handle it. This obviously was not what I was expecting out of my last start. But it happened and I can deal with it."Bumgarner, the 2014 World Series MVP, missed nearly three months with a shoulder injury last season after a dirt bike accident on April 20 during an off day in Colorado.His latest setback is a huge blow to the Giants as they try to rebound from a surprising last-place finish in the NL West... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — San Francisco Giants ace Madison Bumgarner is hurt for the second straight year, breaking a bone in his pitching hand when it was hit by a line drive off the bat of Kansas City's Whit Merrifield during a spring training game on Friday.The Giants said X-rays showed the 28-year-old fractured the fifth metacarpal on the outside of his left hand. Bumgarner said the timeline for recovery is four to six weeks and he will have a pin inserted into his pinkie Saturday."It's tough. But I can handle it," Bumgarner said. "These guys can handle it. This obviously was not what I was expecting out of my last start. But it happened and I can deal with it."Bumgarner, the 2014 World Series MVP, missed nearly three months last season with a shoulder injury after a dirt bike accident on April 20 during an off day in Colorado. This is a big blow for the Giants as they try to rebound from a surprising last-place finish in the NL West with 98 losses."It's just a downer. This was a short... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — San Francisco Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner is hurt for the second straight year, breaking a bone in his pitching hand when hit by a line drive off the bat of Kansas City's Whit Merrifield during a spring training game on Friday.The Giants said X-rays showed the 28-year-old fractured the fifth metacarpal on the outside of his left hand."It's tough. But I can handle it," Bumgarner said. "These guys can handle it. This obviously was not what I was expecting out of my last start. But it happened and I can deal with it."Bumgarner, the 2014 World Series MVP, missed nearly three months last season after a dirt bike accident on April 20 during an off day in Colorado. This is a big blow for the Giants as they try to rebound from a surprising last-place finish in the NL West with 98 losses."It's just a downer. This was a short day. I feel for him," manager Bruce Bochy said. "Obviously, we know what he means to us, but where he was, how well he's thrown the ball all... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — San Francisco Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner is hurt for the second straight year, breaking a bone in his pitching hand when hit by a line drive off the bat of Kansas City's Whit Merrifield during a spring training game on Friday.The Giants said X-rays showed the 28-year-old had a broken bone on the outside of his left hand.Bumgarner, the 2014 World Series MVP, missed nearly three months last season after a dirt bike accident on April 20 during an off day in Colorado.After six straight seasons with double-digit wins, more than 200 innings and 30-plus starts, Bumgarner went 4-9 with a 3.32 ERA in 17 starts last season and threw just 111 innings.___More AP baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner exited his spring training start in the third inning Friday after taking a line drive off his pitching hand.The comebacker was hit by Kansas City's Whit Merrifield. The Giants had no immediate updates on Bumgarner's condition.The 2014 World Series MVP missed nearly three months last season after the dirt bike accident on April 20 during an off day in Colorado.After six straight seasons with double-digit wins, more than 200 innings and 30-plus starts, Bumgarner went 4-9 with a 3.32 ERA in 17 starts last season and threw just 111 innings.___More AP baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Madison Bumgarner learned a tough lesson and he's ready for a do-over. San Francisco's ace is as motivated as ever after the embarrassment of a dirt bike accident that cost him nearly three months and contributed to his club falling out of contention in a hurry.Same goes for all of the Giants, fueled by an uncharacteristic 98-loss, last-place season.The 2014 World Series MVP missed nearly three months after the dirt bike accident on April 20 during an off day in Colorado."Because of what happened to me last year, how we did last year, the whole combination of things and the group of guys that we've got here this year and the new staff ... the players that they brought in, I'm really excited," Bumgarner said. "I feel like we've got a good chance to compete and win some games this year."After six straight seasons with double-digit wins, more than 200 innings and 30-plus starts — the previous three years with 18, 18 and 15 victories — Bumgarner went 4-9 with a 3.32 ERA... [More]

Capsules of National League West teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Los Angeles Dodgers2017: 104-58, first place, lost to Houston in World Series.Manager: Dave Roberts (third season).He's Here: OF Matt Kemp, RHP Tom Koehler, LHP Scott Alexander, LHP Henry Owens.He's Outta Here: 1B Adrian Gonzalez, RHP Yu Darvish, RHP Brandon Morrow, RHP Brandon McCarthy, LHP Tony Watson, LHP Luis Avilan, LHP Scott Kazmir, LHP Adam Liberatore, OF Andre Ethier, INF Charlie Culberson, OF Curtis Granderson, LHP Grant Dayton, OF Franklin Gutierrez, RHP Josh Ravin.Projected Lineup: CF Chris Taylor (.288, 21 HRs, 72 RBIs, 17 SBs), SS Corey Seager (.295, 22, 77), 3B Justin Turner (.322, 21, 71, will start season on DL with broken left wrist), 1B Cody Bellinger (.267, 39, 97, 10 SBs), RF Yasiel Puig (.263, 28, 74), LF Matt Kemp (.276, 19, 64 in 115 games with Braves) or Joc Pederson (.212, 11, 35 in 102 games), C Austin Barnes (.289, 8, 38) or Yasmani Grandal (.247, 22, 58), 2B Logan Forsythe (.224, 6,... [More]

A big second half by shortstop Jorge Polanco helped push the Minnesota Twins into the playoffs last season. This year, they'll try to start fast without him.Polanco was suspended 80 games on Sunday after testing positive for the performance-enhancing substance Stanozolol. He became the sixth player to be banned this year under the major league drug program — one more than last year.Polanco hit .256 with 13 home runs and 74 RBIs last season while starting 127 games at shortstop. The 24-year-old also stole 13 bases in helping the Twins earn an AL wild-card spot.In a statement released by the players' union, Polanco said he didn't "intentionally consume this steroid."Polanco said he requested a substance from his athletic trainer in the Dominican Republic, but was given something else.ELSEWHERE AROUND THE GRAPEFRUIT AND CACTUS LEAGUESMETS 5, ORIOLES 4The Mets said lefty Jason Vargas will have surgery after his right hand was broken by a line drive in a minor league game Friday. No timetable... [More]

The baseball world is buzzing about the home run barrage and offensive explosion of the last two seasons, and there's no doubt it has changed the game. But the fantasy baseball community is much more concerned with what is going on with starting pitchers because those changes make it necessary to rethink the strategies of the past decade.Three trends to think about have developed among starters. First, pitchers are spending more time on the disabled list, especially the new 10-day DL. The worst kept secret in MLB last year was that the Dodgers used the 10-day DL to manage a six-man starting rotation. And now there are more teams considering the six-man rotation; the Angels may adopt it to protect their investment in Shohei Ohtani.The second trend is a major increase in strikeout rates. In 2015, starters struck out 7.40 batters per nine innings pitched, and in 2017 that rate jumped to 7.96 strikeouts per nine innings. Overall, they only struck out about 400 more batters in 2017, but they... [More]

Nelson Cruz joined the Seattle Mariners' growing list of injured players.Cruz hit a two-hop RBI single to the right-field wall in the first inning against Colorado, then walked slowly to the Mariners' dugout while rubbing his right thigh and slightly favoring the leg. He was replaced by pinch runner Daniel Vogelbach, and the Mariners said Cruz had soreness in his right quadriceps.Second baseman Robinson Cano left Sunday's game because of tightness in his left hamstring, and a scan Monday revealed a minor strain, the Mariners said.Left-hander Marco Gonzales left his start Monday after 1 2/3 innings when he was hit on his right hand by a comebacker off the bat of Leury Garcia of the Chicago White Sox. Gonzales threw to first for the out, then departed. Seattle said he sustained a bruise.Ace right-hander Felix Hernandez hasn't pitched in a game since he was hit on the right forearm by a line drive off the bat of the Chicago Cubs' Victor Caratini on Feb. 26.Other injured players include outfielders... [More]

Now that Ichiro Suzuki is back with the Seattle Mariners, he hopes to stick around a while."I think everybody hears that I want to play until I'm 50," he said through a translator. "But I want to make sure everybody understands that I always say at least 50."The 44-year-old outfielder rejoined his former team Wednesday with a $750,000, one-year contract."Even in the offseason when I would go back to Japan, I always came back to Seattle. This was my home ... has always been my home," he said. "Somewhere deep inside, I wanted to return and wear this uniform again."Suzuki was the AL MVP and Rookie of the Year with Seattle in 2001. He was traded to the New York Yankees during the 2012 season and spent three years in Miami.Suzuki has a .312 career average and 3,080 hits, not including the 1,278 hits he totaled in Japan. He played 136 games last year for the Marlins and hit .255 with a .318 on-base percentage.Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto said discussions about Suzuki's return intensified... [More]

Now that Ichiro Suzuki is back with the Seattle Mariners, he hopes to stick around a while."I think everybody hears that I want to play until I'm 50," he said through a translator. "But I want to make sure everybody understands that I always say at least 50."The 44-year-old outfielder rejoined his former team Wednesday with a $750,000, one-year contract."Even in the offseason when I would go back to Japan, I always came back to Seattle. This was my home ... has always been my home," he said. "Somewhere deep inside, I wanted to return and wear this uniform again."Suzuki was the AL MVP and Rookie of the Year with Seattle in 2001. He was traded to the New York Yankees during the 2012 season and spent three years in Miami.Suzuki has a .312 career average and 3,080 hits, not including the 1,278 hits he totaled in Japan. He played 136 games last year for the Marlins and hit .255 with a .318 on-base percentage.Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto said discussions about Suzuki's return intensified... [More]

Clayton Kershaw's second spring training outing went according to plan, save for one poor throw to first.The ace left-hander breezed through two scoreless innings for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, allowing one hit and walking one during a 7-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Glendale, Arizona. He worked a perfect inning in his spring training debut against Seattle on Sunday."Another step. Another inning," Kershaw said. "Definitely things I can do better, but for the most part I'll take it. It was all right. I made some good pitches when I needed to. I made some bad ones, too. Enough to work on for the next one."Leury Garcia dropped a single into left in the first for Chicago's only hit off Kershaw. Garcia raced all the way to third when Kershaw made a wild throw on a pickoff attempt, but Jose Abreu and Avisail Garcia grounded out to end the inning."I just tried to be a little too quick," Kershaw said, looking back on his fielding miscue. "I think I might have, it would have been... [More]