WASHINGTON (AP) — Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo indicated during a session with reporters Wednesday that first-year manager Dave Martinez will return next season."I haven't considered any other scenario," Rizzo responded when asked if Martinez would be back.The Nationals, expected to contend for a third straight NL East title, entered Wednesday with a 69-70 record, 7 1/2 games behind Atlanta in the East and eight games back in the wild card.In addition to injuries to players including Daniel Murphy, Ryan Zimmerman, Stephen Strasburg and Sean Doolittle, Martinez's work as a rookie skipper has come under scrutiny."I think Davey's doing a great job in managing this team," Rizzo said. "He's managed them through a lot of trials and tribulations that a lot of first-year managers haven't had to go through, and to have a team playing with the exuberance and energy level that they're playing at at this point I think is a testament to Davey and the staff and the way that they feel about him... [More]

Andrew McCutchen is shaving his beard for a possible World Series run. Ryan Madson is switching bullpens, trying to help another team win a title. And Josh Donaldson is hoping he's healthy enough to contribute.The Milwaukee Brewers? They were a busy bunch, swinging trades to get starter Gio Gonzalez, outfielder Curtis Granderson and reliever Xavier Cedeno.Several contending teams swung into action Friday, making trades to bolster potential playoff rosters. A player must be on a club by Aug. 31 to be eligible for the postseason."I think what happens in September is that the whole calculus of this thing changes," Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said.Counsell spoke after the Brewers acquired Cedeno, and before they beat Washington 4-1 at Nationals Park. After the win, Milwaukee said it had gotten Gonzalez from the Nats and Granderson from Toronto.All three of the Milwaukee trades were for minor leaguers. So, too, were the swaps that sent Donaldson from Toronto to Cleveland, Madson from Washington... [More]

Andrew McCutchen is shaving his beard for a possible World Series run. Ryan Madson is switching bullpens, trying to help another team win a title. And Josh Donaldson is hoping he's healthy enough to contribute.The Milwaukee Brewers? They were a busy bunch, swinging trades to get starter Gio Gonzalez, outfielder Curtis Granderson and reliever Xavier Cedeno.Several contending teams swung into action Friday, making trades to bolster potential playoff rosters. A player must be on a club by Aug. 31 to be eligible for the postseason."I think what happens in September is that the whole calculus of this thing changes," Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said.Counsell spoke after the Brewers acquired Cedeno, and before they beat Washington 4-1 at Nationals Park. After the win, Milwaukee said it had gotten Gonzalez from the Nats and Granderson from Toronto.All three of the Milwaukee trades were for minor leaguers. So, too, were the swaps that sent Donaldson from Toronto to Cleveland, Madson from Washington... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers bolstered their bullpen on Friday, acquiring right-hander Ryan Madson from the Washington Nationals for a minor league pitcher.The five-time defending NL West champions have Kenley Jansen as their closer, but he's been shaky since coming off the disabled list, allowing seven earned runs in four innings over four appearances.Madson was 5-5 with five saves and a 4.08 ERA in 69 games for Washington. The 38-year-old recently came off the DL after being sidelined by nerve irritation that caused pain in his neck and back."Feels like a fresh start, especially to a year I've struggled a little bit," Madson said as he was leaving Nationals Park. "Now none of that matters. All that matters is from this point forward and helping that team win games. That's it."Madson, who helped Philadelphia and Kansas City win World Series titles, was acquired by the Nationals with fellow reliever Sean Doolittle from Oakland in July 2017."Just push the ball to Kenley and... [More]

Andrew McCutchen is shaving his beard for a possible World Series run. Ryan Madson is switching bullpens, trying to help another team win a title.And Gio Gonzalez? He might be moving across the diamond at Nationals Park.A bunch of contenders got busy Friday, making trades to bolster potential playoff rosters. A player must be on a club by Aug. 31 to be eligible for the postseason.Relievers are always in demand, and the Milwaukee Brewers fortified themselves by acquiring veteran left-hander Xavier Cedeno from the Chicago White Sox for two minor leaguers.The Brewers also seemed to be close to getting Gonzalez from Washington to boost their rotation. Milwaukee was playing at Washington, so a trade would mean simply swapping dugouts."I think what happens in September is that the whole calculus of this thing changes," Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said.Clubs can start calling up reinforcements from the minors on Saturday. But it's who they added before September that could really count in... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers have bolstered their bullpen, acquiring right-hander Ryan Madson from the Washington Nationals for a minor league pitcher.The playoff-contending Dodgers made the trade Friday. They have Kenley Jansen as their closer, but he's been shaky since coming off the disabled list, allowing seven earned runs in four innings over four appearances.Madson was 5-5 with five saves and a 4.08 ERA in 69 games for Washington. The 38-year-old recently came off the disabled list after being sidelined by nerve irritation that caused pain in his neck and back."Feels like a fresh start, especially to a year I've struggled a little bit," Madson said as he was leaving Nationals Park. "Now none of that matters. All that matters is from this point forward and helping that team win games. That's it."Madson, who helped Philadelphia and Kansas City win World Series titles, was acquired by the Nationals with fellow reliever Sean Doolittle from Oakland in July 2017."Just push... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers have bolstered their bullpen, acquiring right-hander Ryan Madson from the Washington Nationals for a minor league pitcher.The playoff-contending Dodgers made the trade Friday. They have Kenley Jansen as their closer, but he's been shaky since coming off the disabled list.Madson was 5-5 with five saves and a 4.08 ERA in 69 games for Washington. The 38-year-old recently came off the disabled list after being sidelined by nerve irritation that caused pain in his neck and back.Madson, who helped Philadelphia and Kansas City win World Series titles, was acquired by the Nationals with fellow reliever Sean Doolittle from Oakland in July 2017. For his career, Madson is 61-48 with a 3.45 ERA and 91 saves.Los Angeles (72-62) began the day two games behind Arizona in the NL West and 2 ½ games back in the wild card chase.Washington, which unloaded second baseman Daniel Murphy and first baseman Matt Adams at the July 31 trade deadline, received right-handed pitcher Andrew Istler from the Dodgers. Istler, 25, went 4-4 with a 2.37 ERA in 41 games (one start) between three levels of Los Angeles' minor league system.Additionally, the Nationals recalled left-handed pitcher Sammy Solis from Triple-A Syracuse.

ATLANTA (AP) — Colorado snapped Ronald Acuna Jr.'s home run streak and Atlanta's five-game winning streak, rallying for three unearned runs in the ninth inning to beat the Braves 5-3 on Thursday night.David Dahl homered in the third and capped the winning rally with a two-out, two-run single off Brad Brach (1-3). The Rockies took advantage of an error by shortstop Danby Swanson leading off the ninth to win for the fifth time in six games.One night after being plunked in the left arm by Miami's Jose Urena, Acuna was back in the lineup looking to extend his homer streak to six games. Wearing a red protective guard, the 20-year-old slugger received a standing ovation his first time up and lined the second pitch — one more than he saw the previous game — into center field for a single, extending his hitting streak to nine games.That was the highlight of his night. Acuna finished 1 for 4, lining out to right in the eighth in his last chance to become the first player in Braves franchise history... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Colorado snapped Ronald Acuna Jr.'s home run streak and Atlanta's five-game winning streak, rallying for three unearned runs in the ninth inning to beat the Braves 5-3 on Thursday night.David Dahl homered in the third and capped the winning rally with a two-out, two-run single off Brad Brach (1-3). The Rockies took advantage of an error by shortstop Danby Swanson leading off the ninth to win for the fifth time in six games.One night after being plunked in the left arm by Miami's Jose Urena, Acuna was back in the lineup looking to extend his homer streak to six games. Wearing a red protective guard, the 20-year-old slugger received a standing ovation his first time up and lined the second pitch — one more than he saw the previous game — into center field for a single, extending his hitting streak to nine games.That was the highlight of his night. Acuna finished 1 for 4, lining out to right in the eighth in his last chance to become the first player in Braves franchise history... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Colorado snapped Ronald Acuna Jr.'s home run streak and Atlanta's five-game winning streak, rallying for three unearned runs in the ninth inning to beat the Braves 5-3 on Thursday night.David Dahl homered in the third and capped the winning rally with a two-out, two-run single off Brad Brach (1-3). The Rockies took advantage of an error by shortstop Danby Swanson leading off the ninth to win for the fifth time in six games.One night after being plunked in the left arm by Miami's Jose Urena, Acuna was back in the lineup looking to extend his homer streak to six games. Wearing a red protective guard, the 20-year-old slugger received a standing ovation his first time up and lined the second pitch — one more than he saw the previous game — into center field for a single, extending his hitting streak to nine games.That was the highlight of his night. Acuna finished 1 for 4, lining out to right in the eighth in his last chance to become the first player in Braves franchise history... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Colorado snapped Ronald Acuna Jr.'s home run streak and Atlanta's five-game winning streak, rallying for three unearned runs in the ninth inning to beat the Braves 5-3 on Thursday night.David Dahl homered in the third and capped the winning rally with a two-out, two-run single off Brad Brach (1-3). The Rockies took advantage of an error by shortstop Danby Swanson leading off the ninth to win for the fifth time in six games.One night after being plunked in the left arm by Miami's Jose Urena, Acuna was back in the lineup looking to extend his homer streak to six games. Wearing a red protective guard, the 20-year-old slugger received a standing ovation his first time up and lined the second pitch — one more than he saw the previous game — into center field for a single, extending his hitting streak to nine games.That was the highlight of his night. Acuna finished 1 for 4, lining out to right in the eighth in his last chance to become the first player in Braves franchise history... [More]

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Washington Nationals have placed reliever Ryan Madson on the 10-day disabled list with a back injury.Madson surrendered David Bote's game-ending grand slam in Sunday night's 4-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs. The Nationals said Monday that Madson was dealing with back issues, but the plan was for him to pitch through it.The 37-year-old Madson is 2-5 with a 5.19 ERA and four saves in 48 games this season.The Nationals also promoted right-hander Trevor Gott and left-hander Tim Collins from Triple-A Syracuse before Tuesday's game against St. Louis. Lefty Sammy Solis was sent down, and right-hander Erick Fedde was moved from the 10-day to the 60-day disabled list.___For more AP baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuna Jr. pulled off one of the rarest feats in baseball history, hitting leadoff homers in both games of a doubleheader to send the first-place Atlanta Braves to a sweep of the Miami Marlins on Monday.The 20-year-old rookie hit an opposite-field drive into the Braves' bullpen in Game 1, powering Atlanta to a 9-1 victory. Haitian-American Touki Toussaint (1-0) pitched six strong innings to win his major league debut.It was more of the same from Acuna in the nightcap. He sent a towering shot into the seats in left-center, sparking the Braves to a 6-1 victory behind another strong outing on the mound from Mike Foltynewicz (10-7).Acuna appeared to be only the fourth player in big league history to hit a pair of leadoff homers in a doubleheader.Merandy Gonzalez (2-1) took the loss in the second game after being called up from Double-A Jacksonville for his first career start.Acuna hit his first leadoff homer off Pablo Lopez (2-3) and added a two-run double in the sixth,... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuna Jr. pulled off one of the rarest feats in baseball history, hitting leadoff homers in both games of a doubleheader to send the first-place Atlanta Braves to a sweep of the Miami Marlins on Monday.The 20-year-old rookie hit an opposite-field drive into the Braves' bullpen in Game 1, powering Atlanta to a 9-1 victory. Haitian-American Touki Toussaint (1-0) pitched six strong innings to win his major league debut.It was more of the same from Acuna in the nightcap. He sent a towering shot into the seats in left-center, sparking the Braves to a 6-1 victory behind another strong outing on the mound from Mike Foltynewicz (10-7).Acuna appeared to be only the fourth player in big league history to hit a pair of leadoff homers in a doubleheader.Merandy Gonzalez (2-1) took the loss in the second game after being called up from Double-A Jacksonville for his first career start.Acuna hit his first leadoff homer off Pablo Lopez (2-3) and added a two-run double in the sixth,... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Pinch-hitter David Bote smashed a grand slam against Ryan Madson with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Chicago Cubs to a 4-3 victory over the Washington Nationals on Sunday night.Bote's long drive to center field came after Washington's Max Scherzer and Chicago's Cole Hamels delivered simply dominant starts.Madson (2-5) came in with a 3-0 lead to start the ninth and quickly ran into trouble. He gave up an infield single to Jason Heyward with one out and hit Albert Almora with a pitch. Madson then retired Kyle Schwarber on a foul pop before hitting Contreras to load the bases, but Bote drove a 2-2 pitch well beyond the center-field wall.Bote's drive made a winner of Justin Wilson (4-3), who got the final two outs in the ninth.RED SOX 4, ORIOLES 1BALTIMORE (AP) — Chris Sale celebrated his return from the disabled list by striking out 12 over five dominant innings, and the Boston Red Sox moved 50 games over .500 by completing a sweep of the lowly Orioles.Sale (12-4)... [More]

Fantasy baseball trade deadlines have either passed or are about to pass and even this deep into the season, there's still value on many waiver wires. Here are a few players that can help you in the long and short term.PLAYERS TO PICK UPRYAN MADSON, RP, Washington Nationals (20 percent owned in CBS Sports leagues) — Madson's season long peripheral stats may not impress, but with Kelvin Herrera on the DL, he'll temporarily take over as closer. Madson has experience closing out games and could provide a few weeks of save opportunities. Bid aggressively if you want to grab him off the waiver wire.RANDALL GRICHUK, OF, Toronto Blue Jays (28 percent) — Some considered Grichuk a deep sleeper coming into the 2018 season but he slumped early on. By July 13 he had a .199 batting average. He's turned things around since then, batting .310 with five homers and 14 RBIs. He probably won't continue to hit for high average, but his power bat could help you down the stretch.MANUEL MARGOT, OF, San Diego... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nationals right-hander Kelvin Herrera was placed on the 10-day disabled list Wednesday with a right rotator cuff impingement, a move that further thins the back of Washington's bullpen.The injury occurred Tuesday night in the ninth inning of a 3-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves. After allowing a two-run triple, Herrera was examined by a team trainer and left the game.Nationals manager Dave Martinez said the problem is inflammation, stressing that there is no structural damage. He hopes Herrea can start to throw by the end of next week.Washington already is without closer Sean Doolittle, who's on the DL with a foot injury. Herrera, obtained in a trade with Kansas City in June, was serving as the closer in Doolittle's absence.Herrera was 1-2 with a 4.76 ERA and three saves in 19 games with the Nationals, who are chasing Philadelphia and Atlanta in the NL East.With Doolittle and Herrera out, the closer becomes right-hander Ryan Madson, who's 2-4 with a 4.32 ERA and has converted... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Corey Kluber pitched a three-hitter for his first shutout this season and new arrival Leonys Martin homered again as the Cleveland Indians beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-0 Saturday night.After the game, there was a report that Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia is expected to step down at the end of this season. The report by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic cited unidentified major league sources.The 59-year-old Scioscia is the longest-tenured manager in the majors and has guided the Angels since 2000. They are 55-57 this year.Kluber (14-6) matched zeros for five innings with Felix Pena (1-3), who carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning before Martin led off with a homer. Martin has two homers in three games since coming to Cleveland in a trade with Detroit.The Angels were again without All-Star outfielder Mike Trout, who missed his third straight game with a sore right wrist.ASTROS 14, DODGERS 0LOS ANGELES (AP) — Josh Reddick's three-run homer highlighted Houston's... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Sunday:SCIOSCIA'S FUTURELos Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia might address a report that he plans to step down at the end of the season. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the 59-year-old is expected to leave.The 59-year-old Scioscia has managed the Angels since 2000 and is the longest-tenured manager in the majors. The Angels are 55-57 as their series wraps up in Cleveland.GETTING HOT IN WASHINGTONNationals star Bryce Harper might be hobbled for a bit after getting hit by a curveball in the right knee Saturday night. Harper struggled initially to put weight on the leg, but eventually made his way to first base. A half-inning later, he was replaced in right field by Adam Eaton. Washington reliever Ryan Madson hit Reds star Joey Votto with a pitch later, and an infuriated Votto yelled at Madson throughout the rest of the inning. That tension might spill over when the teams conclude their four-game series.OSUNA RETURNSReliever Robert... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Corey Kluber pitched a three-hitter for his first shutout this season and new arrival Leonys Martin homered again as the Cleveland Indians beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-0 Saturday night.After the game, there was a report that Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia is expected to step down at the end of this season. The report by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic cited unidentified major league sources.The 59-year-old Scioscia is the longest-tenured manager in the majors and has guided the Angels since 2000. They are 55-57 this year.Kluber (14-6) matched zeros for five innings with Felix Pena (1-3), who carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning before Martin led off with a homer. Martin has two homers in three games since coming to Cleveland in a trade with Detroit.The Angels were again without All-Star outfielder Mike Trout, who missed his third straight game with a sore right wrist.REDS 7, NATIONALS 1, 1ST GAMENATIONALS 6, REDS 2, 2ND GAMEWASHINGTON (AP) — Nationals slugger... [More]