KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Royals general manager Dayton Moore had seen enough progress under Ned Yost, and his manager in turn had seen enough progress in some promising young players, that there was no reason to delay what had become inevitable.So, with a simple statement issued before the Royals closed their 50th season with an unsightly 58-104 record, Yost announced he had signed an extension to return next season.The biggest question surrounding the club heading into the offseason had been answered."We're at a point in time right now where we think continuity is even more crucial than it has been in the past," Moore said. "We've seen the improvement of a lot of the players that are on the field right now. We're really pleased with the coaching staff. Most importantly, Ned's been a huge part of the success of this organization and we feel it's important to keep that together. ... I'm excited about next year."Most times, there would be little reason to feel good about a season that ended... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The NL West-leading Colorado Rockies locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season, beating the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Friday night for their eighth win in a row behind a resilient start from Kyle Freeland.David Dahl homered for the fifth consecutive game and Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer against his former team to help Colorado clinch at least a wild card with two games remaining. The Rockies remained one game ahead of Los Angeles as they try to wrap up the franchise's first division crown. The Dodgers won 3-1 in San Francisco.Wade Davis struck out Bryce Harper looking to end the game and earn his 43rd save. The sellout crowd at Coors Field roared and fireworks went off.The Rockies are headed to the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time in team history. This is their fifth playoff trip since the franchise began in 1993 — last year, they lost to Arizona in the NL wild-card game.Freeland (17-7) wiggled out of jam after jam on a cool night to... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The NL West-leading Colorado Rockies locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season, beating the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Friday night for their eighth win in a row behind a resilient start from Kyle Freeland.David Dahl homered for the fifth consecutive game and Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer against his former team to help Colorado clinch at least a wild card with two games remaining. The Rockies remained one game ahead of Los Angeles as they try to wrap up the franchise's first division crown. The Dodgers won 3-1 in San Francisco.Wade Davis struck out Bryce Harper looking to end the game and earn his 43rd save. The sellout crowd at Coors Field roared and fireworks went off.The Rockies are headed to the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time in team history. This is their fifth playoff trip since the franchise began in 1993 — last year, they lost to Arizona in the NL wild-card game.Freeland (17-7) wiggled out of jam after jam on a cool night to... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The NL West-leading Colorado Rockies locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season, beating the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Friday night for their eighth win in a row behind a resilient start from Kyle Freeland.David Dahl homered for the fifth consecutive game and Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer against his former team to help Colorado clinch at least a wild card with two games remaining. The Rockies remained one game ahead of Los Angeles Dodgers as they try to wrap up the franchise's first division crown. The Dodgers won 3-1 in San Francisco.Wade Davis struck out Bryce Harper looking to end the game and earn his 43rd save. The sellout crowd at Coors Field roared and fireworks went off.The Rockies are headed to the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time in team history. This is their fifth playoff trip since the franchise began in 1993 — last year, they lost to Arizona in the NL wild-card game.Freeland (17-7) wiggled out of jam after jam on a cool night... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The NL West-leading Colorado Rockies locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season, beating the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Friday night for their eighth win in a row behind a resilient start from Kyle Freeland.David Dahl homered for the fifth consecutive game and Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer against his former team to help Colorado clinch at least a wild card with two games remaining. The Rockies entered the night with a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers as they try to wrap up the franchise's first division crown.Wade Davis struck out Bryce Harper looking to end the game and earn his 43rd save. The sellout crowd at Coors Field roared and fireworks went off.The Rockies are headed to the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time in team history. This is their fifth playoff trip since the franchise began in 1993 — last year, they lost to Arizona in the NL wild-card game.Freeland (17-7) wiggled out of jam after jam on a cool night to finish the... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Justin Verlander drew several big cheers and pitched seven sharp innings in his return to Comerica Park while leading the Houston Astros over the Detroit Tigers 3-2 Monday night.Verlander struck out 10 in his first game in Detroit since being traded to Houston in August 2017. The World Series champion Astros opened a three-game lead over Oakland atop the AL West.Verlander (15-9) made his major league debut with Detroit in 2005 and ranks among the top 10 on several of the team's career pitching lists.The 35-year-old righty received a long standing ovation after a video tribute was played as he walked in from the bullpen, and another when he came out to warm up for the first inning. Both times, he tipped his cap and waved to the crowd.Verlander allowed two runs on six hits and one walk, improving to 98-50 at Comerica Park. Max Scherzer is second in career wins at the stadium with 46, while Jordan Zimmermann leads current Tigers with 14.The Tigers put two runners on in the seventh,... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Justin Verlander drew several big cheers and pitched seven sharp innings in his return to Comerica Park while leading the Houston Astros over the Detroit Tigers 3-2 Monday night.Verlander struck out 10 in his first game in Detroit since being traded to Houston in August 2017. The World Series champion Astros opened a three-game lead over Oakland atop the AL West.Verlander (15-9) made his major league debut with Detroit in 2005 and ranks among the top 10 on several of the team's career pitching lists.The 35-year-old righty received a long standing ovation after a video tribute was played as he walked in from the bullpen, and another when he came out to warm up for the first inning. Both times, he tipped his cap and waved to the crowd.Verlander allowed two runs on six hits and one walk, improving to 98-50 at Comerica Park. Max Scherzer is second in career wins at the stadium with 46, while Jordan Zimmermann leads current Tigers with 14.The Tigers put two runners on in the seventh,... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Justin Verlander drew several big cheers and pitched seven sharp innings in his return to Comerica Park while leading the Houston Astros over the Detroit Tigers 3-2 Monday night.Verlander struck out 10 in his first game in Detroit since being traded to Houston in August 2017. The World Series champion Astros opened a three-game lead over Oakland atop the AL West.Verlander (15-9) made his major league debut with Detroit in 2005 and ranks among the top 10 on several of the team's career pitching lists.The 35-year-old righty received a long standing ovation after a video tribute was played as he walked in from the bullpen, and another when he came out to warm up for the first inning. Both times, he tipped his cap and waved to the crowd.Verlander allowed two runs on six hits and one walk, improving to 98-50 at Comerica Park. Max Scherzer is second in career wins at the stadium with 46, while Jordan Zimmermann leads current Tigers with 14.The Tigers put two runners on in the seventh,... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Kansas City Royals have placed outfielder Brian Goodwin on the 10-day disabled list with a left groin strain.Goodwin got hurt running the bases in the seventh inning of Saturday night's 5-4 loss to the New York Yankees in the second game of a doubleheader. Goodwin is 8 for 17 with a homer and four RBIs in five games with Kansas City after he was acquired in a trade with Washington.The Royals also promoted first baseman/outfielder Ryan O'Hearn from Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday. Infielder Cheslor Cuthbert, who is out with a lower back strain, was transferred to the 60-day DL.O'Hearn is serving as the designated hitter for Kansas City's series opener against the Chicago White Sox. It's his major league debut.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Outfielder Brian Goodwin has been acquired by the Kansas City Royals from the Washington Nationals for minor league pitcher Jacob Condra-Bogan.The 27-year-old Goodwin hit .200 with three homers and 12 RBIs in 48 games for the Nationals this season. He bruised his left wrist diving for a ball and did not play from April 15 until May 15, when he had two at-bats. He went back on the disabled list, returned June 1 and is hitting .171 (7 for 41) since.Condra-Bogan, 23, went 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA in 16 relief outings with Lexington of the South Atlantic League and one appearance with Wilmington of the Carolina League, also Class A.The trade was announced Sunday.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

NEW YORK (AP) — CC Sabathia shut down the high-scoring Red Sox, Greg Bird hit two home runs and Aaron Judge connected off a college teammate as the New York Yankees bopped Boston 8-1 on Friday night to retake the top record in the majors.Not since the famed Bucky Dent playoff game in 1978 had the Yankees and Red Sox met so late in a season when they owned the two best marks in baseball. Home runs decided this matchup, too, with Miguel Andujar also going deep for New York.The biggest crowd of the year at Yankee Stadium was in the spirit as lines forming outside the gates more than 3 1/2 hours before the start. The pro-Yankees chants began prior to the first pitch, the anti-Boston shouts soon followed.Sabathia (5-3) helped end Boston's four-game winning streak, less than a month from his 38th birthday. He gave up one run and six hits in seven innings.Steve Pearce, acquired a day earlier from Toronto, batted cleanup in his debut for Boston and doubled and singled off Sabathia. No matter, the... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — CC Sabathia shut down the high-scoring Red Sox, Greg Bird hit two home runs and Aaron Judge connected off a college teammate as the New York Yankees bopped Boston 8-1 on Friday night to retake the top record in the majors.Not since the famed Bucky Dent playoff game in 1978 had the Yankees and Red Sox met so late in a season when they owned the two best marks in baseball. Home runs decided this matchup, too, with Miguel Andujar also going deep for New York.The biggest crowd of the year at Yankee Stadium was in the spirit as lines forming outside the gates more than 3 1/2 hours before the start. The pro-Yankees chants began prior to the first pitch, the anti-Boston shouts soon followed.Sabathia (5-3) helped end Boston's four-game winning streak, less than a month from his 38th birthday. He gave up one run and six hits in seven innings.Steve Pearce, acquired a day earlier from Toronto, batted cleanup in his debut for Boston and doubled and singled off Sabathia. No matter, the... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — CC Sabathia shut down the high-scoring Red Sox, Greg Bird hit two home runs and Aaron Judge connected off a college teammate as the New York Yankees bopped Boston 8-1 on Friday night to retake the top record in the majors.Not since the famed Bucky Dent playoff game in 1978 had the Yankees and Red Sox met so late in a season when they owned the two best marks in baseball. Home runs decided this matchup, too, with Miguel Andujar also going deep for New York.The biggest crowd of the year at Yankee Stadium was in the spirit as lines forming outside the gates more than 3 1/2 hours before the start. The pro-Yankees chants began prior to the first pitch, the anti-Boston shouts soon followed.Sabathia (5-3) helped end Boston's four-game winning streak, less than a month from his 38th birthday. He gave up one run and six hits in seven innings.Steve Pearce, acquired a day earlier from Toronto, batted cleanup in his debut for Boston and doubled and singled off Sabathia. No matter, the... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — CC Sabathia shut down the high-scoring Red Sox, Greg Bird hit two home runs and Aaron Judge connected off a college teammate as the New York Yankees bopped Boston 8-1 on Friday night to retake the top record in the majors.Not since the famed Bucky Dent playoff game in 1978 had the Yankees and Red Sox met so late in a season when they owned the two best marks in baseball. Home runs decided this matchup, too, with Miguel Andujar also going deep for New York.The biggest crowd of the year at Yankee Stadium was in the spirit as lines forming outside the gates more than 3 1/2 hours before the start. The pro-Yankees chants began prior to the first pitch, the anti-Boston shouts soon followed.Sabathia (5-3) helped end Boston's four-game winning streak, less than a month from his 38th birthday. He gave up one run and six hits in seven innings.Steve Pearce, acquired a day earlier from Toronto, batted cleanup in his debut for Boston and doubled and singled off Sabathia. No matter, the... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Turner hit Los Angeles' seventh home run of the game, a go-ahead drive in the 11th inning that lifted the Dodgers over the New York Mets 8-7 on Sunday.Cody Bellinger and Kike Hernandez each homered twice as the Dodgers beat the Mets for the 12th straight time dating to 2016. Max Muncy and Joc Pederson also connected for Los Angeles. Hernandez and Muncy led off the game with back-to-back shots.The Mets matched a team record for the most homers allowed in a game, and lost their sixth in a row overall.Turner, a former Met, homered off Chris Flexen (0-1) with two outs to put the Dodgers up for good. Los Angeles had squandered a 7-4 lead in the eighth when Kevin Plawecki hit a tying three-run shot.Daniel Hudson (2-2) picked up the victory with two scoreless innings.INDIANS 12, TIGERS 2CLEVELAND (AP) — Edwin Encarnacion hit an eighth-inning grand slam, helping the Indians to their season-high seventh straight win.Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez and Jason Kipnis also connected... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — The Washington Nationals have reinstated outfielder Brian Goodwin from the disabled list after he missed 39 games with a left wrist contusion.Manager Dave Martinez put Goodwin in Friday's lineup batting sixth against the Atlanta Braves to give center fielder Michael Taylor an off day.Left fielder Adam Eaton will begin a rehab assignment this weekend at Double-Harrisburg and continue early next week at Single-A Potomac. He has missed 46 games with a left ankle bone bruise.Martinez said first baseman Ryan Zimmerman, sidelined 17 games with a right oblique strain, and second baseman Murphy, still recovering from offseason micro-fracture surgery on his right knee, will be reevaluated by the team's medical staff early next week to determine a timetable.Martinez added that Taylor will be back in the lineup on Saturday with Goodwin returning to his reserve role."Goodwin is a nice guy to have because he can play all three positions in the outfield," Martinez said. "He can pinch-run, steal a base, pinch-hit, drive the ball. For me, Michael is the center fielder. He saves us a lot of runs. I've got to be very conscious of getting these guys days off."___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

WASHINGTON (AP) — Atlanta Braves right-hander Brandon McCarthy was pulled after hurting his left shoulder reaching to grab a throw while covering first base.McCarthy left after recording the last out of the fifth inning of his start against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.McCarthy had what the Braves said was a subluxation of his non-throwing shoulder, which can refer to a partial dislocation.He spent more than a month on the disabled list last season after dislocating his left shoulder with the Los Angeles Dodgers.Wednesday's injury came when McCarthy stretched out his left arm to collect a toss from first baseman Freddie Freeman on a groundout by Brian Goodwin. McCarthy immediately grabbed at his shoulder and a trainer came out to attend to him.He gave up one run and four hits against Washington. When he left, Atlanta led 2-1, but Washington tied it at 2 in the ninth against reliever Arodys Vizcaino.___More AP Baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts hit a grand slam on a monster night, leading Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox over the New York Yankees 14-1 Tuesday for their ninth straight victory.Betts went 4 for 4, scoring five runs and driving in four. His third career slam capped a nine-run burst in the sixth inning that turned the first matchup of the season between the AL East rivals into a rout.Sale (1-0) allowed one run in six innings, striking out eight. Luis Severino (2-1) gave up five runs in five innings.Aaron Judge had three hits for the Yankees, including his third home run of the season.Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton went 2 for 4. He struck out his first two times up against Sale, and has now fanned 22 times in 46 at-bats.GIANTS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 4SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Andrew McCutchen hit a bases-loaded single for his second walk-off of San Francisco's homestand.McCutchen lined the first pitch he got from Jorge De La Rosa (0-1) for a clean single into left-center, his 10th career game-ending... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts hit a grand slam on a monster night, leading Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox over the New York Yankees 14-1 Tuesday for their ninth straight victory.Betts went 4 for 4, scoring five runs and driving in four. His third career slam capped a nine-run burst in the sixth inning that turned the first matchup of the season between the AL East rivals into a rout.Sale (1-0) allowed one run in six innings, striking out eight. Luis Severino (2-1) gave up five runs in five innings.Aaron Judge had three hits for the Yankees, including his third home run of the season.Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton went 2 for 4. He struck out his first two times up against Sale, and has now fanned 22 times in 46 at-bats.BLUE JAYS 2, ORIOLES 1BALTIMORE (AP) — Aaron Sanchez lost his no-hit bid when Baltimore's Tim Beckham led off the eighth inning with a sharp grounder through the legs of third baseman Josh Donaldson, and Curtis Granderson hit a tiebreaking homer in the ninth to carry Toronto.Seeking... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts hit a grand slam on a monster night, leading Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox over the New York Yankees 14-1 Tuesday for their ninth straight victory.Betts went 4 for 4, scoring five runs and driving in four. His third career slam capped a nine-run burst in the sixth inning that turned the first matchup of the season between the AL East rivals into a rout.Sale (1-0) allowed one run in six innings, striking out eight. Luis Severino (2-1) gave up five runs in five innings.Aaron Judge had three hits for the Yankees, including his third home run of the season.Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton went 2 for 4. He struck out his first two times up against Sale, and has now fanned 22 times in 46 at-bats.BLUE JAYS 2, ORIOLES 1BALTIMORE (AP) — Aaron Sanchez lost his no-hit bid when Baltimore's Tim Beckham led off the eighth inning with a sharp grounder through the legs of third baseman Josh Donaldson, and Curtis Granderson hit a tiebreaking homer in the ninth to carry Toronto.Seeking... [More]