NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge homered for the third straight night, Jordan Montgomery cut up one of the league’s hottest lineups in his 2020 debut and the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 5-1 on Friday night in their first home game of the coronavirus-shortened season.Judge took aim at Yankee Stadium’s short right field porch in the third, a half-inning after starting a double play from right. Gio Urshela and Brett Gardner hit their first home runs of the season, Chad Green pitched two perfect innings in relief, and Adam Ottavino and Jonathan Holder closed up shop as New York improved to 5-1.Michael Chavis homered for Boston and Phillips Valdez impressed over 2 2/3 scoreless innings, but the club couldn’t overcome another poor start by Ryan Weber (0-2).There was also a moment of silence for late Yankees co-owner Hank Steinbrenner, who died in April. New York is wearing uniform patches with his initials this season.Montgomery (1-0) pitched 5 2/3 innings, limiting the Red Sox to a run,... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge homered for the third straight night, Jordan Montgomery cut up one of the league’s hottest lineups in his 2020 debut and the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 5-1 on Friday night in their first home game of the coronavirus-shortened season.Judge took aim at Yankee Stadium’s short right field porch in the third, a half-inning after starting a double play from right. Gio Urshela and Brett Gardner hit their first home runs of the season, Chad Green pitched two perfect innings in relief, and Adam Ottavino and Jonathan Holder closed up shop as New York improved to 5-1.Michael Chavis homered for Boston and Phillips Valdez impressed over 2 2/3 scoreless innings, but the club couldn’t overcome another poor start by Ryan Weber (0-2).There was also a moment of silence for late Yankees co-owner Hank Steinbrenner, who died in April. New York is wearing uniform patches with his initials this season.Montgomery (1-0) pitched 5 2/3 innings, limiting the Red Sox to a run,... [More]

Braves first. Ronald Acuna Jr. strikes out swinging. Dansby Swanson grounds out to shortstop, Amed Rosario to Pete Alonso. Freddie Freeman singles to right center field. Marcell Ozuna singles to shallow infield. Freddie Freeman to second. Matt Adams singles to shortstop. Marcell Ozuna to third. Freddie Freeman scores. Travis d'Arnaud singles to center field. Matt Adams to second. Marcell Ozuna scores. Austin Riley grounds out to shallow infield, Amed Rosario to Pete Alonso.2 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Braves 2, Mets 0.Mets fourth. Brandon Nimmo called out on strikes. Pete Alonso walks. J.D. Davis homers to center field. Pete Alonso scores. Michael Conforto lines out to left center field to Ender Inciarte. Yoenis Cespedes lines out to shallow infield to Marcell Ozuna.2 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Mets 2, Braves 2.Mets fifth. Robinson Cano homers to right field. Wilson Ramos singles to right field. Andres Gimenez singles to shallow infield. Wilson Ramos to second. Amed Rosario... [More]

Red sox second. Christian Vazquez homers to center field. Alex Verdugo singles to shallow infield. Michael Chavis strikes out on a foul tip. Andrew Benintendi walks. Jonathan Arauz lines out to shallow infield to Jeff McNeil.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Red sox 1, Mets 0.Mets third. Wilson Ramos walks. Brandon Nimmo hit by pitch. Wilson Ramos to second. Amed Rosario reaches on a fielder's choice to third base. Brandon Nimmo to third. Wilson Ramos out at third. Throwing error by Jose Peraza. Pete Alonso walks. Amed Rosario to second. Jeff McNeil singles to shallow left field. Pete Alonso to second. Amed Rosario scores. Brandon Nimmo scores. J.D. Davis flies out to deep center field to Kevin Pillar. Michael Conforto strikes out swinging.2 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 left on. Mets 2, Red sox 1.Red sox fourth. Xander Bogaerts singles to shallow infield. Christian Vazquez homers to center field. Xander Bogaerts scores. Alex Verdugo strikes out swinging. Michael Chavis singles to right field.... [More]

Mets first. Brandon Nimmo flies out to shallow left field to Andrew Benintendi. Jeff McNeil singles to shallow center field. Pete Alonso singles to right field. Jeff McNeil to second. Michael Conforto singles to right field. Pete Alonso to second. Jeff McNeil to third. Dominic Smith reaches on a fielder's choice to second base. Michael Conforto out at second. Pete Alonso to third. Jeff McNeil scores. Yoenis Cespedes strikes out swinging.1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Mets 1, Red sox 0.Red sox fourth. J.D. Martinez grounds out to shallow infield, Jeff McNeil to Pete Alonso. Rafael Devers doubles to shallow left field. Mitch Moreland doubles to deep center field. Rafael Devers scores. Christian Vazquez grounds out to shallow infield, Jacob deGrom to Pete Alonso. Alex Verdugo grounds out to shallow infield to Pete Alonso.2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on. Red sox 2, Mets 1.Mets fifth. Rene Rivera strikes out on a foul tip. Brandon Nimmo homers to center field. Jeff McNeil walks. Pete... [More]

Mets second. J.D. Davis singles to right center field. Michael Conforto called out on strikes. Yoenis Cespedes hit by pitch. J.D. Davis to second. Robinson Cano doubles to deep left field. Yoenis Cespedes to third. J.D. Davis scores. Wilson Ramos grounds out to shallow infield, Rafael Devers to Michael Chavis. Brandon Nimmo walks. Amed Rosario singles to right field. Brandon Nimmo to third. Robinson Cano scores. Yoenis Cespedes scores. Pete Alonso flies out to deep right center field to Jackie Bradley Jr..3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Mets 3, Red sox 0.Red sox third. Kevin Plawecki doubles to deep left field. Andrew Benintendi walks. Jose Peraza singles to deep right center field. Andrew Benintendi to second. Kevin Plawecki to third. J.D. Martinez strikes out swinging. Rafael Devers reaches on a fielder's choice to shallow infield. Jose Peraza out at second. Andrew Benintendi out at third. Kevin Plawecki scores.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Mets 3, Red sox 1.Mets fifth. Pete... [More]

Mets second. J.D. Davis walks. Michael Conforto homers to right field. J.D. Davis scores. Wilson Ramos strikes out swinging. Robinson Cano grounds out to shallow right field, Jose Peraza to Mitch Moreland. Dominic Smith flies out to right field to Alex Verdugo.2 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Mets 2, Red sox 0.Mets third. Brandon Nimmo pops out to shallow left field to Xander Bogaerts. Amed Rosario singles to center field. Pete Alonso homers to left field. Amed Rosario scores. Jeff McNeil reaches on error. Throwing error by Rafael Devers. J.D. Davis strikes out swinging. Michael Conforto called out on strikes.2 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 left on. Mets 4, Red sox 0.Mets fourth. Wilson Ramos doubles to deep center field. Robinson Cano walks. Dominic Smith homers to center field. Robinson Cano scores. Wilson Ramos scores. Brandon Nimmo grounds out to shallow infield to Mitch Moreland. Amed Rosario grounds out to shallow infield, Xander Bogaerts to Mitch Moreland. Pete Alonso strikes out swinging.3... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Daniel Bard won in his first major league game in more than seven years, pitching 1 1-3 scoreless innings in relief for the Colorado Rockies in a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday. The 35-year-old Bard (1-0), whose control troubles ran him out of baseball, got the Rockies out of a jam when he took over for starter Jon Gray with two on and two outs in the fifth. The right-hander worked around two more base runners in the sixth, getting Willie Calhoun on an inning-ending flyout to cap an 11-pitch at-bat.Wade Davis worked the ninth for his first save since July 25, 2019. He gave up a run.Colorado went ahead to stay with two runs in the fourth off Mike Minor (0-1), helped by two fielder’s choice plays and two errors. Bard threw 20 of 25 pitches for strikes Saturday, including his first one before Elvis Andrus flied out to end the fifth. ANGELS 4, ATHLETICS 1OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Dylan Bundy pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning in his Angels debut and... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Daniel Bard won in his first major league game in more than seven years, pitching 1 1-3 scoreless innings in relief for the Colorado Rockies in a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday. The 35-year-old Bard (1-0), whose control troubles ran him out of baseball, got the Rockies out of a jam when he took over for starter Jon Gray with two on and two outs in the fifth. The right-hander worked around two more base runners in the sixth, getting Willie Calhoun on an inning-ending flyout to cap an 11-pitch at-bat.Wade Davis worked the ninth for his first save since July 25, 2019. He gave up a run.Colorado went ahead to stay with two runs in the fourth off Mike Minor (0-1), helped by two fielder’s choice plays and two errors. Bard threw 20 of 25 pitches for strikes Saturday, including his first one before Elvis Andrus flied out to end the fifth. ANGELS 4, ATHLETICS 1OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Dylan Bundy pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning in his Angels debut and... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Daniel Bard won in his first major league game in more than seven years, pitching 1 1-3 scoreless innings in relief for the Colorado Rockies in a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday. The 35-year-old Bard (1-0), whose control troubles ran him out of baseball, got the Rockies out of a jam when he took over for starter Jon Gray with two on and two outs in the fifth. The right-hander worked around two more base runners in the sixth, getting Willie Calhoun on an inning-ending flyout to cap an 11-pitch at-bat.Wade Davis worked the ninth for his first save since July 25, 2019. He gave up a run.Colorado went ahead to stay with two runs in the fourth off Mike Minor (0-1), helped by two fielder’s choice plays and two errors. Bard threw 20 of 25 pitches for strikes Saturday, including his first one before Elvis Andrus flied out to end the fifth. ANGELS 4, ATHLETICS 1OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Dylan Bundy pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning in his Angels debut and... [More]

A seventh-inning stretch without fans at Yankee Stadium was far from the oddest happening on the second day of summer exhibitions in the majors.The first inning ended at Dodger Stadium without Los Angeles making a single out Sunday night, a game went to the 10th inning in Philadelphia even with the Orioles leading the Phillies 4-1, and the Yankees hit in the bottom of the ninth with a 6-0 lead over the Mets.It’s not quite baseball like you’re used to seeing. Then again, we'd never seen baseball amid the COVID-19 pandemic.The most peculiar situation occurred during the first exhibition between Arizona and the Dodgers, with the game having an intrasquad feel.Diamondbacks starter Taylor Widener got off to rough opening when he walked the first two batters and then gave up a single to Justin Turner that loaded the bases. Cody Bellinger followed with a grand slam to make it 4-0. Corey Seager then walked and was heading to first base when he learned the inning was over. Widener had thrown 25... [More]

A seventh-inning stretch without fans at Yankee Stadium was far from the oddest happening on the second day of summer exhibitions in the majors.The first inning ended at Dodger Stadium without Los Angeles making a single out Sunday night, a game went to the 10th inning in Philadelphia even with the Orioles leading the Phillies 4-1, and the Yankees hit in the bottom of the ninth with a 6-0 lead over the Mets.It’s not quite baseball like you’re used to seeing. Then again, we'd never seen baseball amid the COVID-19 pandemic.The most peculiar situation occurred during the first exhibition between Arizona and the Dodgers, with the game having an intrasquad feel.Diamondbacks starter Taylor Widener got off to rough opening when he walked the first two batters and then gave up a single to Justin Turner that loaded the bases. Cody Bellinger followed with a grand slam to make it 4-0. Corey Seager then walked and was heading to first base when he learned the inning was over. Widener had thrown 25... [More]

A seventh-inning stretch without fans at Yankee Stadium was far from the oddest happening on the second day of summer exhibitions in the majors.The first inning ended at Dodger Stadium without Los Angeles making a single out Sunday night, a game went to the 10th inning in Philadelphia even with the Orioles leading the Phillies 4-1, and the Yankees hit in the bottom of the ninth with a 6-0 lead over the Mets.It’s not quite baseball like you’re used to seeing. Then again, we'd never seen baseball amid the COVID-19 pandemic.The most peculiar situation occurred during the first exhibition between Arizona and the Dodgers, with the game having an intrasquad feel.Diamondbacks starter Taylor Widener got off to rough opening when he walked the first two batters and then gave up a single to Justin Turner that loaded the bases. Cody Bellinger followed with a grand slam to make it 4-0. Corey Seager then walked and was heading to first base when he learned the inning was over. Widener had thrown 25... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Jacob deGrom spent the past two seasons separating himself from almost everyone out there. This was something entirely different, though. As the New York Mets opened a most unusual summer camp Friday, the back-to-back Cy Young Award winner ran sprints by himself in shallow right field and then grabbed his personal bag of baseballs to throw off a bullpen mound.No hugs or handshakes, and little good-natured ribbing with teammates close by ... because there weren’t many. Home run champ Pete Alonso, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, wore a bandanna on his forehead and a mask over his mouth at first base. Most players kept a safe distance even while simply walking across the diamond at Citi Field, adapted from home ballpark to spring training site as the Mets prepare for opening day in three weeks. Welcome to Major League Baseball in the age of the coronavirus.“It’s hard right now to be here,” catcher Wilson Ramos said, thinking of his wife and children in Florida. "But at... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Jacob deGrom spent the past two seasons separating himself from almost everyone out there. This was something entirely different, though. As the New York Mets opened a most unusual summer camp Friday, the back-to-back Cy Young Award winner ran sprints by himself in shallow right field and then grabbed his personal bag of baseballs to throw off a bullpen mound.No hugs or handshakes, and little good-natured ribbing with teammates close by ... because there weren’t many. Home run champ Pete Alonso, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, wore a bandanna on his forehead and a mask over his mouth at first base. Most players kept a safe distance even while simply walking across the diamond at Citi Field, adapted from home ballpark to spring training site as the Mets prepare for opening day in three weeks. Welcome to Major League Baseball in the age of the coronavirus.“It’s hard right now to be here,” catcher Wilson Ramos said, thinking of his wife and children in Florida. “But at... [More]

His N-95 mask squarely in place, Mike Trout stroked line drives, streaked around the bases and caught flyballs at Angel Stadium. The sport’s biggest star then let something drop — he’s not “comfortable” in this COVID-19 environment and isn’t sure he’ll play this season.At Citi Field, Mets two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom ran sprints by himself in shallow right field, then grabbed his personal bag of baseballs to throw off a bullpen mound. At Camden Yards, Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde watched practice from the stands behind the dugout.“It’s weird,” Reds star Joey Votto said.At Nationals Park, Max Scherzer limbered up with 65 pitches as the World Series champion Washington Nationals got back to work at 7:45 a.m. High in the press box, it was possible to hear players talking on the field about the virus.No doubt, those sentiments echoed all around the majors.Baseball tried to take another step forward Friday in a most uncertain setting, with players on the field at their empty... [More]

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom took on two nemeses in his first outing of spring training — a bout of nerves, and the Washington Nationals. The two-time reigning NL Cy Young winner got the best of both. “Any time I take the mound, I’m nervous,” deGrom said after throwing three scoreless innings in a 3-1 win Sunday. “It felt good to get out there in a real game feel, people in the stands, another team. (The jitters) go away when I start warming up."DeGrom cruised on just 33 pitches, striking out two and allowing one hit against the defending World Series champs. The 31-year-old showed no signs of rust against his familiar NL East foe, looking just as sharp as when he became the 11th pitcher to win consecutive Cy Young Awards — despite the Mets going 28-36 in his starts since beginning the 2018 season.He breezed through an easy first against regulars Trea Turner, Ryan Zimmerman and Starlin Castro, getting three outs on seven pitchers — all strikes. The right-hander... [More]

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — New Mets manager Luis Rojas set his standards right away."We expect to be a contender," he said Tuesday during his first spring training news conference. "We know how all the teams are. We're going to be in a tough division and play some tough teams on our schedule. We have a great roster, great position players with versatility, great starting rotation or pitchers that have a history of Cy Youngs and World Series winners. And our bullpen has a history of saving games and being closers."New York went 46-26 in the latter part of the 2019 season, finishing three games back of Milwaukee for the second wild card.Jacob deGrom won his second straight NL Cy Young Award, Pete Alonso claimed the NL Rookie of the Year after hitting a major league-leading 53 home runs and Jeff McNeil was fourth in the NL batting race with a .318 average.Manager Mickey Callaway was fired after an 86-76 finish in his second season and replaced by Carlos Beltrán, who was let go for his role... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Noah Syndergaard agreed to a $9.7 million, one-year contract Friday as the New York Mets reached deals with all nine of their players who were eligible for arbitration.Syndergaard is coming off a fairly disappointing 2019 season. He went 10-8 with a 4.28 ERA and 202 strikeouts in 197 2/3 innings while earning $6 million.He is projected to slot in again behind Mets ace Jacob deGrom, winner of the past two NL Cy Young Awards, in a rotation that also includes righty Marcus Stroman and lefty Steven Matz, both of whom agreed to terms Friday as well. Stroman received a $4.6 million raise to $12 million, and Matz got a bump from $2,625,000 to $5 million.Outfielders Michael Conforto ($8 million), Brandon Nimmo ($2,175,000) and Jake Marisnick ($3,312,500) also settled, as did relievers Edwin Díaz ($5.1 million), Seth Lugo ($2 million) and Robert Gsellman ($1,225,000).Syndergaard bristled at pitching to No. 1 catcher Wilson Ramos last season and has had a rocky relationship with the... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Right-hander Noah Syndergaard has agreed to a $9.7 million, one-year deal with the New York Mets to avoid salary arbitration.Syndergaard is coming off a fairly disappointing season in which he made $6 million. He went 10-8 with a 4.28 ERA and 202 strikeouts in 197 2/3 innings.Syndergaard bristled at pitching to No. 1 catcher Wilson Ramos and has had a rocky relationship with the Mets' front office at times. Syndergaard’s name has been mentioned in trade talk on several occasions — including last summer.The 6-foot-6, 240-pound right-hander nicknamed Thor has power stuff, good control, an impressive array of pitches and all sorts of upside. He’s 27 years old and under club control for two more seasons. At the beginning of the offseason, general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said Syndergaard would return in 2020 to slot right back into the rotation behind two-time defending Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom.Syndergaard, an All-Star in 2016, is 47-30 with a 3.31 ERA in five major league seasons. He can become a free agent after the 2021 season. ___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports