PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Michael Conforto hit a tiebreaking home run in the ninth inning and the New York Mets benefited from a very questionable call by the second base umpire to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 Saturday night. Conforto led off the ninth by connecting against Hector Neris (1-3). Conforto also had a two-run double in a four-run first inning against former teammate Zack Wheeler. The Mets squandered the 4-0 lead but recovered to win for just the fourth time in 12 games — even after center fielder Brandon Nimmo and third baseman J.D. Davis exited with hand injuries. Alec Bohm tied it with a two-run homer for the Phillies, who have alternated wins and losses in their last 10 games. Philadelphia hasn’t won consecutive games since a three-game sweep of Atlanta to open the season. With one out in the bottom of the seventh, second base umpire Jose Navas ruled Andrew McCutchen ran out of the baseline to avoid an attempted tag by shortstop Francisco Lindor on what became an inning-ending... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Michael Conforto hit a tiebreaking home run in the ninth inning and the New York Mets benefited from a very questionable call by the second base umpire to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 Saturday night. Conforto led off the ninth by connecting against Hector Neris (1-3). Conforto also had a two-run double in a four-run first inning against former teammate Zack Wheeler. The Mets squandered the 4-0 lead but recovered to win for just the fourth time in 12 games — even after center fielder Brandon Nimmo and third baseman J.D. Davis exited with hand injuries. Alec Bohm tied it with a two-run homer for the Phillies, who have alternated wins and losses in their last 10 games. Philadelphia hasn’t won consecutive games since a three-game sweep of Atlanta to open the season. With one out in the bottom of the seventh, second base umpire Jose Navas ruled Andrew McCutchen ran out of the baseline to avoid an attempted tag by shortstop Francisco Lindor on what became an inning-ending... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Oakland Athletics won their 12th consecutive game — their longest winning streak in almost two decades — with a 3-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night. Oakland’s string is its longest since it won a franchise-record 20 in a row in 2002. It is the Athletics’ third-longest winning streak since moving to Oakland in 1968, and is the longest in the majors since Houston’s 12-game run from June 6-18, 2018. Ramón Laureano homered and Cole Irvin won consecutive starts for the first time in nearly two years as the A’s improved to 13-1 since dropping their first six games. Baltimore has lost seven of its eight home games. Irvin (2-2) had won back-to-back starts just once before, his first two career starts for Philadelphia in May 2019. Coming off six shutout innings against Detroit on Saturday, he stymied the Orioles for five innings. But Baltimore stitched together four singles in the sixth, capped by Pedro Severino’s RBI single, to end Irvin’s night. Jake Diekman... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Oakland Athletics won their 12th consecutive game — their longest winning streak in almost two decades — with a 3-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night. Oakland’s string is its longest since it won a franchise-record 20 in a row in 2002. It is the Athletics’ third-longest winning streak since moving to Oakland in 1968, and is the longest in the majors since Houston’s 12-game run from June 6-18, 2018. Ramón Laureano homered and Cole Irvin won consecutive starts for the first time in nearly two years as the A’s improved to 13-1 since dropping their first six games. Baltimore has lost seven of its eight home games. Irvin (2-2) had won back-to-back starts just once before, his first two career starts for Philadelphia in May 2019. Coming off six shutout innings against Detroit on Saturday, he stymied the Orioles for five innings. But Baltimore stitched together four singles in the sixth, capped by Pedro Severino’s RBI single, to end Irvin’s night. Jake Diekman... [More]

DENVER (AP) — New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom struck out nine straight batters against Colorado on Saturday, falling one shy of matching the major league record set 51 years earlier by Mets great Tom Seaver. DeGrom became just the ninth pitcher to strike out as many as nine in a row. He started the streak with a called third strike against Josh Fuentes for the first out of the second inning, then got Sam Hillard and Dom Nunez swinging. He struck out Chi Chi González, Raimel Tapia and Ryan McMahon in the third, and Trevor Story, Charlie Blackmon and C.J. Cron in the fourth. Fuentes grounded an 0-1 pitch leading off the fifth and reached on a throwing error by second baseman Jeff McNeil, ending the streak. Detroit reliever Tyler Alexander was the previous pitcher to strike out nine in a row, accomplishing the feat last Aug. 2 against Cincinnati. Seaver set the record against San Diego on April 22, 1970, striking out his final 10 batters in a 19-strikeout performance. Colorado took a 3-1... [More]

CINCINNATI (AP) — Nick Castellanos stood over, flexed and jawed at St. Louis pitcher Jake Woodford after scoring, setting off a series of scuffles that included relievers shoving in the outfield as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Cardinals 9-6 Saturday. St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright was knocked around for six runs and chased in the third. The next inning, the teams started tagging each other. Castellanos, who homered on opening day and hopped out of the box before tossing his bat, was plunked by Woodford with two outs and none on in the fourth. Castellanos retrieved the ball and offered to toss it back to Woodford before flipping it out of play. A wild pitch soon sent Castellanos scampering home from third and he scored with a headfirst slide for a 7-2 lead as he bumped into Woodford, who took the throw from catcher Yadier Molina at the plate. As Castellanos began walking away, Molina rushed up and tapped him from behind, and the benches and bullpens emptied in a wild scene. There was... [More]

CINCINNATI (AP) — Nick Castellanos stood over, flexed and jawed at St. Louis pitcher Jake Woodford after scoring, setting off a series of scuffles that included relievers shoving in the outfield as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Cardinals 9-6 Saturday. St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright was knocked around for six runs and chased in the third. The next inning, the teams started tagging each other. Castellanos, who homered on opening day and hopped out of the box before tossing his bat, was plunked by Woodford with two outs and none on in the fourth. Castellanos retrieved the ball and offered to toss it back to Woodford before flipping it out of play. A wild pitch soon sent Castellanos scampering home from third and he scored with a headfirst slide for a 7-2 lead as he bumped into Woodford, who took the throw from catcher Yadier Molina at the plate. As Castellanos began walking away, Molina rushed up and tapped him from behind, and the benches and bullpens emptied in a wild scene. There was... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today: ___ SLOW STARTERS The Nationals and Mets are waiting until at least Saturday to start their season as Washington deals with a COVID-19 outbreak. Three Nats players have tested positive and a fourth is considered a “likely positive,” according to GM Mike Rizzo. Thursday's opener was postponed and wasn't immediately rescheduled, even though Friday already had been set up as a day off that could accommodate a game pushed back if there were a rainout, for example. Mets manager Luis Rojas said he was hopeful the teams would play Saturday. Rizzo did not identify any of the players involved. He announced an initial positive test Wednesday, saying it resulted from testing done Monday while the Nationals were still in Florida. At the time, he said four other players were considered to have been in close contact and were quarantining. Now, two of those players resulted positive after being tested Wednesday and another had an inconclusive sample... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jean Segura hit an RBI single with two outs in the 10th inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies over the Atlanta Braves 3-2 in their season opener Thursday. After Nate Jones (0-1) intentionally walked Did Gregorius, Segura hit a bouncer down the third-base line to score Bryce Harper, who began the inning as the automatic runner at second base and advanced to third on a grounder. In the top of the 10th, center fielder Roman Quinn made a perfect throw to the plate to retire Ozzie Albies, who was trying to score on Marcell Ozuna’s fly ball. Catcher J.T. Realmuto caught the ball and slid in front of the plate in one slick motion, successfully blocking Albies’ path. Phillies ace Aaron Nola was one strike away from tossing seven scoreless innings before pinch-hitter Pablo Sandoval ripped an 0-2 pitch into the second deck in right field to tie it at 2. The Phillies got 3 1/3 scoreless innings from four relievers, with Connor Brogdon (1-0) working the 10th. They had the worst... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jean Segura hit an RBI single with two outs in the 10th inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies over the Atlanta Braves 3-2 in their season opener Thursday. After Nate Jones (0-1) intentionally walked Did Gregorius, Segura hit a bouncer down the third-base line to score Bryce Harper, who began the inning as the automatic runner at second base and advanced to third on a grounder. In the top of the 10th, center fielder Roman Quinn made a perfect throw to the plate to retire Ozzie Albies, who was trying to score on Marcell Ozuna’s fly ball. Catcher J.T. Realmuto caught the ball and slid in front of the plate in one slick motion, successfully blocking Albies’ path. Phillies ace Aaron Nola was one strike away from tossing seven scoreless innings before pinch-hitter Pablo Sandoval ripped an 0-2 pitch into the second deck in right field to tie it at 2. The Phillies got 3 1/3 scoreless innings from four relievers, with Connor Brogdon (1-0) working the 10th. They had the worst... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jean Segura hit an RBI single with two outs in the 10th inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies over the Atlanta Braves 3-2 in their season opener Thursday. After Nate Jones (0-1) intentionally walked Did Gregorius, Segura hit a bouncer down the third-base line to score Bryce Harper, who began the inning as the automatic runner at second base and advanced to third on a grounder. In the top of the 10th, center fielder Roman Quinn made a perfect throw to the plate to retire Ozzie Albies, who was trying to score on Marcell Ozuna’s fly ball. Catcher J.T. Realmuto caught the ball and slid in front of the plate in one slick motion, successfully blocking Albies’ path. Phillies ace Aaron Nola was one strike away from tossing seven scoreless innings before pinch-hitter Pablo Sandoval ripped an 0-2 pitch into the second deck in right field to tie it at 2. The Phillies got 3 1/3 scoreless innings from four relievers, with Connor Brogdon (1-0) working the 10th. They had the worst... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Friday: ___ SLOW STARTERS The Nationals and Mets are waiting until at least Saturday to start their season as Washington deals with a COVID-19 outbreak. Three Nats players have tested positive and a fourth is considered a “likely positive,” according to GM Mike Rizzo. Thursday's opener was postponed and wasn't immediately rescheduled, even though Friday already had been set up as a day off that could accommodate a game pushed back if there were a rainout, for example. Mets manager Luis Rojas said he was hopeful the teams would play Saturday. Rizzo did not identify any of the players involved. He announced an initial positive test Wednesday, saying it resulted from testing done Monday while the Nationals were still in Florida. At the time, he said four other players were considered to have been in close contact and were quarantining. Now, two of those players resulted positive after being tested Wednesday and another had an inconclusive sample... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Cody Bellinger hit a homer — and was called out before he could finish his trot. An honest mistake on a bizarre play for Bellinger, Justin Turner and the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in their season opener Thursday against the Colorado Rockies. Bellinger lined what appeared to be a two-run homer to left-center in the third inning — a ball that hit off the glove of outfielder Raimel Tapia and bounded over the fence. Turner was on first base at the time and believed the ball was caught. He retreated back to the bag, and Bellinger passed him in the confusion, prompting umpires to call him out. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts briefly came out of the dugout to discuss the call. Turner was allowed to jog home, and Bellinger was officially credited with a single and an RBI — but no home run. The 2019 NL MVP remains at 123 career homers. Rockies second baseman Chris Owings was given a putout because he was closest to the play. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DENVER (AP) — Cody Bellinger hit a homer — and was called out before he could finish his trot. An honest mistake on a bizarre play for Bellinger, Justin Turner and the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in their season opener Thursday against the Colorado Rockies. Bellinger lined what appeared to be a two-run homer to left-center in the third inning — a ball that hit off the glove of outfielder Raimel Tapia and bounded over the fence. Turner was on first base at the time and believed the ball was caught. He retreated back to the bag, and Bellinger passed him in the confusion, prompting umpires to call him out. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts briefly came out of the dugout to discuss the call. Turner was allowed to jog home, and Bellinger was officially credited with a single and an RBI — but no home run. The 2019 NL MVP remains at 123 career homers. Rockies second baseman Chris Owings was given a putout because he was closest to the play. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

The Arizona Diamondbacks are ready to open the season in familiar fashion: with Mad Bum on the mound. Madison Bumgarner was tabbed by manager Torey Lovullo to make his second straight opening day start for the Diamondbacks on Thursday at San Diego. The 31-year-old four-time All-Star struggled last season — his first in Arizona — going 1-4 with a 6.48 ERA. He was 2-1 with a 6.35 ERA in three spring starts, including allowing six earned runs against Cincinnati on Friday. But Bumgarner, who signed a five-year, $85 million contract before last season, will still lead off a Diamondbacks rotation that includes Merrill Kelly, Caleb Smith, Taylor Widener and Luke Weaver. This will be the seventh opening day start in Bumgarner's career after doing so five times with San Francisco. The Yankees also are setting their rotation, announcing Sunday that Corey Kluber will follow ace Gerrit Cole against Toronto. Kluber, who signed a one-year, $11 million contract with New York, has thrown one inning in... [More]

The Arizona Diamondbacks are ready to open the season in familiar fashion: with Mad Bum on the mound. Madison Bumgarner was tabbed by manager Torey Lovullo to make his second straight opening day start for the Diamondbacks on Thursday at San Diego. The 31-year-old four-time All-Star struggled last season — his first in Arizona — going 1-4 with a 6.48 ERA. He was 2-1 with a 6.35 ERA in three spring starts, including allowing six earned runs against Cincinnati on Friday. But Bumgarner, who signed a five-year, $85 million contract before last season, will still lead off a Diamondbacks rotation that includes Merrill Kelly, Caleb Smith, Taylor Widener and Luke Weaver. This will be the seventh opening day start in Bumgarner's career after doing so five times with San Francisco. The Yankees also are setting their rotation, announcing Sunday that Corey Kluber will follow ace Gerrit Cole against Toronto. Kluber, who signed a one-year, $11 million contract with New York, has thrown one inning in... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Ian Desmond provided a calming voice to help the Colorado Rockies stick together soon after losing star third baseman Nolan Arenado in a blockbuster trade. That just may be the veteran outfielder's biggest contribution this season. Desmond decided Sunday to opt out for a second straight season. He announced on his Instagram account that his “desire to be with my family is greater than my desire to go back and play baseball under these circumstances." No amount of lobbying by Rockies manager Bud Black could persuade the 35-year-old Desmond, who was scheduled to make $8 million this season after walking away from a pro-rated salary of $5,555,556 last season. “This was a decision not about money,” said Black, whose team will begin full-squad workouts Tuesday in Arizona. “This was from the heart, and from the stomach. This was hard. This was agonizing for him.” Desmond did leave the door open for a possible return by adding "for now" in his post. He vowed to “continue to train... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Rockies avoided arbitration with left-hander Kyle Freeland and five other players Friday as the team tries to get back on track after missing the playoffs the past two seasons. Freeland agreed to a one-year contract for $5,025,000 following a bounce-back season. He made a pro-rated $1,064,815 of a $2,875,000 salary in 2020. The Denver native tied for the major league lead in starts with 13. He went 2-3 with a 4.33 ERA and nine quality starts. Freeland had just five quality starts in 2019, when he went 3-11 with a 6.73 ERA. Right-hander Jon Gray will make $6 million in 2021. Gray, a first-round pick in 2013, made eight starts and posted a 2-4 record with a 6.69 ERA before going on the injured list on Sept. 4 with right shoulder inflammation. The hard-throwing Gray was due to make $5,600,000 in 2020, and his prorated pay wound up at $2,074,074. Colorado reached a $1.45 million, one-year deal with reliever Carlos Estévez after the 28-year-old appeared in a team-high... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Rockies avoided arbitration with left-hander Kyle Freeland and five other players Friday as the team tries to get back on track after missing the playoffs the past two seasons. Freeland agreed to a one-year contract for $5,025,000 following a bounce-back season. He made a pro-rated $1,064,815 of a $2,875,000 salary in 2020. The Denver native tied for the major league lead in starts with 13. He went 2-3 with a 4.33 ERA and nine quality starts. Freeland had just five quality starts in 2019, when he went 3-11 with a 6.73 ERA. Right-hander Jon Gray will make $6 million in 2021. Gray, a first-round pick in 2013, made eight starts and posted a 2-4 record with a 6.69 ERA before going on the injured list on Sept. 4 with right shoulder inflammation. The hard-throwing Gray was due to make $5,600,000 in 2020, and his prorated pay wound up at $2,074,074. Colorado also avoided arbitration with reliever Carlos Estévez after the 28-year-old appeared in a team-high 26 games in... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Right-handed reliver Mychal Givens and the Colorado Rockies agreed Thursday to a $4.05 million, one-year contract. Colorado acquired Givens in a deal with Baltimore on Aug. 30. He allowed at least a run in five of 10 appearances for the Rockies. Givens appeared in 12 game for the Orioles before the trade and allowed two runs over 13 innings. Combined, he was 1-1 with a 3.61 ERA with Colorado and Baltimore. He turns 31 on May 13. Givens was selected by the Orioles in the second round of the 2009 amateur draft. He is 21-17 with a 3.41 ERA and 21 saves over 345 1/3 innings during his career. Givens was due to make $3,225,000 in 2020 and his prorated salary wound up at $1,194,444. Six Rockies remain eligible to exchange proposed arbitration salaries on Friday: right-handers Carlos Estévez, Jon Gray and Robert Stephenson, left-hander Kyle Freeland, second baseman Ryan McMahon and outfielder Raimel Tapia. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports