MILWAUKEE (AP) — Kolten Wong is leaving St. Louis behind but staying in the NL Central as the Milwaukee Brewers reshape the right side of their infield by adding a Gold Glove second baseman. Wong and the Brewers finalized their $18 million, two-year contract on Friday, a deal that includes a 2023 club option. Milwaukee is making room for Wong in its infield by shifting Keston Hiura from second base to first base. St. Louis had declined a $12.5 million 2021 option for Wong in October, making him eligible for free agency. “It took me a little bit to kind of get my head around the whole thing,” Wong said. “Obviously being a Cardinal for as long as I’ve been, there’s a lot of memories, there’s a lot of good things I created there. But also seeing from across (the field) how the Brewers play, how they go about their business and the type of team this is, it just fits my mold really well. It’s a grinding team, a team that just goes out there and competes every single day.” Wong has earned Gold... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Kolten Wong is leaving St. Louis behind but staying in the NL Central as the Milwaukee Brewers reshape the right side of their infield by adding a Gold Glove second baseman. Wong and the Brewers finalized their $18 million, two-year contract on Friday, a deal that includes a 2023 club option. Milwaukee is making room for Wong in its infield by shifting Keston Hiura from second base to first base. St. Louis had declined a $12.5 million 2021 option for Wong in December, making him eligible for free agency. “It took me a little bit to kind of get my head around the whole thing,” Wong said. “Obviously being a Cardinal for as long as I’ve been, there’s a lot of memories, there’s a lot of good things I created there. But also seeing from across (the field) how the Brewers play, how they go about their business and the type of team this is, it just fits my mold really well. It’s a grinding team, a team that just goes out there and competes every single day.” Wong has earned Gold... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Kolten Wong is leaving St. Louis behind but staying in the NL Central as the Milwaukee Brewers reshape the right side of their infield by adding a Gold Glove second baseman Wong and the Brewers finalized their $18 million, two-year contract on Friday, a deal that includes a 2023 club option. Milwaukee is making room for Wong in their infield by shifting Keston Hiura from second base to first base. St. Louis had declined a $12.5 million 2021 option for Wong in December, making him eligible for free agency. “It took me a little bit to kind of get my head around the whole thing,” Wong said. “Obviously being a Cardinal for as long as I’ve been, there’s a lot of memories, there’s a lot of good things I created there. But also seeing from across (the field) how the Brewers play, how they go about their business and the type of team this is, it just fits my mold really well. It’s a grinding team, a team that just goes out there and competes every single day.” Wong has earned Gold... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Kolten Wong is leaving St. Louis behind but staying in the NL Central as the Milwaukee Brewers reshape the right side of their infield by adding a Gold Glove second baseman Wong and the Brewers finalized their $18 million, two-year contract on Friday, a deal that includes a 2023 club option. Milwaukee is making room for Wong in their infield by shifting Keston Hiura from second base to first base. St. Louis had declined a $12.5 million 2021 option for Wong in December, making him eligible for free agency. “It took me a little bit to kind of get my head around the whole thing,” Wong said. “Obviously being a Cardinal for as long as I’ve been, there’s a lot of memories, there’s a lot of good things I created there. But also seeing from across (the field) how the Brewers play, how they go about their business and the type of team this is, it just fits my mold really well. It’s a grinding team, a team that just goes out there and competes every single day.” Wong has earned Gold... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Kolten Wong is leaving St. Louis behind but staying in the NL Central as the Milwaukee Brewers reshape the right side of their infield by adding a Gold Glove second baseman Wong and the Brewers finalized their $18 million, two-year contract on Friday, a deal that includes a 2022 club option. Milwaukee is making room for Wong in their infield by shifting Keston Hiura from second base to first base. St. Louis had declined a $12.5 million 2021 option for Wong in December, making him eligible for free agency. “It took me a little bit to kind of get my head around the whole thing,” Wong said. “Obviously being a Cardinal for as long as I’ve been, there’s a lot of memories, there’s a lot of good things I created there. But also seeing from across (the field) how the Brewers play, how they go about their business and the type of team this is, it just fits my mold really well. It’s a grinding team, a team that just goes out there and competes every single day.” Wong has earned Gold... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The hitting struggles that hampered the Milwaukee Brewers throughout the pandemic-shortened regular season proved fatal in the playoffs. With a roster decimated by injuries, the Brewers totaled two runs while getting swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in a best-of-3 NL wild card series. They got eliminated while striking out 13 times and mustering just four hits in a 3-0 loss on Thursday night. The Brewers ranked 26th among the 30 teams in batting average (.223) and 27th in runs per game (4.1). Milwaukee batters struck out 582 times for MLB’s second-highest total. “It didn’t go the way most of us wanted offensively,” outfielder Christian Yelich said. “But we never quit. We kept battling to the end. It definitely wasn’t pretty and it didn’t go to plan. Obviously, we need to improve in that department next year. I think we will.” Milwaukee (29-31) never was above .500 but capitalized on the expanded 16-team playoff format to land a third straight postseason berth, the first... [More]

In a typically awkward way, Major League Baseball has been pulled into America’s discussion about racial injustice. Some teams are playing. Some aren’t. Two teams walked off the field after the national anthem.But across the sport, one theme became clear: Baseball shouldn’t avoid potentially difficult conversations and decisions regarding social issues. Though the process may be imperfect, there was agreement that coaches, players and teams should speak their mind.“This is at the forefront now,” said Oakland infielder Tony Kemp, who is Black. “By sitting out tonight’s game, I feel like it’s just a small building block of what we want to see. These couple days are historic times in sports. One day our kids are going to look back and ask us what was going on and what did we do to help bring awareness to these issues in the world and we’re going to say, ‘One game we just decided not to play.’”Oakland's game at Texas was among seven that were postponed by Thursday evening, along with Philadelphia... [More]

In a typically awkward way, Major League Baseball has been pulled into America’s discussion about racial injustice. Some teams are playing. Some aren’t. Some have played with individual players sitting out.But across the sport, one theme became clear: Baseball shouldn’t avoid potentially difficult conversations and decisions regarding social issues. Though the process may be imperfect, there was agreement that coaches, players and teams should speak their mind.“This is at the forefront now,” said Oakland infielder Tony Kemp, who is Black. “By sitting out tonight’s game, I feel like it’s just a small building block of what we want to see. These couple days are historic times in sports. One day our kids are going to look back and ask us what was going on and what did we do to help bring awareness to these issues in the world and we’re going to say, ‘One game we just decided not to play.’”Oakland's game at Texas was among six that were postponed by Thursday evening, along with Philadelphia... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Seven St. Louis Cardinals players and six staff members have tested positive for COVID-19, causing Major League Baseball to postpone the team's four-game series at Detroit.The series was to have been played at Comerica Park from Tuesday through Thursday.“You think about how quickly something like this can spread,” Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said. “Until it touches you, you sometimes might not believe it, but needless to say we know this is very real and we know it moves quickly and it moves silently, but it can infect a lot of people fast.”Mozeliak said that five of those who tested positive did not show symptoms. He said the others did — headaches, cough, sniffles, low-grade fever.“And of those eight, it’s a variety of symptoms but nothing at this point requiring anything like hospitalization," Mozeliak said.The Cardinals have been in quarantine since Thursday in Milwaukee, where their series with the Brewers was also postponed due to positive tests. The league... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Brewers manager Craig Counsell says bench coach Pat Murphy has been released from the hospital after suffering a heart attack during a team workout Saturday.Brewers general manager David Stearns said Sunday that Murphy received a stent at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee and was resting comfortably.“It was a scary day,” Counsell said on Monday before the Brewers’ game with the Chicago White Sox. Counsell said Murphy sat down while the team was practicing infield defense and wasn't feeling well. Trainer Rafael Freitas was nearby and escorted Murphy to the clubhouse, where he met with team physician, Dr. Mark Niefeldt.“Niedfeldt was in the building fortunately and diagnosed what was going on, and we got him to the hospital," Counsell said. Milwaukee doesn't plan to bring in an additional staff member while Murphy recovers. Murphy’s heart attack was the scariest part of an eventful few days for the Brewers that included outfielder Lorenzo Cain and pitcher Shelby Miller opting... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Seven St. Louis Cardinals players and six staff members have tested positive for COVID-19, causing Major League Baseball to postpone the team's four-game series at Detroit.The series was to have been played at Comerica Park from Tuesday through Thursday.“You think about how quickly something like this can spread,” Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said. “Until it touches you, you sometimes might not believe it, but needless to say we know this is very real and we know it moves quickly and it moves silently, but it can infect a lot of people fast.”Mozeliak said that five of those who tested positive did not show symptoms. He said the others did — headaches, cough, sniffles, low-grade fever.“And of those eight, it’s a variety of symptoms but nothing at this point requiring anything like hospitalization," Mozeliak said.The Cardinals have been in quarantine since Thursday in Milwaukee, where their series with the Brewers was also postponed due to positive tests. The Cardinals'... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:BACK TO WORKThe Philadelphia Phillies face a difficult assignment in their long-awaited return to action.Bryce Harper and the Phils haven't played since opening the season with a three-game series against the Miami Marlins, a team that has had at least 18 players test positive for the coronavirus. Although the Phillies didn’t have any players test positive, their games last week were postponed as a cautionary measure.The Phillies got to work out again Saturday, and now come back from a weeklong layoff to face Gerrit Cole and the AL East-leading New York Yankees on the road.Jake Arrieta takes on a power-packed lineup at Yankee Stadium. New York star Aaron Judge has homered in five straight games.This marks a homecoming of sorts for Phillies first-year manager Joe Girardi. He managed the Yankees from 2008-17 and helped them beat Philadelphia in the 2009 World Series.HOME AT LASTThe Milwaukee Brewers are finally playing their home opener a... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers bench coach Pat Murphy suffered a heart attack during a Saturday team workout at Miller Park, but team officials said he was resting comfortably and should be out of the hospital later this week.Brewers general manager David Stearns said the 61-year-old Murphy received a stent and is expected to get released from Froedtert Hospital “in a couple of days.” Stearns said it was too early to estimate when Murphy might be back in uniform.“The prognosis for a recovery is good, and Pat is certainly going to be back in the dugout at some point,” Stearns said Sunday. “I could not venture to guess as to when that is. Right now the most important thing for Pat is to focus on his recovery and health. We’ll let him focus on that.”USA Today first reported that Murphy had suffered a heart attack.Stearns said that Murphy started experiencing symptoms while on the Miller Park field and reported them to the team’s medical staff, which immediately realized the gravity of... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Monday:BACK TO WORKThe Philadelphia Phillies face a difficult assignment in their long-awaited return to action.Bryce Harper and the Phils haven't played since opening the season with a three-game series against the Miami Marlins, a team that has had at least 18 players test positive for the coronavirus. Although the Phillies didn’t have any players test positive, their games last week were postponed as a cautionary measure.The Phillies got to work out again Saturday, and now come back from a weeklong layoff to face Gerrit Cole and the AL East-leading New York Yankees on the road.Jake Arrieta takes on a power-packed lineup at Yankee Stadium. New York star Aaron Judge has homered in five straight games.This marks a homecoming of sorts for Phillies first-year manager Joe Girardi. He managed the Yankees from 2008-17 and helped them beat Philadelphia in the 2009 World Series.HOME AT LASTThe Milwaukee Brewers are finally playing their home opener... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers bench coach Pat Murphy suffered a heart attack during a Saturday team workout at Miller Park, but team officials said he was resting comfortably and should be out of the hospital later this week.Brewers general manager David Stearns said the 61-year-old Murphy received a stent and is expected to get released from Froedtert Hospital “in a couple of days.” Stearns said it was too early to estimate when Murphy might be back in uniform.“The prognosis for a recovery is good, and Pat is certainly going to be back in the dugout at some point,” Stearns said Sunday. “I could not venture to guess as to when that is. Right now the most important thing for Pat is to focus on his recovery and health. We’ll let him focus on that.”USA Today first reported that Murphy had suffered a heart attack.Stearns said that Murphy started experiencing symptoms while on the Miller Park field and reported them to the team’s medical staff, which immediately realized the gravity of... [More]

A look at what's happening in the majors today:LET’S PLAY 7!Shortened doubleheaders are about to make their Major League Baseball debut. At least that’s the plan. In this most unpredictable and unusual of seasons, perhaps we shouldn’t take anything for granted.The Detroit Tigers are set to host the Cincinnati Reds in a pair of seven-inning games -- a day after the teams were rained out at Comerica Park, more showers are in the forecast.This will be the first doubleheader since MLB approved condensing twinbills to seven innings each this season. Baseball could see an unusually high number of doubleheaders due to positive coronavirus tests causing postponements, plus rainouts.“I think that’s a good rule change especially with the pitchers going down every day,” Houston manager Dusty Baker said. “With the shortage of pitchers, that is a good rule, especially with teams losing multiple guys.”WHO’S NEXT?Brewers star outfielder Lorenzo Cain and Marlins rookie second baseman Isan Diaz have become... [More]

A look at what's happening in the majors today:LET’S PLAY 7!Shortened doubleheaders are about to make their Major League Baseball debut. At least that’s the plan. In this most unpredictable and unusual of seasons, perhaps we shouldn’t take anything for granted.The Detroit Tigers are set to host the Cincinnati Reds in a pair of seven-inning games -- a day after the teams were rained out at Comerica Park, more showers are in the forecast.This will be the first doubleheader since MLB approved condensing twinbills to seven innings each this season. Baseball could see an unusually high number of doubleheaders due to positive coronavirus tests causing postponements, plus rainouts.“I think that’s a good rule change especially with the pitchers going down every day,” Houston manager Dusty Baker said. “With the shortage of pitchers, that is a good rule, especially with teams losing multiple guys.”WHO’S NEXT?Brewers star outfielder Lorenzo Cain and Marlins rookie second baseman Isan Diaz have become... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says he's confident his sport can get through the regular season and postseason without being stopped by the coronavirus, though not every club might play all 60 games and winning percentage could be used to determine playoff teams.During an interview Saturday with The Associated Press, Manfred said Major League Baseball knows which player introduced COVID-19 into the clubhouse of the Miami Marlins. Miami and Philadelphia both postponed games for an entire week.“I think that if everybody does what they are supposed to do, we can continue to play, have a credible season and get through the postseason,” Manfred said.Just 1 1/2 weeks into a pandemic-delayed regular season shortened from 162 games per team to 60, the coronavirus has forced 19 postponements in 11 days, including St. Louis' three-game weekend series at Milwaukee.The virus also prompted at least two more players to opt out Saturday: Brewers All-Star outfielder Lorenzo Cain and... [More]

A look at what's happening in the majors on Sunday:LET’S PLAY 7!Shortened doubleheaders are about to make their Major League Baseball debut. At least that’s the plan. In this most unpredictable and unusual of seasons, perhaps we shouldn’t take anything for granted.The Detroit Tigers are set to host the Cincinnati Reds in a pair of seven-inning games -- a day after the teams were rained out at Comerica Park, more showers are in the forecast.This will be the first doubleheader since MLB approved condensing twinbills to seven innings each this season. Baseball could see an unusually high number of doubleheaders due to positive coronavirus tests causing postponements, plus rainouts.“I think that’s a good rule change especially with the pitchers going down every day,” Houston manager Dusty Baker said. “With the shortage of pitchers, that is a good rule, especially with teams losing multiple guys.”WHO’S NEXT?Brewers star outfielder Lorenzo Cain and Marlins rookie second baseman Isan Diaz have... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says he's confident his sport can get through the regular season and postseason without being stopped by the coronavirus, though not every club might play all 60 games and winning percentage could be used to determine playoff teams.During an interview Saturday with The Associated Press, Manfred said Major League Baseball knows which player introduced COVID-19 into the clubhouse of the Marlins Marlins. Miami and Philadelphia both postponed games for an entire week.“I think that if everybody does what they are supposed to do, we can continue to play, have a credible season and get through the postseason,” Manfred said.Just 1 1/2 weeks into a pandemic-delayed regular season shortened from 162 games per team to 60, the coronavirus has forced 19 postponements in 11 days, including St. Louis' three-game weekend series at Milwaukee.The virus also prompted at least two more players to opt out Saturday: Brewers All-Star outfielder Lorenzo Cain and... [More]