MILWAUKEE (AP) — The slumping Brewers moved to shore up their infield defense by acquiring shortstop Willy Adames from the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday. Milwaukee also got pitcher Trevor Richards from the Rays for relievers J.P Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen. Adames is hitting .197 with five homers and 15 RBIs in 41 games this year but had an .813 OPS last season while helping Tampa Bay reach the World Series. The 28-year-old Richards has a 4.50 ERA and one save in six relief appearances. “We're acquiring a shortstop who has proven he's one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball," Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns said. The Rays plan to call up Taylor Walls and give him much of the playing time at shortstop, though Joey Wendle will play there on occasion as well. Tampa Bay also has Wander Franco, widely considered the top prospect in all of baseball, and Vidal Bruján waiting at Triple-A Durham. “You’re talking about as good a defensive shortstop as you’re going to... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers are finally starting to get more healthy. Milwaukee activated 2018 NL MVP Christian Yelich and fellow outfielder Lorenzo Cain from the injured list and put both in the starting lineup for Monday night’s game at Philadelphia. The Brewers made room for the two former All-Stars by sending slumping first baseman Keston Hiura and outfielder Tyrone Taylor to the alternate training site. “We haven’t been activating players lately, so just to activate some players is a change of how last week went, that’s for sure,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. The Brewers had 17 players on the injured list Sunday when they lost 16-4 to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Yelich hasn’t played since April 11 due to a lower back strain, Cain had a left quad strain and last played on April 13. Even with all those injuries, the Brewers won three of four from the Dodgers. They're starting a seven-game road trip with a 17-11 mark that tied the San Francisco Giants... [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]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Corbin Burnes is going on the injured list after a remarkable April run. The Brewers announced Thursday that they had placed Burnes on the IL without specifying his issue. The move comes as the Brewers begin a four-game home series with the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. “The only thing I can say is we made an IL placement, (and) we're following Major League Baseball health and safety protocols," president of baseball operations David Stearns said. "I can't comment more than that. I'm not going to speculate on a return timetable or anything along those lines.” Manager Craig Counsell said the team likely will wait until after Saturday’s game before announcing who will take Burnes’ place in the rotation against the Dodgers on Sunday. Burnes is 2-2 with a 1.53 ERA and has recorded 49 strikeouts and no walks through 29 1/3 innings. He allowed one earned run through his first four starts before giving up five runs — four earned... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Corbin Burnes is going on the injured list after a remarkable April run. The Brewers announced Thursday that they had placed Burnes on the IL without specifying his issue. The move comes as the Brewers begin a four-game home series with the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Manager Craig Counsell said the team likely will wait until after Saturday’s game before announcing who will take Burnes’ place in the rotation against the Dodgers on Sunday. Burnes is 2-2 with a 1.53 ERA and has recorded 49 strikeouts and no walks through 29 1/3 innings. He allowed one earned run through his first four starts before giving up five runs — four earned — over five innings in an 8-0 loss to the Miami Marlins on Monday. The Brewers have already endured numerous injuries to key players. Outfielder Christian Yelich hasn’t played since April 11 due to a strained lower back. Outfielder Lorenzo Cain has been sidelined since April 13 because of... [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]

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]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Former All-Star Dee Strange-Gordon has signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers and been assigned to the alternate training site in Appleton, Wisconsin. Strange-Gordon, who turns 33 on Thursday, had gone to spring training with the Cincinnati Reds with a minor league contract and was released on March 26 after hitting .281 with no homers and four RBIs in 32 at-bats over 10 games. He had been working out at shortstop with the Reds. Strange-Gordon has primarily played second base and also has experience in the outfield. The Brewers wanted to address some depth concerns in the infield after trading Orlando Arcia to the Atlanta Braves this month and losing Tim Lopes and Mark Mathias to injuries in spring training. Lopes and Mathias are both on the 60-day injured list. “This is a signing that’s just about depth, I think,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Wednesday. “And I think about the trade of Orlando, really. He’s another infielder. He’s an infielder... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Former All-Star Dee Strange-Gordon has signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers and been assigned to the alternate training site in Appleton, Wisconsin. Strange-Gordon, who turns 33 on Thursday, had gone to spring training with the Cincinnati Reds with a minor league contract and was released on March 26 after hitting .281 with no homers and four RBIs in 32 at-bats over 10 games. He had been working out at shortstop with the Reds. Strange-Gordon has primarily played second base and also has experience in the outfield. The Brewers wanted to address some depth concerns in the infield after trading Orlando Arcia to the Atlanta Braves this month and losing Tim Lopes and Mark Mathias to injuries in spring training. Lopes and Mathias are both on the 60-day injured list. Starting second baseman Kolten Wong is on the 10-day injured list, though he’s expected to be activated later this week Strange-Gordon batted .200 with no homers, three RBIs and three steals in 33 games for the Seattle Mariners last season. He led the NL in batting average, hits and stolen bases in 2015 with the Miami Marlins. He also led the NL in steals in 2014 and 2017. He made the NL All-Star team with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014 and with Miami in 2015. He has a .286 career batting average with a .319 on-base percentage and 333 steals. ___ More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich, who has missed four straight games because of a sore back, was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday. “There’s nothing new, nothing to add," manager Craig Counsell said. "That’s what it is. We’ll take a couple more days without baseball activities and see where that leaves us.” The move was retroactive to April 14. The Brewers announced Yelich's injury as a lower back strain. Milwaukee filled Yelich's spot on the roster by recalling right-handed reliever Eric Yardley from the organization's alternate training site in Appleton, Wisconsin. Yelich, the 2018 NL MVP, is hitting .333 with no home runs and 1 RBI. Two other Brewers starters, second baseman Kolten Wong and outfielder Lorenzo Cain, are also on the injured list, weakening the offense. “We’ll just have to fill in around them until those guys get back. We’re not expecting this to be long term,” Counsell said. The Brewers host the Pirates on Saturday in the second game of a three-game series. Pittsburgh won 6-1 on Friday. ___ More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich, who has missed four straight games because of a sore back, was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday. “There’s nothing new, nothing to add," manager Craig Counsell said. "That’s what it is. We’ll take a couple more days without baseball activities and see where that leaves us.” The Brewers didn’t announce a corresponding roster move. Yelich, the 2018 NL MVP, is hitting .333 with no home runs and 1 RBI. Two other Brewers starters, second baseman Kolten Wong and outfielder Lorenzo Cain, are also on the injured list, weakening the offense. “We’ll just have to fill in around them until those guys get back. We’re not expecting this to be long term,” Counsell said. The Brewers host the Pirates on Saturday in the second game of a three-game series. Pittsburgh won 6-1 on Friday.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich and the Milwaukee Brewers showed signs this spring that they’ll bounce back from the slump that engulfed virtually their entire lineup last year. Of course, they aren't taking anything for granted until they perform when the games matter. They'll get their first chance in Thursday's opener against the Minnesota Twins. “I feel like I'm in a good place and where I want to be heading into the season," Yelich said. "So I'm excited to get things started.” Milwaukee is seeking a fourth straight postseason berth after sneaking into the playoffs last year with a 29-31 record despite ranking 27th out of 30 major league teams in runs per game. Hitters up and down their lineup failed to reach their career norms. Yelich, the 2018 NL MVP, hit just .205 last season after winning batting titles in 2018 and 2019. Keston Hiura batted .212 and had an NL-high 85 strikeouts last year after posting a .938 OPS as a rookie in 2019. Omar Narváez saw his average plunge from .278... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich and the Milwaukee Brewers showed signs this spring that they’ll bounce back from the slump that engulfed virtually their entire lineup last year. Of course, they aren't taking anything for granted until they perform when the games matter. They'll get their first chance in Thursday's opener against the Minnesota Twins. “Spring training is very different than the regular season,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said. “But, given some of the performances we had last year, having guys going into the regular season with a really good frame of mind, with confidence, with belief in themselves and each other, I think there’s a degree of importance to it. I know as well as anyone that this can all change in one direction or another after a week.” Milwaukee is seeking a fourth straight postseason berth after sneaking into the playoffs last year with a 29-31 record despite ranking 27th out of 30 major league teams in runs per game. Hitters up and down... [More]

Milwaukee’s Keston Hiura couldn’t ever remember playing first base during a game in high school, college or the professional ranks before this year. Yet that’s where he'll be most often this season. Hiura had been Milwaukee’s starting second baseman for the last two years but is moving to first as the Brewers make room for newly acquired Kolten Wong at second. “A lot of people have been giving me tips and I’ve just constantly been asking questions because I’m just trying to figure out where to be in every single position, whether it’s fielding a ground ball or taking a cut-off,” Hiura said from the Brewers’ spring training site at Phoenix. “It’s just to keep your mind working for every single situation that could come up.” The first step was finding a mitt. Hiura didn’t want to start the season with a brand-new first baseman’s mitt that hadn’t been broken in. For now, he’s borrowing the first baseman’s mitt of teammate Travis Shaw, who has played both third and first. “When you get a new... [More]

Whether they did it by design or responded to the market forces at work, the Milwaukee Brewers found an intriguing way to try gaining an edge over their NL Central rivals. Rather than focusing on an offense that slumbered for much of last season, they added position players better known for fielding prowess. By signing former St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong and ex-Boston Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr., the Brewers have four former Gold Glove winners on their roster. “One of the ways we’re going to prevent runs this year is with defense,” manager Craig Counsell said. “We’ve invested in that this year. There is scoring runs and there is preventing runs. We’re going to try to be really good at preventing runs this year.” Wong was a Gold Glove second baseman each of the last two years. Bradley won a Gold Glove in 2018 and was a finalist in 2014, 2016 and 2019. They join a lineup already featuring 2014 Gold Glove left fielder Christian Yelich and 2019 Gold Glove center... [More]

Whether they did it by design or responded to the market forces at work, the Milwaukee Brewers found an intriguing way to try gaining an edge over their NL Central rivals. Rather than focusing on an offense that slumbered for much of last season, they added position players better known for fielding prowess. By signing former St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong and ex-Boston Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr., the Brewers have four former Gold Glove winners on their roster. “One of the ways we’re going to prevent runs this year is with defense,” manager Craig Counsell said. “We’ve invested in that this year. There is scoring runs and there is preventing runs. We’re going to try to be really good at preventing runs this year.” Wong was a Gold Glove second baseman each of the last two years. Bradley won a Gold Glove in 2018 and was a finalist in 2014, 2016 and 2019. They join a lineup already featuring 2014 Gold Glove left fielder Christian Yelich and 2019 Gold Glove center... [More]

Whether they did it by design or responded to the market forces at work, the Milwaukee Brewers found an intriguing way to try gaining an edge over their NL Central rivals. Rather than focusing on an offense that slumbered for much of last season, they added position players better known for fielding prowess. By signing former St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong and ex-Boston Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr., the Brewers have four former Gold Glove winners on their roster. “One of the ways we’re going to prevent runs this year is with defense,” manager Craig Counsell said. “We’ve invested in that this year. There is scoring runs and there is preventing runs. We’re going to try to be really good at preventing runs this year.” Wong was a Gold Glove second baseman each of the last two years. Bradley won a Gold Glove in 2018 and was a finalist in 2014, 2016 and 2019. They join a lineup already featuring 2014 Gold Glove left fielder Christian Yelich and 2019 Gold Glove center... [More]

Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Lorenzo Cain has no regrets about opting out of nearly the entire 2020 season but realizes his long layoff could create some obstacles now that he’s back. “Definitely the right choice, 100% it was the right choice,” the 2018 All-Star and 2019 Gold Glove winner said Wednesday from the Brewers’ spring training site in Phoenix. “No doubt in my mind. I would do it again in a heartbeat.” Cain, who turns 35 on April 13, played just five games last year before sitting out the rest of the season. He was one of nearly 20 players to opt out, a group that also included Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher David Price and San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey. Nearly all are returning to action this spring. He said in August his decision resulted from concerns about the pandemic and from a desire “to get my life right with God.” Cain went into more detail Wednesday. “I kind of put God on the backburner for the longest time,” Cain said. “I felt like I needed to make him my... [More]