MESA, Ariz. (AP) — When spring training opened, one of Oakland's biggest questions was its catching situation following the departure of Jonathan Lucroy. The Athletics had Josh Phegley on the roster and signed Chris Herrmann to a one-year deal in December. It's a good thing they added Nick Hundley, too.Herrmann had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee this past week. That leaves Phegley and Hundley behind the plate."No one knew what direction they were going to go," said Phegley, who is entering his fifth year with the A's. "We're all good options."The 35-year-old Hundley agreed to a minor league deal with Oakland last month. He spent the previous two seasons with San Francisco, batting .241 with 10 homers in 96 games last year.Hundley isn't taking anything for granted. He has an opt out in his contract that Oakland has to decide on by Thursday. That's also the day the Athletics leave for Japan, where they will open the regular season on March 20 against the Mariners."They haven't told... [More]

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Matt Chapman didn't have a lot of time to savor his strong season — or the Oakland Athletics' surprise playoff run — during the winter.The 25-year-old third baseman had planned to have surgery on his right thumb after the season ended, but he also ended up getting an operation on his left shoulder in December. Both injuries had been bothering Chapman for a while."The shoulder was kind of a fluke thing, but it was hurting me the last couple years," Chapman said. "Just overuse. ... I didn't really think it was anything besides just being sore."Now he's ready to build on a year in which he hit 24 homers, won a Gold Glove and finished seventh in AL MVP voting.His preparation has been compressed because of the surgeries and Oakland's early start to spring training and the regular season. The A's will travel to Japan to play the Seattle Mariners in the season-opening series on March 20-21."I think he's right on schedule," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said Friday. "We maybe got... [More]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — The biggest play from the Phillies' spring training game Thursday: great communication behind the home dugout.Philadelphia fans with an eye on their smartphones cried out when reports emerged that Bryce Harper had agreed to a deal with the Phillies, breaking the news to manager Gabe Kapler and his players during a 5-5 split-squad tie with the Orioles. Harper agreed to a $330 million, 13-year deal with the club, the largest contract in baseball history. Harper's agent, Scott Boras, said the deal was agreed to shortly before noon, subject to a successful physical."If the reports are true, it's a huge moment for our baseball team," Kapler said. "Certainly I think that the city of Philadelphia would embrace Bryce Harper. I think he would be very happy in this city because our fans care deeply about winning."A 26-year-old All-Star who had spent his entire big league career with the Washington Nationals, Harper topped the $325 million, 13-year agreement outfielder Giancarlo... [More]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — The biggest play from the Phillies' spring training game Thursday: great communication behind the home dugout.Philadelphia fans with an eye on their smartphones cried out when reports emerged that Bryce Harper had agreed to a deal with the Phillies, breaking the news to manager Gabe Kapler and his players during a 5-5 split-squad tie with the Orioles. Harper agreed to a $330 million, 13-year deal with the club, the largest contract in baseball history. Harper's agent, Scott Boras, said the deal was agreed to shortly before noon, subject to a successful physical."If the reports are true, it's a huge moment for our baseball team," Kapler said. "Certainly I think that the city of Philadelphia would embrace Bryce Harper. I think he would be very happy in this city because our fans care deeply about winning."A 26-year-old All-Star who had spent his entire big league career with the Washington Nationals, Harper topped the $325 million, 13-year agreement outfielder Giancarlo... [More]

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — The Oakland Athletics added depth at catcher on Monday, agreeing to a minor league contract with Nick Hundley.If added to the 40-man roster, the 35-year-old would get a one-year contract paying a $1.25 million salary while in the major leagues.He was catching during Oakland's opening training workout."He's a well-respected veteran coming off a really good year," Oakland executive vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane said. "We're lucky to make that kind of addition."Jonathan Lucroy left as a free agent for the Los Angeles Angels, and Chris Herrmann and Josh Phegley are the only catchers on Oakland's 40-man roster. The team also is high on Sean Murphy, a third-round pick in the 2016 amateur draft.Hundley liked what he saw of the A's, who won 97 games last season and earned a berth in the AL wild-card game, where they lost to the New York Yankees."Playing against them, I've always respected the way their players play the game and always from afar, there are... [More]

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — The Oakland Athletics added depth at catcher on Monday, agreeing to a minor league contract with Nick Hundley.If added to the 40-man roster, the 35-year-old would get a one-year contract paying a $1.25 million salary while in the major leagues.He was catching during Oakland's opening training workout."He's a well-respected veteran coming off a really good year," Oakland executive vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane said. "We're lucky to make that kind of addition."Jonathan Lucroy left as a free agent for the Los Angeles Angels, and Chris Herrmann and Josh Phegley are the only catchers on Oakland's 40-man roster. The team also is high on Sean Murphy, a third-round pick in the 2016 amateur draft.Hundley liked what he saw of the A's, who won 97 games last season and earned a berth in the AL wild-card game, where they lost to the New York Yankees."Playing against them, I've always respected the way their players play the game and always from afar, there are... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Trevor Cahill pitched one-hit ball for seven shutout innings and the Oakland Athletics, far behind in the AL West standings earlier this summer, tied Houston for the division lead by beating the Astros 7-1 Saturday.Khris Davis, Matt Olson, Josh Phegley and Stephen Piscotty each hit two of Oakland's team record-tying eight doubles as the A's won for the sixth time in seven games. The Athletics trailed the defending World Series champion Astros by 11 1/2 games on June 24 and were still 10 out on July 10.Houston has lost seven of eight and dropped 12 of 19 since owning a six-game lead on July 24. The next day, reigning AL MVP Jose Altuve went on the disabled list, and the star second baseman is still out.Cahill (5-2) struck out seven, walked one and retired 14 straight batters during one stretch.Tony Kemp homered in the ninth for Houston's only other hit. Dallas Keuchel (9-10) gave up five runs in 5 2/3 innings.ROCKIES 5, BRAVES 3, 10 INNINGSATLANTA (AP) — Colorado struck... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Trevor Cahill pitched one-hit ball for seven shutout innings and the Oakland Athletics, far behind in the AL West standings earlier this summer, tied Houston for the division lead by beating the Astros 7-1 Saturday.Khris Davis, Matt Olson, Josh Phegley and Stephen Piscotty each hit two of Oakland's team record-tying eight doubles as the A's won for the sixth time in seven games. The Athletics trailed the defending World Series champion Astros by 11 1/2 games on June 24 and were still 10 out on July 10.Houston has lost seven of eight and dropped 12 of 19 since owning a six-game lead on July 24. The next day, reigning AL MVP Jose Altuve went on the disabled list, and the star second baseman is still out.Cahill (5-2) struck out seven, walked one and retired 14 straight batters during one stretch.Tony Kemp homered in the ninth for Houston's only other hit. Dallas Keuchel (9-10) gave up five runs in 5 2/3 innings.ROCKIES 5, BRAVES 3, 10 INNINGSATLANTA (AP) — Colorado struck... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Xander Bogaerts hit a game-ending grand slam with one out in the 10th inning, and J.D. Martinez hit his major league-leading 29th homer to carry the Boston Red Sox to a 6-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday.Martinez increased his major league-leading RBI total to 80 with a solo shot and red-hot Mookie Betts extended his hitting streak to 12 games with three singles to raise his majors' best average to .362 for Boston.The AL East-leading Red Sox had their 10-game winning streak halted Friday. They haven't lost two straight since June 19 and 20.Betts reached on error against Chris Rowley (0-1) when shortstop Gurriel, who moved there in the top of the inning, had his grounder go right through his legs. Brock Holt had a hit-and-run single and Martinez was intentionally walked before Bogaerts hit his shot to left-center.Craig Kimbrel (2-1) pitched a hitless 10th for the victory.ANGELS 5, DODGERS 4, 10 INNINGSLOS ANGELES (AP) — Kole Calhoun homered on his first pitch... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Sale pitched his latest Bronx gem, Rafael Devers went 5 for 5 with a first-inning grand slam and the Boston Red Sox held the New York Yankees to two hits during an 11-0 rout Saturday night to take back baseball's best record.Sale (8-4) allowed only Giancarlo Stanton's clean single over seven innings, striking out 11. He has a 1.73 career ERA against the Yankees, best among pitchers with at least 10 starts against them since 1920. His ERA at Yankee Stadium is 1.86, second only to Seattle's Felix Hernandez among pitchers with five starts.Boston is a major league-leading 56-28, just ahead of the Yankees at 53-27. New York held the majors' best mark by percentage points after winning Friday's series opener 8-1.Yankee Stadium hosted a season-high sellout of 47,125, and the crowd gave starter Sonny Gray (5-6) an earful after he gave up six runs in 2 1/3 innings. The right-hander dropped to 0-4 with a 9.35 ERA against Boston since being acquired by New York from Oakland last... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Sale pitched his latest Bronx gem, Rafael Devers went 5 for 5 with a first-inning grand slam and the Boston Red Sox held the New York Yankees to two hits during an 11-0 rout Saturday night to take back baseball's best record.Sale (8-4) allowed only Giancarlo Stanton's clean single over seven innings, striking out 11. He has a 1.73 career ERA against the Yankees, best among pitchers with at least 10 starts against them since 1920. His ERA at Yankee Stadium is 1.86, second only to Seattle's Felix Hernandez among pitchers with five starts.Boston is a major league-leading 56-28, just ahead of the Yankees at 53-27. New York held the majors' best mark by percentage points after winning Friday's series opener 8-1.Yankee Stadium hosted a season-high sellout of 47,125, and the crowd gave starter Sonny Gray (5-6) an earful after he gave up six runs in 2 1/3 innings. The right-hander dropped to 0-4 with a 9.35 ERA against Boston since being acquired by New York from Oakland last... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — Justin Smoak led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a home run and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Detroit 4-3 on Saturday, handing the Tigers their 11th straight loss.Smoak connected against reliever Joe Jimenez (3-1) for his 11th homer of the season.Seyunghwan Oh (4-2) worked one inning for the win. Randal Grichuk also homered for the Blue Jays, who have won 10 of 11 at home.John Hicks hit a solo homer in the Detroit second off Sam Gaviglio and Nick Castellanos made it 3-0 with a two-run shot in the third, his 12th.Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer to cap Toronto's three-run fifth that tied the score.RAYS 5, ASTROS 2ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Wilson Ramos drove in four runs in the first two innings against Justin Verlander, and Tampa Bay won for the seventh time in eight games.Matt Duffy finished with three hits, including two in the first two innings, to help the Rays move to .500 (41-41) for the first time since June 1. Tampa Bay has held opponents to two runs or fewer... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Jon Lester won his fifth straight start, Javier Baez backed him with three hits and two runs, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 on Wednesday.Lester (9-2) gave up five hits over seven innings. Baez had two doubles, a triple and a steal. He also made some solid plays at shortstop and second base.Kyle Schwarber hit his 14th homer, and Kris Bryant added two hits and an RBI. And the Cubs handed Ross Stripling his first loss since April 30, taking two of three in a rematch of the past two NL Championship Series.Lester walked three and struck out one batter. Anthony Bass worked the final two innings to finish the six-hitter.Stripling (6-2) had won six straight starts. The right-hander went six innings, allowing three runs and eight hits while striking out seven without a walk.YANKEES 7, MARINERS 5NEW YORK (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton lined a two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, and New York erased a five-run deficit to beat Seattle.Gary... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Jon Lester won his fifth straight start, Javier Baez backed him with three hits and two runs, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 on Wednesday.Lester (9-2) gave up five hits over seven innings. Baez had two doubles, a triple and a steal. He also made some solid plays at shortstop and second base.Kyle Schwarber hit his 14th homer, and Kris Bryant added two hits and an RBI. And the Cubs handed Ross Stripling his first loss since April 30, taking two of three in a rematch of the past two NL Championship Series.Lester walked three and struck out one batter. Anthony Bass worked the final two innings to finish the six-hitter.Stripling (6-2) had won six straight starts. The right-hander went six innings, allowing three runs and eight hits while striking out seven without a walk.YANKEES 7, MARINERS 5NEW YORK (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton lined a two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, and New York erased a five-run deficit to beat Seattle.Gary... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Jon Lester won his fifth straight start, Javier Baez backed him with three hits and two runs, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 on Wednesday.Lester (9-2) gave up five hits over seven innings. Baez had two doubles, a triple and a steal. He also made some solid plays at shortstop and second base.Kyle Schwarber hit his 14th homer, and Kris Bryant added two hits and an RBI. And the Cubs handed Ross Stripling his first loss since April 30, taking two of three in a rematch of the past two NL Championship Series.Lester walked three and struck out one batter. Anthony Bass worked the final two innings to finish the six-hitter.Stripling (6-2) had won six straight starts. The right-hander went six innings, allowing three runs and eight hits while striking out seven without a walk.PHILLIES 4, CARDINALS 3PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Odubel Herrera hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the seventh inning, Cesar Hernandez had a two-run shot and Philadelphia beat St. Louis.Herrera ripped... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Charlie Morton pitched seven solid innings, Tony Kemp had a tiebreaking RBI double in the seventh and the Houston Astros beat the Cleveland Indians 4-1 on Friday night for their third straight win.Morton (6-0) allowed one run and four hits with eight strikeouts in extending his career-high winning streak to nine straight dating to last September. Morton retired 19 of the first 21 batters.After Cleveland starter Mike Clevinger (3-1) walked Marwin Gonzalez and Derek Fisher to lead off the seventh, Brian McCann popped out before Kemp hit his RBI ground-rule double down the right-field line to give Houston a 2-1 lead. George Springer followed with a grounder to Kipnis, but Fisher beat the throw home.Ken Giles pitched the ninth for his seventh save.ROYALS 5, YANKEES 2KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Whit Merrifield had three hits, stole three bases and scored twice off CC Sabathia in the first four innings, Jakob Junis held down the Yankees' potent offense and Kansas City beat New York.Salvador... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Charlie Morton pitched seven solid innings, Tony Kemp had a tiebreaking RBI double in the seventh and the Houston Astros beat the Cleveland Indians 4-1 on Friday night for their third straight win.Morton (6-0) allowed one run and four hits with eight strikeouts in extending his career-high winning streak to nine straight dating back to last September. Morton retired 19 of the first 21 batters.After Cleveland starter Mike Clevinger (3-1) walked Marwin Gonzalez and Derek Fisher to lead off the seventh, Brian McCann popped out before Kemp hit his RBI ground-rule double down the right-field line to give Houston a 2-1 lead. George Springer followed with a grounder to Kipnis, but Fisher beat the throw home.Ken Giles pitched the ninth for his seventh save.ROYALS 5, YANKEES 2KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Whit Merrifield had three hits, stole three bases and scored twice off CC Sabathia in the first four innings, Jakob Junis held down the Yankees' potent offense and Kansas City beat New... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHTOzzie Albies, Ronald Acuna Jr. and the baby Braves play their series finale against the visiting Chicago Cubs. Rookie right-hander Mike Soroka (1-1, 3.68 ERA) makes his fourth start for surprising Atlanta, which boasts the best record in the National League at 26-16. Veteran lefty Jon Lester (3-1, 2.66) is 6-2 with a 2.47 ERA in nine career starts against the Braves. He has a 1.83 ERA in six games at Atlanta.MR. AUTOMATICOdubel Herrera tries to extend his on-base streak to 43 games for the surging Phillies when they visit St. Louis. Philadelphia (24-16) has won six of seven and is eight games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2011 season. "We're really, really positive in here right now," pitcher Nick Pivetta said. "Everybody is gelling together, you guys can see it. It's really fun in here right now."BORDER PATROLThe Oakland Athletics will be without catcher Bruce Maxwell for a four-game series in... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Thursday:THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHTOzzie Albies, Ronald Acuna Jr. and the baby Braves play their series finale against the visiting Chicago Cubs. Rookie right-hander Mike Soroka (1-1, 3.68 ERA) makes his fourth start for surprising Atlanta, which boasts the best record in the National League at 26-16. Veteran lefty Jon Lester (3-1, 2.66) is 6-2 with a 2.47 ERA in nine career starts against the Braves. He has a 1.83 ERA in six games at Atlanta.MR. AUTOMATICOdubel Herrera tries to extend his on-base streak to 43 games for the surging Phillies when they visit St. Louis. Philadelphia (24-16) has won six of seven and is eight games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2011 season. "We're really, really positive in here right now," pitcher Nick Pivetta said. "Everybody is gelling together, you guys can see it. It's really fun in here right now."BORDER PATROLThe Oakland Athletics will be without catcher Bruce Maxwell for a four-game series... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Shortstop Marcus Semien is one of five players who reached agreement on a one-year contract with the Oakland Athletics to avoid salary arbitration, receiving a hefty raise to $3,125,000 from $545,000.Also Friday, right-hander Kendall Graveman asked for $2.6 million and the A's offered $2.36 million.Slugger Khris Davis received a $10.5 million, one-year deal Wednesday.Semien played until mid-April before missing the remainder of the month and all of May and June with a right wrist injury that eventually required surgery. He batted .249 with 10 homers and 40 RBIs in the injury-shortened season during which he didn't play from April 14-July 6. He earned $545,000 last season.When healthy in 2016, Semien hit 27 home runs with 75 RBIs in 159 games.Graveman started on opening day in place of injured ace Sonny Gray, later dealt to the Yankees at the trade deadline. The 27-year-old went 6-4 with a 4.19 ERA in 19 starts and 105 1/3 innings. Graveman missed time with a shoulder... [More]