NEW YORK (AP) — The last-place New York Yankees lost their fifth straight game as Yoshi Tsutsugo hit a tiebreaking double off Gerrit Cole in the seventh inning that lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-2 win Sunday and a three-game sweep. Four pitchers combined on the Rays’ second three-hitter of a series in which New York managed 11 hits in all. Cole (2-1) was hurt by slipshod defense that made three mistakes in the third inning alone, two by center fielder Aaron Hicks and one by left fielder Clint Frazier. Joey Wendle added a ninth-inning home run off Darren O’Day. Tampa Bay has won 16 of its last 21 against the Yankees, including in last year’s Division Series. Ryan Yarbrough (2-1) followed opener Andrew Kittredge and allowed one run and two hits in five innings. Diego Castillo got four outs, and Jeffrey Springs pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first big league save. INDIANS 6, REDS 3 CINCINNATI (AP) — Shane Bieber kept up his record strikeout run, fanning 13 and pitching Cleveland past Cincinnati.... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The last-place New York Yankees lost their fifth straight game as Yoshi Tsutsugo hit a tiebreaking double off Gerrit Cole in the seventh inning that lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-2 win Sunday and a three-game sweep. Four pitchers combined on the Rays’ second three-hitter of a series in which New York managed 11 hits in all. Cole (2-1) was hurt by slipshod defense that made three mistakes in the third inning alone, two by center fielder Aaron Hicks and one by left fielder Clint Frazier. Joey Wendle added a ninth-inning home run off Darren O’Day. Tampa Bay has won 16 of its last 21 against the Yankees, including in last year’s Division Series. Ryan Yarbrough (2-1) followed opener Andrew Kittredge and allowed one run and two hits in five innings. Diego Castillo got four outs, and Jeffrey Springs pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first big league save. INDIANS 6, REDS 3 CINCINNATI (AP) — Shane Bieber kept up his record strikeout run, fanning 13 and pitching Cleveland past Cincinnati.... [More]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Corey Seager hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer on Tim Hill’s first pitch of the 12th inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 11-6 Friday night in a tense, entertaining first matchup this season between NL West rivals who have visions of deep playoff runs. It took 4 hours, 57 minutes to decide this one, which ended early Saturday morning. The benches emptied after Dodgers reliever Dennis Santana hit Jorge Mateo with a pitch to put runners on the corners with one out in the 10th. Trent Grisham walked to load the bases, but Santana struck out Fernando Tatis Jr. to escape. The teams met for the first time since the Dodgers swept San Diego in their Division Series last year en route to winning the World Series. The Padres responded by beefing up their rotation, trading for Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove. Darvish and Snell are scheduled to pitch in the final two games of the three-game series. Seager homered with Mookie Betts on second base after... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kyle Schwarber hit a game-ending homer in the ninth inning, helping the Washington Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0 on Friday night after Max Scherzer passed Cy Young on baseball’s career strikeouts list. The lefty-batting Schwarber connected on a 2-1 pitch from left-hander Alex Young (0-3), sending a drive to right that traveled an estimated 463 feet for his first homer for Washington. Brad Hand (1-0) worked a scoreless ninth for the win. The Nationals allowed just three hits. Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, struck out the side in the seventh while passing Cy Young to move into 22nd place on baseball’s strikeout list. He finished with 10 on the day, giving him 2,808 for his career. RAYS 8, YANKEES 2 NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Lowe hit a two-run double in the first inning off opener Nick Nelson (0-2), and AL champion Tampa Bay kept up its domination of New York, setting off frustrated fans who caused a brief interruption. The young, athletic Rays... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kyle Schwarber hit a game-ending homer in the ninth inning, helping the Washington Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0 on Friday night after Max Scherzer passed Cy Young on baseball’s career strikeouts list. The lefty-batting Schwarber connected on a 2-1 pitch from left-hander Alex Young (0-3), sending a drive to right that traveled an estimated 463 feet for his first homer for Washington. Brad Hand (1-0) worked a scoreless ninth for the win. The Nationals allowed just three hits. Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, struck out the side in the seventh while passing Cy Young to move into 22nd place on baseball’s strikeout list. He finished with 10 on the day, giving him 2,808 for his career. RAYS 8, YANKEES 2 NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Lowe hit a two-run double in the first inning off opener Nick Nelson (0-2), and AL champion Tampa Bay kept up its domination of New York, setting off frustrated fans who caused a brief interruption. The young, athletic Rays... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kyle Schwarber hit a game-ending homer in the ninth inning, helping the Washington Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0 on Friday night after Max Scherzer passed Cy Young on baseball’s career strikeouts list. The lefty-batting Schwarber connected on a 2-1 pitch from left-hander Alex Young (0-3), sending a drive to right that traveled an estimated 463 feet for his first homer for Washington. Brad Hand (1-0) worked a scoreless ninth for the win. The Nationals allowed just three hits. Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, struck out the side in the seventh while passing Cy Young to move into 22nd place on baseball’s strikeout list. He finished with 10 on the day, giving him 2,808 for his career. RAYS 8, YANKEES 2 NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Lowe hit a two-run double in the first inning off opener Nick Nelson (0-2), and AL champion Tampa Bay kept up its domination of New York, setting off frustrated fans who caused a brief interruption. The young, athletic Rays... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kyle Schwarber hit a game-ending homer in the ninth inning, helping the Washington Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0 on Friday night after Max Scherzer passed Cy Young on baseball’s career strikeouts list. The lefty-batting Schwarber connected on a 2-1 pitch from left-hander Alex Young (0-3), sending a drive to right that traveled an estimated 463 feet for his first homer for Washington. Brad Hand (1-0) worked a scoreless ninth for the win. The Nationals allowed just three hits. Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, struck out the side in the seventh while passing Cy Young to move into 22nd place on baseball’s strikeout list. He finished with 10 on the day, giving him 2,808 for his career. RAYS 8, YANKEES 2 NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Lowe hit a two-run double in the first inning off opener Nick Nelson (0-2), and AL champion Tampa Bay kept up its domination of New York, setting off frustrated fans who caused a brief interruption. The young, athletic Rays... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kyle Schwarber hit a game-ending homer in the ninth inning, helping the Washington Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0 on Friday night after Max Scherzer passed Cy Young on baseball’s career strikeouts list. The lefty-batting Schwarber connected on a 2-1 pitch from left-hander Alex Young (0-3), sending a drive to right that traveled an estimated 463 feet for his first homer for Washington. Brad Hand (1-0) worked a scoreless ninth for the win. The Nationals allowed just three hits. Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, struck out the side in the seventh while passing Cy Young to move into 22nd place on baseball’s strikeout list. He finished with 10 on the day, giving him 2,808 for his career. RAYS 8, YANKEES 2 NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Lowe hit a two-run double in the first inning off opener Nick Nelson (0-2), and AL champion Tampa Bay kept up its domination of New York, setting off frustrated fans who caused a brief interruption. The young, athletic Rays... [More]

DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) — Toronto Blue Jays closer Julian Merryweather has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left oblique. The right-hander felt discomfort in the left side of his abdomen on his final warmup pitch in the eighth inning of Tuesday night’s 7-3 victory over the New York Yankees. Merryweather entered with two runners on and two outs and threw just two pitches to Aaron Hicks before Gary Sánchez was tagged out in a rundown between first and second base after a pitch in the dirt. He didn’t return for the ninth. Merryweather has two saves and has allowed just one hit and one walk with seven strikeouts over 4? innings in four appearances. His fastball has reached 100.4 mph this season. Also, Ross Stripling was scratched from his scheduled start Wednesday against the Yankees due to right forearm tightness. He was unable to get loose before the game. T.J. Zeuch replaced Stripling. NOTES: RHP David Phelps, hit in the lower back by Clint Frazier's 100.7 mph liner Tuesday night, is day to day with a bruised back. ... RHP Anthony Castro had his contract purchased from the alternate site and will work out of the bullpen. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Yankees slugger Aaron Judge is back in New York’s lineup after missing two games with soreness in his left side. Judge started in right field and batted second Saturday against AL champion Tampa Bay. He didn’t play in the Yankees’ 4-3, 11-inning loss to Baltimore on Wednesday and also sat out Friday's 10-5 loss to the Rays. New York had Thursday off. “I just wanted to hold him out coming off the off day another day,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Speaking to him this morning, he felt ready to go. So excited to write his name back in the lineup.” Third baseman Gio Urshela was reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list and was in the lineup after sitting out Friday’s series opener due to side effects from a vaccination. Infielder Rougned Odor completed intake testing and was reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list. Acquired in a trade with Texas, he will fill in when starting infielders are rested. “I expect him to probably be in the lineup potentially a... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Gerrit Cole’s dad will watch him pitch at Yankee Stadium in pinstripes for the first time, one of about 10,850 fans allowed in to watch New York’s opener against the Toronto Blue Jays. “I had trouble sleeping last night, so I probably anticipate going to be the same thing tonight,” Cole said Wednesday. “There’s just a lot of different emotions. Everybody is tired of spring training, ready for opening day. Most people’s families are in town, which is special. There’s a lot of hope. There’s a lot of excitement. There’s a lot of projections. There’s a lot of baseball out in front of you. And you’ve prepared up to this point and there’s nothing else. You just want the gates to open and you want it to start.” Cole’s first season with Yankees was played entirely without fans because of the pandemic. “It was a bit surreal at first, and then it became kind of standard operating procedure. There were more important things that we needed to focus on,” Cole said. “Every time I see... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Major league home run champion Luke Voit needs knee surgery to repair a partial meniscus tear, an injury that opened a New York Yankees roster spot for Jay Bruce on Saturday as a converted first baseman. Voit will not have any baseball activities for three weeks after the operation on his left knee, manager Aaron Boone said. Voit is expected back in May. “Let’s have the surgery, see how the early days are and then we will be able to evaluate,” Boone said. The injury to Voit, who hit 22 homers in the pandemic-shortened season, played a role in the decision to add Bruce, who attended spring training with a minor league contract. “We're going to be missing Luke but I know Jay Bruce is going to come in and do some special things for us,” Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge said. “Luke is a big part of this team, big part of this offense. He’s a really vocal guy in the clubhouse who gets us motivated. I’m excited to have Jay Bruce on his team. This is why he came to this team,... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Major league home run champion Luke Voit needs knee surgery to repair a partial meniscus tear, an injury that opened a New York Yankees roster spot for Jay Bruce on Saturday as a converted first baseman. Voit will not have any baseball activities for three weeks after the operation on his left knee, manager Aaron Boone said. Voit is expected back in May. “Let’s have the surgery, see how the early days are and then we will be able to evaluate,” Boone said. The injury to Voit, who hit 22 homers in the pandemic-shortened season, played a role in the decision to add Bruce, who attended spring training with a minor league contract. “We're going to be missing Luke but I know Jay Bruce is going to come in and do some special things for us,” Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge said. “Luke is a big part of this team, big part of this offense. He’s a really vocal guy in the clubhouse who gets us motivated. I’m excited to have Jay Bruce on his team. This is why he came to this team,... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Major league home run champion Luke Voit needs knee surgery to repair a partial meniscus tear, an injury that opened a New York Yankees roster spot for Jay Bruce on Saturday as a converted first baseman. Voit will not have any baseball activities for three weeks after the operation, manager Aaron Boone said. Voit is expected back in May. “Let’s have the surgery, see how the early days are and then we will be able to evaluate,” Boone said. The injury to Voit, hit 22 homers in the pandemic-shortened season, played a role in the decision to add Bruce, who attended spring training with a minor league contract. Bruce has played 1,510 major league games in the outfield and 54 at first base, including two last season. “It was part of the equation,” Boone said. “So, Jay is with us. I expect him to play a lot and a lot of first base for us. Excited to see what he can do for us.” Bruce gets a contract paying $1.35 million while in the major leagues and $150,000 should he be assigned... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Outfielder Jay Bruce has made the New York Yankees' opening day roster, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press. The Yankees notified Major League Baseball that Bruce's contract will be selected from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the person said Saturday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had not yet been announced. Bruce gets a contract paying $1.35 million while in the major leagues and $150,000 should he be assigned to the minors. He entered Saturday with a .194 average, two homers and three RBIs in 31 at-bats during spring training. Bruce making the team could lead to a trade of outfielder Michael Tauchman, who is out of minor league options. Bruce is a rare left-handed bat on the heavily right-handed Yankees. In their projected batting order, switch-hitting center fielder Aaron Hicks is joined by eight right-handed hitters. Left-handed-hitting outfielder Brett Gardner, projected as a reserve behind Clint Frazier,... [More]

TAMPA, Fla (AP) — New York Yankees left-hander Zack Britton is scheduled for surgery Monday to remove a bone chip from his pitching elbow and seems likely to be out until at least May. Britton will not be able to throw for several weeks while the incision heals after the operation by Yankees head team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Britton will then need to build arm strength. “It’s going to get taken care of and I’ll be able to pitch this year and help the team. And so that’s the most important thing,” he said Wednesday. “Could I rehab through it and possibly come back and it wouldn’t impact me? There was a chance. But we like the chances better of me coming back this season and pitching at a high level if I just got it removed now. If this was during the season, I’m not sure surgery would be the decision.” Left-hander Aroldis Chapman is the Yankees' closer, and manager Aaron Boone said he will mix and match during the sixth, seventh and eighth innings.... [More]

TAMPA, Fla (AP) — New York Yankees left-hander Zack Britton is scheduled for surgery Monday to remove a bone chip from his pitching elbow and seems likely to be out until at least May. Britton will not be able to throw for several weeks while the incision heals after the operation by Yankees head team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Britton will then need to build arm strength. “It’s going to get taken care of and I’ll be able to pitch this year and help the team. And so that’s the most important thing,” he said Wednesday. “Could I rehab through it and possibly come back and it wouldn’t impact me? There was a chance. But we like the chances better of me coming back this season and pitching at a high level if I just got it removed now. If this was during the season, I’m not sure surgery would be the decision.” Left-hander Aroldis Chapman is the Yankees' closer, and manager Aaron Boone said he will mix and match during the sixth, seventh and eighth innings.... [More]

TAMPA, Fla (AP) — New York Yankees left-hander Zack Britton is scheduled for surgery Monday to remove a bone chip from his pitching elbow and seems likely to be out until at least May. Britton will not be able to throw for several weeks while the incision heals after the operation by Yankees head team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Britton will then need to build arm strength. “It’s going to get taken care of and I’ll be able to pitch this year and help the team. And so that’s the most important thing,” he said Wednesday. “Could I rehab through it and possibly come back and it wouldn’t impact me? There was a chance. But we like the chances better of me coming back this season and pitching at a high level if I just got it removed now. If this was during the season, I’m not sure surgery would be the decision.” Left-hander Aroldis Chapman is the Yankees' closer, and manager Aaron Boone said he will mix and match during the sixth, seventh and eighth innings... [More]

TAMPA, Fla (AP) — New York Yankees left-handed Zack Britton is scheduled for surgery Monday to remove a bone chip from his pitching elbow and seems likely to be out until at least May. Britton will not be able to throw for several weeks while the incision heals after the operation by Yankees head team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Britton will then need to build arm strength. “It’s going to get taken care of and I’ll be able to pitch this year and help the team. And so that’s the most important thing,” he said Wednesday. “Could I rehab through it and possibly come back and it wouldn’t impact me? There was a chance. But we like the chances better of me coming back this season and pitching at a high level if I just got it removed now. If this was during the season, I’m not sure surgery would be the decision.” Left-hander Aroldis Chapman is the Yankees' closer, and manager Aaron Boone said he will mix and match during the sixth, seventh and eighth innings... [More]

Michael Kopech is getting used to his new relief role with the Chicago White Sox. Judging by his first Cactus League appearance, it looks like he's going to be just fine. The talented right-hander worked a perfect fourth inning Tuesday against San Diego. It was his first game since he opted out of the pandemic-shortened season for a variety of reasons, including concerns about his mental health. “It’s been a while, obviously,” Kopech said. “But it just felt good to kind of knock some rust off and get back out there and compete.” The 24-year-old Kopech, one of baseball’s top pitching prospects, was a starter coming up through the minors and likely will return to Chicago’s rotation at some point. But he is expected to begin the year in the White Sox bullpen. Part of his spring training work involves getting up to speed when it comes to life as a reliever. He worked out of the stretch against the Padres. “If I am going to be throwing out of the bullpen for part of this year at least and maybe... [More]