NEW YORK (AP) — CC Sabathia shut down the high-scoring Red Sox, Greg Bird hit two home runs and Aaron Judge connected off a college teammate as the New York Yankees bopped Boston 8-1 on Friday night to retake the top record in the majors.Not since the famed Bucky Dent playoff game in 1978 had the Yankees and Red Sox met so late in a season when they owned the two best marks in baseball. Home runs decided this matchup, too, with Miguel Andujar also going deep for New York.The biggest crowd of the year at Yankee Stadium was in the spirit as lines forming outside the gates more than 3 1/2 hours before the start. The pro-Yankees chants began prior to the first pitch, the anti-Boston shouts soon followed.Sabathia (5-3) helped end Boston's four-game winning streak, less than a month from his 38th birthday. He gave up one run and six hits in seven innings.Steve Pearce, acquired a day earlier from Toronto, batted cleanup in his debut for Boston and doubled and singled off Sabathia. No matter, the... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — CC Sabathia shut down the high-scoring Red Sox, Greg Bird hit two home runs and Aaron Judge connected off a college teammate as the New York Yankees bopped Boston 8-1 on Friday night to retake the top record in the majors.Not since the famed Bucky Dent playoff game in 1978 had the Yankees and Red Sox met so late in a season when they owned the two best marks in baseball. Home runs decided this matchup, too, with Miguel Andujar also going deep for New York.The biggest crowd of the year at Yankee Stadium was in the spirit as lines forming outside the gates more than 3 1/2 hours before the start. The pro-Yankees chants began prior to the first pitch, the anti-Boston shouts soon followed.Sabathia (5-3) helped end Boston's four-game winning streak, less than a month from his 38th birthday. He gave up one run and six hits in seven innings.Steve Pearce, acquired a day earlier from Toronto, batted cleanup in his debut for Boston and doubled and singled off Sabathia. No matter, the... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — CC Sabathia shut down the high-scoring Red Sox, Greg Bird hit two home runs and Aaron Judge connected off a college teammate as the New York Yankees bopped Boston 8-1 on Friday night to retake the top record in the majors.Not since the famed Bucky Dent playoff game in 1978 had the Yankees and Red Sox met so late in a season when they owned the two best marks in baseball. Home runs decided this matchup, too, with Miguel Andujar also going deep for New York.The biggest crowd of the year at Yankee Stadium was in the spirit as lines forming outside the gates more than 3 1/2 hours before the start. The pro-Yankees chants began prior to the first pitch, the anti-Boston shouts soon followed.Sabathia (5-3) helped end Boston's four-game winning streak, less than a month from his 38th birthday. He gave up one run and six hits in seven innings.Steve Pearce, acquired a day earlier from Toronto, batted cleanup in his debut for Boston and doubled and singled off Sabathia. No matter, the... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Turner hit Los Angeles' seventh home run of the game, a go-ahead drive in the 11th inning that lifted the Dodgers over the New York Mets 8-7 on Sunday.Cody Bellinger and Kike Hernandez each homered twice as the Dodgers beat the Mets for the 12th straight time dating to 2016. Max Muncy and Joc Pederson also connected for Los Angeles. Hernandez and Muncy led off the game with back-to-back shots.The Mets matched a team record for the most homers allowed in a game, and lost their sixth in a row overall.Turner, a former Met, homered off Chris Flexen (0-1) with two outs to put the Dodgers up for good. Los Angeles had squandered a 7-4 lead in the eighth when Kevin Plawecki hit a tying three-run shot.Daniel Hudson (2-2) picked up the victory with two scoreless innings.INDIANS 12, TIGERS 2CLEVELAND (AP) — Edwin Encarnacion hit an eighth-inning grand slam, helping the Indians to their season-high seventh straight win.Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez and Jason Kipnis also connected... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Turner hit Los Angeles' seventh home run of the game, a go-ahead drive in the 11th inning that lifted the Dodgers over the New York Mets 8-7 on Sunday.Cody Bellinger and Kike Hernandez each homered twice as the Dodgers beat the Mets for the 12th straight time dating to 2016. Max Muncy and Joc Pederson also connected for Los Angeles. Hernandez and Muncy led off the game with back-to-back shots.The Mets matched a team record for the most homers allowed in a game, and lost their sixth in a row overall.Turner, a former Met, homered off Chris Flexen (0-1) with two outs to put the Dodgers up for good. Los Angeles had squandered a 7-4 lead in the eighth when Kevin Plawecki hit a tying three-run shot.Daniel Hudson (2-2) picked up the victory with two scoreless innings.INDIANS 12, TIGERS 2CLEVELAND (AP) — Edwin Encarnacion hit an eighth-inning grand slam, helping the Indians to their season-high seventh straight win.Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez and Jason Kipnis also connected... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Turner hit Los Angeles' seventh home run of the game, a go-ahead drive in the 11th inning that lifted the Dodgers over the New York Mets 8-7 on Sunday.Cody Bellinger and Kike Hernandez each homered twice as the Dodgers beat the Mets for the 12th straight time dating to 2016. Max Muncy and Joc Pederson also connected for Los Angeles. Hernandez and Muncy led off the game with back-to-back shots.The Mets matched a team record for the most homers allowed in a game, and lost their sixth in a row overall.Turner, a former Met, homered off Chris Flexen (0-1) with two outs to put the Dodgers up for good. Los Angeles had squandered a 7-4 lead in the eighth when Kevin Plawecki hit a tying three-run shot.Daniel Hudson (2-2) picked up the victory with two scoreless innings.INDIANS 12, TIGERS 2CLEVELAND (AP) — Edwin Encarnacion hit an eighth-inning grand slam, helping the Indians to their season-high seventh straight win.Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez and Jason Kipnis also connected... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Jonathan Loaisiga pitched three-hit ball over five impressive innings to win his major league debut, and the New York Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-0 on Friday night.Didi Gregorius homered off ex-Yankee Nathan Eovaldi, and Gary Sanchez broke out of a long slump with a three-run double in the eighth. Giancarlo Stanton had a sacrifice fly for New York, which improved the best record in the majors to 45-20.Jonathan Holder, David Robertson, Dellin Betances and Adam Warren each worked an inning to finish the four-hitter.Loaisiga (1-0) was called up from Double-A Trenton to fill in for injured starter Masahiro Tanaka. The 23-year-old righty, who walked only four batters in 45 minor league innings this year, struggled a little with his command, issuing four walks while striking out six.Pitching against his former team, Eovaldi (1-2) allowed only two runs over the first seven innings until the Yankees chased him in the eighth. He was charged with five runs and eight hits in... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — George Springer dashed home from second base on a wild pitch by Chris Sale, then homered off the Boston ace to send the Houston Astros over the Red Sox 7-3 Friday night in a matchup of AL division leaders.Carlos Correa and Evan Gattis homered late to boost the Astros.Mitch Moreland and J.D. Martinez hit back-to-back homers off Gerrit Cole (6-1) to start the fourth inning and get within 4-3. Martinez hit his major league-leading 19th homer.Springer's sprint put the Astros ahead in the first inning. With runners at first and second and one out, Sale (5-3) threw a hard slider that caught Correa swinging for strike three. But the ball bounced off catcher Sandy Leon's glove and caromed toward the first base dugout, and Springer hustled home on the wild pitch.Cole won his fourth straight decision, giving up three runs and five hits in seven innings. He struck out seven, raising his AL-leading total to 116.ATHLETICS 16, ROYALS 0KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Matt Olson hit two homers and... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Mike Trout homered and doubled three times during his first five-hit game in the majors, and the Los Angeles Angels quickly erased an early deficit in beating the New York Yankees 11-4 on Saturday night.Playing not far from his southern New Jersey hometown, Trout went deep for the third straight game to tie Boston's Mookie Betts for the big league lead with 17 home runs. The two-time MVP drove in four runs and set career bests with four extra-base hits and 11 total bases.Jose Briceno homered in his major league debut for Los Angeles, and rookie Jaime Barria (4-1) returned from the minors to win his third consecutive major league decision.Brett Gardner, Aaron Judge and Austin Romine homered for the Yankees. Sonny Gray (3-4) was tagged for five runs in 3 2/3 innings.RED SOX 8, BRAVES 6BOSTON (AP) — Andrew Benintendi homered and drove in three runs, helping Boston top Atlanta.The AL East-leading Red Sox celebrated the return of Dustin Pedroia with their sixth win in seven games.... [More]

CINCINNATI (AP) — Closer Raisel Iglesias skirted the tarp-covered infield along with the rest of the Cincinnati Reds pitchers, heading for the outfield and a quick game of catch before the rains returned.That's as good at it would get on this opening day in Cincinnati.The Reds and Nationals dodged raindrops at Great American Ball Park on Thursday instead of facing off to open the season. Their first game was pushed back to Friday because of the weather. While most other major league teams got after it, they wound up watching."Disappointed," Reds leadoff hitter Billy Hamilton said. "It's not opening day."The Reds had to call off an opener because of weather for the first time since 1966. It's already an unusual start to the season in the place where professional baseball began in 1869. The traditional opening day parade was pushed back to Monday because the sponsors are busy with their Easter weekend business.So the celebration of baseball's return will last a weekend instead of only one... [More]

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Reds placed Raisel Iglesias on the 3-day paternity list, leaving Cincinnati without its closer to start the season against the Washington Nationals.Their opener scheduled for Thursday was pushed back a day because of rain.The Reds also put setup man David Hernandez on the 10-day disabled list with a sore right shoulder that required a cortisone shot. Starter Brandon Finnegan (strained biceps) and relievers Michael Lorenzen (shoulder strain) and Kevin Shackelford (forearm strain) also went on the 10-day DL on Thursday.Starter Anthony DeSclafani was placed on the 60-day DL with a strained left oblique. He was hurt during spring training and hasn't resumed throwing. It's the third straight season he's been sidelined by a significant injury.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

Capsules of National League Central teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Chicago Cubs2017: 92-70, first place, lost to Dodgers in NLCS.Manager: Joe Maddon (fourth season).He's Here: RHP Yu Darvish, RHP Brandon Morrow, RHP Tyler Chatwood, RHP Steve Cishek, LHP Drew Smyly, C Chris Gimenez.He's Outta Here: RHP Wade Davis, C Alex Avila, C Rene Rivera.Projected Lineup: CF Ian Happ (.253, 24 HRs, 68 RBIs, .842 OPS) or Albert Almora Jr. (.298, 8, 46), 3B Kris Bryant (.295, 29, 73, 38 2Bs, 111 runs), 1B Anthony Rizzo (.273, 32, 109, 91 BBs), C Willson Contreras (.276, 21, 74), LF Kyle Schwarber (.211, 30, 59), SS Addison Russell (.239, 12, 43), RF Jason Heyward (.259, 11, 59), 2B Javier Baez (.273, 23, 75, .796 OPS).Rotation: LH Jon Lester (13-8, 4.33 ERA, 180 Ks), RH Kyle Hendricks (7-5, 3.03), RH Yu Darvish (10-12, 3.86, 209 Ks with Rangers and Dodgers), LH Jose Quintana (11-11, 4.15, 207 Ks with White Sox and Cubs), RH Tyler Chatwood (8-15, 4.69 with Rockies).Key Relievers: RH Brandon... [More]

Capsules of National League Central teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Chicago Cubs2017: 92-70, first place, lost to Dodgers in NLCS.Manager: Joe Maddon (fourth season).He's Here: RHP Yu Darvish, RHP Brandon Morrow, RHP Tyler Chatwood, RHP Steve Cishek, LHP Drew Smyly, C Chris Gimenez.He's Outta Here: RHP Wade Davis, C Alex Avila, C Rene Rivera.Projected Lineup: CF Ian Happ (.253, 24 HRs, 68 RBIs, .842 OPS) or Albert Almora Jr. (.298, 8, 46), 3B Kris Bryant (.295, 29, 73, 38 2Bs, 111 runs), 1B Anthony Rizzo (.273, 32, 109, 91 BBs), C Willson Contreras (.276, 21, 74), LF Kyle Schwarber (.211, 30, 59), SS Addison Russell (.239, 12, 43), RF Jason Heyward (.259, 11, 59), 2B Javier Baez (.273, 23, 75, .796 OPS).Rotation: LH Jon Lester (13-8, 4.33 ERA, 180 Ks), RH Kyle Hendricks (7-5, 3.03), RH Yu Darvish (10-12, 3.86, 209 Ks with Rangers and Dodgers), LH Jose Quintana (11-11, 4.15, 207 Ks with White Sox and Cubs), RH Tyler Chatwood (8-15, 4.69 with Rockies).Key Relievers: RH Brandon... [More]

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — Michael Lorenzen is getting inconsistent results as he tries to win the fifth spot in the Cincinnati Reds' rotation after being used exclusively out of the bullpen the last two seasons.The right-hander has made two solid appearances and one wild one during spring games, which hasn't helped his cause. He's got a few more chances to make his case for a move back to the rotation. The alternative is to open the season as a middle-inning reliever."It's about what you're going to do about it," Lorenzen said. "It is about whether you make the most out of your own situation."Lorenzen made his major league debut in 2015 and had 21 starts along with six relief appearances for the Reds. He went 4-9 with a 5.40 ERA overall, and Cincinnati decided to move him to the bullpen.His best season was 2016, when he went 2-1 with a 2.88 ERA in 35 games. He was used in late-inning roles last season and was inconsistent — a 2.93 ERA before the All-Star break and 6.32 afterward. He finished... [More]

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — The Reds opened camp on Wednesday with one unclaimed spot in the rotation, a major improvement over last year. The question is whether their three veteran starters can make it to opening day without any setbacks.Cincinnati is counting on Anthony DeSclafani, Homer Bailey and left-hander Brandon Finnegan to stay healthy for a change, anchoring a rotation that has little experience beyond those three. Luis Castillo impressed as a rookie and is expected to get the fourth spot, leaving one open to competition."The good thing is that it's not open tryouts," manager Bryan Price said. "But it's not a get-your-arm-ready-for-the-season spring training, either."DeSclafani, Bailey and Finnegan are in camp and appear to be fully recovered from injuries that limited them to a combined 22 starts.DeSclafani missed the entire season with a sore elbow, a year after being limited to 20 starts because of a strained left oblique. Bailey had elbow surgery before the start of spring training... [More]

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds have agreed to a one-year, $4.6 million contract with Billy Hamilton, avoiding arbitration with the speedy outfielder.The Reds also avoided arbitration with two other players, reaching an $860,000 deal with right-hander Anthony DeSclafani and a $1,312,500 deal with right-hander Michael Lorenzen. Infielders Scooter Gennett and Eugenio Suarez remain eligible for arbitration.Gennett is asking for $5.7 million and the team is offering $5.1 million. Suarez is asking for $4.2 million and the Reds are offering $3.75 million.Hamilton established career highs last year with 85 runs, 144 hits, 11 triples and 59 steals. He finished one stolen base behind Miami's Dee Gordon for the major league lead.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

RHP Michael Lorenzen came on with a run in, the bases loaded and no outs in the third inning. He got the Pirates in order to close out the inning with no further damage, one of three perfect innings he tossed. He struck out three and earned the win. Lorenzen is a former starter who would like to be one again. "I will be back in the rotation one day," he said. "When that time comes, I will capitalize on that opportunity and I will take advantage of it and I'll run with it and never look back. When I get opportunities like this, I'm going to do what I can, control what I can control and let them make the decisions."

RHP Michael Lorenzen is serious about becoming Major League Baseball's first two-way player. On Thursday afternoon, the right-handed reliever further legitimized his ability to one day do just that. Lorenzen hit a go-ahead, pinch-hit home run in the sixth and became the first major league pitcher in eight seasons to hit a pinch-hit home run. The last was Micah Owings. who also did it for Cincinnati in 2009. In his career, Lorenzen is batting .262 with two homers and eight RBIs. Following the game, he even sounded like a hitter while describing how he launched a 3-1 pitch from Phillies lefty Adam Morgan into the right-center field seats. "He threw me a couple changeups and didn't really get them over," Lorenzen said. "I knew he was going to come back with a fastball, and my timing was on it."

RHP Michael Lorenzen made his first appearance in the area where he grew up Tuesday night. The 24-year old went to Fullerton High School and Cal State Fullerton, both roughly seven miles from Angel Stadium. In two innings of relief, Lorenzen allowed one run and three hits while striking out two in a 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.

CLEVELAND -- Tyler Naquin followed Jose Ramirez's game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth inning with a walk-off inside-the-park homer to lift the Cleveland Indians to a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night at Progressive Field.Trailing 2-1, Cleveland tied it when Ramirez hit an 0-2 pitch from Toronto closer Roberto Osuna (2-2) over the right field wall.Naquin then hit a 1-2 pitch off the top of the right field wall. The ball ricocheted toward center fielder Melvin Upton Jr., who fell down as he attempted to throw the ball into the infield. Naquin, tearing around the bases, dove through the air on a headfirst slide across home plate to beat the relay.Reliever Jeff Manship (2-1), who pitched a scoreless top of the ninth inning, earned the victory. Manship combined with starter Trevor Bauer on a five-hitter, with 15 strikeouts.Padres 7, Diamondbacks 4 (10 innings)SAN DIEGO -- Ryan Schimpf, who tied the score with a two-run homer in the eighth inning, hit a three-run... [More]