NEW YORK (AP) — The Yankees plan to activate first baseman Greg Bird from the disabled list before Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Angels, forcing New York to make a difficult roster decision.Bird has been sidelined since having right ankle surgery on March 27. New York likely will decide whether to cut from eight relief pitchers to seven or option Tyler Austin to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre despite his strong performance in Bird's absence."It's something that we had a lot of conversations about, are still mulling over, just met a little bit ago to work through things and what we think the best way to go is," manager Aaron Boone said before Friday's series opener against the Los Angeles Angels. "It leads to a difficult decision, not a simple one, not an obvious one and something we're still kind of working through."New York optioned left-hander Ryan Bollinger to Double-A Trenton after Wednesday's game at Texas and maintained its eight-man bullpen by activating right-hander Tommy... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Yankees plan to activate first baseman Greg Bird from the disabled list before Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Angels, forcing New York to make a difficult roster decision.Bird had right ankle surgery on March 27 and is 8 for 39 (.205) with three homers and eight RBIs over 12 games in a minor league injury rehabilitation assignment.New York was back to carrying 13 pitchers, its preferred total, after activating right-hander Tommy Kahnle from the DL before Friday's series opener.Tyler Austin could be sent to the minors to make room for Bird. Austin is hitting .238 with eight homers and 23 RBIs and has out-produced Neil Walker (.220, two homers, 14 RBIs), but Austin has minor league options.Manager Aaron Boone says "a lot of times those are difficult conversations that are the reality and the nature sometimes of this business. And when you are a part of a really good team with a deep roster, those decisions can be even tougher and those conversations can be ever harder."___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle will be shut down for 10 days and likely miss a few weeks after being diagnosed with biceps and shoulder tendinitis.New York manager Aaron Boone revealed the diagnosis Thursday before a game against Toronto. Kahnle had an MRI this week that revealed the tendinitis. The right-hander was placed on the disabled list Tuesday.Kahnle is 1-0 with a 6.14 ERA in six appearances. With his velocity down this season, he has struck out nine and walked eight in 7 1/3 innings.The 28-year-old was 1-1 last season with a 2.70 ERA for New York in 32 games after being acquired from the White Sox in July. He's part of a deep Yankees bullpen that's underperformed, ranking 23rd in the majors with a 4.48 ERA entering Thursday.New York's other injured players are making progress. Clint Frazier (concussion) was set to take batting practice and do outfield work with Class A Tampa and could play in a game soon. Brandon Drury (severe migraines) took batting practice with New York on Thursday, and Greg Bird (right ankle surgery) ran on the field, played catch and hit.Jacoby Ellsbury is still in Tampa recovering from plantar fasciitis in his right heel as well as oblique and hip injuries. Boone said Ellsbury hit off a tee Thursday.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle will be shut down for 10 days and likely miss a few weeks after being diagnosed with biceps and shoulder tendinitis.New York manager Aaron Boone revealed the diagnosis Thursday before a game against the Blue Jays. Kahnle had an MRI this week that revealed the tendinitis. The right-hander was placed on the disabled list Tuesday.Kahnle is 1-0 with a 6.14 ERA in six appearances. With his velocity down this season, he has struck out nine and walked eight in 7 1/3 innings.The 28-year-old was 1-1 last season with a 2.70 ERA for New York in 32 games after being acquired from the White Sox in July. He's part of a deep Yankees bullpen that's underperformed, ranking 23rd in the majors with a 4.48 ERA entering Thursday.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle was placed on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday with right shoulder tendinitis.Kahnle is 1-0 with a 6.14 ERA in six appearances. With his velocity down this season, the right-hander has struck out nine and walked eight in 7 1/3 innings.The move was made retroactive to Monday.Before the Yankees hosted Miami, manager Aaron Boone said the club was awaiting results of an MRI but was optimistic a few days of rest will get Kahnle back on track.To fill his spot, New York recalled right-hander Luis Cessa from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Cessa was optioned to Triple-A on Sunday and penciled in to start for the RailRiders so he would stay stretched out enough to make an upcoming spot start for the Yankees.But once he returned Tuesday, those plans quickly changed.Cessa entered in the sixth inning of a 9-1 loss to Miami but was removed in the eighth with a strained left oblique. He is scheduled for an MRI on Wednesday and will become the 13th player... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle was placed on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday with right shoulder tendinitis.Kahnle is 1-0 with a 6.14 ERA in six appearances. With his velocity down this season, the right-hander has struck out nine and walked eight in 7 1/3 innings.The move was made retroactive to Monday.Before the Yankees hosted Miami, manager Aaron Boone said the club was awaiting results of an MRI but was optimistic a few days of rest will get Kahnle back on track.To fill his spot, New York recalled right-hander Luis Cessa from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Cessa was optioned to Triple-A on Sunday and penciled in to start for the RailRiders so he would stay stretched out enough to make an upcoming spot start for the Yankees. But for now, he'll be available in the New York bullpen."Just feel like Luis can be a weapon for us. He obviously can serve a lot of roles," Boone said. "It still doesn't entirely take him out of the conversation to make that start, you know, maybe... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle has been placed on the 10-day disabled list with right shoulder tendinitis.The move was made, retroactive to Monday, before Tuesday night's game against the Miami Marlins. Kahnle is 1-0 with a 6.14 ERA in six appearances. With his velocity down this season, the right-hander has struck out nine and walked eight in 7 1/3 innings.New York manager Aaron Boone said the club was awaiting results of an MRI but is optimistic a few days of rest will get Kahnle back on track.To fill his spot, the Yankees recalled right-hander Luis Cessa from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Cessa was optioned to Triple-A on Sunday and penciled in to start for the RailRiders so he would stay stretched out enough to make an upcoming spot start for New York. But for now, he'll be available in the New York bullpen.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

BOSTON (AP) — Tyler Austin rushed the mound after being hit by a pitch from Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly, triggering a bench-clearing brawl in a ramped-up rivalry as the New York Yankees ended Boston's nine-game winning streak with a 10-7 victory Wednesday night.Benches cleared briefly in the third after Austin's spikes clipped Brock Holt's leg on a slide into second base. Holt took issue with the contact and they exchanged words before being separated.Then with the Yankees leading 10-6 in the seventh, Kelly caught Austin on the side with a 98 mph fastball. Austin slammed his bat on the plate, threw it down and took four steps toward the mound while hollering. Kelly waved Austin at him, and things quickly escalated.Austin, Kelly, New York reliever Tommy Kahnle and Yankees third base coach Phil Nevin were ejected.The Yankees scored four runs off David Price (1-1) in the first inning before the lefty ace exited the game with a tingling sensation in his pitching hand.Gary Sanchez hit two home... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Tyler Austin rushed the mound after being hit by a pitch from Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly, triggering a bench-clearing brawl in a ramped-up rivalry as the New York Yankees ended Boston's nine-game winning streak with a 10-7 victory Wednesday night.Benches cleared briefly in the third after Austin's spikes clipped Brock Holt's leg on a slide into second base. Holt took issue with the contact and they exchanged words before being separated.Then with the Yankees leading 10-6 in the seventh, Kelly caught Austin on the side with a 98 mph fastball. Austin slammed his bat on the plate, threw it down and took four steps toward the mound while hollering. Kelly waved Austin at him, and things quickly escalated.Austin, Kelly, New York reliever Tommy Kahnle and Yankees third base coach Phil Nevin were ejected.The Yankees scored four runs off David Price (1-1) in the first inning before the lefty ace exited the game with a tingling sensation in his pitching hand.Gary Sanchez hit two home... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia has been pulled from a start with right hip soreness and sent for an MRI.Sabathia threw 58 pitches in four innings against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night, then was removed. He allowed three solo home runs, including two to Manny Machado, and New York trailed 3-2 when he left. The Yankees announced his diagnosis shortly after he was replaced by Tommy Kahnle.The 37-year-old Sabathia had surgery on his right knee after the 2016 season and still wears a brace. He made 27 starts last year, going 14-5 with a 3.69 ERA. He re-signed with New York on a $10 million, one-year deal as a free agent during the winter.Sabathia struck out three Friday and has 2,853 for his career, two shy of Jim Bunning for 17th.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit his first major league home run in his first Angel Stadium at-bat, helping the Los Angeles Angels beat the Cleveland Indians 13-2 on Tuesday night.Ohtani capped a six-run first inning with a three-run drive to center off Josh Tomlin (0-1). The Japanese two-way player got the silent treatment from teammates when he returned to the dugout, but not from the crowd. After players broke character and jumped around Ohtani to celebrate, Mike Trout pointed to the field and instructed Ohtani to take a curtain call.Trout, Justin Upton, Luis Valbuena and Rene Rivera also homered for the Angels, who broke a 12-game losing streak to the Indians. Garrett Richards (1-0) got the win.Jose Ramirez hit a two-run home run in the first for the Indians.BREWERS 5, CARDINALS 4MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich and Ryan Braun hit consecutive homers off Dominic Leone with two out in the ninth, sending Milwaukee to the win.Leone (0-1) retired the first two batters, but then... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit his first major league home run in his first Angel Stadium at-bat, helping the Los Angeles Angels beat the Cleveland Indians 13-2 on Tuesday night.Ohtani capped a six-run first inning with a three-run drive to center off Josh Tomlin (0-1). The Japanese two-way player got the silent treatment from teammates when he returned to the dugout, but not from the crowd. After players broke character and jumped around Ohtani to celebrate, Mike Trout pointed to the field and instructed Ohtani to take a curtain call.Trout, Justin Upton, Luis Valbuena and Rene Rivera also homered for the Angels, who broke a 12-game losing streak to the Indians. Garrett Richards (1-0) got the win.Jose Ramirez hit a two-run home run in the first for the Indians.YANKEES 11, RAYS 4NEW YORK (AP) — Didi Gregorius hit a pair of three-run homers and drove in a career-high eight RBIs, and the Yankees won Aaron Boone's chilly first home opener as manager.Gregorius had four hits and walked,... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Didi Gregorius hit a pair of three-run homers and drove in a career-high eight RBIs, and the New York Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Rays 11-4 on Tuesday in Aaron Boone's chilly first home opener as manager.Gregorius had four hits and walked, setting a major league record for RBIs by a player in a home opener. He also set a Yankees record for RBIs by a shortstop.He doubled and scored in the second, and his first homer put the Yankees ahead 4-1 in the third against Chris Archer. After New York's bullpen wasted a three-run lead for the second straight game, Gregorius drove an 0-2 pitch from Austin Pruitt (1-1) into the second deck in the seventh. He blooped an opposite-field two-run single to left in the eighth.New York improved to 3-2 under Boone, who took over when Joe Girardi was fired. Tommy Kahnle (1-0) got the win.Tampa Bay has lost four straight since beating Boston in its opener.MARINERS 6, GIANTS 4SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Mitch Haniger hit a two-run single, helping the Mariners... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani won his major league pitching debut, throwing three-hit ball over six innings and leading the Los Angeles Angels past the Oakland Athletics 7-4 on Sunday.The two-way star from Japan took the mound three days after he was the designated hitter in the opener. Reaching the upper-90s (mph) with his fastball and showing a nifty splitter, Ohtani struck out six and retired 14 of his final 15 batters.Ohtani didn't hit while pitching. Albert Pujols was the DH and went 0 for 5.Ohtani (1-0) pounded his glove following a 1-2-3 shutdown fifth. He walked one, and the only damage against him came on Matt Chapman's three-run homer in the second.Mike Trout hit a tying double in the fifth and Justin Upton followed with a go-ahead sacrifice fly. Keynan Middleton earned his first save.Daniel Gossett (0-1) allowed four runs in four innings for Oakland.ASTROS 8, RANGERS 2ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Gerrit Cole struck out 11 over seven innings in his Houston debut, and the defending... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — Justin Smoak hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning and a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth to rally the Toronto Blue Jays past the New York Yankees 7-4 on Sunday.After connecting off reliever Tommy Kahnle in the seventh, Smoak brought the crowd of 29,091 to its feet with his second career slam, a drive against David Robertson (0-1).Smoak went 3 for 4 with a walk and six RBIs as Toronto gained a series split, winning the final two games.Smoak's other grand slam also came against the Yankees, in 2015.Tyler Clippard (1-0) pitched a scoreless inning, and Seung Hwan Oh finished for his first save.TWINS 7, ORIOLES 0BALTIMORE (AP) — Jose Berrios pitched a three-hitter for his first career complete game, and Minnesota got two home runs from Brian Dozier in a rout of Baltimore.Only one batter reached against Berrios over the first eight innings — No. 9 hitter Chance Sisco, whose third-inning double whisked by the raised glove of left fielder Eddie Rosario at the wall.Berrios then... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Gregory Polanco hit a three-run homer in the 13th inning to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 13-10 victory over Detroit on Friday — about an hour after the Tigers spilled onto the field to celebrate what they thought was a game-winning hit of their own.Nicholas Castellanos was initially called safe at home in the bottom of the 10th for the Tigers, but a replay review took the run away and the teams played on. Polanco's drive to right-center on a 3-0 pitch from Alex Wilson (0-1) finally gave the Pirates a comfortable lead — or as comfortable as could be on a wacky day in which both teams scored four runs in the ninth.Detroit put two men on base in the 13th, but Steven Brault (1-0) was able to hold on and finish his third scoreless inning of relief.By the time the 5-hour, 27-minute game was over, there were only three umpires and one manager left. Plate umpire Mike Everitt exited in the eighth with a concussion after being hit in the mask by a pitch. And Ron Gardenhire — in... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Gregory Polanco hit a three-run homer in the 13th inning to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 13-10 victory over Detroit on Friday — about an hour after the Tigers spilled onto the field to celebrate what they thought was a game-winning hit of their own.Nicholas Castellanos was initially called safe at home in the bottom of the 10th for the Tigers, but a replay review took the run away and the teams played on. Polanco's drive to right-center on a 3-0 pitch from Alex Wilson (0-1) finally gave the Pirates a comfortable lead — or as comfortable as could be on a wacky day in which both teams scored four runs in the ninth.Detroit put two men on base in the 13th, but Steven Brault (1-0) was able to hold on and finish his third scoreless inning of relief.By the time the 5-hour, 27-minute game was over, there were only three umpires and one manager left. Plate umpire Mike Everitt exited in the eighth with a concussion after being hit in the mask by a pitch. And Ron Gardenhire — in... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Gregory Polanco hit a three-run homer in the 13th inning to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 13-10 victory over Detroit on Friday — about an hour after the Tigers spilled onto the field to celebrate what they thought was a game-winning hit of their own.Nicholas Castellanos was initially called safe at home in the bottom of the 10th for the Tigers, but a replay review took the run away and the teams played on. Polanco's drive to right-center on a 3-0 pitch from Alex Wilson (0-1) finally gave the Pirates a comfortable lead — or as comfortable as could be on a wacky day in which both teams scored four runs in the ninth.Detroit put two men on base in the 13th, but Steven Brault (1-0) was able to hold on and finish his third scoreless inning of relief.By the time the 5-hour, 27-minute game was over, there were only three umpires and one manager left. Plate umpire Mike Everitt exited in the eighth with a concussion after being hit in the mask by a pitch. And Ron Gardenhire — in... [More]

Capsules of American League Central teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Cleveland Indians2017: 102-60, first place, lost to Yankees in ALDS.Manager: Terry Francona (sixth season).He's Here: 1B-DH Yonder Alonso, LF Rajai Davis, RHP Alexi Ogando.He's Outta Here: 1B Carlos Santana, OF Jay Bruce, RHP Bryan Shaw, RHP Joe Smith, OF Austin Jackson, LHP Boone Logan.Projected Lineup: SS Francisco Lindor (.273, 33 HRs, 89 RBIs, 44 2Bs, 15 SBs, 10 errors), 2B Jason Kipnis (.232, 12 HRs, 35 RBIs in 90 games), 3B Jose Ramirez (.318, 29, 83, AL-leading 56 2Bs), DH Edwin Encarnacion (.258, 38, 107), 1B Yonder Alonso (.266, career-high 28 HRs, 67 RBIs with Athletics and Mariners), RF Lonnie Chisenhall (.288, 12, 53 in 82 games), C Roberto Perez (.207, 8, 38, club went 44-22 in his starts) or Yan Gomes (.232, 14, 56), CF Bradley Zimmer (.241, 8, 39, 18 SBs, 0 errors), LF Michael Brantley (.299, 9, 52 in 90 games) or Rajai Davis (.235, 5, 20, 29 SBs with Oakland and Boston).Rotation: RH Corey Kluber... [More]

Capsules of American League East teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Boston Red Sox2017: 93-69, first place, lost to Houston in ALDS.Manager: Alex Cora (first season).He's Here: DH J.D. Martinez.He's Outta Here: Manager John Farrell, RHP Doug Fister, OF Chris Young, RHP Addison Reed, OF Rajai Davis, LHP Henry Owens, LHP Fernando Abad.Projected Lineup: RF Mookie Betts (.264, 24 HRs, 102 RBIs), LF Andrew Benintendi (.271, 20, 90), 1B Hanley Ramirez (.242, 23, 62) or Mitch Moreland (.246, 22, 79), DH J.D. Martinez (.303, 45, 104 with Tigers and Diamondbacks), 3B Rafael Devers (.284, 10, 30 in 58 games), SS Xander Bogaerts (.273, 10, 62), CF Jackie Bradley Jr. (.245, 17, 63), C Christian Vazquez (.290, 5, 32) or Sandy Leon (.225, 7, 39), 2B Eduardo Nunez (.313, 12, 58, 24 SBs with Giants and Red Sox) or Dustin Pedroia (.293, 7, 62, .369 OBP in 105 games, expected to be out until late May following knee surgery).Rotation: LH Chris Sale (17-8, 2.90 ERA, MLB-best 308 Ks, MLB-high 214... [More]