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]

DENVER (AP) — The San Diego Padres have placed outfielder Manuel Margot on the 10-day disabled list with bruised ribs.Margot left in the ninth inning on Tuesday after getting hit by a fastball from Colorado reliever Scott Oberg. Manager Andy Green said Wednesday before the game that he's hoping Margot feels better in four or five days and can resume taking some swings.The 23-year-old Margot is hitting .159 with one homer and three RBIs this season.San Diego reinstated outfielder Franchy Cordero (groin) from the disabled list after a rehab assignment at Triple-A El Paso. He was batting leadoff Wednesday for the series finale against Colorado.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The rebuilding San Diego Padres won't be hurting for veteran presence when they open the season Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers.Left-hander Clayton Richard, at 34 the second-oldest player on the team, will make his first career opening-day start. First baseman Eric Hosmer, 28, will make his Padres debut after signing a $144 million, eight-year free agent contract early in spring training. Third baseman Chase Headley, 33, is back after spending the last 3 1/2 seasons with the New York Yankees.Owner Ron Fowler doesn't expect the Padres to be competitive for another year or two, after another few waves of prospects come up from the minor leagues.That doesn't mean the veterans are going to mail it in."I mean, that's their vision from 30,000 feet," Headley said Wednesday. "I think guys in this clubhouse expect more than that. And that's really the only way to approach it as a player. You understand where he's coming from, you understand the philosophy that's going on,... [More]

The bullpen cart is back in the big leagues.Nearly a quarter-century since relievers stopped catching rides to the mound, the Arizona Diamondbacks said Tuesday they will use a buggy — topped by the requisite oversized team cap — to transport pitchers from both bullpens at Chase Field."I don't know how it will be getting driven in, but I think it's a cool idea and we'll have some fun with it," Diamondbacks closer candidate Archie Bradley said.With Major League Baseball looking for ways to speed up things, it's hard to tell whether this will save any time. But it's certain to be a hit with fans, especially the kids the game is trying to attract."I love it. I love it. I love," Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. "It brings a little personality. We're probably the only sport that can do something like that."The last known time a team in the majors used a motorized vehicle — some clubs had actual cars — to relay relievers was 1995, when the Milwaukee Brewers shuttled them in a motorcycle... [More]

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Two-way star Shohei Ohtani had a much better big league debut as a hitter than he did as a pitcher.After patiently drawing walks in his first two plate appearances, Ohtani hit a sharp RBI single up the middle in his first spring training start as a designated hitter for the Los Angeles Angels."I was happy to get that first hit out of the way but I was also happy with my first two at-bats," the 23-year-old said through a translator after getting on base three times against three different San Diego Padres pitchers. "I got to see a lot of pitches and I got to face a righty and a lefty. I felt like I put together pretty good at-bats the first two walks."That's why the lefty-hitting phenom was able to be aggressive in his third at-bat, when he hit the first pitch he saw from righty Michael Mariot for a single that brought in Eric Young Jr., who had doubled with one out."One of the reasons why I was able to see so many pitches in the first two at-bats was I just wanted to... [More]

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Now that San Diego's first base position is in Eric Hosmer's $144 million hands, it seems as if there are 144 million candidates for the one remaining starting spot in the Padres' outfield.Wil Myers will move to one of the corner spots after playing first base the previous two seasons, manager Andy Green said, and Manuel Margot remains a fixture in center field after a notable rookie season in 2017.That leaves the other seven holdovers who made at least 20 starts in the Padres' outfield last year — including power bat and 2013 first-round draft pick Hunter Renfroe — in the mix for final starting position and the reserve roles."He's right in the thick of that competition," manager Andy Green said of Renfroe, adding, "we didn't have to have a (roster) move to cause that to happen."Green mentioned Alex Dickerson, Franchy Cordero, Travis Jankowski, Matt Szczur and Jose Pirela as others in the outfield competition, noting that Pirela also could spend time in the infield.Renfroe... [More]

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Now that San Diego's first base position is in Eric Hosmer's $144 million hands, it seems as if there are 144 million candidates for the one remaining starting spot in the Padres' outfield.Wil Myers will move to one of the corner spots after playing first base the previous two seasons, manager Andy Green said, and Manuel Margot remains a fixture in center field after a notable rookie season in 2017.That leaves the other seven holdovers who made at least 20 starts in the Padres' outfield last year — including power bat and 2013 first-round draft pick Hunter Renfoe — in the mix for final starting position and the reserve roles."He's right in the thick of that competition," manager Andy Green said of Renfroe, adding, "we didn't have to have a (roster) move to cause that to happen."Green mentioned Alex Dickerson, Franchy Cordero, Travis Jankowski, Matt Szczur and Joel Pirela as others in the outfield competition, noting that Pirela also could spend time in the infield.Renfroe... [More]