MIAMI (AP) — Adam Duvall hit a tiebreaking home run off the foul pole with one out in the ninth inning, and the Atlanta Braves broke a four-game losing streak by beating the first-place Miami Marlins 2-1 Saturday.Atlanta’s Max Fried pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings and was in line for his fourth victory until Monte Harrison hit his first major league homer leading off the eighth against Will Smith for a 1-all tie.The Braves regained the lead when Duvall lunged at an outside pitch from Brandon Kintzler (1-1) and pulled it down the left field line.Marcell Ozuna produced the game’s first run when he led off the seventh with his fifth homer off Daniel Castano, making only his second major league start.Fried allowed four hits, struck out seven and lowered his ERA to 1.24, but he remained winless in five career starts against Miami.Smith (1-0) worked the eighth. Mark Melancon pitched around a two-out single in the ninth for his fourth save to complete a six-hitter.INDIANS 3, TIGERS 1DETROIT (AP)... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Adam Duvall hit a tiebreaking home run off the foul pole with one out in the ninth inning, and the Atlanta Braves broke a four-game losing streak by beating the first-place Miami Marlins 2-1 Saturday.Atlanta’s Max Fried pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings and was in line for his fourth victory until Monte Harrison hit his first major league homer leading off the eighth against Will Smith for a 1-all tie.The Braves regained the lead when Duvall lunged at an outside pitch from Brandon Kintzler (1-1) and pulled it down the left field line.Marcell Ozuna produced the game’s first run when he led off the seventh with his fifth homer off Daniel Castano, making only his second major league start.Fried allowed four hits, struck out seven and lowered his ERA to 1.24, but he remained winless in five career starts against Miami.Smith (1-0) worked the eighth. Mark Melancon pitched around a two-out single in the ninth for his fourth save to complete a six-hitter.INDIANS 3, TIGERS 1DETROIT (AP)... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Adam Duvall hit a tiebreaking home run off the foul pole with one out in the ninth inning, and the Atlanta Braves broke a four-game losing streak by beating the first-place Miami Marlins 2-1 Saturday.Atlanta’s Max Fried pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings and was in line for his fourth victory until Monte Harrison hit his first major league homer leading off the eighth against Will Smith for a 1-all tie.The Braves regained the lead when Duvall lunged at an outside pitch from Brandon Kintzler (1-1) and pulled it down the left field line.Marcell Ozuna produced the game’s first run when he led off the seventh with his fifth homer off Daniel Castano, making only his second major league start.Fried allowed four hits, struck out seven and lowered his ERA to 1.24, but he remained winless in five career starts against Miami.Smith (1-0) worked the eighth. Mark Melancon pitched around a two-out single in the ninth for his fourth save to complete a six-hitter.INDIANS 3, TIGERS 1DETROIT (AP)... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Max Fried hit the corners, and Adam Duvall hit the foul pole.The combination helped the Atlanta Braves break a four-game losing streak by beating the first-place Miami Marlins 2-1 Saturday.Fried pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings, lowering his ERA to 1.24. Duvall broke a tie by golfing his 100th career homer, which caromed off the left-field pole with one out in the ninth. “With the skid we had going, it was good to scrape that out,” Duvall said. “I'd like to start hitting them a little bit straighter. That was like a 9-iron draw. I just caught enough there.”Fried was in line for his fourth victory until Monte Harrison hit his first major league homer leading off the eighth against Will Smith for a 1-all tie.“It’s a great moment, but we didn’t win the game," Harrison said, “so it doesn’t really mean much to me right now.”The Braves regained the lead when Duvall lunged at an outside pitch from Brandon Kintzler (1-1) and pulled it down the line.Marcell Ozuna produced the game’s first... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Adam Duvall hit a tiebreaking home run off the foul pole with one out in the ninth inning, and the Atlanta Braves broke a four-game losing streak by beating the first-place Miami Marlins 2-1 Saturday.Atlanta’s Max Fried pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings and was in line for his fourth victory until Monte Harrison hit his first major league homer leading off the eighth against Will Smith for a 1-all tie.The Braves regained the lead when Duvall lunged at an outside pitch from Brandon Kintzler (1-1) and pulled it down the left field line.Marcell Ozuna produced the game’s first run when he led off the seventh with his fifth homer off Daniel Castano, making only his second major league start.Fried allowed four hits, struck out seven and lowered his ERA to 1.24, but he remained winless in five career starts against Miami.Smith (1-0) worked the eighth. Mark Melancon pitched around a two-out single in the ninth for his fourth save to complete a six-hitter.INDIANS 3, TIGERS 1DETROIT (AP)... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Adam Duvall hit a tiebreaking home run off the foul pole with one out in the ninth inning, and the Atlanta Braves broke a four-game losing streak by beating the first-place Miami Marlins 2-1 Saturday.Atlanta's Max Fried pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings and was in line for his fourth victory until Monte Harrison hit his first major league homer leading off the eighth against Will Smith for a 1-all tie.The Braves regained the lead when Duvall lunged at an outside pitch from Brandon Kintzler (1-1) and pulled it down the left field line.Marcell Ozuna produced the game’s first run when he led off the seventh with his fifth homer off Daniel Castano, making only his second major league start.Fried allowed four hits, struck out seven and lowered his ERA to 1.24, but he remained winless in five career starts against Miami.Smith (1-0) worked the eighth. Mark Melancon pitched around a two-out single in the ninth for his fourth save to complete a six-hitter.The Braves have been scuffling... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Adam Duvall hit a tiebreaking home run off the foul pole with one out in the ninth inning, and the Atlanta Braves broke a four-game losing streak by beating the first-place Miami Marlins 2-1 Saturday.Atlanta’s Max Fried pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings and was in line for his fourth victory until Monte Harrison hit his first major league homer leading off the eighth against Will Smith for a 1-all tie.The Braves regained the lead when Duvall lunged at an outside pitch from Brandon Kintzler (1-1) and pulled it down the left field line.Marcell Ozuna produced the game’s first run when he led off the seventh with his fifth homer off Daniel Castano, making only his second major league start.Fried allowed four hits, struck out seven and lowered his ERA to 1.24, but he remained winless in five career starts against Miami.Smith (1-0) worked the eighth. Mark Melancon pitched around a two-out single in the ninth for his fourth save to complete a six-hitter.TWINS 4, ROYALS 1, Game 1ROYALS... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Marlins Park will have a new look for its 2020 season debut Friday, thanks to cozier dimensions and a switch to artificial turf.Also, there will be a first-place team in the home dugout. And that Marlins' roster looks a lot different than it did when they were last in Miami, before departing for a season-opening three-game trip. That was more than three weeks ago."You feel like you’ve got a quick trip," manager Don Mattingly said. “You pack hardly nothing, and the next thing you know, a month later, you’ve got to pay rent again.”The Marlins' 23-day road odessey was necessitated by a coronavirus outbreak that infected at least 18 of their players during the opening weekend in Philadelphia. Their season was suspended for a week and the schedule scrambled, including the postponement of eight games at Marlins Park.With the revised schedule, they've played two “home” games on the road. Three weeks into MLB's 60-game season, Miami will finally play in Miami on Friday against the... [More]

Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly was talking about this week’s doubleheader sweep at Baltimore that involved a parade of relievers, including several newcomers rescued from unemployment, and after naming three of them he drew a blank. “I’ve got to remember who all we used,” Mattingly said. “Who else pitched today? I don’t know.”For the Marlins, this season has been a bit of a blur. It was halted for eight days because of a coronavirus outbreak that sidelined more than half the team, and even now, four games into the resumption of play, there's cause for eye-rubbing.The Marlins are in first place in August, a first for the franchise. In fact, at 6-1 they have the best record in baseball, staging a one-year turnaround not seen since the 1899 St. Louis Perfectos.“I’m going to have to write a book after this,” Mattingly said. “You get tested, and you persevere.” Following a decade of sub-.500 seasons, the Marlins reported for spring training with something close to a swagger in Year 3 of... [More]

Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly was talking about this week’s doubleheader sweep at Baltimore that involved a parade of relievers, including several newcomers rescued from unemployment, and after naming three of them he drew a blank. “I’ve got to remember who all we used,” Mattingly said. “Who else pitched today? I don’t know.”For the Marlins, this season has been a bit of a blur. It was halted for eight days because of a coronavirus outbreak that sidelined more than half the team, and even now, five games into the resumption of play, there's cause for eye-rubbing.The Marlins are in first place in August, a first for the franchise. In fact, at 6-1 they have the best record in baseball, staging a one-year turnaround not seen since the 1899 St. Louis Perfectos.“I’m going to have to write a book after this,” Mattingly said. “You get tested, and you persevere.” Following a decade of sub-.500 seasons, the Marlins reported for spring training with something close to a swagger in Year 3 of... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — Jonathan Villar hit a first-pitch leadoff homer to spark a robust offensive performance by the Miami Marlins, who beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-7 Thursday night to complete a startling four-game sweep and make Don Mattingly the winningest manager in franchise history.Villar had three hits and Brian Anderson drove in three runs for the upstart Marlins, who emerged from a team-wide coronavirus outbreak to dominate the Orioles and forge the best winning percentage in the big leagues.Miami is 6-1 and in first place in the NL East despite putting 18 players on the injured list before the series opener Tuesday.The Marlins were the “home” team because this was a makeup of a July 28 game that was to be held in Miami but postponed in the wake of the Marlins’ COVID-19 outbreak.Batting in the bottom of the seventh, the Marlins broke a 6-6 tie with a sacrifice fly by Jesús Aguilar off Evan Phillips (1-1) and an RBI triple by Anderson.Mike Morin (1-0) pitched two shutout innings and... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — Jonathan Villar hit a first-pitch leadoff homer to spark a robust offensive performance by the Miami Marlins, who beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-7 Thursday night to complete a startling four-game sweep and make Don Mattingly the winningest manager in franchise history.Villar had three hits and Brian Anderson drove in three runs for the upstart Marlins, who emerged from a team-wide coronavirus outbreak to dominate the Orioles and forge the best winning percentage in the big leagues.Miami is 6-1 and in first place in the NL East despite putting 18 players on the injured list before the series opener Tuesday.The Marlins were the “home” team because this was a makeup of a July 28 game that was to be held in Miami but postponed in the wake of the Marlins’ COVID-19 outbreak.Batting in the bottom of the seventh, the Marlins broke a 6-6 tie with a sacrifice fly by Jesús Aguilar off Evan Phillips (1-1) and an RBI triple by Anderson.Mike Morin (1-0) pitched two shutout innings and... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Baseball’s news cycle of late has been dominated by the sign-stealing scandal that led to upheaval in Houston and Boston, as well as Derek Jeter missing out on being a unanimous selection for Baseball’s Hall of Fame.Don Mattingly was bothered by both stories.Miami’s manager spoke out Saturday at the team’s annual FanFest, expressing dismay over how Jeter — the Marlins’ CEO — was one vote away from appearing on 100% of the ballots submitted in this year’s Hall of Fame voting, as well as the sign-stealing controversy that is could well taint Houston’s World Series win in 2017 and Boston’s title in 2018.“You could see it kind of coming, honestly, with the technology, with the cameras, just how fast that has come to the forefront with everything you can do with replay,” Mattingly said. “You could actually see how it could ... how something could start to happen. Unfortunately, it did.”Houston manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were suspended for a year by MLB Commissioner... [More]

A team-by-team look at the National League East entering spring training, including key players each club acquired and lost, and dates of the first workout for pitchers and catchers, and the full squad:___Atlanta Braves Manager: Brian Snitker (fifth season). 2019: 97-65, first place, lost to Cardinals in Division Series.Training Town: North Port, Florida.Park: CoolToday Park. First Workout: Feb. 13/18. He's Here: LF Marcell Ozuna, C Travis d'Arnaud, LHP Cole Hamels, LHP Will Smith, RHP F�lix Hern�ndez.He's Outta Here: 3B Josh Donaldson, LHP Dallas Keuchel, RHP Julio Teheran, C Brian McCann, OF Matt Joyce, RHP Anthony Swarzak, RHP Josh Tomlin, LHP Jerry Blevins, OF Billy Hamilton, C Francisco Cervelli. Going campin': The Braves are coming off their second straight NL East title, led by one of baseball's brightest young stars. In his first full season in the big leagues, 22-year-old OF Ronald Acu�a Jr. hit 41 homers, led the league with 127 runs and tallied 37 stolen bases to become the second-youngest... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Right-hander Brandon Kintzler and the Miami Marlins have finalized a one-year contract that guarantees $3.25 million.Miami also completed a $1.5 million, one-year deal on Monday with outfielder Matt Joyce, who can earn an additional $250,000 in performance bonuses for plate appearances: $50,000 each for 200 and 250, and $75,000 apiece for 300 and 350.Kintzler, 35, gets a $3 million salary next year, and the Marlins have a $4 million team option for 2021 with a $259,000 buyout. If he is traded, the option price would escalate to $5 million with a $500,000 buyout.Kintzler was 3-3 with a 2.68 ERA in 68 relief appearances last year for the Chicago Cubs, allowing 45 hits and 13 walks in 57 innings with 48 strikeouts. An All-Star in 2017, he is 20-20 with a 3.37 ERA in 10 big league seasons that included time with Milwaukee (2010-15), Minnesota (2016-17), Washington (2017-18) and the Cubs (2018-19).The 35-year-old Joyce hit .295 with 10 doubles, seven home runs, and 23 RBIs in 238... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Right-hander Brandon Kintzler and the Miami Marlins have finalized a one-year contract that guarantees $3,275,000.Miami also completed a $1.5 million, one-year deal on Monday with outfielder Matt Joyce, who can earn an additional $250,000 in performance bonuses.Kintzler, 35, gets a $3 million salary next year, and the Marlins have a $4 million team option for 2021 with a $275,000 buyout. If he is traded, the option price would escalate to $5 million with a $500,00 buyout.Kintzler was 3-3 with a 2.68 ERA in 68 relief appearances last year for the Chicago Cubs, allowing 45 hits and 13 walks in 57 innings with 48 strikeouts. An All-Star in 2017, he is 20-20 with a 3.37 ERA in 10 big league seasons that included time with Milwaukee (2010-15), Minnesota (2016-17), Washington (2017-18) and the Cubs (2018-19).The 35-year-old Joyce hit .295 with 10 doubles, seven home runs, and 23 RBIs in 238 plate appearances for the Atlanta Braves last season. He batted .340 (16 for 47) with 18 RBIs... [More]

Patrick Corbin was an exception last offseason.Amid a slow free agent market — some stars didn’t sign until after the start of spring training — Corbin’s search for a new home was over in December when he received a $140 million, six-year contract from Washington.That worked out pretty well for both team and player. Corbin was a key part of the Nationals’ starting rotation this year, and he threw three scoreless innings in relief in Game 7 of the World Series, helping the team win its first World Series title.Now, another offseason is in full swing. It’s hard to say whether teams will be more aggressive in pursuing free agents, hoping to land the next Corbin, but the Atlanta Braves already made a significant move, signing reliever Will Smith away from San Francisco.Here’s a look at the top free agents still available, broken down by position. Players are listed with their most recent teams, with their ages in parentheses:LEFT-HANDED STARTERHyun-Jin Ryu, Dodgers (32)The runner-up for the... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Cubs slugger Anthony Rizzo hit a tying home run in his surprise return to the lineup Thursday night for the opener of a crucial four-game series against the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals.Four days after suffering a sprained right ankle that threatened his status for the rest of the regular season, Rizzo was inserted atop Chicago's lineup 20 minutes before first pitch. He homered off Jack Flaherty in the third inning to tie the game at 1, and fans at Wrigley Field celebrated wildly as he slowly circled the bases.Rizzo left a game against Pittsburgh on Sunday after spraining the ankle fielding a bunt, and he was expected to be in a walking boot for up to a week. He warmed up in the outfield prior to Thursday's game while team medical personnel looked on, then was inserted into the leadoff spot and tabbed to play first base.The Cubs also got closer Craig Kimbrel and infielder Addison Russell back.Kimbrel has been out since Sept. 1 due to inflammation in his right elbow.... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs have activated closer Craig Kimbrel from the injured list before opening a crucial four-game series against the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals.Kimbrel has been out since Sept. 1 due to inflammation in his right elbow. He'll be available Thursday against the Cardinals, who are three games ahead of the Cubs.The 31-year-old Kimbrel signed a $43 million, three-year contract as a free agent in June. He's converted 13 of 15 save chances, posting a 5.68 ERA in 21 appearances. He also spent time on the IL with right knee inflammation in August.The Cubs also got infielder Addison Russell back Thursday. He cleared concussion protocol and was set to be available off the bench. He missed 10 games after being hit in the head by a fastball.Left-hander Cole Hamels will miss his next rotation turn because of persistent fatigue in his left shoulder. The veteran hopes to pitch again during a three-game series at Pittsburgh next week.Righty Alec Mills will start Friday,... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Marcus Semien provided just enough early offense and Mike Fiers and three Oakland relievers combined to shut down the Kansas City Royals in a 2-1 victory Tuesday night.Semien scored in the first inning and drove in a run in the second. That was all the offense the A's pitchers needed one day after Oakland had a season-high 19 runs.Fiers (13-3) scattered eight hits in his 5 1/3 innings, but allowed just Alex Gordon's RBI double in the sixth. He's now won 11 straight decisions, dating to May 7, tying Mark Mulder for the second-longest winning streak in Oakland history.Mike Montgomery (3-7) surrendered an unearned run in the first and another run in the second, but gave up nothing else through 6 1/3 innings.ORIOLES 2, NATIONALS 0WASHINGTON (AP) — Aaron Brooks came up with an unexpected pitching gem against the torrid-hitting Nationals, throwing six innings of two-hit ball to help Baltimore end Washington's five-game winning streak.The Nationals were coming off a weekend... [More]