PHILADELPHIA (AP) — J.T. Realmuto hit a grand slam, Bryce Harper went deep twice and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 11-1 in Charlie Manuel's first game as hitting coach, ruining Cole Hamels' return home Wednesday night.Manuel was back in red pinstripes in his old dugout exactly six years to the day the franchise icon managed his last game for the Phillies. He heard "Charlie! Charlie! Charlie!" chants after Realmuto connected to make it 10-0 in the third.Hamels, the 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP with Manuel's Phillies, was roughed up in his first game in Philadelphia since he was traded to Texas in July 2015. Hamels (6-4) gave up eight runs and nine hits in two-plus innings.Aaron Nola (11-3) benefited from the offense's rare outburst. He allowed three hits, including Kris Bryant's homer, and struck out seven in seven innings.Hamels received the loudest applause during pregame introductions and got a standing ovation when he came to the plate already trailing 4-0 in the... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — J.T. Realmuto hit a grand slam, Bryce Harper went deep twice and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 11-1 in Charlie Manuel's first game as hitting coach, ruining Cole Hamels' return home Wednesday night.Manuel was back in red pinstripes in his old dugout exactly six years to the day the franchise icon managed his last game for the Phillies. He heard "Charlie! Charlie! Charlie!" chants after Realmuto connected to make it 10-0 in the third.Hamels, the 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP with Manuel's Phillies, was roughed up in his first game in Philadelphia since he was traded to Texas in July 2015. Hamels (6-4) gave up eight runs and nine hits in two-plus innings.Aaron Nola (11-3) benefited from the offense's rare outburst. He allowed three hits, including Kris Bryant's homer, and struck out seven in seven innings.Hamels received the loudest applause during pregame introductions and got a standing ovation when he came to the plate already trailing 4-0 in the... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Tigers have released second baseman Josh Harrison after reinstating him from the injured list.The team announced the move Friday. The Tigers also released right-hander Sandy Baez to make room for right-hander Edwin Jackson. Detroit announced Thursday night that it was going to purchase Jackson's contract from Triple-A Toledo before Friday night's game against Kansas City.Harrison signed a one-year deal with the Tigers for 2019, but he hit just .176 in 136 at-bats. He's had to deal with shoulder and hamstring problems and hasn't played in a major league game since May 27.With Detroit on pace to lose 113 games, general manager Al Avila didn't think the 32-year-old fit into the late-season plans."At this stage in the season, it obviously makes sense for us to look at our young guys," Avila said. "We have been happy with Harold Castro and Niko Goodrum and some of our younger guys. We're going to continue that course."Harrison spent his first eight major league seasons with Pittsburgh. He hit .250 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs last year.

DETROIT (AP) — Tigers reliever Louis Coleman and infielders Jim Adduci and Pete Kozma have elected to become free agents after clearing waivers.The team said Thursday that those three players cleared waivers and were sent outright to Triple-A Toledo along with infielder Harold Castro. Coleman, Adduci and Kozma chose free agency.Tigers right-hander Artie Lewicki was claimed off waivers by the Arizona Diamondbacks.Coleman went 4-1 with a 3.51 ERA in 51 appearances for the Tigers this year.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — For 10 years, ever since they bonded over baseball at work, Franlet Bencomo and Elbert Albarran haven't missed an opening day game together.This year, however, they left their kids behind and ate a big breakfast before heading out to watch their beloved Caracas Lions because a hot dog inside the stadium costs more than 10 percent of the roughly $30 each makes a month at their minimum-wage jobs."Now we have to eat beforehand, watch the game and go straight home" said Bencomo, in line for tickets six hours before the start of Friday's season opener. "There's no other way."Throughout Venezuela, as winter league play gets under way, fans are having to make similar sacrifices to feed their passion for "pelota," — the word for ball that's used to describe the national pastime.Hyperinflation has pulverized incomes while putting ticket prices out of reach for many. Others are avoiding the ballpark for fear of getting mugged or because they don't know how they'll get home... [More]

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — For 10 years, ever since they bonded over baseball at work, Franlet Bencomo and Elbert Albarran haven't missed an opening day game together.This year, however, they left their kids behind and ate a big breakfast before heading out to watch their beloved Caracas Lions because a hot dog inside the stadium costs more than 10 percent of the roughly $30 each makes a month at their minimum-wage jobs."Now we have to eat beforehand, watch the game and go straight home" said Bencomo, in line for tickets six hours before the start of Friday's season opener. "There's no other way."Throughout Venezuela, as winter league play gets under way, fans are having to make similar sacrifices to feed their passion for "pelota," — the word for ball that's used to describe the national pastime.Hyperinflation has pulverized incomes while putting ticket prices out of reach for many. Others are avoiding the ballpark for fear of getting mugged or because they don't know how they'll get home... [More]

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — For 10 years, ever since they bonded over baseball at work, Franlet Bencomo and Elbert Albarran haven't missed an opening day game together.This year, however, they left their kids behind and ate a big breakfast before heading out to watch their beloved Caracas Lions because a hot dog inside the stadium costs more than 10 percent of the roughly $30 each makes a month at their minimum-wage jobs."Now we have to eat beforehand, watch the game and go straight home" said Bencomo, in line for tickets six hours before the start of Friday's season opener. "There's no other way."Throughout Venezuela, as winter league play gets under way, fans are having to make similar sacrifices to feed their passion for the "pelota," or the ball, as the national pastime is affectionately known.Hyperinflation has pulverized incomes while putting ticket prices out of reach for many. Others are avoiding the ballpark for fear of getting mugged or because they don't know how they'll get home... [More]