NEW YORK (AP) — Didi Gregorius homered twice for the second time this season, Gary Sanchez had three hits and three RBIs, and the New York Yankees romped to a 12-1 victory over Derek Jeter's Miami Marlins on Monday night.The only Yankees bopper who didn't join the hit parade was Giancarlo Stanton, who went hitless and got booed again by the hometown fans in his first game against his former team.Aaron Judge became the fastest major leaguer to hit 60 career homers, and Gregorius finished with three RBIs. New York scored in each of the first five innings and built an 11-0 lead for Luis Severino (3-1), who allowed one hit in six scoreless innings and struck out eight.Judge hit his fourth home run this season and reached 60 in 197 games, five fewer than Mark McGwire.Jeter did not attend the game, the first between the teams since the former Yankees captain became Marlins CEO last October.Stanton went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts, a bases-loaded foulout, a walk and was hit by a pitch. The four-time... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Didi Gregorius homered twice for the second time this season, Gary Sanchez had three hits and three RBIs, and the New York Yankees romped to a 12-1 victory over Derek Jeter's Miami Marlins on Monday night.About the only Yankees bopper who didn't get in on the fun was Giancarlo Stanton, who went hitless and got booed again by the hometown fans in his first game against his former team.Aaron Judge became the fastest major leaguer to hit 60 career homers, and Gregorius finished with three RBIs. New York scored in each of the first five innings and built an 11-0 lead for Luis Severino (3-1), who allowed one hit in six scoreless innings and struck out eight.Judge hit his fourth home run this season and reached 60 in 197 games, five fewer than Mark McGwire.Jeter did not attend the game, the first between the teams since the former Yankees captain became Marlins CEO last October.Stanton went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts, a bases-loaded foulout, a walk and was hit by a pitch. The... [More]

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Seth Lugo is set to take a spin in the New York Mets' rotation from the get-go.The team announced Sunday that Lugo, reliever Jacob Rhame and utilityman Phillip Evans will be making their first appearances on opening day, each part of the 25-man roster when the Mets host the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday."I'm so excited," said the 25-year-old Evans, who briefly played for the Mets last season. "Being around these veteran guys that I grew up watching has been very special to me. Being able to help this team win will be extremely exciting."Evans's versatility will be his biggest attribute. The longtime infielder played six positions in camp, and he hit .261 with a pair of homers.Evans played in the outfield and also donned the catcher's gear for the first time in his career, giving the Mets an emergency option behind regular backstops Travis d'Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki.Mets manager Mickey Callaway said the strong play of Evans made the possibility of a seven-man... [More]

Capsules of National League East teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Washington Nationals2017: 97-65, first place, lost to Cubs in NLDS.Manager: Dave Martinez (first season).He's Here: 1B-OF Matt Adams, C Miguel Montero, RHP Jeremy Hellickson, RHP Joaquin Benoit, INF Matt Reynolds.He's Outta Here: Manager Dusty Baker, LF Jayson Werth, 1B-LF Adam Lind, C Jose Lobaton, RHP Matt Albers.Projected Lineup: SS Trea Turner (.284, 11 HRs, 45 RBIs, 46 SBs in 98 games), LF Adam Eaton (.297, 2, 13 in 23 games), RF Bryce Harper (.319, 29, 87), 3B Anthony Rendon (.301, 25, 100, 41 2Bs), 2B Daniel Murphy (.322, 23, 93, 43 2Bs; expected to begin season on DL recovering from knee surgery), 1B Ryan Zimmerman (.303, 36, 108, 33 2Bs), CF Michael A. Taylor (.271, 19, 53), C Matt Wieters (.225, 10, 52).Rotation: RH Max Scherzer (16-6, 2.51 ERA, NL-high 268 Ks, 200 2/3 IP, 3rd Cy Young Award), RH Stephen Strasburg (15-4, 2.52, 204 Ks), LH Gio Gonzalez (15-9, 2.96, 79 walks), RH Tanner Roark (13-11,... [More]

Capsules of National League East teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Washington Nationals2017: 97-65, first place, lost to Cubs in NLDS.Manager: Dave Martinez (first season).He's Here: 1B-OF Matt Adams, C Miguel Montero, RHP Jeremy Hellickson, RHP Joaquin Benoit, INF Matt Reynolds.He's Outta Here: Manager Dusty Baker, LF Jayson Werth, 1B-LF Adam Lind, C Jose Lobaton, RHP Matt Albers.Projected Lineup: SS Trea Turner (.284, 11 HRs, 45 RBIs, 46 SBs in 98 games), LF Adam Eaton (.297, 2, 13 in 23 games), RF Bryce Harper (.319, 29, 87), 3B Anthony Rendon (.301, 25, 100, 41 2Bs), 2B Daniel Murphy (.322, 23, 93, 43 2Bs; expected to begin season on DL recovering from knee surgery), 1B Ryan Zimmerman (.303, 36, 108, 33 2Bs), CF Michael A. Taylor (.271, 19, 53), C Matt Wieters (.225, 10, 52).Rotation: RH Max Scherzer (16-6, 2.51 ERA, NL-high 268 Ks, 200 2/3 IP, 3rd Cy Young Award), RH Stephen Strasburg (15-4, 2.52, 204 Ks), LH Gio Gonzalez (15-9, 2.96, 79 walks), RH Tanner Roark (13-11,... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — From the start of spring training in Florida, their lockers were lined up all in a row at one end of the rectangular clubhouse.Left to right: Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz, Zack Wheeler.The dream rotation for the New York Mets — if only their health would cooperate.More than a month later, with opening day in sight, those five prized pitchers were still feeling good and the Mets finally had a chance to roll out that entire quintet together for the very first time.Wheeler, however, failed to do his part. After compiling an 8.10 ERA and giving up 22 hits in 10 Grapefruit League innings, he was optioned to minor league camp Saturday and will begin the season at Triple-A Las Vegas.Seth Lugo is likely to open as the team's No. 5 starter.Still, four out of five ain't bad — and Lugo has chops, too. So after hiring rookie manager Mickey Callaway and spending nearly $90 million to fill holes in free agency, New York (with fingers crossed) is counting on... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — From the start of spring training in Florida, their lockers were lined up all in a row at one end of the rectangular clubhouse.Left to right: Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz, Zack Wheeler.The dream rotation for the New York Mets — if only their health would cooperate.More than a month later, with opening day in sight, those five prized pitchers are still feeling good and the Mets finally have a chance to roll out that entire quintet together for the very first time.After hiring rookie manager Mickey Callaway and spending nearly $90 million to fill holes in free agency, New York (with fingers crossed) is counting on its homegrown power arms to lead the way this season."All of us are All-Star capable," Wheeler said.Harvey, Matz and Wheeler struggled on the mound last year during their latest injury-stunted seasons, so they must rediscover the nasty stuff that looked so promising when they first arrived in the majors.At the top of the rotation, Syndergaard... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — From the start of spring training in Florida, their lockers were lined up all in a row at one end of the rectangular clubhouse.Left to right: Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz, Zack Wheeler.The dream rotation for the New York Mets — if only their health would cooperate.More than a month later, with opening day in sight, those five prized pitchers are still feeling good and the Mets finally have a chance to roll out that entire quintet together for the very first time.After hiring rookie manager Mickey Callaway and spending nearly $90 million to fill holes in free agency, New York (with fingers crossed) is counting on its homegrown power arms to lead the way this season."All of us are All-Star capable," Wheeler said.Harvey, Matz and Wheeler struggled on the mound last year during their latest injury-stunted seasons, so they must rediscover the nasty stuff that looked so promising when they first arrived in the majors.At the top of the rotation, Syndergaard... [More]

Capsules of National League East teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Washington Nationals2017: 97-65, first place, lost to Cubs in NLDS.Manager: Dave Martinez (first season).He's Here: 1B-OF Matt Adams, C Miguel Montero, RHP Jeremy Hellickson, RHP Joaquin Benoit, INF Matt Reynolds.He's Outta Here: Manager Dusty Baker, LF Jayson Werth, 1B-LF Adam Lind, C Jose Lobaton, RHP Matt Albers.Projected Lineup: SS Trea Turner (.284, 11 HRs, 45 RBIs, 46 SBs in 98 games), LF Adam Eaton (.297, 2, 13 in 23 games), RF Bryce Harper (.319, 29, 87), 3B Anthony Rendon (.301, 25, 100, 41 2Bs), 2B Daniel Murphy (.322, 23, 93, 43 2Bs, expected to begin season on DL recovering from knee surgery), 1B Ryan Zimmerman (.303, 36, 108, 33 2Bs), CF Michael A. Taylor (.271, 19, 53), C Matt Wieters (.225, 10, 52).Rotation: RH Max Scherzer (16-6, 2.51 ERA, NL-high 268 Ks, 200 2/3 IP, 3rd Cy Young Award), RH Stephen Strasburg (15-4, 2.52, 204 Ks), LH Gio Gonzalez (15-9, 2.96, 79 walks), RH Tanner Roark (13-11,... [More]

The baseball world is buzzing about the home run barrage and offensive explosion of the last two seasons, and there's no doubt it has changed the game. But the fantasy baseball community is much more concerned with what is going on with starting pitchers because those changes make it necessary to rethink the strategies of the past decade.Three trends to think about have developed among starters. First, pitchers are spending more time on the disabled list, especially the new 10-day DL. The worst kept secret in MLB last year was that the Dodgers used the 10-day DL to manage a six-man starting rotation. And now there are more teams considering the six-man rotation; the Angels may adopt it to protect their investment in Shohei Ohtani.The second trend is a major increase in strikeout rates. In 2015, starters struck out 7.40 batters per nine innings pitched, and in 2017 that rate jumped to 7.96 strikeouts per nine innings. Overall, they only struck out about 400 more batters in 2017, but they... [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:___Washington NationalsManager: Dave Martinez (first season).2017: 97-65, first place, lost to Chicago Cubs in NLDS.Training Town: West Palm Beach, Florida.Park: The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.First Workout: Feb. 16/21.He's Here: 1B-OF Matt Adams, C Miguel Montero.He's Outta Here: Manager Dusty Baker, LF Jayson Werth, C Jose Lobaton, 1B-LF Adam Lind, RHP Matt Albers.Going campin': It's become an all-too-familiar story for the Nationals and their fans: terrific regular season, followed by quick playoff exit, followed by a managerial change. Martinez will be the latest skipper to try to lead the club to postseason success — and GM Mike Rizzo has made it clear that ownership expects nothing less than a World Series championship. Martinez has been Joe Maddon's right-hand man with the Chicago... [More]

LHP Jerry Blevins appeared in his career-high 74th game Monday night, when he allowed one hit and one walk over two-thirds of an inning in the Mets' 3-2 win over the Braves in the second game of a doubleheader. Blevins' previous career high in appearances was 73, set last season. He is 6-0 with a 2.96 ERA, one save and 69 strikeouts over 48 2/3 innings.

LHP Jerry Blevins pitched a scoreless inning of relief on Sunday at Atlanta. He has worked 6 2/3 scoreless innings against the Braves this season. He struck out two batters and has fanned 66 in 46 1/3 innings.

LHP Jerry Blevins authored the longest save of his career Friday night, when he threw 1 2/3 perfect innings to close out the Mets' 7-5 win over the Athletics. Blevins entered with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth and retired 1B Yonder Alonso on a pop-up before striking out LF Khris Davis. He then recorded a strikeout during a 1-2-3 ninth inning to close out his first save of the season, the fifth of his career and the second of longer than three outs. It was the longest outing for Blevins since he tossed two innings for the Washington Nationals against the Mets on Sept. 25, 2014. Blevins is 4-0 with a 3.16 ERA in 48 games.

LHP Jerry Blevins is having a strong year and manager Terry Collins thought he might have a shot at the All-Star team. But Blevins gave up a two-run homer to former teammate Michael A. Taylor in the eighth inning Monday. He retired one batter and now has a 3.21 ERA.

LHP Jerry Blevins has been an underrated but still key part of the Mets' bullpen. He leads the majors by stranding all 11 runners he has inherited. He has allowed only one hit in 4 2/3 scoreless innings.

LHP Jerry Blevins was brought in to face a batter that manager Terry Collins knew he probably wouldn't have to face. Blevins was brought in with two outs and the bases loaded and left-handed hitting CF Tyler Collins due to bat. Collins said he figured his Detroit counterpart, Brad Ausmus, would pinch-hit with right-handed batting 2B Ian Kinsler, which he did. Kinsler bounced an RBI single over Blevins' head and that was the end of the hurler's night. "Jerry made a good pitch," Collins said. "Unfortunately sometimes they hit it where nobody's playing."

LHP Jerry Blevins had his streak of scoreless outings end at 21 when he allowed a run on Thursday. It was the second-longest stretch in team history, behind only a 33-game streak by Mark Guthrie in 2002. Blevins threw a career-best 13 consecutive scoreless innings during the streak.

LHP Jerry Blevins (fractured left forearm) is fully healthy. He was injured when he was hit by a comebacker Apr. 19 and re-fractured the arm falling off a curb Aug. 3.

LHP Jerry Blevins opted to remain with the Mets, reaching agreement on a one-year free agent contract for a guaranteed $4 million with the chance to add $1 million in performance bonuses.Because of injuries, Blevins appeared in only seven games last year. He retired all 15 batters he faced before he sustained a broken left forearm on a line drive off the bat of Miami's Dee Gordon on April 19. The 32-year-old Blevins re-broke the arm on Aug. 3 when he slipped off a curb in Florida.