CHICAGO (AP) — Kyle Hendricks needed just 81 pitches for a four-hitter, Anthony Rizzo homered for his third straight game and the Chicago Cubs beat the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 on Friday.The second-place Cubs won their season-high fifth in a row while cutting St. Louis' lead to 1½ games. The Cardinals have back-to-back losses after five consecutive victories.Hendricks (2-4) pitched his third career shutout and fourth complete game, his first since he shut out Miami on Aug. 1, 2016. The right-hander struck out three and did not walk a batter, after getting pounded in a loss at Arizona last week. Hendricks improved to 6-2 in 15 starts against St. Louis.Rizzo made it 3-0 with a three-run drive against Jack Flaherty (3-2) in the third and finished with three hits. Javier Baez added an RBI single in the seventh, and the Cubs opened a 10-game homestand with a win.Flaherty allowed three runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings.BRAVES 7, MARLINS 2MIAMI (AP) — Freddie Freeman and Brian... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Something figured to stop Christian Yelich's historic home run pace — and a balky lower back might just do it.The way things have been going, it certainly wasn't going to be an opposing pitcher.Yelich has carried over his outrageous finish to the 2018 season — one that ended with the Milwaukee Brewers winning the NL Central and Yelich earning his first NL MVP award — with an equally stunning start to 2019.The 27-year-old outfielder hit his 14th homer Saturday during an 8-6 win over the Mets, a shot that tied him with Albert Pujols (2006) and Alex Rodríguez (2007) for most through the first full month of a season. On Sunday, Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers also hit his 14th home run of the year.Yelich is batting .353, and the sweet-swinging lefty is on pace for 78 homers and 190 RBIs.Yelich left Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Mets with lower back soreness. Manager Craig Counsell said he is day to day.An injury might be the only thing that can slow him.Over his past 94 games, dating... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Robinson Chirinos hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in a four-run seventh inning to give the Houston Astros a 4-1 win over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday night.The Astros were unable to do much against Carlos Carrasco (2-3) before Yuli Gurriel's RBI double in the seventh. After an intentional walk, Chirinos sent the next pitch over the train tracks atop the wall in left field and out of the stadium on a night the retractable roof was open.The Astros won the final two games to earn a split of the four-game set with Cleveland, a rematch of last year's AL Division Series in which Houston earned a three-game sweep. Houston also moved into first place in the AL West.Wade Miley yielded six hits and one run in 5 2/3 innings to extend his streak of consecutive starts with three or fewer earned runs to 22. The left-hander struck out three and walked two.Framber Valdez (1-1) yielded one hit in two scoreless innings. Ryan Pressly allowed one hit and no runs in the ninth for his second... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Chris Sale remained winless in six starts this season, giving up Daniel Robertson's two-run homer in the first inning and Yandy Diaz's two-run triple in the second as the Boston Red Sox lost to the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2 Sunday.Sale (0-5) gave up four runs — two earned — four hits and three walks in seven innings with eight strikeouts. After signing a $160 million, six-year contract in spring training, the 30-year-old left-hander gas a 6.40 ERA.Tyler Glasnow (5-0) gave up two runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings with nine strikeouts. Tampa Bay improved to a major league-best 18-9 and has won eight of nine series this year.YANKEES 11, GIANTS 5SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — DJ LeMahieu and Gio Urshela became the latest Yankees to get hurt as New York completed a three-game sweep in which is outscored San Francisco 21-12.LeMahieu was removed in the bottom of the third because of right knee inflammation caused by fouling a pitch off his leg Friday, and Urshela left after he was hit on his left... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Gary Sánchez hit his first career grand slam in a five-run fifth inning for his first hit following nearly two weeks on the injured list, and the New York Yankees beat the San Francisco Giants 6-4 on Saturday for their 10th win in 12 games.Sánchez had been 0 for 9 with seven strikeouts since returning Wednesday from a strained left calf. His batting average down to .220, he crushed a high sinker from Derek Holland (1-4) that traveled 467 feet deep into the left-field seats for a 6-0 lead.J.A. Happ (1-2) allowed five hits in seven scoreless innings. Aroldis Chapman struck out Pablo Sandoval for his fifth save.RAYS 2, RED SOX 1BOSTON (AP) — Yandy Diaz hit the second pitch from David Price (1-2) over the Green Monster and Mike Zunino added a fourth-inning RBI single off the Monster for the AL East-leading Rays.Charlie Morton (3-0) gave up two hits in six shutout innings. Five relievers completed a five-hitter, with Emilio Pagán pitching the ninth for his third save.Mookie... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — All-Star slugger Aaron Judge hurt his left oblique while taking a swing and was expected to head to the injured list as the already banged-up New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 9-2 Saturday.Judge homered early, but hurt himself in the sixth inning while hitting a single. He was taken to a hospital for an MRI and further tests.Judge winced after taking a swing in the sixth and gingerly made his way to first base. He left the game after being checked by a trainer.The Yankees, who began the game with 12 players on the injured list, hit four home runs. Judge connected in the first, Clint Frazier had a solo drive in the second and Mike Tauchman and DJ LeMahieu homered on consecutive pitches in the fourth.Judge and Frazier hit their fifth homers of the season in the opening two innings off Heath Fillmyer (0-1).Masahiro Tanaka (2-1) pitched seven innings of one-run ball.Chris Owings homered in the ninth for Kansas City.MARINERS 6, ANGELS 5ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Albert... [More]

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Leaving the clubhouse after his first exhibition game this year, St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina got a fist bump from third baseman Matt Carpenter."It's good to have you back," said Carpenter, one All-Star to another.Molina went 1 for 2 as a designated hitter Friday, the 36-year-old's first game since left knee surgery in mid-December. Molina is likely to be behind the plate on Saturday, catching Adam Wainwright against Houston — about a week ahead of the original projection for him to catch."I can't really tell you how happy I am just to be back with Waino," Molina said.A nine-time All-Star and nine-time Gold Glove, Molina singled through the left side off Washington newcomer Patrick Corbin and scored in a three-run Cardinals' first."Just proves yet again he's a special guy," St. Louis manager Mike Shildt said. "Comes in, first at-bat, gets down 0-2 and battles, battles, battles. It's impressive to see a guy that takes a pro at-bat like that — that can work on getting... [More]

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Leaving the clubhouse after his first exhibition game this year, St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina got a fist bump from third baseman Matt Carpenter."It's good to have you back," said Carpenter, one All-Star to another.Molina went 1 for 2 as a designated hitter Friday, the 36-year-old's first game since left knee surgery in mid-December. Molina is likely to be behind the plate on Saturday, catching Adam Wainwright against Houston — about a week ahead of the original projection for him to catch."I can't really tell you how happy I am just to be back with Waino," Molina said.A nine-time All-Star and nine-time Gold Glove, Molina singled through the left side off Washington newcomer Patrick Corbin and scored in a three-run Cardinals' first."Just proves yet again he's a special guy," St. Louis manager Mike Shildt said. "Comes in, first at-bat, gets down 0-2 and battles, battles, battles. It's impressive to see a guy that takes a pro at-bat like that — that can work on getting... [More]

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Danny Farquhar took the mound in a game again. That was more than enough on Saturday.Farquhar's spring training appearance for the New York Yankees was his first game since the 32-year-old reliever collapsed in the Chicago White Sox dugout on April 20 because of a ruptured aneurysm and brain hemorrhage. The right-hander got one out and was charged with five runs in an 8-7 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates."I felt great out there," Farquhar said. "I was happy to be back on the mound. Obviously, the results weren't great but I call it a good day. I felt like a baseball player, again."Farquhar allowed three hits and walked two while throwing 19 pitches in the fourth inning. He is in camp with the Yankees on a minor league deal."The fact that he's on the mound and gotten to this point is pretty awesome," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "I found myself a little more emotional than I even thought. Even though it didn't go great, I think he really appreciated how special... [More]

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Danny Farquhar took the mound in a game again. That was more than enough on Saturday.Farquhar's spring training appearance for the New York Yankees was his first game since the 32-year-old reliever collapsed in the Chicago White Sox dugout on April 20 because of a ruptured aneurysm and brain hemorrhage. The right-hander got one out and was charged with five runs in an 8-7 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates."I felt great out there," Farquhar said. "I was happy to be back on the mound. Obviously, the results weren't great but I call it a good day. I felt like a baseball player, again."Farquhar allowed three hits and walked two while throwing 19 pitches in the fourth inning. He is in camp with the Yankees on a minor league deal."The fact that he's on the mound and gotten to this point is pretty awesome," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "I found myself a little more emotional than I even thought. Even though it didn't go great, I think he really appreciated how special... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It's fitting that Russell Martin is returning to the Los Angeles Dodgers.He's pining for a World Series title, too.The Dodgers reacquired Martin in a trade with Toronto on Friday, receiving the veteran catcher in exchange for a couple minor leaguers. Los Angeles has won two straight National League pennants but lost each time in the World Series. Martin has never even played in a World Series in 13 seasons with the Dodgers, Yankees, Pirates and Blue Jays."I'm looking for a championship," Martin said. "I've never won a championship, and I'm still hungry for that."The Dodgers also reached one-year deals with their seven remaining arbitration-eligible players. The NL champions agreed with Corey Seager ($4 million), Joc Pederson ($5 million), Chris Taylor ($3.5 million), Enrique Hernandez ($3,725,000), Pedro Baez ($2.1 million), Josh Fields ($2.85 million) and Yimi Garcia ($710,000) on 2019 contracts.With catcher Yasmani Grandal leaving for a deal with Milwaukee earlier in... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It's fitting that Russell Martin is returning to the Los Angeles Dodgers.He's pining for a World Series title too.The Dodgers reacquired Martin in a trade with Toronto on Friday, receiving the veteran catcher in exchange for a couple minor leaguers. Los Angeles has won two straight National League pennants but lost each time in the World Series. Martin has never even played in a World Series in 13 seasons with the Dodgers, Yankees, Pirates and Blue Jays."I'm looking for a championship," Martin said. "I've never won a championship, and I'm still hungry for that."The Dodgers also reached one-year deals with their seven remaining arbitration-eligible players. The NL champions agreed with Corey Seager ($4 million), Joc Pederson ($5 million), Chris Taylor ($3.5 million), Enrique Hernandez ($3,725,000), Pedro Baez ($2.1 million), Josh Fields ($2.85 million) and Yimi Garcia ($710,000) on 2019 contracts.Toronto reached deals with outfielder Randal Grichuk at $5 million, outfielder... [More]

CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) — Cincinnati outfielder Scott Schebler and Texas pitcher Matt Bush just missed the cutoff for salary arbitration eligibility, while Chicago Cubs pitcher Carl Edwards Jr. and Toronto pitcher Joe Biagini earned the final spots.The Major League Baseball Players Association said Thursday the cutoff for eligibility this winter is 2 years, 134 days of major league service, up from 2 years, 123 days last year. The top 22 percent of players by service time with at least two years but less than three are eligible for arbitration as long as they had at least 86 days this year. They join the older group of 3- to 6-year players.Players and teams are scheduled to exchange proposed salaries on Jan. 11, and hearings for those lacking agreements will be scheduled for Jan. 28 to Feb. 15 in St. Petersburg, Florida.Twenty-five players are eligible as so-called super-2s. New York Yankees pitcher Luis Severino tops the list of service time at 2 years, 170 days, and the group also includes... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — Blue Jays infielder Brandon Drury is going back on the disabled list, this time for a broken left hand that occurred before he was traded from the New York Yankees to Toronto.The Blue Jays put Drury on the 10-day DL on Tuesday. Infielder Richard Urena was called up from Triple-A Buffalo.Drury was injured when he was hit by a pitch a few days before he was traded to Toronto on July 26. X-rays at the time were negative, and the injury was diagnosed as a bone bruise. After his hand didn't improve, Drury underwent a CT scan Sunday, which revealed the fracture. He will wear a cast for two weeks before being re-evaluated.Drury was acquired along with outfielder Billy McKinney for left-hander J.A. Happ. Drury is batting .154 with no homers and three RBIs in eight games with the Blue Jays.Traded from Arizona to the Yankees in February, Drury began the season as New York's starting third baseman. He soon went on the disabled list because of migraines and blurry vision, and had spent much of his time in the minors before getting dealt to Toronto.

CHICAGO (AP) — The sputtering New York Yankees got some good news Monday when left-hander J.A. Happ moved a little closer to returning from hand, foot and mouth disease.Manager Aaron Boone said Happ is no longer contagious. Assuming everything goes well over the next couple of days, Happ is on track to start Thursday against Texas in the opener of an 11-game homestand."He's out of the woods, virus-wise," Boone said before New York's game against the Chicago White Sox.Happ came over in a July 26 trade with Toronto for infielder Brandon Drury and minor league outfielder Billy McKinney. He pitched six crisp innings in a win against Kansas City in his New York debut, but the illness took him out of a critical four-game series in Boston and the Yankees were swept by the major league-leading Red Sox.Happ, who turns 36 in October, is 11-6 with a 4.05 ERA in 21 starts this year.The wild card-leading Yankees arrived in Chicago early Monday morning after a difficult 5-4 loss at Fenway Park. New York... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The sputtering New York Yankees got some good news Monday when left-hander J.A. Happ moved a little closer to returning from hand, foot and mouth disease.Manager Aaron Boone said Happ is no longer contagious. Assuming everything goes well over the next couple of days, Happ is on track to start Thursday against Texas in the opener of an 11-game homestand."He's out of the woods, virus-wise," Boone said before New York's game against the Chicago White Sox.Happ came over in a July 26 trade with Toronto for infielder Brandon Drury and minor league outfielder Billy McKinney. He pitched six crisp innings in a win against Kansas City in his New York debut, but the illness took him out of a critical four-game series in Boston and the Yankees were swept by the major league-leading Red Sox.Happ, who turns 36 in October, is 11-6 with a 4.05 ERA in 21 starts this year.The wild card-leading Yankees arrived in Chicago early Monday morning after a difficult 5-4 loss at Fenway Park. New York... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — New York Yankees left-hander J.A. Happ is on track to start Thursday against Texas after being sidelined by hand, foot and mouth disease.Manager Aaron Boone says Happ is no longer contagious. Assuming everything goes well over the next couple of days, Boone says Happ will be in line to start against the Rangers in the opener of an 11-game homestand.Happ came over in a July 26 trade with Toronto for infielder Brandon Drury and minor league outfielder Billy McKinney. He pitched six crisp innings in a win against Kansas City in his New York debut, but the illness took him out of a critical four-game series in Boston and the Yankees were swept by the major league-leading Red Sox.Happ, who turns 36 in October, is 11-6 with a 4.05 ERA in 21 starts this year.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Newly acquired Yankees left-hander J.A. Happ was diagnosed Tuesday with hand, foot and mouth disease, the second pitcher on a New York team to be recently affected by the illness.Hand, foot and mouth disease is an infectious illness that often affects young children. Mets star Noah Syndergaard currently is on the disabled list with the disease.Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said before a 6-3 win over Baltimore that the team's doctors aren't certain how Happ caught it. The 35-year-old was traded from Toronto to the Yankees last week for infielder Brandon Drury and outfielder Billy McKinney. Happ won his New York debut on Sunday, allowing one run over six innings to beat Kansas City.Happ has had success in his career against Boston, and had been set to pitch Saturday against the AL East-leading Red Sox at Fenway Park. Cashman said Happ's case appears to be mild, and that he still might be able to make that start.Lance Lynn was acquired from Minnesota on Monday as a... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Newly acquired Yankees left-hander J.A. Happ was diagnosed Tuesday with hand, foot and mouth disease, the second pitcher on a New York team to be recently affected by the illness.Hand, foot and mouth disease is an infectious illness that often affects young children. Mets star Noah Syndergaard currently is on the disabled list with the disease.Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said the team's doctors aren't certain how Happ caught it. The 35-year-old was traded from Toronto to the Yankees last week for infielder Brandon Drury and outfielder Billy McKinney. Happ won his New York debut on Sunday, allowing one run over six innings to beat Kansas City.Happ has had success in his career against Boston, and had been set to pitch Saturday against the AL East-leading Red Sox at Fenway Park. Cashman said Happ's case appears to be mild, and that he still might be able to make that start.Lance Lynn was acquired from Minnesota on Monday as a long reliever and insurance for the rotation."That's... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Newly acquired Yankees left-hander J.A. Happ has been diagnosed with hand, foot and mouth disease, the second pitcher on a New York team to be recently affected by the illness.Yankees general manager Brian Cashman made the announcement Tuesday before a game against Baltimore.Hand, foot and mouth disease is an infectious illness that often affects young children. Mets star Noah Syndergaard currently is on the disabled list with the disease.The Yankees aren't certain how Happ caught it. The 35-year-old was traded from Toronto to the Yankees last week for infielder Brandon Drury and outfielder Billy McKinney. Happ won his New York debut on Sunday, pitching six strong innings to beat Kansas City.Happ has had success in his career against Boston, and had been set to pitch Saturday against the AL East-leading Red Sox at Fenway Park. Cashman said Happ's case appears to be mild, and that he still might be able to make that start.