BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts belted three solo homers and J.D. Martinez also went deep, powering the Boston Red Sox to a 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.It was the fourth three-homer game for the 25-year-old Betts, snapping a tie with Hall of Famer Ted Williams for most three-homer games in franchise history.AL East-leading Boston won for the third time in four games after losing 7-6 in 13 innings on Tuesday night.Cheslor Cuthbert homered for Kansas City, and Drew Butera had a two-run double. Danny Duffy (0-4) was tagged for five runs and 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings.Drew Pomeranz (1-1) worked six innings for the win and Craig Kimbrel struck out the side in the ninth for his eighth save.INDIANS 12, RANGERS 4CLEVELAND (AP) — Edwin Encarnacion homered three times and drove in six runs, helping the Indians to the runaway win.Encarnacion hit a three-homer in the first, a two-run shot in the second and a solo drive in the eighth. The designated hitter leads the team with nine... [More]

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Eddie Rosario scored the winning run in his homeland in the 16th inning, coming around on Ryan LaMarre's single to lift the Minnesota Twins over the Cleveland Indians 2-1 on Wednesday night for a split of their two-game series in Puerto Rico.Rosario led off the 16th with a single and went to third when Logan Morrison's grounder — which could have been a double-play ball — got past second baseman Jason Kipnis.Eduardo Escobar was intentionally walked to load the bases with none out, and LaMarre finally ended the 5-hour, 13-minute marathon with a sharp liner to center.Alan Busenitz (1-0) worked two innings for the win. Josh Tomlin (0-2) got the loss in his first relief appearance since 2016.RED SOX 9, ANGELS 0ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Rafael Devers hit his first career grand slam, Rick Porcello threw six scoreless innings and Boston extended its best start in franchise history.Mitch Moreland had four RBIs, including a two-run homer in the ninth, and J.D Martinez hit... [More]

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Eddie Rosario scored the winning run in his homeland in the 16th inning, coming around on Ryan LaMarre's single to lift the Minnesota Twins over the Cleveland Indians 2-1 on Wednesday night for a split of their two-game series in Puerto Rico.Rosario led off the 16th with a single and went to third when Logan Morrison's grounder — which could have been a double-play ball — got past second baseman Jason Kipnis.Eduardo Escobar was intentionally walked to load the bases with none out, and LaMarre finally ended the 5-hour, 13-minute marathon with a sharp liner to center.Alan Busenitz (1-0) worked two innings for the win. Josh Tomlin (0-2) got the loss in his first relief appearance since 2016.RED SOX 9, ANGELS 0ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Rafael Devers hit his first career grand slam, Rick Porcello threw six scoreless innings and Boston extended its best start in franchise history.Mitch Moreland had four RBIs, including a two-run homer in the ninth, and J.D Martinez hit... [More]

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Eddie Rosario scored the winning run in his homeland in the 16th inning, coming around on Ryan LaMarre's single to lift the Minnesota Twins over the Cleveland Indians 2-1 on Wednesday night for a split of their two-game series in Puerto Rico.Rosario led off the 16th with a single and went to third when Logan Morrison's grounder — which could have been a double-play ball — got past second baseman Jason Kipnis.Eduardo Escobar was intentionally walked to load the bases with none out, and LaMarre finally ended the 5-hour, 13-minute marathon with a sharp liner to center.Alan Busenitz (1-0) worked two innings for the win. Josh Tomlin (0-2) got the loss in his first relief appearance since 2016.METS 11, NATIONALS 5NEW YORK (AP) — Yoenis Cespedes launched a grand slam during New York's nine-run outburst in the eighth inning, helping the Mets avoid a three-game sweep.Todd Frazier tied it at 4 with a two-run single and pinch-hitter Juan Lagares put New York ahead for... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Yoenis Cespedes launched a grand slam during a nine-run outburst in the eighth inning that rallied the New York Mets past the Washington Nationals 11-5 on Wednesday night, preventing a three-game sweep.Todd Frazier tied it at 4 with a two-run single and pinch-hitter Juan Lagares put New York ahead for the first time with a two-run double off ineffective setup man Ryan Madson (0-2).Shut down by Tanner Roark for seven innings, the first-place Mets broke loose in the eighth and improved to 13-4 with a stirring victory against their NL East rivals.Ryan Zimmerman homered twice, tripled and drove in four runs for the Nationals, who pulled off their own big comeback in the eighth inning of the series opener.AJ Ramos (1-1) worked a perfect inning for his first win with the Mets since being acquired from Miami last July.ATHLETICS 12, WHITE SOX 11, 14 INNINGSOAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Matt Olson singled over left fielder Nicky Delmonico to drive in Marcus Semien with two outs in the 14th... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit a bases-loaded triple in a five-run seventh inning to help the streaking Los Angeles Angels beat the Kansas City Royals 7-1 on Thursday night for their fifth straight victory.Ian Kinsler homered on his first swing in his return to the Angels' lineup, and Nick Tropeano (1-0) pitched shutout ball into the seventh for his first major league win since 2016.Los Angeles has won eight of nine.Ohtani drove a 1-2 pitch from Brandon Maurer to right-center, scoring Kole Calhoun, Andrelton Simmons and Luis Valbuena. The Royals walked Ohtani intentionally in the sixth with first base open and Simmons on second.Ohtani is tied with Mike Trout for the Angels' lead with 11 RBIs in 26 at-bats. Trout went 3 for 4 with his fifth home run and has 55 at-bats.Kinsler led off the game with a home run for the 47th time in his career, driving a 1-0 pitch from Ian Kennedy (1-1) out to left. Kinsler missed the previous 11 games with an adductor strain.RED SOX 6, YANKEES 3BOSTON... [More]

CINCINNATI (AP) — Jose Martinez drove in six runs Thursday night and Yadier Molina homered in his return from a one-game suspension, powering the St. Louis Cardinals to a 13-4 victory that left the Cincinnati Reds mired in their worst start since 1955.The Cardinals homered a season-high four times while piling up a season high in runs. The Reds helped by walking 11 batters, three of them with the bases loaded.The Reds fell to 2-10, the worst record in the majors and their worst start since an identical mark in 1955.Infielder Cliff Pennington pitched the ninth for Cincinnati and gave up a pair of walks and Martinez's second RBI single of the game.Paul DeJong's solo shot deep into the upper deck in center off Austin Brice (0-2) snapped a 4-4 tie in the sixth. Martinez and Molina hit back-to-back drives in the seventh, when St. Louis put it away with seven runs. Martinez added a two-run double in the inning.Michael Wacha (2-1) went five innings and extended his streak of beating Cincinnati.PIRATES... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Max Scherzer stole the first base of his professional career and allowed only two singles in his fifth big league shutout, and the Washington Nationals ended a five-game losing skid while getting back to .500 with a 2-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Monday night.Scherzer (2-1), the winner of the past two NL Cy Young Awards, did not let the Braves push a runner beyond first base. Kurt Suzuki got a hit in the second, and Nick Markakis did in the fifth, but neither advanced.Scherzer managed to get farther than that: He swiped second after singling off reliever Peter Moylan in the seventh.Howie Kendrick delivered all the offense Washington needed with a two-run double.Scherzer struck out 10 and walked none in his ninth complete game in 299 major league starts. And he needed only 102 pitches, a far more efficient outing than his previous time on the mound: He threw 110 over five innings in a 7-1 loss at Atlanta on April 4.Julio Teheran (0-1) went six innings for the Braves,... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Max Scherzer stole the first base of his professional career and allowed only two singles in his fifth big league shutout, and the Washington Nationals ended a five-game losing skid while getting back to .500 with a 2-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Monday night.Scherzer (2-1), the winner of the past two NL Cy Young Awards, did not let the Braves push a runner beyond first base. Kurt Suzuki got a hit in the second, and Nick Markakis did in the fifth, but neither advanced.Scherzer managed to get farther than that: He swiped second after singling off reliever Peter Moylan in the seventh.Howie Kendrick delivered all the offense Washington needed with a two-run double.Scherzer struck out 10 and walked none in his ninth complete game in 299 major league starts. And he needed only 102 pitches, a far more efficient outing than his previous time on the mound: He threw 110 over five innings in a 7-1 loss at Atlanta on April 4.Julio Teheran (0-1) went six innings for the Braves,... [More]

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Robbie Ray worked around five walks over six innings and the bullpen closed out a two-hitter, helping the Arizona Diamondbacks spoil the St. Louis Cardinals' home opener 3-1 on Thursday night.Arizona improved to 6-1 for the second straight season and tied a franchise record for its best seven-game start. The team was also 6-1 in 2000. St. Louis dropped its first home opener since 2015.Ray (2-0) gave up a run and two hits while striking out nine. He was making his first appearance in St. Louis since being knocked out of a game by a line drive off his head on July 28, 2017.David Peralta capped off a two-run second inning with an RBI single. He pushed the lead to 3-0 with a double in the fourth.Brad Boxberger picked up his third save in three chances. Four Arizona relievers were perfect except for an error by first baseman Paul Goldschmidt in the eighth.Adam Wainwright (0-1) came off the 10-day disabled list to make the start for St. Louis. He gave up four hits and three runs... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michael Conforto came off the disabled list to hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer off Stephen Strasburg, Yoenis Cespedes also went deep against the ace, and Jay Bruce tacked on an insurance gland slam, leading the New York Mets to an 8-2 victory Thursday in Washington's chilly home opener.Jacob deGrom (2-0) wiggled out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam to finish is six-inning outing with a flourish. After walking Bryce Harper to fill the bags, deGrom got Ryan Zimmerman to fly out to shallow right and Howie Kendrick to line out to shortstop, before Trea Turner looked at a 94 mph fastball for strike three. Turner argued and was ejected for the first time in the majors.Zimmerman, who only got two at-bats in spring training, went 0 for 4 on Thursday and is 3 for 22 (.136) with six strikeouts this season.The Mets improved to an NL East-leading 5-1, while the two-time reigning division champion Nationals have lost three in a row after a 4-0 start under rookie manager Dave Martinez.Conforto... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michael Conforto came off the disabled list to hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer off Stephen Strasburg, Yoenis Cespedes also went deep against the ace, and Jay Bruce tacked on an insurance gland slam, leading the New York Mets to an 8-2 victory Thursday in Washington's chilly home opener.Jacob deGrom (2-0) wiggled out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam to finish is six-inning outing with a flourish. After walking Bryce Harper to fill the bags, deGrom got Ryan Zimmerman to fly out to shallow right and Howie Kendrick to line out to shortstop, before Trea Turner looked at a 94 mph fastball for strike three. Turner argued and was ejected for the first time in the majors.Zimmerman, who only got two at-bats in spring training, went 0 for 4 on Thursday and is 3 for 22 (.136) with six strikeouts this season.The Mets improved to an NL East-leading 5-1, while the two-time reigning division champion Nationals have lost three in a row after a 4-0 start under rookie manager Dave Martinez.Conforto... [More]

Capsules of National League West teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Los Angeles Dodgers2017: 104-58, first place, lost to Houston in World Series.Manager: Dave Roberts (third season).He's Here: OF Matt Kemp, RHP Tom Koehler, LHP Scott Alexander, LHP Henry Owens.He's Outta Here: 1B Adrian Gonzalez, RHP Yu Darvish, RHP Brandon Morrow, RHP Brandon McCarthy, LHP Tony Watson, LHP Luis Avilan, LHP Scott Kazmir, LHP Adam Liberatore, OF Andre Ethier, INF Charlie Culberson, OF Curtis Granderson, LHP Grant Dayton, OF Franklin Gutierrez, RHP Josh Ravin.Projected Lineup: CF Chris Taylor (.288, 21 HRs, 72 RBIs, 17 SBs), SS Corey Seager (.295, 22, 77), 3B Justin Turner (.322, 21, 71, will start season on DL with broken left wrist), 1B Cody Bellinger (.267, 39, 97, 10 SBs), RF Yasiel Puig (.263, 28, 74), LF Matt Kemp (.276, 19, 64 in 115 games with Braves) or Joc Pederson (.212, 11, 35 in 102 games), C Austin Barnes (.289, 8, 38) or Yasmani Grandal (.247, 22, 58), 2B Logan Forsythe (.224, 6,... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Charlie Blackmon didn't need much baiting: The lure of a fishing contest in the middle of spring training was incentive enough.So the quirky Colorado Rockies outfielder/avid outdoorsman slipped into some waders and grabbed his fishing rod for a game to see which player could most accurately cast at cans set up on the turf.Anything for team bonding.Next on the line is an even more prized catch — reeling in a postseason berth for a second straight season. The Rockies are driven by an 11-8 loss to Arizona in the NL wild card game that halted their season."We have all the pieces that we need to be very competitive," Blackmon said. "We're well positioned to play better than last year."Hard to argue. Manager Bud Black's lineup features an NL batting champion in Blackmon , along with a power-hitting, smooth-fielding third baseman in Nolan Arenado. The team added a veteran catcher in Chris Iannetta and brought back popular clubhouse leader Carlos Gonzalez on a one-year deal.They won't... [More]

Capsules of National League West teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Los Angeles Dodgers2017: 104-58, first place, lost to Houston in World Series.Manager: Dave Roberts (third season).He's Here: OF Matt Kemp, RHP Tom Koehler, LHP Scott Alexander, LHP Henry Owens.He's Outta Here: 1B Adrian Gonzalez, RHP Yu Darvish, RHP Brandon Morrow, RHP Brandon McCarthy, LHP Tony Watson, LHP Luis Avilan, LHP Scott Kazmir, LHP Adam Liberatore, OF Andre Ethier, INF Charlie Culberson, OF Curtis Granderson, LHP Grant Dayton, OF Franklin Gutierrez, RHP Josh Ravin.Projected Lineup: CF Chris Taylor (.288, 21 HRs, 72 RBIs, 17 SBs), SS Corey Seager (.295, 22, 77), 3B Justin Turner (.322, 21, 71, will start season on DL with broken left wrist), 1B Cody Bellinger (.267, 39, 97, 10 SBs), RF Yasiel Puig (.263, 28, 74), LF Matt Kemp (.276, 19, 64 in 115 games with Braves) or Joc Pederson (.212, 11, 35 in 102 games), C Austin Barnes (.289, 8, 38) or Yasmani Grandal (.247, 22, 58), 2B Logan Forsythe (.224, 6,... [More]

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani was rocked for seven runs over 1 1/3 innings in his second major league spring training start for the Los Angeles Angels, allowing long home runs to Colorado's Ian Desmond and Nolan Arenado that went over the left-field berm on Friday.The 23-year-old Japanese two-way star made his first big league exhibition appearance since Feb. 24, when he pitched 1 1/3 innings against Milwaukee and gave up Keon Broxton's home run leading off the second.Against the Rockies, he walked NL batting champion Charlie Blackmon leading off and allowed Arenado's one-out single before escaping a first-inning jam.Desmond homered starting the second, Ohtani hit Chris Iannetta with a pitch, Mike Tauchman singled and Jordan Patterson loaded the bases when his popup dropped for a single.Blackmon hit a two-run single, DJ LeMahieu reached on a run-scoring infield single for a 4-0 lead and Arenado hit a three-run homer. Ohtani struck out Trevor Story for the second time and was removed... [More]

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani was rocked for seven runs over 1 1/3 innings in his second major league spring training start for the Los Angeles Angels, allowing long home runs to Colorado's Ian Desmond and Nolan Arenado on Friday.The 23-year-old Japanese two-way star was making his first big league exhibition appearance since Feb. 24, when he pitched 1 1/3 innings against Milwaukee and gave up Keon Broxton's home run leading off the second.Against the Rockies, he walked NL batting champion Charlie Blackmon leading off and allowed Arenado's one-out single before escaping the jam.Desmond homered starting the second, Ohtani hit Chris Iannetta with a pitch, Mike Tauchman singled and Jordan Patterson loaded the bases when his popup dropped for a single.Blackmon hit a two-run single, DJ LeMahieu reached on a run-scoring infield single for a 4-0 lead and Arenado hit a three-run homer. Ohtani struck out Trevor Story for the second time and was removed after allowing seven hits.

Jake Arrieta finally found a deal he liked.The free agent ace and the Philadelphia Phillies have reached agreement on a three-year contract, two people familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.Both people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Sunday because the deal, reportedly worth $75 million, is pending a physical. Arrieta is joining the Phillies just 2 ½ weeks before opening day.The 32-year-old Arrieta was among several top free agents who didn't get a contract for six or seven seasons in a changing market. The Phillies, who have plenty of money to spend, waited until the price was right for them.Arrieta won the 2015 NL Cy Young Award with the Chicago Cubs and helped them win the World Series the next season. The right-hander was 14-10 with a 3.53 ERA last year.The Phillies went 66-96 and finished last in the NL East, and haven't had a winning season since 2011. But they've added veteran slugger Carlos Santana, Arrieta and quality relievers to a young nucleus that could... [More]

Jake Arrieta finally found a deal he liked.The free agent ace and the Philadelphia Phillies have reached agreement on a three-year contract, two people familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.Both people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Sunday because the deal, reportedly worth $75 million, is pending a physical. Arrieta is joining the Phillies just 2 ½ weeks before opening day.The 32-year-old Arrieta was among several top free agents who didn't get a contract for six or seven seasons in a changing market. The Phillies, who have plenty of money to spend, waited until the price was right for them.Arrieta won the 2015 NL Cy Young Award with the Chicago Cubs and helped them win the World Series the next season. The right-hander was 14-10 with a 3.53 ERA last year.The Phillies went 66-96 and finished last in the NL East, and haven't had a winning season since 2011. But they've added veteran slugger Carlos Santana, Arrieta and quality relievers to a young nucleus that could... [More]

Clayton Kershaw's second spring training outing went according to plan, save for one poor throw to first.The ace left-hander breezed through two scoreless innings for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, allowing one hit and walking one during a 7-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Glendale, Arizona. He worked a perfect inning in his spring training debut against Seattle on Sunday."Another step. Another inning," Kershaw said. "Definitely things I can do better, but for the most part I'll take it. It was all right. I made some good pitches when I needed to. I made some bad ones, too. Enough to work on for the next one."Leury Garcia dropped a single into left in the first for Chicago's only hit off Kershaw. Garcia raced all the way to third when Kershaw made a wild throw on a pickoff attempt, but Jose Abreu and Avisail Garcia grounded out to end the inning."I just tried to be a little too quick," Kershaw said, looking back on his fielding miscue. "I think I might have, it would have been... [More]