A capsule look at the best-of-three playoff series between the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers beginning Wednesday. All games in Los Angeles: ___ MILWAUKEE BREWERS Record: 29-31. Playoff Entry: NL wild card. Playoff Seed: No. 8. Manager: Craig Counsell (sixth season). Projected Rotation: LHP Brent Suter (2-0, 3.13 ERA), RHP Brandon Woodruff (3-5, 3.05), LHP Brett Anderson (4-4, 4.21) Top Hitters: LF Christian Yelich (.205, 12 HRs, 22 RBIs, .356 OBP), 2B Keston Hiura (.212, 13, 32), OF/DH Ryan Braun (.233, 8, 26), 1B Jedd Gyorko (.248, 9, 17, .838 OPS). Top Relievers: RHP Devin Williams (4-1, 0.33 ERA, 53 Ks in 27 IP), LHP Josh Hader (1-2, 3.79, 13 saves, 31 Ks in 19 IP), RHP Eric Yardley (2-0, 1.54). Series Summary: The Brewers are making their third straight playoff appearance, something they’d never accomplished before since the franchise launched as the Seattle Pilots in 1969. … This series is a rematch of the 2018 NLCS won by the Dodgers in seven games, the only other time... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Alec Mills cruised through baseball’s second no-hitter this season in just the 15th start of his major league career, leading the Chicago Cubs over the Milwaukee Brewers 12-0 on Sunday.The former college walk-on at Tennessee-Martin retired Jace Peterson on a game-ending groundout. Peterson had replaced 2018 NL MVP Christian Yelich on defense to start the eighth inning.Mills (5-3) threw 114 pitches and hardly had any close calls in Chicago’s 16th no-hitter. He struck out five, walked three and induced five swings and misses, tied with Oakland’s Dallas Braden during his perfect game in 2010 for fewest in a no-hitter since at least 1988, according to Stats.Chicago White Sox ace Lucas Giolito threw baseball’s other no-hitter this season against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Aug. 15.Jason Heyward’s RBI double put the Cubs ahead in a five-run fourth against Adrian Houser (1-5) that included Ian Happ’s two-run single. David Bote added a two-run homer in the fifth.ANGELS 5, ROCKIES... [More]

Rockies first. Raimel Tapia homers to right field. Trevor Story called out on strikes. Nolan Arenado pops out to shallow right field to Cody Bellinger. Charlie Blackmon walks. Kevin Pillar strikes out swinging.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 left on. Rockies 1, Dodgers 0.Dodgers first. Mookie Betts singles to right field. Corey Seager grounds out to shallow infield. Mookie Betts out at second. Max Muncy homers to right field. Cody Bellinger grounds out to shallow infield, Trevor Story to Daniel Murphy.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on. Rockies 1, Dodgers 1.Rockies fifth. Garrett Hampson grounds out to shortstop, Max Muncy to Cody Bellinger. Sam Hilliard homers to right field. Tony Wolters grounds out to shortstop, Max Muncy to Cody Bellinger. Raimel Tapia grounds out to shallow infield, Dustin May to Cody Bellinger.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Rockies 2, Dodgers 1.Dodgers sixth. Mookie Betts singles to left center field, advances to 2nd. Fielding error by Kevin Pillar. Corey Seager singles... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Jacob deGrom struck out a season-high 10 in six innings and the New York Mets snapped a five-game skid Monday night with a 7-2 victory over the Braves that was overshadowed by a season-ending injury to Atlanta ace Mike Soroka. Soroka tore his Achilles tendon in the third inning as he took a step toward first to cover the bag — a huge blow to the two-time defending NL East champions. Robinson Canó had three RBIs before leaving the game himself — one of three New York infielders who went down with injuries. Wilson Ramos added a two-run homer for the Mets, who avoided a four-game sweep and ended Atlanta’s five-game winning streak. Travis d’Arnaud homered off deGrom (1-0) in the fifth.Soroka (0-1) allowed three hits, walked four and wound up being charged with four earned runs in 2 1/3 innings, the second-shortest outing of his career.The Mets had injury concerns, too. Jeff McNeil was scratched just before the first pitch with back tightness, and Canó exited with left groin tightness... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Jacob deGrom struck out a season-high 10 in six innings and the New York Mets snapped a five-game skid Monday night with a 7-2 victory over the Braves that was overshadowed by a season-ending injury to Atlanta ace Mike Soroka. Soroka tore his Achilles tendon in the third inning as he took a step toward first to cover the bag — a huge blow to the two-time defending NL East champions. Robinson Canó had three RBIs before leaving the game himself — one of three New York infielders who went down with injuries. Wilson Ramos added a two-run homer for the Mets, who avoided a four-game sweep and ended Atlanta’s five-game winning streak. Travis d’Arnaud homered off deGrom in the fifth.DeGrom (1-0) turned in another sterling effort. He threw 104 pitches.When Davis grounded the ball toward first baseman Freddie Freeman, Soroka broke in that direction to cover the bag if necessary — only to go down on his first step off the mound. Soroka (0-1) allowed three hits, walked four and wound... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Benches cleared Tuesday night during the Dodgers’ 5-2 victory over the Astros in the first game between the teams since it was revealed that Houston illegally stole signs en route to a 2017 championship that came at Los Angeles’ expense in the World Series.The fracas occurred after Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly threw high-and-tight pitches to Astros stars Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa in the sixth inning. Kelly threw an errant breaking ball over Correa’s head. Correa, who homered and finished with three hits, took off his batting helmet and stared Kelly down before continuing the at-bat. Kelly struck out Correa, then stuck out his tongue and made a face in his direction. Correa started walking toward him and the players exchanged words, prompting the benches to clear in the first such incident of this pandemic-delayed season. There was plenty of yelling and crowding — outlawed as MLB tries to play a 60-game season amid the pandemic — but no pushing or punches thrown.Order was... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Astros surrendered a tiebreaking two-run single to rookie Kyle Lewis in the eighth inning of a 7-6 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Sunday, and then announced ace Justin Verlander will be shut down for at least two weeks with a strained right forearm.Astros manager Dusty Baker denied a report that said the injury would end Verlander’s season. He said Verlander would be evaluated after two weeks.Lewis and Shed Long Jr. each had two hits and two RBIs for the Mariners, who had dropped their last 15 games against Houston.Dan Altavilla (1-0) got the win. Taylor Williams yielded an RBI double to Michael Brantley before striking out Alex Bregman for his first career save.Martín Maldonado drove in two runs for Houston. Chris Devenski (0-1) got the loss.MARLINS 11, PHILLIES 6PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Miami scratched right-hander José Ureña from its victory at Philadelphia and delayed its postgame trip home amid concerns about a possible coronavirus outbreak within the team. No... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — This isn’t quite how Chaim Bloom imagined things would go, back when he dreamed of running a baseball team.Less than two months after taking over the Red Sox — and with the start of spring training looming — Boston's new chief baseball officer needed to replace a World Series-winning manager. Then Bloom incurred the wrath of the Fenway fans when he traded Mookie Betts, the ballclub’s best player, as part of a salary dump. And the team is still sweating out the results of an investigation into whether it cheated when it won the championship in 2018.Like a manager reshuffling his rotation after an 18-inning game, Bloom has been forced to adjust — and quickly.“Baseball will throw different things at you every day,” he last week as he settled into his first spring training with the Red Sox. “I've been in baseball long enough to know that there's a lot of things about this business that don't go according to plan, and it throws you a lot of unexpected surprises. So the... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Kenta Maeda got off to a memorable start for the Minnesota Twins, that's for sure.The Twins newcomer gave up a home run to Boston's Andrew Benintendi to begin the game Monday, prompting the Japanese pitcher to laugh later."First time facing hitters so I just wanted to get that feel back," Maeda said through an interpreter. "And I wasn't scheduled to give up a home run on the first hitter, just so you know."Maeda threw 37 pitches in two innings, allowing two hits with one walk and one strikeout. The Twins won 3-2."Everything felt fine. Velocity is up there way more than I expected. It's just the little things that need to be refined, adjusted," he said.It's all about adjustments for Maeda right now.Maeda, 32 in April, is entering his fifth MLB season after four with the Dodgers and eight years in Japan. He went 10-8 with a 4.04 ERA last season for Los Angeles.Minnesota acquired the right-hander earlier this month in a deal that sent its top pitching prospect, right-hander... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to pay Kenta Maeda's $1 million assignment bonus as part of their trade of the pitcher to the Minnesota Twins.Los Angeles also agreed to pay the Twins $3 million to cover part of Maeda's salary and reimburse Minnesota for up to $7 million of his earned bonuses, according to information obtained by The Associated Press.Meada's maximum cost to the Twins would be $3,713,500 this year if he earns $13.15 million, his total if he reaches all his roster and performance and bonus levels. His maximum to Minnesota would be $12,586,500 in 2021 and $13.15 million in both 2022 and '23, a total exposure to the Twins of $42.6 million.Los Angeles will pay $2,436,500 this year split into in 12 installments on the 15th and last day of each month from April through September. The first four installments are $203,041.66 and the last eight $203,041.67.A final payment of $563,500 is due on June 30, 2021.Maeda was acquired with catcher Jair Camargo on Monday for... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — The acquisition of Kenta Maeda took the Minnesota Twins longer than they anticipated.The trade that was made to get him, the team believes, will be well worth the wait and the price.“We made a lot of decisions this offseason to invest in the now,” Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. “Now we also get a pitcher here who we think is going to impact us now and beyond.”Maeda joined the AL Central champions on Thursday morning, three days after the Twins finalized the deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers and more than a week after the initial agreement on the three-team trade that also involved the Boston Red Sox was first struck.The move was the latest by the Twins in demonstration of their desire to play deeper into October. Last month, they signed third baseman Josh Donaldson to the biggest free agent contract in club history, a four-year deal worth $92 million. They’ve also added free agent pitchers Homer Bailey, Rich Hill and Tyler Clippard and... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to pay Kenta Maeda's $1 million assignment bonus as part of their trade of the pitcher to the Minnesota Twins.Los Angeles also agreed to pay the Twins $3 million to cover part of Maeda's salary and reimburse Minnesota for up to $7 million of his earned bonuses, according to information obtained by The Associated Press.Meada's maximum cost to the Twins would be $3,713,500 this year if he earns $13.15 million, his total if he reaches all his roster and performance and bonus levels. His maximum to Minnesota would be $12,586,500 in 2021 and $13.15 million in both 2022 and '23, a total exposure to the Twins of $42.6 million.Los Angeles will pay $2,436,500 this year split into in 12 installments on the 15th and last day of each month from April through September. The first four installments are $203,041.66 and the last eight $203,041.67.A final payment of $563,500 is due on June 30, 2021.Maeda was acquired with catcher Jair Camargo on Monday for... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to pay Kenta Maeda's $1 million assignment bonus as part of their trade of the pitcher to the Minnesota Twins.Los Angeles also agreed to pay the Twins $3 million to cover part of Maeda's salary and reimburse Minnesota for up to $7 million of his earned bonuses, according to information obtained by The Associated Press.Meada's maximum cost to the Twins would be $3,713,500 this year if he earns $13.15 million, his total if he reaches all his roster and performance and bonus levels. His maximum to Minnesota would be $12,586,500 in 2021 and $13.15 million in both 2022 and '23, a total exposure to the Twins of $42.6 million.Los Angeles will pay $2,436,500 this year split into in 12 installments on the 15th and last day of each month from April through September. The first four installments are $203,041.66 and the last eight $203,041.67.A final payment of $563,500 is due on June 30, 2021.Meada was acquired with catcher Jair Camargo on Monday for... [More]