CHICAGO (AP) — David Bote hit a tying, two-run homer off Brad Boxberger with one out in the ninth inning, Anthony Rizzo followed two pitches later with a winning home run and the Chicago Cubs overcame a five-run deficit to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-6 on Thursday.Bote was called up when Kris Bryant was put on the disabled list because of inflammation in his left shoulder.Eddie Butler (1-1) retired Jon Jay on a flyout that stranded two runners in the ninth. Boxberger (1-4) was the loser.Nick Ahmed hit his first career grand slam in the fifth as Arizona built a 6-1 lead.YANKEES 7, ROYALS 2NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was hit on his right wrist by a pitch and forced to leave early, overshadowing New York's romp past Kansas City.The All-Star slugger sustained a fractured right wrist when he was hit by a fastball and is expected to miss three weeks.Normally an All-Star outfielder, Judge was the designated hitter. He winced when he was stung by a fastball from Jakob Junis... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — David Bote hit a tying, two-run homer off Brad Boxberger with one out in the ninth inning, Anthony Rizzo followed two pitches later with a winning home run and the Chicago Cubs overcame a five-run deficit to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-6 on Thursday.Bote was called up when Kris Bryant was put on the disabled list because of inflammation in his left shoulder.Eddie Butler (1-1) retired Jon Jay on a flyout that stranded two runners in the ninth. Boxberger (1-4) was the loser.Nick Ahmed hit his first career grand slam in the fifth as Arizona built a 6-1 lead.YANKEES 7, ROYALS 2NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was hit on his right wrist by a pitch and forced to leave early, overshadowing New York's romp past Kansas City.The All-Star slugger sustained a fractured right wrist when he was hit by a fastball and is expected to miss three weeks.Normally an All-Star outfielder, Judge was the designated hitter. He winced when he was stung by a fastball from Jakob Junis... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Washington Nationals have activated catcher Matt Wieters from the 10-day disabled list.He had been on the disabled list since May 11 and had surgery on a strained left hamstring. Before his injury, he had hit .232 with three home runs and seven RBIs in 23 games.Wieters played two rehab games with Double-A Harrisburg, a day game after a night game. He went 1 for 6 and caught 12 innings. He calls that a "pretty good test" that gives him confidence. The Nationals play the Pirates on Monday night.In his absence, Pedro Severino and rookie Spencer Kieboom saw more action. Severino was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse to make room for Wieters.Washington's catchers are last in the National League in batting average (.186), on-base percentage (.276) and slugging percentage (.274).

SECAUCUS, N.J. (AP) — Casey Mize went from undrafted three years ago all the way to No. 1.The Detroit Tigers selected the Auburn right-hander with the first pick in the Major League Baseball draft Monday night. The announcement at MLB Network studios marked the second time the Tigers led off the draft, and first since they took Rice pitcher Matt Anderson in 1997.The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Mize had long been linked to the Tigers, and this season he pitched his way to the top spot on the board. Mize wasn't chosen by any organization out of high school three years ago, but developed into a potential big league ace while in college."It means a ton," he said in an interview on MLB Network's broadcast. "I can't describe this feeling right now."Mize is 10-5 with a 2.95 ERA and 151 strikeouts with just 12 walks in 109 2/3 innings while helping the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament super regionals. He has outstanding command of four pitches, including a fastball that hovers in the mid-90s (mph), and his... [More]

SECAUCUS, N.J. (AP) — Casey Mize went from undrafted three years ago all the way to No. 1.The Detroit Tigers selected the Auburn right-hander with the first pick in the Major League Baseball draft Monday night. The announcement at MLB Network studios marked the second time the Tigers led off the draft, and first since they took Rice pitcher Matt Anderson in 1997.The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Mize had long been linked to the Tigers, and he pitched his way this season to the top spot on the board. Mize wasn't chosen by any organization out of high school three years ago, but developed into a potential big league ace while in college."It means a ton," he said in an interview on MLB Network's broadcast. "I'm very thankful that the Tigers thought of me enough to take me with their first selection. I can't describe this feeling right now."Mize is 10-5 with a 2.95 ERA and 151 strikeouts with just 12 walks in 109 2/3 innings while helping the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament super regionals. He has solid... [More]

SECAUCUS, N.J. (AP) — Casey Mize went from undrafted three years ago all the way to No. 1.The Detroit Tigers selected the Auburn right-hander with the top pick in the Major League Baseball draft Monday night. The announcement at MLB Network studios marked the second time the Tigers led off the draft, and first since they took Rice pitcher Matt Anderson in 1997.The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Mize had long been linked to the Tigers, and he pitched his way this season to the top spot on Detroit's list. Mize went undrafted out of high school three years ago, but developed into a potential big league ace while in college."It means a ton," Mize said in an interview on MLB Network's broadcast. "I'm very thankful that the Tigers thought of me enough to take me with their first selection. I can't describe this feeling right now."Mize is 10-5 with a 2.95 ERA and 151 strikeouts with just 12 walks in 109 2/3 innings while helping the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament super regionals. Mize has solid command of... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Nationals say catcher Matt Wieters had an operation on his left hamstring.The team announced Thursday that Wieters had the surgery on Wednesday.The Nationals indicated more information would be provided after Wieters returns to Washington and is examined by the club's medical staff.Wieters went on the 10-day disabled list last week after injuring his hamstring in a game on May 10.He is batting .231 with three homers and seven RBIs in only 65 at-bats this season. Pedro Severino has been Washington's primary starting catcher in Wieters' place.After an off day Thursday, the Nationals open a three-game series against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

PHOENIX (AP) — Washington Nationals outfielder Adam Eaton has been transferred to the 60-day disabled list, a day after he had surgery on his left ankle.The 29-year-old Eaton has been on the disabled list since April 11, and will be out until at least early June. The move Friday was made retroactive to April 9, and the Nationals haven't announced a timetable for his return.Eaton faces missing extended game action for the second straight season after being out all but 23 games with a torn knee ligament and high ankle sprain in 2017.The Nationals, who faced the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second of a four-game series Friday night, also placed catcher Matt Wieters on the 10-day disabled list with a left hamstring strain. Wieters was injured in Thursday night's game.Eaton was hitting .345 and was named the National League Player of the Week for the opening few days of the regular season before his injury

NEW YORK (AP) — Brett Gardner capped a slump-busting performance with a go-ahead, two-run triple off Craig Kimbrel in the eighth inning, Aaron Judge followed with a homer and the New York Yankees rallied to beat the Boston Red Sox 9-6 Wednesday night for their 17th victory in 18 games.Kimbrel entered with two on and one out to face Gardner seeking the first five-out save of his career. Gardner drilled a full-count pitch into left-center field, well over the head of center fielder Mookie Betts, who was playing shallow. Neil Walker scored easily from third and rookie Gleyber Torres raced from first and slid past a lunging tag attempted by catcher Christian Vazquez.Judge followed with a line drive to center measured at 117 mph off the bat, his ninth homer of the season. He had three hits and three RBIs as New York won its eighth straight overall and 11th in a row at home.Kimbrel replaced Matt Barnes (0-1) after a double by Walker and a one-out walk to Torres.Yankees reliever Jonathan Holder... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Brett Gardner capped a slump-busting performance with a go-ahead, two-run triple off Craig Kimbrel in the eighth inning, Aaron Judge followed with a homer and the New York Yankees rallied to beat the Boston Red Sox 9-6 Wednesday night for their 17th victory in 18 games.Kimbrel entered with two on and one out to face Gardner seeking the first five-out save of his career. Gardner drilled a full-count pitch into left-center field, well over the head of center fielder Mookie Betts, who was playing shallow. Neil Walker scored easily from third and rookie Gleyber Torres raced from first and slid past a lunging tag attempted by catcher Christian Vazquez.Judge followed with a line drive to center measured at 117 mph off the bat, his ninth homer of the season. He had three hits and three RBIs as New York won its eighth straight overall and 11th in a row at home.Kimbrel replaced Matt Barnes (0-1) after a double by Walker and a one-out walk to Torres.Yankees reliever Jonathan Holder... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Nick Kingham carried a perfect game into the seventh inning in his major league debut to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to their fifth straight win, 5-0 over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.Kingham, a 26-year-old rookie right-hander, retired 20 straight before Paul DeJong singled down the left-field line with two outs in the seventh. He finished with one hit and nine strikeouts on 98 pitches (72 strikes) after being recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis earlier in the day.He joined Johnny Cueto as the only pitchers in the last 100 years with one hit allowed, at least nine strikeouts and zero walks in a debut.Luke Weaver (2-2) took the loss after allowing four runs and six hits with six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.RED SOX 4, RAYS 3BOSTON (AP) — Sandy Leon hit a go-ahead RBI single with two outs in the eighth inning against Tampa Bay closer Alex Colome (2-3), helping the Red Sox snap the Rays' eight-game winning streak.J.D. Martinez had four singles and drove in two runs for... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Nick Kingham carried a perfect game into the seventh inning in his major league debut to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to their fifth straight win, 5-0 over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.Kingham, a 26-year-old rookie right-hander, retired 20 straight before Paul DeJong singled down the left-field line with two outs in the seventh. He finished with one hit and nine strikeouts on 98 pitches (72 strikes) after being recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis earlier in the day.He joined Johnny Cueto as the only pitchers in the last 100 years with one hit allowed, at least nine strikeouts and zero walks in a debut.Luke Weaver (2-2) took the loss after allowing four runs and six hits with six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.RED SOX 4, RAYS 3BOSTON (AP) — Sandy Leon hit a go-ahead RBI single with two outs in the eighth inning against Tampa Bay closer Alex Colome (2-3), helping the Red Sox snap the Rays' eight-game winning streak.J.D. Martinez had four singles and drove in two runs for... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Arizona Diamondbacks left-handed pitcher Robbie Ray left Sunday's game against the Washington Nationals in the bottom of the second with a strained right oblique muscle.Ray waved to the dugout after throwing a ball to Washington catcher Matt Wieters with one out. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo and an athletic trainer came to the mound, and Ray soon departed. He was replaced by T.J. McFarland, who surrendered a home run to Wieters to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead.Ray allowed one hit and struck out two in 1 1/3 innings.Ray, an All-Star last season, entered Sunday with a 2-0 record and a 5.13 ERA. He has won eight consecutive decisions dating back to last season.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

The concept of pitch framing is not exactly new, but it certainly seems to be under a bit more scrutiny now.There was even a bench-clearing incident earlier this month when Arizona manager Torey Lovullo started arguing with the plate umpire about St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina's framing. Lovullo said he praised Molina while using a profanity. The two had a shouting match.It's rare for something as mundane as pitch framing to cause such a dust-up, but it's clear that players, managers and umpires are becoming increasingly cognizant of the way catchers can try to influence calls on balls and strikes."I've had an umpire tell me this year that borderline pitches, I'm making them look better than what they are," Detroit catcher James McCann said. "They've known for years that we try and steal strikes. It's probably just more in the limelight now because we do have the framing numbers, and we do have umpires grades."Lovullo's complaints aside, there doesn't seem to be too much of a backlash... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Catcher Miguel Montero was designated for assignment by the Washington Nationals on Wednesday after going 0 for 11 in four games this season — and just 24 hours after he returned from paternity leave."The hardest thing for me is letting guys go like that," manager Dave Martinez said before the Nationals hosted the Atlanta Braves. "I've known Miggy for a long time, personally. Know his family. So it was tough. But he gets it."The decision essentially boiled down to this: The Nationals would rather have up-and-coming, 24-year-old Pedro Severino than the 34-year-old Montero as their backup to starting catcher Matt Wieters.In other moves Wednesday, Wieters was reinstated from the 10-day disabled list, left fielder Adam Eaton went on the DL and Moises Sierra's contract was selected from Triple-A Syracuse.Eaton hurt his left ankle on an awkward slide home in Washington's home opener last week. He tried playing, then sat out games Monday and Tuesday with what the team said was... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Catcher Miguel Montero has been designated for assignment by the Washington Nationals after going 0 for 11 in four games this season.In other moves before facing Atlanta on Wednesday, the Nationals reinstated catcher Matt Wieters from the 10-day disabled list, put left fielder Adam Eaton on the DL and selected the contract of outfielder Moises Sierra.The 34-year-old Montero agreed to a deal with the Nationals shortly before spring training and began the season as Wieters' backup. But Wieters appeared in only two games before straining his left oblique muscle, making Montero the starter on a temporary basis.Pedro Severino was called up to be the second catcher and played well, batting .368 and earning the job as the primary backup now that Wieters is returning.___More AP Baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Nationals have put catcher Miguel Montero on the paternity list and designated left-handed reliever Enny Romero for assignment.Montero has been starting while Matt Wieters is on the disabled list. So third-stringer Pedro Severino moved into the lineup against the New York Mets on Saturday, while Jhonatan Solano's contract was selected from Triple-A Syracuse so he can serve as the backup catcher.In another move, the Nationals recalled utility player Matt Reynolds from Syracuse, giving them an additional player on the bench.Romero appeared in two games this season for the Nationals, allowing three runs over two innings for a 13.50 ERA. In 55 appearances for Washington since the beginning of 2017, he was 2-4 with two saves and a 3.90 ERA.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

ATLANTA (AP) — The Washington Nationals have placed catcher Matt Wieters on the 10-day disabled list with a mild left oblique strain.Catcher Pedro Severino has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse and is listed as the starter in Monday night's game at Atlanta.Wieters was 1 for 7 in two games before he was held out of Sunday's game against the Reds.Miguel Montero opened the season as Wieters' top backup and is expected to see most of the starts until Wieters returns.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy is headed to the 10-day disabled list as he recovers from offseason surgery on his right knee.The Nationals put Murphy and right-handed reliever Joaquin Benoit on the DL on Tuesday, when Washington lost 3-1 to the Minnesota Twins in the final exhibition game for both teams.Murphy had surgery on Oct. 20 and been expected to miss the start of this season.He took grounders in the infield before Tuesday's game and also participated in batting practice at Nationals Park."He's getting there. We want to make sure when he gets back he's 100 percent and there's no ifs ands or buts about it. He's working to get back as soon as possible," Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. "Hopefully we get him back soon."The Nationals start the regular season on Thursday at the Cincinnati Reds, then play a series at the Atlanta Braves before playing their home opener next week.Murphy will travel with the Nationals until he is ready to go on a... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ryan Zimmerman fielded his position in a drizzle before the Washington Nationals' last exhibition game. Then he joined teammates for batting practice. Even took some trips around the basepaths, expending enough energy in the chill to redden his face.And then, when it was time for what became reigning NL East champion Washington's 3-1 loss against the Minnesota Twins to begin Tuesday, Zimmerman did what he so often did during spring training this year: He sat out.Taking an unusual approach to February and March, Zimmerman hit on back fields and faced pitchers destined for the minor leagues instead of playing in Grapefruit League games. He finished with two official at-bats. The 33-year-old first baseman insists he's healthy, insists he's ready for the regular season and insists — as does Nationals manager Dave Martinez — that he will play on opening day."I practiced. I did BP every day with the team. It's not like I was sitting in the clubhouse watching TV. I did all the... [More]