Athletics first. Marcus Semien homers to left field. Robbie Grossman called out on strikes. Matt Chapman hit by pitch. Matt Olson singles to center field. Matt Chapman to second. Mark Canha walks. Matt Olson to second. Matt Chapman to third. Seth Brown reaches on a fielder's choice to second base. Mark Canha out at second. Matt Olson to third. Matt Chapman scores. Jurickson Profar grounds out to first base to Ryan O'Hearn.2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Athletics 2, Royals 0.Royals third. Nicky Lopez called out on strikes. Whit Merrifield hit by pitch. Jorge Soler reaches on a fielder's choice to third base. Whit Merrifield out at second. Hunter Dozier homers to left field. Jorge Soler scores. Alex Gordon hit by pitch. Ryan O'Hearn grounds out to first base, Jurickson Profar to Tanner Roark.2 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 left on. Athletics 2, Royals 2.Athletics fifth. Robbie Grossman singles to center field. Chad Pinder strikes out swinging. Matt Olson reaches on a fielder's choice to... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Anthony Rendon homered and had four hits, including an RBI single in the 11th inning, and the Washington Nationals beat the Chicago Cubs 7-5 on Sunday for their fifth straight victory.Juan Soto added three hits and Stephen Strasburg struck out 10 in six innings, helping Washington finish off its first sweep of Chicago since September 2012. The Nationals outscored the Cubs 23-10 in a three-game series between the top two teams in the NL wild-card standings.Kyle Schwarber, Addison Russell and Victor Caratini homered for Chicago, which had won five in a row before Washington rolled into town. The Cubs fell 2½ games behind first-place St. Louis in the NL Central.The Nationals grabbed the lead for good when Howie Kendrick scored on Tyler Chatwood's wild pitch with Rendon at the plate in the 11th. Rendon then drove in Trea Turner with a single off Chatwood (5-2).Daniel Hudson (7-3) pitched two innings for the win.The Cubs played without Anthony Rizzo, sidelined by tightness in... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Anthony Rendon homered and had four hits, including an RBI single in the 11th inning, and the Washington Nationals beat the Chicago Cubs 7-5 on Sunday for their fifth straight victory.Juan Soto added three hits and Stephen Strasburg struck out 10 in six innings, helping Washington finish off its first sweep of Chicago since September 2012. The Nationals outscored the Cubs 23-10 in a three-game series between the top two teams in the NL wild-card standings.Kyle Schwarber, Addison Russell and Victor Caratini homered for Chicago, which had won five in a row before Washington rolled into town. The Cubs fell 2½ games behind first-place St. Louis in the NL Central.The Nationals grabbed the lead for good when Howie Kendrick scored on Tyler Chatwood's wild pitch with Rendon at the plate in the 11th. Rendon then drove in Trea Turner with a single off Chatwood (5-2).Daniel Hudson (7-3) pitched two innings for the win.The Cubs played without Anthony Rizzo, sidelined by tightness in... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Anthony Rendon homered and had four hits, including an RBI single in the 11th inning, and the Washington Nationals beat the Chicago Cubs 7-5 on Sunday for their fifth straight victory.Juan Soto added three hits and Stephen Strasburg struck out 10 in six innings, helping Washington finish off its first sweep of Chicago since September 2012. The Nationals outscored the Cubs 23-10 in a three-game series between the top two teams in the NL wild-card standings.Kyle Schwarber, Addison Russell and Victor Caratini homered for Chicago, which had won five in a row before Washington rolled into town. The Cubs fell 2½ games behind first-place St. Louis in the NL Central.The Nationals grabbed the lead for good when Howie Kendrick scored on Tyler Chatwood's wild pitch with Rendon at the plate in the 11th. Rendon then drove in Trea Turner with a single off Chatwood (5-2).Daniel Hudson (7-3) pitched two innings for the win.The Cubs played without Anthony Rizzo, sidelined by tightness in... [More]

CINCINNATI (AP) — Tanner Roark was on the road headed to Atlanta for the Cincinnati Reds' next series when he stopped to get something to eat and learned that he'd be going in a much different direction.The playoff-contending Oakland Athletics acquired Roark on Wednesday, filling out a rotation that also could have left-hander Sean Manaea back soon."This is a gamer that gets after it," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "He competes really hard, he throws strikes. He works quickly, which the fielders enjoy. Nice addition for us."Oakland sent outfield prospect Jameson Hannah to Cincinnati. The Reds are sending Oakland $2.1 million to offset much of the $3,225,806 remaining of Roark's $10 million salary.The trade was announced about an hour before the deadline for making deals. It was Oakland's third trade in 17 days. The A's previously acquired starter Homer Bailey and reliever Jake Diekman in a pair of deals with Kansas City."We needed starting pitching depth and a back-end arm in the bullpen,... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals traded left-handed reliever Jake Diekman to the Oakland Athletics for two minor league prospects amid of flurry of moves before Saturday night's game against Cleveland.Kansas City also recalled oft-injured pitcher Kyle Zimmer and first baseman Ryan O'Hearn from Triple-A Omaha. Struggling first baseman Lucas Duda was designated for assignment.Diekman is 0-6 with a 4.75 ERA in 48 relief appearances this season, but he has allowed just one run in his last six outings. He isn't signed beyond this year, making him an obvious trade candidate, and the Athletics snapped him up just days before the trade deadline."I played against that team basically for three years," said Diekman, who has spent a large part of his career with Texas. "I know the division really well. I know how good that team is. I'll just go there and hopefully continue the success they've had there and see where we end up at the end of the year."The trade is the second this month between the... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals traded left-handed reliever Jake Diekman to the Oakland Athletics for two minor league prospects amid of flurry of moves before Saturday night's game against Cleveland.Kansas City also recalled oft-injured pitcher Kyle Zimmer and first baseman Ryan O'Hearn from Triple-A Omaha. Struggling first baseman Lucas Duda was designated for assignment.Diekman is 0-6 with a 4.75 ERA in 48 relief appearances this season, but he has allowed just one run in his last six outings. He isn't signed beyond this year, making him an obvious trade candidate, and the Athletics snapped him up just days before the trade deadline."I played against that team basically for three years," said Diekman, who has spent a large part of his career with Texas. "I know the division really well. I know how good that team is. I'll just go there and hopefully continue the success they've had there and see where we end up at the end of the year."The trade is the second this month between the... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals have traded left-handed reliever Jake Diekman to the Oakland Athletics for two minor league prospects amid of flurry of moves before Saturday night's game against Cleveland.Kansas City also recalled oft-injured pitcher Kyle Zimmer and first baseman Ryan O'Hearn from Triple-A Omaha. First baseman Lucas Duda was designated for assignment.Diekman is 0-6 with a 4.75 ERA in 48 relief appearances this season, but he has allowed just one run in his last six outings. He isn't signed beyond this year, making him an obvious trade candidate.In return, the Royals got 26-year-old outfielder Dairon Blanco and 20-year-old right-hander Ismael Aquino from Oakland. Blanco is hitting .276 for Double-A Midland while Aquino is 1-1 with a 4.58 ERA in 10 appearances for Oakland's team in the Arizona Fall League.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Gary Sánchez, Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu homered in a hurry, connecting in a six-run fourth inning that powered the New York Yankees past the Houston Astros 10-6 on Thursday night for their sixth straight win.Edwin Encarnación hit his AL-leading 23rd home run, and second since being acquired by New York from Seattle, as the Yankees handed Houston its season-worst fifth loss in a row.The Astros dropped a matchup of division leaders despite Jake Marisnick's two home runs and solo drives by Alex Bregman and rookie Yordan Álvarez.Sánchez opened the fourth with his 22nd homer. With rain falling, Torres connected for a three-run jolt off rookie Framber Valdéz (3-3). LeMahieu tagged reliever Chris Devenski for a two-run homer and a 6-0 lead. The inning included two delays — a short break to fix the mound and a 37-minute stoppage when the showers fell too hard.Nestor Cortes Jr. (2-0) pitched three innings after another fine start by opener Chad Green. The veteran reliever struck... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Gary Sánchez, Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu homered in a hurry, connecting in a six-run fourth inning that powered the New York Yankees past the Houston Astros 10-6 on Thursday night for their sixth straight win.Edwin Encarnación hit his AL-leading 23rd home run, and second since being acquired by New York from Seattle, as the Yankees handed Houston its season-worst fifth loss in a row.The Astros dropped a matchup of division leaders despite Jake Marisnick's two home runs and solo drives by Alex Bregman and rookie Yordan Álvarez.Sánchez opened the fourth with his 22nd homer. With rain falling, Torres connected for a three-run jolt off rookie Framber Valdéz (3-3). LeMahieu tagged reliever Chris Devenski for a two-run homer and a 6-0 lead. The inning included two delays — a short break to fix the mound and a 37-minute stoppage when the showers fell too hard.Nestor Cortes Jr. (2-0) pitched three innings after another fine start by opener Chad Green. The veteran reliever struck... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Gary Sánchez, Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu homered in a hurry, connecting in a six-run fourth inning that powered the New York Yankees past the Houston Astros 10-6 on Thursday night for their sixth straight win.Edwin Encarnación hit his AL-leading 23rd home run, and second since being acquired by New York from Seattle, as the Yankees handed Houston its season-worst fifth loss in a row.The Astros dropped a matchup of division leaders despite Jake Marisnick's two home runs and solo drives by Alex Bregman and rookie Yordan Álvarez.Sánchez opened the fourth with his 22nd homer. With rain falling, Torres connected for a three-run jolt off rookie Framber Valdéz (3-3). LeMahieu tagged reliever Chris Devenski for a two-run homer and a 6-0 lead. The inning included two delays — a short break to fix the mound and a 37-minute stoppage when the showers fell too hard.Nestor Cortes Jr. (2-0) pitched three innings after another fine start by opener Chad Green. The veteran reliever struck... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Cole Hamels struck out nine in seven scoreless innings, singled twice and drove in two runs to lead the Chicago Cubs past the Colorado Rockies 10-1 in a testy game on Wednesday.Rockies All-Star third-baseman Nolan Arenado left in the fifth inning with a left forearm contusion after Hamels (6-2) hit him with a pitch in the third, and three more batters — including Hamels — were hit by pitches later in the game.Chicago's Kris Bryant was hit by pitches three times in the first two games of the series.Javier Báez and Kyle Schwarber homered for Chicago, which snapped a five-game road losing streak. Colorado's 10-game home winning streak ended.Chicago scored five times in the second off Antonio Sentenzela (5-5).BREWERS 6, ASTROS 3, 14 INNINGSHOUSTON (AP) — Justin Verlander set a career high with 15 strikeouts, but Mike Moustakas hit a two-run homer during Milwaukee's three-run 14th inning and the Brewers rallied to beat Houston.Christian Yelich started the 14th with a single against... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Christian Vazquez hit a sacrifice fly in the 11th inning, and the Boston Red Sox completed an uplifting three-game sweep of the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays with a 4-3 victory Sunday.Rafael Devers singled off Jose Alvarado (0-2) to start the 11th and went to second when Michael Chavis walked.Both runners moved up a base on Jackie Bradley's sacrifice bunt and Vazquez followed with his fly that Kevin Kiermaier ran down in center field.Marcus Walden (3-0) allowed an infield hit over two scoreless innings and Ryan Brasier worked the 11th to get his sixth save.After starting the season by losing eight of 10, the defending World Series champions are 7-5 over the last 12 games and went from eight to five games behind the Rays.DODGERS 6, BREWERS 5MILWAUKEE (AP) — Cody Bellinger reached over the right field wall to rob Christian Yelich in the eighth inning of yet another home run, then hit a solo drive off Josh Hader with two outs in the ninth to lift Los Angeles over... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Christian Vazquez hit a sacrifice fly in the 11th inning, and the Boston Red Sox completed an uplifting three-game sweep of the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays with a 4-3 victory Sunday.Rafael Devers singled off Jose Alvarado (0-2) to start the 11th and went to second when Michael Chavis walked.Both runners moved up a base on Jackie Bradley's sacrifice bunt and Vazquez followed with his fly that Kevin Kiermaier ran down in center field.Marcus Walden (3-0) allowed an infield hit over two scoreless innings and Ryan Brasier worked the 11th to get his sixth save.After starting the season by losing eight of 10, the defending World Series champions are 7-5 over the last 12 games and went from eight to five games behind the Rays.DODGERS 6, BREWERS 5MILWAUKEE (AP) — Cody Bellinger reached over the right field wall to rob Christian Yelich in the eighth inning of yet another home run, then hit a solo drive off Josh Hader with two outs in the ninth to lift Los Angeles over... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The consensus among prognosticators is that the Chicago White Sox or Kansas City Royals will finish in the bottom of the AL Central, and whichever avoids the cellar won't fare a whole lot better.Well, one of them will soon be undefeated.The White Sox and Royals meet Thursday at Kauffman Stadium for the start of a season-opening three-game series. The rivals are supposed to have Friday off before continuing through the weekend, but there is rain in the forecast for opening day, which could mean pushing back the pomp and circumstance.Regardless of the weather — or expectations, for that matter — both clubs are eager to get going."I say it's been a long spring," Royals manager Ned Yost said Wednesday, "but it was really short for me. I enjoyed watching these kids play. But we've done enough playing when it doesn't count. These guys want to play for something. I hope the weather cooperates for us. It's a little iffy."The White Sox and Royals are both coming off 100-loss... [More]

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals agreed with reliever Drew Storen on a minor league contract Friday that includes an invitation to big league spring training.Storen would have a $1.25 million salary in the major leagues if he is added to the 40-man roster, and he would have the chance to earn additional performance bonuses.The right-hander missed all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery in December 2017, but he'd been effective throughout his career. The 31-year-old is 29-18 with a 3.45 ERA over 470 appearances with the Washington Nationals, Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds.His best season came in 2011, when he was 6-3 with a 2.75 ERA and 43 saves for Washington. Storen was 4-2 with a 4.45 ERA in 58 appearances for Cincinnati during the 2017 season.The Royals have been stockpiling low-risk, high-reward relievers as they attempt to rebuild one of the majors' worst bullpens. They also signed left-hander Jake Diekman this week.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals and reliever Jake Diekman agreed Wednesday to a one-year contract that guarantees $2.75 million and includes a mutual option for 2020 plus bonuses that could make it worth $10 million over two seasons.Kansas City made room on its 40-man roster by placing right-hander Jesse Hahn on the 60-day injured list. Hahn is recovering from Tommy John surgery and is not expected to be ready before opening day.The 32-year-old Diekman spent last season with the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks, making 71 appearances with a career-worst 4.73 ERA. But he's shown shutdown ability during a seven-year career that included a stop in Philadelphia, going 14-15 with a 3.75 ERA.Diekman gets a $2.25 million salary this year, and the deal announced includes a $5.75 million mutual option for 2020 with a $500,000 buyout. He can earn $1 million annually in performance bonuses.The Royals' bullpen was a mess all of last season, and there are plenty of jobs up for grabs this spring training. Kevin McCarthy and Wily Peralta are the only safe bets to make the team.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals and reliever Jake Diekman agreed to a $2.75 million, one-year contract on Wednesday that includes a mutual option for the 2020 season.The Royals made room on the 40-man roster by placing right-hander Jesse Hahn on the 60-day injured list. Hahn is still recovering from Tommy John surgery and is not expected before opening day.The 32-year-old Diekman spent last season with the Rangers and Diamondbacks, making 71 appearances with a career-worst 4.73 ERA. But he's shown shutdown ability during a seven-year career that included a stop in Philadelphia, going 14-15 with a 3.75 ERA. Diekman is guaranteed $2.25 million in 2019 and has a $500,000 buyout for 2020.The Royals' bullpen was a mess all of last season, and there are plenty of jobs up for grabs this spring training. Kevin McCarthy and Wily Peralta are the only safe bets to make the team.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals signed veteran reliever Jake Diekman to a $2.75 million, one-year contract on Wednesday that includes a mutual option for the 2020 season.The Royals made room on the 40-man roster by placing right-hander Jesse Hahn on the 60-day injured list. Hahn is still recovering from Tommy John surgery and is not expected before opening day.The 32-year-old Diekman spent last season with the Rangers and Diamondbacks, making 71 appearances with a career-worst 4.73 ERA. But he's shown shutdown ability during a seven-year career that included a stop in Philadelphia, going 14-15 with a 3.75 ERA. Diekman is guaranteed $2.25 million in 2019 and has a $500,000 buyout for 2020.The Royals' bullpen was a mess all of last season, and there are plenty of jobs up for grabs this spring training. Kevin McCarthy and Wily Peralta are the only safe bets to make the team.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Brad Boxberger made it to Royals, 13 years later than Kansas City first envisioned.Kansas City selected the right-hander in the 20th round of the 2006 amateur draft from Foothill High School in North Tustin, California. He opted to go to Southern Cal, and Cincinnati took him three years later with the 43rd overall pick.After seven seasons in the major leagues with San Diego, Tampa Bay and Arizona, the 30-year-old agreed this month to a $2.2 million, one-year contract with the Royals."Just the great opportunity I'd have here," Boxberger explained.Kansas City's bullpen was a strength when the Royals won the 2015 World Series, a group that included Wade Davis, Greg Holland and Kelvin Herrera. Boxberger was an All-Star that year with the Rays, leading the AL with 41 saves.He joins a bullpen that was among the worst in the major leagues last year, compiling a 5.04 ERA and blowing 24 of 57 save chances.Boxberger will compete for the closer's job in spring training with... [More]