A team-by-team look at the American League Central entering spring training, including key players each club acquired and lost, and dates of the first workout for pitchers and catchers, and the full squad:___Cleveland IndiansManager: Terry Francona (sixth season).2017: 102-60, first place, lost to New York Yankees in ALDS.Training Town: Goodyear, Arizona.Park: Goodyear Ballpark.First Workout: Feb. 15/19.He's Here: 1B-DH Yonder Alonso, OF Melvin Upton Jr., RHP Alexi Ogando.He's Outta Here: 1B Carlos Santana, OF Jay Bruce, RHP Bryan Shaw, RHP Joe Smith, OF Austin Jackson, LHP Boone Logan.Going campin': Poised to possibly end their 70-year-old World Series title drought, the Indians, who reeled off 22 straight victories in 2017, didn't even make it back to the AL Championship Series after squandering a 2-0 playoff lead against the Yankees. Unlike last winter, when the club signed DH Edwin Encarnacion in free agency, the Indians were relatively quiet, counting on their core to carry them in... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Once the pain from their postseason elimination eased, the Cleveland Indians didn't panic.Instead, they stayed mostly intact — and confident — this winter.Determined to end their World Series title drought in 2017 after coming so close the previous season, the AL Central champions were bounced in the playoffs by the New York Yankees despite taking a 2-0 series lead.It was a bitter finish for a team that won 102 games and reeled off 22 straight victories. But while there was a sense of finality for some Cleveland fans, manager Terry Francona said these Indians aren't done."I don't think anybody should be pessimistic right now," Francona said last month. "My goodness, we have the best record in the American League the last five years. This has been a good run of baseball, and I don't see that going anywhere."With one of baseball's top rotations, anchored by two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber, the Indians are aiming to win their first Series since 1948 and end the majors'... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge sat side by side on the dais, together in public for the first time as Yankees teammates.Truly a big night in New York baseball.The towering duo joined several of the game's top stars in attendance Sunday night as the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America held its 95th annual dinner.Acquired by the Yankees in a December trade with Miami, the 6-foot-6 Stanton was on hand to collect the National League Most Valuable Player award after leading the majors with 59 home runs and 132 RBIs last season."This has been an amazing ride and I'm excited to be here in New York and experience the big city, bright lights, and this is going to be a lot of fun for me," said the eight-year veteran, drawing loud applause.Standing a smidge taller at 6-foot-7, Judge took home his own share of hardware. The 25-year-old outfielder was selected New York player of the year and also received the Joe DiMaggio Toast of the Town award.Stanton... [More]

RHP Corey Kluber, who is thought to be the favorite to win his second Cy Young Award in the last four years, led the major leagues with a 2.25 ERA in the regular season. But Kluber had a forgettable postseason. In his two playoff starts against the Yankees, he had a 12.79 ERA, having allowed nine runs on 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings. In Game 5 on Wednesday, Kluber gave up three runs, including two home runs by SS Didi Gregorius, in 3 2/3 innings. "He just didn't have the normal, crisp movement on his pitches. A lot of his pitches were flat," manager Terry Francona said.

RHP Corey Kluber had the worst start of his season. Kluber only gave up six runs in the month of September, but gave up six runs in 2 2/3 innings on Friday. "He was fighting his command right from the get go," said manager Terry Francona. "He had trouble getting ahead of hitters, and when he did, he had trouble finishing them off. Against guys he's handled in the past."

RHP Corey Kluber said he had no problem with manager Terry Francona's decision to start him in Game 2 instead of Game 1. "To me, it's not about me wanting to pitch the first game or wanting to pitch the second game," Kluber said. "It's about us winning three games before they do. Whichever way that happens, and if it happens and we advance, it doesn't matter who pitches when, in my mind."

There may not be two American League players who differ more standing side-by-side than the Houston Astros' Jose Altuve and the New York Yankees' Aaron Judge.Altuve is a diminutive 5-foot-6. Judge is a giant at 6-7. But when it comes to the AL Most Valuable Player Award, the difference could be measured in angstroms.The members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America are sending in their votes right now for all of the major 2017 awards. There are some that will be, or should be, unanimous picks.How do you not give Judge the AL Rookie of the Year? Same goes in the National League for Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both were by far at the top of their classes when all was said and done.Below is our take on the deserving winners in each race. AL MVP isn't the only white-knuckler. In the AL, the Cy Young Award race between Boston's Chris Sale and Cleveland's Corey Kluber is tight, too. In the National League, the MVP, Cy Young and Manager of the Year are all worthy of great... [More]

RHP Corey Kluber pitched five innings, allowing one run on six hits with three strikeouts and no walks. "I'm healthy, so that's really ... the main goal is to get the work in and kind of feel like you're in a good spot," Kluber said. Kluber lowered his major league-leading ERA to 2.25. Kluber is the first Indians pitcher to lead the majors in ERA since Mike Garcia (2.36) in 1949. In 16 starts at Progressive Field this year, Kluber was 10-2 with a 1.81 ERA. That's the lowest home ERA by an Indians pitcher since Gaylord Perry had a 1.77 home ERA in 1972, the year he won the Cy Young Award.

RHP Corey Kluber, who will be the Indians' starter in Game 1 of the AL Division Series Thursday, will make his last regular season start Saturday. Manager Terry Francona said he isn't sure how long Kluber will pitch in the game. "It depends on what he wants to do," said Francona. "I'll talk to him about it and we'll go from there."

MILWAUKEE -- Jose Quintana struck out 10 in a three-hitter game as the Chicago Cubs moved closer to clinching the National League Central by beating the Milwaukee Brewers 5-0 on Sunday.Ben Zobrist hit a two-run homer for the defending World Series champions, who have a magic number of two to clinch.Milwaukee starter Chase Anderson allowed three runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings.Diamondbacks 3, Marlins 2PHOENIX -- J.D. Martinez singled with two outs in the ninth inning and Arizona edged Miami to clinch its first playoff spot since 2011.Chris Herrmann homered for Arizona, which holds the first National League wild-card spot.Giancarlo Stanton increased his RBI total to 126, moving into a tie with Colorado's Nolan Arenado for the major league lead.Angels 7, Astros 5HOUSTON -- Brandon Phillips and Justin Upton homered and drove in two runs apiece, and Luis Valbuena also had two RBIs in Los Angeles win over Houston.The Angels remain 4 1/2 games behind the Minnesota Twins for the second American... [More]

MILWAUKEE -- Jose Quintana struck out 10 in a three-hitter game as the Chicago Cubs moved closer to clinching the National League Central by beating the Milwaukee Brewers 5-0 on Sunday.Ben Zobrist hit a two-run homer for the defending World Series champions, who have a magic number of two to clinch.Milwaukee starter Chase Anderson allowed three runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings.Diamondbacks 3, Marlins 2PHOENIX -- J.D. Martinez singled with two outs in the ninth inning and Arizona edged Miami to clinch its first playoff spot since 2011.Chris Herrmann homered for Arizona, which holds the first National League wild-card spot.Giancarlo Stanton increased his RBI total to 126, moving into a tie with Colorado's Nolan Arenado for the major league lead.Angels 7, Astros 5HOUSTON -- Brandon Phillips and Justin Upton homered and drove in two runs apiece, and Luis Valbuena also had two RBIs in Los Angeles win over Houston.The Angels remain 4 1/2 games behind the Minnesota Twins for the second American... [More]

MILWAUKEE -- Jose Quintana struck out 10 in a three-hitter game as the Chicago Cubs moved closer to clinching the National League Central Division by beating the Milwaukee Brewers 5-0 on Sunday.Ben Zobrist hit a two-run homer for the defending World Series champions, who have a magic number of two to clinch.Milwaukee starter Chase Anderson allowed three runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings. Twins 10, Tigers 4DETROIT -- Eduardo Escobar hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs as Minnesota rolled over Detroit. Jorge Polanco also homered and Joe Mauer drove in two runs as Minnesota moved to within four games behind the New York Yankees for the first wild card spot.Ian Kinsler hit a two-run homer for Detroit, which dropped its seventh straight. Red Sox 5, Reds 4 CINCINNATI -- Mookie Betts hit a three-run double in the eighth inning and scored on a single by Rafael Devers as Boston beat Cincinnati.Betts helped the Red Sox lower their magic number for clinching the American League East to... [More]

RHP Corey Kluber threw seven shutout innings, extending his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 22, which goes back three starts. Kluber allowed three hits, striking out nine with no walks. In 21 starts since June 1, Kluber is 14-2 with a 1.69 ERA, an opponents' batting average of .169, and 211 strikeouts and 21 walks in 154 1/3 innings. "He's just so tough," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "He pounds down and away, down and away, with that heavy sinker and then the slider and breaking ball. He's a premiere guy. The year he won the Cy Young Award (in 2014) is the way he looks now."

RHP Corey Kluber was at his best Tuesday night, tossing his sixth career complete game shutout to improve his record to 16-4 and lowering his American League-leading ERA to 2.44, as the Indians extended their winning streak to 20 games. "We haven't talked about it at all," said Kluber of the winning streak. "I haven't heard anybody talking about how many games in a row we've won. We're aware of it just because the attention it gets. But it's not something we're focusing on. It's more coming to the field each day and preparing to win a game."

CLEVELAND -- Corey Kluber pitched a five-hitter, and Francisco Lindor hit his 30th home run as the Cleveland Indians tied the American League record with their 20th straight victory, a 2-0 decision over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night.Cleveland matched the record set by the 2002 Oakland Athletics. The only longer streaks are 21 games by the 1935 Chicago Cubs and 26 by the 1916 New York Giants, although there was a tie game during New York's streak. The Indians have outscored their opponents 134-32 during their run.Kluber (16-4) struck out eight and did not walk a batter. The shutout was the Indians' seventh during their winning streak and their major-league-leading 19th for the season overall.Detroit starter Matthew Boyd (5-10) threw 116 pitches in five innings but managed to hold the Indians to one run and six hits with five strikeouts and one walk.Dodgers 5, Giants 3SAN FRANCISCO -- Yasiel Puig capped a four-run fourth inning with a two-run double, and Clayton Kershaw combined with... [More]

CLEVELAND -- Corey Kluber pitched a five-hitter, and Francisco Lindor hit his 30th home run as the Cleveland Indians tied the American League record with their 20th straight victory, a 2-0 decision over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night.Cleveland matched the record set by the 2002 Oakland Athletics. The only longer streaks are 21 games by the 1935 Chicago Cubs and 26 by the 1916 New York Giants, although there was a tie game during New York's streak. The Indians have outscored their opponents 134-32 during their run.Kluber (16-4) struck out eight and did not walk a batter. The shutout was the Indians' seventh during their winning streak and their major-league-leading 19th for the season overall.Detroit starter Matthew Boyd (5-10) threw 116 pitches in five innings but managed to hold the Indians to one run and six hits with five strikeouts and one walk.Astros 1, Angels 0ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Justin Verlander allowed one hit in eight shutout innings, and Houston lowered its magic number to... [More]

RHP Corey Kluber reached double digits in strikeouts for the 14th time this season after he struck out 13 in the Indians 11-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Kluber, who is 15-4, won his third straight game and posted his 19th quality start of the season. Thursday's outing represented the 38th time Kluber has reached double digits in strikeouts in his career and his 14 outings this year with at least 10 strikeouts is tied with Washington's Max Scherzer for the second most in the major leagues this year.

CHICAGO -- Corey Kluber struck out 13, and Erik Gonzalez hit two of Cleveland's five homers as the Cleveland Indians won a franchise-record 15th straight game, beating the Chicago White Sox 11-2 on Thursday night.Edwin Encarnacion, Francisco Lindor and Greg Allen also went deep for Cleveland. Kluber (15-4) allowed three hits and two runs while walking one over seven innings.Gonzalez, who homered in the third and ninth innings, drove in four runs. Allen hit his first career home run as part of a three-run seventh inning. Lindor went 3-for-6 with three runs and finished a double shy of hitting for the cycle.Chicago's Mike Pelfrey (3-11), who started after Carlos Rodon was forced to miss his scheduled start with shoulder stiffness, gave up seven runs and eight hits over four innings.Rockies 9, Dodgers 1LOS ANGELES -- Nolan Arenado hit a three-run homer three batters into the game as Colorado handed Los Angeles its seventh straight loss.The Dodgers still own the best record in baseball at 92-48,... [More]

CHICAGO -- Corey Kluber struck out 13, and Erik Gonzalez hit two of Cleveland's five homers as the Cleveland Indians won a franchise-record 15th straight game, beating the Chicago White Sox 11-2 on Thursday night.Edwin Encarnacion, Francisco Lindor and Greg Allen also went deep for Cleveland. Kluber (15-4), who struck out at least 10 for the 14th time this season, allowed three hits and two runs while walking one over seven innings.Gonzalez, who homered in the third and ninth innings, drove in four runs. Allen hit his first career home run as part of a three-run seventh inning. Lindor went 3-for-6 with three runs and finished a double shy of hitting for the cycle.Chicago's Mike Pelfrey (3-11), who started after Carlos Rodon was forced to miss his scheduled start with shoulder stiffness, gave up seven runs and eight hits over four innings. Pelfrey struck out four and walked three.Twins 4, Royals 2KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Jorge Polanco's two-run, two-out single in a three-run ninth inning lifted... [More]

RHP Corey Kluber (14-4, 2.56 ERA) will lead the Indians as they go for their team-record 15th consecutive victory on Thursday against the White Sox. He has the American League's best ERA and lowest opponents' batting average (.194) and also ranks in the top five in other pitching categories. The reigning AL Pitcher of the Month went 5-1 with a 1.96 ERA in six August starts. He has won seven of his past eight decisions. In 18 career appearances (17 starts) against the White Sox, Kluber is 8-4 with a 3.28 ERA. He has faced Chicago three times this season, going 2-0 with a 2.95 ERA, including a complete-game shutout on April 21 at Guaranteed Rate Field as he gave up just three hits, walked two and struck out nine.