BOSTON (AP) — Wilson Ramos went deep again and scored on Denard Span's inside-the-park homer, helping the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 12-6 on Saturday for their eighth consecutive victory.It's the longest win streak for Tampa Bay since taking nine in a row in July 2014. The resurgent Rays have won nine of 10 overall to move within one game of .500 at 12-13.Johnny Field and Carlos Gomez also connected for Tampa Bay, and Matt Duffy finished with four hits. Field's three-run drive in the ninth was his first career homer.Ramos belted a two-run shot in the third against David Price (2-3), extending his homer streak to three games.Boston lost for the fifth time in seven games. It also had to replace star outfielder Mookie Betts after the fourth inning due to tightness in his right hamstring.DIAMONDBACKS 4, NATIONALS 3, 10 INNINGSWASHINGTON (AP) — David Peralta homered twice for Arizona, and Nick Ahmed scored the winning run on a bases-loaded walk in the 10th inning.The NL West-leading... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Wilson Ramos went deep again and scored on Denard Span's inside-the-park homer, helping the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 12-6 on Saturday for their eighth consecutive victory.It's the longest win streak for Tampa Bay since taking nine in a row in July 2014. The resurgent Rays have won nine of 10 overall to move within one game of .500 at 12-13.Johnny Field and Carlos Gomez also connected for Tampa Bay, and Matt Duffy finished with four hits. Field's three-run drive in the ninth was his first career homer.Ramos belted a two-run shot in the third against David Price (2-3), extending his homer streak to three games.Boston lost for the fifth time in seven games. It also had to replace star outfielder Mookie Betts after the fourth inning due to tightness in his right hamstring.DIAMONDBACKS 4, NATIONALS 3, 10 INNINGSWASHINGTON (AP) — David Peralta homered twice for Arizona, and Nick Ahmed scored the winning run on a bases-loaded walk in the 10th inning.The NL West-leading... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Jose Quintana pitched seven sharp innings to help the Chicago Cubs beat Milwaukee 3-0 on Saturday and continue his dominance of the Brewers.Quintana (3-1) has thrown 24 straight scoreless innings against Milwaukee dating to July 28. The left-hander tossed six innings of three-hit ball in a 3-0 win at Miller Park on April 8.Tommy La Stella drove in two runs with a pinch-hit single in the seventh, and Javier Baez had a run-scoring double in Chicago's third straight victory.With Kris Bryant back in the lineup, the Cubs improved to 6-1 against the Brewers this season, including four shutouts. Bryant went 0 for 3 with a walk in his first appearance since being hit in the helmet by a pitch last Sunday.Junior Guerra (2-1) pitched six innings of one-run ball, but Milwaukee finished with just two hits. The Brewers have just two runs and 12 hits through the first three games of the four-game set.TWINS 3, REDS 1MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jake Odorizzi pitched into the seventh inning, Mitch... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Yuli Gurriel was thrown out at third base by catcher Martin Maldonado to end the game after an original safe call was reversed on replay, giving the Los Angeles Angels a 2-0 win over Houston on Monday night that ended the Astros' six-game winning streak.Third base umpire Cory Blaser signaled safe. Blaser also called Colorado's Nolan Arenado safe at home plate Sunday trying to advance on a ball in the dirt. That call was then reversed on replay for the final out in the Chicago Cubs' 9-7 win.Tyler Skaggs (3-1) allowed four hits in seven innings for the Angels, and Keynan Middleton earned his sixth save. The Astros outscored the White Sox 27-2 during a three-game sweep last weekend.Kole Calhoun had an RBI single and Justin Upton added an RBI double. Los Angeles had lost five of six following a seven-game winning streak. The Angels are 10-1 on the road, but 5-7 at home.Gerrit Cole (2-1) retired his first 13 hitters, striking out five. He gave up two runs and four hits in seven... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Yuli Gurriel was thrown out at third base by catcher Martin Maldonado to end the game after an original safe call was reversed on replay, giving the Los Angeles Angels a 2-0 win over Houston on Monday night that ended the Astros' six-game winning streak.Third base umpire Cory Blaser signaled safe. Blaser also called Colorado's Nolan Arenado safe at home plate Sunday trying to advance on a ball in the dirt. That call was then reversed on replay for the final out in the Chicago Cubs' 9-7 win.Tyler Skaggs (3-1) allowed four hits in seven innings for the Angels, and Keynan Middleton earned his sixth save. The Astros outscored the White Sox 27-2 during a three-game sweep last weekend.Kole Calhoun had an RBI single and Justin Upton added an RBI double. Los Angeles had lost five of six following a seven-game winning streak. The Angels are 10-1 on the road, but 5-7 at home.Gerrit Cole (2-1) retired his first 13 hitters, striking out five. He gave up two runs and four hits in seven... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Yuli Gurriel was thrown out at third base by catcher Martin Maldonado to end the game after an original safe call was reversed on replay, giving the Los Angeles Angels a 2-0 win over Houston on Monday night that ended the Astros' six-game winning streak.Third base umpire Cory Blaser signaled safe. Blaser also called Colorado's Nolan Arenado safe at home plate Sunday trying to advance on a ball in the dirt. That call was then reversed on replay for the final out in the Chicago Cubs' 9-7 win.Tyler Skaggs (3-1) allowed four hits in seven innings for the Angels, and Keynan Middleton earned his sixth save. The Astros outscored the White Sox 27-2 during a three-game sweep last weekend.Kole Calhoun had an RBI single and Justin Upton added an RBI double. Los Angeles had lost five of six following a seven-game winning streak. The Angels are 10-1 on the road, but 5-7 at home.Gerrit Cole (2-1) retired his first 13 hitters, striking out five. He gave up two runs and four hits in seven... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Yuli Gurriel was thrown out at third base by catcher Martin Maldonado to end the game after an original safe call was reversed on replay, giving the Los Angeles Angels a 2-0 win over Houston on Monday night that ended the Astros' six-game winning streak.Third base umpire Cory Blaser signaled safe. Blaser also called Colorado's Nolan Arenado safe at home plate Sunday trying to advance on a ball in the dirt. That call was then reversed on replay for the final out in the Chicago Cubs' 9-7 win.Tyler Skaggs (3-1) allowed four hits in seven innings for the Angels, and Keynan Middleton earned his sixth save. The Astros outscored the White Sox 27-2 during a three-game sweep last weekend.Kole Calhoun had an RBI single and Justin Upton added an RBI double. Los Angeles had lost five of six following a seven-game winning streak. The Angels are 10-1 on the road, but 5-7 at home.Gerrit Cole (2-1) retired his first 13 hitters, striking out five. He gave up two runs and four hits in seven... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins have postponed their game against the Chicago White Sox because of rain, with wintry weather also threatening the rest of the series.The team announced the decision Friday afternoon, four hours before the scheduled first pitch. No makeup date was set. Forecasts called for snow overnight, with potential for more than a foot of accumulation throughout Saturday and Sunday.One benefit of the bad weather this month for Minnesota has been the shortening of its rotation, allowing right-hander Phil Hughes to take his time in recovery from a strained left oblique muscle. He was on track to pitch on Friday but the team will likely take its time again.Lance Lynn is scheduled to start Saturday, with Jake Odorizzi going on Sunday. Twins manager Paul Molitor had lined up Kyle Gibson to start the first game in Puerto Rico on Tuesday, with Puerto Rican native Jose Berrios set to start the second game.Minnesota likely wouldn't need a fifth starter now until April 24... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts hit a grand slam on a monster night, leading Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox over the New York Yankees 14-1 Tuesday for their ninth straight victory.Betts went 4 for 4, scoring five runs and driving in four. His third career slam capped a nine-run burst in the sixth inning that turned the first matchup of the season between the AL East rivals into a rout.Sale (1-0) allowed one run in six innings, striking out eight. Luis Severino (2-1) gave up five runs in five innings.Aaron Judge had three hits for the Yankees, including his third home run of the season.Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton went 2 for 4. He struck out his first two times up against Sale, and has now fanned 22 times in 46 at-bats.GIANTS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 4SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Andrew McCutchen hit a bases-loaded single for his second walk-off of San Francisco's homestand.McCutchen lined the first pitch he got from Jorge De La Rosa (0-1) for a clean single into left-center, his 10th career game-ending... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts hit a grand slam on a monster night, leading Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox over the New York Yankees 14-1 Tuesday for their ninth straight victory.Betts went 4 for 4, scoring five runs and driving in four. His third career slam capped a nine-run burst in the sixth inning that turned the first matchup of the season between the AL East rivals into a rout.Sale (1-0) allowed one run in six innings, striking out eight. Luis Severino (2-1) gave up five runs in five innings.Aaron Judge had three hits for the Yankees, including his third home run of the season.Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton went 2 for 4. He struck out his first two times up against Sale, and has now fanned 22 times in 46 at-bats.BLUE JAYS 2, ORIOLES 1BALTIMORE (AP) — Aaron Sanchez lost his no-hit bid when Baltimore's Tim Beckham led off the eighth inning with a sharp grounder through the legs of third baseman Josh Donaldson, and Curtis Granderson hit a tiebreaking homer in the ninth to carry Toronto.Seeking... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts hit a grand slam on a monster night, leading Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox over the New York Yankees 14-1 Tuesday for their ninth straight victory.Betts went 4 for 4, scoring five runs and driving in four. His third career slam capped a nine-run burst in the sixth inning that turned the first matchup of the season between the AL East rivals into a rout.Sale (1-0) allowed one run in six innings, striking out eight. Luis Severino (2-1) gave up five runs in five innings.Aaron Judge had three hits for the Yankees, including his third home run of the season.Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton went 2 for 4. He struck out his first two times up against Sale, and has now fanned 22 times in 46 at-bats.BLUE JAYS 2, ORIOLES 1BALTIMORE (AP) — Aaron Sanchez lost his no-hit bid when Baltimore's Tim Beckham led off the eighth inning with a sharp grounder through the legs of third baseman Josh Donaldson, and Curtis Granderson hit a tiebreaking homer in the ninth to carry Toronto.Seeking... [More]

A look at what's happening all around the majors today:BEST OF 19Giancarlo Stanton and J.D. Martinez get their first swings in the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry when aces Luis Severino and Chris Sale start at Fenway Park in the opener of 19 games between the AL East powers. Boston has won eight in a row but is minus shortstop Xander Bogaerts, put on the 10-day disabled list because of a cracked bone in his left ankle. Stanton is still looking for his stroke — the NL MVP is hitting .167 with 20 strikeouts in 42 at-bats in his first year with New York.SHO HIMShohei Ohtani could return to the lineup when the Los Angeles Angels visit Texas. The two-way star from Japan pitched perfect ball into the seventh inning Sunday, then didn't start Monday. Ohtani has homered in his last three games as a designated hitter. He's batting .389, and is 2-0 on the mound.WRIGLEY WREADYThe Chicago Cubs try again to play their home opener, a day after a winter scene at Wrigley Field forced a snowout. The Cubs are only... [More]

A look at what's happening all around the majors Tuesday:BEST OF 19Giancarlo Stanton and J.D. Martinez get their first swings in the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry when aces Luis Severino and Chris Sale start at Fenway Park in the opener of 19 games between the AL East powers. Boston has won eight in a row but is minus shortstop Xander Bogaerts, put on the 10-day disabled list because of a cracked bone in his left ankle. Stanton is still looking for his stroke — the NL MVP is hitting .167 with 20 strikeouts in 42 at-bats in his first year with New York.SHO HIMShohei Ohtani could return to the lineup when the Los Angeles Angels visit Texas. The two-way star from Japan pitched perfect ball into the seventh inning Sunday, then didn't start Monday. Ohtani has homered in his last three games as a designated hitter. He's batting .389, and is 2-0 on the mound.WRIGLEY WREADYThe Chicago Cubs try again to play their home opener, a day after a winter scene at Wrigley Field forced a snowout. The Cubs are... [More]

Capsules of American League Central teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Cleveland Indians2017: 102-60, first place, lost to Yankees in ALDS.Manager: Terry Francona (sixth season).He's Here: 1B-DH Yonder Alonso, LF Rajai Davis, 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.Projected Lineup: SS Francisco Lindor (.273, 33 HRs, 89 RBIs, 44 2Bs, 15 SBs, 10 errors), 2B Jason Kipnis (.232, 12 HRs, 35 RBIs in 90 games), 3B Jose Ramirez (.318, 29, 83, AL-leading 56 2Bs), DH Edwin Encarnacion (.258, 38, 107), 1B Yonder Alonso (.266, career-high 28 HRs, 67 RBIs with Athletics and Mariners), RF Lonnie Chisenhall (.288, 12, 53 in 82 games), C Roberto Perez (.207, 8, 38, club went 44-22 in his starts) or Yan Gomes (.232, 14, 56), CF Bradley Zimmer (.241, 8, 39, 18 SBs, 0 errors), LF Michael Brantley (.299, 9, 52 in 90 games) or Rajai Davis (.235, 5, 20, 29 SBs with Oakland and Boston).Rotation: RH Corey Kluber... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — For a franchise with five straight losing seasons and one playoff appearance since the 2005 World Series championship, the Chicago White Sox sure are an optimistic bunch.They come into the year with a long line of promising prospects to go with a strong belief that they are setting themselves up to make a big jump in the standings."We're going to shoot high and we'll see where it falls," manager Rick Renteria said.Only three teams had a worse record last season than the White Sox, who went 67-95 and finished fourth in the AL Central. But they believe the breakthrough is coming — maybe sooner than later.Chicago started loading up the pipeline at the 2016 winter meetings by trading former ace Chris Sale to Boston and outfielder Adam Eaton to Washington. Those deals brought in second baseman Yoan Moncada along with hard-throwing pitchers Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Michael Kopech and kicked the rebuilding process into high gear.It continued during the season when the White... [More]

The Dodgers are going to be without their red-headed slugger on opening day, and possibly for a while after.Justin Turner has a broken left wrist after being hit by a pitch during Los Angeles' 3-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Monday night.Turner was struck by a pitch from right-hander Kendall Graveman in the first inning. Turner grunted and winced as he jogged away from the plate toward the dugout, his hand hanging limp at his side. He was quickly visited by a trainer and replaced by Donovan Solano."I was hoping obviously the X-rays would be negative, but there's a small non-displaced fracture," Turner said. "We'll just play it by ear, see how it goes."General manager Farhan Zaidi said the team didn't know yet how long Turner would be out, but it should be a matter of at least a few weeks. Turner says he'll visit the doctor again Tuesday to hopefully learn more.Los Angeles seems likely to slide Logan Forsythe to third base in Turner's absence, with Chase Utley or someone else assuming... [More]

The Dodgers are going to be without their red-headed slugger on opening day, and possibly for a while after.Justin Turner has a broken left wrist after being hit by a pitch during Los Angeles' 3-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Monday night.Turner was struck by a pitch from right-hander Kendall Graveman in the first inning. Turner grunted and winced as he jogged away from the plate toward the dugout, his hand hanging limp at his side. He was quickly visited by a trainer and replaced by Donovan Solano."I was hoping obviously the X-rays would be negative, but there's a small non-displaced fracture," Turner said. "We'll just play it by ear, see how it goes."General manager Farhan Zaidi said the team didn't know yet how long Turner would be out, but it should be a matter of at least a few weeks. Turner says he'll visit the doctor again Tuesday to hopefully learn more.Los Angeles seems likely to slide Logan Forsythe to third base in Turner's absence, with Chase Utley or someone else assuming... [More]

Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke will start this season in the dugout.Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said Monday that Greinke won't pitch on opening day because of what's perceived to be a minor health issue.Greinke exited his latest start after one inning because of tightness in his groin. He's scheduled to pitch again in spring training Wednesday.The Diamondbacks don't want to push him to be ready for their first game March 29 at home against Colorado. Without this wrinkle, Lovullo said Greinke would've started the opener for the third straight year."Every staff has a No. 1 and he fit the bill perfectly," Lovullo said. "He won 17 games last year. He was our staff ace."Lovullo said he wasn't ready to say who would start against the Rockies. The likely candidate is Robbie Ray, who went 15-5 with a 2.89 ERA last year."There's a strategy," Lovullo said. "We don't just look at opening day. We look at opening day and then beyond, so probably five or six days beyond that day. And we want to make... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona ace Zack Greinke's start against Cincinnati was cut short Wednesday after one inning because of right groin tightness.Greinke had been scheduled to throw five innings. The 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner retired Ben Revere on a groundout, allowed Jesse Winkler's single, then struck out Joey Votto and Scooter Gennett.Albert Suarez relieved to start the second.Greinke was making his just second big league exhibition appearance this year. The 34-year-old right-hander pitched 1 2/3 innings against Milwaukee on Feb. 25, then made a pair of appearances in "B'' games.RED SOX 2, TWINS 1Chris Sale pitched five shutout innings of two-hit ball and struck out seven, lowering his ERA to 1.00. Mitch Moreland homered in the third off Tyler Duffey, who gave up two runs — one earned — and four hits in three innings. Mookie Betts, batting .130, singled and drove in a run. Miguel Sano doubled.CARDINALS 3, ASTROS 1Adam Wainwright allowed one run and four hits in five innings... [More]

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Los Angeles Angels rookie Shohei Ohtani allowed six runs while pitching three innings in an exhibition game against the Mexican League's Tijuana Toros on Friday.The 23-year-old Ohtani struck out six and walked one.Ohtani spent five seasons with the Nippon Ham Fighters before signing with the Angels as an international free agent on Dec. 10. He is trying to become the first player in nearly 100 years to play regularly as a pitcher and hitter, but he has had mixed results so far this spring.AROUND THE GRAPEFRUIT AND CACTUS LEAGUESDODGERS 6, ROYALS (SS) 4Los Angeles closer Kenley Jansen was held out of what was supposed to be his first big league spring training game this year due to an injured upper right hamstring."When he was getting ready today, his pregame stuff and kind of getting his legs loose, it tightened up on him," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "We had the trainers look at him and it just made sense to just not throw him out there."Roberts said he expects... [More]