BOSTON (AP) — Rafael Devers lofted a fly ball to left, and John Andreoli took off in pursuit.It’s a long sprint, because Andreoli was playing center -- the only outfielder in the game at the time. The ball fell just out of the reach of his outstretched glove as Devers coasted into second base.And then a voice echoed off the empty Fenway seats: “Out!”Welcome to the Boston Red Sox summer camp, a reboot of the spring training that was aborted in March because of the coronavirus pandemic. With its intrasquad scrimmages of 5½ innings and automatic outs to make up for the eight (and later down to seven) fielders, it looked more like the world’s fanciest sandlot on Thursday than a major league team getting ready for the season.“It seems like everything is just a little bit off,” manager Ron Roenicke said in a video call from one area of Fenway Park to reporters sitting in another. “I thought it was pretty good for what it was.”A week after reporting for training camp and just 15 days before the... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Franmil Reyes' first error this season was in judgment.The Indians' free-swinging slugger and outfielder apologized Thursday for endangering his health — and putting his teammates at risk — by not wearing a mask while attending a holiday party last weekend.Reyes' off-field behavior prompted the Indians to keep the affable 25-year-old away from their training camp in case he had been exposed to the coronavirus. Reyes was re-tested twice and cleared by Cleveland's medical personnel before he was allowed to resume on-field activities Wednesday.“They did the right thing they have to do to protect us,” Reyes said of the Indians, who have had few problems with testing or positive cases in the early stages of the delayed camp. “I really apologize because I was not protecting myself and my teammates. I learned from it and it won’t happen again. I really don’t want to stop practicing. I really apologize about that.”Reyes, who came to Cleveland last season in a trade from the San... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Baseball has its answer to penalty kicks, overtimes and shootouts, and it figures to stir just as much debate as all those other forms of tiebreakers. Major League Baseball will start each extra inning in this abbreviated, 60-game season by putting a runner on second base. The rule has been used since 2018 in the minor leagues, where it created more action and settled games sooner. “It’s like ‘arena baseball,’” said Scott Thorman, who managed the Kansas City Royals’ Single-A Carolina League affiliate in Wilmington, Delaware, last season.Those words may cause traditionalists to shudder.“I haven’t met anyone so far that likes it,” Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez said.Dave Martinez, meet Christian Yelich.“I think it’s great,” said Yelich, the Brewers's outfielder and 2018 National League MVP. “As a player, there’s nothing worse than extra innings. Especially in a season like this, where you literally can’t take on that 15- or 16-inning game with just how rosters... [More]

July 111914 — Babe Ruth made his major league debut for the Boston Red Sox and received credit for a 4-3 victory over Cleveland. He was removed for a pinch hitter in the seventh, and Duffy Lewis’ single led to the winning run.1944 — Phil Cavaretta set an All-Star game record by reaching base safely five straight times — triple, single, three walks — to lead the NL to a 7-1 victory over the AL at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.1950 — The All-Star game returned to Comiskey Park, the site of the first game, and was won by the NL 4-3 on Red Schoendienst’s 14th-inning home run off Ted Gray. It was the first extra-inning All-Star game, the first time the NL won at an AL park and the first All-Star game shown on network television.1961 — Despite a record seven errors and pitcher Stu Miller getting blown off the Candlestick Park mound by a gale wind, the NL edged the AL 5-4 in the first of two All-Star games played that year.1967 — Tony Perez’s home run off Catfish Hunter in the 15th inning gave the... [More]

July 101917 — Ray Caldwell of New York pitched 9 2-3 innings of no-hit relief as the Yankees beat the Browns 7-5 in 17 innings in St. Louis.1932 — The Philadelphia A’s defeated Cleveland 18-17 in an 18-inning game in which John Burnett of the Indians had a record nine hits. Jimmie Foxx collected 16 total bases, and Eddie Rommell of the A’s pitched 17 innings in relief for the win, despite giving up 29 hits and 14 runs.1934 — Carl Hubbell struck out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin in succession, but the AL came back to win the All-Star game 9-7 at the Polo Grounds as Mel Harder gave up one hit in the last five innings.1936 — Philadelphia’s Chuck Klein hit four home runs in a 9-6 10-inning victory over the Pirates, and it wasn’t in the cozy Baker Bowl. He hit them in Pittsburgh’s spacious Forbes Field, including the game-winning three-run shot in the 10th off Bill Swift. Klein almost homered in the second inning when he sent Pirates outfielder Paul Waner to the... [More]

As Major League Baseball cautiously tiptoes closer toward beginning its delayed 2020 season, several teams welcomed back players who might have been exposed to the coronavirus, and the San Francisco Giants resumed workouts Wednesday after finally receiving the results of COVID-19 tests administered over the weekend.The San Diego Padres, however, revealed that newly acquired infielder Jorge Mateo’s intake test for coronavirus came back positive and he’s experienced symptoms. Mateo was obtained last week from Oakland for a player to be named or cash in the first trade since the transaction freeze was lifted.Padres manager Jayce Tingler said Mateo has not been to the ballpark and is self-isolating.San Diego announced last week that outfielder Tommy Pham tested positive for coronavirus and was asymptomatic. He has not yet rejoined the team.In Boston, third baseman Rafael Devers practiced at Fenway Park for the first time since the Red Sox opened summer camp. Devers and an unspecified number... [More]

As Major League Baseball cautiously tiptoes closer toward beginning its delayed 2020 season, several teams welcomed back players who might have been exposed to the coronavirus and the San Francisco Giants resumed workouts Wednesday after finally receiving the results of COVID-19 tests administered over the weekend.The San Diego Padres, however, revealed that newly acquired infielder Jorge Mateo’s intake test for coronavirus came back positive and he’s experienced symptoms. Mateo was acquired last week from Oakland for a player to be named or cash in the first trade since the transaction freeze was lifted.Padres manager Jayce Tingler said Mateo has not been to the ballpark and is self-isolating.San Diego announced last week that outfielder Tommy Pham tested positive for coronavirus and was asymptomatic. He has not yet rejoined the team.In Boston, third baseman Rafael Devers practiced at Fenway Park for the first time since the Red Sox opened summer camp. Devers and an unspecified number... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An array of injuries was largely responsible for the blight on the first five years of Byron Buxton's still-promising major league career, with surgery last fall to repair labrum damage in his left shoulder serving as the latest setback.The most games he can get in this year for the Minnesota Twins? Sixty.Such a milestone — even 50 games for the fleet-footed center fielder — would be a welcome development in this virus-shrunken season.Buxton, who had the procedure on Sept. 10, worked his way onto a rehabilitation track that would have had him ready for the original opener on March 26. Four extra months to heal and train sure didn't hurt.“I’ve got no limit. I’m back to being myself and going out and playing the game the right way,” Buxton said on Wednesday, before the Twins played their first intrasquad game at Target Field, 16 days before they play the White Sox in Chicago to start the 2020 sprint.The second overall pick in the 2012 draft has had his share of struggles... [More]

As Major League Baseball cautiously tiptoes closer toward beginning its delayed 2020 season, several teams welcomed back players who might have been exposed to the coronavirus and the San Francisco Giants resumed workouts Wednesday after finally receiving the results of COVID-19 tests administered over the weekend.The San Diego Padres, however, revealed that newly acquired infielder Jorge Mateo’s intake test for coronavirus came back positive and he’s experienced symptoms. Mateo was acquired last week from Oakland for a player to be named or cash in the first trade since the transaction freeze was lifted.Padres manager Jayce Tingler said Mateo has not been to the ballpark and is self-isolating.San Diego announced last week that outfielder Tommy Pham tested positive for coronavirus and was asymptomatic. He has not yet rejoined the team.In Boston, third baseman Rafael Devers practiced at Fenway Park for the first time since the Red Sox opened summer camp. Devers and an unspecified number... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Robbie Ray already knew 2020 would be a big season for his financial future because it's his last one before becoming a free agent.Now the Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander has less time to make a strong impression.Major League Baseball's coronavirus-delayed 60-game season is much shorter than the usual 162-game grind. That means pitchers like Ray will probably make about 11 or 12 starts instead of the typical 30-plus.Because of the compressed calendar, the 28-year-old Ray made sure he kept in shape during the spring hiatus from baseball. In his first live work off the mound Sunday, he threw nearly 80 pitches and said he's very close to being ready for the regular season, which begins July 24 against the Padres.The motivation is obvious: A bad start to the season could cost him millions of dollars in what's expected to be a tight free-agent market during the offseason. Conversely, two good months might lead to a big payoff this winter.“I had the assumption that once everything... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Gerrit Cole couldn't have expected the New York Yankees to take the ball away from him just one batter into his first home start in the Bronx.But the team's new $324 million ace learned the hard way about one of baseball’s new coronavirus safety protocols Tuesday night during an intrasquad game at Yankee Stadium. Cole allowed a home run to the second hitter he faced, Miguel Andújar, one pitch after being forced to give up the ball he used to strike out leadoff man Mike Tauchman.“I liked that ball,” Cole grumbled on the mound.Among the safety steps instituted by Major League Baseball for this virus-shortened season is that pitchers can’t reuse a baseball once it has been touched by other players. After Cole struck out Tauchman swinging, catcher Gary Sánchez whipped the ball around the infield — a customary ritual that’s frowned upon in MLB’s 2020 operations manual. Cole shot the dugout a confused look when coaches called for the ball. Andújar crushed the next pitch into the... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — When the Minnesota Twins signed Rich Hill from the bargain aisle of free agency last winter, they expected the left-hander to be available around midseason after his recovery from elbow surgery. Now the 40-year-old is on track to be ready right away, thanks to the virus outbreak that shoved the schedule back by four months and shrunk it to 60 games. The Twins, who open on the road against the Chicago White Sox on July 24, are setting up a rotation with Hill in it. The 15-year veteran faced hitters at Target Field on Monday, logging four simulated innings in his latest step forward in yet another injury comeback.“There’s a lot of people who put in the time and the effort and gave me their time to make sure that I can be in the best position possible to go out there and perform,” Hill said Tuesday on a video conference call with reporters. "I put in the time and put in the effort, and it’s definitely paid off. I feel great, and yesterday was just one step in the right direction.”Over... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani threw competitive pitches off the mound at Angel Stadium on Tuesday for the first time in two years.Ohtani struggled with his control in the Los Angeles Angels' intrasquad game, walking eight batters on about 50 pitches. The two-way star and manager Joe Maddon weren't overly concerned about the results of another key day in Ohtani's return from Tommy John surgery.“I was able to throw all my pitches today, so I’m just going to try to build on that,” Ohtani said through a translator. “Obviously it felt a lot different from my bullpens, especially because I was unfamiliar with pitching to my teammates. That kind of threw me off a little bit.”Ohtani hadn't pitched at the Big A since June 9, 2018, when he left a game with what was initially called a blister. Ohtani was shut down as a pitcher for three months, and the AL Rookie of the Year only returned for one outing in September before it was determined he needed elbow surgery.“I just saw a guy that didn’t... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Jake Diekman has serious questions about Major League Baseball's ability to pull off a season given the issues everywhere getting timely test results, forcing delays and cancellations of workouts.For now, Diekman still plans to play. He must be extra careful given he has the autoimmune condition ulcerative colitis.“Once the regular season hits there’s no way I’m opting out, but if they don’t get the testing figured out then this whole thing will get shut down,” Diekman said Tuesday. “During the season there’s no way we can go 72 hours or longer without knowing our result, there’s just no way. There’s no way that can possibly happen and this be safe for all 60, 70 days or whatever it is.”The Oakland lefty said “I'm high risk so I'm going to have to speak out. I don't want to get sick” and represents others who must take added precautions because of an underlying condition.“There's a little part in everyone's mind that thinks this whole thing's going to get shut down,”... [More]

SEATTLE (AP) — When the games start, Kyle Seager doesn’t intend to be wearing a mask all the time. For now, in the early days of summer camp for the Seattle Mariners, the veteran third baseman has it on all the time. At the plate. In the field. It’s not enjoyable. But for him it’s necessary. Both personally and to be an example. “It’s just for the practice purposes and make sure we do our part to make sure we can get to these games and make sure we can get this thing rolling and get this thing off the ground,” Seager said on Tuesday. “There’s been issues, obviously. we all understand about the virus and we get that you’ve got to protect ourselves and your teammates and we don’t want this thing to spread. So if we can control it and if wearing a mask helps that and we can get this season rolling then that’s what I think we want to do.” On a rebuilding ball club with plenty of younger faces floating around that he doesn’t fully recognize yet, Seager is one of the few Mariners that needed... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Yankees have scheduled preseason exhibitions against the crosstown Mets and Philadelphia Phillies.The Yankees and Mets will play at Citi Field on Friday, July 18 and then at Yankee Stadium the following night. The Phillies will come to the Bronx and play the Bombers on July 20. All three games announced Tuesday will air locally on the YES Network. The Yankees will open a pandemic-shortened 60-game regular season against the World Series champion Nationals in Washington on July 23 — the first game of the season for any team. The Dodgers and Giants will play later that night, and the rest of the league will open the next day. New York manager Aaron Boone has been quick to get his pitchers and hitters into game situations during their condensed preseason camp. The club held a six-inning intrasquad game Monday night on the third day of official practices at empty Yankee Stadium.The team had another intrasquad set for Tuesday night, with new ace Gerrit Cole set to pitch in pinstripes for the first time at Yankee Stadium after signing a $324 million, nine-year deal in the offseason.___Follow Jake Seiner: https://twitter.com/Jake_Seiner___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

July 81912 — Rube Marquard’s 19-game winning streak was stopped when the New York Giants lost 7-2 to the Chicago Cubs.1935 — The AL extended its All-Star winning streak to three with a 4-1 victory at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium. New York Yankee Lefty Gomez went six innings, which prompted the NL to have the rules changed so that no pitcher could throw more than three innings, unless extra innings.1941 — Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox hit a three-run, two-out homer in the ninth to give the AL a dramatic 7-5 victory in the All-Star game at Detroit’s Briggs Stadium. Up to that point Arky Vaughn of the Pittsburgh Pirates was the NL hero with two home runs, the first player to do so in All-Star play. Joe and Dom DiMaggio both played for the AL, marking the first time that brothers appeared in the same All-Star game.1947 — Frank Shea became the first winning rookie pitcher in the first 14 years of All-Star play as the AL nipped the NL 2-1 at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.1952 — The NL edged the... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — No fans. No music. A bullpen catcher calling balls and strikes.Still, for one night at least, the New York Yankees played something resembling a baseball game in the Bronx.“It felt great, actually,” said starter J.A. Happ, who pitched for Team Yankees against Team Bombers. “It was a little bit strange, but I was actually surprised at the adrenaline, and I heard a couple of other guys saying the same thing.”The Yankees held their first intrasquad game of summer camp Monday as they prepare for a condensed 60-game season that starts in 2 1/2 weeks. Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, Giancarlo Stanton and other regulars from the defending AL East champs took hacks under the lights against teammates for six innings. Happ's first pitch came about an hour after Major League Baseball unveiled the schedule for a season it hopes to run through a pandemic. The Yankees will open July 23 against the World Series champion Nationals in Washington as part of a slate that exclusively features... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Spencer Torkelson has quickly showed the Detroit Tigers why they drafted him No. 1 overall this year and gave him a $8-plus million signing bonus to get in uniform for training camp.Torkelson put his power on full display during his first batting practice.“His first couple of rounds of batting practice have been pretty impressive," Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire acknowledged Monday. “He could definitely do some things. You see why a guy goes number one — right away."Torkelson signed a minor league contract and is not expected to play in the majors during the pandemic-shortened season. Teams often are reluctant to put their top prospects in the majors until they’re fully ready to avoid starting the clock on how much time they have them under control contractually. Gardenhire, though, did not want to rule out Torkelson playing in Detroit this season perhaps in part to not dampen his spirits.“I’m not going to say, `No, he won’t make it to the big leagues this year,? or anything... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — All-Star slugger Joey Gallo tested positive for the coronavirus, forcing the outfielder who is asymptomatic to miss the start of summer camp for the Texas Rangers after being among teammates who had worked out at their new ballpark for several weeks before that.Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said Monday that Gallo has had multiple tests, including one that came back negative. He was isolating at his high-rise Dallas apartment and away from teammates.“Our mindset going into this was it’s not a matter if guys tested positive but when,” Daniels said. “Obviously this thing doesn’t discriminate whether it’s a star player (or) somebody trying to make the club. The key thing for us is Joey is asymptomatic and feels good. ... He told me yesterday he feels as good as he ever has and is in the best shape he’s ever been in.”The 26-year-old Gallo initially took a saliva test as part of the team’s intake process June 27, and got a positive result two days later. Gallo, who... [More]