NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani achieved a first in the near century history of baseball’s All-Star Game: selection as both a position player and a pitcher. The Los Angeles Angels’ two-way sensation was among the starting pitchers picked Sunday for the American League staff for the July 13 showcase at Denver’s Coors Field. Ohtani, who leads the majors in home runs, had already been elected by fans to start for the AL at designated hitter. Boston has the most All-Stars for the first time since 2009, sending five. Designated hitter J.D. Martinez, starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi and reliever Matt Barnes were chosen to join a pair of starters: shortstop Xander Bogaerts and third baseman Rafael Devers. Houston and Toronto have four All-Stars each. Ohtani received 121 votes in balloting by players, managers and coaches announced three days after fan-elected starters were revealed. “The guy’s going to participate in Home Run Derby, pitch in the game and hit in the game. That doesn’t happen like... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today: PRIMED FOR PITCHERS Mets ace Jacob deGrom, Milwaukee’s Brandon Woodruff, Texas' Kyle Gibson and the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole are among those likely to picked as All-Stars when pitchers and reserves are announced at 5:30 p.m. EDT. Each roster will have 32 players for the July 13 game at Denver’s Coors Field. Of course, one pitcher was picked with the starting lineups — Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani, the Babe Ruth-like phenomenon who leads the majors in home runs AND is 3-1 with a 3.60 ERA in 12 starts with 83 strikeouts in 60 innings. Ohtani was elected by fans as the American League's designated hitter, and Angels manager Joe Maddon is in favor of Ohtani pitching in addition to hitting. HOBBLED HULK Big-hitting Kyle Schwarber is expected to be out of Washington’s lineup for a while with a significant hamstring strain. The Nationals put Schwarber on the 10-day injured list after he hurt himself running out a hit Friday night.... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Sunday: PRIMED FOR PITCHERS The Mets’ Jacob deGrom, Milwaukee’s Brandon Woodruff, Texas' Kyle Gibson and the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole are among those likely to picked as All-Stars when pitchers and reserves are announced at 5:30 p.m. EDT Sunday. Each roster will have 32 players for the July 13 game at Denver’s Coors Field. Of course, one pitcher was picked with the starting lineup — Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani, the Babe Ruth-like phenomenon who leads the major league in home runs AND is 3-1 with a 3.60 ERA in 12 starts with 83 strikeouts in 60 innings. Ohtani was elected by fans as a designated hitter, and Angels manager Joe Maddon is in favor of Ohtani pitching in addition to hitting. HOBBLED HULK Big-hitting Kyle Schwarber is expected to be out of Washington’s lineup for a while with a significant hamstring strain. The Nationals put Schwarber on the 10-day injured list after he hurt himself running out a hit Friday night. There... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Outfielder Brandon Nimmo was activated from the injured list by the New York Mets before Friday's Subway Series opener with the Yankees after missing two months because of a detached hand ligament. Nimmo was set to bat leadoff and play center field at Yankee Stadium. He hit .172 (5 for 29) with a double and no RBIs during a nine-game injury rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Syracuse. New York also reinstated Marcus Stroman from the bereavement list. He is scheduled to start Saturday, when the Yankees start ace Gerrit Cole. Right-hander Jeurys Familia and catcher Tomas Nido were activated from the 10-day injured list along with Nimmo. Left-hander David Peterson was placed on the 10-day injured list with right side soreness, a move retroactive to Thursday. He left Wednesday night's start at Atlanta after three innings because of pain. Right-hander Thomas Szapucki, catcher Patrick Mazeika, infielder Travis Blankenhorn were optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. New York also obtained left-hander Anthony Banda from San Francisco for minor league infielder Will Toffey. The 27-year-old Banda was assigned to Syracuse. He is 3-2 with a 6.86 ERA at Triple-A Sacramento this season and has a 4-3 record and 5.96 ERA in five major league starts and 13 relief appearances, with Arizona in 2017 and Tampa Bay from 2018-20. Toffey hit .178 with six homers and 16 RBIs this year for Double-A Binghamton. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

A look at what's happening around the majors today: ___ OFF TRACK The Yankees are in an unusual position entering their weekend Subway Series against the crosstown Mets — struggling underdog. The Bronx Bombers are coming off a stunning 11-8 defeat to the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night, when All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman allowed a tying grand slam to Jared Walsh during a seven-run ninth inning. New York had powered ahead with a seven-run first inning against Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani. The Yankees are 41-39, fourth in the AL East, nine games behind first-place Boston. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenne r vowed Thursday to keep manager Aaron Boone, general manager Brian Cashman and the core of his team, but he did place the “majority of the responsibility” for the supbar play on the players. Left-hander Jordan Montgomery (3-2, 4.06 ERA) is set to pitch for the Yankees against Mets righty Taijuan Walker (6-3, 2.38). Gerrit Cole is slated to throw Saturday, while Jacob deGrom will miss... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today: ___ SUBWAY SERIES The Yankees are in an unusual position entering their weekend series against the crosstown Mets — struggling underdog. The Bronx Bombers are coming off a stunning 11-8 defeat to the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night, when All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman allowed a tying grand slam to Jared Walsh during a seven-run ninth inning. New York had powered ahead with a seven-run first inning against Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani. The Yankees are 41-39, fourth in the AL East, nine games behind first-place Boston. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenne r vowed Thursday to keep manager Aaron Boone, general manager Brian Cashman and the core of his team, but he did place the “majority of the responsibility” for the supbar play on the players. Left-hander Jordan Montgomery (3-2, 4.06) is set to pitch for the Yankees against Mets righty Taijuan Walker (6-3, 2.38). Gerrit Cole is slated to throw Saturday, while Jacob deGrom will miss the Subway... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Friday: ___ SUBWAY SERIES The Yankees are in an unusual position entering their weekend series against the crosstown Mets — struggling underdog. The Bronx Bombers are coming off a stunning 11-8 defeat to the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night, when All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman allowed a tying grand slam to Jared Walsh during a seven-run ninth inning. New York had powered ahead with a seven-run first inning against Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani. The Yankees are 41-39, fourth in the AL East, nine games behind first-place Boston. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenne r vowed Thursday to keep manager Aaron Boone, general manager Brian Cashman and the core of his team, but he did place the “majority of the responsibility” for the supbar play on the players. Left-hander Jordan Montgomery (3-2, 4.06) is set to pitch for the Yankees against Mets righty Taijuan Walker (6-3, 2.38). Gerrit Cole is slated to throw Saturday, while Jacob deGrom will miss the Subway... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Gwen Goldman exchanged fist bumps with the New York Yankees she had been admiring for decades from afar, walked onto the field and waved to the crowd. She got to be a Yankees' bat girl on Monday night at age 70 — a full 60 years after she was turned down because of her gender. Shaking with excitement, she beamed while recounting how it felt to be at Yankee Stadium on this day for the game against the Los Angeles Angels. “I don’t know where to start, of which was the best, what did I enjoy the most?” she said during a news conference in the fourth inning. "The whole piece, from walking in the front door of the stadium at Gate 2, to coming up to a locker with my name on it that said Gwen Goldman, and suiting up, then walking out onto the field. It took my breath away. It’s obviously taking my words away also. “It was a thrill of a lifetime — times a million. And I actually got to be out in the dugout, too. I threw out a ball, I met the players. Yeah, it goes on and on. They... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Gwen Goldman finally got to be a bat girl for the New York Yankees — 60 years after she was turned down because of her gender. At 70, Goldman worked at Yankee Stadium during the game against the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night. She had been rejected by then-general manager Roy Hamey, who wrote her in a letter on June 23, 1961: “While we agree with you that girls are certainly as capable as boys, and no doubt would be an attractive addition on the playing field, I am sure you can understand that it is a game dominated by men a young lady such as yourself would feel out of place in a dugout.” Current Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said he had been forwarded an email written by Goldman's daughter, Abby. In a letter dated this June 23, Cashman wrote “it is not too late to reward and recognize the ambition you showed in writing that letter to us as a 10-year-old girl.” "Some dreams take longer than they should to be realized, but a goal attained should not dim with... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Seattle reliever Hector Santiago became the first player to be ejected as part of Major League Baseball’s new foreign substance protocols when he was thrown out of Sunday’s 3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Santiago was checked by the umpires as he exited in the fifth inning. His glove was confiscated, and it was later announced that Santiago had been ejected. Crew chief Tom Hallion told a pool reporter that Santiago was ejected for “having a foreign substance that was sticky on the inside palm of his glove.” The 33-year-old left-hander said what the umpires found was a combination of rosin and sweat. Taylor Trammell homered twice for Seattle in the resumption of Saturday’s suspended game. Paul Sewald (5-2) got one out for the win, and Kendall Graveman worked the ninth for his seventh save. The White Sox rebounded in the scheduled series finale, winning 7-5 behind Zack Collins’ four RBIs. Aaron Bummer (1-4) pitched an inning for the win, and Liam Hendriks got two outs... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Seattle reliever Hector Santiago became the first player to be ejected as part of Major League Baseball’s new foreign substance protocols when he was thrown out of Sunday’s 3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Santiago was checked by the umpires as he exited in the fifth inning. His glove was confiscated, and it was later announced that Santiago had been ejected. Crew chief Tom Hallion told a pool reporter that Santiago was ejected for “having a foreign substance that was sticky on the inside palm of his glove.” The 33-year-old left-hander said what the umpires found was a combination of rosin and sweat. Taylor Trammell homered twice for Seattle in the resumption of Saturday’s suspended game. Paul Sewald (5-2) got one out for the win, and Kendall Graveman worked the ninth for his seventh save. The White Sox rebounded in the scheduled series finale, winning 7-5 behind Zack Collins’ four RBIs. Aaron Bummer (1-4) pitched an inning for the win, and Liam Hendriks got two outs... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Seattle reliever Hector Santiago became the first player to be ejected as part of Major League Baseball’s new foreign substance protocols when he was thrown out of Sunday’s 3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Santiago was checked by the umpires as he exited in the fifth inning. His glove was confiscated, and it was later announced that Santiago had been ejected. Crew chief Tom Hallion told a pool reporter that Santiago was ejected for “having a foreign substance that was sticky on the inside palm of his glove.” The 33-year-old left-hander said what the umpires found was a combination of rosin and sweat. Taylor Trammell homered twice for Seattle, which improved to 10-2 in its last 12 games. Paul Sewald (5-2) got one out for the win, and Kendall Graveman worked the ninth for his seventh save. The White Sox lost AL MVP José Abreu when he was hit on his left knee by a pitch in the sixth. The team announced the first baseman had a bruised left knee and X-rays were negative.... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Max Scherzer threw his glove and hat to the grass, then stared down Phillies manager Joe Girardi after getting checked for a third time by umpires for sticky stuff as the Washington Nationals beat Philadelphia 3-2 Tuesday night. Scherzer (6-4) looked sharp in his return to the rotation after missing a start due to a groin injury, striking out eight in five innings. Girardi apparently didn’t like what he saw. In the fourth, Scherzer threw high and inside to Alec Bohm, sending him sprawling to the ground before striking him out. Prior to the next batter, Girardi asked the umpires to check Scherzer. Scherzer already had been checked by second-base umpire Alfonso Marquez after the first and third inning. So, when he was approached for a third time, this time at Girardi’s request, Scherzer threw his glove and hat to the ground, unbuckled his belt and appeared ready to take his pants off. Yan Gomes had a pair of RBI singles for the Nationals, who have won three straight and... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Max Scherzer threw his glove and hat to the grass, then stared down Phillies manager Joe Girardi after getting checked for a third time by umpires for sticky stuff as the Washington Nationals beat Philadelphia 3-2 Tuesday night. Scherzer (6-4) looked sharp in his return to the rotation after missing a start due to a groin injury, striking out eight in five innings. Girardi apparently didn’t like what he saw. In the fourth, Scherzer threw high and inside to Alec Bohm, sending him sprawling to the ground before striking him out. Prior to the next batter, Girardi asked the umpires to check Scherzer. Scherzer already had been checked by second-base umpire Alfonso Marquez after the first and third inning. So, when he was approached for a third time, this time at Girardi’s request, Scherzer threw his glove and hat to the ground, unbuckled his belt and appeared ready to take his pants off. Yan Gomes had a pair of RBI singles for the Nationals, who have won three straight and... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Max Scherzer threw his glove and hat to the grass, then stared down Phillies manager Joe Girardi after getting checked for a third time by umpires for sticky stuff as the Washington Nationals beat Philadelphia 3-2 Tuesday night. Scherzer (6-4) looked sharp in his return to the rotation after missing a start due to a groin injury, striking out eight in five innings. Girardi apparently didn’t like what he saw. In the fourth, Scherzer threw high and inside to Alec Bohm, sending him sprawling to the ground before striking him out. Prior to the next batter, Girardi asked the umpires to check Scherzer. Scherzer already had been checked by second-base umpire Alfonso Marquez after the first and third inning. So, when he was approached for a third time, this time at Girardi’s request, Scherzer threw his glove and hat to the ground, unbuckled his belt and appeared ready to take his pants off. Yan Gomes had a pair of RBI singles for the Nationals, who have won three straight and... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Max Scherzer threw his glove and hat to the grass, then stared down Phillies manager Joe Girardi after getting checked for a third time by umpires for sticky stuff as the Washington Nationals beat Philadelphia 3-2 Tuesday night. Scherzer (6-4) looked sharp in his return to the rotation after missing a start due to a groin injury, striking out eight in five innings. Girardi apparently didn’t like what he saw. In the fourth, Scherzer threw high and inside to Alec Bohm, sending him sprawling to the ground before striking him out. Prior to the next batter, Girardi asked the umpires to check Scherzer. Scherzer already had been checked by second-base umpire Alfonso Marquez after the first and third inning. So, when he was approached for a third time, this time at Girardi’s request, Scherzer threw his glove and hat to the ground, unbuckled his belt and appeared ready to take his pants off. Yan Gomes had a pair of RBI singles for the Nationals, who have won three straight and... [More]

A look at what’s happening around the majors today: DEBUT DAY Wander Franco, a 20-year-old infielder considered the best prospect in the minor leagues, is set to make his major league debut for the Tampa Bay Rays against the visiting Boston Red Sox. Franco hit .315 with seven homers and 35 RBIs in 39 games this season at Triple-A Durham. He was 5 for 17 with a long home run in seven spring training games for Tampa Bay this year. Tampa Bay has lost six straight, dropping a half-game back of the first-place Red Sox in the AL East. FAMILIAR FACES Clayton Kershaw will be facing San Diego for the third time this season when the Los Angeles Dodgers play at the Padres. Kershaw (8-6, 3.36 ERA) is 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA against the Padres this season and 22-8 with a 2.04 mark versus San Diego in 42 career starts. Blake Snell (2-3, 5.72) goes for the Padres in a marquee matchup of Cy Young Award winners. Snell has two no-decisions against the Dodgers this season. He was pulled from Game 6 of the World... [More]

A look at what’s happening around the majors today: DEBUT DAY Wander Franco, a 20-year-old infielder considered the best prospect in the minor leagues, was set to make his major league debut for the Tampa Bay Rays against the visiting Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night. Franco hit .315 with seven homers and 35 RBIs in 39 games this season at Triple-A Durham. He was 5 for 17 with a long home run in seven spring training games for Tampa Bay this year. Tampa Bay has lost six straight, dropping behind a half-game back of the first-place Red Sox in the AL East. STICKY STUFF FOCUS Yankees ace Gerrit Cole (8-3, 2.31 ERA) makes his first start since Major League Baseball started mandatory checks by umpires on all pitchers for banned grip-enhancing substances. The right-hander will be pitching on five days' rest when he faces the visiting Kansas City Royals. SLOW BALL Right-hander Kyle Hendricks (9-4, 4.13) has won a career-best seven straight starts for the Chicago Cubs going into an outing Tuesday... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today: STUCK UP Major League Baseball begins its crackdown against pitchers using sticky substances when umpires start making regular, random mound checks. Yankees ace Gerrit Cole isn’t sure what to expect. “I think I’m in the same boat as everyone else, just waiting for this to play out,” he said. Pitchers will be ejected and suspended for 10 games if caught using foreign substances to doctor baseballs. Such grip aids — ranging from a tacky mix of rosin and sunscreen to heavy duty concoctions designed for use in strongman competitions — have long been illegal, but the ban has rarely been enforced. Umps will check all starters multiple times and all relievers either at the end of his first inning or when removed, whichever occurs first. Caps, gloves and fingertips will be checked. “It definitely will be probably a little awkward,” Cubs manager David Ross said. “But we’ll get through it, adjust.” ALL EYES ON JAKE Jacob deGrom is still listed as... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Monday: STUCK UP Major League Baseball begins its crackdown against pitchers using sticky substances when umpires start making regular, random mound checks. Yankees ace Gerrit Cole isn’t sure what to expect. “I think I’m in the same boat as everyone else, just waiting for this to play out,” he said. Pitchers will be ejected and suspended for 10 games if caught using foreign substances to doctor baseballs. Such grip aids — ranging from a tacky mix of rosin and sunscreen to heavy duty concoctions designed for use in strongman competitions — have long been illegal, but the ban has rarely been enforced. Umps will check all starters multiple times and all relievers either at the end of his first inning or when removed, whichever occurs first. Caps, gloves and fingertips will be checked. “It definitely will be probably a little awkward,” Cubs manager David Ross said. “But we’ll get through it, adjust.” ALL EYES ON JAKE Jacob deGrom is still listed... [More]