A capsule look at the best-of-three playoff series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg, Florida, beginning Tuesday. ___ TORONTO BLUE JAYS Record: 32-28. Playoff Entry: AL wild card. Playoff Seed: No. 8. Manager: Charlie Montoyo (second season). Projected Rotation: RHP Matt Shoemaker (0-1, 4.71 ERA), LHP Hyun Jin Ryu (5-2, 2.69), RHP Taijuan Walker (4-3, 2.70 with Seattle and Toronto). Top Hitters: OF Teoscar Hernandez (.289, 16 HRs, 34 RBIs), OF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (.308, 11, 33), OF Randal Grichuk (.273, 12, 35). Top Relievers: RHP Anthony Bass (2-3, 3.51 ERA, 7 saves), RHP Rafael Dolis (2-2, 1.50, 5 saves). Series Summary: The Blue Jays make their eighth trip to the postseason and first since 2016, when they lost in the ALCS for the second straight year. Barred from playing home games north of the border because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Blue Jays began the season with an extended road trip before moving into Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, home of... [More]

Toronto Blue Jays closer Ken Giles will have Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, likely causing him to miss all of 2021 and impacting the deal he will receive as a free agent this offseason. A right-hander who turned 30 on Sunday, Giles is 0-0 with a 9.82 ERA and one save in four appearances this season. He left a July 26 game at Tampa Bay because of forearm soreness and was placed on the injured list the next day. He returned with one inning against the New York Mets on Sept. 11, pitched one inning at the New York Yankees on Sept. 15, then went back on the injured list the following day. Manager Charlie Montoyo said Giles decided Monday to go ahead with the surgery. “He was a great clubhouse leader. He was awesome. I love the guy,? Montoyo said. “When he was on the mound, when he was healthy, he was one of the best relievers in baseball.” Giles earned $3,555,556 as a prorated share of his $9.6 million salary this season. He was 2-3 with a 1.87 ERA in 53 games last year, saving 23 games... [More]

Red sox second. Xander Bogaerts grounds out to shallow center field, Bo Bichette to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.. Mitch Moreland homers to center field. Christian Vazquez strikes out swinging. Andrew Benintendi flies out to right field to Teoscar Hernandez.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Red sox 1, Blue jays 0.Blue jays third. Rowdy Tellez called out on strikes. Reese McGuire grounds out to second base, Nathan Eovaldi to Xander Bogaerts to Mitch Moreland. Cavan Biggio homers to center field. Bo Bichette grounds out to second base, Tzu-Wei Lin to Mitch Moreland.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Blue jays 1, Red sox 1.Red sox third. Jackie Bradley Jr. singles to deep left center field. Tzu-Wei Lin reaches on a sacrifice bunt to shallow infield. Jackie Bradley Jr. to second. Fielding error by Matt Shoemaker. Alex Verdugo reaches on a fielder's choice to shallow infield. Tzu-Wei Lin to third. Jackie Bradley Jr. scores. Throwing error by Matt Shoemaker. Rafael Devers lines out to center field to... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — After enduring one final delay in their effort to return from an eight-day, coronavirus-induced hiatus, the Miami Marlins found enough power and pitching within their vastly overhauled roster to beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-0 Tuesday night.Francisco Cervelli and Jesús Aguilar homered for the Marlins, who had their season halted after 18 players tested positive for COVID-19 following the opening series in Philadelphia.Pablo López (1-0) threw five innings of two-hit ball and the bullpen allowed just one hit in Miami’s first shutout victory since Sept. 8 against Kansas City.Late Tuesday afternoon, the Marlins were still awaiting the result of further COVID-19 tests, a process that stalled their arrival at Camden Yards and pushed back the scheduled 7:35 p.m. start by 41 minutes.Orioles starter John Means (0-1) allowed one run and two hits in 4 2/3 innings. He retired 13 in a row before Cervelli drove a 3-1 pitch into the left-field seats to end the left-hander’s night. After... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says he's confident his sport can get through the regular season and postseason without being stopped by the coronavirus, though not every club might play all 60 games and winning percentage could be used to determine playoff teams.During an interview Saturday with The Associated Press, Manfred said Major League Baseball knows which player introduced COVID-19 into the clubhouse of the Miami Marlins. Miami and Philadelphia both postponed games for an entire week.“I think that if everybody does what they are supposed to do, we can continue to play, have a credible season and get through the postseason,” Manfred said.Just 1 1/2 weeks into a pandemic-delayed regular season shortened from 162 games per team to 60, the coronavirus has forced 19 postponements in 11 days, including St. Louis' three-game weekend series at Milwaukee.The virus also prompted at least two more players to opt out Saturday: Brewers All-Star outfielder Lorenzo Cain and... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says he's confident his sport can get through the regular season and postseason without being stopped by the coronavirus, though not every club might play all 60 games and winning percentage could be used to determine playoff teams.During an interview Saturday with The Associated Press, Manfred said Major League Baseball knows which player introduced COVID-19 into the clubhouse of the Marlins Marlins. Miami and Philadelphia both postponed games for an entire week.“I think that if everybody does what they are supposed to do, we can continue to play, have a credible season and get through the postseason,” Manfred said.Just 1 1/2 weeks into a pandemic-delayed regular season shortened from 162 games per team to 60, the coronavirus has forced 19 postponements in 11 days, including St. Louis' three-game weekend series at Milwaukee.The virus also prompted at least two more players to opt out Saturday: Brewers All-Star outfielder Lorenzo Cain and... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says he's confident his sport can get through the regular season and postseason without being stopped by the coronavirus, though not every team might play all 60 games and winning percentage could be used to determine playoff teams.During an interview Saturday with The Associated Press, Manfred said Major League Baseball knows which player introduced COVID-19 into the clubhouse of the Marlins Marlins. Miami and Philadelphia both postponed games for an entire week.“I think that if everybody does what they are supposed to do, we can continue to play, have a credible season and get through the postseason,” Manfred said.Just 1 1/2 weeks into a pandemic-delayed regular season shortened from 162 games per team to 60, the coronavirus has forced 19 postponements in 11 days, including St. Louis' three-game weekend series at Milwaukee.The virus also prompted at least two more players to opt out Saturday: Brewers All-Star outfielder Lorenzo Cain and... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says he's confident his sport can get through the regular season and postseason without being stopped by the coronavirus, though not every team might play all 60 games and winning percentage could be used to determine playoff teams.During an interview Saturday with The Associated Press, Manfred said Major League Baseball knows which player introduced COVID-19 into the clubhouse of the Marlins Marlins. Miami and Philadelphia both postponed games for an entire week.“I think that if everybody does what they are supposed to do, we can continue to play, have a credible season and get through the postseason,” Manfred said.Just 1 1/2 weeks into a pandemic-delayed regular season shortened from 162 games per team to 60, the coronavirus has forced 17 postponements in 10 days and prompted at least two more players to opt out Saturday: Milwaukee All-Star outfielder Lorenzo Cain and Miami second baseman Isan Díaz.At least 18 Marlins players have been... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says he's confident his sport can get through the regular season and postseason without being stopped by the coronavirus, though not every team might play all 60 games and winning percentage could be used to determine playoff teams.During an interview Saturday with The Associated Press, Manfred said Major League Baseball knows which player introduced COVID-19 into the clubhouse of the Marlins Marlins. Miami and Philadelphia both postponed games for an entire week.“I think that if everybody does what they are supposed to do, we can continue to play, have a credible season and get through the postseason,” Manfred said.Just 1 1/2 weeks into a pandemic-delayed regular season shortened from 162 games per team to 60, the coronavirus has forced 17 postponements in 10 days and prompted at least two more players to opt out Saturday: Milwaukee All-Star outfielder Lorenzo Cain and Miami second baseman Isan Díaz.At least 18 Marlins players have been... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Daniel Bard won in his first major league game in more than seven years, pitching 1 1-3 scoreless innings in relief for the Colorado Rockies in a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday. The 35-year-old Bard (1-0), whose control troubles ran him out of baseball, got the Rockies out of a jam when he took over for starter Jon Gray with two on and two outs in the fifth. The right-hander worked around two more base runners in the sixth, getting Willie Calhoun on an inning-ending flyout to cap an 11-pitch at-bat.Wade Davis worked the ninth for his first save since July 25, 2019. He gave up a run.Colorado went ahead to stay with two runs in the fourth off Mike Minor (0-1), helped by two fielder’s choice plays and two errors. Bard threw 20 of 25 pitches for strikes Saturday, including his first one before Elvis Andrus flied out to end the fifth. ANGELS 4, ATHLETICS 1OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Dylan Bundy pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning in his Angels debut and... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Daniel Bard won in his first major league game in more than seven years, pitching 1 1-3 scoreless innings in relief for the Colorado Rockies in a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday. The 35-year-old Bard (1-0), whose control troubles ran him out of baseball, got the Rockies out of a jam when he took over for starter Jon Gray with two on and two outs in the fifth. The right-hander worked around two more base runners in the sixth, getting Willie Calhoun on an inning-ending flyout to cap an 11-pitch at-bat.Wade Davis worked the ninth for his first save since July 25, 2019. He gave up a run.Colorado went ahead to stay with two runs in the fourth off Mike Minor (0-1), helped by two fielder’s choice plays and two errors. Bard threw 20 of 25 pitches for strikes Saturday, including his first one before Elvis Andrus flied out to end the fifth. ANGELS 4, ATHLETICS 1OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Dylan Bundy pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning in his Angels debut and... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Daniel Bard won in his first major league game in more than seven years, pitching 1 1-3 scoreless innings in relief for the Colorado Rockies in a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday. The 35-year-old Bard (1-0), whose control troubles ran him out of baseball, got the Rockies out of a jam when he took over for starter Jon Gray with two on and two outs in the fifth. The right-hander worked around two more base runners in the sixth, getting Willie Calhoun on an inning-ending flyout to cap an 11-pitch at-bat.Wade Davis worked the ninth for his first save since July 25, 2019. He gave up a run.Colorado went ahead to stay with two runs in the fourth off Mike Minor (0-1), helped by two fielder’s choice plays and two errors. Bard threw 20 of 25 pitches for strikes Saturday, including his first one before Elvis Andrus flied out to end the fifth. ANGELS 4, ATHLETICS 1OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Dylan Bundy pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning in his Angels debut and... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Brandon Lowe’s two-run triple snapped an eighth-inning tie and sent the Tampa Bay Rays over the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 on Saturday.Lowe, batted hit .270 with 17 homers and 51 RBIs in 82 games as a first-time AL All-Star in 2019, hit a drive into the gap in right-center field off reliever Sam Gaviglio (0-1). It was especially sweet for the 26-year-old second baseman because he previously was 0 for 9 against the right-hander.“I'm 1 for 1 this year,” Lowe said. "I could care less about last year."Gaviglio later balked, allowing Lowe to score the third run of the inning.“He didn’t have it. He wasn’t locating stuff,” Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said. “He’s usually very good. He just didn’t locate his pitches, and he paid the price.”Rays manager Kevin Cash said Lowe, an exceptional fastball hitter, made a nice adjustment to deliver the game-winner.“He's proven in a short amount of time he can hit a fastball. He's probably going to have to make some adjustments... [More]

Rays sixth. Michael Perez walks. Ji-Man Choi doubles to deep left center field. Mike Brosseau scores. Brandon Lowe strikes out swinging. Yandy Diaz grounds out to shortstop, Bo Bichette to Travis Shaw. Yoshi Tsutsugo grounds out to shallow right field, Travis Shaw to Matt Shoemaker.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 left on. Rays 1, Blue jays 0.Blue jays seventh. Teoscar Hernandez called out on strikes. Reese McGuire homers to right field. Joe Panik pinch-hitting for Santiago Espinal. Joe Panik strikes out swinging. Bo Bichette singles to right field. Cavan Biggio walks. Bo Bichette to second. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. pops out to shallow infield to Mike Zunino.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Blue jays 1, Rays 1.Rays eighth. Willy Adames strikes out swinging. Mike Zunino singles to deep center field. Ji-Man Choi walks. Hunter Renfroe to second. Brandon Lowe triples to deep right center field. Ji-Man Choi scores. Hunter Renfroe scores. Yandy Diaz walks. Yoshi Tsutsugo strikes out swinging. Joey Wendle grounds out to second base, Cavan Biggio to Travis Shaw.3 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Rays 4, Blue jays 1.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Brandon Lowe’s two-run triple snapped an eighth-inning tie and sent the Tampa Bay Rays over the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 on Saturday.Lowe, a first-time AL All-Star in 2019, hit a drive into the gap in right-center field off reliever Sam Gaviglio (0-1). The right-hander later balked, allowing Lowe to score the third run of the inning.Ji-Man Choi drove in Tampa Bay’s other run with a sixth-inning double off Matt Shoemaker, who made his first start for the Blue Jays since injuring his left knee in April 2019.Toronto tied it at 1 on Reese McGuire’s homer off right-hander Pete Fairbanks in the seventh.Nick Anderson (1-0), the third of four Rays pitchers who followed starter Ryan Yarbrough, retired four of five batters he faced to get the win. Oliver Drake worked a perfect ninth for the save.Toronto’s Cavan Biggio, whose three-run homer was the big blow in the Blue Jays’ 6-4 win on opening day, was 2 for 3 with a walk, extending his on-base streak to 31 consecutive games... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Cavan Biggio hit a three-run homer and the Toronto Blue Jays began their still-in-progress odyssey by topping the Tampa Bay Rays 6-4 Friday night in a season opener.Earlier in the day, the Blue Jays announced they will play the majority of their home games at the stadium of their Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo, though it's not yet certain when the park will be ready.The Blue Jays were blocked by the Canadian government from hosting this season because of coronavirus concerns, and hopes of shifting home games to other big league cities didn't work out.“First of all, this whole year has been crazy, but it’s been especially crazy for our team,” Biggio said. “Not being able to find a home, being turned away from Toronto, Pittsburgh and Baltimore. Landing at a Triple-A field, I think our team is playing with a little bit of a chip on a shoulder.” Biggio's infield single began a three-run fourth inning off 36-year-old Charlie Morton, who made his first career start... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Cavan Biggio hit a three-run homer and the Toronto Blue Jays began their still-in-progress odyssey by topping the Tampa Bay Rays 6-4 Friday night in a season opener.Earlier in the day, the Blue Jays announced they will play the majority of their home games at the stadium of their Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo, though it's not yet certain when the park will be ready.The Blue Jays were blocked by the Canadian government from hosting this season because of coronavirus concerns, and hopes of shifting home games to Pittsburgh and Baltimore didn't pan out.Biggio's infield single began a three-run fourth inning off 36-year-old Charlie Morton, who made his first career start on opening day. Randal Grichuk, Rowdy Tellez and Teoscar Hernandez drove in the runs.Biggio, son of Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, homered in the fifth for a 6-1 lead.Japanese slugger Yoshi Tsutsugo homered in his major league debut for the Rays. Tampa Bay signed him to a two-year, $12 million deal... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — Blue Jays closer Ken Giles will get $9.6 million and Toronto starter Matt Shoemaker got a $4.2 million deal in one-year agreements reached Friday.Both pitchers had been eligible for salary arbitration.The 29-year-old Giles made $6.3 million last year, going 2-3 with 23 saves in 24 chances and a 1.87 ERA. The hard-throwing righty struck out 83 in 53 innings.Giles began his major league career with Philadelphia in 2014, was part of Houston's bullpen with the 2017 World Series championship team and was traded from the Astros to Toronto in July 2018 as part of a deal for Roberto Osuna.The 33-year-old Shoemaker was signed by Toronto as a free agent after the 2018 season for $3.5 million. He was 3-0 in five starts with 1.57 ERA for the Blue Jays, but tore his left ACL in a rundown in April and missed the rest of the season.The right-hander has been beset by injuries. He was limited to seven starts with the Los Angeles Angels in 2018 because of a strained forearm and sustained a skull fracture when he hit by a line drive in late 2016.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

TORONTO (AP) — Utilityman Brandon Drury and the Toronto Blue Jays agreed to a $2.05 million, one-year contract on Thursday, a raise of $850,000.The 27-year-old hit .218 with 15 homers and 41 RBIs over 447 plate appearances in his first full season with the Blue Jays, who acquired him from the New York Yankees in July 2018. He played 65 games at third base, 16 at second, 12 at first, five at shortstop, 18 in right and 12 in left.Blue Jays pitchers Ken Giles and Matt Shoemaker remained eligible for arbitration heading into Friday's scheduled exchange of proposed salaries.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Right-hander Tanner Roark and the Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to a $24 million, two-year contract, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced.Roark, who turned 33 in October, was 10-10 with a 4.35 ERA in 31 starts this year for Cincinnati and Oakland, which acquired him at the trade deadline.He is 74-64 with a 3.71 ERA over seven seasons. He spent six seasons with Washington, then was dealt to Cincinnati last December. Toronto was 67-95 last season and last month acquired right-hander Chase Anderson from Milwaukee to join a rotation that includes right-hander Matt Shoemaker, whose 2019 season was cut short after five starts because of a torn left anterior cruciate ligament. Shoemaker was 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA when he got hurt.___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports