A team-by-team look at the National League West 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:___Los Angeles DodgersManager: Dave Roberts (fourth season).2018: 92-71, first place, lost to Boston in World Series.Training Town: Glendale, Arizona.Park: Camelback Ranch.First Workout: Feb. 13/19.He's Here: CF A.J. Pollock, RHP Joe Kelly, C Russell Martin, RHP Homer Bailey, 3B Justin Yorchak, LHP Adam McCreery, RHP Jaime Schultz.He's Outta Here: SS Manny Machado, OF Matt Kemp, OF Yasiel Puig, C Yasmani Grandal, LHP Alex Wood, 2B Brian Dozier, RHP Ryan Madson, C Kyle Farmer, 2B Chase Utley, RHP John Axford, RHP Daniel Hudson, LHP-RHP Pat Venditte.Going campin': The Dodgers arrive at camp with unfinished business yet again, having lost in the World Series for the second straight year. They won their sixth consecutive NL West title and second straight NL pennant only to fall short in seven... [More]

A team-by-team look at the National League East 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:___Atlanta BravesManager: Brian Snitker (fourth season).2018: 90-72, first place, lost to Dodgers in Division Series.Training Town: Kissimmee, Florida.Park: Champion Stadium.First Workout: Feb. 16/21.He's Here: 3B Josh Donaldson, C Brian McCann, C Raffy Lopez, pitching coach Rick Kranitz.He's Outta Here: C Kurt Suzuki, RHP Anibal Sanchez, RHP Brandon McCarthy, RHP Brad Brach, 3B Ryan Flaherty, RHP Peter Moylan, 1B Lucas Duda, C Rene Rivera, OF Lane Adams, pitching coach Chuck Hernandez.Going campin': The 2018 Baby Braves were a surprise breakthrough team, winning the club's first NL East championship since 2013. A repeat title in a tougher NL East might be a bigger challenge. A key to the start of spring will be the health of Donaldson, who signed a one-year, $23 million deal after a left... [More]

A team-by-team look at the National League East 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:___Atlanta BravesManager: Brian Snitker (fourth season).2018: 90-72, first place, lost to Dodgers in Division Series.Training Town: Kissimmee, Florida.Park: Champion Stadium.First Workout: Feb. 16/21.He's Here: 3B Josh Donaldson, C Brian McCann, C Raffy Lopez, pitching coach Rick Kranitz.He's Outta Here: C Kurt Suzuki, RHP Anibal Sanchez, RHP Brandon McCarthy, RHP Brad Brach, 3B Ryan Flaherty, RHP Peter Moylan, 1B Lucas Duda, C Rene Rivera, OF Lane Adams, pitching coach Chuck Hernandez.Going campin': The 2018 Baby Braves were a surprise breakthrough team, winning the club's first NL East championship since 2013. A repeat title in a tougher NL East might be a bigger challenge. A key to the start of spring will be the health of Donaldson, who signed a one-year, $23 million deal after a left... [More]

A team-by-team look at the National League West 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:___Los Angeles DodgersManager: Dave Roberts (fourth season).2018: 92-71, first place, lost to Boston in World Series.Training Town: Glendale, Arizona.Park: Camelback Ranch.First Workout: Feb. 13/19.He's Here: CF A.J. Pollock, RHP Joe Kelly, C Russell Martin, RHP Homer Bailey, 3B Justin Yorchak, LHP Adam McCreery, RHP Jaime Schultz.He's Outta Here: SS Manny Machado, OF Matt Kemp, OF Yasiel Puig, C Yasmani Grandal, LHP Alex Wood, 2B Brian Dozier, RHP Ryan Madson, C Kyle Farmer, 2B Chase Utley, RHP John Axford, RHP Daniel Hudson, LHP-RHP Pat Venditte.Going campin': The Dodgers arrive at camp with unfinished business yet again, having lost in the World Series for the second straight year. They won their sixth consecutive NL West title and second straight NL pennant only to fall short in seven... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Phillies have signed catcher Drew Butera to a minor league contract with an invitation to attend major league spring training.Butera has a .201 career average with a .299 slugging percentage in 497 games over nine seasons. He has played for the Twins, Dodgers, Angels, Royals and Rockies.If he's added to the 40-man roster, the 35-year-old Butera gets a one-year contract for $1.3 million while in the majors and $210,000 while in the minors.He has performance bonuses of $50,000 each for 50, 60, 70 and 80 games.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Young right-hander Brandon Woodruff not only made the Milwaukee Brewers' playoff roster, but he's starting Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Colorado Rockies.The Brewers' playoff roster announced before the series opener on Thursday features an 11-man pitching staff that includes rookie right-handers Corbin Burnes and Freddy Peralta. Like Woodruff, they are promising starters who have been pitching out of the bullpen.Woodruff leads off what manager Craig Counsell called a bullpen day on Thursday against the Rockies, who are starting right-hander Antonio Senzatela (6-6, 4.38 ERA).Woodruff is 3-0 with a 3.61 ERA in 19 games this year with four starts. The 25-year-old has pitched exclusively in relief after Sept. 1, going 1-0 with a 0.73 ERA over 12 1/3 innings in seven appearances."He's just throwing the ball really well, and two, I think he has the potential to do a little more than a reliever, maybe," Counsell said.One of Woodruff's four starts came... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs left struggling reliever Carl Edwards Jr. off their roster for Tuesday night's NL wild-card game against the Colorado Rockies.Edwards had a 5.14 ERA in 11 September appearances. He walked 12 in seven innings.Manager Joe Maddon said Edwards also is dealing with a forearm strain."We wanted to be very careful right now, and we thought if we did not push him right now, he would be available for the next series," Maddon said.The Rockies had three catchers on their roster for the single-elimination game: Chris Iannetta, Drew Butera and Tony Wolters. They opted for 10 pitchers, including former Cubs closer Wade Davis, and 15 position players."Some other clubs might have a few more tough decisions based on the, maybe some of the experience and tenure of their roster, but in our case, it was pretty straightforward," Rockies manager Bud Black said.Reliever Pedro Strop, who has been out since Sept. 13 because of a hamstring injury, is one of 11 pitchers on Chicago's... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs have left struggling reliever Carl Edwards Jr. off their roster for their NL wild-card game against the Colorado Rockies.Edwards had a 5.14 ERA in 11 September appearances. He walked 12 in seven innings.The Rockies had three catchers on their roster for the single-elimination game: Chris Iannetta, Drew Butera and Tony Wolters. They opted for 10 pitchers, including former Cubs closer Wade Davis, and 15 position players.Reliever Pedro Strop, who has been out since Sept. 13 because of a hamstring injury, is one of 11 pitchers on Chicago's roster for Tuesday night's game at Wrigley Field. Speedy outfielder Terrence Gore also is active.Chicago and Colorado each dropped tiebreaker games for their respective division titles on Monday. The Cubs lost 3-1 to Milwaukee, and the Rockies fell 5-2 to the Los Angeles Dodgers.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Andrew McCutchen is shaving his beard for a possible World Series run. Ryan Madson is switching bullpens, trying to help another team win a title. And Josh Donaldson is hoping he's healthy enough to contribute.The Milwaukee Brewers? They were a busy bunch, swinging trades to get starter Gio Gonzalez, outfielder Curtis Granderson and reliever Xavier Cedeno.Several contending teams swung into action Friday, making trades to bolster potential playoff rosters. A player must be on a club by Aug. 31 to be eligible for the postseason."I think what happens in September is that the whole calculus of this thing changes," Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said.Counsell spoke after the Brewers acquired Cedeno, and before they beat Washington 4-1 at Nationals Park. After the win, Milwaukee said it had gotten Gonzalez from the Nats and Granderson from Toronto.All three of the Milwaukee trades were for minor leaguers. So, too, were the swaps that sent Donaldson from Toronto to Cleveland, Madson from Washington... [More]

Andrew McCutchen is shaving his beard for a possible World Series run. Ryan Madson is switching bullpens, trying to help another team win a title. And Josh Donaldson is hoping he's healthy enough to contribute.The Milwaukee Brewers? They were a busy bunch, swinging trades to get starter Gio Gonzalez, outfielder Curtis Granderson and reliever Xavier Cedeno.Several contending teams swung into action Friday, making trades to bolster potential playoff rosters. A player must be on a club by Aug. 31 to be eligible for the postseason."I think what happens in September is that the whole calculus of this thing changes," Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said.Counsell spoke after the Brewers acquired Cedeno, and before they beat Washington 4-1 at Nationals Park. After the win, Milwaukee said it had gotten Gonzalez from the Nats and Granderson from Toronto.All three of the Milwaukee trades were for minor leaguers. So, too, were the swaps that sent Donaldson from Toronto to Cleveland, Madson from Washington... [More]

Andrew McCutchen is shaving his beard for a possible World Series run. Ryan Madson is switching bullpens, trying to help another team win a title.And Gio Gonzalez? He might be moving across the diamond at Nationals Park.A bunch of contenders got busy Friday, making trades to bolster potential playoff rosters. A player must be on a club by Aug. 31 to be eligible for the postseason.Relievers are always in demand, and the Milwaukee Brewers fortified themselves by acquiring veteran left-hander Xavier Cedeno from the Chicago White Sox for two minor leaguers.The Brewers also seemed to be close to getting Gonzalez from Washington to boost their rotation. Milwaukee was playing at Washington, so a trade would mean simply swapping dugouts."I think what happens in September is that the whole calculus of this thing changes," Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said.Clubs can start calling up reinforcements from the minors on Saturday. But it's who they added before September that could really count in... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Rockies acquired Drew Butera from the Kansas City Royals on Friday, giving Colorado a veteran backup catcher as they try to chase down the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West.The Royals received minor league left-hander Jerry Vasto.Butera was in his fourth season with the Royals, where he served as the backup to six-time All-Star Salvador Perez. He was hitting just .188 with two homers and 18 RBIs in 52 games, but will be remembered by Kansas City fans for catching the final out of the Royals' 2015 World Series championship.Colorado began the day 1 1/2 games behind the Diamondbacks in the division race.The 26-year-old Vasto has spent most of this season at Triple-A Albuquerque, going 2-1 with a 3.16 ERA in 37 relief appearances. He made his big league debut on June 10 in a game against Arizona.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CLEVELAND (AP) — Francisco Lindor connected for a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning as the Cleveland Indians again moved 10 games ahead of Minnesota in the AL Central with a 5-2 win over the Twins on Wednesday night.Lindor, who struck out with the winning run at second base in the ninth in a loss on Tuesday, drove the first pitch from Trevor Hildenberger (2-3) over the wall in right to trigger a wild celebration.Jason Kipnis singled with one out in the ninth before Twins right fielder Max Kepler robbed Yan Gomes of extra bases with a leaping catch before crashing into the wall. Brandon Guyer followed with a single to bring up Lindor, who capped a wild ninth inning with his 29th homer.The All-Star shortstop skipped around the bases before being mobbed at home plate by his teammates.Down 2-1, Minnesota tied it in the ninth on Miguel Sano's leadoff homer against Cody Allen (4-4), who wound up with a blown save and win.DIAMONDBACKS 6, PHILLIES 0PHOENIX — Patrick Corbin struck... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Francisco Lindor connected for a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning as the Cleveland Indians again moved 10 games ahead of Minnesota in the AL Central with a 5-2 win over the Twins on Wednesday night.Lindor, who struck out with the winning run at second base in the ninth in a loss on Tuesday, drove the first pitch from Trevor Hildenberger (2-3) over the wall in right to trigger a wild celebration.Jason Kipnis singled with one out in the ninth before Twins right fielder Max Kepler robbed Yan Gomes of extra bases with a leaping catch before crashing into the wall. Brandon Guyer followed with a single to bring up Lindor, who capped a wild ninth inning with his 29th homer.The All-Star shortstop skipped around the bases before being mobbed at home plate by his teammates.Down 2-1, Minnesota tied it in the ninth on Miguel Sano's leadoff homer against Cody Allen (4-4), who wound up with a blown save and win.DIAMONDBACKS 6, PHILLIES 0PHOENIX — Patrick Corbin struck... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Chris Sale struck out nine in six scoreless innings to win his fifth consecutive start, and Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a three-run homer and the Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 9-1 victory on Sunday for their 19th win in 23 games.Sale (11-4) allowed two hits, lowered his ERA to an AL-best 2.13 and won his sixth straight decision.Blaine Hardy (3-3) gave up four runs and five hits in three-plus innings.DODGERS 11, BREWERS 2MILWAUKEE (AP) — Manny Machado had a double to drive in his first run since he was acquired from Baltimore, Matt Kemp hit a pair of solo homers off Brent Suter (8-7) and Chris Taylor had three RBIs for the NL West leaders.Alex Wood (6-5) won his fifth straight decision, allowing two runs, five hits and three walks in six innings.Milwaukee has lost eight of nine, dropping 3 1/2 games behind the NL Central-leading Cubs.CUBS 7, CARDINALS 2CHICAGO (AP) — Matt Carpenter's streak of consecutive games with home runs ended at six as Jose Quintana (9-6) allowed... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mark Reynolds homered twice and drove in a career-high 10 runs, Max Scherzer won for the first time since June 5, and the Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 18-4 on Saturday night.Washington has won three straight and scored a combined 35 runs since calling a players-only meeting on Wednesday after falling under .500 for the first time since May 2.Reynolds (5 for 5) tied his career high for hits and equaled the Nationals' RBI record.Scherzer (11-5), who was 0-4 in his previous five starts, pitched seven innings, allowing four runs on four hits — three of which were home runs. The Nationals had been shut out in three of Scherzer's previous five starts.Miami starter Wei-Yin Chen (2-6) lasted 4 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits.DIAMONDBACKS 20, PADRES 5PHOENIX (AP) — David Peralta drove in three runs and matched his career best with five hits, five Arizona players homered and the Diamondbacks set a single-game franchise scoring record with a rout of... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mark Reynolds homered twice and drove in a career-high 10 runs, Max Scherzer won for the first time since June 5, and the Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 18-4 on Saturday night.Washington has won three straight and scored a combined 35 runs since calling a players-only meeting on Wednesday after falling under .500 for the first time since May 2.Reynolds (5 for 5) tied his career high for hits and equaled the Nationals' RBI record.Scherzer (11-5), who was 0-4 in his previous five starts, pitched seven innings, allowing four runs on four hits — three of which were home runs. The Nationals had been shut out in three of Scherzer's previous five starts.Miami starter Wei-Yin Chen (2-6) lasted 4 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits.DODGERS 3, ANGELS 1ANAHEIM, Calif. — Ross Stripling pitched another gem and Justin Turner drove in two runs to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a win over the Angels.Stripling (7-2) is making a strong case to make the NL All-Star... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Masahiro Tanaka pitched six sharp innings and struck out Japanese countryman Shohei Ohtani twice as the New York Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Angels 3-1 Sunday.Brett Gardner had three hits for New York, which won five of six against the Angels this season.Although Ohtani was pushed back from Sunday's scheduled start due to what the Angels called "workload management," Tanaka (6-2) held up his end up of the highly anticipated pitchers' duel that never materialized. Tanaka struck out eight and allowed just Andrelton Simmons' sixth-inning home run in his longest outing in nearly a month.Pitching on his 30th birthday, Angels right-hander Garrett Richards (4-4) allowed three runs over 2 1/3 innings and matched a season high with five walks.Aroldis Chapman walked Ohtani to begin the ninth, but struck out a pair to earn his 10th save in 11 chances.BRAVES 7, RED SOX 1BOSTON (AP) — Prized rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. took a high-flying tumble while beating out an infield hit, exiting... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Justin Verlander got some run support for the first time in nearly a month and led the Houston Astros over the San Francisco Giants 4-1 on Wednesday.Verlander (6-2) struck out nine and walked one in six innings, allowing one run and three hits as his major league-leading ERA rose slightly to 1.08. He had given up just three runs over 29 innings during his previous four starts, but the Astros had scored just three runs in that span, getting shut out twice.Ken Giles pitched the ninth to remain perfect in nine save chances.George Springer hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the fifth on a 93 mph fastball from Jeff Samardzija (1-3), driving the ball off the facade above the left-field seats. Carlos Correa added an RBI single later in the inning.INDIANS 1, CUBS 0CHICAGO (AP) — Adam Plutko carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and Andrew Miller provided stellar relief work, helping Cleveland beat Chicago.Plutko (2-0) struck out four and walked four in his second major league... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Justin Verlander got some run support for the first time in nearly a month and led the Houston Astros over the San Francisco Giants 4-1 on Wednesday.Verlander (6-2) struck out nine and walked one in six innings, allowing one run and three hits as his major league-leading ERA rose slightly to 1.08. He had given up just three runs over 29 innings during his previous four starts, but the Astros had scored just three runs in that span, getting shut out twice.Ken Giles pitched the ninth to remain perfect in nine save chances.George Springer hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the fifth on a 93 mph fastball from Jeff Samardzija (1-3), driving the ball off the facade above the left-field seats. Carlos Correa added an RBI single later in the inning.BREWERS 9, DIAMONDBACKS 2MILWAUKEE (AP) — Travis Shaw hit a three-run homer and Jesus Aguilar had a go-ahead, two-run single during a seven-run fourth inning to help Milwaukee send Arizona to its seventh straight loss.Brent Suter (4-3)... [More]