A look at what's happening around the majors Thursday:BACK AT ITThe Dodgers and Phillies are facing a tight turnaround after a lengthy rain delay pushed the end of Wednesday's game close to 2 a.m. early Thursday. First pitch of the series finale is set for 12:35 p.m., and then the Dodgers are set to make the cross-country flight back to Los Angeles to start a series Friday against Miami. It's been a long week for the Dodgers, who played for 5 hours, 40 minutes Sunday night in a 12-inning win over Boston.SPORT OF APPEALSAngels pitcher Noé Ramirez is appealing his three-game suspension from MLB for throwing a pitch near the head of Astros outfielder Jake Marisnick. Ramirez was punished Wednesday, a day after drilling Marisnick between the shoulder blades during a 7-2 Angels win. Marisnick was playing his first game against Los Angeles since his violent home plate collision injured catcher Jonathan Lucroy. Marisnick was suspended two games by MLB but is also appealing, and he said he hasn't... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Rain keeps interrupting the New York Yankees' sunny season.The scheduled game between the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays was postponed Wednesday night due to a forecast of thunderstorms and severe weather.Though no showers were falling yet on a humid evening in the Bronx, the game was called about 35 minutes before it was supposed to start — drawing groans from some fans scattered throughout the stands. But less than two hours later, it was pouring at Yankee Stadium as lightning flashed in the sky.The game will be made up Thursday as part of a single-admission doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. After that, Tampa Bay is not scheduled to return to New York this season."Obviously, it kind of stinks. But maybe not the worst thing," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "I kind of like the off day to freshen up the bullpen a little bit."New York leads the AL East by six games over the Rays. The teams split their first two matchups this week and the Yankees hold a 10-5 advantage in the season... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Rain keeps interrupting the New York Yankees' sunny season.The scheduled game between the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays was postponed Wednesday night due to a forecast of thunderstorms and severe weather.Though no showers were falling yet on a humid evening in the Bronx, the game was called about 35 minutes before it was supposed to start — drawing groans from some fans scattered throughout the stands. But less than two hours later, it was pouring at Yankee Stadium as lightning flashed in the sky.The game will be made up Thursday as part of a single-admission doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. After that, Tampa Bay is not scheduled to return to New York this season."Obviously, it kind of stinks. But maybe not the worst thing," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "I kind of like the off day to freshen up the bullpen a little bit."New York leads the AL East by six games over the Rays. The teams split their first two matchups this week and the Yankees hold a 10-5 advantage in the season... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The scheduled game between the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees has been postponed due to a forecast of thunderstorms and severe weather.Though no rain was falling yet on a humid evening at Yankee Stadium, the game was called Wednesday about 35 minutes before it was supposed to start. It will be made up Thursday as part of a single-admission doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. After that, Tampa Bay is not scheduled to return to New York this season.Yonny Chirinos (8-4, 3.11 ERA) had been set to pitch for the Rays against right-hander Domingo Germán (11-2, 3.40).New York leads the AL East by six games over Tampa Bay. The teams split the first two matchups of their four-game series this week, and the Yankees lead the season series 10-5.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Edwin Encarnación went from last place in the AL West to first in the AL East.Naturally, he was pretty excited about it.The veteran slugger was hitless during his Yankees debut Monday night against Tampa Bay in the opener of a three-game series. But he received a warm ovation from the crowd of 39,042 and New York won 3-0 to move 1½ games ahead of the Rays."He could have picked somewhere else. I'd have been fine with it," Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash joked before the game.Batting fifth as the designated hitter, Encarnación went 0 for 4 in pinstripes. He struck out swinging on the 10th pitch of his first at-bat in the second inning against Yonny Chirinos."I saw a lot of pitches. I feel good. I'm just missing a couple of pitches that I know I can hit," Encarnación said. "It's part of the game. I'll get them tomorrow."Acquired from Seattle in a trade late Saturday night, Encarnación joined the Yankees on Monday and began the day leading the American League with 21 home runs.... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Edwin Encarnación went from last place in the AL West to first in the AL East.Naturally, he was pretty excited about it.The veteran slugger received a warm ovation from fans when he made his Yankees debut at home Monday night against Tampa Bay in the opener of a three-game series. New York entered with a half-game lead in the division over the Rays."He could have picked somewhere else. I'd have been fine with it," Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said, drawing laughs.Batting fifth as the designated hitter, Encarnación struck out swinging on the 10th pitch of his first at-bat in the second inning against Yonny Chirinos.Acquired from Seattle in a trade late Saturday night, Encarnación joined the Yankees on Monday and began the day leading the American League with 21 home runs. He said he expected to be shipped off by the payroll-paring Mariners, but didn't think he'd wind up in New York. When he got the news, he was surprised and happy to be sent to a first-place team."I play... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Sandy León hit a three-run homer off Oliver Pérez after the Indians reliever caused an odd stoppage asking for new footwear, J.D. Martinez homered twice and the Boston Red Sox beat Cleveland 12-5 Monday.Jackie Bradley Jr. added two RBI doubles, and Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts each had two hits and scored twice for the Red Sox, who have won 18 of 26.Boston held a moment of silence and showed highlights of former player Bill Buckner, who died Monday. He was 69.Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia revealed before the game that he will take an indefinite leave in his long struggle to recover from knee trouble, putting in doubt whether he'll play again in the majors.The Indians have lost seven of eight, and even the team's equipment is having a rough go of it.Pérez put Fenway Park into a strange delay when he relieved during Boston's six-run fifth inning. The 37-year-old left-hander noticed something amiss with his spikes while warming up and signaled for a replacement pair,... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Sandy León hit a three-run homer off Oliver Pérez after the Indians reliever caused an odd stoppage asking for new footwear, J.D. Martinez homered twice and the Boston Red Sox beat Cleveland 12-5 Monday.Jackie Bradley Jr. added two RBI doubles, and Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts each had two hits and scored twice for the Red Sox, who have won 18 of 26.Boston held a moment of silence and showed highlights of former player Bill Buckner, who died Monday. He was 69.Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia revealed before the game that he will take an indefinite leave in his long struggle to recover from knee trouble, putting in doubt whether he'll play again in the majors.The Indians have lost seven of eight, and even the team's equipment is having a rough go of it.Pérez put Fenway Park into a strange delay when he relieved during Boston's six-run fifth inning. The 37-year-old left-hander noticed something amiss with his spikes while warming up and signaled for a replacement pair,... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Willson Contreras homered in the 15th inning to give the Chicago Cubs a 2-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday.Contreras turned on a 1-2 pitch from Burch Smith (0-1), sending a long shot to left field that gave Chicago its 11th win in 13 games. He spun and flipped his bat toward the Cubs' dugout as the ball sailed toward the bleachers and was mobbed by teammates when he crossed the plate.Chicago moved back ahead of the Brewers for the NL Central lead after falling into a virtual tie with Friday's 7-0 loss. Milwaukee had its season-high seven-game win streak snapped.Tyler Chatwood (2-0) struck out seven in four innings to cap a strong effort by the bullpen after Cole Hamels worked seven solid innings.Hamels gave up a run and three hits in his fourth straight no-decision. Seven relievers combined to give up one hit the rest of the way.RAYS 7, YANKEES 2ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Willy Adames and Ji-Man Choi hit run-scoring infield singles in the sixth after tempers... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Ryan Braun's career-high sixth hit, a two-run single with one out in the 18th inning, lifted the Milwaukee Brewers to a 4-3 comeback victory over the New York Mets on Saturday night in the longest game in Miller Park history.Braun stood on first base with his hands raised above his head as Yasmani Grandal slid across home plate with the winning run, ending the game that lasted 5 hours and 22 minutes. A jubilant bunch of Brewers ran out to greet Braun, who was the only Milwaukee player to have multiple hits.The Mets took a 3-2 lead in the top of the 18th on Jeff McNeil's run-scoring single off Taylor Williams (1-1), who was Milwaukee's eighth and final pitcher.But the Brewers were far from done. Eric Thames drew a leadoff walk from Chris Flexen (0-2), who then got Mike Moustakas to fly out to center. Flexen, just recalled from Triple-A Syracuse earlier in the day, walked Grandal and Travis Shaw to load the bases for Braun. The Brewers' longest-tenured hit a sharp grounder... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Boston Red Sox strung together 10 straight hits against White Sox left-hander Manny Bañuelos, ending one hit shy of the major league record during a nine-run third inning in a 15-2 rout of Chicago on Saturday night.Bañuelos (2-1) retired his first eight batters before Christian Vázquez opened Boston's two-out rally with a single. Xander Bogaerts, Michael Chavis and Eduardo Núñez each homered, Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez had RBI doubles, and Vázquez capped the streak with another single before White Sox manager Rick Renteria pulled Bañuelos with a 9-1 deficit. Carson Fulmer replaced Bañuelos and interrupted the hit parade by walking Andrew Benintendi. Betts flew out to right to end the inning after 14 batters.The Colorado Rockies had a major league-record 11 straight hits during a 17-2 win over the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field on July 30, 2010.Chavis added another solo shot in the fifth for his first multihomer game and finished with four hits and three RBIs. All of... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Boston Red Sox strung together 10 straight hits against White Sox left-hander Manny Bañuelos, ending one hit shy of the major league record during a nine-run third inning in a 15-2 rout of Chicago on Saturday night.Bañuelos (2-1) retired his first eight batters before Christian Vázquez opened Boston's two-out rally with a single. Xander Bogaerts, Michael Chavis and Eduardo Núñez each homered, Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez had RBI doubles, and Vázquez capped the streak with another single before White Sox manager Rick Renteria pulled Bañuelos with a 9-1 deficit. Carson Fulmer replaced Bañuelos and interrupted the hit parade by walking Andrew Benintendi. Betts flew out to right to end the inning after 14 batters.The Colorado Rockies had a major league-record 11 straight hits during a 17-2 win over the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field on July 30, 2010.Chavis added another solo shot in the fifth for his first multihomer game and finished with four hits and three RBIs. All of... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jake Odorizzi pitched seven solid innings to outduel Justin Verlander, Ehire Adrianza homered off Houston's ace and the Minnesota Twins beat the Astros 1-0 on Monday night.Odorizzi (3-2) gave up four hits while beating Houston for the second time in two starts. He walked one and struck out seven, and Minnesota won for the eighth time in 10 games. Blake Parker recorded his sixth save.Adrianza's first homer of the season led off the third. He hit a towering, deep shot to the plaza in right field on a full count against Verlander (4-1), who allowed two hits, walked two and struck out seven over six innings.Coming off a dominant sweep of Baltimore, the Twins faced Houston for the second time in a week. They also saw Verlander in the previous series, when he gave up one run and needed just 98 pitches to get through eight innings.BREWERS 5, ROCKIES 1MILWAUKEE (AP) — Struggling slugger Jesús Aguilar hit his first two homers of the season and Milwaukee beat Colorado with NL MVP... [More]

Now, this is an impressive opening for the Tampa Bay Rays.Last year, the Rays pioneered the idea of an "opener" — a pitcher who would work an inning or two at the beginning of the game, facing some of the toughest hitters instead of having a traditional starter do it. Tampa Bay has still used that strategy on occasion in 2019, but that's just part of the Rays' strong start to the season.Tampa Bay (12-4) has baseball's best record and best run differential. The Rays lead the AL East by 5 ½ games, and if the gap stays that big for a few more days, a home series next weekend against defending champion Boston could start to feel a little more significant than a normal April meeting.The Rays have baseball's best ERA at 2.44 — and the starters are even better at 1.47. Tampa Bay has used the opener a bit — Ryan Stanek has made three starts that totaled five scoreless innings — but it's the other four starters who have really shined.Tyler Glasnow, acquired from Pittsburgh last year in a trade for... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Mitch Moreland homered off Merrill Kelly on the first pitch of the seventh inning, and the World Series champion Boston Red Sox ended an awful opening trip with a 1-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.Boston went 3-8 against Seattle, Oakland and Arizona, its worst start since losing nine of 11 in 2011. The Red Sox host Toronto on Tuesday, their first game at Fenway Park since winning the World Series at Dodger Stadium last October.Hector Velázquez, Brandon Workman, Marcus Walden (1-0), Matt Barnes and Ryan Brasier combined on a three-hitter. Walden got six outs for his first major league victory and Brasier retired Adam Jones on a game-ending groundout with a runner on second.YANKEES 15, ORIOLES 3BALTIMORE (AP) — Gary Sánchez hit three of the Yankees' seven home runs, their most on the road since 1961, and New York completed a three-game sweep to move back above .500 at 5-4.Clint Frazier homered twice and had four hits, and Austin Romine and Gleyber Torres also... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Mitch Moreland homered off Merrill Kelly on the first pitch of the seventh inning, and the World Series champion Boston Red Sox ended an awful opening trip with a 1-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.Boston went 3-8 against Seattle, Oakland and Arizona, its worst start since losing nine of 11 in 2011. The Red Sox host Toronto on Tuesday, their first game at Fenway Park since winning the World Series at Dodger Stadium last October.Hector Velázquez, Brandon Workman, Marcus Walden (1-0), Matt Barnes and Ryan Brasier combined on a three-hitter. Walden got six outs for his first major league victory and Brasier retired Adam Jones on a game-ending groundout with a runner on second.YANKEES 15, ORIOLES 3BALTIMORE (AP) — Gary Sánchez hit three of the Yankees' seven home runs, their most on the road since 1961, and New York completed a three-game sweep to move back above .500 at 5-4.Clint Frazier homered twice and had four hits, and Austin Romine and Gleyber Torres also... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich hit his fourth homer in the first inning and a two-run double in the ninth, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to a dramatic 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.Ben Gamel led off the ninth with a pinch-hit double and advanced on Lorenzo Cain's infield single off reliever Jordan Hicks' glove. Yelich then hit a liner into the gap in left-center, driving in Gamel and Cain.Yelich tossed his helmet in the air in celebration as Cain slid face first across the plate, giving Milwaukee three wins in its opening four-game set against rival St. Louis. Yelich's teammates rushed the field and doused the reigning NL MVP with Gatorade in a raucous celebration at second.Yelich began his day with a long drive into the second deck in right against Michael Wacha, tying the major league record for homers in consecutive games to start a season. He also became the first player to win the MVP award and then homer in his first four games of the next season.Paul Goldschmidt,... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich hit his fourth homer in the first inning and a two-run double in the ninth, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to a dramatic 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.Ben Gamel led off the ninth with a pinch-hit double and advanced on Lorenzo Cain's infield single off reliever Jordan Hicks' glove. Yelich then hit a liner into the gap in left-center, driving in Gamel and Cain.Yelich tossed his helmet in the air in celebration as Cain slid face first across the plate, giving Milwaukee three wins in its opening four-game set against rival St. Louis. Yelich's teammates rushed the field and doused the reigning NL MVP with Gatorade in a raucous celebration at second.Yelich began his day with a long drive into the second deck in right against Michael Wacha, tying the major league record for homers in consecutive games to start a season. He also became the first player to win the MVP award and then homer in his first four games of the next season.Paul Goldschmidt,... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich hit his fourth homer in the first inning and a two-run double in the ninth, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to a dramatic 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.Ben Gamel led off the ninth with a pinch-hit double and advanced on Lorenzo Cain's infield single off reliever Jordan Hicks' glove. Yelich then hit a liner into the gap in left-center, driving in Gamel and Cain.Yelich tossed his helmet in the air in celebration as Cain slid face first across the plate, giving Milwaukee three wins in its opening four-game set against rival St. Louis. Yelich's teammates rushed the field and doused the reigning NL MVP with Gatorade in a raucous celebration at second.Yelich began his day with a long drive into the second deck in right against Michael Wacha, tying the major league record for homers in consecutive games to start a season. He also became the first player to win the MVP award and then homer in his first four games of the next season.Paul Goldschmidt,... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Sunday:$140 MILLION MANPatrick Corbin begins earning the $140 million contract he signed with the Nationals, making his first start for his new team against the visiting Mets. The 29-year-old lefty was considered the top starting pitcher on the free agent market and got a six-year deal to slot in behind Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. The Nationals couldn't win behind either Scherzer or Strasburg in the first two games of the season, though, and they'll be hoping Corbin can prevent a sweep and an 0-3 start.After have to fight for his roster spot throughout spring training, Mets rookie slugger Pete Alonso is fast rewarding New York for giving him the job at first base. Alonso had three hits Saturday in an 11-8 win and is 4 for 8 in his first two big league games. Criticized often for his glove work as a minor leaguer, Alonso even made two nifty stretch plays at first in his second game. Zack Wheeler tries to pitch the Mets to 3-0.BRYCE ON... [More]