BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox have tendered outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. a contract for the 2020 season, preserving their rights to him.The move means the sides can continue to negotiate or go to arbitration. The Red Sox did not tender contracts to infielder Marco Hernández or left-hander Josh Osich, making them free agents.The Bradley decision was closely watched because the team has said it would like to shed about $30 million in payroll to get under baseball’s luxury tax threshold. To do so, it might now have to trade 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts.Bradley batted .225 last season while leading the AL in assists and putouts for a center fielder. He is projected to earn about $10 million next season.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Alex Bregman will try to give the Houston Astros an unprecedented sweep.If the All-Star slugger is selected the American League’s Most Valuable Player when voting results are announced Thursday, the Astros will become the first team to have an MVP, Cy Young Award winner and Rookie of the Year in the same season. Justin Verlander took Cy Young honors, and Yordan Álvarez was a unanimous pick as the AL’s top rookie.Mike Trout is probably Bregman’s top competition, and the National League MVP figures to come down to Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers or Christian Yelich of the Brewers, with Anthony Rendon of the Nationals also a worthy finalist.Both MVP races were impacted by injuries. Trout was having another spectacular year for the Los Angeles Angels when right foot problems ended his season early. He did not play after Sept. 7 and was limited to 134 games.Trout still finished with a career-high 45 home runs, along with a .291 batting average, 104 RBIs, 110 runs and a 1.083 OPS. Trout won MVP... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox designated hitter J.D. Martinez has decided to stay in Boston instead of becoming a free agent, declining an option that would have voided the last three years of the contract he signed after teams had reported to spring training in 2018.The move saves the Red Sox from shopping for a new DH but also complicates their plan to cut salaries and get under baseball's luxury tax threshold. The team's payroll for the tax was a big league-high $243 million this year and Boston has made it a goal to get under the $208 million threshold for next season while also signing 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts to a long-term deal.Boston signed Martinez after a long negotiation in one of baseball's slowest-moving free agent markets since the collusion scandal of the 1980s. After hitting the fewest homers in the AL in 2017, the year after David Ortiz retired, the team needed a DH. And Martinez was still looking for a job as spring training began.To seal the $110 million, five-year deal, the... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox designated hitter J.D. Martinez has decided to keep his contract with the Red Sox instead of becoming a free agent again.Martinez signed a $110 million, five-year deal after teams had started reporting to spring training in 2018.In his two seasons in Boston, the 32-year-old slugger has averaged just short of 40 homers and 118 RBIs, along with a .317 average and .985 OPS. He was fourth, behind teammate Mookie Betts, in the AL MVP voting in 2018, when the Red Sox won a franchise-record 108 games and the World Series.Martinez has three years and $62.5 million remaining on the deal: $23.75 million for 2020 and $19,375,000 for both 2021 and 2022. He had to make the opt-out decision Monday. He also has the option to opt out after each of the next two seasons, as long as he does not spend a lengthy period on the injured list.Boston had the highest payroll in baseball last season — $243 million for purposes of the luxury tax — and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2015.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado won his seventh straight Gold Glove and pitcher Zack Greinke earned his sixth in a row, getting the National League honor for the fourth months he spent with Arizona before he was traded to Houston.Kansas City left fielder Alex Gordon, who became a free agent this weekend, won his seventh overall and third in a row.Other multiple winners in the AL announced Sunday included Boston right fielder Mookie Betts (four), Tampa Bay center fielder Kevin Kiermaier (three), Oakland first baseman Matt Olson and third baseman Matt Chapman, and Cleveland shortstop Francisco Lindor (two apiece).Seattle pitcher Mike Leake, Cleveland catcher Roberto Pérez and Chicago White Sox second baseman Yolmer Sánchez were first time winners in the AL.Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo won his third Gold Glove and second in a row, and Arizona shortstop Nick Ahmed won his second straight.There were five first-time winners in the NL: Philadelphia catcher J.T.... [More]

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado won his seventh straight Gold Glove and pitcher Zack Greinke earned his sixth in a row, getting the National League honor for the fourth months he spent with Arizona before he was traded to Houston.Kansas City left fielder Alex Gordon, who became a free agent this weekend, won his seventh overall and third in a row.Other multiple winners in the AL announced Sunday included Boston right fielder Mookie Betts (four), Tampa Bay center fielder Kevin Kiermaier (three), Oakland first baseman Matt Olson and third baseman Matt Chapman, and Cleveland shortstop Francisco Lindor (two apiece).Seattle pitcher Mike Leake, Cleveland catcher Roberto Pérez and Chicago White Sox second baseman Yolmer Sánchez were first time winners in the AL.Chicago Cubs first baseman won his third Gold Glove and second in a row, and Arizona shortstop Nick Ahmed won his second straight,There were five first-time winners in the NL: Philadelphia catcher J.T. Realmuto, St.... [More]

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado won his seventh straight Gold Glove and pitcher Zack Greinke earned his sixth in a row, getting the National League honor for the fourth months he spent with Arizona before he was traded to Houston.Kansas City left fielder Alex Gordon, who became a free agent this weekend, won his seventh overall and third in a row.Other multiple winners in the AL announced Sunday included Boston right fielder Mookie Betts (four), Tampa Bay center fielder Kevin Kiermaier (three), Oakland first baseman Matt Olson and third baseman Matt Chapman, and Cleveland shortstop Francisco Lindor (two apiece).Seattle pitcher Mike Leake, Cleveland catcher Roberto Pérez and Chicago White Sox second baseman Yolmer Sánchez were first time winners in the AL.Chicago Cubs first baseman won his third Gold Glove and second in a row, and Arizona shortstop Nick Ahmed won his second straight,There were five first-time winners in the NL: Philadelphia catcher J.T. Realmuto, St.... [More]

Oct. 171911 — The Philadelphia Athletics scored twice in the 11th to beat the New York Giants 3-2 in Game 3 of the World Series. Frank Baker hit a home run in the ninth inning off Christy Mathewson to tie the score 1-1. Baker was tagged with the nickname "Home Run" for his exploits.1960 — The National League formally awarded franchises to the New York Metropolitan Baseball Club, Inc., headed by Joan Payson and a Houston group headed by Judge Roy Hofheinz, Craig Cullinan and R.E. Smith.1979 — Willie Stargell's two-run homer gave the Pirates a 4-1 triumph over the Baltimore Orioles and the World Series in seven games.1987 — The Minnesota Twins overpowered St. Louis 10-1 in the opening game of the first indoor World Series game.1989 — Minutes before Game 3 of the World Series between Oakland and San Francisco, an earthquake hit the Bay Area. The game was postponed and the series resumed 11 days later.1991 — Powered by John Smoltz's shutout pitching, the Atlanta Braves shed their loser's image... [More]

Oct. 141905 — Christy Mathewson blanked the Philadelphia Athletics 2-0 to give the New York Giants the World Series in five games. All were shutouts, with Mathewson getting three, Joe McGinnity one, and Chief Bender of Philadelphia one.1929 — The Philadelphia A's rallied for three runs in the ninth inning to beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2 and take the World Series in five games. Mule Haas' two-run homer tied the game and Bing Miller's RBI double won it.1965 — Sandy Koufax tossed his second shutout to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 2-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins and the world championship in seven games.1969 — New York's Tommie Agee made two spectacular catches to save five runs and secure a 5-0 victory over Baltimore as the Mets took a 2-1 lead in the World Series.1971 — Pittsburgh's Nelson Briles threw a two-hitter against the Orioles for a 4-0 victory to give the Pirates a 3-2 edge in the World Series.1972 — Oakland catcher Gene Tenace became the first player to hit home runs in each... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Of course, the Yankees are the Bronx Bombers. Turns out this group is filled with fancy fielders, too."I don't think they want the attention," catcher Austin Romine said Thursday ahead of the AL Championship Series against Houston. "You got a bunch of guys that go out there and play good defense, and it's just now getting noticed."First baseman DJ LeMahieu, shortstop Didi Gregorius, second baseman Gleyber Torres and right fielder Aaron Judge may not necessarily be Baryshnikovs of the ballfield, but they can cha-cha and jitterbug quite nicely around the diamond. A series of outstanding defensive plays led to key outs in Monday's win that completed a Division Series sweep of Minnesota."Gleyber has made huge strides this year defensively," manager Aaron Boone said. "Overall defensively, I feel like we're a better club."New York was in the middle of the major leagues, with a 1.7 defensive runs above average according to Fangraphs, quite a turnaround from the -15.7 of the sclerotic... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Of course, the Yankees are the Bronx Bombers. Turns out this group is filled with fancy fielders, too."I don't think they want the attention," catcher Austin Romine said Thursday. "You got a bunch of guys that go out there and play good defense, and it's just now getting noticed."First baseman DJ LeMahieu, shortstop Didi Gregorius, second baseman Gleyber Torres and right fielder Aaron Judge may not necessarily be Baryshnikovs of the ballfield, but they can cha-cha and jitterbug quite nicely around the diamond. A series of outstanding defensive plays led to key outs in Monday's win that completed a Division Series sweep of Minnesota."Gleyber has made huge strides this year defensively," manager Aaron Boone said. "Overall defensively, I feel like we're a better club."New York was in the middle of the major leagues, with a 1.7 defensive runs above average according to Fangraphs, quite a turnaround from the -15.7 of the sclerotic Yankees of 2015 and the -1.9 a year ago.Oakland... [More]

Compiled by PAUL MONTELLAOct. 131903 — The Boston Pilgrims won the first World Series, five games to three, with a 3-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.1914 — The Boston Braves completed a sweep of the Philadelphia Athletics, first in World Series history, with a 3-1 victory.1921 — Art Nehf tossed a 1-0, four-hitter against the New York Yankees for the World Series title in eight games. The Giants scored their run in the first inning on an error by shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh.1960 — Bill Mazeroski opened the bottom of the ninth with a home run off Ralph Terry of the New York Yankees to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 10-9 victory and the World Series in seven games.1971 — The first World Series night game was played in Pittsburgh with the Pirates beating Baltimore 4-3. Roberto Clemente had three hits for Pittsburgh.1978 — New York third baseman Graig Nettles put on a fielding clinic and prevented seven runs as the Yankees beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 in Game 3 of the World Series.... [More]

Oct. 71904 — Jack Chesbro got his 41st victory of the season as New York defeated the Boston Red Sox 3-2.1933 — Mel Ott's home run in the 10th inning to give the New York Giants for a 4-3 victory and the World Championship in five games over the Washington Senators.1935 — Detroit's Goose Goslin drove in Mickey Cochrane with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Tigers a 4-3 win and the World Championship in six games over the Chicago Cubs.1950 — Rookie pitcher Whitey Ford, with ninth-inning help from Allie Reynolds, beat Philadelphia 5-2 to give the Yankees a World Series sweep of the "Whiz Kids."1952 — Billy Martin's running catch on a high infield pop with the bases loaded in the seventh inning snuffed a Dodgers rally and the New York Yankees went on to win Game 7 of the World Series 4-2. It was the fourth consecutive world championship for the Yankees.1969 — The St. Louis Cardinals traded outfielder Curt Flood to the Philadelphia Phillies in a blockbuster deal involving... [More]

Oct. 61915 _ Philadelphia rookie Elmer Myers made a spectacular debut by striking out 12 Washington batters while allowing just two hits. Myers walked 5 in the 4-0 win his only game this year.1926 _ Babe Ruth hit three homers to lead the Yankees to a 10-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in the fourth game of the World Series.1948 _ In the opening game of the World Series, the Boston Braves beat Bob Feller and the Cleveland Indians 1-0 with two hits and the benefit of a disputed call on a pickoff attempt in the eighth by Feller.1963 _ Frank Howard led Los Angeles to a 2-1 win over the New York Yankees with a home run and a single, giving the Dodgers a four-game sweep in the World Series.1966 _ Jim Palmer, 20, became the youngest player to pitch a World Series shutout as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-0. Sandy Koufax was the loser, his last appearance in the major leagues. Dodger outfielder Willie Davis committed three errors on successive plays in the fifth inning.1978... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Getting under baseball's luxury tax threshold next year "is a goal, but not a hard-and-fast mandate," Boston Red Sox team president Sam Kennedy said Monday, a day after the defending World Series champions finished the season out of the playoffs for the first time since 2015.Three days after owner John Henry said "we need to be under" the competitive balance tax, Kennedy said that is merely a "guidepost for our budgeting" as the team tries to hold onto Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez while cutting salary below the $208 million CBT threshold.Oh, and still improving the team enough to return to the postseason in 2020."We will continue to demonstrate a willingness to go over the CBT," Kennedy said. "It is going to be a challenging offseason, but we are going to attack it."The Red Sox followed their record-setting 108 wins and fourth World Series title since 2004 with an 84-78 season in which they were never really in contention. Erstwhile aces Chris Sale and David Price were shut... [More]

Orioles third. Stevie Wilkerson walks. Austin Wynns flies out to right center field to Jackie Bradley Jr.. Richie Martin singles to shallow infield. Stevie Wilkerson to second. Hanser Alberto singles to center field. Richie Martin to second. Stevie Wilkerson scores. Austin Hays doubles to deep left field. Hanser Alberto to third. Richie Martin scores. Trey Mancini reaches on a fielder's choice to shortstop. Austin Hays out at third. Hanser Alberto scores. Renato Nunez grounds out to first base to Mitch Moreland.3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Orioles 3, Red sox 0.Red sox third. Brock Holt strikes out swinging. Gorkys Hernandez triples to deep right field. Jackie Bradley Jr. hit by pitch. Mookie Betts singles to deep left field. Jackie Bradley Jr. to second. Gorkys Hernandez scores. Rafael Devers singles to right field. Mookie Betts to third. Jackie Bradley Jr. scores. Throwing error by Stevie Wilkerson. Xander Bogaerts reaches on a fielder's choice to shortstop. Rafael Devers to third.... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox owners John Henry and Tom Werner intend to slash payroll to get under the luxury tax threshold next season, saying they fired Dave Dombrowski because of differing opinions on how to build for the future.The pair made their first public comments Friday since parting with Dombrowski, the president of baseball operations, on Sept. 8. They said no matter who replaces Dombrowski, Alex Cora will return for a third season as manager.Boston has had baseball's highest payroll for two straight seasons and is on track to pay a $13 million luxury tax this year on a payroll of $243 million for purposes of the competitive balance tax, as it is formally known. That is $37 million over the tax threshold.Next year's threshold goes up to $208 million, and the Red Sox will be helped by the departure from the payroll of $56.82 million invested in five players: Rick Porcello ($20,625,000), Pablo Sandoval ($18,445,000), Mitch Moreland ($6.5 million), Steve Pearce ($6,250,000) and Eduardo... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox owners John Henry and Tom Werner intend to slash payroll to get under the luxury tax threshold next season, saying they fired Dave Dombrowski because of differing opinions on how to build for the future.The pair made their first public comments Friday since parting with Dombrowski, the president of baseball operations, on Sept. 8. They said no matter who replaces Dombrowski, Alex Cora will return for a third season as manager.Boston has had baseball's highest payroll for two straight seasons and is on track to pay a $13 million luxury tax this year on a payroll of $243 million for purposes of the competitive balance tax, as it is formally known. That is $37 million over the tax threshold.Next year's threshold goes up to $208 million, and the Red Sox will be helped by the departure from the payroll of $56.82 million invested in five players: Rick Porcello ($20,625,000), Pablo Sandoval ($18,445,000), Mitch Moreland ($6.5 million), Steve Pearce ($6,250,000) and Eduardo... [More]

Red sox first. Mookie Betts grounds out to shortstop, Elvis Andrus to Danny Santana. Rafael Devers singles to shallow left field. Xander Bogaerts singles to second base. Rafael Devers scores. J.D. Martinez singles to second base. Xander Bogaerts scores. Mitch Moreland grounds out to shallow right field, Rougned Odor to Edinson Volquez. J.D. Martinez to second. Andrew Benintendi singles to shallow center field. J.D. Martinez to third. Christian Vazquez walks. Andrew Benintendi to second. Jackie Bradley Jr. doubles to deep right center field. Christian Vazquez to third. Andrew Benintendi scores. J.D. Martinez scores. Marco Hernandez flies out to deep right field to Scott Heineman.4 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Red sox 4, Rangers 0.Rangers first. Delino DeShields strikes out swinging. Elvis Andrus doubles to deep left center field. Willie Calhoun singles to shallow infield. Elvis Andrus to third. Nick Solak strikes out swinging. Danny Santana walks. Willie Calhoun to second. Rougned... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts has exited Boston's series opener at Texas because of left foot pain.Betts appeared to get hurt when he went into a wall trying to field a leadoff triple by Delino DeShields in the bottom of the second inning Tuesday night. While Betts finished that inning in the field, Gorkys Hernández took over in right in the third.Betts had been scheduled to have a night off, but last year's AL MVP wanted to play with right-hander Eduardo Rodríguez for his 19th victory.After both teams scored four runs in the first inning, Betts led off the second with his 29th homer.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports