HOUSTON (AP) — Kent Emanuel worked 8 2/3 innings in relief in his major league debut, saving Houston’s bullpen after Jake Odorizzi left early with an injury, and the Astros pounded the Los Angeles Angels 16-2 on Saturday. Emanuel (1-0) allowed five hits and two runs. The 28-year-old became the fourth pitcher in the modern era to have a relief outing of 8 2/3 innings or more in his debut. Alex Bregman hit a three-run homer, Yordan Alvarez had a season-high four RBIs and Carlos Correa had three hits including a homer for Houston. The Astros had season highs in runs and hits (18) to win their third straight following a three-game skid. Odorizzi exited with tightness in his right forearm after retiring leadoff batter David Fletcher on five pitches. The Angels got solo homers from Albert Pujols in the second and Shohei Ohtani in the third. Bregman padded the lead when he sent a slider from Griffin Canning (1-2) to make it 6-2 in the third. YANKEES 2, INDIANS 1 CLEVELAND (AP) — Gerrit Cole was... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Kent Emanuel worked 8 2/3 innings in relief in his major league debut, saving Houston’s bullpen after Jake Odorizzi left early with an injury, and the Astros pounded the Los Angeles Angels 16-2 on Saturday. Emanuel (1-0) allowed five hits and two runs. The 28-year-old became the fourth pitcher in the modern era to have a relief outing of 8 2/3 innings or more in his debut. Alex Bregman hit a three-run homer, Yordan Alvarez had a season-high four RBIs and Carlos Correa had three hits including a homer for Houston. The Astros had season highs in runs and hits (18) to win their third straight following a three-game skid. Odorizzi exited with tightness in his right forearm after retiring leadoff batter David Fletcher on five pitches. The Angels got solo homers from Albert Pujols in the second and Shohei Ohtani in the third. Bregman padded the lead when he sent a slider from Griffin Canning (1-2) to make it 6-2 in the third. YANKEES 2, INDIANS 1 CLEVELAND (AP) — Gerrit Cole was... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Kent Emanuel worked 8 2/3 innings in relief in his major league debut, saving Houston’s bullpen after Jake Odorizzi left early with an injury, and the Astros pounded the Los Angeles Angels 16-2 on Saturday. Emanuel (1-0) allowed five hits and two runs. The 28-year-old became the fourth pitcher in the modern era to have a relief outing of 8 2/3 innings or more in his debut. Alex Bregman hit a three-run homer, Yordan Alvarez had a season-high four RBIs and Carlos Correa had three hits including a homer for Houston. The Astros had season highs in runs and hits (18) to win their third straight following a three-game skid. Odorizzi exited with tightness in his right forearm after retiring leadoff batter David Fletcher on five pitches. The Angels got solo homers from Albert Pujols in the second and Shohei Ohtani in the third. Bregman padded the lead when he sent a slider from Griffin Canning (1-2) to make it 6-2 in the third. YANKEES 2, INDIANS 1 CLEVELAND (AP) — Gerrit Cole was... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Oakland Athletics won their 12th consecutive game — their longest winning streak in almost two decades — with a 3-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night. Oakland’s string is its longest since it won a franchise-record 20 in a row in 2002. It is the Athletics’ third-longest winning streak since moving to Oakland in 1968, and is the longest in the majors since Houston’s 12-game run from June 6-18, 2018. Ramón Laureano homered and Cole Irvin won consecutive starts for the first time in nearly two years as the A’s improved to 13-1 since dropping their first six games. Baltimore has lost seven of its eight home games. Irvin (2-2) had won back-to-back starts just once before, his first two career starts for Philadelphia in May 2019. Coming off six shutout innings against Detroit on Saturday, he stymied the Orioles for five innings. But Baltimore stitched together four singles in the sixth, capped by Pedro Severino’s RBI single, to end Irvin’s night. Jake Diekman... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Oakland Athletics won their 12th consecutive game — their longest winning streak in almost two decades — with a 3-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night. Oakland’s string is its longest since it won a franchise-record 20 in a row in 2002. It is the Athletics’ third-longest winning streak since moving to Oakland in 1968, and is the longest in the majors since Houston’s 12-game run from June 6-18, 2018. Ramón Laureano homered and Cole Irvin won consecutive starts for the first time in nearly two years as the A’s improved to 13-1 since dropping their first six games. Baltimore has lost seven of its eight home games. Irvin (2-2) had won back-to-back starts just once before, his first two career starts for Philadelphia in May 2019. Coming off six shutout innings against Detroit on Saturday, he stymied the Orioles for five innings. But Baltimore stitched together four singles in the sixth, capped by Pedro Severino’s RBI single, to end Irvin’s night. Jake Diekman... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Texas Rangers right-hander Jonathan Hernandez had ligament reconstruction surgery on his right elbow Monday, just less than two weeks after fellow reliever José Leclerc had the same procedure, and their bullpen will also be without hard-throwing Matt Bush until at least July. Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels said the Tommy John surgery on Hernandez was performed by team physician Dr. Keith Meister and went as expected. Both Hernandez and Leclerc will be sidelined until at least early in the 2022 season. Meister did Leclerc's surgery on March 31. Bush has a flexor strain in his right arm and will get an injection Tuesday, then wait six weeks before a follow-up MRI to determine if the right-hander is ready to start throwing again. Daniels said Bush would then need about six weeks — or about the same length of time he is unable to throw — before being able to pitch again in a game. After missing 2 1/2 seasons because of a pair of elbow operations,... [More]

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Texas Rangers designated hitter Khris Davis strained his left quadriceps running out a bunt single in a Cactus League game Tuesday and could start the season on the injured list. Davis pulled up before reaching first base and left the game against the Los Angeles Angels. Texas won 6-4. Manager Chris Woodward said after the game the extent of the injury wasn't known, but the IL was a possibility. The injury to Davis means the two leading candidates at DH for the Rangers could begin the season on the injured list. Willie Calhoun is dealing with a hamstring injury. Texas opens the season April 1 at Kansas City. The Rangers acquired Davis from Oakland this offseason in a trade that sent longtime shortstop Elvis Andrus to the Athletics. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — The Texas Rangers have another potential long-term elbow issue with a late-inning reliever they hoped to count on in a rebuilding season. One-time closer José Leclerc has returned to Texas because of right elbow soreness, a setback that comes about two weeks after fellow right-handerc was diagnosed with a sprained elbow ligament. The Rangers have already indicated they plan to start the season with Hernandez on the 60-day injured list. General manager Chris Young said Monday the club won't know how long Leclerc will be out until after he is examined by team physician Dr. Keith Meister. The 22-year-old reported the soreness after a recent spring training outing. “Certainly not good news this morning,” Young said. Leclerc began the 2019 season as the Texas closer before he was demoted after a rough opening month. The Rangers didn't even get to find out if he was ready to resume the role last year because he made just two appearances before getting sidelined for the... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Texas Rangers outfielder Willie Calhoun likely will start the regular season on the injured list because of a lingering groin injury. General manager Chris Young said Calhoun, who hasn't played in a spring training game since March 8, has a low-grade groin strain. “We anticipate at this point that we're going to need a couple of weeks to really let that calm down,” Young said Tuesday. “We've anticipated having Willie ready. But at this point given the soreness that still exists, I think we're better off getting him right before sending him into competition.” Rangers manager Chris Woodward later announced right-hander Kyle Gibson will be the starting pitcher in the season opener April 1 at Kansas City. It will be the first opening day start for Gibson. Calhoun was limited to 29 games during the shortened 2020 regular season because of a hamstring injury. That was after he had recovered from a broken jaw sustained when he was hit in the face by a fastball during a... [More]

The Texas Rangers will be without one of their top relievers to start the season after hard-throwing Jonathan Hernandez was shut down from pitching for at least four weeks because of a ligament sprain in his right elbow. Rangers general manager Chris Young said Tuesday that an MRI revealed a low-grade ulnar collateral ligament sprain after the right-hander felt something when throwing his last batting practice session. Hernandez had a breakout season last year, when he was 5-1 with a 2.90 ERA in 27 appearances in the pandemic-shortened 60-game season. He had 31 strikeouts and eight walks in 31 innings, relying heavily on a sinker that averaged nearly 98 mph. “The good news on him is that this (injury) is one that normally recovers and responds well with some rest,” Young said from the team's spring training camp in Surprise, Arizona. Young also said outfielder/designated hitter Willie Calhoun is dealing with some mild groin tightness after playing Monday. The team planned to be cautious... [More]

The Texas Rangers will be without one of their top relievers to start the season after hard-throwing Jonathan Hernandez was shut down from pitching for at least four weeks because of a ligament sprain in his right elbow. Rangers general manager Chris Young said Tuesday that an MRI revealed a low-grade ulnar collateral ligament sprain after the right-hander felt something when throwing his last batting practice session. Hernandez had a breakout season last year, when he was 5-1 with a 2.90 ERA in 27 appearances in the pandemic-shortened 60-game season. He had 31 strikeouts and eight walks in 31 innings, relying heavily on a sinker that averaged nearly 98 mph. “The good news on him is that this (injury) is one that normally recovers and responds well with some rest,” Young said from the team's spring training camp in Surprise, Arizona. Young also said that outfielder/designated hitter Willie Calhoun is dealing with some mild groin tightness after playing Monday. The team planned to be cautious... [More]

Willie Calhoun knew he was comfortable facing left-handed pitchers again after fouling off a curveball in the spring training opener. The Texas Rangers outfielder didn't flinch or bail out of the batter's box. There were no flashbacks to last March, when he remembers waking up in the hospital, but not the exact moment during a spring training game when a fastball hit the left-handed hitter in the face and broke his jaw. “I was like, OK, I actually feel good now,” Calhoun said Thursday. “I think that curveball kind of got me back in there because it looked like it was going to hit me, but I was able to stay through it. ... I hit it on the barrel, it was just foul." After drawing a walk in the first inning Thursday against San Diego's MacKenzie Gore, Calhoun has faced left-handers in all three of his games this spring. He has a single and two walks in four such plate appearances. It was a year ago next Monday that Dodgers left-hander Julio Urías, his former minor league teammate, threw the... [More]

Rangers ninth. Leody Taveras singles to shallow right field. Willie Calhoun strikes out swinging. Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounds out to shallow infield to Yuli Gurriel. Leody Taveras to second. Joey Gallo doubles. Leody Taveras scores. Nick Solak walks. Rougned Odor called out on strikes.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Rangers 1, Astros 0.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Texas Rangers have placed shortstop Elvis Andrus and left fielder Willie Calhoun on the 10-day injured list.Calhoun suffered a left hamstring strain when running out an RBI infield single in the 10th inning of the Rangers' loss at San Diego on Wednesday night. An MRI on Thursday revealed a low-grade strain for Calhoun, who will be sidelined at least three weeks.Andrus appeared as a pinch-runner in that game, but that was also the third straight day he didn't start because of a lower back strain. Before that, the shortstop was the only Rangers player to start each of their first 20 games.Texas recalled right-hander Kyle Cody and infielder Yadiel Rivera from its alternate training site before the series finale against the Padres.Andrus, the longest-tenured Rangers player in his 12th season and a week shy of his 32nd birthday, is hitting .184 with no homers and three RBIs this season.“He was fine last night. He woke up pretty stiff this morning though," manager Chris Woodward... [More]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Manny Machado hit a grand slam with one out in the 10th inning and the San Diego Padres beat the Texas Rangers for the third straight game, 6-3 Wednesday night.Machado’s 11th career grand slam and sixth walkoff homer came off Rafael Montero (0-1), whose only out in the 10th came on pinch-hitter Greg Garcia’s sacrifice.Fernando Tatis Jr., who hit his MLB-leading 12th homer earlier, drew a walk off Montero to load the bases ahead of Machado, who hit his sixth homer of the season.The Padres have hit grand slams in three straight games for the first time in club history.Texas had gone ahead 3-2 in the top of the inning when Willie Calhoun’s dribbler in front of the plate off Tim Hill (1-0) scored Nick Solak with two outs.Joey Gallo had tied the game at 2 with a homer off Matt Strahm leading off the ninth, his seventh. The Padres beat the Rangers in Arlington on Monday and Tuesday.Roughned Odor homered off Chris Paddack with one out in the second, his third.INDIANS 6, PIRATES... [More]

Rangers second. Todd Frazier strikes out swinging. Rougned Odor homers to right field. Nick Solak grounds out to third base, Manny Machado to Eric Hosmer. Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounds out to shallow infield, Fernando Tatis Jr. to Eric Hosmer.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Rangers 1, Padres 0.Padres third. Jurickson Profar homers to center field. Austin Hedges strikes out swinging. Trent Grisham grounds out to shortstop, Isiah Kiner-Falefa to Danny Santana. Fernando Tatis Jr. homers to center field. Manny Machado doubles to deep left field. Eric Hosmer grounds out to shallow right field, Rougned Odor to Danny Santana.2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Padres 2, Rangers 1.Rangers ninth. Joey Gallo homers to center field. Todd Frazier hit by pitch. Rougned Odor grounds out to second base. Elvis Andrus out at second. Nick Solak lines out to shallow center field to Jake Cronenworth.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Rangers 2, Padres 2.Rangers tenth. Derek Dietrich pinch-hitting for Isiah... [More]

Rangers second. Joey Gallo strikes out swinging. Todd Frazier doubles to deep center field. Rougned Odor homers. Todd Frazier scores. Derek Dietrich lines out to left center field to Raimel Tapia. Elvis Andrus lines out to deep center field to Garrett Hampson.2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on. Rangers 2, Rockies 0.Rockies second. Nolan Arenado singles to left field. Daniel Murphy pops out to shallow left field to Todd Frazier. Matt Kemp reaches on a fielder's choice to third base. Nolan Arenado out at second. Raimel Tapia singles to left center field. Matt Kemp to second. Ryan McMahon homers to center field. Raimel Tapia scores. Matt Kemp scores. Drew Butera walks. Garrett Hampson singles to deep center field. Drew Butera to third. Trevor Story singles to second base. Garrett Hampson to third. Drew Butera scores. Charlie Blackmon singles to second base, tagged out at second, Rougned Odor to Todd Frazier to Elvis Andrus. Garrett Hampson scores.5 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Rockies... [More]

Rockies second. Daniel Murphy grounds out to second base, Elvis Andrus to Derek Dietrich. Matt Kemp walks. Raimel Tapia lines out to deep center field to Nick Solak. Ryan McMahon singles to right field. Matt Kemp to second. Tony Wolters doubles. Ryan McMahon scores. Matt Kemp scores. Garrett Hampson grounds out to shallow infield, Elvis Andrus to Derek Dietrich.2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Rockies 2, Rangers 0.Rangers third. Elvis Andrus grounds out to shallow infield, Trevor Story to Daniel Murphy. Jose Trevino doubles. Shin-Soo Choo singles to deep right field. Jose Trevino scores. Isiah Kiner-Falefa singles to right field. Shin-Soo Choo to second. Willie Calhoun reaches on a fielder's choice to shallow infield, tagged out at second, Nolan Arenado to Ryan McMahon. Isiah Kiner-Falefa to third. Shin-Soo Choo out at home.1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Rockies 2, Rangers 1.Rangers fifth. Elvis Andrus singles to first base. Jose Trevino singles to right field. Elvis Andrus to... [More]

Rockies first. Garrett Hampson singles to shallow infield. Trevor Story singles to deep left center field. Garrett Hampson to second. Charlie Blackmon grounds out to first base, Todd Frazier to Lance Lynn. Trevor Story to second. Garrett Hampson to third. Nolan Arenado grounds out to shortstop, Elvis Andrus to Todd Frazier. Garrett Hampson scores. Daniel Murphy pops out to shortstop to Isiah Kiner-Falefa.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Rockies 1, Rangers 0.Rangers fifth. Nick Solak homers to right field. Rougned Odor grounds out to shallow right field, Ryan McMahon to Daniel Murphy. Elvis Andrus lines out to right field to Charlie Blackmon. Jeff Mathis walks. Shin-Soo Choo reaches on a fielder's choice to shallow infield. Jeff Mathis out at second.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 left on. Rangers 1, Rockies 1.Rockies sixth. Tony Wolters reaches on error to shallow infield, advances to 2nd. Throwing error by Jeff Mathis. Garrett Hampson out on a sacrifice bunt to shallow infield, Jeff Mathis... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Kyle Hendricks pitched six strong innings in his first appearance against Cleveland since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series and Anthony Rizzo homered, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 7-2 win over the Indians on Wednesday night to match their best start in 50 years.Hendricks (3-1) didn’t have much trouble with the slumping Indians. He allowed one run and seven hits and handled everyone in Cleveland’s lineup but Franmil Reyes, who got three hits.The Cubs are 12-3 in their first season under manager David Ross, matching the club’s start after 15 games in 1970. Rizzo homered in the third off Carlos Carrasco (2-2), David Bote drove in two runs and Kris Bryant connected for a 430-foot shot as the Cubs swept the two-game interleague set.Hendricks hadn’t faced the Indians since Nov. 2, 2016, when he started the dramatic finale as the Cubs beat the Indians in extra innings to clinch their first Series title since 1908. ATHLETICS 8, ANGELS 4ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Stephen Piscotty, Matt... [More]