A look at what's happening around the majors on Tuesday: MARQUEE MATCHUP Shane Bieber dominated this year for Cleveland, leading the American League in wins (8), ERA (1.63) and strikeouts (122). He didn’t allow a run in six of his 12 starts. Gerrit Cole delivered for the Yankees in his first season since signing a $324 million, nine-year contract, going 7-3 with a 2.84 ERA. Now they meet in the playoff opener at Progressive Field, a classic pitching duel in the making on the first day of the postseason. “We’re fired up,” Bieber said. “We think this is a good matchup.” For all Bieber and Cole have accomplished in the shortened regular season, it will mean little if they don’t perform well to start the best-of-three series. WE’RE PLAYING WHO? In a year where so much about baseball has looked different, this 16-team postseason has at least one throwback element. “It’s like the old days, man, when you played a team you’ve never played before. It’s exactly what it is,” said Sandy Alomar Jr.,... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Mookie Betts, meet Devin Williams and his devastating changeup. Aaron Judge, take a closer look at a much improved Shane Bieber. Fernando Tatis Jr., say hello to Jack Flaherty. Welcome to the first round of the 2020 playoffs, a class with an unusual amount of homework — and precious little room for error. After the pandemic-shortened regular season was limited to regional play, seven of the eight wild-card series involve teams that haven't played any meaningful games against each other since last year. The one exception is Blake Snell and Tampa Bay taking on Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Toronto in an all-AL East matchup. “It’s like the old days, man, when you played a team you’ve never played before. It’s exactly what it is,” said Sandy Alomar Jr., the acting manager for the Indians. “It’s very strange." That means a lot of video and scouting work before the AL playoffs begin Tuesday and the NL postseason starts Wednesday. And the advance reports might be a tick or two off after... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Slumping slugger Gary Sánchez will be benched in favor of Kyle Higashioka in the New York Yankees lineup for their wild-card opener Tuesday night. Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed Monday that Higashioka would catch ace Gerrit Cole to start the best-of-three series against the Cleveland Indians. With Giancarlo Stanton set to start at designated hitter, Sánchez — a two-time All-Star — won't crack the starting lineup and will instead be available to pinch-hit when the Yankees face Cleveland ace Shane Bieber. “He was fine,” Boone said about Sánchez's reaction. “He knows to be ready at any point, early in the game.” Sánchez batted .147 this season, which would have been lowest in the majors by far if he had enough at-bats to qualify. The 27-year-old hit 10 home runs, third among catchers, but looked lost at the plate for long stretches. Behind the plate, Sánchez has been plagued by passed balls throughout his career. Higashioka has played only in 72 major league games,... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today: HOW DOES IT FEEL? American League playoff teams get only one day off to assess injuries and make roster decisions before the first round begins Tuesday. Minnesota has a couple of ailing hitters in third baseman Josh Donaldson (right calf) and center fielder Byron Buxton (mild concussion symptoms). Both have missed two straight games. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Buxton is improving and the team hopes he’ll be ready for the postseason opener. White Sox outfielder Eloy Jiménez sprained his right foot on a slide Thursday but was “improving exponentially,” manager Rick Renteria said Sunday. Jiménez sat out the weekend series against the Cubs. Tampa Bay left-hander José Alvarado (left shoulder inflammation), first baseman Ji-Man Choi (left hamstring strain) and infielder Yandy Díaz (right hamstring strain) are set to participate in a simulated game. Brett Phillips exited Sunday’s game with right hamstring tightness, and fellow outfielder... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Monday: HOW DOES IT FEEL? American League playoff teams get only one day off to assess injuries and make roster decisions before the first round begins Tuesday. Minnesota has a couple of ailing hitters in third baseman Josh Donaldson (right calf) and center fielder Byron Buxton (mild concussion symptoms). Both have missed two straight games. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Buxton is improving and the team hopes he’ll be ready for the postseason opener. White Sox outfielder Eloy Jiménez sprained his right foot on a slide Thursday but was “improving exponentially,” manager Rick Renteria said Sunday. Jiménez sat out the weekend series against the Cubs. Tampa Bay left-hander José Alvarado (left shoulder inflammation), first baseman Ji-Man Choi (left hamstring strain) and infielder Yandy Díaz (right hamstring strain) are set to participate in a simulated game. Brett Phillips exited Sunday’s game with right hamstring tightness, and fellow outfielder... [More]

Christian Yelich and the Milwaukee Brewers got off to a ragged start this year. They never got above .500. And they dropped their last game to finish with a losing record. Guess what? They’re going to the playoffs. “Weird. I guess that’s the only way to describe it. It’s fitting for 2020,” Yelich said Sunday. A pandemic-altered, 60-game regular season that many believed would never get completed and saw games postponed because of virus outbreaks, racial injustice protests and a hurricane went into the final day without a single playoff matchup set. Then, in a flurry and fury, the entire, expanded 16-team postseason field was full. Not a bad way to start, either: Gerrit Cole vs. Shane Bieber in a mega-watt duel as the New York Yankees face the Cleveland Indians in the best-of-three wild-card round Tuesday. On Wednesday, the NL gets going. That’s when the Brewers, at 29-31, open their series against Los Angeles ace Walker Buehler at Dodger Stadium. In a win-and-you’re-in game, St. Louis clinched... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Randy Arozarena homered twice and the Tampa Bay Rays clinched their first AL East title in 10 years Wednesday night with an 8-5 victory over the New York Mets. Joey Wendle and Brandon Lowe also went deep to help Tyler Glasnow (5-1) win his fifth straight decision. Tampa Bay will be home at quirky Tropicana Field for a best-of-three first-round playoff series beginning next Tuesday. It is the third division crown for the thrifty Rays, who also won the AL East in 2008 and 2010. Their inaugural season was 1998. After missing a chance to clinch Tuesday, the Rays went into Wednesday again needing just a win or a New York Yankees loss against Toronto to lock up the division championship. The Rays (37-20) broke a 2-all tie in the sixth on Arozarena’s two-run homer off Michael Wacha (1-4) and pulled away. As has become customary during this pandemic-shortened season, the celebration was muted. After Nick Anderson fanned Andres Gimenez for the final out, the closer exchanged a hug... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Thursday: PADRES PREDICAMENT Fresh off clinching their first playoff berth in 14 seasons, San Diego is hoping for good news concerning Mike Clevinger. Clevinger was suddenly pulled after only one inning of his start Wednesday and sent for an MRI on his right biceps. The Padres got him a big trade with Cleveland on Aug. 31 and he had been the presumed Game 1 starter in the wild-card round next Wednesday. If Clevinger can’t go, that role could go to Dinelson Lamet. Clevinger’s start had been pushed back from Saturday night because of tightness in his right biceps. He had thrown a bullpen session this week and seemed fine to go, but his biceps tightened up after he threw a curveball to the second batter of the game against the Angels. “We’re comfortable with our options, yeah, but like I said, we’re not going to flip out and freak out,” manager Jayce Tingler said. A NEW ERA No Brewers pitcher has won an ERA title -- Corbin Burnes could become... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Wednesday: RAYS THE BANNER Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow (4-1, 4.21 ERA) gets his final tuneup for the postseason when he faces Robinson Canó and the New York Mets at Citi Field. Glasnow and the playoff-bound Rays hope to make it a special night -- they can clinch their first AL East title with a win, or a loss by the Yankees to Toronto. “I go into it with maybe a little bit more confidence than I did last year,” Glasnow said. “Just an exciting time.” Glasnow is pegged to start the second game of Tampa Bay’s best-of-three, first-round playoff series next week, manager Kevin Cash said. Blake Snell is lined up for the opener, and Charlie Morton would pitch a potential Game 3. All three would have two extra days of rest. “I feel good,” Glasnow said. “It definitely is starting to feel more like, in a rhythm.” Glasnow is 4-0 in his last five starts. TUNEUP TIME Cleveland ace Shane Bieber (8-1, 1.74 ERA) had his start pushed back a day, lining... [More]

A look at what’s happening around the majors Tuesday: HEADED TO AWARDS Cleveland’s Shane Bieber (8-1, 1.74 ERA) likely will make his final regular-season start when he faces the Chicago White Sox and Reynaldo López (1-2, 5.40 ERA). Bieber narrowly leads Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes (1.77) for the major league ERA title. LAST LUNEUP Gerrit Cole (6-3, 3.00 ERA) makes his final regular-season start in his first season for the New York Yankees, taking the mound against Toronto’s Tanner Roark (2-2, 6.41 ERA) in Buffalo, New York. BEATING UP ON CHAMPS Aaron Nola (5-3, 2.92 ERA) starts for Philadelphia in a doubleheader opener against Washington, which goes with Austin Voth (0-5, 7.17 ERA). Nola is 2-0 with a 1.20 ERA against the World Series champions this season. Voth has not won since last Sept. 27 against Cleveland. QUINTANA GETS A START José Quintana is back in time to help the Chicago Cubs’ playoff push, scheduled to start against Pittsburgh in his first big league start since last Sept. 26. Quintana has been limited to a pair of relief appearances due to issues with his left thumb and a lat problem. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

All the Cincinnati Reds needed was one extended winning streak to turn a disappointing season into a possible playoff berth. Cincinnati had high hopes after spending big in the offseason, but the Reds showed little sign of improvement until they ran off six straight victories recently. Now they're at .500 and in a three-way tie with Milwaukee and San Francisco for the final postseason spot in the National League. Cincinnati hosts a three-game series with the Brewers starting Monday night. It's the pitching staff that has led this resurgence for the Reds. They held Pittsburgh to six runs in a four-game sweep, and then they took two of three from the powerful Chicago White Sox. Trevor Bauer (4-4, 1.80 ERA) and Luis Castillo (3-5, 3.03) give Cincinnati a formidable starting pitching tandem, and Nick Castellanos, Eugenio Suarez, Jesse Winker and Joey Votto all have reached double-digit home runs. Elsewhere in the NL Central, Milwaukee and St. Louis are closing strong as well. Those two teams... [More]

The Chicago White Sox clinched their first postseason berth since 2008, beating the Minnesota Twins 4-3 Thursday as Eloy Jim�nez hit a tiebreaking double that capped a two-run, seventh-inning rally. Chicago (33-17) opened a three-game lead over the second-place Twins (31-21) in the AL Central. The White Sox assured themselves of no worse than a wild-card berth. Jos� Abreu homered and drove in two runs and Edwin Encarnaci�n also homered for Chicago, which won three of four in the series. Chicago trailed 3-2 in the seventh when Abreu beat out an infield hit on a slow grounder that drove in Jarrod Dyson from third base. Jim�nez followed with a go-ahead double. Codi Heuer (3-0) pitched a scoreless 1 2/3 innings, and Alex Colom� got four outs for his 12th save in 13 chances. Tyler Clippard (1-1) gave up two runs in two-thirds of an inning. Byron Buxton homered twice, giving him seven in his last nine games and 12 this season. Josh Donaldson also went deep for Minnesota and was ejected for kicking... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Thursday: NOW AND LATER Cleveland ace Shane Bieber (7-1, 1.53 ERA) tries to get the Indians headed in the right direction when they open a series at Detroit. Bieber, a top contender for the AL Cy Young Award and perhaps the best pitcher in baseball this season, was beaten 3-1 in Minnesota last week for his first loss of the year. Still, he became the fastest starting pitcher since 1900 to reach 100 strikeouts in a season, hitting the milestone in 62 1/3 innings. Bieber will face Casey Mize (0-1, 5.85 ERA), the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 amateur draft. Mize makes his sixth big league start and is looking for his first career win. JUST IN TIME? Astros ace Justin Verlander threw to hitters on Wednesday for the first time since he was injured in the team’s opener on July 24. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, who was out with a strained right forearm, threw 50 pitches in the bullpen before throwing about 25 pitches to hitters in two simulated... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today: NOW AND LATER Shane Bieber (7-1, 1.53 ERA) tries to get the Indians headed in the right direction when they open a series at Detroit. Cleveland has dropped eight straight, its longest slide since June 2013. Bieber, a top contender for the AL Cy Young Award and perhaps the best pitcher in baseball this season, was beaten 3-1 in Minnesota last week for his first loss of the year. Still, he became the fastest starting pitcher since 1900 to reach 100 strikeouts in a season, hitting the milestone in 62 1/3 innings. Bieber will face Casey Mize (0-1, 5.85 ERA), the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 amateur draft. Mize makes his sixth big league start and is looking for his first career win. JUST IN TIME? Astros ace Justin Verlander threw to hitters on Wednesday for the first time since he was injured in the team’s opener on July 24. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, who was out with a strained right forearm, threw 50 pitches in the bullpen... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:NOW AND LATERShane Bieber (7-1, 1.53 ERA) tries to get the Indians headed in the right direction when they open a series at Detroit. Cleveland has dropped eight straight, its longest slide since June 2013. Bieber, a top contender for the AL Cy Young Award and perhaps the best pitcher in baseball this season, was beaten 3-1 in Minnesota last week for his first loss of the year. Still, he became the fastest starting pitcher since 1900 to reach 100 strikeouts in a season, hitting the milestone in 62 1/3 innings. Bieber will face Casey Mize (0-1, 5.85 ERA), the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 amateur draft. Mize makes his sixth big league start and is looking for his first career win.JUST IN TIME?Astros ace Justin Verlander threw to hitters on Wednesday for the first time since he was injured in the team’s opener on July 24. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, who was out with a strained right forearm, threw 50 pitches in the bullpen before... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Thursday:NOW AND LATERCleveland ace Shane Bieber (7-1, 1.53 ERA) tries to get the Indians headed in the right direction when they open a series at Detroit. Bieber, a top contender for the AL Cy Young Award and perhaps the best pitcher in baseball this season, was beaten 3-1 in Minnesota last week for his first loss of the year. Still, he became the fastest starting pitcher since 1900 to reach 100 strikeouts in a season, hitting the milestone in 62 1/3 innings. Bieber will face Casey Mize (0-1, 5.85 ERA), the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 amateur draft. Mize makes his sixth big league start and is looking for his first career win.JUST IN TIME?Astros ace Justin Verlander threw to hitters on Wednesday for the first time since he was injured in the team’s opener on July 24. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, who was out with a strained right forearm, threw 50 pitches in the bullpen before throwing about 25 pitches to hitters in two simulated... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Nate Lowe hit two homers and drove in four runs as Tampa Bay fielded a lineup of all lefties, Blake Snell worked 5 1/3 scoreless innings and the AL East-leading Rays routed the cellar-dwelling Boston Red Sox 11-1 on Friday night.Tampa Bay became the first major league team since at least 1900 to use a batting order with only left-handed batters, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.Snell (4-1) gave up five hits and two walks. He struck out five.Yoshi Tsutsugo also homered for the Rays, who stopped a three-game skid. Boston rookie Bobby Dalbec had his five-game home run streak end but had an RBI double in the ninth.Rays manager Kevin Cash stacked his lineup with lefties against right-hander Andrew Triggs, who made his second start with Boston.Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke quickly countered by removing Triggs after he allowed a hit and walk in a scoreless first. However, Tsutsugo started the second with a homer off lefty Matt Hall (0-3).Kevin Kiermaier had an RBI... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Nate Lowe hit two homers and drove in four runs as Tampa Bay fielded a lineup of all lefties, Blake Snell worked 5 1/3 scoreless innings and the AL East-leading Rays routed the cellar-dwelling Boston Red Sox 11-1 on Friday night.Tampa Bay became the first major league team since at least 1900 to use a batting order with only left-handed batters, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.Snell (4-1) gave up five hits and two walks. He struck out five.Yoshi Tsutsugo also homered for the Rays, who stopped a three-game skid. Boston rookie Bobby Dalbec had his five-game home run streak end but had an RBI double in the ninth.Rays manager Kevin Cash stacked his lineup with lefties against right-hander Andrew Triggs, who made his second start with Boston.Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke quickly countered by removing Triggs after he allowed a hit and walk in a scoreless first. However, Tsutsugo started the second with a homer off lefty Matt Hall (0-3).Kevin Kiermaier had an RBI... [More]

A look at what’s happening around the majors today:___NOT JUSTIN, SHANEIt hasn’t taken Shane Bieber long to become Cleveland’s ace — and maybe the best pitcher in baseball this season. The right-hander looks to stay unbeaten as the Indians open a three-game series in Minnesota. Bieber, who is 7-0 with a 1.25 ERA and leads the majors in numerous categories, is already 2-0 against the Twins this year. Bieber began last season as Cleveland’s No. 5 starter, but his ascension and the trades of Trevor Bauer, Corey Kluber and Mike Clevinger have solidified him as the Indians’ No. 1 starter.DODGER (BLACK AND) BLUEA couple of starting pitchers are dinged up for the major league-leading Dodgers. Walker Buehler went on the 10-day injured list Thursday because of a lingering blister on the index finger of his right hand. A little bit later, Dustin May was pulled after just one inning with a bruised left foot after he was hit by a sharp grounder against Arizona. “I think tomorrow when we get back home... [More]

A look at what’s happening around the majors Friday:___NOT JUSTIN, SHANEIt hasn’t taken Shane Bieber long to become Cleveland’s ace — and maybe the best pitcher in baseball this season. The right-hander looks to stay unbeaten as the Indians open a three-game series in Minnesota. Bieber, who is 7-0 with a 1.25 ERA and leads the majors in numerous categories, is already 2-0 against the Twins this year. Bieber began last season as Cleveland’s No. 5 starter, but his ascension and the trades of Trevor Bauer, Corey Kluber and Mike Clevinger have solidified him as the Indians’ No. 1 starter.HELP ON THE WAY?Atlanta's beleaguered rotation took another hit when left-hander Tommy Milone was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday with elbow inflammation. Milone hasn’t been the Band-Aid the Braves hoped they were getting when they acquired him in a trade with Baltimore, pitching to a 14.90 ERA in three starts for Atlanta. The Braves are playing without their entire projected rotation but still lead... [More]