SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Giants right-hander Johnny Cueto has been placed on the 10-day disabled list with a sprained left ankle.The move is retroactive to Saturday, when he injured himself during an indoor workout. With ace lefty Madison Bumgarner sidelined by a broken pinkie finger in his pitching hand, this marks the second straight season the Giants' top two in the rotation are on the DL.Cueto (1-0) had already been pushed back from a scheduled start Tuesday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Andrew Suarez is set to start the series finale Wednesday afternoon. Manager Bruce Bochy said Cueto threw a bullpen Tuesday before going through a series of tests with the training staff before the club decided on the DL.San Francisco recalled lefty Steven Okert from Triple-A Sacramento and he was available.___More AP Baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit his first major league home run in his first Angel Stadium at-bat, helping the Los Angeles Angels beat the Cleveland Indians 13-2 on Tuesday night.Ohtani capped a six-run first inning with a three-run drive to center off Josh Tomlin (0-1). The Japanese two-way player got the silent treatment from teammates when he returned to the dugout, but not from the crowd. After players broke character and jumped around Ohtani to celebrate, Mike Trout pointed to the field and instructed Ohtani to take a curtain call.Trout, Justin Upton, Luis Valbuena and Rene Rivera also homered for the Angels, who broke a 12-game losing streak to the Indians. Garrett Richards (1-0) got the win.Jose Ramirez hit a two-run home run in the first for the Indians.BREWERS 5, CARDINALS 4MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich and Ryan Braun hit consecutive homers off Dominic Leone with two out in the ninth, sending Milwaukee to the win.Leone (0-1) retired the first two batters, but then... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit his first major league home run in his first Angel Stadium at-bat, helping the Los Angeles Angels beat the Cleveland Indians 13-2 on Tuesday night.Ohtani capped a six-run first inning with a three-run drive to center off Josh Tomlin (0-1). The Japanese two-way player got the silent treatment from teammates when he returned to the dugout, but not from the crowd. After players broke character and jumped around Ohtani to celebrate, Mike Trout pointed to the field and instructed Ohtani to take a curtain call.Trout, Justin Upton, Luis Valbuena and Rene Rivera also homered for the Angels, who broke a 12-game losing streak to the Indians. Garrett Richards (1-0) got the win.Jose Ramirez hit a two-run home run in the first for the Indians.YANKEES 11, RAYS 4NEW YORK (AP) — Didi Gregorius hit a pair of three-run homers and drove in a career-high eight RBIs, and the Yankees won Aaron Boone's chilly first home opener as manager.Gregorius had four hits and walked,... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Didi Gregorius hit a pair of three-run homers and drove in a career-high eight RBIs, and the New York Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Rays 11-4 on Tuesday in Aaron Boone's chilly first home opener as manager.Gregorius had four hits and walked, setting a major league record for RBIs by a player in a home opener. He also set a Yankees record for RBIs by a shortstop.He doubled and scored in the second, and his first homer put the Yankees ahead 4-1 in the third against Chris Archer. After New York's bullpen wasted a three-run lead for the second straight game, Gregorius drove an 0-2 pitch from Austin Pruitt (1-1) into the second deck in the seventh. He blooped an opposite-field two-run single to left in the eighth.New York improved to 3-2 under Boone, who took over when Joe Girardi was fired. Tommy Kahnle (1-0) got the win.Tampa Bay has lost four straight since beating Boston in its opener.MARINERS 6, GIANTS 4SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Mitch Haniger hit a two-run single, helping the Mariners... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — San Francisco Giants closer Mark Melancon was put on the 10-day disabled list with a right elbow flexor strain before Thursday's opener, joining starters Madison Bumgarner and starter Jeff Samardzija on the sideline.The move was made retroactive to Monday, and right-hander Reyes Moronta was recalled from Triple-A to fill Melancon's roster spot.Manager Bruce Bochy said Hunter Strickland will serve as the closer until Melancon returns, which Bochy hopes is in a couple of weeks.Melancon had surgery on his forearm in September. The right-hander was 1-2 with 11 saves in 16 chances last year, when he had a 4.50 ERA in 30 innings during his first season with the Giants. He signed a $62 million, four-year deal as a free agent."I was pretty confident that he would be ready when the season started," Bochy said. "He had a little setback through one outing. We don't want to risk putting him out there after not throwing for four or five days. That's why we DL'd him, to make sure he... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — San Francisco Giants closer Mark Melancon was put on the 10-day disabled list with a right elbow flexor strain before Thursday's opener, joining starters Madison Bumgarner and starter Jeff Samardzija on the sidelines.The move was made retroactive to Monday, and right-hander Reyes Moronta was recalled from Triple-A to fill Melancon's roster spot.Melancon had surgery on his forearm last September. The right-hander was 1-2 with 11 saves in 16 chances last year, when he had a 4.50 ERA in 30 innings during his first season with the Giants. He signed a $62 million, four-year deal as a free agent before the injuries.A four-time All-Star, Melancon has 179 saves and a 2.72 ERA in nine major league seasons.___More AP baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

A look at what's happening all around the majors today:___FIRST DEFENSEThe Houston Astros begin the season as reigning World Series champions for the first time following their victory over the Dodgers last fall. AL Championship Series MVP Justin Verlander will make his first opening-day start with Houston after nine with Detroit. Verlander will face Texas ace Cole Hamels, who is making his fourth season-opening start, including his second with the Rangers.NEW FACESGiancarlo Stanton joins Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez in the Yankees' imposing lineup, while J.D. Martinez suits up for Boston and Eric Hosmer for San Diego after signing nine-figure deals in free agency. Five skippers — Washington's Dave Martinez, Boston's Alex Cora, the Yankees' Aaron Boone, the Mets' Mickey Callaway and Philadelphia's Gabe Kapler — will make their managerial debuts, while Detroit's Ron Gardenhire will manage his first opening day since 2014 with Minnesota.ACES UPClayton Kershaw, Corey Kluber, Chris Sale and... [More]

A look at what's happening all around the majors Thursday:___FIRST DEFENSEThe Houston Astros begin the season as reigning World Series champions for the first time following their victory over the Dodgers last fall. AL Championship Series MVP Justin Verlander will make his first opening-day start with Houston after nine with Detroit. Verlander will face Texas ace Cole Hamels, who is making his fourth season-opening start, including his second with the Rangers.NEW FACESGiancarlo Stanton joins Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez in the Yankees' imposing lineup, while J.D. Martinez suits up for Boston and Eric Hosmer for San Diego after signing nine-figure deals in free agency. Five skippers — Washington's Dave Martinez, Boston's Alex Cora, the Yankees' Aaron Boone, the Mets' Mickey Callaway and Philadelphia's Gabe Kapler — will make their managerial debuts, while Detroit's Ron Gardenhire will manage his first opening day since 2014 with Minnesota.ACES UPClayton Kershaw, Corey Kluber, Chris Sale... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Clayton Kershaw will make his franchise-record eighth consecutive opening day start for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are aiming for a second straight World Series appearance with virtually the same roster as last year.Kershaw takes the mound Thursday against the rival San Francisco Giants and Ty Blach, whose only opening day starts have been in the minors. Blach drew the assignment because of injuries to Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija.After falling one win short of their first World Series title since 1988, the Dodgers have shifted their focus from losing to Houston in Game 7 to earning another shot this year."We understand what our goal is," manager Dave Roberts said. "It's to do whatever we can to win the World Series."The Giants are trying to get back in contention in the NL West after finishing last in 2017. They added former All-Stars outfielder Andrew McCutchen and third baseman Evan Longoria in the offseason.The teams are playing on opening day for the first... [More]

Shohei Ohtani has a starting assignment, and the Los Angeles Dodgers have a mess on their hands.With the regular season set to begin Thursday, the Angels scheduled Ohtani to make his major league pitching debut Sunday in their fourth game at Oakland. The two-way sensation from Japan is expected to be Los Angeles' designated hitter in at least one of the first three games, but manager Mike Scioscia said Tuesday night the team hadn't decided on an opening-day lineup yet.The 23-year-old Ohtani, who struggled in spring training, was told after the exhibition finale against the Dodgers that he'll pitch Sunday."He's gotten into the mid-80-pitch range and should be able to get over 90 if he's throwing to his capabilities," Scioscia said. "That's plenty of pitches for him to get deep into the game. We're going to take it one pitch at a time with all of our pitchers."Ohtani was supposed to get an at-bat or two Tuesday night but that didn't happen because the game was called in the bottom of the... [More]

Once again, Greg Bird is hurt as spring training comes to a close.The oft-injured New York Yankees first baseman will need surgery on his ailing right ankle and could be sidelined for two months. The team learned of the setback Monday while in Atlanta for its final exhibition game, three days before the season opener at Toronto."Obviously, we were hoping it was going to be a shorter-term thing," said rookie manager Aaron Boone, who took over a club that reached Game 7 of the AL Championship Series last year. "But we feel like we got some answers. We feel like we know what the surgery's going to accomplish."Bird will have surgery to remove a small broken spur on the outside of his right ankle. Dr. Martin O'Malley is scheduled to operate Tuesday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.The slugger is expected to be out for six to eight weeks."Hopefully this is something he will now put behind him for good," Boone said. "We feel pretty good that the surgery is fairly minor and they're... [More]

Chris Sale and his fellow aces are having all sorts of trouble with these tuneup starts.Sale was knocked off the mound by a line drive Saturday and exited with a bruised left hip. He said the injury wasn't serious and wouldn't jeopardize his opening day start Thursday for the AL East champion Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay."I don't see anything lingering from this," Sale said. "Looked a lot worse than it really is."Sale was hit by a liner off the bat of Houston's J.D. Davis in the first inning. The left-hander crumpled to the ground, then walked off the field under his own power.On Friday, San Francisco ace Madison Bumgarner sustained a broken pinkie on his pitching hand when he was struck by a line drive. He is expected to miss at least two months.The same day, Tampa Bay star Chris Archer — set to pitch against Sale — was hit by a grounder in the forearm of his pitching arm and had to leave a minor league game.Hours after Sale was hurt, Kansas City lefty Danny Duffy exited in the third inning... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Giants ace Madison Bumgarner is expected to miss at least the first two months of the season after undergoing surgery Saturday to have three pins inserted into the broken pinkie on his pitching hand.The 28-year-old lefty was injured Friday when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of Kansas City's Whit Merrifield in a spring training game. The outing was supposed to be the final tuneup for Bumgarner before starting on opening day."We're looking at a couple months, give or take," manager Bruce Bochy said before San Francisco's exhibition game against its Triple-A club in Sacramento. "It's going to take a while. I guess the good news we got this morning is they really felt good about the surgery."Bumgarner will have the pins in his pinkie for a month, according to Bochy. It will take another two weeks after that before the 2014 World Series MVP can resume throwing."We're hoping by early June he'll be pitching for us," Bochy said.Bumgarner had a 3.43 ERA with 30 strikeouts... [More]

Chris Sale and his fellow aces are having all sorts of trouble with these tuneup starts.Sale was knocked off the mound by a line drive Saturday and exited with a bruised left hip. He said the injury wasn't serious and wouldn't jeopardize his opening day start for the AL East champions Thursday at Tampa Bay."I don't see anything lingering from this," Sale said. "Looked a lot worse than it really is."Sale was hit by a liner off the bat of Houston's J.D. Davis in the first inning. He crumpled to the ground, then walked off the field under his own power.On Friday, San Francisco ace Madison Bumgarner sustained a broken finger on his pitching hand when he was struck by a line drive. He will miss at least a month.The same day, Tampa Bay star Chris Archer — set to pitch against Sale — was hit by a grounder in the forearm of his pitching arm and had to leave a minor league game.Hours after Sale was hurt, Kansas City lefty Danny Duffy exited in the third inning because of shoulder tightness. He said... [More]

Capsules of National League West teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Los Angeles Dodgers2017: 104-58, first place, lost to Houston in World Series.Manager: Dave Roberts (third season).He's Here: OF Matt Kemp, RHP Tom Koehler, LHP Scott Alexander, LHP Henry Owens.He's Outta Here: 1B Adrian Gonzalez, RHP Yu Darvish, RHP Brandon Morrow, RHP Brandon McCarthy, LHP Tony Watson, LHP Luis Avilan, LHP Scott Kazmir, LHP Adam Liberatore, OF Andre Ethier, INF Charlie Culberson, OF Curtis Granderson, LHP Grant Dayton, OF Franklin Gutierrez, RHP Josh Ravin.Projected Lineup: CF Chris Taylor (.288, 21 HRs, 72 RBIs, 17 SBs), SS Corey Seager (.295, 22, 77), 3B Justin Turner (.322, 21, 71, will start season on DL with broken left wrist), 1B Cody Bellinger (.267, 39, 97, 10 SBs), RF Yasiel Puig (.263, 28, 74), LF Matt Kemp (.276, 19, 64 in 115 games with Braves) or Joc Pederson (.212, 11, 35 in 102 games), C Austin Barnes (.289, 8, 38) or Yasmani Grandal (.247, 22, 58), 2B Logan Forsythe (.224, 6,... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — This was not the sight the Boston Red Sox envisioned in Chris Sale's final spring training tuneup: Their ace crumpled on the ground, knocked off the mound by a line drive.Sale quickly got up, flexed his leg a few times and walked off the field under his own power Saturday. The AL East champions called it a bruised left hip, and Sale said the injury wasn't serious and wouldn't jeopardize his opening day start Thursday at Tampa Bay."I don't see anything lingering from this," Sale said. "Looked a lot worse than it really is."Sale was struck by a liner off the bat of Houston's J.D. Davis in the first inning. A day earlier, San Francisco ace Madison Bumgarner sustained a broken pitching hand when he was hit a line drive and will miss at least a month.X-rays were negative."When it first hit me, it kind of got me in the hip, but got the nerve. So it shot all the way down to my foot. So, that's what kind of made me worried," he said. "I was telling them when I was out there,... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — This was not what the Boston Red Sox wanted to see in Chris Sale's final spring training tuneup: Their ace crumpled on the ground, knocked off the mound by a line drive.Sale quickly got up, flexed his leg a few times and walked off the field under his own power Saturday. The AL East champions called it a bruised left hip, and Sale said the injury wasn't serious and wouldn't jeopardize his opening day start Thursday at Tampa Bay."I don't see anything lingering from this," Sale said. "Looked a lot worse than it really is."Sale was struck by a liner off the bat of Houston's J.D. Davis in the first inning. A day earlier, San Francisco ace Madison Bumgarner sustained a broken pitching hand when he was hit a line drive and will miss at least a month.Sale said he would get an X-ray, just for precautionary purposes."When it first hit me, it kind of got me in the hip, but got the nerve. So it shot all the way down to my foot. So, that's what kind of made me worried," he said.... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner has undergone surgery to have three pins inserted into the broken pinkie on his pitching hand.Bumgarner had surgery Saturday, and is expected to miss four to six weeks.The 28-year-old ace was injured Friday when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of Kansas City's Whit Merrifield in a spring training game.The 2014 World Series MVP missed nearly three months last season with a shoulder injury after a dirt bike accident on April 20 during an off day in Colorado.___More AP baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale says he expects to be fine to start on opening day after being hit by a line drive in his final spring training tuneup.Sale was struck on the left hip Saturday by a liner off the bat of Houston's J.D. Davis in the first inning.Sale immediately went to the ground, but walked off the field under his own power. The Red Sox called the injury a bruise.The left-hander later said he was OK and expected to pitch Thursday when the AL East champions open at Tampa Bay. Chris Archer was set to start for the Rays — on Friday, he was hit by a grounder in the forearm of his pitching arm and had to leave a minor league game.Sale led the majors with 308 strikeouts last season, going 17-8 with a 2.90 ERA in his first year with Boston.Sale's injury came a day after San Francisco ace Madison Bumgarner sustained a broken hand on his pitching hand when he was hit by a line drive. He is expected to miss at least a month.The Red Sox already were looking at starting out with a depleted rotation. Manager Alex Cora announced hours earlier that pitchers Drew Pomeranz and Eduardo Rodriguez will begin the season on the disabled list. Knuckleballer Steven Wright has accepted a 15-game suspension under Major League Baseball's domestic violence policy.

Just the thought of Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge in the same lineup sent fans into a frenzy. Come opening day, all of baseball will see which teams really have the muscle.A season of haves and have-nots begins March 29 with Derek Jeter's pared-down Marlins playing the pumped-up Cubs. Later that day, the New York Yankees unleash their most potent pair of sluggers since Mantle & Maris.MVP Jose Altuve and the World Series champion Houston Astros added ace Gerrit Cole to a rotation with Dallas Keuchel and Justin Verlander. The Dodgers and Indians are still poised after coming within one win of that elusive crown. The Nationals hired a new manager to help free agent-to-be Bryce Harper, Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg reach the top. And the Red Sox got the bopper they needed.Where does that leave the Reds, Pirates, Tigers, Rays and A's? Well, better luck next year. Or the year after that.Major League Baseball is in a hurry these days, with record home runs and strikeouts the new norm.... [More]