ST. LOUIS (AP) — Adam Wainwright was warm enough on a cool day, allowing one run in six innings for his 150th career victory, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2 on Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.Last year's MVP, Christian Yelich, had most of the day off but still had a chance to rescue the Brewers. He came up as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, but Jordan Hicks struck him out to pick up his seventh save in eight chances.Wainwright (2-2) matched his season low in runs allowed, and it was his first quality start in a game with a starting temperature of 60 degrees or cooler since May 27, 2017.Marcell Ozuna and Yadier Molina homered for the Cardinals as part of a four-run fourth.St. Louis' three-game sweep of Milwaukee was its first against its NL Central rival since July 1-3, 2016.Jhoulys Chacin (2-3) lasted four innings, allowing four runs on five hits.PHILLIES 6, METS 0NEW YORK (AP) — Rhys Hoskins homered off reliever Jacob Rhame... [More]

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Adam Wainwright was warm enough on a cool day, allowing one run in six innings for his 150th career victory, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2 on Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.Last year's MVP, Christian Yelich, had most of the day off but still had a chance to rescue the Brewers. He came up as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, but Jordan Hicks struck him out to pick up his seventh save in eight chances.Wainwright (2-2) matched his season low in runs allowed, and it was his first quality start in a game with a starting temperature of 60 degrees or cooler since May 27, 2017.Marcell Ozuna and Yadier Molina homered for the Cardinals as part of a four-run fourth.St. Louis' three-game sweep of Milwaukee was its first against its NL Central rival since July 1-3, 2016.Jhoulys Chacin (2-3) lasted four innings, allowing four runs on five hits.PADRES 1, MARINERS 0SAN DIEGO (AP) — Rookie Chris Paddack shut down baseball's... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Chris Davis ended his record slump at 0 for 54 and drew applause from rival fans at Fenway Park, getting three hits and driving in four runs as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox 9-5 on Saturday to end a four-game losing streak.Davis walked to the plate in the first inning to what mostly appeared to be mock cheers when he was announced. But many of those quickly changed when he lined a bases-loaded, two-run single over the head of second baseman Dustin Pedroia, ending the longest hitless streak ever by a position player. Once he safely reached first, Davis tipped his cap to the Orioles dugout and many of his teammates raised their arms and hollered in support. He smiled and made a motion that he wanted to ball, which he got.Davis, a former two-time major league home run champion, later hit two doubles. He had been 0 for 33 this season. The all-time record for a hitless streak by any player is an 0-for-85 drought by pitcher Bob Buhl in 1962-63.Christian Vázquez hit... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run homer and Chicago's beleaguered bullpen stepped up after Jon Lester departed with left hamstring tightness, leading the Cubs over the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-0 in their home opener on Monday.Brad Brach, Brandon Kintzler, Randy Rosario and Pedro Strop combined for seven innings of four-hit ball after Lester was removed with two on and no outs in the third. Brach (1-0) pitched two innings for his first win with the Cubs.Pittsburgh had won four in a row, but it hurt itself with four errors, including three by shortstop Kevin Newman. Jameson Taillon (0-2) was charged with six unearned runs and four hits in two innings.ORIOLES 12, ATHLETICS 4BALTIMORE (AP) — Chris Davis went 0 for 5 to set a major league record for the longest hitless streak by a position player, extending his drought to 49 consecutive at-bats in Baltimore's rout of Oakland.Davis hit three flyballs before striking out in the seventh and eighth innings, leaving him 0 for 28 this season... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run homer and Chicago's beleaguered bullpen stepped up after Jon Lester departed with left hamstring tightness, leading the Cubs over the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-0 in their home opener on Monday.Brad Brach, Brandon Kintzler, Randy Rosario and Pedro Strop combined for seven innings of four-hit ball after Lester was removed with two on and no outs in the third. Brach (1-0) pitched two innings for his first win with the Cubs.Pittsburgh had won four in a row, but it hurt itself with four errors, including three by shortstop Kevin Newman. Jameson Taillon (0-2) was charged with six unearned runs and four hits in two innings.ORIOLES 12, ATHLETICS 4BALTIMORE (AP) — Chris Davis went 0 for 5 to set a major league record for the longest hitless streak by a position player, extending his drought to 49 consecutive at-bats in Baltimore's rout of Oakland.Davis hit three flyballs before striking out in the seventh and eighth innings, leaving him 0 for 28 this season... [More]

April 71925 — Babe Ruth collapsed in a railroad station in Asheville, N.C. He would be hospitalized in New York and operated on 10 days later for an ulcer.1964 — Shea Stadium in New York opened for the first regular season game. The Mets lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3.1969 — The Yankees spoiled the managerial debut of Ted Williams by defeating the Senators 8-4 in the opener at Washington's RFK Stadium. President Nixon and a crowd of 45,000 attended.1970 — Three weeks after moving from Seattle to Milwaukee, the former Pilots played their first game as the Brewers and lost 12-0 to the visiting California Angels.1973 — Cleveland set an attendance record for day games and opening-day games by attracting 74,420 fans. The Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-1.1977 — The expansion Toronto Blue Jays began their major league odyssey with a 9-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium. Al Woods, pinch hitting for Steve Bowling in the fifth inning, became the 11th pinch... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Domingo German overcame control problems on a chilly night to win for the first time since last June, Gary Sanchez and Brett Gardner homered and the banged-up New York Yankees beat the punchless Detroit Tigers 3-1 Monday.Aaron Judge made a sprawling, backhand catch on Niko Goodrum's hard-hit liner after Adam Ottavino walked the first two batters in the eighth inning, a drive that would have tied the score if it had gotten by the right fielder.New York lost two more regulars to the 10-day injured list before the game after they got hurt a day earlier, outfielder Giancarlo Stanton with a strained left biceps and third baseman Miguel Andujar with a small labrum tear in his right shoulder.Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Andujar, runner-up for AL Rookie of the Year last season, will be treated conservatively with a rehab program and there is some optimism he will respond well. But if not, he could need season-surgery.They joined a group of sidelined Yankees that includes pitchers... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:M-V-P! M-V-P!Christian Yelich has picked up right where he left off last season. The 2018 NL MVP hit his fourth homer Sunday and then a two-run double in the ninth inning that gave Milwaukee a dramatic 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. He has homered in the first four games of the season to match a major league record and can break the mark by going deep when the Brewers visit Cincinnati."What we're witnessing is greatness," teammate Ryan Braun said. "I've never seen anyone this good at baseball for this long."Yelich batted .326 with 36 homers and 110 RBIs last year, leading Milwaukee to the NL Central title. He is 6 for 12 with six walks and eight RBIs already this season."Candidly, I can't recall a series like that," Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. "I've had some guys that are smoking hot against us, but I've never seen that kind of damage over four days."WELCOME HOMEThe Indians, Pirates and Braves are set to play their home openers.... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Monday:MVP! MVP!Christian Yelich has picked up right where he left off last season. The 2018 NL MVP hit his fourth homer Sunday and then a two-run double in the ninth inning that gave Milwaukee a dramatic 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. He has homered in the first four games of the season to match a major league record and can break the mark by going deep when the Brewers visit Cincinnati. "What we're witnessing is greatness," teammate Ryan Braun said. "I've never seen anyone this good at baseball for this long." Yelich batted .326 with 36 homers and 110 RBIs last year, leading Milwaukee to the NL Central title. He is 6 for 12 with six walks and eight RBIs already this season. "Candidly, I can't recall a series like that," Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. "I've had some guys that are smoking hot against us, but I've never seen that kind of damage over four days."WELCOME HOMEThe Indians, Pirates and Braves are set to play their home openers.... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — As spring training neared its conclusion, a reporter mentioned to Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez that Max Scherzer was not precisely on schedule to start on opening day."He's going to be lined up," Martinez said with a laugh. "Come Thursday at 1:05, he'll be on the mound."Of course he will. Scherzer is, after all, one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, a three-time Cy Young Award winner and runner-up last season. So it makes perfect sense that when Washington hosts the NL East rival New York Mets this week, Scherzer will take on the pitcher who topped him in the NL voting, Jacob deGrom."It definitely has its prestige," Scherzer said. "It's symbolic. It's an honor to get the ball in that situation."That's because even in this data-driven age in baseball, when analytics and analysis are supposed to be replacing "gut feel" and sentiment when it comes to making any and all decisions, granting an opening day start to a particular pitcher because... [More]

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Jung Ho Kang and Erik Gonzalez have won starting jobs in the infield with the Pittsburgh Pirates.General manager Neal Huntington said Monday that Kang has beaten out Colin Moran at third base and Erik Gonzalez has won the shortstop competition over Kevin Newman."It was not an easy decision because all four guys, in their own way, had legitimate claims to be the regular," Huntington said.Kang is just 5 for 28 (.185) with 13 strikeouts this spring but all five hits have been solo home runs. Moran was 6 for 28 (.214) with a double and a homer through the weekend.Moran, however, had committed four errors while Kang had two."The power has been real," manager Clint Hurdle said of Kang. "It's spring training, but it's five homers. We don't have anybody else that's hit five homers."Kang missed the entire 2017 season and the beginning of 2018 because he was unable to secure a work visa to travel from his native South Korea following a third DUI arrest. He then underwent wrist... [More]

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Jung Ho Kang and Erik Gonzalez have won starting jobs in the infield with the Pittsburgh Pirates.General manager Neal Huntington said Monday that Kang has beaten out Colin Moran at third base and Erik Gonzalez has won the shortstop competition over Kevin Newman."It was not an easy decision because all four guys, in their own way, had legitimate claims to be the regular," Huntington said.Kang is just 5 for 28 (.185) with 13 strikeouts this spring but all five hits have been solo home runs. Moran was 6 for 28 (.214) with a double and a homer through the weekend.Moran, however, had committed four errors while Kang had two."The power has been real," manager Clint Hurdle said of Kang. "It's spring training, but it's five homers. We don't have anybody else that's hit five homers."Kang missed the entire 2017 season and the beginning of 2018 because he was unable to secure a work visa to travel from his native South Korea following a third DUI arrest. He then underwent wrist... [More]

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Felix Hernandez doesn't think he could have changed the mind of Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais about opening day, even by pitching well this spring.With his ERA approaching 16, it's a moot point.King Felix is royally agitated anyway.Hernandez was tagged for seven runs in three-plus innings against the Cleveland Indians on Sunday, raising his spring ERA to 15.95 a day after Servais announced that Marco Gonzales would start Seattle's season opener against Oakland in Tokyo on March 20.Seattle's decision ends Hernandez's run of 10 consecutive opening day starts.Hernandez spoke publicly after the game for the first time since Servais' announcement. Asked if he was upset, Hernandez said simply, "Yeah," but declined to elaborate on his emotions."I knew it was going to happen," he added.Hernandez was also asked if he could have convinced Servais to give him the opening day nod with a better spring camp."No," he said while shaking his head.The 32-year-old has been losing... [More]

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Felix Hernandez doesn't think he could have changed the mind of Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais about opening day, even by pitching well this spring.With his ERA approaching 16, it's a moot point.King Felix is royally agitated anyway.Hernandez was tagged for seven runs in three-plus innings against the Cleveland Indians on Sunday, raising his spring ERA to 15.95 a day after Servais announced that Marco Gonzales would start Seattle's season opener against Oakland in Tokyo on March 20.Seattle's decision ends Hernandez's run of 10 consecutive opening day starts. That was the longest active streak in the majors and tied for the fourth longest ever — Jack Morris set the mark at 14. Erik Bedard was the last starter before Hernandez to open a season on the mound for the Mariners.Hernandez spoke publicly after the game for the first time since Servais' announcement. Asked if he was upset, Hernandez said simply, "Yeah," but declined to elaborate on his emotions."I knew... [More]

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Felix Hernandez doesn't think he could have changed the mind of Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais about opening day, even by pitching well this spring.With his ERA approaching 16, it's a moot point.King Felix is royally agitated anyway.Hernandez was tagged for seven runs in three-plus innings against the Cleveland Indians on Sunday, raising his spring ERA to 15.95 a day after Servais announced that Marco Gonzales would start Seattle's season opener against Oakland in Tokyo on March 20.Seattle's decision ends Hernandez's run of 10 consecutive opening day starts. That was the longest active streak in the majors and tied for the fourth longest ever — Jack Morris set the mark at 14. Erik Bedard was the last starter before Hernandez to open a season on the mound for the Mariners.Hernandez spoke publicly after the game for the first time since Servais' announcement. Asked if he was upset, Hernandez said simply, "Yeah," but declined to elaborate on his emotions."I knew... [More]

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Felix Hernandez says he's upset to have been passed over for opening day, but the longtime Seattle Mariners ace isn't surprised.Hernandez spoke publicly Sunday for the first time since manager Scott Servais announced a day earlier that Marco Gonzales would pitch Seattle's season opener against Oakland in Japan on March 20. Hernandez has pitched the Mariners' first game for 10 consecutive seasons, the longest active streak in the majors and the fourth longest ever, but he's been mostly injured and ineffective the past three seasons.Asked if he was upset by Servais' decision, Hernandez simply said "yeah." Asked how he felt, he said, "I have no comment about that," and added "I knew it was going to happen."Hernandez also says he thinks Servais likely decided before spring training about opening day, and he could not have changed his mind even with a strong spring.Hernandez allowed seven runs in three-plus innings against Cleveland on Sunday, lifting his spring ERA to 15.95.___Follow Jake Seiner: https://twitter.com/Jake_Seiner___More AP MLB: https://apenws.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Left-hander Marco Gonzales will get the opening day start for the Seattle Mariners when they begin the 2019 season in Japan against the Oakland Athletics on March 20. New Japanese pitcher Yusei Kikuchi will get the ball for the second game of the series.Seattle manager Scott Servais announced the starters for the opening series on Saturday. The announcement was expected based on the Mariners' rotation during spring training.Kikuchi already was going to be in the spotlight returning to Japan after signing with Seattle in the offseason, but getting the start in the second game against the A's will only heighten the attention.Gonzales getting the nod for the opener ends Felix Hernandez's run of 10 straight opening day starts for Seattle. Gonzales is beginning his second full season with Seattle and is coming off a 13-9 record and 4.00 ERA.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — The biggest play from the Phillies' spring training game Thursday: great communication behind the home dugout.Philadelphia fans with an eye on their smartphones cried out when reports emerged that Bryce Harper had agreed to a deal with the Phillies, breaking the news to manager Gabe Kapler and his players during a 5-5 split-squad tie with the Orioles. Harper agreed to a $330 million, 13-year deal with the club, the largest contract in baseball history. Harper's agent, Scott Boras, said the deal was agreed to shortly before noon, subject to a successful physical."If the reports are true, it's a huge moment for our baseball team," Kapler said. "Certainly I think that the city of Philadelphia would embrace Bryce Harper. I think he would be very happy in this city because our fans care deeply about winning."A 26-year-old All-Star who had spent his entire big league career with the Washington Nationals, Harper topped the $325 million, 13-year agreement outfielder Giancarlo... [More]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — The biggest play from the Phillies' spring training game Thursday: great communication behind the home dugout.Philadelphia fans with an eye on their smartphones cried out when reports emerged that Bryce Harper had agreed to a deal with the Phillies, breaking the news to manager Gabe Kapler and his players during a 5-5 split-squad tie with the Orioles. Harper agreed to a $330 million, 13-year deal with the club, the largest contract in baseball history. Harper's agent, Scott Boras, said the deal was agreed to shortly before noon, subject to a successful physical."If the reports are true, it's a huge moment for our baseball team," Kapler said. "Certainly I think that the city of Philadelphia would embrace Bryce Harper. I think he would be very happy in this city because our fans care deeply about winning."A 26-year-old All-Star who had spent his entire big league career with the Washington Nationals, Harper topped the $325 million, 13-year agreement outfielder Giancarlo... [More]

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Every day for several years, Felix Hernandez has walked past large photos of himself and Randy Johnson — the Seattle Mariners' only Cy Young Award winners — in the hallway leading to the clubhouse of their spring training complex.King Felix will make those walks for perhaps the last time this year, with a bigger goal as motivation."I know this is my final year, but I don't think I am done," the 33-year-old Hernandez said on Tuesday following Seattle's first spring training workout. "I think I can do a lot of good things, and it is going to be a push for my Hall of Fame career. It means a lot. Now Edgar (Martinez) is in the Hall of Fame. We'll see."Hernandez, who has 168 victories and a career 3.34 ERA, is trying to reverse recent trends entering the final season of a seven-year contract that calls for a $27 million salary.His fastball average velocity dropped to a career-low 90.4 mph last season as calculated by Fangraphs, and his ERA was a career-high 5.55 in 29 outings.... [More]