BOSTON (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth inning and the Los Angeles Angels rallied past the Boston Red Sox 6-5 Sunday, ending a four-game losing streak. Matt Barnes (1-1) retired the first two batters in the ninth before giving up a bloop single to Mike Trout. Ohtani followed with his 12th homer, tying for the major league lead, a drive tucked just inside the Pesky Pole in right field. It was Ohtani’s second homer of the series and stopped Boston’s three-game winning streak. Raisel Iglesias (2-2) pitched a scoreless eighth and Mike Mayers got his second save. BLUE JAYS 10, PHILLIES 8 DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) — Television cameras showed a confrontation in the dugout between Phillies manager Joe Girardi and second baseman Jean Segura, who committed two errors. Marcus Semien and Bo Bichette hit consecutive first-inning homers, and Randal Grichuk had a two-run double in a five-run second as Toronto burst to an 8-0 lead. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his 11th homer. Bryce... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth inning and the Los Angeles Angels rallied past the Boston Red Sox 6-5 Sunday, ending a four-game losing streak. Matt Barnes (1-1) retired the first two batters in the ninth before giving up a bloop single to Mike Trout. Ohtani followed with his 12th homer, tying for the major league lead, a drive tucked just inside the Pesky Pole in right field. It was Ohtani’s second homer of the series and stopped Boston’s three-game winning streak. Raisel Iglesias (2-2) pitched a scoreless eighth and Mike Mayers got his second save. BLUE JAYS 10, PHILLIES 8 DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) — Television cameras showed a confrontation in the dugout between Phillies manager Joe Girardi and second baseman Jean Segura, who committed two errors. Marcus Semien and Bo Bichette hit consecutive first-inning homers, and Randal Grichuk had a two-run double in a five-run second as Toronto burst to an 8-0 lead. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his 11th homer. Bryce... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The last-place New York Yankees lost their fifth straight game as Yoshi Tsutsugo hit a tiebreaking double off Gerrit Cole in the seventh inning that lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-2 win Sunday and a three-game sweep. Four pitchers combined on the Rays’ second three-hitter of a series in which New York managed 11 hits in all. Cole (2-1) was hurt by slipshod defense that made three mistakes in the third inning alone, two by center fielder Aaron Hicks and one by left fielder Clint Frazier. Joey Wendle added a ninth-inning home run off Darren O’Day. Tampa Bay has won 18 of its last 23 against the Yankees, including in last year’s Division Series. Ryan Yarbrough (2-1) followed opener Andrew Kittredge and allowed one run and two hits in five innings. Diego Castillo got four outs, and Jeffrey Springs pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first big league save. PADRES 5, DODGERS 2 SAN DIEGO (AP) — Eric Hosmer delivered the tying and go-ahead RBIs in the seventh and eighth innings, helping... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The last-place New York Yankees lost their fifth straight game as Yoshi Tsutsugo hit a tiebreaking double off Gerrit Cole in the seventh inning that lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-2 win Sunday and a three-game sweep. Four pitchers combined on the Rays’ second three-hitter of a series in which New York managed 11 hits in all. Cole (2-1) was hurt by slipshod defense that made three mistakes in the third inning alone, two by center fielder Aaron Hicks and one by left fielder Clint Frazier. Joey Wendle added a ninth-inning home run off Darren O’Day. Tampa Bay has won 18 of its last 23 against the Yankees, including in last year’s Division Series. Ryan Yarbrough (2-1) followed opener Andrew Kittredge and allowed one run and two hits in five innings. Diego Castillo got four outs, and Jeffrey Springs pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first big league save. PADRES 5, DODGERS 2 SAN DIEGO (AP) — Eric Hosmer delivered the tying and go-ahead RBIs in the seventh and eighth innings, helping... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The last-place New York Yankees lost their fifth straight game as Yoshi Tsutsugo hit a tiebreaking double off Gerrit Cole in the seventh inning that lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-2 win Sunday and a three-game sweep. Four pitchers combined on the Rays’ second three-hitter of a series in which New York managed 11 hits in all. Cole (2-1) was hurt by slipshod defense that made three mistakes in the third inning alone, two by center fielder Aaron Hicks and one by left fielder Clint Frazier. Joey Wendle added a ninth-inning home run off Darren O’Day. Tampa Bay has won 16 of its last 21 against the Yankees, including in last year’s Division Series. Ryan Yarbrough (2-1) followed opener Andrew Kittredge and allowed one run and two hits in five innings. Diego Castillo got four outs, and Jeffrey Springs pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first big league save. INDIANS 6, REDS 3 CINCINNATI (AP) — Shane Bieber kept up his record strikeout run, fanning 13 and pitching Cleveland past Cincinnati.... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Manuel Margot hit a tiebreaking two-run homer, Tyler Glasnow overcame cramps and poor control to pitch five innings of one-run ball and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Yankees 6-3 Saturday and dropped New York to an AL-worst 5-9. New York lost its seventh straight series to the Rays is last this late in the season for the first time since 1991, per Elias Sports. Fans in the Bronx again booed the Bombers, but they were more restrained a day after some hurled baseballs and other items on the field late in an 8-2 loss to the Rays. Francisco Mejía hit a solo shot in the second off Jordan Montgomery (1-1), and Margot made it 3-1 with his homer off the left-hander in the fourth. Joey Wendle added a two-run shot against Jonathan Loaisiga in the seventh, and Mejía had an RBI double in the ninth. Glasnow (2-0) walked four but also struck out seven and limited New York to two hits as the Rays (7-8) won their second straight in the series. DODGERS 2, PADRES 0 SAN DIEGO (AP) — Mookie Betts... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Manuel Margot hit a tiebreaking two-run homer, Tyler Glasnow overcame cramps and poor control to pitch five innings of one-run ball and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Yankees 6-3 Saturday and dropped New York to an AL-worst 5-9. New York lost its seventh straight series to the Rays is last this late in the season for the first time since 1991, per Elias Sports. Fans in the Bronx again booed the Bombers, but they were more restrained a day after some hurled baseballs and other items on the field late in an 8-2 loss to the Rays. Francisco Mejía hit a solo shot in the second off Jordan Montgomery (1-1), and Margot made it 3-1 with his homer off the left-hander in the fourth. Joey Wendle added a two-run shot against Jonathan Loaisiga in the seventh, and Mejía had an RBI double in the ninth. Glasnow (2-0) walked four but also struck out seven and limited New York to two hits as the Rays (7-8) won their second straight in the series. METS 4, ROCKIES 3, 1ST GAME ROCKIES 7, METS 2,... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Manuel Margot hit a tiebreaking two-run homer, Tyler Glasnow overcame cramps and poor control to pitch five innings of one-run ball and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Yankees 6-3 Saturday and dropped New York to an AL-worst 5-9. New York lost its seventh straight series to the Rays is last this late in the season for the first time since 1991, per Elias Sports. Fans in the Bronx again booed the Bombers, but they were more restrained a day after some hurled baseballs and other items on the field late in an 8-2 loss to the Rays. Francisco Mejía hit a solo shot in the second off Jordan Montgomery (1-1), and Margot made it 3-1 with his homer off the left-hander in the fourth. Joey Wendle added a two-run shot against Jonathan Loaisiga in the seventh, and Mejía had an RBI double in the ninth. Glasnow (2-0) walked four but also struck out seven and limited New York to two hits as the Rays (7-8) won their second straight in the series. METS 4, ROCKIES 3, 1ST GAME ROCKIES 7, METS 2,... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Rafael Devers homered for the fourth straight game and the streaking Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 4-2 on a snowy Tuesday in a series opener moved back following the fatal police shooting of a Black man in a nearby suburb. Hunter Renfroe hit a solo homer and Bobby Dalbec added a pair of RBI doubles as Boston won its seventh in a row after losing its first three games of the season. Monday’s game was postponed due to safety and sensitivity concerns in the Twin Cities after the police shooting a day earlier of Daunte Wright during a traffic stop. The Twins held a moment of silence for Wright prior to Tuesday’s game. Snow flurries fell for most of the game and it was 33 degrees for the first pitch. That made for the third-coldest start at Target Field, the record being 27 degrees on April 7, 2018. Adam Ottavino (1-0) earned the win with a scoreless inning of relief. Matt Barnes pitched a perfect ninth for his first save of the season. Randy Dobnak (0-2) took the... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Rafael Devers homered for the fourth straight game and the streaking Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 4-2 on a snowy Tuesday in a series opener moved back following the fatal police shooting of a Black man in a nearby suburb. Hunter Renfroe hit a solo homer and Bobby Dalbec added a pair of RBI doubles as Boston won its seventh in a row after losing its first three games of the season. Monday’s game was postponed due to safety and sensitivity concerns in the Twin Cities after the police shooting a day earlier of Daunte Wright during a traffic stop. The Twins held a moment of silence for Wright prior to Tuesday’s game. Snow flurries fell for most of the game and it was 33 degrees for the first pitch. That made for the third-coldest start at Target Field, the record being 27 degrees on April 7, 2018. Adam Ottavino (1-0) earned the win with a scoreless inning of relief. Matt Barnes pitched a perfect ninth for his first save of the season. Randy Dobnak (0-2) took the... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit a 451-foot homer and pitched two-hit ball into the fifth inning in a historic two-way performance, and Jared Walsh hit a walkoff homer in the Los Angeles Angels’ 7-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday night. Walsh hit two homers, including a big three-run shot off Matt Foster to end the Angels’ third win over Chicago in their four-game, season-opening series. Ohtani reached another milestone in his unique career when he took the mound and occupied the No. 2 slot in the batting order for the Angels. He was just the third pitcher in 45 seasons to hit for himself in a game with the designated hitter available, and the first to bat second since Jack Dunleavy did it for the Cardinals in 1903. In the first inning alone, Ohtani both threw the hardest pitch by any starting pitcher in baseball this season and produced the hardest hit by any batter this season. Ohtani touched 101 mph with a fastball, and his first-pitch homer off Chicago’s Dylan... [More]

Alec Bohm hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning, Zach Eflin gave Philadelphia another strong start and the Phillies completed a three-game sweep of the defending NL East champion Atlanta Braves with a 2-1 win Sunday. Philadelphia’s starting trio of Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler and Eflin (1-0) surrendered three runs, 11 hits and one walk in 20 2/3 innings against an Atlanta lineup that led the majors in 2020 with 556 hits. The Phillies bullpen, which posted a 7.06 ERA in 2020, didn’t yield a run in 7 1/3 innings in the set. Philadelphia regained the lead in the eighth as Rhys Hoskins, Bryce Harper and Bohm hit consecutive singles off Chris Martin (0-1). Hector Neris got his first save. REDS 12, CARDINALS 1 Nick Castellanos came out swinging with his bat a day after being ejected for inciting a bench-clearing melee, hitting a three-run homer off Carlos Martinez (0-1) and triple to finish the series 6 for 11 with five RBIs. Tyler Naquin also a three-run shot for the Reds, who won two in... [More]

Alec Bohm hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning, Zach Eflin gave Philadelphia another strong start and the Phillies completed a three-game sweep of the defending NL East champion Atlanta Braves with a 2-1 win Sunday. Philadelphia’s starting trio of Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler and Eflin (1-0) surrendered three runs, 11 hits and one walk in 20 2/3 innings against an Atlanta lineup that led the majors in 2020 with 556 hits. The Phillies bullpen, which posted a 7.06 ERA in 2020, didn’t yield a run in 7 1/3 innings in the set. Philadelphia regained the lead in the eighth as Rhys Hoskins, Bryce Harper and Bohm hit consecutive singles off Chris Martin (0-1). Hector Neris got his first save. REDS 12, CARDINALS 1 Nick Castellanos came out swinging with his bat a day after being ejected for inciting a bench-clearing melee, hitting a three-run homer off Carlos Martinez (0-1) and triple to finish the series 6 for 11 with five RBIs. Tyler Naquin also a three-run shot for the Reds, who won two in... [More]

CINCINNATI (AP) — Nick Castellanos stood over, flexed and jawed at St. Louis pitcher Jake Woodford after scoring, setting off a series of scuffles that included relievers shoving in the outfield as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Cardinals 9-6 Saturday. St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright was knocked around for six runs and chased in the third. The next inning, the teams started tagging each other. Castellanos, who homered on opening day and hopped out of the box before tossing his bat, was plunked by Woodford with two outs and none on in the fourth. Castellanos retrieved the ball and offered to toss it back to Woodford before flipping it out of play. A wild pitch soon sent Castellanos scampering home from third and he scored with a headfirst slide for a 7-2 lead as he bumped into Woodford, who took the throw from catcher Yadier Molina at the plate. As Castellanos began walking away, Molina rushed up and tapped him from behind, and the benches and bullpens emptied in a wild scene. There was... [More]

CINCINNATI (AP) — Nick Castellanos stood over, flexed and jawed at St. Louis pitcher Jake Woodford after scoring, setting off a series of scuffles that included relievers shoving in the outfield as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Cardinals 9-6 Saturday. St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright was knocked around for six runs and chased in the third. The next inning, the teams started tagging each other. Castellanos, who homered on opening day and hopped out of the box before tossing his bat, was plunked by Woodford with two outs and none on in the fourth. Castellanos retrieved the ball and offered to toss it back to Woodford before flipping it out of play. A wild pitch soon sent Castellanos scampering home from third and he scored with a headfirst slide for a 7-2 lead as he bumped into Woodford, who took the throw from catcher Yadier Molina at the plate. As Castellanos began walking away, Molina rushed up and tapped him from behind, and the benches and bullpens emptied in a wild scene. There was... [More]

CINCINNATI (AP) — Nick Castellanos stood over, flexed and jawed at St. Louis pitcher Jake Woodford after scoring, setting off a series of scuffles that included relievers shoving in the outfield as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Cardinals 9-6 Saturday. St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright was knocked around for six runs and chased in the third. The next inning, the teams started tagging each other. Castellanos, who homered on opening day and hopped out of the box before tossing his bat, was plunked by Woodford with two outs and none on in the fourth. Castellanos retrieved the ball and offered to toss it back to Woodford before flipping it out of play. A wild pitch soon sent Castellanos scampering home from third and he scored with a headfirst slide for a 7-2 lead as he bumped into Woodford, who took the throw from catcher Yadier Molina at the plate. As Castellanos began walking away, Molina rushed up and tapped him from behind, and the benches and bullpens emptied in a wild scene. There was... [More]

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — Infielder Maikel Franco and the Baltimore Orioles finalized an $800,000, one-year contract on Tuesday. Franco hit .278 with 16 doubles, eight homers and a team-high 38 RBIs for the Kansas City during last year’s pandemic-shortened season. The 28-year-old would get a $200,000 performance bonus if he reaches 400 plate appearances. He would get a $250,000 assignment bonus if traded. He earned $1,092,593 in prorated pay from a $2.95 million salary. Franco has a .253 average with 110 homers and 381 RBIs in seven major league seasons with Philadelphia (2014-19) and the Royals. He was originally signed for the Phillies by Koby Perez, now Baltimore’s senior director of international scouting. Right-hander Hunter Harvey was placed on the 60-day injured list with a strained left oblique, opening a roster spot. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

A team-by-team look at the American League Central entering spring training, including key players each club acquired and lost, and dates of the first workout for pitchers and catchers, and the full squad: ___ Minnesota Twins Manager: Rocco Baldelli (third season). 2020: 36-24, first place, lost to Houston in first round of playoffs. Training Town: Fort Myers, Florida. Park: Hammond Stadium at CenturyLink Sports Complex. First Workout: Feb. 19/23. He’s Here: SS Andrelton Simmons, RHP Alex Colomé, LHP J.A. Happ, RHP Hansel Robles, RHP Shaun Anderson, RHP Ian Hamilton, OF Keon Broxton, LHP Andrew Albers. He’s Outta Here: LF Eddie Rosario, RHP Sergio Romo, RHP Trevor May, RHP Jake Odorizzi, INF/OF Marwin Gonzalez, LHP Rich Hill, RHP Tyler Clippard, RHP Matt Wisler, INF Ehire Adrianza, C Alex Avila. Going campin’: The Twins return largely the same team that won the last two AL Central titles, aiming to end their major league-record 18-game postseason losing streak. The pitching staff was superb... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals agreed to one-year deals with outfielders Jorge Soler and Franchy Cordero, first baseman Hunter Dozier and right-handers Jesse Hahn and Jakob Junis on Wednesday as they brought arbitration-eligible players under contract during a busy week of roster management. The Royals also cut third baseman Maikel Franco, failing to offer a contract to a player who would have been due a substantial salary increase after hitting .278 with eight homers and 38 RBIs while playing on a $2.95 million deal last season. The only remaining arbitration-eligible players are two big ones: shortstop Adalberto Mondesi, their defensive linchpin and best all-around athlete, and No. 1 starter Brad Keller, who was 5-3 with a 2.47 ERA in nine starts last season. The 28-year-old Soler agreed to an $8.05 million contract that includes up to $250,000 in incentives, a big bump from prorated pay of $2,703,704 from his $7.3 million base salary last season. It came after the slugging... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals agreed to one-year deals with outfielders Jorge Soler and Franchy Cordero, first baseman Hunter Dozier and right-handers Jesse Hahn and Jakob Junis on Wednesday as they brought arbitration-eligible players under contract during a busy week of roster management. The Royals also cut third baseman Maikel Franco, failing to offer a contract to a player who would have been due a substantial salary increase after hitting .278 with eight homers and 38 RBIs while playing on a $2.95 million deal last season. The only remaining arbitration-eligible players are two big ones: shortstop Adalberto Mondesi, their defensive linchpin and best all-around athlete, and No. 1 starter Brad Keller, who was 5-3 with a 2.47 ERA in nine starts last season. The 28-year-old Soler agreed to an $8.05 million contract that includes up to $250,000 in incentives, a big bump from prorated pay of $2,703,704 from his $7.3 million base salary last season. It came after the slugging... [More]