The 2020 baseball season began with Juan Soto testing positive for COVID-19. Now, he's a 21-year-old batting champion — after beating out another player who went through his own ordeal with the coronavirus. Perhaps it was fitting. Soto finished atop the National League with a .351 average Sunday, becoming the youngest person to win the batting title in the NL. The Washington outfielder outlasted Atlanta's Freddie Freeman, who hit .341. The fact that either player was in a position for this type of accomplishment was emblematic of a regular season that felt chaotic and uncertain at times — but ultimately reached the finish line. Soto missed baseball's season opener between the Nationals and New York Yankees back in July, but he ultimately played in 47 games and was one of few bright spots as the defending champions struggled. Freeman played in all 60 games for the Braves, but only after a scary battle with COVID-19. He said he had a fever of 104.5 degrees and prayed for his life. There have... [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]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels fired general manager Billy Eppler on Sunday after the team finished its fifth consecutive losing season under his watch. Eppler was under contract for one more year with the Angels in an extension he signed in July with no public announcement, but team president John Carpino said the franchise will move forward with new baseball leadership after missing the playoffs for the sixth straight year. The Angels have endured a historically bad half-decade during Eppler's tenure despite many positive moves made by the former New York Yankees executive, all while dealing with the spending whims of owner Arte Moreno. The Angels finished 26-34 in the pandemic-shortened season with a star-studded roster including three-time AL MVP Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, three-time NL MVP Albert Pujols and Shohei Ohtani. Eppler took the fall for a decade of mostly miserable baseball under Moreno, whose penchant for handing out big-money contracts to older veteran players... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mike Trout is out again. Out of the postseason, that is. For the ninth time in 10 years, the Los Angeles Angels superstar will spend October on the couch. “I don’t like losing,” he said Saturday. “It’s frustrating and it sucks.” The Angels were rolling in the final weeks of the pandemic-shortened, 60-game season, winning 14 of 20 to revive their slim playoff hopes. Trout hit his first career home run off Clayton Kershaw and the Angels led the Dodgers 5-3 Friday night. They ended up blowing three leads altogether and lost 9-5 to be eliminated, even with the playoffs expanded to 16 teams. Trout is considered to be the best player of his generation. But at 29 he has just one playoff appearance to his credit, and that was way back in 2014 when the Angels got swept in the AL Division Series. “I really want to challenge our guys that this is the last time that this occurs for many years to come," manager Joe Maddon said. Expectations were high when spring training began, with... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Dodgers star Mookie Betts supplanted Yankees slugger Aaron Judge on Friday for baseball's top-selling jersey in his first year on the West Coast. Judge's pinstriped No. 99 had been the most popular uniform in the majors for three straight years, but he's been bumped by his former AL East rival, according to data released by Major League Baseball. Betts was traded from the Boston Red Sox to the Dodgers in February, and Los Angeles signed the 2018 AL MVP to a $365 million, 12-year deal that runs through the 2032 season. Betts' No. 50 is the first Dodgers uniform to top the list since MLB began releasing sales rankings in 2010. Not hard to see why. Betts is in the running to become the second player, after Frank Robinson, to win MVPs in both leagues. The 27-year-old is hitting .293 with 16 home runs, nine stolen bases and a .930 OPS during this pandemic-shortened season. Judge slotted second ahead of Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper, who is in the second season of... [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]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Right-hander Mike Clevinger of the playoff-bound San Diego Padres lasted only one inning in his start against the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday. The team said the right-hander's departure was unplanned but didn't provide any other information. Clevinger's start had been pushed back from Saturday night because of tightness in his right biceps. Manager Jayce Tingler said on Tuesday that the right-hander threw a bullpen session on Monday and seemed good to go for Wednesday afternoon's start. A few days earlier, Tingler held out hope that Clevinger might even be able to make two more starts before the regular season ended, if even if the second one was brief. Clevinger, obtained in a blockbuster trade with Cleveland on Aug. 31, breezed through the first inning on 12 pitches, including striking out Mike Trout and David Fletcher. Rookie Adrian Morejon began warming up in the bullpen while the Padres batted in the bottom of the inning and came out to start the second. Morejon allowed a two-run home run to Shohei Ohtani and solo shots to Justin Upton and Anthony Bemboom that gave the Angels a 4-2 lead. The Padres have clinched their first playoff berth in 14 seasons and their magic number remains at two for clinching homefield advantage in the wild-card round next week. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox clinched their first postseason berth since 2008, beating the Minnesota Twins 4-3 Thursday as Eloy Jiménez 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. José Abreu homered and drove in two runs and Edwin Encarnación 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. Jiménez followed with a go-ahead double. Codi Heuer (3-0) pitched a scoreless 1 2/3 innings, and Alex Colomé 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... [More]

Diamondbacks second. Kole Calhoun singles to deep right field. Eduardo Escobar walks. Kole Calhoun to second. David Peralta singles to shallow right field, advances to 2nd. Eduardo Escobar to third. Kole Calhoun scores. Nick Ahmed singles to left field. David Peralta scores. Eduardo Escobar scores. Stephen Vogt singles to right field. Nick Ahmed scores. Daulton Varsho walks. Stephen Vogt to second. Josh Rojas strikes out swinging. Josh VanMeter flies out to deep right field to Jo Adell. Stephen Vogt to third. Christian Walker grounds out to shortstop, Andrelton Simmons to Jared Walsh.4 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Diamondbacks 4, Angels 0.Angels second. Justin Upton walks. Max Stassi homers to left field. Justin Upton scores. Jo Adell strikes out swinging. Andrelton Simmons strikes out swinging. David Fletcher singles to center field. Jared Walsh strikes out swinging.2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Diamondbacks 4, Angels 2.Diamondbacks third. Kole Calhoun grounds out to shallow... [More]

Diamondbacks first. Josh Rojas pops out to shallow left field to Andrelton Simmons. Pavin Smith flies out to left field to Justin Upton. Christian Walker walks. Kole Calhoun homers to center field. Christian Walker scores. Eduardo Escobar lines out to center field to Mike Trout.2 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Diamondbacks 2, Angels 0.Diamondbacks second. David Peralta flies out to deep center field to Taylor Ward. Nick Ahmed grounds out to third base, Anthony Rendon to Jared Walsh. Daulton Varsho homers. Carson Kelly homers. Josh Rojas grounds out to second base, David Fletcher to Jared Walsh.2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on. Diamondbacks 4, Angels 0.Diamondbacks third. Pavin Smith singles to left field. Christian Walker walks. Pavin Smith to second. Kole Calhoun homers to right field. Christian Walker scores. Pavin Smith scores. Eduardo Escobar strikes out swinging. David Peralta singles to left field. Nick Ahmed pops out to shallow right field to Jared Walsh. Daulton Varsho called... [More]

Rockies third. Tony Wolters walks. Raimel Tapia pops out to third base to Anthony Rendon. Trevor Story singles to center field. Tony Wolters to third. Charlie Blackmon out on a sacrifice fly to center field to Mike Trout. Tony Wolters scores. Nolan Arenado lines out to shallow infield, Jaime Barria to Jared Walsh.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 left on. Rockies 1, Angels 0.Angels fourth. Mike Trout walks. Anthony Rendon flies out to center field to David Dahl. Albert Pujols singles to deep center field. Mike Trout to second. Justin Upton singles to right field. Albert Pujols to second. Mike Trout to third. Max Stassi out on a sacrifice fly to deep left center field to Raimel Tapia. Mike Trout scores. Jo Adell flies out to deep center field to David Dahl.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Angels 1, Rockies 1.Rockies fourth. Daniel Murphy grounds out to shallow right field to Jared Walsh. Josh Fuentes singles to deep left field. David Dahl grounds out to first base, David Fletcher to Jared Walsh.... [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]

Angels first. Andrelton Simmons flies out to right field to Charlie Blackmon. Jared Walsh singles to shortstop. Mike Trout singles to left center field. Jared Walsh to second. Anthony Rendon singles to shallow left field. Mike Trout to third. Jared Walsh scores. Throwing error by Trevor Story. Justin Upton singles to left field. Anthony Rendon to second. Mike Trout scores. Shohei Ohtani reaches on a fielder's choice to second base. Justin Upton out at second. Anthony Rendon to third. Taylor Ward strikes out on a foul tip.2 runs, 4 hits, 1 error, 2 left on. Angels 2, Rockies 0.Rockies third. Josh Fuentes singles to deep center field. Tony Wolters walks. Raimel Tapia flies out to deep left field to Justin Upton. Trevor Story doubles to deep right center field. Tony Wolters to third. Josh Fuentes scores. Charlie Blackmon out on a sacrifice fly to deep center field to Mike Trout. Trevor Story to third. Tony Wolters scores. Nolan Arenado strikes out swinging.2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Royals rookie Brady Singer allowed just one hit — a two-out single through an infield shift in the eighth inning — while pitching Kansas City to an 11-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night.Making his ninth career start, the 24-year-old Singer (2-4) was four outs from becoming the 36th rookie to throw a no-hitter when Cleveland catcher Austin Hedges, who came in batting .148, bounced a single through a wide-open right side. The hit came on a full count and Singer’s 116th pitch.Maikel Franco and Adalberto Mondesi each hit a three-run homer for the Royals. Edward Olivares added a solo shot off Aaron Civale (3-5). Kansas City has won three straight since a seven-game losing streak.Franco also had a two-run single, giving him five RBIs.BRAVES 7, NATIONALS 6WASHINGTON (AP) — Freddie Freeman homered twice, Dansby Swanson hit a go-ahead shot in the eighth inning and Atlanta rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat Washington. Freeman tied the game at 6 in the seventh... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Royals rookie Brady Singer allowed just one hit — a two-out single through an infield shift in the eighth inning — while pitching Kansas City to an 11-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night.Making his ninth career start, the 24-year-old Singer (2-4) was four outs from becoming the 36th rookie to throw a no-hitter when Cleveland catcher Austin Hedges, who came in batting .148, bounced a single through a wide-open right side. The hit came on a full count and Singer’s 116th pitch.Maikel Franco and Adalberto Mondesi each hit a three-run homer for the Royals. Edward Olivares added a solo shot off Aaron Civale (3-5). Kansas City has won three straight since a seven-game losing streak.Franco also had a two-run single, giving him five RBIs.BRAVES 7, NATIONALS 6WASHINGTON (AP) — Freddie Freeman homered twice, Dansby Swanson hit a go-ahead shot in the eighth inning and Atlanta rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat Washington. Freeman tied the game at 6 in the seventh... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Royals rookie Brady Singer allowed just one hit — a two-out single through an infield shift in the eighth inning — while pitching Kansas City to an 11-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night.Making his ninth career start, the 24-year-old Singer (2-4) was four outs from becoming the 36th rookie to throw a no-hitter when Cleveland catcher Austin Hedges, who came in batting .148, bounced a single through a wide-open right side. The hit came on a full count and Singer’s 116th pitch.Maikel Franco and Adalberto Mondesi each hit a three-run homer for the Royals. Edward Olivares added a solo shot off Aaron Civale (3-5). Kansas City has won three straight since a seven-game losing streak.Franco also had a two-run single, giving him five RBIs.BRAVES 7, NATIONALS 6WASHINGTON (AP) — Freddie Freeman homered twice, Dansby Swanson hit a go-ahead shot in the eighth inning and Atlanta rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat Washington. Freeman tied the game at 6 in the seventh... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Freddie Freeman homered twice, Dansby Swanson hit a go-ahead shot in the eighth inning and the Atlanta Braves rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat the Washington Nationals 7-6 on Thursday night. Freeman tied the game at 6 in the seventh with a 443-foot, two-run drive to right-center off Will Harris. Swanson’s solo shot off Tanner Rainey gave the Braves their first lead. After a scary bout with COVID-19 during the Braves’ summer camp, Freeman is among the major league leaders in OPS. He has five homers and 20 RBIs in his past seven games.Chris Martin got the win and Mark Melancon worked the ninth for his ninth save in 10 chances. Ronald Acuña Jr. also hit a two-run homer for the Braves, who weathered another ineffective outing from their makeshift rotation. Spot starter Robbie Erlin got five outs and allowed five extra-base hits.TIGERS 6, CARDINALS 3ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jeimer Candelario capped a two-homer day with a two-run, bases-loaded single in the seventh inning to help... [More]