WASHINGTON (AP) — Bryce Harper crushed a long home run for his third hit while performing to jeers in his return to Washington, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Nationals 8-2 Tuesday night for the franchise's best start in over a century.Maikel Franco also homered for the Phillies, baseball's only undefeated team at 4-0. They had only done that in 1915 and 1897.Harper left Washington after playing 927 games over seven years, participating in six All-Star Games and winning the 2015 NL MVP Award. He listened to what the Nationals had to offer, then signed a $330 million, 13-year contract with the rival Phillies in February.Harper hasn't wasted any time providing returns for the investment. He has three homers and five RBIs in four games, along with a .429 batting average. He drove in three Tuesday.Booed during every at-bat, Harper thumped a "take that," 458-foot shot in the eighth inning off Jeremy Hellickson. As the ball soared toward the second deck in right field, Harper flipped... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Joc Pederson and Enrique Hernandez each hit two of the Los Angeles Dodgers' eight home runs Thursday in a 12-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.The Dodgers set a major league record for homers on opening day and tied the franchise mark for any game.Hernandez, Austin Barnes and Corey Seager all homered in the fourth inning to chase Arizona ace Zack Greinke (0-1). Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger and Hernandez connected in the seventh for the power-packed Dodgers, whose pursuit of a third straight National League got off to a thrilling start.Adam Jones and Christian Walker homered for the Diamondbacks, but their pitching staff's eight homers allowed also set a team record.The Dodgers and Diamondbacks weren't the only ones going deep, either, as teams around the majors combined to set an all-time high for home runs on opening day.Hyun-Jin Ryu (1-0) struck out eight over six stellar innings as Los Angeles' first opening day starter not named Clayton Kershaw since 2010. Kershaw's... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Joc Pederson and Enrique Hernandez each hit two of the Los Angeles Dodgers' eight home runs Thursday in a 12-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.The Dodgers set a major league record for homers on opening day and tied the franchise mark for any game.Hernandez, Austin Barnes and Corey Seager all homered in the fourth inning to chase Arizona ace Zack Greinke (0-1). Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger and Hernandez connected in the seventh for the power-packed Dodgers, whose pursuit of a third straight National League got off to a thrilling start.Adam Jones and Christian Walker homered for the Diamondbacks, but their pitching staff's eight homers allowed also set a team record.The Dodgers and Diamondbacks weren't the only ones going deep, either, as teams around the majors combined to set an all-time high for home runs on opening day.Hyun-Jin Ryu (1-0) struck out eight over six stellar innings as Los Angeles' first opening day starter not named Clayton Kershaw since 2010. Kershaw's... [More]

Matt Carpenter and the St. Louis Cardinals are well aware of what happened last year.Christian Yelich and the Milwaukee Brewers are home for the first time since one memorable October.Nothing like a tough test on the very first day of class.Carpenter, newcomer Paul Goldschmidt and the Cardinals visit Yelich and the Brewers on Thursday for opening day. It's not exactly a leisurely stroll into the season for a pair of teams with championship aspirations."I think everybody's zoned in on the season and they're ready to start games, start playing meaningful games," Brewers pitcher Zach Davies said, "and just get back to our normal routine."Miles Mikolas and Jhoulys Chacin face off in a matchup of unique pitchers coming off breakthrough performances.The 30-year-old Mikolas joined St. Louis in December 2017 after spending three seasons with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan's Central League. The right-hander became the ace of the Cardinals in his first year with the club, going 18-4 with a 2.83 ERA.He... [More]

Kyle Seager will be absent next week when the Seattle Mariners play the major league opener in Japan. Mike Foltynewicz will miss opening day for Atlanta, too.Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, meanwhile, is on the mend.The Mariners said Monday that Seager needs surgery on his left hand, sidelining the third baseman through at least April. The former All-Star and Gold Glove winner rolled his glove going for a grounder in a spring training game last week.Seattle is likely to move first baseman Ryon Healy across the diamond to third. The Mariners and Oakland begin the regular season on March 20 in Tokyo.The Braves had hoped Foltynewicz could start on March 28 when the NL East champions open at Philadelphia, but a sore elbow has slowed the All-Star righty.Foltynewicz has yet to make an appearance in an exhibition game because of discomfort that began about two weeks ago."We're just trying to figure out at what point do we get him up to five innings?" general manager Alex Anthopoulos said. "He's not... [More]

Kyle Seager will be absent next week when the Seattle Mariners play the major league opener in Japan. Mike Foltynewicz will miss opening day for Atlanta, too.Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, meanwhile, is on the mend.The Mariners said Monday that Seager needs surgery on his left hand, sidelining the third baseman through at least April. The former All-Star and Gold Glove winner rolled his glove going for a grounder in a spring training game last week.Seattle is likely to move first baseman Ryon Healy across the diamond to third. The Mariners and Oakland begin the regular season on March 20 in Tokyo.The Braves had hoped Foltynewicz could start on March 28 when the NL East champions open at Philadelphia, but a sore elbow has slowed the All-Star righty.Foltynewicz has yet to make an appearance in an exhibition game because of discomfort that began about two weeks ago."We're just trying to figure out at what point do we get him up to five innings?" general manager Alex Anthopoulos said. "He's not... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman left Wednesday's 11-5 victory over the Miami Marlins because of back stiffness.Bregman walked in the first inning and was replaced after the second. He was playing his third spring training game following arthroscopic elbow surgery on Jan. 11.Astros manager A.J. Hinch said Bregman probably will be held out a day and return to the lineup on Friday.AROUND THE GRAPEFRUIT AND CACTUS LEAGUESBLUE JAYS 9, PHILLIES 7Cavan Biggio, the son of Astros Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, and Anthony Alford both homered for the first time for the Blue Jays. Dalton Pompey hit two doubles and drove in three runs for Toronto. Aaron Sanchez made his second start, allowing a hit and two walks in 2 2/3 scoreless innings.Vince Velasquez made his first start for Philadelphia, allowing one run, one hit and two walks in one inning. Aaron Althier went 0 for 3, striking out twice and lowering his average to .143.ORIOLES 9, RAYS 6Mike Yastrzemski, a grandson... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman left Wednesday's 11-5 victory over the Miami Marlins because of back stiffness.Bregman walked in the first inning and was replaced after the second. He was playing his third spring training game following arthroscopic elbow surgery on Jan. 11.Astros manager A.J. Hinch said Bregman probably will be held out a day and return to the lineup on Friday.AROUND THE GRAPEFRUIT AND CACTUS LEAGUESBLUE JAYS 9, PHILLIES 7Cavan Biggio, the son of Astros Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, and Anthony Alford both homered for the first time for the Blue Jays. Dalton Pompey hit two doubles and drove in three runs for Toronto. Aaron Sanchez made his second start, allowing a hit and two walks in 2 2/3 scoreless innings.Vince Velasquez made his first start for Philadelphia, allowing one run, one hit and two walks in one inning. Aaron Althier went 0 for 3, striking out twice and lowering his average to .143.ORIOLES 9, RAYS 6Mike Yastrzemski, a grandson... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Christian Yelich has already had conversations with some of his Milwaukee Brewers teammates about their biggest message this spring after coming up one win short of the World Series."What you did last year means nothing basically. Whether it was good or bad for you as an individual or as a team, it means absolutely nothing. It doesn't matter," Yelich said. "We all start with a clean slate. It's all what are you going to do in 2019 to help the Brewers win."Even for the young slugging outfielder who was the NL MVP after nearly winning the Triple Crown (.326, 36 homers, 110 RBIs) in his first season with the Brewers.Milwaukee's first full-squad workout is Tuesday, four months after losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the NL Championship Series. The Brewers made a late-September surge to force a Game 163 tiebreaker, beat the Chicago Cubs for their first NL Central title since 2011 and swept Colorado in the NL Division Series."It was a little shorter offseason, not... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — David Stearns doesn't expect wholesale change for the Milwaukee Brewers after they fell a game short of the World Series.Milwaukee is set to return most of its roster after winning the NL Central in a tiebreaking 163rd game and pushing the Dodgers to Game 7 of the NL Championship Series. Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain headline the group, with Ryan Braun, Travis Shaw, Jesus Aguilar and Orlando Arcia all under contract, too. That gives Milwaukee's general manager reason for optimism long-term."Those are players that performed on a big stage in October and have the ability to continue performing as Brewers in the future," Stearns said. "We genuinely believe we are set up to succeed going forward."Stearns also pointed to an abundance of young pitching. Rookie right-handers Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes and Freddy Peralta pitched well down the stretch, and Woodruff and Burnes played crucial roles in the postseason. All three will be in the mix for a rotation spot with Jhoulys... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Cody Bellinger is the MVP of the NL Championship Series.All it took was a couple of big swings.Bellinger hit a two-run homer to help the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1 in Game 7 on Saturday night. Last season's NL Rookie of the Year also singled home the winning run in the 13th inning of a 2-1 victory in Game 4.The 23-year-old Bellinger opened the playoffs with an 0-for-15 slide and finished with just five hits in the series against Milwaukee. But he certainly made the most of them."All postseason I felt fairly good. I wasn't seeing any results," he said. "And luckily for me I've got a lot of veterans on this team. They said stick with the process and the results will come. And that's exactly what I did and it showed."Bellinger's .200 batting average matched Boston Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. for the lowest by a position player selected MVP of a league championship series — with each coming this postseason in the year of the strikeout.Now Bellinger... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Craig Counsell and the Milwaukee Brewers relied on their bullpen all season long.Those hard-throwing relievers finally ran out of gas in the NL Championship Series.Josh Hader was brilliant as usual, but Jeremy Jeffress was tagged for a crucial three-run homer by Yasiel Puig and the Brewers never recovered, losing 5-1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 on Saturday night."Devastated. We were right there," Jeffress said.Milwaukee's deep bullpen played a key role in its closing push to a surprising NL Central title. Led by Hader, Jeffress and Corey Knebel, the Brewers led the National League with 42 wins by their relievers and finished second in the league with a 3.47 bullpen ERA.Counsell continued to lean on Hader and Co. in the playoffs, with the Milwaukee manager putting his own spin on the "opener" strategy most notably employed by Tampa Bay this season. Brandon Woodruff replaced Gio Gonzalez after two innings in Game 1 against Los Angeles. Counsell had Wade Miley pitch... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Craig Counsell and the Milwaukee Brewers relied on their bullpen all season long.Those hard-throwing relievers finally ran out of gas in the NL Championship Series.Josh Hader was brilliant as usual, but Jeremy Jeffress was tagged for a crucial three-run homer by Yasiel Puig and the Brewers never recovered, losing 5-1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 on Saturday night."Devastated. We were right there," Jeffress said.Milwaukee's deep bullpen played a key role in its closing push to a surprising NL Central title. Led by Hader, Jeffress and Corey Knebel, the Brewers led the National League with 42 wins by their relievers and finished second in the league with a 3.47 bullpen ERA.Counsell continued to lean on Hader and Co. in the playoffs, with the Milwaukee manager putting his own spin on the "opener" strategy most notably employed by Tampa Bay this season. Brandon Woodruff replaced Gio Gonzalez after two innings in Game 1 against Los Angeles. Counsell had Wade Miley pitch... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Craig Counsell and the Milwaukee Brewers relied on their bullpen all season long.Those hard-throwing relievers finally ran out of gas in the NL Championship Series.Josh Hader was brilliant as usual, but Jeremy Jeffress was tagged for a crucial three-run homer by Yasiel Puig and the Brewers never recovered, losing 5-1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 on Saturday night.Milwaukee's deep bullpen played a key role in its closing push to a surprising NL Central title. Led by Hader, Jeffress and Corey Knebel, the Brewers led the National League with 42 wins by their relievers and finished second in the league with a 3.47 bullpen ERA.Counsell continued to lean on Hader and Co. in the playoffs, with the Milwaukee manager putting his own spin on the "opener" strategy most notably employed by Tampa Bay this season. Brandon Woodruff replaced Gio Gonzalez after two innings in Game 1 against Los Angeles. Counsell had Wade Miley pitch to just one batter in Game 5 before pulling him,... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Clayton Kershaw will be available in relief for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the NL Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers.The winner of Saturday night's game plays the Red Sox in the World Series, which starts Tuesday in Boston.Kershaw would be pitching on two days of rest. The three-time Cy Young Award winner is coming off a masterful outing in Game 5 on Wednesday, when he allowed one run and three hits while fanning nine over seven innings in a 5-2 victory at Dodger Stadium.Manager Dave Roberts said the ace left-hander will head to the bullpen at the start of the game instead of waiting until the later innings."It's hard to see a scenario that he's not a part of this game," Roberts said. "I don't really have a number of pitches or innings. But I do see him being a part of this equation."Kershaw has been dominant in relief during recent postseason elimination games. He got the final two outs of a 4-3 victory over Washington in Game 5 of the 2016 Division... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers have topped their lineup with two left-handed sluggers against Milwaukee Brewers righty Jhoulys Chacin for Game 7 of the NL Championship Series.The winner plays the Boston Red Sox in the World Series, which starts Tuesday.Joc Pederson, who hit 25 homers this season, is leading off Saturday night. He is followed by Max Muncy, who had 35 home runs.Justin Turner, Manny Machado and Cody Bellinger are next. Bellinger is the third left-handed hitter in the starting lineup.Yasiel Puig, Chris Taylor, Austin Barnes and rookie starter Walker Buehler round out the order.The versatile Taylor, starting at second base, is hitting a team-high .350 in the NLCS. Barnes is making his fourth straight start at catcher.The Brewers are sticking with the same lineup from Game 6, when they had 11 hits to break out of a slump for a 7-2 victory that tied the series at 3 games apiece.Lorenzo Cain, MVP candidate Christian Yelich and Ryan Braun top the lineup, followed by cleanup hitter Travis Shaw, Jesus Aguilar and Mike Moustakas.Erik Kratz, Orlando Arcia and Chacin are at the bottom of the order.Arcia, a smooth-fielding shortstop, is hitting .318 in the series with two homers and three RBIs.___More AP MLB: www.apnews.com/tag/MLB and www.twitter.com/AP_Sports

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers have topped their lineup with two left-handed sluggers against Milwaukee Brewers righty Jhoulys Chacin for Game 7 of the NL Championship Series.The winner plays the Boston Red Sox in the World Series, which starts Tuesday.Joc Pederson, who hit 25 homers this season, is leading off. He is followed by Max Muncy, who had 35 home runs.Justin Turner, Manny Machado and Cody Bellinger are next. Bellinger is the third left-handed hitter in the starting lineup.Yasiel Puig, Chris Taylor, Austin Barnes and rookie starter Walker Buehler round out the order.The versatile Taylor, starting at second base, is hitting a team-high .350 in the NLCS. Barnes is making his fourth straight start at catcher.___More AP MLB: www.apnews.com/tag/MLB and www.twitter.com/AP_Sports

A look at what's happening around the majors today:GAME 7The Dodgers and Brewers meet in an all-or-nothing matchup at Miller Park to decide the NL Championship Series. Los Angeles will start 24-year-old rookie Walker Buehler, who showed flashes of brilliance this season but has not fared well in his two playoff starts. Jhoulys Chacin is set to pitch for Milwaukee — the journeyman had a career year and has done even better in the postseason, pitching 10 1/3 shutout innings in two starts.Brewers manager Craig Counsell counts heavily on his bullpen, and Josh Hader is well rested. The rocket-armed lefty hasn't pitched since Tuesday in Game 4. He wasn't needed Friday night as the Brewers topped the Dodgers 7-2 in Game 6.FALL AT FENWAYBoston works out at Fenway Park for the first time since beating Houston to win its 14th pennant.Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Friday he's sorted out his rotation for the start of the World Series: Ace Chris Sale will start Tuesday's opener and David Price probably... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:NO BOTHERRed Sox manager Alex Cora is brushing off the notion that Boston might be motivated for Game 3 of the AL Championship Series by a brazen social media post Monday from Astros star Alex Bregman. Houston's third baseman shared a video on Instagram of his club hitting back-to-back-to-back home runs off Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi during a game in June captioned "lil pregame video work." Eovaldi was with Tampa Bay at the time and allowed a career-high four homers in a 5-1 loss. Eovaldi will oppose Dallas Keuchel as the series shifts to Houston.Astros manager AJ Hinch had no issue with the online barb but implored Bregman to "go out and back it up." Eovaldi didn't seem bothered by the video, saying he doesn't have social media, and Cora dismissed the idea that the post will give the Red Sox any added push."If you need motivation in Game 3 of the ALCS, you better check yourself," he said. "Because you win three more games, you go to... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Tuesday:NO BOTHERRed Sox manager Alex Cora is brushing off the notion that Boston might be motivated for Game 3 of the AL Championship Series by a brazen social media post Monday from Astros star Alex Bregman. Houston's third baseman shared a video on Instagram of his club hitting back-to-back-to-back home runs off Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi during a game in June captioned "lil pregame video work." Eovaldi was with Tampa Bay at the time and allowed a career-high four homers in a 5-1 loss. Eovaldi will oppose Dallas Keuchel as the series shifts to Houston.Astros manager AJ Hinch had no issue with the online barb but implored Bregman to "go out and back it up." Eovaldi didn't seem bothered by the video, saying he doesn't have social media, and Cora dismissed the idea that the post will give the Red Sox any added push."If you need motivation in Game 3 of the ALCS, you better check yourself," he said. "Because you win three more games, you go... [More]