The Latest on opening day (all times EDT):5:45 p.m.The Dodgers have chased Arizona's Zack Greinke with three homers in the fourth inning on opening day.After Enrique Hernandez and Austin Barnes hit back-to-back homers, Corey Seager celebrated his return from Tommy John surgery with a solo shot that sent Greinke to the showers. The $206.5 million right-hander gave up seven hits and seven runs, including Joc Pederson's two-run homer in the second for the two-time defending NL champions.Meanwhile, Hyun-Jin Ryu was stellar in the first four innings of his first opening day start, striking out six Diamondbacks and allowing one infield single. Arizona got only one ball out of the infield in the first four innings while falling behind 7-0.—Greg Beacham reporting from Los Angeles.___5:40 p.m.Chris Sale will join rare company when he throws the first pitch of the season for the Boston Red Sox.Sale recorded the final out of last season when he helped Boston clinch its World Series championship. By... [More]

The Latest on opening day (all times EDT):5:35 p.m.Javier Baez is already slugging and driving in runs again for the Chicago Cubs, with two homers in the season opener.Baez greeted Texas Rangers reliever Jesse Chavez with a three-run homer in the fifth inning to give the Cubs a 7-2 lead.The Cubs shortstop, who last season hit 34 homers and led the NL with 111 RBIs, hit a solo homer in the fourth off starter Mike Minor.—Stephen Hawkins reporting from Arlington, Texas___5:05 p.m.The pitching matchup in Minnesota between Cleveland's Corey Kluber and the home team's Jose Berrios has been all aces to start, with the Twins and Indians scoreless through four innings.Kluber, the two-time Cy Young Award winner, is perfect, actually, with 12 batters up and 12 batters down.Berrios, the youngest opening day starter for the Twins since Brad Radke in 1996, didn't give up a hit until a leadoff double to Leonys Martin in the fourth inning. But the 24-year-old right-hander finished the frame without any... [More]

The Latest on opening day (all times EDT):5:05 p.m.The pitching matchup in Minnesota between Cleveland's Corey Kluber and the home team's Jose Berrios has been all aces to start, with the Twins and Indians scoreless through four innings.Kluber, the two-time Cy Young Award winner, is perfect, actually, with 12 batters up and 12 batters down.Berrios, the youngest opening day starter for the Twins since Brad Radke in 1996, didn't give up a hit until a leadoff double to Leonys Martin in the fourth inning. But the 24-year-old right-hander finished the frame without any damage, striking out Hanley Ramirez to strand runners at first and second.— Dave Campbell reporting from Minneapolis___4:52 p.m.Corey Seager is back and Dodger Stadium is happy about it.The two-time All-Star shortstop got a loud pregame ovation when he was introduced in the Dodgers' starting lineup. He was sidelined for nearly all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, missing the Dodgers' run to their second straight... [More]

The Latest on opening day (all times EDT):4:52 p.m.Corey Seager is back and Dodger Stadium is happy about it.The two-time All-Star shortstop got a loud pregame ovation when he was introduced in the Dodgers' starting lineup. He was sidelined for nearly all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, missing the Dodgers' run to their second straight World Series.Seager drew a walk in his first plate appearance while the Dodgers took a 1-0 lead on the Diamondbacks. Seager then showed his arm is fine when he made all three putouts in the Diamondbacks' second inning.A.J. Pollock also drew a walk in his first plate appearance for the Dodgers, who signed him as a free agent after seven seasons in Arizona.Adam Jones struck out while batting leadoff in his debut for the Diamondbacks after 11 years in Baltimore.— Greg Beacham reporting from Los Angeles.___4:50 p.m.Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres singled to left in his first big league at-bat, against San Francisco Giants ace Madison... [More]

The Latest on opening day (all times EDT):4:15 p.m.Dee Gordon wanted to express his appreciation for Ichiro Suzuki, who announced his retirement following the Seattle Mariners' two games in Japan. But he wanted to do more than a social media post.So Gordon took out a full-page ad in The Seattle Times on Thursday ahead of the Mariners' home opener against the Boston Red Sox."Honestly, I didn't think that writing up an Instagram post or something would be meaningful enough," Gordon said. "And he probably wouldn't be able to see it. I thought this was over the top, too."In the ad, Gordon wrote, "Thank you for being a great friend to me and being my favorite player to this day."___3:25 p.m.Score it 3U on No. 3.Bryce Harper grounded out to first base in his first at-bat in a Phillies uniform.Harper was already a smash hit before he walked to the plate to a standing ovation. Phillies fans were wild all day in anticipation of Harper's debut.Harper, who wore green Phanatic cleats, bowed to the... [More]

TOKYO (AP) — At times, it seemed as if he'd go on hitting forever.But on Thursday night, a player who defined baseball at its very best on two continents for a generation, took his final swing.The great Ichiro has said "sayonara."Now 45, Ichiro Suzuki left the Tokyo Dome field in the eighth inning, waving goodbye to the packed crowd amid hugs from Seattle Mariners teammates in a three-minute walk that signaled to all his monumental run was over."I have ended my career and decided to retire," Ichiro said, speaking in Japanese at a news conference after a 5-4 win over Oakland in 12 innings.He said his contract was through the two games in Japan, and said he decided before arriving last week to step away."After the reception I got today, how could I possibly have any regrets?" he said. "I couldn't play well enough in spring training to earn an extension."Ichiro went 0 for 4 in his farewell. In his last at-bat, he came up with two outs, a runner on second and a tie score in the eighth. He hit... [More]

TOKYO (AP) — Talk about a serious home-field advantage.Ichiro Suzuki had it on a night to celebrate all things Ichiro — "Ichiromania" in other words — as he started for the Seattle Mariners against the Oakland Athletics in MLB's opening game of the season.About 45,000 voices in a sellout crowd on Wednesday at the Tokyo Dome chanted his name as he took his place in right field. The scene is likely to be repeated on Thursday when the teams finish their Tokyo series. That game may also mark and end for the 45-year-old Ichiro, though no one is saying."I thought it was amazing to see the crowd come out here for him," Mariners second baseman Dee Gordon said after a 9-7 win. "This whole situation is pretty much for him and he deserves it."Ichiro provided his usual flair early, catching a ball behind his back during batting practice.Cameras flashed and chants echoed all around the park when Ichiro came to bat in the third inning. But with fans eager to see him deliver, he popped up with a runner... [More]

TOKYO (AP) — Talk about a serious home-field advantage.Ichiro Suzuki had it on a night to celebrate all things Ichiro — "Ichiromania" in other words — as he started for the Seattle Mariners against the Oakland Athletics in MLB's opening game of the season.About 45,000 voices in a sellout crowd on Wednesday at the Tokyo Dome chanted his name as he took his place in right field. The scene is likely to be repeated on Thursday when the teams finish their Tokyo series. That game may also mark and end for the 45-year-old Ichiro, though no one is saying."I thought it was amazing to see the crowd come out here for him," Mariners second baseman Dee Gordon said after a 9-7 win. "This whole situation is pretty much for him and he deserves it."Ichiro provided his usual flair early, catching a ball behind his back during batting practice.Cameras flashed and chants echoed all around the park when Ichiro came to bat in the third inning. But with fans eager to see him deliver, he popped up with a runner... [More]

TOKYO (AP) — Jay Bruce of the Seattle Mariners has gotten the first hit of the 2019 Major League Baseball season and Oakland's Stephen Piscotty has connected for the first home run.Bruce lined a single off the glove of shifted Athletics shortstop Marcus Semien with two outs in the top of the first inning Wednesday at the Tokyo Dome. Piscotty homered to center field in the bottom of the first off Marco Gonzales.Oakland's Mike Fiers threw the first pitch of the season, a ball to Dee Gordon at 6:36 p.m. (5:36 a.m. EDT).Mariners newcomer Edwin Encarnacion was the first player to strike out this year and Seattle third baseman Ryon Healy made the first error.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

TOKYO (AP) — Talk about a serious home-field advantage.Ichiro Suzuki had it on a night to celebrate all things Ichiro — "Ichiromania" in other words — as he started for the Seattle Mariners against the Oakland Athletics in MLB's opening game of the season.About 45,000 voices in a sellout crowd on Wednesday at the Tokyo Dome chanted his name as he took his place in right field. The scene is likely to be repeated on Thursday when the teams finish their Tokyo series. That game may also mark and end for the 45-year-old Ichiro, though no one is saying.The season began at 6:36 p.m. (5:36 a.m. EDT) when Mike Fiers threw ball one to Mariners leadoff man Dee Gordon.But there was no doubt which player most fans came to see.Hundreds wore Ichiro jerseys — of different eras and colors — emblazoned with No. 51, and a military band played a Sousa march in the pregame ceremonies.A half-dozen fans lined up just behind the third-base dugout and held up cards spelling out his name in Japanese. Another wore... [More]

TOKYO (AP) — Jay Bruce of the Seattle Mariners has gotten the first hit of the 2019 Major League Baseball season and Oakland's Stephen Piscotty has connected for the first home run.Bruce lined a single off the glove of shifted Athletics shortstop Marcus Semien with two outs in the top of the first inning Wednesday at the Tokyo Dome. Piscotty homered to center field in the bottom of the first off Marco Gonzales.Oakland's Mike Fiers threw the first pitch of the season, a ball to Dee Gordon at 6:36 p.m. (5:36 a.m. EDT).

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) — Jerry Dipoto never met Ichiro Suzuki in person until the day he was reintroduced as a member of the Seattle Mariners during spring training in 2018.Suzuki's one request for the hoopla that surrounded his return to the Mariners was the news conference and ensuing activities be kept, in his words, "casual.""The entourage arrived, and it looked like the CIA arrival for the president. It was dark windows, suburbans, and Ichiro rolled out and he walked into my office in what I can only describe as something off the runways type of suit," Dipoto, the team's general manager, recalled. "It was like a $5,000 suit that looked as crisp and clean as you can imagine. Impeccable knot in his tie with the dark sunglasses. My first reaction to him was not to shake his hand and introduce myself or the like, I slapped him in the chest and said, 'I thought we were going casual?' He said to me, and this was my intro to Ichiro, he said to me, 'To me, this is casual.'"That initial introduction... [More]

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Brett Phillips has always been the fastest player on his team, whether he was playing in Little League, starring at Seminole High School or climbing the rungs of the minor league ladder.When he looks around the Kansas City Royals' clubhouse, though, the fleet-footed outfielder was left to ask a very sobering and sincere question: "What am I, the 10th fastest now?"Not quite. But just about.You see, the Royals identified a market inefficiency a few years ago when it came to bullpen arms, stockpiling huge talents at low costs and effectively shortening games. The result was twofold: They won back-to-back American League pennants and the 2015 World Series, and every other team noticed what they had done and began to offer big contracts to premier relievers.Unable to keep up with those escalating costs, the Royals turned their attention to speed and defense as they dive headlong into a rebuild. Now, they view stolen bases as grossly undervalued in an era of power hitters,... [More]

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Ask around the Seattle Mariners spring training complex and the most popular person putting on a uniform each day is likely a 66-year-old who is nearly four decades removed from playing professionally, and has become a respected authority throughout baseball as one of the best infield instructors around.The move by the Mariners to hire Perry Hill as their first base and infield coach in the offseason went mostly unnoticed, but his influence is already making a difference."Oh man, I think he saved my career, honestly," said shortstop J.P. Crawford, one of the Mariners' key offseason acquisitions of young talent. "I was having a problem where I couldn't point them out or see them, and I took groundballs with him for a day and he fixed me and got me right. He brings energy to this team. We need him on our team. I love him. He's probably everyone's favorite on the team. He just brings so much energy to the team and he's so important to us."Crawford didn't meet Hill until... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — When injuries depleted the Arizona outfield last season, middle infielder Ketel Marte volunteered to be an interim option.The Diamondbacks are taking him up on that offer this year.Marte will move from second base to center field this season as the Diamondbacks reconfigure following the loss of free agent center fielder A.J. Pollock and a perceived dearth of free agents or trade options to replace him."He feels like he can do anything in this game, and I love that," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said."Last year when A.J. went down, he said, 'I'll be the best center fielder. If you need somebody, put me out there.' That was our starting point with him this year."Marte made all of his 132 starts in the middle infield in 2018, 105 at second base, and he also reached career highs in virtually every offensive category after signing a five-year, $24 million contract last March.He led the NL with 12 triples and had 26 doubles, 14 homers and 59 RBIs in his first full season.While... [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]

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) — Jay Bruce and Edwin Encarnacion are still productive major leaguers with the potential for big seasons.Encarnacion had 32 home runs and 107 RBIs a season ago with Cleveland. Bruce hit 29 homers two seasons ago with the New York Mets. So they could play an important role in any success the Seattle Mariners have in 2019.They just don't fit perfectly into the Mariners' long-term plans to build for the future.It leaves them in the odd circumstance of knowing they are trying to help Seattle be successful and mentoring the next wave of young prospects, while at the same time essentially auditioning for teams that could be looking to add some offensive punch by the time midseason rolls around."I don't worry about any of that stuff. I don't trade myself. I create trade interest in myself by playing well. I help the team by playing well," Bruce said. "I set an example for the young players based on my actions. I try not to be real preachy about the way I go about my business.... [More]