Mike Trout hit two home runs off Zack Greinke and scored four times to help the Los Angeles Angels beat the Houston Astros 9-6 on opening day. Alas, the game was played on a computer, not on the field. But as fans of the popular sports game Strat-O-Matic can attest, make-believe boxscores can be fun too.Fifteen of them were generated Thursday by Strat-O-Matic — one for every real game postponed on opening day because of the coronavirus. The results came via computer simulations, which the New York-based company will continue to run daily while the real thing is on hiatus.“People miss baseball, us included,” said Adam Richman, whose father created Strat-O-Matic as an 11-year-old in 1948. “This is a way to bring a little bit of baseball to everyone in their homes. We know baseball will be back, but until then there’s Strat-O-Matic.”Howie Kendrick hit a tiebreaking solo home run in the ninth inning to help the World Series champion Nationals beat the Mets 4-3. Pinch hitter Brock Holt's three-run... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — There will be no hot dogs on the grill, no beer on tap, no vendors in the stands selling peanuts and Cracker Jack. The shiny new stadium deep in the heart of Texas will still be waiting for its first Rangers game. Instead of warming up for his debut with the New York Yankees after a record $324 million, nine-year contract, Gerrit Cole is playing catch with his wife at home. With the start of the Major League Baseball season indefinitely on hold because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, ballparks will be empty Thursday on what was supposed to be opening day. “You’re used to seeing people run all over the place. We have over 200 people (who work) at the park,” said Roger Bossard, the groundskeeper in his 54th year with the Chicago White Sox. “Certainly, it’s eerie when no one’s around. You walk around the hallways or underneath the stands there, and there’s nobody there — but understandably.”From Baltimore to Miami in the east, San Diego to Seattle in the west — and... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — There will be no hot dogs on the grill, no beer on tap, no vendors in the stands selling peanuts and Cracker Jack. The shiny new stadium deep in the heart of Texas will still be waiting for its first Rangers game. Instead of warming up for his debut with the New York Yankees after a record $324 million, nine-year contract, Gerrit Cole is playing catch with his wife at home. With the start of the Major League Baseball season indefinitely on hold because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, ballparks will be empty Thursday on what was supposed to be opening day. “You’re used to seeing people run all over the place. We have over 200 people (who work) at the park,” said Roger Bossard, the groundskeeper in his 54th year with the Chicago White Sox. “Certainly, it’s eerie when no one’s around. You walk around the hallways or underneath the stands there, and there’s nobody there — but understandably.”From Baltimore to Miami in the east, San Diego to Seattle in the west — and... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard became the latest big-name pitcher to need Tommy John surgery, joining the Yankees' Luis Severino and Boston's Chris Sale.New York said Tuesday that Syndergaard needs reconstruction of his ulnar collateral ligament and will miss the season that's been put on hold because of the coronavirus outbreak. Mets medical director Dr. David Altchek will operate on the right-hander on Thursday.“After experiencing discomfort in his elbow before spring training was suspended due to the pandemic, Noah and our health and performance department have been in constant contact,” Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said in a statement. “Based on the persistence of his symptoms, Noah underwent a physical examination and MRI that revealed the ligament tear."Syndergaard, the hardest-throwing starting pitcher in the major leagues last season, received a second opinion from Los Angeles Dodgers head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache."While this is unfortunate,... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees catcher Gary Sánchez missed batting practice Tuesday because he has the flu and will be re-evaluated later this week.Manager Aaron Boone said Sanchez, sidelined since the weekend by a sore back, was examined by team doctors.“He had the fever last night, “ Boone said. ”They tested him and it was positive for the flu, He'll be away from us for the next couple days, at least. We'll see where he's at that point.”Sánchez is to be evaluated again Friday.He played consecutive games for the first time this year on Thursday and Friday, then felt back soreness on Saturday and hasn't played since. He took part in catching drills Monday and was scheduled to resume batting practice on Tuesday.Yankees ace Gerrit Cole missed a couple days last week because of a fever.Outfielder-designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton, who strained his right calf during defensive drills on Feb, 26, will start running outdoors Wednesday or Thursday. Stanton, expected to be out until sometime in April, has been playing catch and hitting in an indoor cage.Left-hander James Paxton is scheduled to start a throwing program Wednesday as part of his rehabilitation from back surgery on Feb. 5 for a herniated disk and the removal of a cyst. He likely will be sidelined until May or June.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Houston ace Justin Verlander has a mild strain of a back muscle and said it would “probably take a miracle” for him to pitch on opening day at home against the Los Angeles Angels on March 26.In an effort to remain positive, Verlander quickly added, “but I don't want to leave miracles off the table.”The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner was hurt on his second-to-last pitch in Sunday's exhibition game against the New York Mets. He had an MRI on Monday and was diagnosed with a strained latissimus dorsi muscle. There is not a timetable for his return.“Talking with doctors and looking at the scans, it's definitely not worst-case scenario,” the Astros right-hander said. “Best-case scenario would be nothing. It's just probably somewhere in the middle of that.”The 37-year-old's velocity was down from his previous start, and he was removed after two scoreless innings of what had been scheduled as a four-inning outing. “Hardly noticed it to be honest,” Verlander said... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Houston ace Justin Verlander has a mild strain of a back muscle and said it would “probably take a miracle” for him to pitch in the Astros' opener at Oakland on March 26.In an effort to remain positive, Verlander quickly added, “but I don't want to leave miracles off the table.”The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner was hurt on his second-to-last pitch in Sunday's exhibition game against the New York Mets. He had an MRI on Monday and was diagnosed with a strained latissimus dorsi muscle. There is not a timetable for his return.“Talking with doctors and looking at the scans, it's definitely not worst-case scenario,” Verlander said, “Best-case scenario would be nothing. It's just probably somewhere in the middle of that.”The 37-year-old right-hander's velocity was down from his previous start, and he was removed after two scoreless innings of what had been scheduled as a four-inning outing. “Hardly noticed it to be honest,” Verlander said of the injury-inducing... [More]

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Gerrit Cole gave up homers on consecutive pitches to Detroit's Travis Demeritte and Miguel Cabrera in the first inning on Thursday.Then Demeritte and Cabrera went deep against the New York Yankees ace on back-to-back pitches in the second."Probably pleased with most of the pitches, just got blistered on a handful of bad ones," Cole said. “It's not my favorite day of 2020 so far, but it is just spring training. You just take it for what it is, plain and simple, and we'll learn from it and get better,”Cole, who signed a $324 million, nine-year contract as a free agent, allowed six runs. six hits and one walk in two innings with three strikeouts. The 29-year-old right-hander threw 33 of 44 pitches for strikes.After Victor Reyes had a leadoff double in the first, Demeritte hit a two-run drive and Cabrera homered to the back of a grass berm in deep left-center field. Demeritte hit another two-run drive in the second and Cabrera drove a pitch off the center-field backdrop."Miguel's... [More]

Anthony Rendon won a World Series in Washington and then left the Nationals to join Mike Trout and Albert Pujols with the Los Angeles Angels. Gerrit Cole went to the New York Yankees to try to put them over the top.Mookie Betts, the 2018 AL MVP, and two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber were shipped out by cash-cutting teams.It's been an active offseason for some of baseball's biggest names. There were a few, like World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg and Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez, who decided to stick with the same teams. But for those who didn't, here's a scorecard to help you keep track of the offseason comings and goings:—Cole, from Astros to Yankees: The 29-year-old right-hander took a record $36 million per year over nine years to move from Houston to the Bronx. At his introductory news conference, he pulled out a pinstriped poster he waved when he attended the 2001 World Series as an 11-year-old reading: “Yankee Fan Today Tomorrow Forever." Cole was 20-5 with an AL-leading... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Injured Yankees outfielders Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are likely to miss New York's opener at Baltimore on March 26.Judge is having more tests to determine the cause of soreness in the right pectoral area near his shoulder. Judge has not hit on the field since spring training started, and the right fielder felt discomfort Friday when he took batting practice for the second straight day in an indoor cage.“He feels it more now in the pec," general manager Brian Cashman said Tuesday. “It's moved down toward the pec. We're just trying to figure it out and determine what's bothering him. In the meantime, I can just tell you he is feeling better in the last 48 hours."Stanton strained his right calf on Feb. 26 during defensive drills. Cashman thinks Stanton will be back in April.“For the time frame, obviously, we've got to get the healing component done for a Grade 1 strain and then rehab it,” Cashman said. “With arguably, what, 3 1/2 weeks to go before opening day I... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Injured New York Yankees outfielders Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are likely to miss New York's opener at Baltimore on March 26.Judge is having more tests to determine the cause of soreness in the right pectoral area near his shoulder. Judge has not hit on the field since spring training started, and the right fielder felt discomfort Friday when he took batting practice for the second straight day in an indoor cage.“He feels it more now in the pec," general manager Brian Cashman said Tuesday. “It's moved down toward the pec. We're just trying to figure it out and determine what's bothering him. In the meantime, I can just tell you he is feeling better in the last 48 hours."Stanton strained his right calf on Feb. 26 during defensive drills. Cashman thinks Stanton will be back in April.“For the time frame, obviously, we've got to get the healing component done for a Grade 1 strain and then rehab it,” Cashman said. “With arguably, what, 3 1/2 weeks to go before opening... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Yankees outfielders Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are likely to miss New York's opener at Baltimore on March 26 because of their injuries.Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Tuesday that Judge is having more tests to determine the cause of soreness in the right pectoral area near his shoulder. Judge has not hit on the field since spring training started. The right fielder felt discomfort Friday when he took batting practice for the second straight day in an indoor cage.“He feels it more now in the pec," Cashman said. “It's moved down toward the pec. We're just trying to figure it out and determine what's bothering him. In the meantime, I can just tell you he is feeling better in the last 48 hours."Stanton strained his right calf on Feb. 26 during defensive drills. Cashman thinks Stanton will be back in April.Since winning the 2017 AL Rookie of the Year award, Judge has been limited to 112 games in 2018 because of a broken right wrist and to 102 games last year... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Lance McCullers spun a curveball that Paul Goldschmidt swung over for strike three, then looked toward the Houston dugout.That was enough on this day.So McCullers smiled, bounced the ball in and out of his glove a couple times, got a handshake from catcher Martin Maldonado, waited for manager Dusty Baker and walked off the mound.After being out of the game for more than a year, 16 pitches were plenty.Sidelined since having Tommy John surgery in November 2018, McCullers started in a spring training game against St. Louis on Sunday and faced three batters. He retired leadoff man Kolten Wong on a soft comebacker, gave up a double to Paul DeJong and fanned Goldschmidt with an 84 mph curve.“Out of the 16 pitches I threw, really only maybe one or two that I didn't execute the way I was hoping to pre-pitch,” McCullers said. “Really happy with just the way I felt overall and just being out there with the guys.”“I really wanted to face the last batter, but I think we... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees star Aaron Judge has undergone an MRI and further tests as the team tries to determine the cause of his ailing right shoulder.Manager Aaron Boone said Judge “was not right” while taking batting practice in an indoor cage Friday.“We're in a holding pattern with it, just trying to figure out what exactly is going on," Boone said Saturday. “We''re trying to get our arms around if we can pinpoint something that's causing some of the discomfort. At this point we haven't found that.”Judge was shut down from hitting a week before spring training after experiencing soreness in the shoulder. The slugging right fielder had been scheduled to take batting practice on the field for the first time since being shelved this weekend.Boone feels Judge could be ready for the start of the season if he's able to play in games over the final 10 days or so at spring training.“First things first is getting him to that point and I don't know when that is," Boone said. “I'm a... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees star Aaron Judge has undergone an MRI and further tests as the team tries to determine the cause of his ailing right shoulder.Manager Aaron Boone said Judge “was not right” while taking batting practice in an indoor cage Friday.“We're in a holding pattern with it, just trying to figure out what exactly is going on," Boone said Saturday. “We''re trying to get our arms around if we can pinpoint something that's causing some of the discomfort. At this point we haven't found that.”Judge was shut down from hitting a week before spring training after experiencing soreness in the shoulder. The slugging right field had been scheduled to take batting practice on the field for the first time since being shelved this weekend.Boone feels Judge could be ready for the start of the season if he's able to play in games over the final 10 days or so at spring training.“First things first is getting him to that point and I don't know when that is," Boone said. “I'm a little... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees star Aaron Judge has undergone an MRI and further tests as the team tries to determine the cause of his ailing right shoulder.Manager Aaron Boone said Judge “was not right” while taking batting practice in an indoor cage Friday.“We're in a holding pattern with it, just trying to figure out what exactly is going on," Boone said Saturday. “We''re trying to get our arms around if we can pinpoint something that's causing some of the discomfort. At this point we haven't found that.”Judge was shut down from hitting a week before spring training after experiencing soreness in the shoulder. The slugging right field had been scheduled to take batting practice on the field for the first time since being shelved this weekend.While the Yankees are concerned about Judge, there were no worries over new ace Gerrit Cole.Cole allowed two hits and struck out two over 2 2/3 scoreless innings against the Detroit Tigers in his second start Saturday.Cole gave up his first... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees right-hander Luis Severino had Tommy John surgery on Thursday.The procedure was performed by Dr. David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. The team said in a statement that the surgery went as planned. Also, an existing bone chip in his right elbow was removed during the procedure.The two-time All-Star will miss all of 2020 after being sidelined for nearly all of 2019.Severino's injury leaves the AL East favorites with a rotation of newly signed ace Gerrit Cole, Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ and two openings. The usual recovery time for Tommy John surgery is a year or more.Severino went 19-8 with a 3.39 ERA in 2018 and was given a $40 million, four-year contract. He was scratched from his first scheduled spring training appearance on March 5 last year because of rotator cuff inflammation in his right shoulder. The Yankees said April 9 he had strained his latissimus dorsi muscle. He did not make a minor league injury rehabilitation appearance until Sept. 1 and did not make his first appearance for the Yankees until Sept. 17.Severino was 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA over 12 innings in three regular-season starts for New York, then was 0-1 with a 2.16 ERA over 8 1/3 innings in a pair of postseason outings.___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WASHINGTON (AP) — Curt Flood's widow has a simple explanation for why her late husband, who is revered by players for sacrificing his career to advocate for free agency, has not been enshrined in baseball's Hall of Fame.“I think the holdup is that he got on a lot of people's nerves,” Judy Pace Flood said.Flood has some powerful advocates on his side.Members of Congress sent a letter to the Hall of Fame on Thursday asking that Flood be elected in December by the next golden era committee. The recognition would coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Flood's defiant letter to baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn in which he wrote, "I do not feel that I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes."“What Curt Flood did and championed is resonating throughout professional sports for the past 50 years,” Rep. David Trone, a Maryland Democrat who is leading the push for Flood's enshrinement, said at a news conference.Flood was 31 when he sent that letter on Dec. 24, 1969.... [More]

DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) — Luis Severino will miss the season with an elbow injury that requires Tommy John surgery, and the New York Yankees' rotation no longer looks all that imposing.New York announced Tuesday that the 26-year-old right-hander has a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament, a development that means the two-time All-Star will miss all of 2020 after being sidelined for nearly all of 2019. Mets medical director Dr. David Altchek will operate Thursday in New York. “I am extremely disappointed that I will not be able to put on a Yankees uniform and compete with my teammates this year," Severino said in a statement posted on Twitter. “but I promise that I will be working tirelessly during this process to come back stronger than ever.” Left-hander James Paxton already was projected to miss the first two months of the season following back surgery on Feb. 5. Domingo Germán must serve the final 63 games of an 81-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence... [More]

DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) — Luis Severino will miss the season with an elbow injury that requires Tommy John surgery, and the New York Yankees' rotation no longer looks all that imposing.New York announced Tuesday that the 26-year-old right-hander has a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament, a development that means the two-time All-Star will miss all of 2020 after being sidelined for nearly all of 2019. Mets medical director Dr. David Altchek will operate Thursday in New York. Left-hander James Paxton already was projected to miss the first two months of the season following back surgery on Feb. 5. Domingo Germán must serve the final 63 games of an 81-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. He is eligible to return June 5, barring any postponements.Severino's injury leaves the AL East favorites with a rotation of newly signed ace Gerrit Cole, Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ and two openings. The usual recovery time for Tommy John surgery is a year or more.“I... [More]