ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Kevin Kiermaier's first hit of the season, a two-run triple into the right field corner in the 10th inning, gave the Tampa Bay Rays a 6-5 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.Tampa Bay's defensive whiz delivered the second walkoff hit of his career after the Rays scored twice in the ninth to force extra innings, then fell behind again 5-4 when Blue Jays pinch-runner Santiago Espinal stole third base and scored on Lourdes Gurriel Jr.'s sacrifice fly off Chaz Roe (1-0).The Rays began the bottom of the 10th with Kevan Smith on second base. Jose Martinez drew a walk from Shun Yamaguchi before Kiermaier — a three-time Gold Glove center fielder — ended an 0-for-11 skid to begin the pandemic-delayed season.The loss concluded an unsettling week for the displaced Blue Jays, who will not play any home games in Toronto this season after being denied permission by the Canadian government to play at Rogers Centre during the pandemic.Instead, the team will play a majority... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay Rays ace Blake Snell reported for work, after all.The 27-year-old Snell made headlines in May when he said he opposed the idea of players taking further pay reductions to start the season during a pandemic — that it was not worth the health risk. But he said Friday it wasn't difficult to start playing again after the players' agreement with Major League Baseball included their full pro-rated salaries.“I would say it wasn’t tough when it came down to what the (union) agreed on," he said. "I like to follow through to what I say. So for that to be the case, definitely happy about that. ... With all the precautions MLB’s taking, it makes it easy to play. Everyone here is just super on their toes about it, so I feel very comfortable about it.”Snell is looking to bounce back after he was hampered by injuries last year. The left-hander was 21-5 with an American League-best 1.86 ERA in 2018, winning the Cy Young Award. But he went 6-8 with a career-high 4.29... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Tyler Glasnow agreed to a $2.05 million, one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday that avoided arbitration and fellow right-hander Oliver Drake struck a $1,025,000, one-year deal.Outfielder Hunter Renfroe agreed at $3.3 million after making $582,100 while hitting 33 home runs with the San Diego Padres in 2019. Infielder David Robertson received a $1,025,000 deal as the Rays reached agreements with all of their arbitration-eligible players.Reliever Chaz Roe agreed at $2,185,200 on Thursday night. He made $1,275,000 last season.Glasnow, who earned $566,700 last season, was acquired in a trade sent Chris Archer to the Pittsburgh Pirates in July 2018. He earned a spot in Tampa Bay’s rotation last spring and was off to a strong start before being sidelined for nearly four months by a right forearm strain in mid-May.The 26-year-old right-hander was 6-0 with a 1.47 ERA over his first seven starts of 2019. He returned from a stint of the 60-day injured list... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired first baseman-designated hitter Jose Martinez from St. Louis in a trade that sends left-hander Matthew Liberatore, one of the club’s top minor league pitching prospects, to the Cardinals.In addition to addressing the need for a right-handed bat, the Rays receive outfielder Randy Arozarena and a Compensation Round A draft pick in a four-player deal announced Thursday night. The Cardinals also get minor league catcher Edgardo Rodriguez and a Compensation Round B draft pick.The 31-year-old Martinez is a career .298 hitter over parts of four seasons with the Cardinals. He batted .269 with 10 home runs and 42 RBIs in 128 games last season, when a right shoulder sprain sidelined him for three weeks in August. He hit .305 in 2018.Martinez agreed last offseason to a $3.25 million, two-year deal and boosted this year's salary by $300,000 to $2.3 million after reaching escalators based on 2019 plate appearances.Arozarena, 24, defected to... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired first baseman-designated hitter Jose Martinez from St. Louis in a trade that sends left-hander Matthew Liberatore, one of the club’s top minor league pitching prospects, to the Cardinals.In addition to addressing the need for a right-handed bat, the Rays receive outfielder Randy Arozarena and a Compensation Round A draft pick in a four-player deal announced Thursday night. The Cardinals also get minor league catcher Edgardo Rodriguez and a Compensation Round B draft pick.The 31-year-old Martinez is a career .298 hitter over parts of four seasons with the Cardinals. He batted .269 with 10 home runs and 42 RBIs in 128 games last season, when a right shoulder sprain sidelined him for three weeks in August. He hit .305 in 2018.Martinez agreed last offseason to a $3.25 million, two-year deal and boosted this year's salary by $300,000 to $2.3 million after reaching escalators based on 2019 plate appearances.Arozarena, 24, defected to... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays did not offer a contract for 2020 to outfielder Guillermo Heredia, making him a free agent Monday night.Heredia batted .225 with five homers and 20 RBIs in 89 games last season, his first with the Rays after spending the previous three with the Seattle Mariners.The Rays offered contracts to their other five arbitration-eligible players — outfielder Tommy Pham, right-handed pitcher Tyler Glasnow, relievers Chaz Roe and Oliver Drake, and infielder Daniel Robertson — by Monday’s deadline.

Oct. 71904 — Jack Chesbro got his 41st victory of the season as New York defeated the Boston Red Sox 3-2.1933 — Mel Ott's home run in the 10th inning to give the New York Giants for a 4-3 victory and the World Championship in five games over the Washington Senators.1935 — Detroit's Goose Goslin drove in Mickey Cochrane with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Tigers a 4-3 win and the World Championship in six games over the Chicago Cubs.1950 — Rookie pitcher Whitey Ford, with ninth-inning help from Allie Reynolds, beat Philadelphia 5-2 to give the Yankees a World Series sweep of the "Whiz Kids."1952 — Billy Martin's running catch on a high infield pop with the bases loaded in the seventh inning snuffed a Dodgers rally and the New York Yankees went on to win Game 7 of the World Series 4-2. It was the fourth consecutive world championship for the Yankees.1969 — The St. Louis Cardinals traded outfielder Curt Flood to the Philadelphia Phillies in a blockbuster deal involving... [More]

A look at the best-of-five American League Division Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Houston Astros:___Schedule: (All times EDT) Game 1, Friday, at Houston, 2:05 p.m. (FS1); Game 2, Saturday, at Houston, 9:07 p.m. (FS1); Game 3, Monday, Oct. 7, at Tampa Bay, TBA (MLB); x-Game 4, Tuesday, Oct. 8, at Tampa Bay, TBA (FS1); x-Game 5, Thursday, Oct. 10, at Houston, TBA (FS1).x-if necessary.___Season Series: Rays won 4-3.___Projected Lineups:Rays: 2B Joey Wendle (.231, 3 HRs, 19 RBIs in 75 games), LF Tommy Pham (.273, 21, 68, 33 2Bs), RF Austin Meadows (.291, 33, 89 in 138 games), C Travis d'Arnaud (.263, 16, 67 in 92 games with Rays; .087, 0, 2 in 10 games with Mets, and 1 at-bat in only game with Dodgers), 1B Ji-Man Choi (.261, 19, 63) or Yandy D�az (.267, 14, 38, .816 OPS in 79 games), DH Brandon Lowe (.270, 17, 51 in 82 games) or Avisail Garcia (.282, 20, 72, 25 2Bs in 125 games), 3B Matt Duffy (.252, 1, 12 in 46 games), CF Kevin Kiermaier (.228, 14, 55, 19 SBs in 129 games), SS Willy... [More]

Oct. 61915 _ Philadelphia rookie Elmer Myers made a spectacular debut by striking out 12 Washington batters while allowing just two hits. Myers walked 5 in the 4-0 win his only game this year.1926 _ Babe Ruth hit three homers to lead the Yankees to a 10-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in the fourth game of the World Series.1948 _ In the opening game of the World Series, the Boston Braves beat Bob Feller and the Cleveland Indians 1-0 with two hits and the benefit of a disputed call on a pickoff attempt in the eighth by Feller.1963 _ Frank Howard led Los Angeles to a 2-1 win over the New York Yankees with a home run and a single, giving the Dodgers a four-game sweep in the World Series.1966 _ Jim Palmer, 20, became the youngest player to pitch a World Series shutout as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-0. Sandy Koufax was the loser, his last appearance in the major leagues. Dodger outfielder Willie Davis committed three errors on successive plays in the fifth inning.1978... [More]

A look at the American League wild-card game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland Athletics:___Schedule: Wednesday, at Oakland, California, 8:09 p.m. EDT (ESPN).___Season Series: Athletics won 4-3.___Projected Lineups:Rays: 2B Joey Wendle (.231, 3 HRs, 19 RBIs in 75 games), LF Tommy Pham (.273, 21, 68, 33 2Bs), RF Austin Meadows (.291, 33, 89 in 138 games), C Travis d'Arnaud (.263, 16, 67 in 92 games with Rays; .087, 0, 2 in 10 games with Mets, and 1 at-bat in only game with Dodgers), 1B Ji-Man Choi (.261, 19, 63), DH Brandon Lowe (.270, 17, 51 in 82 games) or Avisail Garcia (.282, 20, 72, 25 2Bs in 125 games), 3B Matt Duffy (.252, 1, 12 in 46 games), CF Kevin Kiermaier (.228, 14, 55, 19 SBs in 129 games), SS Willy Adames (.254, 20, 52).Athletics: SS Marcus Semien (.285, 33, 92, 123 runs, 43 2Bs), RF Ramon Laureano (.288, 24, 67, 10 assists), 3B Matt Chapman (.249, 36, 91, 102 runs, 36 2Bs), 1B Matt Olson (.267, 36, 91), CF Mark Canha (.273, 26, 58), DH Khris Davis (.220, 23, 73), LF... [More]

A look at the American League wild-card game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland Athletics:___Schedule: Wednesday, at Oakland, California, 8:09 p.m. EDT (ESPN).___Season Series: Athletics won 4-3.___Projected Lineups:Rays: 2B Joey Wendle (.231, 3 HRs, 19 RBIs in 75 games), LF Tommy Pham (.273, 21, 68, 33 2Bs), RF Austin Meadows (.291, 33, 89 in 138 games), C Travis d'Arnaud (.263, 16, 67 in 92 games with Rays; .087, 0, 2 in 10 games with Mets, and 1 at-bat in only game with Dodgers), 1B Ji-Man Choi (.261, 19, 63), DH Brandon Lowe (.270, 17, 51 in 82 games) or Avisail Garcia (.282, 20, 72, 25 2Bs in 125 games), 3B Matt Duffy (.252, 1, 12 in 46 games), CF Kevin Kiermaier (.228, 14, 55, 19 SBs in 129 games), SS Willy Adames (.254, 20, 52).Athletics: SS Marcus Semien (.285, 33, 92, 123 runs, 43 2Bs), RF Ramon Laureano (.288, 24, 67, 10 assists), 3B Matt Chapman (.249, 36, 91, 102 runs, 36 2Bs), 1B Matt Olson (.267, 36, 91), CF Mark Canha (.273, 26, 58), DH Khris Davis (.220, 23, 73), LF... [More]

Rays second. Matt Duffy strikes out swinging. Joey Wendle walks. Willy Adames out on a sacrifice fly to right field to Kike Hernandez. Joey Wendle scores. Kevin Kiermaier strikes out swinging.1 run, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on. Rays 1, Dodgers 0.Dodgers fifth. Cody Bellinger walks. Max Muncy hit by pitch. Kike Hernandez grounds out to first base to Ji-Man Choi. Max Muncy to second. Cody Bellinger to third. Corey Seager doubles to deep left field. Max Muncy scores. Cody Bellinger scores. Will Smith called out on strikes. Matt Beaty pinch-hitting for Ross Stripling. Matt Beaty grounds out to shallow infield, Chaz Roe to Ji-Man Choi.2 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 left on. Dodgers 2, Rays 1.Rays sixth. Travis d'Arnaud pops out to third base to Chris Taylor. Ji-Man Choi homers to right field. Matt Duffy reaches on error. Fielding error by Pedro Baez. Joey Wendle grounds out to shortstop. Matt Duffy out at second.1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 0 left on. Rays 2, Dodgers 2.Dodgers seventh. Max Muncy reaches... [More]

Astros third. Abraham Toro walks. Robinson Chirinos walks. Abraham Toro to second. Josh Reddick doubles to right center field. Robinson Chirinos to third. Abraham Toro scores. George Springer hit by pitch. Jose Altuve out on a sacrifice fly to center field to Avisail Garcia. George Springer to second. Josh Reddick out at third. Robinson Chirinos scores. Michael Brantley called out on strikes.2 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 left on. Astros 2, Rays 0.Astros fourth. Alex Bregman singles to shallow infield. Yordan Alvarez doubles to right field. Alex Bregman to third. Yuli Gurriel doubles to deep left field. Yordan Alvarez scores. Alex Bregman scores. Abraham Toro grounds out to shallow infield, Willy Adames to Ji-Man Choi. Yuli Gurriel to third. Robinson Chirinos homers to center field. Yuli Gurriel scores. Josh Reddick triples to deep center field. George Springer strikes out swinging. Jose Altuve grounds out to shortstop, Willy Adames to Ji-Man Choi.4 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Astros... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Josh Donaldson homered against Sean Doolittle in the top of the 10th, and the Atlanta Braves pulled out a 5-4 victory over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday to take two of three in the series and pad their NL East lead to 6 1/2 games.After the Nationals scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game, Donaldson swatted a fastball from Doolittle over the center-field wall for his 25th homer of the season.Adam Duvall homered for the fourth time in five games. Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies and Tyler Flowers also drove in runs for the Braves, who won consecutive series in Washington for the first time since 2013. They also won two of three in late June.Atlanta got another quality road start from Mike Soroka (10-2), who pitched seven innings and allowed just three hits, including a leadoff homer to Juan Soto in the second.Washington starter Aníbal Sánchez (6-6) could not keep pace, allowing four runs on 10 hits in five innings of work.YANKEES 7, DIAMONDBACKS 5NEW... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts hit three home runs against James Paxton during the first four innings Friday night in the Boston Red Sox's 10-5 victory over the New York Yankees, whose starting pitchers have stumbled this week in historic fashion.Betts homered on Paxton's eighth pitch in a three-run first that included J.D. Martinez's two-run homer, went deep again leading off the third for a 4-0 lead and hit a two-run drive in the fourth for a 7-0 advantage.Betts added an RBI double in the sixth off David Hale to give him five RBIs and grounded out in the eighth. With his fifth career three-homer game, Betts raised his season total to 18 homers.Batters have had three-homer games on four straight days for the first time in big league history. Betts followed the New York Mets' Robinson Canó, St. Louis' Paul DeJong and Minnesota's Nelson Cruz.Andrew Cashner (10-5), coming off losses in his first two starts after Boston acquired him from Baltimore, allowed three runs and 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings.Martinez... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts hit three home runs against James Paxton during the first four innings Friday night in the Boston Red Sox's 10-5 victory over the New York Yankees, whose starting pitchers have stumbled this week in historic fashion.Betts homered on Paxton's eighth pitch in a three-run first that included J.D. Martinez's two-run homer, went deep again leading off the third for a 4-0 lead and hit a two-run drive in the fourth for a 7-0 advantage.Betts added an RBI double in the sixth off David Hale to give him five RBIs and grounded out in the eighth. With his fifth career three-homer game, Betts raised his season total to 18 homers.Batters have had three-homer games on four straight days for the first time in big league history. Betts followed the New York Mets' Robinson Canó, St. Louis' Paul DeJong and Minnesota's Nelson Cruz.Andrew Cashner (10-5), coming off losses in his first two starts after Boston acquired him from Baltimore, allowed three runs and 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings.Martinez... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts hit three home runs against James Paxton during the first four innings Friday night in the Boston Red Sox's 10-5 victory over the New York Yankees, whose starting pitchers have stumbled this week in historic fashion.Betts homered on Paxton's eighth pitch in a three-run first that included J.D. Martinez's two-run homer, went deep again leading off the third for a 4-0 lead and hit a two-run drive in the fourth for a 7-0 advantage.Betts added an RBI double in the sixth off David Hale to give him five RBIs and grounded out in the eighth. With his fifth career three-homer game, Betts raised his season total to 18 homers.Batters have had three-homer games on four straight days for the first time in big league history. Betts followed the New York Mets' Robinson Canó, St. Louis' Paul DeJong and Minnesota's Nelson Cruz.Andrew Cashner (10-5), coming off losses in his first two starts after Boston acquired him from Baltimore, allowed three runs and 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings.Martinez... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Charlie Morton struck out 11 over seven innings and the Tampa Bay Rays avoided a three-game sweep by beating David Price and Boston 3-2 in a game that the Red Sox protested on Wednesday.Confusion reigned in the top of the eighth when a series of defensive changes involving reliever Adam Kolarek prompted Boston manager Alex Cora to protest the game due to the placement of subs into the Rays lineup after the designated hitter was removed.Kolarek replaced Morton and retired pinch-hitter Sam Travis on a pop fly. The left-hander then shifted to first base when Rays manager Kevin Cash brought in reliever Chaz Roe, who got a fly ball from Mookie Betts.After Kolarek then returned to the mound and Nate Lowe entered to play first base, Cora met with the umpires, which prompted around a 15-minute stoppage as the umpires discussed the matter.After the protest was made and the game resumed, Kolarek got a first-pitch grounder from Rafael Devers.An unhappy Cora again talked... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Charlie Morton struck out 11 over seven innings and the Tampa Bay Rays avoided a three-game sweep by beating David Price and Boston 3-2 in a game that the Red Sox protested on Wednesday.Confusion reigned in the top of the eighth when a series of defensive changes involving reliever Adam Kolarek prompted Boston manager Alex Cora to protest the game due to the placement of subs into the Rays lineup after the designated hitter was removed.Kolarek replaced Morton and retired pinch-hitter Sam Travis on a pop fly. The left-hander then shifted to first base when Rays manager Kevin Cash brought in reliever Chaz Roe, who got a fly ball from Mookie Betts.After Kolarek then returned to the mound and Nate Lowe entered to play first base, Cora met with the umpires, which prompted around a 15-minute stoppage as the umpires discussed the matter.After the protest was made and the game resumed, Kolarek got a first-pitch grounder from Rafael Devers.An unhappy Cora again talked... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Charlie Morton struck out 11 over seven innings and the Tampa Bay Rays avoided a three-game sweep by beating David Price and Boston 3-2 in a game that the Red Sox protested on Wednesday.Confusion reigned in the top of the eighth when a series of defensive changes involving reliever Adam Kolarek prompted Boston manager Alex Cora to protest the game due to the placement of subs into the Rays lineup after the designated hitter was removed.Kolarek replaced Morton and retired pinch-hitter Sam Travis on a pop fly. The left-hander then shifted to first base when Rays manager Kevin Cash brought in reliever Chaz Roe, who got a fly ball from Mookie Betts.After Kolarek then returned to the mound and Nate Lowe entered to play first base, Cora met with the umpires, which prompted around a 15-minute stoppage as the umpires discussed the matter.After the protest was made and the game resumed, Kolarek got a first-pitch grounder from Rafael Devers.An unhappy Cora again talked... [More]