SAN DIEGO (AP) — Major League Baseball said it was inappropriate for the umpire's union to comment on the one-game suspension levied against San Diego Padres star Manny Machado for his conduct following his ejection for arguing a called third strike Saturday at Colorado.The MLB Umpires Association said in a tweet Tuesday that Machado was suspended for contact with an umpire "and VIOLENTLY throwing his bat against the backstop with absolutely no regard to anyone's safety." The tweet added that "Violence in the workplace is not tolerated" and asked "Is this truly what MLB wants to teach our youth?"The tweet was accompanied by the hashtags #Disappointed #LeadByExample #NotAppreciated #Violence #TemperTantrum #Inaction #NotTolerated #MakeanExampleof #OneGameSuspension #RepeatOffender and #Nonsense.MLB said in a statement that MLB Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre "considered all the facts and circumstances of Machado's conduct, including precedent, in determining the appropriate level of discipline."Mr.... [More]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego Padres star Manny Machado denied he made contact with plate umpire Bill Welke after being ejected for arguing a called third strike Saturday night and said he'll appeal his one-game suspension and fine."I've just never seen anyone get suspended for arguing balls and strikes, so we'll see what happens," Machado said before Monday night's game with Milwaukee.MLB said the punishment, imposed by Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre, was for "aggressively arguing and making contact" with Welke.Asked if he made contact, Machado said: "Not that I believe, so no, but everyone has their own right to write what they want. We have our case and we're going to wait to see what the appeal comes back with. We always have the right to argue balls and strikes and give our opinion on it."You could see the video. I mean, I was right the whole way. There's video for it."The third baseman had two hits and scored twice before being ejected by Welke in the fifth inning Saturday night at... [More]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego Padres star Manny Machado denied he made 2contact with plate umpire Bill Welke after being ejected for arguing a called third strike Saturday night and said he'll appeal his one-game suspension and fine."I've just never seen anyone get suspended for arguing balls and strikes, so we'll see what happens," Machado said before Monday night's game with Milwaukee.MLB said the punishment, imposed by Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre, was for "aggressively arguing and making contact" with Welke.Asked if he made contact, Machado said: "Not that I believe, so no, but everyone has their own right to write what they want. We have our case and we're going to wait to see what the appeal comes back with. We always have the right to argue balls and strikes and give our opinion on it."You could see the video. I mean, I was right the whole way. There's video for it."The third baseman had two hits and scored twice before being ejected by Welke in the fifth inning Saturday night at... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — CC Sabathia became the 17th player in major league history and third left-hander to reach 3,000 career strikeouts, but was outpitched by Arizona ace Zack Greinke in the Diamondbacks' 3-1 win over the New York Yankees Tuesday night.Sabathia (1-1) arrived in the desert needing three strikeouts to hit 3,000 and got them all in the third inning.The milestone whiff came when he got John Ryan Murphy swinging, sending the Yankees pouring out of the dugout.Sabathia became the first pitcher to reach 3,000 strikeouts since Atlanta's John Smoltz in 2008, and joined Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton as the only lefties to do it.Wilmer Flores hit a solo homer and a run-scoring single off Sabathia. He allowed two runs and five hits, and struck out five before being lifted with two on and one out in the sixth inning.Greinke (5-1) won his fifth straight game. He allowed one run in 7 2/3 innings.BREWERS 4, ROCKIES 3MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jesus Aguilar homered again and Milwaukee broke through late... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — CC Sabathia became the 17th player in major league history and third left-hander to reach 3,000 career strikeouts, but was outpitched by Arizona ace Zack Greinke in the Diamondbacks' 3-1 win over the New York Yankees Tuesday night.Sabathia (1-1) arrived in the desert needing three strikeouts to hit 3,000 and got them all in the third inning.The milestone whiff came when he got John Ryan Murphy swinging, sending the Yankees pouring out of the dugout.Sabathia became the first pitcher to reach 3,000 strikeouts since Atlanta's John Smoltz in 2008, and joined Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton as the only lefties to do it.Wilmer Flores hit a solo homer and a run-scoring single off Sabathia. He allowed two runs and five hits, and struck out five before being lifted with two on and one out in the sixth inning.Greinke (5-1) won his fifth straight game. He allowed one run on five hits in 7 2/3 innings.BREWERS 4, ROCKIES 3MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jesus Aguilar homered again and Milwaukee, held... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia reached 3,000 career strikeouts Tuesday night, becoming the 17th major leaguer and third left-hander to achieve the milestone.Sabathia entered the game against Arizona with 2,997 strikeouts and hit the mark by fanning three batters in the second inning.The Yankees poured out of the dugout to congratulate Sabathia and the Chase Field crowd, full of New York fans, roared after the big left-hander struck out John Ryan Murphy on a down-and-in offspeed pitch. In 2015, Murphy was the Yankees catcher when Sabathia got his 2,500th strikeout.Sabathia tipped his hat to the crowd and hugged his kids in the front row before heading to the on-deck circle to lead off the next inning. The 38-year-old has already announced this will be his final season.Sabathia joined Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton as the only lefties to record 3,000 strikeouts."We've been waiting for this all week," Sabathia's wife, Amber, said in an interview with the Yankees' YES... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia reached 3,000 career strikeouts Tuesday night, becoming the 17th major leaguer and third left-hander to achieve the milestone.Sabathia entered the game against Arizona with 2,997 strikeouts and hit the mark by fanning three batters in the second inning.The Yankees poured out of the dugout to congratulate Sabathia and the Chase Field crowd, full of New York fans, roared after the big left-hander struck out John Ryan Murphy on a down-and-in offspeed pitch. Murphy was one of Sabathia's former catchers with the Yankees.Sabathia tipped his hat to the crowd and hugged his kids in the front row before heading to the on-deck circle to lead off the next inning. The 38-year-old has already announced this will be his final season.Sabathia joined Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton as the only lefties to record 3,000 strikeouts."We've been waiting for this all week," Sabathia's wife, Amber, said in an interview with the Yankees' YES Network after it happened.... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia reached 3,000 career strikeouts Tuesday night, becoming the 17th major leaguer and third left-hander to achieve the milestone.Sabathia entered the game against Arizona with 2,997 strikeouts and hit the milestone by fanning three batters in the second inning.The Yankees poured out of the dugout to congratulate the 38-year-old Sabathia and the crowd roared after the big left-hander struck out John Ryan Murphy — Murphy was one of Sabathia's former catchers with the Yankees.Sabathia tipped his hat to the crowd and hugged his kids in the front row before heading to the on-deck circle to lead off the next inning.Sabathia joined Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton as the only lefties to reach 3,000 strikeouts."We've been waiting for this all week," Sabathia's wife, Amber, said in an interview with the Yankees' YES Network after it happened. She added the lofty total was "part of his legacy."Amber Sabathia estimated there were 40 family members and friends at the Diamondbacks' ballpark for the big event.Now in his 19th big league season, Sabathia is the first pitcher to hit the 3,000 mark since Atlanta's John Smoltz in 2008. Sabathia began his career in 2001 with Cleveland and also pitched for Milwaukee before moving to the Yankees in 2009.Nolan Ryan is the all-time strikeout leader with 5,714.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — All-Star slugger Aaron Judge hurt his left oblique while taking a swing and was expected to head to the injured list as the already banged-up New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 9-2 Saturday.Judge homered early, but hurt himself in the sixth inning while hitting a single. He was taken to a hospital for an MRI and further tests.Judge winced after taking a swing in the sixth and gingerly made his way to first base. He left the game after being checked by a trainer.The Yankees, who began the game with 12 players on the injured list, hit four home runs. Judge connected in the first, Clint Frazier had a solo drive in the second and Mike Tauchman and DJ LeMahieu homered on consecutive pitches in the fourth.Judge and Frazier hit their fifth homers of the season in the opening two innings off Heath Fillmyer (0-1).Masahiro Tanaka (2-1) pitched seven innings of one-run ball.Chris Owings homered in the ninth for Kansas City.MARINERS 6, ANGELS 5ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Albert... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Tommy La Stella homered twice and drove in four runs, and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Milwaukee Brewers 11-8 on Tuesday after Mike Trout departed with a groin injury.Los Angeles extended its win streak to five games. Jonathan Lucroy had two hits and three RBIs against his first major league team.Trout left in the fourth inning after he strained his right groin while sliding into second base in the second. The Angels say their $426.5 million center fielder is day to day.Cam Bedrosian (1-0) pitched a scoreless inning for the win and Cody Allen got three outs for his third save.Yasmani Grandal homered twice and drove in three runs for Milwaukee. Alex Wilson (1-1) got the loss.BLUE JAYS 7, RED SOX 5BOSTON (AP) — Chris Sale let a Toronto runner steal home, Mookie Betts fanned with two on for the final out and the Red Sox stumbled again, losing to the Blue Jays in their home opener.After receiving their World Series rings, the Red Sox fell to 3-9. A return to Fenway... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Chris Sale let a Toronto runner steal home, Mookie Betts fanned with two on for the final out and the champion Boston Red Sox stumbled again, losing to the Blue Jays 7-5 Tuesday in their home opener.After receiving their World Series rings during a ceremony that included the Super Bowl champ New England Patriots, the Red Sox fell to 3-9. A return to Fenway Park failed to shake the doldrums that plagued Boston during a season-opening trip to Seattle, Oakland and Arizona.Red Sox sparkplug Dustin Pedroia went 1 for 4 in his first major league game since May. He played only three times last year while slowed by a knee injury.The game also made history: It was the first big league matchup of managers born in Puerto Rico, with Toronto's Charlie Montoyo topping Boston's Alex Cora.Lourdes Gurriel Jr. stole home and had an RBI single as Toronto ended a four-game losing streak. Freddy Galvis drove in two runs to back Matt Shoemaker (3-0), who allowed two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings.Sale... [More]

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]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Manny Machado was called out on batter's interference after dropping his bat near John Ryan Murphy while the Diamondbacks catcher tried to catch a popup, a disputed decision that led to Padres manager Andy Green's ejection.Machado appeared to brush Murphy as he broke out of the box in the sixth inning Tuesday night while Murphy moved to catch a popup about 10 feet down the first-base line. As he ran by, Machado tossed down his bat toward Murphy's feet, though the bat did not touch Murphy. The catcher dropped the pop foul, but plate umpire Bill Welke signaled for interference and called Machado out.Green came out to argue with Welke and was ejected. Green slammed his cap to the ground.Machado has been criticized in the past over his baseball ethics. He was called a "dirty player" by NL MVP Christian Yelich during last year's postseason after stepping on Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar's leg while running out a groundout.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Opening day was particularly special for Fernando Tatis Jr. and Eloy Jimenez.In large part because they weren't stuck at El Paso and Charlotte.It's common for baseball's top prospects to spend a bit of time in the minors at the beginning of the season, but the Padres and White Sox put Tatis and Jimenez on the roster this year, and they made their big league debuts Thursday. Tatis, a shortstop, had two hits in San Diego's win over San Francisco . Jimenez, an outfielder, had a run and an RBI in Chicago's loss to Kansas City .Jimenez hit .355 in 55 games at Triple-A Charlotte last year, and shortly before the start of this season, he signed a $43 million, six-year contract — a record high for a player under club control who hadn't yet appeared in a major league game.So it was no surprise to see Jimenez in the majors right away. Tatis' situation was different. Delaying a player's service time for a few weeks can delay potential free agency down the road, and Tatis hadn't played above Double-A.... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryce Harper homered deep into the second deck in right-center field for his first hit with Philadelphia and celebrated with an emphatic curtain call, highlighting the Phillies' 8-6 win over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.Hitless over five at-bats this season after signing a $330 million, 13-year deal, Harper crushed Jesse Biddle's fastball 465 feet with two outs in the seventh. Fans gave Harper a standing ovation and chanted "MVP! MVP!"After getting high fives in the dugout, Harper climbed out for a curtain call, throwing both fists in the air and shouting "Let's go!"Maikel Franco and J.T. Realmuto also went deep for Philadelphia. The game was tied at 4 in the fifth when Realmuto lined a two-run drive off Wes Parsons (0-1).Adam Morgan (1-0) faced one batter in the fifth inning.Dansby Swanson and Charlie Culberson homered, and Freddie Freeman had four hits and drove in two for the Braves.BREWERS 4, CARDINALS 2MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich became the first MVP to... [More]

With opening day just around the corner, the list of notable players who are going to be absent keeps growing.World Series MVP Steve Pearce will start the season on the injured list for the Boston Red Sox, and Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Steven Souza Jr. went down with a knee injury Monday night when he slipped on home plate.Earlier in the day, Baltimore put scheduled opening-day starter Alex Cobb on the 10-day injured list with a strained right groin.Pearce exited an exhibition game last weekend due to discomfort in his left calf. The right-handed batter normally platoons with lefty-hitting Mitch Moreland at first base, but the Red Sox will begin defense of their championship Thursday in Seattle without Pearce."We have to do it that way," manager Alex Cora said. "It makes sense for us, it makes sense for him. He should be back sooner rather than later but he won't be ready for Seattle, so why take a chance?"Sam Travis will likely make the team and take Pearce's spot on the opening-day... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks have tried to match up Zack Greinke with the same catcher per the pitcher's request. On Monday, 24-year-old Carson Kelly got his first chance behind the plate in the ace's first spring training start.It was a good partnership. Greinke needed just 16 pitches — 14 strikes — to retire the Oakland Athletics in order over two innings."Get outs — that's kind of the big thing for him," Kelly said of Greinke. "He did that and he did it efficiently, too, without throwing a lot of pitches. I feel like that's Zack Greinke-esque."Jeff Mathis was Greinke's personal catcher last season but signed as a free agent with the Texas Rangers. Kelly, acquired by Arizona from the St. Louis Cardinals in the trade for Paul Goldschmidt, caught Greinke during his last live batting practice session as a tuneup.Pitching on a back field and facing teammates, however, is different than a real game, even if it is an exhibition game."With the live BP, I was excited, very... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks have avoided arbitration with nine of their 10 arbitration-eligible players, leaving only left-handed reliever T.J. McFarland without a deal.Among those reaching agreements Friday were shortstop Nick Ahmed, outfielder David Peralta, third baseman Jake Lamb and starting pitcher Robbie Ray.Ahmed, coming off a Gold Glove season that included greatly improved offensive numbers, gets $3,662,500, a hefty increase from last year's $1,275,000. Peralta receives an even bigger raise to $7 million, up from $3.3 million last seasonRay gets $6.05 million, a raise of $2.1 million, and Lamb receives $4,825,000, a raise of $550,000.Also reaching one-year agreements were outfielder Steven Souza Jr., ($4,125,000), right-handed starter Taijuan Walker ($5,025,000), right-handed relievers Archie Bradley ($1.83 million) and Matt Andriese ($920,000) and lefty reliever Andrew Chafin ($1,945,000).Catcher John Ryan Murphy agreed Thursday at $900,000.McFarland asked for a raise... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks have avoided arbitration with nine of their 10 arbitration-eligible players, leaving only was left-handed reliever T.J. McFarland without a deal.Among those reaching agreements were shortstop Nick Ahmed, outfielder David Peralta, third baseman Jake Lamb and starting pitcher Robbie Ray.Ahmed, coming off a Gold Glove season that included greatly improved offensive numbers, gets $3,662,500, a hefty increase from last year's $1,275,000. Peralta receives an even bigger raise to $7 million, up from $3.3 million last seasonRay gets $6.05 million, a raise of $2.1 million, and Lamb receives $4,825,000, a raise of $550,000.Also reaching one-year agreements were outfielder Steven Souza Jr., ($4,125,000), right-handed starter Taijuan Walker ($5,025,000), right-handed relievers Archie Bradley ($1.83 million) and Matt Andriesen ($920,000) and lefty reliever Andrew Chafin ($1,945,000).The Diamondbacks also reached one-year deals with outfielder Steven Souza Jr.... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks have avoided arbitration with nine of their 10 arbitration-eligible players, leaving only was left-handed reliever T.J. McFarland without a deal.Among those reaching agreements were shortstop Nick Ahmed, outfielder David Peralta, third baseman Jake Lamb and starting pitcher Robbie Ray.Ahmed, coming off a Gold Glove season that included greatly improved offensive numbers, gets $3,662,500, a hefty increase from last year's $1,275,000. Peralta receives an even bigger raise to $7 million, up from $3.3 million last seasonRay gets $6.05 million, a raise of $2.1 million, and Lamb receives $4,825,000, a raise of $550,000.Also reaching one-year agreements were outfielder Steven Souza Jr., ($4,125,000), right-handed starter Taijuan Walker ($5,025,000), and right-handed relievers Archie Bradley and Matt Andriesen.The Diamondbacks also reached one-year deals with outfielder Steven Souza Jr. ($4,125,000) and right-handed starter Taijuan Walker ($5,025,000). Catcher... [More]