SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Back in a familiar bullpen, Greg Holland is hoping to recapture the glory days.Holland was part of the dominant Royals relief corps that led them to back-to-back World Series. He was a two-time All-Star selection and logged 145 of his career 205 saves with Kansas City.That bullpen also included Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera, who also were closers.“It’s a good feeling when you have a lead after six, that you’ve won the game. That was kind of the process,” Holland said. “That was a top bullpen from top to bottom for several years. That will be a lasting memory for me."“I try not to take too many steps down memory lane. I just try to stay in the moment,” he said.At 34, Holland is now at spring training with the Royals on a minor league contract. After having surgery near the end of the 2015 season, sitting out 2016 and pitching erratically the last two years, he is trying to earn a job in a bullpen that has a plethora of openings.“They gave me a chance to come into camp,... [More]

A team-by-team look at the National League West entering spring training, including key players each club acquired and lost, and dates of the first workout for pitchers and catchers, and the full squad:___Los Angeles Dodgers Manager: Dave Roberts (fifth season). 2019: 106-56, first place, lost to Nationals in Division Series. Training Town: Glendale, Arizona. Park: Camelback Ranch. First Workout: Feb. 14/18. He's Here: OF Mookie Betts, LHP David Price, LHP Alex Wood, RHP Blake Treinen, RHP Jimmy Nelson, 2B Clayton Daniel.He's Outta Here: LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu, RHP Kenta Maeda, LHP Rich Hill, OF Joc Pederson, OF Alex Verdugo, 1B David Freese, RHP Yimi Garcia, 3B Jedd Gyorko, C Russell Martin, RHP JT Chargois, 2B Kristopher Negron.Going campin': In what's become a familiar refrain, the Dodgers arrive at camp still looking for their first World Series championship since 1988. After losing in two straight World Series, they were ousted by Washington in five games in the NL Division Series last fall.... [More]

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]

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]

DENVER (AP) — Tough times and bad timing defined the Colorado Rockies' hugely disappointing season that began with high hopes of ending the Dodgers' dominance out West but unraveled under the dual demons of frustration and failure.The pitching was horrendous, from the starters to the closers. Ace Kyle Freeland's mystifying plunge produced a cascading effect on the pitching staff and led to a bullpen implosion.The bats couldn't bail out the Blake Street Blunders once superstar Nolan Arenado endured a mid-summer slump."This is obviously not the season that we wanted to have," shortstop Trevor Story said as the Rockies wrapped up a 71-91 campaign that ended their two-year playoff run and sent them into an offseason of uncertainty. "We had some high expectations that we really didn't come close to meeting.""I thought we were going to be good," Arenado agreed.Although, he acknowledges that the Rockies sort of saw this coming when the front office let DJ LeMahieu and Adam Ottavino leave last... [More]

Rockies second. Daniel Murphy homers to left field. Ian Desmond called out on strikes. Ryan McMahon flies out to A.J. Pollock. Garrett Hampson doubles to deep left field. Tony Wolters pops out to shallow center field to Gavin Lux.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Rockies 1, Dodgers 0.Rockies fourth. Nolan Arenado homers to center field. Daniel Murphy grounds out to second base, Gavin Lux to Matt Beaty. Ian Desmond singles to right center field. Ryan McMahon walks. Ian Desmond to second. Garrett Hampson strikes out swinging. Tony Wolters strikes out swinging.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Rockies 2, Dodgers 0.Dodgers seventh. Cody Bellinger walks. A.J. Pollock called out on strikes. Matt Beaty singles to right field. Cody Bellinger to second. Kike Hernandez lines out to center field to Garrett Hampson. Russell Martin homers to center field. Matt Beaty scores. Cody Bellinger scores. David Freese pinch-hitting for Caleb Ferguson. David Freese homers to center field. Gavin Lux pops out... [More]

Sept. 11906 — The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox 4-1 in 24 innings. Jack Coombs of the Athletics and Joe Harris of the Red Sox pitched all 24 innings. Coombs fanned 18.1930 — Wes Ferrell of Cleveland beat the St. Louis Browns 9-5 for his 13th straight victory.1931 — Lou Gehrig hit his third grand slam in four days as the Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 5-1.1945 — The Philadelphia Phillies, behind Vince DiMaggio's grand slam, beat the Braves 8-3 in Boston. It was the fourth grand slam of the year for DiMaggio to tie a major league mark.1958 — Vinegar Bend Mizell of the St. Louis Cardinals set a National League record by walking nine batters and tossing a shutout. Mizell beat Cincinnati 1-0 in the first game of a doubleheader.1963 — Curt Simmons of the St. Louis Cardinals allowed six hits, drove in two runs with a triple and stole home plate in a 7-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Simmons' steal of home is the last by a pitcher.1967 — Cincinnati's Bob Lee walked Dick... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Colorado Rockies right-hander Scott Oberg has been treated for a blood clot in his pitching arm for the second time in his career.Manager Bud Black said Oberg had a procedure to dissolve the clot at a hospital on Saturday and remained there overnight. The Rockies put Oberg on the 10-day injured list Sunday.Black said the 28-year-old Oberg started feeling heaviness in his arm on Saturday and alerted the training staff. They sent him to the hospital for an examination and the clot was discovered.Oberg (6-1) replaced struggling Wade Davis as the team closer two weeks ago and picked up his sixth save in Friday night's win over MiamiOberg has previously dealt with an axillary artery thrombosis, more commonly known as blood clots. In 2016, he had two surgeries to remove them from his right arm and shoulder. He was prescribed blood-thinning medication and missed the last six weeks of the season.The Rockies recalled righty DJ Johnson from Triple-A Albuquerque.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

A look at what's happening around the majors Saturday:NOW PITCHINGTrevor Bauer (9-8, 3.79 ERA) makes his Cincinnati debut four days after arriving in a trade with Cleveland. Bauer went 3-2 with a 4.54 ERA in six starts last month. In his last outing, he threw the ball from just past the mound over the center field fence in Kansas City after getting pulled. Bauer starts for the Reds at Atlanta. ... Marcus Stroman makes his first start for the Mets after being acquired in a trade with Toronto. Stroman is 10-5 with a 2.93 ERA against National League teams in his career. He pitches at Pittsburgh.CHECK HIMThe Rockies will see how outfielder David Dahl is feeling, a day after he sprained his right ankle was carted off the field in obvious pain. A first-time All-Star, Dahl was injured making an awkward catch in center at Coors Field.The team said X-rays were negative and the severity of the injury was being assessed.STARTING OVERAaron Sanchez (3-14, 6.07 ERA) makes his debut for the Astros, three... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Saturday:STARTING OVERAaron Sanchez (3-14, 6.07 ERA) makes his debut for the Astros, three days after they got him in a trade with Toronto. The 27-year-righty leads the majors in losses — in 2016, he was an All-Star and topped the AL in ERA.Houston has a history of improving the performance of pitchers it acquires, and Sanchez is eager to get going."I'm sure there's things that are on their mind and things that are on my mind. It's an open line of communication here," he said. "I'm thrilled to see what they've got for me. I'm thrilled to kind of share my thoughts with them and bounce ideas off of each other and see where it goes."Sanchez will start for the AL West leaders at home against Seattle.LET'S SEECubs lefty Cole Hamels (6-3, 2.98 ERA) is expected to come off the injured list and pitch against the Brewers at Wrigley Field. The 35-year-old four-time-All Star has been sidelined since suffering a left oblique strain at Cincinnati on June... [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) — Xander Bogaerts hit a three-run homer in Boston's seven-run first inning, and the Red Sox pounded the AL East-leading New York Yankees 19-3 on Thursday night in the opener of their four-game series.The 19 runs were the most scored by the Red Sox against the Yankees in the 117-year history of the rivalry.Bogaerts finished with four hits, including a solo shot in the eighth. Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr. had three hits apiece.New York right-hander Masahiro Tanaka (7-6) allowed 12 runs and 12 hits in 3 1/3 innings. It was the most earned runs ever allowed by a Yankees pitcher against Boston since the earned run became an official stat in 1913.Rick Porcello (9-7) pitched six innings of three-run ball for Boston.TWINS 10, WHITE SOX 3CHICAGO (AP) — Nelson Cruz hit three of Minnesota's five homers and finished with five RBIs, powering the Twins to the rout.It was the first three-homer game for the six-time All-Star, who has 385 home runs in his career. He became the 10th... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Xander Bogaerts hit a three-run homer in Boston's seven-run first inning, and the Red Sox pounded the AL East-leading New York Yankees 19-3 on Thursday night in the opener of their four-game series.The 19 runs were the most scored by the Red Sox against the Yankees in the 117-year history of the rivalry.Bogaerts finished with four hits, including a solo shot in the eighth. Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr. had three hits apiece.New York right-hander Masahiro Tanaka (7-6) allowed 12 runs and 12 hits in 3 1/3 innings. It was the most earned runs ever allowed by a Yankees pitcher against Boston since the earned run became an official stat in 1913.Rick Porcello (9-7) pitched six innings of three-run ball for Boston.TWINS 10, WHITE SOX 3CHICAGO (AP) — Nelson Cruz hit three of Minnesota's five homers and finished with five RBIs, powering the Twins to the rout.It was the first three-homer game for the six-time All-Star, who has 385 home runs in his career. He became the 10th... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Xander Bogaerts hit a three-run homer in Boston's seven-run first inning, and the Red Sox pounded the AL East-leading New York Yankees 19-3 on Thursday night in the opener of their four-game series.The 19 runs were the most scored by the Red Sox against the Yankees in the 117-year history of the rivalry.Bogaerts finished with four hits, including a solo shot in the eighth. Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr. had three hits apiece.New York right-hander Masahiro Tanaka (7-6) allowed 12 runs and 12 hits in 3 1/3 innings. It was the most earned runs ever allowed by a Yankees pitcher against Boston since the earned run became an official stat in 1913.Rick Porcello (9-7) pitched six innings of three-run ball for Boston.TWINS 10, WHITE SOX 3CHICAGO (AP) — Nelson Cruz hit three of Minnesota's five homers and finished with five RBIs, powering the Twins to the rout.It was the first three-homer game for the six-time All-Star, who has 385 home runs in his career. He became the 10th... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Xander Bogaerts hit a three-run homer in Boston's seven-run first inning, and the Red Sox pounded the AL East-leading New York Yankees 19-3 on Thursday night in the opener of their four-game series.The 19 runs were the most scored by the Red Sox against the Yankees in the 117-year history of the rivalry.Bogaerts finished with four hits, including a solo shot in the eighth. Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr. had three hits apiece.New York right-hander Masahiro Tanaka (7-6) allowed 12 runs and 12 hits in 3 1/3 innings. It was the most earned runs ever allowed by a Yankees pitcher against Boston since the earned run became an official stat in 1913.Rick Porcello (9-7) pitched six innings of three-run ball for Boston.CARDINALS 6, PIRATES 3PITTSBURGH (AP) — Paul Goldschmidt homered in his career-high fourth straight game, helping the Cardinals finish a four-game sweep of the Pirates.St. Louis (55-47) won for the eighth time in nine games to move into a tie with the idle Chicago... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Paul Goldschmidt's power streak helped lift the St. Louis Cardinals into a share of the NL Central lead for the first time since early May.Goldschmidt homered in his career-high fourth straight game, lifting the Cardinals over Pittsburgh 6-3 on Thursday for a four-game sweep of the Pirates.St. Louis (55-47) won for the eighth time in nine games to move into a tie with the idle Chicago Cubs atop the division. St. Louis last held the lead before play on May 7.Goldschmidt drove in nine runs and had four of the Cardinals' 12 home runs during the sweep.Kolten Wong and Dexter Fowler also connected for St. Louis. Miles Mikolas (7-10) allowed three runs in six innings.Pittsburgh has dropped 11 of 13. Pirates right-hander Joe Musgrove (7-9) was charged with five earned runs in five innings.ROCKIES 8, NATIONALS 7WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington ace Max Scherzer lasted five innings in his return from the injured list, and the Rockies beat the Nationals in a battle of worn-out bullpens.Ian... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:THAT'S SAVAGEThe Yankees open a three-game home series against Colorado with a new rallying cry inspired by manager Aaron Boone's profane rant during a doubleheader sweep of the Rays on Thursday. Boone repeatedly called his hitters "savages" in the batter's box while chewing out rookie plate umpire Brennan Miller during the second inning of the opener. Television microphones picked up the audio, which went viral and was being printed on t-shirts before the first game ended. Asked about the unusual expression, Boone said "Sometimes in the heat of the battle, you just kind of utter some things."STARTER SHOWCASEEvaluators figure to be tuned into starts by Toronto's Marcus Stroman and Texas' Mike Minor with the July 31 trade deadline approaching. The 28-year-old Stroman (5-10, 3.25) is set to face Detroit knowing he's likely auditioning for a number of contenders. Minor's Rangers opened the second half as wild-card hopefuls, but they have lost... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Friday:THAT'S SAVAGEThe Yankees open a three-game home series against Colorado with a new rallying cry inspired by manager Aaron Boone's profane rant during a doubleheader sweep of the Rays on Thursday. Boone repeatedly called his hitters "savages" in the batter's box while chewing out rookie plate umpire Brennan Miller during the second inning of the opener. Television microphones picked up the audio, which went viral and was being printed on t-shirts before the first game ended. Asked about the unusual expression, Boone said "Sometimes in the heat of the battle, you just kind of utter some things."STARTER SHOWCASEEvaluators figure to be tuned into starts by Toronto's Marcus Stroman and Texas' Mike Minor with the July 31 trade deadline approaching. The 28-year-old Stroman (5-10, 3.25) is set to face Detroit knowing he's likely auditioning for a number of contenders. Minor's Rangers opened the second half as wild-card hopefuls, but they have... [More]

July 71923 — Lefty O'Doul, pitching for the Boston Red Sox, allowed 13 runs in the sixth inning to the Cleveland Indians, who won 27-3. In 1928, he was to return to the majors as a great hitting outfielder.1936 — The NL won its first All-Star game 4-3 at Braves Field in Boston.1937 — Lou Gehrig drove in four runs with a home run and a double to pace the AL to an 8-3 victory over the NL in the All-Star game at Washington's Griffith Stadium. In attendance was President Franklin D. Roosevelt.1959 — At Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, the first of two All-Star games played that season went to the NL, 5-4. The NL scored the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the eighth when Hank Aaron singled in a run and scored on a triple by Willie Mays.1964 — The NL beat the AL 7-4 in the All-Star game on Johnny Callison's two-out, three-run homer off Dick Radatz in the bottom of the ninth inning at New York's Shea Stadium. The win pulled the NL even with its rivals (17-17-1) for the first time since the... [More]

Jean Segura hit a three-run, walk-off homer against Edwin Díaz moments after Maikel Franco hit a tying, two-run shot against the closer in the bottom of the ninth inning, and Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets 6-3 Thursday to complete a four-game sweep.New York's Todd Frazier hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off Hector Neris with one out in the ninth, but the Phillies rallied in the bottom of the inning — their fourth straight win since utility man Brad Miller brought a bamboo plant into the clubhouse as a good-luck charm.Díaz (1-5) walked Cesar Hernandez to start, and Franco followed with his third homer of the series. He hit go-ahead, two-run homers in each of the first two games. Pinch-hitter Sean Rodriguez walked with one out and advanced to second on Scott Kingery's hard-hit, bad-hop single off Frazier's glove at third.Segura then slammed his 10th homer into the seats in left. He leaped on his way down the first base line and got mobbed by teammates after circling the bases.It... [More]