NEW YORK (AP) — When Tim Anderson spiked his bat and yelled toward his White Sox teammates, Major League Baseball's self-described "spicy" Twitter account was among the first to weigh in."LET THE KIDS PLAY," proclaimed @Cut4 , the offbeat arm of MLB's social media portfolio with nearly 1 million followers. The tweet Wednesday included video of Anderson's bat toss, and it sparked hundreds of comments — some cheering the fiery display, some condemning it.Baseball is stuck in an ongoing debate regarding on-field decorum, and MLB's marketing department is leaving no doubt where it stands. Since the group was restructured just over a year ago, MLB's promotional efforts have taken up arms against the old school. While traditionalists want to punish unabashed revelry with fastballs to the backside, MLB senior vice president of marketing Barbara McHugh wants her team feting those bat flips."That's certainly what we're trying to celebrate," McHugh told The Associated Press on Wednesday, hours before... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — When Tim Anderson spiked his bat and yelled toward his White Sox teammates, Major League Baseball's self-described "spicy" Twitter account was among the first to weigh in."LET THE KIDS PLAY," proclaimed @Cut4 , the offbeat arm of MLB's social media portfolio with nearly 1 million followers. The tweet Wednesday included video of Anderson's bat toss, and it sparked hundreds of comments — some cheering the fiery display, some condemning it.Baseball is stuck in an ongoing debate regarding on-field decorum, and MLB's marketing department is leaving no doubt where it stands. Since the group was restructured just over a year ago, MLB's promotional efforts have taken up arms against the old school. While traditionalists want to punish unabashed revelry with fastballs to the backside, MLB senior vice president of marketing Barbara McHugh wants her team feting those bat flips."That's certainly what we're trying to celebrate," McHugh told The Associated Press on Wednesday, hours before... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson didn't go into detail Friday about what he said during a bench-clearing fracas with Kansas City earlier in the week after a report that he directed a racial slur at Royals pitcher Brad Keller.Anderson was suspended one game for his actions Wednesday. Tempers flared after Keller hit Anderson, who had celebrated an earlier home run, with a fastball. Keller was penalized five games by Major League Baseball and is appealing.ESPN, citing unidentified sources , said Anderson, who is black, called Keller, who is white, the N-word during the fray.Anderson, the AL's top hitter this season, declined to discuss what was said on the field. He sat out Friday night's game at Detroit.A person familiar with the penalty told The Associated Press that Anderson's suspension was the result of his language, which was included in the umpires' postgame report. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because that detail was not made public."We're going... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson didn't go into detail Friday about what he said during a bench-clearing fracas with Kansas City earlier in the week after a report that he directed a racial slur at Royals pitcher Brad Keller.Anderson was suspended one game for his actions Wednesday. Tempers flared after Keller hit Anderson, who had celebrated an earlier home run, with a fastball. Keller was penalized five games by Major League Baseball and is appealing.ESPN, citing unidentified sources , said Anderson, who is black, called Keller, who is white, the N-word during the fray.Anderson, the AL's top hitter this season, declined to discuss what was said on the field. He sat out Friday night's game at Detroit.A person familiar with the penalty told The Associated Press that Anderson's suspension was the result of his language, which was included in the umpires' postgame report. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because that detail was not made public."We're going... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Kansas City Royals pitcher Brad Keller has been suspended for five games by Major League Baseball, which concluded he intentionally threw a pitch that hit Tim Anderson of the Chicago White Sox this week.Anderson was suspended one game for his actions after benches cleared, and Chicago manager Rick Renteria was suspended for one game for aggressive actions. All three were fined Friday by Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre.Renteria was to serve his suspension during Friday night's game at Detroit. Keller and Anderson may appeal their discipline.Anderson spiked his bat following a two-run homer Wednesday, and Keller hit him in the buttocks with his first pitch leading off the sixth.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

A look at what's happening around the majors today:CLOSER NEEDEDThe Braves have a big hole in their bullpen now that closer Arodys Vizcaino will miss the rest of the season after having right shoulder surgery. General manager Alex Anthopoulos has heard fans chanting at SunTrust Park for the team to sign free agent closer Craig Kimbrel and bring him back to Atlanta, and he indicated the Braves are exploring all available options."There's been a ton of turnover from the beginning of camp to where we are today," Anthopoulos said. "I think it goes without saying we're going to look to do what we can both internally and externally."The NL East champion Braves have recently used A.J. Minter as their closer, but he's struggled.DISCIPLINE DAY?Major League Baseball will certainly review at the bench-clearing fray that erupted after Kansas City's Brad Keller drilled Tim Anderson with a fastball on Wednesday. In his previous at-bat, the energetic White Sox shortstop had spiked his bat to celebrate... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Fiercely energetic Tim Anderson spiked his bat to celebrate a home run and Kansas City's Brad Keller responded by drilling him with a fastball, setting off a benches-clearing fracas in the Royals' 4-3, 10-inning victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.Anderson tossed his bat toward the White Sox dugout following his two-run drive in the fourth inning. Keller hit him in the buttocks with his first pitch leading off the sixth.Anderson, the AL's leading hitter, was restrained by Royals catcher Martin Maldonado but kept jawing with Keller on the way to first base. The dugouts and bullpens emptied, though no punches appeared to be thrown. White Sox manager Rick Renteria and Royals bench coach Dale Sveum shoved each other, and the usually mild-mannered Renteria was particularly animated.There were four ejections — Anderson, Keller, Renteria and Sveum.Hunter Dozier led off the 10th with a tiebreaking homer against Nate Jones (0-1). His drive to left on a 2-0 fastball made... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Fiercely energetic Tim Anderson spiked his bat to celebrate a home run and Kansas City's Brad Keller responded by drilling him with a fastball, setting off a benches-clearing fracas in the Royals' 4-3, 10-inning victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.Anderson tossed his bat toward the White Sox dugout following his two-run drive in the fourth inning. Keller hit him in the buttocks with his first pitch leading off the sixth.Anderson, the AL's leading hitter, was restrained by Royals catcher Martin Maldonado but kept jawing with Keller on the way to first base. The dugouts and bullpens emptied, though no punches appeared to be thrown. White Sox manager Rick Renteria and Royals bench coach Dale Sveum shoved each other, and the usually mild-mannered Renteria was particularly animated.There were four ejections — Anderson, Keller, Renteria and Sveum.Hunter Dozier led off the 10th with a tiebreaking homer against Nate Jones (0-1). His drive to left on a 2-0 fastball made... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Thursday:CLOSER NEEDEDThe Braves have a big hole in their bullpen now that closer Arodys Vizcaino will miss the rest of the season after having right shoulder surgery. General manager Alex Anthopoulos has heard fans chanting at SunTrust Park for the team to sign free agent closer Craig Kimbrel and bring him back to Atlanta, and he indicated the Braves are exploring all available options."There's been a ton of turnover from the beginning of camp to where we are today," Anthopoulos said. "I think it goes without saying we're going to look to do what we can both internally and externally."The NL East champion Braves have recently used A.J. Minter as their closer, but he's struggled.DISCIPLINE DAY?Major League Baseball will certainly review at the bench-clearing fray that erupted after Kansas City's Brad Keller drilled Tim Anderson with a fastball on Wednesday. In his previous at-bat, the energetic White Sox shortstop had spiked his bat to celebrate... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Fiercely energetic Tim Anderson spiked his bat to celebrate a home run and Kansas City's Brad Keller responded by drilling him with a fastball, setting off a benches-clearing fracas in the Royals' 4-3, 10-inning victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.Anderson tossed his bat toward the White Sox dugout following his two-run drive in the fourth inning. Keller hit him in the buttocks with his first pitch leading off the sixth.Anderson, the AL's leading hitter, was restrained by Royals catcher Martin Maldonado but kept jawing with Keller on the way to first base. The dugouts and bullpens emptied, though no punches appeared to be thrown. White Sox manager Rick Renteria and Royals bench coach Dale Sveum shoved each other, and the usually mild-mannered Renteria was particularly animated.There were four ejections — Anderson, Keller, Renteria and Sveum.Hunter Dozier led off the 10th with a tiebreaking homer against Nate Jones (0-1). His drive to left on a 2-0 fastball made... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — White Sox youngster Tim Anderson was drilled by a fastball two innings after emphatically spiking his bat to celebrate a home run, sparking a benches-clearing fracas with the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.Anderson chucked his bat toward Chicago's dugout while admiring his two-run shot off Brad Keller in the fourth. Keller plunked Anderson in the backside with his first pitch leading off the sixth.Anderson was quickly restrained by Kansas City catcher Martin Maldonado but jawed with Keller on his way to first base. The dugouts and bullpens emptied, though no punches appeared to be thrown. White Sox manager Rick Renteria and Royals bench coach Dale Sveum shoved each other, and the usually mild-mannered Renteria was particularly animated.Anderson, Keller, Renteria and Sveum were ejected.The White Sox and Royals also had a benches-clearing incident following one of Anderson's homers last April.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Vin Scully joined the widow of Jackie Robinson to honor the player who broke baseball's color barrier during Robinson's centennial birthday celebration Monday night.Scully greeted 96-year-old Rachel Robinson with a kiss after being introduced to the crowd, with Scully drawing the loudest cheers in a rare public appearance.He stood behind Rachel with his hands holding her arms during the national anthem at Dodger Stadium. They were joined by Robinson's daughter, Sharon, and son, David, who linked arms with their mother as they walked on the field.Robinson became the first black player in Major League Baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. Scully began calling the team's games three years later, and the now-retired Hall of Fame announcer was friendly off the field with the man he called "Jack."Only 7.7% of current MLB players are black, according to MLB."If not for Jackie Robinson, I probably wouldn't be here today playing baseball in the United States,"... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich hit three homers, including a pair of three-run shots, and drove in a career-high seven runs to power the Milwaukee Brewers past the St. Louis Cardinals 10-7 on Monday night.Yelich, the reigning NL MVP, hit his first three-run homer to cap a six-run second inning. After St. Louis tied it with three runs in the sixth, Yelich answered in the bottom half with a towering three-run blast to right off Mike Mayers (0-1).Yelich capped his night with his eighth homer this season, going deep to lead off the eighth. He also lined out in the first and was walked intentionally in the fourth.Junior Guerra (1-0) worked 1 2/3 innings for the victory. Josh Hader struck out the side in the ninth after allowing Marcell Ozuna's sixth home run to open the inning.DODGERS 4, REDS 3LOS ANGELES (AP) — Joc Pederson hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Los Angeles a comeback victory over Cincinnati in Clayton Kershaw's season debut.Raisel Iglesias (0-3) walked... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich hit three homers, including a pair of three-run shots, and drove in a career-high seven runs to power the Milwaukee Brewers past the St. Louis Cardinals 10-7 on Monday night.Yelich, the reigning NL MVP, hit his first three-run homer to cap a six-run second inning. After St. Louis tied it with three runs in the sixth, Yelich answered in the bottom half with a towering three-run blast to right off Mike Mayers (0-1).Yelich capped his night with his eighth homer this season, going deep to lead off the eighth. He also lined out in the first and was walked intentionally in the fourth.Junior Guerra (1-0) worked 1 2/3 innings for the victory. Josh Hader struck out the side in the ninth after allowing Marcell Ozuna's sixth home run to open the inning.METS 7, PHILLIES 6, 11 INNINGSPHILADELPHIA (AP) — Juan Lagares scored from second base on Michael Conforto's hard grounder in the 11th inning and New York beat Philadelphia.Lagares led off with an infield single against... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Vin Scully joined the widow of Jackie Robinson to honor the player who broke baseball's color barrier during Robinson's centennial birthday celebration Monday night.Scully greeted 96-year-old Rachel Robinson with a kiss after being introduced to the crowd, with Scully drawing the loudest cheers in a rare public appearance.He stood behind Rachel with his hands holding her arms during the national anthem at Dodger Stadium. They were joined by Robinson's daughter, Sharon, and son, David, who linked arms with their mother as they walked on the field.Robinson became the first black player in Major League Baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. Scully began calling the team's games three years later, and the now-retired Hall of Fame announcer was friendly off the field with the man he called "Jack."Only 7.7% of current MLB players are black, according to MLB."If not for Jackie Robinson, I probably wouldn't be here today playing baseball in the United States,"... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Vin Scully joined the widow of Jackie Robinson to honor the player who broke baseball's color barrier during Robinson's centennial birthday celebration Monday night.Scully greeted 96-year-old Rachel Robinson with a kiss after being introduced to the crowd, with Scully drawing the loudest cheers in a rare public appearance.He stood behind Rachel with his hands holding her arms during the national anthem at Dodger Stadium. They were joined by Robinson's daughter, Sharon, and son, David, who linked arms with their mother as they walked on the field.Robinson became the first black player in Major League Baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. Scully began calling the team's games three years later, and the now-retired Hall of Fame announcer was friendly off the field with the man he called "Jack."Only 7.7% of current MLB players are black, according to MLB."If not for Jackie Robinson, I probably wouldn't be here today playing baseball in the United States,"... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — German Marquez pitched a one-hitter, nicked only by Evan Longoria's single with one out in the eighth inning, and the Colorado Rockies ended an eight-game losing streak by beating the San Francisco Giants 4-0 Sunday.Marquez (2-1) struck out nine and walked none while throwing 105 pitches in the first complete game in the majors this season. It was the first-ever complete game for Marquez in 156 pro starts, including 69 in the big leagues.Marquez had allowed just one runner, hitting Kevin Pillar with a pitch to begin the sixth inning, and was in complete control heading into the eighth. Brandon Crawford opened the eighth with a hard, one-hopper that deflected off third baseman Nolan Arenado's glove. Arenado quickly grabbed the ball out of the air and zipped a throw to retire Crawford.Longoria followed with a grounder in the hole, just beyond Arenado's dive. The Gold Glover took off his mitt and slammed it to the ground, shouting in frustration that the no-hit bid had... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — German Marquez pitched a one-hitter, nicked only by Evan Longoria's single with one out in the eighth inning, and the Colorado Rockies ended an eight-game losing streak by beating the San Francisco Giants 4-0 Sunday.Marquez (2-1) struck out nine and walked none while throwing 105 pitches in the first complete game in the majors this season. It was the first-ever complete game for Marquez in 156 pro starts, including 69 in the big leagues.Marquez had allowed just one runner, hitting Kevin Pillar with a pitch to begin the sixth inning, and was in complete control heading into the eighth. Brandon Crawford opened the eighth with a hard, one-hopper that deflected off third baseman Nolan Arenado's glove. Arenado quickly grabbed the ball out of the air and zipped a throw to retire Crawford.Longoria followed with a grounder in the hole, just beyond Arenado's dive. The Gold Glover took off his mitt and slammed it to the ground, shouting in frustration that the no-hit bid had... [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]