WASHINGTON (AP) — Freddie Freeman homered twice, Dansby Swanson hit a go-ahead shot in the eighth inning and the Atlanta Braves rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat the Washington Nationals 7-6 on Thursday night. Freeman tied the game at 6 in the seventh with a 443-foot, two-run drive to right-center off Will Harris. Swanson’s solo shot off Tanner Rainey gave the Braves their first lead. After a scary bout with COVID-19 during the Braves’ summer camp, Freeman is among the major league leaders in OPS. He has five homers and 20 RBIs in his past seven games.Chris Martin got the win and Mark Melancon worked the ninth for his ninth save in 10 chances. Ronald Acuña Jr. also hit a two-run homer for the Braves, who weathered another ineffective outing from their makeshift rotation. Spot starter Robbie Erlin got five outs and allowed five extra-base hits.TIGERS 6, CARDINALS 3ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jeimer Candelario capped a two-homer day with a two-run, bases-loaded single in the seventh inning to help... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Freddie Freeman homered twice, Dansby Swanson hit a go-ahead shot in the eighth inning and the Atlanta Braves rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat the Washington Nationals 7-6 on Thursday night. Freeman tied the game at 6 in the seventh with a 443-foot, two-run drive to right-center off Will Harris. Swanson’s solo shot off Tanner Rainey gave the Braves their first lead. After a scary bout with COVID-19 during the Braves’ summer camp, Freeman is among the major league leaders in OPS. He has five homers and 20 RBIs in his past seven games.Chris Martin got the win and Mark Melancon worked the ninth for his ninth save in 10 chances. Ronald Acuña Jr. also hit a two-run homer for the Braves, who weathered another ineffective outing from their makeshift rotation. Spot starter Robbie Erlin got five outs and allowed five extra-base hits.TIGERS 6, CARDINALS 3ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jeimer Candelario capped a two-homer day with a two-run, bases-loaded single in the seventh inning to help... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Michael Perez hit a go-ahead solo homer in the eighth inning and the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 on Wednesday night.Perez homered to center off Mychal Givens (0-1). It was his first long ball since Aug. 10, 2018.Ryan Sherriff (1-0) worked a perfect eighth in his first big league game since May 7, 2018, due to Tommy John surgery. Diego Castillo pitched the ninth to get his first save. Ten Tampa Bay relievers have a save this season.Brandon Lowe hit his 10th homer for the Rays, who have won nine of 11. The Orioles are 8-3 on the road after losing the first two games of the series. Their only other defeat away from home came opening day at Boston.BLUE JAYS 9, RED SOX 1BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Rowdy Tellez drove in four runs with two homers and a double, and Toronto beat Boston.Vladimir Guererro Jr. hit a pair of doubles, including a three-run bouncer down the left field line that keyed a four-run seventh inning for Toronto (15-14).... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Michael Perez hit a go-ahead solo homer in the eighth inning and the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 on Wednesday night.Perez homered to center off Mychal Givens (0-1). It was his first long ball since Aug. 10, 2018.Ryan Sherriff (1-0) worked a perfect eighth in his first big league game since May 7, 2018, due to Tommy John surgery. Diego Castillo pitched the ninth to get his first save. Ten Tampa Bay relievers have a save this season.Brandon Lowe hit his 10th homer for the Rays, who have won nine of 11. The Orioles are 8-3 on the road after losing the first two games of the series. Their only other defeat away from home came opening day at Boston.BLUE JAYS 9, RED SOX 1BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Rowdy Tellez drove in four runs with two homers and a double, and Toronto beat Boston.Vladimir Guererro Jr. hit a pair of doubles, including a three-run bouncer down the left field line that keyed a four-run seventh inning for Toronto (15-14).... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Michael Perez hit a go-ahead solo homer in the eighth inning and the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 on Wednesday night.Perez homered to center off Mychal Givens (0-1). It was his first long ball since Aug. 10, 2018.Ryan Sherriff (1-0) worked a perfect eighth in his first big league game since May 7, 2018, due to Tommy John surgery. Diego Castillo pitched the ninth to get his first save. Ten Tampa Bay relievers have a save this season.Brandon Lowe hit his 10th homer for the Rays, who have won nine of 11. The Orioles are 8-3 on the road after losing the first two games of the series. Their only other defeat away from home came opening day at Boston.BLUE JAYS 9, RED SOX 1BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Rowdy Tellez drove in four runs with two homers and a double, and Toronto beat Boston.Vladimir Guererro Jr. hit a pair of doubles, including a three-run bouncer down the left field line that keyed a four-run seventh inning for Toronto (15-14).... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Michael Perez hit a go-ahead solo homer in the eighth inning and the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 on Wednesday night.Perez homered to center off Mychal Givens (0-1). It was his first long ball since Aug. 10, 2018.Ryan Sherriff (1-0) worked a perfect eighth in his first big league game since May 7, 2018, due to Tommy John surgery. Diego Castillo pitched the ninth to get his first save. Ten Tampa Bay relievers have a save this season.Brandon Lowe hit his 10th homer for the Rays, who have won nine of 11. The Orioles are 8-3 on the road after losing the first two games of the series. Their only other defeat away from home came opening day at Boston.BLUE JAYS 9, RED SOX 1BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Rowdy Tellez drove in four runs with two homers and a double, and Toronto beat Boston.Vladimir Guererro Jr. hit a pair of doubles, including a three-run bouncer down the left field line that keyed a four-run seventh inning for Toronto (15-14).... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Left fielder Juan Soto was reinstated by the Washington Nationals from the COVID-19 injured list Tuesday after missing the team’s first seven games of the season.Manager Dave Martinez did not put the slugger in Washington’s starting lineup against the New York Mets for the opener of a two-game series Tuesday night. Martinez did say Soto was available to pinch hit.“I talked to him last night and he really felt like he probably could use another day or two. He said his legs felt a little heavy. His arm was a little sore,” Martinez said. “He tried to ramp it up. ... The last four days, he probably got about 20 at-bats. In that respect, he doesn’t feel that bad, but I want to make sure we keep him healthy. We just got him back. He missed a lot of time.”Soto was sidelined on opening day, July 23, after testing positive for the coronavirus. He only was allowed to return to workouts on Saturday, part of an unusual four-day break for the Nationals caused by the suspension of the... [More]

A look at what’s happening around the majors today:WHO’S PLAYING?The Cardinals will see if they can begin their series at Milwaukee after St. Louis became the latest team to get shut down by the coronavirus.The Brewers’ home opener was postponed Friday because two Cardinals players tested positive for COVID-19.“TV Show suggestions please,” tweeted Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty, who had been scheduled to start.Six clubs were off Friday because of the virus and its effects — Miami and Philadelphia had positive tests in their organizations, leaving Washington and Toronto with no games this weekend.Commissioner Rob Manfred talked to union leader Tony Clark about the importance of players following the sport’s virus protocols in hopes of finishing the shortened, 60-game season.“Every player in this league better take a hard look at what you’re doing off the field, because what you do affects, more than just you and your team,” Chicago Cubs outfielder Steven Souza Jr. tweeted. “Your decisions... [More]

A look at what’s happening around the majors on Saturday:WHO’S PLAYING?The Cardinals will see if they can begin their series at Milwaukee after St. Louis became the latest team to get shut down by the coronavirus.The Brewers’ home opener was postponed Friday because two Cardinals players tested positive for COVID-19.“TV Show suggestions please,” tweeted Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty, who had been scheduled to start.Six clubs were off Friday because of the virus and its effects — Miami and Philadelphia had positive tests in their organizations, leaving Washington and Toronto with no games this weekend.Commissioner Rob Manfred talked to union leader Tony Clark about the importance of players following the sport’s virus protocols in hopes of finishing the shortened, 60-game season.“Every player in this league better take a hard look at what you’re doing off the field, because what you do affects, more than just you and your team,” Chicago Cubs outfielder Steven Souza Jr. tweeted. “Your decisions... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — New Nationals reliever Will Harris was put on the 10-day injured list Friday with a strained right groin.The move is retroactive to Wednesday, the day after Harris last pitched, giving up two unearned runs in the eighth inning of Washington's 5-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.Harris is 0-0 with a 6.75 ERA and one blown save in his first season with the Nationals. The 35-year-old right-hander signed a $24 million, three-year contract after losing the World Series to the Nationals while with his previous team, the Houston Astros.He missed time during this year's original spring training in Florida in February because of an abdominal muscle problem.Nationals manager Dave Martinez first mentioned that Harris was dealing with a groin issue after five other relievers were used by Washington in a 6-4 victory over Toronto on Thursday night.At the time, Martinez said the club was hoping that its current stretch of four days off might give Harris a chance to heal.Because of a coronavirus outbreak among the Marlins, Washington's series at Miami this weekend was postponed. The Nationals won't play again until hosting the New York Mets on Tuesday.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Washington Nationals reliever Sean Doolittle moves a glove out of the way as he reaches into a shelf in his spring training locker and grabs a different one, which he then hands over with a simple, if unusual, instruction: “Smell it.” So, of course, you do -- getting a sweet whiff of lavender, the sort you might get from a candle or bowl of potpourri. And now you know what Doolittle sniffed each time he jutted his right elbow toward home plate and tucked his glove under his chin to get his catcher's signs during last season's World Series.At the suggestion of Washington's director of mental conditioning, Mark Campbell, Doolittle put lavender oil on the leather laces around the webbing of his glove for the postseason. It helped the lefty relax on the mound after a rocky regular season, much the way the bullpen as a whole morphed from disaster to asset in 2019, a trend of improvement the club figures will continue in 2020."I was so nervous during the playoffs.... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Washington Nationals reliever Sean Doolittle moves a glove out of the way as he reaches into a shelf in his spring training locker and grabs a different one, which he then hands over with a simple, if unusual, instruction: “Smell it.” So, of course, you do -- getting a sweet whiff of lavender, the sort you might get from a candle or bowl of potpourri. And now you know what Doolittle sniffed each time he jutted his right elbow toward home plate and tucked his glove under his chin to get his catcher's signs during last season's World Series.At the suggestion of Washington's director of mental conditioning, Mark Campbell, Doolittle put lavender oil on the leather laces around the webbing of his glove for the postseason. It helped the lefty relax on the mound after a rocky regular season, much the way the bullpen as a whole morphed from disaster to asset in 2019, a trend of improvement the club figures will continue in 2020."I was so nervous during the playoffs.... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Washington Nationals reliever Sean Doolittle moves a glove out of the way as he reaches into a shelf in his spring training locker and grabs a different one, which he then hands over with a simple, if unusual, instruction: “Smell it.” So, of course, you do -- getting a sweet, soothing whiff of lavender, the sort you might get from a candle or bowl of potpourri. And now you know what Doolittle sniffed each time he jutted his right elbow toward home plate and tucked his glove under his chin to get his catcher's signs during last season's World Series.At the suggestion of Washington's director of mental conditioning, Mark Campbell, Doolittle put lavender oil on the leather laces around the webbing of his glove for the postseason. It helped the lefty relax on the mound after a rocky regular season, much the way the bullpen as a whole morphed from disaster to asset in 2019, a trend of improvement the club figures will continue in 2020."I was so nervous during the... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Max Scherzer grunted and cursed his way to 56 pitches during his first formal bullpen session of spring training -- about 20 more throws than other Washington Nationals starters Thursday, but "standard" for him, the righty said -- and then was asked about ... the Houston Astros' cheating scandal.Manager Dave Martinez began camp in the last season for which his contract is guaranteed at the moment -- the Nationals hold an option for 2021 -- and then was prompted to talk about, well, another team entirely.Nationals players could look around their clubhouse at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches and see the new locker nameplates or new red-and-blue clocks on the walls or patches stitched to the sleeves of their new jerseys, all festooned with some sort of logo proclaiming the club to be the 2019 World Series champions ... and then were queried about the club that was the runner-up last season.It was an odd dynamic: The Nationals and Astros were foes last October;... [More]

A team-by-team look at the American 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:___Houston Astros Manager: Dusty Baker (first season). 2019: 107-55, first place, lost to Nationals in World Series. Training Town: West Palm Beach, Florida. Park: Ballpark of Palm Beaches. First Workout: Feb. 13/17. He's Here: Manager Dusty Baker, RHP Austin Pruitt, C Dustin Garneau.He's Outta Here: Manager AJ Hinch, RHP Gerrit Cole, RHP Will Harris, C Robinson Chirinos, OF Tony Kemp. Going campin': The Astros enter the spring reeling from a sign-stealing scandal that cost manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow their jobs. They brought in Baker to steady the team, and it gives the 70-year-old another chance to chase his first World Series title as a manager. He’ll get a crash course learning his new team this spring after being hired less than three weeks before pitchers and catchers... [More]

A team-by-team look at the National League East 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:___Atlanta Braves Manager: Brian Snitker (fifth season). 2019: 97-65, first place, lost to Cardinals in Division Series.Training Town: North Port, Florida.Park: CoolToday Park. First Workout: Feb. 13/18. He's Here: LF Marcell Ozuna, C Travis d'Arnaud, LHP Cole Hamels, LHP Will Smith, RHP F�lix Hern�ndez.He's Outta Here: 3B Josh Donaldson, LHP Dallas Keuchel, RHP Julio Teheran, C Brian McCann, OF Matt Joyce, RHP Anthony Swarzak, RHP Josh Tomlin, LHP Jerry Blevins, OF Billy Hamilton, C Francisco Cervelli. Going campin': The Braves are coming off their second straight NL East title, led by one of baseball's brightest young stars. In his first full season in the big leagues, 22-year-old OF Ronald Acu�a Jr. hit 41 homers, led the league with 127 runs and tallied 37 stolen bases to become the second-youngest... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Nationals acquired reliever Ryne Harper on Wednesday in a trade with the Minnesota Twins. Washington sent minor league right-handed pitcher Hunter McMahon to the Twins in the deal. Harper went 5-2 with one save and a 3.81 ERA in his first major league season in 2019. The 30-year-old right-hander pitched scoreless relief in 17 of his first 18 appearances with Minnesota.He joins a Washington bullpen featuring Sean Doolittle, Daniel Hudson and Will Harris.McMahon is a 21-year-old who was a ninth-round pick out of college last June. He went 2-1 with a 0.71 ERA in nine games with the Gulf Coast League Nationals. ___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WASHINGTON (AP) — Daniel Hudson thought the door was closed on returning to the Nationals when they signed fellow reliever Will Harris.But Hudson wanted to be back with Washington, and general manager Mike Rizzo shared the same sentiment. So, Hudson and the team agreed to an $11 million, two-year deal that was finalized Tuesday.Hudson gets $5 million this year and $6 million in 2021. He can earn $1 million annually in performance bonuses for games finished: $200,000 each for 30, 40, 45, 50 and 55.Not long ago, the bullpen was a major weakness. Now, the reigning World Series champions can deal from a position of strength by turning to Hudson, Harris and holdover Sean Doolittle.“Recreating what we had is going to be tough, but I feel like I want to try to be a part of that,” Hudson said on a conference call with reporters. “The window to continue winning in D.C. is definitely still open, and I'd like to be a part of that still.”Hudson is back after a successful half season and more that ended... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Daniel Hudson thought the door was closed on returning to the Nationals when they signed fellow reliever Will Harris.But Hudson wanted to be back with Washington, and general manager Mike Rizzo shared the same sentiment. So, Hudson and the team agreed to an $11 million, two-year deal that was finalized Tuesday.Not long ago, the bullpen was a major weakness. Now, the reigning World Series champions can deal from a position of strength by turning to Hudson, Harris and holdover Sean Doolittle.“Recreating what we had is going to be tough, but I feel like I want to try to be a part of that,” Hudson said on a conference call with reporters. “The window to continue winning in D.C. is definitely still open, and I'd like to be a part of that still.”Hudson is back after a successful half season and more that ended with him striking out Houston's Michael Brantley for the final out of the Nationals' Game 7 World Series win. The right-hander went 4 for 4 in save opportunities during... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Nationals finalized an $11 million, two-year deal with reliever Daniel Hudson on Tuesday that figures to shore up the reigning World Series champions' bullpen.Hudson will be back with Washington after a successful half season and more that ended with him striking out Houston's Michael Brantley for the final out of the Nationals' Game 7 World Series win. The right-hander went 4 for 4 in save opportunities during the postseason and allowed no runs in seven of his nine postseason appearances.The Nationals acquired Hudson, 32, from Toronto at the July 31 trade deadline. He went 3-0 with six saves and a 1.44 ERA in 24 games the rest of the regular season.Hudson's return coupled with the signing of Will Harris makes the Nationals' bullpen appear to be a strength after it was a major weakness early in 2019. Hudson, Harris and holdover lefty Sean Doolittle make up the back end of the bullpen and give manager Dave Martinez more options in the late innings.Harris, who came from the Houston Astros, agreed to a $24 million, three-year deal. The Nationals this offseason also signed infielder Starlin Castro and first baseman Eric Thames and inked World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg to a long-term contract.———More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports