MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins have made more changes to their ravaged bullpen, designating right-hander Blake Parker for assignment.Before their game on Wednesday against the New York Yankees, the AL Central leaders also sent right-hander Kohl Stewart to Triple-A Rochester and promoted left-hander Devin Smeltzer and right-hander Carlos Torres from the International League club.Parker, who signed a one-year, $1.8 million contract as a free agent with the Twins in January, had a 4.21 ERA in 37 games. He recorded only one out in his last appearance on Tuesday, allowing three hits, four runs and one walk.Parker became the fourth reliever dumped by the team in the last two weeks. Adalberto Mejia was eventually claimed off waivers, and Matt Magill and Mike Morin were ultimately traded. Over the last seven games, Minnesota's bullpen has allowed 32 runs (25 earned) in 26 innings."We would have loved to keep every one of those guys. None of them had options," Twins chief baseball officer... [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]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — The biggest play from the Phillies' spring training game Thursday: great communication behind the home dugout.Philadelphia fans with an eye on their smartphones cried out when reports emerged that Bryce Harper had agreed to a deal with the Phillies, breaking the news to manager Gabe Kapler and his players during a 5-5 split-squad tie with the Orioles. Harper agreed to a $330 million, 13-year deal with the club, the largest contract in baseball history. Harper's agent, Scott Boras, said the deal was agreed to shortly before noon, subject to a successful physical."If the reports are true, it's a huge moment for our baseball team," Kapler said. "Certainly I think that the city of Philadelphia would embrace Bryce Harper. I think he would be very happy in this city because our fans care deeply about winning."A 26-year-old All-Star who had spent his entire big league career with the Washington Nationals, Harper topped the $325 million, 13-year agreement outfielder Giancarlo... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Twins and former Texas left-hander Martin Perez have finalized a one-year contract that guarantees $4 million, Minnesota's first offseason acquisition for the rotation.Perez gets a $3.5 million salary this year, and the Twins have a $7.5 million option for 2020 with a $500,000 buyout. The option price could escalate to $8.5 million based on innings this year. He also could earn $500,000 in performance bonuses this season.The 27-year-old made 128 starts over the last seven seasons for the Rangers, who exercised a $750,000 buyout on his contract on Nov. 2, allowing him to become a free agent.Perez went just 2-7 with a 6.22 ERA in 22 appearances in 2018, including 15 starts. He didn't bounce back from surgery on his non-throwing elbow, an injury that occurred last winter when he was startled by a bull on his ranch in Venezuela and fell on his arm. Tommy John ligament replacement surgery on his left elbow limited Perez to 22 starts over the 2014 and 2015 seasons. He went... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Bartolo Colon became the top-winning pitcher born in Latin America, punctuating his 246th career victory with a nifty snag as the Texas Rangers roughed up Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners 11-4 on Tuesday night.The 45-year-old Colon, from the Dominican Republic, made his sixth start since earning his 245th win on June 30 that matched the mark held by Dennis Martinez from Nicaragua.Colon (6-10) gave up four runs in seven innings. The portly and popular right-hander struck out one and walked none.Adrian Beltre, Jurickson Profar and Rougned Odor homered off Hernandez (8-10), who allowed a career-high 11 runs — seven earned — in six innings.ANGELS 11, TIGERS 5ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit a three-run homer during a seven-run first inning, and the Angels celebrated Mike Trout's 27th birthday with a victory over the Tigers.Trout missed his sixth consecutive game with a sore right wrist, but his teammates maintained a celebratory mood at the Big A with... [More]

Mejia tossed four no-hit innings while allowing one walk and striking out four in his first game for Double-A Richmond on Thursday.

This was his first game action after serving a 50-game suspension (for testing positive for a stimulant) to start the season. His outing Thursday will undoubtedly excite dynasty league owners and Giants fans, but his 3.78 FIP in 108 innings with Richmond last year is better indicator of Mejia's true talent. He could be a mid-rotation starter for the Giants at some point in 2016 and could even force his way to the big leagues in some capacity in August or September of this year.