ATLANTA (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals have signed left-hander Wade LeBlanc to a one-year contract that pays $800,000 while in the major leagues and $150,000 while in the minors. Manager Mike Shildt said LeBlanc will pitch in relief. LeBlanc, 36, is 46-48 in his 13-year career with a 4.59 ERA — 34-41, 4.73 ERA in 121 career starts and 12-7 with a 4.23 ERA in 125 relief appearances with three saves. He went 0-1 with a 9.45 ERA in one start and five relief appearances for Baltimore this season. “He can pitch about anywhere, any time it sounds like,” Shildt said. “Clearly we have some defined roles in close games and with the lead, so we’ll just get him out there and take it from there.” Right-hander Seth Elledge was optioned to Triple-A Memphis following Wednesday’s win over Miami in a corresponding move. Infielder Max Moroff (left shoulder) was transferred to the 60-day injured list to allow for LeBlanc’s addition to the 40-man roster. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ATLANTA (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals have signed left-hander Wade LeBlanc to a one-year contract. Manager Mike Shildt said LeBlanc will pitch in relief. LeBlanc, 36, is 46-48 in his 13-year career with a 4.59 ERA — 34-41, 4.73 ERA in 121 career starts and 12-7 with a 4.23 ERA in 125 relief appearances with three saves. He went 0-1 with a 9.45 ERA in one start and five relief appearances for Baltimore this season. “He can pitch about anywhere, any time it sounds like,” Shildt said. “Clearly we have some defined roles in close games and with the lead, so we’ll just get him out there and take it from there.” Right-hander Seth Elledge was optioned to Triple-A Memphis following Wednesday’s win over Miami in a corresponding move. Infielder Max Moroff (left shoulder) was transferred to the 60-day injured list to allow for LeBlanc’s addition to the 40-man roster. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals plan to start the season Thursday in Cincinnati with pitchers Kwang Hyun Kim, Dakota Hudson and Miles Mikolas on the injured list along with outfielder Harrison Bader. Hudson always planned to begin on the season on the injured list as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. Kim is dealing with a back injury, Mikolas with a sore shoulder and Bader has a strained right foreman that could keep him out a month, the Cardinals said Sunday. The Cardinals also reassigned pitcher Kodi Whitley and outfielder Lane Thomas and reassigned catchers Tyler Heineman and Dennis Ortego and infielders Max Moroff and Jose Rondon to the minors as they settle their opening day roster. The moves mean the Cardinals plan to keep utility man John Nogowski, infielder Edmundo Sosa, pitcher Jake Woodford and outfielders Austin Dean and Justin Williams on the roster they will submit Thursday to start the season. “It was a tough competition, there were some tough conversations,” Cardinals... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Outfielder Jake Marisnick was acquired by the New York Mets from the Houston Astros on Thursday for two prospects -- left-hander Blake Taylor and outfielder Kenedy Corona.Marisnick is an excellent defender with speed but hasn't hit well in the majors. He could play center field and allow the Mets to use Brandon Nimmo primarily in left.Michael Conforto figures to get most of the starts in right. Former Gold Glover Juan Lagares played 125 games in center for New York last season and became a free agent.The 28-year-old Marisnick hit .233 with 10 homers, 34 RBIs and 10 steals last season. In advanced metrics, he ranks seventh among outfielders with 64 defensive runs saved since 2004.In parts of seven years with the Astros and Marlins, he's hit .227 in 685 games. He hit 16 home runs in helping Houston reach the World Series in 2017.Last year, Marisnick often was a backup in an Astros outfield that included George Springer, Michael Brantley and Josh Reddick. Marisnick went 3 for... [More]

May 121910 — Chief Bender of the Philadelphia Athletics pitched a 4-0 no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians.1937 — St. Louis' Joe Medwick hit two home runs and two doubles to lead the Cardinals to a 15-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.1955 — Sam "Toothpick" Jones of the Cubs got a no-hitter the hard way. In the ninth inning against Pittsburgh, he walked the bases full and then struck out the next three batters for a 4-0 victory.1956 — Carl Erskine of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitched a 3-0 no-hitter against the New York Giants.1966 — Lou Brock's RBI single in the 12th inning gave the St. Louis Cardinals a 4-3 victory over Atlanta in the opening of Busch Memorial Stadium. Felipe Alou hit two home runs for the Braves.1970 — Ernie Banks hit his 500th home run off Pat Jarvis in Chicago's 4-3 victory over Atlanta at Wrigley Field.2000 — Boston's Pedro Martinez, who had 17 strikeouts in his last start May 6 against Tampa Bay, struck out 15 in a 9-0 win over Baltimore, to tie an AL record... [More]

May 121910 — Chief Bender of the Philadelphia Athletics pitched a 4-0 no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians.1937 — St. Louis' Joe Medwick hit two home runs and two doubles to lead the Cardinals to a 15-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.1955 — Sam "Toothpick" Jones of the Cubs got a no-hitter the hard way. In the ninth inning against Pittsburgh, he walked the bases full and then struck out the next three batters for a 4-0 victory.1956 — Carl Erskine of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitched a 3-0 no-hitter against the New York Giants.1966 — Lou Brock's RBI single in the 12th inning gave the St. Louis Cardinals a 4-3 victory over Atlanta in the opening of Busch Memorial Stadium. Felipe Alou hit two home runs for the Braves.1970 — Ernie Banks hit his 500th home run off Pat Jarvis in Chicago's 4-3 victory over Atlanta at Wrigley Field.2000 — Boston's Pedro Martinez, who had 17 strikeouts in his last start May 6 against Tampa Bay, struck out 15 in a 9-0 win over Baltimore, to tie an AL record... [More]

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]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Cleveland Indians star shortstop Francisco Lindor's recovery from a strained right calf muscle has been set back by another injury: a sprained left ankle.Manager Terry Francona said Wednesday in Minnesota, where the Indians will start the season, that Lindor was hurt running the bases in a minor league intrasquad game at the team's spring training home in Arizona.According to the team, an MRI test on Lindor's ankle found a mild to moderate acute sprain. The three-time All-Star was previously ruled out for the opener because of the calf strain he suffered in early February. Because the timetable for that injury had not yet been finalized by the team's medical staff, Lindor's return from the ankle sprain was still being determined."I watched it on tape. He walked off the field," Francona said. "But they're trying to put their heads together to get some more information."In the meantime, Leonys Martin will likely bat leadoff in Lindor's place. Rookie Eric Stamets will take... [More]

The Cleveland Indians already were dealing with a depleted infield when Jose Ramirez took a most damaging swing.A two-time All-Star third baseman, Ramirez bruised his left knee when he fouled a ball off his leg Sunday in a spring training game. His status for opening day was uncertain.X-rays were negative. The Indians said Ramirez will remain in Arizona, and that it will be determined later whether he can play Thursday when the AL Central champions open at Minnesota.Ramirez was carted from the field after getting hurt against the Chicago White Sox in Cleveland's final Cactus League exhibition. He wasn't able to put any pressure on his leg as manager Terry Francona and a trainer helped him onto the cart.The 26-year-old Ramirez hit 39 home runs with 105 RBIs while batting .270 and stealing 34 bases last season. He has finished third in AL MVP voting in each of the last two seasons.Star shortstop Francisco Lindor is starting the season on the injured list and second baseman Jason Kipnis is... [More]

The Cleveland Indians already were dealing with a depleted infield when Jose Ramirez took a most damaging swing.A two-time All-Star third baseman, Ramirez bruised his left knee when he fouled a ball off his leg Sunday in a spring training game. His status for opening day was uncertain.X-rays were negative. The Indians said Ramirez will remain in Arizona, and that it will be determined later whether he can play Thursday when the AL Central champions open at Minnesota.Ramirez was carted from the field after getting hurt against the Chicago White Sox in Cleveland's final Cactus League exhibition. He wasn't able to put any pressure on his leg as manager Terry Francona and a trainer helped him onto the cart.The 26-year-old Ramirez hit 39 home runs with 105 RBIs while batting .270 and stealing 34 bases last season. He has finished third in AL MVP voting in each of the last two seasons.Star shortstop Francisco Lindor is starting the season on the injured list and second baseman Jason Kipnis is... [More]

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Cleveland Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez bruised his left knee when he fouled a ball off himself Sunday and his status for opening day is uncertain.X-rays on the two-time All-Star were negative. The team said Ramirez will remain in Arizona, and that it will be determined later whether he can play Thursday when the AL Central champions open at Minnesota.The Indians already had a depleted infield when Ramirez was carted from the field after getting hurt against the Chicago White Sox in Cleveland's final exhibition of the year in Arizona. He wasn't able to put any pressure on his leg as manager Terry Francona and a trainer helped him onto the cart.The 26-year-old Ramirez hit 39 home runs with 105 RBIs while batting .270 and stealing 34 bases last season. He has finished third in the AL MVP voting in each of the last two seasons.Star shortstop Francisco Lindor is starting the season on the injured list and second baseman Jason Kipnis is expected to miss opening day... [More]

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — The Indians have signed infielder Brad Miller to a major league contract.Miller was signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers on Feb. 27. He opted out of it on March 21 and signed with the Indians, who will start the season with second baseman Jason Kipnis and shortstop Francisco Lindor on the injured list.The Indians cleared a roster spot for Miller by placing pitcher Danny Salazar on the 60-day injured list while he rehabs his right shoulder from surgery.Miller joins Max Moroff and Eric Stamets in the middle infield."He has a done a lot of damage against right-handed pitching," manager Terry Francona said. "We will mix and match a bit depending how guys are swinging the bat. Our guys did a good job of finding someone who could help us at this late stage of spring. That's not an easy thing to do."Miller played with the Rays and Brewers last season, his sixth in the league since he was the Mariners' second-round pick. He played three seasons with the Mariners before moving on to the Rays.Miller hit .230 in 75 games last season. He has a .239 average with 75 home runs in 680 games. He has played all four infield positions, 375 at shortstop and 156 at second base.The Indians will keep Hanley Ramirez on the opening day roster as a designated hitter and part time first baseman.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — Star shortstop Francisco Lindor and double-play partner Jason Kipnis have been ruled out for opening day by the Cleveland Indians.The team said Friday night that neither player will be ready for Thursday's opener at Minnesota. Lindor will start the year on the 10-day injured list. He has been recovering from a right calf strain that's limited him during spring training. He has yet to appear in a Cactus League game but has participated in intrasquad minor league games. Potentially frigid weather in Minneapolis is an extra concern for Cleveland.Kipnis had an MRI on Thursday which confirmed a mild right calf strain. He won't do any baseball activities for 7 to 10 days before being re-evaluated.Eric Stamets is likely to replace Lindor at short, and either Jose Ramirez or Max Moroff will likely slot in at second.Outfielder Bradley Zimmer will also open the season on the 10-day IL. Zimmer had surgery on his right shoulder last July and is still recovering.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — Injured shortstop Francisco Lindor arrived at the Cleveland Indians spring training complex Thursday, exactly six weeks before their season opener.The three-time All-Star strained his right calf while working out recently in Florida. The team said last week the injury would keep one of baseball's best all-around players out seven to nine weeks. He won't be on the field for the start of camp.Manager Terry Francona said that he's "betting on the under" of that timetable because the 25-year-old shortstop is in good shape and works hard.Francona said there are no plans to slide third baseman Carlos Santana to shortstop, even though he has played 109 games at that position. Among the options are Yu Chang, Mike Freeman and Max Moroff.Lindor avoided salary arbitration last month by agreeing to a $10.55 million contract for 2019.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Indians traded one of their extra pieces. They're keeping their bigger ones — for now.Cleveland began what could be a busy offseason on Wednesday by dealing versatile infielder Erik Gonzalez to the Pittsburgh Pirates as part of a five-player swap.The AL Central champions sent the 27-year-old Gonzalez, who appeared in 81 games for the Indians last season, along with minor league right-handers Tahnaj Thomas and Dante Mendoza to the Pirates for outfielder Jordan Luplow and infielder Max Moroff.Gonzalez batted .265 with one homer and 16 RBIs last season for Cleveland, which signed the Dominican native in 2009. And while he filled a valuable utility role, he was not going to crack the starting lineup behind All-Stars Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez."That was a tough thing for us," Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said. "We've had multiple conversations with Erik about it. He's done so many things to impact the organization in his time with us, from... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Indians traded versatile infielder Erik Gonzalez to the Pittsburgh Pirates as part of a five-player swap.Cleveland sent Gonzalez, who appeared in 81 games for the AL Central champions last season, and right-handers Tahnaj Thomas and Dante Mendoza to the Pirates for outfielder Jordan Luplow and infielder Max Moroff.Gonzalez batted .265 with one homer and 16 RBIs last season for Cleveland, which signed the Dominican native in 2009. Gonzalez filled a utility role for the Indians, but was not going to be able to get into the starting lineup behind All-Stars Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez.The 25-year-old Luplow brings needed depth to Cleveland's outfield, which was decimated by injuries last season. He appeared in 64 games over the past two seasons with the Pirates, who named him their top minor league player in 2017.Moroff has split the last three seasons between Triple-A Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, appearing in 26 games for the Pirates in 2018.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

TORONTO (AP) — Luke Maile hit two home runs, including a two-run shot in the 12th inning that gave the Toronto Blue Jays a 5-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.Maile's drive off Boston's Brian Johnson (1-2) improved the Blue Jays to 5-0 in extra innings after they overcame an impressive outing by Red Sox starter Chris Sale.Curtis Granderson walked to begin the 12th before Maile went deep to right. Maile also hit a game-tying homer off Sale in the seventh. It was the first multihomer game of his career.Sale matched his career high by striking out 15 over a season-high nine innings.Sam Gaviglio (1-0), recalled from Triple-A Buffalo earlier Friday, pitched three innings for the win in his Blue Jays debut.METS 3, PHILLIES 1PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Michael Conforto hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning off Philadelphia closer Hector Neris for New York's second win in 10 games.Phillies starter Jake Arrieta allowed five hits over 7 1/3 scoreless innings, and they led 1-0 until Neris... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — Luke Maile hit two home runs, including a two-run shot in the 12th inning that gave the Toronto Blue Jays a 5-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.Maile's drive off Boston's Brian Johnson (1-2) improved the Blue Jays to 5-0 in extra innings after they overcame an impressive outing by Red Sox starter Chris Sale.Curtis Granderson walked to begin the 12th before Maile went deep to right. Maile also hit a game-tying homer off Sale in the seventh. It was the first multihomer game of his career.Sale matched his career high by striking out 15 over a season-high nine innings.Sam Gaviglio (1-0), recalled from Triple-A Buffalo earlier Friday, pitched three innings for the win in his Blue Jays debut.METS 3, PHILLIES 1PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Michael Conforto hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning off Philadelphia closer Hector Neris for New York's second win in 10 games.Phillies starter Jake Arrieta allowed five hits over 7 1/3 scoreless innings, and they led 1-0 until Neris... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Michael Conforto hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning off Phillies closer Hector Neris and the New York Mets rallied to beat Philadelphia 3-1 on Friday night.Phillies starter Jake Arrieta allowed five hits over 7 1/3 scoreless innings, and they led 1-0 until Neris allowed a one-out single, Conforto's third homer and a homer to Devin Mesoraco on the next pitch. It was the second blown save in six days for Neris (1-3), both costing Arrieta a victory.Odubel Herrera extended his on-base streak to 40 games with a first-inning home run for the Phillies, who had won four straight.It was only the Mets' second win in 10 games and came in improbable fashion in their first game since an embarrassing gaffe in Wednesday's loss to Cincinnati in which they batted out of order, squashing a first-inning rally.Jeurys Familia (2-1) worked a perfect ninth for the Mets, who had scored two or fewer runs in seven of their previous nine games.CUBS 11, WHITE SOX 2CHICAGO (AP) — Willson Contreras... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates placed second baseman Josh Harrison on the 10-day disabled list after he broke the pinky finger on his left hand for a second time in a year.The team said Tuesday that Harrison fractured the fifth metacarpal in the finger when he was hit with a pitch by Miami's Jose Urena in the third inning of Pittsburgh's 7-3 win Sunday over the Marlins. He is expected to miss six weeks.The two-time All-Star broke the same bone last September when he was hit by Cincinnati's Tyler Mahle.Todd Tomczyk, the Pirates' director of sports medicine, called the injury recurrence "very uncommon."The Pirates called up infielder Max Moroff from Triple-A Indianapolis to take Harrison's spot on the roster. Adam Frazier started in place of Harrison at second base on Monday night when the Pirates began a three-game series with Colorado.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball