SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Major League Baseball has expanded its investigation into the Houston Astros after The Athletic website reported the team stole signs during home games in 2017 by using a camera positioned in center field.The report Tuesday quoted pitcher Mike Fiers, who played for the Astros that season, and three other unidentified people with the club. The Astros won the World Series that year — two sources told The Athletic that Houston used the system into the playoffs while another source said the system ended before the postseason.The website said the process was started by a struggling hitter and a coach, neither of whom was identified. The camera at Minute Maid Park was connected to a television monitor in the tunnel between the Astros' dugout and clubhouse, The Athletic said, and team employees or players would communicate expected pitches by banging a trash can to signal off-speed pitches."I just want the game to be cleaned up a little bit because there are guys who are... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Major League Baseball has expanded its investigation into the Houston Astros after The Athletic website reported the team stole signs during home games in 2017 by using a camera positioned in center field.The report Tuesday quoted pitcher Mike Fiers, who played for the Astros that season, and three other unidentified people with the club. The Astros won the World Series that year — two sources told The Athletic that Houston used the system into the playoffs while another source said the system ended before the postseason.The website said the process was started by a struggling hitter and a coach, neither of whom was identified. The camera at Minute Maid Park was connected to a television monitor in the tunnel between the Astros' dugout and clubhouse, The Athletic said, and team employees or players would communicate expected pitches by banging a trash can to signal off-speed pitches."I just want the game to be cleaned up a little bit because there are guys who are... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The last time Dave Dombrowski built a World Series champion, he had to start dismantling it before the celebratory champagne had a chance to dry.He's hoping to defend the title for real next year."It is significantly different than the last time," he said on Thursday, four days after the Red Sox won their fourth title in 15 years and Dombrowski earned a ring to go with the one he won with the binge-and-purge Florida Marlins of the late 1990s."This will be the first time in my career that we will be going to spring training as the defending champions," said Dombrowski, who avoided the term after selling off the stars that won it all in Miami in 1997. "Sometimes when guys become free agents they receive offers they can't refuse. But we'd like to keep this team together."After winning the Series in five games on Sunday night, flying back to Boston on Monday and then holding their increasingly routine duck boat parade through the city on Wednesday, the Red Sox are the last team... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox manager Alex Cora said he was surprised to hear that reliever Carson Smith feels that fatigue could have contributed to his dislocated pitching shoulder.Smith was placed on the 10-day disabled list on Tuesday."I don't agree with it," Cora said when he met the media Wednesday at Fenway Park before the team's series finale against Oakland. "On a daily basis, we talk to pitchers and see how they feel. "If they don't feel that they can pitch that day, we stay away from them."It caught me by surprise. If he felt that way, he should have talked to us."The 28-year-old right-hander was injured when he threw his glove during a tantrum in the dugout after leaving Monday night's 6-5 loss to Oakland. He entered with the Red Sox trailing 5-4 in the eighth, allowed Khris Davis' leadoff home run, then retired three straight batters.After he was placed on the DL, Smith opened up."I think fatigue played a factor with my shoulder, and my shoulder just couldn't handle it," he said. "Think... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox have traded left-hander Roenis Elias to the Seattle Mariners for future considerations.The Red Sox announced the trade Monday.Elias was 1-0 with a 1.23 ERA in Triple-A Pawtucket this season. In 55 major league appearances, he is 15-21 with a 4.20 ERA.The 29-year-old native of Cuba was originally signed by Seattle as a free agent in 2011. He was sent to Boston four years later in a trade with Carson Smith for Wade Miley and Jonathan Aro.The Red Sox will receive a yet-undetermined player or cash.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

Forget Fenway Park — David Price and the Boston Red Sox are feeling every bit at home at the Flush Factory. And in Houston, George Springer and the Astros are just as likely to be talking Boogie Bombs as balls and strikes.Why is Xander Bogaerts making an L with his fingers and dancing on second base? Who's the Ninja on Phil Hughes' Twitter feed? What's with Derek Fisher and llamas?Just like gamers everywhere, major leaguers have fallen hard for the Fortnite craze. And while it's not how John McGraw would teach teamwork, Port-a-Forts and Slurp Juice may be the biggest thing bonding some big leaguers."We play all day, every day," Springer said.Fortnite Battle Royale is perhaps the world's most popular video game, and baseball players are among its most voracious players. The game pits up to 100 competitors in a last-man-standing scenario, letting them mine materials from an ever-shrinking map while hunting down enemies with a variety of weapons. Working in teams is often critical, which is... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani retired the Oakland Athletics' first 19 batters and yielded one hit over seven shutout innings in his home pitching debut, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 6-1 victory Sunday.Marcus Semien's clean one-out single to left broke up Ohtani's bid for a perfect game,Ohtani (2-0) struck out the side twice and finished with 12 strikeouts in all. He won his pitching debut in Oakland last weekend with six strong innings, then homered in three consecutive games in Anaheim between starts in his attempt to become the first regular two-way player in decades.Mike Trout and Ryan Schimpf homered, and Albert Pujols had an RBI double in the Angels' seventh win in nine games. Kendall Graveman (0-2) gave up five hits and four walks while failing to get out of the fourth inning for the A's, who have lost seven of 10.METS 6, NATIONALS 5, 12 INNINGSWASHINGTON (AP) — Yoenis Cespedes scored Juan Lagares with a broken-bat single in the 12th inning to help New York complete... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani retired the Oakland Athletics' first 19 batters and yielded one hit over seven shutout innings in his home pitching debut, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 6-1 victory Sunday.Marcus Semien's clean one-out single to left broke up Ohtani's bid for a perfect game,Ohtani (2-0) struck out the side twice and finished with 12 strikeouts in all. He won his pitching debut in Oakland last weekend with six strong innings, then homered in three consecutive games in Anaheim between starts in his attempt to become the first regular two-way player in decades.Mike Trout and Ryan Schimpf homered, and Albert Pujols had an RBI double in the Angels' seventh win in nine games. Kendall Graveman (0-2) gave up five hits and four walks while failing to get out of the fourth inning for the A's, who have lost seven of 10.MARLINS 6, PHILLIES 3PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jake Arrieta (0-1) lasted just four innings in his Philadelphia debut, allowing three runs — two earned — and three... [More]

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Robbie Ray worked around five walks over six innings and the bullpen closed out a two-hitter, helping the Arizona Diamondbacks spoil the St. Louis Cardinals' home opener 3-1 on Thursday night.Arizona improved to 6-1 for the second straight season and tied a franchise record for its best seven-game start. The team was also 6-1 in 2000. St. Louis dropped its first home opener since 2015.Ray (2-0) gave up a run and two hits while striking out nine. He was making his first appearance in St. Louis since being knocked out of a game by a line drive off his head on July 28, 2017.David Peralta capped off a two-run second inning with an RBI single. He pushed the lead to 3-0 with a double in the fourth.Brad Boxberger picked up his third save in three chances. Four Arizona relievers were perfect except for an error by first baseman Paul Goldschmidt in the eighth.Adam Wainwright (0-1) came off the 10-day disabled list to make the start for St. Louis. He gave up four hits and three runs... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michael Conforto came off the disabled list to hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer off Stephen Strasburg, Yoenis Cespedes also went deep against the ace, and Jay Bruce tacked on an insurance gland slam, leading the New York Mets to an 8-2 victory Thursday in Washington's chilly home opener.Jacob deGrom (2-0) wiggled out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam to finish is six-inning outing with a flourish. After walking Bryce Harper to fill the bags, deGrom got Ryan Zimmerman to fly out to shallow right and Howie Kendrick to line out to shortstop, before Trea Turner looked at a 94 mph fastball for strike three. Turner argued and was ejected for the first time in the majors.Zimmerman, who only got two at-bats in spring training, went 0 for 4 on Thursday and is 3 for 22 (.136) with six strikeouts this season.The Mets improved to an NL East-leading 5-1, while the two-time reigning division champion Nationals have lost three in a row after a 4-0 start under rookie manager Dave Martinez.Conforto... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michael Conforto came off the disabled list to hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer off Stephen Strasburg, Yoenis Cespedes also went deep against the ace, and Jay Bruce tacked on an insurance gland slam, leading the New York Mets to an 8-2 victory Thursday in Washington's chilly home opener.Jacob deGrom (2-0) wiggled out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam to finish is six-inning outing with a flourish. After walking Bryce Harper to fill the bags, deGrom got Ryan Zimmerman to fly out to shallow right and Howie Kendrick to line out to shortstop, before Trea Turner looked at a 94 mph fastball for strike three. Turner argued and was ejected for the first time in the majors.Zimmerman, who only got two at-bats in spring training, went 0 for 4 on Thursday and is 3 for 22 (.136) with six strikeouts this season.The Mets improved to an NL East-leading 5-1, while the two-time reigning division champion Nationals have lost three in a row after a 4-0 start under rookie manager Dave Martinez.Conforto... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton homered twice, doubled and had four RBIs in his New York Yankees debut, a 6-1 win Thursday over the Toronto Blue Jays that gave Aaron Boone in a win in his first game as a professional manager.Luis Severino (1-0) pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings for the Yankees, who won their opener for the first time since 2011.Acquired from Miami after leading the majors with 59 homers, Stanton hit a two-run homer in the first off J.A. Happ (0-1), an RBI double in the fifth and hit a solo homer in the ninth off Tyler Clippard.WHITE SOX 14, ROYALS 7KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Matt Davidson became the fourth player in major league history to homer three times on opening day, Tim Anderson homered twice and Jose Abreu went deep for the White Sox.James Shields (1-0) surrendered four runs in the first inning but wound up lasting six innings, holding his former team without a hit after that shaky first.Davidson became the fourth player with a three-homer performance on opening day,... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton homered twice, doubled and had four RBIs in his New York Yankees debut, a 6-1 win Thursday over the Toronto Blue Jays that gave Aaron Boone in a win in his first game as a professional manager.Luis Severino (1-0) pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings for the Yankees, who won their opener for the first time since 2011.Acquired from Miami after leading the majors with 59 homers, Stanton hit a two-run homer in the first off J.A. Happ (0-1), an RBI double in the fifth and hit a solo homer in the ninth off Tyler Clippard.WHITE SOX 14, ROYALS 7KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Matt Davidson became the fourth player in major league history to homer three times on opening day, Tim Anderson homered twice and Jose Abreu went deep for the White Sox.James Shields (1-0) surrendered four runs in the first inning but wound up lasting six innings, holding his former team without a hit after that shaky first.Davidson became the fourth player with a three-homer performance on opening day,... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton homered twice, doubled and had four RBIs in his New York Yankees debut, a 6-1 win Thursday over the Toronto Blue Jays that gave Aaron Boone in a win in his first game as a professional manager.Luis Severino (1-0) pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings for the Yankees, who won their opener for the first time since 2011.Acquired from Miami after leading the majors with 59 homers, Stanton hit a two-run homer in the first off J.A. Happ (0-1), an RBI double in the fifth and hit a solo homer in the ninth off Tyler Clippard.WHITE SOX 14, ROYALS 7KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Matt Davidson became the fourth player in major league history to homer three times on opening day, Tim Anderson homered twice and Jose Abreu went deep for the White Sox.James Shields (1-0) surrendered four runs in the first inning but wound up lasting six innings, holding his former team without a hit after that shaky first.Davidson became the fourth player with a three-homer performance on opening day,... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton homered twice, doubled and had four RBIs in his New York Yankees debut, a 6-1 win Thursday over the Toronto Blue Jays that gave Aaron Boone in a win in his first game as a professional manager.Luis Severino (1-0) pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings for the Yankees, who won their opener for the first time since 2011.Acquired from Miami after leading the majors with 59 homers, Stanton hit a two-run homer in the first off J.A. Happ (0-1), an RBI double in the fifth and hit a solo homer in the ninth off Tyler Clippard.WHITE SOX 14, ROYALS 7KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Matt Davidson became the fourth player in major league history to homer three times on opening day, Tim Anderson homered twice and Jose Abreu went deep for the White Sox.James Shields (1-0) surrendered four runs in the first inning but wound up lasting six innings, holding his former team without a hit after that shaky first.Davidson became the fourth player with a three-homer performance on opening day,... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Before the 2016 season, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski added former Cy Young winner David Price and closer Craig Kimbrel to help win the World Series. It didn't happen.Before last season, he got Chris Sale to help win the World Series. It didn't happen.In February he gave slugger J.D. Martinez $110 million over five seasons to help his team win the World Series. Is this the year it happens?For the last two seasons, the Red Sox finished with identical 93-69 records, winning the American League East both years. All they have to show for that was getting bounced in the first-round of the playoffs both times with just one combined win.ROOKIE DRIVERWith those four, a crop of homegrown burgeoning stars, and a mix of solid veterans the Red Sox are poised as well as any team to win the World Series this season. Rookie manager Alex Cora has been given the keys to a baseball Cadillac. His only directives — as with any new driver — don't crack it up... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Before the 2016 season, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski added former Cy Young winner David Price and closer Craig Kimbrel to help win the World Series. It didn't happen.Before last season, he got Chris Sale to help win the World Series. It didn't happen.In February he gave slugger J.D. Martinez $110 million over five seasons to help his team win the World Series. Is this the year it happens?For the last two seasons, the Red Sox finished with identical 93-69 records, winning the American League East both years. All they have to show for that was getting bounced in the first-round of the playoffs both times with just one combined win.ROOKIE DRIVERWith those four, a crop of homegrown burgeoning stars, and a mix of solid veterans the Red Sox are poised as well as any team to win the World Series this season. Rookie manager Alex Cora has been given the keys to a baseball Cadillac. His only directives — as with any new driver — don't crack it up... [More]

Capsules of American League East teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Boston Red Sox2017: 93-69, first place, lost to Houston in ALDS.Manager: Alex Cora (first season).He's Here: DH J.D. Martinez.He's Outta Here: Manager John Farrell, RHP Doug Fister, OF Chris Young, RHP Addison Reed, OF Rajai Davis, LHP Henry Owens, LHP Fernando Abad.Projected Lineup: RF Mookie Betts (.264, 24 HRs, 102 RBIs), LF Andrew Benintendi (.271, 20, 90), 1B Hanley Ramirez (.242, 23, 62) or Mitch Moreland (.246, 22, 79), DH J.D. Martinez (.303, 45, 104 with Tigers and Diamondbacks), 3B Rafael Devers (.284, 10, 30 in 58 games), SS Xander Bogaerts (.273, 10, 62), CF Jackie Bradley Jr. (.245, 17, 63), C Christian Vazquez (.290, 5, 32) or Sandy Leon (.225, 7, 39), 2B Eduardo Nunez (.313, 12, 58, 24 SBs with Giants and Red Sox) or Dustin Pedroia (.293, 7, 62, .369 OBP in 105 games, expected to be out until late May following knee surgery).Rotation: LH Chris Sale (17-8, 2.90 ERA, MLB-best 308 Ks, MLB-high 214... [More]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — The idea of beginning a season with four regular pitchers unavailable could be anywhere from daunting to devastating for many teams.But that is what the Boston Red Sox could be facing.The Red Sox have four pitchers who might be out for opening day. Three potential starters — left-handers Drew Pomeranz and Eduardo Rodriguez and knuckleballer Steven Wright — could start the season on the disabled list for the AL East champions.Closer Craig Kimbrel has been in Boston since Feb. 28, when 4-month-old daughter Lydia, who was born with heart ailments, underwent her second surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital.Kimbrel has been working out in the Boston area but has not been able to pitch to hitters, and there's no timetable for his return.New manager Alex Cora and the organization have been completely supportive of Kimbrel staying with his family. But with opening day little more than two weeks away, they might have to get creative."We've got a few things set up for... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Boston pitchers Carson Smith and Steven Wright, both coming off injuries, agreed to one-year contracts with the Red Sox that avoided salary arbitration.Wright gets a non-guaranteed salary of $1.1 million under the deal announced Monday and Smith receives $850,000.Smith missed most of the past two seasons while recovering from an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. Since he was acquired by the Red Sox, the reliever has appeared in eight games over two years.An All-Star in 2016, Wright made just five starts last season. The knuckleballer had left knee surgery in May.Ten Boston players remain eligible for arbitration, including shortstop Xander Bogaerts, outfielders Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr., and pitchers Drew Pomeranz and Eduardo Rodriguez. Players and teams are scheduled to swap proposed salaries Friday.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball