ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Albert Pujols' 20th season in the majors is about to begin with the Los Angeles Angels. When it does, the 40-year-old slugger is likely to be the oldest player in the big leagues.Although time has chipped away at Pujols' mountainous talent, he has never believed his advancing age will prevent him from putting up more big numbers on the diamond. His recent years of diminishing overall production have been counterbalanced by still-steady power numbers, and they have done nothing to hurt his confidence — particularly as he heads into this short season with big plans.After struggling through injuries that slowed him earlier in his 10-year contract with the Angels, the three-time MVP is feeling better than he has in years as he heads into the ninth season of that mammoth $240 million deal. He fervently hopes this will be the year when the Angels finally get their first playoff victories of his tenure.“When you don’t have that hunger and that joy and that passi... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman has tested positive for the coronavirus and is experiencing mild symptoms.New York manager Aaron Boone said Saturday that Chapman “overall is doing well” but “will not be here for the foreseeable future.”The AL East champions are scheduled to start the virus-delayed season on July 23 at Washington.Hours after Chapman's diagnosis, Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was scratched from a simulated game with a stiff neck. The 2017 AL Rookie of the Year was set to bat second and play right field at Yankee Stadium but was taken out of the lineup shortly before first pitch.Judge declared himself “game ready” earlier this week after being diagnosed with a broken rib in March. The 6-foot-7 slugger used the coronavirus shutdown to get healthy and had been swinging at full strength for at least a couple of weeks before reporting for preseason camp last week.Boone said Judge's neck “locked up" but he doesn't expect it to be a long-term issue.... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman has tested positive for the coronavirus and is experiencing mild symptoms.New York manager Aaron Boone said Saturday that Chapman “overall is doing well” but “will not be here for the foreseeable future.”The AL East champions are scheduled to start the virus-delayed season on July 23 at Washington.Hours after Chapman's diagnosis, Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was scratched from a simulated game with a stiff neck. The 2017 AL Rookie of the Year was set to bat second and play right field at Yankee Stadium but was taken out of the lineup shortly before first pitch.Judge declared himself “game ready” earlier this week after being diagnosed with a broken rib in March. The 6-foot-7 slugger used the coronavirus shutdown to get healthy and had been swinging at full strength for at least a couple of weeks before reporting for preseason camp last week.Chapman threw a bullpen session Tuesday, and Boone wouldn't comment on whether the left... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman became the latest high-profile player to test positive for the coronavirus, his diagnosis announced Saturday hours after the Houston Astros canceled another practice due to virus concerns. In New York, manager Aaron Boone said Chapman wouldn't “be here for the foreseeable future.” Boone said the left-handed reliever “overall was doing well” despite experiencing mild symptoms.The Yankees are scheduled to start the virus-delayed season on July 23 at the World Series champion Washington Nationals. The AL champ Yankees already were missing star infielder DJ LeMahieu and right-hander Luis Cessa, who both tested positive last week and are still isolating at home.Boone wouldn’t say whether Chapman had been at Yankee Stadium since throwing a bullpen session on Tuesday. He said the team the team had gone through contact tracing protocols, and no other players or personnel would be forced to isolate because of Chapman’s positiv... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Yoenis Céspedes is sure he'll be ready to start the pandemic-delayed season with the New York Mets.Out of the lineup for almost two years, the 34-year-old slugger said Saturday he finally is close to fully recovered from a string of injuries to his feet and legs. “I don't have an exact percentage on how I feel, but I feel way better than I did back in March,” Céspedes said through a translator on a video conference call. When the coronavirus outbreak halted spring training March 12 and pushed back opening day about four months, that gave Céspedes more time to rehab and heal up. He said he woke at 5 a.m. for workouts seven days a week during the hiatus, which helped him a lot.“I think possibly in the beginning in March I felt like I probably wouldn't have been ready for the season, I wouldn't have been ready in time. But I know for certain now that I will be ready and I'm very excited for the season to start in two weeks,” he said. The Mets open at home July... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman has tested positive for the coronavirus and is experiencing mild symptoms.New York manager Aaron Boone said Saturday that Chapman “overall is doing well” but “will not be here for the foreseeable future.”The AL East champions are scheduled to start the virus-delayed season on July 23 at Washington.Chapman threw a bullpen session Tuesday, and Boone wouldn't comment on whether the left-hander had been at Yankee Stadium since. Boone said the team had done contact tracing, and no other players or personnel would be forced to isolate because of Chapman's positive test.“We’re following all protocols,” Boone said. "We have not had any other positive tests. We adhere to all the contact tracing things. We feel like we’ve handled it and are handling it. “Again, you know, this is something that even moving forward, a positive test is probably going to come our way. It's about doing all the things that hopefully as a whole keep us ... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Yoenis Céspedes is sure he'll be ready to start the pandemic-delayed season with the New York Mets.Out of the lineup for almost two years, the 34-year-old slugger said Saturday he finally is close to fully recovered from a string of injuries to his feet and legs. “I don't have an exact percentage on how I feel, but I feel way better than I did back in March,” Céspedes said through a translator on a video conference call. When the coronavirus outbreak halted spring training March 12 and pushed back opening day about four months, that gave Céspedes more time to rehab and heal up. He said he woke up at 5 a.m. for workouts seven days a week during the hiatus. “I think possibly in the beginning in March I felt like I probably wouldn't have been ready for the season, I wouldn't have been ready in time. But I know for certain now that I will be ready and I'm very excited for the season to start in two weeks,” he said. The Mets open at home July 24 against Atlanta.... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman has tested positive for the coronavirus and is experiencing mild symptoms.New York manager Aaron Boone said Saturday that Chapman “overall is doing well” but “will not be here for the foreseeable future.”The AL East champions are scheduled to start the virus-delayed season on July 23 at Washington.Chapman threw a bullpen session Tuesday, and Boone wouldn't comment on whether the left-hander had been at Yankee Stadium since. Boone said the team had done contact tracing, and no other players or personnel would be forced to isolate because of Chapman's positive test.“We’re following all protocols,” Boone said. "We have not had any other positive tests. We adhere to all the contact tracing things. We feel like we’ve handled it and are handling it. “Again, you know, this is something that even moving forward, a positive test is probably going to come our way. It's about doing all the things that hopefully as a whole keep us ... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Texas Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo says he doesn’t know if he actually had the coronavirus despite two positive tests, since he has never had any symptoms and also had multiple negative tests.“I wish I had an answer,” he said Saturday, a day after he was able to join the team. “I don’t know. I really don’t know.”Gallo said he planned to have a more extensive antibody test to be sure after a finger-prick test didn’t indicate that he had COVID-19 at any point.The 26-year-old All-Star slugger missed the first week of the Rangers summer camp and isolated from teammates for two weeks after two positive tests that sandwiched a negative result during intake testing. He had two negative tests on his own outside of the MLB testing program, but wasn’t cleared to join the team until consecutive negative tests under the protocol.“It was a strange process to go through. There wasn’t much anybody could have done because the test came up positive,” ... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Texas Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo says he doesn’t know if he actually had the coronavirus despite two positive tests, since he never had any symptoms and also had multiple negative tests.“I wish I had an answer,” he said Saturday, a day after his first workout. “I don’t know. I really don’t know.”Gallo said he planned to have a more extensive antibody test to be sure after a finger-prick test didn’t indicate that he had COVID-19.The All-Star slugger missed the first week of the Rangers summer camp after two positive tests that sandwiched a negative result during intake testing. He had two negative tests on his own outside of the MLB testing program, but wasn’t cleared to join the team until consecutive negative tests under the protocol.Gallo said he is a little behind baseball-wise, but feels good overall. He had been working out for several weeks at the new stadium before the positive tests that forced him to self-isolate in his downtown Dallas apartment and be away from the team for two weeks.The 26-year-old Gallo has totaled 103 home runs in the last three years.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

July 121901 — Cy Young of the Boston Red Sox won his 300th game with a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia A’s.1945 — Tommy Holmes of the Boston Braves went hitless to end his consecutive-game hitting streak at 37 games, an NL record that stood until Pete Rose broke it in 1978.1949 — Larry Doby of the Cleveland Indians and Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe of the host Brooklyn Dodgers became the first black players to appear in an All-Star game as the AL took advantage of five NL errors to win 11-7 at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.1951 — Allie Reynolds of the New York Yankees beat Bob Feller of the Indians 1-0 with a no-hit game at Cleveland. Gene Woodling’s home run was the difference.1955 — St. Louis’ Stan Musial hit Frank Sullivan’s first pitch of the 12th inning for a home run to give the NL All-Star team a 6-5 victory over the AL at Milwaukee’s County Stadium. The AL had led 5-0 after six innings.1979 — In the most ill-fated promotion in baseball hist... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — San Francisco catcher Buster Posey became the latest well-known player to opt out of the abbreviated 2020 season because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, joining Dodgers pitcher David Price and Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman on the sidelines.Later Friday, the Chicago White Sox said prized pitching prospect Michael Kopech wouldn't play this year. No reason was given for his decision.Others like Texas slugger Joey Gallo and San Diego outfielder Tommy Pham provided good news: They can get back on the field after previously testing positive for the virus.One week into Major League Baseball's strange summer camp, the constant churn of rosters is one of the few constants.Posey — a six-time All-Star and 2012 NL MVP — said his family finalized the adoption of identical twin girls this week. The babies were born prematurely and Posey said after consultations with his wife and doctor he decided skipping the season was in his family’s best interest.“Thes... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — San Francisco catcher Buster Posey became the latest well-known player to opt out of the abbreviated 2020 season because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, joining Dodgers pitcher David Price and Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman on the sidelines.Later Friday, the Chicago White Sox said prized pitching prospect Michael Kopech wouldn't play this year. No reason was given for his decision.Others like Texas slugger Joey Gallo and San Diego outfielder Tommy Pham provided good news: They can get back on the field after previously testing positive for the virus.One week into Major League Baseball's strange summer camp, the constant churn of rosters is one of the few constants.Posey — a six-time All-Star and 2012 NL MVP — said his family finalized the adoption of identical twin girls this week. The babies were born prematurely and Posey said after consultations with his wife and doctor he decided skipping the season was in his family’s best interest.“Thes... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago White Sox prized pitching prospect Michael Kopech chose Friday not to play this season and the team put star third baseman Yoán Moncada and pitcher Jose Ruiz on the 10-day injured list because of unspecified ailments.There was no official word on whether the moves were related to the coronavirus pandemic.The White Sox believe they are poised for a turnaround after seven straight losing seasons. But losing Kopech for the season and Moncada for at least a little while are big blows.Both players had been absent since the White Sox resumed workouts last week for the first time since Major League Baseball shut down camps in March.The team had said Kopech was dealing with a personal issue.“We recognize that reaching this decision is incredibly difficult for any competitive athlete, and our organization is understanding and supportive,” general manager Rick Hahn said in a statement. “We will work with Michael to assure his development continues throughout 2020,... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers reliever Corey Knebel believes the pandemic-imposed hiatus will enable him to be ready for the start of the season as he returns from Tommy John surgery.“I’m feeling very confident that I’ll be ready to go,” Knebel said after throwing an inning of scoreless relief in a Friday afternoon scrimmage.Knebel didn’t pitch at all last year after tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow during spring training, an injury that required him to undergo surgery in April 2019. Knebel said that if the 2020 season had started on time, he probably wouldn’t have been able to join the active roster until June.The delay to the start of the season now means the 28-year-old right-hander shouldn’t miss any more time.“I want to say all of April was going to be rehab outings, and the plan was to join the team around June 4 or June 5,” Knebel said.The Brewers are now scheduled to open on July 24. Knebel said the delayed start to the season ga... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers reliever Corey Knebel believes the pandemic-imposed hiatus will enable him to be ready for the start of the season as he returns from Tommy John surgery.“I’m feeling very confident that I’ll be ready to go,” Knebel said after throwing an inning of scoreless relief in a Friday afternoon scrimmage.Knebel didn’t pitch at all last year after tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow during spring training, an injury that required him to undergo surgery in April 2019. Knebel said that if the 2020 season had started on time, he probably wouldn’t have been able to join the active roster until June.The delay to the start of the season now means the 28-year-old right-hander shouldn’t miss any more time.“I want to say all of April was going to be rehab outings, and the plan was to join the team around June 4 or June 5,” Knebel said.The Brewers are now scheduled to open on July 24. Knebel said the delayed start to the season ga... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — San Francisco catcher Buster Posey became the latest well-known player to opt out of the abbreviated 2020 season, joining Dodgers pitcher David Price and Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman on the sidelines.Others like Texas slugger Joey Gallo and San Diego outfielder Tommy Pham provided good news: They can get back on the field after previously testing positive for coronavirus.One week into Major League Baseball's strange summer camp, the constant churn of rosters is one of the few constants.Posey — a six-time All-Star and 2012 NL MVP — said his family finalized the adoption of identical twin girls this week. The babies were born prematurely and Posey said after consultations with his wife and doctor he decided skipping the season was in his family’s best interest.“These babies, being as fragile as they are for the next four months minimum, this wasn’t ultimately that difficult a decision for me,” he said.Arizona manager Torey Lovullo has developed a st... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — All-Star slugger Joey Gallo joined the Texas Rangers for the first time at summer camp Friday after missing the first week of workouts because he had tested positive for coronavirus. Gallo never felt any symptoms, but had two positive tests that sandwiched a negative result during intake testing. He was cleared to return after multiple negative tests this week.“Obviously my fingers were crossed every day that one of those tests was going to come back negative," manager Chris Woodward said. “The fact that he had no symptoms, he felt fine the whole time."Gallo took batting practice and spent some time in right field during the early portion of the workout, but wasn't part of the afternoon intrasquad. The 26-year-old Gallo initially took a saliva test during intake testing June 27, and got a positive result two days later. Gallo, who then allowed the Rangers to share the information, took a nasal swab test on June 30 that came back negative, but then had anot... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Blue Jays are shifting Vladimir Guerrero Jr. across the diamond, moving the slugger to first base from third. Blue Jays Manager Charlie Montoyo said Guerrero feels comfortable at first and the team has Travis Shaw ready to play third. Montoyo also said Guerrero will see time as a designated hitter. He didn't rule out that he will play some third in the future. “This is more about Vladdy and giving him a chance to succeed in a short season,” Montoyo said. Guerrero hit .272 with 15 home runs and 69 RBIs in 123 games as a rookie, delivering a series of big swings en route to the finals of the All-Star Home Run Derby. He led the team with 17 errors. A move to to first was not expected this early in his career. Guerrero said he’s OK with the move. “I agreed to it,” he said through an interpreter. “Whatever the team needs."The 21-year-old son of Hall of Fame outfielder Vladimir Guerrero is one of baseball’s most heralded young players. The Blue Jays... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Blue Jays are shifting Vladimir Guerrero Jr. across the diamond, moving the slugger to first base from third. Blue Jays Manager Charlie Montoyo said Guerrero feels comfortable at first and the team has Travis Shaw ready to play third. Montoyo also said Guerrero will see time as a designated hitter. He didn't rule out that he will play some third in the future. “This is more about Vladdy and giving him a chance to succeed in a short season,” Montoyo said. Guerrero hit .272 with 15 home runs and 69 RBIs in 123 games as a rookie, delivering a series of big swings en route to the finals of the All-Star Home Run Derby. The 21-year-old son of Hall of Fame outfielder Vladimir Guerrero is one of baseball’s most heralded young players. The Blue Jays asked him to drop weight and boost endurance during the off-season. He injured his left oblique muscle in spring training last year, and later missed occasional games because of right knee pain.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports