NEW YORK (AP) — Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a stunning homer off an otherwise dominant Jacob deGrom, Trevor Rogers beat the two-time Cy Young Award winner for the second time and the Miami Marlins blanked the New York Mets 3-0 on Saturday. DeGrom (0-1) matched a career best with 14 strikeouts over eight innings, Rogers fanned 10 in six and the teams combined for 28 overall. The 23-year-old Rogers (1-1) outpitched deGrom for the second time in nine major league starts. The left-hander got his first big league win against him in a 5-3 victory last Aug. 31. This was his second. A 2017 first-round draft pick, Rogers cruised in his third career outing against New York. He scattered three hits and two walks, retiring 11 straight in one stretch. Rogers mixed a fastball averaging 95 mph with a slider and changeup, inducing 19 swing-and-misses among his 82 pitches. He ended his outing with strikeouts of Michael Conforto and Pete Alonso, stranding two runners to preserve a 1-0 lead. Dylan Floro followed... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a stunning homer off an otherwise dominant Jacob deGrom, Trevor Rogers beat the two-time Cy Young Award winner for the second time and the Miami Marlins blanked the New York Mets 3-0 on Saturday. DeGrom (0-1) matched a career best with 14 strikeouts over eight innings, Rogers fanned 10 in six and the teams combined for 28 overall. The 23-year-old Rogers (1-1) outpitched deGrom for the second time in nine major league starts. The left-hander got his first big league win against him in a 5-3 victory last Aug. 31. This was his second. A 2017 first-round draft pick, Rogers cruised in his third career outing against New York. He scattered three hits and two walks, retiring 11 straight in one stretch. Rogers mixed a fastball averaging 95 mph with a slider and changeup, inducing 19 swing-and-misses among his 82 pitches. He ended his outing with strikeouts of Michael Conforto and Pete Alonso, stranding two runners to preserve a 1-0 lead. Dylan Floro followed... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Jeff McNeil launched a tying homer in the bottom of the ninth inning on his 29th birthday and the New York Mets were handed the winning run on a disputed hit by pitch for a bizarre 3-2 victory over the Miami Marlins in their home opener Thursday. With the bases loaded and one out, a scuffling Michael Conforto appeared to stick out his right elbow pad just enough to get it grazed by a 1-2 breaking ball from closer Anthony Bass that looked to be in the strike zone. Plate umpire and crew chief Ron Kulpa at first signaled strike, then quickly ruled Conforto was hit by the pitch. Conforto headed toward first base as Luis Guillorme scored and the Mets celebrated a comeback win in front of the first crowd at Citi Field in 557 days. Marlins players and manager Don Mattingly argued with Kulpa before a replay review was initiated. The review lasted 58 seconds, and the call was upheld. According to baseball rules, if a batter is hit by a pitch in the strike zone, the pitch should be... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Jeff McNeil launched a tying homer in the bottom of the ninth inning on his 29th birthday and the New York Mets were handed the winning run on a disputed hit by pitch for a bizarre 3-2 victory over the Miami Marlins in their home opener Thursday. With the bases loaded and one out, a scuffling Michael Conforto appeared to stick out his right elbow pad just enough to get it grazed by a 1-2 breaking ball from closer Anthony Bass that looked to be in the strike zone. Plate umpire and crew chief Ron Kulpa at first signaled strike, then quickly ruled Conforto was hit by the pitch. Conforto headed toward first base as Luis Guillorme scored and the Mets celebrated a comeback win in front of the first crowd at Citi Field in 557 days. Marlins players and manager Don Mattingly argued with Kulpa before a replay review was initiated. The review lasted 58 seconds, and the call was upheld. According to baseball rules, if a batter is hit by a pitch in the strike zone, the pitch should be... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Jeff McNeil launched a tying homer in the bottom of the ninth inning on his 29th birthday and the New York Mets were handed the winning run on a disputed hit by pitch for a bizarre 3-2 victory over the Miami Marlins in their home opener Thursday. With the bases loaded and one out, a scuffling Michael Conforto appeared to stick out his right elbow pad just enough to get it grazed by a 1-2 breaking ball from closer Anthony Bass that looked to be in the strike zone. Plate umpire and crew chief Ron Kulpa at first signaled strike, then quickly ruled Conforto was hit by the pitch. Conforto headed toward first base as Luis Guillorme scored and the Mets celebrated a comeback win in front of the first crowd at Citi Field in 557 days. Marlins players and manager Don Mattingly argued with Kulpa before a replay review was initiated. The review lasted 58 seconds, and the call was upheld. According to baseball rules, if a batter is hit by a pitch in the strike zone, the pitch should be... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Jeff McNeil launched a tying homer in the bottom of the ninth inning on his 29th birthday and the New York Mets were handed the winning run on a disputed hit by pitch for a bizarre 3-2 victory over the Miami Marlins in their home opener Thursday. With the bases loaded and one out, a scuffling Michael Conforto appeared to stick out his right elbow pad just enough to get it grazed by a 1-2 breaking ball from closer Anthony Bass that looked to be in the strike zone. Plate umpire and crew chief Ron Kulpa at first signaled strike, then quickly ruled Conforto was hit by the pitch. Conforto headed toward first base as Luis Guillorme scored and the Mets celebrated a comeback win in front of the first crowd at Citi Field in 557 days. Marlins players and manager Don Mattingly argued with Kulpa before a replay review was initiated. The review lasted 58 seconds, and the call was upheld. According to baseball rules, if a batter is hit by a pitch in the strike zone, the pitch should be... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Juan Soto drove in the winning run with a single on a 3-0 pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning Tuesday, lifting the coronavirus-depleted Washington Nationals to a 6-5 comeback victory over the Atlanta Braves after waiting five days to start their season. Lefty reliever Will Smith (0-1) entered for the ninth and promptly gave up a single to new leadoff hitter Victor Robles, and then hit Trea Turner with a pitch. That brought up Soto, the 2020 NL batting champion, and he delivered a line drive to center field. Ronald Acuña Jr., Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson homered against Washington ace Max Scherzer. Acuña drove Scherzer's first pitch of the game deep to left-center, and led off the third with his second homer. Turner hit a two-run shot for the Nationals. Daniel Hudson (1-0) got the win. Because of a COVID-19 outbreak — four players tested positive; seven were forced into quarantine after potentially being exposed — Washington’s first four scheduled games were scrapped.... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Juan Soto drove in the winning run with a single on a 3-0 pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning Tuesday, lifting the coronavirus-depleted Washington Nationals to a 6-5 comeback victory over the Atlanta Braves after waiting five days to start their season. Lefty reliever Will Smith (0-1) entered for the ninth and promptly gave up a single to new leadoff hitter Victor Robles, and then hit Trea Turner with a pitch. That brought up Soto, the 2020 NL batting champion, and he delivered a line drive to center field. Ronald Acuña Jr., Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson homered against Washington ace Max Scherzer. Acuña drove Scherzer's first pitch of the game deep to left-center, and led off the third with his second homer. Turner hit a two-run shot for the Nationals. Daniel Hudson (1-0) got the win. Because of a COVID-19 outbreak — four players tested positive; seven were forced into quarantine after potentially being exposed — Washington’s first four scheduled games were scrapped.... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Trevor Bauer took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning of his Los Angeles debut before allowing a pair of two-run homers, and the Dodgers held on after building a big lead to beat the Colorado Rockies 11-6 on Friday night. The game had a little bit of everything, including a gray cat making a surprise appearance in center field before being ushered out by stadium personnel. Bauer (1-0), the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, purred along through six innings until Trevor Story broke up the no-hit bid with a single and Charlie Blackmon ended the shutout with a two-run homer. Ryan McMahon later followed with another two-run homer. David Price eventually replaced Bauer and gave up back-to-back homers to Dom Nuñez and Sam Hilliard, suddenly turning a 10-0 rout into a 10-6 game. It was the second time in Rockies history they homered four times in an inning. Bauer went 6 1/3 innings and allowed four runs while striking out 10. The right-hander signed a $102 million, three-year deal... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Trevor Bauer took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning of his Los Angeles debut before allowing a pair of two-run homers, and the Dodgers held on after building a big lead to beat the Colorado Rockies 11-6 on Friday night. The game had a little bit of everything, including a gray cat making a surprise appearance in center field before being ushered out by stadium personnel. Bauer (1-0), the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, purred along through six innings until Trevor Story broke up the no-hit bid with a single and Charlie Blackmon ended the shutout with a two-run homer. Ryan McMahon later followed with another two-run homer. David Price eventually replaced Bauer and gave up back-to-back homers to Dom Nuñez and Sam Hilliard, suddenly turning a 10-0 rout into a 10-6 game. It was the second time in Rockies history they homered four times in an inning. Bauer went 6 1/3 innings and allowed four runs while striking out 10. The right-hander signed a $102 million, three-year deal... [More]

Brendan Rodgers and his strained right hamstring have the Colorado Rockies searching for a second option at second base. With Rodgers sidelined at least a month, the Rockies may need to shuffle around the infield. The plan could be to move Ryan McMahon from third base to second and Josh Fuentes across the diamond from first to third. There's always the less complicated option of inserting either Chris Owings or Garrett Hampson at second. One thing's for sure: The versatility of the Rockies is already being tested. “We’re not in a bind,” Rockies manager Bud Black said Friday morning. “It’s so advantageous to have those types of players who can bounce around because of cases like this, when maybe you lose a player.” Rodgers was having a productive spring, hitting .348 with two homers and five RBIs, before hurting his hamstring last weekend while trying to steal second base. He was steadily progressing when recent tests revealed “the trauma to the hamstring, a little bit worse than was originally... [More]

Milwaukee’s Keston Hiura couldn’t ever remember playing first base during a game in high school, college or the professional ranks before this year. Yet that’s where he'll be most often this season. Hiura had been Milwaukee’s starting second baseman for the last two years but is moving to first as the Brewers make room for newly acquired Kolten Wong at second. “A lot of people have been giving me tips and I’ve just constantly been asking questions because I’m just trying to figure out where to be in every single position, whether it’s fielding a ground ball or taking a cut-off,” Hiura said from the Brewers’ spring training site at Phoenix. “It’s just to keep your mind working for every single situation that could come up.” The first step was finding a mitt. Hiura didn’t want to start the season with a brand-new first baseman’s mitt that hadn’t been broken in. For now, he’s borrowing the first baseman’s mitt of teammate Travis Shaw, who has played both third and first. “When you get a new... [More]

Michael Kopech is getting used to his new relief role with the Chicago White Sox. Judging by his first Cactus League appearance, it looks like he's going to be just fine. The talented right-hander worked a perfect fourth inning Tuesday against San Diego. It was his first game since he opted out of the pandemic-shortened season for a variety of reasons, including concerns about his mental health. “It’s been a while, obviously,” Kopech said. “But it just felt good to kind of knock some rust off and get back out there and compete.” The 24-year-old Kopech, one of baseball’s top pitching prospects, was a starter coming up through the minors and likely will return to Chicago’s rotation at some point. But he is expected to begin the year in the White Sox bullpen. Part of his spring training work involves getting up to speed when it comes to life as a reliever. He worked out of the stretch against the Padres. “If I am going to be throwing out of the bullpen for part of this year at least and maybe... [More]

Michael Kopech is getting used to his new relief role with the Chicago White Sox. Judging by his first Cactus League appearance, it looks like he's going to be just fine. The talented right-hander worked a perfect fourth inning Tuesday against San Diego. It was his first game since he opted out of the pandemic-shortened season for a variety of reasons, including concerns about his mental health. “It’s been a while, obviously,” Kopech said. “But it just felt good to kind of knock some rust off and get back out there and compete.” The 24-year-old Kopech, one of baseball’s top pitching prospects, was a starter coming up through the minors and likely will return to Chicago’s rotation at some point. But he is expected to begin the year in the White Sox bullpen. Part of his spring training work involves getting up to speed when it comes to life as a reliever. He worked out of the stretch against the Padres. “If I am going to be throwing out of the bullpen for part of this year at least and maybe... [More]

Colorado Rockies infielder Ryan McMahon figures players can find plenty to do with any extra time they could get at the end of days if spring training games don't go nine innings. “Maybe slide out for some golf. If not, head home, hit the couch and watch some basketball right now,” McMahon said. Or maybe even some extra batting practice. “It could be, right? Depending on the day and depending on how things went, there’s a lot of different ways that you could go with it,” McMahon said. "The days are different every day, that’s for sure.” Things certainly could look different when spring training games begin Sunday, with managers allowed to mutually determine in advance how many innings their teams need or want to play. “What we’re finding is it’s going to provide some flexibility," Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “I think teams are viewing this differently. My early read on it is we’ll have some different game lengths daily, based on teams’ available pitching." Some games... [More]

DENVER (AP) — In the estimation of Ryan McMahon, Nolan Arenado may just be the best third baseman ever. McMahon's upcoming assignment: Replace him. The Colorado Rockies' versatile infielder is in line to get the first crack at filling in for Arenado, an eight-time Gold Glove winner and five-time All-Star who was recently traded to St. Louis. That's one tough act to follow. “My goal is just going to be to go out there and be the best version of myself,” said the 26-year-old McMahon, a career .237 hitter with 38 homers. “Nolan is going to go down as probably one of the best third basemen, if not the best, to ever play this game. All I can do is go out there and try to be the best version of myself and try to help this team.” Although McMahon’s played all over the infield for the Rockies, he grew up in California as a third baseman. He's the frontrunner to earn the job, with Brendan Rodgers, Chris Owings, Josh Fuentes (Arenado’s cousin) and Colton Welker also in the mix. “I’ve been getting... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Kyle Freeland sees the prevailing theory out there: All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado traded away, the Colorado Rockies instantly written off. That sort of narrative just provides even more incentive for the left-hander and his teammates. “We haven’t even played a spring training game ... and people are already counting us out,” Freeland said Thursday as Colorado's pitchers and catchers cranked up spring-training workouts in Scottsdale, Arizona. “It's a great opportunity for us to shock the world.” Very few are betting too heavily on Colorado after the recent blockbuster deal that sent eight-time Gold Glove winner Arenado to St. Louis. T he Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA projections have the Rockies finishing last in the NL West with a forecasted record of 60.3-101.7. Colorado's worst record in franchise history was 64-98 in 2012 — the year before Arenado arrived in Denver. “Anytime you lose a player like Nolan, it’s going to hurt,” said Rockies reliever Scott Oberg, who’s... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Rockies will be taking a look at another first baseman after signing C.J. Cron to a minor league contract with an invite to major league spring training. Cron, 31, hit .190 with four homers and eight RBIs in 13 games with Detroit last season. He was the 17th overall pick by the Los Angeles Angels in 2011 and has appeared in 686 career games in stints with the Angels, Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays and the Tigers. Last week, the Rockies agreed to a minor league contract with Greg Bird as they try to shore up first base. Josh Fuentes and Ryan McMahon could be options at first or at third after the blockbuster trade that sent Nolan Arenado to the St. Louis Cardinals. Colorado's pitchers, catchers and injured players are scheduled to start reporting to Scottsdale, Arizona, on Thursday, with the other players beginning to report on Feb. 23. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Rockies avoided arbitration with left-hander Kyle Freeland and five other players Friday as the team tries to get back on track after missing the playoffs the past two seasons. Freeland agreed to a one-year contract for $5,025,000 following a bounce-back season. He made a pro-rated $1,064,815 of a $2,875,000 salary in 2020. The Denver native tied for the major league lead in starts with 13. He went 2-3 with a 4.33 ERA and nine quality starts. Freeland had just five quality starts in 2019, when he went 3-11 with a 6.73 ERA. Right-hander Jon Gray will make $6 million in 2021. Gray, a first-round pick in 2013, made eight starts and posted a 2-4 record with a 6.69 ERA before going on the injured list on Sept. 4 with right shoulder inflammation. The hard-throwing Gray was due to make $5,600,000 in 2020, and his prorated pay wound up at $2,074,074. Colorado reached a $1.45 million, one-year deal with reliever Carlos Estévez after the 28-year-old appeared in a team-high... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Rockies avoided arbitration with left-hander Kyle Freeland and five other players Friday as the team tries to get back on track after missing the playoffs the past two seasons. Freeland agreed to a one-year contract for $5,025,000 following a bounce-back season. He made a pro-rated $1,064,815 of a $2,875,000 salary in 2020. The Denver native tied for the major league lead in starts with 13. He went 2-3 with a 4.33 ERA and nine quality starts. Freeland had just five quality starts in 2019, when he went 3-11 with a 6.73 ERA. Right-hander Jon Gray will make $6 million in 2021. Gray, a first-round pick in 2013, made eight starts and posted a 2-4 record with a 6.69 ERA before going on the injured list on Sept. 4 with right shoulder inflammation. The hard-throwing Gray was due to make $5,600,000 in 2020, and his prorated pay wound up at $2,074,074. Colorado also avoided arbitration with reliever Carlos Estévez after the 28-year-old appeared in a team-high 26 games in... [More]