NEW YORK (AP) — Switching into stretch-run mode even before Memorial Day, the New York Mets will start using All-Star closer Edwin Díaz more often in the eighth inning.New York began Wednesday with a 22-25 record, 5½ games back of NL East-leading Philadelphia. Manager Mickey Callaway said he was willing to go against the trend of limiting closers to three outs in most situations."We're doing this earlier than we would like, but you might see Díaz for four outs," Callaway said. "If we're not going to be where we want to be at this point, how can we expect to be there and hold off on doing that with Díaz? So we got to win some games. We're going to approach this like it's the playoffs because we feel like we need to."Callaway announced the decision shortly before the Mets made a series of roster moves. They placed outfielder Brandon Nimmo on the 10-day injured list because of a stiff neck, a move retroactive to Tuesday, selected the contract of 38-year-old outfielder Rajai Davis from Triple-A... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Switching into stretch-run mode even before Memorial Day, the New York Mets will start using All-Star closer Edwin Díaz more often in the eighth inning.New York began Wednesday with a 22-25 record, 5½ games back of NL East-leading Philadelphia. Manager Mickey Callaway said he was willing to go against the trend of limiting closers to three outs in most situations."We're doing this earlier than we would like, but you might see Díaz for four outs," Callaway said. "If we're not going to be where we want to be at this point, how can we expect to be there and hold off on doing that with Díaz? So we got to win some games. We're going to approach this like it's the playoffs because we feel like we need to."Callaway announced the decision shortly before the Mets made a series of roster moves. They placed outfielder Brandon Nimmo on the 10-day disabled list because of a stiff neck, a move retroactive to Tuesday, selected the contract of outfielder Rajai Davis from Triple-A Syracuse... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Twelve years later, Carlos Gómez was back in the New York Mets' lineup.New York selected Gómez's contract from Triple-A Syracuse and had him batting sixth and in right field Friday night at Miami. He went 0 for 3 before leaving the game in a double switch.An All-Star for Milwaukee in 2013-14, Gómez last played for the Mets when he was a rookie in 2007.The Mets placed outfielder Michael Conforto on the seven-day injured list due to a concussion, and designated outfielder Keon Broxton for assignment. They recalled right-hander Paul Sewald from Syracuse.New York signed the 33-year-old Gómez to a minor league contract in March, and he batted .270 with 22 RBIs in 35 games for Syracuse."He obviously has been swinging the bat really well," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. "The defense has been outstanding, the leadership, the baserunning. From top to bottom the reports have been excellent. That's why he's up here getting a chance to help us win some games."Broxton is batting .143... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Twelve years later, Carlos Gómez is back in the New York Mets' lineup.New York selected Gómez's contract from Triple-A Syracuse and had him batting sixth and in right field Friday night at Miami.The Mets placed outfielder Michael Conforto on the seven-day injured list due to a concussion, and designated outfielder Keon Broxton for assignment. They recalled right-hander Paul Sewald from Syracuse.Gómez, an All-Star for Milwaukee in 2013-14, last played for the Mets when he was a rookie in 2007. They signed the 33-year-old outfielder to a minor league contract in March, and he batted .270 with 22 RBIs in 35 games for Syracuse."He obviously has been swinging the bat really well," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. "The defense has been outstanding, the leadership, the baserunning. From top to bottom the reports have been excellent. That's why he's up here getting a chance to help us win some games."Broxton is batting.143 in 34 games. The Mets hope to keep him in their system."It... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Twelve years later, Carlos Gómez is back in the New York Mets' lineup.New York selected Gómez's contract from Triple-A Syracuse and had him batting sixth and in right field Friday night at Miami.The Mets placed outfielder Michael Conforto on the seven-day injured list due to a concussion, and designated outfielder Keon Broxton for assignment. They recalled right-hander Paul Sewald from Syracuse.Gómez, an All-Star for Milwaukee in 2013-14, last played for the Mets when he was a rookie in 2007. They signed the 33-year-old outfielder to a minor league contract in March, and he batted .270 with 22 RBIs in 35 games for Syracuse."He obviously has been swinging the ball really well," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. "The defense has been outstanding, the leadership, the baserunning. From top to bottom the reports have been excellent. That's why he's up here getting a chance to help us win some games."Broxton is batting.143 in 34 games. The Mets hope to keep him in their system."It... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Twelve years later, outfielder Carlos Gómez is back in the New York Mets' lineup.New York selected Gómez's contract from Triple-A Syracuse and had him batting sixth and in right field Friday night at Miami.The Mets placed outfielder Michael Conforto on the seven-day injured list due to a concussion, and designated outfielder Keon Broxton for assignment. They recalled right-hander Paul Sewald from Syracuse.Gómez, an All-Star for Milwaukee in 2013-14, last played for the Mets when he was a rookie in 2007. They signed him to a minor league contract in March, and he batted .270 with 22 RBIs in 35 games for Syracuse.Broxton batted .143 in 34 games for New York this season.Conforto was hurt Thursday when he collided with a teammate while chasing a popup.___Follow Steven Wine on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Steve_Wine___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Mets ace Jacob deGrom remains on track to start Friday night after an MRI on his right elbow showed no damage.New York general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said the NL Cy Young Award winner had a test Monday morning that came back clean."No problems whatsoever," Van Wagenen said, later adding, "we got the answers we were hoping for."DeGrom threw a 30-pitch bullpen session Monday. He is lined up to come off the injured list and start the opener of a weekend series against Milwaukee at Citi Field.DeGrom reported soreness last week and the Mets put him on the injured list while the team was in St. Louis. The move followed two shaky starts by deGrom, leaving him 2-2 with a 3.68 ERA.Later, the team said deGrom had been slowed by strep throat. DeGrom and the club said his elbow trouble likely was a result of altering his routine during a recent bout of strep throat.The Mets made a series of roster moves before opening a series against Philadelphia. The game started more than 1 ½... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Mets ace Jacob deGrom remains on track to start Friday night after an MRI on his right elbow showed no damage.New York general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said the NL Cy Young Award winner had a test Monday morning that came back clean."No problems whatsoever," Van Wagenen said, later adding, "we got the answers we were hoping for."DeGrom threw a 30-pitch bullpen session Monday. He is lined up to come off the injured list and start the opener of a weekend series against Milwaukee at Citi Field.DeGrom reported soreness last week and the Mets put him on the injured list while the team was in St. Louis. The move followed two shaky starts by deGrom, leaving him 2-2 with a 3.68 ERA.Later, the team said deGrom had been slowed by strep throat. DeGrom and the club said his elbow trouble likely was a result of altering his routine during a recent bout of strep throat.The Mets made a series of roster moves before opening a series against Philadelphia.Third baseman Todd Frazier was... [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]

ATLANTA (AP) — Jason Vargas will keep his spot in the New York Mets' rotation for at least one more start.Manager Mickey Callaway said he spoke Sunday with the struggling left-hander and told him he would not have a diminished role after lasting just six batters and 36 pitches while getting one out at Atlanta.Vargas will skip one day before making his next start Friday at St. Louis. Callaway said the Mets did not contemplate skipping or demoting Vargas despite his enduring the shortest start of his career not affected by rain."I think we have to get Vargas on a roll," Callaway said. "We've talked about this in the past. Vargas needs to pitch well. We need to try to give him every opportunity to do that."Reliever Corey Oswalt, who replaced Vargas and took Saturday's loss, was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. Paul Sewald was called up to take Oswalt's spot.Vargas signed a $16 million, two-year contract in February 2018, but is 8-9 with a 6.32 ERA in his second stint with the club.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Tim Tebow has been reassigned to minor league camp by the New York Mets after hitting .267 with one RBI in eight spring training games.The 31-year-old outfielder attended big league camp for the second straight year and is expected to start the season at Triple-A Syracuse. The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner for 4 for 15 with no extra-base hits in 18 plate appearances during spring training.Tebow batted .273 with six home runs, 14 doubles and 36 RBIs in 84 games for Double-A Binghamton last year.New York also optioned right-handers Paul Sewald and Jacob Rhame to Syracuse on Tuesday and re-assigned right-hander Arquimedes Caminero, infielder Andres Gimenez, infielder Dilson Herrera, outfielder Rymer Liriano and catcher Ali Sanchez to minor league camp.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Tim Tebow has been reassigned to minor league camp by the New York Mets after hitting .267 with one RBI in eight spring training games.The 31-year-old outfielder attended big league camp for the second straight year and is expected to start the season at Triple-A Syracuse. The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner for 4 for 15 with no extra-base hits in 18 plate appearances during spring training.Tebow batted .273 with six home runs, 14 doubles and 36 RBIs in 84 games for Double-A Binghamton last year.New York also optioned right-handers Paul Sewald and Jacob Rhame to Syracuse on Tuesday and re-assigned right-hander Arquimedes Caminero, infielder Andres Gimenez, infielder Dilson Herrera, outfielder Rymer Liriano and catcher Ali Sanchez to minor league camp.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DENVER (AP) — The NL West-leading Colorado Rockies locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season, beating the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Friday night for their eighth win in a row behind a resilient start from Kyle Freeland.David Dahl homered for the fifth consecutive game and Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer against his former team to help Colorado clinch at least a wild card with two games remaining. The Rockies remained one game ahead of Los Angeles as they try to wrap up the franchise's first division crown. The Dodgers won 3-1 in San Francisco.Wade Davis struck out Bryce Harper looking to end the game and earn his 43rd save. The sellout crowd at Coors Field roared and fireworks went off.The Rockies are headed to the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time in team history. This is their fifth playoff trip since the franchise began in 1993 — last year, they lost to Arizona in the NL wild-card game.Freeland (17-7) wiggled out of jam after jam on a cool night to... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The NL West-leading Colorado Rockies locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season, beating the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Friday night for their eighth win in a row behind a resilient start from Kyle Freeland.David Dahl homered for the fifth consecutive game and Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer against his former team to help Colorado clinch at least a wild card with two games remaining. The Rockies remained one game ahead of Los Angeles as they try to wrap up the franchise's first division crown. The Dodgers won 3-1 in San Francisco.Wade Davis struck out Bryce Harper looking to end the game and earn his 43rd save. The sellout crowd at Coors Field roared and fireworks went off.The Rockies are headed to the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time in team history. This is their fifth playoff trip since the franchise began in 1993 — last year, they lost to Arizona in the NL wild-card game.Freeland (17-7) wiggled out of jam after jam on a cool night to... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The NL West-leading Colorado Rockies locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season, beating the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Friday night for their eighth win in a row behind a resilient start from Kyle Freeland.David Dahl homered for the fifth consecutive game and Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer against his former team to help Colorado clinch at least a wild card with two games remaining. The Rockies remained one game ahead of Los Angeles Dodgers as they try to wrap up the franchise's first division crown. The Dodgers won 3-1 in San Francisco.Wade Davis struck out Bryce Harper looking to end the game and earn his 43rd save. The sellout crowd at Coors Field roared and fireworks went off.The Rockies are headed to the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time in team history. This is their fifth playoff trip since the franchise began in 1993 — last year, they lost to Arizona in the NL wild-card game.Freeland (17-7) wiggled out of jam after jam on a cool night... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The NL West-leading Colorado Rockies locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season, beating the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Friday night for their eighth win in a row behind a resilient start from Kyle Freeland.David Dahl homered for the fifth consecutive game and Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer against his former team to help Colorado clinch at least a wild card with two games remaining. The Rockies entered the night with a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers as they try to wrap up the franchise's first division crown.Wade Davis struck out Bryce Harper looking to end the game and earn his 43rd save. The sellout crowd at Coors Field roared and fireworks went off.The Rockies are headed to the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time in team history. This is their fifth playoff trip since the franchise began in 1993 — last year, they lost to Arizona in the NL wild-card game.Freeland (17-7) wiggled out of jam after jam on a cool night to finish the... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The NL West-leading Colorado Rockies locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season, beating the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Friday night for their eighth win in a row behind a resilient start from Kyle Freeland.David Dahl homered for the fifth consecutive game and Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer against his former team to help Colorado clinch at least a wild card with two games remaining. The Rockies entered the night with a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers as they try to wrap up the franchise's first division crown.Wade Davis struck out Bryce Harper looking to end the game and earn his 43rd save. The sellout crowd at Coors Field roared and fireworks went off.The Rockies are headed to the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time in team history. This is their fifth playoff trip since the franchise began in 1993 — last year, they lost to Arizona in the NL wild-card game.Freeland (17-7) wiggled out of jam after jam on a cool night to finish the... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The New York Yankees clinched home-field advantage for the AL wild-card game, hitting four homers to tie the major league single-season record and beat the Boston Red Sox 11-6 on Friday night.Aaron Judge hit his first homer since coming off the disabled list Sept. 14, and Gary Sanchez, Aaron Hicks and Luke Voit also homered to match the mark of 264 set by the 1997 Seattle Mariners.The win in the opener of the three-game series settled the AL's last remaining postseason question with two games to go. The Yankees will host Oakland on Wednesday, with the winner playing Boston.The Red Sox, who clinched the best record in baseball with a franchise-record 107 wins, were hoping to make things difficult for their archrivals — and the Athletics, too — by forcing the winner of the wild-card game have to fly cross-country next week. The ALDS begins in Boston on Friday.J.A. Happ (17-6) pitched three perfect innings and allowed just one hit through five. Staked to an 8-0 lead, he loaded... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Mookie Betts and the Boston Red Sox won their third consecutive AL East championship Thursday night, clinching on enemy turf with an 11-6 victory over the rival New York Yankees.Betts homered, doubled twice and drove in five runs, finishing with four hits as the Red Sox overcame Giancarlo Stanton's go-ahead grand slam in the fourth inning. Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a tying home run in the seventh and Xander Bogaerts put Boston ahead with a sacrifice fly.With the best record in baseball and a playoff berth already secured, Boston (104-49) closed out a once-tight division race with nine games to spare. J.D. Martinez and the Red Sox, alone in first place since July 2, will open the postseason at home on Oct. 5 against an opponent to be determined.Never before had Boston finished in first place three years in a row. The club needs one victory to match the franchise record held by the 1912 World Series champions.It took three tries, but these Red Sox finally earned their chance... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox reached 100 wins for the first time since Ted Williams returned from World War II in the 1946 season, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 1-0 on Wednesday night.David Price (15-6) won his sixth straight decision, allowing three hits and striking out seven. Unbeaten in 11 starts since July 1, Price left after 92 pitches with a lead earned when Rafael Devers scampered home on a wild pitch by Aaron Sanchez (4-6) in the fifth inning.Craig Kimbrel got three outs for his 39th save in 44 chances.A night after becoming the first major league team this year to clinch a playoff spot, Boston won for the 10th time in 14 games and moved a season-high 54 games above .500.Jonathan Davis had his first major league hit for Toronto.TWINS 3, YANKEES 1MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jake Odorizzi's no-hit bid was broken up when Greg Bird hit a run-scoring double with one out in the eighth inning, and Minnesota beat the Yankees to take two of three from New York.The Yankees' lead over Oakland... [More]