HOUSTON (AP) — Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale was still feeling weak Wednesday and won't start Game 5 of the AL Championship Series.Sale threw in the outfield for 10-15 minutes before Game 4 in Houston, but manager Alex Cora said he didn't throw a bullpen session as planned.Cora said the lanky lefty ace was still feeling weak and had lost some weight because of a stomach illness that forced him to spend a night in a hospital after he started the ALCS opener against the Astros."He's feeling better compared to yesterday, but physically he's not there yet," Cora said before Game 4. "So I think if necessary he'll pitch Game 6. He feels that he'll be ready for that one. And we'll go from there."The Red Sox took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series into Wednesday night's game. Game 6, if necessary, would be Saturday night in Boston.Dave Dombrowski, the team's president of baseball operations, said Sale told him that "he's fine and he'll be ready to go on Saturday."Cora didn't announce a starter... [More]

A look at the best-of-seven American League Championship Series between the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox:___Schedule: (All times EDT) Game 1, Saturday, at Boston, 8:09 p.m.; Game 2, Sunday, at Boston, 7:09 p.m.; Game 3, Tuesday, Oct. 16, at Houston, 5:09 p.m.; Game 4, Wednesday, Oct. 17, at Houston, 8:39 p.m.; x-Game 5, Thursday, Oct. 18, at Houston, 8:09 p.m.; x-Game 6, Saturday, Oct. 20, at Boston, 5:09 p.m.; x-Game 7, Sunday, Oct. 21, at Boston, 7:39 p.m. (All games on TBS).x-if necessary.___Season Series: Astros won 4-3.___Projected Lineup:Astros: CF George Springer (.265, 22 HRs, 71 RBIs), 2B Jose Altuve (.315, 13, 61), 3B Alex Bregman (.286, 31, 103, AL-best 51 doubles, 84 walks, 82 Ks), 1B Yuli Gurriel (.291, 13, 85), LF Marwin Gonzalez (.247, 16, 68), RF Josh Reddick (.242, 17, 47), SS Carlos Correa (.239, 15, 65), DH Tyler White (.276, 12, 42, .888 OPS in 66 games) or Tony Kemp (.263, 6, 30 in 97 games) or Evan Gattis (.226, 25, 78), C Martin Maldonado (.225, 9, 44 for Angels... [More]

A look at the best-of-five American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox:___Schedule: (All times EDT) Game 1, Friday, at Boston, 7:32 p.m.; Game 2, Saturday, at Boston, 8:15 p.m.; Game 3, Monday, Oct. 8, at New York, 7:40 p.m.; x-Game 4, Tuesday, Oct. 9, at New York, 8:07 p.m.; x-Game 5, Thursday, Oct. 11, at Boston, 7:40 p.m. (All games on TBS).x-if necessary.___Season Series: Red Sox won 10-9.___Projected Lineups:Yankees: LF Andrew McCutchen (.255, 20 HRs, 65 RBIs for Pirates and Yankees), RF Aaron Judge (.278, 27, 67, 152 Ks in 112 games), CF Aaron Hicks (.248, 27, 79 in 137 games), DH Giancarlo Stanton (.266, 38, 100, 211 Ks), 1B Luke Voit (.322, 15, 36 in 47 games for Cardinals and Yankees; .333, 14, 33 in 39 games with Yankees), SS Didi Gregorius (.268, 27, 86 in 134 games), 3B Miguel Andujar (.297, 27, 92, 47 2Bs), C Gary Sanchez (.186, 18, 53 in 89 games), 2B Gleyber Torres (.271, 24, 77 in 123 games).Red Sox: RF Mookie Betts (.346, 32, 80, 129... [More]

A look at the best-of-five American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox:___Schedule: (All times EDT) Game 1, Friday, at Boston, 7:32 p.m.; Game 2, Saturday, at Boston, 8:15 p.m.; Game 3, Monday, Oct. 8, at New York, TBA; x-Game 4, Tuesday, Oct. 9, at New York, TBA; x-Game 5, Thursday, Oct. 11, at Boston, TBA. (All games on TBS).x-if necessary.___Season Series: Red Sox won 10-9.___Projected Lineups:Yankees: LF Andrew McCutchen (.255, 20 HRs, 65 RBIs for Pirates and Yankees), RF Aaron Judge (.278, 27, 67, 152 Ks in 112 games), CF Aaron Hicks (.248, 27, 79 in 137 games), DH Giancarlo Stanton (.266, 38, 100, 211 Ks), 1B Luke Voit (.322, 15, 36 in 47 games for Cardinals and Yankees; .333, 14, 33 in 39 games with Yankees), SS Didi Gregorius (.268, 27, 86 in 134 games), 3B Miguel Andujar (.297, 27, 92, 47 2Bs), C Gary Sanchez (.186, 18, 53 in 89 games), 2B Gleyber Torres (.271, 24, 77 in 123 games).Red Sox: RF Mookie Betts (.346, 32, 80, 129 runs, 30 steals),... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Fans have been waiting for another one of these rumbles: baseball's most-bitter rivals set to tangle again, this time as 100-win heavyweights in the playoffs.Munson vs. Fisk, Pedro vs. Popeye , A-Rod vs. Varitek and earlier this year Brock Holt vs. Tyler Austin .The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees back at each other in the postseason for the first time in 14 years."We're a team that can play with anybody, and we're not afraid to go in there," Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks said after a 7-2 wild-card win over Oakland sent New York to a best-of-five AL Division Series that starts Friday in Fenway Park.Yankees fans were chanting "We want Boston!" during the late innings. The Red Sox tweeted "We want New York" after the final out in the Bronx."I think they're ready and relish the opportunity to go up against the game's best this year," Yankees rookie manager Aaron Boone said of his players.That is the same Aaron Boone whose 11th-inning homer in Game 7 of the 2003 AL... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:OPENER FOR THE OPENERThe Brewers will begin their NL Division Series against the Rockies with a bullpen game at Miller Park. Manager Craig Counsell said Wednesday he had not decided on the order of his relievers. The group will almost certainly include All-Star left-hander Josh Hader, though Colorado will have a tough test start to finish — Milwaukee led the majors with a 1.98 bullpen ERA in September.Colorado counters with Antonio Senzatela, a right-hander who is 6-6 with a 4.38 ERA in 23 games, including 13 starts. It will be the postseason debut for the 23-year-old.THE ACE AWAITSThe Braves and Dodgers open their NLDS in Los Angeles, and Atlanta has a chance to jump ahead before facing Clayton Kershaw in Game 2. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts decided to hold back his ace left-hander and will instead start Hyun-Jin Ryu in Game 1. The left-handed Ryu was 7-3 with a 1.97 ERA in 15 starts this season.Mike Foltynewicz is up for the Braves. The... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — For a team that finished with the best record in baseball — setting a franchise record for victories along the way — the Boston Red Sox sure have a lot of questions about their bullpen.Even as they coasted to their third straight AL East title, with two Cy Young Award candidates and two MVP contenders, not everything has gone smoothly for Boston this year. Red Sox relievers have been the problem — especially down the stretch in September, when they posted a 4.84 ERA that was the worst in the AL.Manager Alex Cora said Wednesday he remained confident in his bullpen, insisting the late-season woes weren't a local phenomenon."You look around the league in September, there were some great bullpens that became bad," he said Wednesday before the Red Sox learned they will be facing the rival Yankees in the AL Division Series. "They were hit around. They were giving up leads."It's the nature of 162 games," Cora said. "We're going to the same guys, and it seemed like some of them hit... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — For a team that finished with the best record in baseball — setting a franchise record for victories along the way — the Boston Red Sox sure have a lot of questions about their bullpen.Even as they coasted to their third straight AL East title, with two Cy Young Award candidates and two MVP contenders, not everything has gone smoothly for Boston this year. Red Sox relievers have been the problem — especially down the stretch in September, when they posted a 4.84 ERA that was the worst in the AL.Manager Alex Cora said Wednesday he remained confident in his bullpen, insisting the late-season woes weren't a local phenomenon."You look around the league in September, there were some great bullpens that became bad," he said Wednesday as the Red Sox awaited the winner of the Oakland-New York wild-card game. "They were hit around. They were giving up leads."It's the nature of 162 games," Cora said. "We're going to the same guys, and it seemed like some of them hit the wall."And part... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Carlos Correa hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning and the Houston Astros won their sixth straight game, beating the Boston Red Sox 6-3 on Friday night in a matchup of AL division leaders.The Red Sox, with the best record in the majors, had won three in row.Boston starter David Price had allowed just one hit and retired 14 in a row when he went into the seventh with a 2-0 lead. He left after Alex Bregman's double and a walk and, after Ryan Brasier took over, the Astros scored three times. J.D. Martinez tied it with a single for his second RBI of the game.Houston scored three times in the eighth. Correa put the AL Central leaders ahead, a wild pitch by Joe Kelly (4-2) scored another run and Tyler White added an RBI single.Ryan Pressly (2-1) got two outs and Roberto Osuna posted his 14th save.Xander Bogaerts hit his 20th home run for Boston.ANGELS 5, WHITE SOX 2CHICAGO (AP) — Two-way star Shohei Ohtani homered for the third straight game after learning he will... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Carlos Correa hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning and the Houston Astros won their sixth straight game, beating the Boston Red Sox 6-3 on Friday night in a matchup of AL division leaders.The Red Sox, with the best record in the majors, had won three in row.Boston starter David Price had allowed just one hit and retired 14 in a row when he went into the seventh with a 2-0 lead. He left after Alex Bregman's double and a walk and, after Ryan Brasier took over, the Astros scored three times. J.D. Martinez tied it with a single for his second RBI of the game.Houston scored three times in the eighth. Correa put the AL Central leaders ahead, a wild pitch by Joe Kelly (4-2) scored another run and Tyler White added an RBI single.Ryan Pressly (2-1) got two outs and Roberto Osuna posted his 14th save.Xander Bogaerts hit his 20th home run for Boston.ANGELS 5, WHITE SOX 2CHICAGO (AP) — Two-way star Shohei Ohtani homered for the third straight game after learning he will... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Carlos Correa hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning and the Houston Astros won their sixth straight game, beating the Boston Red Sox 6-3 on Friday night in a matchup of AL division leaders.The Red Sox, with the best record in the majors, had won three in row.Boston starter David Price had allowed just one hit and retired 14 in a row when he went into the seventh with a 2-0 lead. He left after Alex Bregman's double and a walk and, after Ryan Brasier took over, the Astros scored three times. J.D. Martinez tied it with a single for his second RBI of the game.Houston scored three times in the eighth. Correa put the AL Central leaders ahead, a wild pitch by Joe Kelly (4-2) scored another run and Tyler White added an RBI single.Ryan Pressly (2-1) got two outs and Roberto Osuna posted his 14th save.Xander Bogaerts hit his 20th home run for Boston.ANGELS 5, WHITE SOX 2CHICAGO (AP) — Two-way star Shohei Ohtani homered for the third straight game after learning he will... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Carlos Correa hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning and the Houston Astros won their sixth straight game, beating the Boston Red Sox 6-3 on Friday night in a matchup of AL division leaders.The Red Sox, with the best record in the majors, had won three in row.Boston starter David Price had allowed just one hit and retired 14 in a row when he went into the seventh with a 2-0 lead. He left after Alex Bregman's double and a walk and, after Ryan Brasier took over, the Astros scored three times. J.D. Martinez tied it with a single for his second RBI of the game.Houston scored three times in the eighth. Correa put the AL Central leaders ahead, a wild pitch by Joe Kelly (4-2) scored another run and Tyler White added an RBI single.Ryan Pressly (2-1) got two outs and Roberto Osuna posted his 14th save.Xander Bogaerts hit his 20th home run for Boston.ANGELS 5, WHITE SOX 2CHICAGO (AP) — Two-way star Shohei Ohtani homered for the third straight game after learning he will... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Carlos Correa hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning and the Houston Astros won their sixth straight game, beating the Boston Red Sox 6-3 on Friday night in a matchup of AL division leaders.The Red Sox, with the best record in the majors, had won three in row.Boston starter David Price had allowed just one hit and retired 14 in a row when he went into the seventh with a 2-0 lead. He left after Alex Bregman's double and a walk and, after Ryan Brasier took over, the Astros scored three times. J.D. Martinez tied it with a single for his second RBI of the game.Houston scored three times in the eighth. Correa put the AL Central leaders ahead, a wild pitch by Joe Kelly (4-2) scored another run and Tyler White added an RBI single.Ryan Pressly (2-1) got two outs and Roberto Osuna posted his 14th save.Xander Bogaerts hit his 20th home run for Boston.ANGELS 5, WHITE SOX 2CHICAGO (AP) — Two-way star Shohei Ohtani homered for the third straight game after learning he will... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Slugging rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. was hit by a pitch before he could take the Marlins deep again, but Dansby Swanson filled the power void for Atlanta, hitting a two-run homer that led the Braves to a 5-2 win over Miami on Wednesday night.Acuna, who had hit leadoff homers in the last three games and homered in five straight overall, didn't get a chance to extend the streak. Jose Urena plunked him on the left elbow with a fastball on his first pitch of the day, triggering a melee. Benches and bullpens for both teams emptied onto the field twice after the pitch. No punches were thrown. Urena and Braves manager Brian Snitker were ejected.Acuna instead became the 11th batter to be hit by a pitch from Urena this season, tied for the most in the National League. Trainer George Poulis hovered over Acuna, who sat on the ground near the batter's box while players swarmed near the mound. Acuna left the game in the second inning. He took his position in left field and then walked off... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Slugging rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. was hit by a pitch before he could take the Marlins deep again, but Dansby Swanson filled the power void for Atlanta, hitting a two-run homer that led the Braves to a 5-2 win over Miami on Wednesday night.Acuna, who had hit leadoff homers in the last three games and homered in five straight overall, didn't get a chance to extend the streak. Jose Urena plunked him on the left elbow with a fastball on his first pitch of the day, triggering a melee. Benches and bullpens for both teams emptied onto the field twice after the pitch. No punches were thrown. Urena and Braves manager Brian Snitker were ejected.Acuna instead became the 11th batter to be hit by a pitch from Urena this season, tied for the most in the National League. Trainer George Poulis hovered over Acuna, who sat on the ground near the batter's box while players swarmed near the mound. Acuna left the game in the second inning. He took his position in left field and then walked off... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Slugging rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. was hit by a pitch before he could take the Marlins deep again, but Dansby Swanson filled the power void for Atlanta, hitting a two-run homer that led the Braves to a 5-2 win over Miami on Wednesday night.Acuna, who had hit leadoff homers in the last three games and homered in five straight overall, didn't get a chance to extend the streak. Jose Urena plunked him on the left elbow with a fastball on his first pitch of the day, triggering a melee. Benches and bullpens for both teams emptied onto the field twice after the pitch. No punches were thrown. Urena and Braves manager Brian Snitker were ejected.Acuna instead became the 11th batter to be hit by a pitch from Urena this season, tied for the most in the National League. Trainer George Poulis hovered over Acuna, who sat on the ground near the batter's box while players swarmed near the mound. Acuna left the game in the second inning. He took his position in left field and then walked off... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Slugging rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. was hit by a pitch before he could take the Marlins deep again, but Dansby Swanson filled the power void for Atlanta, hitting a two-run homer that led the Braves to a 5-2 win over Miami on Wednesday night.Acuna, who had hit leadoff homers in the last three games and homered in five straight overall, didn't get a chance to extend the streak. Jose Urena plunked him on the left elbow with a fastball on his first pitch of the day, triggering a melee. Benches and bullpens for both teams emptied onto the field twice after the pitch. No punches were thrown. Urena and Braves manager Brian Snitker were ejected.Acuna instead became the 11th batter to be hit by a pitch from Urena this season, tied for the most in the National League. Trainer George Poulis hovered over Acuna, who sat on the ground near the batter's box while players swarmed near the mound. Acuna left the game in the second inning. He took his position in left field and then walked off... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Trevor Williams and two relievers combined on a six-hitter, and the Pittsburgh Pirates blanked the San Francisco Giants 4-0 on Saturday night.Josh Bell homered for the second time in three days. Elias Diaz added two hits for the Pirates after coming in as an injury replacement for Francisco Cervelli.The start of the game was delayed for a ceremony honoring home run king Barry Bonds, who became the 10th player in Giants history to have his jersey retired. Several of his former teammates and managers, including Dusty Baker and Jim Leyland, were on hand.Buster Posey and Evan Longoria had two hits apiece for San Francisco. Ty Blach (6-7) allowed four runs over four innings.Williams (10-8) allowed five hits and walked one in seven innings.ROCKIES 3, DODGERS 2DENVER (AP) — Ryan McMahon hit a three-run homer with two out in the ninth inning, lifting Colorado to the win.McMahon's drive off J.T. Chargois (2-4) cleared the right-field wall just above the out-of-town scoreboard.... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Ryan Zimmerman hit two home runs off a shaky Jon Lester and tied a career high with six RBIs, sending the Washington Nationals over the Chicago Cubs 9-4 on Saturday.Zimmerman hit a two-run homer in the first inning and a sacrifice fly to the warning track in the third. He chased Lester with a three-run drive in the fourth that made it 9-1. He is batting .355 (16 for 45) with four homers and 16 RBIs in 14 games since returning from the disabled list last month.Daniel Murphy also homered and had three hits, helping Tanner Roark (7-12) win his fourth straight start.Lester (12-5) was tagged for eight earned runs and 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings. The left-hander is winless in his last five starts for the NL Central leaders, going 0-3 with a 10.32 ERA during that span.Anthony Rizzo got his 1,000th career hit for the Cubs.MARINERS 3, ASTROS 2HOUSTON (AP) — Ryon Healy had three hits and drove in the go-ahead run for Seattle, and Guillermo Heredia made a spectacular catch to preserve... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Turner hit Los Angeles' seventh home run of the game, a go-ahead drive in the 11th inning that lifted the Dodgers over the New York Mets 8-7 on Sunday.Cody Bellinger and Kike Hernandez each homered twice as the Dodgers beat the Mets for the 12th straight time dating to 2016. Max Muncy and Joc Pederson also connected for Los Angeles. Hernandez and Muncy led off the game with back-to-back shots.The Mets matched a team record for the most homers allowed in a game, and lost their sixth in a row overall.Turner, a former Met, homered off Chris Flexen (0-1) with two outs to put the Dodgers up for good. Los Angeles had squandered a 7-4 lead in the eighth when Kevin Plawecki hit a tying three-run shot.Daniel Hudson (2-2) picked up the victory with two scoreless innings.INDIANS 12, TIGERS 2CLEVELAND (AP) — Edwin Encarnacion hit an eighth-inning grand slam, helping the Indians to their season-high seventh straight win.Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez and Jason Kipnis also connected... [More]