A look at what's happening around the majors today:OFF BASEStar hitters Christian Yelich, Gary Sanchez, Hunter Pence and others are slumping badly in a season where hitters across the majors are struggling to find base hits. The league-wide batting average entering Wednesday’s games was .232, down from .252 last year. It’s the lowest mark ever, below the .237 average posted in 1968, despite the addition of the designated hitter to the NL.CUTDOWN DAYCuts are coming for players around the majors as teams trim their active rosters from 30 players to 28, per plans agreed to by MLB and the union before the start of this virus-shortened 60-game season. The sides decided Tuesday that rosters will remain at 28 through the World Series, instead of dropping to 26 on Aug. 20 as initially planned.SCHERZER AILING The Nationals will see how Max Scherzer is feeling, a day after the three-time Cy Young Award winner exited a start after just one inning because of trouble with his right hamstring.Scherzer... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Thursday:OFF BASEStar hitters Christian Yelich, Gary Sanchez, Hunter Pence and others are slumping badly in a season where hitters across the majors are struggling to find base hits. The league-wide batting average entering Wednesday’s games was .232, down from .252 last year. It’s the lowest mark ever, below the .237 average posted in 1968, despite the addition of the designated hitter to the NL.CUTDOWN DAYCuts are coming for players around the majors as teams trim their active rosters from 30 players to 28, per plans agreed to by MLB and the union before the start of this virus-shortened 60-game season. The sides decided Tuesday that rosters will remain at 28 through the World Series, instead of dropping to 26 on Aug. 20 as initially planned.SCHERZER AILING The Nationals will see how Max Scherzer is feeling, a day after the three-time Cy Young Award winner exited a start after just one inning because of trouble with his right hamstring.Scherzer... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Thursday:OFF BASEStar hitters Christian Yelich, Gary Sanchez, Hunter Pence and others are slumping badly in a season where hitters across the majors are struggling to find base hits. The league-wide batting average entering Wednesday’s games was .232, down from .252 last year. It’s the lowest mark ever, below the .237 average posted in 1968, despite the addition of the designated hitter to the NL.CUT DAYCuts are coming for players around the majors as teams trim their active rosters from 30 players to 28, per plans agreed to by MLB and the union before the start of this virus-shortened 60-game season. The sides decided Tuesday that rosters will remain at 28 through the World Series, instead of dropping to 26 on Aug. 20 as initially planned.STRUGGLING SCHERZER The Nationals will see how Max Scherzer is feeling, a day after the three-time Cy Young Award winner exited a start after just one inning because of trouble with his right hamstring.Scherzer... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Juan Soto was set to make his 2020 debut for the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night against the New York Mets, starting in left field and batting cleanup after beginning the season on the COVID-19 injured list.The slugger failed a coronavirus test — he later said he thought it was a false positive — and went on the injured list on opening day July 23. He missed Washington’s first eight games of the truncated season. Soto was reinstated from the IL on Tuesday, but didn't play in a 5-3 victory over the Mets, instead hopping atop the dugout to celebrate homers by teammates Howie Kendrick and Josh Harrison. “I talked to him last night. He did everything yesterday and he felt good. He said he’s ready,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Wednesday. “He took a bunch of swings yesterday, I know. He ran. He did some outfield work. He said he feels like he can go out there.”Soto produced 34 homers and 110 RBIs in the 2019 regular season and helped the Nationals win their... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Left fielder Juan Soto was reinstated by the Washington Nationals from the COVID-19 injured list Tuesday after missing the team’s first seven games of the season.Manager Dave Martinez did not put the slugger in Washington’s starting lineup against the New York Mets for the opener of a two-game series Tuesday night. Martinez did say Soto was available to pinch hit.“I talked to him last night and he really felt like he probably could use another day or two. He said his legs felt a little heavy. His arm was a little sore,” Martinez said. “He tried to ramp it up. ... The last four days, he probably got about 20 at-bats. In that respect, he doesn’t feel that bad, but I want to make sure we keep him healthy. We just got him back. He missed a lot of time.”Soto was sidelined on opening day, July 23, after testing positive for the coronavirus. He only was allowed to return to workouts on Saturday, part of an unusual four-day break for the Nationals caused by the suspension of the... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland’s Shane Bieber tied the major league record for strikeouts in a pitcher’s first two starts of the season, punching out 13 Minnesota Twins over eight innings in the Indians’ 2-0 victory on Thursday night.Bieber (2-0) fanned 14 over six scoreless innings on Friday against Kansas City. His 27 strikeouts in the two games matched the record set by Karl Spooner of the Brooklyn Dodgers in September 1954 during the first two starts of his short career.Facing a Twins team that came in with the second-best run differential in baseball, Bieber allowed three singles in his eight innings.Francisco Lindor supplied all the offense Cleveland needed with a two-run homer in the third inning off Jose Berríos (0-1). After Jose Ramirez singled with two outs, Berrios left an 0-2 pitch up over the plate, and Lindor drove it over the fence in right for his second homer of the season.YANKEES 8, ORIOLES 6BALTIMORE (AP) — Aaron Judge hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning after New York... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland’s Shane Bieber tied the major league record for strikeouts in a pitcher’s first two starts of the season, punching out 13 Minnesota Twins over eight innings in the Indians’ 2-0 victory on Thursday night.Bieber (2-0) fanned 14 over six scoreless innings on Friday against Kansas City. His 27 strikeouts in the two games matched the record set by Karl Spooner of the Brooklyn Dodgers in September 1954 during the first two starts of his short career.Facing a Twins team that came in with the second-best run differential in baseball, Bieber allowed three singles in his eight innings.Francisco Lindor supplied all the offense Cleveland needed with a two-run homer in the third inning off Jose Berríos (0-1). After Jose Ramirez singled with two outs, Berrios left an 0-2 pitch up over the plate, and Lindor drove it over the fence in right for his second homer of the season.YANKEES 8, ORIOLES 6BALTIMORE (AP) — Aaron Judge hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning after New York... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland’s Shane Bieber tied the major league record for strikeouts in a pitcher’s first two starts of the season, punching out 13 Minnesota Twins over eight innings in the Indians’ 2-0 victory on Thursday night.Bieber (2-0) fanned 14 over six scoreless innings on Friday against Kansas City. His 27 strikeouts in the two games matched the record set by Karl Spooner of the Brooklyn Dodgers in September 1954 during the first two starts of his short career.Facing a Twins team that came in with the second-best run differential in baseball, Bieber allowed three singles in his eight innings.Francisco Lindor supplied all the offense Cleveland needed with a two-run homer in the third inning off Jose Berríos (0-1). After Jose Ramirez singled with two outs, Berrios left an 0-2 pitch up over the plate, and Lindor drove it over the fence in right for his second homer of the season.YANKEES 8, ORIOLES 6BALTIMORE (AP) — Aaron Judge hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning after New York... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto was still waiting on Wednesday to be cleared to play by the city government after getting the OK from Major League Baseball to return from the COVID-19 injured list.Manager Dave Martinez said the Nationals hope their 21-year-old slugger will be allowed to work out with the team starting Saturday and play in their first game after that — which is next Tuesday at home against the New York Mets.Soto, who had 34 homers and 110 RBIs during the 2019 regular season and was a breakout star of October, tested positive for the coronavirus and was sidelined on opening day last week. The Nationals' starting lineup lost another middle-of-the-order hitter when Howie Kendrick was scratched three hours before the scheduled first pitch of Wednesday night's game against the Toronto Blue Jays because of upper back stiffness. Washington said Kendrick was available to pinch hit. Without Soto, the Nationals entered Wednesday with a 1-4 record, having... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The World Series champion Washington Nationals stood six feet apart along the first base line and watched as a banner commemorating their title was raised, then took a knee alongside the New York Yankees in a call for social justice.Star slugger Juan Soto wasn’t there — he was flagged hours before the first pitch for COVID-19. Neither, of course, were any fans.Hardly ideal, but there was hardball nonetheless. “I’d rather be playing baseball than not,” Nationals ace Max Scherzer said. Major League Baseball returned to action this weekend with a flourish of highs and lows as the sport attempts to play a 60-game regular season amid a coronavirus pandemic still plaguing much of the United States.The baseball itself was a breath of fresh air — even through all those face coverings. Opening day gems from Jacob deGrom, Shane Bieber and Kyle Hendricks. A mesmerizing home run from Giancarlo Stanton. Deft baserunning by Lorenzo Cain that baffled the entire Cubs infield.But COVID-era... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Daniel Bard won in his first major league game in more than seven years, pitching 1 1-3 scoreless innings in relief for the Colorado Rockies in a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday. The 35-year-old Bard (1-0), whose control troubles ran him out of baseball, got the Rockies out of a jam when he took over for starter Jon Gray with two on and two outs in the fifth. The right-hander worked around two more base runners in the sixth, getting Willie Calhoun on an inning-ending flyout to cap an 11-pitch at-bat.Wade Davis worked the ninth for his first save since July 25, 2019. He gave up a run.Colorado went ahead to stay with two runs in the fourth off Mike Minor (0-1), helped by two fielder’s choice plays and two errors. Bard threw 20 of 25 pitches for strikes Saturday, including his first one before Elvis Andrus flied out to end the fifth. ANGELS 4, ATHLETICS 1OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Dylan Bundy pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning in his Angels debut and... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Daniel Bard won in his first major league game in more than seven years, pitching 1 1-3 scoreless innings in relief for the Colorado Rockies in a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday. The 35-year-old Bard (1-0), whose control troubles ran him out of baseball, got the Rockies out of a jam when he took over for starter Jon Gray with two on and two outs in the fifth. The right-hander worked around two more base runners in the sixth, getting Willie Calhoun on an inning-ending flyout to cap an 11-pitch at-bat.Wade Davis worked the ninth for his first save since July 25, 2019. He gave up a run.Colorado went ahead to stay with two runs in the fourth off Mike Minor (0-1), helped by two fielder’s choice plays and two errors. Bard threw 20 of 25 pitches for strikes Saturday, including his first one before Elvis Andrus flied out to end the fifth. ANGELS 4, ATHLETICS 1OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Dylan Bundy pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning in his Angels debut and... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg was scratched from what was supposed to be his first start of the season for the Washington Nationals on Saturday night because of a nerve issue with his right hand.Nationals manager Dave Martinez announced about four hours before the scheduled first pitch against the visiting New York Yankees that Strasburg would be replaced as his team's starter by Erick Fedde.Strasburg described the problem as a nerve impingement in his wrist and said it initially arose early this month when teams reconvened for a ramp-up to the regular season. One of the first symptoms was that his hand would fall asleep.He felt something wrong from his wrist to his thumb, particularly during his most recent appearance, in an exhibition game against the Baltimore Orioles last week.“It got to the point where I didn't have the same feeling in my hand holding the ball,” Strasburg said, “and it was affecting my ability to command the baseball the way I'm accustomed to.”The... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg was scratched from what was supposed to be his first start of the season for the Washington Nationals on Saturday night because of a nerve issue with his right hand.Nationals manager Dave Martinez announced about four hours before the scheduled first pitch against the visiting New York Yankees that Strasburg would be replaced as his team's starter by Erick Fedde.Martinez said Strasburg, a righty who was bothered by the wrist and thumb of that hand, was given an injection for the issue, likening it to “basically a cortisone shot.” “Hopefully this is a day-to-day thing,” Martinez said. “We want to be cautious.”He said Strasburg felt something was wrong with his hand during an exhibition game last week against the Baltimore Orioles.“He was a little irritated,” Martinez said, “and then over these past few days, it really was bothering him.”Martinez said this was unrelated to a forearm problem Strasburg dealt with in the past.In 2019, Strasburg became the first pitcher to finish a postseason with a 5-0 record, helping the Nationals with the franchise's first championship. He then opted out of what was left on his contract and re-signed with Washington for $245 million over seven years.—-Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at https://twitter.com/HowardFendrich___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WASHINGTON (AP) — Manager Dave Martinez got a kick out of seeing World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg and other Washington Nationals finally open their championship rings a couple of weeks ago in the clubhouse — even if it was months later than originally planned and with no one around but other members of the organization.“It’s definitely sad that we couldn’t have the fans here with us," Martinez said, then relayed his players' reaction while checking out the bling: “They all said, ‘Hey, let’s try to go get another one.’” Easier said than done, of course, especially lately. Beginning with Thursday night's opener of the pandemic-delayed season against the New York Yankees, the Nationals will attempt to do something no major league club has done in quite some time: win back-to-back World Series. It’s been two decades since the 2000 New York Yankees capped a run of three titles in a row, making the current stretch the longest drought without anyone winning consecutive championships in baseball's... [More]

With all the protocols in place, Stephen Strasburg got a good feel Monday night for what pitching on the road will entail this season during the coronavirus pandemic. Last year's World Series MVP threw five strong innings for Washington in a 4-2 exhibition win over the Baltimore Orioles. Nationals manager Dave Martinez said the team took five buses for the 45-minute ride to Baltimore so players and staff could space out, with 14 people on each bus. “It’s pretty intense,” Strasburg said. “You get on the bus and you have to wear a face mask the whole time. Then you get in, and basically they temperature screen you. It’s kind of tough to get a good temperature reading when it’s 100 degrees outside. "But if you pass that, then you come into the clubhouse and everybody’s kind of sectioned off. So it’s just kind of an adjustment that we have to make. But unfortunately it’s kind of challenging to build team chemistry in an environment like this right now.” Strasburg looked just fine on the mound,... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dave Martinez's mantra of going 1-0 every day followed the Washington Nationals to their first World Series title.When they resumed workouts Friday at summer training camp in the midst of a global pandemic, the manager's mantra remained. Only, it has a different meaning for the defending champions tiptoeing the health and safety protocols that made baseball feel anything but natural.“When you see the guys come in after not seeing them for a while, you want to give them a big hug, a fist bump, high-five,” Martinez said by video conference from the bowels of Nationals Park. "We’re trying to figure out what we can do to emulate some kind of handshake or fist bump or elbow tap or feet tap — whatever. We’ll figure something out.”The team that danced itself from a 24-31 start to a championship in 2019 is off to a relatively positive start in 2020. Martinez learned depth catcher Welington Castillo is joining Ryan Zimmerman and Joe Ross in opting out of the season, but he said... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Gerrit Cole could make his New York Yankees debut in a tasty opening-day treat for fans, facing Juan Soto and World Series champion Washington at Nationals Park.The Yankees and Nationals are set meet when the virus-delayed season begins next month, a person familiar with the game told The Associated Press on Saturday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because there hasn’t been an official announcement.The New York Post first reported the matchup.MLB will start a 60-game season on July 23 or 24. The schedule is still being worked out -- there could be a game or two on the first day of play, or a full slate.Cole started the previous game played at Nationals Park. He pitched the Houston Astros past the Nationals 7-1 last October for a 3-2 edge in the World Series.Howie Kendrick, Anthony Rendon and the Nationals won the last two games to earn their first championship. Max Scherzer started Game 7 and fellow ace Stephen Strasburg was the World Series MVP, and either of... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Maybe this gives fans a sense of what it will mean to have a Major League Baseball season shrunk down to just 60 games this year during the pandemic: Where were the Washington Nationals that far into 2019?Last year, the Nationals played their 60th of 162 games on June 4 -- and came back to beat the visiting Chicago White Sox 9-5 in an interleague matchup to “improve” their record to 27-33.Doesn’t look much like the mark of a soon-to-be World Series champion.At that point in the year, Washington’s .450 winning percentage left it much, much closer to the bottom of the standings than the top: fourth in the five-team NL East and 13th in the 15-club National League, not nearly good enough to get into the postseason, even one as expanded as the 16 total participants proposed (but not yet agreed-to) for 2020.In a sport that prides itself on weeding out pretenders and confirming contenders over the long haul, they were hardly the only ones whose season would have looked a lot... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball’s amateur draft is about to enter the next phase of its ongoing development — same as all those young prospects picked every year.Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 version was ticketed for a move to Omaha, Nebraska, to coincide with the College World Series. The idea was to stage a bigger television event with more elite players on hand, like Arizona State first baseman Spencer Torkelson and Vanderbilt infielder Austin Martin.Of course, the COVID-19 outbreak scuttled the CWS and sent draft headquarters back to mostly empty MLB Network studios this week in Secaucus, New Jersey. Major League Baseball owners and players agreed to slash 40 rounds to five, beginning Wednesday night with the first 37 picks. The remaining 123 will be made Thursday.MLB Network and ESPN will both produce broadcasts Wednesday, the first time multiple networks will provide live coverage in prime time. Much like the NFL draft in April, remote cameras will show premier prospects... [More]