DENVER (AP) — Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger and Russell Martin homered as the Los Angeles Dodgers kept up their longball barrage, beating Colorado 10-6 Friday in the Rockies' home opener.After hitting a franchise-record 235 home runs last year, the NL champion Dodgers have connected a whopping 21 times in only eight games this season. They've homered in every game so far.Bellinger hit his sixth of the year, breaking the game open with a three-run drive in the fifth. Muncy finished a double shy of a cycle, walking in the ninth.Trevor Story homered twice for the Rockies.Kenta Maeda (2-0) threw five sharp innings and cruised through a scuffling Colorado lineup. He allowed four hits and his only run on Nolan Arenado's sacrifice fly.Tyler Anderson (0-2) couldn't find his groove in allowing six runs over four innings.RED SOX 15, DIAMONDBACKS 8PHOENIX (AP) — Ketel Marte homered from both sides of the plate, including a grand slam, and Arizona won its home opener by keeping Boston in a funk.Adam Jones... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Domingo German overcame control problems on a chilly night to win for the first time since last June, Gary Sanchez and Brett Gardner homered and the banged-up New York Yankees beat the punchless Detroit Tigers 3-1 Monday.Aaron Judge made a sprawling, backhand catch on Niko Goodrum's hard-hit liner after Adam Ottavino walked the first two batters in the eighth inning, a drive that would have tied the score if it had gotten by the right fielder.New York lost two more regulars to the 10-day injured list before the game after they got hurt a day earlier, outfielder Giancarlo Stanton with a strained left biceps and third baseman Miguel Andujar with a small labrum tear in his right shoulder.Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Andujar, runner-up for AL Rookie of the Year last season, will be treated conservatively with a rehab program and there is some optimism he will respond well. But if not, he could need season-surgery.They joined a group of sidelined Yankees that includes pitchers... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Domingo German overcame control problems on a chilly night to win for the first time since last June, Gary Sanchez and Brett Gardner homered and the banged-up New York Yankees beat the punchless Detroit Tigers 3-1 Monday.Aaron Judge made a sprawling, backhand catch on Niko Goodrum's hard-hit liner after Adam Ottavino walked the first two batters in the eighth inning, a drive that would have tied the score if it had gotten by the right fielder.New York lost two more regulars to the 10-day injured list before the game after they got hurt a day earlier, outfielder Giancarlo Stanton with a strained left biceps and third baseman Miguel Andujar with a small labrum tear in his right shoulder.Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Andujar, runner-up for AL Rookie of the Year last season, will be treated conservatively with a rehab program and there is some optimism he will respond well. But if not, he could need seasno-surgery.They joined a group of sidelined Yankees that includes pitchers... [More]

Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros are going to continue their successful partnership for a while longer.Verlander and the Astros have agreed to a contract adding an additional $66 million in guaranteed money for 2020 and '21, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.The person spoke Saturday on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced. The agreement was first reported by KRIV-FOX 26.A 36-year-old right-hander, Verlander is due $28 million in 2019, the final guaranteed season of a $180 million, seven-year deal he signed with Detroit before the 2013 season. That contract included a $22 million option for 2020 that would have become guaranteed if Verlander finished among the top five in Cy Young Award voting this year.Verlander was traded from Detroit to Houston on Aug. 31, 2017, and helped the Astros win their first World Series that season. The 2011 AL MVP and Cy Young Award winner, he finished second in Cy Young voting last season... [More]

Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros are going to continue their successful partnership for a while longer.Verlander and the Astros have agreed to a contract adding an additional $66 million in guaranteed money for 2020 and '21, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.The person spoke Saturday on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced. The agreement was first reported by KRIV-FOX 26.A 36-year-old right-hander, Verlander is due $28 million in 2019, the final guaranteed season of a $180 million, seven-year deal he signed with Detroit before the 2013 season. That contract included a $22 million option for 2020 that would have become guaranteed if Verlander finished among the top five in Cy Young Award voting this year.Verlander was traded from Detroit to Houston on Aug. 31, 2017, and helped the Astros win their first World Series that season. The 2011 AL MVP and Cy Young Award winner, he finished second in Cy Young voting last season... [More]

Kansas City Royals All-Star catcher Salvador Perez damaged the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, raising the possibility the 2015 World Series MVP may need Tommy John surgery and miss the season.Perez was hurt during a workout Wednesday, and the team said an MRI on Thursday revealed the damage. Perez will travel next week to California for a second opinion from Los Angeles Dodgers head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache.The 28-year-old has been an All-Star for six straight seasons and won Gold Gloves in five of the last six years. He hit .235 last year and had 27 home runs and 80 RBIs for the second straight season. He has a $10 million salary this year and is owed $13 million in each of the following two seasons.Cam Gallagher and Meibrys Viloria are the other catchers on Kansas City's 40-man roster. Gallagher, who appeared in 35 games during the past two years, has a .218 career average with two home runs and 12 RBIs.Viloria, 22, was a September call-up last season and has... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Roberto Osuna will close for the Houston Astros."I can pretend and create some false competition, and that doesn't gain any credibility," manager A.J. Hinch said. "Transparency goes a long way, and maybe the closer question can be put to rest."Hinch used Ken Giles, Hector Rondon and Luke Gregerson to finish games during his first four seasons before the Astros acquired Osuna from Toronto last summer."I think the league has graduated to the point of, you can say somebody's your closer and use him in the seventh or eighth inning and people don't freak out," Hinch said. "It's amazing how the sport has evolved to where one word doesn't mean that he has to pitch exactly in that role every single time."Houston initially eased Osuna into the closer's role after acquiring him at last season's trading deadline for Giles, David Paulino and a minor leaguer. The trade occurred just before the end of Osuna's 75-game suspension under Major League Baseball's domestic violence... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Astros have agreed to terms with seven of their arbitration-eligible players, but star shortstop Carlos Correa and right-hander Gerrit Cole are not among them.Correa, the top overall pick in the 2012 draft, made just $1 million last season. He asked for $5 million when swapping figures with the team, and the Astros offered $4.25 million. Cole, who made $6.75 million last year, asked for $13.5 million, and the team offered $11,425,000.Houston did agree to one-year deals with outfielder Jake Marisnick ($2,212,500) and right-handed pitchers Will Harris ($4,225,000), Lance McCullers Jr. ($4.1 million), Collin McHugh ($5.8 million), Roberto Osuna ($6.5 million), Brad Peacock ($3.11 million) and Ryan Pressly ($2.9 million).Reliever Chris Devenski remains eligible for arbitration. He asked for $1.65 million and the team offered $1.4 million.Cole made his second All-Star game last season. He went 15-5 with a 2.88 ERA in his first year in Houston after five seasons with... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Astros have agreed to terms with seven of their arbitration-eligible players, but star shortstop Carlos Correa and right-hander Gerrit Cole are not among them.Correa, the top overall pick in the 2012 draft, made just $1 million last season. He asked for $5 million when swapping figures with the team, and the Astros offered $4.25 million. Cole, who made $6.75 million last year, asked for $13.5 million, and the team offered $11,425,000.Houston did agree to one-year deals with outfielder Jake Marisnick ($2,212,500) and right-handed pitchers Will Harris ($4,225,000), Lance McCullers Jr. ($4.1 million), Collin McHugh ($5.8 million), Roberto Osuna ($6.5 million), Brad Peacock ($3.11 million) and Ryan Pressly ($2.9 million).Reliver Chris Devenski remains eligible for arbitration. He asked for $1.65 million and the team offered $1.4 million.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Spending on Major League Baseball payrolls dropped last season for the first time since 2010, an $18 million decrease attributable to drug and domestic violence suspensions and a player retiring at midseason.Still, even a year with flat payrolls is unusual for MLB. The only previous drops since 2002 were by $3 million in 2010 and by $32 million in 2004.Teams combined to spend $4.23 billion on major league payroll last year, according to final figures compiled by the commissioner's office and obtained by The Associated Press. The decrease followed an offseason with a weak free-agent class that failed to push the average higher.Seattle second baseman Robinson Cano lost about $11.7 million and Chicago White Sox catcher Welington Castillo approximately $3.5 million after positive drug tests. Closer Roberto Osuna's domestic violence suspension cost him roughly $2.1 million from Toronto and Houston, and Baltimore outfielder Colby Rasmus walked away from about $1.5 million rather... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Spending on Major League Baseball payrolls dropped last season for the first time since 2010, an $18 million decrease attributable to drug and domestic violence suspensions and a player retiring at midseason.Still, even a year with flat payrolls is unusual for MLB. The only previous drops since 2002 were by $3 million in 2010 and by $32 million in 2004.Teams combined to spend $4.23 billion on major league payroll last year, according to final figures compiled by the commissioner's office and obtained by The Associated Press. The decrease followed an offseason with a weak free-agent class that failed to push the average higher.Seattle second baseman Robinson Cano lost about $11.7 million and Chicago White Sox catcher Welington Castillo approximately $3.5 million after positive drug tests. Closer Roberto Osuna's domestic violence suspension cost him roughly $2.1 million from Toronto and Houston, and Baltimore outfielder Colby Rasmus walked away from about $1.5 million rather... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Spending on Major League Baseball payrolls dropped last season for the first time since 2010, an $18 million decrease attributable to drug and domestic violence suspensions and a player retiring at midseason.Still, even a year with flat payrolls is unusual for MLB. The only previous drops since 2002 were by $3 million in 2010 and by $32 million in 2004.Teams combined to spend $4.23 billion on major league payroll last year, according to final figures compiled by the commissioner's office and obtained by The Associated Press. The decrease followed an offseason with a weak free-agent class that failed to push the average higher.Seattle second baseman Robinson Cano lost about $11.7 million and Chicago White Sox catcher Welington Castillo approximately $3.5 million after positive drug tests. Closer Roberto Osuna's domestic violence suspension cost him roughly $2.1 million from Toronto and Houston, and Baltimore outfielder Colby Rasmus walked away from about $1.5 million rather... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros couldn't soar into another World Series.A year after Houston won the first title in the team's 56 seasons, Verlander had a rare off night in an elimination game and the Astros lost the AL Championship Series to the Boston Red Sox in five games."This year's team is better than last year's team," third baseman Alex Bregman said. "Everyone in here will have a little bit of an edge to play with, a chip on their shoulder knowing that we believe we should have been back-to-back champions."Houston boosted its rotation with Gerrit Cole last winter and its bullpen with Roberto Osuna ahead of the July trade deadline. The Astros won a club-record 103 games, led the majors with a plus-263 run difference and swept Cleveland 3-0 in the Division Series.But after beating Boston in the opener, the banged-up Astros were outscored 27-14 in losing four in a row — one short of their season high. The major leagues remain without a repeat champion since the... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros couldn't soar into another World Series.A year after Houston won the first title in the team's 56 seasons, Verlander had a rare off night in an elimination game and the Astros lost the AL Championship Series to the Boston Red Sox in five games."This year's team is better than last year's team," third baseman Alex Bregman said. "Everyone in here will have a little bit of an edge to play with, a chip on their shoulder knowing that we believe we should have been back-to-back champions."Houston boosted its rotation with Gerrit Cole last winter and its bullpen with Roberto Osuna ahead of the July trade deadline. The Astros won a club-record 103 games, led the majors with a plus-263 run difference and swept Cleveland 3-0 in the Division Series.But after beating Boston in the opener, the banged-up Astros were outscored 27-14 in losing four in a row. The major leagues remain without a repeat champion since the New York Yankees won three straight... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Jackie Bradley Jr. had only three hits in the AL Championship Series. He certainly made them count.Batting at the bottom of the order, Bradley homered twice and drove in nine runs to win Most Valuable Player honors as the Boston Red Sox powered their way past Houston and into the World Series.Bradley connected for the go-ahead hits in two Boston wins and a game-sealing grand slam in another. He was selected ALCS MVP after the Red Sox clinched the pennant with a 4-1 victory over the Astros in Game 5 on Thursday night."It's amazing," Bradley said. "This is what we set out to do when we come to spring training. And we battled — we've been battle-tested, played against a lot of great ballteams. This is definitely a special moment."Even though the center fielder hit only .200 (3 for 15) in the best-of-seven playoff, Bradley was a big reason Boston knocked out the defending champions after losing to the Astros in the Division Series last year.Bradley had the fewest hits and lowest... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Jackie Bradley Jr. had only three hits in the AL Championship Series. He certainly made them count.Batting at the bottom of the order, Bradley homered twice and drove in nine runs to win Most Valuable Player honors as the Boston Red Sox powered their way past Houston and into the World Series.Bradley connected for the go-ahead hits in two Boston wins and a game-sealing grand slam in another. He was selected ALCS MVP after the Red Sox clinched the pennant with a 4-1 victory over the Astros in Game 5 on Thursday night."It's amazing," Bradley said. "This is what we set out to do when we come to spring training. And we battled — we've been battle-tested, played against a lot of great ballteams. This is definitely a special moment."Even though the center fielder hit only .200 (3 for 15) in the best-of-seven series, Bradley was a big reason Boston knocked out the defending champions.His batting average was the lowest for the MVP of any league championship series. But he delivered... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros couldn't soar into another World Series.A year after Houston won the first title in the team's 56 seasons, Verlander had a rare off night in an elimination game and the Astros lost the AL Championship Series to the Boston Red Sox in five games.Houston boosted its rotation with Gerrit Cole last winter and its bullpen with Roberto Osuna ahead of the July trade deadline. The Astros won a club-record 103 games and swept Cleveland in the Division Series.But after beating Boston in the opener, the banged-up Astros were outscored 27-14 in losing four in a row. The major leagues remain without a repeat champion since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998-2000."The World Series is the only thing that was going to make this team feel like we accomplished much," manager AJ Hinch said. "It's a pretty hollow feeling when the season abruptly ends the way that it does and the way that it did."Verlander was last year's Championship Series... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Jose Altuve was denied a potential two-run homer in the first inning for the Houston Astros in Game 4 of the AL Championship Series after fans reaching for the ball interfered with Mookie Betts' attempt to make a leaping catch.Now Houston's chances to repeat as World Series champion are nearly out of reach.The Astros recovered from that early gut punch to take the lead — including homers by George Springer and Tony Kemp well over that same right field wall. But Jackie Bradley Jr. homered for the second night in a row for the Boston Red Sox in an 8-6 victory Wednesday, putting them up 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.Houston has lost three in a row since winning the series opener 7-2 at Fenway Park on Saturday night.Justin Verlander, 6-1 in eight postseason games for Houston, including a win in Game 1 of this ALCS, starts Thursday night with the season on the line.After Boston scored twice in the first inning for the second night in a row, it appeared the Astros might have... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Jose Altuve was denied a potential two-run homer in the first inning for the Houston Astros in Game 4 of the AL Championship Series after fans reaching for the ball interfered with Mookie Betts' attempt to make a leaping catch.Now Houston's chances to repeat as World Series champion are nearly out of reach.The Astros recovered from that early gut punch to take the lead — including homers by George Springer and Tony Kemp well over that same right field wall. But Jackie Bradley Jr. homered for the second night in a row for the Boston Red Sox in an 8-6 victory Wednesday, putting them up 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.Houston has lost three in a row since winning the series opener 7-2 at Fenway Park on Saturday night.Justin Verlander, 6-1 in eight postseason games for Houston, including a win in Game 1 of this ALCS, starts Thursday night with the season on the line.After Boston scored twice in the first inning for the second night in a row, it appeared the Astros might have... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — With his team down one run going into the eighth inning, Houston manager AJ Hinch went to closer Roberto Osuna in hopes of keeping it that way.Things only got worse for the Astros in Game 3 of the AL Championship Series.Osuna gave up a grand slam to Jackie Bradley Jr. after hitting consecutive pinch-hitters with two-strike pitches, and the Boston Red Sox won 8-2 on Tuesday to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series."It's a 3-2 ballgame until all hell broke loose in the eighth inning," Hinch said. "A couple of hit by pitches and a huge swing by Bradley and there's the game."Hinch treats one-run deficits like a tie game in the postseason, figuring his team still has a good chance to win."Trying to keep it at a one-run game with a really effective closer against the middle part of their order," he said. "We get out of that 3-2, we've got plenty of outs left, and you never know what can happen."In his first ALCS appearance for the Astros, Osuna came on with Houston trailing... [More]