HOUSTON (AP) — Charlie Morton pitched two-hit ball into the eighth inning and struck out 10 as the Houston Astros snapped the New York Yankees' nine-game winning streak with a 2-1 victory Monday night.Carlos Correa had two hits and an RBI for Houston in the first meeting between the teams since Game 7 of last year's AL Championship Series, when Morton allowed two hits over five innings for the win in a 4-0 victory that sent the defending champion Astros to the World Series.Houston has won seven straight at home against the Yankees including the postseason, and the Astros have held them to no more than one run in their past six games here.Morton (4-0) had allowed just one hit when Gleyber Torres chased him with a two-out double in the eighth. Brad Peacock took over and walked pinch-hitter Aaron Judge, who didn't start for the first time this season, and Torres stole third base.Chris Devenski replaced Peacock and was greeted with an RBI single by Brett Gardner that cut the lead to 2-1. Devenski... [More]

It's that time of the fantasy baseball season where owners really need to evaluate their rosters and see which struggling players are worth keeping on their teams, and which ones should be kicked to the curb.Let's take a look at players that can help you in the long term, as well as guys who are worth streaming this upcoming week to take advantage of good matchups.PLAYERS TO PICK UPJaCoby Jones, OF (5 percent owned in Yahoo), and Dixon Machado, 2B/SS (2 percent), Detroit: Much was made in the offseason about the elevated hard-hit rates in Detroit in 2017. This year, those rates have sustained, but two new names have raised eyebrows with how hard they are hitting the ball. JaCoby Jones has a 50 percent hard hit ball percentage, which would be seventh among hitters if he qualified. Meanwhile Machado is 25th in baseball with his 44.1 percent. Machado's numbers haven't translated over to fantasy success yet but Jones' have. Both should at least be on watch lists in 12-team leagues and deeper.Mike... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts hit a grand slam on a monster night, leading Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox over the New York Yankees 14-1 Tuesday for their ninth straight victory.Betts went 4 for 4, scoring five runs and driving in four. His third career slam capped a nine-run burst in the sixth inning that turned the first matchup of the season between the AL East rivals into a rout.Sale (1-0) allowed one run in six innings, striking out eight. Luis Severino (2-1) gave up five runs in five innings.Aaron Judge had three hits for the Yankees, including his third home run of the season.Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton went 2 for 4. He struck out his first two times up against Sale, and has now fanned 22 times in 46 at-bats.GIANTS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 4SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Andrew McCutchen hit a bases-loaded single for his second walk-off of San Francisco's homestand.McCutchen lined the first pitch he got from Jorge De La Rosa (0-1) for a clean single into left-center, his 10th career game-ending... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts hit a grand slam on a monster night, leading Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox over the New York Yankees 14-1 Tuesday for their ninth straight victory.Betts went 4 for 4, scoring five runs and driving in four. His third career slam capped a nine-run burst in the sixth inning that turned the first matchup of the season between the AL East rivals into a rout.Sale (1-0) allowed one run in six innings, striking out eight. Luis Severino (2-1) gave up five runs in five innings.Aaron Judge had three hits for the Yankees, including his third home run of the season.Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton went 2 for 4. He struck out his first two times up against Sale, and has now fanned 22 times in 46 at-bats.BLUE JAYS 2, ORIOLES 1BALTIMORE (AP) — Aaron Sanchez lost his no-hit bid when Baltimore's Tim Beckham led off the eighth inning with a sharp grounder through the legs of third baseman Josh Donaldson, and Curtis Granderson hit a tiebreaking homer in the ninth to carry Toronto.Seeking... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich took some swings in the batting cage but his right oblique was still sore.So the Milwaukee Brewers placed him on the 10-day disabled list on Sunday, four days after one of their prized offseason acquisitions got hurt during a 6-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. The move was retroactive to Thursday."The fact I don't remember doing it on a specific swing is probably good news," Yelich said before the Brewers' 3-0 loss to the Cubs. "Discomfort kind of grew, and as a precaution, to make sure it wasn't worse, we kind of toned it back a little bit. It's really frustrating, you know? That's the biggest thing."Right-hander Taylor Wiliams was recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs to take Yelich's roster spot.Manager Craig Counsell said Yelich reported soreness after hitting over the weekend."So we did an MRI, the MRI is clean," Counsell said. "There's certainly a possibility it's (only) 10 days."The outfielder, acquired from Miami, was hitting .385 with one homer... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich took some swings in the batting cage but his right oblique was still sore.So the Milwaukee Brewers placed him on the 10-day disabled list on Sunday, four days after one of their prized offseason acquisitions got hurt during a 6-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. Yelich went on the DL retroactive to Thursday."The fact I don't remember doing it on a specific swing is probably good news," Yelich said before the Brewers played the Chicago Cubs. "Discomfort kind of grew, and as a precaution, to make sure it wasn't worse, we kind of toned it back a little bit. It's really frustrating, you know? That's the biggest thing."Right-hander Taylor Wiliams was recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs to take Yelich's roster spot.Manager Craig Counsell said Yelich reported soreness after hitting over the weekend."So we did an MRI, the MRI is clean," Counsell said. "There's certainly a possibility it's (only) 10 days."Yelich, acquired from Miami, was hitting .385 with one... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit his second homer in two games at Angel Stadium in the fifth inning, and Zack Cozart had walk-off homer in the 13th inning of the Los Angeles Angels' 3-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday.One day after Ohtani hit an electrifying three-run homer in his first home plate appearance, the Japanese two-way rookie connected for a tying two-run homer off AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber in his second game at the Big A.Neither team scored again after Ohtani's blast until Cozart, the Angels' new infielder, connected for his first career walk-off homer against Zach McAllister (0-1).Ohtani also singled leading off the 10th to go 2 for 5, giving him six hits this season and five in his only two home games. The Angels' rookie sensation will make his first home pitching start Sunday against Oakland, one week after beating the Athletics on the road in his big-league pitching debut.The Angels hadn't had a walk-off homer in extra innings since Aug. 9,... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit his second homer in two games at Angel Stadium in the fifth inning, and Zack Cozart had walk-off homer in the 13th inning of the Los Angeles Angels' 3-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday.One day after Ohtani hit an electrifying three-run homer in his first home plate appearance, the Japanese two-way rookie connected for a tying two-run homer off AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber in his second game at the Big A.Neither team scored again after Ohtani's blast until Cozart, the Angels' new infielder, connected for his first career walk-off homer against Zach McAllister (0-1).Ohtani also singled leading off the 10th to go 2 for 5, giving him six hits this season and five in his only two home games. The Angels' rookie sensation will make his first home pitching start Sunday against Oakland, one week after beating the Athletics on the road in his big-league pitching debut.The Angels hadn't had a walk-off homer in extra innings since Aug. 9,... [More]

Capsules of National League Central teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Chicago Cubs2017: 92-70, first place, lost to Dodgers in NLCS.Manager: Joe Maddon (fourth season).He's Here: RHP Yu Darvish, RHP Brandon Morrow, RHP Tyler Chatwood, RHP Steve Cishek, LHP Drew Smyly, C Chris Gimenez.He's Outta Here: RHP Wade Davis, C Alex Avila, C Rene Rivera.Projected Lineup: CF Ian Happ (.253, 24 HRs, 68 RBIs, .842 OPS) or Albert Almora Jr. (.298, 8, 46), 3B Kris Bryant (.295, 29, 73, 38 2Bs, 111 runs), 1B Anthony Rizzo (.273, 32, 109, 91 BBs), C Willson Contreras (.276, 21, 74), LF Kyle Schwarber (.211, 30, 59), SS Addison Russell (.239, 12, 43), RF Jason Heyward (.259, 11, 59), 2B Javier Baez (.273, 23, 75, .796 OPS).Rotation: LH Jon Lester (13-8, 4.33 ERA, 180 Ks), RH Kyle Hendricks (7-5, 3.03), RH Yu Darvish (10-12, 3.86, 209 Ks with Rangers and Dodgers), LH Jose Quintana (11-11, 4.15, 207 Ks with White Sox and Cubs), RH Tyler Chatwood (8-15, 4.69 with Rockies).Key Relievers: RH Brandon... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers' pitching could improve this year better because of two new bats in the lineup: Outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich are just as capable of changing games with their gloves, too.Think fewer bloopers dropping in for hits, or a hard liner into the gap cut off in time to prevent extra bases. Any edge will help the Brewers in what should be a competitive race in the NL Central."We had a great outfield before; I know I benefited from it, too," starter Zach Davies said. "But it's shoring up spots that the front office wanted to. Both guys are great defensively."The offseason acquisitions are each Gold Glove-winning outfielders, in fact. Yelich arrived in a deal with the Miami Marlins on Jan. 25, one day before the Brewers signed former farmhand Cain as a free agent from the Kansas City Royals.The additions led to speculation that Milwaukee might deal one of their quality outfielders to bring in another starter, especially with Jimmy Nelson expected... [More]

Capsules of National League Central teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Chicago Cubs2017: 92-70, first place, lost to Dodgers in NLCS.Manager: Joe Maddon (fourth season).He's Here: RHP Yu Darvish, RHP Brandon Morrow, RHP Tyler Chatwood, RHP Steve Cishek, LHP Drew Smyly, C Chris Gimenez.He's Outta Here: RHP Wade Davis, C Alex Avila, C Rene Rivera.Projected Lineup: CF Ian Happ (.253, 24 HRs, 68 RBIs, .842 OPS) or Albert Almora Jr. (.298, 8, 46), 3B Kris Bryant (.295, 29, 73, 38 2Bs, 111 runs), 1B Anthony Rizzo (.273, 32, 109, 91 BBs), C Willson Contreras (.276, 21, 74), LF Kyle Schwarber (.211, 30, 59), SS Addison Russell (.239, 12, 43), RF Jason Heyward (.259, 11, 59), 2B Javier Baez (.273, 23, 75, .796 OPS).Rotation: LH Jon Lester (13-8, 4.33 ERA, 180 Ks), RH Kyle Hendricks (7-5, 3.03), RH Yu Darvish (10-12, 3.86, 209 Ks with Rangers and Dodgers), LH Jose Quintana (11-11, 4.15, 207 Ks with White Sox and Cubs), RH Tyler Chatwood (8-15, 4.69 with Rockies).Key Relievers: RH Brandon... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers' pitching could improve this year better because of two new bats in the lineup: Outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich are just as capable of changing games with their gloves, too.Think fewer bloopers dropping in for hits, or a hard liner into the gap cut off in time to prevent extra bases. Any edge will help the Brewers in what should be a competitive race in the NL Central."We had a great outfield before; I know I benefited from it, too," starter Zach Davies said. "But it's shoring up spots that the front office wanted to. Both guys are great defensively."The offseason acquisitions are each Gold Glove-winning outfielders, in fact. Yelich arrived in a deal with the Miami Marlins on Jan. 25, one day before the Brewers signed former farmhand Cain as a free agent from the Kansas City Royals.The additions led to speculation that Milwaukee might deal one of their quality outfielders to bring in another starter, especially with Jimmy Nelson expected... [More]

On the day the Kansas City Royals welcomed back Mike Moustakas, they found out Jorge Bonifacio will miss half the season.Bonifacio was suspended 80 games by Major League Baseball on Saturday after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.The outfielder was banned after a positive test for Boldenone. The ban will begin on opening day."It really kind of made me sick to my stomach," Royals manager Ned Yost said.The 24-year-old Bonifacio made his major league debut last season, hitting .255 with 17 home runs and 40 RBIs in 113 games.Bonifacio's suspension cleared a roster spot for Moustakas, who re-signed with the Royals this week after becoming a free agent last fall.Moustakas set a Royals record with 38 home runs last season, then rejected a $17.4 million offer from the team. But the third baseman never received the multiyear, mega-million dollar contract he and his agent Scott Boras anticipated.The Royals signed Moustakas to a one-year $6.5 million contract with a mutual option... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Ryan Braun is a work in progress at first base, three Cactus League starts into a transition to try a new position.The veteran outfielder hasn't spoken much about his time at first. He made two strong plays in the opening innings of his first game. He had an error and a few other struggles in his third infield outing.Manager Craig Counsell has taken a wait-and-see approach."We're evaluating 14 innings of baseball," Counsell said. "Let's let him play first base."Normally a left fielder, Braun has been open to giving first a try. The move, if it works out, allows Milwaukee to help relieve an outfield logjam created by the offseason signing of Lorenzo Cain and trade for Christian Yelich. Incumbent right fielder Domingo Santana had career highs of .278 with 30 homers and 85 RBIs last year."If I can be more versatile, it's something that should be help our team in a lot of different ways," Braun said early in spring training.Counsell has said in camp that he wanted Braun to get... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — New Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich struck out twice in his spring training debut Friday when the Brewers hosted the Chicago Cubs in a split-squad game.He also singled before departing after the fourth inning.Yelich, who arrived via trade for four prospects in one of the major leagues' most notable offseason moves, played left field. That's the spot where he figures to see most action in 2018.Yelich was primarily a left fielder from 2013 to 2016 with the Miami Marlins, then played 155 games in center field there last season. He ran down a curling line drive off the bat of the Cubs' Ian Happ on the first pitch of the game, then went 1 for 2 with two strikeouts and a soft single to left-center."Excited to get things under way. These guys have been awesome," Yelich said.Coming from the Marlins, who let their entire starting outfield from 2017 go in the offseason, the Brewers with their additions and better outlook for a winning season seem to be a happy destination.... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The rebuilding plan for the Milwaukee Brewers is a smashing success, so much so that they're not really rebuilding anymore.Bold moves to trade for Christian Yelich and sign free agent Lorenzo Cain sent a message."We decided winning in 2018 was as important as to win in 2020," owner Mark Attanasio said.A surprising 2017 season that left Milwaukee a win short of the playoffs raised hopes in what was supposed to be just the second full season of a rebuild. Rising expectations accompanied the acquisitions of Yelich and Cain.Those NL Central meetings with the two-time division champion Chicago Cubs should be fun this year."Last year, I got asked where we were and if we were ahead of schedule," Attanasio said at the team's winter fan event in downtown Milwaukee. "I think we can say now we're ahead of schedule."Some things to watch ahead of the start of spring training:NEW LOOK: The slick-fielding Cain and Yelich improve the outfield defense, which should help the pitching staff... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The rebuilding plan for the Milwaukee Brewers is a smashing success, so much so that they're not really rebuilding anymore.Bold moves to trade for Christian Yelich and sign free agent Lorenzo Cain sent a message."We decided winning in 2018 was as important as to win in 2020," owner Mark Attanasio said.A surprising 2017 season that left Milwaukee a win short of the playoffs raised hopes in what was supposed to be just the second full season of a rebuild. Rising expectations accompanied the acquisitions of Yelich and Cain.Those NL Central meetings with the two-time division champion Chicago Cubs should be fun this year."Last year, I got asked where we were and if we were ahead of schedule," Attanasio said at the team's winter fan event in downtown Milwaukee. "I think we can say now we're ahead of schedule."Some things to watch ahead of the start of spring training:NEW LOOK: The slick-fielding Cain and Yelich improve the outfield defense, which should help the pitching staff... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Ryan Braun willing to do whatever it takes to help the Milwaukee Brewers get back to the playoffs, even if it means learning a new position after 11 years in the big leagues.The six-time All-Star outfielder will get work at first base during spring training as the Brewers try to ease an outfield logjam after the team traded for Christian Yelich from the Miami Marlins and signed free agent Lorenzo Cain."We'll communicate about it and I'm sure we'll have plenty of dialogue as we go, see how things are going, see how our roster develops," Braun said Sunday at the team's annual winter fan festival in downtown Milwaukee. "But I'll do the best I can at wherever they want me to play."The bold moves for Yelich and Cain punctuated what had been a relatively quiet offseason. After missing the playoffs by one game in 2017, Milwaukee has sped up the timeline to challenge the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.The plan traces back to a trip that general manager David Stearns took to California... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Lorenzo Cain felt comfortable back at Miller Park even if his new Milwaukee Brewers uniform seemed to fit a bit snugly over his dress shirt and tie.The former Kansas City Royals outfielder has returned to the organization that drafted him, his future secure after a quieter-than-expected start to free agency.Cain and the Brewers finalized an $80 million, five-year contract Friday, one day after Milwaukee general manager David Stearns acquired center fielder Christian Yelich from the Miami Marlins for four prospects."You definitely don't want to be out there too long. It's definitely chilly out there," Cain said. "But Milwaukee was in on me from the get-go — other teams as well - and once I got a phone call from David, this was the spot I wanted to be in."A 31-year-old former Brewers farmhand, Cain spent the past seven seasons in Kansas City and was part of the core group that won the World Series in 2015. He hit .300 with 15 homers, 49 RBIs and 26 steals last season.He rejoins... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Lorenzo Cain felt comfortable back at Miller Park even if his new Milwaukee Brewers uniform seemed to fit a bit snugly over his dress shirt and tie.The former Kansas City Royals outfielder has returned to the organization that drafted him, his future secure after a quieter-than-expected start to free agency.Cain and the Brewers finalized an $80 million, five-year contract Friday, one day after Milwaukee general manager David Stearns acquired center fielder Christian Yelich from the Miami Marlins for four prospects."You definitely don't want to be out there too long. It's definitely chilly out there," Cain said. "But Milwaukee was in on me from the get-go — other teams as well - and once I got a phone call from David, this was the spot I wanted to be in."A 31-year-old former Brewers farmhand, Cain spent the past seven seasons in Kansas City and was part of the core group that won the World Series in 2015. He hit .300 with 15 homers, 49 RBIs and 26 steals last season.He rejoins... [More]