HOUSTON (AP) — Aroldis Chapman struck out AL MVP Jose Altuve on three straight 101 mph fastballs with two on to end the game, and the New York Yankees got a key hit from rookie Gleyber Torres during a three-run rally in the ninth inning to seesaw past the Houston Astros 6-5 Thursday.The Yankees won a wild one to take three of four from the team that beat them in Game 7 of the AL Championship Series last October.New York took a 3-0 lead into the seventh, trailed 5-3 going into the ninth and let a bounced third strike give the Astros their final chance.Pinch hitter Evan Gattis fanned but reached on Chapman's two-out wild pitch, and George Springer followed with a single. Altuve went down swinging, giving Chapman his seventh save.Chasen Shreve (1-0) got the last two outs of the eighth for the win. Will Harris (1-2) got the loss.NATIONALS 3, PIRATES 1WASHINGTON (AP) — Trea Turner and Ryan Zimmerman homered in the sixth inning, helping Washington complete a four-game series sweep.Jeremy Hellickson... [More]

SEATTLE (AP) — Charlie Morton pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, Jose Altuve hit a three-run double and the Houston Astros beat the Seattle Mariners 9-2 on Thursday after Evan Gattis hit into a 5-4-3 triple play in the fourth inning.Morton (3-0) retired 15 straight at one stretch and didn't allow a runner to reach second base.Marco Gonzales (1-2) allowed three runs — all unearned because of a throwing error by third baseman Kyle Seager — and four hits in 4 2/3 innings.CUBS 8, CARDINALS 5CHICAGO (AP) — Jon Lester (2-0) was dominant through six innings of two-hit ball in his 100th start as Cub, and Jason Heyward hit a two-run homer.Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber each had two RBIs as Chicago took a 6-1 lead after two innings. Every Cubs starter had a hit, including three by Anthony Rizzo and two each by Heyward, Schwarber and Javier Baez.Brandon Morrow pitched a perfect ninth to complete a five-hitter and remain perfect in three save chances.Ten of Chicago's first 16 batters reached... [More]

SEATTLE (AP) — Charlie Morton pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, Jose Altuve hit a three-run double and the Houston Astros beat the Seattle Mariners 9-2 on Thursday after Evan Gattis hit into a 5-4-3 triple play in the fourth inning.Morton (3-0) retired 15 straight at one stretch and didn't allow a runner to reach second base.Marco Gonzales (1-2) allowed three runs — all unearned because of a throwing error by third baseman Kyle Seager — and four hits in 4 2/3 innings.CUBS 8, CARDINALS 5CHICAGO (AP) — Jon Lester (2-0) was dominant through six innings of two-hit ball in his 100th start as Cub, and Jason Heyward hit a two-run homer.Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber each had two RBIs as Chicago took a 6-1 lead after two innings. Every Cubs starter had a hit, including three by Anthony Rizzo and two each by Heyward, Schwarber and Javier Baez.Brandon Morrow pitched a perfect ninth to complete a five-hitter and remain perfect in three save chances.Ten of Chicago's first 16 batters reached... [More]

SEATTLE (AP) — Charlie Morton pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, Jose Altuve hit a three-run double and the Houston Astros beat the Seattle Mariners 9-2 on Thursday after Evan Gattis hit into a 5-4-3 triple play in the fourth inning.Morton (3-0) retired 15 straight at one stretch and didn't allow a runner to reach second base.Marco Gonzales (1-2) allowed three runs — all unearned because of a throwing error by third baseman Kyle Seager — and four hits in 4 2/3 innings.CUBS 8, CARDINALS 5CHICAGO (AP) — Jon Lester (2-0) was dominant through six innings of two-hit ball in his 100th start as Cub, and Jason Heyward hit a two-run homer.Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber each had two RBIs as Chicago took a 6-1 lead after two innings. Every Cubs starter had a hit, including three by Anthony Rizzo and two each by Heyward, Schwarber and Javier Baez.Brandon Morrow pitched a perfect ninth to complete a five-hitter and remain perfect in three save chances.Ten of Chicago's first 16 batters reached... [More]

SEATTLE (AP) — Charlie Morton pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, Jose Altuve hit a three-run double and the Houston Astros beat the Seattle Mariners 9-2 on Thursday after Evan Gattis hit into a 5-4-3 triple play in the fourth inning.Morton (3-0) retired 15 straight at one stretch and didn't allow a runner to reach second base.Marco Gonzales (1-2) allowed three runs — all unearned because of a throwing error by third baseman Kyle Seager — and four hits in 4 2/3 innings.CUBS 8, CARDINALS 5CHICAGO (AP) — Jon Lester (2-0) was dominant through six innings of two-hit ball in his 100th start as Cub, and Jason Heyward hit a two-run homer.Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber each had two RBIs as Chicago took a 6-1 lead after two innings. Every Cubs starter had a hit, including three by Anthony Rizzo and two each by Heyward, Schwarber and Javier Baez.Brandon Morrow pitched a perfect ninth to complete a five-hitter and remain perfect in three save chances.Ten of Chicago's first 16 batters reached... [More]

SEATTLE (AP) — The Mariners turned a triple play against the Houston Astros more likely to be seen in a Little League game than the major leagues.Seattle recorded the three outs on one play in the fourth inning in Thursday's 9-2 loss to the Astros."That was an ugly play and not something we want to see happen," Houston manager A.J. Hinch said.With runners at first and second and no outs, Evan Gattis hit a check-swing ground ball to third base. Kyle Seager stepped on third and threw to second base to force Carlos Correa.Gattis finished running to first but turned to jog back to the dugout. Seager noticed what was happening, and Robinson Cano threw to Daniel Vogelbach, who applied the tag.Gattis said it wasn't because he forgot how many outs there were."I was really mad at the pitch I swung at and was really mad about grounding into a double play. I don't really know why I started running to the dugout," Gattis said. "At the time I wanted to laugh on the inside because of how stupid it was but it was a 0-0 game. ... I think I got so mad I couldn't think straight."It was the 12th triple play turned by Seattle and first since 2015. The Astros last had a triple play turned against them in 2016 versus the Chicago White Sox. Before the 2016, Houston had not hit into a triple play since 1989.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

SEATTLE (AP) — The Mariners turned a triple play against the Houston Astros more likely to be seen in a Little League game than the major leagues.Seattle recorded the three outs on one play in the fourth inning on Thursday.With runners at first and second and no outs, Evan Gattis hit a check-swing ground ball to third base. Kyle Seager stepped on third and threw to second base to force Carlos Correa.Gattis finished running to first but apparently believed it was the third out and turned to jog back to the dugout. Seager noticed what was happening, and Robinson Cano threw to Daniel Vogelbach, who applied the tag.It was the 12th triple play turned by Seattle and first since 2015. The Astros last had a triple play turned against them in 2016 versus the Chicago White Sox. Before the 2016, Houston had not hit into a triple play since 1989.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

SEATTLE (AP) — The Mariners turned a triple play against the Houston Astros more likely to be seen in a Little League game than the major leagues.Seattle recorded the three outs on one play in the fourth inning on Thursday.With runners at first and second and no outs, Evan Gattis hit a check-swing ground ball to third base. Kyle Seager stepped on third and threw to second base to force Carlos Correa.Gattis finished running to first but apparently believed it was the third out and turned to jog back to the dugout. Seager noticed what was happening, and Robinson Cano threw to Daniel Vogelbach, who applied the tag.It was the 12th triple play turned by Seattle and first since 2015. It was the second straight season the Astros had a triple play turned against them. Before last year, Houston had not hit into a triple play since 1989.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

NEW YORK (AP) — Todd Frazier hit his first two home runs with the Mets, and New York extended its winning streak to nine with a 6-5 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night.Steven Matz ended an 11-start winless streak dating to June 28 as New York improved to 11-1 under new manager Mickey Callaway, the best start in team history. The Mets are on their longest winning streak since 11 consecutive victories from April 12-23, 2015.Frazier homered leading off the second and fourth innings against Zach Davies (0-2). He also singled and walked.Matz (1-1), who had lost seven straight decisions, gave up four runs — three earned — and three hits in 5 1/3 innings. Jeurys Familia got three outs for his seventh save.Ryan Braun, Travis Shaw and Hernan Perez homered for Milwaukee. Davies, a 17-game winner last year, gave up five runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.RED SOX 7, ORIOLES 3BOSTON (AP) — Eduardo Nunez hit a three-run homer, Eduardo Rodriguez struck out eight over six stingy innings... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Todd Frazier hit his first two home runs with the Mets, and New York extended its winning streak to nine with a 6-5 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night.Steven Matz ended an 11-start winless streak dating to June 28 as New York improved to 11-1 under new manager Mickey Callaway, the best start in team history. The Mets are on their longest winning streak since 11 consecutive victories from April 12-23, 2015.Frazier homered leading off the second and fourth innings against Zach Davies (0-2). He also singled and walked.Matz (1-1), who had lost seven straight decisions, gave up four runs — three earned — and three hits in 5 1/3 innings. Jeurys Familia got three outs for his seventh save.Ryan Braun, Travis Shaw and Hernan Perez homered for Milwaukee. Davies, a 17-game winner last year, gave up five runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.RED SOX 7, ORIOLES 3BOSTON (AP) — Eduardo Nunez hit a three-run homer, Eduardo Rodriguez struck out eight over six stingy innings... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani won his major league pitching debut, throwing three-hit ball over six innings and leading the Los Angeles Angels past the Oakland Athletics 7-4 on Sunday.The two-way star from Japan took the mound three days after he was the designated hitter in the opener. Reaching the upper-90s (mph) with his fastball and showing a nifty splitter, Ohtani struck out six and retired 14 of his final 15 batters.Ohtani didn't hit while pitching. Albert Pujols was the DH and went 0 for 5.Ohtani (1-0) pounded his glove following a 1-2-3 shutdown fifth. He walked one, and the only damage against him came on Matt Chapman's three-run homer in the second.Mike Trout hit a tying double in the fifth and Justin Upton followed with a go-ahead sacrifice fly. Keynan Middleton earned his first save.Daniel Gossett (0-1) allowed four runs in four innings for Oakland.ASTROS 8, RANGERS 2ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Gerrit Cole struck out 11 over seven innings in his Houston debut, and the defending... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — No matter what, Yuli Gurriel will not be with the Houston Astros on opening day. But the first baseman might not be on the disabled list, either.After several days of soft toss batting practice sessions, Gurriel was scheduled to swing against a pitching machine on Sunday."These next two days of hitting off the high-velocity machine will be a big test for him, because that's where the resistance will increase and so will his speed," Houston manager A. J. Hinch said.The 33-year-old Gurriel underwent surgery to remove the hook of the hamate bone in his left hand on Feb 28.Gurriel will remain in West Palm Beach when the rest of his Astros teammates break camp on Sunday. If he continues to progress, he could see time in minor league games in the coming days before rejoining the major league club."It's the decision of the front office, but I feel pretty good and the doctors have said my recuperation is going better than expected," Gurriel said.The World Series champion... [More]

The catcher position may be the most frustrating and challenging to deal with, and it has long been that way throughout fantasy baseball history. The position is top-heavy with the best players and then full of risks and guys to settle for. It was seemingly the same in the days when Mike Piazza and Ivan Rodriguez were superior to anyone else at catcher.Gary Sanchez seems to be the modern-day fantasy equivalent of Piazza, as he is clearly unrivaled as the best pick at the position. He has hit 53 home runs in 672 major league at-bats in his first two years and has a National Fantasy Baseball Championship average draft position of 19.3. Considering he delivers a solid average and above-average power comparable with many top players at other positions, he is worth the early round pick because of the depth scarcity at catcher. This is especially true in two-catcher leagues.Willson Contreras is the No. 2 catcher off the board at about pick No. 51, but that number indicates the gap between Sanchez... [More]

Capsules of American League West teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Houston Astros2017: 101-61, first place, won World Series.Manager: A.J. Hinch (fourth season).He's Here: RHP Gerrit Cole, RHP Joe Smith, RHP Hector Rondon.He's Outta Here: DH Carlos Beltran, RHP Luke Gregerson, RHP Joe Musgrove, RHP Mike Fiers, RHP Michael Feliz, INF Colin Moran.Projected Lineup: CF George Springer (.283, 34 HRs, 85 RBIs), 3B Alex Bregman (.284, 19, 71, 39 2Bs), 2B Jose Altuve (MLB-best .346, 24, 81, 39 2Bs, 32 SBs, AL MVP), SS Carlos Correa (.315, 24, 84), 1B Yuli Gurriel (.299, 18, 75, 43 2Bs), LF Marwin Gonzalez (.303, 23, 90, 34 2Bs), DH Evan Gattis (.263, 12, 55), RF Josh Reddick (.314, 13, 82, 34 2Bs), C Brian McCann (.241, 18, 62).Rotation: LH Dallas Keuchel (14-5, 2.90 ERA, 251 Ks), RH Justin Verlander (15-8, 3.36, 219 Ks with Tigers and Astros), RH Gerrit Cole (12-12, 4.26, 196 Ks with Pirates), RH Lance McCullers Jr. (7-4, 4.25), RH Charlie Morton (14-7, 3.62).Key Relievers: RH Ken... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Jose Altuve sat behind a table set up on the field at the Houston Astros' spring training complex, and his teammates looked on as the World Series champions announced his $163.5 million, seven-year contract, the longest in team history."You made me more nervous, because I don't like talking in front of a lot of people. You know that," he saidHouston finalized a deal Monday that guaranteed the AL MVP an additional $151 million over five seasons."Certainly a fan favorite. Our fans love Jose," owner Jim Crane said. "Winner, MVP — what else can you say? He always leads by example. When I talk to the guys in the locker room, everybody is better because of Jose, and he's a great leader. So, Jose, you're the heart of the team. We're happy to have you for the long-term."The 27-year-old second baseman had been among baseball's best bargains. He agreed in 2013 to a deal that originally guaranteed $12.5 million from 2014-17 and included club options for 2018 at $6 million... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Jose Altuve sat behind a table set up on the field at the Houston Astros' spring training complex, and his teammates looked on as the World Series champions announced his $163.5 million, seven-year contract, the longest in team history."You made me more nervous, because I don't like talking in front of a lot of people. You know that," he saidHouston finalized a deal Monday that guaranteed the AL MVP an additional $151 million over five seasons."Certainly a fan favorite. Our fans love Jose," owner Jim Crane said. "Winner, MVP — what else can you say? He always leads by example. When I talk to the guys in the locker room, everybody is better because of Jose, and he's a great leader. So, Jose, you're the heart of the team. We're happy to have you for the long-term."The 27-year-old second baseman had been among baseball's best bargains. He agreed in 2013 to a deal that originally guaranteed $12.5 million from 2014-17 and included club options for 2018 at $6 million... [More]

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Early inconsistent outings from St. Louis starting pitchers don't have manager Mike Matheny pushing the panic button.The statistics, he says, don't tell the whole story."Obviously guys are trying to get ready for the season," Matheny said. "You want to see them compete. You want to see some glimpses of things that they have been working on over the winter or are currently working on."Take Michael Wacha's outing on Sunday, which wasn't a statistical work of art, but wasn't as bad as the final line might indicate, either.The 26-year old righty allowed two runs and five hits in three innings against Houston.With runners on first and second and one out in the second, Evan Gattis hit a comebacker that caught Wacha in the right shin and bounded away for an infield hit. What could have been an inning-ending double play instead prolonged an inning, leading to the Astros' first run."I felt good," Wacha said. "Just missed a few spots where I let them put it in play."One out away... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Season previews suggesting the Miami Marlins have an entirely new look in the outfield aren't quite accurate.Yes, major league home run king Giancarlo Stanton is gone. So are Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna and even fourth outfielder Ichiro Suzuki.But the Red Grooms home run sculpture remains.While the Marlins have undergone a radical makeover under CEO Derek Jeter, he has yet to find a new home for the kitschy, colorful, carnivalesque sculpture nicknamed Homer. It stands beyond the center field wall at Marlins Park, the towering legacy of former owner Jeffrey Loria, and nearly as unpopular.What's Jeter's opinion of the 73-foot-tall artwork?"It's big," he said. "It's big. It's big."Does he like it?"It's unique," he said.Translation: He hates it. Ex-Yankees shortstops and other traditionalists tend to give the sculpture a thumbs-down.Like the Marlins, however, Homer does have a few fans. They consider the pop art very Miami, and right at home in a ballpark with garish green... [More]

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Even before Steven Matz had a shaky spring training debut, it had been another bumpy day for the New York Mets.Eager to put last season's rash of injuries behind them, the Mets have instead been slowed by various ailments this month under new manager Mickey Callaway.The Mets said Tuesday that slugging outfielder Yoenis Cespedes was out of action because of mild shoulder soreness. The team also said ace Jacob deGrom was feeling stiffness in his lower back.Then in the third inning against Houston, reliever Anthony Swarzak, who signed a two-year contract with the Mets in December, left the field with two outs after covering first base and committing an error on a soft toss from Adrian Gonzalez.Swarzak's short sprint — his second of the inning to cover the bag — resulted in a left calf strain. The right-hander will have an MRI on Wednesday."I just felt something grab a little bit in my calf. I continued to run and walked off the field, some good signs. It wasn't... [More]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Amid the long tossing, sprinting and bullpen sessions that comprised Houston's first spring workout, the Astros also informally dedicated time to a balancing act.Never in the Astros' previous 55 seasons did they begin spring working toward winning a World Series championship while trying to store the previous season's title in the bat rack."I don't want to hang out and talk about last year forever — maybe off the field or away from work, talking to fans," slugger Evan Gattis said Wednesday. "It's incredible what we did as a whole for the city. Like I said, I still can't believe it. All that being said, you can't win the 2017 World Series in 2018."The Astros clinched their first World Series title a little more than three months ago, but manager A. J. Hinch is already growing tired of answering title-related questions."It's nice and we need to celebrate it forever," Hinch said. "That's why we're going to hang a flag. That's why we're going to give rings. This... [More]