FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Dustin Pedroia's first game in nearly 10 months couldn't have gone much better — even if it lasted just one inning.Pedroia cleanly fielded a two-out grounder by Minnesota's Jake Cave, then singled off Kohl Stewart leading off the bottom half of Boston's 12-1 loss Thursday."It made me happy to run around the bases," Pedroia said. "It was really fun out there."A four-time All-Star and the 2008 AL MVP, Pedroia's knee problems began with a spikes-up takeout slide at second by Baltimore's Manny Machado on April 21, 2017. Pedroia went on the disabled list three times that season, twice because of knee inflammation, and had left knee surgery that Oct. 25.He played in five injury rehabilitation games at Triple-A Pawtucket last May 14-24, appeared in three games for the Red Sox from May 26-29, then went back on the disabled list for the rest of the season."I just need to keep building on this. I hadn't seen a pitch since May 29. Everything went well," Pedroia said.Cave and... [More]

A look at what's happening all around baseball today:___AT LASTWeather-permitting, the Chicago Cubs finally get to play their home opener when they take on the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field. The Cubs closed out a 5-4 trip with a 3-0 win at Milwaukee on Sunday. It was the franchise's longest road trip to open the season since a 12-game jaunt in 1899. There is a chance for snow for the team's return to Chicago, and first baseman Anthony Rizzo also is questionable. The slugger has been sidelined by back tightness.HEALTH CONCERNSThe Boston Red Sox should know more about Xander Bogaerts after the shortstop injured his left ankle in the seventh inning of Sunday's 8-7 victory over Tampa Bay. Bogaerts got hurt while sliding down into the Tampa Bay dugout. He is hitting .368 (14 of 38) this season with two homers and nine RBIs. Boston has won eight in a row heading into Tuesday's series opener against the New York Yankees. Brock Holt could fill in if Bogaerts misses any time.CY YOUNGSReigning... [More]

A look at what's happening all around baseball Monday:___AT LASTWeather-permitting, the Chicago Cubs finally get to play their home opener when they take on the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field. The Cubs closed out a 5-4 trip with a 3-0 win at Milwaukee on Sunday. It was the franchise's longest road trip to open the season since a 12-game jaunt in 1899. There is a chance for snow for the team's return to Chicago, and first baseman Anthony Rizzo also is questionable. The slugger has been sidelined by back tightness.HEALTH CONCERNSThe Boston Red Sox should know more about Xander Bogaerts after the shortstop injured his left ankle in the seventh inning of Sunday's 8-7 victory over Tampa Bay. Bogaerts got hurt while sliding down into the Tampa Bay dugout. He is hitting .368 (14 of 38) this season with two homers and nine RBIs. Boston has won eight in a row heading into Tuesday's series opener against the New York Yankees. Brock Holt could fill in if Bogaerts misses any time.CY YOUNGSReigning... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Cincinnati Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez broke his right thumb when he was hit by a pitch during Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.Suarez, who entered leading the Reds in RBIs, winced after a pitch from Jameson Taillon caught him on the right hand leading off the fourth inning. Suarez was tended to by trainers before taking first base, then was replaced in the bottom of the inning by Cliff Pennington. There was no immediate word on how long Suarez will be out."I knew it was probably going to miss some time, when we went out and inspected it," Cincinnati manager Bryan Price said. "Immediately half the nail was turning different colors and there was bleeding around the thumb. I didn't anticipate the thumb being broken."Suarez is a vital part of Cincinnati's rebuilding process. The Reds signed him to a $66 million, seven-year contract in March. The 26-year-old has been one of the few bright spots in Cincinnati's tough start. He hit a three-run home run to complete a comeback win over the Pirates on Saturday night.Instead of going to Philadelphia with the rest of the team, he will head to Cincinnati to be re-examined. Price said the Reds will turn to Pennington or Phil Gosselin to fill in while Suarez recovers on the disabled list."There's no way to sugarcoat it," Price said. "He's a big part of our ballclub. Looks like he was starting to warm up at the plate."___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

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]

CINCINNATI (AP) — The 2018 baseball season already has its first rain delay.The Cincinnati Reds pushed back their opener against the Washington Nationals by a day because unrelenting rain is forecast for Thursday. The teams will open on Friday afternoon instead, taking advantage of what was a scheduled dayIt is the first time since 1966 that Cincinnati called off its opener because of the weather.The pitching matchups remain the same: NL Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (16-6) faces Homer Bailey (6-9), who is making his first opening day start for the Reds.The forecast calls for steady and sometimes heavy rain Thursday, meaning the game likely would have faced long delays if it could be played at all, Reds President Phil Castellini said."Trust me, we do not cancel games here lightly," Castellini said. "No scenario in the forecast has it opening up at all to get in a game tomorrow without rain."Before the game was rescheduled, it already had become a different sort of opener in Cincinnati,... [More]

INF Phil Gosselin was recalled Tuesday from Triple-A Round Rock for his third stint with the Rangers since being claimed off waivers from the Pirates on Aug. 12. He played 10 games with Round Rock, batting .219. Gosselin had three stints with Pittsburgh this year and hit .150 in 28 games.

INF Phil Gosselin was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock on Saturday, opening a roster spot for CF Carlos Gomez, who came off the disabled list. The Rangers signed Gosselin off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Aug. 12. Gosselin has appeared in three games for the Rangers and is 0-for-1. He's a career .271 hitter in 247 major league games with Atlanta, Arizona, Pittsburgh and Texas.

INF Phil Gosselin was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday. He made his debut with Texas on Sunday, grounding out to third in his only at-bat, then was sent down Monday. He entered the game at third base in the eighth inning Tuesday. Gosselin played in 122 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks last season, batting .277.

2B Phil Gosselin was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock Monday to make room on the roster for INF/OF Ryan Rua. Gosselin got into just one game with the Rangers after the club claimed off waivers from the Pirates on Aug. 12, going into the game Sunday as a replacement for injured 3B Joey Gallo. Gosselin grounded out in his only at-bat.

INF Phil Gosselin was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock to take the roster spot of OF Carlos Gomez. The Rangers got Gosselin on a waiver claim from Pittsburgh Aug. 12. He played in four games for the Express. He batting .150 in 28 games with Pittsburgh this year and is a .272 career hitter in stints with Arizona and the Pirates.

INF Phil Gosselin was called up from Triple-A Round Rock by Texas Rangers on Saturday. Gosselin, 28, was claimed off waivers Aug. 12 from the Pittsburgh Pirates and optioned to Round Rock, where he is 2-for-13 with a double and walk in four games. Gosselin had three stints with the Pirates this season, hitting .150 with a double and two RBIs in 28 games, and seeing action at first base, second base and third base.

2B Phil Gosselin was claimed off waivers from Pittsburgh. He was assigned to Triple-A Round Rock.

INF Phil Gosselin was claimed off waivers by the Texas Rangers on Saturday and optioned to Triple-A Round Rock. The 28-year-old was acquired in February from the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor league RHP Frank Duncan. Gosselin appeared in 28 games for the Pirates and was 6-for-40 (.150/190/.175) with one double and two RBIs. He was twice optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis, where he batted .266/.304/.336 in 63 games.

Gosselin went 2-for-4 with an inside-the-park home run, and two runs scored in a win over the Rockies on Thursday.

Gosselin has been a nice player for the snakes this season, as he sits at an impressive .309 average. The problem with Gosselin is that it's an empty batting average. He has just three homers, 14 RBI and two steals in his 41 games played. With the Diamondbacks being unsure of Jake Lamb for third base, Gosselin may steal the job from him going into next season.

Gosselin tripled, drove in one run, and scored another as part of a 2-for-4 day Wednesday in a win over the Rockies.

Gosselin is making the most of his playing time down the stretch, with a .400/.444/.600 line in 15 at-bats over the past two weeks. After being acquired from Atlanta as part of the Touki Toussaint deal, Gosselin should compete for a starting job in the D-Backs' infield in 2016.

Gosselin drove in the winning run with a pinch-hit walk off single Tuesday against the Rockies.

Gosselin missed much of the season due to injury, but is batting .292/.357/.438 in 98 plate appearances this season and will surely be in the competition for a starting job in Arizona's crowded infield next year.

Gosselin went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored in a 6-3 win over the Padres on Friday.

Gosselin has made a nice role for himself with the Diamondbacks, as he now maintains a .284 average in 37 games this season. The problem with Gosselin is that it's en empty batting average, as he provides no power or speed to go with that average.

Gosselin paced the Arizona offense on Monday, going 2-for-4 with his second home run, three RBI and two runs in a win over the Giants.

Gosselin's return to action, after missing most of the season on the DL, has gone very well - he's hitting .304/.429/.652 in eight games with Arizona. The Diamondbacks want to see as much of him as possible in order to evaluate where he fits in their plans for 2016.

Gosselin is out of the lineup Sunday against the Cubs, Jody Jackson of Fox Sports Arizona reports.

Gosselin received a majority of the starts off the bat after being activated from the disabled list Aug. 31, but he'll now sit for the second straight game and his third time in the last five. While he'll still likely see playing time at second base, it appears it may not be on an everyday basis.