MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Rafael Devers homered for the fourth straight game and the streaking Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 4-2 on a snowy Tuesday in a series opener moved back following the fatal police shooting of a Black man in a nearby suburb. Hunter Renfroe hit a solo homer and Bobby Dalbec added a pair of RBI doubles as Boston won its seventh in a row after losing its first three games of the season. Monday’s game was postponed due to safety and sensitivity concerns in the Twin Cities after the police shooting a day earlier of Daunte Wright during a traffic stop. The Twins held a moment of silence for Wright prior to Tuesday’s game. Snow flurries fell for most of the game and it was 33 degrees for the first pitch. That made for the third-coldest start at Target Field, the record being 27 degrees on April 7, 2018. Adam Ottavino (1-0) earned the win with a scoreless inning of relief. Matt Barnes pitched a perfect ninth for his first save of the season. Randy Dobnak (0-2) took the... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Rafael Devers homered for the fourth straight game and the streaking Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 4-2 on a snowy Tuesday in a series opener moved back following the fatal police shooting of a Black man in a nearby suburb. Hunter Renfroe hit a solo homer and Bobby Dalbec added a pair of RBI doubles as Boston won its seventh in a row after losing its first three games of the season. Monday’s game was postponed due to safety and sensitivity concerns in the Twin Cities after the police shooting a day earlier of Daunte Wright during a traffic stop. The Twins held a moment of silence for Wright prior to Tuesday’s game. Snow flurries fell for most of the game and it was 33 degrees for the first pitch. That made for the third-coldest start at Target Field, the record being 27 degrees on April 7, 2018. Adam Ottavino (1-0) earned the win with a scoreless inning of relief. Matt Barnes pitched a perfect ninth for his first save of the season. Randy Dobnak (0-2) took the... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Rafael Devers homered for the fourth straight game and the streaking Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 4-2 on a snowy Tuesday in a series opener moved back following the fatal police shooting of a Black man in a nearby suburb. Hunter Renfroe hit a solo homer and Bobby Dalbec added a pair of RBI doubles as Boston won its seventh in a row after losing its first three games of the season. Monday’s game was postponed due to safety and sensitivity concerns in the Twin Cities after the police shooting a day earlier of Daunte Wright during a traffic stop. The Twins held a moment of silence for Wright prior to Tuesday’s game. Snow flurries fell for most of the game and it was 33 degrees for the first pitch. That made for the third-coldest start at Target Field, the record being 27 degrees on April 7, 2018. Adam Ottavino (1-0) earned the win with a scoreless inning of relief. Matt Barnes pitched a perfect ninth for his first save of the season. Randy Dobnak (0-2) took the... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — San Diego Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove pitched the first no-hitter in the history of his hometown team, allowing only one baserunner in a 3-0 victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday night. The Padres were the only active MLB franchise without a no-hitter, and it came in their 8,206th regular-season game — from a 28-year-old who grew up just down the road in El Cajon, California. In only his second start for San Diego, Musgrove (2-0) struck out 10 and faced 28 batters, one over the minimum. He threw 77 of his 112 pitches for strikes. The only Rangers baserunner was Joey Gallo, who was hit by a pitch with two outs in the fourth inning. It was the first no-hitter in the majors this season and only the second complete game. Kohei Arihara (0-1) made his first start for the Rangers after pitching the last six seasons in Japan. He allowed five hits and three runs over four innings. DODGERS 1, NATIONALS 0 LOS ANGELES (AP) — Justin Turner homered in the sixth inning,... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — San Diego Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove pitched the first no-hitter in the history of his hometown team, allowing only one baserunner in a 3-0 victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday night. The Padres were the only active MLB franchise without a no-hitter, and it came in their 8,206th regular-season game — from a 28-year-old who grew up just down the road in El Cajon, California. In only his second start for San Diego, Musgrove (2-0) struck out 10 and faced 28 batters, one over the minimum. He threw 77 of his 112 pitches for strikes. The only Rangers baserunner was Joey Gallo, who was hit by a pitch with two outs in the fourth inning. It was the first no-hitter in the majors this season and only the second complete game. Kohei Arihara (0-1) made his first start for the Rangers after pitching the last six seasons in Japan. He allowed five hits and three runs over four innings. DODGERS 1, NATIONALS 0 LOS ANGELES (AP) — Justin Turner homered in the sixth inning,... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Slick-fielding third baseman Matt Chapman reached agreement Friday on a guaranteed $6.49 million, one-year contract with the Oakland Athletics to avoid arbitration, and the club also secured deals with its five other arbitration-eligible players. Chapman earned a hefty raise after making $230,926 in prorated pay of his $623,500 salary in the coronavirus-shortened 2020 season. The two-time Gold Glove winner's year was cut short by a season-ending hip injury in September — a big blow for Oakland. He was limited to 37 games before undergoing surgery on his right hip. The 27-year-old Chapman had 10 homers and 25 RBIs batting .232 before the injury. Right-hander Chris Bassitt reached agreement on a $4.9 million contract, left-hander Sean Manaea will earn $5.95 million guaranteed, outfielder Mark Canha $6,925,000, right-hander Frankie Montas $1.8 million and Lou Trivino $912,500 guaranteed. Bassitt emerged as Oakland’s ace as the Athletics won the AL West and their wild-card... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Slick-fielding third baseman Matt Chapman reached agreement Friday on a $6.49 million, one-year contract with the Oakland Athletics to avoid arbitration, and the club also secured deals with its five other arbitration-eligible players. Chapman earned a hefty raise after making $230,926 in prorated pay of his $623,500 salary in the coronavirus-shortened 2020 season. The two-time Gold Glove winner's year was cut short by a season-ending hip injury in September — a big blow for Oakland. He was limited to 37 games before undergoing surgery on his right hip. The 27-year-old Chapman had 10 homers and 25 RBIs batting .232 before the injury. Right-hander Chris Bassitt reached agreement on a $4.9 million contract, left-hander Sean Manaea will earn $5.95 million, outfielder Mark Canha $6,925,000, right-hander Frankie Montas $1.8 million and Lou Trivino $912,500. Bassitt emerged as Oakland’s ace as the Athletics won the AL West and their wild-card playoff round before losing... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Slugging first baseman Matt Olson reached agreement Wednesday on a $5 million guaranteed contract for the 2021 season, avoiding salary arbitration. The deal includes award bonuses. Olson, 26, batted .195 with 14 home runs and 42 RBIs playing all 60 games for the AL West champion A's in 2020. Olson was eligible for arbitration for the first time. He earned $223,519 in prorated pay last season from a $603,500 salary. Second baseman Tony Kemp to a $1.05 million, one-year deal after being acquired by the A's from the Cubs before last season and committing only one error in 43 games at second. He walked 15 times to notch a career-best .363 on-base percentage, batting .247 with five doubles and four RBIs in 49 total games. Oakland won the wild-card round against the Chicago White Sox before losing to the rival Astros in the AL Division Series. The A's tendered contracts to the remaining unsigned players on the 40-man roster. They have six remaining arbitration-eligible players: right-handed starters Chris Bassitt and Frankie Montas, outfielder Mark Canha, third baseman Matt Chapman, left-hander Sean Manaea and righty reliever Lou Trivino. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Slugging first baseman Matt Olson reached agreement Wednesday on a $5 million guaranteed contract for the 2021 season, avoiding salary arbitration. The deal includes award bonuses. Olson, 26, batted .195 with 14 home runs and 42 RBIs playing all 60 games for the AL West champion A's in 2020. Olson was eligible for arbitration for the first time. He earned $223,519 in prorated pay last season from a $603,500 salary. Second baseman Tony Kemp also agreed to terms for next season after being acquired by the A's from the Cubs before last season and committing only one error in 43 games at second. He walked 15 times to notch a career-best .363 on-base percentage, batting .247 with five doubles and four RBIs in 49 total games. Oakland won the wild-card round against the Chicago White Sox before losing to the rival Astros in the AL Division Series. The A's tendered contracts to the remaining unsigned players on the 40-man roster. They have six remaining arbitration-eligible players: right-handed starters Chris Bassitt and Frankie Montas, outfielder Mark Canha, third baseman Matt Chapman, left-hander Sean Manaea and righty reliever Lou Trivino. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Oakland Athletics took the next step in the playoffs at last but still fell short of their ultimate goal. They won the AL West to reach a postseason series following two straight years of losing in the one-game wild card round. Oakland lost the opener of its best-of-three wild-card round this year to the White Sox before rallying to win the next two against Chicago. The A’s season then ended Thursday with a four-game Division Series loss to the rival Houston Astros at Dodger Stadium. “Our goal was to win the World Series. You lose in the ALDS, it’s not exactly where you want to be,” shortstop Marcus Semien said. “We knew that we had the pieces to go further and our goal was always the World Series.” Oakland got outslugged. Outpitched, too. In 11 postseason trips since 2000, Oakland has advanced to the AL Championship Series just once — in 2006 before being swept by the Tigers. “Our reflection is our goals were lofty and we felt short of them," manager Bob Melvin... [More]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Randy Arozarena homered for the third straight game and Kevin Kiermaier and Michael Perez also went deep for the Tampa Bay Rays, who beat the New York Yankees 8-4 Wednesday night to move within one victory of reaching the AL Championship Series for the first time in 12 years. New York slugger Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run shot in the eighth inning to become the first player with a homer in each of his team’s first five games of a single postseason. Stanton has six homers and 13 RBIs in those five games. The Rays took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five Division Series. Game 4 is Thursday night at Petco Park, which has yielded 16 home runs in three games — nine by Tampa Bay. The Rays are looking to advance out of the ALDS for just the second time. They reached the 2008 World Series before losing to the Philadelphia Phillies. Arozarena, a 25-year-old rookie from Havana who’s nicknamed “The Cuban Rocket,” is having a breakout postseason. He homered leading off the fifth to chase... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Without the likes of Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole, the Houston Astros need someone on staff to step up this October. Despite its youth and inexperience, the bullpen is doing plenty to fill the void. Astros relievers were shaky throughout the regular season but have been suddenly stellar during the playoffs. Four of them combined for five scoreless innings in a 10-5 victory over Oakland in Game 1 of their AL Division Series on Monday at Dodgers Stadium. “They’ve been forced to grow up and learn some valuable lessons the hard way sometimes. That’s on the job training. They did great job against an offense that was rolling,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. Houston was a game away from winning the World Series last year behind Verlander and Cole. Now, Verlander is on the shelf following Tommy John surgery, and Cole is pitching for the New York Yankees after leaving Houston as a free agent. The entire staff has transformed quickly — and at times, painfully. The Astros... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — It began when lifelong baseball fan Kimberlee MacVicar intimated that in her 52 years, she had never corralled a foul ball. “I've waited half a century, so I'm not in a rush,” she texted me on July 24 — opening night in Oakland. With nobody else to scavenge for baseballs during this strange COVID-19 season devoid of fans, I had a clear advantage as a regular covering Bay Area baseball and one of the few people allowed inside the stadium. So I saw to it that the next day, MacVicar received a ball hit foul by slugger Mark Canha as her Athletics defeated the Angels. This sparked an idea: Why not share the souvenirs, spreading some joy to those who can't go to the ballpark? A's management signed off on the project. The Coliseum grounds crew took to tipping me off as to where to find the prizes. Across San Francisco Bay, the Giants' clubhouse staff was encouraging. The public relations department provided permission to retrieve a ball or two mid-game at Oracle Park. There... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Freddie Freeman singled home the winning run in the 13th inning, finally ending the longest scoreless duel in postseason history as the Atlanta Braves defeated the Cincinnati Reds 1-0 in the opener of their NL wild-card series on Wednesday. The East champion Braves won the first game of a postseason series for the first time since the 2001 NL Division Series and can wrap up the best-of-three series on Thursday. If they do, it will snap a record-tying streak of 10 straight playoff round losses. What began as a pitching showdown between between Cy Young contenders Trevor Bauer of the Reds and Atlanta’s Max Fried devolved into a strikeout contest. The teams combined for a postseason record 37 Ks — 21 by the Braves. After a couple of hits in the 13th against Archie Bradley, Freeman drove one into center field off Amir Garrett against a five-man infield with one out to end a game that dragged on for more than 4 1/2 hours. A four-time All-Star, Freeman produced another big year... [More]

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Harrison Bader tripled and homered to help the St. Louis Cardinals clinch a postseason berth on the final day of the regular season with a 5-2 win over Milwaukee, and the Brewers also earned a playoff spot Sunday via help on the West Coast moments later. St. Louis (30-28) will be the fifth seed in the NL and open a three-game wild-card series at San Diego on Wednesday. By winning, the Cardinals avoided having to travel to Detroit for two makeup games Monday. The Brewers (29-31) locked up the eighth seed and a third consecutive postseason berth after the Padres beat San Francisco 5-4 in a game that ended about 15 minutes later. The Giants finished with an identical record as the Brewers but lost out on a tiebreaker due to an inferior intradivision record. Milwaukee will face the top-seeded Dodgers in Los Angeles in a three-game series that also starts Wednesday. The Brewers haven’t had a winning record at any point this season. Milwaukee and Houston will be the first teams... [More]

Athletics third. Tony Kemp walks. Marcus Semien walks. Tony Kemp to third. Robbie Grossman reaches on a fielder's choice to first base. Marcus Semien out at third. Tony Kemp scores. Tommy La Stella singles to center field. Robbie Grossman to second. Matt Olson strikes out swinging. Robbie Grossman steals third. Mark Canha grounds out to shallow left field, Nolan Arenado to Josh Fuentes.1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 left on. Athletics 1, Rockies 0.Rockies third. David Dahl flies out to deep center field to Ramon Laureano. Ryan McMahon singles to deep right center field. Tony Wolters singles to shallow right field. Ryan McMahon to third. Raimel Tapia singles to shallow center field. Tony Wolters to second. Ryan McMahon scores. Trevor Story reaches on a fielder's choice to shortstop. Raimel Tapia out at second. Tony Wolters to third. Charlie Blackmon strikes out swinging.1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Athletics 1, Rockies 1.Athletics sixth. Tommy La Stella singles to shallow infield. Matt Olson doubles to deep right center field. Tommy La Stella to third. Mark Canha grounds out to shallow infield, Ryan McMahon to Josh Fuentes. Matt Olson to third. Tommy La Stella scores. Jake Lamb singles to deep right field. Matt Olson scores. Sean Murphy grounds out to shortstop. Jake Lamb out at second.2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on. Athletics 3, Rockies 1.

Athletics first. Tommy La Stella hit by pitch. Marcus Semien walks. Tommy La Stella to second. Robbie Grossman reaches on a fielder's choice to shallow right field. Marcus Semien out at second. Tommy La Stella to third. Matt Olson walks. Mark Canha singles to left field. Matt Olson to second. Robbie Grossman to third. Tommy La Stella scores. Jake Lamb strikes out swinging. Ramon Laureano flies out to deep left center field to Kyle Lewis.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 3 left on. Athletics 1, Mariners 0.Athletics third. Matt Olson walks. Mark Canha flies out to deep left field to Jose Marmolejos. Jake Lamb doubles to deep right field. Matt Olson to third. Ramon Laureano doubles. Jake Lamb scores. Matt Olson scores. Jonah Heim singles to right field. Ramon Laureano scores. Vimael Machin singles to left center field. Jonah Heim to second. Tommy La Stella walks. Vimael Machin to second. Jonah Heim to third. Marcus Semien reaches on a fielder's choice to third base. Tommy La Stella out at second. Vimael... [More]

Athletics first. Tommy La Stella walks. Marcus Semien doubles to deep left field. Tommy La Stella to third. Stephen Piscotty grounds out to shallow infield, Anderson Tejeda to Ronald Guzman. Marcus Semien to third. Tommy La Stella scores. Matt Olson strikes out swinging. Robbie Grossman lines out to left field to Nick Solak.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 left on. Athletics 1, Rangers 0.Rangers second. Derek Dietrich homers to left field. Anderson Tejeda doubles to deep right center field. Ronald Guzman pops out to shallow center field to Marcus Semien. Eli White grounds out to shallow infield, Tony Kemp to Matt Olson. Anderson Tejeda to third. Jeff Mathis strikes out swinging.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Athletics 1, Rangers 1.Rangers sixth. Leody Taveras grounds out to shallow infield, Marcus Semien to Matt Olson. Isiah Kiner-Falefa singles to right field. Nick Solak singles to deep right center field. Isiah Kiner-Falefa to third. Rougned Odor homers to right field. Nick Solak scores.... [More]

Athletics second. Matt Olson singles to center field. Khris Davis walks. Matt Olson to second. Ramon Laureano singles to right field, advances to 2nd. Khris Davis to third. Matt Olson scores. Sean Murphy singles to center field. Ramon Laureano scores. Khris Davis scores. Vimael Machin walks. Sean Murphy to second. Marcus Semien singles to left field. Vimael Machin to third. Sean Murphy scores. Tommy La Stella singles to second base. Marcus Semien to second. Vimael Machin scores. Stephen Piscotty reaches on a fielder's choice to third base. Tommy La Stella to second. Marcus Semien to third. Fielding error by Sherten Apostel. Mark Canha strikes out swinging. Matt Olson walks. Stephen Piscotty to second. Tommy La Stella to third. Marcus Semien scores. Khris Davis walks. Matt Olson to second. Stephen Piscotty to third. Tommy La Stella scores. Ramon Laureano strikes out swinging. Sean Murphy called out on strikes.7 runs, 5 hits, 1 error, 3 left on. Athletics 7, Rangers 0.Athletics fifth. Ramon... [More]

Athletics first. Tommy La Stella walks. Marcus Semien walks. Tommy La Stella to second. Ramon Laureano walks. Marcus Semien to second. Tommy La Stella to third. Matt Olson homers. Ramon Laureano scores. Marcus Semien scores. Tommy La Stella scores. Mark Canha walks. Robbie Grossman pops out to first base to Ronald Guzman. Khris Davis strikes out swinging. Vimael Machin flies out to deep left field to Nick Solak.4 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 left on. Athletics 4, Rangers 0.Rangers first. Leody Taveras singles to center field. Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounds out to shortstop, Marcus Semien to Tommy La Stella to Matt Olson. Leody Taveras to second. Nick Solak grounds out to shallow infield, Tommy La Stella to Matt Olson. Leody Taveras scores. Joey Gallo doubles to deep left field. Elvis Andrus grounds out to shortstop, Vimael Machin to Matt Olson.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Athletics 4, Rangers 1.Athletics second. Sean Murphy homers to center field. Tommy La Stella singles to right field.... [More]