WASHINGTON (AP) — Huascar Ynoa (3-1) hit a grand slam and allowed an unearned run and four hits in seven innings, leading the Atlanta Braves to a 6-1 victory over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night. Ynoa drove a fastball from Tanner Rainey 427 feet to center field in the sixth inning for the first grand slam by a major league pitcher since Cincinnati’s Anthony DeSclafani on June 23, 2018. Ronald Acuña Jr. also homered for the Braves, breaking a scoreless tie in the fifth against Joe Ross (2-2). Atlanta stopped a four-game skid while ending Washington’s four-game winning streak. MARLINS 9, DIAMONDBACKS 3 MIAMI (AP) — NL RBIs leader Jesús Aguilar delivered a tiebreaking single in a six-run eighth against Kevin Ginkel (0-1) following Miguel Rojas' double, Corey Dickerson followed with an infield single, and catcher Stephen Vogt’s throwing error allowed Aguilar to score all the way from first. Lewis Brinson added a three-run homer off Alex Young. Richard Bleier (2-0) came out of the... [More]

DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit three home runs, including a grand slam and solo shot off Washington ace Max Scherzer, and had seven RBIs as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Nationals 9-5 on Tuesday night. Guerrero’s slam in the third put the Blue Jays ahead 4-3 and ended Scherzer’s scoreless streak at 19 innings. Guerrero made it 7-3 with his drive in the fifth and added a two-run, seventh-inning shot off Kyle Finnegan to complete his first three-homer game. Scherzer (1-2) joined Ivan Nova as the only pitchers to have allowed a homer to both Guerrero Jr. and his father, Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero. Scherzer allowed seven runs — five earned — and eight hits over five innings. Tommy Milone (1-0) was the winner. RAYS 4, ATHLETICS 3 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Brett Phillips hit a two-run homer in the sixth, helping send Oakland to its second loss in 16 games. Joey Wendle’s two-out single in the seventh tacked on another run for the Rays and ended Tampa Bay’s 0-for-26 stretch... [More]

DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit three home runs, including a grand slam and solo shot off Washington ace Max Scherzer, and had seven RBIs as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Nationals 9-5 on Tuesday night. Guerrero’s slam in the third put the Blue Jays ahead 4-3 and ended Scherzer’s scoreless streak at 19 innings. Guerrero made it 7-3 with his drive in the fifth and added a two-run, seventh-inning shot off Kyle Finnegan to complete his first three-homer game. Scherzer (1-2) joined Ivan Nova as the only pitchers to have allowed a homer to both Guerrero Jr. and his father, Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero. Scherzer allowed seven runs — five earned — and eight hits over five innings. Tommy Milone (1-0) was the winner. RAYS 4, ATHLETICS 3 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Brett Phillips hit a two-run homer in the sixth, helping send Oakland to its second loss in 16 games. Joey Wendle’s two-out single in the seventh tacked on another run for the Rays and ended Tampa Bay’s 0-for-26 stretch... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The last-place New York Yankees lost their fifth straight game as Yoshi Tsutsugo hit a tiebreaking double off Gerrit Cole in the seventh inning that lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-2 win Sunday and a three-game sweep. Four pitchers combined on the Rays’ second three-hitter of a series in which New York managed 11 hits in all. Cole (2-1) was hurt by slipshod defense that made three mistakes in the third inning alone, two by center fielder Aaron Hicks and one by left fielder Clint Frazier. Joey Wendle added a ninth-inning home run off Darren O’Day. Tampa Bay has won 18 of its last 23 against the Yankees, including in last year’s Division Series. Ryan Yarbrough (2-1) followed opener Andrew Kittredge and allowed one run and two hits in five innings. Diego Castillo got four outs, and Jeffrey Springs pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first big league save. PADRES 5, DODGERS 2 SAN DIEGO (AP) — Eric Hosmer delivered the tying and go-ahead RBIs in the seventh and eighth innings, helping... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The last-place New York Yankees lost their fifth straight game as Yoshi Tsutsugo hit a tiebreaking double off Gerrit Cole in the seventh inning that lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-2 win Sunday and a three-game sweep. Four pitchers combined on the Rays’ second three-hitter of a series in which New York managed 11 hits in all. Cole (2-1) was hurt by slipshod defense that made three mistakes in the third inning alone, two by center fielder Aaron Hicks and one by left fielder Clint Frazier. Joey Wendle added a ninth-inning home run off Darren O’Day. Tampa Bay has won 18 of its last 23 against the Yankees, including in last year’s Division Series. Ryan Yarbrough (2-1) followed opener Andrew Kittredge and allowed one run and two hits in five innings. Diego Castillo got four outs, and Jeffrey Springs pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first big league save. PADRES 5, DODGERS 2 SAN DIEGO (AP) — Eric Hosmer delivered the tying and go-ahead RBIs in the seventh and eighth innings, helping... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The last-place New York Yankees lost their fifth straight game as Yoshi Tsutsugo hit a tiebreaking double off Gerrit Cole in the seventh inning that lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-2 win Sunday and a three-game sweep. Four pitchers combined on the Rays’ second three-hitter of a series in which New York managed 11 hits in all. Cole (2-1) was hurt by slipshod defense that made three mistakes in the third inning alone, two by center fielder Aaron Hicks and one by left fielder Clint Frazier. Joey Wendle added a ninth-inning home run off Darren O’Day. Tampa Bay has won 16 of its last 21 against the Yankees, including in last year’s Division Series. Ryan Yarbrough (2-1) followed opener Andrew Kittredge and allowed one run and two hits in five innings. Diego Castillo got four outs, and Jeffrey Springs pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first big league save. INDIANS 6, REDS 3 CINCINNATI (AP) — Shane Bieber kept up his record strikeout run, fanning 13 and pitching Cleveland past Cincinnati.... [More]

DENVER (AP) — New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom struck out nine straight batters against Colorado on Saturday, falling one shy of matching the major league record set 51 years earlier by Mets great Tom Seaver. DeGrom became just the ninth pitcher to strike out as many as nine in a row. He started the streak with a called third strike against Josh Fuentes for the first out of the second inning, then got Sam Hillard and Dom Nunez swinging. He struck out Chi Chi González, Raimel Tapia and Ryan McMahon in the third, and Trevor Story, Charlie Blackmon and C.J. Cron in the fourth. Fuentes grounded an 0-1 pitch leading off the fifth and reached on a throwing error by second baseman Jeff McNeil, ending the streak. Detroit reliever Tyler Alexander was the previous pitcher to strike out nine in a row, accomplishing the feat last Aug. 2 against Cincinnati. Seaver set the record against San Diego on April 22, 1970, striking out his final 10 batters in a 19-strikeout performance. Colorado took a 3-1... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Atlanta, you're out. Denver, you're up. Major League Baseball swiftly moved the All-Star Game to hitter-friendly Coors Field on Tuesday after pulling the Midsummer Classic from Atlanta over objections to extensive changes to Georgia’s voting laws. Coors Field last hosted the All-Star Game in 1998. The game will be held July 13. “We appreciate their flexibility and enthusiasm to deliver a first-class event for our game and the region,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “We look forward to celebrating our sport’s best players and entertaining fans around the world.” MLB decided to move the game from Truist Park in Atlanta in response to Georgia voting changes signed into law by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp on March 25. Critics, including the CEOs of Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola, have condemned the changes as being too restrictive. The Georgia laws includes new limits on voting by mail and greater legislative control over how elections are run, amid... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Trevor Bauer took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning of his Los Angeles debut before allowing a pair of two-run homers, and the Dodgers held on after building a big lead to beat the Colorado Rockies 11-6 on Friday night. The game had a little bit of everything, including a gray cat making a surprise appearance in center field before being ushered out by stadium personnel. Bauer (1-0), the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, purred along through six innings until Trevor Story broke up the no-hit bid with a single and Charlie Blackmon ended the shutout with a two-run homer. Ryan McMahon later followed with another two-run homer. David Price eventually replaced Bauer and gave up back-to-back homers to Dom Nuñez and Sam Hilliard, suddenly turning a 10-0 rout into a 10-6 game. It was the second time in Rockies history they homered four times in an inning. Bauer went 6 1/3 innings and allowed four runs while striking out 10. The right-hander signed a $102 million, three-year deal... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Trevor Bauer took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning of his Los Angeles debut before allowing a pair of two-run homers, and the Dodgers held on after building a big lead to beat the Colorado Rockies 11-6 on Friday night. The game had a little bit of everything, including a gray cat making a surprise appearance in center field before being ushered out by stadium personnel. Bauer (1-0), the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, purred along through six innings until Trevor Story broke up the no-hit bid with a single and Charlie Blackmon ended the shutout with a two-run homer. Ryan McMahon later followed with another two-run homer. David Price eventually replaced Bauer and gave up back-to-back homers to Dom Nuñez and Sam Hilliard, suddenly turning a 10-0 rout into a 10-6 game. It was the second time in Rockies history they homered four times in an inning. Bauer went 6 1/3 innings and allowed four runs while striking out 10. The right-hander signed a $102 million, three-year deal... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Wearing a Chicago Cubs jacket and hat, Marc Passoni took in the moment. His buddy, Greg Cooper, stood nearby on his 59th birthday, holding an orange sign that read “First Masked Game 4-1-21.” It was windy and cold at Wrigley Field, and neither of them cared all that much. They were home. “It's life-changing,” said Passoni, 40, of Springfield. “After the year we just had, not being able to touch our family, go to church, do anything, this is like church to me, baby. We're home and we're going forward.” Said Cooper: “Best place on Earth to be today. I don't care if it's 30 degrees or 10 degrees.” It was much warmer than that, actually — a toasty 36 as the Cubs hosted Pittsburgh on Thursday. Opening day marked the return of fans to ballparks across the country after they were shut out last season because of the coronavirus pandemic. While there were small crowds for last year's NL Championship Series and World Series in Arlington, Texas, the cathedrals of the sport were mostly... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Wearing a Chicago Cubs jacket and hat, Marc Passoni took in the moment. His buddy, Greg Cooper, stood nearby on his 59th birthday, holding an orange sign that read “First Masked Game 4-1-21.” It was windy and cold at Wrigley Field, and neither of them cared all that much. They were home. “It's life-changing,” said Passoni, 40, of Springfield. “After the year we just had, not being able to touch our family, go to church, do anything, this is like church to me, baby. We're home and we're going forward.” Said Cooper: “Best place on Earth to be today. I don't care if it's 30 degrees or 10 degrees.” It was much warmer than that, actually — a toasty 36 as the Cubs hosted Pittsburgh on Thursday. Opening day marked the return of fans to ballparks across the country after they were shut out last season because of the coronavirus pandemic. While there were small crowds for last year's NL Championship Series and World Series in Arlington, Texas, the cathedrals of the sport were mostly... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Wearing a Chicago Cubs jacket and hat, Marc Passoni took in the moment. His buddy, Greg Cooper, stood nearby on his 59th birthday, holding an orange sign that read “First Masked Game 4-1-21.” It was windy and cold at Wrigley Field, and neither of them cared all that much. They were home. “It's life-changing,” said Passoni, 40, of Springfield. “After the year we just had, not being able to touch our family, go to church, do anything, this is like church to me, baby. We're home and we're going forward.” Said Cooper: “Best place on Earth to be today. I don't care if it's 30 degrees or 10 degrees.” It was much warmer than that, actually — a toasty 36 as the Cubs hosted Pittsburgh on Thursday. Opening day marked the return of fans to ballparks across the country after they were shut out last season because of the coronavirus pandemic. While there were small crowds for last year's NL Championship Series and World Series in Arlington, Texas, the cathedrals of the sport were mostly... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Wearing a Chicago Cubs jacket and hat, Marc Passoni took in the moment. His buddy, Greg Cooper, stood nearby on his 59th birthday, holding an orange sign that read “First Masked Game 4-1-21.” It was windy and cold at Wrigley Field, and neither of them cared all that much. They were home. “It's life-changing,” said Passoni, 40, of Springfield. “After the year we just had, not being able to touch our family, go to church, do anything, this is like church to me, baby. We're home and we're going forward.” Said Cooper: “Best place on Earth to be today. I don't care if it's 30 degrees or 10 degrees.” It was much warmer than that, actually — a toasty 36 as the Cubs hosted Pittsburgh on Thursday. Opening day marked the return of fans to ballparks across the country after they were shut out last season because of the coronavirus pandemic. While there were small crowds for last year's NL Championship Series and World Series in Arlington, Texas, the cathedrals of the sport were mostly... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Wearing a Chicago Cubs jacket and hat, Marc Passoni took in the moment. His buddy, Greg Cooper, stood nearby on his 59th birthday, holding an orange sign that read “First Masked Game 4-1-21.” It was windy and cold at Wrigley Field, and neither of them cared all that much. They were home. “It's life-changing,” said Passoni, 40, of Springfield. “After the year we just had, not being able to touch our family, go to church, do anything, this is like church to me, baby. We're home and we're going forward.” Said Cooper: “Best place on Earth to be today. I don't care if it's 30 degrees or 10 degrees.” It was much warmer than that, actually — a toasty 36 as the Cubs hosted Pittsburgh on Thursday. Opening day marked the return of fans to ballparks across the country after they were shut out last season because of the coronavirus pandemic. While there were small crowds for last year's NL Championship Series and World Series in Arlington, Texas, the cathedrals of the sport were mostly... [More]

At the plate, Charlie Blackmon is confident he can solve just about anyone he faces. As for this new kid? Now, she's throwing the Colorado Rockies outfielder for quite a curve — in a cute, cuddly way of course. His methodical, ever-thinking approach to hitting is mere child’s play compared to learning the nuances of being a new dad. "It's kind of like trying to figure out a Rubik’s Cube,” said Blackmon, whose daughter was born in January. “You just know you’re never going to do it, but you keep trying.” That could very well apply to mastering the art of hitting, which is Blackmon's constant quest. He's driven not through success, but by failure. “If you want to feel alive, go out there and get your butt kicked — strike out in a big spot or make that error that loses the game. For me, that’s when I feel the most alive,” the 34-year-old Blackmon said. “I hate it and I want to change it. I don’t let it happen again.” The outfielder known for his bushy beard and mullet haircut was off to a... [More]

At the plate, Charlie Blackmon is confident he can solve just about anyone he faces. As for this new kid? Now, she's throwing the Colorado Rockies outfielder for quite a curve — in a cute, cuddly way of course. His methodical, ever-thinking approach to hitting is mere child’s play compared to learning the nuances of being a new dad. "It's kind of like trying to figure out a Rubik’s Cube,” said Blackmon, whose daughter was born in January. “You just know you’re never going to do it, but you keep trying.” That could very well apply to mastering the art of hitting, which is Blackmon's constant quest. He's driven not through success, but by failure. “If you want to feel alive, go out there and get your butt kicked — strike out in a big spot or make that error that loses the game. For me, that’s when I feel the most alive,” the 34-year-old Blackmon said. “I hate it and I want to change it. I don’t let it happen again.” The outfielder known for his bushy beard and mullet haircut was off to a... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Trevor Story’s priority list this season includes being a more vocal leader, taking his base stealing to another level, crushing early count fastballs and honing his footwork in the field. Not near the top of the list: Fretting about his long-term future with the Colorado Rockies. That's outside his base path. The hard-swinging, smooth-fielding shortstop is in the last year of his deal and said he hasn't engaged in talks with the Rockies. He brings star power to a franchise that recently traded its biggest name, eight-time Gold Glove winner Nolan Arenado, to St. Louis. Story appears in line for a hefty payday, too, after San Diego and shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. finalized a $340 million, 14-year contract. “I’m focused on personally being the best teammate I can be,” Story said Tuesday as the Rockies began full-squad workouts in Scottsdale, Arizona. “I try not to look too far ahead. "I’m trying to be where my feet are, which is right here in spring training with the Rockies.”... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Ian Desmond provided a calming voice to help the Colorado Rockies stick together soon after losing star third baseman Nolan Arenado in a blockbuster trade. That just may be the veteran outfielder's biggest contribution this season. Desmond decided Sunday to opt out for a second straight season. He announced on his Instagram account that his “desire to be with my family is greater than my desire to go back and play baseball under these circumstances." No amount of lobbying by Rockies manager Bud Black could persuade the 35-year-old Desmond, who was scheduled to make $8 million this season after walking away from a pro-rated salary of $5,555,556 last season. “This was a decision not about money,” said Black, whose team will begin full-squad workouts Tuesday in Arizona. “This was from the heart, and from the stomach. This was hard. This was agonizing for him.” Desmond did leave the door open for a possible return by adding "for now" in his post. He vowed to “continue to train... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Nolan Arenado hasn't expressed this much optimism since signing his $260 million contract with Colorado two years ago. “Excited” was the term the slugging, slick-fielding third baseman used about a dozen times Tuesday at his introductory news conference following his blockbuster trade from the Rockies to the St. Louis Cardinals. Excited to join a team that's always in the playoff picture. Excited to join an organization with such rich history. Left unsaid but just underneath the surface: Excited to flee a franchise that posted just two winning records during his eight years in Denver and never advanced beyond the NL Division Series. The eight-time Gold Glove winner and five-time All-Star forced his way out of Colorado by steadfastly sticking to a request to be traded. He’ll be suiting up for a Cardinals team thinking about an NL Central title and more, while the Rockies are looking at some variation of a rebuild in front of a frustrated fanbase. “They really care about winning,”... [More]