BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — The rib is stashed away somewhere in his parents’ house in suburban Chicago, a reminder of what Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Nick Burdi needed to lose in order to find himself. The images are ingrained in the 27-year-old's mind forever, every pitcher's nightmare come to agonizing life. The hard-throwing right-hander, his big league career finally gaining some traction following a series of fits and starts, slung an 97 mph fastball to Arizona's Ketel Marte in the top of the eighth at PNC Park last April 23 that Marte took for a ball.By the time catcher Pirates catcher Elias Díaz stood up to throw the ball back, Burdi was crumpled in a heap on the mound, his pitching arm aflame. Both dugouts fell silent as Burdi clutched his biceps in agony. Burdi had undergone Tommy John surgery in 2017. He knew what it felt like when his elbow went haywire. This was not that, which made it all the more harrowing.“I had the shooting pain, the throbbing pain in the bicep and elbow area... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Starling Marte has fond memories of his eight seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, especially the stretch from 2013 to 2015 when the franchise made it to the playoffs three straight seasons.A few minutes of research revealed his new team has a great chance to get him back to the postseason.Marte was the final big addition of the offseason for the Arizona Diamondbacks after a late January trade that sent two prospects back to the Pirates. The D-backs hope his presence — likely close to the top of a promising young lineup — can help the franchise make it to the playoffs for the first time since 2017.“When I looked at their roster I was like, ‘Wow, this team has a chance to make the playoffs and win it,’” Marte said Friday after reporting to camp a few days early. “So I’m coming here to do my best and help the guys as much as I can and play hard.”Marte, 31, was a mainstay in Pittsburgh's lineup the past eight years, playing mostly left field in his early years before... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks capped a busy offseason by locking down their two-time Gold Glove shortstop, who has slowly turned into a solid offensive threat.The D-backs announced Monday that they've agreed to a $32.5 million, four-year deal with Nick Ahmed that runs through the 2023 season. The 29-year-old Ahmed was eligible for salary arbitration and had his hearing scheduled for Wednesday, but that won't be needed thanks to the deal.Ahmed said his comfort in Arizona — along with the team's offseason moves that included adding pitcher Madison Bumgarner and outfielder Kole Calhoun — made staying with the Diamondbacks very appealing.“At the end of the day, I'd rather be here than anywhere else,” Ahmed said. “They presented me with an opportunity, I thought long and hard about it, and I took advantage of the opportunity.”Ahmed gets a $1.5 million signing bonus, of which $1 million is payable on April 1 and $500,000 on April 1, 2022. He has salaries of $6 million this year, $7.5... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to a $32.5 million, four-year deal with two-time Gold Glove shortstop Nick Ahmed.The 29-year-old Ahmed avoids his final year of salary arbitration with the deal, which keeps him with the team through 2023. The team announced the deal on Monday.Ahmed has had a reputation as an elite defensive shortstop since his debut with the D-backs in 2014 and has steadily improved his hitting. He hit a career-high .254 last season with 19 homers and 82 RBIs in 158 games.The D-backs hope Ahmed can anchor the middle of the team's defense along with Ketel Marte, who will likely split time between second base and center field. Ahmed won his Gold Gloves in each of the past two seasons.Ahmed's signing caps a busy offseason for the D-backs. The moves include signing free agent pitcher Madison Bumgarner and outfielder Kole Calhoun, re-signing outfielder David Peralta and acquiring outfielder Starling Marte in a trade.Arizona's pitchers and catchers have their first workout of spring training Wednesday. The full team has its first workout on Feb. 17.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports.

A team-by-team look at the National League West entering spring training, including key players each club acquired and lost, and dates of the first workout for pitchers and catchers, and the full squad:___Los Angeles Dodgers Manager: Dave Roberts (fifth season). 2019: 106-56, first place, lost to Nationals in Division Series. Training Town: Glendale, Arizona. Park: Camelback Ranch. First Workout: Feb. 14/18. He's Here: OF Mookie Betts, LHP David Price, LHP Alex Wood, RHP Blake Treinen, RHP Jimmy Nelson, 2B Clayton Daniel.He's Outta Here: LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu, RHP Kenta Maeda, LHP Rich Hill, OF Joc Pederson, OF Alex Verdugo, 1B David Freese, RHP Yimi Garcia, 3B Jedd Gyorko, C Russell Martin, RHP JT Chargois, 2B Kristopher Negron.Going campin': In what's become a familiar refrain, the Dodgers arrive at camp still looking for their first World Series championship since 1988. After losing in two straight World Series, they were ousted by Washington in five games in the NL Division Series last fall.... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — When the Arizona Diamondbacks landed ace Madison Bumgarner in free agency last month, the three-time World Series winner made a surprising offer, one that came with a very urgent catch.Bumgarner told the Diamondbacks they could defer some of the money on his five-year deal if they promised to spend the up-front savings on making the club better in 2020. Arizona followed through Monday, acquiring two-time Gold Glove outfielder Starling Marte from the Pittsburgh Pirates.“He fits a lot of what we're trying to do,” Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen.Including free up Ketel Marte — no relation to Starling Marte — to move to second base on a semi-permanent basis. Ketel Marte split time between the center field and second last year while making the All-Star team for the first time and finishing fourth in NL MVP balloting. Hazen said he likes the chemistry Ketel Marte developed with shortstop Nick Ahmed, and Starling Marte's arrival should let that relationship flourish.“We... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — David Peralta and the Arizona Diamondbacks have finalized a $22 million, three-year deal through 2022 that will keep the outfielder with the organization that signed him out of an independent league nearly seven years ago.The 2019 Gold Glove Award winner in left field avoided his final year of salary arbitration by agreeing to the deal announced Monday. He will make $7 million during the upcoming season and $7.5 million each in 2021 and 2022. His 2021 and 2022 salaries would increase by $500,000 for 150 days on the active roster in the prior season, and he would earn a $150,000 bonus in 2022 for 150 days on the active roster.The 32-year-old has been a regular in the Diamondbacks outfield and in the middle of the batting order over the past few seasons. He played in 99 games last year, batting .275 with 12 homers despite battling a shoulder injury that bothered him for much of the year and eventually required season-ending surgery. He hit a career-high 30 homers in 2018.The... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — David Peralta and the Arizona Diamondbacks have finalized a $22 million, three-year deal through 2022 that will keep the outfielder with the organization that signed him out of an independent league nearly seven years ago.The 2019 Gold Glove Award winner in left field avoided his final year of salary arbitration by agreeing to the deal announced Monday. He will make $7 million during the upcoming season and $7.5 million in 2021 and 2022.The 32-year-old has been a regular in the Diamondbacks outfield and in the middle of the batting order over the past few seasons. He played in 99 games last year, batting .275 with 12 homers despite battling a shoulder injury that bothered him for much of the year and eventually required season-ending surgery. He hit a career-high 30 homers in 2018.The D-backs signed Peralta in 2013, finding him in the independent American Association, and he quickly developed into a major league-caliber hitter. Peralta was a pitcher early in his professional... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks have finalized a $22 million, three-year contract with outfielder David Peralta that runs through 2022.The 2019 Gold Glove Award winner in left field avoided his final year of salary arbitration by agreeing to the deal announced Monday. He will make $7 million during the upcoming season and $7.5 million in 2021 and 2022.The 32-year-old has been a regular in the Diamondbacks outfield and in the middle of the batting order over the past few seasons. He played in 99 games last year, batting .275 with 12 homers despite battling a shoulder injury that bothered him for much of the year and eventually required season-ending surgery. He hit a career-high 30 homers in 2018.Arizona general manager Mike Hazen said Peralta's drive to improve — both offensively and defensively — is a big reason the D-backs felt comfortable signing him to a multi-year deal despite last season's injury issues.“He can run, he's a good athlete, and can impact the ball both for average... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Clayton Kershaw might very well go into the Hall of Fame one day on the strength of his amazing regular-season success — dragging behind him a painful October history he would rather forget.Another chapter to his playoff woes was added Wednesday night when the three-time Cy Young Award winner squandered a two-run lead with the Los Angeles Dodgers six outs from advancing to a fourth straight NL Championship Series.Pitching on full rest at home in relief of effective starter Walker Buehler in Game 5 of the Division Series against Washington, Kershaw gave up homers on consecutive pitches to Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto that tied it 3-all in the eighth inning.The wild-card Nationals won 7-3 after a grand slam in the 10th by former Dodger Howie Kendrick off Joe Kelly. And with that, the stunned Dodgers were sent home for the winter."When you don't win the last game of the season and you're to blame for it, it's not fun," Kershaw said, his eyes red. "The main reason (it hurts)... [More]

Oct. 71904 — Jack Chesbro got his 41st victory of the season as New York defeated the Boston Red Sox 3-2.1933 — Mel Ott's home run in the 10th inning to give the New York Giants for a 4-3 victory and the World Championship in five games over the Washington Senators.1935 — Detroit's Goose Goslin drove in Mickey Cochrane with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Tigers a 4-3 win and the World Championship in six games over the Chicago Cubs.1950 — Rookie pitcher Whitey Ford, with ninth-inning help from Allie Reynolds, beat Philadelphia 5-2 to give the Yankees a World Series sweep of the "Whiz Kids."1952 — Billy Martin's running catch on a high infield pop with the bases loaded in the seventh inning snuffed a Dodgers rally and the New York Yankees went on to win Game 7 of the World Series 4-2. It was the fourth consecutive world championship for the Yankees.1969 — The St. Louis Cardinals traded outfielder Curt Flood to the Philadelphia Phillies in a blockbuster deal involving... [More]

Oct. 61915 _ Philadelphia rookie Elmer Myers made a spectacular debut by striking out 12 Washington batters while allowing just two hits. Myers walked 5 in the 4-0 win his only game this year.1926 _ Babe Ruth hit three homers to lead the Yankees to a 10-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in the fourth game of the World Series.1948 _ In the opening game of the World Series, the Boston Braves beat Bob Feller and the Cleveland Indians 1-0 with two hits and the benefit of a disputed call on a pickoff attempt in the eighth by Feller.1963 _ Frank Howard led Los Angeles to a 2-1 win over the New York Yankees with a home run and a single, giving the Dodgers a four-game sweep in the World Series.1966 _ Jim Palmer, 20, became the youngest player to pitch a World Series shutout as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-0. Sandy Koufax was the loser, his last appearance in the major leagues. Dodger outfielder Willie Davis committed three errors on successive plays in the fifth inning.1978... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks lost some of their best players to trades or free agency over the past 12 months.They went ahead and won 85 games anyway.It was an encouraging season for Arizona, which hung around the NL wild-card race deep into September and finished with an 85-77 record despite being in a semi-rebuilding mode.The good news for the Diamondbacks is they have a relatively young group of talented players in the everyday lineup like Ketel Marte, Eduardo Escobar, Christian Walker, Nick Ahmed and Carson Kelly. There's also depth in the pitching staff after rookies like Zac Gallen and Alex Young performed well in the season's final months.Even better, Arizona appears to have at least a little payroll flexibility to make needed improvements.The bad news is the Diamondbacks are still in a division with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who won 106 games and show no signs of slowing down soon."I don't know how many games we finished out of the division, but it was a lot," Arizona... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Major league batters finished with 6,776 home runs, shattering the previous record of 6,105 set two years ago.Dominic Smith hit the final long ball of the season, a three-run drive in the 11th inning Sunday off Atlanta's Grant Dayton that lifted the New York Mets over the NL East champion Braves 7-6.Oakland's Steven Piscotty started the barrage on March 20 in Tokyo against Seattle's Marco Gonzales, the sixth batter of the season.This year's total was 11% above the old record and 21% higher than last year's 5,585.Minnesota hit three home runs Sunday to establish the big league team record with 307, one more than the Yankees. The previous mark of 267 was set last year by New York. This year's Yankees became the first team with 14 players reaching double-digits in home runs."I don't think anybody will ever forget the 'Bomba Squad,'" first-year Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said.Major League Baseball has asked for more scientific tests on baseballs, and Commissioner Rob Manfred... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Major league batters finished with 6,776 home runs, shattering the previous record of 6,105 set two years ago.Dominic Smith hit the final long ball of the season, a three-run drive in the 11th inning Sunday off Atlanta's Grant Dayton that lifted the New York Mets over the NL East champion Braves 7-6.Oakland's Steven Piscotty started the barrage on March 20 in Tokyo against Seattle's Marco Gonzales, the sixth batter of the season.This year's total was 11% above the old record and 21% higher than last year's 5,585.Minnesota hit three home runs Sunday to establish the big league team record with 307, one more than the Yankees. The previous mark of 267 was set last year by New York. This year's Yankees became the first team with 14 players reaching double-digits in home runs."I don't think anybody will ever forget the 'Bomba Squad,'" first-year Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said.Major League Baseball has asked for more scientific tests on baseballs, and Commissioner Rob Manfred... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Major league batters finished with 6,776 home runs, shattering the previous record of 6,105 set two years ago.Dominic Smith hit the final long ball of the season, a three-run drive in the 11th inning Sunday off Atlanta's Grant Dayton that lifted the New York Mets over the NL East champion Braves 7-6.Oakland's Steven Piscotty started the barrage on March 20 in Tokyo against Seattle's Marco Gonzales, the sixth batter of the season.This year's total was 11% above the old record and 21% higher than last year's total of 5,585.Minnesota hit three home runs Sunday to set the big league team record with 307, one more than the Yankees. The previous mark of 267 was set last year by New York. This year's Yankees became the first team with 14 players reaching double-digits in home runs.Strikeouts set a record for the 12th consecutive season at 42,823, up 4% from 41,207 last year and 33% from 32,189 in 2007. A year after strikeouts exceeded hits for the time, the gap was ever greater.Tim... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Tim Anderson became only the third Chicago White Sox player to win an American League batting title and injured Milwaukee star Christian Yelich wound up as the National League's first repeat champion in two decades.Anderson went 0 for 2 Sunday and finished at .335, eight points ahead of the New York Yankees' DJ LeMahieu. Anderson joined Luke Appling (1936, '43) and Frank Thomas ('97) as White Sox batting champions.Yelich wound up at .3292, just ahead of Arizona's Ketel Marte's .3286, as neither made it to the season's final weekend. Yelich's season ended when he broke his right kneecap by fouling a pitch of it on Sept. 10. Marte has not played since Sept. 17 due to lower back inflammation.Yelich won at .326 last year and became the NL's first back-to-back batting leader since Colorado's Larry Walker in 1998 and '99, which started a run of three titles in four years. The closest NL race was in 2003, when Albert Pujols of St. Louis beat Todd Helton of Colorado .35871 to .35849.The... [More]

The Milwaukee Brewers are charging toward a playoff spot without Christian Yelich.And even while injured, Yelich is inching closer to a nice individual honor.Yelich is currently the National League's batting leader, although Arizona's Ketel Marte and Washington's Anthony Rendon are close on his heels. Out with a fractured kneecap, Yelich can only watch as his team chases a postseason berth. The batting race may not be foremost on his mind, but that's coming down to the wire too — with Yelich's .329 average holding the lead.Marte is also batting .329, with Rendon at .325.It would be the second straight batting title for Yelich, who also won NL MVP honors last year. The last player to win back-to-back NL batting titles was Larry Walker in 1998 and 1999.Yelich winning twice in a row would be particularly impressive given that he has to compete against Colorado players hitting at altitude. Since their first season in 1993, the Rockies have won 11 of the NL's 26 batting titles. (Trivia question:... [More]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — All-Star hitter Ketel Marte has a stress reaction in his back and won't play for the Arizona Diamondbacks again this season.The team announced the injury Friday night. The 25-year-old Marte was leading the NL with 187 hits when he was shut down, batting .329 with 32 homers and 92 RBIs.Marte was out of the lineup Wednesday at home against Miami. He had a precautionary MRI after leaving Tuesday's game in the fifth inning with back stiffness."You can't measure my level of disappointment because he was such an important player to this team, this organization," manager Torey Lovullo said. "That's obvious. But what I'll focus on is what he meant to this team, the development that he showed over the course of this year. That's all I can look at right now. He was a special player, he was a special man, and it's a special story. We're going to remember the year he had because of what he went out there and accomplished."___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Marlins third. Austin Dean singles to left field. Caleb Smith out on a sacrifice bunt to shallow infield, Christian Walker to Wilmer Flores. Austin Dean to second. Jon Berti strikes out swinging. Miguel Rojas doubles to left center field. Austin Dean scores. Starlin Castro flies out to deep right field to Adam Jones.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Marlins 1, Diamondbacks 0.Diamondbacks third. Ildemaro Vargas flies out to right field to Lewis Brinson. Ketel Marte singles to shallow left field. Eduardo Escobar strikes out on a foul tip. Christian Walker doubles to shallow left field, tagged out at third, Austin Dean to Miguel Rojas to Starlin Castro to Isan Diaz. Ketel Marte scores.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Marlins 1, Diamondbacks 1.Marlins fifth. Caleb Smith strikes out swinging. Jon Berti singles to shortstop. Miguel Rojas grounds out to first base to Christian Walker. Jon Berti to third. Throwing error by Christian Walker. Starlin Castro is intentionally walked. Bryan Holaday... [More]