TORONTO (AP) — Justin Smoak led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a home run and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Detroit 4-3 on Saturday, handing the Tigers their 11th straight loss.Smoak connected against reliever Joe Jimenez (3-1) for his 11th homer of the season.Seyunghwan Oh (4-2) worked one inning for the win. Randal Grichuk also homered for the Blue Jays, who have won 10 of 11 at home.John Hicks hit a solo homer in the Detroit second off Sam Gaviglio and Nick Castellanos made it 3-0 with a two-run shot in the third, his 12th.Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer to cap Toronto's three-run fifth that tied the score.RAYS 5, ASTROS 2ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Wilson Ramos drove in four runs in the first two innings against Justin Verlander, and Tampa Bay won for the seventh time in eight games.Matt Duffy finished with three hits, including two in the first two innings, to help the Rays move to .500 (41-41) for the first time since June 1. Tampa Bay has held opponents to two runs or fewer... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Alex Bregman hit a game-ending two-run double with one out in the ninth inning and the Houston Astros beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 Monday night to match a franchise record with their 12th straight win.Houston trailed 4-0 after three innings but cut the lead to one entering the ninth.Sergio Romo (1-2) walked Marwin Gonzalez to start the ninth, then allowed a single to Max Stassi. Tony Kemp's sacrifice bunt moved both runners up, and Houston loaded the bases when George Springer reached on interference by catcher Wilson Ramos.Bregman then drove a ball that bounced off the wall in left-center. He lifted both arms as he trotted into second base, and teammates mobbed him in the infield.Collin McHugh (2-0) struck out two in a scoreless ninth for the win on a night Gerrit Cole walked a career-high five to help the Rays build the early lead.Houston also won 12 straight in 2004 and 1999. The Astros will go for No. 13 on Tuesday with ace Justin Verlander on the mound.NATIONALS 5, YANKEES... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Alex Bregman hit a game-ending two-run double with one out in the ninth inning and the Houston Astros beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 Monday night to match a franchise record with their 12th straight win.Houston trailed 4-0 after three innings but cut the lead to one entering the ninth.Sergio Romo (1-2) walked Marwin Gonzalez to start the ninth, then allowed a single to Max Stassi. Tony Kemp's sacrifice bunt moved both runners up, and Houston loaded the bases when George Springer reached on interference by catcher Wilson Ramos.Bregman then drove a ball that bounced off the wall in left-center. He lifted both arms as he trotted into second base, and teammates mobbed him in the infield.Collin McHugh (2-0) struck out two in a scoreless ninth for the win on a night Gerrit Cole walked a career-high five to help the Rays build the early lead.Houston also won 12 straight in 2004 and 1999. The Astros will go for No. 13 on Tuesday with ace Justin Verlander on the mound.NATIONALS 5, YANKEES... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Bartolo Colon worked five innings for his 243rd career victory, matching Hall of Fame pitcher Juan Marichal for the most by a player born in the Dominican Republic when the Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics 8-2 on Wednesday night.The 45-year-old Colon (3-3), in his fourth attempt at the milestone victory, got it against one of the 10 other major league teams he has pitched for since his big league debut in 1997 with Cleveland. He allowed Khris Davis' two-run homer and had one strikeout and two walks.Colon leads active pitchers with 243 wins and 3,383 2/3 innings pitched. His 2,499 strikeouts are third among active pitchers, behind CC Sabathia and Justin Verlander. Nicaragua's Dennis Martinez, with 245 wins, is the only Latin American native with more victories than Colon.Jurickson Profar homered twice and had a career-high five RBIs, while Joey Gallo and Ronald Guzman also went deep for the Rangers in the first four innings against Daniel Mengden (6-5).YANKEES... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Bartolo Colon worked five innings for his 243rd career victory, matching Hall of Fame pitcher Juan Marichal for the most by a player born in the Dominican Republic when the Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics 8-2 on Wednesday night.The 45-year-old Colon (3-3), in his fourth attempt at the milestone victory, got it against one of the 10 other major league teams he has pitched for since his big league debut in 1997 with Cleveland. He allowed Khris Davis' two-run homer and had one strikeout and two walks.Colon leads active pitchers with 243 wins and 3,383 2/3 innings pitched. His 2,499 strikeouts are third among active pitchers, behind CC Sabathia and Justin Verlander. Nicaragua's Dennis Martinez, with 245 wins, is the only Latin American native with more victories than Colon.Jurickson Profar homered twice and had a career-high five RBIs, while Joey Gallo and Ronald Guzman also went deep for the Rangers in the first four innings against Daniel Mengden (6-5).YANKEES... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — James Paxton of the Seattle Mariners became the first Canadian to pitch a no-hitter in his home country, shutting down the Toronto Blue Jays 5-0 Tuesday night.Paxton joined Dick Fowler of the 1945 Philadelphia Athletics as the only Canadians to throw a no-hitter.Paxton, who's from British Columbia, pointed to a giant tattoo on his right forearm of a maple leaf — a national symbol of Canada — as he celebrated to a standing ovation at Rogers Centre.The 29-year-old lefty nicknamed "The Big Maple" threw 99 pitches in tossing the third no-hitter in the majors this year — all three have come in different countries.Oakland's Sean Manaea pitched one against Boston on April 21 in California. Four Los Angeles Dodgers combined to no-hit San Diego in Mexico last Friday.Coming off a career-high 16 strikeouts in his last start, Paxton (2-1) was electric once again, hitting 100 mph with his fastball while retiring Josh Donaldson on a grounder to end it.Paxton struck out seven, walked three... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — James Paxton of the Seattle Mariners became the first Canadian to pitch a no-hitter in his home country, shutting down the Toronto Blue Jays 5-0 Tuesday night.Paxton joined Dick Fowler of the 1945 Philadelphia Athletics as the only Canadians to throw a no-hitter.Paxton, who's from British Columbia, pointed to a giant tattoo on his right forearm of a maple leaf — a national symbol of Canada — as he celebrated to a standing ovation at Rogers Centre.The 29-year-old lefty nicknamed "The Big Maple" threw 99 pitches in tossing the third no-hitter in the majors this year — all three have come in different countries.Oakland's Sean Manaea pitched one against Boston on April 21 in California. Four Los Angeles Dodgers combined to no-hit San Diego in Mexico last Friday.Coming off a career-high 16 strikeouts in his last start, Paxton (2-1) was electric once again, hitting 100 mph with his fastball while retiring Josh Donaldson on a grounder to end it.Paxton struck out seven, walked three... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Justin Verlander pitched seven sharp innings, AL MVP Jose Altuve hit his first home run of the season and the Houston Astros beat the Angels 5-2 on Wednesday, ending Los Angeles' road winning streak at a team record-tying 11.Albert Pujols connected off Verlander for his 619th career homer. Pujols has 2,994 hits.Alex Bregman hit a three-run double and Jake Marisnick homered as Houston avoided a three-game sweep. The Angels also won 11 straight road games in 1988.Verlander (4-0) held the Angels hitless into the fifth inning. He gave up two runs and four hits, striking out nine without a walk. Verlander won his 11th regular-season decision in a row.Ken Giles pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save. Nick Tropeano (1-2) retired the first 11 batters he faced, striking out six.INDIANS 4, CUBS 1CLEVELAND (AP) — Indians reliever Andrew Miller exited with tightness in his hamstring in the win over Chicago and could miss a few days.Miller grabbed the back of his leg after throwing... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Khris Davis hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer off David Price with two outs in the eighth inning and the Oakland Athletics beat Boston 4-1 on Sunday, to deal the Red Sox consecutive losses for the first time under new manager Alex Cora.Boston had won its first six series before losing two of three at the Coliseum, where they were no-hit Saturday by Sean Manaea. They still have the best record in the majors at 17-4.Davis drove in all four runs for the A's, and Blake Treinen (1-1) retired five batters to win. Price (2-2) allowed four runs and nine hits in 7 2/3 innings.YANKEES 5, BLUE JAYS 1Gleyber Torres went 0 for 4 with a strikeout, double-play grounder, popup and flyout in his big league debut, and the youthful Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 on Sunday when New York used a starting lineup that didn't include a player 30 or older for the first time since Sept. 29, 1989.Luis Severino (4-1) allowed three hits and struck out six in seven innings, and David Robertson... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Khris Davis hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer off David Price with two outs in the eighth inning and the Oakland Athletics beat Boston 4-1 on Sunday, to deal the Red Sox consecutive losses for the first time under new manager Alex Cora.Boston had won its first six series before losing two of three at the Coliseum, where they were no-hit Saturday by Sean Manaea. They still have the best record in the majors at 17-4.Davis drove in all four runs for the A's, and Blake Treinen (1-1) retired five batters to win. Price (2-2) allowed four runs and nine hits in 7 2/3 innings.YANKEES 5, BLUE JAYS 1Gleyber Torres went 0 for 4 with a strikeout, double-play grounder, popup and flyout in his big league debut, and the youthful Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 on Sunday when New York used a starting lineup that didn't include a player 30 or older for the first time since Sept. 29, 1989.Luis Severino (4-1) allowed three hits and struck out six in seven innings, and David Robertson... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Bartolo Colon carried a perfect game into the eighth inning and Robinson Chirinos drove in all three runs for the Texas Rangers during their 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros in 10 innings Sunday night.The 44-year-old Colon turned back the clock and dominated the defending World Series champions for seven innings, retiring his first 21 batters in an entertaining pitchers' duel with Astros ace Justin Verlander.Colon walked Carlos Correa to start the eighth before Josh Reddick lined an 0-2 delivery down the right-field line for a double that put runners at second and third, spoiling the no-hit bid as well.Opposing fans in Houston gave Colon a standing ovation. Two outs later, he was pulled with the score tied at 1.Chirinos homered in the third for the only hit off Verlander, who struck out 11 over eight innings.In the 10th, Chirinos launched a two-run double off Hector Rondon (1-1) that short-hopped the wall in straightaway center field. Jake Diekman pitched out of trouble... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Andrew Benintendi got three hits and the Boston Red Sox extended the best start in their 118-year history, beating the Baltimore Orioles 3-1 Sunday at frigid Fenway Park.Mitch Moreland also had three hits for the Red Sox, who completed a three-game sweep of the shortened series and improved to a major league-best 13-2 under new manager Alex Cora.The series was supposed to last four games, but the traditional Patriots' Day game scheduled for Monday morning at 11:05 a.m. was postponed late Sunday afternoon because of a forecast that calls for heavy rain throughout the day.The game will be made up May 17. It is the first time the Patriots' Day game in Boston has been postponed since 1984.Manny Machado had an RBI double for Baltimore, which has lost five of six.Boston ace Chris Sale gave up one run and two hits in five innings, striking eight and walking two.Heath Hembree (2-0) worked two innings of scoreless relief. Craig Kimbrel got three outs for his fifth save.Dylan Bundy... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Andrew Benintendi got three hits and the Boston Red Sox extended the best start in their 118-year history, beating the Baltimore Orioles 3-1 Sunday at frigid Fenway Park.Mitch Moreland also had three hits for the Red Sox, who completed a three-game sweep of the shortened series and improved to a major league-best 13-2 under new manager Alex Cora.The series was supposed to last four games, but the traditional Patriots' Day game scheduled for Monday morning at 11:05 a.m. was postponed late Sunday afternoon because of a forecast that calls for heavy rain throughout the day.The game will be made up May 17. It is the first time the Patriots' Day game in Boston has been postponed since 1984.Manny Machado had an RBI double for Baltimore, which has lost five of six.Boston ace Chris Sale gave up one run and two hits in five innings, striking eight and walking two.Heath Hembree (2-0) worked two innings of scoreless relief. Craig Kimbrel got three outs for his fifth save.Dylan Bundy... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Xander Bogaerts hit the first grand slam for Boston since the end of the 2016 season and drove in a career-best six runs to carry the Red Sox to a 10-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday for their seventh straight victory.J.D. Martinez and Rafael Devers homered for Boston, and Rick Porcello (2-0) pitched into the eighth inning.This is just the second time in franchise history that the Red Sox have lost their season opener and won the next seven. The other came in 1904 when Boston captured the AL pennant.The Rays have lost seven straight and are off to their worst start ever after rallying for a win at home over the Red Sox on opening day.Bogaerts hit a two-run double in Boston's four-run first. In the second, his second career slam completely left Fenway Park over the Green Monster and came after Jake Faria (0-1) walked the bases full.PHILLIES 20, MARLINS 1PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Maikel Franco and Aaron Altherr each hit a grand slam and Carlos Santana and Jorge Alfaro also... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Xander Bogaerts hit the first grand slam for Boston since the end of the 2016 season and drove in a career-best six runs to carry the Red Sox to a 10-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday for their seventh straight victory.J.D. Martinez and Rafael Devers homered for Boston, and Rick Porcello (2-0) pitched into the eighth inning.This is just the second time in franchise history that the Red Sox have lost their season opener and won the next seven. The other came in 1904 when Boston captured the AL pennant.The Rays have lost seven straight and are off to their worst start ever after rallying for a win at home over the Red Sox on opening day.Bogaerts hit a two-run double in Boston's four-run first. In the second, his second career slam completely left Fenway Park over the Green Monster and came after Jake Faria (0-1) walked the bases full.PHILLIES 20, MARLINS 1PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Maikel Franco and Aaron Altherr each hit a grand slam and Carlos Santana and Jorge Alfaro also... [More]

Shohei Ohtani has a starting assignment, and the Los Angeles Dodgers have a mess on their hands.With the regular season set to begin Thursday, the Angels scheduled Ohtani to make his major league pitching debut Sunday in their fourth game at Oakland. The two-way sensation from Japan is expected to be Los Angeles' designated hitter in at least one of the first three games, but manager Mike Scioscia said Tuesday night the team hadn't decided on an opening-day lineup yet.The 23-year-old Ohtani, who struggled in spring training, was told after the exhibition finale against the Dodgers that he'll pitch Sunday."He's gotten into the mid-80-pitch range and should be able to get over 90 if he's throwing to his capabilities," Scioscia said. "That's plenty of pitches for him to get deep into the game. We're going to take it one pitch at a time with all of our pitchers."Ohtani was supposed to get an at-bat or two Tuesday night but that didn't happen because the game was called in the bottom of the... [More]

Capsules of National League East teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Washington Nationals2017: 97-65, first place, lost to Cubs in NLDS.Manager: Dave Martinez (first season).He's Here: 1B-OF Matt Adams, C Miguel Montero, RHP Jeremy Hellickson, RHP Joaquin Benoit, INF Matt Reynolds.He's Outta Here: Manager Dusty Baker, LF Jayson Werth, 1B-LF Adam Lind, C Jose Lobaton, RHP Matt Albers.Projected Lineup: SS Trea Turner (.284, 11 HRs, 45 RBIs, 46 SBs in 98 games), LF Adam Eaton (.297, 2, 13 in 23 games), RF Bryce Harper (.319, 29, 87), 3B Anthony Rendon (.301, 25, 100, 41 2Bs), 2B Daniel Murphy (.322, 23, 93, 43 2Bs; expected to begin season on DL recovering from knee surgery), 1B Ryan Zimmerman (.303, 36, 108, 33 2Bs), CF Michael A. Taylor (.271, 19, 53), C Matt Wieters (.225, 10, 52).Rotation: RH Max Scherzer (16-6, 2.51 ERA, NL-high 268 Ks, 200 2/3 IP, 3rd Cy Young Award), RH Stephen Strasburg (15-4, 2.52, 204 Ks), LH Gio Gonzalez (15-9, 2.96, 79 walks), RH Tanner Roark (13-11,... [More]

Capsules of National League East teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Washington Nationals2017: 97-65, first place, lost to Cubs in NLDS.Manager: Dave Martinez (first season).He's Here: 1B-OF Matt Adams, C Miguel Montero, RHP Jeremy Hellickson, RHP Joaquin Benoit, INF Matt Reynolds.He's Outta Here: Manager Dusty Baker, LF Jayson Werth, 1B-LF Adam Lind, C Jose Lobaton, RHP Matt Albers.Projected Lineup: SS Trea Turner (.284, 11 HRs, 45 RBIs, 46 SBs in 98 games), LF Adam Eaton (.297, 2, 13 in 23 games), RF Bryce Harper (.319, 29, 87), 3B Anthony Rendon (.301, 25, 100, 41 2Bs), 2B Daniel Murphy (.322, 23, 93, 43 2Bs; expected to begin season on DL recovering from knee surgery), 1B Ryan Zimmerman (.303, 36, 108, 33 2Bs), CF Michael A. Taylor (.271, 19, 53), C Matt Wieters (.225, 10, 52).Rotation: RH Max Scherzer (16-6, 2.51 ERA, NL-high 268 Ks, 200 2/3 IP, 3rd Cy Young Award), RH Stephen Strasburg (15-4, 2.52, 204 Ks), LH Gio Gonzalez (15-9, 2.96, 79 walks), RH Tanner Roark (13-11,... [More]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — New Philadelphia Phillies manager Gabe Kapler's progressive approach includes a strategy straight from a slow-pitch softball league.Kapler plans to flip-flop outfielders in the middle of an inning to put his best defensive player in the position where the spray charts indicate a batter is most likely to hit the ball.This isn't the typical infield shift and old-school thinkers will scoff at the idea, but Kapler feels so strongly about it that he has these words written on a white board in his office:"We know that different players have different skills. One hitter may crush fastballs. Another may hammer change-ups. That doesn't mean either is a better hitter. They just have different strengths. Outfielders are similar. Whenever we have a chance to maximize a man's strengths to get an additional out, we'll do so."Strange shifts are nothing new to baseball. The influx of analytics has led managers to try different things.Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon tried a four-man... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Rebuilding time is over for the Philadelphia Phillies.When free-agent ace Jake Arrieta arrived at spring training on co-owner John Middleton's private plane, it signaled the start of a new era for this franchise.Stocked with young talent on the major-league roster and prospects in the minors, management sent a clear message that it will do whatever it takes to start winning after five straight losing seasons and 96 losses last year."I intend to come in here and win right away," Arrieta said.Even before the 2015 NL Cy Young award winner joined the Phillies, players were confident this team could contend this season."We're ready to win right now," third baseman Maikel Franco said. "We have a lot of talent here. We're on the same page."The Phillies signed veteran slugger Carlos Santana away from Cleveland in December and bolstered the bullpen by adding right-handers Pat Neshek and Tommy Hunter. They waited on Arrieta and got him at their price — $75 million over three years... [More]