HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Astros surrendered a tiebreaking two-run single to rookie Kyle Lewis in the eighth inning of a 7-6 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Sunday, and then announced ace Justin Verlander will be shut down for at least two weeks with a strained right forearm.Astros manager Dusty Baker denied a report that said the injury would end Verlander’s season. He said Verlander would be evaluated after two weeks.Lewis and Shed Long Jr. each had two hits and two RBIs for the Mariners, who had dropped their last 15 games against Houston.Dan Altavilla (1-0) got the win. Taylor Williams yielded an RBI double to Michael Brantley before striking out Alex Bregman for his first career save.Martín Maldonado drove in two runs for Houston. Chris Devenski (0-1) got the loss.MARLINS 11, PHILLIES 6PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Miami scratched right-hander José Ureña from its victory at Philadelphia and delayed its postgame trip home amid concerns about a possible coronavirus outbreak within the team. No... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Astros surrendered a tiebreaking two-run single to rookie Kyle Lewis in the eighth inning of a 7-6 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Sunday, and then announced ace Justin Verlander will be shut down for at least two weeks with a strained right forearm.Astros manager Dusty Baker denied a report that said the injury would end Verlander’s season. He said Verlander would be evaluated after two weeks.Lewis and Shed Long Jr. each had two hits and two RBIs for the Mariners, who had dropped their last 15 games against Houston.Dan Altavilla (1-0) got the win. Taylor Williams yielded an RBI double to Michael Brantley before striking out Alex Bregman for his first career save.Martín Maldonado drove in two runs for Houston. Chris Devenski (0-1) got the loss.MARLINS 11, PHILLIES 6PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Miami scratched right-hander José Ureña from its victory at Philadelphia and delayed its postgame trip home amid concerns about a possible coronavirus outbreak within the team. No... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Christian Yelich and Justin Smoak hit long home runs, umpires intervened before a shouting match between the teams got too serious and the Milwaukee Brewers powered past the Chicago Cubs 8-3 on Saturday.Without fans at Wrigley Field, players from both NL Central rivals could be heard shouting toward each other from their dugouts before the start of the fourth inning.All-Star catcher Willson Contreras seemed to be barking the loudest from the warning track in front of the Cubs dugout, and several players from both sides popped out onto dirt near their benches. Umpires jumped in and calmed things down quickly before players could cross the foul lines.In an in-game interview during the Brewers telecast, Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said empty ballparks may create a new on-field dynamic.“I think this is going to be part of this season,” Counsell said. “Both dugouts can hear each other and umpires can hear everything. There’s talking that goes on in game you never hear with... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Christian Yelich and Justin Smoak hit long home runs, umpires intervened before a shouting match between the teams got too serious and the Milwaukee Brewers powered past the Chicago Cubs 8-3 on Saturday.Without fans at Wrigley Field, players from both NL Central rivals could be heard shouting toward each other from their dugouts before the start of the fourth inning.All-Star catcher Willson Contreras seemed to be barking the loudest from the warning track in front of the Cubs dugout, and several players from both sides popped out onto dirt near their benches. Umpires jumped in and calmed things down quickly before players could cross the foul lines.In an in-game interview during the Brewers telecast, Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said empty ballparks may create a new on-field dynamic.“I think this is going to be part of this season,” Counsell said. “Both dugouts can hear each other and umpires can hear everything. There’s talking that goes on in game you never hear with... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Christian Yelich and Justin Smoak hit long runs, umpires intervened before a shouting match between the teams got too serious and the Milwaukee Brewers powered past the Chicago Cubs 8-3 on Saturday.Without fans at Wrigley Field, players from both NL Central rivals could be heard shouting toward each other from their dugouts before the start of the fourth inning.All-Star catcher Willson Contreras seemed to be barking the loudest from the warning track in front of the Cubs dugout, and several players from both sides popped out onto dirt near their benches. Umpires jumped in and calmed things down quickly before players could cross the foul lines.In an in-game interview during the Brewers telecast, Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said empty ballparks may create a new on-field dynamic.“I think this is going to be part of this season,” Counsell said. “Both dugouts can hear each other and umpires can hear everything. There’s talking that goes on in game you never hear with all... [More]

It was quite a moment for Kyle Hendricks and David Ross.Of course, the affable Ross was a bit more excited than the reserved Hendricks.Hendricks was selected by Ross to start on opening day for the Chicago Cubs, getting the nod over Yu Darvish. Ross, who is beginning his first year as a major league manager, finalized the decision on Thursday, first telling his starting pitchers in a meeting before privately congratulating Hendricks on the accomplishment.“You know him. He's nonchalant. No big deal,” a chuckling Ross said. “It may have been a bigger deal to me to tell him than it was for him to hear the news.”Chicago begins the season on July 24 against the Milwaukee Brewers. Ross said Darvish will start the second game, but he did not reveal how the rest of his rotation will line up.“I'm just excited to get back out on the field with the boys, with my teammates, and just having them start to count,” Hendricks said.While some of baseball's most electric arms will start the first game, the... [More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — This wasn't what Cody Bellinger had in mind for getting his feet wet to start 2020.The Los Angeles Dodgers MVP was in the lineup for his team's spring training opener Saturday, facing the San Francisco Giants in a game delayed 2 1/2 hours due to rain in the Phoenix area. Manager Dave Roberts admitted he was nervous to start Bellinger in conditions that caused all but one other Cactus League game to get canceled, but Bellinger came out just fine. He singled and scored on Enrique Hernandez's homer, batted three times and played center field in the Dodgers' 10-4 win.Bellinger said there were minor issues only in left field, where the water from the tarp was emptied."The warning track was really wet (before the game), but they did a good job of fixing it up," Bellinger said of the Giants' grounds crew. "It turned out fine."Bellinger was certainly relieved to get back on the field after a bizarre offseason. The Dodgers first dealt with a stunning, season-ending, extra-inning... [More]

Cubs first. Anthony Rizzo walks. Nicholas Castellanos doubles to deep left field. Anthony Rizzo to third. Kris Bryant homers to center field. Nicholas Castellanos scores. Anthony Rizzo scores. Kyle Schwarber pops out to shallow left field to Erik Gonzalez. Ben Zobrist flies out to right field to Jose Osuna. Victor Caratini singles to center field. Jason Heyward lines out to deep right field to Jose Osuna.3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Cubs 3, Pirates 0.Pirates third. Erik Gonzalez doubles to left center field. Trevor Williams singles to shallow infield. Erik Gonzalez to third. Kevin Newman singles to center field. Trevor Williams to second. Erik Gonzalez scores. Bryan Reynolds doubles to deep left field. Kevin Newman to third. Trevor Williams scores. Pablo Reyes singles to right center field. Bryan Reynolds scores. Kevin Newman scores. Jose Osuna grounds out to shallow infield, Kris Bryant to Ian Happ. Pablo Reyes to second. Elias Diaz walks. Colin Moran singles to right field. Elias... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs scratched scheduled starter Yu Darvish on Sunday because of right forearm tightness, sidelining the Japanese right-hander after one of his best performances with the team.Darvish pitched eight sparkling innings in a 5-2 victory over the New York Mets on Tuesday night. He is 3-2 with a 2.93 ERA over his last nine starts in his best stretch since signing a $126 million, six-year contract with Chicago before last season.While forearm tightness can be a harrowing sign for pitchers, Darvish has been dealing with the issue for about five outings. The Cubs haven't sent him for any tests, and manager Joe Maddon thinks Darvish will be able to take his next turn in the rotation Saturday at Milwaukee."Just like a precautionary thing," Maddon said. "I mean, the guy's pitching a lot this year compared to what he did last year. We're really jumping his innings, so we want to be a little bit proactive with this thing. We anticipate playing a lot longer than just the rest... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs scratched Yu Darvish on Sunday because of right forearm tightness, sidelining the Japanese right-hander after one of his best starts with the team.Darvish pitched eight sparkling innings in a 5-2 victory over the New York Mets on Tuesday night. He is 3-2 with a 2.93 ERA in his last nine starts in his best stretch since he signed a $126 million, six-year contract with Chicago before last season.While forearm tightness can be a harrowing sign for pitchers, Darvish has been dealing with the issue for about five starts. The Cubs haven't sent him for any tests, and manager Joe Maddon thinks he will be able to take his next turn in the rotation Saturday at Milwaukee."Just like a precautionary thing," Maddon said. "I mean the guy's pitching a lot this year compared to what he did last year. We're really jumping his innings so we want to be a little bit proactive with this thing. We anticipate playing a lot longer than just the rest of this month."Darvish is 5-6... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs have scratched Yu Darvish because of right forearm tightness.Darvish has been dealing with the issue for about five starts, and manager Joe Maddon says the Japanese right-hander thinks he will be able to take his next turn in the rotation Saturday at Milwaukee.Tyler Chatwood will start Sunday against the Brewers in place of Darvish, who hasn't been sent for any tests.The Cubs also activated infielder Daniel Descalso off the 10-day injured list. He had been sidelined by a sprained left ankle.With active rosters expanding in September, Chicago recalled six players from Triple-A Iowa; outfielder Albert Almora Jr., utilityman Robel Garcia, right-handers Alec Mills and Duane Underwood Jr., left-hander Brad Wieck and catcher Taylor Davis.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHICAGO (AP) — Anthony Rendon homered and had four hits, including an RBI single in the 11th inning, and the Washington Nationals beat the Chicago Cubs 7-5 on Sunday for their fifth straight victory.Juan Soto added three hits and Stephen Strasburg struck out 10 in six innings, helping Washington finish off its first sweep of Chicago since September 2012. The Nationals outscored the Cubs 23-10 in a three-game series between the top two teams in the NL wild-card standings.Kyle Schwarber, Addison Russell and Victor Caratini homered for Chicago, which had won five in a row before Washington rolled into town. The Cubs fell 2½ games behind first-place St. Louis in the NL Central.The Nationals grabbed the lead for good when Howie Kendrick scored on Tyler Chatwood's wild pitch with Rendon at the plate in the 11th. Rendon then drove in Trea Turner with a single off Chatwood (5-2).Daniel Hudson (7-3) pitched two innings for the win.The Cubs played without Anthony Rizzo, sidelined by tightness in... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Anthony Rendon homered and had four hits, including an RBI single in the 11th inning, and the Washington Nationals beat the Chicago Cubs 7-5 on Sunday for their fifth straight victory.Juan Soto added three hits and Stephen Strasburg struck out 10 in six innings, helping Washington finish off its first sweep of Chicago since September 2012. The Nationals outscored the Cubs 23-10 in a three-game series between the top two teams in the NL wild-card standings.Kyle Schwarber, Addison Russell and Victor Caratini homered for Chicago, which had won five in a row before Washington rolled into town. The Cubs fell 2½ games behind first-place St. Louis in the NL Central.The Nationals grabbed the lead for good when Howie Kendrick scored on Tyler Chatwood's wild pitch with Rendon at the plate in the 11th. Rendon then drove in Trea Turner with a single off Chatwood (5-2).Daniel Hudson (7-3) pitched two innings for the win.The Cubs played without Anthony Rizzo, sidelined by tightness in... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Anthony Rendon homered and had four hits, including an RBI single in the 11th inning, and the Washington Nationals beat the Chicago Cubs 7-5 on Sunday for their fifth straight victory.Juan Soto added three hits and Stephen Strasburg struck out 10 in six innings, helping Washington finish off its first sweep of Chicago since September 2012. The Nationals outscored the Cubs 23-10 in a three-game series between the top two teams in the NL wild-card standings.Kyle Schwarber, Addison Russell and Victor Caratini homered for Chicago, which had won five in a row before Washington rolled into town. The Cubs fell 2½ games behind first-place St. Louis in the NL Central.The Nationals grabbed the lead for good when Howie Kendrick scored on Tyler Chatwood's wild pitch with Rendon at the plate in the 11th. Rendon then drove in Trea Turner with a single off Chatwood (5-2).Daniel Hudson (7-3) pitched two innings for the win.The Cubs played without Anthony Rizzo, sidelined by tightness in... [More]

Cubs seventh. Kris Bryant homers to center field. Anthony Rizzo strikes out swinging. Javier Baez grounds out to third base, Colin Moran to Josh Bell. Addison Russell flies out to deep right center field to Starling Marte.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Cubs 1, Pirates 0.Cubs eighth. Ian Happ singles to left field. Jonathan Lucroy singles to center field. Ian Happ to third. Tyler Chatwood strikes out swinging. Jason Heyward grounds out to second base, Adam Frazier to Josh Bell. Jonathan Lucroy to third. Nicholas Castellanos flies out to deep left center field to Bryan Reynolds.1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 left on. Cubs 2, Pirates 0.

TORONTO (AP) — Gio Urshela hit two home runs for the second straight game and the New York Yankees outslugged rookie Bo Bichette and the Toronto Blue Jays 12-6 Thursday night to extend their winning streak to a season-best nine games.Playing in Toronto for the first time, Bichette became the first player in major league history to double in nine consecutive games. He also homered, giving him an unprecedented 13 extra-base hits in his first 11 career games. Bichette is the first rookie to have an extra-base hit in nine straight games since Ted Williams in 1939, according to STATS.The Yankees have hit a record 19 homers over their last four games, including at least five in each win during a three-game sweep at Baltimore this week. Mike Tauchman also homered Thursday to give New York three connections.Domingo Germán (15-2) pitched five innings to win his sixth consecutive decision for New York.Both of Urshela's homers came off left-hander Thomas Pannone (2-5), who matched a career worst by... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — Gio Urshela hit two home runs for the second straight game and the New York Yankees outslugged rookie Bo Bichette and the Toronto Blue Jays 12-6 Thursday night to extend their winning streak to a season-best nine games.Playing in Toronto for the first time, Bichette became the first player in major league history to double in nine consecutive games. He also homered, giving him an unprecedented 13 extra-base hits in his first 11 career games. Bichette is the first rookie to have an extra-base hit in nine straight games since Ted Williams in 1939, according to STATS.The Yankees have hit a record 19 homers over their last four games, including at least five in each win during a three-game sweep at Baltimore this week. Mike Tauchman also homered Thursday to give New York three connections.Domingo Germán (15-2) pitched five innings to win his sixth consecutive decision for New York.Both of Urshela's homers came off left-hander Thomas Pannone (2-5), who matched a career worst by... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs optioned shortstop Addison Russell to Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, about two months after he completed a suspension for violating Major League Baseball's domestic violence policy.The struggling Russell was sent down to make room for All-Star catcher Willson Contreras, who was activated from the 10-day injured list. The NL Central leaders also scratched left-hander Jon Lester from his scheduled start against San Francisco because of illness. Right-hander Tyler Chatwood started in Lester's place in a game the Cubs won 4-1.Russell is hitting .247 with six homers, 16 RBIs and a .733 OPS in 55 games. He had a rough game Saturday against San Diego when he appeared to lose a pair of pop-ups in the sun and made multiple baserunning mistakes.The 25-year-old was suspended 40 games by Major League Baseball last fall after a series of allegations made by ex-wife Melisa Reidy. The couple, who have one child together, divorced in August 2018. Russell said in February... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs optioned shortstop Addison Russell to Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, about two months after he completed a suspension for violating Major League Baseball's domestic violence policy.The struggling Russell was sent down to make room for All-Star catcher Willson Contreras, who was activated from the 10-day injured list. Chicago also scratched left-hander Jon Lester from his scheduled start against San Francisco because of illness. Right-hander Tyler Chatwood started in Lester's place.Russell is hitting .247 with six homers, 16 RBIs and a .733 OPS in 55 games. He had a rough game Saturday against San Diego when he appeared to lose a pair of pop-ups in the sun and made multiple baserunning mistakes.The 25-year-old was suspended 40 games by Major League Baseball last fall after a series of allegations made by ex-wife Melisa Reidy. The couple, who have one child together, divorced in August 2018. Russell said in February that he was accountable for his past actions... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs have optioned shortstop Addison Russell to Triple-A Iowa about two months after he completed a suspension for violating Major League Baseball's domestic violence policy.Russell was sent down to make room for catcher Willson Contreras, who was activated from the 10-day injured list. Chicago also scratched left-hander Jon Lester from his scheduled start Wednesday against San Francisco because of illness. Right-hander Tyler Chatwood was set to start in Lester's place.Russell is hitting .247 with six homers and a .733 OPS in 55 games. The 25-year-old was suspended last fall after a series of allegations made by ex-wife Melisa Reidy.Lester (9-6) was slated to make his 400th career start but wasn't feeling well when he woke up."He's not feeling good, man," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "He's got a fever and he just couldn't fight through it."Chatwood is 4-1 with a 4.30 ERA.Contreras had been out since July 14 with a right foot strain.__More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports