The Houston Astros received a positive update on left-hander Framber Valdez on the same day Forrest Whitley had season-ending surgery on his right elbow. Valdez met with Dr. Steven Shin in Los Angeles on Wednesday, and new images of the pitcher's fractured left ring finger showed significant healing, according to the team. Valdez is expected to continue his rehab at the team's facility in Florida, and there is no timetable yet for his return to the mound. The 27-year-old Valdez went 5-3 with a 3.57 ERA in 11 games last year, including 10 starts. He got hurt when struck by a comebacker while pitching against the Mets on March 2. Whitley's Tommy John surgery was performed by Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas. He got hurt while throwing batting practice this spring training. The 23-year-old Whitley, one of Houston's top prospects, is expected to miss at least a year. He was selected by the Astros in the first round of the 2016 amateur draft. ACES APLENTY Aces Walker Buehler of the Los... [More]

The Houston Astros received a positive update on left-hander Framber Valdez on the same day Forrest Whitley had season-ending surgery on his right elbow. Valdez met with Dr. Steven Shin in Los Angeles on Wednesday, and new images of the pitcher's fractured left ring finger showed significant healing, according to the team. Valdez is expected to continue his rehab at the team's facility in Florida, and there is no timetable yet for his return to the mound. The 27-year-old Valdez went 5-3 with a 3.57 ERA in 11 games last year, including 10 starts. He got hurt when struck by a comebacker while pitching against the Mets on March 2. Whitley's Tommy John surgery was performed by Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas. He got hurt while throwing batting practice this spring training. The 23-year-old Whitley, one of Houston's top prospects, is expected to miss at least a year. He was selected by the Astros in the first round of the 2016 amateur draft. ACES APLENTY Aces Walker Buehler of the Los... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Tyler Anderson knows about team building. The left-hander entered Spring Valley High in Las Vegas, Nevada, as a freshman when the school opened in 2004. He helped Oregon kick-start its fledging program when the Ducks returned to the Division I level in 2009 following 27 years as a club sport. Getting in on the ground floor is kind of his thing. No wonder he's not exactly concerned about joining the Pittsburgh Pirates in the nascent stages of a franchise-wide makeover. The 31-year-old finalized a one-year deal worth $2.5 million on Wednesday, becoming part of the present for a club that is very clearly pointing toward the future. That's fine by Anderson. “I know the culture over here they want to create is a winning culture,” Anderson said. “And I don’t think that had any involvement in them signing me, but for me, I love the idea because I’ve been through it a few times and it’s just fun. It’s a lot of guys that are searching for something, and it’s really easy to create... [More]

A team-by-team look at the National League Central 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: ___ Chicago Cubs Manager: David Ross (second season). 2020: 34-26, first place, lost to Marlins in first round of playoffs. Training Town: Mesa, Arizona. Park: Sloan Park. First Workout: Feb. 17/22. He’s Here: OF Joc Pederson, RHP Zach Davies, RHP Trevor Williams, RHP Kohl Stewart, C Austin Romine, OF Jake Marisnick (deal pending), OF Phillip Ervin, RHP Jonathan Holder, RHP Robert Stock, INF Sergio Alcántara. He’s Outta Here: RHP Yu Darvish, OF Kyle Schwarber, LHP Jon Lester, LHP José Quintana, OF Albert Almora, Jr., C Victor Caratini, 2B Jason Kipnis, RHP Tyler Chatwood, RHP Jeremy Jeffress, OF Cameron Maybin, OF Billy Hamilton, OF José Martínez. Going campin’: Ross was impressive in his first year as manager, guiding Chicago to the NL Central title during the pandemic-shortened season.... [More]

A team-by-team look at the National League Central 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: ___ Chicago Cubs Manager: David Ross (second season). 2020: 34-26, first place, lost to Marlins in first round of playoffs. Training Town: Mesa, Arizona. Park: Sloan Park. First Workout: Feb. 17/22. He’s Here: OF Joc Pederson, RHP Zach Davies, RHP Trevor Williams, RHP Kohl Stewart, C Austin Romine, OF Jake Marisnick (deal pending), OF Phillip Ervin, RHP Jonathan Holder, RHP Robert Stock, INF Sergio Alcántara. He’s Outta Here: RHP Yu Darvish, OF Kyle Schwarber, LHP Jon Lester, LHP José Quintana, OF Albert Almora, Jr., C Victor Caratini, 2B Jason Kipnis, RHP Tyler Chatwood, RHP Jeremy Jeffress, OF Cameron Maybin, OF Billy Hamilton, OF José Martínez. Going campin’: Ross was impressive in his first year as manager, guiding Chicago to the NL Central title during the pandemic-shortened season.... [More]

A team-by-team look at the National League Central 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: ___ Chicago Cubs Manager: David Ross (second season). 2020: 34-26, first place, lost to Marlins in first round of playoffs. Training Town: Mesa, Arizona. Park: Sloan Park. First Workout: Feb. 17/22. He’s Here: OF Joc Pederson, RHP Zach Davies, RHP Trevor Williams, RHP Kohl Stewart, C Austin Romine, OF Phillip Ervin, RHP Jonathan Holder, RHP Robert Stock, INF Sergio Alcántara. He’s Outta Here: RHP Yu Darvish, OF Kyle Schwarber, LHP Jon Lester, LHP José Quintana, OF Albert Almora, Jr., C Victor Caratini, 2B Jason Kipnis, RHP Tyler Chatwood, RHP Jeremy Jeffress, OF Cameron Maybin, OF Billy Hamilton, OF José Martínez. Going campin’: Ross was impressive in his first year as manager, guiding Chicago to the NL Central title during the pandemic-shortened season. But it doesn’t get any easier... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The videos from Jameson Taillon come every few days, a reminder to Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton what hopefully awaits when spring training begins. Taillon is on schedule to return in 2021 after missing most of 2019 and all of 2020 while recovering from a second Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. To say the 29-year-old is eager to get back to work might be an understatement. “If you’re the Pirates manager and watching Jamo throw, it definitely makes you smile, so I’m excited for it,” Shelton said Tuesday. "He’s excited. His throwing’s going well, his rehab’s going well. He tackled it head-on and did about as good of a job as anybody can do, so I’m excited to watch Jamo take the mound at PNC.” Taillon's return to PNC isn't exactly a given. The Pirates are in the midst of a massive makeover, one that got off to a somewhat bumpy start after finishing with a major-league worst 19-41 record during the truncated 2020 season. General manager Ben Cherington has... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates began 2020 with plenty of questions. The truncated 60-game schedule provided few answers save for one: Ke'Bryan Hayes can play. Really, really play. The rookie third baseman's splashy debut — one that finished with a flourish thanks to an eight-game hitting streak that raised his average to an eye-popping .376 — provided an incandescent silver lining in a season at times felt epically long. Losing a major-league high 41 games will do that. Still, Hayes proved he belonged during his first taste of the bigs. “I was just so excited to finally get the opportunity to come up here," said Hayes, who showed a flair for the dramatic by homering in his debut on Sept. 1. “Just wanted to show what I could do and go out there, try to play to the best of my ability.” And to think the biggest issue when Hayes arrived was how he would cope at the plate. A three-time Gold Glove winner in the minors, Hayes came out swinging and didn't stop, hitting .516 over the final... [More]

Pittsburgh Pirates starter Mitch Keller was pulled after five innings despite not allowing a hit — and walking eight — against the Cleveland Indians on Friday night. Keller couldn't find the plate in the first inning, when he walked the bases loaded after throwing balls on 12 of his first 15 pitches. The Indians, however, scored only once and then didn't capitalize in the third after Keller walked the bases full for the second time. Pirates manager Derek Shelton pulled Keller after 98 pitches — 49 were balls — and replaced him with reliever Nik Turley. Keller threw six no-hit innings in his previous start against St. Louis on Sept. 19 before leaving and has now thrown 11 straight hitless innings. Keller is the first NL pitcher with back-to-back no-hit outings of at least five innings since Johnny Vander Meer threw consecutive no-hitters in 1938, STATS said. Gregory Polanco's two-run homer in the fourth off Carlos Carrasco has the Pirates ahead 2-1. The closest Cleveland has come to a hit was in the fifth when José Ramírez, who entered as perhaps baseball's hottest hitter, ripped a ball down the line that first baseman Colin Moran gloved with a diving stop before throwing to Keller at first in time to beat Ramírez. The right-hander was sidelined earlier this season with a left oblique injury. The Pirates haven't had a no-hitter since Francisco Cordova and Ricardo Rincon combined for one in 1997. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

All the Cincinnati Reds needed was one extended winning streak to turn a disappointing season into a possible playoff berth. Cincinnati had high hopes after spending big in the offseason, but the Reds showed little sign of improvement until they ran off six straight victories recently. Now they're at .500 and in a three-way tie with Milwaukee and San Francisco for the final postseason spot in the National League. Cincinnati hosts a three-game series with the Brewers starting Monday night. It's the pitching staff that has led this resurgence for the Reds. They held Pittsburgh to six runs in a four-game sweep, and then they took two of three from the powerful Chicago White Sox. Trevor Bauer (4-4, 1.80 ERA) and Luis Castillo (3-5, 3.03) give Cincinnati a formidable starting pitching tandem, and Nick Castellanos, Eugenio Suarez, Jesse Winker and Joey Votto all have reached double-digit home runs. Elsewhere in the NL Central, Milwaukee and St. Louis are closing strong as well. Those two teams... [More]

CINCINNATI (AP) — Tim Anderson hit two of Chicago’s five solo homers, and the White Sox — already guaranteed a playoff spot — took another step toward the AL Central title by overpowering the Cincinnati Reds 5-0 on Saturday night. Chicago has won eight of its last 10 games, securing at least a wild card and its first postseason appearance since 2008. José Abreu hit his fifth homer in eight games as the White Sox piled them up, including three in a row in the eighth off Robert Stephenson. Abreu has 18 homers overall. The Reds managed six hits as they had their season-high winning streak snapped at six games. Cincinnati (26-27) wasted a chance to move above .500 for the first time since its season-opening win over the Tigers. Nomar Mazara was in a 3-for-25 slump with 11 strikeouts when he connected off Trevor Bauer (4-4) in the fifth inning for his first homer. One out later, Anderson’s ninth homer made it 2-0. Bauer went seven innings and gave up five hits while throwing 107 pitches. Matt... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Mitch Keller has a no-hitter through six innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night. Keller is making his second start since missing six weeks with a strained left oblique. He walked Tommy Edman and hit Brad Miller with a pitch in the first inning, and Tyler O’Neill drew a walk in the second. Keller set down the next 14 batters. He’s thrown 84 pitches and struck out six. The 24-year-old entered the game with a 1-1 record and 5.06 ERA in three games. He was activated from the injured list Monday after being sidelined since Aug. 2. The Pirates led 2-0 as Ke’Bryan Hayes and Jose Osuna hit solo home runs off Kwang Hyun Kim. White Sox ace Lucas Giolito and Cubs journeyman Alec Mills have thrown no-hitters during this pandemic-shortened season. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ke'Bryan Hayes remembers his father's instructions as a child, the ones that helped pave the way for the Pittsburgh Pirates prospect to follow in his dad Charlie's footsteps.The elder Hayes, who carved out a 14-year career in the majors as a corner infielder and memorably recorded the final out of the 1996 World Series while playing third base for the New York Yankees, threw a lot at his son. He stressed over and over the importance of defense and forced his son to learn every position, even if it meant occasionally playing in right field even though he would have been more effective elsewhere.“He was like, ’I’m not even worried about it,' " the younger Hayes said Tuesday shortly before making his major league debut against the Chicago Cubs. “We’re going to take 200 ground balls during the weekend or during the week because I know what position you’re going to play, but you don’t have to play in the game or whatever every day at that position.”Father knew best, though... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A surprising positive COVID-19 test when he arrived at summer camp forced Pittsburgh Pirates closer Keone Kela to get creative to find ways to say in shape. Really creative.With PNC Park off limits while he followed Major League Baseball's health protocols, Kela started riding around the city with a stash of balls, a net and time to kill. He long tossed into a net in the parking lot at the Pittsburgh Zoo. He played “Wall Ball” off the pillars of the Fort Duquesne Bridge. He rolled through the South Side bar district in search of open space to let it rip.“I’ve seen Pittsburgh now during this quarantine,” Kela said with a laugh on Wednesday.The view will change considerably on Thursday for Kela when he joins the injury-ravaged Pirates for a four-game series in Cincinnati. Six Pittsburgh pitchers currently find themselves on the injured list, including relievers Kyle Crick, Clay Holmes and Nick Burdi. The strain on those left has been obvious. The last-place Pirates are 27th... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:BLISTERING BLACKMONCharlie Blackmon raised his batting average to an amazing .500 with three more hits in Colorado's 8-7 win over Arizona.After starting out the year 0 for 9, Blackmon has hit in 15 straight games. He’s 34 for 68 through 17 games in the coronavirus-shortened 60-game season.C YOU LATERCleveland is minus two of its top starting pitchers after putting Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac on the restricted list. The Indians made the moves after the right-handers broke team rules and Major League Baseball protocols by leaving their hotel in Chicago last weekend and risking exposure to the COVID-19 virus.The Indians had implemented a code of conduct for players to follow on road trips, forbidding them from socializing outside of the team’s players and staff.MLB permits teams to use the restricted list for players who are unavailable to play for non-baseball reasons. The players will be paid during their leave and be given service times.... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday:BLISTERING BLACKMONCharlie Blackmon raised his batting average to an amazing .500 with three more hits in Colorado's 8-7 win over Arizona.After starting out the year 0 for 9, Blackmon has hit in 15 straight games. He’s 34 for 68 through 17 games in the coronavirus-shortened 60-game season.C YOU LATERCleveland is minus two of its top starting pitchers after putting Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac on the restricted list. The Indians made the moves after the right-handers broke team rules and Major League Baseball protocols by leaving their hotel in Chicago last weekend and risking exposure to the COVID-19 virus.The Indians had implemented a code of conduct for players to follow on road trips, forbidding them from socializing outside of the team’s players and staff.MLB permits teams to use the restricted list for players who are unavailable to play for non-baseball reasons. The players will be paid during their leave and be given service... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday:C YOU LATERCleveland is minus two of its top starting pitchers after putting Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac on the restricted list. The Indians made the moves after the right-handers broke team rules and Major League Baseball protocols by leaving their hotel in Chicago last weekend and risking exposure to the COVID-19 virus.The Indians had implemented a code of conduct for players to follow on road trips, forbidding them from socializing outside of the team’s players and staff.MLB permits teams to use the restricted list for players who are unavailable to play for non-baseball reasons. The players will be paid during their leave and be given service times. They can come off the list at any time.SIDELINED SLUGGERYankees designated hitter/outfielder Giancarlo Stanton is expected to miss three to four weeks after being diagnosed with a grade 1 left hamstring strain.Manager Aaron Boone says the team is still evaluating the 2017 NL MVP and... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — An unexpected break didn't stop the steady stream of pitchers to the injured list for the Pittsburgh Pirates.The team placed opening day starter Joe Musgrove on the 10-day IL Tuesday with what manager Derek Shelton called a right triceps issue. The Pirates scratched Musgrove (0-3, 6.75 ERA) before Sunday's start against Detroit with what Shelton called an ankle injury.Musgrove is the sixth Pittsburgh pitcher to be placed on the injured list this season. The list includes starter Mitch Keller and relievers Nick Burdi, Clay Holmes, Michael Feliz and Kyle Crick. It doesn't include closer Keone Kela, who has yet to pitch this season after testing positive for COVID-19. The Pirates began the truncated season with starters Jameson Taillon and Chris Archer already out due to injury.Travis Williams will start when Pittsburgh travels to Cincinnati for a four-game series beginning on Thursday. The Pirates were supposed to be in St. Louis on Tuesday, but their three-game set with... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Matt Thaiss scored on Michael Hermosillo’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the 10th inning, and the Los Angeles Angels snapped their three-game skid with a 5-4 victory over the Houston Astros on Saturday night.Jason Castro delivered a tying RBI double in the ninth for the Angels, who improved the majors’ worst record to 3-6 despite blowing a two-run lead in the ninth.David Fletcher hit a leadoff single in the 10th off Nivaldo Rodriguez (0-1), sending Thaiss to third. After the Astros walked Anthony Rendon to load the bases, Thaiss scored on Josh Reddick’s inaccurate throw from medium right field.Angels reliever Noé Ramirez got two outs in the 10th, and Ryan Buchter (2-0) struck out Abraham Toro with the bases loaded in a rare bright moment for the Halos’ struggling relievers.ORIOLES 5, RAYS 4, 11 inningsBALTIMORE (AP) — Pinch-hitter Pat Valaika singled in the winning run in the 11th inning, and Baltimore handed Tampa Bay its fourth straight loss.Newcomer Brian Holaday... [More]

Cubs third. Victor Caratini grounds out to first base, Josh Bell to Mitch Keller. Ian Happ homers to center field. Anthony Rizzo flies out to center field to Jarrod Dyson. Javier Baez homers to center field. Kyle Schwarber singles to right field. Willson Contreras strikes out swinging.2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Cubs 2, Pirates 0.Cubs eighth. Javier Baez walks. Kyle Schwarber homers to left field. Javier Baez scores. Willson Contreras singles to right field. Jason Heyward lines out to deep center field to Jarrod Dyson. Nico Hoerner walks. David Bote lines out to deep center field to Bryan Reynolds.2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Cubs 4, Pirates 0.Pirates ninth. Kevin Newman singles to center field. Josh Bell strikes out swinging. Colin Moran homers to right field. Kevin Newman scores. Bryan Reynolds doubles to right field. Gregory Polanco grounds out to shallow infield, Javier Baez to Anthony Rizzo. Bryan Reynolds scores. Phillip Evans walks. Jose Osuna pinch-hitting for Jarrod Dyson. Jose Osuna reaches on a fielder's choice to shortstop. Guillermo Heredia out at second.3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Cubs 4, Pirates 3.