SEATTLE (AP) — Ichiro Suzuki was back in the Seattle Mariners clubhouse on Tuesday, in uniform and even wore batting gloves into his first meeting."I will say he's the first coach I've had come into a coaches meeting with batting gloves on," Seattle manager Scott Servais joked.This is not another comeback by Suzuki. He is completely retired from his playing career. But Tuesday was the beginning of his next chapter as he rejoined the Mariners as a special assistant to the chairman.Suzuki will work as an instructor with both the major league club and some of the organization's players in the minors."Certainly it's a big life change for (Ichiro). Nobody has been more regimented in their lifestyle and what they go about every day than Ichiro," Servais said. "So making the change; like he said he's been cleaning the house and making breakfast. Things that Ichiro has never done. He's going through a transition. But I think the role and how much impact is evolving. Wait and see about where his... [More]

SEATTLE (AP) — Ichiro Suzuki has rejoined the Seattle Mariners as a special assistant to the chairman and will work as an instructor with both the major league club and some of the organization's players in the minors.Suzuki was in the Mariners clubhouse on Tuesday before Seattle opened a series against the Chicago Cubs. Suzuki retired from baseball last month during Seattle's opening two-game series in Japan against the Oakland Athletics, but was expected to continue having a relationship with the organization.Suzuki is taking on the same title as he had last year after he stepped away from playing following the first month of the season. Manager Scott Servais said Suzuki will be around the team during home games and will likely spend some time with the team's Triple-A franchise in Tacoma, Washington, working with players at that level.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PHOENIX (AP) — Carson Kelly drilled a single into the left field corner, scoring Nick Ahmed with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Arizona Diamondbacks over the struggling Boston Red Sox 5-4 Saturday night.Boston has dropped three straight and fell to 2-8 overall, a lousy start to their World Series championship defense.Colten Brewer (0-1) allowed consecutive singles to Eduardo Escobar, Ahmed and Kelly in the ninth. Right fielder Mookie Betts threw out Escobar at home on Ahmed's hit, but Kelly's rip to left allowed Ahmed to score easily.Kelly had two hits and three RBIs. The walkoff knock was the first of his career.Greg Holland (1-0) pitched a scoreless top of the ninth.PADRES 6, CARDINALS 4ST. LOUIS (AP) — Austin Hedges and Manny Machado each hit a two-run homer off Andrew Miller in the eighth inning, helping San Diego beat St. Louis for its third consecutive win.Fernando Tatis Jr. opened the eighth with a walk and Hedges followed with a go-ahead drive over the wall on in left.... [More]

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Austin Hedges and Manny Machado each hit a two-run homer off Andrew Miller in the eighth inning, helping the San Diego Padres beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4 on Saturday for their third consecutive win.Fernando Tatis Jr. opened the eighth with a walk and Hedges followed with a go-ahead drive over the wall on in left. With two out and Ian Kinsler on first via another walk, Machado made it 6-3 with his second homer of the season.It was the first time that Miller (0-1) allowed multiple homers in a game since Sept. 22, 2015 for the New York Yankees at Toronto.Matt Wisler (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the win in his first outing with the Padres. Kirby Yates worked the ninth for his fifth save in five chances.ANGELS 5, RANGERS 1ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Mike Trout hit a grand slam for his fourth homer in three days, and Los Angeles beat Texas for its first back-to-back victories of the season.Trout's 458-foot blast in the fourth inning off Drew Smyly (0-1) cleared the... [More]

TOKYO (AP) — For the third time, baseball star Ichiro Suzuki has turned down a prestigious Japanese government award handed to stars in sports, entertainment, and culture.A Japanese government spokesman said Friday that Ichiro, who retired last month with the Seattle Mariners, had declined the People's Honor Award.The most recent winner was Olympic skating gold medalist Hanyu Yuzuru, who was named last year following the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.The first winner in 1977 was baseball player Sadaharu Oh. New York Yankees star Hideki Matsui won the award in 2013.Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Ichiro indicated, through a third party, that he'd rather receive the award "when he draws the curtain" on his life.The 45-year-old Ichiro retired with 3,089 hits in the major leagues, and had 1,278 more in his career in Japan. He is sure to be the first Japanese player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Bryce Harper bowed to his new fans, Mookie Betts and the World Series champion Boston Red Sox drew cheers far from Fenway Park and the great Mariano Rivera threw one more strike from the mound at Yankee Stadium.Then it was time to play Home Run Derby on a record-setting opening day.The ball was flying Thursday — Joc Pederson and the Los Angeles Dodgers connected eight times, and the total of 48 across the majors was the most ever to start."Everyone kind of knocked us last year for scoring too many runs off homers," said Max Muncy, who also connected at Dodger Stadium. "But if you're going to do it, you might as well do it like that."Elsewhere, Lorenzo Cain made a game-saving catch in Milwaukee, Javier Baez swung a powerful bat for the Cubs and Detroit's Jordan Zimmermann came close to giving Major League Baseball a perfect start.A week after Ichiro Suzuki and the Seattle Mariners swept two games from Oakland at the Tokyo Dome, everybody was in action.The packed crowd at Citizens Bank Park... [More]

Bryce Harper bowed to his new fans, Mookie Betts and the Boston Red Sox began the defense of their World Series crown and the great Mariano Rivera threw one more strike from the mound at Yankee Stadium.Then, in ballparks across the land, it was time to begin on a homer-filled opening day.Lorenzo Cain made the big catch. Javier Baez swung a powerful bat. And Jordan Zimmermann came close to giving Major League Baseball a perfect start Thursday.A week after Ichiro Suzuki and the Seattle Mariners swept two games from Oakland at the Tokyo Dome, everyone was in action. In many places, the ball was flying — at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles set an opening day record by hitting eight home runs.The packed crowd at Citizens Bank Park was especially energized by Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies in a 10-4 win over Atlanta."The atmosphere was unbelievable," Harper said. "The atmosphere was rocking all through the game."A year after the conditions were more fit for snowballs than baseballs at some stadiums,... [More]

Bryce Harper bowed to his new fans, Mookie Betts and the Boston Red Sox began the defense of their World Series crown and the great Mariano Rivera threw one more strike from the mound at Yankee Stadium.Then, from ballparks across the land, it was time for opening day.Lorenzo Cain made the big catch. Javier Baez swung a powerful bat. And Jordan Zimmermann came close to giving Major League Baseball a perfect start Thursday.A week after Ichiro Suzuki and the Seattle Mariners swept two games from Oakland at the Tokyo Dome, everyone was in action.The packed crowd at Citizens Bank Park was especially energized by Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies in a 10-4 win over Atlanta."The atmosphere was unbelievable," Harper said. "The atmosphere was rocking all through the game."And a year after the conditions were more fit for snowballs than baseballs in some places, the weather was fine. A little rainy in Kansas City, causing a slight delay, but no freezing temperatures anywhere.Cy Young Award winners... [More]

Bryce Harper bowed to his new fans, Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox began the defense of their World Series crown and the great Mariano Rivera threw one more strike from the mound at Yankee Stadium.Then, from ballparks across the land, it was time for opening day.Lorenzo Cain made the big catch. Javier Baez swung a powerful bat. And Jordan Zimmermann came close to giving Major League Baseball a perfect start Thursday.A week after Ichiro Suzuki and the Seattle Mariners swept two games from Oakland at the Tokyo Dome, everyone was in action.The packed crowd at Citizens Bank Park was especially energized by Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies in a 10-4 win over Atlanta."The atmosphere was unbelievable," Harper said. "The atmosphere was rocking all through the game."And a year after the conditions were more fit for snowballs than baseballs in some places, the weather was fine. A little rainy in Kansas City, causing a slight delay, but no freezing temperatures anywhere.Cy Young Award winners... [More]

Bryce Harper bowed to his new fans, Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox began the defense of their World Series crown and the great Mariano Rivera threw one more strike from the mound at Yankee Stadium.Then, from ballparks across the land, it was time for opening day.Lorenzo Cain made the big catch. Javier Baez swung a powerful bat. And Jordan Zimmermann came close to giving Major League Baseball a perfect start Thursday.A week after Ichiro Suzuki and the Seattle Mariners swept two games from Oakland at the Tokyo Dome, everyone was in action.The packed crowd at Citizens Bank Park was especially energized by Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies in a 10-4 win over Atlanta."The atmosphere was unbelievable," Harper said. "The atmosphere was rocking all through the game."And a year after the conditions were more fit for snowballs than baseballs in some places, the weather was fine. A little rainy in Kansas City, causing a slight delay, but no freezing temperatures anywhere.Cy Young Award winners... [More]

The Latest on opening day (all times EDT):5:45 p.m.The Dodgers have chased Arizona's Zack Greinke with three homers in the fourth inning on opening day.After Enrique Hernandez and Austin Barnes hit back-to-back homers, Corey Seager celebrated his return from Tommy John surgery with a solo shot that sent Greinke to the showers. The $206.5 million right-hander gave up seven hits and seven runs, including Joc Pederson's two-run homer in the second for the two-time defending NL champions.Meanwhile, Hyun-Jin Ryu was stellar in the first four innings of his first opening day start, striking out six Diamondbacks and allowing one infield single. Arizona got only one ball out of the infield in the first four innings while falling behind 7-0.—Greg Beacham reporting from Los Angeles.___5:40 p.m.Chris Sale will join rare company when he throws the first pitch of the season for the Boston Red Sox.Sale recorded the final out of last season when he helped Boston clinch its World Series championship. By... [More]

The Latest on opening day (all times EDT):5:35 p.m.Javier Baez is already slugging and driving in runs again for the Chicago Cubs, with two homers in the season opener.Baez greeted Texas Rangers reliever Jesse Chavez with a three-run homer in the fifth inning to give the Cubs a 7-2 lead.The Cubs shortstop, who last season hit 34 homers and led the NL with 111 RBIs, hit a solo homer in the fourth off starter Mike Minor.—Stephen Hawkins reporting from Arlington, Texas___5:05 p.m.The pitching matchup in Minnesota between Cleveland's Corey Kluber and the home team's Jose Berrios has been all aces to start, with the Twins and Indians scoreless through four innings.Kluber, the two-time Cy Young Award winner, is perfect, actually, with 12 batters up and 12 batters down.Berrios, the youngest opening day starter for the Twins since Brad Radke in 1996, didn't give up a hit until a leadoff double to Leonys Martin in the fourth inning. But the 24-year-old right-hander finished the frame without any... [More]

The Latest on opening day (all times EDT):5:05 p.m.The pitching matchup in Minnesota between Cleveland's Corey Kluber and the home team's Jose Berrios has been all aces to start, with the Twins and Indians scoreless through four innings.Kluber, the two-time Cy Young Award winner, is perfect, actually, with 12 batters up and 12 batters down.Berrios, the youngest opening day starter for the Twins since Brad Radke in 1996, didn't give up a hit until a leadoff double to Leonys Martin in the fourth inning. But the 24-year-old right-hander finished the frame without any damage, striking out Hanley Ramirez to strand runners at first and second.— Dave Campbell reporting from Minneapolis___4:52 p.m.Corey Seager is back and Dodger Stadium is happy about it.The two-time All-Star shortstop got a loud pregame ovation when he was introduced in the Dodgers' starting lineup. He was sidelined for nearly all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, missing the Dodgers' run to their second straight... [More]

The Latest on opening day (all times EDT):4:52 p.m.Corey Seager is back and Dodger Stadium is happy about it.The two-time All-Star shortstop got a loud pregame ovation when he was introduced in the Dodgers' starting lineup. He was sidelined for nearly all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, missing the Dodgers' run to their second straight World Series.Seager drew a walk in his first plate appearance while the Dodgers took a 1-0 lead on the Diamondbacks. Seager then showed his arm is fine when he made all three putouts in the Diamondbacks' second inning.A.J. Pollock also drew a walk in his first plate appearance for the Dodgers, who signed him as a free agent after seven seasons in Arizona.Adam Jones struck out while batting leadoff in his debut for the Diamondbacks after 11 years in Baltimore.— Greg Beacham reporting from Los Angeles.___4:50 p.m.Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres singled to left in his first big league at-bat, against San Francisco Giants ace Madison... [More]

The Latest on opening day (all times EDT):4:15 p.m.Dee Gordon wanted to express his appreciation for Ichiro Suzuki, who announced his retirement following the Seattle Mariners' two games in Japan. But he wanted to do more than a social media post.So Gordon took out a full-page ad in The Seattle Times on Thursday ahead of the Mariners' home opener against the Boston Red Sox."Honestly, I didn't think that writing up an Instagram post or something would be meaningful enough," Gordon said. "And he probably wouldn't be able to see it. I thought this was over the top, too."In the ad, Gordon wrote, "Thank you for being a great friend to me and being my favorite player to this day."___3:25 p.m.Score it 3U on No. 3.Bryce Harper grounded out to first base in his first at-bat in a Phillies uniform.Harper was already a smash hit before he walked to the plate to a standing ovation. Phillies fans were wild all day in anticipation of Harper's debut.Harper, who wore green Phanatic cleats, bowed to the... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The new No. 3 is the new No. 1.Major League Baseball says that Bryce Harper has the sport's top-selling jersey, ending a two-year reign for Aaron Judge's No. 99.Harper signed a $330 million, 13-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies this spring, and his new No. 3 jersey set professional sports records for sales in 24 and 48 hours, according to online retailer Fanatics. His fresh get-up has been the top-selling jersey on MLB.com since Jan. 1, 2019.Harper overtook Judge, the New York Yankees' 6-foot-7 slugger who had topped the list since his breakout rookie season in 2017.Reigning AL MVP and World Series champion Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox is third, two-time AL MVP Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels is fourth, and veteran St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina is fifth in figures released Thursday.The Chicago Cubs are the only team with two players in the top 10: Javier Baez at seven and Anthony Rizzo at nine.Manny Machado placed 12th, making him the first San Diego Padres player to crack the top 20 since MLB began publicizing it in 2010. Machado signed a $300 million, 10-year deal with San Diego this winter.Now-retired Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki was 13th.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SEATTLE (AP) — Before J.D. Martinez and the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox take the field to begin the regular season, they're already playing catch up in the American League race.No, really. The Red Sox are facing a two-game deficit in the AL standings heading into Thursday's regular season opener against the unbeaten Seattle Mariners.Of course, this is all tongue in cheek, the result of the Mariners having already opened the season with a pair of victories over Oakland in Tokyo last week to open the season. It's certainly going to be short-lived considering the expectations of both teams going into the opener.The Mariners are beginning what they hope is a relatively short rebuild to again be contenders. They've already reshuffled their roster since playing in Japan — Ichiro Suzuki retired at 45 after two hitless games in his homeland.AL MVP Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts and the Red Sox are one of the heavy favorites in the AL. They know it and are embracing the expectations... [More]

Four-man outfields. High-tech anti-spying rules. A starting pitcher facing just one batter in a playoff game.But beyond all the shifts, analytics and social media outreach, here's the best way to tell Major League Baseball has zoomed into a new era: There's not a single active player left from the 20th century.Not one.Adrian Beltre and Bartolo Colon were the last, the Elias Sports Bureau said. And with all 30 teams set to play Thursday — from Bryce Harper's home debut at Citizens Bank Park to Mookie Betts and the champion Boston Red Sox visiting Seattle — this year MLB becomes the first of the four major sports without someone still around who played in the 1900s.The last time that was true in the big leagues? Back before even the World Series existed.Already this season, the great Ichiro Suzuki has retired, done at 45 after two hitless games last week as the Seattle Mariners swept Oakland at the Toyko Dome."I really wanted to play until I was 50, but I couldn't do it," he said.Yankees... [More]

TOKYO (AP) — Joey Mellows is taking his passion for baseball on the road. Long haul.The 34-year-old Englishman, better known by his @BaseballBrit Twitter handle, has quit his day job to watch an entire season of baseball games across three continents."Some people were fairly impressed that I was doing something I'm so passionate about," Mellows said recently at Tokyo Dome, where he kicked off his baseball odyssey by witnessing Ichiro Suzuki's final games as the Seattle Mariners swept the Oakland Athletics in a two-game series."My family is very supportive," Mellows added. "Co-workers were a little bit surprised but I think they're on board now and they're following along on Twitter and I think they are a little bit jealous, to be honest."Mellows left his job as an English teacher in China for this trip, which he's hoping will involve watching 162 games in person.He got the idea for the journey after discovering that the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees were going to play two games... [More]

TOKYO (AP) — Joey Mellows is taking his passion for baseball on the road. Long haul.The 34-year-old Englishman, better known by his @BaseballBrit Twitter handle, has quit his day job to watch an entire season of baseball games across three continents."Some people were fairly impressed that I was doing something I'm so passionate about," Mellows said recently at Tokyo Dome, where he kicked off his baseball odyssey by witnessing Ichiro Suzuki's final games as the Seattle Mariners swept the Oakland A's in a two-game series."My family is very supportive," Mellows added. "Co-workers were a little bit surprised but I think they're on board now and they're following along on Twitter and I think they are a little bit jealous, to be honest."Mellows left his job as an English teacher in China for this trip, which he's hoping will involve watching 162 games in person.He got the idea for the journey after discovering that the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees were going to play two games in June... [More]