SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Eddie Rosario scored the winning run in his homeland in the 16th inning, coming around on Ryan LaMarre's single to lift the Minnesota Twins over the Cleveland Indians 2-1 on Wednesday night for a split of their two-game series in Puerto Rico.Rosario led off the 16th with a single and went to third when Logan Morrison's grounder — which could have been a double-play ball — got past second baseman Jason Kipnis.Eduardo Escobar was intentionally walked to load the bases with none out, and LaMarre finally ended the 5-hour, 13-minute marathon with a sharp liner to center.Alan Busenitz (1-0) worked two innings for the win. Josh Tomlin (0-2) got the loss in his first relief appearance since 2016.METS 11, NATIONALS 5NEW YORK (AP) — Yoenis Cespedes launched a grand slam during New York's nine-run outburst in the eighth inning, helping the Mets avoid a three-game sweep.Todd Frazier tied it at 4 with a two-run single and pinch-hitter Juan Lagares put New York ahead for... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Yoenis Cespedes launched a grand slam during a nine-run outburst in the eighth inning that rallied the New York Mets past the Washington Nationals 11-5 on Wednesday night, preventing a three-game sweep.Todd Frazier tied it at 4 with a two-run single and pinch-hitter Juan Lagares put New York ahead for the first time with a two-run double off ineffective setup man Ryan Madson (0-2).Shut down by Tanner Roark for seven innings, the first-place Mets broke loose in the eighth and improved to 13-4 with a stirring victory against their NL East rivals.Ryan Zimmerman homered twice, tripled and drove in four runs for the Nationals, who pulled off their own big comeback in the eighth inning of the series opener.AJ Ramos (1-1) worked a perfect inning for his first win with the Mets since being acquired from Miami last July.ATHLETICS 12, WHITE SOX 11, 14 INNINGSOAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Matt Olson singled over left fielder Nicky Delmonico to drive in Marcus Semien with two outs in the 14th... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Tyler Austin rushed the mound after being hit by a pitch from Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly, triggering a bench-clearing brawl in a ramped-up rivalry as the New York Yankees ended Boston's nine-game winning streak with a 10-7 victory Wednesday night.Benches cleared briefly in the third after Austin's spikes clipped Brock Holt's leg on a slide into second base. Holt took issue with the contact and they exchanged words before being separated.Then with the Yankees leading 10-6 in the seventh, Kelly caught Austin on the side with a 98 mph fastball. Austin slammed his bat on the plate, threw it down and took four steps toward the mound while hollering. Kelly waved Austin at him, and things quickly escalated.Austin, Kelly, New York reliever Tommy Kahnle and Yankees third base coach Phil Nevin were ejected.The Yankees scored four runs off David Price (1-1) in the first inning before the lefty ace exited the game with a tingling sensation in his pitching hand.Gary Sanchez hit two home... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Tyler Austin rushed the mound after being hit by a pitch from Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly, triggering a bench-clearing brawl in a ramped-up rivalry as the New York Yankees ended Boston's nine-game winning streak with a 10-7 victory Wednesday night.Benches cleared briefly in the third after Austin's spikes clipped Brock Holt's leg on a slide into second base. Holt took issue with the contact and they exchanged words before being separated.Then with the Yankees leading 10-6 in the seventh, Kelly caught Austin on the side with a 98 mph fastball. Austin slammed his bat on the plate, threw it down and took four steps toward the mound while hollering. Kelly waved Austin at him, and things quickly escalated.Austin, Kelly, New York reliever Tommy Kahnle and Yankees third base coach Phil Nevin were ejected.The Yankees scored four runs off David Price (1-1) in the first inning before the lefty ace exited the game with a tingling sensation in his pitching hand.Gary Sanchez hit two home... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Atlanta Braves right-hander Brandon McCarthy was pulled after hurting his left shoulder reaching to grab a throw while covering first base.McCarthy left after recording the last out of the fifth inning of his start against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.McCarthy had what the Braves said was a subluxation of his non-throwing shoulder, which can refer to a partial dislocation.He spent more than a month on the disabled list last season after dislocating his left shoulder with the Los Angeles Dodgers.Wednesday's injury came when McCarthy stretched out his left arm to collect a toss from first baseman Freddie Freeman on a groundout by Brian Goodwin. McCarthy immediately grabbed at his shoulder and a trainer came out to attend to him.He gave up one run and four hits against Washington. When he left, Atlanta led 2-1, but Washington tied it at 2 in the ninth against reliever Arodys Vizcaino.___More AP Baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Rookie sensation Shohei Ohtani hit a home run for the third straight game and the Los Angeles Angels rallied from an early six-run deficit to beat Oakland.The two-way star from Japan connected for a long, solo drive in the second inning. The ball landed in the rocks beyond the center field wall after traveling 449 feet and was measured with a 112.3 mph exit velocity according to Statcast, the hardest-hit and longest of Ohtani's three major league homers.Ohtani, who is batting .462 (6 for 13) with six RBIs at home, drew a walk on four pitches with the bases loaded to pull the Angels within 8-7 in the fifth.The 23-year-old is scheduled to pitch Sunday — he won his first big league start last weekend against the A's. It's uncertain if he'll be the designated hitter on Saturday and try to extend his homer streak, a day before he starts.Jim Johnson (1-0) got the win. Blake Treinen (0-1) took the loss for the A's, who hit five home runs.ORIOLES 7, YANKEES 3, 14 INNINGSNEW... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Pedro Alvarez hit a grand slam in the 14th inning, Manny Machado homered twice and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Yankees 7-3 Friday night after New York saw four players forced to make early exits.Yankees starter CC Sabathia left with hip soreness, star catcher Gary Sanchez limped off with a possible leg cramp right before Alvarez struck, third baseman Brandon Drury was lifted for migraines and second baseman Tyler Wade was removed because of flu-like symptoms.Alvarez connected off Jonathan Holder (0-1) after midnight, deciding a game that took 5 hours, 20 minutes and included 14 pitchers and a couple of wild misadventures on the basepaths.Rookie Pedro Araujo (1-1) got the win.BRAVES 8, ROCKIES 3DENVER (AP) — It was 27 degrees at gametime, and Brandon McCarthy used his arm and bat to help Atlanta win at Coors Field in Colorado's home opener.The coldest recorded start in major league history was 23 games at Coors when these same teams met on April 23, 2013.Brandon McCarthy... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kenta Maeda struck out 10 over five innings, and the Los Angeles Dodgers finally found their offense to beat the San Francisco Giants 5-0 on Saturday night for their first win of the season.After striking out 18 times in a pair of 1-0 defeats to open the season, the Dodgers got the loudest cheers in the first inning for a sacrifice fly by Yasiel Puig that scored their first run off Derek Holland (0-1). Matt Kemp followed with an RBI single to make it 2-0.Maeda (1-0) allowed five hits and walked one. He faced baserunners in every inning except the fifth.Joe Panik, whose solo homers beat the Dodgers in the first two games, hit into a game-ending double play in the ninth.BREWERS 7, PADRES 3SAN DIEGO (AP) — Christian Yelich tied his career high with five hits, leading the Brewers to a sweep of their season-opening series.Yelich scored three times and drove in two runs as Milwaukee improved to 3-0 for the first time since it won its first five games in 2006. Lorenzo Cain had... [More]

CINCINNATI (AP) — Adam Eaton had solo homer among his career-high five hits and Brian Goodwin hit his first career grand slam on Saturday, powering the Washington Nationals to a 13-7 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.The Nationals have won their first two games under new manager Dave Martinez, hired after Dusty Baker was fired last season following another quick exit in the playoffs. The last time they opened a season 3-0 was 2013, when they swept the Marlins.Matt Adams and Trea Turner also homered for Washington.Stephen Strasburg (1-0) gave up three runs — only one earned — in 6 1/3 innings while improving to 5-1 career against Cincinnati. Scott Schebler's homer in the fourth inning provided Cincinnati's first run of the season after 12 scoreless innings.The Nationals piled up six runs in six innings off Luis Castillo (0-1), the Reds' top young starter last season.BLUE JAYS 5, YANKEES 3TORONTO (AP) — Yangervis Solarte hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning of Toronto's first win of... [More]

Once again, Greg Bird is hurt as spring training comes to a close.The oft-injured New York Yankees first baseman will need surgery on his ailing right ankle and could be sidelined for two months. The team learned of the setback Monday while in Atlanta for its final exhibition game, three days before the season opener at Toronto."Obviously, we were hoping it was going to be a shorter-term thing," said rookie manager Aaron Boone, who took over a club that reached Game 7 of the AL Championship Series last year. "But we feel like we got some answers. We feel like we know what the surgery's going to accomplish."Bird will have surgery to remove a small broken spur on the outside of his right ankle. Dr. Martin O'Malley is scheduled to operate Tuesday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.The slugger is expected to be out for six to eight weeks."Hopefully this is something he will now put behind him for good," Boone said. "We feel pretty good that the surgery is fairly minor and they're... [More]

Once again, Greg Bird is hurt as spring training comes to a close.The oft-injured New York Yankees first baseman will need surgery on his ailing right ankle and could be sidelined for two months. The team learned of the setback Monday while in Atlanta for its final exhibition game, three days before the season opener at Toronto."Obviously, we were hoping it was going to be a shorter-term thing," said rookie manager Aaron Boone, who took over a club that reached Game 7 of the AL Championship Series last year. "But we feel like we got some answers. We feel like we know what the surgery's going to accomplish."Bird will have surgery to remove a small broken spur on the outside of his right ankle. Dr. Martin O'Malley is scheduled to operate Tuesday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.The slugger is expected to be out for six to eight weeks."Hopefully this is something he will now put behind him for good," Boone said. "We feel pretty good that the surgery is fairly minor and they're... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves have released Scott Kazmir after the left-hander fell short in his bid to win the No. 5 spot in the team's rotation.The 34-year-old Kazmir was acquired with Brandon McCarthy and infielder Charlie Culberson in the Dec. 18 trade that sent outfielder Matt Kemp to the Dodgers.McCarthy has won a spot in the rotation but Kazmir struggled in spring training. He couldn't claim a spot left vacant when Luiz Gohara sprained his left ankle.Kazmir will earn $15,554,483 on the final year of his contract this season.Anibal Sanchez, signed to a minor league contract late in camp, is a candidate to serve as the fifth starter at least until Gohara is healthy.___More AP baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

Capsules of National League West teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Los Angeles Dodgers2017: 104-58, first place, lost to Houston in World Series.Manager: Dave Roberts (third season).He's Here: OF Matt Kemp, RHP Tom Koehler, LHP Scott Alexander, LHP Henry Owens.He's Outta Here: 1B Adrian Gonzalez, RHP Yu Darvish, RHP Brandon Morrow, RHP Brandon McCarthy, LHP Tony Watson, LHP Luis Avilan, LHP Scott Kazmir, LHP Adam Liberatore, OF Andre Ethier, INF Charlie Culberson, OF Curtis Granderson, LHP Grant Dayton, OF Franklin Gutierrez, RHP Josh Ravin.Projected Lineup: CF Chris Taylor (.288, 21 HRs, 72 RBIs, 17 SBs), SS Corey Seager (.295, 22, 77), 3B Justin Turner (.322, 21, 71, will start season on DL with broken left wrist), 1B Cody Bellinger (.267, 39, 97, 10 SBs), RF Yasiel Puig (.263, 28, 74), LF Matt Kemp (.276, 19, 64 in 115 games with Braves) or Joc Pederson (.212, 11, 35 in 102 games), C Austin Barnes (.289, 8, 38) or Yasmani Grandal (.247, 22, 58), 2B Logan Forsythe (.224, 6,... [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]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Dodgers start a new season with an old burden: they haven't won a World Series since 1988.Winning 104 games and owning baseball's best record last year didn't get it done.However, the Dodgers bring back most of their roster and boast depth in the rotation and up and down the lineup. That should allow them to weather potential injuries and slumps.First baseman Cody Bellinger and shortstop Corey Seager — the last two NL Rookies of the Year — provide a young spark, while outfielder Chris Taylor will be looking to follow up a solid season in which he emerged as an everyday player. Bellinger will get a full season at first after veteran Adrian Gonzalez was traded.Yasiel Puig is coming off a career-high 28 home runs and his defensive excellence in right field remains intact, having salvaged his career in Los Angeles after being demoted to Triple-A in 2016 and nearly traded.Dave Roberts enters his third season as skipper with a 195-130 record and two division titles to his... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — The focus of the Atlanta Braves' rebuilding process has been pitching as the team stockpiled prospects through the draft and trades.Those young pitchers remain vital to the team's hopes of returning to the postseason, but 20-year-old outfielder Ronald Acuna showed this spring he's the team's future star and a key to hopes for improvement in 2018.That future may begin as soon as the middle of April."He's as good a prospect as I've seen," said former Braves third baseman Chipper Jones, who was in camp as a roving instructor.Jones, to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in July, was considered a foundation player of the franchise. Now first baseman Freddie Freeman has that role. Jones says Acuna has the talent to be another figurehead of the franchise.Acuna, a native of Venezuela, was sent to the minor league camp on Monday. The Braves would gain a seventh year of contractual control if he spends 15 days at Triple-A Gwinnett before making his major league debut.The Braves need... [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 West teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Los Angeles Dodgers2017: 104-58, first place, lost to Houston in World Series.Manager: Dave Roberts (third season).He's Here: OF Matt Kemp, RHP Tom Koehler, LHP Scott Alexander, LHP Henry Owens.He's Outta Here: 1B Adrian Gonzalez, RHP Yu Darvish, RHP Brandon Morrow, RHP Brandon McCarthy, LHP Tony Watson, LHP Luis Avilan, LHP Scott Kazmir, LHP Adam Liberatore, OF Andre Ethier, INF Charlie Culberson, OF Curtis Granderson, LHP Grant Dayton, OF Franklin Gutierrez, RHP Josh Ravin.Projected Lineup: CF Chris Taylor (.288, 21 HRs, 72 RBIs, 17 SBs), SS Corey Seager (.295, 22, 77), 3B Justin Turner (.322, 21, 71, will start season on DL with broken left wrist), 1B Cody Bellinger (.267, 39, 97, 10 SBs), RF Yasiel Puig (.263, 28, 74), LF Matt Kemp (.276, 19, 64 in 115 games with Braves) or Joc Pederson (.212, 11, 35 in 102 games), C Austin Barnes (.289, 8, 38) or Yasmani Grandal (.247, 22, 58), 2B Logan Forsythe (.224, 6,... [More]

The Baltimore Orioles figured Alex Cobb would be a fine fit.Cobb stayed in the division he knew best, finalizing a $57 million, four-year contract on Wednesday."They used the AL East and the success I've had in it to their advantage," the 30-year-old right-hander said. "They kept challenging me with it and I love the challenge of pitching in this division and they know that over the times we talked. They did a really good job of making me feel like this is where I need to be."Cobb had spent his entire six-season big league career with Tampa Bay and was the last top starting pitcher available in a slow-moving free agent market.Cobb joined Andrew Cashner and Chris Tillman, who were signed last month, in a revamped rotation that includes holdovers Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman.The Orioles are coming off a last-place finish and 75-87 record.Cobb was 12-10 with a 3.66 ERA in 29 starts last season. He pitched 179 1/3 innings in his first full year back after missing nearly two seasons because... [More]