BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts belted three solo homers and J.D. Martinez also went deep, powering the Boston Red Sox to a 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.It was the fourth three-homer game for the 25-year-old Betts, snapping a tie with Hall of Famer Ted Williams for most three-homer games in franchise history.AL East-leading Boston won for the third time in four games after losing 7-6 in 13 innings on Tuesday night.Cheslor Cuthbert homered for Kansas City, and Drew Butera had a two-run double. Danny Duffy (0-4) was tagged for five runs and 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings.Drew Pomeranz (1-1) worked six innings for the win and Craig Kimbrel struck out the side in the ninth for his eighth save.YANKEES 4, ASTROS 0HOUSTON (AP) — Luis Severino pitched a five-hitter and struck out 10 for his first career complete game while Giancarlo Stanton homered twice and drove in all four runs for New York.The Yankees have beaten Houston by the exact same 4-0 score for tow straight days.Severino... [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) — A's lefty Sean Manaea pitched the first no-hitter against Boston in 25 years, with an overturned call preserving the gem Saturday night in Oakland's 3-0 win over the sizzling Red Sox.Manaea struck out 10, walked two and threw 108 pitches to finish off Oakland's first no-no since Dallas Braden tossed a perfect game against Tampa Bay in 2010.Manaea got Hanley Ramirez to ground out to complete the first no-hitter versus the Red Sox since Seattle's Chris Bosio did it in 1993.Boston looked as if it had a hit with two outs in the sixth at the Oakland Coliseum. Andrew Benintendi hit a grounder to the right side, slid around first baseman Matt Olson and was ruled safe.After the umpires conferred, Benintendi was ruled out for going wide of the baseline.Sandy Leon reached in the Red Sox fifth when A's shortstop Marcus Semien dropped a popup. The play was scored as an error.Manaea (3-2) had been battered by Boston in three previous starts. But the 26-year-old cooled off a hard-hitting... [More]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts won't hesitate to send Kenley Jansen out for save opportunities despite the closer's shaky start to the season."Absolutely not. No," Roberts said before Wednesday's series finale against San Diego, less than 24 hours after Jansen blew his second save opportunity of 2018, already double his total of last year. "Save situation tonight, even potentially a non-save situation to keep the game close, or whether we need an inning or not, I have no hesitance in running him out there."It took the Dodgers 12 innings to beat the Padres 7-3 Tuesday night after Jansen's rough ninth.The Dodgers took a combined two-hitter and a 3-1 lead into the ninth. Jansen allowed Eric Hosmer's towering leadoff home run to center and then a watched as center fielder Chris Taylor robbed Christian Villanueva of a homer for the second out. Jansen then walked Franchy Cordero, who stole second and took third on Jansen's balk.Pinch-hitter Chase Headley, who came in... [More]

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Francisco Lindor homered in his native Puerto Rico, Corey Kluber allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings and the Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins 6-1 on Tuesday night in the first regular-season game on the island commonwealth since 2010.Michael Brantley and Jose Ramirez each had three hits for Cleveland before a sold-out crowd of 19,516 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium. Brantley and Ramirez hit consecutive homers in the sixth, and Yonder Alonso added a solo homer in the eighth.Kluber (2-1) allowed five hits and struck out six, lowering his ERA to 1.52. Minnesota's Jake Odorizzi (1-1) gave up four runs and six hits in five-plus innings.RED SOX 10, ANGELS 1ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Mookie Betts led off with the first of his three homers, and Boston chased Shohei Ohtani just two innings into his third big-league start.Ohtani (2-1) yielded four hits and three runs on 66 pitches before exiting with a blister on his pitching hand. The two-way Japanese sensation couldn't... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The wait is over.Baseball's All-Star Game is returning to Dodger Stadium in 2020 for the first time since 1980, thanks in large part to the upgrades made by the team's ownership in recent years.Commissioner Rob Manfred made the announcement from a platform in center field Wednesday with Dodgers alumni Don Newcombe, Tom Lasorda, Manny Mota, Ron Cey, Bill Russell and Reggie Smith looking on. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, injured third baseman Justin Turner and closer Kenley Jansen joined them under a hot sun.Manfred cited three factors in awarding the 2020 edition to Los Angeles: the city offers a "great place" to showcase the game's younger talent, Dodger Stadium is iconic as baseball's third-oldest park, and "it's time for us to be back here."The Dodgers played a video showing scenes of the ballpark and city narrated by retired Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully, who concluded with the line, "This is our home and we can't wait."Stan Kasten, team president and CEO, donned... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The wait is over.Baseball's All-Star Game is returning to Dodger Stadium in 2020 for the first time since 1980, thanks in large part to the upgrades made by the team's ownership in recent years.Commissioner Rob Manfred made the announcement from a platform in center field Wednesday with Dodgers alumni Don Newcombe, Tom Lasorda, Manny Mota, Ron Cey, Bill Russell and Reggie Smith looking on. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, injured third baseman Justin Turner and closer Kenley Jansen joined them under a hot sun.Manfred cited three factors in awarding the 2020 edition to Los Angeles: the city offers a "great place" to showcase the game's younger talent, Dodger Stadium is iconic as baseball's third-oldest park, and "it's time for us to be back here."___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts hit a grand slam on a monster night, leading Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox over the New York Yankees 14-1 Tuesday for their ninth straight victory.Betts went 4 for 4, scoring five runs and driving in four. His third career slam capped a nine-run burst in the sixth inning that turned the first matchup of the season between the AL East rivals into a rout.Sale (1-0) allowed one run in six innings, striking out eight. Luis Severino (2-1) gave up five runs in five innings.Aaron Judge had three hits for the Yankees, including his third home run of the season.Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton went 2 for 4. He struck out his first two times up against Sale, and has now fanned 22 times in 46 at-bats.GIANTS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 4SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Andrew McCutchen hit a bases-loaded single for his second walk-off of San Francisco's homestand.McCutchen lined the first pitch he got from Jorge De La Rosa (0-1) for a clean single into left-center, his 10th career game-ending... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts hit a grand slam on a monster night, leading Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox over the New York Yankees 14-1 Tuesday for their ninth straight victory.Betts went 4 for 4, scoring five runs and driving in four. His third career slam capped a nine-run burst in the sixth inning that turned the first matchup of the season between the AL East rivals into a rout.Sale (1-0) allowed one run in six innings, striking out eight. Luis Severino (2-1) gave up five runs in five innings.Aaron Judge had three hits for the Yankees, including his third home run of the season.Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton went 2 for 4. He struck out his first two times up against Sale, and has now fanned 22 times in 46 at-bats.BLUE JAYS 2, ORIOLES 1BALTIMORE (AP) — Aaron Sanchez lost his no-hit bid when Baltimore's Tim Beckham led off the eighth inning with a sharp grounder through the legs of third baseman Josh Donaldson, and Curtis Granderson hit a tiebreaking homer in the ninth to carry Toronto.Seeking... [More]

For one week at least, the angst in New York was on the American League side.While the Mets swept a pair of division rivals, the Yankees wrapped up their first homestand by losing three of four to Baltimore, with a couple extra-inning games going against them. The slugging tandem of Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge has five home runs on the young season, but Stanton already has 20 strikeouts in 10 games and has heard boos from his new home crowd in the Bronx.After reaching the AL Championship Series last year and adding Stanton, the Yankees came into this season with high expectations, and it will take more than a few whiffs early in the season to change that. The Mets, on the other hand, finished 27 games out of first place in 2017, and the impressive rotation they'd assembled was struggling to stay healthy.Now the Mets are 7-1 after sweeping a two-game series with Philadelphia and taking three in a row at Washington . Only Boston (8-1) has a better record. Noah Syndergaard is back after... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani retired the Oakland Athletics' first 19 batters and yielded one hit over seven shutout innings in his home pitching debut, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 6-1 victory Sunday.Marcus Semien's clean one-out single to left broke up Ohtani's bid for a perfect game,Ohtani (2-0) struck out the side twice and finished with 12 strikeouts in all. He won his pitching debut in Oakland last weekend with six strong innings, then homered in three consecutive games in Anaheim between starts in his attempt to become the first regular two-way player in decades.Mike Trout and Ryan Schimpf homered, and Albert Pujols had an RBI double in the Angels' seventh win in nine games. Kendall Graveman (0-2) gave up five hits and four walks while failing to get out of the fourth inning for the A's, who have lost seven of 10.METS 6, NATIONALS 5, 12 INNINGSWASHINGTON (AP) — Yoenis Cespedes scored Juan Lagares with a broken-bat single in the 12th inning to help New York complete... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani retired the Oakland Athletics' first 19 batters and yielded one hit over seven shutout innings in his home pitching debut, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 6-1 victory Sunday.Marcus Semien's clean one-out single to left broke up Ohtani's bid for a perfect game,Ohtani (2-0) struck out the side twice and finished with 12 strikeouts in all. He won his pitching debut in Oakland last weekend with six strong innings, then homered in three consecutive games in Anaheim between starts in his attempt to become the first regular two-way player in decades.Mike Trout and Ryan Schimpf homered, and Albert Pujols had an RBI double in the Angels' seventh win in nine games. Kendall Graveman (0-2) gave up five hits and four walks while failing to get out of the fourth inning for the A's, who have lost seven of 10.MARLINS 6, PHILLIES 3PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jake Arrieta (0-1) lasted just four innings in his Philadelphia debut, allowing three runs — two earned — and three... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Charlie Morton pitched six scoreless innings, Marwin Gonzalez homered and the Houston Astros unveiled their World Series banner before defeating the Baltimore Orioles 6-1 on Monday night in their home opener.Morton (1-0) allowed three hits and struck out six. The right-hander picked up where he left off after getting the final 12 outs in Game 7 against the Dodgers to help secure Houston's first championship.Brad Peacock pitched a perfect seventh and Will Harris allowed one hit in the eighth before Collin McHugh took over. The starter-turned-reliever allowed a homer to Trey Mancini and a double to Colby Rasmus before retiring the last three batters.Baltimore has dropped three straight after winning its opener. Orioles starter Chris Tillman (0-1) was tagged for seven hits and four runs in four-plus innings.DIAMONDBACKS 8, DODGERS 7, 15 INNINGSPHOENIX (AP) — Chris Owings hit a three-run homer off All-Star closer Kenley Jansen with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to force... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Gregory Polanco hit a three-run homer in the 13th inning to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 13-10 victory over Detroit on Friday — about an hour after the Tigers spilled onto the field to celebrate what they thought was a game-winning hit of their own.Nicholas Castellanos was initially called safe at home in the bottom of the 10th for the Tigers, but a replay review took the run away and the teams played on. Polanco's drive to right-center on a 3-0 pitch from Alex Wilson (0-1) finally gave the Pirates a comfortable lead — or as comfortable as could be on a wacky day in which both teams scored four runs in the ninth.Detroit put two men on base in the 13th, but Steven Brault (1-0) was able to hold on and finish his third scoreless inning of relief.By the time the 5-hour, 27-minute game was over, there were only three umpires and one manager left. Plate umpire Mike Everitt exited in the eighth with a concussion after being hit in the mask by a pitch. And Ron Gardenhire — in... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Gregory Polanco hit a three-run homer in the 13th inning to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 13-10 victory over Detroit on Friday — about an hour after the Tigers spilled onto the field to celebrate what they thought was a game-winning hit of their own.Nicholas Castellanos was initially called safe at home in the bottom of the 10th for the Tigers, but a replay review took the run away and the teams played on. Polanco's drive to right-center on a 3-0 pitch from Alex Wilson (0-1) finally gave the Pirates a comfortable lead — or as comfortable as could be on a wacky day in which both teams scored four runs in the ninth.Detroit put two men on base in the 13th, but Steven Brault (1-0) was able to hold on and finish his third scoreless inning of relief.By the time the 5-hour, 27-minute game was over, there were only three umpires and one manager left. Plate umpire Mike Everitt exited in the eighth with a concussion after being hit in the mask by a pitch. And Ron Gardenhire — in... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Clayton Kershaw will make his franchise-record eighth consecutive opening day start for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are aiming for a second straight World Series appearance with virtually the same roster as last year.Kershaw takes the mound Thursday against the rival San Francisco Giants and Ty Blach, whose only opening day starts have been in the minors. Blach drew the assignment because of injuries to Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija.After falling one win short of their first World Series title since 1988, the Dodgers have shifted their focus from losing to Houston in Game 7 to earning another shot this year."We understand what our goal is," manager Dave Roberts said. "It's to do whatever we can to win the World Series."The Giants are trying to get back in contention in the NL West after finishing last in 2017. They added former All-Stars outfielder Andrew McCutchen and third baseman Evan Longoria in the offseason.The teams are playing on opening day for the first... [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]

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]

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]

Jharel Cotton had planned to build off a promising rookie campaign for the Oakland Athletics.He'll have to wait another year.The 26-year-old righty will undergo elbow surgery and not pitch in 2018, a setback for a young club trying to improve on a last-place finish."It's tough. I'm missing the 2018 season with my boys, so it's kind of hard to take. I'm trying to take it as best as I can and just get ready for the long process, the long road that's ahead," Cotton said Saturday.Cotton had been diagnosed with a sprain and had a second scan Friday, then was told he would need Tommy John surgery.Cotton was 9-10 with a 5.58 ERA average in 24 starts. This spring, he had a 3.75 ERA in four exhibitions, striking out 16 in 12 innings."Unfortunate. Just of him having to go through what a lot of guys have to go through," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "But we felt like he was on the cusp of really coming into his own and it's going to be delayed a year, unfortunately."The A's figure to go into the 2018... [More]