CLEVELAND (AP) — The Latest on the All-Star Game (all times local):6:25 p.m.Even though he's not on the roster, CC Sabathia was looming large around Progressive Field.The 38-year-old Yankees pitcher is playing his final season. He was invited by Major League Baseball to take part in this week's festivities, and was set to be honored for his contributions on and off the field."I'm just having a good time, being a fake All-Star here," he said, laughing. "When the Yankees asked me to announce my retirement, I was like, 'Announce what? I'm not Derek Jeter. No one will care.' But this whole deal has been pretty cool."Sabathia began his big league career in Cleveland and stayed in town until being traded to Milwaukee during the 2008 season. He still maintains close connections to the city.The lefty is 5-4 with a 4.03 ERA this season. Overall, the six-time All-Star has 251 wins and 3,057 strikeouts."I'm on my way out, I only have three more months, but as a fan, I love offense. There is definitely... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Sitting next to Justin Verlander, American League manager Alex Cora cheekily declared "we've got the opener" as he described his pitching plans.Touché!Houston's ace has been among the players most critical of some teams' practice of using relief pitchers as ersatz starters for an inning or two.Verlander will be making his second All-Star start on Tuesday night. Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts selected Hyun-Jin Ryu from his own staff to make his first start for the National League.A 36-year-old right-hander, Verlander is 10-4 with a 2.98 ERA this year for the Houston Astros, striking out 153 in 126 2/3 innings.He allowed five runs in the first inning during the 2012 All-Star Game at Kansas City, including the first bases-loaded triple in All-Star history, to Pablo Sandoval."I kind of halfway blame it on Prince Fielder," Verlander said. "He was at first base, and he kept whispering at me, 'Ver, Ver, Ver, throw 100.' OK, Prince, here we go. So that was back then."Verlander,... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — There is hardly a team that deserves or desires this All-Star week more than the Minnesota Twins, whose powerful performance over the first half of the season was one of the biggest surprises in baseball.The Twins could take the break as a symbolic reward for consecutive residence in first place in the American League Central since April 20. They can sure use the extra rest, too, an antidote to all of the physical ailments that piled up over the last several weeks."There's really only one time over the course of nine months that you get to wake up two days in a row and do whatever you want," rookie manager Rocco Baldelli said Sunday. "And there's something to that. So I'm sure it'll be a good feeling for everyone to take a little break, choose what you're going to do and who you're going to hang out with and what coffee you're going to drink, and that's it."Fueled by the highest-scoring offense in the major leagues , the Twins (56-33) are on pace for more than 100 wins.... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Latest on the All-Star Game (all times local):4:05 p.m.Justin Verlander's start in the 2012 All-Star Game at Kansas City was memorable — unfortunately for him.Ryan Braun hit an RBI double, Pablo Sandoval had the first bases-loaded triple and Dan Uggla followed with a run-scoring infield single as the NL started rolling to an 8-0 win."I kind of halfway blame it on Prince Fielder," Verlander said a day ahead of his start for the American League on Tuesday night. "He was at first base, and he kept whispering at me, 'Ver, Ver, Ver, throw 100.' OK, Prince, here we go. So that was back then."Verlander threw five pitches clocked at 100 mph and another at 101 during a 35-pitch inning."I don't quite throw 100 anymore. Maybe I'll try tomorrow," he said. "The goal is to get guys out. That's it. Thanks for bringing that up, by the way."___12:45 p.m.Justin Verlander will start the All-Star Game for the American League for the second time, and Hyun-Jin Ryu will make his first start... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Justin Verlander will start the All-Star Game for the American League for the second time, and Hyun-Jin Ryu will make his first start for the National League.Verlander, a 36-year-old right-hander, is 10-4 with a 2.98 ERA this year for the Houston Astros, striking out 153 in 126 2/3 innings.He allowed five runs in the first inning during the 2012 All-Star Game at Kansas City, including the first-bases loaded triple in All-Star history, to Pablo Sandoval. Verlander, who played for the Detroit Tigers, threw five pitches clocked at 100 mph and another at 101 during a 35-pitch inning.Ryu, a 32-year-old left-hander from South Korea, is 10-2 with a major league-leading 1.73 ERA for the NL champion Los Angeles Dodgers. He is the second Asian All-Star starter after Dodgers rookie Hideo Nomo of Japan in 1995.Houston's George Springer leads off and plays right field for the AL and is followed in the batting order by New York Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu, Los Angeles Angels center... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Los Angeles Angels catcher Jonathan Lucroy was carted off the field Sunday after a violent collision at the plate with Houston's Jake Marisnick, and manager Brad Ausmus thinks the league should consider suspending the Astros outfielder.The team said Lucroy was taken to a hospital for a CT scan and is being evaluated for a possible concussion and nose fracture.The bases were loaded with the game tied at 10 when Marisnick attempted to score on a sacrifice fly by George Springer in a game Houston won 11-10 in the 10th inning.Marisnick crashed into Lucroy as he attempted to field the throw, and the catcher immediately fell on his back. He didn't move for a few seconds before struggling to sit up. Marisnick tagged home and then leaned over Lucroy to see if he was OK. He lifted his head off the ground a few seconds later as blood dripped from his nose."It certainly didn't look like a clean play," Ausmus said. "I don't know what actually happened, but it looked like Marisnick took... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Los Angeles Angels catcher Jonathan Lucroy was carted off the field in the eighth inning after a collision at the plate with Houston's Jake Marisnick.The team said he was taken to a hospital for a CT scan and is being evaluated for a possible concussion and nose fracture.The bases were loaded with the game tied at 10 when Marisnick attempted to score on a sacrifice fly by George Springer.Marisnick crashed into Lucroy as he attempted to field the throw, and the catcher immediately fell on his back. He didn't move for a few seconds before struggling to sit up. Marisnick tagged home and then leaned over Lucroy to see if he was OK. He lifted his head off the ground a few seconds later as blood dripped from his nose.Angels players rushed to the plate as trainers checked on him. He was lifted to a sitting position after a couple of minutes and held a towel to his nose. He was then helped to a cart and taken off the field while clutching a bloodstained towel.Marisnick was called out for colliding with Lucroy and the call was upheld after a crew chief review to end the inning.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

HOUSTON (AP) — Los Angeles Angels catcher Jonathan Lucroy was carted off the field in the eighth inning after a collision at the plate with Houston's Jake Marisnick.The bases were loaded with the game tied at 10 when Marisnick attempted to score on a sacrifice fly by George Springer.Marisnick crashed into Lucroy as he attempted to field the throw, and the catcher immediately fell on his back. He didn't move for a few seconds before struggling to sit up. Marisnick tagged home and then leaned over Lucroy to see if he was OK. He lifted his head off the ground a few seconds later as blood dripped from his nose.Angels players rushed to the plate as trainers checked on him. He was lifted to a sitting position after a couple of minutes and held a towel to his nose. He was then helped to a cart and taken off the field while clutching a bloodstained towel.Marisnick was called out for colliding with Lucroy and the call was upheld after a crew chief review to end the inning.There was no immediate update on Lucroy's condition.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Todd Frazier is tired of being plunked by pitches from the Philadelphia Phillies. And he's got no use for that tough talk from Jake Arrieta, either.The tension between the Phillies and New York Mets escalated Saturday night when Arrieta threatened that if Frazier was still steamed about getting hit, "he can come see me and I'll put a dent in his skull.""A little overboard," Frazier said before Sunday's season finale.Frazier has been hit seven times by Phillies pitchers in the last two seasons, three this year and twice this weekend. The latest drilling came on a changeup by Arrieta and led to Frazier getting ejected.Frazier said there was no bad blood between him and Arrieta, offering, "I know him really well.""He can say what he wants," the Mets third baseman said. "I'm just sick of getting hit, especially by this team.""We'll see what the commissioner wants to do. He saw what people are saying," he said. "The commissioner has his hands full. We'll see."Major League Baseball... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nationals ace Max Scherzer has determined that resting his ailing back is more important than pitching in the All-Star Game.A three-time Cy Young Award winner and seven-time All-Star, Scherzer struck out 11 over seven shutout innings on Saturday against Kansas City. Hours later, Major League Baseball announced he would be replaced on the National League roster by Sonny Gray.Scherzer experienced back tightness after beating Detroit on June 30. He worked through it against the Royals, but his back stiffened after the appearance.Scherzer, manager Dave Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo emerged from a postgame discussion with this conclusion: It would be in the best interest of Scherzer and the Nationals that he excused himself from pitching Tuesday night in Cleveland."Our season matters so much more than the All-Star Game," Scherzer said Sunday. "I know my body pretty well. I just know I'm not going to be at my best if I try and pitch on two days' rest and I'd really... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Max Scherzer won't pitch in the All-Star Game because of a back injury, although the ace right-hander intends to represent the Washington Nationals on the sideline Monday and Tuesday in Cleveland.A three-time Cy Young Award winner and seven-time All-Star, Scherzer struck out 11 over seven shutout innings on Saturday against Kansas City. Hours later, Major League Baseball announced he would be replaced on the National League roster by Sonny Gray.Scherzer said Sunday he first began experiencing back tightness after beating Detroit on June 30. He worked through it against the Royals, but his back stiffened after his appearance.That's when it became apparent Scherzer would be better off by not pitching Tuesday night.He said Sunday: "I need some rest right now to let this thing fully heal up so that I'm completely good to go in the second half."___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

A look at what's happening around the majors today:COOKIE HEALINGIndians pitcher Carlos Carrasco is being treated for leukemia, and he says it's going to make him stronger than he was before. Carrasco hasn't played for Cleveland since May 30. The 32-year-old right-hander says he got a blood test after a spring training physical prompted some concern, and he was diagnosed with leukemia in May. He said he feels positive about his prognosis and he'll be back with the team "at the end of July." Following his diagnosis, Carrasco spoke with long-time teammate Jason Kipnis, who helped him research and understand what he was dealing with.NO-BLAME BEARSPresident of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein insists he's not pinning the Cubs' struggles on manager Joe Maddon. The way Epstein sees it, there's blame to go around. "I see us as in it together," he said. The Cubs have been in a funk for weeks, struggling at the plate and making mistakes in the field and on the bases. Epstein said Saturday "the sloppiness... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Sunday:COOKIE HEALINGIndians pitcher Carlos Carrasco is being treated for leukemia, and he says it's going to make him stronger than he was before. Carrasco hasn't played for Cleveland since May 30. The 32-year-old right-hander says he got a blood test after a spring training physical prompted some concern, and he was diagnosed with leukemia in May. He said he feels positive about his prognosis and he'll be back with the team "at the end of July." Following his diagnosis, Carrasco spoke with long-time teammate Jason Kipnis, who helped him research and understand what he was dealing with.NO-BLAME BEARSPresident of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein insists he's not pinning the Cubs' struggles on manager Joe Maddon. The way Epstein sees it, there's blame to go around. "I see us as in it together," he said. The Cubs have been in a funk for weeks, struggling at the plate and making mistakes in the field and on the bases. Epstein said Saturday "the... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein insisted Saturday he's not pinning the Chicago Cubs' struggles on manager Joe Maddon.The way Epstein sees it, there's blame to go around."I see us as in it together," Epstein said. "My job is to put him in a position to succeed. I like nothing more as an executive than sitting back — the team's playing well, the manager's on a roll, you guys are all talking about this is the best job he's ever done. That makes me feel good. Now, the team's struggling so there's going to be speculation in the other direction."The Cubs entered Saturday's game against the crosstown White Sox trailing NL Central leader Milwaukee by a half-game at 46-42. They were coming off an 11-3 romp at Pittsburgh on Thursday, but the Cubs have been in a funk for weeks, struggling at the plate and making mistakes in the field and on the bases.They were 22-28 in the 50 games prior to Saturday. That included a 14-15 mark in June — their first losing month since May... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco is being treated for leukemia, and he says it's going to make him stronger than he was before.Carrasco hasn't played for Cleveland since May 30. The 32-year-old right-hander says he got a blood test after a spring-training physical prompted some concern, and he was diagnosed with leukemia in May."I never thought that I would have something like this, because I play baseball, I'm like super healthy or something like that," Carrasco says in a video posted on the Indians' Twitter account. "But you never know what's going on inside your body."When I found out, it made me even stronger, then I push myself to work through this. Then I have a lot of people behind me, helping me, especially my teammates and family."Manager Terry Francona said the club knew the details of Carrasco's condition before the video was released. Carrasco plans to talk to the media in Cleveland next Thursday. Francona declined to talk about the pitcher's condition beyond... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco is being treated for leukemia, and he says it's going to make him stronger than he was before.Carrasco hasn't played for Cleveland since May 30. The 32-year-old right-hander says he got a blood test after a spring-training physical prompted some concern, and he was diagnosed with leukemia in May."I never thought that I would have something like this, because I play baseball, I'm like super healthy or something like that," Carrasco says in a video posted on the Indians' Twitter account. "But you never know what's going on inside your body."When I found out, it made me even stronger, then I push myself to work through this. Then I have a lot of people behind me, helping me, especially my teammates and family."The 32-year-old Carrasco also told a TV station in the Dominican Republic about his condition while visiting a hospital, where he was seeing patients. He said he feels positive about his prognosis and he'll be back with the team "at the... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Indians starter Carlos Carrasco is being treated for leukemia, but remains hopeful he'll pitch again this season.Carrasco, who was diagnosed in June, told a TV station in the Dominican Republic about his condition while visiting a hospital, where he was seeing patients. The 32-year-old Carrasco feels positive about his prognosis and said he'll be back with the team "at the end of July."Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. There are numerous forms of the disease, many of which are highly treatable.Carrasco was not pitching up to his standards and feeling lethargic for weeks in May before getting checked. He told CDN that doctors "saw something different in my blood."The right-hander said he received more tests, and he and his wife were given his diagnosis.The Indians have not commented on Carrasco's diagnosis.Following his diagnosis, Carrasco spoke with long-time teammate Jason Kipnis, who helped him research and understand what he was dealing... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Indians starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco has revealed he is being treated for leukemia.Carrasco, who was diagnosed in June, told a TV station in the Dominican Republic about his condition while on a visit to a hospital, where he was seeing patients. Carrasco remains positive about his prognosis and believes he will pitch again this season.The 32-year-old right-hander was feeling lethargic for weeks in May before getting checked. He told CDN that doctors "saw something different in my blood."The Indians have not commented on Carrasco's diagnosis.Carrasco has developed into one of the AL's steadiest pitchers in recent years. He won 17 games last season and went 18-6 in 2017, when he finished fourth in the AL Cy Young Award voting.He has been with Cleveland since 2009. The Indians signed him to a $47 million, four-year contract in December.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CLEVELAND (AP) — Indians starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco is being treated for leukemia.Carrasco made the revelation to a TV station while on a visit to the Dominican Republic, where he was visiting a hospital. Carrasco, who was diagnosed with the blood disorder in June, remains positive about his prognosis and believes he will pitch again this season.The 32-year-old right-hander was feeling lethargic in May and told CDN doctors "saw something different in my blood."The Indians have not commented on Carrasco's diagnosis.Carrasco has developed into one of the AL's steadiest pitchers in recent years. He won 17 games last season and went 18-6 in 2017, when he finished fourth in the AL Cy Young Award voting.He has been with Cleveland since 2009. The Indians signed him to a $47 million, four-year contract in December.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Retired pitcher Chris Capuano has been hired as director of operations of the Major League Baseball Players Association after receiving a master's degree in business administration degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.The 40-year-old became a player representative as a rookie in 2004 and was a member of the union's negotiating teams in 2011 and 2016.He is a graduate of Duke, where he majored in economics.Capuano was 77-92 with a 4.38 ERA in 225 starts and 91 relief appearances over 12 seasons from 2003-16 for Arizona, Milwaukee, the New York Mets, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston and the New York Yankees. He won 18 games for the Brewers in 2005 and was an All-Star the following year.His hiring was announced Friday.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports