TORONTO (AP) — Teoscar Hernandez and Yangervis Solarte hit consecutive homers in the eighth inning, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Washington Nationals 8-6 on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep.The game was tied at 6 before Hernandez and Solarte connected against Ryan Madson (1-3). Hernandez hit his 12th homer and Solarte belted his team-leading 15th.Randal Grichuk added a pair of solo homers for the Blue Jays, who have won seven straight home games. Ryan Tepera (4-2) pitched the final 1 1/3 innings for the win.Washington has lost five of six. Slumping Nationals slugger Bryce Harper went 0 for 5 with two strikeouts, dropping his average to .218.BRAVES 4, PADRES 1ATLANTA (AP) — Julio Teheran pitched six no-hit innings before being pulled from his first start since coming off the disabled list, and Atlanta relievers gave up six hits in the win.The Braves' bid for a combined no-hitter ended with one out in the seventh when Shane Carle allowed a single to Cory Spangenberg. Freddy Galvis... [More]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Joc Pederson went deep twice, Cody Bellinger hit his third home run in as many games and the Los Angeles Dodgers used nine pitchers to hold off the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-7 on Thursday.Pederson led off the game with a solo blast off Jameson Taillon (3-5) and added a two-run shot in the eighth off Michael Feliz for his second multi-home run game in a week. Bellinger finished 3 for 4, including a shot just over the wall in left field in the sixth to give the Dodgers a three-run advantage, and a stream of relievers made it stand as Los Angeles won for the 15th time in its last 20 games to move back to .500 (31-31).Daniel Hudson made his first start since 2015, working only the first inning, after the Dodgers scratched rookie Dennis Santana from what would have been his first major league start. Santana experienced tightness in his right side during his pregame routine. Pedro Baez (3-3) picked up the win by getting six outs. Kenley Jansen worked around a pinch-hit homer by Francisco... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Mookie Betts hit his major league-leading 16th homer, Chris Sale struck out nine in 7 2/3 innings and the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 on Tuesday night.Sale (5-1) gave up four hits and walked two. He has allowed three runs or fewer in his first 11 starts, the longest stretch by a Boston pitcher to open a season since Pedro Martinez's 12 in 2001.Joe Kelly finished the eighth, and Craig Kimbrel got into a bases-loaded jam before finishing his 14th save in 16 chances when Mallex Smith grounded into a game-ending forceout.Willy Adames made his big league debut and hit a solo home run off Sale in his second at-bat. The 22-year-old shortstop prospect went 1 for 4 with three strikeouts.Betts hit a three-run drive in the third off Jake Faria (3-3), who left two batters later because of a strained left oblique.Two hitters following Faria's departure, Wilson Ramos was taken out due to a bruised left hand after Austin Pruitt's 0-2 pitch to Xander Bogaerts... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Mookie Betts hit his major league-leading 16th homer, Chris Sale struck out nine in 7 2/3 innings and the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 on Tuesday night.Sale (5-1) gave up four hits and walked two. He has allowed three runs or fewer in his first 11 starts, the longest stretch by a Boston pitcher to open a season since Pedro Martinez's 12 in 2001.Joe Kelly finished the eighth, and Craig Kimbrel got into a bases-loaded jam before finishing his 14th save in 16 chances when Mallex Smith grounded into a game-ending forceout.Willy Adames made his big league debut and hit a solo home run off Sale in his second at-bat. The 22-year-old shortstop prospect went 1 for 4 with three strikeouts.Betts hit a three-run drive in the third off Jake Faria (3-3), who left two batters later because of a strained left oblique.Two hitters following Faria's departure, Wilson Ramos was taken out due to a bruised left hand after Austin Pruitt's 0-2 pitch to Xander Bogaerts... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Brett Gardner capped a slump-busting performance with a go-ahead, two-run triple off Craig Kimbrel in the eighth inning, Aaron Judge followed with a homer and the New York Yankees rallied to beat the Boston Red Sox 9-6 Wednesday night for their 17th victory in 18 games.Kimbrel entered with two on and one out to face Gardner seeking the first five-out save of his career. Gardner drilled a full-count pitch into left-center field, well over the head of center fielder Mookie Betts, who was playing shallow. Neil Walker scored easily from third and rookie Gleyber Torres raced from first and slid past a lunging tag attempted by catcher Christian Vazquez.Judge followed with a line drive to center measured at 117 mph off the bat, his ninth homer of the season. He had three hits and three RBIs as New York won its eighth straight overall and 11th in a row at home.Kimbrel replaced Matt Barnes (0-1) after a double by Walker and a one-out walk to Torres.Yankees reliever Jonathan Holder... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Brett Gardner capped a slump-busting performance with a go-ahead, two-run triple off Craig Kimbrel in the eighth inning, Aaron Judge followed with a homer and the New York Yankees rallied to beat the Boston Red Sox 9-6 Wednesday night for their 17th victory in 18 games.Kimbrel entered with two on and one out to face Gardner seeking the first five-out save of his career. Gardner drilled a full-count pitch into left-center field, well over the head of center fielder Mookie Betts, who was playing shallow. Neil Walker scored easily from third and rookie Gleyber Torres raced from first and slid past a lunging tag attempted by catcher Christian Vazquez.Judge followed with a line drive to center measured at 117 mph off the bat, his ninth homer of the season. He had three hits and three RBIs as New York won its eighth straight overall and 11th in a row at home.Kimbrel replaced Matt Barnes (0-1) after a double by Walker and a one-out walk to Torres.Yankees reliever Jonathan Holder... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Brett Gardner capped a slump-busting performance with a go-ahead, two-run triple off Craig Kimbrel in the eighth inning, Aaron Judge followed with a homer and the New York Yankees rallied to beat the Boston Red Sox 9-6 Wednesday night for their 17th victory in 18 games.Kimbrel entered with two on and one out to face Gardner seeking the first five-out save of his career. Gardner drilled a full-count pitch into left-center field, well over the head of center fielder Mookie Betts, who was playing shallow. Neil Walker scored easily from third and rookie Gleyber Torres raced from first and slid past a lunging tag attempted by catcher Christian Vazquez.Judge followed with a line drive to center measured at 117 mph off the bat, his ninth homer of the season. He had three hits and three RBIs as New York won its eighth straight overall and 11th in a row at home.Kimbrel replaced Matt Barnes (0-1) after a double by Walker and a one-out walk to Torres.Yankees reliever Jonathan Holder... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Brett Gardner capped a slump-busting performance with a go-ahead, two-run triple off Craig Kimbrel in the eighth inning, Aaron Judge followed with a homer and the New York Yankees rallied to beat the Boston Red Sox 9-6 Wednesday night for their 17th victory in 18 games.Kimbrel (1-2) entered with two on and one out to face Gardner seeking the first five-out save of his career. Gardner drilled a full-count pitch into left-center field, well over the head of center fielder Mookie Betts, who was playing shallow. Neil Walker scored easily from third and rookie Gleyber Torres raced from first and slid past a lunging tag attempted by catcher Christian Vazquez.Judge followed with a line drive to center measured at 117 mph off the bat, his ninth homer of the season. He had three hits and three RBIs as New York won its eighth straight.Yankees reliever Jonathan Holder (1-1) cleaned up a mess left by Chasen Shreve in the eighth, getting Benintendi to ground out with the bases loaded.Aroldis... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — The last time the Baltimore Orioles began a season this poorly, Buck Showalter was brought in to restore order to the floundering franchise.Now, Showalter finds himself in a similar mess.Back in 2010, the Orioles stumbled to a 1-11 start and were 5-18 at the end of April. They fired manager Dave Trembley in June and continued to slide under interim manager Juan Samuel before Showalter came aboard and guided Baltimore to 34 wins in its final 57 games.Showalter has since taken the Orioles to the postseason on three occasions.This year, however, he's had to deal with a team plagued by injuries, lackluster hitting and inconsistent pitching.With guys like Anthony Santander, Danny Valencia, Chance Sisco and Craig Gentry getting significant playing time, it's no wonder Baltimore (8-20) has a minus-54 run differential and is deep in last place in the AL East.That would be acceptable if the Orioles were tanking, but they fully expected to compete for a playoff spot this season.Vice... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Orioles have placed designated hitter Mark Trumbo and pitcher Gabriel Ynoa on the 10-day disabled list.Both moves were made Thursday and are retroactive to March 26. Trumbo has a right quadriceps strain and Ynoa has a shin injury.The Orioles also selected the contracts of four players from Triple-A Norfolk: infielders Pedro Alvarez ($1 million salary in major leagues) and Danny Valencia ($1.2 million), and outfielders Craig Gentry ($900,000) and Colby Rasmus ($3 million).Alvarez and Gentry were in Baltimore's opening day lineup against Minnesota on Thursday.Right-hander Alex Cobb was optioned to Double-A Bowie. He is working to get into pitching shape after being signed as a free agent earlier this month.To make room for the additions, the Orioles designated four pitchers for assignment: Alec Asher, Stefan Crichton, Michael Kelly and Jesus Liranzo.___More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

BALTIMORE (AP) — There is a sense of urgency surrounding the Baltimore Orioles as they enter the 2018 season.For several years now, the Orioles have operated under manager Buck Showalter with a core group of players led by Manny Machado, Adam Jones and Zach Britton.All three of those stars, in addition to Showalter and executive vice president Dan Duquette, are in the final year of their contract.Knowing that significant change is coming for a team with three playoff appearances in the last six seasons, the Orioles are preparing to make one final thrust at greatness."We all understand that you're not going to play with the same group of guys forever," first baseman Chris Davis said. "We've done a lot of great things with this team, but we haven't reached the top yet. That's still the goal for each and every guy in here."Davis signed a 7-year, $161 million contract in 2016. The deal, designed to keep a playoff-quality club intact, could make it difficult for the cash-conscious Orioles to... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — There is a sense of urgency surrounding the Baltimore Orioles as they enter the 2018 season.For several years now, the Orioles have operated under manager Buck Showalter with a core group of players led by Manny Machado, Adam Jones and Zach Britton.All three of those stars, in addition to Showalter and executive vice president Dan Duquette, are in the final year of their contract.Knowing that significant change is coming for a team with three playoff appearances in the last six seasons, the Orioles are preparing to make one final thrust at greatness."We all understand that you're not going to play with the same group of guys forever," first baseman Chris Davis said. "We've done a lot of great things with this team, but we haven't reached the top yet. That's still the goal for each and every guy in here."Davis signed a 7-year, $161 million contract in 2016. The deal, designed to keep a playoff-quality club intact, could make it difficult for the cash-conscious Orioles to... [More]

Capsules of American League East teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Boston Red Sox2017: 93-69, first place, lost to Houston in ALDS.Manager: Alex Cora (first season).He's Here: DH J.D. Martinez.He's Outta Here: Manager John Farrell, RHP Doug Fister, OF Chris Young, RHP Addison Reed, OF Rajai Davis, LHP Henry Owens, LHP Fernando Abad.Projected Lineup: RF Mookie Betts (.264, 24 HRs, 102 RBIs), LF Andrew Benintendi (.271, 20, 90), 1B Hanley Ramirez (.242, 23, 62) or Mitch Moreland (.246, 22, 79), DH J.D. Martinez (.303, 45, 104 with Tigers and Diamondbacks), 3B Rafael Devers (.284, 10, 30 in 58 games), SS Xander Bogaerts (.273, 10, 62), CF Jackie Bradley Jr. (.245, 17, 63), C Christian Vazquez (.290, 5, 32) or Sandy Leon (.225, 7, 39), 2B Eduardo Nunez (.313, 12, 58, 24 SBs with Giants and Red Sox) or Dustin Pedroia (.293, 7, 62, .369 OBP in 105 games, expected to be out until late May following knee surgery).Rotation: LH Chris Sale (17-8, 2.90 ERA, MLB-best 308 Ks, MLB-high 214... [More]

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Baltimore Orioles slugger Mark Trumbo will start the season on the 10-day disabled list with a strained right quad.Manager Buck Showalter says Trumbo will miss a minimum of three to four weeks. The announcement came Thursday, two weeks before opening day.Trumbo missed a week with the quad injury and returned to action Wednesday against the New York Yankees. He felt discomfort after the game and had an MRI on Thursday.Trumbo, who led the major leagues in home runs with 47 in 2016, hit 23 homers last year with 65 RBIs. He batted .234 as an outfielder and designated hitter.This spring, the 32-year-old has hit just .130 with a home run and two RBIs.

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — Brad Brach will likely have a new role this year with the Baltimore Orioles.In the past, the 31-year-old right-hand reliever was the setup man for Zach Britton. But with Britton starting the season on the 60-day disabled list recovering from a torn right Achilles tendon, Brach is line to become Baltimore's closer.While manager Buck Showalter hasn't designated Brach the closer, it's expected he will do so shortly.In 2017, Brach filled in for Britton when he missed nearly the entire first half of the season on the disabled list with a left forearm strain. Brach wasn't nearly the closer that Britton was. After all, he was filling in for a pitcher who set the American League record with 60 consecutive converted saves.He went 4-5 with a 3.18 ERA. Brach converted 18 of 24 save chances."I gained confidence about that role with him in that he's handled the adversity well and the season didn't get away from him," Showalter said.During spring training Showalter is keeping his... [More]

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — Caleb Joseph has gone from being a punchline in 2016 to being the Baltimore Orioles No. 1 catcher — at least for now.Joseph went through the entire season in 2016 — during which he had 132 at-bats — without a single RBI.He rebounded last season, driving in 28 runs, and has swung a hot bat this spring.Entering Tuesday's game at Minnesota, Joseph was batting a cool .444 (8-for-18) with a home run and 5 RBIs, and at least for now, Joseph is the Orioles' starting catcher."It's spring training. That sums it up," Joseph said. "There's been springs when you didn't get any hits. There's been springs where you've gotten a ton of hits. I wish it mattered."The 31-year-old catcher endured years of minor league ball — including five seasons at Double-A Bowie, where he set an unwanted franchise record for most games played.Joseph finally made it to the big leagues in 2014, and after sitting behind Matt Wieters and Welington Castillo, he's inherited — or earned — Baltimore's catching... [More]

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — Caleb Joseph has gone from being a punchline in 2016 to being the Baltimore Orioles No. 1 catcher — at least for now.Joseph went through the entire season in 2016 — during which he had 132 at-bats — without a single RBI.He rebounded last season, driving in 28 runs, and has swung a hot bat this spring.Entering Tuesday's game at Minnesota, Joseph was batting a cool .444 (8-for-18) with a home run and 5 RBIs, and at least for now, Joseph is the Orioles' starting catcher."It's spring training. That sums it up," Joseph said. "There's been springs when you didn't get any hits. There's been springs where you've gotten a ton of hits. I wish it mattered."The 31-year-old catcher endured years of minor league ball — including five seasons at Double-A Bowie, where he set an unwanted franchise record for most games played.Joseph finally made it to the big leagues in 2014, and after sitting behind Matt Wieters and Welington Castillo, he's inherited — or earned — Baltimore's catching... [More]

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — Right-handers Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman remain the Baltimore Orioles top two starting pitchers — for now.When the Orioles opened spring training, they were the team's only accomplished starters in their rotation. Baltimore has re-signed Chris Tillman and added Andrew Cashner to the starting staff, but Bundy and Gausman are the team's aces.Bundy and Gausman have been grouped together. They were the fourth overall picks in consecutive drafts — Bundy in 2011 and Gausman in 2012.Though Bundy got to the big leagues first, in September 2012, injuries kept him from returning until the beginning of the 2016 season. By then, Gausman had already spent parts of three seasons in the major leagues.Last year, Bundy surpassed Gausman on the mound, with a 13-9 record and a 4.24 ERA, and tossed a one-hit shutout against the Seattle Mariners, striking out 12."I don't think he ever takes anything for granted," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said of Bundy. "He's trying to work on... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Stu Scheurwater has been hired by Major League Baseball to fill the opening on its umpire staff created by Dale Scott's retirement.The 34-year-old Scheurwater had been a minor league umpire since 2007, worked big league spring training for the first time in 2013 and has appeared in 268 regular-season big league games as a call-up.Scheurwater is from Regina, Saskatchewan, and becomes the first Canadian umpire on the full-time staff since Jim McKean from 1974-2001.Mark Wegner, a 19-year veteran, replaces Scott as a crew chief, the commissioner's office said Friday.Scott said in December he was retiring rather than risk another concussion. He missed nearly all of last season after a foul ball off the bat of Baltimore's Mark Trumbo caught him hard in the mask on April 14, causing Scott's second concussion in nine months and fourth in five years.Scott, who worked three World Series among 91 postseason games, came out as gay after the 2014 season.___More MLB baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

BALTIMORE (AP) — There might come a time in the next few weeks when the Baltimore Orioles finally add a proven veteran to their stunningly thin starting rotation."There are some pitchers available, and I'm confident we'll be able to sign some between now and when we open (the regular season)," executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said recently.Until then, manager Buck Showalter can only hope to find some quality arms among a massive array of hurlers ready to show their stuff at spring training in Sarasota, Florida."We've got 35 pitchers coming to camp, more than any in the history of the Orioles," Showalter noted. "We're staying focused on the people who are here right now, trying to see if certain people can go to another level. We've got plenty of resources to do more than compete."That's the company line, although it's hard to perceive the Orioles as a contender in the AL East coming off a last-place finish and with a rotation that currently lists only Dylan Bundy... [More]