TORONTO (AP) — Blue Jays outfielder George Springer will play in an intrasquad game Friday, the next step on his return from two strained muscles that have delayed his Toronto debut. Springer signed a team-record $150 million, six-year deal with the Blue Jays this offseason but missed time in spring training, first because of a strained oblique and later because of a right quadriceps strain. The World Series MVP when Houston won its first title in 2017, Springer could return in this weekend’s road series against the Tampa Bay Rays, according to general manager Ross Atkins. “He’s excited, we’re exceptionally excited,” Atkins said Thursday. “Tomorrow is a great day for George. “He’s doing all baseball activity, he’s extremely confident and strong,” Atkins said. “Now it’s just a matter of recovery and putting him in a position to play nine innings and feel like he can face elite major league pitching. Tomorrow will be a very important day to determine what that next step is and what’s best... [More]

DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) — Toronto Blue Jays closer Julian Merryweather has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left oblique. The right-hander felt discomfort in the left side of his abdomen on his final warmup pitch in the eighth inning of Tuesday night’s 7-3 victory over the New York Yankees. Merryweather entered with two runners on and two outs and threw just two pitches to Aaron Hicks before Gary Sánchez was tagged out in a rundown between first and second base after a pitch in the dirt. He didn’t return for the ninth. Merryweather has two saves and has allowed just one hit and one walk with seven strikeouts over 4? innings in four appearances. His fastball has reached 100.4 mph this season. Also, Ross Stripling was scratched from his scheduled start Wednesday against the Yankees due to right forearm tightness. He was unable to get loose before the game. T.J. Zeuch replaced Stripling. NOTES: RHP David Phelps, hit in the lower back by Clint Frazier's 100.7 mph liner Tuesday night, is day to day with a bruised back. ... RHP Anthony Castro had his contract purchased from the alternate site and will work out of the bullpen. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CINCINNATI (AP) — Nick Castellanos stood over, flexed and jawed at St. Louis pitcher Jake Woodford after scoring, setting off a series of scuffles that included relievers shoving in the outfield as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Cardinals 9-6 Saturday. St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright was knocked around for six runs and chased in the third. The next inning, the teams started tagging each other. Castellanos, who homered on opening day and hopped out of the box before tossing his bat, was plunked by Woodford with two outs and none on in the fourth. Castellanos retrieved the ball and offered to toss it back to Woodford before flipping it out of play. A wild pitch soon sent Castellanos scampering home from third and he scored with a headfirst slide for a 7-2 lead as he bumped into Woodford, who took the throw from catcher Yadier Molina at the plate. As Castellanos began walking away, Molina rushed up and tapped him from behind, and the benches and bullpens emptied in a wild scene. There was... [More]

CINCINNATI (AP) — Nick Castellanos stood over, flexed and jawed at St. Louis pitcher Jake Woodford after scoring, setting off a series of scuffles that included relievers shoving in the outfield as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Cardinals 9-6 Saturday. St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright was knocked around for six runs and chased in the third. The next inning, the teams started tagging each other. Castellanos, who homered on opening day and hopped out of the box before tossing his bat, was plunked by Woodford with two outs and none on in the fourth. Castellanos retrieved the ball and offered to toss it back to Woodford before flipping it out of play. A wild pitch soon sent Castellanos scampering home from third and he scored with a headfirst slide for a 7-2 lead as he bumped into Woodford, who took the throw from catcher Yadier Molina at the plate. As Castellanos began walking away, Molina rushed up and tapped him from behind, and the benches and bullpens emptied in a wild scene. There was... [More]

CINCINNATI (AP) — Nick Castellanos stood over, flexed and jawed at St. Louis pitcher Jake Woodford after scoring, setting off a series of scuffles that included relievers shoving in the outfield as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Cardinals 9-6 Saturday. St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright was knocked around for six runs and chased in the third. The next inning, the teams started tagging each other. Castellanos, who homered on opening day and hopped out of the box before tossing his bat, was plunked by Woodford with two outs and none on in the fourth. Castellanos retrieved the ball and offered to toss it back to Woodford before flipping it out of play. A wild pitch soon sent Castellanos scampering home from third and he scored with a headfirst slide for a 7-2 lead as he bumped into Woodford, who took the throw from catcher Yadier Molina at the plate. As Castellanos began walking away, Molina rushed up and tapped him from behind, and the benches and bullpens emptied in a wild scene. There was... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Gerrit Cole’s dad will watch him pitch at Yankee Stadium in pinstripes for the first time, one of about 10,850 fans allowed in to watch New York’s opener against the Toronto Blue Jays. “I had trouble sleeping last night, so I probably anticipate going to be the same thing tonight,” Cole said Wednesday. “There’s just a lot of different emotions. Everybody is tired of spring training, ready for opening day. Most people’s families are in town, which is special. There’s a lot of hope. There’s a lot of excitement. There’s a lot of projections. There’s a lot of baseball out in front of you. And you’ve prepared up to this point and there’s nothing else. You just want the gates to open and you want it to start.” Cole’s first season with Yankees was played entirely without fans because of the pandemic. “It was a bit surreal at first, and then it became kind of standard operating procedure. There were more important things that we needed to focus on,” Cole said. “Every time I see... [More]

The Arizona Diamondbacks are ready to open the season in familiar fashion: with Mad Bum on the mound. Madison Bumgarner was tabbed by manager Torey Lovullo to make his second straight opening day start for the Diamondbacks on Thursday at San Diego. The 31-year-old four-time All-Star struggled last season — his first in Arizona — going 1-4 with a 6.48 ERA. He was 2-1 with a 6.35 ERA in three spring starts, including allowing six earned runs against Cincinnati on Friday. But Bumgarner, who signed a five-year, $85 million contract before last season, will still lead off a Diamondbacks rotation that includes Merrill Kelly, Caleb Smith, Taylor Widener and Luke Weaver. This will be the seventh opening day start in Bumgarner's career after doing so five times with San Francisco. The Yankees also are setting their rotation, announcing Sunday that Corey Kluber will follow ace Gerrit Cole against Toronto. Kluber, who signed a one-year, $11 million contract with New York, has thrown one inning in... [More]

The Arizona Diamondbacks are ready to open the season in familiar fashion: with Mad Bum on the mound. Madison Bumgarner was tabbed by manager Torey Lovullo to make his second straight opening day start for the Diamondbacks on Thursday at San Diego. The 31-year-old four-time All-Star struggled last season — his first in Arizona — going 1-4 with a 6.48 ERA. He was 2-1 with a 6.35 ERA in three spring starts, including allowing six earned runs against Cincinnati on Friday. But Bumgarner, who signed a five-year, $85 million contract before last season, will still lead off a Diamondbacks rotation that includes Merrill Kelly, Caleb Smith, Taylor Widener and Luke Weaver. This will be the seventh opening day start in Bumgarner's career after doing so five times with San Francisco. The Yankees also are setting their rotation, announcing Sunday that Corey Kluber will follow ace Gerrit Cole against Toronto. Kluber, who signed a one-year, $11 million contract with New York, has thrown one inning in... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — Blue Jays pitcher Nate Pearson aggravated his strained right groin during a bullpen session Tuesday, further decreasing the hard-throwing right-hander’s chance of making Toronto’s opening-day roster. “We do feel it’s very mild in nature but want to re-asses that and then just take it a day at a time,” general manager Ross Atkins said. Pearson strained his groin in his debut spring training outing March 1. He felt fine after a bullpen session Saturday, his first since the injury. Right-hander Ross Stripling is expected to replace Pearson in Toronto’s rotation. “Obviously Strip, with what he’s done in his career, has a leg up on that spot,” Atkins said. A first-round pick in the 2017 amateur draft, Pearson is Toronto’s top pitching prospect. He made his major league debut last season, going 1-0 with a 6.00 ERA in four starts and one relief appearances. He missed five weeks in August and September because of a sore elbow. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

TORONTO (AP) — Outfielder Teoscar Hernandez agreed to a $4,325,000, one-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, who reached a $3 million, one-year deal with right-hander Ross Stripling. The pair were the only Blue Jays remaining eligible for arbitration going into Friday's scheduled exchange of proposed figures. Hernandez, 28, hit .230 with 16 homers and 34 RBIs in the shortened 2020 season, tied for fifth in the AL in home runs. His seven assists tied for the big league lead among outfielders. He earned $223,037 in prorated pay from a salary of $602,200 and was eligible for arbitration for the first time. Stripling, 31, went 3-3 with a 5.84 ERA over nine starts and three relief appearances with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Blue Jays, who acquired him in a trade on Aug. 31. Striping earned $1,722,222 in prorated pay from a $2.1 million contract, part of his money protected by its inclusion as a signing bonus. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Dave Roberts finally has a World Series title to savor. The Los Angeles manager guided the Dodgers to their first championship since 1988 on Tuesday night, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 to win in six games. “This is our year!” Roberts shouted, drawing huge cheers from about 11,000 fans in Texas. Roberts did what his seven predecessors — including Joe Torre and Don Mattingly — failed to do, bring a championship to long-starved Dodgers fans. He joins Hall of Famers Walter Alston and Tom Lasorda as the only managers to do so. “I had a crazy feeling that came to fruition,” he said. An emotional Roberts shared hugs with his players after the final out. “It’s sinking in pretty quickly,” he said. “Obviously, I'm over the moon.” Roberts has taken the Dodgers to the playoffs in each of his five seasons, helping extend their streak of eight consecutive NL West titles. But until Tuesday they had never reached their ultimate goal and Roberts endured his share of criticism along the way. Roberts got... [More]

Dave Roberts finally has a World Series title to savor. The Los Angeles manager guided the Dodgers to their first championship since 1988 on Tuesday night, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 to win in six games. “This is our year!” Roberts shouted, drawing huge cheers from about 11,000 fans in Texas. Roberts did what his seven predecessors — including Joe Torre and Don Mattingly — failed to do, bring a championship to long-starved Dodgers fans. He joins Hall of Famers Walter Alston and Tom Lasorda as the only managers to do so. An emotional Roberts shared hugs with his players after the final out. He's taken the Dodgers to the playoffs in each of his five seasons, helping extend their streak of eight consecutive NL West titles. But they never reached their ultimate goal and Roberts endured his share of criticism along the way. Roberts got booed in Game 5 by the few fans allowed at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The mostly pro-LA crowd didn't want Clayton Kershaw to leave so soon, but... [More]

Joc Pederson is the guy the Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t need or want — until October. After nearly being traded in February and hitting .190 during the regular season, Pederson is coming up big in the postseason. Pederson crushed a fastball from Rays starter Tyler Glasnow over the left-center field wall leading off the second inning Sunday night, extending LA's lead to 3-0. After enduring a stunning 8-7 loss in Game 4, the Dodgers rebounded early and went on to a 4-2 victory over Tampa Bay. Los Angeles is one win from its first World Series championship since 1988. “They don't call it Joctober for no reason,” said teammate Max Muncy, who added a solo shot in the fifth. “The guy performs on the huge stage, that's just what he does.” Pederson could tell his 428-foot drive immediately was gone. “They don’t want that smoke,” he bellowed upon returning to the dugout. “Come on, let’s go!” It was the Dodgers’ 28th home run of the postseason after leading the majors with 118 during the regular season.... [More]

Joc Pederson is the guy the Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t need or want — until October. After nearly being traded in February and hitting .190 in the regular season, Pederson is coming up big in the postseason. Pederson crushed a fastball from Rays starter Tyler Glasnow over the left-center field wall leading off the second Sunday night, extending LA's lead to 3-0. After enduring a stunning 8-7 loss in Game 4, the Dodgers rebounded early and went on to a 4-2 victory over Tampa Bay. Los Angeles is one win away from its first World Series championship since 1988. “They don't call it Joctober for no reason,” said Max Muncy, who added a solo shot in the fifth. “The guy performs on the huge stage, that's just what he does.” Pederson could tell his 428-foot blast immediately was gone. “They don’t want that smoke,” Pederson bellowed upon returning to the dugout. “Come on, let’s go!” It was the Dodgers’ 28th home run of the postseason after leading the majors with 118 during the regular season. Pederson... [More]

Joc Pederson is the guy the Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t need or want — until October. After nearly being traded in February and hitting .190 in the regular season, Pederson is coming up big in the postseason. Pederson crushed a fastball from Rays starter Tyler Glasnow over the left-center field wall leading off the second Sunday night, extending LA's lead to 3-0. After enduring a stunning 8-7 loss in Game 4, the Dodgers rebounded early and went on to a 4-2 victory over Tampa Bay. Los Angeles leads 3-2 in the best-of-seven Series. The left-handed slugger could tell immediately it was gone. “They don’t want that smoke,” Pederson bellowed upon returning to the dugout. “Come on, let’s go!” It was the Dodgers’ 28th home run of the postseason after leading the majors with 118 during the regular season. Pederson homered in the Dodgers' losing efforts in the 2017 and 2018 World Series, too. He doesn't have a set spot in the Dodgers' loaded lineup. But Pederson fits in just about everywhere. He started... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — First baseman Rowdy Tellez is on the Toronto Blue Jays' roster for their first round playoff series against Tampa Bay after recovering from a strained right knee that had sidelined him since Sept. 8. Tellez could be a designated hitter option for the top-seeded Rays in the best-of-three series against the No. 8 Blue Jays. Right-hander Jordan Romano was not included on the 28-man roster Tuesday. He has not pitched in a game since Aug 28 because of a finger injury but threw batting practice Sunday in hopes of earning a spot. Toronto also left off right-hander Tanner Roark, who had a 6.80 ERA in 11 starts. Toronto’s roster features 13 pitchers, three catchers, eight infielders and four outfielders. The pitchers are Chase Anderson, Anthony Bass, Ryan Borucki, A.J. Cole, Rafael Dolis, Thomas Hatch, Anthony Kay, Nate Pearson, Robbie Ray, Hyun Jin Ryu, Matt Shoemaker, Ross Stripling and Taijuan Walker. Position players include catchers Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk and Reese McGuire, infielders Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio, Santiago Espinal, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Joe Panik, Travis Shaw, Rowdy Tellez and Jonathan Villar, and outfielders Jonathan Davis, Randal Grichuk, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., and Teoscar Hernandez. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Randy Arozarena homered twice and the Tampa Bay Rays clinched their first AL East title in 10 years Wednesday night with an 8-5 victory over the New York Mets. Joey Wendle and Brandon Lowe also went deep to help Tyler Glasnow (5-1) win his fifth straight decision. Tampa Bay will be home at quirky Tropicana Field for a best-of-three first-round playoff series beginning next Tuesday. It is the third division crown for the thrifty Rays, who also won the AL East in 2008 and 2010. Their inaugural season was 1998. After missing a chance to clinch Tuesday, the Rays went into Wednesday again needing just a win or a New York Yankees loss against Toronto to lock up the division championship. The Rays (37-20) broke a 2-all tie in the sixth on Arozarena’s two-run homer off Michael Wacha (1-4) and pulled away. As has become customary during this pandemic-shortened season, the celebration was muted. After Nick Anderson fanned Andres Gimenez for the final out, the closer exchanged a hug... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Adam Duvall drove in nine runs with three homers, including a grand slam, and the Atlanta Braves set a National League scoring record while obliterating their franchise mark in a 29-9 romp over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday night.Atlanta broke loose for 11 runs in the second inning and nearly matched the modern scoring mark since 1900, set by the Texas Rangers in a 30-3 rout of Baltimore in 2007.The Braves had 23 hits, including seven homers, to score the most runs in their history in Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta. They topped their old record by six runs.The outburst came a day after the Braves were shut out by the Marlins on four hits. Freddie Freeman drove in six runs with three hits, including a two-run homer.Duvall hit one of the team’s three homers during an 11-run second inning, knocking Pablo López (3-4) out of the game. Duvall hit another homer, his 12th, in a six-run fifth and added the slam in the seventh off Josh Smith.Grant Dayton (2-0) won in relief.YANKEES... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles ended their 19-game losing streak against the New York Yankees, using a strong offensive performance by rookie Ryan Mountcastle in a 6-3 victory Friday night for a doubleheader split. In the opener, Miguel Andújar singled in the tiebreaking run in the ninth inning and Clint Frazier added an RBI single to give New York a 6-5 win. Gary Sanchez homered and Brett Gardner drove in two runs for the Yankees.Mountcastle hit a two-run homer off 21-year-old Deivi García in second inning of the nightcap and sparked a four-run fifth inning with an RBI single off Clarke Schmidt, who was making his major league debut. Rio Ruiz followed with a run-scoring single and Pat Valaika capped the uprising with a two-run double.That helped Baltimore secure its first win over New York since March 31, 2019. It also snapped the Yankees’ 18-game winning streak at Camden Yards.García (0-1) allowed four runs and five hits with six strikeouts in his second big league appearance.... [More]

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles ended their 19-game losing streak against the New York Yankees, using a strong offensive performance by rookie Ryan Mountcastle in a 6-3 victory Friday night for a doubleheader split. In the opener, Miguel Andújar singled in the tiebreaking run in the ninth inning and Clint Frazier added an RBI single to give New York a 6-5 win. Gary Sanchez homered and Brett Gardner drove in two runs for the Yankees.Mountcastle hit a two-run homer off 21-year-old Deivi García in second inning of the nightcap and sparked a four-run fifth inning with an RBI single off Clarke Schmidt, who was making his major league debut. Rio Ruiz followed with a run-scoring single and Pat Valaika capped the uprising with a two-run double.That helped Baltimore secure its first win over New York since March 31, 2019. It also snapped the Yankees’ 18-game winning streak at Camden Yards.García (0-1) allowed four runs and five hits with six strikeouts in his second big league appearance.... [More]