NEW YORK (AP) — Matt Harvey walked onto the Citi Field mound for the first time in 3 years, 9 days, his brown eyes darting around the stadium where he became a star and left in ignominy. “There’s been so many ups and downs here at this ballpark and with this organization that I didn’t really know what to expect,” he said later. “What the fans gave me out there was pretty incredible. I was holding back tears.” Harvey received three standing ovations, but his outing for Baltimore was no better than his final performances for New York. Pitching against against the Mets for the first time, Harvey allowed Kevin Pillar’s two-run triple in a three-run second inning that carried New York over the Orioles 7-1 on Wednesday for a seven-game winning streak. Wearing orange and black instead of blue and orange, Harvey (3-3) gave up a season-high seven runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings with one walk and four strikeouts. His ERA rose from 3.60 to 4.81 as the last-place Orioles lost for the fifth time... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Matt Harvey walked onto the Citi Field mound for the first time in 3 years, 9 days, his brown eyes darting around the stadium where he became a star and left in ignominy. “There’s been so many ups and downs here at this ballpark and with this organization that I didn’t really know what to expect,” he said later. “What the fans gave me out there was pretty incredible. I was holding back tears.” Harvey received three standing ovations, but his outing for Baltimore was no better than his final performances for New York. Pitching against against the Mets for the first time, Harvey allowed Kevin Pillar’s two-run triple in a three-run second inning that carried New York over the Orioles 7-1 on Wednesday for a seven-game winning streak. Wearing orange and black instead of blue and orange, Harvey (3-3) gave up a season-high seven runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings with one walk and four strikeouts. His ERA rose from 3.60 to 4.81 as the last-place Orioles lost for the fifth time... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Matt Harvey was greeted warmly by Mets fans in his return to Citi Field and harshly by New York’s hitters. Harvey pitched against his former team for the first time and allowed Kevin Pillar’s two-run triple in a three-run second inning that carried the Mets to their seventh straight win, 7-1 over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday. Wearing orange and black instead of blue and orange, Harvey (3-3) gave up a season-high seven runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings, and his ERA rose from 3.60 to 4.81 as the last-place Orioles lost for the fifth time in six games. Taijuan Walker (3-1) lowered his ERA to 2.20, allowing one run and four hits over seven innings as part of a five-hitter. Dominic Smith had three hits and two RBIs for the NL East-leading Mets, who completed a two-game sweep that finished a 5-0 homestand. New York is on its longest hot streak since winning eight straight from Aug. 3-10, 2019. Nicknamed the Dark Knight of Gotham and a star of the team that reached the... [More]

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — Infielder Maikel Franco and the Baltimore Orioles finalized an $800,000, one-year contract on Tuesday. Franco hit .278 with 16 doubles, eight homers and a team-high 38 RBIs for the Kansas City during last year’s pandemic-shortened season. The 28-year-old would get a $200,000 performance bonus if he reaches 400 plate appearances. He would get a $250,000 assignment bonus if traded. He earned $1,092,593 in prorated pay from a $2.95 million salary. Franco has a .253 average with 110 homers and 381 RBIs in seven major league seasons with Philadelphia (2014-19) and the Royals. He was originally signed for the Phillies by Koby Perez, now Baltimore’s senior director of international scouting. Right-hander Hunter Harvey was placed on the 60-day injured list with a strained left oblique, opening a roster spot. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

If Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias was to assess his rebuilding project on results alone, he'd take no satisfaction in finishing 10 games under .500 and in fourth place in the AL East. Elias, however, remains focused on the long term. So he sees reason to be enthusiastic about the improvement the Orioles showed in the second year of his quest to bring glory days back to Baltimore. Young starters Keegan Akin and Dean Kremer shined in their first season in the majors. Second-year starter John Means got in a groove in September, and Hunter Harvey and Tanner Scott took the next step in their development as effective relievers. The offense received a boost from the power of former No. 1 draft pick DJ Stewart, the all-around play of Anthony Santander and the surprising consistency of 23-year-old Ryan Mountcastle, who batted .333 with five homers and 23 RBIs in 35 games after making his long-awaited debut in August. The Orioles were 20-21 on Sept. 8 before fading, but despite the... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Alex Bregman singled in the go-ahead run during a five-run ninth inning, and the Astros rallied past the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-5 under smoky skies Saturday night in Houston’s first visit since the infamous 2017 World Series.The Dodgers blew a three-run lead in the ninth when Kenley Jansen (3-1) got knocked around, giving up four consecutive hits without an out.Josh James (1-0) got the victory with 1 1/3 innings of relief. Ryan Pressly earned his ninth save.The game lacked the fiery emotion of the teams’ matchup on July 29. But there were multiple reminders that Dodger fans haven’t forgotten the Astros’ cheating scandal from their championship three years ago.A plane towed a banner reading “Houston Cheats Bang Bang” over the stadium.WHITE SOX 14, TIGERS 0CHICAGO (AP) — José Abreu hit two three-run homers and matched a career high with seven RBIs, and the White Sox earned their eighth straight win against the Tigers.Abreu went 4 for 4 a day after his career-best 22-game... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Alex Bregman singled in the go-ahead run during a five-run ninth inning, and the Astros rallied past the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-5 under smoky skies Saturday night in Houston’s first visit since the infamous 2017 World Series.The Dodgers blew a three-run lead in the ninth when Kenley Jansen (3-1) got knocked around, giving up four consecutive hits without an out.Josh James (1-0) got the victory with 1 1/3 innings of relief. Ryan Pressly earned his ninth save.The game lacked the fiery emotion of the teams’ matchup on July 29. But there were multiple reminders that Dodger fans haven’t forgotten the Astros’ cheating scandal from their championship three years ago.A plane towed a banner reading “Houston Cheats Bang Bang” over the stadium.WHITE SOX 14, TIGERS 0CHICAGO (AP) — José Abreu hit two three-run homers and matched a career high with seven RBIs, and the White Sox earned their eighth straight win against the Tigers.Abreu went 4 for 4 a day after his career-best 22-game... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Luke Voit hit a game-ending sacrifice fly leading off the 10th inning, and the New York Yankees beat Baltimore 2-1 Saturday to open a 4 1/2-game lead over the Orioles for the American League’s eighth and final playoff berth.With DJ LeMahieu starting the inning as the automatic runner on second, Hunter Harvey (0-2) bounced a wild pitch that advanced LeMahieu. Baltimore brought the field in.Voit, hitting in shadows, worked the count to 2-2, fouled off three pitches and hit a fly ball to center fielder Cedric Mullins for his 37th RBI. LeMahieu scored without a throw.A day after sweeping a doubleheader from the Orioles, New York (25-21) won its fourth straight game and closed in on Toronto (24-20) for second place in the AL East.Jonathan Holder (2-0) combined with Jordan Montgomery, Chad Green, Zack Britton and Aroldis Chapman on a four-hitter.RANGERS 5, ATHLETICS 2, GAME 1ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Rougned Odor and Ronald Guzman homered during Texas' five-run first inning, and... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Luke Voit hit a game-ending sacrifice fly leading off the 10th inning, and the New York Yankees beat Baltimore 2-1 Saturday to open a 4 1/2-game lead over the Orioles for the American League’s eighth and final playoff berth.With DJ LeMahieu starting the inning as the automatic runner on second, Hunter Harvey (0-2) bounced a wild pitch that advanced LeMahieu. Baltimore brought the field in.Voit, hitting in shadows, worked the count to 2-2, fouled off three pitches and hit a fly ball to center fielder Cedric Mullins for his 37th RBI. LeMahieu scored without a throw.A day after sweeping a doubleheader from the Orioles, New York (25-21) won its fourth straight game and closed in on Toronto (24-20) for second place in the AL East.Jonathan Holder (2-0) combined with Jordan Montgomery, Chad Green, Zack Britton and Aroldis Chapman on a four-hitter.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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]

ATLANTA (AP) — Adam Duvall drove in nine runs with three homers, including a grand slam, and the Atlanta Braves obliterated their franchise scoring record in a 29-9 romp over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday night.The Braves had 23 hits, including seven homers, to score the most runs in their history in Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta. They topped the old record by six runs.A day after being shut out by the Marlins on four hits, the Braves broke loose. Freddie Freeman drove in six runs with three hits, including a two-run homer.Duvall hit one of the team’s three homers an 11-run second inning, knocking Pablo López 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.YANKEES 7, BLUE JAYS 2BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Deivi García earned his first major league win, Gleyber Torres drove in four runs and the New York Yankees snapped a five-game losing streak, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 7-2 on Wednesday night.The Yankees had lost 15... [More]

The Orioles' opening day roster includes eight players poised to make their Baltimore debut and only five outfielders, including Dwight Smith Jr., who was reinstated from the injured list after arriving late to camp due to a positive test for COVID-19.Baltimore placed left-hander John Means on the 10-day injured list with left shoulder fatigue. Means was originally scheduled to start the opener Friday night in Boston but has been replaced by Tommy Milone, who pitched for Seattle last season.Relievers Hunter Harvey (right forearm strain) and Dillon Tate (elbow contusion) were also placed on the 10-day injured list. Outfielder Trey Mancini and shortstop Richie Martin (broken finger) are on the 60-day injured list. Mancini is recovering from colon cancer surgery and is expected to miss the entire season.The five outfielders are Smith, DJ Stewart, Cedric Mullins, Austin Hays and Anthony Santander, who also got a late start in camp after testing positive for COVID-19.Along with Milone, shortstop Jos� Iglesias, infielders Andrew Velazquez and Pat Valaika, and pitchers Wade LeBlanc, Cole Sulser, Travis Lakins and Kohl Stewart will be wearing an Orioles uniform for the first time.The roster, which contains 16 pitchers, must be reduced to 28 players on Aug. 6 and to 26 players on Aug. 20.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — In the forgettable 2019 season, the Baltimore Orioles' bullpen had a woeful 5.79 ERA, the worst in the major leagues. That was a far cry from the team's successful run years ago, when its relief corps was a strength led by Zack Britton, who converted all 47 of his save chances in 2016, Darren O'Day and Brad Brach. Brach, Britton and O'Day were all traded in July 2018, leaving Mychal Givens and Richard Bleier as the only veterans in the 'pen. Givens floundered as a closer, going 2-6 with a 4.57 ERA, blowing eight of 19 save opportunities. In his first three seasons with Baltimore, the right-hander was 18-2, but in his last two seasons, he's only 2-13. “It was tough," Givens said. "I had a lot of stretches where I was going very well, and unlucky outings that got away from me, and I think just hopefully we can continue to make better pitches.”Bleier, who missed most of 2018 after lat surgery, struggled as well last season, with a 3-0 record with four saves and a 5.37... [More]

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — Chris Davis was so despondent last September about his prolonged woes, the slumping slugger considered drastic action. He thought about walking away from the Baltimore Orioles, the game of baseball and a rich contract.A two-time major league home run champion with a $161 million, seven-year deal, Davis has struggled mightily the last two seasons.In 2018, he hit just .168 — the lowest among all qualified major league batters — with 16 home runs and 49 RBIs, along with 192 strikeouts in 128 games. Last year wasn't much better. Davis hit only .179 with 12 homers and 36 RBIs in 105 games. He also began the season hitless in his first 33 at-bats, extended an overall that reached 0 for 54.Those sad stats were a long way from the 53 home runs he hit in 2013 and the 47 more he launched in 2015. That last bunch of longballs convinced the Orioles to hand him the biggest contract in team history, a seven-year pact at $23 million per season.His overall totals in the first four... [More]

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — This is not the kind of start Alex Cobb envisioned when he signed a four-year, $57 million contract with Baltimore Orioles during the latter stages of spring training in 2018.That first year was awful for the Orioles and not a very good one for Cobb, either, who struggled to a 5-15 record and a 4.90 ERA while the team lost a franchise-record 115 games. Last season was even worse for the 32-year-old right-hander. He made only three starts for the Orioles before he needed season-ending hip surgery, winding up 0-2 with a 10.95 ERA. He also had a knee procedure. Halfway into the contract, Cobb and his teammate first baseman Chris Davis, who still has three years left on his seven-year, $161 million deal, are by far the two highest-paid players on the Orioles, and the only two players for whom money is guaranteed beyond this season. “You sign going into that season with such high expectations not only for yourself but for the team and it’s been everything but that,” Cobb... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Marcus Semien provided just enough early offense and Mike Fiers and three Oakland relievers combined to shut down the Kansas City Royals in a 2-1 victory Tuesday night.Semien scored in the first inning and drove in a run in the second. That was all the offense the A's pitchers needed one day after Oakland had a season-high 19 runs.Fiers (13-3) scattered eight hits in his 5 1/3 innings, but allowed just Alex Gordon's RBI double in the sixth. He's now won 11 straight decisions, dating to May 7, tying Mark Mulder for the second-longest winning streak in Oakland history.Mike Montgomery (3-7) surrendered an unearned run in the first and another run in the second, but gave up nothing else through 6 1/3 innings.ORIOLES 2, NATIONALS 0WASHINGTON (AP) — Aaron Brooks came up with an unexpected pitching gem against the torrid-hitting Nationals, throwing six innings of two-hit ball to help Baltimore end Washington's five-game winning streak.The Nationals were coming off a weekend... [More]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Marcus Semien provided just enough early offense and Mike Fiers and three Oakland relievers combined to shut down the Kansas City Royals in a 2-1 victory Tuesday night.Semien scored in the first inning and drove in a run in the second. That was all the offense the A's pitchers needed one day after Oakland had a season-high 19 runs.Fiers (13-3) scattered eight hits in his 5 1/3 innings, but allowed just Alex Gordon's RBI double in the sixth. He's now won 11 straight decisions, dating to May 7, tying Mark Mulder for the second-longest winning streak in Oakland history.Mike Montgomery (3-7) surrendered an unearned run in the first and another run in the second, but gave up nothing else through 6 1/3 innings.ORIOLES 2, NATIONALS 0WASHINGTON (AP) — Aaron Brooks came up with an unexpected pitching gem against the torrid-hitting Nationals, throwing six innings of two-hit ball to help Baltimore end Washington's five-game winning streak.The Nationals were coming off a weekend... [More]

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — The sun wasn't shining on Brandon Hyde's first workout as Baltimore Orioles' manager.Rain delayed the start of workouts Wednesday for about an hour. But eventually, 15 pitchers threw bullpens and the Orioles rolled out some new cameras to help the team evaluate them.Baltimore has three confirmed starters: Dylan Bundy, Andrew Cashner and Alex Cobb. Last week, the Orioles signed Nate Karns, who didn't pitch in 2018. They hope he can be their fourth starter, and there's spirited competition for the fifth spot."I think it's pretty open," Hyde said. "It's a great opportunity for everybody in camp. A lot of jobs to be won."Few spots on a team attempting to rebound from a franchise-worst 115 loss season are accounted for."It's just going to be a ton of evaluating," the 45-year-old Hyde said.Besides Karns, David Hess and Yefry Ramirez, who finished last year in Baltimore's rotation, will be in the mix. Josh Rogers, a left-hander obtained from the New York Yankees in the trade... [More]

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — The sun wasn't shining on Brandon Hyde's first workout as Baltimore Orioles' manager.Rain delayed the start of workouts Wednesday for about an hour. But eventually, 15 pitchers threw bullpens and the Orioles rolled out some new cameras to help the team evaluate them.Baltimore has three confirmed starters: Dylan Bundy, Andrew Cashner and Alex Cobb. Last week, the Orioles signed Nate Karns, who didn't pitch in 2018. They hope he can be their fourth starter, and there's spirited competition for the fifth spot."I think it's pretty open," Hyde said. "It's a great opportunity for everybody in camp. A lot of jobs to be won."Few spots on a team attempting to rebound from a franchise-worst 115 loss season are accounted for."It's just going to be a ton of evaluating," the 45-year-old Hyde said.Besides Karns, David Hess and Yefry Ramirez, who finished last year in Baltimore's rotation, will be in the mix. Josh Rogers, a left-hander obtained from the New York Yankees in the trade... [More]

A look at what's happening all around the majors today:BEST OF 19Giancarlo Stanton and J.D. Martinez get their first swings in the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry when aces Luis Severino and Chris Sale start at Fenway Park in the opener of 19 games between the AL East powers. Boston has won eight in a row but is minus shortstop Xander Bogaerts, put on the 10-day disabled list because of a cracked bone in his left ankle. Stanton is still looking for his stroke — the NL MVP is hitting .167 with 20 strikeouts in 42 at-bats in his first year with New York.SHO HIMShohei Ohtani could return to the lineup when the Los Angeles Angels visit Texas. The two-way star from Japan pitched perfect ball into the seventh inning Sunday, then didn't start Monday. Ohtani has homered in his last three games as a designated hitter. He's batting .389, and is 2-0 on the mound.WRIGLEY WREADYThe Chicago Cubs try again to play their home opener, a day after a winter scene at Wrigley Field forced a snowout. The Cubs are only... [More]