LOS ANGELES (AP) — Outfielder Joc Pederson is leading off for the Dodgers in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. He replaces Chris Taylor, who is out of the lineup.Yasmani Grandal is back in the lineup and hitting seventh for Los Angeles against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.Grandal made two errors and had two passed balls in a Game 1 loss. Austin Barnes replaced Grandal behind the plate for Game 2 in Milwaukee.Brewers manager Craig Counsell made a few tweaks, moving second baseman Travis Shaw into the cleanup spot and dropping first baseman Jesus Aguilar one spot down to fifth. Third baseman Mike Moustakas is back to hitting sixth after being in the fifth spot for Game 2.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ATLANTA (AP) — Brian Snitker has a two-year contract for only the second time in his 43 years with the Braves.It's little wonder that Snitker, who turns 63 on Wednesday, said Monday he never assumed he'd be asked to return as manager even after leading Atlanta to a surprise NL East division title and its first playoff berth since 2013."I've been around long enough to know you're never guaranteed tomorrow in this business," Snitker said after his two-year deal was announced by general manager Alex Anthopoulos. The deal includes a club option for 2021.Snitker began his long run with the Braves as a minor league player in 1977 and spent 20 years as a minor league manager in addition to stints as Atlanta's bullpen coach and third base coach. He said his only previous two-year contract came when Bobby Cox became general manager in 1985.Now, as a leading candidate to be NL manager of the year, he again has more than a one-year contract."It does give you a sense of accomplishment, I guess," Snitker... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Braves manager Brian Snitker agreed to a two-year contract extension after guiding Atlanta to the NL East title and its first playoff berth since 2013. The deal announced Monday includes a club option for 2021.The extension is sure to be met with approval in a young clubhouse. The players constantly praised Snitker and how he always had their back."He did a remarkable job," star first baseman Freddie Freeman said. "It's really hard to handle 25 to 35 personalities, and he's one of the best at it."Snitker was appointed interim managed in May 2016 after the firing of Freddie Gonzalez. He will be heading into his third full season as the club's manager and 43rd as a member of the organization.After a third straight 90-loss season in 2017, the Braves improved to 90-72 with some of baseball's best young talent, including Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies and Mike Foltynewicz. They lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Division Series.A day after the season ended, Snitker said... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'Milwaukee Brewers star Christian Yelich is heading home for Game 3 of the NL Championship Series with the matchup against the Dodgers tied at 1-all. Yelich, the favorite for NL MVP, was born in Thousand Oaks, California, and went to Westlake High School before he was selected by the Marlins in the first round of the 2010 draft. The 26-year-old Yelich is a .326 hitter with six homers and 17 RBIs in 37 career games against the Dodgers, but he went 1 for 8 with three strikeouts in the first two games of the series against the NL West champions.DOING BETTER?The Red Sox will see how ace Chris Sale is feeling after a stomach illness sent him to the hospital. The team said Sale was spending the night at Massachusetts General Hospital for observation after being admitted earlier Sunday.Boston and the Astros have a day off before the AL Division resumes in Houston on Tuesday with the clubs tied at one game each.The 29-year-old... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Gerrit Cole struggled at the beginning of his second playoff start with the Houston Astros.By the time he recovered, it was too late. Boston was well on its way to a big win.Cole's electric fastball was lined all over Fenway Park and he also committed a costly error in his first career appearance in the AL Championship Series, losing 7-5 to the Red Sox in Game 2 on Sunday."You know early, I thought he was a little over-amped," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "He was pretty excited — a lot of energy, wasn't (executing) a ton of pitches."One night after Justin Verlander pitched Houston to a 7-2 victory in the series opener, Cole was unable to duplicate the success of his fellow hard-throwing right-hander. The 28-year-old Cole allowed a season-high five runs and surrendered six hits — all of them on fastballs — in six innings.Game 3 is Tuesday in Houston.Cole said his main trouble in the first inning was his inability to get his breaking pitches over the plate."I was just not... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Monday:CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'Milwaukee Brewers star Christian Yelich is heading home for Game 3 of the NL Championship Series with the matchup against the Dodgers tied at 1-all. Yelich, the favorite for NL MVP, was born in Thousand Oaks, California, and went to Westlake High School before he was selected by the Marlins in the first round of the 2010 draft. The 26-year-old Yelich is a .326 hitter with six homers and 17 RBIs in 37 career games against the Dodgers, but he went 1 for 8 with three strikeouts in the first two games of the series against the NL West champions.DOING BETTER?The Red Sox will see how ace Chris Sale is feeling after a stomach illness sent him to the hospital. The team said Sale was spending the night at Massachusetts General Hospital for observation after being admitted earlier Sunday.Boston and the Astros have a day off before the AL Division resumes in Houston on Tuesday with the clubs tied at one game each.The 29-year-old... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox say ace left-hander Chris Sale has a stomach illness and will spend the night in the hospital.The Red Sox made the announcement Sunday night in the seventh inning of Game 2 of the AL Championship Series against Houston.Boston said Sale reported the illness earlier in the day and was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital. He will be held overnight for observation.The 29-yaer-old Sale struggled with his control in Boston's 7-2 loss to the Astros in the series opener Saturday night. He allowed two runs with four walks and a hit batter in four innings despite giving up just one hit.Sale picked up the win in Game 1 of the AL Division Series against the Yankees when he pitched into the sixth inning. He also threw a perfect eighth inning in the clincher at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night.Sale missed nearly six weeks, making just one start, from late July into September with mild left shoulder inflammation before he worked his way back into the rotation with four starts in September.

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox say ace left-hander Chis Sale has a stomach illness and will spend the night in the hospital.The Red Sox made the announcement Sunday night in the seventh inning of Game 2 of the AL Championship Series against Houston.Boston said Sale reported the illness earlier in the day and was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital. He will be held overnight for observation.The 29-yaer-old Sale struggled with his control in Boston's 7-2 loss to the Astros in the series opener Saturday night. He allowed two runs with four walks and a hit batter in four innings despite giving up just one hit.Sale picked up the win in Game 1 of the AL Division Series against the Yankees when he pitched into the sixth inning. He also threw a perfect eighth inning in the clincher at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night.Sale missed nearly six weeks, making just one start, from late July into September with mild left shoulder inflammation before he worked his way back into the rotation with four starts in September.

BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox ace Chris Sale and manager Alex Cora both made early exits in Boston's 7-2 loss to Houston in Game 1 of AL Championship Series on Saturday night.Sale lasted just four innings, giving up two runs, one hit, four walks and a hit batter.Cora wasn't far behind the lanky left-hander going back to the clubhouse. The rookie manager was ejected in the bottom of the fifth inning with the game tied 2-2 after arguing a called third strike on Andrew Benintendi that ended Boston's first rally of the game."You can't argue balls and strikes, and I did," Cora said. "It's kind of like embarrassing that it happens in the playoffs. That wasn't cool watching the game in the clubhouse. ... But sometimes you got to do what you got to do, and you've got to defend your players."Sale opened the game with an eight-pitch walk to George Springer and struggled through the first three innings with subpar stuff and location."I just went out there and lost it for a little bit," Sale said.Houston took... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox ace Chris Sale and manager Alex Cora both made early exits in Boston's 7-2 loss to Houston in Game 1 of AL Championship Series on Saturday night.Sale lasted just four innings, giving up two runs, one hit, four walks and a hit batter.Cora wasn't far behind the lanky left-hander going back to the clubhouse. The rookie manager was ejected in the bottom of the fifth inning with the game tied 2-2 after arguing a called third strike on Andrew Benintendi that ended Boston's first rally of the game."You can't argue balls and strikes, and I did," Cora said. "It's kind of like embarrassing that it happens in the playoffs. That wasn't cool watching the game in the clubhouse. ... But sometimes you got to do what you got to do, and you've got to defend your players."Sale opened the game with an eight-pitch walk to George Springer and struggled through the first three innings with subpar stuff and location."I just went out there and lost it for a little bit," Sale said.Houston took... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox ace Chris Sale and manager Alex Cora both made early exits in Boston's 7-2 loss to the Houston Astros in Game 1 of AL Championship Series on Saturday night.Sale lasted just four innings, giving up two runs on one hit, four walks and a hit batter.Cora wasn't far behind the lanky left-hander going back to the clubhouse. The rookie manager was ejected in the bottom of the fifth inning with the game tied 2-2 after arguing a called third strike on Andrew Benintendi that ended Boston's first rally of the game.Sale opened the game with an eight-pitch walk to George Springer and struggled through the first three innings with subpar stuff and location.Houston took advantage in the second. Sale got two quick outs, but then walked Carlos Correa, plunked Martin Maldonado on the hand with a fastball and walked Josh Reddick. Springer followed with a hard grounder past third baseman Eduardo Nunez to put Boston ahead 2-0.Sale decided to go sleeveless despite a 48-degree first pitch,... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox ace Chris Sale and manager Alex Cora both made early exits in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series against the Houston Astros.Sale lasted just four innings Saturday night, giving up two runs on one hit and four walks.Cora wasn't far behind the lanky left-hander going back to the clubhouse. The rookie manager was ejected in the bottom of the fifth inning with the game tied 2-2 after arguing a called third strike on Andrew Benintendi that ended Boston's first rally of the game.Sale opened the game with an eight-pitch walk to George Springer and struggled through the first three innings with subpar stuff and location.Houston took advantage in the second. Sale got two quick outs, but then walked Carlos Correa, plunked Martin Maldonado on the hand with a fastball and walked Josh Reddick. Springer followed with a hard grounder past third baseman Eduardo Nunez to put Boston ahead 2-0.Sale decided to go sleeveless despite a 48-degree first pitch, and it took too long for his... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox manager Alex Cora has been ejected from Game 1 of the AL Championship Series against the Houston Astros for arguing a called third strike in the fifth inning that ended Boston's first rally of the game.There were two out, two on and two runs already in when Justin Verlander threw a 98 mph fastball to Andrew Benintendi near the outside corner Saturday for strike three. Benintendi slammed his helmet and bat down and jawed with plate umpire James Hoye before Red Sox coaches ran in to get between them.Cora continued to yell from the dugout and was tossed by Hoye. The first-year Red Sox manager, who had been ejected once before this season, handed the lineup card to Ron Roenicke and walked down the tunnel.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

A look at what's happening around the majors today:ACES ABOUNDJustin Verlander and the World Series champion Houston Astros face Red Sox lefty Chris Sale in a marquee matchup to start the AL Championship Series at Fenway Park.The All-Stars met twice last year in AL Division Series. They started opposite each other in the opener, then both worked in relief during the middle innings of Game 4.Verlander (16-9, 2.52 ERA) led the AL with 290 strikeouts and beat Cleveland in the ALDS last week. Sale (12-4, 2.11) started and relieved vs. the Yankees in the ALDS.Also familiar with each other: Red Sox manager Alex Cora and the Astros. He was Houston's bench coach last year during the team's run to its first title.MILES AND MILESWade Miley was a journeyman left-hander when he signed a minor league contract with the Brewers at the start of spring training. He injured his oblique early in the season, spent a lot of time in Double-A and hoped he'd have a chance to contribute.Miley came back, delivered... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Clayton Kershaw pounded his glove over and over, yelling "Let's go!" as he walked off the mound.Pretty soon, he was gone.Kershaw was hit hard in the shortest start of his spotty playoff career, and the shaky Los Angeles Dodgers lost 6-5 to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 1 of the NL Championship Series on Friday night."Got to do a better of keeping the score close for our guys to have a chance there at the end," Kershaw said.Los Angeles committed four errors, including two by catcher Yasmani Grandal in Milwaukee's two-run third inning. But another playoff flop for its ace left-hander might be its biggest concern as it tries to cool off streaking Milwaukee."He's been in the playoffs for a really long time," Grandal said. "He knows what he needs to do to win games and that's all that matters. Game 5 comes around, then he'll be the guy on the mound and he'll be the guy who will get us a win."Game 2 is Saturday afternoon at Miller Park.Kershaw holds the team records for playoff... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Clayton Kershaw pounded his glove over and over, yelling "Let's go!" as he walked off the mound.Pretty soon, he was gone.Kershaw was hit hard in the shortest start of his spotty playoff career, and the shaky Los Angeles Dodgers lost 6-5 to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 1 of the NL Championship Series on Friday night."Got to do a better of keeping the score close for our guys to have a chance there at the end," Kershaw said.Los Angeles committed four errors, including two by catcher Yasmani Grandal in Milwaukee's two-run third inning. But another playoff flop for its ace left-hander might be its biggest concern as it tries to cool off streaking Milwaukee."We gave up too many bases. We didn't play clean when he was in the game," manager Dave Roberts said. "The errors affected the game. But as far as Clayton, I just think it was poor execution. And I thought the stuff was good, but he just made mistakes in the strike zone and defensively, again, we didn't do him any favors."Game... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Clayton Kershaw pounded his glove with his left hand and yelled "Let's Go!" as he walked off the mound.Pretty soon, he was gone.Kershaw was hit hard in the shortest start of his spotty playoff career, and the sloppy Los Angeles Dodgers lost 6-5 to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 1 of the NL Championship Series on Friday night.Los Angeles committed four errors, including two by catcher Yasmani Grandal in Milwaukee's two-run third. But another playoff flop for its ace left-hander might be its biggest concern as it tries to cool off streaking Milwaukee.Game 2 is Saturday afternoon at Miller Park.Kershaw holds the team records for playoff wins (eight), starts (21), innings (133) and strikeouts (144), but is just 8-8 with a 4.26 ERA in 26 career postseason appearances. The Dodgers dropped to 13-13 when the three-time NL Cy Young Award winner takes the mound in the playoffs.The 30-year-old Kershaw quieted some of those October questions when the Dodgers won the NL pennant last... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Saturday:ACES ABOUNDJustin Verlander and the World Series champion Houston Astros face Red Sox lefty Chris Sale in a marquee matchup to start the AL Championship Series at Fenway Park.The All-Stars met twice last year in AL Division Series. They started opposite each other in the opener, then both worked in relief during the middle innings of Game 4.Verlander (16-9, 2.52 ERA) led the AL with 290 strikeouts and beat Cleveland in the ALDS last week. Sale (12-4, 2.11) started and relieved vs. the Yankees in the ALDS.Also familiar with each other: Red Sox manager Alex Cora and the Astros. He was Houston's bench coach last year during the team's run to its first title.MILES AND MILESWade Miley was a journeyman left-hander when he signed a minor league contract with the Brewers at the start of spring training. He injured his oblique early in the season, spent a lot of time in Double-A and hoped he'd have a chance to contribute.Miley came back, delivered... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Brewers right-hander Brandon Woodruff has connected against Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, becoming the third reliever in major league history to homer in a postseason game.Woodruff led off the third inning with a long drive to right-center, tying Game 1 of the NL Championship Series at 1. Woodruff pumped his right arm as the ball went out Friday night and Kershaw glanced back with an incredulous look on his face.Woodruff is the first Brewers pitcher to homer in a playoff game, according to STATS. He joins Travis Wood for the Chicago Cubs in Game 2 of the 2016 NL Division Series against San Francisco and Rosy Ryan for the New York Giants in Game 3 of the 1924 World Series against Washington as the only relievers to go deep in the postseason.The 25-year-old Woodruff hit his first career homer July 13 at Pittsburgh.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The pitch from Bob Uecker was, predictably, just a bit outside.The Milwaukee Brewers announcer is always good for a laugh, even before the first game of the NL Championship Series."Bob will be throwing out the (ceremonial) first pitch tonight," a press conference moderator said as Uecker walked to a podium a couple hours before the Brewers hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers at Miller Park."I am," the straight-faced Uecker joked quizzically.There is perhaps no better ambassador for Brewers baseball than the 84-year-old Uecker.Fittingly, he's known by the nickname "Mr. Baseball."In his 48th season calling Brewers games, Uecker is beloved in his hometown of Milwaukee for his dry wit and entertaining calls.The Brewers have two statues dedicated to Uecker at Miller Park, including one in the last row of the upper deck that commemorates one of Uecker's commercials for Miller Lite in which he repeated the phrase "I must be in the front row!"He remains an important member of the Brewers,... [More]