PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Chase Utley ran out to second base one more time wearing a red pinstriped No. 26 Philadelphia Phillies jersey and dark blue suit pants while his walk-up song "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin blared and adoring fans stood and cheered.The six-time All-Star was honored Friday night at a retirement ceremony before the Phillies played the Miami Marlins. He called Phillies fans the "best" in baseball and threw a ceremonial first pitch to actor Rob McElhenney, creator of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." McElhenney had a "man crush" on Utley in one of the show's episodes."Thank you the fans of Philadelphia," Utley said. "Thank you for motivating me, thank you for being straight forward, thank you for picking me up when I was down, thank you for being loyal, a bit crazy at times and thank you for being passionate. Overall, thank you for being the best fans in baseball."Utley played 13 seasons in Philadelphia and helped the Phillies win five straight NL East titles, two NL pennants... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Chase Utley ran out to second base one more time wearing a red pinstriped No. 26 Philadelphia Phillies jersey and dark blue suit pants while his walk-up song "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin blared and adoring fans stood and cheered.The six-time All-Star was honored Friday night at a retirement ceremony before the Phillies played the Miami Marlins. He called Phillies fans the "best" in baseball and threw a ceremonial first pitch to actor Rob McElhenney, creator of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." McElhenney had a "man crush" on Utley in one of the show's episodes."Thank you the fans of Philadelphia," Utley said. "Thank you for motivating me, thank you for being straight forward, thank you for picking me up when I was down, thank you for being loyal, a bit crazy at times and thank you for being passionate. Overall, thank you for being the best fans in baseball."Utley played 13 seasons in Philadelphia and helped the Phillies win five straight NL East titles, two NL pennants... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Looking for a big start, the New York Yankees found an unorthodox spot for Aaron Judge in his long-awaited return to the lineup.After missing two months with a left oblique injury, Judge was back Friday night against Houston and batted leadoff for the first time in his major league career.Normally the team's No. 2 hitter, the 6-foot-7, 282-pound slugger was moved to the top spot as manager Aaron Boone toys with how best to arrange his power-packed batting order. Regular leadoff man DJ LeMahieu was rested."I'm just trying to get my best players up there as much as possible," Boone said.Judge received a boisterous ovation from the Yankee Stadium crowd when No. 99 was introduced with a "Welcome back!" from public address announcer Paul Olden. Judge ran the count full his first time up before grounding out to first base against right-hander Brad Peacock.Astros skipper AJ Hinch deadpanned that Judge is the largest leadoff hitter he'll ever manage against."He brings an immediate... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Chase Utley ran out to second base one more time wearing a red pinstriped No. 26 Philadelphia Phillies jersey and dark blue suit pants while his walk-up song by Def Leppard blared and adoring fans stood and cheered.The six-time All-Star was honored Friday night at a retirement ceremony before the Phillies played the Miami Marlins. He called Phillies fans the "best" in baseball and threw a ceremonial first pitch to actor Rob McElhenney, creator of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." McElhenney had a "man crush" on Utley in one of the show's episodes."Thank you the fans of Philadelphia," Utley said. "Thank you for motivating me, thank you for being straight forward, thank you for picking me up when I was down, thank you for being loyal, a bit crazy at times and thank you for being passionate. Overall, thank you for being the best fans in baseball."Utley played 13 seasons in Philadelphia and helped the Phillies win five straight NL East titles, two NL pennants and the... [More]

ST. Louis (AP) — The cheers for Albert Pujols lasted much longer than his at-bat.It had been almost eight years in the making, but Albert Pujols returned to the Busch Stadium on Friday night and was greeted by a raucous standing ovation that carried on for over a minute.Pujols spent the first 11 years of his All-Star career with the Cardinals before signing with the Los Angeles Angels after the 2011 season. Due to inconsistent interleague scheduling, this was the first time the Angels have visited St. Louis since Pujols left.During the ovation, Pujols and Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina — whom he refers to as his little brother — embraced in the first inning. Before stepping in, Pujols tipped his helmet, sending the crowd noise to another level.The cheers faded as quickly as the at-bat, in which Pujols flied out to deep center field on Michael Wacha's first pitch. Wacha was drafted by the Cardinals as compensation for Pujols signing a $254 million, 10-year contract with the Angels as a... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Looking for a big start, the New York Yankees found an unorthodox spot for Aaron Judge in his long-awaited return to the lineup.After missing two months with a left oblique injury, Judge was back Friday night against Houston and batted leadoff for the first time in his major league career.Normally the team's No. 2 hitter, the 6-foot-7, 282-pound slugger was moved to the top spot as manager Aaron Boone toys with how best to arrange his power-packed batting order."I'm just trying to get my best players up there as much as possible," Boone said.Judge received a boisterous ovation from the Yankee Stadium crowd when No. 99 was introduced with a "Welcome back!" from public address announcer Paul Olden. Judge ran the count full his first time up before grounding out to first base against right-hander Brad Peacock.Astros skipper AJ Hinch deadpanned that Judge is the largest leadoff hitter he'll ever manage against."He brings an immediate threat from the first pitch of the game tonight,"... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge is back in the New York Yankees' lineup and batting leadoff for the first time in his major league career.After missing two months with a left oblique injury, Judge returned Friday night against Houston. Normally the team's No. 2 hitter, the 6-foot-7, 282-pound slugger was moved to the top spot as manager Aaron Boone toys with how best to arrange his power-packed batting order now that Edwin Encarnación has arrived and several Yankees stars are healed up.Along with his prodigious power, Judge has a sharp eye at the plate. He batted leadoff in spring training 2018 as the Yankees explored the idea — but he'd never started there in a regular-season game until now.Gary Sánchez, with 22 homers and 50 RBIs, hit second for New York ahead of lefty-swinging Didi Gregorius and cleanup man Giancarlo Stanton. Encarnación, leading the American League with 23 home runs, was fifth in front of lefty Brett Gardner, Gleyber Torres, Gio Urshela and Cameron Maybin.Encarnación was acquired last weekend in a trade with Seattle.Astros skipper AJ Hinch deadpanned that Judge is the largest leadoff hitter he'll ever manage against.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CLEVELAND (AP) — Mike Clevinger is confident his latest stint on the injured list will be a short one.The Cleveland Indians placed Clevinger on the 10-day IL prior to Friday night's game against Detroit because of a sprained left ankle. The right-hander was scheduled to start Saturday.Clevinger twisted his ankle while coming off the mound to cover first base in the second inning against Texas on Tuesday. He was making his first start since April 7 when he strained a back muscle.Clevinger expects his next start will come when the Indians visit Baltimore for a three-game series that begins June 28."It's nothing bad," he said. "If this was October, I'd probably be out there but coming back from the long layoff, right now everything lines up perfectly for me to only miss one start. It's more logical to do that."Clevinger remained in Tuesday's game but struggled, allowing five runs in 4 2/3 innings. The move is retroactive to June 18.The Indians have been dealing with a depleted rotation for... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Indians have placed pitcher Mike Clevinger on the 10-day injured list because of a sprained left ankle.He twisted the ankle while coming off the mound to cover first base in the second inning against Texas on Tuesday. He was making his first start since April 7 when he strained a back muscle.Clevinger remained in the game but struggled, allowing five runs in 4 2/3 innings. The move is retroactive to June 18.The right-hander was scheduled to start Saturday against Detroit. Injuries have limited Clevinger to three starts this season in which he's 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA.Aaron Civale will be called up from Triple-A Columbus to start Saturday. Reliever Josh Smith was recalled from Columbus for Friday night's game.The Indians have been dealing with injuries to their rotation this season. Corey Kluber (broken right arm) and Carlos Carrasco (blood condition) are also out.

PHOENIX (AP) — Chris Iannetta's two-run, bases-loaded single in the 10th inning lifted the Colorado Rockies to a 6-4 victory Thursday that completed a three-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks.Iannetta, a former Diamondbacks catcher, singled off the center-field wall against Yoshihisa Hirano (3-4) with one out to drive in Ian Desmond and Brendan Rodgers. The Rockies had tied it at 4 on Tony Wolters' pinch-hit RBI single in the ninth off Arizona closer Greg Holland.Scott Oberg (5-0) got the win with two scoreless innings in relief, but had to pitch out of jam in the bottom of the 10th when the Diamondbacks loaded the bases with one out. He got Ildemaro Vargas to fly out, and then struck out David Peralta swinging to end the game.Charlie Blackmon and Desmond homered for the Rockies, who have won eight in a row over the Diamondbacks. Nolan Arenado left with a bruised left big toe after fouling a ball off his foot.Christian Walker's two-run, pinch-hit homer keyed a three-run sixth for the... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge is all set to swing back into action for the New York Yankees.The slugger is expected to be activated from the injured list Friday night to play against Houston, his first game since straining his left oblique on a swing April 20.The 27-year-old right fielder was batting .288 with five home runs and 11 RBIs when he got hurt."I'm not going to try to baby it or go at 80%. We're in the major leagues," Judge said Thursday night. "We're ready to go. That's not something I'm worried about happening again."Judge was smiling in the Yankees clubhouse before the series opener against the Astros in a matchup of first-place teams."To see him walk through the doors earlier today and walk into the coaches' room, really good seeing him knowing he feels really good," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.Judge's return will come the same week fellow slugger Giancarlo Stanton returned from a series of injuries that caused the former NL MVP to miss 68 games. The Yankees have added... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball and its fans are on the same page — they want to see more of the kids.With millennial mashers Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich leading the way, this year's All-Star starting lineups have a chance to be the youngest ever, based on an Associated Press analysis of the latest ballot results released by the league this week.The AP studied the average age for starting All-Star position players since the first Midsummer Classic in 1933, and this year's group is almost certain to be historic, especially in the National League. The average age of the eight NL ballot leaders is just 25, a full year less than the previous youngest starting lineup, the 2017 American League roster.When combined with the AL, this year's projected starters average 26.6 years old — 0.2 older than the 2017 squads, which are the youngest ever. If 24-year-old Rays outfielder Austin Meadows edges 32-year-old Astros outfielder Michael Brantley, the average would fall to 26.3."For the... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:WELCOMEZac Gallen is set to make his major league debut when he starts for the Marlins at St. Louis. The 23-year-old righty was 9-1 with a 1.77 ERA at Triple-A New Orleans, striking out 112 in 91 1/3 innings.Gallen might see some familiar faces at Busch Stadium. He was traded by the Cardinals to Miami in the deal for outfielder Marcell Ozuna after the 2017 season.DIFFERENT DIRECTIONSAlex Bregman and the Astros have lost a season-most four straight as they open a four-game series between AL division leaders at Yankee Stadium.Houston was swept in Cincinnati this week, but former AL MVP Jose Altuve returned to the lineup after missing 35 games with a hamstring strain. He went 0 for 4 and grounded into a double play Wednesday.Big-hitting Gary Sánchez and the Yankees have won five in a row, capped by a sweep of the second-place Rays. Slugging outfielder Aaron Judge is expected to rejoin New York on Friday after being sidelined in late April... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Gary Sánchez hit a three-run homer to help chase Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell in the first inning, CC Sabathia got his 250th career win and the New York Yankees thumped the Tampa Bay Rays 12-1 Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.Gleyber Torres added a grand slam during a six-run seventh inning, and New York three-hit Tampa Bay to win its fifth in a row and extend its lead the AL East over the second-place Rays to 3½ games. Tampa Bay was swept for the second time this season — the other came against Boston in April.Snell (4-6) walked four, gave up two hits and was charged with six runs while getting one out on 39 pitches in the shortest start of his career.Sabathia (4-4) pitched one-run ball over six innings. He struck out seven and allowed three hits and three walks.ANGELS 11, BLUE JAYS 6TORONTO (AP) — Mike Trout hit two home runs, including his sixth career grand slam, and had a career-best seven RBIs as Los Angeles beat Toronto.Justin Upton also homered for the... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Gary Sánchez hit a three-run homer to help chase Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell in the first inning, CC Sabathia got his 250th career win and the New York Yankees thumped the Tampa Bay Rays 12-1 Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.Gleyber Torres added a grand slam during a six-run seventh inning, and New York three-hit Tampa Bay to win its fifth in a row and extend its lead the AL East over the second-place Rays to 3½ games. Tampa Bay was swept for the second time this season — the other came against Boston in April.Snell (4-6) walked four, gave up two hits and was charged with six runs while getting one out on 39 pitches in the shortest start of his career.Sabathia (4-4) pitched one-run ball over six innings. He struck out seven and allowed three hits and three walks.ANGELS 11, BLUE JAYS 6TORONTO (AP) — Mike Trout hit two home runs, including his sixth career grand slam, and had a career-best seven RBIs as Los Angeles beat Toronto.Justin Upton also homered for the... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Gary Sánchez hit a three-run homer to help chase Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell in the first inning, CC Sabathia got his 250th career win and the New York Yankees thumped the Tampa Bay Rays 12-1 Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.Gleyber Torres added a grand slam during a six-run seventh inning, and New York three-hit Tampa Bay to win its fifth in a row and extend its lead the AL East over the second-place Rays to 3½ games. Tampa Bay was swept for the second time this season — the other came against Boston in April.Snell (4-6) walked four, gave up two hits and was charged with six runs while getting one out on 39 pitches in the shortest start of his career.Sabathia (4-4) pitched one-run ball over six innings. He struck out seven and allowed three hits and three walks.PADRES 8, BREWERS 7SAN DIEGO (AP) — Franmil Reyes hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh and Eric Hosmer added a two-run shot for San Diego, which overcame three homers by Milwaukee to sweep... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Yankees have released right-hander Danny Farquhar, ending the relief pitcher's comeback try with New York more than a year after he collapsed in the Chicago White Sox dugout because of a ruptured aneurysm and brain hemorrhage.The Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders announced the move Wednesday.Farquhar buckled during a game with Chicago on April 20, 2018, and was hospitalized until May 7. He became a free agent after the season and signed with New York on a minor league contract.The 32-year-old Farquhar pitched in three major league spring training games. After spending time in extended spring training to build up arm strength, Farquhar made two appearances with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this month, allowing seven runs in three innings.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is scheduled to pitch Wednesday night against the Philadelphia Phillies, a day after breaking his nose during batting practice.Scherzer was injured Tuesday when he took a ball off his face while attempting a bunt. The team says a CT scan was negative.Manager Dave Martinez says Scherzer was "very adamant" about pitching despite a bruise around his right eye.The three-time Cy Young Award winner will pitch the second game of the Nationals' day-night doubleheader. He is 5-5 with a 2.81 ERA this season.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is scheduled to pitch Wednesday night against the Philadelphia Phillies, a day after breaking his nose during batting practice.Scherzer was injured Tuesday when he took a ball off his face while attempting a bunt. The team says a CT scan was negative.Manager Dave Martinez says Scherzer was "very adamant" about pitching despite a bruise around his right eye.The three-time Cy Young Award winner will pitch the second game of the Nationals' day-night doubleheader. He is 5-5 with a 2.81 ERA this season.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs plan to move slowly with Kyle Hendricks after tests confirmed the right-hander is dealing with a shoulder impingement.Hendricks was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday, one day after he permitted five runs in 4 1/3 innings in a 5-3 loss to NL West-leading Los Angeles. Hendricks was 6-0 with a 1.99 ERA in his previous eight starts before stumbling against the Dodgers."There's no question we'll take the length of the season into account," general manager Jed Hoyer said before Tuesday night's 3-1 loss to the crosstown White Sox. "We know how impactful he is when he's right and we want to get him right and if that means patience, we'll exercise patience."Hendricks led the majors with a 2.13 ERA over 190 innings in 2016. He went 14-11 with a 3.44 ERA in 33 starts last year.He agreed to a new contract with the team in March that adds $55.5 million from 2020 to 2023, guaranteeing he will receive $62,905,000 over the next five seasons."All the tests confirm... [More]