OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Athletics slugger Khris Davis has gotten the long-term deal he wanted.The Athletics said Thursday they had agreed to a contract through the 2021 season. The new deal adds $33.75 million for 2020 and '21, which increased Davis' guarantee to $50.25 million over three years, a person familiar with the agreement told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because terms of the deal had not been announced.Davis hit a majors-best 48 home runs last season while setting a career high with 123 RBIs. He is leading the majors again with 10 home runs so far this season. He is batting .260 with 20 RBIs.He agreed in January to a $16.5 million, one-year contract and would have been eligible for free agency after this season.Following two straight slow free-agent markets, Davis joined Chris Sale, Justin Verlander, Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, Xander Bogaerts and Aaron Hicks in agreeing to a long-term deal and foregoing open bidding after the World Series.Gerrit Cole, Madison Bumgarner, Didi Gregorius and Anthony Rendon to top the potential free-agent group for now.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHICAGO (AP) — Fiercely energetic Tim Anderson spiked his bat to celebrate a home run and Kansas City's Brad Keller responded by drilling him with a fastball, setting off a benches-clearing fracas in the Royals' 4-3, 10-inning victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.Anderson tossed his bat toward the White Sox dugout following his two-run drive in the fourth inning. Keller hit him in the buttocks with his first pitch leading off the sixth.Anderson, the AL's leading hitter, was restrained by Royals catcher Martin Maldonado but kept jawing with Keller on the way to first base. The dugouts and bullpens emptied, though no punches appeared to be thrown. White Sox manager Rick Renteria and Royals bench coach Dale Sveum shoved each other, and the usually mild-mannered Renteria was particularly animated.There were four ejections — Anderson, Keller, Renteria and Sveum.Hunter Dozier led off the 10th with a tiebreaking homer against Nate Jones (0-1). His drive to left on a 2-0 fastball made... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Fiercely energetic Tim Anderson spiked his bat to celebrate a home run and Kansas City's Brad Keller responded by drilling him with a fastball, setting off a benches-clearing fracas in the Royals' 4-3, 10-inning victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.Anderson tossed his bat toward the White Sox dugout following his two-run drive in the fourth inning. Keller hit him in the buttocks with his first pitch leading off the sixth.Anderson, the AL's leading hitter, was restrained by Royals catcher Martin Maldonado but kept jawing with Keller on the way to first base. The dugouts and bullpens emptied, though no punches appeared to be thrown. White Sox manager Rick Renteria and Royals bench coach Dale Sveum shoved each other, and the usually mild-mannered Renteria was particularly animated.There were four ejections — Anderson, Keller, Renteria and Sveum.Hunter Dozier led off the 10th with a tiebreaking homer against Nate Jones (0-1). His drive to left on a 2-0 fastball made... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Boston Red Sox pitcher David Price thinks Major League Baseball made a mistake by having just 10 games Monday on Jackie Robinson Day."Hey @mlb every year on April 15th we celebrate Jackie Robinson Day," Price tweeted Wednesday. "EVERYONE plays on that day next year deal? No one should have an off day let alone 10 teams!!"African American players dropped from 18 percent of the majors leagues in 1991 to 7.7 percent in 2017, then rose to 8.4 percent in 2018, according to The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida. Price, who won the 2012 AL Cy Young Award, thinks more efforts on Jackie Robinson Day are needed.Jackie Robinson broke the major league color barrier for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947."1/3 of @mlb teams had an off day on Jackie Robinson day," tweeted Price, who is black. "I just can't wrap my head around that. We've had a problem for a while and this couldn't make it any more noticeable."This year, April 15 fell on a Monday. Most teams'... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Fiercely energetic Tim Anderson spiked his bat to celebrate a home run and Kansas City's Brad Keller responded by drilling him with a fastball, setting off a benches-clearing fracas in the Royals' 4-3, 10-inning victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.Anderson tossed his bat toward the White Sox dugout following his two-run drive in the fourth inning. Keller hit him in the buttocks with his first pitch leading off the sixth.Anderson, the AL's leading hitter, was restrained by Royals catcher Martin Maldonado but kept jawing with Keller on the way to first base. The dugouts and bullpens emptied, though no punches appeared to be thrown. White Sox manager Rick Renteria and Royals bench coach Dale Sveum shoved each other, and the usually mild-mannered Renteria was particularly animated.There were four ejections — Anderson, Keller, Renteria and Sveum.Hunter Dozier led off the 10th with a tiebreaking homer against Nate Jones (0-1). His drive to left on a 2-0 fastball made... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Dustin Pedroia's painful left knee forced him out of Wednesday night's 5-3 loss to the Yankees after 1 1/2 innings, and the Boston second baseman planned to remain in New York for an examination rather than travel with the team to Tampa Bay.The 2008 AL MVP was hurt when he fouled off an 0-1 pitch from J.A. Happ in the second inning, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said."I was surprised that he came up to me and told me that, but at least he was honest," Cora said. "He was down. I haven't seen him like that. Hopefully, it's nothing serious, and it's something that he just got scared."Eduardo Núñez replaced Pedroia for the bottom half.Pedroia was activated from the injured list April 9 and is 2 for 20 at the plate.He has been slowed since a slide into his surgically repaired left knee at second base by Baltimore's Manny Machado on April 21, 2017. Dr. Riley Williams III of the Hospital for Special Surgery operated on Pedroia's left knee on Oct. 25, 2017, and Pedroia was limited to three big league games in 2018, from May 26-29.Cora said Pedroia would not be examined by the surgeon but by another doctor.Pedroia, 35, had not played the field since Saturday, and Cora said Pedroia also has been feeling ill. The Red Sox play three games on artificial turf at Tama Bay starting Friday, so another trip to the injured list is possible.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Oakland Athletics placed pitcher Marco Estrada on the 10-day injured list because of a lumbar strain, one day after a second consecutive shaky outing.Estrada allowed seven runs and walked three in 3 1/3 innings in Tuesday night's loss to the Houston Astros. It was the second straight start that Estrada failed to make it past the fourth."He's had some back and hip things kind of in concert giving him a little trouble right now," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "He's had that in the past. We knew that 30-plus starts were probably not going to be realistic, and from time to time that this is something we were going to have to do with him. We knew all that going in."Estrada signed a $4 million, one-year contract with Oakland in the offseason and has been second in Melvin's rotation. The A's are winless in his five starts.Right-hander Chris Bassitt was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas and is expected to take Estrada's place in the rotation.__More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A remarkable baseball streak ended Wednesday when Joey Votto innocuously popped out to first base.The slugger somehow had made 6,827 plate appearances over 13 seasons with the Reds without ever popping out to first. He finally did it in Cincinnati's 3-2 loss at Dodger Stadium, fouling out to Cody Bellinger to end the eighth.Votto had played 1,591 games in a career that began in late 2007 without ever popping up to first.The six-time All-Star first baseman is a career .310 hitter, always showing strong plate discipline and rarely wasting at-bats. Votto had popped up only 88 previous times in his career, including only seven popups from 2010-18.Dodgers reliever Pedro Baez induced the popup on a belt-high 3-1 outside changeup.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia left Wednesday night's game against the New York Yankees after 1½ innings because of left knee discomfort.The 2008 AL MVP flied out in the top of the second inning, then was replaced by Eduardo Núñez for the bottom half.Pedroia was activated April 9 and is 2 for 20 at the plate.He has been slowed since a slide into his surgically repaired left knee at second base by Baltimore's Manny Machado on April 21, 2017. Pedroia had left knee surgery on Oct. 25, 2017, and was limited to three big league games in 2018, from May 26-29.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves have a big hole in their bullpen now that closer Arodys Vizcaino will miss the rest of the season after undergoing right shoulder surgery.Vizcaino had the procedure Wednesday in New York. He pitched in four games this season, getting one save and allowing one run in four innings for the NL East champs.General manager Alex Anthopoulos has heard fans chanting at SunTrust Park for the team to sign free agent closer Craig Kimbrel and bring him back to Atlanta, and he indicated the Braves are exploring all available options."There's been a ton of turnover from the beginning of camp to where we are today," Anthopoulos said Wednesday. "I think it goes without saying we're going to look to do what we can both internally and externally."Even before Vizcaino got hurt, there's been speculation that Kimbrel, who closed games last season for the World Series champion Boston Red Sox, would return to the Braves, his original team.Anthopoulos declined to say if the team... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Boston Red Sox pitcher David Price thinks Major League Baseball made a mistake by having just 10 games Monday on Jackie Robinson Day."Hey @mlb every year on April 15th we celebrate Jackie Robinson Day," Price tweeted Wednesday. "EVERYONE plays on that day next year deal? No one should have an off day let alone 10 teams!!"African American players dropped from 18 percent of the majors leagues in 1991 to 7.7 percent in 2017, then rose to 8.4 percent in 2018, according to The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida. Price, who won the 2012 AL Cy Young Award, thinks more efforts on Jackie Robinson Day are needed.Jackie Robinson broke the major league color barrier for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947."1/3 of @mlb teams had an off day on Jackie Robinson day," tweeted Price, who is black. "I just can't wrap my head around that. We've had a problem for a while and this couldn't make it any more noticeable."This year, April 15 fell on a Monday. Most teams'... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Detroit Tigers left-hander Matt Moore is expected to miss the rest of the season after right knee surgery.Manager Ron Gardenhire updated Moore's status Wednesday. The 29-year-old pitcher signed with the Tigers in the offseason and did not allow a run in 10 innings this year, but he hurt his knee April 6.Moore said last weekend he had a tear in his meniscus, but the severity wasn't clear.An All-Star in 2013 with Tampa Bay, Moore was one of the game's rising stars, but Tommy John surgery cost him almost all of 2014, and he hasn't been very effective since.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Braves closer Arodys Vizcaino will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his right shoulder.Vizcaino had the procedure Wednesday in New York. He pitched in four games this season, getting one save and allowing one run in four innings for the NL East champs.Minus Vizcaino, there's likely to be further speculation the Braves might be interested in Craig Kimbrel — their former closer played for the World Series champion Boston Red Sox last season, became a free agent and hasn't signed with anyone.The 28-year-old Vizcaino was put on the 10-day injured list a few days ago with right shoulder inflammation. A.J. Minter had taken over the closer's role, but has struggled.Vizcaino has often been injured during his two stints with the club. He had a $4.8 million, one-year contractDr. David Altchek performed the surgery. He cleaned up Vizcaino's labrum and removed scar tissue from the right shoulder joint.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — The Boston Red Sox hope to recharge their pitching staff by changing the battery.Catcher Blake Swihart, once a top prospect and promising piece for Boston's future, was designated for assignment Tuesday, and veteran Sandy León was called up from Triple-A.The World Series champions are just 6-12 after dropping the opener of a two-game series at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, and pitching is mostly to blame. The club's starters entered that game with a 7.18 ERA, worst in the majors. The entire staff has a 5.93 ERA, ranking 28th out of 30 major league teams.And so in comes León, a backstop beloved by Boston's pitchers for his pitch calling and defense. He'll split time with Christian Vázquez, while Swihart's time with the organization is likely done.León got his first start Tuesday, handling an improved — but still struggling — Chris Sale during an 8-0 defeat.Red Sox president Dave Dombrowski said the catchers aren't at fault for the early pitching woes, but that León's game management... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Major League Baseball is investigating racist messages sent to Chicago Cubs reliever Carl Edwards Jr. on Instagram this month.Edwards was optioned to Triple-A Iowa after he had trouble with his motion and got off to a tough start this season. Lee Long, Edwards' agent, said the messages came from a couple different people."I've known CJ for a long time and while he has mentioned being upset at social-media attacks in the past, the recent incidents are completely beyond normal fan frustration," Long said Tuesday in a statement. "No player should be expected to bear such personal attacks especially based on the color of their skin."Theo Epstein, the president of baseball operations for the Cubs, condemned the content of the messages and said the club supports MLB's investigation, which was first reported by The Athletic."In a sport that celebrates diversity and unites people from all backgrounds, we are appalled anyone claiming to be a fan would send divisive and bigoted insults... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Boston Red Sox are hoping to recharge their pitching staff by changing the battery.Catcher Blake Swihart, once a top prospect and promising piece for Boston's future, was designated for assignment Tuesday, and veteran Sandy León was called up from Triple-A.The World Series champions are just 6-11 coming into a two-game series at Yankee Stadium, mostly because of pitching. The club's starters entered Tuesday with a 7.18 ERA, worst in the majors. The entire staff has a 5.93 ERA, ranking 28th out of 30 major league teams.And so in comes León, a backstop beloved by Boston's pitchers for his pitch calling and defense. He'll split time with Christian Vázquez, while Swihart's time with the organization is likely done.Speaking ahead of the opener of a two-game series at Yankee Stadium, Red Sox president Dave Dombrowski said the catchers aren't at fault for the early pitching woes, but that León's game management could be part of the solution."There's a comfort level," manager... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays have placed ace left-hander Blake Snell on the 10-day injured list after he broke a toe on his right foot while he was at home Sunday night.The 26-year-old Snell got hurt when he got out of the shower and then attempted to move a large granite item. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner says it was a "really dumb" move.Snell says "It's like a three-piece set and this pole that comes up like 2 1/2, 3 feet. Went to move it, I lifted it up and it wasn't glued to the pole and the pole came crushing down."Snell is 2-1 with a 2.16 ERA in four starts this season. He is eligible to return on April 24 and thinks he might miss just one start.Tampa Bay also promoted right-hander Emilio Pagan from Triple-A Durham before Tuesday night's game against Baltimore.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Baseball's 2026 All-Star Game will be played in Philadelphia to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.Commissioner Rob Manfred made the announcement Tuesday at Independence Hall with a cast of All-Stars past and present on stage behind him. Phillies Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt and six-time All-Star Bryce Harper were the last two speakers to address the crowd.This will be the first All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park, which opened in 2004. The 1976 All-Star Game was played at Veterans Stadium to mark the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and the 1996 All-Star Game also was played at the Vet, which stood in the same sports complex in South Philadelphia. The 1943 and 1952 games were at Shibe Park.This year's All-Star Game is July 9 in Cleveland. The 2020 game will be at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, site of the 1980 game. Sites for 2021-25 have not been announced.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHICAGO (AP) — Major League Baseball is investigating racist messages sent to Chicago Cubs reliever Carl Edwards Jr. on Instagram this month.Edwards was optioned to Triple-A Iowa after he had trouble with his motion and got off to a tough start this season. Lee Long, Edwards' agent, said the messages came from a couple different people."I've known CJ for a long time and while he has mentioned being upset at social-media attacks in the past, the recent incidents are completely beyond normal fan frustration," Long said Tuesday in a statement. "No player should be expected to bear such personal attacks especially based on the color of their skin."Theo Epstein, the president of baseball operations for the Cubs, condemned the content of the messages and said the club supports Major League Baseball's investigation, which was first reported by The Athletic."In a sport that celebrates diversity and unites people from all backgrounds, we are appalled anyone claiming to be a fan would send divisive... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Baseball's 2026 All-Star Game will be played in Philadelphia to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.Commissioner Rob Manfred made the announcement Tuesday at Independence Hall with a cast of All-Stars past and present on stage behind him. Phillies Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt and six-time All-Star Bryce Harper were the last two speakers to address the crowd.This will be the first All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park, which opened in 2004. The 1976 All-Star Game was played at Veterans Stadium to mark the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and the 1996 All-Star Game also was played at the Vet, which stood in the same sports complex in South Philadelphia. The 1943 and 1952 games were at Shibe Park.This year's All-Star Game is July 9 in Cleveland. The 2020 game will be at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, site of the 1980 game. Sites for 2021-25 have not been announced.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports