A look at what's happening around the majors today:Justin Verlander starts for Houston in Game 2 of the AL Championship Series, trying to even the best-of-seven matchup with the Yankees. New York won the opener 7-0 at Minute Maid Park behind Gleyber Torres' hitting and Masahiro Tanaka's pitching.Verlander topped the majors with 21 wins this season and is 14-8 with a 3.20 ERA in postseason play. But he wasn't at his best in his last start, chased in the fourth inning at Tampa Bay when the Astros had a chance to clinch the AL Division Series. That game came when Verlander started on three days' rest — he'd done that just once before, after a rain-shortened outing in the 2011 playoffs.Verlander will be on regular rest when he faces James Paxton. The New York lefty made his first postseason start last week in the ALDS opener against the Twins and was driven out in the fifth inning.TAKE A BREAKStephen Strasburg and his Washington teammates get a day off before resuming the NL Championship Series... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston's added ace is still looking for his first playoff win with the Astros after getting taken deep again.At least the Astros have two All-Star pitchers lined up next after the New York Yankees tagged Zack Greinke in the AL Championship Series opener.Greinke allowed two home runs in a span of three batters in the sixth inning Saturday night, and the Yankees went on to a 7-0 win at Minute Maid Park — where they lost all four games in their last ALCS appearance two years ago.Already with Justin Verlander and big league strikeout leader Gerrit Cole, the Astros added Greinke, a six-time All-Star and 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner, in a somewhat shocking deal moments before the July 31 trade deadline. For a club already cruising toward a third consecutive AL West title, it was a move made for October — where the Yankees figured to be a powerful opponent.After Verlander and Cole dominated the Tampa Bay Rays in the first two games of the AL Division Series, it was Greinke's turn... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Sunday:Justin Verlander starts for Houston in Game 2 of the AL Championship Series, trying to even the best-of-seven matchup with the Yankees. New York won the opener 7-0 at Minute Maid Park behind Gleyber Torres' hitting and Masahiro Tanaka's pitching.Verlander topped the majors with 21 wins this season and is 14-8 with a 3.20 ERA in postseason play. But he wasn't at his best in his last start, chased in the fourth inning at Tampa Bay when the Astros had a chance to clinch the AL Division Series. That game came when Verlander started on three days' rest — he'd done that just once before, after a rain-shortened outing in the 2011 playoffs.Verlander will be on regular rest when he faces James Paxton. The New York lefty made his first postseason start last week in the ALDS opener against the Twins and was driven out in the fifth inning.TAKE A BREAKStephen Strasburg and his Washington teammates get a day off before resuming the NL Championship Series... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston's added ace is still looking for his first playoff win with the Astros after getting taken deep again.At least the Astros have two All-Star pitchers lined up next after the New York Yankees tagged Zack Greinke in the AL Championship Series opener.Greinke allowed two home runs in a span of three batters in the sixth inning Saturday night, and the Yankees went on to a 7-0 win at Minute Maid Park — where they lost all four games in their last ALCS appearance two years ago.Already with Justin Verlander and big league strikeout leader Gerrit Cole, the Astros added Greinke, a six-time All-Star and 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner, in a somewhat shocking deal moments before the July 31 trade deadline.After Verlander and Cole dominated the Tampa Bay Rays in the first two games of the AL Division Series, it was Greinke's turn in the postseason. He allowed three homers and six runs in 3 2/3 innings of a 10-3 loss to the Rays.That prompted manager AJ Hinch to try to close out that... [More]

Yankees fourth. DJ LeMahieu singles to left field. Aaron Judge strikes out swinging. Gleyber Torres doubles to deep left center field. DJ LeMahieu scores. Edwin Encarnacion strikes out swinging. Giancarlo Stanton flies out to right center field to George Springer.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Yankees 1, Astros 0.Yankees sixth. Aaron Judge flies out to right center field to George Springer. Gleyber Torres homers to left field. Edwin Encarnacion strikes out swinging. Giancarlo Stanton homers to center field. Brett Gardner called out on strikes.2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on. Yankees 3, Astros 0.Yankees seventh. Gary Sanchez grounds out to shortstop, Alex Bregman to Yuli Gurriel. Gio Urshela strikes out swinging. Didi Gregorius singles to right field. DJ LeMahieu singles to right field. Didi Gregorius to second. Aaron Judge singles to right field. DJ LeMahieu to second. Didi Gregorius to third. Gleyber Torres singles to right center field, advances to 2nd. Aaron Judge to third.... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Sunday:Justin Verlander starts for Houston in Game 2 of the AL Championship Series, facing the Yankees at Minute Maid Park. Verlander led the majors with 21 wins this season and is 14-8 with a 3.20 ERA in postseason play.But Verlander wasn't at his best earlier this week, chased in the fourth inning at Tampa Bay when the Astros had a chance to clinch the AL Division Series. That game came when Verlander started on three days' rest — he'd done that just one before, after a rain-shortened outing in the 2011 playoffs.Verlander will be on regular rest when he faces James Paxton. The New York lefty made his first postseason start last week in the ALDS opener against the Twins and was driven out in the fifth inning.TAKE A BREAKStephen Strasburg and his Washington teammates get a day off before resuming the NL Championship Series with a 2-0 lead. Strasburg starts Game 3 on Monday night at Nationals Park against Jack Flaherty and the Cardinals.Starters... [More]

The St. Louis Cardinals' front office says baseballs have suddenly lost their juice this postseason, supporting a claim from a prominent data scientist that the balls have changed following a historic, homer-friendly regular season.Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said Saturday that St. Louis' analytics department has found the ball is flying 4 ½ fewer feet on average in the postseason. Players in both leagues have been stunned when hard-hit balls have fallen on the warning track this month, raising more questions about the makeup of the baseballs after hitters clubbed a record 6,776 home runs in the regular season — a rise attributed to unusually far-flying balls."I mean there's probably all kind of different theories behind that that I won't really get into," Shildt said before a 3-1 loss to Washington in Game 2 of the NL Championship Series. "Just the fact of the matter, it could be any number of things."The numbers don't leave much doubt, says data journalist Rob Arthur. He was among the... [More]

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Daniel Hudson and his wife, Sara, tried to plan the birth of their third child around Washington's postseason schedule.When it didn't work out, he knew exactly what he needed to do.Hudson stayed with his wife for Millie's arrival Friday, and then rejoined the Nationals in time to close out their 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 2 of the NL Championship Series on Saturday.The 32-year-old right-hander, a key member of Washington's bullpen, said he knew all along he had to be there — a decision the organization supported."To be able to have that experience with my family and be there for the whole thing was everything I could have imagined," he said. "Obviously, it is my third kid. And top three things in my life, 1A, 1B and 1C, are, was being there for the birth of all three of my daughters."Hudson was reinstated from the postseason paternity list Saturday, and Wander Suero was removed from the Nationals' NLCS roster.While Hudson was away, Aníbal Sánchez and... [More]

Nationals third. Michael A. Taylor homers to left field. Max Scherzer strikes out swinging. Trea Turner lines out to first base to Paul Goldschmidt. Adam Eaton grounds out to shortstop, Paul DeJong to Paul Goldschmidt.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Nationals 1, Cardinals 0.Nationals eighth. Michael A. Taylor called out on strikes. Matt Adams pinch-hitting for Max Scherzer. Matt Adams singles to deep right center field. Trea Turner singles to center field. Matt Adams to second. Adam Eaton doubles to right field. Trea Turner scores. Matt Adams scores. Anthony Rendon is intentionally walked. Juan Soto pops out to shallow center field to Paul DeJong. Howie Kendrick strikes out swinging.2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Nationals 3, Cardinals 0.Cardinals eighth. Matt Carpenter strikes out swinging. Tommy Edman lines out to deep right field to Adam Eaton. Paul DeJong singles to center field. Jose Martinez pinch-hitting for Andrew Miller. Jose Martinez doubles to deep center field. Paul DeJong scores. Dexter Fowler flies out to right field to Adam Eaton.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Nationals 3, Cardinals 1.

HOUSTON (AP) — New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone moved his two left-handed hitters down in the lineup for AL Championship Series opener against Zack Greinke and the Houston Astros after using the same order for all three games in the AL Division Series.Gleyber Torres moved into the third spot in the Yankees lineup, and lefty Brett Gardner was sixth as the two switched spots from New York's three-game ALDS sweep of the Minnesota Twins. The other change for Saturday night's game was Gio Urshela moving up to bat eighth and left Didi Gregorius dropping into the ninth spot.Manager Aaron Boone said he liked that lineup against the right-handed Greinke. To keep some separation between his lefties, he dropped Gregorius in the No. 9 spot after moving Gardner from third to sixth.The Yankees had used the same batting order in three consecutive games only once during the regular season.Astros manager AJ Hinch had Kyle Tucker starting in right field and starting eighth, after the 22-year-old made only one start in their ALDS series against Tampa Bay. Josh Reddick was 1 of 10 in the ALDS.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels say they don't know whether a longtime public relations official had been providing drugs to late pitcher Tyler Skaggs, as detailed in a report Saturday on ESPN's "Outside the Lines."Eric Kay, a 24-year employee of the Angels' PR department, told the Drug Enforcement Agency he had provided opioids to Skaggs and used them with the pitcher for years, according to ESPN. Kay reportedly watched as Skaggs snorted three lines of crushed pills in his hotel room in Southlake, Texas, on the night before he was found dead.Kay also told the DEA he believes several other Angels players used opioids, ESPN reported."We have never heard that any employee was providing illegal narcotics to any player, or that any player was seeking illegal narcotics," Angels President John Carpino said in a statement. "The Angels maintain a strict, zero tolerance policy regarding the illicit use of drugs for both players and staff. Every one of our players must also abide by... [More]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels say they don't know whether a longtime public relations official had been providing drugs to late pitcher Tyler Skaggs, as detailed in a report on ESPN's "Outside the Lines."Eric Kay, a 24-year employee of the Angels' PR department, told the Drug Enforcement Agency he had provided opioids to Skaggs and used them with the pitcher for years, according to the ESPN report Saturday. Kay reportedly watched as Skaggs snorted three lines of crushed pills in his hotel room in Texas, on the night before he was found dead.Kay also told the DEA he believes several other Angels players used opioids, ESPN reported.Skaggs was found dead in his hotel room July 1 before the start of a series against the Rangers. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office said the 27-year-old died after choking on his vomit with a toxic mix of alcohol and the painkillers fentanyl and oxycodone in his body.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer lost his no-hit bid on Paul Goldschmidt's clean single leading off the seventh inning in Game 2 of the NL Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.Goldschmidt's line drive dropped in front of left fielder Juan Soto, who played the ball conservatively with Washington clinging to a 1-0 lead. Scherzer got a strikeout and a double play to end the inning.Washington won 2-0 in Game 1 behind Aníbal Sánchez, who allowed the Cardinals' only hit of the night with two out in the eighth inning.Scherzer walked Kolten Wong in the first and Dexter Fowler in the sixth for St. Louis' only baserunners before Goldschmidt. The three-time Cy Young Award winner has struck out 11 through seven innings.Scherzer, a St. Louis native, has a record five career postseason no-hit bids of at least five innings, according to Elias Sports. He came closest to finishing in Game 3 of the 2017 NL Division Series, getting one out in the seventh inning before... [More]

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer has not allowed a hit through six innings in Game 2 of the NL Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.Scherzer walked Kolten Wong in the first and Dexter Fowler in the sixth for St. Louis' only baserunners so far. The three-time Cy Young Award winner has struck out 10 and thrown 92 pitches.Washington won 2-0 in Game 1 behind Aníbal Sánchez, who allowed the Cardinals' only hit of the night with two out in the eighth inning.Scherzer, a St. Louis native, has a record five career postseason no-hit bids of at least five innings, according to Elias Sports. He came closest to finishing in Game 3 of the 2017 NL Division Series, getting one out in the seventh inning before allowing a hit.Sánchez and Scherzer also began the 2013 ALCS with consecutive no-hit bids of at least five innings for Detroit against Boston.There have only been two postseason no-hitters. Don Larsen threw a perfect game for the New York Yankees against Brooklyn in the 1956 World Series, and Roy Halladay pitched a no-hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2010 NL Division Series.Washington leads 1-0 on Saturday on Michael A. Taylor's homer on Adam Wainwright's first pitch of the third inning.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Washington catcher Kurt Suzuki is in the starting lineup for Game 2 of the NL Championship Series after being sidelined by a head injury.Suzuki got hurt during Washington's clinching victory in Game 5 of the NLDS against the Dodgers on Wednesday night. He was hit on the left wrist by a pitch, and the ball shot up and knocked off his helmet.Suzuki missed the Nationals' 2-0 victory over St. Louis in the NLCS opener, but he was back behind the plate on Saturday. He was hitting seventh in the batting order.While Suzuki returned to the field, center fielder Victor Robles was out of the lineup again because of a strained right hamstring. He got hurt in Game 2 against Los Angeles.The Cardinals stayed with the same starting lineup they used in the series opener.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Daniel Hudson and his wife, Sara, tried to plan the birth of their third child around Washington's postseason schedule.When it didn't work out, he knew exactly what he needed to do.Hudson stayed with his wife for Millie's arrival, and then rejoined the Nationals before Game 2 of the NL Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday.The 32-year-old right-hander, a key member of Washington's bullpen, said he knew all along he had to be there — a decision the organization supported."To be able to have that experience with my family and be there for the whole thing was everything I could have imagined," he said. "Obviously, it is my third kid. And top three things in my life, 1A, 1B and 1C, are, was being there for the birth of all three of my daughters."Hudson was reinstated from the postseason paternity list, and Wander Suero was removed from the Nationals' NLCS roster.While Hudson was away, Aníbal Sánchez and Sean Doolittle combined for a one-hitter in Washington's... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — David Freese retired Saturday after an 11-year career in the majors in which he shone brightest in the postseason, winning a World Series title with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011 when he was MVP.The 36-year-old infielder made the announcement on Twitter.He was a career .277 hitter and even better in the postseason, with a .299 average.Freese made his final appearance Wednesday in a deciding Game 5 of an NL Division Series, striking out as a pinch-hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers. They lost 7-3 to the Washington Nationals. Freese had started Game 1 at first base.He made his major league debut with St. Louis in 2009 and became a postseason star two years later. Freese batted .545 with 12 hits in the NL Championship Series in 2011. He also set an MLB postseason record with 21 RBIs and earned MVP honors in the NLCS and World Series.Freese was an All-Star in 2012, when he played in a career-high 144 games after injuries had dogged him in previous years. In Game 1 of the... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — David Freese is retiring after a 10-year career that included a World Series title with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011 when he was MVP.The 36-year-old infielder made the announcement Saturday on Twitter.He made his final appearance Wednesday in a deciding Game 5 of an NL Division Series, striking out as a pinch-hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers. They lost 7-3 to the Washington Nationals. Freese had started Game 1 at first base.Freese batted .315 in 79 games for the Dodgers this season, with 11 home runs and 29 RBIs. He played his final two years with the Dodgers after stints with the Los Angeles Angels and Pittsburgh.He made his major league debut with the Cardinals in 2009 and became a postseason star two years later. Freese batted .545 with 12 hits in the NL Championship Series in 2011. He also set a MLB postseason record with 21 RBIs and earned MVP honors in the NLCS and World Series.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Washington reliever Daniel Hudson has been reinstated from the postseason paternity list, rejoining the Nationals before Game 2 of the NL Championship Series.Hudson and his wife welcomed a baby girl Friday. Sean Doolittle then closed out Washington's 2-0 victory over St. Louis in the NLCS opener, retiring his only four batters.Hudson's return means Wander Suero has been removed from the Nationals' active roster against the Cardinals. Game 2 is Saturday in St. Louis.Hudson is 1-0 with two saves in the playoffs, throwing 3 2/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts.Washington's bullpen had the worst ERA in the National League this year at 5.66, but Hudson provided a boost after he was acquired from Toronto at the July 31 trade deadline. The right-hander went 3-0 with a 1.44 ERA and six saves in 24 regular-season appearances with the Nationals.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Oct. 131903 — The Boston Pilgrims won the first World Series, five games to three, with a 3-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.1914 — The Boston Braves completed a sweep of the Philadelphia Athletics, first in World Series history, with a 3-1 victory.1921 — Art Nehf tossed a 1-0, four-hitter against the New York Yankees for the World Series title in eight games. The Giants scored their run in the first inning on an error by shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh.1960 — Bill Mazeroski opened the bottom of the ninth with a home run off Ralph Terry of the New York Yankees to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 10-9 victory and the World Series in seven games.1971 — The first World Series night game was played in Pittsburgh with the Pirates beating Baltimore 4-3. Roberto Clemente had three hits for Pittsburgh.1978 — New York third baseman Graig Nettles put on a fielding clinic and prevented seven runs as the Yankees beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 in Game 3 of the World Series. Nettles made four spectacular... [More]