HOUSTON (AP) — Jose Altuve belted a grand slam in the 10th inning and the Houston Astros, saved by Carlos Correa’s tying homer in the ninth, beat the Texas Rangers 6-3 on Tuesday night to give manager Dusty Baker quite an exciting birthday gift. After Texas drove in the automatic runner in the top of the 10th for a 3-2 lead, Rangers rookie reliever Demarcus Evans (0-2) walked Myles Straw and pinch-hitter Jason Castro to load the bases with no outs in the bottom half. Altuve then launched his soaring shot into left field to put the Astros on top and start the party. Altuve was doused with water at home plate before sharing a hug with Baker, who celebrated his 72nd birthday. Correa hit a solo homer to the opposite field shot with two outs and two strikes in the ninth off Josh Sborz, making it 2-all. Nate Lowe’s RBI single off Ryan Pressly (3-1) with two outs in the 10th put the Rangers up. GIANTS 9, DIAMONDBACKS 8 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks blew a seven-run lead and lost... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Jose Altuve belted a grand slam in the 10th inning and the Houston Astros, saved by Carlos Correa’s tying homer in the ninth, beat the Texas Rangers 6-3 on Tuesday night to give manager Dusty Baker quite an exciting birthday gift. After Texas drove in the automatic runner in the top of the 10th for a 3-2 lead, Rangers rookie reliever Demarcus Evans (0-2) walked Myles Straw and pinch-hitter Jason Castro to load the bases with no outs in the bottom half. Altuve then launched his soaring shot into left field to put the Astros on top and start the party. Altuve was doused with water at home plate before sharing a hug with Baker, who celebrated his 72nd birthday. Correa hit a solo homer to the opposite field shot with two outs and two strikes in the ninth off Josh Sborz, making it 2-all. Nate Lowe’s RBI single off Ryan Pressly (3-1) with two outs in the 10th put the Rangers up. METS 3, CUBS 2 NEW YORK (AP) — Taijuan Walker struck out a career-high 12, Pete Alonso drove in three... [More]

Using the search engine at Baseball-Reference.com, The Associated Press evaluated each team's draft performance from 1996 through 2018, adding up wins above replacement (WAR) figures for drafted players.For each pick, the player's career WAR was added to the appropriate total for the team, depending on whether or not the player signed with the team after being drafted. Some players had their WAR totals included multiple times, if they were drafted more than once.Stats are through May 25. Compensation picks were considered part of the first round where applicable.___ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKSTotal WAR for all drafted players: 581.8 (MLB rank: 4th)Total WAR for drafted players who signed: 440.1 (rank: 5th)Total WAR for drafted players who did not sign: 141.7Impact players (10 WAR or more) drafted: 17 (rank: tie-9th)Impact players drafted and signed: 13 (rank: 12th)Most recent impact player drafted and signed: Trevor Bauer, 2011, first round, pick No. 3 (15.2 WAR)Lowest pick for impact player drafted... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Sandy León hit a three-run homer off Oliver Pérez after the Indians reliever caused an odd stoppage asking for new footwear, J.D. Martinez homered twice and the Boston Red Sox beat Cleveland 12-5 Monday.Jackie Bradley Jr. added two RBI doubles, and Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts each had two hits and scored twice for the Red Sox, who have won 18 of 26.Boston held a moment of silence and showed highlights of former player Bill Buckner, who died Monday. He was 69.Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia revealed before the game that he will take an indefinite leave in his long struggle to recover from knee trouble, putting in doubt whether he'll play again in the majors.The Indians have lost seven of eight, and even the team's equipment is having a rough go of it.Pérez put Fenway Park into a strange delay when he relieved during Boston's six-run fifth inning. The 37-year-old left-hander noticed something amiss with his spikes while warming up and signaled for a replacement pair,... [More]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — The biggest play from the Phillies' spring training game Thursday: great communication behind the home dugout.Philadelphia fans with an eye on their smartphones cried out when reports emerged that Bryce Harper had agreed to a deal with the Phillies, breaking the news to manager Gabe Kapler and his players during a 5-5 split-squad tie with the Orioles. Harper agreed to a $330 million, 13-year deal with the club, the largest contract in baseball history. Harper's agent, Scott Boras, said the deal was agreed to shortly before noon, subject to a successful physical."If the reports are true, it's a huge moment for our baseball team," Kapler said. "Certainly I think that the city of Philadelphia would embrace Bryce Harper. I think he would be very happy in this city because our fans care deeply about winning."A 26-year-old All-Star who had spent his entire big league career with the Washington Nationals, Harper topped the $325 million, 13-year agreement outfielder Giancarlo... [More]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — The biggest play from the Phillies' spring training game Thursday: great communication behind the home dugout.Philadelphia fans with an eye on their smartphones cried out when reports emerged that Bryce Harper had agreed to a deal with the Phillies, breaking the news to manager Gabe Kapler and his players during a 5-5 split-squad tie with the Orioles. Harper agreed to a $330 million, 13-year deal with the club, the largest contract in baseball history. Harper's agent, Scott Boras, said the deal was agreed to shortly before noon, subject to a successful physical."If the reports are true, it's a huge moment for our baseball team," Kapler said. "Certainly I think that the city of Philadelphia would embrace Bryce Harper. I think he would be very happy in this city because our fans care deeply about winning."A 26-year-old All-Star who had spent his entire big league career with the Washington Nationals, Harper topped the $325 million, 13-year agreement outfielder Giancarlo... [More]

SEATTLE (AP) — Former No. 2 overall pick Dustin Ackley is returning to the Seattle Mariners on a minor-league deal after spending the past two seasons in the minors with the Los Angeles Angels, according to a person familiar with the deal.The person spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on the condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced. It reunites Ackley with the team that took him second in the 2009 draft.Ackley had a rocky career with the Mariners after being touted as one of the top college hitters. He made a promising debut in 2011, but his production decreased from there. Ackley hit .243 in parts of five seasons with the Mariners, but never came close to matching the .273 average of his first season.Ackley was traded to the New York Yankees in July 2015 and appeared in 51 games over two seasons with the Yankees. He spent the past two seasons with Triple-A Salt Lake in the Angels organization.___AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

1B/OF Dustin Ackley (right shoulder surgery in June 2016) should be ready for spring training -- whether it is with the Yankees or somewhere else.

INF/OF Dustin Ackley underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, which has already ended his season. "Everything went well," manager Joe Girardi said. "He got everything cleaned up." Ackley suffered the injury May 29 against the Rays, diving back to first base on a pickoff throw. Ackley batted.148 with no homers and four RBIs. There is no timetable for his return.

INF/OF Dustin Ackley (torn labrum in right shoulder) has opted for season-ending surgery. He was injured Sunday diving back into first base and was put on the disabled list on Monday. Ackley was batting .148/.243/.148 with four RBIs in 28 games. He was a backup at first base for 1B Mark Teixeira. C Austin Romine will do that for now. "Right now we're going with what we have," manager Joe Girardi said. "Will we have to maybe make an adjustment? Maybe."

INF/OF Dustin Ackley (torn labrum in right shoulder) has opted for season-ending surgery. He was injured Sunday.

INF/OF Dustin Ackley (torn right shoulder labrum) was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday, and INF Rob Refsnyder was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Ackley was injured Sunday and has backed up 1B Mark Teixeira at first base as well as playing in the outfield. Manager Joe Girardi said he will have to be "a little more creative" in backing up Teixeira with Ackley injured. "I'm not afraid to run (Austin Romine) out there," Girardi said. "We've been reluctant to move (Chase) Headley over there, we did it a couple of times, just because he's been playing third well and you hate to start moving everyone around." Ackley will be out for an extended period and surgery is a possibility, Girardi said.

INF/OF Dustin Ackley was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right shoulder dislocation.The 28-year-old utility player was injured in Sunday's 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Ackley hurt the shoulder sliding back to first on a pick-off try in the sixth inning.Ackley, 28, is batting .148 with four RBIs in 28 games this season.

UT Dustin Ackley, filling in at first base while Mark Teixeira is sidelined with a neck injury, injured his shoulder sliding back into first base in the sixth inning Sunday. He will go to Tampa for an MRI. Joe Girardi said a trip to the disabled list is a "distinct possibility."

RF Dustin Ackley made one of the game's best defensive plays with a leaping catch of C Matt Wieters' deep fly ball at the fence in the ninth. Ackley plucked it out of the air right in front of the scoreboard and threw to first to double off PR Joey Rickard. "I was just hoping that it went in my glove," Ackley said. "Everybody was asking me if I thought I caught it. I thought I did but I heard the bang against the wall, and I was hoping it wasn't the ball that hit the wall first."

1B Dustin Ackley made his 24th career start at first base on Friday in Detroit. Ackley, who appeared in 23 games at first for Seattle, was starting at first because manager Joe Girardi decided to use his regular first baseman, Mark Teixeira, as his designated hitter. He went 0-for-3.

INF/OF Dustin Ackley avoids arbitration, agreeing to a one-year, $3.2 million deal.

Ackley is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Red Sox, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Ackley had taken over the everyday role at second base, but Wednesday's absence now marks the fourth in the past six games. He will likely sit Wednesday due to the left-handed Wade Miley on the mound for the Red Sox, however, with Rob Refsnyder replacing him at second base and batting eighth.

Ackley went 1-for-4 with his ninth home run of the season in Sunday's win over the White Sox.

With Stephen Drew suffering from a possible concussion, Ackley has taken over the primary second base duties. The 27-year-old has been swinging a hot bat since being activated off the DL in early September, slashing .324/.350/.703 with three homers in the month, and figures to see most of the playing time at the keystone the rest of the way.

Ackley had a big three-run homer in the Yankees' win over the Mets on Sunday night and is starting to play more often at second base.

The Yankees believe that Ackley's month-long stay on the DL helped him right the ship by healing his back. "This kid has had success before. I know this year has kind of been a tough year for him, but you start to wonder how much his back was bothering him and he didn't even realize it was bothering him," manager Joe Girardi said. "He took those couple of weeks off, went down to rehab and swung the bat great, and it's just continued here."