A team-by-team look at the National League Central entering spring training, including key players each club acquired and lost, and dates of the first workout for pitchers and catchers, and the full squad:___St. Louis CardinalsManager: Mike Shildt (third season). 2019: 91-71, first place, lost to Nationals in NLCS.Training Town: Jupiter, Florida.Park: Roger Dean Stadium.First Workout: Feb. 12/17. He's Here: LHP Matthew Liberatore, C Matt Wieters, LHP Kwang-Hyun Kim.He's Outta Here: OF Marcell Ozuna, RF Jose Martinez, LF Randy Arozarena, RHP Dominic Leone.Going campin': The Cardinals return largely intact after getting swept in the NLCS by World Series champion Washington. The biggest competition throughout the spring will be in the outfield, where only Dexter Fowler has a position locked up — mostly because of his contract. Center fielder Harrison Bader probably has another spot under control, and that leaves Tyler O'Neill, Lane Thomas and top prospect Dylan Carlson competing for the last... [More]

Aug. 251922 — In one of the wildest games ever played, the Cubs beat the Phillies 26-23. The Cubs led 25-6 in the fourth inning, but held on as the game ended with the Phillies leaving the bases loaded.1934 — Detroit's Schoolboy Rowe won his 16th consecutive game with a 4-2 triumph over the Washington Senators. Rowe singled in the winning run in the ninth inning.1952 — Detroit's Virgil Trucks pitched his second no-hitter of the season, a 1-0 gem over New York at Yankee Stadium. The Tigers committed two errors and Trucks walked one batter and struck out eight. It was the last victory of the season for Trucks, who finished with a 5-19 record.1967 — Dean Chance of Minnesota pitched his second no-hitter of the month, defeating the Indians 2-1. Chance pitched an abbreviated five perfect innings against Boston on Aug. 6 for a 2-0 victory.1972 — Philadelphia Ken Reynolds tied a National League record with his 12th consecutive loss, 6-1 to Cincinnati, from the beginning of the season.1979 — California's... [More]

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Left-handed reliever Xavier Cedeno and the Chicago Cubs have agreed to a $900.000, one-year contract.The deal is not guaranteed, meaning Cedeno could be released for termination pay before opening day.The 32-year-old went 2-0 with a 2.43 ERA in 48 appearances last season. He began the year with the Chicago White Sox and was traded to Milwaukee on Aug. 31.Lefty batters hit .207 against Cedeno last year.Cedeno made his major league debut in 2011 with Houston. He is 10-7 with a 3.69 ERA in 249 career games for the Astros, Washington, Tampa Bay, White Sox and Brewers.The Athletic was the first to report the move.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

A team-by-team look at the National League Central entering spring training, including key players each club acquired and lost, and dates of the first workout for pitchers and catchers, and the full squad:___Milwaukee BrewersManager: Craig Counsell (fifth season).2018: 96-67, first place, lost to Dodgers in NLCS.Training Town: Phoenix.Park: Maryvale Baseball Park.First Workout: Feb. 14/19.He's Here: C Yasmani Grandal, OF Ben Gamel, 2B-3B Cory Spangenberg, LHP Alex Claudio, RHP Deolis Guerra, RHP Bobby Wahl, RHP Josh Tomlin.He's Outta Here: 3B Mike Moustakas, LHP Gio Gonzalez, LHP Wade Miley, OF Keon Broxton, OF Domingo Santana, 2B Jonathan Schoop, RHP Joakim Soria, LHP Dan Jennings, OF Curtis Granderson, LHP Xavier Cedeno.Going campin': The Brewers return mostly intact after making it to the NL Championship Series last year in the franchise's first playoff appearance since they also lost the NLCS in 2011. Grandal is a major upgrade behind the plate after he hit 24 homers last year with... [More]

A team-by-team look at the National League Central entering spring training, including key players each club acquired and lost, and dates of the first workout for pitchers and catchers, and the full squad:___Milwaukee BrewersManager: Craig Counsell (fifth season).2018: 96-67, first place, lost to Dodgers in NLCS.Training Town: Phoenix.Park: Maryvale Baseball Park.First Workout: Feb. 14/19.He's Here: C Yasmani Grandal, OF Ben Gamel, 2B-3B Cory Spangenberg, LHP Alex Claudio, RHP Deolis Guerra, RHP Bobby Wahl.He's Outta Here: 3B Mike Moustakas, LHP Gio Gonzalez, LHP Wade Miley, OF Keon Broxton, OF Domingo Santana, 2B Jonathan Schoop, RHP Joakim Soria, LHP Dan Jennings, OF Curtis Granderson, LHP Xavier Cedeno.Going campin': The Brewers return mostly intact after making it to the NL Championship Series last year in the franchise's first playoff appearance since they also lost the NLCS in 2011. Grandal is a major upgrade behind the plate after he hit 24 homers last year with the Dodgers. There... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Brewers allowed former All-Star second baseman Jonathan Schoop to go free, failing to offer a 2019 contract.The 27-year-old spent his entire career with Baltimore before Milwaukee acquired him at the July 31 trade deadline for second baseman Jonathan Villar and a pair of prospects, right-handed pitcher Luis Ortiz and infielder Jean Carmona.Schoop hit .202 with four homers and 21 RBIs in 46 games for the Brewers, then was 0 for 8 in the postseason."We looked at what was a best-educated prediction of what we could expect going forward and the potential price tag for that, then compared that to some of our internal alternatives and what is potentially available externally and we decided to go in this direction," general manager David Stearns said. "Look, it was a bad deal, and that's on me. We made a trade for a player we thought was going to be here for basically a year and a half, and I was wrong."Milwaukee also failed to offer contracts to left-handers Xavier Cedeno and Dan Jennings. The Brewers agreed to a $2.5 million, one-year deal with infielder-outfielder Hernan Perez and an $887,500 deal with infielder Tyler Saladino.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Craig Counsell and the Milwaukee Brewers relied on their bullpen all season long.Those hard-throwing relievers finally ran out of gas in the NL Championship Series.Josh Hader was brilliant as usual, but Jeremy Jeffress was tagged for a crucial three-run homer by Yasiel Puig and the Brewers never recovered, losing 5-1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 on Saturday night."Devastated. We were right there," Jeffress said.Milwaukee's deep bullpen played a key role in its closing push to a surprising NL Central title. Led by Hader, Jeffress and Corey Knebel, the Brewers led the National League with 42 wins by their relievers and finished second in the league with a 3.47 bullpen ERA.Counsell continued to lean on Hader and Co. in the playoffs, with the Milwaukee manager putting his own spin on the "opener" strategy most notably employed by Tampa Bay this season. Brandon Woodruff replaced Gio Gonzalez after two innings in Game 1 against Los Angeles. Counsell had Wade Miley pitch... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Craig Counsell and the Milwaukee Brewers relied on their bullpen all season long.Those hard-throwing relievers finally ran out of gas in the NL Championship Series.Josh Hader was brilliant as usual, but Jeremy Jeffress was tagged for a crucial three-run homer by Yasiel Puig and the Brewers never recovered, losing 5-1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 on Saturday night."Devastated. We were right there," Jeffress said.Milwaukee's deep bullpen played a key role in its closing push to a surprising NL Central title. Led by Hader, Jeffress and Corey Knebel, the Brewers led the National League with 42 wins by their relievers and finished second in the league with a 3.47 bullpen ERA.Counsell continued to lean on Hader and Co. in the playoffs, with the Milwaukee manager putting his own spin on the "opener" strategy most notably employed by Tampa Bay this season. Brandon Woodruff replaced Gio Gonzalez after two innings in Game 1 against Los Angeles. Counsell had Wade Miley pitch... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Craig Counsell and the Milwaukee Brewers relied on their bullpen all season long.Those hard-throwing relievers finally ran out of gas in the NL Championship Series.Josh Hader was brilliant as usual, but Jeremy Jeffress was tagged for a crucial three-run homer by Yasiel Puig and the Brewers never recovered, losing 5-1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 on Saturday night.Milwaukee's deep bullpen played a key role in its closing push to a surprising NL Central title. Led by Hader, Jeffress and Corey Knebel, the Brewers led the National League with 42 wins by their relievers and finished second in the league with a 3.47 bullpen ERA.Counsell continued to lean on Hader and Co. in the playoffs, with the Milwaukee manager putting his own spin on the "opener" strategy most notably employed by Tampa Bay this season. Brandon Woodruff replaced Gio Gonzalez after two innings in Game 1 against Los Angeles. Counsell had Wade Miley pitch to just one batter in Game 5 before pulling him,... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers put Xavier Cedeno on their roster for the NL Championship Series against Los Angeles, adding another left-hander to their deep bullpen for the matchup with the Dodgers' power-packed lineup.Cedeno had a 1.13 ERA in eight innings over 15 games after he was acquired in a trade with the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 31. Cedeno replaces slick-fielding outfielder Keon Broxton, who homered in Game 3 of the NLDS sweep against Colorado.Left-handed hitting Max Muncy has a team-high 35 homers for the Dodgers. Two more left-handers, Cody Bellinger and Joc Pederson, are next with 25 each."We made a choice basically to add another pitcher, because it could be a seven-game series," manager Craig Counsell said. "We add another left-hander that we think matches up well in kind of a number of situations. So we add extra potential outs. And then the sacrifice is we're losing a baserunner, a defender, and we're losing a hitter."The Dodgers are sticking with 12 pitchers and... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Reliever Xavier Cedeno is joining the Milwaukee Brewers' 25-man roster for the NL Championship Series, giving the strong bullpen another left-handed arm against the Dodgers' power-packed lineup.The Brewers made room for Cedeno by dropping slick-fielding outfielder Keon Broxton off the NLCS roster that was set before Game 1.Cedeno had a 1.13 ERA in eight innings over 15 games since being acquired Aug. 31 in a deal with the Chicago White Sox.Left-handed hitting Max Muncy has a team-high 35 homers for the Dodgers. Two more left-handers, Cody Bellinger and Joc Pederson, are next with 25 each.The addition of Cedeno was the only change to the Brewers' roster from the Division Series. Milwaukee will have 12 pitchers, one more than it had in the NLCS, and 13 positions players.The Dodgers are sticking with 12 pitchers and 13 positions players, but made one change from the Division Series. They switched left-handers for the NLCS, with Julio Urias taking Scott Alexander's roster spot.The hard-throwing Urias had no record and didn't allow a run in three games this season. He returned to the big leagues in mid-September after missing more than a year following surgery on his left shoulder.Alexander was 2-1 with a 3.68 ERA and three saves this season. He made one appearance in the NLDS against the Braves, pitching a scoreless ninth inning in Game 3.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHICAGO (AP) — Shortly after their playoff spot was assured, the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-6 on Albert Almora Jr.'s single with two outs in the 10th inning Wednesday night.The NL Central-leading Cubs clinched their fourth straight postseason appearance when Milwaukee beat St. Louis. The Brewers, who sealed a playoff slot with their win, are a half-game behind Chicago. One of them will win the NL Central, the other will play in the NL wild-card game.After Pittsburgh tied it in the ninth on a two-out, two-run double by Starling Marte, the Cubs bounced back to win. Ian Happ led off the 10th with a walk and was replaced by pinch-runner Terrance Gore. Mike Freeman's sacrifice moved up Gore, and he took third on a groundout. Almora singled to left on an 0-2 pitch from Richard Rodriguez (4-3).Jason Heyward homered and drove in three runs for the Cubs. Javier Baez singled for his NL-leading 111th RBI as the Cubs won after blowing a five-run lead. Star third baseman Kris Bryant... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Shortly after their playoff spot was assured, the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-6 on Albert Almora Jr.'s single with two outs in the 10th inning Wednesday night.The NL Central-leading Cubs clinched their fourth straight postseason appearance when Milwaukee beat St. Louis. The Brewers, who sealed a playoff slot with their win, are a half-game behind Chicago. One of them will win the NL Central, the other will play in the NL wild-card game.After Pittsburgh tied it in the ninth on a two-out, two-run double by Starling Marte, the Cubs bounced back to win. Ian Happ led off the 10th with a walk and was replaced by pinch-runner Terrance Gore. Mike Freeman's sacrifice moved up Gore, and he took third on a groundout. Almora singled to left on an 0-2 pitch from Richard Rodriguez (4-3).Jason Heyward homered and drove in three runs for the Cubs. Javier Baez singled for his NL-leading 111th RBI as the Cubs won after blowing a five-run lead. Star third baseman Kris Bryant... [More]

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers clinched their first playoff spot since 2011 by ensuring at least a spot in the NL wild-card game, helped Wednesday night when a rookie St. Louis pinch-runner fell on his way to the plate in a 2-1 victory over the contending Cardinals.The Chicago Cubs also sealed a postseason berth because of the Cardinals' loss.Jhoulys Chacin pitched five shutout innings and Travis Shaw hit a pair of RBI singles as the Brewers completed a three-game sweep.The Cardinals missed a big chance to tie it in the eighth inning. Matt Carpenter walked and was lifted for pinch-runner Adolis Garcia. Jose Martinez then hit a slow roller to third baseman Mike Moustakas, who threw wildly to first. Garcia was waved home but fell halfway to the plate, allowing second baseman Hernan Perez to easily throw him out to end the inning.Chacin (15-8), who had lost his last three decisions, gave up one run on just one hit over five innings. Xavier Cedeno, Corbin Burnes, Josh Hader and Jeremy... [More]

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers clinched their first playoff spot since 2011 by ensuring at least a spot in the NL wild-card game, helped Wednesday night when a rookie St. Louis pinch-runner fell on his way to the plate in a 2-1 victory over the contending Cardinals.The Chicago Cubs also sealed a postseason berth because of the Cardinals' loss.Jhoulys Chacin pitched five shutout innings and Travis Shaw hit a pair of RBI singles as the Brewers completed a three-game sweep.The Cardinals missed a big chance to tie it in the eighth inning. Matt Carpenter walked and was lifted for pinch-runner Adolis Garcia. Jose Martinez then hit a slow roller to third baseman Mike Moustakas, who threw wildly to first. Garcia was waved home but fell halfway to the plate, allowing second baseman Hernan Perez to easily throw him out to end the inning.Chacin (15-8), who had lost his last three decisions, gave up one run on just one hit over five innings. Xavier Cedeno, Corbin Burnes, Josh Hader and Jeremy... [More]

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers clinched their first playoff spot since 2011 by ensuring at least a spot in the NL wild-card game, helped Wednesday night when a rookie St. Louis pinch-runner fell on his way to the plate in a 2-1 victory over the contending Cardinals.Jhoulys Chacin pitched five shutout innings and Travis Shaw hit a pair of RBI singles as the Brewers completed a three-game sweep.The Brewers began the night a half-game behind the Chicago Cubs for first place in the NL Central and 3 1/2 games ahead of Colorado for the top wild-card slot. St. Louis entered a half-game behind the Rockies for the final wild-card berth.The Cardinals missed a big chance to tie it in the eighth inning. Matt Carpenter walked and was lifted for pinch-runner Adolis Garcia. Jose Martinez then hit a slow roller to third baseman Mike Moustakas, who threw wildly to first. Garcia was waved home but fell halfway to the plate, allowing second baseman Hernan Perez to easily throw him out to end the inning.Chacin... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Justin Turner homered on Zack Greinke's first pitch of the eighth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 on Friday night.Los Angeles began the day two games behind Arizona in the NL West and 2 1/2 games back in the wild-card race.The Dodgers also announced they had acquired third baseman David Freese from the Pirates in exchange for minor league infielder Jesus Manuel Valdez.Kenley Jansen worked the ninth for his 33rd save. Paul Goldschmidt doubled with one out, but Jansen struck out David Peralta and retired Eduardo Escobar on a grounder to shortstop.Enrique Hernandez also homered for Los Angeles, and Dylan Floro (5-3) got the win.Goldschmidt hit his 31st homer for Arizona, and Greinke (13-9) gave up six hits in 7 1/3 innings.WHITE SOX 6, RED SOX 1CHICAGO (AP) — Yoan Moncada and Matt Davidson homered for Chicago, and prized prospect Michael Kopech combined with three relievers on a five-hitter.Major league-leading Boston had won three in... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers last made the playoffs seven years ago. With a chance to end that rut, they've been aggressive in remaking their roster.Milwaukee brought in three more veterans on Friday, the deadline for traded players to be eligible to postseason play. They snagged left-handed starter Gio Gonzalez from the Washington Nationals, steady outfielder Curtis Granderson from the Toronto Blue Jays and lefty reliever Xavier Cedeno from the Chicago White Sox.Milwaukee was active, too, ahead of the non-waiver trade deadline on July 31, acquiring infielders Mike Moustakas and Jonathan Schoop. The Brewers hold the second NL wild-card spot and trail the first-place Chicago Cubs by four games in the NL Central.Gonzalez and Granderson both have postseason experience. Gonzalez won four NL East titles in a six-year stretch with the Nationals, and Granderson has reached the playoffs with four teams in his career — Detroit, the Yankees, the Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers.Gonzalez... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The busy Milwaukee Brewers acquired veteran outfielder Curtis Granderson from the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night for a minor leaguer.The deal was announced after both teams played. Granderson had a pinch-hit single and scored as Toronto won 6-5 at Miami.Earlier in the day, the playoff-contending Brewers got starter Gio Gonzalez from Washington and reliever Xavier Cedeno from the Chicago White Sox.The 37-year-old Granderson is batting .245 with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs in 104 games this season. He has reached the playoffs with four teams in his career — Detroit, the Yankees, the Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers."You're surprised because you never know what's going to happen. You hear all kinds of rumblings and things. There's no reason to get worked up over anything until something happens," Granderson said after the win over the Marlins."But I'm also excited getting a chance to go to a team that has a chance to get to the playoffs. So I am super excited to join them," he said.The Brewers sent 21-year-old outfielder Demi Orimoloye to Toronto. Originally from Nigeria, he hit a combined .247 with 12 homers and 55 RBIs in two levels of Class A.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It didn't take Gio Gonzalez long to get to his new team.The Milwaukee Brewers got a proven left-handed starter for their stretch run, acquiring Gonzalez from the Washington Nationals on Friday night for two minor leaguers and international slot money.The deal was announced after the Brewers beat Washington 4-1, and Gonzalez, who began the game in a Nationals uniform, spoke to reporters afterward in Brewers gear.In Gonzalez, Milwaukee gets a durable 32-year-old with postseason experience. Gonzalez, who will be a free agent after the season, has a career record of 124-97 with a 3.71 ERA in 308 games (302 starts) with Oakland and Washington. This year, he's 7-11 with a 4.57 ERA in 27 starts."I grew up here. I had my family here, my wife and my kids. It's just sad but I'm happy," Gonzalez said. "I'm really happy. I'm getting a second chance to redeem myself and I think this is a perfect opportunity with a team like the Brewers. I see there's a hopefully a brighter future for... [More]