MLB

Giles $9.6M, Shoemaker $4.2M in 1-year deals with Blue JaysTORONTO (AP) Blue Jays closer Ken Giles will get $9.6 million and Toronto starter Matt Shoemaker got a $4.2 million deal in one-year agreements reached Friday.Both pitchers had been eligible for salary arbitration.The 29-year-old Giles made $6.3 million last...

Musgrove in, Polanco and Kela likely out for PiratesPITTSBURGH (AP) Joe Musgrove is ready for opening day. Gregory Polanco and Keone Kela are decidedly not.Pittsburgh Pirates first-year manager Derek Shelton announced Friday that Musgrove will be the starter when the Pirates begin the truncated 2020 season in St....

Associated Press5 pitchers, 2 Kiermaier catches send Rays over Blue Jays 2-0By DICK SCANLONST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) Alex Cobb and four relievers combined on a six-hitter and center fielder Kevin Kiermaier made two spectacular catches to help the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 on...

AP Sports WriterEd Farmer, White Sox broadcaster, former pitcher, dies at 70By ANDREW SELIGMANCHICAGO (AP) Ed Farmer, an All-Star reliever who spent nearly three decades as a radio broadcaster for the Chicago White Sox, has died. He was 70.The White Sox said he died Wednesday night in Los...

Woman, boy, 5, drown in Houston home of ex-Dodger CrawfordHOUSTON (AP) A 5-year-old boy and a woman drowned in the backyard pool of former LA Dodger player Carl Crawford's Houston home, according to reports.Houston police were called about 2:40 p.m. Saturday for a reported drowning at a north...

Associated PressVerlander has lat strain, unlikely to be ready for openerBy CHUCK KINGWEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) Houston ace Justin Verlander has a mild strain of a back muscle and said it would “probably take a miracle” for him to pitch in the Astros' opener at Oakland on...

AP Baseball WriterPlenty of top players were drafted after the fifth roundBy NOAH TRISTERThis year’s baseball draft has been shortened to five rounds, meaning the number of players picked will be significantly smaller than usual. That could leave several potential contributors among the large group of undrafted players.Although expectations...

Astros' Smith out 6-8 months after rupturing Achilles tendonHOUSTON (AP) Astros reliever Joe Smith had surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon and will be out six-to-eight months.Smith had the surgery on his left leg on Tuesday after getting hurt while working out last week, the team said...

The Latest: MLB wraps up probe of incident involving AstrosCLEVELAND (AP) The Latest on an MLB investigation of an Astros employee seen taking photos or video near Cleveland's dugout (all times local):3:50 p.m.Major League Baseball says an investigation has concluded that a Houston Astros employee seen taking photos...

Associated PressTwins C Jason Castro out for season following knee surgeryBy BRIAN HALLMINNEAPOLIS (AP) Minnesota catcher Jason Castro will miss the rest of the season following surgery to repair the meniscus in his right knee.Castro tore his meniscus, was operated on Tuesday by Dr. Richard Steadman and had...

A look at what's happening all around the major leagues today: TRY AGAIN Mat Latos makes his fifth start for the Dodgers, still aiming for his first win with the NL West leaders. He is 0-2 with a 6.05 ERA in those four outings since being traded from Miami to LA....

Associated PressBrewers' overpowering bullpen banged up entering '19By JACK THOMPSONPHOENIX (AP) The Milwaukee Brewers vaunted bullpen is entering the season without a couple of its most imposing pieces.Corey Knebel is out indefinitely with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, the type of...