Boston Red Sox (31-29, third in the AL East) vs. Kansas City Royals (19-41, fifth in the AL Central)
CHICAGO (AP) — Following a poor start to the season, the Boston Red Sox offense is clicking right now.
Xander Bogaerts hit a grand slam in Boston's seven-run eighth inning to give the Red...
PHOENIX (AP) — Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia could be activated for Tuesday's home opener against Toronto.
Pedroia, the 2008 AL MVP, has been slowed since a slide into his surgically...
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona placed catcher Alex Avila on the injured list with a strained left quadriceps, an injury sustained while circling the bases on a home run.
A look at what's a happening around the majors today:
LA LONGBALLS
Cody Bellinger and the Los Angeles Dodgers are on a home run rampage, hitting a whopping 21 in their first eight...
BOSTON (AP) — The Red Sox have exercised their $15 million option for next season on ace left-hander Chris Sale.
Sale will earn $15 million in the final season of a five-year contract he signed with the Chicago White Sox before the 2013 season that guaranteed $32.5 million, including a 2017 option buyout. He had a $12.5 million salary this season in the first of two option years and will wind up earning $59 million over seven seasons plus award bonuses.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Working on a one-hitter with a 4-0 lead, Rich Hill had just set down Eduardo Nunez swinging for the first out of the seventh inning.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had seen enough. Walking to the mound, he signaled to the bullpen and Hill was gone.
"Big mistake!" President Donald Trump tweeted.
It was the beginning of another troubled outing for Los Angeles' bullpen in the World Series.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — This was a true fall classic for Eduardo Nunez.
The Boston third baseman became a one-man blooper reel when he flipped, tripped, tumbled and sprawled Friday night in Game 3 of the World Series.
"He was all over the place, huh?" Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.
All that, and he didn't even enter until the 10th inning.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Now Alex Cora's in trouble.
Boston's manager went for a commanding lead in the World Series, using David Price and Nathan Eovaldi out of the bullpen in Game 3 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
But Los Angeles won 3-2 in 18 innings Friday night, trimming Boston's lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. Now Cora has to come up with a starting pitcher for Game 4.
After failing to answer the first time when asked, Cora spelled out his situation.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ian Kinsler headed home, trying to get his 200-pound frame to the plate with the go-ahead run before Cody Bellinger's throw from center field.
Bellinger caught Eduardo Nunez's drive 275 feet from home for the second out of the 10th inning, planted his right foot and heaved.
It was quite a play, keeping the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers tied at 1 in Game 3 of the World Series.
BOSTON (AP) — The Fenway Funhouse proved too tricky, too cold and just too much for the beach boys.
Andrew Benintendi, J.D. Martinez and the Boston Red Sox came out swinging in the World Series opener, seizing every advantage in their quirky ballpark to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-4 on a chilly, windy Tuesday night.
Sometimes, in the pressure cooker of a World Series, a manager gets distracted by all those indecipherable charts and the trove of analytics he has at his fingertips.
Sometimes, he spends too much time flailing around in search of the perfect matchup instead of just watching what's occurring right before his eyes.
That's what happened to Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on the World Series (all times local):
12:03 a.m.
Andrew Benintendi, J.D. Martinez and the Boston Red Sox came out swinging in the World Series opener, seizing every advantage in their quirky ballpark to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-4 on a chilly Tuesday night.
HOUSTON (AP) — Six-time All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve is a designated hitter for the Houston Astros in the playoffs for the first time.
BOSTON (AP) — Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora has shuffled his lineup for Game 2 against the Houston Astros, putting infielders Ian Kinsler and Rafael Devers and catcher Christian Vazquez in the starting lineup for the first time in the AL Championship Series.
NEW YORK (AP) — Eduardo Nunez charged Gleyber Torres' four-hopper toward third base and whipped the ball across the diamond . Steve Pearce stretched, falling on his chest for a sprawling catch. The umpire signaled: "Out!"
The Boston Red Sox gathered around exhausted closer Craig Kimbrel, hugging and celebrating after the New York Yankees' two-run rally in the ninth inning fell short.
CHICAGO (AP) — So much for any lingering concern about Eduardo Rodriguez's right ankle.
He answered every question with a pile of Ks.
Rodriguez struck out 12 in 5 2/3 innings in his return from an ankle injury, leading the Boston Red Sox over the Chicago White Sox 6-1 on Saturday night.
"Best stuff of the season," manager Alex Cora said. "Location, mix of pitches, tempo, that was impressive."
BOSTON (AP) — Blake Swihart doubled into the Red Sox bullpen to score Eduardo Nunez in the 13th inning and Boston beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 on Monday night to move a season-high six games ahead of the New York Yankees in the AL East.
Boston announced after the game it had acquired Ian Kinsler from the Angels to fill in for injured second baseman Dustin Pedroia.
BOSTON (AP) — Blake Swihart has been waiting for his chance to make an impact as the third catcher on a Red Sox team that is putting together a historic season.
On Monday night, he waited all the way until the 13th inning.
HOUSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox have taken designated hitter Eduardo Nunez off their playoff roster because of a knee injury and replaced him with outfielder Chris Young.
Nunez hurt himself running to first base and had to be carried from the field in the first inning of an 8-2 loss to Houston on Thursday in Game 1 of the AL Division Series.
HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox have set their rosters for their AL Division Series beginning Thursday, with the Astros leaving off three veteran pitchers and the Red Sox including infielder Eduardo Nunez.
Both teams are carrying 11 pitchers and 14 position players on their rosters.
A look at what's happening all around the majors today:
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ENJOY IT
A day after clinching their first playoff spot since 2010, the Twins are back on the field for an afternoon game at Cleveland. Minnesota became the first team to lose at least 100 games and then make the postseason the following year. Manager Paul Molitor's club will play in the AL wild-card game next Tuesday at either Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park. Boston leads New York by three games in the AL East.
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox would like to get the AL East wrapped up quickly so they can start resting some banged-up players.
Josh Donaldson homered and drove in three runs, powering the Toronto Blue Jays past the first-place Red Sox 6-4 on Monday night.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Doug Fister gave up a leadoff homer in the first inning to Francisco Lindor and then nothing else, finishing with a career-best one-hitter, and Eduardo Nunez had five RBIs as the Boston Red Sox rolled to a 9-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.
BOSTON (AP) — Eduardo Nunez and Rafael Devers ended up being the bats the Boston Red Sox needed — and they came a few days before the trade deadline.
Red Sox President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski had a hole to fill at third base after the club released Pablo Sandoval last month. Just before Monday's cutoff for making deals without waivers, Dombrowski opted to shore up the bullpen by acquiring Addison Reed from the New York Mets.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Infielder Eduardo Nunez was traded from the San Francisco Giants to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night for minor league right-handers Shaun Anderson and Gregory Santos.
The deal was finalized during San Francisco's 11-3 win over Pittsburgh and announced after the game.
"It's exciting," Nunez said while standing outside of manager Bruce Bochy's office. "You're going to go (play) for a championship. That's why we're here. That's the focus right now."
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner saw no reason to make a big deal over his first win of the year, even if it came far deeper into the season than anyone expected.
In a season that long ago spun out of control for both San Francisco and its ace, Bumgarner was happier seeing the struggling Giants have one of their best games of the year.
Bumgarner allowed one run over five innings for his first win of the season, and the Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-3 on Tuesday night.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner saw no reason to make a big deal over his first win of the year, even if it came far deeper into the season than anyone expected.
In a season that long ago spun out of control for both San Francisco and its ace, Bumgarner was happier seeing the struggling Giants have one of their best games of the year.
Bumgarner allowed one run over five innings for his first win of the season, and the Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-3 on Tuesday night.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Conor Gillaspie celebrated his 30th birthday by delivering a big hit for the San Francisco Giants.
Gillaspie started the winning rally in the 10th inning with a pinch-hit double and Eduardo Nunez ended it with an RBI single that helped the Giants snap a three-game losing streak by beating the Cleveland Indians 2-1 on Tuesday night.
"I love to get them any time I can," Gillaspie said. "You have to be grateful when you get hits, especially off the bench."
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Giants busted out of their offensive slump without a couple of key players.
Buster Posey led the way.
Posey had three hits and four RBIs, Hunter Pence added three doubles and scored three times, and the Giants beat the Minnesota Twins 13-8 on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.
Eduardo Nunez also had three hits and scored three times while rookie Austin Slater had three hits and a career-high four RBIs to help the Giants win for the fourth time in 12 games.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — It took four homers and an offensive outburst to give the Philadelphia Phillies their first winning streak in more than a month.
Maikel Franco hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the eighth, Freddy Galvis homered from both sides of the plate and Odubel Herrera also went deep as the Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants 9-7 Sunday to earn their first series victory in six weeks.