The New York Yankees showed they can still win with a little scruff on their chins while Baltimore’s Tyler O’Neill might be the best player on Earth during the first game of the season.

Austin Wells became the first catcher to hit a leadoff homer on opening day, Anthony Volpe also went deep and the New York Yankees began their AL pennant defense with a 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Juan Soto, Blake Snell and Clay Holmes debut for new teams.

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole will have season-ending Tommy John surgery on his right elbow Tuesday.

Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes is trying to take his burgeoning fame in stride.

Yankees right-hander Luis Gil will start the season on the injured list because of a high-grade lat strain in his pitching shoulder that will prevent him from throwing for at least six weeks.

Three-time American League Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander turned 42 years old on Thursday.

Marcus Stroman has been a no-show on the field for the New York Yankees' first two spring training workouts.

Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon will undergo hip surgery and be out for an extended period, his latest injury setback since joining Los Angeles.

There’s a new No. 2 in the New York Yankees’ rotation behind Gerrit Cole.

Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes is focused on helping his team make the playoffs in 2025, not his long-term future.

Left-hander Max Fried and the New York Yankees have finalized a $218 million, eight-year contract.

A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that Max Fried and the New York Yankees have agreed to a $218 million, eight-year contract, the largest deal for a left-handed pitcher in baseball history.

Hal Steinbrenner wants his relationship with Juan Soto to be similar to his friendship with Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole, and the New York Yankees owner emphasized the team’s commitment to continually improve its roster if the star free-agent outfielder stays in the Bronx.

Hard-throwing Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes capped a remarkable season by winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award while Luis Gil of the New York Yankees edged Baltimore’s Colton Cowser to take the AL honor.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone is bothered a little by criticism of his team’s defense from Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly and defended New York’s fielding following a World Series of mistakes and mental errors.

Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes and Willy Adames are among 13 free agents who have received $21.05 million qualifying offers from their former teams.

Gerrit Cole gave up his opt-out right and will remain with the New York Yankees under a contract that runs through 2028 rather than become a free agent.

A person familiar with the deal tells The Associated Press the Royals are bringing back right-hander Michael Wacha on a three-year, $51 million contract that includes a club option for the 2028 season.

Just when it appeared Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees were right back in this World Series, they all but gave away the trophy.

The Los Angeles Dodgers won their second World Series championship in five seasons, overcoming a five-run deficit with the help of three Yankees defensive miscues and rallying on sacrifice flies from Gavin Lux and Mookie Betts in the eighth inning to beat New York 7-6 in Game 5.

When the World Series started, it was hard to figure what Freddie Freeman would be able to provide for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Anthony Volpe’s third-inning grand slam overcame Freddie Freeman’s record-setting home run, and the New York Yankees avoided a World Series sweep with an 11-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers that forced a Game 5.

Aaron Boone has one regret about his pitching decisions during Game 1 of the World Series Friday night.

Jack Flaherty will start for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series opener against the New York Yankees.

Nestor Cortes appears likely to rejoin the New York Yankees pitching staff for the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

For the New York Yankees, the real opening day is World Series Game 1.

José Ramírez's late home run in Game 2 of the ALCS was a positive sign for the Cleveland Guardians.

Aaron Judge hit a two-run drive into Monument Park for his first home run of this postseason, and the New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Guardians 6-3 to take a 2-0 AL Championship Series lead.

Left-hander Carlos Rodón will start the AL Championship Series opener for the New York Yankees against the Cleveland Guardians on Monday night.

Gerrit Cole held the Kansas City Royals to a single run over seven innings Thursday night, sending the New York Yankees to a 3-1 victory that put them back to the American League Championship Series.

Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. accused the Royals’ Maikel Garcia of intentionally trying to hurt Anthony Volpe while sliding into second base during Game 4 of their tense AL Division Series that New York won 3-1 on Thursday night.

Giancarlo Stanton hit a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning, and the New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 3-2 in Game 3 of their AL Division Series at Kauffman Stadium.

The New York Yankees won the AL East title for a first-round bye in the playoffs, dispatching the Baltimore Orioles with a 10-1 victory behind Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gerrit Cole.

Yankees left-hander Nestor Cortes has a flexor strain in his pitching elbow and was placed on the 15-day injured list in a blow to New York’s rotation heading into the playoffs.

Gerrit Cole’s curious decision to intentionally walk Boston’s Rafael Devers with no one on base while working on a no-hit bid led to a three-run fourth inning and an early exit for the New York Yankees ace.

Aaron Judge hit his major-league leading 48th homer and Gerrit Cole allowed one hit in six innings to become the fourth active pitcher to reach 150 career wins as the New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Guardians 6-0.

Ben Rice became the first Yankees rookie to homer three times in a game and drove in seven runs as New York snapped a four-game slide with a 14-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.

Gerrit Cole pitched four-plus innings Wednesday for the New York Yankees and Max Scherzer worked five scoreless frames Sunday for the Texas Rangers.

Cedric Mullins hit a tiebreaking single in the 10th inning and scored on a throwing error to help the Baltimore Orioles hold off the New York Yankees 7-6 in a wild finish.

Aaron Judge was out of the New York Yankees’ lineup against the Baltimore Orioles, one night after he was hit on the left hand by a pitch.

The Kansas City Royals took their lumps this past week against two of the best teams in baseball.

Teoscar Hernández homered twice and drove in six runs, including a grand slam that helped power the Los Angeles Dodgers past the New York Yankees 11-3 for their second consecutive victory in this marquee matchup.

Gerrit Cole is likely to make at least two more minor league rehabilitation starts, putting the AL Young Award winner on track for a possible return to the New York Yankees’ rotation in mid-to-late June.

José Berríos turned 30 years old on Monday, giving up an obscure crown in the process.

Even without last year’s AL Cy Young Award winner, the New York Yankees starting staff has put together a run for the record books.

Baseball has been overrun lately by injuries to star pitchers that are forcing teams to make contingency plans they’d have loved to avoid.

New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole faulted Major League Baseball and the players’ association for bickering over the pitch clock last weekend, comparing their behavior to divorced parents.

The New York Yankees opened 2024 with a four-game sweep at Houston, and their new star outfielder made big plays the whole way.

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole won’t throw for three to four weeks because of nerve irritation and edema in his throwing elbow.

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole traveled to Los Angeles to see specialist Dr. Neal ElAttrache for additional tests on his right elbow.

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole will have an MRI of his right elbow after experiencing issues in bouncing back following spring training starts.

New York Mets right-hander Kodai Senga has experienced some arm fatigue after throwing a side session during spring training.

A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that pitcher Marcus Stroman and the New York Yankees have agreed to a $37 million, two-year contract.

Gerrit Cole was a unanimous winner of his first American League Cy Young Award, and Blake Snell took the NL honor in becoming the seventh hurler to earn baseball’s top pitching prize in both leagues.

Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani is a finalist for the AL MVP award, along with teammates Corey Seager and Marcus Semien of the World Series champion Texas Rangers.

Giancarlo Stanton smashed his 400th home run, Gerrit Cole burnished his Cy Young Award credentials and the New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers 5-1 on Tuesday night.

A win ended the New York Yankees' first nine-game losing streak in 41 years but left them 9 1/2 games out of the American League's last playoff spot.

Anthony Santander homered off Tommy Kahnle in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Baltimore Orioles a 1-0 win over New York, spoiling Aaron Judge’s return for the Yankees.

The New York Yankees’ Gerrit Cole will start Tuesday night’s All-Star Game for the American League and Arizona’s Zac Gallen will open on the mound for the NL.

Giancarlo Stanton hit a mammoth homer in the first inning and added a two-run homer after a video review in the fifth and the New York Yankees beat the Chicago Cubs 6-3 Saturday.

Sarah Langs, a beloved member of the baseball community who has Lou Gehrig's disease, was honored at Yankee Stadium on the 84th anniversary of Gehrig’s famous “luckiest man on the face of the Earth” speech.

Gerrit Cole stared down José Caballero and wagged a finger at the Seattle Mariners’ dugout 15 times after striking out the side in the seventh inning, a pointed response to the rookie’s repeated step-outs during the New York Yankees’ 3-1 win that stopped a four-game losing streak.

Brandon Nimmo hit a game-ending double in the 10th inning and the New York Mets recovered from a string of mental and physical errors to beat the New York Yankees 4-3 for a two-game Subway Series split.

Garrett Whitlock got his second win since replacing Corey Kluber in the Red Sox rotation, Rafael Devers and Kiké Hernández homered, and Boston beat the New York Yankees 3-1 in the first meeting this year of a rivalry cut to 13 games by the new balanced schedule.

The New York Yankees beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-3.

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge knocked open the door of the visiting bullpen at Dodger Stadium while making a spectacular running catch in the eighth inning.

Aaron Judge hit a pair of two-run homers, Anthony Volpe broke Joe DiMaggio’s team record for consecutive stolen bases at the start of a career and New York overcame a six-run deficit for a 9-8 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Gerrit Cole pitched a two-hitter with 10 strikeouts for his fourth career shutout and the second complete game in the majors this season, leading the New York Yankees to a 2-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Gerrit Cole outpitched Aaron Nola in a marquee matchup, Gleyber Torres had three hits and two RBIs and the New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2.

The average Major League Baseball salary was up 11.1% to a record $4.9 million to start this season, the biggest jump for the sport since 2001, according to a study by The Associated Press.

A major shift is coming to Major League Baseball, starting on opening day this Thursday.

The only certainty about Major League Baseball's new rules for the 2023 season is that everyone is going to push and pull on them in search of an edge.

Carlos Rodón appeared without beard at a Yankee Stadium news conference, a day after his $162 million, six-year contract was announced, complying with the team grooming rules.

Back home for a must-win game, Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees generated more boos than base hits.

Cristian Javier and Houston’s bullpen combined on a three-hitter, Chas McCormick followed a dropped flyball with an early two-run homer and the Astros beat Gerrit Cole and the New York Yankees 5-0 to take a 3-0 AL Championship Series lead.

Jose Altuve has doubled for his first hit in 26 postseason at-bats this year, ending the longest slump of his stellar career.

Houston right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. sustained a small cut to his throwing elbow after being hit with a champagne bottle during the team’s celebration after winning the AL Division Series.

The Yankees’ season keeps coming down to Gerrit Cole.

Alex Bregman hit an early three-run homer, Framber Valdez pitched seven strong innings and the Houston Astros edged the New York Yankees 3-2 to take a 2-0 lead in the AL Championship Series.

Houston Astros star Jose Altuve has long been a postseason powerhouse.

In the end, the Cleveland Guardians ran out of comebacks.

Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge staggered Cleveland with early homers, and the New York Yankees rocked past the Guardians 5-1 in the decisive Game 5 of their AL Division Series to set up another rematch with Houston for the pennant.

Gerrit Cole gave New York what it needed, seven solid innings and Harrison Bader hit a two-run homer as the Yankees saved their season and forced a decisive fifth game in the AL Division Series with a 4-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians.

Rookie Oscar Gonzalez hit a two-run single with two outs in the ninth inning, rallying the Cleveland Guardians to a 6-5 win over the New York Yankees for a 2-1 lead in their AL Division Series.

Gerrit Cole cruised for most of the night, Harrison Bader and Anthony Rizzo homered and the New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Guardians 4-1 in their AL Division Series opener.

Yankees reliever Aroldis Chapman has been ruled out for the American League Division Series after he skipped a mandatory workout, leading to a fine and likely ending the All-Star’s seven-year tenure with New York.

Minnesota’s Luis Arraez finished with the lowest average for an American League batting champion since 1968, and the Mets’ Jeff McNeil won the National League title.

Yankees slugger Aaron Judge is still at 61 home runs with two games left.

Aaron Judge remained at 61 home runs with three games remaining, and Luis Severino pitched seven no-hit innings before the Texas Rangers broke through against New York’s bullpen in the Yankees’ 3-1 win.

Austin Riley and Matt Olson hit back-to-back homers off Jacob deGrom in the second inning and Dansby Swanson later connected off the Mets ace as the Atlanta Braves beat New York 5-2 to move into a tie for the NL East lead.

Aaron Judge was held without a homer for the third straight game, keeping him at 60 for the season and one shy of Roger Maris’ American League record, and the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 5-4.

Aaron Judge fell a few feet short of a record-tying 61st homer, hitting a 404-foot drive caught just in front of the center field wall, and the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 5-4 on Josh Donaldson’s 10th-inning single to clinch their sixth straight playoff berth.

Aaron Judge hit his 58th and 59th home runs of the season to move within two of Roger Maris’ American League record with 16 games remaining and lead the New York Yankees over the Milwaukee Brewers 12-8.

Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 56th and 57th home runs, Gleyber Torres had a go-ahead three-run double in the 10th inning and the New York Yankees held on to beat the Boston Red Sox 7-6.

Aaron Judge started the first-game comeback with his major league-leading 55th home run, Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a go-ahead grand slam in the nightcap and the New York Yankees swept a doubleheader from the Minnesota Twins 5-4 and 7-1.

Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 54th home run, connecting for the third straight day and sending the New York Yankees over the Minnesota Twins 5-2.

Shohei Ohtani became the first player in major league history to hit 30 home runs and record 10 pitching wins in the same season as the Los Angeles Angels rallied for a 3-2 victory over the New York Yankees.

Aaron Judge hit a three-run shot for his 51st homer of the season, and the New York Yankees snapped their three-game losing streak with a 7-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

Andrew Benintendi hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the seventh inning and the New York Yankees got a win they desperately needed, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 4-2 to avoid a four-game sweep.