Cole's strikeouts, spin rate down, Royals rally past Yanks
Gerrit Coleโs strikeouts and spin rate dropped as he pitched for the first time since Major League Baseballโs crackdown on sticky substances, and the Kansas City Royals rallied off Jonathan Loiasiga for four runs in the eighth inning to beat the New York Yankees 6-5.
Scherzer faces deGrom in spring game, rematch on opening day
Scherzer will make his Nationals-record sixth opening day start April 1, facing the New York Mets in Washington. The original lineup released by Washington before the game featured a designated hitter; that was revised to include Scherzer batting for himself. DeGrom struck him out, part of his 4 2/3 scoreless innings with three hits and five Ks. YANKEES 8, BLUE JAYS 3Gerritt Cole struck out eight in five innings, allowing one run in his fourth spring start for New York. BRAVES 11, RAYS 1Atlanta starter Max Fried gave up three hits and struck out five over six innings.
Ohtani fans 5 in return to mound; Harper HR on 1st swing
The 2018 AL Rookie of the Year is off to a strong start this spring on both sides. PHILLIES 3, PIRATES 0Bryce Harper homered on his first swing of spring training, launching a opposite-field drive to left. Chad Kuhl made his second start for Pittsburgh, allowing two runs on three hits. Brad Keller worked three innings in the start for the Royals and allowed a run on four hits and two walks. BRAVES 4, TWINS 0 (7)Kyle Wright fared much better in his second start for Atlanta, allowing one hit in three shutout innings with two strikeouts.
Tigers bullpen sharp in 4-3 win over Royals
DETROIT Jonathan Schoop and Christin Stewart each hit a two-run homer in the third inning to lift the Detroit Tigers to a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night. Whit Merrifield launched a three-run shot in the top of the third for Kansas City, but the Tigers answered quickly and held on from there. There were a pair of blunders in the ninth on the same play when Detroit first baseman C.J. 'Kansas City starter Kyle Zimmer pitched two scoreless innings, then hit JaCoby Jones with a pitch to start the Detroit third. Kansas City recalled OF Nick Heath and RHP Jake Newberry.
Royals' Dozier tests positive for COVID-19 before exhibition
Kansas City Royals' Hunter Dozier bats during the first inning of an exhibition baseball game against the Houston Astros in Kansas City, Mo., Monday, July 20, 2020. Kansas City Royals outfielder Hunter Dozier has tested positive for COVID-19 and was placed on the injured list before the club played its final exhibition game against the Cardinals in St. Louis on Wednesday. And it still snuck up on them.The positive test leaves Matheny with another hole to fill in his starting lineup. Ryan McBroom, who made his big league debut last season, will likely start at first base with O'Hearn sidelined by the virus. Danny Duffy will start opening day against Cleveland and rookie Brady Singer will make his big league debut on Saturday.
Dozier, Soler each homer twice as Royals beat Tigers 10-2
(Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)DETROIT - Hunter Dozier and Jorge Soler each homered twice, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers 10-2 on Sunday for a split of the four-game series between the worst teams in the AL Central. The Royals won their second in a row after losing six of seven. Norris retired the next batter, but Dozier hit his third homer of the series into the Royals' bullpen in left-center. They swept the Royals in three games in April and won two of three from Kansas City in May. They are 9-7 against Kansas City this season and 26-73 against the rest of the major leagues.