Harper walks twice in 1st spring ABs with Phillies  —  CLEARWATER, Fla. — Bryce Harper drew two five-pitch walks on Saturday in his first two spring training plate appearances since signing a record contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.  —  The six-time All-Star outfielder signed a $330 million …

Tanaka named Yankees' Opening Day starter  —  SARASOTA, Fla. — Masahiro Tanaka will be the New York Yankees' Opening Day starter March 28 against Baltimore, taking the spot left open by Luis Severino's shoulder trouble.  —  Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced the decision …

Having his contract renewed is symptom of a ‘system that is not great,’ says Flaherty  —  JUPITER, Fla.  • By rejecting the Cardinals' calculated salary offer for the 2019 season, Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty forced the team to unilaterally renew his contract, not because he took issue with the club …

Billy Hamilton has no hard feelings toward the Cincinnati Reds: ‘I still want them to do well’  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. - Playing against many of his former teammates Friday, Billy Hamilton couldn't stop smiling throughout the afternoon.  —  When players were stretching before the game …

Why Rougned Odor's hitless game has Chris Woodward thrilled  —  Rougned Odor has walked three or more times in a regular-season game only twice in his five-year career.  —  The Texas Rangers second baseman walked five times against the Orioles on Aug. 2 (he also homered) and walked three times in a game in 2017.

Detroit Tigers observations: Michael Fulmer's velocity still down  —  LAKELAND, Fla. — As far as Michael Fulmer's three Grapefruit League starts have gone, this one was the most worrisome.  —  Not just because of his fastball velocity - which sat between 88-92 m.p.h. …

Cubs prospect Adbert Alzolay headed back to Iowa  —  One of the biggest prospects in the Chicago Cubs' system is headed back to Des Moines this summer.  —  Right-handed pitcher Adbert Alzolay was among 14 players assigned to Chicago's minor league camp on Saturday.

Giants give no guarantee to Dereck Rodriguez  —  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Dereck Rodriguez was like a painkiller for the Giants last year, providing the ailing team with a desperately needed dose of starting pitching after coming up from the minors in late May.  —  While most of the staff …

UC Irvine caps regular season in record fashion with win against CSUN  —  IRVINE — UC Irvine put an exclamation point on one of the best regular seasons in program history on Saturday night, beating Cal State Northridge 86-74 at the Bren Center to finish league play at 15-1 for the second time in school history.

Cincinnati Reds lefty Alex Wood suffers setback with more back tightness  —  GOODYEAR, Ariz. - For the second time this spring, Alex Wood felt his back tighten up after pitching on a mound.  He made his Cactus League debut on Feb. 25 and it could be another week before he makes his next appearance.

Pete Alonso still finds ways to stun the Mets  —  Pete Alonso showed the sold-out crowd at JetBlue Park that his barrel is more than a match for the replicated Fenway Park Green Monster.  Alonso annihilated a fastball from reliever Tyler Thornburg well beyond the towering left-field wall for his third homer of spring.

Kenta Maeda shines in Dodgers' 2-0 exhibition win over Mariners … The Dodgers beat the Seattle Mariners 2-0 Saturday in a spring training game.  They are 8-6-1 in Cactus League games.  —  ON THE MOUND: Kenta Maeda struck out four batters in three perfect innings in his third start …

Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler faces hitters for first time this spring … Walker Buehler struck out the final two batters he faced in dominant fashion Saturday.  He possessed his usual arsenal revolving around a sizzling fastball.  He received an ovation as he walked off the mound after 21 pitches.

Astros' Jose Altuve scratched from lineup again with continued left side soreness  —  JUPITER, Fla. — For the second time in three days, Jose Altuve was scratched from the Astros' Grapefruit League lineup on Saturday with continued left side soreness.  —  “It's the same, tightness I'd say …