#Class AAA

CHICAGO -- It's safe to say the Guardians are in scramble mode following their second COVID outbreak in less than three weeks. One of their biggest concerns, outside of the health of those who tested positive on Wednesday before MLB postponed their series finale against the White Sox, is putting together a coaching staff. Manager Terry Francona and…

NEW YORK -- Josh Naylor is taking advantage of his second chance. After breaking his right leg and ankle in a collision with Ernie Clement in June at Target Field, Naylor thought his career might be over. It's not -- as his two-run homer Saturday and two-hit game on Friday at Yankee Stadium show. But it has taught him something -- play every game…

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Terry Francona called Andres Gimenez "dangerous" after Tuesday's game against San Diego was postponed and rescheduled as a traditional doubleheader Wednesday at 1:10 p.m. at Progressive Field. Dangerous is a good adjective for someone who gets paid to hit a baseball. Gimenez did a lot of that on the just completed 10-game trip.…

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Maybe the Guardians starting pitchers and offense are finally reading from the same book. The offense didn't exactly splurge, but it did supply Cal Quantrill with enough runs to pitch the Guardians to a 6-3 win over the Texas Rangers in the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader at Progressive Field. The Guardians have won seven of…

SAN DIEGO - Well, so much for all of those dots that got connected when social media started buzzing due to a video that showed Cody Bellinger working on his swing at Oklahoma State, the offseason home base of Matt Holliday. Could the Cardinals Hall of Famer turned Cardinals bench coach have been working with a former National League MVP turned…

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Perhaps one day Hunter Gaddis will regale his friends and grandchildren about his days in the big leagues. But the conversation will probably not include the events of Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022 at Progressive Field. Gaddis, recalled from Class AAA Columbus to fill out an injured rotation during a treacherous stretch of games for…

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Myles Straw wants to make one thing clear. He's here to play 162 games this season. "No days off, baby," said the Guardians center fielder. "All 162 this year. That's the goal." Straw, however, wasn't in the starting lineup Wednesday against Kansas City after appearing in the first 45 games of the season. He did enter the game as…

BALTIMORE -- The Guardians are being careful with catcher Austin Hedges. It's the reason he wasn't in the lineup Sunday in the series finale against Baltimore at Camden Yards after tweaking his left hip beating out an infield hit in the eighth inning on Friday. Luke Maile replaced him Saturday. Initially manager Terry Francona and Hedges felt he'd…

BALTIMORE - Last year Eli Morgan arrived from Class AAA Columbus when Cleveland's starting rotation was crumbling because of injuries. He stepped into the breach and made 18 starts, winning five, including his last three in succession. This year with the Guardians' rotation healthy, Morgan made the club as an emergency starter/long reliever because…

Jon Singleton's remarkable story continues. The towering first baseman found himself back on a big-league roster for the first time in more than six years when the Milwaukee Brewers selected his contract Tuesday. Singleton wasn't the lone player protected by the Brewers from next month's Rule 5 Draft, as the team also added prospects Brice Turang,…

The Seattle Mariners (27-40) try to go up 2-0 on the AL West-rival Los Angeles Angels (30-34) at Angel Stadium of Anaheim Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 10:07 p.m. Eastern. Seattle took the series opener 6-2. Odds courtesy of Bet365; for a full-set of today's sports betting odds, access them at USA TODAY Sports. LHP Yusei Kikuchi vs.…

NEW YORK -- Here are the lineups for Sunday's game between the Guardians and Yankees. Where: Yankee Stadium, 1:35 p.m. TV/radio: Bally Sports Great Lakes, WTAM and WMMS will carry the game. Teams: Guardians (7-7) vs. Yankees (9-6). Starting pitchers: RHP Aaron Civale (0-1, 6.14) vs. RHP Gerrit Cole (0-0, 6.14). GUARDIANS CF Myles Straw. LF Steven…

This past season the Texas Rangers were lucky to have four prominent players with at least 20 home runs. Of those four players, it was Nathaniel Lowe's first time hitting 20 or more home runs. And he did that while maintaining a batting average over.300. Lowe is a real deal, and he has already proved that in the 2022 season. His 1252 PO (what…

One of the area's longest running rivalries is adding bigger stakes this year when Oak Hill hosts Woodrow Wilson for the 79th time Friday at John P. Duda Stadium. Woodrow Wilson (5-3) enters the week No. 15 in the Class AAA playoff ratings and Oak Hill (5-4) is right behind at No. 16. The stakes could not be higher for the ancient adversaries,…

There is a case to be made that Daulton Varsho is the best defensive outfielder in Major League Baseball. The 26-year-old Wisconsin native, patrolling both right field and center field for the Arizona Diamondbacks, sits atop the Statcast leaderboard for Outs Above Average (basically a metric that scores players on the likelihood of making a play).…

New York Yankees clinch 2022 AL East title in TorontoYankees players gather for a team photo amid a celebration on the field in Toronto as they clinched the 2022 AL East division title. As the Yankees moved closer to an AL East clinching party, manager Aaron Boone appreciated the benefits of planning out a postseason strategy. Over the next week,…

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The goal of the hitters at the bottom of the Guardians' lineup is to get on base so the hitters at the top of the lineup can drive them home. It sounds so simple, right? Guardians catchers Austin Hedges and Luke Maile have spent the season in the lower reaches of the lineup. For a long time, they weren't able to get the top of…

BALTIMORE -- Sometimes a baseball game is like a blind alley. It leads nowhere. On other days there's a trap door at the end of the alley with twists, turns and spider webs. How these kind of games get from the first inning to the ninth is hard to explain. Even when every pitch is charted and timed. The Guardians played a game like that Sunday…