MATT CHAPMAN

Shohei Ohtani watch is on.

Shohei Ohtani is the clear best player available in the 2024 MLB free agent class. Which other position players could hit the market — and could we see a surprise entry?

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.

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole twice banged on the dugout roof, shouting in frustration and getting booed as scuffling New York lost for the 15th time in 19 games, beaten by the Toronto Blue Jays 5-2.

Ramón Urías hit a three-run homer in the first inning, and Anthony Santander, Ryan Mountcastle and Austin Hays also went deep to lift the Baltimore Orioles to a 7-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Twins pitching coach Wes Johnson is serving his final days with Minnesota before leaving for the same job with LSU.

MJ Melendez and Emmanuel Rivera drove in two runs apiece, leading Brady Singer and the Kansas City Royals over the Toronto Blue Jays 8-4 to end a three-game losing streak.

Gleyber Torres homered early, then hit a go-ahead single in the ninth inning as the New York Yankees won their 10th straight game, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2.

The Padres’ hopes of shaking off a disappointing 2021 aren’t off to a great start — San Diego has lost four of five heading into its series finale against the World Series champion Braves.

The San Diego Padres have acquired left-hander Sean Manaea in a trade with the Oakland Athletics.

The Oakland Athletics posted a farewell photo on social media featuring pitching ace Chris Bassitt and their former superstar slugging Matts, third baseman Matt Chapman and first baseman Matt Olson, after trading them away in cost-cutting moves so familiar to this low-budget franchise. Missing in the mix: departed manager Bob Melvin, who left in October to take over the San Diego Padres. Meanwhile, the A's welcomed back a pair of veterans who have meant so much to the franchise: catcher Stephen Vogt and infielder Jed Lowrie.

Many familiar faces with impressive resumes are in new places following one of major league baseball’s wildest free agent frenzies.

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and five players from the World Series champion Atlanta Braves are among the players who are headed toward salary arbitration hearings that will occur during the regular season after failing to agree to contracts for 2022.

Justin Verlander is one of the greatest pitchers of his generation with eight All-Star appearances, two Cy Young Awards, one MVP, one Rookie of the Year and a World Series title.

Coronavirus restrictions in Canada and New York have assured that baseball will again be affected by COVID-19 in 2022.

All-Star third baseman Matt Chapman was acquired by the Toronto Blue Jays from the payroll-shredding Oakland Athletics for four players.

Salvador Perez tied Johnny Bench’s record for homers in a season by a catcher with his 45th, but Chad Pinder’s two-run single spurred a third-inning rally and the Oakland Athletics held off the Kansas City Royals 7-2.

The New York Yankees’ 13-game winning streak ended as Frankie Montas pitched seven shutout innings and the Oakland Athletics held on for a 3-2 victory.

Aaron Judge hit a tiebreaking single with two outs in the ninth inning, Giancarlo Stanton homered for the third consecutive game and the New York Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics 7-6 for their 12th straight victory and longest winning streak in nearly 60 years.

Luis Torrens hit a tiebreaking two-run single, Chris Flexen pitched neatly into the seventh inning and the Seattle Mariners swept a quick two-game series against the Oakland Athletics with a 5-1 win.

Mitch Moreland homered twice, Chris Bassitt posted his AL-leading 12th win and the Oakland Athletics routed the Cleveland Indians 17-0 for their seventh straight victory.

Matt Chapman homered and hit a go-ahead double with two outs in the ninth inning, leading the Oakland Athletics over the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 Thursday.

The Oakland Athletics extended their winning streak to 11, rallying from a two-run deficit to beat the Twins 13-12 when Luis Arraez threw away Ramón Laureano’s grounder for Minnesota’s second error of the 10th inning.

Sixto Sánchez made his third start, yielding a run on three hits and a walk in 3 1/3 innings. Austin Gomber gave up five runs on eight hits, four of them home runs, 5 1/3 innings. Arizona starter Luke Weaver struck out eight over 5 1/3 innings. Right-hander Adbert Alzolay continued to struggle for Chicago, allowing two runs in 3 1/3 innings. BREWERS 2, GIANTS 2Brett Anderson pitched two-run ball over 5 2/3 innings, allowing five hits and striking out three for Milwaukee.

TWINS 1, ORIOLES 0 (7 INNINGS)Minnesota ace Kenta Maeda allowed one hit in three innings, striking out four in his second start. Baltimore's Dean Kremer fared better in his second start, allowing a hit and a walk in three scoreless innings. Deivi García pitched three shutout innings in his second start for the Yankees. Nick Pivetta made his second start for Boston, allowing a run on three hits with three strikeouts in three innings. Alex Wood worked two innings in the start for San Francisco and gave up a home run to Omar Narvaez.

With a good young rotation and a deep lineup, the Braves are looking for their first World Series title since 1995. While San Diego is much improved, World Series MVP Corey Seager and Los Angeles are well-positioned for a run at another championship. The last time the All-Stars descended on Atlanta, Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter had three hits and two RBIs in the AL's 6-3 victory at Turner Field in 2000. AdTHURSDAY, AUG. 12New York Yankees at Chicago White Sox: Major League Baseball comes to Iowa. SUNDAY, SEPT. 26Houston Astros at Oakland Athletics: The AL West rivals close out their season series with Oakland's home finale.

New York starter Jordan Montgomery gave up two hits in three scoreless innings. Brubaker allowed two hits over two scoreless innings and Chase De Jong followed with two shutout innings. MARLINS 4, METS 4Miami starter Pablo Lopez gave up a hit and a walk over three scoreless innings. German Marquez scattered three hits and a walk over three scoreless innings for Colorado. Kansas City starter Jakob Junis pitched three innings and gave up one hit, a leadoff homer to Trent Grisham.

San Diego Padres' Jurickson Profar, right, reacts after scoring on a fielder's choice in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Monday, Sept. 14, 2020, in San Diego. Prized rookie Deivi García (1-1, 3.06 ERA) pitches for the Yankees, who have won five straight following a 5-16 slide. New York expects to get third baseman Gio Urshela and right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga back from the injured list. WILD WESTThe surging San Diego Padres go for their ninth straight victory and try to close within a half-game of the West-leading Dodgers when the NL's top two teams square off again at Petco Park. Lamb homered and doubled in his Athletics debut Monday, a 9-0 victory at Seattle that gave his new team a doubleheader split.

Prized rookie Deivi García (1-1, 3.06 ERA) pitches for the Yankees, who have won five straight following a 5-16 slide. New York expects to get third baseman Gio Urshela and right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga back from the injured list. Sportico reported Cohen will own 95% of the team, with the rest staying with the Wilpon and Katz families. Former major league star Alex Rodriguez and fiancee Jennifer Lopez also tried to buy the team but dropped out of the bidding last month. Cohen also entered negotiations to buy the Mets last year, but the deal fell apart in February.

(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)SEATTLE – Kyle Lewis sparked Seattle’s rally with a two-run homer and walked with the bases loaded in the sixth inning, helping the Mariners top the Oakland Athletics 6-5 on Monday in the opener of a doubleheader. But Seattle chipped away and scored twice in the sixth inning against Oakland’s bullpen to move in front for good. The win pulled Seattle within one game of idle Houston for second place in the AL West. Lewis hit his 10th homer in the fifth inning to pull Seattle within 5-4 and end Luzardo’s day. A’s manager Bob Melvin planned to play Lamb in the second game of the doubleheader.

Games set for Friday and Saturday night were called off to allow time for more testing and contact tracing. Major League Baseball has made no announcement about Sunday's game, although so far this season, no team has resumed its season so swiftly following a positive test. The two-time Gold Glover was hitting .232 with 10 home runs with 25 RBIs in 37 games this year. He batted only .120 (3 for 25) with 17 strikeouts and one walk his last eight games. The A’s could use a combination of recently acquired Tommy La Stella, rookie Vimael Machin and Chad Pinder at third base.

Phillies second baseman Neil Walker tried to restrain Harper, who then got in Ortizs face and began yelling at the 35-year-old ump -- an apparent violation of Major League Baseballs safety protocols during this pandemic-shortened season. Walker and first base coach Paco Figueroa tried to hold Harper back, and manager Joe Girardi also came out to help usher the star off the field. Harper is just 7 for 47 (.149) in his last 15 games, dropping his batting average from .367 down to .271. Trout leads the majors with 15 home runs and has connected five times in eight games. Hell try to get back in the swing when the Athletics face Garrett Richards (1-2, 4.63 ERA) at the Coliseum.

(AP Photo/Matt York)PHOENIX David Peralta slapped a bases-loaded single through the right side of the infield with one out in the ninth inning to push the Arizona Diamondbacks past the streaking Oakland Athletics 4-3 on Monday night. The As trailed 3-1 going into the eighth but came back to tie it after loading the bases with one out. Ahmed quickly made up for his mistake, smacking a leadoff double to left field to start the decisive ninth-inning rally. UP NEXTAthletics: Oakland wraps up the quick two-game series by sending RHP Frankie Montas (2-1, 1.57 ERA) to the mound. Diamondbacks: Arizona goes with RHP Luke Weaver (0-3, 11.85), who has pitched just 13 2/3 innings this season in four starts.

San Francisco Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto works against the Oakland Athletics in the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 14, 2020, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

San Francisco Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto works against the Oakland Athletics in the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 14, 2020, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)SAN FRANCISCO Stephen Piscotty hit a tying grand slam in the ninth inning, Mark Canha's sacrifice fly put Oakland on top in the 10th, and the Athletics stunned the San Francisco Giants 8-7 on Friday night in the opener of the Bay Bridge Series. Oakland trailed by five in the ninth inning but rallied to win from such a deficit for the first time since July 15, 1952, according to STATS. The Giants hadn't lost after leading by five or more runs in the ninth inning or latter since June 25, 1929. The ball carried on a rare hot evening in San Francisco, where first-pitch temperature reached 85 degrees.

Trout's solo drive off Yusmeiro Petit (1-1) in the eighth helped the Angels stop a three-game skid. It was the 20th multi-homer game of Trout's career, which tied Tim Salmon and Vladimir Guerrero for the franchise record. Los Angeles trailed 9-4 in the fourth when Trout began the rally with a two-run drive into the Angels' bullpen in left field. Chapman gave Oakland a 5-3 lead an inning later with a two-run drive to center for the fifth multi-homer game of his career. He will be opposed by right-hander Dylan Bundy (2-1, 2.08), who threw the Angels' first complete game since 2018 last Wednesday at Seattle.

The Athletics' ninth straight win was far overshadowed by what erupted in the seventh inning at the Coliseum. Astros catcher Dustin Garneau tackled Laureano before the As outfielder reached Cintron, and a wild scene ensued. A's and Astros players who were sitting in the seats, observing COVID-19 social-distancing protocols, also rushed onto the field. The Astros have won the past three division crowns, a World Series in 2017 and AL pennant last year. TRAINERS ROOMAstros: CF George Springer resumed hitting work in the batting cage but was still listed as day to day by Baker.

Oakland Athletics' Stephen Piscotty celebrates with teammates after a game-ending grand slam against the Texas Rangers during the ninth inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)OAKLAND, Calif. Stephen Piscotty hit Oaklands second walkoff grand slam of the year and the Athletics beat the Texas Rangers 5-1 Tuesday night for their fourth straight win. Volquez retired Robbie Grossman on a popup before Piscotty hit a first-pitch drive over the wall in center to match the opening night 10th-inning slam by Matt Olson against the Angels. The 22-year-old lefty was the youngest As pitcher to start a game since Brett Anderson in 2010 and lived up to the hype. He overpowered the Rangers at times, striking out Joey Gallo on a 96 mph to end the first.