Reliever Hector Neris declined his part of an $8.5 million mutual option for 2024 with the Houston Astros and became a free agent.

Shohei Ohtani, Cody Bellinger, Jordan Montgomery, Blake Snell and Aaron Nola were among the 130 players who became free agents as baseball’s business season began the day following the Texas Rangers’ first World Series title.

Justin Verlander pitched six shutout innings, Yordan Alvarez homered twice and the Houston Astros held on for a 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins in their AL Division Series opener.

Jorge Polanco capped a three-run ninth inning with a go-ahead single, helping the Minnesota Twins overcome Hunter Greene’s 14 strikeouts to beat the Cincinnati Reds 5-3.

James Outman hit a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied for a 7-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.

Kyle Farmer bounced a bases-loaded single straight up the middle of a drawn-in Houston infield in the 10th inning, giving the Minnesota Twins a 3-2 victory over the over the whiff-prone Astros in their home opener Thursday.

Minnesota rookie Joe Ryan and reliever Jovani Moran combined to pitch no-hit ball until Bobby Witt Jr. doubled with one out in the ninth inning as the Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 6-3.

Trey Mancini homered for a second straight game, a three-run drive that led the Houston Astros to a 6-3 win and a three-game sweep of the slumping Minnesota Twins.

The playoff-hopeful Seattle Mariners are holding their collective breath that All-Star rookie Julio Rodríguez isn’t seriously injured.

Luis Arraez had three hits, including a tiebreaking RBI single in Minnesota’s four-run 10th inning, and the Twins beat the Chicago White Sox 6-3.

Andrés Giménez hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Minnesota Twins 5-3 for their second straight walk-off win against their AL Central rivals.

The Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins had their game suspended when a severe thunderstorm rolled through and halted play in the top of the fourth inning with the Astros leading the Twins 5-1.

Justin Verlander missed out on his fourth no-hitter by five outs but still faced the minimum through eight innings, and the Houston Astros beat the Minnesota Twins 5-0 for their eighth straight win.

Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander is six outs away from completing his fourth career no-hitter.

Jorge Polanco delivered another key hit and the Minnesota bullpen combined for 6 2/3 innings of shutout work as the Twins beat the Oakland Athletics 4-3.

Jorge Polanco and Kyle Garlick hit early two-run homers over the Green Monster to back Dylan Bundy, carrying the Minnesota Twins past the Red Sox 8-3 in Boston’s annual Patriots’ Day game.

Gary Sánchez hit a grand slam into the third deck and Carlos Correa launched his first homer for the Minnesota Twins in a 10-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

Carlos Correa has declared the postseason “his time,” and the Minnesota Twins hope all that October experience can turn around the fortunes of a snake-bitten franchise.

Baseball’s bitter 99-day lockout moved a little further back in the rearview mirror when spring training games began Thursday.

Gary Sánchez lined a winning single in the 10th inning, and the New York Yankees overcame a five-run deficit to beat the Minnesota Twins 6-5.

Red Sox ace Chris Sale joined Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax as the only pitchers on record with three immaculate innings, Bobby Dalbec homered twice and Boston beat the Minnesota Twins 12-2.

Gerrit Cole struck out Josh Donaldson with the bases loaded to end the fifth inning and got through the sixth throwing shutout ball, and the New York Yankees beat the Minnestoa Twins 7-1 for their season-high ninth straight win.

Mitch Garver homered early and Josh Donaldson’s RBI single in the 11th inning lifted the Minnesota Twins to a 5-4 win over the Houston Astros on Friday night.

The Minnesota Twins got a solid start from rookie Griffin Jax, and Andrelton Simmons drove in two runs as they built a big lead early and held on for a 5-3 win over the Houston Astros on Thursday night.

Patrick Sandoval had his no-hit bid broken up with one out in the ninth inning on a soft double by rookie Brent Rooker, and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Minnesota Twins 2-1.

Lucas Giolito lobbed an expletive-laced response in Josh Donaldson’s direction after the slugger appeared to yell “Not sticky anymore,” after a first-inning homer, overshadowing Gavin Sheets’ successful debut for the White Sox in a 7-6 victory over the Twins.

Major League Baseball will deal with Mariners pitcher Hector Santiago, the first player ejected under the new crackdown against grip-enhancing sticky stuff.

Nelson Cruz hit a three-run homer shortly after Cleveland right fielder Josh Naylor was carted off the field following a frightening collision with a teammate, and the Minnesota Twins went beat the Indians 8-2.

José Berríos completed seven commanding innings for Minnesota against the highest-scoring team in the majors as the Twins beat the Houston Astros 5-2.

Gerrit Cole got back on track with six sharp innings, and Giancarlo Stanton hit two of the New York Yankees’ four home runs to fuel a 9-6 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Cedric Mullins got two hits, scored two runs and made a sensational catch in center field, helping the Baltimore Orioles snap their 14-game losing streak with a 7-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Rob Refsnyder bounced back from a run-in with the center-field fence to score the go-ahead run in the 10th inning on a wild pitch and the Minnesota Twins handed the Baltimore Orioles their 14th straight loss, 3-2.

Jordan Luplow hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning off Alex Colomé, giving the Cleveland Indians a 5-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins in their series opener.

Michael Perez had three hits and drove in three runs, helping Trevor Cahill and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Minnesota Twins 6-2.

Max Kepler’s RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning gave Minnesota a 4-3 victory over Boston, stopping a five-game losing streak for the Twins and breaking a nine-game winning string for the Red Sox.

Akil Baddoo added another big hit in this charmed start to his big league career, lining an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Detroit Tigers a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

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.

FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2020, file photo, Minnesota Twins' Nelson Cruz, center, smiles in the dugout after the Twins clinched the AL Central championship with the Chicago White Sox's loss during the tenth inning of a baseball game in Minneapolis. The Minnesota Twins are bringing back designated hitter Nelson Cruz on a one-year, $13 million contract, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations. (AP Photo/Craig Lassig, File)MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Twins are bringing back designated hitter Nelson Cruz on a one-year, $13 million contract, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations. The six-time All-Star won Silver Slugger awards in 2019 and 2020, when the Twins won the AL Central both seasons. Cruz was about the only constant, despite being at least 10 years older than most of the regulars.

Houston Astros' Carlos Correa, left, and George Springer, center, jump in celebration of the Astros 4-1 win over the Minnesota Twins 4-1 in Game 1 of an American League wild-card baseball series, Tuesday Sept. 29, 2020, in Minneapolis. They know what it’s like," said manager Dusty Baker, after the Astros became the first team in major league history to win a game after reaching the postseason with a losing record. It didn’t go my way,” said Romo, who has three World Series rings with San Francisco and pitched in his 30th career postseason game. Minnesota’s previous win in the playoffs was notched in New York on Oct. 5, 2004, in Game 1 of the AL division series. UP NEXTThe Astros were waiting until after the game to announce their starter for Game 2, though Valdez's appearance took him out of the mix.

Manager Dusty Baker’s Astros became the first team in major league history to win a game after reaching the postseason with a losing record. The #Astros win game 1 over #Twins Final of 4-1. Minnesota’s previous win in the playoffs was notched in New York on Oct. 5, 2004, in Game 1 of the AL division series. The Astros lost their previous postseason game — that was Game 7 of the World Series last year, at home to Houston. Both of his previous postseason appearances took place at Yankee Stadium, with nine hits and six runs allowed over seven innings.

Minnesota Twins' Jake Cave (60) runs to score on a single hit by Eddie Rosario against the Chicago Cubs during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)CHICAGO – Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sanó and Josh Donaldson homered as the Minnesota Twins clinched a second straight postseason berth with an 8-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday night. The Twins, who won the division last year, will make back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since 2009-10. After Mills struck out the first two batters of the game, Rosario homered on the first pitch he saw for a 1-0 lead. In the sixth, Rosario hit an RBI single for a 2-1 lead.

Minnesota Twins pitcher Kenta Maeda of Japan throws against the Milwaukee Brewers in the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)MINNEAPOLIS Kenta Maeda lost a no-hitter in the ninth inning for the Minnesota Twins, who blew a three-run lead but came back to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 in 12 innings. Maeda's no-hit bid was ended by Eric Sogard's soft single that soared just over the glove of a leaping Polanco at shortstop. Maeda retired 21 straight batters in a stretch from the first to the eighth innings and finished with 12 strikeouts. Opponents are 0 for 22 against Hader this season, with four walks and one hit by pitch 12 strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings.