Nationals give GM Mike Rizzo 2-year contract extension  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Nationals have agreed to a two-year contract extension with general manager Mike Rizzo.  —  The team announced the deal on Thursday, hours before its home opener against the New York Mets.

Facebook Watch, MLB hope to build off Phillies-Mets broadcast  —  Luckily baseball didn't add the designated hitter in the age of Facebook, which debuted its exclusive MLB broadcast package on Wednesday.  —  The rain-delayed Philadelphia Phillies-New York Mets game brought the first round of gripes …

Corbin strikes out 12 as Diamondbacks sweep Dodgers  —  PHOENIX — Patrick Corbin finally found a way to end his long losing streak against the Los Angeles Dodgers.  —  And he did it emphatically.  —  Corbin shut out the Dodgers on one hit over 7 1/3 innings, striking out a career-high 12 in the Diamondbacks' 3-0 win on Wednesday.

Manaea goes 8 innings, pitches A's to 6-2 win over Rangers  —  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Even as Sean Manaea eased through a 1-2-3 eighth inning and retired his 10th consecutive batter, Oakland manager Bob Melvin had no intention on sending the young lefty back out for the ninth.  —  Not yet anyway.

Gray, Rockies shut down Villanueva and Padres in 5-2 win … SAN DIEGO — Jon Gray pitched seven scoreless innings, Trevor Story and Ian Desmond each drove in two runs and the Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 5-2 on Wednesday night.  —  Gray (1-1) shut down the Padres a night …

Cold — but dry — for today's White Sox home opener  —  Chicago Tribune  —  It's cold but dry on the South Side Thursday morning as the White Sox get ready to meet the Tigers in the home opener.  —  Parking lots will open at noon, with the gates to the park open at 1:10 p.m.

Red Sox, Rays heading in opposite direction since Opening Day  —  Last week on Opening Day, the Tampa Bay Rays scored six runs in the eighth inning against the Boston bullpen and stunned the Red Sox 6-4 in St. Petersburg, Fla.  —  Since that fateful eighth inning that spoiled the managerial debut …

Lester aims for better effort as Cubs face Brewers  —  MILWAUKEE — The major-league season is barely a week old, but it will almost certainly be a playoff-like atmosphere at Miller Park this weekend as the Milwaukee Brewers face the Chicago Cubs in a four-game series.

Pablo Sandoval calls homer against Felix Hernandez … San Francisco Giants slugger Pablo Sandoval followed through on his prediction that he would hit a homer off of Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez.  —  He did so by going yard in the fifth inning of the Giants' 10-1 win …

Matheny: Decision to start Waino ‘not about sentimental reasons’  —  MILWAUKEE  • It was a good day for Adam Wainwright although not so much for Jack Flaherty, or even Michael Wacha.  —  After undergoing two days of intensive running and movement drills and a final review …

Ohtani homers again, Cozart lifts Angels past Indians in 13  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit his second homer in two games at Angel Stadium in the fifth inning, and Zack Cozart had walk-off homer in the 13th inning of the Los Angeles Angels' 3-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday.

What Bronson Arroyo and Shohei Ohtani have in common  —  After a rough spring, Shohei Ohtnai impressed in his first pitching start of the year against the Oakland A's.  Was it enough to silence his doubters?  Time  —  CONNECT  —  One of Shohei Ohtani's rarest feats in his first week …

Astros sweep away Orioles with 3-2 victory  —  Josh Reddick had three hits and Alex Bregman's tiebreaking RBI single in the seventh inning lifted the Houston Astros to a 3-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles.  —  HOUSTON (AP) - Josh Reddick had three hits and Alex Bregman's tiebreaking RBI single …

A look at where the Mets prospects will be to start the minor league season  —  The minors season opens Thursday, and the Mets will have their top prospects sprinkled throughout their various affiliates.  Here's a look at where you can find most of the organization's top 30 prospects as ranked by MLB.com.

Mets' Michael Conforto is back for Thursday's game vs. Nationals — and he's leading off  —  WASHINGTON — Michael Conforto is back.  —  The Mets activated the outfielder for Thursday's series opener against the Nationals.  Conforto, who started the year on the disabled list …