ST. LOUIS — With the score tied 1-1 entering the fifth inning and the Cardinals looking to string together at-bats against Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler, it was a leadoff single from a hitter who has scuffled that gave them their first hit in an inning filled with them.

Starting at third base in Wednesday's series finale at Busch Stadium...Read more

LOS ANGELES — If Mark Walter is selling one of the crown jewels of Los Angeles sports, is he about to sell the other?

No, according to people familiar with the matter not authorized to discuss it publicly. Walter announced the sale of his controlling interest in the Lakers on Wednesday, but he is not looking to sell the Dodgers.

The decision...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Twins manager Derek Shelton managed Josh Bell for one season in Pittsburgh, plus four months into this season, and the longtime hitting coach still isn’t exactly sure how Bell has so much success.

“I wish I could give you an answer to how Josh Bell’s swing works. I have no idea,” Shelton said. “I didn’t have an idea ...Read more

Walker Buehler did not want to discuss being pulled from his previous start after just four innings of one-run ball.

He let his pitching do the talking Tuesday.

Quite a bit more talking, actually, thanks in part to quite a big cushion.

The 32-year-old veteran completed six innings for the first time in two months, Luis Rengifo hit his first ...Read more

There was a hefty list of notable accomplishments to come out of the Rays’ 12-4 win over the A’s on Tuesday night in Sacramento, California.

Overall, they extended their latest winning streak to eight games, improved their American League-leading record to 73-46 and slugged a franchise-record six home runs.

Individually, Nick Martinez ...Read more

ANAHEIM — After scoring three runs in third inning, a relative explosion for the Angels these days, the hitters called it a night, putting the pressure on the pitching staff to hold the margin for the rest of the game.

They did it.

Starter Ryan Johnson and four relievers shut down the Texas Rangers in a 3-2 victory on Tuesday night, snapping...Read more

Manager Dave Roberts embraced Blake Snell on the dugout steps. Field coordinator Bob Geren applauded from beside him. Snell’s teammates hopped down from the railing to high-five him as he walked through the growing crowd.

It had been three months since he’d last started a major-league game. And in the Dodgers’ 5-4 walk-off win against the...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants got significantly younger after making five trades that sent away six major leaguers at last week’s trade deadline. Bryce Eldridge even quipped that the team looked like the “San Francisco River Kitties,” an allusion to the team’s Triple-A affiliate. A good chunk of their wins over the next month-and-a-half, ...Read more

DETROIT — Off the schneid.

The Tigers finally got that ugly zero off their ledger against the Cleveland Guardians, beating them Tuesday night, 6-4, before a crowd of 30,709 at Comerica Park.

Rookie Kevin McGonigle knocked in three runs with a double and single, helping the Tigers not only end a six-game skid against Cleveland, but move ...Read more

Adley Rutschman reached base three times in his highly-anticipated Boston Red Sox debut Tuesday night in Toronto, but even the club’s biggest trade deadline addition couldn’t curtail what is becoming a concerning skid.

The Red Sox lost their fourth consecutive game, 5-3, after entering the losing streak without back-to-back losses since ...Read more

Nolan McLean bounced back on Tuesday, but his performance was wasted by a lifeless offense.

The Mets' young ace tossed six innings, allowing just one run on one hit while striking out three in a 4-0 loss to the Braves on Tuesday night. However, the one hit he allowed was a solo home run to Ozzie Albies in the fifth inning.

McLean’s strong ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing went through the second-opinion carousel — “opinions on opinions,” as he put it — after his elbow started bothering him on Aug. 2 while playing catch in the outfield before the a game against the Red Sox.

“We then come to an agreement that surgery is not necessary,” Rushing said Tuesday...Read more

NEW YORK — It’s not that Michael Rucker was in the game, though he hasn’t excelled in higher-leverage situations this season.

It’s that Rucker remained in the game as he struggled to find the strike zone and keep runners off base until it was too late. Seattle’s one-run lead turned into a three-run deficit and it eventually resulted ...Read more

ST. LOUIS — The battle took nine pitches.

Bryce Harper fouled off four of them. He held off on a cutter below the zone, the ninth pitch of the at-bat, to draw the third consecutive walk from Caleb Ferguson. The Cardinals reliever had loaded the bases without recording an out in the eighth inning.

With cleanup hitter Luis Arraez and his ...Read more

MIAMI — After playing 17 games in as many days and winning just five of them, the Pirates hoped Monday’s off day would be the reset needed to kickstart a postseason push.

It was not.

The Pirates lost to the Marlins, 2-0, Tuesday night in front of a scant crowd of 9,366 at loanDepot park, opening a pivotal three-game set with an anemic ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — In a push toward returning Anaheim to the name of his hometown Angels, Assemblyman Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim) last March introduced what he called the“Home Run for Anaheim Act.”

Five months later, the bill has cleared both houses of the state legislature without a single vote against it. Gov. Gavin Newsom has two months to...Read more

CHICAGO — Michael and Cynthia Castaneda watched the deluge Tuesday morning at their Dyer, Ind., home and wondered how they were going to get ready for Pope Hat Night at White Sox Park.

“There was a tornado,” Cynthia said. “We have to move branches, clear out the sewers …”

“But she was determined to get these costumes,” Michael ...Read more

NEW YORK — Giancarlo Stanton, sidelined since April 24 with a pair of right calf strains, ran the bases at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.

It was the first time that the designated hitter was spotted doing so since suffering his second strain in June.

“It does feel like he’s getting closer,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before...Read more

The Angels made a sweeping change to their coaching staff by firing pitching coach Mike Maddux, assistant pitching coach Darryl Scott and bullpen coach Dom Chiti on Tuesday.

Tim Leveque has been named interim pitching coach and Michael Wuertz has been named interim bullpen coach. Leveque was the pitching coach at Double-A Rocket City and Wuertz...Read more