St. LOUIS — This wasn’t just a moment.

I mean, let’s be clear, it was one hell of a moment. But when Jordan Walker won (no, stole) the Home Run Derby on Monday, it wasn’t simply a moment that was, in a vacuum, one to fondly look back upon.

It was a launching.

Walker’s status and celebrity catapulted into the cognizance of our nation...Read more

DETROIT — Tigers manager AJ Hinch said he expected to see Jahmai Jones back in the big leagues "soon."

And it appears Hinch will be correct.

Jones, who had a breakout season for the Tigers' offense in 2025 but struggled mightily this season before he was designated for assignment last week, was acquired by the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday, ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Baseball’s uncertain future briefly hung over the otherwise grandiose MLB All-Star festivities on Tuesday morning as the league’s commissioner and the head of its players union detailed the divide over a potential salary cap.

A significant gap remains between the MLB owners, who are fighting to impose a cap once the current...Read more

LOS ANGELES — How much would you pay for a pair of shoes? Someone else's shoes, I mean.

Would you pay $7,000 for a chair on which Taylor Swift sat in a basketball arena — for an NBA playoff game, not for her wedding? Someone did.

There was one Swift chair up for bid. The Dodgers gave away 52,000 trading cards as part of a promotion for the...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Major League Baseball draft is filled with unfamiliar names. Even the most knowledgeable fans have difficulty knowing much about the mostly anonymous high school and college players taken by the 30 teams through 20 rounds.

Every year, however, a handful of names ring a bell. The 2026 draft, held the last two days in ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — When he reached his 15th and final swing of the championship round of the Home Run Derby, Jordan Walker trailed Kyle Schwarber still be three home runs.

But as long as he hit every pitch from there out of the park, he had a chance to continue and even overtake the Philly favorite.

Walker hit four consecutive magenta balls to ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Kyle Schwarber needed to take a breath.

Schwarber went deep seven times in a nine-swing span in the semifinals of Monday night’s Home Run Derby. With three swings left, he needed to regroup.

And so, Schwarber did what any slugger in a hometown Derby would. He took a beat and waved to the Phillies fans in sold-out Citizens ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — If the Dodgers picked up Tarik Skubal, would that be overkill?

Logan Webb, the longtime ace of the San Francisco Giants, laughed.

"I don't think they need him," Webb said, "but you never count those guys out on getting anybody in the league."

The Dodgers could make a mockery of the National League West by trading for Skubal, ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Juan Soto was all smiles a few hours before Monday night’s MLB Home Run Derby, soaking in the atmosphere as the New York Mets’ lone All-Star representative.

It was a reminder that, even amid a trying year for the cellar-dwelling Mets, Soto is delivering a season worth celebrating.

His .967 OPS ranks second in the National ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Dodgers left-hander Justin Wrobleski could have been content with his performance the first couple months of the season. After all, he'd come into the year fighting for a rotation spot, and he'd shown in that time that he was ready to be a full-time major-league starter.

That wasn't enough.

While still holding onto his identity...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Inside the visitors’ clubhouse in Cincinnati last week, an unknown member of the Phillies joked on the whiteboard on the wall: Should Marsh wear a grill on the All-Star Game red carpet? Yes/No.

The resounding answer, by tally marks, was yes.

But don’t count on it. The poll was just some playful ribbing ahead of Brandon ...Read more

Ever since the announcement that the 2026 All-Star Game would be in Philadelphia, Mike Trout set a goal to play in that game.

As excited as Trout is to return to the All-Star Game for the first time in seven years, and to do so near his hometown and with his two young sons in attendance, he knows the experience comes with one nagging annoyance....Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Ricky Bottalico often walks NBC Sports Philadelphia with a hockey stick, pacing the newsroom like a third-line enforcer before it’s his turn to dissect that night’s Phillies game.

Bottalico battled that same restlessness during his 12-year major league career, often bothering fellow relievers with his inability to simply ...Read more

LOS ANGELES – Maybe this should be the message to Dodger fans at the All-Star break:

“Just don’t look for a while. Take a break. If necessary for your sanity, take the rest of July and most of August off from baseball. Maybe things will have stabilized by then.”

Yeah, it’s a sacrifice if you’re a devoted fan. But if it keeps your...Read more

LOS ANGELES — "It just means more" is a fine slogan. When it comes to the baseball draft, however, the Southeastern Conference can take a back seat to our oceanfront pitching factory.

First pitcher selected in last year's draft: Tyler Bremner of UC Santa Barbara, taken second overall by the Los Angeles Angels.

First pitcher selected in this ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres, hurt and tired and having not played all that well lately, crawled to the All-Star break.

Their final step was achieved by running their way to a victory.

Two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning — aided by Xander Bogaerts’ steal of second base and Jase Bowen’s steal of third — lifted them to a 5-...Read more

CINCINNATI — Alex Bregman described the Chicago Cubs’ first half of the season Saturday as a time of “some high highs and some low lows,” which sounds about right.

It was highlighted by a pair of 10-game win streaks, an MVP-caliber performance by Pete Crow-Armstrong, the emergence of Ben Brown as a primetime starter and the continued ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers needed to turn things around Sunday to wrap up the unofficial first half on a high note. Manager Dave Roberts said as much the night before.

“When you give teams free bases, extra outs, it’s hard to win a game, regardless of the opponent,” he said. “ Emmet [Sheehan] needs to go out there and throw...Read more