NEW YORK — Nick Allen doesn’t share Aaron Boone’s last name, but the Athletics shortstop is part of the manager’s family.

Allen is married to Boone’s niece Savannah, the daughter of former All-Star Bret Boone. Allen doesn’t have the accolades of the Boone brothers, their father, Bob, or grandfather, Ray, but he’s been embraced by ...Read more

CHICAGO — “Where’s the phenom?” coach Willie Harris yelled outside the Chicago Cubs clubhouse Thursday morning.

Moments later, Pete Crow-Armstrong appeared from out of the blue and followed Harris down the tunnel toward the cages.

One of the most touted Cubs prospects in a room increasingly full of them, Crow-Armstrong went hitless in ...Read more

The Red Sox went 4-2 on their second road trip of the year, sweeping the Pirates in Pittsburgh and avoiding getting swept by the Guardians in Cleveland.

After their first homestand culminated in a blemished 3-7 mark to begin the Fenway season, it was a much-needed palate cleanser.

But the trip ended on a period rather than an exclamation point...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Royals grounds crew descended on the tarp ahead of the top of the sixth inning and began rolling it onto the field Thursday.

But Blue Jays manager John Schneider emerged from the dugout and asked the umpires to delay the rain delay at Kauffman Stadium. The grounds crew pushed the tarp back into its place down the right-...Read more

ARLINGTON, Texas — The uppercut fist pump from Luis Castillo has become a trademark celebration after striking a hitter out.

Given his propensity to punch out hitters, Castillo seems to have developed levels of fist pumps based on the intensity of the upper cut and length of the post-punch pose that can vary depending on the moment.

So with ...Read more

CINCINNATI — After a few days on the paternity list, Bryce Harper returned to the Phillies clubhouse on Wednesday night. He was active ahead of Thursday’s game against the Reds, and didn’t waste any at-bats. With two outs in the top of the third inning and a runner on second, Harper launched a two-run home run 384 feet to right-center ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — It was a sleepy afternoon game against a historically bad opponent, a home-run-derby-style finale to a four-game sweep that was only briefly in doubt.

But if you're Simeon Woods Richardson, Thursday's 6-3 Twins victory over Chicago at Target Field was something much more memorable: A gateway, finally, to the major leagues.

...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Pirates manager Derek Shelton’s club had plenty of opportunities to earn not only another victory, but a series win on Thursday afternoon as well. But continued mistakes in the field, paired with more bullpen struggles, proved to be too much to overcome for the Pirates, who fell, 7-5, to the Brewers at PNC Park.

After watching ...Read more

ATLANTA — The Braves sprinkled in some drama, which only allowed them to make this extra crushing for the Marlins.

They had handled the Marlins all series. With a two-run lead in the ninth inning in the finale, Raisel Iglesias blew the save as Miami tied the game. But he rebounded to keep it tied, then his teammates did the rest.

On ...Read more

DENVER — A fantastic start and surviving a midgame letdown was enough.

For the Padres and for Matt Waldron.

The Padres scored four runs in the first inning and one more after four innings of silence en route to a sharply played and somewhat sleepy 5-2 victory over the Rockies on Wednesday night at Coors Field.

Waldron allowed one run on ...Read more

ARLINGTON, Texas — They weren’t going to be held down for the entire series. The hard contact was going to yield not just hits, but homers. And they were eventually going to score runs. Their lineup features too many proven hitters to be stymied for an entire series.

A night after being shut out by the Mariners, the Texas Rangers ended a ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — When asked Tuesday evening about the early success by his starting rotation, Pirates manager Derek Shelton highlighted numerous factors, but first on the list was his team’s ability to avoid putting runners on base.

“We're keeping people away from free passes,” Shelton said. “I think that's been the biggest thing: staying...Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Curtis Mead’s first extra-base hit of the season was huge for himself and his team.

The rookie second baseman, who had been scuffling all season, crushed a two-run homer as part of a three-run sixth as the Rays battled back to beat the Tigers, 7-5, Wednesday in front of an announced 13,754 at Tropicana Field.

The win...Read more

NEW YORK — Joe Boyle thought he caught Aaron Judge looking.

With the Yankees’ center fielder facing a 1-2 count, the Athletics’ starter fired a 99-mph fastball to the lower, outside corner of the plate in the first inning. Judge froze on the pitch, watched it zip by, and slowly began walking back to the Yankees’ dugout, dismayed by his ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Back in the spring, Gavin Lux’s biggest problem was throwing the ball.

Then the regular season started, and the Dodgers’ once highly touted infielder suddenly looked unable to hit.

A month into his return from missing 2023 with a knee injury, Lux arrived at Nationals Park this week with just nine hits in 19 games, a .148 ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — It's difficult to know whether the Twins have straightened themselves out after four difficult weeks of ugly baseball or whether the White Sox are just their favorite pushovers. Either way, they have plenty of reasons to be grateful.

The Twins piled up a season-high 13 hits Wednesday night, put runners on base in every inning ...Read more

CINCINNATI — It’s hard to overstate how scattered Seranthony Domínguez looked on Wednesday night in the Phillies’ 7-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. He needed 32 pitches to get through two-thirds of the sixth inning. Only half of those pitches were strikes. After Spencer Turnbull gave the Phillies five innings of three-hit, one-run ball, ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals reached deep into their playbook on Wednesday night.

The Royals played a little small ball in a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, manufacturing each run in a different manner.

In the first inning, it was star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. who put pressure on the Blue Jays. He earned a one-out walk ...Read more