MIAMI — Kyle Schwarber took a changeup in the dirt, dropped his bat, and peeked into the dugout, where teammates applauded and banged the padded railing.

Everybody laughed.

It was a new day, and in baseball, sometimes that’s all you need. One day after getting shut out on one hit, the Phillies scored six first-inning runs for South Florida...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays just needed a little time to get going Sunday.

Shut out by the San Francisco Giants through the first seven innings, they bunted home the tying run in the eighth, then won in the 10th when Jonathan Aranda singled home Chandler Simpson.

The result was a 2-1 victory to complete a series sweep and their MLB-best...Read more

ST. LOUIS — Enough was enough.

The Los Angeles Dodgers entered Sunday on a four-game losing streak, with a lack of offense undermining solid performances from the pitching staff. They were on the verge of being swept by the St. Louis Cardinals, after losing a series to the Miami Marlins in Los Angeles.

Manager Dave Roberts, declaring for ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — As if things weren’t bad enough for the Minnesota Twins lately, even a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday came with a major loss.

Joe Ryan exited his start at Target Field because of right elbow soreness after throwing only nine pitches.

Ryan called for a trainer after he walked Kazuma Okamoto with a full-count ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Saturday’s Pittsburgh Pirates-Cincinnati Reds game featured 24 combined runs, 30 hits and 13 walks. On Sunday afternoon, those same two teams managed four total hits in the first seven innings and didn’t score a run until the eighth.

What a difference a day makes.

But the result in the standings was the same. The Pirates ...Read more

SEATTLE — As Axl Rose’s unmistakable voice filled T-Mobile Park as “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns-N-Roses blared at uncomfortable decibels, the crowd of 42,794 fans, many of whom were there to celebrate the Hall of Fame pitcher that made that song his own, rose to their feet for a second time to deliver an ovation deserving of Emerson ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Sometimes, an opposing pitcher is excellent. Sometimes, an offense is struggling.

Sometimes, it is infuriatingly both.

The Padres lost, 4-0, on Saturday in a game in which they were confounded by a second straight young White Sox starting pitcher.

Sean Burke, a 26-year-old right-hander, allowed the Padres four hits in his six ...Read more

DETROIT — Another game, another injury concern for the Tigers.

Second baseman Gleyber Torres left the Tigers’ 5-1 win over the Texas Rangers Saturday night in the fourth inning with what the club reported as tightness in his left side.

Before he departed, he helped build a 5-0 lead in front of 33, 373 chilly patrons at Comerica Park.

In ...Read more

ST. LOUIS — Time is running out for the pitchers at the back end of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ rotation to prove that they should stay once left-hander Blake Snell returns from the injured list.

Right-hander Roki Sasaki strengthened his case Saturday with a quality start, despite some hiccups, as the Dodgers fell 3-2 to the St. Louis ...Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Rays combined another strong team effort on the mound with their small-ball offense on Saturday night to beat the Giants, 5-1, at Tropicana Field.

With their second straight win, the Rays improved to 20-12, including an impressive 18-7 run since their 2-5 start. It’s the sixth time they’ve started a season that ...Read more

NEW YORK — Ever since hitting two home runs against the Kansas City Royals on April 18, Cody Bellinger had been in a bit of a funk.

That power surge preceded a 10-game stretch in which the Yankees’ outfielder hit .171 with zero dingers and a .521 OPS. But Bellinger snapped out of it Friday, ripping two doubles in the Yankees’ win over the...Read more

PITTSBURGH — It’s an oft-used baseball cliche that hitting can be contagious. On Saturday, the Cincinnati Reds showed that walks can be contagious, too.

The Pittsburgh Pirates hammered the Reds 17-7 on Saturday afternoon at PNC Park, aided by 19 hits and 11 Reds walks. The Reds walked seven consecutive batters in the second inning, allowing...Read more

BOSTON — Some teams are built to play with the lead, not come from behind, but over the course of a long baseball season almost every club eventually rallies for a few big comeback wins.

It will probably happen for the Boston Red Sox at some point too, but it hasn’t happened yet.

More than a month into the season the Red Sox still have yet...Read more

MIAMI — Zack Wheeler is correct. The Phillies’ road back from a dreadful opening month is paved with a string of quality outings from a high-priced stable of veteran starting pitchers.

But sometimes they will just need Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper to mash.

Saturday was one of those days. Brandon Marsh didn’t play after getting hit by ...Read more

NEW YORK — In the city that never sleeps, the Baltimore Orioles can’t wake up.

After a lopsided loss on Friday, the Orioles sleepwalked through Saturday’s matinee en route to a 9-4 loss to the American League-best New York Yankees.

Starting pitcher Kyle Bradish didn’t give his offense a chance, giving up five runs in four innings to ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins put right-handed reliever Luis García in their bullpen on April 28, two weeks after the struggling New York Mets released him. Five days later, they were counting on him to save their bullpen.

The sorry state of the Twins bullpen, especially after Cole Sands went on the 15-day injured list, meant they needed García ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Another step has been taken in the process that will shape the future of San Diego’s only major sports franchise, as the Seidler family announced it has entered into a definitive agreement for transfer of control of the Padres to a group led by José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones.

And it seems a team will be running the team.

�...Read more

SEATTLE — One clunker is an outlier, particularly given his consistency displayed since about the middle of the 2024 season.

But back-to-back outings where hitters are hitting lasers and long balls off him?

If it’s not a concern, it’s certainly a curiosity.

It’s probably a little too soon to ask, “What’s wrong with Bryan Woo?”

...Read more