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Bill Shaikin: Dave Roberts, best manager ever? Numbers back up the notion.
LOS ANGELES — Dave Roberts, best manager in baseball history?
Perhaps that sentence should end with a period instead of a question mark. The Dodgers are in the playoffs, again. Never have the Dodgers missed the postseason in a year Roberts has managed them.
For all the never-ending second-guessing from an engaged and spirited fan base, this ...Read more
Dieter Kurtenbach: How the Dodgers are helping the Giants in September
SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants need to send a thank-you note to their arch-rivals in Los Angeles.
Without them, they'd be a different team right now.
There might be weeks remaining in the season, but San Francisco has already clinched a playoff spot, thanks to the best record in baseball.
A spot in hand and all that time before the playoffs ...Read more
SF Giants' four homers not enough to keep win streak alive, Dodgers gain ground in NL West
SAN FRANCISCO — In his 11-year major league career, Buster Posey has caught nearly every type of pitcher imaginable.
One of the greatest challenges for Posey is when he has to catch them all in the same game.
“After a bullpen game, you’re definitely mentally taxed,” Posey said on Tuesday. “But it’s fun when all nine guys pitch well...Read more
Dodgers sweep Diamondbacks to finally trim Giants' NL West lead
LOS ANGELES — Their pursuit of the San Francisco Giants was beginning to feel like a Sisyphean task for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who couldn’t seem to gain ground on the National League West leaders no matter how well they played.
The Dodgers won the first five games of their six-game homestand and couldn’t cut into San Francisco’s lead....Read more
Oakland A's need 18 hits, 12 runs to stave off another bullpen collapse in win over Royals
The Oakland A’s redeemed a gutting loss on Tuesday with a dicey 12-10 win over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday with a season-high 18 hit game.
Andrew Chafin came in the ninth inning, the A’s up 12-9 with a save opportunity. Kansas City loaded the bases with no outs and scored a run on a ground out, but escaped the inning with a ...Read more
Brandon Marsh, Janson Junk and a strong bullpen lift Angels to 3-2 win over White Sox
The Angels aren’t headed to the playoffs. But on Wednesday night, they clinched a season-series win against a postseason-bound team.
With a 3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field, the Angels improved to 4-2 on the season against the AL Central division leaders and can go for a three-game series win this week on ...Read more
Bill Shaikin: Dave Roberts, best manager ever? Numbers back up the notion
LOS ANGELES — Dave Roberts, best manager in baseball history?
Perhaps that sentence should end with a period instead of a question mark. The Dodgers are in the playoffs, again. Never have the Dodgers missed the postseason in a year Roberts has managed them.
For all the never-ending second-guessing from an engaged and spirited fan base, this ...Read more
Wilmer Difo takes a star turn in Pirates' 5-4 win vs. Reds
PITTSBURGH — The walk-off RBI in Wednesday’s win for the Pirates will be given to first baseman Colin Moran, but utility man Wilmer Difo was the star.
In the bottom of the ninth inning on Roberto Clemente Day, with the game tied at four, Difo hit a one-out fly ball down the left-field line. Reds left fielder Max Schrock overran it, the ball...Read more
Phillies blow two saves before rallying to top Cubs, 6-5, on walk-off passed ball in ninth inning
PHILADELPHIA — Andrew Knapp jogged home Wednesday night as the pitch bounced to the backstop. The game was over, a needed 6-5 win over the Cubs was sealed, and it didn’t even require a swing.
The Phillies blew two saves before they won the game on a passed ball as catcher Robinson Chirinos was unable to handle the pitch from Trevor Megill. ...Read more
Little offense, sloppy defense add up to Twins being crushed by Cleveland, 12-3
MINNEAPOLIS — The situation was already bad, but the Twins somehow made it worse.
In a 12-3 loss to Cleveland on Wednesday night at Target Field in front of an announced crowd of 14,222, Cleveland outhit the Twins 14-3. But as if the stark offensive disparity wasn't enough, the Twins decided to help Cleveland out a bit with some sloppy play. ...Read more
Surging Cardinals thump Mets, 11-4, to increase lead for NL's second wild card
NEW YORK — The Cardinals arrived from the Midwest on Sunday after a few solid performances back home, some star turns in regionally significant outings, and they had three days in New York to get what they wanted – their big break.
They leave after putting on a show.
The Cardinals, suddenly the hottest team in the wild-card race, hit four ...Read more
Austin Hays' 2 homers, Cedric Mullins' robbery at the wall not enough as Orioles blow late lead in 4-3 loss to Yankees
BALTIMORE — Cedric Mullins has spent this season establishing himself as a fixture in the Orioles’ future. Of late, Austin Hays has done the same.
But heroics from each of the dynamic outfielders were not enough to prevent a 4-3 loss to the New York Yankees on Wednesday nigh tat Camden Yards.
For much of the game, it seemed as if the ...Read more
Mark Bradley: The NL East race hasn't been much of one
The 1993 Braves went 22-8 from Sept. 1 through their final regular-season game. They last lost consecutive games on Aug. 19 and 20. They finished 104-58. Had they been 103-59, they would have had to play a 163rd game to break a tie with San Francisco. Had they been 102-60, they’d have been done for the year. As it was, the Giants of Barry ...Read more
Jeff Gordon: Rays show Cardinals how to find strength in numbers
The intrepid Tampa Bay Rays are rolling toward another American League East title.
They cooled off this month, but they remain the envy of Cardinals fans who have watched their own team battle the gravitational pull of .500.
And the Cardinals can learn plenty from the Fighting Arozarenas.
The Rays don’t have a traditional bench. Manager ...Read more
Mariners drop to four games back in the wild card hunt after terrible 10th inning in loss to Red Sox
SEATTLE — A slider off the seam of Jake Bauers’ pant leg put the potential winning run on base and the possible game-winning double — a line drive down the right field line — landed foul by just inches, changing, transforming the screams of the hopeful Mariners fans in the crowd of 17,860 into crestfallen groans.
Instead of a walk-off ...Read more
Rays happy to head home after dropping another to hot Blue Jays
Well, this is a different sort of homecoming. For the first time since early July, the Rays are returning to Tropicana Field after a losing road trip.
The Blue Jays jumped on Tampa Bay starter Michael Wacha early in Wednesday’s day game and then rode Cy Young Award candidate Robbie Ray to a 6-3 victory to take two out of three in the series. ...Read more
Two Jesus Sanchez home runs and a third from Bryan De La Cruz lead Marlins past Nationals
WASHINGTON — The Miami Marlins’ series finale against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday, a back-and-forth game that ended in an 8-6 Marlins win at Nationals Park, was yet another showcase of two budding outfielders attempting to show they can be critical pieces of the club’s future.
Jesus Sanchez hit a pair of two-run home runs, the ...Read more
Tigers beat Brewers, 4-1, complete series sweep
DETROIT — The Detroit Tigers applied pressure to Milwaukee Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff in the fifth inning, beginning with Harold Castro's leadoff single. On the next pitch, Willi Castro dropped a surprising bunt and legged out a single.
A shocked Kolten Wong — playing second for the Brewers — rushed his attempt to eliminate Willi ...Read more
Dodgers beat Diamondbacks and clinch their 9th consecutive playoff berth
The Dodgers became the second team to clinch a postseason berth in 2021, officially extending their streak of playoff appearances to nine seasons, with their 8-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday.
It’s a checkpoint just 10 of 30 clubs will reach. They rather would have waited another day.
The Dodgers sealed their...Read more
Giants have longest win streak since 2004, Posey homers as pitchers dominate Padres
SAN FRANCISCO — Fewer than 24 hours after dousing each other in champagne and donning matching “Built for October,” T-shirts in a well-deserved clubhouse celebration, the Giants took the field at Oracle Park with a renewed sense of purpose.
The playoff berth they officially locked up on Monday night was certainly a feather in their cap, ...Read more
Popular Stories
- Austin Hays' 2 homers, Cedric Mullins' robbery at the wall not enough as Orioles blow late lead in 4-3 loss to Yankees
- Oakland A's need 18 hits, 12 runs to stave off another bullpen collapse in win over Royals
- Rays happy to head home after dropping another to hot Blue Jays
- Bill Shaikin: Dave Roberts, best manager ever? Numbers back up the notion.
- Two Jesus Sanchez home runs and a third from Bryan De La Cruz lead Marlins past Nationals
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