SAN FRANCISCO — Bryce Harper felt like he was getting close.

Entering Wednesday’s series finale against the San Francisco Giants, he was still searching for his timing — and his first extra-base hit — since returning from the injured list on June 30.

Harper felt confident heading into the series opener on Monday. He singled and walked ...Read more

CHICAGO — With the Chicago Cubs on pace to finish with their best run-producing season since 1930, manager Craig Counsell was asked over the weekend if he ever was associated with such a high-efficiency offense as a player or manager.

The Cubs entered the final road trip of the first half Tuesday in Minnesota with 492 runs in 90 games, second...Read more

CHICAGO — As the Chicago White prepare to celebrate the past this weekend with the statue ceremony for Mark Buehrle and the 20th reunion of the 2005 World Series champions, the future remains a guessing game.

Will the Sox be able to deal struggling star Luis Robert Jr. before the trade deadline? Can Colson Montgomery become the player the Sox...Read more

ATLANTA — Looking for more entertainment during the upcoming MLB All-Star Week at Truist Park? Tuesday’s game has you covered.

Ludacris, Jermaine Dupri and Zac Brown Band are among the Atlanta artists set to perform during the MLB All-Star Game preshow, according to a news release.

Ludacris, whose real name is Chris Bridges, and Dupri, the...Read more

BALTIMORE — Thursday might be the most important day of the Orioles’ season.

The Orioles’ game against the New York Mets at Camden Yards on Wednesday evening has been postponed because of rain. The forecast of steady rain in Baltimore throughout the night made it unlikely to envision getting the game, originally scheduled for 7:05 p.m., ...Read more

MILWAUKEE — During the Los Angeles Dodgers’ season-long five-game losing streak this week, manager Dave Roberts cited a lack of “fight” from his lineup as the most troubling trend in the team’s recent skid.

On Wednesday in Milwaukee, more fight finally returned — only for the Brewers to still land the knockout punch.

In a 3-2 loss...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Gymnast and social media influencer Olivia Dunne was all set to buy her first home. And it wasn't just any home.

Dunne had a contract in place to buy a $1.6-million apartment that was once owned by baseball great Babe Ruth on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

But it ended up not being a Dunne deal.

The recent Louisiana State ...Read more

NEW YORK — One day after Yankees manager Aaron Boone declared DJ LeMahieu “a bat off the bench” and physically challenged by the third base position, the Yankees designated the two-time batting champ for assignment.

The team announced the decision on Wednesday. The Yankees still owe LeMahieu, 36, about $22 million.

On Tuesday, Boone said...Read more

ANAHEIM — José Soriano has spent the season tantalizing the Angels with how good he can be and puzzling them with how bad he can be.

He was both in the Angels’ 13-1 loss to the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night, a game so ugly that infielder Kevin Newman pitched the final three innings.

Soriano began the game with three scoreless, hitless ...Read more

Jackson Merrill brought a ball back from beyond the wall in center in the fifth inning. Fernando Tatis Jr. did the same in right field in the eighth.

In between all that robbery, Luis Arraez of all people muscled up for a home run that was all the Padres needed on Tuesday in a 1-0 win over the Diamondbacks.

Arraez’s fifth homer of the season...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants have been no stranger to the walk-off win this season. This one might top them all.

The Giants stunned the Philadelphia Phillies with a 4-3 win on Tuesday night at Oracle Park on Patrick Bailey’s walk-off, three-run, inside-the-park home run, a mad dash that evoked memories of Ángel Pagán’s feat more than a ...Read more

After inclement weather on Tuesday pushed the start of their series opener vs. the Nationals back by two hours and 19 minutes, the Cardinals’ responded quickly to an early deficit vs. Washington and had their bullpen hold tight in their return to Busch Stadium following a three-city road trip.

Down 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning after ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Put the word out: The Mets are back up.

They were down, then up, then down big before tying the game with four runs in the top of the eighth inning. On a night when stifling heat and humidity enveloped Camden Yards, the Mets came into Baltimore on Tuesday night like The Wire’s Omar Little and caused havoc after the home team ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Pirates lost their fifth consecutive game on Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium, falling 4-3 to the Royals on a walk-off single from second baseman Nick Loftin. Dennis Santana took the loss, dropping to 2-2, while Royals closer Carlos Estevez got the win to improve to 3-2.

Santana, coming out for his second inning of ...Read more

BOSTON — Brayan Bello was perfect through 3 1/3 innings in his first career game against the Colorado Rockies, pouring on the strikes as if they could quench the steamy weather that blanketed Fenway Park on Tuesday evening.

Perfection didn’t last, but Bello did. He tossed the first complete game of his big-league career, in a 10-2 Red Sox ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins scored two runs in the second inning and six more in the eighth to beat the National League Central’s best, the Chicago Cubs, 8-1 Tuesday at Target Field.

Byron Buxton continued his All-Star summer by starting the party with a hit that became a run.

Buxton was coming fresh off a weekend when he was named to the ...Read more

MILWAUKEE — The game plan, manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday afternoon, was simple.

As the Los Angeles Dodgers prepared to face Milwaukee Brewers phenom Jacob Misiorowski, a hard-throwing and supremely talented right-hander making just his fifth career MLB start, the club’s manager repeated one key multiple times during his pregame address...Read more

NEW YORK — The Mariners’ pitching staff entered the Bronx on fire, as Seattle had thrown three consecutive shutouts, a franchise first, prior to Tuesday’s game against the Yankees.

Giancarlo Stanton, meanwhile, had been ice cold. The designated hitter, only 16 games into his season after battling tennis elbow injuries, took a .222 average...Read more

DETROIT — Colt Keith, fresh off a huge night Monday, provided the big hits again Tuesday, breaking a 2-2 tie with a long, two-run homer to right field, giving the Tigers a second straight win over the Tampa Bay Rays at Comerica, 4-2.

Keith, who doubled twice and slugged a solo homer in the 5-1 win in the opener, singled in the tying run in ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Ray Montgomery is just three weeks into his interim tenure as Angels manager. And as his responsibility grows, he’s well aware that so does the pressure.

“All blame, no credit,” he said Monday as the Angels began a seven-game homestand before the All-Star break. “And I get that. That’s just how it goes.”

Since ...Read more