Under normal or even the most optimal of circumstances, a bullpen start is not an ideal scenario for any team. Usually it's a last resort when there are no other options.

For the 2020 Seattle Mariners and their collection of inexperienced, inconsistent and ineffective relievers, the premise of a bullpen start for any reason isn't quite like ...Read more

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Five MVPs took the field at Angel Stadium on Friday night. Two of them, Cody Bellinger and Clayton Kershaw, carried to the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 7-4 victory over the Angels.

Kershaw dazzled, spinning seven innings of one-hit ball to lead the Dodgers to their National League-leading 14th win.

But Bellinger stole the show. ...Read more

CHICAGO -- Perhaps David Ross forgot to knock on wood.

Asked before Friday night's game about everything falling in his team's favor -- a 13-3 record, no COVID-19 positive tests and three bonus games at Wrigley Field -- the Chicago Cubs manager allowed: "You can look at it like that if you want."

Less than an hour later, starter Tyler Chatwood...Read more

CINCINNATI -- The Pirates learned a difficult lesson Friday night. One they likely know and have heard plenty before, but certainly one that determined the outcome of this particular game: Momentum in baseball can be a fickle thing. It's usually only as good as the next day's starting pitcher.

While Chad Kuhl was solid in his first start sans ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- Roman Quinn made amends.

Six innings after the Phillies center fielder overran a routine fly ball that dropped six feet behind him, Quinn took a wide turn around third base and slid into home ahead of the tag from New York Mets catcher Wilson Ramos to cap a had-to-have-it 6-5 victory Friday night at Citizens Bank Park.

With ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins-Royals game Friday night at Target Field was rained out, meaning the Twins will make a bit of history on Saturday.

They will play a doubleheader where both games are scheduled to be seven innings. The first will start at 12:35 p.m., and the second will begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.

Jake ...Read more

ST. LOUIS -- The Cardinals, who haven't played a game this month, have almost all their marching orders for the rest of the season as Major League Baseball tries to get them as close to 60 games played as possible.

They face an imposing task of 11 doubleheaders and 53 games in 44 days, with one postponed doubleheader against Detroit still ...Read more

Indians starting pitchers Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac are off the restricted list but not yet back with the team.

Clevinger and Plesac, who broke team protocol in Chicago and were told to self quarantine for 72 hours, were removed from the restricted list on Friday, though both were then optioned to the team's alternate site in Eastlake.

...Read more

LOS ANGELES --Mookie Betts didn't get a chance to swing in his first at-bat Thursday night, getting hit by a pitch in his return to the leadoff spot.

His next three times up, the Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder made sure not to miss.

Betts tied an MLB record by collecting his sixth career three-home-run game in an 11-2 win over the San Diego...Read more

CHICAGO -- Yu Darvish is gradually regaining the dominant form that made him the Cubs' best starter in the second half of 2019.

Darvish pitched 6? innings of no-hit ball before settling for a 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers that improved the Cubs' major-league-best record to 13-3.

This marks the Cubs' best 16-game start since the 1907 ...Read more

Having stretched his bullpen twice in two games and gone back to his top relievers to hold a narrow lead the night before, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde wanted to walk away with one for a change Thursday night.

Slow start aside, that wasn't a problem for one of the most productive and surprising offenses in baseball.

The Orioles waited until ...Read more

CINCINNATI -- A few days off and a trip to this beautiful bandbox along the Ohio-Kentucky border may have cured the Pirates' offensive woes.

At minimum, those factors contributed to a 9-6 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday at Great American Ball Park, the Pirates snapping a three-game losing streak by erupting for all of their runs in...Read more

While trying to map how they'll go from more than two weeks in quarantine to competition, the Cardinals learned of an 18th positive test for COVID-19 and are still planning to hit the road to Chicago on Friday.

They could resume their season as early as Saturday against the White Sox, test results permitting.

The Cardinals' scheduled game ...Read more

Joe Kelly wasn't on the Dodgers when they lost to the Houston Astros in the 2017 World Series, but he still holds a deep grudge against the players for shifting blame and avoiding punishment after cheating their way to a championship.

Kelly was a guest on "The Big Swing," a podcast co-hosted by Dodgers pitcher Ross Stripling, and didn't mince ...Read more

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Veteran infielder Derek Dietrich joked before Wednesday's game that he's always ready to go.

He was asked a while back when he was still with the Cincinnati Reds how he stays in baseball shape.

For the 31-year-old who was signed with the Texas Rangers on Tuesday, staying in game shape has been a given since being drafted by...Read more

Kansas City Royals right-hander Brad Keller pitched six scoreless innings and thoroughly stifled the Cincinnati Reds' offense. But the Reds immediately made noise when Keller exited the game and it became a nail-biter.

The Reds had men on base in both the eighth and the ninth innings, but the Royals held on for a 5-4 win at Great American Ball ...Read more

A home-run barrage nearly costs the Miami Marlins a win. Small ball in extra innings salvaged the night.

And with that, on the 23rd day, the Marlins' extended road trip to begin the 2020 season ended on a high note.

The Marlins snapped a three-game losing streak with an 14-11, 10-inning win Wednesday over the Toronto Blue Jays at Buffalo's ...Read more