KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Royals rookie catcher MJ Melendez singled and scored the go-ahead run in the sixth inning on his fellow rookie Emmanuel Rivera’s RBI triple, then for good measure Melendez tacked on a couple insurance runs late with his second major-league home run to help secure a series-tying victory and set up a rubber match...Read more

It was the hardest-hit ball of the night, but the fly ball that San Diego’s Eric Hosmer rocketed Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park hardly made it to the warning track. He held his bat outward after connecting with Zack Wheeler’s fastball in the seventh inning of the Phillies’ 3-0 win over the Padres and watched for a moment as the ball...Read more

LOS ANGELES — It was this time last year the Dodgers began to slide.

Following a 13-2 start to the 2021 campaign, the team went into an early-summer tailspin. They lost 15 of 20 games. They squandered their season-opening momentum. And it took them close to a month to snap out of the malaise, eventually contributing to their costly second-...Read more

BALTIMORE — Gerrit Cole didn’t have his sharpest stuff Wednesday night, but he really didn’t need it. The Yankees bats were not as loud as they have been, but it didn’t matter. It was enough to beat the Orioles, 3-2, at Camden Yards Wednesday night.

The Yankees (28-9) have won four straight, nine of their last 10 and are 20-4 in their ...Read more

MIAMI — Pablo Lopez, who is in the midst of one of the best starts to a season ever by a Marlins starting pitcher, wasn’t anywhere near himself on Wednesday night.

The Marlins, however, picked up their starter after his rare struggles led by a resilient effort from Jazz Chisholm Jr., who homered, tripled and drove in the tying run in the ...Read more

BOSTON — Nick Pivetta is known to get emotional after big moments, and on Wednesday night, he deserved to get a little bit fired up. After striking out Yuli Gurriel to end the seventh, Pivetta walked off the mound with a scream and a pounding of his chest.

Lately, the Red Sox right-hander has rightfully been feeling himself.

Pivetta ...Read more

John Means is in the early stages of his recovery from Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery, but the mustache he sported Wednesday in the Orioles’ clubhouse was in vintage form.

“Gotta keep it interesting, you know?” Baltimore’s left-handed ace said. “I was losing my mind.”

Without baseball as he recovers from his season-ending ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Bryce Harper's tenure as the Phillies' everyday designated hitter will continue for at least the remainder of the season's first half. The doctor who administered Sunday's platelet-rich plasma injection told Harper Wednesday that he should be prohibited from throwing for six weeks, two weeks longer than the original plan.

The ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Aaron Judge made it clear that he did not want his season evaluated series-by-series, day-by-day through the lens of a contract extension he turned down. The Yankees slugger said that is why he wanted it all worked out by opening day and why he wouldn’t be talking about it.

Through 36 games, it could not have been more in Judge�...Read more

DENVER — The recipe for the Rockies to somehow get back into contention amid their May freefall played out like clockwork on Wednesday at Coors Field.

In a 5-3 victory that broke a 12-game losing streak to the Giants, Colorado got solid starting pitching, a lights-out-performance by the bullpen, error-free defense and one huge hit. First ...Read more

OAKLAND, Calif. — As he defended the Twins' demotion of Royce Lewis to the minors on Wednesday, Rocco Baldelli felt the need to throw in a timely reminder.

"Well, we're getting Carlos Correa back," the manager pointed out.

Boy, were they ever.

Correa come off the injured list with a single, a double and a walk, scoring twice and driving in ...Read more

Over a disconcerting and disorienting 24 hours, the Royals had dismissed Terry Bradshaw from his role as hitting coach (inconveniently after they’d amassed 26 runs in three games at Colorado) only to muster three runs in their next two games and sag to 12-22.

In the second of those, a 3-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday afternoon at ...Read more

CHICAGO — Ozzie Guillén talks too much?

In other news, the earth is round.

The former Chicago White Sox player and manager — and current NBC Sports Chicago analyst — once again has been accused of excessive verbiage, this time by shortstop Tim Anderson.

After Guillén casually mentioned Tuesday night that Anderson should’ve played in...Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Drew Rasmussen delivered another strong start as the Rays beat the Tigers 6-1 Wednesday afternoon at Tropicana Field.

Rasmussen worked five shutout innings, scattering four hits and striking out seven while registering a career-best 20 swings-and-misses in throwing 61 of his 87 pitches for strikes.

Rasmussen is now 4-1...Read more

DENVER — As the saying goes, no lead is safe at Coors Field.

Even with offensive outbursts up and down their order, the Giants were left sweating in the late innings of an eventual 10-7 win over the Rockies, extending their winning streak against Colorado to 12 games dating back to last season.

The Giants had to call on closer Camilo Doval ...Read more