LOS ANGELES -- The ball soared into the Dodger Stadium pavilion. The bat flipped skyward. The ballpark trembled. The players bounded out of the dugout, giddy about a swing that decided a game and may have decided the National League West.

And Yasiel Puig? What didn't he do?

As his three-run homer disappeared beyond the center-field fence ...Read more

OAKLAND, Calif. -- It wasn't quite full-on panic mode pregame in the Oakland A's clubhouse, but the mood was a little more tight. Entering the night losers of three in a row for the first time in nearly two months, they needed a game like this.

With the Tampa Bay Rays already winning earlier in the day, the A's were in danger of seeing their ...Read more

PHOENIX -- There were several eyebrows raised when the Arizona Diamondbacks posted a starting lineup that looked more like a March split-squad game without Paul Goldschmidt, A.J. Pollock and Eduardo Escobar.

But the backups responded with four runs in the first inning off left-hander Cole Hamels as the Chicago Cubs were limited to one hit by ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Padres' Swiss Army Knife pitcher got the win in his second-to-last start of the season.

And not due to anything Robbie Erlin did in his five innings of work on Wednesday, it was more likely than not his second-to-last start with the Padres.

At least scheduled start, in that it is actually impossible to rule out Erlin...Read more

HOUSTON -- Given how the games had played out over the past few seasons, it didn't seem possible for the Mariners to do this. They haven't just struggled to beat the Astros, they've found a myriad ways to lose games, getting drubbed in blowouts or having their hearts broken in late-inning defeat.

And now in a lost season that will be largely ...Read more

CLEVELAND -- For eight innings, there was nothing for the Indians.

Zero runs. Only two hits. Very little in the way of an offensive rally. The Indians were left silent for three hours of helpless swing-and-misses against the Chicago White Sox.

Until the ninth.

That's when a leadoff infield dribbler opened the door for a wild, come-from-behind...Read more

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles' pitching situation has become so strained that manager Buck Showalter has had to announce the starters for two of the three games against the Toronto Blue Jays less than 24 hours before they took the mound.

Rookie pitcher Evan Philips was designated to start Monday's series opener just hours before the game started and...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- The Giants will travel to St. Louis Thursday for the final road series of the season, but first baseman Brandon Belt won't be joining the club.

Instead, Belt will fly home to San Francisco on Wednesday evening to be evaluated by team doctors as another frustrating season comes to a close.

A lingering right knee injury has kept ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- Two of the eight television screens that hang above the Phillies clubhouse were tuned Wednesday afternoon to the Braves-Cardinals telecast, making the Phillies fully aware when they left the room for batting practice that the first-place Braves had won their matinee game.

Wednesday night's 4-0 win over the Mets already carried ...Read more

DETROIT -- Love it or hate it, it is a strategy that is likely here to stay. And the Twins are having some success using it.

For the sixth time this month, the Twins opened a game with a reliever and had the starter -- the so-called "primary pitcher -- following after one or two innings. The last two attempts have been extremely effective, ...Read more

OAKLAND, Calif. -- For the sixth time this season, the Oakland A's arranged a so-called bullpen game. They asked starter Liam Hendriks to go only one inning (seven pitches!) before giving way to a scheduled parade of relievers.

It didn't work Tuesday night. And much of failure in a 9-7 loss to the Los Angeles Angels at the Coliseum can be ...Read more

SAN DIEGO--As rookie left fielder Chris Shaw leaped to snag a flyball at the Petco Park outfield wall, a fan reached out and made contact with Shaw's glove, thrusting it away.

The fan may have taken the ball away from Shaw, but no one could take away his bat.

And in the end, that's what the San Francisco Giants needed to secure a 5-4 comeback ...Read more

PHOENIX--With the end of a grueling 30-day stretch in sight, the Chicago Cubs treated themselves to a comforting 9-1 victory Tuesday night over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

Javier Baez and Daniel Murphy each smacked two-run home runs in the first two innings to lend support to left-hander Mike Montgomery, who pitched six innings of ...Read more

HOUSTON -- It was really never theirs to win. Sure there was a time -- June 2 to June 13 specifically -- where the Mariners held first place in the American League West. That magical 11-game stretch allowed fans to daydream about such a possibility, which hasn't happened much in the better part of a decade. But they were interlopers in a lofty ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- It hasn't quite fit the best of times and the worst of times narrative Charles Dickens authored, but Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford knows his 2018 season is a tale of two halves.

No shortstop in the National League dominated quite like Crawford during the first half, as he emerged as one of the hottest hitters in baseball en ...Read more

CLEVELAND -- Corey Kluber didn't have his best start of the season, but he did enough to rack up strikeouts and help the Indians down the Chicago White Sox 5-3 on Tuesday night at Progressive Field.

Kluber ran into some home-run issues in the sixth but allowed just three runs on eight hits and two walks in eight innings. He also struck out 11, ...Read more

DETROIT -- Jake Odorizzi took a no-hitter into the eighth inning in his previous start last week against the Yankees. On Tuesday, he showed that was less of an outlier during a struggling season and more of a surge.

Odorizzi continued his strike throwing surge and carried a one-hitter into the seventh inning against the Tigers before giving up ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- The conversation began to turn to 2019 earlier this week as the Phillies continued to pile up losses in the season's final month when Gabe Kapler was asked if Jorge Alfaro would be his starting catcher next year.

The Phillies, Kapler said, are "still squarely in 2018" and they remain focused on their "hunt for a playoff spot." ...Read more