SAN DIEGO -- Hunter Renfroe doesn't belong in the Pacific Coast League. If he didn't prove as much as the circuit's MVP a year ago, a two-week sampling after a surprising yet deserved demotion reiterated that fact.

Renfroe had hits in more than half his regular season at-bats with Triple-A El Paso. Nearly half of those went for extra bases and ...Read more

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The body is still warm, but it's never too early to start the autopsy.

What went wrong for the Texas Rangers this season? They're three games under .500 with 13 remaining and their post-season hopes are flat-lining.

Of course, no single player can torpedo a club's season, so this isn't about putting all the blame on one (or ...Read more

DETROIT -- Before the Detroit Lions kicked off on Monday Night Football, the Detroit Tigers were down big.

As metro Detroiters waited for the local game of the night, Buck Farmer was battered, the Tigers' offense was once again tamed and the upstart Oakland Athletics opened a three-game series with an 8-3 win at Comerica Park.

Farmer's night ...Read more

BALTIMORE -- On a night when Dylan Bundy seemed to have it all together, the Orioles scored in each of the first four innings against the first-place Boston Red Sox and took a five-run lead into the fifth.

What could go wrong?

That, of course, is something of a trick question in what has become a nightmarish month of September. Just about ...Read more

MIAMI -- Giancarlo Stanton's chase for 60 -- and beyond -- is on.

Stanton hit his 55th home run of the season Monday night in the Miami Marlins' 13-1 win against the New York Mets. It was Stanton's first long ball since Sept. 9 and second in two weeks, a September slump thrusting into question his MVP case and his quest for one of baseball's ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- The Los Angeles Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw peeked his head over his right shoulder, noted the flight of the baseball and looked away. The history carried no weight for him. Kershaw never saw the baseball land, never saw the disappearance of the first grand slam he had ever allowed in the majors.

It happened in the 10th season, ...Read more

PITTSBURGH -- Elias Diaz lay facedown on the infield dirt Monday night. He grimaced, and with his right hand he smacked third base. In an attempt to jumpstart the offense and snap a shutout in the seventh inning against the Milwaukee Brewers, Diaz had followed third-base coach Joey Cora's windmilling right arm and tried to stretch a one-out ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- A wayward throw by shortstop Corey Seager on Sunday night exemplified a worry the Los Angeles Dodgers face in the playoffs. Seager airmailed a throw to the plate in the seventh inning against Washington, offering a visual complement to manager Dave Roberts' remarks on Monday when he said Seager was not throwing at 100 percent.

"...Read more

Jason Heyward smacked a tiebreaking single Sunday and celebrated with a vigorous clap and wave toward his teammates.

Heyward's seventh-inning single capped his first three-hit game in nearly four weeks and provided some timely relief after bouts of failed situations and soft-contact outs.

The Cubs remain patient with the mild-mannered Heyward,...Read more

Orioles minor league pitcher Miguel Gonzalez died Monday in the Dominican Republic from injuries sustained in a Saturday car accident, the team announced.

"Our organization is deeply saddened by the tragic passing of Miguel Gonzalez," executive vice president Dan Duquette said in a statement. "Miguel was beloved by his teammates and coaches in ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- The evening unraveled in an instant, the chance for a sweep disappearing in the vapor trail of Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman's game-changing home run. A three-run shot off Dodgers reliever Ross Stripling cost his club the lead in a 7-1 defeat in Sunday's series finale.

Aided by an umpire's close call in the ...Read more

MILWAUKEE -- For most of the second half of the season, runs have been hard to come by for the Milwaukee Brewers.

But, for the second time in three games, in a series that wasn't scheduled to take place at home, the Brewers scored eight runs in one inning Sunday afternoon. This from a team that wasn't averaging four runs a game since the All-...Read more

CLEVELAND -- There rarely seems to be an easy road in baseball. If there is one, the Indians would love to get directions.

Last season, the Indians' first American League Central title since 2007 came amid a flurry of injuries in August and September, as well as numerous other speed bumps along the way. This year, the race ended up being much ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants are the most power deficient team in the major leagues, and they embraced their identity in the first five innings of their 7-2 victory Sunday afternoon.

They backed a solid effort from Chris Stratton and built a 4-0 lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks on the strength of seven singles, two sacrifice flies, an RBI ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- On Saturday, the day before the Los Angeles Dodgers faced Washington Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg in a series finale, manager Dave Roberts met with Adrian Gonzalez.

Roberts had planned to start Gonzalez against Strasburg. He pointed to Gonzalez's seven hits in 15 at-bats against the pitcher. Gonzalez countered with a ...Read more

DENVER -- The Padres on Sunday ended a 17-inning scoreless streak at Coors Field. It took a 443-foot drive by Yangervis Solarte, who homered on the one-year anniversary of the death of his late wife, Yuliett. Two innings later, the third baseman played an integral role in a two-out rally that knotted the score.

In the top of the ninth, the ...Read more

CHICAGO -- Kyle Schwarber put a run on the scoreboard -- literally -- in the fourth inning Sunday afternoon when he smacked a 2-2 pitch from Lance Lynn 366 feet off the small video board in front of the left-field bleachers at Wrigley Field.

Meanwhile, Jose Quintana was putting zeroes on the scoreboard from the pitcher's mound, holding the ...Read more