LOS ANGELES — For the first time this season, Dodgers fans can stream SportsNet LA without needing to buy something else they might not want.

Spectrum is offering a streaming-only subscription to the Dodgers' television channel for $29.99 per month or $199.99 per year, the company announced Monday. The service will be in place when the ...Read more

TOKYO — It was the overriding theme of last October, an intangible factor that yielded triumphant results.

During their run to last year's World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers repeatedly cited their clubhouse culture and roster-wide camaraderie as a key behind their postseason success. They knew it sounded cliche. But they felt it was ...Read more

TOKYO — In the largely empty Tokyo Dome, Shota Imanaga stood on the mound during the Chicago Cubs’ workout Monday afternoon to get a sense of what he would feel in a much livelier atmosphere roughly 24 hours later.

During his rookie season last year, Imanaga sometimes would get on the mound of a new ballpark the day before a start to ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. —When the news broke Friday that Alex Gordon will be inducted in the Royals Hall of Fame in June, it instantly conjured up a mental montage of snapshots that defined one of the ultimate Royals.

Like the ol’ hat-glove look and blowing bubbles in the middle of a play. Or the enduring image of the left fielder swooping two ...Read more

PEORIA, Ariz. — Manny Machado is happy to say he is healthy for the first time in a while, which the San Diego Padres believe will mean the same good things it has in the past.

And Machado is not shying away from the reality of the path he has ahead of him, one that might lead to immortality.

“We all play for that,” he said recently. “...Read more

TOKYO — Mookie Betts' return to shortstop will have to wait until the Los Angelese Dodgers return home from Japan.

Betts will miss both of the Dodgers' season-opening games at the Tokyo Dome this week against the Chicago Cubs, manager Dave Roberts said Monday, as he continues to recover from a stomach virus that has kept him out of action ...Read more

TOKYO — Chicago Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd stays focused on checking all the boxes.

Keeping his delivery sound. Staying behind the baseball. Driving down on the pitch. And in Sunday’s unique atmosphere, embracing the moment in front of a vocal crowd of Yomiuri Giants supporters.

“Getting to pitch in a place like this, the history of ...Read more

TOKYO — Maybe the Hanshin Tigers are baseball's real evil empire.

One day after the Japanese team, which plays in the Nippon Professional Baseball league, shut out the Chicago Cubs in an exhibition contest at the Tokyo Dome, they did the same Sunday with a 3-0 win over the defending World Series champion Dodgers — and their nearly $400-...Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The mayor? He felt betrayed. The Rays? They felt cornered.

The community? Based on social media chatter, residents felt angry and bewildered. Maybe angry and stunned. Also, just plain angry.

The team’s decision to pull out of a $6.5 billion redevelopment deal that included a baseball stadium on the Tropicana Field ...Read more

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — We were sitting in the dugout at Clover Park watching the Mets hitters, in particular Juan Soto, taking their pre-game rips and Darryl Strawberry, a not-so-impassive observer, was asked if he’d had “the talk” with the Mets’ $765 million dollar man.

“Not really,” said Straw who’s in Mets camp for just a ...Read more

BRADENTON, Fla. — When Paul Skenes walked into Derek Shelton's office Friday afternoon, displayed on a TV in the background was the live broadcast of the Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies Spring breakout showcase.

Just one year ago, Skenes served as the headliner of that event, throwing a scoreless first inning against the Baltimore Orioles. ...Read more

TOKYO — A cacophony of chants, horns, drums and cheers greeted Chicago Cubs right-hander Julian Merryweather as he faced the Hanshin Tigers leadoff hitter Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers support section in right field kept the Tokyo Dome buzzing every bottom half of the inning, with coordinated cheers erupting for each Hanshin batter, a vocal ...Read more

TOKYO — Years from now, people who were at the Tokyo Dome on Saturday will tell their children and grandchildren about the night. People who weren't here will, too.

Their memories of specific details of the Dodgers' 5-1 victory over the Yomiuri Giants will gradually erode with time. Their memories of how they felt at that moment won't.

When ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Poring over fantasy baseball player rankings can be jarring for diehard fans of a specific team who don't pay much attention to the other 29 clubs.

That might be especially true for the legions of devoted, deliriously satiated Dodgers followers this year.

Isn't this the most talented roster in history? Don't the Dodgers have a ...Read more

BRADENTON, Fla. — Clint Hurdle hasn't exactly been sipping lemonade by the pool lately. But the former Pirates manager also hasn't exactly slowed down since putting his uniform in the closet for the final time.

Hurdle, 67, works as a special assistant to the general manager with the Colorado Rockies. He has actually become a fantastic follow ...Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Once again, we are on the precipice. Inches from calamity and miles from comfort.

The decision by Rays owner Stuart Sternberg to pull out of a once-rejoiced plan to build a new baseball stadium in St. Petersburg has upended a major redevelopment project for the city and left the team’s future in Tampa Bay in doubt.

...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Wait. The Padres and Mariners are making the “Vedder Cup” official?

Talk about a grass-roots “campaign” sprouting out of press box shenanigans in Peoria, Ariz., and climbing all the way up the corporate ladder.

The Dodgers and Angels made sense in the “Freeway Series.” So did the A’s and Giants in the “Bay Bridge ...Read more