CLEVELAND – From the very first time the Detroit Tigers deployed an opener ahead of a bulk-innings reliever, manager AJ Hinch warned, it’s not always going to be perfect.

It picked a bad time to be critically imperfect.

The Cleveland Guardians capsized the strategy Saturday with a five-run barrage in the first inning and seized control of ...Read more

NEW YORK — The two broken fingers on Anthony Rizzo’s right hand no longer had a protective brace or a wrap around them when he spoke to reporters on Friday night, but that didn’t stop the first baseman from announcing that he will not be on the Yankees’ ALDS roster.

“I feel good. I feel a lot better than I did six days ago,” said ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Freddie Freeman prides himself on his durability, the Dodgers first baseman having played all 162 games twice and 157 games or more six other times, a resolve that has required him to play through numerous injuries throughout his 15-year career, including a broken right-middle finger in August.

But Freeman has never fought ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The first laugh line of this National League Division Series came on Friday afternoon, when San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt was asked how his club planned to attack Shohei Ohtani.

“I’m not telling you,” Shildt responded with a chuckle, one reciprocated by the mass of media members before him at his pre-NLDS news ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Amid the rumble and roar of Petco Park after the Padres stiff-armed the Braves in a wild-card playoff series Wednesday, Sheel Seidler paused in a tunnel next to the dugout. The emotions hit in flashes, blurring into something unexpected, knotting up both her head and heart.

There was a complicated jumble of happiness, relief and ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — You can buy an autographed baseball in a million places, but you can buy a $75 autographed baseball from a U.S. Senate candidate in one place.

The candidate, of course, is Steve Garvey, who is a household name in California not because of a life spent in politics, but because of a distinguished career for the Dodgers and San ...Read more

NEW YORK — For most of the past decade, Michael Wacha has been a dependable MLB pitcher.

But against Aaron Judge, the Royals right-hander has been at another level.

Judge, the AL MVP favorite, enters the Yankees‘ ALDS matchup with Kansas City just 1 for 18 with 11 strikeouts and three walks in his career against Wacha, the Royals’ Game 1...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Shockingly, J.D. Martinez has never faced Zack Wheeler.

Of the hundreds of pitchers Martinez has faced in his 14 years in the big leagues, Wheeler, the former Mets right-hander, isn’t one of them. That could change Saturday when the Philadelphia Phillies and the Mets begin the NLDS at Citizens Bank Park.

Wheeler, who signed ...Read more

NEW YORK — Gerrit Cole flashed a smile.

On the eve of Game 1 of the ALDS, the Yankees ace considered his answer to a short, but not necessarily simple, question: What would winning the World Series mean to him?

“I’ve been trying to do that for a long time,” Cole, 34, said with a laugh. “That would be great. That would be amazing. We�...Read more

DETROIT — Here's a position-to-position breakdown of the Tigers-Guardians American League Division Series, which gets under way at 1 p.m. Saturday in Cleveland:

Catcher

If you haven't paid much attention to the Tigers, it's easy to dismiss catcher Jake Rogers, because of the barely .600 OPS. But he's a big part of the heart and soul of this ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — This time, they aren't overthinking. This time, they don't have a choice.

The Dodgers will start Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the opening game of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Saturday but not necessarily because they trust him more than Jack Flaherty.

In the regular season, Yamamoto never once ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When the Royals signed Bobby Witt Jr. to an 11-year contract worth nearly $300 million in February, the superstar shortstop noted that a “pretty fired up” team investor had texted him to say that he “can’t wait to see what you do for this city and what’s to come.”

Never mind that said investor, Patrick Mahomes, ...Read more

NEW YORK — As Bobby Witt Jr. talked to a room full of reporters at Yankee Stadium on Friday, a larger-than-life Derek Jeter, pictured in a blown-up Sports Illustrated cover hanging on the wall, smiled in the young shortstop’s direction.

As Witt spoke, he revealed that “Jeter was my guy” growing up, even though he rooted for the Red Sox ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Mets pulled yet another rabbit out of their hat.

In a stunning turn of events, manager Carlos Mendoza announced on Friday that Kodai Senga would be their Game 1 starter against the Phillies in the NLDS on Saturday. A team that seemingly can do no wrong at the moment just got their ace back.

The 31-year-old has thrown just 5 1/...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — General manager Thad Levine is leaving the Twins, the team announced Friday.

Levine and Derek Falvey were hired eight years ago, and appeared together at news conferences regularly, appearing to work hand-in-hand.

But in recent seasons, Levine has been less visible, and Falvey was promoted from chief baseball officer to ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Every now and then, during the course of baseball history, there comes along a team that is so weird, so counterintuitive, so inexplicable, that the rest of the postseason field can’t help but fear it.

The Mets officially reached that status in the ninth inning on Thursday night. They were down 2-0 and down to their last ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Joe Musgrove’s elbow tightness will require Tommy John surgery, a procedure that likely bars him from pitching again until the 2026 season.

Padres President of Baseball Operations A.J. Preller provided the medical update after manager Mike Shildt said Musgrove would not be available to pitch in the National League Division ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Twenty-one floors above the Las Vegas Strip, on a Saturday in January 2019, the Phillies made their first pitch to Bryce Harper.

John Middleton stressed his commitment to winning, a point the owner would hammer home a month later over dinner. Then-general manager Matt Klentak talked about the up-and-coming prospects in the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Twice last month, teams intentionally walked Shohei Ohtani to face Mookie Betts instead. Both times, the eight-time All-Star and former MVP emphatically reacted after making them pay.

There was an extra-inning home run on Sept. 3 against the Angels, a game-sealing, three-run blast in which Betts pointed at the sky, emotionally ...Read more