TORONTO -- The Royals have remained on the fringes of the American League wild-card race despite a precipitous decline in the months of August and September.

That will not change after starter Jason Vargas shouldered the load on Thursday in a 1-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. What was like to change, however, was the math...Read more

On May 4, a bat slipped out of the hands of Hector Sanchez and struck a woman sitting above the visiting dugout at Petco Park. The incident prompted the Padres to begin exploring the prospect of expanded netting.

Thursday, on the heels of another accident, this time at Yankees Stadium, the Padres announced that they will extend their netting to...Read more

The television is almost always on in baseball clubhouses, though players rarely do more than glance at the screen while they go about their pregame routines. But images on Wednesday from Yankee Stadium, where a young girl was hit in the face with a foul ball, disrupted the Angels' routines and drew their fearful attention.

"A few of us in here...Read more

DETROIT -- Just because you're in the driver's seat for a postseason berth doesn't mean you always have to check the mirrors.

You might want to buckle up -- the ride could get bumpy -- but the Twins just might not like what they see in that mirror, like Angels. And, suddenly, Rangers.

"We talked the other day," Twins manager Paul Molitor said....Read more

ATLANTA -- R.A. Dickey snapped out of his recent funk and Arodys Vizcaino bounced back from one of the worst performances of his career in resounding fashion Thursday night.

Dickey limited the Nationals to two runs and four hits in eight innings and Vizcaino struck out the side in the ninth to finish a 3-2 Braves win in the finale of the next-...Read more

BALTIMORE -- In his first start at Camden Yards this season and his third of the month, Orioles right-hander Gabriel Ynoa served the main purpose a young player has in a meaningless September: provide hope for the future.

In a 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night before an announced 14,967 at Camden Yards, the 24-year-old right-...Read more

CINCINNATI -- The Cardinals did what they had to do for the standings and most of all for this ballpark.

With runs in two of the three final innings of the game, the Cardinals completed a sweep of the Cincinnati Reds with an 8-5 victory Thursday night at Great American Ball Park. A day after they had one of their sharpest games of the season, ...Read more

MILWAUKEE -- Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer has watched left-hander Jon Lester's evolution as a Red Sox rookie throwing 97 mph in 2006 to a more polished starter with four effective pitches.

But after a string of inconsistent outings that included a short one Wednesday night, Hoyer and other Cubs staffers can only hope Lester can regain his ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Congress rarely sits on the sidelines when it comes to highly publicized sports issues. And this time, a top lawmaker is inserting himself in the middle of a New York Yankees game.

A day after a foul ball rocketed off Todd Frazier's bat into the face of a young girl sitting behind third base at Yankee Stadium, Sen. Dick Durbin ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- Fatigued on their trudge toward clinching the National League West and irritated by an ineffectual performance against the Phillies this week, the Dodgers ended this three-city road trip with an unnerving sight: Justin Turner clutching his right thumb after getting hit by a pitch.

Turner got drilled by a 91-mph fastball from ...Read more

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Angels have proved they can hang with the American League's best teams. What's still unclear is whether they have enough assembled talent to beat them.

They played another tight, tenuous game against the current class of baseball, and again fell short.

They lost to the Cleveland Indians 6-5 Wednesday night ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- Triple-A El Paso's season ended Sunday. Several players who helped fuel the San Diego Padres affiliate's playoff run unpacked their bags Monday in downtown San Diego.

On Wednesday, a trio of them participated in a slugfest that made Petco Park feel more like El Paso's Southwest University Park. Nine swings produced a home run, ...Read more

HOUSTON -- White Sox second baseman Yoan Moncada hit a two-run homer off Astros right-hander Brad Peacock in the fourth inning Wednesday night, but the Sox managed just three more hits after that in a 4-3 loss to the Astros at Minute Maid Park.

Peacock threw three perfect innings to open the game before Yolmer Sanchez led off the fourth with a ...Read more

PITTSBURGH -- The Pirates scored six runs Wednesday, more than in their previous five games combined.

They needed them all.

Adam Frazier smacked a walk-off home run off Brewers closer Corey Knebel in the ninth inning as the Pirates snapped a seven-game skid with a 6-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park. The Pirates (69-84) had lost 12 ...Read more

ATLANTA -- On a night when the Braves had five rookies in the starting lineup, a graybeard catcher put one of the youngsters, starter Lucas Sims, in position to pick up his third major league win. But that was before one of the ugliest bullpen meltdown in the recent history of a team that's had far more than its share of such incidents.

Arodys ...Read more