HOUSTON — Jose Suarez showed more promising signs in his return to the starting rotation, but the Angels were once again plagued by a lack of run support in Thursday’s 3-1 loss to the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Jon Singleton provided the decisive margin with a two-out, two-run double in the eighth inning off reliever Ryan Miller.

...Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Rays bosses had hopes but weren’t sure what to expect from converted reliever Zack Littell as he went into a season as a full-time starter for the first time in the big leagues.

Littell, who moved from the bullpen to the rotation out of necessity in the middle of last season, handled the transition quite well and put ...Read more

NEW YORK — After four games without their biggest offensive driver, the Mets are producing more than enough runs to win in his absence.

The bats have absolutely exploded at Citi Field this week, with the Mets having scored 10 runs in three consecutive nights for the first time in franchise history. They crushed four home runs and a triple off...Read more

ST. LOUIS — Well out of the playoff hunt, each member of Derek Shelton’s roster has to find their own personal motivation to finish the season strong. For Nick Gonzales, that means capping off what has been an overall solid first full year in the big leagues.

After making a splash upon being called up in May, Gonzales cooled off as the year...Read more

Shohei Ohtani made history Thursday, and Major League Baseball almost immediately rolled out a collection of commemorative merchandise.

The Dodgers’ superstar became the first player in major league history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season. Now available in the league’s online shop: 50-50 T-shirts ($37.99).

And ...Read more

MIAMI — From the moment his walk-off grand slam cleared the right-field wall at Dodger Stadium last month, giving Shohei Ohtani his 40th home run of the season on the same night he recorded his 40th stolen base, all the attention immediately turned to what could be next.

Five players in major league history had accomplished a 40-40 season ...Read more

CINCINNATI — In a time when they cannot afford losses to inferior teams, the Braves sent a message.

They scored a season-high 15 runs (they had scored 13 runs one time) and tied a season high with 18 hits (done one other time). They took two of three from Cincinnati.

Thursday’s final from Great American Ball Park: 15-3, Braves.

“These ...Read more

BALTIMORE — For a moment, all was forgotten. It didn’t matter that the Orioles had recently lost nine of their past 12 games as the postseason approached, or that their closer had blown a save or that their center fielder had just been shaken up after a scary collision.

No, for a moment, the Orioles were walk-off winners, and that’s what ...Read more

CLEVELAND – The Twins packed up and headed to the airport in a hurry on Thursday. They didn’t need to watch the Guardians celebrate something that is rapidly slipping away from the Twins: A playoff berth.

Andrés Giménez lined a Caleb Thielbar fastball into right field for a single, scoring courtesy runner José Ramírez from second base, ...Read more

Here’s the thing about scoreboard watching and hoping for other teams to suffer defeat to aid your postseason hopes, you still need win your own games for it to truly make a difference.

On a night where they could’ve gained ground in the American League West standings with the Astros losing and also pick up a game the chase for the third ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The angle from which the video was shot obscures whether the haymaker thrown by Julio Urías struck his wife.

What's indisputable is this: He threw the punch.

The Los Angeles Times obtained from the California Highway Patrol a 72-second recording of the incident that derailed Urías' once-promising baseball career, and its ...Read more

CINCINNATI — The Braves had lost three in a row — all in disappointing and frustrating fashion. And at this time of the season, the potential consequence is this: Any slide can effectively end a club’s season.

The Braves are still alive.

They stopped the skid at three games and beat the Reds, 7-1, on Wednesday at Great American Ball Park...Read more

NEW YORK — If you heard an explosion in Flushing on Wednesday, don’t worry, it was just the Mets‘ bats.

Questions about how the Mets would produce offense without Francisco Lindor have quieted for another night after they used a nine-run fourth inning to finish a sweep of the Washington Nationals. The Mets smacked the Nats, 10-0, at Citi ...Read more

CLEVELAND — Ronny Henriquez has never saved a major league game in his 18-game major league career, had never even been given an opportunity before Wednesday night.

It showed.

The rookie right-hander, forced into his first-ever extra-inning action because the Twins’ bullpen has been so overworked lately, faced four batters and allowed two ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo.– Tarik Skubal let out his trademark howl after ending the fifth, and his night, striking out his nemesis Salvador Perez to strand two runners.

He was so fired up, he knocked the glove off his right hand. And why wouldn’t he be? He had struck out seven and allowed only a first-inning run in his five innings Wednesday, ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — There are mementos in the Hall of Fame from Dylan Cease’s no-hitter on July 25. The Padres presented him with a giant framed collage with a copy of the sports section and the scorecard from that day. The highlight video played before every game at Petco Park features the radio call from the end of the game.

But what Cease did ...Read more

Apparently all the San Francisco Giants needed to do to wake up their dormant offense was put a continent between them and Oracle Park.

The Giants rode their bats to a second straight win over the Baltimore Orioles, 5-3, securing the first series of their final road trip of the season.

They got a pair of home runs, including one to lead off ...Read more

Tanner Houck could go the rest of the year without throwing another pitch and his season would be a success. The right-hander has set a new career high in innings pitched, earned his first All-Star nod and established himself as a dependable starter, all after entering the year without any assurance he’d be in the rotation at all.

Now the ...Read more