ATLANTA — For the better part of a decade, Andrew Friedman and Stan Kasten have talked about a shared goal of making this the golden era of Dodgers baseball.

No team in major league history has more consecutive postseason appearances than these Dodgers. No National League team has won three consecutive World Series championships, but the ...Read more

ATLANTA — Manager Dave Roberts teased a major shift in the Dodgers' lineup construction before their workout Monday. Then on Tuesday he put it into action:

Superstar Shohei Ohtani is batting fifth in the lineup against Braves ace Chris Sale in Game 3 of the National League Division Series.

It's the lowest Ohtani has ever hit in the Dodgers ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays needed some help Monday against New York Yankees ace Cam Schlittler, the clear American League Cy Young Award favorite, in Game 2 of the AL Division Series.

And they got some, most notably the Yankees making a postseason-record-tying three errors in the first inning.

But the Rays only got one run out of New ...Read more

CLEVELAND — Chicago White Sox right fielder Braden Montgomery went after a first-pitch fastball from Erik Sabrowski and hit a liner down the right-field line.

Would it be fair or foul?

The ball landed in fair territory for a go-ahead two-run double.

The hit came during a three-run sixth inning for the Sox, who rallied for a 4-3 victory over...Read more

CLEVELAND — Not everything is going right for the Chicago White Sox this postseason.

It just seems that way when you’re on a roll.

On a cool Monday night at Progressive Field, the Sox struck out 11 times in the first five innings and their opener lasted only three batters before getting yanked.

For the first time in the postseason, the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers have a Shohei Ohtani problem.

That's weird because normally he's everybody else's problem. This man has been terrorizing pitchers and hitters across baseball for years.

But biceps, knee and neck ailments have taken the ball out of Ohtani's hand this season. And now, anyone who says they haven't wondered whether the ...Read more

CLEVELAND — After the White Sox salvaged the final game of the City Series in August at Wrigley Field, pitcher Erick Fedde said splitting the season series was probably a good thing.

“Maybe us going 3-3 helped Chicago not burn down,” Fedde said.

That’s a testament to the intensity of the Cubs-Sox rivalry, which fueled a few brawls at ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Baseball karma arrived Saturday night for us smug San Diegans who tease friends or family back east about our glorious weather.

Payback came via Milwaukee’s roofed baseball park that was built to cope with Wisconsin’s less-forgiving climate.

Against astronomical odds, the roof denied Padres slugger/San Diego State alum Ty ...Read more

CHICAGO — This wasn’t the story the Chicago Cubs envisioned writing in 2026.

Their goal since last year ended painfully with the decisive Game 5 loss in the National League Division Series was to make a deeper postseason run. Instead, the Cubs’ playoff journey ended with a sweep in San Diego.

Now they must conduct an autopsy on their ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — There were sentimental reasons Taylor Rogers wanted to rejoin the Twins as a free agent after four years elsewhere.

He was nearing 10 years of service time, a major milestone for players, and he wanted to commemorate it with the organization that drafted him and gave him his first six seasons in the big leagues.

The 35-year-old...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Michael Harris II shouldn’t have been 90 feet away from scoring the go-ahead run in the first place.

But the Atlanta star was, after Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernández took a bad route to his line-drive triple. Then, to make matters worse, left-hander Kris Bubic lost control of a sweeper. It flew high and outside, off the...Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — More often than not, teams cannot use Trajekt pitching machines on the road.

While most big league stadiums have the contraptions, which feature a video board and can simulate any pitcher, they are typically considered a home field advantage. Visiting teams get stuck with traditional pitching machines while home teams ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — W hen the Tampa Bay Rays acquired Freddy Peralta from the New York Mets in August, he looked to be pretty much a mess.

His stats where out of whack with his usual solid form, his velocity was down, his mechanics were off-kilter and his confidence and bright smile were missing.

But a couple of months with the American League-...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers are better than you. They're smarter than you. They're richer and deeper and more popular than you. You know it, they know it, there's no point pretending otherwise.

So, yes, they went into the National League Divisional Series looking past the threadbare Atlanta Braves and thinking about the National League ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — As Bryce Harper came to the plate, with two out in the eighth inning Thursday night and the Phillies trailing by four runs, the Braves prepared their final insult.

They brought in Chris Sale.

Sale is Harper’s Kryptonite and has struck him out in 14 of 25 at-bats through the years. This time, the Braves ace and future Hall of...Read more

BOSTON — Growing up down the street from Fenway Park, I vividly recall the night when my father brought home Major League Baseball’s official 2004 World Series film on DVD.

I watched it over and over until the disc became too scratched to carry on, savoring the swing from the agony of almost-certain defeat, to a comeback the likes of which ...Read more

MILWAUKEE — The Padres were not beaten by Jacob Misiorowski.

But they were beaten.

Especially in the postseason, that squandered opportunity hurt.

Because after a 3-2 loss to the Brewers in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Saturday night, the Padres need to win three of the next four games against the team that finished the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Teoscar Hernández? Sure. Max Muncy? Certainly. Tarik Skubal? Absolutely.

But Kyle Tucker? Are you kidding me?

Of all the heroes in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 5-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves in their National League Division Series opener Saturday at Dodger Stadium, none was more stunning than the shrugging, somnolent, ...Read more