WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Pacing back and forth in the visitors’ dugout, Luis Castillo wore the expression and demeanor of a man preparing to enter the ring for a heavyweight title bout.

All that was missing were boxing gloves, and it’s probably good for everyone that Castillo didn’t have any of those within reach Monday night.

On a ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — In his first big-league game back since Game 7 of the World Series, Kiké Hernández received playoff-level cheers at Dodger Stadium on Monday night, nearly drowning out his walk-up song as he stepped into the batters' box against the Rockies in the bottom of the third inning. Some fans tipped their hats. Others joined the rising...Read more

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Eleven days after landing on the injured list for the first time in his career, Cal Raleigh took his first small step in his return from a strained right oblique.

The Mariners’ star catcher resumed what manager Dan Wilson described as “light throwing” Monday as he continues his rehabilitation at the team’s ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Jesús Luzardo pulled off his glasses and grinned.

He had capped six shutout innings against the Padres with a flyout from former teammate Nick Castellanos. It had been a battle from start to finish, but Luzardo kept on wriggling out of jams to hold San Diego off the scoreboard.

He rebounded from a 27-pitch first inning to post a...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The New York Yankees continue to be the Kansas City Royals’ nemeses.

And the Royals came close to vanquishing their longtime adversaries at Kauffman Stadium on Monday afternoon.

The Royals took a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning of the Memorial Day game thanks to Bobby Witt Jr.’s emphatic solo homer off Yankees reliever ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — If the Giants are going to have any shot at being competitive, they’re going to need to find a way to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Fresh off a series victory against the Chicago White Sox, San Francisco dropped a fourth straight game to Arizona with a 6-2 loss on Memorial Day at Oracle Park.

The straits turned on the ...Read more

BALTIMORE — The Orioles played 31 innings in the span of 31 hours.

In the 31st inning Monday, they came through with their most gritty win of the season, defeating the Rays in extra innings, 9-7. And for the second straight day, the game ended on a Colton Cowser walk-off home run.

The marathon, back-and-forth roller coaster of a contest ...Read more

Rays shortstop Wander Franco was found guilty for a second time on charges of sexual and psychological abuse of a minor on Monday, although the court granted him a judicial pardon.

The ruling means Franco will not serve prison time because judges ruled he was both defendant and victim in the case, according to Dominican lawyer and journalist ...Read more

MILWAUKEE — Hours before his club faced Milwaukee Brewers high-velocity phenom Jacob Misiorowski for a fourth time in his career, manager Oli Marmol referred to the matchup as “a really good test.”

“Really good” does not begin to describe Misiorowski on Monday.

The lanky right-hander from Missouri who grew up an Adam Wainwright fan ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — In nearly 40 at-bats during the month of May, Henry Davis tallied only four hits — translating to a .105 batting average.

His slump has been no secret, but Davis made that fifth hit count. He launched a solo home run in the seventh inning Monday afternoon to power the Pirates to a 2-1 win against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park to...Read more

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Even though Reid Detmers didn’t get the victory he deserved for his masterpiece on Sunday, at least the Los Angeles Angels did.

The Angels’ left-hander retired 24 of the 25 batters he faced through eight innings, with 14 strikeouts.

After Detmers was done, the Angels beat the Texas Rangers, 2-1, scoring the winning run ...Read more

The best thing that happened to the reeling Colorado Rockies on Sunday happened in Las Vegas.

Right-hander Ryan Feltner pitched five strong innings for Triple-A Albuquerque in a rehab start and should be returning to the big-league club soon. The Rockies desperately need him because their starting rotation is in a shambles.

Feltner, who was ...Read more

BALTIMORE — After his walk-off home run Sunday afternoon, Colton Cowser was asked if the exhilarating victory, the Baltimore Orioles’ second straight, could ignite the ballclub to go on a winning streak.

“Absolutely,” Cowser said. “I feel like you’re always just a couple wins away from getting on a roll. I feel like we have the ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — Welcome to Slam Francisco.

An afternoon after Harrison Bader hit his second grand slam in a week, Rafael Devers powered the Giants to an 8-5 win over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday afternoon at Oracle Park with San Francisco’s third grand slam in the last eight days.

This marks the first time since 1924 that the Giants ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — There is no supposed to in baseball.

The game doesn’t work that way. Most times this season, the San Diego Padres can be thankful for that.

They hit less often than any team, yet they have won more often than just a handful of teams.

On Sunday, though, the vagaries of the game worked against them and deprived them of a series ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Failure and defeat are embedded into a baseball season. It’s the nature of a 162-game schedule and the avalanche of opportunities afforded players over the accumulation of all those games.

While defeat is an undesirable outcome in any game, it also isn’t unexpected given that nearly every team will lose a minimum of 60...Read more

MILWAUKEE — Looking back, Alex Vesia can say that when he was traded from the Miami Marlins to the Los AngelesDodgers with fellow pitching prospect Kyle Hurt in 2021, he had “no idea” what it actually meant to trust the process.

Sure, it’s a cliche, and one most strongly associated with the Philadelphia 76ers’ rebuild in the NBA a ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — It’s Memorial Day, the time of year when baseball front offices typically shift from gauging what they have on the roster to figuring out how to improve upon it.

Go ahead, then, and peek at the standings.

See the Phillies? They’re smack dab in the middle, after a 3-1 loss at home Sunday to the Cleveland Guardians dropping ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Tampa Bay Rays had several solid chances to take a lead Sunday, but failed to convert any.

That cost them in the end, as Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer off Kevin Kelly in the ninth inning to give the New York Yankees a 2-0 win.

Kelly has been one of the Rays’ top relievers, but gave up a leadoff walk to Trent Grisham then ...Read more