The situation was dire at the start and desperate before too long.

And devastating at the end, as the Padres were left to watch the Brewers celebrate on their field.

A 3-1 loss in Game 4 of the National League Division Series on Wednesday night at Petco Park ended the Padres’ season, as their offense struggled to the finish and a parade of ...Read more

NEW YORK — The fans certainly made their presence felt on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.

Just not in the way they had hoped.

Fan interference was at the center of the Yankees’ season-ending 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 3 of the ALDS. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Anthony Volpe flew a deep shot to the left-field wall that...Read more

NEW YORK — Getting to pop bottles and celebrate in the Yankee Stadium visitors’ clubhouse for the second time in 15 days was quite exciting for the Rays after Wednesday’s 4-3 American League Division Series-clinching win.

Even better is that they’re now four wins from going to the World Series.

In sweeping the Yankees, the Rays ...Read more

NEW YORK — Jeffrey Maier nearly had company.

With the Yankees on the brink of elimination, Anthony Volpe appeared to hit a game-tying two-run home run in the sixth inning of Wednesday night’s ALDS Game 3 against the Tampa Bay Rays in the Bronx.

But in a season-altering twist, an official review found that Volpe’s blast had some help.

...Read more

He pounded his chest twice as he left the batter’s box, and all of Dodgers nation rocked to the beat.

Andy Pages did it. He finally did it. He finally broke out of his baffling two-year October slump with a hit so powerful, he didn’t even have to climb over Kiké Hernández to get it.

How powerful? With one smooth swing he broke a tie by ...Read more

CHICAGO — Whether it was called new Comiskey Park, the Cell, the Rate or just Sox Park, the ballpark at the corner of 35th Street and Shields Avenue has been unloved over most of its 35-year existence.

Derided as the “Ball Mall” after opening in 1991, it eventually underwent a series of changes to improve the game-day atmosphere for ...Read more

ATLANTA — The Dodgers punched their ticket to the National League Championship Series with a 4-1 win in Game 4 of the division series on Wednesday at Truist Park.

It is the ninth time in the last 14 seasons that the Dodgers advanced to at least the NLCS, and they will be seeking their sixth World Series in 10 seasons starting Sunday against ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox were aiming to party on Wednesday in front of their home fans.

But the Cleveland Guardians had other ideas.

The Guardians scored four runs in the third inning on the way to defeating the Sox 9-3 in Game 3 of the American League Division Series in front of a sellout crowd of 40,590 at Rate Field.

Jo Adell had ...Read more

Justin Verlander isn't very good at this whole retirement thing.

Barely a week after he threw the final pitch of his legendary major league career, Verlander, the iconic Tiger, was back to work this week as a member of Fox's team of studio analysts for the Major League Baseball playoffs. Verlander joined Derek Jeter, David Ortiz and Alex ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Alex Cora won’t be the Phillies’ next manager after all.

For the second time in six months, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski offered the job to Cora, and for the second time, Cora turned it down, a source familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak about it said late Tuesday night. (The news was ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Jim Palmer sought a conversation. According to the Orioles legend, he couldn’t even get a text back.

During his appearance on the BMore Sports Podcast in an episode released last week with fellow Orioles Hall of Famer Mike Bordick and broadcaster Jerry Coleman, Palmer, a longtime Mid-Atlantic Sports Network analyst, recalled ...Read more

The Padres kept it going.

There will be a second home game.

A Game 4.

There is a chance.

With no space at all between them and the wall they have so proudly been up against and fought their way back from so much of the season, they beat the Brewers 4-3 in Game 3 of the National League Division Series.

After losing the first two games of the...Read more

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres will be without closer Mason Miller for at least Game 3 of the National League Division Series.

Miller was placed on the postseason paternity list about 40 minutes before the scheduled first pitch of the Padres’ game against the Brewers at Petco Park on Tuesday.

Left-hander Wandy Peralta replaced Miller on ...Read more

ATLANTA — The Dodgers went into Game 3 of the National League Division Series knowing they couldn’t be so reliant on the home run, especially with Braves ace Chris Sale on the mound. And yet, in a 3-1 win, it was the home run ball, paired with a masterful performance on the mound from right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, that secured the ...Read more

CHICAGO — Wednesday afternoon’s forecast at Rate Field is sunny with a high probability of lunacy.

The Chicago White Sox are back on the South Side for the first time since the end of the regular season, hoping to clinch a postseason series at home for the first time since beating the Cubs in the 1906 World Series.

The Sodfather was busy ...Read more

NEW YORK — Now more than ever, the Yankees have a need for Fried.

Suddenly on the brink of elimination, the Yankees turn to left-handed co-ace Max Fried to start Wednesday night’s ALDS Game 3 against the Tampa Bay Rays in the Bronx in hopes of extending their season.

It’s the kind of must-win game the Yankees envisioned giving Fried the ...Read more

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