ORLANDO, Fla. — For years, the late, great Pat Williams wandered through Orlando like a baseball preacher without a congregation.

The co-founder of the Magic and the godfather of big league sports in Central Florida spent the final years of his life trying to convince politicians, business leaders and the community that Orlando was ready for ...Read more

SACRAMENTO — It didn’t take long for the Cardinals, ever so cozy and comfortable in these close games they keep creating, to go right back to their four-step recipe for holding leads in the late innings.

Two days after San Diego capsized Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien and won in extra innings, O’Brien was on the mound with a two-run ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — With Daniel Susac nearing his return from injury, a significant decision looms for the Giants: Do they carry veteran backstop Eric Haase along with Susac and Jesús Rodríguez? On Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, Haase provided two loud reasons to stay — and etched his name into rivalry lore in the process.

Haase powered San ...Read more

HOUSTON — For the Seattle Mariners, a lot to like here on a night when they once again held down their longtime nemesis in a rousing 10-2 victory over the Houston Astros.

Dominic Canzone belted the first grand slam of his career, Randy Arozarena had his best game in an M’s uniform and Bryan Woo retired the final 12 batters he faced to send ...Read more

CHICAGO — Royals manager Matt Quatraro had the bullpen set up the way he wanted Tuesday night in Chicago, but sometimes things don’t go as planned in baseball.

Left-handed reliever Matt Strahm was on the mound in a tie game in the eighth inning at Rate Field. He got the first two outs but White Sox pinch-hitter Derek Hill clubbed 1-1 slider...Read more

MILWAUKEE — In what might have been Matt Waldron’s final game pitching for the San Diego Padres, he threw far fewer knuckleballs than he ever had.

As strange as that was, his outing was all too familiar.

It began wobbly, and it crumbled in his third inning on a handful of hits, a walk, a sacrifice fly, a bit of bad luck and his blunder, as...Read more

NEW YORK — A few months ago, few could have predicted the Detroit Tigers and the Mets would both have losing records 40 games into the season. The matchup lost much of its shine with Tigers ace Tarik Skubal on the injured list and half of the Mets’ lineup there as well, but it mattered little to the Citi Field fans who desperately wanted to ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — On the morning after the Lakers got swept out of the playoffs and the Dodgers lost their fourth consecutive game, Magic Johnson flashed his trademark smile and stepped to the podium to talk soccer.

"The world's game is coming to the greatest city in the world," Johnson said Tuesday.

In Los Angeles, Johnson joined in a ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Another day, another Paul Skenes gem.

Less than a week after he held the Arizona Diamondbacks scoreless through eight innings, he did the same Tuesday night in a 3-1 win against the Colorado Rockies at PNC Park.

Skenes hurled eight innings of two-hit ball while allowing no walks and striking out 10. He struck out the side three ...Read more

BALTIMORE — The Orioles won Monday on an Earl Weaver special. They lost Tuesday because of his wise words.

“Momentum is the next day’s starting pitcher.”

The myth of momentum was on full display Tuesday in Baltimore’s 6-2 loss to the Yankees. The Orioles quickly squandered any positive vibes from Monday’s comeback victory that ...Read more

BOSTON — On the first swing of his first at-bat Tuesday night in this ancient ballpark, Kyle Schwarber tied a record for a franchise that has existed for 144 seasons.

Yet somehow he was upstaged.

Because as Schwarber elbowed his way into the Phillies’ history book by homering in his fifth game in a row, Zack Wheeler almost went back to a ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — There was Bailey Ober running to first base, receiving a flip from first baseman Kody Clemens, and fittingly recording the final out on a gem of an outing.

Ober, who hugged Clemens, looked skyward as he walked toward the handshake line after pitching a complete-game shutout in a 3-0 victory at Target Field, extending the club’...Read more

NEW YORK — Promoting a 21-year-old with only 12 games of Triple-A experience under his belt might be seen by some in baseball to be a panic move. The New York Mets insist that isn’t the case with center fielder A.J. Ewing, who was promoted Tuesday ahead of a series against the Detroit Tigers.

“We would not have made the decision if we ...Read more

BOSTON — When the Red Sox placed Roman Anthony on the 10-day injured list with a sprained ligament in his right hand last week, the hope was that the outfielder could return to action after the minimum amount of time required.

But while the club isn’t ruling that out, it’s looking likely Anthony could be sidelined for at least a little ...Read more

The Dodgers added a bounce-back candidate to their organization’s outfield depth, trading for Diamondbacks center fielder Alek Thomas on Tuesday.

In exchange, the Dodgers sent 18-year-old outfielder Jose Requena to the Diamondbacks. They also designated outfielder Michael Siani for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Thomas, in ...Read more

CHICAGO — A 48-year-long fairytale brought Brian Milner to Tropicana Field in early April.

Milner watched his son Hoby toss a scoreless relief appearance for the Chicago Cubs during a win against the Tampa Bay Rays in a full-circle moment for the family. Brian spent 12 seasons (1996-2007) as a Cubs scout and now gets to see Hoby representing ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — As Rafael Devers goes, so too does the Giants’ offense. And if it wasn’t evident by now, Devers is heating up in a hurry.

Devers had another big game as the Giants kicked off their three-city, 10-game road trip with a 9-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Monday night, reaching base four times on a single...Read more

TORONTO — The Tampa Bay Rays reached the quarter point of their season on Monday with a performance that reflected why they have an American League-best 27-13 record.

They played small ball to take an early lead, with speedster Chandler Simpson leading the way. There was a home run by American League RBI leader Jonathan Aranda. A solid six-...Read more