PHILADELPHIA — Steve Ontiveros was for once healthy, and had not yet joined the Phillies, when he and Tommy John became teammates, pitchers on the Oakland Athletics in 1985. Ontiveros was 24 years old, a right-hander having a terrific rookie season: a 1.93 earned-run average, eight saves. John was already 42, still the same soft-throwing lefty...Read more

LOS ANGELES — When the news broke last week that Mark Walter was selling the Lakers just one year after buying the storied basketball franchise, executives working for another crown jewel in his sports empire — the Dodgers — were quick to say the billionaire had no plans to sell the team.

The Dodgers have won three of the last six World ...Read more

HOUSTON — Starved for clutch hits for more than a month, the Angels gorged themselves on Thursday night.

And Zach Neto took the most trips through the buffet line.

Neto drove in seven runs on five hits in the Angels’ 18-3 victory over the Houston Astros, as the Angels won a road series for the first time since May.

Neto’s RBIs and hits ...Read more

Rafael Devers evolved into one of baseball’s best left-handed hitters during his time with the Boston Red Sox, earning three All-Star selections and helping them win the 2018 World Series. He also had a tumultuous final chapter that ended with him being traded to the Giants. And in San Francisco, he’s primarily played first base, the same ...Read more

DETROIT — Yes, Tarik Skubal will pitch in Detroit.

Skubal, the former Tigers ace, is on track to start against his former team during the three-game series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tigers at Comerica Park set for Friday, Aug. 28, through Sunday, Aug. 30.

Skubal is scheduled to start Saturday for the Dodgers, and on five days' rest...Read more

CHICAGO — Chicago White Sox designated hitter Andrew Benintendi made sure there wouldn’t be history Thursday, breaking up a no-hitter in the seventh inning with a single to left field against Atlanta Braves starter Grant Holmes.

That turned out to be the team’s only hit in a 2-0 loss to the Braves in front of 17,052 at Rate Field.

“...Read more

LAS VEGAS — The Athletics have spent $600 million on the construction of their Las Vegas ballpark project, 14 months after breaking ground on the $2 billion project, according to the team.

A’s brass were scheduled to provide a stadium progress update Thursday to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority. Team executives will highlight recent ...Read more

MILWAUKEE — No more waiting. Kade Anderson is on his way to Seattle.

The Mariners’ top pitching prospect will be called up to start on Saturday against the Chicago Cubs, a source confirmed to The Seattle Times on Thursday. ESPN first reported the move.

Anderson has dominated the Double-A level this season at Arkansas. The left-hander and ...Read more

MILWAUKEE — The discontent about pitchers and their performance away from T-Mobile Park has centered primarily on Bryan Woo. And to be fair, Woo hasn’t been great away from home on the whole.

Maybe George Kirby deserves some of the same critique.

For the third straight start away from the friendly confines of home, Kirby was thumped on ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals have put together a strong week.

After a disappointing West Coast swing in Los Angeles, the club rebounded with a four-game sweep of the Athletics.

And while it wasn’t the cleanest game, the Royals earned a 6-2 victory on Thursday at Kauffman Stadium, extending their winning streak to five games.

...Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Ian Seymour could not have started Thursday’s matinee any better on the mound for the Rays.

He struck out Toronto leadoff man Charles McAdoo on three pitches and did the same to Daz Cameron. Seymour then got ahead of Alejandro Kirk 0-2, leaving him one strike shy of an immaculate inning.

But Kirk wasn’t going down ...Read more

CINCINNATI — When it appeared the Cardinals were going to finish their four-day, five-game stay in Cincinnati with a loss, the window to take back their lead opened with a botched play in the ninth that might have have otherwise sealed their fate.

Down to their last out Thursday with the game-tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position, the ...Read more

Willy Adames hit a special career milestone on Thursday as he hit the 200th home run of his major league career in the fourth inning of the Giants’ game against the Cleveland Guardians.

Unfortunately for Adames, he also committed the 137th error of his career, and his 18th of the season, in the first inning when he couldn’t field a sharp ...Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — What do you do?

Six starting pitchers, five spots in the rotation.

What do you do?

Three starting pitchers already on pace to set career highs for innings pitched with an entire postseason still ahead.

What do you do?

Two starting pitchers with five elbow surgeries between them, and a third starter who just took a ...Read more

DENVER — The imaging Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz underwent in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning revealed a “best-case scenario,” manager Dave Roberts said before the series finale against the Rockies.

“There were no findings, so that was good,” Roberts said. “MRI was clean. It doesn’t change the fact that he had this sensation in ...Read more

MILWAUKEE — The beauty of baseball is the repetition. One day after another. One day rarely same as the other. It makes forgetting what happened the day before — especially if it was a very bad and not an enjoyable day at the park — a vital skill for players to possess.

The Mariners believed when they arrived at American Family Field on ...Read more

HOUSTON — Add another one to the Angels’ pile of losses because they didn’t hit.

As they’ve done so many times since the All-Star break, the Angels wasted some quality pitching by failing to do anything at the plate, losing to the Houston Astros, 3-2, on Wednesday night.

It was the 14th time in their last 30 games that they failed to ...Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The way things have been going for the Rays over the last week, they’ll take any win and be happy with it.

So, bottom line, Wednesday was a good day, as they beat the Blue Jays, 7-6.

The win came after they had lost four of the first five games on their homestand, following a 9-0 cross-country road trip. They ...Read more

DENVER — The imaging Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz underwent in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning revealed a “best-case scenario,” manager Dave Roberts said before the series finale against the Rockies.

“There were no findings, so that was good,” Roberts said. “MRI was clean. It doesn’t change the fact that he had this sensation in ...Read more