SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres, hurt and tired and having not played all that well lately, crawled to the All-Star break.

Their final step was achieved by running their way to a victory.

Two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning — aided by Xander Bogaerts’ steal of second base and Jase Bowen’s steal of third — lifted them to a 5-...Read more

CINCINNATI — Alex Bregman described the Chicago Cubs’ first half of the season Saturday as a time of “some high highs and some low lows,” which sounds about right.

It was highlighted by a pair of 10-game win streaks, an MVP-caliber performance by Pete Crow-Armstrong, the emergence of Ben Brown as a primetime starter and the continued ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers needed to turn things around Sunday to wrap up the unofficial first half on a high note. Manager Dave Roberts said as much the night before.

“When you give teams free bases, extra outs, it’s hard to win a game, regardless of the opponent,” he said. “ Emmet [Sheehan] needs to go out there and throw...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Taj Bradley, protecting a two-run lead in the sixth inning Sunday, showed his maturity as a pitcher with the way he navigated the middle of the Los Angeles Angels lineup.

Bradley surrendered consecutive singles to Mike Trout and Nolan Schanuel, putting runners on the corners with no outs.

He responded by inducing a shallow ...Read more

DETROIT — J.T. Realmuto’s batting average may have been oscillating around .200, but he still passed Don Mattingly’s eye test.

Ahead of Sunday’s series finale against the DetroitTigers, the Phillies interim manager said he’s noticed how his catcher often seems to come through in big moments.

“I’m not talking about ninth inning, ...Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Seattle Mariners’ first hit with a runner in scoring position since Tuesday didn’t provide immediate relief, joyous satisfaction or even a run.

Following Josh Naylor’s leadoff single to start the second and a walk from Mitch Garver, Cole Young, who has been the Mariners’ most productive hitter of late, ...Read more

BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox set a franchise record last summer when they headed into last summer’s MLB All-Star break on a 10-game winning streak.

They had a chance to enter this week’s break on a nine-game winning streak, but the lowly New York Mets put a stop to that Sunday.

Scratch that.

The Mets took a 2-0 lead into the top of the ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Cam Schlittler had a case to start the All-Star Game. Instead, he won’t pitch in Tuesday’s exhibition at all.

The New YoYankees’ emerging ace is healthy, Aaron Boone said Sunday morning. However, the manager said that Schlittler, who allowed two earned runs over 6 2/3 innings and 99 pitches against the Washington Nationals ...Read more

BALTIMORE — The eighth time’s the charm.

Baltimore entered Sunday 0-7 this season with a chance to extend a winning streak to four games. But the Orioles finally changed that. They beat the Royals, 8-2, to sweep Kansas City and enter the All-Star break within two games of the final American League wild-card spot.

Baltimore, which entered ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — There came a point when the Pittsburgh Pirates’ bullpen and dugout and many of the 34,087 fans at PNC Park couldn’t take a break from hoisting their celebratory orange traffic cones.

The Pirates scored 10 runs in the fourth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday afternoon — tied for their most in a single inning ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Cristopher Sánchez‘s meteoric rise to the ranks of elite major league pitchers will now come with the stamp of an All-Star Game start.

Sánchez, the Phillies' ace lefty, was informed Sunday that he’s the choice to start for the National League on Tuesday night in Citizens Bank Park, a league source confirmed before Los ...Read more

NEW YORK — We have arrived at the All-Star break and other than the Dodgers winning the National League West, there are no definitive conclusions to be made about the second half of the season, but instead a whole lot of nagging questions.

Let’s start with the Yankees. If Ryan McMahon really did revive their season with that grinding 12-...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Saturday’s game needed a designated driver, even though it had sobered up by the end of the night.

It was stumbling from the start of the evening. It got out of control. It crawled at times. It teetered back and forth.

It might have been humorous if it were not such a spectacle.

Two teams seemingly destined to be irrelevant by...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers' 9-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday wasn't enough to prevent them from going into the All-Star break with the best record in the majors — that much is ensured. But the uninspired all-around performance sealed a series loss on the final weekend of the season's first half.

The Dodgers (61-35...Read more

WASHINGTON — With a dazzling first half in the books, Cam Schlittler’s next stop could be the mound at Citizens Bank Park.

The first-time All-Star put the finishing touches on his case to start the Midsummer Classic for the American League on Saturday, allowing two earned runs over 6 2/3 innings in a 4-2 win over the Nationals. While ...Read more

DETROIT — As he crossed the infield to return to the Tigers dugout, Zach McKinstry took off his helmet and tipped it toward Derek Hill.

There wasn’t much else McKinstry could do. Not after watching Hill cover tons of ground in center field at a dead sprint. And without slowing down, without taking his eye off the ball, Hill left his feet ...Read more

BALTIMORE — If the Orioles keep getting this version of Kyle Bradish, they have their ace back.

The right-hander entered Saturday with a 2.30 ERA across his last four starts. He pitched into the eighth inning in three of those outings. Against a Kansas City team at the bottom of MLB in runs on the road, Bradish had a prime opportunity to ...Read more