LOS ANGELES — Put away the trumpets. Pack them up, put them in the attic, let them collect some dust.

Nobody wants to hear them.

Nobody wants to be subjected to one more triggering, off-key note of an Edwin Díaz dirge. Not anytime soon, not in any high-leverage moments for the foreseeable future.

Not after the Dodgers' closer blew another ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Again, it was the slider that betrayed Los Angeles Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz. He put one on the inside edge of the plate to Milwaukee’s Garrett Mitchell, who lined it into right field to dissolve the Dodgers’ lead in the ninth inning.

Díaz’s problems persisted in the battle for the best record in the National League. The...Read more

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Angels had their best offensive performance in a month, doing so in a manner you wouldn’t expect.

For most of the season, the Angels relied on hitting balls over the fence to score, and for the past month they have barely been able to do that.

But they strung together 15 hits, without a home run, in a 7-0 victory over...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals continue to search the open market for potential starting pitching help for the 2027 season.

On Thursday, the Royals signed veteran pitcher Tony Gonsolin to a one-year contract with a club option for 2027.

Gonsolin, 32, has a strong track record. He owns a 37-13 record with a 3.34 ERA in 86 career ...Read more

DYERSVILLE, Iowa — They wandered in from the corn, paused for a beat at the right-field warning track, gazed around, and kept going. Soon, 26 — 26! — Hall of Famers joined them on the field.

But that was the performative, made-for-Netflix part.

If only everybody could have seen them hours earlier, before the cameras rolled here Thursday ...Read more

DYERSVILLE, Iowa — Long before he was a major league manager, even before all the Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers and MVP, Don Mattingly was a kid playing baseball in Indiana.

One of the ballparks he played in with his brothers, growing up in Evansville, was down a dirt road surrounded by cornfields. And he couldn’t help but be reminded of ...Read more

On a five-game losing streak that matched their season long, and with a suddenly non-clutch offense and depleted bullpen, the Boston Red Sox badly needed the best version of Payton Tolle for Thursday’s series finale in Toronto.

The 23-year-old rookie southpaw more than delivered, as his eight shutout innings were a fitting celebration of ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — In 2012, on the day after Mark Walter and his partners bought the Dodgers, I sat next to Walter in a conference room. To the sports fan, Walter was virtually anonymous: a super rich guy who had made his money running investment and insurance companies.

Walter's purchase valued the Dodgers and its related assets at a then-record ...Read more

MIAMI — Rafael Flores Jr. said he’s “nasty.” Jared Triolo alluded to his “strong demeanor” and an indescribable presence.

When Braxton Ashcraft took the mound Thursday at loanDepot park, that was all evident — and then some.

The Pirates’ All-Star righty spun his first complete game in 85 pitches, striking out 10 and giving up ...Read more

DETROIT — Keider Montero raised his hands to the heavens after handing the ball to manager AJ Hinch and then walked off the field to a thunderous ovation from the matinee crowd of 31,777 at Comerica Park.

The appreciation was well-placed and well-earned. Where would the Tigers be this season without the versatile and feisty right-hander from ...Read more

NEW YORK — On an afternoon when the Mariners needed to feel something other than defeat, they turned to the leader of the pitching staff and the man they handed the ball to on opening day.

In a series finale the Mariners needed to win to avoid being swept in back-to-back series and find something resembling momentum as they head to Houston ...Read more

NEW YORK — Roughly 24 hours earlier, the Mariners felt the effects of not being able to use lefty Gabe Speier to pitch in a leverage situation.

With their best lefty reliever unavailable due to back tightness, manager Dan Wilson had to try and navigate a series of left-handed hitters with middle reliever Michael Rucker while protecting a 1-0 ...Read more

Zac Thornton kept it close enough for six innings that the Mets had a chance to mount a comeback against the Atlanta Braves, but the bullpen just isn’t what it was before the trade deadline. A three-run homer served up by right-hander Dedniel Nuñez in the seventh inning on Wednesday night at Truist Park pushed the game out of reach, and the ...Read more

The Boston Red Sox will be glad to see their season series against the Blue Jays come to an end on Thursday afternoon in Toronto.

That, at least, has a hard stop. There is no expiration date on Boston’s sudden, astounding unraveling. The losing streak reached five Wednesday night when the Red Sox took a tied 1-1 game into the bottom of the ...Read more

DETROIT — The day started with the news that All-Star left fielder Riley Greene was going on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain.

It ended with a string of zeros on the scoreboard and an important series against the Central Division rival Cleveland Guardians knotted at 1-1.

The Tigers’ three-game win streak and their 100-...Read more

MIAMI — Carmen Mlodzinski made no secret of his desire to be in the starting rotation.

A season-ending injury to Mitch Keller reopened the door for those wishes to be granted, but the 27-year-old hasn’t delivered in his two latest chances as a starter.

Mlodzinski (6-5, 3.97 ERA) managed only 2 1/3 innings Wednesday night at loanDepot park...Read more

The Rays completed an undefeated nine-game country-crossing road trip on Wednesday afternoon by beating the A’s, 8-4.

Trade deadline acquisition Liam Hicks led another team effort with a three-run homer as part of a three-hit day, while Junior Caminero, Cedric Mullins, Richie Palacios and Yandy Diaz also drove in runs, and all nine hitters ...Read more