ANAHEIM, Calif. — The loss that ensured the Angels’ 11th straight losing season was the perfect encapsulation of their latest miserable year.

The starting pitching was good enough, but the offense and the bullpen couldn’t do enough to complete the victory.

Despite taking an early three-run lead and getting quality work from starter ...Read more

SEATTLE — Take a few minutes, maybe Thursday when the Phillies don’t play, and gaze at the numbers.

— .338 average

— .509 on-base percentage

— .600 slugging

— Five homers

— 28 walks

— 19 strikeouts

That’s Bryce Harper in August.

“He’s impressive,” interim manager Don Mattingly said Wednesday — before Harper ...Read more

PHOENIX — The Chicago Cubs hoped right-hander Ben Brown could return to the pitching staff by the end of the season and be a potential multi-inning weapon in the playoffs.

A setback is creating uncertainty for that vision.

Sidelined by a stress reaction in his neck since June 21, Brown threw his live batting practice Tuesday morning at Sloan...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Big hits.

Not a lot of hits. But a couple of the hits they needed.

Those were lacking on Monday and Tuesday. The Padres got them on Wednesday.

The Pirates did not.

Again and again, Padres pitchers escaped messes to preserve the slim lead they had been given early on, and they held on to win the finale of a three-game series ...Read more

NEW YORK — Yankees’ Assistant Director of Baseball Communications Mike Pinsky will compete on the 51st season of CBS’s “Survivor.”

His addition to the long-running reality TV competition was announced by the program on Wednesday.

“I don’t do anything for second place,” he says in a video previewing his appearance. “I’m here...Read more

Oswaldo Pirela, a San Diego Padres minor league coach who was taken into custody by ICE on Aug. 16, was released on bond Monday "pending his removal proceedings," according to the Dept. of Homeland Security.

The Padres confirmed that Pirela is home in Peoria, Ariz., with his wife and two daughters. However, the Venezuelan native still faces ...Read more

Freddy Peralta on Wednesday finally looked like the pitcher the Tampa Bay Rays had hoped they were getting.

Peralta worked six shutout innings to earn his first win in five outings since being acquired in an Aug. 2 trade, as the Rays beat the Tigers 3-0 in Detroit.

The Rays won their first series since Aug. 10-12, improving their American ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — TWG Global — the holding company of Dodgers owner Mark Walter — rejected allegations of financial impropriety in the purchase and operation of the Dodgers and reiterated the team is not for sale.

At a time insurance regulators and federal investigators are looking into allegations that insurance companies under Walter's ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Jason Heyward didn't give Freddie Freeman the heads up that he'd secured a job in the Dodgers' front office. He hadn't told any of his former Dodger teammates. But Freeman, who's known Heyward for two decades, now says he'd heard rumblings. He was just going to let his longtime friend break the news himself.

On May 13, midway ...Read more

ANAHEIM — An early five-run lead with one of their best starters on the mound should have been an easy victory for the Angels.

But nothing is easy this season.

Walbert Ureña couldn’t get out of the fourth inning, and the Angels gave up the lead by the fifth. They also surrendered a one-run lead in the eighth, and lost, 8-6 in 10 innings, ...Read more

Furious George returned in the best way.

But the seething anger that fueled and at times engulfed George Kirby during his early days in a Mariners uniform due to walks, missed calls, cheap singles, bad innings and really anything that hindered his outing never appeared when he was on the mound of T-Mobile Park on Tuesday night.

Facing a left-...Read more

Taj Bradley became the first pitcher in Twins history to complete an immaculate inning, striking out three batters in nine pitches during the fifth inning, but there wasn’t much else for the Twins to celebrate Tuesday in Sacramento.

Center fielder Byron Buxton left in the seventh inning of a 4-2 loss to the Athletics because of an injury.

...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Paul Skenes had his best outing in months. It almost wasn’t enough.

Skenes threw six shutout frames, then Oneil Cruz’s ninth-inning, two-out solo homer off Mason Miller gave the Pirates the run they needed for a 1-0 victory against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night at Petco Park.

Cruz’s blast was the first homer Miller ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — The already lean San Francisco Giants pitching rotation appeared to lose a second member in as many nights on Tuesday.

Starting pitcher Adrian Houser left Tuesday’s game against the Reds after only 1.1 innings and 26 pitches in the Giants’ 3-1 victory over Cincinnati. After his final pitch to Hector Rodriguez, a 93.9 mile ...Read more

Within the next week the Red Sox expect to get Trevor Story, Roman Anthony and Isiah Kiner-Falefa back from injury. When that happens the club will have some tough decisions to make, and in all likelihood a couple of key contributors will wind up being the odd men out.

But Mickey Gasper is doing everything he can to prove he deserves a spot.

...Read more

ATLANTA — In right-hander Tyler Glasnow’s first game back from the injured list, he pushed through bad luck, made an adjustment between innings, and showed how big of an impact he can make when healthy.

Even so, the Dodgers fell to the Braves, 4-3, on Tuesday, ending a six-game winning streak, tied for their season high.

“Even with all ...Read more