ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Angels’ hitters came up short again.

After scoring a pair of first-inning runs on a homer, the Angels couldn’t push home another run in their 3-2, 10-inning loss to the A’s on Thursday night. They finished the game with only five hits.

For most of the night, the Angels didn’t even have a runner in scoring ...Read more

The Colorado Rockies talk a lot about needing to learn how to win. They’re sure getting a lot of lessons.

They suffered through another on Thursday night with a 2-1 walk-off loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix. Corbin Carroll slapped a two-out single through the right side to score Gabriel Moreno for the game-winner.

...Read more

NEW YORK — The day before his major league debut, Yovanny Cruz sought advice from another pitcher in the New York Yankees’ bullpen.

“Breathe in, breathe out, keep it simple out there, and just focus on the job,” Fernando Cruz, of no relation, told the 26-year-old on Tuesday.

Those words echoed in the greener Cruz’s mind as he ...Read more

DETROIT — The road keeps getting longer for the Detroit Tigers.

And after packing their bags for a short trip over a holiday weekend, the players left their home clubhouse Thursday afternoon dressed in all manner of casual travel wear. But if they all wore the same look on their way to board a flight bound for Baltimore, there was good reason...Read more

San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey wants everyone to know that his team’s putrid performance to start the season isn’t the fault of first-year manager (and first-year big leaguer) Tony Vitello.

Posey used his biweekly hit on KNBR Thursday morning to fall on his sword for the team’s miserable 20-30 start.

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SEATTLE — The most amazing thing about the Seattle Mariners is that they’re two games back.

Despite the injury and ineffectiveness of franchise catcher Cal Raleigh. Despite the platoon problems and botched piggyback. Despite the in-game gaffes and unsatisfying explanations of manager Dan Wilson. Despite lefty starters serving as their ...Read more

WASHINGTON — What the New York Mets probably needed the most was a rainout to let all of their overworked arms rest. But what they got, they’ll take: A 2-1 win over the Washington Nationals on Thursday afternoon at Nationals Park.

The Mets (22-28) split the series with the Nats (25-26) with a game that featured only minimal errors and ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Say what you will about Barry Bonds, but Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts offered this compelling description of him: "Very low maintenance."

He prepared himself every day. If he was healthy, he was playing, and why wouldn't he? He was the best hitter in baseball.

"With Barry, you just pencil [him] in the lineup and you...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — The fate, and freedom, of Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco will be revealed on Monday afternoon after attorneys wrapped up testimony and evidence in his retrial on charges of sexually abusing a minor, according to multiple reports from the Dominican Republic on Wednesday.

Franco, 25, was convicted in his original trial ...Read more

MIAMI — The Miami Marlins lost one of their top pitching prospects for the season after just one big-league start.

Left-handed pitcher Robby Snelling, ranked as the team’s No. 2 prospect and the No. 28 overall prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, will undergo reconstructive surgery to repair the UCL in his left elbow on Friday, the team ...Read more

DETROIT— They're not only bad, but they're boring, too.

The Detroit Tigers went down with little resistance Thursday, falling to the Cleveland Guardians, 3-1, on a beautiful day for baseball — not to be confused with a day of beautiful baseball.

The Guardians swept the four-game series, as the Tigers were swept for the fifth time this ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The good people of New York like to consider themselves tough. If you can make it there, as Frank Sinatra crooned, you'll make it anywhere.

Do not confuse hot takes with sounding tough. Two New York sports talk hosts this week took daft shots at Joe Davis and came off — in the last adjective with which any true New Yorker ...Read more

ANAHEIM — Three weeks ago, before the story of the Angels’ struggles was their anemic offense, the main problem was their bullpen.

On Wednesday night, they combined the two in a gut-wrenching, 6-5, 10-inning loss to the A’s.

The Angels scored five runs in the first two innings, with all the runs coming on three homers, and then they did ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — The crack of the bat reverberated throughout Petco Park. The crowd let out a collective, “Oh.” And Shohei Ohtani started his trot around the bases.

San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill made a valiant effort to bring back the home run. But after leaping and stretching his torso over the top of the wall, the ball ...Read more

ST. LOUIS — It’s been a tough few days in a rough few weeks for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wednesday was a night where things went right.

The Pirates snapped a four-game losing streak with a 7-0 win against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night at Busch Stadium. The team’s bullpen has been shaky, but Carmen Mlodzinski and four relievers...Read more

Fifty games into the season, coming off another losing road trip (capped by a sweep at the hands of the Diamondbacks), boasting the worst offense in baseball, and 10 games under .500, the San Francisco Giants might be cooked.

To anyone crying that it’s only May, I ask one simple question: What, exactly, are these Giants good at?

Because if ...Read more

Too often this season the Boston Red Sox have struggled to battle back late, and lost winnable games; they entered Wednesday night’s series finale in Kansas City 2-23 when trailing after the sixth inning.

But in the top of the seventh, Jarren Duran homered late for the second consecutive game and the Red Sox came back to win 4-3 to sweep the ...Read more

DENVER — Amid the gloom of mounting losses, the Colorado Rockies keep searching for silver linings.

The latest exhibit was outfielder Jake McCarthy’s performance from the leadoff spot in the Rockies’ final-inning, 5-4 loss to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday afternoon at Coors Field.

Hitting in the top spot for the first time since March ...Read more