BALTIMORE — The Orioles acquired right-handed pitcher Zach Eflin in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday for outfielder Matthew Etzel, infielder Mac Horvath and right-handed pitcher Jackson Baumeister, a source with direct knowledge of the deal confirmed to The Baltimore Sun.

Eflin, 30, has posted a 4.09 ERA with 87 strikeouts in 19 ...Read more

Just as they expected, the Dodgers were able to find a trade partner for James Paxton after designating him for assignment this week.

On Friday, the team announced it had agreed to trade Paxton to his old team, the Boston Red Sox, in exchange for minor league infielder Moises Bolivar.

The move marked the first official trade the Dodgers have ...Read more

SEATTLE — In desperate need of offensive help to bolster their listless lineup, the Mariners have added one of the best bats available on the trade market.

The Mariners acquired Randy Arozarena, the slugging left fielder from the Tampa Bay Rays, late Thursday night for two minor leaguers and a player to be named later, major league sources ...Read more

BALTIMORE — The first domino has fallen.

In what’s been expected to be a busy trade deadline for the Orioles, the club made its first move Friday afternoon — an unconventional and surprising one.

Baltimore traded veteran left fielder Austin Hays — an All-Star in 2023 and a team leader since the rebuild — to the Philadelphia Phillies ...Read more

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Kenny Rosenberg has an opportunity to secure a spot in the gaping hole in the Angels’ rotation, and his first try didn’t go as he’d hoped.

Rosenberg, the 14th pitcher to start for the Angels this season, coughed up an early three-run lead and got knocked out in the fourth inning of a 6-5 loss to the Oakland A’s on ...Read more

MIAMI — The Marlins, very much open to trading veterans for prospects, continued that process on Thursday evening by dealing reliever A.J. Puk to Arizona for corner infielder Deyvison De Los Santos and center fielder Andrew Pintar.

De Los Santos is considered the better of the two prospects; Baseball America ranks him sixth and Pintar 17th ...Read more

NEW YORK — Chris Sale might be back, but so is Jeff McNeil.

The Mets opened a key series against their NL East foes Thursday night at Citi Field with wild-card positioning on the line with a 3-2, 10-inning win. With two on and two out in the bottom of the 10th, the 2022 NL batting champ hit a deep fly ball off Pierce Johnson into the right-...Read more

TORONTO — What Taj Bradley is doing for the Rays is impressive, remarkable and historic, plus a bunch of other things.

And somewhat routine.

Bradley was dominant again Thursday, throwing six two-hit, no-run innings in a 13-0 blasting of the Blue Jays.

Over his last nine starts, the 23-year-old right-hander has a 5-1 record and 0.82 ERA that...Read more

LOS ANGELES — When Clayton Kershaw took the mound to his familiar entrance song — "We are Young," by Fun — for his 2024 debut on Thursday, he became the first Dodgers pitcher to play in 17 different seasons, the three-time National League Cy Young Award winner and 2014 NL most valuable player having debuted as a 20-year-old in 2008.

"...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Padres went 8,206 games before a native son threw the franchise’s no-hitter back in 2021.

On Thursday, just 582 games after Joe Musgrove made San Diego history, Dylan Cease did it again.

The right-hander, who had four times this season allowed one hit over seven innings, waited out a rain delay of 76 minutes before taking ...Read more

MIAMI — The Orioles coughed up a 6-0 lead over the Miami Marlins on Thursday but hung on to win, 7-6, on a go-ahead single by Ryan Mountcastle in the 10th inning.

Closer Craig Kimbrel blew the save with a three-run lead in the ninth, spoiling a quality start by Corbin Burnes, yet the Orioles responded with an extra-inning rally to end their ...Read more

CLEVELAND — It had been a minute. Since April 14. He had stepped into the batter’s box 183 straight times without hitting one.

So forgive Javier Báez as he stood at home plate and admired this one for a couple of seconds.

Báez swatted a hanging slider in the second inning and sent it 409 feet into the left-field bleachers at Progressive ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Robbie Ray’s first time back on a big-league mound in 16 months was a big deal. Getting off of it again, it turned out, was equally important.

In an 8-3 win over the Dodgers on a warm Wednesday evening, the 32-year-old former Cy Young winner boasted a box score that would suggest there was no rust whatsoever, no sign that the ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals were three outs away from picking up a series win against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday night.

The Royals entered the ninth inning with a 4-3 advantage. Everything seemed to be lined up for another celebratory victory.

The Diamondbacks spoiled those plans. Arizona scored ...Read more

The Los Angeles Dodgers have yet to make any trades ahead of next Tuesday's deadline.

But their roster got another notable shake-up Wednesday.

Before their game against the San Francisco Giants, the Dodgers activated pitcher Tyler Glasnow from the injured list, and signed and activated veteran shortstop Nick Ahmed.

In corresponding moves, ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Padres clearly had a plan.

It did not immediately pay off. There was a bit of a scare.

But a laugher quickly ensued, and the Padres are rolling.

They won their fourth consecutive game on Wednesday. They scored a dozen runs, had a season-high 20 hits. Matt Waldron turned in his 10th quality start in 11 outings.

By the time ...Read more

NEW YORK — The first time Gerrit Cole faced the Mets this season, the Yankees ace was making just his second start of the year after elbow inflammation delayed his 2024 debut.

Pitching at Citi Field on June 25, Cole surrendered four home runs in a 9-7 Yankees loss. But he was still building up as the Mets pounced on his lacking fastball that ...Read more

CLEVELAND — Here’s the part that might frustrate a portion of the fan base.

Whether or not the Tigers end up trading right-hander Jack Flaherty before the trade deadline next Tuesday will have almost nothing to do with how many games the team wins in the meantime.

What will matter, above anything else, will be the quality of the return ...Read more