ANAHEIM, Calif. — If a random baseball fan happened upon Angel Stadium on Wednesday night, looking to watch a Major League Baseball game, the Mariners and Angels would have offered a pretty solid encapsulation of how and why both teams will finish the 2026 season with losing records.

In terms of execution or precision, it was lacking in ...Read more

The limp to October goes on for the Boston Red Sox, who blew an early 2-0 lead over the Rangers and dropped their series in Texas with a 7-3 loss Wednesday night.

Boston batters managed just three hits in the contest, their runs coming via Willson Contreras’ first-inning two-run homer and Caleb Durbin scoring on a balk in the fifth.

Early on...Read more

HOUSTON — Kansas City Royals starter Daniel Lynch IV felt like he was getting close. In his last seven starts, he had made progress after returning to the starting rotation.

Yet, he still hadn’t put together a dominant outing.

On Wednesday, Lynch stood tall against the Houston Astros. The left-hander pitched with conviction across five ...Read more

DENVER — The San Diego Padres called up Ethan Salas earlier this month and dropped him into a postseason race.

The 20-year-old catcher is in the major leagues for the experience. And the Padres’ catcher of the future is being asked to produce now.

“We believe in Ethan, and we think he could really help us get to the playoffs and then in ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates broke their franchise record for homers in a season on Wednesday night, but fell another game further from a winning year.

The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pirates, 5-4, at PNC Park, despite three homers for the Pirates. They’ve hit 174 this season, breaking a tie with the 1999 team (171) for the most in ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Most of the Phillies were already gone from the clubhouse to catch the team bus. But just in case of any stragglers, Kyle Schwarber’s voice rose by an octave.

“It’s going to be a grind,” he said here the other night. “It’s not like it’s guaranteed. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it. We have to go out, and we ...Read more

CINCINNATI — Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell left his start against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday after one inning, with what the team identified as left groin tightness.

Snell gave up one hit, a single to Sal Stewart, which he quickly erased with a successful pick-off that caught Stewart in an inning-ending rundown.

Snell threw 19 ...Read more

NEW YORK — Not dead yet.

The playoff odds matter little to the Orioles now. With a week and a half left to play in the regular season and ground to make up in the wild-card race, they need wins any way they can get them. The rest is out of their hands.

Baltimore did its part this week in Queens, beating the New York Mets, 7-1, on Wednesday ...Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — There was nothing flashy about the Rays’ win over the A’s Wednesday night, nothing overly exciting or dramatic like, you know, a walk-off home run by Junior Caminero or something.

But sometimes, boring is better.

Just ask the Yankees, who rallied frantically for two runs in the ninth inning Thursday afternoon at ...Read more

CLEVELAND — Chicago White Sox relievers lost their command in the sixth inning Wednesday against the Cleveland Guardians.

And the Sox lost their grip on the American League Central.

The Sox fell to second place in the division with a 6-3 loss to the Guardians in front of 23,336 at Progressive Field. The Sox had held at least a share of the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Carlos Correa is out. Max Fried is back. Shohei Ohtani is somewhere in between. And questions linger over the postseason availability of several other MLB difference-makers as October approaches.

Here is a look at the injury status and hopeful returns of impact players on playoff qualifiers and contenders:

American League East ...Read more

CINCINNATI — Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell left his start against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday after one inning, with what the team identified as left groin tightness.

Snell gave up one hit, a single to Sal Stewart, which he quickly erased with a successful pick-off that caught Stewart in an inning-ending run-down.

Snell threw 19 ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — After all the ways the Twins have lost to the New York Yankees this century, all the letdowns in their long saga of misery, maybe they were due for a game like Wednesday's 5-4 win.

Victor Caratini, a pinch hitter, ended the longest (and maybe wackiest) game of the Twins season with a walk-off single in the 13th inning, a ground ...Read more

MINNESOTA — Aaron Judge’s health has the Yankees holding their breath once again.

The slugger left Wednesday’s 5-4, 13-inning loss to the Twins prematurely when Heliot Ramos pinch hit for him with a runner on and one out in the top of the sixth inning. It was a concerning development, as the Yankees were only down two runs at the time, ...Read more

One of the many oddities for the Giants this season is how many players they’ve used in the leadoff spot. Manager Tony Vitello has penciled in 15 different starters to bat first, the most in franchise history. The list includes one-offs from Will Brennan, Victor Bericoto and Nate Furman, as well as cameos from Bryce Eldridge and Matt Chapman. ...Read more

ANAHEIM — It was clear immediately that Ryan Johnson was going to go right at the Seattle Mariners.

Johnson didn’t throw a ball until the second inning, on his way to six strong innings and another statement about his place in the Angels’ rotation next season.

After pitching the Angels to a 2-1 victory over the Mariners on Tuesday night,...Read more

DENVER — The Rockies are young and unknown and not good on the whole.

But they have some players who can hit a bit, and especially at their mile-high ballpark.

In Tuesday’s game at Coors Field between one team on an eight-game winning streak and one on an eight-game losing streak, it was a young player from somewhere familiar who ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins had a two-run deficit after two batters Tuesday, following a two-run homer from Cody Bellinger, and the rest of the game wasn't much better.

One day after the Twins watched the New York Yankees celebrate clinching a playoff spot, they were routed in an 8-1 loss at Target Field.

If that wasn't enough bad news, rookie ...Read more

The 1985 San Francisco Giants will not have company.

With a 10-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium, the Giants won their 63rd game under rookie manager Tony Vitello, guaranteeing that they will not lose 100 games in a single season for the second time in franchise history. San Francisco, at 63-89, had far ...Read more

HOUSTON — Michael Wacha continues to prove his worth to the Kansas City Royals. And on a night when he didn’t have his best stuff, Wacha still gave the club a chance.

Wacha tossed six innings against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. However, his Tuesday start was an uncharacteristic showing. Wacha allowed three homers — including two ...Read more