ATLANTA — For two teams that have lost ground in the standings because they have been unable to gain much of anything on the scoreboard, it seemed like it would not take many runs at all to win Wednesday night’s game.

Ozzie Albies produced two early and the Atlanta Braves held that lead for most of the game.

A series of unfortunate events...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Most fans of baseball, delayed gratification and compounding interest know about Bobby Bonilla Day, an annual acknowledgment of the dawn of deferred contracts.

BBD is also a cautionary reminder to major league general managers not to overpay players whose best years are behind them. And Bonilla evokes memories among Dodgers fans...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Junior Caminero didn’t take long Wednesday night to extend his remarkable power show and lead the Tampa Bay Rays to a season-best-matching seventh straight win, beating the Kansas City Royals 4-0.

Caminero crushed the first pitch he saw from Royals starter Seth Lugo over the left-field fence, extending his streak of ...Read more

CHICAGO — It’s too early to say this Alex Bregman thing isn’t going to work out.

Bregman is only halfway through the first year of a five-year, $175 million deal with the Chicago Cubs, so there’s plenty of time for him to start living up to his reputation as one of baseball’s top hitters. He homered Tuesday for the first time since ...Read more

NEW YORK — Survive and advance.

That sums up the day for the Tigers on Wednesday, as they somehow got out of Yankee Stadium with a 6-2 win in 11 innings and a series sweep over the free-falling Yankees.

The Tigers scored four times in the 11th after reliever Camilo Doval walked three batters, including Spencer Torkelson with the bases loaded...Read more

BOSTON — In their last home game before the 2026 MLB All-Star break, the Red Sox played very much like a team on the road to nowhere.

Payton Tolle’s worst start of the season, combined with a lifeless Boston offense, sunk the Sox on a steamy Wednesday afternoon in which the only thing hotter than the 95-degree weather at first pitch was the...Read more

Bryan Woo’s best performance didn’t come on the mound Tuesday night.

Though the Mariners right-hander was outstanding as usual in his home ballpark. After holding the Angels scoreless over the first six innings, Woo set a franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings pitched at T-Mobile Park at 32 1/3 innings, setting the tone in the ...Read more

SACRAMENTO — For Dave Roberts, it’s 1,000 down and Cooperstown to go.

Victory No. 1: 15-0 over the San Diego Padres in 2016, with vintage Clayton Kershaw on the mound and Adrián González in the cleanup spot. Amid the postgame handshakes, González showered Roberts with bubble gum.

“There was no stress,” Roberts said. “It was such ...Read more

PHOENIX — Landen Roupp almost received a gift. Almost.

The Arizona Diamondbacks, already leading by three in the third thanks to Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s three-run homer, loaded the bases with two outs. Despite the threat, Roupp was one strike away from escaping. His 3-2 cutter to Jorge Barrosa, the No. 9 hitter, was supposed to be high and ...Read more

Five weeks after the Twins tried to shake up their poor infield defense by shifting Brooks Lee to third base, and later Royce Lewis to first, they are in the middle of another infield shuffle.

Luke Keaschall, who made 72 starts at second base, has spent the last five games playing right field. Kody Clemens, who was mostly an outfielder at the ...Read more

CHICAGO — Fernando Tatis Jr. turned on the fifth pitch of the game and watched it for just a moment.

That was more time than it took to know the ball would reach the bleachers. Tatis was halfway to first base when his home run cleared the back fence and fell onto Waveland Avenue.

The wind that a night earlier carried a couple fateful fly ...Read more

NEW YORK — Pitchers' duel? What pitchers' duel.

It was billed as a battle between the reigning American League Cy Young winner and the leader in the clubhouse for the award this season.

Tarik Skubal held up his end of the deal.

But the Tigers spoiled the storyline for right-hander Cam Schlittler and the Yankees, clubbing five home runs in a...Read more

BALTIMORE — Before Tuesday night’s game, Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said Baltimore fans “have every right to boo.”

Four hours later, his team gave the fans something to boo for the second night in a row.

The Orioles were thoroughly outplayed by the Chicago White Sox at Camden Yards, falling, 9-3, for their fourth consecutive loss. ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Cristopher Sánchez unleashed a slider for a first-pitch strike in the second inning and called for a trainer.

Uh-oh.

Three words the Phillies never want to see in the same sentence: “Cristopher Sánchez” and “trainer.” But there they were Tuesday night, and well, Citizens Bank Park held its collective breath.

Sá...Read more

The catching crew supplied most of the Mets‘ offense Tuesday night in Toronto. It’s not how the Mets envisioned winning a game, but they’ll take wins how they come right now.

Francisco Alvarez and Luis Torrens each hit homers, while right-hander Nolan McLean tossed six shutout innings in a 3-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers ...Read more

ATLANTA — There was nothing smooth or swift about how Matthew Liberatore reasserted his place in the rotation with a one-hitter Tuesday night, so why should be there anything simple about how the Cardinals finished it?

At the end of a difficult June, Liberatore held Atlanta to one run on one hit through five innings, but he had to tiptoe ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Winning American League Player of the Week honors on Monday wasn’t enough for Junior Caminero.

On Tuesday, in a 10-4 victory over the Royals that was the Rays’ sixth straight win, he made history.

With a three-run homer in the third inning, Caminero extended his hot streak into uncommon territory.

He became the first ...Read more