CINCINNATI — The Cardinals continued to add on to their lead – first steadily, then strongly, and finally emotionally – and Andre Pallante pitched as if they did not at all.

Stung by a leadoff home run in the second inning, Pallante did not allow a baserunner after that inning and led the Cardinals to a 8-1 victory in Game 1 of a ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO – Trevor McDonald hustled his way through three perfect innings Friday night, pitching like the stopper the on-again, off-again San Francisco Giants desperately needed to open their homestand.

Then the Chicago White Sox struck for nine runs — in just the fourth inning — to trigger a 9-4 Giants loss before an Oracle Park ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — The consensus belief is that the San Diego Padres have to start hitting a lot more in order to maintain winning at anywhere the pace they have through the season’s first 50 games.

For now, the team with the major leagues’ lowest batting average and its fifth-best record is just making its hits count.

The Padres continue to ...Read more

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Apparently Wade Meckler is the answer to the Angels’ problems.

An Anaheim native, Meckler made his Angels debut on Friday night, and he made an immediate impact with his glove and his bat to spark a 9-6 victory over the Texas Rangers.

The left fielder slammed into the wall catching a foul ball to end the top of the first....Read more

MILWAUKEE — Something about American Family Field in the regular season disagrees with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

They began this road trip with a pair of statement series, sweeping the Los Angeles Angels and edging out the San Diego Padres. But their momentum came to a grinding halt when they fell 5-1 to the Brewers on Friday in Milwaukee.

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TORONTO — The good news was Bubba Chandler was much improved, striking out a career-high 11 batters.

The bad news? Those strikeouts came in just five innings and he was still charged with the loss. Chandler’s defense committed three errors in the first three innings, leading to three runs, and the Pittsburgh Pirates lost 6-2 to the Toronto ...Read more

NEW YORK — The majors-best Tampa Bay Rays knew better than to think things would be easy as they headed north to face the American League team closest to them in the standings.

Especially when the New York Yankees brought ace Gerrit Cole back early from his rehab assignment to make the start Friday on a cool and loud night at the big stadium ...Read more

Austin Martin lofted a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning, his fourth home run in 188 career games, and the Minnesota Twins bullpen pitched five hitless innings.

Call it the night of the improbable in the Twins’ 8-6 comeback victory over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Friday. The Twins trailed by four runs after the first ...Read more

BALTIMORE — There’s no place like home.

Jackson Holliday made his Camden Yards season debut Friday and greeted Orioles fans with a go-ahead, two-run home run in the fourth inning to help lead Baltimore to a 7-4 win over the Detroit Tigers. Holliday, who reached base three times and scored twice, put Baltimore (22-29) ahead for good with his...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When Nick Mears came jogging in from the Kansas City Royals bullpen to start the seventh inning, you could almost hear a collective sigh coming from the Seattle Mariners dugout.

It’s not as if the small crowd Friday night at Kauffman Stadium provided enough noise to drown out such exhortations.

Why the sense of relief?

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PHILADELPHIA — As rain poured at Citizens Bank Park for most of the evening, the starting pitchers put on a show.

Phillies lefty Cristopher Sánchez dueled the Cleveland Guardians’ Gavin Williams on Friday, with both starters turning in eight scoreless innings.

With a scoreless tie in the ninth inning, Phillies brought in closer Jhoan ...Read more

MIAMI — The New York Mets have been getting increasingly younger over the last few weeks. At the same time, the bullpen has become increasingly thin as a result of short outings from starting pitchers.

Sean Manaea, a 34-year-old veteran lefty, reminded everyone that he’s still here Friday night at LoanDepot Park. On the other end of the ...Read more

NEW YORK — With José Caballero coming off the injured list and starting at shortstop on Friday, Aaron Boone revealed that Anthony Volpe will start to work out at second base on the days that he’s not playing.

“He may still end up being all at shortstop,” Boone said of Volpe, the New York Yankees’ nearly-unchallenged starting ...Read more

NEW YORK — Spencer Jones’ first stint in the majors has come to an end.

Ahead of Friday night’s series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays, the New York Yankees optioned the rookie outfielder to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

The move preceded the Yankees activating infielder José Caballero (finger) from the injured list.

“It was a ...Read more

CINCINNATI — The forecast for the evening was as consistent as the rainy conditions all day around Great American Ball Park, so before the teams reported to the field, the Cincinnati Reds announced Friday night's game was postponed.

The St. Louis Cardinals and Reds will play a split doubleheader Saturday.

Game 1 of the doubleheader will be ...Read more

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