SEATTLE — Randy Arozarena wasn’t going to leave the batter’s box. Nope he was savoring moment that has been lacking for the Seattle Mariners of late.

In a pose made for a statue artist, Arozarena held his follow-through with his bat – yes, unbroken – remaining pointed high in the air in triumph.

He didn’t move from that position ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — It was Max Muncy’s night.

His third home run — a no-doubt-about-it 401-foot walk-off to right-center field, gave the Los Angeles Dodgers an 8-7 victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday at Dodger Stadium.

They improved to 10-3, winning despite closer Edwin Díaz’s first blown save as a Dodger.

Muncy’s first home runs, ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres got two home runs in an inning for the first time this season. Walker Buehler went longer than four innings for the first time this season.

That wasn’t enough for a victory, as Adrian Morejón’s frustrating season continued.

But a night after their first walk-off victory of the season on a home run, the ...Read more

ST. LOUIS — Coming off a pair of rugged outings to begin his Cardinals career, starter Dustin May provided a quality start Friday night against his former team that handed a lead over to a Cardinals bullpen that did not budge.

After May was removed following six innings and two runs (one earned) allowed against the Red Sox, the Cardinals ...Read more

CINCINNATI — Three numbers tell you all you need to know about what the Angels’ lineup did on Friday night.

They had 10 hits, eight walks and seven strikeouts.

The Angels’ 10-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds marked a rare confluence of those three numbers. It was the first time since last July that they had more hits than strikeouts ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — In search of relief from a 20-inning scoreless drought, the Phillies eyed the composition of their opponent’s bullpen Friday and did something unusual.

They bunched together four left-handed hitters.

It wasn’t ideal, manager Rob Thomson conceded. But because the Diamondbacks lack a lefty reliever, he figured it just might ...Read more

For the first time under manager Tony Vitello, the Giants have a winning streak.

Willy Adames and Jung Hoo Lee homered and drove in two runs apiece while Landen Roupp pitched six innings of one-run ball as San Francisco defeated the Baltimore Orioles, 6-3, on Friday night at Camden Yards for its third straight win to kick off a nine-game road ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — Turns out, the decision was brilliant. The outcome was magical.

Even if the praise is probably a little overblown.

Rays manager Kevin Cash shook up his lineup on Friday and the results were immediate in a 5-3 win against the Yankees.

Moving his three big hitters — Yandy Diaz, Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero — around ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Royals pitcher Kris Bubic had a special night at the office.

The left-handed starter was in rare form against the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium on Friday night, setting a career high with 11 strikeouts in the Royals’ 2-0 victory.

Bubic didn’t need much run support. He was in control from the first ...Read more

NEW YORK — Maybe it’s the weather.

A brutal New York City winter has extended into spring, preventing the Mets from producing runs. Maybe it was the biting cold that tweaked the hamstring of Clay Holmes on Friday night.

Since returning home to Citi Field this week, the Mets’ offense has gone from an overflow to a dripping faucet. It shut...Read more

TORONTO — After all the good vibes, momentum and positivity surrounding the Twins following their four-game sweep against Detroit, the defending American League champions hit them with a gut punch.

Simeon Woods Richardson and the Twins wasted a four-run lead in their 10-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday at Rogers Centre, which ended ...Read more

SEATTLE — A few minutes after the not-so-smooth unveiling of the newest Mariners statue, Ken Griffey Jr. approached Ichiro inside a ground-floor hallway at T-Mobile Park and professed his innocence.

“I did not do that,” Griffey told his former teammate.

Video evidence suggests otherwise.

As Griffey and Edgar Martinez pulled the drapery ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Pirates have tried a few different strategies against Shota Imanaga, the Cubs lefty who has historically dominated the Pirates.

On Friday afternoon, they tried something new: simply waiting until he left the game.

Imanaga threw six no-hit innings, but the Pirates jumped on reliever Caleb Thielbar as soon as Imanaga was pulled ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Here's a twist on fantasy baseball: Which quartet would you prefer at the top of your lineup?

Option 1: Bobby Witt Jr., Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber.

Option 2: Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Tucker, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.

If you go with Option 1, you are taking the top four batters, in order, in the lineup of ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres closed out an ugly game Thursday with a beautiful defensive play in the top of the 12th inning and Xander Bogaerts’ walk-off grand slam in the bottom half for a 7-3 victory over the visiting Colorado Rockies.

Bogaerts came to bat with the bases loaded after a sacrifice bunt by Fernando Tatis Jr. and ...Read more

NEW YORK — Nolan McLean pitched well enough to give the Mets a chance to win by shutting out the Arizona Diamondbacks for six innings Thursday night at Citi Field. But without him, the Mets fell apart.

The Diamondbacks scored seven runs over the seventh and eighth innings to beat the Mets, 7-1, and take the three-game series, 2-1. McLean took...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals’ offensive woes continued on Thursday night.

Despite getting a quality start from All-Star starting pitcher Seth Lugo, the Royals fell, 2-0, in a series-opening game against the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium.

Lugo allowed one two runs in 6 1/3 innings. He scattered four hits and kept his ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — After Konnor Griffin made his major league debut on Friday, he said he was looking forward to Saturday.

Why? He’d get to “flip the switch,” focusing on what’s next and the grind of a major league season instead of the pageantry of the debut. Then came Wednesday and another flipped switch, as Griffin signed a nine-year, $...Read more

TORONTO — Freddie Freeman ignored the first call from the unknown number.

Then four text messages in a row came from someone claiming to be Ryan Reynolds, the Canadian-American actor.

“I don’t know if I believe this,” Freeman recounted Wednesday on the Rogers Centre field before the Dodgers’ series finale against the Blue Jays. “So...Read more