Jake Cronenworth said late Monday night that it was time for the Padres to “dig deep.”

On Tuesday afternoon, he suffered a bloody nose and a scare when he took a ball to the face during batting practice.

Then, after helping dig a hole by making an error in the top of the first inning, Cronenworth hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — Trevor McDonald wasn’t fooling the Toronto Blue Jays. Not in the slightest.

It was reflected in the eight runs he allowed, the most he’s surrendered in a single game in his young career. It was reflected in the 11 hits he allowed, which were also the most he’s given up in an outing. It was reflected in his inability to ...Read more

In Shohei Ohtani, who on Tuesday became the first Japanese player to hit 300 home runs in MLB, the Dodgers had the first National League All-Star voted in this year.

They still have a chance for a late addition.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has been lobbying for two members of his pitching staff to be named replacement players: left-handed ...Read more

BALTIMORE — It was one of those nights for the Orioles.

The visiting Chicago fans seemed to take over Camden Yards, with a sea of blue jerseys and shirts lining the third base side and behind the visitors’ dugout. At every opportunity, they produced the loudest reactions of the night.

The Orioles, to be fair, didn’t give the home crowd ...Read more

Don’t look now, but the Boston Red Sox might actually have something going.

Powered by a dominant outing by Payton Tolle and a pair of second-inning home runs, the Red Sox beat the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox 8-1 in Tuesday’s series opener, giving the club their fourth straight win and their ninth in the last 11 games.

After ...Read more

ST. LOUIS — After they broke through in the sixth inning against Brewers starter Robert Gasser in efforts to avoid losing both games of a Tuesday doubleheader, the Cardinals’ first form of offense in the nightcap was met with an inning loud enough by Milwaukee that it not only helped regain the runs they lost but allowed them to run away ...Read more

NEW YORK — Tuesday night at Citi Field, there was a brief display of bad baseball in a game between two bad baseball teams. And it certainly opened up with a bang.

In the bottom of the first inning between the New York Mets and Kansas City Royals, Carson Benge tapped an infield single back to pitcher Seth Lugo — with two runners on base —...Read more

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Angels’ losing streak reached seven games because of a nightmarish sequence in the late innings on Tuesday night.

The Angels took a one-run lead into the bottom of the seventh, and ended up losing to the Texas Rangers, 8-3, falling a season-worst 20 games under .500.

The Angels (36-56) were having a pretty good night...Read more

MIAMI — It doesn’t take a new metric devised by genius analysts to say its suboptimal. And while they never dealt with the scenario in their days, you can almost hear the crustiest of the old managers scolding the failure.

But in the new era of extra-innings baseball that features the automatic runner at second to start innings after the ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — About a month ago, Twins manager Derek Shelton called Taj Bradley into his office and told him that he thought he got “swagger jacked.”

It was a phrase that Shelton picked up from Carl Crawford when he was Crawford’s hitting coach in Tampa Bay. Bradley struggled in his first few starts following a stint on the injured list...Read more

DETROIT — It doesn’t have to be a big swing that changes a game. The Tigers, when they are playing at their best, prove this time after time.

And they did so again Tuesday night in a spirited, 6-2 win over the Athletics in the first of three at Comerica Park. Sometimes a simple walk can turn the tide.

It was a tight, 2-1 game when lefty-...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Ryan O’Hearn made sure Paul Skenes’ losing streak didn’t reach 10.

He then took an well-deserved curtain call.

O’Hearn set a Pirates franchise record on Tuesday, driving in the first 10 runs with three homers as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Atlanta Braves, 12-4, at PNC Park.

O’Hearn hit a first-inning grand slam ...Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla — Ian Seymour delivered a third straight strong outing, and the Rays got their bats going Tuesday in halting a three-game slide with a 6-4 win over the Yankees at Tropicana Field.

The victory was a team effort, but the most notable offensive contribution came from Yandy Diaz, who hadn’t done much to help since leaving ...Read more

ST. LOUIS — Facing Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski for the first game of a Tuesday doubleheader at Busch Stadium, the St. Louis Cardinals had enough runs to take two different leads over Milwaukee's fireballer but weren't able to hold them.

The Cardinals received two runs in the first inning on a homer Jordan Walker hit off Misiorowski...Read more

PITTSBURGH — The Pirates are placing shortstop Konnor Griffin on the 10-day injured list with a torn tendon in his left ring finger, Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Tuesday.

In his place, the Pirates recalled infielder Jack Brannigan from Triple-A Indianapolis.

Griffin’s injury will be splinted for six weeks, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — In 2012, when Mark Walter and his partners bought the Dodgers, team president Stan Kasten declared mediocrity would no longer be acceptable.

Would the Dodgers improve their minor league system? Yes. Would the Dodgers improve their major league roster? Also yes. Would spending in one area preclude spending in another? Absolutely ...Read more

The night began strangely. It turned ugly.

The Padres returned home Sunday night having won a game after eight straight losses, talking about how they saw positives and were looking to create momentum.

There were no signs of either on Monday, as they put up almost no resistance in a shockingly easy 8-0 victory by the Diamondbacks.

“That’s...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — Heliot Ramos lamented last week how he had come mere inches from the first multi-homer game of his career. This time around, the ballpark couldn’t hold him down.

Ramos powered the Giants to a 10-1 blowout win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night, enjoying the first two-homer game of his career to go along with a ...Read more

ST. LOUIS — With an eye on Tuesday’s doubleheader and the need to cover innings with five games in four days, the Cardinals got the efficiency they hoped for starter Dustin May and a lead to go with it on Monday night vs. the Brewers.

May was to be kept to a pitch count of 65-75 in his first game since taking a comebacker off his ankle ...Read more