Bobby Witt Jr. leads Royals to open AL wild-card series
BALTIMORE — Bobby Witt Jr. made the most of his much-anticipated playoff debut, driving in the only run Tuesday to back Cole Ragans’ six sharp innings and help the Kansas City Royals return from a nine-year postseason absence with a 1-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in Game 1 of...
Tarik Skubal sensational in Tigers’ AL wild-card win
HOUSTON — Tarik Skubal kept up his stellar season with a sensational playoff debut and the Detroit Tigers got to Framber Valdez early in a 3-1 win over the Houston Astros in their AL wild-card series opener Tuesday. The Tigers, swept in the American League Division Series in their last...
Will anyone hit 74 homers? Even Aaron Judge thinks MLB season record is ‘a little untouchable’
What used to be one of baseball’s most magical numbers — 61 home runs — now sits buried, eight lines deep, in the Major League Baseball record book. The number now at the top of that record book — 73 home runs — is steeped in a steroid-addled purgatory, but...
Shohei Ohtani looking to top himself in his 1st playoff appearance with Dodgers
LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani was already a superstar with his hitting and pitching accomplishments over six years with the Los Angeles Angels. Yet every October, Ohtani vanished, with the Angels having a losing record and never making the playoffs. Coming up Interstate 5 to the Los Angeles Dodgers seemingly...
Major League Baseball mourns death of all-time hits leader Pete Rose
On the field, Pete Rose will be remembered as an all-time great. His resume is nearly unparalleled: 17-time All-Star, three-time World Series champion, World Series MVP, National League MVP, NL Rookie of the Year, three-time batting champ and two-time Gold Glove winner. He became MLB’s all-time leader with 4,256 hits...
Pete Rose, baseball’s banned hits leader, has died at age 83
Pete Rose, baseball’s career hits leader and fallen idol who undermined his historic achievements and Hall of Fame dreams by gambling on the game he loved and once embodied, has died. He was 83. Stephanie Wheatley, a spokesperson for Clark County in Nevada, confirmed on behalf of the medical examiner...
Braves salvage playoff berth with 3-0 win over the Mets, who win thrilling opener 8-7 to clinch
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves bounced back from a stunning loss in the first game of a makeup doubleheader, claiming the last postseason berth with a 3-0 win over the Mets in the nightcap Monday after New York clinched a playoffs trip with an 8-7 victory in the opener. With...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Move is what’s best for business for A’s
The A’s played their last-ever game in Oakland on Thursday. Oakland Coliseum was packed: 46,889 creating an atmosphere both celebratory and (mostly) funereal. It was sad. But the A’s will finish dead last in MLB attendance. Under a million. They also finished last in 2023 and ‘22. Second-last in 2021....
MLB’s .300 hitters become endangered species in era of dominant pitchingVideo
NEW YORK — A .300 hitter has become an endangered species, a victim of increased velocity as 100 mph heaters are no longer rarities. “When I got in the league, I’d still see a lot of guys throwing 89, 91,” Baltimore Orioles All-Star slugger Anthony Santander said. Not anymore. The...
MLB’s postseason is rapidly approaching with NL playoff race shaping up for tight finish
The Major League Baseball playoffs are approaching and a Shohei Ohtani vs. Aaron Judge matchup in the World Series looms as an enticing October possibility. While the rooting interests of baseball fans vary widely, there’s little doubt MLB and television executives are drooling over the potential matchup between two of...
Shorter games, more running, more action. 2 years in, MLB’s rule changes have provided a joltVideo
Two years ago, it looked as if Major League Baseball was having an existential crisis. To many inside the game, it certainly felt like one as a sport built on its timelessness careened toward a future hellbent on speeding things up. Pitch clocks. Defensive shift bans. Bigger bases. Fewer throwovers....
As an era ends, the city that was home to the Oakland A’s comes to grips with their departure
OAKLAND, Calif. — The Athletics had long ago carved out a Jekyll-and-Hyde legacy as one of Major League Baseball’s most successful — and sad-sack — franchises. Under their belts: nine World Series titles and 19 seasons of futility punctuated by 100 or more losses. This, though, is different. Now, legions...
White Sox left to ponder the magnitude of their record-tying 120 lossesVideo
SAN DIEGO — The Chicago White Sox had a 2-1 lead going into the bottom of the eighth inning Sunday, and then history struck. That tenuous lead disappeared in the span of four San Diego Padres batters, and the White Sox went on to their 120th loss, tying the post-1900...
Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani becomes 1st member of 50-50 club in styleVideo
LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani keeps showing a flair for the dramatic during his historic first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Japanese superstar became the only player in major-league history with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases, doing so with a slew of firsts. Ohtani had the...
Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani becomes 1st player with 50 HRs, 50 stolen bases in same yearVideo
MIAMI — Shohei Ohtani became the first major league player to exceed 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season during the most spectacular game of a history-making career for the Los Angeles Dodgers star, going deep three times and swiping two bags on Thursday against the Miami...
Brewers outperform preseason expectations again to win 3rd NL Central title in 4 yearsVideo
MILWAUKEE — These aren’t the same Milwaukee Brewers who have made regular playoff appearances the last several years. Milwaukee became the first major league team to clinch a division championship Wednesday when it sealed its third NL Central title in the last four years. The Chicago Cubs’ 5-3 home loss...
Guardians closer Emmaneul Clase breaking bats, records, making strong case to win AL Cy Young
CLEVELAND — Emmanuel Clase is breaking bats and records at an almost equal rate. He’s become baseball’s grim reaper, the cream of the closer crop. Cleveland’s right-hander with a devilish cut fastball not seen since Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera’s dominant days with the New York Yankees is having a...
Longtime Red Sox radio broadcaster Joe Castiglione announces retirement following 42 seasons
NEW YORK — Boston Red Sox radio broadcaster Joe Castiglione said Sunday he is retiring at the end of the season, his 42nd calling the team’s games. Castiglione, 77, announced on the WEEI broadcast as the Red Sox batted in the fourth inning against the New York Yankees. Castiglione will...
Ed Kranepool, longest-tenured player in New York Mets history and member of Miracle Mets, dies at 79Video
NEW YORK — Ed Kranepool, the longest-tenured player in New York Mets history and a member of the Miracle Mets when they won the 1969 World Series, died Sunday. He was 79. The team said in a statement Monday that Kranepool died Sunday after suffering from cardiac arrest in Boca...
Francisco Lindor is challenging Shohei Ohtani for NL MVP
NEW YORK — Most of this summer, the NL MVP race looked like a one-man Sho. Francisco Lindor has turned it into a hot topic. With his laudable leadership and everyday brilliance on both sides of the ball, the New York Mets’ streaking shortstop is giving Los Angeles Dodgers designated...
Braves’ Whit Merrifield rants about out-of-control pitchers after getting plunked in the headVideo
ATLANTA — Whit Merrifield got lucky. He wasn’t seriously injured when a 95-mph fastball struck him on the head. Still, the Atlanta Braves second baseman is livid about the state of pitching in the big leagues, saying it’s only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or even...
First Call: Steelers work out WR/KR; Falcons get boost in advance of opener
Tuesday’s “First Call” begins with a Pittsburgh Steelers workout of interest. The team’s opponent for the regular season opener got some good news. Paul Skenes is getting ready to see the Chicago Cubs yet again. And Duquesne got a good look at its next football opponent during a nationally televised...
Jacob deGrom, Rangers set date for fourth rehab start
ARLINGTON, Texas — Jacob deGrom might not rejoin the Texas Rangers’ rotation on this homestand after all. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said Friday that deGrom will make two more minor league rehab starts in the next eight days: On Sunday, with Triple-A Round Rock, and another next Saturday, most likely...
Rich Hill, 44, makes it 20 straight MLB seasons
BOSTON — Rich Hill came on in relief for the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night and became the only active player to appear in a major-league game in each of the last 20 seasons. “There’s a lot of people to thank to get to this point,” the left-hander said...
First Call: Steelers reportedly adding veteran RB Boston Scott; a new WR idea; Dylan Crews’ first hit off Gerrit Cole
Wednesday’s “First Call” features a potential addition to the Steelers’ offensive backfield. The wide receiver headlines continue to catch attention. We look at Paul Skenes’ next start for the Pirates. And his former LSU teammate, Dylan Crews, gets hit No. 1 of his career off a former Pirates All-Star. Boston...
