TAMPA, Fla. — For much of this season, it seemed as if the Baltimore Orioles were cursed with runners in scoring position.

How could a team that was baseball’s best clutch-hitting team just two years ago be its worst in those situations this season? That question vexed the Orioles’ players, coaches and fans throughout the first two months...Read more

CHICAGO — From the spark at the top of the lineup to the power from multiple places Tuesday and even an unexpected dash of Willson Contreras, the Cardinals took a short drive to put plenty of runs between them and their weekend in Milwaukee.

Invited by errors and misplays early and an infielder pitching later to have some fun at their hosts�...Read more

CINCINNATI — The Twins were gifted a three-run homer in the sixth inning Tuesday, a generous offering from Cincinnati Reds right fielder Jake Fraley who deflected a fly ball from Harrison Bader off his glove and over the fence.

Byron Buxton looked superhuman, robbing a potential home run with a leaping catch in the second inning Tuesday and ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — What started as a subtle act of protest has become national news.

Three days after singer and social media personality Nezza performed a Spanish version of the national anthem at Dodger Stadium — despite being asked by a team employee to sing it in English — the performer further addressed the situation Tuesday in an ...Read more

DETROIT – Javier Báez isn’t necessarily comfortable being the kid called to the front of the class.

But there was no way his teammates weren’t going to celebrate him before the game Tuesday, the day he secured 10 years of MLB service time.

His locker was decked out with a massive display of balloons. There were Puerto Rican flags ...Read more

MIAMI — Pitching at LoanDepot Park for the first time since being a member of the Marlins, Jesús Luzardo struggled with walks.

Three of the season-high four free passes he issued to his former team came around to score in the Phillies 8-3 loss to Miami on Tuesday. The Marlins snapped the Phillies’ win streak at five.

A leadoff walk to ...Read more

Rafael Devers indicated in his introductory press conference with the Giants that he is willing to play any position the team asks him to take on.

Where he’ll play at Oracle Park is up to manager Bob Melvin and president of baseball operations Buster Posey.

“They’re the men in charge,” Devers said Tuesday via Giants translator Erwin ...Read more

SEATTLE — Rafael Devers made his MLB debut against the Mariners on Aug. 25, 2017. His first hit came the next day, when Devers hammered Andrew Moore’s 90-mph fastball 427 feet off the batter’s eye. The 20-year-old prospect made a mighty first impression at T-Mobile Park.

But while the Boston Red Sox returned this week, Devers did not.

...Read more

LOS ANGELES — With his arm forming a 90-degree angle at his elbow, Shohei Ohtani clenched his right hand like an umpire signaling an out.

The actual home plate umpire, Tripp Gibson, didn't make the same gesture.

Fernando Tatis Jr. was ruled safe at home. Three batters into his first game pitching for the Dodgers, Ohtani was charged with a ...Read more

Roughly four hours before first pitch Monday night, Shohei Ohtani sat at his locker in the Dodger Stadium clubhouse and prepared for his biggest game of the season.

First, the reigning MVP unwrapped the black compression sleeve he wears when pitching, and pulled it over his prized right arm. Then, he grabbed his bat and a pair of hitting gloves...Read more

The post-Rafael Devers Era began much like the end of the Rafael Devers Era:

With a 2-0 Red Sox victory.

After the front office made one of the most stunning trades in franchise history on Sunday evening, and hours after chief baseball officer Craig Breslow insisted the move was not “a waving of the white flag on 2025,” the team stepped ...Read more

MIAMI — Mick Abel’s fastball to Liam Hicks just clipped the bottom of the strike zone.

If the automatic ball-strike system the Phillies had experimented with in spring training was in use on Monday in Miami, Hicks would have been out and the second inning would have been over with a runner stranded at third base. But the home plate umpire ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — It is not the sexiest of statistics. In fact, it is often derided as a bare minimum standard of efficiency.

But for the Rays, the quality start is becoming one of the most important stories of their season.

The Rays beat the Orioles, 7-1, on Monday night with their American League-leading 36th quality start of the season. That ...Read more

NEW YORK — José Soriano delivered exactly what the Angels needed.

Soriano pitched seven scoreless innings as the Angels pulled out a 1-0, 11-inning victory over the New York Yankees on Monday night, snapping their three-game losing streak.

Nolan Schanuel drove in the game’s only run with a one-out double in the 11th. Even though the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Roughly four hours before first pitch Monday night, Shohei Ohtani sat at his locker in the Dodger Stadium clubhouse and prepared for his biggest game of the season.

First, the reigning MVP unwrapped the black compression sleeve he wears when pitching, and pulled it over his right arm. Then, he grabbed his bat and a pair of ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Aaron Judge has slammed the gavel down on the American League MVP race less than halfway through the MLB season.

The New York Yankees right fielder has been so dominant — leading the majors in batting average (.378), on-base percentage (.473) and hits (99) entering Monday — that he caused the Westgate SuperBook to take the AL ...Read more

CHICAGO — While Chicago Cubs President Jed Hoyer spoke to reporters last week about being in the “information-gathering stage” before the July 31 trade deadline, his protege, Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, was already a step ahead.

Breslow and San Francisco Giants President Buster Posey executed the season’s ...Read more