MILWAUKEE — The Tampa Bay Rays did a lot of good things on Monday that led to a 3-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers:

— Yandy Diaz hit a leadoff homer as part of another multi-hit night.

— Nick Martinez became the latest veteran to show a bad spring training doesn’t mean much, delivering a solid six-inning outing.

— Jonny DeLuca hit a...Read more

CHICAGO — The clean games the Los Angeles Angels played to start the season with two victories seem far in the rear-view mirror now.

Since then they’ve dropped three in a row because of sloppy pitching, defense and decision-making, culminating with an ugly 7-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Monday night.

Most of the trouble on this night came...Read more

The Denver Rockies turned Toronto Blue Jays fans into boo birds on Monday night at Rogers Centre.

Despite landing in Toronto at 3 a.m. after their flight was delayed by nearly six hours in Miami, the Rockies beat up the defending American League champions, 14-5, rapping out 17 hits. After getting swept by the Miami Marlins in three one-run ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Chris Bassitt and the Baltimore Orioles’ bullpen gave them a chance.

The right-hander had a tough time putting hitters away and was 50 pitches in before he recorded his fifth out Monday against the Texas Rangers, but the veteran starter gritted through 4 1/3 innings with four runs allowed in his Orioles debut, and the bullpen ...Read more

Bo Bichette didn’t get the moment he wanted at Citi Field in front of New York Mets fans over the weekend, but his two RBI on Monday night in St. Louis gave the fans watching on TV something to cheer about.

One day after getting booed by the Mets faithful, Bichette drove in two of the Mets’ four runs in a 4-2 win over the St. Louis ...Read more

CINCINNATI — The Pittsburgh Pirates were shut out for the first time in 2026 on Monday night at Great American Ball Park, falling, 2-0, to the Cincinnati Reds.

It’s a too-familiar sight for the Pirates, as they were shut out a major league-high 16 times in 2025.

Four Reds combined on a four-hitter: starter Chase Burns, Juan Franco, Graham ...Read more

The Kansas City Royals moved in the fences at Kauffman Stadium by about 10 feet over the winter, starting from each foul pole before tapering to the original 410-foot distance in center field from home plate.

It was prompted by the Royals front office, which researched ways to benefit the team’s offense in a ballpark that is known for doubles...Read more

Walker Buehler is plenty familiar with the NL West.

But the right-hander has spent his career looking down from the mountaintop. Buehler’s two World Series rings have dozens of sapphires arranged in an interlocking “LA” on beds of diamonds. The only time his Dodgers didn’t run away with the NL West during his time in Chavez Ravine was ...Read more

When Shane Baz takes the mound, Drew French thinks of the movie “Tombstone.”

The Orioles’ pitching coach first met Baz in January, flying down to Houston to visit the flamethrowing right-hander after Baltimore traded for him in December. French had dinner with Baz and then watched him work out and throw a bullpen session the next day. ...Read more

In this modern era of baseball where Major League teams and major college baseball programs have “pitching labs” featuring an array of coaches and analysts and state of the art of facilities to hone pitching success.

And seemingly every private indoor pitching facility from Seattle to South Beach features the latest technology like TrackMan...Read more

Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell and his staff felt Shota Imanaga’s preparation in Arizona provided the perfect platform to bounce back from a rocky ending to 2025.

“I thought it happened exactly how you’d want a spring training to happen, really,” Counsell said before Sunday’s 6-3 loss to the Washington Nationals. “I think it ...Read more

A new way for MLB managers be ejected was just unlocked.

Minnesota Twins skipper Derek Shelton was tossed from Sunday’s game against the Orioles in the ninth inning after arguing that Baltimore closer Ryan Helsley didn’t tap his cap quickly enough to signal for an automated ball-strike (ABS) challenge.

“I didn’t think Helsley tapped ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Pirates earned their first win of the season on Sunday afternoon at Citi Field, but they needed some free baseball to do it.

The Pirates beat the New York Mets, 4-3, avoiding a sweep on 10th-inning RBI singles from Ryan O’Hearn and Henry Davis. O’Hearn’s single, his third of the game, was just the Pirates’ second hit ...Read more

HOUSTON — Now that we are in the era of the automated ball-strike system, the focus of questionable calls late in games will go from the umpires to players.

Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe found himself in just such a spot in the eighth inning of a 9-7 loss to the Houston Astros on Sunday.

O’Hoppe caught a 2-and-2, two-out pitch from Drew ...Read more

ST. LOUIS — The 2011 team has a special place in Rays history, most notably for the dramatic Game 162 ended by Evan Longoria’s 12th-inning walkoff homer that sent them into the playoffs.

That 2011 squad stood out for another reason, as the only Rays team to start a season 0-3.

That distinction remains in place, as the current Rays hung on ...Read more

The Miami Marlins get the series sweep.

The Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies 4-3 on Sunday at loanDepot park on an Owen Caissie walk-off, two-run home run with two outs in the ninth inning to cap Miami’s first series sweep to begin a season since 2009.

The Marlins (3-0) opened the season with a 2-1 win on Friday and a 4-3 win on Saturday. ...Read more

This offseason, Kansas City Royals starter Seth Lugo focused on improving his fastball.

The goal was to command it early in counts and challenge hitters. If successful, Lugo felt it would keep teams from sitting on his off-speed pitches.

As a result, he could create a little balance.

On Sunday, Lugo put his reworked approach to good use. ...Read more

CINCINNATI — It’s been 100 years since the Red Sox saw a start like the one Connelly Early turned in Sunday afternoon.

At 23 years and 360 days old, the Red Sox rookie was already the youngest pitcher to start one of the first three Red Sox games of the season since Jeff Sellers in 1987, and the youngest left-hander since Billy Rohr in the ...Read more

It took until the sixth inning for the Phillies to record their first hit against MacKenzie Gore and the Rangers on Sunday.

An infield single from Justin Crawford, which clocked just 48.4 mph off the bat, was the first of three total hits for the Phillies. They were doomed by an anemic offensive performance in an 8-3 loss to Texas as the ...Read more