SEATTLE — The way Yu Darvish locked in seemed like a good sign.

The way Fernando Tatis Jr. hit the ball and played right field was encouraging as well.

Manny Machado breaking the franchise record for home runs and driving in four runs in all just seemed like the status quo.

The way Donovan Solano hit reinforced the logic of moving Xander ...Read more

The Dodgers have gotten almost nothing but bad news on the pitching injury front this year.

On Tuesday, however, the storm clouds hovering over the staff might have finally — or at least partially — begun to clear.

It wasn’t just that Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out eight batters in a dazzling four-inning, one-run return from the injured ...Read more

WASHINGTON — In the first inning, Reynaldo López hurled his first four-seam fastball and it felt normal. Then he saw the velocity reading on the board.

“To be honest, I didn’t really know what was happening,” López said through interpreter Franco García. “I feel like that first pitch went out and I thought it was 95 (mph) and I ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — For the vitriol that they prompted from some portions of the fan base, and then the positive vibes that quickly became associated with them, the Giants’ controversial City Connect uniforms went out with a whimper on an appropriately foggy Tuesday night.

A tad more than 25,000 paying fans watched the Giants fall to the ...Read more

BOSTON — If the Orioles’ 12-3 loss to the Red Sox on Monday night was rock bottom, their performance Tuesday was a desperately needed first step in their climb back to the surface.

Cedric Mullins put together his first multi-home run game since 2021 and Albert Suárez set a new career high with eight strikeouts to lead Baltimore (83-63) to ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The September Slump has been replaced, for one night at least, by Home Run Derby at Target Field.

Kyle Farmer, Matt Wallner and Carlos Santana each homered on Tuesday, and the Twins scored as many runs in the first five innings as they had in their last five games combined, snapping a four-game losing streak with a 10-5 victory ...Read more

TORONTO — To put it bluntly, it just wasn’t the Mets‘ night.

One of their best pitchers had an uncharacteristically tough outing, there were defensive blunders and empty at-bats in a 6-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night at Rogers Centre. To make matters worse, the Atlanta Braves crushed the Washington Nationals, moving into ...Read more

ST. LOUIS — When the Cardinals audit what went awry with their 2024 season and look beyond a chronic lack of offense to moments or opponents that were jarring potholes, one division rival will stand out for a mix of both.

The Reds’ ability to vex the Cardinals is not limited to Cincinnati.

Nor did it end with the bases loaded in the ninth ...Read more

DETROIT — Might be some fun at the next Grayson High School all-class reunion.

Two of the more famous alums from that Loganville, Ga., school had an altercation of sorts Tuesday night that might get talked about some.

Parker Meadows, the Tigers’ center fielder, and Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Bradley Blalock were teammates at Grayson...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Kyle Schwarber did it again.

And this time, he made history.

Schwarber banged his 14th leadoff homer of the season Tuesday night for the Phillies, setting a single-season major league record. He surpassed Alfonso Soriano, who hit 13 leadoff homers for the Yankees in 2003.

But Schwarber exited in the fourth inning with left ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — After a bumpy start to his outing, Adam Oller looked to have things under control Tuesday evening. But that all changed when Andrew McCutchen stepped to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Needing just two outs to complete his fifth frame of the evening, Oller went right after the 16-year vet, challenging him with an ...Read more

It was around this time last year that the Dodgers offense started cooling off.

After a sluggish performance at the plate this week, they can only hope it isn’t happening again.

Before the Dodgers crashed out of the 2023 playoffs in a National League Division Series sweep against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the team’s bats began to quiet in ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Paul Skenes sets Pirates’ rookie record for strikeouts, guides club to win against Miami Marlins

It took all of two batters for Paul Skenes to set a new franchise record for strikeouts by a Pirates rookie since 1900.

It took six sublime innings, though, for Skenes to further endear himself to Monday night’s crowd at PNC Park...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Johan Rojas looked in his empty mitt, then slid to the ground and stayed there for a moment, his back pressed against the center-field fence and his head bowed.

He just robbed a home run. And then he didn’t.

The Phillies were three outs from a victory. And then they weren’t.

They won anyway Monday night, 2-1 over the ...Read more

NEW YORK — With a potential playoff preview making its way to the Bronx, the Yankees overcame some sloppy defense in a 10-4 win over the second-place Royals on Monday.

Austin Wells provided the heroics in the teeter-totter affair, drilling a three-run homer off James McArthur in the seventh inning. The game-changing blast, which featured a ...Read more

TORONTO — The New York Mets won an ugly game with two runs in one sloppy inning, but no matter how it comes, they’ll take the win.

Tylor Megill shut the Toronto Blue Jays out over six innings and the Mets scored twice in the top of the eighth, right after giving up a lead. They won, 3-2, on Monday night at Rogers Centre. And with an Atlanta...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Reid Detmers and Brandon Drury, who are both trying to use September to polish otherwise disappointing seasons, each made some progress on Monday night.

Detmers gave up two runs in six innings and Drury hit a monster two-run homer in the Los Angeles Angels’ 6-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Detmers has now allowed four ...Read more

BOSTON — Rob Refsnyder has been one of the Red Sox’s unsung heroes ever since he arrived in Boston three years ago. The veteran outfielder has emerged as not just a lefty killer off the bench, but a steady clubhouse leader who has helped shepherd along his younger teammates.

But Monday night? Refsnyder had the spotlight squarely on him.

...Read more