CHICAGO — Craig Counsell knew what he was in for when he agreed to a record five-year, $40 million deal to manage the Chicago Cubs.

Counsell would inherit a team with a high payroll and the financial resources to be able to add at the trade deadline, a farm system ranked as one of the best in baseball and a fan base that showed up whether the...Read more

As usual, the Los Angeles Dodgers will be well-represented in this year's Midsummer Classic.

After getting Shohei Ohtani voted in by fans as the National League's starting designated hitter last week, five more Dodgers were selected to the NL All-Star team during a full roster announcement Sunday afternoon: starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow, first...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Not many fastballs get by Pete Alonso, but the New York Mets managed to pull a fast one on their first baseman Sunday morning in Pittsburgh.

Pitchers and reserves were named to the 2024 MLB All-Star Game on Sunday, and the Mets received word that Alonso was selected by a group of players, managers and coaches to represent the NL ...Read more

Aaron Judge and Juan Soto aren’t the only New York Yankees heading to the All-Star Game.

Clay Holmes will join the sluggers in Arlington, Texas on July 16. The closer was named to his second All-Star team on Sunday evening.

“Very excited,” Holmes said of the nod. “This place, it means a lot to me. This organization, the teammates, the ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Sitting at his locker late Friday night in the visitors’ clubhouse at Nationals Park, Willson Contreras was only a few minutes removed from being at bat when the winning run scored and about an hour after his game-tying home run made winning even possible.

He was mulling over his timing.

With 21 at-bats on a rehab assignment ...Read more

The Kansas City Royals needed their offense to show up at Coors Field. The hitters’ paradise hadn’t been too kind to the Midwestern visitors over the weekend weekend.

And the Royals knew it.

Outfielder Hunter Renfroe said the Royals needed to punch first in Sunday afternoon’s series finale. And the Royals did exactly that in beating the ...Read more

SEATTLE — With anger and disappointment emanating from him, Cal Raleigh searched for the right words as he tried to answer questions about all that had gone wrong for the Seattle Mariners over the last nine games.

He’d just caught 10 innings in the Sunday afternoon sunshine and his towering fly ball to deep center field that didn’t have ...Read more

Over the past month the young Boston Red Sox have put the baseball world on notice, and earlier Sunday two of the club’s breakout performers officially earned the first All-Star nods of their careers.

Yet while Jarren Duran and Tanner Houck deservedly earned their share of the spotlight, Sunday also served as a reminder that Rafael Devers is ...Read more

OAKLAND, Calif. — For Heston Kjerstad, the third time’s the charm.

In his first two stints with the Baltimore Orioles, Kjerstad didn’t receive the regular playing time that would be expected for a top prospect. Earlier this season, he was called up with much fanfare, only to receive 17 plate appearances across the 17 games for which he ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Dylan Cease going seven innings while San Diego Padres batters were facing Ryne Nelson would seem to be a good combination to produce a series win before a day off.

It didn’t turn out that way.

The Arizona Diamondbacks broke a tie in the seventh inning and piled on in the final two innings to rout the Padres 9-1 on Sunday, ...Read more

MIAMI — The Miami Marlins ended its series against the Chicago White Sox in the most poetic manner. Tied with runners on first and second and two outs, former White Sox third baseman Jake Burger was up to bat, hoping to deliver a series win against his old team.

“Stepping up into the box, I’m thinking, ‘This is kind of a storybook ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — It took 7 2/3 innings to break a scoreless tie on Sunday afternoon at PNC Park. After nearly eight innings with no action, the final two innings provided plenty.

Brandon Nimmo gave the New York Mets a lead in the top of the eighth, Edwin Diaz lost it in the bottom of the inning and Francisco Lindor took it back for good in the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Justin Wrobleski didn’t suffer many growing pains in his major league debut Sunday afternoon.

The few lessons he did learn, however, proved costly in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 9-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium.

Called up after only two career triple-A appearances for a spot start in the rotation, the 23-...Read more

ATLANTA — Shortly before Sunday’s game, Tyler Phillips walked past a group of Phillies fans pressed up against the netting along the third base line. Not long ago, he was one of those fans, eager to catch a glimpse of major league players in person.

Now, he was one of those players. It was surreal, but this whole thing has been surreal. ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Christian Vázquez took a few hops up the first-base line as he watched his fly ball sail toward the left-field seats.

Once the ball cleared the wall for a walk-off homer off Houston Astros closer Josh Hader, Vázquez flipped his bat at least 10 feet in the air as his teammates celebrated in the dugout. A stunning 3-2 victory ...Read more

Whatever else Detroit Tigers' Nation has endured this season, all the ups and all the downs, every fifth day, they get to enjoy Tarik Skubal.

And, as he showed again on Sunday, that’s pretty special.

Skubal, on the day he was expected to be selected to the American League All-Star team, dominated the Cincinnati Reds for seven innings and ...Read more

The San Francisco Giants took two of three from the Dodgers at home. They took two of three from the Braves in Atlanta. On Sunday, they had an opportunity to take two of three from the Guardians in Cleveland. Given that San Francisco has teetered below the .500 mark for most of this season, three straight series victories against three playoff ...Read more