CHICAGO — Greg Maddux Tarp Sliding Bobblehead Day at Wrigley Field on Sunday began with Chicago Cubs fans chanting for a 100-year-old man as he threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

And it ended with 40-year-old Justin Turner smoking a pinch-hit, two-run, walk-off home run into the left-field bleachers in the ninth inning, sending the Cubs to...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Edmundo Sosa stood on the infield, spikes planted in the dirt, unable to conceal a smile.

But the sigh of relief said it all.

Sosa had just backhanded a one-hopper and made a flat-footed throw from third base to home plate. Sounds easy, right? Well, except for the runner in the baseline who was blocking Sosa from a clear line ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — As the umpires conferred on Friday night to determine whether Bryson Stott had beaten out the throw to first base, the control room above left field at Citizens Bank Park was holding its collective breath.

The go-ahead run hinged on the umpires’ call. If the Phillies broke the tie with the Tigers in the eighth, that meant ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Orioles managed to put together another late rally, but this time the Cubs punched back.

After orchestrating a late comeback to beat the Cubs on Saturday, Baltimore showed more of the same fight by erasing 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to send Sunday afternoon’s game to the ninth inning tied. However, Justin Turner hit a two-run walk-...Read more

DENVER — Don Kelly had seen this movie before — twice in the same weekend, actually. On Friday and Saturday, the Pirates jumped out to a large lead, only to let it slip away late.

A similar script looked to be unfolding Sunday afternoon. The Pirates hit Rockies starter Bradley Blalock hard, carving out a seven-run advantage through six ...Read more

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Angels needed that one.

After losing their previous three games and facing the specter of a sweep at the hands of the team with the worst record in the American League, the Angels rallied from a five-run deficit to beat the Chicago White Sox, 8-5, on Sunday afternoon.

Taylor Ward hit a walk-off three-run homer to end it...Read more

SAN DIEGO — The Dylan Cease who is staying was a little better than the one who was going.

The Padres’ offense sputtered a bit but got one big hit and then a couple more.

Their augmented bullpen did its job almost as prescribed and eventually to the end.

It was far more complicated that it needed to be, but the Padres eventually beat the ...Read more

If the Kansas City Royals are going to climb the American League wild-card standings, they’ll need to find a way to defeat the top teams.

On Sunday, the Royals overcame an early deficit in a 7-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Royals starter Seth Lugo struggled with his command across 4 2/3 innings. He ...Read more

CLEVELAND — For the first time in nearly a week, and this has been one eternity of a week, there was finally something for Twins players to celebrate.

After trading away 10 major league players at the trade deadline, this new version of the Twins’ roster held on for a 5-4 victory over the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. With the ...Read more

The Yankees got their 2024 AL Rookie of the Year back out on the mound for the first time this season on Sunday afternoon against the Miami Marlins.

However, all didn’t go according to plan.

Luis Gil was roughed up in his season debut, leading to the Yankees’ 7-3 sweep-clinching loss against the Marlins. Gil made his return from a lat ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Mets have developed a reputation for being able to fix back-end rotation arms, turning them into frontline starters.

They might have struck out on Frankie Montas.

The right-hander had another tough start Sunday afternoon when the San Francisco Giants took seven runs off of him in only four innings, costing them in a 12-4 loss....Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — Scoring runs at Steinbrenner Field should not be as hard as the Dodgers made it look this weekend.

The spring training ballpark, which is doubling as the Tampa Bay Rays' temporary home this season after Tropicana Field was shredded in an offseason hurricane, has small Yankee Stadium-inspired dimensions that played even shorter ...Read more

BOSTON — For the past few years, facing the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros early in the second half of the season has been the beginning of the end of the Red Sox’s playoff hopes. The Red Sox looked woefully outmatched by teams built to go the distance.

The shoe is finally on the other foot.

Over the last two weekends, the Red Sox ...Read more

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Chicago White Sox scratched infielder Miguel Vargas from the starting lineup moments before Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels because of a left oblique strain.

The Sox said Vargas was being further evaluated.

The team produced just enough offense in his absence and received an outstanding pitching ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — It took a rally to erase an early deficit to give the Cardinals a chance to see how their bullpen will hold a lead without three veterans out there, including the closer they relied on a record number of times to do so.

Down by four runs by the end of the third, the Cardinals scored the game’s next eight for a 8-5 reversal on ...Read more

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. knew there was a possibility he would be traded.

“But my hope was always to stay here,” Robert said through an interpreter Friday while sitting in the visitors dugout at Angel Stadium.

Robert remained with the Sox as Thursday’s trade deadline passed.

“Definitely you ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — The summer wind was on the verge of blowing into Chicago, yet as Bruce Bochy walked in the city following yet another defeat, the young Padres manager talked as though one of Lake Michigan’s notorious winter gusts — the Hawk — might soon tear into him.

Ambling the streets that June night in 1996, Bochy quipped that if his ...Read more

BOSTON — Against some teams, a four-run lead seems like enough.

The Houston Astros aren’t typically one of those teams, but thanks to a gutsy combined performance by seven Boston pitchers, the Red Sox pulled off a 7-3 come-from-behind victory to take their third straight series and overtake the Yankees in both the American League East and ...Read more

A day after suffering their worst loss of the season, the New York Yankees went down without much of a fight.

Eury Perez and the Miami Marlins pitchers had their way with the Yankees as they were shut out in a 2-0 loss to lose the three-game set. Perez tossed six innings, allowing just two hits while striking out five. The Bombers had no answer...Read more