Sports
/ArcaMax

Dylan Hernández: 'Still a threat.' Why Shohei Ohtani needs to remain a two-way player for Dodgers.
LOS ANGELES — The day after he pitches, Shohei Ohtani turns into Michael Conforto.
Ohtani has played four games on days following his starts, and he's taken a total of 15 at-bats in them.
He's collected just one hit.
He's struck out six times.
Ohtani pitched three innings in the Dodgers' 5-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday night...Read more

Diamondbacks star Ketel Marte lost $400K in All-Star Game burglary
NEW YORK — Arizona Diamondbacks star Ketel Marte said $400,000 worth of items were stolen during a home break in while he was out of town last week at the All-Star Game in Atlanta.
Marte missed three games over the weekend while dealing with the burglary before rejoining the team on Sunday and playing in Monday’s loss.
“Happy to be back ...Read more
Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith help restore some life to Dodgers' offense in win
It was quality over quantity for the Dodgers on Monday night. A bunch of empty at-bats, salvaged by a few emphatic drives that left the ballpark.
In six innings against struggling Minnesota Twins starter David Festa, the Dodgers’ slumping offense managed only four hits — doing little to quell the offensive concerns that have mounted during ...Read more
Mariners can't cool off red-hot Brewers, get blanked 6-0
For five innings, George Kirby was unhittable.
For five batters in the sixth inning, he was very hittable.
No-hitter, gone. Shutout, gone. A chance to beat the hottest team in baseball, gone.
What looked to be a sterling performance from Kirby flipped in a matter of a few pitches and a few batters on Monday night and ended with the Mariners ...Read more

Parched for runs in the desert, Cardinals find footing in win over Rockies
DENVER — Don’t let the elevation fool you: Few things can pump lots of air into a deflated team and its flat offense better than a visit to Coors Field.
Sparked first by a solo home run by Willson Contreras that jolted the lineup out of a stupor, the St. Louis Cardinals peppered Colorado with a 15 hits to rally and then run away with 6-2 ...Read more

A walk-off catcher's interference gives the Phillies a 3-2 win over Red Sox in extras
PHILADELPHIA — When the bullpen door swung open before the 10th inning Monday night, none of the usual suspects stepped out.
Orion Kerkering? Already pitched.
Matt Strahm? Same.
Jordan Romano? Not an option, apparently.
Instead, the Phillies went with Max Lazar. Mark down the name. Because he’s becoming a more central figure in the ...Read more

Yankees' crucial errors lead to ugly loss vs. Blue Jays, fall further back of AL East lead
TORONTO — With the trade deadline nearing, the New York Yankees need a third baseman, multiple relievers and rotation help.
You know what else they need, though? To clean up their act.
Yet another reminder of that came on Monday night, as sloppy play remained an issue for Aaron Boone’s Bombers in a 4-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. The ...Read more

Giants' losing streak hits six games as Birdsong fails to record an out vs. Braves
ATLANTA — Thanks in part to the All-Star break, Hayden Birdsong went roughly two weeks in between starts. The layoff gave him time to find a solution to the command issues that have suddenly plagued him in recent starts.
Instead, Birdsong hit his nadir. He faced six batters and recorded no outs. He threw 25 pitches but landed only six strikes...Read more

Juan Soto leads Mets comeback with game-tying single in 7th to defeat Angels
NEW YORK — It’s tough to diagnose exactly what’s wrong with the Mets at the moment. The offensive problems have lingered for weeks with no clear answers, and even their best pitchers seem to be unable to get hitters out the way they did earlier in the season.
But the one thing they still have is resolve.
Down by three runs to the Los ...Read more

Salvador Perez continues his resurgence as Royals pummel Cubs at Wrigley Field
CHICAGO — The whispers among Kansas City Royals fans began in late May.
Royals catcher Salvador Perez had celebrated his 35th birthday that month, and some fans wondered if his best days were in the rearview mirror.
But if there’s one thing Royals fans have learned through the years about the team’s captain, it’s this: It’s unwise ...Read more

Why Yankees' Anthony Volpe isn't 'trying' to pull the ball
TORONTO — With 2 1/2 seasons of big league baseball under his belt, Anthony Volpe remains an enigma at the plate.
Now 24, Volpe has seemingly gone back and forth between trying to be a speedy singles-slapping hitter and a slugger willing to sacrifice strikeouts for home runs. The results have been wildly inconsistent, with short-lived peaks ...Read more

Padres defeat Marlins in series-opening win
MIAMI — Jackson Merrill blew through a stop sign, and it mattered because the bullpen again made a slim lead stand up.
The San Diego Padres beat the Miami Marlins 2-1 on Monday night and got to five games over .500 for the first time since June 10.
They did it by scoring twice in the second inning and turning the game over to their back end ...Read more

Pirates blank Tigers, snap three-game losing skid
PITTSBURGH — Paul Skenes was his typical self Monday evening. And this time, the Pirates rewarded his efforts. Back from starting this year’s summer classic, Skenes pitched the Pirates to victory, defeating the Detroit Tigers by a final score of 3-0 at PNC Park. The win snapped a three-game losing skid.
Skenes threw six scoreless innings to...Read more

Orioles' season continues to fade as they lose to Guardians, 10-5
CLEVELAND — The games might just be a mere formality at this point.
A winnable contest was squandered Monday night and the Baltimore Orioles fell back to 11 games under .500 in a 10-5 loss to the Cleveland Guardians, trudging one step closer to a trade deadline that’s almost certain to bring a roster upheaval as the front office turns its ...Read more

'We all feed off of each other': White Sox are receiving contributions across their bullpen
TAMPA, Fla. — The Chicago White Sox called on Tyler Gilbert after the Pittsburgh Pirates knocked starter Adrian Houser out of Saturday’s game with one out in the fifth inning.
The Pittsburgh Pirates had a two-run lead and a runner on second.
Gilbert struck out Oneil Cruz. He then intentionally walked Ke’Bryan Hayes to face Spencer ...Read more

Matt Calkins: Why blowout loss to Astros shows Mariners aren't about to tumble
SEATTLE — Don’t let that trouncing get you down if you’re a Mariners fan. Sunday’s 11-3 loss to the Houston Astros was the first drop of rain this otherwise sunkissed team has experienced in the past 10 days.
If the events since July 10 were a term paper, that defeat at the hands of Houston dropped the grade from an A+ to an A, but it ...Read more

From a day off to the leadoff spot, Dodgers try unraveling mystery of Mookie Betts' slump
LOS ANGELES — The day off was unanticipated.
The change to the lineup was even more of a surprise.
In what has become a season-long struggle by Mookie Betts and Dodgers coaches to get the slumping superstar back on track, this weekend brought the most glaring examples of experimentation yet.
First, on Saturday, manager Dave Roberts gave ...Read more

'Team Holliday' anchored by Leslee, mother of baseball's famous family and Rockies' latest top pick
DENVER — A legendary baseball love story began with a blind date in November 1998.
That’s when 18-year-old Matt Holliday met 19-year-old Leslee Smith in Stillwater, Okla. Matt, drafted by the Rockies in the eighth round of the June draft, had recently completed short-season rookie ball in Arizona. Leslee was a student at Oklahoma State.
...Read more

Paul Sullivan: Spotlight grows on Cubs President Jed Hoyer as MLB trade deadline nears
CHICAGO — Midway through Jed Hoyer’s latest Ted Talk on the July 31 trade deadline, the thought occurred that maybe the Chicago Cubs president should throw his phone into Lake Michigan and sit this one out.
Would the Cubs be OK in October without another starter, another “out-getter,” and maybe an offensive-oriented third baseman?
Has ...Read more

Tigers end 6-game skid with 2-1 victory over Rangers
ARLINGTON, Texas – For all the verbal despair and Chicken Little musings on talk radio and social media platforms during this six-game losing streak, the Detroit Tigers Sunday night, before a national audience via ESPN, still became the first team in baseball to reach 60 wins.
Crisis averted?
After giving up the lead on a wild pitch in the ...Read more
Popular Stories
- Juan Soto leads Mets comeback with game-tying single in 7th to defeat Angels
- A walk-off catcher's interference gives the Phillies a 3-2 win over Red Sox in extras
- Yankees' crucial errors lead to ugly loss vs. Blue Jays, fall further back of AL East lead
- From a day off to the leadoff spot, Dodgers try unraveling mystery of Mookie Betts' slump
- Orioles' season continues to fade as they lose to Guardians, 10-5