MINNEAPOLIS — We’ve reached the helmet-bashing stage of the Twins’ rapidly unraveling season.

Royce Lewis, batting just .199 at Target Field, .175 in August, and .136 during this homestand, was robbed of a potential extra-base hit by A’s left-fielder Tyler Soderstrom in the sixth inning Thursday, and took it out on his headwear when he ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Major League Baseball team’s season is rarely on the brink on Aug. 10, but that’s the date the Royals returned home following a stinging loss to the Minnesota Twins.

The Royals had let a win slip through their hands in the Twins Cities and were 4 games back in the American League wild-card race and third in the AL’s...Read more

These two weeks in which the Padres are playing only the Giants and Dodgers have provided some mood swings.

The Padres moved into first place in the National League West with a sweep in San Francisco last week and fell back into second place when they were swept in Los Angeles over the weekend.

They came home and fell to the Giants on Monday, ...Read more

ANAHEIM — The Angels got a victory and an encouraging performance from their ace pitcher on Wednesday night.

All that tarnished the 2-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds was the question of Zach Neto’s health. Their starting shortstop was hit by a pitch, leaving the game with what was described as left wrist soreness.

While the Angels and ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — In a 4-2 loss to the Athletics on Wednesday, the lasting image may be Twins reliever Génesis Cabrera punching his glove after giving up a go-ahead, two-run homer to Shea Langeliers to begin the 10th inning.

Or it could be right fielder James Outman lining up underneath a fly ball in the ninth inning, losing his footing, falling...Read more

DENVER — The Shohei Ohtani show flopped on Wednesday night at Coors Field.

The reborn Colorado Rockies hammered the Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar for five runs on nine hits over four innings en route to an 8-3 victory.

Hammered is the operative word. In Colorado’s three-run fourth inning, Orlando Arcia lined a hot shot off ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals are playing with house money and the dealer has laid down the cards before them.

Entering their 10-game homestand at Kauffman Stadium, the Royals knew a hot stretch was needed to get back into the American League playoff picture.

KC sat two games under .500 (58-60) on Aug. 11. The Royals were four ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — As injuries decimated the Yankees’ rotation this spring, Cam Schlittler seized an opportunity to impress.

With a handful of strong starts at George M. Steinbrenner Field and other spring training sites, the tall right-hander positioned himself as a top prospect and depth option despite having never pitched above Double-A. That...Read more

ATLANTA — The Chicago White Sox and Atlanta Braves combined for 43 runs in the first two games of their series at Truist Park.

Wednesday was all about pitching.

Sox starter Martín Pérez allowed one run, which was unearned, on three hits in 5 1/3 innings in a 1-0 loss to the Braves in front of 30,054.

“I was in my rhythm again and ...Read more

ATLANTA — The MLB Speedway Classic getting delayed due to inclement weather turned into one of the best results of the Braves’ season.

Sure, the trophy and celebration on the racing track was nice, but the real victory was seeing Hurston Waldrep. Several weeks ago, the Braves summoned the pitcher, who’d been stashed in Triple-A the entire...Read more

MIAMI — While his team looked to complete their first sweep since June and he looked to build off an outing during which an early attack by the Yankees left him with a third consecutive losing decision, Cardinals starter Andre Pallante found himself working with heavy traffic on Wednesday against the Marlins.

The Cardinals’ righty dealt ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Too often this season, the Mets have taken steps forward in their play, only to suffer a devastating loss the next night. One step forward, only to take three steps back, sometimes more.

The Mets might not have won their fourth straight Wednesday night, but unlike in recent losses, they didn’t take a step back. In a 5-4 loss to...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Edgardo Henriquez has a gift. He can throw a baseball faster than all but a few humans in history.

Yet he prefers to think of it as something he and God created together, not something that was just given to him.

"We've worked for that," said Henriquez, who frequently uses the plural pronoun when talking about himself. "All the...Read more

PITTSBURGH — The Pirates are selecting the contract of their top pitching prospect, Bubba Chandler, sources told the Post-Gazette on Wednesday morning. A 22-year-old right-hander, Chandler is rated the No. 7 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline. He has made 24 starts with Triple-A Indianapolis this season, going 5-6 with a 4.05 ERA over 100 ...Read more

BALTIMORE — For all the injuries the Orioles have endured this season, none of them threatened to impact their 2026 roster. Until now.

Closer Félix Bautista underwent surgery on a torn rotator cuff and labrum in Los Angeles on Tuesday, the team announced. The right-hander is expected to miss the next 12 calendar months, a massive blow after ...Read more

DETROIT — After a tense, 10-inning battle the night before, the Detroit Tigers scored an early-round TKO Wednesday to sweep the three-game set with the Houston Astros at Comerica Park, riding a six-run, first-inning barrage against lefty Framber Valdez to a 7-2 win.

It was the Tigers’ seventh win in eight games and their American League ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani was four weeks into his major league career when former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt pitched a gondola from Union Station to Dodger Stadium. Ohtani, then a rookie with the Angels and now a global superstar with the Dodgers, was 23.

Today, Ohtani is 31, and McCourt still has no official response to his pitch.

In an ...Read more

ANAHEIM — Kenley Jansen’s rough ninth inning spoiled a night that should have belonged to Jo Adell.

Adell hit a pair of homers in the seventh and eighth innings to help the Angels erase a three-run deficit, only for Jansen to give up two runs in the ninth in a 6-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night.

Jansen gave up two hits, ...Read more