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Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith help restore some life to Dodgers' offense in win

Sports / Baseball /

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

Sports / Baseball /

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

Justin Edmonds/Getty Images North America/TNS

Parched for runs in the desert, Cardinals find footing in win over Rockies

Sports / Baseball /

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

Emilee Chinn/Getty Images North America/TNS

A walk-off catcher's interference gives the Phillies a 3-2 win over Red Sox in extras

Sports / Baseball /

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

Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images North America/TNS

Yankees' crucial errors lead to ugly loss vs. Blue Jays, fall further back of AL East lead

Sports / Baseball /

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

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Giants' losing streak hits six games as Birdsong fails to record an out vs. Braves

Sports / Baseball /

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

Ishika Samant/Getty Images North America/TNS

Juan Soto leads Mets comeback with game-tying single in 7th to defeat Angels

Sports / Baseball /

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

Michael Reaves/Getty Images North America/TNS

Salvador Perez continues his resurgence as Royals pummel Cubs at Wrigley Field

Sports / Baseball /

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

Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images North America/TNS

Why Yankees' Anthony Volpe isn't 'trying' to pull the ball

Sports / Baseball /

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

Megan Briggs/Getty Images North America/TNS

Padres defeat Marlins in series-opening win

Sports / Baseball /

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

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images North America/TNS

Pirates blank Tigers, snap three-game losing skid

Sports / Baseball /

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

Nick Cammett/Getty Images North America/TNS

Orioles' season continues to fade as they lose to Guardians, 10-5

Sports / Baseball /

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

Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/TNS

'We all feed off of each other': White Sox are receiving contributions across their bullpen

Sports / Baseball /

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

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Matt Calkins: Why blowout loss to Astros shows Mariners aren't about to tumble

Sports / Baseball /

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

Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS

From a day off to the leadoff spot, Dodgers try unraveling mystery of Mookie Betts' slump

Sports / Baseball /

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

Andy Cross/The Denver Post/TNS

'Team Holliday' anchored by Leslee, mother of baseball's famous family and Rockies' latest top pick

Sports / Baseball /

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

John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Paul Sullivan: Spotlight grows on Cubs President Jed Hoyer as MLB trade deadline nears

Sports / Baseball /

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

Stacy Revere/Getty Images North America/TNS

Tigers end 6-game skid with 2-1 victory over Rangers

Sports / Baseball /

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

Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images North America/TNS

Tom Krasovic: Have the small-market Brewers unlocked a cheat code to beat LA?

Sports / Baseball /

SAN DIEGO — Baseball seasons serve up all kinds of surprises.

Here’s a fresh one, and while I don’t know what to make of it, you can be sure San Diego Padres leaders will take interest in it, small sample size notwithstanding.

Sunday, the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers yet again. The 6-5 decision at Dodger Stadium gave ...Read more

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Cardinals fall behind early, can't climb back in series-sweeping loss to Diamondbacks

Sports / Baseball /

PHOENIX — Stepping onto the mound after rocky starts proved costly for the St. Louis Cardinals in their first two games of a three-game series in Arizona, and starter Miles Mikolas’ troubling first frame dug a hole too deep for the Cardinals to claw out of Sunday at Chase Field.

Mikolas allowed four runs in the first inning, the first three...Read more