CLEVELAND — Believe it or not, Mike Trout actually came back early.

Although four weeks on the injured list might have been more than some expected when Trout first suffered a bone bruise in his left knee on April 30, the Angels’ plan for him in recent weeks was focused on a return on Monday in Boston, according to Manager Ron Washington.

...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Dodgers reliever Evan Phillips is scheduled to get Tommy John surgery next week and will miss the rest of the season, manager Dave Roberts announced Friday.

Phillips had missed the last three weeks because of forearm discomfort — and had not progressed in his recovery despite initial optimism that he would only miss the ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Mets continue to express confidence that Juan Soto will start to produce like the generational hitter he is. Friday night at Citi Field, he repaid some of that confidence with a two-hit game to help the Mets defeat the Colorado Rockies, 4-2.

An RBI double and leadoff single might not be much, but the Mets will take it.

The ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs’ rotation will be under the microscope at least until Shota Imanaga returns from his left hamstring strain, which could be sometime in June if his rehab goes according to plan.

In the meantime, they’ll try to get by with Jameson Taillon and four starters who came into the season as question marks due to past ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Zach Eflin didn’t look like himself his past two starts.

The Orioles’ right-hander was solid in his return from the injured list May 11 but proceeded to give up 12 combined earned runs over his next two outings, allowing a lot of hard contact and seven home runs. A soft assignment in the Chicago White Sox on Friday provided a ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Jazz Chisholm is expected to return soon — not only to the Yankees, but to the hot corner as well.

Chisholm, working his way back from a calf strain, began a rehab assignment with Double-A Somerset on Thursday. He led off, went 2 for 3 with a single, a double, a walk and two runs scored, and most notably played third base.

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Mariners starter Emerson Hancock was outstanding, Leody Taveras had a huge game and Seattle kept its lead in the American League West.

Those bright spots were overshadowed, however, by a dreadful 10th inning for the Mariners in which reliever Collin Snider gave up seven runs — five earned — in a 9-3 loss to the Washington Nationals on ...Read more

Losing an early three-run lead wasn’t going to keep the Rays from winning another game.

After the Astros rallied to tie Thursday’s game in the sixth inning, the Rays responded in a big way, scoring five runs in both the seventh and eighth innings, and rolling to a 13-3 victory at Daikin Park in Houston.

The win was the Rays’ eighth in ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Edmundo Sosa threw his bat to the ground in frustration, and then slammed down his helmet for good measure.

He had swung through a slider in the dirt from Chris Sale to end the sixth inning, and in doing so helped the Braves lefty become the fastest pitcher in MLB history to reach 2,500 strikeouts.

Eight of those came at the ...Read more

Mike Trout will be activated from the injured list when the Angels play in Cleveland on Friday night, a source confirmed.

The Angels had no official announcement, but their official transactions page listed Matthew Lugo being optioned to Triple-A on Thursday.

Trout has been out since May 1 because of a bone bruise in his left knee. The Angels ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — For Dodgers fans, the must-have souvenir from last year's World Series was not a cap or T-shirt commemorating the team's championship. It was one of the stickers that popped up all over town, reproducing the Fox Sports score box that showed the New York Yankees leading, 5-0, with two out in the fifth inning.

For the Yankees, it ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Two years ago, Alexis Díaz was an All-Star closer with the Cincinnati Reds.

Now, the 28-year-old right-hander is set to become a Dodgers reclamation project.

Amid a wave of early-season injuries to their bullpen and rotation, the Dodgers agreed to acquire Díaz from the Reds on Thursday, the team announced.

Díaz, who was ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Upon getting rained out Wednesday, the Phillies asked their best pitcher if he preferred to start the matinee first game or the nighttime finale of Thursday’s doubleheader.

Zack Wheeler picked the opener, then swiftly reconsidered.

“Is it too late to switch?” he asked.

“You can do whatever you want,” manager Rob ...Read more

The bullpen door sprang open at 6:35 p.m. Wednesday, and immediately the sounds of dubstep electronic dance music began blaring through the T-Mobile Park speakers.

Dubstep, you ask? It’s George Kirby’s favorite, all dark and ominous and irritating. It’s fingers scratching a chalkboard, the kind of music you’d blast into your sibling’s...Read more

ANAHEIM — The Angels have wasted some pretty good pitching this week.

Thanks to an offense that has been virtually nonexistent, the Angels were swept by the New York Yankees, losing 1-0 in the series finale on Wednesday night.

The Angels held the powerful Yankees to nine runs in three games – including holding two-time American League MVP ...Read more

BALTIMORE — It took longer for the mist and drizzle to clear than it did for the Cardinals to solve the Baltimore Orioles’ left-handed starter, but by the time it did this much remained clear:

That offense that Nolan Arenado described as “never out of it” and a lineup capable of mulching opponents with long, grinding at-bats — “What...Read more

NEW YORK — The Chicago White Sox went a combined 1 for 15 with runners in scoring position in the first two games of the series against the New York Mets.

They were in position to cash in early Wednesday afternoon at Citi Field after a Miguel Vargas double gave them runners on second and third with one out in the first inning. Left fielder ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Where would the Kansas City Royals be without rookie sensation Noah Cameron?

The left-handed starting pitcher has been a revelation. With each start, he has grown in confidence and built enough equity to stay at the big league level.

On Wednesday, Cameron aced another test against the Cincinnati Reds. He allowed one run in...Read more