ATLANTA — The national anthem had been sung. A sold-out crowd was in its seats. The field was raked, chalked and ready for baseball.

More than three hours later, the first pitch was finally thrown.

What was scheduled as a 7:15 p.m. local start at Truist Park in Atlanta on Friday didn’t actually kick off until 10:21 p.m., with the Dodgers ...Read more

ANAHEIM -- Got him again.

The sixth inning is turning into Jack Flaherty’s biggest nemesis.

He cruised into the sixth inning Saturday, allowing only an unearned run, flummoxing hitters with a nasty knuckle-curveball. He struck out the side in the fifth, that was how good he was throwing.

Then, facing the top of the order for a third time, ...Read more

ARLINGTON, Texas — Rowdy Tellez’s pinch-hit single drove in Jorge Polanco for the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning, and the Seattle Mariners won their sixth straight game with a 2-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Saturday.

Andrés Muñoz closed it out in the bottom of the ninth. He’s 12 for 12 in save opportunities and hasn�...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Fernando Tatis Jr. woke up and decided he was OK to play baseball.

A few hours later, he willed a victory.

Tatis led off Saturday’s ninth inning by creating a double out of a ground-ball to left field that he had no business turning into a double.

With one out, he stole third base.

With two outs, he ran home on a wild pitch ...Read more

BOSTON – Kody Clemens, the son of a seven-time Cy Young Award winner who won a Most Valuable Player award and pitched in a World Series as a member of the Boston Red Sox, accomplished something his dad never did at Fenway Park.

Clemens, playing in his first game at the ballpark Saturday, hit a home run.

With his dad, Roger Clemens, in the ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Kavan Markwood, the 20-year-old who fell over the 21-foot right-field wall onto the field at PNC Park on Wednesday, is “awake and continuing to work toward making his body stronger each day,” per a post on Instagram by his girlfriend Alonna Brown. The post went up around noon on Saturday.

A similar update was posted to the ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Across his first six starts of the year, Aaron Nola received six runs total in support from the Phillies offense. But by the end of the third inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday, they scored six more.

Scattered rains and lightning flashing in the distance didn’t dampen the Phillies’ bats. Max Kepler and J.T....Read more

It has been eight years since the Houston Astros cheated their way through a year that included a World Series victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. It has been five years since commissioner Rob Manfred publicly detailed the scandal and sanctioned the Astros and their leaders, if not their players.

Does A.J. Hinch, the manager of those Astros, ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — On the afternoon of May 4, 2024, Kendrick Lamar, to the shock of the music industry, released the diss track “Not Like Us,” the victory lap to his historic rap beef with Drake. The song became omnipresent, a true instant classic. Matt Chapman made it his walk-up song shortly after, and the record continues to blare ...Read more

CHICAGO — Davis Martin went all out during a fourth-inning showdown with Jake Meyers.

The Chicago White Sox starter began with two fastballs to get ahead 0-2. Meyers then fouled off a slider and fastball.

Martin threw a changeup in the dirt for a ball. Another fastball followed, which the Houston Astros center fielder fouled off again. ...Read more

BOSTON — The Red Sox lineup will be without Triston Casas for the remainder of the season after the first baseman ruptured his left patellar tendon in Friday night’s game against the Minnesota Twins.

They’ve selected Abraham Toro from Triple-A, reinstated left-hander Brennan Bernardino from the bereavement list and optioned right-hander ...Read more

NEW YORK — Austin Wells had given the Yankees something to sink their teeth into.

Hours after the catcher debuted his new signature burrito at select Yankee Stadium concession stands, Wells slugged a go-ahead home run in the fifth inning of Saturday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

But the Rays did just enough to spoil the afternoon.

...Read more

ATLANTA — The other notable international acquisition of the Los Angeles Dodgers' offseason this winter is on the verge of his major league debut.

South Korean utilityman Hyeseong Kim is being called up by the Dodgers, people with knowledge of the situation who were not authorized to speak publicly confirmed, set to join the team in Atlanta ...Read more

CHICAGO — It was a long fight for Black baseball players to be treated with respect. We see the results of that battle for athletic equality today, and Chicago was involved in a turning point more than a century ago.

While the percentage of Black players in Major League Baseball remains low (just 6.2% on opening day), Black stars are ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — The Pirates have had enough problems this season. No need to create more, especially relative to Paul Skenes.

Their ace struggled in his last start, walking four and allowing three home runs Thursday against the Cubs. But let's try to have some perspective here. Maybe even a reality check.

Thirty starts into an incredible major ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors failed to show up on Friday night in San Francisco. The same can’t be said of Robbie Ray.

Ray made baseball’s worst offense look like baseball’s worst offense as the Giants beat the Colorado Rockies, 4-0, tossing seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts to snap San Francisco’s three-game ...Read more

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Zach Neto poked the bear.

A confrontation between the Angels’ talented and feisty shortstop and Tigers’ ace Tarik Skubal ratcheted up the intensity in this series tenfold Friday night.

And the drama culminated in some extreme Tiger thunder in the ninth inning. They blew up a 1-1 game scoring eight times to beat the ...Read more

ARLINGTON, Texas — Cal Raleigh hit two home runs — highlighted by a one-handed grand slam — to take over the major-league lead in homers, and Bryan Woo was brilliant over six-plus innings as the Mariners thumped the Texas Rangers, 13-1, in their series opener Friday night at Globe Life Park.

Woo was perfect into the fifth inning and ...Read more

ATLANTA — Hours before first pitch Friday, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was honored with the National League’s pitcher of the month award for March and April.

Given how he looked in a scoreless six-inning, six-strikeout, one-hit gem against the Atlanta Braves hours later, it might not be the last award he vies for this year.

After establishing ...Read more