SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres closed out an ugly game Thursday with a beautiful defensive play in the top of the 12th inning and Xander Bogaerts’ walk-off grand slam in the bottom half for a 7-3 victory over the visiting Colorado Rockies.

Bogaerts came to bat with the bases loaded after a sacrifice bunt by Fernando Tatis Jr. and ...Read more

NEW YORK — Nolan McLean pitched well enough to give the Mets a chance to win by shutting out the Arizona Diamondbacks for six innings Thursday night at Citi Field. But without him, the Mets fell apart.

The Diamondbacks scored seven runs over the seventh and eighth innings to beat the Mets, 7-1, and take the three-game series, 2-1. McLean took...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals’ offensive woes continued on Thursday night.

Despite getting a quality start from All-Star starting pitcher Seth Lugo, the Royals fell, 2-0, in a series-opening game against the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium.

Lugo allowed one two runs in 6 1/3 innings. He scattered four hits and kept his ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — After Konnor Griffin made his major league debut on Friday, he said he was looking forward to Saturday.

Why? He’d get to “flip the switch,” focusing on what’s next and the grind of a major league season instead of the pageantry of the debut. Then came Wednesday and another flipped switch, as Griffin signed a nine-year, $...Read more

TORONTO — Freddie Freeman ignored the first call from the unknown number.

Then four text messages in a row came from someone claiming to be Ryan Reynolds, the Canadian-American actor.

“I don’t know if I believe this,” Freeman recounted Wednesday on the Rogers Centre field before the Dodgers’ series finale against the Blue Jays. “So...Read more

NEW YORK — With southpaw Jeffrey Springs starting for the Athletics on Thursday afternoon, Yankees manager Aaron Boone deployed a righty-loaded lineup in hopes of securing a rubber-match win in the Bronx.

Instead, the pinstripers couldn’t even muster a hit against the lefty until the seventh inning when Ben Rice delivered their first knock ...Read more

MIAMI — Nobody wants to change their swing.

Baseball players, at the end of the day, are extremely superstitious. They often take the same number of practice swings. They might have a specific plate ritual. They even have special bats. But for Miami Marlins catcher Liam Hicks, a subtle change has tremendously improved his hitting.

“I had ...Read more

SEATTLE — Five years ago, Jarred Kelenic was a consensus top-10 prospect in Major League Baseball. He was 21 years old, the former No. 6 overall pick in the 2018 draft, and the key return in a trade that sent All-Stars Robinson Canó and Edwin Díaz to the New York Mets. He was tools and twitch and intensity, promise personified.

He was ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Athletics got to New York Yankees closer David Bednar in the ninth inning Wednesday night, paving the way for a 3-2, series-tying victory for the nomadic visitors at Yankee Stadium.

Bednar, who hasn’t had his top velocity in the early going this season, ran into trouble right away in the ninth, allowing a leadoff single to ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — April baseball is a dance between the daily result and perspective. You can’t help reacting to what’s happening on the field, especially after the Detroit Tigers’ maddeningly erratic 8-6 loss to the Minnesota Twins Wednesday at Target Field.

Nor can you intelligently affix any binding judgment on the overall quality and ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays made another mess in the field on Wednesday and lost another game.

Three Rays errors — giving them a majors’-most 17 in their first 12 games — contributed heavily in a 6-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs.

There have been seven three-error games in the majors so far this season and the Rays have three of them. ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Given the handful of comebacks already this season and the Monday night meltdown in D.C., there was something almost routine, even formulaic about how the St. Louis Cardinals finished their first road trip of 2026.

They got a quality start with gobs of groundouts and a defense deft enough to turn some sharp ones into outs.

They...Read more

CHICAGO — The worst-case scenario when Zach Eflin walked off the mound last week with the Orioles’ athletic trainer by his side has come true.

Eflin underwent Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery with Dr. Keith Meister on Wednesday in Arlington, Texas, the team announced. He will miss the remainder of the season.

The right-hander, who ...Read more

TORONTO — Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas learned about 40 minutes before the Dodgers’ game against Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday that his father, Miguel “Micky” Rojas, was being rushed to the hospital.

Just that afternoon, the elder Rojas had sent his son a photo of himself lying down in bed, ready to watch the game. He was ...Read more

DENVER — These Rockies aren’t those Rockies. At least that’s what the early April returns tell us.

Playing crisp, team baseball and getting solid pitching, Colorado beat the Houston Astros 9-1 Wednesday afternoon at Coors Field to complete the three-game sweep. Last season, en route to 119 losses, the Rockies managed one sweep, taking ...Read more

NEW YORK — For the second start in a row, David Peterson didn’t have it.

The left-hander was hit hard early in Wednesday afternoon’s 7-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks at frigid Citi Field as the Mets’ four-game winning streak came to an end.

Arizona came out swinging, tagging Peterson for a run in the first inning and four in the ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — Rafael Devers delivered the biggest hit of the young season, a three-run home run off the Phillies’ Aaron Nola that paved the way for a 5-0 win Wednesday afternoon and for San Francisco to take two of three from Philadelphia.

This marks the Giants’ eighth consecutive series victory against the Phillies at Oracle Park, the ...Read more

ARLINGTON, Texas — It’s not just the Seattle Mariners’ losing record here in the first 13 games of the season, which dropped to 4-9 following Wednesday’s 3-0 loss to the Texas Rangers.

To be certain, it’s an unexpected and abysmal start to a highly-anticipated season where much was expected following last season’s postseason run.

...Read more

CHICAGO — It might not matter where Taylor Ward bats in the lineup. He’s producing regardless.

Ward, hitting out of the No. 2 spot for the first time this season, racked up four hits, including three doubles, to lead the Orioles to a 5-3 win over the Chicago White Sox Wednesday. The victory earned Baltimore (6-6) a road sweep and pulled its...Read more