TORONTO — Miguel Amaya couldn’t stop smiling as he stood in front of his locker in the visitors clubhouse on Tuesday at the Rogers Centre.

Fresh off the 60-day injured list following an oblique injury that sidelined him nearly three months, Amaya was thrilled to be around his Chicago Cubs teammates.

“It feels amazing to be back,” a ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Put enough stress on your pitchers to be perfect and eventually something is going to break.

The Mariners got away with it on Tuesday night. They didn’t on Wednesday.

The M’s eight-game winning streak was snapped in a 4-3 loss to the Orioles before 17,290 in Oriole Park at Camden Yards on a night when thunderstorms blew ...Read more

BALTIMORE — The Orioles going the first 119 games without a walk-off win embodied how disappointing this season has been.

It might be all but over, but at least the 120th game featured the most enthralling type of win a team can achieve.

After the bullpen squandered yet another save, Jackson Holliday sent the small crowd at Camden Yards — ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — There is good news to be found in the wake of the Pohlads announcing that they will retain ownership of the Twins.

Even in this economy, sales of pitchforks, tar and feathers are sure to increase.

In the eyes of almost all Twins fans, the Pohlads have committed the unforgivable sin of the sports world — not appearing to care ...Read more

Big picture, it’s hard not to be satisfied with the way the Boston Red Sox handled their recent gauntlet. Since the All-Star break six of the Red Sox’s eight series have come against playoff teams, and they’ll come home Thursday 10 games over .500 with a record of 13-11 over that stretch.

But while the Red Sox have shown they can hold ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — The Los Angeles Dodgers are the opponent San Diego Padres fans focus on, and for very good reason.

Finishing ahead of Los Angeles would allow the Padres to skip the first round of the playoffs — that is, if they also outpace one of the other two National League division winners.

The Padres and Dodgers this month will play six ...Read more

CINCINNATI — Cristopher Sánchez’s throw whizzed past a diving Otto Kemp and wound up back in left field.

That’s where the ball started, when Cincinnati’s Noelvi Marte had deposited an 81.9 mph broken-bat single in an empty patch of outfield in the sixth inning. Brandon Marsh’s throw to the plate was too high for J.T. Realmuto to ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Diego Padres will arrive in Los Angeles in first place.

Their chartered flight will touch down at LAX with them holding a half-game lead over the Dodgers in the National League West.

Depending on how the Dodgers fare against the Angels in Anaheim later Wednesday evening, the Padres will either lead the division by a ...Read more

Despite a two-homer day from designated hitter Bryan Reynolds, the Pittsburgh Pirates couldn’t prevent the Milwaukee Brewers from earning their 12th consecutive win.

The Brewers beat the Pirates 12-5 on Wednesday afternoon at American Family Field in Milwaukee, completing a three-game sweep. Lefty Jared Koenig, who pitched the seventh, earned...Read more

Colorado Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer likes to talk about his young club’s “resiliency.” Oftentimes, it’s just window dressing.

Not on Wednesday afternoon at Busch Stadium.

All-star catcher Hunter Goodman hit a two-run, pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning to lift the Rockies to a 6-5 comeback victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals know what’s at stake.

A return to the postseason is not a given, regardless of the sheer talent on your roster. It doesn’t matter how much money a team has spent or how many trades were made during the season.

The Royals have the talent and have spent the money. Still, they entered Wednesday’s ...Read more

NEW YORK — Nine years ago, the Yankees were in a period of transition.

They had just bid farewell to Alex Rodriguez, giving him a Yankee Stadium sendoff on Aug. 12, 2016, in what proved to be his final MLB game.

The next day, the Yankees called up a pair of promising prospects for an extended look over the final seven weeks of a playoff-less...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Pohlad family’s decision to not sell the Twins comes after a rocky stretch for the team, and chairman Joe Pohlad told the Minnesota Star Tribune that they understand fans might be skeptical at the turn of events.

“And I would say to those fans: It’s my job and this new ownership group’s new job to do everything we ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — The Padres played just eight games against National League West opponents over the season’s first two months.

They did not face the Dodgers until June 8, the furthest into a season the two team met for the first time in 25 years.

That was part of a run of 14 division games in 18 days, including seven against the Dodgers.

...Read more

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Rays are having a hard enough time winning games as it is.

Lending a hand to the opposition is making it even tougher.

In Tuesday’s 6-0 loss, mistakes or misplays by the Rays contributed to most of the runs for the A’s.

Chandler Simpson failed to cut off a ball hit to left-center, catcher Nick Fortes ...Read more

The Dodgers finally had their storybook moment.

Until the Angels rewrote it with a walk-off ending.

In the top of the ninth inning at Angel Stadium on Tuesday night, Shohei Ohtani lifted the Dodgers to the verge of a badly needed win, breaking a tie score with the kind of moment that could have jump-started the stretch run of their season.

...Read more

CHICAGO — Jim Leyland liked to say that momentum was only as good as your next day's starting pitcher.

And, well, there ya go.

A seemingly decent Jack Flaherty start turned into a miserable one in a hurry during a disastrous, five-run fifth inning as the White Sox slogged their way past the Tigers, 9-6, at Rate Field on Monday night. The ...Read more

Carlos Narvaez has been a revelation for the Red Sox this season, but the rookie’s heavy workload has begun to take its toll. Over the past month Narvaez has batted just north of .100 and last week he nearly landed on the injured list due to knee soreness.

If Tuesday night was any indication, the couple of days off his feet made a world of ...Read more

Not even Paul Skenes could save the Pirates Tuesday evening. Matched up against the best team in baseball, Pittsburgh’s losing ways continued, falling by a final score of 14-0 to the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

Freddy Peralta was the game’s winning pitcher, improving to 14-5 on the season. Skenes suffered the ...Read more