Kyle Wright leads Braves to sweep of Marlins, trip to NLCSVideo
HOUSTON — Rookie Kyle Wright dazzled for six innings in his postseason debut, and the Atlanta Braves rode their superb pitching to beat the Miami Marlins, 7-0, on Thursday for a three-game sweep and their first trip to the NL Championship Series since 2001. Atlanta had lost eight straight Division...
Cody Bellinger robs Padres as Dodgers hold on for 2-0 NLDS lead
ARLINGTON, Texas — Cody Bellinger would take the homer-robbing catch over the home run he hit if he had to pick from the two. The Los Angeles Dodgers needed both from their MVP center fielder. Bellinger nearly went to a knee to hit his long home run, and later made...
Rays push Yankees to brink of elimination
SAN DIEGO — Randy Arozarena homered for the third straight game and Kevin Kiermaier and Michael Perez also went deep for the Tampa Bay Rays, who beat the New York Yankees 8-4 Wednesday night to move within one victory of reaching the AL Championship Series for the first time in...
Indians manager Terry Francona underwent surgeries, expects return in 2021Video
CLEVELAND — Terry Francona’s mind briefly wandered to a life without baseball while he battled through a major health scare. Retirement stared him in the face. “Some days when I was extremely frustrated, the thought crossed my mind,” the Indians manager said. “When it was hard to see the light...
Chad Pinder’s HR helps rally A’s past Astros, trail ALDS 2-1
LOS ANGELES — Chad Pinder tied the score with a three-run homer in the seventh inning, Sean Murphy hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the eighth and the Oakland Athletics rallied past the Houston Astros, 9-7, on Wednesday to avoid elimination in their AL Division Series. Houston leads the best-of-five...
Ian Anderson sharp, Nick Markakis alert as Braves blank Miami
HOUSTON — Rookie Ian Anderson pitched like an October veteran. Old pro Nick Markakis threw the best strike of the game. And just like that, the Atlanta Braves are on the verge of something they haven’t done since the days of Chipper, the Big Three and Bobby Cox. Anderson blanked...
Tyler Glasnow fans 10 to lead Rays past Yankees
SAN DIEGO — With their pitching staff providing a record 18 strikeouts, the Tampa Bay Rays showed some pop of their own against the New York Yankees. Randy Arozarena, Mike Zunino, Manuel Margot and Austin Meadows homered, and Tyler Glasnow struck out 10 to set a postseason record for the...
George Springer hits 2 HRs, Astros beat A’s for 2-0 ALDS lead
LOS ANGELES — Back-to-back home runs off back-to-back pitches. The Houston Astros can’t miss these days. George Springer hit two homers, and Houston kept making more noise in the playoffs, beating the Oakland Athletics, 5-2, on Tuesday to take a 2-0 lead in their AL Division Series. Martin Maldonado also...
Travis D’Arnaud, Braves rally in 7th, beat Marlins to open NLDS
HOUSTON — Ronald Acuna Jr. made history with his leadoff homer, Travis d’Arnaud hit a tiebreaking shot in Atlanta’s huge seventh inning and the Braves beat the Miami Marlins, 9-5, on Tuesday in Game 1 of the NL Division Series. D’Arnaud also doubled and singled in driving in four runs,...
Indians expect manager Terry Francona back for 2021 seasonVideo
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians expect manager Terry Francona to return for the 2021 season after he missed 48 games in 2020 because of health issues. President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said Tuesday the 61-year-old Francona is back home in Arizona resting and recovering. Francona, a New Brighton native,...
Carlos Correa, George Springer rally Astros past A’s in ALDS opener
LOS ANGELES — A home run derby broke out during a hot, dry day at Dodger Stadium, and suddenly the Houston Astros have their swing and swagger back. Carlos Correa homered twice and drove in four, Jose Altuve hit a go-ahead, two-run single during Houston’s four-run sixth inning and the...
Giancarlo Stanton, Yankees power way to win against Rays in opener
SAN DIEGO — Giancarlo Stanton and the Bronx Bombers made themselves right at home in Petco Park on a warm October evening in Southern California. Stanton hit a grand slam in the ninth inning for New York’s fourth home run of the game, and the Yankees beat the Tampa Bay...
Astros return to Los Angeles for ALDS series against A’s, pitcher Mike FiersVideo
LOS ANGELES — The Houston Astros are returning to the scene of the crime. The Los Angeles Dodgers won’t be there, but their fans surely won’t let the visitors forget. While the Dodgers head to Texas for the NL Division Series, their ballpark is hosting the AL Division Series in...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: MLB should keep rule changes and add even more
If big-time sports aren’t careful, the pandemic may inadvertently steer them into giving the people what they want. Hockey’s expanded playoff worked. Baseball’s expanded playoff is working. Baseball is slated to use the same format in 2021. Don’t be shocked if hockey sticks with a 24-team tournament. The postseason is...
Bob Gibson, legendary Cardinals ace, dies at 84
Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, the dominating St. Louis Cardinals pitcher who won a record seven consecutive World Series starts and set a modern standard for excellence when he finished the 1968 season with a 1.12 ERA, died Friday. He was 84. The Cardinals confirmed Gibson’s death shortly after a...
9 Padres pitchers blank Cardinals in Game 3, reach NLDS
SAN DIEGO — Craig Stammen and eight fellow relievers combined on a four-hitter in a brilliant, record-setting effort that sent the San Diego Padres over the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-0, on Friday night in the deciding Game 3 of their NL wild-card series. The Padres won a postseason series for...
Former commissioner’s name pulled off baseball MVP after 75 years
NEW YORK — The name of the former baseball commissioner who never had a Black player in the majors during his long reign is being pulled off all future MVP plaques after more than 75 years. Kenesaw Mountain Landis won’t be depicted on the annual awards presented by the Baseball...
Marlins sweep Cubs out of playoffs to continue turnaround
CHICAGO — Garrett Cooper homered against Yu Darvish in a two-run seventh, hard-throwing rookie Sixto Sanchez dominated for five innings and the Miami Marlins won their first playoff series in 17 years, beating the Chicago Cubs, 2-0, on Friday to complete a two-game wild-card series sweep. Miami will face Atlanta...
Clayton Kershaw Ks 13 as Dodgers eliminate Brewers
LOS ANGELES — Beat up in the postseason over the years, Clayton Kershaw orchestrated one of his best performances against the weakened Milwaukee Brewers. Kershaw struck out 13 while delivering eight innings of three-hit ball, Mookie Betts hit a two-out, two-run double in the fifth, and the Los Angeles Dodgers...
First Call: JuJu’s ‘cringeworthy’ quote, some Steelers not happy about schedule shuffleVideo
Friday’s “First Call” gives us some sassy Pittsburgh Steelers who are speaking out about the NFL’s schedule change. An ex-Steeler is surprised about JuJu Smith-Schuster’s quarterback comments. Duquesne basketball is getting some love. And a stroll down Pirates memory lane. Bye-bye, bye Some of the Steelers are less than thrilled...
Fernando Tatis Jr., Wil Myers homer twice, Padres outslug Cardinals to stay alive
SAN DIEGO — Fernando Tatis Jr. and Wil Myers each hit two home runs and Manny Machado also connected for the San Diego Padres, who rallied to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-9 Thursday night to force a deciding Game 3 in their NL wild-card series. San Diego’s powerful offense...
Ian Anderson shines, Braves shut out Reds again to sweep series
ATLANTA — It had been so long since the Atlanta Braves won a postseason series, Marcell Ozuna wanted to make sure he captured the moment. Then Adam Duvall joined the selfie bandwagon. Ian Anderson dazzled in another shutout performance for Atlanta, and the Braves won a playoff series for the...
Yanks sweep Indians 10-9 in draining game, meet Rays in ALDS
CLEVELAND — It took the New York Yankees nearly five hours on the field, carried them from Wednesday to Thursday and September into October to complete the sweep. They stumbled into the 2020 postseason. They’re standing tall now. DJ LeMahieu’s tiebreaking single in the ninth inning off closer Brad Hand...
Cardinals spoil Padres return to playoffsVideo
SAN DIEGO — Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run homer during a four-run first inning, St. Louis’ bullpen held strong after starter Kwang Hyun Kim stumbled in his playoff debut and the Cardinals ruined the San Diego Padres’ long-awaited return to the playoffs with a 7-4 victory Wednesday in the opener...
A’s hold off White Sox, force series to Game 3Video
OAKLAND, Calif. — Marcus Semien and Khris Davis homered early, and the Oakland Athletics held off Jose Abreu and the Chicago White Sox in the late innings for a 5-3 win Wednesday that sent their AL playoff series to a deciding Game 3. A’s reliever Jake Diekman walked home a...
