Behind solid start from Gerrit Cole, Yankees take opener from Guardians
NEW YORK — Gerrit Cole dreamed of this moment growing up in California, winning a postseason game in pinstripes at Yankee Stadium. Harrison Bader had a similar fantasy while sitting in the first base seats as a 15-year-old and watching New York’s last championship team. They combined to make each...
Yordan Alvarez hits walk-off, 3-run HR as Astros beat Mariners in Game 1 of ALDSVideo
HOUSTON — Yordan Alvarez smashed a game-ending, three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning off Robbie Ray, wrecking Seattle’s strategy of using a Cy Young Award winner in a rare relief role and vaulting the Houston Astros over the Mariners, 8-7, on Tuesday in their playoff opener. Trailing...
Nick Castellanos drives in 3 as Phillies hold off Braves in NLDS Game 1Video
ATLANTA — Nick Castellanos drove in three runs and made a potentially game-saving catch in the ninth inning, lifting the Philadelphia Phillies over the reigning World Series champion Atlanta Braves, 7-6, in the opener of their NL Division Series on Tuesday. The Phillies have won three straight games to begin...
Ex-Angels employee gets 22 years in Skaggs overdose death
FORT WORTH, Texas — A former Los Angeles Angels employee was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison Tuesday for providing Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs the drugs that led to his overdose death in Texas. Eric Kay, dressed in an orange jumpsuit with handcuffs and leg shackles, didn’t react when...
MLB playoff primer: Aaron Judge, Justin Verlander join fray as 8 teams remainVideo
Major League Baseball’s first foray into a best-of-three wild-card round provided its share of memorable moments. A 15-inning, 432-pitch game. A seven-run comeback win. Joe Musgrove’s ears. Now it’s on to the division series, which is business as usual with a best-of-five format. The four matchups are Braves-Phillies, Padres-Dodgers, Mariners-Astros...
Rob Thomson signs 2-year deal to remain as Phillies managerVideo
After guiding the Philadelphia Phillies to their first playoff series victory since 2010, manager Rob Thomson had the interim removed from his title Monday. The Phillies announced they have signed Thomson to a two-year contract to remain as their manager through 2024, rewarding him for a turnaround that earned Philadelphia...
Braves sign rookie pitcher Spencer Strider to $75 million, 6-year contractVideo
ATLANTA — Even as they prepare for another postseason, the Atlanta Braves are stocking up for the future. The reigning World Series champions signed rookie right-hander Spencer Strider to a $75 million, six-year contract on Monday, the latest in a series of long-term deals for their young core. The signing...
Joe Musgrove pitches hometown Padres past Mets and into NLDSVideo
NEW YORK — Joe Musgrove brushed off chants of “Cheater!” after a bizarre spot check by umpires on the mound, pitching his hometown San Diego Padres into the next round of the playoffs Sunday night with seven innings of one-hit ball in a 6-0 victory over the New York Mets....
Mariners erase 7-run deficit, sweep Blue Jays in wild card
TORONTO — Adam Frazier hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the ninth inning, and the Seattle Mariners erased a seven-run deficit while topping the Toronto Blue Jays, 10-9, on Saturday for a sweep of their AL wild-card series. It was the biggest road comeback win in playoff history and baseball’s...
Oscar Gonzalez’s 15th-inning HR leads Guardians past Rays for AL wild-card sweepVideo
CLEVELAND — The Guardians have won with comebacks and walk-offs for months, turning an unexpected season more special by the day. Cleveland wasn’t supposed to be this good, this fast. Baseball’s youngest team certainly has grown up. Rookie Oscar Gonzalez broke up the longest scoreless postseason game in history with...
Luis Castillo sharp, Mariners blank Jays in wild-card opener
TORONTO — Luis Castillo and Andres Munoz combined on a shutout, Cal Raleigh hit a two-run homer and the Seattle Mariners won in their first postseason game since 2001, beating the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-0, on Friday in their AL wild-card series opener. Eugenio Suarez had two hits and two...
Phillies score 6 in 9th inning, top Cardinals in Game 1 of wild-card seriesVideo
ST. LOUIS — Philadelphia scored six times in the ninth inning off the stingy St. Louis bullpen, highlighted by a bases-loaded single by Jean Segura, and the Phillies beat the NL Central champion Cardinals, 6-3, on Friday in the opening game of their National League wild-card series. The Cardinals, who...
Jose Ramirez’s 2-run homer sends Guardians past Rays in AL wild-card openerVideo
CLEVELAND — Jose Ramirez connected for a two-run homer, Shane Bieber dominated Tampa Bay for 7 2/3 innings and the young Cleveland Guardians played with poise in their postseason debut, beating the Rays, 2-1, in the wild-card opener on Friday. Ramirez’s shot off Shane McClanahan in the sixth inning helped...
MLB crowds jump from 2021, still below pre-pandemic levelsVideo
PHOENIX — Even with the homer heroics of sluggers like Aaron Judge and Albert Pujols, MLB wasn’t able to coax fans to ballparks at pre-pandemic levels this season, though attendance did jump substantially from the covid-19 affected campaign in 2021. The 30 MLB teams drew nearly 64.6 million fans for...
Shakeia Taylor: Barry Bonds is the real home run record holder — and nothing can change that until someone breaks it
CHICAGO — In 2001, 37-year-old Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs, beating Mark McGwire’s single-season record of 70 set three years earlier. You probably remember it happened, whether you watched it or not. Even if you don’t have a relationship to baseball, it’s one of those facts many people know....
Fan who caught Aaron Judge’s 62nd HR offered $2M for ballVideo
The owner of a sports memorabilia auction house says he has offered $2 million to the fan who caught Aaron Judge’s American League-record 62nd home run. JP Cohen, president of Memory Lane Inc. in Tustin, Calif., told the Associated Press on Wednesday that he has texted and emailed Cory Youmans,...
Fan who caught Aaron Judge’s 62nd HR offered $2M for ball
The owner of a sports memorabilia auction house says he has offered $2 million to the fan who caught Aaron Judge’s American League-record 62nd home run. JP Cohen, president of Memory Lane Inc. in Tustin, California, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he has texted and emailed Cory Youmans,...
No-No Joe Musgrove wants a championship for hometown Padres
SAN DIEGO — Joe Musgrove took a moment away from the mayhem of the clubhouse celebration after the San Diego Padres clinched a playoff spot to reflect on where his career has been and where he wants it to go. The big right-hander will forever be remembered as the hometown...
MLB playoff picture all set, best-of-3 matchups start Friday
Albert Pujols taking his final swings in October, Julio Rodríguez stepping in for the first time. Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom facing Manny Machado and Juan Soto. Bryce Harper, back at last. José Ramírez and his Cleveland teammates trying to break a long drought — with a new name. And...
Yankees star Aaron Judge hits 62nd homer to break Roger Maris’ AL recordVideo
ARLINGTON, Texas — Aaron Judge hit his 62nd home run of the season Tuesday night, breaking Roger Maris’ American League record and setting what some fans consider baseball’s “clean” standard. The 30-year-old Yankees slugger drove a 1-1 slider from Texas right-hander Jesús Tinoco into the first couple of rows of...
Beyond the grunt: Umpires mic up, and baseball changes a bitVideo
NEW YORK — After a century and a half of Major League Baseball — after generations of grunts and growls, of muffled shouts and dramatic arm gestures and a cultivated sense of remoteness — something quietly extraordinary happened to the national pastime this year: The umpires began talking to the...
Ohtani agrees to $30 million deal for 2023 with Angels
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Shohei Ohtani has agreed to a $30 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels for the 2023 season in the two-way superstar’s final year of arbitration eligibility before free agency. The Angels announced the deal Saturday, avoiding a potentially complicated arbitration case with the 2021 AL MVP....
Ex-Pirate Charlie Morton, Braves reach $20 million, 1-year deal for 2023Video
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves have reached a deal with starting pitcher Charlie Morton on a $20 million, one-year contract for 2023 with a $20 million club option for 2024 that does not include a buyout. Morton, 38, is 9-6 with a 4.29 ERA in 30 starts this season. The...
Aaron Judge’s 61st HR another murky milestone for MLBVideo
Aaron Judge’s homers almost always impress, and No. 61 on Wednesday night was no exception — a laser-beam shot that landed in the Blue Jays bullpen amidst huge cheers from the crowd in Toronto. Baseball history was made, and the joy was palpable. The New York Yankees slugger had just...
Yankees star Aaron Judge hits 61st home run, ties Roger Maris’ AL recordVideo
TORONTO — Aaron Judge tied Roger Maris’ American League record of 61 home runs in a season, going deep for the New York Yankees against the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night. The 30-year-old slugger drove a full-count pitch from Tim Mayza over the left-field fence in the seventh inning...
