ST. LOUIS — Rather than turning to their No. 1 starter to halt or slow or — as the saying goes — stop a skid, the Cardinals turned the wheel over to Sonny Gray on Wednesday to drive forward their best stretch of baseball yet.

Gray’s seven shutout innings paired with Victor Scott II’s speed-demon baserunning to lift the Cardinals to ...Read more

ST. LOUIS — Held scoreless through 5 2/3 innings by Pittsburgh Pirate’s ace Paul Skenes, the St. Louis Cardinals broke through against the hard-throwing righty on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium.

With two outs in the sixth inning, Alec Burleson produced a double down the left field line that scored Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras to lift...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays’ temporary home, George M. Steinbrenner Field, is built with the exact same dimensions as Yankee Stadium.

That includes the short porch in right field, which stands only 314 feet from home plate, eight feet closer than the same wall at hurricane-ravaged Tropicana Field.

That may make the park hitter-...Read more

BOSTON — Lucas Giolito’s first start off the injured list was highly encouraging. The right-hander shut down the Blue Jays for most of his outing, and while he eventually ran out of gas, Giolito gave good reason for optimism going forward.

But Tuesday night marked a concerning step backwards.

Playing in soaking wet conditions amid steady ...Read more

MIAMI — Most of Tuesday’s game went according to plan for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Tony Gonsolin produced a solid five-inning start in his second start back from Tommy John surgery, giving up just two runs.

Shohei Ohtani posted another monster stat line at loanDepot Park, hitting a tying home run in the sixth and a tying double in the ...Read more

NEW YORK — As the Yankees pursued a Juan Soto trade with the Padres two offseasons ago, Clarke Schmidt and Michael King each saw their names in rumors.

The pinstriped teammates figured either could be dealt, but the Padres ultimately insisted on King after he transitioned from the bullpen to the Yankees’ rotation down the stretch in 2023. ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — What a disappointment for the Minnesota Twins. Royce Lewis, who has returned from five previous injury layoffs with grand slams, two-homer games and at least one hit in each of them, couldn’t provide a Roycian thrill for the Target Field attendees who simply expect such heroics from him by now.

Then again, why get lost in a ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Yankees brought an end to their Carlos Carrasco experiment on Tuesday — at least for the time being — as they designated the veteran for assignment before their game against the Padres.

Carrasco, 38 and in his 16th season, cracked the Yankees’ injury-ravaged rotation as non-roster invitee out of spring training, but the ...Read more

MIAMI — The Dodgers put outfielder Teoscar Hernández on the injured list Tuesday with a left groin strain, a day after Hernández injured himself chasing down a fly ball in right field and left the game early.

James Outman was called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City to replace Hernández on the roster.

According to manager Dave Roberts, Hern�...Read more

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Looking to add some outfield depth, the Mariners tapped into an AL West rival on Tuesday.

The M’s claimed outfielder Leody Taveras off waivers from the Texas Rangers in what should be an upgrade to Seattle’s outfield depth as the club continues to deal with the absences of both Victor Robles and Luke Raley stuck ...Read more

MIAMI —Two days, maybe three.

When Mookie Betts first came down with a stomach bug the week the Los Angeles Dodgers were scheduled to leave for their season-opening trip to Japan in March, that's how long the team's do-everything superstar initially thought he'd feel unwell.

"I thought it was just gonna be a little two-day sickness, and that...Read more

NEW YORK — A wet and sort of blah night in the Bronx blew up with a whisper.

The San Diego Padres scored four runs in the eighth inning, all immediately after Fernando Tatis Jr. and manager Mike Shildt were ejected, and held on for a 4-3 victory over the New York Yankees.

The Padres had done almost nothing to that point.

After striking out ...Read more

CHICAGO — The San Francisco Giants haven’t had many ugly losses this season. Monday’s loss qualifies as such.

Willy Adames and Matt Chapman committed two errors apiece that resulted in five unearned runs as the Giants lost to the Chicago Cubs, 9-2, on a chilly night at Wrigley Field.

Adames, who committed fielding errors in the first and...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Royals’ most pressing question heading into Monday night was whether left-handed starter Cole Ragans would look like himself after skipping a start with a groin injury.

Consider the ace back to his normal self.

Ragans was dominant in his return to the mound Monday, tying a season-high with 11 strikeouts in five ...Read more

ST. LOUIS — Starting at shortstop in place of Masyn Winn while he nurses a left ankle injury, Jose Barrero provided a jolt to give the Cardinals their first run on Monday at Busch Stadium against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He then delivered again three innings later with an early attack that extended a lead powered by Willson Contreras.

When he ...Read more