ST. LOUIS — Can’t put this one on the offense.

Seven runs will win a game almost 90% of the time in the major leagues.

A sweaty Thursday night did not work out that way for the Padres, as their offense found some potency but their pitchers threw too many pitches that found the seats and the Cardinals outlasted them, 9-7, on an oppressively...Read more

SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners have kicked off the trade-deadline season with another significant summer addition, acquiring first baseman Josh Naylor from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, a source with knowledge of the deal told The Seattle Times.

Naylor, 28, will provide a middle-of-the-order presence around Julio Rodríguez, Cal ...Read more

DETROIT — The Detroit Tigers broke out a new home run celebration early Thursday night, but it was the same old stuck-in-the-mud offense that led to the once-upon-a-time best team in baseball's latest defeat.

The Blue Jays got to Reese Olson for five runs in the sixth inning and to Dietrich Enns for four more in the seventh in blowing out the...Read more

Minutes after the Yankees lost an ugly contest to the Blue Jays on Wednesday night, Aaron Judge said that he still believes he’s on a great team.

Never mind that the Bombers made four errors in the 8-4 defeat. Or that they totaled seven in the series. Or that the loss put them four games back of Toronto in the American League East and made ...Read more

CLEVELAND — Coming off a seven-run outing that had shades of his disastrous start to the season, Charlie Morton pitched into the seventh inning Thursday to help the Orioles salvage their series finale against the Cleveland Guardians with a 4-3 win.

With the trade deadline just a week away, Morton is shaping up to be one of the Orioles’ top ...Read more

Baseball has no shortage of unwritten rules, but among the most important is “don’t give the opposing team extra outs.”

The Philadelphia Phillies are a championship contender, but Wednesday they broke that rule and paid for it dearly.

Leading the Red Sox by five runs in the top of the fifth, the Phillies should have gotten out of the ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — Blowing a four-run lead in the second inning was a bad start for the Rays on Wednesday. But there was a worse ending, as they blew a two-run lead late and lost to the White Sox, 11-9.

Starter Taj Bradley had a rough and short night, allowing the Sox to quickly erase the 4-0 lead the Rays grabbed in the first on homers by Yandy ...Read more

TORONTO — With their ace on the mound and a chance to leave Canada with a much-needed series win over the Blue Jays on Wednesday, the Yankees embarrassed themselves. Again.

After another night of atrocious baseball, the Bombers fell, 8-4. The loss, which followed an ugly defeat on Monday, put manager Aaron Boone’s ballclub four games behind...Read more

CLEVELAND — The Baltimore Orioles’ bullpen, once the lone source of stability for the struggling ballclub, has become a glaring problem over the past few weeks.

After entering play Wednesday with the highest bullpen ERA in the majors this month at 6.75, the Orioles let another close game slip away as Colin Selby gave up the go-ahead run in ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs came into the season expecting right-hander Colin Rea to factor into the rotation in some capacity.

The 35-year-old had 76 career big league starts before joining the Cubs, and the organization expected that experience to be valuable as they tried to build a pitching staff with depth and multi-inning options. ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Remember when the Dodgers injury-riddled rotation was the problem? That’s so last month.

The issue now is the bullpen. Over the last four weeks the team’s bullpen ERA has ballooned to 4.44. Only six teams in the majors entered Wednesday with a higher mark.

Freddie Freeman saved the Dodgers from another painful bullpen ...Read more

SEATTLE — All it takes sometimes to wind up on the losing side is one bad inning.

Wednesday afternoon’s start was one of Luis Castillo’s most frustrating, and worst of the season, the type that many pitchers prefer to “flush” and forget about, as the Mariners veteran tied for a season high with 10 hits allowed, along with six runs —...Read more

CHICAGO — The Royals made themselves right at home at the Friendly Confines.

That’s the nickname for Wrigley Field, a place where the Royals’ batters obviously felt comfortable on Wednesday. They hit four two-run home runs in an 8-4 win over the Cubs. They also hit four on Monday night, so that’s eight homers in three games for the ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — Let me first dispense with the obvious: I have no idea where a new owner might take the Tampa Bay Rays. The team could remain in St. Petersburg, move to Tampa or even find a home closer to the rumored buyers, a Jacksonville-based investors’ group.

But one thing about a stadium search in Hillsborough County is clear: As much as...Read more

DENVER — It’s been a long time coming, but the Rockies finally did it. They shut out an opponent.

They blanked the Cardinals, 6-0, on Wednesday afternoon at Coors Field, the Rockies’ first shutout since May 15, 2024, in an 8-0 victory over the Padres at San Diego. The 220-game drought was the longest of baseball’s modern era.

Starter ...Read more

ATLANTA — At long last, Justin Verlander has his first win as a San Francisco Giant.

Verlander pitched around five walks to deliver five scoreless innings and Rafael Devers enjoyed his first multi-homer game with San Francisco as the Giants (54-49) defeated the Atlanta Braves, 9-3, on Wednesday afternoon at Truist Park. For Verlander, it ...Read more

MIAMI — Two starting pitchers who have in not-so-long-ago seasons been among the most feared in baseball took the mound Wednesday afternoon at loanDepot park.

Only one of them evidently did so after emerging from a time machine.

It was like 2022 for the Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara, who crafted his best game of the season in the Marlins’ 3-2...Read more

NEW YORK — Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso snapped their hitless streaks in style.

The Mets stars broke out of their respective slumps by delivering the biggest hits in Wednesday afternoon’s 6-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels at Citi Field.

Lindor’s go-ahead RBI single in the third inning ended his career-worst 0 for 31 drought and ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Pirates manager Don Kelly’s club started the second half of its season in perhaps the worst way possible, getting swept in lopsided fashion by the Chicago White Sox, the worst team in the American League. That effort, however, was followed by a dramatic turnaround.

Following back-to-back wins Monday and Tuesday, the Pirates ...Read more