CLEVELAND — The last time Tarik Skubal walked off the mound at Progressive Field, he’d just given up three runs without a ball leaving the infield and had a sick feeling in his gut after inadvertently hitting David Fry in the face with a fastball.

A week later, he walked off triumphantly, putting his arm around Javier Báez and accepting ...Read more

CHICAGO — Baseball’s regular season is a study in contradictions.

It goes on forever, but when it finally ends, it seems like it went by in the blink of an eye.

Now comes the delicious part: the start of the 2025 postseason, in which 12 teams that made the grade theoretically have the same chance to become World Series champions.

The ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he would be scoreboard watching on Sunday afternoon.

But he insisted he didn’t care how things played out.

His team, of course, had already been locked in as the National League’s No. 3 seed, set to host a best-of-three wild-card series at Dodger Stadium starting Tuesday.

What wasn’t ...Read more

NEW YORK — David Stearns didn’t sugarcoat it.

Throughout his end-of-season press conference, the Mets’ president of baseball operations pointed to his roster’s inability to prevent runs as a primary culprit in the team’s demise.

An inconsistent starting rotation that struggled to provide length and a defense that graded as one of MLB...Read more

NEW YORK — Steve Cohen has promised Mets fans a full post-mortem following the end of a season that was at best confusing, and at worst, difficult to watch. The Mets owner and CEO sent a message to fans on social media Monday morning, apologizing for not giving them what was promised.

What the fans want now is a promise for heads to roll. A ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — For a third consecutive year, the Giants have let go of a prominent figure in their organization.

The Giants announced on Monday morning that they have fired Bob Melvin after two seasons managing the club, a decision that comes just three months after the team exercised Melvin’s option for the 2026 season.

“When seasons ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Fourteen days after Rocco Baldelli became the third-winningest manager in Twins history, the team announced Monday he will not return for another season.

Baldelli was fired after the Twins finished with a 70-92 record, missing the playoffs for the fourth time in the last five years.

It was the first time the Twins lost more ...Read more

BOSTON — Right on the eve of the postseason, the Boston Red Sox pitching staff appears to have suffered a big blow.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced Monday that right-hander Lucas Giolito will not be on the club’s AL wild-card roster due to an elbow issue.

Instead, Giolito flew to Alabama to see Dr. Jeffrey Dugas, who performed his ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The standings spoke for themselves, but the Angels' management wanted you to know they had comprehended the lesson.

"Obviously, we're not doing it the right way," team president John Carpino told reporters five years ago. "We're not winning games. So something is not right in our organization."

That was after the 2020 season, ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — All right.

The regular season is over.

And no one has any idea what to make of it.

The San Diego Padres routed the Arizona Diamondbacks 12-4 on Sunday in a game that was meaningless except for that it got the Padres to 90 wins for the second straight season for the first time in franchise history.

That should be stressed at the...Read more

CHICAGO — Cade Horton has spent a lot of time the last couple of days thinking about the circumstances surrounding his right rib fracture.

The Chicago Cubs’ rookie right-hander landed on the 15-day injured list Saturday with the injury that initially manifested from an illness-born cough a week earlier in Cincinnati. He said he experienced ...Read more

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Kansas City Royals got exactly what they hoped for during Cole Ragans’ final three starts of the 2025 season.

A determined All-Star ace.

Ragans, who missed most of the season with a left-rotator cuff strain, was out to prove he could return to top form. The injury zapped his effectiveness and left him ...Read more

MIAMI — The biggest challenge for the New York Mets coming into the 2025 season wasn’t starting pitching, and it wasn’t the NL East.

It was handling prosperity.

For the second year in a row, it came down to Game 162. But unlike last year, there were no heroics, no late-game theatrics and no post-game celebrations. The Mets were ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Chicago White Sox starter Shane Smith flirted with history in the final game of the 2025 season, taking a perfect game into the sixth inning against the Washington Nationals.

The right-hander retired the first 16 batters before Brady House singled to right field with one out in the sixth inning.

Smith and relievers Tyler ...Read more

ATLANTA — The Pirates’ 2025 season ended in an appropriate fashion, as a poor offensive display ultimately wasted a commendable effort from the pitching staff, culminating in a 4-1 loss Sunday to the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park.

A two-run homer from Ronald Acuna Jr. in the bottom of the first inning was all Atlanta needed to secure its ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — In the time it usually takes him to complete two home-run trots, Kyle Schwarber put out the call.

“We’re going to ride with you guys,” he said, “all right?”

This was Sunday, a half-hour before Cristopher Sánchez’s first pitch of the Phillies’ regular-season finale — and three hours before Nick Castellanos’ ...Read more

SEATTLE — It was one last batter. One last strikeout. One last ovation for a future Hall of Famer.

And it ended, fittingly, on a helplessly empty swing.

In the top of the sixth inning on Sunday afternoon, in the final regular-season outing of his illustrious 18-year career, Clayton Kershaw snapped off a trademark slider that ducked below ...Read more

ANAHEIM, Calif. — A disappointing Angels season is finally over.

The Angels lost, 6-2, to the Houston Astros in the season finale on Sunday afternoon, their 13th loss in the last 16 games.

Rookie left-hander Sam Aldegheri pitched four solid innings before getting knocked out in the fifth, with four runs allowed.

Mike Trout’s first-inning ...Read more

TORONTO — The Tampa Bay Rays made it interesting for a while on Sunday afternoon but were overpowered by the Toronto Blue Jays on their march to the American League East title.

The 13-4 final score and the roaring of the Rogers Centre crowd was befitting of a coronation, as the Jays claimed their first division title since 2015. In doing so, ...Read more

NEW YORK — As Aaron Boone prepared for the potential chaos that Game 162 could unleash on his club and Major League Baseball, the manager appeared calm and collected while he spoke to reporters before the regular season finale.

The New York Yankees entered the day in search of two outcomes: a win over the Baltimore Orioles and a Toronto Blue ...Read more