WASHINGTON — After Zack Wheeler uncorked his first pitch Friday night in Nationals Park, the scoreboard behind him lit up: “95.7 mph fastball.” The second pitch: 95.9. Pitch No. 4: 96.5. And No. 6: 97.1.

That was the good news.

Want the bad news? Although Wheeler’s velocity bounced back from his previous start five days earlier in ...Read more

NEW YORK — Suddenly those few days in Baltimore when it felt like the Mariners could do nothing at the plate were erased thanks to an offensive eruption in the Big Apple.

Cal Raleigh hit his 46th homer, Cole Young had three hits, including two doubles and delivered a career-high three RBIs and the M’s snapped their brief two-game skid with ...Read more

HOUSTON — When Baltimore Orioles rookie Brandon Young took the mound Friday night for the 11th time in his big league career, he was still waiting for his first MLB win.

Instead, he flirted with baseball immortality.

Young carried a perfect game bid into the eighth inning in the Orioles’ 7-0 win over the Houston Astros, retiring the first ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Ahead of their biggest series of the season, the Dodgers suffered another significant injury blow.

Third baseman Max Muncy was placed on the injured list with a Grade 1 right oblique strain ahead of the team's pivotal divisional matchup against the San Diego Padres.

The Dodgers are hopeful Muncy's injury — which manager Dave ...Read more

BOSTON — Friday Night Smackdown may have been going down across town at the TD Garden, but Friday Night Fenway is becoming a must-see event itself.

For the fourth time in the past two months the Red Sox took the field at Fenway Park on a Friday night wearing their new green City Connect uniforms and won in thrilling walk-off fashion, this ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The image is iconic — Kobe Bryant letting out a roar while tugging on his gold Lakers jersey after scoring 49 points during a playoff win over the Denver Nuggets on April 23, 2008.

It has been used in numerous murals around Southern California, including one that is being painted in larger-than-life form on the side of a ...Read more

CHICAGO — Time flies when you’re in a free fall from first place.

The Chicago Cubs were tied for first with the Milwaukee Brewers on July 28 when the team surprisingly announced President Jed Hoyer had agreed to a contract extension.

They fell 8 1/2 games behind the Brewers after Friday’s 3-2 loss at Wrigley Field and were booed by many ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — There’s no secret how the Padres will try to win their first National League West title in 19 years.

By leveraging Major League Baseball’s best bullpen into enough victories over the final 41 games, the Padres believe they can outpace a Dodgers club that trails them by a game going into Friday’s series opener in Los Angeles....Read more

CHICAGO — Jack Suwinski has had little go his way throughout the 2025 season. But his luck changed during a trip back to his hometown.

Born and raised just outside the Windy City, Suwinski served a slice of heartbreak to a sold-out crowd at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon, smashing a go-ahead homer in the top of the ninth inning that lifted...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A dispute over a cap triggered a violent brawl in the stands at Angel Stadium on Wednesday night during a Freeway Series game between the Angels and Dodgers.

Two 26-year-old men from Tustin, Calif., were arrested, the Anaheim Police Department said. The primary attacker was charged with felony assault and the other man with ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — When the Twins announced last October that they were exploring a sale of the team, the future looked clearer than it does today.

That October day suggested that the winds of change were going to sweep through the organization. A new vision would be realized. And there would be an arrival of a new owner who would be willing to ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — April 21, 1961, a Friday afternoon. The Minnesota Twins were playing their first-ever game in Minnesota, against the expansion Washington Senators, the team that had replaced our club in the nation’s capital.

I was there with my father, Richard, a baseball man to his soul, so much so that among the players he recruited to play...Read more

DENVER — For a summation of the Colorado Rockies’ latest loss, we turn to the wisdom of irascible Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver.

Two of Earl’s pearls aptly sum up the Rockies’ 8-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night at Coors Field:

— “Momentum? Momentum is the next day’s starting pitcher.”

— “There are only...Read more

NEW YORK — The party continues for Pete Alonso.

The Mets celebrated their new all-time home run king on Thursday with a pregame ceremony at Citi Field, two days after Alonso passed Darryl Strawberry with the 253rd homer of his career.

Steve and Alex Cohen gifted the fan-favorite first baseman with a painting made from 253 official MLB ...Read more

TORONTO — Minutes before his major-league debut in the ballpark about 35 miles from his high school against the team he grew up rooting for, Owen Caissie stretched by himself along the right-field line at the Rogers Centre.

The whirlwind journey to get him from Des Moines, Iowa, to Toronto in time for Thursday’s start was cutting it close ...Read more

WASHINGTON — At 8:37 p.m. ET Wednesday, Nick Castellanos flew out to right field to punctuate the Phillies’ 8-0 loss in a rain-delayed series finale against the Reds.

Six hours later, they were still on a runway in Cincinnati.

“I fell asleep on the plane … twice… while we were on the tarmac,” manager Rob Thomson said. “And I ...Read more