Baseball Page 436 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Royals look to steady ship for postseason; Braves not there yet
The Kansas City Royals are heading to the postseason for the first time since they won the 2015 World Series.,That said, the Royals (85-75) aren't playing their best ball heading toward the playoffs. ,A loser of eight of its last 11 games, Kansas City will look to get back on track Saturday night wh...

Astros' Justin Verlander aims to end struggles in clash with Guardians
With the Guardians and Houston Astros currently holding the second and third seeds in the American League playoffs, respectively, their three-game weekend set in Cleveland might serve as a dress rehearsal for postseason roster construction.,Game 2 in the series will be Saturday evening.,Houston clai...

Giants' Tristan Beck, not Blake Snell, starts vs. Cards
Blake Snell's abbreviated season with the San Francisco Giants apparently is coming to a premature end.,Snell, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, was due to start Saturday in the next-to-last contest of the year against the visiting Cardinals. However, after St. Louis won the opener...

Rays turn to Shane Baz in rematch vs. Red Sox
The Tampa Bay Rays will aim for a season-ending series win on the road Saturday afternoon when they play the second of three games against the Boston Red Sox.,After Taj Bradley began the series with six shutout innings in a 2-1 Friday win, Tampa Bay (79-81) will turn to another stellar young pitcher...

Phillies need win over Nationals to remain alive for top seed
The Philadelphia Phillies need two wins and some help to secure the No. 1 seed in the National League playoffs.,On Saturday afternoon, the Phillies hope to rebound from a lackluster performance when they continue their three-game road set with the Washington Nationals.,After dropping Friday's series...

Pirates' Paul Skenes ready to face Yankees' sluggers
Paul Skenes is optimistic of better things to come for the Pittsburgh Pirates next season. In the meantime, he is hoping to finish off a strong rookie season on a positive note while facing Aaron Judge and Juan Soto.,Skenes makes his final start of the season Saturday afternoon when the Pirates visi...

After abrupt managerial change, Marlins continue series vs. Jays
The visiting Miami Marlins will be without manager Skip Schumaker when they continue their three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon.,Schumaker will miss the final two games of the season because of a family health issue but then late Friday, multiple media outlets report...

With playoff hopes dashed, Twins take on Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are aiming for a deep playoff run in October.,The Minnesota Twins are wondering how it all went wrong in August and September.,Both teams might be distracted when they play each other Saturday in the second-to-last game of the regular season in Minneapolis. The Orioles (89-71) ...

Kyle Hendricks faces Reds in possible Cubs farewell
Right-hander Kyle Hendricks could be making his last appearance for the Cubs on Saturday after an 11-year run when Chicago continues its season-ending, three-game series against the visiting Cincinnati Reds.,Hendricks (4-12, 6.28 ERA) is scheduled to make his final start before hitting free agency t...

MLB roundup: Tigers clinch wild card, White Sox set loss record
Matt Vierling and Riley Greene each drove in a run as the host Detroit Tigers clinched their first playoff berth in 10 seasons with a 4-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Friday night.,The White Sox (39-121) set the modern-day record for most losses in a single season, surpassing the expansion 1962...

Report: Skip Schumaker out as Marlins' manager
Skip Schumaker is out as the Miami Marlins' manager, ESPN reported late Friday night.,While Miami was beating the host Toronto Blue Jays 15-5 on Friday, the Marlins announced that Schumaker would miss the last two games of the season. He was headed back to Florida because of a health problem in his ...

Lars Nootbaar helps Cardinals rally past Giants
Lars Nootbaar homered, tripled and drove in three runs as the visiting Cardinals rallied for a 6-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants in the opener of a season-ending, three-game series Friday night.,Masyn Wynn doubled, singled and scored twice for St. Louis (82-78), which assured itself of a win...

Bryan Woo, Mariners shut down Athletics
Bryan Woo pitched five scoreless innings as the Seattle Mariners defeated the visiting Oakland Athletics 2-0 on Friday night.,Mitch Garver and Cal Raleigh homered for the Mariners (83-77), who were eliminated from the American League's wild-card race a day earlier when they had a bye.,The A's (69-91...

Padres clinch top NL wild card, hurt D-backs' standing
Luis Arraez went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a triple, a run and an RBI to help the San Diego Padres post a 5-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night in the opener of a pivotal three-game series at Phoenix.,Jackson Merrill and David Peralta each had two hits and one RBI as San Diego cl...

Carson Kelly's three-hit night guides Rangers past Angels
Carson Kelly finished a triple shy of the cycle Friday night for the Texas Rangers, who beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-2 in Anaheim, Calif., to open the final series of the year for both teams.,Kelly singled in the second, homered leading off the fourth and doubled in the sixth before he grounded out...

Orioles get off to fast start, end Twins' playoff hopes
Ryan O'Hearn and Colton Cowser each homered, and the Baltimore Orioles cruised to a 7-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night in Minneapolis.,Ryan Mountcastle finished 3-for-5 with a double for Baltimore (89-71), which won the opener of a three-game series. Anthony Santander went 2-for-4 with...

Royals, shut out by Braves, still clinch playoff berth
Max Fried scattered three hits over 8 2/3 scoreless innings and Sean Murphy belted a two-run homer to lift the host Atlanta Braves to a 3-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday.,Shortly after losing, the Royals clinched a playoff berth when the Minnesota Twins fell 7-2 to the Baltimore Orio...

Brewers get slam from Rhys Hoskins, deal Mets costly loss
Rhys Hoskins hit a first-inning grand slam and the Milwaukee Brewers went on to hand the visiting New York Mets a costly loss, 8-4 on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series with significant postseason implications.,The Mets (87-71), playing for the first time since Tuesday after a pair of...

Orioles get off to fast start in win over Twins
Ryan O'Hearn and Colton Cowser each homered, and the Baltimore Orioles cruised to a 7-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night in Minneapolis.,Ryan Mountcastle finished 3-for-5 with a double for Baltimore (89-71), which won the opener of a three-game series. Anthony Santander went 2-for-4 with...

Shohei Ohtani has four hits, homer as Dodgers pound Rockies
Shohei Ohtani added to his record-breaking season with four hits, including a home run, and four RBIs, and the Los Angeles Dodgers moved closer to clinching the best record in the majors with an 11-4 win over the Colorado Rockies in Denver on Friday night.,Ohtani also stole his 57th base to set a si...