LOS ANGELES — The transformation happened quickly in May 2009.

Early into his second year in the majors, a young Clayton Kershaw was enduring a sophomore slump with the Dodgers. Looking for a way to complement his predominantly fastball/curveball mix, he began toying around with a slider in his between-starts bullpen sessions.

When Brad ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — The late-inning magic that helped carry the Rays near the top of the American League East has been missing at Steinbrenner Field this week.

For the second night in a row, the Rays came up short in the final inning against the last-place Athletics.

The Rays blew an early lead, came back late to tie it and then lost, 4-3 in 10 ...Read more

ATLANTA — It took the Angels eight innings to come up with a clutch hit, and then they got four of them.

Mike Trout, Jo Adell and Jorge Soler each had doubles, and then Luis Rengifo followed with an RBI single, leading to a four-run eighth inning in the Angels’ 4-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night.

The rally came an inning ...Read more

MIAMI — When Kyle Stowers appeared to be hit by a Joe Ryan fastball in the second inning Tuesday night, the Twins challenged the call. Video showed they were right, and the pitch was ruled a foul ball instead.

Much to the Twins’ regret.

Stowers trudged back to the plate and resumed his at-bat, and two pitches later, he blasted a middle-of-...Read more

PITTSBURGH — After winning in four straight blowouts, the Pirates continued their victorious ways Tuesday evening, besting the Cardinals in a 1-0 pitchers' duel at PNC Park. Right-handed reliever Isaac Mattson earned the win, improving to 2-0 on the year. Phil Maton suffered the loss, falling to 1-3. David Bednar earned the save, his 12th of ...Read more

BOSTON — Tuesday night’s game between the Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds was suspended after heavy storms blanketed Fenway Park in rain and lightning for an hour and 20 minutes before fourth inning could begin.

The game will resume at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at the point of suspension. Tickets for Tuesday’s game will be good for admission...Read more

NEW YORK — Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.

Crash Davis infamously got the Durham Bulls a rainout in the movie “Bull Durham.” The Mets got one courtesy of the ever-changing weather system around Flushing Bay.

Tuesday night’s series-opening matchup between the Mets and the Milwaukee Brewers was postponed due to...Read more

Fresh off a sloppy loss and a sub-.500 month, the Yankees continued to play below their standards on Tuesday, falling, 12-5, as the Blue Jays celebrated Canada Day at Rogers Centre.

With the defeat, the Yankees are 10-14 against American League East rivals this season. Both the Blue Jays and Rays are now one game back in the division.

George ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies announced Tuesday that their scheduled game against the San Diego Padres has been postponed due to inclement weather.

The game will be made up as part of a split-admission doubleheader on Wednesday. The postgame fireworks show initially scheduled for Tuesday has also been postponed until after the second game on ...Read more

PHOENIX — The Giants and Diamondbacks both stumbled into their four-game set against one another at Chase Field. San Francisco had just lost two of three to the Chicago White Sox; Arizona had just been swept by the Miami Marlins — the same Miami Marlins who just swept the Giants at Oracle Park.

By the end of Monday night, one of these ...Read more

Randy Arozarena was the star of the main set.

Cal Raleigh provided the encore.

The middle of the lineup brought the thump on Monday night, as the Mariners opened a seven-game homestand with a 6-2 win over the Kansas City Royals before 27,309 at T-Mobile Park.

Arozarena homered twice off Kansas City starter Michael Wacha. The first was the 100...Read more

ARLINGTON, Texas — Neither the Orioles nor the Rangers had any interest in going home.

When Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson and Colton Cowser each homered in the 10th inning, combining for three runs on 828 feet worth of long balls, it was Texas’ Adolis García who responded with a thunderous game-tying three-run home run, reviving the home ...Read more

BOSTON — Monday had the potential to be a pitching matchup for the ages.

On one side you had Garrett Crochet, one of baseball’s best pitchers and a leading contender for the AL Cy Young Award. On the other side you had Chase Burns, a top-10 prospect in baseball whose fastball hits triple digits and who’d just struck out eight Yankees in ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Although the opponent was in a different uniform, the Pirates continued their recent stellar play Monday evening, thumping the St. Louis Cardinals by a final score of 7-0 at PNC Park. Left-hander Andrew Heaney ended what has been a rough month of June on a high note, throwing 6 2/3 scoreless innings to earn the win, improving him...Read more

A sloppy sixth inning doomed the New York Yankees on Monday night, paving the way for a 5-4, series-opening loss to the Blue Jays in Toronto.

The unfortunate frame began with a Davis Schneider double, which knocked Carlos Rodón out of the game. The Yankees, working with a 3-1 lead, called on Mark Leiter Jr., who allowed an infield single to ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — A plume of fireworks ignited the night sky above center field as Zack Wheeler walked off the mound.

The eighth-inning pyrotechnics were a preview of the firework show set for the conclusion of the game, but they were also very appropriate for the moment. Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill had just swung through a 96 mph fastball...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Kyle Hendricks knows what it takes to make it in Major League Baseball.

The 162-game trek of the regular season is familiar to the 35-year-old Southern California native across his 12-year career. With Joe Maddon as his manager for the first half of his career, Hendricks was provided room to screw up — messing around with his ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The glasses might’ve come first. But it was a light bulb moment with the swing that made the most profound change.

Just over a month into the season this year, veteran Dodgers slugger Max Muncy was in a desperate search for answers.

Through the team’s first 30 games, his batting average started with a one and his home...Read more

CLEVELAND — Looking back at the complete game shutout twirled by Sonny Gray on Friday to open a three-game series in Cleveland, St. Louis Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore described the impact of the right-hander’s outing as one that did more than preserve the bullpen and claim a win.

For Liberatore, the outing provided him with a bit of...Read more