It was a stressful decision. But it shouldn’t have been so consequential.

In the middle of the fifth inning Tuesday night, Shohei Ohtani returned to the Dodgers’ dugout after a clean inning of work on the mound. Waiting for him at the top step was manager Dave Roberts, who (according to the SportsNet LA television broadcast) wanted to ask ...Read more

Rockies interim manager Warren Schaeffer loves to talk about the fight in his team, even when it goes down swinging. It happened again Tuesday night at cold and rainy Coors Field, where the Rockies fell 6-5 to the Marlins.

“It’s a testament to the guys, they could have folded early,” Schaeffer said for the umpteenth time during the worst ...Read more

PHOENIX — For the second time in the last four days, the Giants have scored four runs in the first inning against a left-handed pitcher. For the second time in the last four games, the Giants have failed to protect that early lead.

San Francisco dropped its fourth straight game on Tuesday night at Chase Field, losing 6-5 to the Arizona ...Read more

The Yankees didn’t forget their bats on Tuesday night against the Minnesota Twins.

The night after tallying two hits in their shutout loss, the Bombers broke out the lumber, recording 16 hits to hang on and defeat the Twins, 10-9, and even the three-game series. It was a big night for Yankees manager Aaron Boone’s lineup, which included 10 ...Read more

CHICAGO — Playing before the backdrop of a near-empty ballpark, on a quiet Tuesday night in a game between two last-place teams, the inevitable became reality for the Orioles.

They won, beating the White Sox, 8-7, but it was nothing more than a moral victory. Wins by the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros cemented the Orioles’ disaster of ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Whether he steps into the batter’s box on the right or left side of home plate, Cal Raleigh will stand alone in the records of Major League Baseball.

When Raleigh, who was batting left-handed, smashed his 55th homer of the season — a towering solo homer to right field off right-hander Michael Wacha in Tuesday’s game ...Read more

DETROIT — Tigers' manager AJ Hinch saved his biggest left-handed bench bat for last.

Kerry Carpenter came off the bench with two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the ninth with the Tigers trailing the Cleveland Guardians 3-2. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt had been alternating right-handed and left-handed relievers since the sixth inning, ...Read more

ST. LOUIS — While one Cardinals rookie silenced the Reds through seven innings Tuesday night at Busch Stadium, another Cardinals rookie produced a long-awaited offensive lift that supported his starter and helped propel his team to a win.

In the third inning, as starter Michael McGreevy worked around some early traffic vs. Cincinnati to ...Read more

NEW YORK — If ever there was a time to jump out to a big lead early in a game, it was Tuesday night.

Desperate to get starting pitching length, the Mets stacked two of them in the opening game of a three-game series against the San Diego Padres, the team directly ahead of them in the NL wild-card standings. Not to mention, the Mets have had ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — The Rays were expecting Ryan Pepiot to come out strong on Tuesday after skipping his last start Sept. 10 due to “total body fatigue” and saying that with the extra rest he felt “back to normal.”

The plan was for Pepiot to work five solid innings against the Blue Jays, then make another start or two to put a good finish ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On a night when Cal Raleigh continued his season of wonder, smashing two more home runs, one to break an MLB record held by a legendary Hall of Famer and another tie the franchise record held by an iconic Hall of Famer, his performance was somehow outshined by Dominic Canzone.

Wait, what?

Indeed, in the Mariners’ 12-5 ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Prior to Tuesday’s game, Pirates manager Don Kelly said Tuesday would be Paul Skenes’ final PNC Park start of the season. Skenes didn’t have the home finale he’d hoped for.

Skenes pitched just 3 2/3 innings on Tuesday night at PNC Park, taking the loss as the Cubs beat the Pirates 4-1. Skenes allowed three runs on seven ...Read more

BOSTON — The Athletics were ill-prepared to meet Connelly Early last week. Over five shutout innings in his major league debut, the 23-year-old left-hander fanned 11 of their batters, tying the Red Sox record for strikeouts by a debuting pitcher, set by Don Aase on July 26, 1977.

The A’s had the unfortunate distinction of being the ...Read more

DETROIT — Tarik Skubal is on track to make his scheduled start against the Guardians on Thursday, though manager AJ Hinch stopped short of saying it's a done deal.

"We said we were going to go day by day and we have," Hinch said before the game Tuesday against the Guardians. "He's inching closer to his start day. Obviously we're thrilled with...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Bye-bye, bye.

Hello, Dodger bullpen.

It was all so familiar. It was all so infuriating. It was the 2025 season boiled down into three hours of roars, then screams, then sighs.

The gasping, grappling Dodgers needed a three-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies this week to have any chance at a first-round bye in the upcoming ...Read more

Philadelphia has already clinched a playoff berth. The Dodgers’ magic number for matching that is five after Monday’s 6- 5 extra-inning loss to the Phillies.

So the chances are high the teams will meet again in the postseason, which makes this week’s series at Dodger Stadium a great opportunity to do a little scouting.

“We try to ...Read more

PHOENIX — Taylor Rashi thought Bryce Eldridge went yard.

In the top of the seventh, Rashi tried to sneak an 88.9 mph four-seam fastball past Eldridge for strike two. Eldridge sent the heater 407 feet to left-center field, the crack of the bat reverberating throughout Chase Field. Rashi lifelessly hunched over, likely thinking he was ...Read more

CHICAGO — Three-game losing streak? Nothing a date with the Chicago White Sox can’t fix.

Colton Cowser launched a go-ahead three-run home run in the sixth inning and Kyle Bradish struck out nine as the Baltimore Orioles beat Chicago 4-1 on Monday night to end their skid. The victory staved off mathematical elimination from the playoffs, at ...Read more