KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Vinnie Pasquantino knew it as soon as it left his bat. The Kansas City Royals first baseman recognized the sound.

A loud thwack reverberated through Kauffman Stadium.

Royals fans leapt to their feet and tracked the baseball, which traveled 412 feet — well beyond the right-field wall. And it propelled the Royals to a 2-0 ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Mets are back on a winning track.

There were no theatrics and no blown calls Saturday at Nationals Park. There was plenty of rain in the afternoon, which delayed the second game of a four-game series twice. Once the skies cleared, Clay Holmes resumed his shutout performance and Francisco Alvarez hit his first home run of the ...Read more

With his game-breaking speed, it was only a matter of time before Jarren Duran tried to steal home.

Saturday night the stars finally aligned.

Standing at third base with Cleveland Guardians left-hander Doug Nikhazy’s back turned, Duran took a huge lead and broke for home right as the pitcher began his windup. He was practically at the plate ...Read more

DENVER — How fitting. In a perverse way.

On the 30th anniversary of Dante Bichette’s walk-off homer in the inaugural game at Coors Field, home runs ruled the day. The problem for the hapless Rockies was that the Reds hit three homers to the Rockies’ two.

And so the beat goes on. Cincinnati won, 6-4, on Saturday afternoon, sending the ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants began their afternoon by honoring the legacy of Brandon Crawford. They ended their afternoon by beating the Texas Rangers, 3-2, thanks to a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning by pinch-hitter Patrick Bailey.

San Francisco and Texas entered the ninth inning tied up at two runs apiece. Ryan Walker worked...Read more

CHICAGO — In the midst of a five-game skid that dropped the Phillies’ record to .500, Rob Thomson pondered a way out of the offensive fog that draped over the entire lineup.

“It might take a bloop hit at some point,” he said. “And then it just kind of explodes.”

Maybe the manager wants a crack at the Powerball, too.

Because after ...Read more

Alex Cora’s 1,000th career game as Red Sox manager began with a bang, and ended with a whimper as his team lost, 5-4, in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader with the Cleveland Guardians.

The rotation hasn’t managed to pitch a scoreless first since last Saturday, but the series opener in Cleveland was particularly painful, because ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins totaled 16 baserunners across the first four innings Saturday, a positive sign for an offense that has been quieted for much of the season.

Rarely do the Twins make it that simple for themselves.

The Twins didn’t fully capitalize on their flurry of hits and walks in a 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels at ...Read more

ST. LOUIS — A day after he helped the St. Louis Cardinals protect their one-run lead with a sharp defensive play at the plate vs. the Milwaukee Brewers, Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado powered them to a win with his walk-off home run.

When he stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning and one out after closer Ryan Helsley ...Read more

NEW YORK — Rain prevented Aaron Judge from spending his birthday at the ballpark.

Saturday afternoon’s game between the Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays in the Bronx was postponed due to inclement weather in the forecast and will now be made up as part of a single-admission doubleheader on Sunday.

The makeup game is expected to start 30 ...Read more

DETROIT — The Tigers don’t rate wins. Any win is a good win.

But even they would agree, the 4-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles in the front end of a doubleheader Saturday was a little tougher than it needed to be.

They had ample opportunity to blow the game open instead of biting nails down the stretch.

The Orioles nipped at starter Casey...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — My boss took me to a Tampa Bay Rays game earlier this month. Fans filled most of the seats at Steinbrenner Field, despite it being a midweek game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

This was one of those ideal April evenings that confirm why baseball is best watched outdoors. Warm, but pleasant. A slight breeze. Sheet lightning ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — Justin Verlander pitched well. Nathan Eovaldi pitched better.

Verlander allowed two runs over six innings with six strikeouts but Eovaldi countered with six shutout innings and seven strikeouts as the San Francisco Giants (17-10) lost to the Texas Rangers, 2-0, in front of a sellout crowd Friday night at Oracle Park.

Entering...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Billed as a matchup between the National League's best arms, Friday night's pitchers duel lived up to expectations.

Enter 22-year-old flamethrower Paul Skenes. He grew up in Fullerton. He began his meteoric rise at nearby El Toro High.

Coming off his rookie of the year campaign, in his second start at Dodger Stadium, the ...Read more

DENVER — Jordan Beck has suddenly morphed into Mickey Mantle.

The 24-year-old left fielder hit two home runs — he has five dingers in his last three games — and brought the Colorado Rockies to the brink of victory on a raw, drizzly Friday night at Coors Field.

Beck’s 437-foot solo shot off Tony Santillan in the eighth inning pulled ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — The road had not been kind.

Another outfielder joined the San Diego Padres’ growing injury list. Their three-time batting champ went down in a heap at first base. The offense was shut out for the first time since a 24-inning drought ended a promising postseason run in October.

“We’re glad to be home,” Padres manager Mike ...Read more

SEATTLE — For an April evening in Seattle, this was about as good as it gets for a baseball scene. Dare we say, the setup was just about perfect.

The roof was open at T-Mobile Park on Friday, and a 67-degree sunshine greeted the red-hot Seattle Mariners in their return home from a feel-good, 10-day East Coast road trip.

What could go wrong ...Read more

ST. LOUIS — A Cardinals club that had not secured a one-run win through their first 25 games of the 2025 season had its bullpen seal the Milwaukee Brewers offense just enough to secure a 3-2 win Friday at Busch Stadium.

After Matthew Liberatore delivered six-plus innings and was charged with two runs (one earned), right-handers Kyle Leahy and...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Pablo López was only on the injured list for 16 days, but he might not have recognized the Twins he rejoined Friday. With their Opening Day starter back on the mound, the Twins provided him with more runs to work with than in his three previous starts this year — combined.

Byron Buxton and Trevor Larnach each homered, Larnach...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. —The Houston Astros were reintroduced to vintage Seth Lugo on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.

The Kansas City Royals veteran was masterful across eight innings in the club’s 2-0 victory. The Royals have now won five consecutive games after dropping six straight from April 14-19.

Lugo surrendered three hits in the game....Read more