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

HOUSTON — The Chicago Cubs’ hold on first place in the division is becoming tenuous.

They dropped their series against the Houston Astros with a 2-0 loss Sunday at Daikin Park and have lost four of their last 10 games. The Cubs (49-35) completed their challenging stretch of 26 games in 27 days, including one postponement due to rain, with a...Read more

DETROIT — Tarik Skubal proved it once again.

He’s built for prime time. The bigger the stage, the brighter the lights, the louder the crowd, the higher the stakes, the more dominant he becomes.

The Detroit Tigers were on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball for the first time since 2017 and Skubal completely stole the show, striking out a career-...Read more

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Angels can’t get over the hump.

Despite having one-run leads in the seventh and ninth innings, the Angels lost, 7-4, to the Washington Nationals in 11 innings on Sunday.

The Angels (41-42) have had three chances to get over .500 in the past two months, and they’ve lost all three times. They haven’t been over .500 ...Read more

NEW YORK — As Jazz Chisholm Jr. entered his postgame scrum following a win over the Baltimore Orioles on June 22, he rapped along to the music playing inside the Yankees’ clubhouse.

The name of the song? “Ballin.” The artist? Prince Jazz.

That’s Chisholm’s stage name. A recording artist in his spare time, you won’t find him on ...Read more

This one went to 11, but that was quite all right with the Colorado Rockies, who notched perhaps their most satisfying — and unlikely — win of the season on Sunday afternoon.

Utility outfielder Kyle Farmer ripped a single up the middle off Grant Anderson to score Brenton Doyle, who opened the inning at second base, lifting the Rockies to a ...Read more

CINCINNATI — The Midwestern summer got the best of Xander Bogaerts.

A ball spun off the end of a bat and then off Tyler Wade’s glove.

Too many pitches from Robert Suarez sailed toward the heart of the strike zone, and four of them were nowhere near it.

The Cincinnati Reds took advantage of these events in the ninth inning for a 3-2 walk-...Read more

PITTSBURGH — On Saturday, after being battered by the Pirates in consecutive games at PNC Park, the New York Mets held a closed-doors team meeting. “We’ll see if it works or not,” left fielder Brandon Nimmo told reporters.

Then on Sunday, the Pirates jumped ahead with a five-run first, added on throughout, and cruised to a 12-1 win. It ...Read more

ATLANTA — Ranger Suárez signed with the Phillies when he was 16 years old. And if these are, in fact, his last months with the team, he still has a few things left to accomplish.

Check back in October for a status report.

But let’s pause, just for a moment, in the midst of another midseason grind, to appreciate what Suárez is doing. ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In truth, there was very little notable action on Sunday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium.

Which, in effect, is exactly how Justin Wrobleski liked it.

In the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 5-1 win over the Kansas City Royals — a victory that clinched the weekend series and gave the club a 5-1 record on this past week’s road trip...Read more

ARLINGTON, Texas — Inside the tunnels of Globe Life Field strode a Seattle Mariner Hall of Famer with his arms in the air, saying, “Thank you,” in the direction of Mitch Garver.

What was Jay Buhner thanking Garver for?

“That it’s over,” Garver said with a laugh. “That’s three extra inning games, man. We got to get out of here.�...Read more

BALTIMORE — Camden Yards has treated Dean Kremer well this season.

The right-hander threw seven scoreless innings against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday as the Orioles (36-47) cruised to a 5-1 win over their red-hot American League East rivals. Ramón Laureano and Gary Sánchez both enjoyed multihit performances to pace the offense.

On a 94-...Read more

The wait continues for Justin Verlander.

Seeking his first win of the season in his 13th start, the San Francisco Giants bullpen faltered in the bottom of the seventh of a 5-2 road loss to the Chicago White Sox.

Verlander held a precarious 2-1 lead at that point and was done after six innings. However, relievers Erik Miller (4-1) and Ryan ...Read more

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Trailing by a run in the seventh inning, the Angels used a couple of overdue homers to break the game open.

Mike Trout got the rally started with a solo homer and Kevin Newman added a three-run homer, leading to a six-run inning and an 8-2 victory over the Washington Nationals on Saturday night.

Trout has been back from the...Read more

CHICAGO — A tough situation became even more challenging for the Chicago White Sox during the sixth inning Saturday at Rate Field when starter Adrian Houser got called for a balk, placing runners on second and third with no outs.

Oh, and Rafael Devers was at the plate.

Houser handled the circumstances like the experienced pitcher that he is,...Read more

ATLANTA — Jordan Romano listened and nodded his head during a mound meeting that lasted about a minute.

Then, on his next pitch, he threw away the game.

If the Phillies had a plan to escape a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning Saturday night, Romano scuttled it by serving up a first-pitch slider to Atlanta’s Sean Murphy for a back-...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Unlike Friday, the Pirates didn’t have any doubles off the wall or homers over the bleachers. But like Friday, the Pirates routed the New York Mets anyway.

The Pirates beat the Mets 9-2 on Saturday evening at PNC Park, their second consecutive lopsided win against New York. They began the game like Friday, scoring three runs on...Read more

PITTSBURGH — A pickup truck transporting Dave Parker should’ve stopped on Main Street in downtown Cooperstown, N.Y., next month. As he entered the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, fans lining both sides of the street should’ve had the opportunity to applaud “The Cobra.”

That night, family and friends from Pittsburgh, ...Read more