A day after Yu Darvish pitched his final game of the year for the Chicago Cubs, his first pro manager on Saturday called it the right-hander’s best performance in the majors. Darvish allowed two runs on five hits and a walk, while striking out six over 6⅔ innings, but that […]
Ichiro Suzuki still owns MLB’s best 60-game stretch of the century
After Charlie Blackmon of the Colorado Rockies completed a stretch of six multiple-hit games in August, his batting average ballooned to .500 after 17 games. Nolan Arenado marveled at his teammate’s otherworldliness. “The zone you dream of,” Arenado said at the time, “is the one he’s in right now.” Blackmon’s […]
Phillies fire GM Matt Klentak after third straight September slump
Philadelphia – Matt Klentak’s inability to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to the postseason or even a single winning season cost him his job as general manager. Klentak stepped down after a third straight September collapse left the team out of the postseason for the ninth consecutive season. The 40-year-old will […]
Hall of Fame Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson dies at 84
New York – Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, the dominating St. Louis Cardinals pitcher who won a record seven consecutive World Series starts and set a modern standard for excellence when he finished the 1968 season with a 1.12 ERA, died Friday. He was 84. The Cardinals confirmed Gibson’s death […]
Marlins get past Yu Darvish, Cubs in Game 2 to complete sweep
Chicago – The Miami Marlins didn’t need a hand from a fan at Wrigley Field to knock the Chicago Cubs out of the playoffs this time. They did just fine on their own, and they showed they’re hardly bottom feeders. Garrett Cooper homered against Yu Darvish in a two-run seventh, […]
Athletics beat White Sox to end 14 years of playoff futility
Oakland, California – Sure, most of these young Oakland Athletics might barely remember some of the gut-wrenching October losses over the past two decades. Two recent defeats were plenty fresh enough to motivate manager Bob Melvin’s slugging, happy-go-lucky A’s. Oakland finally ended 14 years of postseason futility, riding Chad Pinder’s […]
Yankees edge Indians in ninth to reach ALDS
Cleveland – DJ LeMahieu’s tiebreaking single in the ninth inning off Cleveland closer Brad Hand sent the New York Yankees into the AL Division Series with a wild 10-9 win over the Indians early Thursday in a rain-delayed Game 2 that started in September and ended in October. At 4 […]
Masahiro Tanaka and Shogo Akiyama gear up for expanded postseason
For Masahiro Tanaka, playing under the bright lights of the MLB postseason is nothing new. When Tanaka takes the mound against the Cleveland Indians in their American League wild-card series on Wednesday, he’ll do it with the experience of a 5-3 record and 1.76 ERA in eight career postseason starts […]
Twins waste Kenta Maeda’s strong start in Game 1 loss to Astros
Minneapolis – Tarnished by scandal at the start of the year and below average during this pandemic-abbreviated season, the Houston Astros showed up for the playoffs with their usual confidence and poise. Just like that, they’ve got the edge on the Minnesota Twins in an elimination game. Jose Altuve drew […]
Twins’ Kenta Maeda aiming to be pitch-perfect in playoff opener
Los Angeles – Kenta Maeda is not yet nervous about starting in the first game of the 2020 MLB playoffs, but says the butterflies will likely arrive sometime before his Minnesota Twins take the field at home on Tuesday. The Twins will take on the Houston Astros in a pandemic-shortened […]