MLB

7:47 PM ET Associated Press PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins had Tommy John surgery on his left elbow last week, and the team says he is expected to return to play in four to six months. Hoskins injured his ulnar collateral ligament when his non-throwing arm collided with a baserunner on Sept.

9:20 PM ET I don’t expect Fernando Tatis Jr. to hit a triple, slide into third base, get tangled up with Justin Turner and then pop up and try to punch Turner in the face, like what happened with George Brett and Graig Nettles in the 1976 American League Championship Series. I don’t expect the

7:25 PM ET Ahead of the American League Division Series kicking off on Monday, Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash said outfielder Austin Meadows is “in a pretty good spot right now” but that the team is holding off on announcing whether he will be on the team’s roster when the ALDS begins. Meadows has

8:00 AM ET John Carpino, the Los Angeles Angels‘ president, and Joe Maddon, their decorated manager, sat on adjacent couches on Wednesday morning, a day when 16 other teams would participate in the postseason. Displayed between them was the World Series trophy from 2002, a persistent reminder of the glory that still eludes this franchise

5:29 PM ET For MLB teams that didn’t go far into the postseason — and those that didn’t get there at all — there’s only so much time to spend on reflection before starting in on identifying what they need to get done during the offseason. Whether it’s re-signing a key free agent, addressing a

10:40 PM ET MLB InsidersESPN The Los Angeles Dodgers are the National League’s No. 1 seed in the MLB playoffs after posting baseball’s best record during the regular season. The San Diego Padres won more games than any NL team not named the Dodgers to finish second in the West and secure the No. 4

1:13 AM ET This is not how the San Diego Padres would have preferred to draw up their first postseason series victory since 1998. They played three games against the St. Louis Cardinals and their starting pitchers threw a combined six innings. They used eight pitchers in a Game 1 loss, used nine pitchers in

11:33 PM ET Baseball Hall of Famer Bob Gibson died Friday at age 84, the St. Louis Cardinals confirmed to ESPN. Gibson, who was born in Omaha, Nebraska, played all of his 17 MLB seasons with the Cardinals, from 1959-75. Gibson announced in July 2019 that he had pancreatic cancer. The nine-time All-Star and two-time

7:00 AM ET ESPN.com staff Just when it looked as if we might have only one game Friday after gorging on playoff baseball the past two days, Fernando Tatis Jr. happened and we have a postseason doubleheader: Game 2 of Marlins-Cubs and the winner-take-all Game 3 between Tatis’ Padres and the Cardinals. Here’s what you

2:49 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” You’re looking at the wrong thing. It’s understandable. A bat goes flying in the air, end over end, propelled into the night in a fit of passion, and it inevitably draws every

7:52 PM ET ESPN News Services OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland Athletics ended 14 years of postseason futility, riding Chad Pinder‘s go-ahead, two-run single in the fifth inning and repeated costly walks by Chicago’s relievers to rally past the White Sox 6-4 on Thursday and win the decisive third game of their AL wild-card round

7:00 AM ET ESPN.com staff The MLB playoffs frenzy turns up the heat Thursday with five (count ’em, five) elimination games. We’ve already said goodbye to the Twins, Blue Jays and Indians, and either the White Sox or A’s will be kicked off the American League island. In the National League, the Reds, Cubs, Padres

3:00 PM ET MLB InsidersESPN For the first time in the history of the MLB playoffs, there will be eight postseason games played on a single day. Wild Card Wednesday began with a Cincinnati Reds–Atlanta Braves extra-inning thriller and the Houston Astros‘ sweeping the Minnesota Twins out of the playoffs. Then the Miami Marlins took

11:06 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” San Diego Padres right-hander Mike Clevinger is unlikely to pitch in the wild-card round and could miss the remainder of the postseason with an arm injury that did not resolve during a

6:21 PM ET MLB InsidersESPN The 2020 MLB playoffs began Tuesday with four American League Wild Card Series. The Chicago White Sox beat the Oakland A’s as Lucas Giolito flirted with perfection. The Houston Astros, who finished the 2020 season with a losing record, topped the Minnesota Twins to extend Minnesota’s record playoff losing streak

7:00 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Someone asked about the best thing I saw in the 2020 Major League Baseball regular season, and my answer was baseball. Not a titanic Ronald Acuna Jr. home run or a dazzling

12:55 PM ET The Washington Nationals did not make it into this year’s MLB playoffs, so Major League Baseball will crown a different team as champion in 2020. Can the Los Angeles Dodgers get over the final hurdle and take home their first championship since 1988? Or could the Tampa Bay Rays win their first

7:44 PM ET Marly RiveraESPN Writer Close Marly Rivera is a writer for ESPNdeportes.com and ESPN.com. CLEVELAND — You will never be able to outwork Gerrit Cole, but you have to try. That is the advice that Cole’s former catchers with the Astros have for Kyle Higashioka, the New York Yankees backup who has earned