MLB

5:00 PM ET MLB InsidersESPN The 2020 MLB playoffs are less than two weeks away, even though it seems like only yesterday that the regular season kicked off. The compressed 60-game schedule is rapidly coming to a close, and the MLB standings are tight heading to the finish with wild-card positioning, postseason seeding and the

11:02 AM ET Major League Baseball and its players’ union have reached an agreement on playing this year’s postseason in bubble settings, sources confirmed to ESPN. The Athletic earlier reported MLB and the MLB Players Association have reached agreement. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on Friday that under the plan, which awaited the MLBPA’s approval, the

7:00 AM ET There is one thing Major League Baseball executives, scouts and players can agree on when it comes to the 2020 National League Cy Young race: It’s going to go down to the wire. With a tip of the cap to Los Angeles Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw, his current 1.98 ERA just isn’t

11:47 PM ET ESPN News Services SEATTLE — Monday’s doubleheader between the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners was played with a haze of smoke hovering above the field at T-Mobile Park, even with the retractable roof of the stadium closed. Wildfires on the West Coast have suffocated much of the Pacific Northwest with unhealthy air

5:18 PM ET Chicago Cubs righty Alec Mills threw the league’s second no-hitter of the season on Sunday, shutting down the Milwaukee Brewers in a 12-0 victory. Mills, 28, struck out five while walking three. Asked in the postgame interview on the Marquee Sports Network how he felt, Mills responded: “I have no idea. It

7:00 AM ET ESPN.com Staff We’re just two weeks from the MLB playoffs and the 2020 version promises to be full of thrills. Not only do we have an expanded 16-team format that should bring a March Madness feel to the best-of-three first round, we’ve got some exciting teams in the mix that we haven’t

9:00 PM ET CHICAGO — You won’t confuse Chicago Cubs right-hander Alec Mills with any of the flamethrowers in baseball, but perhaps you’ve seen his teammate — and 2016 ERA champ — Kyle Hendricks pitch. Mills is called a “baby Hendricks,” and Hendricks is called a “baby Maddux” — a reference, of course, to Hall

10:57 AM ET The San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres will play a doubleheader Sunday after determining that a Giants player received a false positive on a coronavirus test, Major League Baseball announced Sunday. Games on Friday and Saturday had been postponed following the COVID-19 positive. “Following a careful review of all of the

7:00 AM ET MLB InsidersESPN When the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros met in July, all hell broke loose when L.A.’s Joe Kelly threw up and in on Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa. Benches cleared, pouty faces were made, suspensions were handed out. The teams meet again Sunday night (8 ET on ESPN), and

4:39 PM ET ESPN News Services Minnesota Twins reliever Sergio Romo was suspended one game and fined an undisclosed amount for his “inappropriate actions” during Friday’s 3-1 win over Cleveland. Romo pitched a perfect eighth for the Twins, and added some spice to the night when he finished the inning with a flyout by Francisco

8:00 AM ET Marly RiveraESPN Writer Close Marly Rivera is a writer for ESPNdeportes.com and ESPN.com. The Houston Astros have more pressing issues than their 2017 misdeeds. While their cheating scandal will again be part of the narrative when they face the Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend, the reality of 2020 is the Astros are

9:41 PM ET ESPN News Services SAN DIEGO — Friday night’s game between the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres was postponed minutes before the scheduled first pitch due to a positive COVID-19 test in the Giants organization, MLB announced. Both teams lined up for a moment of silence for the victims of the

10:45 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Major League Baseball’s postseason plan is nearly set, with the approval of the MLB Players Association all that’s left standing between baseball and a bubble, sources told ESPN. While questions about when

7:00 AM ET Sam MillerESPN.com Close ESPN baseball columnist/feature writerFormer editor-in-chief of Baseball ProspectusCo-author of “The Only Rule Is It Has To Work” Fernando Tatis Jr. was wearing a microphone during a recent Padres game, chatting with the broadcasters from his shortstop position in the middle of the second-inning action. It was charming audio —

7:01 PM ET The Los Angeles Dodgers, taking full advantage of their firm grip on a playoff spot, started Mookie Betts at second base Thursday to get him experience at the position to prepare for an emergency situation in October. Betts, traditionally the starting right fielder, came up as a middle infielder but has played

4:41 PM ET The San Francisco Giants on Thursday requested release waivers on longtime infielder Pablo Sandoval. Sandoval’s release marks the second time this season the Giants have parted ways with a struggling fan favorite. The Giants released outfielder Hunter Pence in August after designating him for assignment. Sandoval, 34, who was in his second

7:00 AM ET Gerrit Cole has a home run problem. Look, the New York Yankees have plenty of issues, and Cole is hardly the biggest of them, but when you sign the most lucrative contract for a pitcher in baseball history, the expectations are skyscraping, especially in New York and for a storied franchise that

1:40 AM ET The legendary baseball writer Roger Angell turns 100 next week. In his classic book “The Summer Game,” he poetically describes his beloved sport: “Since baseball time is measured only in outs, all you have to do is succeed utterly; keep hitting, keep the rally alive, and you have defeated time. You remain