MLB

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

8:10 PM ET Associated Press PITTSBURGH — Roberto Clemente’s iconic No. 21 has been a fixture in Pittsburgh for more than 60 years. Its presence has only grown since the Hall of Fame outfielder’s death at age 38 on New Year’s Eve 1972 in a plane crash off the coast of his native Puerto Rico.

7:00 AM ET The National League playoff race is a mess. If you like “Hoarders,” “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” or the finale of “Game of Thrones,” you are certainly enjoying this mad scramble of mediocrity in Major League Baseball’s senior circuit. With less than three weeks left in the season — and many

7:12 PM ET Associated Press Slumping catcher Gary Sanchez returned to the New York Yankees‘ lineup Tuesday night, hours after general manager Brian Cashman spoke to the struggling team in Buffalo, New York. Cashman tried to reinvigorate a roster that has lost four straight games and 14 of 19, a slump that has dropped New

1:48 PM ET Boston Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi will not return this season, manager Ron Roenicke said Tuesday. Benintendi, who was placed on the 10-day injured list on Aug. 12 because of a strained right rib cage, was transferred to the 45-day injured list Tuesday. He ends his season with just a .103 average

7:00 AM ET MLB InsidersESPN The 2020 MLB playoffs are right around the corner, even though it seems like only yesterday that the regular season kicked off. Well, it wasn’t yesterday but close enough, as the compressed 60-game schedule is rapidly coming to a close and the MLB standings are tight heading to the finish.

12:48 AM ET ESPN News Services San Diego Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer has a fractured left index finger, the team announced Monday after a 1-0 win over the Colorado Rockies. Hosmer was injured while bunting with two strikes for the second out of the first inning and was taken out of the game. He

9:15 AM ET Marly RiveraESPN Writer Close Marly Rivera is a writer for ESPNdeportes.com and ESPN.com. See you in October? The fallout of the New York Yankees‘ beating at the hands, bats and gloves of the Baltimore Orioles is one that appears to have started shifting the momentum in one direction, one in which the

7:00 AM ET ESPN.com Staff With just three weeks left before the end of the regular season, contending teams in Major League Baseball are running out of time to sort out alternatives. Just as we’re seeing the playoff picture become more certain than ever, we’re seeing some significant, albeit small, reshuffling in our rankings. 2

7:06 PM ET Lou Brock, the St. Louis Cardinals’ speedster who was a first-ballot member of Baseball’s Hall of Fame, has died at 81, the team told ESPN. Brock retired in 1979 as the single-season and all-time leader in stolen bases; marks since surpassed by Rickey Henderson. He was elected into the Hall of Fame

9:25 PM ET Lou Brock will be remembered for being part of one the most lopsided trades of all time in Major League Baseball history, the 1964 deal that sent him from the Chicago Cubs as part of a package to the St. Louis Cardinals for veteran pitcher Ernie Broglio. Brock will be remembered for

1:21 PM ET Marly RiveraESPN Writer Close Marly Rivera is a writer for ESPNdeportes.com and ESPN.com. Gary Sanchez has been disastrous at the plate for the New York Yankees this season, and manager Aaron Boone has decided to bench the struggling catcher in an effort to help him regain his stroke. Sanchez, 27, struck out

8:45 PM ET Mike Trout hit his 300th career home run in the first game of a doubleheader against the Houston Astros on Saturday, surpassing Tim Salmon for the franchise record at just 29 years old. Trout, who entered the game with 201 career stolen bases, is the fastest to amass 300 home runs and

9:39 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper was ejected for arguing with first-base umpire Roberto Ortiz over a fair-foul call on Saturday in a game against the New York Mets. Harper ripped a first-pitch curveball from starter Seth Lugo down the first-base line in the fifth inning. Ortiz ruled