MLB

11:49 PM ET ESPN News Services HOUSTON — Ace Justin Verlander had just wrapped up another strong start and was in the dugout in the fifth inning when Yordan Alvarez launched his third spectacular home run of the night for the Houston Astros. The cameras panned to Verlander, eyes wide as he admired his teammate’s

10:48 PM ET ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols hit his 698th career home run Friday night in a 6-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds. With one out in the sixth inning, Pujols, 42, swung at the first pitch from reliever Raynel Espinal, an 84 mph slider, and launched a 427-foot shot

10:42 AM ET ESPN News Services The Atlanta Braves have activated star second baseman Ozzie Albies from the 60-day injured list. Albies had not played for the Braves since breaking his left foot in June after making an awkward swing. He had been on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett that included a 5-for-5 performance

6:49 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Sandy Alderson will step down as president of the New York Mets when the team finds his replacement. The 74-year-old Alderson, a cancer survivor who has served two stints as New York’s general manager, will move to a new role as special advisor to owners Steve and

7:00 AM ET There are a little less than three weeks left in the 2022 regular season, meaning things are getting really interesting in certain divisions. While the Dodgers are by far the best squad in the National League — becoming the first team to secure a postseason berth on Monday and then clinching the

6:19 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Minor league baseball players officially unionized Wednesday, joining the Major League Baseball Players Association after an arbitrator validated the union-authorization cards and MLB recognized the MLBPA as the players’ bargaining representative. The

11:46 PM ET ESPN News Services TORONTO — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his 100th home run at age 23, becoming the 10th-youngest player in MLB history to reach the mark, and the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1 on Wednesday night to ensure winning a rare five-game series against a wild-card rival.

9:07 PM ET ESPN News Services Julio Rodriguez continued to strengthen his rookie of the year campaign with another big accomplishment Wednesday, stealing his 25th stolen base of the season to lead the Seattle Mariners to a 6-1 victory over the San Diego Padres, securing a key two-game split. Rodríguez was hit by a pitch

10:15 PM ET ESPN News Services MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota rookie Joe Ryan and reliever Jovani Moran combined to pitch no-hit ball until Bobby Witt Jr. doubled with one out in the ninth inning as the Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 6-3 on Tuesday night. Ryan was pulled after seven innings and 106 pitches, four

1:06 AM ET Associated Press PHOENIX — Last year, the Los Angeles Dodgers went all the way to the last day of the regular season, won a whopping 106 games and still lost the National League West title to the San Francisco Giants. This time, Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers left no doubt. Kershaw pitched

9:56 PM ET ESPN News Services BOSTON — New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 56th and 57th home runs of the season on Tuesday night in a 7-6 win over the Boston Red Sox in 10 innings. Judge, playing in New York’s 142nd game, is four from tying the American League

11:46 PM ET ESPN News Services DETROIT — Framber Valdez pitched his first career shutout, and the Houston Astros defeated the Detroit Tigers 7-0 on Monday night. Valdez (15-5) posted his 24th straight quality start, tying New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom (2018) for the longest single-season streak. “This means a lot to me, because

12:44 AM ET ESPN News Services PHOENIX — Mookie Betts hit a three-run homer, Cody Bellinger added a two-run double and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-0 on Monday night behind Tyler Anderson, becoming the first major league team to clinch a playoff spot this season. For real, this time. The Dodgers

8:16 PM ET ESPN News Services CLEVELAND — Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout homered in his seventh consecutive game, one shy of the major league record, but the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians posted a 5-4 victory on Monday night. Amed Rosario doubled home Steven Kwan with the go-ahead run in the seventh for Cleveland,

7:00 AM ET Brian Cashman must feel cursed. For years, the New York Yankees general manager has been on a mission to find balance in his lineup, and just when he thought he had finally captured it, it vanished. The Yankees have fallen on hard times, and it’s in part because of injuries and inconsistent

9:30 PM ET There are still weeks left to go in the 2022 MLB regular season, but a few teams — mainly the red-hot Los Angeles Dodgers — are already looking toward October. The Dodgers clinched the season’s first playoff berth on Sunday night. Now the Houston Astros, New York Mets, and Atlanta Braves, to

4:49 PM ET ESPN News Services PITTSBURGH — Albert Pujols hit his 697th home run, moving past Alex Rodriguez into fourth place on the career list and doing it in dramatic fashion with a ninth-inning drive that rallied the St. Louis Cardinals over the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 Sunday. The NL Central-leading Cardinals trailed 2-1 when

7:00 AM ET A year ago at this time, the San Francisco Giants were the biggest surprise in baseball as they rolled through the 2021 regular season with an MLB-best 107 wins. This year? Not so much. San Francisco is instead entering the final weeks of the 2022 season looking up at the .500 mark