Joc Pederson is the guy the Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t need or want — until October. After nearly being traded in February and hitting .190 in the regular season, Pederson is coming up big in the postseason. Pederson crushed a fastball from Rays starter Tyler Glasnow over the left-center field wall leading off the second Sunday night, extending LA's lead to 3-0. After enduring a stunning 8-7 loss in Game 4, the Dodgers rebounded early and went on to a 4-2 victory over Tampa Bay. Los Angeles is one win away from its first World Series championship since 1988. “They don't call it Joctober for no reason,” said Max Muncy, who added a solo shot in the fifth. “The guy performs on the huge stage, that's just what he does.” Pederson could tell his 428-foot blast immediately was gone. “They don’t want that smoke,” Pederson bellowed upon returning to the dugout. “Come on, let’s go!” It was the Dodgers’ 28th home run of the postseason after leading the majors with 118 during the regular season. Pederson... [More]

Joc Pederson is the guy the Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t need or want — until October. After nearly being traded in February and hitting .190 in the regular season, Pederson is coming up big in the postseason. Pederson crushed a fastball from Rays starter Tyler Glasnow over the left-center field wall leading off the second Sunday night, extending LA's lead to 3-0. After enduring a stunning 8-7 loss in Game 4, the Dodgers rebounded early and went on to a 4-2 victory over Tampa Bay. Los Angeles leads 3-2 in the best-of-seven Series. The left-handed slugger could tell immediately it was gone. “They don’t want that smoke,” Pederson bellowed upon returning to the dugout. “Come on, let’s go!” It was the Dodgers’ 28th home run of the postseason after leading the majors with 118 during the regular season. Pederson homered in the Dodgers' losing efforts in the 2017 and 2018 World Series, too. He doesn't have a set spot in the Dodgers' loaded lineup. But Pederson fits in just about everywhere. He started... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Mookie Betts jumped high against the 8-foot wall in right field, landing on an advertisement with the word “Extreme. His catch that robbed Marcell Ozuna to end the fifth inning with a runner on was extreme, just like the running, shoestring scoop the Dodgers star made a night earlier that started a double play and took an Atlanta run off the scoreboard. “I feel like I did something good for the team, even though I hadn’t done too much with the bat,” Betts said Sunday. He knew what he had accomplished. Head raised and bobbing back and forth, mouth open wide as he screamed and face flush with emotion, he held the ball at his midsection and took a few gallops toward the plate before joyfully throwing the ball back in. “That’s a huge spark. That’s an unbelievable play by an unbelievable player in a big moment,” shortstop Corey Seager said. “That's what you need to win baseball games at this time of year.” Walker Buehler stood near the mound, his right hand forming a... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Mookie Betts slid headfirst across home plate, then popped up and did a double pump with his right fist. An inning later, he got to trot around the bases after going deep. That big commitment to Betts is already paying off for the Los Angeles Dodgers this postseason. After run-saving catches in three consecutive potential elimination games to get the Dodgers this far, Betts put his speed, instincts and power on display in Game 1 of the World Series. There was a Ruth-like journey around the bases to score — and that was before his solo homer in an 8-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night. Betts led off the Dodgers fifth with a walk and stole second base. After NL Championship Series MVP Corey Seagar drew a walk behind him, they pulled off a double steal. Then, with the Rays infield playing in, Max Muncy hit a bouncer to first baseman Yandy Diaz, who threw on the run after Betts broke quickly for the plate. He slid past the attempted tag for a 3-1 lead. The... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Cody Bellinger knocked his right shoulder out of whack with a celebration after his home run that sent the Los Angeles Dodgers to the World Series. The reigning NL MVP said Monday he was “feeling pretty good” and manager Dave Roberts said he expects Bellinger to start in center field for Game 1 against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night. Bellinger, who had already separated his shoulder multiple times, hurt it again with the emphatic celebration that followed his go-ahead homer in the seventh inning of Game 7 of the National League Championship Series, a 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday night. He did a leaping high-five with Kiké Hernández, whose pinch-hit solo shot an inning earlier had tied the game. “It was an exciting time. It was pure adrenaline, kind of like a thing where you just black out,” Bellinger said. "I wish that I didn’t do it, but it was such a cool moment for me, and it was just pure excitement.” Bellinger said the discomfort was similar... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Mookie Betts jumped high against the eight-foot wall in right field, landing against an advertisement with the word “Extreme.” His catch that robbed Marcell Ozuna to end the fifth inning with a runner on was extreme, just like the running, shoestring scoop the Dodgers star made a night earlier that started a double play and took an Atlanta run off the scoreboard. Betts knew what he had accomplished. Head raised and bobbing back and forth, the ball held at his midsection, he took a few gallops toward the plate before joyfully throwing the ball back in. Walker Buehler stood near the mound, his right hand forming a triumphant fist, arm held high. “That’s a huge spark. That’s an unbelievable play by an unbelievable player at a big moment,” shortstop Corey Seager said. Moments like this were what Los Angeles hoped for when it acquired the four-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner from the Boston Red Sox in February. Betts’ defense, Buehler’s pitching and consecutive... [More]

Oct. 18 1910 — The Philadelphia Athletics pounded the Chicago Cubs 9-3 for a 2-0 lead in the World Series. Eddie Collins had three hits, including two doubles, and two stolen bases. 1950 — Connie Mack, at age 87, retired as manager of the Philadelphia Athletics after 50 years, and Jimmy Dykes was named to replace him. Mack, together with Ben Shibe, founded the Athletics in 1901. 1973 — The Mets’ Jerry Koosman and Tug McGraw combined to three-hit the Oakland A’s and take 3-2 lead in the World Series. 1977 — Reggie Jackson hit three consecutive home runs to lead New York to an 8-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers and give the Yankees the World Series title in six games. Jackson drove in five runs, and all three shots came on the first pitch. 1992 — Backup catcher Ed Sprague’s pinch-hit home run gave the Toronto Blue Jays a 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves and evened up the World Series at one game apiece. Sprague hit a two-run homer with one out in the ninth inning — the 17th pinch-hit... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Clayton Kershaw can't shake his postseason curse, not even in a neutral-site NL Championship Series a few miles from his hometown. The longtime ace of the Dodgers faltered at the start of the sixth inning against Atlanta, allowing three straight hits before watching the rest of a six-run outburst in the Braves' 10-2 win in Game 4 on Thursday night. Kershaw's franchise-high 12th postseason loss put Los Angeles down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series at the home of the Texas Rangers, on the brink of a second straight defeat in the NLCS after posting the best record in the majors during the pandemic-shortened season. The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner — pitching two days after he was scratched from a Game 2 start because of back spasms — allowed four runs in five-plus innings, boosting his career playoff ERA to 4.31. While Kershaw is also the club's career leader in postseason wins with his 11-12 record, his October resume simply doesn't match his stellar regular-season... [More]

Now, baseball really has a 1981 feel to it. There were already some similarities between the pandemic-shortened season of 2020 and the strike-interrupted version 39 years earlier, but the resemblance is even stronger now that the four division series are about to start. In 1981, the season was split into two halves, so each division champion from the first half played the second-half champ to start the playoffs. That meant two AL East teams facing each other, two AL West teams, two NL East teams and two NL West teams. That’s also what we have this season in the AL and NL Division Series: Rays-Yankees, Astros-Athletics, Braves-Marlins and Dodgers-Padres. It wasn’t planned that way. It’s just how the bracket worked out. The teams from the AL Central and NL Central — divisions that didn’t exist in ’81 — happened to be knocked out. With only four teams left in each league, there are now 16 possible World Series matchups for this year. Here’s a look at each one — and what would make it interesting.... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The manager won’t be back, and there could be more changes for the Boston Red Sox after their last-place finish in the pandemic-shortened season. J.D. Martinez is eligible to opt out of his contract, Jackie Bradley Jr. is a free agent, and the pitching rotation and bullpen were revealed by the unusual year to be in shambles. The team also needs to replace Ron Roenicke, who was told before the season finale that he's not in their plans. Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom will need to deal with these issues; he hopes to have a more normal offseason to do it (Last year, he landed in the middle of a cheating investigation that cost the team manager Alex Cora, and a mandate to cut salary that cost the Red Sox Mookie Betts and David Price -- even before the coronavirus shut down spring training). Here is a look at some of the items on Bloom’s to-do list: MANAGER With Cora tainted by the Astros cheating investigation and spring training less than a month away, Bloom’s options were... [More]

Christian Yelich and the Milwaukee Brewers got off to a ragged start this year. They never got above .500. And they dropped their last game to finish with a losing record. Guess what? They’re going to the playoffs. “Weird. I guess that’s the only way to describe it. It’s fitting for 2020,” Yelich said Sunday. A pandemic-altered, 60-game regular season that many believed would never get completed and saw games postponed because of virus outbreaks, racial injustice protests and a hurricane went into the final day without a single playoff matchup set. Then, in a flurry and fury, the entire, expanded 16-team postseason field was full. Not a bad way to start, either: Gerrit Cole vs. Shane Bieber in a mega-watt duel as the New York Yankees face the Cleveland Indians in the best-of-three wild-card round Tuesday. On Wednesday, the NL gets going. That’s when the Brewers, at 29-31, open their series against Los Angeles ace Walker Buehler at Dodger Stadium. In a win-and-you’re-in game, St. Louis clinched... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Ron Roenicke was told Sunday he will not return as manager of the Boston Red Sox, ending a one-year, shotgun stopgap on the final day of a pandemic-shortened season that resulted in a last-place finish in the AL East. Hired on the eve of spring training to replace the suspended Alex Cora, Roenicke took over a roster that would soon shed 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts, who was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers along with 2012 AL Cy Young winner David Price. Ace Chris Sale never threw a pitch for the team this year. With the Red Sox 23-36 entering their final game, the team announced its decision.. “Throughout this difficult season, Ron’s consistency and professionalism kept the environment in our clubhouse productive and gave all of our players room to grow and develop,” Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom said in a statement. “While we believe that, moving forward, we will benefit from new leadership and new energy, that does not diminish how strongly we feel about Ron. He is a... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers traded right-hander Ross Stripling to the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday for two players to be named, making their only move on a quiet deadline day for the major league leaders.Stripling went 3-1 with a 5.61 ERA in seven starts this season for Los Angeles, racking up 27 strikeouts. The 30-year-old veteran has spent his entire pro career with the Dodgers, cracking the major league roster in 2016 and earning an All-Star selection in 2018.The powerhouse Dodgers otherwise stayed pat atop the standings. While division rival San Diego and other teams frantically added big-league talent in preparation for this unique postseason, Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman decided not to change something that's working so well for the seven-time defending NL West champions.“We feel really good about the team that we have, and also the depth that we have behind it,” Friedman said. “So our mindset was not to do something just to do something.... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Andrew McCutchen has relished these past few days in the Philadelphia Phillies clubhouse, having difficult, important conversations with baseball teammates about racial injustice. As a Black man in a sport that's filled with mostly white and Hispanic players, he doesn't feel it's a burden to lead in the discussions. He's just glad that on Jackie Robinson Day, they're conversations that everyone is willing to have, even if the answers aren't always clear.“People want to know what’s next, want to know the answers,” McCutchen said. “It’s OK to not have the answers, it’s OK to not know what’s next. "What’s not OK is not caring what’s next.”Major League Baseball observed a Jackie Robinson Day like no other Friday, with teams celebrating a man who broke the sport's color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. More than 70 years later, the racial reckoning continued.Eleven games were postponed this week as some teams joined other leagues like the NBA, WNBA and MLS in protesting... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Andrew McCutchen has relished these past few days in the Philadelphia Phillies clubhouse, having difficult, important conversations with baseball teammates about racial injustice. As a Black man in a sport that's filled with mostly white and Hispanic players, he doesn't feel it's a burden to lead in the discussions. He's just glad that on Jackie Robinson Day, they're conversations that everyone is willing to have, even if the answers aren't always clear.“People want to know what’s next, want to know the answers,” McCutchen said. “It’s OK to not have the answers, it’s OK to not know what’s next. "What’s not OK is not caring what’s next.”Major League Baseball observed a Jackie Robinson Day like no other Friday, with teams celebrating a man who broke the sport's color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. More than 70 years later, the racial reckoning continued.Eleven games were postponed this week as some teams joined other leagues like the NBA, WNBA and MLS in protesting... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Andrew McCutchen has relished these past few days in the Philadelphia Phillies clubhouse, having difficult, important conversations with baseball teammates about racial injustice. As a Black man in a sport that's filled with mostly white and Hispanic players, he doesn't feel it's a burden to lead in the discussions. He's just glad that on Jackie Robinson Day, they're conversations that everyone is willing to have, even if the answers aren't always clear.“People want to know what’s next, want to know the answers,” McCutchen said. “It’s OK to not have the answers, it’s OK to not know what’s next. "What’s not OK is not caring what’s next.”Major League Baseball observed a Jackie Robinson Day like no other Friday, with teams celebrating a man who broke the sport's color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. More than 70 years later, the racial reckoning continued.Eleven games were postponed this week as some teams joined other leagues like the NBA, WNBA and MLS in protesting... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Major League Baseball observed a Jackie Robinson Day like no other Friday, with teams celebrating a man who broke the sport's color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 while the racial reckoning continued. Ten baseball games were postponed over two days as some teams joined other leagues like the NBA, WNBA and MLS in protesting social injustice.For Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, it's a well-timed honor.“I did find it almost crazy and kind of great, after everything that went down yesterday in baseball and in sports and with our organization as well, that we come right back here today and wear No. 42 and we go out there and celebrate Jackie Robinson and everything that he’s done for our game, and really, for the nation," Baldelli said.Jackie Robinson Day is usually on April 15, but the celebration was moved to Aug. 28 this season to accommodate the COVID-19-altered schedule, which started in late July. The date was chosen because it is the anniversary of the March on... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Major League Baseball observed a Jackie Robinson Day like no other Friday, with teams celebrating a man who broke the sport's color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 while the racial reckoning continued. Ten baseball games were postponed over two days as some teams joined other sports like the NBA, WNBA and MLS in protesting social injustice.For Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, it's a well-timed honor.“I did find it almost crazy and kind of great, after everything that went down yesterday in baseball and in sports and with our organization as well, that we come right back here today and wear No. 42 and we go out there and celebrate Jackie Robinson and everything that he’s done for our game, and really, for the nation," Baldelli said.Jackie Robinson Day is usually on April 15, but the celebration was moved to Aug. 28 this season to accommodate the COVID-19-altered schedule, which started in late July. The date was chosen because it is the anniversary of the March on Washington... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Even amid the upheaval of a pandemic, one thing is predictable: the Los Angeles Dodgers are very good. In fact, they're the best team in baseball, boasting a 22-8 record at the halfway point of the shortened season.They went 13-4 playing a stretch of 17 consecutive days that ended Sunday, capped by an 11-3 win over Colorado in which the Dodgers blasted seven home runs.Instead of being on fumes, manager Dave Roberts said, “We all feel really good.”It shows in their balanced offense and pitching. The Dodgers lead the majors in home runs (59) and runs scored (171). They also have the lowest team ERA (2.65), while their WHIP (1.04) is just behind Cleveland's leading 1.03. The LA staff is doing it without David Price, who opted out of the season because of the coronavirus. They've stayed healthy, too, avoiding the COVID-19 cases that have wreaked havoc with others teams' schedules.The Dodgers begin the second half Tuesday against the Giants in San Francisco.“The last 30 games... [More]

With an arm repaired by Tommy John surgery and a pandemic locking him out of the Red Sox spring training facility, Boston left-hander Chris Sale is managing his rehab the best he can.The team has moved some weights into an outdoor batting cage, which Sale also uses as a locker room. Some electric fans help cool him off from the Fort Myers, Florida, heat. And when he wants to shower after a workout, there’s a hose.“Other than it being, you know, really hot ... I’ve actually liked it. It’s different,” Sale said in a video conference call with reporters on Thursday. “The hose is a little cold. But, yes, it’s fun.”A seven-time All-Star who went 29-12 in his first two years in Boston, Sale fell to 6-11 with a 4.40 ERA in 25 starts last year — his fewest wins and starts, highest ERA, and the first time he failed to finish among the top six in Cy Young Award voting in any full season as a starter.After shutting down last August because of arm troubles, he opted for treatment instead of surgery.... [More]