NEW YORK — Roughly 24 hours earlier, the Mariners felt the effects of not being able to use lefty Gabe Speier to pitch in a leverage situation.

With their best lefty reliever unavailable due to back tightness, manager Dan Wilson had to try and navigate a series of left-handed hitters with middle reliever Michael Rucker while protecting a 1-0 ...Read more

Zac Thornton kept it close enough for six innings that the Mets had a chance to mount a comeback against the Atlanta Braves, but the bullpen just isn’t what it was before the trade deadline. A three-run homer served up by right-hander Dedniel Nuñez in the seventh inning on Wednesday night at Truist Park pushed the game out of reach, and the ...Read more

The Boston Red Sox will be glad to see their season series against the Blue Jays come to an end on Thursday afternoon in Toronto.

That, at least, has a hard stop. There is no expiration date on Boston’s sudden, astounding unraveling. The losing streak reached five Wednesday night when the Red Sox took a tied 1-1 game into the bottom of the ...Read more

DETROIT — The day started with the news that All-Star left fielder Riley Greene was going on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain.

It ended with a string of zeros on the scoreboard and an important series against the Central Division rival Cleveland Guardians knotted at 1-1.

The Tigers’ three-game win streak and their 100-...Read more

MIAMI — Carmen Mlodzinski made no secret of his desire to be in the starting rotation.

A season-ending injury to Mitch Keller reopened the door for those wishes to be granted, but the 27-year-old hasn’t delivered in his two latest chances as a starter.

Mlodzinski (6-5, 3.97 ERA) managed only 2 1/3 innings Wednesday night at loanDepot park...Read more

The Rays completed an undefeated nine-game country-crossing road trip on Wednesday afternoon by beating the A’s, 8-4.

Trade deadline acquisition Liam Hicks led another team effort with a three-run homer as part of a three-hit day, while Junior Caminero, Cedric Mullins, Richie Palacios and Yandy Diaz also drove in runs, and all nine hitters ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants have already lost their starting third baseman and promising young catcher for the rest of the season. Now, the team is looking at the possibility of its starting shortstop missing time.

Despite Adrian Houser’s excellent start, the Giants lost 2-1 to the Houston Astros on a pair of sacrifice flys Wednesday ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Mickey Harrington played with major leaguers, played against major leaguers, played for major leaguers and even roomed with major leaguers. But him? Harrington was stuck in the minor leagues in 1963 after signing six years earlier with the Phillies.

Harrington served two years in the Army and could have played professional ...Read more

ST. LOUIS — With the score tied 1-1 entering the fifth inning and the Cardinals looking to string together at-bats against Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler, it was a leadoff single from a hitter who has scuffled that gave them their first hit in an inning filled with them.

Starting at third base in Wednesday's series finale at Busch Stadium...Read more

LOS ANGELES — If Mark Walter is selling one of the crown jewels of Los Angeles sports, is he about to sell the other?

No, according to people familiar with the matter not authorized to discuss it publicly. Walter announced the sale of his controlling interest in the Lakers on Wednesday, but he is not looking to sell the Dodgers.

The decision...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Twins manager Derek Shelton managed Josh Bell for one season in Pittsburgh, plus four months into this season, and the longtime hitting coach still isn’t exactly sure how Bell has so much success.

“I wish I could give you an answer to how Josh Bell’s swing works. I have no idea,” Shelton said. “I didn’t have an idea ...Read more

Walker Buehler did not want to discuss being pulled from his previous start after just four innings of one-run ball.

He let his pitching do the talking Tuesday.

Quite a bit more talking, actually, thanks in part to quite a big cushion.

The 32-year-old veteran completed six innings for the first time in two months, Luis Rengifo hit his first ...Read more

There was a hefty list of notable accomplishments to come out of the Rays’ 12-4 win over the A’s on Tuesday night in Sacramento, California.

Overall, they extended their latest winning streak to eight games, improved their American League-leading record to 73-46 and slugged a franchise-record six home runs.

Individually, Nick Martinez ...Read more

ANAHEIM — After scoring three runs in third inning, a relative explosion for the Angels these days, the hitters called it a night, putting the pressure on the pitching staff to hold the margin for the rest of the game.

They did it.

Starter Ryan Johnson and four relievers shut down the Texas Rangers in a 3-2 victory on Tuesday night, snapping...Read more

Manager Dave Roberts embraced Blake Snell on the dugout steps. Field coordinator Bob Geren applauded from beside him. Snell’s teammates hopped down from the railing to high-five him as he walked through the growing crowd.

It had been three months since he’d last started a major-league game. And in the Dodgers’ 5-4 walk-off win against the...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants got significantly younger after making five trades that sent away six major leaguers at last week’s trade deadline. Bryce Eldridge even quipped that the team looked like the “San Francisco River Kitties,” an allusion to the team’s Triple-A affiliate. A good chunk of their wins over the next month-and-a-half, ...Read more

DETROIT — Off the schneid.

The Tigers finally got that ugly zero off their ledger against the Cleveland Guardians, beating them Tuesday night, 6-4, before a crowd of 30,709 at Comerica Park.

Rookie Kevin McGonigle knocked in three runs with a double and single, helping the Tigers not only end a six-game skid against Cleveland, but move ...Read more

Adley Rutschman reached base three times in his highly-anticipated Boston Red Sox debut Tuesday night in Toronto, but even the club’s biggest trade deadline addition couldn’t curtail what is becoming a concerning skid.

The Red Sox lost their fourth consecutive game, 5-3, after entering the losing streak without back-to-back losses since ...Read more

Nolan McLean bounced back on Tuesday, but his performance was wasted by a lifeless offense.

The Mets' young ace tossed six innings, allowing just one run on one hit while striking out three in a 4-0 loss to the Braves on Tuesday night. However, the one hit he allowed was a solo home run to Ozzie Albies in the fifth inning.

McLean’s strong ...Read more