MLB

7:00 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images ATLANTA — Each of the next three days, a baseball stadium will dim its lights, thousands of people will illuminate the flashlights on their phones and they will

7:00 AM ET ON THE LAST day of the 2002 season, Sept. 29, I notched the 1,000th hit of my career, a single to left against the Marlins in Florida. My Philadelphia Phillies were about to head home under .500, so it felt nice to have something to celebrate. But that joy would be short-lived.

8:10 PM ET Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin has agreed to a three-year contract to become the San Diego Padres‘ new manager, a source confirmed to ESPN. The A’s had picked up his 2022 option but allowed him to interview for the Padres job. Melvin, 60, had been the A’s manager the past 11 seasons

11:38 AM ET Associated Press MIAMI — Shortstop Miguel Rojas and the Miami Marlins announced a two-year, $10 million contract on Thursday, the first big step the team has taken this offseason. The deal has the 32-year-old under contract through 2023. He will make $5 million in each of the next two seasons. Rojas batted

2:00 AM ET HOUSTON — Astros second baseman Jose Altuve might not have the gaudy stats he’s used to this postseason but he continues to come up big in the bigger moments in October. Altuve went 2-for-5 with a home run, his 22nd career blast in the playoffs, as Houston won Game 2 of the

5:17 PM ET In Game 1 of the 2021 World Series, the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros saw a little bit of everything. Designated hitter Jorge Soler became the first player to lead off the top of the first inning with a home run. Adam Duvall helped his team stay hot in the third with

7:00 AM ET HOUSTON — IT’S CARLOS CORREA’s time. And the 2021 Astros are his team. The 27-year-old shortstop is on a mission to win another World Series as the leader of an often maligned Astros’ organization while the clock ticks to his free agency. So don’t expect him to back down now that the

2:35 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” HOUSTON — Inside the training room of the visiting clubhouse at Minute Maid Park during Game 1 of the World Series, friends kept dropping by to apologize to Atlanta Braves pitcher Charlie

9:32 PM ET The 2021 World Series has arrived. The Atlanta Braves face the Houston Astros in Game 1 on Tuesday night. The Astros, with their sign-stealing scandal hanging over the past two years, are in their third Fall Classic in the past five seasons. The Braves return for the first time since 1999. Atlanta

6:45 PM ET Freddie Freeman‘s batting practice sessions, by his own admission, are the most boring in baseball. He does nothing but hit line drives into left field, over and over. Picture a slicing liner that barely clears the glove of a leaping shortstop and you’ll get the idea of each ball’s trajectory. And now

12:49 PM ET ESPN News Services The St. Louis Cardinals have hired Oliver “Oli” Marmol as their new manager. Marmol has been the Cardinals’ bench coach the past two seasons. He was the favorite from the start of the search, and he worked his way up with the team since being drafted by St. Louis

7:36 PM ET HOUSTON — The Houston Astros are sticking to a theme they’ve mastered since returning to the national stage after their sign-stealing scandal came to light in 2019: They’re not out to prove anything — except that they’re the best team in baseball. They’ll get a chance to prove that beginning Tuesday when

7:00 AM ET Here we go, the Houston Astros versus the Atlanta Braves for World Series glory. While this matchup would have been a reasonable prediction back in spring training, it was an unlikely scenario at the trade deadline on July 30, when the Braves had a 2% chance to represent the National League and

3:50 PM ET HOUSTON — The Houston Astros will start left-hander Framber Valdez against the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of the World Series, which begins Tuesday night. Valdez, 27, is coming off the best start of any pitcher this postseason after going eight innings and giving up just one run against the Boston Red

9:08 PM ET The St. Louis Cardinals plan to hire Oliver Marmol as their new manager, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Sunday night, confirming an earlier report. Marmol, 35, served as St. Louis’ bench coach last season and is extremely well regarded within the organization. He was the favorite from the start of the

11:56 PM ET ATLANTA — For the first time since 1999, the Atlanta Braves are going back to the World Series. Eddie Rosario continued a torrid postseason with a three-run homer just inside the foul pole in the fourth inning, breaking a 1-1 deadlock and propelling Atlanta to a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles

12:05 AM ET For the first time in the 21st century, the Atlanta Braves are in the World Series, having claimed their first National League pennant since 1999. It’s not an insult or a revision of history to say that the Braves began this October run as something of an afterthought. The oddsmakers in Vegas

10:53 PM ET Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Max Scherzer will not make his scheduled start in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, sources told ESPN, confirming news first reported by the Los Angeles Times. Scherzer’s replacement for Saturday night at Truist Park is not yet known, but there is no logical choice to