MLB

7:00 AM ET CARLOS GOMEZ KNEW he needed to get Fernando Tatis Jr. on the phone. After Tatis hit a controversial grand slam in the eighth inning of an Aug. 17 game against the Texas Rangers last season, Gomez, a former major league outfielder, called the San Diego Padres shortstop. Tatis’ slam represented a violation

12:00 PM ET MLB InsidersESPN With the news that MLB is moving its 2021 All-Star festivities to Denver this summer, one thing immediately came to our minds: An All-Star Home Run Derby at Coors Field is going to be really fun to watch. Sure, the game itself will be a blast and the MLB draft

12:22 PM ET The Washington Nationals finally will open their season Tuesday, but they will do so with a patchwork roster due to COVID-19 issues. The Nats announced that starting pitchers Patrick Corbin and Jon Lester, catchers Yan Gomes and Alex Avila, first baseman Josh Bell, infielders Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer, left fielder Kyle

7:00 AM ET Revenge and backlash have always been the American response to defeat, especially in the case of civil rights. Despite the resulting muddiness, misdirection and outrage, the Georgia voting bill, signed into law last month, was clearly a response to defeat, just as the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was. Sports

1:59 PM ET ESPN News Services The Nationals and Braves will make up their game that was postponed Monday because of Washington’s coronavirus outbreak as part of a doubleheader Wednesday. Major League Baseball announced the change Monday while Nationals players were working out at Nationals Park. Four players on the Nationals have tested positive for

7:00 AM ET Baseball players, like the rest of us, have had lots of spare time during the pandemic and in quarantine. “I’ve learned to be alone,” said Padres pitcher Blake Snell. There has been lots of learning, trapped in a hotel room or sequestered at home. There has been time to think, to experiment,

9:32 PM ET ANAHEIM, Calif. — Shohei Ohtani threw a baseball 101 mph in the top of the first then hit a baseball 115 mph a half-inning later, a stirring start to a historic Sunday night for the Los Angeles Angels’ two-way sensation. Ohtani, pitching and hitting in the same game for the first time

8:45 PM ET We had a lot happen the first four days of the 2021 MLB season. The Reds and Cardinals had the first bench-clearing incident of the season. The Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger lost a home run when he passed Justin Turner on the basepaths. White Sox rookie designated hitter Yermin Mercedes set an MLB

5:17 PM ET Associated Press BOSTON — The Red Sox fell to their first 0-3 start at Fenway Park since 1948 and their second ever as Trey Mancini and Austin Hays hit two-run doubles during a seven-run third inning that carried the Baltimore Orioles to an 11-3 win Sunday. Cedric Mullins went 5-for-5 with three

7:15 AM ET MLB InsidersESPN We’ve all seen flashes of what Shohei Ohtani can do, both at the plate and on the mound. After lightning up spring training with his bat and entering the 2021 MLB season healthy and ready to pitch, is this the year he finally puts it all together to become the

12:11 AM ET Welcome to the record books, Yermin Mercedes. The Chicago White Sox rookie went 8-for-8 to start 2021, the most consecutive hits to start a season by any player in the modern era (since 1900). Mercedes, who had one major league at-bat entering the season, going 0-for-1 in 2020, has started at DH

6:28 PM ET ESPN News Services ANAHEIM, Calif. — Los Angeles Angels reliever Ty Buttrey is walking away from baseball, saying he’s lost his affection for the game. “I just wanted to prove everyone wrong,” the 28-year-old posted on social media Saturday. “As time went on baseball became more of a business and less of

12:18 AM ET Kelly CohenESPN Sports are great. Animals are great. So what is the general consensus when the two mix? Chaos — and awesomeness. From from a cat-tastrophe, a furry feline got loose during Friday’s Dodgers–Rockies game in Denver. It had a nice run and spent some time luxuriating in the outfield grass. CAT

2:14 AM ET ESPN News Services Yermin Mercedes became the first player in the modern era to go 5-for-5 in his first career start, leading the Chicago White Sox to a 12-8 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night at Angels Stadium. Mercedes, a 28-year-old catcher playing in his second career game, also

2:59 PM ET ESPN News Services Major League Baseball is moving the 2021 All-Star Game and 2021 draft out of Atlanta in response to a new Georgia voting law that critics say unfairly limits access to the ballot box, especially for people of color. “Over the last week, we have engaged in thoughtful conversations with

3:43 AM ET ESPN News Services Zack Greinke helped the Houston Astros hush an unwelcoming crowd in Oakland on Thursday night and said he hopes the team can silence some of the haters by continuing to win. Greinke pitched six shutout innings, Michael Brantley and Alex Bregman homered back-to-back in the eighth, and the Astros

2:30 PM ET Happy Opening Day! As the 2021 MLB season officially begins, we’re tracking the key takeaways and signature moments from each game across the country. Beginning with a snow-filled AL Central matchup in Detroit and a Hyun-Jin Ryu vs. Gerrit Cole pitching showdown in New York, there has been plenty to talk about

11:17 AM ET ESPN News Services The Washington Nationals‘ opener against the New York Mets on Thursday night has been postponed because of COVID-19 issues, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told ESPN’s Mike Greenberg. Manfred said the game will be played on Friday, using the buffer day built into the schedule for Opening Day postponements, but