MLB

11:55 PM ET CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs left fielder Kyle Schwarber was pulled from Sunday’s game after he played a double into a triple off the bat of Minnesota Twins center fielder Jake Cave. “I think the guy shouldn’t have gotten to third base there,” a repentant Schwarber said after the Twins’ 4-0 win. “It

9:14 PM ET ESPN News Services SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres are returning to the playoffs for the first time in 14 years after beating the Seattle Mariners 7-4 Sunday with a three-run rally in the 11th inning that included a go-ahead double by newcomer Mitch Moreland. The clincher came in the finale

5:15 PM ET Associated Press DETROIT — Ron Gardenhire mostly maintained his jovial demeanor this season. As recently as Friday night, he was needling a reporter while discussing a strategic decision from the late innings. Less than 24 hours later, Gardenhire announced his retirement. This year was taking more of a toll on the 62-year-old

7:00 AM ET MLB InsidersESPN With the 2020 MLB season hitting the home stretch (already!), ESPN has a Sunday doubleheader with four teams hoping to make some noise in October. The Giants and A’s get things going at 4 p.m. ET, followed by Twins-Cubs at 7 p.m. ET. To get you ready for the twin

4:55 PM ET It’s a miracle the ligaments in Justin Verlander‘s right elbow lasted this long. He has thrown 48,822 pitches in the Major League Baseball regular season, another 3,109 high-intensity pitches in the postseason, numerous more deliveries in spring training and bullpen sessions and then all the ones in high school, college and his

1:13 PM ET Houston Astros right-hander Justin Verlander is set to undergo Tommy John surgery, he said in an Instagram post Saturday. Verlander hasn’t pitched since his season debut July 24. He said in a video that he “felt something in my elbow” during a simulated game this week and that, after consulting with doctors,

11:14 PM ET ESPN News Services ANAHEIM, Calif. — Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols passed Willie Mays for fifth place on the career home run list, hitting No. 661 on Friday night against Texas. The 40-year-old Pujols connected for a solo homer with one out in the fifth inning. He sent Wes Benjamin‘s fastball

8:01 PM ET ESPN News Services The St. Louis Cardinals have placed right-hander Dakota Hudson on the 10-day injured list with a strained right forearm. Hudson left his start Thursday night after two innings due to what he described as discomfort in his right arm. The 26-year-old is 3-2 with a 2.77 ERA in eight

6:37 PM ET Associated Press CHICAGO — The White Sox clinched their first postseason berth since 2008, rallying to beat the Minnesota Twins 4-3 Thursday as Eloy Jimenez hit a tiebreaking double that capped a two-run rally in the seventh inning. Chicago (33-17) opened a three-game lead over the second-place Twins (31-21) in the American

4:00 PM ET ESPN.com Staff Major League Baseball has announced the schedule for the unique 16-team 2020 MLB playoffs, which are set to open with the wild-card round beginning Tuesday, Sept. 29, and continuing through the first neutral-site World Series in MLB history scheduled from Tuesday, Oct. 20 through Wednesday, Oct. 28, at Globe Life

10:05 PM ET ESPN News Services NEW YORK — The Yankees hit five home runs in an inning for the first time in their history. Brett Gardner, DJ LeMahieu and Luke Voit homered on consecutive pitches in the fourth inning from Toronto’s Chase Anderson on Thursday night. Voit’s home run was his major league-leading 20th.

1:26 AM ET CHICAGO — An emotional Jon Lester took the mound Wednesday night for what could have been his final start at Wrigley Field as a Cub. Lester, 36, will be a free agent after this season unless the team picks up a $25 million option on him for 2021. “We don’t know what

9:08 PM ET Associated Press PHILADELPHIA — Jacob deGrom‘s balky hamstring forced an untimely exit Wednesday night. Now, the New York Mets ace hopes it won’t mean an early end to his season. DeGrom left a rare rough outing because of a right hamstring spasm, then watched his teammates erase a four-run deficit in rallying

8:06 PM ET ESPN News Services SAN DIEGO — The Los Angeles Dodgers became the first team to clinch a playoff spot in the pandemic-shortened season, beating the San Diego Padres 7-5 Wednesday behind Dustin May‘s gutty effort out of the bullpen and home runs from AJ Pollock and Chris Taylor. The Dodgers are heading

6:15 AM ET White Sox broadcaster Ken “Hawk” Harrelson was furious with umpire Joe West, as many have been these past 44 years. On this day in 2010, West had called a second balk of the game on Mark Buehrle, and Hawk was so outraged he said on the air, “Joe West should retire!” Two

5:00 PM ET MLB InsidersESPN The 2020 MLB playoffs are less than two weeks away, even though it seems like only yesterday that the regular season kicked off. The compressed 60-game schedule is rapidly coming to a close, and the MLB standings are tight heading to the finish with wild-card positioning, postseason seeding and the

11:02 AM ET Major League Baseball and its players’ union have reached an agreement on playing this year’s postseason in bubble settings, sources confirmed to ESPN. The Athletic earlier reported MLB and the MLB Players Association have reached agreement. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on Friday that under the plan, which awaited the MLBPA’s approval, the

7:00 AM ET There is one thing Major League Baseball executives, scouts and players can agree on when it comes to the 2020 National League Cy Young race: It’s going to go down to the wire. With a tip of the cap to Los Angeles Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw, his current 1.98 ERA just isn’t