MLB

12:47 AM ET CHICAGO — Tempers flared here Friday night after catcher Willson Contreras was plunked by White Sox hurler Jimmy Cordero in the seventh inning of the Cubs’ 10-0 victory. The hit by pitch came several innings after Contreras threw his bat high into the air to celebrate a three-run homer as he began

7:00 AM ET When Rob Friedman — better known as PitchingNinja to his quarter-million followers on Twitter — watches a game and sees something that sticks out, he checks his gut before tweeting a highlight. In the seasons since he began posting the nastiest pitches in baseball, he’s developed an intuition about when something might

10:32 PM ET ESPN News Services BUFFALO, N.Y. — Hyun-Jin Ryu pitched seven shutout innings and the Toronto Blue Jays clinched their first postseason spot since 2016, beating the Yankees 4-1 Thursday night and further damaging New York’s chances of hosting a first-round playoff series. New York lost for the fourth time in five games

7:25 PM ET The Los Angeles Dodgers activated Walker Buehler, who has been dealing with a blister on his right index finger for about a month, off the injured list Thursday for one final tuneup start before the postseason. Buehler, 26, was placed on the IL because of that blister for the second time in

12:22 PM ET Kansas City Royals outfielder Alex Gordon, a seven-time Gold Glove winner and one of the longest-tenured players in club history, is retiring from baseball. The Royals announced Gordon’s retirement Thursday but did not indicate whether the three-time All-Star would play in their four remaining games this season. After 14 years of hard

8:00 AM ET Sam MillerESPN.com Close ESPN baseball columnist/feature writerFormer editor-in-chief of Baseball ProspectusCo-author of “The Only Rule Is It Has To Work” Humans are heat factories. If the average human being produces heat at a rate of 80ish watts, then 19 humans hunched together would radiate as much heat as my 1,500-watt space heater.

10:26 PM ET ESPN News Services NEW YORK — Randy Arozarena homered twice and the Tampa Bay Rays clinched their first AL East title in 10 years Wednesday night with an 8-5 victory over the New York Mets. Joey Wendle and Brandon Lowe also went deep for the Rays to back Tyler Glasnow‘s six solid

12:30 PM ET Marly RiveraESPN Writer Close Marly Rivera is a writer for ESPNdeportes.com and ESPN.com. BUFFALO, N.Y. — Luke Voit has had quite a journey: from a Missouri Valley Conference standout to a St. Louis Cardinals farmhand stuck without a spot in the majors to, as New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone likes to

1:29 AM ET ESPN News Services LOS ANGELES — Wrapping up an NL West title has become routine for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but in a year in which no one was sure three months ago if there would be a baseball season, manager Dave Roberts wanted his team to savor the moment. The Dodgers

6:43 PM ET Los Angeles Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons has opted out of the remainder of the season. The Angels announced Simmons’ decision Tuesday but did not disclose a specific reason. “This year has presented unique challenges for so many and the Angels respect Andrelton’s decision,” the team said in a statement. 1 Related The

12:40 AM ET Associated Press OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland Athletics clinched their first American League West title since 2013 on Monday, with an assist from the rival Houston Astros. Houston lost 6-1 to the Seattle Mariners, ending its three-year reign as division champion and making the A’s the first team in the majors to

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” Just like that, the fastest, weirdest, pandemickiest baseball season ever has come and gone. Mathematics holds that a 60-game schedule is shorter than the standard 162, but the 2020 season has whistled

7:00 AM ET Did you think we would get here? With one week remaining in this shortened, 60-game season, without the benefit of a bubble to keep the players completely isolated from the coronavirus, the 30 teams and 1,295 different players who have worn a major league uniform in 2020 are going to make it

7:00 AM ET ESPN.com Staff As we enter the final week of the regular season, the playoff field is taking shape, as are ESPN’s Power Rankings. After a period where they slipped out of our top five (and nearly slipped out of a playoff berth), the Yankees righted the ship and have looked like the

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