MLB

Associated Press Oct 3, 2023, 10:18 PM ET ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The AL Wild Card Series opener between the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays drew an announced crowd of just 19,704 to Tropicana Field on Tuesday, the lowest for a postseason game since the 1919 World Series other than during the coronavirus pandemic,

Oct 3, 2023, 09:36 PM ET San Diego Padres star third baseman Manny Machado underwent surgery to repair a right extensor tendon on Tuesday, the team announced. The surgery was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles, the Padres said, and the expected recovery time is anywhere between four and six months, so he

ESPN News Services Oct 3, 2023, 07:37 PM ET MINNEAPOLIS — Royce Lewis smashed Minnesota’s 18-game postseason losing streak into the seats, homering in each of his first two at-bats to carry the Twins to a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in the opener of their American League Wild Card Series on Tuesday.

Associated Press Oct 3, 2023, 06:03 PM ET MILWAUKEE — Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Tommy Pham has been dealing with turf toe on his right foot, which has limited the veteran to designated hitter duty for most of the last couple of weeks. Pham said he would “probably get an injection to help that out” before

Associated Press Oct 3, 2023, 05:34 PM ET ANAHEIM, Calif. — Manager Phil Nevin wasn’t the reason for the Los Angeles Angels‘ massively disappointing season, general manager Perry Minasian says. Nevin was simply the face of their latest failure, and that was enough to compel the Angels to part ways with their fourth manager in

Associated Press Oct 3, 2023, 04:41 PM ET ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The mother of Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena joined her son on the field Tuesday to throw a ceremonial first pitch before the Rays opened their AL wild-card series against the Texas Rangers. Sandra Gonzalez made the trip to Tropicana Field from Mexico to

Oct 3, 2023, 02:30 PM ET It. Is. On. Eight teams are in action today as the 2023 MLB playoffs begin with the best-of-three wild-card round. The Game 1 action starts in the American League, with the Texas Rangers visiting the Tampa Bay Rays (3 p.m. ET, ABC), followed by the Toronto Blue Jays at

Associated Press Oct 3, 2023, 02:34 PM ET Now that Terry Francona has stepped down from managing the Cleveland Guardians, he’s weighing his options. “I need to go home and get healthy and see what I miss about the game,” Francona said. “I don’t foresee managing again.” Slowed by serious medical issues in recent years,

Associated Press Oct 3, 2023, 12:37 PM ET PHILADELPHIA — Michael Lorenzen, Byron Buxton, Johnny Cueto and Jonathan Hernandez were among the players left off rosters for wild-card series that started Tuesday, while the Texas Rangers made the surprise inclusion of former top draft pick Matt Bush. The Minnesota Twins included Carlos Correa and rookie

ESPN News Services Oct 3, 2023, 09:40 AM ET Texas Rangers general manager Chris Young defended his team’s postseason-clinching celebration, saying he thinks it is “ridiculous that that’s even a subject” and ripping a Houston Astros reporter’s “pretty poor journalism” for a “classless” comparison of the in-state rivals’ celebrations. Young weighed in on what has

Xuan Thai, ESPN Senior WriterOct 3, 2023, 07:30 AM ET Close Xuan Thai is a senior writer and producer in ESPN’s investigative and enterprise unit. She was previously deputy bureau chief of the south region for NBC News. MIAMI — Down a brightly lit hallway that leads to a section of luxury suites at the

Oct 3, 2023, 07:00 AM ET The 2023 MLB playoffs kick off on Tuesday afternoon, with 12 teams hoping to raise this year’s World Series trophy. The Braves — who enter October with MLB’s best record — look to win their second World Series title in three years, while the Phillies will try to take

ESPN Betting Analysts Oct 2, 2023, 05:28 PM ET The 2023 MLB playoffs are here with the wild-card round beginning Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET. The American League best-of-three series will feature the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays, with the winner facing the Baltimore Orioles, and the Toronto Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins playing

ESPN News Services Oct 2, 2023, 07:11 PM ET ANAHEIM, Calif. — Phil Nevin will not return as manager of the Los Angeles Angels, the team announced Monday. The move comes a day after the club finished the season at 73-89. The Angels didn’t schedule an end-of-the-season news conference with general manager Perry Minasian immediately

Associated Press Oct 2, 2023, 06:09 PM ET NEW YORK — The average time of a nine-inning major league game dropped to 2 hours, 40 minutes in the first year of the pitch clock, a 24-minute decrease in a season of change that resulted in a spike in batting average and the most stolen bases

Associated Press Oct 2, 2023, 05:07 PM ET ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The mother of Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Josh Lowe and Texas Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe will not make the trip to Tropicana Field for this week’s AL wild-card series featuring her sons because she is battling cancer and undergoing chemotherapy. Younger brother

Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Staff WriterOct 2, 2023, 04:55 PM ET Close Sports reporter, Kansas City Star, 2002-09 Writer, Baseball, Baseball Prospectus Co-author, Pro Basketball Prospectus Member, Baseball Writers Association of America Member, Professional Basketball Writers Association MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Brandon Woodruff will miss the team’s NL wild-card series against the Arizona Diamondbacks due

Oct 2, 2023, 04:03 PM ET Jim Caple, a noted baseball writer who spent 17 years at ESPN, died Sunday, his wife wrote on social media. He was 61. Caple covered 20 World Series for ESPN, the St. Paul Pioneer-Press and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. He also covered a half-dozen Olympic Games. He closed his career