7:00 AM ET There’s a new top team in our rankings! After two weeks of baseball, the Rays remain undefeated, their 12-0 start the best since the 1987 Brewers. Will they be able to keep up this dominance? Or will the division rival Yankees catch them soon enough? As if that wasn’t surprising enough, elsewhere
MLB
7:00 AM ET We are two weeks into the 2023 MLB season, and most teams have played a dozen games of their 162-game schedule. In other words, it’s early. Perhaps too early to glean a whole lot from what has happened so far. But what’s the fun in that? We asked our MLB experts to
10:28 PM ET ESPN News Services ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays won their 12th straight game to start the season, one short of the best major league start since 1900, as Randy Arozarena hit a three-run homer in a 9-7 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night. The 1987 Milwaukee
10:51 PM ET Associated Press BALTIMORE — Chad Smith‘s first major league win came courtesy of a rarely applied official scoring rule. It was an unusual twist at the end of a long day for the Oakland reliever. Smith pitched the final two innings of the Athletics’ 8-4 victory over Baltimore on Wednesday night, holding
9:52 PM ET Associated Press CLEVELAND — Umpire Larry Vanover is expected to be hospitalized overnight after being hit in the head with a relay throw on Wednesday in a “scary” moment during the New York Yankees game against the Cleveland Guardians. Vanover is being evaluated for a concussion and other injuries at the Cleveland
6:10 PM ET Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Boston Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida was scratched from Wednesday night’s lineup at Tampa Bay due to right hamstring tightness. Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Yoshida felt discomfort while running Tuesday, but Cora didn’t rule out a return by Friday. “He showed up here, he
2:36 PM ET Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Twins shortstop Kyle Farmer was hit in the face by a fastball from Chicago White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito in the fourth inning Wednesday. The initial diagnosis was announced by the Twins as a jaw injury after the 92 mph pitch from Giolito ran inside and knocked
4:12 PM ET Texas Rangers star shortstop Corey Seager will miss at least four weeks with a strained hamstring. Rangers general manager Chris Young told reporters Wednesday that Seager has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 strain of his left hamstring. The Rangers placed Seager on the 10-day injured list and activated outfielder Leodys Taveras
2:00 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” A Salt Lake City consortium led by the former owner of the Utah Jazz plans to pursue a Major League Baseball franchise in the coming years, touting the area’s population growth, strong
2:08 PM ET CHICAGO — Outfielder Ian Happ has signed a three-year extension with the Chicago Cubs that will keep him under contract with the team through the 2026 season, the team announced Wednesday. The deal is worth $61 million and contains a full no-trade clause, sources tell ESPN. Happ, 28, was set to become
2:45 PM ET Associated Press CLEVELAND — New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected in the first inning Wednesday against the Cleveland Guardians following a heated exchange with umpires over a play that was not initially reviewed by instant replay. Boone spent several minutes pleading his case after the Yankees appeared to end the
12:41 PM ET New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz has not ruled out returning before the end of the season, saying his injured knee is progressing well. Diaz, speaking to the media for the first time since tearing his right patellar tendon while celebrating at the World Baseball Classic, said Wednesday that his knee “is
9:42 AM ET Darin Ruf is happy to be back with the San Francisco Giants after a rough stretch in New York, where he says his struggles with the Mets were “magnified” by the media and fans. Ruf signed a minor-league deal with the Giants this past Saturday, returning to San Francisco after a failed
7:00 AM ET FOR NEARLY TWO DECADES, St. Louis Cardinals catching great Yadier Molina was a fixture in an organization known for churning out pitchers and throwing out runners. Over a Hall-of-Fame worthy career, Molina was the most respected player on his team every time he donned the uniform. For the final seven years of
6:18 AM ET Associated Press PHOENIX — Thanks to the pitch clock, the action is moving much faster at Major League Baseball games. It also means a little less time for fans to enjoy a frosty adult beverage. To combat that time crunch, at least four teams — the Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins
10:12 PM ET ESPN News Services ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager exited in the fifth inning of Tuesday night’s 8-5 win against Kansas City with left hamstring tightness after running the bases. Seager was running between first and second base after hitting an opposite-field double into the left-field corner. He appeared to
1:06 AM ET ESPN News Services PHOENIX — The Milwaukee Brewers placed right-handed starter Brandon Woodruff on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with right shoulder inflammation. Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell, prior to the team’s 7-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, said Woodruff didn’t recover well from his previous start and the club wanted to give
10:25 PM ET ESPN News Services BALTIMORE — Ryan Mountcastle homered twice and tied a team record with nine RBIs, helping the Baltimore Orioles rally from a four-run deficit to a 12-8 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night. Mountcastle hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning and added a grand slam in