MLB

2:30 PM ET NEW YORK — Facing the prospect of going down 3-0 in the American League Championship Series, the Yankees are shuffling up their lineup. Facing Houston Astros right-hander Cristian Javier, New York will lead off with first baseman Anthony Rizzo, move Harrison Bader down from the leadoff spot to No. 6, start Oswaldo

8:00 AM ET The 2022 MLB playoffs are down to just four teams, each vying for a spot in this year’s World Series. The American League Championship Series shifts to the Bronx for Game 3 of the Houston Astros against the New York Yankees. Houston won the first two games at home and holds a

1:22 AM ET PHILADELPHIA — Jean Segura has played 11 seasons in the majors, made two All-Star teams and hit .300 three times, but he has never had an inning quite like the fourth inning of Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Friday night. Playing in his first postseason, the Philadelphia Phillies

6:14 PM ET Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Fox and its related networks will televise next year’s World Baseball Classic, obtaining U.S. English- and Spanish-language rights to the tournament. Fox said Friday it will broadcast the U.S. opener against Britain on March 11 on the main Fox network. The tournament opens March 8 in Taiwan

2:24 PM ET Associated Press CLEVELAND — Guardians manager Terry Francona has agreed to return for an 11th season after leading the majors’ youngest team to a division title and the AL Division Series in 2022. The 63-year-old Francona has not signed a contract, but said Friday he intends to be back next season. He’s

1:09 PM ET ESPN News Services Houston Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. has been pushed back a day and will start Game 4 after suffering a small cut on his throwing elbow from a thrown champagne bottle Saturday. “Unfortunately, after the victory in Seattle, I caught a spare champagne bottle to the elbow bone,” McCullers

1:20 PM ET Associated Press The Texas Rangers have hired Bruce Bochy as their manager, bringing the three-time World Series champion out of a short retirement to take over a team that has had six consecutive losing seasons. Texas made the surprising announcement Friday, just more than two weeks after its season ended. “If I

9:34 AM ET Associated Press TORONTO — The Blue Jays rewarded John Schneider for his strong performance as their interim manager, agreeing to terms with him Friday on a three-year contract to manage the team. Toronto’s former bench coach, the 42-year-old Schneider went 46-28 as interim manager after replacing Charlie Montoyo in July. Toronto earned

8:00 AM ET SAN DIEGO — Within the hallway that connects Petco Park’s home clubhouse to its third-base dugout, a mural has sprung, populated with a collection of Polaroid pictures that has grown with each passing triumph. The running tally sits at 163 photographs, neatly organized within 11 rows, a static highlight reel for the

1:03 AM ET HOUSTON — First, Framber Valdez made a mistake. Then, he made things way worse, and suddenly, the Houston Astros starter found himself trying to prevent Game 2 of the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees from unraveling. Valdez was working with a 3-0 lead after Astros third baseman Alex

7:30 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” At the beginning of the Houston Astros‘ 2019 spring training, Michael Brantley couldn’t believe what he was witnessing. Brantley is regarded as one of the purest professional hitters of his generation, a

2:40 AM ET Marly RiveraESPN Writer Close Marly Rivera is a writer for ESPNdeportes.com and ESPN.com. HOUSTON — The Astros quickly ran out of superlatives in describing Justin Verlander‘s performance in their 4-2 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series on Wednesday night. Echoes of “first-ballot Hall

7:00 AM ET SAN DIEGO — A unique and unwieldy strain of anxiety settled into Section 111, Row 36 at Petco Park on Wednesday afternoon. It was mixed with anticipation and pride and something more difficult to define, something that felt contradictory and borderline impossible, like imprisoned joy. A.J. Nola arrived in Section 111 for

10:57 PM ET SAN DIEGO – Juan Soto and Josh Hader absorbed most of the attention, but Brandon Drury and Josh Bell were in-season acquisitions of similar importance to the San Diego Padres — a belief further emphasized by Fernando Tatis Jr.’s ensuing suspension. Bell and Drury represented key power bats in the middle of

9:02 PM ET Associated Press SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners will head into the offseason with four key players needing downtime or surgery to heal injuries, including AL Rookie of the Year favorite Julio Rodriguez. Jerry Dipoto, Seattle’s president of baseball operations, said Wednesday that Rodriguez broke his left pinkie during Game 3 of the

7:33 PM ET Associated Press CLEVELAND — José Ramírez didn’t let a torn thumb ligament stop him from leading the Guardians during a surprising season. Cleveland’s All-Star third baseman played the second half — as well as the team’s playoff run that ended Tuesday in the AL Division Series — with a torn right thumb

7:45 PM ET Associated Press ANAHEIM, Calif. — Hitting coach Jeremy Reed and assistant hitting coach John Mallee will not return to the Los Angeles Angels next season. The team confirmed the decisions Wednesday. Reed has been the Angels’ hitting coach since 2019, serving for four seasons under three managers after spending two years as

1:41 PM ET Jeremy WillisESPN.com It is a great time to be a fan of Philadelphia sports. The city’s teams just keep winning. Let’s start with the Philadelphia Phillies. They are three wins from reaching the World Series for the first time since 2009. Philadelphia took Game 1 of the NLCS Tuesday, beating the San