MLB

5:18 PM ET Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa is under the microscope once again. La Russa claimed he didn’t fully know the extra inning rule, which would have allowed him to avoid using closer Liam Hendriks as a baserunner in a 0-0 game against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday. Hendriks had double-switched into

4:14 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Second baseman Rougned Odor was put on the 10-day injured list by the New York Yankees with a sprained left knee on Wednesday. Odor was hurt Tuesday night when his knee slammed into Houston catcher Martín Maldonado’s head as he reached the plate and scored in the

3:43 PM ET CHICAGO — Veteran reliever Pedro Strop has elected free agency after spending most of this season at the Chicago Cubs‘ alternate site. Strop, 35, appeared in two games with the Cubs, giving up two hits while striking out three. This was Strop’s third stint with the Cubs, having played for them from

4:56 PM ET ESPN News Services Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto suffered a broken left thumb in the team’s 1-0 victory against the visiting Chicago White Sox on Wednesday. Votto is not expected to need surgery but could miss up to a month. Kyle Farmer is among the options at first. “We’ll figure it

3:34 PM ET Associated Press ST. LOUIS — New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom could return to the mound on Sunday against Arizona at Citi Field. DeGrom first felt soreness in a back muscle after his last outing against Boston on April 28 and was scratched from a scheduled start against St. Louis on Tuesday

11:49 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” This story includes graphic descriptions of a suicide attempt. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide or is in emotional distress, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at

11:33 AM ET Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Minor league baseball drew 103,483 fans for 47 games on its opening day after missing the 2020 season because of the coronavirus pandemic. The largest crowd Tuesday was 5,004 for the Tulsa Drillers’ 4-3 loss to the Amarillo Sod Poodles in the Double-A Central. All four

9:40 AM ET ESPN News Services After two months in Florida, the vagabond Toronto Blue Jays are again ready to take flight in June and make their temporary home in Buffalo, New York, it was announced Wednesday. The Blue Jays said they will return to Sahlen Field on June 1 against the Miami Marlins, Sportsnet

9:01 PM ET Many New York Yankees fans spent the pandemic searching for an outlet to express their anger over the trash can-banging scheme of the Houston Astros. On Tuesday night, with Houston making its first trip to the Bronx since news of the scandal broke, fans finally had their chance to rain boos down

12:24 AM ET If only all these position players could hit as well as Atlanta Braves pitcher Huascar Ynoa, we wouldn’t be hyperventilating about the feeble state of batting averages across the major leagues. The 22-year-old right-hander has now homered in consecutive starts, including a grand slam in Tuesday’s 6-1 victory over the Nationals. Two

9:43 PM ET NEW YORK — On May the Fourth, New York Yankees fans channeled their inner Palpatine and directed their anger toward the Houston Astros the moment they stepped on the field. “One bang fastball!” one fan screamed at Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, taking batting practice. “You don’t deserve your accolades!” another yelled

7:47 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor learned from phone messages that the New York Mets had fired hitting coach Chili Davis and assistant Tom Slater, a move that left players unhappy. New York made the announcement late Monday night, two days after Alonso started to publicly mention the

7:38 PM ET Associated Press OAKLAND, Calif. — Jesus Luzardo has played video games all his life. The Oakland Athletics lefty will continue to do so with fervor, even after the embarrassment of breaking the pinkie on his pitching hand while gaming. Luzardo has apologized to his teammates and manager Bob Melvin for the accident,

5:12 PM ET ESPN News Services ST. LOUIS — New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom was scratched from Tuesday night’s start against St. Louis because he was having trouble getting loose as he started to stretch ahead of his outing. “He let us know earlier today that he had some tightness on his right side,”

7:14 PM ET Cincinnati Reds reliever Amir Garrett has been suspended seven games and fined an undisclosed amount of money for “inciting” a benches-clearing incident with the Chicago Cubs on Saturday afternoon, Major League Baseball announced Tuesday. Garrett is appealing his suspension and will be eligible to continue playing until the process is completed. Cubs

5:51 PM ET Milwaukee Brewers star Christian Yelich is returning to the injured list with a lower back strain just one day after being activated and playing for the first time since April 11, manager Craig Counsell said Tuesday. Yelich had an MRI in late April, and Counsell on Tuesday said the MRI showed no

5:10 PM ET ESPN News Services Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw gave up four runs in just one inning — the shortest start of his career — in a 7-1 loss to the Cubs in the first game of a doubleheader Tuesday in Chicago. Kershaw was pulled by manager Dave Roberts after throwing 39

4:02 PM ET ESPN News Services The Washington Nationals activated outfielder Juan Soto from the 10-day injured list on Tuesday. Soto, however, was not in the lineup for Washington’s home game against the Atlanta Braves. Manager Davey Martinez said he will be available as a pinch hitter if the right situation appears. That said, Martinez