1:30 AM ET CHICAGO — It’s not even September yet, but the Chicago Cubs may already be the big winners of the July trade deadline as lefty Cole Hamels continues to dominate the opposition. He upped the ante once more on Thursday, throwing the Cubs’ first complete game of the season in beating the Cincinnati
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8:03 PM ET Associated Press DENVER — Matt Holliday wore cleats from 2007. The Coors Field mojo almost felt straight from that decade, too. When Colorado made a charge to its only World Series appearance, it was behind late-season wins just like the dramatic one the Rockies pulled out on this throwback Thursday. Ian Desmond
7:00 AM ET ESPN Stats & Info Tale of the Tape: Nola vs. Scherzer Two of baseball’s best starting pitchers — Aaron Nola and Max Scherzer — square off when the Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals meet Thursday at 1 p.m. ET (ESPN+) in Washington. MLB ranks (among 72 qualified starters) Scherzer Nola Wins T-1st
3:05 AM ET Some sweeps feel much more euphoric or much more soul-crushing than others. The St. Louis Cardinals‘ sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium fits into this category. It was the Cardinals’ first sweep in Los Angeles in 12 years, so that’s impressive enough, but it’s how they did it that
7:38 PM ET BOSTON — Cleveland Indians outfielder Leonys Martin continues to make significant progress in his recovery from a life-threatening bacterial infection, but he will not play baseball again in 2018, manager Terry Francona told reporters Wednesday. Hampered by injuries in the outfield, the Tribe needed somebody to step up, but nobody expected what
9:44 PM ET DETROIT — Within the span of a couple hours Tuesday, the dynamics of the 2018 Chicago Cubs changed drastically. Instead of adding an arm for the stretch run, in the form of injured righty Yu Darvish, the team pivoted to offense, surprising the baseball world by acquiring lefty Daniel Murphy in a
9:30 AM ET CHICAGO — One thing you can say about Michael Kopech‘s big league debut: The White Sox phenom left them wanting more. Kopech pitched two scoreless innings in Chicago’s 5-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday before being pulled when the game went into a 52-minute rain delay. He struck out four
7:32 PM ET Associated Press MIAMI — Marlins right-hander Jose Urena dropped his appeal of a six-game suspension for intentionally hitting Atlanta Braves rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. with a pitch. Urena began serving the suspension Tuesday. The Marlins, fearful the Braves might retaliate, had already decided Urena wouldn’t pitch against them during a four-game series
4:25 AM ET LOS ANGELES — The third cutter, up and away, came in at 91.6 mph and traveled 393 feet just slightly to the left of center field. The fifth one, right down the middle, was thrown 92.2 mph and sailed 399 feet to almost the exact same location. All-Star closer Kenley Jansen made
1:37 AM ET Jose Altuve, in a humble nod to baseball posterity, now has a game-used ball from his Triple-A debut for his trophy case. Altuve, who left Sunday’s game after being hit by a pitch on the elbow in the seventh inning, had laced a single to right field an inning earlier in the