Oct. 101904 — Boston clinched the pennant on the last day of the season when Jack Chesbro of the New York Highlanders threw a wild pitch in the ninth to allow the winning run to score from third.1920 — The Cleveland Indians beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 8-1 in the fifth game of the World Series. For the Indians, Elmer Smith hit the first Series grand slam and Jim Bagby, the winner, hit the first Series homer by a pitcher.1924 — The Washington Senators won their only championship by defeating the Giants 4-3 in 12 innings. The winning run scored when a ball hit by Earl McNeely bounced over third baseman Fred Lindstrom's head.1926 — Grover Alexander, 39, saved Game 7 and the World Series for the St. Louis Cardinals, fanning Tony Lazzeri with the bases loaded in the seventh inning and pitching 2 1-3 hitless innings. The game ended with Babe Ruth being thrown out trying to steal second base. With two outs in the top of the ninth, Ruth walked for the third time, having homered in the fourth inning.1931... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday:NOW OR NEVERA pair of winner-take-all Game 5s will decide the two NL Division Series.First, the Atlanta Braves host the St. Louis Cardinals at 5:02 p.m. EDT. Then, it's the Washington Nationals at the Los Angeles Dodgers beginning at 8:37 p.m. The winners meet in the best-of-seven NL Championship Series starting Friday.ARMS RACEA star-studded series loaded with outstanding pitchers comes to a dramatic conclusion at Dodger Stadium. Stephen Strasburg starts for the wild-card Washington Nationals against Los Angeles right-hander Walker Buehler.The league-best Dodgers were 59-22 at home during the regular season, when they drew more than 3 million fans."Very confident we're going to come out of this and move on," manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday.The Dodgers are trying to reach the NLCS for the fourth consecutive year, while the Nationals have never won a playoff series since the franchise moved from Montreal to Washington in 2005. They've... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Zack Greinke got hit hard. So did Justin Verlander. And all of a sudden, the Houston Astros and their heavyweight rotation have only one chance left to knock out the pesky Rays.It's up to Gerrit Cole in Game 5.Verlander gave up three first-inning runs while pitching on short rest and the Astros lost 4-1 to Tampa Bay on Tuesday night, tying their AL Division Series at two games apiece."Even after going up two games against this ballclub, I don't think we took anything for granted," Verlander said. "At least I know I didn't. We know how talented these guys were and are. We knew it would be a battle."The playoff will be decided Thursday night in Houston, with Tyler Glasnow expected to start for the Rays. The winner advances to face the New York Yankees in the AL Championship Series, while the loser goes home for the winter."Obviously, I was hoping to win yesterday. I was hoping to win today. But we've had our backs against the wall before and come out victorious,"... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Zack Greinke got hit hard. So did Justin Verlander. And all of a sudden, the Houston Astros and their heavyweight rotation have only one chance left to knock out the pesky Rays.It's up to Gerrit Cole in Game 5.Verlander gave up three first-inning runs while pitching on short rest and the Astros lost 4-1 to Tampa Bay on Tuesday night, tying their AL Division Series at two games apiece."Even after going up two games against this ballclub, I don't think we took anything for granted," Verlander said. "At least I know I didn't. We know how talented these guys were and are. We knew it would be a battle."The playoff will be decided Thursday night in Houston, with the winner advancing to face the New York Yankees in the AL Championship Series."Obviously, I was hoping to win yesterday. I was hoping to win today. But we've had our backs against the wall before and come out victorious," Verlander said.It wasn't supposed to be this difficult for the Astros, who led the majors... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Zack Greinke got hit hard. So did Justin Verlander. And all of a sudden, the Houston Astros and their heavyweight rotation have only one chance left to knock out the pesky Rays.It's up to Gerrit Cole in Game 5.Verlander gave up three first-inning runs while pitching on short rest and the Astros lost 4-1 to Tampa Bay on Tuesday night, tying their AL Division Series at two games apiece.The playoff will be decided Thursday night in Houston, with the winner advancing to face the New York Yankees in the AL Championship Series.It wasn't supposed to be this difficult for the Astros, who led the majors with 107 wins and captured their third consecutive AL West title. Seeking a second World Series championship in three years, they dominated the wild-card Rays behind the brilliant pitching of Verlander and Cole during the first two games at home.But once they arrived at quirky Tropicana Field, they didn't look like themselves.And now, even with all those aces, there's... [More]

Rays first. Austin Meadows strikes out swinging. Tommy Pham homers to center field. Ji-Man Choi walks. Avisail Garcia singles to left field. Ji-Man Choi to second. Brandon Lowe flies out to shallow left field to Michael Brantley. Travis d'Arnaud singles to left field. Avisail Garcia to second. Ji-Man Choi scores. Joey Wendle doubles to deep right field. Travis d'Arnaud to third. Avisail Garcia scores. Kevin Kiermaier strikes out swinging.3 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Rays 3, Astros 0.Rays fourth. Willy Adames homers to center field. Austin Meadows strikes out swinging. Tommy Pham lines out to left field to Michael Brantley. Ji-Man Choi walks. Avisail Garcia singles to shallow center field. Ji-Man Choi to second. Brandon Lowe strikes out swinging.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Rays 4, Astros 0.Astros eighth. Carlos Correa grounds out to second base, Brandon Lowe to Ji-Man Choi. Aledmys Diaz pinch-hitting for Josh Reddick. Aledmys Diaz strikes out on a foul tip. Robinson Chirinos homers to center field. George Springer flies out to deep center field to Kevin Kiermaier.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Rays 4, Astros 1.

A look at what's happening around the majors today:RESTED ENOUGHJustin Verlander will start on three days of rest as the Astros try to put away the Rays in Game 4 of their AL Division Series at Tampa Bay. It will be Verlander's second career start on short rest — the other came after a one-inning, rain-shortened appearance in the 2011 ALDS. Houston won the first two games of the series with a pair of dominant pitching performances from Verlander and Gerrit Cole, who combined to limit the Rays to one unearned run and five hits over 14 2/3 innings. Houston's other pitchers have allowed 12 earned runs in 11 1/3 innings, an ERA of 9.53."The thought process is five-game series are pretty crazy and we've got to win. Never know what can happen," Verlander said after the Astros' 10-3 loss in Game 3 on Monday. "You can't put all your eggs in one basket and say if we lose tomorrow, we've got Justin and Gerrit (Cole) for Game 5. It's a crazy game."Tampa Bay will use Diego Castillo as an opener, and... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — While the New York Yankees were dousing themselves with cheap drinks down the hall in the Target Field basement, the Minnesota Twins were left to wonder how 101 wins, 307 homers and so much summer fun could lead to such an abrupt autumn exit.Minnesota's major league record streak of 16 straight postseason losses, with 13 of those defeats exacted by the seemingly indefatigable Yankees, will gnaw at the franchise and the fan base for yet another year.For the free agents to be, the 2019 regular season might well be the highlight of their time in Minnesota rather than the start of a dynastic run. The players who return in 2020, even with their experience of October disappointment administered by the nemesis Yankees limited to a mere three or four games, will face the same questions next year about slaying the pinstriped dragon that's bound to be among the AL favorites again.One bad weekend of baseball on the big stage, though, can't erase the remarkable consistency, admirable... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Aroldis Chapman threw just 70 pitches in September.Alone among major league teams, the Yankees never used a pitcher three days in a row during the regular season.A bullpen featuring Chapman, Zack Britton, Adam Ottavino, Chad Green and Tommy Kahnle is a relief for New York fans and fear-inducing for opponents, a baseball Cerberus, the mythical multi-headed dog with snakes and a serpent protruding."I just think it's a luxury to have it happen this way," Ottavino said. "Luckily, we took care of business this year and got a nice lead and they were able to kind of stagger our appearances a little bit heading down the stretch. I think it's just good because we're expecting a big workload here in October."If ever relievers were ready and rested during the postseason, it is this group as the Yankees head into the AL Championship Series against Houston or Tampa Bay starting Saturday. And now they have four more days to rest up, increasingly important in a postseason in which none... [More]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Injured New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks feels like he's ready to return to the roster for the AL Championship Series.Hicks, who has a right elbow flexor strain and last played on Aug. 3, is among a group of players at the Yankees' complex in Tampa who were not on the AL Division Series roster.Hick said Tuesday he is "definitely ready to go out there and play.""For sure," Hicks said. "That's really what I'm getting ready for is to get back and play in the playoffs. Get back to playing baseball."New York, which completed a three-game sweep of Minnesota on Monday night, will face either Houston or Tampa Bay in Game 1 of ALCS on Saturday night.Hicks is facing live pitching and throwing to bases."I'm pretty much doing everything," Hicks said.Hicks watched the Yankees' series-clinching win with Rays catcher Travis d'Arnuad and his family at a restaurant in St. Petersburg."It's the second time that they celebrated without me, so it's one of those things that you... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The night began with Torii Hunter throwing the ceremonial first pitch to Joe Mauer, energizing the over-capacity crowd gathered for the first postseason game at Target Field since 2010, the year the ballpark opened.The evening ended in familiar deflation for the Twins, with two more runners left on base to add to the pile and further frustration and bewilderment bedeviling a franchise and fan base that's been waiting 28 years and counting for another World Series.From Hunter and Mauer to Eddie Rosario and Mitch Garver, the names and styles have changed. But the results have stayed the same as long as the Twins are stuck with the nemesis New York Yankees in the playoffs."That's a good team, man," Garver said after the 5-1 defeat Monday night gave the Yankees a sweep of the AL Division Series and stretched the longest postseason losing streak in major league history to 16 games.Thirteen of those are thanks to the Yanks."They beat us, you know? They pitched better. They... [More]

A hot topic all year has been the idea of computerizing the strike zone, the rise of the robot umpires. It's drawn even more attention here in October — we've already seen a perfect example of a missed call when Marcell Ozuna was rung up in the ninth inning of Game 3 between the Cardinals and Braves.It was obvious, according to the box on the TV screen, that the pitch was clearly inside. It was a pivotal call that could have altered the outcome.Should the computer zone be perfected, that would never be the case.It would change the game for the good, it would continue the effort to eliminate human deficiency. We have replay everywhere else in the game, like it or not, replay gets the call right.Now we are looking at balls and strikes, where the umpires are ridiculously good. My experience would say home plate umpires miss less than 10 pitch calls a game, out of an average of 225.When I saw replay become part of professional tennis, I immediately thought it could change baseball. In fact,... [More]

Kyle Gibson kept hoping he'd someday pitch in October, take the mound in a big game when the whole sport was watching. Last week, he got that chance.Summoned late at Yankee Stadium, the 31-year-old Minnesota right-hander entered the AL Division Series opener. The result — one inning, three runs on three walks, a hit and three stolen bases."First postseason opportunity, didn't go how I thought it was going to go," he said.He's not alone.National League closers Carlos Martinez, Mark Melancon and Sean Doolittle were tagged. All-Star setup man Ryan Pressly struggled, $140 million starter Patrick Corbin was shelled in a different role.Bullpens? More like blowpens as playoff relievers across the majors got rocked.Their totals so far in the ALDS and NLDS: 100 innings, 65 earned runs and a 5.85 ERA.The most effective reliever this month? Max Scherzer, the three-time Cy Young Award winner who struck out all three batters he faced at Dodger Stadium.And remember, Scherzer and the Washington Nationals... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:RESTED ENOUGHJustin Verlander will start on three days of rest as the Astros try to put away the Rays in Game 4 of their AL Division Series at Tampa Bay. It will be Verlander's second career start on short rest — the other came after a one-inning, rain-shortened appearance in the 2011 ALDS. Houston won the first two games of the series with a pair of dominant pitching performances from Verlander and Gerrit Cole, who combined to limit the Rays to one unearned run and five hits over 14 2/3 innings. Houston's other pitchers have allowed 12 earned runs in 11 1/3 innings, an ERA of 9.53."The thought process is five-game series are pretty crazy and we've got to win. Never know what can happen," Verlander said after the Astros' 10-3 loss in Game 3 on Monday. "You can't put all your eggs in one basket and say if we lose tomorrow, we've got Justin and Gerrit (Cole) for Game 5. It's a crazy game."Tampa Bay will use Diego Castillo as an opener, and... [More]

Yankees second. Giancarlo Stanton strikes out swinging. Gleyber Torres homers to center field. Gary Sanchez pops out to Jorge Polanco. Didi Gregorius grounds out to shortstop, Jorge Polanco to Marwin Gonzalez.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Yankees 1, Twins 0.Yankees third. Gio Urshela doubles to left field. DJ LeMahieu grounds out to shortstop, Jorge Polanco to Marwin Gonzalez. Gio Urshela to third. Aaron Judge called out on strikes. Brett Gardner singles to left field. Gio Urshela scores. Edwin Encarnacion flies out to deep center field to Max Kepler.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Yankees 2, Twins 0.Yankees seventh. Gleyber Torres doubles to deep left field. Gary Sanchez strikes out swinging. Didi Gregorius singles to right field. Gleyber Torres scores. Gio Urshela grounds out to third base. Didi Gregorius out at second.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on. Yankees 3, Twins 0.Twins eighth. Eddie Rosario homers to center field. Mitch Garver grounds out to shortstop, Didi Gregorius... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rich Hill isn't sure how the course of history could have differed for the Los Angeles Dodgers if he recorded one more out."If I could've finished off that third inning, it might've maybe changed things," Hill said.When manager Dave Roberts took the ball out of Hill's hands, he turned it over to a bullpen full of question marks. After starter Kenta Maeda got through a strong inning-plus, a revolving assortment of relievers allowed five runs in a 6-1 loss to the Washington Nationals on Monday that tied the NL Division Series at 2."The result certainly wasn't what we would have hoped for, but as far as kind of the process, I loved it," Roberts said.Pedro Báez gave up a three-run home run to Ryan Zimmerman in the fifth that busted open the game, and his teammates couldn't crack Nationals ace Max Scherzer to close out the series.Instead, the Dodgers will turn to Walker Buehler in a winner-take-all Game 5 on Wednesday back in Los Angeles and hope the young right-hander can... [More]

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Yadier Molina made a throat-slashing gesture as he celebrated on the field after hitting the winning sacrifice fly in the 10th inning of the St. Louis Cardinals' 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of the NL Division Series on Monday.Molina's clutch swing sent the best-of-five series back to Atlanta for one more game on Wednesday.It was not clear whether Molina made the gesture in response to what Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. did the day before. Acuña made a similar motion across the top of his chest after hauling in Molina's flyball for the final out of Atlanta's 3-1 win Sunday.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Dodgers first. Joc Pederson pops out to shallow center field to Anthony Rendon. Max Muncy flies out to right field to Adam Eaton. Justin Turner homers to center field. Cody Bellinger flies out to center field to Michael A. Taylor.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Dodgers 1, Nationals 0.Nationals third. Michael A. Taylor walks. Max Scherzer strikes out on a foul bunt. Trea Turner singles to right center field. Michael A. Taylor to third. Adam Eaton walks. Trea Turner to second. Anthony Rendon out on a sacrifice fly to deep left center field to Matt Beaty. Michael A. Taylor scores. Juan Soto walks. Adam Eaton to second. Trea Turner to third. Howie Kendrick grounds out to third base, Justin Turner to Max Muncy.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 3 left on. Dodgers 1, Nationals 1.Nationals fifth. Trea Turner singles to left field. Adam Eaton out on a sacrifice bunt to shallow infield, Justin Turner to Max Muncy. Trea Turner to second. Anthony Rendon singles to left center field. Trea Turner scores. Juan... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Dave Roberts took the ball out of Rich Hill's hands, he turned it over to a bullpen full of question marks.The Los Angeles manager turned to starter Kenta Maeda for a successful inning-plus of relief. Then Dodgers came apart.Hill couldn't make it out of the third inning, and a revolving assortment of relievers allowed five runs in a 6-1 loss to the Washington Nationals in Game 4 Monday that tied the NL Division Series at 2.Pedro Báez gave up a three-run home run to Ryan Zimmerman in the fifth that busted open the game, and his teammates couldn't crack Nationals ace Max Scherzer to close out the series.Instead, the Dodgers will turn to Walker Buehler in a winner-take-all Game 5 on Wednesday back in Los Angeles and hope the young right-hander can continue his yearlong success in the biggest of pressure situations thus far. Buehler tossed six scoreless innings to beat the Nationals in Game 1.With Los Angeles up 2-1 in the series, all options potentially were available... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Tuesday:RESTED ENOUGHJustin Verlander will start on three days of rest as the Astros try to put away the Rays in Game 4 of their AL Division Series at Tampa Bay. It will be Verlander's second career start on short rest — the other came after a one-inning, rain-shortened appearance in the 2011 ALDS. Houston won the first two games of the series with a pair of dominant pitching performances from Verlander and Gerrit Cole, who combined to limit the Rays to one unearned run and five hits over 14 2/3 innings. Houston's other pitchers have allowed 12 earned runs in 11 1/3 innings, an ERA of 9.53."The thought process is five-game series are pretty crazy and we've got to win. Never know what can happen," Verlander said after the Astros' 10-3 loss in Game 3 on Monday. "You can't put all your eggs in one basket and say if we lose tomorrow, we've got Justin and Gerrit (Cole) for Game 5. It's a crazy game."Tampa Bay will use Diego Castillo as an opener,... [More]