Go to Source Author: AP News The Toronto Blue Jays have hit the ball well at times this season, especially in the first two games of a three-game set against the host Baltimore Orioles.Toronto has scored 15 runs en route to two wins and will try for a series sweep Wednesday afternoon. The Blue Jays are coming off an 8-7 victory in 10 innings over the slumping Orioles. Baltimore has dropped three in a row and four of five.With Bo Bichette (knee) on the 10-day injured list, the Blue Jays know that they have to simply hit to be competitive."We've just got to get the ball in play," Randal Grichuk told The Toronto Sun a few days ago. If we can continue

Go to Source Author: AP News EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) Facing an early deficit, the Vegas Golden Knights were sparked by its stars, setting the stage for Alex Tuch to send top-seed in the Western Conference into the next round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.Tuch scored the tiebreaking goal 1:34 into the third period, and the Vegas Golden Knights rallied from an early two-goal deficit to eliminate the Chicago Blackhawks with a 4-3 win in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night.Vegas became the first team in the playoffs to advance to the conference semifinals. The Golden Knights will face the lowest remaining seed in the next round.''We were glad to get it over with tonight because they weren't

Go to Source Author: AP News A grueling schedule will continue for the St. Louis Cardinals as they play their third doubleheader in five days when they take on the Chicago Cubs for a pair of games Wednesday.The Cardinals are scrambling to make up games after a COVID-19 outbreak forced the team to sit idle for more than two weeks. St. Louis is 3-3 since returning to play, but the barrage of games has taken a toll on the pitching staff.Cardinals veteran infielder Matt Carpenter said he and his teammates have embraced the challenge of the schedule."If we do make the playoffs, I think it would be an amazing story of perseverance, grit and nothing short of a miracle, to be honest,"

Go to Source Author: AP News A grueling schedule will continue for the St. Louis Cardinals as they play their third doubleheader in five days when they take on the Chicago Cubs for a pair of games Wednesday.The Cardinals are scrambling to make up games after a COVID-19 outbreak forced the team to sit idle for more than two weeks. St. Louis is 3-3 since returning to play, but the barrage of games has taken a toll on the pitching staff.Cardinals veteran infielder Matt Carpenter said he and his teammates have embraced the challenge of the schedule."If we do make the playoffs, I think it would be an amazing story of perseverance, grit and nothing short of a miracle, to be honest,"

Go to Source Author: AP News MINNEAPOLIS (AP) With his move to Minnesota, Kenta Maeda welcomed the opportunity to be a full-time starter and finally be done dabbling in the bullpen.His capability and durability was on full display Tuesday night.Maeda lost a no-hitter in the ninth inning for the Twins, who blew a three-run lead but came back to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 in 12 innings.''He was in total control. He's showing us all of the different dimensions to what he can do out on the mound,'' Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. ''Even for people who are in baseball, to watch a performance like that does put you a little bit in awe.''Maeda's no-hit bid ended on Eric Sogard's soft

Go to Source Author: AP News CHICAGO (AP) Yu Darvish is taking his time again.Slow and deliberate works just fine for him.Darvish pitched six effective innings in his fourth straight win, and the banged-up Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-3 on Tuesday night.''His stuff is electric,'' Cubs manager David Ross said. ''You've got to respect so many different pitches, and he can throw them to both sides of the plate. I mean this guy is a premier pitcher in my mind.''Darvish allowed one run and eight hits while improving to 4-0 with a 1.04 ERA since he struggled in his first start of the season July 25 against Milwaukee - matching his career-best win streak. The right-hander struck out

Go to Source Author: Nick Selbe In episode two of 'Hard Knocks,' the Chargers' rookie quarterback adapts to life in the NFL as both teams strap up their helmets for the first time.It was relatively brief, so much so that you might have missed it while scrolling through your phone or preparing dinner. But for a fleeting minute at the end of episode two of Hard Knocks, we finally saw it: real, actual, full(ish) speed football.Alright, we're using terms like "real" and "actual" pretty liberally here. What we saw on Tuesday night was merely players in helmets and shorts with no shoulder pads. Still, in these strange times, watching NFL players engaging in some semblance of football was a wonderful sight to

Go to Source Author: AP News EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) Ryan O'Reilly had two goals and an assist as the St. Louis Blues beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 in Game 4 on Monday night to even in their first-round playoff series.Alex Pietrangelo also scored and had an assist and David Perron had two assists for the defending Stanley Cup champion Blues. Jake Allen made 22 saves.''It was nice to get on the board tonight,'' O'Reilly said.''I haven't been creating much offensively, so it was nice to put the puck in the back of the net, but it's just one game. I've got to be consistent with it.''J.T. Miller scored for the Canucks, and Jacob Markstrom stopped 34 shots.Game 5 is Wednesday.The teams

Go to Source Author: AP News LOS ANGELES (AP) Corey and Kyle Seager's parents were unable to be at Dodger Stadium for their first major league matchup against each other. But the brothers gave the entire family something special to remember Monday night.The Seagers became the first siblings in 19 years to homer as opponents in the same game, and Corey's Los Angeles Dodgers rallied for an 11-9 victory over older brother Kyle and the skidding Seattle Mariners.''Corey matching his brother blow for blow and seeing the game within the game was fun,'' Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.It was the 10th time in major league history that opposing brothers both went deep in a game. The last time was June 7,

Go to Source Author: Emma Baccellieri The average length of a start has been dropping steadily for about a century. So far in 2020, the average start lasts just 4.7 innings.COVID-19 has accelerated pre-existing tendencies more so than it has established new ones. Which you probably know, because you’ve read something in the last few months about retail, or work culture, or housing insecurity, or any of the myriad other sectors of which this is true. And it fits for baseball, too—in several areas, but perhaps none so much so as starting pitching.The average length of a start has been dropping steadily for about a century. (After a brief period of stability that lasted from the start of the modern era in