Major League Baseball News and Rumors
Arroyo makes first playoff win a masterpieceCorey Brock, MLB.com On Sunday night, Reds catcher Ryan Hanigan was on the receiving end of all 91 pitches of Bronson Arroyo's finest October outing among a dozen he has pitched, this one a dominating seven-inning start that put the Reds on the road to a commanding 2-0 lead… |
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Lincecum in 'pen, Vogelsong to start Game 3Oct 7, 2012
Associated Press, ESPN.com Tim Lincecum is a reliever for the time being, two years after he pitched the Giants' Game 5 World Series clincher at Texas. |
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John Branch, nytimes.com Ryan Vogelsong, who at 35 had the best season of his career, will most likely start when the series shifts to Cincinnati on Tuesday. |
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Yankees, Orioles battle in Game 1 of ALDSOct 7, 2012
Russell Martin belted a solo homer in the ninth inning to put the Yankees ahead. New York added four more runs to break things open and take Game 1 of the ALDS from the Orioles 7-2. |
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Cain could be Giants' Game 4 starterOct 7, 2012
Manager Bruce Bochy said he wanted to keep his options open about selecting a starting pitcher for Wednesday's Game 4 of the Division Series, if the Giants survive that far. Common sense dictates that Game 1 starter Matt Cain just might return on three … |
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Reliable rookies made postseason historyOct 7, 2012
Steven Miller, MLB.com No team relied on a rookie rotation more this season than the A's, and no team in baseball history had ever sent a pair of rookies to the mound to start Games 1 and 2 of a playoff series, like Oakland did this weekend. |
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David Brown, yahoo.com A half-inning before, Jayson Werth lost a Battle of the Megabeards, striking out with the bases loaded against Lance Lynn, a fellow fur face. But he would get a chance to redeem himself in Game 1 of the NLDS. With the Washington Nationals trailing the S… |
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Baker has high praise for dependable LeCureOct 7, 2012
Before Mat Latos came up big in emergency relief for the Reds in their 5-2 Game 1 win in the National League Division Series on Saturday night, reliever Sam LeCure also delivered in a time of crisis. |
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Jim Tracy steps down as Colorado Rockies managerOct 7, 2012
Mark Townsend, yahoo.com After giving his future as manager of the Colorado Rockies some thought over the past 48 hours, Jim Tracy decided to resign from his post, the team announced on Sunday. On Friday, Tracy had met with the team's new director of major league operations, Bi… |
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Facing Chapman was 'fun' for PandaOct 7, 2012
Pablo Sandoval offered a one-word answer Sunday when he was asked what it was like to face Reds closer Aroldis Chapman in the ninth inning of Game 1 of the National League Division Series. |
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Isaac Rauch, deadspin.com Look, a lot of sports are happening. MLB playoffs everywhere you look, NFL games up and down the line, college students still hungover from yesterday's football games—it's been a busy weekend. Bet you didn't even know that the first NBA games of the reg… |
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Mark Townsend, yahoo.com Score and situation: The Washington Nationals stole Game 1 from the defending World Champion St. Louis Cardinals with a dramatic 3-2 win at Busch Stadium. Leading lads: Pinch-hitter Tyler Moore came through with a two-run single off Marc Rzepczynski in … |
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Mark Sheldon, MLB.com Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto returned to Cincinnati on Sunday, one day after his start was cut short by back spasms eight pitches into facing the Giants during the opener of the National League Division Series. |
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David Waldstein, nytimes.com Derek Lowe, who has extensive postseason experience, allowed only two earned runs in his final 14 1/3 innings of the regular season to make the Yankees' A.L.D.S. roster. |
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David Brown, yahoo.com Hey, there's no kissing the baseball! Not while it's in play, anyway. Needless to say, Oakland's ballplayers were a tad unhappy with the amorous interlude that Detroit Tigers reliever Al Alburquerque had with a baseball just before recording a key out o… |
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Isaac Rauch, deadspin.com SI's Jay Jaffe had it pretty much pegged in August: the MLB's Division Series format this year makes just about no sense, and as a result, we're seeing teams with superior records (and more exciting stories, like the upstart A's) wading into unfriendly … |
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Victorino joins TBS postseason studio crewOct 7, 2012
Mark Newman, MLB.com Shane Victorino, a postseason fixture the last five years with the Phillies, will join TBS as a studio analyst Monday through Wednesday as part of the network's ongoing Division Series coverage. |
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Moore comes through in pinch, Nats take Game 1Oct 7, 2012
Adam Berry, MLB.com So much went wrong for the Nationals in their first postseason game, it was hard to believe they still had a chance when rookie Tyler Moore strode to the plate with two outs in the eighth inning. |
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Kevin Kaduk, yahoo.com The Oakland Athletics were lifted into the ALDS thanks, in part, to a big two-run error that Josh Hamilton made in center field on the last day of the regular season. Now they're facing an exit from that same ALDS thanks to a similar misplay from Coco C… |
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This was the way it had to be, after these two teams were practically joined at the hip for the month of September. Anything less than a postseason duel to the death would have been entirely unsatisfying. |
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Mark Townsend, yahoo.com Keeping focused and staying motivated for 162 games can be a very challenging task for even the best of major league teams. That wasn't a problem for the Cincinnati Reds during their division championship season in 2012, however, or at least it wasn't a… |
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Miscues have A's down 2-0 to TigersOct 7, 2012
Thanks, Don Kelly. After scoring the tying run in the eighth, Kelly hit a walk-off sac fly in the ninth to lead the Tigers past the A's 5-4 for a commanding 2-0 lead in their AL playoff series. |
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Postseason TV viewership off to strong startOct 7, 2012
Evan Drellich, MLB.com A dramatic end to the regular season and the first Wild Card round had more folks tuned into the start of the playoffs than a year ago. |
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Kevin Kaduk, yahoo.com Score and situation: The Detroit Tigers took a commanding 2-0 ALDS lead with a dramatic 5-4 win over the Oakland A's at Comerica Park on Sunday. The Detroit victory puts Oakland's Cinderella squad on the brink of elimination as the series shifts back t… |
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Orioles announce roster for series against YanksOct 7, 2012
Matthew Leach, MLB.com The Orioles made four changes to their 25-man roster for the American League Division Series, the club announced prior to Sunday's Game 1 against the Yankees. |
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Live Soon: Orioles-Yankees Game 1Oct 7, 2012
The New York Times, nytimes.com Zach Schonbrun, with help from other Times reporters and editors, will bring you live analysis from Camden Yards throughout the opener of the A.L. Division Series. |
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O's well armed (12 pitchers) in ALDS vs. YanksOct 7, 2012
Associated Press, ESPN.com The Baltimore Orioles will bring 12 pitchers into their AL Division Series against the New York Yankees. |
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Nats, Cards square off in Game 1 of NLDSOct 7, 2012
The Cardinals led for most of the game before Tyler Moore's two-run, pinch-hit single in the eighth inning gave the Nationals a lead they would not relinquish in winning 3-2 in Game 1. |
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Nats minus Strasburg; 1 lefty in Cards' bullpenOct 7, 2012
Associated Press, ESPN.com The Washington Nationals do not have pitcher Stephen Strasburg on the roster as expected for the NL Division Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. |
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Kevin Kaduk, yahoo.com With the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles scheduled for face off in the postseason for the first time since the 1996 ALCS, a lot of people have been wondering where Jeffrey Maier will be watching this week's ALDS between the two teams. Maier, of c… |
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Nats make their roster official for NLDSOct 7, 2012
The Nationals' Division Series roster became official on Sunday morning, a few hours before Washington's scheduled 3 p.m. ET start time for Game 1 in St. Louis. |
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Isaac Rauch, deadspin.com All day October baseball! At 12:07, the A's—who took a punch from the Tigers in chilly Detroit last night—have a chance to even the series. At 3:07, the Nationals get their first look at the postseason since the franchise was—holy shit, since 1981? … |
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10 numbers for the ALDS: Yankees vs. OriolesOct 7, 2012
Alex Remington, yahoo.com With the 2012 postseason underway, Alex Remington takes a look at the statistics that might make a difference in each of the four first-round series. Last up is the ALDS featuring the AL East champion New York Yankees and the AL wild card champion Bal… |
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Anderson declares himself OK to start Game 3Oct 7, 2012
A's lefty Brett Anderson doesn't need an official announcement to declare his status for Game 3 of the American League Division Series on Tuesday. |
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The Oakland Athletics Love Affair With Late 80's And Early 90's Screwball Comedies: Part 2Oct 7, 2012
Sean Newell, deadspin.com By now, we are all familiar with the Athletics' necrophilia. It's been a fun few months for the team and the city, despite dropping the opening game of the series to Detroit last night. In many ways they embody the spirit of Bernie. No one expects much … |
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Milone, A's look to get even in Game 2Oct 7, 2012
Shut down by Justin Verlander in the ALDS opener, the A's hope to bounce back behind left-hander Tommy Milone (13-10) in Game 2 in Detroit. The Tigers turn to Doug Fister (10-10). |
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David Brown, yahoo.com It might not have been a textbook performance (particularly his twirling second catch), but outfielder Ryan Ludwick of the Cincinnati Reds put on an entertaining show in the sixth and seventh innings Saturday night. Ludwick, whose offensive revival this… |
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MLB Notebook: Phillips leads Reds in Game 1Oct 7, 2012
Roger Schlueter, MLB.com In the Reds' 5-2 win over the Giants on Saturday, Cincinnati second baseman Brandon Phillips became the first leadoff hitter with three hits and three RBIs in a postseason Game 1. |
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Sean Newell, deadspin.com To my mind, the most important part of a love song is a memorable first line. It's also the hardest part. So it was with great admiration and not just a little jealousy that we viewed Royals pre and post-game man Joel Goldberg's sneak peek into the writ… |
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Johnny Cueto's night ended quickly, but the Reds adjusted on the fly and stole a 5-2 win over the Giants. It wasn't the plan, but it gives Cincinnati an advantage, says George Dohrmann. |
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This will no doubt be a long winter of moaning in Tomahawk Nation over the events of wild card Friday that so rudely ended the Atlanta Braves’ season and deprived Chipper Jones of redeeming himself with at least another game — just as the folks in Tex… |
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It is the Yankees and the Orioles now in the first round of the playoffs, and so the American League East season did not end on Wednesday night, it goes extra innings, the way it used to with the Red Sox back in 2003 and 2004, when the Yankees and Red S… |
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Mark Townsend, yahoo.com Score and situation: The Cincinnati Reds jumped out to a 1-0 series lead with a resilient 5-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Leading lads: With Johnny Cueto lost early to back spasms, scheduled Game 3 starter Mat Latos volunteer… |
