News Category: Baseball

Spencer Torkelson’s bat coming to life as Tigers, Marlins collide

Spencer Torkelson is finally hitting home runs again, a welcome sight for the Detroit Tigers. Torkelson, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft, blasted 31 homers last year, his second season in the majors. He hadn’t gone deep this season until he smacked a ninth-inning, two-run shot in a lopsided loss to the Houston Astros on Sunday. His second homer of the year, a majestic, 446-foot blast, was more meaningful: a go-ahead, two-run

O’s look to get bats going, avoid third straight loss

The Baltimore Orioles can usually count on offense. In fact, when the runs aren’t coming it seems almost alarming for the Orioles. They’ll try to quiet the alarm bells after a couple of sluggish days for their bats when they take on the visiting Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night. The Orioles have lost two in a row following Monday night’s 3-2, 10-inning setback to Toronto when they managed only three hits. Two of those

New-look Storm open season vs. Lynx

A pair of teams intent on returning to their recent glory days will meet in a WNBA season opener on Tuesday when the Seattle Storm play host to the Minnesota Lynx. The Lynx returned to the playoffs last season after their 11-year postseason run ended in 2022. Included in that 11-season stretch was four WNBA titles, with Minnesota last winning a championship in 2017. Napheesa Collier led the way for the Lynx in 2023, averaging

Red-hot Chris Paddack guides Twins against Yankees

Chris Paddack is feeling healthy, and the Minnesota Twins are feeling happy. On Tuesday night, Paddack will go for his fifth victory in a row when he and the Twins open a three-game series against the New York Yankees in Minneapolis. Paddack (4-1, 4.34 ERA), who played in just seven games over the 2022 and 2023 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, is coming off a win against the Seattle Mariners in his most recent

Revived Nuggets to host Wolves after series about-face

A week ago, it appeared the next time the Denver Nuggets returned home, their stay might include packing for the summer. Instead, the Nuggets went on the road where they revived their championship level of play. After losing the first two games at home to fall behind 2-0 in the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Nuggets went to the Midwest, where they won Games 3 and 4 to even the series 2-2.

Liberty take continuity into season opener at new-look Mystics

The 2024 WNBA season will begin in Washington on Tuesday night when the rebuilding Mystics host a New York Liberty team that aims to contend for the league championship again. After finishing 19-21 last season, the Mystics look different this year. Gone are longtime leaders Natasha Cloud and Elena Delle Donne, who spent a combined 15 seasons with the franchise and helped Washington win the WNBA title in 2019. Cloud signed with the Phoenix Mercury

Short-handed Knicks hope to shift series flow vs. Pacers

The last time the New York Knicks played at home, Jalen Brunson conjured up memories of the franchise’s first NBA title by playing through an injury and lifting the Knicks to a memorable victory. But the Knicks’ next championship may seem even further away by the end of Tuesday night. The undermanned Knicks will try to stop an ill-timed skid and the Pacers will aim to take the series lead Tuesday night, when New York

Panthers host Bruins in Game 5 on brink of advancing

The Boston Bruins face tall odds in their effort to keep their Eastern Conference semifinal series alive when they face the Florida Panthers in Game 5 on Tuesday night in Sunrise, Fla. The Bruins trail the best-of-seven series 3-1 after losing the past three games, including Games 3 and 4 in Boston. The Bruins are 0-25 all-time when facing a 3-1 deficit in seven-game series. “We have to get better. I have to give the

Ascending Diamondbacks ready for rematch vs. reeling Reds

The Arizona Diamondbacks swept three games from the Cincinnati Reds last week. The Diamondbacks will attempt to do it again this week, beginning with Monday night’s series opener between the teams in Phoenix. Arizona outscored the Reds 15-9 in sweeping a road set last Tuesday through Thursday. That sweep is a big part of why the Diamondbacks have won five of their past seven games to follow a stretch in which they dropped 11 of

Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto makes first appearance vs. Giants

The banged-up San Francisco Giants will get their first look at one of their primary offseason targets, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, when they open a three-game home series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night. Neither Yamamoto (4-1, 2.79 ERA) nor the Giants’ scheduled starter Monday, Jordan Hicks (3-1, 2.30), pitched when the rivals met in Los Angeles in the first week of the season. The Dodgers swept that three-game set, taking the last two games