Kimbrel was awful against the Reds on Monday, unable to find the strike zone in a worrisome outing.
Dan Bernstein
There are 26 MLB teams starting their quest for a World Series appearance today. Sporting News will be tracking highlights, scores, updates and more.
Joe Rivera
Here's what you need to know to watch opening weekend of the 2020 MLB season, including a full TV schedule with start times and TV channels.
Are MLB players safe from the coronavirus at training camp? Kris Bryant doesn't think so.
SJ Lynn
The Kiwoom Heroes reportedly signed Russell on Friday.
The Cubs president has a surprisingly strong leg.
Baseball can at least use a nixed year as an opportunity fix its woefully short supply of competition.
Mike DeCourcy
Sosa spent his best MLB years in Chicago, but he hasn't been welcomed back since his retirement.
"Long Gone Summer" will take fans on trip back to the steroid era, which was a whole lot of fun before it came crashing down. Here's everything to know about ESPN's "30 for 30" documentary on Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire.
Here's why McGwire vs. Sosa was so important to baseball in 1998 and the lessons the game could still learn from it.
Vinnie Iyer
Sosa was one of the most exciting hitters Cubs fans have seen in their lifetimes. They want him back at Wrigley Field.
Looking back at the memorable home runs that shaped Mark McGwire's 70-homer season in 1998.
Bill Bender
Bob Nightengale of USA Today is getting pummeled for his remark about 2020 MLB Draft selection Ed Howard.
Teams have a lot to unpack. MLB is trying to cover every potential coronavirus hazard.
Tom Gatto
Big-market teams are spending the most, but the league overall has been careful to keep a lid on expenses.
Pittsburgh actually had two big comebacks that day against the Cubs.
Jason Foster
The homers keyed a major comeback for the Phillies.
When is Opening Day? Your guess is as good as ours.
July opening? November ending? That's the latest speculation. Some thoughts on those rumors.
You cannot tell the story of baseball without Sammy Sosa, which leaves his legacy something of a question mark.
It's already like that in the baseball world. Hey, games are games and stats are stats.
The Astros are obviously the biggest storyline of spring action, but all teams carry compelling narratives worth fan attention.
The star third basemen will hit the free-agent market after 2021, not 2020 as he'd hoped. Here's what you need to know.
The star third baseman is coming off a very good year, but the Cubs, somehow, still want to trade him. Well, here are five spots where he could play in 2020.
Russell served a 40-game suspension under the MLB domestic violence policy.
J Crabtree-Hannigan
The Cubs pitcher says he likes to think that sign-stealing wasn't a factor in his World Series Game 7 outing, that he was just bad that night.
The Cubs' backstop could be on the trading block.
The Rockies third baseman notched his seventh career Gold Glove while the Red Sox right fielder won his fourth.
Drew Nantais
Girardi refused to say whether he has an interview scheduled with the Cubs for their managerial opening.
Arthur Weinstein
Joe Maddon will have his choice of managerial openings this offseason.
Ryan Fagan
Ross was the Cubs' catcher in his final two seasons in the league, which included winning a World Series title in 2016.
Gabrielle McMillen
Chicago's recruitment list could feature a mix of experienced managers and fresh faces.
"Grandpa Rossy" is seen by some of his former teammates as manager material.
Find everything you need for the baseball postseason in this comprehensive guide to October.
St. Louis and Milwaukee will try to decide the NL Central race and the second NL wild-card spot in their respective Game 162s. They may need a Game 163 against each other.
Gerardo Parra hit a grand slam in a whopping nine-run second inning to highlight the victory, which is Washington's seventh consecutive win.
Alexis Mansanarez
The Cubs president refuted a report that "amid the Red Sox speculation is an intriguing name: Theo Epstein."
Bob Hille
Maddon was asked about his uncertain future with the Cubs, among other things, during an interview on a Chicago radio station on Wednesday.
The Nationals topped the Phillies 4-1 before beating them 6-5 later on in the day.
Ameer Tyree
Congrats, Cubs fans calling for Maddon to leave. You’ve earned one clown token redeemable at the circus.
Bryant was attempting to beat out a double play when he slipped on a wet first-base bag and rolled his ankle.
Chelsea Howard
Building the winner was easy. Sustaining it has proven to be the real challenge in Chicago.
Jared Wyllys
The Rays sit in the second spot in the wild-card race, with a one-game lead over the Indians, after a 5-4 win over the Red Sox.
The Chicago closer's rough season reached another low point.
Wong has had an incredible second half with a .342/.409/.487 slash line since the All-Star break.
Travis Durkee
The Indians are tied once again with the Rays for the second wild-card spot in the AL while the Brewers are now one game up on the Cubs.
Thomas Lott
Schwarber did not like the pitcher's reaction.
The Cubs lost to the Reds and remain locked up with the Brewers in the National League wild-card race.
The Brewers and Cubs both have 82-69 records and are now tied for the second National League wild-card spot.
"It feels really wonderful," Yogi said in a TV interview afterward. "I feel so famous already. Ooh-wee."
Chicago's Kyle Schwarber only went 1 for 4, but hit a home run and tallied three RBIs on the night.
The Cubs first baseman was attempting to field a bunt Sunday when he slipped and twisted his ankle.
Rajai Davis hit a three-run double in the eighth inning to give his team the lead, helping keep the Mets' postseason hopes alive.
The Cubs, Brewers, Mets and Phillies all won Thursday and they are separated by just two games in the standings.
There are currently four teams within 2 1/2 games of the second wild card spot in the National League, and all of them are playing more than just their opponents on the field.
Chicago is slipping with just a few more weeks left in the season, and this error by pitcher Brad Wieck didn't help matters.
Los Angeles' offense was powered by Corey Seager, who hit two home runs and tallied five RBIs in the contest.
The manager's track record is exemplary, by any measure. And yet, as the Cubs roll toward the end of the 2019 season, his future is very much in doubt.
New York also got a strong showing from Jacob deGrom, who tallied 11 strikeouts in seven innings of work while only giving up three hits.
The Cubs shortstop was hit by a pitch in the head in the third inning.
Arizona has gone 11-1 in its last 12 games with its most recent win Saturday over Cincinnati.
Baez, 26, has been a major impact player for Chicago this season, as he leads the team in hits notching 149 in 133 games.
Kimbrel will make his second trip to the injured list since signing with the Cubs.
Lorenzen did it all in a win over Philadelphia on Wednesday.
The Rangers' pitching staff handed New York its first shut out in 220 games to break the second-longest streak in MLB history.
"I’m here now because my heart feels like while I’m here at the field I can put 100% into it," he said of stepping away for family matters.
Verlander struck out 14 and walked only one in the Astros' 2-0 win over the Blue Jays and is now 17-5 this season.
While LeMahieu went 1 for 5 on the day, he came up big when his team needed him most.
Hamels will replace right-hander James Norwood on Chicago's roster and is slotted to start against Milwaukee Saturday.
The Cubs have struggled mightily on the road throughout the season and are looking for answers as they continue their postseason hunt. History shows Chicago might be fine.
Eli Boettger
"It doesn't matter what you did the day before," Turner told reporters after the game. "You gotta show up the next day at 0-0. "
The Mets had an impressive pitching performance against the Braves on Friday, but fell short 2-1 in the end.
Brandon Morrow's lost season is official as Theo Epstein told reporters Wednesday the team's closer has been shut down for the year.
The feat came exactly one year and one day after Justin Verlander joined the 200 club.
Harper provided one of the coolest moments of the season with a walk-off grand slam to lift the Phillies to a 7-5 win against the Cubs.
Bryce Harper says his game-winning drive against the Cubs is "one of the coolest moments I've ever had in my life."
The Indians made a statement in New York, while the crack of Bryce Harper's bat reverberated across the entire National League.
The Cubs fell to the Phillies 11-1 on Wednesday making them 0-10-2 in their last 12 road series.
Tony Kemp is 5-foot-6. This pitch would barely have been a strike to a man standing 6-foot-4.
Seager became the 11th Mariner in team history with three home runs in a single game.
"I'm operating in that I believe we'll be together for a couple more years at least," Maddon told reporters
E.Jay Zarett
Totally bypassing spring training has worked out almost exactly how everyone thought it would: injuries, ineffectiveness, question marks and more.
The shortstop got a kick out of a late-inning at-bat against the Reds on Thursday,
“If you just put everything in a box and talk about them all, it's pretty fortunate," Maddon told reporters.
The ace pitched six innings, allowing five runs off seven hits while striking out two and walking two in his debut.
The reliever reported feeling discomfort after pitching Saturday and an MRI revealed inflammation.
Marc Lancaster
Contreras took several steps up the first-base line Saturday before grabbing the back of his right leg in the vicinity of his hamstring.
Right-hander hasn't pitched since last year when he had 22 saves; now he thinks he's "not more than a month away from being back."
"I just asked (manager) Joe (Maddon) to be patient with me. Just give me a shot and here we go," Heyward said.
"It's mixed feelings," he said. "But the competitor in me is very happy to be wearing a Cub hat right now."
Chicago added a power bat at the deadline, giving up a pair of pitching prospects to Detroit.
The 11-8 Atlanta victory came a day after Washington won with a similar margin of victory, 6-3, and was led by the efforts of Adam Duvall.
"All our goals are still here," J.T. Realmuto said after the game. "We feel like we have a team here to do something special."
Two losses after blown leads have the Cubs looking harder for answers in the back end of their bullpen during a pivotal stretch.
Jacob Janower
The Blue Jays trailed the Rays by four runs entering the ninth inning, but rallied to tie it up and win it in extra innings.
The Cubs, Red Sox and Yankees have all already made trades this season, but what will be the second move each team makes? If any?
The Royals would have to be "blown away" by an offer for Merrifield, but the Cubs clearly aren't giving up on pursuing the All-Star.
Once sure-fire trade deadline sellers, San Francisco is the hottest team in baseball. There are reasons for that.
The 25-year-old infielder had run afoul of manager Joe Maddon in recent days for base-running blunders and missing signs.
"The difference is the body of work," Chicago's manager said. "Don’t underestimate the body of work and the presence and everything else."
Cano went 4 for 4 with three home runs and drove in all five of his team's runs.
Nicholas Castellanos was not complimentary of Comerica Park after a walkoff home run over the weekend.
Minnesota turned a 5-4-3 triple play in the first inning against New York.
The Mets lost to the Giants in dramatic fashion on Friday but came back to claim a huge win on Saturday at Oracle Park.
Nicholas Castellanos will be a free agent this offseason, but several teams might want to add him at the deadline.
The Cardinals topped the Reds 12-11 at Great American Ball Park, despite trailing 7-0 entering the sixth inning.
Adrian Morejon was ranked only behind Luis Robert and Kevin Maitan in the 2016 international signing class.
All we seem to be hearing about at this trade deadline is teams are wanting to add pitching, but hitters will inevitably be moved.
"I think we have multiple priorities this year," Epstein told The Athletic. "We want to win now, but we also want to rebuild the system."
Chicago's National League club bid farewell to one of its longest-tenured supporters.
Montgomery had been with Chicago since 2016.
Bellinger managed to steal the show after he hit two home runs to now lead the major league with 33 on the season.
Tampa Bay was close to pitching the first combined perfect game in MLB history.
Cancer survivor and Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo took to Twitter after three young men he met lost their battles to cancer in the same week.
Blair Berry
The Dodgers beat the reigning MLB champions handily on Saturday, and on Cody Bellinger's birthday no less.
David Peralta is batting .289 with nine home runs and 44 RBIs this season.
The Chicago standouts head to the Midsummer Classic as two of the more dynamic players in the league.
Maddon tried (and failed) to charge Clint Hurdle.
The Tennessee Smokies had a tough night.
Mike Trout is having a truly special season and that should not be ignored.
It was the 20th three-homer game in franchise history, according to MLB.com, and the first ever by a switch-hitter.
Didi Gregorius added an insurance run in the eighth and extended the team's home run streak to 31 consecutive games.
The benches cleared in the Cubs' 6-0 win over the Reds when Puig had a strong reaction to a hit by pitch.
"It was fun to watch,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "Just the way he carried himself, it was kind of unflappable.''
Yasiel Puig has been no stranger to controversy during his short time with the Reds.
The Cubs' best pitcher strained his left oblique in Friday's start against the Reds and was placed on the 10-day injury list Saturday.
Baltimore was exceptional at the plate and racked up 16 hits to Cleveland's six on the night.
Cookie Monster was the celebrity singer Thursday for the Cubs' traditional "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch.
The Twins and Rays were tied 2-2 after the top of the second, but followed with 31 consecutive scoreless half innings.
Chicago has struggled recently with a 14-19 record over the last five weeks and hold a slim 1-game lead over the Brewers in the NL Central.
The child, 2, was struck by a foul ball off the bat of Cubs outfielder Albert Almora on May 29 at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
Although the Marlins are last in the NL East standings, they beat the second-place Phillies three times in a row this weekend.
Gio Urshela's home run kept the historic streak going against the Astros as the Yankees went on to win 7-5.
Keuchel pitched in an MLB game for the first time since last year’s American League Championship series.
The Cubs' 7-3 win over the White Sox on Wednesday included five home runs in the first four innings.
The rookie has saved his biggest home runs for big-time opponents and teams with whom the White Sox don't get along.
MLB currently prohibits sportsbooks in stadiums, but a new Illinois gambling law reportedly has the Cubs studying the possibility.
The veteran reliever is reportedly set to join Triple-A Iowa and make his debut Tuesday in Sacramento.
Kirstie Chiappelli
Two home runs came from outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, raising his 2019 total to six.
Yordan Alvarez because just the fourth player ever to hit at least four home runs in his first five career games.
Zobrist has been on the restricted list since May 7. He and his wife, Julianna, filed for divorce the following week.
Plesac appeared on DAZN's "ChangeUp" to discuss the four plunkings between teams on Wednesday.
Nolan Arenado left Wednesday's game after being hit by a pitch from Cole Hamels.
The Astros have played 25 innings in the last two days, but they were once again able to come away with a win.
Manager Joe Maddon said signing the All-Star closer "really matters a lot" to the rest of the players in the clubhouse.
Peter Lambert allowed just four hits and one run over seven innings to lead the Rockies to a 3-1 win over the Cubs.
The right-hander's track record speaks for itself.
Other teams rumored to have had interest in the free agent include the Twins, Braves, Brewers, Phillies, Rays and Red Sox.
The Rockies topped the Blue Jays, 5-1, with the help of David Dahl and Nolan Arenado, who both finished 2 for 4 at the plate.
Hiura hit the game-tying two-run home run in the ninth to force extra innings against the Pirates on Saturday.
Line drive off the bat of the Cubs outfielder struck a 4-year-old girl Thursday in at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
Bill Marx
The Chicago manager says the longtime arbiter "cannot miss" a pitch that appeared to be clearly in the strike zone.
The news comes ahead of MLB's first games in Europe next month, which will feature the Yankees and Red Sox at London’s Olympic Stadium.
Albert Almora Jr.'s line drive foul ball struck a child in the stands at Minute Maid Park on Wednesday.
Oakland won its 10th consecutive game after topping Los Angeles, 8-5.
Bill Buckner played in 22 MLB seasons with the Dodgers, Cubs, Red Sox, Angels and Royals. He died Monday following his battle with Lewy Body Dementia.
It is the first time the Twins (36-16) are 20 games over .500 since the end of the 2010 season.
These Cubs pitchers still bring about strong emotions among the Chicago faithful — partially because they suffered similar frustrating fates.
Jorge Polanco trails only Mike Trout among American League position players in WAR.
Wacha gave up six earned runs in 4 2/3 innings in a loss to the Royals on Wednesday.
New York scored six runs in the first three innings and cruised to an easy 11-4 victory over the Orioles.
Maddon had formally protested Saturday's game, claiming Nationals closer Sean Doolittle used an illegal toe-tap delivery.
Maddon argued that Nationals closer Sean Doolittle's delivery includes a toe tap, a move that has been ruled illegal in the past.
The Nationals' closer powered through the Cubs manager's ingenious attempt to disrupt him.
Houston became just the third team in MLB history to have multiple 10-plus game winning streaks before June 1st.
The infielder is posting career bests in multiple categories.
George Springer hit a go-ahead two-run homer which would prove to be the difference in the Astros' win over the Red Sox.
The Rangers plated 16 runs in a win over the Royals and they didn't even score the most runs on the day.
Sports history is filled with instances of fan-vs.-player stupidity. One of the best (worst?) examples happened on this day in 2000 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
Zobrist's wife filed for divorce Monday, though Zobrist was placed on the restricted list by the Cubs last week.
Since falling to 11-17 on April 28, the Red Sox have won nine of 11 and are finally over the .500 mark.
Chicago has homered in 15 consecutive games, matching its best run since 2002.
Cubs broadcaster Len Kasper has been with the club since 2005, which means he’s been there for the World Series and the near-misses and the 95-plus loss seasons. In other words, he’s lived the Cubs experience.
The fan made the so-called "white power" gesture behind field analyst Doug Glanville's back during Tuesday's Cubs-Marlins telecast.
After serving a 40-game suspension amid abuse allegations from his ex-wife, Russell is set to rejoin the Cubs. How can MLB curb future incidents of domestic violence?
Chicago reportedly has recalled Addison Russell from the Iowa Cubs and he will report for Wednesday's game against Miami.
Bryant now has three long balls in his past three games.
"Those situations don't happen a lot, but there's something special about them," Marte said after the game.
Some major league pitchers will tell you the numbers don’t lie, pointing to the record 1,144 HRs hit in the first two months of the season.
Few in recent memory have pitched with the Cubs right-hander's efficiency.
Rhys Hoskins is doing something special right now for the Phillies.
The Mets started the year 9-4, but are 6-11 since.
Team president Theo Epstein says Russell, suspended under MLB's domestic violence policy, hasn't played enough to be ready for the majors.
The Nationals had not one, not two, but three players 21 or younger hit home runs against the Padres on Sunday.
At best, the Cubs' rotation could get them to a World Series. At worst, it could keep them floundering around .500 all season.
Russell will play seven games with Chicago's Triple-A Iowa affiliate, but Epstein indicated his stint in the minors could be longer.
Trevor Bauer was superb in the Indians' 2-1 win over the Astros on Thursday.
Lester will take the mound Thursday against the Dodgers after spending two weeks on the IL with a strained hamstring.
Strop, who was told his car was involved in a police chase Wednesday, had to leave authorities hanging to go and pitch for the Cubs.
Russell, 25, is serving a 40-game suspension for violating MLB's policy against domestic abuse and is eligible to be activated May 3.
Zambrano, a tempestuous presence on the Cubs staff a decade ago, on a comeback: ‘Why not? Bartolo [Colon] pitched until he was 45. I’m 37."
The 27-year-old star belted three homers and drove in seven runs in the Brewers’ 10-7 win over the Cardinals at Miller Park.
A makeup date has yet to be announced, but fans who retain their ticket will be able to see the game.
Arrieta, 33, gave up just one run in seven innings pitched. He has the 22nd most wins among active pitchers.
Even as criticism surrounding the team's poor start to the season continues to mount, the Cubs aren't hearing it as they continue to search for answers.
Though only 8-5 (3.14 ERA) in 1984, Sanderson was part of a Cubs team that won the NL East, ending a 38-year playoff drought.
The Athletics outfielder had his 17th multi-home run game since 2016 against the Orioles.
Baez literally threw his bat at a breaking ball that was way outside and in the dirt, yet somehow singled.
The Cubs' 2-7 start had people asking questions, but Chicago had plenty of answers Monday with a 10-0 win over the Pirates.
The Red Sox, Braves and Cubs are among the teams in need of bullpen help. Soon enough, a club will turn to Kimbrel.
