ROCCO BALDELLI

The Pirates head to Wrigley Field seeking a slightly more convincing victory a day after beating the Reds 1-0 despite having zero hits.

Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor has been added to the team’s COVID-19 injured list, marking the first player to be sidelined by the team’s recent outbreak.

Jorge Polanco delivered another key hit and the Minnesota bullpen combined for 6 2/3 innings of shutout work as the Twins beat the Oakland Athletics 4-3.

The Minnesota Twins have avoided a scare with star shortstop Carlos Correa.

Milwaukee’s Willy Adames is powering a Brewers surge with seven homers in his past 10 games, including two during a 10-5 trouncing of Cincinnati on Thursday.

Miami Marlins right-hander Pablo López will carry a majors-leading 0.52 ERA into his start at Washington.

Jorge Polanco and Kyle Garlick hit early two-run homers over the Green Monster to back Dylan Bundy, carrying the Minnesota Twins past the Red Sox 8-3 in Boston’s annual Patriots’ Day game.

Michael Wacha pitched five shutout innings in his Fenway Park debut with Boston and Trevor Story drove in his first two runs in his new home, leading the Red Sox to a 8-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

The Padres’ hopes of shaking off a disappointing 2021 aren’t off to a great start — San Diego has lost four of five heading into its series finale against the World Series champion Braves.

The Padres’ hopes of shaking off a disappointing 2021 aren’t off to a great start — San Diego has lost four of five heading into a series finale against the World Series champion Braves.

Twins star Byron Buxton left Minnesota’s 8-4 win over the Boston Red Sox with a right knee injury and will get an MRI.

Also, a backlash follows a local university's renaming plan.

Gary Sánchez hit a grand slam into the third deck and Carlos Correa launched his first homer for the Minnesota Twins in a 10-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

Carlos Correa has declared the postseason “his time,” and the Minnesota Twins hope all that October experience can turn around the fortunes of a snake-bitten franchise.

Baseball’s bitter 99-day lockout moved a little further back in the rearview mirror when spring training games began Thursday.

Bob Nightengale and Gabe Lacques look at what the Yankees need to do going forward if they actually want to compete for a World Series.

Andy Nesbitt, Bob Nightengale and Gabe Lacques examine if the main culprits in the Astros cheating scandal can redeem their legacy this postseason.

The Tampa Bay Rays have won more games than any other team in the American League over the past two seasons, going about their business with a quiet confidence that has the full attention of the Boston Red Sox.

Luis Rojas has been let go as manager of the New York Mets after two losing seasons.

Gary Sánchez lined a winning single in the 10th inning, and the New York Yankees overcame a five-run deficit to beat the Minnesota Twins 6-5.

MLB clubhouses and dugouts are no longer as crowded during the final weeks of the regular season.

Red Sox ace Chris Sale joined Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax as the only pitchers on record with three immaculate innings, Bobby Dalbec homered twice and Boston beat the Minnesota Twins 12-2.

Yordan Alvarez hit the 50th home run of his career, rookie Luis Garcia pitched six scoreless innings and three relievers completed the four-hitter to help the Houston Astros to a 4-0 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Mitch Garver homered early and Josh Donaldson’s RBI single in the 11th inning lifted the Minnesota Twins to a 5-4 win over the Houston Astros on Friday night.

Lucas Giolito lobbed an expletive-laced response in Josh Donaldson’s direction after the slugger appeared to yell “Not sticky anymore,” after a first-inning homer, overshadowing Gavin Sheets’ successful debut for the White Sox in a 7-6 victory over the Twins.

José Berríos completed seven commanding innings for Minnesota against the highest-scoring team in the majors as the Twins beat the Houston Astros 5-2.

Rob Refsnyder bounced back from a run-in with the center-field fence to score the go-ahead run in the 10th inning on a wild pitch and the Minnesota Twins handed the Baltimore Orioles their 14th straight loss, 3-2.

Rookie Trevor Larnach homered and Rob Refsnyder drove in two runs as the Minnesota Twins hung on to beat the Kansas City Royals 6-5.

Twins reliever Tyler Duffey has been suspended three games for his errant pitch to White Sox's Yermin Mercedes, who had previously homered in blowout.

Two-way star Shohei Ohtani makes his sixth pitching start of the season Wednesday when the Angels face Aaron Civale and the Indians.

White Sox manager Tony La Russa says Yermín Mercedes made a “big mistake” when he crushed a 3-0 pitch from infielder Willians Astudillo for a solo homer in the ninth inning of Monday night’s 16-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Jordan Luplow hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning off Alex Colomé, giving the Cleveland Indians a 5-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins in their series opener.

Minnesota left-hander J.

The Oakland Athletics extended their winning streak to 11, rallying from a two-run deficit to beat the Twins 13-12 when Luis Arraez threw away Ramón Laureano’s grounder for Minnesota’s second error of the 10th inning.

Matt Olson hit a grand slam, Mitch Moreland homered twice to back Sean Manaea’s shutout, then Jesús Luzardo followed with his own Game 2 gem as the Oakland Athletics swept a doubleheader against the depleted Minnesota Twins, 7-0 and 1-0 to run their winning streak to 10 games.

Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. is uncertain for the opener of a two-game series at Yankee Stadium after an MRI revealed a mild abdominal strain.

The game between Minnesota and the Oakland Athletics scheduled for Monday night at the Coliseum has been postponed because of the Twins’ continued COVID-19 problems.

The Twins are undergoing more testing this weekend in Anaheim, and they're uncertain when they'll be allowed to play again.

The Minnesota Twins will see when they can next play after their COVID-19 problems wiped the rest of a series in Anaheim against the Angels.

The Twins’ games against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday and Sunday have been postponed due to Minnesota’s COVID-19 problems.

Max Kepler’s RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning gave Minnesota a 4-3 victory over Boston, stopping a five-game losing streak for the Twins and breaking a nine-game winning string for the Red Sox.

A pair of three-time Cy Young Award winners square off when Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers face Max Scherzer and the Nationals in a marquee matchup between the past two World Series champions.

The Twins have lost three times this season -- all of them in 10th inning with the automatic runner on second base.

Mitch Haniger homered and hit the go-ahead sacrifice fly in the 10th inning to give the Seattle Mariners a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Both winless teams in the majors are defending division champions.

Now that Fernando Tatis Jr. has been placed on the injured list, the San Diego Padres hope their electrifying shortstop won’t be sidelined too long.

FILE - This is a 2020 file photo showing Mike Bell of the Minnesota Twins baseball team. Twins bench coach Mike Bell has taken an indefinite leave from the team because of kidney cancer. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)FORT MYERS, Fla. – Minnesota Twins bench coach Mike Bell, the younger brother of Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell, died Friday of kidney cancer. Mike Bell had surgery Jan. 28 to remove a growth that was discovered earlier that month. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said at the start of spring training that his top assistant in the dugout was “very, very optimistic” about his recovery.

(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)Right-hander Kevin Gausman’s impressive day at spring training had nothing to do with any of the usual statistics, like strikeouts or innings pitched. Batting practice for San Francisco's pitchers took on a non-traditional look Thursday at Scottsdale Stadium in Arizona. But the stands won't be empty — or full — when the Giants host their spring training opener Sunday. Scottsdale Stadium will have the lowest capacity at 9%, which is about 1,000 fans for Giants home games. Spectators at Scottsdale Stadium may get to see Gausman throw his lively fastball, but not a look at his Fungo golf skills.

(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)It's normal for a baseball player to dream of making his big league debut or pitching in the postseason. He became the fifth player in the modern era to make his big league debut in a postseason game — and three of those newcomers did it this year. The Padres lost 5-1, but it was scoreless when Weathers came in — a reasonably high-pressure situation, compared to other players who made their debuts in the postseason. In 2015, Adalberto Mondesi made his debut for Kansas City in Game 3 of the World Series. "He’s here to play, and that’s why we carried him on this roster.”McClanahan's debut came in Game 1 of the AL Division Series on Monday night.

"But what are they going to say now?”Nine months after Houston's rules-breaking, sign-stealing system was revealed, the Astros advanced to the Division Series in Los Angeles. The Twins are 0-18 in the playoffs since winning Game 1 of their Division Series at the New York Yankees on Oct. 5, 2004, a total of seven rounds lost. Since that date, the Astros are 43-35 in postseason play, winning 10 of 15 rounds with three trips to the World Series. In a three-game division series sweep by the Yankees last year, the Twins totaled seven runs and 22 hits. Baldelli declined to confirm whether Buxton was experiencing a recurrence of concussion symptoms that kept him out of the last two regular season games.

(AP Photo/Aaron Doster)A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday:___CRAZY EIGHTHow’s this for wild: MLB is set to stage eight postseason games on the same day for the first time. National League clubs will open their best-of-three wild-card series, while four American League teams are already facing elimination after starting Tuesday. With the expansion of the first round from a pair of wild-card games to eight best-of-three series, there are a maximum 65 possible postseason games this year. In the 1960s, there were 66 postseason games in the entire decade, with league championship series starting in 1969. Dallas Keuchel (6-2, 1.99 ERA) starts Game 2 following a successful first season with Chicago.

Houston Astros' Carlos Correa, left, and George Springer, center, jump in celebration of the Astros 4-1 win over the Minnesota Twins 4-1 in Game 1 of an American League wild-card baseball series, Tuesday Sept. 29, 2020, in Minneapolis. They know what it’s like," said manager Dusty Baker, after the Astros became the first team in major league history to win a game after reaching the postseason with a losing record. It didn’t go my way,” said Romo, who has three World Series rings with San Francisco and pitched in his 30th career postseason game. Minnesota’s previous win in the playoffs was notched in New York on Oct. 5, 2004, in Game 1 of the AL division series. UP NEXTThe Astros were waiting until after the game to announce their starter for Game 2, though Valdez's appearance took him out of the mix.

MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson will miss the best-of-three AL first-round series against Houston because of a nagging injury to his right calf, and the team included rookie Alex Kirilloff on the roster that was set on Tuesday prior to Game 1. The 2015 AL MVP award winner worked out with the team on Monday, but he was still experiencing soreness and unable to fully push off on his leg. He has never played above Double-A but showed the club he was ready with strong performances at the team's alternate training site this summer. He can play the corner outfield positions and first base, giving manager Rocco Baldelli additional flexibility with Donaldson out. The Twins kept 15 position players and 13 pitchers on their 28-man roster.

A capsule look at the best-of-three playoff series between the Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis beginning Tuesday:___HOUSTON ASTROSRecord: 29-31. Projected Rotation: RHP Zack Greinke (3-3, 4.03 ERA, 67 Ks), RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (3-3, 3.93, 56 Ks), RHP Jose Urquidy (1-1, 2.73, 17 Ks) or LHP Framber Valdez (5-3, 3.57, 76 Ks) or RHP Cristian Javier (5-2, 3.48, 54 Ks.) Manager: Rocco Baldelli (second season). Projected Rotation: RHP Kenta Maeda (6-1, 2.70 ERA, 80 Ks), RHP José Berríos (5-4, 4.00, 68 Ks), RHP Michael Pineda (2-0, 3.38, 25 Ks in 5 starts). Series Summary: The Twins haven’t won a playoff series since 2002, failing to advance in eight consecutive rounds.

In this case, for the Astros, there wasn't much mystery in terms of their spot. Up and down the lineup, the Twins are just the better team on offense and the Astros struggles at the plate have been noteworthy. The meat of the Twins everyday lineup is fairly young compared to the Astros core. That should give the Astros the edge in intangibles, but it won't matter if they can't take advantage of it. Against a stout Twins rotation, it is hard to imagine them suddenly breaking out of their funk, which means an early postseason exit.

Gerrit Cole delivered for the Yankees in his first season since signing a $324 million, nine-year contract, going 7-3 with a 2.84 ERA. “We think this is a good matchup.”For all Bieber and Cole have accomplished in the shortened regular season, it will mean little if they don’t perform well to start the best-of-three series. For instance, Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka has only played 72 regular season games, including just two against wild-card foe Cleveland. Both were injured Friday, sat out the final two regular season games as a precaution, then participated in a workout at Target Field on Monday. They open a wild-card series in Oakland hoping ace Lucas Giolito can play stopper.