MLB

4:45 PM ET All Major League Baseball pitchers will be checked repeatedly and randomly for foreign substances by umpires under the plan being swiftly advanced — and perhaps implemented within the next 10 days to two weeks. Major League Baseball is expected to instruct its umpires to enforce a rule that has long been on

1:10 PM ET Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper has been activated from the injured list and will bat third Saturday. Harper went on the 10-day IL on May 25 with a bruised left forearm. Prior to going on the injured list, the slugger had been in an 0-for-16 slump and was held out of the

9:58 PM ET Associated Press CHICAGO — Detroit Tigers starter Spencer Turnbull left Friday’s game against the Chicago White Sox after the fourth inning because of tightness in his right forearm. Turnbull won a 12-pitch battle with Yermín Mercedes to end the fourth, getting him to swing and miss at a fastball. Kyle Funkhouser replaced

4:01 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Two-thirds of Major League Baseball’s 30 teams have been able to relax coronavirus protocols after four additional clubs qualified and raised the total to 20 franchises reaching 85% vaccinations for players and other on-field personnel. The commissioner’s office and the players’ association said Friday that two additional

10:59 PM ET Thursday’s Triple-A game between the Norfolk Tides and Durham Bulls was called in the eighth inning after Bulls pitcher Tyler Zombro was hit in the head by a line drive. Zombro, a 26-year-old reliever for the Tampa Bay Rays affiliate, appeared to be convulsing on the mound before being taken off the

5:58 PM ET Arizona Diamondbacks television analyst Bob Brenly on Thursday said he will take a voluntary leave of absence from Bally Sports Arizona while he takes sensitivity training following his comment earlier this week about Marcus Stroman, which the New York Mets pitcher said had “racist undertones.” “I want to apologize again for my

11:19 AM ET Associated Press CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians are narrowing a final list of new names and vetting them for legal purposes after months of research and discussions with fans. The team announced in December that it is changing its name for the first time since 1915, a decision that came as part

7:00 AM ET We’re already two months into the 2021 MLB season, and the standings are starting to come into focus with teams already 50-plus games into their schedules. What does that mean for our first MLB Power Rankings of June? Well, for starters, there’s plenty of movement at the top, including a very tight

10:00 AM ET The 2021 MLB draft is less than two months away, with this year’s event scheduled to be held July 11-13 in conjunction with Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game festivities. The Pittsburgh Pirates have the No. 1 pick, followed by the Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles. While there

5:59 PM ET The Washington Nationals have placed Stephen Strasburg on the 10-day injured list with a neck strain, the team announced Wednesday. The move comes a day after the right-hander exited a start against the Braves after just 1 1/3 innings due to what the team said at the time was a tight right

7:00 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” WHEN HE WAS told he was going to die, Bryan Wayne Galentine started to think about what he wanted to leave behind. Every day, for however long amyotrophic lateral sclerosis allowed him

8:39 PM ET ESPN News Services The St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday placed right-handed pitcher Jack Flaherty on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain that manager Mike Shildt termed a “real strain/tear.” Flaherty was reevaluated after leaving Monday night’s start at Dodger Stadium with tightness on that side. He hinted it was

10:46 PM ET ESPN News Services CHICAGO — San Diego shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. left the Padres’ game Tuesday vs. the Cubs in Chicago with right oblique tightness, according to the team. The Padres included that the move was made for “precautionary reasons” after he went 0-3 on the night. Tatis entered play Tuesday with

1:17 AM ET Jacob deGrom continues to make history with his otherworldly start to his 2021 season. In his second start since returning from the injured list, deGrom tossed six scoreless innings in the Mets’ 6-2 victory over the Diamondbacks, lowering his ERA to 0.71, the lowest for a qualified starter through the end of

10:13 PM ET CHICAGO — Thompson, Stewart, Wisdom & Nance. They sound like a law firm, but they were the driving force for the Chicago Cubs in edging out the San Diego Padres for the best record in the National League in the month of May. The Cubs’ 7-2 win at Wrigley Field over San

6:15 PM ET The banged-up New York Mets got much-needed reinforcements on Monday, activating three key players from the injured list, including Kevin Pillar, who is returning just two weeks after being hit in the face by a 94 mph fastball. Besides Pillar, the Mets activated first baseman Pete Alonso and right-handed setup man Seth

1:30 PM ET Associated Press ATLANTA — Braves star Marcell Ozuna was granted a $20,000 bond Monday on charges of aggravated assault by strangulation and battery against his wife. Ozuna was jailed Saturday after police officers in the Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs said they witnessed him attacking his wife, Genesis, while responding to a

10:48 PM ET When Memorial Day weekend reached Sunday, the slate of games in the National League teased the possibility of a full day when generational pitchers were dominating the highlight reels. You know them by their last names, that’s how famous they are, but we’ll give you first names, too: Max Scherzer. Clayton Kershaw.