MLB News Blog

Colorado Rockies pitcher Jorge De La Rosa left Saturday night's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fourth inning because of tightness in his right groin. The game was scoreless when De La Rosa exited. The Rockies needed to win their final two games to overtake Los Angeles for the NL West title.

The Detroit Tigers' once-cozy cushion in the AL Central is long gone. If things do not go Detroit's way on the final scheduled day, its season will be over. The Tigers dropped into a first-place tie with Minnesota, looking listless Saturday night in a 5-1 loss to Freddy Garcia and the Chicago White Sox.

The AL Central has come down to the final day. The Detroit Tigers dropped into a first-place tie with Minnesota, looking listless Saturday night in a 5-1 loss to Freddy Garcia and the Chicago White Sox. Tigers manager Jim Leyland made two pitching changes in the second inning, trying to find a way to end [...]

Victor Martinez hit a grand slam against his former team and the Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 11-6 on Saturday night despite a shaky outing by Josh Beckett. After missing his previously scheduled start with back spasms, Beckett (17-6) allowed four runs and seven hits in five innings in his final postseason tuneup.

The Washington Nationals are playing as if they were contenders the last week of the season, not the team that has the worst record in the majors. Justin Maxwell hit a two-out, two-run homer in the 11th inning and the Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 6-4 Saturday for their sixth straight victory.

New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain is scheduled to work in relief Sunday and appears headed to the bullpen for the first round of the playoffs. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Saturday that Chamberlain will pitch an inning or face a couple batters in the regular-season finale against Tampa Bay.

Anibal Sanchez pitched seven strong innings Saturday to lead the Florida Marlins to a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, who still clinched home-field advantage for the first round of the playoffs with St. Louis' loss. The Phillies have lost three straight since clinching their third consecutive NL East title on Wednesday, and were eliminated [...]

Scott Kazmir pitched five scoreless innings, Robb Quinlan drove in three runs and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Oakland Athletics 4-2 Saturday. Erick Aybar had three hits and scored twice in his return to the Angels lineup and Juan Rivera added a pair of hits before being lifted in the fifth inning when Los [...]

Michael Cuddyer kept the desperate Minnesota Twins right on Detroit's heels. Cuddyer hit a solo home run in the eighth inning, lifting the Twins to a 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday and pushing the AL Central race to the final day. The Twins moved within a half-game of first-place Detroit.

Kevin Towers says he really wasn't told why he was fired as general manager of the San Diego Padres, although he figures it's because CEO Jeff Moorad wanted his own guy in the job. "He never really told me exactly the reason why, but I've been around long enough to know why," Towers, who held [...]