Hometown hero Bryce Harper wins MLB Home Run Derby  —  WASHINGTON — Fans packed Nationals Park for the All-Star Home Run Derby hoping for some heroics from hometown hero Bryce Harper.  —  He didn't disappoint.  —  Sporting a star-spangled bandana and a special cherry blossom bat …

Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer is the anti-hero baseball needs  —  WASHINGTON - From his unique training regimen to his scientific approach to pitching to his polarizing personality, Trevor Bauer may be the most misunderstood player in baseball.  —  Bauer's personality, charitably described as …

Latest On Manny Machado  —  The Orioles are getting “very close” to reaching an agreement on a Manny Machado trade, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter).  However, despite a report of a “handshake agreement” between the Orioles and Phillies by Barstool Sports …

Joey Votto talks to MLB Network's ‘Intentional Talk’ about when he had cornrows  —  Cincinnati Reds All-Star first baseman Joey Votto was on the set of MLB Network's Intentional Talk during All-Star Monday festivities preceding the Home Run Derby at Nationals Park, and he talked to co-hosts Chris Rose …

Astros are baseball's most dominant force — and they're having more fun than you  —  WASHINGTON — They are the envy of baseball, with a World Series championship last fall, another division champion in the pipeline and a six-pack of All-Stars here for the 89th All-Star Game.

Phillies' success isn't tanking, and it never was - it's a youth movement  —  It wasn't long ago that the Phillies found themselves facing some serious allegations from folks who insisted that their rebuilding effort amounted to “tanking.”  From the ESPN airwaves to the pages of the local papers …

Will changes rejuvenate a Cardinals team that says it wants to win?  —  It's not as if the Cardinals have a purposeful playlist of metaphorical songs, played in the clubhouse to subliminally spread messages; it's just a cool song, so they played it after the fun win.

Is the national pastime really more strikeouts than hits?  |  Bob Ford  —  Baseball has always been a sequence of pleasant lulls interrupted by brief bursts of action, and the deliberate, even sedentary, pace of the game as it meanders toward nine innings of play is part of its inherent charm.

Quiz: One-time Phillies all-stars ... and where have you gone, Domonic Brown?  —  Mike Schmidt holds the Phillies record with 12 all-star selections.  Robin Roberts and Steve Carlton are tied for the most among pitchers with seven.  —  But what about those flashes in the pan that pose …

Rays journal: Some warn that pitching strategy comes at a price  —  WASHINGTON — The success the Rays have had during two months of using a game opener followed by a relieving starter seems to have tamed some of the criticism of the unusual plan.  —  Until Arizona ace Zack Greinke …