Chris Sale certain he'll be back to help Boston Red Sox before end of season  —  Nearly 15 months after undergoing Tommy John surgery, Chris Sale says he is confident he will be ready to contribute to the Boston Red Sox before the end of the season.  —  “One hundred percent,” …

How things went so wrong for Jarred Kelenic to begin his big-league career  —  Dozens of cheerful moments have bloomed from the Mets' unconventional first-place season, but now it's getting a brief addition of schadenfreude.  —  Mega prospect Jarred Kelenic — the one misguidedly traded …

Sonny Gray expected to miss at least two starts.  What it means for the Reds rotation.  —  After Sonny Gray felt pain in his groin following a warmup pitch Tuesday, one of the thoughts that ran through his head was making sure it didn't become a long-term injury.

Ke'Bryan Hayes had a home run called back for missing first base  —  Ke'Bryan Hayes homered off Walker Buehler in the first inning of Tuesday's Los Angeles Dodgers-Pittsburgh Pirates game, giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead against one of the toughest opponents in the league.  —  Only he didn't.

‘Sorry you had to see that’ — How baserunning has become an embarrassing problem in Major League Baseball  —  Editor's note: From rising strikeout totals and unwritten rules debates to connecting with a new generation of fans and a looming labor battle, baseball is at a crossroads.

Gerrit Cole dodges ‘sticky’ allegations in painfully awkward moment  —  Gerrit Cole is sticking to his story that he has greater worries than opponents' accusations of wrongdoing.  —  The Yankees' ace held by far the least comfortable news conference of his pinstriped term on Tuesday afternoon …

New Book Shows Astros Kept Cheating After 2018  —  Remember how offended former Astros manager A. J. Hinch pretended to be in 2019, when reporters asked him to respond to accusations that his team was cheating during the American League Championship Series against the Yankees?

Defense stands out for Detroit Tigers in 5-3 win over Seattle Mariners in series opener  —  For the first time since the 2019 season, the Detroit Tigers opened Comerica Park to full capacity for Monday's series opener with the Seattle Mariners.  —  The fans in the stands — 9,081 tickets sold …

Orioles pound David Peterson en route to routing Mets  —  BALTIMORE — he Mets might have a David Peterson problem.  —  He had his second stinker of a start in a row Tuesday night in the Mets' 10-3 loss to the Orioles.  —  In 2 2/3 innings, Peterson allowed four runs and eight hits (five doubles).

Texas Rangers lacking ‘fight’ at the plate as losses mount |  Fort Worth Star-Telegram  —  Texas Rangers offense lacks ‘fight’ as losses mount and top NL opponents await  —  A rough patch for the Texas Rangers could be getting rougher.  —  The Rangers lost for the 11th time in their past 12 games …

The Cubs are actually good!  So what should they do at the trade deadline?  —  The Chicago Cubs have exceeded preseason expectations so far in 2021.  Entering Monday's series opener against the San Diego Padres (10 p.m. ET on ESPN), the Cubs are now seven games over .500 at 33-26 …

Mets win second straight over Padres behind another strong Marcus Stroman start  —  SAN DIEGO — After losing their first two games, it was in doubt whether the Mets would depart from San Diego feeling good about a competitive four-game series.  But the Mets roared back …