Pirates' Santana suspended 4 games by MLB for a confrontation with a fan, but is appealing decision  —  Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dennis Santana was suspended four games and fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball on Friday, a day after he was involved in an altercation with a fan.

Astros at Angels Prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, betting trends, and stats for June 20  —  It's Friday, June 20, and the Astros (43-32) are in Anaheim to take on the Angels (36-38).  Hunter Brown is slated to take the mound for Houston against Yusei Kikuchi for Los Angeles.

Lefty Shota Imanaga will rejoin the Cubs next week in St. Louis  —  CHICAGO — Left-hander Shota Imanaga will rejoin the Chicago Cubs early next week in St. Louis following a sharp Triple-A rehab start on Friday, manager Craig Counsell said Saturday.  —  Counsell wasn't sure when Imanaga …

How the Red Sox-Rafael Devers breakup got so messy  —  AWAITING TAKEOFF ON the Boston Red Sox's charter flight early Sunday evening, Rafael Devers sat with his teammates playing cards.  The trip to Seattle would take a little more than six hours, and games were a reliable way to pass the time …

Cal Raleigh breaks Johnny Bench's record for homers by a catcher before All-Star break  —  CHICAGO — Cal Raleigh broke Hall of Famer Johnny Bench's 1970 record for home runs by a catcher before the All-Star break, hitting his major league-leading 28th and 29th in the Seattle Mariners' 9-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday.

Padres reliever Robert Suarez suspended 3 games and fined for hitting Shohei Ohtani with a pitch  —  San Diego Padres reliever Robert Suarez was suspended for three games and fined an undisclosed amount Friday for intentionally hitting Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers with a pitch in the ninth inning Thursday night.

Angels manager Ron Washington out indefinitely because of health concerns  —  Los Angeles Angels manager Ron Washington will be out indefinitely because of health issues, and bench coach Ray Montgomery will manage Friday night's series opener against the Houston Astros.

Cubs legend Sammy Sosa returns to Wrigley Field after 20-plus-year hiatus  —  CHICAGO — Legendary Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa returned to Wrigley Field for the first time in more than 20 years on Friday before Chicago's afternoon game with the Seattle Mariners.

What we're hearing about the White Sox, Mets and Royals' trade deadline plans, plus more MLB notes  —  The San Diego Padres are 26-31 since April 14.  The Arizona Diamondbacks are 25-30 since April 17.  We're cherry-picking dates, sure, but the point is that both teams sputtered after hot starts.

One difference-making trade for each AL team in the wild-card race  —  The San Francisco Giants have already won the trade deadline, and they did it earlier this week when they acquired Rafael Devers from the Red Sox for two major-league pitchers and two prospects.  What a way to truly kick off the trade season.

Orioles' Miserable Year Has Front Office Fielding Tough Questions  —  BALTIMORE - Nobody in the Baltimore Orioles organization is happy about how the season opened in the second year of David Rubenstein's ownership.  —  “We just had an incredibly frustrating and disappointing start,” …

A's Defense Still a Concern  —  At the conclusion of the 2024 season, Athletics GM David Forst mentioned that the club would have to get better defensively during the off-season, with their internal metrics providing similar data to the public-facing data.  Those numbers had the A's …