CRISTIAN PACHE

Phillies pinch-hitter Cristian Pache predicted earlier this week that he would have a home run against the Miami Marlins. He didn’t know that he would deliver one of the biggest hits of his career in his first at-bat Friday night.

Philadelphia All-Star slugger Bryce Harper faced a left-hander in a brief batting practice session in his latest step in his recovery from Tommy John surgery.

Cole Irvin pitched into the seventh inning,and the Oakland Athletics beat Tampa Bay 6-3 to take three of four from the Rays, Irvin allowed three runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings as the rebuilding A’s under new manager Mark Kotsay improved to 4-3.

All-Star third baseman Matt Chapman was acquired by the Toronto Blue Jays from the payroll-shredding Oakland Athletics for four players.

Patience is often rewarded for both free agents and general managers during most Major League Baseball offseasons.

Freddie Freeman’s tenure with the Atlanta Braves appears to be over after the World Series champions acquired All-Star first baseman Matt Olson from the Oakland Athletics.

The reigning World Series champion Atlanta Braves opened spring training Sunday with Ronald Acuña Jr. and Charlie Morton, but no Freddie Freeman.

The Atlanta Braves are in the World Series in no small part thanks to the trades general manager Alex Anthopoulos made during the season.

For the second time in four seasons, the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros are set to play for the American League pennant.

The Atlanta Braves are preparing to play without outfielder Jorge Soler in the NL Championship Series following his positive test for COVID-19.

After a season of piling up whopping win totals, the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers get a day to prep for their all-or-nothing matchup in Game 5 of the NL Division Series.

White Sox manager Tony La Russa is waiting to find out if Chicago wants him back after the club was eliminated by the Astros in their AL Division Series that ended Tuesday night.

Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. has left their game against the Chicago Cubs after experiencing pain in his lower abdominal muscles.

Atlanta Braves left-hander Max Fried has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained right hamstring after injuring himself while running the bases.

Alec Bohm hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning, Zach Eflin gave Philadelphia another strong start and the Phillies completed a three-game sweep of the defending NL East champion Atlanta Braves with a 2-1 win Sunday.

Sixto Sánchez made his third start, yielding a run on three hits and a walk in 3 1/3 innings. Austin Gomber gave up five runs on eight hits, four of them home runs, 5 1/3 innings. Arizona starter Luke Weaver struck out eight over 5 1/3 innings. Right-hander Adbert Alzolay continued to struggle for Chicago, allowing two runs in 3 1/3 innings. BREWERS 2, GIANTS 2Brett Anderson pitched two-run ball over 5 2/3 innings, allowing five hits and striking out three for Milwaukee.

AJ Hinch's success as Detroit's manager may ultimately hinge on the performance of a few highly regarded prospects. Detroit has five of the game's top 25 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline. Right-hander Casey Mize, the top pick in the 2018 draft, made his big league debut last year and went 0-3 with a 6.99 ERA in seven starts. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, File)AJ Hinch's success as Detroit's manager may ultimately hinge on the performance of a few highly regarded prospects. It's a little easier to avoid those expectations when a prospect is younger and isn't likely to make the big league roster yet.

(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)ARLINGTON, Texas – One Will Smith outdid another Will Smith to keep the season alive for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The four homers are already a record for a shortstop in any postseason series. Minter struck out seven of the 10 batters he faced as the first pitcher in MLB history whose first start came in a postseason game. The last was Steve Yeager in Game 5 of the 1981 World Series of Ron Guidry of the New York Yankees. The other was Roy Campanella, who did it twice: in Game 3 of the 1953 World Series and Game 3 of the 1955 World Series.

(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)ARLINGTON, Texas – Marcell Ozuna and the Atlanta Braves turned things around in a hurry, and now are one win from ending a two-decade World Series drought. Atlanta will try to reach its first World Series since 1999 when it plays Game 5 Friday night. Ozuna went even deeper in the seventh, a 434-foot shot to straightaway center. Wilson became the third-youngest pitcher to allow one or no hits over at least six innings in a postseason game. He had one of the Dodgers’ postseason record five on Wednesday night.

(AP Photo/Eric Gay)ARLINGTON, Texas – The Baby Braves were the Battered Braves in their first loss of these playoffs. The 15 runs allowed in the first three innings were more than the Braves permitted in their first seven postseason games combined. And those 13 previous runs included seven scored by Los Angeles in the final three innings of Atlanta's 8-7 win in Game 2. Bartolo Colon (seven runs) and Steve Reed (eight) did it with Cleveland in a 23-7 loss to Boston in Game 4 of the 1999 ALDS. Snitker seemed to suggest a bullpen game was possible, depending on how deep Wilson gets into Game 4.

The Dodgers set franchise postseason records for runs and home runs with five, cutting their NLCS deficit to 2 games to 1. Winner Julio Urías, made his first postseason start and improved to 3-0 in these playoffs, striking out five while allowing one run and three hits over five innings. LOT OF BIG NUMBERSThe 15 runs matched the most in an NLCS game — the Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals 15-0 in Game 7 of the 1996 NLCS. ... Only the Chicago Cubs, with six in Game 3 of the 2015 NLDS, hit more homers in any postseason game. The Dodgers’ eight extra-base hits matched the franchise record for a postseason game, and their 18 total bases in the first were an MLB record for an inning.

Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw was scratched from his scheduled Game 2 start Tuesday due to back spasms. The team still expects he'll be able to pitch later in the series, but it will be Urías in Game 3 against Braves rookie Kyle Wright. Urías, already pitching in his fourth postseason, was the winner in relief in the Game 3 clincher last Thursday against San Diego during the Division Series. There have been 14 teams take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven NLCS, and all have gone on to win the pennant. He’ll pitch in AL Championship Series Game 4 against Houston on four days’ rest.

(AP Photo/Eric Gay)ARLINGTON, Texas – Atlanta Braves fans were still doing tomahawk-chop chants as they filed out of the stadium, real people who replaced the cardboard cutouts players got so accustomed to this season. One game, but a big boost for the Braves in their first National League Championship Series since 2001. “It was awesome — fun to play in front of fans again,” Braves slugger Freddie Freeman said. Riley became the youngest player with a go-ahead homer in the ninth inning of a postseason game or later since Braves star Chipper Jones in 1995. Dodgers: Kershaw, the ace lefty from nearby Dallas, has 19 strikeouts in his two starts this postseason — both wins.

I’m sure he’ll do that.”The Astros have also had a lousy go with runners on base. THE KID AND THE ACEOff to an impressive start in his first postseason, Atlanta rookie Ian Anderson faces Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw in Game 2 of the NL Championship Series. CHANGE OF SOXAfter ending a 12-year playoff drought, the Chicago White Sox are looking for a new manager. The club announced Monday that Renteria won’t return after guiding the White Sox to a 35-25 record in his pandemic-shortened fourth season. Hahn said Renteria’s replacement probably will come from outside the White Sox.

Atlanta Braves Nick Markakis' follows through on a game-winning home run in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)ATLANTA Atlanta Braves outfielder Nick Markakis has been placed on the 10-day injured list after potentially being exposed to COVID-19. The Braves announced the move just minutes before the start of their game Tuesday against the Washington Nationals. Markakis initially opted out of the shortened season because of concerns about the coronavirus. The Braves did not provide details of how Markakis may have been exposed to the virus.

The free agent outfielder and the Atlanta Braves have agreed to a one-year deal, a person with knowledge of the deal said Tuesday, July 14, 2020. (AP Photo/Phil Long, File)ATLANTA Free agent outfielder Yasiel Puig and the Atlanta Braves have agreed to a one-year deal, a person with knowledge of the deal said Tuesday. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the agreement is not official until Puig passes a physical. The 29-year-old Puig was the last big-name free agent from the offseason who had not signed with a team. Puig, who has a .285 career average against right-handers, will be expected to replace the production that had been expected from Markakis.

ATLANTA Atlanta Braves outfielder Nick Markakis opted out of the 2020 season on Monday due to increased concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. Markakis is the second Atlanta veteran in two days to announce plans to sit out the 60-game season. Just hearing him, the way he sounded on the phone, it was tough, Markakis said. Braves first base coach Eric Young Sr. also will sit out the season. Markakis, Ender Inciarte and Adam Duvall were joined by rookies Cristian Pache and Drew Waters in the outfield competition.