JOE MADDON

Good morning, Chicago. Here are some of the top stories you need to know to start your day.

The Kansas City Royals fired manager Mike Matheny and pitching coach Cal Eldred on Wednesday night, shortly after the struggling franchise finished the season 65-97 with a listless 9-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians.

The Los Angeles Angels have hired Phil Nevin as manager for the 2023 season, removing his interim title and giving him a one-year contract before the final game of the regular season.

Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno says he is exploring the possibility of selling the franchise.

Major League Baseball is considering a pitch clock for next year along with shift limits, larger bases and restrictions on pickoff attempts.

Shohei Ohtani accomplished two feats that would both be career landmarks for practically any other player in baseball history on back-to-back nights during an otherwise ordinary June homestand for the Los Angeles Angels.

Los Angeles Angels two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani was not in the lineup for Sunday night’s game against the New York Mets.

Shohei Ohtani pitched seven stellar innings and hit a two-run homer, and the Los Angeles Angels snapped their 14-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

The Los Angeles Angels’ losing streak reached a franchise-record 14 games when Bobby Dalbec drove in the only run with a double in the sixth inning for the Boston Red Sox in a 1-0 victory.

Free falling toward a dreadful bit of team history, the Angels fired manager Joe Maddon on Tuesday and appointed third base coach Phil Nevin to the role on an interim basis.

The Los Angeles Angels matched a franchise record with their 13th straight defeat hours after firing manager Joe Maddon, falling 6-5 to the streaking Boston Red Sox on Christian Vázquez’s go-ahead single in the 10th inning.

Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout was removed from a game against Boston with left groin tightness.

The Los Angeles Angels fired manager Joe Maddon but still stretched their losing streak to 13 games, matching the worst skid in franchise history.

The Los Angeles Angels fired manager Joe Maddon on Tuesday with the team mired in a 12-game losing streak. Third base coach Phil Nevin will be the Angels' interim manager when they host Boston on Tuesday night. Maddon went 130-148 with the Angels, who hired him before the coronavirus-shortened 2020 season.

Bryson Stott hit a game-winning, three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning after Bryce Harper tied it with a grand slam in the eighth, and the Philadelphia Phillies rallied for a 9-7 victory that sent slumping Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels to their 11th straight defeat.

Jameson Taillon took a perfect game into the eighth inning, then fell behind before the New York Yankees rallied past the Los Angeles Angels 2-1 on a clutch swing by pinch-hitter Anthony Rizzo.

Noah Syndergaard was rocked in his return to New York, giving up Matt Carpenter’s two-run homer in a four-run first inning that propelled the Yankees over the reeling Los Angeles Angels 9-1.

Noah Syndergaard was rocked in his return to New York, giving up Matt Carpenter’s two-run homer in a four-run first inning that propelled the Yankees over the reeling Los Angeles Angels 9-1 Tuesday night. Starting a high-profile three-game series against Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout & Co., New York improved the American League’s best record to 34-14 and sent the Angels (27-23) to their season-worst sixth straight loss. Jordan Montgomery (1-1) pitched four-hit ball for seven innings, allowing Luis Rengifo’s seventh-inning homer on a hanging curveball.

Squid style is en vogue for the Los Angeles Angels.

Nolan Ryan pitched for a record 27 seasons in the big leagues, struck out 5,714 batters and threw seven no-hitters.

Reid Detmers has a chance to match Johnny Vander Meer’s feat of consecutive no-hitters when he starts for the Los Angeles Angels at the Texas Rangers.

“I thought it was great theater. It was the perfect time to pull it off. Baseball is looking for moments like that,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said.

Astros manager Dusty Baker tries for his 2,000th win as a major league manager when Houston hosts Seattle.

Padres right-hander Mike Clevinger is set to pitch in the majors for the first time since recovering from his second Tommy John surgery.

Dylan Cease struck out 11 to match a career best and gave up just one hit in seven sparkling innings, propelling the Chicago White Sox to a 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani was held out of the starting lineup Monday, a day after the AL MVP exited a win over the Chicago White Sox because of tightness in his groin.

Yankees slugger Aaron Judge has hit five home runs in his last five games, part of a surge that’s helped New York win nine in a row.

Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani says he expects to play Monday, a day after making an early exit because of tightness in his right groin.

Mike Trout homered, doubled and scored three runs, Michael Lorenzen pitched into the ninth inning and the Los Angeles Angels held off the Chicago White Sox 6-5 for their seventh win in eight games.

Taylor Ward and Shohei Ohtani hit first-inning solo home runs off Lucas Giolito and the Los Angeles Angels rode a combined three-hitter to their sixth straight win, 5-1 over the Chicago White Sox.

Braves rookie right-hander Bryce Elder will be at home in Texas when he starts the middle game of a three-game series against the Rangers.

Taylor Ward hit a grand slam and finished a single shy of the cycle, Shohei Ohtani showed off his two-way prowess and the surging Los Angeles Angels rolled to a 9-5 victory over the Cleveland Guardians for their fourth consecutive win.

Two-way star Shohei Ohtani pitched perfect ball into the sixth inning, tied a career-best with 12 strikeouts and also had two hits and two RBIs to lead the Los Angeles Angels over the Houston Astros 6-0.

Shohei Ohtani was winless with a 5.92 ERA in six starts against the Houston Astros entering Wednesday's start. Watching the superstar's performance from his perch in the dugout, Los Angeles Angels manager Joe Maddon could feel Ohtani was determined to change his fortunes against the Astros on Wednesday night. “I think he just had enough of Houston giving him a hard time and he wanted to go out there tonight and do something about it, both on the mound and at the plate," Maddon said.

Mike Trout left the Los Angeles Angels’ 8-3 win over the Texas Rangers on Sunday after being hit in his left hand by a pitch, but the team said X-rays were negative and the three-time AL MVP is day to day. Trout was struck by a 1-1 slider from Rangers right-hander Spencer Patton leading off the fifth inning. “Like a normal day, I probably just turn like this (turning his left shoulder in) and just get hit,” Trout said.

Angels star Mike Trout was pulled from Los Angeles’ game after being hit by a pitch on his left hand.

Angels manager Joe Maddon ordered the second bases-loaded intentional walk of his career and only the third in the majors since at least 1950, and Shohei Ohtani homered twice to lead Los Angeles past the Texas Rangers 9-6.

Angels manager Joe Maddon intentionally walked Texas Rangers star Corey Seager with the bases loaded Friday night, the third time that’s happened in major league history.

Framber Valdez outpitched Shohei Ohtani with 6 2/3 dominant innings of two-hit ball, and the Houston Astros tied the longest opening day winning streak in major league history with a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

The full Shohei Ohtani experience will be on display when the Los Angeles Angels take the field on opening day.

Baseball had seen nothing like Shohei Ohtani’s unanimous AL MVP season in over a century.

Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani won the AP Male Athlete of the Year award, racking up another award after a magical season.

Shohei Ohtani did things during 2021 that almost nobody alive had ever seen in sports.

The New York Mets have hired Billy Eppler as their general manager, giving him a four-year contract.

The New York Mets are close to completing a deal to hire Billy Eppler as general manager, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.

Jose Suarez threw five strong innings, Brandon Marsh accounted for all the offense with a two-run double, and the Los Angeles Angels landed a major blow to Seattle’s postseason hopes by beating the Mariners 2-1.

Shohei Ohtani sparked a four-run sixth-inning rally with his legs, and the Los Angeles Angels beat Texas 7-2 on Wednesday night to send the Rangers to their first 100-loss season since 1973. With the score 2-2, Ohtani led off the sixth with a sharp grounder to first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and beat pitcher Taylor Hearn to the bag. Ohtani stole second, continued to third on a throwing error by catcher Jose Trevino and came home when Jack Mayfield singled through a drawn-in infield.

This was not the kind of punchout Milwaukee reliever Devin Williams wanted: The valuable setup man could miss the entire postseason after breaking his pitching hand when he punched a wall.

Shohei Ohtani has thrown his final pitch in a standout two-way season for the Los Angeles Angeles.

Shohei Ohtani has thrown his final pitch this season for the Los Angeles Angels, and the two-way All-Star will focus on his at-bats in the final few games. “There’s really nothing left to prove on the mound,” manager Joe Maddon said Wednesday. Ohtani then went out and set another offensive milestone, becoming the first American League player with at least 100 runs scored, 45 homers and 25 stolen bases in the same season, after he went 2 for 5 with a run and two stolen bases in a 7-2 victory at Texas on Wednesday night.

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole makes what might be his final start of the regular season in a critical showdown against Toronto.

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole makes what might be his final start of the regular season in a critical showdown against Toronto.

Los Angeles Angels manager Joe Maddon says Shohei Ohtani’s comments last weekend about wanting to win don’t mean the two-way star wants to leave the organization when he becomes a free agent after the 2023 season.

Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout is officially shut down for the season.

Shohei Ohtani's latest majestic homer wasn't nearly enough to turn back the Houston Astros as they steamroll toward another AL West title. Ohtani hit his 45th homer in the eighth inning, but Aledmys Díaz and Kyle Tucker hit back-to-back homers and drove in three runs apiece while leading the Astros to a 10-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night. Ohtani connected for his first homer since Sept. 10, driving a solo shot off Houston’s Cristian Javier 445 feet into the elevated right field stands at the Big A.

Shohei Ohtani is set to pitch for the Angels against Oakland on Sunday a few days after manager Joe Maddon contemplated shutting down the two-way star with arm soreness.

Two-way star Shohei Ohtani has been scratched from his scheduled start for the Angels against Oakland because of a sore right arm that could sideline him as a pitcher for the rest of the season.

Alex Cobb pitched five scoreless innings, Luis Rengifo and Jose Rojas hit home runs, and the Los Angeles Angels coasted to a 9-3 win over the Chicago White Sox.

Two-way star Shohei Ohtani won’t pitch Friday for the Los Angeles Angels because of a sore right arm that could sideline him as a pitcher for the rest of the season.

Mike Trout is likely done for the year.

Mike Trout is likely done for the year. Manager Joe Maddon said Wednesday he would be very surprised if Trout played again this season. Adell was placed on the 10-day injured list after he got hurt when he crashed into the wall in left while trying to catch Garrett Stubbs’ RBI double in the ninth inning of the Angels’ 4-2 win at Houston on Saturday night.

Shohei Ohtani hit his major league-leading 43rd home run and Jose Suarez pitched a five-hitter, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 4-1 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday night. Ohtani connected for a three-run homer in the sixth inning, a 426-foot drive to right field to a chorus of “MVP!” chants. Ohtani needs four more homers to match the franchise record of 47 set by Troy Glaus in 2000.

Shohei Ohtani has received plenty of attention for his home runs, but the Los Angeles Angels have also been getting power lately from a most unlikely source. While Ohtani hit his major-league leading 42nd home run Monday night, Jack Mayfield connected for his first career grand slam as the Angels were able to defeat the New York Yankees 8-7. Ohtani and Mayfield are tied for the team lead with nine home runs since the All-Star break.

Jared Walsh homered and drove in three runs, Justin Upton got his 1,000th RBI and the Los Angeles Angels snapped their three-game skid with a 10-2 victory over the San Diego Padres on Saturday night. Shohei Ohtani stole second to became the first player in team history with 40 homers and 20 steals in a season for the Angels, who won for only the second time in eight games. Ohtani went 0 for 4 for the second straight night, but the two-way superstar walked and promptly stole second in the fifth to join the 40/20 club.

Star players rarely go out gracefully, but the future Hall of Famer's departure from Anaheim was especially uncomfortable.

Albert Pujols didn't want to stay with the Angels if he wasn't playing, but now that he's about to be a free agent, will another team sign him?