MLB

Millions of Americans are saying: “Thanks for the tacos, Mookie!� That’s because a Taco Bell promotional campaign offered everyone one free Doritos Locos Taco if an MLB player stole a base during the 2020 World Series. That was achieved when Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers stole a base during Game 1 of the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Even though he stole two bases during the game, Taco Bell says people are only entitled to one free taco.

Detroit Lions QB Matthew Stafford is friends with Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan, but he talks Oct. 21, 2020, about what it's like to face him.

ARLINGTON, Tex. – When Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash let starter Tyler Glasnow throw a postseason high 112 pitches in Tuesday night’s Game 1 World Series, 8-3, loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, it was against the norm for their ballclub. Glasnow lasted into the fifth and when he walked the first two Dodgers […]

The Dodgers will employ Kiké Hernández, Chris Taylor and AJ Pollock against left-hander Blake Snell, the 2018 Cy Young Award winner in World Series Game 2.

Hmm ... root for the home team much, King?

The Red Sox may be compelled to make a run at Marcell Ozuna in free agency, but will the Braves outfielder even reach the open market?

Dodgers Stadium opened its parking lot and hosted fans for a drive-in World Series watch party between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Tampa Bay Rays.

A suggestion to revamp the location and process to determine baseballs champion has bubbled up this year.

Former Red Sox pitcher David Price understands why so many Red Sox fans are upset about the deal that sent him and Mookie Betts to the Dodgers in February.

In their first full year without Joe Panik, the Giants ended up just fine at second base. Donovan Solano gave them a surprise star at the position.

Regardless of whether the Mets make Stroman the Qualifying Offer, he will be free to sign anywhere -- even the Bronx -- shortly after the conclusion of the World Series.

On the Shea Anything podcast, Keith Hernandez weighs in on the Trevor Bauer conversation, saying he wouldn't mind seeing the pitcher in a Mets uniform next season.

Three of seven Dodgers walks in World Series Game 1 resulted in runs, the latest example of L.A. using patience as well as power to ignite rallies.

Coming off a season where their starting pitching cost them a chance to play in October, the Mets have tons of work to do when it comes to fixing a rotation that arguably has only two guarantees in it at the moment.

Finding additional pitching should be Chaim Bloom's biggest priority this offseason, and John Tomase has some candidates on small-market teams Bloom could target.

Hal Steinbrenner has not yet told Brian Cashman what the 2021 payroll will be, but we do know this: As SNY was first to report, the Yankees will be on a tight budget this winter. When you crunch the numbers, in fact, a tough question emerges: Will the team be able to retain both Zack Britton and DJ LeMahieu?

Major League Baseball games last nine innings and takes an average of A LITTLE OVER three hours to complete. Minor league and collegiate baseball al...

Zack Wheeler had a procedure last week to address his chronic fingernail issue which popped up in September. By Corey Seidman

The Sterling Partners have signed an agreement with Steven Cohen pursuant to which Mr. Cohen would purchase the New York Mets. The sale transaction is subject to the approval of the Major League Baseball club owners. Here is the latest ...

After watching Mookie Betts lead the Dodgers to victory in Game 1 of the World Series, David Ortiz had a classic take on the trade that sent his former teammate to L.A.

MLBs 2020 season included some drastic rule changes. Which of them could become permanent?

Forty years ago tonight, in their 97th year of existence, the Phillies won their first World Series. All these years later, the images are fresh in the mind. By Jim Salisbury

The Dodgers pitcher is brilliant in the regular season and notoriously rocky in the playoffs. Watching him pitch well in the World Series is a joyIn the 178th postseason inning he’s pitched, facing the first batter of his 29 October start, the best pitcher this century allowed a hit.It might have been nothing, early jitters for the Dodgers’ ace, that gradual settling that even the mightiest arms require. But in the case of Clayton Kershaw, a million minds worried that it might be more. One hit may lead to two, three – to sliders that don’t drop and curveballs that won’t curve and another of Kershaw’s fabled playoff meltdowns.Or a hit might just be a hit. On Tuesday, that’s all it was. It took until the fifth inning, when the Dodgers led 2-0, for Kershaw to allow his second (and final) hit of the night: a solo home run to Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier. Kershaw would make it through another frame – groundout, foul out, groundout – ending his evening with eight strikeouts, a walk and a commanding lead.And for a day, for a few more games, at least, the existential dread of his playoff existence was put on hold.The 32-year-old starter went into Tuesday, an 8-3 Los Angeles victory in Game 1 of the World Series, with a career ERA of 2.43 but with a postseason ERA of 4.31. His World Series mark, 5.03, is worse. But here’s an asterisk, some context to the madness: 5.03 includes a start in 2017 in which Kershaw gave up six earned runs – and in which his opponent, the Houston Astros, benefited from an elaborate sign-stealing scheme. So they’re not quite as bad as they look, maybe, these World Series woes. In fact, maybe none of this is.Tuesday didn’t erase the mess of some of Kershaw’s highest-pressure starts. There’s no denying his implosion in Game 6 of the 2013 NLCS. He faltered again in 2016 in an elimination game against the Cubs, then he started the 2018 World Series with a thud. And in last year’s playoffs he allowed two late, back-to-back home runs when the Dodgers had the lead as they were eliminated by the Washington Nationals. He’s been far from sharp in another dozen or so October outings, many of which have seen the Dodgers push him a batter too long, trusting a pitcher who earns it for six months each spring and summer.A few more asterisks, now: When Kershaw beat the Rays, it marked the ninth time he’d pitched at least six innings in an October start without allowing more than a hit and a walk. That’s the most of any starter in MLB history. And when he left the mound at the end of the sixth, ready to ice his shoulder and hug teammates and relax on a quiet bench, Kershaw had 201 career postseason strikeouts. Only Justin Verlander, with 205, has more. Another sharp World Series outing this fall – another middling one, even – and he’ll edge into first all-time.It’s hard to say what any of that proves. Every rule has an exception. Kershaw is otherworldly, except in October. He’s a disaster then, except when he’s occasionally still great. And there’s no shortage of theorizing as to why. Jitters, curses, rotten luck. Bad managing, the pesky fact that postseason competition is always steeper. The source of Kershaw’s struggles, probably, is a mix of nonsense and logic.Logically, Game 1 made sense. Kershaw faced a Rays team that collectively hit .209 in the first three rounds of the 2020 playoffs. Some combination of their leaden bats and his humming slider made for a montage of whiffs. Nineteen, to be exact. Tampa’s batters missed 50% of the pitches they swung at, giving Kershaw the highest swing-and-miss rate of any game in his 13-year career.“It was better tonight than the last one, for sure,� he said after the game. “I think, the first inning, I was spiking some sliders there. Fortunate to get out of that first without any runs, and then after that, I kind of locked it in.�If Tuesday was a catharsis for Kershaw, it wasn’t his first. There have been plenty of other playoff games when he’s pitched like the version of himself worth $93m over three years. He was last absolved of his postseason sins in Game 2 of the Wild Card round, when he tossed eight shutout innings, and before that in Game 5 of the 2018 NLCS. Kershaw dazzles nearly as often as he combusts – but the combustions loom larger, louder.When he next takes the mound, Kershaw will face the same chatter that echoed before Game 1, the same whispers that grow louder every time his arm falters. That’s part of the thrill of it, though: It’s as exhilarating when he’s lights-out as it is when he’s haywire.This wasn’t the best World Series start of Kershaw’s career. That came in 2017, Game 1, when he struck out 11 in seven innings against Houston. But his gem against the Rays was close, and he was in complete control. His fastball velocity ticked up in 2020, and the 60-game regular season left him in far better shape this fall than he would be after 162. So maybe Tuesday started something new. Maybe this is Kershaw’s series to win, his legacy to cement.Or maybe a game is just a game.

Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts reminded fans the fun of stolen bases in Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday.

Red Sox fans may not want to hear how Mookie Betts made history in Game 1 of the World Series.

SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports' Bob Nightengale was on site in Arlington, Texas for what was an impressive start to the World Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers in all facets.

Kansas City Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol has interviewed for plenty of manager jobs in recent history, including the Detroit Tigers in 2020.

Constantly falling short in the playoffs, the Dodgers seemingly needed that one extra piece. Mookie Betts has delivered thus far and has L.A. three games away from glory.

David Kaplan is joined by Gordon Wittenmyer and Tim Stebbins to discuss which team in the World Series the Cubs should replicate to get them back to prominence: the big-spending Dodgers, or the analytical and methodical Rays.

Mookie Betts understands how a five-tool skill set helps the team win, and he saw plenty of that in the Dodgers' World Series Game 1 win.

Clayton Kershaw has waited a long time for October glory, and his World Series Game 1 performance for the Dodgers was worthy of a championship.

Clayton Kershaw, Cody Bellinger and Mookie Betts were unstoppable in Game 1 of the World Series, showing how the Dodgers and Rays aren't on the same level.

Condensed Game: Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger each homered to back Clayton Kershaw's one-run outing, as the Dodgers took Game 1, 8-3

Betts, Bellinger lead Dodgers to Game 1 win

A widespread crowd of 11,388 attended Tuesday night’s World Series opener between the Dodgers and Rays.

The Dodgers took the early World Series lead over the Rays in front of a limited crowd.

The Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 8-3 to take Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday behind the pitching of Clayton Kershaw and spark of Mookie Betts.

Photos from Game 1 of the World Series between the Dodgers and the Tampa Bay Rays at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

Everything from virtual cheering to having a tweet printed on a batting practice ball.

No matter which Bay Area you reside in, you won't be surprised Tom Brady is rooting against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.

The Dodgers were extremely cautious with Julio Urías for years because of injuries and his youth. Then he threw more than 150 pitches in five days of the NLCS.

Ex-Patriots QB Tom Brady, now with the Buccaneers, narrated a hype video ahead of the Rays' World Series matchup vs. the Dodgers.

On BNNY, the guys discuss whether the Yankees should consider trading Aaron Judge this offseason while he has 2 years of team control left.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred hopes an expanded postseason and new extra-inning rules will stick around.

SNY MLB Insider Andy Martino gives an update on where Steve Cohen’s purchase of the Mets currently stands.

The Cubs might not be playing in the World Series, but keep an eye out for these Cubs connections as you watch the Fall Classic.

The Giants brought in a couple of former Dodgers to lead this rebuild, but they've always had an eye on the Rays, too, and have a deep admiration for the way they do things.

Some of baseballs youngest stars have taken center stage as World Series participants over the past two seasons.

Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly, speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference, says MLB is not likely to fully return to normal until 2022.

Other than Trevor Bauer, where else could the Yankees look in the free agent market? Here are some options they could explore that fans may not know exist at the moment...

Austin Barnes will serve as Clayton Kershaw's catcher as the Dodgers open the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday.