Wednesday was quite the day for former No. 1 overall Draft picks. Bryce Harper (No. 1 pick in 2010), Jackson Holliday (2022), Spencer Torkelson (2020), Mickey Moniak (2016) and Henry Davis (2021) each hit home runs. If that sounds like it’s rare, it’s because it is.

PITTSBURGH -- Benches cleared at PNC Park and Nationals reliever Jorge López was ejected after throwing a ball up and in at Andrew McCutchen in the seventh inning on Wednesday.

NEW YORK – There was plenty of discussion after Juan Soto remarked this week that things feel different without Aaron Judge lurking in the on-deck circle. But one piece of that commentary went without debate: The Yankees’ captain really may be, as the Mets’ star said, “the best hitter in

SAN DIEGO -- The Padres’ record-setting home winning streak came to an end on Tuesday night. By Wednesday afternoon, they’d already started a new one. San Diego won its series finale against the Cubs on Wednesday, 4-2, improving to 12-1 this season at Petco Park and 15-4 overall, the best

BALTIMORE -- Everybody should have known a big hit was coming for Jackson Holliday on Wednesday night. It was Bark at the Park at Camden Yards, and Holliday’s 1-year-old bernedoodle, Coconut, was sitting with Holliday’s wife, Chloe, in the stands.

PITTSBURGH -- Sometimes hard contact can result in an out. Those outs usually aren’t made after the ball lands in front of the left fielder, though.

NEW YORK – The well-struck drive hooked toward the right-field line in the ninth inning on Wednesday night, and a worst-case scenario could have easily flashed through Cody Bellinger's mind. If that ball touched grass, the game would have been tied, and the Yankees’ outfielder recovered from an early stumble

TORONTO -- By the time Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was done with watching his first home run of 2025 crash into the second deck, done with the choreography of his trot around the bases and done with the dugout celebrations, he stood exhausted and relieved. “It’s about time, Vladimir!" George Springer

PHILADELPHIA -- Last week, Tyler Fitzgerald got to receive a major perk of playing for the Giants: hitting tips from Barry Bonds. During the club’s most recent homestand, Bonds pulled Fitzgerald aside and asked him to meet him in the batting cage, where the legendary slugger instructed the slumping second

TAMPA -- Jake Mangum got the ball. The wall got his batting gloves. With two outs in the ninth inning of the Rays’ 1-0 loss to the Red Sox on a windy Wednesday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field, Mangum tracked a Carlos Narváez fly ball straight back to the

TORONTO -- Back like he never left. Spencer Strider hadn’t toed a Major League mound in 376 days, his 2024 season ending after just two starts due to elbow surgery. As Strider finished rehab and a return drew near, anticipation built. Brief spring outings drew eyes and gaudy strikeout totals

With a .450 batting average and five RBIs, Francisco Lindor helped carry Team Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. When the event returns next year, Lindor will reprise his leading role.

MILWAUKEE -- Ed Miklavcic said the secrets to his longevity are simple: He took care of himself and worked hard. It showed on Wednesday at American Family Field, where the 105-year-old Miklavcic, a World War II veteran and the second-oldest living survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor, threw a

TAMPA -- Garrett Whitlock’s move back to the bullpen was something he decided in tandem with the Red Sox last winter. Tired of losing time to injuries, Whitlock wanted to be a frequent contributor again. And if that meant giving up the more glamorous role of starting, the righty was

CINCINNATI -- Cal Raleigh made more home run history on Wednesday night for the Mariners, furthering his status as a player who’s become synonymous with monumental milestones with the long ball. Raleigh went yard twice in Seattle’s 5-3 win over the Reds at Great American Ball Park, blasting a pair

MINNEAPOLIS -- Jose Miranda’s rough week got worse on Monday. The infielder, who committed a baserunning error in the Twins’ Saturday loss to Detroit and was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul after the game, suffered a strange injury Monday. He strained his left hand while trying to handle a case

MIAMI -- Josh Naylor hoisted a finger into the air as he rounded first base following a second-inning homer Wednesday night at loanDepot park. The home run -- Naylor’s second in as many games -- bounced off Marlins center fielder Derek Hill’s glove on its way over the wall, and

ST. LOUIS -- Among the many ways that the Cardinals have improved offensively this season under the direction of new hitting coach Brant Brown, the most difference-making aspect of their growth has been the squad’s recognition of favorable counts and their ability to slug when in those advantageous situations. For

The moment Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s extension with the Blue Jays became official, the clock began to tick on Kyle Tucker’s countdown to free agency, where he will be the undisputed gem of this year’s class. That title likely would have belonged to Guerrero had he not signed a 14-year, $500

A bases-loaded walk seems like a relatively innocuous play, right? The batter strolls to first base, the runners advance and the next hitter digs into the box. That's how it usually plays out. But on Tuesday night – Jackie Robinson Day across affiliated baseball -- Rockies Triple-A affiliate Albuquerque did

MINNEAPOLIS -- Don’t look now, but the Twins are finding ways to win games, rather than ways to lose them. After two weeks of seemingly every break going against them, now some of those defining little moments are going their way instead. A sinking line drive that bounced just in

MILWAUKEE -- The small-market Brewers always do it a little differently. Why would it have been any different on Wednesday when one of them carried a Torpedo bat to home plate for the first time? The first player to use the uniquely-shaped lumber -- which took MLB by storm when

TORONTO -- The Blue Jays’ pitching staff set a new franchise record with 19 strikeouts against the Braves in Wednesday’s 3-1 win, their most ever in a nine-inning game. It all started with Chris Bassitt, who struck out the side in the first inning, but there’s something about a starter

ARLINGTON -- Patrick Corbin, for better or for worse, is an innings-eater. It’s probably the biggest reason he’s in Texas right now. After all, he made 32 starts for the Nationals in 2024, posting a 5.62 ERA across 174 2/3 innings. The 35-year-old southpaw led Washington in games started (170),