MLB News

B.J. Upton's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 11th gave the Rays a 9-8 walk-off win over the Red Sox in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series.

Before the top of the fifth inning had ended on Saturday, the Red Sox and Rays had combined to hit seven home runs in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series, tying the all-time postseason record for most home runs in one game and breaking the record for ALCS homers in one game.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel will remain with the team through Game 5 of the NLCS, then return to Roanoke, Va., to attend a funeral service for his mother.

The scene shifts from Citizens Bank Park to Dodger Stadium for Game 3 on Sunday night. The Dodgers can take solace from that. These teams have played each other 10 times this year and the home team has yet to lose.

Game 3 of the NLCS on Sunday night brings the series to Dodger Stadium, where Dodgers manager Joe Torre will remind his players to "bring the game" to the opponents, not the other way around as it quickly unfolded at Citizens Bank Park.

A combined seven home runs flew out of play Saturday night at Tropicana Field. The back-and-forth nature of the offense played a role for both managers, Joe Maddon and Terry Francona, in keeping their starters in longer, hoping they could hold onto their newfound leads -- but each skipper turned to relief in the fifth.

Nomar Garciaparra will start for the Dodgers either at first or third base on Sunday in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series and Derek Lowe will be the starting pitcher for Game 4, manager Joe Torre announced Saturday.

The effort to preserve a portion of Tiger Stadium is moving on to its next stage after meeting its initial fundraising goal to keep the stadium standing.

Evan Longoria got out of the gate quickly this postseason, the rookie slugger has found the playoff terrain much tougher his past few games. His homer in the first inning of Game 2 might be a step in the right direction.

Considering that he is all of 23 years old and had 108 days of Major League service time entering the postseason, it might seem bold of the Red Sox to keep putting Justin Masterson on the mound in the late innings with the game on the line.

On Monday, Zachary Sharples wasn't even allowed to rest his head and take a nap. On Saturday night, the seventh-grader had a hard time believing he wasn't dreaming.

The Rays, in a 1-0 ALCS hole after getting blanked in Friday's opener, appeared loose before Saturday's contest at Tropicana Field against the Red Sox.

Breaking from their normal practice, the Rays will fly up to Boston on Sunday morning rather than after the game Saturday night. The change in plan stemmed from a workout time of 6:30 p.m. ET at Fenway Park and Saturday's late game, making it possible for the Rays to spend one more night at home before departing.

The first inning of Game 2 of the American League Championship Series marked the first time that both teams scored multiple runs since Game 5 of the 1998 ALCS, when the Yankees scored three times in the top of the first and the Indians answered with two runs in the bottom half.

Within minutes of each other last week, J.C. Romero and Shane Victorino used these words to describe their respective roads to Philadelphia. "Someone's trash is someone else's treasure."

The Cubs were the unanimous regular-season choice. Then came the Dodgers. But now the Phillies stand two wins away from the World Series. This October, the baseball gods have not yet settled on the National League's best, so the teams will have to settle it on the field.

Just like the Brewers before them, the Dodgers are learning that if you don't get ahead of the Phillies early, you're not going to beat them late.

Dodgers reliever James McDonald never could have imagined answering questions about his stellar National League Championship Series debut as late as the end of July, when he was just a top prospect minding his time with Double-A Jacksonville.

With his left ankle still attached, Brett Myers said that he was fine Saturday, a day after turning it while running the bases in the Phillies' 8-5 win over the Dodgers in Friday's Game 2 of the National League Championship Series.

Phillies Game 3 starter Jamie Moyer is well aware that Manny Ramirez has had plenty of success against him, but he also knows Sunday's game will be critical for the Dodgers, down 0-2 in this best-of-seven National League Championship Series.

Just because he was the Dodgers' best pitcher against Philadelphia during the regular season, Hiroki Kuroda knows that does not necessarily mean he will shut down the Phillies again when he takes the ball in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Sunday with Los Angeles trailing, 0-2.