Chicago White Sox begin ‘critical stretch’ of 15 games in 14 days vs. AL Central opponents.  Here's what to watch for starting tonight.  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The Chicago White Sox have a major opportunity ahead of them beginning Monday.  —  A stretch of 15 games in 14 days …

Clay Holmes returns to Pittsburgh as one of the best pitchers in baseball  —  CLEVELAND — When the Yankees first got Clay Holmes from the Pirates, there was hardly a ripple of a reaction.  The big right-hander had underwhelmed with Pittsburgh.  A converted starter who walked a lot of batters …

Backed by trio of homers, Tyler Wells throws 6 strong innings vs. former organization in Orioles' 3-1 win over Twins  —  ExpandAutoplay  —  1 of 6  —  MINNEAPOLIS — As effective as Tyler Wells has been since donning an Orioles uniform, it becomes easy to forget he was not only a player …

New York Mets' Jacob deGrom pleased with first rehab start  —  New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom struck out five of the six batters he faced and threw 18 of 24 pitches for strikes in his first minor league rehab start for Class A St. Lucie on Sunday.  —  The only hiccup for deGrom …

Nightengale's Notebook: The inside story of where Freddie Freeman's free agency went wrong  —  The former MVP unexpectedly left Atlanta in the offseason, with his agent and former club now fighting over whose fault that is.  —  It may be the most salacious soap opera between a player …

Celtics to re-sign forward Sam Hauser to three-year deal as sharpshooter could see bigger role next season  —  Second-year forward Sam Hauser has agreed to a three-year contract with the Celtics worth approximately $6 million, a league source told the Globe on Sunday.

Five Kevin Durant trades that make (some) sense  —  Two days ago, superstar forward Kevin Durant demanded a trade from the Brooklyn Nets.  —  Oh, you've heard?  —  As others have already touched upon, there is a lot to unpack here.  One of Durant's preferred destinations, Miami …

Former Vanderbilt Commodores baseball star Kumar Rocker, draft-eligible again, had September shoulder surgery, sources say  —  Former Vanderbilt star Kumar Rocker underwent shoulder surgery in September, receiving what his agent called “a minor scope” on his right arm, sources familiar with the procedure told ESPN.

First-base coach Mark Budzinski away from Toronto Blue Jays after eldest daughter's death  —  Toronto Blue Jays first-base coach Mark Budzinski will be away from the team after the death of his eldest daughter, Julia Budzinski, the team announced Sunday.  —  “The Budzinskis have been part …