Mets 1-hit by Julio Urias, Dodgers, drop first game out of All-Star break  —  The Mets promised better times ahead, but Friday night at Citi Field, the second-half Mets looked a lot like the first-half Mets.  —  The Los Angeles Dodgers took the first game of a three-game series with a 6-0 win.

His Sexuality Doesn't Define Him, but It Can Set Him Apart  —  Eric Bach is an openly gay broadcaster for the Fredericksburg Nationals.  He has major league aspirations, but his path has been much lonelier than he would prefer.  —  The hateful email was a surprise, but for Eric Bach, it was not entirely unexpected.

Yankees Notebook: Aaron Boone sees Giancarlo Stanton ‘getting there’ at the plate  —  DENVER — It's taken some time, but Giancarlo Stanton is starting to look like the hitter he and the Yankees expect him to be.  —  While the team's offense is struggling mightily, Stanton crushed …

The clock is ticking on the Chicago Cubs as Jed Hoyer remains in wait-and-see mode: ‘Ultimately you are what your record is’  —  At some point in the next 2 1/2 weeks before the Aug. 1 trade deadline, the Chicago Cubs will commit to a buyer or seller direction with their roster.

A short night for Michael Kopech and a long night for the Chicago White Sox, who are now a season-high 17 games under .500  —  ATLANTA — Friday was not the return Michael Kopech had in mind.  —  The Chicago White Sox reinstated the right-hander from the injured list ahead of Friday's game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park.

Another ugly finish as Mets lose to Dodgers, skid hits 4  —  Picking out the problem in the Mets' 5-1 loss to the Dodgers on Saturday night presents the same conundrum as picking out the problem in their season: There is no one simple answer.  —  On the year, the hitting, starting pitching and relief pitching have underwhelmed.

‘Not an ordinary kid’: What top MLB stars see next for Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz  —  SEATTLE — San Diego Padres superstar Juan Soto has known Elly De La Cruz since before the Cincinnati Reds rookie became an overnight baseball phenomenon last month.  —  When the Padres recently …

Cardinals at the break: What lessons from disastrous first half can fix flaws for 2024?  —  As the Cardinals put the finishing touches on a roster they believed would contend for a division title and certainly a 16th consecutive winning season, manager Oliver Marmol detailed a factor …

If Tigers ‘get hot,’ Scott Harris could alter trade deadline plans  —  Starting Friday, the Tigers have two weeks and change to potentially alter the plans of Scott Harris at the trade deadline.  —  In any other division, those plans would already be set in tone.

Phillies to call up Drew Ellis, Johan Rojas  —  The Phillies are adding one of their top prospects to the major league roster.  —  They are calling up center fielder Johan Rojas, according to Mike Rodriguez.  Matt Gelb of The Athletic confirmed the report and added that Drew Ellis is expected to be added to the active roster.