The offense, which has been inconsistent for much of the season, once again has been a major contributor to the club’s woes. Gio Gonzalez allowed three hits over six innings and Ian Desmond homered and drove in both runs to lead the Washington Nationals to a 2-1 victory over the Phillies on Monday night. Gonzalez (6-1), a former Phillies...

One small problem: Some of the lights on the left-field video board stopped working in the fourth inning, after someone who was born three years after Moyer debuted in the major leagues changed the game with one swing. Giancarlo Stanton hit a grand slam off Moyer in a five-run fourth inning, spoiling the left-hander’s first trip to Miami’s new...

That would be enough to win most games — except this one against the hard-hitting Boston Red Sox. David Ortiz launched Boston’s comeback from a three-run deficit with a mighty home run, and the Red Sox banged out 14 hits in an 8-6 victory Monday night. The Orioles staked starter Tommy Hunter to a 5-2 lead, but after Ortiz homered to begin a...

“This place is tough for pitchers … and managers,” he said. Tough — and strange at times, too. Right-hander Mike Leake hit his first career homer — one of three solo shots in a row by the Cincinnati Reds — and allowed only two hits over eight innings Monday night for a 4-1 victory over Atlanta. Drew Stubbs hit two...

That’s what Caleb Lloyd did on Monday night at Great American Ball Park. The 20-year-old junior from Thomas More College was in left field when Reds pitcher Mike Leake hit his first career homer in the fourth inning. The ball went directly to Lloyd, who had never caught a ball at a game. “It hit my hand,” he said. “I...

Pitching out of trouble with ease, Paulino pitched shutout ball against the Yankees for the second time in 17 days. Mike Moustakas and Jeff Francoeur backed him with two-run homers, leading the Kansas City Royals to a 6-0 win Monday night in the opener of a nine-game trip. “Paulino, since he’s been back, has been dynamite,” Royals manager...

The Ivory Coast striker will leave when his contract expires at the end of June and is now odds-on to follow his former team mate Nicolas Anelka to China. He leaves the club on a high after a starring role in Saturday’s Champions League final when he scored an emphatic late headed equaliser before coolly slotting home the decisive penalty in the...

FIFA and UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, had previously blocked Kosovo’s attempts to play internationals because it was not recognised by the United Nations. However, FIFA President Sepp Blatter urged his executive committee to approve the change at its meeting on Monday and told Reuters when the announcement was made on Tuesday that he...