JOSH HADER

Shohei Ohtani was among seven players who turned down $20,325,000 qualifying offers from their former teams and remained on the free agent market to pursue more lucrative contracts.

Two-way star Shohei Ohtani was among seven players given $20,325,000 qualifying offers by their former teams as the free agent market opened for 168 players.

Shohei Ohtani, Cody Bellinger, Jordan Montgomery, Blake Snell and Aaron Nola were among the 130 players who became free agents as baseball’s business season began the day following the Texas Rangers’ first World Series title.

Juan Soto hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the ninth inning, and the San Diego Padres rallied from an early five-run deficit for an 11-8 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

A person with knowledge of the deal says reliever Robert Suarez has agreed to remain with the San Diego Padres under a $46 million, five-year contract.

David Stearns is stepping down as the Milwaukee Brewers’ president of baseball operations.

The San Diego Padres will head into the offseason with a whole bunch of what-ifs.

Bryce Harper slugged his fifth homer of the postseason, a two-run blast in the eighth inning that turned Citizens Bank Park into a madhouse, and the $330 million slugger powered the Philadelphia Phillies past the San Diego Padres 4-3 on Sunday and into the World Series for the first the time since 2009.

Brandon Drury hit a go-ahead, two-run single during a five-run rally in the fifth inning and the San Diego Padres stunned Aaron Nola and the Philadelphia Phillies 8-5 to tie their all-wild card NL Championship Series at one game apiece.

As a rare October rainstorm drenched Petco Park in the eighth inning, nobody at the packed downtown home of the San Diego Padres flinched.

Jake Cronenworth hit a tiebreaking, two-run single with two outs in the seventh inning and the San Diego Padres rallied past the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 to advance to the NL Championship Series for the first time since 1998.

Blake Snell pitched five-hit ball into the sixth inning and Trent Grisham homered at a festive Petco Park, helping the San Diego Padres top the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 for a 2-1 lead in their NL Division Series.

Manny Machado homered early and added an RBI double off Clayton Kershaw, and Jurickson Profar singled home the go-ahead run in the sixth inning as the San Diego Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 to even their NL Division Series at a game apiece.

The San Diego Padres knocked off the 101-win New York Mets in the National League wild-card series.

Joe Musgrove brushed off chants of “Cheater!”.

For two teams that finished second fiddle in their divisions, the Padres and Mets bring an awful lot of star power into the playoffs.

Blake Snell held St. Louis hitless until Albert Pujols beat the shift for a single with two outs in the seventh inning and the San Diego Padres beat the NL Central-leading Cardinals 1-0.

So far, the impact of baseball's expanded postseason is marginal.

The Padres are giving reliever Josh Hader a break from the closer role after ninth-inning meltdowns on Thursday and Friday resulted San Diego losses.

San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin says he reached out to suspended All-Star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. in a phone call.

Manny Machado hit a game-ending, three-run homer and Juan Soto connected for his first long ball with the San Diego Padres, who overcame a blown save by Josh Hader to beat the San Francisco Giants 7-4.

Virtually nothing has gone right for the Milwaukee Brewers in thee week since they traded four-time All-Star closer Josh Hader.

Baseball’s trade deadline day was an action-packed affair — and no one had more fun than the Padres.

The Juan Soto sweepstakes come down to the wire, with baseball’s trade deadline fast approaching at 6 p.m. EDT.

The trade market got busy ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, with the New York Yankees acquiring pitcher Frankie Montas from Oakland for four prospects.

The San Diego Padres have acquired All-Star closer Josh Hader from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for recently benched closer Taylor Rogers and three other players.

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout will miss the All-Star Game because of back spasms, joining Bryce Harper on the sidelines and depriving the showcase of two of baseball’s best-known players.

Mike Yastrzemski hit a game-ending grand slam off major league saves leader Josh Hader for San Francisco’s third homer of the ninth inning, and the Giants rallied from a three-run deficit to stun the Milwaukee Brewers 8-5.

Shohei Ohtani makes his final start before heading to the All-Star Game and hopes to lead Los Angeles to a better result against Houston’s Cristian Javier, who struck out 14 Angels on July 1.

San Francisco left-hander Carlos Rodón, Boston designated hitter J.

Los Angeles Angels sensation Shohei Ohtani repeated as a two-way All-Star when he was picked for the AL pitching staff, two days after he was elected to start at designated hitter.

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Corbin Burnes pitched seven dominant innings, Tyrone Taylor hit a two-run homer and the Milwaukee Brewers regained sole possession of first place in the NL Central with a 2-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove takes a 47-47 career record over seven seasons into this start at Wrigley Field.

Josh Hader escaped a ninth-inning jam in his 37th straight scoreless appearance and the Milwaukee Brewers held off the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 for their third straight win.

A pair of Cy Young Award winners are on the mound when Corbin Burnes and the Milwaukee Brewers visit Blake Snell and the San Diego Padres in a matchup between two of the National League's top teams Tuesday night.

Brandon Woodruff pitched hitless ball into the sixth inning, Rowdy Tellez homered for the second straight day and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2 for a three-game sweep.

Longtime Washington Nationals star Ryan Zimmerman has announced his retirement, ending a decorated career in which he became the franchise leader in many major categories and boosted the team to its only World Series championship.

At least the Milwaukee Brewers came out swinging.

Freddie Freeman hit a tiebreaking home run off Milwaukee closer Josh Hader with two outs in the eighth inning and the Atlanta Braves advanced to the NL Championship Series for the second year in a row.

Rowdy Tellez spoiled Charlie Morton’s gem with a two-run homer in the seventh inning and threw out a runner at home plate, leading the Milwaukee Brewers over the Atlanta Braves 2-1 in the opener of their NL Division Series.

Two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels has been selected major league player of the year by Baseball Digest and eBay.

This was not the kind of punchout Milwaukee reliever Devin Williams wanted: The valuable setup man could miss the entire postseason after breaking his pitching hand when he punched a wall.

Milwaukee Brewers reliever Devin Williams fractured his throwing hand when he punched a wall after his team celebrated its NL Central title.

The Milwaukee Brewers clinched their second NL Central title in four years, beating the sloppy New York Mets 8-4 behind Willy Adames’s two-run homer and three RBIs.

Derek Hill hit a leadoff RBI double in the 11th inning, giving the Detroit Tigers a 1-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Houston Astros right-hander Zack Greinke makes his first start Tuesday night since testing positive for COVID-19 last month.

Max Scherzer of the Los Angeles Dodgers had his perfect game bid ended by Eric Hosmer’s double with one out in the eighth inning against the San Diego Padres.

Milwaukee ace Corbin Burnes combined with reliever Josh Hader to pitch baseball’s record ninth no-hitter this season, breaking a mark set when pitchers began throwing overhand in 1884 as the Brewers beat the Cleveland Indians 3-0.

Jace Peterson hit a go-ahead single in the seventh, Lorenzo Cain homered for a second straight game and the Milwaukee Brewers knocked the San Francisco Giants out of the top spot in the National League for the first time in more than three months.

Luis Urías tied a major league record with five extra-base hits and Manny Piña drove in six runs, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to a 17-4 romp over the Chicago Cubs.

Milwaukee right-hander Corbin Burnes struck out 10 consecutive batters, tying the major league record and leading the Brewers past the Chicago Cubs 10-0.

The diamond is built, and now they will come -- José Abreu, Aaron Judge and all, to Iowa.

Brandon Belt hit his second homer of the night during a four-run outburst in the 11th inning as the San Francisco Giants rallied to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 9-6 in a wild Saturday night matchup between division leaders.

Miguel Cabrera’s 500th career homer could be just a few swings away.

Anthony Rizzo and the New York Yankees host surprising Seattle in the opener of a four-game series between AL wild-card contenders Thursday night.

The NL Central-leading Brewers are again shuffling their pitching staff with reliever John Axford now out for the season because of elbow trouble and starter Eric Lauer joining the team’s growing COVID-19 injured list.

The Milwaukee Brewers’ pitching staff has taken a couple more hits with John Axford now out for the season with elbow trouble and Eric Lauer joining the COVID-19 injured list.

José Altuve, Carlos Correa and the Astros have been heckled at Yankee Stadium, Cleveland, Phoenix and many other parks, the result of their sign-stealing scheme.

Highly touted Milwaukee prospect Aaron Ashby got roughed up for seven runs in the first inning of his big league debut, but Luis Urias homered twice as the Brewers rallied to rout the Chicago Cubs 15-7 for their eighth straight win.

SETBACK IN THE BULLPENBlue Jays right-hander Kirby Yates will miss several weeks because of a strained muscle in his forearm. He allowed one run and five hits, striking out five without a walk. Ross Stripling struck out seven and walked none in 3 2/3 innings, but gave up three runs and five hits. Bryan Abreu, a top Astros pitching prospect who turns 24 next month, started and pitched three perfect innings, striking out four. Baltimore starter John Means allowed four hits and walked three over 3 2/3 innings, striking out three.

Harris has a blood clot in his right arm and is leaving spring training camp to be examined by a specialist, manager Dave Martinez said Friday, March 19, 2021. (Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via AP)Washington Nationals reliever Will Harris has a blood clot in his right arm and the team doesn't expect him to be in the bullpen on opening day. Carlos Martínez struggled in his fourth start for St. Louis. DODGERS 7, RANGERS 2Julio Urías made his fourth start for Los Angeles, allowing two hits in four shutout innings, striking out three. Adrian Houser made his fourth start.

The center fielder for the Seattle Mariners won the AL Rookie of the Year award Monday night, and Milwaukee Brewers reliever Devin Williams took home the NL honor. “It’s just a great first step for me and being in that category, it’s just really special,” Lewis said. “I don’t really think that saves are the end-all be-all,” Williams said on a conference call during a vacation in Jamaica. Lewis batted just .147 in September, and Robert hit .136 with 32 strikeouts in 23 games in the final month. This season, Williams teamed with closer Josh Hader to form a shutdown tandem at the back end of the Brewers’ bullpen.

Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts flies out to right field during the third inning of the team's baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday, Sept. 25, 2020, in Los Angeles. Welcome to the first round of the 2020 playoffs, a class with an unusual amount of homework — and precious little room for error. After the pandemic-shortened regular season was limited to regional play, seven of the eight wild-card series involve teams that haven't played any meaningful games against each other since last year. “It’s like the old days, man, when you played a team you’ve never played before. That means a lot of video and scouting work before the AL playoffs begin Tuesday and the NL postseason starts Wednesday.

The .245 big league batting average was the the lowest since .237 in 1968 and down from .252 last year. LeMahieu hit .364 for the New York Yankees, the highest for an AL batting champion since Minnesota’s Joe Mauer hit .365 in 2009 and well ahead of 2019 AL batting champion Tim Anderson of the Chicago White Sox, who finished second at .322. LeMahieu won the NL batting title with Colorado in 2016. “You've got to just roll with it.”Soto batted .351 for Washington and at 21 years, 11 months, 2 days became the youngest NL batting champion. Bieber and the Chicago Cubs’ Yu Darvish tied for the major league lead in wins with eight.

Cleveland Indians' Cesar Hernandez, center, is mobbed by teammates after hitting an RBI-single in the ninth inning in a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)CLEVELAND Milwaukee closer Josh Hader allowed his first hit of the season, and then gave up Csar Hernndezs game-winning single in the ninth inning as the Cleveland Indians beat the Brewers 4-3 on Saturday night. Oscar Mercado, who scored on Hernndezs liner through a five-man infield, led off the ninth with a double, ending Haders major league-record streak of 12 hitless appearances to start the season. The right-hander gave up an RBI double to Daniel Vogelbach in the fourth and Hiuras homer. Indians: RHP Shane Bieber (6-0, 1.20 ERA) faces Milwaukee for the first time in his three-year MLB career.

Milwaukee Brewers' Eric Sogard celebrates after hitting a walk off two-run home run during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)MILWAUKEE Eric Sogard bailed out All-Star closer Josh Hader by hitting his first career walkoff home run, a two-run shot that lifted the Milwaukee Brewers over the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-6 on Saturday night. Something you probably wont see again out of Hader, kind of a fluke thing," Sogard said. Entering Saturday, the left-handed Hader was 7-for-7 in save opportunities and had not allowed a run or a hit all season. UP NEXTPirates LHP Steven Brault (0-1, 4.80 ERA) faces Brewers RHP Brandon Woodruff (2-2, 3.19 ERA) in game three of the four-game series.

Minnesota Twins pitcher Kenta Maeda of Japan throws against the Milwaukee Brewers in the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)MINNEAPOLIS Kenta Maeda lost a no-hitter in the ninth inning for the Minnesota Twins, who blew a three-run lead but came back to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 in 12 innings. Maeda's no-hit bid was ended by Eric Sogard's soft single that soared just over the glove of a leaping Polanco at shortstop. Maeda retired 21 straight batters in a stretch from the first to the eighth innings and finished with 12 strikeouts. Opponents are 0 for 22 against Hader this season, with four walks and one hit by pitch 12 strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings.

Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Josh Hader signals with catcher Manny Pina (9) after a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020, in Chicago (AP Photo/Matt Marton)CHICAGO Keston Hiura and Orlando Arcia homered, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 6-5 on Sunday for their third straight win against the NL Central leaders. The Cubs struck out 53 times during the four-game set. Brewers starter Josh Lindblom also struggled, allowing five runs in five-plus innings. In the fifth, Urias led off with a triple and Arcia followed with a two-run homer to put the Brewers on top 5-3. HOMECOMINGBefore traveling to Minnesota for a three-game series beginning Tuesday night, the Brewers were planning to return home Sunday night.