Sport Scores

Washington’s sophomore wide receiver, Dante Pettis, was understandably nervous Wednesday morning about the big game coming up. No, not the Huskies’ showdown with Oregon on Saturday, though that will soon become his total focus. Of more immediate concern was the Houston Astros’ American League Division Series elimination game with the Kansas City Royals, which would prove to be a season-ending defeat for the Astros. As the son of Astros third-base…

CHICAGO – October used to be baseball’s domain, the time when the rest of the sporting world understood its second-fiddle status. Football owns the month now, the vise grip of the NFL and the allure of college unrelenting, unbreakable save for the one trump card baseball can play. “If the Chicago Cubs are participating in the playoffs, football can wait,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “With what we’ve been able…

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David Banks/Getty See Also How would you like one of the world’s smartest computers to sift through gads of baseball stats and help you pick the perfect Fantasy Baseball team, then personally advise you on which players to play or bench all season long? In November, you’ll be able to do just that, an IBM spokesperson tells Business Insider. That’s when a new Fantasy Baseball beta service will launch from baseball…

The roar began almost immediately when the ball came off Kyle Schwarber’s bat Tuesday night, the fans jumping to their feet in celebration before the ball disappeared somewhere above the right-field video board at Wrigley Field. Before long, Major League Baseball’s Statcast technology had the metrics on the epic home run. Exit velocity: 112.5 mph. Launch angle: 35 degrees. Max height: 136 feet. Projected hang time: 6.7 seconds. Projected distance:…

Guinness World Record-holder Isao Machii is a master of laido, a Japanese sword-based martial art, and he’s been using his swordplay skills to slice speeding objects for a few years now. The latest stunt from the man deemed a “modern-day samurai”? Cutting a 100 mph baseball in half while standing about 30 feet away from where it was fired. You can see it all go down in the two-minute clip,…

  At the Washington Nationals’ home opener in April, Duane Dargin, 9, stood in the center of the diamond beneath sunny skies waiting to throw out the game’s ceremonial first pitch. Just one year earlier, Duane had never before held a regulation baseball in his hand, nor had he played baseball a day in his life. Duane’s neighborhood, predominantly African-American and near some of the poorest sections of Washington, is…

President Barack Obama does not hide his allegiance to the White Sox. He certainly didn’t on Tuesday night when he saluted Chicago’s other baseball team for winning a playoff series. Congrats @Cubs – even @whitesox fans are rooting for you! — President Obama (@POTUS) October 14, 2015 Some White Sox fans might tell the POTUS “Speak for yourself,” but Obama knows which way the winds are blowing in the Windy City…

The Cubs are baseball’s biggest party now, a crazy mix of bonus babies and spare parts, led by a mad-scientist manager who loves giving the middle finger to unwritten rules and an Ivy League executive who can casually namedrop rock stars without sounding obnoxious. The Cubs have been playing (mostly bad) baseball at Wrigley Field for 100 years, but they had never seen anything like this before, clinching a playoff…

UCLA history professor Joan Waugh is one of the country’s pre-eminent scholars on American history in the latter half of the 19th century and in particular the Civil War. She’s also a lifelong baseball fan who during her class “United States History 1865–1900,” spends one lecture focused on how baseball became American’s national pastime. On, Sept. 21, C-SPAN aired a recording of Waugh telling the story of baseball from the…

The Cubs are baseball’s biggest party now, a crazy mix of bonus babies and spare parts, led by a mad-scientist manager who loves giving the middle finger to unwritten rules and an Ivy League executive who can casually namedrop rock stars without sounding obnoxious. The Cubs have been playing (mostly bad) baseball at Wrigley Field for 100 years, but they had never seen anything like this before, clinching a playoff…

Seriously, look at this garbage. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) The three largest television markets in the United States are in, respectively, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Those are also cities that President Obama won in 2012 with 81 percent, 69 percent and 74 percent of the vote. Big cities, lots of people, lots of Democrats. And when Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and the three musketeers get on stage on Tuesday…

MUSCATINE — The transition will be bittersweet for Scott Beatty. But the Muscatine Community College softball coach is looking forward to his next step as the new baseball head coach at Davenport West next summer. Beatty said he had his eye on the job posting in mid-July but didn’t really pursue the opportunity until he learned that MCC will cut its baseball and softball programs after the 2016 season. He…

Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin, center, and his team will travel to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday for a fall break trip.(Photo: Jae S. Lee / The Tennessean) The Vanderbilt baseball team will travel to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to start a six-day fall break team trip. The Commodores will tour the capital and practice three days at the U.S. Naval Academy in nearby Annapolis, Md. “That’s a huge plus for our…

With Jake Arrieta pitching, Joe Maddon managing, and rookie sensations Kyle Schwarber and Kris Bryant on their team, you would think Chicago Cubs fans might finally stop whining about how unlucky their team is. Don’t bet on it. Arrieta, maybe the best hurler in baseball, was obtained by the Cubs in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles for pitcher Scott Feldman and catcher Steve Clevenger. Most baseball fans have probably…

The play above was a crucial moment in today’s ALDS game between the Royals and Astros. Down 3-2 with two outs in the top of the seventh, Royals pinch runner Terrance Gore attempted to steal third base. Despite beating the throw and the tag easily, Gore was called out—not because the umpire blew the call, but because instant replay is ruining everything. Astros manager A.J. Hinch challenged the play, sending…

If you have a case of the Mondays, you’re in luck. Monday features a full slot of four MLB postseason games to watch to start your week the right way. As each division series has gained ground, it’s been easier to figure out which players are the best picks for daily fantasy baseball leagues. Star players have shined, but a few surprise players have made a huge impact for their…

Joe Torre walked wearily into an interview bunker at Dodger Stadium late Saturday night. He already had gotten an earful from two executives from the New York Mets, the team that had just lost its shortstop to a broken leg, and now he had to explain why the umpires had sanctioned the play. The Dodgers said Chase Utley had taken out Ruben Tejada with a slide. The Mets said Utley…