The eight-player field, announced Thursday, will follow the bracket format that began at last year’s event. Frazier and Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton aren’t members of the All-Star Game, but the power hitters will add an extra amount of flair in the slugfest. MORE: How would All-Star Game look if players were picked for defense? Padres youngster Wil Myers will hope to accomplish what Frazier did last season in Cincinnati: win the derby at his everyday ballpark....

The Collective Bargaining Agreement that was agreed to by the MLB owners and MLB Players’ Association in 2016 expired Wednesday night at 11:59 p.m. ET and commissioner Rob Manfred and his owners soon after locked out the players. Both the failure to reach an agreement and the lockout were anticipated developments; it’s long been known that the sides were far apart on the multiple issues on the table. MORE: MLB’s lockout, explained: Everything you need to know...

Indians rookie Cody Anderson was eight outs away from a perfect game, until his 79th pitch of the night was blasted over the right field wall in Tropicana Field by Rays designated hitter Grady Sizemore. A former All-Star with the Indians, Sizemore ended a 53-game homerless streak with the solo shot. Anderson, who was making his second career start, pitched eight innings and gave up two hits with two strikeouts....

MLB odds: Current Las Vegas lines Why has the action come so heavy against one of the majors’ elite pitchers? For one thing, streaks are fun to ride for bettors because all the breaks seem to go against teams that aren’t dialed in. These teams tend to press rather than play loose and let the game come to them. The Giants’ losing streak tells bettors that anything is possible even though they‘ve beaten the D’Backs the past six times Bumgarner has faced them....

It was Opening Day, with capital letters. All 30 teams were scheduled to play, the way it’s supposed to be, instead of misguided staggered starts of years past that were designed to put eyeballs on one or two games on one of two particular networks. But there will be no actual baseball played on March 26, as you know. It’s a shame, but it’s the right thing as the world deals with the coronavirus impact (seriously, people, stay home and wash your hands regularly)....

As such, if you’re a believer in a team such as the Braves or Nationals, you could make a good deal of money by placing a bet on them to win it all. There are some compelling reasons to choose a dark horse candidate, particularly in the NL, where there is only one superpower to overtake. Those who favor pitching might be interested in betting on Washington’s potent trio of Patrick Corbin, Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg....

The thought is laughable now as the reliever cruises through frame after frame in the postseason, but Kahnle had not had many extended outings with the Chicago White Sox when New York acquired the right-hander in July. “The one thing we weren’t quite sure about him when we got him is how much we could use him multiple innings,” Yankees manager Girardi said. “He was very successful in Chicago and we were concerned if we took him out of that type of role, would it change who he was?...

The 13 runs were a franchise record for the Mets in a postseason game. New York leads the series 2-1 with a chance to clinch at home Tuesday. Dodgers second baseman Howie Kendrick hit a three-run home run just over the left field wall in the ninth inning, but it didn’t put much of a dent in the Mets’ lead. MORE: Best photos from NL Division Series games | Kershaw plays ‘bullying,’ ‘you never played’ cards regarding Utley controversy...

“The grounds crew is good here, and it’s playoff time,” Nationals outfielder Ben Revere said. “So, they’ll get this field straight and good to go for tomorrow.” MLB PLAYOFFS 2016: Top 50 players in the postseason In the meantime, as the clouds started to break up a bit over Washington right around the time the game was supposed to start, it was a good time for a silly question. What was the worst weather you ever played in?...

Somebody had to lose Thursday night, and at 12:41 a.m. Friday, that someone was the home team, 4-3, with everything to think about for months and years to come, and so few words that could be used to sum it all up. MORE: The 50 best players in the playoffs The game turned between the sixth and seventh innings. One frame ended with third base coach Bob Henley’s inexplicable decision to send Jayson Werth home on Ryan Zimmerman’s double to left field, getting the 37-year-old thrown out at the plate after Yasmani Grandal waited several minutes to make the tag on a relay throw that Corey Seager made at about the same time Werth rounded third....

After seeing a three-run lead be cut to one run, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called upon closer Kenley Jansen in the seventh inning, then went against his word and used three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw to get the final two outs. With the win, the Nationals will face the Cubs in the best-of-seven NL Championship Series beginning Saturday in Chicago. MORE: The 50 best players in the playoffs...

Maddon opted out of his contract with the Rays in October. A few days later, he signed a five-year, $25 million deal to manage the Cubs. MLB launched an investigation in early November to determine if the Cubs had tampered with Maddon by contacting him while he was under contract with the Rays. MORE: Cardinals at Cubs to start MLB season | WINNERS ONLY: Fantasy Source | Linemakers Five months later, that investigation remains in progress....

MLB declined to announce which six games will be broadcast on Facebook but said there will be one every month of the regular season. “Collaborating with Facebook will again drive the creation of new ways for us to deliver content to baseball fans that engage on the platform daily,” an MLB spokesman wrote in a statement. “Facebook provides a community-focused environment that will allow for fans to connect with their favorite teams via custom on-demand content and live game action driven by an original MLB Network social-first broadcast production....

Alex Wood has been great this year, but he’s never made a playoff start. Rich Hill is great when healthy, but his blister issues have been persistent for years. Brandon McCarthy and Kenta Maeda are solid starters, but McCarthy has never pitched in the postseason and Maeda has a 6.75 ERA in three career playoff starts without making it past the fourth inning. MORE: Offense will carry Dodgers through Kershaw’s injury...

The future of the sport will be fun. How do I know this? I watch the joy with which Yermin Mercedes plays the game — the joy he has every time he swings the bat in the big leagues, knowing his journey to get to this point. I watch how his teammates, such as Tim Anderson, support and encourage it. I watch Fernando Tatis Jr. I watch Shohei Ohtani. I watch Mike Trout — wait, dammit, he’s on the IL now — and I watch Mookie Betts and I watch Pete Alonso....

Players like Willson Contreras, Luis Castillo and Frankie Montas feel like inevitabilities to be moved. Others, like Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani, are big names being dangled for utterly gigantic returns. Who will make splash at this year’s deadline? First, we need to determine who is trying to. MORE: The 20 players most likely to be moved by the MLB trade deadline Here is the one move every team should make at this year’s deadline....

Matt Kemp: According to a report from Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, “some rival officials say the Dodgers are more eager to move him than (Andre) Ethier or (Carl) Crawford.” Kemp was limited to 73 games this year, had ankle surgery, and even when he played, he clearly was not at 100 percent. Even so, in the games that he played, Kemp posted an OPS+ of 105, meaning that even hobbled, he was 5 percent better than league average....

The pandemic-delayed start to the season threw everything off-kilter, and with only a month between then and the new trade deadline — Aug. 31, at 4 p.m. ET — it’s fair to wonder what teams will be willing to part with, prospect-wise, for 30 days of impact players. And with 16 of the 30 teams qualifying for the postseason — and no more one-game coin flips — more teams than ever have a realistic chance of October success....

The second half might be defined by how they approach the trade deadline. They have several pieces who would fit nicely on contending teams. Reliever Jason Frasor was dealt to the Royals this week. Outfielder Alex Rios could be moved to a team in need of lineup help. Teams might at least ask about the cost for shortstop Elvis Andrus or ace Yu Darvish. But Joakim Soria might be the most in-demand player on the team....

Detroit “will listen to offers” for starter Matthew Boyd and slugger Nicholas Castellanos, according to a report from MLB Network, which cites unidentified league sources. The team is also willing to deal closer Shane Greene, along with “virtually any veteran on its roster,” the report says. Boyd, 28, is in the middle of a career season as he has registered a 5-4 record with a 3.08 ERA in 14 starts....