Sept. 28 1919 — In the shortest nine-inning game in major league history, 51 minutes, the New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-1. 1920 — A grand jury indicted eight members of the Chicago White Sox on charges of fixing the 1919 World Series in the “Black Sox Scandal.” 1938 — Gabby Hartnett hit his famous “Homer in the Gloamin’” in the ninth inning against Mace Brown to give the Chicago Cubs a 6-5 victory, their ninth straight, at Wrigley Field. It was a key triumph en route to the Cubs’ NL pennant. 1941 — Ted Williams went 6-for-8 in a doubleheader against the Philadelphia A’s to finish the season with a .406 average. No player has batted .400 since. 1951 — Allie Reynolds pitched his second no-hitter of the season as the New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox, 8-0, in the opener of a doubleheader. The Yankees clinched the AL pennant with an 11-3 victory in the nightcap. 1960 — Ted Williams homered in his final major league plate appearance, against Baltimore’s Jack Fisher.... [More]

Sept. 221911 — Cy Young, 44, beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0 for his 511th and final major league victory.1936 — The Detroit Tigers swept the St. Louis Browns 12-0 and 14-0 to record the biggest double shutout in major league history.1954 — Karl Spooner of Brooklyn became the first pitcher in the majors to strike out 15 in his first game as the Dodgers beat the New York Giants 3-0.1966 — The Baltimore Orioles clinched their first AL pennant in 22 years with a 6-1 victory over the Kansas City A's. Their last pennant came in 1944 when they were the St. Louis Browns.1968 — Cesar Tovar played one inning at each position for the Minnesota Twins, becoming the second major leaguer in history to do it. Bert Campaneris of the Oakland A's was the other.1969 — Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants became the second player to hit 600 career home runs — joining Babe Ruth. The two-run shot off San Diego's Mike Corkins in the seventh inning, gave the Giants a 4-2 win.1973 — Baltimore's Al Bumbry tied... [More]

Capsules of National League Central teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Chicago Cubs2017: 92-70, first place, lost to Dodgers in NLCS.Manager: Joe Maddon (fourth season).He's Here: RHP Yu Darvish, RHP Brandon Morrow, RHP Tyler Chatwood, RHP Steve Cishek, LHP Drew Smyly, C Chris Gimenez.He's Outta Here: RHP Wade Davis, C Alex Avila, C Rene Rivera.Projected Lineup: CF Ian Happ (.253, 24 HRs, 68 RBIs, .842 OPS) or Albert Almora Jr. (.298, 8, 46), 3B Kris Bryant (.295, 29, 73, 38 2Bs, 111 runs), 1B Anthony Rizzo (.273, 32, 109, 91 BBs), C Willson Contreras (.276, 21, 74), LF Kyle Schwarber (.211, 30, 59), SS Addison Russell (.239, 12, 43), RF Jason Heyward (.259, 11, 59), 2B Javier Baez (.273, 23, 75, .796 OPS).Rotation: LH Jon Lester (13-8, 4.33 ERA, 180 Ks), RH Kyle Hendricks (7-5, 3.03), RH Yu Darvish (10-12, 3.86, 209 Ks with Rangers and Dodgers), LH Jose Quintana (11-11, 4.15, 207 Ks with White Sox and Cubs), RH Tyler Chatwood (8-15, 4.69 with Rockies).Key Relievers: RH Brandon... [More]

Capsules of National League Central teams, listed in order of finish last year:___Chicago Cubs2017: 92-70, first place, lost to Dodgers in NLCS.Manager: Joe Maddon (fourth season).He's Here: RHP Yu Darvish, RHP Brandon Morrow, RHP Tyler Chatwood, RHP Steve Cishek, LHP Drew Smyly, C Chris Gimenez.He's Outta Here: RHP Wade Davis, C Alex Avila, C Rene Rivera.Projected Lineup: CF Ian Happ (.253, 24 HRs, 68 RBIs, .842 OPS) or Albert Almora Jr. (.298, 8, 46), 3B Kris Bryant (.295, 29, 73, 38 2Bs, 111 runs), 1B Anthony Rizzo (.273, 32, 109, 91 BBs), C Willson Contreras (.276, 21, 74), LF Kyle Schwarber (.211, 30, 59), SS Addison Russell (.239, 12, 43), RF Jason Heyward (.259, 11, 59), 2B Javier Baez (.273, 23, 75, .796 OPS).Rotation: LH Jon Lester (13-8, 4.33 ERA, 180 Ks), RH Kyle Hendricks (7-5, 3.03), RH Yu Darvish (10-12, 3.86, 209 Ks with Rangers and Dodgers), LH Jose Quintana (11-11, 4.15, 207 Ks with White Sox and Cubs), RH Tyler Chatwood (8-15, 4.69 with Rockies).Key Relievers: RH Brandon... [More]

A team-by-team look at the National League Central entering spring training, including key players each club acquired and lost, and dates of the first workout for pitchers and catchers, and the full squad:___Chicago CubsManager: Joe Maddon (fourth season).2017: 92-70, first place, lost to Dodgers in NLCS.Training Town: Mesa, Arizona.Park: Sloan Park.First Workout: Feb. 14/19.He's Here: RHP Brandon Morrow, RHP Tyler Chatwood, RHP Steve Cishek, LHP Drew Smyly.He's Outta Here: RHP Wade Davis, C Alex Avila, C Rene Rivera.Going campin': Chicago is coming off three consecutive NLCS appearances, and it looked a little tired when its title defense came to an end with a lopsided playoff loss to Los Angeles last year. The bullpen was hit hard by the Dodgers in the NLCS, and the Cubs batted just .168 in 10 postseason games. The roster returns mostly intact, but the bullpen and coaching staff each has a new look. Morrow replaces Davis at closer after agreeing to a $21 million, two-year contract. Jim... [More]

RF John Jaso hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning off Reds RHP Luke Farrell on Sunday. It was Jaso's 10th home run of the season, tying his career high set in 2012. The blast snapped his 0-for-17 skid.

RF John Jaso reached base four times, going 2-for-2 with a homer, a walk and was hit by a pitch. It was the first time he's reached base four times since Oct. 2, 2016 at St. Louis.

1B/OF John Jaso made his seventh start of the season at first base on Wednesday. He went 0-for-2 and was also hit by a pitch during a dominant Justin Verlander performance in Detroit. Jaso has also started in 25 games in right field and 11 in left. He hit a pinch-hit homer on Monday night against Detroit but is batting just .214 for the season.

OF/PH John Jaso hit a two-run homer as a pinch hitter to right in the seventh off Detroit RHP Jordan Zimmermann to give the Pirates a nice cushion. It was his eighth homer, third as a pinch-hitter. "I was looking for a heater." he said. "(The curveball) just happened to be up at my eyes. Just basically at the end hung that. It was either ball four or I'm hitting it somewhere. I know he wasn't trying to throw it for a strike probably ... but we're all human. We make mistakes. I don't mind that." Jaso hadn't been tearing it up lately. He broke an 0-for-34 slide Thursday with a pinch-hit single that was his first hit since July 5.

OF/1B John Jaso started in left field. He 2-for-4 and hit his seventh homer of the season to right -- and just his second career home run off a left-hander, Steve Okert -- to pull the Pirates within 5-3 in the eighth. He is 8-for-17 with three doubles and two homers in his past four starts. "John's seeing the ball well," manager Clint Hurdle said. "He's aggressive in the zone on pitches. He's in a really good place."

LF John Jaso hit two doubles off the right-field wall. The first gave the Pirates a 2-1 lead in the first inning. He has had two hits in three of his past four games.

RF John Jaso was just 1-for-12 in his career against St. Louis RHP Mike Leake after being robbed of a hit in the first. However, Jaso doubled and singled in his next two at-bats, finishing the night 2-for-4. It was the third time in the last four games that Jaso, a good hitter who is batting only .242, collected an extra-base hit.

1B John Jaso hit a two-run, pinch-hit home run. It was Jaso's fourth home run and second pinch-hit home run of the season. He is hitting .400 (6-for-15) as a pinch hitter this year.

1B John Jaso was quite the hero. He entered in the ninth as a pinch hitter and drove in the tying run with a single to send the game to extra innings. In the 10th, with the bases loaded and two outs, he came through with another RBI single for the walk-off win. The winning hit came off the Mets' Josh Edgin, Jaso's first hit off of a left-handed pitcher in 32 at-bats dating to last season. Jaso worked the count to 3-2 and fouled off four pitches before getting the one he liked. "It seemed like he was having trouble locating the slider, so I put that one in the back pocket a little bit and just stayed on the heater," Jaso said of Edgin. "Quite honestly, that's the easier adjustment anyway, to stay on the heater and adjust to the slider. So, I just kept my timing through the at-bat. Fouling those pitches and fighting helped me time it a little better and to pick it up out of his hand, so the longer that at-bat went on, it was in my advantage."

RF John Jaso was 2-for-5 with a double on Tuesday, his second straight multiple-hit game. Over the past 11 games, Jaso is batting .333 (10-for-30).

RF John Jaso was 1-for-4, the hit a solo homer in the fifth. Jaso is having a very slow start offensively, and his performance raised his average a modest five points to .165. "Things have been feeling pretty good," Jaso said. "Just going out there and preparing like usual every day. The thing about this game is you just keep playing because you never know. It could be that at-bat where you break through a slump or whatever you're going through. It turns around quick, both ways, for the worse and for the better."

1B John Jaso delivered a pinch-hit home run that traveled an estimated 375 feet. It was the second homer of the season and his fourth career one as a pinch hitter. "It didn't go as far as I thought it would go but it was enough," Jaso said. "But it was cool. It was good to feel that swing."

RF John Jaso had a big game with a homer, his first of the season, and two RBIs against the Marlins. Jaso, a first baseman who made his first career start in right field April 19, helps the Pirates with his hitting and his versatility.

OF John Jaso, hitting .103 coming into the game, doubled off Cubs reliever Koji Uehara leading off the seventh inning. It was his first extra-base hit of the season. Jaso failed to score, however, as Uehara retired Jordy Mercer, Alen Hanson and pinch-hitter Jose Osuna.

RF John Jaso snapped an 0-for-18 skid to start the season with a leadoff single in the fifth, then added another hit in the ninth to finish his day 2-for-3. Jaso is simply too good and professional a hitter to stay out of the hit column for that long, and his history suggests there will a surge at some point to get him back to his usual numbers. He might not play Friday night, though, when the Pirates face Yankees LHP C.C. Sabathia.