Major League Baseball teams will face every opponent across both leagues for the first time in 2023 under the schedule revealed by the league on Wednesday.
The revised format is intended to provide a more balanced schedule that will make races for the three Wild Card spots in each league more equitable, as well as providing fans a more diverse option of visiting opponents and players in an effort to boost attendance.
Teams will now play a total of 46 interleague games, a substantial increase from the 20 games on the 2022 slate. Divisional play will be de-emphasised as a result, with teams now set to play 13 games per season against each opponent within their division after having 19 such games in recent years.
MLB has used the unbalanced format with increased intra-divisional play since 2001.
"This new format creates more common opponents, both in the division and among your league opponents, so that typically when you're competing for the Wild Card, there's a much higher percentage of common opponents across divisions," MLB chief operations and strategy officer Chris Marinak told The Associated Press. "And we think that equity is good for the competition on the field.
"On the marketing side, we think that the new schedule gives our fans more opponents at home, so they get to see a broader array of clubs in their ballpark. And probably more importantly, it gives us a chance for our star players to get exposure more nationally and be seen in more places throughout the season."
Travel is expected to be only minimally impacted by the revisions, as teams will have the same amount of total road series as previously.
Teams will now play one three-game series per season against all interleague foes with the home site alternated year to year, as well as home-and-home series of two games against a designated opponent from the other league that is usually determined geographically.
Most of those series include natural interleague rivals such as the New York Mets and Yankees, Chicago Cubs and White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and Angels, San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics, Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians, Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals, Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins.
For teams that have less-defined interleague rivals, the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays and San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners are among the most notable pairings.
Opening day will be March 30 – the earliest since 2019 – with all 30 teams scheduled to play. Three interleague series are slated for opening weekend, with the Giants visiting the Yankees, the Cardinals hosting the Blue Jays and the Phillies visiting the Texas Rangers.
Other highlights include a two-game series in London between the Cardinals and Cubs from June 24-25 and the Phillies and Nationals meeting in Williamsport, Pennsylvania on August 20 for the Little League Classic.
The 2023 All-Star Game will take place on July 11 at Seattle's Safeco Field, which will be followed by a two-day break before the resumption of the second half.
MLB: Astros hit 3 homers, boost wild-card hopes with win over Mariners
Mauricio Dubon hit a tiebreaking three-run homer and Michael Brantley had four hits to lead the Houston Astros to an 8-3 win over the Seattle Mariners in a testy game featuring teams battling for a wild card.
Yordan Alvarez and Martin Maldonado also went deep for the Astros, who took two of three in the series and pulled within one-half game of Toronto for the second wild card in the AL.
They also moved one game ahead of Seattle and remained 2 ½ games behind West-leading Texas, which defeated the Angels 5-0.
It was the fifth loss in six games for the Mariners, who host Texas for the final four games of the season starting Thursday.
Tensions flared at the end of the sixth inning after Astros reliever Hector Neris struck out Julio Rodriguez.
Neris charged at Rodriguez while yelling and that caused both benches and bullpens to clear, though no punches were thrown.
Alvarez led off the fourth inning with his 31st home run to make it 1-1, and after Jose Abreu and Brantley singled, Dubon took Bryce Miller over the wall in left for a 4-1 lead.
Seattle made it a one-run game in the bottom half on Eugenio Suarez’s two-run single, but Houston struck for three runs in the seventh on Kyle Tucker’s run-scoring double and RBI singles by Abreu and Brantley.
Orioles win to trim magic number to one
Adley Rutschman homered and drove in three runs to back Grayson Rodriguez’s strong start and the Baltimore Orioles took another step toward the AL East title with a 5-1 win over the Washington Nationals.
Baltimore’s fourth straight win and 99th of the season means it can clinch its first division title since 2014 with a win or a loss by Tampa Bay.
The Orioles haven’t won 100 games since going 100-62 in 1980.
Rutschman opened the scoring in the third with a two-run blast – his 20th – off Patrick Corbin and added an RBI single in the fifth.
Rodriguez allowed a run and six hits over 5 2/3 innings before Baltimore’s bullpen finished with 3 1/3 perfect innings.
Marlins split doubleheader, tie for final NL wild card
The Miami Marlins scored twice in the ninth inning with the help of an error and defeated the New York Mets 4-2 in the nightcap for a doubleheader split.
After losing the opener 11-2, the Marlins were tied 2-2 entering the ninth inning of the second game and loaded the bases on two singles and an intentional walk.
Xavier Edwards scored the go-ahead run when third baseman Brett Baty flubbed a grounder by pinch-hitter Yuli Gurriel Jr. One out later, Bryan De La Cruz’s single made it 4-2.
Jon Berti and Jesus Sanchez homered in the second game for Miami, which is tied for the third wild card with the Cubs, who lost 6-5 in 10 innings to Atlanta.
New York’s Francisco Lindor had three home runs and six RBIs in the doubleheader.
MLB: Phillies clinch postseason berth with walk-off, 10-inning win over Pirates
The Philadelphia Phillies clinched a return trip to the postseason in thrilling style, as rookie Johan Rojas delivered an RBI single in the 10th inning for a walk-off 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday.
The defending National League champion Phillies lost the World Series to the Houston Astros last season and now will have a chance to take it one step further.
After Jeff Hoffman worked a scoreless top of the 10th, Rojas’ single up the middle off David Bednar easily scored pinch-runner Cristian Pache and sent the crowd of more than 30,000 fans into a frenzy.
The Phillies celebrated their first clinch of a postseason spot at Citizens Bank Park since Sept. 18, 2011, when they won their fifth straight NL East title.
Brandon Marsh homered for Philadelphia, which is poised to earn the No. 1 wild card and host all games next week in the second year of the wild-card series.
Bryce Harper’s sacrifice fly in the sixth gave the Phillies a 2-0 lead but Bryan Reynolds homered in the seventh and Henry Davis took Craig Kimbrel deep in the eighth to forge a 2-2 tie.
Aaron Nola limited the Pirates to one run and four hits over 6 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts.
Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller took a no-hitter into the sixth before Marsh’s 11th home run opened the scoring.
Suzuki commits costly error, Cubs blow 6-run lead in loss
Seiya Suzuki dropped a fly ball in the eighth inning to allow the tying and go-ahead runs to score as the Chicago Cubs squandered a six-run lead in a disheartening 7-6 loss to the Atlanta Braves.
The loss gave Milwaukee the NL Central title and dropped the Cubs a game behind Arizona for the second of three NL wild cards.
Chicago is one-half game ahead of fourth-place Miami, which was rained out at the Mets.
Ronald Acuna Jr hit his 41st home run – a two-run shot - in the seventh to pull Atlanta within 6-5 after the Braves scored three in the sixth on Kevin Pillar’s homer, Matt Olson’s RBI single and Marcell Ozuna’s double.
Pilllar’s drive made the Braves the third team in major league history (2019 Twins, 2019 Yankees) with 300 home runs in a season.
Kirby stifles Astros in Mariners’ win
George Kirby pitched six scoreless innings and the Seattle Mariners took advantage of three Houston errors to snap a four-game losing streak with a 6-2 win over the Astros.
Kirby allowed five hits with one walk and four strikeouts to win his second straight start.
Cal Raleigh had two hits and one RBI and Ty France homered to help Seattle pull within one-half game of Houston in the race for the final AL wild card.
Jose Altuve had three hits for the Astros, who tied a season high with three errors and dropped to 9-14 this month.
Orioles great and Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson dies at 86
Hall of Fame third baseman and Baltimore Orioles icon Brooks Robinson has died, the team announced in a statement Tuesday. He was 86 years old.
The smooth-fielding third baseman was so iconic to the Baltimore franchise that he was nicknamed “Mr. Oriole.”
An 18-time All-Star selection, Robinson won 16 consecutive Gold Gloves, the most ever by a position player, and was voted the AL’s Most Valuable Player in 1964. He was named the World Series MVP in 1970 after the Orioles defeated the “Big Red Machine” Cincinnati Reds.
The Robinson family and Orioles released a joint statement reading, “We are deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of Brooks Robinson. An integral part of our Orioles Family since 1955, he will continue to leave a lasting impact on our club, our community, and the sport of baseball.”
An 18-year-old Robinson made his MLB debut for the Orioles in 1955 but continued to spend some of his time in the minor leagues until July 1959. He won his first Gold Glove in 1960.
Robinson played his entire career in Baltimore until 1977, when he retired mid-season after hitting .149 in 24 games. The Orioles retired his iconic No. 5 jersey later that year.
On Sept. 29, 2012, the Orioles unveiled a statue of Robinson outside of Camden Yards.
“Brooks Robinson truly was Mr. Oriole,” the club said in a statement. “He played the game for 23 years with a childlike spirit, earning MVP awards in the American League, All-Star Game and World Series. Third basemen from all levels of the game will forever look to Brooks for inspiration.
“Off the field, there was not a kinder, more giving person who embraced the Baltimore community and gave his time and energy to support causes large and small. He embodied everything great not only about the Orioles, but the game of baseball and the city of Baltimore.
“The Orioles were blessed to have Brooks as a player and broadcaster for 39 years and, for the past five years, as a Special Advisor and Community Liaison.”
Robinson’s case as a Hall of Fame player was cemented in the 1970 World Series, during which he dazzled spectators and his Cincinnati opponents alike with remarkable defensive plays and delivered timely hits as the Orioles avenged their loss in the 1969 Series to the Mets.
“I’m beginning to see Brooks in my sleep,” Reds manager Sparky Anderson said during the Series. “If I dropped this paper plate, he’d pick it up on one hop and throw me out at first.”
Anderson later added, “He can throw his glove out there, and it will start 10 double plays by itself.”
Robinson crucially hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh inning of Game 1 and finished the 1970 Series batting .429 with two home runs, two doubles and six RBIs, making him an obvious choice for World Series MVP.
Robinson played in four World Series and helped the Orioles win two of the franchise’s three championships.
He accumulated 2,848 hits in his 23-year career while batting .267, adding 268 home runs and 1,357 RBIs.
Robinson was at his best when the stakes were highest, batting .303 in 39 career playoff games.
After hearing of Robinson’s passing, the baseball community was effusive in its praise of an all-time great.
“Today is an incredibly sad day for Baltimore and baseball fans everywhere,” fellow O’s Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. said on social media. “Brooks was Mr. Oriole. He was beloved and rightfully so. His historical career on the field pales to the impact he's made on so many of us.”
Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer, who was Robinson’s teammate for 13 years, commented on MASN before the Orioles’ game on Tuesday. “I think as a young player you make a decision early in your life – who do I want to emulate? Who do I want to be like? Brooks was that guy.”
Brooks Calbert Robinson Jr. was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on May 18, 1937. He is survived by his wife Constance, their children Brooks David, Christopher, Michael and Diana, 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
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