4:28 PM ET HOUSTON — The Houston Astros will be without the services of right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. after he declared himself out for the World Series on Monday. McCullers, 28, left Game 4 of the ALDS against the Chicago White Sox with forearm tightness and missed the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox, but

2:09 PM ET Associated Press HOUSTON — Chris Conroy will be behind the plate for Tuesday night’s opener between the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros, one of three umpires working the World Series for the first time along with Dan Bellino and Mike Muchlinski. Crew chief Tom Hallion will be at first for the opener,

9:33 AM ET Sportsbooks have installed the Houston Astros as World Series favorites over the Atlanta Braves. Caesars Sportsbook opened with the Astros as -150 favorites over the Braves after Atlanta finished off the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night in the National League Championship Series to earn its spot in the World Series. The

7:48 PM ET The San Diego Padres are locking in on hiring Ruben Niebla to be their next pitching coach, sources told ESPN’s Buster Olney. Niebla has served as the Cleveland Indians‘ assistant pitching coach over the past two seasons and has been with the organization since 2001. The Padres have yet to name a

3:50 PM ET HOUSTON — The Houston Astros will start left-hander Framber Valdez against the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of the World Series, which begins Tuesday night. Valdez, 27, is coming off the best start of any pitcher this postseason after going eight innings and giving up just one run against the Boston Red

12:05 AM ET For the first time in the 21st century, the Atlanta Braves are in the World Series, having claimed their first National League pennant since 1999. It’s not an insult or a revision of history to say that the Braves began this October run as something of an afterthought. The oddsmakers in Vegas

11:49 PM ET HOUSTON — The Astros are headed to the World Series for the third time in five years after yet another pitching gem, beating the Red Sox 5-0 in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Friday night. Houston won the final three games of the best-of-seven series to clinch it.

12:00 AM ET LOS ANGELES — When Chris Taylor hit his third homer of the game in the seventh inning, Braves manager Brian Snitker sat in his dugout chair and stared, unblinking, at some random spot in the Dodger Stadium outfield. What was taking place in front of him, and his reaction to it, seemed

3:00 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” HOUSTON — Here’s the thing: The Houston Astros really are just that damn good. They were that damn good in 2017 when they were cheating, and they are still that damn good

11:49 PM ET Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez could not be stopped. At a time when his team needed him most, Houston’s designated hitter broke out big, almost single-handedly leading the Astros to the American League pennant. In the final three games of the American League Championship Series — a run that started with the