MLB

The Washington Nationals and starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg have agreed to a seven-year contract extension, the team confirmed Tuesday.

Washington Nationals manager Dusty Baker doesn't plan to change his lineup after reigning National League MVP Bryce Harper reached base seven times without recording a single hit on Sunday.   

The New York Yankees announced Monday they added closer Aroldis Chapman to the active roster after MLB reinstated him from the restricted list.

The team sent relief pitcher Johnny Barbato down to Triple-A in order to open up a spot for Chapman.   

CHICAGO — Imagine if there were a way, on every New England Patriots possession, to prevent Tom Brady from throwing the football. Or if, somehow, a defense could find a loophole in basketball’s rules that ensured Stephen Curry couldn’t touch the ball on every offensive possession.

Both would be sound strategies. But such strategies would also hurt the appeal of those sports.

We want to see the best play. Watching opposing teams prevent that doesn’t make for great theater.

The Chicago Cubs improved to 24-6 with Sunday's 4-3 win over the Washington Nationals in 13 innings, becoming the first team since the 1984 Detroit Tigers (26-4) to win 24 or more of its first 30 games in a season, per MLB Stat of the Day.

Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper tied an MLB single-game record by drawing six walks in Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs, becoming the first player to achieve the feat since Jeff Bagwell in 1999, per ESPN Stats & Info.

New York Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon had an interesting weekend, becoming the oldest player in MLB history to hit the first home run of his career, per MLB Stat of the Day.

Five weeks' worth of the 2016 MLB season is in the books, but there's still a ton of baseball ahead.

The Chicago Cubs continued their torrid start with an undefeated week, and at this point, they're still looking down on the other 29 teams from the No. 1 spot in these rankings.

Things continue to shuffle within the top 10, though.

The Seattle Mariners were the biggest risers in last week's rankings, and they continued their climb this week into the top 10.

Feeling gloomy about an underachieving fantasy baseball squad buried down the standings? Hopefully Saturday night reminded everyone that miracles do happen.

Bartolo Colon—a 42-year-old pitcher whose at-bats have become public viewing for their comedic value—hit his first career home run. As SNY play-by-play announcer Gary Cohen joyfully shrieked, "The impossible has happened!"

Finally, over the weekend, the New York Yankees generated a little excitement. Finally, Yankee Stadium had some life in back-to-back wins over the Boston Red Sox.

You'd have thought Aroldis Chapman was on the mound.