The San Diego Union-Tribune

LOS ANGELES — Literally speaking, the Padres did not have to win Wednesday night. But they had to win. And they did, in the kind of back and forth, back and forth, back and forth thriller that makes the postseason a mental grind and churns every intern…

Each week I’ll list the best widely available free agents for fantasy football — I define “widely available” as being owned in around half of all ESPN or Yahoo leagues — and some guys who are probably better off in the free agent pool than collecting d…

What’s their age again? Tom DeLonge is rejoining Blink-182 for a world tour that comes seven years after he was was replaced in the San Diego-bred punk-pop band in 2015. The tour next year reunites guitarist-singer DeLonge, 46, with bassist-singer Mark…

If the Dodgers plan to turn their NL Division Series matchup with the Padres into a grainy rerun of their lopsided dominance of recent seasons, they could find themselves adjusting the foil-covered rabbit ears to sharpen the picture. The Padres — reinv…

The boisterous clan featured in the new documentary “Our American Family” is a true reflection of Our Complicated Country in all its ragged glory. The Geraghty-Caltabiano family — mother Linda Geraghty; her second husband, Ryan Geraghty; and Nicole Cal…

SAN DIEGO — Despite growing up poor in the stronghold city of the Sinaloa Cartel, Juan Manuel Álvarez Inzunza overcame a difficult childhood and earned a law degree, even leaving his hometown for a time to avoid the drug violence that hung over the reg…

SAN DIEGO — Jim Redmond died Sunday in Northampton, England. He was 81. Who was Jim Redmond? He emigrated to North London from the Caribbean island of Trinidad at age 14 and got a job making wood packing crates. A few years later, he worked as a truck …

NEW YORK — On the mound for the Mets in the opening game of the NL wild-card series Friday at Citi Field stood Max Scherzer, the man who can cut down October lineups like a weed whacker. The seemingly unflappable goliath, armed with a wrecking-ball res…

NEW YORK — Fans received orange towels Friday as they entered Citi Field. “I’m gonna wave it until I break my arm,” a man in a personalized Mets jersey said as he exited an elevator an hour before first pitch. Some 40,000 people did just that early in …

Buck Showalter thinks the mission involved the short-season Aberdeen IronBirds. He sent former Orioles star and coach Brady Anderson on a stealthy operation to see teenager Manny Machado do a few laps with the under-the-radar farm club. The talent was …