Braun

Ryan Braun, the reigning National League MVP, won his appeal of a positive test for a performance-enhancing drug and had his 50-game suspension overturned by an arbitrator. MLB and the players' union announced the decision Thursday. Rob Manfred, MLB's vice president for labor relations, was incensed at the ruling, saying in a statement: "Major League Baseball considers the obligations of the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program essential to the integrity of our game, our clubs and all of the players who take the field.

Ryan Braun is facing a 50-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's drug policy. He is appealing, but if the positive test is upheld and the Baseball Writers' Assn. of America were to vote on the National League most-valuable-player award again, would the results be different? Yes. The Dodgers' Matt Kemp would win in a landslide, according to a Los Angeles Times survey of the 20 writers who submitted MVP ballots with Braun winning. However, an official change isn't expected.

National League most valuable player Ryan Braun has tested positive for a banned substance and is appealing to avoid a 50-game suspension, according to people familiar with the case. ESPN cited two sources Saturday in first reporting the result, saying the Milwaukee Brewers slugger tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone, and that a later test by the World Anti-Doping Agency lab in Montreal determined that it was synthetic. A spokesman for Braun, who beat out the Dodgers' Matt Kemp in MVP voting, said in a statement issued to ESPN and the Associated Press that "there are highly unusual circumstances surrounding this case which will support Ryan's complete innocence.

I need some dirt to kick. I need a base to throw. I need a big blue chest to bump. I need an explanation How did the Dodgers' Matt Kemp not win the National League most-valuable-player award? Somebody tell me. Somebody show me. Use sabermetrics. Go to the video. I don't care. If there is one piece of concrete evidence that says Kemp should not have been voted MVP over Milwaukee's Ryan Braun, I want to see it. This is a robbery greater than a Kemp leaping catch. This is a steal more blatant than a Kemp sprint.

Ryan Braun was looking out at the Pacific Ocean from the balcony of his home in Malibu on Tuesday morning as he waited for a phone call telling him whether he had been selected National League most valuable player. When the call came that he had won, he said he reacted with great emotion. "It's pretty incredible," he said. Braun, who learned to play baseball on youth fields and high school diamonds in the San Fernando Valley before becoming the top hitter for the Milwaukee Brewers, received 20 of a possible 32 first-place votes and 388 points in voting from members of the Baseball Writers' Assn.

At a time of teacher layoffs, budget cuts and constant uncertainty in the Los Angeles Unified School District, four members of the National League Central Division champion Milwaukee Brewers are creating excitement and pride at their old City Section high schools. And maybe providing something resembling a local rooting interest in the Major League Baseball playoffs. Outfielder Ryan Braun and pitcher Kameron Loe played for Granada Hills High. Pitchers Randy Wolf and Marco Estrada played for Woodland Hills El Camino Real and Sylmar.

Reporting from Milwaukee -- Two pitches. Two swings. That's how quickly Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder can change momentum for the Milwaukee Brewers. Braun and Fielder have formed one of the top game-changing duos in the major leagues for some time now, but this was lightning-fast, even for them. "You might stop one of them, but you're not going to stop both of them," teammate Corey Hart said. "They can turn around a game in a hurry. " Braun and Fielder needed just one pitch apiece to turn a 5-2 deficit into a 6-5 lead in the fifth inning Sunday, and the Brewers went on to a 9-6 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series at Miller Park.

Game 1: Sunday, 1 p.m. St. Louis (LHP Jaime Garcia, 13-7, 3.56) at Milwaukee (RHP Zack Greinke, 16-6, 3.83) Game 2: Monday, 5 p.m. St. Louis (RHP Edwin Jackson, 12-9, 3.79)) at Milwaukee (RHP Shaun Marcum, 13-7, 3.54, or LHP Randy Wolf, 13-10, 3.69) Game 3: Wednesday, 5 p.m. Milwaukee (RHP Yovani Gallardo, 17-10, 3.52) at St. Louis (Chris Carpenter, 11-9, 3.45) Game 4: Thursday, 5 p.m. Milwaukee (Marcum or Wolf) at St. Louis (RHP Kyle Lohse, 14-8, 3.39) Game 5: Friday, 5 p.m.* Milwaukee (Greinke)

At one point during the Dodgers' 8-2 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday, a fan at Petco Park shouted at Matt Kemp . "Braun got two hits!" the fan alerted him. "Braun got two hits!" The fan was referring to Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers, whom Kemp is pursuing in the race for the National League batting title. "I just started laughing," Kemp said. "Shoot, he's actually one of my favorite players. " Kemp's triple-crown ambitions took a significant hit on this day, as Braun raised his average to .333 while Kemp was one for five, dropping his to .325.

Chivas USA forward Justin Braun made it look so easy Saturday night. With a touch here, a tap there, and a slide to finish it all off, the striker snapped his team's five-game losing streak to the Houston Dynamo with casual grace and a grin. Behind his three goals, Chivas picked up three critical points with a 3-0 victory over the Dynamo to send the team confidently into a five-game road trip after the All-Star break. "We're excited about not only the result, but the way we were able to play tonight," Coach Robin Fraser said.