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The Mariners start this series today against the Phillies of Philadelphia fame (the city, not the cream cheese), coming off of a huge series victory over the Chicago Cubs. Granted, the victory also included a more-than-15-run loss in game three, but it was a series victory nonetheless. The Phillies come into today’s series on a huge 9-game winning streak, including three sweeps. The Mariners are still very much in play for the division and the Wild Card, so a couple of back-to-back series victories over two of the best teams in the NL could be just the momentum the Mariners need heading into the last month of the season. With the lowest-rated strength of schedule for their remaining games, the Mariners could easily put themselves back in the playoff picture.

Lineups

Game Info

First Pitch: 6:40 p.m. PT

Radio: Seattle Sports (710 AM) and Mariners.com

TV: Mariners.TV

Facts and Stats

• Randy hit his 20th home run of the season in yesterday’s game, recording his 6th consecutive 20+ home run, 20+ stolen bases season, becoming the 11th player in MLB history with at least 6 such seasons and the 5th to do it in at least 6-consecutive seasons, joining Barry Bonds (1990-98), Bobby Bonds (1969-75), Bobby Abreu (1999-2005) and Willie Mays (1955-1960).
• Logan Gilbert has registered a quality start in his last 6 home starts (June 16-c), going 4-1 with a 2.01 ERA (40.1 IP, 9 ER), 9 walks and 47 strikeouts during that span.
• Julio Rodriguez is six RBIs away from reaching the 400 career RBIs mark
• The Mariners announced Rick Rizzs will be inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame during the 2027 season, becoming the 12th member and joining longtime broadcast partner Dave Niehaus as the only non-uniformed members of the Mariners Hall of Fame.

After being shaken up on a diving play in the fifth inning, Colorado Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar left tonight’s game against the Washington Nationals in the sixth inning.

Prior to exiting, Tovar had a solo home run and a double in two at-bats.

The club confirmed that Tovar sustained a left wrist strain. Tovar was replaced by Ryan Ritter at short.

More to come about the severity of Tovar’s injury and his timeline to return to the lineup.

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The San Francisco Giants welcome the Cincinnati Reds to Oracle Park tonight to begin a three-game series.

Taking the mound for the Giants will be left-hander Carson Whisenhunt, who enters tonight’s game with a 7.03 ERA, 5.65 FIP, with 23 strikeouts to 20 walks in 32 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 8-1 loss to the Cleveland Guardians last Tuesday, in which he allowed seven runs (six earned) on nine hits with one strikeout and two walks in four innings.

He’ll be facing off against Reds right-hander Chase Burns, who enters tonight’s game with a 2.51 ERA, 3.07 FIP, with 159 strikeouts to 48 walks in 136 innings pitched. His last start was in the Reds’ 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals last Wednesday, in which he allowed two runs on six hits with eight strikeouts and two walks in five innings.

Game #131

Who: San Francisco Giants (52-78) vs. Cincinnati Reds (62-69)

Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California

When: 6:45 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: Fox Sports 1

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

First Pitch (CT):8:40 PM
TV: Twins.TV
Radio: TIBN/830 WCCO/102.9 The Wolf /Audacy App
Know Yo’ Foe:Athletics Nation

Today in my weekly game thread pontification, let’s look at the Twins’ two top prospects in St. Paul who are banging down the door to get a shot: Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez.

Rodriguez had his best game as a pro with a two homer effort on Saturday. Aidan dove deep on him last week so I won’t spend too much time there. Jenkins is coming off his second multi-homer game in the past week and third this month. He is hitting .415/.493/.800 in August with 7 homers, 6 stolen bases, and an insane 225 wRC+, meaning he is hitting 125% better than league average. The only real remaining question for the 21 year old was his in-game power and fair to say that has arrived. Jenkins is beyond ready. 

The common argument against Jenkins or Rodriguez getting the call is, “where would we play them?” Well, that was a valid argument a month ago, not so much these days. For one or both of these outfielders to get time it will come at expense of one of the following players: Keaschall, Clemens, Lewis, Lee, Larnach, Bell, or Buxton. The outfielders are the most straightforward solution, but any of the infielders could be moved around with Bell getting more time at first base (ie: Lee to the bench, Lewis to 3B, Bell to 1B, DH opens up for one of the outfielders). 

Since July 1, here are the relevant batting figures for each of that group.

• Keaschall: .953 OPS, 169 wRC+, 1.5 fWAR
• Bell: .806 OPS, 127 wRC+, 0.7 fWAR
• Lewis: .755 OPS, 109 wRC+, 0.8 fWAR
• Clemens: .733 OPS, 99 wRC+, 0.5 fWAR
• Lee: .712 OPS, 97 wRC+, 0.6 fWAR
• Larnach: .674 OPS, 88 wRC+, 0.2 fWAR
• Buxton: .471 OPS, 35 wRC+, -0.4 fWAR

Larnach has already had his role diminished. After leading off for most of the past three months, he has hit sixth, seventh, and then was benched yesterday for Roden, who deserves an extended look of his own. But honestly, I would be totally comfortable benching anyone below Lewis on the list above. 

Unfortunately, the best answer right now is that Buxton needs to, at a minimum, play less often and potentially head back to the IL. He has been very clearly hurt for the past two months and while he deserves praise for fighting his way back and playing through pain, he’s hurting the team. They have two top prospects banging down the door in St. Paul who play Buxton’s position and it’s past time to give them a shot.

Even if Buxton doesn’t go on the IL, they’re wasting a roster spot on Alex Jackson who hasn’t sniffed the field since being re-added to the roster last week. Use that spot on Buxton who can still play 2-3 times per week and be used as a lefty pinch hitter late in games the rest of the way. The whole point of a manager is building relationships to have these tough conversations with your players. It’s time for Derek Shelton to earn his keep.

The Twins are slated to face lefties in their next two games, so maybe it doesn’t make sense to add either Rodriguez or Jenkins to the roster today. But if we don’t see one of them by this weekend, I would be very surprised at this point.

For now, let’s win this series against the worst team in baseball who is missing nearly their entire starting lineup and pitching numbers that even the Rockies scoff at. Nothing like some late night, late summer baseball in the beautiful city of Las Oakramento, Calivada!

Lineups

After having scratched our way to a series win against the Reds, albeit with the need of a late comeback, another NL Central team, in the shape of the Cubs come to town. They currently occupy the first NL wild-card spot, and with the Brewers enjoying a healthy lead (six games), the Cubs will probably be looking to solidify that position as we head toward the final month of the season. In the NL wild-card standings, they are two games up on the recently unstoppable Phillies, with the almost as immortal Padres two games further back, then the D-backs two more behind, and currently out of a playoff spot.

Of these teams, Arizona definitely has the toughest first half of the week. Philadelphia are in Seattle, who had an… interesting week. They went 3-3, but were outscored 24-62, due to 22-0 and 19-2 losses. With the Phillies on a nine-game winning streak, including that astonishing comeback yesterday to preserve the run (overturning a 0.66% Win Probability), they have all the momentum imaginable. Still, if the Mariners could do us a solid… Meanwhile, San Diego host Pittsburgh, who are basically the Reds. The Padres will have to face Paul Skenes tomorrow, but with his 3.95 ERA that’s not the same scary proposition it would have seemed on Opening Day.

Merrill Kelly starts. After an excellent July, with a 1.95 ERA across five starts, the regression has been strong in August. As in 0-3 over four starts with an ugly 8.24 ERA, so I’m approaching this recap more in hope that expectation. The three losses saw Kelly throw fourteen innings, and give up seventeen earned runs. As well as too many home-runs (four over 19.2 innings in August), he has walked more people (15) than he has struck out (13). For a command/control artist like Kelly, that’s uncharacteristic. His K:BB has cratered this year to 1.47, compared to 3.48 last year, and 3.04 for his career before this season. The Cubs are probably the last team you want to put on base.

Except for PCA. I’m probably fine with walking him…

Back at home in West Sacramento. The A’s escaped Houston with the series win and are riding high on a two-game winning streak. Can they make it three in a row with a victory in the series opener tonight against the Minnesota Twins?

It’ll be Jeffrey Springs on the bump this evening for the home team. The left-hander looked sharp in his return from the IL last week, pitching into the sixth inning and allowing just a pair of runs to the Kansas City Royals. He’s likely in the last stretch of his A’s career so hopefully he can wrap his tenure up on a high with a strong final month to end the season.

Here’s the Athletics’ lineup tonight:

As for the visiting Twins, they have right-hander Zebby Matthews going for them this evening in the series opener. Outside of several implosions earlier this year Matthews has been a solid backend type of starter for the Twins. He comes into this contest on a high note as he pitched into the sixth last time out against the Braves, allowing just one run on five hits against the NL East leaders.

Here’s how the Twins look tonight:

We can do this. A win tonight plus some help from the Guardians down south in Los Angeles and we can climb out of the cellar of the league. Let’s go A’s!

Follow the Game:
Watch:
Athletics – NBCSCA

Listen:
Athletics -Talk 650 KSTE, KVMX 92.1/105.5, A’s Cast

Pittsburgh Pirates (63-69) at San Diego Padres (71-60), August 24, 2026, 6:40 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Petco Park – San Diego, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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Pittsburgh Pirates vs. San Diego Padres, August 24, 2026, 9:40 p.m. ET

The Pittsburgh Pirates are continuing their nine-game road trip, as they travel to San Diego to take on the Padres in a three-game series.

The Pirates were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend, so they are hoping Braxton Ashcraft can help pick them out of their slump. Ashcraft has gone at least eight innings in each of his last two starts, including a win against the Miami Marlins on August 13 and a victory against the Detroit Tigers on August 18. In his last appearance, he gave up five hits and one earned run in a 4-1 victory for the Buccos.

Countering Ashcraft is Robbie Ray, who is making his fourth start with the Padres after being acquired in a trade from the San Francisco Giants earlier this month. Ray is coming off his first Padres victory in his last start against the New York Mets on August 18. He pitched six innings, giving up three hits and one earned run in a 5-2 victory.

The Padres have a two-game lead for the third wild card in the National League, so this is a big series for them as they look to build off of the momentum they got from sweeping the Minnesota Twins over the weekend.

Location: Petco Park, San Diego, CA

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet Pittsburgh

Pitching Matchup: Braxton Ashcraft (13-5, 3.68 ERA) vs. Robbie Ray (11-7, 3.20 ERA)

BD community, this is your gameday thread for today’s game. Chime off in the comments section below.

The Cincinnati Reds continue their West Coast road trip with big eyes on the permanent basement of the National League Central within reach.

Chase Burns will do his best to stem that tide in the opener between the Reds and San Francisco Giants, while the G-Men will send a lefty to the mound to start in the form of Carson Whisenhunt.

First pitch is set for 9:45 PM ET.

Here’s how both clubs will line up to start:

Justin Hollander met with the media today to provide an update on Colt Emerson, the Mariners’ young shortstop. Shortly after Emerson, who was hitting .190 at the time, was re-assigned to Triple-A, it was announced he’d instead go on the IL with a wrist injury that had been nagging at him in Tacoma but dated back to spring training. Emerson will have surgery on that wrist, performed by Dr. Donald Sheridan, an orthopedic hand and wrist surgeon, this Wednesday, ending his 2026 season.

The surgery will move a tendon in Emerson’s wrist which has slipped out of place back to where it belongs, an injury known as a subluxation in the wrist. Warning: Gory Medical Details ahead. Skip to the next paragraph if this makes you squeamish. Most commonly in a wrist subluxation, the extensor carpi ulnaris (ECU) tendon, which runs along the outside of the pinky side of the hand, slips out of alignment – the “groove” on the bone it’s located in. The most common symptom is a “popping” or “clicking” sound during movement, and in acute cases, swelling and inflammation. Since the ECU tendon is fundamental in actions like gripping and twisting, a severe injury clearly poses a problem for a professional baseball player.

It’s a fairly common injury, and one that is often managed without surgery – J.P. Crawford has been dealing with a similar injury – depending on where the tendon is and what it’s resting on. The soreness first popped up this spring in Arizona, and Emerson saw Dr. Sheridan at that time, whose diagnosis was that Emerson could elect to have surgery, but that he didn’t have to have the surgery if he didn’t want to. With a wide-open road to playing time with the incumbent shortstop Crawford dealing with a shoulder injury, and feeling like he could manage the occasional soreness, Emerson elected to continue to play.

“Different guys have different pain thresholds,” said Hollander. “My belief is that Colt Emerson has a really high one, and he played to the point until he felt like it has crossed the threshold of being smart for him to continue.” Hollander also says there are “no concerns” with Emerson being ready for next year.

It’s hard to remember given how badly he slumped down the stretch, but Emerson got off to a strong start initially, hitting for average and power in May and June, with seven homers and five doubles. However, as his time in the big leagues wore on, pitchers found they could get Emerson to expand up out of the strikezone and chase the high fastball; by the time he was sent down in August he was striking out over 40% of the time.

It could be argued that a sore wrist was causing Emerson to be late on the fastball. His bat speed on Statcast is listed at 72 mph, which is about average, whereas his prospect numbers had him more around 75, classified as “fast” by Statcast. However, the sore wrist was likely a minor contributing factor in the biggest issue facing Emerson: his swing decisions. Never a free swinger in the minors, in the big leagues Emerson chased more than he ever had as a prospect, swinging 60% of the time in the Shadow zone (compared to MLB average 54%) and 34% of the time in the Chase zone (compared to MLB average 26%). He showed swing and miss vulnerabilities on all pitches, not just fastballs, whiffing 38% of the time on curveballs and 40% of the time on sliders.

As tough as Emerson’s season was offensively, he also scuffled at times defensively, which could be related to the deteriorating pain in his wrist, especially as the ECU tendon plays such a role in gripping and twisting. Emerson was assessed eight errors at shortstop, six of them throwing errors.

The good news about all of this is there’s nowhere to go but up for Seattle’s young infielder, inked to an eight-year contract extension this year. Hopefully he’ll follow in the footsteps of another young infielder for Seattle, Cole Young, who struggled in his debut but applied himself with specific energy this off-season and has been reaping the rewards of the off-season work he put in on both sides of the ball all season long. In a season that’s not been very lucky for Emerson nor the Mariners, he’s fortunate to have a role model to follow right in his own clubhouse.

One final note: As mentioned above, this is a similar injury to the one J.P. Crawford has been dealing with this season. Crawford, who has been rehabbing with Triple-A Tacoma, is with the team today and will probably be activated tomorrow depending on clearing pregame activities without incident, although Hollander called it “likely” he’d be activated.