Worldwide Sports News

I have a confession to make: I haven’t watched Field of Dreams. I intended to watch it last night, but I ended up watching The Long Goodbye instead. In my defense, that’s sort of related to baseball, since Jim Bouton is in it. Anyway, I’m going to substitute some Bull Durham references, since that’s a Kevin Costner baseball film that I have seen; it’s close enough. Bull Durham is somewhat risqué, and this is a family friendly blog, so I’ll be mindful; I’m not going to suggest that anyone playing tonight could benefit from having a fan read Walt Whitman to them.

Kyle Schwarber wasted no time in getting cinematic, blasting a fastball that caught the middle-inside of the plate deep into the maize. Bryce Harper walked, and Luis Arraez singled up the middle to put runners on the corners. Bryson Stott singled to left-center, scoring Harper. “Oh, my stars and garters,”, said the old-timey fans watching the game (speaking of garters, Annie Savoy would surely have advice for Minnesota starter Taj Bradley about how to deal with a rough patch).

Aaron Nola also had a rocky first, allowing two of his first three batters to reach, the second on a tiny little dribbler. Ground balls may be more democratic, but Nola decided not to embrace that particular philosophy, putting the next two Twins down without allowing the ball to touch the ground. Unfortunately, the ball hit by Luke Keaschall in the second also did not touch the ground, at least not until it found the corn over the left field wall.

In the fourth, Brandon Marsh worked a leadoff walk, then stole second; he was called out, but the film reel was rewound, and upon a second viewing he was deemed safe. Kyle Schwarber, knowing that a cinematic event calls for a sequel, smacked another ball out to right; Keaschall leapt and got a glove on it, but the ball bounced off and into the corn. Kyle Schwarber believes in the soul, the hanging curveball, opening your Christmas presents on Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve, and he believes in long, slow, deep moonshots that take three days to land (what he thinks about the novels of Susan Sontag is unknown). Trea Turner doubled, Harper singled, and the score was 5-1.

Save for that solo shot, Nola had cruised through four. In the fifth, allowed a two-out double up the third base line in the bottom fifth, then walked the next batter, and then the next, and suddenly slow cinema became a thriller. Royce Lewis came to the plate with the bases loaded, representing the tying run. Nola rose to the moment, putting him away on a trio of pitches: knuckle curve, four-seamer, knuckle curve.

That ended Nola’s night (1 ER, 5 H, 9 K, 3 BB), with Brooks Raley his successor. He allowed a double, but kept the Twins from scoring; it’s very unfitting for a team with that name to have just a single run. The Phillies had no such problems: Alec Bohm doubled to deep center, and Marsh pulled a fly ball into the corn in right, and the Phillies had seven runs.

Orion Kerkering took the mound in the eighth, as Derek Hill took to right field in place of Harper. Kerkering put the Twins down in order.

The Twins entered the ninth dreaming of their Hollywood miracle. They did what they needed to in the top of the inning, surrendering no more runs. But the tall task was yet to come. Facing Jhoan Duran down by any amount is imposing; facing him down by a half dozen is petrifying. He wanted to announce his presence with authority, and did. The Twins managed a hit against him, and no more.

The Phillies are 65-58. They’ll return to action on Saturday at 7:10 in Minnesota.

Sell the Red Sox? Don’t bet on it, CEO Sam Kennedy said during a Boston radio appearance on Thursday. 

Kennedy was asked if he thought John Henry would ever sell the Red Sox while he was on “The Greg Hill Show” on WEEI, and gave an emphatic response. 

“It doesn’t matter, and I mean that sincerely,” he said. “It just doesn’t matter. John Henry, Linda Henry, the Henry family are never selling the Boston Red Sox. And that’s a soundbite you can play forevermore. I’d bet anything on that.”

The Red Sox are estimated to be worth $6.65 billion by Sportico and there had been some previous thought that there was possible interest in selling the ballclub.

Red Sox fans certainly made their feelings known when they chanted “Sell the team” during games earlier in the season.

Nevertheless, after their historically bad start to this season, the Sox have clawed their way back into the postseason picture and currently occupy an AL wild-card spot. 

Sports team ownership has been in the news as of late after two major pieces of news broke. 

The Yankees recently announced a $2.6 billion financing deal with Apollo Sports Capital — a private equity firm — and the Lakers, on Wednesday, were sold to venture capitalist Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger for $12.5 billion. 

Kennedy was asked about whether the Red Sox would ever looking into anything similar to what the Yankees did.

“Inside of Fenway Sports Group, we have 25, 30 investors of all types, all different types,” Kennedy said. “But John and Linda Henry, Tom Werner, Mike Gordon are the investors and owners of the club that run the club, and that has been consistent for 25 years, and I would bet for the next 25 years — at least 25 years, if not longer — that will continue. So, not something we’re focused on. Just focused on trying to figure out how we’re going to get back on track this week.”

It looks like Netflix listened to baseball fans’ demands after getting criticized for its Opening Day coverage.

The streaming platform displayed a new scorebug for the 2026 MLB Field of Dreams Game, won 7-1 by the Phillies on Thursday night, one that was noticeably larger than the one used during coverage in March.

Their original graphic was lambasted on social media for being outlandishly small, with many fans saying that they could not see any of the text displayed.

Netflix’s updated scorebug now takes up the entire bottom right corner of the screen, with the text appearing much larger and resembling a traditional on-screen graphic.

Despite the updated scorebug, fans still took to social media to voice their grievances.

“Genuinely hideous scorebug,” one user posted to X. “Looks like they got it from a graphics package from like 2007.”

“Netflix logo bigger than the players’ names,” quipped another.

Outside of their updated graphics, Netflix also brought on Matt Vasgersian to do play-by-play coverage, with ex-MLB stars CC Sabathia and Hunter Pence serving as the color analysts.

Thursday brought the third installment of the Field of Dreams Game after the first match was held between the Yankees and White Sox during the 2021 season.

The Phillies got off to a hot start thanks to two home runs by Kyle Schwarber, bringing the four-time All-Star to an MLB-best 37 blasts on the season.

Headed into Thursday’s game, Schwarber told reporters that he was elated to be playing at the Field of Dreams.

“I think it’s going to be awesome,” Schwarber said, according to MLB.com. “I’ve never been out there before, so I’m excited to see the corn, see the field they actually filmed it at. Just to be in that atmosphere, I think it’s going to be really cool.”

“I know they’re going to have a lot of different activities and things before the game that’ll make it a little bit nostalgic and make it feel like you’re playing back in the day,” he added.

“So I feel like it’ll be a really cool thing, and hopefully, we have a great time.”

Milwaukee has had a rough start to its seven-game West Coast road trip, suffering a sweep at the hands of the Padres in a series that included two one-run losses. It won’t get any easier this weekend as the Brewers take on the back-to-back defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers for a four-game set. With a win tonight, the Dodgers would move into a tie with the Brewers for the best record in the NL (the Rays are currently a half game up on Milwaukee).

Starting tonight for Los Angeles is Roki Sasaki, who seems to be finding his footing in his second year since coming over to Major League Baseball from Japan. The 24-year-old right-hander was talked about as the next Japanese star in the vein of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but injuries and rough on-field performance limited him to just 10 regular-season appearances in 2025. He has a 4.54 ERA this year, but don’t let that deceive you — he’s finally starting to pitch like many thought he would when he came to Los Angeles. Sasaki has allowed two runs or fewer in each of his last four starts.

On the hill for the visiting Brewers is Shane Drohan, who’s coming off probably his worst outing as a Brewer. Despite that start, a six-run blowup against Minnesota, Drohan has been a valuable piece at the back of the rotation, going out every fifth day and putting the Brewers in position to win more often than not.

Run prevention is easier said than done against the formidable Dodgers lineup, but Drohan does a solid job of limiting hard contact and should be able to keep Milwaukee in the game. The bigger issue recently has been figuring out how to score enough runs to win; the Brewers have scored more than four runs in a game just twice this month.

That task gets even harder tonight with Brice Turang, the team leader in hits, RBIs, and doubles, out of the lineup. Per Milwaukee Journal Sentinel beat reporter Curt Hogg, Turang is “day-to-day” with left knee pain. An MRI earlier today didn’t reveal anything serious, and according to Brewers manager Pat Murphy, there’s a “chance he plays this series.”

With Turang out, David Hamilton will play second base and bat ninth. Jackson Chourio gets the nod in the leadoff spot ahead of Garrett Mitchell, Gary Sánchez — playing first base tonight — and right fielder Jake Bauers. Hitting fifth and playing third base is Andrew Vaughn. Rounding out tonight’s lineup are designated hitter Christian Yelich, catcher William Contreras, shortstop Joey Ortiz, and Hamilton.

Tonight’s game will be available on Brewers.TV, WTMJ 620, and the Brewers Radio Network. First pitch is set for 9:10 p.m.

It’s that time of year. The longest days of the summer are behind us—though the heat is not—and the Major League Baseball season is about to enter the final stretch. It’s also that magical time of year where Purple Row’s mid-season PuRPs prospect rankings hit the website. These are the very same rankings that you, the delightful Purple Row readers and commenters, voted on!

The PuRPs top 30 rankings will begin tomorrow while, perhaps coincidentally (or maybe they’re trying to compete with our powerhouse rankings!), MLB Pipeline has updated their own top 30 prospect rankings for each team. Let’s take a look at how the cards fell.

The Top Ten

1. SS Ethan Holliday
2. CF/2B Roldy Brito
3. 1B/OF Charlie Condon
4. SS Tyler Bell
5. OF Cristian Arguelles
6. C Daniel Jackson
7. RHP Logan Reddemann
8. RHP Jackson Cox
9. C Jack Natili
10. OF Jared Thomas

The top ten list isn’t two surprising. Hopeful franchise savior and Holliday scion Ethan Holliday remains the team’s No. 1 overall prospect while a healthy dose of 2026 draft selections have been given quite favorable rankings. It’s also nice to see breakout star and potential Arizona Complex League MVP Cristian Arguelles in the top five.

An interesting move is 2023 first round pick Charlie Condon dropping to No. 3 despite having a very solid season so far with the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes. Taking his place at No. 2 is last year’s Arizona Complex League MVP Roldy Brito in a testament to how good he was last season and how good he continues to be this season. It’s hard to believe the 19-year-old was an unranked prospect just one year ago.

The Rest of the Rankings

• No. 11: OF Zac Veen
• No. 12: OF Sterlin Thompson
• No. 13: 2B Roc Riggio
• No. 14: RHP Gabriel Hughes
• No. 15: OF Max Belyeu
• No. 16: RHP Brody Brecht
• No. 17: SS Andy Perez
• No. 18: 1B Tanner Thach
• No. 19: LHP Konnor Eaton
• No. 20: RHP Tyler Putnam
• No. 21: RHP Mason Adams
• No. 22: LHP Sean Sullivan
• No. 23: LHP Welinton Herrera
• No. 24: OF Robert Calaz
• No. 25: RHP JB Middleton
• No. 26: 3B Ethan Hedges
• No. 27: INF Juan Martinez
• No. 28: INF Wilder Dalis
• No. 29: C Bryant Betancourt
• No. 30: RHP Angel Jimenez

The rest of the rankings are more of a mixed bag. Many prospects who have already made their debuts are included here, such as Zac Veen, Sterlin Thompson, Gabriel Hughes, and Sean Sullivan. Also included are two of the Rockies’ newest trade acquisitions in Mason Adams—part of the Brenton Doyle trade—and Juan Martinez—part of the Antonio Senzatela trade. Multiple players in the bottom 20 have suffered season-ending injuries such as Welinton Herrera and JB Middleton.

The ranking that stands out to me the most is infielder Wilder Dalis all the way down at No. 28 when I believe he should be ranked much higher. Dalis—much like his teammate Roldy Brito—exploded onto the scene last season in the Arizona Complex League and has continued to establish himself as a quality prospect this season.

Final Thoughts

It always seems like these prospect rankings always differ from site to site. Baseball America’s recently published top 30 rankings are likely quite different from MLB Pipeline, and as they trickle out, the mid-season PuRPs are bound to be fairly different as well.

What do you think MLB Pipeline got right? What did they get wrong? How would you compare this list to your own rankings and how do you think it will compare to the PuRPs? Let us know in the comments!

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

The Brewers visit Dodger Stadium for the first time since the Game 4 loss in last year’s NLCS. Each team is without a key middle infielder, as Mookie Betts gets a scheduled day off, while Brice Turang, the Brewers’ top position player, is out with right knee pain.

Thursday’s game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Brewers
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
• Start time: 7:10 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

I can’t help but try to get into the psychology of the poll respondents with these SB Nation Reacts surveys, and since these are supposed to be strictly Giants fans polled, I am fixating on the 1% who graded their 2026 amateur draft a “D.”

Did they have money riding on a different #1 pick? Did Jackson Flora bully them in school? Who knows, but it’s safe to say that it’s a minority opinion, and not just among Giants fans.

As Brady posted yesterday, Baseball American has ranked the Giants as a Top 5 farm system, a stunning development I just figured I’d never live to see. They’re barely a top 5 team in their division these days, and so seeing them in the upper echelon of anything other than being a staggering embarrassment of historic proportion with a mostly hopeless future guaranteed is not just a welcome surprise but a perspective-altering development.

Could the Giants actually be on their way to opening a competitive window thanks to their f-f-f-farm system? Buster Posey’s (currently) tanked legacy is counting on it. A plausible worst record in franchise history to cement their worst 5-year stretch ever isn’t something he’ll be able to come back from, reputationally, without some sort of extended run of success or an outright World Series win within the next few years — but then again, he’s been graded on a curve, hasn’t he?

Still, for as much as Buster Posey comes off as a dilettante in press gaggles and profiles (with an on-field result to match), this player development success is undeniable. It’s not just broken clock luck where the team has gotten things right because of high draft standings or someone falling into their lap. They’ve managed to bring their international scouting and signings up from afterthought to competitive with the typical frontrunners. They seem to have joined the pack leading the change from Three True Outcome type draft profiles to contact suddenly being important again.

About a month before the draft, I was agog at how much the farm system had risen. Just like the SB Nation Reacts polling, there’s a decent amount of vibes baked into things like farm system rankings and prospect scouting. That makes sense since it’s betting on an uncertain future with only personal experiences and some player comps to go on. The Giants’ draft felt right. Their minor league win-loss record looks right. The players are performing in the way you’d hope to see actually developing players perform.

With Bryce Eldridge’s graduation (formerly, a 55 Future Value player, per FanGraphs), the Giants still have six 50+ FV players, with Jackson Flora rated the #2 overall prospect. 4 of their 33 players with a projected floor of a minimum 40 Future Value (bench player) were drafted this year, 1 came from an international signing (Luis Hernandez) this season, and 1 from their trade with the Paadres (Joniel Hernandez).

So, the data is overwhelmingly in support of the opinion that the Giants had a great draft on top of a good trade deadline. Their farm system is in very good shape. Maybe still missing upper level pitching and that one true prospect who is far and away the best like Eldridge was… but I’m still stuck on that 1%. Automatic f*** the Giants voting? I can respect that. Maybe Bolemon & Waechter don’t do it for some. Reasonable.

I’m not going to let it bother me anymore, actually. The Giants are finally doing what needs to be done in order to become a competitive franchise again: prioritizing player development. The dream of the championship era was that the operation had been modernized and would be able to produce a steady-ish supply of position players and pitchers. That didn’t wind up being the case and was pretty far from the truth, in fact, as one of Farhan Zaidi’s first tasks upon taking over the front office was revamping player development to bring it in line with 21st century practices. The franchise also committed many millions of dollars to building a new training facility in Arizona. The fruits of that labor seem to be blossoming, finally. Can Buster Posey & Zack Minasian actually deliver on the promise of farm to table baseball?

That’s a question for a separate poll. For now, it’s enough to enjoy this fantastic success.

With the big league Mets off on Thursday, all eyes were on the farm system, and it was a busy day for several of New York’s top prospects.

At Triple-A, Nick Morabito started the game at the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp off with a bang, slamming a 408-foot home run to left. The Mets' 15th-ranked prospect in Joe DeMayo's latest rankings got a 2-0 slider over the plate and the knees and teed off with a 109 mph exit velocity for his 12th-round tripper of the campaign and second in the last three games. 

The center fielder finished the day 1-for-2 with two RBI and a sacrifice bunt at the plate.

JonathanSantucci was on the mound for Syracuse for his third start at Triple-A, and the left-hander had a rough night, failing to get out of the first inning. However, he got no help from his defense in getting him into trouble.

On the first batter, Christopher Morel got a slow bouncer at second and never threw the ball to first for an infield hit. After a walk put two aboard, a grounder to first bounced over the glove of Ryan Clifford for a run-scoring error to cover the corners with nobody out. 

After an eight-pitch walk, Santucci got a strikeout on a slider before walking in a second run as his command continued to fail him. He did rebound to get a strikeout on three pitches, but with his pitch count at 36 in the inning, he was pulled.

His final line: two runs (one earned) on one hit, three walks, and two strikeouts with just 19 strikes. When he was in the zone, he was rather good with five whiffs on 12 swings (42 percent), but it has been a rough start for DeMayo's No. 2-ranked prospect as he's issued 12 walks in his first 10 innings with Syracuse since his call-up in late July.

At the plate, Clifford, the Mets' No. 14 prospect, went 0-for-2 at the plate.

The game between Syracuse and Jacksonville was suspended in the fifth inning and will be resumed on Friday. 

Well hello to you too! Nick Morabito opens the game with a lead off homer! 💣 pic.twitter.com/wv93XwS8LO

— Syracuse Mets (@SyracuseMets) August 13, 2026

Double-A Binghamton was getting the treat of spending an August week in Maine, and the Portland Sea Dogs gifted them with six errors in the Rumble Ponies' 6-2 win. But it was a bit of a tough night for most of the Mets' top prospects.

The lone bright spot was No. 8 prospect Jacob Reimer, who smacked a three-run homer in the seventh as he was 2-for-4. Reimer got a 1-0 breaking pitch that hung in the middle of the zone and cranked it high over the mock Green Monster in left for his seventh homer of the year.

Top prospect Jefferson Rojas, who was 4-for-8 with two doubles and a homer and six RBI the first two games of the series, went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and a run scored (got aboard on a catcher's interference).

Mitch Voit, the 5th-ranked prospect who went 2-for-5 with a double and a walk on Wednesday and entered the game 24-for-45 (.533) in his first 12 games at Double-A, went hitless in five times up with three strikeouts.

Chris Suero has gotten off to a slow start average-wise in August, entering the game 6-for-34 (.177), but had two homers, two doubles and six RBI for a .721 OPS. The No. 23 prospect had an uneven game, going 0-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout.

Billy Amick had a rare rough night, going 0-for-4 wth three strikeouts. The 27th-ranked prospect entered Thursday's game just scorching hot: 11-for-32 (.344) with six home runs and 17 RBI in his first nine games with Binghamton.

Landon Knack was called up to eat innings and reset a very busy Dodgers bullpen, and he filled his role with aplomb on Wednesday night in finishing off a sweep of the Kansas City Royals. On Thursday, Knack was sent back to Triple-A Oklahoma City in favor of another fresh arm in Jonathan Hernández.

Knack got the final eight outs on Wednesday, relieving Eric Lauer in the seventh inning, and pitched scoreless baseball the rest of the way to earn the save of the Dodgers’ 4-2 win. The third save of Knack’s career was the longest save of the season for the Dodgers, and their first save of exactly eight outs since Brian Holton in 1987.

Hernández is back with the Dodgers for a third time this season. Signed to a major league deal on May 18 after opting out of a minors deal with the Philadelphia Phillies, Hernández has been designated for assignment twice by the Dodgers. Both times he cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Oklahoma City. This time, after getting DFA’d on Monday, Hernández elected free agency but re-signed on a major league deal with the Dodgers on Thursday.

In between all those movies, Hernández pitched in 15 games with the Dodgers, nine of them finishing out either a loss or a lopsided win. The 30-year-old right-hander has a 6.45 ERA and 4.66 xERA this season with 18 strikeouts and 12 walks.

To make room for Hernández on the 40-man roster, Charlie Barnes was sent outright to Oklahoma City, two days after getting optioned. It’s the third time Barnes has been sent outright to the minors since the All-Star break.

As the Mets return to Citi Field on Friday to open a series against the Nationals, they’ll open a stretch of four of their next five series will be in Queens.

That’s hardly good news as they entered Thursday with the third-worst home record in the sport, ahead of just the A’s and their minor league park in West Sacramento, Calif., and Washington.

And with the team hopelessly out of playoff contention, Mets fans could certainly be forgiven for avoiding the ballpark — and the TV — for the rest of the season.

But for those willing to venture to the ballpark for the rest of the summer and (early) fall, here are some things to keep an eye on:

Stay or Bo?

Bo Bichette was among the reasons the Mets got off to a season-sinking start, as he basically didn’t start hitting until early June after signing with the team in the offseason.

Two-plus months later, Bichette has looked more like the star he was for most of his time with the Blue Jays.

He has still remained significantly more productive on the road than at Citi Field, with an OPS of .643 at home and .730 away from home, but the concerns that his move from shortstop to third base would have a long-term impact on him at the plate have so far proven not to be true.

And there’s still the subject of his opt-out.

Bichette has a player option for $42 million for both next season — if and when it’s played — as well as 2028.

When he was in the throes of his early season slump, an opt-out seemed almost unfathomable, considering he wouldn’t have fetched nearly that much on the open market.

Despite his improved play, though, it has been a struggle in his first season in New York and the team has wildly underachieved.

But perhaps with better health from Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto next season, Bichette could see a strong lineup and the chance to put together a complete season offensively.

Lindor back?

Bichette isn’t the only veteran hitter who has gotten better as the year has gone on. Since July 19, only eight players have a higher OPS than Lindor’s .961.

There have still been too many odd mental (and physical) errors by the shortstop this season, but after the switch-hitter underwent hamate bone surgery in the spring, it was expected he might need some time to return to form at the plate.

If the Mets have any hope of getting themselves right next season, Lindor will have to continue his recent play.

His defense has been the worst of his career, basically by any measurable metric — including watching the games.

And at 32, it’s unlikely to improve.

Center of attention

A.J. Ewing, like his fellow rookie Carson Benge, has continued to impress on both sides of the ball. And while many people were surprised to see Ewing in left field even after the trade deadline just to accommodate Luis Robert Jr. in center, many scouts aren’t bothered by it.

“He’s just an athlete and I don’t think moving him around [defensively] will impact his development,’’ one American League scout said. “He didn’t play there much in the minors and now they know they can put him in left and he’ll be fine.”

His bat has been a bit more inconsistent than Benge’s, but both rank among the top five among rookies in stolen bases since Ewing was called up in May.

Ewing has also has the team’s highest home OPS (.810) among qualified hitters, other than Juan Soto.

Young guns

For now, Christian Scott, Nolan McLean and Zac Thornton are lined up to pitch Saturday, Sunday and Monday, respectively.

The trio of young pitchers has shown promise, although there have been bumps along the way:

Scott has a 5.30 ERA in his last four starts.

McLean has allowed five homers in his last four appearances after not given up a homer in nine of his 10 previous outings.

Thornton, the least-heralded of the group, despite striking out just seven batters over his last three starts.

In the bullpen, after the trade deadline left it gutted by the departures of Luke Weaver, Brooks Raley, A.J. Minter and Huascar Brazobán — and now the shoulder injury to Devin Williams — the Mets will be hoping someone emerges as a candidate to be a reliable arm the rest of the way.

Could one of them be Kodai Senga?

It seems unlikely, given his track record.

Nate Lavender has struck out five batter and allowed just three baserunners in 3 ¹/₃ innings so far. The 26-year-old was a 14th-round pick by the Mets in 2021.

Chris Devenski, who appeared in 13 games — including a start — for the Mets a year ago, is back in the organization and pitched a scoreless inning with Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday.

The right-hander, 35, was designated for assignment by the Pirates last week.

Texas Rangers @ Anaheim Angels

Thursday, August 13, 2026, 9:07 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / Rangers Sports Network)

Angel Stadium

RHP Jacob deGrom vs. RHP Walbert Urena

Go Rangers!

LOS ANGELES — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts provided some encouraging news, if only a glimmer of it, regarding Shohei Ohtani’s ability to resume pitching.

“He’s playing catch, potentially going to throw a bullpen soon,’’ Roberts told the media before the Dodgers opened their four-game homestand with the Milwaukee Brewers Thursday, Aug. 13.

Though the Dodgers have indicated they expect Ohtani to pitch again this season, the team has offered no timeline. It would be most critical to get him back when the playoffs start.

Ohtani hasn’t pitched since July 3 because of inflammation in his left knee. He’d been brilliant on the mound until the knee issue surfaced.

The Dodgers and Brewers continue their long weekend series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto takes the mound on Friday, coming off his 5 2/3 scoreless innings last Saturday in Arizona. That game needed extra innings to decide thanks to Edwin Díaz’s blown save, which snapped a streak of 14 consecutive starts for Yamamoto with a decision, the longest streak by a Dodgers starter since Chad Billingsley in 2012.

Rookie left-hander Robert Gasser starts for the Brewers. Milwaukee has won his last four starts, with Gasser allowing seven runs in 20 2/3 innings, with 18 strikeouts against four walks.

Friday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Brewers
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Start time: 7:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Coming off of two losses where the pitching got shelled, the Nats needed a great performance from Cade Cavalli, and boy did they get it. The right hander flirted with a no-hitter and dominated one of the best lineups in baseball. It was a masterclass by a pitcher who is coming into his own.

Cavalli has been solid all season long, but lately he has taken things to a different level. Across his past 10 starts, Cavalli has a 2.43 ERA. Even more impressive to me is the fact he has gone at least 7 innings in his past 7 starts and in 9 of his past 10 outings. His transformation into a front of the rotation arm has come.

The story of this game was Cavalli’s flirtation with a no-hitter. He threw 6.2 innings without allowing a hit, before giving up a bloop single to Michael Busch. The idea of a no-no was actually on Cavalli’s mind very early in the game for a funny reason.

A couple days ago Jake Irvin gave Cavalli his notes on the Cubs hitters, something they don’t normally do. Cavalli said he told Irvin, “If I throw a no-hitter, I am going to need these from you every time”. Of course that was in a joking manner, but as Cavalli and Irvin saw each other in the tunnel they shared a big smile according to Cade. I would venture to guess that Cavalli will be looking at Irvin’s notes again before his next start even though he did not get the no-hitter. 

Overall, it was just pure domination from Cavalli. He had such great feel for his breaking balls and was bullying Cubs hitters with them. His curveball and sweeper were actually his two most used pitches on the afternoon. 

Cavalli got a good, but not spectacular 14 whiffs on the day, with 8 of them coming on his breaking balls. However, he was able to get 21 called strikes, which is an extremely high number. A bunch of those came on his two breaking pitches which the Cubs could not pull the trigger on. 

Fittingly, his outing came to a climax in the 8th inning when he froze Michael Conforto on a 3-2 sweeper. Cavalli was fired up coming off the mound, screaming into his glove as he completed the best start of his career. It was a moment of pure jubilation for the righty who turns 28 tomorrow.

As the season has gone along, Cavalli has matured so much as a pitcher. Keibert Ruiz talked about how impressed he has been with Cavalli’s command and the way he can move his pitches around the zone. Blake Butera also lauded his ability to go deep into games.

However, this game was not just about Cade. After a slow start by both offenses, the Nats were the group who was able to figure things out. They were getting flummoxed by Kevin Gausman’s fastball/splitter combination the first time around. As they faced him a second time though, the group adjusted.

That started in the 4th inning when the Nats got on the board thanks to an RBI double by Dylan Crews. However, the 5th inning was when the Nats really broke things open. They got one run across thanks to a sac fly, but with two outs and a runner on 1st, it seemed like that would be it.

The boys had other plans though. CJ Abrams snuck a single through the hole which brought up the Nats new star Abimelec Ortiz. The breakout slugger launched his third homer in the last four games out to right field. That blew the game open and made it 5-0 Nats.

To say Ortiz has had an instant impact with the Nats would be an understatement. The rookie is hitting .333 with 4 homers and a 1.122 OPS through his first 11 games. I thought Ortiz would not take long to acclimate to the big leagues, but this is just out of this world. He just looks like the complete hitter so far.

The Nats may have lost the series, but it was good to avoid the sweep and finish the home stand on a high note. With that win, the Nats secured a 4-2 homestand which sets them up nicely moving forward. They are now 4.5 games out of the Wild Card, and the schedule sets up nicely the rest of the month, at least on paper.

After a tough start to the month, this group has found their bearings again. Now it is time to build off of this and head to New York ready to roll. Today was a Cade Cavalli masterclass with some Abimelec Ortiz lighting strikes mixed in. That is something all Nats fans love to see.