DENVER, CO - JULY 17: Troy Johnston #20 of the Colorado Rockies signs autographs prior to the game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on Friday, July 17, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Ray Bahner/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
It’s hard to believe that the 2026 season is almost over. With around 40 games left to play in the regular season, the Colorado Rockies are on the hunt to avoid their fourth-straight 100-loss season.
As we draw closer to the end of the season and continue to look ahead, I wanted to take the opportunity to throw back to something we tried earlier in the year: a mailbag.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 15: Aaron Ashby #26 and William Contreras #24 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrate the last out of the game and a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on August 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Brewers are a struggling offensive team, and today doesn’t really change that. But Milwaukee got a couple of two-run homers today—one from a very encouraging source—and that’s often going to be all you need when Jacob Misiorowski is on the mound. Indeed, Misiorowski and a couple of Brewer relievers largely shut down the high-powered (but also struggling) Dodger offense on their way to what felt like a pretty comfortable 4-1 victory.
Justin Wrobleski, the 2026 All-Star but who was coming off three consecutive rough outings, threw a scoreless top of the first despite a two-out single from Andrew Vaughn. In the bottom of the inning, Misiorowski went three-up three-down via two popouts to Vaughn at third and a fly ball to right field.
With two outs in the top of the second, William Contreras finally broke a duck that went back a week (after singling in his last at-bat last Saturday, Contreras was 0-for-his-last-20 with six walks) with a solid single to left. Two pitches later, the Brewers actually paid it off when Joey Ortiz homered on a high fly ball just beyond the reach of Teoscar Hernández for a two-run homer. It was Ortiz’s sixth of the season, and his renaissance continues. Jonathan Ornelas followed with his first at-bat as a Brewer, but grounded out to end the inning.
Misiorowski, working with an early lead, followed up his perfect top of the first with another in the second, this time with a couple of strikeouts. The Dodgers got their first baserunner of the game with one out in the bottom of the third when Alex Call reached on an infield single. Hunter Feduccia popped out for the second out, but Shohei Ohtani got a hard grounder past Gary Sánchez at first and into the right-field corner. Call scored from first, and Ohtani ended up at third with a triple. Freddie Freeman, up next, hit a ball down the left-field line, but Jackson Chourio made a nice running catch to end the inning with the score 2-1.
Jackson Chourio runs it down for the final out of the inning!
Jake Bauers drew a leadoff walk in the second. After Sánchez lined out and Christian Yelich struck out, it looked like nothing would come of it. But Contreras, who had just broken his long hitless streak a couple innings earlier, got a hold of a 1-2 pitch that was a couple inches below the zone and golfed it over the wall in left for a two-out, two-run homer. Huge! The Brewers took a 4-1 lead.
Misiorowski got the first out of the bottom of the fourth when Andy Pages hit a ground ball to third and Andrew Vaughn (huh) made a nice sliding play and Gary Sánchez (what) made a nice dig at first to secure the throw. A couple of fly balls to center later, and Miz had a nice shutdown inning.
After a quick top of the fourth for Wrobleski, things got a little hairy in the bottom of the inning. Misiorowski started the inning by getting a pop out from Tommy Edman, but Hernández, Call, and Feduccia hit back-to-back-to-back singles to load the bases with one out for the two Hall of Famers at the top of the Dodger order. But after a quick visit from Chris Hook, Miz locked in; he struck out Ohtani on three pitches, then got Freeman swinging at a nasty slider to end the inning with no runs crossing the plate.
With one out in the top of the fifth, Bauers got a hold of a ball but hit it to dead center where it was caught just in front of the wall by Pages. With two outs, Sánchez (immediately after an incredibly bad blown challenge) was hit by a pitch (and replaced by pinch-runner Brandon Lockridge) and Yelich also hit a ball hard—I think Wrobleski thought it was gone—but Hernádez caught it on the warning track in left for the third out. More bad luck for Yelich.
Misiorowski started the sixth with 80 pitches. Max Muncy drew a one-out walk, but Misiorowski didn’t have any other trouble. At 98 pitches, Miz’s day was over. He was a little less efficient than usual and didn’t have quite as many strikeouts, but he did a fantastic job working out of trouble; his final line was six innings, five hits, one walk, one run, and six strikeouts.
Jonathan Hernández relieved Wrobleski in the seventh and had a 1-2-3 inning against the bottom of the Brewer lineup. Antonio Senzatela was the first man out of the Brewer bullpen and, like Hernández, had no problem with the bottom of the Dodger order.
With one out in the eighth, Lara knocked a base hit into left, then advanced to second on a wild pitch. After a David Hamilton strikeout, Bauers was intentionally walked, at which point the Brewers sent Garrett Mitchell to pinch-hit for Lockridge. Mitchell struck out looking—the last pitch was not a strike, but Mitchell didn’t want to use the Brewers’ last challenge, and the inning ended.
With Abner Uribe on the injured list and Trevor Megill having pitched four times in the last five days, it was a bit of a mystery how the Brewers would piece together the end of the game with their bullpen. For the top of the Dodger order in the bottom of the eighth, with lefties Ohtani and Freeman coming up, it made a lot of sense that Aaron Ashby was the choice. It worked: Ohtani struck out, Freeman grounded out to first, and Pages chased a 3-2 pitch and hit a weak grounder to second for an easy inning.
Hernández was back out for his third inning of work in the top of the ninth as the Brewers looked for a little more insurance. They did not find it: Yelich, Contreras, and Ortiz went down in order, though Contreras hit a ball over 100 mph for the third time in the game.
After his good eighth inning, the Brewers stuck with Ashby in the ninth to neutralize Muncy. Dave Roberts chose to pinch-hit for Muncy instead of have him face the lefty, and the pinch-hitter Miguel Rojas grounded out. Mookie Betts got a changeup right down the middle and hit it hard, but Mitchell caught it on the warning track in center for out number two. Edman was the Dodgers’ last chance, and he kept the game alive by drawing a walk. After a mound visit and with Chad Patrick ready in the bullpen, the Brewers chose to stick with Ashby to face lefty-masher Hernández; he hit what should’ve been the game’s last out, but Ornelas bobbled Hernández’s ground ball, Hernández beat the throw, and the Dodgers brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Alex Call.
Thankfully, Ashby struck Call out on three pitches, and the game was over. It got a little scary there at the end, but they got it.
The Brewer offense still wasn’t very good and managed only five hits, but thankfully because of good pitching and a struggling offense in the opposite dugout, too, Milwaukee built their lead early and never really looked in all that much danger of losing it. Contreras was the offensive hero in what was a badly, badly needed good game at the plate; he went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and two runs scored, and he hit the ball hard three out of four times. Ortiz had the team’s other big hit, his second-inning two-run homer.
The pitching staff was great. Misiorowski didn’t have his best stuff but held the Dodgers to one run, and Senzatela and Ashby did the rest.
The series concludes tomorrow afternoon, a 3:10 p.m. game in which the Brewers have the chance to win a third game in Los Angeles and largely salvage what looked like was going to be a disastrous road trip. In a sort of weird trade deadline what-if game, Logan Henderson faces off with Tarik Skubal.
Los Angeles, CA - August 15, 2026: Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernandez (37) can not make the catch after Milwaukee Brewers Joey Ortiz (3) hit a two run home run in the second inning at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES — Jacob Misiorowski proved every bit the tough customer the Dodgers thought he’d be, striking out six over six innings in the Milwaukee Brewers’ 4-1 win on Saturday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.
“He’s probably the best pitcher in baseball, throwing the baseball the best this year. He’s going to get his strikeouts, he’s incredibly talented. I think you’ve just kind of got to fight, get the pitch count up,” manager Dave Roberts said Friday. “It’s going to be a tough one.”
It was a very tough task on Saturday for Dodgers hitters, but they gave themselves chances.
Alex Call, starting in right field for the home-weary Kyle Tucker, reached on an infield single in the third inning after Misiorowski retired his first seven batters faced. Shohei Ohtani followed with a line drive down the right field line for a triple to pull the Dodgers within 2-1.
Ohtani’s triple was hit off a 100.3-mph fastball. In the fifth inning, Call and catcher Hunter Feduccia singled in the fifth off triple-digit fastballs as well, showing some signs of life against a pitch that has confounded them for two months. Down 4-1 in that fifth, the Dodgers loaded the bases with one out, with the top of the order coming up. But Miserowski struck out Ohtani on three pitches and fanned Freddie Freeman on five pitches to escape his biggest jam unscathed, finishing off both batters with sliders.
“It’s obviously a guy that we’re probably going to see in the postseason. He’s one of the best in the game if not the best right now,” Roberts said Saturday. “Players don’t like to be embarrassed. It’s something that is a challenge, and you’ve got to go out there and complete pitch to pitch.”
The Dodgers have faced Misiorowski three times in the last 14 months, from his fifth major league start last July to Game 3 of the NLCS before Saturday. He’s eaten their lunch each time, with 27 strikeouts in 17 total innings, permitting only four runs, three of them earned.
Juston Wrobleski allowed only six Brewers to reach base in his six innings on Saturday, but two of them happened to come before two-out home runs — by Joey Ortiz in the second inning and William Contreras in the fourth. Wrobleski has allowed 11 home runs in 19 2/3 innings over his last four starts, after allowing only eight home runs in his first 17 appearances and 106 2/3 innings.
But this outing wasn’t a total loss like his previous two. Wrobleski gave the Dodgers length they were desperate for after heavy bullpen usage of late, with Saturday the ninth day of 13 game days in a row. Wrobleski, who threw 107 pitches on Saturday and struck out six, has lasted at least six innings in 15 of his 20 starts this season. This was just the first time he did so in August.
Year
MLB
Minors
Postseason
Total
2023
0
102.3
9.3
111.7
2024
36.3
95.7
0
132
2025
66.7
51.7
5
123.3
2026
126.3
0
TBD
126.3
through August 15, 2026
Wrobleski has a career major league high of 126 1/3 innings this season, but he’s not quite at his professional high, counting the minor leagues and postseason. Still, with six weeks remaining in the regular season, Wrobleski figures to add to that total.
“He’s thrown a lot, but I still feel like the stuff, for me, isn’t ticking down,” Roberts said earlier Saturday. “Is it sustainable? We’ll see. But at some point in time he’s going to the ‘pen anyway because of guys wehave coming back.”
Silver lining
In addition to Wrobleski completing six innings, Jonathan Hernández followed with three scoreless innings on 34 pitches, making a full rest day for the Dodgers’ six other active relievers. It wasn’t exactly a three-inning save, but more of a save the bullpen.
The Dodgers finish off the homestand on Sunday afternoon (1:10 p.m., SportsNet LA), with Tarik Skubal on the mound against excelling rookie Logan Henderson for Milwaukee.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - AUGUST 15: Jonny DeLuca #21 of the Tampa Bay Rays pops up a bunt attempt against the Baltimore Orioles during the fourth inning of the baseball game at Tropicana Field on August 15, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s not often you see the losing team have more base hits, draw more walks, and strike out 10 fewer times than the victor, but that is exactly what happened tonight in a 4-3 Rays defeat. Simply put, the Rays had plenty of chances in this game, but left 12 men on base while going 3 for 13 with runners in scoring position while Baltimore had two solo homers by Pete Alonso and Christian Encarnacion-Strand to offset their own nine men left on base tonight.
This game took on a different feel after both teams had wasted their challenges by the 5th inning. The first challenge was lost by the Rays when Junior Caminero challenged a first pitch on the inner black that was confirmed by ABS. That was followed by two challenges lost – one by each team – in one plate appearance. Carlos Narvaez challenged a 2-2 pitch to Cedric Mullins which was uphelp and that was followed by Mullins challenging a 3-2 pitch on the inside black that was indeed a strike. Baltimore’s advantage was short-lived when Tyler O’Neill inaccurately challenged the first pitch of the top of the 5th thus leaving both teams without the ability to challenge was was a rather suspect strike zone for the game where several close pitches were called balls and a few poor ones called strikes as the game went on. All of this is to say that, sometimes, men let their emotions get the better of them and the early challenges, none of which were in big leverage situations.
One particular at bat in the ninth, while not consequential, highlights the risks of burning through the challenges the way it was done. Andrew Kittrege dotted a beautiful 0-1 sinker down and away to Richie Palacios to lead off the 9th, but the ball was called a ball. That would have led to an 0-2 count and the next pitch would have been strike three instead of strike two:
The Rays would eventually tie up the game in the 9th after consecutive two-out singles by Yandy Diaz and Jonathan Aranda led to this bad process, good result moment from Junior Caminero and newest Ray, Jorge Mateo:
Kevin Cash brought in Bryan Baker for the 10th inning, and it was the first time Baker has looked human in awhile as an early challenge fastball to O’Neill led to a run-scoring single of the Manfred Man Colton Cowser before a single by Pete Alonso followed by an extremely close sacrifice bunt from Jackson Holliday made things even more precocious. Baker rallied to strike out both Dylan Beavers and Encarnacion-Strand around an intentional walk to Gunnar Henderson setting the Rays up for the 10th.
Nick Fortes had to stay in as the Rays’ Manfred Man since Liam Hicks had already been pulled from the game, so the odds of Chandler Simpson bunting were probably off the board in Vegas, yet he first pitch swung a liner into the outfield that Fortes apparently thought had some distance to it as he made no effort to tag on what could have advanced him to third given Leody Taveras’s erratic throw into third:
It may not have mattered since the Rays never put another ball in play the rest of the inning. That play was followed by a Jonny DeLuca walk, setting up a nice revenge possibility for Cedric Mullins against his former team, but Mullins swung through two fastalls in the heart of the zone from Cam Sanders leaving things up to Palacios. Palacious spoiled several tough pitches and nearly tied the game with a liner that fell just foul a pitch before he too swung through a fastball in the zone from Sanders to end the contest.
The Rays are now 16-12 in 1-run contests this season, and that has been a differentiator for them in the American League East with every other team in the division at least two games below .500 in similar contests. As luck would have it, the Rays just dropped a one-run contest to the team with the worst such record in the division. That’s baseball, Suzyn.
Amar'e Stoudemire, who is being inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, was one of the handful of high school players to make the jump to the NBA and be successful.
He was selected with the ninth overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns and made an immediate impact, winning the 2002-03 NBA Rookie of the Year.
As one of the catalysts of Mike D'Antoni's "Seven Seconds or Less" philosophy, along with fellow Hall of Famer Steve Nash, Stoudemire blossomed into one of the league's best power forwards before knee injuries slowed his career.
Stoudemire averaged 21.4 points and 8.3 rebounds during his first eight seasons with the Suns, then signed a five-year, $99.7 million contract with the New York Knicks.
Stoudemire finished his 14-year NBA career (2002-16) averaging 18.9 points and 7.8 rebounds, making six All-Star appearances.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - AUGUST 09: Starting pitcher Randy Dobnak #62 of the Kansas City Royals pitches during the 1st inning of the game against the Chicago Cubs at Kauffman Stadium on August 09, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) | Getty Images
If you’re a Royals fan of a certain age, the phrase “Lima Time!” will mean something to you. In 2003, the Royals were surprise contenders after getting off to an incredibly hot start. But they needed starting pitching help due to injury and ineffectiveness. Enter José Lima.
Lima was an interesting case; he’d been a 20-game winner as recently as 1999 for the Houston Astros. But he’d also been cut by the Detroit Tigers in 2002 after pitching to a 7.77 ERA in 68.1 innings both as a starter and a reliever. To open the 2003 season, he was pitching in the Independent Atlanta League. His first start for the Royals that year saw him allow 4 runs in 6 innings and take a no-decision with the Royals rallied with two runs in the ninth off of Giants closer Tim Worrell. From then on, it was Lima Time! Lima won 7 straight starts while pitching to a ridiculous 1.65 ERA. I was young and cut off from other Royals fans at the time, but I remember thinking the Royals had found a true ace that would lead them for years to come. With the benefit of hindsight and more advanced analytics than pitcher wins, I can see now that the 3.4% K-BB% he had over that span pointed to oncoming problems. Lima went 1-3 over his final 6 starts with a 10.65 ERA. Sadly, Lima time was not to last.
Why do I bring all this up? Randy Dobnak reminds me a lot of José. I’m older and wiser now, so I can see past the shiny 2.00 ERA to the remarkably similar 3.3% K-BB%. Still, given that the Royals aren’t competing for a playoff spot as they were when Lima was around, it’s safe to just enjoy the ride of Dobnak time for as long as we can. Maybe it will even last until the end of the season! Hopefully, it lasts at least one more start, tonight.
The Angels will have Reid Detmers on the mound. Reid was considered the 47th-best prospect in MLB when he graduated from the list in 2022. He has a killer curveball and he has shown occasional flashes of brilliance, but he’s never been able to fully put things together. He does have a 3.99 ERA going back to the start of last year, and he’s been worth 3.0 fWAR this year, but he has been very up-and-down this season and is definitely not the true ace the Angels would like him to be, despite the ridiculous 14-strikeout, 1-hit, 0-walk outing he had against Texas earlier this season.
Unfortunately for the Royals, Detmers is in one of those up spans right this moment. He has a 2.39 ERA while striking out 33 and walking only 8 in his last 5 starts covering 26.1 innings. He’s also gone 0-2 over that span because the Angels’ offense has been… lackluster.
The curveball no longer grades well stuff-wise, but it’s been doing work for him along with the changeup. The real killer pitch might be his slider, though, which he throws second-most only to his fastball. The Royals will want to avoid letting him control the game with it if they can avoid it.
Detmers does have a 6.35 ERA against the Royals in four starts and two relief appearances in his career. He started against the Royals earlier this year and allowed 3 runs in 5 innings in the game that saw Jac Caglianone hit a game-tying home run in the ninth and Lane Thomas smack a game-winner in the tenth. Maybe the Royals can just dominate this time with a magma-hot Caglianone getting the start instead of being forced to come off the bench.
Lineups
Salvador Perez is back in the lineup after exiting with elbow soreness Wednesday night. Jac Caglianone and Michael Massey, the offensive leaders from last night, are the only lefties who will be in the lineup to face Detmers. Let’s hope they can do more damage tonight because I don’t like the Royals chances if they’re relying on 6-9 tonight.
The Mets' 2026 season has been largely a disappointment, but don't tell that to this current iteration of the team.
Following Saturday's 5-4 win over the Nationals, the Mets are 8-3 since the trade deadline. They are playing with confidence and getting contributions from all veterans and youngsters alike.
While Francisco Lindor's walk-off single to cap off the Mets' comeback win will garner headlines, the shortstop made sure to give his teammates credit for setting him up in the ninth.
Down one run, Brett Baty worked a walk before Jorge Polanco -- mired in an offensive slump -- lined a single before Francisco Alvarez doubled to tie the game. After A.J. Ewing struck out, Lindor came up with the chance to win the game.
"By the time I stepped into the box, I already knew what to do," Lindor said after the win. "Just seeing how the guys worked the counts, it was a much easier plan and approach once I saw everything happening the way the guys went about it."
"That's a game-winner!"
Gary and Keith on the call for the Mets' comeback in the 9th inning! 🎙
It wasn't a perfect game for Lindor, however. He made a baserunning mistake that cost the Mets an out and a baserunner. Lindor owned up to it to interim manager Andy Green, who praised the shortstop for how he handled it.
"You don’t play perfect baseball when you are on a winning streak. But you don’t let that moment impact the next moment," Green said. "Lindor literally came up to me and owned a baserunning mistake, but he didn't let it impact the game-on-the-line at-bat. That's a championship-caliber player. That's what you want out of your whole team."
Similar to Friday's series opener against the Nats, Lindor's fielding error caused Washington to take the lead. But Lindor made up for it later with a solo shot to tie the game, which eventually led to a win for New York. Lindor's baserunning error didn't cause him to fail to come through when the team needed him the most.
Lindor's walk-off was the 10th of his career, and his first this season. He finished 2-for-4 on Saturday, continuing his torrid pace at the plate. Over his last 25 games (since July 19), Lindor is slashing .309/.407/.588 with seven home runs, four doubles, a triple, 20 RBI and 15 walks. His .995 OPS ranks third in the NL in that span.
That offensive output from Lindor has contributed to the Mets' recent winning ways. And it's not just the winning, but the way the Mets are winning that's drawing attention. There's a visible energy among the players, both with the veterans and the youngsters. Lindor has noticed it and believes it has contributed to this stretch.
"Good vibes, good energy. Guys feeding off each other, guys jumping after strikeouts," Lindor quipped. "It’s a good time right now; we just have to keep up the energy, keep playing for each other and see what happens."
Although the Mets are still way below .500 (55-69), the players want to win as many games as they can. And Lindor believes that can only benefit the team moving forward.
"The more games [the youngsters] can play, the better," Lindor said. "It’s been a tough year here for everybody. They’re seeing the year’s not done. We play to win…that’s what they’re doing. They are trying to win every single day. Even when we were losing, they got a little bit upset because they wanted to win. It’s important not just for them, but for everybody."
Lindor, who is playing his sixth season with the Mets, is not surprised by the recent success. He believed this team should have been playing this way all season; it just didn't happen for them.
Of course, Lindor's calf injury took him out for nearly two months and contributed to the team's tough start, but the vision for what the 2026 Mets could have been is revealing itself, at least to Lindor.
"To be quite honest, we had all these guys. Felt like [president of baseball operations David Stearns] did a good job, we just didn’t play well in the beginning," Lindor said. "Everyone who has been here has been in the organization from the beginning, pretty much. This is baseball. In the beginning, we didn’t come through; we didn’t execute and now we are."
The Mets will look to complete the three-game sweep on Sunday.
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame will induct eight individuals and one team that has contributed to the growth of basketball - domestically and internationally - becoming one of the best, surpassing milestones and having a worldwide impact.
One of the inductees for the 2026 Basketball Hall of Fame is none other than head coach Doc Rivers.
Other inductees include Joey Crawford, Mark Few, Amar'e Stoudemire, Mike D'Antoni, Candace Parker, Chamique Holdsclaw, Elena Delle Donne and the 1996 USA Basketball Women's National Team.
They will be joined by many fellow Hall of Famers, basketball stars and contributors to the game who will gather to celebrate the newest group of the sport’s iconic figures.
The Hall of Fame Class of 2026 will be formally enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame at Springfield Symphony Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts. The broadcast event begins at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) on NBA TV and streaming on the NBA App.
He became one of the winningest NBA head coaches of all-time. He has amassed 1,195 wins in 27 seasons as a head coach. Rivers ranks sixth all-time in coaching wins, behind Pat Riley, Jerry Sloan, Lenny Wilkens, Don Nelson and Gregg Popovich. Rivers passed George Karl during the 2025-26 season.
He has 114 playoff victories, which ranks fourth all-time, behind Popovich, Riley and Phil Jackson.
Rivers coached the Celtics to a pair of NBA Finals appearances against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008 and 2010, with a team headlined with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. They won the championship in 2008, but lost the title in 2010.
He was named NBA Coach of the Year in 2000.
First father-son coach-player duo in NBA history
As the Clippers head coach, Rivers made NBA history when the team signed his son, Austin, making them the first-ever father-son coach-player duo in league history.
Austin was traded to the Boston Celtics in a Jan. 12 three-team trade involving the Pelicans and the Memphis Grizzlies. But days later on Jan. 15, he joined his father on the Clippers after he was traded in a three-team trade involving the Celtics and the Phoenix Suns.
Rivers made his debut for the Clippers on January 16 becoming the first son to play for his father in an NBA game.
They played together for over three seasons until Austin was traded to the Washington Wizards in June 2018.
Doc Rivers NBA playing career
Before he became a Hall of Fame coach, Rivers put together a solid NBA playing career. He played 13 NBA seasons as a point guard, becoming an All-Star in 1988.
Rivers was drafted with the 31st overall pick in the second round of the 1983 NBA Draft to the Atlanta Hawks, after three seasons at Marquette University.
He also played for the Clippers, New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs throughout his 13-year career that ended in 1996. Rivers averaged 10.9 points, 5.7 assists in 864 career games.
Aug 14, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Texas Rangers first baseman Jake Burger (21) rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run against the Athletics during the sixth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - JULY 18: J.T. Ginn #35 of the Athletics pitches during the top of the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Sutter Health Park on July 18, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Scott Marshall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The A’s got back into the win column last night with the series-opening win against our division rivals, the Texas Rangers. They need all the wins they can get in their quest for the playoffs but the A’s won’t make it easy for them or anyone else the rest of the way. Spoiler hats on, people
Taking the ball tonight for the home team is right-hander J.T. Ginn. The righty is set to make his third start since returning from the IL with a blister issue (and 22nd total start this year). There’s been some bumps here and there but overall Ginn has broken out this year and solidified his spot in the rotation for the long haul. His 3.41 ERA easily leads the team but he’s also in unchartered territory in regards to his innings. He’s already set a career-high with 121 1/3 IP but Kotsay doesn’t seem concerned about that in the slightest after asking for six full frames his first two times back off the IL.
Here’s how the Athletics’ starting nine looks this evening in the middle game:
As expected no Jacob Wilson tonight after he left the game in the second inning last night. Alika Williams is covering shortstop tonight. The team is also giving regular left fielder Tyler Soderstrom the start off with a left-handed pitcher on the opposing mound, but he’s almost certainly available off the bench for a late-game pinch-hit situation.
Center fielder Henry Bolte is leading things off this evening, followed by Zack Gelof (LF) and Jeff McNeil, who is hitting third after his 4-for-5 showing last night. They’re followed by tonight’s DH Jonah Heim and Tommy White, who is back in the lineup and at first base. Lawrence Butler is back in right field and Max Muncy is handling third base, with veteran Brian Serven catching Ginn.
As for Texas, they’re sending lefty MacKenzie Gore to the bump in this one. Texas’ big offseason acquisition has had a so-so season in his first year for the Rangers. In 25 starts the 27-year-old has a 4.43 ERA, which isn’t horrible but not what they were hoping for when they acquired him in late January right before camp. He’s pitched better over his past few starts, and has only allowed one run in two assignments this month. Hopefully the A’s aren’t running into him right when he’s figuring things out.
If the Green & Gold can take it tonight they’ll make it two in a row for just the second time since the All-Star Break. Time to secure win #49. Let’s go A’s!
After a thrilling 5-4 comeback victory over the Washington Nationals - capped off by a Francisco Lindor walk-off RBI - Mets interim manager Andy Green, SP Sean Manaea, RP Jefry Yan, and RF Carson Benge shed light on the team's recent turnaround.
Finding ways to win
The interim skipper beamed with pride as he talked about how his players have shown resilience lately.
"You don't play perfect baseball on winning streaks," Green explained. "You make mistakes, but you don't let that moment affect the next moment."
Green pinpointed some examples of this from the latter stages of Saturday's win.
"Lindor came up to me and owned his baserunning mistake [of being caught stealing in the eighth inning], but didn't let it affect his game-winning at-bat. We also had two guys [Jorge Polanco and Francisco Alvarez] with tough days at the bottom of our lineup who got big hits in the ninth inning."
Another moment which looms large in hindsight was Benge gunning down Andrew Pinckney attempting to score from third base on a sacrifice fly, a double play which got the Mets out of the seventh inning and kept them within one run of the Nats.
"It's amazing. I don't know how to describe it. He's automatic right now," said Manaea of the run-saving play by Benge.
Meanwhile, when asked about his arm strength and accuracy on these throws to home plate from right field, Benge himself mused that "It's probably my pitching [background]... I've translated it to the outfield pretty well."
Good vibes all around
Yan's arrival in the new-look Mets bullpen has been an undeniable feel-good factor for both his teammates and the fanbase.
"I want to thank the team," Yan relayed through his interpreter following his spotless performance on Saturday. "When I got into the dugout [entering the bottom of the ninth], I said 'let's fight back and win this game', and we were all together."
"I'm grateful for the opportunity to go out, have fun, and enjoy the game. It's helped me pitch with a little less pressure."
Manaea, Benge, and Green all echoed Yan's sentiment.
"We're playing free and easy," stated Manaea. "We're trying to make the most out of [this season], with young guys stepping in and playing well... it's been a lot of fun to be a part of."
"We're having fun and looking forward to coming to the field each day," Benge declared.
"When you have the resilience to know it will be hard at times, that's the foundation for winning baseball. You want to develop habits that induce winning going forward," Green concluded.
SACRAMENTO, CA - MARCH 25: Head coach Mike D'Antoni of the Phoenix Suns talks with Amare Stoudemire #1 during the game against the Sacramento Kings at Arco Arena on March 25, 2007 in Sacramento, California. The Kings won 107-100. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2007 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Former Phoenix Suns Head Coach Mike D’Antoni and former multi-time All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire were inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Thanks to D’Antoni’s fast-paced offensive approach and Stoudemire’s ability to catch lobs and run in transition, the two were focal points in the team’s iconic “7 seconds or less” offense, which was one of the first in NBA history to play with the pace and three-point emphasis that many do now.
In his 30 years as a coach in the NBA and internationally, D’Antoni spent the most seasons of his career as a member of the Phoenix Suns coaching staff, spending the 2002–2003 NBA season as an assistant and 2003–2008 as head coach after he took over for Frank Johnson 21 games into the 2003–2004 season. In his first full year as head coach, the Suns went 31–4 to start, tied for the fifth-best start to a season in NBA history through 35 games, leading to a 62–20 regular-season record, the best in the NBA and the franchise’s second-best regular season ever. While they lost in the Western Conference Finals, it was the start of a run in which Phoenix made the conference finals in three of six seasons.
A key contributor to that squad? Stoudemire. The 2003 NBA Rookie of the Year, a five-time All-Star and a four-time All-NBA selection during his eight seasons as a Sun, the power forward and center became Steve Nash’s pick-and-roll partner, catching alley-oops, attacking the rim and helping shooters and scorers Joe Johnson, Leandro Barbosa and Shawn Marion have ample room to operate as the team ran an offense with one traditional big in the paint surrounded by four perimeter players.
Along with Nash, who won two straight NBA MVP awards, Stoudemire and D’Antoni were referenced extensively in sportswriter Jack McCallum’s book Seven Seconds or Less, which chronicles his experience around the Suns during the 2005–2006 season, when the team finished second in the West and lost in the Western Conference Semifinals to the eventual Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks.
The day before their inductions, D’Antoni and Stoudemire looked back at their time in Phoenix with gratitude, as Stoudemire became the 15th Phoenix Suns player to enter the Hall of Fame and D’Antoni became the second coach. They joined Nash, Grant Hill and Shaquille O’Neal as members of the 2000s Suns to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
They were both filled with excitement as they prepared for their big days.
“I’m soaking in the moment. I’m really cherishing the time. I’m walking slowly. I’m enjoying my family. I’m watching their faces, seeing all the other Hall of Famers who are here, and just really soaking in the moments and really taking my time with that,” Stoudemire said.
D’Antoni is at peace with how his basketball career went and feels that reaching the Hall of Fame confirms that all his dedication to the sport was worthwhile.
“It kind of validates all the stuff that went on all the years, and it’s a great cap-off to a good career. I’m happy with the way it went. I got to be doing something I love for a long time, and it’s the best,” D’Antoni said.
With the two officially inducted, recently retired Chris Paul looks to be the next Sun selected. Second in assists and steals, the “Point God” spent three seasons in Phoenix. In the 2020–2021 season, he helped the team reach its first Finals in 28 years and then helped it achieve a franchise-best 64–18 regular-season record in the 2021–2022 season.
Mark Few, who is being inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, has guided Gonzaga from being a nice little Cinderella story to a national powerhouse this century.
He led Gonzaga to NCAA title game appearances in 2017 and 2021, and the Bulldogs currently have appeared in 25 consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
Few, a two-time Naismith Coach of the Year, was an assistant at Gonzaga for a decade before taking over from Dan Monson. He has a 773-156 record in 26 seasons, and his teams have won 23 West Coast Conference regular-season crowns and 21 conference tournament titles.
He has the highest winning percentage of any Division I men's college basketball coach, as Gonzaga has won 20 or more games every year since he took over the program in 1999.
Few was an assistant coach for the 2024 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team that took home the gold medal against France.
Mike D'Antoni has his prints all over the modern game of basketball.
The coach, who began his NBA career as an assistant with the Denver Nuggets in the 1997-98 season before becoming head coach of the Phoenix Suns in the 2003-04 season, is being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Saturday, Aug. 15 as part of the class of 2026.
In the 2000s, 'experts' thought D'Antoni was insane for idolizing offense and less defense. D’Antoni influenced the game through his up-tempo, 'space-and-pace' philosophy that helped redefine offensive strategy – emphasizing ball movement, shooting, and efficiency, and shaping the analytics-driven era of the sport.
His Suns' offense was deemed 'seven seconds or less,' meaning that players had the green light to shoot good, high-volume shots within seven seconds of a 24-second shot clock.
D'Antoni's impact spans continents, having coached professionally in Italy for eight seasons before bringing his ideas to the NBA. In addition to his stints with the Nuggets and the Suns, he was also head coach of the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets and an associate head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers before ending his NBA career as an assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets.
Through his 16 NBA seasons, D'Antoni racked up nearly 1,200 career wins. He was named NBA Coach of the Year twice, in 2005 and 2017. He also served as an assistant coach for the gold medal-winning 2012 U.S. Olympic Team and was recognized as one of the 50 Greatest Contributors in EuroLeague history in 2008.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 15: Michael Lorenzen #24 of the Colorado Rockies pitches during the game between the Colorado Rockies and the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Saturday, August 15, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Bryan Kennedy/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Colorado Rockies had a nice little win streak going entering this afternoon’s game. That momentum came to a screeching halt a few innings into the game as Logan Webb and the San Francisco Giants played spoiler.
The Rockies looked like they might solve Webb, getting out to an early lead and positioning themselves to hang in a close game. A long, painful fourth inning for Michael Lorenzen made the game much less close, and the Rockies failed to string together any additional offense after their lone run in the third.
An early but fleeting advantage
The first inning gave a glimpse at why Webb has been able to go deep into games this season. He got Jake McCarthy to fly out in three pitches, struck Cole Carrigg out in six, and got Mickey Moniak to ground out after five.
Lorenzen worked his first faced batter, Drew Gilbert, into an 0-2 count but then fell behind to walk him. He bounced back, recording the next two outs, before walking Jung Hoo Lee. He peppered in a lot of fastballs early, but especially struggled to land his changeup. Despite the two walks, he recovered and worked out of the jam. Still, this marked his eighth consecutive start throwing at least 20 pitches in the first inning.
Webb and Lorenzen both had strong second innings. Webb allowed a single but added two more strikeouts and faced no real pressure. Lorenzen had a 1-2-3 inning of his own, making quick work of the side.
Three straight hits in the third swung the game. It all started with Ezequiel Tovar’s 500th career hit. Tovar got the Rockies rolling with a bloop single into shallow right.
McCarthy followed that up with a nearly identical shot to the same part of the field. Tovar took advantage of the single and broke for third, a decision that would quickly pay off. Carrigg came up next and nailed a grounder that got through into left field, scoring Tovar and putting the Rockies up 1-0.
Unfortunately, that lead didn’t last long.
The Giants’ first hit of the game was a big one. Gilbert slammed a solo home run over the right field wall to tie the ballgame in the bottom half of the inning. The Rockies were unable to regain the lead in the top of the fourth inning
It all falls apart in the fourth
Runs are hard to come by in Oracle Park and against Logan Webb. The Rockies got an early lead and kept the Giants within arm’s reach for a third of the game. Unfortunately, one bad inning was all it took. The wheels came off in the fourth inning, dropping the Rockies to a six-run deficit.
Back-to-back singles from Lee and Oslevis Basabe started things off. Lorenzen walked Drew Cavanaugh on five pitches to load the bases, putting the Rockies in a tough spot with no outs. Turner Hill, making his MLB debut, got his first career RBI with a sacrifice fly to start the damage.
Lorenzen continued to struggle with control, hitting Buddy Kennedy with a pitch to re-load the bases. There was a brief glimmer of hope that the Rockies could hold things at 2-1. Christian Koss grounded into a force out resulting in Basabe being thrown out at home for the second out. But the inning just wouldn’t end.
The story of Lorenzen’s outing today was an inability to finish, whether that was an at-bat or an inning. Despite getting ahead in the count against most batters, he couldn’t always shut them down. Despite persevering in the fourth and getting the second out, he couldn’t quite wrap things up. A two out single scored two and ended his day with the Rockies falling behind 4-1 and with more of Lorenzen’s baserunners still on.
Parker Mushinski entered and struggled. A series consisting of a single, a wild pitch, and another single put the Giants ahead 7-1. When it was all said and done, the Gigantes brought 11 batters up to the plate and scored six times.
Lorenzen’s day finished after just 3.2 innings pitched with six earned runs on four hits, jumping his ERA up to 7.08. Despite throwing 49 strikes out of his 82 pitches, he didn’t have the command when it mattered and finished with three walks to one strikeout.
After the game, Warren Schaeffer commented on Lorenzen’s struggles with finishing the job: “A lot of 0-2 counts. He just had a tough time putting guys away. I just think the story of the day was he got ahead and just couldn’t finish em. Lots of foul balls and (the Giants) kept the at-bats alive. They battled today.”
Lorenzen said the same, pointing to foul balls and balls in play: “The past few games I’ve just had trouble putting guys away. I get in the good counts. I’m working deep counts and then a ball is in play. Then you start falling behind.”
Colorado’s offense caught in a Webb
The gameplan coming into today was clear. Webb has managed a number of low scoring starts into deep innings this season. If the Rockies were to have any sort of a chance, they needed runs on the board early and to consistently convert baserunners into runs. It felt like they might pull it off early, but their production against Webb fizzled out extremely quickly.
After allowing the Rockies lone run in the third inning, Webb flipped a switch and retired the next 11 straight batters with ease before being replaced in the top of the seventh. It was a nearly flawless, vintage Logan Webb performance.
Four of his six innings pitched were quick 1-2-3 innings as the Rockies struggled to solve his pitch selection. Webb used a small but (obviously) effective mix of pitches: a four-seam fastball (30%), changeup (26%), cutter (24%), sweeper (14%), and sinker (6%). Schaeffer applauded Webb’s ability to hit all areas of the strike zone with his pitches, noting that “we just had no answer for him today.”
He logged seven strikeouts through the game, with four of those coming on his four-seamer. He managed a 50% whiff rate on the fastball, using it efficiently throughout. His cutter had the Rockies fooled as well. He got opposing batters to swing and miss on 12 pitches (compared to just five from Lorenzen).
His day ended with a line that the Rockies hoped to avoid: a quality start with six innings pitched, the one run on four hits, and those seven strikeouts without a walk to go along with them.
A numbers game
There were a few big milestone numbers hit today on both sides.
As mentioned earlier, Tovar notched his 500th career hit which then turned into his 250th career run.
Connor Norby, acquired in the Victor Vodnik trade, got his first hit as a Rockie.
For the Giants, Hill got his first MLB RBI but will have to wait on his first hit.
Among his K’s, Webb logged career strikeout 1,100.
The number that the Rockies didn’t hit? Win 50 on the season. They’ll try again to hit that milestone in the series finale tomorrow.
Outside of milestones, the number that defined the day for Colorado was 0, as several key bats in the lineup ended the day with O-fers. Zac Veen, Brett Sullivan, and Moniak were 0-for-3 (before Adael Amador pinch hit and went 0-for-1) and TJ Rumfield went 0-for-4.
Another defining number was 11: The number of Rockies strikeouts today. Every single Rockie with an at-bat today logged at least one strikeout (Veen had two). Not ideal.
Up Next
We’ll see you here tomorrow at the same Rockies time on the same Rockies channel. Colorado and San Francisco meet for the last time this season with another 2:05 p.m. MDT first pitch on Sunday.
For this one, two pitchers still looking for their first win of the season duke it out.
Gabriel Hughes gets the start for the Rockies, currently sitting at 0-4 through six starts, with a 5.61 ERA, a 1.277 WHIP, and 31 strikeouts.
The Giants will send out right-hander Blade Tidwell who is 0-0 in just two starts and 10 total games. He carries a 2.78 ERA, a 1.103 WHIP, and has thrown 19 strikeouts.
With the season series tied at six wins apiece, tomorrow will also decide which team wins the head-to-head battle for 2026.
