“It’s whatever, it’s my Dad.” Bronny James told the young kids.
Bronny James jokes with fan about LeBron James’ departure from the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bronny’s broken silence about his father’s departure has spread all across the internet as multiple accounts have reposted the video.
In the comments section for the video, basketball fans have been poking fun at Bronny James over his comments, as the X account @Invaderbader1 posted a photo of what appeared to be Bronny staring off to the ocean, where LeBron is seen giving him a thumbs-up as the sun sets.
The account @NvictusManeo posted a photo of former United States President George W. Bush saluting a crowd while the sign behind him reads “Child left behind.”
Another fan joked about LeBron’s departure and asked if Bronny called another player from another team his “Daddy?”
LeBron James suited up in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform. Getty Images
Through his two seasons in the NBA, Bronny has appeared in 69 games and has averaged 2.7 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists.
LeBron James and Bronny James as teammates with the Los Angeles Lakers. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
As Bronny is embracing this new chapter in his career, it’s already off to a bang, as he is currently with the rest of his Lakers teammates in Luka Dončić’s home country of Slovenia, where he reportedly spent half a million dollars to fly his teammates in a luxurious Bombardier Global 8000 jet.
So far, it’s appeared that the trip to Slovenia has been as great as Dončić advertised to his teammates, as videos have emerged of the Lakers players enjoying their time by going out for dinner, hanging out on boats, and taking in the scenery of the country.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - AUGUST 21: Vinnie Pasquantino #9 of the Kansas City Royals is congratulated by teammates after scoring a run during the fourth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Kauffman Stadium on August 21, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Noah Cameron pitched five scoreless, and the Royals swatted three home runs as KC beat Detroit 5-2.
Almost a month ago on July 23rd, the Royals faced Troy Melton and the Tigers in Detroit. Randy Dobnak did Randy Dobnak things, not allowing any runs, but not pitching deep into the game. Troy Melton did Troy Melton things, but gave up a two-run home run to Isaac Collins in the sixth. Unfortunately, once the bullpen got involved, the Royals blew the lead in the seventh, tied it again in the eighth, and then blew it again before Kenley Jansen shut them down.
So when the Royals, clinging to a three-run lead, saw the bullpen give up two runs in the seventh inning, you could absolutely see the team falling to same issues that cost them the previous game. The Royals, however, have made a variety of changes to the team since then, despite a quiet trade deadline. In that first game, the reliever parade included Matt Strahm, John Schreiber, and Steven Cruz. Without Strahm in this one, Cuas managed a scoreless inning before Schreiber gave up the two. Steven Cruz managed to not allow any of his own runners to score, and Nate Pearson was brought in for his second Royals save. It would be correct to say that none of the Royals relievers made it easy, but ultimately they got the job done.
There were some fears, I think, with Noah Cameron making his first start after throwing 115 pitches against the Angels. And, its true, he didn’t look nearly as sharp tonight. For one thing, he gave up his first hit of the game in the first inning. But he also walked three while striking out only two. But he battled and battled and made it through five innings on 84 pitches without giving up a run.
The Royals first run was a bit of a silly one. Vinnie Pasquantino, red hot since coming off the IL, doubled down the first base line with one out in the bottom of the fourth. He was able to score when Michael Massey smoked a groundball up the middle that evaded Melton and shortstop Kevin McGonigle’s attempts to corral it and ricocheted off of McGonigle into left field. From there, it was time for some dingers. Kyle Isbel got one in the bottom of the fifth, Vinnie heated up even more in the sixth, and then Carter Jensen came through in the seventh after the Royals’ lead had dwindled to just one.
Jensen’s and Pasquantino’s were no-doubters. But they were all beautiful in their own way.
In the bottom of the eighth, Michael Massey doubled into right field and Kyle Isbel lashed a double into left to give the Royals another insurance run. The Royals could have made it easier on themselves, but 10 hits and 5 runs will win a lot of games. Especially when the other team gets fewer hits and runs. That’s not to say they have all the answers they need for next year; they especially need pitchers to throw more strikes as they finished the night combining for seven walks and five strikeouts.
The Royals have won six in a row for the first time this year. Earlier this week I saw a social media post that made me chuckle. It suggested that the Royals would reach .500 if they won 28 of their last 35. Now they only need to win 25 of their last 32.
They can keep shoving that boulder up the hill tomorrow night. The game will be at 6:15 PM Central Time. It will be Drew Anderson (4.01 ERA, 3.38 SIERA) up against Michael Wacha (3.58 ERA, 4.38 SIERA). See you then!
KANSAS CITY, MO - AUGUST 21: Vinnie Pasquantino #9 of the Kansas City Royals slides into second as Kevin McGonigle #7 of the Detroit Tigers fields the throw during the game at Kauffman Stadium on Friday, August 21, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Tanner Gatlin/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Tigers’ woes continue as they dropped their Friday game to the Royals 5-2.
After a, shall we say, unpleasant series against the Pirates, the Tigers had a day to rest and reflect before heading to Kansas City to take on the Royals. Hopefully a break in the city of Hallmark and BBQ would be just what the doctor ordered to get the Tigers back in a winning mindset. To open the weekend series, they had Troy Melton on the mound, and he was up against Noah Cameron for the Royals.
Kevin McGonigle got a two-out single in the first, but the Tigers weren’t able to convert the early baserunner. In the home half, Bobby Witt Jr. singled with one out, but Melton turned around to induce two outs in the next two at-bats to keep the Royals off the board.
In the second, Spencer Torkelson got a one-out walk. He was then eliminated in a force out off the bat of Ben Malgeri, and a lineout ended the inning. It was another one-out walk in the bottom of the inning, this time for Nick Loftin. With two outs, Isaac Collins singled. But even with two baserunners on, the Royals couldn’t convert a run.
The Tigers continued getting runners on, as Hao-Yu Lee got a two-out single, but as with the previous innings, they couldn’t manage to get him home. Melton managed to keep the Royals off the bases entirely with a 1-2-3 bottom of the inning.
In the fourth, the Tigers had their walking shoes on. With two outs, Torkelson and Malgeri got back-to-back walks. Unfortunately, despite being in their best position to score a run all game, a groundout ended the inning and left two runners stranded. Things got a little rough for Melton in the bottom of the inning as Vinnie Pasquantino got a one-out double, then with another out, Michael Massey reached on a fielding error from McGonigle, which allowed Pasquantino to score and put the Royals on the board first. A groundout ended the inning, and the run wasn’t an earned run for Melton, but still a rough time.
The Tigers didn’t do much to help themselves in the top of the fifth, going 1-2-3. Kyle Isbel kicked off the home half with a solo homer. Carter Jensen walked, then Bobby Witt Jr. singled. A bit of a shaky turn for Melton, who seemed a bit shaken after the fourth. Chris Fetter headed out to have a chat with him. The pep talk seemed to do him some good because he turned around and got a strikeout and then induced a double play.
Cameron was done and the Tigers were about to face the 29th-place bullpen in baseball, starting with Jose Cuas. With two outs, a pinch-hitting Colt Keith walked. Then Spencer Torkelson walked for the third time in the game. Sadly, the new rookie wunderkind Brett Callahan came in to pinch-hit and couldn’t come in clutch, popping out to end the inning. Melton stayed in for the sixth and Pasquantino pretty much immediately hit a home run. Melton got the next two outs before giving up a walk to Isaac Collins. That was it for Melton for the day and Enmanuel De Jesus came in to get the final out of the inning. Melton’s final line was 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 2 HR on 94 pitches. It wasn’t the most ideal outcome from Melton, but he did get through most of six innings!
John Schreiber was the new Royals’ pitcher for the seventh. Max Clark took a leadoff walk. Gleyber Torres grounded out thanks to a super accurate toss from Pasquantino, who is on a mission to make me write his name as often as possible in this game. Zach McKinstry came in to pinch-hit and doubled, scoring Clark. A run! Steven Cruz came out of the pen and McGonigle singled to score McKinstry. Suddenly this was a one-run game. Dillon Dingler flied out to end the inning, he just wasn’t having a good game at the plate. In the bottom half, the Tigers gave back some of their advancements, as Tyler Holton gave up a leadoff home run to Carter Jensen. With two outs, Salvador Perez singled. But Pasquantino finally did the Tigers a favor and popped out to end the inning.
Colt Keith got the eighth started with a leadoff double. But three outs then followed to leave him stranded. Ty Madden was the new Tigers’ pitcher for the bottom of the inning. Michael Massey got a one-out double, then Isbel got a two-out double to score another run. Cool. Cool cool cool cool.
Nate Pearson was the next reliever out for the Royals. Javier Baez hit a leadoff double. With two outs, McGonigle walked. Jensen tried to challenge the ball call but it was upheld. McGonigle then advanced to second on defensive indifference. While they managed to get two runners into scoring position, the Tigers weren’t able to stage a comeback and the Tigers dropped the first game of the series.
The Mets blew a 4-0 lead and lost the series opener to the Chicago White Sox on Friday night in walk-off fashion, 6-4.
Here are the takeaways...
-- Sean Manaea’s night started great but ended on a sour note after allowing back-to-back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning that tied the game.
The left-hander had been cruising through the first five innings, allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out four, although he was living on the edge with a number of flyouts to center and right field dying at the warning track because of the wind blowing in.
He also escaped out of a jam, his first all night, in the fifth when he struck out Brenton Doyle with runners at second and third to end the inning.
-- However, disaster struck in the sixth after Manaea retired the first batter he faced. He went on to issue a walk to Munetaka Murakami after initially striking him out on a pitch that was challenged and overturned on ABS.
-- Miguel Vargas, already with a seed of a double off Manaea earlier in the game, followed with a two-run shot hit just as hard to get Chicago on the board and cut New York’s lead in half. Randal Grichuk cut into it even more with a solo shot to center and Colson Montgomery completed the trifecta with a bomb to right field that tied the game.
Manaea managed to limit the damage there and finished six innings, but he was surely not pleased with himself following the blowup inning.
-- After scoreless outings by Nate Lavender and Daniel Duarte, who both continue to look impressive out of the bullpen, Jefry Yan started the ninth. Yan walked the leadoff batter and then, with two outs, allowed the final blow to Jake Rogers, who smashed a walk-off two-run home run that completed the comeback.
-- Before all of that, the Mets struck first against Sean Burke in the second inning thanks to Marcus Semien’s RBI single, which drove in Carson Benge, who stayed hot with a single to lead off the inning.
-- Two more runs came around to score in the fourth after a misplay by Doyle in center field allowed New York to pounce. With runners on second and third and one out, Brett Baty had his second hit of the night, a two-run double down the right-field line that put the Mets ahead, 3-0. Baty and Semien finished a combined 4-for-8 with three RBI out of the seven and eight spot in the lineup.
-- An inning later, Bo Bichette muscled a solo home run just beyond the reach of Grichuk in left field. It was Bichette’s 13th long ball of the season.
-- A.J. Ewing and Francisco Lindor were 0-for-8 at the top of the lineup, and Francisco Alvarez's struggles continue after an 0-for-4 performance, including three strikeouts.
Haynes noted that DeRozan “has been in conversations with Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, and is anxious for the opportunity to play for a contending team.”
Demar DeRozan as a member of the USC Trojans. AP
Before being waived by the Sacramento Kings last month, he spent the last two seasons with the team, where he averaged 20.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game.
Growing up, DeRozan attended Compton High School from 2004-2008 and was heavily recruited by USC.
After graduating high school, he enrolled at USC and played basketball for them for one season before he was selected with the No.9 overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors.
Demar DeRozan with the Sacramento Kings in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Getty Images
DeRozan had an iconic season with the Trojans that is still talked about to this day, as he led them to a Pac-10 tournament finale and the second round of the March Madness tournament.
During the PAC-10 tournament, he put on a clinic, as he was crowned the tournament’s MVP, notable because he scored 25 points on 10 of 16 shots against Arizona State in the finale.
He spent the first nine years of his career with Toronto until he was traded by the team so that they could acquire Kawhi Leonard for the 2019 season.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - AUGUST 21: Willson Contreras #40 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the San Francisco Giants during the third inning at Fenway Park on August 21, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Fenway booed Rafael Devers in his first at-bat. He struck out. That was probably the nicest part of the night for San Francisco.
The Red Sox beat the Giants 6-4 on a cool Friday night at Fenway Park, and the game’s defining moment was the bottom of the third. Sonny Gray had just spent part of the top of the frame grinding through a bases-loaded jam—the stuff ace starters have to handle in August—and escaped with only Bryce Eldridge’s RBI to show for it. Then Logan Webb walked out for the bottom half and things fell apart in about 22 pitches. Hit batters, walks, hits, runs, all of it cascading at once.
Willson Contreras is a baaaaaaad man.
Two outs. Two men on. Contreras drove one 450 feet at 116 mph over the Green Monster, over Lansdowne Street, probably onto the Pike. The longest Fenway home run of the 2026 season. Then Webb faced his own bases-loaded jam, with a walk and a hit by pitch driving in two more. Five runs for Boston in the third. Webb was pulled at 2.2 innings; Roarke Sanmartin inherited the mess and got out of it. Didn’t matter. Sox led 5-1. Mr. Brightside this early into a game was kinda wild.
The Giants didn’t roll over, though. Right away in the fourth, Tyler Gilbert hit a two-run shot off Gray, and then Devers—the villain the whole crowd had been waiting to boo all night—stepped up and went back-to-back. Solo homer, dead center, his 26th. Just like that it was 5-4. Fenway got a little uneasy. Raffy got his moment. That was pretty much it for the Giants, though.
Gray held it together through six innings, 97 pitches, and the bullpen didn’t give an inch. Erik Miller shut the door in the seventh for his 12th hold. Alec Gamboa followed with a clean eighth for his first. Aroldis Chapman struck out three of the four batters he faced in the ninth for his 28th save. Zero hits allowed, six strikeouts combined. Chapman’s ERA sits at 1.90. The late innings are locked in, and Garrett Whitlock and Justin Slaten working their ways back only makes this scarier.
Wilyer Abreu added insurance in the sixth with an RBI triple off Trent Harris to push the lead back to two. Jarren Duran kept up his hitting streak with a triple into the triangle. Sonny Gray goes to 16-3. I feel like the ship is finally stabilizing as we get through August after the rough road trip to Toronto and Pittsburgh.
Studs
Willson Contreras (2 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 3 RBI, 2 BB)
Four hundred and fifty feet. One hundred and sixteen miles per hour. Over the Monster, over Lansdowne, onto the Pike. Every now and then a home run isn’t just a home run—it’s the moment the whole night turns on. This was that. OB went nuts in the booth, the ball probably still hasn’t landed, and Webb never recovered. Two walks on top of it, Contreras did real damage in two of his four plate appearances. The cut to Devers after Contreras’ shot is honestly a nice shot of schadenfreude.
Wilyer Abreu (4 AB, 1 R, 3 H, 1 RBI, 1 BB)
Three hits and the sixth-inning triple that gave Gray’s bullpen actual room to breathe. Abreu has been one of the most consistent bats in this lineup since the break—his numbers against right-handed pitching look nothing like they did in April—and he was in the middle of multiple Boston rallies all night.
Sonny Gray (6.0 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W 16-3)
Not a dominant outing—the back-to-back Gilbert-Devers shots in the fourth scared me a bit—but this was an ace doing what aces do. He navigated the early jam, absorbed some hard innings, and still gave six. Sixteen wins, three losses. Gray has quietly been the most consistent starter in the American League this year. Cy Young consideration? Are we far enough into the season to start that conversation?
The Bullpen (3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 6 K)
Miller, Gamboa, Chapman. Six strikeouts, no hits, nothing. Gamboa picking up his first hold. Chapman getting his 28th save with three punchouts on 20 pitches. After Gray handed them a two-run lead to protect, the three of them combined to make it feel like ten.
His RBI came on a bases-loaded walk, which is the whole story of his night. The Red Sox went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left nine on base, and Monasterio was in the middle of too many of those stranded-runner situations. One double play, zero hits. He’s been too good this season for one bad night to mean much, but this was a bad night.
Mickey Gaspar (3 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 1 RBI)
Reached on a hit-by-pitch to force in a run, but was otherwise invisible at the plate. The DH spot does not belong to him long-term. Roman Anthony’s rehab can’t end fast enough, even with the fun week Evil Mickey is having.
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 10: Egor Demin #8 of the Brooklyn Nets looks on during the game against the New York Knicks during the 2026 NBA Las Vegas Summer League on July 10, 2026 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. 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 2026 NBAE (Photo by Candice Ward/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
A lot has been made — particularly by Knicks fans — about how Joe Tsai told NetsDaily about the “embarrassment” he faces watching the Knicks revel in their championship while his Nets are deep in their rebuild. But little attention was given to what else the Nets principal owner said. Here, ICYMI, is the full quote:
”Every year, some team is going to win a championship,” Tsai told us. “So it happens that this year that team is in the same city. It doesn’t make us feel very good. It irritates our fan base and it is embarrassing but in business or in competition, in sports, or in anything, you shouldn’t let the embarrassment factor affect how you perform…. [We] had a plan and we’re rebuilding and I think right now we are on a positive trajectory. So it doesn’t change my thinking at all.” (Emphasis added.)
At the moment, two months before the Nets meet the Hornets on Opening Night, how are things going with said “trajectory?” We’ll know more starting that night. However, in two analysis of where Tsai’s team stands going forward, both published Friday, pundits Sam Quinn of CBS Sports and Stephen Noh of Sporting News —generally — like where the organization is headed but wonder what’s next as the Nets hurdle through the NBA firmament.
Quinn even suggests, in his ranking of the NBA’s front offices that the Nets may be the victim of a faulty narrative. He puts Sean Marks & co. at No. 16 on his list of NBA front offices, one below his last rankings at the February trade deadline.
Brooklyn’s front office probably faces the biggest disparity between perception and reality of any in basketball. The prevailing narrative surrounding the Nets is that they’ve been poorly run and their outlook is bleak. True, they haven’t yet found any truly foundational players, but they have a clean cap sheet and a six-pick first-round draft surplus (not including swaps, though in fairness they owe their 2027 swap to the Houston Rockets). The reality is that this is a pretty promising blank slate if you’re willing to take the long view.
No front office has been unluckier than Brooklyn’s. The Nets built a championship favorite that was ruined by a pandemic. They spent two years tanking and wound up with the No. 6 and 8 picks. How differently do we feel about the Nets if they had wound up with, say, Darryn Peterson and Ace Bailey out of that tank? Or AJ Dybantsa and Tre Johnson? We’re not in the business of blaming teams for poor lottery results.
When the Nets sell veterans, they almost always do so at the peak of their value. They got four first-round picks and one first-round swap for Kevin Durant. Then they took Mikal Bridges, the primary player value from the Durant trade, and turned him into five picks and a swap. The other main player from that trade, Cam Johnson, was flipped for a better player, Michael Porter Jr., and an unprotected 2032 first-round pick. The Nets are as good at leveraging contenders into overpaying for their players as any team in the NBA.
Now, they’re still in the bottom half of these rankings. The Nets are way better than they get credit for, but that doesn’t mean they’re perfect. They banked so much of their future on landing a cornerstone in either the 2025 or 2026 drafts. They didn’t get a top-five pick, and it just isn’t clear what their new plan is. That’s a bit of a problem in light of how baffling components on their last two offseasons have been.
The degree of disaster represented by their five first-round picks last season is certainly overstated. Egor Dëmin would go behind Collin Murray-Boyles and Cedric Coward in a redraft, but he looks like a starter. The other first-round picks were between No. 19 and No. 27, all of which come with relatively low hit rates, and it’s too soon to call any of them busts after just a single season. Still, spending that many picks in the same draft on on-ball players was puzzling. The Nets didn’t exactly put them in a position to succeed.
He doesn’t think everything the Nets did this off-season makes sense for the future, particularly the trade of Nic Claxton for Julius Randle plus an exchange of picks.
The Julius Randle addition makes no sense. He’s an expensive floor-raiser in his 30s. The Nets don’t need their floor raised. They don’t control their own pick this year, so the relegation zone isn’t a concern. He overlaps positionally with Porter Jr. (whom they have neither traded nor extended, strangely). He’ll take the ball out of the hands of their many young players who need it.
There was no reason for them to give mutual options to Mo Wagner and Keon Ellis. They had more than enough cap space to just pay them more and get team options. Why didn’t they use their surplus cap space to try to steal a restricted free agent? This offseason made little sense. The strategy here is unclear. The Nets have gotten far more right than they’re credited for, but they’ll have to chart a clearer course moving forward if they want to make it into the top half of these rankings.
Quinn puts the Nets between the Pistons and Clippers in his rankings. He has the OKC Thunder at No. 1 and the NBA champions Knicks at No. 2.
Noh takes a bit of a different tack, looking out at the 2029 season specifically. He notes that three years can make a big difference in the NBA, that back in 2023, the Pistons, Thunder and Spurs were bottom dwellers. Not anymore.
[T]he Pistons were the worst team in basketball, losing an NBA-record 28 straight games. Victor Wembanyama won Rookie of the Year honors, but the Spurs still looked far away from competing with a 22-60 record.
He also points out that the Celtics, Mavericks and Suns looked like dynasties in the making. Not happening either.
Noh starts by giving Brooklyn an A+ for assets, then provides an analysis then suggests that the organization ranks No. 21, depending on how aggressively they want to move in the intervening years.
The Nets have one of the best asset situations in the league. They have five surplus first-round picks to work with, some of which have immense value. That gives them the means to accelerate their rebuild if they want to.
They will probably still be a few years away from pulling that lever. They still won’t be in contention by 2029, but they should be on their way up as a playoff hopeful and have at least one point guard in the future between Brown, Demin and Traore.
Although Noh doesn’t mention it, the Nets draft assets, following their various trades for picks, will peak in 2028 and 2029, barring trades. In 2028, they have two firsts — their own and the 76ers, protected 1-8 — as well as two first round swaps from the Knicks and Suns plus three second rounders from the Grizzlies and Hawks as well as their own. Then, the next year they could wind with a big haul — three firsts: their own, the Knicks unprotected and the least favorable of the Mavericks, Phoenix and Rockets plus four seconds: their own plus the Mavericks, Warriors and the Grizzlies.
The question, of course, with both Quinn and Noh’s analysis, is what they can and will do starting with this year’s trade deadline come February. There are hints that things will be interesting starting then.
Like Quinn, Noh projects the Thunder and Spurs as the two of the best organizations going forward. And why not?
Any positives at this point have to be noted and spotlighted, considering that the organization is not just “embarrassed” by the recent turn of events but become the butt of an endless series of jokes, the most recent coming from Knicks superfan and Oscar-nominated actor Timothee Chalamet, who appearing on FanDuel Thursday got personal…
Timothée Chalamet says there's something wrong with you if you're a Nets fan in New York
But he means no disrespect
"My grandma was a huge Knicks fan, so that's what turned me on to them."
"She had a New York Giants teddy bear and a New York Jets teddy bear, but she only had a… pic.twitter.com/tGzPkLMXOD
BALTIMORE, MD - AUGUST 21: Coby Mayo #16 and Pete Alonso #25 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrate after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Friday, August 21, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Alyssa Piazza/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
All the Orioles needed to break their four-game skid was another game against the Rays. They took the opener of the weekend series with their division foe 5-3 on Friday night as Trevor Rogers twirled a gem, Pete Alonso hit the go-ahead homer, and the bullpen locked things down late.
The Orioles came out swinging, literally. Jackson Holliday doubled to left field on the very first pitch in the bottom of the first inning. And mere moments later he came in to score on a Pete Alonso single up the middle. Gunnar Henderson followed with a five-pitch walk, and it seemed like something big could be brewing for the Birds. But that momentum quickly dissipated when Tyler O’Neill struck out and Samuel Basallo hit into a double play to end the inning after just one run being scored.
Rogers was unable to put together a shut down inning in the top of the second. In fact, he put forth his only bad frame of the entire game. The Rays scored three times. Junior Caminero led off with a double down the third base line and then scored on a Chandler Simpson single. A few batters later, Kenny Piper hit his first career home run to put the Rays up 3-1.
That would end up being the only runs that Rogers gave up all night long. He got into a little trouble in the third inning, allowing three singles before escaping unscathed, but was otherwise pretty dominant. The lefty tied a season high with seven innings in which he gave up the three runs on six hits, a walk, and six strikeouts. It seemed as though he was getting stronger as the game wore on. His fastball got into the upper nineties in his seventh and final frame. That’s impressive for anyone, but particularly Rogers who has occasionally run out of gas late in a few of his other outings this season.
Baltimore chipped away at the Tampa lead in the bottom of the second inning. Dylan Beavers led off with a solo homer to center field, his sixth long ball of the season.
But most of the action came in the fifth inning. Coby Mayo was hit by a pitch to open the inning, then advanced to third on a Colton Cowser single followed by a Jorge Mateo throwing error. After a strikeout of Leody Taveras, Jackson Holliday came to the plate.
Holliday worked a 2-2 count against Rays starter Freddy Peralta. Then, it seemed like he failed to check his swing for strike three down and out of the zone. Holliday even started walking back to the dugout, but on the appeal to the third base umpire Dillon Wilson it was determine that Holliday had not swung. Rays manager Kevin Cash did not disagree, and after a chat with Wilson was ejected from the game. It was an understandable position to have since it did look like Holliday had gone too far, but the Orioles were due some favoritism after recent events. Holliday stayed in the game and drove in a run on a sac fly to center to tie the game.
Alonso made sure none of that really mattered anyway when he came up next and launched his 30th home run of the season to left-center. The two-run bomb to made it a 5-3 advantage for the Orioles, which would prove to be all they needed for the win here.
It wasn’t the busiest night on the bases for the O’s. They had just four at-bats with runners in scoring position, but that didn’t matter much thanks to the two long balls. As usual, when the Orioles hit home runs they win games. It’s how the team was built to win, it just hasn’t happened as often as they hoped it would this season.
Rogers was brilliant on the mound yet again. If the Orioles haven’t approached him about a long-term deal by now, they probably should. There is enough data to suggest he has figured something out about himself since joining the club. Maybe he would like to keep that going for a while longer. It’s something that will probably wait until the uncertain offseason that lays ahead.
Andrew Kittredge and Rico Garcia were called on out of the bullpen. They worked one scoreless inning each, striking out two apiece in the process. It’s been an up-and-down couple of weeks for the Baltimore relievers, but we will take the good performances when they come.
The Orioles continued success against the Rays is illogical. It’s also one of those oddities of sports. Perhaps having all of those former Orioles on your roster does make those matchups with their former team just a touch more difficult. The Rays are probably OK with that swap given their spot in the standings.
These two teams will be back in action on Saturday night. Brandon Young (9-3, 3.52 ERA) will be on the bump to face Shane McClanahan (9-6, 3.25 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:05.
Most Birdland Player, August 21. 2026
Who do you think was the Most Birdland Player in this Orioles win? Here are some nominees for your consideration, but feel free to name your own in the comments.
Trevor Rogers (win, seven innings, three runs)
Pete Alonso (2-for-4, home run, three RBI)
Andrew Kittredge (mows down heart of Rays order in the 8th)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 21: Cam Schlittler #31 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on August 21, 2026 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) | Getty Images
As was the case with their series loss against the Blue Jays that wrapped up at the start of the week, there wasn’t much offense on display tonight. However, Spencer Jones hit his second home run in as many days — a two-run moonshot to give them the lead in the second — while Cam Schlittler battled for six gritty innings as the Yankees secured a series-opening victory, 3-1.
Schlittler took an inning to dial in his command, issuing a leadoff single to Brett Bateman, a walk to Alejandro Kirk, and a single to Jesús Sánchez. However, a double play erased the Bateman single and an Ernie Clement grounder ended the inning, Paul Goldschmidt making a pair of important scoops at second. Things sharpened up a little in the second, Schlittler working a 1-2-3 inning on just six pitches.
We unusually saw a pair of substitutions in the bottom of the first. Amed Rosario worked a four-pitch walk and was immediately pinch-run for by Jazz Chisholm Jr., which was perhaps always the plan given the lefty opener and righty bulk reliever. Speaking of that opener, Mason Fluharty also walked Ben Rice, prompting John Schneider to call on Spencer Arrighetti to face George Lombard Jr., which paid off as Lombard struck out to strand a pair and make it 20 straight games without a first inning run.
The bottom of the second brought echoes of Wednesday night’s win over the Orioles. In a moment eerily similar to Pete Alonso’s home-run-turned-foul-ball that controversially was not overturned by replay, Spencer Jones hit a towering fly ball down the right field line that was called a home run on the field. None of the replay angles captured the moment the ball left the field of play given the height of the blast, so the call on the field stood as a two-run homer following Trent Grisham’s leadoff walk, giving Jones home runs in back-to-back games.
The imprecision with location returned for Schlittler in the third, Myles Straw and Kirk drawing a pair of walks. However, Schlittler finally found a consistent lane for his four-seamer and tallied his first strikeout of the night on four-straight heaters just above the zone to Sánchez. The fourth was more of the same, starting with a pair of singles by Clement and Kazuma Okamoto before a grounder advanced the pair into scoring position with one out. Schlittler got a huge strikeout of Charles McAdoo with overpowering four-seamers, but had to battle Straw for eight pitches before a popup to short ended the frame and stranded the pair.
There was a lot to love about the approach from the bottom of the Yankees order in the fourth. Lombard led off with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Grisham drew a four-pitch walk and Jones hit a swinging bunt to the right side to advance both runners into scoring position. José Caballero then worked a full count before driving the payoff pitch to deep center to plate Lombard as their third run.
Schlittler finally faltered in the fifth under the weight of all the extra work he was creating for himself. Bateman led off with a double into the corner in left. Schlittler then got to 1-2 against Kirk, but left a four-seamer in probably the only spot where Kirk could get a hit, grounding a low-and-away fastball through the hole on the right side to plate Bateman and break up the shutout. To his credit, Schlittler ended the threat there by getting Sánchez to bounce into the inning ending double play. He saved his best for last, striking out Clement and Valenzuela on a pair of filthy curveballs below the zone in the sixth.
It was a grind in more than one sense of the word for Schlittler. I’m sure he won’t be thrilled by the three walks. I also bet he’ll be even more annoyed that he was able to get to two strikes with relative ease, only to watch his command then abandon him when going for the strikeout. That invariably led to a lot of extra pitches being thrown and quite a few full counts, Schlitter expending way more energy early than he would have liked which likely prevented him from going really deep in this game. All this being said, we’ve gotten to the point where we have to nitpick the minor faults of a down performance relative to the standard of excellence that Schlittler has set. You can only be so critical of six innings of one-run ball, Schlittler allowing six hits and three walks with four strikeouts on 96 pitches.
The Yankees certainly needed that result from Schlittler given the lack of production after the Caballero sac fly. Goldschmidt and Heliot Ramos reached on singles in the fifth but back-to-back strikeouts by Rice and Lombard stranded them in place. Rice reached second in the eighth after a walk, but again consecutive strikeouts, this time by Lombard and Grisham, left the Yankees 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position while stranding six.
Brent Headrick came in for the seventh and retired the first two batters without much issue. He got to two strikes against Bateman, but grooved a four-seamer that the center fielder drove into the gap in right-center. Jones covered a ton of ground and almost made a stunning sliding catch, but the ball rolled out of his glove as he hit the ground and Bateman stood on third with a triple. However, Headrick made his best pitches of the inning against pinch-hitter George Springer and struck him out on a nasty splitter to strand the runner at third. Blackburn was handed the eighth and navigated around a one-out double by Sánchez that probably gets caught if it was Cody Bellinger instead of Ramos in left, but it was no harm no foul with Blackburn retiring the next two batters.
That handed the ball to David Bednar with a 3-1 lead to protect in the ninth. He allowed a leadoff automatic double that one-hopped the wall in left to Valenzuela on a well-located 2-2 heater, but retired McAdoo and Straw to pull within an out of the save. That brought leadoff hitter Bateman to the plate, 3-for-4 with a double and triple on the day, but he was no match for Bednar, who made him look silly on a splitter in the dirt for the victory-sealing strikeout.
It’s just the start the Yankees needed to this crucial 10-game homestand — especially because the Rays lost in Baltimore to shrink their AL East lead to three games. New York will look to keep the momentum rolling tomorrow, going for their sixth straight win with the ascendant Ryan Weathers facing off against Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 pm ET with the broadcast remaining on YES.
Dodgers owner and chairman Mark Walter, left, speaks with Dodgers president Stan Kasten before a playoff game against the Milwaukee Brewers in October. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
Dodgers president Stan Kasten wants to make it clear that majority owner Mark Walter will not sell the team.
Following Walter’s decision to sell his majority stake in the Lakers, questions about his majority ownership of the Dodgers were raised amid his company’s financial difficulties, which include a federal probe of his businesses. But Kasten said it will have no effect on Walter’s majority ownership of the Dodgers.
“The Dodgers are not being sold,” Kasten said. “They’re not going to be sold. They’re not for sale. There’s no process that has been started to sell [the franchise]. Period. ... I just wanted this to be clear because this question keeps coming up. I understand the questions; I do. The Lakers thing was what we call sui generis, one of those one-of-a-kind things. Really has nothing to do with what’s happening with [the Dodgers] or the other teams.
“I wanted you to hear it definitively: We are not selling the Dodgers. We are continuing with our plans going forward, like we always have had them. This comes from Mark. He’s gung-ho about continuing to try to win, again, including next year, subject to whatever next year’s climate looks like.”
Kasten added that he doesn’t expect the Dodgers’ operations to be interrupted, describing the franchise as “very stable, well-managed, and [with] very solid ownership.”
“I know nothing involving the Dodgers is part of the investigation,” Kasten said. “I’m promising you, when it’s over, you’re going to realize [things] are being mischaracterized. You don’t have to trust me, but I’m telling you.”
When Kasten was asked about reports Walter is trying to sell his stake in English Premier League team Chelsea FC and tried to cash out of lucrative TV deals with Charter Communications, he said they were mischaracterized.
“Those things don’t go together for a bunch of reasons I’m not going to get into today,” Kasten said.
Kasten took a similar tone when asked about reports of Walter having to repay insurance companies.
“I’m not in that part of the investigation,” Kasten said. “Things are going on behind the scenes, obviously, in connection with that. I’m not privy to all of them, don’t need to know, don’t want to know. But one thing we are all certain about: the sports portfolio is going to remain intact.”
Walter has additional ownership stakes in the Sparks, the Cadillac Formula One team, the Professional Women’s Hockey League and the Billie Jean King Cup tennis event.
“I can tell you from the guy running the team, knowing how the business runs and what it can support in terms of revenues and expenses — the Dodgers aren’t going anywhere,” Kasten said. “I feel that very strongly, and Mark feels even stronger than I do. I’m 74. I don’t know how long I’m going to be running it, but Mark, I think, is going to be running it a lot longer.
“I think Mark has done an extraordinary job as an owner, and all he’s ever cared about is providing the best experience in order to make us more money, to make this project successful,” Kasten added. “I think so far it has been; I expect that to continue far into the future.”
Aug 21, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm (28) celebrates with teammates after hitting a game winning two RBI walk off triple in the tenth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Hottest Team in Baseball (71-58) won their seventh straight game with a 7-6 extra innings walk off victory against the St. Louis Cardinals (66-64) to pull within four games of the NL East leading Atlanta Braves.
The Cardinals opened the scoring against Jesus Luzardo with a two-out, two-run home run by Joshua Baez in the top of the first inning. It was Baez’s first home run since hitting three in his major league debut last Saturday.
Alec Bohm gave the Phillies their first lead in the bottom of the third with an RBI single that scored Luis Arraez who reached on his 28th double of the season.
The Cards jumped back in front with another two-run home run in the sixth, this time by persona non grata, Jordan Walker. Luzardo finished with 110 pitches over 5.2 innings pitched.
It was the Phillies’ turn in the bottom of the inning as Bohm and Marsh singled, Realmuto hit his second RBI-double of the game, and Justin Crawford hit a go-ahead RBI sacrifice fly to make it 5-4.
Orion Kerkering got two outs in relief of Mayza in the seventh inning and came back out in the eighth. He allowed a lead-off single to Alec Burleson, got the next two outs and then hit Everson Pereira. Brooks Raley came in to pitch to the lefty, Bryan Torres, who laced an 0-1 single to right-center to tie the game at five.
Jhoan Duran pitched a scoreless ninth and the offense went down in order in the bottom of the ninth to take the affair to extras.
The Cardinals went ahead in the top of the tenth on a single by Jose Fermin off of Alex McFarlane.
With Bryce Harper as the ghost runner, Luis Arraez hit a single to right off of Luis Gastelum to put runners on the corners for Bohm, who sent a 2-2 sweeper to deep center field for a two-RBI triple to walk the thing off.
BALTIMORE, MD - AUGUST 21: Yandy Díaz #2 of the Tampa Bay Rays takes a foul ball to the face during the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 21, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The bad news is that the Rays lost to the O’s… again. The good news is that the Rays only have to play the last place O’s two more times this season.
Playing for the fifth time in eight days, the Rays and O’s faced off in Baltimore opening a three-game set. After dropping three of four to the O’s at the Trop, the Rays were hoping to flip the script and return the favor at Camden Yards. Unfortunately, Pete Alonso had other plans.
Early on, it looked as though the Rays might in fact flip the script. Despite falling behind 1-0 in the first on a Pete Alonso RBI single, the Rays jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the top of the second inning. The Rays quickly tied it after Junior doubled and later scored on a Chandler Simpson RBI single. Then, later in the inning Kenny Piper hit his first big league homer. It was a blast to left-center field and gave the Rays a two-run advantage.
But, the pesky O’s just wouldn’t go away. Rays starter Freddy Peralta was unable to toss a clean, shutdown frame in the bottom half and the O’s cut the deficit to one run via a Dylan Beavers solo shot.
The 3-2 Rays lead would hold until the bottom of the fifth when the O’s broke out for three more runs. Peralta started the inning off by gifting the O’s a free baserunner, hitting Coby Mayo. Then, Coswer singled and just like that the O’s had men on the corners with nobody out. Nonetheless, Peralta was able to strikeout Leody Taveras and then had Jackson Holliday walking back to the dugout after two-strike check swing that was egregiously ruled a checked swing by the third base umpire. Not only did the call end Kevin Cash’s night as he was tossed for the first time this year, but it also gave Holliday new life at the plate and he didn’t waste it. A sacrifice fly tied the game at 3-3 and set the table for Pete Alonso to give the O’s the lead with two outs and a runner at first.
He wasted no time and launched a 2-2 fastball to the seats. His 30th homer of the year, seemingly all coming against the Rays over the last week. Just like that it was 5-3.
That score would hold and the Rays would eventually lose their fifth game in their last eight. Freddy Peralta went seven innings, surrendering five runs. He punched out six, walked one, and allowed seven hits. He was tagged with the loss, his 11th of the year. O’s starter Trevor Rogers earned the win tossing seven innings of three run ball. He punched out six, walked one, and allowed six hits.
Spencer Jones' two-run blast was the difference as the Yankees started their three-game series against the Blue Jays with a 3-1 win on Friday night in the Bronx.
New York has won five in a row and, after the Rays' loss to the Orioles earlier in the evening, are now 3.0 games behind Tampa Bay for first place in the AL East.
Here are the takeaways...
-Toronto made Cam Schlittler work in the first, picking up two hits and a walk, but a double play and some nifty scoops by Paul Goldschmidt at first saved the Yankees and their ace a run.
Schlittler didn't have his best stuff. His command was iffy -- he walked three batters -- and the Jays hitters were picking up hit after hit. The fourth inning saw Toronto start with back-to-back singles. A groundout moved up the two runners, but Schlittler got out of the jam again with a strikeout and a flyball. He couldn't do the same in the fifth. A leadoff double came home on a one-out single by Alejandro Kirk to put the Jays on the board.
The AL Cy Young front-runner finished strong, pitching a 1-2-3 sixth inning to pick up another quality start.
He tossed 96 pitches, allowing one run on six hits and three walks while striking out four.
-In a moment reminiscent of the team's trip to Baltimore, Jones hit a towering fly ball toward the right field foul pole in the second inning. Unlike Pete Alonso's blast, it was called fair and the call stood after a chief review. The blast gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead. On the defensive side, the young outfielder almost made an outstanding sliding grab in the seventh, but the ball popped out of his glove as he hit the ground. Brent Headrick worked around that triple by blanking the Jays in the inning.
Jones finished 1-for-3.
The Yankees bullpen of Headrick, Paul Blackburn and David Bednar kept the Jays off the board, working around baserunners to finish the win.
-The offense wouldn't muster much else. A sac fly by Jose Caballero in the fourth accounted for the only other Yankees run. Toronto outhit the Yankees, 9-4, with New York going 1-for-8 with RISP and left six on base. The Blue Jays were worse, going 1-for-14 with RISP and leaving nine on base.
Game MVP: Spencer Jones
The pitching was great again, but the two-run blast was the difference.
LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 14: Yoshinobu Yamamoto #18 of the Los Angeles Dodgers takes the sign from the catcher during the game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium on Friday, August 14, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Nicole Vasquez/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Dodgers (77-51) host the Pittsburgh Pirates (63-66) for a brief one-series homestand starting Friday night at Dodger Stadium.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12-7, 2.60 ERA, 0.89 WHIP) has been putting the league on notice, ranking 2nd in the majors in WHIP and 8th in ERA through 22 starts.
Bubba Chandler (6-8, 4.23 ERA, 1.37 WHIP) makes his first career start against the Dodgers. He collected a win out of the Pittsburgh bullpen in 2025 against the Dodgers.
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ front office is confident in its stance that the team will not be sold by Mark Walter, CEO of the Guggenheim Baseball Management group.
He serves as the principal owner and controlling partner of the Dodgers, while others, such as former Lakers star Magic Johnson and team president Stan Kasten, serve as minority owners.
Despite the flurry of transactions, coming as Walter is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for alleged fraud, Kasten insists the Dodgers are not being sold.
“The Dodgers are not being sold,” Kasten told reporters before the Dodgers’ game at Dodger Stadium on Friday, Aug. 21. “They are not for sale. There‘s no process that has been started to sell it.”
Walter and the Guggenheim group purchased the Dodgers in May 2012.
