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The Nationals started the last month of the regular season the same way they began August, with 2 games against the Atlanta Braves. This time went a bit better than last, splitting the 2 instead of losing both. While they did drop the second game, they’ve been playing above .500 ball (6-4) across their last 10 games.

With playoff hopes all but gone, it’s time for Washington to play spoiler for the rest of the league. Their next opponent has a comfortable lead in the National League West, but the Nats have a chance to diminish their hopes of getting a playoff bye.

World Series hopes remain at the forefront of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ minds, but their chances of either the #1 seed or a playoff bye are much more pressing needs. They’re tied with Atlanta for the second-best record in the NL, and they sit 4.0 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the top seed. Los Angeles has been on and up-and-down swing as of late, sitting at a 4-6 record across their last 10.

Game One – Friday, 10:10 PM ET

WSH: LHP Jackson Kent (1-2, 5.59ERA)
LAD: LHP Blake Snell (2-1, 2.42 ERA)

Jackson Kent is coming off the best start of his young career the last time through the rotation, throwing 7.0 innings of 1-run ball against the Miami Marlins. He squares off against a veteran southpaw in Snell, who threw to a sparkling 1.17 ERA across 23.0 innings in his first full month back from injury.

Game Two – Saturday, 9:10 PM ET

WSH: RHP Cade Cavalli (12-5, 3.12 ERA)
LAD: RHP Tyler Glasnow 4-0, 2.79 ERA)

The ceiling for Cavalli continues to be raised with every start he makes, and he enters September with a real chance to finish the season with an ERA under 3.10. Another injury-riddled arm takes the mound for the Dodgers, with Glasnow making just his 3rd start since May 6th.

Game Three – Sunday, 10:10 PM ET

WSH: LHP Andrew Alvarez (2-6, 3.47 ERA)
LAD: TBA

Alvarez, like Kent, is also coming off the most effective start of his 2026 campaign. His 6.0 shutout innings against Miami dropped his ERA below the 3.50-mark, continuing his push for a rotation spot in 2027. Los Angeles will likely use a bullpen game in the finale, with health concerns limiting their starting options.

The Yankees and Angels treated us to a true pitchers’ duel Wednesday night. Reid Detmers held the Yankees to a run on six hits and no walks with eight strikeouts in seven innings while Cam Schlittler went a step better with eight innings of one-run ball on two hits, no walks, and nine strikeouts.

While not the most high leverage spot of his start, there was a moment in the sixth inning that I’d like to highlight from Schlittler that shows him at his best as he whiffed Oswald Peraza for his seventh strikeout.

We join Schlittler with Peraza leading off the sixth. To this point, the Angels managed just one base runner, a Vaughn Grissom single to lead off the second. The Yankees opened the scoring in the fourth, Amed Rosario smacking an RBI ground-rule double off Detmers, but the Angels lefty has yet to allow another base runner since.

Schlittler really started dialing in his fastball command to the edges over the previous two innings and saw the strikeouts tick up. Therefore it’s no surprise to see him start Peraza with a four-seamer.

Schlittler paints the outside edge of the zone with this 96 mph heater. The pitch is quite as elevated as he wants, but the slight cutting motion on this four-seamer causes Peraza to hit it off the end of the bat foul the other way. This ability to vary the shape of his four-seamer, which sometimes cuts but other times runs arm-side, is a subtle but effective wrinkle by Schlittler to keep hitters off balance.

We see this variation in shape the very next pitch as Schlittler attacks with another four-seamer.

See the way this 97 mph heater runs instead of cuts? Perhaps fooled a bit by this wrinkle in movement, Peraza whiffs through a pitch that lands pretty close to middle-middle as the pitch moves in toward the label rather than towards the barrel.

Peraza has shown zero indication that he is able to put Schlittler’s four-seamer in play, so an obvious choice after back-to-back fruitless swings against the pitch would be to climb the ladder above the zone.

Once again, Schlittler isn’t quite able to elevate this pitch to the spot he wants, which is why Peraza is able to foul it off to stay alive rather than whiff underneath it for the strikeout.

At this point, Schlittler seems pretty determined that this AB has to end with him blowing a four-seamer by Peraza. Given how late Peraza continues to be with his swings, the opportunity still exists if he can just get it above the zone instead of at the top of the zone.

Same pitch, same result as the last two four-seamers. These fastballs are high enough to keep the baseball above Peraza’s barrel but not quite high enough to prevent him from fouling it off.

It’s worth noting that that last swing from Peraza was the most on time to the fastball. Perhaps Schlittler and Ali Sánchez pick up on this, because they throw the perfect pitch for a hitter hunting the hight heater — a curveball that starts high before plummeting below the zone.

Schlittler throws an absolute hammer of a curve, this pitch falling four feet during its course home despite being thrown at 87 mph. Peraza looks absolutely foolish as he whiffs through this pitch. He’s not the only hitter to be made to look silly against Schlittler’s curveball. It has emerged as a true unicorn pitch given the speed he throws it at, but still maintains superior downward depth, which explains why hitters whiff with close to the most vertical miss distance of any curveball in baseball. Not only does the pitch boast unique physical characteristics, but Schlittler’s ability to tunnel it with the four-seamer unlocks the true potential of the pitch.

Jut look at the way the curveball and the previous four-seamer look like the same pitch for much of their journeys toward home before the curveball drops off the table after the hitter has started his swing.

Here’s the full sequence:

Schlittler’s gem came at a critical time, both on a personal level and from a team perspective. On a personal level, this start represented a nice bounce-back from a career-high five walks in his previous start. There seemed to be a concerted effort to attack the zone more from Schlittler. This command was on display as seen by the tight, precise grouping of the four fastballs to Peraza, which is also evidence that Schlittler did his homework on the scouting report which reveals Peraza’s weakness against up-and-away heaters. It also shows the confidence Schlittler has to throw four straight heaters in or around the zone, knowing his fastball is good enough to beat you no matter the count. Finally, Schlittler had to author a gem to stay neck-and-neck with Dylan Cease in the AL Cy Young race, the Blue Jays starter having pitched six scoreless innings earlier in the day.

From a team perspective, the Yankees at a minimum needed to win two of three from the worst team in baseball. They also needed to capitalize after the Rays lost to the Mets earlier on, each game gained in the standings worth their weight in gold now that we are into September. To have their ace pitcher firing on all cylinders in effectively a must-win game bodes well for their chances in the final month of the regular season.

The last time the Braves came to town, the Phillies were a mess. The Phillies of mid-April couldn’t get out of their own way, and the Braves certainly took advantage, winning all three games by a combined score of 16-3. The Phillies did slightly better when they visited Atlanta the following week, as they were actually able to win a game, but the Braves’ 5-1 record in those two series was a big reason they were able to establish a lead in the National League East standings.

Thankfully, the Phillies are no longer a mess. Most importantly, the starting rotation is in nowhere near the same shape as it was then. In those two series, the Braves got to face Taijuan Walker, Aaron Nola, and Andrew Painter a combined four times. Walker is gone, Painter’s turn won’t come up (although that might be to the Braves’ advantage), and Nola has been resurgent.

As it stands, four games separate the two teams in the standings, which happens to be the number of games they’ll play against each other this series. The Phillies have done well to get themselves back within striking distance, but they have to take advantage of this head-to-head matchup.

Opposition research: Chris Sale

Chris Sale is once again in contention for the National League Cy Young Award, and will have a strong case for the Hall of Fame when his career is over. But we shouldn’t let those pitching accolades make us forget that the guy is kind of nuts.

In 2016, while Sale was on the White Sox, team president Kenny Williams decided that Adam LaRoche’s 14-year-old son Drake was spending too much time in the clubhouse and put restrictions on how much time he could spend there. Adam decided he’d rather retire than deal with tose restrictions, and Sale was extremely upset about it, unloading on Williams, and hanging two LaRoche jerseys in his locker in tribute.

Later that season, the Sox were scheduled to wear special throwback uniforms, but Sale found them uncomfortable. So, as one does, he waited until the rest of the team was warming up, and he cut up the uniforms with scissors.

Then in 2018, he missed a playoff spot after going to the hospital with “abdominal distress.” He explained it was due to irritation to a belly button piercing…which wasn’t actually true. Maybe it’s me, but if my star pitcher had to miss a playoff start, I wouldn’t be all that excited about hearing him joke about it.

It’s also worth remembering that at the end of the 2024 season, he skipped his final start of the season – a must-win for the Braves – possibly because he didn’t want to cost himself the ERA title, which would have hurt his chances in the Cy Young voting.

He’ll face off against Cristopher Sanchez in the opening game of the series, and its a shame that such a good matchup will feature the Phillies’ City Connect uniforms. Perhaps they should invite Sale into their clubhouse and conveniently leave out a pair of scissors so he can do his thing?

Hating on the Braves

I’d prefer the Phillies win the National League East, because winning is almost always better than losing. But if they do fall short, there’s a chance that they could face off against the division champion Braves, and as we all know, that hasn’t gone very well for Atlanta.

I’d take more pride in the Phillies’ 3-0 playoff series record against the Braves, but the fact is, the Braves have a rather poor playoff record against just about every team. Sure, they’ll pull off a fluky World Series win every 26 years or so, but most of the time, it’s a matter of when, not if the Braves are going to fall apart.

Trivia

Last week’s answer: In the Phillies’ first ever win against the Angels, Vicente Padilla, Rheal Cormier, and Jose Mesa combined for a shutout. SLDH got two of the three first.

This week’s question: What player had the most total hits in the 2023 NLDS between the Phillies and Braves?

Yay, Trea

I’m worried that my constant negativity about Trea Turner has helped bring about his downfall. Since I’m probably going to have to endure seven more years of him on the Phillies, I’ve decided to change my mindset and become his biggest fan. I’m going to ignore how bad his body language looks at the plate and try to treat every flail at a low and outside pitch with a “You’ll get ‘em next time!” I’m going to stop panicking every time a seemingly routine ground ball is hit to shortstop.

While I may not be in attendance at any of these games, I’m going to give Turner a personal standing ovation at home every time he comes to the plate. I encourage all of you to do the same. After all, it’s not like it could make his season any worse.

Additional thought about the series

We have a very interesting foursome of pitching matchups in this series, and it’s tough to give a clear edge to either team:

Chris Sale vs. Cristopher Sanchez – As good as Sanchez has been, Sale might be the best pitcher in baseball since the All-Star break.

Martin Perez vs. Zack Wheeler – Wheeler is the better pitcher, but Perez has been better lately.

Tyler Mahle vs. Aaron Nola – Both had bad starts to their season but have been good recently.

Grant Holmes vs. Jesus Luzardo – Holmes has had a solid season, but Luzardo has been amazing since the start of May.

With not much separation there, it seems likely that these games will come down to which bullpen performs better. Obviously, the Phillies are confident in Jhoan Duran for the ninth, but getting to him hasn’t always been easy. It looks like Don Mattingly is going to keep putting Jose Alvarado and Orion Kerkering out there in the late innings no matter how many times they fail.

It would be great if both Jonathan Bowlan and Alex McFarlane can show that they’re ready for those high leverage innings. My heart can only take so much of seeing Alvarado and Kerkering trying to record key outs with runners on base.

Or the Phillies’ hitters could just go off on the Braves’ starters and not even have to worry about high leverage relief innings. That would be swell too.

It seemed too far to think about back on May 22 when the Atlanta Braves were up by 10.5 games in the NL East standings. It felt terrifyingly frustrating when that lead was whittled down to just two games on July 12 following a terrible June and a slow start to July. There was nearly a sigh of relief on August 12 when the lead had gone back up to 9.5 games for the Braves.

So here we are in early-September and it turns out that these seven games between the Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies this month are likely going to decide who’s going to win the division. A lead that once felt comfortable early in the season (and even last month) has now gone down to four games — which is coincidentally the number of games that these two teams will be playing in Philadelphia through Labor Day Weekend.

The good news for the Braves is that, well, the lead is still four games. By hook or crook, the Braves have continued to find a way to win games and hold onto the lead, even with the Phillies having put pedal to the metal in recent times. As such, Atlanta’s still in the driver’s seat to hold onto the divisional title — FanGraphs is giving Atlanta an 84.7 percent chance of winning the division heading into this series and they even have an outside shot at getting the bye to the Divisional Round as well. They’re tied with the Dodgers but they have the tiebreaker thanks to winning that season series and while Los Angeles has a cakewalk (on paper) down the stretch, they’ve still got to play the games and there’s no guarantee that the Dodgers are going to avoid getting tripped up, themselves.

PECOTA is a bit more skeptical of Atlanta’s chances of holding onto the division but not by much — that model is giving Atlanta a 70 percent shot at winning the division and a 30 percent shot at making it as a Wild Card. Perhaps the most important thing to note here is that unless Atlanta has the ultimate collapse, the Braves are likely going to be playing baseball in October no matter what. So even if the worst-case scenario plays out over the course of this weekend’s series, as long as Atlanta avoids the collapse to end all collapses across the rest of September then they’ll be getting into the bracket.

With that being said, it sure would be nice to see Atlanta get on a roll, nail this division down and go for the bye. As frustrating as the past three trips to the Postseason have been for the Braves (especially the first two of those three appearances), getting the bye is still a pretty big deal. It’d allow Atlanta to reset their rotation, the bullpen would get some much-needed rest and they’d start out in a five-game series instead of an ever-volatile three-game series. As much as it would seem like simply going straight into the Postseason in the Wild Card round would be beneficial to keep everybody in the usual swing of things (pun intended as far as the offense goes), it is still extremely risky to have your entire season come down to just three games.

It’s especially risky to try to play the matchups as well. With the way the National League has been this season, there’s really no favorable matchup to try to “tank” for — no matter if it’s the Cubs, Diamondbacks or Padres (maybe even the Marlins if they get hot down the stretch or even the Phillies if they run out of gas), the Braves are going to be in for a fight no matter who they get drawn with in any given three-game series. The home field advantage will be huge but it’s still going to be difficult.

As such, it’s going to be absolutely crucial that the Braves get a move on for the rest of this month and it starts this weekend in Philadelphia. Of course the ultimate goal is to simply put everything way this weekend with a sweep but I think we’ve all got to operate in the reality that that’s a highly unlikely result. The series opener on Friday with Chris Sale starting against Cristopher Sánchez feels like it really might set the tone for the next three days. If the second game comes down to Martín Pérez having to get a result against Zack Wheeler (who’s been scuffling as of late), I’d have confidence in Pérez at least being able to keep Philadelphia within striking distance or even quiet. Pérez has been getting massive results all season and there’s no reason to have that faith waver at this point.

Tyler Mahle vs. Aaron Nola is going to be a pretty massive matchup between the crown jewel of the trade deadline (go figure) and a Phillies vet who has been finding a bit of a second wind lately. Hopefully by Monday, the Braves will have clinched at least a split of the series since it would be asking a ton out of Grant Holmes to go out there and deliver a big performance with Jesús Luzardo looming on Labor Day. Essentially, I’d imagine that Atlanta going into Monday having to get the split or even attempting to salvage simply leaving town in first place would be a tough spot to be in so again, hopefully the Braves will have already picked up two wins before Monday rolls around.

The two biggest questions as far as the bats are concerned for both teams is this: Can Atlanta’s lineup figure it out away from Truist Park and can the Braves neutralize the lower portion of Philadelphia’s lineup? Bryce Harper has been on a real heater lately (even for his standards) and it’s part of the reason why the Braves decided that they didn’t want Bryce Elder going anywhere near the guy during this series. Kyle Schwarber is always a looming threat but he hasn’t been producing at a super-high level since the start of August. Still, Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott have been dangerous lately and it really feels like Harper, Bohm and Stott are going to be the guys to be extremely careful with. Luis Arraez could also be dangerous as well.

Still, the lineup outside of Harper isn’t too imposing and the Braves are not-too-far removed from having mostly neutralized the top of Los Angeles’ lineup. The main problem in that series was the bottom portion of the lineup doing damage and potentially setting things up for the top guys. The Braves got away with it against the Dodgers — they may not have the same fortune if the top of Philadelphia’s order comes up with ducks on the pond.

Still, none of this matters if the Braves can’t figure out a way to put runs on the board. Granted, most of their road trips since July have involved them dealing with some of the very best pitching that baseball has to offer this season and as such, Atlanta has only hit .224/.278/.341 with a .274 wOBA and just 70 wRC+ away from home since the break — tied with the Yankees for the worst mark in all of baseball in that span. At the same time, hitting away from Truist Park has been a bit of a struggle for the Braves throughout the season. Atlanta is hitting .238/.303/.392 with a .305 wOBA and 91 wRC+ on the road throughout this season compared to a .259/.322/.433 with a .330 wOBA and 109 wRC+ so far this season.

Is the offense that showed up in Washington going to make their presence felt in Philadelphia? Will Ronald Acuña Jr. getting that 200th dinger finally encourage him to start getting things rolling at the plate? Can Mauricio Dubón keep coming up with massive two-out hits? Will Matt Olson come out of his recent doldrums in time for this series? Will an unlikely hero emerge like Ha-Seong Kim, Lane Thomas or even the suddenly-hot Sean Murphy? Does Michael Harris II have some more larger-than-life moments left in him in this particular ballpark? It’s all on the table heading into these next four games.

They’re going to have a massive task on their hands considering how the Phillies have pitched over the course of this season and especially in recent times but plain-and-simply, the Braves are just going to have to figure out a way to rise to the occasion and push some runs across the plate. Just like they’ll need to figure out a way to silence both the bats and the crowd in Philadelphia this weekend. Just like they’ll need to figure out a way to stay on top of the NL East going forward. Atlanta doesn’t need to win this series and a split will probably do the trick in order to keep them in the driver’s seat but they’ll have to go out there and grab it instead of letting the Phillies set the tone.

It may not be October quite yet but the vides are certainly moving in that direction considering just how many times these two teams will be seeing each other over the next 10 games. The most crucial stretch of the season begins this evening. Let’s see if the Braves are up to rise to the challenge that’s ahead of them.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates are listed as huge home favorites over the Los Angeles Angels ahead of the 6:45 p.m. ET first pitch at PNC Park on Friday, Sept. 4.

My top Angels vs. Pirates predictions and MLB picks expect Pittsburgh to rough up Los Angeles righty Ryan Johnson and take the series opener tonight. 

Who will win Angels vs Pirates today: Pirates -1.5 run line (45.5%)

For help understanding probabilities, see our odds calculator.

The Los Angeles Angels rank last in wOBA this season while also sitting 29th in xwOBA over the past 30 days, so this is a perfect spot for Pittsburgh Pirates' promising righty Jared Jones to cash in on statistical correction.

Jones sports a respectable 3.84 xERA and 3.83 xFIP across 18 starts this season, so his 4.83 ERA is misleading.  

The Pirates pace the league in wOBA against righties, while Angels starter Ryan Johnson looks overmatched in the majors with a confidence-shattering 5.53 xERA, league-high 5.54 xFIP, and pedestrian 16.5% strikeout rate, setting Pittsburgh up for a productive night at the plate.

COVERS INTEL: The Pittsburgh Pirates boast the highest wOBA on contact in the majors, which measures the true damage and quality of a hitter's contact.

Angels vs Pirates Over/Under pick: Over 8.5 (50%)

Pittsburgh has gone Over the number in 20 of its past 35 home games (+6.00 Units / 16% ROI), and as highlighted, Johnson has struggled at the highest level.

Additionally, while Jones’ underlying numbers are sound, he’s still surrenderedthree or more runs in four of his past six starts and missed all of last season because of an internal brace procedure after dealing with a barking elbow in 2025.

The Angels only need to chip in to push this total past the number.

Angels vs Pirates home run prediction: Brandon Lowe (19.6%)

Pirates slugger Brandon Lowe has hit 49 of his 60 homers against right-handed pitchers.

In addition to all the noted Johnson shortcomings on the mound, he’s also allowed a healthy .193 ISO to left-handed hitters.

Angels vs Pirates weather

High humidity at PNC Park tonight will make the air dense, potentially limiting ball carry for the Angels and Pirates.

While early innings should proceed smoothly under cloudy skies, a 45% to 55% chance of scattered thunderstorms and light rain later in the evening introduces a high risk of a mid-game rain delay.

Angels vs Pirates odds

• Moneyline: Angels 38.5% | Pirates 65.5%
• Run line: Angels +1.5 (55.6%) | Pirates -1.5 (45.5%)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (50%) | Under 8.5 (50%)

Angels vs Pirates trend

Los Angeles has only won 16 of its last 50 road games (-13.35 Units / -26% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Angels vs. Pirates.

How to watch Angels vs Pirates and game info

Angels vs Pirates latest injuries

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Just three games for the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball affiliates on Thursday, as AA Richmond had their game postponed due to weather. They have a doubleheader scheduled for today to make up for it.

Here’s what happened in those other games!

Link to the 2026 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)

All listed positions in the roundup are the position played in that particular game.

News

A few assignments were announced since yesterday’s roundup. Most notably, RHP Eric Nachtsheim, July’s 6th-round pick, was assigned to Low-A San Jose. We should get to see him make his pro debut this weekend, when San Jose plays their final 3 games of the regular season.

AAA Sacramento added some talent, as the Giants claimed infielder Brett Harris off of waivers from the Red Sox, and optioned him.

Very oddly, San Jose RHP Trey Seeley was activated off the 7-Day IL on Friday. Seeley was removed from Tuesday’s start in the 1st inning, and looked distraught while walking off with the trainers, suggesting a serious injury. He then was placed on the IL on Wednesday. So it was very odd seeing him come off the IL this morning (you don’t really need to served the 7 days on the IL in the Minor Leagues, as it’s really just an injury designation more than an actual enforced time). That said, bookkeeping in the Minors is shoddy enough that this could just be a clerical error, or perhaps the Giants doing it for some reason I’m not aware of, beyond Seeley actually being healthy. It’s worth keeping an eye on whether or not he gets into a game.

AAA Sacramento (75-57)

Sacramento River Cats lost to the Salt Lake Bees (Angels) 4-3 (10 innings)
Box score

The Pacific Coast League might be where offense goes to flourish and pitching goes to die, but apparently the River Cats and Bees didn’t get the memo. The scores so far in this series? 4-1, 3-1, and 4-3. You won’t see many 3-game stretches in the PCL featuring a grand total of 16 runs between the teams!

Needless to say, the pitching was strong in this one. And it was strong in a way that Sacramento’s older brothers in San Francisco can’t relate to: because of a dominant bullpen. The start went to LHP Seth Lonsway, who made his 1st appearance since getting optioned following his fairly surprising MLB debut.

Lonsway was pretty solid which, if we’re being frank, is better than he’s been most of the year. He pitched 5.2 innings and gave up 8 baserunners (6 hits and 2 walks), while allowing 3 runs and striking out 3. He did a decent job avoiding hard contact, though he did give up a home run to MLB veteran Jeimer Candelario.

It seems a certainty that Lonsway will be designated for assignment in the coming months, as the Giants are going to have to clear about 20 spots on their 40-man roster over the fall and winter. But it also seems a near-certainty that he’ll clear waivers and be outrighted back to Sacramento, so he can continue serving as emergency depth in 2027.

While Lonsway was merely decent, the bullpen was spectacular. It began with another stellar showing from RHP R.J. Dabovich, who gave up no hits in 1.1 innings, while walking 1 and striking out 3. Dabovich has been excellent since finishing his rehab assignment and returning to Sacramento: in 4 outings with the River Cats, he’s pitched 4.1 scoreless innings, while allowing just 3 baserunners and striking out 5. Dabovich is up to 10.1 total innings on the year, which may not sound like a lot, but it’s more than he had in any of the past 3 years. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Giants send him to the AFL to get him some more reps … if he can stay healthy, he could work his way into the bullpen plans next year, as there’s a ton of talent in his arm.

LHP Philip Abner and RHP Eric Cerantola both had strong games, as each struck out 2 batters in a no-hit inning, with the former facing the minimum of 3 batters, and the latter allowing both a walk and a hit batter. LHP Nick Zwack pitched the 10th and “allowed” a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly, which scored the Manfred Man, meaning Zwack was handed the unlucky distinction of getting the loss despite not allowing a single baserunner.

A few strong performances on offense, despite the low score. Most notable was that second baseman Darren Baker, Dusty’s son, made his organizational debut. He hit 1-3 with a strikeout and a stolen base before leaving the game early. Baker, who was recently signed to a Minor League deal, hadn’t played in a game since mid-July, so the Giants will probably give him a handful of partial games before letting him play all 9 innings.

First baseman Diego Velasquez (No. 31 CPL) had a nice game, hitting 3-4 with a double and a walk. The Giants certainly made Velasquez, a switch-hitter who turns 23 next month, earn his AAA stripes, as he spent 255 games in AA before getting the call to the highest level of the Minors. That approach seems to have worked, as he’s looked extremely comfortable with the River Cats, posting an .861 OPS and a 133 wRC+ through 24 games.

The Giants have a ton of backup infielders (Christian Koss, Osleivis Basabe, Shay Whitcomb, Nate Furman, and Brett Harris) on the 40-man roster, and plenty of those names will be employed elsewhere come 2027. That could open the door for Velasquez to play a role next season, if he can keep hitting like this.

If you’ve been reading these articles lately, you know that the exciting trio at the top of Sacramento’s lineup — Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL), Parks Harber (No. 17 CPL), and Scott Bandura — has been struggling something fierce lately, after dominating the summer. Thankfully, that cold streak ended for one of the players, as Bandura, playing in center field, had a lovely game, hitting 2-5 with a pair of doubles, a walk, and a strikeout.

The mini slump was not enough to notably bring down Bandura’s numbers in AAA this year, as the 2023 7th-round selection still has a .317 batting average with just a 14.6% strikeout rate, leading to an .875 OPS and a 130 wRC+. What a season he’s had, and it’s certainly put him in position to make the MLB roster, either in the final weeks of the season or as a Rule 5 protection.

Davidson, playing in right field, did not break out of his slump, but he didn’t necessarily add to it either, as he had a day with some good and some bad, hitting 1-5 with a double and a walk, but striking out 3 times. After going scorched earth on the PCL for a while, Davidson has calmed down considerably, and in his last 10 games is hitting 7-39 with 3 extra-base hits, 6 walks, and 11 strikeouts. That’s brought him down to an .839 OPS and a 117 wRC+, though it’s still been a wildly successful AAA campaign for the lefty slugger.

Harber, unfortunately, did add to his slump, which has gotten extremely ugly. The right-hander, who turns 25 later this month, went 0-6 in this game with a strikeout hat trick, bringing his 8-game running tally to a truly unsightly line: 1-32, with 4 walks and 12 strikeouts. After rocking a wRC+ in the 130s and 140s for his 1st few weeks in AAA, the undrafted free agent acquired in the Camilo Doval trade is now down to a .751 OPS and a 99 wRC+. But these sorts of barriers are normal in development, which is why I find it so strange that the Giants keep bypassing AAA roadblocks with early promotions. But I digress…

High-A Eugene (77-51)

Eugene Emeralds beat the Hillsboro Hops (D-Backs) 7-6
Box score

A fairly dramatic one for the Emeralds, who scored all 7 of their runs in the 8th inning. That’s one way to win a baseball game!

Eugene kicked off that 7-run inning with a 3-run blast by the hottest hitter on the team, right fielder Cam Maldonado (No. 34 CPL).

Maldonado, who finished the game 2-5 with a strikeout, had an up-and-down season in Low-A, but has been other-worldly since heading to the Pacific Northwest. Last year’s 7th-round pick is only 20 games into his High-A tenure but has already smacked 8 home runs, leading to a 1.129 OPS and a 178 wRC+ for the 22-year old. What a way to end the year!

The other offensive stars were a pair of newcomers to the system, second baseman Dalton Wentz and shortstop Kaeden Kent. Wentz, a 21-year old switch-hitter taken in the 16th round in July, but given a 4th-round bonus, hit 2-3 with a double, a walk, 2 stolen bases, and a strikeout. Kent, a 23-year old switch-hitter acquired in the Heliot Ramos trade, went 2-4 and swiped a pair of bags.

Wentz has done an impressive job fitting in, considering that he jumped straight to High-A for his pro debut. He’s hit safely in 9 out of the 11 games he’s played in, and while he’s struck out too many times (16), he’s hitting 11-42 with 4 extra-base hits and 7 walks, good for a .772 OPS and a 109 wRC+. Pretty impressive for someone who skipped rookie ball and Low-A, and was on the young side for a college draftee (he turned 21 a few weeks after being drafted).

Kent, who was a 3rd-round pick by the Yankees a year ago, has been awesome in his short stint with the Emeralds, posting an .879 OPS and a 121 wRC+ through 7 games. He’s a remarkably well-rounded player, which I suppose isn’t too surprising given who his dad was!

While that pair of middle infielders excelled, the same can sadly not be said of the third baseman Walker Martin, who had a brutal game. Martin, a 2nd-round pick in 2023, hit 0-3 with 2 strikeouts and 3 errors, though he did reach base once via a walk. The Giants gave Martin a chance in High-A despite fairly middling results in Low-A, and so far the results have been tough: he has a .234 average, a 33.7% strikeout rate, a .728 OPS, a 91 wRC+, and has committed 30 errors.

Unlike in Sacramento, Eugene’s bullpen was unexciting and uninspiring in this one, but there was a strong — and exciting — start, thanks to LHP Jordan Gottesman.

Gottesman, who was a 6th-round pick last year out of Northeastern, was making his High-A debut following a late-season promotion, and it sure went well, as he tossed 4.2 innings, while allowing just 2 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run, and striking out 2. The only real stain on Gottesman’s day was that, despite the low strikeout total and low baserunner total, he needed 91 pitches to get through 4.2 innings. Still and all, a wonderful debut in the Northwest League for someone who figures to be a key part of Eugene’s rotation in 2027.

Low-A San Jose (77-52)

San Jose Giants beat the Fresno Grizzlies (Rockies) 8-5
Box score

Down in San Jose we’re seeing a funny power surge from left fielder Oliver Tejada, who just can’t stop hitting the ball over the fence. The 19-year old from the Dominican Republic was back at it on Thursday, hitting 1-4 with a 2-run blast and a walk, though he struck out 3 times.

Tejada made his stateside debut last year in the Complex League, where he hit just 1 home run in 57 games. He began this season still in Arizona, where he hit 1 more home run in 26 games. When the season ended he joined San Jose where he has … wait for it … now hit 7 home runs in 42 games. Go figure.

Funnily enough, despite the power surge, Tejada’s isolated slugging has actually lowered since the promotion, due to how many doubles and triples he was hitting in the Complex League. And despite all the home runs, it hasn’t been a seamless transition to Low-A, as the righty has been taking an all-or-nothing approach: after having a .320 average and a 19.3% strikeout rate in rookie ball this year, he’s hitting just .218 with a 29.1% strikeout rate in San Jose.

But home runs can cure a lot of ailments, especially for players who are strong defensively. And given that Tejada will be busy wrapping Christmas presents when he turns 20, it’s fair to say that the contact issues in his introduction to full-season ball aren’t all that concerning. Give it time!

Designated hitter Angel Guzman is another player who came to San Jose when the ACL season wrapped up, and he has been in an absolute groove at his new level. The 20-year old Dominican hit 4-5 in this game, while bopping a double and driving in 2 runs, which pushed him up to an .884 OPS and a 128 wRC+ with San Jose. His numbers really haven’t fallen off at all since getting promoted, as the lefty took a few weeks to get acclimated and then positively made up for lost time, posting a .967 OPS in August.

Shortstop Josuar González (No. 2 CPL) bounced back following one of the only bad games of his career, as he hit 2-5 with a double and a strikeout. If he can keep this up for 3 more games, the 18-year old switch-hitter will end his debut A-ball stint with an OPS that starts with a 1 (it’s currently 1.013, with a 153 wRC+).

Undrafted free agent catcher Scott Gell made his professional debut and went 0-4 with a walk and a strikeout. Welcome to the pros, Scott!

A funny start from RHP Ben Bybee, last year’s 8th-round selection out of Arkansas. Bybee, pitching a day after celebrating his 23rd birthday, worked quickly and let the ball get put in play. He needed just 61 pitches to get through 5 innings, and all 20 batters that he faced put the ball in play, as he finished the game with neither a walk nor a strikeout. You don’t see that very often!

Despite the tiny pitch count, Bybee did give up 7 hits, which included a pair of home runs, tagging him for 4 runs on the day. That’s been an issue for Bybee in his debut season: he does a great job of avoiding free baserunners, but is simply far too hittable. He’s only issued 2.3 walks per 9 innings, with just 1 hit by pitch all year. But he’s also only struck out 6.9 batters per 9 innings, and in 78.1 frames has ceded 87 hits and 13 home runs, leading to a 5.06 ERA and a 5.85 FIP.

RHP Samir Chires returned to San Jose following a brief emergency depth stint in Sacramento and tossed 2 no-hit innings with 3 strikeouts, though he walked 2 batters. Chires, who turns 23 later this month, has been awesome in his A-ball debut, after starting the season in the ACL. In 14 outings with the Baby Giants, he has a 1.90 ERA and a 3.49 FIP, with 25 strikeouts against just 5 walks in 23.2 innings.

Home run tracker

22 — Cam Maldonado — [8 in High-A; 16 in Low-A]
8 — Oliver Tejada — [7 in Low-A; 1 in ACL]

Friday schedule

Sacramento: 6:45 p.m. PT vs. Salt Lake (SP: Trystan Vrieling)
Richmond: 3:05 p.m PT doubleheader at Akron (SP: Charlie McDaniel)
Eugene: 6:35 p.m. PT at Hillsboro (SP: Cade Vernon)
San Jose: 7:05 p.m. PT at Fresno (SP: Jackson Flora)

Reminder that almost all MiLB games can be viewed on MLB TV

The biggest turnaround story in MLB attendance this season belongs to one of the clubs with the biggest on-field flip — but the better record doesn’t tell the full story.

The Tampa Bay Rays have increased their per-game attendance 77.3% year-over-year, but last season, they played in the 11,026-seat spring training stadium George M. Steinbrenner Field after Tropicana Field was damaged by Hurricane Milton.

Now, the Rays are back home at 25,025-seat Tropicana Field, which is 127% larger than Steinbrenner Field. However, they are still pulling higher numbers than their last season at Tropicana.

In 2024, Tampa Bay averaged 16,515 fans per game. This year, the ballclub is up 4.3% to 17,225. That would still be the sixth-biggest increase across MLB in 2026.

The Rays finished fourth in the American League East in both 2024 and 2025. This season, they are leading the division with just a few weeks left to play.

The next biggest jump in attendance is more natural.

The Chicago White Sox are up 36.4% from 2025, vaulting from 17,849 per game to 24,353. However, a new venue can’t explain the sharp rise.

Instead, the club has pulled a full-on rebound, going from last in the AL Central to leading the division this year. Plus, Japanese sensation Munetaka Murakami has given the city’s south side team a star power boost.

The team has also tapped into promotional nights to get fans into the ballpark — for instance, a Pope Hat giveaway drew a sellout crowd of 38,113.

On the other end of the spectrum sit the New York Mets, who turned MLB’s largest payroll into cellar dwellers in the National League East.

It’s worth noting that last season was a Citi Field record with a 36.7% increase from 2024. However, early on-field woes turned into season-long struggles and New York has averaged 33,819 fans per game in 2026, down from 39,316 last season.

And despite the dip, the Mets are performing better at the gate than they did in a 101-win 2022 season, when they averaged 31,663 fans per game.

The other double-digit drops belong to the Kansas City Royals and the Houston Astros, who are down 11.1% and 10.4%, respectively.

Houston is on pace for its lowest winning percentage since 2020, although they are managing to lead the AL West.  

The Royals, meanwhile, reached the postseason in 2024 and averaged 21,590 fans per game the following season, their highest since 2017.

This year, Kansas City tied for the worst record in baseball at the All-Star break and has failed to do much since.

League-wide, MLB is averaging 29,524 fans per game, per a pull of Baseball-Reference.com data on Sept. 1.

That’s just about steady with 2024 and 2025 figures and is up 11.1% compared to 2022.

It’s also an improvement of 4.7% from the last pre-pandemic season of 2019.

However, the league still hasn’t reached its all-time high of 32,696 fans per game set in 2007. MLB is also on trend to miss the 30,000 mark, something it has not hit since 2016.

There is a chance, though, for the league to break that barrier as we have over three weeks left in the season. And the Wild Card race is still up for grabs, with nine teams vying for the AL’s three spots and seven duking it out on the NL side.

Here’s the full list of attendance changes from 2025 to 2026 as recorded via Baseball-Reference.com on Sept. 1:

Can’t see the table? View here.

Methodology: Team by team attendance data comes from Baseball-Reference.com. The figures for 2026 are partial seasons through data obtained vis Baseball-Reference.com on Sept. 1. League attendance data since 2000 is also from Baseball-Reference.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: One MLB team increased attendance by almost 80%. But there's a catch.

Emmet Sheehan’s first outing of September will be with the Dodgers this weekend against the Washington Nationals. But that comes after a stellar August in Triple-A, and for his efforts on Thursday was named Pacific Coast League pitcher of the month.

Another Dodgers minor leaguer, Class-A Ontario infielder Joendry Vargas, was named California League player of the month for August.

Sheehan was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on August 3, and pitched the rest of the month for the Comets. He was called up as a just-in-case arm for the Dodgers on August 18-19 in Coors Field, but did not pitch. After a brief relief appearance for Oklahoma City, Sheehan reeled off three excellent starts in a row, totaling 24 strikeouts and six walks with just one run allowed in 17 1/3 innings.

Sheehan also won PCL pitcher of the week for August 17-23.

After a slow first few months, Vargas started to come round offensively in the last week of June, then had a solid July. August was a breakout month for the 20-year-old, hitting a whopping .396/.417/.646 with a 159 wRC+, 11 doubles, three home runs, two triples 20 RBI, and 18 runs scored in 23 games. Vargas led the California League during August in hits (38), total bases (62), doubles, and slugging percentage.

Vargas has played mostly shortstop but has also seen time at second base and third base. That’s been the norm for an Ontario roster this year that included Emil Morales and Mairo Martinus before getting promoted, plus recent draft picks Aiden West, Caleb Johnson, and Kellon Lindsey, though the former first-rounder Lindsey has played mostly second base this season.

Vargas won Cal League player of the week from August 3-9.

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The Braves and Phillies are tough to split with their aces taking the bump tonight... or are they?

See why our MLB expert picks like Atlanta to come out on top on Friday, Sept. 4, and much more.

MLB expert picks for today

Pick	Probability
Jon Metler: ATL ML	50%
Neil Parker: CHC -1.5	44%
Joe Osborne: MIL -1.5	49%
Dustin Saracini: KC/TOR o9.5	54%

Probabilities courtesy of Polymarket. For help understanding Polymarket probabilities, see our odds calculator.

Jon Metler's expert pick: Braves moneyline

Price: 50¢ at Polymarket

This is about as good as it gets: two NL East rivals battling for the division, with Chris Sale and Cristopher Ssnchez taking the mound.

I'm not going to overthink this one. I'm backing Sale and the Braves, especially after Sale's dominant complete-game shutout against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He's in elite form right now, and this matchup sets up well for him.

The Phillies' offense relies heavily on production from three left-handed bats: Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, and Luis Arraez. That makes it difficult for me to back Philadelphia at this price against a left-hander like Sale. Schwarber and Harper both look to drop the barrel and elevate pitches in the lower half of the strike zone, but Sale can counter that swing path with his sweeping slider.

The Braves are trading at 50% on Polymarket, but I make them closer to a 53% favorite in this spot.

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• How to watch: BravesVision, NBCSP

Neil Parker's expert pick: Cubs -1.5

Price: 44¢ at Polymarket

The Cubs rank second in xwOBA and first is ISO across the past 30 days, so with Marlins starter Janson Junk sporting a ho-hum 4.28 xERA and 4.72 xFIP over his past seven starts, I’m anticipating the Chicago lineup pulling away on the scoreboard tonight.

Miami respectively checks in with a 27th-ranked xwOBA and 25th-ranked ISO during the same stretch, and the Marlins are 20th in wOBA against lefties for the season, after all.

Finally, while there have been a lot of peaks and valleys for Chicago southpaw Shota Imanaga, his 3.89 xERA and 3.82 xFIP across his past 11 starts also reinforce the edge on the mound for the Cubbies.

• Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
• How to watch: MARQ, Marlins.TV

Joe Osborne's expert pick: Brewers -1.5

Price: 49¢ at Polymarket

When the Brewers win, they tend to win big, with 11 of their last 12 victories coming by at least two runs.

Milwaukee is well positioned to tee off against Rhett Lowder, as its hitters own a combined .946 OPS against him. In two meetings this season, they smacked him around for nine total runs off 19 hits, and they rank fourth in OPS against righties over the past two weeks.

On the other side, Shane Drohan has had opposite results this season vs. Reds hitters, limiting them to two total runs across two starts.

With the Reds struggling against lefties and Milwaukee holding a sizeable bullpen advantage, the Brewers should be able to pull away

• Time: 6:10 p.m. ET
• How to watch: Brewers.TV, Reds.TV

Dustin Saracini's expert pick: Royals/Blue Jays Over 9.5

Price: 54¢ at Polymarket

Where has this Toronto Blue Jays offense been all year? They exploded for 17 runs across their last two games against the Cleveland Guardians and have a plus matchup against Daniel Lynch, who will be on another short leash tonight.

If the Jays can get to Lynch early, they should be able to eat the second-worst bullpen in the bigs alive (5.09 ERA).

On the other side, Jameson Taillon is making his first start back from injury after rocking a 11.88 ERA in July and 3.38 ERA in August. With a Jays bullpen that used four of its high-leverage arms yesterday afternoon, the Royals will do their part to get us across the line.

• Time: 8:10 p.m. ET
• How to watch: Royals.TV, SN

More MLB best bets for today

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