A pivotal four-game series against the Atlanta Braves begins on Friday night with both teams will having their ace on the mound.
Cristopher Sanchez gets the ball for the Phillies. He’s coming off a start where he pitched seven shutout innings against the Angels.
Sanchez will be opposed by Chris Sale. The former Cy Young Award winner is 13-9 with a 2.06 ERA.
Game time is 6:40 PM and will be televised locally on NBCSP.
With the 2026-27 season almost here, former Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph is still an unrestricted free agent.
Joseph still being unsigned at this point in the summer comes after he spent the 2025-26 season with the Vancouver Canucks. In 31 games with the Pacific Division club during last season, he posted one goal, six points, and a minus-16 rating.
With Joseph having a decent amount of NHL experience, the possibility of him landing a professional tryout (PTO) from an NHL team before the start of the season should not be ruled out. He could be a decent depth addition for an NHL club if he earned a contract for the season.
Joseph appeared in 171 games over two stints and five seasons with the Penguins, where he recorded eight goals, 30 assists, 38 points, 114 blocks, and 186 hits. He also had the best season of his NHL career with the Penguins in 2022-23, as he set career highs with five goals, 16 assists, and 21 points in 75 games.
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see where Joseph ends up landing. At just 27 years old, he should be able to find a new home, whether it is with an NHL team or overseas.
The 2026-27 NHL season is rapidly approaching, as it is now September.
However, with the new campaign getting closer, a former Chicago Blackhawks forward is still looking for his next contract: Brandon Saad.
Saad still being a free agent comes after he had a tough 2025-26 season with the Vegas Golden Knights. In 49 games with the Pacific Division club last season, he recorded just three goals and nine points. This comes after he had 13 goals and 30 points in 72 games split between the St. Louis Blues and Golden Knights during the 2024-25 season.
While Saad had a tough year in 2025-26, the possibility of him landing at least a professional tryout (PTO) from an NHL team should not be ruled. He has had a solid NHL career and could be a decent addition for a team that is looking for more forward depth and experience.
Due to this, it would not be particularly surprising if Saad is able to land a PTO or even a contract from an NHL team by the start of training camps. If not in the NHL, he could be a nice addition for an overseas club if he wants to continue his career.
In 428 games over seven seasons and two stints with the Blackhawks, Saad posted 114 goals, 127 assists, 241 points, and a plus-27 rating. He also won the Stanley Cup twice with Chicago.
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Cavaliers fans and fans across the country.
We asked, you answered. Fans once again expect the Cleveland Cavaliers to have multiple All-Stars next season.
Nearly 60% of voters predicted that Cleveland will have two All-Stars. Another 21% went above and beyond, voting that three or more Cavaliers will make it to the big game.
The rest of the pie includes 20% of fans who said only one Cavalier will make it — while 2% of fans might need to cheer up a bit. Zero All-Stars would mean disaster.
If the majority of fans are right, then this would be the third time this decade that Cleveland has had more than one player in the All-Star Game. Both Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland made it in 2021, while Donovan Mitchell was joined by Garland and Evan Mobley in the 2025 season.
Mitchell, of course, has made it each season that he’s been in Cleveland.
I assume most fans have Mitchell as a lock to be in the game again. From there, fans are expecting either Mobley, Allen, or James Harden to join him. Though one of the comments suggested Sam Merrill as a dark-horse contender.
I can’t say I agree… but I’d be thrilled if that was the outcome.
Mobley is the most likely candidate to join Mitchell, in my opinion. The former DPOY played at an All-Star level for the second half of last season. All he needs is to stay healthy and confident, as the rest of his game speaks for itself. He’s an elite defender with a budding offensive game that should continue to be an emphasis for Cleveland.
Harden also makes sense as a candidate. He has the reputation of a first-ballot HOFer. That means the barrier for entry is a bit lower, as voters will be more willing to reward him yet again if he’s having another productive season.
This would be Harden’s 12th All-Star appearance if selected next season.
Allen is more of a reach. Though injuries could open the door for him. I’d say the same for Peyton Watson, who would need to make a huge leap in order to be considered for the game.
All this said, multiple All-Stars would bode well for Cleveland’s title chances. FanDuel currently has them eighth in title odds. That would definitely improve if they entered two or more stars next season.
Texas Rangers lineup for September 4, 2026 against the Tampa Bay Rays: starting pitchers are Trevor Williams (opening for Kumar Rocker) for the Rangers and Nick Martinez for the Rays.
Texas looks to build on yesterday’s success game. Our old pal Nick Martinez is facing his former club for the first time since 2023, when he made two relief appearances against the Rangers within three days of each other, and for just the third time in his career.
The lineup:
Pederson — DH
Seager — SS
Langford — LF
Nimmo — RF
Duran — 2B
Burger — 1B
Carter — CF
Freeman — 3B
Diaz — C
7:05 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are -113 favorites.
With the Montreal Canadiens' rookie camp getting closer, the Habs have now revealed their roster for it.
Here is the full list of prospects who will be attending the Canadiens' rookie camp this year.
Dillan Bentley
Alexander Donovan
Kody Dupuis
Aleksandr Legkov
Braydon McCallum
Josh Nadeau
Mavrick Rousseau-Hamel
Thomas Rousseau
Wesley Royston
Tyler Thorpe
Parker Trottier
Alexey Vlasov
Braidy Wassilyn
Jean-Samuel Daigneault
Aiden Dubinsky
Brayden Klimpke
Andrew MacNiel
Kale McCallum
Luke Mittelstadt
Owen Protz
Francesco Lapenna
Arseni Radkov
Mikus Vecvanags
The Canadiens' rookie camp will kick off on Sep. 11 and go until Sep. 15. It will feature both practice days and two games.
The Canadiens' rookie camp participants will first face the Winnipeg Jets' prospects on Sep. 12 before taking on the Ottawa Senators' youngsters on Sep. 13.
This will be a great opportunity for these young players to show the Canadiens what they can do. It also indicates that the Habs' season is getting closer, so this is certainly an exciting time of the year.
Since we’re in the part of the offseason where there’s not really anything Dallas Mavericks to talk about (I wish I had the juice to cover FIBA, but I do not), I thought I’d poll our commenting fanbase on the origin period of their fandom. And somehow I ended up surprised!
Of the commenters who are regulars at this point in the off season, it seems that nearly 6 in 10 are what I’d consider “Old School” Mavericks fans. The team was founded in 1980 and perhaps lumping in 80’s and 90’s fans into one is too big a swath, I assumed many of the locals here on Mavs Moneyball would be Diurk guys.
That we have so many active commenters that are older is actually something I am heartened to hear. Half of our writers are youths, so if you dear readers stick around to give us some perspective on the long arc of Mavericks history, I appreciate that.
35% of respondants are Dirk-era fans. Another massive swath of people who became MFFLs because of everyone’s favorite German. I fall into this category. It was 2000-2001 where I really got into the team. Catching a team on the rise can be a truly formative experience.
Then we have 3% each for the Luka era and Flagg era. Anyone Luka Doncic adjacent tha stuck around after Nico traded him is a hardcore fan. I don’t blame those for traveling with Luka, what Dallas did to him will never not be insane. Welcome to the newbie Flagg fans, we’re glad you’re here.
I have rarely had a post lately where the results surprise me like this, I really did think the bulk of people would be Dirk fans. We’ll be back to Dallas basketball stuff soon enough though, with more than one story eeking out at a time.
Until then, I recommend taking a peak at our partner in FanDual. This place has Dallas at an absurdly low over-under. Now is the time to get in while the getting is good.
Over the course of the last year, the Philadelphia Flyers have been seeking out a big-time, superstar-caliber upgrade to their roster, but to this point, they've been unsuccessful in their hunt.
The sensational Leo Carlsson offer sheet, which briefly made the Anaheim talisman the highest-paid player in the NHL, instantly became the story of the offseason, and the Flyers were also reported to have inquired on players like Zach Werenski and Dylan Larkin.
Larkin, to this point, remains with the Detroit Red Wings as the franchise scrambles to appoint a new general manager ahead of training camp, and it's unlikely the club captain gets dealt so close to the start of the season without someone calling the shots and establishing an identity for the rudderless franchise.
As for Werenski, he almost ended up in Dallas, but eventually mended his relationship with the Columbus Blue Jackets... for now.
Back before all the offseason drama, though, the Flyers were one of the teams interested in Quinn Hughes, but the Vancouver Canucks stood them up right out of the gate.
Flyers' Rick Tocchet Shares Refreshing Perspective on Matvei MichkovPhiladelphia Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet reflects on his first year with Matvei Michkov and what he would do differently.Flyers had door closed on a Quinn Hughes trade
Adding context to previous reporting that indicated the Flyers never made a serious offer to the Canucks for Hughes, it's now been revealed that the Flyers never had the chance, either.
According to The Athletic's Kevin Kurz, in a recent mailbag, "the Flyers were interested in Hughes last season before he was dealt to the Minnesota Wild but were informed the Vancouver Canucks had no interest in moving him here."
Of course, the Canucks sending Hughes to Philadelphia meant arming their former head coach, Rick Tocchet, with a future Hall of Fame defenseman right after he himself chose to leave Vancouver.
NHL insider Pierre LeBrun previously reported that the New Jersey Devils (with Jack and Luke Hughes), Red Wings, and New York Rangers were among six teams that made legitimate offers, with Buffalo and Carolina showing interest, too.
Flyers Prospects Interestingly Stack Up In New RankingsLed by Porter Martone, the Philadelphia Flyers have a healthy group of young players to be excited about."The Philadelphia Flyers were among the teams that kicked tires but didn’t get to the next level. The Flyers weren’t willing to give up the assets the Canucks wanted, so that took Philadelphia out of being a major player in it," LeBrun had said.
Hughes, 26, is in the last year of his contract and could theoretically still end up in Philadelphia with the Flyer depending on how the cards fall, but it certainly feels as though the Flyers' best chance of snapping him up would have been via trade.
At this point, if Hughes doesn't agree to a contract extension with the Wild, there is only one other place he's going to end up, and that's up the turnpike in Newark, N.J.
The Milwaukee Brewers have already won 87 games so far during the 2026 season, and they hold a commanding 8 game lead in the National League Central as of Friday.
The Cincinnati Reds have none of that.
The Reds, who sit 20 games back in the win column of the Beers with just 67, will play host to their division overlords over the weekend for a trio of contests, with Friday evening’s contest featuring Rhett Lowder on the bump the series opener. Milwaukee will counter with lefty Shane Drohan to start, so manager Terry Francona has stacked what remains of his lineup with righties outside of Hector Rodriguez and JJ Bleday in the outfield.
Apparently going with an all-lefty outfield was too much to ask, so Carlos Jorge – who was promoted to the big leagues for the first time earlier in the day – will begin the game on the pine.
First pitch is set for an early 6:10 PM ET, so plan accordingly!
Here’s how the Reds will line up to begin things:
Location: PNC Park – Pittsburgh, PA
Broadcast: 93.7 The Fan (KDKA-FM), Apple TV / MLB.TV
Pitching Matchup: Ryan Johnson (3-7, 5.48 ERA) vs. Jared Jones (2-6, 4.83 ERA)
Konnor Griffin is officially back after missing nearly two months with a left ring finger injury. The Bucs (69-72) are five games back of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final wild card spot in the National League. They have won three series in a row for the first time all season and host an Angels team that owns the worst record in baseball (53-87). Griffin is slashing .276/.332/.404 with five home runs and 25 RBIs this season. He’s stolen 20 bases and was on pace for over 50 after swiping 65 in the minor leagues in 2025.
Jared Jones looks for a bounce-back outing after a difficult August. After recording a 2.00 ERA over five starts in July, Jones followed it up with a 7.40 ERA in the same number of appearances. If the Pirates have any chance of climbing back in the wild card race to realistically track down Arizona or the San Diego Padres, the starting rotation has to be the main focal point.
Fall is here, the White Sox sit atop the AL Central, and the scent of a postseason run — albeit likely a very short one — is wafting through the air. Although Chicago fans have been looking forward to a competent team since before Pope Leo was inaugurated, one of the Sox’s latest roster moves highlights several more mistakes made along the way.
On September 1, Tommy Pham officially returned after two years of accumulating a reputation for picking fights and signing with five teams in three years. Pham’s signing brings a twist no one saw coming: He’s now the starting right fielder for a team headed to the playoffs.
If the slow, sarcastic handclap hasn’t begun yet, feel free to start it now.
Temperament and clubhouse concerns aside, Pham has little to offer this team off the bench, much less as a starter. He failed to record a hit in nine games as a Met, and he hardly impressed in his time in the minors with New York and Philadelphia. Somehow, though, the Sox front office must’ve taken a cursory look at his .238 batting average and .773 OPS on the farm and decided he’s better than or the equal of budding Braden Montgomery. Montgomery’s disappointing August is certainly a factor in this seemingly impulsive decision. With his batting average barely better than the Mendoza Line and slugging percentage short of .400, Montgomery’s subpar performance this year shouldn’t be the focus of the outfield. Rather, his hose of an arm should be the reason he’s earned a lineup spot.
Though Pham isn’t expected to take over right field completely, taking reps away from Montgomery is still inexcusable — certainly when the reps are being stolen by a 38-year-old who hasn’t had a good season this decade.
Two more front office decisions will haunt Chicago this year: Refusing to give Michael Turner a chance, and keeping Noah Schultz in a starter role.
Hiding Turner in Triple-A despite him outhitting Korey Lee, Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero is detrimental to the Sox’s reputation and Turner’s self-esteem. Getz’s initial plan was to focus on his young talent, but his contradictory actions at the trade deadline (including the Joey Bart acquisition) show that neither the fans nor players can leave their faith in him. For Turner, it’s a huge slap in the face to be in the minors for four years and the team that drafted you isn’t willing to give you a chance to prove yourself. With a .284 batting average, OPS nearing .800, and fielding versatility behind the dish and at first, Turner could be a quality backup or even starter. Instead, he’s wasting his talent in Charlotte.
The Schultz miss is less obvious, but equally as damaging. For a team that went all-in on Schultz and Hagen Smith as their future lefty rotation staples, the Sox quickly threw their hands up when the former didn’t break out of the gate. Despite tossing two quality starts and five games with fewer than three runs in the majors, Schultz’s poor outings stuck out most. The southpaw got 14 chances to chisel his ERA down to less than 5.00, but it never happened. Instead of sending him down to Triple-A in August, Getz and co should’ve moved Schultz to the pen, where Smith has shined.
The excuse that Schultz always has been a starter doesn’t fly, as Smith never pitched a relief inning in the minors before being called up. Schultz’s lone appearance out of the arm barn for the Knights went beautifully back on Opening Day, culminating in no hits or runs allowed, one walk and five strikeouts in four frames. While there may not be a place for Schultz on the roster now, Schultz’s fate was decided the moment José Urquidy was acquired in August. It was a horrible decision at the time, and seemingly paints starters and relievers in their boxes.
It just goes to show that Getz often loves to take chances on any player — except the ones in his own organization.
Thursday night I did something I rarely do when I have a ticket at the corner of Clark and Addison, I watched the game from Gallagher Way. It was a wild experience in a number of ways and one I’ll certainly do again someday. Aside from the video board being slightly delayed, I found the audio of the experience delightful. Hearing the crowd roar over the broadcast was brilliant, and a cornucopia for a different sense than I usually get watching the game in-person or on TV.
The moment that really highlighted this for me was this:
The roar that erupted from Wrigley Field as Caleb Williams, Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis were shown cheering on MVP candidate Pete Crow-Armstrong behind the dugout was unlike any roar I’ve heard at Wrigley Field. There are only two sounds I recall from games at the corner of Clark and Addison that compare to that moment: one I heard in person from the 200s in the grandstand and the other I heard in person on my couch before I saw what happened on TV.
The first was David Bote’s ultimate grand slam, the second was Christopher Morel’s walkoff against the White Sox. You can get an idea of that audio from this incredible cut Cubs productions released the next day:
What was wild about last night’s moment of sound, however, was that it didn’t accompany a magical moment when the Cubs solidified an improbable victory. It was more a moment of the city’s sports vibes coming into their own. The culmination of a series events that have been building around Chicago’s young sports stars for the past year. A situation that PCA played no small part in orchestrating this offseason, long before he heard the MVP chants at Wrigley Field. Sahadev Sharma captured the series of events well for The Athletic last night:
After the seventh-inning stretch, Williams, Wilson and Buzelis were shown on the video board, and the crowd erupted.
“Awesome having them here,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I felt the energy from the crowd when they got put on the board. Chicago’s got a lot to look forward to with those three.”
The support hasn’t gone just one way. Crow-Armstrong has attended many Chicago sporting events and consistently showed up to Bears games last season as the team made a surprise playoff run.
“It’s important,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I think it’s just huge having guys show up and support each other. What everybody doesn’t see is we genuinely like each other as well. That in itself, just the friendship alone, is great. I’m lucky to have that. To be able to show this city we’re all pulling for each other and all believe in each other is huge.”
It’s been a minute since the entire city felt like a sports town to be reckoned with, but with the Bears playoff run last year and both the Cubs and White Sox looking like probable postseason participants as September begins, the sports vibes all over Chicago have rarely been higher. I admit, I found myself wondering what Bill Swerski’s Superfans might have to say about this one:
Pete Crow-Armstrong would hit 75 home runs. Caleb Williams would be undefeated. Da Bulls would be considering a minimum eight-peat all over again. Obviously I jest, but only a bit. While part of what makes Swerski’s Superfans so excellent is the audacity to believe Da Bears could win on Thanksgiving Day during the 90’s let alone the possibility they’d be up 96-14 at the half.
Scores and specifics aside, this is a moment where fans of the teams in Chicago have not just hope, but elite young talent they can build around for years into the future. The Cubs might have one of the best center fielders of a generation putting together their first 40-40 season in the 150-year history of the franchise. The Bears have an exciting young quarterback leading a team projected to finish first or second in the NFC North. The White Sox have a three-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians, and if the playoffs started today they’d have a bye into the Division Series. They also have Chicago Pope on their side and who can underestimate that?
Last night the Cubs won a game on Pete Crow-Armstrong’s 39th home run. It’s a hit that put him second on the single season Cubs home runs hit by a lefty list behind Hall of Famer Billy Williams. PCA is sitting at 9.4 fWAR with 21 games left to play as the Cubs open a series against Wild Card hopeful Miami on the road. He’s already solidified one of the best Cubs seasons of all time and pulling away in the National League MVP conversation against a generational talent in Shohei Ohtani. And it’s all coming together at a moment where elite Chicago sports energy permeates every neighborhood in the city.
Game on.
The Dodgers were one inning away from a deflating sweep at the hands of the Cards, but ifs don’t come into play. And thanks to Teoscar Hernández, the Dodgers now host the Nats with a lighter, freer mood, even more so since the Brewers lost to the Cubs last night. Settling in nicely since getting activated about a month ago, Blake Snell will face the Nationals in the first game of this weekend series.
Upon his return, Snell couldn’t possibly be more thoroughly living up to his reputation. Unwilling to give in, the former Cy Young winner has walked more than his fair share of batters in recent outings—three in each of the past three, to be precise. Part of why those free passes haven’t come back to bite him, allowing just two runs in this period, has been his ability to keep the ball in the park, with no homers during this stretch.
Despite the reshuffling at the deadline, meaning this Nats team no longer has the exact same lineup that placed it with the highest ISO in the big leagues (.181), there is enough power here for a formidable opponent. Only the Cubs have a better track record against left-handed pitching than the Nationals in the NL, entering play this weekend with a 114 wRC+ against southpaws.
Snell will be opposed by Jackson Kent. And if I had a nickel every time the Dodgers were facing a rookie left-handed starter—drafted in the fourth round of the MLB Draft, making his fifth start in the big leagues—I would have had two nickels in the last two days—which isn’t a lot—but, strangely, this has happened twice in a row.
Good afternoon everyone, it’s time to dive back into the mailbag and answer some of your questions. Remember to send in your questions for our weekly call by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.
qmerkel asks:Does the injury to George Lombard Jr. make him eligible for rookie of the year next season? If not yet, how many more games does he need to miss?
Rookie status is removed from a player after 130 at-bats in the majors, or 50 innings pitched for pitchers. There is also a 45-day active roster rule that would make players ineligible for rookie status next season, so there’s two hurdles to clear here. Lombard wasn’t put on the Injured List for the duration of his knee inflammation, so the time that he’s been on the bench has been ticking his clock further down and is the likelier reason he’ll lose his status at the end of the year — there’s 23 days left in the regular season and Lombard has been active since August 4th, giving him 32 days on the 26-man roster already including today. He only needs to remain active for 13 more days to cross that threshold, even if his 79 at-bats in 23 games played would’ve given him a slight chance to slide under 130 at the end with 22 games left to play.
Matt C. asks:Why is Mitch Garver on the restricted list and how does that impact a potential callup?
According to the New York Daily News’ Gary Phillips, Garver is still eligible for a postseason roster spot despite getting put on the restricted list, but the team ultimately put him there instead of promoting him when he invoked the assignment clause giving him a chance to shop around for a spot with another Major League team. That the Yankees didn’t take this chance to promote him over Ali Sánchez implies to me that they don’t think he’ll be much of an improvement if he is one at all, but they’ve kept the door open for him at the least. Most likely though, it’ll be the catchers the Yankees have known all season riding with them to the end, especially now that Wells has turned it around in the late summer.
Mackenzie M. asks: Wells has been the everyday catcher for almost a month now. Would the Yankees consider leaving a second catcher off of the roster for the postseason (especially three-game series) and just have Rice available in case of an injury to Wells? That way they open up an extra roster spot?
I don’t think there’s a world where they do that, as it’d be far too dangerous to throw Rice into catching duties in a postseason game when he hasn’t been behind the plate all year. Even if they could substitute a hypothetically-injured Wells for the remainder of that series, that would make him ineligible for the next series and force the Yankees’ hands to either keep Rice as a catching option going forward or roster two of Sánchez, J.C. Escarra, and Garver to handle catching duties for an entire series. That’s far too much risk for the slight reward of adding an additional bench bat, as they wouldn’t be able to carry another reliever and they’ll already have enough options there with a shortened playoff rotation.
JudgeIsStillMyFavoriteOgre asks:Are the Yankees giving Jazz a qualifying offer in the offseason?
That remains to be seen, though the debate will be closer than most people perhaps are considering. Jazz has had a rough year overall, there’s no doubt about that, but he’s quietly collected himself and provided a ton of value down the stretch, leading to him holding a 3.4 fWAR season with 40 steals and a 99 wRC+. If that’s Jazz’s bad year, it’s very much worth a qualifying offer to bring him back for one more year and see if he can re-establish himself on the market a year from now. He’s in a better place than Gleyber Torres was prior to his walk year in 2024, having two strong years directly behind him to back up his overall value, and his second half has perhaps revived his free agent case from the mess it was going to look like in June. It’s fair if he would want that one-year fresh reset still, and it’s fair if the Yankees see surplus value in turning second base over to an in-house option if there are upgrades to be found elsewhere, but in a vacuum I would give the qualifying offer to Chisholm and that’s not a position I felt too strongly about a little over a month ago. He’s significantly turned it around, and he can make his case even better with an October to remember.
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Orioles fans and fans across the country.
After spending months slowly grinding their way back to a .500 record, there was a short time there where you could almost believe that the Orioles might be a decent baseball team that might be able to go somewhere good over the month of September. They have spent the days since that point demonstrating that they might not actually be a decent baseball team, failing in a variety of different aspects while losing the last three games and counting.
Earlier this week, we ran a poll asking Orioles fans which area of the team – offense, defense, rotation, and bullpen – was going to be the biggest problem for the team making it into a wild card spot in the American League. Here’s how the results came in:
I have a sneaking suspicion that if I had put an “all of the above” option, that might have come across as the actual winner. That wouldn’t have been very interesting. As it is, that’s a clear result, with fully half of fans worried most about the offense while a respectable 34% puts the bullpen in second place.
It’s hard to argue with either of those choices after the games that the Orioles have played over the course of this week. They scored just nine runs in 29 innings in Coors Field, and even the one game they won in Colorado, they only scored two runs and were saved by Colton Cowser’s game-ending home run robbery.
Relievers have taken the loss in each game of the current three-game losing streak. Mike Elias did not assemble a good set of options on the roster for Craig Albernaz to use and Albernaz has not proven adept at navigating the ebbs and flows of reliever performance as the season goes along.
Of course, the defense has also contributed to those bullpen failures, putting extra men on base before crucial problems, and with much of the starting rotation approaching or already past career innings highs, there’s no guarantee that group will maintain its current approximation of quality either.
The Orioles have 21 games left to play and they probably need to go 14-7. Every one of these areas will need to be better than it’s been to make that happen. It’s not over til it’s over, but it could be pretty darn close to over if they don’t play well against the Red Sox this holiday weekend.
This week’s survey is sponsored by FanDuel.