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Nashville Sounds 6, Charlotte Knights 3
Lefthander Tyler Gilbert allowed five runs in the bottom of the first, and the Knights (58-49) couldn’t dig themselves out of the hole, falling to the Sounds (58-49), 6-3. Gilbert loaded the bases up after four batters and things snowballed from there. The bats chipped away and drove in two to answer back in the second thanks to a Riley Unroe two-run bomb, and were then silent until Unroe blasted his second homer of the night to make it 6-3, but since no one else could get it done, they took the L on the chin.

Leaving nine runners on base, the Good Guys went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and struck out 12 times along the way. Unroe accounted for all three runs batted in, and the lone other extra-base hit came from Rikuu Nishida, but without a rally, there wasn’t much hope for the win.

The Knights rolled with a bullpen game, using six more pitchers after Gilbert blew up the game in the first, but outside of one more run surrendered from Tyler Davis, everyone was efficient at preventing base runners. Not a great day to be named “Tyler,” apparently.

MVP
Riley Unroe (2B): 2-for-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 K, 2 HR

Runners-Up
Rikuu Nishida (CF): 1-for-3, 2 BB, K, 2B
Adisyn Coffey (RHRP): 1 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K
Joe Rock (LHRP); 1 IP, 0 H, BB, 3 K
Jairo Iriarte (RHRP): 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, K, Balk
Tanner McDougal (RHRP): 1 IP, 0 H, BB, 2 K

Cold Cat
Tyler Gilbert (LHSP): 1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 K, LOSS (4-2)

Runners-Up
Tyler Davis (RHRP): 1 IP, 2 H, R, BB
Mario Camilletti (3B): 0-for-4, 3 K

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Chattanooga Lookouts 4, Birmingham Barons 1
The Lookouts (49-52) carried a no-hitter through seven, and remained dominant through the game to put the Barons (40-61) away with just one hit, 4-1. Miraculously, Birmingham was able to score a run to tie the game at one in the bottom of the first thanks to a walk and a hit batter, driving in the run on an RBI ground out from Dylan Campbell. The lone hit for the Barons came from Jose Colmenares to lead off the bottom of the eighth, but B-ham followed that up with three straight outs.

Only two pitchers tossed for the Good Guys tonight, with Gabe Davis taking the first three and finishing the day with the loss as the Lookouts scored their first three runs against him. Recently-demoted lefthander Shane Murphy took over for the final six frames, and though he gave up one more in the ninth he was otherwise sharp with just one run on three hits with a walk and six Ks. Not much more to say about this one, time to hit the showers and try again tomorrow.

MVP
Jose Colmenares (2B): 1-for-3, BB, K, only hit of the game

Runners-Up
Dylan Campbell (RF): 0-for-3, RBI, 2 BB
Shane Murphy (LHRP): 6 IP, 3 H, R, BB, 6 K

Cold Cat
Gabe Davis (RHSP): 3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 BB, K, HR, Balk, LOSS (0-5)

Runners-Up
Ryan Burrowes (SS): 0-for-4, 2 K
Samuel Zavala (CF): 0-for-4, K

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Winston-Salem Dash 6, Brooklyn Cyclones 3
Winston-Salem (56-45) is starting August off with its third win of the series, beating the Cyclones (41-58), 6-3. Righthander Drew McDaniel made his 18th start of the season and was solid through four with two runs on five hits, striking out three in the process. Max Banks ended up earning the win, however, after two innings with a run scored, but Winston-Salem was able to take the lead first.

The Dash bats mashed for 11 hits, with three for extra-bases: a double from George Wolkow, and home runs from both Calvin Harris and Ely Brown. Not only was Brown solid at the plate, but he robbed a homer to keep the game tied up at three, allowing the Dash to stay in the game. Harris recorded four RBIs in the process, two on the homer and another two on a base hit in the top of the ninth to extend the lead and close out the game.

Not on Ely Brown’s watch ❌ pic.twitter.com/Rw7Fdz3Ogp

— Winston-Salem Dash (@WSDashBaseball) August 1, 2026

MVP
Calvin Harris (C): 3-for-4, R, 4 RBI, K, HR

Runners-Up
Ely Brown (CF): 2-for-4, R, RBI, K, SB, HR
Nick McLain (LF): 2-for-4, R, BB,
Kyle Lodise (SS): 2-for-5, RBI, 2 K
Jack Young (RHRP): 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, K, Hold
Jake Curtis (RHRP): 2 IP, 0 H, K, Save

Cold Cat
Kaleb Freeman (1B): 0-for-3, K

Runner-Up
Wes Kath (DH): 0-for-3, BB, 2 K

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Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 8, Salem RidgeYaks 5
Despite leaving 12 on base, the Cannon Ballers (51-50) outhit the RidgeYaks (43-57), 11-10, while the pitching staff held Salem to four earned with 10 strikeouts in their 8-5 win. Righthander Nick Pinto tossed three scoreless innings to set the tone, and two relief innings from Ryan Schiefer secured his fourth win of the season.

Kannapolis had baserunners flowing all game, taking eight walks on top of their 11 hits, and Stiven Flores reached all four times with a double, single and two walks while also driving in two of the eight runs. Two Cannon Ballers made their professional debuts — Grayson Fitzwater and Braden Holcomb — and both were key offensive players in Saturday’s win, making a statement right off the bat. Fitzwater was selected as the 375th overall pick (13th Round) of this year’s draft and drove in two, with two-out RBIs in the sixth that extended the Kanny lead to five.

Like the pick before him, Holcomb was selected as 345th overall (12th Round), and blasted a 461 foot home run in his very first professional at-bat to give the Ballers an early two-run lead in the second. How can you not be romantic about baseball?

Braden Holcomb with a 461 feet bomb, at his first professional at bat! pic.twitter.com/qbwcXURhwr

— Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (@Kcannonballers) August 2, 2026

MVP
Stiven Flores (C): 2-for-2, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2B

Runners-Up
Braden Holcomb (DH): 1-for-3, R, RBI, 2 BB, HR in first pro AB
Grayson Fitzwater (1B): 1-for-4, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K
Efren Teran (2B): 1-for-3, R, RBI, 2B, SF
Nick Pinto (LHSP): 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 K
Ryan Shiefer (RHRP): 2 IP, H, 2 K, HB, WIN (4-1)

Cold Cat
Andrew Berg (RHRP): 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, BB, K

Runners-Up
Kendry Garcia (RHRP:): 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 5 BB, 2 K
Alexander Albertus (3B): 0-for-4, R, BB, SB, GIDP, E

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DSL Pirates 6, DSL White Sox 4 (Completion of July 31 game)
Down early, 4-1, when the rains came on Friday, action picked back up on Saturday to resume the game. The Sox gave up additional runs in the third and fifth while attempting to make a comeback, but weren’t able to claw all the way there, losing to the Pirates, 6-4. The Good Guys scored one each in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, even outhitting their opponents, 8-4, while going 5-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

The pitching wasn’t much better today, either. Only one of the four tossed a scoreless frame, and Franchel Crisotomo could hardly find the strike zone, walking five batters with a couple of wild pitches despite striking out four. On the other end of the ball, both Sox players that posted two-hit games accounted for the only two extra-base hits, with Samuel Luis mashing a double and Hector Hernandez blasting his second homer of the year for the final run of the game.

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DSL Pirates 7, DSL White Sox 4 (August 1 game)
The second game between these two teams was fairly similar, with the Pirates getting the edge a second time around. Both teams mashed 10 hits apiece, but the Pirates went 6-for-15 with runners in scoring position while the Sox were just 2-for-9. Right off the bat the Pirates scored two off of righthander Yordany Marte, who lasted two-thirds of an inning before Christopher Romero finished the job and tossed another clean inning on top of that.

It was 19-year-old righthander Jhoriel De La Rosa as the long reliever in today’s battle, going four innings but allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits with three Ks. But the bats couldn’t come all the way back, as the Sox tied it up at two after the third but the Pirates overpowered them. Three Sox players racked up at least two hits, but Felix Lebron was the standout with two hits, a run scored, and two RBIs from a homer in the second inning.

The Dodgers didn’t need to add an impact starter to their rotation. But on Saturday, the team already considered the favorite to win the World Series got a lot better.

The Dodgers are acquiring reigning Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal from the Tigers for three prospects, outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-handed pitchers River Ryan and Brady Smith, a person familiar with the negotiations who was not authorized to speak publicly confirmed.

“There just aren’t that many star-level players in the game,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said earlier this week. “Any time one is available, we’re always going to participate in those conversations. We’ve shown to be very aggressive in the past.”

The Dodgers’ aggressive move on Saturday landed them the most sought-after player two days before the trade deadline.

Read more:Plaschke: Tarik Skubal trade brings Dodgers hate, envy ... and another championship

Skubal has followed up his 2025 Cy Young season with a 2.79 ERA in 16 starts, despite undergoing an operation to remove a loose body from his elbow in early May.

Since a speedy recovery from the minimally invasive NanoNeedle procedure, he’s done enough in nine starts (2.87 ERA), pitching into the seventh inning in each of his last three, to assuage concerns about his health.

The 29-year-old Skubal is set to hit free agency after this season, so the Tigers — who are 53-58 and 2½ games out of the last American League wild-card spot — faced the likelihood of losing him in free agency for no return.

The Dodgers entered trade-deadline season in an enviable position, without an “acute need,” as Friedman put it, and were able to sit back and watch how the market developed. Rather than follow the playbook of last year, when the Dodgers supported their roster with moves around the periphery, they took a big swing.

Over the past eight months, the Dodgers have added the best free agent reliever (Edwin Díaz), the highest profile free-agent hitter (Kyle Tucker), and the most coveted trade candidate to a team that’s won back-to-back World Series titles.

The Dodgers managed to land Skubal, perhaps the only available player who could elevate their star-studded roster, without parting with any major-league players.

The Dodgers’ rotation is progressing toward health, with Blake Snell (arthroscopic elbow surgery) set to make one more minor-league rehab start before being activated and Tyler Glasnow (back spasms) on the cusp of starting a rehab assignment.

Read more:Shaikin: Dodgers traded just 3 minor leaguers for Tarik Skubal. Why couldn't your team do that?

Two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani, however, hasn’t pitched in almost a month, while managing a left knee ailment. Though the Dodgers have continued to insist they’re confident Ohtani will return to the mound, his timeline has proved unpredictable since he received an Orthovisc injection over the All-Star break to lubricate the joint.

With Skubal joining the ranks, the Dodgers have the best postseason rotation in baseball, with a safety net in case of injury.

As a bonus, they don’t have to worry about facing Skubal in the playoffs in their quest for a three-peat.

Of the prospects the Dodgers gave up, Ryan is the closest to the majors. The 27-year-old would have already been under consideration for a call-up this year if it weren’t for a recurring hamstring injury. Ryan — the No. 2 ranked pitcher in the Dodgers’ system, according to MLB Pipeline — has a 4.63 ERA in eight triple-A starts this year. The Dodgers acquired him from the Padres in 2022 for first baseman/outfielder Matt Beaty.

Hope, whom the Dodgers acquired from the Cubs along with left-handed prospect Jackson Ferris for infielder Michael Busch and reliever Yency Almonte two years ago, is the No. 25 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline. In a farm system flush with outfield talent, he’s the Dodgers’ fourth-highest ranked outfield prospect, behind Josue De Paula (No. 4), Mike Sirota (No. 11) and Eduardo Quintero (No.19).

Smith, who the Dodgers recently promoted to High A, is ranked as the No. 17 prospect in the Dodgers’ system. The Dodgers selected him in the third round of the 2023 MLB draft.

Read more:Yoshinobu Yamamoto falters against Ceddanne Rafaela and Red Sox in Dodgers' loss

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Jeff Passan of ESPN announced at 11:31 p.m. ET that the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Detroit Tigers were finalizing a trade for two-time AL Cy Young award winner, Tarik Skubal. The Tigers ace is bound for free agency at season’s end, and with the Tigers still a few games and numerous teams away from a playoff spot, Scott Harris and Jeff Greenberg decided it was time to cash in their ace for prospects. The deal has not been confirmed by either team as of this writing.

In return the Tigers will receive a very good outfield prospect in 21-year-old left-handed hitter Zyhir Hope, triple digit right-handed pitcher River Ryan, and a fairly good right-handed pitching prospect in 21-year-old Brady Smith. Hope is a top 100 prospect who generally draws 55 FV grades, while Ryan was once a top shelf starting pitching prospect with great stuff, but had Tommy John surgery in August 2024, and while his stuff appears fully intact, and it is excellent power stuff, he’s dealt with some minor injuries this season.

The Dodgers are acquiring Tarik Skubal from the Tigers in exchange for OF Zyhir Hope (LAD No. 6), RHP River Ryan (LAD No. 9) and RHP Brady Smith (LAD No. 27), per @JeffPassan.

Hope ranks No. 55 in our Top 100.

Dodgers Top 30: https://t.co/JdyoYPsd9Ypic.twitter.com/rgqO2CHl1O

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) August 2, 2026

The Tigers don’t really seem interested in pulling the plug on the 2026 season, and were expected to get a major league ready starter as part of the return for Skubal. That didn’t happen exactly, but on June 28, Ryan suffered his second hamstring injury of the season. He’s expected to return sometime in August or early September, but those injuries are often tricky, so we’ll see.

We’ll also have to see if the Tigers have more deals in mind or not. Either way, this is a good return for Tarik Skubal. Hope and Ryan are both very talented, and Smith’s stock has been rising rapidly this season. The Tigers farm system gets a pretty major upgrade here after graduating Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark this season.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are acquiring Tarik Skubal for outfielder Zyhir Hope, right-hander River Ryan and right-hander Brady Smith, sources tell ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 2, 2026

The Dodgers’ quest for the first threepeat in Major League Baseball in a quarter-century saw them shop in the high end during the free agent market. Now they’ve acquired the best player available at the trade deadline, getting two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, permultiplereports.

Heading to Detroit are pitcher River Ryan, on the 40-man roster but currently on the injured list in Triple-A, plus top-100 prospect Zyhir Hope and High-A pitcher Brady Smith, per Jeff Passan at ESPN.

Hope was scratched late from Double-A Tulsa’s lineup on Saturday night, after completing the best month of his career with 10 home runs in July.

Skubal this season has a 2.79 ERA and 2.98 xERA in 16 starts, with 116 strikeouts against only 14 walks in 96 2/3 innings. He missed six weeks after arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow, and just had a 2.03 ERA with 41 strikeouts against six walks in five July starts.

Skubal last pitched on Wednesday for the Tigers, putting him in line to start at some point during the Dodgers’ series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, which runs from Monday to Wednesday.

Skubal famously won his salary arbitration case and is making $32 million this season, before entering free agency this winter. If the deal is finalized on Sunday, the Dodgers would be on the hook for roughly $9.8 million for the rest of the season.

Tarik Skubal, winner of the past two American League Cy Young Awards and one of the finest pitchers in the rich history of the Detroit Tigers, is being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, a baseball official familiar with the deal confirmed to USA TODAY Sports, ending an epic tenure in the Motor City while giving a significant boost to the Dodgers' World Series three-peat chances.

The baseball official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal is not yet official.

Going to Detroit are outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-handed pitchers River Ryan and Brady Smith.

And now, Major League Baseball’s super team has an otherworldly rotation: Skubal will join forces with 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, All-Star lefty Justin Wrobleski, former All-Star Tyler Glasnow and, oh, if he’s up to it, Shohei Ohtani.

Skubal, 29, will become a free agent after this season and is expected to command a record-setting salary for a pitcher, an asking price the Tigers likely would not be willing to meet. He's already set a record for an arbitration-eligible pitcher with a $32 million salary this season, and now the Dodgers will be responsible for the last $9 million for the remainder of the season.

But oh, what a potential payoff: After missing 45 days due to elbow surgery, Skubal has roared back to top form, posting a 1.95 ERA and 50 strikeouts to six walks over a half-dozen starts. It's a level of efficiency approaching his past two seasons, when Skubal posted a 2.30 ERA over 62 starts, struck out 10.9 batters per nine innings and won a pair of Cy Youngs, the latter in unanimous fashion.

The Dodgers now have an excellent shot at retaining Skubal, though they know he could just be a rental. Yet he also comes with a proven postseason record, leading the Tigers to an improbable 2024 stretch drive that resulted in a wild-card berth and upset of the Houston Astros in the wild card series. Skubal tossed six shutout innings to beat the Astros, and has a 2.04 ERA – with 56 strikeouts in 39⅔ innings – the past two postseasons.

For the Tigers, an all-in season has tacitly ended with the trade of Skubal. They signed left-hander Framber Valdez during the offseason, knowing he'd be a more affordable long-term option than Skubal. Yet for 2026, the Tigers would have both of them.

Those dreams were dashed when Skubal required surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow. Though an innovative surgical technique reduced his time on the sidelines, the Tigers lost 16 of 18 games during a grim stretch of May, creating a situation that manager A.J. Hinch termed "playing Game 7 every night" in an effort to get back in the race.

And for a minute, they responded, winning 15 of 20 games from June 29 to July 24, the last game in that stretch a dominant Skubal start against Kansas City.

That brought them within five games of the AL Central lead and within 2½ games of a wild-card spot with eight games remaining before the trade deadline.

But they dropped the final two games of their series against the last-place Royals and then two of three to Baltimore, the last loss including a blown 7-0 lead, almost all of it coming after Skubal handed a 7-1 lead to the bullpen.

Contributing: Bob Nightengale

Tarik Skubal stats

• 2026: 7–5, 2.79 ERA, 16 GS, 96⅔ IP, 116 SO, 0.91 WHIP
• 2025: 13–6, 2.21 ERA, 31 GS, 195⅓ IP, 241 SO, 0.89 WHIP, AL Cy Young Award
• 2024: 18–4, 2.39 ERA, 31 GS, 192 IP, 228 SO, 0.92 WHIP, AL Triple Crown & Cy Young Award
• 2023: 7–3, 2.80 ERA, 15 GS, 80⅓ IP, 102 SO, 0.90 WHIP
• 2022: 7–8, 3.52 ERA, 21 GS, 117⅔ IP, 117 SO, 1.16 WHIP
• 2021: 8–12, 4.34 ERA, 31 G (29 GS), 149⅓ IP, 164 SO, 1.26 WHIP
• 2020: 1–4, 5.63 ERA, 8 G (7 GS), 32 IP, 37 SO, 1.22 WHIP

When is Tarik Skubal a free agent?

Skubal is eligible for free agency at the conclusion of the 2026 season and will be one the most sought-after player on the market. Turning 30 this offseason, Skubal is likely to break Yoshinobu Yamamoto's $325 million record contract for a pitcher.

Tarik Skubal draft and college

Tarik Skubal played college baseball for the Seattle University Redhawks, earning Freshman All-American honors in 2015 before undergoing Tommy John surgery during his sophomore year in 2016.

Despite missing the 2017 season while recovering, he was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 29th round of the 2017 MLB Draft but chose to return to school. He was ultimately selected by the Detroit Tigers in the ninth round (255th overall) of the 2018 MLB draft and signed for a $350,000 bonus.

Tarik Skubal age

Tarik Skubal is 29 years old and turns 30 on November 20.

He made his MLB debut in 2020 as a 23-year-old.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tigers trading Tarik Skubal to Dodgers: Trade details, what we know

The Dodgers did it again.

Even in a year in which they didn’t have any big trade deadline needs, and signaled a willingness to make only marginal midseason moves in pursuit of a third consecutive World Series title, the two-time defending champions went out and made the biggest splash of the deadline season anyway.

Two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, welcome to Los Angeles.

In a blockbuster deal with the Tigers on Saturday, the Dodgers acquired Skubal, according to multiple sources and as the Post’s Jon Heyman first reported, in exchange for a trio of prospects: outfielder Zyhir Hope, right-handed pitcher River Ryan and right-handed pitcher Brady Smith.

Just like that, the Dodgers will add yet another superstar talent to their world-beating roster.

Now, an already probable World Series in 2026 feels that much more inevitable.

The Dodgers, of course, didn’t need Skubal before MLB’s Monday trade deadline, not after expressing confidence in recent weeks that their already talented, but currently banged-up, starting rotation would be healthy come the stretch run of the season.

On the other hand, the Dodgers don’t sit out sweepstakes for “needle-moving” players.

And for this year’s deadline, no one moved the needle for their championship odds more than Skubal — who will be a free agent after this season but has also been arguably the best pitcher in the sport over the last three years.

A 29-year-old left-hander from Northern California, Skubal long ago emerged as the best player likely to be moved at the deadline.

The Tigers considered trading him this offseason, as it became clear he would likely end up somewhere else as a potential record-setting free agent this winter.

However, they held onto him then in hopes of competing again in 2026, following back-to-back postseason trips spearheaded by his back-to-back Cy Young campaigns.

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Instead, the Tigers’ season went off the rails quickly, with the club going 22-38 through the end of May. Skubal was out for much of that stretch, after undergoing a procedure to have a loose body removed from his elbow on May 6.

A brief uptick in form — the Tigers went 28-16 from June 1 to July 24 — was followed by another poorly timed skid this past week, cementing the Tigers’ status as a seller ahead of Monday’s trade deadline.

Thus, Skubal became the top target on the market, thanks to another strong season in which he is 7-5 with a 2.79 ERA this year (including a 2.87 mark since coming off the injured list).

And the Dodgers, as the rest of the industry suspected all along, were ready to pounce; their proclamations about having no “acute needs” at this deadline be damned.

The Dodgers will send back three prospects in their trade package, which is headlined by Hope –– the No. 4 ranked player in their pipeline, according to Baseball America, and No. 55 overall prospect in the sport.

A 21-year-old former 11th-round draft pick whom the Dodgers acquired from the Cubs before the 2024 season, Hope has impressed over his minor-league career with a .281 average, 48 home runs and .862 OPS. 

However, in what will be seen as a win within the Dodgers’ front office, he is behind three other outfielders in the club’s farm system: Josue De Paula (the No. 4 prospect in the sport), Mike Sirota (No. 14) and Eduardo Quintero (No. 18).

The Dodgers managed to keep all of them.

Another surprise in the final deal: Neither Justin Wrobleski nor Emmet Sheehan, two current members of the Dodgers’ MLB rotation, was required to complete the trade.

Instead, the Dodgers are sending back Ryan, who is a hard-throwing right-hander with a deep pitch mix, but has made just four MLB appearances as he closes in on his 28th birthday because of repeated injuries (including Tommy John surgery in 2024, and an ongoing hamstring issue this year that has currently sidelined him in triple-A); and Smith, a raw 21-year-old right-hander in high-A whom the club drafted in the third round in 2023, but who also has a 4.72 ERA in his minor-league career.

Per Baseball America, Ryan was the team’s No. 13 prospect, while Smith was outside the Top 30.

That means, Skubal will now join a Dodgers starting pitching group that –– when fully healthy –– also features a reigning World Series MVP in Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a fellow two-time Cy Young Award winner in Blake Snell, a former All-Star in Tyler Glasnow, a current All-Star in Wrobleski, a gifted (albeit recently struggling) right-hander in Sheehan, a 24-year-old phenom in Roki Sasaki … and, oh yeah, four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani.

Rarely, if ever, in the history of baseball has so much talent been amassed on one staff.

The health of that unit still is a big if, of course.

Snell has almost completed a rehab assignment after undergoing his own elbow procedure earlier this year to remove bone chips. Glasnow is set to begin a rehab stint next week as he works his way back from a back spasms issue. And Ohtani has not made a pitching start in nearly a month because of an ongoing knee issue, which has not prevented him from hitting but has kept him shut down from throwing for more than a week.

The Dodgers had expressed confidence in getting each of them back for the stretch run of the season. But their current absences had added uncertainty to their postseason pitching plans.

Not anymore.

Now, the team boasts the ultimate insurance policy, bringing aboard another bona fide supertsar in Skubal who, over the last three seasons, ranks second in the majors in ERA (2.40), third in strikeout rate (31.2%), third in batting average against (.201), fifth in innings pitched (484, even with the time he missed this year), and first in Fangraphs’ version of WAR (15.5).

All along, the industry figured the Dodgers would lead the race to land him.

And once he became available, they didn’t miss the mark –– again.

Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s start Saturday would have been dominant if it weren’t for Red Sox center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela.

Rafaela’s pair of home runs accounted for most of Boston’s damage against Yamamoto in the Dodgers’ 3-2 loss. Yamamoto held the Red Sox to three runs and four hits through eight innings.

The Dodgers dropped the series to the Red Sox, needing a win Sunday to avoid a sweep.

Shortly after the loss, the Dodgers finalized a deal to acquire two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal in a trade with the Detroit Tigers.

Read more:Dodgers acquiring pitcher Tarik Skubal from Detroit Tigers in blockbuster trade

Rafaela jumped all over the first pitch he saw from Yamamoto in the first inning, a splitter, according to Statcast, that drifted up and in. He drove it into the left-field stands.

Two innings later, Yamamoto held off Rafaela for longer. But Rafaela battled back from a 0-2 count. On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Yamamoto turned to his splitter for the first time, barely clipping the inside edge of the strike zone. Rafaela turned on it and sent a towering solo homer three rows deep in left-center field.

It was the second multi-homer game of Rafaela’s career.

It wasn’t until Yamamoto’s third time through the order that he finally set down Rafaela, who had the Red Sox’s only hits at that point.

Yamamoto went with a first-pitch fastball up and in. Rafaela was a little late to it but still made hard contact, sending the opposite-field fly out to the warning track.

Read more:Plaschke: Tarik Skubal trade brings Dodgers hate, envy ... and another championship

In the eighth, Yamamoto gave up a leadoff ground-rule double to Andruw Monasterio. He made it to third on Jarren Duran’s push-bunt single and scored the go-ahead run when Connor Wong grounded into a double play.

The Dodgers got a boost early from Teoscar Hernández on a two-run home run in the second inning. But they failed to score again after leaving seven runners stranded.

Bullpen shuffle

Before the game, the Dodgers put reliever Will Klein on the 15-day injured list with discomfort in his right elbow.

Klein had a 2.29 ERA one week into July. But over his last six appearances, he has surrendered 13 runs, including eight earned runs (11.37 ERA).

“We’re still trying to dig into it,” Roberts said Friday after Klein gave up three runs (one earned run) to the Red Sox in 1⅓ innings. “I thought there were some good fastball throws in there tonight, but the secondary stuff, that’s kind of what’s getting him. The sweeper is not a strike, he’s not getting chase from it. The curveball has a different shape to it than it did last year. So I don’t know if it’s an arm thing, a mechanics thing, but that’s something we’re trying to dig in on.”

Read more:Lopez: Dodger Stadium gondola plan about to hit heavy turbulence as state park defenders play hardball

Klein is the second right-handed reliever the Dodgers have put on the IL in as many days, joining Brock Stewart. And MRI scan Saturday showed tendinitis in Stewart’s right shoulder.

He felt some discomfort in his shoulder, the same one he had surgically cleaned up in September, since last Saturday in New York, Stewart said. But until then, it hadn’t bothered him all season, minor-league rehab stints included.

“It’s almost embarrassing,” said Stewart, who began the season on the IL while recovering from shoulder surgery and had another IL stint when he aggravated a bone spur in his left foot. “I’d like to think that I do everything in my power to stay healthy and help out. I know I’m proud of the work I put in each day, and that’s all I can really control. Other than that, I can’t really control how my arm reacts. Just frustrating, especially after last year having it cleaned up.”

The Dodgers also designated left-hander Cole Irvin for assignment on Saturday. Irvin covered six innings and yielded six runs in the Dodgers’ pseudo-bullpen game Saturday, his first major-league appearance since 2024.

To replace Irvin and Klein, the Dodgers recalled right-handed relievers Kyle Hurt and Wyatt Mills.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched eight strong innings, but the Dodgers offense didn’t support him, falling to the Boston Red Sox 3-2 on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium.

Yamamoto, who leads MLB averaging 6.68 innings per start, completed eight innings for the fourth time this season, tying Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara for the major league lead. Yamamoto struck out three and walked one, needing only 96 pitches to complete his eight frames. But he left trailing.

Ceddanne Rafaela, who homered in a three-hit game on Friday night, got the scoring started on Saturday with a solo home run with one out in the first inning, just three pitches into the game. He hit another solo shot in the third inning.

Those were the only hits off Yamamoto until the eighth inning, when Andruw Monasterio hit a leadoff ground rule double then scored two ground balls later.

Teoscar Hernández went out to right field for a two-run shot in the second inning for his second home run in three days, after hitting two home runs in his previous 28 games before that.

Hernández fouled a ball off his left foot in the fourth inning, and crumpled to the ground. After a long visit by manager Dave Roberts and assistant athletic director Yosuke Nakajima, Hernández remained in the game and singled, though he limped to first base.

Two batters later, Miguel Rojas fouled a ball off his left ankle and also dropped to the ground. Rojas stayed in after the obligatory visit by Roberts and Nakajima, and struck out. Both Rojas and Hernández remained in the game on defense in the top of the fifth inning. Rojas played three more innings before he was replaced at shortstop by Mookie Betts in the eighth inning.

Hernández, who also fouled a ball off his left foot in July 2025 and missed three games, had two hits in the game. The Dodgers had 10 hits as a team, but none in their four at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Freddie Freeman had three more hits, his fifth three-hit game in his last nine contests, Dating back to July 21, Freeman has 22 hits in his last 39 at-bats, and his career batting average, through 9,830 career plate appearances, is up to .30009385. Freeman’s 21 hits over his last nine games are the most by a Dodger since Shohei Ohtani had 25 hits in his superhuman stretch in September 2024.

The Dodgers only had one hit in three innings off the Red Sox bullpen, and Aroldis Chapman retired all three batters he faced to close out the game in the ninth.

Saturday particulars

Home runs: Teoscar Hernández (10); Ceddanne Rafaela 2 (14)

WP — Justin Slaten (2-4): 1 IP, 1 strikeout

LP — Yoshinobu Yamamoto (11-7): 8 IP, 4 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts

Sv — Aroldis Chapman (27): 1 IP, 1 strikeout

Up next

The homestand concludes with a nationally televised affair on Sunday evening (4:20 p.m.; NBC, Peacock), with Emmet Sheehan on the mound against yet another Red Sox lefty, Jake Bennett.

Luis Castillo’s tenure as a Seattle Mariner has apparently come to an end. The Mariners announced tonight they have traded Castillo to the White Sox in exchange for reliever Seranthony Dominguez, outfielder Nolan Jones, and catching prospect Boston Smith. Per Daniel Kramer, the Mariners aren’t sending any money to offset the remainder of what Castillo is owed on the extension he signed in 2022, which runs through 2027 with a vesting option for 2028 if he reaches 180 innings.

In exchange, the Mariners will be absorbing Dominguez’s not-insignificant salary for the remainder of this year and the next year of his contract, when he’s slated to make $10.5M. Dominguez also has an option for 2028, but it’s a mutual option (with a $2M buyout).

The 31-year-old Dominguez is on pace for the worst season of his career; he still collects strikeouts but his walk rate has ballooned over the past two seasons; he’s currently walking over 14% of batters faced. Compounding that problem is a serious case of dingeritis – a career-high 16.7% of fly balls he’s allowed have gone for homers, even in Chicago’s spacious confines. But he does still strike a lot of batters out and generate whiffs, he can still rush the fastball up at 97+, and he’s got a full complement of pitches for the Mariners pitching coaches to work with, even if he’s primarily a heater-sweeper pitcher as a reliever. It’s an expensive gamble, but the Mariners are both solving their rotation logjam (temporarily) and shedding Castillo’s contract in the move; if Dominguez can be Mariner-pitching-hive-minded into even a serviceable mid-innings arm, that’s a boon to the beleaguered bullpen.

The other pieces coming over in the trade are interesting in their own right. Nolan Jones is probably a name you’re familiar with if you were big into prospects a decade-ish ago; he was a second-rounder drafted by Cleveland in 2016 as a highly athletic two-sport athlete and attracted a lot of prospect attention as he made his way up the ladder for his 6’4” frame, easy raw power from the left side, and a star turn in the Arizona Fall League and the Futures Game in 2019. Unfortunately, injuries derailed his ascent, and he was dealt to the Rockies in 2023 for Juan Brito shortly after making his big-league debut. Now 28, Jones has spent time in the bigs but never really latched on consistently (outside of one 2023 season where he seemed to put it all together for Colorado), mostly due to a monstrous K rate compounded by the length of his swing. He’s been with the White Sox Triple-A team this season, blocked by the surprisingly good play at the big-league level, and will likely serve a similar role for Seattle as outfield depth at Tacoma.

Columbus Clippers OF Nolan Jones breaks up the no-hitter in the 6th inning with his 3rd HR of the season a 2-run opposite field shot 101.5 mph off the bat vs Indianapolis. #GuardsBallpic.twitter.com/S6EJAxIBBY

— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) April 3, 2026

Boston Smith is the third piece of the trade, and maybe the most interesting one, as he’s currently ranked as Chicago’s #15 prospect. To save you all time even though it’s lazy: the blueprint here is lefty-hitting Harry Ford, Take Two, with a power upgrade. A year after going undrafted, Smith was originally drafted by the Nationals in the sixth round in 2025 as a senior sign after a stellar year at Wright State that saw him tie for the lead in home runs in all of Division 1 baseball (26). The 5’10” Smith is listed as a C/OF, but despite being a plus athlete, as a catcher his skills are fringy enough he might not stick behind the dish, so he’s seen time in the outfield corners as well. Smith is selective at the plate, almost too much so – see, the Harry Ford comparisons weren’t that lazy after all – with a hilarious walk rate over 20%, but he’s been impressive in his first pro year, rocketing from single-A all the way up to Double-A and doing damage at every stop. The strikeouts are a wee bit concerning (~27% is a bit high for the minor leagues), but this is a Fun Player who will be Fun To Follow, especially if the big-league team continues to be disappointing. The Arkansas Travelers just got a lot more interesting!

Boston Smith is killing it for the High-A Affiliate Winston-Salem Dash.

.287
14 HR
40 RBI
Pro Raider 🔥🐺 #Raidergang
pic.twitter.com/ACykx0OTm4

— 🐺MadnessWSU🐺 (@madness_WSU) June 30, 2026

This is definitely a quantity-over-quality trade with the Mariners taking chances on fringe players and a reliever who’s had a career-worst year, but moving Castillo out of the rotation (and moving his contract along with him) streamlines things for the Mariners. Still, that feels like a dispassionate way to discuss Castillo, who has been such a good Mariner over his time here, from mentoring the younger pitchers, to pitching in post-season games, to being a steady hand in the rotation last year when seemingly every pitcher went down for at least a while with some kind of injury. With the White Sox making a surprising run at the division title in a weak AL Central, theoretically Castillo will have an opportunity to play in the post-season again. But it does feel like the first brick to fall from a rotation that has so long been the core of the current team’s identity, with more moves possible. Change is hard. At least we have Boston Smith and his rec specs to see us through these trying times.

The Atlanta Braves will be reinstating infielder Ha-Seong Kim to the big league roster, according MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. With the Braves off on Monday and the trade deadline looming, the 48-hours the Atlanta has to make a corresponding move may have numerous moving parts. The term of Kim’s rehabilitation assignment ended on August 1, necessitating the move.

Ha-Seong Kim has been reinstated. The Braves have 48 hours to make the move necessary to create a roster spot for him.

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) August 2, 2026

It’s been a disappointing 2026 for Kim who signed with Atlanta in the off-season after ending the 2025 season with the Braves before becoming a free agent. He missed Spring Training and the beginning of the season after suffering a hand injury after slipping on ice in his native South Korea.

In 27 games with Atlanta this season he has hit .068 with only 5 hits in 82 plate appearances. He does not have any extra-base hits with Atlanta this season. He was expected to be the team’s starting shortstop but that role has been filled by Mauricio Dubon, Jorge Mateo and, of late, rookie Jim Jarvis.

With or not Kim will get another – and likely final – opportunity to re-claim the starting shortstop role is to be seen. He is a free agent after the season.

The first few innings of this game were pretty fun. Still, the Royals ultimately lost 12-6 thanks to some bad pitching and the bats cooling off.

The Royals got a leadoff walk from Carter Jensen and a single from Lane Thomas to put runners on at first and second with no outs. Jac Caglianone hit a hard grounder up the middle, but, as has been the custom for several years, an infielder was waiting to turn what was once one of the prettiest hits in baseball into a routine double play.

In the top of the second, Isaac Collins led off the inning by lacing a triple into right-center that appeared to be misplayed by Brenton Doyle. He scored two batters later on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Michael Massey.

In the top of the third, Tyler Tolbert roped a double off the wall in right-center. It seemed like he should have gotten a triple, but he stopped at second. Moments later, he stole third to repair the mistake. Then it seemed the Royals would waste the opportunity when Carter and Lane grounded out and popped out respectively. Add another potential baserunning mistake by Tolbert for not going home on the groundball which required extra effort from Will Castro.

Still, Jac Caglianone came through. And then Salvador Perez went back-to-back.

Luinder Avila pitched two scoreless innings to start the game but things came unraveled in the bottom of the third. He allowed six runs, including a three-run bomb from Hunter Goodman, and was relieved by Easton McGee.

The Royals immediately got back on the basepaths when Michael Massey and John Rave singled with one out in the fourth inning, but they were stranded. From there, the Royals bullpen (including McGee, Matt Strahm, Alex Lange, and Lucas Erceg) did bullpen things. None of us were paying attention because Lane Thomas was pulled from the game in the bottom of the fourth as he was traded to Atlanta. You can read more about that here.

Rave did hit a home run in the ninth inning, his MLB OPS this year continues to ride above 1.000 as he waits to be allowed to get his sample sizes larger. Hopefully he’ll get that opportunity with Thomas and likely Starling Marte leaving in the next couple of days. The Royals scored their final run when Carter Jensen tripled into right and came home on a Marte single.

For a game that was over after three innings, it took forever to turn final. The Royals have dropped their first two game in Colorado to a team that is on its way to 100 losses. Things are not looking up. They get a chance to avoid the sweep tomorrow. Seth Lugo (4.22 ERA, 4.55 SIERA) will face off against Kyle Freeland (7.34 ERA, 4.16 SIERA). See you then.

SAN DIEGO — An injury that initially wasn’t supposed to force Matt Chapman to miss more than the minimum 10 days has kept the Giants third baseman sidelined for more than a month now, with no clear timeline for when he could return to the field.

Chapman provided the unfortunate update on his health Saturday from the visitors’ clubhouse at Petco Park, where he traveled with the team in hopes of being activated from the injured list.

That won’t happen this series, after all, and it’s not clear what Chapman’s outlook is after his rehab from an abdominal strain hit a bump in the road when he tried to run the bases.

“The plan was for me to try to be ready to play this weekend,” Chapman said. “Unfortunately … it’s just not in a place where I can be of help to the team. If I can’t run the bases and I can’t run, it’s gonna be hard for me to help the team.”

Chapman said he is able to swing pain-free, but running at full speed and some defensive plays are still causing him discomfort. He had been dealing with soreness in his midsection since the first month of the season but aggravated it making a barehanded play in a June 30 loss to the Diamondbacks.

Although Chapman said Saturday that “four weeks was our hope,” manager Tony Vitello initially said he expected Chapman back before the All-Star break, which would have meant an IL stint of less than two weeks. Chapman now says he could miss up to four times that amount of time.

“It can be anywhere from four to six to eight weeks,” he said. “It just depends on how it heals.”

Still, Chapman refuted the idea that he was back to “day zero” in his recovery.

“Before then, just walking and getting out of bed hurt,” Chapman said. “Now, [I’m] actually swinging and running and doing things. So, it’s still progressed.”

The Giants have fallen only two games further below .500 in Chapman’s absence, but their fate as sellers ahead of Monday’s trade deadline had already been sealed.

That doesn’t mean Chapman isn’t doing everything in his power to return as quickly as possible. Some fans have speculated that he is pushing his recovery past the trade deadline to nix a possible deal, but he has the contractual power to do that anyway with a no-trade clause.

“It doesn’t matter what our record is, we still have something to play for every day,” Chapman said. “For me, I mean, I would like to play today. But I can’t.”

It was already a longshot that Chapman would be going anywhere, but his injury as well as the torn meniscus that ended Casey Schmitt’s season puts a damper on their post-deadline infield.

The latest chapter of Schmitt’s breakout season had seen him filling in at third for Chapman, but he was also in line to take over every day at second base if and when Luis Arraez is traded.

With Arraez scratched from the lineup with cramps and Chapman still on the mend, the Giants offered a preview Saturday of what’s to come with Christian Koss at third and Osleivis Basabe at second.

Schmitt faces a recovery of six to eight weeks, putting the rest of this season just out of reach but setting him up for a healthy offseason. Chapman hadn’t spoken to him since his surgery Friday but said he believes Schmitt, who played five positions, deserves an everyday role.

“I think he’s earned himself an everyday position and spot to start every single day, wherever that may be,” Chapman said. “He hadn’t put it together for a full season and maybe really shown that he’s an everyday player. But I told him that he should be proud because he solidified himself as an everyday player and somebody this team needs and can count on.”

In the outcome that the rest of the major leagues feared the most, the two-time defending champion Dodgers added to their starry stockpile Saturday night by agreeing to acquire Tarik Skubal from the Tigers.

The Yankees and Brewers were viewed as the two other teams trying at the finish line to land the two-time defending AL Cy Young winner.

The concern the rest of the league has with the Dodgers is that they not only have the greatest willingness to spend money on payroll and a refusal to ever stop adding elite players, but they possess a deep farm system from which to trade.

Outfielder Zyhir Hope and pitchers River Ryan and Brady Smith were the cost to land Skubal — and make the Dodgers even greater favorites of becoming the first team since the 1998-2000 Yankees to three-peat.

The Dodgers lead the majors with a 3.36 starter ERA and have a rotation presently with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki and first-time All-Star Justin Wrobleski. Two-time Cy Young award winner Blake Snell is due to make one more rehab start before rejoining the rotation. Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani are viewed as possible to return to the rotation around Sept. 1. And now the Dodgers are adding Skubal, who since returning from a new surgery to remove bone chips from his left elbow had a 2.87 ERA in his final nine starts as a Tiger.

Skubal can be a free agent after this season. The Dodgers lead the NL West by 10 games. They certainly want to seal the best record in the league to assure that they get a first-round bye. But mainly they are obtaining Skubal to make postseason starts considering their current status.

The Brewers were viewed as the other team going hardest after Skubal. They have arguably the best system in the majors and there was the dream of teaming Skubal with Jason Misiorowski atop the rotation. But it did not occur.

The Tigers began Saturday just 3 ¹/₂ games out of a wild card, but are six games under .500. Thus, they began to notify teams early in the day to make offers while giving concepts of what they wanted in return.

The Yankees had stayed engaged even as they heard a Tigers’ initial price that would involve two major leaguers, including a current starting pitcher, and two minor leaguers. It was not believed that Detroit requested the Yankees’ top prospect, George Lombard Jr., the son of Tigers bench coach George Lombard Sr.

If the Yankees were able to pull off a trade for Skubal, they would be improving what already is their strength — their starting pitching. The hope would be that maybe they could then more comfortably use another starter as a way to get much needed hitting.

But the Dodgers were always lurking — always seen as the team that could come in and close because of their willingness to never stop and the depth of their farm system to feed that philosophy.

And so the best team got better. It is everyone against the Dodgers — now plus Tarik Skubal.