The Atlanta Braves won arguably the most dramatic game of the season last night that resulted in a season tiebreaker against the Philadelphia Phillies and moved the division lead to five games with only four games left between the two team. The Phillies’ destiny is no longer in their own hands to win the NLE.
That being said, there is still enough baseball left that any cushion the Braves can create would be huge in their chances for taking back the NLE crown and potentially earn a first round bye in the playoffs via a two seed.
Grant Holmes did well in his last day game where he gave up zero runs last week, but he also gave up six earned runs in the start before that. Jesús Luzardo has been fantastic this year. The Braves need to tire him out because getting to the bullpen seems to be the key to the game.
Follow along in the comments. First pitch is at 1:05 EDT.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 01: Robert Gasser #54 of the Milwaukee Brewers delivers a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Wrigley Field on September 01, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
For the fifth time in a week, the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs will face off against each other. After splitting a four game series at Wrigley Field, the two NL Central rivals return to American Family Field for their final series of the regular season.
The Brewers hold a comfortable seven game lead over the Cubs for the top spot in the division. Every single win the Crew gets in this series, drops their magic number to clinch down by two. The magic number currently sits at 12, which means it could drop all the way down to six by the end of this series. The magic number to clinch a playoff berth is five.
Milwaukee made a roster move prior to this Labor Day game, placing reliever Grant Anderson on the 15 day IL with right biceps inflammation. Right-hander Brandon Sproat was recalled from Triple-A to take his spot. Sproat will pitch out of the bullpen for now and will give the Crew some much needed length as they’ve had a string of short starts lately and are wrapping up a stretch of 16 consecutive days with a game.
Sproat talked with reporters prior to the game, saying, “I think the most important thing for me when I was down there (in Nashville) was just getting back to the person and player the Brewers traded for. Just get back to moving my body intentionally, working on the pitches, anywhere from the four seam to the cutter to the sweeper, whatever it might be.”
It was tough news for Grant Anderson, who has been a key piece of this bullpen, and was stretched out to 2.2 IP of work on Sunday on the second day of a back-to-back. Pat Murphy said pregame that there was no structural damage and they hope it’ll be minimum stint on the IL.
It’s also a needed day off for Jake Bauers as he continues to battle through bumps and bruises. Murphy would love to have him out there, but he’ll get Labor Day off. That means Andrew Vaughn gets the start at first base today and is batting cleanup. Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, and William Contreras will be the trio atop the order aiming to get on base ahead of Vaughn. Christian Yelich and Luis Lara will follow. Then Cooper Pratt, Garrett Mitchell, and Joey Ortiz will round out the bottom of the order. Mitchell will be starting in the 8th spot in the lineup for just the fourth time this season.
That is the lineup that will go against Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd, who has an 8-3 record and 4.05 ERA on the season. Boyd pitched against the Brewers on Tuesday last week and went 5.1 IP, allowing seven hits and three runs in the Crew’s 9-4 victory. On the Crew’s side, Robert Gasser gets the start. Gasser also started Tuesday’s game last week and went 4.1 IP, allowing three hits and two earned runs. Even though he was pulled in the middle of the 5th inning, Pat Murphy gave Gasser some words of encouragement and told him he pitched well. The Brewers played some rough defense behind him in that game.
Gasser will face a potent Cubs lineup once again, starting with the leadoff hitter Pete Crow-Armstrong, who is the leading NL MVP candidate. He’ll be followed by Seiya Suzuki and Alex Bregman atop the order. Old friend Tyrone Taylor is batting cleanup, followed by Nico Hoerner and Matt Shaw. Carson Kelly, BJ Murray, and Pedro Ramirez round out the bottom of the order for Chicago.
This is the Cubs’ last best chance to make a dent in this division race. They’ll be hungry. The Brewers need to be equally hungry to keep them at bay and win a fourth consecutive division title.
Basketball: NBA Playoffs: Brooklyn Nets fans in stands holding up letters that spell BROOKLYN during game vs Milwaukee Bucks at Barclays Center. Game 7. Brooklyn, NY 6/19/2021 CREDIT: Erick W. Rasco (Photo by Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X163667 TK1)
With the signing of 7-footer Grant Nelson to a two-way deal on Friday, the Brooklyn Nets roster seems set, barring some huge surprise. They now have the full complement of 15 players on standard NBA deals and three on two-way contracts. They will invite players to training camp which starts September 29, ultimately sending four of them to Long Island for G League duty. That should be it.
The roster is very young, no doubt the youngest in the league for the second straight year with eight of the 15 on rookie contracts, and five of them unable to legally drink in New York because they’re under 21. Two of the 20-year-olds — Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. — will be the highest drafted rookies in back-to-back years since 1995 and 1996. Only one player will be over 30 — Julius Randle who will turn 32 . They will also reflect the team’s new mantras of positional height and versatility — no more small ball. Ten of the 18 are 6’9” or taller, topped by Nelson at an official 7’0” in bare feet.
Will they win some games? They think so. Jordi Fernandez eschews gloom and doom, thinking his team will win a lot more than any pundits think (and we’re not going to dwell on what they think. No we are not.) Julius Randle told Mikel Brown Jr. they “will shock the world.” And Ben Saraf in an interview with the Jerusalem Post, published Thursday laid out the players’ goal.
“I think this year we want to win as many games as possible. Last season, there were more opportunities for the younger players, and I think that really helped all of us. But this year it’s about winning. Whoever helps the team win is going to play,” he said. “Making the playoffs is definitely a dream. I think this year our team has been built well, and I really believe we can do it. That’s our goal.”
Not the “play-in,” not the more amorphous “post-season” but the playoffs which would require around 40 wins. Optimism reigns.
Of course, optimism always reigns this time of year. Most teams by now, as Bobby Marks (no relation) has said, in love with their rosters. Not every team thinks it can contend, but they generally will like how their rosters fit their plan. It takes until around mid-December, conveniently when free agents signed over the summer can first be traded, for ownership and management to realize the plan has holes.
As for Nelson, his signing is yet another sign the organization likes him. Despite some physical setbacks, Brooklyn has remained positive about his development. They signed him to an Exhibit 10 after he went undrafted, waited through seven weeks of rehab, then played him in Long Island with minutes restrictions till he got healthy enough and gave him a 10-day with the big club. After his patella tendinitis, aka jumpers’ knee, re-emerged and he wasn’t given a second 10-day, they kept him around on. Following a non-surgical treatment after the season, they gave him a spot on the Summer League roster, even travelled him to Sacramento and Las Vegas knowing he still needed recovery time wouldn’t plan. Finally, he got a two-way which will have an opportunity for minutes. That’s commitment.
Next up will be signing players to those Exhibit 10 contracts, some of which will mean camp invites, some of which will simply be a way to fill out Long Island’s roster. They can bring 20 players into camp.
So knowing all that, should we play the rotation game? Who we might see vs. the Charlotte Hornets on Opening Night, October 21. At the moment, barring those surprises, we are likely to see the Aura Bros — Egor Demin and Michael Brown Jr., both aged 20, starting in the backcourt along with the two high scoring veterans, Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle at the 3 and 4 and Day’Ron Sharpe at the 5.
That’s the easy part. Also likely to see minutes in Fernandez’s typically deep rotation are guards Terance Mann, Nolan Traore and Keon Brown as well as bigs Josh Minott, Noah Clowney and Moe Wagner. Saraf and Danny Wolf may be getting niche minutes. Defense is likely to play a big role in who plays.
Do we expect big improvements from some of the eight players on rookie deals, aged 22 to 20?
One player who needs a big season is Clowney. He’ll be a restricted free agent at the end of 2026-27 so this is his time. He didn’t have a bad year in year three, averaging 12.4 points on 40/33/80 splits to go along with 4.1 rebounds in 27 minutes per in 66 games. But he started 60 of those games and that’s unlikely this time around, not with the addition of Randle. As every Nets fan knows, he’s had some highly promising games over his short career — a week with games of seven and four blocks in the last week of 2023-24 and four games with four or more 3-pointers just last season. They’d just like to see more of it.
Overall, decisions are likely to be driven first by developmental priorities … but unlike the last two seasons, Fernandez will not have worry about the lottery. Brooklyn may have to (okay, will likely to) swap firsts with the Houston Rockets. They also control the New York Knicks unprotected first. Both will likely to be low in a reportedly mediocre and top heavy draft. No the prior it was the last two drafts, both seen as “generational.”
We shouldn’t be tied to the tyranny of positions 1-through-5, either. Fernandez and others in the organization talk about position-less basketball, positional height and versatility going to be crucial. How many times will we see Demin, Brown Jr. and Traore together? How often late in games with Randle be pounding the ball down at the 5? Will Clowney get time at the 5 in certain situations? Minott at the 4? Will they find time for Joshua Jefferson who they liked a lot in the draft? What about the three two-ways? The Nets have used two-ways more than most teams the last two seasons as part of their development scheme.
It should be interesting.
What about MPJ and Julius Randle?
Yossi Gozlan of Third Apron and Capsheets.com had Erik Slater and Brian Lewis on last week and the headline out of the podcast was speculation about whether Michael Porter Jr. or Julius Randle, two proven NBA scorers aged 28 and soon-to-be 32, will be with the team past the trade deadline in early February…
The suggestion is that contending teams looking to improve their chances will offer Brooklyn assets that are more in line with their time line, whether younger players or draft picks … although the Nets already have a clear league lead in first (13) and second (19) round picks. In addition, the Nets and MPJ seems to be at an impasse about an extension beyond his $40.8 million expiring deal. So, if that doesn’t work out, Sean Marks & co. would be in danger of losing MPJ without any compensation (although the Nets can extend him at any time up till July 6 next year.)
However, Randle thinks he an MPJ will work well together, telling a fan in Brazil (where he was on a Skechers promotional tour with O.G. Anunoby of tip-in fame) he thinks the two bigs play different games and can complement each other…
Como vai ser o encaixe entre Julius Randle e Michael Porter Jr. no Brooklyn Nets?
“It’s gonna be great. Two completely different type of players as far of style of play. I think we actually complement each other very well,” the three-time NBA All-Star said. “I can do a lot with the ball, with the dribble, you know creating and he’s a great catch-and-shoot guy, can really space the floor. We’ll complement each other very well.”
FYI, Randle has a player option of $35.8 million come July.
Ben Saraf takes stock
Of all Brooklyn’s first rounders last year, Ben Saraf was the subject of the most fan skepticism and that’s being kind. He was seen, at No. 26, as an NBA lemon by a loft of fans, and/or an indication of how the Flatbush 5 was filled with bad choices … despite the fact that a 26th pick doesn’t produce a lot of stars and that he was the eighth youngest player out of the 600 or so who donned NBA uniforms last year. And please don’t mention to those fans that Hugo Gonzales was taken at No. 28!
Saraf remains optimistic about his NBA journey. In that same interview with the J-Post where he spoke about the team’s optimism, he spoke about his belief in himself.
While at a community event in Rishon LeZion in Israel last month, he spoke with Joshua Hallickman he expressed confidence that his second year will give him a push.
“During my workouts over the past few months, the Summer League and our team practices, I already feel like the game has slowed down for me a bit. You have to get used to the pace and understand better what’s expected of you,” he said. “This summer, I’m focusing a lot on improving my shooting, getting stronger physically, learning how to take care of my body and how to prepare for games. Those are all things you learn during your first NBA season, and I’m happy about that.”
As a combo guard, he’ll need to shoot better to get minutes in a backcourt that includes four other 20-year-olds in Egor Demin, Mikel Brown Jr., Nolan Traore and Drake Powell, a 22-year-old rookie in Joshua Jefferson plus Keon Ellis and Terance Mann.
He admits as well, that there were some tough times.
“It was really important for me to prove to myself that I was capable, even if I had to take a step back. I wanted to stay mentally strong, and I think by the end of the season I was playing much better and had some good games. But the goal now is to start next season already playing a meaningful role with the team.”
Indeed, at Hallickman points out, there were some bright spots particularly late.
After spending part of the year in the G League, the 20-year-old responded with arguably the strongest stretch of basketball of his young NBA career. Over Brooklyn’s final four games, he averaged 17.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists while logging more than 32 minutes per contest. The highlight of that run came when he scored 19 points in back-to-back games against Milwaukee and Indiana, showing the poise, confidence and playmaking ability that made him one of Europe’s most highly regarded prospects.
His shooting still wasn’t that respectable — 46/19/88 — in that stretch but in one of the two 19-point outings, he went to the line 10 times in 36 minutes, hitting nine of them. Also, his head coach often praised his defense and he averaged close to a steal a game in 21 minutes last season.
Saraf told Hallickman that the high point of the season was not a high score but the game the Nets played vs. the Portland Trailblazers in Brooklyn on March 6. It was the first time three players with Israeli passports had taken the court together in the NBA. He, Danny Wolf and Deni Advija spent a total of 66 minutes running up and down the court at Barclays in front of a lot of Israeli flags.
“I think the most exciting and emotional moment was the game where there were three Israelis playing together on the same court with all the Jewish fans in attendance. It was so much bigger than basketball. That was definitely the most powerful moment of my season.”
Saraf didn’t mention any of the protests related to Israel’s military operations in Gaza and Iran but instead noted how well he was treated and his connections with Israeli and Jewish communities in the U.S.
“It’s amazing. There are endless Friday night dinners. Even when I travel to other places, I meet many Israelis and Jews doing gap-year programs or volunteering, and I’m always invited over,” he told Hallickman. “That’s also true when it comes to Chabad houses (Jewish community centers) across the country. I try to go whenever I can. I also visited a Jewish school in Cleveland to talk with the kids. It’s great. I really appreciate all that support.”
Although he didn’t play for the Israeli national team in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers this summer, he expressed the hope he’ll be able to in the future.
“It’s a huge dream. Honestly, whenever I play for the national team, that’s when I enjoy basketball the most. Those tournaments are the most fun for me, and it’s always an incredible experience. I’m also really excited to watch the youth national teams. They’re doing an amazing job. I think we have a lot of talented prospects and that we can become a really strong national team in the future. I’m very excited about that.”
Long Island Nets busy, too.
Just as Sean Marks has been filling out the Brooklyn roster, Long Island’s GM, Matt MacDonald, has been doing the same, making small trades to acquire G League rights to players, drafting a French guard in the G League international draft and working with Brooklyn on both Exhibit 10 and two-way signings.
One transaction this week in particular caught our eye, a trade for rights to Isaiah Wong, a 6’3” combo guard who grew up in Piscataway, N.J. and attended the University of Miami. The 25-year-old has experience in the G League, NBA and the Spanish League, generally conceded to be the best pro league outside North America.
Overall, Wong has played 21 NBA games having been taken by the Pacers at No. 55 in the 2023 NBA Draft after he’d been named ACC Player of the Year, a third team All-American and helped Miami reach their first-ever Final Four.
What can he do? Here’s his Miami highlights:
Wong played a single game with the Pacers in 2023-24, then he got 20 games of action the next year in Charlotte…
After Charlotte didn’t renew his deal, he went overseas, playing first in Lithuania with Zalgiris, a Euroleague team, then in Spain with Gran Canaria. Wong averaged 14.6 points a game along with two assists and two rebounds.
Personally, he has an interesting distinction. His paternal great-grandfather was Chinese, meaning he can play for the Chinese national team. Can’t hurt. Will he choose Long Island over the Canary Islands? No word yet, but unless he gets signed to an Exhibit 10 contract and gets the customary bonus of $85,000, he’ll be limited to the standard G League deal, which tops out at $49,000, less than what he can get overseas.
Final Note
Meanwhile in L.A., the city’s two teams are in turmoil. The Lakers former owners, the Buss family, are feuding as Jeannie Buss tries to preserve her role as NBA governor. With her siblings undercutting her to sell their final 17.8% of the team to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, she wouldn’t control enough stock in the operating company to qualify for a seat on the NBA Board of Governors. She’s going to court it appears.
Meanwhile, across the great expanse of the city, Steve Ballmer is also considering suing the league after Adam Silver put the hammer down on his ownership of the Clippers. ICYMI, the Clippers have to give up their first rounders from 2029 through 2033 and pay a $30 million fine. Ballmer and his CEO, Gillian Zucker, are suspended for a year while Lawrence Frank faces six month unpaid leave. And it an under reported and under appreciated part of the ruling, “the Clippers organization and personnel are subject to a compliance and monitoring program overseen by the league office for a period of five years.” That appears to mean that the league office will now play a role in Clippers’ basketball operations. How’s that going to work?
All of it, of course, is the penalty for circumventing the NBA’s salary cap rules. In the year after Pablo Torre first uncovered the scandal that involved Kawhi Leonard’s lucrative no-show deal with a team partner, the league’s high-powered law firm, Wachtell Lipton not only confirmed what Pablo found out, but found three more suspect agreements … and announced there may be more to come.
The general belief is that neither law suit will succeed and Josh Kushner, Jared’s brother, will take Jeannie Buss seat and Ballmer will have to find another hobby for a year. However, the lasting effect of all these West Coast machinations, including the circumstances that led Laker owner Mark Walter to sell in the first place, may very well be that Adam Silver’s new theme song is “No more Mr. Nice Guy” across the board.
Silver has long been seen as a conciliator compared to his predecessor, David Stern who was more of a hanging judge. That was fine as long as team valuations soared into the stratosphere and scandals could be brushed aside. Now, though, there’s a sense of crisis because the game’s integrity is at the center of the league’s success. Without it, more fans will be even more cynical and cynics make for lousy fans.
Cheating on the cap, a failure to fully vet new owners’ net worth and the gambling scandal are all part of that integrity problem. Gambling could indeed by the worst blow. The budding investigation has already nabbed four former NBA players including a Hall of Famer and will likely explode in the next few months. Two former players, including MPJ’s brother Jontay, have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with authorities in the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s office. Gamblers are too. Will other, big names be tarred?
While the Clippers’ scandal has taken up a lot of Pablo Torre’s time of late, he also tackled the gambling scandal back in February and a close reading of what he found out then should have sent tremors through the NBA offices on Fifth Avenue. There were some bad actors out there. No word on when things will get laid out publicly but watch for news about sentencings of those who have pleaded guilty. Often at those sentencing hearings, defendants must “allocute,” that is, reveal what they have told the feds and prosecutors put it in the larger context. That could be painful for the league.
Anything that could harm the Nets going forward? It seem unlikely. MPJ has explained he had nothing to do with his brother’s gambling, mostly on G League games (!), and we have no reason not to believe him. As for cap circumvention, that’s certainly not been a problem. Brooklyn hasn’t crossed the cap since the Mikal Bridges trade and no one is suggesting the Tsais aren’t among the wealthiest people in the world.
As one insider noted to us, “we’re boring.” Let’s keep it that way!
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JUNE 21: Eugenio Suarez #7 of the Cincinnati Reds blows a bubble during his at bat against the Minnesota Twins in the fifth inning of the game at Target Field on June 21, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the Reds 7-5 in twelve innings. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Slugging Cincinnati Reds 3B Eugenio Suárez is known to be one of baseball’s most streaky hitters, one who jumps up to provide weeks at a time of prodigious power that can carry a single lineup. That’s why the Reds brought him back to their roster for 2026 on a $15 million deal, after all – their mostly punchless lineup needed a big bat to bolster their chances at a second straight postseason run.
Problem is, Geno got hurt early on. An oblique strain sent him to the shelf for longer than anything else in his career has been able to pull off, and that paired with an absent spring training (while on duty with Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic) has made for an overall dismal season for their long-time star.
All of that paired with slipping defense at 3B meant Geno went nowhere at the August 3rd trade deadline this summer. Cincinnati held on to him, presumably because there simply were not enough offers (if any), and they even chose to place him on waivers at the end of August as the deadline for teams to add players who’d be eligible for their postseason rosters came, and went.
Nobody claimed Geno. The roughly $3 million left on his contract was simply too much for the gamble.
Geno sat idle on August 3rd as the deadline came, went, and he still had a Cincinnati Reds uniform in his locker. He suited up in said uni on August 4th, and he’s been precisely the kind of Geno the Reds hoped they’d get all year ever since.
In 30 games (119 PA) since the Reds couldn’t find a suitor for him at the deadline, Geno has hit a robust .234/.378/.511 (.889 OPS) with 7 homers, 23 ribbies, and a 19/33 K/BB. Yeah, he’s still striking out like the guy who swings and misses more often than anyone in the sport, but that’s just who he’s become over the last decade while socking dingers at a rate not seen across the sport (non-Judge edition). He’s even added an eye, though, as those walks and OBP demonstrate.
Sadly, it hasn’t been enough to help the ol’ Reds enough, however. The Reds went into their August 3rd day off 5 games under the .500 mark, and they woke up today, September 7th, at 5 games under the .500 mark, too. That’s not on Geno this time around, though, as his bat woke up just like everyone knew it eventually would.
I do think it’s likely annoying enough to at least a handful of MLB execs across the league who thought picking up Geno on the cheap would be a bargain down the stretch and, for whatever reasons, got out-voted in the final decision-making process.
It won’t be enough to carry the Reds to a miracle finish like the 2021 St. Louis Cardinals, surely, but it would make for an entertaining end to an otherwise moribund Reds campaign in 2026 if Geno found a way to go nuclear for the final three weeks, too.
Boston, MA - September 2: Boston Red Sox pitcher Brayan Bello underhands the ball to first base in the sixth inning. The Boston Red Sox played the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park on September 2, 2026. (Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) | Boston Globe via Getty Images
It being Labor Day, I’m going to do these lineups with the minimum amount of work in support of the comrades who got us here. How this differs from my normal lineups routine is unknown at this time. We will not be doing the work to investigate as such for reasons already explained. To the grilled meats we go.
Dec 14, 2013; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz small forward Richard Jefferson (24) drives in front of San Antonio Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard (2) during the first quarter at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
As you can see below, all the top seeds advanced to Round 2. The only semi-competitive matchup was Stephen Jackson vs Dennis Rodman, the latter of whom was surprisingly ranked 7th. I’m disappointed that Rodman is gone so soon, as I personally think he has an argument as the most disliked player who’s ever played for the Spurs, though Jackson’s up there too. Other than that matchup, everything else was chalk, so let’s now continue previewing Round 2 of our tournament.
Round 2: Former Spurs
1. Kawhi Leonard vs. 4. Richard Jefferson
The Nephew is back in the news, and Spurs fans are rejoicing once more. It’s a shame since he was supposed to be the heir to the dynasty, and Kawhi used to be a fan favorite. Then his true colors were revealed during the 2017-18 season when he abandoned the team and rehabbed a nagging knee injury privately, which he used as an excuse to ask for a trade. It seemed like a death knell for the team at that point, but I think everything eventually worked out in the Spurs’ favor.
Kawhi should win this in a landslide, especially since Jefferson has a surprisingly high seed in the bracket. Sure, he had three disappointing seasons in San Antonio and jokingly called the city a dump, but he’s had more positive things to say about the organization than negative ones. I’ve never had any ill will towards RJ, and all the “insults” he’s levied against the Spurs are in jest, though sometimes it does get old — especially when you hear him calling games 24/7. Plus, if RJ never flamed out in San Antonio, then we wouldn’t have witnessed one of the greatest shoves ever.
2. Stephen Jackson vs. 3. Robert Horry
Stephen Jackson’s one of the most unlikeable players I can think of, and that’s before factoring in my Spurs fandom. He’s called out Pop more times than every other NBA player in history combined, constantly bringing up a story where his ego got in the way of the betterment of the team. He also hates Tony Parker with a passion, calling the latter selfish and claiming that the Spurs would’ve won more titles had TP sacrificed more. I actually agree with the selfish claim to a certain extent, but for it to come from Jackson of all people is just ironic.
Horry, meanwhile, has a true love/hate relationship with the franchise and its fans. He played a crucial role in both the 2005 and 2007 title runs, but has gone on to call the organization “boring” since the locker room lacked drama. Horry also said that Hakeem was “20 times better than Tim Duncan,” which is an absurd statement for two of the 10 greatest players ever. I’d never ridicule anyone for believing Hakeem’s in the same tier of greats as Timmy, but to say he’s 20 times better is one of the most disrespectful things I’ve ever heard.
Round 2: Spurs Haters
1. Phil Jackson vs. 4. Uncle Dennis Robertson
For someone so accomplished, Phil Jackson sure does seem insecure about the success of others. He infamously claimed that the Spurs’ 1999 title deserves an asterisk because it came during the 50-game lockout-shortened season, which led to The Admiral purposefully leaving him hanging at the 2000 All-Star Game.
Jackson’s opponent is none other than our favorite uncle, who was recently handed a five-year ban from conducting any business with the NBA following the Aspiration scandal involving Kawhi. He seemed to be the mastermind behind both the Kawhi trade out of San Antonio and the shady deals that have now come to light with the Clippers. Spurs fans were the first victims of Uncle Dennis’ shenanigans, but the extent of his illegal dealings surprised even me.
2. David Stern vs. 3. Mark Cuban
It seems strange to have a former commissioner on such a list, but Stern fining the Spurs $250,000 for resting players back in 2012 was more a message to the entire league than him singling out San Antonio specifically. To be fair, the Spurs popularized the load management that fans all love today, and that was exactly the type of thing Stern wanted to prevent when he was still in charge. I honestly believe that both Stern and the Spurs did what was in their best interests, so I’m fairly surprised that he was a higher seed than Mr. Shark Tank himself.
Unsurprisingly, Cuban was delighted to see San Antonio punished for sitting its players. By that point, he had developed a fierce hatred for a Spurs team that routinely clashed with his Mavs in the playoffs during the 2000s and early 2010s. Cuban even made it personal by insulting the Riverwalk and felt that the Spurs’ success was largely due to lottery luck, and it certainly didn’t help that the rival teams are from the same state but in two cities with distinct cultural differences.
On this day 18 years ago, a longtime member of the White Sox organization, Don Gutteridge, passed away, at 96. | Topps
1901 With a three-game lead in the race for the pennant, the White Sox hosted the second place Boston Americans at South Side Park in the start of a four-game set. A three-run rally in the fourth, fueled by one of Herm McFarland’s two doubles on the day, led to a 4-1 win. Nixey Callahan went the distance on the mound for the winners, tossing a five-hitter and doubling in the effort.
The White Sox would go on to sweep the Americans, extending their lead in the pennant race to seven games and pushing their magic number into single digits.
1954 One of the linchpins of the famed White Sox pitching staff of the late 1950’s, Dick Donovan, was purchased from Double-A Atlanta in the Milwaukee Braves organization. Dickwould win 73 games in six seasons on the South Side, including a pair of one-hitters and an All-Star appearance in 1955.
1960 In a game at Comiskey Park, infielder Sammy Esposito booted a cinch double-play ball hit by future Sox infielder Bill Skowron with the Sox leading in the eighth inning, 4-2. The lead quickly evaporated, as the Yankees rallied for four runs and a 6-4 win.
Fans Willie Harris and his friend, Jesse James (I swear, I’m not making the names up), had a wager on the game. When Esposito blew the ground ball, Harris took matters into his own hands. He jumped over the box seat railing, ran on to the field, and had words with Esposito. Then the two started throwing punches! It took several uniformed police officers and ushers to pull Harris off of Esposito. Harris left the field shouting that he was “A real Sox fan.”
1970 The White Sox were swept by the A’s in a Monday doubleheader at Comiskey Park, in front of 6,115 fans. As the losses dropped Chicago to 49-92 on the season, the sweep was not remarkable. But what was? That with September’s expanded rosters, the Pale Hose used 13 players and five pitchers in the 7-4 opening loss, and 16 players and seven pitchers in the 7-5 nightcap loss. The 41 total players in a doubleheader set a major league record.
Coincidentally, the White Sox played 20 doubleheaders in the 106-loss 1970 season, losing 13 of them and splitting seven — a 7-33 record in twinbills alone! The team’s doubleheader winning percentage of .175 was roughly twice as bad as its overall .346 winning percentage. Or put another way, remove doubleheaders in 1970, and the White Sox played at a much-improved, 65-win pace.
1974 In one of the earliest deployments of a radar gun during an MLB game, White Sox reliever Terry Forster was recorded as throwing 94.9 mph from the Anaheim Stadium press box. In the same contest, Angels starter Nolan Ryan was clocked at 100.8 mph marking the second-ever triple digit reading (Ryan had hit 100.9 mph on August 20 at Anaheim Stadium.) White Sox rookie Jack Kucek, the opposing starter in the game, was twice recorded at 90.4 mph.
Forster’s fastball, tame by today’s standards, stood as the seventh-fastest pitch ever recorded. Kucek’s ranked 16th.
The White Sox lost the game, 3-1.
2008 Don Gutteridge, who had the misfortune of timing his only MLB manager stint with the downfall of the White Sox in the late 1960s, died in the town he was born, Pittsburg, Kan. He was such a hero in Pittsburg that, similar to the treatment that Easton, Pa. gives to Hall-of-Famer Harold Baines, the town declared Gutteridge’s birthday on June 19 to be Don Gutteridge Day every year.
Gutteridge was an 12-year MLB infielder, playing for both the St. Louis Cardinals and Browns. After his playing career, Gutteridge spent almost 20 years in the White Sox organization as a minor league manager and first-base coach under manager Al Lopez.
Gutteridge took over in 1968, when Lopez resigned due to poor health. In managing the bulk of 1968-69, he led the White Sox to a 109-172 record. That mark is the eighth-worst of 44 managers in White Sox history, and the fifth-worst among those to have skippered at least one season’s worth of games.
Among the 10 oldest living players when he passed, Gutteridge died exactly 72 years from his major league debut with the Cardinals in 1936.
2017 With an 11-2 win at the White Sox, Cleveland sets a new franchise record of 15 consecutive wins. Starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey gave up three of the visitors’ five longballs.
Big slate Monday! There is so much to get into with the MLB player propsmarket today.
Join me as I break down three of my favorite MLB picksfor Monday, Sept. 7, including why Rafael Devers is going to light up Michael McGreevy.
Our best MLB player props today
Player
Pick
Odds
Emmet Sheehan
Over 1.5 earned runs
-150
Rafael Devers
Over 1.5 total bases
+110
Jo Adell
Over 1.5 hits + runs + RBI
-102
Emmet Sheehan Over 1.5 earned runs (-150)
For those moaning and groaning about the $1.50 price tag, we’re simply asking the Cincinnati Reds to do what they’ve done all season long, and that's score two runs in the first five innings. The Reds are averaging 2.51 runs in the first five frames this season.
Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Emmet Sheehan has faced some turbulence over his last three outings, posting an 8.31 ERA while allowing a 15% barrel rate to opposing hitters. He enters Monday with the sixth-worst pitcher rating, drawing three elite-rated hitters and three with strong ratings, per Batters-Box.
The Reds have been on a tear over their last six games, posting a 132 wRC+, .366 wOBA, and .833 OPS while generating plenty of hard-hit balls.
We’re simply asking this red-hot team to sneak past two runs before Sheehan is pulled.
Time: 9:10 p.m. ET
Where to watch: CIN, SNLA
Rafael Devers Over 1.5 total bases (+110)
I'm going back to Rafael Devers after he failed to come through on his hits + runs + RBI prop on Sunday. He did rip a single that came off the bat at over 107 mph, though. Hopefully, the San Francisco Giants slugger can elevate that ball over the wall this evening, or at least into the gap, as we take his total bases prop.
Devers owns the second-highest matchup rating on the day, covering over 87% of St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Michael McGreevy's pitch mix. The last 30 left-handed hitters McGreevy has faced are generating a 13% barrel rate and 30.4% ground-ball rate while owning a .282 xBA and .473 SLG.
The big fella has maintained a .923 SLG and .538 ISO while producing a near-70% hard-hit rate and 27% barrel rate over his last 10 games.
Take this down to +100, or take his Over 1.5 HRR prop if you find a price below -130.
Time: 8:10 p.m. ET
Where to watch: NBC/Peacock
Jo Adell Over 1.5 hits + runs + RBI (-102)
Lefty killer and Cleveland Guardians slugger Jo Adell finds himself in a mouthwatering spot against Baltimore Orioles southpaw Trevor Rogers. Over his last 30 at-bats against left-handed pitching, Adell has a .560 SLG and .280 ISO while posting a 47% hard-hit rate and nearly 12% barrel rate.
Over Rogers' last 60 plate appearances against right-handed hitters, he is allowing 1.80 HR/9 with just a 35% ground-ball rate, while those hitters have posted a .363 xBA and .596 xSLG.
Adell is the highest-rated Guardian in both of Batters-Box's datasets, where he covers more than 67% of Rogers' arsenal and goes Over this prop nearly 54% of the time. On the road, he's cashed this prop 57.14% of the time across 21 elite ratings.
Take this down to -110.
Time: 1:35 p.m. ET
Where to watch: CLEG, MASN
Colby Marchio's 2026 Transparency Record
Prop picks: 471-933, -2.9 units
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
Feb 18, 2026; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets pitcher Jonah Tong (21) throws a pitch during spring training workouts at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images
The Mets are turning to Jonah Tong to start today’s game against the Miami Marlins, recalling him from Triple-A Syracuse. In a corresponding move, Justin Hagenman was optioned to Triple-A following yesterday’s win over the Giants.
Today will be Tong’s fourth appearance of the season for the big league club, after making a bullpen appearance against the Marlins back in May, and then making two appearances behind an opener before being demoted back to Syracuse.
The first two of those appearances were fairly well, going six and two-thirds innings without allowing an earned run while striking out three and walking five. The walks and lack of length are obvious red flags, but both appearances kept the Mets in their respective games. His third appearance, where he last just three and a third innings while giving up five runs, was decidedly not good.
After a mostly rough year, Tong has looked much, much better in his last two starts, going 12 and 2/3rds innings, allowing four hits, no earned runs, four walks, and nine strikeouts.
Hagenman made two appearances for the Mets after being called up last week, opening the September 2nd game against the Rays and going three innings, walking one, striking out two, and allowing one earned run, and then pitching an inning of relief against the Giants on Saturday, where he was tagged for a solo home run.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 05: Lawrence Butler #4 of the Athletics reacts after hitting a two-run home run during the eighth inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on September 05, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jack Compton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s not just the A’s. Following his historic 60 HR season in 2025, who in their right mind would have predicted that Cal Raleigh would spend the first half of the 2026 batting .169/.271/.310? That same Raleigh appears to have shaken off the demons and is back to homering at his 2025 pace lately, with a .490 slugging percentage since the All-Star break. What do you make of that in terms of projecting what to expect in 2027?
The A’s have been there twice very recently. Lawrence Butler was so good in the second half of 2024, batting .300/.345/.553, 155 wRC+, that the A’s rewarded this “breakout star” with a 7 year, $65.5M extension. Butler proceeded to stumble to a .234 BA and 91 wRC+ in 2025 in a season that, perhaps not coincidentally, ended early due to knee surgery.
But 2026 started out even worse than the year before. For the first half of the season Butler was literally the worst player in MLB by some measures as his average languished around .160 and his defensive stats cratered. There were some signs of life mid-season when Butler hit into some bad luck, lining into more than his fair share of outs, but nothing predicted he would revert back to his 2024 form.
Since the All-Star break, Butler is hitting .284/.366/.488 and consistently grinding out some of the best plate appearances on the team, spitting on close pitches off the plate even with 2 strikes and enjoying a career best 11.9% BB rate for the season.
What Butler is doing is known as “pulling a Gelof”. A rising star when he took the league by storm for a half season in 2023, Gelof then started a downward spiral that produced a disappointing 2024 followed by a disastrous 2025. Just when you wrote him off … like Lazarus he rose, only unlike Lazarus he can play above average defense at 2B, 3B, LF, CF, and RF. The super-utility man has 2.0 fWAR in just 93 games in 2026 and suddenly he looks like a core piece again.
Baseball is, as we know, that most unpredictable of games and nowhere is this seen more than in the bizarre highs and lows that often describe the same player in the same stretch of his career. How do you shrewdly plan your depth chart when the range of outcomes for a player so reasonably appears to be “somewhere between All-Star and DFA candidate”?
Case in point: Henry Bolte. Here are Bolte’s wRC+ stats month by month in his maiden voyage:
Now in Bolte’s case, those extremes are a bit more expected since it’s his first go-around and he’s only 23. But projecting “what you have” in Bolte, in terms of being an every day CFer on a contending team, is only as easy as figuring out what you will probably get from Butler and Gelof yesterday and tomorrow.
With Tyler Soderstrom, Bolte, and soon Devin Taylor in the mix, the A’s need to assess who “the real Lawrence Butler” is. With Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, Jacob Wilson, and soon Leo De Vries joining, the A’s need to assess who the “real Zack Gelof” is.
Just like the Mariners wonder who Cal Raleigh truly is, and many other teams have similar conundrums trying to make sense of their own bi-polar players. Good luck figuring it out in that most unpredictable game of baseball.
SEATTLE, WA - JUNE 02: Jonah Tong #21 of the New York Mets pitches during the game between the New York Mets and the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on Tuesday, June 2, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Eric Hiller/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Mets lineup
Francisco Lindor – SS
Juan Soto – DH
Bo Bichette – 3B
Carson Benge – RF
Marcus Semien – 2B
A.J. Ewing – CF
Francisco Alvarez – C
Brett Baty – 1B
Nick Morabito – LF
Jonah Tong – RHP
Marlins lineup
Kyle Stowers – DH
Heriberto Hernández – LF
Griffin Conine – 1B
Otto López – SS
Jakob Marsee – CF
Javier Sanoja – 2B
Owen Caissie – RF
Graham Pauley – 3B
Joe Mack – C
Eury Pérez – RHP
Broadcast info
First pitch: 1:10pm EDT TV: SNY Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2
The Toronto Blue Jays look to get back into the win column tonight when they enter their series opener against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park as -210 favorites.
Dylan Cease gets the ball for the Jays, which is the major reason why my Blue Jays vs. Athletics predictions and MLB picks are high on Toronto.
Blue Jays vs A's predictions
Blue Jays vs A's best bet: Blue Jays -1.5 (-115)
Dylan Cease has been in the AL Cy Young conversation all season, but he’s been on another level in the second half.
Since July 1, the Toronto Blue Jays ace leads all MLB starters in ERA (1.36) while also ranking second in xERA (2.37) and seventh in K/9 (11.47).
On the other side, Jacob Lopez has been solid for the Athletics (3.40 xERA; 79th percentile), but he’s averaging less than five innings per appearance. He’ll be backed up by the worst bullpen in the majors (5.45), which is where the Blue Jays can do their damage.
Cease is third in the majors with 221 Ks this season and has recorded at least eight punchouts in 14 of his last 19 starts.
Kazuma Okamoto has been mashing vs. left-handed pitching since Aug. 1 and will enjoy the platoon advantage today. Okamoto leads the Jays in SLG (.684) and OPS (1.056) vs. southpaws over that span, with nine of his 11 hits being for extra bases.
Blue Jays vs A's SGP
Blue Jays -1.5
Kazuma Okamoto Over 1.5 total bases
Dylan Cease Over 7.5 strikeouts
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Blue Jays vs A's home run pick: Kazuma Okamoto (+325)
I’m sticking with Okamoto for today’s home run pick as the matchup is too good to ignore.
Okamoto has hit a team-leading eight home runs vs. left-handed pitching — twice as many as anyone else on the Blue Jays.
He’s also hit eight of his 28 dingers vs. the slider, which Lopez throws more than one-third of the time.
2026 Transparency Record
Best bets: 9-10, -2.47 units
SGPs: 0-1, -1.00 units
Blue Jays vs A's odds
Moneyline: Toronto -210 | A's +170
Run line: Toronto -1.5 (-115) | A's +1.5 (-105)
Over/Under: Over 8 (-120) | Under 8 (+100)
Blue Jays vs A's trend
The Athletics have only covered the run line in 18 of their last 50 home games for -18.90 units and a -31% ROI. Find more MLB betting trends for Blue Jays vs. A's.
How to watch Blue Jays vs A's and game info
Location
Sutter Health Park, Sacramento, CA
Date
Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026
First pitch
10:05 p.m. ET
TV
Sportsnet
Blue Jays starting pitcher
Dylan Cease (10-5, 2.25 ERA)
A's starting pitcher
Jacob Lopez (6-4, 4.71 ERA)
Blue Jays vs A's latest injuries
Blue Jays vs A's weather
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
Sep 4, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Hancel Rincon (66) in the sixth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The bulk of this road trip has been a journey through teams who’ve had surprising season relative to the preseason predictions. Certainly, the San Francisco Giants were not expected to be a laughingstock in global professional sports, but their opponents — Pittsburgh, the Mets, and now the Cardinals — were expected to be the opposite of where they actually stand. The Pirates were maybe not expected to be a fringe Wild Card contender for most of the summer, the Mets were projected to be quite a bit better than abject losers, and the St. Louis Cardinals were expected to be a losing team in a step back/reset season. Instead, they’re .500 and 4 games out of the 3rd Wild Card as the Giants host them to kickoff the week.
Now, maybe the reason for this quasi-competitiveness is that the playoff field has been expanded to participation trophy-levels of teams, lowering the bar for entry, but there are meaningful developments in the organization to show that they’re actually a solid team.
If you recall, their long-time front office leader John Mozeliak (who was in the Cards’ organization for thirty years) “retired” after last season and in the year prior to that, he was shadowed by former Boston President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom who took over for him beginning this year. Bloom was tasked with doing, essentially, what Farhan Zaidi had to do when he took over from Bobby Evans: rebuild the organization from the ground up. One key difference was that the team had some good talent in the player development pipeline and an ownership group with no rules about who could be traded to assist with a rebuild.
So, Bloom was able to purge the major league roster of some big contracts for quality players and some arbitration-eligible players that most other teams might’ve held onto to be a part of their next good team (specifically, second baseman Brendan Donovan). The implementation of new systems and practices either explain or coincided with some nice steps forward with the young talent the Cardinals already had on hand. For most people who don’t believe in “analytics,” they’ll probably believe the latter explanation most; but, in any case, it’s undeniable that 23-year old JJ Wetherholt exploded onto the scene and was a contender for NL Rookie of the Year most of the season. 24-year old outfielder Jordan Walker had shown a lot of promise (he debuted at 21!) but this season has been his breakout (28 home runs, 100 RBI in 140 games & 601 PA).
What’s wacky, though, is that the Cardinals have not improved, statistically. Right now, they have a team wRC+ of 97. They ended last season at 96. They have a team ERA of 4.33 ERA right now (11.3 fWAR in value) and were at 4.30 and 12.8 last season. Through 144 games this season, they’re 72-72. Through 144 games last season, they were… 72-72 and 4-and-a-half games out of a Wild Card spot (reminder: the Giants were 72-71 exactly 1 year ago). So, are the Cardinals actually better or does it just feel like they are? Well, these next 18 games will decide. Last year, the Cards went 6-12 from this point. They might not make the postseason, but improving on that mark will certainly be a step in the right direction, considering how much they remade the roster without actually setting up it with the intention to be great.
It’s not a perfect roster, of course. Masyn Winn might just be a defensive guy rather than a total player (.641 OPS in 490 PA but +2.3 fWAR thanks to his defense). Nolan Gorman hasn’t quite panned out at third base. The pitching staff is very much a work in progress. But, despite not being totally good, it is, overall, encouraging.
The Giants can’t say quite the same thing. They pushed in all their chips once again and busted once again. Now, it’s worth considering that Farhan Zaidi and Chaim Bloom are contemporaries and for a time, their careers were paralleling each other. Bloom was able to go from the Rays to the Red Sox and land on a Cardinals team open to revitalization. Zaidi went from the A’s to the Dodgers to the Giants, a team that was open to revitalization at the time. Zaidi’s tenure didn’t work out and now the org has oversteered itself back to the 1980s. Will Bloom prove himself to be the better exec with a stronger revitalization of the Cardinals or is that generation of GM destined to flame out and cause owners across the sport to reconsider the Moneyball 2.0 generation? Certainly, dudes like Zaidi and Mike Elias in Baltimore are helping to make that case.
But while the Cardinals have enjoyed 5 months of young players proving themselves, the Giants are starting to enjoy a similar outcome in some areas of the 28-man roster. Since returning to the roster on August 14th, Jona Cox has hit .298/.355/.509 (.864 OPS) in 20 games (62 PA) with a trio of homers, a double, a triple, and 5 stolen bases in 6 attempts. Granted, he’s struck out 21 times against just 5 walks, but he’s a young 25 and not the typical old 27 the Giants have thrown at the wall at ends of failed seasons (with all due respect to Turner Hill). Bryce Eldridge has been nearly as good since August 1st: .288/.380/.450 (.830 OPS) with 4 homers, 6 doubles, and 32 strikeouts against 17 walks.
The Giants will probably be replacing their entire pitching staff over the next couple of seasons, as we have to assume that Logan Webb is closer to washed than not, but now that the Giants have completed five years without a winning season and have had just 1 in their last 10, I think we can dispense with the “next year will be the year!” thinking. This is a long-term project where most of the principles are still learning what they don’t know. Bloom’s year of shadowing is certainly one of the best ways to go about a rebuild and it’s too bad more organizations don’t do that. In the reporting of Posey’s takeover, there wasn’t a story that showed he was doing exactly that. It was more that he was hanging around and “getting the gist” of it before making his pitch to become POBO. But Bloom has been able to make it appear that the Cardinals aren’t stuck in a long-term rebuild. That might not actually be the case (depending on how this season shakes out, first and foremost), but vibes matter and the Cards’ vibes are considerably better today than they were expected to be a year ago.
The Giants cannot say the same.
This is another series where a Computer Team will take on the anti-Computer Squad of the San Francisco Giants. Usually, the Computer Teams rip the Giants in half like the mother alien did to Bishop in Aliens, but this is the last leg of a long road trip for a weird west coast trip for the Cards that began at Dodger Stadium then went to Coors Field and now ends in Oracle Park. On the other hand, that trip to Coors Field involved one of the most racist outbursts on a major league field this century, when umpire Doug Eddings stopped the game to demand that rookie Cardinals pitcher Hancel Rincon adjust his crooked cap, then had the gall to say it was Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman who had made the request (he hadn’t). The next day, both the Cardinals and the Rockies united to tilt their caps in solidarity with Rincon and as an f-you to Eddings.
Maybe that flash of solidarity helps the Cardinals fight through the fatigue. The Giants are in such disarray that they might just crumble in even the tiniest show of unity.
Series Overview
Who: San Francisco Giants (59-84) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (72-72) Where: Oracle Park | San Francisco, California When: Monday at 5:10pm PT, Tuesday at 6:45pm PT, Wednesday at 12:45pm PT National broadcasts: NBC/Peacock (Monday)
Projected starters Monday: Logan Webb (RHP 8-8, 4.21 ERA) vs. Michael McGreevy (RHP 6-9, 3.97 ERA) Tuesday: Landen Roupp (RHP 8-13, 4.17 ERA) vs. Quinn Mathews (LHP 1-2, 4.38 ERA) Wednesday: Blade Tidwell (RHP 0-2, 4.43 ERA) vs. TBD
Prediction time
Carson Seymour has allowed 14 home runs in 32 MLB appearances (43.75%) and yesterday, to up for all the games he hadn’t allowed a homer in this season, he allowed two. If he gets in to a game in this series, I predict he will allow a home run. Because that’s what he does.
Apr 4, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; A general view of the new Sacramento logo on the jerseys worn by the Athletics against the Houston Astros at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Scott Marshall-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
We have three games with the ‘Insert town name here’ A’s.
The A’s are 57-78, 16 games back of Houston in the Al West and, “it doesn’t matter games” back in the Wild Card race. They need to go 6-12 in their last 18 games to save themselves from losing 100 games.
That doesn’t mean they can’t win a series. They are just off a four-game win streak.
They are eighth in the AL in runs per game, at 4.38 (Jays are second last at 4.03). And they are last in the AL in runs allowed per game, at 5.69 (the second last team are the Twins at 4.99, the Jays sixth in the AL at 4.29).
Starting pitchers:
Tonight: Dylan Cease (10-5, 2.25 ERA) and Jacob Lopez (6-4, 4.71). A 10:00 Eastern start.
Tomorrow: José Soriano (11-7, 3.52) and Jack Perkins (3-10, 6.50). A 9:40 Eastern start.
Wednesday: TBD vs. TBD. It is a 3:00 Eastern start.
I’d don’t know what the Jays’ plans are. Someone from the minors? A bullpen day? Maybe it will depend on how much work the pen does in the first two games. People wonder why John wants to get an extra inning out of a starter who ‘doesn’t have it’ that day. We have really overworked the bullpen and that’s not going to slow down in the last three weeks of the season.
The A’s have gotten 696 innings our of their starters and 580 out of their relievers. The Jays have gotten 677 innings from the starters and 603.1 out of the reliever.
The A’s best two hitter, by bWAR, are on the IL.
Nick Kurtz (1B) is out for the rest of the season with a “strained right thumb”. He was hitting .256/.396/.483 with 21 home runs and a 3.9 bWAR.
Shea Langeliers (C) is out with a knee injury. He might be back at some point. He was hitting .263/.332/.497 with 23 homes runs and a 3.7 bWAR.
And Tyler Soderstrom is out after surgery on his hip. He was hitting .245/.338/.472 with 19 home runs and a 2.6 bWAR. Add in that Joshua Kurdoa-Grauer has a ruptured testicle.
As well, their top pitcher, J.T Ginn (9-8, 3.71, 3.3 bWAR) is out with right elbow impingemen.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t some good players:
3B Zack Gelof is hitting .257/.321/.468 with a 17 home runs and a 2.8 bWAR.
CF Henry Bolte is hitting .274/.352/.386 with a 2.5 bWAR. He’s stolen 16 bases, caught 8 times so he maybe should stop trying.
SS Alika (sounds like an anime character) Williams is hitting .273/.310/.438 with a 1.5 bWAR.
In the pen:
Hogan Harris is their closer. He has a 3.38 ERA with 15 saves, with 6 blown saves.
The Cincinnati Reds open a three-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight, and mounting injuries for the world champs are evening out what looks like a mismatch on paper.
L.A. had three scratches from the lineup over the weekend, and had to call up the struggling Emmet Sheehan to make a spot start today.
My Reds vs. Dodgers predictions and MLB picks have Cincinnati scoring a road upset with Reds All-Star ace Chase Burns on the bump on Monday, Sept. 7.
Who will win Reds vs Dodgers today: Reds moneyline (39%)
For help understanding probabilities, see our odds calculator.
On paper, it makes sense to favor the Los Angeles Dodgers. They’re 17 games better and have won four straight.
However, Shohei Ohtani has missed four straight games with knee, biceps, and neck injuries. He should return today, but Ohtani was just seven for his last 51 (.137) with one homer in the last 13 games.
The Dodgers also lost catcher Dalton Rushing, placed back on the IL Sunday, and Max Muncy was a late scratch Saturday before returning Sunday.
The Cincinnati Reds, meanwhile, have won three straight series and start ace Chase Burns (15-3, 2.79 ERA).
I’d take them down to 43%.
COVERS INTEL: Burns’ slider has his breaking stuff in the 99th percentile in MLB. Opponents are hitting .162 against it. Every major contributor in L.A.’s lineup has above a 25% whiff rate against the slider.
Reds vs Dodgers Over/Under pick: Over 8.5 (51%)
The Reds announced that they will be limiting Burns’ innings for the rest of the season, so expect the Cincinnati bullpen (25th by xERA) to step in earlier than usual.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, didn’t name their starter until Monday morning, when they called up Emmet Sheehan (4-8, 5.29 ERA). He was demoted earlier this year after the team lost five of his starts in a row.
The Reds have scored 31 runs in the last four games, and that was against first-place Milwaukee and over-.500 San Diego. They’ve also allowed 24 over that span. They’ve gone Over seven times in the last 10 and scored seven or more in six of them.
Reds vs Dodgers home run prediction: Mookie Betts (14%)
Mookie Betts has five hits in the last 13 at bats and went deep on Sunday. He’s also L.A.’s second-best hitter against the slider.
His .273 average and .444 slugging against breaking pitches this season are better than his performance against fastballs (.246/.442) and offspeed (.200/.291).
He has a double and two hits in three career plate appearances against Burns.
Shawn Krest's 2026 Transparency Record
ML/RL bets: 32-39, -2.94 units
Over/Under bets: 43-23, +7.80 units
Reds vs Dodgers weather
Rain earlier in the day will be gone by game time, and it should be partly cloudy in the low 80s, possibly dropping into the 70s by last pitch.
Reds vs Dodgers odds
Moneyline: Reds 39% | Dodgers 61%
Run line: Reds +1.5 | Dodgers -1.5
Over/Under: Over 8.5 | Under 8.5
Reds vs Dodgers trend
The Over is 6-1 in Cincinnati’s last seven road games against teams with a winning record. Find more MLB betting trends for Reds vs. Dodgers.
How to watch Reds vs Dodgers and game info
Location
Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
Date
Monday, Sept. 7, 2026
First pitch
9:10 p.m. ET
TV
Reds.TV, SNLA
Reds starting pitcher
Chase Burns (15-3, 2.79 ERA)
Dodgers starting pitcher
Emmet Sheehan (4-8, 5.29 ERA)
Reds vs Dodgers latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
Emmet Sheehan
Rafael Devers
Jo Adell
COVERS INTEL: Dylan Cease throws his slider nearly 30% of the time and has finished off 86 of his 221 strikeouts with that pitch. The Athletics have the 
