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LOS ANGELES — After two straight days of heavy bullpen usage, the Dodgers called up a few fresh arms ahead of their homestand opener on Monday night against the Kansas City Royals at Dodger Stadium.

Seth Halvorsen and Charlie Barnes were called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City. Barnes was not on the 40-man roster so Jonathan Hernández was designated for assignment — opening spots on the 40-man and active rosters — and Kyle Hurt was optioned. Hernández pitched the final two innings on Sunday’s loss in Arizona, and Hurt pitched both Saturday and Sunday against the Diamondbacks.

“Those guys were great for us,” manager Dave Roberts said Monday of Hurt and Hernández, “but it’s just protecting the downside as far as relieving.

The fresh arm express is always ready, though if the Dodgers have their way they won’t necessarily need to use many relievers at all on Monday, with Tarik Skubal making his first start at Dodger Stadium since joining the Dodgers. Skubal is averaging 6.04 innings per start this season and has completed six innings in 12 of his 17 starts.

Skubal was pulled in a 2-1 game after only 85 pitches in six innings last Tuesday at Wrigley Field.

“His last start you could argue I could have let him go one more inning,” Roberts said Monday, “But I feel this one — we’re going to watch intently, but I feel giving him a little more leash tonight.”

The Dodgers acquired Halvorsen from the Colorado Rockies on July 20 in exchange for pitcher Nick Frasso and minor league outfielder Landyn Vidourek. Halvorsen did not allow a run in any of his six appearances for Oklahoma City, with two saves, eight strikeouts and two walks in 6 1/3 innings.

Halvorsen last pitched Thursday, with three strikeouts in a scoreless ninth inning, recording a save for the Comets. That was also Barnes’ last game pitched for Oklahoma City, tossing three scoreless innings with five strikeouts on 47 pitches.

This is Barnes’ fourth stint in the majors this season, with three scoreless innings in relief for the Dodgers and one bulk appearance allowing seven runs in seven innings that was more about resetting the bullpen than anything else. Barnes twice this season has been designated for assignment, cleared waivers and elected free agency, then re-signed on a minor league deal.

It’s been a long time since Shohei Ohtani has had competition for the MVP award, and it appears the reigning MVP could be dethroned.

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, Chicago Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong has overtaken Ohtani as the favorite to win the National League MVP.

Armstrong leads the NL MVP sweepstakes with at -120 odds, while Ohtani is sitting behind him at +100.

The two are viewed as the clear favorites to win the award as Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams (+10000) and Kyle Schwarber (+15000) trail by a landslide.

The numbers between Ohtani and Armstrong are nearly identical, as the two are tied for home runs (26) and RBI (71).

The difference maker for Armstrong in this race appears to go down to his 7.5 WAR, 30 stolen bases and his 22 OAA, marking him as one of the best defenders in baseball.

At one point this season, Ohtani was viewed as the favorite to win the award for the fourth consecutive season as he was flourishing at the plate and was dominant on the mound, pitching with a 1.79 ERA and 95 strikeouts through 14 starts.

But on July 3, his time on the mound came to a sudden halt after he was dealing with soreness in his knee and would eventually be shut down from pitching.

Throughout his career, Ohtani has made most things look easy, but his journey back to pitching has been the complete opposite, as he’s suffered multiple setbacks, including regression in his knee and a pectoral injury.

Healing from a knee injury is tough, especially when he is still running on it as a hitter.

In his first season with the Dodgers, Ohtani had one of the best seasons in his career, when he hit 54 home runs and stole 59 bases. This year, he’s stolen only 6, likely because he’s trying to rest the sore knee as much he can.

But with his inability to pitch and dealing with a bad knee, it’s clear that this could ruin his chance to become the first player to win the MVP award for four consecutive seasons since Barry Bonds did it from 2001-04.

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When Jackson Kent makes his Major League Baseball debut sometime this week he’ll join an exclusive club of former Arizona players to make the big leagues. But he’ll also be in a class by himself.

The Washington Nationals are promoting the former UA left-handed pitcher and are expected to insert him into their starting rotation. He will become the 96^th ex-Wildcat to make the majors, per the school’s baseball media guide, but first to do so after being recruited to the UA by Chip Hale.

The 23-year-old Kent spent three seasons at Arizona, from 2022-24, but was not eligible his first year after originally signing with UW-Milwaukee. That school would not let him out of his national letter of intent, thus forcing him to sit out that season.

Kent appeared in 33 games for the Wildcats with 19 starts, spending the bulk of the 2024 season as their Friday night starter. He finished with a 3-4 record and 4.61 ERA, striking out 122 batters in 127 innings.

The Nats drafted him in the 4^th round in 2024, signing him for $625,000. He’s made 44 starts in the minor leagues, going 16-14 with a 4.22 ERA, and since getting moved to Triple-A Rochester in May had gone 8-3 with a 4.38 ERA in 13 starts.

Kent will become the second UA player to make their MLB debut this season, joining catcher Daniel Susac with the San Francisco Giants.

By the time the Braves left town Sunday, they had experienced what the Yankees hope their postseason foes will have to feel, provided that their lineup can hang on just enough to get there.

“We came in here and faced three No. 1s, really, three aces,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said Sunday.

Max Fried, Gerrit Cole and Cam Schlittler started the three games and combined to hold what had been one of the majors’ highest-scoring lineups to just three runs on 12 hits and two walks across 20 ¹/₃ innings with 27 strikeouts.

And that, even with the mounting worries about their scuffling lineup, is what the Yankees are banking on not only to reach October but to use as a roadmap for a deep run when they get there.

The Yankees rotation has been best in show all season, entering Monday with a major league-leading 13.4 fWAR. And that is despite missing Cole for the first two months as he finished off his Tommy John rehab, then missing Fried for another two-plus months with a left elbow bone bruise.

But they have taken it to another level of late — coinciding with Fried’s return from the injured list to join Cole, Schlittler, Ryan Weathers and Will Warren as Carlos Rodón now works his way back again — allowing one or no runs in nine of their past 12 starts and 12 of their past 17 (and two or fewer runs in 10 of 12 and 13 of 17).

At a time when their lineup is struggling mightily to push runs across, the Yankees starters are the biggest reason why this stretch has not destroyed them, even if they waste the occasional gem like Schlittler’s seven innings of one-run ball Sunday.

“It’s tough, but that’s the reality of where we are right now,” manager Aaron Boone said. “But also, it’s a big reason why I have the highest of hopes for our club still. Because I feel like the guy that takes the ball every day [gives us a strong chance to win] — and we have the ability to close out games, and I still fully believe that we are going to continue to get better offensively.

“But obviously we need to be the team we hope and expect.”

Assuming the Yankees can keep the trio healthy, when is the last time they have entered the postseason with a top three as good as Schlittler (2.21 ERA), Cole (3.35) and Fried (2.88)? That is the current AL Cy Young favorite, a recent AL Cy Young winner and a lefty who has the seventh-lowest ERA (2.86) in the majors since the start of 2025 among pitchers who have thrown at least 250 innings in that span.

Their best trio of starters entering a postseason under Boone may have been 2022, when they rolled out Cole, Luis Severino and Nestor Cortes. Before that, the last time they had at least three starters with a 3.65 ERA or lower across 100-plus innings during the regular season (which Schlittler, Fried and Cole are on track to do) was 1998, when David Cone, Orlando Hernández and David Wells fronted the rotation.

In between, they led with CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte on the way to their last title in 2009; Mike Mussina, Pettitte, Roger Clemens and Wells on the way to the World Series in 2003; Clemens, Pettitte, Mussina and Wells in 2002; Clemens, Pettitte and Mussina on the way to the World Series in 2001; and Clemens, Pettitte and Hernández on the way to titles in 1999 and 2000.

Of course, terrific regular seasons from Schlittler, Fried and Cole will mean little unless they can make them mean something in the postseason like those trios from the glory days.

For now, though, the rotation’s success continues to give the Yankees hope for October, especially because their recent run of dominance has come against teams mostly in playoff position and some of the best lineups in the game.

Since July 6, Yankees starters have pitched to a 2.91 ERA in 29 games — the second-lowest ERA in that span (to the Tigers’ 2.50) and the highest fWAR (4.9 to the Tigers’ 3.9). During that stretch, they have faced the AL East-leading Rays, the Nationals (most runs scored in the majors), the NL West-leading Dodgers (No. 4 in runs), the Pirates (No. 3 in runs), the Phillies, the AL Central-leading White Sox (No. 8 in runs), the Cubs (No. 2 in runs), the Cardinals and the NL East-leading Braves (No. 6 in runs). Largely because of their pitching, they have gone 17-12 in that span, filled with tight, low-scoring games.

“At the moment, those guys got to be almost perfect for us to be in the ballgame,” Austin Wells said, “and they have been, which has been incredible.”

Mets prospect Mitch Voit has been on some tear since being promoted to Double-A. 

Voit has quickly settled in as one of the main table-setters atop Binghamton's new-look lineup, earning himself back-to-back Eastern League Player of the Week honors. 

New York's first-round pick in last year's draft has reached safely in all 11 games up at the new level thus far, and he's recorded a hit in all but two of those. 

Easily his most impressive showing came on Thursday night, when he tied the Binghamton single-game franchise record for hits (five) and runs scored (five) in their 23-3 victory. 

That effort helped him rack up an impressive .611 AVG, .682 OBP, .778 SLG, and 1.460 OPS. 

Voit also doubled three times, swiped as many bases, drew four walks, drove in four runs, and scored nine of his own. 

The 21-year-old already climbed up to the organization's fifth-ranked prospect on Joe DeMayo's midseason list, and he figures to only continue rising if he's able to keep this up the rest of the way. 

As noted by DeMayo, the Mets helped Voit rework his swing last offseason, and thus far the results have followed. 

No question, the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres could face one another in October. The Brewers come to town having won seven of their last 10 games. The Padres have an opportunity to take down one of the National League heavyweights in this three-game series. 

Currently, the Brew Crew hold the best record in baseball (77-44) and lead the NL Central by five-and-a-half games over the Chicago Cubs. They’re expected to make the playoffs as either a division winner or a Wild Card berth holder. The Brewers hope to continue being baseball’s road warriors with a 33-22 record away from home. 

The Padres are playing their best stretch of baseball (won 12 of their last 16 games) in 2026. It has put them in the chase for the final Wild-Card berth. However, the club faces a tremendous challenge ahead. If the Friars win this series, the national media must finally recognize them as a genuine postseason contender.

Both lineups can mash

Usually, pitching dominates a big series, but this three-game set could be highlighted by each team’s bats.

The Brewers have a quality lineup, especially at the top of the order. Brian Turang and Jackson Chourio have formed a lethal 1-2 punch. Turang is the prototypical leadoff hitter in today’s baseball; he can hit for power (27 doubles, three triples, and 16 home runs) and steal a base late in a close game. Chourio is in the midst of a hot streak (10-36 with 4 HRs) over the last 10 games. 

Boasting a balanced attack, the team is currently hitting .253 with 109 home runs, 585 runs scored, and 117 stolen bases this season. While they continue to produce, the lineup is waiting for the return of Sal Frelick, who took a major step by beginning his minor league rehab assignment this past weekend.

We have discussed endlessly how the Padres offense has been MIA for most of the season. However, since the All-Star break, the lineup ranks among the top 10 in several key hitting categories, including team batting average, runs scored, and OPS. During this stretch, the lineup is hitting .272 and outscoring their opponents by 11 runs. 

The Friars have five players (Manny Machado (23), Jackson Merrill (18), Ty France (16), Gavin Sheets (15), and Fernando Tatis Jr. (11) who have hit 10 or more home runs. The team is hitting .236 with 124 home runs and 497 runs scored for the season.

The series could come down to which pitching staff can quiet their opponent’s bats. Good news for the Padres: they will miss NL Cy Young Award favorite Jacob Misiorowski in this three-game set.

Taking the mound: Logan Henderson (MIL) vs Casey Mize (SD)

The Brewers will send Logan Henderson (6-1, 2.70 ERA) out to the mound, as he has won three consecutive starts. However, the 2026 season did not start that way; Henderson failed to make the Opening Day roster. His Triple-A numbers (2-0, 1.50 ERA) were outstanding, but a back injury prevented him from being called up. 

He is enjoying a breakout campaign. Henderson has struck out 62 batters in 50.0 innings. Opponents are hitting .201 against him in 10 starts. His success is limiting hard-hit balls, as Henderson’s rate is an astounding 34.6%. 

Exciting night for Casey Mize (4-7, 3.40 ERA), who is making his first start as a Padre at Petco Park. You always want to make a good first impression, but that was not the case for Mize. He struggled against Arizona; the Diamondbacks roughed him up for eight runs on nine hits over 3.1 innings last week. 

This was a rare occurrence for Mize in 2026. His statistical numbers show he pitches well enough to give his team a chance to win the contest. Mize has allowed only 76 hits in 90.0 innings pitched this season. 

Today’s lineups

The St. Louis Cardinals begin a crucial 3-game homestand against the Philadelphia Phillies Monday night at Busch Stadium. Hunter Dobbins gets the start for the Cardinals while the Phillies will give the ball to Andrew Painter who’s returning from hamstring issues. First pitch is scheduled for 6:45pm central time and the game broadcast will be available through Cardinals.tv.

The Dodgers’ slumping bullpen is getting an infusion of new blood.

The team is calling up reliever Seth Halvorsen from triple-A, a source confirmed on Monday, adding the hard-throwing right-hander to its big-league roster less than a month after he was acquired in a trade with the Colorado Rockies.

A 26-year-old with three seasons of MLB experience and a fastball that routinely tops 100 mph, Halvorsen got the promotion following six scoreless with triple-A Oklahoma City.

He returns to the majors for the first time since late June, when the Rockies placed him on the injured list with shoulder inflammation after he posted a 4.74 ERA in 21 outings to begin the season. In his career, he has a 4.31 ERA with 66 strikeouts in 71 innings.

The Athletic first reported the news of his call-up.

Halvorsen’s initially arrived in the organization last month via what was a minor transaction at the time, when the Dodgers sent a pair of prospects (pitcher Nick Frasso and outfielder Landyn Vidourek) to the Rockies two weeks before the trade deadline.

Since then, though, the former seventh-round draft pick has flashed impressive stuff at the triple-A level, striking out eight of the 25 batters he has faced.

And now, he joins a Dodgers bullpen that has been in need of reinforcements, especially with top right-handers such as Edwin Díaz and Evan Phillips both scuffling in their return from injuries, and several other veteran options, including Blake Treinen and Brock Stewart, both sidelined on the injured list.

TONIGHT’S GAME: The first-place Astros continue their six-game road trip with the opener of a three-game series at Oracle Park.

RHP Hayden Wesneski (2-0) will make his third start of the season since returning from Tommy John surgery, opposite RHP Blade Tidwell (0-0) and the Giants.

THE TURNAROUND: After a slow start to the season, the Astros are 40-28 since May 22, which is the second best record in the AL in that span.

On that date, the Astros were 20-31, 11 games under, which is their low water mark for the season.

THAT’S OFFENSIVE: The Astros lead the AL in SLG (.415), and OPS (.735), while ranking second in home runs (161), OBP (.321) and hits (983).

In the Majors, the Astros rank third in homers, trailing only the Nationals (171) and Yankees (167).

BIG WES: After missing 14 months with injury, RHP Hayden Wesneski has recorded consecutive winning decisions in two starts in his return to Major League action.

Logged a quality start last Tuesday vs. the Blue Jays (2ER/6IP), marking his longest start since tossing 6.0 innings on April 13, 2025 vs. LAA.

Earned the win in his season debut on July 29 at LAA (3ER/5.2IP)…this solid start to the season has continued a strong run for Wesneski, who was great in his rehab appearances, posting a 2.25 (5ER/20IP) combined ERA in five minor league rehab starts.

Has faced the Giants six times (3 starts) in his career, his second-most appearances vs. an opponent, trailing only the Reds (7g).

AYA IN ACTION: The Astros Nike RBI Softball Team recorded a 6-3 win today over the defending champion Detroit Nike RBI Softball Team in day one of the 2026 Nike RBI Softball World Series in Vero Beach, FL.

The team’s next game will be at 7:45 a.m. CT tomorrow vs. either Softball Beyond Borders Nike RBI or Roberto Clemente Nike RBI.

The Astros Nike RBI Softball Team, which has won five Nike RBI World Series Softball Championship, is making its 12th appearance in the Nike RBI Softball World Series.

ROAD WARRIORS: The Astros continue a six-game West Coast road-trip with the opener of three-game series at Oracle Park, the club’s first trip to the venue since a three-game series from June 10-12, 2024.

Houston has gone 23-15 (.605) on their last five road trips and are 29-21 (.580) on the road since going 1-9 on their first road trip of the season.

Houston is 30-30 overall on the road in 2026.

YESTERDAY’S GAME: The Houston Astros dropped the rubber match of their series vs. the Padres with a 7-2 loss at Petco Park on Sunday Night Baseball.

CF Daulton Varsho belted a two-run homer in the second inning, his first home run as an Astro, to account for all of the club’s scoring.

LF Taylor Trammell (1×3) singled in front of Varsho’s homer to account for the club’s only other hit of the evening.

RHP Cristian Javier (4ER/5IP) was handed the losing decision, making his 2nd consecutive turn in the rotation.

ROSTER MOVES: The Astros have claimed OF Nelson Velázquez off waivers from the Cardinals…Velázquez, 27, has played in 34 games for the Cardinals this season and 228 career games at the Major League level, also appearing with Cubs (2022-23) and Royals (2023-24).

Velázquez owns a career .739 OPS vs. left-handed pitching in the Majors.

To make room for Velázquez on the 40-man roster, the Astros designated IF Shay Whitcomb for assignment.

THE LINEUP: The Astros have used 117 different lineups in their 119 games, repeating a lineup just twice on the season.

DH Yordan Alvarez has the most starts at any spot in the lineup among Astros, hitting second 106 times.

VS. THE GIANTS: The Astros have a long history with the Giants, having played them 741 times, their second-most against a single opponent, trailing only the Reds (860g).

The Giants recorded a three-game sweep in the last series between the clubs from March 31-April 2, 2025, at Daikin Park.

This will mark the Astros’ first trip to Oracle Park since June 10-12, 2024 (Giants went 2-1).

The Astros have a pair of players who spent portions of their Major League careers with the Giants in LHP Steven Okert (2016-18) and OF LaMonte Wade Jr. (2021-25).

MVP-CALIBER: Yordan Alvarez leads the AL in all three Triple Crown categories, ranking first in batting average (.322), HR (35), and RBI (86).

Additionally, he leads MLB in OPS (1.060), OBP (.435), SLG (.624), and TB (266).

In the AL, he ranks first in hits (137), extra-base hits (59), and runs (79), and second in walks (82).

MR. RELIABLE: LHP Steven Okert has recorded a 2.20 ERA (14ER/57.1IP) with 59 strikeouts, 12 walks, a 0.87 WHIP and a .189 opponent batting average in 57 appearances, including one start this season.

Among AL relievers, he ranks first in WHIP (0.81), second in appearances (56), second in H/9 (5.56), second in opponent batting average (.179), fifth in opponent OPS (.546) and seventh in ERA (2.06).

T-TIME: OF Taylor Trammell has been stellar since the club’s road trip to CWS and LAA in late July and has posted a 1.009 OPS (.404 OBP/.605 SLG) with 10 runs, one double, four home runs, eight RBI and seven walks in his last 11 games (since July 26 at CWS).

His 1.009 OPS since July 26 ranks third among AL players in that span (min. 45 PA).

THREES COMPANY: 2B Jose Altuve enters tonight’s game with 224 career games of 3+ hits, which is just one game of 3+ hits from tying Hall of Famer Craig Biggio (225) for the most in Astros franchise history.

Altuve has multiple hits in six of his last 11 games (since July 28 at LAA), batting .349 (15×43) with an .846 OPS in that span.

ON THE DEFENSIVE: 1B Christian Walker has not commited an error in his 113 games at first base this season, which is the longest errorless streak in the Majors this season.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Monday, August 10, 8:45 p.m. CT

Location: Oracle Park, San Francisco, CA

TV: Space City Home Network

Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)

The Orioles will face a familiar face tonight in Minnesota. Dean Kremer will make his second start for the Twins after spending over six seasons in Baltimore.

The outcome of tonight’s game feels significant. The offense let Shane Baz and Kyle Bradish down over the weekend but broke out for 10 runs on Sunday. The team can take another step forward with a strong performance this evening, but failing to hit Kremer would serve another blow to a struggling lineup.

Gunnar Henderson will look to breakout of a season-long slump in the leadoff spot. He’ll be followed by first baseman Pete Alonso and second baseman Jackson Holliday. Tyler O’Neill will bat cleanup and serve as the DH against the right-handed Kremer.

Dylan Beavers, Colton Cowser and Leody Taveras will make up the outfield. Coby Mayo will look to build on a impressive stretch at third base, and Carlos Narváez will catch Trevor Rogers.

Rogers will look to best his old teammate, but there’s more on the line than just bragging rights. The Twins enter the series a half game above the Orioles in the race for the third wild card spot. The Orioles trail Texas by two games after dropping two out of three over the weekend.

You can read more about the series in Minnesota here.

Orioles lineup:

1. Gunnar Henderson SS
2. Pete Alonso 1B
3. Jackson Holliday 2B
4. Tyler O’Neill DH
5. Dylan Beavers LF
6. Leody Taveras RF
7. Coby Mayo 3B
8. Colton Cowser CF
9. Carlos Narváez C

Starter: LHP Trevor Rogers