SEATTLE, WA - AUGUST 09: Ian Seymour #61 of the Tampa Bay Rays pitches during the game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on Sunday, August 9, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Eric Hiller/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Rays swept the Seattle Mariners with death by a thousand cuts on Sunday, dominating the Mariners who had the look of a team ready to go home, tallying 14 hits on a sunny day in the pacific northwest.
Hicks proved his worth when the Rays had runners on the corners in the sixth inning and the Mariners opted to intentionally walk Junior Caminero to load the bases and hope for an easy groundball. Normally this might expose the small-ball elements of the Rays offense, but with Hicks hitting fourth there is protection in a way the AL leaders in wins did not have before the deadline.
Hicks sliced it the other way, scoring two as former Rays star Randy Arozarena seemingly jogged over to the ball.
Ian Seymour, in his fourteenth career start, settled in against the Mariners, allowing one early run but otherwise cruising through six full innings, taking the burden off the bullpen that had to cover for Griffin Jax’s elbow injury before yesterday’s game, and allowing him to overcome the blemish from July 12 where hi allowed six runs and only picked up ten outs.
With those demons excised, Seymour struck out seven:
Since stretching into a starter’s workload on June 20, Seymour has a 3.46 ERA and 3.09 FIP with a 31.1% strikeout rate and 5.3% walk rate. That amounts to a contribution of 1.3 fWAR, which is 15th highest among all pitchers as of that same date, and his K-BB% ranks ninth.
Cam Booser, Casey Legumina and veteran Steven Matz — who picked up the save! — cruised through the final nine outs, allowing just one hit combined. Matz worked his sinker more than 70% of the ninth, needing only an occasional change to cruise through his second day of relief work in a row on 14 pitches.
Other Notes:
Yandy Diaz had his fourteenth career four-hit game, listen to his post-game interview here.
Rays No. 14 Chandler Simpson also picked up four hits on the day, with his only missed opportunity to get on base coming just before Caminero’s intentional walk in the sixth
Your moment of zen: Simpson lives rent free
Josh Naylor, doing headsy stuff again to get the speedy Chandler Simpson off the bases. pic.twitter.com/BtqPN1F0x1
Aug 9, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers second baseman Nicky Lopez (33) hits a triple during the ninth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Good morning.
Shawn McFarland writes about what we’ve learned about the Texas Rangers over the last week as they climbed their way back to .500.
Jeff Wilson writes that the Rangers couldn’t complete a sweep of Baltimore on Sunday but they enjoyed a successful homestand to remain contenders.
Evan Grant writes that it was a mental lapse that started Kumar Rocker on the path to a bad outing in Sunday’s finale loss.
Kennedi Landry writes that the Rangers are hoping to ride more positive vibes as they take on a couple of AL West rivals this week.
ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 11: Michael Harris II #23 of the Atlanta Braves bunts during extra innings of the MLB game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies on April 11, 2025 at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
I don’t know if this weekend actually had an unusual volume of extra-inning games, but with the Braves engaged in two, it sure felt like it.
The free runner extra inning rules have never sat all that well with me. To the extent that long extra-inning games were a problem, there were more than a handful of other solutions I’d have preferred. But, I think everyone involved generally prefers this form of aggressive shortening, so it’s probably not going anywhere in the near term. That creates its own weird discontinuity given that the rule suddenly disappears in the playoffs, but this doesn’t seem to perturb MLB, so it is what it is.
My question is whether you think that we’ll ever get to a point where the current extra-inning “rule” goes away. On the one hand, never say never. On the other hand, I’m not really sure what would force anyone’s hand regarding extra innings. What do you think?
Aug 9, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk (30) tags out Philadelphia Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs (21) at home during the eleventh inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Phillies found themselves in two extra innings games over the weekend, and they seemed to deploy a new strategy. Multiple times in yesterday’s contest, Don Mattingly elected to have his players attempt to bunt the ghost runner over to give the Phillies a chance to score the run without needing a base hit.
The first attempt came in the bottom of the tenth, when Bryson Stott successfully bunted what would have been the winning run in J.T. Realmuto to third base after the Blue Jays stranded their ghost runner in the top half of the inning. This is despite Stott coming into the game as one of the hottest Phillies hitters, hitting .409 since the start of August with a 1.185 OPS. He did his job moving the runner over with the bunt, but Toronto then elected to intentionally walk Brandon Marsh to face Alec Bohm who has struggled with hitting into double plays. He didn’t do that here, but he didn’t get the run in either, as Bohm popped out to foul territory. Then with two outs, Derek Hill lined out to strand the runners.
The Phillies attempted another bunt in the 11th inning in a similar situation. Their bullpen held the Blue Jays scoreless in the top half of the inning again and gave them another chance to win the game by scoring the ghost runner. Kyle Schwarber was intentionally walked to begin the inning to put runners on first and second and Trea Turner attempted a bunt. His was not as successful as Stott’s, as it was popped back to the pitcher Braydon Fisher. However, Fisher dropped the ball but recovered enough to throw Hill out at third, essentially having the Phillies waste an out to have the same scenario they had before the bunt but with one out. Bryce Harper then drew a walk to load the bases before Luis Arraez hit a shallow fly ball to right fielder Jesús Sánchez who gunned down the pinch runner Garrett Stubbs at home for a double play to end the inning.
Finally, the Phillies bunted again to lead off the 12th, this time down a run after their bullpen could not keep Toronto’s ghost runner off the board. This was the most successful of the three, as Realmuto’s bunt ended up being a base hit that put runners on the corners with no outs. Stott then singled in the tying run before Hill drove in the game winning run three batters later.
Bunting with the ghost runner has its own positives and negatives. If you are successful, it allows you to score the run without a base hit. However, even if you are successful in sacrificing, it essentially gives you one less chance to score because you are giving away an out. So, what do you think about bunting the ghost runner over in extra innings?
The road to the MLB playoffs is more crowded than ever as the sprint to October picks up.
While division leaders continue to jockey for position, the biggest drama is unfolding in the wild card races, where contenders are fighting for the last of the postseason berths. Several clubs remain separated by only a handful of games, which makes every series crucial.
Here's the latest playoff picture, updated with MLB wild card standings and the teams on each side of the postseason cut line heading into action on Monday, Aug. 10.
MLB playoff picture: Who would make playoffs if season ended today?
Last half of intraleague games: These are the records from intraleague games after the All-Star break.
Last half of intraleague games plus one: Previous intraleague game on the schedule before All-Star break is used and process is repeated until tie is resolved.
When do MLB playoffs start?
The first day of the MLB postseason is expected to be Tuesday, Sept. 29, two days after the regular season ends. The dates for the division series and championship series have yet to be determined, but the World Series is set to begin Friday, Oct. 23. If necessary, Game 7 of the World Series will be on Halloween (Saturday, Oct. 31).
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 09: Kumar Rocker #80 of the Texas Rangers throws a pitch during a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Globe Life Field on August 09, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Orioles 10, Rangers 5
Well that was unpleasant.
Kumar Rocker had an outing that felt very 2025 from Rocker.
A mental error leading to runs, a pair of homers allowed, the hook coming out early in the game.
Its so frustrating, because every time you think Rocker has turned the corner, one of these games occurs.
Rocker should have been out of the first with no runs allowed.
After a Pete Alonso single and Jackson Holliday double put runners at second and third with one out in the first, Rocker got Tyler O’Neill swinging. Dylan Beavers followed with a hard hit grounder down the line at first that Jake Burger made a nice play on.
It should have been an inning-ending 3-1 putout…only Rocker, once again, did not cover first. So instead of being out of the inning it was an RBI infield single, with Leody Taveras following with a double to make it 2-0 Baltimore.
Two homers the next inning, accounting for five runs, made the game somewhat lopsided and un-fun from then on.
We did get to see the 2026 debut of Jordan Montgomery. The concerns about his velocity continue to be borne out, as Montgomery averaged 90.4 mph with his fastball and 89.5 mph with his sinker in the 79 pitch appearance. As a point of reference, he averaged 92.1 mph and 91.8 mph on his fastball and sinker, respectively, in 2024, and 93.2 mph and 93.3 mph in 2023.
I want Jordan Montgomery to make it back and succeed, but if he’s throwing 3 mph slower than he was in 2023, he’s got questionable value even as a long man.
Montgomery gave up three runs in four innings of work, including a pair of homers, one of which scored the Kumar Rocker walk that Montgomery inherited. Honestly, it felt a little fortunate Montgomery only allowed three.
Cole Winn pitched the final two innings and didn’t do much to make you feel good about how he’s going, as he walked three and allowed two hits, walking in a run, and avoiding more damage by getting two Ks and a fly out to escape further damage in a bases loaded, no one out situation in the ninth.
Texas had some chances early — there were two on with one out in the second, and a Brandon Nimmo two out, three run homer in the third shifted momentum and seemingly got the team back into it before Baltimore piled on more runs. They put a pair on in the fourth and in the sixth but didn’t score, until finally scraping across a couple of runs in the ninth on a Cam Cauley walk, a Nicky Lopez triple, and an RBI groundout.
Too little, too late, with too many wasted opportunities. 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one being the Nimmo homer.
Unfortunate.
On the plus side, Houston lost, so Texas is just a half game back in the West. Cleveland and Minnesota also lost, keeping them 1.5 games back in the Wild Card chase, though Detroit won, and so the Tigers are now just a game back of Texas.
Kumar Rocker hit 96.8 mph with his fastball, averaging 95.1 mph. Jordan Montgomery’s fastball hit 91.6 mph. Cole Winn touched 97.2 mph with his fastball.
Brandon Nimmo had a 107.1 mph home run. Justin Foscue had a 104.1 mph single. Ezequiel Duran had a 102.4 mph groundout. Jake Burger had a 100.8 mph single.
There has been a lot of talk about Dana Brown over the last week and rightfully so. He is on the chopping block and what was done or not done at the deadline will go a long way in determining whether he will be back in 2027 or not. I already commented about the issues he had to deal with at the deadline. However, I have tried to remain as even-handed as possible.
All trades have to be evaluated on a number of different levels. We now know that the Astros also got 1.7 million dollars in addition to getting Daulton Varsho. Essentially, that kept them from surpassing the tax threshold and depending on how you feel about Spencer Arrighetti’s future, the deal looks like a win. If you believe that Arrighetti had no real future in the organization then you were getting something for nothing. Those are always wins in the strictest sense.
However, that is not the only way to evaluate a trade. Another way to evaluate a trade is to ask what could have been possible at the same price. Supposedly, the Astros could have had Dylan Cease for Arrighetti and three prospects the previous season. How good were those prospects? Would that have been a better haul? Could Arrighetti been involved in another deal for another outfielder this season? We will never know the answer to those questions.
One of the charges that we did not address in the last piece was Brown’s preoccupation with specific players and specific profiles. His crusade for a lefty bat has been long documented, but it could also be said that he targets specific players. He admitted to scouting Lamont Wade Jr. for three years. He also alluded to the fact that he had been in on Varsho for awhile as well. Sometimes, we can be blinded when we become obsessed with certain players. In both cases, you could claim that their best days were behind them. Obviously, Wade has done some good things in Houston and the book has not been written yet on Varsho.
However, in this piece we will look at the obsession with getting a lefty bat. Is that really what the Astros outfield needed? We know Yordan Alvarez famously hits both righties and lefties. Those hitters are rare and they are paid top dollar for that ability. Most hitters struggle against one or the other. We can look at splits for this season and for their career. There are positives and negatives to focusing on one over the other.
When we look at this season we are looking at the here and now. One of the points I have made is that I start to look at numbers around Memorial Day. Each season exists on its own as a living and breathing thing and managers get burned when they focus on the “back of the baseball card.” Yet, some of these players have limited plate appearances. For instance, Wade has fewer than ten plate appearances against lefties this season. So, looking at those splits for him should be taken with a grain of salt. So, we will focus on career numbers. We will start against righties and then move to lefties. Pay close to attention to what these numbers say.
SLASH numbers against righties
AVG
OBP
SLG
OPS
Cam Smith
.227
.293
.348
.641
Jake Meyers
.227
.296
.341
.637
Taylor Trammel
.256
.343
.442
.785
Daulton Varsho
.220
.294
.436
.730
Brice Matthews
.204
.261
.358
.619
Zach Dezenzo
.204
.250
.265
.515
Joey Loperfido
.249
.308
.406
.714
Laont Wade Jr
.241
.349
.409
.758
The Astros have no shortage of outfielders and most of their outfielders are capable of playing multiple positions. The good news is that this allows them to mix and match to put the optimum group out there both offensively and defensively. Obviously, some of it works both ways. Smith is a Gold Glove level right fielder, so even though his OPS against righties is worse than most, you do get some positive value from putting him in the game. Still, if the league average OPS is .720 (as it is this season) then the Astros are capable of putting four guys out there that are close to or above the league average in OPS.
Wade cannot play in center, but the other three can play all three outfield positions. Wade can play in left field, right field, or first base. So, if you are looking strictly for offense then some combination of those four outfielders should be in the game against right handed pitching. Naturally, that means sitting Cam Smith on most nights, but every team has these choices. It represents the difference between perception and reality and it goes to evaluating whether a manager is really putting his best nine out there often enough. Let’s see what happens against lefties.
SLASH numbers against lefties
AVG
OBP
SLG
OPS
Cam Smith
.236
.333
.444
.777
Jake Meyers
.257
.312
.407
.719
Taylor Trammel
.115
.207
.192
.399
Daulton Varsho
.256
.308
.372
.680
Brice Matthews
.171
.215
.341
.556
Zach Dezenzo
.196
.286
.304
.590
Joey Loperfido
.203
.267
.253
.520
Lamont Wade
.195
.292
.252
.544
So, you have two guys here producing at a league average clip or better in their careers against lefties. Varsho isn’t terrible considering he is left-handed, but it seems like the Astros outfield is a little heavily slanted to the left side already. So why were we continuing to look for left handed hitters? I mentioned the concept of opportunity costs earlier. Maybe you cannot acquire multiple guys with the assets you had. Maybe you were only able to acquire one outfielder. Let’s compare Varsho above with Taylor Ward that went from the Orioles to the Mariners.
The Mariners traded two prospects and a relief pitcher. Both prospects were outside of the Mariners top 30 according to MLB.com. Obviously, we have no way of knowing whether they would have had any interest in Arrighetti. However, if we assume he is more valuable than the reliever that went the other way then we could surmise that the Astros could have made such a deal while throwing in one prospect outside their top 30. Let’s look at the career numbers for Ward.
AVG
OBP
SLG
OPS
Against RHP
.235
.326
.412
.738
Against LHP
.280
.363
.462
.825
The numbers aren’t quite as good this season against righties, but has been as good against lefties as the career numbers would indicate. Plus, he leads the league in walks so he would be a more appropriate player to put towards the top of the order than Varsho. However, Brown had to get his white whale. He had to get his lefty bat even if that wasn’t what the Astros really needed.
The best way to characterize the criticism of Brown is not to criticize what he did. The vast majority of his moves either worked out or made overwhelming sense at the time they were made. Varsho is likely more positive than negative as well. However, he clearly has failed to do things he said himself that he wanted to do. He also has failed to address deficiencies because he has been hyper-focused on the wrong things. This outfield needed a righty bat to balance it and the numbers above demonstrate that.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - AUGUST 09: Chandler Simpson #14 of the Tampa Bay Rays comes home to score during the sixth inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on August 09, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jack Compton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Sigh. Cam Schlittler goes seven innings, allows only one run to a pretty potent Braves lineup, the bullpen gets six scoreless outs, and the Yankees lose. “You can’t predict baseball, Suzyn.“ Also though. Baseball can be profoundly dumb sometimes.
To make matters worse, the Rays won again. That puts the Yanks 5.5 games back of first in the AL East. And even though the Red Sox lost on Sunday—a surprising Fenway series loss against a bad team—objects in the rear view mirror are closer than they should be considering how awful they were for all but 37 games or so this season. The Beantown Boys lurk 1.5 games behind New York in the Wild Card race. Awful, awful turn of events on the whole.
Tampa Bay Rays (71-46) 4, Seattle Mariners (56-63)
Oh Seattle. What happened to you? Sunday, the M’s managed to get on the board first, thanks to a Taylor Ward triple and an RBI single from Cole Young. But it was all downhill from there. Rays starter Ian Seymour completely shut down the Seattle offense, going six innings and allowing the lone run on his ledger.
Offensively, Chandler Simpson wreaked havoc for Tampa Bay. Not your grandpappy’s No. 3 hitter, Simpson held down that spot in the lineup today. Four hits later, he raised his season average to .304. Considering his .850 OPS in the last 30 games, it’s hard to argue with that lineup placement. Simpson was not alone either. Yandy Díaz notched a quartet of knocks of his own. All told, the top three hitters in the Rays lineup went 9-for-15 on the day. Runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings gave Tampa the lead and they cruised to the win. As an aside, “Mariners Memes” has to be one of the saddest accounts on social media. Be kind to your Mariners fans friends. They are going through it.
Boston Red Sox (64-53) 3, The Athletics (47-71) 4: A hearty “thank you, kindly” to the lowly A’s, who went into Fenway this weekend and took a series from the incandescently hot Red Sox. Sunday, it was a late comeback that got the job done. Trailing 3-2 in the eighth with two outs, Jonah Heim stepped to the plate for the A’s. His double to left field knotted the score and set the stage for heroics. In the ninth, with old “friend” Aroldis Chapman on the mound and a runner on, Max Muncy clubbed an RBI double of his own. That scored what ended up being the winning run, handing Boston what is a rare loss these days. You love to see it.
Houston Astros (60-59) 2, San Diego Padres (62-57) 7: With Seattle stuck in the mud at seven games under .500 and four games back, the AL West looks to be shaping up as a two-horse race between the two Texas clubs. Houston’s loss Sunday keeps them a mere half-game up on the Rangers, who also fell to the Orioles. Former Yankee Randy Vásquez, sent to the Dads in the Trent Grisham trade, started for San Diego and other than surrendering a two-run home run to Daulton Varsho in the first pitched very well. Meanwhile, it was home run derby at the dish for the Padres, with four different hitters going yard. Fernando Tatis Jr. provided the key blast, with his three-run shot giving San Diego a lead they never surrendered.
Chicago White Sox (61-56) 5, Cleveland Guardians (58-61) 3: It’s early August and the Chicago White Sox are still atop the AL Central. Who woulda thunk it? Sunday, they really did themselves a favor taking down divisional foe Cleveland. A prolonged rain delay (2:23) meant this became a battle of the bullpens. The ChiSox were up to the task. They bookended the contest giving up a lone run in the first and ninth innings. But that was all. And in the third, Colson Montgomery provided all the thump Chicago needed with a three-run home run, his 26th of the season.
Perhaps most surprising of all about the wacky AL Central: second place is not occupied by Cleveland or even Minnesota; they’re both four back of Chicago. In fact, it’s the now the Tigers, who despite throwing in the towel by trading not only Tarik Skubal but also Casey Mize have suddenly won seven of nine and trail the Pale Hose by 3.5 games. Detroit is also the closest team to the Rangers for the last Wild Card spot, one game behind (for those curious, the Yanks are seven ahead of Texas). Could they be channeling the Tigers club from two years back in going from deadline sellers to a last-minute playoff berth? In this underwhelming American League field, why the hell not?
PITTSBURGH, PA - AUGUST 09: Jack Weisenburger #82 of the New York Mets talks to the media following his MLB debut during the game between the New York Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on Sunday, August 9, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Christopher Denver/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Meet the Mets
Having resigned themselves to the inevitability of loss and anguish for 2026, the Mets have suddenly stopped losing.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 06: Dustin May #21 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the sixth inning at American Family Field on August 06, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to week 20 of our 2026 NL Central Power Rankings — let’s rank some teams!
1. Milwaukee Brewers (74-44); 5-2 this week; 100.0% chance to make postseason (FanGraphs)
The Brewers went 5-2 at home this week, taking three of four from the Pirates before winning two of three against the Twins.
Jackson Chourio anchored the offense with four homers and seven walks this week, driving in five. Andrew Vaughn led the team with six RBIs while also homering, and Brice Turang led the team with eight hits, driving in five.
Kyle Harrison made the best start of the week in his return from the IL, totaling five scoreless with 10 strikeouts before being removed due to cramps. Aaron Ashby added to his win total with five scoreless innings over four appearances this week, striking out 11, while Trevor Megill, Chad Patrick, Garrett Stallings, Abner Uribe, and Bryse Wilson also had scoreless weeks.
Milwaukee now heads back to California, as they’ll face the Padres for three games and the Dodgers for four games over the next week.
2. Chicago Cubs (69-50); 6-1 this week; 98.9% chance to make postseason
The Cubs had a solid week against some solid opponents, sweeping the Dodgers at home, beating the Blue Jays in a makeup game on Thursday, and winning two of three against the Royals in Kansas City over the weekend.
Pete Crow-Armstrong and Ian Happ both slugged a pair of homers this week, with PCA and Michael Busch (who also homered) tying for the team lead with 10 hits apiece. Eight other Cubs had a homer this week, too.
Just about every starter with the exception of Clay Holmes had a good week, as Matthew Boyd, Kevin Gausman, Javier Assad, Shota Imanaga, and David Peterson went a combined 4-0 with 11 earned runs across 37 1/3 innings (2.65 ERA). Tyler Ferguson, Ryan Rolison, Trent Thornton, Jake Woodford, and Jacob Webb all had scoreless weeks for the bullpen, with Webb picking up a pair of saves.
After an off day on Monday, Chicago will take on the Nationals for three games in Washington before returning home to host the Cardinals over the weekend.
3. Cincinnati Reds (56-61); 3-3 this week; 0.5% chance to make postseason
The dropoff between the Brewers and Cubs and the rest of the division has only gotten more drastic as the season has gone on. The Reds had an OK week, as they swept the A’s at home before being swept by the Nationals in Washington for a .500 week overall.
Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, and Eugenio Suárez each slugged a pair of homers, while Sal Stewart had a team-high six hits, including a homer.
Rhett Lowder turned in the best start of the week, going six solid innings with two runs allowed and three strikeouts. Pierce Johnson, Zach McCambley, Luis Mey, and Emilio Pagán totaled seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts for the bullpen.
Cincinnati gets a day off on Monday before they play the White Sox for three games in Chicago. They’ll then return home to host the Marlins over the weekend.
4. St. Louis Cardinals (59-59); 4-2 this week; 6.7% chance to make postseason
The Cardinals won two of three against both the Yankees and Rockies for a 4-2 week.
Alec Burleson had five hits this week, including a team-high four homers, as he also doubled and drove in seven. Iván Herrera led the team with 10 hits, including a homer and three doubles, driving in four, while Jordan Walker, Jimmy Crooks, and Nathan Church also homered.
Andre Pallante turned in the best start of the week, going 5 1/3 innings with one run allowed and four strikeouts to earn the win. Kyle Leahy (five innings, two earned runs) and Justin Bruihl (4 2/3 innings, one earned run) also had solid weeks, while Caleb Ferguson, Gordon Graceffo, and Riley O’Brien all had scoreless weeks for the bullpen, with O’Brien picking up three saves.
St. Louis now hosts the Phillies for three games before an off day on Thursday. They’ll then head to Wrigley to take on the Cubs over the weekend.
5. Pittsburgh Pirates (58-62); 2-5 this week; 8.2% chance to make postseason
The Pirates had another rough week, losing three of four in Milwaukee before dropping two of three to the Mets over the weekend.
Brandon Lowe and Endy Rodríguez each slugged two homers this week, while Jake Mangum led the team with eight hits, including three doubles and a homer.
Bubba Chandler was the sole bright spot in the rotation, picking up two wins with just three runs allowed (two earned) over 11 2/3 innings, striking out 10. Camilo Doval, Mason Montgomery, Yohan Ramírez, and Luke Weaver combined for 10 1/3 scoreless innings for the bullpen, striking out 15.
After an off day on Monday, the Pirates will visit the Marlins for three games before returning home to host the Red Sox over the weekend.
KANSAS CITY, MO - AUGUST 08: Jac Caglianone #14 of the Kansas City Royals hits a two-run home run in the seventh inning during the game between the Chicago Cubs and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on Saturday, August 8, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Tanner Gatlin/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
“It was great to have Bobby back, first and foremost, and to be healthy,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “I was really happy to be able to put him in there today. Jac, obviously, had a huge day [Saturday], and we saw a lot of mature at-bats from him throughout the homestand.”
There’s no doubt that the Royals have a lot of work to do this offseason to remake their pitching staff, add to the offense and get back to competing in ‘27, which they’ve stated is their goal. The reason why just played out in front of us this week: Witt is a star, Caglianone is emerging as one, and those two anchor a core the Royals believe they can win with right now.
“I thought from a pitching standpoint, it was one of my better outings,” Dobnak said. “Some bad luck on some of those weak hits. I was able to get ahead of a lot of the guys. I gave up probably too many two-strike hits than I would like to. But overall, I thought it was decent outing, results aside.”
“Really impressive, literally from left field to right field,” manager Matt Quatraro said, noting Caglianone’s four hits were sprayed to all parts of the field. “Hard-hit, different pitch types. Obviously, we know he’s got huge power, and we saw that throughout the night. He just seemed really calm at the plate throughout the night, and that was a really good sign.”
“I think me and (Royals hitting coach) Marcus (Thames) had a good talk the last couple of days,” Caglianone said. “Just working with him to find the move and really shrinking the zone. And like tonight was a good night of that.”
Caglianone became the seventh Royals player to record four extra-base hits in a game. He is also the first primary Royals outfielder since Alex Gordon (2013) to post 20 homers in a season.
“I was pitching myself out of my role, pitching myself out of the big leagues at that point,” Cameron said. “I was pitching myself into getting optioned. Obviously, we had a lot of injuries and stuff that helped me stay up here, which sucks because I’d rather be pitching well and everyone be healthy. But then they opened for me, and they presented it just like we were changing it up. I understood, but I had a little chip on my shoulder.
“I take everything seriously, but I needed to turn things around and throw better. That doesn’t mean I need to go 23 innings with one run, although that is nice for sure, but I just need to have quality outings to help the team and show them I can pitch here.”
CHICAGO, IL - AUGUST 03: Miguel Rojas #72 of the Los Angeles Dodgers signs autographs prior to the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Monday, August 3, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Kyle Sheridan/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association on Friday announced the 30 Heart and Hustle Award winners, a player from each team who “exemplify a true passion for the game and who best embody the values, spirit and traditions of the game.”
Voted on exclusively by former MLB players, the Dodgers Heart and Hustle Award winner this year is infielder Miguel Rojas. The 13-year veteran who plans to retire at the conclusion of the season and move into a role in the Dodgers’ front office is hitting .268/.326/406 with a 100 wRC+ in 180 plate appearances this season, including .324/.366/.490 with a 135 wRC+ against left-handed pitching.
The longtime shortstop this season has started 22 games at second base, 15 more at shortstop, and twice at third base. This is the third career Heart and Hustle Award for Rojas, who also was honored in 2019 and 2021 with the Miami Marlins.
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Yoshinobu Yamamoto leads the majors averaging 6.63 innings per start, but David Adler at MLB.com notes how Yamamoto is the only one of the top 10 starters by run value to not throw a fastball as his most frequent pitch. Yamamoto through Saturday has thrown his devastating splitter 27.1 percent of the time this season, compared to 26.6 percent for his four-seam fastball.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 08: A general view of Oracle Park during the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Francisco Giants on Friday, May 8, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Good morning, baseball fans!
It’s a new week of San Francisco Giants baseball, so let’s take a look at what’s on deck for the week.
First up, the interleague play continues as the Giants welcome the Houston Astros to Oracle Park tonight to begin a three-game series. After that, the Colorado Rockies come to town on Friday for another three-game series.
I don’t usually intentionally choose the Rockies as the series I’m most interested in for the week. But this season has been weird all around. The Astros are leading the AL West as of the time this is being written, and the Rockies are still in last place in the NL West. So hopefully the Giants can use that series to make sure they stay out of last place themselves.
Which series are you most interested in this week?
What time do the Giants play today?
The Giants begin their series against the Astros tonight at 6:45 p.m. PT.
OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 4: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim makes a diving catch during the game against the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on September 4, 2019 in Oakland, California. The Athletics defeated the Angels 4-0. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images) | Getty Images
“Gabe,” you must be asking: “why are you writing this and why right now?” Excellent question. To be perfectly honest, I would have preferred to save this idea for a later time, but I didn’t actually think of the idea until after I had already watched the original Angels in the Outfield. I watched it mostly because I was curious – by IMDB ratings and the few reviews it has, it suggested it was worth watching. I had seen the remake, but not in at last 20 years. I kind of assumed it would be the same movie, and it wasn’t at all. So I instantly wanted to compare it to the remake, which of course demanded I watch the remake as well. If I waited for a more appropriate time for this post, well I would have to rewatch the original. I liked the original more than I expected, but to use a term from The Ringer – it’s not really a Rewatchable type of movie. So it had to be posted while it was fresh in my mind. Hence the weird timing.
The original (Spoilers if you want to watch it)
The original movie is actually about the Pittsburgh Pirates, because the Angels didn’t actually exist yet. At least not in the majors, pretty sure there was a minor league team named the Angels. The Pirates at the time hadn’t had a winning record since 1948, and the next season they would win 42 games. They wouldn’t have a winning record until the 1958 season. So they picked a perennial loser team to magically turn around.
This movie, especially because I vaguely remembered the remake, has an extremely strange structure. We start by following a reporter, who is of course a beautiful woman played by Janet Leigh. Because 1951 audiences would be very confused about a woman reporter covering baseball, it is of course not her regular beat – I forgot the exact name because this isn’t really a feature of the newspaper anymore, but her normal beat was clearly tailored towards housewives – and she covers the foul-mouthed manager and she has a popular piece lambasting the manager and they have her keep covering the Pirates because of it.
So right off the bat, there’s no reporter equivalent in the remake. I thought we were going to follow the reporter, but the perspective then shifts to the foul-mouthed manager. And I’ll give the movie credit here – them substituting his foul language for indecipherable yelling was a clever way around the Hays Code. Then after another loss, he walks out to the field in the dark, and an angel just starts talking to him, telling him to stop swearing and fighting, and they’ll help him win.
So this is extremely random. The remake has a way better hook, no matter what you think of it. Why are the Angels interested in helping this miserable dude? I guess the ending provides the reason, but there’s kind of still a why this guy quality to the movie. So he listens, they help, a little girl goes to the game one time and claims to see an angel. The press gets involved, and the story blows up. If you have only seen the remake, it will seriously blow your mind how much of a role the press plays in this story. A reporter is one of the three main characters.
Anyway, the manager is kind of mad that the reporter helped blow up the story, but he ends up accidentally confirming he hears angels too after he gets hit in the head by a line drive, clearly concussed. For some odd reason, the hometown announcer with a grudge against the manager for some reason has enough pull to get the manager investigated for his ability to lead the team. This guy got hit in the head by a line drive, and an off-hand comment directly after that happened turns into a full-blown 10-minute hearing (in movie time! I’m sure it was much longer) on basically his sanity. The structure of this movie is really, really bizarre.
The manager ends up seeing the kid a few times, takes a liking to her, the reporter feels bad about blowing up the angel story, so next thing you know, it kind of turns into a family unit. I don’t remember the exact steps it took, but reasonably well done. Except for one small thing. The manager looks like Paul Douglas and the reporter looks like Janet Leigh. You never can quite get over that. I was in disbelief that early 20s Janet Leigh would ever be interested in overweight, foul-mouthed 44-year-old Paul Douglas. Who unfortunately would die at just 52-years-old and not to be too rude to the guy but…. it was not surprising he didn’t have 10 more years on this Earth watching this movie. 44 and 24 isn’t especially heinous to believe, especially at the time, but I have to remind everyone that he does not look like a 44-year-old actor in 2026. He could pass for 60 nowadays easy.
And to be perfectly fair to Douglas, his wife at the time was out of his league, so the real life version of him had ‘game,’ but the way the movie portrays Douglas, that dude would have zero game. Douglas isn’t really miscast and Leigh isn’t really miscast, but the original choice of Clark Cable makes waaaay more sense if you’re going to shoehorn a romance into this. That I can buy. Douglas was borderline too convincing at being a grumpy, mean-spirited loner which again to be fair to him, definitely did a better job than Gable would have on that part. They would have sanded off the edges with Gable. But I would absolutely have zero questions about Gable and Leigh.
And the movie kind of knows this, because boy does it dance around any semblance of romance between the two. She basically just starts cooking for him and the kid and it’s just kind of implied. If it were a modern movie and you filmed it exactly the same way, you would probably assume they were friends or something. There’s not really even a hint that they kissed or anything, except they clearly all live together in the end. This was definitely the right approach given who was cast.
The movies’ baseball scenes are actually kind of great. They had actual baseball players playing baseball. Ralph Kiner and a bunch of real Pirates players you’ve never heard of are really playing baseball. There are cameos from Ty Cobb (before the reporter with a vendetta against him made him poison), minority owner of the Pirates Bing Crosby, and Joe Dimaggio all commenting on the angels helping the Pirates.
Also a strong ending as well, because the angels abandon the Pirates for the last game, because the manager broke his promise about swearing and fighting. So he puts all his faith in a washed up pitcher who has to just gut it out and because it’s 1951, he lets him throw a complete game and it’s interesting how sort of modern the outside commentary is because nobody expects him to throw that many innings and everyone wants him taken out in the 9th, especially when he allows baserunners. Smart choice.
So it’s family friendly, it’s charming enough, and the baseball itself is great and convincing. And because the baseball is pretty well done, if you’re into baseball history, it is kind of interesting to get a little glimpse of maybe what it would be like as a fan in 1951 watching baseball. So that was cool. The structure is very weird, the romance is implausible, and while I think the character clearly changes, it’s not super believable that he would actually adopt a kid – I think he even says this when it’s very much not a sure thing that Janet Leigh will be the mom. Some suspension of disbelief is required, ironically, in the non-baseball parts of the movie.
Solid 2.5/4 stars
The remake
Okay whoever first thought of this idea must have realized it made sense to make it about the Angels this time and rightfully thought it being from the kid who sees angels perspective made more sense as a hook. Interestingly, the Pirates won the World Series 9 years after the 1951 version came out, and the Angels won it 8 years after this one came out.
Alright let’s get the cat of the bag: this movie doesn’t understand baseball at all. This movie got bad reviews because the baseball scenes SUCK. I don’t mind that you can see the angels – found that a weird complaint whenever I came across people talking about the old movie – they would have shown the angels in 1951 if the technology was there. 100 percent. That movie was not ambiguous about the fact that the angels were real, so you can’t really play the pretend “because it didn’t show the angels, it’s a more plausible movie.”
However, the remake does make the angel interventions way less believable. Everyone would believe there were angels impacting the game with how insanely impossible some of the baseball scenes are. They have a centerfielder literally floating to make a diving catch and a guy completely shatters his bat and hits a long homer. I’m guessing the writers or director were not aware at how unlikely a homer would be with a shattered bat.
Then perhaps my biggest baseball-specific grievance, the great decision to pinch hit Adrien Brody for the team’s best hitter. Brody is a utility infielder with a terrible bat. There are three outs to work with in the 9th. Why in god’s name does this movie act like he had to pinch hit for Mitchell? Does the angel benefit somehow not apply if he’s not making a completely illogical move? And then the pitching team commits 10+ errors on one play, but the ball moves on its own and like seriously everyone would believe in a higher power helping the Angels at this point.
And then Tony Danza is a washed up pitcher who the announcer claims hasn’t pitched in this decade, which would be five seasons. Joseph-Gordon Levitt sees an angel by him, says he has to start him, and Danny Glover rightfully points out that he’s not on the active roster. And then the movie ignores this – the game is clearly starting in 10 minutes – and he’s somehow allowed to pitch. Oh yeah and the movie is clearly unaware of what rehab is, because he just pitches in his first live competition against real batters in I guess five years, and yeah I know the angels help him out, but could this movie at least pretend to know anything about baseball.
I’ll get the negatives out of the way first, but I kind of hate the score. This movie got called cheesy, and it is, but a movie like this will have a certain amount of sentimentality and cheese anyway, but the baseball scenes and the score are like 95 percent of the reason it was too much. It doesn’t really feel much like a Disney movie except the score makes sure to tell you it’s a Disney movie.
What does the movie do well? The non-baseball scenes. The plot gets kickstarted, because JGL’s dad (played by Dermot Mulroney) is a real piece of crap and is clearly planning on abandoning him, and he’s in the process of doing it legally. With the Angels in last place, he says they’ll be a family again when the Angels win the pennant. But we the audience, at least as adults, know this guy has no intention of being a father no matter what the Angels do. But JGL prays for it to happen and boom the plot kicks in.
Danny Glover, perfectly cast I might add, ends up finding out the boy is some sort of magic good luck charm, and having nothing to lose, puts him in the seat next to the dugout so he can tell him when angels appear. Totally something a last place, superstitious manager might do without having to believe in angels (he does end up believing).
So they bond together, Danny Glover softens up, JGL’s dad makes it official that he is a waste of space and Glover decides to abandon his important meeting with the owner to make dinner for the two kids on the day JGL finds out his dad doesn’t want him. Disney-fied, but fairly well done stuff. And then this movie finally has some decent baseball scenes at the end when the angels are not allowed to get involved because it’s a championship game. Although it still involves stuff like everybody thinking Glover is gonna pull Danza out of the game on a 3-2 count. Seriously someone involved in this has no clue about baseball.
Weirdly, the movie decides to be very faithful to the original for the end, even including giving Tony Danza 6 months to live, making this the last hurrah of his career and life. It made more sense in the original for the manager to know this, I don’t know why Al told a little kid who recently found out his dad didn’t want him that one of his favorite pitchers was going to die in 6 months, but hey that’s just me. Seriously, why is he telling this little kid that Tony Danza is gonna die? He doesn’t need to know that! They add the waving of the arms for this one, which eh probably worked like gangbusters on me as a kid.
The real reason to watch this as an adult is the casting is un freaking believable. This is a perfectly casted movie. You have JGL, who was a good kid actor, and thank god because these type of movies are completely reliant on the kid being able to act. Tony Danza is honestly great in this movie as the washed-up has-been who suddenly gets the help of angels. Neal McDonough, always great, has a sneaky hard part, being mostly comic relief in sort of a Three Stooges way, but kind of steals every scene he’s in. Jay O. Sanders is fantastic as the slimy announcer. Christopher Lloyd was honestly a better choice than the original pick, Leslie Nielsen. In my opinion. Nielsen was great at the straight man while wacky stuff happens, but that’s not really what this part is.
I could go on. Adrien Brody and Matthew McConaughey have nothing parts as members of the team. Brenda Fricker, who you probably better know as Dove Lady on Home Alone 2 – hits all the right notes. I even feel like the owner was perfectly cast. Seriously, unbelievable job by the casting director. This movie should actually be worse than it is, but the performances make it better than it should be.
This cast is so good that I even believe Danny Glover would adopt the kids. He’s not exactly softened from the original, but Danny Glover has this special ability to be grumpy and frustrated in an entertaining way and still seeming like a good person. Couldn’t have picked a better actor for this role. There’s a genuinely good movie in here somewhere with this cast, but it’s held back by the baseball scenes and frankly Disney.
2/4 stars (it’s probably worse than this, but eh childhood nostalgia)
Last thoughts
So the first movie is a better movie, mostly because it seems to understand baseball. I’m writing this for a bunch of diehards, so that is somewhat essential. But it kind of chooses a bizarre structure for its movie and I think the off the field stuff, while charming, doesn’t really make you care as much as, oh I don’t know, a kid who just wants his dad back. I know there’s a little kid in the original, but it doesn’t really do a great job at making you care. The nuns are simply delightful, so she’s in a great place already. I didn’t mention it above, but one of the very charming things about this movie is the nuns being big baseball fans. I don’t know why, but I just love when movies do things like that. I just love what I’ll term the unexpected fan. I always get a huge kick out of that, in real life or movies.
The remake of the remake by the way should be about the Colorado Rockies. You got to pick a long suffering franchise and hey wacky stuff happens in Coors Field already, that can be built into the script easily. This may be a hokey premise that is hard to make good, but honestly they should make the baseball scenes better and maybe lean more into how dark the story actually is. I mean you don’t need to make it bleak, but like…. the plot of this movie is that this kid’s mother died somewhat recently and his dad doesn’t want him. Woof. I mean Field of Dreams is a beloved movie, some supernatural entity influencing events is clearly not a dealbreaker for a baseball movie.
Good morning. I wanted to take a moment to mention that the Iowa Cubs will play the St. Paul Saints at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa, on Tuesday at 6:35 CT. That game will be on MLB Network. Since Netflix has the major league FoD game between the Twins and the Phillies, that might be the only place for those of us that don’t have Netflix to see a game at that newly-remodeled field this year.
Two major national writes have basically the same story, so I’ll start with the one that’s not behind The Athletic’s paywall. Jeff Passan has the inside story of how the Dodgers landed Tarik Skubal at the Trade Deadline and why other teams’ offers fell short. Sounds like the Tigers were simply uninterested in anything the Cubs had to offer and it’s true that they didn’t have the elite pitching prospects that other teams could offer.
And finally, Tyler Kepner was a tiny bit hurt that he wasn’t asked to contribute to the Mariners’ Top 50 players of all-time celebration, as he was a Mariners beat writer 27 years ago. But since the Mariners already announced their Top 50, he announced his 50 most notable Mariners players of all-time. (The Athletic sub. req.) His list tends towards the more humorous and embarrassing.
