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In Payton Tolle’s season debut against the New York Yankees, he threw a 2-2 changeup to Giancarlo Stanton with the bases loaded. It was the first changeup he threw all season, and Stanton, like everybody else, never saw it coming and whiffed for the first out of the inning.

In the moment, I was impressed by the pitch call and execution. What I didn’t realize was that it was a sign of things to come.

Through 20 starts, Tolle’s registered a 2.97 ERA and ranks 15th in K-BB% among pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched. He’s allowed just three earned runs over his last 20 innings, giving the Red Sox length during a stretch in which their bullpen depth has been tested. Most recently, he went eight shutout innings against the Blue Jays to help the Red Sox snap an eight-game losing streak. If it looks like an ace, and it pitches like an ace, it’s probably an ace. Payton Tolle is becoming an ace.

Last season, Tolle’s emergence was due to his four-seam fastball. He dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates with it in his debut. After that start, his lack of a Plan B was exposed, seeing him demoted to the bullpen for the end of the season. This season, his four-seamer shape has shifted slightly, featuring less vertical and more horizontal movement, but it remains an elite pitch. The swinging strike rate (16.5%) is 4th among 93 pitchers with 500 thrown, while the ideal contact rate is low at 32.8%. It’s not due to just the raw stuff, either. He’s locating the pitch consistently at the top of the zone, where the approach angle helps it play up.

His four-seamer put him on the map, and it continues to anchor his arsenal. The massive strides he’s made in his second season aren’t due to his four-seamer, but his secondary pitches.

Tolle added a sinker this offseason, and it’s been a massive addition to his repertoire. He’s using it 32% of the time against left-handed hitters, and it’s been a huge source of strikes for him at a 70% strike rate. He spots it on the arm side decently enough, and the movement allows it to miss barrels. On top of the high strike rate, it’s returned a 71% groundball rate and a minuscule 22.9% ideal contact rate. Detractors might point to a 0.284 batting average against it, but that’s largely composed of jam-shot singles.

The sinker is a great weapon against lefties, and a solid supporting piece against righties. He’s using it about 18% of the time, which is enough to keep hitters from squaring up the four-seam. The ideal contact rate on his primary fastball has dropped from 50% all the way to 28%. Improved four-seam locations definitely help in that regard, but a second fastball shape is also probably contributing. Here it is in action:

And here’s that same sequence again:

Last season, at 3-2, he’d likely be challenging the hitter with a four-seam fastball in the zone. Hitters knew it and were able to gear up for it. This sequence isn’t some sort of magic cheat code, but rather one example of how more quality pitches give hitters different looks to worry about. With a new sinker (and other improved pitches), he’s been able to mitigate that issue, avoid barrels, and continue to rack up strikeouts.

With a four-seam and sinker to get ahead of hitters, Tolle has been able to use his cutter more effectively as well. Among pitchers with at least 150 cutters thrown, Tolle’s ranks third in swinging strike rate (19.2%) behind only Brayan Bello (huh???) and Jose Alvarado. He uses it against both sides of the plate, but the performance against righties has been particularly strong.

You’ll notice two hot zones for Tolle’s cutters to righties: on the glove side and at the top of the zone. Those at the top of the zone are primarily early in counts as Tolle looks to steal called strikes. Deeper in counts, he’s done a solid job at getting the pitch to the glove side, where he’s been able to rack up whiffs. He’ll miss on the arm side with some regularity, but those misses have mostly been fouled off rather than being punished. In addition to the whiffs, there’s been plenty of weak contact as the cutter gets in on the hands of righties, jamming them regularly. For a third offering, it’s been a great one.

So that’s three fastballs, ranging from 88 to 99 mph, each covering a different part of the plate. We’re done, right? Wrong. There’s a curveball, and it’s a surprisingly good one. Tolle’s strength has always been power. In the offseason, I was banging the drum for him to add a sinker to play off that strength, because I thought it was an easy enough way to add strikes to his repertoire. Improving his feel for the curveball was a development I didn’t see happening, at least not so soon, but it has.

His curveball only accounts for about ten percent of his pitches, but it’s the perfect surprise pitch with everything else being hard. The zone rate is about 40%, due to him occasionally dropping the pitch in to steal called strikes. Deeper in counts, he’s shown the ability to spot it down and away, and he’s only getting better.

Apologies for the tiny text, but these are Tolle’s two-strike curveballs by month. From March through June, he didn’t quite have a feel for it. Since the start of July, however, he’s hit that spot regularly. Here it is again if we look by season half.

Since the start of the second half, his curveball has a 30% swinging strike rate with two strikes. With the high-octane fastballs in his back pocket, the curveball can make hitters look ridiculous, like this:

And that changeup that I showed at the beginning? Well, he hasn’t figured that one out yet. Everything else has been so good, though, that a changeup at this point is just gravy.

Tolle’s next start is today against the Arizona Diamondbacks. If you remember last season, the Diamondbacks are the lineup that brought Tolle back down to earth after his electric debut, tagging him for five earned runs over just three innings. They pounced on his fastball as he couldn’t land anything else for strikes, citing the Trajekt machine as key in their preparations for the lefty. This time around, the D’Backs won’t have the Trajekt machine at Fenway, and Tolle has a host of new weapons to navigate the lineup with. Workload remains a concern for the second-year pro, but the Red Sox will need to lean on him down the stretch to remain in the playoff race. He hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down at this point and appears to only be getting better.

The rising cost of attending Major League Baseball games will always be a topic of conversation, with the prices of concessions and parking making a day at the ballpark cost a small fortune for many families.

Teams have begun presenting family-friendly ticket packages that include food and beverages, but things really add up beyond the staples including in such deals. It's hard to believe that parking cost less than $10 even in markets like New York less than 30 years ago.

Here's a look at the most expensive ballparks to visit for a family of four, according to Bookies.com's fan cost study, which includes four tickets, a parking pass, two beers, two sodas and four hot dogs.

Free of charge for the discerning reader.

Happy birthday to Rocky Cherry, and a mighty host of others.

Today in baseball history, in 1951 – Wearing uniform number 1/8, forty-three-inch-tall Eddie Gaedel walks on four pitches from Bob Cain in his only major league appearance. Bill Veeck‘s idea of playing the midget was legal at the time but is later outlawed, and other stories as well.

Today in baseball history:

• 1921 – At the age of 34, Ty Cobb becomes the youngest player to collect 3000 hits when he singles off Red Sox hurler Elmer Myers.
• 1931 – At Chicago, Lefty Grove (25-2) wins his 16th consecutive game, 4-2, tying the American League record set by Walter Johnson and Joe Wood in 1912. Grove holds the Sox scoreless till the 9th, while the A’s score in the second, third and eighth off Red Faber. Grove has completed all but one of the wins.
• 1965 – At San Francisco, Don Drysdale faces Warren Spahn in the start of a critical four-game series. Drysdale lasts longer than Spahn, allowing five runs through eleven innings and leaves with the game tied. The Dodgers win it in 15 innings, 6-5.
• 1968 – Bob Gibson pitches the Cardinals to a 2-0 win over the Phillies. Gibson strikes out Dick Allen four times, the seventh time this season the Phils’ slugger has K’ed four times. He will strike out a career-high 161 times this season.
• 1974 – Reds 2B Joe Morgan drives in seven runs as Cincinnati rolls over Philadelphia, 15-2. Morgan has a grand slam and a three-run homer, then leaves after three innings when the Reds build a 14-0 lead.
• 1980 – Jon Matlack holds George Brett hitless, snapping his hitting streak at 30 consecutive games. Brett batted .467 during the streak and knocked in 42 runs.
• 1992 – Tom Glavine (19-3) wins his 13th in a row, stopping the Expos, 4-2. Mike Stanton gets the last two outs. Jeff Blauser‘s two-run homer off starter Chris Nabholz is the big blow.
• 2007 – John Smoltz sets the career Atlanta Braves franchise record for strikeouts. He whiffs Mark Reynolds in the third inning of a 6-2 win, one of 13 K’s on the day as he passes Phil Niekro‘s old mark of 2,912.
• 2007 – Greg Maddux moves up the historical charts, as he ties Tim Keefe for ninth all-time with 349 wins. Maddux aids his cause with two hits in two at-bats.

Today in Cubs history:

• 1913 – Grover Alexander is reached for nine straight hits and six runs as the Cubs defeat Phillies, 10-4.
• 1930 – In the first of two, Chicago’s Hack Wilson connects off Phils P Les Sweetland for his 43rd home run, tying Chuck Klein‘s National League record set last year. In RF, Klein waves to Wilson as he circles the bases.
• 1969 – John Hollison dies in Chicago at age 99. He was the last surviving major league pitcher to throw from a mound 50 feet from home plate. He pitched in one game in 1892.
• 1969 – At Wrigley Field, Ken Holtzman no-hits the Braves, 3-0, with Ron Santo‘s 1st-inning homer providing all of the Cubs’ runs.
• 1970 – Fergie Jenkins homers and his teammates add another six as Chicago coasts over San Diego, 12-2. Jim Hickman (2), Glenn Beckert, Johnny Callison, Joe Pepitone, and Billy Williams also hit round trippers for Chicago. Six of the Cub homers are solo shots and San Diego adds a solo homer: the seven solo homers by two teams sets a National League record and ties the major league mark set on April 29, 1962.

Cubs Birthdays:Rocky Cherry*, Matt Franco, Gary Gaetti, Tim Blackwell, Tex Carleton, Ike McAuley.

Today in history:

• 1665 – World’s “most mysterious book,” a codex known as the Voynich manuscript, written in an unknown script, is sent by a rector of Prague University to a Jesuit scholar (now in Yale University Library and still undeciphered) in 1666.
• 1839 – Louis Daguerre‘s daguerreotype photographic process with complete working instructions is published “free to the world” in Paris as a gift from the French government.
• 1909 – “Wild” Bob Burman wins his first major auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, earning the Prest-O-Lite Trophy; the 100-lap, 250-mile race is completed by only three of the nine cars, and one racer and a mechanic are killed in a crash.
• 1934 – The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio
• 1958 – NAACP Youth Council begins a sit-in at a “whites-only” lunch counter at Katz Drug Store in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
• 1960 – American CIA pilot Francis Gary Powers is convicted of spying by the USSR (U-2 incident) and sentenced to 3 years in prison plus 7 in a labor camp; he serves 17 months before being exchanged for a captured Soviet KGB spy.
• 1993 – Dow Jones Industrial Average hits record high of 3612.13.
• 2004 – US gymnast Carly Patterson becomes the second American woman to win the all-around gold medal and the first to win at a non-boycotted Olympic Games when she takes gold in Athens.

Today in music history:

• 1955 – WINS radio in New York City announces it will not play white cover versions of R&B records, opting instead to play Fats Domino‘s “Ain’t That A Shame” rather than Pat Boone’s.
• 1966 – The Beatles are pelted with rotten fruit and firecrackers during a concert at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee; the Ku Klux Klan demonstrates outside the show and burns records.
• 1979 – “My Sharona” by The Knack hits No. 1 and stays at the top for six weeks.
• 2008 – Interscope Records releases “The Fame,” the debut album by Lady Gaga.

*pictured.

I think I have it figured out.

Don’t let this umpiring crew call anything down the right field line. There seems to be some kind of allergy to getting the call right the first time, even if it’s on the easier side.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Derek Hill, on Monday night, is the latest iteration of pinch hitters for the Phillies that will be super important down the stretch ($).
• Teruaki Sato is going to be the latest Japanese slugger coming to the United States. Count the Phillies among those interested.

MLB news:

• This whole Ketel Marte thing is getting strange. He doesn’t show up to a Diamondbacks game, gets placed on the restricted list, now needs an MRI on his knee.
• Trey Mancini has retired from baseball. You might remember him from his return from cancer a few years back, but now he is going home. Good for him.
• Max Fried’s bone bruise in his elbow has returned, meaning he’ll head to the injured list once again this season.

Good morning Birdland,

Those two days where the Orioles held a playoff spot were pretty cool, huh? We will remember them fondly.

The team has dropped back to one game out of the final wild card spot after their 3-1 loss to the Yankees on Tuesday night. The Rangers, Twins, Blue Jays, and Guardians all won, so it was not a good night for the O’s and their playoff hopes.

The loss falls at the feet of the offense. Coby Mayo’s solo homer in the third inning was all they could muster. Throughout the rest of the game they had just three hits and went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Tough to win games with only one run.

Side note: Mayo now has a 101 wRC+ on the season. Not just against lefties, or since June 1 or whatever, no crazy splits. None of that. The guy has now been a (slightly) above average hitter on the season. That’s pretty cool. Maybe the Orioles have something on their hands after all.

Shane Baz was quite good yet again. The guy just cannot get any run support. He struck out a season high 10 over his 6.1 innings, and the three runs he allowed was slightly elevated because Josh Walker came on and allowed both inherited runners to score. It doesn’t feel like the Orioles have any pitcher in their bullpen right now that you can trust all that much. They are all prone to implosions.

The O’s will give it another try on Wednesday night with Chris Bassitt (4-4, 5.11 ERA) on the mound to face Will Warren (8-6, 4.42 ERA). It’s another 6:35 first pitch.

Links

Orioles updates on Basallo, Alexander, Bautista and more | Roch Kubatko
There was some positive news yesterday. We know that Samuel Basallo is getting close to a return. He has played a couple of rehab games, and Craig Albernaz said he could be back later this week. Then the team relayed that Blaze Alexander and Félix Bautista (!!!) are expected to begin rehab assignments within a week. The Alexander news is expected, but Bautista!?! The team has been optimistic there, and it’s likely that they will take things slow. But boy would it be a boost to get his arm in the bullpen sometime in September for the final couple of weeks.

Former Oriole Trey Mancini retiring after making comeback in 2026 | Roch Kubatko
What a career and what a story for Trey Mancini. He came back from cancer to play baseball at a high level and win a World Series, then he came back a second time when it seemed like the league had totally moved on. The 34-year-old achieved his goal of getting back to the majors this season and should be darn proud of himself for doing so. I’m sure even bigger things await him beyond his playing career.

Jon Meoli: The Orioles are finally hitting, and that means they’re still worth our attention | The Baltimore Banner
The Orioles followed the posting of this article with a putrid one-run showing on Tuesday, but the larger point is true. The team is finally getting contributions from some of their biggest bats. If they really are going to make a playoff push, it needs to continue.

Orioles’ Jackson Holliday found his groove. Now he’s hitting lefties too. | The Baltimore Sun
It has taken more time than many of us wanted, but some of the Orioles younger hitters are finally finding success in the big leagues. The timing is helpful, and it may bode well for 2027 and beyond.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• Brandon Young turns 28 today. The second-year pitcher has been a savior for the Orioles rotation this season, compiling a 3.52 ERA over 117.2 innings.
• J.J. Hardy is 44 years old. He brought a rare combination of power and slick fielding to the shortstop position during the Orioles return to relevance from 2011 through 2017. Hardy won three Gold Gloves, went to one All-Star Game, and took home a Silver Slugger during his time in Baltimore. The O’s added him to their team Hall of Fame in 2021.
• Lance Cormier turns 46. He worked out of the Orioles bullpen throughout the 2008 season.
• Rocky Cherry is 47 years old. His time with the Orioles spanned two seasons from 2007 through ‘08, when he was an up-and-down reliever for the club.
• Luis DeLeón is 68. The righty pitched in 11 games as a reliever for the 1987 Orioles.
• Paul Mitchell turns 77. His six-year MLB career began in Baltimore, where he played in 11 games for the 1975 Birds.
• The late Jim Lehew (b. 1937, d. 2016) was born on this day. A Baltimore native, Lehew played in parts of two seasons with his hometown Orioles from 1961 to ‘62.

This day in O’s history

1980 – Steve Stone becomes MLB’s first pitcher to get to 20 wins this season as the O’s beat the Angels 5-2.

2001 – The Orioles storm back from a 6-1 deficit to beat the Red Sox 13-7. Jeff Conine has five hits, three different Orioles have three RBI each, and the team steals five bases off of Hideo Nomo.

2016 – The Orioles set a modern record by hitting four home runs before making their first out in their first turn at-bat. Adam Jones, Manny Machado, Chris Davis, and Mark Trumbo all go deep in the first inning to take a 5-1 lead, but it wouldn’t be enough. The Astros score five of their own runs in the second inning and go on to win 15-8.

The Detroit Tigers were unable to seal the deal on Tuesday night, falling to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-1, to even the weekday series at PNC Park. Brett Callahan hit his first major league home run, but that was all the offense the good guy got while Keider Montero was extremely mid on the mound for the Olde English D.

Toeing the rubber in the series finale for the Motor City Kitties is right-hander Jackson Jobe, who will be making his third start of the season after returning from Tommy John surgery. The 24-year-old looked good in his debut but got roughed up by the Chicago White Sox the last time out, coughing up six runs on nine hits (two homers) and a walk while striking out four over 3 2/3 innings to take the loss in a 9-5 defeat at Comerica Park.

Up against Jobe for the Bucs is fellow righty Paul Skenes, who has been great this season but a tick below the astronomic he set for himself during his first two years in the league. In the 24-year-old’s last four outings since his last quality start, Skenes has posted a bloated 6.52 ERA along with a very mediocre 4.22 FIP over 19 1/3 innings, allowing 20 hits (three homers) and 11 walks while striking out 18, hitting a batter and throwing a wild pitch, resulting in three personal losses and four for his team.

Here is a look at how the two 24-year-olds match up on paper for the rubber match of the three-game series on Wednesday afternoon.

Detroit Tigers (61-65) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (62-66)

Time (ET): 12:35 p.m.
Place: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
SB Nation Site:Bucs Dugout
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Game 127: RHP Jackson Jobe (1-1, 6.23 ERA) vs. RHP Paul Skenes (9-11, 3.88 ERA)

JOBE

SKENES

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets (38-37/22-23)

SYRACUSE 5, WORCESTER 1 (BOX)

Syracuse won their opening game against the Woosox, powered by good hitting and good pitching. On the hitting side, Ronny Mauricio was perfect at the plate and drove in three, and on the pitching side, Xzavion Curry and Tobias Myers combined to allow a single run on two combined hits.

·  2B Émilien Pitre: 2-4, R, 2B
·  CF Nick Morabito: 0-4, R, 2 K
·  SS Ronny Mauricio: 3-3, 2 R, 2B, HR (15), 3 RBI, BB, SB (11)
·  1B Billy Amick: 1-4, 2B, RBI, 3 K
·  DH Eric Wagaman: 0-3, BB, K
·  LF MJ Melendez: 0-4, 2 K
·  3B Nick Lorusso: 0-3, K, E (1)
·  C Shawn Ross: 0-2, K
·  RF Jose Ramos: 1-3, R, K
·  RHP Xzavion Curry: 5.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, W (3-0)
·  RHP Tobias Myers: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, H (1)
·  RHP Ben Simon: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

ROSTER ALERT: SS Émilien Pitre assigned to Syracuse Mets from Binghamton Rumble Ponies.

ROSTER ALERT:3B Billy Amick assigned to Syracuse Mets from Binghamton Rumble Ponies.

ROSTER ALERT: New York Mets optioned RHP Chayce McDermott to Syracuse Mets.

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (27-42/23-23)

BINGHAMTON 4, ALTOONA 3 (BOX)

Jefferson Rojas put the Rumble Ponies on the board in the bottom of the first with a two-run homer, but Gary Gill Hill gave both of those runs back in the top of the second. The right-hander settled down after that, not allowing another run and tossing six innings in total. In the seventh, the newly reactivated Felipe De La Cruz allowed a run and it looked like that was going to be that, but in the bottom of the ninth, Binghamton rallied. Rojas was in the middle of things once again, driving in a run on a double and then Chris Suero ended things with a game winning sac fly.

·  2B Mitch Voit: 1-4, R, K, HPB
·  SS Marco Vargas: 3-5, 2 R, K
·  3B Jefferson Rojas: 3-5, R, 2B, HR (2), 3 RBI, K
·  1B Jacob Reimer: 0-4, BB
·  CF Chris Suero: 1-3, RBI, BB
·  RF John Bay: 0-4
·  DH Corey Collins: 0-2, 2 BB, K
·  LF D’Andre Smith: 0-4, 2 K
·  C Kevin Parada: 2-4, 2 K
·  RHP Gary Gill Hill: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, E (1)
·  LHP Felipe De La Cruz: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
·  RHP Carlos Guzman: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
·  RHP Bryce Jenkins: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, W (2-0)

ROSTER ALERT: Binghamton Rumble Ponies activated C Vincent Perozo from the Development List.

ROSTER ALERT: Binghamton Rumble Ponies activated LHP Felipe De La Cruz from the 7-day injured list.

ROSTER ALERT: Binghamton Rumble Ponies placed OF Yohairo Cuevas on the 7-day injured list.

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (25-40/25-23)

BROOKLYN 9, ASHVILLE 1 (BOX)

The top of the Brooklyn order struggled, with Sammy Stafura going 0-6 and Elian Pena going 0-4, but the bottom half of the line-up had their back, going a collective 8-22 with 7 runs driven in. The Cyclones offense really broke this one open in the later innings, scoring four runs in the seventh, two in the eighth, and one more for good measure in the ninth.

·  SS Sammy Stafura: 0-6, 3 K
·  2B Elian Peña: 0-4, 2 BB, 3 K
·  CF Aidan Smith: 2-3, 3 R, 3 BB, 4 SB (19, 20, 21, 22)
·  1B Ronald Hernandez: 0-3, 2 R, 3 BB, K, SB (22), E (17)
·  DH Trey Snyder: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K
·  RF Yonatan Henriquez: 1-4, R, RBI, BB, K
·  LF John Spikerman: 2-5, 2 R, 2 HR (1, 2), 4 RBI
·  C Daiverson Gutierrez: 1-4, R, HR (8), RBI, BB, 2 K
·  3B Antonio Jimenez: 2-5, 2B, K, SB, E (5)
·  RHP Nicolas Carreno: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, WP, BLK, W (3-1)
·  RHP Rafi Vazquez: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, H (3)
·  LHP Gregori Louis: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, WP
·  RHP Hunter Hodges: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

ROSTER ALERT: SS Elian Peña assigned to Brooklyn Cyclones from St. Lucie Mets.

ROSTER ALERT: RHP Luke Gabrysh assigned to Binghamton Rumble Ponies from Brooklyn Cyclones.

ROSTER ALERT: SS Jamari Baylor assigned to Binghamton Rumble Ponies from Brooklyn Cyclones.

ROSTER ALERT: OF John Smith III assigned to Brooklyn Cyclones from St. Lucie Mets.

Single-A: St. Lucie Mets (33-33/17-31)

LAKELAND 10, ST. LUCIE 1 (BOX)

Toeing the rubber for the first time since Spring Training, when he was placed on the 60-Day Injured List due to a fractured rib, Justin Hagenman threw 2.1 innings and allowed a run on three hits and a walk, striking out three. The right-hander threw 43 pitches, 25 for strikes, and got 9 swings and misses. Things quickly went downhill for St. Lucie as the bullpen was extremely leaky, with Owen Woodward, Jose Lopez, and Tyler McLoughlin combining to allow nine runs.

·  3B Vladi Gomez: 0-4, BB, K, E (6)
·  CF Aiden Robbins: 0-2, R, 2 BB, K
·  RF Eli Serrano III: 0-3, BB
·  C Ryan Tayman: 1-2, RBI, BB, E (2)
·  1B Julio Zayas: 0-3, BB, 2 K
·  SS Jeremy Rodriguez: 2-3, BB, E (6)
·  LF Jack Toomey: 1-3, BB, K
·  DH Reed Stallman: 1-4, 2B, 2 K
·  2B Jake Ogden: 0-4
·  REHAB ALERT RHP Justin Hagenman: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, WP, L (0-1)
·  REHAB ALERT RHP Owen Woodward: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
·  RHP Jose Lopez: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 1 K, WP
·  RHP Tyler McLoughlin: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
·  RHP Caden Wooster: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

ROSTER ALERT: OF Jack Toomey assigned to St. Lucie Mets from FCL Mets.

ROSTER ALERT: SS Jake Ogden assigned to St. Lucie Mets from FCL Mets.

ROSTER ALERT: St. Lucie Mets activated SS Jeremy Rodriguez from the Development List.

ROSTER ALERT: RHP Zack Mack assigned to St. Lucie Mets from Syracuse Mets.

ROSTER ALERT: New York Mets sent RHP Justin Hagenman on a rehab assignment to St. Lucie Mets.

Rookie: FCL Mets (24-33)

NO GAME (SEASON OVER)

ROSTER ALERT: 1B Carter Dierdorf assigned to FCL Mets from Brooklyn Cyclones.

ROSTER ALERT: SS Kooper Schulte assigned to FCL Mets from St. Lucie Mets.

STAR OF THE NIGHT

Ronny Mauricio

GOAT OF THE NIGHT

Jose Lopez

The Guardians hosted the Giants last night.

The Giants have had a terrible season, and they played like it last night. Their defense screwed up countless times, including an outfielder who Raburned a throw.

But the Guardians would have beaten most opponents last night—because Jo Adell had a career night.

The bad news is that Adell is now in quite a lot of pain. Can the 2026 Guardians Have Nice Things? Stay tuned!

Chase DeLauter is day-to-day.

Around baseball

• Cal Quantrill pitched 7 shutout vs the Nats. Happy for Cal!

• Padres minor-league catching coordinator detained by ICE in Texas

• Francisco Lindor hit a grand slam…… until he didn’t.

• Sounds like someone is a bit skeptical of “let’s have a bunch of slap hitters watch tape of Jose Ramirez and then they will all hit like Jose Ramirez”

• The Brewers beat the collapsing Mariners 22-0.

The Pittsburgh Pirates currently sit 6.5 games back from the third Wild Card spot in the postseason, and are running out of time to steer the ship towards the playoffs. There’s still some time to get back on track, but there are three factors that will leave the Pirates on the outside looking in.

Pitching day-to-day is shaky

At the beginning of the season, the strength of the Pirates was supposed to be the starting pitching rotation. However, at this point in the season the rotation has lost its reputation and has turned into a largely average unit. Paul Skenes this late in the year is just not dependable. He has not looked like himself all year, but it has become especially clear as of late that he is not performing at his best. Mitch Keller has been shut down for the rest of the season with an injury, so Carmen Mlodzinski has stepped back into his role as a starter. Even though Mlodzinski was solid to start the year, he clearly looks over it with the Pirates and has not been at his best since returning to the starting ranks.

Also — and this isn’t particularly Jared Jones’ fault — but the Pirates are still letting him play with the training wheels on. He has the potential to be the best pitcher on the team, but management is still keeping his outings incredibly limited. Pitching in the playoffs will not matter if the Pirates cannot first get to the playoffs.

The bullpen looks revamped, but it’s still a position group with a lot of question marks. In some of these close series down the stretch, they are not dependable enough from what we’ve seen to this point to put a lot of faith in. I do think the group has looked better, but I wouldn’t be willing to wager anything just yet given their track record.

The lineup lacks consistent punch down the stretch

The Pirates’ lineup that was completely transformed for the 2026 season, completely fell apart following the All-Star break. It’s almost like the week off was the worst possible thing for the red hot Buccos. The offense has been shutout five times since returning to action, and have scored two runs or less in seven contests in the second half of the season.

This is a lineup that had a lot of potential, but after taking their extended layoff it might be too late for them to crawl back into playoff contention if the offense continues to lack consistency. Esmerlyn Valdez has gone cold after his hot stretch. Ryan O’Hearn is back on the IL. Bryan Reynolds looks unrecognizable in his last 30 games. For some reason, Jared Triolo is still regularly in the lineup and Henry Davis is still a liability at the plate.

Out of all the things that can get the Pirates back into playoff contention, it could be this lineup. Luckily, Oneil Cruz is back and looking like a threat again, and Konnor Griffin will also be returning. Hopefully those pieces back can help the lineup find some consistency, but the team lacks a true offensive superstar at the moment. There is potential for players to grow into those roles, but that likely won’t happen between now and the end of the regular season.

No easy series left

Part of the Pirates’ problems all season long is that they have grossly underperformed against teams that they should beat easily. That has remained true in the second half of the year. They should have easily won their recent series against the Mets, Marlins and Reds. They should win the series against Detroit, but time will tell if they can seal that series victory.

Moving forward there are no series that the Pirates can take lightly. Following Detroit they have back to back series against playoff teams in the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres. They then travel to St. Louis who they’ve struggled mightily against all year. They also have series against the Brewers and Cubs still left on the schedule as well. It’s not impossible for the Pirates to make it to the postseason if they can string together some wins, but their strength of schedule will allow very little to any breathing room. This team is going to have to play tighter than they have all year if they want to keep their dreams of Buctober alive.

Paul Skenes pitches Wednesday night at PNC Park on seven days' rest and the industry will be watching to see how he responds. He was supposed to start Sunday, but after scuffling for the last three months, Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly said they wanted to give him extra rest. The Pirates and Skenes swear there is no injury or anything wrong with him, other than the normal wear and tear on a pitcher in August.

Five months after the World Baseball Classic, Team USA's hitters are fine for the most part, but the pitchers seem to be showing the effects of ramping up early.

Since April, every star on the injured list or in a slump who played in March has been Exhibit A that the WBC broke him. Team USA's roster is the easiest way to test that. Thirty guys who went through the same spring and there is very little evidence that the suggestions hold up.

But it doesn't exactly fall apart either. There's a toll on many.

Through May 12, Skenes looked like the defending Cy Young Award winner ready to contend for another. He had a 1.98 ERA through his first nine starts. Since then, it's 5.00. His four-seamer, which sat at 98.2 miles an hour, has dropped to an average of 96.8. Again, the Pirates and Skenes said he is not hurt.

But five other Team USA pitchers have been on the injured list with arm or shoulder issues.