Throughout the entire history of the San Jose Sharks organization, only a single player has ever worn the number 56 during a regular season game: Ethan Cardwell.
Cardwell, who the Sharks drafted in the fourth round of the 2021 NHL Draft as an overage player, has been a key piece for the Sharks' American Hockey League affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda in recent years.
While Cardwell's stock has certainly risen drastically since his draft year, there's still a lot of unknown surrounding his long-term future. He has the potential to turn into an effective bottom-six forward due to his strong work ethic and tendency to not turn away from physicality, but it's also possible he gets stuck between the NHL and the AHL like many players tend to do.
Injuries hampered Cardwell considerably during the 2025-26 season, so he's fallen a bit more under the radar this summer, but he should be a major asset for the Barracuda this coming season.
Cardwell has appeared in 13 games for the Sharks at the NHL level, and since he has now played six or more games in two consecutive seasons, he is no longer classified as a rookie. Meanwhile, at the AHL level, he's played 158 games for the Barracuda scoring 41 goals and 65 assists during that time.
Only one prospect drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in 2021 currently remains with the organization — goaltender Aku Koskenvuo. Forwards Danila Klimovich, Connor Lockhart, and Lucas Forsell, as well as defencemen Jonathan Myrenberg and Hugo Gabrielson have all parted ways with the team since their draft year.
Also part of the organization now, all added within the past year or so, are trade acquisitions Ilya Safonov and Jack Thompson, as well as free-agent signings Anrī Ranvinskis and Matt Stienburg. Here’s how the 2025–26 season went for Koskenvuo, Safonov, Thompson, Ravinskis, and Stienburg.
Aku Koskenvuo
2021 R5, 137 OVR
Abbotsford Canucks, AHL and Kalamazoo Wings, ECHL
The Canucks’ lone 2021 draftee after the departure of Klimovich in free-agency, Koskenvuo spent the 2025–26 season familiarizing himself with pro hockey after two seasons with Harvard University in the NCAA.
Koskenvuo began his first pro season in the ECHL with Kalamazoo, recording a collective total of 59 saves in his first two starts for the K-Wings. The landslide of injuries from both Vancouver and Abbotsford resulted in the goaltender quickly being called-up to the AHL. In his first AHL start, Koskenvuo managed to make 33 saves to backstop Abbotsford to their first win in 11 games. He stayed with Abbotsford for nearly a month before being re-assigned to the ECHL in mid-December.
After some time in the ECHL in December, Koskenvuo was brought back up to Abbotsford in January, in what would be his last stretch of AHL play for the remainder of the year. He played in his final game for Abbotsford on January 30, finishing the year with a 3.20 GAA and .895 SV%. The goaltender was also called-up to the NHL during the Olympic break, serving as a practice netminder with Kevin Lankinen at the Olympics and Thatcher Demko injured.
Koskenvuo will likely see more playing time in Abbotsford during the 2026–27 season, though this will be dependent on what Vancouver chooses to do with goaltender Nikita Tolopilo.
Acquired via trade during the 2025 off-season, Safonov signed his entry-level contract with the Canucks back at the start of June. The forward was previously picked in the sixth round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft by Chicago, though he never ended up skating for the club that selected him.
Safonov has played for Ak Bars Kazan in the KHL since the 2019–20 season, with the 2025–26 season expected to be his last depending on how his journey to the NHL goes. The forward, whose versatility allows him to play at both center and wing, scored 16 goals and 17 assists in 68 games in the KHL this year. While his team ultimately came short of winning the KHL championship, Safonov did put up two goals and seven assists in 20 playoff games.
Since signing with Vancouver, Safonov has made it clear that his goal in 2026–27 is to make the NHL.
“I am not going there with a guaranteed place in the lineup, and I am not arriving as a star... I will have to prove that I belong, and I am ready for that. Based on the conversations we have had, I understand that I will have an opportunity,” he said in a translated interview with R.org.
Thompson’s time with the Canucks only lasted a total of 14 AHL games in 2025–26, but the defenceman made a strong enough impression to warrant a one-year contract extension signed in mid-June. He went from putting up 12 points in 42 games with the San Jose Barracuda to surpassing that mark in his 14 games with Abbotsford.
The former third-round selection by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 started the season off with the Barracuda, scoring his first goal of the year on November 1 against the Ontario Reign. He played in his final game for San Jose on March 4, before lacing up for the AHL Canucks two days later.
Thompson kicked his Abbotsford campaign off with a notable two goals and three assists in his first two games with the AHL Canucks, recording four multi-point games between then and the end of the season. By the end of the season, the defenceman had already carved out a spot on Abbotsford’s top-pairing.
Thompson will undoubtedly play a big role with Abbotsford come the 2026–27 season, especially now that he has inked an extension with the team.
Anrī Ravinskis
Signed to two-year, $910k AAV contract in 2025
Abbotsford Canucks, AHL
A free-agent signing out of Finland during the 2025 off-season, Ravinskis’ 2025–26 season saw him make both his North American pro hockey and AHL debut. He spent the prior two seasons in Finnish leagues Mestis and Liiga, also skating with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the QMJHL in 2021–22 and 2022–23.
Ravinskis made his AHL debut on October 17 when Abbotsford took on the Laval Rocket. He registered his first AHL point in a 3–2 shootout loss to the Colorado Eagles on November 8, assisting on the game’s opening goal scored by Josh Bloom. The forward scored his first AHL goal on January 2 against the Manitoba Moose, finishing his first season with two goals and two assists in 32 games played.
During 2025–26, Ravinskis also ended up taking part in the first Winter Olympics of his career, as he was named an injury replacement for Team Latvia. While his role with Latvia was limited, the forward did skate in four games with his team.
Matthew Stienburg
Signed to one-year, $850k AAV contract in 2026
Colorado Eagles, AHL
Stienburg is the most recent prospect to join the Canucks, as he signed with the organization in free-agency back on July 2. The forward, who turns 26 in October, was drafted in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche but has only played in a total of eight NHL games.
Stienburg’s hockey career has been pelted by injuries, resulting in his limited playing time on a per-season basis. The forward has not played in more than 20 NHL and AHL regular and post-season games put together through the past two years, with the 2025–26 season seeing him play in only eight with the Eagles. In the eight games that he did skate in during the 2025–26 season, Stienburg scored two goals and one assist.
Stienburg is expected to play for Abbotsford during the 2026–27 season, likely joining fellow free-agent forward signings Akil Thomas and Trey Fix-Wolansky.
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The Calgary Flames have fully embraced their youth movement, but developing prospects isn’t just about giving young players ice time. It’s about putting them in an environment where they can learn what it takes to become professionals.
On the surface, it’s a one-year, two-way contract worth $850,000 for a veteran depth forward. Dig a little deeper, though, and it’s easy to see why Jones could become one of the most important players on the Calgary Wranglers this season.
Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
This isn’t a player walking into an unfamiliar situation. Jones was part of the Wranglers from the very beginning, playing a key role during the club’s inaugural 2022-23 season. He posted 54 points and a +28 rating while helping Calgary capture the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as AHL regular-season champions, along with the Pacific Division title. He understands the expectations, the organization, and what winning looks like in Calgary.
Since then, Jones has added another layer to his résumé.
Over the past two seasons, he appeared in 54 NHL games between the Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild, gaining valuable experience at hockey’s highest level. While his NHL role was primarily as a reliable depth forward, he continued to show he can produce offensively in the American Hockey League, operating at nearly a point-per-game pace with the Iowa Wild last season.
That offensive production is certainly a bonus, but it’s not the biggest reason Calgary brought him back.
The Wranglers are expected to feature one of the youngest rosters in the AHL, with several of the Flames’ top prospects taking on larger roles. Players like Aydar Suniev, Andrew Basha, William Stromgren and others will all be navigating the daily grind of professional hockey, and that’s where Jones’ impact could be felt the most.
Entering his 10th professional season, Jones knows what it takes to stick around. He understands the habits, preparation and consistency required to earn opportunities at the NHL level. Those are lessons that can’t always be taught by coaches alone.
Wild center Ben Jones (39) celebrates scoring his first NHL goal against the New York Islanders in the first period at Grand Casino Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images
As Calgary continues building toward the future, the organization needs more than talented prospects, it needs experienced veterans who can help shape them along the way. Ben Jones may not be the headline signing of the summer, but his presence in the Wranglers’ dressing room could prove to be one of the organization’s most valuable additions for the 2026-27 season.
He didn’t shy away, however, from hints that his final days there weren’t without challenges.
During a Twitch stream in early July, Brown had said he felt there was “a bit of a lack of respect” during trade talks and discussions of Brown’s future, adding that he “wasn’t thrilled” with the way Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens “facilitated some of the conversations.”
When asked Thursday, Aug. 6 what bothered him about his final days with the Celtics, Brown wanted to look forward.
“The whole process,” Brown said. “But to be honest, my mind is so focused on what’s in front of me. I’m moving on. Maybe one day we can share the details of how everything transpired and all the moving parts that took place in this. Obviously, it’s a lot of speculation; I feel no need to chime in on it because I’m focused on what’s in front of me.”
Brown did say that he looks back on his time as a Celtic with gratitude from the city and how it helped him develop as a person. Brown also added the he’ll continue to be active in the Boston community.
Brown revealed that when he first learned of the trade from Boston to Philadelphia, he threw his phone across the room, though he did not elaborate on the emotions behind that.
There has been speculation that the relationship between Brown and Celtics star Jayson Tatum had become strained. The two were teammates in Boston for nine seasons, and the pair won the 2024 NBA Finals, with Brown winning Finals Most Valuable Player.
“We won a championship together,” Brown said when asked how he would characterize his relationship with Tatum. “So anybody that you win a championship with, you would think that’s a brotherhood or a life-long legacy would entail. Obviously, there’s ups and downs in any relationship, for sure. But on my end, there’s nothing but respect. Besides when he plays the Sixers, I hope he does well. But other than that, everything for me is just based in respect.”
When asked if the two had been able to talk, Brown responded: “Not really.”
The 76ers and Celtics completed the trade July 1, with Philadelphia sending Paul George, two first-round draft picks and two second-round selections back to Boston.
“People attacked my character,” Brown added. “Someone even went as far and said I had a disease. So it has been a crazy transition, to be honest. But none of it is completely surprising, even though some of these things were said externally. Internally and through the organization, there had been conversations. I wasn’t that surprised.”
Brown held his press conference at the Francis J. Myers Recreation Center in the Kingessing neighborhood of Southwest Philadelphia, opting to bypass the session being held at the 76ers facility and choosing to introduce himself to the city’s community. He also invited local children to attend.
“For me, and people who know my family and I, we are rooted in the community,” Brown said. “That space – that’s where we hang our hat, is being able to affect other people’s lives. We’re very blessed. We’ve been able to help our own family and be able to change the course of what our generation and our family name can possibly do, but we look forward to being able to impact others and being able to touch families and households that we may never get to see.”
The Buffalo Sabres have been proactive with a number of their own players in getting them signed to long-term extensions prior to them getting close to becoming eligible for an offer sheet or unrestricted free agency. The club did it with former team captain Jack Eichel and center Dylan Cozens before they were traded, and have also done so with current Sabres Tage Thompson, Zach Benson, Josh Doan, Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, and Mattias Samuelsson.
On Thursday, the Pittsburgh Penguins locked up RFA forward Ville Koivunen to an eight-year, $32 million contract extension ($4 million AAV), being more proactive than Buffalo ever has, since the 23-year-old Finn has only 47 games of NHL experience and just 14 career points.
With the salary cap increasing exponentially, a $4 million cap hit is not an insignificant amount, but could be a homerun for GM Kyle Dubas if Koivunen becomes a consistent middle-six forward, but it also gives the Pens two years of evaluation time, as they can use a one-third buyout until he turns 26 years old.
The question for the 31 other clubs, including the Sabres, is whether they are willing to role the dice on any of their youngsters eligible for a new contract before the expiration of the eight-year max deal in the middle of next month. Even with eight years being the max, the only extensions that Buffalo has opted to go the full distance with is Eichel and Dahlin, and the only one coming out of their entry-level deal was Eichel.
Will the Sabres add scoring help before the start of training camp?
The youngsters eligible for an extension who have played similar NHL time coming off their ELC next summer are centers Noah Ostlund and Jiri Kulich. Winger Jack Quinn is entering the final year of a two-year bridge deal, and was connected in rumors to be part of the Connor Hellebuyck trade proposal with Winnipeg. Both Ostlund and Kulich are similar in age and lack of experience to Koivunen, which could give GM Jarmo Kekalainen the leverage to offer them a team-friendly deal.
This could be something that the Sabres are interested in doing, since both players are expected to be full-time NHLers this season with the departure of Alex Tuch. Their price tag could skyrocket with a solid regular season. If Buffalo chooses to be conservative, they can wait till next summer to get more proof of their worth, and each would be eligible to sign a seven-year deal, but they also would be eligible to sign an offer sheet with another NHL club as Leo Carlsson did with Philadelphia last month.
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CINCINNATI, OHIO - AUGUST 6: Brian Serven #10 of the Athletics rounds third base after hitting a two-run home run in the ninth inning of the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on August 6, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati defeated the Athletics 6-5. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Athletics took on the Cincinnati Reds in the series finale, seeking to avoid a sweep and end a seven-game losing streak. The Reds secured the series sweep by defeating the A’s 6-5, dropping the Green and Gold to their eighth straight defeat in a game that played out all too similar to several of the team’s previous losses. For the third straight day, the bullpen faltered, and the offense was unable to do enough to overcome the pitching struggles.
Reds Strike First
A’s starter Mason Barnett got off to a rough start. The first batter he faced, Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz, hit his 19th home run of the season, putting the hosts up 1-0.
His counterpart, Reds starter Andrew Abbott, pitched three scoreless innings to begin the game, consistently getting A’s hitters to chase pitches outside the strike zone and inducing strikeouts and soft-contact groundouts.
A’s Take the Lead
Athletics center fielder Henry Bolte and first baseman Tommy White led off the fourth inning with back-to-back singles, setting up the visitors first scoring opportunity of the game. Jonah Heim drew a walk, bringing up Tyler Soderstrom with the bases loaded and no outs. The A’s left fielder delivered, grounding a two-run single to center field to give his team a 2-1 lead.
After Max Muncy singled to re-load the bases, Lawrence Butler grounded into the A’s second double play of the game, bringing home the third run of the inning, but preventing the rally from extending further. That replay-aided play swung the momentum in the Reds’ favor and they never looked back.
The Reds immediately responded. First baseman Sal Stewart led off the last of the fourth with his 25th home run of the season, a solo shot to center field that cut the A’s lead to 3-2. Later that inning, catcher Tyler Stephenson tied the game with his 10th home run of the season, another solo shot to center field.
The Reds had the chance to re-take the lead after drawing two walks, but Barnett recorded the final out of the frame to keep the game tied at three. Innings like these have been a major reason the A’s have struggled to win baseball games lately, as their pitching staff has repeatedly allowed opponents to score immediately after the offense provides a spark.
Same Story Every Game!
The Reds threatened to retake the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, loading the bases with one out against Barnett. After he walked JJ Bleday to load the bases, A’s manager Mark Kotsay made a pitching change, bringing in hard-throwing but erratic reliever Elvis Alvarado, a move that quickly backfired.
After striking out the first hitter he faced, Alvarado lost his command and walked in two runs, giving the Reds a 5-3 lead through five innings. It seems like a bases-loaded situation may not be the ideal spot to use Alvarado, raising the question of which pitcher the A’s should have turned to instead.
For the second time this series, the A’s bullpen gave the Reds free runs, with Alvarado’s walks fest coming two days after Hogan Harris’ wild pitch bonanza. No wonder this team has the worst bullpen ERA in the major leagues! Both of the runs scored were charged to Barnett, who allowed five runs on five hits over 4 1/3 innings. His seven strikeouts were encouraging, but allowing three home runs proved costly.
Reds Eying the Sweep
Unlike the A’s, the Reds can actually throw strikes and hold leads. Abbott completed his second straight scoreless inning, keeping the game’s momentum firmly on his team’s side. Cincinnati’s southpaw turned in a quality start, allowing three runs on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings.
New A’s reliever Seth Johnson made his first appearance in the eighth inning, and unfortunately, he fit right in with the rest of the A’s struggling bullpen. With one out, Bleday launched his 20th home run of the season and the Reds’ fourth of the game, turning the deficit into a three-run hole. Bleday, who struggled last season with the Athletics, has revitalized his career in Cincinnati, putting a spotlight on the A’s player development staff.
A’s Comeback Falls Short
Down by three, the A’s attempted to come back in the ninth. Facing Reds left-hander Brock Burke, Butler reached on an infield single and advanced to second on a throwing error by shortstop Elly De La Cruz. A’s catcher Brian Serven hit his second home run of the season, a two-run shot to left-center, field that cut the Reds’ lead to one.
That was as close as the visitors got. Burke retired the next two hitters to earn his second save of the season. The loss was the Athletics’ eighth straight, dropping them to 6-32 over their last 38 games as they were swept for the second consecutive series.
It could be more of the same this weekend as the A’s head to Boston to face a Red Sox team trending in the opposite direction. Right-hander Jack Perkins is scheduled to start for the Athletics on Friday evening, while the Red Sox have yet to announce their starter.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - AUGUST 05: Gleyber Torres #25 of the Detroit Tigers gets in the face of Cal Raleigh #29 of the Seattle Mariners during the eighth inning at T-Mobile Park on August 05, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jack Compton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Things turned awfully testy during the late innings of Wednesday night’s 4-2 Mariners victory over the Detroit Tigers, which evened the pivotal series for both teams in an American League playoff race that is heating up more and more with every passing day. A half-inning after Cal Raleigh was drilled in the ribs with 95 mph four-seam fastball by Enmanuel De Jesus — and no warnings were issued — Gabe Speier pegged Gleyber Torres with a 96 mph four-seamer of his own, leading to an exchanging of words and the benches clearing. Speier and Dan Wilson both ended up ejected. As Kate said in the recap, we’ll see if this has any ramifications Thursday.
Speaking of throwing at people, Framber Valdez gets the start for the Tigers on Thursday. His first season in Detroit hasn’t gone quite to plan, with many of his numbers across the board taking a step back. His FIP has ballooned to 4.13 in 2026, having not exceeded 3.50 over his previous four seasons in Houston.
The Mariners will look to Bryce Miller to try to secure an important series win before the American League-leading Tampa Bay Rays come to town for 50 Seasons weekend. Big Tex had a much shakier month of July (4.93 FIP) after beginning his 2026 campaign with solid performance in May (2.86) and June (3.22). For more on the pitching matchup, check out the series preview.
Lineups
Taylor Ward is in the leadoff spot for his first time as a Mariner. Brendan Donovan and Josh Naylor both get scheduled days off, and Raleigh gets a rest day (unrelated to the hit-by-pitch last night). Jhonny Pereda will be behind the plate for the first time since being recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on Tuesday, while Weston Wilson and Leo Rivas make starts at first and third base.
News
In the aftermath of Wednesday’s bench-clearing incident, both Speier and Dan Wilson have been suspended by Major League Baseball. Speier’s discipline amounts to three games, which he is appealing. Dan Wilson, on the other hand, will serve his one-game suspension on Thursday afternoon. Manny Acta will be the Mariners’ acting manager for this important rubber game.
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 25: Kyle Tucker #23 of the Los Angeles Dodgers rounds the bases during the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets at Citi Field on Saturday, July 25, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Evan Yu/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
I have some firsthand experience on the subject. You know what’s worse than the Dodgers being walked off? Having the Dodgers be walked off on consecutive nights after they have just coughed up a no-hitter on the 26th out. I remember writing at one point that it should be a crime to be playing such bad baseball in such beautiful surroundings. C’est la vie – such is life.
Now, if you are unhappy right now, I get it. Even with the current skid, the Dodgers are still on a 97-win pace, which is still better than the 92-regular season wins I predicted at the start of the year. Arguably, the Dodgers are ruining baseball, not by all the emotional nonsense being spouted by those mad about the Tarik Skubal trade, mind you.
…The league has devalued winning the division, especially if you’re not a top-two seed. The Dodgers likely look at the benefits of being the third-seed division winner compared to the fourth-seed top Wild Card and…shrug. It’s home-field advantage in the Wild Card round either way, so why press things?
The difference between [now and previous seasons] is that the Dodgers had enough cushion within the division that whatever in-season experiments they wanted to run were basically irrelevant. That’s the kind of thing you can do without causing agita when you win 111 games and finish the season 22 up on your next closest competitor. …
But it’s the similarities that create the bigger problem. In both situations, Roberts and the Dodgers seem to just…not care all that much. Obviously, their preference is to win, you don’t spend what they’ve spent just to win in the playoffs, but to be good enough to sell lots of tickets and ads throughout the season, too. …
There’s nothing strictly wrong with prioritizing a World Series; it’s where the league and its culture have arrived, hand in hand. But the impact of taking the longest view available at every possible turn undeniably results in a diluted on-field product—again, much as we’ve seen with the league as a whole. …
The Dodgers sleepwalking through regular season series against potential playoff opponents, while looking comically inept? We have seen this figurative movie before. To the uninitiated, it is a crisis. To the experienced, it is a Thursday.
To summarize the sage analysis of Craig Minami, you might see a collapse in the making, but what you are likely seeing is some self-correction due to some probably entirely unsustainable portions of the roster, including, but not limited to:
Justin Wrobleski pitching like an All-Star;
Eric Lauer pitching like a mid-rotation arm;
The bullpen pitching like a lights-out unit without peripheral stats to back it up, and so on.
Last year, the Dodgers lost a nine-game lead in 40 days. This year, over almost the same stretch, the lead has gone from 14 games to eight as of the start of play on Friday, which is not great, but not terrible.
So you should probably bear down and enjoy the ride, because it was so much worse last year. While the last week was bad, it wasn’t “look inept in front of last place teams who have nothing to play for” bad. Granted, if the team keeps losing and has to play in the Wild Card round again, then they will only have themselves to blame.
Several players are having down years in 2026. Today, we take notice of Kyle Tucker, but before we start any analysis, I must ask an unexpected question.
Why would they come just to boo him?
Generally, I do not pay attention to players not on the Dodgers unless they play in Japan. Even then, one has to be special to grab and hold my notice. Generally, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, and Munetaka Murakami. I knew Yamamoto, Sasaki, and Murakami; Kyle Tucker is not Yamamoto, Sasaki, or Murakami.
Putting that theme aside for a moment, there was a tidbit from my visit to Houston that I originally omitted, mostly because I forgot. At the time, I was struck by how absolutely hostile the Houston faithful were towards Kyle Tucker.
It was so visceral and obnoxious, I had to check midgame in Game 1 how Tucker left Houston. Considering how hostile the ballpark’s conditions were (terrible view, blinding lights, overly tight chairs, insufferable fanbase, among other demerits), it was a novel distraction.
At this point, Tucker had only been in my orbit for about a month. So Houston’s petty rage felt like it was directed towards a boiled potato or a stalk of celery, which feels like an apt comparison for our right fielder’s temperament, and it was absolutely confusing to the uninitiated.
The observation is generally not meant as an insult; if you put Tucker in a nondescript suit, put him at a desk, and said he was a certified public accountant (CPA), you would accept the image. As opposed to putting Enrique Hernandez or Freddie Freeman in the same situation, despite his public declaration of wanting to be a CPA if this whole baseball thing didn’t work out. (Author’s Note: That’s your side hustle when you retire, Mr. Freeman; no one should putter about the house.)
“I appreciate everything that the Houston Astros team and the city itself has done for me and my family since I got drafted in ’15 until now,” Tucker said on a video conference call Tuesday. “And I don’t think I could have gone to a much better organization than the Cubs. So I’m excited to start playing in front of the fans and in the city and everything else…A lot of things in life and sports and everything kind of is what it is. Stuff happens and whatnot. Some stuff is out of your control, but you’ve just got to make the most with it.” …
Testing the open market after one season in Chicago would seem likely, though Tucker did not declare that his intention when asked multiple times Tuesday about the potential for extension talks with the Cubs.
“Kind of like I’ve always said, I’m always open to talks to see where that leads,” Tucker said. “You never know what the future’s going to hold. I’m still real close with everyone on the Astros. It’s not like we’re all enemies now or anything or I hate everyone over there — no, that’s not it. Obviously, whenever we play against them, I would prefer to win. But at the end of the day, I’m still close with a lot of those guys and some close friends of mine.”
[Emphasis added.]
If there was an opposite for bulletin board fodder, the above paragraphs would likely be it. I am not doubting the sincerity of the statements, but anodyne is the adjective that immediately comes to mind upon reading it. So, yes, the Houston faithful were largely being spectacularly unreasonable and petty. Shocking.
Kyle Tucker returned to the Northside of Chicago for the first time since leaving, which begged the question of how he’d be received. More of a question of “how would it be?” versus “how will they react?” The fans let Tucker have it all series long.
"Let's see what kind of hand Kyle Tucker gets here coming back to Wrigley Field"
Again, to put it kindly, it didn’t go well — again, either on or off the field, especially in Games 1 and 2, with blunders on the base paths and the outfield. Again, Tucker had nice things to say about his time in Chicago after Game 1.
“I tried my hardest last year. I mean, I tried playing through hand fracture and calf thing, just trying to get back to the playoffs for them, and trying to do what I could to help out the team last year with them. … Hit really well in 1st half, and 2nd half didn’t go as great, and kind of didn’t end up great at the end of the year. But had a good run. … They’re a good team, and it should be good for them for the rest of the year.”
Again, as bulletin board fodder, this interview fails miserably. Tucker in Chicago was not the same as Manny Machado in Los Angeles in 2018, who performed well enough on the field, but his style of play (dirty or otherwise) did not ingratiate himself with the fanbase.
In fact, local media was initially confused as to why Tucker was being treated so harshly by the crowd.
The accepted explanations were that Tucker did not act as if he wanted to be in Chicago and his signing in Los Angeles was emblematic of the perceived ills of the sport, which was a roundabout way to say sour grapes. Tucker played well on the whole and then signed elsewhere; the marriage was one of convenience, as clearly everyone was ready to move on, much like the Dodgers and Machado after 2018.
The latter point on Tucker is one for a later day, but the first point is idiotic and arguably applies to recent arrival Tarik Skubal. Tucker, like Skubal, was traded without a movement clause. It’s like flying a hot air balloon; one doesn’t steer it as one is at the mercy of the winds. Tucker played well in 2025, even while hurt, before the Cubs were unceremoniously bounced by the Milwaukee Brewers, which really was a historical footnote in the grand scheme of things.
For as much as everyone is glazing the Cubs now, the Brewers are still the defending NL Central Division champion until dethroned; never mind that they once again have the best record in baseball. Brewers/Cubs 2 Electric Boogaloo likely having a repeat result this October would be very funny.
Some guy on the Astros and Chicago Cubs generally does not pop up on my radar, even if he was averaging 5 fWAR/bWAR a year. While preparing this essay, I came across something that Jordan Bastian of MLB.com wrote last year, which just seems kind of mean now:
When Tucker is healthy and his swing is in rhythm, he is simply one of the best hitters on the planet.
“Look, it’s important,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “It’s part of why at times this has been a really, really good offense. He’s a big part of it.”
[Emphasis added.]
With respect to Mr. Bastian and Craig Counsell, I have no earthly idea who they are talking about, because the person they are speaking about is not the person I have seen in my travels or in my viewing of the 2026 campaign. I have yet to see the so-called King Tuck who merited this record contract and will be in Los Angeles for the next three years, at this rate.
I have recently taken to calling Tucker “Steamed Ham” because of the impromptu reaction I had to actual power being demonstrated by Tucker in Queens, NY.
Something occurred to me as the de facto Traveling Correspondent during my travels that I had to double-check once I got home from Philadelphia that I thought I might be imagining: Has Tucker been okay, if moderately underwhelming, on the road, but downright unwatchable when at Dodger Stadium?
I decided to put my observations to the test because I was genuinely curious whether I was falling victim to confirmation bias or recency bias. Tucker has played exactly 54 games at home and 54 games on the road in 2026, so any difference will likely show in the statistics by now.
On the road, Tucker compares to 2026-Max Muncy (.253/.347/.494, 131 OPS+). At Dodger Stadium, Tucker compares favorably to 2026-Nasim Nunez, currently ranked next to last in OPS+ for qualified players (.235/.318/.274, 68 OPS+).
Tucker was signed, in part, to shore up the Dodgers outfield, which was manned in part by now-Chicago Cub Michael Conforto. Last year, Conforto was generally bad in left field. It was generally painful to watch. However, I give Conforto credit in one regard: during his terrible 2025, he wasn’t publicly complaining about it.
Conforto did his best, but it just did not work out. Sometimes one’s reach exceeds one’s grasp. Moreover, the clubhouse rallied behind Conforto, and I can’t recall him making any public outbursts, even though he played poorly enough to show it.
Tucker’s facade was starting to crack in Los Angeles with public displays of frustration in the dugout after poor at-bats. This slow meltdown, compounded by his generally poor play in Chicago, led to mistakes on the basepaths and in the outfield throughout the series.
In Game 1, with the Dodgers down 3, Tucker was thrown out trying to extend a single, just before Teoscar Hernandez homered to cut the deficit to two.
“It’s just the scoreboard. [Cubs outfielder] Seiya [Suzuki] throws as well as anyone in baseball,” Roberts said. “It just doesn’t look good when you’re down three making the first out at second base.
“It just doesn’t.”
In Game 2, Tucker seemingly forgot how to play right field at Wrigley, which is a little bit awkward considering the year he played there, having a key miscue that both cut Skubal’s night short and triggered the events that tagged Skubal with the loss.
If Tucker is starting to press even further to try and overcompensate for his poor 2026, he needs to stop, because it clearly is not working. With the Summer Swoon now in full effect, if Tucker wants to change the narrative surrounding his inaugural campaign in Los Angeles, he has 48 regular-season games left to turn the tide.
News broke late Tuesday evening that former UConn star and Milwaukee Bucks wing Andre Jackson Jr. signed a deal with the Toronto Raptors ahead of training camp for the 2026-27 NBA season.
Jackson played three seasons in Storrs from 2020-23 and helped lead UConn to its fifth national championship in 2023, where he stuffed the stat sheet in 36 games with 6.7 PPG, 6.2 RPG & 4.7 APG. The Amsterdam, New York, native played 85 games in a Husky uniform before declaring for the draft after the title run.
Following UConn’s championship, Jackson was scooped up by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 36th pick in the second round in the 2023 NBA Draft. He spent the next three seasons in Milwaukee in all types of roles. His best season came his second year in 2024-25, when he played in 67 games with 43 starts and averaged 3.4 PPG and 2.7 RPG. Last season, he only played 8.5 MPG across 48 appearances, collecting many DNPs from head coach Doc Rivers.
Jackson is looking for a fresh start north of the border, but he is going to have to earn it. Toronto has all but one of its roster spots filled out heading into training camp, so he will be fighting for the final roster spot. The contract itself is an Exhibit 10 contract, meaning it’s a one-year, non-guaranteed contract that gives the Raptors his G-League rights should he not make the opening night roster.
UConn had nine players suit up in the NBA last season and is adding Tarris Reed Jr. and Alex Karaban to the list, but losing Tyrese Martin after he signed with FC Barcelona overseas. If Jackson plays any minutes in either Toronto or with another team in the NBA this year, UConn would more likely than not have 10 players record minutes in the association in a single season for the first time since the 2000’s.
In this segment, THN - Pittsburgh Penguins' editors Kelsey Surmacz and Hunter Hodies discuss the shifting landscape of roster-building in the NHL and whether or not it's a viable approach for Kyle Dubas and the Penguins to take.
Read about the Penguins' approach to roster-building and the state of their rebuild here:
CHICAGO, IL - AUGUST 01: Anthony Volpe #11 of the New York Yankees throws to first base during the game between the New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Saturday, August 1, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by George Gaza/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
When Anthony Volpe reports to the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, manager Shelley Duncan anticipates the shortstop to see some action at second base and possibly third base.
“There’s a good chance of that,” Duncan said. “We’ll see when he gets here. Us as an organization, we’ll have a plan in place for him. Anthony will be a part of that plan. We’ll move forward accordingly for what’s best for him and what’s best for the organization.”
Volpe, Jasson Domínguez, and Max Schuemann were all sent down by the Yankees on Monday following the fallout of the Trade Deadline and the promotion of top prospect George Lombard Jr. Schuemann arrived and played for the RailRiders on Wednesday night. Duncan expected Volpe and Dominguez to join the team by Friday; they had 72 hours to report.
The trio will be joining an already-good RailRiders squad. Despite having their eight-game winning streak snapped Wednesday with an 8-1 loss to the Rochester Red Wings at PNC Field, the RailRiders are in first place in the International League second-half standings with a 23-10 record, one-half game ahead of the Durham Bulls. Overall, the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate is 60-47. They are one of four teams in the 20-team league with 60 or more wins. Rochester has 64, the St. Paul Saints 63, and first-half champion Memphis Redbirds 62. During the RailRiders’ six-game series sweep at Iowa last week, they batted .343 with 79 hits, including 11 home runs, and outscored the Cubs, 50-18.
Heading into Thursday’s action, the RailRiders rank fourth in the IL in home runs with 152. On the mound, they rank first in ERA (4.14), hits allowed (774), runs allowed (492), earned runs allowed (423), WHIP (1.33), and opponents’ batting average (.227). They’re also tied for first in shutouts (7), rank second in home runs allowed (104), and tied for third in saves (29).
Two big reasons for their pitching success are right-handers Brendan Beck and Elmer Rodríguez.
Beck, the Yankees’ No. 19 prospect, is 9-2 with a 2.69 ERA in 20 starts and 118 strikeouts in 110.1 innings. He is tied for first in the league in wins with Trenton Denholm of the Columbus Clippers, is first in ERA, innings, strikeouts, and WHIP (1.02) and second in opponents’ batting average (.201). He has not lost a game at the Triple-A level since April 26th. In 14 starts since then, he is 7-0 and he hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of those outings. Additionally, six of the starts have been scoreless, including Tuesday in the series opener against Rochester, when he tossed six shutout innings with four hits, one walk, and a career-high 12 strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Rodríguez, the Yankees’ No. 3 prospect, is 7-3 with a 2.77 ERA in 16 starts and 81 strikeouts in 81.1 innings. He is coming off a month of July that saw him go 4-0 in five starts with a 2.73 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 26.1 innings with eight runs (eight earned), 26 hits, and 10 walks.
Adding Volpe, Dominguez, and Schuemann makes the RailRiders even better. They potentially could be the team to beat in the International League second half.
“The sky’s the limit,” Beck said. “Those are great players and we’re going to be excited to have them join the team. Everyone wants to be up top; this isn’t anybody’s end goal. It’s nice that we’re playing well right now and hopefully can seamlessly slide them in. Those are guys everyone is going to look to take things away from. They’ve had huge experiences in the big leagues, played in huge games. That’s something I’m interested in taking things away from them and I know the other guys are probably going to do the same.”
Duncan cautions, however, not to think things automatically will be better. He said there could be an adjustment period adding the new players.
“You don’t know honestly,” Duncan said. “The group of guys in that clubhouse over the past two weeks or so have allowed me to sit back and plug and play almost the same lineup every day. They’ve gotten really comfortable together and the chemistry in there is phenomenal. A lot of times when you bring in new players, even when you bring in really good talent, it takes a little bit for everyone to really vibe and get to know each other. The expectation can’t be they’re going to come in and have a sense of comfort. Anytime there’s any movement on a team, there’s always a little time that chemistry builds.
“Over the course of a season, you have a team’s win-loss record. But over the course of that season, you see many different teams. When I talk about that, it’s players learning to play with each other, learning to support each other, learning to sacrifice a little bit of yourself for the guy next to you. The guys in there right now are doing that with each other. When one guy doesn’t come through, the next guy picks him up. They’re able to communicate real well between at-bats and doing the little things right. I don’t think it’s fair to expect the same chemistry right out of the get-go. It takes work. Having a good team takes work. It takes constant effort to pour into that team. We’ll need to do it again. When we do, you let the talent play for itself. It will be interesting, but it will be fun at the same time.”
At various points this season, Volpe, Dominguez, and Schuemann have all played for the RailRiders, so there is some familiarity. But Duncan said when they were here, it was a completely different team. For example, when Schuemann was last here in April, the infield included Paul DeJong, Jonathan Ornelas, Braden Shewmake, and Seth Brown. None of those players are with the team now.
“There’s going to be some level of comfort,” Duncan said. “But when the makeup on teams change, there’s always work that needs to be put in with everyone.”
Despite all that, Beck believes there won’t be any issues.
“Baseball is a hard game. It’s hard to continuously go out there and have success,” Beck said. “When people come and go from the locker room, you rely on the culture of the team and the culture of the clubhouse to keep those things moving along. Luckily, we have a good culture here, so I’m excited to see what we’re able to do.”
It certainly should be quite a wild ride over the final six weeks of the season.
Patrick Damp of Locked On Penguins joins Kelsey Surmacz and Hunter Hodies - editors of THN's Pittsburgh Penguins site - to discuss why the one-year contract extension for Evgeni Malkin makes sense for both the player and the team.
We’re looking for runs and more runs in tonight's Padres vs. Diamondbacks predictions, as both starting pitchers have struggled this season.
The San Diego Padres visit the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field as slight -107 favorites at Polymarket, looking to split the four-game series.
With two of three games going Over so far, we’ll see much of the same tonight. Let’s get right into my MLB picks for Thursday, Aug. 6.
Who will win Padres vs Diamondbacks tonight: Diamondbacks moneyline (-103)
The Arizona Diamondbacks’ offense has been as potent as they come over the last week, scoring five or more runs in five of their last six games.
Against a wild pitcher like Walker Buehler, who has a 4.45 xERA this season, you can rest assured there will be a lot of traffic on the base paths tonight.
On the other side is the Diamondbacks’ No. 12 prospect Kohl Drake, who’s run into some trouble of his own this season but has shown glimpses of becoming a serviceable pitcher in two of his last three starts.
Over those two games, he’s allowed just three earned runs across nine innings while striking out 11. Against a struggling Padres offense (24th in baseball with a .694 team OPS), I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt tonight.
COVERS INTEL: Buehler has a problem this year, and that's his hard-hit percentage (40.6%) — the second-highest of his career coming into tonight; his .234 xBA against is the third-highest of his nine-year MLB tenure. That should play in our favor over the course of his start.
Padres vs Diamondbacks Over/Under pick: Over 9.5 (+119)
For as bad as Buehler has been, Kohl still gives up the long ball himself, allowing three home runs across his last three starts. His 15% barrel rate and .299 xBA against him should be enough for the Padres to help us get across the line.
Both Ketel Marte and Nolan Arenado have taken Buehler deep in their career, which means the righty’s 40.6% hard-hit rate should come into play tonight.
I’d play this up to -145 and am dropping a full unit here.
Dustin Saracini's 2026 Transparency Record
ML/RL bets: 0-2, -2 units
Over/Under bets: 0-2, -2 units
Padres vs Diamondbacks weather
The Diamondbacks play at Chase Field, which is a dome. The weather will have no impact on the game conditions tonight.
Padres vs Diamondbacks odds
Moneyline: Padres (-107) | Diamondbacks (-103)
Run line: Padres -1.5 (+152) | Diamondbacks +1.5 (-168)
Over/Under: Over 9.5 (+119) | Under 9.5 (-131)
Padres vs Diamondbacks trend
These two teams have exchanged blows this series, scoring 33 runs across three games so far — flying Over the number in two of the three matchups. Find more MLB betting trends for Padres vs. Diamondbacks.
How to watch Padres vs Diamondbacks and game info
Location
Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ
Date
Thursday, August 6, 2026
First pitch
9:40 p.m. ET
TV
Padres.TV, Dbacks.TV
Padres starting pitcher
Walker Buehler (6-5, 5.18 ERA)
Diamondbacks starting pitcher
Kohl Drake (0-0, 4.85 ERA)
Padres vs Diamondbacks latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
OTTAWA, CANADA - MARCH 26: Ville Koivunen #41 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates against the Ottawa Senators on March 26, 2026 at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by André Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
The news reverberated out of no where when the Penguins signed Ville Koivunen for an eight-year contract and a healthy $4.0 million cap hit. No matter how you slice it, there’s been a big bet made on a player prior to proving he truly deserved it, which opens up obvious questions about the reasoning behind making such a move.
Let’s dive in more and gain a new perspective that could help understanding just what this contract really means.
Ville Koivunen has some positive signs under the hood, but an incredibly limited NHL track record. The Penguins are clearly betting on him leveling up to at least middle-six caliber over this contract. pic.twitter.com/VzUKR0g9y4
This projection, if anything, shows that it doesn’t take a lot to get a $4.0 million player in the expanding NHL salary cap world. Koivunen would only need to moderately improve his point production to start getting into justifying the money. It can be a hard pill to swallow given that he’s looked slow and not quite quick enough to be effective in the NHL so far, but there’s some signs that he might be able to get there. Whether or not he will, of course, is another debate.
The comparable players to Koivunen might be the most fascinating part to consider for just where he might end up as a finished product. There are a bunch of similar players with a wide variety of career tracks.
Some of Koivunen's comps add some weight to this — if he can follow the Jack Drury/Jesper Fast track or follow in Viktor Arvidsson's footsteps, this will age well. The best-case scenario is Troy Terry. But there's obviously a pretty wide range outcomes here. pic.twitter.com/iAkDvfhIqn
Locking down a potential Troy Terry, Jack Drury or Jesper Fast would be a big win for the Penguins, let alone if Koivunen had a Viktor Arvidsson future lined up. Up until age-22, Arvidsson was a great AHL scorer with six goals in 64 games – then he popped off for 31 in 2026-17 and has gone onto have a nice career as a mid-line support player.
The trade off, and where the risk comes in, is that this best case scenario is far from guaranteed. If Koivunen trends more to the “just a guy” or worse area of following in the footsteps of Benn Ferriero or Anders Bjork, suddenly the contract looks like a big problem for a long-lasting huge cap hit on a player that isn’t capable of making much of an impact at the NHL level. And that above grouping of player contains more misses than players deserving of a max term contract.
Then again, maybe it shouldn’t look that way to gain a true understanding of the perspective of why an unestablished player signed a massive contract.
There is quietly an off-ramp built in, via a wrinkle in the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement. Players under the age of 26 can be bought out for one-third of the contract, unlike the standard 2/3 that an older player gets in a buyout. If the Pens were to buy out Koivunen in the summer of 2028, they’d sidestep almost all of the issues created with this contract. This area probably wasn’t lost under Kyle Dubas, but surely now would have been highlighted by the Pens’ new consultant Brandon Pridham – who was involved in writing the CBA.
Something to note on this contract – if the Pens buy him out in summer 2028, they'll be on the hook for 12 seasons but the cap hit will never exceed $750K
there's essentially a "get out of jail free" baked in if he actually doesn't turn out to be a player in the next two seasons https://t.co/4i2dqxGSKw
Based on the backloaded structure for the salary components on the contract, it is prime for a buyout. Per PuckPedia, here is what it would look like if the Pens bought Koivunen out in 2028.
(Note: screen cutoff, the annual $729,167 penalty continues through the 2039-40 season)
Dead cap money in hockey is usually seen as a plague to be avoided, but the rising cap mitigates the impact in a way where perceptions will need to be updated. The NHL salary cap should be in the $125 million range in 2028-29 and figures to grow beyond that in future years. Taking a $479k penalty would be negligible at best for the Penguins. The whole thing would become more of a footnote and trivia point hanging around the margins than anything else – should things come to that.
Due to the economies of scale it can be difficult to compare the NHL to the NFL in a business sense, but carrying plenty of dead cap hits is a standard operating procedure in the NFL. The Steelers, for instance, are projected at holding $12.2 million in dead space in 2026 (though, of course, the NFL salary cap being over $300 million makes that a drop in the bucket). Such a shift in mindset could wind it’s way into normality in hockey as their caps begin to grow and allow for more tolerance of inefficient penalty cap hits.
Of course, a team isn’t going to be keen to make a bold move in signing an eight-year deal thinking they will have to buy it out in two seasons, yet practically that has to be remembered when thinking about the very essence of this contract. In essence, this could be seen as the Pens giving Koivunen $8 million for two years with a team option for five more in 2028 when they assess whether Koivunen is worth keeping or better off cutting losses for the most marginal of penalties. Such money at $8mx2 is still an excessive amount for Koivunen’s worth and value in the short-term, but one the Penguins can easily afford with all their current cap space to hedge a bet against the possibility that Koivunen justifies showing that he can be a capable NHL player from 2028-33.
Dubas even said he preferred to think of the deal as a ‘bet’, a bit of a departure from the standard signing of a young player to a max-length extension. By that outlook what is a long contract isn’t an eight-year promise to a core player but a risk the team was willing to do to see if it works.
If that happens, Pittsburgh would find themselves in a winning position to have a useful, prime-aged player locked up for what will be an exceedingly reasonable amount should Koivunen trend the way of a Jesper Fast type by 2028. It would be a home run and huge win if somehow Koivunen does even better than that and has Troy Terry or Viktor Arvidsson production at the age of 25 in a couple years. In the event it doesn’t work out and Koivunen’s trajectory falls short, the team has an option to bail and chalk the whole thing up to taking a chance that didn’t pay off with very minimal cost moving forward.
On this day 43 years ago, Salomé Barojas’ 10th save helped kick-start a historic run to the end of the White Sox season. | Richard Pilling
1936 Twelve years before breaking a major-league record (see below), Luke Appling started a 27-game hit streak with a 2-for-5 game in a 9-6 win over at St. Louis in a doubleheader opener. Appling went 1-for-3 in a nightcap win over the Browns, and wouldn’t stop hitting for the rest of August.
Appling’s streak was snapped on September 3, in a 3-2 win at Boston. He went 0-for-2 with two walks in the game, and was on deck hoping for one more shot at extending the streak when Mule Haas flew out to center field to end the White Sox ninth.
During the streak, Appling hit .350, with 35 hits in 27 games and 18 walks against four Ks. Amazingly, the hit streak lowered Appling’s season average from .376 to .370. Appling would finish 1936 with a batting title, having hit a career-best .388. Appling would go hitless in just five games in September, as he pushed his batting average back up by 18 points.
Appling’s hit streak was the White Sox record for 61 years, until Albert Belle tied it in 1997. Seven years after that, Carlos Lee eclipsed Appling and Belle by one game to set the all-time record on the South Side.
1949 Luke Appling played his 2,154th game at shortstop, passing Rabbit Maranville for most in MLB history. He would play another 42 games there in the 1949 season and 20 in 1950 (at age 43) before retiring. Appling played all but one of his seasons (1948) as a primary shortstop, and 94% of his career games there.
Today, Appling sits at eighth all-time in games played at shortstop, his all-time record broken 20 years later by another White Sox shortstop, Luis Aparicio, on Sept. 25, 1970, his last game played that season. Interestingly, that marked not only the last game Aparicio played that season, it was the last game Aparicio ever played for the White Sox.
1955 From Sept. 11, 1953 through Sept. 4, 1960, Nellie Fox played 1,073 straight games — except for this one, an 8-1 loss in Baltimore. Manager Marty Marion felt his team, losers of three straight games but still tied for first in the AL, needed some rest — and in this game, Fox got it. So, Nellie would have had a streak of 1,073 heading into 1960; and with the momentum of a streak like that driving him, chances are Fox would have muscled through the virus that kept him out of that 1960 game and kept it alive. Worse (for both men), sitting the feisty, frustrated Fox on the bench next to him drove Marion crazy, and the manager vowed never to make that mistake again.
1959 It was the third and final marathon game of the 1959 season.
The White Sox battled the Orioles in Baltimore, and played for 18 innings before midnight curfew stopped the night game tied at 1-1. (Yes, it had only taken four hours to play 18 innings!)
There were two incredible performances on the pitcher’s mound. For Baltimore, Hoyt Wilhelm relieved Billy O’Dell to start the ninth inning and held the White Sox hitless for 8 2⁄3 innings, until Billy Goodman slapped a single with two outs in the 17th. Meanwhile White Sox starter Billy Pierce went 16innings, allowing just one run and recording a 100 game score, before giving way to Turk Lown in the 17th.
Billy faced 61 hitters, struck out seven and gave up 11 hits, 10 of them singles. The 100 game score is the eighth-highest in White Sox history.
The 18 innings still stand tied for the 10th-longest game in team annals.
1983 Before the game, the White Sox were 56-50, up 4 ½ games in a weak AL West. From this day on, however, the club went 43-13 to end the season at 99-63 and a record-breaking 20 games up in the division. The assault on the American League began with a 6-4 win in Baltimore, keyed by Carlton Fisk’s 4-for-5 effort, with a double and a triple. Floyd Bannister pitched seven innings for ninth win, Britt Burns earned a hold out of the bullpen (where he was demoted after losing his command) and Salomé Barojas pocketed his 10th save.
2010 Becoming the first member of the 2o1o draft class to reach the majors (yes, just TWO MONTHS after being drafted No. 13 overall) Chris Sale made his debut in a 2-1, 10-inning loss at Baltimore. It was a inconspicuous start, with a four-pitch walk to Brian Roberts and then an 0-2, jam-shot single from Nick Markakis. Just seven pitches and no outs — but the beginning of an illustrious career.
The 6´5´´, 170-pound lefty spent just 11 games in the minors, burning through High-A Winston-Salem (placed there to work with Dash pitching coach Bobby Thigpen) and Triple-A Charlotte to the tune of a 2.61 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 16.5 K/9. (In Charlotte alone, Sale sported an astronomical 21.3 K/9.)
COVERS INTEL: Buehler has a problem this year, and that's his 
