Dodgers use long balls to finish the sweep
The Royals made Eric Lauer work and had the lead twice, but it was not enough as the Dodgers’ three long homers were enough to win 4-2.
The early game was back and forth. Neither offense was able to score in the first, but then it was all scoring for a bit. Daniel Lynch managed to strike out the side in the bottom of the first and looked like maybe the experiment to move him back to the rotation was bearing some fruit. In the second, the Royals got the scoring going with a two out rally. Tyler Tolbert battled for a walk and then promptly stole second base on the first pitch of Josh Rojas’ plate appearance. Josh rewarded Tyler’s speed by singling to right and giving the Royals a 1-0 lead.
That lead did not last very long. Lynch threw a decent bottom of the second, but he left one pitch middle middle to Mookie Betts who crushed it to left center for a solo home run and a tie ball game. Mookie has not hit well this year, but against the Royals in this series this got him to four extra base hits, so if he gets back on track it may be the Royals’ fault. To the third. The Royals first base runner was Jac Caglianone who hit a grounder up the middle. It looked like Betts would throw him out, but the throw went wide and into the dugout putting Cags on second base. Salvador Perez followed that by hitting the first pitch to the right side slowly but in just the right spot to clear both the first and second baseman. It went so slow to Kyle Tucker in right field that Jac was able to get home despite slowing up as he approached third. The Royals had the lead again 2-1.
In the bottom of the third, Lynch managed a groundout to start the inning, which brought up Miguel Rojas who slapped a ball down the third base line for a double. That brought it back to the top of the order and Shohei Ohtani, who struck out looking the first time up. He was ready this time as Daniel left a sinker up over the middle allowing Shohei to hit an opposite field blast and give the Dodgers their first lead of the night 3-2. This brought an end to Lynch’s night. Matt Quatraro called for Jose Cuas to come in from the bullpen. He got out of the inning with help of a caught stealing from Salvy. He would take care of the fourth as well.
Mason Black took the mound in the fifth for the Royals. The first batter he faced was Hunter Feduccia who got a pitch to his liking and hit the Dodgers’ third home run of the night and gave LA a 4-2 lead. Meanwhile, Eric Lauer had struggled to get through the first three innings had settled in and had a fairly easy 4th and 5th innings. Even pushing 90 pitches, he came back for the 6th and took care of Starling Marte and Carter Jensen with little drama. Isaac Collins managed to work a walk after the Dodgers lost their second challenge of the night leaving them without ABS help for the remainder. Another challenge quickly followed on a potential HBP for Tolbert, but Kansas City lost that challenge as well. Tolbert struck out and you would think Lauer’s day would end his day at 107 pitches with a solid six innings and a lead in the bank. He did come back out in the 7th to face Rojas and record one more out before being replaced by Landon Knack.
Luke Maile did take over for Salvy in the bottom of the 6th as the catcher and finished the rest of the game. It sounds like Salvador’s right elbow is barking and we will hopefully get more info over the next few days.
In the eighth inning, all the weird fly balls came out. Carter Jensen hit a ball sky high with one out and it was straight toward the mound. The pitcher, still Knack, thought someone would call him off, but no one did so it fell. Next up was Isaac Collins who also skied one this time toward the Royals dugout. Freddie Freeman tracked it and ended up falling down the dugout steps, though he seemed to be fine and stayed in the game. Regardless, the Royals managed to find no runs and continued with their two-run deficit.
Craig Kimbrel made his Royals debut in the 8th. Thanks to a double play, it was uneventful. It also did not matter. The Royals never mustered any more runs against Landon Knack who finished out the game. It was a sweep at the hands of the Dodgers. Hopefully, the team can have a better time in Anaheim before they wrap up this road trip.
Eric Lauer’s gem, trio of home runs help Dodgers finish sweep of Royals
The Dodgers have their first sweep of the second half, as they took care of business against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday with a 4-2 victory.
The early game jitters flared up again for Eric Lauer, as he left two men on in the top of the first inning. He was one out away from a perfect second inning, but he walked the speedy Tyler Tolbert before Josh Rojas drove him home with a single to right field.
Mookie Betts erased the Kansas City lead by smashing his second home run in as many games, tying the score at 1. It’s the first time Betts has hit home runs in consecutive games since doing so from June 24-27.
Lauer began the third inning by striking out Bobby Witt Jr., but a wild throw from Mookie Betts allowed Jac Caglianone to reach second. The error proved costly as Salvador Pérez attacked the first pitch he saw and drove home Caglianone on a single to give the Royals the lead again.
As quick as the Royals were to strike back, the Dodgers answered back against Lynch in the bottom of the third inning. Miguel Rojas put the tying run on base with a double before Shohei Ohtani took Lynch the other way for a go-ahead, two-run home run, giving the Dodgers the lead and knocking the southpaw out of the game.
The Dodgers wasted a leadoff single from Betts in the bottom of the fourth, but Hunter Feduccia helped pad the lead with a solo home run against Mason Black in the bottom of the fifth inning. It was just the third career home run for Feduccia, and his first hit in a Dodger uniform.
After allowing three consecutive baserunners in the top of the third inning, Lauer kept the Royals at bay the rest of the way. He retired 10 consecutive hitters until he allowed a two-out walk to Isaac Collins in the top of the sixth inning. He ended his night by striking out Josh Rojas to begin the top of the seventh inning while tossing a season-high 112 pitches, the first time his pitch count reached triple digits this year. After allowing six runs in his most previous start, Lauer allowed just two runs while striking out six, the most in any start as a Dodger.
Landon Knack nearly let the lead slip, as he allowed a pair of two-out singles, but he got Luke Maile to ground out to first to get out of trouble. Knack ended up getting the final eight outs in relief of Lauer, giving him the third save of his career.
Mookie Betts added a walk to his two hits in the bottom of the sixth inning, and he finished the three-game set with a batting average at .545 while smashing two home runs and driving in three.
The Dodgers still hold onto a 7 1/2 game lead over the San Diego Padres for the NL West lead, and with the Milwaukee Brewers having been swept by San Diego, the Dodgers are now just one game back for the best record in baseball.
Game particulars
- Home runs— Mookie Betts (15), Shohei Ohtani (27), Hunter Feduccia (3)
- WP— Eric Lauer (7-6): 6 1/3 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs (1 earned run), 2 walks, 6 strikeouts
- LP— Daniel Lynch IV (4-4): 2 1/3 IP, 3 hits, 3 earned runs, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts
- SV— Landon Knack (1): 2 2/3 IP, 2 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts
Up next
The Dodgers continue their homestand on Thursday as they begin a four-game set against the Milwaukee Brewers (7:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Roki Sasaki faces Shane Drohan.
Freddie Freeman leaves game after falling into Royals dugout
Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman fell directly into the Kansas City Royals dugout in the top of the eighth inning trying to catch a foul popup, and left the game after the defensive inning.
Royals left fielder Isaac Collins lofted a pop up into foul territory on the first base side, and Freeman tracked it the whole way. He reached to try to catch the ball, but was right at the opening in the dugout with no railing, and tumbled directly down the steps. He did not catch the ball.
Amazingly, Freeman remained in the game, but only to finish the inning on defense.
In the bottom of the eighth, Freeman was set to lead off, but was pinch-hit for by Tommy Edman, as Freeman retreated to the clubhouse for treatment. Kiké Hernández took over at first base in the ninth inning.
Minor League Recap: Ralphy Stays Hot
It was a massive game for the Clippers offense lead by number one prospect Ralphy Velazquez. He went 3-5 with 2 HRs and is officially starting to kick the door down. Will they call him up? Ralphy wasn’t the only Clipper to hit multiple HRs in this game. Guardians legend David Fry went 3-4 with two HRs and 6 RBIs, his AAA OPS is up to 1.209. Kody Huff went 2-5 with a HR of his own, and we also saw multi hit games from Cooper Ingle and Kyle Manzardo. All together the Clippers scored 15 runs on 15 hits with 9 walks to just 5 strikeouts. That’s a pretty great game offensively if you ask me.
Connor Brogdon, Trevor Stephan, and Daniel Espino all had scoreless innings in relief.
The RubberDucks totaled just 4 hits tonight, but that can work when 3/4 of them were home runs. Ryan Cesarini homered yet again, along with Bennett Thompson and Dean Curley, who seems to be figuring it out at AA after a slow start.
Ryan Degges had another great start for the Ducks. He threw 4.1 scoreless innings while striking out 5 and walking 3. His ERA on the RubberDucks is still at 0.00.
Welbyn Francisca juuust missed another home run tonight, he hit a line drive single that hit off the top of the wall and was limited to just a single. He went 2-4 and is now hitting .282 with a .932 OPS in High A. He just turned 20 years old a couple months ago so I don’t think they’ll do it, but I’d love to see him get a taste of AA this season. Jose Pirela welcome to High-A! He went 2-2 with a HR, a triple, and 2 walks. There’s a lot of swing and miss in his profile but he’s a tooled up kid with some real power potential, I hope he is able to figure it out.
Aidan Major made his High-A debut and allowed two runs in 4 innings pitched while striking out 4.
The Howlers kept this from being an affiliate sweep tonight. They recorded just two total hits as a team.
Will Hynes had one of his better starts so far this season. He allowed just one earned run while striking out two batters in his 4 innings pitched. His ERA is down to 8.49 since being promoted to Hill City.
Braves News: ABS Challenges, Tyler Mahle, more
Well Tyler Mahle is two starts into his Braves’ tenure, but those two starts have been two of the best starts by a Brave not names Chris Sale this season, going 6.0 innings with strong strikeout numbers in each. There is one thing that definitely jumps out on his profile that the Braves may have changed and that is dramatically reducing his cutter usage, in favor of his four-seamer and splitter. It is also possible that they dropped his arm angle, but that is less clear from the season-long trends for him. If that can actually unlock a better version of Mahle, who has always had middle-of-the-rotation talent, that would be a huge win for the Braves and a huge feather in Jeremy Hefner’s cap.
Braves News
As much angst as there has been about Atlanta’s ABS savvy, often justifiably so, the Braves have been quite good on the defensive side of ABS.
Tyler Mahle twirled another gem, as the Braves secured another series win against the Mets, stretching the division lead to a massive 9.5 games in mid-August and 1.0 game behind Milwaukee for the #1 seed in the NL.
MLB News
Rays’ Yandy Diaz reached the threshold to secure his vesting option and a salary bump in the final year of his contract, as the Rays have the best record in baseball.
The Tigers placed Riley Greene on the IL with a hamstring strain.
Cubs Phil Maton is hitting the IL with a partially torn patellar tendon, but may be able to return this season.
Cubs Minor League Wrap: Smokies trash the Trash Pandas, 7-1
Iowa Cubs
The Iowa Cubs deconsecrated the St. Paul Saints (Twins), 7-6.
Braxton Garrett made his Cubs’ debut in this game and he had some major issues throwing strikes. Garrett only allowed one run on one hit over two innings, but he walked six batters while striking out just one. Only 29 of Garrett’s 62 pitches were strikes.
Hoby Milner pitched one inning on a rehab assignment. In the fifth inning, Milner gave up no runs, but did surrender one hit and allowed one run. He did not strike anyone out.
Connor Noland got the win in relief. Noland allowed three runs on seven hits over 3.2 innings. He struck out three and did not walk anyone.
Noland got in trouble in the ninth inning, giving up two runs and leaving runners on first and third with two outs when he was replaced by Tyler Ferguson. Ferguson threw one pitch, got a ground out to first base and collected the save.
The I-Cubs were held scoreless for the first five innings until right fielder Kevin Alcántara hit a two-run home run, his 19th on the year. (Or 20th if you count the one at Wrigley.) The Jaguar was 2 for 4 with a double and the home run.
Iowa took the lead for good with a five-run seventh inning, highlighted by a two-run home run by first baseman BJ Murray. It was Murray’s 14th this year. He went 1 for 5.
Left fielder Jordan Nwogu was 2 for 3 with a walk. He scored once and drove in two.
Second baseman Owen Miller went 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored.
The first Jaguar in orbit is Kevin Alcántara.
Big two-run single for Nwogu.
Murray’s home run tonight may not have landed in a cornfield, but it counts the same.
Justin Dean robs the Twins’ top prospect of extra bases.
Knoxville Smokies
The Knoxville Smokies caged the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Angels), 7-1.
Connor Schultz started and took the win after allowing just one run on five hits over five innings. Schultz walked one and struck out one.
Shelby Miller pitched the sixth inning on a rehab appearance and struck out the side in order on 14 pitches.
DH Alex Ramírez hit a two-run double in the seventh inning. Ramírez went 2 for 5 and scored one run.
First baseman Miguel Useche doubled twice in a 2 for 5 night. He scored once and drove in one.
Catcher Ariel Armas went 3 for 4 with an RBI single in the sixth inning.
Second baseman Drew Bowser was 2 for 4 with an RBI single.
Left fielder Carter Trice bangs into the wall, but hangs on to the catch.
The Ramírez two-run double.
South Bend Cubs
The South Bend Cubs were driven mad by the Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers), 11-3. The start of this game was delayed by 88 minutes.
Braylon Myers threw the first 2.1 innings and took the loss after he was charged with three runs on three hits. Myers walked three and struck out one.
Shortstop Angel Cepeda was 1 for 3 with a walk and two steals. He was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the eighth inning for one RBI.
Myrtle Beach Pelicans
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans quieted the Hill City Howlers (Guardians), 3-1.
Jubrayker Salaya made his Low-A debut and pitched three innings. He allowed one unearned run on one hit. He struck out two and walked one.
Next up, Victor Zarraga threw three scoreless innings and got the win. Zarraga allowed just one baserunner, a hit batter, but then erased him in a double play so he faced the minimum. Zarraga struck out two.
The Pelicans divided the nine innings equally between three pitchers, and Julio Valdez got the three-inning save. Valdez gave up no runs on just one hit. He struck out two and walked one.
Right fielder Eli Lovich was 1 for 2 with a walk and a run scored.
Center fielder Ethan Conrad was 1 for 4 with a double.
Highlights:
Everything we know so far about shocking sale of Los Angeles Lakers: Why now? Potential impacts?
Nobody saw this coming.
When the Buss family sold their majority stake in the Lakers 14 months ago — ending 46 years of being a family-run business — it didn't come out of nowhere. There had been speculation for years that as the deep pockets needed to run a competitive major American sports franchise grew, the Buss family had no choice but to consider this option, and Dodger owner Mark Walter already owned 27% of the team (and had first right of refusal on any sale).
Now, just 14 months later, Walter is flipping the Lakers and selling them to Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger at a valuation of $12.5 billion. The suddenness of the sale caught the league off guard and leads to a lot of questions. Here's what we know so far.
How did sale come together?
Fast.
NBC Sports had been told that Kushner and Iger were seriously involved in the bidding for a potential expansion team in Las Vegas (though not necessarily the frontrunner). That massive expense — an expansion fee expected to be at least $7 billion but likely higher — to get in the door and then start a new team may have given the partners pause.
Kushner reached out to Walter on Friday and the deal quickly came together during the weekend, all of it coming together in three days, Iger told The California Post.
Why sell the team now?
That is the $12.5 billion question. It also is at least part of the answer. Walter purchased the team 14 months ago at a valuation of $10 billion, so turning a tidy $2.5 billion profit in just more than a year is good work if you can get it.
However, it also may be that Walter needed cash. Walter is the CEO and invested deeply in Guggenheim Partners (which owned the Lakers as well as the Los Angeles Dodgers), and is also the founder and leads TWG Global, a holding company. Investigators at both the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan and the SEC are looking into alleged failure to properly disclose billions of dollars in related-party private credit loans tied to Walter's companies.
Bloomberg reports that Walter is trying to raise cash to pay down debt in the face of that investigation. A quick sale of the Lakers might help with that.
Because Joshua Kushner is the brother and business partner of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump, there has been online speculation that the White House had a hand in forcing the sale. A White House spokesperson reportedly told Front Office Sports the sale had nothing to do with Trump or the administration.
Will the Buss family still be involved?
Yes. Walter is selling his majority stake in the franchise, and the Buss family will maintain its 15% share.
Under the agreement with Walter, Jeanie Buss stayed on as the official governor of the Lakers and was going to be in that role for at least five years. The new owners plan to honor that agreement, Iger told The California Post.
"We have enormous respect and appreciation for Jeanie, her father and what they've contributed to this franchise, and we have every intention to honor the agreement that was made between Mark and Jeanie. If things change, they'll change, but we're going into this with enormous respect and appreciation for who she is and what she represents in the organization."
Does this sale impact the Dodgers?
No. Walter and Guggenheim will maintain ownership of the two-time defending World Series Champions, and this sale does not involve the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks.
How will this impact the front office? The roster?
In the short term, nothing changes. The Lakers' retooled roster is largely set for this season — even though they have discussed trying to land wing Jonathan Kuminga in a sign-and-trade, if they can do it on their terms. At this point, there would be no bold moves to really make, even if ownership wanted to.
Also, Luka Doncic made it clear he remains committed to the Lakers.
Being a Laker means everything to me, and I’m excited to get back on the court and bring a championship to LA. I’ve gotten used to big changes over these last few years, but I know that no matter what, there is no limit to the potential of this iconic franchise. I look forward to…
— Luka Dončić (@lukadoncic) August 12, 2026
Long-term it remains to be seen what this means. Walter had come in and started the "Dodgerification" of the Lakers organization, adding to the team's scouting and analytics staff and, like the Dodgers, pushing the franchise in a more analytically driven direction. Walter also made major changes on the business side of the organization, bringing in Lon Rosen as the team's new president of business operations, a role he had with the Dodgers.
We don't know what an Iger/Kushner ownership style looks like. Neither do they, Iger told the California Post.
"It's just premature to speculate at all about what we plan to do, because frankly, we haven't made any plans yet. Again, we go into this with an appreciation of who the Lakers are. And we just want to build value from today on...
"This is very new."
Who are Kushner and Iger?
Kushner founded Thrive Capital, a venture capital firm that invests largely in young tech companies such as Instagram and OpenAI, among many others. Kushner is worth an estimated $5.2 billion, according to Forbes.
Maybe more famously, Kushner is the younger brother of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law. However, Joshua does not have a role in the White House, reportedly has differing political views from his brother, and is a much more private person. Kushner also has invested in NBA teams before and is currently a minority owner of the Miami Heat (shares he will have to sell to complete this deal).
Iger is well known to many Southern California for his many years — across two stints — as the CEO of The Walt Disney Company, the second of which ended earlier this year. He is a consultant with Thive.
Kushner may be most of the money behind the sale, with Iger likely being the face of the new ownership group.
What are the next steps?
The details of the sale itself need to be formally put together in the coming months, then that will be presented to the league, which will do its due diligence. Ultimately, two-thirds of the Board of Governors need to vote to approve the sale.
That likely is all a formality. This sale is going to happen.
The Cubs never doubted Alex Bregman and neither did he. His three-homer game shows why.
WASHINGTON – Alex Bregman is more locked in than any hitter in the major leagues. The Chicago Cubs are as close to the Milwaukee Brewers as they’ve been in nearly three months.
And with three balls rocketing off Bregman’s bat Wednesday, Aug. 12, he and the Cubs served notice that their alliance is starting to turn lethal.
The two-time World Series champion and MVP runner-up crossed another item off his career to-do list, posting his first three-homer game as the Cubs withstood a stiff challenge from the Washington Nationals but burst the dam in the middle innings for a 12-6 victory.
The Cubs signed Bregman to a five-year, $140 million contract not only for his production but also his reputation as a human victory cigar, his mere presence uplifting teammates in a manner rare among ballplayers.
Yet after an epic run with the Houston Astros and a culture-shifting year spent in Boston, Bregman and the Cubs have proved a symbiotic relationship, grinders helping grinders.
This week, that came in the form of Bregman and major league development assistant Ben Martin poring over more than a decade of videos at 1 in the morning after the club arrived in Washington.
The video dated as far back as Bregman’s 2016 stint at Class AA Corpus Christi in the Astros’ system, and the duo used KinaTrax motion-capture data to chart changes in his swing.
The homework paid off: Bregman had two hits and a homer in the Cubs’ series-opening win Tuesday.
A night later came the booms.
His three-run homer off reliever Jake Bird in the fifth inning lifted Chicago to a 4-1 lead and after the Nationals tied it in the bottom half, his two-run blast off Yovanny Cruz an inning later pushed Chicago’s lead to 9-4, ensuring a lower-leverage game for the Cubs' bullpen.
For good measure, he piled on with a two-run shot in the eighth off veteran right-hander Trevor Williams, capping a perfect night: 3-for-3, three homers, two walks and an undeniable status that he’s been the game’s hottest hitter for three weeks running.
Since July 27, Bregman leads all major league hitters with 26 hits in 16 games. He’s slashing .394/.460/.788 in that span, with six home runs.
For reference: It took him 69 games spanning 10 weeks to hit his first six home runs of the season. Not that the Cubs really doubted the three-time All-Star and 2019 AL MVP runner-up.
Nor did Bregman.
“No. I knew,” Bregman said about tamping down any worries and retaining his confidence that, eventually, he’d break out. “But just gotta keep going. Gotta figure out what’s going on and address it. I feel like the last month or so has been a step in the right direction.
“But really, the last two days have been a real step in the right direction.”
Backing up his home run Tuesday with three more towering fly balls into the left field seats – almost identical, really – was crucial. Bregman knows himself enough to avoid the pitfall of the false positive – a moment where he believes he’s figured out a flaw in his swing, only for him to feel uncomfortable in the box the next day.
“Honestly, that’s the most important thing, right?” he says. “I’ve had days this year where it’s gone all right, had a few extra-base hits and the next day, you wake up and get to the ballpark and it feels completely different because maybe that cue wasn’t the one that was actually correct.
“We went through the archives for this, from way back in the day, to look at all the changes of how I’ve kind of loaded throughout my career. We were watching Double-A Corpus Christi video two nights ago in my room, 1 o’clock, Ben and I.”
That stint at Corpus Christi came barely a year after the Astros used the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 draft on Bregman, then an LSU shortstop. The No. 1 pick was Dansby Swanson, the Vanderbilt shortstop picked by Arizona.
Bregman wore No. 2 in Houston as a reminder he wasn’t yet No. 1. Now, he and Swanson are mutual appreciators in Chicago, both owning three-homer games this season.
“He’s obviously a guy I respect the knowledge of the game he has,” Bregman says of Swanson. “We bounce things across each other over the course of a season. We’re both looking to do one thing and win.
“That’s what wakes us up in the morning every day, is winning baseball games.”
Says Swanson, who hit his 18th homer Wednesday: “The track record speaks for itself. For him, it’s about being convicted in something that he’s doing. I feel like he’s finally found that. I’ve seen it his whole career.
“He’s a special player when he’s going right.”
Bregman’s season totals still look mildly un-Bregmanlike – a .256 average, 16 homers, a .759 OPS that’s a good tick off the .846 mark he brought into this season.
Yet the Cubs are now 71-50, nicely invigorated by trade deadline additions, and as close to Milwaukee since they were 2½ games out on May 24.
You forget, Cubs manager Craig Counsell says, that it’s a 162-game season.
“A 162-game season,” he says, for emphasis.
The great ones know that well. And Bregman now has the production to match the passion he’s spread around an already locked-in clubhouse.
“Part of that personality really fit in seamlessly,” says Swanson. “One thing he’s brought is help guys navigate through things, whether it’s other guys and their at-bats, pitchers and their approach.
“He’s at his best when he has his hands in everything.”
Never moreso than Wednesday night.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The Cubs never doubted Alex Bregman and neither did he. His three-homer game shows why.
Gaslamp Ball Reacts Survey: Padres have valuable lefty, should they keep him?
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Padres fans and fans across the country.
Adrian Morejon is one of the longest tenured players on the roster for the San Diego Padres. The left-hander was signed in as an International Free Agent in 2016 and made his debut with the team in 2019. Morejon was initially being used as a starter but poor performances as a starter and injuries pushed him to the bullpen where he has blossomed into one of the most dominant relievers in MLB. The only bullpen arm who might be more dominant than Morejon is his teammate and current San Diego closer, Mason Miller. Morejon might not be the most dominant overall reliever in the game, but there is little argument that he is is the most dominant left-handed releiver in the game.
With his appearance today in the final game of the series against the Milwaukee Brewers at Petco Park, Morejon has a record of 9-2 with a 2.76 ERA. He pitched the 10th and 11th innings and was not perfect, but he was good enough to hold the team with the best record in baseball in the Brewers to two hits and an unearned run with two walks and four strikeouts. He now has 80 strikeouts over 65.1 innings and has appeared in 56 games this season for San Diego. Morejon was not as dominant as the Friar Faithful have come to expect, but that is understandable when you look at the fact that the Padres just finished a stretch of 26 games in 27 days, the last 16 of which came after the lone day off.
Morejon has been one of the primary contributors in the San Diego bullpen in recent years. He has become more prominent over the last two years as the setup man for the Padres. Morejon typically comes into games in the eighth inning of a game with a three-run lead or less. On most nights he mows down opposing hitters and then hands the game over to Miller who has recorded 30 saves on the season. Opponents know their opportunities will be limited over the final innings of the game once Morejon takes the mound.
It is important to note he is not married to the eighth inning role even though that is where he comes into most games. When Jason Adam is healthy, Morejon has come into the games in the seventh or even the sixth innings depending on where the matchups benefit the Padres. More recently Morejon has become the Shohei Ohtani specialist when San Diego plays the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Morejon’s days in San Diego may finally be coming to an end after he has spent a decade in the system. He will be a free agent at the end of the year and because of his performance and status in MLB, he could cash-in with a massive free-agent contract. It was for this reason that rumors about a possible Morejon trade could have been an option at the MLB Trade Deadline. All 29 MLB teams could use Morejon in some way in their ‘pen and many would make him their closer. The left-hander was not traded and made it clear prior to the deadline he did not want to be traded. In fact, he told members of the media who were assembled in the locker room that he would like to look at the possibility of remaining with the Padres beyond this season.
Every fan likes to play general manager, so Gaslamp Ball is giving respondents the opportunity to do just that with the Gaslamp Ball Reacts Survey poll question this week. Do you think the Padres should extend Morejon? That’s it. Just a simple “Yes” or “No.” Results will be posted later in the week.
Brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.
Erik Erikson describes a 10-5 Mariners loss to the Yankees
If you don’t know about the psychologist Erik Erikson, in addition to having a pleasing name to say, he was a pretty cool guy who studied identity formation (with specific cultural contexts, way before anyone was doing that), describing eight distinct life stages, each guided by an existential question. The 2026 Mariners have been making me think about a lot of existential questions, like why baseball hurt so much?, and none so many as tonight, when they dangled the possibility of a slump-busting win only to fall in the late innings at Yankee Stadium in particularly grueling fashion.
According to Erikson, the first stage of life – infancy – is marked by the psychological crisis of trust vs. mistrust. The world is big and scary and unfamiliar, and it’s unclear as to what can be trusted. That’s a battle Mariners fans have been going back and forth on with this 2026 team, who have been seemingly unable to string together nine innings of cohesive baseball, let alone a winning streak. But lately the Mariners have been so bad it’s almost felt comforting. Familiar. Consistent, even if it’s terrible. So it wasn’t thrilling so much as it was frightening when they posted a three-run first inning against Yankees starter Will Warren. With one out, Cole Young hit an oppo ground ball single with one out. Is it time to start beating the “put Cole Young back at leadoff” drum a little more loudly? Randy Arozarena continued his homer-hitting ways, lacing a sweeper off the plate just over the right field wall for a two-run homer. With two outs, Julio Rodríguez added on with a solo homer of his own. Three runs! In the first inning! The Mariners fan mind cannot comprehend.
But for those of us torn between trust and mistrust, and heavily on the side of mistrust, it’s hard not to see another example of the Mariners not fully jumping on a pitcher early. It only took three pitches to make those two outs between the home runs, both outs pounded into the ground. Probably nothing to worry about, right? Right?
Maybe a little something to worry about, because Bryce Miller gave back one of those runs right away in the bottom of the inning. Toddlerhood, per Erikson, is marked by a struggle for autonomy – asserting likes and dislikes as a way to mark oneself as an independent entity in the world. Freed from the confines of the piggyback, these last starts down the stretch have been Bryce Miller’s opportunity to prove he deserves to stand as an autonomous unit. But today Miller’s repertoire essentially shrunk to two, maybe three pitches, as he went all fastball/sinker supplemented with the splitter. Miller didn’t throw his cutter a single time today, explaining he doesn’t like that pitch against this lineup, and he threw just two sweepers and one slider.
“I wish I would’ve thrown a few more curveballs,” he said postgame, but noted the primary thing he needed to do was execute his pitches better, especially at pivot points.
“I couldn’t execute,” he said. “I couldn’t make the pitches when I needed to. All the runs they scored on me were with two outs…I gotta execute with two outs and two strikes.”
Things got worse in the third, despite Canzone chipping in another solo homer to give the Mariners that run back. But the Yankees seemed ready for what Miller wanted to do in the third, starting with a leadoff double from Austin Wells, who dropped the head of the bat on a fastball in his lefty loop zone for a hard-hit two-bagger. It looked like Bryce might escape the inning without letting the run score, but he opted to go six straight splitters to Ben Rice, who refused to chase them, issuing a two-out walk (bad Bryce!). Miller then got into a long battle with Spencer Jones, feeding him almost nothing but fastballs (and one splitter) but unable to miss Jones’s bat. Finally, on the eighth pitch of the at-bat Miller left a 96.6 mph fastball middle-low for a two-run double that drew the Yankees within a run. The psychological crisis of toddlerhood, according to Erickson, is the tension between a desire for autonomy and shame/doubt. The psychological crisis for me watching this game is the tension between me truly, deeply believing Bryce Miller is a good pitcher, and the doubt tonight’s performance engendered.
The Mariners offense had opportunities in this game, which is the frustrating part of tonight’s loss for me. In the second, a leadoff “double” (flyball that dunked into no-man’s land) for Brendan Donovan, followed by a walk to Cal Raleigh, ultimately went nowhere after a Colt Emerson strikeout and a Taylor Ward GIDP. After Canzone’s homer in the third, Julio and Cal Raleigh worked back-to-back walks, only for Donovan to hit an inning-ending groundout. A leadoff single in the fourth from Raleigh was stranded with another Emerson strikeout and back-to-back groundouts from Ward and Young, Ward’s on a first-pitch swing.
The backbreaker for me was the fifth inning. Randy Arozarena led off with a 12-pitch walk – the longest plate appearance of his career – that bounced Warren from the game. With Fernando Cruz in, Dominic Canzone popped out on the second pitch he saw, for the second time that game making a quick out following a strong plate appearance by Randy. Julio Rodríguez then walked, and Josh Naylor singled up the middle to bring in a run and give the Mariners some breathing room, but more importantly, keep the line moving with just one out. But then a pair of Yankees fans stormed the field, causing a delay, and Aaron Boone yanked Cruz to replace him with lefty Tim Hill, and once again, Brendan Donovan went after the second pitch he saw for an inning-ending GIDP. Per Erickson, the existential question of early childhood (3-6 years) has to do with the safety of exploring the larger world: is it okay for me to do, move, and act? I would prefer the Mariners hitters ask themselves these questions when standing in the box considering their swing choices.
As expected, the Yankees went on to tie it up in the fifth against Miller. With Miller’s repertoire limited, the Yankees were clearly looking for the sinker or fastball early in counts. Austin Wells swung hard at a first-pitch sinker for a flyout, followed by George Lombard Junior doing the same on a four-seamer, flying out to Canzone. Finally, Trent Grisham was able to get one of those early-swing flyballs over the wall, jumping on a first-pitch sinker for a Yankee Stadium special (364 feet, .130 xBA), to bring the Yankees within a run once again. Ben Rice followed that with a double on one of the two sweepers Miller threw tonight, and then Spencer Jones again ambushed a first-pitch fastball for a back-to-back double, tying the game.
The Mariners had a chance to go ahead in the sixth. Cal Raleigh led off with another walk, and as frustrating as this game was, Cal Raleigh showing some better discipline at the plate is a good sign, she said, lacing up her clown shoes securely. But Colt Emerson struck out, and despite Taylor Ward reaching on a fielding error that should have been a GIDP, Young and Arozarena went on to make back-to-back two-pitch weak contact outs to quell that threat.
Bryce Miller managed to make it through the sixth, almost getting into some more two-out trouble when Ryan McMahon narrowly missed a homer on a splitter at the bottom of the zone; he was thrown out trying to stretch for a double thanks to a nails throw by Canzone in right. But the Mariners weren’t able to carry that momentum forward in the top of the seventh; Josh Naylor took a two-out walk but was picked off for the third out of the inning, surprised by Paul Blackburn. The Mariners took seven walks tonight, and scored just one of them. Late childhood and adolescence, says Erikson, is the age of looking around and assessing oneself against one’s peers: do I have what it takes to make it in the world? What is my identity? This late in the season, it feels like the Mariners still lack an identity.
The Yankees finally went ahead in this in the bottom of the seventh, making some more hard, loud contact off Gabe Speier. George Lombard Jr. singled, then scored on a Trent Grisham double. “That’s a double, and that’s the Yankee lead” crowed Karl Ravech on ESPN, and it felt like he said “and that’s the ballgame,” and that’s also how it felt, a feeling only intensified when Ben Rice added on with a hard-hit single up the middle Colt Emerson couldn’t handle to score another run. After an intentional walk to righty Heliot Ramos, Speier was supposed to get lefty Jazz Chisholm, but walked in a run instead to put the game even further out of reach. We’re up to the stage of early adulthood, marked by romantic/interpersonal relationships in Erikson’s schema, so I’m going to hold your hand while I tell you that Cole Young was removed prior to this inning with “dizziness.” Cole Young has been the emotionally loadbearing One Good Thing about this cursed season, so this one feels like an extra little kick in the throat from the baseball gods.
From here on, the game went about as you expect. The deficit got bigger, with Nick Davila giving up a second homer to Grisham, making it 10-5. The Mariners failed to add on. The announcers, both national and local, turned to different topics of conversation other than the game.
Middle adulthood, says Erickson, is driven by the existential question “can I make my life count?” (It always comes back to Mary Oliver, you know this by now.) There is something about a baseball season – spanning seasons, all the life events that can happen between March and October, easily markable gateposts – that inspires one to think about mortality. And there is something about the Mariners, in particular, that inspires one to think about how one is counting out the days of one’s life, or what it says about us to tie ourselves to this continually underperforming, disappointing, frustrating baseball franchise. I’m not there yet chronologically, but hoping I can mentally, at least, get to Erickson’s final stage of identity development sometime before the end of this season: ego integrity vs. despair, the answer to the question “was it okay to be me a Mariners fan?”
Senators Apparently Turned Down Draft-Night Trade Offers From Pittsburgh And Vancouver
The Senators launched a new season of Breakaway on their YouTube channel on Wednesday, and the first episode of Season 7 offered an interesting behind-the-scenes look at the team's war room during the first round of this year's NHL Draft.
The episode's most intriguing material came from a mic'd-up Steve Staios, who revealed several details about Ottawa's draft-night thinking.
One of the biggest revelations was that their 25th overall pick, Jonas Lagerberg Hoen, was ranked nine picks higher (16th overall) on the Sens' internal draft board.
So they had to be thrilled he was still available when their pick came around.
That being said, it sounds like Staios could have gone either way when it came to choosing between Lagerberg Hoen and Jaxon Cover, the London Knights forward Ottawa eventually selected 32nd overall.
"Okay, I was thinking [we pick] Cover first and then Lagerberg Hoen?" Staios wondered aloud to his scouting staff. "Or [do we think Lagerberg Hoen] won't be there?"
The Senators settled on the skilled Swede at No. 25, and a couple of factors appeared to push them in that direction.
One was obviously their internal ranking and the concern that he wouldn't last to 32. The other was some interesting intel gathered during the pre-draft interview process.
"We talked to some of the top-end Swedish guys in the interview process," Staios told head coach Travis Green. "Stuff like, 'If you can bring a player with you, who would it be?' And this guy's name came up a lot."
That apparently helped reinforce what Ottawa's scouts already thought about Lagerberg Hoen.
Staios was also busy on the phone leading up to the 25th pick, listening to potential trade offers.
At one point, as viewers got to eavesdrop on one of his phone calls, Staios said he was being offered the 33rd and 41st picks for Ottawa's 25th and 72nd selections.
It doesn't take much detective work to figure out that the offer came from new Vancouver Canucks GM Ryan Johnson, whose club owned picks 33 and 41.
Had Staios accepted, the Senators would have held picks 32, 33 and 41 instead of 25, 32 and 72.
He opted to stay put, almost certainly because Ottawa didn't believe Lagerberg Hoen would still be there at No. 32. Considering the Senators had him ranked 16th overall, it's easy to understand why they weren't willing to take that chance.
There was another interesting option involving the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Staios revealed that Pittsburgh had called to offer a deal that included a Penguins roster player, although the min-doc didn't reveal the player's identity.
That leaves plenty of room for speculation on who that might be.
One name that would make some sense is Justin Brazeau. The 6-foot-6, 232-pound winger scored 17 goals and 17 assists last season and has been mentioned in trade speculation.
With the Sens having recently lost the physical presence Brady Tkachuk provided, it's not difficult to imagine the Penguins offering a player like Brazeau. Naturally, the Pens' 39th overall pick or something else would have to be included in such a deal.
Or if there were no picks changing hands, the unnamed roster player might need to be someone like Rickard Rakell or Bryan Rust.
But Staios resisted the various offers and plowed forward with his top picks in the order they were given.
They landed a player they had ranked 16th at No. 25, then still managed to get Cover seven selections later at No. 32.
For fans who enjoy the off-camera mechanics of draft night, it's a fun episode.
It's one thing to hear Gary Bettman announce names at the podium. It's another to hear how close the Senators came to doing something completely different.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News
This article was first published in The Hockey News. For more Sens coverage at The Hockey News, click on one of the Sens headlines below:
2025 Senators First-Rounder Shares 'Gnarly' Details Of His Long Road Back
Drake Batherson Wins His Club Championship, Taking Trophy From His Dad
Senators Newcomer Recognized For NHL's Best Goal Of The Year
Career Year, New Deal Fuel Former Senator's NHL Comeback Bid
Jordan Spence On Tkachuk's Exit: 'I Think That It's Going To Make Us Better'
Georges Niang reportedly a Warriors target
The Golden State Warriors still have two roster spots remaining thanks to their offseason strategy of “LeBron
James Or We’re Staying The Same.” One player who seems to fit what the Warriors look for an in end-of-the-bench signing is a veteran forward known as “The Minivan,” Georges Niang.
The 33-year-old forward missed all of last season with an injury to his left foot, though neither the tanking Utah Jazz nor the tanking Memphis Grizzlies were interested in rushing Niang back to the court. He’s a 39.9% three-point shooter for his career, hitting over 40% of his shots behind the arc in six of his last seven seasons.
Niang was quite good in his last NBA season. In 2024-25, he averaged a career-high 9.9 points and 2.1 threes on 40.6% shooting in a season split between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks — he went over in the De’Andre Hunter trade, one the Cavaliers almost immediately regretted. Officially, he stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 230 pounds. He’s a below-average defender but not terrible but his role is to make catch-and-shoot threes, often from the corner.
That’s an archetype the Warriors have looked for in previous seasons. Omri Casspi, Jonas Jerebko, and Otto Porter, Jr. have all been that sort of player. Here’s what the Warriors presumably like about Niang:
- Shooting
- Veteran experience
- Basketball IQ
- Injury history
- Short for his position
- Has a podcast, “
- Was alive when “Seinfeld” was making new episodes
The Dubs are also reportedly interested in Brandon Williams, the 26-year-old guard who averaged 13 points and 3.9 assists in 66 games with the Dallas Mavericks last season. Obviously Williams is a little young for the 2026-27 Warriors, and only shot 23.2% from three-point range last season. But advanced statistics do like his defense, and he averaged 0.9 steals last year.
Williams worked his way up through the G League to reach the NBA, after a knee injury cost him his sophomore year at Arizona and then the pandemic derailed the draft process in 2020 after he recovered. He’s 6-foot-1, so the Warriors can continue their dream of being the NBA’s shortest team even if they add Williams. The Mavericks seem uninterested in bringing Williams back, because they’ve acquired almost nothing but power forwards since Masai Ujiri took over the team, and apparently Cooper Flagg is Kyrie Irving’s backup now.
If previous reports are true, Niang and Williams may be competing for the same roster spot, as the Dubs are reportedly interested in adding a center as well. However, they already have Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Charles Bassey available at the five, along with Draymond Green’s usual small-ball five work, so they might prioritize shooting and having another guy who could dribble. There’s also a vacant two-way contract slot at present, which could go to a player like Graham Ike.
Why is Niang called “The Minivan”? It’s because of an unimpressive dunk Niang delivered while a member of the Utah Jazz in 2018. After Warriors Summer League legend Joe Ingles razzed Niang about barely clearing the rim, Niang explained to reporters that while some players had “Ferrari engines,” he had a “minivan engine” which required several laps around the block just to warm up.
That was eight years ago, so you can imagine the level of athleticism Niang is working with now, especially after missing a season with an injury. Still, the Warriors aren’t adding him for his dunking ability!
There’s simply not a lot of options out there. They weren’t adding Russell Westbrook anyway, but he retired. Ben Simmons is preparing to do showcases in Australia. Bradley Beal is coming back from a broken hip. Gabe Vincent averaged 4.4 points and 1.4 assists last season. Signing Cam Thomas would make Steve Kerr retire. Ochai Agbaji is sort of bad at basketball.
All we know is that the Warriors are adding two players and those players are getting the minimum. Are those players going to be exciting? That depends on how exciting you consider a minivan to be.
Lakers’ 2026 NBA Cup Group Play scheduled revealed
It was already known that the Lakers would play the Warriors three times during October entering Wednesday.
Now, a fourth matchup in the month has been revealed.
The Lakers will travel to San Francisco to play the Warriors on Oct. 30 to kick off their NBA Cup Group Play slate.
It’s the second matchup of the Amazon Prime’s NBA Cup Group Play doubleheader, with the 76ers and LeBron James hosting the defending NBA Cup and NBA champion Knicks beforehand on Oct. 30.
The NBA announced the Lakers’ four NBA Cup Group Play games on Wednesday:
- Oct. 30: at Warriors;
- Nov. 6: vs. Trail Blazers;
- Nov. 20: vs. Kings;
- Nov. 27: at Spurs.
The Lakers will also play the Warriors in preseason exhibitions on Oct. 6 at Chase Center and Oct. 13 in Las Vegas before hosting the Warriors for both teams regular season opener on Oct. 21.
The group play of the NBA’s fourth annual in-season tournament will run from Oct. 30 through Nov. 27, with the single-elimination knockout round being played from Dec. 4-9.
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The NBA Cup final will be played at Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Dec. 11 – the first time it will be held outside of Las Vegas, which hosted the tournament’s first three finals.
The semifinals will be played in the team’s markets after the semifinals and the final were played in Las Vegas the previous three years.
The full NBA schedule will be released at noon on Thursday.
The Lakers’ six known regular season games are:
- Oct. 21: vs. Warriors;
- Oct. 30: at Warriors;
- Nov. 6: vs. Trail Blazers;
- Nov. 20: vs. Kings;
- Nov. 27: at Spurs;
- Dec. 25: vs. 76ers.
Mighty Mahle and Braves bombs secure series win versus the Mets, 6-3
A platoon pairing with a homer apiece, Austin Riley ending the night a triple short of the cycle, a reminder not to run on Ronald Acuña Jr., and much more.
It was an eventful 6-3 Braves win. I’ve got your AA apology forms right here.
Mets starter Zac Thornton had only given up three home runs coming into tonight’s series finale, and the fourth came rocketing off the bat of Lane Thomas in the second inning to get the scoring started. Thomas belatedly acknowledged the bullpen as he rounded the bases, but hey, it was his first homer as a Brave. He gets a pass this once.
The Braves tacked on another run in the bottom of the third courtesy of Ronald Acuña Jr. After his leadoff walk, he advanced to third on a Drake Baldwin single and came home to score after Matt Olson hit into a double play. Ronald drove in another in the fifth after an Austin Riley double and a Sean Murphy single, but was thrown out at second. It was a little payback from the Mets after Jared Young, in the top of the same inning, forgot the golden rule: don’t run on Ronald.
All in all, this was three (3) more runs of support for Tyler Mahle than he received in his Braves debut versus the Yankees last Friday.
Mahle’s home debut started inauspiciously – a nine-pitch at-bat led to a leadoff single in the first for A.J. Ewing. But he rebounded to set down the next three Mets in order.
He built upon his impressive debut with yet another six strong innings of work. He likely could have gone deeper if he didn’t have so many full counts to various Metropolitans. The lone blemish on his final line was a leadoff homer to catcher Luis Torrens in the sixth, but otherwise he scattered four total hits and struck out seven on 93 pitches.
Mahle departed with the Braves leading 3-1. Dylan Dodd took over for the Braves in the seventh and gave up a solo homer to Luis Robert Jr. to make it 3-2.
But the Braves would get those two runs back and then some.
Platoon perfection was achieved with Mike Yastrzemski coming off the bench to lead off the bottom of the seventh to face Dedniel Núñez. Yaz saw a ball high before sending the second pitch 102 mph to right center.
Austin Riley, already with a single and a double on the evening, wanted in on the action and crushed a slider a whopping 438 feet to left center field. Back-to-back dingers are the most fun way to get two runs back, change my mind.
Núñez struck out Murphy but allowed a double to Ronald before being lifted. Jefry Yan of the exuberant strikeout celly immediately allowed an RBI single to Baldwin to make it 6-2 Braves. Yan got Olson swinging, but kept it demure on the mound given the score. Ozzie Albies’ lineout ended the frame.
Dodd turned the ball over to his fellow Dylan, and Lee worked a scoreless eighth inning with nothing of note besides the two-out walk to Ewing.
Once again, we find ourselves with a comfortable four-run lead. Once again, we see Raisel Iglesias enter in the top of the ninth in a non-save situation. Once again, we are all a little more clenched than we thought we’d be.
The drama began with a Bo Bichette homer to lead off the inning. Then followed a Carson Benge double and a Luis Robert Jr. walk. The tying run, Jared Young, came to the plate with no outs. Somewhere in the dugout, Mahle began to wonder if the price for every good start of his was a meltdown for Iggy. It had only happened once, but it sure looked like it might be happening again.
But our closer, dear reader, remembered who he was: an All-Star. And he needed all of seven (7) pitches to get Jared Young to ground out, Francisco Alvarez to pop out, and Marcus Semien to ground out to end it. Deep breaths!
The Braves take the rubber match and the series with tonight’s final score of 6-3. But almost more importantly: the Braves ABS score vs. (soon-to-be retiring) umpire Andy Fletcher was 4-1 (Ronald winning one in the first, and Sean getting three correct before a failed Hail Mary in the ninth). There’s a lot to like about how the Braves are playing lately: clutch hitting, good pitching, contributions from our new guys, and if we can finally get good at ABS? Watch out, league.
The Braves are back in action on Friday with the Arizona Diamondbacks coming to town. Chris Sale will get the ball starting at 7:15 pm ET.