Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:
For the Nationals:
Gamethread 8/5: Nationals at Phillies
Braves vs Marlins chat and discussion: Bryce Elder vs Eury Pérez
The Atlanta Braves are taking on the Miami Marlins as they look to win their seventh game in a row. On paper if you just look at the ERAs it looks like it may be a pitcher’s duel between Bryce Elder and Eury Pérez.
If we dig deeper we see that Bryce Elder has a FIP north of seven in his past four starts despite his 3.00 ERA and the Braves have a recent history of having no issues tagging Eury Pérez for runs. The Braves have seven regular starters with a career OPS of .762 or better against Pérez in their career. Pérez has an ERA of 1.69 since the start of July, so we will see if the Braves simply have his number, or if he was just in a funk the few times he has faced them.
Follow along in the comments.
First pitch is at 7:15 EDT.
Cubs 7, Dodgers 6: Pete Crow-Armstrong’s DH day
Pete Crow-Armstrong got a day off from playing center field, a good idea as the Cubs are still in their stretch of playing 17 days in a row. To keep his bat in the lineup, Craig Counsell made PCA the designated hitter for the afternoon. He’d done that just one other time before this game, Sept. 8, 2025 at Atlanta. He went 0-for-4.
This time, PCA took the “hitter” part of the DH role to heart, smashing two home runs — including one leading off the first inning — and going 3-for-5, helping the Cubs to a 7-6 win over the Dodgers and a series sweep.
Shohei Ohtani, who’d been pretty quiet in this series, led off the game with a home run. Shōta Imanaga settled down and retired the next three Dodgers in order and then PCA got to work.
It did not take long — he launched Eric Lauer’s first pitch of the game into the bleachers [VIDEO].
That ball was crushed! [VIDEO]
Fun facts about Cubs leadoff homers from BCB’s JohnW53:
Pete Crow-Armstrong’s home run was the 245th by the Cubs’ first batter of a game since 1910, first season for which baseball-reference.com has searchable play-level data: 129 at home and 116 on the road.
It was PCA’s fourth. The first three were in a span of five days: June 13 at San Francisco, then June 15-16 at home vs. the Rockies.
Six Cubs have hit five such homers, including Michael Busch and Anthony Rizzo. Five hit more: Alfonso Soriano, 22; Rick Monday, 17; Dexter Fowler, 12; Ian Happ, 10; and Brian McRae, 8.
And one more fact about the two leadoff homers in this game:
So very quickly, this game is 1-1. Imanaga had a long second inning allowing a pair of hits, but got out of it scoreless.
Then the Cubs got to work again in the bottom of the inning. Nico Hoerner led off with a single and one out later, scored on a double by Dansby Swanson [VIDEO].
One out after that, PCA came to bat again and doubled, scoring Swanson [VIDEO].
Imanaga had another long third inning, allowing two more hits, but no runs. The Cubs didn’t score in the third but put together a three-run fourth, all after the first two hitters were routine outs.
Tyrone Taylor singled, his first hit as a Cub. And then PCA homered again, his 26th [VIDEO].
The 26 homers go with his 28 steals and put him ever closer to another 30/30 season.
The Cubs weren’t done in that inning, either. Seiya Suzuki followed the homer with a double and scored on this single by Alex Bregman [VIDEO].
So it’s 6-1 Cubs going to the fifth. Imanaga was lifted after five innings and 89 pitches. He ran a lot of long counts and got himself out of jams, allowing just the one run on the Ohtani homer. He didn’t walk anyone and struck out six [VIDEO].
Tyler Ferguson threw two very good scoreless innings in what might be his last game for the Cubs for a while — he’s the likely optionee to Triple-A Iowa whenever Clay Holmes is added to the active roster.
So that’s where the score stayed, 6-1 Cubs, until the bottom of the seventh. Michael Busch led off with a single and then Nico doubled him in [VIDEO]. That was Nico’s third hit of the game and fifth of the series.
But hold on a second, said the Dodgers. Left fielder Tommy Edman held his arms up, because the ball briefly disappeared into the ivy. But third base umpire Laz Diaz signaled “in play,” and so Busch scored. The Dodgers challenged, but it was ruled “call confirmed” [VIDEO].
That would turn out to be a very, very, VERY important run.
That’s because Caleb Thielbar got hit hard in the eighth. Even the one out he recorded, a fly to left, was hard hit. After that he gave up four hits in a row: Two singles, a homer by Max Muncy that made it 7-4, and another single. Craig Counsell called on Ryan Zeferjahn, who struck out pinch-hitter Teoscar Hernández for the second out. However, he then had to face Ohtani, who smacked his second homer of the game to left to make it a one-run game. Zeferjahn got out of the inning by striking out Enrique Hernandez.
I suspect Thielbar might have reached the end of his time with the Cubs. Hoby Milner is due back soon and that might mean a DFA of Thielbar.
At that point it started to rain pretty hard, but the umpires let play continue. The Cubs got a runner on in the bottom of the eighth when Carson Kelly singled, but he was stranded.
That meant Jacob Webb would enter to close, something I’m sure Counsell didn’t want to have to do, not with four more games before an off day.
Webb took care of the Dodgers 1-2-3 on 11 pitches to seal the win. Here’s the final out [VIDEO].
A few postgame notes from John:
The Cubs are a season-high 17 games above .500, have won six in a row at home vs. Dodgers and swept Dodgers at home for first time since 2021.
…..
Nico Hoerner and Pete Crow-Armstrong both had three hits.
They are the top two among the Cubs this season in games with at least three. Hoerner has 10; PCA, nine. Seiya Suzuki has seven; Alex Bregman and Michael Busch, six; and Dansby Swanson, five. Carson Kelly joined Ian Happ with three. Three other have two, for a total of 11 players with 55 games.
And some notes on the scoring in this series:
Dodgers’ scoring in this series:
Monday:
three-run homer
single and error (unearned)
solo homer
Tuesday:
solo homer
Wednesday:
solo homer
three-run homer
two-run homer
Twelve total runs, 11 of them on six homers
Cubs scored 21 runs, 12 of them on eight homers
The Cubs’ series sweep was very satisfying, even if a bit nervous at the end Wednesday. They showed the supposedly invincible Dodgers that they can play right with them. The sweep also gave the Cubs the season series over the Dodgers and thus the tiebreaker for postseason, if that’s meaningful. The Cubs are now just three games back of the Dodgers in the overall league standings, 66-49 to 69-46, and trail the Brewers by five games in the NL Central, pending Milwaukee’s game at home against the Pirates this evening.
The Cubs have one more game at home before embarking on a road trip Friday, when we will see the first starts of Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes for the team. They will face the Blue Jays Thursday afternoon at Wrigley Field, a makeup of a game postponed June 21. David Peterson will start for the Cubs and Dylan Cease goes for the Jays. Game time is 1:20 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Milwaukee Brewers: Paul Skenes vs. Kyle Harrison
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Milwaukee Brewers, August 5, 2026, 7:40 p.m. ET
The Pittsburgh Pirates are getting the national television treatment as they take on the Milwaukee Brewers in the third matchup of a four-game set at American Family Field.
The national audience will get a look at Paul Skenes for tonight’s game. Skenes is 9-9 so far this season with a 3.90 ERA, which is sound, but not up to par compared to what he showed in his first two professional campaigns.
Skenes struggled in his last start against the Cincinnati Reds on July 31. He only pitched four innings, giving up seven hits and five earned runs, as the Bucs lost 8-7 to their division rival. This marks Skenes’ third start against the Brewers so far this season. He beat the Brewers 6-0 in his last start at American Family Field on April 24, pitching seven scoreless innings with one hit. He also pulled out a win when the Brewers came to PNC Park last month. He pitched 5.1 innings, giving up three hits and two earned runs in a 14-5 victory at home.
Kyle Harrison is getting the start for the Brewers in his first appearance since July 8. The last time he was on the field, he gave up four hits, three runs, and four innings as the Brewers lost 5-1 to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Location: American Family Field, Milwaukee, WI
Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, ESPN
Pitching Matchup: Paul Skenes (9-9, 3.90 ERA) vs. Kyle Harrison (8-2, 3.01 ERA)
BD community, this is your gameday thread for today’s game. Chime off in the comments section below.
Royals vs. Twins August 5 game discussion
It was nice to see Bobby Witt Jr. back in action and looking at his full power last night. Game two of the series will commence tonight. Which Noah Cameron will we see? He put up 8 innings of 1 hit baseball last time out against this same Minnesota team. It was his second dominant start in a row, so maybe he has it all figured out again. And still, that season ERA of 4.59 says that you should not get too comfy with him on the mound.
The Twins, who are going for it I guess, are sending Dean Kremer to the mound. They just traded for him and this will be his Minnesota debut. Kremer has been a perfectly fine starter for several years now after a pretty great first full season in 2022. This year has not gone well yet for Dean and has been by far his worst in the majors. After just two starts in April, he hit the IL with a quad injury. He returned at the beginning of July and has a 7.56 ERA since returning.
Looks like Jac Caglianone will be at first and Salvador Perez behind the plate to get Carter Jensen out from behind the dish for the night.
New York Yankees vs. St. Louis Cardinals: Will Warren vs. Andre Pallante
While the score only ended 2-0 and you might not have been able to tell from just the box score, last night was an exciting one in the Bronx. Yankees top prospect George Lombard Jr. debuted and made quite the first impression. With a home run for his first career MLB hit and a couple nice plays in the field, Lombard helped the team to a win over the Cardinals. Now, he and the Yankees will try it again as they go for a series victory.
Following his impressive debut, Lombard is back in the Yankees’ lineup, starting at shortstop and hitting eighth. It’s actually the exact same lineup as yesterday, with just a change on the mound. Starting tonight for the Yankees will be Will Warren. After briefly being the subject of trade rumors ahead of the deadline, Warren will get the ball, looking to build on the six shutout innings he threw against the Cubs in his last start. Warren owns a 4.14 ERA on the season after that strong outing, striking out 109 batters in 108.1 innings.
As for the Cardinals, they’ll send Andre Pallante to the mound. The 27-year-old in his fifth season is enjoying his best year in the majors thus far, owning a 3.72 ERA and surpassing 2 fWAR for the first time. A strikeout machine he is not, as he’s punched out just 86 batters in 118.2 innings, but he’s been fairly good at keeping the ball in the park with a 0.76 HR/9 and a home run to fly ball ratio under 10 percent. Monday’s destructor Alec Burleson will also be back in the lineup after starting last night on the bench.
Here’s all the information you need to know on how to catch tonight’s game, and we hope you’ll come join us in the game thread for tonight’s action!
How to watch
Location: Yankee Stadium — The Bronx, NY
First pitch: 7:05 pm ET
TV broadcast: Amazon Prime Video (NYY), Cardinals.TV (STL)
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY), KMOX 1120 AM/104.1 FM (STL)
Online stream: Amazon Prime Video, MLB.tv (out-of-market only)
For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.
Padres rout the D-Backs to even series; Mize makes team debut tonight
The San Diego Padres scored early and often in a convincing 9-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks to even the four-game series at a game apiece. It was their ninth win in the last 11 games, moving the Padres one game back of the Diamondbacks in the National League Wild-Card standings.
This sets up a crucial third game in the four-game set. The victor could gain much-needed momentum in securing the final playoff spot.
Friars hot bats
One of the catalysts in the Padres’ ability to roar back into the Wild-Card chase has been their offense. Last night, the lineup erupted for 16 hits and nine runs in the road victory. Manny Machado was the hitting star with three hits and four RBI. Jackson Merrill continued his hot streak with a three-hit night and two RBI. Jake Cronenworth also contributed with three hits and an RBI.
Since the All-Star break, the team’s hitting numbers have been outstanding. The Friars have a team batting average of .291 with 139 hits and 20 home runs. The hope is the suddenly hot offense combined with improved starting pitching will help the club to gain more ground in the heated NL Wild Card race.
Taking the mound: Casey Mize (SD) vs Mitch Bratt (ARIZ)
Tonight’s game features an intriguing pitching matchup between Casey Mize (4-6, 2.70 ERA), who is making his Padres debut, and one of the D-Backs’ prized rookie starters, Mitch Bratt (0-1, 5.23 ERA). Both teams are looking to reinforce their injury-riddled starting rotations.
The Friar Faithful will find out how much a “power pitcher” Mize has become. The right-hander offers a five-pitch mix that showcases his split-finger fastball. Each has sharp late movement away from hitters.
Tonight, expect to see Mize use his split-finger to neutralize the D-Backs right-handed-heavy lineup. If he is successful in throwing strikes, you can expect plenty of swing-and-misses or weak fly balls to the outfield.
The Snakes are hoping Bratt can slow down the Padres offense. However, the youngster has struggled with consistency in his first five MLB starts. Bratt has never lit up the radar gun, as he relies on command-and-control to record outs.
The left-hander throws a four-seam fastball, slider, and curveball. He loves to change speeds and hit his spots in the zone for strikes. The key for him is to be aggressive against the Friars. If not, the lineup will draw walks that extend the inning. Bratt must generate weak contact to be successful because he is not a strikeout pitcher.
Today’s lineup
Game Thread: White Sox (59-53) at Red Sox (61-51)
The White Sox want to put Tuesday’s 14-2 Beantown beatdown behind them, and they’ll do so by turning things over to their hottest starter. Last night was a five-alarm pitching disaster: Davis Martin was apparently tipping his pitches and, as a result, got smoked for nine runs over five innings.
Enter Sean Burke (7-5, 3.04 ERA, 1.10 WHIP), who has been dealing. Over his last seven starts, he owns a 1.45 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and he’s been mowing down hitters at a clip that would make a weed whacker jealous. Statcast loves him, too — 90th percentile in pitching run value, 94th with the fastball, 83rd in strikeout rate. The plan for Burke should be pretty simple. He needs to climb the ladder with heaters, then drop the hammer with a breaking ball that grades out miles better than Sonny Gray’s. The catch is that Boston’s bats are molten right now. Andruw Monasterio, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Caleb Durbin are all hitting north of .300 in the last few weeks, so Burke will need to keep the hard contact to a dull roar.
Boston throws Sonny Gray (12-2, 2.93 ERA, 1.17 WHIP) at the Good Guys, and he’s been nearly as nasty — 2.64 ERA in his last seven appearances. The fastball still pops, but Statcast says there’s a crack in the armor. The chase rate is still solid, but the breaking ball has gone soft, the strikeout rate has dipped and hitters aren’t flailing like they used to. The assignment for Chicago’s bats is to avoid getting greedy, lay off the junk, and drag Gray into deep counts where he might make a mistake.
The good news for Sox fans? Munetaka Murakami is on a heater (.292/.370/.604, .974 OPS last 15 days) and Meidroth is right there with him (.308/.417/.538, .955 OPS). If those two keep raking and Burke does his thing, the Sox have a real shot to square this series before Thursday’s getaway day.
Here’s how Will Venable sends them out against Gray.
This is how the Red Sox will lineup versus Burke.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. CDT. The game will be televised on CHSN and can be heard on ESPN Chicago 1000.
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Rockies shut out 4-0 as the Rays secure series sweep
After a dominant series sweep of the Kansas City Royals to begin the home stand, the Colorado Rockies were swept at the hands of one of the best teams in baseball. Despite solid pitching from the home team, the Rockies offense could not solve the Tampa Bay Rays staff, falling 4-0 for their fifth shutout of the season.
Tomo does his thing
The consistency of Tomoyuki Sugano on the mound has been one of the greater storylines of 2026 for the Rockies. Once again, the veteran right-hander was able to give his club a chance to win the game as he continues to eat innings.
The day started shakier than usual for Sugano as Victor Mesa Jr. led off the game with a triple to right field, followed by a single from Jonathan Aranda to give the Rays a 1-0 lead. The Rays then manufactured another run after Junior Caminero drew a walk and Chandler Simpson had a one-out single to give Tampa Bay a 2-0 lead.
Ever unflappable, Sugano settled in and continued to go to work as he has done all season. He retired the next four batters before giving up a two-out triple to Mesa in the second, but stranded him with a strikeout of Aranda. Caminero led off the third inning with a solo home run, and that would be the last hitter to reach base until Liam Hicks walked to lead off the sixth inning.
After the home run, Sugano retired the next nine batters in a row. His day ended after the walk to Hicks, having thrown five innings and giving up just three runs on five hits. He had three strikeouts and two walks, while tossing 85 pitches and 49 strikes. Sugano also induced seven ground outs and five flyouts.
The Rays have scored a lot of runs in the series, but Sugano was able to hold them at bay and give the offense a chance to compete. Unfortunately, they couldn’t solve Nick Martinez.
Trouble with Martinez
The 2026 All-Star spent four seasons in Japan before returning to MLB in 2022 and has been excellent on the mound this season. Much like Sugano, Martinez thrives on getting opponents to put the ball in play and filling up the strike zone, and that was on full display in his start.
Martinez went 5.2 innings and allowed six hits, four of which were by a hitter to lead off an inning. The best threat the Rockies started to string together was in the fourth when Mickey Moniak and Kyle Karros hit back-to-back singles to start the inning. Unfortunately, Martinez got a fly out and got Jordan Beck to bounce into a double play.
The Rockies had seven groundouts against him along with four flyouts. He didn’t get his first strikeout until the fifth inning, but then finished the day with four total strikeouts without allowing a walk.
Struggling offense
After the first strikeout in the fifth inning, it seemed to open up the floodgates for the Rockies. Tyler Wells entered the game in the sixth inning and struck out four of the five batters he faced. Garrett Cleavinger then struck out a batter in the eighth before Cam Booser closed out the ninth on six pitches, including a strikeout to end the game.
The Rockies out-hit the Rays 6-5 but had just one extra-base hit, a double from Beck. Karros was the only Rockie with multiple hits, collecting a pair of singles against Martinez. They ended up striking out 10 times as a team from the fifth inning onward, and had just two walks. Additionally, they went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
Solid day for the pen
When Sugano departed, the Rockies had a solid trio of outings from the bullpen. Parker Mushinski navigated the sixth inning with ease before giving way to Juan Mejia in the seventh.
Despite not giving up a hit, Mejia was charged with a run as the Rays played small ball. Mejia issued a leadoff walk to Taylor Walls, who then stole second base. Mejia had a play to throw him out at second, but spiked the ball on the throw. Nick Fortes and Mesa then dropped back-to-back sacrifice bunts to drive in the run to give the Rays a 4-0 lead. Mejia escaped without further damage to hand the ball to Zach Agnos for the final two innings.
Agnos continued his string of good performances over the last month, as he fired two perfect innings with two strikeouts.
Up next
The Rockies head out on a nine-game road trip, kicking off a three-game set on Friday in St. Louis. The Rockies will send out Ryan Feltner (4-5, 5.75 ERA) while the Cardinals counter with Colorado native Kyle Leahy (7-4, 3.44 ERA).
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Game Discussion: Milwaukee Brewers (70-43) vs Pittsburgh Pirates (57-58)
The Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates are back at it for the third game in a four-game series and this game has the most highly-anticipated pitching matchup of the group.
The Pirates will have their ace Paul Skenes on the mound tonight. Skenes hasn’t been as dominant as his first two seasons in the big leagues, though. Skenes has a 3.90 ERA in 23 starts this year, which, while it isn’t overly terrible, it’s a far cry from the sub-2.00 ERAs he posted in his rookie and sophomore campaigns.
Meanwhile, the Brewers had to make a roster move to be able to start their starting pitcher tonight. Kyle Harrison makes his long-awaited return to the rotation after a few weeks on the IL. The Brewers optioned right-handed reliever Grant Anderson to Triple-A to make roster space for Harrison. Harrison has a 3.01 ERA in 17 starts this year for the Crew. He has 101 strikeouts to just 20 walks on the year.
Grant Anderson has been a serviceable reliever for the Brewers for the past two years. He has a 3.70 ERA in 44 games this year and has been dominant against righties, allowing just a .175 batting average and .504 OPS to them. However, against left-handed hitters, Anderson has been rocked, giving up a .265 opponent batting average and a 1.029 OPS.
The Brewers are hoping to be able to rock Skenes in tonight’s game even though they’re missing one of their best lefties. Jake Bauers remains out of the lineup as he is day-to-day with abdominal soreness following his dive into home plate during Monday’s game. Pat Murphy has three true lefties in the lineup with Brice Turang leading off, Garrett Mitchell hitting third, and Christian Yelich batting fifth. Switch-hitters Luis Lara and David Hamilton are batting seventh and ninth, respectively, giving the Brewers alternating left-handed hitting options up and down the lineup against Skenes.
Joey Ortiz remains out of the lineup in favor of David Hamilton despite swinging a hot bat over the last month plus.
The Pirates keep the top of their lineup the same, rolling with Jake Mangum, Brandon Lowe, and Bryan Reynolds to begin the order. Esmerlyn Valdez, Nick Gonzales, and Endy Rodriguez make up the middle of the lineup. Then Jared Triolo, Rafael Flores Jr, and Jhostynxon Garcia round out the bottom of the order that will face Kyle Harrison.
When Skenes is on, he’s one of the best pitchers in baseball. Even though he hasn’t been as dominant this year, with the Brewers offense playing like they have been lately, runs could be tough to come by in this game.
Former Sabres Still Unsigned Free Agents – Tyson Jost
As the National Hockey League enters the second month of free agency, a number of former Buffalo Sabres still remain unsigned. At this point of the offseason, players who have not latched on with an NHL club might consider playing in Europe, or taking a short-term deal or professional tryout to earn a one-year deal.
A player who has never fulfilled expectations is former top-10 pick Tyson Jost. The 28-year-old was selected 10th overall at the 2016 NHL Draft in Buffalo by Colorado, and played six seasons for the Avalanche before being dealt to Minnesota at the 2022 trade deadline. He spent less than a year with the Wild before being claimed by the Sabres in November.
Other Sabres Stories
Sabres Emotionally Devastated By Game 7 Overtime LossWill the S
In 102 games with Buffalo, Jost scored 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) and was part of the squad that came within a point of snapping the Sabres playoff drought, which led GM Kevyn Adams to bring back the roster in it’s entirety. The next season, after scoring only six points in 43 games, he was demoted to AHL Rochester.
In 2024, he signed a one-year deal with Carolina and split time between the Hurricanes and AHL Chicago, and was re-signed last summer, but Jost was claimed by Nashville before the regular season and played 69 games in Music City, scoring 16 points (8 goals, 8 assists).
Outlook: With it being the first week of August, it is getting to the territory where players are taking any offers from teams in Europe before their training camps begin, or pondering professional tryouts with NHL clubs. Being under the age of 30, it is possible that a club like Calgary or Vancouver, looking to fill out their roster with a veteran, could bring in Jost on a PTO to see if he can earn a spot.
Follow Michael on X, Instagram @MikeInBuffalo
Washington Nationals vs Philadelphia Phillies Game Thread
This Nats losing streak has been an extended period of suffering for the team and the fans. They are a putrid 3 for 46 with RISP this road trip. To get back in the win column, that will have to change as soon as possible. Hopefully tonight is the night where the losing finally ends.
With a righty on the mound, the Nats are making some changes. CJ Abrams is hitting leadoff for the first time all season and is back at short. Abimelec Ortiz will man first base after sitting last night. Jose Tena and Keibert Ruiz also return to the lineup. Jake Irvin will make his second start since coming off the IL.
The Phillies literally have the exact same lineup order as yesterday. Honestly, it is quite unusual to see that these days. However, the Phillies are a veteran laden group, so not much tinkering is required. Luis Arraez will appear in his second game as a Phillie. Andrew Painter is a highly touted prospect who has not put it all together yet and he will take the ball tonight.
Game Info:
Stadium: Citizens Bank Park
Time: 6:40 PM EST
TV: Nationals.TV
Radio: 106.7 The Fan
This team has just suddenly fallen off a cliff and has been playing a bad brand of baseball lately. Hopefully that can change tonight. The stress of the deadline is fully behind them now, so maybe the boys will settle back in. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats.
Reds place Hunter Greene back on injured list with elbow soreness
It was odd when the Cincinnati Reds ran up against the August 3rd trade deadline and decided not to move veteran righty Brady Singer. The innings-eating machine is set to be a free agent, after all, and had pitched at a well above league-average level for the better part of two months.
It was even more odd when word leaked that the Reds may even decided to issue Singer a Qualifying Offer at season’s end, the one bit of leverage teams can hold over free agents as a way of maybe, maybe keeping them around for another year.
Well, the news that hit the wires on Wednesday afternoon may help explain both fractions of those decisions.
Hunter Greene, Cincinnati’s mercurial ace, has landed back on the 15-day injured list. The reason? Once again his troublesome right elbow, which once needed Tommy John surgery while in the minors with the Reds and just last March needed a further procedure to ‘clean up’ some things.
Veteran Reds beat Charlie Goldsmith reported that Greene will head to LA to get a ‘second opinion’ from veteran elbow-slicer Dr. Neal El Attrache, which is as ominous as it sounds. Apparently Greene felt discomfort after throwing a bullpen earlier in the week.
As for Singer, well, the Reds need rotation depth now. If this Greene news gets any more ominous, they’re going to need rotation depth next season, too.
Not to jump the gun too much here, but my goodness what a disaster this would be from a roster building perspective. It’s enough to make you wonder just what kind of Voodoo doll is running this franchise’s fortunes.
Wednesday night Orioles game thread: vs Angels, 6:35
In last night’s game with the Angels, the first since the trade deadline, the lineup looked about as standard as we could expect. Christian Franklin and Carlos Narváez were in the bottom of the lineup, but everything else seemed almost normal. Today, against a lefty, things look a little weird.
Colton Cowser and Dylan Beavers have been swapped out for Tyler O’Neill and Jeremiah Jackson, except Jackson is playing left field. It’s his third start in the outfield this season. And Christian Franklin, in his second big league game, is leading off. There is a Taylor Ward-sized hole in the lineup, and this is how the Orioles have decided to fill it. Franklin looks fast, so I guess that is why he’s batting first. He has shifted over to center field with Cowser out. I hope he’s good out there, because he is flanked by Jackson and O’Neill. It could get scary out there.
Trevor Rogers, who is probably wondering why nobody wanted him at the deadline, gets the start. It’s my theory that keeping Rogers is how Mike Elias can pretend this team is still trying to win this year. If you also want to do that too, you can root for the Mets over the Guardians and the Royals over the Twins tonight. Our old buddy Dean Kremer is on the mound for Minnesota. The Rangers are also ahead of the Orioles in the WC race, but they have already beaten the Giants today.
Reid Detmers is the lefty going for the Angels. He has a 4.03 ERA and 3.34 FIP for the Angels this year. Beating him won’t be an easy task for this team.
Orioles lineup
Christian Franklin (R) CF
Pete Alonso (R) 1B
Gunnar Henderson (L) SS
Tyler O’Neill (R) RF
Coby Mayo (R) D,
Christian Encarnacion-Strand (R) 3B
Jackson Holliday (L) 2B
Jeremiah Jackson (R) LF
Carlos Narváez (R) C
Angels lineup
Zach Neto (R) SS
Mike Trout (R) CF
Nolan Schanuel (L) 1B
Vaughn Grissom (R) 3B
Moisés Ballesteros (L) DH
Travis d’Arnaud (R) C
Josh Lowe (L) RF
Jose Siri (R) LF
Adam Frazier (L) 2B
Let’s go O’s!
Sonny Gray takes the ball in sneaky important start for veteran righty
TV: NESN
First Pitch: 7:10 p.m. ET
Sonny Gray must surely hope the Red Sox saved some runs for Wednesday night after a 14-2 trouncing of the White Sox in the series opener at Fenway Park.
Gray has been sensational all season and was wronged as an All-Star snub. With that said, the veteran has shown some regression over his last two starts. He allowed nine runs in 12 innings against the Blue Jays and Athletics. For reference, Gray had allowed just eight runs total in his previous seven starts across 45 1/3 innings of work. He looks to bounce back in hopes of seven consecutive wins for Boston.
Here’s who the Red Sox will send to the plate behind him Wednesday night at Fenway.
The White Sox counter with Sean Burke, who enters with the momentum of 20 strikeouts and just two earned runs allowed in his previous 12 innings on the mound.