Robert Moore of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs hits the ball during a Minor League Baseball game at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, United States, on May 22, 2026. (Photo by Dan Squicciarini/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images
Thankfully, on this night, there was no rain around, meaning teams could actually play in their games. Here is how the kids did.
Lehigh Valley 6, Syracuse 4
Robert Moore, you glorious man. Having himself a night, Moore went 3 for 3, blasting two home runs to lead the IronPigs to a victory, including this walk off two-run blast.
That’s the kind of home run you remember for a while if you’re Robert Moore.
The rest of the offense was nonexistent as they had three hits between them, but it didn’t matter. Moore was the leader and gave them the win.
Binghamton 5, Reading 1
Gage Wood night wasn’t exactly a night to remember. The team’s top prospect struggled a bit, giving up five runs in five innings, allowing a home run in the process. He did strike out seven and only walk one, so there is some silver lining to the start. In the process, he did generate 22 whiffs so the stuff was fine; it’s the results that were worrisome. The rest of the team had a hard time as well, the offense collecting only three hits on the night. The best one was an RBI double by Carson DeMartini that scored Aroon Escobar as the only run of the game.
Wilmington 8, Jersey Shore 1 Wilmington 11, Jersey Shore 2
I think with a lot of these players on the BlueClaws, you’re starting to see the effects of a long season coming up. Playing a doubleheader to make up for the rain postponement on Thursday, the team scored three runs in total. In game one, there was only three hits (is this a theme?) gathered by the team while the pitching struggled. In game two, the offense was a little better where they had eight hits, but it only amounted to two runs. A lot of them were singles in both games, so it’s not like someone had a standout affair that we can point to. Daunte Stuart had three hits between the two games! As far as pitching, there wasn’t much to speak of. Giuseppe Velasquez had three innings of scoreless relief in game two, but the rest of the arms? Completely meh.
Clearwater 8, Lakeland 6
Cade Climie, you can join Robert Moore in having yourself a night. Leading the offense on the evening, Climie went 3 for 4 with a home run and six RBI! You may not know who he is, so some background. An undrafted free agent, Climie took advantage of the MLB Draft League to get himself noticed.
The biggest steal of the draft will be Cade Climie.
He currently leads the draft league in triples with all of them being over 100Ev
Since signing with the Phillies, Climie has hit well, bringing his line on the season average up to .275, but with an OPS under .700. He may not come to much, but it’s nice that baseball can still produce a few good stories of players.
As far as other players on the night, Macon Winslow had three hits for the Threshers, two of them doubles, and an RBI.
JUPITER, FLORIDA - MARCH 09: Vance Honeycutt #84 of the Baltimore Orioles looks on during a spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium on March 09, 2026 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Triple-A: Durham (Rays) 7, Norfolk Tides 0
The Tides mustered a whopping three hits and one walk in this game. That’s a tough way to win. Enrique Bradfield Jr., Creed Willems, and Brandon Butterworth all took 0-fors in the game. Heston Kjerstad pinch hit in the ninth inning and hit a double. He’s OPSing .790 at the level this year.
Norfolk’s starter, Trace Bright, had a “could have been better, could have been worse” kind of outing, with three runs surrendered in 5.1 innings. Bright walked none and struck out seven; he’s got a 1-10 record this year and a 7.29 ERA, so it’s not exactly Shane Baz bad luck territory. What really kicked the game out of reach – unfortunately for prospect-watchers – is that Luis De León gave up three runs while failing to finish one inning worth of relief.
This is a dispatch from the alternate universe that poses an affirmative answer to the question, “What if it turned out that Vance Honeycutt was good?” The outfielder who was bumped up to this level almost out of desperation to do something with him collected four hits, all for extra bases: Two doubles, a triple, and his first Double-A homer. The home run was a two-run shot that put the Baysox on top in extra frames. I’m not believing it means anything. I’m just saying it happened.
Chesapeake’s starting pitcher was JT Quinn. He labored through a four-inning outing, 82 pitches and only 46 thrown for strikes. That led to him giving up five walks and four hits, with three runs allowed (two earned). Quinn did leave the game with a lead thanks to some early Baysox scoring. They fell behind for a while, tied it up in the eighth, then got the winning runs in the tenth. Reliever Micah Ashman finished the game off pitching the ninth and tenth. Things got interesting in the bottom of the tenth as the Senators had the bases loaded when the game ended. However, they scored the Manfred Man and nobody else, so they lost.
Incredibly efficient scoring from the Keys here, as they were able to turn five hits into four runs. They helped themselves by drawing five walks and stealing four bases, and their opponent helped them by committing a pair of errors that led to a pair of unearned runs.
Jaiden Lo Re is at this level now! Let’s just say he’s still adjusting. He took an 0-4 in this game and is hitting .091 through his first few games. Recent trade acquisition Enddy Azocar had a single in four at-bats; he’s batting .341/.382/.585 in 20 games since joining the Keys. Pretty good for a 19-year-old.
Shoutout to Keys starting pitcher Stephen Still, not one of the top prospects I pay attention to around here since he’s 24 at High-A. Still struck out ten batters in 6.2 innings in the game. A good outing! Through five games at this level, he’s sporting a 3.42 ERA and 0.95 WHIP.
In the comments yesterday, someone asked, “Does Delmarva ever win?” Not usually! But sometimes, they do. They tied the game in the seventh inning and took the lead in the eighth and held on even though Fredericksburg managed to get the tying run on base with only one out. They were able to do this even though they mustered just 1-13 hitting with runners in scoring position.
Shorebirds batters drew eight walks in the game. Serving as the DH, this year’s fifth round pick, Jimmy Anderson, was on base all four times, drawing three of those walks with a double on top of that. Outfielder Jhomnardo Reyes drew a walk but was hitless in his three at-bats.
PITTSBURGH, PA - JULY 07: Hurston Waldrep #64 of the Atlanta Braves pitches in the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on July 7, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Chris Black attempted to diagnose what has gone wrong with Jays star Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. this year.
Michael Clair profiled Giaconino Lasaracina and Giacomo Taschin, the first-ever Italian-born professional battery trying to make a name for themselves in the Blue Jays organization.
Elizabeth Merrill and David Purdum at ESPN wrote about the harrowing dangers of gambling addiction from the perspective of one family who’s college-aged son was consumed by it.
The cosmic irony is far from lost on me that I got comfortable with this team and then it has largely struggled since. This is just the second Cubs loss all year in which they scored eight runs. They’ve lost three times when they’ve scored seven. All of that underscores just how bad their pitching has been at times. This offense is just too good to lose when it scores that many runs. It didn’t start out that way though. Through three innings, this felt like it could be an easy win.
3-0 after three. Then they allowed nine unanswered runs over the next four innings and that turned out to be the game. They did come off the mat with five runs of their own to make it close. But they just couldn’t get back over the hump. I wrote in my preview that Rhett Lowder was having a rough year and they did well enough against him. I noted that you could get to their bullpen and that was true. I didn’t comment on the Reds offense, but there wasn’t anything I would have seen there that would suggest this. This was just the ninth double-digit scoring game of the year for them.
Curiously, the Reds have won just five of their last 14 games. But their last three wins have all come in games that they’ve scored 10 or more runs. They did have a loss in there where they scored nine. But it’s not like they’ve unlocked something. In the losses are three shutouts, and three games where they scored one. It’s interesting because it is something I’ve talked about with Cub results. That is just how stratified the results can be at times. I lived through the 90’s and I didn’t need a mountain of stats to perceive that scoring had increased significantly. I would not like that data from someone who manipulates data better than me. I don’t know that I’m right, but I perceive that there are more “outlier” results. In turn making them less outlier and more a part of a homogenous data set.
I feel pretty comfortable saying that the Cubs are scoring more, more often. Yes, this is one of the highest scoring Cub teams of our lifetimes. But it just feels parabolic or something. Like the numbers in the middle of the bell curve are normal but at the outside, the slope is steeper. Obviously, the stand out part of the data set are the multi-inning games against position players. I don’t remember ever seeing that before and I feel like we’ve seen that a small handful of times. But I don’t think it’s just that.
It’s not hard to imagine that if my perception is correct that it correlates with the way the best pitchers are used on teams. I’d construct the argument that some teams pack it in at times. But then, the exhibit in front of us is the Cubs allowing 10 runs. There wasn’t any point in time where the Cubs let go of the rope. So maybe I’m not right.
Whether that theory is right or wrong, I think the second theory almost certainly has truth to it. We saw it play out in Arizona. I think teams have become very sophisticated at picking up a whole host of tells. I don’t think many of the teams would ever be honest with you. But it’s not hard to imagine when we see runs so often clustering. The scoring in baseball is more and more becoming peaks and valleys. I posit that hitting has become immensely difficult on the whole. I think the vast majority of pitchers are fairly unreachable by all but the best players when they execute.
But again, it’s not hard to imagine that players who are looking at their tablets over and over through a game are increasingly adept at picking up on things that clue in to what pitchers are doing. And of course, it isn’t just players. There are coaches and team personnel also watching all of this. I imagine there are vast assortments of observations being made, ranging all of the way from visual things to running pitch sequencing through spreadsheets and finding tendencies. What may seem random or matchup dictated may at times be extremely predictable. We are talking about guys who got where they did largely by being able to pick up on the way the stitches on a baseball are moving and what that tells them about the pitch type and location.
I’m reminded of one of my friends back when I was playing poker multiple days every week years ago. We used to joke about having one of those fancy tables with the hole camera that shows what the cards were. It was always a joke, but he was quick to say that he’d never play again if we put them in. He was a financial analyst and he recognized a fool’s bet. He correctly identified that I would have been studying footage endlessly. I had a mind that could remember specific hands I’d played against people and how they played out and could predict ranges of behavior.
I did it all with a good memory and a controlled group of guys I played against. And I was either a rookie league player or Low-A player compared to these guys. The most sophisticated players ever to play the game. Paired with state of the art technology and state of the art statistical nerds. I’d wager that way more than half the time that your favorite pitcher gets hammered that the team has picked up on something.
Again, not hard to imagine. We are already seeing at least one team working to counter some of those effects. It doesn’t get talked about a ton, but the Rays almost always set their catcher up center cut on the strike zone. Anthony Rizzo and David Ross just talked about this on their most recent podcast. Rizzo talked about always having someone in the dugout make noise if the catcher set up early inside. These guys are doing anything they can to try to simplify the task of hitting. We’ve all known for years that they will know immediately if, for instance, your sweeper is never a strike. Then they know when they pick up that rotation to just let it go. It narrows things down.
These are the things I think about on a day when there is a five-run inning one way and then a four -un inning the other way. Without those innings, this was a 5-4 game. Ho hum. Trent Thornton has been so good. But boy, did it go bad on him in a hurry. Four hits and two homers in seven batters. His ERA jumped from 2.32 to 3.32 in one outing. This is just the fifth time in his career that he’s allowed five runs in an outing. The last was June of last year, while pitching for the Mariners.
Things I think about.
Three Positives:
Seiya Suzuki had three hits, two of them doubles. He drove in two and scored two more.
Michael Busch had a two-run homer and a walk.
Matt Shaw made his return with a double in his only plate appearance.
Game 135, August 28: Reds 10, Cubs 8 (76-59)
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
Sidekick: David Peterson (.085). 5 IP, 24 BF, 6 H, 3 BB, 2 R, 6 K
THREE GOATS:
Billy Goat: Trent Thornton (-.569). 0.2 IP, 7 BF, 4 H, BB, 5 R (L 5-5)
Goat: Carson Kelly (-.119). 0-3, BB, R
Kid: Daniel Palencia (-.070). IP, H, R, 2 K
Note: Thornton looks in the early numbers like he’ll register the third worst WPA score of the year. The three worst scores have now happened in an eight-day period (seven games).
WPA Play of the Game: Tyler Stephenson’s three-run homer off of Trent Thornton. (.246)
Cubs Play of the Game: Michael Busch’s two-run homer in the third. (.162)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Game 134 Winner: Matthew Boyd received 43 of 45 votes.
Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)
The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.
Pete Crow-Armstrong +26
Alex Bregman +20
Ben Brown +13.5
Javier Assad +12
Shōta Imanaga +11
Edward Cabrera -12.5
Jameson Taillon -13
Nico Hoerner -14
Dansby Swanson -17
Caleb Thielbar -18.5
Note: A Rizzo Award oddity for August. Not one, but two players leaving the top five in one night (Kelly and Thornton). At the same time, Seiya gives himself a gap (4.5) from the bottom five.
Scoreboard Watching: Diamondbacks win (4.5 back of Cubs). Dodgers win (5 up). Padres lose (4 back). Braves win (4 up). Brewers win (8 up). Phillies win (1 back). You really wanted to crush this series, it only gets harder after this series.
Up Next: Game two of this three game set and this 13 straight game stretch. They are 0-1 for both. Kevin Gausman (7-11, 4.37) goes for the Cubs. He moves up one spot in the rotation with the off day. Kevin is 2-1 with a 4.30 as a Cub, coming off of seven scoreless in Arizona. It’s been more than two years since he started against the Reds.
Lefty Andrew Abbott starts for the Reds. Abbott is 6-9 with a 4.15. He’s fairly consistent, checking in at 1-4 with a 4.24 over his last seven starts. His last start was also against the Diamondbacks. He allowed four runs over six and lost. Two starts against the Cubs this year, vastly different. 5.2 scoreless and four runs in four innings. He didn’t factor in the decision in either.
This is a game on paper where you look to stay close and win late. That’s exactly how the two prior Abbott starts went.
WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 28: Jackson Kent #25 of the Washington Nationals pitches against the Miami Marlins during the fourth inning at Nationals Park on August 28, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After looking shaky and antsy in his first three starts as a big leaguer, Jackson Kent truly put himself on the map last night. Outside of Cade Cavalli and Foster Griffin, who have combined for 28 quality starts, great pitching performances have been hard to come by for the Nats. However, Kent did exactly that, delivering a marvelous performance when his team needed it most.
I want to break down what he did to have success and talk about Kent’s future. Before he debuted, Kent was seen as a lefty with an advanced feel to pitch and a great changeup. In his first three outings, we saw the changeup, but his command was very shaky. Despite walking 4 hitters, Kent showed much improved command.
He was consistently on the attack and never had that super long inning. Kent was not blowing away Marlins hitters, but he excelled at keeping the ball off the barrel. He got 12 ground outs last night, which is a big reason he was able to go so deep in the game.
Jackson Kent with a gem in his 4th MLB start
7 IP | 1 R | 3 H | 4 BB | 3 K | 106 Pitches
The lefty looks to earn a stable role moving forward in the Nationals rotation pic.twitter.com/0iAlFDFkqI
Sitting up in the press box, it was surprising to see how long Blake Butera was willing to let his rookie go. With a taxed bullpen and Kent looking good, the decision made sense, but it is not what we typically see from Butera. He lets the likes of Cade Cavalli and Foster Griffin go deep, but otherwise, he has a pretty tight leash.
Butera said after the game he thought that going into the 7th would be a good learning experience for Kent. He also noted that Kent’s stuff was still there and that played a factor in his decision making. Even as Kent got back his season high in pitch count, he was still up to 94.5 MPH in the 7th inning. In the end, Kent went 106 pitches in his 7 frames.
One thing I saw from Kent that intrigued me as well was a slight tweak in pitch usage. Despite being known for his changeup, we actually saw less of the pitch from his last night. We saw more curveballs and sinkers tonight, and that worked very well. His curveball was particularly impressive, getting a couple massive strikeouts on the pitch.
Always interesting seeing a young pitcher adjust. A lot less changeup/slider. A lot more curveball/sinker.
Seeing a young pitcher adapt and learn as he is tested in the big leagues for the first time is very interesting to see. Kent is not a pitcher with elite stuff, so he will have to get by on feel and gameplanning. He had a very good plan for a pesky Marlins lineup last night. Kent knew they were not going to strike out much, so he tried to coax ground balls out of them with his sinker and curveball. This plan worked like a charm.
When I asked Kent what the biggest difference was in this outing, he said it was being in the zone and getting ahead of hitters. Last night, Kent was pounding the zone with his fastball and sinker before trying to get guys to expand with his secondary pitches. This is a recipe that I think will work for Kent moving forward, but he will still need to limit the walks a bit more.
I am very excited to see what this 23 year old can do the rest of the season. September is like an audition heading into next season for the lefty. He struggled early in his big league career, but last night was a massive step in the right direction. Kent showed he can go deep in games, get out of jams and reward his manager’s faith. Blake Butera pushed Kent to a shocking degree, and it paid off. That is something that will stick with the skipper.
Jackson Kent tonight: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 3 K
Can't believe the gave the rookie the full 7th and 106 pitches, but they did. Late walks spoil the line, but the fastball command has improved with each start, and he maintained velo until the 100-pitch mark. pic.twitter.com/PqzX2YyUdH
The way they have pushed Kent through the minors and even pushed him through this start shows the amount of faith the organization has in him. They seem to view him as a long term rotation piece, and it is easy to see why. He is a crafty lefty with a deep mix, solid stuff and has flashed good command.
Kent is still far from a finished product. He still needs to find a mix that can consistently work in the big leagues. Kent is not getting the same amount of chase or whiff he got in the minors and that is resulting in a lot of walks. Each time he takes the mound, it does feel like he is learning something new and getting a little bit better though.
As we enter the final month of play, the Nats are out of the playoff race, but there is still a lot to play for, especially for rookies like Kent. He still has a long way to go if he wants to lock down a rotation spot for next year, but last night was a huge step in the right direction.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 28: First baseman Paul Goldschmidt #48 of the New York Yankees gets third baseman Caleb Durbin #5 of the Boston Red Sox out in the eight inning at Yankee Stadium on August 28, 2026 in New York City. The New York Yankees won 1-0. (Photo by Benjamin B. Braun/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It may not seem like the Red Sox offense has been skidding over the past seven games, since five of those games resulted in victories. However, if you dig in a bit, some of that success is misleading if you take into account:
Last Saturday, Boston was shut out through eight innings, mainly by Giants rookie starter Blade Tidwell (4.54 ERA) before rallying for three runs in the bottom of the ninth.
Tuesday, while the scoreboard said “7” when all was said and done, the Red Sox entered extra innings tied 2-2 on two solo home runs by Mickey Gasper. Marlins starter Tyler Phillips (3.59 ERA) who has pitched much of the season out of the bullpen, struck out seven in 4 2/3 innings and allowed one run.
Wednesday, a shorthanded Red Sox lineup appeared to already be on their flight to New York, mustering just five hits in a shutout. Ryan Gusto (3.98 ERA), who has spent much of his time in the minor leagues this season, got his first win of the season pitching 5 2/3 innings.
Friday, Cy Young favorite Cam Schlittler did what he usually does, striking out eight Red Sox in 5 2/3 shutout innings, allowing two hits.
The Sox have 20 runs prior to extra innings in those seven games. Here are some of the batting averages on this team since last Friday:
Nick Sogard .214 (28 at-bats)
Wilyer Abreu .214 (28 at-bats)
Willson Contreras .174 (23 at-bats)
Andruw Monasterio .150 (20 at-bats)
Adley Rutschman .056 (18 at-bats)
The team may get some reinforcements today or tomorrow, in Roman Anthony and/or Trevor Story. Reading through the comments on this website and social media, one of those players seems to be more welcome back than the other, understandably.
How should Chad Tracy shake up the lineup, with left-handers Carlos Rodon and Max Fried as the probable starters on Saturday, and right-hander Will Warren on Sunday?
Discuss in the comments and be good to each other. A big twelve hours ahead, clear your schedules!
For help understanding Polymarket probabilities, see our odds calculator.
Player to hit a HR
Chance
Jackson Merrill
14%
Randy Arozarena
13%
Bryce Harper
20%
💲Today's HR parlay
25974x
Home run prediction: Jackson Merrill (14%)
Jackson Merrill brings real home run appeal given his current power form. The San Diego Padres outfielder owns a massive .522 ISO over his last six games, going deep three times during that span.
Merrill is also getting the ball in the air consistently, with 57.9% of his recent contact coming as fly balls. That profile plays well against Nick Martinez, who owns a 47.9% fly-ball rate at home this season.
Tampa Bay’s bullpen has limited hard contact lately, but it has still allowed a 40.3% fly-ball rate over the last week, giving Merrill another path to leave the yard.
The Seattle Mariners outfielder has gone deep seven times in August, and his power has traveled, with 10 of his homers against right-handed pitching coming away from home. He has a .474 ISO in the last week and three bombs in his last six contests as well.
Soriano is not a perfect pitcher to target because he keeps the ball on the ground, but he still allows a 31.3% fly-ball rate to right-handed bats, meaning one mistake can matter.
If Arozarena gets into Toronto’s bullpen late, his recent power surge gives him another path to leave the yard. Jays relievers have combined for a 5.51 FIP over the last week while giving up 1.85 HR/9.
Play to 15%.
Time: 3:07 p.m. ET
Where to watch: Sportsnet, Mariners.TV
Home run prediction: Bryce Harper (20%)
Bryce Harper is in excellent power form heading into this matchup with Ryan Johnson. The Philadelphia Phillies slugger has gone deep twice over his last six games while posting a massive .391 ISOand .826 SLG during that span.
The contact quality backs it up, too. Harper owns a 50% hard-hit rate, 25% barrel rate, and 95.8 mph average exit velocity over the last week, showing he is consistently impacting the baseball.
Johnson has had trouble keeping the ball in the yard lately, allowing 1.75 HR/9 over his last five outings.
Play to 25%.
Time: 10:07 p.m. ET
Where to watch: ABTV, NBC Sports Philly
Quinn Allen's 2026 Transparency Record
HR picks: 18-91, -7.89 units
Best home run combo for August 29
Jackson Merrill
Trade Now 25974x
Randy Arozarena
Bryce Harper
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MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 28: Logan Henderson #43 of the Milwaukee Brewers throws a pitch in the first inning against the Texas Rangers at American Family Field on August 28, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 15: Baseball: World Series, New York Yankees George Zeber (25) in action, at bat vs Los Angeles Dodgers, Scenic view of full moon and Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY 10/15/1978 (Photo by Heinz Kluetmeier/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (SetNumber: X22788 TK5)
Some ballplayers have signature achievements in Major League Baseball, milestones or moments that endure as part of their legacy. For some, making it to the big leagues in the first place is the mountaintop. George Zeber’s path to the Yankees was a circuitous one laden with setbacks and championed by a future Hall of Fame manager with a remarkably similar playing career to his protégé’s. Through war and peace, injury and recovery, and the many rungs on the minor-league ladder, Zeber’s ascent was as unlikely as it is admirable.
George William Zeber Born: August 29, 1950 (Ellwood City, PA) Yankees Tenure: 1977-78
George Zeber was born in Pennsylvania but grew up in Anaheim, CA. George was five when his father died, and his stepfather, Morris Davis, became a huge influence in his life. Davis “[w]as a wonderful person, got me into baseball and took care of the family,” he would later say. Zeber got enough into baseball that the Yankees selected him in the fifth round of the 1968 June amateur draft.
Zeber started his pro career in Rookie ball, playing middle infield and hitting from both sides of the plate. While his bat did not stand out, his glove did, as the 17-year-old led his team in fielding percentage at both second and short. Defense quickly became a calling card for the young prospect as he advanced to A-ball the following season.
After a promising 1969 campaign, though, Zeber would spend two full years away from baseball. He was drafted into the U.S. Army before the ‘70 season, assigned first to a stateside post and then to the Quang Tri province in Vietnam. Zeber served as part of an assault helicopter group where he saw combat. The experience altered the course of his life in more ways than one. “It was quite a while before I could pick up my life and get my head straight after serving in Vietnam,” he would later say, underscoring a phenomenon that affected many young men of his generation.
Zeber reported to Double-A West Haven in 1972 a changed man. In addition to the psychological impact of his service, Zeber had lost 30 pounds and was not in baseball shape. “I don’t feel comfortable in the field,” he said at the time. “I just don’t feel as agile as I did before going into the Army.” While he posted the highest OPS of any full season in his pro career, his defense suffered, as he committed an uncharacteristic 29 errors. ‘72 was also the first year he played under Bobby Cox, who after spending two years as a part-time infielder with the Yankees in the late ‘60s was beginning what would be a 40-year coaching career that landed him in Cooperstown.
Both Cox and Zeber were promoted to Triple-A Syracuse the following year. But Zeber suffered an knee injury that threatened to derail his career, a setback from which he would later say he was “never was quite the same.” He seriously considered walking away from baseball over the next year, crediting his first wife, Duskie, for convincing him to keep pushing. Before the ‘77 season, Zeber was given an invitation to big-league spring training and made the most of it, winning the Yankees’ James P. Dawson award, given each year to the team’s best-performing rookie in camp. Billy Martin, the team’s famously intense manager, gave the prospect his highest of praise. “I like George’s attitude,” he said at the time. “He’s a real hard-nosed guy.”
At the age of 26, Zeber had earned his call to The Show. No one was happier than his former manager (now his first-base coach), another man known more for his fiery temperament than his sentimentality. “You have to admire him,” said Cox. “George was a great prospect, and then after the knee thing, he was just holding on. A lesser man would have quit. As a manager you try not to get too close to any player, but there isn’t any player that I ever had that I rooted for as hard as I rooted for George.”
Happy birthday to George Zeber, who spent parts of two seasons with the @Yankees and got a World Series ring and a pretty nifty rookie card out of the deal! pic.twitter.com/B9uw7MsZYt
After the Yankees acquired Bucky Dent on April 5th, Zeber served mostly in a reserve capacity in ‘77, appearing in only 25 games — mostly spelling Willie Randolph at second. Still, he played well in limited action, hitting .323 with a .913 OPS in 75 plate appearances. He even got two pinch-hit appearances in that year’s World Series, striking out in each as the Yankees won their first championship in 15 years.
Zeber started the ‘78 season with the Yankees, but only appeared in three games before he was sent down in June. After spending the rest of the year back down at Triple-A, he made the decision to walk away from the game for good, starting a family and working in real estate and home building in the Santa Ana, CA area.
While Zeber’s career was brief, it was a remarkable testament to his fortitude. The man himself said it best years later. “Getting the opportunity to play in a World Series in my hometown in L.A. was a thrill,” he said in 1991. “I have no regrets about my career.” Please join us in wishing a very happy birthday to George Zeber.
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - AUGUST 28: Jonny DeLuca #21 of the Tampa Bay Rays slides home to score before Freddy Fermin #54 of the San Diego Padres can make the tag in the fourth inning at Tropicana Field on August 28, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The San Diego Padres knew they would have their hands full against three top-end starters in their three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburgh, Fla. The Padres made the task of beating the Rays more difficult when they found themselves in a 6-0 hole after a five-run fourth inning. San Diego tried to get back in the game, but the deficit proved to be too much to overcome as the Padres dropped the series opener 9-4 on Friday night.
Casey Mize hit the leadoff batter Junior Caminero to open the bottom of the fourth inning. He then got a popout for the first out of the inning, but Chandler Simpson reached on a throwing error by Mize to put runners at the corners. Simpson promptly stole second base and Jonny DeLuca drew a six-pitch walk to load the bases. Mize got the ground ball he needed against Cedric Mullins, but Ty France was unable to get the ball out of his glove cleanly allowing Caminero to score and Mullins to reach first base. The Rays had a 2-0 lead and added to that when Mize threw a wild pitch that allowed Simpson to score. Jorge Mateo hit a sacrifice fly for the second out of the inning, but that allowed DeLuca to score to give Tampa Bay a 4-0 lead.
Mize then allowed a two-out RBI-single to Taylor Walls to give Tampa Bay a 5-0 lead and followed that with another two-out RBI-single to Yandy Diaz, which pushed the score to 6-0. Jonathan Aranda lined out to end the inning, but San Diego found itself in a deep hole.
The Padres answered with two runs in the top of the fifth inning to make the score 6-2 but the Rays answered back with a run in the bottom of the fifth to make the score, 7-2. Jackson Merrill, wo led the San Diego offense, tried to keep the Padres in the game when he connected on a two-run home run in the top of the sixth, which cut the Rays’ lead to three runs.
San Diego relievers David Morgan and Wandy Peralta allowed solo runs in the bottom of the sixth and bottom of the seventh innings respectively. The Padres went down without much of a fight in the eighth and ninth innings and they opened the six-game road trip with a five-run loss.
San Diego will try to get back in the win column when they meet Tampa Bay in Game 2 today at 1:10 p.m.
Padres News:
Baseball owners sent another proposal to the MLBPA, which was not well received, but the positive about the current negotiations according to Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball is both sides are communicating.
Manny Machado is banged up, but that is normal for this stage of the season. He might have benefitted from an additional day off, but he was in the lineup as usual against the Rays.
The Mets continue the weekend series with the Houston Astros at Citi Field, with a Saturday late-afternoon game at 4:10 on SNY.
Mets Notes
In six starts since the All-Star break, Nolan McLean has posted five quality starts and pitched a 2.40 ERA over 41.1 innings with 43 strikeouts to 19 walks. He's been very good of late, surrendering just two runs over his last 18 innings
Carson Benge, the Mets' other uber-impressive rookie, has been good of late as well, with a .347/.390/.561 slash line for a .951 OPS with five home runs and 13 RBI in his last 25 games
Bo Bichette, who took a knock the other day, has shown a lot of promise in the season's second half: .281 with a .758 OPS in 37 games since the Midsummer Classic
Today's Lineups
ASTROS
METS
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 28: Nelson Velázquez #30 of the Houston Astros catches a fly ball against the New York Mets during the eighth inning at Citi Field on August 28, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Caean Couto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Meet the Mets
The Mets continued their recent downslide with a loss to the Astros in last night’s series opener. The Mets managed only a single run off a Carson Benge RBI double, and while Christian Scott held Houston scoreless for the first five innings, he faltered in the sixth and the Astros brought three runs home, which was all they would end up needing.
A Dominican prospect who had a deal with the Guardians was suspended by Major League Baseball after he was found to have falsified his age and identity.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - MAY 1: Nolan Gorman #16 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrates with Jordan Walker #18 of the St. Louis Cardinals after hitting a two-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first inning at Busch Stadium on May 1, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It has been a tough week for the Cardinals with a five-game losing streak plunging their playoff odds below two percent. The season has been more competitive and fun than expected, but the fall from contention stings nonetheless. I am a reasonably logical person, but there is an irrational part of my brain that has spent most of the season expecting the Cardinals to make the playoffs. For most of the year, it felt like everything was breaking right. The Walker comeback story. Wetherholt became an instant star. The rotation was exceeding all reasonable expectations. There were problems, but a leaky bullpen and lack of a third baseman would surely not be enough to undermine a magical playoff run. Well, the aforementioned losing streak snapped me back to reality and motivated me to do a more objective check-in of how the team is performing relative to preseason expectations.
To do this, I will compare the January ZiPS projections, position by position, to the team’s actual production thus far. The ZiPS overview graphic is based on the Depth Charts projection at that point in time, so I will use that to reference the players’ expected playing time.
Catcher
Projected WAR: 2.8
Current WAR: 1.6
It will take a hot finish for the catching cohort to catch up to the preseason ZiPS projection. Depth Charts had pegged Pedro Pages for over half the catcher playing time with Herrera, Pozo, and Crooks slated for about 100 plate appearances each. Pages has underperformed slightly and Herrera’s poor defense has allowed him to accrue only 1.1 WAR at catcher despite a 129 wRC+ when behind the plate. The biggest driver of the miss is Crooks’ 0.1 WAR in 45 games.
You do have to give the Cardinals credit for sticking to the Herrera experiment all season. I do not have a developed enough eye for scouting catcher defense to say if he has improved throughout the year, but his season defensive stats leave much to be desired. My hope is that there is clear communication going into the offseason regarding Herrera’s defensive home in 2027. This will go a long way toward clarifying the catcher logjam. As far as the remainder of this season, it would be great to see Crooks finish strong with the bat. He has been difficult to watch at times, but with his track record of minor league performance, he still has plenty of upside to dream on.
First Base
Projected WAR: 1.9
Current WAR: 2.1
Our first “exceeds expectations” grade! Depth Charts properly pegged Alec Burleson as the primary first baseman, accruing most of the value to drive the solid 1.9 WAR projection. Gorman, Pozo, and Brendan Donovan were penciled in for 250 plate appearances at first as well. Burly has racked up 2.6 WAR to offset the -0.5 contributed by Blaze Jordan, Jose Fermin, and Ramon Urias.
I don’t think we have too much to learn about the first base situation for the remainder of the year. Burleson is established as one of the best hitters in baseball against righties. He has hit lefties better as the season has progressed, but most of that improvement is BABIP-driven, so he still looks like he could benefit from a strong platoon partner. We will have plenty of time to discuss if and how Burleson fits into the long-term plans, but regardless, he has increased his value substantially with his continued improvement.
Second Base
Projected WAR: 2.8
Current WAR: 4.4
Another huge win! And this one in spite of losing Brendan Donovan after the projections came out. Donovan was slated for the majority of the playing time at second base. In fact, Wetherholt was projected for only 70 plate appearances. Wetherholt has, of course, taken the majority of the second base playing time, accruing 4.2 WAR. Saggese, Torres, Urias, Prieto, and Fermin have all filled in occasionally and managed to hold serve with a collective 0.2 WAR.
The only drama that remains is whether Wetherholt can claim his rightful title of Rookie of the Year, but the Cardinals are set at the keystone for the next decade or so.
Shortstop
Projected WAR: 3.5
Current WAR: 2.0
Winn was projected for 90% of the shortstop playing time and is likely to fall a bit short due to his recent injury. This has been the second straight season of offensive decline for Winn, but his defense remains incredible enough to soften the blow. His underlying offensive metrics are in line with his career averages, if not a bit better, so I am not too worried about him moving forward. Still, another season without taking a step forward decreases the probability that he has another gear to his offensive game.
JJ Wetherholt has been the only other positive contributor at the position with 0.3 WAR while Saggese, Urias, Fermin, and Prieto have given back all that value and then some (-0.6 WAR) in just 35 plate appearances combined.
It would be great to see Winn come back from his injury and finish strong and then sign a long-term extension in the offseason.
Third Base
Projected WAR: 3.2
Current WAR: -0.1
No surprises here as we are all painfully aware of the hole at third base. The preseason projection had Wetherholt taking the majority of his reps at third base, so this is really where the Donovan-sized hole shows up. Gorman (0.5 WAR) and Blaze Jordan (0.3 WAR) have pitched in positive WAR contributions thanks to their solid defensive numbers, but Prieto, Fermin, Urias, and Torres have torpedoed any hope of cobbling together reasonable team-level performance with -0.9 WAR combined.
With Jordan’s injury, it looks like we could be in for Gorman’s last stand down the stretch. It is hard for me to imagine the Cardinals being willing to pay Gorman a second-year arbitration salary this offseason, but they have stuck with him this long, so you never know. Jordan has shown me enough that I would like to see him get an extended run to start next season while we wait for potential challengers from the minor leagues to emerge.
Left Field
Projected WAR: 2.6
Current WAR: 0.7
Left field has been yet another underperformance, but you can give the team a partial mulligan due to trades. The projections coming into the year were based on about half a season of Lars Nootbaar and 140 plate appearances from Donovan giving above-average production. With Nootbaar missing the first couple of months and being dealt, the position has been a complete revolving door with seven players getting at least 11 appearances. Fermin, Torres, Pereira, Nootbaar, and Church have combined for a solid 1.7 WAR, but truly terrifying performances from Saggese and Velazquez have given back more than half that value.
Joshua Baez is going through an adjustment period, but at least there is finally someone in place that has a real chance at being a long-term solution.
Center Field
Projected WAR: 2.3
Current WAR: 0.2
Another clunker… I had completely forgotten how solid Victor Scott’s projections were coming into the year. He was projected for the majority of the playing time with Lars Nootbaar and Nathan Church filling in the gaps. Nathan Church is a fun guy to root for and does have some tools, but he is a long shot to ever be a starting-caliber player on a true contender.
I still like Chase Davis as a potential delayed breakout lottery ticket, but he is certainly not someone you project as a starter. Josiah Ragsdale and Tai Peete are both getting center field time in Springfield but are likely at least a year away. Scott has been on a nice run in Memphis over the last month, so perhaps he will be given another chance in September. There are a lot of names who could step forward, but it is unclear if any of them will be able to hit enough to stick.
Right Field
Projected WAR: 0.4
Current WAR: 2.6
The second big win of the 2026 campaign courtesy of Jordan Walker. I don’t think anyone has forgotten how poorly Walker was projected coming into the year. His ZiPS projection was actually below replacement, so the only reason the position WAR was projected above zero was because Nootbaar and Church were expected to contribute above-replacement value in 30 games. Walker has posted 3.1 WAR, while his occasional backups have given back about half a win.
Designated Hitter
Projected WAR: 2.8
Current WAR: 0.6
The DH position has been a massive disappointment. Herrera has only managed 0.2 WAR while putting up a 100 wRC+ in his non-catching time. Gorman also snuck in and sabotaged the overall positional value for 15 games of -0.6 WAR “production.” The only things keeping the position positive overall are the production of Burleson and Walker in limited playing time and a red-hot seven-game stint from Nelson Velazquez with three home runs.
While the 0.6 WAR looks bad, it is important to put it into context. Because of the positional adjustment penalty, that total actually ranks 12th in all of baseball. If Herrera is relegated to DH only next season, he should still project as one of the best in baseball.
Starting Pitchers
Projected WAR: 9.6
Current WAR: 10.8
Outside of Liberatore’s underperformance and Richard Fitts’ injury, the starting rotation has been a bright spot for most of the year. Dustin May, Kyle Leahy, and Andre Pallante have already sailed past their full-season projected WAR totals and McGreevy still has a chance to get close with a strong finish.
Down the stretch, you really just want to see no more injuries. Quinn Mathews throwing strikes would be a nice added bonus if I get a second wish. The Cardinals will have impressive major league depth heading into next season with an absurd concentration of starting pitcher talent at Springfield and Memphis. Whether they can develop a true ace remains an open question, but the backbone of a great rotation is coming into focus.
Relief Pitchers
Projected WAR: 1.9
Current WAR: 0.2
The less said about the bullpen, the better… I remember being extremely confident that the bullpen would outdo the already bad 1.9 WAR projection, so this really just serves as another reminder that bullpens are impossible to predict. Luis Gastelum is on an incredible heater in his last nine games with a 20-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and only one run allowed. Perhaps Cade Winquest will be able to provide some added juice down the stretch, but regardless, we are likely to enter 2027 viewing the pen as a huge question mark.
For how well this season has gone, it is surprising how many positions have underperformed projections this year. Only three of the nine positions are likely to finish better than expected, and much of the overperformance from the rotation has been given back by the bullpen. That is how baseball goes, though: every Wetherholt and Walker breakout has to be accompanied by a disappearing center fielder or a burning bullpen. I would still absolutely take the results and development that the Cardinals have had relative to expectations. Finding star players is the hardest and most expensive thing for any franchise to do, and the Cardinals may have finally found two in Walker and Wetherholt.
Tangerine is an orange tabby kitten available for adoption at the Alvin Animal Adoption Center, in Alvin. (Animal ID: 9762) Photographed Tuesday, July 2, 2019. Tangerine is a sweet, playful kitten. (Photo by Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
The cat distribution system is functioning in Lawrenceville, Georgia this week. The Gwinnett Stripers were blessed with a little baby orange furball yesterday.
Check out that third from the last panel. My word, I don’t need anything else to take care and shelter at the moment, but I’m finding a blanket for this handsome fellow if he shows up at my door. They have requested names for the little one. The finalists are:
ChiPurr Jones
Parker
Cracker Jack
Dinger
Come on, y’all. What are we doing here? After all, do you remember the last time Gwinnett named anything? It was back in 2017. People were allegedly super confused about having two teams named the Braves, Gwinnett and Atlanta. They were buying tickets to the Triple-A team and very disappointed to find not-the-Atlanta-Braves take the field. In the mid-2010s, it was super easy to tell them apart. One was 75% composed of players that were never going to succeed long term in Major League Baseball, and the other one was Gwinnett.
But no matter, they were going to solicit names from the public. The name that got the most attention was the Buttons, named after Founding Father and former Governor of Georgia Button Gwinnett. The Buttons quickly opened a huge lead in the voting. Then the social team leaked the Buttons as the winner. That was pulled down almost immediately. Gwinnett went forward with the Stripers with their booger-green Bass-Pro-Shop-inspired uniforms.
Call the team whatever, but we’re talking something important here. This cat is going to answer to this name for the rest of its life. Well OK, they’ll call it that and he’ll ignore them. But this is an important matter. So what should we name this kitty? They have proven that they aren’t beholden to the final list anyway. We have been workshopping Martin Purrez, Martin Purrado (or Martin Gato), and Meowchal Harris II internally. What say you guys?
Yeah, it’s cats today for your question, but the Braves are 25 games up right now when this time last year they were 61-76 last year and about to be walked off by the Phillies on the 30th. Let’s pump the brakes a little.
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 28: Edmundo Sosa #33 of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrates a grand slam home run, to take a 5-3 lead over the Los Angeles Angels, during the ninth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on August 28, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Late last night, while you were sleeping, Edmundo Sosa did it again.
Sosa didn’t start last night’s thrilling 5-3, come-from-behind win over the Angels in Anaheim last night, but he sure did finish it. Brought up to the plate as a pinch hitter for Brandon Marsh in the top of the 9th, Sosa slammed a two-out grand slam off left-handed reliever Sammy Peralta over the left center field wall.
The blast delivered the Phillies a shocking and much-needed victory for the Phils, who moved to within one game of the Chicago Cubs for the NL’s top wild card spot.
The slam was the Phils’ first in the 9th inning with two out since Shane Victorino hit one in 2009. And it was the first pinch-hit 9th inning grand slam since Ozzie Virgil in 1983.
It’s the latest monster run-producing hit for Sosa in the month of August, helping boost what had been an abnormally down year for him at the plate. Overall, Sosa’s .235/.275/.388 slash line and .663 OPS are below his career average .255/.306/.412, .717 OPS.
In five of his last seven games dating back to August 10, Sosa has recorded multiple RBIs. And generally speaking, those run-producing hits have been impactful, such as his key 3-run double in the Phils’ incredible 9th inning comeback against the Cardinals last Sunday.
When Sosa came to the plate last night, the Phillies’ odds of winning were 14%. Following his grand slam, they jumped up to 92%, and increase in Wins Probability Added (WPA) of 78%. His bases loaded double last Sunday against St. Louis bumped their WPA from 10% to 42%, a jump of 32%.
It’s one of the reasons why Sosa has the fourth-most WPA on the Phillies, despite his part-time role.
Kyle Schwarber: 2.8 (578 PAs)
Bryson Stott: 1.5 (506 PAs)
Bryce Harper: 1.4 (576 PAs)
Edmundo Sosa: 1.3 (214 PAs)
Derek Hill: 1.2 (96 PAs)
Each percentage of Wins Probability Added, up or down, amounts to 0.1 WPA, so a jump of 78% in win probability is worth 0.78 WPA. So a big moment like last night obviously has a dramatic effect in a positive way.
Conversely, a player who routinely fails to come through in high leverage situations lowers their team’s win probability, negatively affecting their WPA. The worst WPA on the Phillies probably won’t surprise you.
Trea Turner: -2.6 (579 PAs)
Rafael Marchan: -1.6 (92 PAs)
Adolis Garcia: -0.9 (259 PAs)
Brandon Marsh: -0.7 (502 PAs)
Garrett Stubbs: -0.6 (52 PAs)
Sosa has a 1.392 OPS with two outs and runners in scoring position, and in “high leverage” situations, his OPS is .923. It is .583 in medium leverage and .604 in low leverage situations.
His fellow bench running buddy Derek Hill has also been quite adept in coming through in the clutch, with an .832 OPS in late and close situations and an .893 OPS in high leverage spots. You may remember some of them.
Prior to Sosa’s heroics were some excellent at-bats by a team that continues to show improved discipline at the plate. Alec Bohm was hit by a pitch with one out. Justin Crawford worked a terrific at-bat and drew a walk.
Don’t overlook this at-bat in the Phillies’ ninth-inning rally:
Justin Crawford worked a one-out walk against Ben Joyce after seeing eight pitches, every one of them 99 mph or harder. pic.twitter.com/xtVpvlGPnP
Jackson Merrill
Randy Arozarena
Bryce Harper
