Author: MLB Baseball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games

The Mets’ season has hardly been a party, but celebratory moments are still worth celebrating.

One such snapshot was Franscisco Lindor at second base Saturday, swarmed by teammates after smashing a walk-off RBI single in the ninth inning for a 5-4 Mets victory over the Nationals at Citi Field.

“It’s been a tough year for everybody here, but [the young players] are seeing that the year is not done,” Lindor said. “We have got to fight to win.”

The victory was the Mets’ eighth in 11 games since the trade deadline. It was also their most dramatic over that stretch, with a contribution from Jorge Polanco, whose ninth-inning single helped fuel the winning rally.

Polanco had been 0-for-3 with two strikeouts to that point and heard boos from a home crowd far from satisfied by his .424 OPS this season.

Francisco Alvarez’s RBI double against Yovanny Cruz tied the game before Lindor delivered his first walk-off RBI this season.

“It felt like Stearns did a good job, it’s just we didn’t perform at the beginning,” Lindor said, referring to president of baseball operations David Stearns’ roster construction. “Now we’re in a situation where guys are performing, playing better and everybody who has been in the organization from the beginning and the guys that weren’t, they were acquired by the front office.”

Lindor, after drawing a leadoff walk in the eighth, was thrown out at second trying to advance on a pitch in the dirt. He apologized to interim manager Andy Green in the dugout.

“That’s a championship-caliber player,” Green said. “That is what you want out of your whole team, and I think we have seen that time and time again.”

Lefty reliever Jefry Yan, in his Citi Field debut, performed his strikeout dance three times over 1 ²/₃ scoreless innings.

“I felt really welcomed today,” Yan said of the fan reaction.

Sean Manaea was victimized by one pitch, a sweeper that Brady House hit off the left-field foul pole in the sixth for three runs, snapping his streak of four straight quality starts. Overall, the left-hander allowed four earned runs on six hits and two walks over 6 ²/₃ innings with seven strikeouts.

Jared Young’s two-run double in the first inning got the Mets started after Brad Lord walked the bases loaded to start his afternoon. A.J. Ewing, Lindor and Carson Benge drew the walks before Young delivered his latest clutch hit.

He began the day with an .889 OPS over his previous 30 games, giving the Mets stability at first base. Young was 15-for-36 (.326) with runners in scoring position entering the day.

Andrés Chaparro homered leading off the fourth to slice the Mets’ lead to 2-1. Manaea worked ahead 0-2 in the count before throwing a four-seamer that Chaparro crushed beyond the left-field fence.

Manaea plunked Andrew Pinckney in the sixth and walked Chaparro before House lofted a sweeper to left field that hit the foul pole for a three-run homer that gave the Nationals a 4-2 lead.

It marked the first time in five starts that Manaea surrendered multiple homers in a game.

“The season is going to come and go and we’re just trying to make the most of it,” Manaea said. “I think a lot of the young guys are coming in, stepping in and playing acceptably well. As a team we’re playing a lot better baseball than we did the first few months.”

Benge homered leading off the bottom of the inning against lefty reliever Tom Cosgrove.

Benge’s arm helped save the Mets a run in the seventh: his strong throw to the plate easily nailed Pinckney attempting to score from third on Dylan Crews’ fly ball to right.

The assist was Benge’s sixth this season.

“I didn’t think he was going to go on that one, but I still know I have got to finish the play and got to go quick,” Benge said. “So, after I saw him kind of running after I let go of the ball, I was kind of excited for it because I knew he would be out.”

The Mets completed a ninth-inning comeback today against the Nationals, and they won 5-4. Sean Manaea worked six-plus innings again, and the bullpen helped to give the offense a chance to stay in the game right until the end.

After Manaea retired the side at the top of the first inning, A.J. Ewing led off the bottom of the first with a walk. Ewing then stole second base during Francisco Lindor’s at-bat, and Lindor walked as well. Carson Benge walked out to load the bases with one out. Next up , Jared Young slapped an RBI double into left field to bring home Ewing and Lindor. Marcus Semien bounced a ground ball to C.J. Abrams, playing shortstop, and Abrams threw the ball to tag Benge out at home for the second out. Brett Baty worked the fourth walk of the inning, prompting a change of pitchers for the Nationals. Will Dion replaced Brad Lord and struck out Jorge Polanco to end the inning, but the Mets led 2-0.

Manaea allowed a single to Jacob Young at the top of the second inning, but otherwise continued to stifle the Nationals’ batters. After both pitchers kept things quiet for a while, Andrés Chaparro smacked a home run into left field to lead off the fourth inning. At the bottom of the fourth, Semien walked but was still on first when the inning ended. At the top of the sixth inning, Manaea hit Andrew Pinckney with a pitch and, with one out, walked Chaparro. Brady House doinked a ball off the foul pole for a three-run home run that looked like it would be a foul ball, but put the Nationals ahead instead. After Abrams grounded out, Manaea walked Harry Ford, but Daylen Lile flied out to Benge to stop the bleeding, with the score Nationals 4, Mets 2.

At the bottom of the sixth, Tom Cosgrove replaced Dion. Benge led off with a home run to right field. Immediately afterwards, Young laid down a bunt that Cosgrove could not field quickly enough, and Young made it to first base safely. Baty grounded into a double play that ended the inning, but the score was now 4-3. Manaea returned for the top of the seventh, and he allowed a lead-off single to Nasim Nuñez. However, Manaea helped catch Nuñez stealing on a rundown for the first out. Pinckney then hammered the ball into right field, and as it bounced off the wall and past Benge, Pinckney slid into third base for a triple. At this point, Dedniel Núñez replaced Manaea on the mound. He got Dylan Crews to fly into a double play in right field; Benge caught the ball for the second out and threw it home to Francisco Alvarez, who tagged Pinckney for the third out to end the top of the inning and the scoring threat.

At the top of the eighth inning, Núñez returned and allowed a lead-off single to pinch-hitter Abimelec Ortiz. He struck out House, but was then replaced by Jefry Yan. Yan retired the next two batters and ended the top of the inning quickly. At the bottom of the eighth, Clayton Beeter came out to pitch for the Nationals. Lindor tapped a ground ball into center field for a single. He tried to advance to second on a wild pitch, but Ford, the Nationals’ catcher, grabbed the ball quickly for a throw to second to get Lindor out. Bichette lined a single into center field immediately after this. Benge walked, and another wild pitch from Beeter moved the runners to second and third. Unfortunately, Young struck out, and Semien grounded out to end the inning and strand Bichette and Benge with the scores still Nationals 4, Mets 3.

Yan returned for the ninth inning and retired the batters in order, keeping the score close and giving the Mets a chance at the bottom of the inning. Yovanny Cruz replaced Beeter at the bottom of the ninth, and he walked Baty to lead off. Polanco drilled a single into right field, and Baty moved to second. Christian Pache came out to pinch-run for Polanco as Alvarez came out to bat. With no outs yet, Alvarez slapped a line drive down left field for an RBI double, and Baty scored to tie the game 4-4. Luis Robert Jr. came out to pinch-run for Alvarez. After Ewing struck out, Lindor came to the plate and whacked a fly ball into right field for a walk-off single to win the game Mets 5, Nationals 4.

The final game of the series starts tomorrow at 1:40 PM. Christian Scott will pitch for the Mets, and Jake Irvin will pitch for the Nationals.

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Win Probability Added

Fangraphs

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Francisco Alvarez, +35% WPA
Big Mets loser: Sean Manaea, – 32% WPA
Mets pitchers: -13% WPA
Mets hitters: +63% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Francisco Alvarez’s RBI double, +41.6% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Brady House’s 3-run home run, -38.1% WPA

Right fielder Kyle Tucker will not be in the Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup for Saturday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium.

“Being at home right now, I can see the frustration,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said in explaining the decision. “I felt that for him (it was best) to use today as a work day, and he will be back in there tomorrow (for the series finale against the Brewers).”

Roberts stated Tucker will remain in the lineup when the Dodgers hit the road for a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies.

“I don’t think he even realized (his frustration) until recently, when I think people brought it to light, but the fact is that the splits are stark (between home and road)."

The Mets walked off the Washington Nationals thanks to a heroic late-game comeback, a 5-4 win on Saturday afternoon at Citi Field.

New York has won 10 of their last 13 games, including the first two games of their three-game series against their NL East division rivals this weekend.

Here are the takeaways...

-- The Mets jumped all over the Nats' right-handed starter Brad Lord. Lord recorded just two outs in the first inning before being pulled. He walked the bases loaded, and with one out in the inning, lefty first baseman Jared Young sliced a double the opposite way, the ball bouncing into the left-field corner as A.J. Ewing and Francisco Lindor came around to score. After walking the bases loaded yet again, the Nationals called upon left-handed reliever Will Dion to record the final out of the inning, escaping the jam.

-- Dion continued onward, eating crucial innings for the Nationals after Lord's start when awry. He struck out six of the first seven Mets batters he faced, allowing zero runs across 64 pitches, the most he had thrown at any point this season in both the major and minor leagues. He tallied seven total strikeouts, allowing one walk and no hits across his 4.1 innings pitched.

-- Southpaw starting pitcher Sean Manaea had an up-and-down outing. He was stellar through five innings, having allowed one run - an Andres Chaparro solo shot in the fourth - on two hits while striking out seven batters. However, Manaea unraveled in the sixth. He plunked Andrew Pinckney, walked Chaparro, and then served up a hanging breaking ball to Brady House for the righty to turn on. House's 380-foot three-run shot clanked off the foul pole in left field and turned the game on its head. Manaea eventually got out of the inning with the Mets trailing 4-2. 

-- The Mets responded immediately in the bottom half of the sixth. Facing lefty sidearmer Tom Cosgrove, Benge cranked the second pitch he saw 372 feet into the right field bleachers. The rookie's 14th of the season cut the Nats' lead to 4-3.

-- Manaea was pulled in the seventh for Dedniel Nuñez after surrendering a one-out triple to Pinckney. Dylan Crews' fly ball to right field was caught by Benge, who fired a perfect throw to catcher Francisco Alvarez to beat the tagging Pinckney, a remarkable double play to end the inning. Manaea's four earned runs allowed across 93 pitches increased his 2026 ERA to 4.23.

-- Jefry Yan relieved Nuñez in the eighth, retiring both batters he faced and striking out Harry Ford looking with a low fastball to end the inning with the Mets still behind 4-3. Ford made up for it in the bottom half of the frame, pouncing on a Clayton Beeter pitch in the dirt and unleashing a barehanded throw to catch Lindor trying to steal second. Young stepped up to the plate with one out and two Mets in scoring position. During the at-bat, both runners moved up a base - to second and third - on a Beeter wild pitch, but Young struck out swinging. Marcus Semien grounded out to short to end the threat.

-- In the top of the ninth inning, Yan retired the side, punching out two Nats. Yovanny Cruz, a right-handed reliever whom the Nationals acquired at the trade deadline from the Yankees, walked Brett Baty to lead off the inning. Jorge Polanco kept the line moving by roping a single into right field. Alvarez looped the first pitch he saw, a hanging breaking ball, into left field for a double. Baty scored easily and Cristian Pache - inserted as a pinch runner for Polanco - motored around to third base. With nobody out and Mets baserunners on second and third, Ewing struck out. It was Lindor who played the hero, driving Cruz's pitch into right field to score Pache and complete the Mets' 5-4 comeback victory.

Game MVP: Francisco Lindor

This was Lindor's fourth walk-off RBI as a Met, and his first since April 18, 2025.

Highlights

Two strikeouts for Sean Manaea in a 1-2-3 first inning 🔥 pic.twitter.com/haWw6CQrbP

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 15, 2026

Stay hot, Jared Young!

He brings in two runs with a double! pic.twitter.com/4b6TnMy4GJ

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 15, 2026

Seven strikeouts in five innings for Sean Manaea 💪 pic.twitter.com/FAj67VsBov

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 15, 2026

Carson Benge launches his 14th home run of the year! 🍎 pic.twitter.com/4xAQ0cQX3k

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 15, 2026

Carson Benge shows off his strong arm again! 🚀

He throws out Andrew Pinckney at home! pic.twitter.com/XlsAiov2di

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 15, 2026

Jared Young makes the diving stop! pic.twitter.com/ICN4VsIa4c

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 15, 2026

Jefry Yan goes airborne as he strikes out Harry Ford pic.twitter.com/n5t7MfKBI9

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 15, 2026

FRANCISCO ALVAREZ TIES THE GAME! pic.twitter.com/1DxH2I9ctX

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 15, 2026

FRANCISCO LINDOR WALKS IT OFF!

METS WIN 5-4! pic.twitter.com/v3itEfDu5J

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 15, 2026

What's next

The Mets will go for the sweep of the Nationals on Sunday afternoon, with first pitch set for 1:40 p.m.

For the Mets, Christian Scott (3.45 ERA, 1.30 WHIP in 78.1 IP) will toe the slab.

Jake Irvin (5.79 ERA, 1.32 WHIP in 65.1 IP) will take the mound for Washington.

TONIGHT’S GAME: The first-place Houston Astros (63-60), who own a 3.0-game lead in the AL West, will play the middle game of their three-game series against the division rival Seattle Mariners (57-66) tonight at Daikin Park.

RHP Hayden Wesneski (2-0, 3.86 ERA) will make his fourth Major League start of the season tonight, this time opposite the M’s and RHP Emerson Hancock (6-7, 3.35 ERA).

BIG WES: After missing 14 months with injury, RHP Hayden Wesneski has returned to the Astros rotation by posting a 2-0 record with a 3.86 ERA (8ER/18.2IP) in three starts. He’s worked two straight quality starts, including tossing 7.0 innings of three-run ball in his last outing on Monday at SF. This solid start to the season has continued a strong run for Wesneski, who was great in his rehab appearances, posting a 2.25 (5ER/20IP) combined ERA in five minor league rehab starts.

ABOUT THE RECORD: At 63-60 and three games over .500, the Astros have matched their high-water mark for the season, also reached with 60-57, 59-56, 58-55, 6-3, and 5-2 records. The Astros 3.0game lead in the AL West is their largest division lead of the season.

THE TURNAROUND: After a slow start to the season, the Astros are 43-29 since May 22, which is the best record in the AL in that span. On that date, the Astros were 20-31, 11 games under, which is their low water mark for the season.

TONIGHT’S BROADCASTS: Tonight’s English telecast on SCHN will feature Kevin Eschenfelder, Geoff Blum and Julia Morales. The English radio call will be made by Robert Ford and Josh Reddick. The Spanish radio broadcast will feature Francisco Romero and Alex Treviño, while the Spanish telecast on SCHN2 will have Danny Gonzalez and Gene Flores on the call.

TONIGHT’S GIVEAWAY: At tonight’s game, 10,000 fans will receive a Yordan Alvarez Home Run Train Bobblehead, presented by Phillips66. One lucky fan who receives the Golden Yordan Alvarez Home Run Train Bobblehead will win Free Gas for a Year, Courtesy of Phillips 66.

LAST NIGHT’S WALKOFF: The Astros came back from two different two-run deficits last night and scored five runs in the 10th inning en route to a 10-7 series-opening win over the visiting Mariners. 1B Christian Walker was the hero, as he connected for his third-career walkoff homer, a three-run shot in the 10th.

RHP Peter Lambert (2ER/5IP) started for the Astros and recorded his eighth straight start of allowing two-or-fewer earned runs.

ELIAS SAYS: The Astros posted a five-run 10th inning last night, marking just their ninth time in franchise history to score five-plus runs in an extra inning and their first time to do so since they scored five runs in the top of the 11th on June 30, 2024 at NYM. Last night marked the first time in franchise history for the Astros to score five-plus runs in an extra-inning as the home team.

HALL OF FAME INDUCTIONS: The Astros are celebrating Hall of Fame Weekend at Daikin Park, which will include the induction of Astros legends Alan Ashby and the late Phil Garner into the Astros Hall of Fame in a pregame ceremony today. Prior to the ceremony, Ashby and members of Garner’s family will be available to the media in the press conference room at 4:30 p.m. today.

THAT’S OFFENSIVE: Among American League teams, the Astros rank first in slugging (.412), first in total bases (1710), second in OPS (.731), second in home runs (164), and third in runs scored (569). In the Majors, the Astros rank tied for third in homers, trailing only the Nationals (177) and Yankees (170), and tied with the Braves (164).

MVP-CALIBER: Yordan Alvarez holds the lead in all AL Triple Crown categories, ranking first in average (.323), first in homers (36) and first in RBI (88). Additionally, he leads MLB in OPS (1.063), OBP (.437), SLG (.626), and TB (275). In the AL, he ranks first in hits (142) and XBH (61), and second in runs (81) and walks (85).

YOR-GONE!: DH Yordan Alvarez connected for his 36th home run of the season last night, which gave him the outright lead in home runs in the AL. He’s now just one homer shy of matching his career high in homers (37 HR in 2022) and is 11 homers shy of matching the franchise record for a single season, set by 1B Jeff Bagwell in 2000 (47 HR).

WHAM BAM CAM: RF Cam Smith has a triple, three homers and seven RBI in his last six games. Smith is batting .375 (18×48) with one triple, three home runs, nine RBI and a 1.087 OPS in his last 13 games dating back to July 29.

HADERADE: LHP Josh Hader has been stellar since returning from injury in early June, going 4-1 with a 0.93 ERA (3ER/29IP), 40 strikeouts, a .121 opponent batting average (12×99) and a 0.76 WHIP, while also converting all 17 of his save opportunities, through 30 appearances.

VS. THE M’S: Prior to last night, it had been three months since the Astros last played the Mariners, last seeing them in a four-game series in Houston from May 11-14. The Astros have gone 2-7 against Seattle this season with four games left to play.

ON THE MEND: RHP Mike Burrows (rt. elbow neuritis) made his first affiliate rehab start since his injury last night, working 4.1 scoreless inning for Triple A Sugar Land in their game at Round Rock. He allowed three hits and one walk with three strikeouts while tossing 67 pitches (43 strikes).

TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 2009 – In the Astros 6-2 loss at MIL, 2B Kazuo Matsui singles for his 2,000th combined hit between his career in Japan and his six years in the Majors. With 2,000 hits, Matsui is automatically inducted into Japan’s Meikyukai, similar to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.

Game Info

Game Date/Time:  Saturday, August 15, 6:10 p.m. CT

Location:  Daikin Park, Houston, TX

TV: Space City Home Network, SCHN2 (Spanish)

Radio: KTRH 740 AM; KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)

The Dodgers face the best pitcher in baseball on Saturday at Dodger Stadium. Kyle Tucker will watch.

Saturday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Brewers
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Start time: 4:15 p.m.
• TV: Fox
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Here’s the Padres’ lineup:

Here’s the Guardians lineup:

Let’s go, Guardians!

The Mariners season is likely over, but that doesn’t mean the fun has to stop here at Lookout Landing.

Emerson Hancock takes the mound for the good guys today, and will oppose one of the skis tonight. No, not Jacob Misiorowski, nor Hayden Wrobelski, who face each other in Los Angeles — boy do I wish I was watching that game tonight instead. No, also not Parker Mushinski, who pitched in relief today for the Rockies. The Astros will instead hand the ball Hayden Wesneski. The two things I know about him is he’s a Houston native and someone the Mariners have smacked around in the past. I’d prefer to learn nothing new about him today.

I think we’ve passed the point where Lineup Analysis is interesting in any way. But hey, Brock Rodden is back in there at shortstop, and Victor Robles gets another start, this time in right field with Julio back in center.

Lineups

Game Info:

First Pitch: 4:10 p.m.

TV: Mariners.TV

Radio: Ol’ Reliable

Yankees 1 Blue Jays 4

A few more runs would be ok, but it is so much fun watching the Jays lately. On a bullpen day, we beat one of the best pitchers in baseball.

We used seven pitchers:

• Braydon Fisher was the opener. He threw a scoreless inning with just a walk in there.
• Ricky Tiedeman got the next five outs. He did give up two hits and a run, but he also had two strikeouts in his first appearance in the majors. Great job.
• Simeon Woods Richardson got the next seven outs. He allowed just 1 walk with two strikeouts.
• Mason Fluharty pitched a 3 up, 3 down sixth.
• Spencer Miles got the seventh. He gave up a hit, and had a strikeout. He gets the win.
• Tyler Rogers gave up a single in the eighth, and struck out one.
• Louis Varland was unhittable in the ninth. He gets save #28. That would tie him for the 22nd most saves in a season for the Jays. Randy Myers 1998 had 28.

The offense did more than enough, which, even in this little great stretch, is unusual.

We Scored:

• 1 in the third: After Charles McAdoo lined out hard to the first baseman, Brett Bateman walked. Nathan Lukes singled him to second and Alejandro Kirk singled him home. Nice to get a run off Cam Schlittler. Unfortunately Jesús Sánchez and Kazuma Okamoto popped out.
• 1 in the seventh: Ernie Clement (pinch hitting) singled and McAdoo doubled (a couple of feet higher and it would have been a home run) him home. Just an amazing read and run by Clement. Despite another single and a Lukes sac bunt (Yankees brought in lefty Brent Headrick). After an intentional walk to Kirk (smart move), Myles Straw (who came in as a pinch runner in the sixth) struck out (and beat his helmet into the ummm helmet rack after) and Okamoto lined out (98.6 mph, but into a glove).
• 2 in the eighth: Andrés Giménez led off with a single (and I would call that a clutch situation). Brandon Valenzuela was (barely) hit by a pitch. Yankees challenged but the replay showed it just touched his forearm on the way by). Clement singled to load the bases. McAdoo singled in one (he had a big day). After a Bateman fly out, Lukes very softly ground one down the first base line that the Yankees’ pitcher could only pick up the ball and tag Nathan, allowing our fourth run. The Yankees intentionally walked Kirk again, but Straw ground out.

We had ten hits and four walks (the Yankees had four hits and two walks). Bateman, Clement (coming into the game late) and McAdoo had two hits each. Lukes, Kirk (with two walks), Okamoto, and Giménez all had one.

Sánchez also had two walks. And he had a bad moment in the outfield too. Runner on second, single by George Lombard. The runner on second scored easy, but Sánchez still threw home, which allowed Lombard to get to second. The right move was to throw to the cutoff man. Thankfully, it didn’t end up costing us.

Valenzuela threw out Luis García trying to steal second. I thought García got a good jump, but Brandon made a great throw and Giménez made a great tag.

Jays of the Day: McAdoo (0.17), SWR (0.14) Rogers (0.12), Miles (0.09), Kirk (0.09) and Clement (0.09). Honourable mention to Bateman, Fisher, Fluharty and Varland.

Tomorrow, we have a 1:30 Eastern start time. Dylan Cease (7-5, 2.40) goes for the sweep. Ryan Weathers (5-7, 3.69) starts for the Yankees.

Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani is making progress in a return to the rotation.

Ohtani threw his first bullpen in nearly a month on Friday and the next step for the right-hander will be another bullpen session and a live batting practice if all goes accordingly, manager Dave Roberts said Saturday.

“Then,” Roberts said, “I would see him in a major league game.”

Ohtani was in the midst of a Cy Young performance, sporting a 1.79 ERA with 95 strikeouts across 85.2 innings of work this season. The 32-year-old’s pitching clinic was halted by a knee and biceps injury, which essentially halted his two-way duties for the foreseeable future.

Barring any setbacks, it appears Ohtani is on track to return to the rotation in the coming weeks.

While the rotation certainly misses Ohtani, his absence has also caused problems for the Dodgers bullpen. The overtaxed unit has gone from eight to seven relievers, a factor in the recent poor performance from Dodgers relievers.

Ohtani is not the only Los Angeles starter nearing a return, though. Also on Saturday, Roberts shared that Tyler Glasnow will require just one more rehab start before re-joining the rotation. Glasnow looked dominant in his most recent triple-A start.

Ohtani, the pitcher, hasn’t made a start for the Dodgers since July 3. But Ohtani, the hitter, has continued grinding.

The Dodgers two-way star is hitting .290 with 27 home runs, 74 RBIs and a .930 OPS. There have been several questions surrounding Ohtani’s performance at the plate in 2026, particularly surrounding the taxing workload of a dominant pitcher.

Though Ohtani’s offensive numbers haven’t been as strong as his first two seasons with the Dodgers, his success as a two-way star has put him at the forefront of the MVP race.

TORONTO — Perhaps because there is not much else he can do at the moment, Aaron Boone sat in his office Saturday after another familiar loss and pointed to his lineup card. 

“I’m looking at these names, [they’re] all capable of doing really big things for us,” the Yankees manager said. 

And yet, in the same breath, he acknowledged the other reality they are facing. 

“This is who we got,” Boone said. “These are our guys.” 

And more often than not lately, regardless of who they are facing or which names are in the lineup, they have not been good enough. 

Once again, the Yankees were shut down Saturday, this time being four-hit by a parade of seven Blue Jays relievers in a 4-1 loss on an otherwise beautiful afternoon at Rogers Centre. 

Including the playoffs, the Yankees (68-55) are just 3-11 north of the border dating back to last year, but they can’t hit in any country these days. Since June 20 — a few weeks after Aaron Judge last played a game — the Yankees have averaged just 3.3 runs per game. It has been worse of late, scoring just three runs over their past 27 innings — resulting in three losses that dropped them to seven games back of the Rays entering their Saturday night game — and scoring two runs or fewer in 10 of their past 15 games. 

“Of course, you’re going to go through ups and downs in a season — I’d say we definitely wouldn’t ever expect it to go so long,” Ben Rice said. “But with that being said … we’re going to come out of it. Once we get rolling, hope to start stringing more wins together.” 

Before this series — which will end Sunday with the resurgent Blue Jays (61-64) throwing their ace, Dylan Cease — the Yankees had gone 5-1-1 in their past seven series, four against playoff teams. And yet, even most of their wins have been excruciating, nail-biting games in which their offense has mustered just enough to narrowly avoid wasting quality starting pitching. 

That was not the case Saturday, with Cam Schlittler becoming the latest victim, as the Blue Jays broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning off Brent Headrick then added two insurance runs in the eighth off Tim Hill. 

“Having some of the right at-bats, but then at the back end of the game, just shut down and kind of went silent again,” Boone said. “Broken record. Obviously, we know we got to be better.” 

Asked about what he could do to get his offense going, Boone responded that he could “maybe shake up the order a little bit here and there,” which sounded more like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. And there is no magic bullet sitting on the bench — instead it resides on the injured list, in the form of Judge (who just started playing catch Friday), Cody Bellinger (who could be back by next weekend) and Giancarlo Stanton (who has been out since late April and remains a mystery for when and in what form he will return). 

But the Yankees do, in fact, have to continue playing games until they return, and cannot afford to just wait for them to save the day. 

Saturday, they got off to a solid start when their two youngest hitters in the lineup, Spencer Jones and George Lombard Jr. strung a single, stolen base and single together to create a 1-0 lead in the second inning. 

But they did not have another hit until the seventh inning, when Luis García Jr. led off with a single, just to be promptly erased as he was caught stealing second base. García stole just four bases with the Nationals this season but Boone cited Blue Jays righty Spencer Miles being slow to the plate and trying to “exploit” that to make something happen. 

Along the way, the Yankees’ best run-suppressing starter (Schlittler in 5 ¹/₃ innings) and reliever (Headrick) each dared to give up a run, which was effectively too much for their offense to overcome. 

“We had one offensive explosion [scoring 10 runs Wednesday against the Mariners], and if not for what we’ve been going through the last couple months, these last few days are a little bit of tough luck involved, where guys are hitting some balls on the screws, we’re putting the ball in play mostly,” Boone said. “But it’s the big leagues and we’re fighting down the stretch now to be a playoff team.”

There are ways and ways of losing a low-scoring game, and when it feels as though you’ve underperformed far more than simply being dominated, the frustration level rises, such as in this 4-1 defeat to the Blue Jays. Held quietly by the Jays in a bullpen game, the Yankees lost their fourth straight Schlittler start.

Making matters even worse, the Yankees actually got on the board early thanks to George Lombard Jr., who has been a breath of fresh air for an offense in desperate need of one. His early numbers aren’t spectacular, but as a shortstop who puts the bat on the ball and makes key plays both ways, the RBI single in the second—driving in Spencer Jones—was just the latest of these.

That one run could’ve led to more if the Yankees as a whole were more reliable in seizing opportunities, Lombard taking second after the Jays left fielder foolishly didn’t throw the ball to second. Then in scoring position with just one out, Lombard was stranded as the Blue Jays pounced on the sequence of lefties at the bottom of the Yankees order—Ricky Tiedemann, making his major league debut, retired Ryan McMahon and Austin Wells.

It didn’t take long for the Jays to hurt Cam Schlittler for the first time, stringing a sequence of unlikely hits together—none more so than a Nathan Lukes single to the opposite field on a fastball well above the belt. Lukes’ knock presented a two-on and one-out situation for Alejandro Kirk, who hit a groundball to second, just escaping Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s glove and a potential double play to instead drive in a run. Facing an even bigger threat than Tiedemann an inning before, Schlittler punched out Jesús Sánchez and came back from a 3-0 count to retire Kazuma Okamoto and keep the score at one-all.

That sequence in the second of Lombard reaching only to be stranded by the bottom of the order’s inability to make something happen happened again in the fifth—this time even without a lefty to retire McMahon and Wells, the latter on a double play induced by Simeon Woods Richardson. Needing to look somewhere for length in the hope of not completely wearing down the bullpen, the Jays got 2.1 scoreless from Richardson. The right-hander has found success in the early samples of his return to Toronto, being this long-relief option out of the bullpen.

In the sixth, the Yankees had a favorable matchup with Helliot Ramos hitting against the lefty Mason Fluharty, who was brought in to handle Trent Grisham and Ben Rice. Not only did Ramos not manage to make strong contact, but without hustling down the line, he was thrown out despite Andrés Giménez’s initial bobble at short.

Schlittler left the game during the sixth after a couple of men reached with just one out and was at the mercy of the bullpen. The Yankees’ starter saw his line preserved by Brent Headrick, who punched out Andrés Giménez and retired Brandon Valenzuela.

Changing things up on the path to not scoring, the Yankees’ disappointment in the seventh came on an ill-advised stolen base attempt from Luis Garcia Jr. after leading off the inning with a single. Afterward, Spencer Jones was struck out by Spencer Miles on six pitches, not a single one of them a strike. The list of letdown at-bats grew longer by the minute.

Each of these wasted chances felt like it brought the Blue Jays closer and closer to a win. Eventually, the Yankees staff wasn’t going to keep up the zeroes, and that happened in the bottom of the seventh. Charles McAdoo narrowly missed out on a home run but got enough for an RBI double off the left-hander Headrick. Paul Blackburn pitched his way out of the mess created by Headrick and stranded the bases loaded. However, an inning later the Jays added a pair of insurance runs off Tim Hill, the first Yankee pitcher in this game to truly be off it, allowing the first four hitters he faced to reach safely. Even then, much like in the previous frame, a Yankees pitcher stranded the bases loaded, this time Yerry De Los Santos.

Those insurance runs felt as irrelevant as they could be because Louie Varland dominated the bottom of the ninth in such a fashion that getting someone on base would’ve been a massive task. The Blue Jays closer struck out the side to wrap up yet another loss at Rogers Centre.

If the life of the Yankees offense hasn’t been easy in the first two games of this series, expect further difficulties in Sunday’s finale at 1:37 p.m. The Yanks will try to avoid the sweep, sending Ryan Weathers to face off against the Jays’ ace, Dylan Cease.

Box score.

Tyler Glasnow will rejoin the Dodgers’ rotation after making one more start in the minor leagues, manager Dave Roberts said on Saturday.

Glasnow, who hasn’t pitched in a major league game since May 6, retired 11 of 13 batters he faced on Friday night in a start for the Dodgers’ triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City.

The start was Glasnow’s third in a minor-league rehabilitation assignment.

“It was a good one yesterday,” Roberts said. “I think our thought is going to do another one, five (innings) and 75 (pitches), and then he’ll join us.”

Glasnow threw 67 pitches in 3 ⅔ innings on Friday night.

Glasnow was 3-0 with a 2.72 earned-run average in seven starts when he was placed on the injured list. 

The 6-foot-8 right-hander made a conscious effort to put on weight over the offseason in hopes that it could help him remain healthy. In his first season with the Dodgers, in 2024, his season was cut short by an elbow strain. He missed 2 ½ months last year because of a strained shoulder.

The Dodgers’ rotation is coming together. Two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal was acquired before the trade deadline. Blake Snell returned from the injured list on Tuesday night and Shohei Ohtani threw his first bullpen session in more than three weeks on Friday.

Roberts and the front office could be forced to make difficult decisions leading into the postseason. The Dodgers are expected to use a four-man rotation in October, and if Ohtani is able to pitch an inning or two per game as an opener, Glasnow could be asked to pitch out of the bullpen.

Glasnow started three playoff games on the Dodgers’ championship run last year, but he also pitched in three games as a reliever, including the Games 6 and 7.

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Boston Red Sox vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, August 15, 2026, 7:15 p.m. ET

The Pittsburgh Pirates are in the middle game of a three-game set, as they take on the Boston Red Sox at PNC Park.

Jared Jones will get the start for the Pirates, and he is hoping to get out of a recent funk. He has lost each of his last three starts, including his most recent appearance against the New York Mets on August 9, when he pitched only three innings and gave up six hits and eight earned runs in an 11-1 thrashing of the Pirates. Jones has not won in nearly a month, but his team has struggled to score on offense with him on the mound. During the last four games he has pitched in, the Pirates have scored a combined five runs and have not scored more than two in a single game.

It won’t be easy for the Pirates to score tonight as Sonny Gray takes the mound for the Red Sox. Gray has the most wins out of any pitcher in the American League with 14, but he is coming off a loss in his last start against the Toronto Blue Jays. He pitched six innings, giving up six hits and two earned runs, but the offense was not clicking like it normally does, resulting in a 2-1 loss at the Rogers Center.

Location: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, FOX

Pitching Matchup: Sonny Gray (14-3, 2.79 ERA) vs. Jared Jones (2-4, 5.03 ERA)

BD community, chime off in the comments section below.

First Pitch: 6:10 pm CDT

TV: Twins.TV

Radio: TIBN / WCCO 830 / The Wolf 102.9 FM / Audacy

The Twins have had a full Friday off to wash their nationally-televised Field of Dreams performance out of their mouths, and recenter focus onto the reality that they’ve still got two home games left against a strong opponent with playoff hopes. As Connor Prielipp takes the mound this evening, he does so for a team tied for the final Wild Card; with the Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers both losing already today, it’s a three-way, 60-63 tie for one playoff position.

If you’d asked me months ago, or truly even a few weeks ago, I’d have sure bet a lot of money that the Wild Card race would have separated itself by now. Sub-.500 playoff hopefuls are only really in the race for as long as it takes until a random team finally has a dominant two weeks. And yet, it’s mid-August, and that still hasn’t happened. The Twins, Tigers, Rangers, Blue Jays, Orioles, and Guardians all have nearly identical records, but none of the above have been able to take the reins, climb over .500, and create actual separation. In three weeks’ time, the playoff picture might look obvious. For now, it’s the same muddled mess it’s been all year, and while the vibes haven’t been spectacular in Minnesota lately, the Twins could end the evening alone in a playoff position.

Since we last saw the Twins, third catcher Alex Jackson has seen his roster spot finally dry up. Byron Buxton technically takes his spot, remaining on the roster after being activated as the neutral site’s 27th man on Thursday evening.

The talented lefty Jesus Luzardo will give the Twins another chance to solve their southpaw woes, although there are easier pitchers to try that against. Luzardo is a reigning All-Star, has put up 4.3 bWAR, an ERA+ of 135, and is probably the third-best starter in Philadelphia’s monstrous rotation that includes standout veteran Zack Wheeler and the dominant Cristopher Sanchez, last year’s Cy Young runner-up. Thankfully, the Twins will miss both Wheeler and Sanchez, but that means the big challenge of the series will lie in besting Luzardo tonight.

GO TWINS GO!