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

Sammy Stafura struggles at High-A Brooklyn in suspended game

Before the game was suspended in the eighth inning due to inclement weather - with the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones trailing the Asheville Tourists by seven runs - Sammy Stafura had already struck out twice.

Stafura, who played shortstop and batted leadoff tonight, did draw a walk as the first batter of the ballgame.

The 21-year-old, who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Luke Weaver, is yet to hit the ground running within the Mets organization. He sits at a .627 OPS through his first 11 games with Brooklyn.

Rojas, Reimer, and Suero feature for Double-A Binghamton

In the Binghamton Rumble Ponies' 7-5 loss against the Altoona Curve on Thursday evening, Mets top overall prospect Jefferson Rojas batted leadoff, while 22-year-old third baseman James Reimer batted second and served as the designated hitter.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Rojas hit a one-out opposite-field (right field) double. He moved up to third base on a passed ball, and came home to score tagging up on Reimer's sacrifice fly.

Rojas now sports a very impressive .822 OPS at Double-A. His OPS was .800 at the time of the trade, which sent him from the Chicago Cubs' farm system to that of the Mets in exchange for Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor.

Elsewhere in this game, CF Chris Suero singled on a groundball up the middle, but also struck out twice.

Infield prospect Mitch Voit was hit by a pitch on Tuesday, Aug. 18, and did not feature in Thursday's game as a precaution.

Top of the lineup shows out at Triple-A Syracuse

A trio of top 30 prospects - LF Nick Morabito, 2B Émilien Pitre, and 3B Billy Amick - all tallied base hits in the Syracuse Mets' 5-0 win over the Worcester Red Sox on Thursday night.

In the bottom of the first inning, Morabito led off the game with a walk before promptly stealing second base. 

Pitre drew a walk after Morabito's stolen base, and legged out an infield single in the seventh inning.

Amick hit a solo shot in the fourth inning off highly rated right-handed pitching prospect Gage Ziehl.

Billy Amick blasts his first homer in Triple-A! pic.twitter.com/26IKNu58Dr

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) August 21, 2026

The Texas Rangers scored two runs but the Washington Nationals did not score any runs.

The Rangers didn’t have a hit with RISP all evening despite ten chances and they also left eight on base, signifying ample opportunities that did not bear fruit. Were it any other night, we would perhaps be bemoaning these facts.

The Rangers have lost dozens upon dozens of games this season in situations where the offense puckered their butt holes with prime occasions to break open games. Tonight, however, they had Jacob deGrom looking like he had spent a few days doggy paddling in the Fountain of Youth to render the ineptness with the lumber practically moot.

Despite the misfiring with men on base, all deGrom and the high leverage arms of the bullpen ultimately needed was one tally. They got that run when Corey Seager smacked a solo home run in the bottom of the third inning.

A couple of innings before Seager’s oppo dong, deGrom struck out former Rangers farmhand Abi Ortiz for his second K of the night which gave him 2,000 for his career. deGrom became the 95th pitcher in big league history to strike out 2,000 batters and the second quickest to reach the mark in both appearances (272, behind Randy Johnson’s 262) and innings (1,660 1/3, behind Chris Sale’s 1,626 IPs).

With runs at a premium, the Rangers needed deGrom to do more than just reach personal milestones, and the veteran delivered with one of his best outings with Texas spanning six shutout frames.

Following deGrom was the trio you want from the ‘pen. Jakob Junis worked around a couple of baserunners with a big double play in a scoreless seventh. Deadline acquisition Chase Silseth struck out two in a scoreless eighth. And then Jacob Latz earned his 25th save of the season with a scoreless ninth after Nicky Lopez gave the closer a cushion with a sacrifice fly insurance run in the top of the ninth.

Overall, the quartet of pitchers combined to allow just one hit as the Rangers to claimed the series with a couple of shutouts bookending their own shutout defeat.

Player of the Game: deGrom went six innings on 94 pitches. He allowed just one second inning single, walked one batter, and struck out ten. He looked ten years younger right when the Rangers really needed an outing like that from the veteran.

Congrats on 2,000 Ks!

Up Next: The Rangers will see the hated Angels arrive in Arlington for a series where LHP MacKenzie Gore will make the start for Texas opposite LHP Reid Detmers for Anaheim.

The Friday evening first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 7:05 pm CDT and you can borrow someone’s login to watch it on Apple TV.

BALTIMORE — As the regular season approaches the final month, it’s becoming even more clear that the Yankees and Rays remain the best teams in a historically weak American League.

Whether the Yankees have enough firepower to catch Tampa Bay will be determined over the next six weeks, but the Yankees closed this road trip in style.

They won their fourth straight Thursday, completing a sweep at Camden Yards with a convincing 6-1 victory over the Orioles.

Even as they’ve remained firmly in the playoff picture without their best player, the Yankees still rarely make it easy on themselves, scratching out runs and relying extensively on their rotation and top relievers.

But Thursday, as they seemingly got some potentially positive news on Aaron Judge, they also looked like a team that’s poised for a strong finish.

Not only do they have their longest winning streak since before the All-Star break, they played about as complete a game as possible to finish a sweep of the Orioles.

Thursday’s win featured a sterling effort from Gerrit Cole, contributions from two trade deadline acquisitions — Heliot Ramos and Luis García Jr. — who have mostly slumped since getting to the Yankees, as well as an opposite-field homer by Spencer Jones.

They got back to within four games of first-place Tampa Bay and moved to four games up on the Red Sox for the top spot in the AL wild-card race.

Against right-hander Kyle Bradish — who tossed six shutout innings against the Yankees in May — the lineup this time had more success, as the Yankees scored at least five runs in consecutive games for the first time since July 9-10.

“It was good to get some cushion,’’ manager Aaron Boone said. “We got the lead and were able to add to it.”

A three-run third inning started with back-to-back singles by Jones and Austin Wells and was aided by a costly error.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

With runners on the corners, José Caballero hit a potential double-play ball, but shortstop Gunnar Henderson dropped Jackson Holliday’s throw from second.

Jones scored on the play, and the Orioles failed to record an out.

Trent Grisham then grounded into a double play, but Ben Rice singled in a run and Ramos — just 2-for-33 in his previous 10 games — delivered a double to make it 3-0.

Cole, after allowing a one-out single to Pete Alonso in the first, retired 11 straight batters before Dylan Beavers took him deep to start the bottom of the fifth.

That was the only blemish for Cole, who struck out eight in six innings to pass Roger Clemens for 12th all time in franchise history.

Ryan Yarbrough finished the game with three scoreless innings, which allowed the Yankees to rest their high-leverage relievers.

Cole and Yarbrough had some breathing room in part because García opened the sixth with a homer, his 25th of the season and second with the Yankees.

Jones went the other way with two outs in the inning for his sixth home run.

It was the rookie’s first homer since he went deep in back-to-back games three weeks ago.

Jones attributed the three-hit night to adjustments he made with his timing — and the knowledge he’s been getting regular playing time for most of the month.

With Cody Bellinger due to return from a strained hamstring in the coming days — and Ramos not going anywhere — Jones may end up back in the minors, but as Boone noted, the lefty swinger has the ability to “leave any part of the ballpark.”

After dropping three in a row earlier in the trip, the Yankees head back to The Bronx to open a 10-game homestand Friday against the Blue Jays.

In their current state with the injuries and the offense struggling, almost every game the Yankees play ends up being a close one. Despite it often feeling like a grind just to get a couple runs, they still have managed to put up a not terrible record in recent weeks. However, actually stringing multiple wins together in a row has proven a tough task.

Well on Thursday night against the Orioles, the Yankees actually did a couple things they hadn’t in a little while. For one, they got the win to finish off a sweep. It was the Yankees’ first sweep in over a month, with their last coming July 10-12 over the Nationals. Also, the five-run margin matched a 10-5 win over the Mariners back on August 12th, and those games mark the largest victories the Yankees have had in some time.

On the mound in this one, Gerrit Cole looked very good. He ended up going six innings, allowing one run on four hits and a walk. He struck out eight batters, taking him to the century mark for the year. That’s extra impressive considering that he missed the start of the year while still recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Meanwhile, a balanced offensive display helped the Yankees give him a solid amount of run support, allowing the Yankees to actually win in a semi-comfortable manner, beating the Orioles 6-1.

The Yankees struck first, picking up a couple runs off Bradish in the third. After Spencer Jones and Austin Wells started off the inning with single, the O’s gave them a gift, when Gunnar Henderson failed to catch the throw to second on a possible double play ball. Jones was at third and would’ve scored on that play no matter what, but the error allowed the Yankees to put up a crooked number. Trent Grisham then did ground into a double play, but it put Wells at third, from which he scored on a Ben Rice single. Heliot Ramos then showed some signs of life with a long double off the right field wall, narrowly missing a homer.

Rice chugged all the way around to score the third run of the inning.

Cole worked in and out of some trouble in the first inning but then cruised through the next couple. Baltimore did eventually get on the board in the fifth, though. Dylan Beavers took Cole deep for the O’s first run of the game.

However, the Yankees immediately answered that run and added on more. Luis García Jr. and Spencer Jones both crushed deep shots in the sixth for solo homers to give the Yankees that breathing room back.

Hoping to get through the last couple innings drama-free considering the well-used bullpen, the Yankees picked up some insurance in the eighth. With García on after a single, Jazz Chisholm Jr. got a hit deep into the right field corner. García scored as Chisholm raced all the way to third with a triple. The offense could’ve added a little more breathing room, but the contact play felled them again. Before the night ended, Jones did pick up his third hit in a nice little day for him.

The Yankees ended up going to the bullpen after the sixth, wrapping up Cole’s strong day. Ryan Yarbrough came in for the seventh, with the Yankees hoping he could eat up a good chunk of the remaining innings to help that bullpen. In the end, he ate all of them. Yarbrough went nine up, nine down, recording the save to finish off the sweep.

Having wrapped up their road trip on a good note, the Yankees will now return home this weekend. Starting tomorrow night at 7:05 pm ET, the Yankees will open up a three-game set against the Blue Jays. Cam Schlittler is expected to go for the Yankees, while Toronto has not announced their starter as of yet.

Box Score

Jacob deGrom still has his fastball at 38 years old.

The Rangers ace struck out the first two batters of his start on Thursday night in Arlington, Texas, then tipped his hat to the crowd after becoming the 95th pitcher in MLB history to reach 2,000 strikeouts.

DeGrom (9-8, 3.77 ERA) went on to pick up the win by pitching six scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts in the Rangers’ 2-0 win.

“Maybe whenever my career is over I’ll look at that kind of stuff,” deGrom said. “But even when the season’s over, I’m like, ‘I’ve got to figure out a way to get outs the following year.’”

He reached the milestone against the Nationals, whom he’s struck out more than all but two other teams, facing them a plethora of times during his time with the Mets.

The historic punchout came in deGrom’s 272nd game and 1,661st inning pitched. He’s the second-fastest pitcher by both metrics to reach the milestone, trailing Randy Johnson (262 games) and Chris Sale (1,626 innings pitched).

Reaching 2,000 strikeouts has been a long time coming for deGrom, who has battled through injuries that held him to fewer than four innings in two of his last three starts.

The longtime Met has spent the past four seasons with Texas, but most of his career success — and strikeouts — came in Queens. In nine seasons in New York, deGrom showed himself to be one of the most memorable pitchers of the 2010s, winning back to back Cy Young Awards in 2018-19.

His 2018 campaign was arguably one of the most dominant in MLB history, as he maintained a mind-boggling 1.70 ERA over 217 innings while striking out 269 batters.

deGrom is fourth in Mets history with 1,607 Ks while topping the franchise leaderboards for career strikeouts per nine (10.9) and ERA (2.52), among many others.

Since leaving the Mets, deGrom has stayed dominant despite undergoing his second Tommy John surgery in 2023, six starts into his Rangers tenure.

The surgery seems to have paid off, and he’s considered one of the most successful pitchers to undergo the procedure twice. In 2025, his first full season since winning his second Cy Young, deGrom struck out 185 batters with a 2.97 ERA and finished eighth in voting for the award.

His 2026 season, though, has been the worst of his career. Through 23 starts, deGrom posted a 3.95 ERA. Although under league average, it’s far his career worst and over a run above his career average.

The below-.500 Rangers sit in second place in an abysmal American League West division and are just ½ game back for the third AL wild-card spot. If they make the playoffs, manager Skip Schumaker is almost certain to turn to deGrom for a Game 1 matchup.

As the trade deadline neared earlier this month, deGrom reportedly invoked his no-trade clause to stay with the Rangers despite interest from the Braves, among other teams.

— with AP

There are just 35 games remaining in the 2026 season, if you can believe that! The Colorado Rockies are sitting at 50-77 after an unfortunate sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They need 13 more wins to avoid 100 losses for the fourth straight year, and the overwhelming majority of Rockies fans believe they will do it.

Do you still think they’ll do it? Let us know in the comments!

Brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.

The Orioles were swept away tonight, ruining every bit of goodwill and excitement they had built up with their series against the Rays last weekend. Tonight’s game, a 6-1 loss to the Yankees, had a little bit of everything bad. The offense could not solve Gerrit Cole. One big error cost the team a couple runs. And Kyle Bradish struggled for his second straight start. It was not an uplifting game, to say the least.

Let’s start with Bradish. He faced just three batters in the first inning, but there was foreshadowing for the rest of his game. He walked leadoff batter Trent Grisham on six pitches. To make matters worse, Carlos Narváez challenged ball four and lost. On the first batter of the game. Bradish then went 3-2 to Ben Rice, but Rice bailed him out by swinging at ball four and popping out. Heliot Ramos grounded into the first of three Yankees double plays to end the inning.

The third inning was the worst one for Bradish, with an assist to Gunnar Henderson. Back-to-back singles put runners on the corners with no outs. José Caballero hit a groundball to Jackson Holliday, who fired to Henderson to start the double play, but Henderson missed the catch. No outs were recorded and a run scored. The next batter did hit into a double play, but Bradish couldn’t close out the inning. Three batters and three hits later, the Orioles were down 3-0.

Bradish allowed two more baserunners in the fifth inning but was once again saved by a double play ball. He ended the fifth inning with 89 pitches. After his struggles, I thought that might be the end of his night. Unfortunately for him, he went back out for the sixth. He faced four batters and retired two of them. The other two hit home runs. Whoops! He was pulled after the second one. His final pitching line: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. Henderson’s error led to the unearned runs, but Bradish did allow three more hits in the inning after that play. Not great.

The way that the Orioles’ offense played, Bradish could have been a lot better and it wouldn’t have mattered. They looked like they might have something cooking in the first inning with Pete Alonso singled and Gunnar Henderson walked, but they were stranded.

In fact, starting with Samuel Basallo’s strikeout that followed the Henderson walk, Cole retired 11 Orioles in a row. It was not fun. That took him through the end of the fourth inning. Dylan Beavers came up first in the fifth inning and ended the hit drought in style. He took a 97 mph fastball up and into the flag court. It got the Orioles on the board, at the time cutting the lead to 3-1. Cole retired the next three.

The seventh inning was Cole’s last and he ended his outing almost exactly like he started it. After a Holliday strikeout, Alonso and Henderson reached base. Basallo struck out again, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand flew out to end the inning.

Grant Wolfram replaced Bradish and looked good. He retired all four batters he faced on 17 pitches and struck out two. But Albert Suárez wasn’t quite as good. He allowed a run on three hits in the eighth, but pitched a perfect ninth.

Soft-tossing Ryan Yarbrough replaced Cole after six innings, and the Orioles could do nothing with him. They went nine-up, nine-down against him to close out the game. Yarbrough picked up the rare three-inning save for his efforts.

Orioles lose, 6-1. It’s their fourth loss in a row. Tomorrow they being a three-game series with the Rays. They have proven they can beat the Rays this year, so I’d like to sign up for a couple or three wins.

After a 20-minute delay at Camden Yards due to rain, the Yankees beat the Orioles, 6-1, the final score, completing the road series sweep.

The Yankees improve to 41-28 on the road this season, the best road record of any AL ballclub.

Here are the takeaways...

-Gerrit Cole and Kyle Bradish squared off as the evening's pitching matchup, and Cole was undoubtedly the better pitcher on the night. Bradish lasted 5.2 innings, allowing five earned runs on eight hits. In contrast, Cole pitched six full innings, allowed just one earned run on four hits, and struck out eight Orioles batters across 93 pitches.

-In the top of the third inning, back-to-back singles by Spencer Jones and Austin Wells put runners on the corners for the Yankees with nobody out. Jose Caballero hit a hard grounder to Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday, but Holliday's on-target throw to second base ahead of Wells was dropped by Baltimore shortstop Gunnar Henderson. Later in the inning, Ben Rice laced a two-out opposite-field line drive to left field to score Wells from third. Heliot Ramos stepped up next and clobbered a hanging sinker the other way for a stand-up double, which scored Rice all the way from first. Bradish finally got out of the inning with the Yankees leading 3-0.

-Dylan Beavers was the Oriole who finally got to Cole, taking him over the right-field fence for a solo shot in the fifth inning. 

-In the top of the sixth, the Yankeesresponded by padding the lead to 5-1 with two solo homers of their own, both hit by lefties. Luis Garcia Jr. got things going with a moonshot to the pull-side, before Jones knocked Bradish out of the game with a 398-foot monster mash into the left-center field bleachers.

-Jazz Chisholm Jr. may still be battling through a slump, but his one hit tonight was a big one. In the eighth inning, Jazz roped a line drive into the right-field corner, a triple which scored Garcia from first base. Garcia and Jones each notched their third hit of the game in the inning as the Yanks further extended their lead to 6-1.

-Ryan Yarbrough pitched three perfect innings after relieving Cole, striking out three and facing the minimum nine batters. His performance is noteworthy, as the Yanks' bullpen budget had been stretched quite thin headed into tonight's game. On Thursday, Yarbrough ensured that every other member of the New York bullpen enters the weekend series against the Blue Jays with at least one full day of rest.

Game MVP: Gerrit Cole

Of the 23 batters he faced, Cole threw first-pitch strikes to 22 of them. He has been pounding the zone with his fastball as of late and is still able to touch 97 miles per hour.

Highlights

The Yankees get on the board first tonight in Baltimore pic.twitter.com/3X098cntoS

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 20, 2026

Ben Rice with his 80th RBI of the season and the Yankees lead 2-0 pic.twitter.com/brcV0bpEYZ

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 20, 2026

Heliot Ramos comes through with an RBI double! His first RBI as a Yankee! pic.twitter.com/2ZfQzdITE5

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 20, 2026

Luis Garcia Jr. goes deep! pic.twitter.com/ZltMbUHMqE

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 21, 2026

Spencer Jones’ turn to go yard! pic.twitter.com/FiwNnnRiSQ

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 21, 2026

An RBI triple for Jazz Chisholm Jr.! pic.twitter.com/PxPpbN55oC

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 21, 2026

What's next

The Yankees travel back to the Bronx for another three-game series against a division rival, this time facing the Toronto Blue Jays.

First pitch on Friday is set for 7:05 p.m.

Cam Schlittler (10-6, 2.19 ERA) is set to take the mound for the Yankees, hoping to continue making his case for the AL Cy Young Award.

Toronto's starting pitcher has not yet been announced.

The Los Angeles Dodgers boast several veterans on the roster, but Santiago Espinal became an unexpected addition after cracking the Opening Day roster.

The infielder played a key depth role for the Dodgers early in the 2026 season with a number of position players sidelined. Espinal was designated for assignment (for the second time) in June in order to make space for Tommy Edman, who missed the first 2.5 months of the season as he recovered from offseason ankle surgery.

Espinal elected free agency and made a brief stint with the Texas Rangers’ minor league affiliate before the organization released him at the end of July.

On Thursday, the 31-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was assigned to Triple-A Reno.

Since Espinal’s tenure with the Dodgers ended earlier this summer, the infielder hasn’t made a major league appearance. He played in 36 games for LA, hitting .268 with one home run, seven RBIs and a OPS of .651 across 60 plate appearances for the Dodgers.

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Espinal made an impressive run this spring, giving the Dodgers no choice but include him on the Opening Day roster.

“(He has fit in) seamlessly,” manager Dave Roberts said at camp. “It’d be hard to imagine him not being on the team.”

Espinal’s versatility played well with the Dodgers, especially with utility man Kiké Hernandez sidelined to start the season. The veteran is also proven talent as he was an All-Star with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2022.

Now, Espinal will look to get back to full form with the Diamondbacks, who could still call the infielder up in late season move.

The Milwaukee Brewers are set to host the Atlanta Braves for a pair of (oddly timed) games this weekend before taking them on in MLB’s Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pennsylvania on Sunday night. The Brewers are in possession of the best record in baseball, will be looking for their 80th win of the season this weekend. On the other side, the Braves sit atop the NL East with the third-best record in the National League, behind only Milwaukee and the Dodgers.

After Cooper Pratt returned this week, the lone position player left on Milwaukee’s IL is outfielder Sal Frelick, who could be back this weekend. On the pitching side, the Brewers are without relievers Abner Uribe (late August), JoJo Romero (late August), Rob Zastryzny (TBD), Joel Kuhnel (late August), Brian Fitzpatrick (out for season), and Angel Zerpa (out for season). Starters Quinn Priester and Brandon Woodruff are also out for the year.

Atlanta is without pitchers Spencer Schwellenbach (September at earliest), Robert Suarez (TBD), Spencer Strider (TBD), Hurston Waldrep (TBD), Reynaldo López (late August), Joe Jiménez (September), and Joey Wentz (out for season). They currently have no position players on the IL.

Jake Bauers, Garrett Mitchell, Brice Turang, and Joey Ortiz have led the Brewer offense over the last few weeks. Bauers leads the team with 22 homers, while Ortiz is now hitting .252/.317/.381 for the season after an absolutely dismal first two months. Mitchell is hitting .261/.356/.421, and Turang is hitting .262/.356/.439 with 16 homers. Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn have also been consistent pieces offensively, with William Contreras, Gary Sánchez, Christian Yelich, David Hamilton, Cooper Pratt, Luis Lara, and Jonathan Ornelas all in the mix. As a team, the Brewers are hitting .253/.337/.397 (.734 OPS ranks seventh), with 642 runs (fourth), 119 homers (last), and 129 steals (third).

Matt Olson and Wisconsin native Drake Baldwin lead the Atlanta offense, as Olson has slugged 36 homers and 31 doubles, and Baldwin has 21 homers as he’s hitting .272/.354/.449. Michael Harris II, Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, Mauricio Dubón, Dominic Smith, Lane Thomas, and Mike Yastrzemski are among the other regulars on offense. Ha-Seong Kim, Jim Jarvis, and Sean Murphy round things out. As a team, the Braves are hitting .246/.310/.413 (.723 OPS ranks 14th), with 608 runs (seventh), 167 homers (tied for fourth), and 62 steals (25th).

Aaron Ashby leads the Milwaukee bullpen with 59 appearances (71 innings) this year, with Trevor Megill closing things out, as he has a 2.39 ERA and 23 saves. With Uribe injured, Chad Patrick and DL Hall have also worked as high-leverage arms, with Antonio Senzatela, Bryse Wilson, and Grant Anderson rounding things out. As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.46 team ERA (second), including a 3.53 starter ERA (fourth) and a 3.37 bullpen ERA (third). They’ve struck out 1,245 batters (second) over 1,144 1/3 innings.

Dylan Lee has anchored the Braves bullpen with a team-high 60 appearances, pitching to a strong 2.02 ERA over 58 frames. Raisel Iglesias has a 3.09 ERA and leads the squad with 26 saves, while Didier Fuentes (2.60 ERA over 55 1/3 IP), Dylan Dodd (2.27 ERA over 39 2/3 IP), and former Brewer favorite Brent Suter (2.25 ERA over 8 IP since being acquired at the deadline) also figure prominently. Ray Kerr (0.00 ERA over 2 1/3 IP) and Victor Mederos (3.68 ERA over 22 IP) round things out. As a staff, the Braves have a 3.64 team ERA (fifth), including a 3.75 starter ERA (seventh) and a 3.49 bullpen ERA (fourth). They’ve struck out 1,092 batters (11th) over 1,137 innings.

Probable Pitchers

Friday, August 21 @ 3:10 p.m.: RHP Jacob Misiorowski (12-5, 1.75 ERA, 2.14 FIP) vs. LHP Chris Sale (12-8, 2.16 ERA, 2.30 FIP)

Miz will go head-to-head with yet another ace in Friday’s series opener, as he gets the start opposite Chris Sale. The big right-hander is 12-5 this season and remains atop the majors in ERA (1.75), FIP (2.14), strikeouts (210), and WHIP (0.748). He turned in six solid frames to pick up the win over the Dodgers in his last outing, allowing one run on five hits and a walk with six strikeouts. Misiorowski took a loss against the Braves back in June, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk, striking out seven across six innings.

Sale, 37, is in his 16th MLB season and third with the Braves, and he’s still just as dominant as ever. After winning the NL Cy Young with Atlanta in 2024, he’s been arguably even better this year, with a 2.16 ERA, 2.30 FIP, and 160 strikeouts across 129 innings. He took a tough loss in his last outing against the D-backs, allowing just one run on five hits and no walks while striking out nine as Atlanta lost 2-0. Sale has made six career starts against Milwaukee, with a 2-0 record, 1.62 ERA, and 52 strikeouts over 39 innings. That includes 5 2/3 innings back in June, when he allowed a pair of unearned runs and struck out seven.

Saturday, August 22 @ 1:10 p.m.: RHP Logan Henderson (7-2, 2.70 ERA, 3.39 FIP) vs. LHP Martín Pérez (8-7, 3.15 ERA, 4.15 FIP)

Henderson continues to impress as a major leaguer. His ERA is down to 2.70 to go along with a 3.39 FIP and 75 strikeouts across 63 1/3 innings, and he was fantastic in his last outing against the Dodgers. He went a career-high seven frames on a career-high 93 pitches, allowing one run on three hits and a walk, striking out six. This marks Henderson’s first career start against Atlanta.

Pérez, 35, is another long-time lefty veteran, as he’s in his 15th season with his seventh team. He’s made 24 appearances (20 starts) for Atlanta this year, with an 8-7 record, 3.15 ERA, 4.15 FIP, and 83 strikeouts over 111 1/3 innings. Pérez got roughed up a bit against the Twins in his last outing, allowing four runs on nine hits and two walks, striking out three over five frames. Pérez has made six career appearances (five starts) against Milwaukee, with a 1-3 record, 7.24 ERA, and 21 strikeouts over 32 1/3 innings, though that lone victory came this year, as he went six frames with one run allowed and five strikeouts.

Sunday, August 23 @ 6:10 p.m. (MLB Little League Classic in Williamsport, PA): LHP Shane Drohan (6-4, 3.86 ERA, 3.36 FIP) vs. RHP Tyler Mahle (4-10, 4.53 ERA, 4.13 FIP)

Drohan will get the start for the Brewers in Sunday’s showcase, and it’s been a solid year for the left-hander. Across 25 appearances (14 starts), Drohan is 6-4 with a 3.86 ERA, 3.36 FIP, and 99 strikeouts over 100 1/3 innings. He went 5 1/3 innings in his last start against the Dodgers, allowing three runs and striking out five in a no-decision. His last appearance, though, came from the bullpen, as he tossed two scoreless innings with one strikeout in Milwaukee’s 22-0 blowout win over the Mariners on Tuesday night. This marks Drohan’s first career appearance against Atlanta.

Mahle, 31, was acquired by the Braves at the trade deadline in a deal with the Giants. Another veteran, Mahle is in his 10th season with his fifth team. While he had a 5.13 ERA and 4.36 FIP with the Giants across 18 starts, he’s been great with Atlanta, pitching to a 1.45 ERA, 2.93 FIP, and 19 strikeouts over 18 2/3 innings in three starts this month. A familiar opponent for Milwaukee, Mahle has made 10 career starts against the Brewers, with a 2-3 record, 4.73 ERA, and 66 strikeouts across 51 1/3 innings. He dominated the Crew in his second-to-last start with the Giants in late July, though, pitching six scoreless innings with three strikeouts as he allowed just three hits and two walks to earn the win.

How to Watch & Listen

Friday, August 14: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Saturday, August 15: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Sunday, August 16 (MLB Little League Classic in Williamsport, PA): Nationally televised on ESPN/ESPN App; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Prediction

This will be a fun series between two of baseball’s best teams, capped off with a showdown in Williamsport on Sunday. Give me the Crew to win two of three.

“So, you’re telling me there’s a chance.”

— Lloyd Christmas, “Dumb & Dumber.”

Admit it, Mets fans. You have at least considered the possibility, unlikely as it may seem, as the Mets have ripped off 11 wins in 15 games after a trade deadline sell-off.

They have won four of their last five series and have injected a bit of life into what had been a miserable season.

It will take an enormous run to even be in contention in mid-September. The Mets still trail the Padres by 10 games for the third and final NL wild-card spot, and six other teams are ahead of them.

To reach 83 wins, the number of victories the final wild-card team secured a year ago, the Mets would need to go 25-9. That’s a .735 winning percentage, an extraordinarily tall order.

Let’s take a look at the schedule the rest of the way.

The Mets have the seventh-most difficult remaining strength of schedule, their opponents owning a combined .520 winning percentage.

It includes 12 games against division leaders (White Sox and Rays on the road, Brewers and Astros at home).

There is also the Subway Series against the Yankees in The Bronx, and four more with the contending Phillies at Citi Field. Of the 34 games left, 18 are on the road, where the Mets are seven games under .500.

The good news: The Mets have performed better of late against quality teams.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND METS STATS

Since the All-Star break, they have taken series from the Phillies, Padres and NL East-leading Braves.

There are soft spots coming up at Citi Field against the last-place Giants (Sept. 4-6) and under-.500 Orioles and Pete Alonso (Sept. 14-16).

Plus, the Mets close the year out against two teams, the Rangers and Nationals, who are under .500 as well.

Since interim manager Andy Green took over June 26, replacing Carlos Mendoza, the Mets have played better baseball.

They are 24-23 in that span, as young players like Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, Carson Benge, Nate Lavender and A.J. Ewing have emerged and journeyman types like Daniel Duarte, Jared Young and Jefry Yan have produced.

“Guys are playing good baseball,” Green said recently. “In almost all the games, we’ve found ourselves down at some point [and] the mentality has flipped from ‘Here we go again’ to ‘Here we go again, this is what we do.’ I think there’s a big distinction between those two things and your expectations. I think your play follows that.”

The bottom line is the Mets have to keep winning, and really can’t afford many slipups. They need this 11-4 stretch to be a sign of the final six weeks to come.

The odds are incredibly slim. Their chances of reaching the postseason are 0.1 percent, according to FanGraphs. Hey, it’s better than zero, right?

“I feel like we’re playing loose,’’ Scott said. “There’s an influx of energy with a lot of new guys. We’re having fun and not putting too much pressure on ourselves. And winning is more fun.”

There are 94 pitchers in major league history with 2,000 strikeouts. Jacob deGrom got there faster than 93 of them.

The Texas Rangers right-hander needed eight pitches Thursday night to reach the moment. He struck out Abimelec Ortiz on a slider Thursday night for No. 2,000, two batters into a game against the Washington Nationals. He reached 2,000 Ks in 1,661 career innings. Only Chris Sale, at 1,626 innings in 2019, needed fewer.

Jacob deGrom is the newest member of the 2,000 strikeouts club 🔥 pic.twitter.com/DwQN0JAYxe

— MLB (@MLB) August 21, 2026

DeGrom passed Yu Darvish (1,697⅓ innings), Pedro Martinez, who got there in 1,711⅓ innings, and Randy Johnson, who needed 1,733⅓, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. If you measure it by games, it is nearly as lopsided. Thursday was deGrom's 272nd big league appearance, all of them starts. Johnson needed 262 games to hit 2,000 strikeouts. Nobody else has done it in fewer than 277.

Sale was 30 at the time he reached 2,000 strikeouts and Clayton Kershaw was 29. DeGrom just turned 38 in June.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner in 2018-19 had a late start. DeGrom was a shortstop the first two years of college and drafted after converting to pitching in 2010. He was a ninth-round pick who blew out his elbow six starts into his professional career. He had Tommy John in 2010 and missed all of 2011. He didn't make it to the majors until a month before his 26th birthday.

He has also been saddled with injuries in MLB. He made 31 or more starts in each season from 2017 through 2019 and pitched to a 2.53 ERA across 622⅓ innings. He made 32 starts in 2018 alone. Then came the injuries, and the Tommy John surgery in June 2023, 13 years after the first one. He made just 35 starts total from 2021-24.

Legendary Mets broadcaster Howie Rose will retire at the end of the club’s home schedule this season.

The team will celebrate Rose with a special retirement ceremony before the last game of the season at Citi Field against the Phillies on Sunday, Sept. 20. 

The Mets will recognize Rose’s career and his impact on the organization.

Rose has been part of Mets baseball for close to four decades.

The first 15,000 fans will receive a “Put it in the books” notebook and scorecard.

The phrase was his signature sign-off after a Mets victory.

“For generations of Mets fans, Howie Rose has been more than a broadcaster, he has been the soundtrack of summer and the voice behind some of the most memorable moments in our history,” owners Steve and Alex Cohen said in a statement. “His love for baseball and this organization has come through in every call, creating a connection with Mets fans that few broadcasters ever achieve. Howie’s impact extends far beyond the booth. 

“He is part of the fabric of this franchise, and we are proud to celebrate an extraordinary career while thanking him for everything he has meant to the Mets. We wish Howie and his family nothing but the best in this next chapter.”

Rose, 72, grew up a Mets fan in Queens and started calling games for the team in 1987.

He has been their lead play-by-play voice on the radio since 2006. 

The Mariners are calling up one of the best pitching prospects in baseball.

Seattle is promoting left-hander Kade Anderson to make his major league debut Saturday against the Cubs at T-Mobile Park, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Thursday.

Anderson, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, has dominated the minor leagues during his first professional season.

The 22-year-old southpaw owns a 1.06 ERA across 93⅓ innings in 18 starts for Double-A Arkansas.

He’s punched out 135 batters while issuing just 13 walks and allowing 47 hits, holding a 10-1 record with a 0.64 WHIP.

Anderson currently stands as the game’s top pitching prospect, along with being the No. 5 overall prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline.

Baseball America and FanGraphs both also have Anderson as the top arm on their prospect lists. 

The Mariners had recently begun openly discussing the possibility of Anderson joining their rotation for the final stretch.

“We’re not going to put Kade in the bullpen,” Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said earlier this month. “He’s the best starting pitcher in the minor leagues.”

Anderson emerged as one of college baseball’s biggest stars during his final season at LSU when he struck out 180 batters in 119 innings before helping the Tigers win the College World Series and earning Most Outstanding Player honors.

His debut will come on the national stage, with Saturday’s game scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET on Fox.

The Mariners, who are 60-68 heading into the weekend series against the Cubs, are hoping Anderson can provide a boost with their playoff hopes currently on life support.

Although Seattle is just three games back of the third and final American League wild-card spot, five teams standing between them and the final playoff berth.