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

Darkness engulfed Dodger Stadium. Then flashing lights ushered in Timmy Trumpet’s “Narco” over the speakers. And the ballpark sat in uneasy anticipation.

Edwin Díaz’s walk-in music once had been a rallying cry for fans thrilled to see the Dodgers’ newest star take the mound. But with his shaky return from arthroscopic elbow surgery leading to three blown saves in four appearances, the crowd tempered their enthusiasm appropriately.

On Friday, however, as the Dodgers evened the series with a 3-1 win against the Milwaukee Brewers, history didn’t repeat itself.

“It was a tough one,” said Díaz, who turned in a scoreless ninth inning despite two walks and hitting a batter. “But at the end of the day, I made my pitches, got the three outs, got the W. So that’s the most important thing.”

Read more:Shohei Ohtani takes important step in his push to return to Dodgers' rotation

The four-game series against the Brewers set up a compelling battle for the top record in the National League. It’s a matchup between two teams with opposing identities.

The Dodgers are the large-market powerhouse loaded with star power seeking their third straight World Series trophy. The Brewers are the small-market overachievers, who somehow have retained their little-engine-that-could persona despite owning the best regular-season record in baseball last year.

With the victory, the Dodgers (74-49) trimmed the Brewers’ (75-48) lead to one game.

The more pressing problem for the Dodgers’ postseason outlook, however, is getting their closer back on track. Díaz, who likely won’t be available for the rest of the series after pitching consecutive days, at least was pleased with his progress.

“It wasn’t pretty,” said manager Dave Roberts, who has kept Díaz in the closer role despite his struggles. “I watched the inning too. But he found a way to make a pitch when he needed to.”

Díaz’s focus in his early work Friday was fixing his posture. He’d been leaning to the side and wanted to be more upright. He sees that as the root of his change in arm angle, which has dropped four degrees this season compared to last year, according to Statcast.

“One of my years in New York, I think I had that problem, and it was difficult for me to fix it,” he said. “But now I’m more mature, I know what I have to do.”

Of course, he didn’t stumble upon a magic fix Friday. By his second pitch, a ball well off the plate that put him behind 2-0, the crowd was feeling déjà vu and made it known with a smattering of boos. Five pitches later, he hit Andrew Vaughn, and the boos intensified.

First baseman Kiké Hernández stepped in to give Díaz a quick pep talk.

“He told me, ‘You’re the best pitcher in the world. We’ve got you, we’ve got your back. Make pitches, go slowly,’” Díaz recounted.

He was right, Díaz realized, he was rushing. Díaz bounced back by striking out Christian Yelich. But then he walked William Contreras.

Díaz gave up a rocketed ground ball to Luis Lara, but Tommy Edman, manning second base, went to a knee to snag it for the second out. Díaz then walked David Hamilton to load the bases.

Read more:Inside Lakers mega-deal: Mark Walter made a shocking decision. Bob Iger, Joshua Kushner jumped at the chance

“For me personally, I prefer to miss glove side than miss right in the middle like I was missing [Thursday],” Díaz said. “So I think I’m going in a good direction right now.”

Díaz, teetering on the edge of another disaster, threw three straight fastballs to Joey Ortiz: one down the middle for a called strike, one well inside, and one on the inner edge of the plate to induce him to ground out to shortstop Mookie Betts to end the game.

“Hopefully with a couple days kind of off to work through [adjustments], we’ll see a better version going forward,” Roberts said.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Shohei Ohtani just took a big step forward in his pitching progression.

The Los Angeles Dodgers' two-way superstar threw 34 pitches in a bullpen session at Dodger Stadium on Friday, Aug. 14, in his most significant ramp-up since July 22, when he experienced a setback that caused the Dodgers to "dial back" his rehab from left knee soreness.

Ohtani has not pitched in a game since July 3 as he's managed discomfort in his left knee and right bicep, but he began playing catch on Saturday, Aug. 8, in Arizona and threw on the field every day over the past week before taking his first bullpen session in almost a month on Friday afternoon.

"A lot of it, we just need to take our time and see if he comes in feeling good tomorrow, and then OK, what’s the next step?" Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes told The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya. "A lot of it is just how he’s bouncing back, and do we think it’s prudent to keep progressing?"

Shohei Ohtani is throwing a bullpen session. pic.twitter.com/F8mW1SkBhb

— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) August 14, 2026

Ohtani reportedly mixed both his fastball and off-speed stuff in his session on Friday. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters earlier in the week that Ohtani's bullpen program will likely consist of "a few" full sessions throwing off the mound before he progresses to face live hitters. Once he's at that point, it's entirely possible that Ohtani could only throw one simulated game before making his return to in-game action.

If he were to pitch again sometime in September, the Dodgers could opt to build Ohtani's workload back up slowly, one inning at a time like they did a year ago when he returned from a second major elbow surgery. But more than anything, they want to be sure his knee is comfortable enough to the point where it's manageable.

"Rather than rush the progression of this, I would rather make sure we’re headed in the right direction,” Ohtani told reporters through interpreter Will Ireton on Aug. 5. "But making sure we’re taking the right steps."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shohei Ohtani throws bullpen session as pitching progression ramps up

The Texas Rangers scored three runs but the Northern California Athletics scored eight runs.

Top of the first inning, the Rangers loaded the bases with two outs. They did not score.

Bottom of the first inning, the A’s loaded the bases with two outs and hit a bases-clearing double.

Ballgame, and the story of this club this season in a nutshell.

The Rangers didn’t actually have a hit until the top of the fifth and tied the game in the sixth but the inability to ever do damage with the bases loaded remains a baffling failure point for what is quickly becoming a deserved lost year.

Of course, the Rangers still should have won this game. They were playing the A’s, a team who came into the night with the worst record in baseball (but only because the Rangers lost three in a row to the formerly-worst Angels).

Instead, Texas allowed a couple of solo home runs and then fell completely apart in the bottom of the eighth to remove all doubt. Overall, the Rangers collected just four base hits on the night whereas the first five batters reached for the A’s in the blowout-forging eighth alone.

By the way, the Angels lost tonight. They were beaten at the Big A by the terrible 49-73 KC Royals. They’re now the worst team in baseball again because the A’s jumped them in the standings by beating the Rangers.

Player of the Game: Jake Burger hit a three-run home run in the top of the sixth to tie the game and very briefly provide hope, but hope is not a friend when it comes to the 2026 Texas Rangers.

Up Next: The Rangers and Athletics play another late night baseball game with LHP MacKenzie Gore expected to make the start for Texas against RHP J.T. Ginn for the formerly-Oaklands.

The Saturday evening first pitch from Sutter Health Park is scheduled for 8:40 pm CDT and will be available to view on the Rangers Sports Network.

Jac Caglianone had three hits, one gave the Royals an important cushion, one gave the Royals a short-lived lead, and the last one tied the game in the late innings. The Royals won 7-6.

Grayson Rodriguez had an interesting night for the Angels in this one. He got two of the worst swings I’ve ever seen from John Rave and Carter Jensen, but also allowed three runs in four innings. The first was a Michael Massey home run on a pitch that absolutely would have bounced if Michael hadn’t blasted it to left.

In the top of the third, the Royals loaded the bases on a single and a pair of walks in front of Jac Caglianone. For a minute, I felt in my heart that we were about to see our first Jac slam. Instead, with two strikes, he took a defensive approach and managed to sneak a soft liner into center to drive in two.

On the other side, Lugo retired the first seven batters he faced and looked dominant in doing so. Then he allowed a double on a soft grounder that beat the shift into right field, and things went crazy. He hit the Angels catcher, Tyler Heineman; Wade Meckler bunt singled to load the bases. Lugo had an epic 11-pitch at-bat with Mike Trout before striking him out on a foul tip. However, as we have seen so many times over the last two years, just when the Royals put themselves in position to escape a dangerous inning, they implode. Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel ripped a double into left, tying the game. Then scored to give the Angels the lead when Zach Neto ripped a single to right.

Neither team scored in the fourth, and the Angels decided they couldn’t afford to send Rodriguez back out for the fifth. They turned to left-handed reliever Sammy Peralta. Peralta has a career 5.29 ERA in parts of four seasons and entered tonight’s game with an ERA over 7.00; it didn’t get any lower. Bobby Witt Jr. walked, and Jac came to the plate again.

Nick Loftin and Michael Massey each singled, and it looked like the Royals could have a big inning. But the Royals attempted a double-steal of second and home with Isaac Collins at the plate. Heineman faked a throw to second, and Loftin was fooled, then thrown out.

Lugo blew the lead again in the bottom of the inning. A Heineman single, a Trout double, and another Schanuel line drive to right field tied the game. John Rave made a good throw home to nail Trout, who doesn’t run as well as he used to, at home plate. Jose Cuas came in and managed to stop the bleeding despite a wild pitch and a passed ball on back-to-back pitches.

Isaac Collins led off the sixth with a double; John Rave was tasked with bunting him to third, but still facing the lefty, Josh Rojas and Kyle Isbel both struck out. Alex Lange-xiety got the bottom of the sixth. He struck out Vaughn Grissom on some nasty pitches to start the inning but immediately allowed Josh Lowe to launch a go-ahead home run.

In the top of the seventh, it was the Witt-Caglianone show again. With one out, Witt singled to right. Then Jac smoked one into right and made what looked like a calculated decision* to make the turn and head for second. That drew a throw while at the same time, Bobby had never slowed down around third. Neto was forced to rush a throw home and couldn’t get the job done. Jac ended up going to second anyway on a bad throw. That set a new career-high with his fifth RBI of the night. He advanced to third on a good read of a groundout to short, and then scored on a Michael Massey single.

*Jac said it wasn’t planned during the postgame interview, but why would Bobby be going first-to-home on a routine single to right otherwise?

Holding a fresh lead, Matt Quatraro turned to John Schreiber out of the bullpen. When I am checking a box score for a reliever, I want to see at least one strikeout per inning if I am going to believe it was a strong outing. John got two soft groundouts and a weak infield pop-out to retire the side in order. The box score won’t say it was impressive, but it looked it to me. Nate Pearson got the eighth and continued the dominance he has shown since the Royals acquired him. He struck out a pair while throwing sinkers at 98 and even hitting 100.6 MPH with a four-seamer. Steven Cruz got the ninth and allowed an infield hit to pinch-hitter Jose Siri but otherwise got a pair of soft grounders and struck out Mike Trout looking with 98.5 at (or just above) the top of the zone to earn his fourth save.

I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, but Jac Caglianone, halfway through August, is reminding me of Bobby Witt Jr. in July of 2024, when Bobby announced to the league that he wasn’t just a good hitter but a great one, capable of carrying a team. Jac has more or less single-handedly carried the Royals to each of their last two wins. Bobby had a 276 wRC+ that month, and Jac had a 229 wRC+ heading into tonight’s game, and it went up, though we won’t know by how much until tomorrow. It raised his season wRC+ by four points, for what that’s worth.

If he can keep this up, and you can count on Pearson and Cruz to be good relievers in next year’s bullpen, maybe it becomes more plausible that the Royals could compete after all. Of course, Seth Lugo is going to have to pitch better than a 4,59 ERA, or the Royals will have to replace him and his $20M salary in the rotation.

We’ll be back at it tomorrow when Randy Dobnak (2.00 ERA, 4.90 SIERA) will face off against Angels ace Reid Detmers (4.00 ERA, 3.46 SIERA). It’s another late West Coast game, but the last one of the season, thankfully. See you then.

(Editor’s note: Tonight marks Nick’s last recap for us. He is moving on to law school and bigger and better things! We thank him for his hard work).

It started off fun, at least! Nate Lowe started off the scoring with an oppo tank off Michael King.

Then, in the 3rd, the Guardians tacked on some more runs on a Brayan Rocchio homer,

and a Nate Lowe RBI single.

That would be where the fun ended. As you’ve assuredly seen countless times this season, a Guardians pitcher immediately imploded the second the offense scored. Gavin gave up a 2-run bomb to Xander Bogaerts in the top of the 4th, and then a solo missile 115 miles per hour off the bat of Fernando Tatis, jr. in the 5th.

Then, a 2-run double to Luis Campusano in that same 5th inning made the score 5-3 Padres.

Halpin drove in a run on an RBI-double in the 6th, but Colin Holderman gave up 2 more runs in the 7th to make it 7-4 Padres.

Guardians tacked on a run in the 8th on a wild pitch, but that would not be enough.
They lost the same game they’ve played a billion times this year. When the offense hits, the pitchers can’t do their job. When the pitchers pitch, the offense couldn’t hit a beach ball with a PVC pipe.

The Guardians fall to 59-64 in what is my last (for at least a while) article here on CTC.

It’ll be Cantillo vs. Randy Vasquez tomorrow night.

Bye!

Since overhauling the roster at the trade deadline on Aug. 3, the Mets have gone 7-3 in their last 10 games.

And surprisingly, the rebuilt bullpen has been a catalyst during this recent stretch of success.

New York's relievers stepped up again during Friday's 4-1 win over the Washington Nationals, holding the MLB's highest-scoring offense to just two hits over the final 4.2 innings of the game. After starter Robert Stock's day was done in the fifth inning, Nate Lavender, Jonathan Pintaro, Daniel Duarte, and Kodai Senga kept the Nats off the scoreboard.

After the win, interim manager Andy Green said Stock had a "really good" bounce-back outing and then highlighted the bullpen's impressive performances, including Lavender for getting two big outs and Pintaro's journey up to this moment. 

"I think excited for all of them," Green said. "What Nate has done in a short time here is enter dicey situation after dicey situation and gotten big outs for us. he comes in, it's harder than it looks, too, because you have an elite base-stealer at second base. He was able to control that and get two quick outs for us. Lot of credit to him. Early on in his big league career, he keeps a low pulse rate and goes out there and does what he does.

"And then Pinto gives us two huge innings. When you think about his journey from indy ball and getting picked up last year. Our scouts doing a nice job finding him, him coming through our development system. And now he's won a baseball game in the big leagues, that's pretty impressive. It's pretty impressive the scouting group that they found the guy in indy ball, we got a couple of them in the bullpen that didn't come the conventional route, but they came because our scouts are grinding. Pinto deserves a lot of credit for what he's done. I think Duarte's just been sensational."

Pintaro, who was pitching in just his ninth career game, earned his first win after throwing two scoreless innings of relief with two strikeouts. The 28-year-old spoke on what the accomplishment felt like and how he and the other relievers are taking advantage of the new opportunities in the bullpen.

"It's amazing. This is everything every baseball player ever dreams of," Pintaro said. "Just being able to go out there and compete and give everything I have for my teammates, it's amazing."

He added: "Pretty much all we want to do is we want to go out there and compete. Just do everything we can to show the world that we deserve this chance and that we have a great opportunity here to compete and help our teammates do everything they can to get the wins."

And it's not just journeyman players like Pintaro who are taking advantage of the new opportunities, as Senga has been solid in a high-leverage role and is 2-for-2 on save opportunities. Green said Senga won't always pitch in the ninth going forward, but is happy with what he's seen from the former starter.

"He'll continue to get those opportunities," Green said. "I do think there will be times we flip it and pitch him in the eighth inning because he matches up really well at the right point in time. But he's going to continue to get the high-leverage opportunities. Like I just said, he's really controlled his pulse rate, and he's throwing plus-stuff out there."

Senga even told reporters that he's been able to adjust quickly to the new role and feels more prepared taking the mound when he knows the specific situation.

"It's certainly easier to prepare knowing that you're going later in the game, easier to prepare, easier to get ready and warm up," Senga said via an interpreter. 

He, Pintaro, and the rest of the Mets bullpen will now look to keep it going as they continue their home series against the Nats this weekend and throughout the final stretch of the regular season.

Astros 10, Mariners 7

shoulda stuck with the Derry Girls themed chart I made in like the fourth

Top dogs: Victor Robles, .39 WPA; Brock Rodden, .27 WPA; Eduard Bazardo, .24 WPA

Dog days: George Kirby, -.36 WPA; Cole Young, -.20 WPA Andrés Muñoz -.80 WPA

Game thread comment of the day:

Michael Arroyo Threat Level: Victorian Parlor Green (much to the chagrin of one John Trupin)

Friday, Aug. 14 was a good day to be a baseball player named Kirk who wears No. 30.

On the same night Toronto Blue Jays slugger Alejandro Kirk went yard and got a Gatorade shower after a 3-1 win over the New York Yankees, 2,477 miles away in San Bernardino, California, his younger cousin, Noah Kirk, pitched a gem as his Southern California squad secured the final spot in the Little League World Series.

All Systems GO 🚀 pic.twitter.com/xCsW35AqIJ

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 15, 2026

Twelve-year-old Noah, starting on the mound and batting leadoff for Sweetwater Valley Little League out of Bonita, struck out six batters through four scoreless innings. But it was the fifth where he had his best moment.

Sweetwater Valley had opened up a 5-0 lead, but Kirk gave up back-to-back singles to start the penultimate inning before Waika Doctolero took him deep for a three-run home run that cut SoCal's lead down to just two runs. Rush Pegeder walked the next at-bat, and it looked like Kirk was spiraling with his pitch count creeping closer to the 85-pitch limit.

He responded by striking out Shane Schoettler for his seventh K of the game. Now at 83 pitches, Kaikea Saiki was all but guaranteed to be the final batter Kirk would face, and Kirk made it count. Kirk fell behind 3-1 in the count but managed to work it back full before getting Saiki to hit a comebacker to the mound. Kirk fielded the ball, threw Pegeder out at second, and Mateo Ruiz fired it to first baseman Jesus Cuadra to get a crucial inning-ending double play.

Not a bad night for the Kirk family 🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/QzuT7BVAl6

— Andrés Soto (@TheAndresPablo) August 15, 2026

Sweetwater Valley Little League went on to defeat Kawaihau Community Little League 11-3 to advance to Williamsport.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alejandro Kirk's little cousin pitches gem to send team to Little League World Series

Iowa Cubs

Rained out. Doubleheader tomorrow (Saturday).

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies reached escape velocity against the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Angels), 5-4.

Another strong start from rising prospect Luis Martinez-Gomez, who gave up a solo home run in the first inning and not much else. Martinez-Gomez got the win after going five innings and allowing just one run on three hits. Martinez-Gomez struck out four, walked three and hit one batter.

The Smokies held a 5-1 lead heading to the top of the ninth, but Marino Santy couldn’t find the plate at all. He allowed three runs on one hit, three walks, one hit batter over just one-third of an inning. So Grayson Moore got summoned from the bullpen to get the save. Moore faced two batters and got two weak groundouts to get the save.

Left fielder Carter Trice connected with the bases empty in the sixth inning for his 14th home run of the season. Trice went 3 for 3 with the home run and a sacrifice fly for two overall RBI. He scored twice.

Center fielder Kane Kepley had a two-run double in the fifth inning. Kepley was 1 for 4.

Trice’s home run.

Kepley’s double [VIDEO]

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs cooked the Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers), 6-2.

Starter Alfredo Romero gave the Cubs five scoreless innings on just three hits. Romero got the win while striking out three and walking no one.

Shortstop Angel Cepeda, the second hitter of the game, hit a solo home run in the top of the first. It was Cepeda’s fifth home run this year and fourth with South Bend. Cepeda went 1 for 4 with a walk. He scored twice.

Second baseman Michael Hallquist hit his sixth home run with the bases empty in the sixth inning. Hallquist went 1 for 4.

Right fielder Jose Escobar was 2 for 5 and scored one run.

Cepeda just sliced this one over the wall.

The Hallquist home run.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were mauled by the Hill City Howlers (Guardians), 11-7.

David Avitia gave the Birds a chance to win, as he did not allow a hit over his five innings of work. He did allow one run in the first inning (walk, steal, ground out, sac fly). Avitia walked two and struck out five.

The wheels came off for the Pelicans with a five-run seventh inning by the Howlers. Hayden Frank took the loss, allowing four runs on three hits over 1.2 innings. Frank walked two and struck out one.

Right fielder Derik Alcantara hit his first Myrtle Beach home run with a man on in the eighth inning. It Alcantara’s only at-bat of the game.

Third baseman Derniche Valdez was 2 for 3 with a two-run triple in the second inning. Valdez scored once.

Center fielder Ethan Conrad was 1 for 2 with three walks. He scored twice.

The Valdez triple.

Alcantara’s home run was his second overall.

Dylan Beavers’ pinch-hit single in the 7th and Gunnar Henderson’s homer in the 8th powered the Orioles to a 6-5 win in their series opener in Tampa Bay.

The AL-leading Rays came into Friday’s game riding a nine-game winning streak, but could never get ahead of the pesky Orioles. Baltimore and Tampa went into the 7th inning tied at two with Gunnar Henderson leading off the inning. Henderson has struggled for much of the season, but you wouldn’t have known it the way he lined a double into right field to kick off the decisive rally.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand then stepped up looking to move Gunnar over, and did so with a hard single to left. Things then got a little weird for the O’s and Leody Taveras. The outfielder stepped up looking to lay down a safety squeeze, but ended up chopping a ball down the third base line that caught Gunnar in a run-down. The Orioles’ SS was able to retreat back to third, with CES ultimately being tagged out as Taveras took second.

After the Rays brought in right-handed reliever Kevin Kelly and intentionally walked pinch-hitter Jeremiah Jackson, it set up the would-be showdown with No.9 hitter Carlos Narváez. Instead, Craig Albernaz countered with Beavers, who laced a single under the glove of Jonathan Aranda at first to score two and give Baltimore a 4-2 lead.

After starting the rally in the 8th, Henderson punctuated the win with his 20th homer of the season. With two outs in the inning, Tyler O’Neill lined a single up the middle to bring up Gunnar. The Rays’ Chris Roycroft quickly got ahead 0-2, but grooved a cutter down the center of the plate, which Gunnar gladly deposited in the right-center bleachers and gave Baltimore a 6-2 advantage.

Yenneir Cano nearly gave the game away in the 9th, as the usually reliable reliever delivered his worst outing of the season. The non-save situation started with back-to-back singles from Richie Palacios and Taylor Walls. Cano would strike out Yandy Díaz for the first out, but a wild pitch during the AB allowed both runners to move into scoring position. Rays’ 1B Jonathan Aranda then lined a single to right to score two and cut the Orioles’ advantage in half.

Cano then walked Chandler Simpson and allowed Simpson and pinch-runner Jorge Mateo to steal second and third. Junior Caminero would further cut into the Orioles’ lead, as an RBI groundout to third dropped Baltimore’s lead to one. Cam Sanders put an end to Cano’s nightmare, taking over needing just one out to seal the win. Rays’ outfielder Ryan Vilade attacked the first pitch he saw from Sanders, sending a lazy fly to left to end the game.

Despite the nervy situation in the 9th, the Orioles never trailed in Friday’s win. They took their first lead in the 2nd, as O’Neill led off the inning with a walk before moving to third on a softly-hit Henderson single to center. CES delivered the O’s first run of the evening, lining a sac fly to right that allowed O’Neill to score on a close play at the plate. After the Rays tied the game in the bottom of the 2nd, Colton Cowser restored the Baltimore lead in the 3rd with a solo homer into the Ray tank in center field.

The veteran righty Chris Bassitt made his first start for the Orioles since June 3rd and came out looking sharp early. He started the first inning by getting Díaz to ground out to second. He then struck out Aranda and Caminero looking, sandwiching the two Ks around a Simpson single.

The 2nd inning has often spelled doom for the Orioles with Bassitt on the mound this year, but tonight was a different story. The 37-year-old right-hander came into Friday’s game with a 9.75 ERA in the 2nd inning this season. With the O’s up 1-0, Bassitt started the bottom of the 2nd by giving up a single to catcher Liam Hicks. The 12-year vet rebounded by getting Víctor Mesa Jr. on a first-pitch fly out, but lost the battle to former Oriole Cedric Mullin when he flipped a single to right.

After getting ahead of Richie Palacios 1-2, a Bassitt curveball caught just too much of the plate, and the Rays 2B looped a double just out of the reach of O’Neill in right. The extra-base hit drove home Hicks, tied the game at one and put Bassitt in a jam with runners on second and third.

Earlier in the season, that jam would have snowballed into a crooked number, but instead, Bassitt locked in. After walking Taylor Walls to load the bases, he got former All-Stars Yandy Díaz and Jonathan Aranda to pop up and fly out, stranding all three runners.

Bassitt gave another leave back in the 3rd as the Rays got an assist from the umpire. After the Cowser homer put the O’s up 2-1, Bassitt started the frame by getting the speedy Simpson to ground out. He then surrendered a one-out walk to Caminero, which ended up spelling trouble for the O’s. With a full count on Hicks, Caminero took off for second just as Bassitt uncorked a curveball that was originally ruled ball four. Orioles’ catcher Narváez immediately challenged the ball call, and ABS overturned it to a strikeout looking.

However, manager Craig Albernaz tried to argue that Caminero should be sent back to first as Narváez’s reaction to challenge the incorrect call seemingly prevented him from throwing down to second. Home plate umpire Jordan Baker didn’t side with Alby and Caminero remained on second for Mesa Jr. The 24-year-old outfielder then lined a low curveball into center for an RBI single that tied the game at two.

From there, Bassitt turned on cruise control and started mowing down the talented Rays’ lineup. In the 4th, he started the inning by winning a seven-pitch battle against Palacios, getting the infielder to fly out softly to center. He then set down Taylor Walls on six pitches by getting him to bounce out to second, before closing out the inning with a Díaz 5-3 groundout.

The right-hander then flew through the heart of the Rays order in the 5th, setting down Aranda, Simpson and Caminero on just six pitches. After getting through five innings on 80 pitches, Bassitt went back out for the 6th. His control then began to slip, as he walked leadoff hitter Hicks on four pitches. He’d set down Mesa Jr. one last time on a fly out to left and then exited for Josh Walker. After the lefty reliever finished off the inning, it closed Bassitt’s line at 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB and 3K—a solid return after 2+ months on the IL.

The win not only snapped the Rays’ nine-game winning streak but brought the Orioles within one game of the AL’s final Wild Card. Baltimore will continue their push toward the postseason tomorrow as Kyle Bradish takes the mount in Tropicana Field.

The Cardinals are sending one of their top prospects to the big leagues for the final stretch.

St. Louis is calling up outfielder Joshua Baez, the team’s No. 3 prospect and No. 59 overall on MLB Pipeline, to help with their postseason push.

Manager Oliver Marmol told reporters that Baez, 23, will be in the starting lineup for Saturday’s game against the Cubs for his MLB debut.

“He’s on his way,” Marmol said, according to MLB.com. “He’ll be in the lineup tomorrow.”

Baez has had a successful season for Triple-A Memphis, posting a slash line of .256/.328/.573 with 34 home runs and 90 RBIs in 103 games.

Since being drafted by the Cardinals in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft, Baez has had varying levels of success in the minor leagues, having rather underwhelming offensive seasons until breaking out last year with High-A Peoria and Double-A Springfield.

“There’s an edge to it,” Marmol added. “There’s a confidence to it, and he has a work ethic that’s fun to watch, too. He knows how to get after it. He wants to win, and it’s fun to inject that into this clubhouse because we have a lot of guys that are that way.”

Despite showing impressive levels of power, there has been concern about Baez’s plate discipline, as he’s racked up over 100 strikeouts in four of his six minor league seasons.

The Cardinals, however, believe that Baez is improving and can be a useful bat for them for the remainder of the season.

“There’s a hitter in there, too,” Cardinals assistant general manager of player development and performance Rob Cerfolio said. “His goal the last couple months has been to hit .300 in the second half, and he doesn’t really need to swing for power.

“Power is just part of what he does.”

While the National League Central division title might be out of reach for the Cardinals — as the Brewers lead them by 14 games — they are in a battle for the wild card, sitting just 3½ games behind the Phillies for the final spot.

Yesterday our own Jeremy Nielsen described the Yankee offense no-showing like they were itching to just get on the plane and start their road trip already. Tonight felt like the bats somehow never left the tarmac, because aside from Trent Grisham poking one out of the stands there just wasn’t anything to show for their at-bats. The Yankees wasted another solid pitching performance and allowed a starter on the other side that has been struggling to cut right through them in a 3-1 loss to Toronto.

Shane Bieber was on the mound for the Blue Jays, and he entered this game with a gaudy 5.48 ERA — naturally, that was of little consequence to this lineup. Bieber sat down the Yankees in order in the first inning, picking up strikeouts from Grisham and Spencer Jones, and worked around a one-out Jazz Chisholm Jr. single in the second. The third brought the first real instance of a pulse, Austin Wells leading off with a walk before getting forced out at second. Grisham stepped up and provided a single that should’ve made it a rally, but George Lombard Jr. was caught in the middle of trying to go for third and didn’t get back to second in time, instead winding up in a rundown. A Ben Rice groundout ended the disappointing frame.

The fourth brought more opportunities to squander, as Jones led off with a double and advanced to third on a flyout from Luis García Jr. (Jones was briefly called out on the tag up, but a challenge overturned that call as he was clearly never tagged despite the throw beating him). Still, two more fly outs were all the Yankees managed, and the first one was too shallow for Jones to test with another tag up. It wasn’t until the sixth inning that the Yankees finally caught a break, Grisham crushing a middle-middle fastball out to right field to get them on the scoreboard.

Now holding the lead, the Yankees looked to break open the dam but couldn’t get anything else going in the inning. Rice flew out harmlessly and Jones grounded one out to first. García stepped up to the plate and took a low strike call that apparently drew a comment from Aaron Boone, because home plate umpire Vic Carapazza turned to instigate things with the manager and ultimately ejected him. Even then it wasn’t the classic fiery Boone tirade that drew it, as he almost looked surprised that things escalated to an ejection that quickly and went out onto the field briefly to get his money’s worth.

On the other side of the ball, Gerrit Cole had been pitching a solid game. He got a double play ball to erase a one-out walk he issued in the first, and then worked around a jam with runners on second and third with one out in the second by striking out Kazuma Okamoto and getting a groundout from Jesús Sánchez. The third and fourth innings were both breezes for Cole, sitting the Blue Jays down in order, and an Okamoto single in the fifth went nowhere either.

The bottom of the sixth proved to be a different story. Just as quickly as the Yankees got their lead it vanished, Brett Bateman leading off with a single and ceding his place to Nathan Lukes on a forceout. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled to put runners on first and second with one out, and then Cole induced a groundout to third that had double play potential. Ryan McMahon stepped on third for the force and then fired over to first, but García’s glove flew off his hand trying to scoop the throw. Fumbling around for the ball, he fired it back to third trying to get the lead runner but Lombard was the closest man to the bag and he still wasn’t anywhere close enough to catch it. Instead, the ball bounded for foul territory and Guerrero was able to score, tying the game up. The next batter, Alejandro Kirk, brought home the dagger lacing an RBI double out to left to put the Blue Jays ahead 2-1.

From there, the Nyquil had fully set in for the Yankees. Facing Toronto’s bullpen they got just a lone baserunner in their final three innings, a McMahon single with two outs in the seventh that went nowhere. Paul Blackburn relieved Cole for the seventh inning and stranded a pair of runners, but Bradley Hanner served up a solo shot to Kirk in the eighth to add an insurance run.

Two days after a 10-run outburst the Yankee offense is back to sleepwalking through games, having scored just a single run over their last 18 innings. The Red Sox and Rays both already lost today so no ground was lost there at least, but Tampa nearly rallied to come back from down four in the ninth and only lost by one. It sure would feel nice if the Yankees showed they could rally more than once a week at the rate they’re going.

Tomorrow will be a chance to get this series back on track, with Cam Schlittler going up against a to be determined starter for the Jays. First pitch is scheduled for 3:07 p.m. EST.

Box Score.

It is Friday night.

Chris Bassitt returned from the injured list with 5.1 decent innings, Gunnar Henderson was dropped to the #5 spot in the order and responded by coming a classic “triple shy of the cycle” over a four-hit game where he drove in two runs and scored two runs, Dylan Beavers had two hits off the bench, and the Orioles beat the Rays by a 6-5 score. (Don’t think about the ninth inning. It’s the GIF Party!)

As of right now, the Orioles are one game back of a wild card spot in the American League. This is subject to change based on the Texas result in Sacramento.

YOU KNOW WHAT MUST BE DONE.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are getting reinforcements to the starting rotation sooner rather than later.

On Friday, Tyler Glasnow made his second rehab start for the Oklahoma City Comets. While he didn’t reach four innings, he retired 11-of-13 batters he faced.

The right-hander tossed 3.2 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and issued two walks in a dominant 67-pitch performance. He posted a 41% whiff rate and 34% CSW, a sign that he is as locked in as ever.

Glasnow made improvements from his first rehab outing at Triple-A, which consisted of 2.2 innings of one-run baseball. In total, the right-hander has completed three rehab outings, one with the Ontario Tower Buzzers and two for OKC.

This is exciting news for the Dodgers pitching staff, who have missed Glasnow as well as Shohei Ohtani in the rotation. Ohtani also made huge progress Friday as he threw his first bullpen season in nearly a month.

But Glasnow is evidently closer to being fully ramped up.

The 32-year-old landed on the injured list with lower back spasms in May, an unfortunate recurring issue throughout the All-Star’s career. Since then, the Dodgers have taken a cautious approach to Glasnow’s return.

Glasnow’s tenure with the Dodgers has been headlined by a slew of injuries, which he’s dealt with in every season since he was traded to LA in December 2023. He missed the 2024 postseason because of a right elbow sprain, though he tossed a career-high 134 innings that year.

In 2025, Glasnow missed over two months of the season because of right shoulder inflammation. He returned in July and played a key role for the Dodgers in the playoffs.

The 2026 season has also featured injury for Glasnow, but it appears he will be back in the rotation soon. The right-hander will likely make at least one more rehab start before the Dodgers activate him off the injured list.

Glasnow has posted a 2.72 ERA with 49 strikeouts across 39.2 innings pitched (seven starts) for the Dodgers this season. Based on how he was pitching Friday night, Glasnow looks to be heating up at the perfect time before October.

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TORONTO — The place that served as the Yankees’ house of horrors last year delivered a nightmare of a throwback inning Friday night. 

And thanks to another quiet offensive night, it was enough to sink them in another loss. 

What should have been an inning-ending double play to preserve a one-run lead in the sixth inning turned into a comedy of errors — somewhere, Benny Hill’s “Yakety Sax” must have been playing — tying the game and extending the inning so the Blue Jays could take the lead on the way to a 3-1 win over the Yankees at a sold-out Rogers Centre. 

Continuing to operate with a razor-thin margin for error because their offense has been doing next to nothing on most nights, the Yankees (68-54) once again got quality pitching from Gerrit Cole but were let down by their defense and baserunning while remaining 6 ¹/₂ games back of the Rays in the AL East. 

“Obviously, it continues to be a challenge for us [offensively],” said manager Aaron Boone, who was ejected in the top of the sixth for arguing balls and strikes rather mildly from the dugout. “This is another night where we made decent contact and we were having some of the right at-bats. But at the end of the day, we got to push runs across when we get opportunities because that’s where we’ve struggled. We got to make it happen.” 

The sequence that ruined Cole’s start and the Yankees’ night started harmlessly enough. They led 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth with one out and runners on first and second when George Springer hit a chopper to third base. Ryan McMahon fielded it, stepped on third and threw across the diamond trying to complete the double play. But his throw was a one-hopper to Luis García Jr., who tried to backhand the scoop, only for his glove to fly off in the process. 

“Springer’s moving pretty good, felt like I had to throw it as soon as I stepped on the bag,” McMahon said. “Just didn’t get enough on it to get it all the way over there.” 

García then made matters worse by picking up the ball, spinning and firing to third base, where shortstop George Lombard Jr. was in the general vicinity (McMahon had trailed toward home after throwing to first) but not in a position to handle García’s wild throw. Lombard then collided with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. while trying to chase after the loose ball to no avail as Guerrero raced home to tie the game. 

“Unfortunately, it didn’t work out the way we wanted,” García said. 

“Once he got his back to the play, I think he just got overly aggressive throwing to third,” Boone said. “Should’ve obviously held it.” 

With the extra out, Alejandro Kirk drilled a double that scored Springer to put the Blue Jays ahead 2-1. Cole, who became frustrated during Guerrero’s at-bat when he lost track of how many disengagements he had left and could not get clarification quickly enough from the umps, lamented leaving a first-pitch slider down the middle to Kirk (who later added a solo shot in the eighth inning off Bradley Hanner in his MLB debut). 

Trent Grisham snapped the Yankees’ 14-inning scoreless streak by leading off the top of the sixth inning with a solo shot off Shane Bieber for the 1-0 lead. 

But that was the only offense they could muster, now having scored just one run over their last 18 innings since Wednesday’s 10-run outburst. It marked the ninth time in their last 14 games that the Yankees have scored two runs or fewer, wasting another strong pitching performance from Cole, who allowed just two runs (one earned) across six innings. 

The Yankees’ baserunning miscue came in the third inning from Lombard, who took what Boone described as an “overly aggressive” turn around second base on Grisham’s single to right field and was caught in a pickle for the second out. 

An inning later, Spencer Jones led off with a hustle double but was eventually stranded at third, adding to the offensive frustration. 

Cole insisted that the bats’ extended malaise was not adding extra stress on the pitchers, though common sense would say otherwise. 

“We’re having a good time pitching and playing close games,” Cole said. “Certainly we want to blow guys out and secure as many wins as possible, but at the same time, we’re throwing the ball well, we’re playing good defense and we’re hanging in a lot of games, giving ourselves a chance to win.”