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

Texas Rangers lineup for August 14, 2026 against the A’s: starting pitchers are Kumar Rocker for the Rangers and Gage Jump for the A’s.

Texas will try to get the Angels funk off of them and break their three game losing streak. There’s a lefty going so the Rangers have the righty-heavy lineup out. Kumar Rocker will hopefully cover first base tonight if the occasion demands it.

The lineup:

Langford — LF

Nimmo — RF

Seager — SS

Duran — 3B

Burger — 1B

Foscue — DH

Freeman — 2B

Diaz — C

Carter — CF

8:40 p.m. Central start time. The game is a pick ‘em.

The Texas Rangers have recalled infielder Cody Freeman and purchased the contract of Marco Gonzales from AAA Round Rock. To make room on the active roster for the pair, the team has optioned infielder Cam Cauley and pitcher Ben Peoples to AAA Round Rock. To make room for Gonzales on the 40 man roster, the Rangers designated pitcher Luis Curvelo for assignment.

After Jacob deGrom went just two innings yesterday, the Rangers need someone in the pen who can give them length. Peoples has options so he goes down, and Gonzales returns to the Rangers for his second stint with the club this season.

The motivation behind the decision to swap out Cody Freeman for Cam Cauley isn’t quite as clear. Freeman was in the mix for an Opening Day roster spot, but has missed much of the year do to back and neck issues. The Rangers reportedly like the energy that Freeman brings, however, and with the lineup currently feeling very flat, it may be that he’s viewed as being able to provide a shot in the arm.

Curvelo, meanwhile, will end up on the waiver wire, and I’m guessing he’ll clear waivers. He has regressed from last year, with a 9.58 major league ERA and 8.42 AAA ERA, and has been both wild and homer prone.

I have recapped literally hundreds of Mariners games over the years and I’m not sure there’s one I’ve approached with more dread than tonight’s. Like, woke up this morning with a stone in my stomach, counting down the hours (derogatory), looming final/dentist appointment/“we have to talk” kind of dread anticipation. So, that’s fun.

Lineups:

News:

If you missed it yesterday, Colt Emerson was optioned to Tacoma; super-utility infielder Brock Rodden, who is in the lineup tonight, will take his place. But Emerson won’t be going to Tacoma; he’ll instead be going to the IL with the same wrist issue that’s been bothering him since before his call-up. The team has not ruled out the possibility of season-ending surgery, per Adam Jude of the Times.

In encouraging injury news, Matt Brash was with the team today as he nears a return to play. He’s scheduled to throw a bullpen tomorrow; after that he’ll progress to throwing to live hitters, and then to a rehab assignment.

Tonight’s game information:

Game time: 5:10 PT

TV: Mariners TV with Aaron Goldsmith, Dave Valle and Jay Buhner

Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports, with Gary Hill Jr. and Ryan Rowland-Smith

Regretfully, there is no info on which innings Buhner will be on TV vs. radio, so let me offer you this vintage DivishTweet™ in penance:

I know what you’re thinking. Fridays against the Nationals at Citi Field. Isn’t that a bit of a narrow category for a “best of” list? That’s a tremendously fair point, but for whatever reason, it seems a disproportionate number of the most memorable games in recent Mets history have come on Fridays against the Nats — whether jumpstarting hot streaks, announcing the arrival of new stars, or simply providing a moment of joy in otherwise bleak times.

There are a variety of good options to choose from, as the Mets have won six of their last eight and 14 of their last 22 Friday contests at home against Washington. I’ve selected a quartet that I believe stand above the rest as true classics. With another weekend series with the Nats upon us in 2026, it felt fitting to revisit the unique circumstances that led to these games, the actual on-field events that went down, and the legacy they’ve left behind. So without further ado, here are the top Friday nights at Citi Field vs. the Nats (so far):

4. deGame – April 23, 2021

Setting the scene: After over 18 months of covid-induced absence (not counting cardboard cutouts), fans were finally back in the stands at Citi Field — but things weren’t exactly back to normal. Seating was spaced out, tickets were limited, and the sport was settling into a transitional season before the expanded playoffs and universal DH, after the automatic extra-inning runner, with seven-inning doubleheaders and mounting concern about “sticky stuff.” But the Mets had promise, fresh off the acquisition and long-term extension of Francisco Lindor, out to a respectable 8-7 start, and featuring a two-time Cy Young Award winner who only seemed to get better with age. Thus far in 2021, Jacob deGrom held a 0.45 ERA with 35 strikeouts and three walks over three starts. As he warmed up in the bullpen before this Friday night start against the Nationals (only the seventh home game and third home night game since fans returned to the stadium), he felt so good that it made him “a little nervous.” So we have a small but remarkably hungry crowd of 8,130 fans starved for something good to cheer, and a one-of-one ace nervous about just how good he might be. Sounds like a pretty good recipe.

Play ball: deGrom set the tone with a three-pitch strikeout of leadoff hitter Andrew Stevenson, each offering coming in at over 99 mph. One would think it could only get better for the Nats from that point on, but…not exactly. After five innings, they had struck out nine times and reached base only twice (on a well-placed grounder and a misplayed fly ball). The game was still scoreless, but that changed in the bottom of the frame when deGrom himself came to bat against Erick Fedde, slashing an RBI double to left and later scoring on a single by Brandon Nimmo. 

The right-hander kept cruising, striking out the side in the sixth and seventh innings to reach a total of 15 on the night. Unfortunately, his pitch count was also climbing. With 92 pitches thrown by the end of the seventh, it was clear that deGrom’s only shot at a complete game was quick and soft contact, tricky for someone who hadn’t allowed a ball in play for two innings. But in his video-game-like way, deGrom miraculously managed an eight-pitch eighth. When he appeared on deck in the bottom of the inning, the fans scattered throughout the crowd made their voices heard. And, of course, he rewarded them with another single. He needed just nine pitches to cruise through the ninth, stepping on first base to complete the final 3-1 putout and seal the second complete-game shutout of his career. deGrom had retired 19 in a row. He had struck out 15 batters, none of them in the final two innings after he seamlessly shifted to pitching to contact. He had allowed only two baserunners, and he had reached base twice himself.

The legacy: Game Score is a metric developed by Bill James that attempts to quantify a pitcher’s performance with a single number. deGrom’s gem had a Game Score of 98. In Mets history, the only pitching performance of nine innings or fewer to have a higher Game Score is David Cone’s 19-strikeout shutout of the Phillies on October 6, 1991.

deGrom generated 29 whiffs, the third-most in a game by any Met in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008) with the top two spots also occupied by deGrom. He became the first (and only) Met to strike out 15 or more batters in the 21st century. Only 17 pitchers have recorded a game with 15 or more strikeouts and 2 or fewer baserunners allowed, and the only one to do it since deGrom was Jacob Misirowski on June 12. In other words, this game’s legacy is that of one of the greatest pitching performances in baseball history.

3. Harvey’s Better – April 19, 2013

Setting the scene: He had only made 13 major league starts, but Matt Harvey was already becoming something of a phenomenon. After an impressive rookie showing in the second half of 2012, Harvey burst out of the gate with a trio of gems in his sophomore season, allowing two runs over 22 innings of work while striking out 25. Mets fans were dreaming big on the 24-year-old right-hander, but now he faced perhaps his biggest challenge yet: A meeting with fellow 24-year-old sensation Stephen Strasburg. A No. 1 overall draft pick who had made an All-Star team and started Game 1 of a postseason series the year prior, Strasburg in a sense represented what Harvey might hope to become.

Play ball: The Mets got to Strasburg early, scoring a pair of unearned runs with the help of an error and a wild pitch in the bottom of the first, but the Nats’ ace quickly found his groove. Harvey allowed only one hit in the first five frames, and that was a double to Strasburg in the top of the third. The score held at 2-0 Mets until the bottom of the sixth, when Ike Davis led off with a first-pitch moonshot to left-center field. Two batters later, Lucas Duda launched a homer to right-center. 

That’s when it started, rising from a faint, unintelligible rumble to an unmistakable, unified chorus: chants of “Harvey’s Better,” echoing throughout the stands and piercing the audio of the SNY broadcast as it displayed a split-screen of Strasburg, trying to regroup on the mound, and Harvey, waiting in the dugout to continue his masterpiece. Harvey would end up allowing a run in the seventh, but hardly anyone seemed to care. A fanbase longing for signs of life after four straight fourth-place finishes had finally found it. Their prospect looked like an ace. Their ace looked like a star. Their star had won the night. Dreaming big on Harvey was no longer a fool’s hope.

The legacy: Matt Harvey’s stardom flashed and faded far sooner than Mets fans would have hoped, but at its peak it burned as bright as any Mets player’s has. The “Harvey’s Better” game seemed to officially announce his arrival and kick off that memorable rollercoaster ride, one which led him to an All-Star Game start three months later and effectively ended with a World Series start thirty months later, all occurring on that same Citi Field mound. 

Though their successes took on different forms — and though they certainly had different styles on the mound — Harvey and Strasburg are in some ways forever linked. The two represented a generation of starting pitchers at a threshold between eras, ushering in a new wave of high-velocity hurlers who emerged into an environment less equipped to handle the growing health risks associated with that velocity. Both pitchers underwent Tommy John surgery, but Strasburg adhered to strict innings limits — even amidst a playoff run — while Harvey blew past them in his pursuit of a World Series title. Assessing those choices is something of an impossible exercise. Strasburg played the long game, and Harvey chased greatness when he saw the opportunity. When Strasburg was on his way to a World Series MVP Award in 2019, Harvey was on the Los Angeles Angels, pitching to an ERA above seven. The question of who won the actual pitchers’ duel between Harvey and Strasburg — the one that lasted almost a decade, and not just on that Friday night in April — is one that defines a unique period of pitching in baseball history.

2. Down (the line) Goes Frazier – August 9, 2019

Setting the scene: Between the magical National League Champions in 2015 and the 101-win powerhouse squad in 2022, there were the 2019 Mets, riding the relatively-intact rotation of the mid-2010s and the youthful energy of a new offensive core. They missed the playoffs, in large part held back by their unreliable bullpen. But for a period of several weeks that summer, the ’19 group was firing on all cylinders. They entered this series-opener against Washington having won 13 of their last 14 games, including six straight, carrying them from nine games below .500 to four games above. In the middle of that stretch, they also made the surprising decision to buy at the deadline, adding All-Star Marcus Stroman, who was set to make his home debut opposite Strasburg. To make the stakes even higher, the Nats were sitting in the top NL Wild Card spot, 3.5 games above the Mets.

Play ball: It seemed a pitchers’ duel was in the making, as Stroman and Strasburg traded zeros for three innings. But the Nats got to Stroman, with Anthony Rendon tripling in a run and 20-year-old Juan Soto clobbering a two-run shot to put the Mets in a 3-0 hole. The resilient lineup instantly responded, with Pete Alonso and J.D. Davis hitting back-to-back homers in the bottom of the frame to even the score. Stroman found himself in a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the top of the sixth, but struck out Strasburg swinging — his ninth strikeout of the night — and walked off the mound to a roar from the raucous crowd. The Mets had all the momentum, but the Nats stole it right back, putting the Mets down 6-3 entering the bottom of the ninth via an Anthony Rendon homer and run-scoring wild pitch. 

With their backs against the wall and their winning streak in jeopardy, the Mets mounted yet another rally. Davis pulled a double over the third-base bag and Wilson Ramos lined a base hit. That brought Todd Frazier to the plate as the tying run. The veteran torqued a moonshot down the left-field line, and the only question was whether the blast would stay fair. It tucked itself just inside the foul pole as the Mets leapt out of their dugout, Alonso jumping up and down in foul territory. After singles by Joe Panik (playing in his first game as a Met) and Amed Rosario, Michael Conforto scorched a ball that flew beyond the reach of right fielder Adam Eaton to notch his first career walk-off hit. The streak stayed alive. The same cannot be said for Conforto’s jersey.

The legacy: The 2019 Mets are something of a forgotten group, but their distinct “LFGM” attitude reached its unbridled peak that night in August, when their postseason hopes seemed more tangible than ever before. They won the next night on an unforgettable pinch-hit homer from Luis Guillorme (his first in the big leagues), but they lost the finale on Sunday afternoon. Somewhere deep down, I’ve always believed that if they’d managed to sweep that series from the Nationals, it could have been them instead of Washington still playing in late October. Such sweeps have been known to have that effect for the Mets, which brings us to…

1. Wilmer Flores Night – July 31, 2015

Setting the scene: It would be difficult to script a more action-packed homestand leading up to 7:10 pm on July 31, 2015. Eight days earlier, the Mets’ injury-riddled lineup was nearly no-hit by Clayton Kershaw. Seven days earlier, the team promoted first-round draft pick Michael Conforto and made a mid-game trade to bring Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe to Queens while their starting pitcher watched his wife give birth on FaceTime from the dugout. Six days earlier, Conforto went 4-for-4 and fellow newcomer Johnson homered in a 15-2 rout. Five days earlier, they broke Zack Greinke’s 45 2/3-inning scoreless streak before winning thanks to a walk-off hit from yet another newcomer in Uribe. Four days earlier, they swung a trade for two-time All-Star Tyler Clippard on an off-day. Three days earlier, Clippard made his debut by closing out a Mets win after Noah Syndergaard took a perfect game into the seventh. Two days earlier, word broke of another mid-game trade which would send Wilmer Flores, who had been a part of the organization since he was 16 years old, in a trade package to Milwaukee. He shed tears on the field as the crowd applauded him in what appeared to be his final game as a Met — except that it wasn’t. The deal was never completed, and Flores, suddenly having earned the sympathy of the larger Mets universe, was still in orange and blue. One day earlier, the team blew a six-run lead in their most devastating loss of the season. And just hours earlier, minutes before the trade deadline, they swung a deal to acquire Yoenis Céspedes. 

All of that chaos brings us to the night in question, when the Mets kicked off a three-game set with the Nationals, who sat exactly three games above them in the NL East standings. The big three (Harvey-deGrom-Syndergaard) were lined up. Travis d’Arnaud was returning from the injured list. Céspedes was en route. And Wilmer Flores was batting sixth and playing second base.

Play ball: From the second play of the night, Flores’ burgeoning status as a folk hero became quite evident. He made a diving stop on a Yunel Escobar grounder, getting to his feet and firing to first as the crowd offered support far beyond the typical volume for a 4-3 putout. When Flores stepped to the plate for the first time in the bottom of the second, he received a standing ovation, though Escobar returned the favor by retiring him on a nifty barehanded play. When Flores returned to the plate with two out and two on in the bottom of the fourth, he ripped a liner off Gio Gonzalez that proved too much for Ian Desmond to handle, bouncing into the outfield as Uribe came home with the first run of the game. 

Matt Harvey, in a largely-forgotten performance (reasonably overshadowed by the evening’s other memorable events), carried a perfect game into the sixth. He pitched all the way into the eighth, finally yielding a run when Escobar got revenge for his earlier robbery by drilling a two-out, two-strike, 98-mph fastball up the middle. The newly-acquired Clippard entered into a jam, but froze Jayson Werth on a 3-2 fastball thanks to a sweet frame by the returning d’Arnaud. The 1-1 tie held through the ninth. It held through the 10th. It held through the 11th, an inning which included a Bryce Harper ejection after yet another d’Arnaud frame. It held until the bottom of the 12th, when Flores came to bat for the fifth time.

“Well, this game began with the Wilmer Flores standing ovation chorus,” Gary Cohen said on the SNY broadcast as Flores stepped into the batter’s box, the crowd chanting his name as they had all night. “This is beautiful,” Ron Darling said. “All you gotta do, Wilmer, is hit it out of the park.” 42 seconds later, Flores was rounding first base as the baseball sailed majestically over the left-center-field wall. As Howie Rose later put it, “I swear when that ball went over the fence it turned into pixie dust.”

The legacy: One day later, Céspedes joined the Mets for yet another win over the Nats. Two days later, the Mets completed the sweep on national television thanks to a three-homer inning that sent Citi Field into a Shea-like frenzy. A month later, the Mets all but sealed the NL East title with yet another sweep, this time in Washington. Two and a half months later, Flores was playing shortstop and batting eighth in the ballpark’s first World Series game. 

That storybook night infused the 2015 team with a sense of heart and purpose that they never really lost — at least not until they actually lost, with Flores taking a called third strike to end the Fall Classic. It infused the fanbase with a special love for a relatively uncelebrated utility infielder, and that love still hasn’t gone away (if you don’t believe me, try starting a “Wilmer Flores” chant anywhere in the stadium today and see what happens). It was three hours and 59 minutes which felt more like a fairytale than a baseball game. Those moments only happen once in a blue moon. And oh, by the way, there was one of those that night, too.

The Yankees ended their homestand on a 4-2 run, winning series against both the Braves and Mariners. Now they’ll look to keep that momentum going on a road trip through a couple of AL East destinations, beginning tonight with a bout against the Blue Jays. Toronto has been rather disappointing this season, following up their pennant run with a 59-64 record that sits them in fourth place in the East, though thanks to the increasingly-embarrassing third Wild Card field they’re only two games out of a playoff spot. There’s still four teams ahead of them for said spot but the Jays are hardly going to roll over, especially against a bitter rival.

Gerrit Cole gets the ball looking to start the series off right, and he’s been on a strong run since the calendar flipped over to July. Over his last seven starts he’s pitched 43 innings and allowed just 13 runs while striking out 53, good for a 2.72 ERA in that span. The ace is coming off of a strong outing his last time out, having pitched seven strong with two runs allowed against Atlanta in an eventual Yankees win. If there was an accolade for second-half All-Stars, Cole would be in line to earn one with how he’s rounded into form shaking off a rusty late start in his first year back from Tommy John surgery. For now, he’s just looking to keep the line moving as the Yankee rotation has been carrying the team lately.

Shane Bieber goes opposite Cole, and it has been a season to forget for the former Guardians star pitcher. Bieber, in his second season north of the border, owns a 5.48 ERA in nine starts this year thanks in no small part to a horrendous outing he had on July 28th against Washington where he walked six batters and couldn’t escape the first inning. Bieber kept the runs down in his next outing, going 5.1 innings with only one coming home, but he allowed plenty of contact totaling nine hits and followed that up with his most recent outing where he got tagged for five runs on a pair of homers over 5.2 innings.

George Lombard Jr. continues to shuffle around in the lineup, sliding down to the nine-hole a day after batting fifth in the finale against Seattle. Trent Grisham will lead off with Ben Rice and Spencer Jones filling out the top three. The deadline acquisitions Luis García Jr. and Heliot Ramos flank Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the middle of the order, while Ryan McMahon and Austin Wells round things out ahead of Lombard.

How to watch

Location: Rogers Centre — Toronto, ON

First pitch: 7:15 pm ET

TV broadcast: Apple TV

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY), SN590 THE FAN (TOR)

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

New Series Up North. #RepBXpic.twitter.com/aFbY6bDGUT

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 14, 2026

Another battle begins tonight! #BlueJays50pic.twitter.com/tj2GNwOTXE

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 14, 2026

The Atlanta Braves are fresh off a win to face off against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

You know what to do.

Let’s chat.

First pitch is set for 7:15 PM ET.

Lineups

Preview

Go Rays!

Probable pitchers: RHP Chris Basssitt (4-4, 5.27 ERA, 37 Ks) vs. LHP Steven Matz (5-4, 5.46 ERA, 48 Ks)

Where to watch:  MASN/MASN+

The Orioles had an opportunity in the immediate wake of yet another trade deadline sell-off. With series against bottom-feeder Angels and fellow Wildcard hopefuls in the Rangers and Twins, the O’s had a chance to really make up ground in their quest for a playoff spot. Instead, Baltimore went 3-6 in those series and now stare down an AL East gauntlet. 

Tonight starts a four-game set against the American League-leading Rays, and the first of nine straight games against the Rays and Yankees. The good news for Birdland is that Baltimore remains only two games out of the final AL Wild Card spot. That bad news is they’ll now have to try to make up ground against a Rays team who enters on a nine-game winning streak.

The Rays will look to extending that winning streak by forcing the O’s to face their biggest weakness: a mediocre left-handed starter. Baltimore ranks 25th in team OPS and 29th in average vs. LH starting pitchers. Coby Mayo and Christian Encarnacion-Strand are lefty mashers, but the rest of the lineup has been league average or worse against southpaw starters. 

The O’s were able to get after Rays’ starter Steven Matz when he visited Camden Yards in May. The journeyman left-hander only lasted three-innings that day, giving up seven hits, six runs and a majestic two-run blast off the bat of Gunnar Henderson. Matz was significantly better in an earlier may start vs. Orioles in Tropicana Field, limiting the Baltimore bats to three hits and one run over four innings in a 5-3 Rays win. 

The Trop has at times been a house of horrors for the Orioles, and a sight of the O’s best victories at other times. Across this season and last season, the O’s are 3-7 in St. Petersburg, having been outscored 27-64 across those 10 games. In 2023 and 2024, however, the O’s went 10-3 in Tropicana Field en route to two playoff appearances. If the 2026 Orioles want to somehow make it back to the postseason, they’ll need to start winning in Western Florida again. 

Chris Bassitt makes his first start in black and orange since landing on the IL with a back injury on June 8th. He hasn’t faced the Rays this season, but has a career 3.67 ERA with a .238 batting average against in Tropicana Field.

Orioles Lineup

1. Pete Alonso (R) 1B
2. Jackson Holliday (L) 2B
3. Coby Mayo (R) DH
4. Tyler O’Neill (R) RF
5. Gunnar Henderson (L) SS
6. Christian Encarnacion-Strand (R) 3B
7. Leody Taveras (S) LF
8. Colton Cowser (L) CF
9. Carlos Narváez (R) C

Rays lineup

1. Yandy Díaz (R) DH
2. Jonathan Aranda (L) 1B
3. Chandler Simpson (L) LF
4. Junior Caminero (R) 3B
5. Liam Hicks (L) C
6. Víctor Mesa Jr. (L) RF
7. Cedric Mullins (L) CF
8. Richie Palacios (L) 2B
9. Taylor Walls (S) SS

Despite losing the series to the Cubs, the Nats ended things on a high note thanks to a Cade Cavalli masterclass. He helped secure a winning home stand and the bats continued to thrive. Now the Nats head to New York to face a last place Mets team. However, the Mets have been playing a bit better lately.

The Nats have quite the interesting lineup today. Jose Tena has played the outfield late in games, but today he will be in left field to start. Jacob Young will be in center and Daylen Lile will move over to right. Brady House will be the DH, while Jorbit Vivas plays third and Nasim Nunez is at second. Andrew Alvarez looks to build off of back to back impressive outings.

lined ➡️ up

→ https://t.co/HyMhWpLQbBpic.twitter.com/PM1SlctY0f

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 14, 2026

Juan Soto is out of the lineup for the Mets, but we will be seeing Francisco Lindor. The Mets shortstop missed a couple months this season. In a disappointing season, the young duo of Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing has been a bright spot for this team. Journeyman Robert Stock will be on the mound tonight.

Back home ⚾️ #LGMpic.twitter.com/zv4y57i5xU

— New York Mets (@Mets) August 14, 2026

Game Info:

Stadium: Citi Field

Time: 7:10 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

The Nats had a great performance yesterday and they will look to build off that in the road trip. Hopefully Alvarez can give the Nats something even close to as good as what they got from Cavalli. The offense led by Abi Ortiz will also look to stay hot. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!

Here’s the Padres lineup:

In Cleveland for the weekend. pic.twitter.com/BjZRN84vha

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 14, 2026

Here’s the Guardians lineup:

Guardians 8/14

S. Kwan DH
C. DeLauter RF
A. Martínez LF
N. Lowe 1B
T. Bazzana 2B
A. Genao 3B
P. Halpin CF
P. Bailey C
B. Rocchio SS

G. Williams SP

— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) August 14, 2026

Let’s go, Guardians!

As a reminder, today’s game is on AppleTV.

Yesterday afternoon was disappointing, but taking three of four from the Red Sox still counts as a statement by a team that’s playing surprisingly well since the deadline.

The Yankees will test whether this run can amount to anything. The Jays draw Gerrit Cole today, Cam Schlittler tomorrow, and Ryan Weathers on Sunday. That’s about as tough of a pitching series matchup as it gets. But hey, we have Paul Sewald now, so there.

We got little bits of news today. Anthony Santander is apparently hitting off a tee. That’s good for him, but I’m operating under the assumption that he’s effectively medically retired until we get proof otherwise.

As mentioned, Paul Sewald is active tonight. He’s posted a really good K:BB ratio this year (44:9 in 39 innings), but 12 home runs have blown up his ERA. Hopefully either luck or a new coaching staff gets him past that issue. Lazaro Estrada goes down for the corresponding move. Due to a new rule this year, because he’s been optioned five times now this season he’d have to be DFA’d if he’s brought back and sent down again. It’s not a big thing, as he hasn’t been good this year, but it just adds one more wrinkle to an already complicated Jays pitching situation.

Go Jays Go!

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Pete Alonso is doing something Friday night that he’s never done before. 

Leading off in a big league ball game. 

The former Mets slugger will hit at the top of the Orioles’ lineup when they bat against the Rays in Tampa Bay. 

Alonso told MLB.com’s Jake Rill that his leadoff-less stretch goes back even further than that, saying it’s the first time he’s ever come to the plate to kick off a game. 

“First time for everything. Why not?” he said, per Rill.

“I’m not saying me and him are the same guy, but I’m like [Kyle] Schwarber-adjacent, you know? … I can be the right-handed Schwarber, I guess. Why not?”

Like Schwarber, Alonso, who has rebounded after a slow start in Baltimore, is about as far from the prototypical No. 1 hitter as it can get. 

The burly 6-foot-3, 245-pound home run hitter has registered a 25.3 mph sprint speed this season, ranking in the bottom 8 percent of major leaguers.

Stolen bases are barely a part of his game, having swiped just 23 bags in his eight-year career, although he’s already matched a career high with five this season. 

Perhaps more fitting for the leadoff spot is Alonso’s .353 on-base percentage, which is comfortably above the MLB average and the kind of mark teams look for atop the lineup.

Through the first half of the season, Alonso hit third or fourth in every game he started for Baltimore. 

Shortly after the All-Star break, Alonso started appearing in the two-hole, a spot he became familiar with for a time in Queens. 

Alonso spent the vast majority of his time in a Mets uniform in the cleanup spot. 

Heading into the game, Alonso is hitting .259/.353/.480 with 26 home runs and 77 RBIs for the Orioles, who signed him to a five-year, $155 million free agent deal over the offseason. 

That contract looked ugly early on in 2026, with Alonso hitting .198 with just four home runs over the first month-plus before turning his season around when the calendar flipped to May.

Detroit Tigers (59-61) vs. Chicago White Sox (62-58)

Time/Place: 6:40 p.m., Comerica Park
SB Nation Site:South Side Sox
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: RHP Jackson Jobe (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. LHP Sean Newcomb (1-3, 2.66 ERA)

Player	G	IP	K%	BB%	GB%	FIP	fWAR
Jobe	1	5.0	25.0	6.3	63.6	2.08	0.2
Newcomb	44	64.1	22.8	8.7	46.2	2.97	1.4

Orange Friday ✴️

⚾️ 6:40 PM ET
📺 @WatchDSN
📻 @971theticketxyt
🏟️ Comerica Park pic.twitter.com/iSvjeyRStD

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) August 14, 2026

Taking on the Tigers pic.twitter.com/D0zUlquKag

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 14, 2026

So the D-backs have dropped out of a wild-card spot, for the first time in a while. They didn’t play yesterday, but the Phillies’ victory allowed them to sneak a half-game ahead of us. I think the last time that happened was after play on July 20th, when the team was part of the NL gridlock. Just one game covered five teams, separating 6th and 10th place in the standings. The Diamondbacks have played pretty well since then, going 13-9. The main problem is, the Padres have played even better, with a 16-6 record that’s the best in the league. The bad news, as far as this particular series is concerned, is that the Braves have also been hot, with a 15-7 mark.

I do wonder whether the team was perhaps burned by rolling out the back of their rotation against the Rockies. Not that Mitch Bratt, in particular, pitched particularly badly, but it’s always a tightrope figuring out when you should play the weaker cards in your hand. For instance, presuming you and your opponent’s starters are equal in ability, you could “throw” the first game by pitching your #5 against their #1, but then have an edge in the next two games (your #1 vs their #2, and your #2 against their #3). I guess platoon tendencies are also something which could factor into these decision. Atlanta are 7th by OPS vs. RHP, but a few slots lower (10th) vs. LHP.

What would you regard as a decent result for these series against the Braves and Red Sox? Obviously, it’s on the road, and that makes things tougher. Both teams are also comfortably above .500, and we know how the team has struggled there. However, they’ve performed better of late: things like the Dodgers’ sweep definitely helped. They are now 24-31 against opponents at .500 or better, which is right in the middle, ranked 15th, and basically at MLB average (25-31). The bad news? [Yes, more!] The opponents this week are both top five. So what are you wanting to see from these six games? Here’s a poll, and as always, explain yourself in the comments.

Ahead of Friday's series opener with the Blue Jays in Toronto, Yankees manager Aaron Boone gave a few injury updates on a trio of players...

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Bellinger getting closer to a rehab start

Cody Bellinger has been on the IL since late July with a hamstring strain, but it seems the All-Star outfielder could be nearing a start in the minors.

Boone said that if all goes well with Bellinger as he continues his baseball activity, he could go on a rehab assignment sometime next week. Bellinger was doing some outfield work, namely catching flyballs in left field, hours before first pitch on Friday.

He was diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, so the initial timeline had Bellinger down for 4-6 weeks. If Bellinger gets into a rehab game next week, he would be in line with that assessment and could be activated before the end of the month. Boone did project that Bellinger would be back beforeGiancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, so his recovery is one to look out for as the Yankees hope to get back the outfielder's production.

Bellinger was slashing .259/.350/.420 with an OPS of .770 to go along with his 11 home runs and 53 RBI across 102 games this season.

Rodon's next step undecided

Carlos Rodon made his second rehab start on Thursday, and it was successful.

The southpaw struck out seven batters across 4.1 scoreless innings with Double-A Somerset. Boone said Rodon looked good in his rehab, but was not ready to declare what Rodon's next step will be.

Rodon could make another rehab start or could be activated next week to get him stretched out in the majors. If the latter is the direction the Yankees go, Boone has already said Rodon could be part of a piggyback situation. Rodon's schedule coincides with Will Warren, so those two could be the pitchers in that situation if it comes to that.

Chivilli lands on the IL

Angel Chivilli, the right-hander who was pitching well out of the Yankees bullpen recently before being optioned, was placed on the IL by Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday. 

Boone confirmed the designation and said that Chivilli is suffering from "some posterior elbow stuff going on" and that a doctor will check out the pitcher soon. 

In 15 appearances with the big league club, Chivilli pitched to a 3.78 ERA. He had not allowed an earned run the entire month of July (12.2 IP), but was tagged for six runs against the Cardinals back on Aug. 3. 

Chivilli was optioned after the game due to the 24-year-old tossing 37 pitches in that outing. 

The Yankees did sign a reliever to a minor league contract on Friday, penning Justin Topa and assigning him to Triple-A.

Topa, 35, made 23 appearances for the Twins this season and pitched to an 8.05 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP.