Category: Sports News

Friday night in the Dodgers minor leagues was highlighted by one former top pitching prospect and a current top arm in the system.

Player of the day

Jackson Ferris put together his third good start in a row, posting a season-high seven innings with eight strikeouts for Oklahoma City, allowing only one run, working around three walks and seven hits.

Ferris has allowed two runs with 20 strikeouts in 17 innings over his last three starts, lowering his season ERA from 7.15 to 6.00.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

A low-scoring affair got wild in the ninth and 10th, when singles by Hyeseong Kim and Ryan Fitzgerald brought home the tying and winning runs in the Comets’ victory over the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres).

Jerming Rosario allowed two home runs with one out in the ninth inning, turning a one-run lead into a one-run deficit. Oklahoma City kept things alive with a run in the ninth, then Nick Robertson allowed the free runner to score in the top of the 10th, but nothing else.

James Tibbs had two singles, two walks, a stolen base, one run, and one RBI. Zach Ehrhard also singled, stole a base, and scored twice. Ryan Ward tripled in a run.

Rehabbing

Will Smith caught seven innings behind the plate and was hitless in three at-bats with a strikeout on Friday. Smith has been behind the plate three times in four days on his rehab assignment so far this week, catching five, seven, and seven innings.

Double-A Tulsa

Chris Newell hit a three-run home run in the Drillers’ two-run win over the Midland RockHounds (A’s).

Christian Zazueta struck out five and walked one in his five innings, allowing only one run on three hits. Zazueta in 10 starts in Double-A has a 3.48 ERA with 67 strikeouts against only seven walks in 44 innings.

Christian Ruebeck has been wild in relief this year with an 18.1-percent walk rate, and that included three walks to go with his three strikeouts on Friday. But it also came with two scoreless innings, giving him one total run allowed in 9 2/3 August innings, with nine walks but also 14 strikeouts.

High-A Great Lakes

Mairo Martinus singled home Jaron Elkins in the seventh inning, giving the Loons the winning margin over the Lansing Lugnuts (A’s). Emil Morales hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning for the other Great Lakes runs.

Cam Leiter struck out four in three innings, allowing only one unearned run. That’s two starts with no earned runs in High-A, with 11 strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings for the right-hander.

Class-A Ontario

The Tower Buzzers were held scoreless in a road loss to the Stockton Ports (A’s). Ontario had eight hits, all singled until 2026 13th-round draft pick Caleb Johnson doubled. Ontario loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth but did not score.

Catcher Francisco Espinoza had two of the eight hits.

Friday scores

• Oklahoma City 5, El Paso 4 (10 innings)
• Tulsa 5, Midland 3
• Great Lakes 3, Lansing 2
• Sotckton 6, Ontario 0

Saturday schedule

• 4:05 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (Emmet Sheehan) vs. El Paso (Jagger Haynes)
• 4:05 p.m: Great Lakes (Tyler Gough) vs. Lansing (Jorge Marcheco)
• 5 p.m.: Tulsa (Patrick Copen) at Midland (Corey Avant)
• 7:05 p.m.: Ontario (Luis Gamez) at Stockton (Jackson Phipps)

The Pirates pitching staff carried the team last year. They had a team ERA of 3.76 and 1,314 team strikeouts. The rotation was strong and consistent while the offense absolutely struggled.  

Paul Skenes won the NL Cy young award last year with just 10 wins. The pitching staff this year has been not as consistent and will be a major question mark going into the 2027 season. 

Braxton Ashcraft leads the team with 13 wins and just 5 losses. Ashcraft has been absolutely fantastic for the Bucs but after him has been more questionable then Pirate fans thought it would be. 

Skenes has a 3.79 ERA and 9 wins and you can tell his velocity has gone down since last year. The first step for the Pirates pitching getting back and being dangerous starts with Skenes. They need him to be elite like he was for the first two seasons he was in the league.

With Skenes being dominant, you can build the rest of the rotation around. An elite Skenes with how Ashcraft has been playing this year would be lethal. Plus you get a full year of Jared Jones, that could be once again a top pitching rotation in the league. 

I think there are two things the Pirates should do to improve that pitching for next year. The first one is to add a veteran arm, there is a lot of inexperience in the rotation, and I think adding a cheap veteran arm paired up with some younger arms can build a nice dangerous rotation. Chris Bassitt and Lucas Giolito are two veteran pitchers I would love to see them look at in the offseason. 

The second thing is I think the Pirates have to have a tough conversation about Mitch Keller. Keller has been a solid pitcher for the last couple of seasons, but he still has three years left on his contract, and it looks like his play has been decreasing. This year ended with an injury, and there is a possibility Pittsburgh could get some young pieces for the farm for Keller. 

These moves aren’t massive, but I think if the Pirates make these moves, the pitching rotation will be better and hopefully more consistent in the 2027 season.    

The cosmic irony is far from lost on me that I got comfortable with this team and then it has largely struggled since. This is just the second Cubs loss all year in which they scored eight runs. They’ve lost three times when they’ve scored seven. All of that underscores just how bad their pitching has been at times. This offense is just too good to lose when it scores that many runs. It didn’t start out that way though. Through three innings, this felt like it could be an easy win.

3-0 after three. Then they allowed nine unanswered runs over the next four innings and that turned out to be the game. They did come off the mat with five runs of their own to make it close. But they just couldn’t get back over the hump. I wrote in my preview that Rhett Lowder was having a rough year and they did well enough against him. I noted that you could get to their bullpen and that was true. I didn’t comment on the Reds offense, but there wasn’t anything I would have seen there that would suggest this. This was just the ninth double-digit scoring game of the year for them.

Curiously, the Reds have won just five of their last 14 games. But their last three wins have all come in games that they’ve scored 10 or more runs. They did have a loss in there where they scored nine. But it’s not like they’ve unlocked something. In the losses are three shutouts, and three games where they scored one. It’s interesting because it is something I’ve talked about with Cub results. That is just how stratified the results can be at times. I lived through the 90’s and I didn’t need a mountain of stats to perceive that scoring had increased significantly. I would not like that data from someone who manipulates data better than me. I don’t know that I’m right, but I perceive that there are more “outlier” results. In turn making them less outlier and more a part of a homogenous data set.

I feel pretty comfortable saying that the Cubs are scoring more, more often. Yes, this is one of the highest scoring Cub teams of our lifetimes. But it just feels parabolic or something. Like the numbers in the middle of the bell curve are normal but at the outside, the slope is steeper. Obviously, the stand out part of the data set are the multi-inning games against position players. I don’t remember ever seeing that before and I feel like we’ve seen that a small handful of times. But I don’t think it’s just that.

It’s not hard to imagine that if my perception is correct that it correlates with the way the best pitchers are used on teams. I’d construct the argument that some teams pack it in at times. But then, the exhibit in front of us is the Cubs allowing 10 runs. There wasn’t any point in time where the Cubs let go of the rope. So maybe I’m not right.

Whether that theory is right or wrong, I think the second theory almost certainly has truth to it. We saw it play out in Arizona. I think teams have become very sophisticated at picking up a whole host of tells. I don’t think many of the teams would ever be honest with you. But it’s not hard to imagine when we see runs so often clustering. The scoring in baseball is more and more becoming peaks and valleys. I posit that hitting has become immensely difficult on the whole. I think the vast majority of pitchers are fairly unreachable by all but the best players when they execute.

But again, it’s not hard to imagine that players who are looking at their tablets over and over through a game are increasingly adept at picking up on things that clue in to what pitchers are doing. And of course, it isn’t just players. There are coaches and team personnel also watching all of this. I imagine there are vast assortments of observations being made, ranging all of the way from visual things to running pitch sequencing through spreadsheets and finding tendencies. What may seem random or matchup dictated may at times be extremely predictable. We are talking about guys who got where they did largely by being able to pick up on the way the stitches on a baseball are moving and what that tells them about the pitch type and location.

I’m reminded of one of my friends back when I was playing poker multiple days every week years ago. We used to joke about having one of those fancy tables with the hole camera that shows what the cards were. It was always a joke, but he was quick to say that he’d never play again if we put them in. He was a financial analyst and he recognized a fool’s bet. He correctly identified that I would have been studying footage endlessly. I had a mind that could remember specific hands I’d played against people and how they played out and could predict ranges of behavior.

I did it all with a good memory and a controlled group of guys I played against. And I was either a rookie league player or Low-A player compared to these guys. The most sophisticated players ever to play the game. Paired with state of the art technology and state of the art statistical nerds. I’d wager that way more than half the time that your favorite pitcher gets hammered that the team has picked up on something.

Again, not hard to imagine. We are already seeing at least one team working to counter some of those effects. It doesn’t get talked about a ton, but the Rays almost always set their catcher up center cut on the strike zone. Anthony Rizzo and David Ross just talked about this on their most recent podcast. Rizzo talked about always having someone in the dugout make noise if the catcher set up early inside. These guys are doing anything they can to try to simplify the task of hitting. We’ve all known for years that they will know immediately if, for instance, your sweeper is never a strike. Then they know when they pick up that rotation to just let it go. It narrows things down.

These are the things I think about on a day when there is a five-run inning one way and then a four -un inning the other way. Without those innings, this was a 5-4 game. Ho hum. Trent Thornton has been so good. But boy, did it go bad on him in a hurry. Four hits and two homers in seven batters. His ERA jumped from 2.32 to 3.32 in one outing. This is just the fifth time in his career that he’s allowed five runs in an outing. The last was June of last year, while pitching for the Mariners.

Things I think about.

Three Positives:

• Seiya Suzuki had three hits, two of them doubles. He drove in two and scored two more.
• Michael Busch had a two-run homer and a walk.
• Matt Shaw made his return with a double in his only plate appearance.

Game 135, August 28: Reds 10, Cubs 8 (76-59)

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Seiya Suzuki (.143). 3-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R
• Hero: Matt Shaw (.107). 1-1, 2B, R
• Sidekick: David Peterson (.085). 5 IP, 24 BF, 6 H, 3 BB, 2 R, 6 K

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Trent Thornton (-.569). 0.2 IP, 7 BF, 4 H, BB, 5 R (L 5-5)
• Goat: Carson Kelly (-.119). 0-3, BB, R
• Kid: Daniel Palencia (-.070). IP, H, R, 2 K

Note: Thornton looks in the early numbers like he’ll register the third worst WPA score of the year. The three worst scores have now happened in an eight-day period (seven games).

WPA Play of the Game: Tyler Stephenson’s three-run homer off of Trent Thornton. (.246)

Cubs Play of the Game: Michael Busch’s two-run homer in the third. (.162)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 134 Winner: Matthew Boyd received 43 of 45 votes.

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)

The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.

• Pete Crow-Armstrong +26
• Alex Bregman +20
• Ben Brown +13.5
• Javier Assad +12
• Shōta Imanaga +11
• Edward Cabrera -12.5
• Jameson Taillon -13
• Nico Hoerner -14
• Dansby Swanson -17
• Caleb Thielbar -18.5

Note: A Rizzo Award oddity for August. Not one, but two players leaving the top five in one night (Kelly and Thornton). At the same time, Seiya gives himself a gap (4.5) from the bottom five.

Scoreboard Watching: Diamondbacks win (4.5 back of Cubs). Dodgers win (5 up). Padres lose (4 back). Braves win (4 up). Brewers win (8 up). Phillies win (1 back). You really wanted to crush this series, it only gets harder after this series.

Up Next: Game two of this three game set and this 13 straight game stretch. They are 0-1 for both. Kevin Gausman (7-11, 4.37) goes for the Cubs. He moves up one spot in the rotation with the off day. Kevin is 2-1 with a 4.30 as a Cub, coming off of seven scoreless in Arizona. It’s been more than two years since he started against the Reds.

Lefty Andrew Abbott starts for the Reds. Abbott is 6-9 with a 4.15. He’s fairly consistent, checking in at 1-4 with a 4.24 over his last seven starts. His last start was also against the Diamondbacks. He allowed four runs over six and lost. Two starts against the Cubs this year, vastly different. 5.2 scoreless and four runs in four innings. He didn’t factor in the decision in either.

This is a game on paper where you look to stay close and win late. That’s exactly how the two prior Abbott starts went.

Hello friends and happy Saturday!

It was a sad Friday night for the M’s, who dropped the first game to the Blue Jays by an 8-1 final. We don’t need to dwell on this one too much.

Let’s get you caught up on the rest of the happenings from around baseball.

In Mariners news…

• In case you missed it, the Mariners have decided to temporarily shift Bryce Miller to the bullpen.
• A 1-of-1 Mariners Jimothy card could sell for enough money to fund one kid’s college tuition, writes Sofia Schwarzwalder at The Seattle Times.

Around the league…

• Atlanta right-handers Hurston Waldrep and Spencer Schwellenbach will each undergo season-ending elbow surery.
• The Rays have cleared another hurdle in the process of getting a new stadium built in Tampa, with the Hillsborough County Commission voting in favor.
• Major League Baseball has suspended Guardians would-be prospect “David Severino” for lying about his name and age.
• Chris Black attempted to diagnose what has gone wrong with Jays star Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. this year.
• Michael Clair profiled Giaconino Lasaracina and Giacomo Taschin, the first-ever Italian-born professional battery trying to make a name for themselves in the Blue Jays organization.
• Russell Dorsey at Yahoo! Sports talked to players around the game about how pitch calling is a dying — or maybe evolving — art with many coaches now calling games from the dugout.

Anders’ pick…

• Elizabeth Merrill and David Purdum at ESPN wrote about the harrowing dangers of gambling addiction from the perspective of one family who’s college-aged son was consumed by it.

Triple-A: Durham (Rays) 7, Norfolk Tides 0

The Tides mustered a whopping three hits and one walk in this game. That’s a tough way to win. Enrique Bradfield Jr., Creed Willems, and Brandon Butterworth all took 0-fors in the game. Heston Kjerstad pinch hit in the ninth inning and hit a double. He’s OPSing .790 at the level this year.

Norfolk’s starter, Trace Bright, had a “could have been better, could have been worse” kind of outing, with three runs surrendered in 5.1 innings. Bright walked none and struck out seven; he’s got a 1-10 record this year and a 7.29 ERA, so it’s not exactly Shane Baz bad luck territory. What really kicked the game out of reach – unfortunately for prospect-watchers – is that Luis De León gave up three runs while failing to finish one inning worth of relief.

Box score.

Double-A: Chesapeake Baysox 9, Harrisburg (Nationals) 7 – 10 innings

This is a dispatch from the alternate universe that poses an affirmative answer to the question, “What if it turned out that Vance Honeycutt was good?” The outfielder who was bumped up to this level almost out of desperation to do something with him collected four hits, all for extra bases: Two doubles, a triple, and his first Double-A homer. The home run was a two-run shot that put the Baysox on top in extra frames. I’m not believing it means anything. I’m just saying it happened.

Chesapeake’s starting pitcher was JT Quinn. He labored through a four-inning outing, 82 pitches and only 46 thrown for strikes. That led to him giving up five walks and four hits, with three runs allowed (two earned). Quinn did leave the game with a lead thanks to some early Baysox scoring. They fell behind for a while, tied it up in the eighth, then got the winning runs in the tenth. Reliever Micah Ashman finished the game off pitching the ninth and tenth. Things got interesting in the bottom of the tenth as the Senators had the bases loaded when the game ended. However, they scored the Manfred Man and nobody else, so they lost.

Box score.

High-A: Frederick Keys 4, Asheville (Astros) 2

Incredibly efficient scoring from the Keys here, as they were able to turn five hits into four runs. They helped themselves by drawing five walks and stealing four bases, and their opponent helped them by committing a pair of errors that led to a pair of unearned runs.

Jaiden Lo Re is at this level now! Let’s just say he’s still adjusting. He took an 0-4 in this game and is hitting .091 through his first few games. Recent trade acquisition Enddy Azocar had a single in four at-bats; he’s batting .341/.382/.585 in 20 games since joining the Keys. Pretty good for a 19-year-old.

Shoutout to Keys starting pitcher Stephen Still, not one of the top prospects I pay attention to around here since he’s 24 at High-A. Still struck out ten batters in 6.2 innings in the game. A good outing! Through five games at this level, he’s sporting a 3.42 ERA and 0.95 WHIP.

Box score.

Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 4, Fredericksburg (Nationals) 2

In the comments yesterday, someone asked, “Does Delmarva ever win?” Not usually! But sometimes, they do. They tied the game in the seventh inning and took the lead in the eighth and held on even though Fredericksburg managed to get the tying run on base with only one out. They were able to do this even though they mustered just 1-13 hitting with runners in scoring position.

Shorebirds batters drew eight walks in the game. Serving as the DH, this year’s fifth round pick, Jimmy Anderson, was on base all four times, drawing three of those walks with a double on top of that. Outfielder Jhomnardo Reyes drew a walk but was hitless in his three at-bats.

Box score.

Saturday’s Scheduled Games

• Norfolk: at Durham, 6:45. Starter: TBD
• Chesapeake: at Harrisburg, 6:00. Starter: Patrick Reilly
• Frederick: vs. Asheville, 6:00. Starter: Twine Palmer
• Delmarva: vs. Fredericksburg, 7:05. Starter Collin McKinney

Thankfully, on this night, there was no rain around, meaning teams could actually play in their games. Here is how the kids did.

Lehigh Valley 6, Syracuse 4

Robert Moore, you glorious man. Having himself a night, Moore went 3 for 3, blasting two home runs to lead the IronPigs to a victory, including this walk off two-run blast.

That’s the kind of home run you remember for a while if you’re Robert Moore.

The rest of the offense was nonexistent as they had three hits between them, but it didn’t matter. Moore was the leader and gave them the win.

Binghamton 5, Reading 1

Gage Wood night wasn’t exactly a night to remember. The team’s top prospect struggled a bit, giving up five runs in five innings, allowing a home run in the process. He did strike out seven and only walk one, so there is some silver lining to the start. In the process, he did generate 22 whiffs so the stuff was fine; it’s the results that were worrisome. The rest of the team had a hard time as well, the offense collecting only three hits on the night. The best one was an RBI double by Carson DeMartini that scored Aroon Escobar as the only run of the game.

Wilmington 8, Jersey Shore 1
Wilmington 11, Jersey Shore 2

I think with a lot of these players on the BlueClaws, you’re starting to see the effects of a long season coming up. Playing a doubleheader to make up for the rain postponement on Thursday, the team scored three runs in total. In game one, there was only three hits (is this a theme?) gathered by the team while the pitching struggled. In game two, the offense was a little better where they had eight hits, but it only amounted to two runs. A lot of them were singles in both games, so it’s not like someone had a standout affair that we can point to. Daunte Stuart had three hits between the two games! As far as pitching, there wasn’t much to speak of. Giuseppe Velasquez had three innings of scoreless relief in game two, but the rest of the arms? Completely meh.

Clearwater 8, Lakeland 6

Cade Climie, you can join Robert Moore in having yourself a night. Leading the offense on the evening, Climie went 3 for 4 with a home run and six RBI! You may not know who he is, so some background. An undrafted free agent, Climie took advantage of the MLB Draft League to get himself noticed.

Since signing with the Phillies, Climie has hit well, bringing his line on the season average up to .275, but with an OPS under .700. He may not come to much, but it’s nice that baseball can still produce a few good stories of players.

As far as other players on the night, Macon Winslow had three hits for the Threshers, two of them doubles, and an RBI.

The Royals are riding high after their 11th win in the last 12 games, writes Jaylon Thompson.

“I’m proud of them, and they have turned the page,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro told reporters in Cleveland.

“We talked about it a lot: Even when we were losing a lot of games, the resolve, the attitude, the commitment to work and the energy was never wavering. “So now they are getting rewarded with some wins, and it feels good. And there is baseball left to be played and this is a crazy game. A lot of things happened over the course of the history of baseball. So you’ve got to keep believing.”

Michael Wacha was brilliant in the win over Cleveland, writes Anne Rogers.

While Kansas City’s offense wasn’t able to do much for most of the evening, the game’s first run was generated on a Bobby Witt Jr. masterclass in the fifth inning, while Michael Wacha made it stand up with eight scoreless innings and a season-high 10 strikeouts as the Royals won for the 10th time in 11 games.

“That’s probably the best we’ve seen [Wacha] all season,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “What impressed me the most was that he threw so many strikes.”

Philip Ruo at Royals Keep thinks its time to consider a Jac Caglianone contract extension.

If the Royals do intend to secure Caglianone long-term, a deal would likely fall into a deal similar to Garcia’s with a few more years since Caglianone is earlier in his career. A seven-year contract would take away two years of free agency, end after his age-30 season, and also remove two seasons where he would be making the league-minimum salary. 

A structure that makes sense could be similar to Tyler Soderstrom’s contract, which was for seven years and $86 million with a $27 million club option for the eighth season. Soderstrom has seen a similar path as Caglianone; both were drafted out of high school and struggled in their first season in the majors. Soderstrom was also at the same age when he signed his extension, entering his age-24 season. With Soderstrom playing first base, his valuation could work as a baseline for Caglianone’s expected average annual value.

David Lesky recaps Thursday’s rout over the Blue Jays.

How the community benefits agreement for the downtown ballpark stacks up.

Local leaders seem to be preparing for a vote on the ballpark.

Tarik Skubal is emotional in his return to Detroit.

One out away from losing, Edmundo Sosa hits a pinch-hit grand slam to give the Phillies a win.

The Rays become the first American League team to reach 80 wins.

Top prospects who could be called up in September.

Nico Hoerner had a unique path to stardom with the Cubs.

MLB proposes setting rosters on a weekly basis.

Byron Buxton may need offseason hip surgery.

Who is in the AL Rookie of the Year race?

MLB suspends a Dominican prospect over age fraud.

The Rays will break ground on a new stadium in September.

Larry Christenson, who faced the Royals in the 1980 World Series, dies at age 72.

Former Expos broadcaster Jacques Doucet dies at age 86.

Cale Makar agrees to an extension with the Avalanche that will make him the highest-paid player in the NHL.

The Chiefs will start making final roster cuts by Sunday.

After Meta settles an $18 billion lawsuit over social media addiction, are YouTube and TikTok next?

It was a long road for Coyote vs. Acme to make it to theaters.

KFC and Oreo launch fried-chicken flavored cookies in China.

Your song of the day is King Crimson with 21st Century Schizoid Man.

After looking shaky and antsy in his first three starts as a big leaguer, Jackson Kent truly put himself on the map last night. Outside of Cade Cavalli and Foster Griffin, who have combined for 28 quality starts, great pitching performances have been hard to come by for the Nats. However, Kent did exactly that, delivering a marvelous performance when his team needed it most.

I want to break down what he did to have success and talk about Kent’s future. Before he debuted, Kent was seen as a lefty with an advanced feel to pitch and a great changeup. In his first three outings, we saw the changeup, but his command was very shaky. Despite walking 4 hitters, Kent showed much improved command.

He was consistently on the attack and never had that super long inning. Kent was not blowing away Marlins hitters, but he excelled at keeping the ball off the barrel. He got 12 ground outs last night, which is a big reason he was able to go so deep in the game. 

Sitting up in the press box, it was surprising to see how long Blake Butera was willing to let his rookie go. With a taxed bullpen and Kent looking good, the decision made sense, but it is not what we typically see from Butera. He lets the likes of Cade Cavalli and Foster Griffin go deep, but otherwise, he has a pretty tight leash. 

Butera said after the game he thought that going into the 7th would be a good learning experience for Kent. He also noted that Kent’s stuff was still there and that played a factor in his decision making. Even as Kent got back his season high in pitch count, he was still up to 94.5 MPH in the 7th inning. In the end, Kent went 106 pitches in his 7 frames.

One thing I saw from Kent that intrigued me as well was a slight tweak in pitch usage. Despite being known for his changeup, we actually saw less of the pitch from his last night. We saw more curveballs and sinkers tonight, and that worked very well. His curveball was particularly impressive, getting a couple massive strikeouts on the pitch.

Seeing a young pitcher adapt and learn as he is tested in the big leagues for the first time is very interesting to see. Kent is not a pitcher with elite stuff, so he will have to get by on feel and gameplanning. He had a very good plan for a pesky Marlins lineup last night. Kent knew they were not going to strike out much, so he tried to coax ground balls out of them with his sinker and curveball. This plan worked like a charm.

When I asked Kent what the biggest difference was in this outing, he said it was being in the zone and getting ahead of hitters. Last night, Kent was pounding the zone with his fastball and sinker before trying to get guys to expand with his secondary pitches. This is a recipe that I think will work for Kent moving forward, but he will still need to limit the walks a bit more.

I am very excited to see what this 23 year old can do the rest of the season. September is like an audition heading into next season for the lefty. He struggled early in his big league career, but last night was a massive step in the right direction. Kent showed he can go deep in games, get out of jams and reward his manager’s faith. Blake Butera pushed Kent to a shocking degree, and it paid off. That is something that will stick with the skipper.

The way they have pushed Kent through the minors and even pushed him through this start shows the amount of faith the organization has in him. They seem to view him as a long term rotation piece, and it is easy to see why. He is a crafty lefty with a deep mix, solid stuff and has flashed good command.

Kent is still far from a finished product. He still needs to find a mix that can consistently work in the big leagues. Kent is not getting the same amount of chase or whiff he got in the minors and that is resulting in a lot of walks. Each time he takes the mound, it does feel like he is learning something new and getting a little bit better though.

As we enter the final month of play, the Nats are out of the playoff race, but there is still a lot to play for, especially for rookies like Kent. He still has a long way to go if he wants to lock down a rotation spot for next year, but last night was a huge step in the right direction.

It may not seem like the Red Sox offense has been skidding over the past seven games, since five of those games resulted in victories. However, if you dig in a bit, some of that success is misleading if you take into account:

• Last Saturday, Boston was shut out through eight innings, mainly by Giants rookie starter Blade Tidwell (4.54 ERA) before rallying for three runs in the bottom of the ninth.
• Tuesday, while the scoreboard said “7” when all was said and done, the Red Sox entered extra innings tied 2-2 on two solo home runs by Mickey Gasper. Marlins starter Tyler Phillips (3.59 ERA) who has pitched much of the season out of the bullpen, struck out seven in 4 2/3 innings and allowed one run.
• Wednesday, a shorthanded Red Sox lineup appeared to already be on their flight to New York, mustering just five hits in a shutout. Ryan Gusto (3.98 ERA), who has spent much of his time in the minor leagues this season, got his first win of the season pitching 5 2/3 innings.
• Friday, Cy Young favorite Cam Schlittler did what he usually does, striking out eight Red Sox in 5 2/3 shutout innings, allowing two hits.

The Sox have 20 runs prior to extra innings in those seven games. Here are some of the batting averages on this team since last Friday:

• Nick Sogard .214 (28 at-bats)
• Wilyer Abreu .214 (28 at-bats)
• Willson Contreras .174 (23 at-bats)
• Andruw Monasterio .150 (20 at-bats)
• Adley Rutschman .056 (18 at-bats)

The team may get some reinforcements today or tomorrow, in Roman Anthony and/or Trevor Story. Reading through the comments on this website and social media, one of those players seems to be more welcome back than the other, understandably.

How should Chad Tracy shake up the lineup, with left-handers Carlos Rodon and Max Fried as the probable starters on Saturday, and right-hander Will Warren on Sunday?

Discuss in the comments and be good to each other. A big twelve hours ahead, clear your schedules!

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I've targeted some well-known sluggers for today's action in my home run props.

Jackson Merrill starts things off, followed by Randy Arozarena. 

Read more in my MLB player props for Saturday, Aug. 29. 

MLB home run props for today

For help understanding Polymarket probabilities, see our odds calculator.

Player to hit a HR	Chance
Jackson Merrill	14%
Randy Arozarena	11%

Home run prediction: Jackson Merrill (14%)

Jackson Merrill brings real home run appeal given his current power form. The San Diego Padres outfielder owns a massive .522 ISO over his last six games, going deep three times during that span.

Merrill is also getting the ball in the air consistently, with 57.9% of his recent contact coming as fly balls. That profile plays well against Nick Martinez, who owns a 47.9% fly-ball rate at home this season.

Tampa Bay’s bullpen has limited hard contact lately, but it has still allowed a 40.3% fly-ball rate over the last week, giving Merrill another path to leave the yard.

Play to 20%.

• Time: 4:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Peacock

Home run prediction: Randy Arozarena (11%)

Randy Arozarena is worth a look as a power value against Jose Soriano and the Toronto Blue Jays bullpen.

The Seattle Mariners outfielder has gone deep seven times in August, and his power has traveled, with 10 of his homers against right-handed pitching coming away from home. He has a .474 ISO in the last week and three bombs in his last six contests as well. 

Soriano is not a perfect pitcher to target because he keeps the ball on the ground, but he still allows a 31.3% fly-ball rate to right-handed bats, meaning one mistake can matter.

If Arozarena gets into Toronto’s bullpen late, his recent power surge gives him another path to leave the yard. Jays relievers have combined for a 5.51 FIP over the last week while giving up 1.85 HR/9. 

Play to 15%.

• Time: 3:07 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Sportsnet, Mariners.TV

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The San Diego Padres knew they would have their hands full against three top-end starters in their three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburgh, Fla. The Padres made the task of beating the Rays more difficult when they found themselves in a 6-0 hole after a five-run fourth inning. San Diego tried to get back in the game, but the deficit proved to be too much to overcome as the Padres dropped the series opener 9-4 on Friday night.

Casey Mize hit the leadoff batter Junior Caminero to open the bottom of the fourth inning. He then got a popout for the first out of the inning, but Chandler Simpson reached on a throwing error by Mize to put runners at the corners. Simpson promptly stole second base and Jonny DeLuca drew a six-pitch walk to load the bases. Mize got the ground ball he needed against Cedric Mullins, but Ty France was unable to get the ball out of his glove cleanly allowing Caminero to score and Mullins to reach first base. The Rays had a 2-0 lead and added to that when Mize threw a wild pitch that allowed Simpson to score. Jorge Mateo hit a sacrifice fly for the second out of the inning, but that allowed DeLuca to score to give Tampa Bay a 4-0 lead.

Mize then allowed a two-out RBI-single to Taylor Walls to give Tampa Bay a 5-0 lead and followed that with another two-out RBI-single to Yandy Diaz, which pushed the score to 6-0. Jonathan Aranda lined out to end the inning, but San Diego found itself in a deep hole.

The Padres answered with two runs in the top of the fifth inning to make the score 6-2 but the Rays answered back with a run in the bottom of the fifth to make the score, 7-2. Jackson Merrill, wo led the San Diego offense, tried to keep the Padres in the game when he connected on a two-run home run in the top of the sixth, which cut the Rays’ lead to three runs.

San Diego relievers David Morgan and Wandy Peralta allowed solo runs in the bottom of the sixth and bottom of the seventh innings respectively. The Padres went down without much of a fight in the eighth and ninth innings and they opened the six-game road trip with a five-run loss.

San Diego will try to get back in the win column when they meet Tampa Bay in Game 2 today at 1:10 p.m.

Padres News:

• Baseball owners sent another proposal to the MLBPA, which was not well received, but the positive about the current negotiations according to Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball is both sides are communicating.

• Bradgley Rodriguez has put together a solid rookie season and establishing himself as one of the game’s dominant relievers.

• Get to know one of the newest members of the San Diego rotation, Robbie Ray.

• Manny Machado is banged up, but that is normal for this stage of the season. He might have benefitted from an additional day off, but he was in the lineup as usual against the Rays.

Baseball News:

• Tarik Skubal returned to Detroit to face the Tigers for the first time since being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers and helped his new team get a 2-1 win.

• The Cincinnati Reds won a shootout over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

• Michael Wacha strikes out 10 to lead the Kansas City Royals over the Cleveland Guardians.

• Cam Schlittler delivered another solid start and helped the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox.

• Pinch-hit grand slam lifts Philadelphia Phillies over Los Angeles Angels.

• The Arizona Diamondbacks took advantage of some close calls and beat the San Francisco Giants.

Some ballplayers have signature achievements in Major League Baseball, milestones or moments that endure as part of their legacy. For some, making it to the big leagues in the first place is the mountaintop. George Zeber’s path to the Yankees was a circuitous one laden with setbacks and championed by a future Hall of Fame manager with a remarkably similar playing career to his protégé’s. Through war and peace, injury and recovery, and the many rungs on the minor-league ladder, Zeber’s ascent was as unlikely as it is admirable.

George William Zeber
Born: August 29, 1950 (Ellwood City, PA)
Yankees Tenure: 1977-78

George Zeber was born in Pennsylvania but grew up in Anaheim, CA. George was five when his father died, and his stepfather, Morris Davis, became a huge influence in his life. Davis “[w]as a wonderful person, got me into baseball and took care of the family,” he would later say. Zeber got enough into baseball that the Yankees selected him in the fifth round of the 1968 June amateur draft.

Zeber started his pro career in Rookie ball, playing middle infield and hitting from both sides of the plate. While his bat did not stand out, his glove did, as the 17-year-old led his team in fielding percentage at both second and short. Defense quickly became a calling card for the young prospect as he advanced to A-ball the following season.

After a promising 1969 campaign, though, Zeber would spend two full years away from baseball. He was drafted into the U.S. Army before the ‘70 season, assigned first to a stateside post and then to the Quang Tri province in Vietnam. Zeber served as part of an assault helicopter group where he saw combat. The experience altered the course of his life in more ways than one. “It was quite a while before I could pick up my life and get my head straight after serving in Vietnam,” he would later say, underscoring a phenomenon that affected many young men of his generation.

Zeber reported to Double-A West Haven in 1972 a changed man. In addition to the psychological impact of his service, Zeber had lost 30 pounds and was not in baseball shape. “I don’t feel comfortable in the field,” he said at the time. “I just don’t feel as agile as I did before going into the Army.” While he posted the highest OPS of any full season in his pro career, his defense suffered, as he committed an uncharacteristic 29 errors. ‘72 was also the first year he played under Bobby Cox, who after spending two years as a part-time infielder with the Yankees in the late ‘60s was beginning what would be a 40-year coaching career that landed him in Cooperstown.

Both Cox and Zeber were promoted to Triple-A Syracuse the following year. But Zeber suffered an knee injury that threatened to derail his career, a setback from which he would later say he was “never was quite the same.” He seriously considered walking away from baseball over the next year, crediting his first wife, Duskie, for convincing him to keep pushing. Before the ‘77 season, Zeber was given an invitation to big-league spring training and made the most of it, winning the Yankees’ James P. Dawson award, given each year to the team’s best-performing rookie in camp. Billy Martin, the team’s famously intense manager, gave the prospect his highest of praise. “I like George’s attitude,” he said at the time. “He’s a real hard-nosed guy.”

At the age of 26, Zeber had earned his call to The Show. No one was happier than his former manager (now his first-base coach), another man known more for his fiery temperament than his sentimentality. “You have to admire him,” said Cox. “George was a great prospect, and then after the knee thing, he was just holding on. A lesser man would have quit. As a manager you try not to get too close to any player, but there isn’t any player that I ever had that I rooted for as hard as I rooted for George.”

After the Yankees acquired Bucky Dent on April 5th, Zeber served mostly in a reserve capacity in ‘77, appearing in only 25 games — mostly spelling Willie Randolph at second. Still, he played well in limited action, hitting .323 with a .913 OPS in 75 plate appearances. He even got two pinch-hit appearances in that year’s World Series, striking out in each as the Yankees won their first championship in 15 years.

Zeber started the ‘78 season with the Yankees, but only appeared in three games before he was sent down in June. After spending the rest of the year back down at Triple-A, he made the decision to walk away from the game for good, starting a family and working in real estate and home building in the Santa Ana, CA area.

While Zeber’s career was brief, it was a remarkable testament to his fortitude. The man himself said it best years later. “Getting the opportunity to play in a World Series in my hometown in L.A. was a thrill,” he said in 1991. “I have no regrets about my career.” Please join us in wishing a very happy birthday to George Zeber.

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

Good morning, LSB.

The Rangers lost the same kind of game I feel like I’ve seen them lose 20 times this season.

Skip Schumaker says it’d be cool if the Rangers were a team that could hit the ball e.g. the Brewers.

Jeff Wilson says the Rangers may be meeting their Waterloo in Milwaukee.

Elsewhere the Rangers are shutting down Jack Leiter after a setback in his rehab.

Wyatt Langford is banged up, one more thing for them to deal with.

Texas called up trade deadline acquisition Adam Macko.

On a positive note, Sebastian Walcott murdered a ball last night.

Though, Evan Grant offers a reason the Rangers won’t be calling up Walcott this season.

And finally 2023 Texas Rangers World Series champion and Creed enthusiast Andrew Heaney was the latest guest on Grant’s podcast.

That’s all for this morning. Have a good weekend!

Meet the Mets

The Mets continued their recent downslide with a loss to the Astros in last night’s series opener. The Mets managed only a single run off a Carson Benge RBI double, and while Christian Scott held Houston scoreless for the first five innings, he faltered in the sixth and the Astros brought three runs home, which was all they would end up needing.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, NY Post, Daily News, North Jersey, MLB.com

Chris Devenski is back with the Mets following a number of roster moves which also involved moving Jorge Polanco to the 60-man IL.

While some have called for the Mets to consider keeping Andy Green as their manager past this season, he intends to instead prioritize his family.

AJ Ewing has been struggling recently, but his manager still sees him taking good at-bats.

The Mets’ approach to facing Yordan Alvarez this weekend will be interesting to watch.

Devin Williams offered some thoughts on his return from injury, his up and down season, and how the team’s bullpen has performed in his absence.

The Mets might not be playing for much, but the environment at Citi Field has been better recently.

Nolan McLean has been having success this year despite not throwing his famous sweeper quite as much.

The Mets are taking it slow with Jonah Tong as he continues to develop in the minor leagues.

Around the National League East

Atlanta bats collectively mashed fourteen hits as the Braves secured a 6-4 victory over the Rockies.

The Braves also received some unfortunate injury news for a number of their pitchers.

The Phillies were down to their final out against the Angels when Edmundo Sosa hit a go-ahead grand slam to give Philadelphia a miraculous 5-3 win.

Nationals rookie pitcher Jackson Kent picked up his first major league win with seven solid innings in a 9-2 victory for Washington over the Marlins.

Around Major League Baseball

The Rays’ future ballpark situation appears to finally be resolved after a successful vote yesterday.

While Justin Verlander will retire at season’s end, he still plans on suiting up for the Tigers again before it’s all said and done.

Tarik Skubal made a successful and emotional return to Detroit.

MLB.com listed five teams who could surprise in October if they are able to make it there.

Max Fried will make his return from the injured list today for the Yankees.

A Dominican prospect who had a deal with the Guardians was suspended by Major League Baseball after he was found to have falsified his age and identity.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Vasilis Drimalitis previewed the weekend showdown against the Astros.

Joe Sokolowki provided the latest installment of This Week in Mets Quotes.

This Date in Mets History

The 1962 Mets suffered loss number 100 on this date forty-two years ago.