Cape Town stunt sparks major debate over safety risks
Airlink insist flyby conducted according to regulations
A pre-game stunt involving two passenger jets flying dramatically low over a stadium in South Africa drew huge cheers from the estimated crowd of around 56,000 people, but also sparked a major debate over safety risks.
The flyby by two Embraer jets, operated by local airline Airlink, happened on Saturday before the second rugby union Test between South Africa and New Zealand in Cape Town.
The calendar is just about ready to flip to September, which means the stretch run in Major League Baseball has arrived.
Except for the American League West, the division races all seem to have strong favorites. But the real intrigue surrounds the three wild-card spots in each league. It will be hard to knock off the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the AL, but seven teams still have at least a puncher's chance to round out the field.
Over in the National League, the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies appear comfortably ahead of their pursuers. But the final spot seems to change hands on an almost-daily basis.
Here's a look at the latest in the MLB playoff race:
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 13: Commissioner of Major League Baseball Robert D. Manfred speaks during the 2026 All-Star Legacy Veterans Multi-Service Center renovation at Veterans Multi-Service Center on Monday, July 13, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement expires on 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 1, and the owners will almost certainly lock out the players the moment the CBA expires, just as they did in December 2021 before eventually coming to an agreement in March 2022.
This time around, a salary cap and competitive balance have been the driving forces behind the owners’ talking points, in both the foreground and background of their known offers to the players. That was the case on Thursday, when MLB owners proposed the idea of a quiet period for signings, limiting free agent movement to only a few weeks in December. From Ronald Blum of Associated Press:
MLB proposed extending the quiet period until noon Eastern on the Monday of the winter meetings, usually held in early December. Management said the additional time would be needed for revenue and salary cap figures to be finalized ahead of the business season.
MLB would allow negotiations during the quiet period but would not permit any contracts to be finalized.
Free agents could sign through 5 p.m. Eastern on Dec. 21 and then wouldn’t be allowed to until noon Eastern on the first Monday in February, just ahead of spring training.
Another aspect of the league’s proposal included a tweaking of the injured list, instead of the current 10-day stint for position players and 15 days for pitchers. From Evan Drellich at The Athletic:
The current 10-day minimum stay for position players would be replaced with a one-week designation, and the 15-day pitcher injury list would become a two-week designation.
But that doesn’t mean “seven days” and “14 days,” respectively. Instead, teams would have to count Mondays.
Position players would have to stay on the IL for at least one full Monday-to-Monday span, with pitchers spanning two of those stretches.
For example: If a position player goes on the IL on Wednesday, he still has to stay on the IL for the entirety of the following week, Monday-to-Monday.
The 60-day injury list would change to 12 weeks and would still free up a 40-man roster spot.
While active rosters would still be capped at 26 players, teams could carry 14 pitchers, up one from the current allowance.
That every MLB proposal thus far has been contingent on the players accepting a salary cap and floor shows that the negotiations won’t get serious until after the owners lock out the player in December, writes Marc Normandin of Baseball Prospectus:
Would it be wonderful if there was less sitting around and more player transactions during the offseason, with the bulk of them happening sooner than later? Absolutely—making players wait until the spring to sign isn’t great for whatever excitement the league is trying to generate, or the players who still don’t know where they are going to spend their next season when February, and sometimes even March, hits. This doesn’t actually solve that, though, especially since it just removes the awkward middle part where teams and players are in a staredown and fast-forwards to the end. It’s kind of like how MLB doesn’t bargain quite as seriously as it should before the CBA expires, but then once the lockout hits it rushes everything to a forced conclusion. Hey, I’m paraphrasing Rob Manfred’s own justifications for a lockout here, don’t shoot the messenger.
My position on the general shape of this CBA negotiation remains unchanged: Only one Big Four sports league has imposed a salary cap on its union in the 21st Century. The NHL got its salary cap, and severe salary rollbacks, but not until it broke the union. And that took canceling an entire season, which damaged the sport in ways from which it still has not recovered 20 years later.
It’s going to take at least one lost season to break the MLBPA, maybe more, and I have no idea whether the owners have the stomach for that intense a fight. I’m not sure the owners themselves know at this point; that’s the kind of thing we won’t be able to get a read on until next February or March at the earliest. Until then, we can treat any proposal that’s contingent on a cap-and-floor system as DOA.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 18: A general view of Citi Field during the second inning between the New York Mets and the San Diego Padres on August 18, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Caleb Bowlin/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning baseball fans!
It’s a new week of San Francisco Giants baseball, and it’s gonna be a busy one on the road.
First up, the Giants will head to Atlanta to make-up the June 18th game against the Braves this afternoon.
After that, they’ll head north to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-game series. Then they’ll begin a three-game series against the New York Mets.
Personally, I’m most interested in the Braves game. Because it’s only one game and they can only inflict one game’s worth of damage.
Which series are you most interested in this week?
What time do the Giants play today?
The Giants play the make-up game against the Braves this afternoon at 3:05 p.m. PT.
It’s always news when the Red Sox play the Yankees, and the Red Sox are a little salty right now as the Bronx Bombers took 3 of 4. Jake Mintz has four takeaways from the series.
Red Sox radio broadcaster Will Fleming called for Red Sox pitcher Jovani Morán to hit Austin Wells and start a fight with Jazz Chisholm Jr. (The Athletic sub. req.) after Chisholm stole second and third while the Yankees were up six runs.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 14: Colorado Rockies left fielder Zac Veen (13) celebrates putting on a purple trench coat after hitting a two run home run during a MLB game between the Colorado Rockies and the San Francisco Giants on August 14, 2026 at Oracle Park in San Francisco, CA. (Photo by Trinity Machan/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Managing all of the Colorado Rockies gear is a big task, one that falls to Mike “Tiny” Pontarelli, Assistant Director of the Major League Clubhouse.
(You may remember from earlier this season, Renee Dechert wrote about the Rockies’ home run coat. In that interview, she spoke Pontarelli about how the clubhouse manages and cares for the coat.)
Pontarelli has served as the Rockies home clubhouse manager since the 2016-2017 offseason, after beginning his career in 2005 as an assistant clubhouse manager and later being promoted to visiting clubhouse manager. Prior to that, he worked as a bat boy for the Denver Zephyrs in his youth before transitioning to working in the Rockies clubhouse when the team came to be.
“I kind of became part of the furniture a little bit, if you will,” he joked, “and then sort of grew into the job when I was in high school where I was coming and going between school, baseball practice, and everything else I had going on. And I was a pretty outgoing kid, so I got to know people, and I would talk to everybody.”
Pontarelli worked with the Rockies through high school and college while playing baseball himself, but he said it never crossed his mind to make a career out of it. When he graduated from Regis University, he had a “short career in finance” where he worked in an investment firm before coming back to baseball in 2005, where he has worked ever since.
“It’s been a lot of stories – a lot of innings, a lot of baseball, a lot of sunflower seeds and everything else – but I learned the business,” he said. “I applied what I learned in the financial world to what I do now with budgets and inventory and management of staff and things like that. And I really felt like I’ve gotten pretty good at the logistical part of what we do, as well, so it ended up being a career that I’ve really enjoyed.”
But what does that role look like?
During the Rockies recent road trip to Arizona, Pontarelli took me behind the curtain of how he – and the rest of the staff – keep the Rockies clubhouse running through the ups-and-downs of a Major League Baseball season.
Road operations
Standing in the visiting dugout at Chase Field, Pontarelli shed some light on the road operations for the Rockies.
“Our operation on the road is really focused on equipment,” he said.
“At home, I’m overseeing the clubhouse operation as well as the equipment operation, but here, I’m focused on our environment – making sure everything looks right and the lockers are where they should be. I’ll coordinate some of that stuff with Bob (Doty, Diamondbacks’ visiting clubhouse manager), but really, I’m focused on equipment and making sure all our ducks are in a row and we’re following the schedule on the field, which we send out every night, so everyone knows what to expect.”
Additionally, they have to always be planning for potential roster moves. Usually they come from the 40-man roster, but the clubhouse staff is always prepared for “where you could have a player out of nowhere” (such as the trade deadline) and make sure to pack for “an additional 20 players or so” so they’re ready for moves.
“We have blank uniforms and letter kits and number kits, and those are required to be sewn on. So every clubhouse you visit has someone that can sew either nearby or one of the clubhouse guys can sew,” he said. “This is our home away from home in Arizona, so if something were to happen here where we call guys up or something like that who I don’t have uniforms for, I can call my guy that I use during spring training. Will does a fabulous job all throughout spring training, and then at home, we have a really good seamstress – Donna – who does an amazing job.”
Player operations
Like most jobs, there are certain times of the year that are busier than others.
For Major League Baseball, probably the busiest time of year is the trade deadline. That means Pontarelli and his team have to start preparing for moves that the Rockies could make – both on the sending and receiving ends.
“Going into the trade deadline – I’d say about four days out from the actual deadline itself – I make sure that I have all my ducks in a row and make sure that I’m prepared to send my counterparts all the information they need,” he said, “hat size, helmet size, Dri-FIT size, jersey size. What does Fanatics have on file for them if we need to make a jersey quick?”
He then gave the example of Brenton Doyle and ensuring the White Sox had everything ready to go for Doyle’s arrival on the South Side.
“I called my counterpart over there (Rob Warren). We exchanged sizes on players and everything we had,” Pontarelli said. “I’ll also send him contact information, so he’s able to reach out. I’ll tell him, ‘Hey, he’s got a bat order coming in next week. I’ll just redirect that to you.’ All those things. We coordinate a lot – everything from, ‘Do you want to ship Brenton’s car out there? Do you want me to take care of it?’ And they were on the road, and I was at home. So I said, ‘I’ve got time, you’re on the road. I’ll take care of getting his car picked up and getting it out your way.’”
He also described Connor Norby’s arrival from the Miami Marlins in exchange for Victor Vodnik, but that was a bit of an anomaly around the trade deadline.
“In our case with (Connor) Norby, I felt like I had time to call Fanatics and have them cut and sew everything in the factory and overnight them to me the next day, so I did that,” he said. “Whereas in a lot of cases – if I knew he was coming out the next day or something like that – I’d probably have some stuff done in house on stock jerseys. And fans would never know the difference between a custom jersey and a stock jersey, but a player will tell the difference. He’s like ‘I think I’m missing half an inch on my sleeve. It doesn’t feel quite right.’ All of those things are important to the players.”
But then Pontarelli stressed the importance of building relationships with other clubhouse managers, so they can help each other out in high-stress, fast-moving times such as those.
“It’s important to have those relationships,” he said. “And it’s important at the Winter Meetings every year to sit down with these guys and hang out and have a meal together because you end up working together on things, and you want to be able to say, ‘Hey, can you do me a favor? No problem at all.’ So you have genuine relationships with these guys, and you help the whole thing work.”
Equipment operations
One of the biggest jobs of the clubhouse management team is keeping tabs on player equipment and making sure everything is in tip top shape. That includes things such as uniforms, as well as equipment such as bats and helmets.
“Going into the regular season, for the most part, every player has two of each jersey style,” Pontarelli said. “On the road, we take purple and we take gray, so I pack one purple and one gray in each guy’s bag and then I keep another set locked up in my trunk. And if it’s getting hotter – like in St. Louis – I end up getting a bunch of jerseys out and putting them on a rack if guys want to swap.”
He then gave some examples of how different players utilize uniforms throughout games, especially in hot and/or humid climates.
“Hunter Goodman, for example, went through three jerseys while catching the other day (Aug. 9). Brett Sullivan went through two,” he said. “Tomoyuki Sugano will go through anywhere from four to seven in a game, so he gave me a heads up early on. Michael Lorenzen went through probably three jerseys the other day (Aug. 9). So if it’s a starting pitcher and I know we’re going to a hot and humid climate like St. Louis, we try to prepare a little more. We’ll make a couple more jerseys of different colors so that we’re good to go.
“In Denver, we don’t deal with the humidity and a lot of places in the Western Division, we don’t deal with humidity a lot, so we don’t tend to change them out,” he continued. “But going east of Denver to St. Louis, Chicago, New York, Boston – I mean, pick any one of those cities – and it’s a different ballgame when you’re keeping guys comfortable while they’re playing.”
Staff operations
And so much of that comes with the help of his staff.
At home, there are seven staff who work under Tiny in the Rockies clubhouse and six in the visitors clubhouse who work under Patrick Gill. Justin Fowler serves as the major league clubhouse coordinator, and he helps with inventory.
“Since I’m on the road right now, (Justin’s) back home taking inventory on things,” Pontarelli said.
“I’ll send him invoices that need to be paid, as well as getting them paid by our finance team upstairs. And we’re tracking our spending. We’re tracking how many bats we’re ordering, how many uniforms we’re ordering and things like that. He helps me track that really well, as well as inventory, and he does a really nice job with helping me pack for the road. We set up zone defense – that’s really Justin’s bread and butter – and he helps manage the staff. He’s at home with them a lot. He’s coaching them through unpack nights while I’m traveling with the team and things like that. We’ll land in Denver, and he’s making sure everyone’s prepared to attack the next home stand. He does a nice job with that.”
And then there are the clubhouse attendants, who help with the minute details.
“I have John McGill, who’s been an absolute pro at making sure our uniforms look good every night. He’s studied chemicals, and he’s really good. He’s been doing it for a long time, and they all work together really well. I’ve got another group of guys who do a lot of collective duties together. When laundry comes out, everybody’s on it. If benches need to be set up, everybody’s on it,” Pontarelli said. “I’ve got guys like Joey Scott, who does a great job of taking care of the coaches’ room and rubbing baseballs before the game. So they each have their own individual things that they do really well, and I try to put them in positions to succeed on things that they do well. And Jordan Leak does a great job running the umpires’ room. So there are certain things that are important that we can’t miss, and a guy like Jordan’s fabulous in there, building relationships with umpires so they know what to expect when they come to town. So it’s a wide scope of things that go on to make sure the game is in a good position and our venue’s in a good position to put on a show.”
But at the end of the day, it’s mostly Pontarelli and Fowler running the day-to-day operations.
“Justin and I are there 12 hours a day at home, and we’re going through everything. When we first land back in Denver for a new home stand, we’re already focused on the following road trip,” he said.
Closing thoughts
I always like to end my interviews by asking the staff their favorite part of their job, their least favorite part, and something surprising.
For Pontarelli, his favorite part is “the relationships I’m able to build with our entire organization, and I love the logistical components.”
“I love months of planning and getting things into the pipeline, and seeing them come to fruition on the field,” he said. “In December, I’m cranking out bat orders and uniform orders and everything else, and then I see this beautiful spring training camp open up and everybody’s suited up. Everybody’s got white pants with purple jerseys on and the catchers are dialed in with their gear. Seeing the whole thing work – seeing the plan come to life – is probably the most rewarding thing for me.”
But the most challenging part is definitely “the hours and the time away from our families.”
“I’ve got my beautiful wife, Ashley, and our two little girls and being away from them is a challenge,” he said. “They’re troopers – Ashley’s a great baseball wife, and they spent all of spring training in Scottsdale with me, which was just wonderful. But being away from the family’s hard, I would say. Just the sheer hours that we’re here every day take a lot of mental strength and physical strength to get through and endure an entire baseball season.”
And the most surprising thing?
“I think (fans) would be shocked to see how many baseballs and bats we go through because baseballs come in on a pallet every month, and we’re going through 144 baseballs a night – 12 dozen baseballs a night – if not more,” he said. “Players are going through (bats). For the average fan, going into spring training, position players get 18 bats and then every month, guys are ordering a dozen or so bats. I mean, we’re pumping through a lot of equipment, so for fans to wrap their minds around that… I don’t know if they understand the sheer volume, but those are things that I always find interesting.”
It truly takes a village to help any sports team run, and Pontarelli has done an excellent job of orchestrating his staff so everything runs as seamlessly as possible. They may not always get the most credit for the hard work they do, but the Rockies truly would not run without the excellent support of their behind-the-scenes staff.
Today is the last day of August, which means there are just a few short weeks of baseball left. Kevin Henry looks ahead to what questions remain surrounding the Rockies in the remaining weeks: Can the Rockies avoid 100 losses? Is Jordan Beck really part of the future? Can Ezequiel Tovar finish on an upswing? How will the Rockies manage starting pitching innings?
Gambling is everywhere. You can’t avoid it, and prediction markets are starting to creep into professional sports as well. I wrote an article a few years back about Rockies players’ experiences, but Zack Meisel gets much deeper into it across MLB and some of the awful things players have to deal with from fans.
It wasn’t a great day for the Isotopes, as they fell 9-1 to the Round Rock Express (Rangers). They mustered five hits — one from Charlie Condon, two from Conner Capel, one from Jose Cordova and one from Drew Avans. However, they also walked five times and struck out just three. Cordova and Avans were the only ones to record both a hit and a walk. Adael Amador had one walk and Sterlin Thompson (No. 16 PuRP) had two. Roc Riggio (No. 13 PuRP) had two strikeouts, while Thompson had the other. Capel’s home run in the seventh inning ended up being the only run scored by the Topes.
Valente Bellozo started the game for the Topes, allowing just one run on three hits with three strikeouts over three innings. Patrick Weigel took an early beating, allowing three runs (all earned) on one hit with three walks in just one-third of an inning of work. Mason Green came in to clean up Weigel’s mess and then pitched another inning, walking two with a strikeout across 2.2 innings. Jarrod Cande took the brunt of it, though, allowing five runs (all earned) on five hits with a strikeout in two-third of an inning. The five hits were a single, a one-run double, an RBI single and then a three-run homer. Andrew Baker recorded the final four outs, allowing just one hit.
The Yard Goats fared better than their upstairs neighbors, beating the Fisher Cats (Blue Jays) handily. Hartford got things going in the third inning when Jimmy Obertop drew a leadoff walk and then GJ Hill moved him over on a sacrifice bunt. Andy Perez grounded out to push him to third, but it didn’t matter where he was, as Jared Thomas (No. 8 PuRP) smacked a two-run homer to right. The Yard Goats tacked on another run in the seventh, as Dyan Jorge walked and then stole his 50th base. A passed ball allowed him to reach third, and then Obertop reached on a fielding error by the third baseman to score Jorge. Obertop stole second and Hill walked, but Perez struck out and Thomas grouned out to first.
New Hampshire struck back in the bottom half, as Carter Cunningham hit a solo homer to right-center. But then the Goats answered back again in the eighth with a single by Jacob Humphrey, who then stole second, and a walk by Braylen Wimmer. After Zach Kokoska grounded out to advance the runners, Humphrey was able to score on a balk and Jorge hit a sacrifice fly to score Winner. In the ninth, Hill and Perez struck out to start the inning but then Thomas was hit by a pitch and stole second and third. Humphrey walked and stole second, and then Wimmer walked to score Thomas.
In the bottom half, the Cats tried to fight back, but only scored one run after Carter Cunningham walked and was scored by a Cutter Coffey triple. Eric Snow struck out looking to end the game.
Stu Flesland III tossed a gem — six scoreless innings with just four hits, one walk and two strikeouts. Fisher Jameson was the one who allowed the two runs over the final three innings on three hits with one walk and two strikeouts, but he earned the three-inning save.
Both teams scored early and both teams’ bats fell silent after the fifth inning. The Indians got the scoring started in the third when Tommy Hopfe hit a solo homer to right. They piled on in the fourth after Ethan Hedges and Tanner Thach got out to start the inning, but then Robert Calaz (No. 26 PuRP) and Alan Espinal singled and were scored by Clayton Gray. Unfortunately, though, that was the end of the scoring for the Indians.
In the bottom half of the fourth, Ryan Sprock homered to put the Canadians on the board. In the fifth, Maxxox Latta homered to lead off the inning and Jaxson West singled. After two quick outs, JoJo Parker singled and scored alongside West after Jake Casey doubled. Sprock flew out to end the inning, and the scoring. There were only five baserunners in the later innings — two for the Canadians and three for the Indians — but none came around to score.
Everett Catlett got the start for the Indians, pitching five innings while allowing four runs (all earned) on six hits with one walk and two strikeouts. Austin Emener threw one inning and struck out a batter, while Luke Hansel threw two innings while walking two and striking out one.
The Grizzlies were also unsuccessful in their search of a win against the 66ers (Mariners). Just like their older brothers, the Grizzlies struck first, but most of their action was in the later innings. Daniel Jackson kicked things off when he reached on an error by 66ers’ first baseman Starlin Aguilar in the second inning. Jack Natili grounded out to advance Jackson, and then Juan Martinez doubled to move him to third. A passed ball allowed Jackson to score, but then Ashly Andujar (No. 30 PuRP) and Ryan Niedzwiedz struck out to end the inning.
In the second inning, Estevan Moreno homered to tie the game. Nick Becker singled, and then was driven home by an Aguilar double. In the third, Hayden Yost struck out but then back-to-back walks led to a ground-rule double to tack on a run and then an RBI groundout scored the second to make the score 4-1.
In the fourth, Jackson hit his fourth homer to cut the lead in half, 4-2. But in the fifth, Jake Brown walked and stole second before being driven home by a double from Moreno. A passed ball allowed Moreno to advance to third, and then Becker walked and stole second before he and Moreno were scored by an Aguilar single to make the score 7-2.
An RBI groundout by Landyn Vidourek (HM PuRP) in the seventh made the score 7-3, but then a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning by Aguilar made is 9-3. Natili homered in the eighth, but then Dervy Ventura homered in the bottom. Niedzwiedz tripled to lead off the ninth and then Carlos Renzullo singled to score him, but that was it.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JULY 10: Félix Bautista #74 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches against the New York Mets during game one of a double header at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 10, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 7, Durham Bulls (TBR) 4
Well, isn’t that a sight for sore eyes: Félix Bautista in the box score, earning a W. The Mountain, still rehabbing his throwing arm since undergoing rotator cuff and labrum surgery in fall 2025, threw an unimpeachable sixth inning that saw him allow a single and strike out a batter. No walks!
Otherwise, this was a fairly commendable bullpen game for Norfolk: taking the mound in turn were Dietrich Enns (3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 K), Cameron Weston (2.0 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 HR, 2 K), Yosver Zulueta (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R), Yaramil Hiraldo (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, K) and José Espada (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 H, 1 HR).
The long ball was a friend to the Tides today. Payton Eeles hit a two-run jack in the fourth, also scoring Jeremiah Jackson. In the fifth, in just his twelfth game at Triple-A, Brandon Butterworth went deep for his part. The Tides posted three more runs in the seventh, on Jeremiah Jackson’s two-run blast and Creed Willems’ ground-ball single.
The Baysox lost this one in the bottom of the ninth, with reliever Christian Heberholz giving up the game-winning home run. It was a shame because his three-run meltdown ruined a nice start by Sebastian Gongora, who threw six innings and allowed two runs on five hits.
Once again, long balls weren’t hard to come by. Colin Tuft and Aron Estrada both went yard, Tuft’s a mighty three-run blast. Besides that, Frederick Bencosme, Wehiwa Aloy, and Ethan Anderson all singled. Victor Figueroa went 2-for-4. Vance Honeycutt went hitless.
High-A: Asheville Tourists (HOU) 6, Frederick Keys 0
Not a ton of highlights to report here, in Game 1 of a makeup doubleheader. Starter Christian Rodriguez got clobbered, surrendering six runs in 2 2/3 innings. After him, Jack Crowder and Ben Vespi covered 4 1/3 scoreless.
The Keys had one extra base hit, and it was a double by centerfielder Braylon Whitaker. Other than that, Jordan Sanchez singled and Jaiden Lo Re had two hits. Enddy Azocar didn’t play.
High-A: Frederick Keys 7, Asheville Tourists (HOU) 2
A makeup of August 27’s rainout, the Keys came out on top in the bottom half of the twin billing. They scored first on a Leandro Arias sac bunt. Colin Yeaman’s fifth-inning home run gave them a 2-0 lead. Then they exploded for a five-run sixth inning, as Asheville pitching got silly: Braylin Tavera, Braylon Whitaker and Colin Yeaman all walked, setting up DJ Layton, who’d go on to hit a three-run homer.
Carson Dorsey pitched a dominant 5 2/3 innings, striking out eight and allowing just one run. Brendan Parks got the save.
Despite posting seven hits, the Shorebirds got shut out by a bullpen contingent of Fredericksburg pitchers, while three Shorebirds pitchers had inefficient outings: Holden deJong threw four innings and gave up three runs. KK Clark allowed six runs in 2.2 innings. And Dalton Neuschwander allowed two more runs in 2.1 innings.
Eric Booth Jr., Jhomnardo Reyes, Jimmy Anderson, and Miguel Rodríguez all had a hit, Booth Jr’s a double, the only Shorebirds extra-base hit of the game. Ty Head walked twice.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JULY 01: John Schreiber #46 of the Kansas City Royals throws a pitch during the game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on July 01, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. The Kansas City Royals won 6-3. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images) | Getty Images
“Good road trip,” Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino told reporters in Cleveland. “Feel good about it. Obviously, not happy with the game. It’s not good enough today, but just got to take the off day tomorrow and get ready to get back at Miami on Tuesday.”
While none of Rojas, Gose or Kimbrel were on the Royals’ roster in April, they helped pave the way to a winning August.
“In February and March we talked about how we needed depth; you just don’t know why or when or where those guys are going to come from,” Quatraro said. “[Those players coming up] is a credit to our player development and the players themselves for putting themselves in a spot to come up.”
Rojas’ electric day at the plate marked his second career four-RBI day, with the first coming on May 20, 2022, when he was a member of the Diamondbacks.
“Clearly he wasn’t trying to check-swing one down the line, but we’ll take it,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “You need some luck every now and then.”
Schreiber is running a 45.4% ground-ball rate, one of the highest of his career, though his strikeout (18%) and walk (11%) numbers have gone in the wrong direction. Fielding-independent metrics such as xFIP (4.52), SIERA (4.56), xERA (4.56) and FIP (4.87) are all similarly low on Schreiber, who has benefited from a .254 batting average on balls in play. Those red flags help explain why the Royals did not find a taker for Schreiber ahead of the Aug. 3 deadline. Perhaps that will change now that an acquiring team would not have to trade any compensation for him. If it does, Schreiber would join a new club by Sept. 1, which would make him eligible to participate in the playoffs.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 29: Luis Lara #18 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates after hitting an RBI single against the Texas Rangers in the seventh inning at American Family Field on August 29, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to week 23 of our 2026 NL Central Power Rankings — let’s rank some teams!
1. Milwaukee Brewers (85-52); 4-2 this week; 100.0% chance to make postseason (FanGraphs)
The Brewers started this week taking two of three from the Mets in New York before returning to Milwaukee for a quick three-game homestand against the Rangers over the weekend, with another 2-1 series for their ninth consecutive series win at home.
Jackson Chourio led the offense with three homers as part of a seven-hit week, driving in seven and adding a stolen base. William Contreras, Gary Sánchez, and Brice Turang also homered, while Christian Yelich added seven hits, including three doubles.
Shane Drohan, Kyle Harrison, and Logan Henderson all turned in solid one-run outings, with Henderson leading the way with seven innings and seven strikeouts. Robert Gasser did more than enough in long relief after Dustin May exited one pitch into Wednesday’s game, going 5 1/3 frames with one run allowed and six strikeouts. Aaron Ashby, DL Hall, Antonio Senzatela, and Bryse Wilson combined for 11 2/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, striking out 13 (Trevor Megill also added 2 1/3 innings, allowing only the Manfred runner to score in a walk-off loss to the Mets).
Milwaukee now begins a big stretch against NL Central teams, as their next 16 games come against the Cubs, Reds, and Pirates. It begins with four games against the Cubs at Wrigley before three games against the Reds in Cincinnati.
2. Chicago Cubs (77-60); 2-4 this week; 97.9% chance to make postseason
The Cubs had a bit of a down week overall, as they dropped two of three to the D-backs in Arizona before returning home to drop two of three to the Reds.
Pete Crow-Armstrong, who appears to be the leader for NL MVP at this point in the season, went off for nine hits this week, including five homers and a double, driving home eight runs. Carson Kelly added a pair of homers, while Seiya Suzuki had nine hits, including four doubles and a homer as part of a five-RBI week.
Kevin Gausman earned both wins out of the rotation, allowing five runs across 12 frames with 13 strikeouts. Matthew Boyd went six innings with one run allowed and five strikeouts, while Clay Holmes worked seven scoreless frames with five strikeouts. Colin Rea, Ryan Rolison, and Caleb Thielbar combined for 4 2/3 scoreless bullpen innings, striking out five.
Chicago now plays host to the Brewers for four games before a three-game weekend set against the Marlins in Miami.
3. St. Louis Cardinals (68-70); 2-4 this week; 1.1% chance to make postseason
The Cardinals dropped two of three at home against both the Orioles and Pirates this week, pushing them further out of the NL Wild Card picture.
Joshua Báez, Nathan Church, Jimmy Crooks, Nolan Gorman, Blaze Jordan, and Ramón Urías all homered for St. Louis, while Iván Herrera and Jordan Walker tied for the team lead with six hits apiece. Bryan Torres led the offense, going 5-for-6 in limited opportunities.
Quinn Mathews picked up his first MLB win, going 5 2/3 innings with one run allowed and seven strikeouts. Gordon Graceffo made two appearances (one start), totaling five innings with no runs allowed and seven strikeouts. Ryne Stanek and Cade Winquest led the bullpen, totaling 4 1/3 innings with no runs allowed and six strikeouts.
St. Louis now hits the road on the West Coast, as they’ll visit the Dodgers, Rockies, and Giants for three games apiece over the next week and a half.
4. Pittsburgh Pirates (67-71); 4-2 this week; 1.5% chance to make postseason
The Pirates had a surprisingly solid week, as they managed to take two of three from both the Padres and Cardinals on their road trip this week.
Esmerlyn Valdez led the offense with a pair of homers, while Jared Triolo had eight hits, including a homer. Brandon Lowe, Rafael Flores, and Oneil Cruz all homered, too, while Bryan Reynolds added seven hits.
Braxton Ashcraft made a pair of starts, totaling 11 frames with three runs allowed and five strikeouts. Bubba Chandler went 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs (one earned), Lake Bachar went 3 2/3 innings allowing one run, and Paul Skenes worked six scoreless innings, striking out four. Noah Murdock, Evan Sisk, Mason Montgomery (two saves), and Gregory Soto totaled 10 1/3 scoreless innings for the bullpen, striking out 11.
Pittsburgh now plays host to a pair of West Coast squads in the Giants and Angels this week.
5. Cincinnati Reds (65-72); 3-3 this week; 0.0% chance to make postseason
The Reds continue to struggle, though they did turn in a .500 week, losing two of three to the Giants in San Francisco before winning two of three against the Cubs at Wrigley.
Sal Stewart led the Cincinnati offense with a four-homer week, totaling eight hits with seven RBIs and six runs scored. Héctor Rodríguez added three homers in a seven-hit week, and Tyler Stephenson had eight hits, slugging a pair of homers and a pair of doubles. Elly De La Cruz led the squad with 11 hits, including three doubles.
The Reds didn’t have much to write home about when it came to the pitching staff, but Emilio Pagán led the way with four relief appearances, allowing one run and striking out three over four innings to pick up three saves. Brock Burke and Pierce Johnson combined for three scoreless innings, striking out four.
Cincinnati now hosts the Padres for three games before an off day Thursday. They’ll then host the Brewers over the weekend.
Feb 16, 2026; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Leonardo Bernal (13) during spring training workouts at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
It is technically August 31st, but the Cardinals are off today, which means that when the Cardinals next take the field tomorrow, they are allowed to carry two extra players. They can only carry a maximum of 14 pitchers, so the two new players will be a position player and a pitcher. Last night, it was announced that the two players would be catcher Leonardo Bernal and pitcher Hancel Rincon.
I will be honest guys. I am grateful for this news. I am very out of whack with the Cardinals right now. On August 19th, I watched the Cardinals lose to the Reds. I didn’t catch the game after that because it was a day game and I was at work. And then my vacation got in the way. I was scrambling to pack and clean my house on Friday, and I had to attempt to go to bed early, because I had to be at the airport at 3 that Saturday morning. Then I missed the no-good, terrible week of baseball while in Mexico. This past Saturday was a travel day, so I missed that as well. I did finally watch baseball yesterday.
Nonetheless, I appreciate the absolute layup the Cardinals are throwing me to help me get back into the swing of things. So let’s talk about Bernal and Rincon and why they’re being called up.
Bernal was signed out of Panama in January of 2021 for $680,000, following in fellow Panamanian Ivan Herrera’s footsteps. He was sent to the Dominican Summer League that summer, where he struggled with the bat. It was more or less entirely due to a low BABIP – he walked a good amount, didn’t strike out, had good power – but a .224 BABIP is hard to overcome. But the Cardinals clearly saw something, because when he advanced to the United States, they skipped him right to full season ball.
Well, sort of. They were a little more responsible than that. He did next play in Low A, skipping the rookie leagues in America entirely. But his 2022 season didn’t actually start until June. So he got the harder competition, but he ended up playing in just one more game from his DSL season. He rewarded their aggressiveness with a 120 wRC+.
But his bat at this point wasn’t his selling point: it was his glove. Savant pointed out that his glove looked advanced defensively even before signing and that the Cardinals pushed Bernal primarily because of their appreciation for his work ethic on defense. His arm was also a selling point. In all, Baseball Savant graded Bernal at a 55 for fielding and a 55 for arm.
Again, the Cardinals scouting is fairly good at their job and they saw something in Bernal’s 120 wRC+ that didn’t quite pass the sniff test, so the 19-year-old repeated Low A. And his bat got worse, kind of. His xwOBA actually improved significantly from .301 to .329, but his wRC+ dropped to 114 and his power completely disappeared. But the reason he was a comparable hitter was his 15.2 BB%, which more than doubled his walk rate from the previous year. 2023 ended up giving Bernal a stronger approach and it seems like he didn’t really hit the ball any weaker if his x stats is anything to go by despite less power.
But I imagine the Cardinals were nonetheless excited when Bernal showed power again in 2024. He did sacrifice some strikeouts, with a still professional high K% of 22.8%. But he also had his highest BABIP of .333, so he was doing something right. He got a sampling of games in Springfield to end his season, which offensively didn’t go great, but he wasn’t that overmatched.
In a full season at Springfield, I would say his bat was kind of disappointing because it seemed like he had a breakout in High A. But he was barely above average, again due to a low BABIP. Where he shined was defensively, catching 39% of runners who tried to steal. He’s also considered a good receiver, being able to steal strikes. Prospect Savant upped their scouting grades to 60 arm and 60 fielding for this season. Now, we got pretty lucky here. The Cardinal Nation, who rank a lot of prospects, randomly made Bernal’s page free to access. I don’t believe it was made free with this news, but I could be wrong. So I will lean heavily on Kyle Reis for the scouting part of this.
Reis says Bernal is an average MLB blocker who works from the one knee position. So don’t be totally shocked if you are disappointed when balls get past him, that stance does not seem to do catchers any favors. But teams surely know the numbers on this, and I’m guessing to the extent that it hurts a catcher’s blocking, it’s probably not as much as you think and it’s worth whatever benefits it brings. Kyle calls him a “thicc boi” which some might mistake for unathleticism, so ignore those assumptions you have! He finishes his defensive report by calling him a good game caller and above average framer.
As far as his offense is concerned, he’s a true switch hitter. Against right-handed pitchers and as a lefty, Bernal batted .282/.364/.482 for an .846 OPS. Against left-handed pitchers and as a righty, Bernal batted .267/.362/.422 for a .784 OPS. I will warn you about small sample sizes however and point out that in 2025, Bernal had a .848 OPS against left-handed pitchers and a .668 OPS against right-handed pitchers. They were virtually equal in 2024.
As of now, and obviously things can change, we have a very well-rounded catcher coming up to the major leagues. He doesn’t have much swing-and-miss, he has power potential, and he knows how to take a walk. He’s also considered an excellent defender.
I don’t know if worry is the right word, but I already know what him failing as a hitter looks like: he’ll be a low BABIP guy. He’s not fast and he had a .274 BABIP all year in Springfield, one of the best places to hit in baseball. I don’t expect him to strike out, I expect him to walk, and he really doesn’t have a terribly high bar to reach for his power to play at Busch Stadium. See JJ Wetherholt. But it’s hard to overcome a low BABIP. See: JJ Wetherholt.
Rincon has been around a bit longer and is a bit older. He signed as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in January of 2019. In April that season, he turned 17, and he debuted in the DSL as a starting pitcher. The most notable thing about him was that the Cardinals saw fit to have him pitch 47 innings – sometimes the truest test of which prospects to pay attention to is who the Cardinals throw in games a lot – because his performance was… fine. Below average K rate, normal BB rate, groundball rate under 40%. Nothing prospect worthy.
The Cardinals agreed, because two years and a pandemic later, he was still at the DSL in 2021. This time, his stats were great, but he was also 19 playing against a lot of hitters younger than him. In 2022, he started in the complex league, had a fantastic K/BB ratio, and the Cardinals promoted him for 8 starts in Low A. He held his own there, then spent all of 2023 in Low A. He was okay, not really that interesting in a prospect way cause he had a low strikeout rate.
He spent all of 2024 in High A. Still not that interesting as a prospect cause he’s still not missing bats. Things improved in 2025 when he suddenly gained the ability to miss bats. Weirder still, his BB rate didn’t balloon and in fact his groundball rate got a lot better too. But things got extremely weird when he was promoted to AA and suddenly dominated the competition. Unfortunately, his season ended prematurely to injury.
Want to know an advantage of being an International free agent? Rincon moved through the system at somewhat of a glacial place, he in fact missed an entire year to COVID, and he still found himself in AAA at the age of 24 entering this season. He spent three seasons in the DSL and 2+ seasons in High A. He did advance quickly at opportune times to be fair – he barely spent any time in the complex league and he really didn’t spend that much time in AA either. But yeah you can’t have this minor league career drafted out of college, that’s for sure.
In a weaker system, I kind of wonder if the Cardinals continue try developing him as a starter. But they settled for a multi-inning reliever instead. Part of that reasoning is he has a weak fastball. I know we’re tired of pitchers with weak fastballs in the rotation. So I’m sure there will not be grumbling about his move to the bullpen. A changeup grip change suddenly made his changeup a bat-missing pitch to pair with his bat-missing slider. Pair that with good command and you can see how his profile works in the bullpen.
Why them?
In Bernal’s case, one reason is he’s pretty clearly – from the information we know – the best position player in Memphis. I don’t think that’s a controversial statement. The only other player on the 40 man is Victor Scott and aside from Scott having a 78 wRC+ in Memphis, he’s also kind of the exact same player as Nathan Church. Church, who isn’t even hitting well, is outhitting Scott’s numbers in Memphis. And his offense, at least so far, doesn’t play at all in the corners. It doesn’t really even play in center, but hypothetically it could. An 80 wRC+ will never play in the corners.
Colton Ledbetter is an option, but his stats aren’t really promotion worthy and he’s not on the 40 man either. And I suspect Everson Pereira is coming back soon, which honestly is another reason no Scott. Outside of that, they have Ramon Mendoza, who is fun, but is essentially another Bryan Torres/Ramon Urias/Jose Fermin/Cesar Prieto/how is this half our team now? No seriously, one of these guys on the team is fun, your entire bench and a starter or two not so much. Good luck to Mendoza, I hope you make it one day.
As far as Rincon, well the choices were him or Cooper Hjerpe. And the Cardinals seem to be acting like Hjerpe is no choice at all for some reason. But Rincon is a good choice. On a team with 3.5 healthy starters, they can use every single relief pitcher who is at least in theory capable of throwing in 3 inning bunches. I think that describes Rincon. The only other pitchers it describes are their legitimate starting pitching prospects not on the 40 who also don’t need to be added to the 40 man either: Jurrangelo Cjintje, Brandt Thompson, Mason Molina.
They could have gone the path of least resistance with Matt Svanson, but clearly he’s not a reliable bet for 3 innings. They could have gone Pete Hansen who is basically Rincon who hasn’t been moved to the pen, but I think they moved Rincon to the pen because they think his stuff will play up in shorter stints and they’re less convinced that is true for Hansen. And that’s pretty much it. The other relief options (Austin Love, Skylar Hales) haven’t been any good.
Oliver Marmol has probably his most difficult task yet: figuring out how to get playing time to four different catchers. I legitimately cannot imagine that Ivan Herrera will still play catcher going forward or this move makes no sense. It’s much easier to imagine the playing time if Herrera is just planted at DH. I don’t really know when Pedro Pages will ever play, because now you can start Bernal against lefties. So good luck to him and his few opportunities.
And the bullpen, he at least has some serious flexibility. Until Andre Pallante returns, he’s got a glorified bullpen game two out of every five starts. And yes, I’m counting Kyle Leahy as a bullpen game, if he’s only throwing 3 innings, it’s a bullpen game. But he has Brycen Mautz, Rincon, and you can even push Gordon Graceffo for 3 innings. Cade Winquest is another multi-inning threat with the amount of pitches in his arsenal. And on the right day, most of the bullpen not named Riley O’Brien and Ryne Stanek are capable of throwing more than one inning. So he’s going to have to earn his paycheck with the current set-up of the roster, so that will be interesting to follow.
Until then though, we get to see a legitimate, top 10 prospect in the system maybe to help them better make a decision on who to trade in the offseason and we get to see how much of a relief threat Rincon can be, which should also make planning the future easier. Failures from either doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t a part of the future, but the way they fail can tell the Cardinals a lot and of course if they don’t fail, they can put them in their plans. And hey if they succeed in a way they don’t trust, good trade bait! Lots of good reasons these two are the pick, all we have to do is see how they perform.
MONTGOMERY, AL - MAY 14: Xavier Isaac #11 of the Montgomery Biscuits smiles walking to the dugout before the game between the Biloxi Shuckers and the Montgomery Biscuits at Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 in Montgomery, Alabama. (Photo by Natalie Buchanan/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
This was the 21st week of full minor league play (stats are entering play on Sunday, August 30th).
According to FanGraphs (which factors in age and proximity to the big leagues), prospect Theo Gillen tops the system and might just find himself in the running for Minor League Player of the Year. Gillen ranks 5th among all minor leaguers while Caden Bodine ranks 6th.
Meanwhile, Aidan Cremarosa remains the top hurler in the system despite spending several weeks on the Injured List. Thus far in his first professional season, Cremarosa has a 2.89 ERA | 2.98 FIP with a 30.4 K% & 5.4 BB% over 71.2 IP in Single-A. FanGraphs has ranked the 22-year old as the 30th top prospect in the Rays system.
RUMBLINGS
Jhon Diaz, the team’s largest signing from the 2019 international class, had a solid week. The 23-year old launched three homeruns over three consecutive games in High-A.
Austin Slater was released.
Jared Oliva, a 30-year outfielder, signed a minor league deal with the Rays. He appeared in seven games earlier this season for the Giants and was most recently with the Mets before being designated for assignment on July 9th.
Xavier Isaac and Caden Bodine made good impressions for their respective first weeks in Triple-A. Isaac launched a 400+ foot homerun to the opposite field while Caden Bodine had a multi-HR day, going deep from each side of the plate.
TEAM LEADERS
Must currently be assigned to that team
Baseball America’s top ten prospects are featured below each team they’re currently assigned to.
(minimum of 220 TBF & PA)
Tampa Bay Rays
Top 10 Prospects
None currently on active roster
Durham Bulls
Team Offensive Leaders: AVG: .252, Blake Sabol OBP: .335, Tatem Levins SLG: .401, Blake Sabol HR: 12, Logan Davidson wRC+: 88, Blake Sabol SB: 35, Homer Bush Jr
Team Pitching Leaders: ERA: 2.58, Evan Reifert FIP: 3.33, Ty Johnson K%: 34.9% Ty Johnson BB%: 3.9%, Mason Englert WHIP: 0.95, Ty Johnson AVG: .167, Ty Johnson WHIFF%: 16.3%, Ty Johnson
Team Pitching Leaders: ERA: 4.43, Chris Clark FIP: 4.75, Chris Clark K%: 25.2%, Jackson Baumeister BB%: 3.5%, Santiago Suarez WHIP 1.21, Chris Clark AVG: .225, Jackson Baumeister WHIFF%: 14.1%, Jackson Baumeister
Team Offensive Leaders: AVG: .287, Tony Santa Maria OBP: .418, Ryan McCoy SLG: .544, Ryan McCoy HR: 21, Nathan Flewelling wRC+: 147, Ryan McCoy SB: 52, Tony Santa Maria
BRONX, NY - AUGUST 30: Ceddanne Rafaela #3 of the Boston Red Sox reacts with Wilyer Abreu #52 during the game against the New York Yankees on August 30, 2026 at Yankee Stadium in the Borough of the Bronx, New York. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Let’s start with what actually happened.
The Red Sox went 1-3 against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium over the weekend. They got outscored 26-9 across four games. On Sunday, they lost 16-1. That’s a brutal number to stare at, and nobody should pretend otherwise, even with a bunch of runs coming off of Andruw Monasterio (seriously, do we need position players pitching?). The Yankees are 4 games ahead of Boston now, at 78-59 to the Sox’s 74-63, and the Wild Card lead sits at 5 games. That’s a decent cushion but still feels ominous enough to bungle.
So. Panic?
No. But not everything from this weekend is dismissible either, and the honest conversation sits somewhere in the middle.
The stuff to ignore
The 16-1 loss was ugly. It’s also the type of thing that happens to every team in baseball over the course of a season. Blowouts are part of the game—they’re usually a combination of a pitcher having a bad day (Ranger Suarez was fine until the 5th, but that 5th was an otherworldly level of bad so it makes the whole start bad) and an offense that gets hot at exactly the wrong time for the other team (yes the Yankees are a homer-dependent team, doesn’t mean they can’t score otherwise). One 16-1 loss tells you nothing useful about whether this team can compete in October. Neither does losing 9-2 in a night game after already playing a doubleheader opener. Teams get flat. Bad games can come in clusters.
And Saturday’s first game—the 6-0 shutout win—is at least as instructive as the 16-1 loss. The Red Sox, when right, can go into Yankee Stadium and shut that lineup down completely. That game happened. It’s in the results. This isn’t a team that goes to the Bronx and can’t compete. It’s a team that competed, split a doubleheader, and then had a bad Sunday.
This team is also 25-11 since the All-Star Break. That’s the best record in baseball over that stretch. One 1-3 series doesn’t erase that. The standings still have Boston in a Wild Card spot with a month to go. The rotation is intact. The bullpen has been outstanding. Roman Anthony is back. The pieces are still there.
The real worries
The offense—and not just from this weekend. The Yankees series was the latest data point, not the first. The Red Sox also didn’t hit in Miami, and the pattern of leaving runners on base and going quiet against quality pitching has been showing up for a few weeks now. The Friday loss—the 1-0 game—is the starkest example: Cam Schlittler walked five Red Sox batters and the offense couldn’t score. Ten men left on base. Was some of it bad luck? Sure. A lot of it was an approach issue, namely from one overzealous baserunner. When a pitcher is handing you free base runners and you can’t cash in, that’s a real conversation about whether this lineup is as dangerous as it looked in July.
Then there’s Trevor Story. He’s finally back from Worcester, where he really struggled with the bat. Which raises a fair and uncomfortable question: if Story wasn’t hitting at Triple-A, what does bringing him back to the major league roster actually solve? The lineup needs run production right now, not a veteran name. Story has earned the benefit of the doubt after everything he’s been through, but Cad Tracy is going to have to make a clear-eyed decision about whether this team is better with him in the lineup or without him. At the very least, Roman Anthony looks more ready and the roster expansion is here right quick to add some depth to the stretch run of September.
The 9-2 and 16-1 losses also suggest the pitching isn’t airtight. One blowout is an aberration. Two lopsided losses in the same series raises a fair question about depth and durability. Sonny Gray is noticeably absent from the Mariners series. Garrett Crochet isn’t near coming back yet, Ranger Suarez has really imploded over the last month, you can’t rely on Patrick Sandoval on a constant basis. That leaves Peyton Tolle and Jake Bennett to carry a lot of this load, and that’s enormous pressure on two kids who have thrown a lot of innings. Brayan Bello exists, but he wasn’t exactly infallible on Saturday night in Game 2.
And then there’s the managing question. Jen McCarthy had a piece in The Athletic this week arguing that Chad Tracy has been managing like it’s already October—namely the three consecutive pinch hits in Friday’s bout—while it didn’t reap rewards, it’s the aggressive move you see from teams trying everything to win. It’s a fair point, and it’s going to get even more nerve-wracking from here. Tracy’s aggressive approach is part of why this team has won the games it’s won. It’s also the kind of approach that can leave you shorthanded when October actually arrives. That tension isn’t going away.
The Yankees are also just a very good baseball team. At 78-59 they’re playing at a .569 clip and they’re doing it in a ballpark that plays in their favor. Boston is going to have to either catch them or hold off everyone else for the Wild Card, and this weekend was a reminder that neither of those things is going to be easy.
The verdict
Don’t panic. Do pay attention. The Red Sox are still in this thing, still well-positioned in the Wild Card race, and still built around a core that has spent the last two months playing the best baseball in the American League. One bad series in the Bronx doesn’t change the trajectory.
But the offense needs to find its legs again in September, because that 10-LOB performance on Friday is not the version of this team that’s going to make a run in October. This could be the right time to add back these injured players, or it could be the worst time to blow up team chemistry. You just never know. The pitching staff is going to need more than the top of the rotation to carry it through 25 more regular season games and whatever comes after.
The magic at Fenway is real, and so is the 25-11 run. The path to the playoffs is still clearly in front of this squad. What this weekend should do is sharpen the focus, not trigger the alarm. There’s a difference between those two things, and right now, this team needs the former.
September starts now (well, tomorrow). Let’s see what they’re made of.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 30: Matt Olson #28 of the Atlanta Braves reacts with teammates after Olson hit a walk-off single during the tenth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Truist Park on August 30, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Interim coach Trescothick hopes for unchanged lineup
England secured series win over Pakistan on Sunday
Marcus Trescothick is determined to sign off as England’s interim head coach with a 100% record and has no plans to meddle with a winning formula in next week’s final Test of the summer, despite securing the series win by beating Pakistan at Lord’s.
Two successful games into a series, the most likely cause of a lineup change would be fatigue, but Pakistan have not forced England to toil unduly over their two wins – last summer the average India innings lasted 107.5 overs; this summer Pakistan’s figure is 43.3. Meanwhile winning the second Test on day four means the players have nine clear days before action resumes at Edgbaston.
