World No 2 pulls out of ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati
Spaniard has been sidelined since April with ongoing wrist injury
Carlos Alcaraz has pulled out of the Cincinnati Open due to an ongoing wrist injury, casting fresh doubts over the Spaniard’s fitness ahead of his US Open title defence this month.
The seven-times Grand Slam champion has been sidelined since withdrawing from the Barcelona Open second round in April but had been set to return at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati, which he won last year.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - AUGUST 29: SpongeBob SquarePants delivers the ceremonial first pitch prior to the game between the San Diego Padres and the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on Friday, August 29, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by James Vigil/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
How tough am I? How tough am I? I watched that entire Mariners game… with the audio on.
The Mariners couldn’t cut it at the Salty Spittoon on Tuesday, losing to the Tigers 8-0 in the first game following the trade deadline. Emerson Hancock pitched fine but had some poor defense behind him. Seranthnoy Domínguez made his Mariners debut and got shelled. The lineup posted a big ol’ zero. Maybe they should try Weenie Hut Juniors instead. The Mariners had the gall to implode on SpongeBob Night at the ballpark. If you see a link in the writing that follows, give it a click if you wish to sing along.
The Tigers did most of their damage in the third. Zach McKinstry doubled to lead off the inning and made his way to third on a groundout. Gleyber Torres then hit a big chopper to short. Colt Emerson reached up to snag it, then fired home to nab McKinstry at the plate. It was a nice play!
But this was an inning that just wouldn’t end. Dillon Dingler slapped a hard single past a diving Emerson at short to put two on with two out. Riley Greene hit a broken-bat slow roller to Emerson again, who ranged so far to his right that he had to backhand the ball and make a crossbody throw. Unfortunately, it was a poorly aimed crossbody throw, sailing weast of first and into foul territory, allowing the first run to score. Colt Keith dropped a looping single into right field to plate two more and make the game 3-0. It was still early, but this already felt enough like the 2026 Mariners that I started watching SpongeBob videos instead.
Hi, how are ya
Hancock would eventually give up a legitimate run on a solo shot to Greene in the fifth. Otherwise, Hancock was fine. He threw six innings, struck out six and kept the hard contact to a minimum. It was a perfectly normal start.
Greetings, from Apple World
The game was still 4-0 in the ninth, and Dan Wilson saw fit to bring in Domínguez for a no-pressure debut. He got shelled. Domínguez walked the first batter then gave up a single. After an out, he gave up a three-run homer to Gleyber Torres. Then he immediately gave up another homer to Dingler. After another single and another walk, his night was done.
That’s not my wallet
The Mariners would have lost this one no matter how many runs they gave up. They scored zero. It wasn’t the absolute worst performance of the year, but only because there’s been a lot of competition. They picked up just four hits — all singles — and three walks without ever really threatening. In fact, they picked up only two hard hit balls all night, as Troy Melton ate everything in sight. They couldn’t lay off the hook (it was a splitter but let me have this one). The Mariners tepid deadline was largely an acknowledgement that they won’t go anywhere if their existing starts step up. They still seem to be in denial of their identities. Not even Ward could get them going, with an 0-for in his debut.
Tax exemption
Colt Emerson struck out swinging in the fourth on a fastball at eye level, which is the type of thing people say to mean “high”, but this one was literally at eye level. Not to pick on the kid, but this was a bit avant garde.
CHICAGO — The first fans booed Tarik Skubal at 6:22 p.m. CT, as he jogged on the outfield grass in front of the visitor's bullpen at Wrigley Field. They booed him again, and louder than any of his new teammates, when the Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup was announced. They booed more as Skubal stepped to the mound for his first start with a team, which also doubled as his first career start inside the "Friendly Confines."
The two-time AL Cy Young Award winner was officially a villain, and he already knew it’s a feeling that will become familiar.
“I plan on pitching in front of those atmospheres for the rest of the season,” Skubal said. "I actually haven’t made a home start in the postseason. They’ve all been on the road. I’ve pitched in pretty good environments and I’d say that’s up there with any of those postseason starts.”
The result of Skubal’s debut as a Dodger – a 5-1 Cubs win on Tuesday, Aug. 4 – wasn’t as significant as the sensation everyone involved left with once this highly anticipated regular-season game was over. The potential presented by Skubal’s overwhelming power, as well as the perils of being an overwhelming favorite, were on display for a sold-out crowd of more than 40,000 and a national television audience.
If this Los Angeles team is indeed ruining baseball en route to a third straight World Series championship and perhaps a lockout, it’ll only do so after taking the entire sport’s best shot.
“Everyone can’t play here for the Dodgers,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the pressure.
There is a target on these Dodgers unlike their past two predecessors that won titles, and it got bigger when they acquired the best pitcher in baseball. That reality confronted Skubal almost as soon as he walked inside Wrigley Field on Tuesday, even though he’s now another superstar on a roster filled with them.
A plane flew around the stadium a few hours before first pitch carrying a banner that read, “The Dodgers ruined baseball.” It was sponsored by Underdog Sports, a daily fantasy sports and predictions market operator. There was just one problem: The banner was upside down.
Skubal said he struggled to fall asleep Monday night. “It felt like my major league debut,” he explained. Roberts admitted before the game that Skubal "just wants to get this first one out of the way.”
“Yeah, it’s 1 of 162 but I do think Tarik Skubal making a start for the Dodgers is a big deal for baseball,” Roberts said of the moment.
So then Skubal struck out Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong looking with a 99 mph fastball to start the game. A solo home run by Dansby Swanson was the lone hit of substance he allowed before the sixth inning, even though his strike rate was the lowest it had been in three years. Then came a sequence seemingly set up for Skubal’s first fist-pumping, adrenaline-fueled celebration in a Dodgers uniform.
He had nearly escaped his only jam when he fired a four-seam fastball at the top of the strike zone that Nico Hoerner hit directly into the dirt. The ball traveled just one foot in the air, according to the official scorer, but then bounced so high into the Chicago night that Hoerner had nearly reached first base by the time it settled into the glove of Dodgers infielder Tommy Edman. A run scored, a 1-1 stalemate was broken, and the Cubs held on to deliver a fifth consecutive defeat for the Dodgers.
Skubal finished having pitched six innings and given up two runs on four hits, with six strikeouts, in his first game with the Dodgers. He was on the hook for the loss, but "there’s nothing he really throws that you can hit hard,” Hoerner said with a laugh.
That, of course, is why the Dodgers traded for Skubal. It's why he could command $400 million as a free agent after this season.
It's also why nobody is ready to make this easy on them.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 04: Osleivis Basabe #39 of the San Francisco Giants reacts after being late on the tag in a pick-off attempt on Jake Burger #21 of the Texas Rangers in the ninth inning at Globe Life Field on August 04, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
You follow the San Francisco Giants, so you’re familiar with bad baseball. You’re well aware of it from watching the Giants, both this year and in many other years. But you’ve also become keenly alert to bad baseball through divisional foes such as the woeful Colorado Rockies, who, in most years, make you feel a little better about the Giants.
Through all of this you’ve learned something critical to the baseball-watching experience: there are levels to the badness. There are bad teams and there are bad teams, and there’s a whole gradient betwixt the badness, plus a little something something past the extreme end of the spectrum.
The Giants have been a bad team if you look at the year as a whole, but they’ve sneakily only been a bad bordering on mediocre team in recent weeks. Entering tonight’s game, the Giants were 25-27 over the last two months. Not the stuff dreams or even playoff teams are made of, but certainly not bad.
Well let me tell you something, folks: that might have been a borderline competent team you watched for the last two months, but it’s going to be a downright bad team that you watch for the next two months. That’s just the nature of the beast when you sell at the deadline, as the Giants absolutely, positively, most definitely needed to do and, thankfully, did (and very well, I might).
You don’t get rid of your best position player, your second-best starting pitcher, your fourth-best starting pitcher, two of your best relievers, and your everyday outfielder and expect to get anything other than categorically worse, especially when the haul in return only featured two rostered players, one of which is playing fairly poorly in AAA, and the other of which is injured with no timetable for a return.
That’s not to say the Giants aren’t worth watching. There will be storylines and prospects and debuts and first hits and first homers and milestones galore. But a good baseball team? No. A bad baseball team? No. A bad baseball team?
Now we’re getting somewhere.
That was fully evidenced on Tuesday night, when the Giants took the field against the Texas Rangers. Robbie Ray is gone, and replacing him was Blade Tidwell, someone who has spent the year in AAA for a reason. Heliot Ramos is gone, and replacing him was Eddys Leonard, an infielder who has exhausted all of his Minor League options despite never making the Majors, is on his fifth team, and was making his MLB debut as a left fielder, rather than at his home on the dirt. Luis Arráez is gone, and replacing him was Osleivis Basabe, who is in his fourth season of trying (and failing) to hit league average in AAA. And just for old time’s sake, Buddy Kennedy was the DH so Bryce Eldridge, nursing a sore thumb, could get the day off.
So yeah. You’ve got eyes. You’ve got baseball knowledge. You understand the situation. The Giants will win some games, and they might even entertain the heck out of you, but they are going to be bad.
Which made Tuesday’s loss to the Rangers that much funnier. Because ultimately, it was all those reasons why the Giants should be bad that they almost won … and primarily the reasons why they were decent for a while that led them to defeat.
It sure didn’t feel that way at the onset, though. Tidwell made his first Major League appearance in more than three months, and his first start as a Giant, and it almost didn’t last a full inning. He got ahead of the leadoff hitter, old friend Joc Pederson, 0-2, but ended up walking him. He had a nine-pitch battle with Corey Seager, who roped a 108-mph one-out single. He gave up an RBI double to Brandon Nimmo and an RBI single to Ezequiel Duran, and when he finally escaped the inning you could almost see the oil that he was leaking. He’d thrown 32 pitches. It was ugly.
And then he retired the side in order on nine pitches in the second. And he had a relatively easy third, with just a two-out single, and a relatively easy fourth, with just a two-out single, and a relatively easy fifth, with just a two-out single.
It wasn’t an overpowering performance by any stretch of the imagination: he needed 100 pitches to get through his five innings, and only struck out three. But it was a very solid outing, and if you’re crafting a list of reasons the Giants lost, Tidwell’s name is nowhere to be found.
Shortly after Tidwell’s night ended, the Giants offense finally broke through. After six dominant innings from MacKenzie Gore, the Rangers moved to the bullpen and righty Chase Silseth. Drew Gilbert welcomed Silseth into the game by drawing a leadoff walk in the seventh, and stealing second base. After the Giants recorded two outs, the hottest man on the planet, Basabe, stepped to the plate. The same Basabe who has five home runs in 75 games in the Pacific Coast League this year, where baseballs fly like tennis balls in the dreams of a labrador retriever.
And in his sixth game with the Giants, Basabe demolished his third home run to tie the game.
A youngster leading a pitching charge. A youngster getting on base. A youngster tying the game with one swing of the bat.
Veterans gave it right back. After Jason Foley cruised through the sixth on five pitches, and JT Brubaker handled the seventh with ease, Brubaker opened the eighth with a walk. With a pair of lefties due up, Reiver Sanmartin entered the game, and promptly loaded the bases by allowing back-to-back singles to Seager and Nimmo. Forced to stay in against a righty, Sanmartin had no choice but to challenge Duran, who punished the very first pitch he saw for a two-run double.
Credit where it’s due, though: with runners at second and third and no outs, Sanmartin got two unproductive outs, before Adrian Houser entered and finished off the inning, keeping the Giants within striking distance.
And strike they did. With, you guessed it, a parade of youngsters in the top of the ninth.
It began in the most improbable fashion: with Gilbert knocking a one-out single off of Jacob Latz. Not just a single, but a single in an 0-2 count.
To recap, for the uninitiated: Latz was an All-Star this year, has a 1.80 ERA on the season, and, critically, is left-handed. Gilbert, a left-handed hitter, entered the game having hit 3-51 against southpaws in his career.
So yeah, naturally he got an 0-2 knock.
Next up was Grant McCray, another lefty, who also fell behind 0-2. McCray who, as a refresher, entered the game having drawn 12 walks in 185 plate appearances in his career. And who also entered the game with a career .427 OPS against lefties.
He worked the 0-2 count to a 4-2 count, putting the tying run on base. And then a somewhat rattled Latz threw a wild pitch, allowing the runners to move over.
And that set the table for the best youngster of them all: Eldridge, yet another lefty, who came off the bench to pinch-hit, and he delivered in style, drilling a game-tying single.
To the ninth we went, and in came Dylan Smith, who gave up a double on the first pitch he threw. But being something of an unproven youngster himself, Smith remembered the theme of the day. He got an unproductive fly out, then issued an intentional walk to Seager, and then struck out Nimmo. The stage was set for Smith to work his heroics and get the game to extras. He went to work against Duran, getting the count to 2-2. And then Smith briefly won, as Duran hit what felt like a harmless enough fly ball to right field.
And then Jung Hoo Lee took one of the worst routes I’ve seen in my entire life and didn’t even get close to catching the ball, and the Giants lost 5-4.
And so the Giants, who project to be bad for the next two months because of their reliance on youngsters, got heroics from Basabe and Eldridge, an improbable rally prompted by Gilbert and McCray, a delightful pitching performance from Tidwell, and some magic from Smith.
And those same Giants, who have been surprisingly competent for the last two months because of their capable veterans, got next to nothing from Willy Adames and Rafael Devers, had a mini blowup from the bullpen, and were walked off by Lee not catching a routine fly ball.
Baseball’s a funny sport. Is “funny” the right word?
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - AUGUST 04: Lars Nootbaar #21 of the Arizona Diamondbacks gets ready in the on deck circle against the San Diego Padres during the second inning at Chase Field on August 04, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Dbacks manager Torey Lovullo started off his postgame interview stating that this game had a ‘funky rhythm’ to it, and I think that is a great way to summarize it.
Eduardo Rodriguez who went 8 scoreless in his last outing, got jumped in this outing. The Padres came out of the gates with a lot of hard contact scoring 3 runs in the first inning and 2 more in the second inning and before anyone could get settled in, the Dbacks were already chasing 5 runs. ERod certainly didn’t have his best stuff tonight, but due to the amount of hard contact he was giving up early in this game, Im sure there are going to be people who are suspecting there was atleast some degree of pitch tipping going on.
The defense behind ERod also let him down multiple times as multiple balls clanked off of Arenado’s mitt at 3rd base, none of them errors, but still not common to see from the perennial gold glove winner. Ketel Marte also missed a critical double play on a bobble that allowed extra runs to score as of the 7 runs scored tonight while ERod was pitching, only 5 of them were earned. Certainly not the crisp defense this team typically relies on to win games. It should be noted however that despite not having his best stuff, ERod was still able to pitch into the 6th inning tonight.
The offense did nothing for 8 of the 9 innings tonight with the exception of the 7th when the Dbacks offense blasted 2 homeruns. Nolan Arenado hit the first, a 2 run shot to get the Dbacks on the board. James McCann hit the second of the inning another 2 run shot, and then all of a sudden its an 8-4 ballgame and the Padres are getting up Mason Miller in the 8th. However the Padres would then tack on another run in the 9th inning to sit Miller back down and solidify the final score of 9-4.
Of particular note in this one, Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll combined to go 0-8 as they continue to slide as they have done the past 6 weeks or so. This team desperately needs them to step up if this team is going to maintain any kind of wild card lead and make a playoff run. Hopefully this is just the calm before the storm.
All in all, this game was a frustrating one tonight as the final score appeared closer than the game really ever felt. The Dbacks will face newly acquired Casey Mize tomorrow night and will send rookie Mitch Bratt to the hill in a huge game in which they need to get back out in front of the Padres and hold them off in this tight wildcard race.
There are more than 300 men and women in the Australian Football Hall of Fame, and dozens of what could be loosely termed “rucks”. Of the 34 elevated to Legend status, six were ruckmen – Roy Cazaly, Jack Dyer, Merv McIntosh, John Kennedy Sr, Polly Farmer and John Nicholls.
There was a footballer running around on the weekend who is worthy of being spoken about in that company. On all the measures that matter, Max Gawn has legitimate claims as the greatest ruck in the history of the sport. He’s been the premier ruck in the competition for a decade now. In that time, his team has rebuilt, broken a curse, self-sabotaged, fallen away and spiked again. In that time, the league has implemented rule changes that have redefined the role of the ruck, and rendered several of them redundant. Every opposition coach targets him. Ken Hinkley’s Port Adelaide always sought to rough him up. Chris Scott’s Geelong seeks to circumnavigate him. Every year, there’s a new challenger to his status as the premier ruck in the country. Every year, it’s Gawn wearing the All Australian blazer.
CLEVELAND, OH - AUGUST 04: Cleveland Guardians third baseman Gabriel Arias (13) makes a throwing error during the second inning of the Major League Baseball interleague game between the New York Mets and Cleveland Guardians on August 4, 2026, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Jo Adell was awesome; he left nobody on base. So how did the other 9 participants leave 29? Bazzana left 7, Hoskins left 6, Martinez left 5. There’s 18. Arias’s 4 gets us to 22. More on him in a minute. Lowe 3, Kwan 2. 27. DeLauter and Rocchio 1 each. 29. Austin Hedges, who was hitless, was the only new friend of Adell’s who also left 0.
The gawdawful situational hitting wasn’t the only fundamental that the Guardians neglected last night.
It was Rocchio who made the last out at third, and it was Arias who made a terrible throw for the error. He might be DFA’d by the time you read this becauuuuuuusssseeee…..
Let’s hope it’s that, and not Jose Ramirez going back on the IL with the wrist soreness that kept him out of this game v NYM.
They couldn’t even score against Kodai Senga who entered the game 0-8 with a 8.66 ERA. Senga walked the 8th Guardian of the night. None of those 8 scored.
Stephen Vogt might need a new staff more than he needed new players.
Aug 4, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Tampa Bay Rays catcher Liam Hicks (34) celebrates his grand slam with third baseman Junior Caminero (13) in the third inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
This was Tampa Bay Rays starter Freddy Peralta’s third time to face the Rockies this season following two starts with his previous team, the New York Mets. He came into the game with a 3-0 record at Coors in addition to a 1.23 ERA.
But it didn’t seem like it would matter against a persistent Colorado Rockies club that took an early lead.
However, the Rockies offense stalled after the fourth inning, and the Rays got back in the game ultimately winning 9-7 in extra innings.
The offense got an early start — and then stopped
The Rockies got off to a quick start on the offensive side in their third time facing Peralta this season. (They faced him twice when he was with the New York Mets.)
Jake McCarthy kicked things off with a lead-off single, and Cole Carrigg followed his example with another single that moved McCarthy to third. Mickey Moniak then hit into a double play, but it was enough to score McCarthy and give the Rockies a 1-0 when the first inning had concluded.
The Rays did not have a baserunner until the third inning when Cedric Mullins hit a single. After that, Gabriel Hughes walked Richie Palancios, and Taylor Walls executed a successful bunt single, loading the bases with no outs. He struck out Yandy Díaz before issuing a walk to Jonathan Aranda, and the score was tied with the Rockies desperate for a double play with Junior Caminero at the plate. Hughes struck him out with a four-seam fastball The Rockies just needed one more out to minimize the damage.
Hughes came back to get a groundout and end the inning.
Jordan Beck made his presence felt in the Rockies half of the third when he led off with a triple, his second of this season. Coming off a four-hit night, Ezequiel Tovar picked up where he left off. After a 10-pitch at-bat, he singled to bring home Beck and make the score 5-2 Rays. After that, McCarthy singled giving the Rockies runners at first and second.
The 2026 Colorado Rockies are nothing if not persistent, and such was the case in the third inning.
Moniak stepped to the plate and belted a three-run, 380-ft homer — his 19th of the season — tying the game and celebrating his two-year contract extension.
With that, the score was 7-5 Rockies as Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta visited the broadcast booth.
After that, Peralta got two quick outs before allowing McCarthy to hit a single, and that was it for him. Although he’s had a history or success at Coors Field, that was not the case tonight. His final line was 3.2 IP, allowing seven runs (all earned) on nine hits. He walked one, struck out three, and allowed two home runs on 71 pitches.
Hughes was terrific in the fifth inning, striking out all three batters he faced and kicking the sixth off with a fourth K. However, when he allowed Hicks a double, Warren Schaeffer went to the bullpen for LHP Brennan Bernardino.
Although Bernardino allowed a single, no runs scored, and the Rockies finished the sixth inning with their 7-5 lead.
The Rockies went quietly in their part of the sixth, and recently recalled Parker Mushinski came in for the seventh, a rare stretch when the Rockies were able to pitch back-to-back lefties. Although he had some traffic, the Rays did not score.
That said, the Rays bullpen was successful in quieting the Rockies offense, which did not have a base runner after a McCarthy single in the fourth until the eighth inning when TJ Rumfield hit a double. However the Rockies failed to score.
Schaeffer haded the ball to Juan Mejia in the eighth, who allowed two hits but no runs.
Jordan Romano entered to close, and things went sideways.
He struck out Ben Williamson before surrendering a walk to Walls, who then stole second, and a single to Díaz, who followed suit, grabbing second as well. A base hit from Aranda tied the game with one out and Caminero at the plate.
Romano struck out Caminero with the Rockies opting to intentionally walk Hicks to get to old friend Ryan Vilade. A 5-3 ground ball to Karros ended the Rays half of the inning with a blown Romano save and a tie game.
The bottom of the ninth would bring up Castro, Beck, and Tovar. After Castro failed to get on base, Rays manager Kevin Cash went to Kevin Kelly while Troy Johnston entered for the Rockies to pinch hit.
Although Johnston was a quick line out, Tovar stayed hot and hit a double, which brought McCarthy to the plate — 3-for-4 so far on the night. But he was unable to get on base, and the game went to extras.
Warren Schaeffer went with Jimmy Herget for the 10th inning. With Vilade as the ghost runner, the Rockies got a 4-3 out that moved the runner to third. He struck out Jonny DeLuca and Williams to end the inning without allowing a run.
The stage was set for a Rockies walk-off with McCarthy the ghost runner.
The Rays begin by walking Carrigg, which brought Tyler Freeman to the plate. He executed a successful bunt that advanced the runner and brought up Hunter Goodman.
That led to a pitching change for the Rays who went to LHP Garrett Cleavinger. Goodman flew out to right, but it wasn’t enough to bring McCarthy home.
With two outs, everything came down to Rumfield.
He flew out to left, and the game went to the 11th inning with recently acquired Nick Frasso making his MLB debut.
It wasn’t the start he wanted as a wild pitch scored ghost runner Williamson from third, and the Rays took a 8-7 lead with one out. Following that, Díaz hit a double. He advanced to third on a fly ball, and a Caminero single gave the Rays a 9-7 lead. Hicks flew out to left to end the inning.
Cash turned to his closer, Bryan Baker and a wicked elevated changeup, for the Rays half of the 11th while the Rockies ghost runner Rumfield started at second. Karros was unable to advance the runner; Castro struck out; and Johnston struck out.
Game over.
In total, the Rockies had seven runs on 11 hits. They walked once and struck out six times.
“They got the job done in a battle,” Schaeffer said of the Rays bullpen. “It was a great baseball battle back-and-forth.”
Walks came back to haunt Gabriel Hughes — but then he called Ghost Busters
If anything has defined Gabriel Hughes’ time with the Rockies, it’s been his ability to get ahead in counts and avoid walks.
That did not happen for him in the third inning, when he surrendered two walks and a grand slam, but he kept his composure for the rest of his outing.
He relied primarily on his four-seamer (44%) followed by his curveball (23%) and changeup (14%).
Hughes final line was 5.1 IP with five runs (earned) on four hits. He walked two, struck out seven, and allowed one home run on 71 pitches.
He continues his quest to notch his first MLB win.
“Just one rough inning with a couple of walk mixed in there,” Schaeffer said. “I thought Gabe gave us a chance to win.”
The bullpen picked up where Hughes left off — until it didn’t
Although Bernardino had some traffic, his streaks across 23 games of not allowing an earned run continues. He went 0.2 IP, allowing one hit but no walks, strikeouts, or runs.
Mushinski’s Rockies debut was not without a few hiccups, but no harm, no foul. His final line was 1.0 IP with one hit and one walk.
Mejia’s eighth inning was mostly uneventful: 1.0 IP with two hits and no runs.
Then it all came down to closer Jordan Romano, who blew the save by allowing two walks (one intentional), two runs, and two hits while notching two strikeouts.
Jimmy Herget pitched a lovely scoreless 10th inning that saw him striking out two and setting up the Rockies for the walk-off.
“Obiovusly it’s big for Jim to get that inning in,” Schaeffer said. “That’s the Jimmy we know, and it was good to see that.”
As for Nick Frasso’s MLB debut, it would not without its problems, but ultimately, he allowed two runs and did not strike out or walk any batter. He also earned the loss.
Up next
Join us tomorrow for Game 3 when Nick Martinez will face Tomoyuki Sugano (菅野 智之) as the Rockies look to avoid the sweep.
DENVER, CO - AUGUST 4: Liam Hicks #34 of the Tampa Bay Rays hits a grand slam in the third inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on August 4, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It was an impressive showing for the Rays offense last night, as Junior Caminero’s two homers and Jonathan Aranda’s four hits led the way to a 13-9 victory.
But tonight it was all about the brand new battery, as trade deadline acquisitions Freddy Peralta and and Liam Hicks both made their Rays debuts at pitcher and catcher, respectively. On the other side it was Gabriel Hughes, with just four major league starts under his belt coming into tonight.
Peralta got into some trouble immediately, giving up two hits out of the gate in the bottom of the first, but a double play and a strikeout on an elevated heater to catcher Hunter Goodman limited the damage to just one run. Whether is was just nerves or not to start the game, he recovered nicely to pitch a clean second.
Things were quiet until the top of the third when Cedric Mullins opened the Rays offense with the team’s first hit of the night. After a Richie Palacios walk and a Taylor Walls bunt single, the bases were loaded with no outs. Hughes promptly struck out Yandy Diaz, but Aranda followed up with a game tying walk. Caminero gifted Hughes another strikeout, and it looked like Hughes was going to get out of it.
Not only was it the first grand slam of Hicks’ young career, it was the first for the Rays this season.
Unfortunately though, the Rays couldn’t quite coast after that, as the Rockies came roaring back in the bottom half. Jordan Beck led off the inning with a triple off the top of the right field wall. Ezequiel Tovar drove in the Rockies’ second run and two batters later, they delivered a big blow of their own:
And that wouldn’t be all, as the Rockies scored two more in the fourth from a two run homer off the bat of Willi Castro for six unanswered runs. Peralta wouldn’t finish the inning. To put it nicely, it was not a good debut for the Rays’ shiny new starter.
Hughes, on the other hand, settled in nicely after the grand slam, retiring the next 7 batters he faced. For the Rays, it was Cam Booser who was tasked with keeping the deficit at two, and did so for the next one-and-a-third innings. Casey Legumina held the Rockies down for the next two.
Despite having two on in the sixth, seventh and eighth, the Rays were unable to score, as Brennan Bernardino, Parker Mushinski and Juan Mejia held the Rays scoreless. But it was old foe Jordan Romano who would cough up the lead in the ninth, as an Aranda single drove in two, tying things up at seven.
Steven Matz came back out for the bottom of the ninth after pitching a clean eighth when Kevin Kelly came in to finish the frame. After fielding a few comebackers, they were on to extras!
The Rays pulled ahead in the 11th after Walls’ second bunt of the day (third attempt) moved auto-runner Ben Williamson to third. A wild pitch from Nick Frasso brought him in. Diaz broke out of his slump to inside out a double off of the right-center wall, then Caminero added a much needed insurance run on a ground ball single to center. Closer Bryan Baker came in to seal the victory in the ninth, recording his 32nd save of the season.
The story was the bullpen for the Rays, as they allowed only three baserunners in five-and-two-thirds innings. Hicks said it best in his post game interview when he described the unit as ‘A Bunch Of Nasty Guys.’
The Rays will go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon as Nick Martinez takes the ball opposite Tomoyuki Sugano for a 3:10 PM eastern start time.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 04: Daulton Varsho #18 of the Houston Astros and George Springer #4 of the Toronto Blue Jays converse before the game at Daikin Park on August 04, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Houston Astros/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Blue Jays 2 Astros 7
Not a good night. The Jays lost the game and Trey Yesavage came out the game with, what the Jays are calling left knee discomfort. It looked like more than discomfort. He was warming up for the third inning, and his left knee seemed to buckle on two warm up pitches in a row. Trey said there was a ‘little pinch’ in his knee. He is getting an MRI tomorrow. Trey had thrown 2 innings allowing just 1 walk, before the injury.
I’m not going to try to diagnose him from the couch, but I’m guessing he won’t be making his next start.
Beyond that, we scored just 2 runs. And, when your bullpen has to throw six innings of a game, 2 runs isn’t going to be enough.
Chad Dallas turned out to be the bulk man and he gave up the bulk of the runs. 6 earned in 3 innings, on 7 hits, 4 walks with 3 strikeouts.
Braydon Fisher, Brendon Little (giving up the 7th run) and Mason Fluharty each pitched an inning.
On offense, we only had five hits. Myles Straw had two of them (including a triple, picking up our only RBI and scored our other run on a wild pitch, which, at that point tied the game in the fifth inning). George Springer, Alejandro Kirk and Andrés Giménez had one hit
Other than that, the Jays threw Daulton Varsho at the plate, a nice relay from Davis Schneider to Andrés Giménez to Alejandro Kirk. And Ernie Clement made a couple of nice plays at second.
Varsho also had a nice sliding catch in the outfield. We’ve seen that enough when he did it for us.
Jays of the Day: Straw (0.26 WPA) and Yesavage (0.10).
Other Award: Dallas (-0.50) and Lukes (-0.09).
Tomorrow we have a day game, a 2:00 Eastern start. We get our first look at new Blue Jay Jameson Taillon (2-6, 5.92) with Hunter Brown (3-1, 3.42 in 10 starts) going for the Astros.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - AUGUST 04: Troy Melton #52 of the Detroit Tigers delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on August 04, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Kevin Ng/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Tigers started their post-Gage Workman era with a three-game series in Seattle against the Mariners after a day off on Monday. The pitching was magnificent and the hitters more than did their part, especially late, as the Tigers rolled to an easy 8-0 victory in the series opener.
The Tigers’ starting pitcher was Troy Melton. The young right-hander was coming off a sensational performance against the Orioles in which he pitched seven shutout innings and giving up a mere trio of hits, walking two and whiffing five. He had a fantastic July: five starts, 29 1/3 innings, three earned runs, and one single home run surrendered. Curiously, by WHIP (walks + hits per inning pitched), it was actually his worst month, as his per-month WHIP went 0.947, 0.800, 1.023 (after missing all of April). I know that’s a cherry-picked statistic, but it’s my recap and I’ll do what I like.
Emerson Hancock took the mound for the Mariners, and he’s been solid so far. He had a great seven-shutout-inning start himself in July, at home against the Blue Jays, and his WHIP for the season was a meagre 1.042 coming into tonight. He made his debut in 2022, and the biggest thing that jumps out about his statistics this year is a significant uptick in strikeouts per nine innings: last year it was a pedestrian 6.4, but this year it’s a more-robust 8.3.
After walking the leadoff hitter in the first, Melton really dialed-in his stuff, efficiently mowing down the Mariners. His four-seam fastball was hitting 97 mph, and he had both his cutter and changeup working against both lefties and righties.
In the top of the third Zach McKinstry led off with a double, and Kevin McGonigle’s grounder to second advanced McKinstry to third with one out. Gleyber Torres hit a chopper to shortstop and McKinstry immediately broke for home; a perfect throw barely got McKinstry at the plate for the second out, and the Tigers really should have challenged the call. Dillon Dingler singled to push Torres up to second; Riley Greene hit a grounder to the shortstop’s right, and Colt Emerson tried an off-balance throw to second base but it got away from him, allowing Torres to score.
Colt Keith then followed with a two-run single to make it 3-0. You gotta love it when errors are capitalized-upon.
In the top of the fourth, Max Clark made a lovely sliding, tumbling catch. He was playing deep but made up a ton of ground in a hurry, reaching a peak sprint speed of 30.1 ft/s (33.0 km/h, 9.17 m/s), per Jason Beck, per Statcast, per sophisticated cameras and computers.
With a single and a walk, the Mariners got runners on first and second with one out in the fourth. But Melton got Josh Naylor to strike out on a low splitter, and Cal Raleigh waved and missed at an outside changeup, and that was that for the threat.
Greene extended the lead in the top of the fifth with a one-out solo home run to centre for a 4-0 score. It was his sixteenth home run of the ear.
Melton looked great and capitalized on the Mariners trying to be aggressive early in counts: plenty of first- and second-pitch grounders kept his pitch count low and let him cruise through seven shutout innings, surrendering three hits, walking a pair, and striking out four. Fantastic.
Jacob Waugespack came in for the eighth and gave up a two-out walk, but otherwise did a mighty fine job at keeping Mariners hitters off-balance.
Seranthony Domínguez made his debut for the Mariners and let’s just say it didn’t go well for him, as the Tigers got to him pretty good. Javier Báez, whose swagger and confidence I really missed in his absence, challenged a full-count strike pitch to lead off the top of the ninth and was successful, getting on via a walk. McKinstry singled up the middle off the second baseman’s glove to push Báez up to third, and McGonigle’s grounder to second allowed Báez to score, putting the Tigers up 5-0. Torres followed with a two-run home run to left to make it 7-0, and Dingler followed that with a home run of his own for an 8-0 score.
Greene singled and Keith walked, and that was it for Domínguez. Cole Wilcox took over and got a pair of strikeouts to end the inning but plenty of damage had been done by that point.
Yilber Díaz, a waiver pickup from the Diamondbacks in June, made his new-team debut in the bottom of the ninth in a low-pressure situation. He struck out his first batter on a 98-mph fastball, but then he served-up a single and walked Naylor. However, Raleigh looked at a perfect bottom-rail strike three for the second out, and a challenged ball on a 2-2 count was overturned to a strike for the final out of the game.
I looked at the standings in the American League as a whole lately, and of course much has been said of the Tigers being 2.5 games out of the final Wild Card entering tonight. But something else jumped out at me, that I’d heard bandied-about: the Tigers had the second-biggest Run Differential in the league, only behind the Yankees.
Tigers bench coach George Lombard’s son, George Jr., made his major-league debut tonight with the Yankees — and he hit a home run! George Sr. managed to make it to New York for the game.
A certain ex-Tigers left-handed pitcher made his debut for the Dodgers tonight: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K. The Dodgers lost to the Cubs 5-1. Make of that what you will.
On this day in 1914, both Belgium and the British Empire declared war on Germany after the Germans invaded Belgium. This happened a bit more than a month after Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated; the complex set of treaties between nations in Europe ended up precipitating the Great War, and this was a big event in its evolution.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - AUGUST 04: Seranthony Domínguez #58 of the Seattle Mariners pitches in the ninth inning against the Detroit Tigers at T-Mobile Park on August 04, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Kevin Ng/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Tigers 8, Mariners 0
I’m a winner, see my prize: The Tigers You’re a loser who sits and cries: The Mariners
With nine runs allowed Tuesday, Davis Martin’s ERA has inflated to 4.13 on the season. | (Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)
The White Sox (59-53) folded on offense and waved the white flag on the mound as the Red Sox (61-51) rolled to a 14-2 victory in Tuesday’s series opener, outhitting Chicago, 15-6. Davis Martin floundered through five innings while Patrick Sandoval worked smoothly through the South Siders despite struggling with his control, earning the W for the Red Sox.
Tonight was the second time this season that Martin has allowed nine runs; the other was June 16, while visiting the Yankees, when things really started to go downhill. There are definitely some red flags to consider as we head into crunch time in a tight division race, since this was the third outing in a row where he surrendered four or more runs. Davis owned a 3.62 ERA just a few hours ago, but Tuesday’s implosion has inflated it to 4.13 on the season. In his last seven starts (34 1/3 innings), he owns a rough 6.55 ERA with a 1.60 WHIP, and he’s been striking guys out at a much lower rate with just 20 Ks in this time span.
There may have been at least one explanation for Tuesday’s disaster. After the game, manager Will Venable said Davis Martin was tipping his pitches, an issue catcher Kyle Teel identified during the game and brought to the coaching staff’s attention. That doesn’t erase Martin’s recent struggles, but it does provide some context for why Boston’s hitters looked so comfortable from the opening inning.
Venable said there were tipping issues with Martin tonight. Martin confirmed and said it was Kyle Teel who identified the issue in game.
Once Teel started guessing along, he brought it to everyone’s attention. @whitesox
Martin’s recent inconsistency is still worth monitoring. While tipping pitches may have contributed to Tuesday’s outing, his results over the past several starts have been uneven. His recent inconsistencies were one of the main reasons I was hoping Chris Getz would trade for another starting pitcher before Monday’s deadline, especially when everyone not named Sean Burke is a wild card when they start. Before the All-Star break — through June, really — Davis looked like he was approaching ace status, but he has been regressing lately, and it’s hard to imagine how he would perform in a playoff game at this moment in time. I’m still optimistic, and I’ve not given up on him by any means, but if we are being realistic, there’s quite a bit of uncertainty around his performance for the remainder of the season.
Right off the bat, Nick Sogard rattled Martin with a leadoff double off the Green Monster, then hit Ceddanne Rafaela square in the back on a curveball that got away to put two runners on. Davis navigated an out on a deep fly that advanced the runners, but back-to-back base hits from Willson Contreras and Masataka Yoshida scored the first run for the Red Sox, 1-0, and then loaded the bases with just one out. Naturally, Caleb Durbin demolished the second pitch he saw for a grand slam over the Green Monster in left, increasing the Boston lead to five, 5-0.
The way Boston has played over the last month needs to be studied for generations, because whatever chokehold they currently have on the baseball gods seems to be enough to overpower both the Pope AND a wizard. What I mean by that is Jarren Duran blasted a solo shot for the Red Sox to go back-to-back, tallying six earned for Davis in just the first inning, 6-0. Ouch.
It took 26 pitches for Martin to get out of the first, but he was fairly efficient through the next four frames, using just eight pitches in the third, ranging up to 15 in the other three. Davis did eventually work a 1-2-3 inning in the fourth, and the South Siders finally scored a run in the top of the fifth on a sacrifice fly from Miguel Vargas, 6-1. Miguel’s fly out seemed like it was sailing over the Monster before it was caught against it.
But of course, the Good Guys did not carry that momentum through their at-bats in the fifth inning: Randal Grichuk grounded into a double play to end the scoring threat, and Davis conceded his third home run of the game in the bottom of the fifth to hand the run right back and increase the Boston lead back to six, 7-1.
Still, the White Sox didn’t quit, making Patrick Sandoval work in some tough at-bats while drawing four free passes. Consecutive walks in the sixth put runners on for the Good Guys, but they managed only one run on Braden Montgomery’s RBI ground out. The Chicago bats went just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base, so they could have walked several more times and probably still wouldn’t have been able to catch up without some clutch hits.
Earning his first official win of the season, Sandoval had a much better day on the mound and only gave up the two runs on six hits while striking out five. The Boston bullpen didn’t seem to have a problem either, as the South Siders didn’t get another hit after five, and Brayan Bello was set up nicely for a three-inning save, his first of the season.
On the other hand, Chicago went to righthander Erick Fedde out of the bullpen, who was tasked with essentially eating innings and getting through this disastrous game. Still, he, too, gave up five runs (four earned) on five hits, and that was on top of two more runs attributed to Martin. Not that the bats were promising enough to complete the five-run comeback, but the Red Sox tallied a half-dozen between the two pitchers in the sixth to extend the lead to 13-2.
It almost felt like things were going to settle down so we could just end the suffering, and I could stop watching, but Fedde went out with a bang, and Abreu blasted his second bomb of the game on a solo shot to pour salt in Chicago’s gaping wound, 14-2. Bello was able to retire the Sox in order during their final at-bats, and the South Siders need to reset after that wimpy performance in the series opener.
The only good news of the night is that both the Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins lost Tuesday, leaving the White Sox to reflect on that horrific game while still holding a three-game division lead. Righthander Sean Burke is on the mound tomorrow as the Good Guys attempt to revive themselves and even out the series, so we’ll do it again tomorrow and hope for the best.
MVP Miguel Vargas: 0-for-2, RBI, BB, 2 K, SF Braden Montgomery: 0-for-3, RBI, BB
Runners Up Chase Meidroth: 1-for-3, R, BB, K Colson Montgomery: 1-for-3, R, BB Brenton Doyle: 1-for-2, outfield assist in first game as a White Sox
Cold Cat Davis Martin: 5 IP, 10 H, 9 R, 2 BB, K, 3 HR, HB, LOSS (9-5) Erick Fedde: 3 IP, 5 H, 5 R (4 ER), BB, K, HR Randal Grichuk: 1-for-4, 2B, GIDP, E
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JULY 24: Hogan Harris #36 of the Athletics pitches takes the sign from the catcher during the game between the Athletics and the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on Friday, July 24, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Michael Turner/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Just when you think it can’t get any worse…A comically pathetic 8th inning turns a possible actual win into just another disheveled loss and the “free fall” stats keep mounting.
It’s hard to believe that on June 19th the A’s were 38-38, winning percentage that would earn them a spot 1.5 games out of 1st place had they maintained it through this evening. In hindsight, it was probably a relatively poor strategy to go 7-30 thereafter, 5-26 in their most recent 31.
Before continuing, we need to take a moment to appreciate just how “Bad News Bears” the bottom of the 8th inning was. Tasked with holding a 4-3 lead, Hogan Harris began the inning with the obligatory lead off walk. To his credit he was efficient and needed only 4 pitches, cleverly conserving himself so he could offer his greatness to many ensuing batters.
Then he walked the second hitter because walking the first 2 you face has become a reliever’s mantra. No fewer than 3 different relievers did that in the same game not too long ago — I would tell you the exact date but the games all blend together now.
In the only normal at bat, JJ Bleday struck out. What followed was somewhat remarkable in that it took blunders from 3 different players to occur. Tyler Stephenson flied to RF deep enough for Elly De La Cruz to tag and go to 3B. Butler’s throw was one hop to the cut off man, Jacob Wilson, but Wilson let the ball go through. It went through to 3Bman Tommy White, who fielded the throw by not catching it and the ball rolled to Hogan Harris backing up. Harris looked at the ball, counted the stitches, and thought about his grocery list, but did not call time. So Sal Stewart, who had been anchored to the bag at 1B the entire time, jogged to 2B.
Undaunted, Harris got back on top of the mound where he proceeded to do his best Nick LaLoosh impression. He threw one pitch so far high and outside Jonah Heim checked his back pocket for a 1st row ticket to see if he was allowed to catch it. Another wild pitch appeared to hit Eugenio Suarez in the foot — until you realized what it hit was Heim’s glove clanking it. And so the A’s lost 5-4.
Every time you think, “Well, nowhere to go but up” the A’s manage to make a further mockery of the game. Without a doubt injuries have greatly impacted the team of late, but it’s also notable that Butler, Wilson, and Harris were all with the team out of camp and Heim has been healthy throughout his time with the A’s. It’s not all scrubs and fill-ins who are in the middle of each embarrassment. It’s everyone.
Which makes one wonder: so what’s next? Are we destined to witness Tyler Soderstrom range back for a fly ball only to trip over his shoelace and send the ball caroming over the wall for a HR? Might Jacob Lopez somehow commit a pitch timer violation, balk, and adultery all on the same pitch? Can we expect Alika Williams, with the bases loaded, to catch a pop up and toss the ball into the stands not remembering that it was the first out? Could Elvis Alvarado try the “hidden ball trick” and then cause a 30 minute delay because he can’t remember where he hid it? Will Donovan Walton push a suicide squeeze so hard to 3B it smacks Henry Bolte in his “good testicle” ending his season and any chance at fatherhood?
Believe it or not, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust is going into his 13th NHL season this year.
He made his NHL debut during the 2014-15 season before playing in 41 games during the 2015-16 regular season. Everyone quickly found out that he was NHL-ready that year, especially when he scored some massive goals for the Penguins in their run to the 2016 Stanley Cup.
Rust got his start as a depth forward before working his way up to the top line. He's now one of Sidney Crosby's preferred linemates since he reads the latter so well.
Hard work, dedication, and tenacity are the three pillars of Rust's game, and fans see it on a nightly basis. He works his absolute butt off and embodies what it means to be a Penguin. He may not have a letter on his jersey, but there's no question he's one of the top leaders on the team.
Rust set a career-high in goals (31) and points (65) during the 2024-25 season before equaling that point total during the 2025-26 season. He was also three goals away from setting a new career-high in goals after finishing this year with 29.
Rust has scored at least 20 goals in seven consecutive seasons, and logic dictates that he will make it eight in a row during the 2026-27 season. Yes, he's 34, but he's been an incredibly consistent player these last several seasons, and I don't expect that to change this year.
Like Rakell, I expect Rust to score between 20 and 30 goals and compile 50 to 60 points. Some of his goals will come from his patented move: he takes defenders on and goes backhand-to-forehand in front of the net. He has done it countless times over the course of his career and isn't about to stop now.
He'll ride shotgun with Crosby on the top line at 5v5, but his power play deployment will be the more interesting one. He's usually on the top PP unit, but that could change this year with the continued emergence of Egor Chinakhov. Chinakhov has arguably the best shot on the Penguins, and their top PP unit could use more of it this year. He feels like the natural replacement for Rust, who can easily slide to PP2.
Time will tell if head coach Dan Muse and assistant coach Todd Nelson go down that path, but it makes a ton of sense.
Rust will still be a stalwart on the Penguins' penalty kill, which finished sixth in the NHL last season. He played 114:46 on that unit and was great at getting to loose pucks and blocking shots. His 114 minutes were the most he spent on the PK since the 2022-23 season, when he was on that unit for 129 minutes.
He has still been involved in trade rumors these last couple of offseasons, but Penguins general manager/president Kyle Dubas hasn't felt compelled to move him. Going off that, I think Rust will remain a Penguin unless Dubas gets an offer he truly can't refuse.
Rust has played a lot of meaningful hockey for the Penguins and that's expected to continue this year, assuming they stay in the race for the full season. He's also only 30 assists away from 300 for his career and is expected to hit that milestone by the end of this upcoming season, assuming he stays healthy.
He'll suit up for his 711th NHL game when the Penguins open the season against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sept. 30.
