Category: Baseball

The Colorado Rockies had a chance to steal a win in Atlanta this afternoon after, but ultimately it turned out to be Atlanta who came out on top. The Rockies pitching staff performed well for the first seven innings, but it came down to some late-inning weird outfield defense that allowed the Braves to snatch a 2-1 victory.

Agnos & Co.

Zach Agnos was called upon right before first pitch to start in place of Ryan Feltner, who was dealing with an illness overnight and was unable to play.

Agnos last started in June, but today was reminiscent of his first-career start in Arizona. He threw 42 pitches across 2.2 innings — likely because he threw two innings in relief just three days ago — but only allowed two hits with one walk and one strikeout.

He was relieved in the third inning by Nick Frasso, who threw 1.1 additional innings. Frasso did not allow a hit, and also walked one and struck out another. Brennan Bernardino pitched a 1-2-3 fifth on nine pitches, while Jimmy Herget allowed just one hit and a strikeout in 1.2 innings.

Herget was put into a unique situation, though, as his outing was interrupted by an injury to home plate umpire Ron Kulpa. Kupla was hit in the mask on a back swing by Ozzie Albies, and was ultimately lifted as a precaution for a possible concussion. 13 minutes later, Herget hit Albies with a pitch, putting men on first and second, but Mike Yastrzemski grounded out 1-6-3.

Michael Harris II — who hit a bunt single to lead off the inning — moved to third on the play, and Herget was relieved for Jaden Hill (more on Hill’s outing later).

“I thought that they were awesome,” manager Warren Schaeffer said after the game. “Having to do that today, I thought that they were exceptional. Every guy left it all out there.

Offensive breakthrough in the sixth

On the other side, Martín Pérez also had an excellent outing.

The veteran entered the game with a 22.1-inning scoreless streak at Truist Park, and nearly ended his outing with one. He lasted 5.2 innings, but eventually had that scoreless streak snapped at 27.2 innings by Will Castro.

Pérez got two quick outs with McCarthy bunt grounding out and Carrigg lining out to start the inning, but then Hunter Goodman walked, and TJ Rumfield singled. Connor Norby to load the bases, and then Castro singled to score Goodman. Unfortunately, due to his speed, Rumfield was held up at third.

“His changeup was really good, and our right-handed hitters had no response for it today,” Schaeffer said. “We couldn’t make an adjustment to that. But we grinded and pushed that run across. It’s just tough to win a 1-0 ballgame.”

Old friend Brent Suter came out to relieve Pérez and got Mickey Moniak to ground out to second and end the threat of more runs.

Late-inning heartbreak

The Rockies had a 1-0 lead heading into the eighth inning, but were unfortunately unable to hold onto it.

Jaden Hill, who came in to get the final out of the seventh, returned for the eighth. He got two quick outs from Drake Baldwin and Ronald Acuña Jr., but then Matt Olson singled to right, and Mauricio Dubón singled to center to move Olson to third. Michael Harris II doubled to left, which scored Olson and Dubón.

The opposing team scoring two runs is never great. But it’s even less great when there are some weird mental blunders in the outfield that allow runners to take extra bases and/or score runs. The biggest one was the Harris double. If Beck had thrown the ball to Ezequiel Tovar to try to get Dubón at the plate instead of Connor Norby to try to get Harris, the Rockies might’ve had a shot of keeping the score tied.

“There was a bang-bang play there (at second base),” Schaeffer said. “The second baseman needs to be aware that there’s also a runner running, so he could’ve thrown it off the plate, for sure.”

Jordan Romano entered to get the final out in the eighth down 2-1 instead of up 1-0, and was able to get Yastrzemski to ground out to second.

The Rockies had a chance in the ninth, but weren’t able to break through again. Didier Fuentes came in to close, and immediately walked Castro. Moniak struck out, and then Troy Johnston entered as a pinch-hitter for Jordan Beck. He singled, and was replaced by pinch-runner Ryan Ritter. Tovar was pinch hit for by Zac Veen, who struck out on three pitches, and McCarthy battled through but ultimately lined out to right to end the game.

Up Next

The Rockies have one more game tomorrow morning against the Braves, hoping to avoid the sweep. Mason Adams will be making his second big-league start against Tyler Mahle. First pitch is at 11:35am MT.

See you then!

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This is how I’d like to remember Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson.

Toot-tootin’ off the mound after inducing an inning-ending double play to close out 6 scoreless, blaring that horn like he just navigated an oil tanker through the Strait of Messina. 

While the brief for tugboats is to guide larger ships in and out of harbors, our boy Tugboat didn’t find himself in many tight spaces in game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader against Arizona.

Stylistically the southpaw, with an “old-school” mix of low velocity and dense offerings, isn’t afraid of contact. He struck out just four but held D-Back bats to just three singles, keeping them hitless in just one at-bat with a runner in scoring position. At one point, he retired 12 in a row from the 2nd through the 5th in just his third Major League appearance, and first in front of a San Francisco crowd.  

The problem for Tugboat was that he wasn’t the only tugboat putzing around the harbor.

If Wilkinson, at 23 years old, is Baby Tug, Merrill Kelly is Papa Tug. A 37 year old bucket of rust that has been pushing opposing line-ups around since before baby Tug could float. Kelly’s been doing this for a long time, he knows how to pitch — or, he knows how to pitch against the Giants. Based on Baseball Savant’s Run Value metric, Kelly is considered one of the worst pitchers in the Majors, but his -22 Run Value has nothing to do with the Giants. In back-to-back outings in May, Kelly held them to 5 runs over 13 IP while recording two wins. Going into Saturday’s start, he was 10-5 with a 3.26 ERA over 23 starts dating back to 2019. He’s thrown at least 6 complete over his  last 7 contests (including this afternoon). He hadn’t allowed more than 3 runs to the Giants, or been handed a loss by them, since June 2023. 

So no, game 1 against the Diamondbacks wasn’t a dance of jet-skis. This was a contest of adjustments, of light bumps and pushes and prods, of low-90s fastballs, of change-ups, of routine grounders and lugubrious lofts to the outfield. While Wilkinson kept pace through six scoreless, it was only a matter of time before his rival arm inched ahead. Ask a Giants fan, no one does manages batters better than Kelly. He scattered two singles over 7 innings. He walked four, but that’s by design. The veteran right-hander has taken up residency on the edge of the zone. A citizen of the corner. He wants the batter to get impatient, to second-guess, nudging them one way, his way, until they chase or try to do too much with a heavy offering. 

Bryce Eldridge’s at-bat in the 1st is a perfect example of this. Three change-ups wilting below the zone had the rookie looking for it before Kelly zipped in a 2-strike four-seam fastball, perfectly located at the knees. 

Any rumblings of trouble were promptly subdued by the ground ball. The worry of a lead-off walk to Turner Hill in the 2nd was erased by Drew Cavanaugh rolling into a double-play. Walks in the 5th and 6th were followed by a strikeout and another groundout. The most pressure the Giants offense put on Kelly was in the 4th when Jung Hoo Lee’s one-out single scooted Eldridge over to third. But again, a change-up falling out of the zone fetched a lunging swing from Hill, rolling a grounder to Ildemaro Vargas at second who cut down Eldridge at the plate. Another groundball ended the inning. 

As Papa Tug remained steady as the game progressed, Baby Tug started to fret. Maybe the high pitch-count got to him, or the pressure of 0-0 score in the 7th — a frame Wilkinson, who’s three games into his Major League career, had never pitched in before — but the rookie took the hill in that late frame looking like another pitcher than the previous six. Command and composure had evaporated while in the dugout. He threw 9 pitches and 8 of them arrived wide of the zone, generously handing out his first two walks of the game. At 90 pitches and 6+ IP, Wilkinson’s day was done, but his pitching line wasn’t. Ryan Walker came on in relief, and elicited poor contact from Nolan Arenado, but the groundball wasn’t hit hard enough or at anyone to turn a double play. Then, just as abruptly as Wilkinson’s feel for the zone, Walker lost sight of the plate. Another walk loaded the bases — that’s three in total for those counting at home, and each one came around to score when pinch hitter, Lars Nootbarred a 2-2 fastball 432 feet from the plate. 

A well-pitched game dunked into the pond. 

Wilkinson just ran out gas while Kelly proceeded to strike out two and retire the side in the 7th. 

Arizona would add three more against MLB debuter Seth Lonsway while Jung Hoo Lee celebrated his bobble-head day with an inconsequential (but nice!) RBI single in the 8th. 

7-1 final. And since this game was such a blast, let’s play another. See ya in a bit.

Nolan McLean might be pretty good.

The Mets rookie right-hander pitched another gem Saturday in a 6-2 win over the Astros, as New York snapped a three-game losing streak. McLean pitched seven innings without allowing an earned run, his second consecutive shutout appearance.

Beyond McLean, this game had a little bit of everything that could make a Mets fan smile, even towards the end of a lost season. The game featured an RBI from Juan Soto RBI in his return from the IL, Jared Young continuing to be a bright spot with a three-hit, three-RBI day, Francisco Alvarez breaking out of a slump, and AJ Ewing making the difficult look easy defensively.

McLean relied heavily on his fastball and cutter to great effect, drawing mostly soft contact. He cruised the first five innings on 65 pitches while only needing one strikeout to keep the Houston lineup in check. McLean walked Daulton Varsho in the opening of the seventh, but a fielder’s choice and two more strikeouts helped him escape unscathed.

While things ultimately went the Mets’ way, things started off bumpy. Brett Baty got the start in left field and instantly failed the first test. Jeremy Pena sent McLean’s very first pitch down the left-field line, where Baty misplayed the ball off the wall, allowing Pena to reach third base. Yordan Alvarez scored Pena on a sacrifice fly to put the Mets in an early hole.

The Mets answered back in the bottom of the first with Young’s RBI single that scored Francisco Lindor. Young’s hit came on an 0-2 count against the Astros’ lefty opener Bennett Sousa, who was promptly removed from the game in favor of Cristian Javier.

The game remained tied 1-1 with McLean humming along and Javier looking strong until the fifth inning. That’s when Lindor sent a double off the right-field wall, then Soto scored him with a line-drive single. Soto had fouled a pitch off his leg and took time with the trainer before stepping back in the box and making his presence felt. Carson Benge singled to advance Soto before Young scored them both with a triple.

Daniel Duarte relieved McLean in the eighth inning, giving up a solo home run to Yordan Alvarez, which cut the Mets’ lead to 4-2. But Francisco Alvarez had an answer when he sent a two-RBI double into the gap in the bottom of the eighth to give the Mets their final 6-2 advantage. Alvarez entered the game with just two hits in his last 27 at-bats.

Kodai Senga relieved Durarte for the ninth and immediately gave up some hard-hit balls. Not to fear, Ewing was all over center field, showing off the speed on a liner from Varsho, then making a crashing catch in the wall to retire Christian Walker. Taylor Trammell lined out to end the game.

The Mets are back Sunday at 3:10 PM EDT in the rubber match with Houston. Zac Thornton is scheduled to take the mound for New York as he looks to build on his three consecutive quality starts.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Nolan McLean, +26% WPA
Big Mets loser: Bo Bichette, -8% WPA
Mets pitchers: +28% WPA
Mets hitters: +22% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Jared Young’s RBI triple in the fifth, +18% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Jeremy Pena’s double in the first, -9.1% WPA

After a late scratch of the Rockies’ starting pitcher, the Braves were hoping to secure a series win against the Colorado bullpen with Martin Perez on the mound.

The game started slowly, with scattered baserunners but no runs, exactly what you’d expect in a matchup between Martin Perez and the Rockies bullpen in 2026. The Braves loaded the bases with two singles and a walk from the top of the order in the third, but cleanup hitter Mauricio Dubon flied out to end the threat. It wasn’t until the sixth that a team got a runner past first base and it was the Rockies. Perez had pitched well through 5.2 innings with 6 strikeouts on 83 pitches, but went walk-single-walk-single to allow the first run of the ballgame and leave the bases loaded. Suter was able to record the crucial out and keep the score at 1-0. Martin was great overall, which makes that sixth even more disappointing, as those were his first two walks of the game.

The offense continued to flounder against the Rockies’ pen and Suter got the seventh and was able to work a scoreless frame, as four soft grounders led to a single, double-play, single, and groundout. former Brave Jimmy Herget got the ball for Colorado in the seventh and allowed a swinging bunt single to Harris before there was a game delay due to the home plate umpire being hit in the mask with a foul tip, checked for a concussion, and ultimately replaced.

After the break, Ozzie battled from being down 0-2 and was ultimately hit in the shin pad by a slider, taking first. Yastrzemski produced some karma for the Rockies, as a swinging bunt to the pitcher produced a double-play, leaving Harris on third with two outs for Austin Riley. Austin walked and Lane Thomas got his second plate appearance after pinch-hitting for Dom Smith earlier in the game. Austin stole second to put two runners in scoring position, but Lane struck out looking to end the inning, with Atlanta still looking for that elusive first run. Suter continued to pitch into the eighth and worked another scoreless frame, doing tremendous work out of the bullpen, even as the offense was quiet.

Singles from Olson and Dubon presented another opportunity with runners on the corners and two outs in the eighth for Harris. Money Mike came through with a double off the glove of a diving Colorado outfielder, scoring Olson and Dubon for a 2-1 lead.

Mike with the heist 💸#BravesCountrypic.twitter.com/xeEf68td36

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 29, 2026

Didier Fuentes got the save opportunity in the ninth inning with a one run lead. He walked the leadoff batter, but struck out Moniak for the first out. He nearly struck out the next batter, but the pinch-hitting Johnston was given the benefit of the doubt on a borderline checked swing in the absence of a third base ump and then singled. Didier struck out Veen for the second out and got an easy lineout for the final out, securing the save and the series win.

Join us again tomorrow as the Braves go for a sweep at 1:35 PM ET.

Mets prospect Jonah Tong had arguably his best start of the season for Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday, coming one out away from a seven-inning no-hitter.

The right-hander allowed just two walks through 6.2 IP in the first game of a doubleheader (which is only seven innings long in the minors), before surrendering his first and only hit of the night to Lehigh Valley's Kameron Misner in the bottom of the seventh inning.

He locked back in and struck out Carter Kieboom to end the game, finishing with one hit allowed and eight strikeouts over 88 pitches.

Since allowing five earned runs on Aug. 5, Tong has been lights out in his last four starts with a 0.84 ERA over 21.1 IP. He's struck out 23 batters, walked 10, and allowed just 11 hits and two earned runs in that span. Overall, he finished August with a 2.39 ERA over 26.1 IP.

With rosters expanding for major league teams this week, it's possible that Tong's recent performances have earned him another shot in the rotation. In three major league games this season (all in relief), Tong went 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA and seven strikeouts over 10.0 IP.

Jonah Tong take a bow! Coming up one out away from a no-hitter, Jonah Tong delivered an INCREDIBLE performance! 👏

7.0 IP | 0 R | 0 ER | 1 H | 8 K | 2 BB pic.twitter.com/dHgtJHCpOW

— Syracuse Mets (@SyracuseMets) August 29, 2026

San Diego Padres infielder Luis Rengifo suffered an injury during a game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday, Aug. 29, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Rengifo has a right knee sprain, according to the Padres. He will receive treatment and will return to San Diego, where he will be evaluated further.

The Padres will finish out the weekend series against the Rays on Sunday, Aug. 30 before starting a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds on Monday, Aug. 31.

How did Luis Rengifo get injured?

Rengifo was carted off the field after attempting to throw to home plate in the bottom of the seventh inning.

The throw was off target and went past home plate. Rengifo could not put weight on his right leg and was clearly in pain.

The Rays have tied the game... on whatever this was. #padres extremely sloppy, again pic.twitter.com/DDLPflhm9n

— Padres Central (@PadresCentral_) August 29, 2026

The Rays went on to secure the 7-6 victory over the Padres after scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh.

The eight-year veteran signed with the Padres as a free agent at the end of June after the Milwaukee Brewers released him. He spent the first seven years of his career with the Los Angeles Angels.

Rengifo has scored 37 runs while driving in 36 runs and hitting four home runs this season.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Padres' Luis Rengifo carted off field during game vs. Rays

The Mets won the second game of their three-game series against the Houston Astros on Saturday by a score of 6-2.

Here are the key takeaways...

-- Nolan McLean continued his case for NL Rookie of the Year with another superb outing at Citi Field. The right-hander went seven innings and allowed an unearned run on two hits and three walks while striking out four to earn his 10th win of the season and improve his ERA to 3.06.

It was the fourth time McLean has gotten through seven innings this season and the first time since June 17 against the Cincinnati Reds. The rest of New York’s pitching staff has done it a total of six times.

It was also the fourth straight outing the rookie has allowed one earned or fewer, something he’s done 14 times this season.

-- Offensively, the Mets’ biggest contributor was Jared Young who drove in three runs as part of a 3-for-4 game. The first run he drove in came in the first inning on a fly ball single that tied the game. Young then had a two-run triple in a three-run fifth inning that extended New York’s lead. He singled to lead off the eighth and came around to score on a Francisco Alvarez two-run double.

-- In his first game off the IL, Juan Soto went 1-for-4 with an RBI and run scored as the designated hitter. He appeared to be in pain after fouling a ball off his shin in the fifth inning, but after shaking it off and getting back in the box he singled home Francisco Lindor who doubled before him.

-- Other notable performers: Marcus Semien (2-for-4 with a run scored, stolen base) and Brett Baty (2-for-3 with a double) while Carson Benge went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored and is hitting .333 in August.

-- Daniel Duarte came in for relief of McLean in the eighth inning of a 4-1 game and gave up a solo homer to Yordan Alvarez for his only blemish.

-- Kodai Senga then pitched the ninth in a non-save opportunity after New York scored twice in the eighth and after allowing a leadoff double to Jose Altuve retired the next three batters in a row to finish things off.

Game MVP: Nolan McLean

The right-hander looked fabulous once again and is putting together a fantastic rookie campaign.

Highlights

Jared Young brings the Mets right back even pic.twitter.com/Nbv3xdQ3i3

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 29, 2026

Juan Soto returns to the lineup with an RBI single! pic.twitter.com/32xn3fkOl1

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 29, 2026

Jared Young drives in two with a triple!

He has 3 RBI on the day! pic.twitter.com/TSAkKy8FzB

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 29, 2026

Nolan McLean ends the 7th with two strikeouts 👏 pic.twitter.com/HE0je0Orso

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 29, 2026

What's next

The Mets and Astros close out their series with a rubber game Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 3:10 p.m.

LHP Zac Thornton (3-4, 2.88 ERA) goes for New York while Houston has yet to announce a starter.

You could look at the final tally of 8-3 and feel like the Royals had this in control all along. You’d be so very, very wrong. The inning that we’re going to spend the most time on is the sixth inning, but let’s get there chronologically.

Daniel Lynch IV got the start for the Royals. This is a decision the Royals have made out of desperation, but it has yet to bite them on the butt. Today had all the markings of a game where it would happen. He had a quick first inning despite Isaac Collins misplaying a routine groundout. The Royals stranded Salvador Perez after a leadoff double in the second, and things started to get very, very bad.

Lynch walked Jo Adell to lead off the bottom half of the inning. Jo Adell walks less than 5% of the time. Angel Martinez followed with a home run to left field, and the Royals were down for the first time in this series. But then Lynch walked David Fry, and Bobby Witt Jr. got a throwing error on a potential double-play ball that probably still should have been caught by Isaac Collins at second. Fortunately, the Royals got the double play right on the next play, and the damage was limited. But would they score any runs? And would Lynch prevent any more scoring?

Lynch worked around a leadoff bunt single in the third but gave up a one-out double in the fourth, and that was it for him. That left his line at 3.1 innings with 3 hits, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts. That simply isn’t good enough. It’s remarkable he didn’t give up even more runs. That’s thanks to the Royals’ beleaguered bullpen that simply didn’t allow another baserunner until the ninth. But that wouldn’t have mattered if the offense hadn’t figured some things out.

First, they finally got to Foster Griffin in the fifth. Nick Loftin doubled off the top of the wall in left, Tyler Tolbert got an infield single, and Isaac Collins ripped a double down the third base line to tie the game. The Royals stranded him there, though. And we didn’t yet know how good the bullpen was going to be. So it was easy to expect the Royals to eventually blow it.

Then the top of the sixth happened. And everything changed.

Colin Holderman came on in relief. Holderman came into the game with a 2.25 ERA and 20 shutdowns to only 5 meltdowns in 52 relief appearances this season. Bobby Witt Jr. didn’t care. He smoked a single back up the middle at 110.3 MPH. Jac Caglianone celebrated the removal of Griffin by ripping a single to right at 111.8 MPH. Adell had the ball in his glove before Bobby touched second, but he was going to third or dying trying. Were it anyone else on the team, it would have been an incredibly stupid choice. But it’s Bobby, so he was in there, and it wasn’t even close.

Salvador Perez came to the plate, and I had just enough time to post on social media that I would pinch-hit Vinnie Pasquantino for him before he smashed a ball into the left-center gap at 107.6 MPH. Had he hit it much softer, it would have only been a sacrifice fly; instead, it was an RBI double, and the Royals had the lead with runners at second and third with no one out. Nick Loftin – what else? – hammered a grounder up the middle at 103.8 MPH. This time, Brayan Rocchio was in front of it. But Loftin had hit it so hard that when it took a little funny bounce, it popped up off the ground straight into the air, and Loftin beat it out for an infield single, loading the bases.

John Rave was tasked with pinch-hitting for Tyler Tolbert with a righty on the mound. The Guardians chose to stick with Holderman. Holderman pitched away, away, away until finally John Rave found himself looking out there too hard and chased a sinker off the edge to hit a routine grounder to José Ramírez. Who promptly let it go between his legs in his hurry to try and turn a double play. The Royals now had a two-run lead, but the bases were still loaded, and there was still no one out. Isaac Collins avoided a double play on a routine ground out, but that’s the best we could say. So Josh Rojas pinch-hit for Matthew Lugo (who honestly looked terrible at the plate in both of his at-bats, ending in strikeouts). The Guardians countered by summoning left-hander Erik Sabrowski from the bullpen.

Sure, a two-run lead was nice, but you always want more when you’ve got the bases loaded and nobody out. The Royals needed Rojas to come through, and the final swing of this highlight reel was the moment it finally felt like the Royals were really going to win this one:

He didn’t even mean to swing at it! It’s ridiculous that he made contact with it. But not only that, it dropped where he could hardly have thrown it better to drive in a pair more.

Rojas wasn’t done, though. In the eighth inning, John Rave singled in his second at-bat of the day, and Rojas decided to try a full swing and see what that felt like.

Just a silly, silly win. One of those wins that you always seem to get when you’re doing well and you lose when you’re doing poorly.

Let’s go ahead and shout out the relievers for their terrific work tonight

• Anthony Gose pitched 1.2 perfect innings, earning the win. It was his first win since 2022.
• Craig Kimbrel had a perfect sixth after the Royals took the lead.
• John Schreiber had a perfect seventh.
• Nate Pearson pitched a perfect eighth with a strikeout. That made 14 outs in a row for the bullpen
• With a 6-run lead, Alex Lange allowed a run on two hits and a strikeout.

As Josh Rojas said in the post-game interview, “This is baseball!” This is a lot more fun than the baseball we’ve watched for most of the season. The Royals have guaranteed a winning road trip now. If they hadn’t completely sunk themselves earlier this season, that would be more than enough. That said, if they can somehow pull off the sweep tomorrow, they’d find themselves 5.5 games back of a playoff spot with 24 left to play. Still really long odds, but a far cry from the 10 games back they were at the start of the month. To say nothing of the 10.5 games back they were before they started this 13-2 stretch in Anaheim of Los Angeles two weeks ago.

Winning tomorrow is going to be very difficult. I know I said last night that Seth Lugo (4.61 ERA, 4.51 SIERA) was pitching today, but I was a game early on that. He’ll pitch tomorrow afternoon. Unfortunately, even tougher than Foster Griffin will be tomorrow’s opponent, All-Star lefty Parker Messick (2.50 ERA, 3.52 SIERA). If they can win tomorrow, they get that much closer to what could be a really fun final weekend of baseball where the Royals might be battling for that final playoff spot with these division rivals at home. Wouldn’t that be something?

In a bit of a surprise move with the regular season winding down, the Mets have placed outfielder Luis Robert Jr. on waivers, SNY MLB Insider Chelsea Janes confirmed.

If Robert were to be claimed by another team, they would pick up the remainder of his contract. But it is not guaranteed that he will be claimed. Saturday is also the last day you can take someone on waivers and have them be postseason eligible.

Robert has a team option worth $20 million for the 2027 season, making it unlikely the Mets were going to pick it up. Robert also has about $3 million remaining on his 2026 salary and a $2 million buyout for the 2027 option, MLB.com's Anthony Dicomo notes.

The 29-year-old has had a rough first season with New York after being acquired in January from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for INF Luisangel Acuña and RHP Truman Pauley. 

Injuries continued to be a problem for him, as he landed on the 60-day IL at the end of April with lumbar spine disc herniation and didn't return until July 20.

Over 56 games, he hit just .229 with a .720 OPS, 10 home runs, and 23 RBI. 

Teams will have 48 hours to claim Robert and take on his salary. He can continue to play while on waivers, and if he goes unclaimed, he will return to the Mets.

On Friday night, the Yankees came away with a win over the Red Sox despite not getting much in the way of offense. That was because they got a stellar start from Cam Schlittler and some big time defense from the likes of Cody Bellinger. In Saturday afternoon’s game, they still didn’t get much offense, but the other aspects also weren’t as sharp leading them to drop the second game of the series.

However, there’s no time for them to lick their wounds. The Yankees will be back in action tonight in the second game of today’s doubleheader.

In this game, Max Fried will get the start in his return from the injured list. Fried was placed on the IL earlier this month with a bone bruise, but he only ended up missing the minimum amount of time before returning tonight. As for the rest of the lineup, lefties Luis García Jr., Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Austin Wells are all starting after coming off the bench this afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox will be using pitcher Alex Gamboa as an opener in this game. The rookie southpaw has a 1.31 ERA in 20.2 innings on the season, including one previous game as an opener. Expect familiar face Brayan Bello to get some work in this one too, as he’s been working as a bulk guy for much of the second half.

We hope you’ll come join us in the game thread, so here’s everything you need to know on how to catch the action.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium – Bronx, NY

First pitch: 7:15 pm ET

TV: FOX

Streaming: FOX One app

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 – NYY | WEEI 93.7, WCCM 1490 AM (SP), WESX 1230 AM (SP) – BOS

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

Saturday Night Baseball. #RepBXpic.twitter.com/sdfYb3ttYM

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 29, 2026

More Sox baseball coming your way! pic.twitter.com/PrthGNcsgD

— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 29, 2026

Mariners 3 Blue Jays 4

That was a terrific celebration for Buck Martinez. Seeing Tony Fernandez’s widow started me tearing up, and it didn’t stop until the first pitch of the game.

Congratulations, Buck. You deserve that.

The Jays got a very nice start from José Soriano. Seven innings, just five hits, two walks and six strikeouts, with three earned runs. He gave up a Cal Raleigh home run in the second. And he had some trouble with two outs in the fourth. Single, walk, walk, single (bringing in two runs). The first single was a very softly hit infield single that Charles McAdoo couldn’t get to quickly enough. Too bad, he could have been out of the inning without anything bad happening.

But still a good outing.

On offence, we waited until the fifth inning to get on the board and then took the lead in the seventh.

• In the fifth: With one out, Myles Straw singles. Brett Bateman walked. After Alejandro Kirk struck out, Vlad took a six-pitch walk. Then George Springer walked on a wild pitch, Straw scored, but Bateman didn’t slow down rounding third and scored. The funny part was that Cal Raleigh got the ball back to pitcher Eduard Bazardo in plenty of time to tag the runner, but Bazardo apparently didn’t know he was coming. You would have thought he would have figured it from the catcher throwing him the ball in such a rush. I’m not sure if Bateman was very smart or very lucky.
• In the sixth: McAdoo led off with a walk. Two outs later, Straw walked. Bateman singled home one. And Kirk singled home our fourth run. We could have had more. Vlad lined one to left field (116.3 mph) but right at the left fielder. Oh, I missed the big news: Kirk stole second in there, beating the throw to second.

We only had five hits on the day, but it was enough. Kade Anderson looked terrific, starting for the Mariners. They have a good pitcher there.

After Soriano’s seven innings, Tyler Rogers started the eighth. He got two strikeouts and then gave up a walk to Julio Rodríguez. John brought in Mason Fluharty to face the lefty Josh Naylor. Naylor managed a single, but Fluharty struck out Raleigh to end the inning.

Louis Varland got his 31st save, going ground out, strikeout and fly out. Very democratic to do one of each. Really nice job.

The first out of the ninth was a very nice play. Ground ball wide of first, Vlad got to the ball, made a nice toss to Varland, who barely beat Cole Young to the bag.

Jays of the Day: Varland (0.16 WPA), Springer (0.21), Bateman (0.17) and Kirk (0.09). Let’s give honourable mention to Straw for 2 hits and a walk. And Rogers, Fluharty and Soriano.

Other Award: Clement (-0.14).

Tomorrow we have game three with the Mariners. It is a 1:30 Eastern start time. Max Scherzer (1-7, 7.02) vs. Logan Gilbert (11-7, 3.36).

A pleasant daydream: Kade Anderson, 0.16 WPA

A rude awakening: José Ferrer, -0.35 WPA

Game Thread Comment of the Day:

We definitely were talking about something else.

Alec Gamboa serves as opener as the Sox and Yankees play the second game of the day. The Sox turned on the gas in the ninth but the Yankees burned through a lot of their bullpen and bench in Game 1. Feels like the Sox still have the juice though.

Let’s go.

How to Watch and Listen

First pitch is at 7:15 PM ET on FOX and WEEI.

Lineups

Saturday Night Baseball. #RepBXpic.twitter.com/sdfYb3ttYM

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 29, 2026

The White Sox have rolled into Target Field and won what might have been described as a “must-sweep” series, the kind of outcome that you have to root for given the mathematical state of things, but that might deliver you a few side-eyes depending on how genuinely you think it’s going to happen. Today, it was a 3-2 Sox victory that saw Andrew Benintendi deliver three key hits, and Bailey Ober watch his bullpen cough up a loss despite another needle-threading outing.

Ober managed five innings, striking out five Sox and allowing just two hits. One was a first-inning single to Benintendi, scoring the opening salvo after Ober walked his first two men. The other was a Benintendi double in the fourth that came around to score on an error by Kaelen Culpepper. Ober notched just 80 pitches this afternoon, but has a 4.37 ERA in a bizarre season.

And while the Twins got to Erick Fedde for similar numbers — 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4K, nearly identical to Ober’s line — the Sox had the edge. A Josh Bell sacrifice fly and a Walker Jenkins RBI groundout were enough to match Chicago for a pair, but Andrew Morris couldn’t keep Benintendi off the bases, and the veteran’s sixth-inning homer split the difference.

Fellow veteran Sean Newcomb went three innings in relief, and Bryan Hudson locked down the save.

The most hilarious outcome for this season is that the Twins, now just 64-72 and only three games ahead of the fifth-place Royals, wind up in last place, where a great many fans anticipated them being after last season’s post-deadline performance demonstrated just how quickly rock bottom can be reached. It would be a deliriously roundabout way to reach that outcome, but it’s exponentially more likely than Minnesota suddenly righting the ship and going on a generational tear.

I’m pretty sure most of Twins Territory has accepted that the jig is up. Now, shades of 2022, 2024, and 2025 are being drummed up again, as a team floating in the realm of contention by the skin of their teeth finally sees the bottom drop out completely.

See you tomorrow!!

STUDS:

SP Bailey Ober (5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K)

DUDS:

3B Brooks Lee (0-for-4, 2 K)

SS Kaelen Culpepper (0-f0r-4, R, K, E)

The Brewers are raiding a three-game winning streak, as well as a four-series winning streak entering tonight’s game. They have the chance to extend both of those tonight in the second game of their series against the Rangers.

Shane Drohan gets the start tonight for the Brewers. Though the plan is to move him to the bullpen to manage his innings, he remains in the rotation for at least one more start. He’s coming off of a five-inning start against the Braves, where he allowed two runs, eight hits, and three walks while striking out five. Drohan has a 3.84 ERA and 3.33 FIP overall this season, but that jumps to a 4.58 ERA and 3.71 FIP as a starter. If the Brewers are limiting his innings, the bullpen should be in good shape to take an extra inning or two tonight.

The Brewers will have a tough challenge ahead of them tonight as they face Cal Quantrill of the Rangers. He is finishing up an incredible August tonight, posting a 0.72 ERA and 2.40 FIP over five appearances (25 innings). He has not allowed more than one run in an appearance since July 22nd, which was a three-inning relief appearance against the White Sox where he allowed two runs. He began the season in the bullpen but has shifted to the rotation since late June. This is Quantrill’s fifth career appearance against the Brewers. He faced the Brewers twice last season, allowing three runs in 8 2/3 innings pitched. Overall this season, he has a 2.90 ERA and 4.02 FIP with 60 strikeouts in 83 2/3 innings.

The Brewers will make a couple changes in the lineup tonight. The top four remains the same, with Brice Turang, Jackson Chourio, Jake Bauers, and William Contreras starting. Garrett Mitchell moves up to fifth with Christian Yelich sliding back to sixth. Luis Lara gets the start over Sal Frelick in right, and Cooper Pratt is back in the lineup at shortstop. David Hamilton rounds it out at third base, with Joey Ortiz on the bench.

Tonight’s game is at 6:15 p.m. on FOX, but is the secondary broadcast. It will be broadcast in Wisconsin and Texas, as well as some surrounding markets. It will also be available on the Brewers Radio Network, as usual.

Catch us on FOX tonight

📺: FOX
📻: WTMJ#ThisIsMyCrewpic.twitter.com/VPUgXai97o

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) August 29, 2026

Game 2 on @MLBONFOX. #AllForTXpic.twitter.com/jaVdfbPjfR

— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) August 29, 2026