Category: Baseball

ESPN: In case you missed the report on Pinstripe Alley, the Yankees had to pull rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr. from the nightcap of their doubleheader against the Red Sox. He appeared to tweak something on a check swing during an at-bat in the second, and though he remained in the game for a couple innings, he was replaced on defense in the fourth. Diagnosed with “right knee discomfort,” he underwent testing; based on initial results, manager Aaron Boone classified Lombard as “day to day.” We’ll have to wait and see if it’s any worse once more is known, but that’s the latest report.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Recovering from 2025 Tommy John surgery, right-hander Clarke Schmidt made his first rehab appearance of the 2026 campaign for the Somerset Patriots. He was joined by fellow Yankee Ryan McMahon, who went down on August 19th with a Grade 2 left thumb sprain.

Schmidt threw 20 pitches, 16 of them for strikes. He pitched 0.2 innings and allowed two hits (one of them being a homer) and two runs, striking out two. The goal is for him to rejoin the Yankees as a reliever in the middle of September, while McMahon should be available sooner than that, likely on September 1st when rosters expand to 28 players. The third baseman will travel with the team out west as they begin their road trip tomorrow in Anaheim.

MLB Trade Rumors | Mark Polishuk: The Yankees signed former top prospect Jarred Kelenic to a minor league contract on Saturday. The 27-year-old outfielder has spent the 2026 campaign with the Chicago White Sox and the Texas Rangers, posting a 76 wRC+ in 83 plate appearances between the two American League squads.

Kelenic was with the Rangers until this week, when he cleared waivers and rejected an assignment to their Triple-A team. After being taken by the Mets with the sixth overall pick in 2018 and being the top prospect traded to Seattle in the Edwin Díaz trade, Kelenic’s career has had more valleys than peaks, and he has been labeled by most as a bust to this point. The Yankees are going to take a look at him as a depth outfielder.

NBC Sports: Manager Aaron Boone announced that Elmer Rodríguez, who beat the Houston Astros on Wednesday, will stay in the rotation for at least one more turn and start on Monday against the Los Angeles Angels. The right-hander, owner of a 4.70 ERA in 23 MLB innings this year with the Bombers, tossed his first quality start against the Yankees’ decade-long nemesis, surrendering three runs in six innings.

MLB Trade Rumors | Connor Byrne: Between Game 1 and Game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheader, the Yankees designated Justin Topa for assignment to activate left-hander Max Fried, the starter for the nightcap, from the injured list. Topa did his job, giving New York three innings with a 0.00 ERA (he did allow an unearned run) in his short stint with the MLB team, but he became a victim of the roster crunch and his short-term future is now uncertain. He’ll likely be placed on waivers, and if he goes unclaimed, the organization will surely be happy to welcome him in Triple-A. It remains to be seen if he accepts, though.

This game, with Mitch Bratt starting the second game of a rare Saturday doubleheader before a Sunday off day, felt like it was gonna be a long shot even against the lowly San Francisco Giants, and so it was. Merrill Kelly pitched a gem in the early game to secure us the series split and to pull us briefly ahead of the San Diego Padres for the third wild card spot, so winning this one would have been gravy anyway, but alas, it was not to be.

The Giants started AA hand Yunior Marte today, and he walked Lars Nootbaar to start things off, but Nootbaar was quickly erased when Corbin Carroll hit a hard liner right to Bryce Eldridge at first base for an unassisted double play. Perdomo then rolled over to second for the third out. Bratt, meanwhile, started his day by walking Jonah Cox on four pitches, earning him an immediate mound visit so he could be reminded of where the strike zone actually was. That proved effective enough, as he got through the rest of the first with only eight more pitches thrown, but unfortunately Jonah Cox turns out to be a very speedy baserunner and he stole second and third before Eldridge singled him home with a grounder to left. 1-0 San Francisco

The middle of our lineup sat down in order against Marte in the second, but Bratt settled down quite well in the bottom half, only needing five pitches to retire the Giants. We broke through against Marte in the third, tying the game thanks to a one-out Ildemaro Vargas single followed one out later by a Lars Nootbaar bloop double into shallow left that left fielder Grant McCray dove for and missed. 1-1 TIE

Bratt pitched around a one-out Jonah Cox single (and subsequent stolen base) in the bottom of the third to put up another zero, and then retired the side in order in the fourth, with a total of 44 pitches thrown through four innings. It actually seemed to be shaping up to be a genuinely good and efficient Mitch Bratt outing, despite that first-inning blemish.

Sadly, however, that ended once the bottom of the fifth rolled around. Bratt gave up a leadoff single to McCray and then walked the next batter before a perfect sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position and earned Bratt the hook, perhaps because he’d completed his second time through the San Francisco order and Torey Lovullo felt like that was quite enough. Geraldo Carrillo came in to relieve him and, uncharacteristically, it went rather badly. He wound up going walk-single-single-walk to the first four batters he faced before finally buckling down and recording the final two outs of the inning, but by then three more runs were in and there was your margin of defeat. 4-1 San Francisco

We were well into the Giants’ bullpen at this point, and managed to get another run across courtesy of singles by Max Kelper, James McCann, and Vargas in the top of the seventh. 4-2 San Francisco

Sadly, however, that was all we were going to get, and meanwhile the bullpen was unable to do its usual job of putting up zeros and keeping things close. Derek Law, called up today from Reno and making his first major league appearance since 2024, threw a very nice scoreless sixth but allowed a run to score in the seventh, and Justin Martinez and Dennis Santana combined to allow two more runs (unearned, but runs nonetheless) to cross the plate to take the score to its final resting place of 7-2 San Francisco

Loss Probability Added, courtesy of FanGraphs

Cioppino: None
Rice-a-Roni: Geraldo Carrillo (2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, -19% WPA), Nolan Arenado (4 AB, 0 H, -12% WPA), Ryan Waldschmidt (3 AB, 0 H, 1 K, -10% WPA)

Perhaps because it was the second game of a doubleheader, or perhaps because this one just didn’t seem to be going well from the get-go, we wound up with a rather sparse 159 comments in the Game Day Thread at time of writing. Most of the comments that went red were embedded in existing and often off-topic side conversations, so I’m going to award Comment of the Game to Diamondhacks for this one that, along with being a hilarous callback to a comment from the afternoon GDT, also feels like it works right now completely unmoored from its proper context:

As you wish!

On that note, you will not have the option to join us tomorrow, as we have a rare (and deeply weird) off day tomorrow. So stop by on Monday when we are back home at Chase Field, hosting the Phillies with firs tpitch scheduled for 6:40pm AZ time. No starting pitchers have been announced yet for either club, so I guess it will just have to be a surprise. Have a good Sunday, everyone….sorry that this was the note we ended the weekend on.

On the bright side, even after tonight’s loss we remain tied with San Diego for the third wild card spot going into tomorrow’s off day, and Corbin Burnes pitched two perfect innings in Reno this afternoon, needing only seventeen pitches to record six outs against the Sacramento River Cats, so at least one of the long-awaited rotation reinforcements is getting closer to his long-overdue return.

As always, thanks for reading, and as always, go Diamondbacks!

Another day, another comeback as the Philadelphia Phillies (76-60) took their second straight victory against the Los Angeles Angels (52-84).

Cristopher Sanchez pitched one of his best starts of the season, allowing two hits and a walk over seven innings with eight strikeouts in a no decision.

The Phillies got on the board first against Angels’ starter, Ryan Johnson, in the second inning with lead-0ff single by Alec Bohm, a walk by Bryson Stott and an RBI-hit by Brandon Marsh.

Sanchez, Johnson and company held serve for seven innings until Jonathan Bowlan allowed a game-tying solo homer by Zach Neto in the bottom of the eighth.

Jhoan Duran preserved the tie and brought the game to extras, where the Phillies pulled ahead with an RBI double by Schwarber and a two-RBI single by Trea Turner.

Duran did allow another run to score on a fielder’s choice by Wade Meckler, but held on to put things away on a pair of fly outs.

The Phillies go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon as Zack Wheeler faces off against Yusei Kikuchi.

As we head into the final month of the season, this year’s past frustrations are just that, past. For all their flaws in construction and execution, the Orioles now have the chance to seize control of their playoff destiny, stack some wins, and grab the third and final Wild Card spot for good. Today, they got two pieces of good news: Cleveland, the team currently holding onto that last spot, just lost, 8-3, to the lowly Royals. The other piece of good news: the Birds just won the series against the Athletics with a hard-fought win in Game Two.

Very little about today’s 5-3 win was easy. It was one of those games where the Orioles scored a few runs early, then had to hang on for dear life while the starter got tired and the bullpen got weird. The O’s posted four runs in the first six innings before Shane Baz, nearly unhittable for five, flagged, walking three batters, giving up two singles, and hitting a guy, all in a dreadful sixth inning. After him, several relievers struggled: Alex Hoppe, Rico Garcia, Cam Sanders, even closer by default by default Andrew Kittredge. But they just held on. And while the offense has been frustratingly touch-and-go all season, Orioles hitters did just enough tonight.

Athletics starter Jack Perkins doesn’t have a ton of experience as a starting pitcher, but he has an interesting arsenal featuring a great changeup and a slider. Perkins started off strong: he pitched a 1-2-3 first inning and faced the minimum in the second, as Christian Encarnacion-Strand walked and Samuel Basallo hit into a double play.

But the Birds opened the scoring in the third, when Perkins walked leadoff man Coby Mayo on four pitches, then fired wildly over to first—he thought Mayo was going to steal?—and the ball got away. Mayo hustled to second, narrowly avoiding being thrown out. A Colton Cowser deep fly moved Mayo to third, setting up Leody Taveras for an RBI situation. Taveras delivered: he cranked a high changeup to center for a ground-rule double. 1-0 Orioles.

After wasting a two-on, no-outs situation in the fourth, the Birds dispensed with the small ball in the fifth, as Cowser took Perkins yard to deep center. 2-0, O’s.

As for Shane Baz, who is leading all pitchers with 14 losses, you wouldn’t know he’s been the O’s’ bad luck charm from how nasty he came out of the gate tonight. His stuff darted all over the place in a nine-pitch first inning. Excellent team defense all night didn’t hurt his chances, either. Still in the first, Baz benefited from CES looked like he was moving at 2x speed in order to ring up Henry Bolte, the fastest guy in MLB by foot speed, on a grounder to third. And in the second, Gunnar Henderson turned in a play that had everyone on the diamond smiling, ranging to his backhand, way behind the basepaths, to field and throw out Tommy White.

In the middle innings, Baz got two timely double plays, the first erasing a Jonah Heim single in the third, the second allowing him to face the minimum in the fourth. He also pitched a three-up, three-down fifth.

The sixth inning ended Baz’s scoreless run and saw both teams put up tons of traffic on the basepaths. First, Jack Perkins exited and José Suárez, an erstwhile starter for the Angels, allowed a three-hit, two-run Baltimore rally with two outs. Dylan Beavers and Coby Mayo (both hot at the plate lately) singled, and Taveras doubled, plating his second and third RBIs of the night. 4-0, Birds.

It felt like a roomy lead, given how unhittable Baz was looking, but the righty ran out of gas quickly, throwing a dreadful sixth inning where he walked three batters, gave up two singles, hit a guy, and loaded the bases with Athletics twice. Considering all that, for Baz to leave with a line of 5 2/3 innings, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB and, most importantly, a potential W, seemed pretty fortunate.

Yet holding onto a 4-2 lead proved trickier than you might expect—although if you’ve watched this team at all this year, you know that bullpen meltdowns are none too rare. Reliever Alex Hoppe came in with two outs in the sixth and the bases full of Athletics, then threw three straight balls before getting another highlight-reel play from CES to keep the score intact. For a guy in there for his bat, Encarnacion-Strand is playing fantastic defense right now at the hot corner.

More bullpen shenanigans followed, but none proved fatal. Rico Garcia loaded the bases in the seventh, and it took Yennier Cano getting two vintage strikeouts to get out of it. Cam Sanders allowed a third Athletics run in the eighth, and the breathing room was shrinking.

Help came late in the form of Colton Cowser, who manufactured a fifth run with what was as close to a Little League homer as you get, other than the real thing. Cowser scorched a ball 104 mph at Athletics second baseman Zack Gelof. The ball squirted by, and right fielder Lawrence Butler made a terrible throw to first. The ball sailed past the infielder, then stopped at the feet of catcher Jonah Heim, who accidentally kicked it into the dugout. As the hijinks unfolded, Cowser was rounding the bases. He stopped on third, but not for long: a wild pitch by pitcher Elvis Alvarado, facing Leody Taveras, allowed Cowser to scamper home.

A 5-3 Orioles lead felt a lot better, entering the ninth, and Andrew Kittredge was just up to the task. The righty allowed two singles, but got a well-timed grounder to third. CES—who else?—was there to fire to first and close this thing out.

If you’re into such things, check out the latest Wild Card standings, in which your Orioles have moved back ahead of the Blue Rays and the Rangers and now sit just one game back of the third spot.

So, Camden Chat, who is your Most Birdland Player of the night? Shane Baz, who broke the losing streak and got his first win since June 12? The notorious CES, who pounded the ball all night, is hitting .357 in his last week, and made three highlight reel plays? Leody Taveras, who quietly drove in three of the team’s five runs and stood at the plate for the wild pitch that plated the fifth? Colton Cowser, still flashing the power and in the mix for most of his team’s scoring, too?

Seattle’s see-saw season has seen more sawing downward under the sea level of .500 than it has seen not doing that, and coming into today’s game they were sitting seven games below that level. The last few weeks, in small amounts, have seen the Mariners tepidly challenge that perception. Coming into the series in Toronto, the ebb and flow was slightly in their favor with a 6-4 record of their last 10 games. With the loss in game one yesterday, that evened it to 5-5. An oddity of their recent play has been some truly atrocious and at times historically terrible blowout losses sometimes paired with wins that have been either comfortable, or at least objectively less anxiety-inducing.

So with the game one loss being truly, terribly, awful, the wider royal we could hopefully find forgiveness for the optimists among us believing in the possibility that today’s game could be one such win in that pairing. And if you want to take a half glass full approach: it still was (almost) true! For the first almost exactly half of this game the Mariners were not only in the lead, they were shutting out their opponent.

For the first four and a half innings the Mariners weren’t doing so much that everything felt perfect, but it was fine, comfortable, and even a little fun. Also definitively far from perfect tonight, Toronto starter José Soriano would go on to have a Quality Start and then some I’m sure Blue Jays fans also found fine, comfortable, and even a little fun, and the first inning matched that tone. Less than ten pitches and out on contact, the top of the Seattle lineup went down in order. Josh Naylor continued that trend to start the second inning, but Cal Raleigh would follow it up with a very Cal In Toronto thing and give Seattle fans a little bit of the aforementioned fun and Soriano some of the aforementioned less than perfect. It was Cal Raleigh’s 19th home run of the season, and put Seattle on the board first.

Soriano escaped the second after that with a ground out and then a called strikeout to Cole Young and then Taylor Ward. The third would see J.P. Crawford, returned from the IL, single to start the inning. Brock Rodden dampened that moment with a fly-out, and then Randy Arozarena washed it away entirely when he hit into an inning-ending double play. The fourth inning is when fun baseball would dare rear its ugly, threatening head at Mariners fandom once again.

Not at first, of course. Canzone laced a 100.3 mph line-out right at 2B Charles McAdoo, and Julio went down swinging on a 2-2 count to quickly make it two outs. Josh Naylor next landed a single, and Soriano had trouble locating the zone for a few batters and walked Raleigh and Young, setting things up for Taylor Ward. A lot of the conversation around Ward since his mid-season acquisition has been about the lack of a return on that trade, from a double-edged threat of inconsistent health and nearly non-existent offensive contributions when healthy. After his first at bat, this pivotal moment provided perfect opportunity to at the very least muffle those shouts to a whisper, if but for a day longer.

Taylor Ward did not disappoint! It was fun, even! A sharp liner to left and two runners scoring later, and the Mariners were ahead 3-0 on the RBI single.

Next up to bat was Crawford, and he grounded into a force-out to end the inning, but the bases loaded opportunity hadn’t been wasted. Seattle’s rookie year pitcher in only his second game and first road game, Kade Anderson, would now be able to go on in the game with a lead comfortable enough to leave room for anything around Quality.

Kade Anderson never reached that quality start in terms of innings, no surprise given his stated pitch limit of roughly 80 pitches, but he was that good in terms of damage allowed. Anderson struck out the first Blue Jay batter of the day, Brett Batemen, on a 2-2 fastball above the zone, and tackled the next two batters with outs on contact from pitches that were honestly far too middle. Kade only gave up a walk in the third, losing a 3-2 battle to Kazuma Okamoto. Well, lost on the edges, and it could have easily gone his way.

Kade faced four batters in the third, giving up his first hit, a single on a very well executed bunt from Myles Straw, and escaping the inning with an Alejandro Kirk swinging strikeout. In the fourth the Blue Jays would once again threaten the rookie pitcher, with a one pitch George Springer double and a full count Okamoto walk, before he would escape with a fly-out and a pop-out to McAdoo and Clement, respectively.

Anderson would start his half of the fifth inning beautifully, striking out Daz Cameron on three pitches, but the inning would go on to end without him. Myles Straw singled on a meatball slider and Brett Bateman walked on a 3-1 count, and Kade’s night was done as Eduard Bazardo came in. Bazardo wasn’t able to hold those inherited batters, and so Kade’s final line was 4.1 IP, two earned runs given up on three hits, with three walks and three strikeouts, and 54 of his 85 pitches for strikes with eight whiffs.

For what it is worth, Kade Anderson seemed to suffer a little rookie squeeze on his strike zone, with a few pitches that Raleigh could have challenged, but there were also times where Anderson did himself no favors either in being too wild or too center.

As far as I’ve told you so far, for about exactly half of the baseball game, all was overall well for the Mariners. Kade Anderson did about as well as you could expect, Raleigh was properly pestering Jays in their own roost. Then, the second arguably more important half of the baseball game happened, and all of those good things mattered none, at least in terms of outcome.

Of course it didn’t immediately fall off of a cliff. After Bazardo came in he handed Kirk his second swinging strikeout of the night, getting him to swing under a 3-2 fastball on the top shelf. Vladdy then got some 3-2 revenge and worked a walk to make it full with the two inherited batters. Then eternally-annoying-to-the-Mariners George Springer worked yet another full count, this one finished off by a wild pitch from Bazardo that walked in one run by force and with some less than stellar plate coverage from Eduardo himself allowed another to score and bringing the Jays within one run.

José A. Ferrer started the sixth for Seattle, and was the one to give up the lead. McAdoo walked to start the inning but Ferrer recovered enough to get Ernie Clement to line out and Daz Cameron to ground out. Myles Straw worked it full and walked, a phrase I long grew tired of typing, Bateman singled in McAdoo, and Alejandro Kirk finally exacted revenge for his earlier flailings by driving in Straw with a single of his own. Carlos Vargas took over for and finished the inning for Ferrer, and comfortably finished the rest of the game the Mariners needed from the ‘pen, putting in 2.1 innings of work and striking out two without allowing a hit or a walk.

Flowers to Vargas for being one of the lone bright spots in the back half of this game, because it certainly wasn’t the hitting. Soriano finished a full seven innings and racked up six of the Mariners’ ten strikeouts. Silver linings and flowers in the cracks of asphalt floors can do little to distract from the dark cloud that settled over the game though, the reasons for why a close loss felt so toothless. Why a close season feels so lost. The top three of the order (Arozarena, Canzone, and Rodríguez) all went hitless with five strikeouts and only one walk among them. The only hitters with multi-hit nights were Naylor and Raleigh.

Maybe today was the game that was needed to correct that back and forth rhythm into a direction that favors the last month trend towards a playoff appearance. Maybe by resetting the luck halfway through the game instead of in between them, that will allow them to salvage tomorrow’s game from falling victim to another loss and so a series sweep. If that is the case, I will gladly take the joys in the first half of signs of life in Raleigh’s bat and continued proof from Anderson that he could probably hang at this level. However I won’t be surprised if it means none of those things, because in a lot of ways today very much felt like being on the see-saw, because the Mariners falling off today felt exactly like falling on one’s ass.

The Athletics faced the Baltimore Orioles hoping to bounce back from last night’s extra-inning defeat. The Orioles prevailed for a second straight day, winning 5-3 in a close, dramatic Saturday night contest.

Orioles Strike First Again

A’s starter Jack Perkins got his outing off to a good start with two scoreless innings to begin the game. Orioles right-hander Shane Baz matched Perkins with two scoreless innings of his own.

In the top of the third inning, Orioles first baseman Coby Mayo drew a leadoff walk and then advanced to second on Perkins’ throwing error on a pickoff attempt. With one out, Leody Taveras hit a ground-rule double to put the Orioles up 1-0. Perkins recovered to strike out the next two batters and limit the damage. For the second straight day, an A’s pitcher’s fielding error led to a run scoring.

Perkins’ command issues continued, as the fourth inning was the third straight in which he walked the leadoff batter. The Orioles failed to capitalize, as Perkins escaped the two-on, no-out jam without allowing the visitors’ lead to increase.

Orioles In Control

Meanwhile, the Athletics injury-depleted offense struggled against Baz, who needed just 63 pitches to breeze through five scoreless innings. He induced double plays in consecutive innings to wipe out potential A’s rallies. Not letting runners steal or putting on the hit and run are among the reasons the A’s rank near the MLB leaders in ground-ball double plays this season. That plus the team’s hack at every pitch offensive approach explains why the team has not scored more runs this season.

The Orioles scored a second run off Perkins in the fifth inning. Center fielder Colton Cowser hit his 13th home run of the season, a solo shot to center. Perkins finished the fifth inning, stranding two runners after allowing Cowser’s home run. He allowed two runs, one earned, on four hits, walking four and striking out five.

A’s Bullpen: A Mess

Left-handed reliever Jose Suarez replaced Perkins in the sixth inning, making his first appearance since returning from the injured list. His performance raised questions about whether the team would have been better off leaving him at Triple-A, or designating him for assignment.

After allowing two singles, Suarez surrendered Taveras’ two-out, two-run double past a diving Tommy White at third base, putting the Orioles up 4-0. A more agile athletic defender may have stopped that hit from getting down the line, further proving White’s limitations at the hot corner.

A’s Comeback Begins

Seeking another comeback, the A’s loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the sixth against Baz. Right fielder Lawrence Butler drew a bases-loaded walk, bringing home Jonah Heim to put the hosts on the scoreboard.

With two outs, Baz hit Donovan Walton with a pitch, bringing home a run and cutting the Orioles’ lead to 4-2. That was the last straw for Baz, as right-hander Alex Hoppe replaced him out of Baltimore’s bullpen. Hoppe retired Max Muncy to end the inning and keep his team in front.

A’s Awful With RISP

Right-hander Luis Medina maintained his team’s momentum by pitching a scoreless seventh inning. The A’s newest waiver-wire claim, right-handed reliever Chris Roycroft, threw a scoreless eighth inning in his first appearance with the Green and Gold.

In the bottom of the seventh, Heim singled, and then Henry Bolte doubled to give the A’s a prime scoring opportunity against Orioles reliever Rico Garcia. With one out and the bases loaded, Baltimore brought in right-hander Yennier Cano, who escaped the jam by striking out Zack Gelof and Butler on nasty splitters.

The Athletics had another scoring chance in the bottom of the eighth after Orioles right-hander Cam Sanders walked two straight hitters. This time, the hosts took advantage as left fielder Carlos Cortes lined an RBI single to cut the A’s deficit to one.

Case in Point Why A’s Are In Last Place

Heim, who has delivered several clutch late-inning hits for the A’s this season, failed to come through. For the third time tonight, the hosts could not bring a runner home from third with fewer than two outs. Heim swung at a pitch well outside the strike zone, grounding into his second double play of the game.

The A’s frustration from wasting all those scoring opportunities carried over to the top of the ninth inning. Three errors on one play put the Orioles leadoff runner on third. Cowser quickly scored Baltimore’s fifth run of the night on a wild pitch by pitcher Elvis Alvarado.

The A’s rallied in the bottom of the ninth against Orioles reliever Andrew Kittredge. However, it was nothing more than a tease, With the game-tying run on second base, White grounded out to third base to end the game.

Somehow, the Orioles managed to hang on in this game that fully demonstrated why the A’s have not taken the step toward relevance under Manager Mark Kotsay. The Green and Gold made three errors on defense, while wasting several run-scoring opportunities. The Athletics recorded 10 hits, but finished the game2-for-8 with runners in scoring position, leaving 11 on base.

Tomorrow, the A’s will look to avoid being swept at home. Old friend Chris Bassit will start for the Orioles, while A’s left-hander Jeffrey Springs is expected to pitch, whether it is from the jump or after an opener.

Martin Perez has given this Braves team 121.0 important innings of reasonably well pitched and fortunate innings this season. It was far from a lock that he would make the roster and he was even DFA’d, but those innings have been very important to Atlanta’s current position. He hasn’t pitched like a 3.05 ERA pitcher, running a 4.18 FIP and a 4.25 xFIP, but those innings are banked at a 3.05 ERA rate if runs allowed. It’s valuable to appreciate the value of those innings to this team, highlighted by 5.2 innings of one run ball on six strikeouts Saturday.

Braves News

The Braves skated by on a lackluster offensive performance to beat the Rockies 2-1, thanks to fantastic pitching.

MLB News

The Mets placed Luis Robert Jr. on waivers, continuing the trend of quality players being placed on waivers by out-of-contention teams in hope of salary relief and adding an intriguing option to waivers.

Shohei Ohtani’s next scheduled start as a pitcher has been delayed due to knee discomfort.

The Mets activated superstar Juan Soto off the 10-day IL.

While the cost of attending a Major League Baseball game has skyrocketed through the years, a reasonably-priced day at the ballpark isn't impossible.

Most teams sell ticket packages that include food and drink, a great way to save money for a family that just wants the basic concessions. Certainly it's more difficult for teams with tickets in higher demand, but taking advantage of deals or even bringing your own food to the stadium is a great way for fans to save money.

According to Bookies.com's fan cost study – which includes four tickets, a parking pass, two beers, two sodas and four hot dogs – the Miami Marlins' LoanDepot Park is the most affordable, with an all-in price tag of less than $160. On the other end, the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers are the most expensive at more than $400.

Here's a look at the full list:

All over The Bronx on Saturday night was relief.

From a Yankees lineup that awoke, first with a three-run third inning and later a five-run eighth. From a Yankees, well, relief corps that did not bend. From presumably George Lombard Jr., who exited early with knee discomfort but initial examinations were encouraging. From a Yankees club that escaped a very long day of baseball still stiff-arming the charging Red Sox.

After the lineup could do nothing right against lefty Jake Bennett in the doubleheader-opening 6-0 loss, the Yankees cracked the Boston staff, pounded single after single — 13 in total — to pull away late and rode tired arm after tired arm to a mostly closer-than-it-appeared 9-2 victory in the nightcap.

A total of 91,580 fans watched 18 innings that took 5 hours and 59 minutes to complete, a lot of action for a day that did not alter the race for the top wild card.

The Yankees (77-59) maintain a three-game edge on the Red Sox (74-62), and the tiebreaker — should the teams finish with the same record — will be decided Sunday.

The teams are 6-6 against each other before the series finale. The Rays (81-54) moved 4 ½ games clear of the Yankees.

“It’s going to be big tomorrow to win the series,” acknowledged José Caballero, who added a pair of singles in the nightcap. “We’re looking forward to that.”

There were all sorts of hitting, fielding and decision-making concerns after a Saturday opener in which manager Aaron Boone acknowledged, “We played poorly.”

They played most poorly with their bats, held down by a second Red Sox lefty (Bennett, who threw six scoreless innings) in a series Boston stacked as many southpaws as possible to exploit a Yankees weakness.

The first two games of the series included just seven Yankees hits — Paul Goldschmidt’s Friday home run the only run-scorer — and 20 strikeouts. Of those seven, all were scattered: They had not logged multiple hits in any frame.

That changed beginning in the nightcap’s third inning.

Against righty Brayan Bello, who followed lefty opener Alec Gamboa (1 ¹/₃ scoreless innings), they exploded for the only three runs they would need.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

There were good at-bats, like Caballero’s leadoff single. There was good baserunning, like Caballero’s ensuing steal of second.

There was good situational hitting, like Luis García Jr. just making contact with the bases loaded for an RBI fielder’s choice and Jazz Chisholm Jr. following with a sacrifice fly.

And in the never-ending eighth, there was an onslaught of singles against lefty Raymond Burgos — seven in total, on a night all 13 Yankees hits were singles — in an inning when it was the Red Sox’s turn to play poorly, from a Cody Bellinger bloop into shallow right field that somehow fell to Spencer Jones hitting a ground ball to first and watching Burgos not hustle over to cover the base.

“It’s good to see those at-bats because those are what have plagued us at times offensively, those tack-on runs,” Boone said after the Yankees, who barely had any chances in the opener, went 6-for-13 with runners in scoring position in the second game.

Not that the bullpen needed the cushion.

In what is maybe the biggest series of the season thus far and in a head-to-head battle with the Red Sox that features eight total All-Stars, arguably the most important Yankees on Saturday night were Yerry De los Santos, Michael Fulmer, Paul Blackburn, Tim Hill, Brent Headrick and Brendan Beck, who combined for 5 ¹/₃ innings in which they let up just one run.

After a building-up Carlos Rodón lasted just 4 ²/₃ innings in the opener, Max Fried made it 3 ²/₃ innings fresh off the injured list in the second game, leaving a buffet of innings for the bullpen to eat.

“Got us into the fourth there,” Boone said of Fried, “and then the bullpen was able to make it happen the rest of the way.”

The biggest standouts from the unit were De los Santos — who became the first Yankee since Chad Green in 2021 to pitch in both ends of a doubleheader, finishing with 1 ¹/₃ scoreless innings — and Blackburn, who entered a two-on, no-one-out jam in the sixth and struck out Caleb Durbin and Andruw Monasterio before inducing a flyout from Nick Sogard.

“That’s been him,” Boone said simply of Blackburn. “That’s, in a lot of ways, the game in the balance right there. … He comes in and cuts them up, 1-2-3.”

Box Score

The Brewers kept on rolling tonight. Despite facing a pitcher having a strong month, the Brewers put up an early 3-0 lead, built on it and then held on late. The end result was 5-3 win, their fourth straight win. It also secured their fifth straight series win.

Cal Quantrill of the Rangers entered this start with just two runs allowed in August and one run in his last 19 innings. It took just four batters for the Brewers to match that monthly total. The second batter, Jackson Chourio, hit a solo home run out to right-center field, putting the Brewers up 1-0. It was his 20th home run of the season, coming on his cereal bowl night.

Two batters later, it was William Contreras’ turn. His home run went out to left-center, a 409 ft blast into the bleachers that put the Brewers up 2-0.

The offense would tack on another run in the second inning. Christian Yelich led off the inning with a double to center, then stole third. The next batter, Luis Lara, hit a single to center that scored Yelich, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. That gave the Brewers a 3-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Shane Drohan pitched what he needed. He started out well enough, striking out the first two batters he faced. He then hit Wyatt Langford with a pitch and allowed a single to Brandon Nimmo, but struck out Ezequiet Duran to end the early threat.

Two innings later, the Rangers mounted another threat. Cody Freeman was hit by a pitch to start the inning, then Corey Seager singled two batters later to put runners at first and second. With two out, Nimmo came up and hit a ground ball to Brice Turang. It was a little too slow to get the out at first, but Turang saw Freeman attempt to score. He threw to Contreras at home instead, and Freeman was an easy out to end the inning.

The Rangers did get one run off of Drohan, a solo home run by Freeman to lead off the fifth. Drohan was nearing his limit after allowing a single to Justin Foscue, but a double play erased him from the bases. Langford drew a walk to give the Rangers another baserunner, but Nimmo flew out to center to end the inning.

Droahn finished the day with five innings pitched on 99 pitches. Most of those came a long third inning, where he needed over 30 pitches to get through the inning. He allowed six hits, a walk, and hit two batters, but only allowed the one run. He also struck out six in the start.

As for Quantrill. he settled in well after Lara’s single. He did not allow another baserunner in his start, recording fourteen straight outs to finish his day. He finished the day at six innings pitched, allowing three runs on four hits with eight strikeouts.

The Brewers couldn’t score again until Peyton Gray entered from the bullpen. They started the inning with four straight batters reaching base. Contreras led off with a single, then an error by Duran allowed Mitchell to reach. Yelich added a single to load the bases and bring up Lara. He singled sharply to left, scoring Contreras but not deep enough to score Mitchell.

Mitchell didn’t have to wait long to score, as Pratt sent a fly ball into mid-left field for the first out. It wasn’t too deep, but it was enough to get Mitchell home and increase the lead to 5-1. They couldn’t tack on another run from there, but now had a four-run lead.

However, the Rangers weren’t done yet. Chad Patrick entered in relief and started with two clean innings, retiring six batters in order. Seager would break that streak by drawing a walk. Two batters later, Nimmo hit a cutter that was right down the middle into the Rangers’ bullpen, closing the gap to 5-3.

Antonio Senzatela was brought into the game after that, and the Rangers got the tying run to the plate after Duran singled. Senzatela locked it down from there, getting two groundouts to end the inning.

The Brewers had a chance to add on in the eighth against Jakob Junis, after Jake Bauers and Contreras drew back-to-back one out walks. They advanced on a Mitchell groundout, but the Rangers chose to intentionally walk Yelich and face Lara. That worked as Junis struck out Lara to end the inning.

Trevor Megill came in for the save in the ninth. He needed just seven pitches to finish the game, getting two flyouts and a groundout to secure his 25th save and the Brewers fourth straight win.

Three batters — Contreras, Yelich, and Lara — had two-hit days. Lara also led the offense by driving in two of the Brewers’ five runs. Chourio, Contreras, and Pratt added an RBI each as well.

The Brewers have a chance to sweep the Rangers and extend their winning streak to five games before a critical stretch against the NL Central. Dustin May is back after his one-pitch start that ended when he took a hard-hit ball off the back of his right shoulder. He will face Kumar Rocker of the Rangers. First pitch is at 1:10 p.m.

In 2022, Major League Baseball adopted the universal designated hitter for both the American and National Leagues. This eliminated the need for pitchers to hit, and changed the strategy of lineup construction and late-inning substitutions.

Throughout this 2026 season, there have been numerous occasions where the Rockies had a player who was hot at the plate but a liability on defense. This made me think: What if Major League Baseball adopted a Designated Fielder?

The premise would be that a player would only play the field, and would not bat. Perhaps he could be paired with the designated hitter, but that would mean you would need to fill his spot in the lineup. That could bring back pitchers hitting, or maybe it would mean a second DH.

Would this be something MLB could adopt? How would the logistics work? Who would be a good candidate for a Rockies’ designated fielder?

Let us know in the comments!

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

San Diego Padres pitcher Yu Darvish is considering retirement, according to Padres general manager Craig Stammen. 

Darvish is working his way back from ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) surgery he had in late 2025. He had Tommy John surgery in 2015.

Darvish last pitched in October 2025 during a wild-card playoff game against the Chicago Cubs. He has missed the entire 2026 season.

"He's been doing the normal Tommy John rehab — some of it at Petco, some of it not at Petco," Stammen said when talking on 97.3 The Fan earlier this week. "We see him here and there. He's on his own timeline. He still doesn't know if he really wants to come back, wants to retire, what his next role is within the organization. We're kind of letting him have his space and do his thing, and right now he's throwing bullpens.”

The Cubs have released shortstop Ed Howard.

Iowa Cubs infielder Hayden Cantrelle has been placed on the Development List.

Iowa right-hander Tyler Santana was activated off the Development List.

Iowa right-hander Andrew Wantz was placed on the temporarily inactive list.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs calmed the Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals), 7-6.

Braxton Garrett started this game and had some trouble with the long ball, as he gave up three solo home runs. The final line on Garrett was five runs on five hits over five innings. He struck out four and walked one.

Jayden Murray got the win in relief. Murray pitched 1.2 innings and did not allow a hit or a run. He did walk three including two in the ninth inning, which meant that Eduarnial Nuñez had to come in to get the final out in the ninth. He got a fly out to right field to retire the only batteer he faced and get the save.

For the second game in a row, left fielder BJ Murray led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run. It was Murray’s 16th home run on the year. Murray went 1 for 4.

Shortstop Jackson Cluff hit his first Cubs home run with the bases empty in the fifth inning. It was his seventh overall home run. Cluff was also 1 for 4.

Later in the fifth inning, first baseman Owen Ayers hit a two-run home run. It was Ayers’ third Iowa home run and his 25th overall. Ayers went 1 for 4.

Second baseman Ben Cowles gave the I-Cubs a 7-6 lead in the eighth inning with an RBI double. Cowles went 1 for 3 with a sac fly, giving him two RBI.

Third baseman Owen Miller was 3 for 4 and scored twice.

DH James Triantos went 2 for 4.

Murray gets off Iowa off to a good start.

Cluff;s home run.

Owen Ayers goes deep again.

Cowles’ RBI double turned out to be the difference.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies were given food poisoning by the Biloxi Shuckers (Brewers), 4-3.

Brooks Caple started and allowed just one run on three hits over five innings. He struck out six and walked two.

Tyler Schlaffer then threw three scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked no one and struck out two,

Vince Reilly got called upon to get the save in the ninth, holding on to a 3-1 lead. Unfortunately, Reilly walked the first two batters he faced and then gave up two singles to get Biloxi to within a run.. The next batter hit a ground ball to first and two runs scored when Knoxville failed to complete a 3-2 double play on a bad throw by first baseman Miguel Useche.

The final line on Reilly was three runs, one earned, on two hits and two walks over a third of an inning.

Useche did provide most of Knoxville’s offense, doubling twice in a 2 for 5 game. Useche had two RBI and one run scored.

Right fielder Alex Ramírez was 2 for 3 with two walks and two steals. He scored twice.

Third baseman Edgar Alvarez was 2 for 4 with an RBI.

RBI double for Useche.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs skinned the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Brewers), 7-6.

Starter Pierce Coppola allowed one run on three hits over 3.2 innings. The one run came on a home run in the fouth inning. Coppola struck out two and walked one.

Noah Edders relieved Coppola, pitched the next 3.2 innings and got the win. Edders was charged with four runs on five hits and one walk. He struck out three.

The Rattlers got back in the game with a three-run eighth inning and Jackson Kirkpatrick was summoned from the pen with the bases loaded and just one out. Kirkpatrick walked the first batter he faced, forcing in a run to make it 7-6, but then got a strikeout and a pop up to end the threat. Kirkpatrick then pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to get the save. The final line on Kirkpatrick was no runs on no hits over 1.2 innings. He walked one and struck out two.

The Cubs jumped out to an early lead when shortstop Angel Cepeda hit a three-run home run in the top of the first inning. It was Cepeda’s ninth home run for South Bend and tenth overall. Cepeda went 1 for 4.

Left fielder Jose Escobar went 2 for 5. He scored on Cepeda’s home run and had an RBI single in the seventh inning.

First baseman Josiah Hartshorn was 1 for 2 with three walks. He also scored on the Cepeda home run.

Everyone in the South Bend lineup had at least one hit.

Cepeda’s home run.

An RBI double for catcher Justin Stransky, who went 1 for 4.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans bleached the Augusta GreenJackets (Braves), 6-5.

Starter Riely Hunsaker went five innings and allowed three runs on four hits. All three runs scored on two home runs: a two-run home run in the first and a solo shot in the third. Hunsaker struck out six and walked no one.

Sixteenth-round pick Ashton Pocol threw the next 1.1 innings and claimed his first professional win. Pocol surrendered one unearned run on two hits. He walked two and struck out two.

Jordan Henriquez went the rest of the way and got the save. Henriquez allowed one unearned run on two hits over 2.2 innings. He did not have a strikeout nor did he walk anyone.

Myrtle Beach won this game with a four-run seventh inning. Shortstop Alexis Hernandez had a two-run double in the seventh. Hernandez was 1 for 3 with a walk. He scored twice.

Second baseman Juan Cabada drove in the other two runs in the seventh with a single. Cabada went 2 for 5 and added an important insurance run with an RBI single in the ninth, giving him three on the game.

Center fielder Darlyn De Leon went 2 for 5 and scored one run.

Hernandez’s two-run double.

Cabada’s two-run single.

Recap

Opener Alec Gamboa departed in the second inning, yielding to Brayan Bello with a runner on first. The Sox used the same template as the earlier contest today: score early with a solo homer. This time it was Nick Sogard in the top of the third, notching his third hit in his last four at-bats.

Unfortunately, Bello let things get away from him in the third. Three hits, a walk, a hit batsman, a sac fly, stolen base and an error later, the Yankees had plated three (all earned). Bello followed with a nine-pitch fourth inning and a similarly 1-2-3 fifth, making it look easy again, and giving the offense time to chip away at the deficit.

In the sixth, the Sox tried to do just that, starting off with a walk and a HBP and no outs. They forced another pitching change too but then quickly ended the inning, with a sequence that included two K’s in a row. So much for that rally.

The sixth was also rocky for Bello, with two Yankee singles and a double steal. After a sac fly that scored a run, Chad Tracy had seen enough. Raymond Burgos, freshly back in the bigs, got the Sox out of the inning.

Meanwhile, things were real quiet at the dish between Sogard’s third-inning homer and Abreu’s eighth-inning double. That double seemed to light a fire under them, as Willson Contreras followed it with a triple…but he was stranded there.

In the bottom of the eighth, there was an embarrassing defensive moment when a pop fly dropped between Sogard and Abreu. Then another when Burgos didn’t cover first base, allowing the bases to fill because Contreras, who’d fielded the ground ball, had nowhere to throw. Several runs scored on single after single after single [blah blah let’s not dwell on it too much], then the bases loaded for the second time in the inning. The Yankees batted around, sending Bellinger to the plate twice in the eighth. They scored five times in the inning, all on singles, all on Burgos.

On the night, every spot in the batting order scored a run.

Not our night at all. The Yankees evened up the season series again with the split of the doubleheader.

Studs

None tonight. There were flashes from players like Bello, Sogard, and Burgos—and in fact, each of them occupied a place on this list…until they didn’t.

Duds

Brayan Bello

While he alternated chaos with masterful 1-2-3 innings, the Dr. Jekyll in him won out today. He was lifted after 4.1 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1K.

Raymond Burgos

Grateful to him for serving as a sacrificial lamb and saving the rest of the bullpen, but his 5 ER were worse than Bello’s four. Sigh. 2.1 IP, 7H, 5 ER, 2K.

Offense

They spent themselves in the ninth inning of Game 1 and apparently lost the momentum. The Yankees demonstrated how chipping away with singles can accomplish a lot, but the Sox were sleeping in class.

Play of the Game

Gosh, I don’t know if there really was a POTG tonight. Certainly there wasn’t much to choose from for the Sox tonight, so let’s give it to Nick Sogard’s homer to get them on the board.

In the opening game of today’s doubleheader, the Yankees just didn’t show up. They were shut out, while the pitching and defense had some shaky moments, leading to a less-than-stellar loss. However with another game to play, they had a chance to quickly bounce back, and — credit to them — the Yankees did that.

In his first start back off the injured list, Max Fried went just over 60 pitches, which ended up being 3.2 innings. He gave up one run on three hits and a walk, while striking out four. It was a perfectly good outing for someone going for the first time in a couple weeks.

However, the story in this one was more about the Yankees’ offense actually putting in a good shift. In total, they ended up recording 13 hits, all of which were just singles. The difference was that they managed to actually string them together, allowing them to score nine runs for the game (five in the eighth to break it open). Nine runs ended up being plenty, as they rebounded to split the doubleheader and pick up a 9-2 win over the Red Sox.

Despite the win, early on, it seemed like this game might follow a similar path to the first one. Immediately after the Yankees failed to cash in with runners in scoring position in the second, the Red Sox scored. Nick Sogard did the honors, leading off the third with an opposite-field homer off Fried.

However, the Yankees then immediately struck back, scoring more runs in the bottom of the third than they had in their last couple games. José Caballero led off the inning with a single, and Trent Grisham followed with a walk. Ben Rice then popped in a single to get the Yankees on the board.

After Heliot Ramos was hit by a pitch, a couple productive outs gave the Yankees the lead. A Luis García Jr. grounder left the Red Sox only with a force out at second, bringing home one run. Jazz Chisholm Jr. added a sacrifice fly in the following at-bat, plating another run.

George Lombard Jr. flew out in the next at-bat to end the inning, but also ended his own day. Lombard did not come back out for the following inning, with Caballero shifting over to shortstop and Amed Rosario coming into the game. The reason was revealed to be “right knee discomfort,” seemingly from a check swing in his first at-bat. He’s set to undergo testing; the initial prognosis is that it’s a day-to-day injury.

After walking the leadoff hitter in the fourth, Fried got the next two outs. With Fried sitting at 63 pitches in his first start back off the injured list, Aaron Boone then came out to get him and go to the bullpen. Yerry De los Santos came in and got a strikeout to end the frame.

The offense picked up another run in the sixth. García and Rosario both recorded singles and then later combined for a double steal to get to second and third respectively. That steal put García in position to score on a Spencer Jones sacrifice fly, which came on the 10th pitch of an impressive at-bat from the youngster.

Having relieved Fried mid-inning, De los Santos got another couple outs before handing things over to Michael Fulmer. He got one out, but worked himself into some trouble, which Paul Blackburn did well to escape. Tim Hill put in a scoreless frame as well.

Brent Headrick was brought in for the eighth, but he ran into some trouble. After getting the first out, Headrick allowed a double to Wilyer Abreu and then an RBI triple to Willson Contreras that got deep into the right field corner. He got the next two outs though, stranding Contreras, and keeping the damage to just one run.

The Yankees got that run back and several more as insurance in the bottom of the eighth, though. They got some help as a high, catchable Cody Bellinger popup fell in between a couple Red Sox in shallow right field. A García then gave the Yankees runners at the corners, and a Rosario single brought home a run. Following another defensive miscue — this one on Contreras at first — loaded the bases, an Austin Wells jam shot then also managed to bloop in for a hit. That score another two runs. Another couple hits led to Ben Rice singling to plate two more runs as the Bombers batted around for the inning.

That inning also allowed the Yankees to turn to call-up Brendan Beck for the ninth. He threw an easy 1-2-3 frame to seal the victory.

The Yankees will wrap up their series with Boston and the homestand tomorrow at 1:35 PM ET. Will Warren and Ranger Suarez are expected to get the start in that one. This game will have an extra layer of meaning baked in, as it will decide who wins the season series. That will be the tiebreaker should the two teams end up all even at the end of the regular season.

Box Score