Category: Baseball

Hopefully once the book is complete on the 2026 regular season for the Atlanta Braves, this will have been the last time we have to talk about the Braves suffering a sweep. They were able to avert the disaster against the Diamondbacks but as it turned out, they needed to be prepared to walk into a snakepit in Minnesota instead of against the actual snakes.

We knew this would be a tough week for the Braves in terms of travel but the opening series of this road trip at least seemed like it would be an opportunity for Atlanta to have a somewhat productive start to the trip on paper. Instead, things ended up going sideways in the Twin Cities and the Braves were forced to go into salvage mode once it was time to go to Chicago. So how did these four tough games go? Let’s get into it.

---

Monday, August 17

Twins 4, Braves 2

It’s pretty difficult to win any given game when you’re down 4-0 by the time the middle of the lineup has to hit and it’s especially difficult to do so when the offense has been struggling a bit. That was the task that was laid in front of the Braves on Monday night after Martín Pérez’s scoreless inning streak was blown up in the very first inning of this particular start.

The first six batters for the Twins all reached base safely with hits and the sixth hit in particular was a Kody Clemens single that made it 4-0. From that point forward in the first, Pérez sat down bottom third of Minnesota’s lineup in order but the damage had surely been done by then.

Atlanta had some very quick innings until the fifth inning, which is when Austin Riley led off the frame with a single, Drake Baldwin joined him on the basepaths with a one-out double and then Ronald Acuña Jr. brought them both home with a looper to left that ran Bailey Ober from the game. Any hope of further damage being done to Minnesota’s bullpen was snuffed out immediately, as Atlanta only picked up one more hit after Acuña’s double and the two-run deficit turned into a two-run loss.

Tuesday, August 18

Twins 4, Braves 1

Atlanta once again had to deal with a first-inning deficit. This time it was “only” two runs after Josh Bell feasted upon a hanger from Tyler Mahle for a two-run blast. That ended up being all that Zebby Matthews needed while he spent nearly six innings on the mound, as the Braves were unable to really string anything together against ol’ Zebulon. Drake Baldwin seemingly provided a spark with a solo homer off of Matthews in the sixth inning. Baldwin’s solo shot made it 2-1 and with Tyler Mahle bouncing back from the rough first inning, Atlanta was right in the thick of it — the offense just had to keep hitting.

The offense did not keep hitting. Once again, Minnesota’s bullpen proved to be too tough for the Braves to deal with as Atlanta only had one baserunner after Baldwin’s dinger. As such, Ryan Jeffers’ two-RBI double in the eighth inning was essentially the dagger for the Braves in this one as that three-run lead for Minnesota may as well have been thirty with the way Atlanta was performing at the plate.

Wednesday, August 19

Twins 6, Braves 4

Well, the good news is that the Braves didn’t fall into a first-inning hole in this game. The even better news is that they actually showed some serious life at the plate in this game, what with Ronald Acuña Jr. hitting a game-tying RBI single in the fifth inning and then the Braves responding to a three-run fifth inning from the Twins with three runs of their own in the top of the sixth. A Lane Thomas RBI single, a sacrifice fly from Ozzie Albies and a balk (that was largely induced by Mauricio Dubón’s movements on the basepaths) helped the Braves keep pace with a Minnesota squad that could seemingly pick up any crucial hits that they needed — no matter the quality of the contact of the batted balls.

The seventh inning ended up being the turning point as once again, Minnesota delivered some timely hitting. Josh Bell smacked a double in the seventh off of Victor Mederos and Dylan Lee was called upon to help clean up the mess. He did no such thing, as Kody Clemens knocked one into right for a go-ahead single and then Brooks Lee added some insurance (following an intentional walk of pinch-hitter Ryan Jeffers, who hilariously went right back to the bench for a pinch-runner) with an RBI single of his own to make it 6-4.

Once again, the deficit was too much for Atlanta to deal with and for the third straight game, Yoendrys Gómez finished things off in the ninth and doomed the Braves to just their second series sweep loss of the season.

Thursday, August 20

Braves 2, White Sox 0

Following a series loss to the Diamondbacks and getting swept by the Twins, Atlanta found themselves limping into Chicago for this makeup game. Fortunately, the Braves were able to get some much-needed relief in this middle-portion of a unique road trip thanks to Grant Holmes coming up absolutely huge. Now granted, the pitching for Atlanta wasn’t the problem during the series in Minnesota but when you consider how Holmes fared during the series at home against Arizona, this was truly a sight for sore eyes.

Holmes ended up pitching an extremely strong six innings where he carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, along with three strikeouts. I’d imagine that if Holmes didn’t have a no-no going, Weiss lkely would’ve pulled him earlier than he did.

Instead, Holmes left a two-runners, nobody out situation for Didier Fuentes to clean up. Fuentes came up huge in his own right by striking out the next three White Sox batters he faced in order to leave both runners stranded and preserve a great line for Holmes as well. It may have been a missed opportunity for Chicago but it was the type of moment that this Braves team desperately needed with the way things have been going recently.

Anyways, the big hero at the plate for Atlanta in this one was Austin Riley. Atlanta only scored two runs but both of the RBI came off of the bat of Riley, who plated Mauricio Dubón with a double in the third and then added some insurance in the seventh with an RBI single that brought home Michael Harris II. Following Holmes’ exit and Fuentes’ amazing relief appearance, Dylan Lee shut Chicago down in the eighth and then Raisel Iglesias pitched a smooth 1-2-3 inning in the ninth in order to preserve a one-hit shutout for the Braves. Wow.

---

I’m going to be honest with y’all: Before these four games kicked off, I figured that the Braves would be totally capable of taking the series against Minnesota and probably end up dropping the game against Chicago. That goes to show you that in the words of a former Atlanta Braves commentator, you just can’t predict baseball. The power went out for the Braves in Minnesota (for the most part) as the Twins ended up bouncing back from a sweep at the hands of the Phillies in order to sweep the Braves, themselves. Then Atlanta turns around and produces a one-hit shutout against one of the top offenses in the American League. That’s baseball for you.

It’s also tough to predict baseball on a long-term scale — or even a week-to-week scale. At this time last week, it felt like the Braves were beginning to once again run away with the NL East after a series win over the Mets put Atlanta up 9.5 games on the Phillies in the standings. From that point forward, the Braves lost five of seven while the Phillies (of course) began a six-game winning streak on August 13 (starting with the Twins because, again, of course) and now the deficit is back down to five games. That’s still a decent-sized buffer for the Braves to play with but it’s also a reminder that this race could still have some more twists and turns left in it if the Braves aren’t careful.

The trip only gets tougher for the Braves now, as they’ll be heading up to Milwaukee where they’ll have their work cut out for them. It starts on Friday with Chris Sale being matched up with Jacob Misiorowski in a marquee pitching matchup and it’ll end on Sunday in Williamsport, Pennsylvania with the Little League Classic. Then there’s only one off day of rest for the weary before the Dodgers come to town. Needless to say, business is about to really pick up over the next few days for the Braves and hopefully, the results will look more like what we saw in Chicago than in Minneapolis!

The Mariners lost 7-4 to the Brewers on Thursday following another bad outing from a starting pitcher.

George Kirby got shellacked in the first inning. The Brewers sent 10 batters to the plate and scored six runs. Single, walk, double, single, single, double, double, and the game was essentially over. Kirby didn’t get much better from there, though more of the Brewers hard contact found gloves in the second and third innings. After a one-out single in the fourth, Kirby’s day was done with the game 6-0. His 99.3 mph average exit velocity allowed was tied for the fifth highest by a starting pitcher in 2026. This isn’t what you want: 

I’ve struggled to understand Kirby’s season for months now. He hasn’t been very good. The walks that showed up last year are still there, but the extra strikeouts have disappeared. He was getting tons of grounders in the first few outings of 2026 — a nice comprise for the drop in whiffs — but those are gone now, too. I don’t see anything different in his pitch mix. The “stuff” models still think he’s got the same out of zip. Just now he’s struggling to put away batters with two strikes. He can’t throw the ball over the plate without it getting crushed. And he can’t throw the ball out of the zone because batters aren’t fooled enough to chase. He’s just kind of… bad.

Kirby’s slump is part of an unfortunate trend for many Mariners pitchers right now. The lineup’s mediocrity and The Dan Wilson Conspiracy continue to steal the headlines for this disappointing season, but the team’s relative collapse over the last two months mostly lands on the pitching. They are dead last in the majors in fWAR since the All-Star break. They’re on pace to finish below average for the second year in a row. It’s fair to wonder if pitching is still a strength of this org. It might even be a weakness.

The pitchers who followed Kirby kept them in the game, preventing another 22-0 massacre like Tuesday night. José Ferrer did well to finish out the fourth and get out of the jam. Then Michael Rucker followed and was fantastic, dare I say “again.” He threw 2 2/3 innings, struck out four, and allowed no hits. He generated whiffs on six of 15 swings, and chase on seven of 17 pitches out of the zone.

I love this final at bat against Garrett Mitchell. Rucker starts him off with a cutter for a called strike, which was a lucky call. But after wasting a curve, he pumps 97 mph on the top rail and Mitchell comes up empty. Then he drops the curve again, this time below the zone, for a swinging strikeout. Filth.

These plots from FanGraphs help illustrate how much separation exists between those two pitches. Not only is there a big difference in movement, the fastball and curveball sit almost 15-mph apart. Batters can’t sit and adjust — they simply have to guess. They guessed wrong on Thursday.

Rucker has been maligned this year as an unwitting pawn in the great battle to be as mad as possible at Dan Wilson. It’s not really fair, because Rucker has been solid — his FIP- is down to 81, second best on the active roster after Muñoz (72) and well ahead of Eduard Bazardo in third (96). Given the Mariners bullpen has been one of the five worst in the majors since Rucker joined the team on June 12, there’s never really been an occasion where Wilson wasn’t justified in bringing him in. It’s the latest example of why I refuse to buy into The Dan Wilson Conspiracy as an explanation for most of the Mariners mess in 2026. Generally, the players at his disposal haven’t been very good. Rucker is a rare exception.

Speaking of which, with the Mariners down 6-4 and most of the bullpen having pitched the night before because Logan Gilbert couldn’t throw more than five innings, Wilson was forced to use journeyman Jhonathan Díaz in the eighth. He gave up a home run to make it 7-4, which put an already unlikely comeback further out of reach.

The Mariners offense wasn’t too bad in this one. They walked six times, collected six hits, and had several hard hit balls. They scratched across two runs in the second and two more in the fourth, so most of the game was played under the pretense of competition, even if it never felt that way. The most notable thing that happened was Taylor Ward drew his first and second walks in a Mariners uniform; he was acquired at the trade deadline as a walks machine, then went his first nine games in Seattle without one. But it wasn’t enough. The power wasn’t there, and the singles and walks weren’t sequenced to score. With two outs in the ninth, Julio scorched a 111-mph line drive to centerfield that Mitchell flagged down to end it 7-4 — a close-ish game that never was.

The Mariners ended their big scary road trip at a surprisingly decent 4-5 record, with a few impressive wins tucked between some of the worst losses in franchise history. They’ll face the Cubs this weekend and the Phillies early next week. I’m not going to do analysis about their standing, because the season is over. But they’re really not far back, and the schedule lets up after this homestand — the Mariners have the easiest strength of schedule remaining. I’m not sure I care to see a team that can’t hit, pitch, field or run the bases in the playoffs. But I don’t care to see that in the regular season, either, and I’m still watching.

The New York Rangers and Hartford Wolf Pack have announced an extension to their affiliation agreement. 

The agreement runs through the end of the 2028-29 season.

“The Rangers organization is pleased to continue its successful relationship with the Wolf Pack organization and the city of Hartford,” said Wolf Pack General Manager and Rangers Associate General Manager Ryan Martin. 

“We look forward continuing to provide our players with a first-class experience in Hartford, and to giving the great fans of Hartford an opportunity to see our prospects as they continue to develop and graduate to the Rangers.”

The Wolf Pack became the Rangers’ American Hockey League affiliate in 1997 after the Binghamton Rangers relocated when the Hartford Whalers departed for North Carolina.

Through their 29-year existence, the Wolf Pack won the Calder Cup once in 2000 and have reached the playoffs 17 times. 

“We are beyond thrilled to continue our long-term partnership with the New York Rangers in Hartford,” said Peter Luukko, co-chairman of Oak View Group’s Stadium and Arena Alliances. 

“Hartford is a premier market in the AHL, and the relationship between this franchise and the Rangers is one of the most successful in league history. This coming season marks 30 years of this partnership, and we cannot wait to continue growing our brand both on the ice and in the Greater Hartford Community.”

The start of Thursday's game between the Yankees and Baltimore Orioles has been delayed due to inclement weather at Camden Yards. 

With first pitch originally set for 6:35 p.m., Baltimore announced that the start of the three-game series finale has been pushed back to 6:55 p.m.

 

First pitch is scheduled for approximately 6:55 p.m. https://t.co/cjJSYYY7S6

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 20, 2026

Right-handed Gerrit Cole is expected to be the starter for the visiting Yankees.

Cole has been outstanding in August. In three starts, he's pitched to the tune of a 1.93 ERA and 1.07 WHIP across 18.2 innings, tallying 19 strikeouts.

Baltimore will be hoping to avoid a three-game sweep at home following their controversial 5-3 loss on Wednesday night. At the time of writing, the Orioles are 1.5 games behind the Minnesota Twins for the third and final AL Wild Card spot. 

The O's are slated to send out 29-year-old righty Kyle Bradish, who has compiled a very respectable 3.65 ERA across 24 starts this season.

Thursday Finale in Baltimore. #RepBXpic.twitter.com/ahuDrkuOqa

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 20, 2026

Aided by a controversial fair/foul call on a long Pete Alonso fly ball, the Yankees picked up a win on Wednesday night, assuring them of a series victory on the road in Baltimore. Tonight, they’ll try and sweep the Orioles before heading back home to face the other AL East birds.

To try and finish off that sweep, the Yankees will sent Gerrit Cole to the mound. Cole has been on a strong run of late, with a 2.57 ERA and a 2.33 FIP over his last eight starts. The Yankees have only gone 4-4 in those games, mostly thanks to the struggling offense, but Cole has certainly done his job in keeping them in games.

Speaking of said struggling lineup, José Caballero will get the nod at third in for Ryan McMahon after the latter left Wednesday’s game early with a hand injury. Other than that, the starters are the same as yesterday, albeit in a different batting order.

As for Baltimore, the recently-extended Kyle Bradish will get the start. For the season, Bradish has been a bit up and down, but he’s been solid of late. In his three starts in August, he’s allowed just five earned runs in 15 innings.

Here’s all the information you need to know to catch tonight’s action, and we hope you’ll come join us in the game thread!

How to watch

Location: Oriole Park at Camden Yards — Baltimore, MD

First pitch: 6:35 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES Network (NYY), MASN (BAL)

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY), 98 Rock 97.9 FM, WBAL 1090 AM (BAL)

Online stream: Gotham Sports App, MLB.tv (out-of-market only)

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

Thursday Finale in Baltimore. #RepBXpic.twitter.com/ahuDrkuOqa

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 20, 2026

Bradish gets the start in Game 3.

📺 @masnOrioles & MASN+
📻 98 Rock 97.9 FM & WBAL 1090 AM pic.twitter.com/ryluIrmTRn

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 20, 2026

As you know, the Cubs have made a habit out of exciting walk-off wins this year. They’ve had 12 in all, which is tied for second-best in franchise history. The team record of 14 was set in 1930, a year where the team came agonizingly short of a second straight NL pennant. The 2015 Cubs, a club you likely remember well, had 13 walk-off wins, as did the 1932 Cubs. (Incidentally, the MLB record for walk-off wins in a season is 17, set by the Pirates in 1959 and tied by them in 1977.)

This is the story of a walk-off win by those pennant-winning 1932 Cubs. I figure with an off day today and a late-night game tomorrow in Seattle, we could delve deep into franchise history for this story.

Let’s set the stage. The 1932 Cubs had been in first place most of June, then fell out of the top spot early in July and held second place until three straight walk-off wins over the Braves put them back in first place right around this time of year, Aug. 16.

They lost to the Braves Aug. 19, but still led by two games, in a tight race with the Dodgers.

This is the story of the game the next afternoon at Wrigley Field. The Cubs trailed the Phillies 5-2 going to the bottom of the ninth. The first two Cubs that inning were routine outs. Then Johnny Moore singled and Marv Gudat walked, bringing Gabby Hartnett to the plate as the potential tying run.

Here’s how Hartnett’s at-bat was described by Edward Burns of the Tribune:

Hartnett, who had fanned in his three previous trips to the plate, took his stance. Gabby slammed a hard grounder to Friberg. The ball caromed off Barney’s shins and bounced into center field. While G. Davis was rushing in to effect a recovery, Moore scored, Gudat reached third and Hartnett stopped at first. Jurges forthwith was put on to run for Hartnett.

They don’t write ‘em like that anymore, that’s for sure.

The next batter was Mark Koenig, who the Cubs had acquired from the then-independent Triple-A Mission Reds of the Pacific Coast League just two weeks earlier. Koenig, a star with the Yankees in the late 1920s, had fallen off a bit in production and had been sent by the Detroit Tigers to Mission for cash considerations before the 1932 season began.

Koenig had gone 4-for-7 in his first four games as a Cub, starting only one of them, and had been 1-for-3 in this game before he came to bat in the bottom of the ninth, representing the winning run.

Here’s Burns’ description from the Tribune of what Koenig did on the very first pitch:

It was as pretty a line drive homer as anybody ever saw at Wrigley Field. If any Cub player had touched Mark as he rounded the bases he would have been called out. But there was no physical demonstration as he passed third in front of the Cub dugout. But the minute he hit home plate he was embraced by half a dozen Cubs. Then the ushers had to drive back several hundred fans, each of whom apparently wanted to carry Koenig to the clubhouse.

It was a different time.

This was the first win of what became a 14-game Cubs winning streak, which is the second-longest in franchise history, behind only the 21-game streak in 1935. The 14-game streak helped the Cubs solidify their hold on first place; when it was over they had a 7.5-game lead and would eventually win the NL pennant by four games.

Koenig never was really accepted as a Cub, according to his SABR biography:

“I never fit in with the Cubs players. They only voted me a half-share of the World Series. I had six tickets for the games and they were all behind posts. Guy Bush must have had one hundred tickets. I knew damned well we couldn’t beat them.”

But for one day, Koenig was a Cubs hero. His three-run walk-off homer that gave the Cubs a 6-5 win over the Phillies in front of about 16,000 at Wrigley Field happened 94 years ago today, Saturday, Aug. 20, 1932.

After coming within one game of sweeping the Rays over the weekend, the Orioles are now the team in danger of being swept. This series is a letdown no matter what, but a win tonight would help things. Not just in the standings, where the Orioles are currently 1.5 games out of the final Wild Card (behind four teams), but also for our mental well-being.

It won’t be easy. I mean, it’s never easy. But tonight the Orioles must face Gerrit Cole. Cole has been limited to 15 starts this season as he returned from Tommy John surgery, but they have been good. He was a 3.22 ERA overall; since July 1st, it’s just 2.57. So that will be a challenge.

Some good news: Pete Alonso is back at first base! Alonso and Samuel Basallo are switching spots tonight, with Basallo DH’ing. Tyler O’Neill is getting the night off, though I expect we will see him if a lefty reliever comes in.

Pitching for the Orioles is Kyle Bradish. Bradish battled through six innings against the Rays over the weekend. He allowed just two runs but walked four and had a lot of traffic on the bases. Bradish’s strikeouts have been down this season, I’d love to see him with rack up 10 or so tonight.

Orioles lineup

Jackson Holliday (L) 2B
Pete Alonso (R) 1B
Gunnar Henderson (L) SS
Samuel Basallo (L) DH
Christian Encarnacion-Strand (R) 3B
Dylan Beavers (L) LF
Leody Taveras (S) RF
Colton Cowser (L) CF
Carlos Narváez (R) C

Yankees lineup

Trent Grisham (L) CF
Ben Rice (L) DH
Heliot Ramos (R) LF
Luis García Jr. (L) 1B
Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L) 2B
George Lombard Jr. (R) SS
Spencer Jones (L) RF
Austin Wells (L) C
José Caballero (R) 3B

Let’s go O’s!

The Mets are set to honor Howie Rose in a ceremony befitting the radio broadcaster's legendary career. 

Prior to the Mets' final regular season game on Sept. 20, the team will host a special retirement ceremony for Rose.

“For generations of Mets fans, Howie Rose has been more than a broadcaster, he has been the soundtrack of summer and the voice behind some of the most memorable moments in our history,” said Mets Owners Steve and Alex Cohen in a statement. “His love for baseball and this organization has come through in every call, creating a connection with Mets fans that few broadcasters ever achieve. Howie's impact extends far beyond the booth. He is part of the fabric of this franchise, and we are proud to celebrate an extraordinary career while thanking him for everything he has meant to the Mets. We wish Howie and his family nothing but the best in this next chapter.”

“Having grown up a Mets fan, calling games for this organization has been the honor of a lifetime,” read Rose's statement. “I am deeply grateful to the Mets and Ownership, my broadcast partners, the players, coaches and staff, and most of all, the fans who have made this journey so meaningful. Sharing one more day at Citi Field with them is something I will cherish forever.”

 

Rose, 72, announced his plans to retire at the end of the 2026 season back in March. Rose has been calling Mets games on the radio since 2004, with his "put in the books" sign-off the iconic phrase of Mets wins for more than 20 years. 

He was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 2023 and has emceed major on-field ceremonies such as Opening Day and number retirements. The Bayside, Queens native began hosting pre- and postgame shows on Mets radio starting in 1987 before becoming the voice of Mets radio.

Fans can learn more about Rose's life and career in SNY's new documentary "Howie Rose: Put It In The Books," which premiered Aug. 18.

For re-airings of the new documentary, please check SNY's broadcast schedule.

Pitcher Tyler Glasnow took a big step forward in his potential return to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In what is expected to be his last rehab assignment outing, Glasnow allowed one hit, one earned run and a walk while striking out nine in 5.1 innings pitched for the Triple A Oklahoma City Comets.

The right-handed pitcher went through the lineup twice and threw 77 pitches. He displayed several key pitches, including a 97 mph fastball, a 96 mph sinker, an 81 mph curveball and a 90 mph slider.

Tyler Glasnow shined in Sugar Land🔥

5.1 IP | 1 H | 1 R | 1 BB | 9 K pic.twitter.com/laV7wDcveA

— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) August 20, 2026

Glasnow was dealing with back spasms since May, but could return to a starting role with the Dodgers during the team's next road series against the Atlanta Braves.

In the first start of his rehab assignment, Glasnow threw two scoreless innings for the Dodgers' Class-A affiliate, the Ontario Tower Buzzers, on Aug. 4.

“Just trying to go and compete to win another ring,” Glasnow told the Tower Buzzers in a video clip about what he looks forward to most about his return to the Dodgers. “Just getting back and having a few starts before the postseason, then getting into that craziness is always super exciting.”

What does Tyler Glasnow’s return mean for Dodgers?

With the return of Glasnow, Justin Wrobleski might be coming out of the bullpen during the postseason. The Dodgers placed Wrobleski on the injured list due to forearm inflammation on Sunday, Aug. 16.

The state of the Dodgers bullpen has led to some concern about the legitimacy of a potential World Series three-peat.

Relief pitcher Edwin Díaz struggled after making a recent return from the injury list and was placed back on the IL due to neck inflammation earlier this week.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tyler Glasnow injury update: Is help coming for ailing Dodgers?

Two brothers thought they were heading out for breakfast before school, until they opened the car door and found a surprise waiting for them that left one of them in tears.

Austin and David “Ducky” share a love of baseball. Both brothers play the sport and are die-hard Boston Red Sox fans, despite living hundreds of miles away in Charlotte, North Carolina.

When their mom, Charlie Sue, finally got tickets to see the Red Sox play, she knew she wanted to surprise the boys.

The brothers’ school start times are two hours apart, so Charlie needed a plan that would get them ready at the same time. She decided to tell them that their grandfather, Bob, was going to watch them while she was away for work.

“But before I left, I would go grab breakfast with them before school,” she said.

Little did they know, they were in for a major surprise when they opened the car doors. Sitting on their seats were two piles of Red Sox gear waiting for them.

That’s when Charlie delivered the news: They weren’t going to school that day. They were going to a Red Sox game in Atlanta!

Watch the video above to see the brothers’ priceless reaction!

Humankind is your go-to spot for good news! Click here to submit your uplifting, cute, or inspiring video moments for us to feature. Also, click here to subscribe to our newsletter bringing our top stories of the week straight to your inbox.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Red Sox-loving brothers get surprise they've been waiting for

TONIGHT’S GAME: The first-place Astros, who own a slim 2.0-game lead in the AL West, will host the Angels tonight for the rubber game of their three-game series at Daikin Park.

RHP Peter Lambert (8-6), the Astros most consistent starter this season, will get the start for Houston opposite RHP Grayson Rodriguez (3-5) and the Angels.

THE LAMBO: RHP Peter Lambert leads the club in wins (8), starts (21), innings (118.2) and strikeouts (117) among AL pitchers with at least 115 IP, Lambert ranks seventh in opponent average (.208) and eighth in ERA.

A minor league signing by Houston this offseason, Lambert pitched last year for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in the NPB, posting a 3.98 ERA (55ER/124.1IP) with 111 strikeouts in 23 starts.

THE TURNAROUND: After a slow start to the season, the Astros are 44-32 since May 22, which is the second-best record in the AL in that span.

On that date, the Astros were 20-31, 11 games under, which is their low water mark for the season.

THAT’S OFFENSIVE: Among American League teams, the Astros rank first in slugging (.411), first in total bases (1755), second in home runs (170), third in runs scored (580), and fourth in OPS (.728).

In the Majors, the Astros rank third in homers, trailing only the Nationals (182) and Yankees (173).

VS. THE ANGELS: The Astros are 7-5 against the Angels and have won their sixth straight season series vs. the Angels (2021-26).

The Astros 145-93 (.609) all-time record against the Angels is their best against any single opponent in club history.

TONIGHT’S RADIO BROADCASTS: The Astros English radio broadcast can be heard on SportsTalk
790 featuring Robert Ford and Brian Bogusevic.

The Spanish radio broadcast will feature Francisco Romero and Alex Treviño on TUDN 102.9 FM.

WINSDAY NIGHT: The Astros earned a much-needed victory last night with a 3-2 win over the Angels.

RHP Ethan Pecko (2ER/3.2IP) made his MLB debut before giving way to a dominant Astros bullpen that tossed 5.1 scoreless innings.

C Christian Vázquez (1×2, HR) hit a solo homer, but the biggest swing came off the bat of RF Cam Smith (0x2, RBI), who drove in the go-ahead run with a sac fly.

STARTING BLOCKS: The Astros used their 17th different starting pitcher of the season last night in RHP Ethan Pecko, who made his Major League debut.

Their 17 starters used are the most by any Major League team this season and ties as their franchise record, also reached by the 1965 Astros.

MVP-CALIBER: Yordan Alvarez holds the lead in all AL Triple Crown categories, ranking first in average(.317), first in HR (36) and first in RBI (88).

Additionally, he leads MLB in OPS (1.040), OBP (.430), SLG (.610), and TB (277)…in the AL, he ranks first in XBH (61), and second in hits (144), walks (86), and runs (83)

YOR-GONE!: DH Yordan Alvarez has hit 36 home runs this season, which leads the AL.

He’s just one homer shy of matching his career high in homers (37 HR in 2022) and is 11 homers shy of matching the franchise record for a single season, set by 1B Jeff Bagwell in 2000 (47 HR).

AUGUST HEROES: RF Cam Smith is hitting .340 (16×47) with four homers, nine RBI and a 1.020 OPS in 15 games this month.

2B Jose Altuve is also having a strong month, hitting .340 (18×53) with a .410 OBP and an .882 OPS in 15 games in August.

THE CLOSER: LHP Josh Hader made his 500th career appearance last night becoming the 15th active pitcher to reach that milestone.

Hader has been stellar since returning from injury in early June, going 4-1 with a 0.87 ERA (3ER/31IP), 41 strikeouts, a .123 opponent average (13×106) and a 0.77 WHIP, while also converting all 18 of his save opportunities in 32 appearances.

MY BOY BLU!: RHP A.J. Blubaugh has taken a commanding Major League lead in innings pitched as a reliever with 78.0, far ahead of second-place LHP Adrian Morejon (68IP).

The Astros have not had a reliever lead the Majors in innings pitched since RHP Doug Jones (111.2IP) in 1992.

THROWING STRIKES: LHP Steven Okert walked a batter in a scoreless inning last night, snapping
a streak of 22 consecutive appearances and 22.0 innings pitched without a strikeout (June 28-Aug. 16).

Per Elias, Okert’s streak of 22.0 consecutive innings without a walk is the fifth-longest by a reliever in a single season in club history.

ON THE MEND: RHP Mike Burrows (rt. elbow neuritis) is scheduled to make another rehab start for Triple A Sugar Land tonight in their home game vs. OKC.

Burrows last pitched on Aug. 14 at Triple A, working 4.1 scoreless innings, allowing three hits with three strikeouts on 67 pitches (43 strikes).itting .347 (17×49) with a .421 OBP and an .890 OPS in 14 games in August.

DOWN ON THE FARM: Several of the Astros minor league clubs are having success this season:
• Triple A Sugar Land: In the second half, the Space Cowboys (32-15) are in first in the PCL East Division.

• Class A Fayetteville: For the second half, the Woodpeckers are in first place in the South Atlantic League North Division with a 28-20 (.583) record.

• Rookie Level FCL Astros: The Astros won the Florida Complex League championship, finishing with a 42-11 (.792) record in the regular season.

• Rookie Level DSL Astros: The DSL Astros Orange finished with a 33-20 record and clinched a spot in the DSL playoffs, which began today.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Thursday, August 20, 7:10 p.m. CT

Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX

TV: Space City Home Network

Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)

Astros-Angels finale: pic.twitter.com/1ZjwtM9Ej3

— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) August 20, 2026

Angels at Astros.

The Angels haven’t won a road series since May. Will it happen today?

Grayson Rodriguez starting. pic.twitter.com/Td8QWric39

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) August 20, 2026

BALTIMORE — The New York Yankees will return home Friday, Aug. 21 after a six-game road trip and will be greeted by a very welcome sight: Aaron Judge doing more baseball things and, perhaps the return of Cody Bellinger.

Judge hit off a tee for a second consecutive game and reported no complications, manager Aaron Boone said Thursday before the Yankees' series finale against Baltimore at Camden Yards. Judge, the reigning AL MVP, has missed the last 68 games with a rib fracture, and has undergone a very deliberate progression toward a return.

"He did more tee today and sounds like it went well. Be good to see him tomorrow," says Boone.

The Yankees have gone 35-32 without Judge and are 71-55 overall, padding their hold on the No. 1 wild card by winning the first two games against the Orioles. Yet it has been a struggle offensively without their two former MVP outfielders, putting stress on the pitching staff and making it challenging to chase down first place Tampa Bay, which leads the AL East by five games.

One of them is on the verge of return.

Bellinger was slated to begin a rehab assignment at Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, weather permitting. Boone says he believes Bellinger will require more than one rehab game, yet also believes there's a strong chance he'll be back at some point during their three-game weekend series against Toronto at Yankee Stadium.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Aaron Judge injury update: Yankees slugger hits off tee two days in a row

Bobby Witt Jr. homered in the bottom of the first inning to give the Royals the lead over the Athletics, a lead Kansas City would never relinquish as they completed the four-game mop, winning 6-2.

What’s a mop? you might ask. Well, on the radio, Jake Eisenberg mentioned how the baseball podcast Cespedes Family BBQ differentiates between winning all the games in a three-game series versus a four-game series. In a three-game series, it’s a sweep. A four-gamer, a mop.

Mop it is, and it’s the Royals first mop of the A’s since 1994.

Bobby gets us started with a 402' blast! pic.twitter.com/3BFHeSvFdr

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) August 20, 2026

Rodney Dobnak started for the Royals and received a no-decision. He struggled, but since he struggled against this pathetic Athletics lineup, he didn’t allow a run. In four innings, Dobnak threw 96 pitches, striking out four while walking four and giving up six hits. According to Ryan Lefebvre right after the game, Dobnak became the first starting pitcher since 1932 to allow 1o or more baserunners in four or fewer innings while not allowing a run.

He left the game with a 5-0 lead that Carlos Duran messed with, but just a little bit. Duran recorded only one out but walked three and was charged with two earned runs. Once he left the game, though, the bullpen settled. Connor Thomas, Craig Kimbrel, John Schreiber, and Nate Pearson followed with four-and-2/3 innings pitched in which the Athletics recorded one hit and zero walks.

Thomas picked up his first big-league win.

The offense hummed along nicely in large part due to Witt. Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen received the day off while Maikel Garcia pulled his hamstring early in the game. He’ll be placed on the Injured List either today or tomorrow.

Still, without those three, the Royals racked up a dozen hits while drawing five walks.

Witt homered, Michael Massey (who finished 3-for-4) and Garcia doubled while Nick Loftin added a triple. Salvador Perez went 3-for-5 with an RBI and run scored while also reaching base on an error. Isaac Collins added two RBIs with a two-run single in the third.

Michael Massey doubles down the line to score Isaac Collins! pic.twitter.com/60keKbJtNL

— Royals.TV (@kcroyalstv) August 20, 2026

For the series, Witt finished 6-for-15 with two home runs, four walks, five RBIs, and eight runs. He becomes the first Royal since George Brett in 1985 to score eight runs and drive in another five in the same series.

That means that today the Royals did things that hadn’t occurred since 1932, 1985, and 1994. They’ve won five straight for just the second time this season while taking six of their last eight, improving their record to 17-15 since the All-Star Break.

Don’t worry about their overall record.

Now, the Royals host the Detroit Tigers over the weekend. The Tigers are 61-66 but only five games out of first in the Central while just 1.5 games back in the Wild Card.

The bats were not aware that today was not an off-day, as the White Sox fell to the Braves with only one hit in nine innings. Atlanta broke its losing streak with a 2-0 win before leaving town again.

Anthony Kay had two solid innings, getting nearly every batter to ground out for quick frames. Grant Holmes met him with the same enthusiasm, except for a walk issued to Colson Montgomery in the second inning.

Atlanta started to stir in the third with a base hit from Mauricio Dubón and an RBI double from Austin Riley for an early lead. Kay worked around the runner at third by again forcing grounders from Braves batters. The White Sox failed to respond.

Kay worked around a walk for a smooth fourth before Dubón reached again in the fifth. With Sam Antonacci unable to locate the ball, Dubón made it to second on a fielding error. Two big strikeouts and a first-pitch pop out from Ronald Acuña Jr. kept Atlanta from any real damage. Meanwhile, the Sox continued to get no-hit through five.

Drew Romo picked up a one-out walk in the sixth, prompting Atlanta to go to its bullpen despite still having a no-hitter in play. Romo took second thanks to a little wild-pitch offense, but he was stranded when Munetaka Murakami went down swinging.

Michael Harris II started the seventh with a double, prompting Will Venable to pull his starter. Huascar Brazobán stepped in and allowed an RBI double, giving the Braves a 2-0 lead, though the run was charged to Kay. Sean Murphy singled to put two runners on with one out as Hagen Smith started warming. Brazobán struck out Acuña before turning it over to Smith, who stranded both runners by retiring Drake Baldwin. The no-hitter was finally broken in the bottom of the seventh. Miguel Vargas picked up a walk, and Andrew Benintendi deposited a single into left field on a 0-2 count. Didier Fuentes entered the game to shut down the threat, and he did just that, striking out three batters in a row.

Dubón picked up his third hit of the game in the ninth after a successful ABS challenge that took him to a full count. On two consecutive wild pitches, Dubón made it to third, but thankfully the next pitch ended the frame. Any dreams of walking it off were squashed when all three Sox batters went down in order.

MVP:
Andrew Benintendi: Broke up the no-hitter

Runners-Up:
Hagen Smith: 1 1/3 IP, 3 K
Miguel Vargas: 1 BB
Drew Romo: 1 BB
Anthony Kay: 6 K, 6 IP

Cold Cat:
Anthony Kay: 6 K, 6 IP (yes, he’s in both spots)

Runners-Up:
Munetaka Murakami: 0-for-4, 1 K
Sam Antonacci: 0-for-4, 1 K
Huascar Brazobán: 2 H, 1 K
The whole team — what a stinker

With one out in the 8th inning of Thursday’s afternoon rubber match, Cleveland Guardians center fielder Petey Halpin singled, then got caught leaning by JT Brubaker. The pickoff throw went to Bryce Eldridge, who ran Halpin to Willy Adames, who threw to Osleivis Basabe, who dropped the ball.

Three pitches later, Halpin was at third after Brubaker threw a wild pitch. One pitch after that, he’d scored the final run of Cleveland’s 5-2 win over the San Francisco Giants on an RBI single from Brayan Rocchio.

The Giants would make it interesting in the 9th, drawing two walks off closer Cade Smith (32 saves) after being down to their last strike, but Rafael Devers flew out to end the game and send the Giants to their sixth straight series loss, and their 9th road series loss in a row.

The story of the game was, once again, poor Giants defense. Little Leaguers can successfully execute a pickle, but not the Cement Glove keystone duo of Basabe and Willy Adames, who committed his 18th error of the season and also fumbled the exchange on a potential double play.

Cleveland’s three-run first-inning rally got a boost from a ground-ball single from Travis Bazzanna that went under Basabe’s glove, giving the Guardians first and third with no one out instead of a rally-killing double play. A bloop single and a sacrifice fly made it 2-0, then Adames booted a second double-play ball grom Angel Genao. That opened the door for an RBI single from Patrick “Patty Barrels” Bailey, the first hard-hit ball of the inning off of Landen Roupp (7-13) despite it being a 3-0 game.

Hard to get mad about a 3-run 1st inning.#GuardsBallpic.twitter.com/YPpFK0Vq3N

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) August 20, 2026

Roupp settled down and gave up only two more hits in the next 4 1/3 innings, though he did issue three more walks. Conservatively, Adames forced Roupp to throw 13 extra pitches and made Tony Vitello burn a challenge on an “illegal slide” from Steven Kwan in the second inning that seemed purely motivated by trying to save his player from the embarrassment of dropping the ball for no reason. Otherwise the challenge was pure incompetence, but it’s hard to imagine we’d see that from the crafty Vitello.

Adames did provide all the scoring from the Giants on offense, hitting his 20th home run of the season and the 200th of his career after a Devers single in the first. He’s now the fourth shortstop in Giants history with more than one season of 20 or more homers, joining Alvin Dark, Rich Aurilia, and Brandon Crawford.

Willy's 200th career homer brings the Giants within one 👏 pic.twitter.com/zHW0y4L884

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 20, 2026

Guardians starter Gavin Williams (12-7) never got Devers out, issuing two of his three walks to the Giants DH. He got 11 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings, giving up only one hit outside of the 4th. Williams’ biggest weakness is the long ball, but only Adames could take advantage and only once did they get a runner into scoring position off of him, after two 5th-inning walks. After he got pulled with two outs and a runner down in the 6th, pinch-hitter Victor Bericoto’s flied out to center, though the wind may have knocked the ball down.

The shaky defense continued. Bailey singled and stole second in the 4th, without anyone on the Giants noticing him running. Bryce Eldridge dove for an Angel Martinez ground ball in the 6th but couldn’t come up with it, Bailey reached base for the third time in a row with a walk and Kwan (1-for-2, three walks) singled off Sam Hentges to make it 4-2. The Giants did get a force out at third when they ran the “wheel play” on a sac bunt, but Adames declined to throw to first to try for the double play, which was probably just as well.

Good defense on the other side derailed the Giants in the 8th, when Rocchio made an acrobatic play to retire Bericoto after Eldridge walked and Jung Hoo Lee singled.

A sensational spinning play from Brayan Rocchio and a great scoop from Nathaniel Lowe!#GuardsBallpic.twitter.com/4TLtCkAkEj

— GuardsTV (@GuardsTV) August 20, 2026

Left-handed relievers continued to stymie the Giants. The Giants pinch-hit the hitless Andrew Knizner and Jonah Cox, who’d struck out five times in a row, in the 7th inning off Erik Sabrowski. Knizner popped out, though he drew a walk in the 9th, and Cox eventually ran his strikeout streak to seven.

Positives! Christian Koss made a nice throw on the wheel play and caught a tough popup against the netting. Adames is hitting the ball hard, even if sometimes he’s using his glove to deliver the blows. Roupp settled down nicely after a rough first inning that was hardly his fault. And Knizner added some levity when he burned an ABS challenge with two outs in the 9th on a pitch that was such a clear strike that the National Labor Relations Board sent out an official statement of support for it after the game.

Ah shoot almost had it pic.twitter.com/7kMj3DCXa2

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 20, 2026

Next the team will travel to Boston, a homecoming for Rafael Devers and possibly Marcelo Mayer, though he’ll likely debut at home. Devers is likely to face old friend Erik Miller, who is getting extensive use from the Red Sox since the Giants traded him, striking out 12 and yielding only a single unearned run in 7 1/3 innings over seven appearances. Maybe the Giants will even win a road series!

(They will not.)