Category: Baseball

Full lineups not yet available. Particularly Boston’s.

Roster moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ 40-man roster remains at 40.

• Reinstated from the 60-day injured list: RHP Justin Martinez (sprained right ulnar collateral ligament)
• Reinstated from the 10-day injured list: OF Jordan Lawlar (strained right hamstring)
• Optioned to Triple-A Reno following yesterday’s game: RHP Gerardo Carrillo + INF Tyler Locklear
• Designated for assignment: RHP Andrew Hoffmann

A lot of moves to get through here, with the return of a long-anticipated bullpen arm topping the moves. The last time Martinez pitched in the major leagues? June 9th, 2025. That’s one year, two months and eight days ago. So it has been a while. He made four rehab appearances, and all reports were, he looked very good. Certainly can’t complain about the numbers. 13 batters faced, one hit and twelve outs, six by the strikeout. He reportedly hit 102.4 mph in one of those outings, so the velocity is certainly there. It’s good to have him back, though I am sure we will see Carrillo again soon: potentially when the rosters expand in two weeks.

Lawlar’s layoff hasn’t been quite as long: just shy of two months since he went on the IL for the second time this year. He also missed two months with a broken wrist earlier in the year, and was back for little more than a week before the hamstring issue send him to the treatment room again. He was hitting .316 with an .856 OPS at that point, albeit over just 44 PA, so hope he can find that form again and stay healthy. Locklear may well also be back in September too, and his numbers this year had certainly been a massive improvement over his first two seasons, with an .806 OPS (albeit also over just 42 PA).

Hoffman loses his 40-man roster spot, after coming from the Royals for Randal Grichuk at the 2025 trade deadline. The numbers haven’t been great, with a 6.08 ERA for Reno, and 7.71 over 11.2 major-league innings. Though he hasn’t actually pitched at all for over two months, his last appearances being June 5, thanks to a lat strain. But among all the moves, one which didn’t happen may be the most significant. Nolan Arenado remains on the roster, so fingers crossed his strained trunk (!) isn’t too bad. According to Gambo, Arenado “may try to grind through the injury.” He’s not in the line-up today, but should be available off the bench if needed.

After the Cardinals won a close game 1, it’s game 2 of the St. Louis Cardinals day/night doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds Monday night. First pitch scheduled for 5:40pm central time with the game broadcast available via Cardinals.tv.

San Diego Padres (67-58) at New York Mets (56-69), August 17, 2026, 4:10 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Citi Field – Flushing, NY

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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Live from New York. pic.twitter.com/BRC4yZJixJ

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 17, 2026

Tonight's starters ⚾️ #LGMpic.twitter.com/LHZnp85tW6

— New York Mets (@Mets) August 17, 2026

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Mets lineup

A.J. Ewing – LF
Francisco Lindor – SS
Bo Bichette – 3B
Carson Benge – RF
Luis Robert – CF
Jared Young – 1B
Marcus Semien – 2B
Jorge Polanco – DH
Francisco Alvarez – C

SP: Nolan McLean – RHP

Padres lineup

Fernando Tatis – RF
Jake Cronenworth – 2B
Manny Machado – 3B
Ty France – 1B
Jackson Merrill – CF
Luis Campusano – C
Gavin Sheets – DH
Xander Bogaerts – SS
Luis Rengifo – LF

SP: Walker Buehler – RHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 7:10 PM ET
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

Shohei Ohtani may have a clear path to the National League MVP award, according to the reporting of USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale.

The Dodgers anticipate Shohei Ohtani will be pitching again in September barring any setbacks, according to Nightengale, who writes that the two-way star “should also clinch his fifth MVP award as he returns to being a two-way player.’’

Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is the other leading candidate for NL MVP.

Ohtani, 32, has not pitched since July 3 because of inflammation in his left knee. He is 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 85 2/3 innings.

On Friday, Aug.14, he threw 35 pitches during a bullpen session.

"He used his entire mix (of pitches)," Dodgers manager Roberts told the media. "He felt encouraged."

The knee issue has not kept Ohtani out of the lineup as a designated hitter. He leads the Dodgers with 27 home runs, 77 runs scored, an on-base percentage of .388 and a slugging percentage of .540.

As a hitter and a pitcher, Ohtani has a combined WAR of 6.3.

Ohtani won the AL MVP with the Angels in 2021 and 2023 and won the NL MVP with the Dodgers in 2024 and 2025.

Crow-Armstrong leads the Cubs’ regulars with 28 home runs, 75 RBIs, an on-base percentage of .374 and a slugging percentage of .533.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shohei Ohtani's return to mound could seal another NL MVP award

Detroit Tigers vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, August 17, 2026, 7:05 p.m. ET

The Pittsburgh Pirates are continuing their home stand at PNC Park as they host the Detroit Tigers for a three-game set. The first matchup of the series is getting the national TV treatment in ESPN’s edition of Monday Night Baseball.

Taking the mound for the Pirates is Carmen Mlodzinski, who is making his third start since returning to the rotation earlier this month in replacement of Mitch Keller, who is out for the rest of the season. Mlodzinski is slowly working his way back towards pitching like a starter, but he has struggled in his first two starts, failing to make it into the fourth inning in either appearance. In his last start against the Miami Marlins on August 12, he pitched 2.1 innings, giving up five hits and four earned runs in an 8-2 loss.

The Pirates will face off against Tigers’ left-hander Framber Valdez, who is in his first season with the Tigers after spending eight seasons with the Houston Astros, becoming a two-time All-Star and a World Series champion.

Valdez has not pitched his best since arriving in Detroit, going 7-8 with a 4.26 ERA, the first time since the 2019 season that he’s had an ERA above 4. He’s coming off a loss in his last start against the Cleveland Guardians on August 12, pitching 5.2 innings, giving up six hits and four earned runs, and losing 6-4.

Location: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, ESPN

Pitching Matchup: Framber Valdez (7-8, 4.26 ERA) vs. Carmen Mlodzinski (6-5, 3.79 ERA)

BD community, chime off in the comments section below.

Today’s roster moves: Here

Monday notes…

• NOT GOING FIRST: The Cubs have not scored a run in the first inning of their last six games. They haven’t even made a hit, going out in order in five games and earning a pair of walks in the other. They made a sacrifice fly and a forceout to end the first inning of the game before the streak started, so they have been hitless in 22 consecutive first-inning PA. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• GOING FIRST: The Cubs have won their last five games when facing an opponent for the first time, including the one-game make-up vs. the Blue Jays. They have won seven of eight, raising their record for the season in first games to 21-20. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• AGAINST WINNING TEAMS: The Cubs are 32-25 in games in which their opponents began with a winning record. They had won four in a row before losing yesterday. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: Kyle Hendricks throws six strong innings and Ian Happ’s sixth-inning homer is the difference in a 2-1 Cubs win over the Reds that breaks a 12-game losing streak that followed the big selloff in 2021. It happened five years ago today, Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021.

The Cubs lineup was not available at posting time. Please check BCB social media for the Cubs lineup.

White Sox lineup:

Road trip up North pic.twitter.com/hQczNXsY5y

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 17, 2026

Shōta Imanaga, LHP vs. Luis Castillo, RHP

Shōta Imanaga had a rough outing his last time out against the Nationals but still has a 2.49 ERA and 1.125 WHIP over his last 11 starts covering 61.1 innings.

He has not faced the White Sox this year. Here’s the start he made against them last year, July 25, 2025 at Rate Field. Please don’t click on that boxscore link. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Hi there, Luis Castillo! The new White Sox starter is quite familiar to us after all those years with the Reds. He has made 18 career starts against the Cubs, though the last was more than two years ago, April 14, 2024 at Wrigley Field while with the Mariners.

Currently active Cubs are batting .273 (24-for-88) against Castillo with four home runs. Nico Hoerner is 6-for-11 (.545) against him and Alex Bregman, Michael Conforto, Michael Busch and Ian Happ account for the four homers.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around Wrigley Field.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. It’s also on CHSN and WCIU-Ch. 26 with the Sox announcers.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation White Sox site South Side Sox. If you do go there to interact with Sox fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

After the disappointment of last night and dropping yet another contest on Peacock in front of a nationwide viewing audience, I decided to call the one man in Houston who could bolster all of collective spirits.    That man is Geoff Blum, the 3-time Emmy Award Winner from Space City Home Network.   Geoff joins us exclusively at The Crawfish Boxes.   

Q:  125 games are in the books.    What’s your overall assessment of things?

A: The Astros are in good position.   They’re sitting atop the A.L. West.    One thing I’ve learned about watching this team and this organization and being around the guys in the clubhouse, is they do not panic.  It’s easy on the outside to point to a series or a specific game but when you are playing 162 games, you put things into a greater context.    There’s still plenty of time to either secure the top spot or lose it, but I’ve learned over the years not to panic with these guys.

Q: With Hunter, there was that stretch where we issued a series of walks.    Do you sense that something is going on with his mechanics, or is it focus?   

A: I do think it’s a little bit of the mechanics.    When guys come back from injury, the body just isn’t the same which is true of anybody, it can be a position player or a pitcher.    Your body reacts and there’s a recovery process.   Hunter Brown is hyper competitive, and he’ll go out there and find a way to do it.    

Q: So, you’re not concerned at all with Hunter Brown down the stretch?

A: The velocity is there.    Some of his pitches last night were amazing.    It’s just a matter of him dialing it in consistently.

Q:  Where would the Astros be without Peter Lambert?

A: Without Peter Lambert, the Astros are not sitting in first place.    He’s become the anchor of the rotation.    He’s become consistent even with his quiet and humble demeanor.    I appreciate his workmanship, his consistency and all that he’s done this season.  

Go Rays!

Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:

Home sweet home#RingTheBellpic.twitter.com/a5LQgFMFze

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 17, 2026

For the Marlins:

Fish in Philly.

📺: https://t.co/CoO4Nlpkc8
👂: @MarlinsRadio, @radiomambi710, @1043wqam
⏰: 6:40 PM ET#FightinFishpic.twitter.com/GwmYuGF4A4

— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) August 17, 2026

Let’s talk about it.

The Orioles will play the fourth and final game of the series tonight in Tampa Bay. Wrap-around weekend series are rare these days. So are four-game sweeps of first place teams. Baltimore can’t control its schedule, but it can dictate the results on the field tonight.

The O’s won a pair of one-run games before thumping the Rays 10-2 on Sunday. They’ll look to finish the job this evening against Shane McClanahan (9-6, 3.09 ERA).

Tyler O’Neill will play right field and bat leadoff against the lefty. He’ll be followed by designated hitter Pete Alonso and second baseman Jackson Holliday. Coby Mayo will bat cleanup and play first base.

Gunnar Henderson will look to ride a recent hot streak from the five hole. Christian Encarnacion-Strand will handle the hot corner, and Jeremiah Jackson will play left field. Christian Franklin will play center field and bat ninth. Carlos Narváez will hit eighth and catch Brandon Young.

Young (9-3, 3.33 ERA) is looking for his 10th win of the season. The majority of Baltimore’s high-leverage relievers should be available following yesterday’s blowout win.

Orioles lineup

1. T O’Neill (R) RF
2. P Alonso (R) DH
3. J Holliday (L) 2B
4. C Mayo (R) 1B
5. G Henderson (L) SS
6. C Encarnacion-Strand (R) 3B
7. J Jackson (R) LF
8. C Narváez (R) C
9. C Franklin (R) CF

Starter: RHP Brandon Young (9-3, 3.33 ERA)

The Cincinnati Reds lost to the St. Louis Cardinals earlier on Monday, and surprisingly it was not due to the work of lefty Kent Emanuel.

The 34 year old journeyman was effectively plucked out of independent league ball to make this start, as the Reds got him, sent him to AAA Louisville to start once, and then rolled him out there today. He more than rewarded them by lasting 5.0 IP and allowing just 2 ER, and instead it was (once again) the putrid Cincinnati offense that backed him by scoring just a lone run in a 2-1 loss.

That means the Reds have scored 1, 1, 4, 0, 1, 9 (!), 0, 4, 1, 2, 3 runs in their last 10 contests. Good luck winning with that!

It’ll be Rhett Lowder who’ll next try to get the opponent to score -1 runs so the Reds can try to win zero to negative one, as he’ll start the evening half of Monday’s doubleheader against the Birds. Veteran Andre Pallante will start for St. Louis, with first pitch set for 6:40 PM ET.

Here’s how the Reds will line up to start Game 2 of the day:

Game 2 up next.

Powered by @PNCBankpic.twitter.com/G792zVcQGD

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) August 17, 2026

The Yankees announced today that Carlos Rodón will make his return from the injured list tomorrow night. Out since June 28th with left elbow inflammation, the left-hander will start in the first game of this week’s three-game set with the Orioles.

Rodón made two rehab starts in the lead-up to his return, looking particularly sharp in his most recent outing, striking out seven and allowing two hits in 4.1 shutout innings for Somerset on August 13th. He was limited to 58 pitches in that start, so expect him to be on a fairly restrictive pitch count tomorrow night.

The Yankees desperately need offensive reinforcements, but they’ll take anything they can get right now. Rodón’s return should further deepen what’s been the best pitching staff in the league, though how the roster shakes out remains to be seen. The most obvious candidate to be bumped out of the rotation is Will Warren, who has been outpitched over the course of the summer by his mid-rotation mate Ryan Weathers. Warren would’ve been on full rest for tomorrow night, so perhaps he could be involved in a piggyback sort of setup as the Yankees try to slowly increase Rodón’s pitch count.

Rodón had a 3.30 ERA in nine starts and 46 innings before hitting the shelf in June. His season had already been abbreviated by offseason elbow surgery, his season debut not coming until May 10th in Milwaukee. Though injuries have ensured this hasn’t been the kind of campaign Rodón envisioned, he’s been effective when healthy and would give the Yankees a downright super rotation if he can pitch as he did earlier year.

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns discussed several topics ahead of Monday's game against the Padres...

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Senga's new role as a high-leverage reliever

Stearns spoke on Kodai Senga, who has served as the team's closer in the place of the injured Devin Williams. This August, Senga has not allowed a single run across five outings, each lasting one full inning, and has picked up the first three saves of his career in the process.

"Kodai has done a great job," said Stearns. "He's adjusted very well, and it's not just in the performance, it's also in how he's getting ready for those performances. It's not the easiest transition to make."

However, it appears that Stearns isn't yet convinced to hand Senga the closer role moving forward, both when Williams returns from injury and looking ahead to next season.

"I'm excited for [Senga] that he's doing this right now. From a future perspective, we'll [look at that] later," Stearns stated.

No expectation for Polanco to play first base

Looking ahead to 2027, Stearns was asked whether he wants to see Jorge Polanco play first base between now and the end of the season, with an eye on finding a solution at that problem position for the Mets defense.

"I don't think we need to see that," he replied. "The most important thing is getting [Polanco] on a path to be physically in a much better place in 2027 than he has been this season."

Polanco has played in just 36 of the Mets' 125 games this season, and was sidelined from April 18 to July 7 with left Achilles bursitis, as well as a wrist injury.

Pushing the limits of the young starting pitchers

Stearns has been encouraged by the strong performances of New York's trio of rookie starters: Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, and Zac Thornton. 

He explained that he wants to see each of them continue to challenge themselves to push deep into ballgames ahead of the season's end.

"We don't, frankly, have innings limits or innings guides," said Stearns. "It's more about continuing to evaluate how each individual pitcher is feeling, how they're recovering, and at this point we're in a good spot with all of them.

"They're solidifying themselves as pitchers at the major-league level, and that's important for us going forward."

Stearns' approach to prospect integration and development

Finally, following a whirlwind trade deadline which saw the Mets bolster their prospect ranks with the acquisition of infielders Jefferson Rojas and Sammy Stafura (among others), Stearns outlined his vision for what a successful Mets farm system looks like. 

"So much of it is making them feel welcome, putting them in the best position to succeed, and allowing their talents to speak for themselves. It's important to get to know the player and the person, trying to be patient, allowing our coaches and player development staff to get quality time with them."

Stearns is proud of the performances of Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing, who are setting the standard for what successful prospect promotion to the big leagues looks like.

"I think we have gotten development at the major-league level in terms of seeing progress from young players, and it's very encouraging for us to see them perform," Stearns concluded.

After missing the past two months and stints on both the 10 and 60-day IL, Oneil Cruz is back.

The Pirates activated Cruz to the 26-man roster on Monday following a fractured left hand injury.

Cruz hasn’t played since he suffered the injury on June 7 in Atlanta and missed 58 games during the heart of summer. 

He appeared in six minor league games between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis over the last two weeks before returning to Pittsburgh for final evaluation.

The Pirates also activated reliever Yohan Ramirez off the paternity list and optioned left-handed starter/reliever Hunter Barco and outfielder Ronny Simon to Triple-A. 

Cruz is not in the lineup as the Pirates begin the first of three games against the Detroit Tigers to begin the back half of a six-game home stand. 

Oneil Cruz just hit this ball 122.9 mph.

That is the hardest hit ball in the Statcast era. pic.twitter.com/dZYilTHie1

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 25, 2025

Left-handed Framber Valdez will start for Detroit, but Cruz is batting .312 with a .361 on-base percentage and .506 slugging in 77 at-bats against lefties this season.

In 64 games, Cruz is slashing .264/.350/.472 with an .822 OPS. He was on pace for his first 30/30 season with 14 home runs and 21 steals before the halfway point.

Inconsistency and struggles against lefties plagued Cruz in 2025, while the injury ripped apart what has been his best season in the majors.

His 44 RBIs still rank fourth on the team, and the offense has significantly missed his power and speed either leading off or in the middle of the lineup. 

It may be a little too late for the Pirates, who are 61-65 and sit 6.5 games out of the final wild card.

The Pirates are looking up at the Cardinals, Marlins, and Diamondbacks as the Phillies and Padres (67-58) are tied for the last two NL playoff seeds.