Category: MLB

Box Score

After a frustrating sweep in San Diego, the Brewers are back in the win column. Despite trailing late, Milwaukee rallied against struggling Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz in the ninth inning, scoring three runs to steal a 5-4 win and start their four-game series in Los Angeles on the right foot.

Both Brewers starter Shane Drohan and Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki had a relatively smooth go of it through the first few innings. Drohan gave up a 111.7 mph rocket of a line drive to Shohei Ohtani that came close to making it over the center-field fence, while Sasaki walked a couple of batters, but neither team came particularly close to scoring until the top of the fourth.

Gary Sánchez led off the fourth by lining a Sasaki splitter back up the middle and into center field for a base hit. After Jake Bauers flew out for the first out, Sasaki walked Andrew Vaughn on four straight balls. That brought up Christian Yelich, who hit a hard line drive into left field. Sánchez, not exactly known for his speed on the basepaths, had to stop at third, but the single loaded the bases with only one out.

Sasaki, who’s struggled with his control in the past, then completely lost the handle against Joey Ortiz, walking him on four straight pitches to bring home the first run of the game.

Up next was David Hamilton, but Sasaki still couldn’t get it together, walking him on five pitches — three of which weren’t particularly close to the strike zone — to give the Brewers another run. That brought up Jackson Chourio with two outs and the bases loaded, but Chourio bailed Sasaki out by quickly going down 0-2 before swinging at a splitter in the dirt for strike three. Still, the Brewers managed to take the lead and run Sasaki’s pitch count up to nearly 80 by the end of the fourth.

Drohan finally allowed a run in the fifth after Miguel Rojas walked, advanced to second on a groundout, and scored on a Ben Rortvedt single. He came back out for the sixth but was clearly flagging, retiring Andy Pages on a hard line drive before walking Tommy Edman. Freddie Freeman then battled Drohan for nine pitches before successfully challenging a called strike three, resulting in a second straight walk.

With two on, one out, a one-run lead, and a tiring Drohan, it was time to make the call to the bullpen. Recently acquired Antonio Senzatela came in and struck out Teoscar Hernández on a foul tip for the second out. With two on and two out, Senzatela battled to a full count against Max Muncy, who turned on the sixth pitch of the at-bat — a 100 mph fastball — and crushed it over the fence in right-center field.

Just like that, the Brewers were down by two, and for a team coming off a series in which the offense struggled to produce big innings, it may have felt to the more pessimistic of fans like the game was already over.

It wasn’t.

DL Hall retired six straight batters in the seventh and eighth innings, but Milwaukee couldn’t score either, so the score remained 4-2 going into the top of the ninth. Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz, who’s been getting hit around since returning from the injured list in late July, came in to try to slam the door on the Brewers.

Leading off against Díaz was William Contreras, who got caught looking at strike three for the first out. Milwaukee was down to its final two outs, but Ortiz and Hamilton both came through in the clutch, lining singles through the infield to put runners on the corners. Up next was Chourio, who worked the count full before swinging at a slider half a foot off the plate. He managed to get enough of it off the end of the bat to poke it into shallow right-center for a base hit, scoring Ortiz and putting the tying run, Hamilton, on third.

Garrett Mitchell took Díaz’s next pitch for a strike, then swung at the second pitch — a slider in almost the exact same location — and sent it into right field for the Brewers’ fourth straight single, scoring Hamilton to tie the game.

Up next was Sánchez, who struck out on a called strike three that he challenged unsuccessfully. With two outs and the game still tied, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts opted to go to his bullpen, calling on lefty Alex Vesia to face Jake Bauers. Bauers hit a ground ball through the right side that found a gap and trickled into right field for a single, scoring Chourio to put the Brewers ahead 5-4.

Bauers then stole second and Andrew Vaughn worked a walk to load the bases, but Christian Yelich grounded out — albeit on a hard-hit ball — to end the inning.

In what had been a fairly dramatic game, the bottom of the ninth was anticlimactic, which is exactly what the Brewers want to see from their closer. Trevor Megill came in and retired Mookie Betts, Muncy, and Kyle Tucker in order to secure the first victory of the road trip. For a team that lost a couple of fairly heartbreaking games in San Diego, it has to feel good to come away with a comeback victory over a stacked Dodgers team. Good pitching and timely hitting will always be a recipe for success.

Robert Gasser will be on the mound tomorrow opposite Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers. It’s another West Coast night game, with first pitch set for 9:10 p.m. CT.

LOS ANGELES — The sound of trumpets are now the sound of alarm for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Oh, dear. Here comes closer Edwin Diaz again.

The pain and suffering continued Thursday night, Aug. 13 when he blew his third save since last week and the Dodgers lost to the Milwaukee Brewers 5-4 in the first game of a crucial, four-game series.

Diaz entered in the bottom of the ninth to the sound of the signature trumpets with the Dodgers leading 4-2 thanks to Max Muncy’s pinch hit, three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth.

But Diaz heard loud boos from the crowd when he neutralized Muncy’s heroics. He left the field with two outs, the score tied 4-4 and though his status as the Dodgers’ closer appears to still be secure, Diaz is undeniably feeling the heat from the fans.

Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia allowed the final run, but the Dodgers losing this night belonged to Diaz.

The second pitch Edwin Díaz threw Thursday night sailed above the strike zone, at about eye-height on Milwaukee’s William Contreras. It was an early indicator that the Dodgers closer was about to have a brutal ninth inning.

By the end of his third blown save in four appearances, even Díaz wasn’t sure what his role would be going forward.

“Now I’ve just got to see what they want to do,” he said after the Dodgers’ 5-4 loss to the Brewers. “I want to do the best thing for the team. At the end of the day, if they give me the ball in the ninth I will try to do my job. If they give me the ball in another inning, I will try to do my job. Got to get better, be consistent.”

Manager Dave Roberts, however, as he looked at the state of his bullpen, wasn’t ready to take the closer title from Díaz.

“Give me another option,” Roberts said. “To be quite honest, none of those guys really are throwing the baseball great. So that’s just kind of the way it is.”

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The series opener between the Dodgers and Brewers, two of the top teams in the National League, saw Roki Sasaki give up just two runs over six innings despite battling command issues. It included a record-setting go-ahead home run from Max Muncy, No. 131 at Dodger Stadium, breaking a tie with Eric Karros for the most all-time at Chavez Ravine.

Then Díaz, who has been working through an evolving set of issues since returning from the injured list (arthroscopic elbow surgery) a couple weeks ago, took over with a two-run lead. And the game went sideways.

The Dodgers (73-49) fell two games back of the Brewers (75-47) and half a game behind the Braves (73-48).

“A loss is a loss, but there’s certain losses that are more costly,” Roberts said. “And when you use five relievers and you lose a game, that’s costly.”

Though Díaz’s command issues flared early, he struck out Contreras to begin the inning. Then he gave up four consecutive singles.

“I think my fastball command today — I was throwing strikes, but right in the middle,” Díaz said. “Every big league hitter can hit it right in the middle, [even if you] throw 200 miles an hour. I’ve got to get better at that.”

Milwaukee’s Joey Ortiz and David Hamilton both hit center-cut fastballs to put runners on the corners for the top of the order.

Then Jackson Chourio’s and Garrett Mitchell’s RBI singles — to cut the Dodgers lead to one run and to tie the score, respectively — came on sliders. That was the pitch Díaz struggled to get a feel for in Arizona last weekend.

“I think it was better today,” he said. “I think I made good ones. When you miss your fastball in the middle, they see better pitches.”

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Díaz then struck out right-handed hitting Gary Sánchez on three pitches, but Roberts had seen enough. He turned to left-hander Alex Vesia.

With two outs and runners on first and second, Vesia got Jake Bauers to hit a ground ball to the right side of the field, but it found a hole to drive in the go-ahead run. And the Dodgers offense didn’t counter in the bottom of the ninth.

“It’s frustrating because I know my ability,” said Díaz, who has an 11.57 ERA since joining the Dodgers last offseason on a three-year, $69-million deal. “I know what I can do on the mound. To not be able to do it sucks. I’ve just got to come tomorrow and try to keep getting better.”

The Dodgers’ bullpen situation has flipped dramatically since his return from injury. Less than three weeks ago, Roberts said his high-leverage relievers made up “as big a trust tree as we’ve had in quite some time.”

When pressed Thursday on why he planned to stick with Díaz in save situations, Roberts’ tone had changed.

“Who’s the other option?” Roberts said. “You look back at the last week, and guys have struggled. ... Everyone’s got a role, they all have jobs to do, and they all have to do their job. That’s it.”

One factor has been health. Brock Stewart (right shoulder discomfort) and Will Klein (right elbow loose bodies) have been placed on the IL since Roberts’ “trust tree” comments.

Then there’s the issue of performance.

Scott (2.25 ERA, 16 saves), who served as the closer in Díaz’ three-month absence, has been dealing with inconsistent velocity. But he has three straight holds. On Thursday, he faced only Christian Yelich, who hit a long fly ball into the left-field corner, but Kiké Hernández made the catch before running into the wall.

Vesia surrendered two runs in ⅔ of an inning against the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 4, but he had held opponents hitless with three walks over three appearances before facing Milwaukee.

Evan Phillips seemed to have righted the ship after a rocky return from the IL, but he gave up two earned runs in ⅓ of an inning Tuesday.

What about taking a closer-by-committee approach?

“We’ve got to get other guys on track to even have that be even a valid conversation, to be honest with you,” Roberts said.

So, Díaz will continue working to regain his effectiveness on the mound, without changing roles.

“He’s got to find his way,” Roberts said. “And he’s got to have a runway to find his way. But then it gets to a point where — I’m not there yet, but ... I’m betting on the fact that the stuff will kind of right, and he’ll figure it out.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

With no power to speak of—finishing the game with nothing but singles in their 10 hits—the Brewers took advantage of Edwin Díaz’s struggles to mount a late comeback and beat the Dodgers 5-4 in one of these teams’ most excruciating losses of the season.

While Roki Sasaki has never been confused with a starter who relentlessly pounds the zone, even by his standards, this performance against the Brewers came with worse command than he was comfortable with. Through his first five frames, Sasaki walked the same number of batters as he had innings. Although his ability to pitch out of trouble to prevent a blowup should be applauded, there was probably a healthy contribution from a Brewers offense that couldn’t generate any power against him.

Both runs that Sasaki allowed came in the third inning, when control of the baseball eluded him to the point of walking three batters in a single frame. Joey Ortiz and David Hamilton came up to the plate with one out and the bases loaded, and each walked in a run, receiving a combined single strike in their respective plate appearances.

With the Dodgers silent early on against lefty Shane Drohan, they counted on the struggles of the Brewers’ stars to stay in this game. Firstly, in that third inning, the damage to Sasaki could’ve been worse, but amidst his struggles, the Dodgers starter rather easily punched out William Contreras with the bases loaded before walking in the two runs.

Eric Karros mentioned in the Dodgers broadcast that through this cold stretch with the bat, Contreras has seen the defensive side of his game also falter, and that came into play for the Dodgers’ first run. With a runner at second and two outs, Ben Rortvedt knocked a single into left field, and even with Shohei Ohtani coming up to hit, Miguel Rojas got the aggressive send sign. Rojas should’ve been out at the plate after Jackson Chourio made a good throw, but Contreras hurried the tag and couldn’t hold on to the ball; this allowed the Dodgers to score their first run and make it a 2-1 matchup in the fifth.

The Brewers’ most accomplished player and in the middle of a lousy campaign, Christian Yelich, much like Contreras, also helped out Sasaki in this game. Far from his best form, Sasaki was sent out there for the sixth to try to squeeze out one more inning that started with Andrew Vaughn reaching safely for the third straight time. Yelich was next, and with the Brewers’ last chance to do damage before the Dodgers went to the bullpen, their star left-handed hitter grounded into an easy double play. Eventually, Sasaki completed the six innings of two-run baseball, a great line given the context of this performance.

Milwaukee also tried to extend their starter to complete six full innings, a decision that would come back to haunt them with the Dodgers turning this game around in the sixth. Refusing to miss time after his injury scare on Wednesday, Freddie Freeman delivered a magnificent at-bat, overcoming a 0-2 count to earn a nine-pitch walk on an overturned 3-2 strike call. Freeman joined Tommy Edman, who also had walked to lead off the inning, on the basepaths, and that was enough for Pat Murphy to turn to Antonio Senzatela in the bullpen.

Pinch-hitting for Miguel Rojas with two outs, Max Muncy did what he has done many times recently, hitting a clutch homer to hand the Dodgers the lead. This one was a three-run shot, simply destroying a high heater from the former Rockies starter-turned-relief weapon for the Brew Crew.

The saying that when it rains, it pours certainly applied to Yelich, as he was without luck on his side late in this one. Tanner Scott was brought in relief to face the former MVP with one on and two out in the eighth. Representing the tying run, Yelich got a hold of one down the left field line that very nearly went out but was ultimately caught by Kiké Hernández right at the wall.

What’s further impressive about that defensive play is that Kiké had already made a good one at third earlier in the game. And as long as he is providing this type of versatility with defensive contributions all over, the team will make do without his offensive production.

That minor scare with Scott turned out to be a preview of what was to come in the ninth. In a tightly contested matchup, a team functioning like a well-oiled machine cannot afford to have one of its integral pieces struggling in the manner that Edwin Díaz has, ultimately leading to a blown save in the ninth. Blowup outings here and there can be explained, but what’s baffling about Díaz right now, as he allowed four straight hits (all singles) to give up the lead, is that the stuff just isn’t performing as you’d expect. Too often he located the pitch well and didn’t get the result you’d assume, like in this Chourio RBI single.

Díaz blew the save and left a mess for Alex Vesia with two on and two out against Jake Bauers. Vesia threw a 1-2 slider that didn’t break enough, and Bauers squeezed it past the infield for an RBI single to give the Brewers the 5-4 lead. In typical Brewers fashion, they came back in this one with nothing but singles.

Game particulars

• Home run— Max Muncy (23)
• WP—DL Hall (2-0): 2 IP, 3 strikeouts
• LP— Edwin Díaz (2-2): 0.2 IP, 4 hits, 3 runs, 2 strikeouts
• SV— Trevor Megill (22): 1 IP, 1 strikeout

Up next

Phenomenal this season and coming off 5.2 scoreless innings in a low-scoring win against the Diamondbacks, Yoshinobu Yamamoto will lead the Dodgers against the Brewers on Friday night, aiming to pitch back-to-back scoreless games for the first time this season. Milwaukee will send yet another one of their young starters in Robert Gasser. The first pitch comes your way at 7:10 p.m. (PT).

The Texas Rangers scored zero runs but the Anaheim Angels scored seven runs.

I hadn’t thought much about the Rangers all day. I hadn’t even really paid attention to the lineup when I was putting up the GDT. BZZR is finally on Roku (I can finally uninstall Poob!) so I got that working a few minutes before first pitch.

As soon as the game loaded up, Rangers Sports Network was showing a graphic featuring tonight’s lineup. I did a double take as my eyes darted to the bottom of the order and I saw that Nicky Lopez was Texas’ No. 7 hitter.

It dawned on me then that, despite being in the race for a division title in potentially the worst division since the strike of ‘94 seemingly rescued us from Texas’ first ever division title coming with a below .500 record, and coming into the night holding an American League Wild Card spot, the Rangers aren’t even that much better than the Angels.

Not when Nicky Lopez is batting seventh. Not when Austin Wynns is making another start for this club and he isn’t even the No. 9 hitter.

Not when Jacob deGrom can’t even go more than two innings because he’s hurt or really wishing he’d taken that trade to Atlanta. Not when the club can only muster two hits through the first six innings and just five all night, none for extra bases. Not when the team won’t use a challenge on a pitch fully in the strike zone. Not when a bases loaded comebacker to the mound doesn’t turn into an out.

The Rangers went 1-6 against the Angels in Anaheim this season. They’ve gone 3-7 against them in total. They will have a losing record against them this year. There’s only like 40 games left this season and victories against the Rangers have contributed to like 15% of Anaheim’s entire win total.

The Angels are pretty bad — they had the worst record in baseball until winning tonight — but sitting here in mid-August, the Rangers aren’t much better if they are at all.

Player of the Game: The Roku feed was pretty smooth.

Up Next: The Rangers fly up to Sacramento for the next round of shameful beatings beginning in the middle of the night tomorrow night.

The Dodgers couldn’t hold onto a late lead on Thursday night against the Milwaukee Brewers.

But with a history-making swing, Max Muncy at least gave one.

Summoned from the bench for a pinch-hit at-bat in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Dodgers’ veteran third baseman belted a towering three-run, go-ahead homer off Milwaukee right-handed reliever Antonio Senzatela.

It would only go down as a footnote on the night, with the Dodgers losing 5-4 after Edwin Díaz’s three-run blown save in the top of the ninth.

In franchise’s record books, however, the drive catapulted Muncy to the top of a notable list.

With the 131st home run of his career at Dodger Stadium, Muncy passed retired star slugger Eric Karros for most by a single player in the ballpark’s 65-year history.

“You did it Munce! You did it!,” said Karros, who was serendipitously calling the game on the team’s SportsNet LA broadcast.

“What a career. You just can’t imagine, especially if you’re Max Muncy, you can’t imagine that this is how things would end up.”

Indeed, Muncy would have once been an unthinkable candidate to become Dodger Stadium’s home run king, having joined the team on a minor-league contract a decade ago before blossoming into an unexpected star.

Yet, over his Dodgers career, his power has remained consistent –– there through injuries and positional changes and mechanical struggles that have led to more than a down seasons overall for the three-time All-Star.

“Definitely not a spot I ever thought I’d be in,” he said earlier this year.

Muncy had been chasing down Karros’ record for most of this season, in which the 35-year-old has had a resurgent campaign that earned him a trip back to the Midsummer Classic.

With 23 long balls, Muncy trails only Shohei Ohtani for most on the team. He is also batting above .250 for the first time since 2019, and on the verge of recording his most wins above replacement (he entered Thursday at 3.4, according to Baseball-Reference) since 2021.

Despite that, eclipsing Karros’ mark had required patience.

Muncy sat one homer off the record for a stretch of 59 home plate appearances in July, before finally tying it on July 29.

Since then, he had hit only one more big fly (during a road trip at Wrigley Field earlier this month) while becoming one of several Dodgers hitters to endure a midsummer slump.

Things have gone better on this homestand, however.

With Thursday’s blast –– which came on the sixth pitch of an at-bat that saw Muncy just miss an earlier home run on a fly ball that sailed wide of the right-field foul pole –– Muncy is hitting 4-for-12 this week with seven RBIs.

Tim Anderson ended the first Field of Dreams game with a two-run, walk-off shot that magically disappeared into the right-field corn, and for five years, that has been the sentimental argument for playing baseball in Iowa. Nothing since has come close to that drama.

Thursday night at least they tried.

MLB brought out 26 Hall of Famers to appear out of the corn stalks, the most at one game since the 2008 All-Star Game. Players from both teams read the monologue from the movie reminding everyone of how baseball is the constant through the years in America. Brand-new Hall of Famers Andruw Jones and Jeff Kent threw out the first pitches to Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez and Joe Mauer.

All of it happened in a new, permanent ballpark that seated 8,000 Thursday night.

Dyersville has about 4,500 people living there. Thursday night close to twice that many were at the game on the outskirts of downtown, waxing poetic about the town's new tourist attraction.

The game started out with drama, Kyle Schwarber launching the third pitch of the game into the cornfield. The Twins couldn't keep up as Schwarber hit two homers and Brandon Marsh had one and Philadelphia won 7-1.

Here is who came out of Dyersville Thursday night winners and who left as losers.

Winners

Kyle Schwarber

His first at-bat ended up with a 369-foot, lead-off home run. In the fourth inning he did it again with a little help from Twins right fielder Luke Keaschall, who had it bounce off his glove and into the corn. Aaron Judge is the only other player to homer twice in this game. Judge did it in 2021 and left as a loser. Schwarber left as the game MVP, rewarded with a hot dog and cob of corn.

Brandon Marsh

He reached base four times, going 2-for-2 with two walks, stole a base and drove in two runs. His seventh-inning home run off Travis Adams was his 17th of the season, a career high with 40 games still to play.

Aaron Nola

Nola went five innings, holding the Twins to one run and he struck out a season-high nine. He came in 3-9 with a 5.47 ERA in a season that has been a grind.

LOS ANGELES — Max Muncy picked an ideal moment to become the all-time leader in home runs hit at Dodger Stadium.

Entering the game in the sixth inning as a pinch hitter, Muncy slugged a three-run blast that propelled the Dodgers to a 4-2 lead Thursday night against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Adding to the drama, the Dodgers third baseman hit a 3-2 pitch with two outs over the wall in right center. The crowd of 46,105 erupted in celebration. Unfortunately for Muncy and Co., the lead did not hold.

Still, it was Muncy’s 131st home run at Dodger Stadium, moving him past retired Dodgers star Eric Karros, who had 130 home runs at the Los Angeles park that opened in 1962.

MAD MAX! pic.twitter.com/tC1cvyoAU1

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 14, 2026

The blast also was Muncy’s fourth pinch hit homer with the Dodgers. All three of the previous shots came in 2018.

Muncy, 35, is in his 11th season in the majors and ninth with the Dodgers.

The home run was the 237th of his career and his 23rd this season, second on the Dodgers behind only Shohei Ohtani’s 27 homers.

Most home runs at Dodger Stadium

Here's who has hit the most home runs at Dodger Stadium, per the SportsNet LA broadcast:

• Max Muncy, 131
• Eric Karros, 130
• Ron Cey, 123
• Steve Garvey, 118
• Matt Kemp, 117

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Max Muncy sets record for most home runs at Dodger Stadium

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs blasphemed the St. Paul Saints (Twins), 10-3.

Kohl Franklin had a very good start as he works his way back from missing almost two years. Franklin allowed just one run on three hits over four innings. The one run came on a home run by the first hitter of the game, Walker Jenkins, the Twins’ top prospect. Franklin walked two and struck out three.

Evan Taylor pitched the next two innings and got the win because Franklin didn’t go five innings. But Taylor did not allow a run. He gave up two hits, walked none and struck out two.

The I-Cubs struck back with six runs in the bottom of the first inning, thanks to three Iowa home runs. First, DH Owen Miller tied the game with a solo home run, his seventh of the year. Miller went 1 for 4 and was hit by a pitch. He scored twice.

Next up, third baseman Ben Cowles hit a three-run home run to give Iowa the lead for good. But Cowles wasn’t done, as he hit a solo home run in the fifth inning as well. Cowles went 3 for 3 with a walk and the two home runs. he had five total runs batted in.

Catcher Ethan Hearn hit the third and final home run of the first inning with the bases empty. Hearn went 1 for 3 with a walk and two runs batted in. He has six home runs this year, two with the Cubs.

Cowles solo home run in the fifth inning was a back-to-back blast with left fielder Greg Jones’ solo shot. That was Jones’ second Iowa home run and third overall. Jones went 2 for 4 with a walk and two steals. He scored three times.

Second baseman Ed Howard was 2 for 4 with one run scored.

Miller’s first home run.

Cowles gives Iowa the lead.

Ethan Hearn goes back-to-back.

The velocity is back for Franklin.

Greg Jones goes deep.

And Cowles says two home runs are better than one.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies grounded the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Angels), 6-1.

Starter Brody McCullough was sharp as he allowed just one run on three hits over five innings. McCullough struck out eight Trash Pandas and walked none.

Daniel Palencia then pitched the sixth inning in a rehab assignment and did much better than the last time out. Palencia didn’t strike anyone out, but he did retire the side in order on three ground outs. Palencia threw ten pitches, eight for strikes.

The win went to Yenrri Rojas, who threw two scoreless innings after Palencia. Rojas allowed just one hit. He struck out two and walked no one.

Catcher Miguel Useche hit a three-run double in the seventh inning. Useche went 2 for 4.

Right fielder Alex Ramírez went 3 for 5. He drove in one run and scored one run.

Shortstop Karson Simas was 3 for 4. He scored one run and had one RBI.

Useche’s three-run double.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs were swamped by the Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers), 8-6.

Nazier Mulé started and took the loss after he was rocked for eight runs on six hits over 3.2 innings. One of the eight runs was unearned. Mulé walked three and struck out three.

Catcher Logan Poteet clubbed a solo home run in the second inning, It was his fifth with South Bend and 19th overall. Poteet went 2 for 4 and scored twice.

Third baseman Matt Halbach homered with the bases empty in the seventh inning. It was Halbach’s tenth home run this year. Halbach was 2 for 4.

First baseman Josiah Hartshorn was 2 for 4 with two RBI.

Center fielder Alexey Lumpuy went 2 for 4 with a stolen base. Lumpuy scored one run.

Poteet’s home run.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans soothed the Hill City Howlers (Guardians), 11-4.

Ninth-round pick Chase Meyer made his prod debut a successful one, going 3.1 innings and allowing just one run on three hits. Meyer struck out six and walked three.

Tenth-round pick Luke Alwood’s second pro appearance was a strong as the first one. He’s now 2-0 in two appearances after surrendering no runs on just one hit over three innings. Alwood struck out five and walked one.

Shortstop Corey Nunez went 3 for 4 with a double and a walk. He scored two runs and drove in two.

Right fielder Ethan Conrad was 2 for 5 with a triple and an RBI single. He scored once.

Center fielder Caden Sorrell went 2 for 5. He scored twice and drove in one.

Second baseman Juan Cabada got his first two hits in Low-A, going 2 for 5 with a double. He scored one run and drove in one.

Catcher Jose Silva was 2 for 4 and was hit by a pitch. Silva scored twice and had one RBI.

Highlights.

Carlos Rodón looks like a pitcher ready for a return to the majors.

The Yankees All-Star left-hander, making his second rehab start since going on the injured list with elbow inflammation in July, was dominant across 4 1/3 innings for the Double-A Somerset Patriots on Thursday night.

Rodón allowed just two hits and a walk while striking out seven New Hampshire hitters on 58 pitches (41 strikes) at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, N.J.

“I feel like I’m always ready to get big league hitters out,” Rodón told reporters after his outing.

“The goal was to go out there and throw as many strikes as I could and be efficient.

“As far as what’s next, not sure. I’d love to go out there, compete and help our team win [in the majors], but that is not up to me.”

The 33-year-old southpaw said his stuff — which generated 15 swings and misses — felt “fairly crisp,” especially compared to his first rehab appearance on Saturday when he allowed three runs over 2 2/3 frames with Triple-A Scranton.

Injuries have limited Rodón to just nine starts this season with New York, where he’s posted a 4-2 record with a 3.30 ERA and 52 strikeouts over 46 1/3 innings.

Offseason surgery to remove a bone spur in his left elbow forced Rodón to begin 2026 on the IL and delayed his season debut until May 10.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters over the weekend that the team may “piggyback” Rodón by having another starter, possibly Ryan Weathers or Will Warren, pitch behind him as he increases his workload.

For his part, Rodón said he has no issue with that possibility.

“I’m willing to do whatever to help our team win,” Rodón said. “If they think that’s the avenue they want to go, I’m ready to perform and help our team win.”

The Yankees’ offensive struggles have been prevalent in recent weeks, including Thursday afternoon’s 1-0 loss in the series finale against the Mariners.

But adding a healthy Rodón to the mix would improve an already formidable staff for the Yankees.

Cam Schlittler is a leading contender for the Cy Young. Gerrit Cole, in his first season post-Tommy John surgery, has been dominant in recent outings.

Max Fried has been solid since returning from his own elbow injury recently, including his five-inning, one-run effort in Thursday’s loss.

Warren and Weathers have also been stalwarts all season — and Rodón is excited to rejoin that mix.

“I’m very confident in our guys, and it’s up there, for sure,” Rodón said of where New York’s rotation ranks among the MLB’s best. “I have three guys in front of me that are really good in this game.

“I’m glad that all of us are on the same team, so it’s great to be able to have those kind of arms.”

Tonight, the Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies participated in the MLB Field of Dreams Game on the iconic site of the 1989 film. For thoughts on my favorite baseball movie of all time, check out the game thread.

Before the umpire decried “play ball!” in Dyersville, IA, Netflix orchestrated a beautiful pregame ceremony featuring Hall of Famers materializing out of the corn much like the Black Sox on celluloid.

After all the pageantry and pomp, it was time to play!

First inning runs-allowed have been a trend for Twins starting pitchers of late, and that didn’t change in the Iowa cornfield. In fact, three pitches in from Taj Bradley and the Phils were up 1-0 as Kyle Schwarber scalded a sphere into the stalks. After a Bryce Harper walk and a Luis Arraez single (of course), Bryson Stott gave the Fightins’ a crooked number with an RBI knock. 2-0 PHI.

Singles from Trevor Larnach & Ryan Jeffers sandwiched around a Byron Buxton pop-out gave the Twins a first inning rally of their own, but a Josh Bell swinging strikeout on 3-2 and a hot shot from Royce Lewis right into the glove of SS Trea Turner cut the rally as short as Moonlight Graham’s career.

In B2, Luke Keaschall got the Twins on the board by beaning a ghost juuuust beyond (357 ft off Aaron Nola) the LCF fence. PHI 2-1.

Alas, Keaschall giveth and Keaschall taketh away. After a Brandon Marsh BB in T4, Schwarber again bombed a ball to RF which bounced on—rather than in—Luke’s glove and over the fence for a two-run jack. Turner would immediately double down the RF line, and just as quickly Harper would single him home. 5-1 PHI.

That would be the end of the line for Bradley. Same old story (same old career, really) for Taj: random bouts of wildness doom him to a bummer of an outing.

The next MN scoring opportunity came in B5, when a Buxton double and walks to Jeffers & Bell loaded the sacks for Lewis. In the most dramatic spot possible for the MN batter who most thrives in those situations—Royce struck out on three pitches.

Through five innings, the Twins simply gained no purchase off Nola’s diving-in-the-dirt knuckle curveball (9 K).

More moonshine mashers in T7: after Alec Bohm nearly creamed some corn and ended up with a double, Marsh stalk-ed Travis Adams in the next AB. 7-1 PHI.

Despite clean pen outings from Taylor Rogers & Tommy Nance, the Twins could not muster any further mash. Closing things out for the Phanatics? Jhoan Duran with a clean B9.

Your Final: Philadelphia Phillies 7, Minnesota Twins 1.

76% of the way through their 2026 campaign, the Twins continue to be maddening in their step-forward, step-backward sequencing. Still hanging in the fringes of the AL Central “race” and the muddled AL Wild Card mess, if not doing themselves any favors with an extremely hot-or-cold offense.

Zach’s Zealot

• The whole Field of Dreams idea: Win or lose, this is a great thing that MLB does combining sporting & cinematic pastimes.

Zach’s Zombie

• Putting this game on Netflix: I know, I know…“elder millennial yells at cloud”. But think of the interest this could have drawn if aired on FOX or NBC or what not. At very least, allow it to be simulcast in the Minny & Philly markets on a local station and/or Twins.TV. Forever short-sighted is MLB.

Egg-cellent Elocution

• This special event not only brought out the HOF legends pre-game, but also HOF legends like TawnyFroggyin the chat!

Who’s Got Next

• The odd Friday off-day mid-series to allow the Twins & Phillies to get back to MN for two more Saturday & Sunday.

Kyle Schwarber’s second home run during Thursday’s MLB at Field of Dreams Game came with a little help from the field.

During the fourth inning of the Phillies 7-1 win, Schwarber belted a ball to right field off Twins starter Taj Bradley, but with the stadium’s low fences, it was in reach for outfielder Luke Keaschall.

Just as Keaschall appeared to track the shot down, however, the ball popped right out of his glove and over the fence, extending the Phillies’ lead to 4-1 over Minnesota.

The Netflix broadcast booth consisting of play-by-play commentator Matt Vasgersian and former MLB stars CC Sabathia and Hunter Pence let out collective “oh nos” as the ball fell out of Keaschall’s glove.

“I think that was a Keasch-made home run unfortunately,” Pence quipped.

Schwarber’s first home run came on the third pitch of the game in the first inning, as he sent one well into the corn field beyond the right field fence.

The two blasts put Schwarber at an MLB-best 37 home runs on the season.

Schwarber has yet again been one of the league’s top hitters this season, posting a slash line of .250/.371/.544 with 72 RBIs after Thursday’s effort.

Schwarber was ecstatic headed into Thursday’s game, telling reporters that he was “excited to see the corn” at the Field of Dreams.

“I think it’s going to be awesome,” Schwarber said, according to MLB.com. “I’ve never been out there before, so I’m excited to see the corn, see the field they actually filmed it at. Just to be in that atmosphere, I think it’s going to be really cool.”

He added that he expects the game to also have a nostalgic feel to it.

“I know they’re going to have a lot of different activities and things before the game that’ll make it a little bit nostalgic and make it feel like you’re playing back in the day,” Schwarber said.

“So I feel like it’ll be a really cool thing, and hopefully, we have a great time.”

I have a confession to make: I haven’t watched Field of Dreams. I intended to watch it last night, but I ended up watching The Long Goodbye instead. In my defense, that’s sort of related to baseball, since Jim Bouton is in it. Anyway, I’m going to substitute some Bull Durham references, since that’s a Kevin Costner baseball film that I have seen; it’s close enough. Bull Durham is somewhat risqué, and this is a family friendly blog, so I’ll be mindful; I’m not going to suggest that anyone playing tonight could benefit from having a fan read Walt Whitman to them.

Kyle Schwarber wasted no time in getting cinematic, blasting a fastball that caught the middle-inside of the plate deep into the maize. Bryce Harper walked, and Luis Arraez singled up the middle to put runners on the corners. Bryson Stott singled to left-center, scoring Harper. “Oh, my stars and garters,”, said the old-timey fans watching the game (speaking of garters, Annie Savoy would surely have advice for Minnesota starter Taj Bradley about how to deal with a rough patch).

Aaron Nola also had a rocky first, allowing two of his first three batters to reach, the second on a tiny little dribbler. Ground balls may be more democratic, but Nola decided not to embrace that particular philosophy, putting the next two Twins down without allowing the ball to touch the ground. Unfortunately, the ball hit by Luke Keaschall in the second also did not touch the ground, at least not until it found the corn over the left field wall.

In the fourth, Brandon Marsh worked a leadoff walk, then stole second; he was called out, but the film reel was rewound, and upon a second viewing he was deemed safe. Kyle Schwarber, knowing that a cinematic event calls for a sequel, smacked another ball out to right; Keaschall leapt and got a glove on it, but the ball bounced off and into the corn. Kyle Schwarber believes in the soul, the hanging curveball, opening your Christmas presents on Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve, and he believes in long, slow, deep moonshots that take three days to land (what he thinks about the novels of Susan Sontag is unknown). Trea Turner doubled, Harper singled, and the score was 5-1.

Save for that solo shot, Nola had cruised through four. In the fifth, allowed a two-out double up the third base line in the bottom fifth, then walked the next batter, and then the next, and suddenly slow cinema became a thriller. Royce Lewis came to the plate with the bases loaded, representing the tying run. Nola rose to the moment, putting him away on a trio of pitches: knuckle curve, four-seamer, knuckle curve.

That ended Nola’s night (1 ER, 5 H, 9 K, 3 BB), with Brooks Raley his successor. He allowed a double, but kept the Twins from scoring; it’s very unfitting for a team with that name to have just a single run. The Phillies had no such problems: Alec Bohm doubled to deep center, and Marsh pulled a fly ball into the corn in right, and the Phillies had seven runs.

Orion Kerkering took the mound in the eighth, as Derek Hill took to right field in place of Harper. Kerkering put the Twins down in order.

The Twins entered the ninth dreaming of their Hollywood miracle. They did what they needed to in the top of the inning, surrendering no more runs. But the tall task was yet to come. Facing Jhoan Duran down by any amount is imposing; facing him down by a half dozen is petrifying. He wanted to announce his presence with authority, and did. The Twins managed a hit against him, and no more.

The Phillies are 65-58. They’ll return to action on Saturday at 7:10 in Minnesota.

Sell the Red Sox? Don’t bet on it, CEO Sam Kennedy said during a Boston radio appearance on Thursday. 

Kennedy was asked if he thought John Henry would ever sell the Red Sox while he was on “The Greg Hill Show” on WEEI, and gave an emphatic response. 

“It doesn’t matter, and I mean that sincerely,” he said. “It just doesn’t matter. John Henry, Linda Henry, the Henry family are never selling the Boston Red Sox. And that’s a soundbite you can play forevermore. I’d bet anything on that.”

The Red Sox are estimated to be worth $6.65 billion by Sportico and there had been some previous thought that there was possible interest in selling the ballclub.

Red Sox fans certainly made their feelings known when they chanted “Sell the team” during games earlier in the season.

Nevertheless, after their historically bad start to this season, the Sox have clawed their way back into the postseason picture and currently occupy an AL wild-card spot. 

Sports team ownership has been in the news as of late after two major pieces of news broke. 

The Yankees recently announced a $2.6 billion financing deal with Apollo Sports Capital — a private equity firm — and the Lakers, on Wednesday, were sold to venture capitalist Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger for $12.5 billion. 

Kennedy was asked about whether the Red Sox would ever looking into anything similar to what the Yankees did.

“Inside of Fenway Sports Group, we have 25, 30 investors of all types, all different types,” Kennedy said. “But John and Linda Henry, Tom Werner, Mike Gordon are the investors and owners of the club that run the club, and that has been consistent for 25 years, and I would bet for the next 25 years — at least 25 years, if not longer — that will continue. So, not something we’re focused on. Just focused on trying to figure out how we’re going to get back on track this week.”

It looks like Netflix listened to baseball fans’ demands after getting criticized for its Opening Day coverage.

The streaming platform displayed a new scorebug for the 2026 MLB Field of Dreams Game, won 7-1 by the Phillies on Thursday night, one that was noticeably larger than the one used during coverage in March.

Their original graphic was lambasted on social media for being outlandishly small, with many fans saying that they could not see any of the text displayed.

Netflix’s updated scorebug now takes up the entire bottom right corner of the screen, with the text appearing much larger and resembling a traditional on-screen graphic.

Despite the updated scorebug, fans still took to social media to voice their grievances.

“Genuinely hideous scorebug,” one user posted to X. “Looks like they got it from a graphics package from like 2007.”

“Netflix logo bigger than the players’ names,” quipped another.

Outside of their updated graphics, Netflix also brought on Matt Vasgersian to do play-by-play coverage, with ex-MLB stars CC Sabathia and Hunter Pence serving as the color analysts.

Thursday brought the third installment of the Field of Dreams Game after the first match was held between the Yankees and White Sox during the 2021 season.

The Phillies got off to a hot start thanks to two home runs by Kyle Schwarber, bringing the four-time All-Star to an MLB-best 37 blasts on the season.

Headed into Thursday’s game, Schwarber told reporters that he was elated to be playing at the Field of Dreams.

“I think it’s going to be awesome,” Schwarber said, according to MLB.com. “I’ve never been out there before, so I’m excited to see the corn, see the field they actually filmed it at. Just to be in that atmosphere, I think it’s going to be really cool.”

“I know they’re going to have a lot of different activities and things before the game that’ll make it a little bit nostalgic and make it feel like you’re playing back in the day,” he added.

“So I feel like it’ll be a really cool thing, and hopefully, we have a great time.”