Category: MLB

Some people like their recaps neat and tidy, so this will be the same. Since the Phillies played a shortened game today, this will be a shortened recap.

The starting pitcher? Zack Wheeler. He only went two innings because for some reason, the Orioles saw a window and tried to play through it. In those 2 1/2 innings, the Phillies were lucky that Bryan de la Cruz homered to give them a lead.

DE LA CRUZIN' ON HOME pic.twitter.com/ZFeRBzx4vv

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 2, 2026

Then they delayed the game since the field was garbage.

After the delay was over, the Orioles’ pitching couldn’t throw strikes, leading to the Phillies scoring two more runs in the fourth. Bryce Harper joined the action with a home run in the fifth,

Number 23 👀 pic.twitter.com/5Un4fWRq2x

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 2, 2026

then a bunch of Phillies got hits in the top of the sixth to tack on some more runs.

J.T. Realmuto, Justin Crawford, Trea Turner – they all had hits! de la Cruz and Kyle Schwarber had sacrifice flies. It gave the Phillies an 8-0 lead and everyone was happy (except probably Wheeler since he didn’t get to pitch).

Then it started raining again, which forced the game to be called early. Good, since the Phillies didn’t need to see Orion Kerkering enter the game later after the runs scored.

Guardians of the Wild Card

Following the series victory in the Steel City over another NL Wild Card in the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Dbacks made the last stop on their 4 city road trip, this time facing off against another Wild Card contender in the Cleveland Guardians. While both the Guards and Pirates are trying to make a push for October, they are doing it in entirely different ways as the Snakes would go from facing a top 3 offense OPS wise in all of baseball in the Pirates, to a team that is dead last in the majors in team OPS in the Guardians. Even though the offense in Cleveland is lackluster, they would make up for their lack of offensive production with stellar pitching as their starting staff ranks 6th in baseball in ERA.

The Cleveland staff lived up to their hype in this series, only allowing 3 ER across a combined 17.1 IP and 19 K’s, keeping the Diamondbacks offense quiet for the most part. Thankfully the snakes were able to do their damage against the guardians bullpen and steal 2 very crucial games right before the trade deadline.

The Return of…Paul Meatballs

Speaking of doing damage against a team’s bullpen, that’s exactly what the Guardians did in Saturday’s Game 2 win that saw a combined 20 runs on 30 hits between the 2 teams. Of the 6 runs the Diamondbacks bullpen surrendered this series, 5 of them were in because of Paul Sewald’s continued struggles over his last 30 games (more so his last 11 outings). In those last 30 outings for Sewald he has pitched 26.2 innings to the tune of a 7.43 ERA with an opposing slash line of .262/.302/.569 and 9 HR allowed. After this outing in which he failed to record even one out and allowing 5 ER, his ERA on the season is now up to 6.45, which would be the worst ERA in his entire career and his highest since having a 6.07 ERA across 56.1 IP in 2018 with the Mets (13.50 in just 6 IP in 2020 so im not counting that small of a sample size).

These struggles of late had Gabe, Brandon and I asking ourselves if this was the last time we would see Paul Sewald pitch for the Diamondbacks in 2026 and if these struggle of late would put any pressure on DBacks GM Mike Hazen to try to add a high leverage arm to the bullpen before the deadline passes. The three of us were in the same boat in saying that we appreciate and acknowledge that Paul did have some early season success and had a stretch where he was as reliable of a closer as one could ask for (outside of Mason Miller obviously), hitters have finally started to readjust to his approach and that’s being shown in not only his career high ERA, but his career high in home runs allowed. It’s one thing to struggle against a top offense like Pittsburgh is one thing, but to fail to even record an out against a team who is dead last in OPS out of all 30 Major League teams shows that Pauls time in the desert just might need to come to an end. 

If this was late April or early May I could see the thought process in keeping Paul and trying to let him work through his struggles and see if he can earn back his closer role, but in a race as tight as the NL Wild Card is this year every single game is critical to the teams playoff chances and if you can’t rely on Paul in low leverage situations against bad offense or high leverage situations against good hitting clubs, then what value does he actually bring to this bullpen going forward?

That’s Bush League Bro!

The only major excitement that the fellas and I would really get to breakdown from this series happened in Sunday’s game 3 finale, where a Tim Tawa’s decision to attempt a bunt not only led to Guardians catcher Patrick Bailey and second baseman Brain Rocchio having some words with Tim, the benches actually cleared and Guardians 3rd base coach Rouglas Odor (Uncle to former Ranger Rougned Odor) had to be held back by his own team. 

One of the many unwritten rules in baseball is that you don’t try to break up a pitchers perfect game or no-hitter with a bunt, as many find it “soft” or even “bush league” and that the hitter should try to get a “real” hit (a hit is a hit in my book) and a bunt in these situations can rub some teams and players the wrong way. The fellas and I all agreed that there are certain scenarios where that it is indeed a weak move to go for the bunt (Erik Aybar bunting in the 8th inning and with 1 out in an attempt to break up Justin Verlander’s No-Hitter) compared to a scenario like Sunday’s game in Cleveland.

Gabe mentioned that if this was similar to Verlander’s No-Hitter attempt back in 2011 where it was late into the 8th inning and the possibility was getting real then there might be some merit to the Guardians reaction to Tawa’s bunt attempt, but this drama occurred in just the 6th inning where there is not only plenty of ball game ahead, Gavin Williams would most likely not even get the chance to go for a PG (if it was still intact late into the game) due to him having a pitch count north of 80 at the time. Brandon and I were also in agreement in saying that due to how much game was still left, there shouldn’t be anything wrong with a hitter trying to get an offensive spark started with some small ball. With the rainy and wet conditions, a bunted ball that gets even slicker after rolling in the wet infield could lead to some chaos and snowball into a big inning. I personally found it very ironic that a team that is known for small ball and even dubbed plays like that as “Guards Ball” would be so upset at another team trying to spark some offense with it.

Pad The Lead Against the Pads

Now that the 4 city road trip has come to end with the team going 6-4, they come back to Chase for a 10 Game home stand that kicks off with a very important 4 game series against the 3rd place San Diego Padres. Brandon, Gabe and I would discuss how this series could play a big part in whether or not both, one or maybe even none of these teams can take a Wild Card spot and sneak into the playoffs.

The Padres and Dbacks come into this 4 game series tied 3-3 on the season series with 7 games left to play against each other. The Padres have turned it up a notch when they needed to most, winning 8 of their last 10 and getting themselves only 1 game behind the Dbacks and the Phillies for the last 2 Wild Card spots. Obviously winning the series or even sweeping the series are the most ideal outcomes for the DIamondbacks, but a series split, loss or even a series sweep at the hands of the Pads could take all the wind out of the Dbacks sails and have them going into a big 3 game set against the Los Angeles Dodgers with their tails between their legs.

Please Sir, Just A Few Trades

The three of us ended the episode having hope that Mike Hazen will start to do his cooking and will address the needs this team has and will give us and the players that boost of reinforcements that we have all been asking and hoping for. With a potential lockout looming (Thank you Dodgers!) the asking price for rentals is even higher than in years past and there are more buyers than sellers, so some teams might have to give up more than they originally wanted to if they want to make improvements that could push them over the edge of contention and into October baseball.

Look out for a special Deadline Dispatch episode tomorrow after the dust has settled and before Monday night’s first pitch!

What’s the opposite of “when it rains, it pours”? When the sky is clear, it gets even clearer? I don’t think that really makes sense, because a well-timed cloud is always a nice treat. When humidity dissipates, it dissipates to an even greater degree? That makes some sense, because who likes humidity? I don’t know if anyone actively notices humidity declining, though. Reverse-engineered idioms aside, things are going really well for the Boston Red Sox.

I mean, they just beat the Dodgers, 8-4, to complete a three-game sweep. The same Dodgers who are ruining baseball because they’re so much better than everyone else, or whatever. It started in the very first inning, when a flurry of walks and singles gave the Red Sox a 2-0 lead. There was a blip in the bottom of the second, when the Dodgers scored three runs after several singles. Fortunately, there’s something in the Red Sox’s clubhouse water these days. Whenever they get punched, there’s a counterpunch. This time, it came when Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, and Masataka Yoshida hit three solo home runs on seven pitches to regain the lead.

From there, it was fairly smooth sailing. Jake Bennett retired ten in a row after the second inning barrage, going 5.2 innings and limiting the Dodgers to just three runs. Jarren Duran tacked on another run via the long ball in the sixth, and the Red Sox grabbed two more in the eighth.

After Bennett, the bullpen was excellent. Justin Slaten finished the sixth inning, and then Tyron Guerrero, Jovani Moran, Greg Weissert, and Garrett Whitlock combined to allow one run. Despite the success, I can’t help but feel like the bullpen is a man short. Going to Whitlock, who is reportedly banged up, in a four-run game feels excessive. If Ryan Watson can’t be trusted with a four-run lead, maybe he isn’t the best use of a roster spot. An off day tomorrow likely gave Chad Tracy the ability to have a shorter leash on some of his arms, but I’d like to see one more arm come in to take some of the load off the top arms.

That’s the last West Coast game of the regular season. We can all go to bed at a reasonable hour going forward. Tomorrow is a day off on the field, but the trade deadline looms at 6 p.m. EST. Go get these fellas some well-deserved help, Craig.

Three Studs

Jake Bennett

I’ll admit, I was skeptical of how Bennett would perform against an offense like the Dodgers’. I thought his strike-throwing might get punished by a real long lineup. It wasn’t the most dominant outing — a 9% swinging strike rate is well below average — but he got the job done. He continues to miss barrels, particularly against lefties, and his changeup gives him a pitch to help neutralize righties. He leaned into his cutter and sweeper more today; neither was great, but improvements to either pitch would help his ceiling rise. Innings is an area to watch, but Bennett has been a stablizing force in the Red Sox rotation.

Nick Sogard

Sogard made at least two, maybe three diving plays in the infield. He reached base twice as well, although he didn’t score. Still, the defense was excellent and helped the pitching staff out of some innings.

Nick Sogard Enjoyer. pic.twitter.com/3IVDTJzLGP

— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) August 3, 2026

Nick Sogard, a true dirt dog. pic.twitter.com/QOsHyXQ7p1

— Robbie Hyde (@gingersnaphyde) August 3, 2026

Ceddanne Rafaela (2-5, HR)

Rafaela has been excellent all season, but he’s been particularly good over the last week. He hit his fourth home run in the series in the third inning to tie the game, while also scoring the first run of the game. He has the Jackie Bradley Jr trait of getting insanely hot each of the last two seasons, while playing top-tier defense in center.

Three Duds

Willson Contreras (0-4)

Andruw Monasterio (1-3, HBP, one weird defensive play that incited a Dodgers rally)

Me (Forgot I had laundry in the dryer for like, 2 hours. Now I have to fold it at 11 pm like a chump)

The Dodgers were swept for just the second time this season after the red-hot Boston Red Sox hit four home runs, including three off embattled starter Emmet Sheehan, to take an 8-4 win on Sunday night at Dodger Stadium.

Boston hit three home runs in four at-bats in the third inning, with Sheehan giving up blasts to Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida as the Dodgers suffered their second three-game sweep at home in less than a month.

“It was bad execution,” Sheehan said. “I just missed my spots.”

Read more:Inside the aggressive push Andrew Friedman and Dodgers made to acquire Tarik Skubal

Boston got to Sheehan early with a pair of RBI singles from Yoshida and Caleb Durbin in the first inning.

The Dodgers (69-43) responded with three runs in the second as Eliézer Alfonzo collected an RBI with a groundout against Red Sox starter Jake Bennett. Andy Pages then drove in two more runs on a single to right. He also hit an RBI double in the seventh for the Dodgers’ final run.

Sheehan (4-8), who has a 6.39 ERA over his past seven starts, gave up six hits and five runs over just 2⅔ innings.

Reliever Wyatt Mills also struggled, giving up two runs over two innings.

“I don’t know,” Sheehan said about his rough stretch. “If I knew, I would fix it, but I’m going to keep trying to fix it. ... The only thing I can do is try to get better. There’s no other option.”

Added Dodgers manager Dave Roberts: “I just don’t think [Sheehan] was sharp today at all. ... They took a lot of comfortable swings [and] aggressive swings. There were some strikeouts and some swing-miss. But the end of the day, it’s about limiting runs, and if you can’t keep the ball in the ballpark, then it’s hard to win.”

Bennett (7-4), settled in after his rough second inning and threw 5⅔ innings as Boston won for the 27th time in 32 games after outscoring the Dodgers 20-10 in the three-game series.

Jarren Duran, a Cypress native, added to Boston’s lead with a 420-foot solo homer to center field off reliever Kyle Hurt in the sixth. It was Duran’s first homer since July 5 against the Angels.

Boston (60-51) closed out the scoring in the eighth, with Durbin scoring on a wild pitch from Mills and Andruw Monasterio scoring on a ball that got past Alfonzo.

“I think that if you look at it, unemotionally, they outplayed us,” Roberts said about Boston’s sweep. “They were hungrier. You’ve got a lot of players over there that are under control. They’re fighting a higher seed in the postseason. They’re playing good baseball, and they outplayed us.

“It’s not an excuse. I don’t feel good about it, but that’s kind of what I saw.”

Skubal arrives

Starting pitcher Tarik Skubal, acquired by the Dodgers in a trade with the Detroit Tigers on Saturday, was in the Dodgers’ dugout during the game, exchanging pleasantries with his new teammates and coaches.

The team also shared a video of Skubal settling in on social media.

“We got better,” said Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz. “That’s the only thing I can say. We got … one of the best pitchers in the league, and now we have him as a teammate. So that’s a really good plus for us.”

Tarik, meet your new teammates! pic.twitter.com/BSoWUNPsJv

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 3, 2026

Injury updates

Miguel Rojas (ankle) was available off the bench despite exiting Saturday’s game after fouling a ball off his foot.

“I felt better today, able to put some weight on it,” Rojas said, adding that his X-rays were negative. “The good thing is no break. So, I’m fine. If Doc needs me and the situation presents itself ... I need to be available every single day.”

Dalton Rushing was scratched with minor right arm irritation; Alfonzo started in his place.

“Dalton had some arm irritation when he was playing catch before the game, which is very uncommon,” Roberts said, adding that X-rays were negative. “I didn’t want to take a chance and kind of push him anymore, so that’s why I decided to scratch him.

“He got treated today, and my expectation is he’s going to be with us on the plane, and then kind of day to day.”

Read more:Plaschke: Tarik Skubal trade brings Dodgers hate, envy ... and another championship

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The San Francisco Giants were said to be sellers leading up to the MLB trade deadline and the first domino has fallen.

The Giants dealt veteran right-hand pitcher Tyler Mahle to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for another right-hand pitcher Anthony Molina. The trade was first reported by Fansided MLB insider Robert Murray.

Molina will continue to develop as he was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento, the Giants said.

The trade comes less than 24 hours until the MLB trade deadline as the cutoff point is Aug. 3 at 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT).

Mahle, 31, leaves the Bay for the A, joining a first-place Braves squad. Overall, Atlanta (67-45) has the third-best record in the National League, sitting 2.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers.

Tyler Mahle contract and stats

Mahle signed a one-year, $10 million deal with San Francisco in the offseason, with hopes of bolstering their bullpen. As the Giants' season took loss after loss, the 10-year veteran pitcher put up a 3-9 record with a 5.13 earned run average, 89 strikeouts and a 1.39 WHIP.

His expiring contract made him an asset in trade talks, where he was linked to the Chicago Cubs, but it's the Braves who ultimately acquired Mahle.

Anthony Molina contract and stats

In return, the Giants received Molina, a 24-year-old pitcher who has limited MLB experience. He is in his third MLB season, having spent his first two with the Colorado Rockies. He's appeared in three games in 2026 with the Braves, including two he finished.

In five innings pitched, Molina delivered two strikeouts and has a 5.40 ERA. Molina joins a Giants team that is in need of bullpen rebuild. Overall, San Francisco has the third-worst record in the NL and the second-worst in the NL West.

The move appears to save the Giants some money as they now take on Molina's expiring contract worth $780,000.

San Francisco Giants trade grade: C+

The trade for the Giants is clearly a move that looks ahead to the future. It appears the team's front office is opting to focus on 2027, or 2028 in case there's a lockout year.

Moving off of Mahle's $10 million contract in exchange for $780,000 could save them money in the long run, setting up a contract for ready-now players with an ability to contribute immediately. Plus, Molina will be in the Giants' farm system as he was sent down to the Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats.

The Giants haven't been good all year. Ideally, trading for better players would seem more favorable, but with the postseason just about out of reach, looking ahead to the future should at the forefront of San Francisco's minds, the fans, too. The season is a wash.

Atlanta Braves trade grade: B-

This take could age horribly. And that's ok. But Mahle didn't do much damage in San Francisco. The Braves spending more money on someone with his stat line is risky. But you have to take risks to be successful and maybe a change of scenery to a winning team could spark something in the veteran pitcher.

That's the reason for the grade being as high, despite not loving this move from the Braves. How Mahle fits in with the Braves will be something to monitor in the final months of baseball.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Giants trade Tyler Mahle to Braves for Anthony Molina. How did the teams fare?

The hottest team in baseball stays sizzling, as the Boston Red Sox crushed four home runs against the Dodgers on Sunday, winning 8-4 and completing the sweep.

It was another rough first inning for Emmet Sheehan, as he allowed a leadoff walk to Nick Sogard to begin the game. After getting Ceddanne Rafeala to ground into a fielder’s choice, Wilyer Abreu singled up the middle. One pitch was all Sheehan needed to get Willson Contreras to line out to left, but the Red Sox broke through with a pair of two-out, RBI singles from Masataka Yoshida and Caleb Durbin. Sheehan finished his first inning with a strikeout, limiting Boston to the two runs, albeit on 30 pitches.

Sheehan would bounce back in the second inning, as he faced the minimum while striking out the side in order.

The Dodgers strung across a one-out rally in the bottom of the second inning against rookie Jake Bennett, as Kyle Tucker, Teoscar Hernández and Max Muncy singled to load the bases for Eliézer Alfonzo. Alfonzo drove home Tucker one a groundout to put the Dodgers on the board, and after an intentional walk to Shohei Ohtani, Andy Pages gave the Dodgers the lead with an opposite field, two-strike, two-run single.

Andy for the lead! pic.twitter.com/1baVmkRhc3

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 3, 2026

Boston would waste little time getting those runs back, as Rafaela crushed his fourth home run of the weekend to tie things up at 3 in the top of the third inning. Rafaela is the first player to hit at least four home runs in a series against the Dodgers since Kyle Schwarber in 2024. On the very next pitch, Abreu put Boston back in front as he went back-to-back with Rafaela, while Yoshida would add the third home run against Sheehan of the inning, making it a 5-3 Red Sox lead.

Sheehan managed to get two outs in the inning before plunking Andruw Monasterio. Sheehan lasted just 2 2/3 innings while allowing the three home runs, with his pitch count at 58 on the game. It’s been a trying season for Sheehan, as the right-hander now has a 5.29 ERA on the season while the three home runs from Boston were the most he’s allowed in any start this year.

The barrage of scoring came to a close after the third inning, as Jack Dreyer and Evan Phillips combined to toss 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of Sheehan, while Bennett retired 10 consecutive hitters after the two-run single from Pages. That all changed in the top of the sixth inning, as Jarren Duran ambushed Kyle Hurt for the fourth home run by Boston on the game, stretching the lead to three.

Freddie Freeman extended his hitting streak to 12 games, as he led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a leadoff infield single against Bennet to give the Dodgers their first baserunner since the second inning. His trip on the base paths was brief, as Mookie Betts grounded into a 5-4-3 double play. A four-pitch walk to Tucker kept the inning alive, and Bennet exited one out shy of a quality start. The Dodgers couldn’t pile on against Justin Slaten, as a diving snag by Sogard got Boston out of the inning unscathed.

The Dodgers put the leadoff man on again in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Max Muncy singled against Tayron Guerrero. Guerrero was one out away from keeping the Dodgers scoreless, but Pages came through again with two outs, slicing an RBI double to plate Muncy and cut the deficit to two runs. Pages finished Sunday with three RBI against Boston, marking the first time he drove in three since doing so on June 9 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Wyatt Mills was the next man out of the Dodgers bullpen, and he began his evening by plunking Caleb Durbin and allowing an infield single to Andruw Monasterio. After a sacrifice bunt from Duran moved both men into scoring position, a wild pitch brought home Durbin and a passed ball plated Monasterio, giving Boston a four-run lead. Mills managed to work a scoreless ninth inning, but he ended his night having tossed 53 pitches.

The Red Sox continue to stun the league with Chad Tracy under the helm, as they improve their overall record to 60-51 having won 28 of their last 33 games. It is the first time the Red Sox swept the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, and it’s the first time they’ve done so in general against the Dodgers since 2010. With the Dodgers losing three games in a row and finishing the homestand 2-4, they still trail the Milwaukee Brewers by half a game for the best record in baseball.

Enter Skubal

During Sunday’s game, the Dodgers’ shiny new addition Tarik Skubal got himself acclimated with his new teammates. He is set to make his Dodger debut on Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Tarik, meet your new teammates! pic.twitter.com/BSoWUNPsJv

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 3, 2026

Game particulars

• Home runs— Ceddanne Rafaela (15), Wilyer Abreu (17), Masataka Yoshida (5), Jarren Duran (14)
• WP— Jake Bennett (7-4): 5 2/3 IP, 6 hits, 3 earned runs, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts
• LP— Emmet Sheehan (4-8): 2 2/3 IP, 6 hits, 5 earned runs, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts

Up next

The Dodgers are on the road again as they fly out to Chicago for a three-game set against the Cubs beginning Monday (5:05 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Matthew Boyd goes for Chicago, while the Dodgers have yet to announce Monday’s starter.

Faced with replacing two All-Star outfielders and former MVPs, the New York Yankees got smart in backfilling the production missing when Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger succumbed to injuries.

Rather than pick over an underwhelming market of potentially available outfielders, the Yankees instead pivoted to acquire slugging first baseman/DH Luis Garcia Jr. from the Washington Nationals for four minor leaguers Sunday, Aug. 2.

Garcia, 26, is having a breakout season perhaps beyond what the Nationals believed was possible, belting 23 home runs and posting an .873 OPS in 104 games. He’ll immediately pump life into a Yankees offense missing three-time MVP Judge, who remains out with a rib injury, and Bellinger, who is recovering from a hamstring injury.

In return, the Nationals receive four right-handed pitchers, two – relievers Jake Bird and Yovanny Cruz – with major league experience. It’s their second trade made with the intention of curing the massive imbalance between their league-leading offense and nearly league-worst pitching staff, a process that began with the swap of Curtis Mead to Boston for lefty Connelly Early.

Here’s the early grades on the Nationals-Yankees swap:

Luis Garcia Jr. trade details

Yankees receive: Nationals infielder/DH Luis Garcia Jr.

Nationals receive: RHP Jake Bird, RHP Ben Grable, RHP Yovanny Cruz, RHP Jack Cebert

Yankees trade grade: A-

Talk about instant impact: Garcia has been fantastic this season, already establishing a career high with 23 home runs and ranking in the 93 RD percentile for expected slugging. He and All-Star Ben Rice can immediately occupy the first base and DH spots, lengthening a Yankee lineup that’s been held to three runs or less in 12 of their last 16 games.

While many remember Garcia as a second baseman – he played 125 games there a year ago – he’s been strictly a first baseman and DH this year, slugging enough from that spot to produce a career-best 2.3 WAR. Garcia was worth minus-7 outs above average at second in 2025. Unless they’re willing to get creative, Garcia doesn’t solve the Yankees’ production outage at the opposite corner, where Ryan McMahon is batting .207 with an adjusted OPS of 75.

Yet. it gives them significant options both game-to-game and inning-to-inning, with lefties Garcia, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Rice lurking against right-handers. Veteran Paul Goldschmidt can now return to simply crushing left-handed pitching, and should Giancarlo Stanton return, the Bombers will have significant maneuverability late in games.

Garcia is earning $6.9 million this season and has one more year of salary arbitration before hitting the market.

Nationals trade grade: B

There has to be a more moderate reaction to upgrade a terrible pitching staff than “trade away both corner infielders.” Yet, that’s the route the Nationals have chosen, and it’s not too hard to blame them.

Losing Garcia and Mead will be tough and signals a strong look to the future after the club bubbled over .500 this year and drew within a game of a playoff spot before a five-game losing streak, that included a four-game sweep at Atlanta, preceded this deal. Minus those two, youngsters Brady House and Albimelic Ortiz figure to get much of the playing time at the corners.

We will see how far the Nationals go in their sale, with All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams the most notable figure whose future is in doubt. While the Nationals’ playoff chances were tenuous, they have compromised what could have been a tremendous 2027 lineup as well, with Garcia, Abrams and James Wood running it back in the middle of the order.

Now, that possibility is gone, and Abrams’ future will be in flux until the deadline arrives at 6 p.m. ET Monday, Aug. 3.

Still, it’s hard to argue with pitching tonnage, including a pair of arms – Bird and Cruz – who can help the bullpen immediately. Bird enjoyed more success with Colorado in 2025, striking out 62 in 53 innings with a 4.73 ERA, yet had a 7.24 ERA in 27 games across two seasons with New York. He’s largely a slider-sinker guy, able to get swings and misses in the zone with both pitches when he’s going well.

Cruz, 26, made his major league debut in May and has pitched in four big league games. He originally signed with the Cubs in 2017 out of the Dominican Republic before joining the Padres, Red Sox and Yankees as a minor league free agent in recent years. He’s worked exclusively as a reliever since 2022, and relies on a 100-mph fastball, slider and splitter. Control is his bugaboo, posting 6.7 walks per nine innings as recently as 2025 in Class AA with Boston.

Grable, 24, was the Yankees’ 11th-round pick in 2025 out of Indiana University; he’s currently ranked their No. 25 prospect by MLB Pipeline. He’s shown well in his first full pro season, posting a 2.45 ERA and striking out 56 in 36⅔ innings, almost all of it at Class AA. He’ll likely land among the Nationals’ top 15 prospects.

Cebert, 24, was drafted four rounds after Grable a year ago out of Texas Tech and has been on virtually the same path as Grable, spending almost all his season at Class AA Somerset. While similar precision hasn’t been there – he’s toting a 4.90 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in 13 outings at Class AA – the punch is, with 79 strikeouts in 64⅓ innings.

Immediately triaging their porous bullpen and taking a shot at two starters who conceivably could impact the club sometime in 2027 rates as a fairly solid day of work for new club president Paul Toboni. Whether the Nationals minus Garcia can come close to retaining their machinelike offense – their 607 runs scored are 29 more than any other club – bears watching.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Luis Garcia Jr. trade grades: Yankees add slugger, Nationals get pitching help

It was one of the hottest first pitches on record in Coors Field history as the Colorado Rockies took to the field looking for their first sweep of the second half against the Kansas City Royals. The Rockies rode a six-run sixth inning in tandem with a vintage Kyle Freeland start in order to cement an 8-1 victory and bust out the brooms.

Today we’re all Kyle Freeland Guys, Gals, and Pals.

It may have been over 100 degrees on the mound at Coors Field this afternoon, but Denver native, Thomas Jefferson High School graduate, and ten-year MLB veteran Kyle Freeland was as cool as ice.

On 115 pitches, Freeland not only threw his best start of the season by allowing just one earned run on five hits and two talks while striking out eight batters, he also pitched the first complete game of his career.

“Oh man. It’s been a long time, huh?” said Freeland after getting the final out before a well-deserved cooler bath.

Freeland struck out Royals leadoff hitter and designated hitter Carter Jensen to open the game and set the tone. The only time he found himself in real trouble was in the second inning when the Royals scored their only run of the game. Freeland gave up a walk and two singles to let Kansas City on the board. In the third inning with one out he gave up a double to slugger Jac Caglianone.

Then, Freeland locked in.

Following that double, Freeland set down a career-high 18 Royals in order. He was efficient. He was deliberate. He commanded both the ball and the strike zone. Freeland ended up striking out eight total batters–tied for his second-most this season–with six of those strikeouts coming on his excellent knuckle curveball.

“Right from the jump, he didn’t miss,” said catcher Brett Sullivan after the game.

In the top of the eighth inning, as Freeland’s pitch count rose, reliever Zach Agnos was up and warming in the bullpen. Then, quietly, the bullpen was empty.

“The conversation with Schaeff between innings was ‘Are you good? Do you want it?’ and the answer was an immediate yes.”

Manager Warren Schaeffer confirmed in his post-game interview that he planned to keep Freeland in the game.

“I was going to do everything I could to let him finish that game,” Schaeffer said.

Freeland came back out for the ninth and quickly got Caglianone out again, but then his streak of setting down batters ended when future Hall of Famer Salvador Perez doubled to right field. Freeland then appeared to have struck out veteran outfielder Starling Marte, but the third strike was overturned on ABS review. Marte then singled on a grounder to left. With runners on the corners and no outs, Agnos began warming up again. However, Freeland induced two quick flyouts to earn his first career complete game on his 251st career start.

Grinning ear-to-ear in his post game interview on the field with Ryan Spilborghs, Freeland was asked if he had a message for the Rockies faithful.

“I love you guys,” he said. “All ten years. I love you guys.”

After the game, skipper Warren Schaeffer was asked about Freeland’s role and leadership on this Rockies squad.

“It’s–I think–inherent for him since he’s been here for such a long time,” Schaeffer explained. “He’s been such an enormous presence in the clubhouse in the Rockies’ winning days, and then through this lull we’ve had in the past however many years, he’s been a constant leader in the clubhouse. Through thick and thin, which is the test of a real leader. Can you lead in distress? And he has. He’s meant the world to me as a first time manager. He’s been fantastic and I’m so happy for him today.”

Jake the Snake strikes hard in collaborative offensive effort.

With the weather as hot and dry as it was today in Denver, the ball wasn’t really rocketing out of the stadium like one would expect. The Rockies’ offense started fairly slow. Mickey Moniak drew a walk in the first inning and was driven home by a Cole Carrigg double. In the fourth inning, Edouard Julien drew his second of three walks in the game. Julien moved to third on a Brett Sullivan double and was then plated by an Ezequiel Tovar sacrifice fly.

Then the Rockies blew the Royals’ doors off in the sixth inning.

Back-to-back singles by Troy Johnston and Willi Castro, followed by another Julien base on balls, loaded up the bases with no outs for Brett Sullivan. Sullivan laced a double over the head of right fielder Jac Caglianone to score two runs and put the Rockies up 4-1.

After Tovar grounded out in what ended up being a hitless game for the beleaguered shortstop, off-season acquisition and potential trade name for tomorrow’s deadline Jake McCarthy came to the plate. In what was his only hit of the day, McCarthy sent the ball over the right field wall for three more runs.

Carrigg singled–his third of the day after going hitless with three walks last night–to keep the inning going and was driven home with an authoritative TJ Rumfield double.

Coming Up Next

Tomorrow at 4:00 PM MDT is the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline, with a potentially very different-looking Rockies roster ready to play later that evening. The Rockies will start a three-game series against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays. Right-handed veteran Michael Lorenzen is currently scheduled to start against Rays lefty Ian Seymour. First pitch is slated for 6:40 PM MDT.

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Happy Sunday, Red Sox nation. Can you believe we get to watch Red Sox baseball? They’re the hottest team in baseball right now and going for a sweep of the villains of the league, the Los Angeles Dodgers. It’s Jake Bennett vs Emmett Sheehan, in what will hopefully be a great showcase of what the Red Sox are doing to a national audience.

That brings me to my next point, which is: what the Red Sox have done over the last month or so is what we should be talking about. The trade deadline is coming up, there are moves to be made, and speculating about them is fun, so go right ahead on that front. What I don’t care about is the upcoming CBA negotiations and how the Tarik Skubal trade affects that. That’s not for another 3 months. Talking about labor stoppages and economics is boring. Talking about a baseball team going on an insane hot streak is fun. Sports are fun! Don’t lose sight of that. Watch a rookie starting pitcher throw to a lineup full of all-stars and enjoy it. Watch Ceddanne Rafaela go nuclear at the plate and make diving catches in the field without worrying about if there’s a salary cap coming. We’re playing great baseball right now, and that’s what’s important.

Sorry for being preachy; I spent too much time reading Twitter this morning, and I think we’re all losing the plot a bit.

7:20 pm on NBC and Peacock and probably the radio too.

Lineups

Ready for Sunday Night Baseball! pic.twitter.com/WUnM0lUang

— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 2, 2026

Today's #Dodgers lineup vs. Red Sox: pic.twitter.com/st4XfV9zB2

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 2, 2026

A lot of attention will be paid on Monday to the Major League Baseball trade deadline, with comes at 3 p.m. PT. But the Dodgers also have a game on Monday, opening a road trip against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

It’s a battle of southpaws in the opener, with Justin Wrobleski going for the Dodgers and Matthew Boyd on the mound for the home team.

Monday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Cubs
• Ballpark: Wrigley Field, Chicago
• Start time: 5:05 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Nobody gets off the mat like the Houston Astros.

On July 19, the Astros looked to be dead in the water. Swept at home by the Baltimore Orioles, losers of 7 of 9 and 7 games under .500, it looked the magic had finally run out on Houston.

Wrong.

Picking themselves up by the bootstraps yet again, the now first-place Houston Astros (58-55) continue to score runs late and took down the Texas Rangers (55-57) 7-3 at Daikin Park, completing the 3-game sweep and winning the season series 9-4 and winning the Silver Boot for the 10th consecutive season.

Houston has now won 6 straight and 11 of their last 12 games.

The Astros got on the board first this afternoon in the bottom of the third when Jose Altuve hit a comebacker off the foot of Rangers starter Kumar Rocker. Rocker looked like he hackey-sacked the ball off his foot. Yordan Alvarez would score on the play and give Houston a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the 4th, Jeremy Pena drilled his 13th HR of the season, a 2-run shot to left that drove in Cam Smith to give the Astros a 3-0 lead.

In the top of the 5th, the Rangers would get within a run. Evan Carter would single to right to drive in Brandon Nimmo, although Carter would be cut down by Christian Vazquez trying to advance to 2nd after the throw home. That would prove to be a big out as the next batter, Ezequiel Duran, singled to left to score Jake Burger. Carter could have potentially scored the tying run on that play if he had safely reached 2nd the play before. The score would be 3-2 Astros as the top of the 5th ended.

Peter Lambert again gave the Astros a solid performance. He went 5.2 IP allowing just 2 runs on 3 hits, 2 walks and 8 strikeouts. Lambert threw 46 of his 83 pitches for strikes, including 16 swings and misses.

In the top of the 7th, the Rangers would tie the game at 3 when Brandon Nimmo led off the inning by hitting his 11th HR of the season off Astros reliever Steven Okert.

After the HR, Okert allowed a single by Jake Burger, who was advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Evan Carter. Joe Espada made the call to go to Bryan Abreu (W, 3-3) to slam the door with a runner on 2nd and 1 out.

Abreu would strike out 2 of the next 3 batters to end the inning with no further damage. The final out was a called third strike on pinch hitter Nicky Lopez on a pitch that appeared to be slightly low, but the Rangers were out of ABS challenges. Furious over the strikeout call, both Rangers manager Skip Schumaker and hitting coach Justin Viele got ejected for arguing the called third strike.

In the bottom of the 7th, the Astros would respond, and take control of the game.

Christian Walker led off the bottom of the 7th with his 22nd double of the season off Rangers reliever Tyler Alexander, who had just entered the game. Taylor Trammell (1×2, 2BB, HBP, phenomenal catch in deep CF) followed with a walk. After Jose Altuve bounced into a fielder’s choice that forced Walker at 3rd, Cole Winn would replace Alexander on the mound for Texas.

Cam Smith greeted Winn with an RBI single to score Trammell to give the Astros a 4-3 lead. After a walk to Nick Allen, LaMonte Wade Jr. would pinch-hit for Christian Vazquez and deliver an RBI single to drive in Altuve and increase the lead to 5-3. Following a Jeremy Pena strikeout, it was Yordan time.

The front-running MVP candidate laced a 2-run double to right, scoring Smith and Allen. Alvarez’ 24th double of the season gave the Astros a 7-3 lead. Alvarez finished the game 4×5 with a run and 2 RBI. He is now batting .330 and has a 1.092 OPS. He leads the majors with 35 HR and leads the AL with 84 RBI.

Bryan King (0.2 IP, H, K) would start the top of the 8th before eventually giving way to AJ Blubaugh (S,1). Blubaugh pitched the final 1.1 innings without allowing a baserunner and struck out 1 for his first career save.

The Astros are 3 games over .500 for the first time since April 4, when they were 6-3. It matches their high water mark for the season.

The Astros lead the AL West by 2.5 games.

Tomorrow, Houston begins a 3-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Probable Starters:

Monday: Cristian Javier (1-1, 7.17) vs. Shane Bieber (2-2, 5.74)
Tuesday: Hayden Wesneski (1-0, 4.76) vs. Trey Yesavage (5-5, 3.73)
Wednesday: Hunter Brown (3-1, 3.42) vs. Dylan Cease (7-5, 2.41)

Gavin Williams took the mound against the Arizona Diamondbacks, looking to continue his dominate season. The forecast called for heavy rain, off and on, throughout the game which proved to be the case. As the rain came and went, it ultimately poured during the sixth resulting the game being put into delay and the tarp being pulled. Not before making a complete mess of the infield and warning track.

Warning track is muddy https://t.co/y9jZuDJA3ypic.twitter.com/pQCJuCH4I6

— Tim Stebbins (@tim_stebbins) August 2, 2026

Gavin Williams had an absolutely stunning performance. The Guardians ace was perfect going into the sixth. Tim Tawa showed bunt on the first pitch in the sixth which drew umbrage from Patrick Bailey and an annoyed shrug from Brayan Rocchio.

The bunt was unsuccessful and Tawa hit a swinging single to break up the perfect game and the no hitter. Ildemaro Vargas grounded into a force out and advanced to second on a throwing error by Rocchio. Gavin got a strikeout for the second out. Corbin Carroll drew a walk on a wild pitch that advanced Vargas to third. At this point the game delay was officially called and the tarp was rolled out. However, as the grounds crew was trying to cover the infield, the benches cleared at home plate. Third base coach Rouglas Odor was clearly incensed and it took Augie, another coach, and Perdomo from the Diamondbacks to get Odor to even start walking towards the dugout. After the grounds crew plead their case for the crowd to disperse, it did seem like cooler heads prevailed as the game entered a lengthy delay.

With the delay, Gavin’s day ended earlier than planned. Gavin went 5.2 innings of scoreless baseball. He allowed one hit and one walk, both in the sixth inning, and struck out 10 batters. Gavin joined Clayton Kershaw and Chris Sale as the only pitchers in MLB history to go five consecutive games of 10 or more strikeouts and 1 or fewer walks per outing according to Tom Hamilton.

Gavin Williams goes 5 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 10 K on 89 pitches before rain delay ended his day

He has 55 strikeouts over his past five starts. That's the most by a Cleveland pitcher over a five-start stretch since Shane Bieber (56) in April 2021

— Tim Stebbins (@tim_stebbins) August 2, 2026

Before the delay hit, the Guards offense was on a roll. Patrick Bailey started the scoring with a lead off solo home run in the bottom of the third.

Petey Halpin followed up Patty’s HR with a single that fell in right and then reached second on a successful stolen base attempt. Steven Kwan drew a walk as the rain first started falling on the players. With one out and runners on first and second, Chase DeLauter hit a RBI single to center.

In the bottom of the fifth Steven Kwan drew a lead off walk. José Ramírez hit a single to right. Chase DeLauter knocked in his third RBI on the game with a two-RBI double to right scoring Kwan and José.

Travis Bazzana drew a walk, still no outs in the inning. Then Bazz and CDL executed a successful double steal with the ball getting away from the third baseman.

Kyle Manzardo made the effort worth it with a RBI single to score CDL.

Playing resumed at 4:50PM with Hunter Gaddis on the mound, runners on the corners, and two outs. Gaddis allowed a walk before retiring the side. Craig Yoho made his Guardians debut after being traded from the Brewers yesterday morning. Yoho got two quick outs, but hit Nolan Arenado to walk a batter. Tim Tawa struck out swinging to retire the side.

Matt Festa was brought on in the top of the eighth with Angel Martínez replacing CDL in right. Festa got two outs, but gave up a walk and a single. With tomorrow being an off day, Vogt pulled Festa for Cade Smith to get the final out. Cade came on in the ninth to close it out. He got the first out then walked the next two. A fielding error by Rocchio allowed Tim Tawa to load them up on a fielder’s choice. Cade struck out the next batter for the second out of the inning and a ground out to first retired the side. The Guardians completed a two hit shutout across five pitchers to seal the Sunday victory.

With this win the Guardians are back above .500 heading into the off day before the New York Mets roll into town.

What started as an overcast afternoon ended as a rain-soaked disaster, as the Orioles dropped their rubber match to the Phillies with an 8-0 loss in six innings.

Starter Kyle Bradish looked sharp to begin the game but showed clear adverse effects from the worsening weather. Bradish breezed through the Phillies in the 1st on 10 pitches, punctuating the frame by striking out Kyle Schwarber on a fastball and fanning Bryce Harper on a dive bomb curveball.

The 29-year-old right-hander worked another 1-2-3 inning in the 2nd, but it didn’t inspire the same levels of confidence. After a weak fly out by Alec Bohm to start the inning, Bradish gave up louder fly balls to Brandon Marsh and J.T. Realmuto, but both died in front of the outfield walls and found their way into Oriole gloves.

As a drizzle turned into a downpour in the 3rd, Bradish was the one most affected by the increasingly damp conditions at Camden Yards. Bryson Stott led off the inning with a lineout to center on a sinker that caught a bit too much of the outer half of the plate. The Orioles’ starter was clearly struggling to throw his best pitches as thick raindrops dotted the field, and it showed as he left another sinker over the plate to Justin Crawford, who doubled into the left field corner. It only got worse against No.9 hitter Bryan De La Cruz, as a Bradish curveball hung over the plate and the Phillies OF blasted it over the CF fence to give Philadelphia a 2-0 lead.

Bradish would get the final two outs of the inning by picking off Trea Turner and getting another strikeout of Harper. That’d be all we’d see from Bradish Sunday, as the skies continued to open up, sending the game into a two-hour rain delay.

Things went from bad to worse when the O’s finally returned from the rain delay. The much-delayed bottom of the 3rd saw Baltimore waste their best scoring of the afternoon. After a Jake Rogers one-out walk, Dylan Beavers singled off lefty reliever Kyle Backhaus to give Baltimore its first runner in scoring position. The runner moved up to second and third after Backhaus threw a pitch behind Pete Alonso, giving the Polar Bear a chance to tie the game with a hit.

Instead, Alonso tried to inside-out a sinker into right field, only for it to end up in Harper’s glove at first. Gunnar Henderson then sent a 2-1 sweeper for a ride to right, only for the fly ball to land safely in De La Cruz’s glove.

Anthony Nunez would take over for Bradish in the 4th, and despite the briefly drier conditions, Nunez also struggled with his control. He gave up a back-to-back singles to Bohm and Marsh before walking Realmuto to load the bases. A second consecutive walk forced across the Phillies’ third run, before Crawford poked a ball to second base for an RBI groundout.

Trailing 4-0, Josh Walker took over in the 5th and made one mistake to perennial All-Star Harper. After getting ahead 1-2, Walker tried to double up on his slider, but left the breaking ball over the plate and allowed Harper to launch a solo shot to right-center.

With the rain once again falling thick and fast, Albert Suárez took over in the 6th. The long reliever tried to battle the elements and loss, as the Phillies piled on three more runs. Realmuto led off the inning with a single and moved to second on a Bryson Stott walk. Crawford then singled to load the bases in front of De La Cruz, who picked up his third RBI with a sac fly to center.

All-Stars Turner and Schwarber would put the final nails in the Orioles’ coffin. Turner reached on an infield single to short to move Crawford to third before Schwarber lifted another sac fly to left to put Philly up 8-0. Suárez would get Bohm to ground out to finally end the inning, and it was the last baseball we’d see Sunday. The grounds crew would bring out the tarp before the bottom of the 6th started and MLB would call the game half an hour late.

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The loss combined with Cleveland’s win Sunday dropped the Orioles to 2.5 games behind the Guardians for the final Wild Card spot. The Mariners, Rangers and Twins all sit ahead of the O’s heading into Monday’s trade deadline, with only Texas scheduled to play tomorrow. Mike Elias and the front office now have just under 24-hours to figure out if the Orioles will be buyers or sellers at the deadline.