Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:
For the Diamondbacks:
Let’s talk about it.
Gamethread 9/1: Phillies at Diamondbacks
Baltimore Orioles @ Colorado Rockies game discussion: Kyle Braddish vs. Gabriel Hughes
After the Colorado Rockies gut-wrenching, bottom-of-the-ninth loss to the Baltimore Orioles, tonight the home team will look to even the score.
The Rockies will also try to break a 10-game losing streak at Coors Field, the longest home losing streak in franchise history.
Starting for the Orioles is Kyle Bradish. This will be his 27th start for the Orioles in 2026.
The righty has a 4.03 ERA in 143.0 IP. He’s struck out 133, walked 62, and given up 16 home runs. Bradish has a 1.41 WHIP.
Taking the mound for the Rockies in his 11th start of the season will be RHP Gabriel Hughes in search of his first MLB win.
Currently, he has an ERA of 6.61 in 47.2 IP. He’s struck out 38 while giving up 19 walks and five home runs with a 1.45 WHIP.
Also of note, MLB rosters expanded today, and the Rockies made the following moves:
And now to the details.
First Pitch: 6:40 p.m. MDT
TV: Rockies.TV
Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM KOA Rockies Radio Network; KNRV 1150 AM (Spanish)
Orioles SB Nation Site: Camden Chat
Lineups:
For the visiting Orioles:
And the home Rockies:
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Cubs vs. Brewers, Tuesday 9/1, 6:40 CT live!
Go get ‘em, xxxxxxxx
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Astros vs White Sox Game Discussion: 9/1/2026
TONIGHT’S GAME: The first-place Houston Astros (70-68), who have won four of their last five games, will play the second game of their four-game series with the Chicago White Sox (72-65) tonight at Daikin Park.
RHP Ronel Blanco (0-1, 7.71 ERA) was recalled from Triple A Sugar Land today to make tonight’s start for the Astros opposite RHP Sean Burke (7-6, 3.32 ERA) and the White Sox.
SLOW AND STEADY RECOVERY: Since starting the season with a 20-31 record after 51 games, the Astros are 50-37 (.575) in their last 87 games (since May 22). That is the second-best record in the AL in that span, behind only the Red Sox (53-36).
MEASURING UP: Last night, the Astros began a streak of playing four straight teams with winning records (CWS, ARI, PHI, TB). The Astros are an American League-best 27-19 (.587) vs. teams currently at .500 or above. Some clubs that they have winning records against include BOS (5-1), CHC (3-0), CWS (3-1), CLE (4-2), MIA (3-0), and TB (2-1).
VS. THE WHITE SOX: The Astros are 3-1 against the White Sox on the season, which includes winning two of three in Chicago from July 24-26. The Astros are 23-14 vs. CWS over the past six seasons (2021-26), posting winning records in each of those years. Houston is 56-47 all-time vs. the White Sox.
BAGGY IN THE BOOTH:Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell will be on the Space City Home Network telecast for the first three games of this series, alongside play-by-play man Todd Kalas and sideline reporter Julia Morales. Geoff Blum will return to the telecast for Thursday’s day game.
ROAD WARRIORS: On Sunday, the Astros completed a 4-2 road trip to New York, where they went 2-1 against both the Yankees and Mets. Since posting a 1-9 record on the first road trip of the 2026 season, they have gone 35-24 (.593) on the road since April 14, which is the second-best record in the Majors in that span. More recently, they are 19-12 (.613) on their last five road trips combined.
TODAY’S ROSTER MOVES: The Astros have recalled RHP Ronel Blanco and OF Jake Meyers from Triple A Sugar Land. Blanco will start tonight’s game for the Astros.
ON THE OFFENSIVE: Among AL teams, the Astros rank first in total bases (1,902), first in slugging (.410), second in HR (183), third in runs scored (630), and fifth in OPS (.726).
TRIPLE THREAT: DH Yordan Alvarez, who is a solid candidate for the AL MVP Award, currently owns at least a share of the lead in all three Triple Crown categories. He enters tonight leading the AL in batting avg. (.317) and RBI (94), while ranking tied for first in HR (37).
Rare Feat: Since Carl Yastrzemski won the AL Triple Crown in 1967, there has been just one Triple Crown winner in the Majors, Miguel Cabrera in 2012 (AL).
MATCHING HIS BEST: DH Yordan Alvarez has matched his career high by smacking 37 home runs on the season, reaching his total from 2022. His career-high in RBI is 104, set in 2021 (currently has an AL-best 94 RBI).
THE HIT MAN: Jose Altuve enters tonight’s game needing just six hits to reach 2,500 for his career. Among active players, Altuve ranks second in hits, trailing only 1B Freddie Freeman (2,584).
BLANCO’S BACK!: Tonight’s Astros starter RHP Ronel Blanco missed the first few months of the year while recovering from right elbow surgery, returned to the Majors in July, and spent the last two weeks down at Triple A. Blanco was a mainstay in the Astros rotation prior to his injury, making 45 starts from 2023-25, going 18-11 with a 3.36 ERA (94ER/251.2IP) and a .200 opponent average.
THE CLOSER: LHP Josh Hader has worked 18 consecutive scoreless appearances, spanning 19.0 innings. This is the longest streak by an Astros hurler this season and the second-longest active streak in the Majors. Opponents are just 5×62 (.081) vs. Hader during the streak. Hader is also 21-for-21 in save opportunities in 2026. Hader in August: 1-0, 13 G, 0.00 ERA, 14.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 15 SO.
TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 2019 – RHP Justin Verlander tosses the 13th no-hitter in Astros history, blanking the Blue Jays by a score of 2-0 in Toronto. He fans 14 Blue Jays on the afternoon, issuing just one walk. Tied 0-0 entering the 9th, the no-hitter was only possible thanks to a two-out solo homer by 3B Abraham Toro. This marked Verlander’s third career no-no.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Tuesday, September 1, 7:10 p.m. CT
Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX
TV: Space City Home Network
Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; KTRH 740 AM; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)
GameThread: Detroit Tigers vs. Minnesota Twins, 7:40 p.m.
Detroit Tigers (63-74) vs. Minnesota Twins (66-72)
Time/Place: 7:40 p.m., Target Field
SB Nation Site:Twinkie Town
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: RHP Troy Melton (7-3, 1.86 ERA) vs. LHP Connor Prielipp (3-7, 5.55 ERA)
| Player | G | IP | K% | BB% | GB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melton | 16 | 97.0 | 20.9 | 7.3 | 44.0 | 3.73 | 1.7 |
| Prielipp | 19 | 99.0 | 24.7 | 9.1 | 43.3 | 3.98 | 1.3 |
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Game Thread: White Sox (72-65) at Astros (70-68)
After falling flat in Monday night’s series opener, the White Sox will aim to improve their situational hitting in an effort to provide run support for their ace Sean Burke. With yesterday’s loss, the Good Guys still hold a three-game lead in the AL Central, but Chicago needs to take care of business in Houston this week to secure the head-to-head tiebreaker in case it comes to that for playoff seeding and a first-round bye.
Earlier Tuesday afternoon, the White Sox announced three roster moves. The moves were anticipated after Monday’s announcement that the South Siders acquired Tommy Pham in a minor league trade. As expected, Pham’s contract was selected from Triple-A Charlotte, and right-handed pitcher Tanner McDougal will also return to the big leagues. In a corresponding move to make room on the 40-man roster, lefthander Tyler Gilbert was designated for assignment.
The last time Burke faced the Astros, he took the loss despite striking out 10 over six innings and allowing just three runs, two earned, on four hits. Ideally, tonight Burke isn’t left without run support, and after the last few games, the South Siders are well overdue to tally a bunch of runs on the board. In their last three games, the Sox have gone 3-for-23 with runners in scoring position (.130 average) and left 26 on base, and on top of that, they hold the second-highest strikeout rate with RISP in MLB at 28.2% over the last two weeks. In that same time frame, however, the South Siders also have the fifth-highest walk rate, meaning they are getting runners on base but essentially choking after that — not that we need the numbers to tell us what we are seeing with our own eyes.
Despite his 7-6 record on the season, Burke has maintained a strong 3.32 ERA and 1.154 WHIP across 149 innings while striking out 161, tied with Parker Messick for the eighth-most in the American League. He’ll have a fairly standard lineup behind him as the Astros will have a right-handed pitcher on the mound with Ronel Blanco making his fifth start of the season. The lineup is nearly identical to last night’s, except Braden Montgomery will be off today, so Randal Grichuk is slotting into right field in his place and batting sixth, and Drew Romo will take over behind the plate.
Chicago White Sox Lineup
Blanco was dealing with injuries earlier this season, but has otherwise struggled through five games for the Astros, accumulating a 7.71 ERA and 1.457 WHIP across 23 1/3 innings. In those five outings, Blanco surrendered 20 runs on 22 hits, including seven home runs, leaving him with an elevated 2.70 home runs per nine innings (HR/9). For reference, the league-average HR/9 is usually between 1.10 and 1.20, so it could be a great night for Munetaka Murakami, Miguel Vargas or Colson Montgomery to mash his 30th home run of the season … or maybe all three if we’re lucky!
In the series opener, it felt like the bottom of the order for the Astros was causing the most trouble while Yordan Alvarez (thankfully) wasn’t as explosive as he tends to be. That could change tonight, however, as Alvarez tends to mash righties, posting a 1.116 OPS and 28 homers in 439 PAs against them this season. After beating up on the South Siders Monday, Nelson Velázquez will take the night off, and José Altuve will rejoin the lineup for Houston, batting fourth.
Houston Astros Lineup
It’s Hello Kitty Night out in Houston, and the first pitch will be tossed at 7:10 p.m. CT at Daikin Park. Tune in to the usual locations for tonight’s broadcast: CHSN on TV and ESPN Chicago AM 1000 on the radio. I’ll see you later tonight with the recap, hopefully writing up someone’s 30th home run.
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Royals vs. Marlins September 1 game discussion
Today, the Kansas City Royals and Miami Marlins are playing baseball on the surface of the sun. It is triple digits and humid here at Kauffman Stadium today. Even in the shaded dugout, I was wilting as I stood listening to the Matt Quatraro and JJ Picollo press conferences.
There are a couple of interesting pieces of news. Quatraro revealed that Carlos Estevez, who has been out since April with a shoulder injury, will have surgery soon. That wasn’t so surprising.
The other interesting piece of news is Kansas City’s September roster expansion. The Royals are calling up Nolan Hoffman for the first time, recalling Euston McGee, and selecting the contract of Drew Waters. What is interesting is who was not called up: Gavin Cross, Carson Roccaforte, or Brett Squires, all of whom were hitting very well in Omaha as of late.
But I asked JJ about this, and if the looming lockout impacted who they decided to call up. He said it didn’t, and that they didn’t want their outfield to be too left-handed heavy. To be fair, they do have John Rave, Kyle Isbel, and Jac Caglianone as their de facto starting outfield, with Isaac Collins a significantly better from the left side, too.
I suppose we may see them later, but who knows.
Marlins 9/1 lineup
Royals 9/1 lineup
Game #139: Athletics at Rangers Game Thread
Today marks the start of the final month of the 2026 regular-season. The Athletics went 8-20 in August, ending the month tied with the Los Angeles Angels for the worst record in the American League. To make matters worse, the team’s pitching staff surrendered 174 runs—the most in Major League Baseball over that stretch.
After concluding their recent homestand with a three-game sweep at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles—three games in which the A’s had a chance to win— the Green and Gold dropped their fourth straight game in yesterday’s road-trip opener against the Texas Rangers. Vintage Jacob DeGrom held the A’s to one hit over seven innings as Texas controlled the game from the first pitch.
Roster Moves
As a result, the A’s need to win tonight to avoid the possibility of suffering another series sweep in tomorrow’s finale. Before the game, the team received some roster reinforcements as teams are allowed to carry 28 players in September.
It is good to see Denzel Clarke back in the majors following an extended injury absence that deprived him of the opportunity to improve offensively through everyday at-bats. Clarke is the better defender, but his replacement Henry Bolte, has proven to be more durable and the better hitter. It is up to Clarke to make the most of the playing time he receives over the final few weeks of the season.
The same applies to Yunior Tur, who needs to make the most of his third big-league opportunity this season. His 32.79 ERA cannot possibly go up any higher. As for Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, hopefully he returns next season with a cup in place to protect his private parts.
Game Preview
Right-hander J.T. Ginn, who has thrown a career-high number of innings this season, was initially scheduled to start for the A’s. However, the team is giving him a few extra days of rest between starts to manage his workload.
In his place, the team will go with a bullpen game, starting with Brady Basso. The 28-year-old left hander enters his 21st appearance and fourth opener start with a 0-1 record, a 4.50 ERA and 22 strikeouts over 28 innings pitched. Basso pitched twice against the Orioles, rebounding with a scoreless inning Sunday after taking the loss Friday night when he allowed Baltimore to score two runs in the top of the 10th inning.
The left-hander will likely pitch the first one or two innings before giving way to the rest of the team’s bullpen. Can the A’s league-worst bullpen somehow keep the team in the game, or will manager Mark Kotsay’s decision to use a bullpen game fail miserably?
Here’s how the A’s lineup looks for this evening’s matchup:
Denzel Clarke immediately returns to center field, with Henry Bolte serving as the designated hitter to give his legs a rest. The Athletics need catcher Jonah Heim to contribute offensively and serve as a steady presence behind the plate, especially when it comes to keeping the pitching staff under control.
A better defensive setup would be to move Bolte to left field, with Zack Gelof at third base and Max Muncy on the bench. However, the A’s seem intent on continuing to give starts to Muncy and first baseman Tommy White, two hackers at the plate and liabilities in the field.
The A’s offense will face Rangers left-hander MacKenzie Gore. The 27-year-old enters his 29th start of the season with a 7-10 record, a 4.40 ERA and 165 strikeouts over 149 1/3 innings. In his last outing against the Chicago White Sox, Gore took the loss after allowing four runs on eight hits over 3 2/3 innings.
Gore is plenty familiar with A’s hitters, as tonight will be his fourth start against the Green and Gold this season. He went 1-1 in his first three starts, allowing no more than three runs each time. With the Rangers pushing to overtake the Houston Astros for the division title, they will look to Gore to deliver a second straight quality start against the struggling, injury-depleted Athletics.
And Texas’ starting lineup:
Time to snap this losing streak and restore some positive vibes. Let’s go, A’s!
Follow the Game:
Watch:
Athletics – NBCSCA
Listen:
Athletics -Talk 650 KSTE, A’s Cast
Game 139 Game Day Thread – West Sacramento Athletics @ Texas Rangers
Athletics @ Texas Rangers
Tuesday, September 1, 2026, 7:05 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / Rangers Sports Network)
The Shed
LHP MacKenzie Gore vs. LHP Brady Basso
Go Rangers!
Will Smith, Dalton Rushing activated off IL for Los Angeles Dodgers
Baseball in September is the perfect time to get healthy, return to action and get some swings in before the October playoff push. On Tuesday, Sept. 1, the Los Angeles Dodgers returned multiple players to the active roster who have been battling lingering injuries.
Catchers Will Smith and Dalton Rushing were activated, the team announced. Smith missed nearly the previous three months with an inflamed disc in his neck. He was batting .249/.338/.382 before the injury.
Rushing returns after missing practically the last month of baseball with a slight ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tear in his right elbow.
In addition to their catcher tandem, the Dodgers also saw LHP Justin Wrobleski jump back into the fold after inflammation in his left forearm. He's 11-5 through 21 games played (20 starts) and has a 3.56 ERA and a 1.1 WHIP in 126.1 innings pitched. He's struck out 100 batters this season and given up 19 homers and 28 walks.
Infielder Alex Freeland was also added to the active roster in his third stint with the team, where he's put up slash stats of .231/.309/.313 with three homers and 19 RBI in 72 games with the Dodgers.
In order to make room for their returns, the Dodgers opted outfielder Alek Thomas to Triple-A Oklahoma City and designated catcher Ben Rortvedt to assignment.
The Dodgers have a home game on Tuesday night against the St. Louis Cardinals. First pitch begins at 7:10 p.m. PT on Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles has the best record in the National League West division at 82-55.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will Smith, Dalton Rushing activated off IL for Los Angeles Dodgers
Arte Moreno sells Angels as MLB’s gold-standard owner failure | Opinion
Compelling arguments can be made in favor of John Fisher of the Athletics, or Bruce Sherman of the Miami Marlins or Bob Nutting of the Pittsburgh Pirates for being the worst owners in Major League Baseball.
But Arte Moreno is in A League of his Own.
Moreno, who has agreed to sell the Los Angeles Angels to Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke, did something unfathomable during his 23-plus years as the Angels' owner.
The club had Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout on the roster for six seasons. During that stretch from 2018 through 2023, they failed to post a winning record.
In brief defense of Moreno, injuries limited Trout to 36 games during the 2021 season and to 82 games during the 2023 season. Now here’s the indictment:
In 2018, Ohtani was the AL Rookie of the Year, Trout was runner-up for AL MVP and the Angels went 80-82.
In 2019, Trout was the AL MVP, Ohtani was one of the Angels' top producers and the team went 72-90
A season shortened in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic resembled seasons past, with the Angels going 26-34.
In 2021, Ohtani was the AL MVP, Trout was an All-Star and the Angels went 77-85.
In 2022, Ohtani was the runner-up for AL MVP, Trout finished 8th in the MVP voting and the Angels went 73-89.
In 2023, Ohtani was the AL MVP, Trout was an All-Star and the Angels went 73-89.
The Angels, who at 53-85 through Sunday were tied for the second-worst record in the majors, will finish with their 11th consecutive losing straight season.
Being the worst is expensive
Not all of the failures under Moreno should be measured simply by wins and losses. Buying a team from the Walt Disney Company and gradually turning it into a Mickey Mouse club involves front office bungles.
For example, the Angels overpaid Albert Pujols, the slugger-turned-slug, when in 2012 they signed him to a 10-year, $240 million contract, posting a 1.4 WAR or lower from 2016 until his final year with the Angels in 2021. He would go on to play the next season and a half with the Dodgers than Cardinals.
Then the Angels overpaid Anthony Rendon before the 2020 season by signing him to a seven-year, $245 million. Over the past seven seasons, he's spent more time sidelined with injuries than in the lineup.
But the club's biggest failure was not trading Trout when he still could command young talent the Angels needed to rebuild their roster. Instead he's become novelty, a chance for fans a chance to cheer one of the best future Hall of Famer to play for a consistent loser.
Again, if you’re inclined to blame general managers or the manager, the common denominator is Moreno.
A winner and a loser?
Among long-suffering Angels fans, Moreno might rank as the worst owner in the MLB. There's no denying that after buying the the team from the Walt Disney Company in 2003, he gradually turned the club into a Mickey Mouse outfit of a different kind.
Yet it’s unlikely MLB owners will mock him.
Moreno paid $184 million for the Angels. Now he’s expected to get $4 billion, the most ever paid for an MLB team.
That’s more than 20 times Moreno’s original investment, and it makes him a financial winner even though his team is an on-field loser.
Moreno is in A League of His Own.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Arte Moreno sells Angels as MLB’s gold-standard owner failure | Opinion
Arellano: Arte Moreno finally sells the Angels. Anaheim's long nightmare is over
Texts lit up my phone this morning from friends who had wasted most of their lives rooting for the Angels: Arte Moreno finally was selling the team.
“First order of business: it’s the Anacrime Angels,” Nelson Rodriguez cracked before sending a meme of Stringer Bell in “The Wire” wearing an old-school California Angels cap and saying, “I want you to put the word out there that we back up.”
“This news honestly made my year,” texted Anaheim City Councilmember Natalie Rubalcava, who graduated a year ahead of me from Anaheim High and whose daughter works at my wife’s restaurant. “Excited to leave the controversy and negativity behind and look forward to a new era of Anaheim baseball.”
“Shame this didn’t happen when [Shohei] Ohtani was an Angel,” the Mountain shared on a group text thread of childhood friends who call each other by long-standing nicknames — I’m the Consigliere.
Read more:Shaikin: 'A big day for Anaheim.' Angels get a fresh start with Stan Kroenke, and much more
“I get invited to the games but hell no,” replied the Butcher, who’s been a fan since the days of Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan in the 1970s.
“I’ll finally go back” to a game in person, my cousin Plas added. “A Trumper [Latino] what could’ve gone wrong …” he wrote, referencing Moreno, before asking if Kurt Suzuki was still manager because “that’s how little I’ve kept up with the team.”
Those are the texts I can print in a family newspaper.
Moreno is selling to Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke, whose company also owns perennial contenders in the NBA (Denver Nuggets), NHL (Colorado Avalanche) and England’s Premier League (Arsenal). Sources told my colleagues that the price was $4 billion, which would be a baseball record and speaks to the Halos’ untapped potential.
Major League Baseball still needs to approve the deal, but I guarantee that Commissioner Rob Manfred and the 29 other team owners are reacting with the silly swaying dance that Dodgers players do every time they get on base.
“The Moreno Family has been honored to steward the Angels for 23 years,” the soon-to-be-ex-Angels owner said in a statement.
You stewarded nada, Arte: You destroyed.
You started with so much hope and ended up with fans like my friends shooting venom at you like pissed-off cobras. There’s a reason why you’ll leave as one of the most loathed owners in baseball history. Your underperforming reign makes the McCourts of Dodgers infamy seem as amazing and beloved as the O’Malleys.
The Tucson native, who made his billions in the billboard industry, bought the Angels from Disney in 2003, the year after they won their sole World Series championship. At a festive press conference, Moreno handed a sombrero to then-skipper Mike Scioscia to wear, then announced that the first order of business was to cut beer prices.
The new owner quickly signed the best players in baseball — slugger Vladimir Guerrero and pitcher Bartolo Colón. Moreno walked Angel Stadium during games to ask fans what they wanted, what they needed, what they dreamed of. That first decade, he made the Angels what they never had been for a prolonged period: winners.
Fans packed the stands — more than 3 million each year from 2003 to 2019, the third-longest streak in baseball. Anaheimers donned Halos jerseys and hats like never before. More incredibly, Moreno was at the cusp of the impossible: convincing a generation of Latino baseball fans in Orange County to side with the Halos instead of the Dodgers.
But there were always signs that something was off.
Moreno renamed the team the Los Angeles Angels two years after he bought them, a ridiculous moniker that made them a national punchline. The renaming also cost Anaheim millions of dollars in legal fees after the city unsuccessfully sued to force Moreno to keep my hometown in the team’s name.
Moreno openly talked about moving the Angels to a city that would build him a new stadium. He also fell into the terrible habit of signing conservative-leaning, past-their-prime ballplayers like Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols and Anthony Rendon to massive contracts that weighed down the team for years, like one of Angel Stadium’s legendary cinnamon rolls.
Die-hards like my pals trudged on, buoyed by generational talent Mike Trout and the occasional flash-in-the-pan prospect. But even they were turned off by the last three years.
Read more:Arellano: Anaheim, it's time to tell the Angels and Arte Moreno adiós already
Former Anaheim mayor Harry Sidhu pleaded guilty in 2023 to federal tax evasion charges stemming from accusations that he solicited an illegal $1-million campaign donation for an attempted sale of city-owned Angel Stadium to a Moreno-led company.
That same year, the Halos let Ohtani — who was on his way to a second most valuable player award and already had established himself as one of the most talented baseball players ever — walk away as a free agent while gaining nothing in return.
This season kicked off with Moreno telling the Orange County Register about a survey supposedly revealing that winning wasn’t “a top priority” for Angels fans. The Angels hadn’t made the playoffs in 11 years, hadn’t finished with a winning record since 2015, had landed in last place in their division for the last two years — and that’s what he offered as a speck of hope? No wonder the team is on pace to lose 100 games for the first time in franchise history. No wonder disgusted fans have protested both inside and outside Angel Stadium all summer.
At the only game I went to this year — a sparsely attended afternoon snoozer against the Chicago White Sox — I found the stadium more beat-up than ever: peeling paint, beat-up seats, tinny PA system. For about $25 each, my friends and I bought tickets behind the first-base dugout that would have cost hundreds of dollars at Dodger Stadium.
Billboards along Southern California freeways have broadcast the Angels’ desperate attempts to draw in fans via pathetic promotions. Fireworks every Saturday. A bobblehead giveaway of light-hitting shortstop Zach Neto, who never has made an All-Star team. A “yard sale” that sounds like a giant casting off of crappy memorabilia a week away from the trash can.
I never cared for the Angels, but I always wanted them to do well. Any success they achieved rubbed off on my hometown, as it did during that magical 2002 run.
I also wanted Moreno, the first Latino to own a major professional sports team, to succeed, so his fellow Trump supporters might know that our kind can excel at the highest echelons of American society, if only we get the chance.
But for the last few years, I cheered each time the Angels lost. I wanted them to tank, to forever seal Moreno’s legacy as a loser. To serve as a warning to all professional sports owners that they can abuse a host city and its fan base for only so long before people revolt by just not caring.
Good luck to Kroenke as he tries to resuscitate a franchise deader than a stump in the Petrified Forest.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Game 139: Tigers at Twins
First Pitch: 6:40 PM CDT
TV: Twins.TV
Radio: TIBN, WCCO 830, The Wolf 102.9 FM, Audacy App, LosTwins.com
Know thine enemy:Bless You Boys
Andrew Morris gets the start, presumably in an opener role, so expect just a couple innings from him tonight if all goes to plan. He’s looking to turn the page after an August where he posted a 6.94 ERA. His mound opponent will be 2nd year righty Troy Melton whose 1.86 ERA would be the best mark in MLB, if he had the innings to qualify.
The lineup will need more of that spark they found last night the rest of the way if they want to get that last wild card spot.
BLUE JAYS AT GUARDIANS: Miles/Arrighetti vs. Williams, discussion
Here’s the Blue Jays’ lineup:
Here’s the Guardians’ lineup:
Let’s go, Guardians!
Jays @ Guardians Game Thread
I hate teams who start their weekday games early. Oh well, I guess it means we will win earlier too.
Anyway, game one of three with the Guardians. Wins are important. Not that we should throw in the towel if we lose tonight. We aren’t going to run the table from here, so don’t get too upset if there is a loss. Yeah, I know, the thread will be a terrible thing if we lose. You would think that if you were a baseball fan, you’d be used to losses by now. They have 162 games. Teams are going to lose some of them.
We have a bullpen day with Spencer Myles opening. Arrighetti will likely be the bulk guy. Beyond that, expect to see every pitcher we have.
Sean Keys doesn’t make the roster on his first day back. Neither does Josh Smith.
Go Jays Go.