Category: MLB

The Yankees finally put some runs on the board after a quiet stretch, beating the Red Sox, 9-2, in Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader.

All 13 of New York's hits were singles, including seven singles in a five-run eighth inning, and nine different players scored a run.

Here are the takeaways...

-- Making his first start since Aug. 13 due to a left elbow bone bruise, Max Fried was solid in a short return outing. He allowed one earned run on a solo HR over 3.2 IP, striking out four and walking one.

Fried retired the first six Red Sox, including two strikeouts, but let up a leadoff home run to Nick Sogard in the top of the third inning that gave Boston a 1-0 lead. He let up two more hits in the frame, but avoided damage by getting a forceout and pop up. The left-hander walked the leadoff man in the fourth inning and then struck out back-to-back Red Sox, but that would be it for him after 63 pitches.

-- New York had an opportunity to get on the board in the second inning with runners on the corners and just one out, but Spencer Jones hit a tapper back to the pitcher who threw home to get Luis García Jr. for the second out. Austin Wells then popped out to short to end the inning, leaving two on base.

The Yanks made up for the missed scoring chance in the third inning, as Ben Rice drove in José Caballero with a single to shallow right field that tied the game at 1-1. New York kept the pressure on against Brayan Bello, loading the bases with no outs. They tacked on two more runs thanks to García and Jazz Chisholm Jr. on a forceout and sacrifice fly, respectively, to take a 3-1 lead.

-- George Lombard Jr. left the game early due to right knee discomfort as he appeared to tweak something during a second-inning at-bat. He was later replaced on defense in the top of the fourth inning by Amed Rosario.

-- Yerry De los Santos struck out Sogard to end the fourth and recorded two outs in the fifth inning before Michael Fulmer came in to get the third out. Fulmer ran into trouble in the sixth, hitting a batter and walking another, as Paul Blackburn was tasked to escape the jam. The veteran came through in the clutch, striking out two straight and getting a flyout to keep the Yanks ahead.

-- Garcíaand Rosario both singled in the sixth and then pulled off a double steal to get into scoring position. Jones stepped up and won a 10-pitch at-bat against Bello with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 4-1. That knocked the former starter out of the game having reached 94 pitches over 4.1 IP.

--Boston's bats made things more interesting in the top of the eighth inning against Brent Headrick as Wilyer Abreu doubled and Willson Contreras cut the Yanks' lead to 4-2 with a triple. Luckily, the lefty got out of it with a strikeout and groundout. 

The Yanks got the run back in the bottom half of the eighth thanks to Rosario's deep single off the wall in right field scored Cody Bellinger to make it 5-2. After Jones singled to load the bases, Austin Wells extended the lead to 7-2 with a bloop single down the left field line and Rice added two more with another single, making it 9-2.

Game MVP: Ben Rice

Rice went 2-for-5 with three RBI, giving him 86 total RBI on the year.

What's next

The Yanks and Red Sox wrap up their series on Sunday afternoon at 1:35 p.m.

Will Warren (8-6, 4.39 ERA) will take the mound against LHP Ranger Suarez (5-3, 3.35 ERA).

Pete Crow-Armstrong turned two pregame conversations with Sammy Sosa into one of the best days of his career.

Crow-Armstrong homered three times and drove in six runs on Saturday, adding to his case for NL MVP and powering the Chicago Cubs to a runaway 17-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. The All-Star center fielder had four hits and scored four times, delighting the crowd of 39,597 at Wrigley Field.

“I think Pete’s having a wonderful season,” manager Craig Counsell said. “It’s a lot of fun to watch. … We’re lucky to be a part of it.”

PETE CROW-ARMSTRONG HAS HIS FIRST CAREER 3-HOMER GAME! pic.twitter.com/XEfKhUYs9S

— MLB (@MLB) August 29, 2026

Crow-Armstrong, 24, saw Sosa in the lobby as he made his way into the ballpark, and the two talked again in the batting cage. Sosa, 57, was part of a pregame ceremony celebrating Chicago’s 150 years as a National League franchise.

Crow-Armstrong said Sosa told him he wanted to see even more out of him, and then told him he wanted him to hit three homers during the game.

“He was like, ‘I want three out of you today. … I need three,’” Crow-Armstrong said. “And sure enough, I don’t know what he passed down to me there.”

Crow-Armstrong continued his bid to unseat Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani as NL MVP after the Japanese slugger took home the honor each of the previous two years. Ohtani hasn’t been able to pitch since July 3 because of left knee soreness and a right biceps injury.

While Ohtani has been limited to designated hitter with Los Angeles, Crow-Armstrong is one of baseball’s top defensive players. And he has turned into a consistent threat at the plate as well, batting .282 with 36 homers, 89 RBIs and 32 steals in 136 games.

“Sometimes you feel it in your bones that you got a day like today in you and I did today,” Crow-Armstrong said.

Crow-Armstrong hit a 435-foot drive to right-center in the first for his eighth career leadoff homer — all this season. He went deep again in the second, sending a two-run shot off the foul pole in right.

It was Crow-Armstrong’s fifth multihomer game this season and No. 11 for his career.

“I think he can change the game in so many different ways,” teammate Alex Bregman said. “I think that one day it’s hitting three homers, the next day it’s making three diving plays or just running down balls that nobody else can go catch out there in center field. Next day, it’s stealing third and the ball going in the left field and him scoring. It’s just so many different things he can do on a baseball field.”

Crow-Armstrong got each of his first three hits off left-hander Andrew Abbott. He is batting .315 with 11 homers and 34 RBIs against lefties this season after he hit just .188 with seven homers and 27 RBIs versus lefties in 2025.

“It’s getting on the dish and learning the strike zone better,” he said. “I’m just, I think I’m getting better naturally as a baseball player overall.”

Batting with runners on first and second in the seventh, Crow-Armstrong hit a 444-foot drive to center off right-hander Tony Santillan. The crowd chanted “M-V-P! M-V-P!” as he rounded the bases.

With Reds catcher Jose Trevino on the mound in the eighth, Crow-Armstrong bounced to second. But the fans cheered anyway, saluting his first career three-homer game with a long ovation.

“The relationship has grown with all these fans,” Crow-Armstrong said, “so I’m just enjoying my time here more and more every day, walking down the street or in my uniform.”

The Texas Rangers scored three runs but the Milwaukee Brewers scored five runs.

Remember last night’s game? Well tonight’s game was pretty much the same game except everyone watched it on FOX instead of no one watching it on BZZR.

Just like last night the Rangers trailed 2-0 after an inning, made no headway with producing run-scoring rallies, hit a solo home run to briefly give the illusion of competitiveness, and then saw a leaky bullpen erase all doubts in the late innings.

The main differences tonight is the Rangers actually had more than two baserunners (out-hitting the Brewers 8 to 7) and showed more fight in the late innings with Brandon Nimmo bringing Texas to within a couple of runs with a two-run home run in the eighth.

Unfortunately also like last night, the Rangers lost. They have now lost four in a row and are four games under .500 for the first time since they were 38-42 back on June 24.

Player of the Game: Quantrill allowed three runs over six inning with just four hits and zero walks with eight strikeouts. That’s a quality start and one I think you take any chance you can get against a team of Milwaukee’s caliber.

But Quantrill should have known better than to allow three early runs when he’s on a team with a lineup that is prone to turtling up when faced with any challenge. Therefore I nominate Nimmo, who went 3-for-4 with the two-run dong.

Up Next: The Rangers take another crack at the Brewers with RHP Kumar Rocker expected on the mound for Texas opposite RHP Dustin May for Milwaukee.

The Sunday afternoon first pitch from American Family Field is scheduled for 1:10 pm CDT and will be back on the Rangers Sports Network.

Most pitchers need one pitch at 103.6 mph to create a career highlight. Edgardo Henriquez is starting to treat it like an appointment.

The 24-year-old Dodgers reliever opened the bottom of the eighth inning Saturday by firing a front-door sinker past a frozen Dillon Dingler. The pitch caught the edge for strike three, prompting an immediate challenge from the Tigers catcher.

“Got him looking! A 104-mile-per-hour sinker,” the announcer said.

The automated ball-strike review confirmed the call. Statcast supplied the precise measurements: 103.6 mph with 2,439 rpm.

MLB classified it as the fastest Dodgers strikeout pitch on record, with pitch tracking dating to 2008. It briefly jolted an otherwise frustrating 2-1 loss to Detroit.

He entered Saturday responsible for 22 of the fastest tracked pitches thrown by a Dodger and 14 of the franchise’s 16 fastest strikeout pitches. The sinker tied his career high, first reached June 2 against the Diamondbacks.

His normal velocity explains why the singular bursts barely seem singular. Baseball Savant lists Henriquez’s average 2026 sinker at 100.8 mph and his four-seamer at 100.5. Most relievers chase triple digits. Henriquez lives there.

In August 2025, his 103.3 mph four-seamer to Ryan O’Hearn matched Jonathan Broxton’s Dodgers tracking-era record. One year later, that benchmark resembles an early chapter.

Velocity alone did not make Saturday’s pitch effective. Henriquez located the sinker on the edge, leaving Dingler enough doubt to challenge but not enough to change the result.

The Dodgers could not turn the milestone into a win as their late-season problems continued to stack up. Henriquez nevertheless supplied a scoreless eighth and another reminder that the extraordinary has become his baseline.

The next 103 mph pitch may arrive without a record attached. That is how wild velocity becomes ho-hum history: Henriquez reaches these numbers so often that the surprise is no longer the speed, only the new label it receives.

---

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Well, they lost the first one. But they’re back to try it again! The San Francisco Giants are hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks for the second game of a doubleheader, and are hoping to split the four-game series.

It’s an exciting pitching situation for the Giants, as right-hander Yunior Marte takes the mound for his MLB debut. Marte — not to be confused with the reliever of the same name, who pitched for San Francisco in 2022 — is a young prospect whom the Giants acquired a year ago in the Mike Yastrzemski trade. He is, shockingly, following in Jonah Cox’s footsteps as the second player the Giants have called up directly from AA this year … after going nearly a decade without making such a move.

Marte, who turned 23 earlier this month, has a strong fastball/slider combo, with a splitter as well. He’s fastball reliant, and sits mid-90s, while occasionally touching high-90s. He does a good job limiting walks, despite a slightly herky-jerky motion that isn’t always conducive to consistent strike-throwing. In 13 starts with AA Richmond this year, Marte posted a 3.92 ERA and a 3.97 FIP, with 72 strikeouts and 22 walks in 64.1 innings. He started the year with High-A Eugene, where he had a 3.74 ERA and a 4.11 FIP in nine games, with 41 strikeouts and 19 walks in 43.1 innings. He was not on the 40-man roster (though he would have been a Rule 5 decision this winter), so the Giants made a spot for him by moving Casey Schmitt to the 60-Day IL. The Giants made space on the active roster by optioning lefty Seth Lonsway, who made his MLB debut in the first game of the doubleheader.

For Arizona, it’s lefty Mitch Bratt, who is also a 23-year old lefty. Bratt, who was a fifth-round pick in 2021, has made nine appearances in his debut season, and is 1-2 with a 4.54 ERA, a 5.28 FIP, and 28 strikeouts against 25 walks in 39.2 innings. After a pair of great starts to open the month, Bratt has given up three runs in three innings in each of his last two games.

Enjoy the baseball, everyone!

Lineups

Giants

1. Jonah Cox — CF
2. Rafael Devers — DH
3. Bryce Eldridge — 1B
4. Jung Hoo Lee — RF
5. Shay Whitcomb — 3B
6. Andrew Knizner — C
7. Grant McCray — LF
8. Osleivis Basabe — 2B
9. Christian Koss — SS

RHP. Yunior Marte

Diamondbacks

1. Lars Nootbaar — DH
2. Corbin Carroll — RF
3. Geraldo Perdomo — SS
4. Nolan Arenado — 3B
5. Max Kepler — LF
6. Tim Tawa — 1B
7. James McCann — C
8. Ildemaro Vargas — 2B
9. Ryan Waldschmidt — CF

LHP. Mitch Bratt

Game #137

Who: San Francisco Giants (55-81) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (73-64)

Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California

When: 7:05 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

Happy Saturday, folks! Hope you’re having a nice weekend. If you decide to spend it watching late-night West Coast baseball, I hope the Orioles grace you with a series win tonight. They snatched a win in Game One last night with a 4-3 victory in ten innings. Although Brandon Young pitched a strong seven innings, the bullpen couldn’t hold onto a meager 2-0 lead, and it took extras to sort things out: two clutch base hits by Coby Mayo and Christian Encarnacion-Strand gave the birds the winning margin of victory.

Let’s hope the Orioles make Game Two worth staying up for. Tonight, taking the mound at Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park for the Athletics is Jack Perkins, a 26-year-old righty who debuted for the A’s in 2025, and has been used mostly as a swingman. In 11 starts and 20 relief appearances in 2026, he has an ugly 6.68 ERA, although it seems he’s been the victim of bad defense, to judge by his FIP (4.79) and xERA (3.96). He’s still been much more effective as a reliever, going by his ERA splits (4.76 ERA in relief/8.17 ERA as a starter). His best pitch is the sweeper, which generates a 36.1% whiff rate, followed by a decent changeup and cutter. The soft spot in Perkins’ arsenal is his mid-90s four-seamer: it’s been his most hittable pitch by far (.318 average, .664 slugging against, Run Value -14), and he still throws it nearly a third of the time. Perkins is also prone to the long ball (1.69 HR/9) and to putting runners on via the walk (3.79 BB/9) or hit-by-pitch (9 on the year).

As for the O’s starter, I don’t know if it’s crazy or reasonable to hope for a win, given that it’s unlucky Shane Baz who takes his turn on the mound tonight. Despite the fact that Baz (4.04 ERA, 3.34 FIP) has allowed three or fewer runs in 19 of his 26 starts, he doesn’t have a win in his last twelve starts (which is incredible to process). And he’s been pretty good! He had a 3.68 ERA in June, a 3.00 one in July, and August, while slightly worse, shows him at a 4.30 mark. Poor Baz. Can the schneid please end tonight?

Tonight’s lineup features a surplus of lefties. Jackson Holliday back in the leadoff spot, and Henderson, hopefully rested after his day off, hitting third. Dylan Beavers, hot lately, is back in, and so is Cowser playing center field. The newly activated Blaze Alexander is sitting today. However, Coby Mayo, slayer of lefties, is getting a start against the right-handed Perkins anyway, hitting seventh. And Pete Alonso, lately called our team’s “iron man,” is still out there, hitting, even with a sore calf.

Last night saw these Orioles snatch a game back from Cleveland’s lead to put them just two games back of the third and final Wild Card spot. Earlier today, the lowly Royals did the Orioles a huge favor, pummeling the Guardians 8-3, which gives the team chance to make up yet another game! The next four games against the A’s and the Rockies, whom the O’s visit next, represent a best chance to make score some easy wins in the wild card race, if such a thing is even possible.

Orioles lineup:

Jackson Holliday 2B
Pete Alonso DH
Gunnar Henderson SS
Christian Encarnacion-Strand 3B
Samuel Basallo C
Dylan Beavers LF
Coby Mayo 1B
Colton Cowser CF
Leody Taveras RF

RHP Shane Baz

Athletics lineup:

Henry Bolte CF
Jeff McNeil 1B
Zack Gelof 2B
Lawrence Butler RF
Tommy White 3B
Donovan Walton SS
Max Muncy DH
Carlos Cortes LF
Jonah Heim C

RHP Jack Perkins

I think we can safely say, the opening game of the double-header went about as well as could be expected. Most importantly, Merrill Kelly had his best game since that complete game in Coors Field, tossing seven innings for the first time in the second half, and meaning we only had to use Taylor Clarke and Brandyn Garcia out of the pen. Jonathan Loaisiga is probably the only other man off the board among our relievers for the nightcap, with a preference for Kevin Ginkel, Justin Martinez and new guy Derek Law, over Juan Morillo and Gerardo Carrillo. Ideally, Mitch Bratt will give us six innings, then turn it over to the trio mentioned.

Worst-case scenario though: Arizona will end the day in at least a tie for the third NL wild-card spot, even if they lose the night cap. The Padres blew a 6-3 lead in Tampa, and have dropped four of five, losing series to both the Pirates and Rays, since a rather smug article appeared on Friars On Base, self-congratulating the Padres for turning things around: “Their veteran core chose accountability.” The slump couldn’t happen to a nicer team, between Tatis, Machado, etc. Let’s hope Tampa do their expansion siblings another favor tomorrow and complete the sweep over San Diego, while Arizona heads home and prepares to face Philadelphia.

But first, the little matter of this evening’s game. A split of the series is now assured, but of course, a series win would be much preferred. Bratt’s last couple of starts haven’t been up to much, lasting just three innings, while allowing three runs in each. Too many walks have been a problem, both in putting men on base and driving up his pitch count. His last start averaged 23 pitches per inning, the start before that just one less – not a recipe for going deep. But a night game in San Francisco is definitely a more pitcher-friendly environment, and let’s hope for a repeat of this afternoon’s victory.

This contest was a series of moments wrapped around a wild seventh inning that saw each team score at least three runs, albeit in different methods. Prior to a 7th inning that was off the rails in the home half, the Rays looked to be mostly in control with an early 2-1 lead through five innings thanks to an RBI single by Liam Hicks and a solo home run by Jonathan Aranda:

That prodigous was just Aranda’s second home run in the past 20 games and just his fourth extra base hit in his last 86 plate appearances: That held up until Ty France hit his 100th career home run sneaking an opposite field home run just over the right field cut out to give the Padres a 3-2 lead:

The Rays would come back to tie the game 3-3 on Junior Caminero’s first home run in 16 games and just his third extra base hit in his last 66 plate appearances to set the stage for an eventful 7th inning:

Garrett Cleavinger came in of relief of Nick Martinez in the 7th and committed the cardinal sin of walking the leadoff batter after being ahead 0-2 on Luis Rengifo. That walk was quickly followed by a single by Dustin Harris and a perfect bunt by Fernando Tatis Jr to load the bases with nobody out. Cleavinger would come back to strike out Jake Cronenworth, but was lifted for Kevin Kelly in hopes of getting an inning-ending double play. Manny Machado foiled those plans with a single through the abandoned part of the infield plating the first two runs of the inning, which was followed by a double-steal leading to the third run of the inning:

The Rays went into the bottom of the 7th down three runs against a team that had lost one game all season when leading after seven because their A-bullpen has an A+ grade and A+ stuff. The Rays simply followed the script the Padres used in the top of the inning with the 7-8-9 hitters each reaching base setting up the wildest play of the game. Yandy Diaz crushed a high fastball from Bradgley Rodriguez that looked and sounded lika grand slam off the bat. The baserunners were primed to run into the most TOOTBLANs of TOOTBLANs, but Rengifo’s knee gave out on him in a run-down and throw home allowing all three base runners to score and get Diaz to third base:

Diaz would eventually come in to score the go-ahead run on Chandler Simpson’s second hit of the game. That single gave Simpson a .384 batting average since the break, which leads all qualified hitters. Kelly would come back to work a clean 8th before handing the ball to Bryan Baker to save his 39th game of the season and his 27th consecutive save since his last blown save on May 13th.

The win by the Rays coupled with the Yankees losing the first game of the double-header gives the Rays a five-game lead over the Yankees. The Rays will go for a series sweep tomorrow with staff ace Drew Rasmussen on the mound opposing Robbie Ray.

Phillies survive sloppy night on the bases, beat Angels in extra innings originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Phillies and Los Angeles Angels don’t play each often and maybe that’s a good thing.

You know, for the ol’ blood pressure.

For the second night in a row Saturday, the two teams played a wild one at Anaheim Stadium.

The Phillies pulled out a 4-2 victory when they rallied for three runs in the top of the 10^th inning – Kyle Schwarber doubled home a run and Trea Turner singled home two of them — but it really didn’t have to be this difficult.

The Phillies got seven shutout innings from Cristopher Sanchez and took a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the eighth. With two outs, Angels’ leadoff man Zach Neto capped a grueling 12-pitch at-bat against Jonathan Bowlan with a game-tying home run to left. Neto fouled off seven pitches during the at-bat, including four in a row before connecting for the homer.

Manager Don Mattingly pulled Sanchez at 91 pitches. Any chance Sanchez had of facing the bottom of the Angels’ order in the eighth disappeared after two lengthy replay reviews in the top of the inning. The Phillies came out on the wrong end of both of them as Turner and Bryce Harper ran into outs at third base and home plate, respectively. Turner was caught off second by pitcher Trevor Martin and gunned down at third base. Harper tried to steal home on Martin. He was initially ruled safe, but the call was overturned for the third out.

Mattingly wasn’t happy with either call.

“I don’t mind Trea’s because we’re trying to get to third … trying to be aggressive,” he said. “I thought he was safe there anyway. Harp’s is not necessarily a bad play. They called him safe. I don’t know how they know his hand doesn’t get in there. How is that clear and convincing?”

Before rallying in the top of the 10^th, the Phils ran into a third out on the bases when Brandon Marsh was thrown out at third trying to advance from second on a ground ball to short.

Those outs on the bases fit the theme of the night – wasted chances. The Phillies went 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position over the first nine innings. They managed just one run in the first two innings despite Angels’ starter Ryan Johnson allowing six base runners on two hits and four walks over that span. They pushed across a run in the second on a hit by Marsh before leaving the bases loaded.

But all’s well that ends well.

The Phillies have won 12 of their last 14 and three in a row. They are a season-best 16 games over .500 and firmly in control of a wild-card playoff spot with 26 games to play.

“I feel like we’re definitely playing a lot better baseball,” Turner said. “Obviously, we can still learn from some things. Like tonight, I thought we made some mistakes as a team. And we know that and we want to play better as a team. But it’s nice winning those games and learning from it rather than losing them. I feel like that’s a little bit of a difference from now and the beginning of the year when it felt like we couldn’t overcome some of those mistakes. We’re playing better baseball. The pitching is keeping us in games. The offense has been great putting traffic out there. There’s still room for improvement, but it still feels like we’re playing better baseball.”

Sanchez allowed just two hits and a walk over his seven innings. He struck out eight as he reached 200 for the second straight season. He has 202, one less than team leader Jesus Luzardo.

Sanchez was in line for his majors-leading 17^th win before Neto tied the game. He remains stuck at 16. He will have five more starts to become the Phillies’ first 20-game winner since Roy Halladay in 2010.

Jhoan Duran ended up with the win Saturday night. He allowed the placed runner to score in the bottom of the 10^th, but eventually closed the door after the Phils rallied for three in the top of the inning. That inning included some good base running. After Marsh’s gaffe, J.T. Realmuto went first-to-third on a hit by rookie Justin Crawford, who continues to make his presence felt late in games. Schwarber then dropped an RBI double in front of Trout, who had been playing deep in center, and Turner squibbed a ball to right through a drawn-in infield for two more runs.

For the struggling Turner, who earlier in the game pinned left fielder Jose Siri against the wall, the softly hit two-run single was a keeper.

“It was so bad, but it feels so much better,” he said. “I thought I saw the ball well. I thought I was going to hit it pretty hard then, obviously, I capped it, but it worked out. You have to find a way, any way. No matter how bad it looks or how good it looks, you try to put runs on the board.”

The Phillies, who rallied to win the first game of the series on the strength of Edmundo Sosa’s ninth-inning grand slam Friday night, will look for a sweep Sunday afternoon behind Zack Wheeler. The right-hander has struggled mightily recently. He gave up four home runs and walked five in a loss Monday night at Seattle. Excluding a rain-shortened outing Aug. 2 in Baltimore, he has a 9.27 ERA in his last five full starts.

Last night, the Athletics fell to 14-29 in series openers this season after falling to the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 in 10 innings. The A’s had a chance to win their third straight game, but they could not conjure enough late-inning magic. As a result, the team must win tonight to avoid falling into a 2-0 series hole and keep its hopes of winning the series alive.

A’s right-hander Jack Perkins will take the mound in this evening’s Sacramento Saturday clash. The 26-year-old enters his 32nd appearance and 12th start of the season with a 3-9 record, a 6.68 ERA, a 1.48 WHIP, three saves and 104 strikeouts over 90 1/3 innings.

Tonight, Perkins will get another chance to start. Following three straight poor starts, the right-hander’s last two outings have come in bulk relief of an opener, a role in which he has pitched better. In his last appearance, Perkins earned the win against the Houston Astros after allowing three runs, one earned, on three hits and five walks across five innings.

If Perkins wants to remain in the A’s rotation, he will have to string together some quality starts. The more games in which Perkins puts his team in an early deficit, the likelier he is to find himself back in the bullpen. When the A’s faced the Orioles earlier this season, Perkins pitched once in that series, allowing a run on a hit and a walk in 2/3 of an inning.

Last year, he recorded his first major-league win against Baltimore after allowing three runs on three hits over six innings. The Green and Gold would gladly take that kind of performance from Perkins tonight in the wake of yesterday’s extra-inning affair.

Here’s the lineup Athletics’ manager Mark Kotsay is going with today:

Sac Saturday incoming 🏃 pic.twitter.com/rd7KqOslR6

— Athletics (@Athletics) August 29, 2026

The injury-depleted A’s are rolling out nearly the same starting lineup as last night, with Donovan Walton the lone position player making his first start of the series. Throughout this homestand, the A’s have made a habit of scoring late in games, so some early offense and a lead would likely help Perkins settle down and put the team in a better position to win this evening.

The A’s offense will face Orioles right-hander Shane Baz, who has turned his season around after a rocky first few months with Baltimore. The 27-year-old enters his 27th start of the year with a 4-14 record, a 4.04 ERA, a 1.35 WHIP and 135 strikeouts over 151 1/3 innings. Over his last seven starts, Baz has posted a 3.63 ERA, yet is 0-5, largely because he has received the second-lowest amount of run support in the majors. The right-hander brings a 1-2 record, a 4.10 ERA and 27 strikeouts into his fifth career game against the A’s.

The Green and Gold will look to defeat Baz for a second time this season after tagging him for five runs on five hits in early May. Given how much better the Orioles pitcher has been lately, the Athletics will need to take advantage of any mistake pitches he leaves in the middle of the plate and use strategies like base stealing and bunting to create run-scoring opportunities.

And Baltimore’s starting nine for this matchup:

Saturday night squad.

📺 @masnOrioles & MASN+
📻 98 Rock 97.9 FM & WBAL 1090 AM pic.twitter.com/HV2NEzXhah

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 29, 2026

Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson and catcher Samuel Basallo are both back in the lineup after getting the day off yesterday. They are joined by elite power-hitter Pete Alonso and first baseman Coby Mayo, who recorded the game-winning RBI single in the tenth inning of the series opener.

It will be up to Perkins and the A’s bullpen to keep the Orioles’ offense in check and prevent Baz from receiving much run support. On the other hand, if the Orioles establish a sizable early lead, the A’s could have difficulty pulling off another comeback as they look to force a series rubber game tomorrow afternoon.

Time to even this series and get back in the win column. Let’s go A’s!

Follow the Game:
Watch:
Athletics – NBCSCA

Listen:
Athletics -Talk 650 KSTE, KVMX 92.1/105.5, A’s Cast