Category: MLB

The Milwaukee Brewers are set to host the Atlanta Braves for a pair of (oddly timed) games this weekend before taking them on in MLB’s Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pennsylvania on Sunday night. The Brewers are in possession of the best record in baseball, will be looking for their 80th win of the season this weekend. On the other side, the Braves sit atop the NL East with the third-best record in the National League, behind only Milwaukee and the Dodgers.

After Cooper Pratt returned this week, the lone position player left on Milwaukee’s IL is outfielder Sal Frelick, who could be back this weekend. On the pitching side, the Brewers are without relievers Abner Uribe (late August), JoJo Romero (late August), Rob Zastryzny (TBD), Joel Kuhnel (late August), Brian Fitzpatrick (out for season), and Angel Zerpa (out for season). Starters Quinn Priester and Brandon Woodruff are also out for the year.

Atlanta is without pitchers Spencer Schwellenbach (September at earliest), Robert Suarez (TBD), Spencer Strider (TBD), Hurston Waldrep (TBD), Reynaldo López (late August), Joe Jiménez (September), and Joey Wentz (out for season). They currently have no position players on the IL.

Jake Bauers, Garrett Mitchell, Brice Turang, and Joey Ortiz have led the Brewer offense over the last few weeks. Bauers leads the team with 22 homers, while Ortiz is now hitting .252/.317/.381 for the season after an absolutely dismal first two months. Mitchell is hitting .261/.356/.421, and Turang is hitting .262/.356/.439 with 16 homers. Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn have also been consistent pieces offensively, with William Contreras, Gary Sánchez, Christian Yelich, David Hamilton, Cooper Pratt, Luis Lara, and Jonathan Ornelas all in the mix. As a team, the Brewers are hitting .253/.337/.397 (.734 OPS ranks seventh), with 642 runs (fourth), 119 homers (last), and 129 steals (third).

Matt Olson and Wisconsin native Drake Baldwin lead the Atlanta offense, as Olson has slugged 36 homers and 31 doubles, and Baldwin has 21 homers as he’s hitting .272/.354/.449. Michael Harris II, Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, Mauricio Dubón, Dominic Smith, Lane Thomas, and Mike Yastrzemski are among the other regulars on offense. Ha-Seong Kim, Jim Jarvis, and Sean Murphy round things out. As a team, the Braves are hitting .246/.310/.413 (.723 OPS ranks 14th), with 608 runs (seventh), 167 homers (tied for fourth), and 62 steals (25th).

Aaron Ashby leads the Milwaukee bullpen with 59 appearances (71 innings) this year, with Trevor Megill closing things out, as he has a 2.39 ERA and 23 saves. With Uribe injured, Chad Patrick and DL Hall have also worked as high-leverage arms, with Antonio Senzatela, Bryse Wilson, and Grant Anderson rounding things out. As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.46 team ERA (second), including a 3.53 starter ERA (fourth) and a 3.37 bullpen ERA (third). They’ve struck out 1,245 batters (second) over 1,144 1/3 innings.

Dylan Lee has anchored the Braves bullpen with a team-high 60 appearances, pitching to a strong 2.02 ERA over 58 frames. Raisel Iglesias has a 3.09 ERA and leads the squad with 26 saves, while Didier Fuentes (2.60 ERA over 55 1/3 IP), Dylan Dodd (2.27 ERA over 39 2/3 IP), and former Brewer favorite Brent Suter (2.25 ERA over 8 IP since being acquired at the deadline) also figure prominently. Ray Kerr (0.00 ERA over 2 1/3 IP) and Victor Mederos (3.68 ERA over 22 IP) round things out. As a staff, the Braves have a 3.64 team ERA (fifth), including a 3.75 starter ERA (seventh) and a 3.49 bullpen ERA (fourth). They’ve struck out 1,092 batters (11th) over 1,137 innings.

Probable Pitchers

Friday, August 21 @ 3:10 p.m.: RHP Jacob Misiorowski (12-5, 1.75 ERA, 2.14 FIP) vs. LHP Chris Sale (12-8, 2.16 ERA, 2.30 FIP)

Miz will go head-to-head with yet another ace in Friday’s series opener, as he gets the start opposite Chris Sale. The big right-hander is 12-5 this season and remains atop the majors in ERA (1.75), FIP (2.14), strikeouts (210), and WHIP (0.748). He turned in six solid frames to pick up the win over the Dodgers in his last outing, allowing one run on five hits and a walk with six strikeouts. Misiorowski took a loss against the Braves back in June, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk, striking out seven across six innings.

Sale, 37, is in his 16th MLB season and third with the Braves, and he’s still just as dominant as ever. After winning the NL Cy Young with Atlanta in 2024, he’s been arguably even better this year, with a 2.16 ERA, 2.30 FIP, and 160 strikeouts across 129 innings. He took a tough loss in his last outing against the D-backs, allowing just one run on five hits and no walks while striking out nine as Atlanta lost 2-0. Sale has made six career starts against Milwaukee, with a 2-0 record, 1.62 ERA, and 52 strikeouts over 39 innings. That includes 5 2/3 innings back in June, when he allowed a pair of unearned runs and struck out seven.

Saturday, August 22 @ 1:10 p.m.: RHP Logan Henderson (7-2, 2.70 ERA, 3.39 FIP) vs. LHP Martín Pérez (8-7, 3.15 ERA, 4.15 FIP)

Henderson continues to impress as a major leaguer. His ERA is down to 2.70 to go along with a 3.39 FIP and 75 strikeouts across 63 1/3 innings, and he was fantastic in his last outing against the Dodgers. He went a career-high seven frames on a career-high 93 pitches, allowing one run on three hits and a walk, striking out six. This marks Henderson’s first career start against Atlanta.

Pérez, 35, is another long-time lefty veteran, as he’s in his 15th season with his seventh team. He’s made 24 appearances (20 starts) for Atlanta this year, with an 8-7 record, 3.15 ERA, 4.15 FIP, and 83 strikeouts over 111 1/3 innings. Pérez got roughed up a bit against the Twins in his last outing, allowing four runs on nine hits and two walks, striking out three over five frames. Pérez has made six career appearances (five starts) against Milwaukee, with a 1-3 record, 7.24 ERA, and 21 strikeouts over 32 1/3 innings, though that lone victory came this year, as he went six frames with one run allowed and five strikeouts.

Sunday, August 23 @ 6:10 p.m. (MLB Little League Classic in Williamsport, PA): LHP Shane Drohan (6-4, 3.86 ERA, 3.36 FIP) vs. RHP Tyler Mahle (4-10, 4.53 ERA, 4.13 FIP)

Drohan will get the start for the Brewers in Sunday’s showcase, and it’s been a solid year for the left-hander. Across 25 appearances (14 starts), Drohan is 6-4 with a 3.86 ERA, 3.36 FIP, and 99 strikeouts over 100 1/3 innings. He went 5 1/3 innings in his last start against the Dodgers, allowing three runs and striking out five in a no-decision. His last appearance, though, came from the bullpen, as he tossed two scoreless innings with one strikeout in Milwaukee’s 22-0 blowout win over the Mariners on Tuesday night. This marks Drohan’s first career appearance against Atlanta.

Mahle, 31, was acquired by the Braves at the trade deadline in a deal with the Giants. Another veteran, Mahle is in his 10th season with his fifth team. While he had a 5.13 ERA and 4.36 FIP with the Giants across 18 starts, he’s been great with Atlanta, pitching to a 1.45 ERA, 2.93 FIP, and 19 strikeouts over 18 2/3 innings in three starts this month. A familiar opponent for Milwaukee, Mahle has made 10 career starts against the Brewers, with a 2-3 record, 4.73 ERA, and 66 strikeouts across 51 1/3 innings. He dominated the Crew in his second-to-last start with the Giants in late July, though, pitching six scoreless innings with three strikeouts as he allowed just three hits and two walks to earn the win.

How to Watch & Listen

Friday, August 14: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Saturday, August 15: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Sunday, August 16 (MLB Little League Classic in Williamsport, PA): Nationally televised on ESPN/ESPN App; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Prediction

This will be a fun series between two of baseball’s best teams, capped off with a showdown in Williamsport on Sunday. Give me the Crew to win two of three.

“So, you’re telling me there’s a chance.”

— Lloyd Christmas, “Dumb & Dumber.”

Admit it, Mets fans. You have at least considered the possibility, unlikely as it may seem, as the Mets have ripped off 11 wins in 15 games after a trade deadline sell-off.

They have won four of their last five series and have injected a bit of life into what had been a miserable season.

It will take an enormous run to even be in contention in mid-September. The Mets still trail the Padres by 10 games for the third and final NL wild-card spot, and six other teams are ahead of them.

To reach 83 wins, the number of victories the final wild-card team secured a year ago, the Mets would need to go 25-9. That’s a .735 winning percentage, an extraordinarily tall order.

Let’s take a look at the schedule the rest of the way.

The Mets have the seventh-most difficult remaining strength of schedule, their opponents owning a combined .520 winning percentage.

It includes 12 games against division leaders (White Sox and Rays on the road, Brewers and Astros at home).

There is also the Subway Series against the Yankees in The Bronx, and four more with the contending Phillies at Citi Field. Of the 34 games left, 18 are on the road, where the Mets are seven games under .500.

The good news: The Mets have performed better of late against quality teams.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND METS STATS

Since the All-Star break, they have taken series from the Phillies, Padres and NL East-leading Braves.

There are soft spots coming up at Citi Field against the last-place Giants (Sept. 4-6) and under-.500 Orioles and Pete Alonso (Sept. 14-16).

Plus, the Mets close the year out against two teams, the Rangers and Nationals, who are under .500 as well.

Since interim manager Andy Green took over June 26, replacing Carlos Mendoza, the Mets have played better baseball.

They are 24-23 in that span, as young players like Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, Carson Benge, Nate Lavender and A.J. Ewing have emerged and journeyman types like Daniel Duarte, Jared Young and Jefry Yan have produced.

“Guys are playing good baseball,” Green said recently. “In almost all the games, we’ve found ourselves down at some point [and] the mentality has flipped from ‘Here we go again’ to ‘Here we go again, this is what we do.’ I think there’s a big distinction between those two things and your expectations. I think your play follows that.”

The bottom line is the Mets have to keep winning, and really can’t afford many slipups. They need this 11-4 stretch to be a sign of the final six weeks to come.

The odds are incredibly slim. Their chances of reaching the postseason are 0.1 percent, according to FanGraphs. Hey, it’s better than zero, right?

“I feel like we’re playing loose,’’ Scott said. “There’s an influx of energy with a lot of new guys. We’re having fun and not putting too much pressure on ourselves. And winning is more fun.”

There are 94 pitchers in major league history with 2,000 strikeouts. Jacob deGrom got there faster than 93 of them.

The Texas Rangers right-hander needed eight pitches Thursday night to reach the moment. He struck out Abimelec Ortiz on a slider Thursday night for No. 2,000, two batters into a game against the Washington Nationals. He reached 2,000 Ks in 1,661 career innings. Only Chris Sale, at 1,626 innings in 2019, needed fewer.

Jacob deGrom is the newest member of the 2,000 strikeouts club 🔥 pic.twitter.com/DwQN0JAYxe

— MLB (@MLB) August 21, 2026

DeGrom passed Yu Darvish (1,697⅓ innings), Pedro Martinez, who got there in 1,711⅓ innings, and Randy Johnson, who needed 1,733⅓, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. If you measure it by games, it is nearly as lopsided. Thursday was deGrom's 272nd big league appearance, all of them starts. Johnson needed 262 games to hit 2,000 strikeouts. Nobody else has done it in fewer than 277.

Sale was 30 at the time he reached 2,000 strikeouts and Clayton Kershaw was 29. DeGrom just turned 38 in June.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner in 2018-19 had a late start. DeGrom was a shortstop the first two years of college and drafted after converting to pitching in 2010. He was a ninth-round pick who blew out his elbow six starts into his professional career. He had Tommy John in 2010 and missed all of 2011. He didn't make it to the majors until a month before his 26th birthday.

He has also been saddled with injuries in MLB. He made 31 or more starts in each season from 2017 through 2019 and pitched to a 2.53 ERA across 622⅓ innings. He made 32 starts in 2018 alone. Then came the injuries, and the Tommy John surgery in June 2023, 13 years after the first one. He made just 35 starts total from 2021-24.

Legendary Mets broadcaster Howie Rose will retire at the end of the club’s home schedule this season.

The team will celebrate Rose with a special retirement ceremony before the last game of the season at Citi Field against the Phillies on Sunday, Sept. 20. 

The Mets will recognize Rose’s career and his impact on the organization.

Rose has been part of Mets baseball for close to four decades.

The first 15,000 fans will receive a “Put it in the books” notebook and scorecard.

The phrase was his signature sign-off after a Mets victory.

“For generations of Mets fans, Howie Rose has been more than a broadcaster, he has been the soundtrack of summer and the voice behind some of the most memorable moments in our history,” owners Steve and Alex Cohen said in a statement. “His love for baseball and this organization has come through in every call, creating a connection with Mets fans that few broadcasters ever achieve. Howie’s impact extends far beyond the booth. 

“He is part of the fabric of this franchise, and we are proud to celebrate an extraordinary career while thanking him for everything he has meant to the Mets. We wish Howie and his family nothing but the best in this next chapter.”

Rose, 72, grew up a Mets fan in Queens and started calling games for the team in 1987.

He has been their lead play-by-play voice on the radio since 2006. 

The Mariners are calling up one of the best pitching prospects in baseball.

Seattle is promoting left-hander Kade Anderson to make his major league debut Saturday against the Cubs at T-Mobile Park, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Thursday.

Anderson, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, has dominated the minor leagues during his first professional season.

The 22-year-old southpaw owns a 1.06 ERA across 93⅓ innings in 18 starts for Double-A Arkansas.

He’s punched out 135 batters while issuing just 13 walks and allowing 47 hits, holding a 10-1 record with a 0.64 WHIP.

Anderson currently stands as the game’s top pitching prospect, along with being the No. 5 overall prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline.

Baseball America and FanGraphs both also have Anderson as the top arm on their prospect lists. 

The Mariners had recently begun openly discussing the possibility of Anderson joining their rotation for the final stretch.

“We’re not going to put Kade in the bullpen,” Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said earlier this month. “He’s the best starting pitcher in the minor leagues.”

Anderson emerged as one of college baseball’s biggest stars during his final season at LSU when he struck out 180 batters in 119 innings before helping the Tigers win the College World Series and earning Most Outstanding Player honors.

His debut will come on the national stage, with Saturday’s game scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET on Fox.

The Mariners, who are 60-68 heading into the weekend series against the Cubs, are hoping Anderson can provide a boost with their playoff hopes currently on life support.

Although Seattle is just three games back of the third and final American League wild-card spot, five teams standing between them and the final playoff berth.

The Seattle Mariners, one of baseball’s greatest disappointments this season, are calling up the minor league’s most dominant pitcher in an effort to reverse their fortunes.

Kade Anderson, the left-hander making a mockery of Class AA hitters all season, will be called up to start their Saturday, Aug. 22 game in Seattle against the Chicago Cubs, ESPN first reported.

Anderson, 22, was the third overall pick in the 2025 draft out of LSU, and in his first full professional season has proven almost untouchable. He’s struck out 135 in 93⅓ innings while compiling a 10-1 record and 1.06 ERA in 18 starts.

The Reds were handed one of their most brutal losses of the season on Thursday.

With Cincinnati holding a 5-4 lead over the Cardinals with two outs in the ninth inning, St. Louis shortstop J.J. Wetherholt lofted a ball to left-center field, which appeared to be an easy out for center fielder Dane Myers to track down.

But as Myers drifted toward the ball while calling off left fielder TJ Friedl, the ball deflected off his glove and rolled back to the warning track, allowing the Cardinals to score two runs and regain the lead.

After throwing the misplayed ball back into the infield, Myers appeared dumbfounded while crouching in the outfield.

The Cardinals’ offense then exploded with another four runs in top half of the ninth before the Reds responded by putting four across in the bottom half.

Cincinnati’s comeback attempts were ultimately foiled after Matt McLain hit a hard line drive to St. Louis outfielder Jordan Walker with the bases loaded to end the game, with the Cardinals sealing the 10-9 victory.

Myers owned up to the blunder while speaking to reporters, saying that he and Friedl had talked about plays in the gap beforehand.

“Shaded over a good bit. We had talked before the play. Anything in that gap with how we were shaded was supposed to be mine,” Myers said, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. “So, I know the sun may have been tough.

“Pretty loud for the last out of a game. I called him off and just didn’t make the play.”

Reds skipper Terry Francona likened Myers’ game-altering error to a simple baseball mistake.

“TJ looked like he was fighting the sun and I was kind of glad that Myers called him off,” Francona said. “Just didn’t look it into his glove. Just glanced off.”

Thursday’s loss gives the Reds a 61-67 record, and they sit seven games out of the final National League wild-card spot with just over a month left in the regular season.

BALTIMORE — Although the Yankees were due to play a key game at Camden Yards on Thursday night, the most important swings of the day may have come in The Bronx, where Aaron Judge started hitting off a tee.

Aaron Boone noted the advancement in Judge’s recovery from the fractured rib that’s kept him out since the beginning of June.

“It went well,’’ the manager said before the Yankees topped the Orioles 6-1. “It will be good to see him [Friday] when we get home.”

Initially restricted to limited activity, Judge had moved on to playing catch and, more recently, swinging in a pool.

But if there’s any real chance of Judge getting healthy and performing up to his normal standards before the end of the season, the Yankees will have to keep an eye on the calendar.

He’s already been sidelined for nearly three months and will need time to get back into playing shape when he’s completely healthy.

Another injured outfielder, Cody Bellinger, played his first minor league rehab game Thursday with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after being out with a hamstring strain since suffering the injury July 25. He served as the DH and went 1-for-3.

Bellinger will likely need more than one rehab game before his return, but the Yankees haven’t ruled out a potential return this weekend at the Stadium against Toronto.

Without Bellinger, the Yankees have been forced to play Spencer Jones and Heliot Ramos more than they would like.

Boone said Giancarlo Stanton has continued his running program as he works to get back from the calf injuries that have kept him from playing since April.

Ryan McMahon didn’t play Thursday after suffering an injury to his left thumb while sliding into second base during Wednesday’s win.

The third baseman said he expected to get another scan of the injury Friday in The Bronx, but as of Thursday, no IL stint was deemed necessary, and initial X-rays showed nothing was broken.

José Caballero started at third base in McMahon’s place.

Since the Yankees were unable to pick up a catcher at the trade deadline, Mitch Garver likely is their best option if they decide to replace Ali Sánchez as Austin Wells’ backup.

Garver, released by the Mariners earlier this month, signed a minor league deal with the Yankees, and Boone said the veteran right-handed hitter has made “good strides” after working with the organization’s catching group in Tampa, Fla.

He’s been with SWB for a week, but Boone said “nothing’s imminent” in terms of Garver potentially being called up to The Bronx.

Right-hander Ben Hess, the Yankees’ fourth-best pitching prospect according to MLB Pipeline, was placed on the 60-day IL.

Hess, 23, was the first-round pick in 2024 and was limited to 56 ²/₃ innings at Double-A this season.

The Seattle Mariners are calling up left-handed pitcher Kade Anderson to make his first big league start on Saturday, August 22nd against the Chicago Cubs. The long awaited debut comes following a road trip where Seattle struggled to contain three potent offenses, scuppering their chances of upsetting a few of the best teams in baseball and making up ground in the American League West.

Anderson has not been merely lights out so much as vantablack with Double-A Arkansas in the Texas League. Anderson is all but universally viewed as the top pitching prospect in baseball due to stellar stuff, plus command, and a dominant résumé from his time on campus at LSU up through this summer with the Travelers. Some evaluators have even placed him as the best prospect in all of baseball, full stop.

His 1.06/1.78/2.67 ERA/FIP/DRA are mildly aided by a very friendly home field for pitchers in Dickey-Stephens Park, but what has aided them more is Anderson being an absolute monster. He has dominated every lineup he has faced, from veteran-filled rosters 4 to 6 years his senior to highly regarded prospect groups, including a star-studded Tulsa Drillers team that features several of the top prospects in baseball as the AA affiliate for the Los Angeles Dodgers. What’s been particularly standout is his consistency – Anderson has allowed more than two runs just once on the year in 18 starts (a five-run outings in mid-May). He’s allowed more than one run just two other times, with two runs in starts against Double-A Amarillo (San Diego’s affiliate) and at the launching pad of Springfield (the Cardinals affiliate). In his 93.1 innings, he’s had 135 strikeouts against just 13 walks and a single hit by pitch.

Anderson utilizes a deep bag of tricks, all of which he commands excellently. His fastball doesn’t explode on the radar gun, but there is some aspect of deception in Anderson’s lanky delivery that lets it get on opposing hitters far quicker than one would expect. He complements those heaters with a nasty mid 80s slider that is his best out pitch, breaking tightly and befuddling hitters of either handedness. Anderson also utilizes a beautiful big curveball which frequently buckles knees and freezes hitters, alongside a firm change up that completes a gorgeous compass rose of movement profiles.

Watching Anderson, it’s been reasonable to say he is one of Seattle’s five best starting pitchers, even in a rotation that for much of the year has been a strength. It’s been defensible to continue letting the existing starters have their run considering each has big league success they can point to, but the timing of Anderson‘s promotion cannot be decoupled from the passing of the recent service time deadline. With under 45 days to go in the service time calendar, Anderson will maintain rookie eligibility in 2027, keeping him eligible for the prospect promotion incentives rewards without risking an additional year of closer proximity to free agency.

President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto recently stated there was no intention to have Anderson come up and work in relief. Mariners fans should know by now not to take any public comments from Dipoto as gospel, but the level at which Anderson has performed is meritorious of a rotation look. Seattle has been cautious with him in terms of innings, rarely letting Anderson face opponents more than twice through the order, which is a point worth monitoring when considering his numbers. But even in outings frequently kept around five frames for that reason, Anderson has been hilariously efficient and effective.

Last night the Nats got carried by their ace Cade Cavalli. They also got enough offense thanks to a monster night from Andres Chaparro. The Nats will look to claim a series win with their second best starter on the mound. After some recent road struggles, a series win would be a nice way to get back on track.

CJ Abrams is out of the lineup in this rubber match with an ankle injury. Nasim Nunez will be playing shortstop while Jose Tena plays second base. Brady House will be at third base for Jorbit Vivas and Dylan Crews is back in the lineup in center field. Andres Chaparro and Abi Ortiz are both in the lineup again. Andrew Pinckney will also get a somewhat rare start. Andrew Alvarez has been excellent lately and will look to keep that up.

With a lefty on the mound, we will see a lot of the faces we saw in game one. Jake Burger, Justin Foscue, Danny Jansen and Cody Freeman all return to the lineup. Most of these guys are short-side platoon bats. The Nats will see an old friend on the mound tonight. Jacob DeGrom dominated them with the Mets for many years, but now he is in Texas and still throws heat.

Game Info:

Stadium: Globe Life Field

Time: 8:05 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV and FS1

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

A series win would be very uplifting for a Nats team that has struggled lately. With Alvarez on the mound, they have one of their hottest arms. Hopefully they can get enough done offensively. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!

LSU’s ace from the 2025 College World Series championship team has finally received his Major League call up. Kade Anderson is on his way to Seattle to make his professional debut on Saturday vs the Chicago Cubs.

The left-handed stud has been magnificent in his first year of minor league baseball in 2026. He has spent the entire season with Arkansas Travelers, the Mariners AA team.

In 18 starts, Anderson has posted an ERA of 1.06 with a record of 10-1. In 93.1 innings pitched, he’s allowed just 47 hits while striking out 135 and walking just 13.

All of his stats are elite, but having a WHIP of 0.643 and strikeout to walk ratio of 10.38 is absurd. He’s been untouchable, further proved by his .147 batting average against. He leads the minor leagues with a strikeout rate of 40.5%.

Anderson had worked his way up to the #1 overall prospect in Seattle’s organization. As for overall, he ranks #3 in ESPN’s prospect rankings and #5 for MLB Pipeline.

Although he threw 38.1 innings as a true freshman in 2024, he was returning from Tommy John surgery that held him out for his entire senior season at St. Paul’s High School in Covington, Louisiana. He had success in midweek games, but his experience in the SEC was full of trouble.

As a true sophomore, Anderson began the 2025 season as the Tigers ace and never looked back. His 12-1 record helped lead LSU to a National Seed and a national championship. He pitched to a 3.18 ERA through 119.0 innings of work, while leading the entire country in strikeouts with 180 and walking just 35.

Due to his age, Anderson was a draft-eligible sophomore and was selected #3 overall by Seattle in the 2025 MLB Draft.

First pitch for the Mariners-Cubs game on Saturday is 6:15 central and will be nationally televised on FOX.

Washington Nationals @ Texas Rangers

Thursday, August 20, 2026, 7:05 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / Rangers Sports Network)

The Shed

LHP Andrew Alvarez vs. RHP Jacob deGrom

Go Rangers!

At first, Evan Phillips didn’t get what the big deal was.

Tanner Scott’s “BBL” nickname?

“I thought it was just completely organic,” Phillips said.

Not quite. At least, not initially.

Last year, Scott had a disastrous debut season as the Dodgers’ closer. He signed a $72 million free-agent contract, then posted a 4.74 ERA with 10 blown saves, four losing decisions and a career-worst negative-0.6 mark in WAR, according to Baseball-Reference.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the campaign also culminated in fittingly futile fashion. During the National League Division Series, the left-hander developed an infected abscess on his … uh … backside. He was removed from the team’s playoff roster after rushing to the hospital for what manager Dave Roberts described at the time as an emergency excision procedure.

“Last year sucked,” Scott said. “That’s what I say every time someone asks.”

In other words, it was an all-around, pain-in-the-butt experience.

However, 2026 has gone markedly better for the former All-Star reliever. He has cut his ERA by more than half, owning a 2.28 mark entering Friday. He is unexpectedly leading the team in saves, going 18-for-20 in a ninth-inning role that was supposed to belong to new signing Edwin Díaz before he suffered his own string of injuries. In Roberts’ estimation, “he’s been our most consistent reliever, by far.”

And as a result, a very-online corner of the club’s fan base found a peculiar way to praise him.

Tanner Scott’s nickname takes a life of its own

Early on in Scott’s rebound season, some social media users began tagging him with the “BBL” nickname –– a Brazilian Butt Lift joke that played off his season-ending medical issue last fall, as well as the transformation he’d undergone since.

It was sophomoric humor, no doubt, a niche internet meme that largely went unnoticed outside of Dodgers-centric communities on Twitter.

But then, when Scott faced Seattle Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh last month, team broadcaster Stephen Nelson took the acronym mainstream, slipping it into his SportsNet LA commentary with a twist.

“It’s the Big Dumper,” Nelson said, in reference to Raleigh’s iconic nickname, “against BBL: Big Bad Lefty, Tanner Scott.”

Before long, the clip had caught the attention of Dodgers players. Those who weren’t attuned to the phrase’s original meaning –– including Phillips, one of Scott’s close, longtime friends in the sport –– quickly learned and latched onto the bit.

“There’s some backstory to the Twitter world, the meme world,” Phillips laughed this week. “It’s amazing.”

So much so, Phillips commissioned an order of T-shirts emblazoned with the BBL moniker, dozens of which have since been passed out around the clubhouse. 

Phillips made sure to use the PC version of the nickname in the shirt’s design, with the letters spelling out “Big Bad Lefty” in a crossword-esque pattern. The accompanying photo, though, uncoincidentally shows Scott in the middle of his wind-up, with his leg lifted and posterior prominently featured.

Scott’s take on it all?

“It’s fun,” he told the California Post with a sheepish grin this week.

Indeed, for as juvenile as the jokes may seem, the 10-year veteran has been a surprisingly good sport about it.

Scott laughed about the clubhouse shirts, saying he was a fan of them because “Evan’s my friend.” He noted that his wife, Maddie, has found another novelty tee online of “me with a giant tush.” This offseason, Scott even poked fun at himself on Instagram, captioning a photo of him holding the World Series thusly: “Put everything BEHIND me,” he wrote, alongside a peach emoji.

Not every player would embrace such attention so light-heartedly, of course, especially when the comedy is referencing something as dispiriting as his 2025 season.

Scott’s attitude, however, is exactly part of the reason he has been able to stage his sudden turnaround. 

He didn’t let himself get hung up on last year’s failures. He was able to flush his frustrations and reframe his mindset. And now, with the help of some offseason mechanical tweaks that have eliminated last year’s habit of too often missing down the middle, he has rediscovered his “inner confidence” as one of the sport’s premier left-handed relievers, as Roberts noted this week.

“He’s very good at not letting the noise affect him,” Roberts said. “He doesn’t run from struggles.”

Entering the stretch run of this season, it has made Scott the most important arm in the Dodgers’ banged-up bullpen.

With Díaz back on the injured list, he has a chance to re-establish himself as the team’s primary closing option.

This week, Scott authored an auspicious return to the role in the wake of Díaz’s neck injury, recording a four-out save on Tuesday night in Colorado then a scoreless 10th-inning save to complete a series sweep over the Rockies a night later.

And, as Phillips unintentionally quipped while discussing Scott’s resurgent performance, it might be giving new meaning to the BBL nickname –– with Phillips highlighting the way his teammate has “bounced back” this season.

“Baseball is a game of really tiny adjustments and subjectivity and nuance and –– all these words that Tanner would never use,” Phillips joked. “But just his ability to show up each day and get after it and do what he does, that’s part of what makes him so good.”

Hopefully once the book is complete on the 2026 regular season for the Atlanta Braves, this will have been the last time we have to talk about the Braves suffering a sweep. They were able to avert the disaster against the Diamondbacks but as it turned out, they needed to be prepared to walk into a snakepit in Minnesota instead of against the actual snakes.

We knew this would be a tough week for the Braves in terms of travel but the opening series of this road trip at least seemed like it would be an opportunity for Atlanta to have a somewhat productive start to the trip on paper. Instead, things ended up going sideways in the Twin Cities and the Braves were forced to go into salvage mode once it was time to go to Chicago. So how did these four tough games go? Let’s get into it.

Monday, August 17

Twins 4, Braves 2

It’s pretty difficult to win any given game when you’re down 4-0 by the time the middle of the lineup has to hit and it’s especially difficult to do so when the offense has been struggling a bit. That was the task that was laid in front of the Braves on Monday night after Martín Pérez’s scoreless inning streak was blown up in the very first inning of this particular start.

The first six batters for the Twins all reached base safely with hits and the sixth hit in particular was a Kody Clemens single that made it 4-0. From that point forward in the first, Pérez sat down bottom third of Minnesota’s lineup in order but the damage had surely been done by then.

Atlanta had some very quick innings until the fifth inning, which is when Austin Riley led off the frame with a single, Drake Baldwin joined him on the basepaths with a one-out double and then Ronald Acuña Jr. brought them both home with a looper to left that ran Bailey Ober from the game. Any hope of further damage being done to Minnesota’s bullpen was snuffed out immediately, as Atlanta only picked up one more hit after Acuña’s double and the two-run deficit turned into a two-run loss.

Tuesday, August 18

Twins 4, Braves 1

Atlanta once again had to deal with a first-inning deficit. This time it was “only” two runs after Josh Bell feasted upon a hanger from Tyler Mahle for a two-run blast. That ended up being all that Zebby Matthews needed while he spent nearly six innings on the mound, as the Braves were unable to really string anything together against ol’ Zebulon. Drake Baldwin seemingly provided a spark with a solo homer off of Matthews in the sixth inning. Baldwin’s solo shot made it 2-1 and with Tyler Mahle bouncing back from the rough first inning, Atlanta was right in the thick of it — the offense just had to keep hitting.

The offense did not keep hitting. Once again, Minnesota’s bullpen proved to be too tough for the Braves to deal with as Atlanta only had one baserunner after Baldwin’s dinger. As such, Ryan Jeffers’ two-RBI double in the eighth inning was essentially the dagger for the Braves in this one as that three-run lead for Minnesota may as well have been thirty with the way Atlanta was performing at the plate.

Wednesday, August 19

Twins 6, Braves 4

Well, the good news is that the Braves didn’t fall into a first-inning hole in this game. The even better news is that they actually showed some serious life at the plate in this game, what with Ronald Acuña Jr. hitting a game-tying RBI single in the fifth inning and then the Braves responding to a three-run fifth inning from the Twins with three runs of their own in the top of the sixth. A Lane Thomas RBI single, a sacrifice fly from Ozzie Albies and a balk (that was largely induced by Mauricio Dubón’s movements on the basepaths) helped the Braves keep pace with a Minnesota squad that could seemingly pick up any crucial hits that they needed — no matter the quality of the contact of the batted balls.

The seventh inning ended up being the turning point as once again, Minnesota delivered some timely hitting. Josh Bell smacked a double in the seventh off of Victor Mederos and Dylan Lee was called upon to help clean up the mess. He did no such thing, as Kody Clemens knocked one into right for a go-ahead single and then Brooks Lee added some insurance (following an intentional walk of pinch-hitter Ryan Jeffers, who hilariously went right back to the bench for a pinch-runner) with an RBI single of his own to make it 6-4.

Once again, the deficit was too much for Atlanta to deal with and for the third straight game, Yoendrys Gómez finished things off in the ninth and doomed the Braves to just their second series sweep loss of the season.

Thursday, August 20

Braves 2, White Sox 0

Following a series loss to the Diamondbacks and getting swept by the Twins, Atlanta found themselves limping into Chicago for this makeup game. Fortunately, the Braves were able to get some much-needed relief in this middle-portion of a unique road trip thanks to Grant Holmes coming up absolutely huge. Now granted, the pitching for Atlanta wasn’t the problem during the series in Minnesota but when you consider how Holmes fared during the series at home against Arizona, this was truly a sight for sore eyes.

Holmes ended up pitching an extremely strong six innings where he carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, along with three strikeouts. I’d imagine that if Holmes didn’t have a no-no going, Weiss lkely would’ve pulled him earlier than he did.

Instead, Holmes left a two-runners, nobody out situation for Didier Fuentes to clean up. Fuentes came up huge in his own right by striking out the next three White Sox batters he faced in order to leave both runners stranded and preserve a great line for Holmes as well. It may have been a missed opportunity for Chicago but it was the type of moment that this Braves team desperately needed with the way things have been going recently.

Anyways, the big hero at the plate for Atlanta in this one was Austin Riley. Atlanta only scored two runs but both of the RBI came off of the bat of Riley, who plated Mauricio Dubón with a double in the third and then added some insurance in the seventh with an RBI single that brought home Michael Harris II. Following Holmes’ exit and Fuentes’ amazing relief appearance, Dylan Lee shut Chicago down in the eighth and then Raisel Iglesias pitched a smooth 1-2-3 inning in the ninth in order to preserve a one-hit shutout for the Braves. Wow.

I’m going to be honest with y’all: Before these four games kicked off, I figured that the Braves would be totally capable of taking the series against Minnesota and probably end up dropping the game against Chicago. That goes to show you that in the words of a former Atlanta Braves commentator, you just can’t predict baseball. The power went out for the Braves in Minnesota (for the most part) as the Twins ended up bouncing back from a sweep at the hands of the Phillies in order to sweep the Braves, themselves. Then Atlanta turns around and produces a one-hit shutout against one of the top offenses in the American League. That’s baseball for you.

It’s also tough to predict baseball on a long-term scale — or even a week-to-week scale. At this time last week, it felt like the Braves were beginning to once again run away with the NL East after a series win over the Mets put Atlanta up 9.5 games on the Phillies in the standings. From that point forward, the Braves lost five of seven while the Phillies (of course) began a six-game winning streak on August 13 (starting with the Twins because, again, of course) and now the deficit is back down to five games. That’s still a decent-sized buffer for the Braves to play with but it’s also a reminder that this race could still have some more twists and turns left in it if the Braves aren’t careful.

The trip only gets tougher for the Braves now, as they’ll be heading up to Milwaukee where they’ll have their work cut out for them. It starts on Friday with Chris Sale being matched up with Jacob Misiorowski in a marquee pitching matchup and it’ll end on Sunday in Williamsport, Pennsylvania with the Little League Classic. Then there’s only one off day of rest for the weary before the Dodgers come to town. Needless to say, business is about to really pick up over the next few days for the Braves and hopefully, the results will look more like what we saw in Chicago than in Minneapolis!

The Mariners lost 7-4 to the Brewers on Thursday following another bad outing from a starting pitcher.

George Kirby got shellacked in the first inning. The Brewers sent 10 batters to the plate and scored six runs. Single, walk, double, single, single, double, double, and the game was essentially over. Kirby didn’t get much better from there, though more of the Brewers hard contact found gloves in the second and third innings. After a one-out single in the fourth, Kirby’s day was done with the game 6-0. His 99.3 mph average exit velocity allowed was tied for the fifth highest by a starting pitcher in 2026. This isn’t what you want: 

I’ve struggled to understand Kirby’s season for months now. He hasn’t been very good. The walks that showed up last year are still there, but the extra strikeouts have disappeared. He was getting tons of grounders in the first few outings of 2026 — a nice comprise for the drop in whiffs — but those are gone now, too. I don’t see anything different in his pitch mix. The “stuff” models still think he’s got the same out of zip. Just now he’s struggling to put away batters with two strikes. He can’t throw the ball over the plate without it getting crushed. And he can’t throw the ball out of the zone because batters aren’t fooled enough to chase. He’s just kind of… bad.

Kirby’s slump is part of an unfortunate trend for many Mariners pitchers right now. The lineup’s mediocrity and The Dan Wilson Conspiracy continue to steal the headlines for this disappointing season, but the team’s relative collapse over the last two months mostly lands on the pitching. They are dead last in the majors in fWAR since the All-Star break. They’re on pace to finish below average for the second year in a row. It’s fair to wonder if pitching is still a strength of this org. It might even be a weakness.

The pitchers who followed Kirby kept them in the game, preventing another 22-0 massacre like Tuesday night. José Ferrer did well to finish out the fourth and get out of the jam. Then Michael Rucker followed and was fantastic, dare I say “again.” He threw 2 2/3 innings, struck out four, and allowed no hits. He generated whiffs on six of 15 swings, and chase on seven of 17 pitches out of the zone.

I love this final at bat against Garrett Mitchell. Rucker starts him off with a cutter for a called strike, which was a lucky call. But after wasting a curve, he pumps 97 mph on the top rail and Mitchell comes up empty. Then he drops the curve again, this time below the zone, for a swinging strikeout. Filth.

These plots from FanGraphs help illustrate how much separation exists between those two pitches. Not only is there a big difference in movement, the fastball and curveball sit almost 15-mph apart. Batters can’t sit and adjust — they simply have to guess. They guessed wrong on Thursday.

Rucker has been maligned this year as an unwitting pawn in the great battle to be as mad as possible at Dan Wilson. It’s not really fair, because Rucker has been solid — his FIP- is down to 81, second best on the active roster after Muñoz (72) and well ahead of Eduard Bazardo in third (96). Given the Mariners bullpen has been one of the five worst in the majors since Rucker joined the team on June 12, there’s never really been an occasion where Wilson wasn’t justified in bringing him in. It’s the latest example of why I refuse to buy into The Dan Wilson Conspiracy as an explanation for most of the Mariners mess in 2026. Generally, the players at his disposal haven’t been very good. Rucker is a rare exception.

Speaking of which, with the Mariners down 6-4 and most of the bullpen having pitched the night before because Logan Gilbert couldn’t throw more than five innings, Wilson was forced to use journeyman Jhonathan Díaz in the eighth. He gave up a home run to make it 7-4, which put an already unlikely comeback further out of reach.

The Mariners offense wasn’t too bad in this one. They walked six times, collected six hits, and had several hard hit balls. They scratched across two runs in the second and two more in the fourth, so most of the game was played under the pretense of competition, even if it never felt that way. The most notable thing that happened was Taylor Ward drew his first and second walks in a Mariners uniform; he was acquired at the trade deadline as a walks machine, then went his first nine games in Seattle without one. But it wasn’t enough. The power wasn’t there, and the singles and walks weren’t sequenced to score. With two outs in the ninth, Julio scorched a 111-mph line drive to centerfield that Mitchell flagged down to end it 7-4 — a close-ish game that never was.

The Mariners ended their big scary road trip at a surprisingly decent 4-5 record, with a few impressive wins tucked between some of the worst losses in franchise history. They’ll face the Cubs this weekend and the Phillies early next week. I’m not going to do analysis about their standing, because the season is over. But they’re really not far back, and the schedule lets up after this homestand — the Mariners have the easiest strength of schedule remaining. I’m not sure I care to see a team that can’t hit, pitch, field or run the bases in the playoffs. But I don’t care to see that in the regular season, either, and I’m still watching.