Category: MLB

If you were hoping to be entertained by the Mets tonight, well, here’s hoping you were at home to hear Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez go through baseball cards in the eighth and ninth innings, something they hadn’t done yet this season.

As for the game, the Mets mustered just one run despite the fact that Brewers starter Dustin May threw just one pitch. A.J. Ewing led off the bottom of the first inning with a smoked line drive that hit saw May turn his back to avoid the worst and take it square off his right shoulder blade.

Robert Gasser took over for him from there, and he threw five-and-one-third innings with six strikeouts and gave up just one run. And unfortunately, Mets starter Robert Stock didn’t come close to matching that line. After throwing a scoreless top of the first, Stock surrendered seven runs on ten hits with two strikeouts and two walks in four innings.

As if that weren’t bad enough, the Brewers’ biggest inning of the night saw them hit single after single, playing the kind of baseball that brings back memories of the 2015 Royals. I suppose you have to respect it when it works, but you certainly don’t have to find it an enjoyable version of the sport.

On the injury front, Bo Bichette left the game a few innings early after having fouled a ball of his foot earlier in the game. The Mets announced that he’d left with a contusion.

And with the game out of hand and no signs that a comeback might be in the works, the Mets opted to give Francisco Lindor the latter portion of the game off.

Despite all of that, the Mets have a chance to win the series in the rubber game tomorrow night at Citi Field. And if you missed Gary and Keith talking about those baseball cards, you can skip the rest of the highlights and just go watch those last three half-innings of this one.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: none
Big Mets loser: Robert Stock, -35% WPA
Mets pitchers: -35% WPA
Mets hitters: -15% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: William Contreras pops out in the top of the fifth, +6% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Andrew Vaughn singles in the top of the second -10% WPA

The Mets lost to the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night, 8-1.

Here are the takeaways...

-- It was a difficult night for Robert Stock, who allowed seven earned runs on 10 hits and two walks in four innings after two consecutive starts of giving up one run, albeit in just 4.1 innings both times.

Stock’s troubles began in the first inning when the Brewers got two of the first three batters to reach base, but the right-hander stranded them with a groundout and a popout to keep Milwaukee off the board.

He wasn’t so lucky in the second when the Brewers did exactly what the Brewers do: play small ball and string together six straight singles to go up 4-0. The inning could’ve been worse for Stock, but Milwaukee ran itself out of a bigger inning, making two outs on the base paths.

After a relatively quiet third inning, the Brewers went back to work in the fourth with two more singles to bring up Brice Turang, who got the big hit for Milwaukee, a three-run shot to right-center to make it 7-0, Brewers.

Stock’s night was done after recording the final two outs of the fourth. He threw 87 pitches (59 strikes) and saw his ERA skyrocket from 5.40 to 7.40.

-- On the other side, the Mets were supposed to face right-hander Dustin May, but he exited the game after just one pitch after taking a 106 mph liner off the bat of A.J. Ewing off the shoulder blade.

May’s replacement was left-hander Robert Gasser, who gave New York’s left-handed heavy lineup fits through 5.1 innings of one-run ball.

-- The only run the Mets scored on the night came on Francisco Alvarez’s RBI single in the fourth. New York did scratch out nine hits, two apiece by Brett Baty and Marcus Semien, but couldn’t push across any more runs. Carson Benge went 1-for-4 to extend his hit streak to six games.

-- The good news: Ewing, back in the leadoff spot, stole two bases to give him 21 steals this season, the fourth time a Mets rookie has stolen 20 or more bases in a single season.

-- The bad news: Bo Bichette left the game in the fifth inning with a left foot contusion.

Game MVP: Robert Gasser

Coming into the game on short notice, Gasser mowed down the Mets' lineup and got the win.

Highlights

Francisco Alvarez with an RBI single to get the Mets on the board pic.twitter.com/XwNCoRWVvg

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 27, 2026

What's next

The Mets and Brewers close out their three-game series at Citi Field on Thursday night with first pitch set for 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

LHP Sean Manaea (4-5, 4.31 ERA) will face NL Cy Young frontrunner RHP Jacob Misiorowski (13-5, 1.68 ERA).

Box Score

The Milwaukee Brewers beat the New York Mets 8-1 in the second game of their three-game set on Wednesday evening, but the story of the night was Dustin May’s injury just one pitch into the game.

Things started nicely for Sal Frelick in his return from injury, as he drilled a 103.6-mph single off the glove of Jared Young at first. He’d advance to third on a walk and a groundout, but Milwaukee couldn’t cash it in as William Contreras popped out to end the inning.

That’s when things got rough.

On the first pitch of the game from May, Mets outfielder A.J. Ewing lined it right back at him at 106 mph off the bat. It deflected off May to third baseman David Hamilton, who recorded the out at first, but May exited after a visit from the trainer with what was later diagnosed as a “right scapula contusion,” AKA a bruised shoulder blade, after X-rays came back negative.

The line drive got May in the back. Behind the right shoulder. After a long check with the medical staff, he's coming out of the game. Robert Gasser in. pic.twitter.com/LCwTPC9KMF

— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) August 26, 2026

With May gone after just one pitch, it was Robert Gasser, originally slated to pitch on Sunday, who entered the game. Gasser finished the inning on just four pitches, but the Brewers were in a bullpen hole early in their second game of a 16-game, 16-day stretch.

Looking for some offense, Milwaukee immediately strung together some hits against Robert Stock in the second.

Luis Lara, Andrew Vaughn, David Hamilton, Cooper Pratt, Frelick, and Garrett Mitchell hit six consecutive singles, putting runners at the corners with no outs and a 4-0 lead.

Six straight hits produces four runs ❕ pic.twitter.com/FSWf9mwG1T

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) August 26, 2026

The rally was put to a halt there, though, as Mitchell was caught stealing second on what looked like it may have been an effort to induce a throw for Frelick to run home from third (which he didn’t), which was shortly followed by a fielder’s choice groundout at home and another groundout to end the frame.

Gasser, back for his first full inning in the second, worked around a pair of two-out singles for a scoreless frame. He then worked around more traffic in the third, allowing a single and a walk as well as a pair of stolen bases, but the Mets were unable to get anything across.

I interrupt your regularly scheduled recap to offer you a bonus clip of the squirrel that was seen running around Citi Field in the middle of the game, even causing a brief delay on the field.

Update: https://t.co/VYezh7WBZn now features wildlife programming

🎙️ @JLevering4pic.twitter.com/NHf2dIHvW3

— Brewers.TV (@BrewersdotTV) August 27, 2026

Back to the recap: In the fourth, Milwaukee added to the lead against Stock, as Pratt singled and Mitchell singled to put runners at the corners with one out and Brice Turang at the plate. Turang fell behind 1-2, but after fouling off a few pitches, he handled a sweeper on the inner third of the zone and promptly put it into the bullpen in right-center for his 17th homer of the year, extending Milwaukee’s lead to 7-0.

Not even the slightest doubt about that one@BRiCEcTuRANGhttps://t.co/G18Vp4tMVKpic.twitter.com/A7N2xHMCJo

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) August 27, 2026

Gasser had yet another traffic-heavy inning in the fourth, as, after recording two groundouts, he walked Brett Baty and allowed a pair of singles to Marcus Semien and Francisco Alvarez, giving New York their first run of the game to make it 7-1.

Milwaukee tacked on another in the sixth against reliever Chayce McDermott, who allowed a double to Frelick, walked Turang, and gave up a run-scoring single to Yelich, extending the lead to 8-1.

Yeli drives in run number 8 of the night pic.twitter.com/fDpF6xVS6A

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) August 27, 2026

Gasser, who provided the length that was needed in the moment, exited with two outs in the bottom of the sixth after allowing another two-out single. It wasn’t the best game for Milwaukee’s lefty, but he did his job, working 5 1/3 innings with one run allowed on six hits and a pair of walks, striking out six.

Grant Anderson took over from Gasser and, after allowing a single, retired the next four hitters in order to get Milwaukee to the eighth inning with an 8-1 lead.

Bryse Wilson then worked around a pair of singles to get out of a jam in the eighth, Lara just missed what would have been his second career homer (first in the non-position player pitching category), and Wilson set the Mets down in order in the ninth, and this one was over.

The Brewers snapped a two-game skid with their 82nd victory tonight, and May’s diagnosis seems like the best-case scenario given the scary scene in the first — we’ll keep you posted as we learn more.

Offensively, every starter with the exception of Contreras had at least one hit, with Frelick (three hits, two RBIs) and Turang (three-run homer, two walks) leading the way.

Gasser picked up a well-deserved win in relief, and Anderson and Wilson preserved the seven-run lead over the final 3 1/3 innings.

Milwaukee will go for the win in Thursday’s rubber match, as Jacob Misiorowski is slated to pitch opposite Sean Manaea for New York. For the third straight night, first pitch is set for 6:10 p.m.

Elmer Rodriguez had his best start as a big leaguer and the Yankees offense erupted late in their 9-3 win over the Astros on Wednesday night. 

The Yankees outhit Houston 13-4 and were 5-for-15 with RISP. 

The Rays won earlier in the evening, so the Yankees remain 3.5 games behind for the AL East while the Red Sox's loss puts them 2.5 games back for the top wild card spot. 

Here are the takeaways...

-Rodriguez made his return to the Yankees on Wednesday and his defense betrayed him in the first. Trent Grisham misplayed a ball from Jose Altuve that would have been the third out; instead, Isaac Paredes scored from first base on the double.

Rodriguez settled in until the fourth when Daulton Varsho launched a solo shot to tie the game at 2-2. Despite that, Rodriguez pitched into the seventh before being pulled after walking Altuve to lead off the inning.

Paul Blackburn came in and allowed a hit and a walk, with Altuve coming around to score, but limited the damage by striking out the final two batters with the bases loaded. 

Rodriguez tossed 88 pitches (57 strikes) across six-plus innings, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks while striking out six. 

-A day after the bullpen stumbled, Wednesday was back to normal for the Yankees relievers. The combination of Blackburn, the newly recalled Michael Fulmer, and Tim Hill got the final nine outs without allowing a run.

-The Yankees offense would get that run back, snapping their streak of scoreless first innings when Ben Rice smashed a solo shot off of Peter Lambert to knot things at 1-1. After a throwing error by Christian Walker put runners on second and third with one out, George Lombard Jr. had a productive out, pushing Luis Garcia Jr. across with a ground out to first base. 

Grisham pushed across the team's third run on a double play ball, but the offense finally broke out in the seventh. They scored four runs, with Cody Bellinger coming through with a two-run double to give New York the lead. Spencer Jones drove in a run with a single and Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s double rounded out the scoring.

Garcia put an exclamation point on the scoring with a two-run shot in the eighth. The first baseman went 3-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored. 

Game MVP: Cody Bellinger

Bellinger's two-run double gave the Yankees the lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Highlights

The Astros score first after Trent Grisham is unable to make the play in center pic.twitter.com/RZ5MmuvH4W

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 26, 2026

Ben Rice ties the game with his 35th home run of the year! 🍚 pic.twitter.com/6E3UvjaHDC

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 26, 2026

Clutch pitching by Paul Blackburn to keep it tied 🔥 pic.twitter.com/TO6new0mgB

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 27, 2026

CODY BELLINGER PUTS THE YANKEES BACK IN FRONT! pic.twitter.com/W8b7oHDfH0

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 27, 2026

Spencer Jones brings home another run! pic.twitter.com/Em0ifzBFIy

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 27, 2026

What's next

The Yankees and Astros complete their three-game series on Thursday evening. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.

Gerrit Cole (7-6, 3.11 ERA) will take the mound against Hayden Wesneski (3-1, 4.23 ERA). 

Royals 0 Blue Jays 3

I don’t like bullpen days, but teams are very successful on bullpen days. And the Jays have been especially successful on bullpen days.

I don’t like them because we go through so many pitchers. It messes up the pen for the next few days. Today we used seven pitchers. Seven:

• Spencer Miles pitched the first two innings, giving up two hits with one strikeout. He had a bit of a tough start to it, I was worried he wouldn’t get out of the first for a bit there, but he was just terrific.
• Brendon Little got the first two outs of the third inning, giving out two walks, one intentional (I was ok with it, considering it was Bobby Witt and a single and a strikeout.
• Chad Dallas came in with 2 out and bases loaded and got Sal Perez to strikeout. He would pitch 2.1 more innings, without giving up a base runner, and getting 4 strikeouts. Amazing job.
• Mason Fluharty came in with one out in the sixth. He got out of that inning, and got the first out of the seventh.
• Paul Sewald came in with one out and got a fly out and a line out.
• Tyler Rogers started the eighth. He got the first two outs, but gave up a single and a second singled that went right thru Vlad’s legs. 102 mph, so there wasn’t much time for reaction. I remember doing a physics problem in high school about Bobby Hull (yes I’m old) shooting at 100 mph, if the goalie had a reaction time of .5 of a second how far out would Hull have to be for the goalie to move before the puck went by him. It was slightly beyond the blue line. But athletes have better reaction times than that.
• Louis Varland came in with the tying run at the plate and got Jac Caglianone to ground out. In the ninth, he got two outs, then gave up a double and a single, before striking out Isaac Collins to end the game. No stress.

---

On offense, well, all the offense was a fourth inning home run by Nathan Lukes, with George Springer (single) and Jesús Sánchez (single) on base. Nathan wanted out forgiveness for yesterday and he got it. 390 feet to right center.

We only had 6 hits and 1 walk, but it was enough. Sánchez had two hits. Kirk, Okamoto (with a walk), Clement and Giménez had 0 fors.

Jays of the Day: Lukes (0.21 WPA), Dallas (0.21) and Sánchez (0.12). Let’s give honourable mention to Varland.

Other Award: Okamoto (-0.10).

Lukes didn’t seem to want the water poured on him after the game.

Tomorrow we have game three with the Royals. It is another 7:00 Eastern game. Noah Cameron (8-8, 4.02) takes time away from building the Ark. Spencer Arrighetti (7-6, 4.73) starts for the Jays. I think we should call him Pirate Spaghetti.

Kansas City had only a few opportunities to score and did not manage to cash in on any of them while the Blue Jays got one ball over the wall. It was enough to get a 3-0 victory and tie the series. The Royals 9-game win streak is at an end.

The Toronto bullpen took over tonight due to Shane Bieber’s move to the IL. They seemed to have the Royals’ number no matter which arm ran out there. The only real threat Kansas City could muster in the early part of the game was in the third when Tyler Tobert led off with a single followed by a Carter Jensen walk to get some runners set up for Bobby Witt. A double steal moved the runners to 2nd and 3rd, which allowed the Blue Jays an open base to intentionally walk Witt and load the bases. Was it a mistake to steal and take the bat out of Bobby’s hands? Possibly. Jac Caglianone and Salvador Perez both struck out to strand all three.

Toronto was not putting tons of pressure on Randy Dobnak either. He had one base runner per inning until the fourth when the Jays managed to land the first blow of the game. George Springer leadoff with a single up the middle, which was followed by a broken bat bloop from Jesus Sanchez. Dobnak got an out and looked like he might get out of the situation, but Nathan Lukes got ahold of one and drove a 3-run homer to right. It was the second and final time they had runners in scoring position for the night, so it was a solid night of Royals pitching. A little bad luck plus a misplaced changeup did them in.

Dobnak managed to stay in there for the quality start finishing with a line of 6IP, 6H, BB, 5K, 3ER. He continues to give the Royals solid outings and has been a fantastic pickup on the cheap.

In the 8th inning, Carter Jensen finally got KC a hit after 16 consecutive batters failed to reach base after the bases loaded situation in the 3rd. If you are mad at me for a relatively light word count on this writeup, that is why. Bobby kept the two-out rally going and moved Jensen to third with a hard shot that took a weird hop right past Vlad Gurrero Jr. That brought in Louis Varland for a four out save. He has been one of the best relievers in baseball this season racking up almost 70 innings already with a sparkling ERA and peripherals to match. He retired Cags on one pitch to end the threat and then would return to try and finish the job in the 9th.

Meanwhile, Mason Black had a clean 7th after taking over for Dobnak and stayed in there for the 8th, which was another perfect inning. It was the first time Black entered the game and did not give up a run since June 7th!

Varland took care of Sal and Vinnie to start the ninth and bring the game down to the last out. Nick Loftin had other ideas. He hit a ball to the right center gap to get the Royals another scoring opportunity. John Rave almost scored him by singling up the middle, but Andres Giminez cut it off before it could get into center setting up first and third and bringing the tying run to the plate in the form of Isaac Collins. That is where it ended with Collins striking out to bring an end to the game and the win streak.

The Royals and Blue Jays will decide the series in Canada tomorrow when Noah Cameron takes on Spencer Arrighetti.

The Red Sox took care of business by securing the series win in Miami Tuesday night. As a result, Boston kept Adley Rutschman and Willson Contreras off their feet Wednesday night as the Marlins, still in the NL Wild Card race, salvaged the finale with a 4-0 final. While the four errors on the night are mildly concerning after a few straight games of them, that should get cleaned up. The focus shifts to big weekend plans in New York. 

Here’s three takeaways from Wednesday night’s loss. 

CEDDANNE ALMOST MADE THIS HAPPEN

While the defensive chaos of this play should not be celebrated, how on earth did Rafaela almost make this a remarkable play at the plate? 

Watch here. 

SONNY STILL SOLID
Sonny Gray took the mound in search of his 17th win of the season. He pitched well, he just didn’t have the (or any) necessary run support required to get there. 

Gray surrendered just two earned runs on seven hits while striking out five Marlins in five innings. That’s more than good enough to win, but ultimately (and no harm in doing so) the Red Sox punted to get revved up for the weekend in The Bronx. 

BE READY FOR THE BRONX

The Red Sox will trot out Patrick Sandoval, Jake Bennett and Ranger Suarez against the Yankees, who pushed Cam Schiltler back to throw against Boston. The Red Sox are still TBD for the nightcap of Saturday’s doubleheader. 

Starting Wednesday, the Red Sox trailed the Yankees by just 1 1/2 games for the top Wild Card spot. This weekend’s four-game set should go a long way in determining who could eventually host a potential first-round rematch entering October.

Mets third baseman Bo Bichette exited Wednesday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers in the top of the fifth inning with a left foot contusion, the team announced.

Bichette, New York's No. 3 hitter, was 0-for-1 with a walk at the plate before getting replaced by Christopher Morel in the lineup. Morel entered the game playing left field while Brett Baty moved from LF to 3B.

After the game, interim manager Andy Green spoke about Bichette's health:

"I think [he’s] fine. He’s got a contusion on his ankle from the foul ball. X-rays were negative," he said. "We’ll see where he’s at when he wakes up in the morning, you never really know how it is until the next day but we’re hoping he’s fine."

Roki Sasaki exited the fourth inning of his start against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, Aug. 26 with Los Angeles Dodgers training staff attending to a blister on his right middle finger as he walked off the mound.

Sasaki was having a solid outing as he gave up just one earned run through his first three innings of work, but things started to unravel in the fourth inning. Ozzie Albies got on board with a leadoff walk and immediately stole second. He then moved over to third on a single from Mike Yastrzemski before scoring on a sac fly from Austin Riley. On the next at-bat, Sasaki left a second-pitch slider over the outer part of the plate for Sean Murphy, who lined it into center field for a double.

With runners on third and second and just one out, trainers went out to the mound with pitching coach Mark Prior to take a look at Sasaki before ultimately deciding to pull the 24-year-old right-hander from the game.

The Dodgers later confirmed that Sasaki was removed with a blister in his middle finger on his throwing hand. The Braves immediately capitalized on having two runners in scoring position after Teoscar Hernández misplayed a line drive from Drake Baldwin in left field as he crashed into the wall. Both runners came in to score to give Atlanta a 4-3 lead.

Roki Sasaki injury update

After the Dodgers' 6-5 walk-off loss, manager Dave Roberts told reporters that Sasaki would be heading to the injured list.

"It was a pretty good blister. It just came out of nowhere," Roberts said. "It's going to be an IL. I think that there's just no way we can avoid it given the severity of the blister."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Roki Sasaki injury update: Dodgers pitcher heading to IL

The gathering on the Truist Park mound kept growing. At first, Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki was visited by pitching coach Mark Prior and catcher Hunter Feduccia, with the help of interpreter Will Ireton. Then, Prior summoned head athletic trainer Thomas Albert. Then, they called out manager Dave Roberts, who eventually made the pitching change.

The group had been examining the middle finger on Sasaki’s right hand. And the Dodgers later announced Sasaki had exited their 6-5 loss to the Braves in the fourth inning with a blister on that finger.

That might explain why Sasaki, who was charged with four runs and six hits in 3 ⅓ innings, didn’t look as sharp Wednesday against the Braves as he had been in the rest of his impressive second-half stretch. Sasaki entered the day with a 2.19 ERA in six starts since the All-Star break.

His efficiency Wednesday wavered, and he exited after 66 pitches. After Sasaki gave up a solo home run to Matt Olson in the first inning, the outing began to devolve in the fourth.

Read more:Mark Walter's company TWG Global defends Dodgers financing and Lakers sale

Sasaki walked Ozzie Albies to open the inning. Then he surrendered a single to Mike Yastrzemski, a sacrifice fly to Austin Riley and a double to Sean Murphy. Then Prior came out to check on him.

Right-handed reliever Edgardo Henriquez replaced Sasaki, inheriting two baserunners. Both scored when Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernández overran Drake Baldwin’s deep fly ball down the line, for a go-ahead double.

The Dodgers (80-53) never led again. Though they tied the score in the seventh, they squandered a bases-loaded opportunity the next inning. And in the ninth, closer Tanner Scott, the fifth Dodgers reliever to take the mound, surrendered a walk-off single to pinch-hitter Ha-Seong Kim.

Regardless of whether the blister will affect Sasaki’s next start, the 24-year-old right-hander is in an interesting position about a month away from the playoffs.

Barring an unexpected extended absence, Sasaki will remain an important part of the Dodgers’ rotation in the final month of the season. But as things stand in that starting group, there doesn’t appear to be room for him in the postseason rotation.

While the Dodgers have carried a six-man rotation for much of the regular season, it’s down to five since the Dodgers put left-hander Justin Wrobleski on the IL a week and a half ago and later moved lefty Eric Lauer to the bullpen in a multi-inning role. But in the playoffs, they only need four starters.

The next four days will provide a preview, with right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Thursday in the series finale against the Braves), left-hander Tarik Skubal (making his Detroit return Friday), lefty Blake Snell (Saturday), and likely some combination of two-way star Shohei Ohtani and/or Tyler Glasnow (Sunday) all lined up.

That fourth and final playoff rotation spot will be the one to follow as the season winds down.

Ohtani is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Friday in Detroit, Roberts said, after which the Dodgers will finalize his schedule for the rest of the weekend.

“Right now, I don’t think anyone knows how any day looks until he throws that bullpen on Friday,” Roberts said before the game Wednesday.

Ohtani returning to pitching Sunday is still in play, Roberts confirmed. And Glasnow is also lined up for Sunday.

When Ohtani returns to the mound, it will be in a super-opener role, as he continues to build up. And if he and Glasnow piggyback on Sunday, it’ll be a preview of a possible postseason setup.

If Ohtani is able to build up to a full starter’s load — pitching Sunday rather than Tuesday would give him the chance to make up to five starts before the end of the regular season — the Dodgers could have a more difficult decision at the back end of their rotation.

Read more:How two decades of friendship have shaped Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward

So, with five pitchers already penciled in for four postseason rotation spots, Sasaki is in line to pitch out of the bullpen in the postseason, along with Wrobleski, a 2026 All-Star who is expected to take on a relief role as soon as he returns from the injured list.

Exactly what that will look like for Sasaki is unclear. And because the Dodgers need him in the rotation down the stretch, even late-September games aren’t guaranteed to provide hints.

Last postseason, Sasaki served as the Dodgers’ closer, a role he could thrive in again. But this year, as Edwin Díaz has struggled in the 16 appearances he’s made between IL stints, Scott has stayed healthy, unlike last year, and earned Roberts’ trust in save situations.

Before sorting out all of that, Sasaki has to get through this blister issue.

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Roki Sasaki was forced to exit Wednesday’s game against the Atlanta Braves in the bottom of the fourth inning due to a blister to his right middle finger, the Dodgers announced.

Roki Sasaki left tonight’s game with a blister in his middle finger.

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 27, 2026

Sasaki had completed three innings of one-run ball against Atlanta before allowing three baserunners and a sacrifice fly to cut the Dodgers lead down to one run. The final hitter Sasaki faced was catcher Sean Murphy, who doubled to right field before Mark Prior and Will Ireton paid Sasaki a mound visit. Thomas Albert was called out of the Dodger dugout to examine Sasaki, and the right-hander was pulled after 66 pitches over 3 1/3 innings. He was later charged for four earned runs after a double from Drake Baldwin.

Wednesday was the shortest outing for Sasaski since the All-Star break, and the four runs charged to him were the most of any of his seven second half starts. Sasaki now has a 3.05 ERA since his start against the New York Yankees on July 17, while his season ERA now sits at 4.60 over 23 starts.

Dustin May exited Wednesday night's game against the New York Mets after just one pitch.

A.J. Ewing led off for the Mets and rocketed a line drive right back at May, 106 miles an hour off the shoulder. The Brewers' righthander tried to stay in. He threw a few warmups and it was clear he had nothing. Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy pulled him before the second batter got to the plate.

The Brewers later said that May suffered a "right scapula contusion."

Dustin May took a 106 mph line drive off the bat of A.J Ewing on the first pitch of the game to the shoulder. He seemed to be in severe discomfort and was removed from the game after throwing warmup pitches.

We wish him a speedy recovery 🙏 pic.twitter.com/AsuQouSzUb

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) August 26, 2026

The Brewers gave up prospects for May at the deadline and they have not gotten much back yet. He came into Wednesday with a 6.00 ERA in three starts and 15 innings in Milwaukee. He has more walks per nine innings (4.20) than he had given up all year and fewer strikeouts per nine (7.20).

May is 6-8 with a 4.57 ERA over 24 starts between St. Louis and Milwaukee, and a 3.36 FIP that says he has pitched better than the ERA looks. He was worth 2.6 wins above replacement, essentially all of that earned in a Cardinals uniform.

Milwaukee went into Wednesday night's game with the best record in baseball and a division lead it has been protecting from the Cubs for weeks. The rotation has been the least of its problems. The Brewers traded for May to have a fourth arm in October who could take the ball in a game that mattered.

Dustin May injury update

May told reporters that the line drive took his breath away, and while he "probably could have finished that inning, but better safe than sorry not trying to push through it."

"Right now I feel OK, it's just a bruise," May said. "No damage or anything structurally, so that's good. Just got to come in tomorrow and see how I feel."

A relieved Dustin May. pic.twitter.com/pPVpsWr4Wx

— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) August 27, 2026

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brewers' Dustin May exits start after 1 pitch after getting hit by line drive

We’re going streaking! We’re going thru Colorado and into Los Angeles! Come on everybody! Come on! Hammy? Hamm-a-lammy?

UGH! Don’t you just hate when you have an article about a frustrating loss done, then your favorite team mounts a multi-inning comeback to secure their 2nd straight sweep, 7th straight Win and perfect road trip!? Don’t you just hate it?!?!

(Thanks Jerry, I was being ironical)

Well, if you can guess where this is going, the Cleveland Guardians woke up Wednesday Winners of 6 straight. Heading into the series Finale in Anaheim, they would have a chance at sweeping their second straight series and matching their season-long win streak at 7 games. They last did this May 16th-22nd, finishing with that Gavin/Chris Sanchez 1-0 classic in Philly, which was the high-water mark for our winning % on the year. Going into an OFF day before a homestand, could Cleveland carry the momentum and finish this road trip strong?

Oh you betcha! But it wouldn’t come easy.

Joey Cantillo was looking for a bounce-back outing, as he struggled in Colorado last Friday to start the road trip, getting knocked out before finishing the 5th inning. Opposing Him would be Grayson Rodriguez, the former Top prospect for Baltimore who is still looking to get going for the Angels. Rodriguez was coming off 7 shutout innings at Houston, his first scoreless start of the season, capping off far-and-away his best month pitching for LAA.

So, how would the Guardians replicate the magic of the night before?

Well, early on it was quite the same as yesterday. Aloha Joe (thank you for the suggestions, trusted comment section!) struggled mightily with control, a problem we’ve gotten far too used to, walking 5 and hitting another thru three innings. He had only given up two hits, including an infield single, but you walk that many batters it’s hard to live long enough to tell the tale. And on the offensive side, the Cleveland bats did also what we saw early last night. Guys were getting on, but we couldn’t find the big hit to bring anyone in.

Cantillo would throw one of the most obvious Pitchergami’s ever: 6IP, 3R/2ER, 2H, 7BB 1K. Also add a HBP, something the Guardians have done far too much of this month. That line is absurd. On the one hand, 7 walks and a hit by pitch is just the easiest way to lose a baseball game. On the other hand, Cantillo didn’t give up a hit after the 3rd batter, got the final 6 outs in the last 5 he faced, induced 2 GIDP and didn’t allow a base runner past 1B after the 2nd inning.

But self-inflicted wounds would get the best of Joey on the scoreboard, as an infield single turned into a Pitcher throw away- accounting for one run, and a disastrous 3 BB, HBP, Sac Fly inning would lead to two more in the second.

Buzz, your starting pitcher, WOOF.

Fortunately for the Guardians, later on was a lot like last night as well!

Trailing 3-0 thru 4, the Guards would chip away with 1 in the 5th (thanks to some good ole fashioned small ball- double, productive ground out and a Sac Fly), another in the 8th (thanks to MORE small ball- bunt single, walk, rbi single) and then finally 1 to tie and another to win in the 9th thanks to 3 straight hits and a game winning Sac Fly (Bazz’s 2nd SF of the game)! Truly an incredible way to never say die and sweep the Road Trip!

What we are seeing from this team is something we haven’t seen since this time last year. Some can point to the schedule, some can say it’s just a reversal of luck. It would also be easy to just say it’s a hot streak. Well, clearly it’s a bit of all 3, but that’s why they play 162!

The Guardians head into an Off day before 3 at home vs KC this weekend (followed by another Off day).

PHOENIX — Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong had a plane to catch, an off-day in Chicago to enjoy, but long after the Cubs’ 2-0 defeat to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday, Aug. 26, the dude was still seething.

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He was livid at the umpiring crew for not calling a balk that would have led to a go-ahead run.

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He was angry at himself for his struggles in the three-game series, going 1-for-12 and striking out three times, twice against Diamondbacks ace Eduardo Rodriguez.

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And he was frustrated knowing that time is running out if they’re going to have any chance to catch the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central.

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The good news?

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Well, at least Cubs third base coach Quentin Berry and manager Craig Counsell made sure that Crow-Armstrong was not kicked out of the game and avoided a potential suspension as he tried to charge toward third-base umpire Malachi Moore.

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Crow-Armstrong, who led off the sixth inning with a double for his lone hit of the series, was dancing off third base in a scoreless game when Diamondbacks ace Eduardo Rodriguez was ready to throw a pitch out of the windup to Michael Busch. Rodriguez saw Crow-Armstrong break toward home, stepped off the rubber, and then threw home to catcher James McCann.

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“When a guy is shoving it down your throat,’’ Crow-Armstrong said, “you’ve got to find any way you can to make something happen, and that's exactly what I was just trying to do. And I executed. It would have been nice if the umpires did the same.’’

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Berry and Crow-Armstrong immediately screamed for a balk. Counsell ran out from the dugout arguing the same. The umpires, led by home plate umpire and crew chief Alfonso Marquez, gathered the umpires together. No one saw the infraction.

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It was ruled a legal pitch, and Crow-Amstrong’s head looked like it was going to explode. He charged toward Moore, who perhaps had the cleanest look of the infraction along with first base umpire Mike Estabrook.

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Berry grabbed Crow-Armstrong, Counsell ran toward Crow-Armstrong to help calm him, but the non-call stood, only for the umpiring crew to concede after the game that they missed it.

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“We just didn’t see it,’’ Marquez said. “We just didn’t see it. After looking at the video, it looked like he stepped off.’’

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PCA wasn't happy after balk wasn't called.pic.twitter.com/D4JTjjNHfi

— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) August 26, 2026

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The fact that the umpiring crew conceded the mistake did nothing to pacify Crow-Armstrong.

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“No, it doesn't make me feel any better,’’ Crow-Armstrong said, “that they admitted that they missed the call. They had as much time as they wanted to talk about it on the field, so they should have admitted that right after they got it wrong.’’

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If truth be told, Crow-Armstrong was actually more agitated, believing that someone on the four-man crew should have caught it.

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“I saw four umpires miss a pretty obvious play,’’ Crow-Armstrong said. “They’re out there every day like we are. Their one job is to get calls right, and if they get it wrong, they're supposed to talk about it, figure it out, and get it right. And they didn't. …

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“I don't know how you miss somebody starting their motion and then stopping it and stepping off. I just don't know.’’

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Said Counsell: “They flat out missed it. I mean, it’s obvious to everybody on TV. It’s obvious to anybody. They missed it. I mean, I don’t even know what to say. It’s hard to argue when they just flat out miss it.’’

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Crow-Armstrong also was furious at Lance Barksdale, the second-base umpire, who walked over toward Crow-Armstrong after Marquez announced that the non-call stood.

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“I didn't appreciate the other umpire coming up to me after [Berry] had calmed the situation down,’’ he said. “I think they find new ways to screw something up every day. So, there you go.’’

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The longer Crow-Armstrong spoke, the more he started to realize that his own frustration led him to lose his cool. Here he is trying to keep the Cubs in the division race, and knock off Shohei Ohtani for the MVP award, but he was one hit away from going hitless in a series for the first time all season.

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“So, if I'm going to sit here and [complain] about all this stuff,’’ he said, “I should have done better today. Shouldn't have punched out three times. I should have had better at-bats all series. I was pretty non-existent.

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“So, I think you guys just saw my frustrations from the last three days kind of come out.’’

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Really, Crow-Armstrong’s sentiments represented those of the entire Cubs team. They went 2-4 on their trip to Seattle and Phoenix, winning their two games by a combined score of 26-2, and losing the four others by a combined five runs, including three walk-offs.

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The Cubs’ trio of Kevin Gausman, Clay Holmes and Matthew Boyd yielded a 0.45 ERA in the series, giving up just eight hits in 20 innings, but still managed to lose two of three to the D-backs. The trio of Alex Bregman, Nico Hoerner and Crow-Armstrong hit .057 (2-for-35) in the series with one extra-base hit and no RBI.

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Despite their struggles, the Cubs (76-58) know they are going to be in the playoffs, with a four-game lead in the wild-card race with 28 games remaining. They’ve got a a good chance to host the first-round of the playoffs, just like a year ago, with a two-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies for the fourth seed.

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But to stop the Brewers from winning their fourth consecutive NL Central title, and fifth in the last six years, they’re going to have to go on a September heater.

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They control their own fate considering they play the Brewers seven times in a 10-day stretch Aug. 31-Sept. 9, but they also must overcome a six-game deficit.

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“Major League Baseball teaches you really fast that you’ve got to think about the game a little bit,’’ Counsell said, “and then you’ve kind of cut the cord with that,and move onto the next day. You don’t need a teacher for that.

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“The game teaches you that.’’

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Follow Bob Nightengale on X @Bnightengale.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pete Crow-Armstrong livid at umpiring crew after Cubs loss to Diamondbacks

The San Francisco Giants had a six-run lead against the Cincinnati Reds, 9-3, going into the ninth inning and it looked like they would secure their first three-game sweep this season. You can pretty much guess what happened next.

The Giants, despite being three outs away from a win, lost the game, 10-9, after the Reds shifted the momentum and put together a seven-run inning to close it out in San Francisco. It was the first time in Giants history they blew a six-run lead in the ninth inning.

It was their 11th loss overall when leading in the ninth, according to NBC Sports Bay Area.

How it happened was demoralizing for San Francisco – and the fans that showed up to Oracle Park.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Drew Gilbert nearly hit a grand slam but it hit the brick wall in the outfield near Levi's Landing. Gilbert doubled, but still cleared the bases. Then the ninth happened.

Hector Rodriguez, who already hit a home run in the third inning, added another solo homer to get the ball rolling. It seemed the Reds got hit after hit; batters walked; advanced on wild pitches and a throwing error. Eugenio Suarez hit a grand slam to bring Cincinnati within a score, 9-8.

Jose Trevino tied it on a sac fly as Dane Myers scored. The winning run was scored by Matt McLain after Tyler Stephenson singled to left.

"Don't really have a word for it. It's more than unfortunate, but you know what led up to that was a pretty good effort out of some guys," Giants first-year skipper Tony Vitello told reporters after the game. "You know, with the bat in particular, (we're) playing hard, but we kind of finished how we started the game there on the first pitch of the game, adding more stress to our life than we needed."

It was a tough game and it summarizes what's been a tough season.

Tony Vitello ejected at beginning of the game

Vitello saw the comeback but not from the dugout after he was ejected from the game in the top of the first inning after arguing a ball call he thought should've been a strike.

"The guys next to me were surprised. I mean, I was just kind of in it," Vitello said about his ejection. "Yeah, I mean, thought he swung. So I said I thought he swung."

Vitello had a back-and-forth with umpire Ryan Blakney, arguing a check swing from Suárez.

The Giants manager could be heard on the broadcast repeatedly telling Blakney to "just get it right" before Blakney ejected him from the game, saying "get out of here then."

Vitello then responded with some not-suitable-for-work words for the umpire as he defended his players. Fans could be heard agreeing with Vitello before letting the ump know about it. A transcript from the encounter was provided by social media account Foul Territory.

"The attitude we play with is a reflection of us and need to be hooked up no matter who's pitching. But like I said, we added more stress to that inning than we needed to, so maybe that was a factor. But thought the guy swung," Vitello told reporters after the game. "It's part of my role, to say if that's what I thought, and then you can get into escalation versus de-escalation. But yeah, it was. It's up to you guys. ... I didn't throw two baseballs at anybody. I can tell you that."

Vitello told reporters that the team would put this behind it and get to the next game on Thursday, Aug. 27 against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park.

"Come back tomorrow and win," Vitello said about coming back from the loss. "Compete against a team that we haven't been very good against all year long. ... If you don't like something or you're frustrated, then turn it into determination."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tony Vitello ejected early, Giants have historic collapse in 9th to lose to Reds