Category: MLB

Since Don Mattingly’s retirement after the 1995 season, the Yankees have generally filled the first base spot by bringing in an established veteran. First it was Tino Martinez, then it was Jason Giambi, before Mark Teixeira filled that role from 2009 through 2016. For five years after him, the position became a turnstile, with Greg Bird (the only homegrown player to man the position regularly in two decades), Chris Carter, Chase Headley, Luke Voit, Edwin Encarnación, and DJ LeMahieu tagging in, to mixed success. Finally, looking to improve the offense as the 2021 squad stumbled through the first half, the Yankees swung a deal with the Chicago Cubs, bringing in one of the legends that broke the 108-year curse: Anthony Rizzo.

Anthony Rizzo
Born: August 8, 1989 (Parkland, FL)
Yankees Tenure: 2021-2024

Born and raised in Parkland, Florida, Rizzo was selected out of high school by the Boston Red Sox in the sixth round of the 2007 MLB Draft. He made a cup of coffee in rookie ball that season, before starting the 2008 campaign with Single-A Greenville. Baseball, however, quickly became of secondary importance, as that May, the 18-year-old Rizzo was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He did not return to the playing field until the end of the summer, when the Red Sox front office permitted Rizzo — recently declared cancer-free — to take one plate appearance; he doubled.

He spent two more years in the Boston system before being traded, along with Casey Kelly, Reymond Fuentes, and Eric Patterson, to the San Diego Padres for first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. He made his major league debut on June 9, 2011, tripling in his second time at the plate.

Two days later, he recorded his first big league home run.

Those would be his only true highlights as a member of the Padres, however. He generally struggled in his first run in the Show, slashing .141/.281/.242 in 49 games. When San Diego traded for Yonder Alonso that December, Rizzo became expendable and was traded again, this time to the Chicago Cubs for pitcher Andrew Cashner and outfielder Kyung-Min Na. Rather amusingly, both times Rizzo was traded as a youngster, Jed Hoyer was the general manager acquiring him (although in Chicago, Hoyer reported to President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein, who had final say on the deal).

Rizzo started 2012 with Triple-A Iowa, as Bryan LaHair began the year as the team’s first baseman. He quickly proved ready for the limelight, however, and made his Cubs debut on June 26th. Over the next three and a half seasons, he established himself as one of the Senior Circuit’s premier first baseman, slashing .268/.361/.480, receiving two All-Star nods, and finishing as a finalist for the Gold Glove Award at first base.

All of that would be a prelude to the highlight of his career, the 2016 season. His production was impressive in and of itself, as he slashed .292 /.385/.544, hit 32 homers and 43 doubles (the first Cubs left-handed hitter to do so!), and drove in 109 runs. And he piled on the regular season accolades, earning his first Gold Glove, his first and only Platinum Glove (to this day, the only first baseman to have won the award), his first and only Silver Slugger, and his first starting nod in the All-Star Game. More importantly, despite a slow start to the postseason, he went 17-for-50 with three homers, five doubles, and six walks between the NLCS and World Series. Thanks to Cleveland scoring once in the bottom of the tenth, his run in the top of the inning would prove to be the winning run, and rather fittingly, the player who had become the face of the Cubs would catch the final out of the 2016 World Series.

The Cubs never climbed the mountain again, but that was through no fault of Rizzo’s. From the start of the 2017 campaign until he was traded to the Yankees in July 2021, his 128 wRC+ ranked 28th in baseball among 92 qualified hitters, and his 14.0 fWAR ranked 34th; additionally, he won three Gold Gloves. Across that span, arguably only Freddie Freeman and Paul Goldschmidt were definitively better, with Joey Votto and Matt Olson also falling right around the same spot in the rankings as Rizzo.

Looking to shore up their infield defense and add another lefty bat in one swoop (remember, the 2019-2023 Yankees were notoriously heavy on right-handed bats), the Yankees spun a deal for Rizzo at the 2021 deadline, sending Kevin Alcántara and Alexander Vizcaíno to Chicago in order to steal him away from the Boston Red Sox. While Joey Gallo was the bigger name acquired at the time, Rizzo made an immediate impact, homering in his Yankee debut.

While the 2021 season ended in disappointing fashion, the Yankees saw enough in Rizzo — who slashed .249/.340/.428, provided great defense, and most importantly, slid right into a leadership role in the clubhouse — to make him a priority signing once the lockout ended that March (they did make a run on Freddie Freeman, but it was clear that Freeman preferred to either stay in Atlanta or head out to LA). Hitting behind Aaron Judge, Rizzo had his best season since 2019, with a 130 OPS+ and a career-high 32 homers in just 130 games. Unsurprisingly, he opted out of his contract, and equally unsurprisingly, he re-upped with the Yankees again, signing another two-year deal with a team option for 2025.

Rizzo’s career resurgence continued at the start of 2023, as through May 27th, he had a .303/.376/.507 slash line (149 wRC+) with 11 home runs in 52 games. Then, Fernando Tatís Jr. hip-checked Rizzo on a pickoff play, and while nobody knew until August 3rd, gave him a concussion. From that point on, the first baseman struggled, slashing just .174/.272/.227 with only one homer until he was finally shut down for the year in August.

The 2024 season wasn’t any better for Rizzo, as he struggled out of the gate, slashing .223/.289/.341 (82 wRC+) before breaking his arm in mid-June in a collision at first base. He returned to the lineup when rosters expanded on September 1st, and while he didn’t exactly light up the world, his 98 wRC+ gave the Yankees a definitive upgrade at first base over the rookie Ben Rice. Unfortunately, he was plunked on September 28th and fractured multiple fingers. After the Yankees managed to fake their way through the ALDS with Oswaldo Cabrera and Jon Berti learning first base on the fly, Rizzo returned for the ALCS and World Series, during which he went 6-for-14 in the ALCS and 2-for-16 in the World Series.

The Yankees declined Rizzo’s team option for 2025, and while he tried to latch on with a team, he ultimately decided to retire, joining the Cubs in an ambassadorial role. Rather famously, while hanging in the bleachers during his first game as a fan, a home run was hit right at him.

At the end of the day, Rizzo will always be remembered as a Cub, not as a Yankee. Even so, despite his lackluster performance towards the end of his career, he nonetheless managed to worm his way into Yankee fans’ hearts. Even so, he is only the second most popular member of his family:

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

Last night Nats fans saw something odd and unique. We saw the back end of the Nationals bullpen come in and lock down a game. The trio of Yovanny Cruz, Orlando Ribalta and Clayton Beeter were lights out last night. They did not allow a single hit in their three innings of work.

It was only one game, but for the first time all season I felt like the Nats had a back end of the bullpen that could bring real success. Cruz, Ribalta and Beeter all have filthy stuff and have the ability to get out of tight situations. We saw Cruz bail out Cade Cavalli last night with some help from Nasim Nunez.

That trio, at least last night, is what a back end of a bullpen is supposed to look like. All three of them throw in the upper 90’s, or triple digits in Cruz’s case. However, they also have elite secondary pitches to back up those heaters. Beeter and Cruz have electric sliders that just drop off the table. Meanwhile, Ribalta also has a good slider, but throws a nasty changeup as well.

Of the three, Yovanny Cruz has the best stuff in my opinion. The slider he throws is legitimately one of the nastiest I have ever seen. It is 90-93 but gets real slider movement instead of being a glorified cutter. The pitch he struck out Matt McLain with was just unfair.

For Cruz to reach his closer ceiling, his fastball needs to make some improvements. That is a weird thing to say about a guy who averages over 100, but it is true. Cruz’s fastball command has been less than impressive in his two outings. Even when he is in the zone with it though, it has not really been fooling anyone.

The pitch is 100, which helps him out. However, it is straight as an arrow and is not deceptive. In 2026, big league hitters can handle a straight 100 MPH pitch. Cruz has thrown 37 heaters at the big league level this season, and has not gotten a single whiff. If I were the Nats, I would heavily consider replacing his 4-seamer with a power sinker.

For now, Cruz is a good 7th inning guy with big stuff, but he still has room to grow. He can devastate right handed hitters with the slider, but lefties have given him more issues. I wonder if he should mix in that splitter a bit more often against them. However, to reach his ceiling, Cruz needs to refine that heater.

One pitcher who does not have any fastball issues is Orlando Ribalta. Despite averaging “only” 96.8 instead of 100, his heater is much more effective. Ribata gets a 28.7% whiff rate on his riding 4-seam fastball. A lot of times he uses his slider to get ahead of hitters before putting them away with the heater or changeup.

The other day I wrote about how Ribalta has quietly been a highly effective reliever for the Nats. He has not been perfect this season, but he has come through more often than not. Ribalta avoids hard contact, gets a decent amount of strikeouts and throws strikes. That is a good combination.

Lastly, let’s get to the closer Clayton Beeter. Honestly, Beeter is not a guy who fills me with a ton of confidence due to his erratic nature. However, when he is hitting his spots, he is a real weapon. That is what he did last night to close the show in routine fashion.

Beeter basically throws his fastball and slider the same amount. It is a very simple package with just two pitches. However, the offerings tunnel very well off each other and the slider works well against lefties and righties. 

This season, batters are just hitting .108 off the slider. It is a pitch he can manipulate and use in all situations. Beeter’s slider is at least a 70 grade pitch and devastates hitters. When hitters get the heater, it can be an issue. However, he is throwing more sliders lately and hitters just are not picking it up.

The Nats do not exactly have the 2015 Royals bullpen now, but these three are a solid way to close out games. They will not get it done every time, but I think we will see more games like last night down the stretch. If you give these guys a couple runs to work with, we will not see games be blown like they were earlier in the season.

Games like last night are why Paul Toboni brought in the likes of Cruz. He can be a real fireman and clean up those first and third with nobody out jams. With the likes of Ben Grable also coming next year, this bullpen can go from a disaster to a solid unit without a ton of spending. That is how you build a sustainable bullpen, which the Nats have not had for a long time.

Hi there!

As you know, Thomas Smith is away on vacation.

To keep this feature going, I’m going to post simply the WPA numbers and plays of the game, and a poll so you can vote on your choice for Player of the Game. Thomas will update the Rizzo Award standings when he returns.

Game 117, Aug. 7: Cubs 6, Royals 4

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Pete Crow-Armstrong (.215). 1-3, 2 BB, SB, 2 R
• Hero: Kevin Gausman (.174). 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 4 K
• Sidekick: Seiya Suzuki (.116). 2-5, 2 RBI

PCA just keeps making his MVP case, in so many different ways.

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Caleb Thielbar (-.144). 0.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R
• Goat: Nico Hoerner (-.078). 0-5
• Kid: Ian Happ (-.064). 0-4, 4 K

Happ is in a serious slump, one of the worst of his career.

WPA Play of the Game: PCA’s single in the second that scored two runs, the second coming in on an error. (.176)

Royals Play of the Game: Isaac Collins’ RBI double in the first (.104).

Up next: Clay Holmes makes his Cubs debut, with Seth Lugo his Royals opponent.

The Cubs have won five straight and this trip would be a great time to keep stacking wins.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Orioles fans and fans across the country.

The Orioles entered trade deadline day earlier this week with a 2.5 game deficit to the third wild card spot in the American League. We have seen the myriad flaws of the team through the year and on a rational level understand the case not to push aggressively to make something happen this season.

I don’t think I was the only one hoping the Orioles would decide to just let it ride with the roster, maybe add a piece or two who will be able to help next year too while thinning out the mid-range prospect depth that has to be added to the 40-man roster so it’s not lost in the Rule 5 draft. Mike Elias had other ideas, trading away three players who figured to be a part of next year’s team, headlined by Adley Rutschman. This is still a tough one to stomach.

In our poll this week, I asked Orioles fans, clearly feeling raw in the aftermath of the Rutschman trade, when they think that our favorite baseball team will make it back into the postseason. These were the results:

Optimism often reigns in these polls, but it seems the post-Rutschman trade was not inspiring a lot of optimism for the near future. The 34% plurality for 2029 or later isn’t too strong, but we’re talking 59% who think the Orioles won’t make the postseason this year or next year either.

Three years out of the postseason in a row would be pretty bad! I think that Elias should be fired after this season if it gets to two years. It is not clear that the owner agrees.

While this poll was open, the Orioles made it as close as within half a game of the wild card spot. They’ve since lost their series finale to the Angels and their series opener against the Rangers, the team they’re now chasing for that third wild card. They can pull back ground if they can win the other two games this weekend. That’ll take them scoring some more runs, which they kind of… aren’t doing. The team has scored ten runs in six August games. Yikes.

Baseball Reference gives them a 10.4% chance of making the postseason. FanGraphs has them at 10.8%. They probably need to go 28-16 from here.

This week’s survey is sponsored by FanDuel.

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The first-place Tampa Bay Rays are short road underdogs for the middle game of a weekend series against the sub-.500 Seattle Mariners.

Tampa Bay is on a four-game winning streak, all on the road, while Seattle has dropped three of the last four, all at home.

My Rays at Mariners predictions and MLB picks have Tampa winning as +101 road underdogs.

Who will win Rays vs Mariners today: Rays moneyline (+101)

The Tampa Bay Rays are 14 games better than the Seattle Mariners on the season. Tampa has gone 45-24 (.652) against losing teams and is .500 on the road.

Seattle is 8-12, .400, since the All-Star Break, and this is just their fifth game since then against a winning team—they've won once.

So why are the M's favored? Not because of the pitching matchup. Tampa's Griffin Jax has a slightly better ERA (3.63) and WHIP (1.21) than Seattle's George Kirby and better metrics (strikeout rate, chase rate, whiff rate and run value).

The Rays as a dog is a no-brainer. I'd keep Tampa until -110.

COVERS INTEL: After throwing two curveballs all last year out of the bullpen, Jax has been throwing it more than 9% of the time as a starter. Opponents are hitting .154 against it, and the threat of it has also lowered the average against for his fastball and sinker by more than 40 points each. Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez, Josh Naylor, Colt Emerson and Cole Young all have negative run value against the curve this year, so it's a bad matchup for Seattle.

Rays vs Mariners Over/Under pick: Under 6.5 (+119)

The Under isn't the obvious bet it should be, because they've lowered the cutoff to 6.5 runs. Seattle hasn't seen a totals cutoff of 8.5 or higher in seven games.

This is its sixth game with a total of 6.5 or lower. Only Cleveland (7 games) has more. It's their 87th below 8.5, most in MLB.

Tampa has been Under two straight and seven of 10. The Rays have the sixth-worst Over record in MLB while the Mariners have scored 0 or 1 in three of the last four games.

Getting plus odds for Under, even at such a low cutoff, is automatic.

Rays vs Mariners weather

Winds blowing in from centerfield will make it difficult to score runs tonight. 

Rays vs Mariners odds

• Moneyline: Rays +104 | Mariners -108
• Run line: Rays -1.5 (+186) | Mariners +1.5 (-194)
• Over/Under: Over 6.5 (-127) | Under 6.5 (+122)

Rays vs Mariners trend

The Seattle Mariners have hit the Team Total Under in 29 of their last 45 games. The Tampa Bay Rays have hit the Team Total Under in 30 of 50. Find more MLB betting trends for Rays vs. Mariners.

How to watch Rays vs Mariners and game info

Rays vs Mariners latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Here's what happened in Mets Land on Friday, in case you missed it...

• At Double-A Binghamton, top Mets prospect Jefferson Rojas notched his first hit for the organization, and Mitch Voit had a big night as well.
• Mets infielder Bo Bichette discussed his looming contract opt-out option this coming offseason.
• Injury rehab updates were provided for star outfielder Juan Soto and infielder Mark Vientos.
• Mets claimed shortstop Gabriel Arias off waivers from the Cleveland Guardians
• The Mets won their fourth straight game, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates on the road by a score of 6-4.
• Carson Benge, one of a few Mets rookies who have lead the charge during this win streak, exited Friday's game with left wrist soreness, but X-ray scans came back clean.
• Relief pitcher Luke Weaver revealed that he told the Mets he wanted to stay before he was dealt to the Pirates at the trade deadline.
• Danny Abriano identified 5 Mets whose play down the stretch of this season could impact the team's 2027 roster in a big way.
• The Mets Pod: Can we call the trade deadline a success for the Mets?
• WATCH: Mets vs Pirates (8/7/26) | Mets Highlights
• WATCH: Andy Green, Marcus Semien and Zac Thornton on Mets fourth straight win
• WATCH: Mets prospect highlights
• WATCH: Todd Zeile delivered a technical breakdown of Mets reliever Jefry Yan and his viral jumps.
• WATCH: Can Bichette be a key contributor for the Mets in the future?

Chandler Simpson is really good at baseball and is doing things only a handful of players have accomplished in the game’s long history.

Entering play on Saturday night, 25-year old Simpson is hitting .296/.325/.353 over his brief two year career at the big league level. He hardly ever strikes out with a 9.4% career strikeout rate and barely whiffs, with a 90.5% contact rate. Since the start of the 2025 season, among hitters with at least 800 PA, Simpson ranks 7th in AVG, 5th in K%, and 3rd in contact%. Simpson is really good at making contact and hitting for average.

Simpson’s elite speed of course also makes him an asset on the bases as he has already notched 74 stolen bases since making his big league debut, 2 shy of the MLB lead over that time (behind former Rays SS Jose Caballero). According to Baseball Savant, Simpson provides the most baserunning value of any player in the game.

Simpson recently collected his 100th hit of the season as well as his 30th stolen base, this achievement put Simpson in some rare company, as only 13 players have reached those milestones over the course of their first two seasons, including 3x All-Star Bobby Witt Jr. as well Hall of Famers Ichiro Suzuki and Paul Molitor

Meanwhile, Simpson has been refining his play in the outfield. Yes, he had an adventurous time learning how to best utilize his elite speed during his time with the Rays last season, which led to occasional disastrous results and admittedly abysmal advanced defensive metrics in 2025; however, Simpson has worked incredibly hard to improve upon this skillset and now has developed into a plus defender, with a 93rd percentile OAA and is among the top half of outfielders with 5 defensive runs saved this season.

So when did Simpson quietly shatter a franchise record that has been in place for over twenty years? Well, this is a bit of a funny one.

On July 17th when the Rays returned from the All-Star break. Simpson made his first plate appearance in the second inning and grounded out harmlessly. That was his 797th plate appearance with the Rays. With that trip to the plate, Simpson surpassed Jason Tyner for the longest stretch in franchise history to have not hit a homerun.

Tyner was acquired by the Rays in 2000 and would spend the entirety of his Tampa Bay tenure homerless, batting .261/.298/.303 over parts of four seasons. He would become a crowd favorite for his tenacious play and the front office even decided to plan a bobblehead day to be given out to fans on June 2nd. In early April 2002, Tyner got to check out the bobblehead:

“It looked all right. I’m sure I’ll get ragged about it. Oh well.”

However, over the first two months of the season, Tyner was among the worst players in baseball, hitting .214/.249/.238 over 180 PA. On May 28th, just a few days before the scheduled promotion, the Devil Rays optioned Tyner to Triple-A where he would remain for the rest of the season. Coincidentally, the team also had to cancel a Toby Hall bobblehead day that was planned when the backstop was optioned on the same day as Tyner; those dolls had yet to be manufactured though. Unfortunately, all 10,000 Jason Tyner bobbleheads had already been delivered to Tropicana Field. During the offseason, the team donated the bobbleheads to the Pinellas Education Foundation.

Tyner would be up and down in 2003 and performed better but only received 102 plate appearances over the course of the year. He would be claimed off of waivers by Texas in December but the scrappy outfielder wouldn’t make his return to the big leagues until 2005 when he caught on with the Minnesota Twins and had a career year in 2006, accruing 1.5 fWAR, but was still homerless. But then, on July 28th, 2007, Tyner laced a ball down the right field line that was the definition of a wall scraper as it barely cleared the fence. But, the ball left the yard which gave Jason Tyner his first and only career home run in the big leagues after 1318 plate appearances.

Tyner finished out the season with the Twins and joined up with Cleveland the following season but would only receive three plate appearances, the final trips to the plate of his career. Tyner would retire shortly thereafter and since moved onto coaching. Over the past several years, Tyner has been the head baseball coach at Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School.

Jason Tyner’s career ended with just the one HR and him hitting .275/.314/.323 and accruing 1.9 fWAR over 1467 plate appearances.

Back to the 2026 Rays, fear not. Simpson has already proven to be more valuable than Tyner was in his career, having already eclipsed Tyner’s career fWAR with 2.4, and even stuck around long enough to see his bobble head distributed at Tropicana Field:

Good morning, LSB.

The Rangers won a thriller last night over the Orioles.

Shawn McFarland details the game-saving play in the ninth inning that preserved the win.

A bases-loaded K for Eovaldi and a big homer for Pederson also key, writes Kennedi Landry.

McFarland also touches on the plan for Jordan Montgomery, who was activated yesterday after a long recovery.

Fifty percent of the AL West has split with its GM this season after the A’s parted ways with David Forst.

And finally, Will the Thrill is the latest guest on Evan Grant’s podcast.

That’s all for this morning. The Rangers continue their series with the Orioles tonight at 6:15 with Jacob deGrom on the hill for Texas.

Have a good weekend and go Rangers!

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Another busy Saturday in the Majors means value in my MLB player props analysis. 

Tonight's picks include Jake Bennett, Chase Burns, and the red-hot Pete Crow-Armstrong. 

Read more in my MLB picks for Saturday, August 8. 

Best MLB player props today

Player	Pick	Odds
Jake Bennett	Over 4.5 strikeouts	-137
Chase Burns	Under 2.5 earned runs	-160
Pete Crow-Armstrong	Over 1.5 total bases	-139

Jake Bennett Over 4.5 strikeouts (-137)

Left-hander Jake Bennett takes the mound tonight for the Boston Red Sox. He's struck out six hitters per nine innings across his last two outings, and this matchup is a clear opportunity to rack up Ks.

The Athletics are in horrible offensive form, posting a 61 wRC+ in the last week and carrying a 25.2% strikeout rate. They're also 24th in the Majors in team punchouts, and have struck out 9.67 times per contest across their previous three contests. 

Bennett should miss his fair share of bats here.

I'll play this pick up to -150. 

• Time: 4:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: NBC Bay Area, NESN

Chase Burns Under 2.5 earned runs (-160)

Chase Burns has been lights out lately for the Cincinnati Reds. The right-hander owns a 1.13 ERA and 2.84 FIP over his last three starts, allowing just 0.56 HR/9. Burns has also cashed the Under in earned runs allowed in three consecutive outings. 

The Washington Nationals are a solid offensive team, but Burns is facing them at a great time. The Nats have a 72 wRC+ over their previous seven games. 

For what it's worth, Burns already carved up Washington this season, tossing six scoreless frames in May. 

I know the price isn't great, but it's a great bet. I'll play this pick up to -170. 

• Time: 6:45 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: NATS.TV, Reds.TV

Pete Crow-Armstrong Over 1.5 total bases (-139)

Pete Crow-Armstrong is arguably the hottest hitter in baseball right now. The Chicago Cubs star has a .400 average and .360 ISO over his last seven games while also slugging .760. 

PCA has easily cashed the Over in total bases in three of his previous four appearances, and he'll face the vulnerable Seth Lugo tonight. The veteran righty has a 4.96 xERA over his last five outings while surrendering a 45.7% hard-hit rate. 

Crow-Armstrong's 58.8% hard-hit rate and 17.6% barrel rate in the last week are impossible to overlook here. Plus, the Royals' pen is struggling, posting a 5.80 FIP over its last 24 innings. 

I'll play this pick up to -150. 

• Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Marquee Sports Network, Royals.TV

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Worcester: W, 5-4 (BOX SCORE)

With Raymond Burgos making his Red Sox debut Friday night in a rout and subsequently achieving his first MLB save by getting the final nine outs against the Athletics, the quick roster change led the WooSox to turn to some unlikely faces to take the brunt of the outs. Enter an Alec Gamboa start against Lehigh Valley (Phillies AAA) and ten scoreless outs by Noah Song. This was his longest outing for the 29-year-old since he returned from military service in 2023. It would be a cool story if Song makes his Major League debut at the end of the season, but the stats aren’t there for anything more than a feel-good appearance. Offensively, the WooSox were consistently getting in scoring position, and while they were just 2-11 under those circumstances, Mikey Romero had his tenth home run of the season and Franklin Arias, Tsung-Tse Cheng and Mickey Gasper each had extra base hits. It was enough to carry a lead, extend that lead in the eighth, and hold the game in the ninth.

Portland: W, 7-4 (BOX SCORE)

With Franklin Arias squarely in Triple-A, the Sea Dogs turned to some reputable bats in New Hampshire (Blue Jays AA) to survive Devin Futrell’s first start in Portland. Futrell certainly didn’t look unhittable, giving up eight knocks on four runs while striking out five, but it could have been a lot worse as he made it out of five innings in 78 pitches, 57 of those for strikes. By his exit, Brooks Brannon had knocked his 18th of the season over the fence, and Miguel Bleis called game in the seventh with a shot of his own admist some shoving out of the pen by Patrick Halligan and Jesse Wu-Yelland.

Greenville: L, 3-9 (BOX SCORE)

This game was manageable through Jason Gilman’s five innings but the Renegades (Yankees High-A) really took care of matters for themselves in the eighth inning. The game was always just out of reach because Greenville couldn’t stop stranding runners, leaving seventeen on the basepaths and failing to hit a home run. Their infielders were mashing at the plate. Antonio Anderson had four hits, and Jake Schaffner might not be long for the lower minor leagues following his introduction to pro baseball; the latter went 3-for-5 with a double. Still, despite the Drive outhitting Hudson Valley 13-9, the score told a very different story.

Salem: W, 4-3 (BOX SCORE)

A walkoff walk propelled the RidgeYaks to a Friday night W in Fayetteville (Astros A) as Sadbiel Delzine went 3 2/3 and eventually ran into a jam that ended his night, but Jose Bello took the reins for the following 5 1/3 innings and the team also overcame also stranding fifteen runners. The team just kept finding itself in bases loaded situations, and they overcame an ongoing problem at exactly the right time, in the ninth inning.

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Remember, folks, don't be rude; it is Saturday!

Here are my favorite MLBhome run props for today's slate, headlined by White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami and Atlanta Braves star Matt Olson. 

Here are my favorite MLB picks for Saturday, Aug. 8.

Best MLB home run props today

Player to hit a HR	Odds
Munetaka Murakami	+307
Matt Olson	+307

Home run pick: Munetaka Murakami (+307)

One of the most mispriced players on the board today, in my humble opinion, is easily Chicago White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami.

His home run price is right around his usual range, but some of his other props, like 1+ hit, are hovering around -110 today.

The White Sox rookie is in a great spot to boom, so I am perplexed by today's pricing. Regardless, let's dive in!

Murakami enters Saturday with the third-highest matchup rating on Batters-Box, where he also owns an 80.4% arsenal coverage against Cleveland Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams.

Despite going cold over the last few games, I blame that on him facing a lot of left-handed pitchers, so his recent form does not concern me.

Over his last 30 at-bats against right-handed pitching, the slugger still owns a .280 BA, .720 SLG, 1.120 OPS and .440 ISO, while generating a 64.3% hard-hit rate and 28.6% barrel rate.

Williams, on the other hand, has hit some speed bumps against left-handed hitters as of late. Over his last 30 batters faced, they are producing a 46.7% hard-hit rate, 13.3% barrel rate, and 73.3% elevation rate.

Take this down to +300. 

• Time: 7:15 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: FOX

Home run pick: Matt Olson (+307)

Another guy getting no love from the books this afternoon is Atlanta Braves slugger Matt Olson, who I think finds himself in a great spot against New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole.

Olson has been on a tear against right-handed pitching over his last 60 plate appearances, posting a .292 BA, .604 SLG, 1.037 OPS and .312 ISO. During that stretch, he is still producing a 45.7% hard-hit rate and 17.1% barrel rate.

Cole has done a solid job dealing with left-handed hitters this season, but I do love that,over the last 60 he has faced, they are elevating the ball over 70% of the time while carrying an expected slugging percentage of .615.

On top of that, through 26 elite ratings this season, Olson has left the yard in 30.77% of those games. He has gone yard in three of his last five elite ratings, so hopefully he can keep that momentum rolling.

Take this down to the +280 range.

• Time: 3:05 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: YES, Braves Vision

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Three of four Dodgers minor league affiliates won on Friday.

Player of the day

Right-hander Christian Zazueta, the Dodgers’ top pitching prospect, had his best start since getting promoted to Double-A, with eight strikeouts in six scoreless innings for Tulsa on Friday night in Corpus Christi.

Zazueta in seven starts in Double-A has a 3.30 ERA in 47 strikeouts against only three walks, and doesn’t turn 22 until October.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

The Comets scored 11 runs in the first three innings in a rout of the Salt Lake Bees (Angels).

Ryan Ward hit a three-run home run. Alek Thomas drove in four. Noah Miller had three hits, including a pair of doubles.

Cole Irvin, who accepted a minor league assignment after clearing waivers, allowed two runs in five innings for his 10th win.

Double-A Tulsa

Taylor Young homered to back Zazueta in the Drillers’ win over the Corpus Christi Hooks (Astros). Young also stole a base.

Catcher Frank Rodriguez drove in Tulsa’s other two runs with an RBI single and sacrifice fly.

High-A Great Lakes

Charles Davalan and Chase Harlan homered in the Loons’ win over the Dayton Dragons (Reds). Jaron Elkins singled twice, walked, and stole his first base since joining High-A.

Following an opener, Sterling Patick struck out seven in five innings, and allowed one run in the win.

Class-A Ontario

The Tower Buzzers scored the first six runs of the game, but lost a high-scoring affair to the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres).

Joendry Vargas homered and doubled in the loss, part of a four-hit game. Easton Shelton walked three times and had a two-run single.

Transactions

Triple-A: After getting designated for assignment on Tuesday, catcher Chuckie Robinson cleared waivers and was sent outright to Oklahoma City. First baseman Matt Gorski was activated off the injured list.

Friday scores

• Oklahoma City 11, Salt Lake 5
• Tulsa 3, Corpus Christi 1
• Great Lakes 6, Dayton 1
• Lake Elsinore 10, Ontario 8

Saturday schedule

• 4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Isaac Ayon) at Dayton (JP Ortiz)
• 5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Aidan Foeller) at Corpus Christi (Andrew Taylor)
• 5:35 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Emmet Sheehan) at Salt Lake (Joel Hurtado)
• 6:45 p.m.: Ontario (TBA) at Lake Elsinore (TBA)

Omaha Storm Chasers 11, Toledo Mud Hens 2 (box)(Gm1)

Sawyer Gipson-Long continued to struggle in Game 1 of Friday’s doubleheader between Toledo and Omaha. He failed to reach the fourth inning for the third straight start and has only had one outing allowing fewer than four runs since July 7. SGL’s ERA has ballooned to 5.75 from 4.28 in that time, and opponents are hitting .429 against him in August.

He worked around a pair of unfortunate singles in the first, but Jacob Berry took him deep in the second to get the scoring started.

The wheels started falling off in the third. SGL hit the leadoff man on a full count, gave up a swinging bunt single and saw a triple go over Wenceel Perez’s head, ricocheting off the wall into right-center. A long sac fly made it 4-0, and back-to-back walks on nine pitches meant the end of the day for Gipson-Long.

Jack Little gave up a flare to right field to bring in a fifth run before getting out of the third. Little didn’t do great with the bases clear in the fourth. He gave up two runs on three hits, making it 7-0.

Toledo had some early chances to score and make this a game, but no one got the big hit. Max Anderson doubled off the wall in the first, but was stranded. In the second, Andrew Navigato had a hard-hit single to the left field corner that looked like extra bases off the bat. A Seby Zavala liner up the middle would have scored Navigato from second, but Jack Goodman grounded out to end the inning instead.

Those were the first at-bats for Goodman and Zavala with Toledo. Goodman spent most of the year with Single-A Lakeland but got called up earlier this week. Zavala recently signed after spending time with Triple-A Oklahoma City and Charros de Jalisco in Mexico.

Toledo’s offense was pretty quiet for the rest of the game. Brett Callahan was hit by a pitch in the fourth, but nothing came from it.

Goodman and Zavala got a bit of redemption in the fifth. Zavala led off with a walk, and Goodman hit his first Triple-A home run. It was a no-doubter into the street beyond left field. So, there’s a silver lining. Nine of the final 10 Toledo hitters went down after that.

Beau Brieske was the victim of a very unfortunate string of singles that led to a grand slam, turning it into a laugher. Two of the hits to load the bases were bloops. It was just one of those days for the Mud Hens. Troy Watson got the sixth. He worked around a two-out walk for a scoreless inning.

Cal Stevenson was the position player on the mound in the seventh. He had a little fun getting a strikeout with an 80-mph heater after lobbing in several 50-mph eephus pitches.

Anderson: 1-3, 2B (18)

Perez: 0-3, 2 K

Goodman: 1-3, HR (1), R, 2 RBI, K

Gipson-Long (L, 2-5): 2.2 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 K, HR

Omaha Storm Chasers 10, Toledo Mud Hens 3 (box)(Gm2)

Game 2 went just about the same way, except the blowup came in the second inning, and Toledo led briefly after a Jace Jung homer in the first. For what it’s worth, Jung stung a couple of balls in Game 1; they just went right to gloves. This one was an oppo shot that just kept going and going until it crept over the wall.

Lael Lockhart was the unlucky starter to take the loss. Toledo listed a TBD starter, so it was a planned bullpen game. Lockhart actually got through the first cleanly, but things went really bad in the second.

Seven of the first eight batters in the inning reached safely, including three doubles and a home run. Max Anderson booted one of those “doubles” to allow the tying run to score, but everything else was legit.

Tyler Gentry hit a solo homer in the bottom of the second, cutting the deficit to five runs.

Luke Taggart got the third and fourth for Toledo. Three hits turned into two more runs for the Storm Chasers in the former, but Taggart got through the latter frame without any damage.

Gentry got another RBI in the fourth, driving in Brett Callahan with a single into left. Toledo actually got the bases loaded in the fourth and fifth innings, but the big hit never came.

Tanner Rainey was the third pitcher for the Mud Hens. He worked around a pair of two-out squibbers in the fifth and went 1-2-3 in the sixth. Rainey was solid with four strikeouts. Scott Effross got the seventh. He gave up an unearned run on an error and two hits.

Anderson:1-3, 2B (19), BB

Jung: 1-4, HR (18), R, RBI, K

Gentry: 3-3, HR (9), R, 2 RBI

Lockhart (L, 2-3): 2.0 IP, 7 ER, 5 H, BB, 2 K, HR

Coming Up Next: It’s a 7:05 p.m. ET start on Saturday. Omaha leads the series, 3-1.

Erie SeaWolves 10, Altoona Curve 1 (box)

Erie fared a lot better than Toledo today—good pitching, good offense and a win.

Four home runs powered the SeaWolves Flagship City Kitties to a 10-1 win, but some decent pitching deserves some credit for holding Altoona to just one run on six hits and three walks. Most of those baserunners came against starter Carlos Pena, who worked 4.2 innings of one-run ball.

That one run came in the first and was unearned. An error by E.J. Exposito at third extended the inning, which should have been over in four batters. Instead, a two-out base hit brought the runner home, and Erie briefly trailed… but not for long.

Peyton Graham opened the bottom of the first with a solo homer. Thayron Liranzo also had a ground-rule double, but there was no follow-up.

Graham and Liranzo were at the center of a three-run third inning, too. Graham got things going with a ground-rule double, and Liranzo blasted a three-run shot after Josue Briceno walked. Andrew Jenkins had a bizarre triple that fell in the middle of three fielders near the foul line in right field. Jenkins didn’t end up scoring, though.

Pena was pretty good after the extended first inning. He retired eight of the next nine batters he faced before running into a little trouble in the fourth. The second out of the inning went off Pena’s leg before he made the play. He stayed in the game after being checked out by the training staff, but Altoona notched back-to-back singles before Pena got a strikeout.

Pena came back out for the fifth, but a pair of walks got the bullpen active. Zack Barnhart got the final out of the inning and pitched through the sixth.

Erie blew the game wide open with four straight singles in the bottom of the sixth. Exposito and Stephen Hrustich went through the left side, and Max Burt found fair territory on a tall fly ball to left that looked destined to land foul.

Patrick Lee bounced one to short to make it 6-1. The infield was playing in and made a good throw home, but Burt snuck his hand in there. If we’re being honest, he looked out, but it was going to be a tough one to overturn.

Graham hit into a fielder’s choice for another run, and his 55th steal of the season came on a wild pitch that scored Lee, pushing Erie’s lead to seven.

Colin Field came in for the seventh. He gave up a single but retired the other six batters over two innings of work.

Lee and Briceno both hit solo homers in the eighth for good measure. We’ll also ignore Zyhir Hope striking out four times and being the only SeaWolf without a hit.

Yoniel Curet got the ninth. He ended it on two strikeouts after giving up a leadoff single.

Briceno: 2-4, HR (8), 2 R, RBI, BB

Graham: 2-5, HR (6), 2B (17), 2 R, 2 RBI

Hope: 0-5, 4 K

Liranzo: 2-4, HR (11), 2B (8), R, 3 RBI, BB, K

Lee, P: 2-4, HR (3), 2 R, 2 RBI, K

Pena, C: 4.2 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:05 p.m. ET start on Saturday. The series is tied, 2-2.

West Michigan Whitecaps 14, Fort Wayne TinCaps 4 (box)

Ah, yes, a good ol’ 14-run drubbing from West Michigan. The Whitecaps scored in seven of nine innings and put up four crooked numbers in this one. Every player got a hit. Edian Espinal and Ricardo Hurtado each had a three-hit day, and Bryce Rainer, Beau Ankeney and Juan Hernandez all had multiple hits.

Despite a total of 16 hits, West Michigan only had three go for extra bases. Rainer had the first, starting the scoring with a double in the first. Hurtado also had an RBI single in the opening frame.

Espinal singled in Samuel Gil in the second and drove in Andrew Sojka with a sac fly in the fourth. Rainer’s second hit was an RBI single right after.

The sixth inning was the big one, with five runs crossing. Somehow, Ankeney’s three-run homer was one of just two hits in the frame. The first four batters reached via hit-by-pitch or walk, with Rainier picking up the RBI. Roberto Campos advanced all of the runners with a groundout after a pitching change, and then Ankeney did his thing.

Sojka tripled to leadoff the seventh and scored on a groundout from Hernandez. Fort Wayne traded run No. 12 for a double play, and Gil got West Michigan to a baker’s dozen with a single through the right side. Campos added the final run in the ninth with a single up the middle. Somehow, the TinCaps avoided throwing a position player. I’m not sure why.

Speaking of pitching, Jojo Ingrassia made his organizational debut. He was solid despite loading the bases in the first. A dropped third strike and two walks made things tricky, but he got out of it with a double play. Ingrassia flashed a 90-92 mph fastball that touched 94, an 86-mph changeup and an 84-mph slider. Command was spotty, but he went 1-2-3 in the second. He came out with one out in the third after 44 pitches.

Zack Lee inherited a runner from Ingrassia and gave up an RBI double to make it an earned run. He was otherwise good through the fourth. Win Scott went 1-2-3 in the fifth and worked around a two-out double in the sixth.

Fort Wayne finally put something together in the seventh, with Scott still on the mound. Scott left the game with the bases loaded, but an error helped extend the inning. Only one of the three runs that scored was earned. Ryhan Harvey pitched through the eighth, and Eliseo Mota faced the minimum in the ninth, ending the game on a double play.

Rainer: 2-5, 2B (18), 2 R, 3 RBI, BB, K

Espinal: 3-4, R, 2 RBI, BB

Ankeney: 2-5, HR (2), R, 3 RBI

Ingrassia: 2.1 IP, ER, H, 2 BB, 3 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:35 p.m. ET start on Saturday. West Michigan leads the series, 3-1.

(Gm. 1) Lakeland Flying Tigers 11, Dunedin Blue Jays 1 (box)

Another doubleheader! Unlike Toledo, Lakeland took Game 1 and did so in convincing fashion. The Flying Tigers scored 11 runs on 14 hits in just six innings—no need to play the bottom of the seventh when you’re up by double digits.

Carson Rucker delivered the first of three home runs, a two-run shot with Hayden Yost on second (walk, balk).

Three batters later, Angel De Los Santos hit his own two-run homer, and first outside of rookie ball. Anibal Salas tripled in Jesus Pinto a bit later, giving Lakeland an early 5-0 lead.

The Flying Tigers batted around in the first, bringing Yost back to the plate in the second. He singled, moved to second on a passed ball and scored after stealing third and forcing a bad throw. It’s his 15th stolen base of the season. Chris Meyers doubled in Rucker, who was hit by a pitch.

Meanwhile, Cale Wetwiska worked through 2.2 innings of scoreless ball. He gave up a pair of hits and walked two batters, but four strikeouts evens things out. Maddox Long took over for him in the third, getting the final out of the inning and working into the sixth. Long did about as well as Wetwisk, albeit with half the strikeouts.

After two quiet innings, Lakeland got back to scoring runs in the fifth. Rucker had another big hit, this time with the bases loaded. A bases-clearing double made it 10-0.

De Los Santos didn’t have to wait another six games for his second home run with Lakeland. He went deep again in the sixth with no one on base.

Jan Caraballo got the last out of the sixth and closed things out for the Flygers. He gave up a run in the seventh, breaking up the shutout, but who’s complaining about an 11-1 win? Not me.

Yost: 3-3, 3 R, BB

Rucker: 2-3, HR (11), 2B (8), 2 R, 5 RBI, K

De Los Santos: 3-4, 2 HR (2), 2 R, 3 RBI, K

Wetwiska: 2.2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K

(Gm. 2) Dunedin Blue Jays 6, Lakeland Flying Tigers 0 (box)

Game 2 didn’t go so well, though. Lakeland had just one hit and trailed 6-0 for most of the contest.

Malachi Witherspoon labored through 3.2 innings, giving up six earned runs on two hits and three walks. An RBI double in the first isn’t the worst thing, but following up with walk-HBP-walk-HBP to open the second is. Witherspoon got a ground ball to get the first out and traded another run for the second, but JoJo Parker hit a three-run homer off him to put Dunedin up by six.

At least Witherspoon bounced back by striking out the side in the third, and he would have gotten through the fourth if not for an error. Jose Guzman replaced him and worked through the sixth. He walked a pair but didn’t allow any hits.

Pedro Garcia worked around a double from Parker in the seventh. Parker had all three of the Blue Jays’ hits in this one. It’s an odd overall box score, but that’s what happens in Single-A doubleheaders.

Lakeland’s lone hit came from Jude Warwick in the sixth. It was a leadoff double to right field. At least it wasn’t a no-hitter…

Yost: 0-3, K

Warwick: 1-3, 2B (17), 2 K

Witherspoon (L, 3-5): 3.2 IP, 6 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 4 K, HR

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6 p.m. ET start on Saturday. The series is tied, 2-2.

Meet the Mets

The post-trade deadline Mets continue to be unstoppable, as they began their series against the Pirates with their fourth straight victory. The Amazins were buoyed by a three-run homer from Marcus Semien in their four-run third inning, along with five scoreless innings from Zac Thornton.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, NY Post, Daily News, MLB.com

The one negative from last night was Carson Benge leaving the game with wrist soreness after making a spectacular catch, though initial X-rays were negative.

An even bigger victory occurred off the field yesterday: Mrs. Met was voted into the Mascot Hall of Fame.

The Mets made a roster move yesterday, claiming infielder Gabriel Arias off waivers from the Guardians.

Okay, we’ll bite: what exactly would the Mets need to do to make an improbable playoff run the rest of the way?

Luke Weaver faced his old team last night, and if he had had his way he would have stayed with the Mets.

The Mets may have shipped off a lot of their former players, but the guys who are still here are maintaining the right mindset.

A number of the players acquired by the Mets at the deadline have connections with some of the players already in the organization.

Several of the pitchers in the Mets’ bullpen have something to prove the rest of the way.

Around the National League East

Tyler Mahle delivered a good performance in his Braves debut, but Raisel Iglesias blew the save and the Braves ultimately fell to the Yankees 3-2 in 10 innings to snap Atlanta’s eight-game winning streak.

The Phillies lost to the Blue Jays 5-4 on the same night in which they honored Chase Utley. Very sad, that.

Home runs from Daylen Lile and Harry Ford propelled the Nationals to a 5-3 win over the Reds.

The Marlins lost to the Angels 4-3 last night, with the final out coming on a play at the plate.

Around Major League Baseball

ESPN’s Jeff Passan outlined how the Tarik Skubal trade negotiations played out.

The Tigers may have traded Skubal, but he remains open to signing with them in free agency.

Longtime Athletics general manager David Forst has parted ways with the team.

The Red Sox have gone on a run that has little precedence.

The Twins have called up top infield prospect Kaelen Culpepper to assist with their playoff push.

MLB.com examined which contending teams have the best potential postseason rotation.

Reds pitcher Hunter Greene will be out for the rest of the 2026 season and perhaps even longer after undergoing elbow surgery.

The Dodgers’ losing streak is now at seven games after Edwin Díaz surrendered a walk-off homer to the Diamondbacks.

On the bright side for Los Angeles, Blake Snell is set to make his return next week.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Brian Salvatore previewed the weekend series in Pittsburgh.

Brian and Chris McShane recapped the Mets’ deadline action on the latest episode of Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World Series.

Lukas Vlahos provided a full grading breakdown of the trades the Mets made prior to the deadline.

Joe Sokolowski provided a post-deadline installment of This Week in Mets Quotes.

This Date in Mets History

The Mets traded for one of their more eccentric players in franchise history on this date in 1997 when they acquired Turk Wendell.

Pete Grathoff writes that the decision not to be aggressive sellers was a vote of confidence to the team.

Many fans clamored for the team to tear it down, trading most everyone and starting anew to build around Witt. But Picollo gave the team a vote of confidence, and they appreciate it.

“I think he’s not wrong with that, right?” second baseman Michael Massey said. “I think it’s been a group that was here for a long time. I think ‘24 kind of showed the potential that we have, and obviously last year wasn’t what we wanted, but we were still above .500 and right there in September. I think we were four games out.

“Obviously, this year the wheels kind of fell off a little bit. Part of that’s injuries, part of that just on us not doing a great job, us as players. But yeah, I agree, I think the core is here. I think this is a team that can definitely be right back in at this time next year.”

David Lesky writes about another impressive Noah Cameron start.

Overall, the data looked good. He threw his changeup more than anything after leaning heavily on his cutter in the last two starts. I think it was because he kept trying to find it. But he threw his slider second-most, throwing 22 of them and 23 changeups. For the season, he uses his slider about 10 percent of the time, and last night he used it 21 percent of the time. It’s because it was a dominant pitch, particularly late.

He got seven whiffs on it in 15 swings and allowed just three batted balls against it. Twins hitters saw 13 of them out of the zone, and they swung at eight of those. That’s pretty incredible. I mentioned it in yesterday’s newsletter, but the Twins are a fairly patient offense. To get a chase rate of 62 percent on one pitch and 42 percent overall is very impressive.

Bradford Doolittle at ESPN looks at how each team looks after the trade deadline.

As expected, the Royals didn’t do much at the deadline — there really wasn’t much for them to do. The healthy version of Kansas City’s roster looks moderately more complete than its current Stock Watch ranking suggests, but that’s not to say there isn’t work to be done. Even with the injuries in the rotation — some of which will carry over into next season (Cole Ragans, Stephen Kolek, Luinder Avila) — the Royals have a solid foundation in that group. The challenge will be to deepen the lineup and almost completely revamp the bullpen. It’s a lot to do given what is likely to be limited payroll flexibility and too few prospects pushing up from below.

Aaron Bummer elected free agency rather than assignment to the minors.

Clark Fahrenthold writes that Lucas Braun looked solid, giving up two runs in six innings in his debut for Omaha.

The city advances a proposal to spend $20 million in preparations for a Royals downtown ballpark.

The Kansas City Plan Commission approves rezoning for the project.

The A’s part ways with general manager David Forst.

White Sox manager Will Venable has to pull his starter after one out due to a mound visit blunder.

Tarik Skubal will make his Dodgers home debut on Monday against the Royals, and Blake Snell will return from injury the next day.

The Astros are looking to add right-handed hitting outfielders that have become available.

Former Royals outfielder Joey Wiemer joins the White Sox.

Giants third baseman Matt Chapman will have season-ending surgery.

Reds pitcher Hunter Greene will have right elbow surgery.

Red Sox pitcher Peyton Tolle strikes out 14 as Boston wins their ninth straight.

The Nationals release pitcher Zack Littell.

Are the Red Sox title contenders?

Who are the offseason trade candidates?

Chase Utley is inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame.

Buster Posey responds to a hot mic catching the producer saying he sucks on a TV show.

Glen Powell will play Lou Gehrig in an upcoming Richard Linklater movie.

An autopsy shows Memphis Grizzlies player Brandon Clarke died of a drug overdose.

The Raiders are already having scuffles in practice.

The biggest wellness trends of 2026.

Amanda Knox, once convicted and later acquitted of murder, is drawing heat for her new comedy show.

Burger King overtakes Wendy’s as the nation’s second largest burger chain.

Your song of the day is Boz Scaggs with Lido Shuffle.