Category: MLB

This past weekend, the Athletics finished the homestand on a positive note, winning two of three games against the Texas Rangers for their first series victory at Sutter Health Park since the end of May.

The A’s will look to carry that momentum into this roadtrip, which begins tonight with the first of a four-game series against the Kansas City Royals. Both teams entered this season with playoff expectations, yet find themselves in last place in their respective mediocre divisions with two of the three worst records in the league.

A major reason behind the A’s success against the Rangers was their starting pitching, as all three starters tossed six solid innings, giving the Green and Gold the chance to win each game. Tonight, A’s right-hander Mason Barnett will start the series opener in Kansas City, looking to deliver his best outing since joining the starting rotation and give the team another quality start.

The 25-year-old enters his 18th appearance and fourth start of the season with a 1-3 record, a 6.16 ERA, a 1.45 WHIP and 36 strikeouts over 38 innings. After lasting five innings in his first start a few weeks ago, Barnett has failed to make it past four innings in his last two outings. Most recently, he took the loss against the Tampa Bay Rays, allowing five runs on five hits and three walks over four innings pitched.

With the A’s not receiving an off day in between these two series, the team needs Barnett to pitch efficiently and effectively. Today would be as good a day as any for the youngster to earn his first win as a starting pitcher this year. Additionally, a quality start could help him maintain his place in the rotation. Veteran left-hander Jeffrey Springs will return from the injured list soon. He will likely replace either Barnett or tomorrow’s scheduled starter, Jack Perkins.

Here’s the A’s lineup for this evening’s road trip and series opener:

SS Jacob Wilson has been scratched from tonight's lineup with left shoulder soreness. pic.twitter.com/jc1C5jEU5Y

— A's Communications (@AthleticsPR) August 17, 2026

The A’s starting nine features several players who have been swinging the bat well lately. First baseman Jeff McNeil put together a four-hit night, while center fielder Henry Bolte recorded back-to-back three-hit games.

Right fielder Lawrence Butler is on a much-needed hot streak, homering in four of his past five games. Speaking of home runs, third baseman Tommy White finally lived up to his “Tommy Tanks” nickname by hitting his first major league home run yesterday. Zack Gelof, who will serve as the designated hitter, has been one of this season’s pleasant surprises, from his offensive prowess to his newfound defensive versatility.

Those players will need to capitalize on any scoring opportunities the A’s get today. There may not be many, as the A’s will face Royals right-hander and 2026 MLB All-Star Michael Wacha. The 35-year-old enters his 25th start of the season with a 5-8 record, a 3.46 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP and 117 strikeouts over 150 2/3 innings.

Wacha has gone winless over his past seven starts, although he has pitched well, posting a 3.86 ERA during that stretch. He received a no-decision in his last start against the Los Angeles Dodgers after allowing three runs on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings.

Wacha will look to fare better after losing to the Athletics earlier this season in Sacramento. In that April outing, the veteran pitcher allowed four runs on eight hits over five innings, yet he was facing a more complete lineup than the A’s current injury-depleted group. Will the A’s offense do damage against Wacha again, or will the Royals right-hander shut them down?

And Kansas City’s’ starting nine looks like this:

Opening the homestand with a four-game set vs. the A's. pic.twitter.com/Da1hVH79E4

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) August 17, 2026

The Royals still revolve around shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.,who is one of the best players in the sport. Young slugger Jac Caglianone’s emergence gives Witt protection in the lineup and adds another threat for opposing pitchers. Additionally, Kansas City’s lineup became stronger just in time for this series, as the team activated third baseman Maikel Garcia and first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino from the injured list before the game.

If Barnett wants to have success tonight, he must avoid hanging breaking balls and issuing free passes. That’s what Royals hitters will be looking for, as opposing hitters have teed off on his breaking pitches, hitting five home runs and posting roughly a .545 slugging percentage.

Gotta win today and we need some help to get out of last place. Not just in our division, but in all of baseball. Time to make it two wins in a row. Let’s go A’s!

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The Red Sox, currently in a funk after winning All the Games in July, turn to opener Alec Gamboa in tonight’s game against the Diamondbacks at Fenway. After not losing a series in forever, they’ve dropped consecutive three consecutive slates. A win tonight would help avoid a fourth. Gamboa, making his first career start, will be followed by Brayan Bello, but not be backed up neither by Jahmai Jones, who was a late scratch, nor Jarren Duran, who just ain’t playing. Arizona will roll out rookie Mitch “Balthazar” Bratt in his eighth MLB appearance coming off three strong starts. AZ has a nearly identical record with some really neat players in the lineup in addition to Nolan Arenado, who the Sox wooed this offseason, so this one should be fun.

The D-Backs, apparently on Mountain Daylight Time, didn’t rush their lineups, getting them in fairly late. That’s very annoying because I like to post the lineups, relax, then flip on the game. This time I had to stay glued to the computer after a full day of it. I gotta say tho that Alex Cora was, for a time, the worst offender about this. He’d wait until like 20 minutes before the game started. That sucked! This was a flashback to those times and not a welcome one. And I sat and waited until I realized that none of you wise people care about the D-Backs, and you’d see the lineup during the game. And I was Free. To publish. Go Sox.

Mark Walter is looking to sell another piece of his sports portfolio.

For now, however, there remain no indications that the Dodgers could be next.

Days after Walter’s stunning sale of the Lakers last week, the longtime Dodgers owner was back in the news Monday, when the Financial Times reported that he and business partner Todd Boehly (another Dodgers co-owner) were looking to sell their stakes in Chelsea Football Club of the English Premier League.

Just like last week, when Walter flipped the Lakers amid a federal probe into insurance companies he owns, Monday’s development raised renewed questions about his ownership status of the Dodgers.

However, the expectation within the organization is that Walter is still not planning to sell the MLB franchise, a source with knowledge of the situation told the California Post on Monday.

For now, there’s been no apparent change from the status quo of last week, when Dodgers president Stan Kasten insisted the club’s ownership situation was unaffected by the Lakers sale.

“This is a Lakers story,” Kasten told reporters then. “It’s not really a Dodgers story.”

The exact same can’t be said now, of course, with Boehly and Walter looking to offload ownership stakes in Chelsea that they had held since 2022.

But in this case, at least, the Chelsea sale isn’t coming completely out of the blue, thanks to years of reported strife that Boehly and Walter had with the soccer club’s other chief investors at private equity firm Clearlake Capital (which, notably, counts newly-minted San Diego Padres owner Jose E. Feliciano as one of its co-founders).

According to reports, Boehly and Walter are now considering selling their minority shares of Chelsea to the Clearlake group.

Still, amid the vacuum of information that remains regarding the status of Walter’s business empire and the ongoing investigation into his various companies, speculation about his ownership of the Dodgers will ensue.

Last week, Kasten declared he had “no reason to think” the resources provided to the team by Walter and his Guggenheim ownership group would change –– yet also professed not to have intimate knowledge of Walter’s non-sports businesses nor the investigation into them.

There have also been reports linking Dodger-affiliated companies (including one called “Dodgers Tickets LLC”) to the larger inquiry from federal prosecutors into Walter’s business practices.

It is all contributing to a cloud that continues to hang over the franchise, amid it’s attempt to win a third-consecutive World Series this year.

And while, to this point, there have been no signs of change within the organization, uncertainty still very much abounds in the wake of yet more news surrounding the owner.

Mark Walter, controlling owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, recently surprised the sports world with his sale of the Los Angeles Lakers for $12.5 billion.

The sale triggered some speculation about Shohei Ohtani, who has a clause in his contract that would allow him to opt out if Walter sells the Dodgers.

But Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY Sports reports: A person close to Shohei Ohtani said that even if Walter ... sells the franchise, Ohtani is definitely staying put.

Ohtani, 32, is in the third year of a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers.

Opting out could afford him a chance to find a richer deal elsewhere. Joining the Dodgers has allowed the franchise to cash by signing lucrative marketing contracts with several Japanese companies.

That includes Uniqlo, a global Japanese clothing company that, according to the Los Angeles Times, signed a five-year naming rights deal worth more than $125 million. The payoff: it’s now Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium.

MORE: Mark Walter in talks to sell Chelsea FC stake days after Lakers sale

Ohtani also has delivered on the field, winning the National League MVP awards in 2024 and 2025 while helping lead the Dodgers to back-to-back World Series titles.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shohei Ohtani will stay with Dodgers even if team is sold, says source

Full lineups not yet available. Particularly Boston’s.

Roster moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ 40-man roster remains at 40.

• Reinstated from the 60-day injured list: RHP Justin Martinez (sprained right ulnar collateral ligament)
• Reinstated from the 10-day injured list: OF Jordan Lawlar (strained right hamstring)
• Optioned to Triple-A Reno following yesterday’s game: RHP Gerardo Carrillo + INF Tyler Locklear
• Designated for assignment: RHP Andrew Hoffmann

A lot of moves to get through here, with the return of a long-anticipated bullpen arm topping the moves. The last time Martinez pitched in the major leagues? June 9th, 2025. That’s one year, two months and eight days ago. So it has been a while. He made four rehab appearances, and all reports were, he looked very good. Certainly can’t complain about the numbers. 13 batters faced, one hit and twelve outs, six by the strikeout. He reportedly hit 102.4 mph in one of those outings, so the velocity is certainly there. It’s good to have him back, though I am sure we will see Carrillo again soon: potentially when the rosters expand in two weeks.

Lawlar’s layoff hasn’t been quite as long: just shy of two months since he went on the IL for the second time this year. He also missed two months with a broken wrist earlier in the year, and was back for little more than a week before the hamstring issue send him to the treatment room again. He was hitting .316 with an .856 OPS at that point, albeit over just 44 PA, so hope he can find that form again and stay healthy. Locklear may well also be back in September too, and his numbers this year had certainly been a massive improvement over his first two seasons, with an .806 OPS (albeit also over just 42 PA).

Hoffman loses his 40-man roster spot, after coming from the Royals for Randal Grichuk at the 2025 trade deadline. The numbers haven’t been great, with a 6.08 ERA for Reno, and 7.71 over 11.2 major-league innings. Though he hasn’t actually pitched at all for over two months, his last appearances being June 5, thanks to a lat strain. But among all the moves, one which didn’t happen may be the most significant. Nolan Arenado remains on the roster, so fingers crossed his strained trunk (!) isn’t too bad. According to Gambo, Arenado “may try to grind through the injury.” He’s not in the line-up today, but should be available off the bench if needed.

Medical personnel responded to Butch Huskey’s Oklahoma home Friday morning shortly before the former New York Mets player was pronounced dead at 54 years old, the California Post can exclusively report.

A spokesperson for the Lawton Police Department told The Post on Monday that representatives from both the Lawton Fire Department and Kirk’s Emergency Medical Service were called out to Huskey’s residence in Lawton on the day of his death.

A rep for Kirk’s EMS stated the call was fielded at around 9:28 a.m. for a man suffering from “chest pain.”

The rep added that Huskey was still alive when he was transported from his home to a nearby hospital.

Mets vice president for alumni relations Jay Horwitz later confirmed Friday afternoon that Huskey ultimately died due to a blood clot in his lungs.

“I just want to acknowledge this solemn day with the passing of Butch Huskey this morning,” Mets interim manager Andy Green said after the news was announced. “Just want to send prayers and thoughts to his family. I know all of our Mets family is thinking of him and the people who love him today.” 

Huskey was picked by the Mets in the seventh round of the 1989 MLB draft and he made his Big League debut in 1993.

He played for the team for five seasons, before he finished his career with the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins and Colorado Rockies.

Huskey, a fan favorite in New York, had a career batting average of .267, but he was perhaps most well known for his jersey number.

Huskey donned the No. 42 because of Jackie Robinson, and when MLB universally honored the Dodgers legend by retiring the digits in 1997, Huskey was still allowed to wear it for the duration of his career. In 2024, he said being able to wear the number “meant the world to me.”

Huskey was the second-to-last Met to sport No. 42 — only Mo Vaughn had it in New York after him.

Huskey is survived by his wife and three children.

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After the Cardinals won a close game 1, it’s game 2 of the St. Louis Cardinals day/night doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds Monday night. First pitch scheduled for 5:40pm central time with the game broadcast available via Cardinals.tv.

Mets lineup

A.J. Ewing – LF
Francisco Lindor – SS
Bo Bichette – 3B
Carson Benge – RF
Luis Robert – CF
Jared Young – 1B
Marcus Semien – 2B
Jorge Polanco – DH
Francisco Alvarez – C

SP: Nolan McLean – RHP

Padres lineup

Fernando Tatis – RF
Jake Cronenworth – 2B
Manny Machado – 3B
Ty France – 1B
Jackson Merrill – CF
Luis Campusano – C
Gavin Sheets – DH
Xander Bogaerts – SS
Luis Rengifo – LF

SP: Walker Buehler – RHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 7:10 PM ET
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

San Diego Padres (67-58) at New York Mets (56-69), August 17, 2026, 4:10 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Citi Field – Flushing, NY

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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Live from New York. pic.twitter.com/BRC4yZJixJ

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 17, 2026

Tonight's starters ⚾️ #LGMpic.twitter.com/LHZnp85tW6

— New York Mets (@Mets) August 17, 2026

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Shohei Ohtani may have a clear path to the National League MVP award, according to the reporting of USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale.

The Dodgers anticipate Shohei Ohtani will be pitching again in September barring any setbacks, according to Nightengale, who writes that the two-way star “should also clinch his fifth MVP award as he returns to being a two-way player.’’

Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is the other leading candidate for NL MVP.

Ohtani, 32, has not pitched since July 3 because of inflammation in his left knee. He is 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 85 2/3 innings.

On Friday, Aug.14, he threw 35 pitches during a bullpen session.

"He used his entire mix (of pitches)," Dodgers manager Roberts told the media. "He felt encouraged."

The knee issue has not kept Ohtani out of the lineup as a designated hitter. He leads the Dodgers with 27 home runs, 77 runs scored, an on-base percentage of .388 and a slugging percentage of .540.

As a hitter and a pitcher, Ohtani has a combined WAR of 6.3.

Ohtani won the AL MVP with the Angels in 2021 and 2023 and won the NL MVP with the Dodgers in 2024 and 2025.

Crow-Armstrong leads the Cubs’ regulars with 28 home runs, 75 RBIs, an on-base percentage of .374 and a slugging percentage of .533.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shohei Ohtani's return to mound could seal another NL MVP award

Detroit Tigers vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, August 17, 2026, 7:05 p.m. ET

The Pittsburgh Pirates are continuing their home stand at PNC Park as they host the Detroit Tigers for a three-game set. The first matchup of the series is getting the national TV treatment in ESPN’s edition of Monday Night Baseball.

Taking the mound for the Pirates is Carmen Mlodzinski, who is making his third start since returning to the rotation earlier this month in replacement of Mitch Keller, who is out for the rest of the season. Mlodzinski is slowly working his way back towards pitching like a starter, but he has struggled in his first two starts, failing to make it into the fourth inning in either appearance. In his last start against the Miami Marlins on August 12, he pitched 2.1 innings, giving up five hits and four earned runs in an 8-2 loss.

The Pirates will face off against Tigers’ left-hander Framber Valdez, who is in his first season with the Tigers after spending eight seasons with the Houston Astros, becoming a two-time All-Star and a World Series champion.

Valdez has not pitched his best since arriving in Detroit, going 7-8 with a 4.26 ERA, the first time since the 2019 season that he’s had an ERA above 4. He’s coming off a loss in his last start against the Cleveland Guardians on August 12, pitching 5.2 innings, giving up six hits and four earned runs, and losing 6-4.

Location: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, ESPN

Pitching Matchup: Framber Valdez (7-8, 4.26 ERA) vs. Carmen Mlodzinski (6-5, 3.79 ERA)

BD community, chime off in the comments section below.

Cristopher Sanchez beats Miami, takes over MLB lead with his 16th win originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

After a road trip that took them from hazy, hot and humid St. Louis to the cornfields of Iowa and finally to a weekend in the city where Mary Tyler Moore once tossed her hat in the air, the Phillies returned to Citizens Bank Park to begin an important six-game homestand Monday night.

They had the guy they wanted on the mound.

Lefty Cristopher Sanchez entered the series opener against the Miami Marlins tied for the major-league lead with 15 wins, 10 of which had come at home.

Those numbers got better after Sanchez helped the Phillies beat the Marlins, 6-5.

Sanchez pitched six innings of one-run ball and took over the major-league lead with his 16^th win, one more than Boston’s Sonny Gray.

For the season, Sanchez is 16-4 with a 2.51 ERA in 26 starts.

He is 11-1 with a 1.42 ERA in 15 starts at home.

For his career, he is 29-9 with a 2.43 ERA in 73 games (64 starts) at Citizens Bank Park.

If the Phils stay on their regular rotation, Sanchez should make seven more starts as he tries to win 20 games. There were no 20-game winners in the majors the last two seasons. Roy Halladay was the last Phillie to reach the plateau when he won 21 in 2010.

“It would be an honor to be in position to get 20 wins, but my first thought and my first goal is to throw as many quality innings as I can for the team and always leave the team in a good position to win games when I’m on the mound,” Sanchez said. “After that, if that mark happens, I’ll take it, of course, and it would be an honor.”

Sanchez has had sharper outings. He allowed 11 base runners on eight hits (seven of which were singles) and three walks, but he got outs when he needed them most. Three times he registered the third out of an inning with two runners on base. Two of those came on a strikeout.

“They’re a contact-oriented team,” Sanchez said. “I just tried to get as many zeroes on the board as I could. That was the main goal tonight.”

Manager Don Mattingly said, “I thought Sanchie was good. That’s kind of what he does. He gets some traffic but hangs in there and gets the ball on the ground. He almost gets a triple play there in (the fifth) inning.”

Sanchez left with a 4-1 lead, but the Marlins scored a pair of two-out runs against Jonathan Bowlan in the seventh. It could have been worse. Javier Sanoja’s bases-loaded, two-run double was initially ruled foul. It was overturned by replay officials in New York, who called for runners to be placed at second and third. Had the play initially been called correctly, three runs would have scored and the game would have been tied at 4-4. Marlins’ manager Clayton McCullough didn’t care for the call and was ejected.

The Phillies put a run on the board in the bottom of the seventh to extend their lead to two runs, but ended up leaving the bases loaded. The Marlins again made it a one-run game when Brian Navarretto homered against reliever Brooks Raley in the eighth. Orion Kerkering came on and got out of the inning, preserving a one-run lead, and Alec Bohm once again extended it to two runs with a base hit in the bottom of the inning. Bohm’s hit scored Bryce Harper, who reached base four times on three hits and a walk.

Derek Hill came off the bench and had two RBIs late in the game on a base hit and a bases-loaded walk.

“They kept coming,” Mattingly said of the Marlins. “It seemed like every time they scored, we were able to answer back, which was huge.”

The day after throwing a season-high 33 pitches in Minneapolis, Jhoan Duran pitched the ninth. He allowed a run but ended up with his 27^th save.

The victory was the Phillies’ fourth in a row as they moved into sole possession of the second NL wild card spot, a game up on San Diego. The Padres hold the third and final spot by a game over Arizona. Miami and St. Louis are both three games behind the Padres.

The Phillies have two more games remaining against the Marlins before hosting St. Louis in a weekend series. With 36 games remaining, it would behoove the Phils to have a good homestand and keep the Marlins and Cardinals from creeping upward.

“We’re on a day-to-day basis now,” Mattingly said. “It’s not like win a series. It’s more like win every day no matter who we play. That’s just where we’re at.”

Today’s roster moves: Here

Monday notes…

• NOT GOING FIRST: The Cubs have not scored a run in the first inning of their last six games. They haven’t even made a hit, going out in order in five games and earning a pair of walks in the other. They made a sacrifice fly and a forceout to end the first inning of the game before the streak started, so they have been hitless in 22 consecutive first-inning PA. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• GOING FIRST: The Cubs have won their last five games when facing an opponent for the first time, including the one-game make-up vs. the Blue Jays. They have won seven of eight, raising their record for the season in first games to 21-20. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• AGAINST WINNING TEAMS: The Cubs are 32-25 in games in which their opponents began with a winning record. They had won four in a row before losing yesterday. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: Kyle Hendricks throws six strong innings and Ian Happ’s sixth-inning homer is the difference in a 2-1 Cubs win over the Reds that breaks a 12-game losing streak that followed the big selloff in 2021. It happened five years ago today, Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021.

The Cubs lineup was not available at posting time. Please check BCB social media for the Cubs lineup.

White Sox lineup:

Road trip up North pic.twitter.com/hQczNXsY5y

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 17, 2026

Shōta Imanaga, LHP vs. Luis Castillo, RHP

Shōta Imanaga had a rough outing his last time out against the Nationals but still has a 2.49 ERA and 1.125 WHIP over his last 11 starts covering 61.1 innings.

He has not faced the White Sox this year. Here’s the start he made against them last year, July 25, 2025 at Rate Field. Please don’t click on that boxscore link. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Hi there, Luis Castillo! The new White Sox starter is quite familiar to us after all those years with the Reds. He has made 18 career starts against the Cubs, though the last was more than two years ago, April 14, 2024 at Wrigley Field while with the Mariners.

Currently active Cubs are batting .273 (24-for-88) against Castillo with four home runs. Nico Hoerner is 6-for-11 (.545) against him and Alex Bregman, Michael Conforto, Michael Busch and Ian Happ account for the four homers.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around Wrigley Field.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. It’s also on CHSN and WCIU-Ch. 26 with the Sox announcers.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation White Sox site South Side Sox. If you do go there to interact with Sox fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

After the disappointment of last night and dropping yet another contest on Peacock in front of a nationwide viewing audience, I decided to call the one man in Houston who could bolster all of collective spirits.    That man is Geoff Blum, the 3-time Emmy Award Winner from Space City Home Network.   Geoff joins us exclusively at The Crawfish Boxes.   

Q:  125 games are in the books.    What’s your overall assessment of things?

A: The Astros are in good position.   They’re sitting atop the A.L. West.    One thing I’ve learned about watching this team and this organization and being around the guys in the clubhouse, is they do not panic.  It’s easy on the outside to point to a series or a specific game but when you are playing 162 games, you put things into a greater context.    There’s still plenty of time to either secure the top spot or lose it, but I’ve learned over the years not to panic with these guys.

Q: With Hunter, there was that stretch where we issued a series of walks.    Do you sense that something is going on with his mechanics, or is it focus?   

A: I do think it’s a little bit of the mechanics.    When guys come back from injury, the body just isn’t the same which is true of anybody, it can be a position player or a pitcher.    Your body reacts and there’s a recovery process.   Hunter Brown is hyper competitive, and he’ll go out there and find a way to do it.    

Q: So, you’re not concerned at all with Hunter Brown down the stretch?

A: The velocity is there.    Some of his pitches last night were amazing.    It’s just a matter of him dialing it in consistently.

Q:  Where would the Astros be without Peter Lambert?

A: Without Peter Lambert, the Astros are not sitting in first place.    He’s become the anchor of the rotation.    He’s become consistent even with his quiet and humble demeanor.    I appreciate his workmanship, his consistency and all that he’s done this season.  

Go Rays!