Category: MLB

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

This week’s question asked you about Termarr Johnson. The second baseman in the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system hasn’t quite lived up to his first-round status and is hitting just .239 for his five years in the Minor Leagues and is now down with what is being termed a “serious” injury.

What we asked this week was do you think Termarr Johnson is going to be a bust? Here are the results:

A full 82 percent of Bucs fans are ready to give up on Termarr as a bust for the Pirates. I am definitely behind that. It’s interesting to think that the Bucs took Henry Davis and Termarr Johnson in back-to-back years with designs on improving their hitting, and now neither one of them can hit a lick. That’s an organizational development failure. But that’s a convo for another day.

Don’t forget to check out FanDuel as we head down the season’s home stretch. The Bucs currently sit a six games back in the Wild Card despite winning two games in a row, but you can still grab some MLB Playoff odds and props on home run hitters, leaders, etc…

Thanks for voting. We’ll be back soon with more Reacts!

The theory is things even out over a 162-game season. Yet in the American League West, everyone's finding out the only water level they're going to reach still has them submerged.

Major League Baseball's worst division could have restored some pride to the AL this weekend, when three teams played interleague series and another staged a rematch of the 2025 ALCS. Instead, the Astros, Rangers, Mariners, Athletics and Angels went a combined 3-12, the latter three getting swept.

And the Mariners continued their stunning downfall.

They got trucked in Toronto, where ill-timed pitching changes and an offense prone to disappearing - the Mariners were one-hit over seven innings by 42-year-old Max Scherzer - led to a sweep. The preseason AL favorites dropped to 64-73 and down to No. 25 in USA TODAY Sports' power rankings.

Are they out of the playoff picture? Of course not! They're still in the AL, which means 13 losses in 21 games barely puts a dent in your hopes. Seattle's five games back in both the wild card and West chases. And congrats to the Astros, who clawed above .500 and perhaps might win the division with a non-losing record.

Check back in a month.

A look at our updated rankings:

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: The Yankees are off to the West Coast, and Aaron Judge is coming with them. The plan is for Judge to really start ramping up this week, including taking on-field batting practice. “Hopefully out there, he’ll start to get on velocity and things like that,” Aaron Boone said. “He’ll be part of the pregame stuff and just get more entrenched into getting ready to come back.” Though it’d be a major surprise to see Judge play during this trip, it seems possible that the team’s next homestand could see him return.

ESPN | Jorge Castillo: Rookie George Lombard Jr. left Saturday night’s game after tweaking his knee, and though he’s avoided any structural damage, he’s could still hit the injured list. “It feels fine,” Lombard said. “It’s definitely better than yesterday. It felt a little stiff, and there’s still a little soreness, a little inflammation in there, but not terrible.” Jose Caballero, who was the starting shortstop for the first several weeks of the season, started at short on Sunday. Anthony Volpe is also biding his time at Triple-A, with the erstwhile starter at short having moved around the infield in the last month, taking several starts at second, and even starting at third over the weekend.

New York Post | Mark W. Sanchez: The Yankees called up Luis Gil yesterday, the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year giving the club a fresh arm and taking Yerry De los Santos’ spot on the roster. Things are set up for the Yankees to have something of a bullpen audition in September, as there’s plenty of room in Aaron Boone’s Circle of Trust. Gil could toss his name into the mix, as could Clarke Schmidt, who made a rehab appearance over the weekend. Most everything is up for grabs beyond David Bednar, Brent Headrick and Paul Blackburn, so anyone that performs well over the season’s final month could become a factor come October.

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

In the end, it was not close. To be honest, that was to be expected.

Ty France was the overwhelming answer to the Gaslamp Ball Reacts Survey poll question this week. “Who has been more impressive so far this season?” Respondents had the choices of France, Luis Campusano, Walker Buehler or Bradgley Rodriguez. Looking back, it would have been appropriate to add Yuki Matsui to the list of candidates as well, but France would probably remain the top choice.

The right-handed slugger has been stellar defensively for the Padres this season, despite a bobble on a play on Saturday night. The fielders, Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth all seem to enjoy having a Gold Glove Award winner manning first base. It allows them to make throws without the pressure of having to make them perfect. France himself is not perfect, but more often than not, if he can get to a throw he does and that results in more outs and less traffic on the bases for San Diego pitchers.

France came into the 2026 season as a minor league invite, but he has taken full advantage of his second opportunity with the Padres. There is no reason to think he would not receive a multi-year contract offer that would start in 2027 if the season is not lost due to a lockout. France added to his season totals with a home run int the second game of the series against the Tampa Bay Rays. He is currently hitting .287 after 355 at-bats. He has 19 home runs with 59 RBI and 47 runs scored. France has also walked 30 times. He has been entrenched as the No. 4 hitter in the San Diego lineup and there have been calls from some fans the the Padres to slide him up to the No. 3 spot in front of Machado who has been struggling as of the late.

If France can continue his level of play he should be rewarded in the offseason, but for now his ability to maintain his level of play could be a key factor in whether or not the Padres make the postseason.

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Longtime baseball reporter Francys Romero reported Sunday evening that Cuban OF Lazaro Montes will be called up to the Seattle Mariners, with Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reporting that the move is expected ahead of Tuesday’s game in Boston, coinciding with the expansion of rosters to 28 for September call-ups. Montes is in transit to Boston but is not necessarily expected to be activated for Monday’s series opener at the Red Sox.

Montes has been one of the most powerful sluggers in the minor leagues since arriving in pro ball after training in the Dominican Republic as a teenager. Progressing through the same program that produced Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez, the comparisons for the titanic lefty have been common. They’re not quite accurate, however. Montes is a huge kid, a 21 year old listed at 6’5, 210 whose frame is as massive as his smile. Like Alvarez, while he moves well for his size, his gait and foot speed are never going to reflect as plus defensively, though Montes has good baseline athleticism that helps him make many 50/50 plays despite middling range. Moreover, his arm is absolutely massive, a profile similar to an early-career Nelson Cruz. Not just that, but Montes is a high-effort player in all phases, occasionally stunning opponents with his pace and hustle.

But that’s not the main thing Lazaro Montes is all about. The reason he’s been a top-100 prospect and one of the most anticipated hitting prospects in years for Seattle is gargantuan power that’s seen him club 21 homers in 2024 across 542 PA at a teenager, then 32 a season ago between High-A and Double-A, and now 38 big flies in 537 PA across Arkansas and Triple-A Tacoma. At every level, Montes has been a variation of highly consistent, slugging massively, walking prominently, and whiffing most of the time he’s not doing one of those two options.

It’s made for a fascinating profile, with a .247/.365/.556 line this season that features a 14.3% walk rate and a 30.7% strikeout rate. The in-zone contact rate on Montes’ swings (and contact rate overall) is poor enough that there are plenty of folks who simply don’t think he can be a big leaguer in an effective long-term capacity, despite doing devastating damage most of the time he makes contact. Montes has a 71.1% in-zone contact rate and 64.4% contact overall on swings in his ~200 plate appearances with the Rainiers, where Statcast data is tracked throughout the Pacific Coast League publicly. The only qualified hitter worse than that at the big league level is 1B Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox, who is at 70.5% and 60.7% respectively. Nobody else is below 77% for in-zone contact, and even if you drop the big league split to minimum of 200 PAs, it’s only Murakami lower.

The key for Montes is what he does on contact. His hard hit rate in Tacoma is 56.8% per Statcast, which is again a number in company with only Murakami, James Wood, Oneil Cruz, Nick Kurtz, Pete Alonso, and Aaron Judge. His hardest hit ball in Triple-A this year is 116.3 MPH, which ties Wood, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Elly De La Cruz for 8th-hardest in MLB all year. His average exit velocity would be third-highest in MLB behind just Cruz and Wood, right ahead of Yordan. The more likely outcome than instant stardom is something closer to what we’ve seen from Jordan Walker, Coby Mayo, or Jac Caglianone, all of whom share similar offensive profiles, explosive strength, and risk of whiff in their swing.

The choice of Montes makes sense in terms of production, he’s crushed every level at every age he’s been assigned. His profile, however, is an intriguing one to see, and may be indicative of Seattle’s willingness to hope for a hail mary, looking to Lazaro to bring their season back from the dead with a deluge of big flies. Being called up in September will not impact Montes’ ability to be a rookie in 2027, nor disrupt his eligibility for the Prospect Promotion Incentive picks the have ample value to clubs. Whether Montes posts daily or in a part-time role may depend on what the M’s are valuing in their final month of play.

It was the non-catch that kicked off a five-run inning and has the Red Sox irate, especially after the Yankees completed a 16-1 win over Boston in The Bronx.

Ceddanne Rafaela was emphatic Sunday that he had indeed made a diving catch that would have led to the Red Sox outfielder turning a double play.

With a runner on first, Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a fly ball into right-center field in the fifth inning that sent Rafaela to try to make the diving catch.

While it appeared that he did, and Rafaela certainly felt like he did, the umpires ruled that he had trapped the ball and therefore the runners were on first and second. A video review also upheld the call on the field.

“I didn’t have to even watch it,” Rafaela told reporters, according to ESPN. “I know I made the catch. I know when a ball drops and a ball don’t drop. And I know I made the catch.”

Rafaela also took to social media to call out the ruling, posting a zoomed-in image of the ball in his glove along with text that stated that “it’s a man above that saw it.”

He told reporters that he was “mad in the moment” because he wanted to help his pitcher.

“I feel that changed the whole game right there,” Rafaela added

Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy made it a point to note that the video review did not confirm the original call; rather, it merely upheld it.

“I know when you hear ‘call stands,’ not ‘call confirmed,’ that’s a pretty good indicator that they’re saying it’s very difficult to see anything on video for us to overturn on the field,” he said. “So, if you hear ‘call confirmed,’ that’s different. That’s not what you heard.

“We in the dugout feel like our center fielder caught the ball. But if they don’t have anything that they can definitively overturn it, that’s usually where you end up and obviously it’s frustrating.”

The Yankees went on to add runs in the sixth and seventh innings and then scored nine runs in the bottom of the eighth to cement the win.

Yes, Pete Crow-Armstrong blasted another pair of homers on Sunday night just 24 hours after he hit a trio of bombs off Cincinnati Reds pitching during Saturday’s 17-5 embarrassment by the Chicago Cubs. Yes, the Chicago Cubs jumped out to an immediate lead in the process, as PCA’s first blast of the night came in the Bottom of the 1st off Reds ace Chase Burns to open the game’s ledger.

From there on, though, the scrappy Cincinnati club took matters into their own hands on the Sunday Night Baseball national stage, and in doing so head home after a long three-city road trip west with as series victory on which they can most definitely hang their hats.

Hector Rodriguez helped turn the tide with a massive left-on-left three-run homer over the RF wall in Wrigley Field, and both Dane Myers and Tyler Stephenson followed in the Top of the 5th with moonshot blasts into the bleachers beyond the LF wall.

Then, Sal Stewart went to work on the Chicago bullpen in the Top of the 7th with a solo shot out to CF that carried some 418 feet. That blast meant the NL Rookie of the Year frontrunner officially homered in each game of the series.

That gave the Reds a 7-spot, and that was enough for their pitching staff to hold onto in the eventual 7-5 win.

Burns, to his credit, shrugged off the rain delay and early poor umpiring to pour in 5.2 IP of 2 ER ball on exactly 100 pitches before being pulled. He had PCA struck out in their first PA against one another in the Bottom of the 1st in a steady rain, but the home plate ump missed the call (and Stephenson opted against challenging in the game’s first PA for his pitcher), and PCA hit his homer on the very next pitch.

The lone real blemish on an otherwise impressive night by the young core of the Reds was that Elly De La Cruz exited early after hustling down the 1B line out of the box. He was pretty clearly in at least a bit of discomfort, and it was later reported that he’s got some quad tightness.

Fortunately, it appears all parties may be mostly OK. Charlie Goldsmith reported after the game that manager Terry Francona has some confidence that Elly may even be right back in the lineup as early as tomorrow.

Reds 7, Cubs 5, and the vibes sit about as good as they can given everything else that’s fallen by the wayside so far in 2026.

Over the past month, Carson Benge’s case has strengthened. Over the past 28 games entering play Sunday, the Mets outfielder carved out a place in the National League’s Rookie of the Year race with a .952 OPS and an NL-leading 38 hits.

Benge hasn’t thought about his name continuing to pop up in chatter surrounding the award, but “[I] definitely do want it,” he told The Post before the Mets (61-76) lost 6-3 to the Astros. If he won the honor, it’d make him the first Met to do so since Pete Alonso in 2019 and just the third rookie from the franchise this century to take it, joining Alonso and Jacob deGrom (2014). But he’ll need to surge past the other candidates, including the Cardinals’ JJ Wetherholt, the Reds’ Sal Stewart and the Mets’ Nolan McLean, and extend his own tear across the final month of the season.

“It’d be cool,” Benge said before going 0-for-4 as the Mets capped a six-game homestand at Citi Field. “There’s plenty of good rookies around the NL, with one being in our locker room and the conversation, too, but it’d be pretty cool to win it over all those guys.”

It’ll be challenging for Benge to separate from the field. Wetherholt, the St. Louis infielder who went on the injured list Sunday with right wrist tendinitis, has hit .242 with a .743 OPS and the sixth-best bWAR among NL position players (4.6). Stewart, 22, just became the first Reds rookie in franchise history to record a season with at least 30 homers and 100 RBIs, and he entered play Sunday with an MLB-leading 104 RBIs — one of two players in the league to hit the century mark.

And McLean, who stumbled early in the season, has collected a 1.76 ERA across his last 11 starts, with the most recent one unfolding Saturday when he allowed just two hits and an unearned run against the Astros.

But then there’s Benge, who has impressed with both his bat and his arm. He played his way onto the Opening Day roster with a strong spring training and then never lost his spot. He became the first Mets rookie since Darryl Strawberry in 1983 to have 15 homers and 15 stolen bases in the same season, and he sits at 16 homers and 54 RBIs for the year. Benge’s right arm has produced outfield assists clocked at 99.9 mph and 103.9 mph.

“I think [he] definitely belongs in the conversation right now with the guy who pitched last night for us,” interim manager Andy Green said Sunday of Benge and McLean. “I know there’s other good rookies throughout the game. I think Carson, throughout the year, shows the ability to bounce back from tough moments really well. Really talented hitter. Can hit any pitch at any time. Even as he goes through funks, he maintains like the right perspective and the right attitude and the right approach.

“I think we knew that’s who he was. It’s great to see it play out on a big league field in the first season.”
Benge said he doesn’t think about what might allow him to stand out from others in contention for the award. He’ll let whoever votes judge that. He hasn’t talked to McLean, a teammate at Oklahoma State before their climb through the minors and to the Mets, about it either.

It might be tough to unseat Stewart, who has the numbers. It might be tough to topple Wetherholt, even if he misses chances to add to his stats while injured. But with his recent tear, Benge has at the very least entered the conversation, inching closer to something the 23-year-old said he thought was possible from when he first started working toward cracking the Mets roster back in spring training.

“I think if not,” Benge said of that thought, “I’m selling myself short. If you’re gonna try and come into the league and not do anything, be average to below average, I don’t think you’re doing it right.”

For most of the season, my attention stays pretty firmly on the Colorado Rockies.

That will not change down the stretch, but the losses are starting to stack up again. The Rockies are 4-11 over their last 15 games, and that can get frustrating.

Sometimes it is nice to look up and see what else is happening around baseball, and as the calendar nears September, it is a good time to do exactly that.

Fortunately, baseball’s final month looks to hold plenty of intrigue, both in the standings and on individual leaderboards.

While not a particularly good division, the AL West might be the least settled division race of all. Houston sits at 69-68, just one game above .500. Texas is 67-70 and two games back, while Seattle sits at 64-73 and five games out. Houston does not exactly look interested in running away with the division, but Texas and Seattle have not shown much desire to take it from them, either. Personally, I would not mind a Houston-less October.

Then there are the White Sox. Two years removed from losing 121 games, Chicago is 72-64 and leads the 69-68 Guardians by 3.5 games in the AL Central. Can they finish off one of baseball’s more unexpected division titles — or can the Rockies perhaps play spoilers in the final days of the season?

Both Wild Card races still leave room for a late surprise. Cleveland holds the final AL spot, but Baltimore is just one game back, Toronto is 1.5 out and Texas sits two back. In the NL, Arizona holds the final spot by just a half-game over San Diego, while Miami remains 3.5 games out.

Meanwhile, Yordan Alvarez enters the stretch run hitting .320 with 37 home runs and 93 RBI. He leads the American League in all three categories, putting a Triple Crown firmly within reach.

On the mound, Jacob Misiorowski owns a 1.73 ERA with 222 strikeouts in 151 innings. If he can stay below 2.00 and reach 250 strikeouts, he would be the first pitcher to accomplish both since Jacob deGrom in 2018.

And the National League home run race is of particular interest to us Rockies fans. Kyle Schwarber leads the league with 40, Matt Olson has 37, and Hunter Goodman is tied with Pete Crow-Armstrong at 36. Goodman has already produced two three-homer games this season, so we know he can hit them in bunches.

Those are a few things I will be watching.

What about you? What race, milestone, player or team has your attention as we head into September?

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks! 

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were thunderstruck by the Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals), 3-1.

The I-Cubs got a very good start from Javier Assad, who allowed just one run on three hits over 5.1 innings. Assad struck out five and walked no one.

Jaxon Wiggins gave the I-Cubs 1.2 innings of scoreless relief. Wiggins allowed one hit. He did not walk anyone and struck out one. Since moving to the bullpen, Wiggins has thrown 6.2 scoreless innings and has allowed just two hits.

Antoine Kelly got the loss when he allowed two runs on two hits over two-thirds of an inning in the top of the ninth. Kelly walked three and struck out one.

Iowa’s lone run came on a solo home run by second baseman James Triantos in the fourth inning. It was Triantos’ ninth home run this season. Today, he went 2 for 4.

Catcher Owen Ayers was 1 for 3 and was hit by a pitch.

Assad was helped by some great defense in right field from Chas McCormick.

Then he did it again with Wiggins on the mound.

Triantos’ home run.

Heads up play by Ayers. He also was 1 for 2 throwing out runners trying to steal today.

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies cracked open the Biloxi Shuckers (Brewers), 12-2.

Connor Schultz started and lasted four innings, allowing two runs on six hits. He struck out four and did not walk anyone.

Yenrri Rojas handled the next two innings, didn’t allow a run on one hit, and got the win because Schultz didn’t go five. Rojas walked one and struck out one.

First baseman Edgar Alvarez had a huge night, going 3 for 5 with a double and a solo home run in the second inning. It was Alvarez’s 11th home run this year. Alvarez had four total RBI and scored twice.

DH Miguel Useche was 3 for 4 with a double. He drove in two and scored once.

Alex Madera went 2 for 4 with a two-run triple and a walk. Madera scored one run.

Alvarez’s home run.

Two-run single for Useche.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs were bitten by the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Brewers), 11-10.

Anhuar Garcia threw the first four innings and surrendered two runs on six hits. Garcia struck out five and walked no one, so that makes a decent line look even better.

JP Wheat gave up three runs in the bottom of the eighth, as well as two inherited runners allowed two score, to take the loss. Wheat’s final line was three runs on four hits over two-thirds of an inning. He did not walk anyone and he struck out one.

Catcher Logan Poteet hit two home runs this afternoon. The first one came with a man on in the fourth inning and the second one was a solo shot in the top of the ninth. Poteet now has 21 home runs this year, seven of which came with South Bend. Poteet was 3 for 4 with a walk and four runs scored.

Right fielder Alexey Lumpuy went back-to-back with Poteet in the ninth as South Bend got a two-out rally going again. Lumpuy also had a bases-loaded triple in the seventh inning and an RBI single in the sixth for five total RBI. Lumpuy went 3 for 5 with the triple, the home run and a stolen base.

Center fielder Leonel Espinoza was 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI single. He also scored one run.

DH Kade Snell went 3 for 5 with a steal. He scored three times.

First baseman Josiah Hartshorn was 1 for 2 with two walks, a stolen base and a sac fly. He scored one run.

Poteet’s first home run.

Lumpy’s three-run triple.

Poteet’s second home run and Lumpuy’s back-to-back blast.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans four-putted against the Augusta Green Jackets (Braves), 10-8.

The Pelicans got off to a good start with Freddy Rodriguez, who allowed just one run on two hits over four innings. The one run came on a second-inning home run. Rodriguez walked three and struck out four.

Fenuel James then pitched the next three innings and retired all nine batters he faced. He struck out three.

The wheels came off when the Pelicans held an 8-1 lead going into the bottom of the eighth and they allowed nine runs in the inning to blow the game. Jhon Cabral allowed five runs on three hits and two walks without retiring a batter. The loss then went to John Alkire II who did managed to get three outs, but not before giving up two inherited runners and four runs of his own. Alkire gave up three hits and two walks. He struck out one.

DH Alexis Hernandez hit a solo home run in the sixth inning, his third on the season. Hernandez came a triple shy of the cycle as he was 3 for 4 with a double and the home run. He had two runs batted in and scored twice.

Third baseman Derniche Valdez homered twice with solo shots in the sixth and eighth innings. Valdez went 2 for 4. He now has ten home runs this season.

Valdez’s home run in the eighth came back-to-back with a solo home run by center fielder Darlyn De Leon, who hit his fourth home run with a man on. De Leon went 1 for 4.

Second baseman Juan Cabada was 2 for 5.

Eli Lovich with an RBI double. Lovich was 1 for 4.

Ex-Pelican Cristian Hernandez’s little brother goes deep.

Home run number one for Valdez.

The back-to-black blasts by De Leon and Valdez.

DETROIT — Sunday was set up to be one of those days where Shohei Ohtani changes the narrative:

About the uncertainty surrounding his health; after the ongoing challenges with knee and biceps injuries this weekend threw his pitching plans back into a dubious flux. About his imperiled chances in the National League MVP race — following a three-homer outburst from chief competitor Pete Crow-Armstrong the day before.

And, mostly, about his own underwhelming play over recent weeks, in which his lack of form at the plate has amplified the Dodgers’ teamwide slump.

This time, however, there was no magic from the 32-year-old superstar; no towering swing nor transformational moment to remind the baseball world of his stature as its premier player.

Instead, while the rest of his club enjoyed a sigh of relief in a 6–1 win over the Detroit Tigers, Ohtani suffered an 0-for-5 clunker that dropped him to 5-for-40 over his last 10 games.

“Obviously,” manager Dave Roberts said, “we still got to get Shohei on track.”

Sunday mirrored many of Ohtani’s recently underwhelming performances: There was poor pitch selection, leading to his 11th multi-strikeout game out of 27 this month. There was a flawed approach with his swing even when he did make contact, leading to three batted balls that, despite being hit hard, all failed to escape the infield. 

As a result, Ohtani’s numbers aren’t looking as formidable as they once did: His batting average is down to .280 — the lowest it has been since the end of May. His .908 OPS still ranks top-five in the majors, but would mark his worst in a season since 2022.

More importantly, Ohtani’s OPS is also now well behind Crow-Armstrong’s, which rose to .944 following his tour de force Saturday.

Side by side, the stat lines of the two MVP candidates no longer look quite so similar as Ohtani is slashing .280/.379/.529 with 30 home runs and 80 RBIs while Crow-Armstrong is up to .282/.377/.567 with 36 home runs and 89 RBIs.

More than that, Crow-Armstrong also continues to pace Ohtani in value-based advanced metrics like wins-above-replacement (9.1 to 6.9, per Fangraphs), thanks to the surplus value he generates as the game’s top center fielder. 

After three consecutive, unanimous MVP honors, and four total in his career, Ohtani has gone this year from frontrunner to next-best.

Ohtani was supposed to begin chipping away at that deficit Sunday, of course, when he was originally expected to return to pitching for the first time since early July. However, continued problems with his knee and biceps scuttled those plans. And now, whether he even returns to the mound this season appears to at least be somewhat in question.

For the Dodgers, the bigger priority is getting his offense back on track first.

“Once we get him going,” Roberts said, “[our offense is] going to be fun to watch.”

As he’s done all year during Ohtani’s return to a full-time two-way role, Roberts downplayed the correlation between his star player’s recent pitching ramp-up and decline in offensive production.

The skipper said Sunday that Ohtani’s problems are isolated to a variety of routine hitting flaws.

“Sometimes he’s taking balls that are good pitches to hit, then expanding. Other times, I think the direction, the intent is a little too much to the pull side,” Roberts said. “So I think with Shohei, it’s a combo.”

Where Ohtani’s pitching plan could impact his hitting, however, is in the way he dedicates his limited time over the rest of the regular season.

Every hour spent playing catch in the outfield, or grinding through a bullpen session, or (if he does get back in the Dodgers’ rotation) preparing for a start is one he can’t spend working on his swing, or getting extra time in the batting cages, or maximizing his potential as the game’s most fearsome slugger.   

Team officials are conscious of that balance, and it will be taken into account once they return to Los Angeles this week and decide on next steps for Ohtani as a pitcher.

“Hopefully we can get home, get him in a better spot physically, mentally, whatever it is,” Roberts said, after revealing Saturday that the four-time MVP is still “not 100%” with his multiple injuries.

“Everyone goes through these things,” he added. “But we gotta get him going.”

As much as Ohtani’s MVP chances will depend on it, so too could the Dodgers’ season.

Because regardless of whether he’s pitching or not, their offense will always first and foremost revolve around him.

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The Mets prospects put up some huge feats and produced a bit of history on Sunday. Here's the latest roundup of what's going on down on the farm... 

Mitch Voit, Jefferson Rojas homer at Double-A

Three of the top 10 in SNY's Mets Top 30 Prospects featured in the Binghamton Rumble Ponies' 14-5 win over the Reading Fightin Phils: No. 1 Jefferson Rojas, No. 5 Mitch Voit, and No. 8 Jacob Reimer.

Voit batted leadoff and had a hot bat all night. He went 3-for-4 with two walks, a strikeout, and 3 RBI, including a two-run home run in the fifth inning.

Not to be outdone, Rojas batted third, went 3-for-6 with 4 RBI, and clobbered a two-run shot of his own. He also struck out twice.

Reimer reached base just once, going 1-for-6 with a double.

Meanwhile, No. 23 Chris Suero and No. 29 Eli Serrano III each came to bat five times. Suero worked two walks while going 0-for-3 with a strikeout, while Serrano knocked an RBI double, reached on a single, stole a base, and struck out twice.

BIG FLY VOIT

Mitch Voit (@Mets No. 4 prospect) deposits a go-ahead two-run home run! 💣

Both of his Double-A home runs have come from FirstEnergy Stadium.

🎠 x #DefendOurHome x @MetsPlayerDevpic.twitter.com/Y0MsVunWMA

— Binghamton Rumble Ponies (@RumblePoniesBB) August 30, 2026

Jefferson Rojas (@Mets No. 1 prospect) belts a two-run home run 🚀@MLBPipeline's No. 76 prospect is up to 22 HR this season and 7 HR since being traded to New York.

He has 6 HR over his last 11 games!

🎠 x #DefendOurHome x @MetsPlayerDevpic.twitter.com/GQJ7aWlcZv

— Binghamton Rumble Ponies (@RumblePoniesBB) August 30, 2026

Sammy Stafura homers for Brooklyn

The Mets' No. 3 prospect (who came over in the Luke Weaver trade) connected on the first home run of his time with the Mets in the top half of the fifth. He liked doing it so much on Sunday that he didn't wait too long to do it again in the ninth.

Playing about forty minutes from his childhood home against the Hudson Valley Renegades, Satafura finished the afternoon 2-for-4 with a walk, a strikeout, and three batted in on those two round trippers.

He's now batting .285 with a .949 for the year at High-A.

Sammy Stafura's first home run for High-A Brooklyn! pic.twitter.com/qQkwMYfcAg

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) August 30, 2026

Sammy Stafura has two home runs today for High-A Brooklyn! pic.twitter.com/ZeXOdEDbdr

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) August 30, 2026

Triple-A bullpen combines for no-hitter

There weren't quite the same eye-popping prospect performances for the Syracuse Mets in their 8-0 victory over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

No. 15 Nick Morabito batted leadoff, picking up a single, reached on a catcher's interference, and drew a walk in five times up with a stolen base for good measure. Batting sixth in the order, No. 27 Billy Amick went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.

The real story here was conducted by Mets veterans currently playing at Triple-A. Rehabbing Mark Vientos blasted a trifecta of home runs, going 4-for-5 on the day with 5 RBI. Ronny Mauricio was 2-for-5 with an RBI.

Most notably, Tobias Myers was one of six relievers who combined for a no-hitter. Myers pitched three full innings and struck out one batter, facing the minimum nine batters without issuing a walk.

Full no-hitter final out call by @SYRMetsRadio! 💪 pic.twitter.com/GTthtazYZ9

— Syracuse Mets (@SyracuseMets) August 30, 2026

Rangers 7, Brewers 4

• Well will you look at that…the Rangers can win a game!
• On the road, even!
• And in a game where Kumar Rocker only went three innings!
• Kumar Rocker, man…
• Just four days ago, we marveled at the fact that Sean Burke threw 92 pitches against the Rangers in just three innings, and the White Sox still won the game.
• Rocker didn’t match the eight walks Burke issued in his three innings of work. He did match the three innings pitched and two runs allowed, however, while coming just short of Burke’s pitch total.
• Rocker needed 86 pitches to get through three innings.
• That’s not good. It is, in fact, bad.
• Rocker only faced 17 batters. That means he averaged over 5 pitches per batter.
• Its kind of remarkable he lasted that long. The Brewers’ first four batters all reached. 20 pitches into the game for Rocker, two runs were in, two runners were on base, and there were no outs in the inning.
• Rocker managed to retire nine of the next 13 batters he faced, seven on strikes. Three of the four batters he didn’t retire reached via the walk.
• By the time Rocker got the hook after the third, the Rangers had tied it up, so at least he wasn’t going to be tagged with a loss, whatever happened.
• I guess you know, though, that the Rangers didn’t lose, so he wouldn’t have gotten tagged with a loss anyway.
• Tyler Alexander — an unsung hero of your 2026 Texas Rangers — gave the team two innings of shutout work to get the team to the fifth inning. Adam Macko, Jordan Montgomery, Jakob Junis and Jacob Latz each contributed an inning apiece after that.
• I imagine the hope was that it was not going to be a save situation, with the Rangers getting seven runs on the board by the time Montgomery came in for the bottom of the seventh. A two out, two run homer by Gary Sanchez narrowed the lead, though, making it a little closer and less comfortable than we all would have liked.
• Still, it gave Jacob Latz the opportunity to pick up his first save in a week, in his first appearance for the Rangers in a week.
• Losing streaks are bad for getting your closer work. They are good for getting your closer lots of rest, though.
• The seven runs the Rangers scored are a reminder that sometimes the Rangers can hit the ball and it can find the dirt or the grass, and they can run like the wind down to first, and sometimes even second or third, without making an out.
• And eventually they can even come all the way home and score a run.
• This is actually the third time in the last six games that the Rangers have scored at least seven runs, so maybe my sarcasm isn’t necessarily warranted.
• The dynamic duo of Elias Diaz and Ezequiel Duran got the Rangers on the board, and then the lead, with Diaz hitting a two out ground rule double right after Cody Freeman had put up a two run double of his own in the top of the second, and then Duran homering in the third to tie the score.
• Duran added a ground rule double of his own in the fifth to bring home Corey Seager and Wyatt Langford, who had walked to start the inning and then advanced on a Brandon Nimmo groundout.
• Joc Pederson homered in the sixth for some necessary (it turned out) insurance, and then a sequence of singles and an error brought two more insurance runs that weren’t necessary, but which are fun nonetheless.
• Pederson had a chance to blow it open in the seventh, with the bases loaded and two outs. He could have homered again, giving the Rangers 11 runs, tying their season high.
• It would have been great had he done that.
• Pederson didn’t, however.
• I guess its okay, though. The Rangers won anyway.
• Rangers wins…they are so emotionally uplifting, aren’t they?
• Kumar Rocker touched 95.8 with both his fastball and his sinker, averaging 94.2 mph with each pitch. Tyler Alexander maxed out at 94.2 mph with his fastball. Adam Macko’s fastball topped out at 95.8 mph. Jordan Montgomery’s sinker reached 92.7 mph. Jakob Junis hit 92.9 mph with his fastball. Jacob Latz’s fastball topped out at 97.3 mph.
• Brandon Nimmo had a 105.7 mph single. Corey Seager had a 104.7 mph single and a 104.7 mph groundout. Evan Carter had a 103.9 mph groundout and a 101.9 mph fly out. Ezequiel Duran had a 103.3 mph double. Joc Pederson had a 100.8 mph home run.
• A return to the cozy confines of the Shed, and hopefully a return to winning more often than losing for a while.

The Yankees were playing an eighth game in seven days. There is a transaction just about every day that adds another relief arm, either from the scrap heap or from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Two starting pitchers — who both pitched in Saturday’s doubleheader — are attempting to stretch out from injuries at the major league level and do not have their full allotment of pitches. The few trustworthy bullpen arms are exhausted.

“Quite honestly,” manager Aaron Boone said, “going in [to the game], you’re like: I don’t know how we’re getting to the finish line today.”

The answer: Will Warren carrying the team and the staff on his right arm.

The ostensible No. 5 starter performed like he was one of the aces. Warren pitched into the eighth inning in a 16-1 demolition of the Red Sox on Sunday in The Bronx, where Warren responded to both the team’s need and his own struggles.

Warren — whose ERA had risen from 3.45 to 4.39 over his previous 11 games, a span dating to June 26 in which he had allowed 32 earned runs in 48 ²/₃ innings (5.92) — looked like his excellent April self.

In what was the biggest start of his season, given the staff’s predicament and given a tiebreaker was at stake against the blood-rival Red Sox, Warren turned in “probably his best performance of the year,” Boone said.

The final line — seven-plus innings in which he allowed one earned run on six hits and a walk with seven strikeouts — does not do full justice. Given the state of the bullpen, Boone pushed Warren as far as he could go, including two additional batters in the eighth inning (a double and RBI single) that prevented a Yankees shutout.

“I knew we were short [in the bullpen], but I think every week I just go out there and try to get as many outs as possible,” said Warren, whose club is now 17-9 in games he starts. “So that was my goal today was just — no matter what happens, just keep getting outs.”

The outing was particularly impressive considering how it started. He got into trouble in the first inning, allowing two of the first three batters he faced to reach, in the kind of ominous opening that could have left the Yankees on the other side of such a lopsided score.

But with Roman Anthony on second and Wilyer Abreu on first, Warren threw a sweeper that Willson Contreras chased for the second out.

In a full count with Adley Rutschman, Warren dotted the bottom of the zone with another sweeper and strutted off the field.

“I thought he was going to swing. He didn’t,” Warren said. “I was just trying to get back in the zone and make a good pitch and went from there.”

From there — actually, from the walk to Abreu — Warren retired 13 straight batters until Trevor Story reached with an infield single in the fifth.

If nothing else, Warren looked like an arm who should continue to take down regular-season innings and can see postseason innings in some form.

“I thought he was fantastic,” Boone said.