The Mets conclude a three-game series against the Padres at Citi Field on Wednesday afternoon at 1:10 on SNY.
Mets Notes
Carson Benge is hitting .297/.361/.451 in 216 plate appearances dating back to June 18
Francisco Lindor has an .809 OPS with 10 homers in 200 plate appearances since returning from the IL on June 24
Bo Bichette is hitting .316/.357/.472 (.829 OPS) with seven homers and 13 doubles in 252 plate appearances dating back to June 11
Robert Stock allowed one run (which was unearned) on three hits while walking three and striking out five in 4.1 innings against the Nationals in his last start
Today's Lineups
PADRES
METS
Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
A.J. Ewing, CF
Jake Cronenworth, 2B
Francisco Lindor, SS
Manny Machado, DH
Bo Bichette, 3B
Ty France, 1B
Carson Benge, RF
Jackson Merrill, CF
Jared Young, 1B
Luis Rengifo, LF
Francisco Alvarez, DH
Luis Campusano, C
Brett Baty, LF
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Marcus Semien, 2B
Sung-Mun Song, 3B
Luis Torrens, C
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For more information on how to stream Mets games on SNY, please click here.
The Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins wrap up a three-game set this afternoon at Target Field, with the visitors sitting as a slim -104 moneyline favorite for the series finale.
However, my Braves vs. Twins predictions see value in Minnesota, who have been in much better offensive form lately.
The Atlanta Braves recalled right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver to start today after a couple of outings at Triple-A Gwinnett. Smith-Shawver made his 2026 debut in late July after recovering from injury and looked solid, allowing two earned runs in 4 1/3 frames.
That is still a tiny sample, and he faces a Minnesota Twins offense with a 118 wRC+ over the last week. I do not expect a long leash, which matters with the Braves bullpen owning a 7.21 FIP over its last 18 2/3 innings while giving up 2.89 HR/9.
Taj Bradley has been respectable with a 4.37 monthly FIP, and the Braves are ice cold with a 64 wRC+ over their last six games.
Play up to -130.
COVERS INTEL: The Braves have struggled offensively on the road with a 91 wRC+. At home, that number sits at 107.
Braves vs Twins Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (+101)
I'm leaning toward the Under tonight, although it's not a slam-dunk angle. Atlanta's inconsistencies at the dish are a big reason for this play, and although Bradley isn't untouchable, he has been better at Target Field, and Minnesota's bullpen owns a 3.67 xERA over the last week.
As previously mentioned, Atlanta's relief corps is getting hit around the ballpark, but Minnesota will have to do the brunt of the scoring here, which is why I like the Under. The Braves have scored just three runs in this series so far.
Smith-Shawver was also decent in Triple-A, and I do not expect him to get completely lit up.
Play this pick down to -110.
Braves vs Twins home run prediction: Josh Bell (+474)
Josh Bell has always had big-time power, and I’m eyeing him to go yard again today. While the slugger has just one homer in his last six games, he owns a 42.1% hard-hit rate during that span and a 44.2% fly-ball rate over the last two weeks. He also homered on Tuesday.
It is hard to judge Smith-Shawver off his recent outings, but the Braves’ bullpen gives Bell a clearer path. Atlanta’s relief corps has allowed homers at an alarming rate while giving up nearly half of its contact in the air over the last week.
Bell is worth a look at this price.
Play this pick down to +450.
Quinn Allen's 2026 Transparency Record
ML/RL bets: 53-64, -18.67 units
Over/Under bets: 66-48, +8.85 units
Braves vs Twins weather
Weather at Target Field looks excellent today, with mostly clear skies and temperatures climbing from 74°F to 78°F during the afternoon. Winds are very light around 2–5 mph, and rain chances sit at 0%. Overall, conditions look clean and neutral, with no delay concern or major weather impact.
Braves vs Twins odds
Moneyline: Braves -104 | Twins -100
Run line: Braves -1.5 (+150) | Twins +1.5 (-156)
Over/Under: Over 8.5 (-108) | Under 8.5 (+104)
Braves vs Twins trend
The Atlanta Braves have hit the Game Total Under in 16 of their last 21 away games (+10.75 Units / 48% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Braves vs. Twins.
How to watch Braves vs Twins and game info
Location
Target Field, Minneapolis, MN
Date
Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026
First pitch
1:40 p.m. ET
TV
Twins.TV, BravesVsion
Braves starting pitcher
AJ Smith-Shawver (0-0, 4.15 ERA)
Twins starting pitcher
Taj Bradley (9-5, 3.98 ERA)
Braves vs Twins latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
TORONTO, ON - AUGUST 16: Ben Rice #22 of the New York Yankees rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run in the tenth inning during the game between the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Sunday, August 16, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Colton Hall/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Yankees finally managed to score more than one run with a 4-3 extra innings victory in the series finale over the Blue Jays to avoid the sweep. In scoring just two runs in regulation, they were in danger of making 11 games out of 16 in which they scored two or fewer runs. That wasn’t the only skid they hopefully managed to snap, Ben Rice supplying the game-winning two-run homer in the ninth amid a serious slide for a player who powered much of their offense in the first half.
We join Rice with one out in the top of the tenth, automatic runner Ali Sánchez standing on third following a leadoff sacrifice bunt by José Caballero. Rice entered this contest eight for his last 64 with just one home run. He has not had the best of games to this point, 0-for-4 with a strikeout and coming off a critical error in the bottom of the ninth that led to the game-tying run to score off David Bednar to send it to extras. The pressure is on Rice to atone for his mistake, which can’t make his job at the plate any easier.
Blue Jays reliever Braydon Fisher throws his slider more than half the time. When you include the curveball, roughly 80-percent of the pitches that Fisher throws are breaking balls, so you can bet that Rice is sitting on a bender here.
Indeed, Fisher starts this AB with a slider in the dirt for ball one. If not for such an extreme breaking ball usage rate, you could see how a hitter might be tempted to chase this pitch given it exits Fisher’s hand centrally located over the plate aimed at the bottom of the zone. However, Rice can pretty much eliminate anything aimed thigh-high or lower as four out of five of those pitches from Fisher will end up breaking below the strike zone.
With his next slider, Fisher attempts to back-foot one hoping this time he can elicit a chase.
Once again, a hitter who hadn’t read the scouting report might have been tempted to swing at this given it looks like it could be a fastball that will tail front door across the inside edge of the plate. Rice sticks with his plan of hunting the slider, which lets him know immediately that this pitch that starts inside will stay inside for ball two.
There’s no deviation in plan from Fisher as he throws his third slider in a row, almost as if playing a game of cat and mouse with the hitter who must be thinking that surely he won’t throw three in a row to open an AB.
The problem with throwing the same breaking ball multiple times in a row is each has to be marginally better than the last as the hitter gets a better and better idea of the way the pitch will break and where it will therefore land given its initial aiming point. Instead, Fisher throws his worst slider of the AB, at the bottom of the zone but over the heart of the plate, and Rice does not miss it. He’s hunting a pitch that’s out over the plate and starts belt high, knowing exactly where to drop his barrel to do maximum damage. The ball rockets off his bat at 108.5 mph and travels 438 feet for the game-winning two-run home run.
Here’s the full AB:
Obviously, the Yankees woes on offense are rooted in the injuries Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, and Giancarlo Stanton. However, we cannot discount the effect that Rice’s extended slump has played on the team’s misfortunes. After genuinely placing among the league’s best hitters with a 168 wRC+ in the first half, Rice’s season nosedived to the tune of a 63 wRC+ since the All-Star break. The absences of the aforementioned trio placed a mountain of pressure on Rice’s shoulders to carry the offense as the lone slugging threat, and unfortunately the burden has proven too heavy to carry alone.
It must be said that he has been on the receiving end of some particularly rotten luck. His BABIP has fallen almost 100 points from the first half to the second and his wOBA has plummeted 150 points despite a deficit of just 40 points in expected wOBA in the second half vs. the first. However, we cannot blame the entirety of his slump on bad luck, with regression in certain key areas underlying the loss of form. His strikeout rate went from 23.3-percent in the first half to 31.1-percent in the second, his chase rate has jumped by almost six percentage points, and his in-zone contact rate plunged by nine percentage points, all of which to me feel like a classic case of a player who is pressing for results.
While one AB is hardly conclusive, there was still a lot to like from Rice’s approach. His knowledge of the scouting report on Fisher meant he wasn’t remotely tempted into chasing the first two sliders out of the zone. Then, when he got his pitch to hit, he didn’t miss it — something which has plagued the entire Yankees lineup during this extended stretch of punchless offense. He has talked about how one of the keys to his first half success was hunting a specific pitch in a specific location and letting everything else go by, and hopefully this AB is the start of a return to that approach for a player who is as important as anyone to the Yankees offense.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 18: Jose Iglesias and Francisco Lindor #12 of the New York Mets pose for a phot ahead of the game against the San Diego Padres at Citi Field on August 18, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Caleb Bowlin/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Meet the Mets
The Mets were beaten by the Padres 5-2. Luis Torrens and Luis Robert Jr. each hit solo home runs but the Mets were unable to overcome Fernando Tatís Jr.’s two home runs and grand slam robbery of Lindor.
The Mets activated Austin Warren from the injured list and sent Chayce McDermott down to Syracuse.
Jose Iglesias returned to Citi Field last night to throw out the first pitch ahead of his Broadway debut.
After the conclusion of today’s game, the NYPD and FDNY will face off in the fifth annual Battle of the Badges game at Citi Field.
Luke Gabrysh, one of the players acquired in the trade that sent Brooks Raley to the Phillies, has been promoted to Double-A Binghamton.
Just over a month after being drafted, the Mets’ 19th round pick John Smith III has been promoted to High-A Brooklyn.
Joel Sherman compared the Mets rookie class this season to others around the league, as well as others in Mets history.
Carson Benge was been named the Mets Heart and Hustle Award winner for 2026.
Around the National League East
Casey Donovan spent five days with the Nationals in 2022, never appearing in a big league game, and has questioned his major league legitimacy ever since.
Josiah Gray finally began a rehab assignment last night, marking his first appearance in a game since last September.
The Phillies came from behind to beat the Marlins 6-4. Zack Wheeler allowed two runs in five innings, walking four batters and striking out seven.
The Twins beat the Braves 4-1. Ryan Jeffers and Josh Bell each drove in two runs to help the Twins secure the win.
The Nationals were shut out 5-0 by the Rangers. Jackson Kent gave up all five runs on eight hits in just 3.2 innings.
Around Major League Baseball
After being placed on the restricted list last night, Ketel Marte is reportedly heading back to Arizona for an MRI on his knee.
Trey Mancini, longtime Baltimore Oriole and 2022 World Series champion with the Astros, has announced his retirement from baseball.
Dodgers reliever Edwin Díaz is headed back to the injured list, though the reason has not been disclosed.
Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue
Steve Sypa put out the twenty-first edition of Mets Minor League Players of the Week for 2026.
Allison McCague published the latest Pitcher Player Meter for the last two weeks of Mets baseball.
This Date in Mets History
Former Mets pitcher and current Mets broadcaster Ron Darling turns 65 today.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 29: AJ Smith-Shawver #32 of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the New York Mets during their game at Citi Field on July 29, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Atlanta Braves announced Tuesday that right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver was recalled to Atlanta, and fellow righty Tyler Kinley was designated for assignment.
The #Braves today recalled RHP AJ Smith-Shawver to Atlanta and designated RHP Tyler Kinley for assignment.
Smith-Shawver rejoins the Braves after spending the majority of the 2026 season in the minor leagues recovering from Tommy John surgery. He did have a brief outing at the big league level in July, where he threw 4.1 innings and gave up two runs on four hits. He was later optioned to the Gwinnett Stripers before eventually getting called on again.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are placing closer Edwin Diaz on the 15-day injured list due to neck inflammation. He is going back to Los Angeles for further evaluation.
After parts of eight major league seasons, Trey Mancini has announced his retirement.
From the Feed:
The Braves added catcher Chuckie Robinson on a minor league deal.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 18: Corey Seager #5 of the Texas Rangers is congratulated by Joc Pederson #3 following a victory over the Washington Nationals at Globe Life Field on August 18, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Rangers 5, Nationals 0
It is a win. Woo-hoo!!!
Was the time change the problem? Did the Rangers just need to get back to the Shed? To sleep in their own beds?
It is nice to start the homestand off with a solid double-ya.
Cal Quantrill continues to provide the Rangers with quality outings filling in in the rotation, logging seven shutout innings. Its the deepest he’s gone in a game since May of 2024, when he was pitching for the Rockies.
C.J. Abrams led off the game with a ground rule double off of Quantrill. The Nationals didn’t get another runner as far as second base until the eighth inning, when another ground rule double, this one off of Robby Ahlstrom, put runners on second and third with two out.
The Rangers scored all five of their runs in the first three innings.
On the one hand, you’re a little frustrated, because there’s a lot of runs scored early, and then none after that, and you think, hey, what’s wrong, why did you stop scoring? I was looking forward to double digits in this game.
On the other hand, scoring a bunch of runs early instead of spreading them out or scoring them late allows you to have a comfort level throughout the game. Less stress, owing to significant margin.
A game you win 5-0 thanks to four runs in the eighth is much more anxiety-inducing than a game you win 5-0 thanks to all the runs scoring in the early going.
Wyatt Langford, mired in a lengthy slump, came through with a pair of hits and a walk, scoring two of the Rangers’ runs, including their first run of the game, courtesy of a Jake Burger GIDP.
Langford also scored the third run of the game, when he came home on an infield grounder by Brandon Nimmo. The throw beat Langford, but he was able to get his hand on the plate before the tag. The Nationals challenged, the call stood, and there was happiness and joy throughout the stadium, except in the field where the Nationals players were standing. And the Nationals dugout.
Corey Seager, off of being out of the lineup Sunday and then having the Monday off day, had a single and a double, each of which moved Langford to third prior to Langford ultimately scoring. Give Seager an assist, if you will.
Justin Foscue came into the game slashing .174/.208/.217 since the All Star Break. He took Nationals starter Jackson Kent deep for the Rangers’ second run. It was Foscue’s first home run since July 9.
Brandon Nimmo had two hits! Cody Freeman had two hits! Texas had 11 hits in all, along with 4 walks, and maybe you’re saying, well, the Rangers should have scored more runs then, what with all those hits and walks, in which case I say, shut your damn piehole.
Meanwhile, the Astros lost, putting Texas a game back in the West.
Detroit and Baltimore, who were tied with the Rangers for the third Wild Card spot heading into Tuesday’s games, each lost, so Texas is now in sole possession of WC3.
There are a whopping five teams within a game of WC3, however, so don’t get too comfy there.
The Mariners are three back of the Rangers in the Wild Card race, having dropped a game back due to being beaten 22-0 by the Brewers.
And yes, I mentioned how far back the Mariners are just to have an excuse to mention that they lost 22-0.
Cal Quantrill touched 95.5 mph with his fastball, averaging 93.9 mph. Robby Ahlstrom’s sinker topped out at 95.2 mph. Jakob Junis’s changeup hit 87.3 mph. Tyler Alexander’s fastball maxed out at 92.2 mph.
Corey Seager had a 107.6 mph double and a 103.7 mph single. Brandon Nimmo had a 106.1 mph single and a 102.9 mph single. Wyatt Langford had a 105.5 mph single. Justin Foscue had a 105.1 mph home run. Ezequiel Duran had a 104.3 mph single. Jake Burger had a 103.8 mph single.
Can the Rangers build on this victory and start a winning streak? Tune in and find out!
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - AUGUST 7: Payton Tolle #70 of the Boston Red Sox reacts after a strikeout during the sixth inning of a game against the Athletics on August 7, 2026 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
In Payton Tolle’s season debut against the New York Yankees, he threw a 2-2 changeup to Giancarlo Stanton with the bases loaded. It was the first changeup he threw all season, and Stanton, like everybody else, never saw it coming and whiffed for the first out of the inning.
Payton Tolle is a madman. With nobody out and the bases loaded, he throws his FIRST CHANGEUP OF THE DAY in a 2-2 count. Stanton knows he doesn't want to get to 3-2 and probably thinks he's getting a fastball in the zone, but Tolle has the confidence to pull the string. Insanity. pic.twitter.com/OH3DFf2PiR
In the moment, I was impressed by the pitch call and execution. What I didn’t realize was that it was a sign of things to come.
Through 20 starts, Tolle’s registered a 2.97 ERA and ranks 15th in K-BB% among pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched. He’s allowed just three earned runs over his last 20 innings, giving the Red Sox length during a stretch in which their bullpen depth has been tested. Most recently, he went eight shutout innings against the Blue Jays to help the Red Sox snap an eight-game losing streak. If it looks like an ace, and it pitches like an ace, it’s probably an ace. Payton Tolle is becoming an ace.
Last season, Tolle’s emergence was due to his four-seam fastball. He dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates with it in his debut. After that start, his lack of a Plan B was exposed, seeing him demoted to the bullpen for the end of the season. This season, his four-seamer shape has shifted slightly, featuring less vertical and more horizontal movement, but it remains an elite pitch. The swinging strike rate (16.5%) is 4th among 93 pitchers with 500 thrown, while the ideal contact rate is low at 32.8%. It’s not due to just the raw stuff, either. He’s locating the pitch consistently at the top of the zone, where the approach angle helps it play up.
His four-seamer put him on the map, and it continues to anchor his arsenal. The massive strides he’s made in his second season aren’t due to his four-seamer, but his secondary pitches.
Tolle added a sinker this offseason, and it’s been a massive addition to his repertoire. He’s using it 32% of the time against left-handed hitters, and it’s been a huge source of strikes for him at a 70% strike rate. He spots it on the arm side decently enough, and the movement allows it to miss barrels. On top of the high strike rate, it’s returned a 71% groundball rate and a minuscule 22.9% ideal contact rate. Detractors might point to a 0.284 batting average against it, but that’s largely composed of jam-shot singles.
The sinker is a great weapon against lefties, and a solid supporting piece against righties. He’s using it about 18% of the time, which is enough to keep hitters from squaring up the four-seam. The ideal contact rate on his primary fastball has dropped from 50% all the way to 28%. Improved four-seam locations definitely help in that regard, but a second fastball shape is also probably contributing. Here it is in action:
Here's a fun sequence from last night. Tolle throws two four-seam fastballs to Vargas on the inside corner for a CS and a foul. After a curveball, he goes to his sinker. Vargas thinks it's a four-seam that's going to brush him back, but it backs up and freezes him. Dot. pic.twitter.com/k9qUtoee0p
Tolle loves this sequence to RHH. He'll throw the four-seam to the glove side with two strikes, and if he misses, he can go to the sinker that starts in the same spot but tracks back to freeze the hitter.
Last season, at 3-2, he’d likely be challenging the hitter with a four-seam fastball in the zone. Hitters knew it and were able to gear up for it. This sequence isn’t some sort of magic cheat code, but rather one example of how more quality pitches give hitters different looks to worry about. With a new sinker (and other improved pitches), he’s been able to mitigate that issue, avoid barrels, and continue to rack up strikeouts.
With a four-seam and sinker to get ahead of hitters, Tolle has been able to use his cutter more effectively as well. Among pitchers with at least 150 cutters thrown, Tolle’s ranks third in swinging strike rate (19.2%) behind only Brayan Bello (huh???) and Jose Alvarado. He uses it against both sides of the plate, but the performance against righties has been particularly strong.
You’ll notice two hot zones for Tolle’s cutters to righties: on the glove side and at the top of the zone. Those at the top of the zone are primarily early in counts as Tolle looks to steal called strikes. Deeper in counts, he’s done a solid job at getting the pitch to the glove side, where he’s been able to rack up whiffs. He’ll miss on the arm side with some regularity, but those misses have mostly been fouled off rather than being punished. In addition to the whiffs, there’s been plenty of weak contact as the cutter gets in on the hands of righties, jamming them regularly. For a third offering, it’s been a great one.
So that’s three fastballs, ranging from 88 to 99 mph, each covering a different part of the plate. We’re done, right? Wrong. There’s a curveball, and it’s a surprisingly good one. Tolle’s strength has always been power. In the offseason, I was banging the drum for him to add a sinker to play off that strength, because I thought it was an easy enough way to add strikes to his repertoire. Improving his feel for the curveball was a development I didn’t see happening, at least not so soon, but it has.
His curveball only accounts for about ten percent of his pitches, but it’s the perfect surprise pitch with everything else being hard. The zone rate is about 40%, due to him occasionally dropping the pitch in to steal called strikes. Deeper in counts, he’s shown the ability to spot it down and away, and he’s only getting better.
Apologies for the tiny text, but these are Tolle’s two-strike curveballs by month. From March through June, he didn’t quite have a feel for it. Since the start of July, however, he’s hit that spot regularly. Here it is again if we look by season half.
Since the start of the second half, his curveball has a 30% swinging strike rate with two strikes. With the high-octane fastballs in his back pocket, the curveball can make hitters look ridiculous, like this:
And that changeup that I showed at the beginning? Well, he hasn’t figured that one out yet. Everything else has been so good, though, that a changeup at this point is just gravy.
Tolle’s next start is today against the Arizona Diamondbacks. If you remember last season, the Diamondbacks are the lineup that brought Tolle back down to earth after his electric debut, tagging him for five earned runs over just three innings. They pounced on his fastball as he couldn’t land anything else for strikes, citing the Trajekt machine as key in their preparations for the lefty. This time around, the D’Backs won’t have the Trajekt machine at Fenway, and Tolle has a host of new weapons to navigate the lineup with. Workload remains a concern for the second-year pro, but the Red Sox will need to lean on him down the stretch to remain in the playoff race. He hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down at this point and appears to only be getting better.
The rising cost of attending Major League Baseball games will always be a topic of conversation, with the prices of concessions and parking making a day at the ballpark cost a small fortune for many families.
Teams have begun presenting family-friendly ticket packages that include food and beverages, but things really add up beyond the staples including in such deals. It's hard to believe that parking cost less than $10 even in markets like New York less than 30 years ago.
Here's a look at the most expensive ballparks to visit for a family of four, according to Bookies.com's fan cost study, which includes four tickets, a parking pass, two beers, two sodas and four hot dogs.
Syracuse won their opening game against the Woosox, powered by good hitting and good pitching. On the hitting side, Ronny Mauricio was perfect at the plate and drove in three, and on the pitching side, Xzavion Curry and Tobias Myers combined to allow a single run on two combined hits.
Jefferson Rojas put the Rumble Ponies on the board in the bottom of the first with a two-run homer, but Gary Gill Hill gave both of those runs back in the top of the second. The right-hander settled down after that, not allowing another run and tossing six innings in total. In the seventh, the newly reactivated Felipe De La Cruz allowed a run and it looked like that was going to be that, but in the bottom of the ninth, Binghamton rallied. Rojas was in the middle of things once again, driving in a run on a double and then Chris Suero ended things with a game winning sac fly.
The top of the Brooklyn order struggled, with Sammy Stafura going 0-6 and Elian Pena going 0-4, but the bottom half of the line-up had their back, going a collective 8-22 with 7 runs driven in. The Cyclones offense really broke this one open in the later innings, scoring four runs in the seventh, two in the eighth, and one more for good measure in the ninth.
Toeing the rubber for the first time since Spring Training, when he was placed on the 60-Day Injured List due to a fractured rib, Justin Hagenman threw 2.1 innings and allowed a run on three hits and a walk, striking out three. The right-hander threw 43 pitches, 25 for strikes, and got 9 swings and misses. Things quickly went downhill for St. Lucie as the bullpen was extremely leaky, with Owen Woodward, Jose Lopez, and Tyler McLoughlin combining to allow nine runs.
The Detroit Tigers were unable to seal the deal on Tuesday night, falling to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-1, to even the weekday series at PNC Park. Brett Callahan hit his first major league home run, but that was all the offense the good guy got while Keider Montero was extremely mid on the mound for the Olde English D.
Toeing the rubber in the series finale for the Motor City Kitties is right-hander Jackson Jobe, who will be making his third start of the season after returning from Tommy John surgery. The 24-year-old looked good in his debut but got roughed up by the Chicago White Sox the last time out, coughing up six runs on nine hits (two homers) and a walk while striking out four over 3 2/3 innings to take the loss in a 9-5 defeat at Comerica Park.
Up against Jobe for the Bucs is fellow righty Paul Skenes, who has been great this season but a tick below the astronomic he set for himself during his first two years in the league. In the 24-year-old’s last four outings since his last quality start, Skenes has posted a bloated 6.52 ERA along with a very mediocre 4.22 FIP over 19 1/3 innings, allowing 20 hits (three homers) and 11 walks while striking out 18, hitting a batter and throwing a wild pitch, resulting in three personal losses and four for his team.
Here is a look at how the two 24-year-olds match up on paper for the rubber match of the three-game series on Wednesday afternoon.
Detroit Tigers (61-65) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (62-66)
Time (ET): 12:35 p.m. Place: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania SB Nation Site:Bucs Dugout Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 127: RHP Jackson Jobe (1-1, 6.23 ERA) vs. RHP Paul Skenes (9-11, 3.88 ERA)
Jun 7, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Baltimore Orioles pitcher Felix Bautista (74) throws a pitch against the Athletics during the ninth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Good morning Birdland,
Those two days where the Orioles held a playoff spot were pretty cool, huh? We will remember them fondly.
The team has dropped back to one game out of the final wild card spot after their 3-1 loss to the Yankees on Tuesday night. The Rangers, Twins, Blue Jays, and Guardians all won, so it was not a good night for the O’s and their playoff hopes.
The loss falls at the feet of the offense. Coby Mayo’s solo homer in the third inning was all they could muster. Throughout the rest of the game they had just three hits and went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Tough to win games with only one run.
Side note: Mayo now has a 101 wRC+ on the season. Not just against lefties, or since June 1 or whatever, no crazy splits. None of that. The guy has now been a (slightly) above average hitter on the season. That’s pretty cool. Maybe the Orioles have something on their hands after all.
Shane Baz was quite good yet again. The guy just cannot get any run support. He struck out a season high 10 over his 6.1 innings, and the three runs he allowed was slightly elevated because Josh Walker came on and allowed both inherited runners to score. It doesn’t feel like the Orioles have any pitcher in their bullpen right now that you can trust all that much. They are all prone to implosions.
The O’s will give it another try on Wednesday night with Chris Bassitt (4-4, 5.11 ERA) on the mound to face Will Warren (8-6, 4.42 ERA). It’s another 6:35 first pitch.
Links
Orioles updates on Basallo, Alexander, Bautista and more | Roch Kubatko There was some positive news yesterday. We know that Samuel Basallo is getting close to a return. He has played a couple of rehab games, and Craig Albernaz said he could be back later this week. Then the team relayed that Blaze Alexander and Félix Bautista (!!!) are expected to begin rehab assignments within a week. The Alexander news is expected, but Bautista!?! The team has been optimistic there, and it’s likely that they will take things slow. But boy would it be a boost to get his arm in the bullpen sometime in September for the final couple of weeks.
Former Oriole Trey Mancini retiring after making comeback in 2026 | Roch Kubatko What a career and what a story for Trey Mancini. He came back from cancer to play baseball at a high level and win a World Series, then he came back a second time when it seemed like the league had totally moved on. The 34-year-old achieved his goal of getting back to the majors this season and should be darn proud of himself for doing so. I’m sure even bigger things await him beyond his playing career.
Brandon Young turns 28 today. The second-year pitcher has been a savior for the Orioles rotation this season, compiling a 3.52 ERA over 117.2 innings.
J.J. Hardy is 44 years old. He brought a rare combination of power and slick fielding to the shortstop position during the Orioles return to relevance from 2011 through 2017. Hardy won three Gold Gloves, went to one All-Star Game, and took home a Silver Slugger during his time in Baltimore. The O’s added him to their team Hall of Fame in 2021.
Lance Cormier turns 46. He worked out of the Orioles bullpen throughout the 2008 season.
Rocky Cherry is 47 years old. His time with the Orioles spanned two seasons from 2007 through ‘08, when he was an up-and-down reliever for the club.
Luis DeLeón is 68. The righty pitched in 11 games as a reliever for the 1987 Orioles.
Paul Mitchell turns 77. His six-year MLB career began in Baltimore, where he played in 11 games for the 1975 Birds.
The late Jim Lehew (b. 1937, d. 2016) was born on this day. A Baltimore native, Lehew played in parts of two seasons with his hometown Orioles from 1961 to ‘62.
This day in O’s history
1980 – Steve Stone becomes MLB’s first pitcher to get to 20 wins this season as the O’s beat the Angels 5-2.
2001 – The Orioles storm back from a 6-1 deficit to beat the Red Sox 13-7. Jeff Conine has five hits, three different Orioles have three RBI each, and the team steals five bases off of Hideo Nomo.
2016 – The Orioles set a modern record by hitting four home runs before making their first out in their first turn at-bat. Adam Jones, Manny Machado, Chris Davis, and Mark Trumbo all go deep in the first inning to take a 5-1 lead, but it wouldn’t be enough. The Astros score five of their own runs in the second inning and go on to win 15-8.
Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Derek Hill takes batting practice before a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins Aug. 13, 2026 at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co
I think I have it figured out.
Don’t let this umpiring crew call anything down the right field line. There seems to be some kind of allergy to getting the call right the first time, even if it’s on the easier side.
Happy birthday to Rocky Cherry, and a mighty host of others.
Today in baseball history, in 1951 – Wearing uniform number 1/8, forty-three-inch-tall Eddie Gaedelwalks on four pitches from Bob Cain in his only major league appearance. Bill Veeck‘s idea of playing the midget was legal at the time but is later outlawed, and other stories as well.
1931 – At Chicago, Lefty Grove (25-2) wins his 16th consecutive game, 4-2, tying the American League record set by Walter Johnson and Joe Wood in 1912. Grove holds the Sox scoreless till the 9th, while the A’s score in the second, third and eighth off Red Faber. Grove has completed all but one of the wins.
1965 – At San Francisco, Don Drysdale faces Warren Spahn in the start of a critical four-game series. Drysdale lasts longer than Spahn, allowing five runs through eleven innings and leaves with the game tied. The Dodgers win it in 15 innings, 6-5.
1968 – Bob Gibson pitches the Cardinals to a 2-0 win over the Phillies. Gibson strikes out Dick Allen four times, the seventh time this season the Phils’ slugger has K’ed four times. He will strike out a career-high 161 times this season.
1974 – Reds 2B Joe Morgan drives in seven runs as Cincinnati rolls over Philadelphia, 15-2. Morgan has a grand slam and a three-run homer, then leaves after three innings when the Reds build a 14-0 lead.
1980 – Jon Matlack holds George Brett hitless, snapping his hitting streak at 30 consecutive games. Brett batted .467 during the streak and knocked in 42 runs.
2007 – Greg Maddux moves up the historical charts, as he ties Tim Keefe for ninth all-time with 349 wins. Maddux aids his cause with two hits in two at-bats.
1969 – John Hollison dies in Chicago at age 99. He was the last surviving major league pitcher to throw from a mound 50 feet from home plate. He pitched in one game in 1892.
1665 – World’s “most mysterious book,” a codex known as the Voynich manuscript, written in an unknown script, is sent by a rector of Prague University to a Jesuit scholar (now in Yale University Library and still undeciphered) in 1666.
1839 – Louis Daguerre‘s daguerreotype photographic process with complete working instructions is published “free to the world” in Paris as a gift from the French government.
1909 – “Wild” Bob Burman wins his first major auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, earning the Prest-O-Lite Trophy; the 100-lap, 250-mile race is completed by only three of the nine cars, and one racer and a mechanic are killed in a crash.
1934 – The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio
1958 – NAACP Youth Council begins a sit-in at a “whites-only” lunch counter at Katz Drug Store in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
1960 – American CIA pilot Francis Gary Powers is convicted of spying by the USSR (U-2 incident) and sentenced to 3 years in prison plus 7 in a labor camp; he serves 17 months before being exchanged for a captured Soviet KGB spy.
1993 – Dow Jones Industrial Average hits record high of 3612.13.
2004 – US gymnast Carly Patterson becomes the second American woman to win the all-around gold medal and the first to win at a non-boycotted Olympic Games when she takes gold in Athens.
Today in music history:
1955 – WINS radio in New York City announces it will not play white cover versions of R&B records, opting instead to play Fats Domino‘s “Ain’t That A Shame” rather than Pat Boone’s.
1966 – The Beatles are pelted with rotten fruit and firecrackers during a concert at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee; the Ku Klux Klan demonstrates outside the show and burns records.
1979 – “My Sharona” by The Knack hits No. 1 and stays at the top for six weeks.
2008 – Interscope Records releases “The Fame,” the debut album by Lady Gaga.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - AUGUST 18: Jo Adell #7 of the Cleveland Guardians hits an RBI single during the fourth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Progressive Field on August 18, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Guardians hosted the Giants last night.
The Giants have had a terrible season, and they played like it last night. Their defense screwed up countless times, including an outfielder who Raburned a throw.
But the Guardians would have beaten most opponents last night—because Jo Adell had a career night.
• Sounds like someone is a bit skeptical of “let’s have a bunch of slap hitters watch tape of Jose Ramirez and then they will all hit like Jose Ramirez”
The Pittsburgh Pirates currently sit 6.5 games back from the third Wild Card spot in the postseason, and are running out of time to steer the ship towards the playoffs. There’s still some time to get back on track, but there are three factors that will leave the Pirates on the outside looking in.
Pitching day-to-day is shaky
At the beginning of the season, the strength of the Pirates was supposed to be the starting pitching rotation. However, at this point in the season the rotation has lost its reputation and has turned into a largely average unit. Paul Skenes this late in the year is just not dependable. He has not looked like himself all year, but it has become especially clear as of late that he is not performing at his best. Mitch Keller has been shut down for the rest of the season with an injury, so Carmen Mlodzinski has stepped back into his role as a starter. Even though Mlodzinski was solid to start the year, he clearly looks over it with the Pirates and has not been at his best since returning to the starting ranks.
Also — and this isn’t particularly Jared Jones’ fault — but the Pirates are still letting him play with the training wheels on. He has the potential to be the best pitcher on the team, but management is still keeping his outings incredibly limited. Pitching in the playoffs will not matter if the Pirates cannot first get to the playoffs.
The bullpen looks revamped, but it’s still a position group with a lot of question marks. In some of these close series down the stretch, they are not dependable enough from what we’ve seen to this point to put a lot of faith in. I do think the group has looked better, but I wouldn’t be willing to wager anything just yet given their track record.
The lineup lacks consistent punch down the stretch
The Pirates’ lineup that was completely transformed for the 2026 season, completely fell apart following the All-Star break. It’s almost like the week off was the worst possible thing for the red hot Buccos. The offense has been shutout five times since returning to action, and have scored two runs or less in seven contests in the second half of the season.
This is a lineup that had a lot of potential, but after taking their extended layoff it might be too late for them to crawl back into playoff contention if the offense continues to lack consistency. Esmerlyn Valdez has gone cold after his hot stretch. Ryan O’Hearn is back on the IL. Bryan Reynolds looks unrecognizable in his last 30 games. For some reason, Jared Triolo is still regularly in the lineup and Henry Davis is still a liability at the plate.
Out of all the things that can get the Pirates back into playoff contention, it could be this lineup. Luckily, Oneil Cruz is back and looking like a threat again, and Konnor Griffin will also be returning. Hopefully those pieces back can help the lineup find some consistency, but the team lacks a true offensive superstar at the moment. There is potential for players to grow into those roles, but that likely won’t happen between now and the end of the regular season.
No easy series left
Part of the Pirates’ problems all season long is that they have grossly underperformed against teams that they should beat easily. That has remained true in the second half of the year. They should have easily won their recent series against the Mets, Marlins and Reds. They should win the series against Detroit, but time will tell if they can seal that series victory.
Don Kelly’s had enough. “It felt like we felt sorry for ourselves. We didn’t compete.” At least he’s admitting there’s a problem. pic.twitter.com/mDz1S1h6t1
Moving forward there are no series that the Pirates can take lightly. Following Detroit they have back to back series against playoff teams in the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres. They then travel to St. Louis who they’ve struggled mightily against all year. They also have series against the Brewers and Cubs still left on the schedule as well. It’s not impossible for the Pirates to make it to the postseason if they can string together some wins, but their strength of schedule will allow very little to any breathing room. This team is going to have to play tighter than they have all year if they want to keep their dreams of Buctober alive.
COVERS INTEL: The Braves have struggled offensively on the road with a
