Category: MLB

After coming inches away from giving up a late go-ahead home run, the Yankees scored two runs with two outs the next half-inning in the eighth to beat the Orioles 5-3 in Baltimore on Wednesday night.

New York improved to 71-55 and sunk Baltimore to 61-66. The Bombers went just 2-for-11 with RISP and left seven on base, but held the AL East bottom feeders to 0-for-6 with RISP and left seven Birds stranded

Here are the takeaways...

- George Lombard Jr., in the biggest spot of the night with the bases loaded and two down with the score tied in the eighth, came through with a swinging bunt RBI single to third off Yennier Cano, as the speedy rookie gave the Orioles no chance at first.  On the very next pitch, O's catcher Yohel Pozo blocked a ball in the dirt but didn't react to it bouncing away, allowing Jazz Chisholm Jr. to dash in from third to give the Yanks their two-run cushion back.

Lombard finished 2-for-3 with a strikeout and two RBI.

- Down a run in the top of the second, Chisholmworked a walk and Spencer Jones grounded a base hit through the right side to put runners on the corners and nobody out against veteran Chris Bassitt. Ryan McMahon dropped an RBI single to right, but was gunned down at second on a good throw from Leody Tavarez. Lombard tacked on a sacrifice fly to put the Yanks ahead, but the baserunning error capped what could have been a big inning.

- Ben Rice, who had just five hits in 52 at-bats (.096) in August entering Wednesday’s game, looked much better as he annihilated a Bassitt fastball 431 feet to right-center (110.2 mph off the bat) for a solo home run in the third to make it a 3-1 ballgame. He finished 2-for-5 with two strikeouts.

- Needing 15 outs from the bullpen and protecting a one-run lead, Tim Hill got the first four with ease, including a strikeout. Fernando Cruz got the first man he saw swinging, but after a 3-0 pitch below the zone was called a strike, Cruz left a sinker down and Dylan Beavers launched an opposite-field blast 389 feet to left to tie the game. Cruz surrendered a double on his splitter before getting the final out on a strikeout, but the damage was done.

Brent Headrick got the first two men in the bottom of the seventh, but his first-pitch slider right over the plate was clobbered by Pete Alonso down the left-field line well over the foul pole, but it was called foul. The call stood after a review despite many replays showing the ball to be fair, giving the Yanks a huge break and robbing Alonso of a possible go-ahead homer. Headrick recovered to get the slugger swinging to keep the game tied.

Looking to protect a two-run edge, Paul Blackburn allowed a one-out single and a two-out walk, but got a first-pitch pop-up to end the threat.

David Bedner, who needed eight pitches to get two strikeouts in a save on Tuesday, needed just 12 pitches with a strikeout to earn his 29th save of the season with little hassle.

- Will Warren got the start and walked two of the first three batters he faced in the first. After a blistering liner to deep center put runners on the corners with two down, the O’s stole the first run thanks to an ill-advised throw to second by Austin Wells on a double steal as Jackson Holliday glided home in the process. The catcher’s throw down to second proved costly as Warren got his second strikeout looking to end the frame.

Warren, who struck out two in the second, left a full-count fastball on the outside part of the plate to Alonso, and the slugger smoked it 423 feet (109.9 mph) to right-center for a one-out solo homer in the third. Warren then allowed a Gunnar Henderson double and hit Basallo to put two aboard, but got Coby Mayo fishing and Beavers to hit a lazy fly to strand two. 

Warren got his first 1-2-3 inning in the fourth, but that was all for the right-hander. He flirted with a lot of danger, leaving many pitches over the plate that the O’s couldn’t capitalize on. Warren’s final numbers: two runs on three hits and two walks with five strikeouts on 90 pitches (52 strikes).

- In the first, the Yanks appeared to have something cooking instantly as Trent Grisham and Rice grounded singles to the right side to start the first. But Luis Garcia Jr. bounced into a 4-6-3 double play and Heliot Ramos bounced out to second.

Garcia and Ramos tabbed back-to-back one-out singles in the top of the third to give the Yanks a third chance for a big inning. And Chisholm nearly got the big hit, but Samuel Bassallo made a diving grab down the first-base line to nab the sinking liner that was destined for the right-field corner and Jones went down swinging to strand two.

Garcia hit the ground running since coming over at the deadline, going 2-for-4 with a homer in his debut, but is now 9-for-47 (.191) with just one RBI in the 12 games since, after going 1-for-5 with a strikeout. Ramos is now4-for-42 (.095) in pinstripes after going 1-for-3 with a strikeout and a HBP.

- Wells tried to bunt for a hit his first time up, but Mayo made a great throw from third to get him by a half stride. He went 0-for-4.

- Chisholm finished 1-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base, 33rd of the season.

- Jones went 1-for-4 with three strikeouts, including one swinging with two on and one out in the eighth.

- Grisham finished 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout looking on a 3-2 pitch he would have been smart to challenge. He was also caught stealing to end the ninth. 

- McMahon finished 1-for-3 with a strikeout.

- Jose Caballero got hit by a pitch as a pinch-hitter for McMahon in the eighth.

- During the game, the MLB replay center issued a statement on the Alonso home run that wasn't: “After viewing all relevant angles, the Replay Official could not definitively determine that the ball left the playing field in fair territory. The call stands, and it is a foul ball.”

Highlights

Ryan McMahon gets the Yankees on the board pic.twitter.com/Wn53E76tNz

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 19, 2026

The Yankees take the lead courtesy of a George Lombard Jr. sac fly pic.twitter.com/oy4QdA8KG6

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 19, 2026

Ben Rice launches one DEEP in Baltimore! pic.twitter.com/57DL29rQ65

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 19, 2026

George Lombard Jr. comes through with an infield single and the Yankees lead! pic.twitter.com/qCODArWVc5

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 20, 2026

Jazz Chisholm Jr. comes in to score on the short wild pitch! pic.twitter.com/uounViE8tH

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 20, 2026

What's next

New York goes for the sweep on Thursday with another 6:35 p.m. first pitch. 

Gerrit Cole (3.22 ERA, 1.085 WHIP in 86.2 innings) gets the ball against Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish (3.65 ERA, 1.361 WHIP in 133 innings).

A fan let Willson Contreras have it — and the Red Sox first baseman returned the favor.

Contreras was booed by the Fenway Park crowd after getting thrown out jogging to first base in the bottom of the 10th inning in a 7-6 loss to the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

The 34-year-old antagonized the home crowd by putting his hand to his ear and was among the Boston players to engage in a longer altercation with a fan behind the dugout.

Contreras continued his back-and-forth with the fan after the final out, getting security involved as tensions escalated.

“Nothing,” Contreras said of what the conversation entailed. “He was inviting me to dinner. I was like, ‘Nah, I’m good with it.’”

It’s the latest testy moment of the season for him.

On April 8, during a loss to the Athletics, he was booed for not running out a grounder. He was suspended seven games for his helmet-throwing role in a benches-clearing brawl with the Nationals in July — not long after challenging a fan to fight on Instagram.

Contreras has been battling a nagging hamstring injury, which he has been upfront about.

“If you’re a smart fan, you know what’s going on,” he said of getting booed. “I’m not going to make any excuses because it’s not an excuse. It’s real. I just want to play through it.

“It’s just part of the game. I’m not gonna get hurt running on a ground ball. If you’re a real fan and you know baseball, there’s no case for me to hustle out of the box. I’m not 100 percent. We never are, but I’m taking care of my leg. If I have to run, I push it a little bit. If I don’t, my manager has my back. I talked to him and he gave me permission to do whatever it takes to take care of my legs and that’s it.”

Despite the incidents with fans, Contreras, who came to the Red Sox in an offseason trade with the Cardinals, is enjoying his first year in Beantown.

“I won’t change my mind about Boston or the fans,” Contreras said. “I think it’s the best place to play baseball. If I was 100 percent, they wouldn’t boo me because I was gonna hustle down the line. But that won’t change my perspective about being a Red Sox and being in Boston. I get goosebumps every time I think about Boston and I’m in the right place.”

The Red Sox sit at 68-59 in a tight American League East race, third in the division and 5 1/2 games ahead of the Twins for the second wild-card spot. They get a day off on Thursday after 16 straight days of games in which they went 8-8.

Contreras appears to be among those in need of the respite.

Tyler Glasnow continued to run roughshod through his minor league rehab assignment, including nine strikeouts and pitching into the sixth inning in his likely final start for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday night in Sugar Land, Texas.

Glasnow needed only 77 pitches to get through 5 1/3 innings, of which 54 were strikes. He allowed a one-out double to designated hitter Zach Dezenzo in the second inning but stranded him. Then Collin Price worked a walk to open the sixth inning, but that was it against Glasnow, who retired 16 of 18 batters.

That walk came around to score in the sixth after Glasnow left, charged to his ledger.

Of Glasnow’s 12 swinging strikes, six were induced by his knuckle curve, a pitch he threw 20 times on the night.

After missing over three months on the injured list with back spasms, Glasnow in his four rehab starts — three with Oklahoma City, one with Class-A Ontario — allowed two runs in 13 2/3 innings with 19 strikeouts against just four walks.

Glasnow on rehab struck out 41.7 percent of batters faced, including a whopping 54.8 percent over his last two starts, both in Triple-A.

What’s likely next for Glasnow is rejoining the Dodgers rotation on next week’s road trip, especially now that Justin Wrobleski is on the injured list, likely lining up to start against the Atlanta Braves in a series that runs Tuesday to Thursday.

The Dodgers are carrying five starting pitchers at the moment, not counting Emmet Sheehan who is active for now in a bullpen role. Glasnow is on the 60-day injured list and the Dodgers opened a 40-man roster spot on Wednesday with reliever Jonathan Hernández getting designated for assignment.

Wednesday night was Jonathan Santucci's fourth start since being promoted to Triple-A, but it was his worst with Syracuse.

Going up against Worcester, the Mets' No. 2 prospect allowed six runs on six hits and four walks across four-plus innings while striking out three. In his first three starts in Triple-A, Santucci allowed a combined six runs. 

But the night started well for Santucci. The southpaw worked around a leadoff walk in the first and another walk in the second. After a 1-2-3 third inning, the Red Sox would get to Santucci for the first time. Nate Eaton led off with a double before Romy Gonzalez moved him over with a groundout. Allan Castro followed with a groundout of his own, but it pushed Eaton across. 

The wheels fell off for Santucci in the fifth. The first three batters reached (walk, single, double) as the Red Sox pushed across two more runs before a couple of major leaguers got to the left-hander. Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled before Trevor Story singled to drive in a run, and Santucci was pulled. 

Chris Devenski came in and allowed two of Santucci's runners to score as the Red Sox pushed across six runs in that fifth inning. 

On the offensive side, Santucci had plenty of run support. Ronny Mauricio went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run, and MJ Melendez smashed a two-run shot. But on the prospects front, Nick Morabito finished 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, while Emilien Pitre (Mets' No. 13 prospect) and Billy Amick (No. 27) went a combined 0-for-9 with a walk in their second games with Syracuse. 

Offensive outburst in Double-A

The Rumble Ponies scored 10 runs on Wednesday night and a pair of prospects did a lot of the heavy lifting. Jacob Reimer (No. 8 prospect) went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored while Marco Vargas (unranked) drove in three runs on three hits, including blasting his third home run of the season. 

Vargas has been on a tear since returning from the IL. In his last 10 games, Vargas is 18-for-44 with three home runs and 13 RBI. 

Jefferson Rojas, the Mets' No. 1 prospect, went 0-for-5. 

Los Angeles Dodgers star outfielder Kyle Tucker hasn’t looked himself all of 2026.

His struggles seemingly reached their peak Monday night when Tucker was spotted in a visibly emotional dugout moment during the Dodgers’ 11-5 win over the Colorado Rockies. The 29-year-old was hitless in the matchup and dropped a routine shallow fly ball in right field.

But manager Dave Roberts had a heartfelt message for Tucker on Wednesday.

“My message to him is you’re not alone,” Roberts said on MLB Network Radio. “He’s probably never struggled like this in his life.”

Tucker is in the midst of a disappointing first season with the Dodgers, hitting .230 with 11 home runs, 55 RBIs and a .693 OPS. He is the team’s $240 million man, which is why fans have been especially critical of the All-Star.

Despite Tucker’s struggles, Roberts hasn’t lost faith in the outfielder. While there have been calls to rest or demote Tucker, the Dodgers have stuck by their guy and continued to do so Wednesday in Colorado.

Roberts penciled in Tucker for the series finale against the Rockies with left-hander Kyle Freeland on the mound. The Dodgers skipper insisted the move was the best thing he could do for Tucker at this point in the season.

“I think the easy thing for me to do is to not play him. But for me, what I can do, a way of showing support, is by playing him,” Roberts said. “I think he gives us the best chance to win.”

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While Roberts may believe that is the case, Tucker’s numbers haven’t relayed the same belief. He has accrued a 0.1 bWAR this season.

The Dodgers haven’t been able to pinpoint Tucker’s season-long struggles, but it’s clear the team has continued to show support for the outfielder this year.

The San Diego Padres promoted catching prospect Ethan Salas from Double-A San Antonio to Triple-A El Paso on July 29. Since then, the Padres’ top prospect has made up for the lack of extra-base hits that he had while in San Antonio. If a confidence boost was the goal for the promotion, that goal was achieved.

Salas has destroyed the baseball since arriving with the Chihuahuas. Over the past week, Salas hit .471/.524/.765 with eight RBI. Since his promotion, he has a .377/.453/.698 slash line with a 1.151 OPS, which includes six doubles, a triple, and three homers for 20 RBI. He is the youngest player in the league by four years.

The small sample size should temper expectations, but he has definitely announced his presence with authority. The league will adjust, given enough time, but with only a month left in the season, he could do real damage. 

His bio lists Salas at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds. In a recent interview with MadFriars.com, Salas reported that his growth over the past year has contributed to his power surge and stated that he is now 6-foot-3 and 210-215 pounds. The 20-year-old also reworked his approach during his time away from the field due to a back injury that robbed him of almost all of the 2025 season. 

More roster moves

There were more adjustments made to minor league rosters over the past week. After sending Gage Workman to Triple-A, the Padres released pitcher Misael Tamarez from the El Paso roster. Infielder Dylan Grego was activated and sent to Fort Wayne. 

Newly signed draftees were activated and infielder Joe Trioly and first baseman Chris McHugh were placed on the Lake Elsinore roster. Catcher Robbie Lavey was activated and assigned to Fort Wayne, a highly unusual skip of the first A-level for a new draftee. 

LHP Miguel Cienfuegos was released from the El Paso roster.

RHP Michael Salina, who was removed from his first start after one inning, was placed on the injured list for Lake Elsinore. He will probably see work in Arizona for the rest of the year. 

Free agent RHP Brent Honeywell was signed to a minor league and deal and placed on the El Paso roster.

Outfielder Alex McCoy, 24, the 6-foot-6, 275-pound undrafted free agent from 2024, was promoted from Single-A Fort Wayne to Double-A San Antonio on Aug. 14. After signing, McCoy missed much of the 2025 season with injuries. He had a short run with Lake Elsinore at the end of the year and McCoy started 2026 with Fort Wayne. He has had slumps but always bounced back after making adjustments. 

Since his promotion to San Antonio, McCoy has played in three games and is making a memorable first impression. Over his minor league career, he has 158 games played with 24 homers and 101 RBI. For those who would like to get to know this outfielder, who can also play first base, MadFriars.com had an interview on their site earlier this month.

El Paso Chihuahuas (49-70 record, last in PCL East)

Salas has been the highlight for this team since his promotion. They also hosted Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove for his past two rehab starts.

Otherwise, the team has been underwhelming. The past week showed a 2-4 record with some lopsided losses. After acquiring RHP Hunter Stratton in exchange for Andrew Moore at the trade deadline, the Chihuahuas have benefited from five good outings from the reliever. He has six innings pitched and allowed no runs with only four hits.

RHSP Jhony Brito continues to do well with El Paso. He has a 2.70 ERA in 33 innings pitched with 24 strikeouts to nine walks. 

The Triple-A season ends on Sept. 20.

San Antonio Missions (51-63 record, last in Texas League South)

Outfielder/first baseman McCoy was promoted on Aug. 14 and has played in three games with 14 plate appearances. He has two doubles and two home runs with six RBI since his arrival. His pattern over the past two levels has been a hot start and then a slump when the league gets a book on him and adjusts. He then struggles for a period of time but then gets hot again as he adjusts to the way he is being pitched. It will be interesting to note if that pattern repeats with Double-A San Antonio. The season ends Sept. 18, leaving a month to watch how this plays out.

RHRP Tucker Musgrove began the season with Fort Wayne and was promoted to Double-A at the break. He has pitched 15.1 innings with a 2.93 ERA and 28 strikeouts to 12 walks. For the season, Musgrove has 34.1 innings pitched with a 3.41 ERA and 68 strikeouts to 25 walks. He still needs a little more work on his command after his return from Tommy John surgery in 2025, but his fastball tops out in triple digits. He is expected to be added to the major league roster this offseason, as he will be Rule 5-eligible in December.

LHSP Luis Gutierrez, 23, is returning from a lat strain and has pitched in three games for the Missions. In his 12 innings pitched, he has a 3.75 ERA. For the season, after returning from injury, Gutierrez has appeared in games for the ACL and Lake Elsinore teams before being assigned to the Missions to complete his rehab. When complete, he will likely need to see more work after the season ends. He is Rule-5 eligible again this year after going unclaimed last December at the age of 22.

Outfielder Jake Cunningham went on the 7-day injured list on Aug. 14.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (46-65 record, last in Midwest League East)

Outfielder Kasen Wells leads the TinCaps with a .264 batting average, with first baseman Luke Cantwell hitting .262. Cantwell has a .404 OBP while outfielder Kavares Tears leads with a .471 slugging percentage. Tears also leads with 13 home runs, and infielder Rosman Verdugo has 49 RBI. This explains the poor record (they were 0-5 this week),  but they have had many issues with their pitching. 

After Kash Mayfield was traded at the deadline, RHP Carson Montgomery is the most effective starter. He has a 4.58 ERA in 78.2 innings pitched in his first season back from Tommy John surgery. Allowing 45 walks to 67 strikeouts shows a lack of command that could improve after more work. He is Rule-5 eligible this offseason.

Outfielder Ryan Wideman continues to struggle after being a breakout performer in Lake Elsinore. He is hitting .258 with a .275 slugging percentage after 39 games and has only three doubles as extra-base hits. Wideman had a known issue with holes in his swing when drafted, and the toolsy outfielder will need to make adjustments

The Padres made the rare decision to start a college-level drafted player in the High-A level. Catcher/DH Robbie Lavey was drafted in the fourth round last month. He had an evaluation period in Arizona with the bridge league and was assigned to Fort Wayne when all the rest of the assigned draftees went to Lake Elsinore. The lefty-hitting catcher has an advanced approach with the bat but needs development behind the dish. In his four games and 15 plate appearances, Lavey has two home runs, including a homer in his first at-bat. 

Lake Elsinore Storm (61-53 record, first in California League South)

Lake Elsinore has benefited from the infusion of players after the draft. The arrival of outfielder Alex Conover, third baseman Nu’u Contrades, first baseman Chris McHugh, and second baseman Joe Tiroly has injected some energy and production into the team.

Catcher Augie Lopez has also been getting some playing time but has not had much success with the bat.

McHugh is hitting .409 with a 1.117 OPS in 5 games with three doubles and a homer. Tiroly is hitting .364 with a .937 OPS in 5 games. Contrades is hitting .324 with a .972 OPS, two doubles, two homers, and eight RBI in 10 games. Conover is hitting .235 with two doubles and two homers with nine RBI.

The Storm have two starters that are worth watching as they move through the system. Cameron Nohos, 23, is an undrafted free agent signed in 2025. He had a brief showing with Lake Elsinore at the end of last season and pitched in the ACL to start this year. The 6-foot-8, 235-lb righty was promoted to Lake Elsinore after the ACL season was completed. 

In five games/three games started, Nohos has a 4.58 ERA in 19.2 innings pitched with 28 strikeouts to 10 walks. In his last start with the Storm, he struck out nine in 5.2 innings with three hits and an earned run allowed. He also walked four in the outing. Over his last three starts, Nohos has allowed four earned runs with 22 strikeouts in 15.2 innings pitched.

Jesus Castro, 19, is a right-handed pitcher signed as an international player out of Mexico in January of 2025. He played for the DSL Gold team in the Dominican Republic last season, winning the DSL championship. He had a 2.91 ERA in 43.1 innings pitched.

He hasn’t been quite that dominant with Lake Elsinore, but the 3.96 ERA over 77.1 innings is still a good result for a teenager. Castro has made 18 starts in his 19 appearances and has 88 strikeouts to 28 walks. 

RHP Tyler Schmitt, 22, was drafted in the 17th round of the 2025 draft. He has quietly put together a good first pro season as a Padre. In 20 games/17 starts, Schmitt has a 4.76 ERA in 87 innings with 94 strikeouts to 46 walks.

DSL Gold and Brown

The Gold team has a 40-15 record, first in the Northwest Division. First baseman Sebastian Nadales has a .429 average in 78 plate appearances. C/1B/RF Dayquer Alfonzo is hitting .337/.470/.542 in 219 plate appearances and leads the team with four homers and 49 RBI.

LHP Carlos Alvarez has a 3.25 ERA in 44.1 innings pitched with 37 strikeouts and 20 walks.

Reliever Albert Perez leads all the pitchers with 40 strikeouts in 36.1 innings pitched. 

The Brown team has a 11-43 record, last in the West Division. 1B/LF/2B Gabriel Teran remains their best hitter. He has played in 23 games with a .382 batting average and 1.106 OPS. He leads the team with three home runs. IF/DH Osmy Osorio has a .653 OPS but leads the team in RBI with 23.

The pitching for the Brown team has struggled, with only one pitcher having an ERA below 4.00. Righty reliever Angel Gamarra has a 3.44 ERA in 18.1 innings, striking out 16 and walking 22. The strikeout leader, reliever Dioscaride Sarit, has 27 strikeouts and 39 walks with a 11.48 ERA. RHP Raudi Perez has the most innings with 37 IP but has a 6.81 ERA with only 19 strikeouts.

For the St. Louis Cardinals to have a good chance of taking down the Cincinnati Reds and their All-Star starter Chase Burns Wednesday night, they’d need the best version of Matthew Liberatore. They got that and some clutch two-strike hitting, too. Well, they got that for 5 innings. The 6th inning was a different story entirely. By the time the late innings arrived, even the Cardinals were helping to defeat the Cardinals. Let’s sort out this mess that eventually became a very dramatic ending.

Both pitchers were shutting down the opposing lineups for the first 3 innings, but the St. Louis Cardinals finally broke through in the top of the 4th inning. They almost scored in the top of the 3rd inning when JJ Wetherholt ripped a double to center with Blaze Jordan running on the pitch, but he did not live up to his first name and was easily thrown out at the plate. I’m not one to talk, but Blaze seriously looked like he was running in slow motion. The 4th inning would be different, though, as Alec Burleson drew a one-out walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch by Burns. He would fortunately run a lot faster (so to speak) than Blaze Jordan and scored when Nathan Church singled on a two-strike count giving the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.

After Masyn Winn walked which moved Church up to second, Bryan Torres also singled with two strikes to score Church doubling the St. Louis lead to 2-0.

Matthew Liberatore accomplished many things Wednesday night. First, his game management was stellar as his pitch count was only in the 60’s by the time he reached the bottom of the 5th inning. He also surpassed his career high for strikeouts in a season. The one thing he did not accomplish was getting through the 6th inning without allowing damage. It all started innocently enough when McLain hit a one-out double to left. Next up was Elly De La Cruz who hit a shot up the middle that a leaping JJ Wetherholt could not snatch as it glanced off of his glove into centerfield giving the Reds runners at first and third with just one out. Matthew then unfortunately grooved a 94 mph four-seam fastball to Sal Stewart who blasted it 422 into the grass above the centerfield wall for a 3-run homer giving the Reds their first lead of the game at 3-2.

Matthew Liberatore’s night could be separated into the first 5 innings when he was the lights out shut down pitcher we all hoped he would become. He struck out 9 and didn’t walk anyone, but since he was allowed to enter the bottom of the 6th, we have to count that against him. Just a couple of meatball pitches, but that was enough to allow the Reds to takeover the lead which is a crying shame.

The Cardinals threatened to strike back in the top of the 7th when Herrera and Walker drew walks, but José Fermín popped out with runners at first and third to end the St. Louis 7th with no runs to show for it. Manager Oli Marmol brought in Luis Gastelum to handle the Reds in the bottom of the 7th. He was up to the task and set the Reds down 1-2-3.

The Reds removed Chase Burns after 5 innings as his pitch count hit 104. Moll, Burke and Mey were their relievers Wednesday night with Mey facing the Cardinals in the top of the 8th. He struck out Masyn Winn to start the inning. Next up was Joshua Baez who had a great at-bat where he drew a very patient walk. Blaze Jordan was unable to advance Baez into scoring position when he struck out after a wise ABS challenge. Baez did steal second on the second strike to Jimmy Crooks to get himself into scoring position, but it would be all for naught when Crooks struck out to end the Cardinals 8th.

The Cardinals apparently decided to help the Reds defeat them in the bottom of the 8th inning when Trevino led off with a single and then advanced to second on a wild pitch by St. Louis reliever Justin Bruihl that he threw to the backstop. McLain then laid down a nearly perfect sacrifice bunt that Blaze Jordan double-pumped on and then threw the ball past Burleson at first into right field scoring Trevino and giving Cincinnati a 4-2 lead. Elly De La Cruz flew out to center which advanced McLain to third with just one out. The Cardinals intentionally walked Sal Stewart which was smart, but also ended up being useless when Myers laid down a sacrifice bunt that resulted in him at first when no one covered first scoring McLain and giving (literally) the Reds a commanding 5-2 lead. It could have been worse. If not for the pop-out by Friedl with the bases loaded, the game could have really gotten out of control.

The top of the St. Louis Cardinals order would need to dial up some heroism to make a comeback in the top of the 9th to salvage the dumpster fire that was the bottom of the 8th inning. JJ Wetherholt, who had 2 hits on the night, lead off the inning by being hit by a pitch. Iván Herrera flew out to left for the first out as the rain started to pick up again. Alec Burleson ripped a ball down the first base line, but his bat broke and the ball was grabbed by Stewart who stepped on first base for the second out. The Cardinals were not quite done as Jordan Walker blasted a pitch to the opposite field over the wall for a 2-run homer getting St. Louis within a run at 5-4.

José Fermín then ripped a double down the left field line to give the Cardinals the tying run at second base and the potential winning run coming up to the plate in the form of Masyn Winn. The Reds seemed interested in helping the Cardinals as Pagan threw a wild pitch that moved Fermín to third. With the tying run just 90 feet away, Masyn Winn grounded out weakly down the third base line that Pagan managed to grab and throw him out at first. So freaking close.

The St. Louis Cardinals wrap up the Cincinnati part of their road trip Thursday afternoon as they take on the Reds at Great American Ball Park. Michael McGreevy will start the game for the Cardinals while the Reds will turn to RHP Brady Singer. First pitch is scheduled for 11:40am central time and the game broadcast will be available through Cardinals.tv.

BALTIMORE — The Yankees certainly seem to have caught a break against the Orioles.

Pete Alonso, along with all of his teammates in the Orioles dugout, was sure he’d hit a dramatic, go-ahead homer in the bottom of the seventh of a tie game Wednesday night against the Yankees at Camden Yards.

In near Carlton Fisk-fashion after crushing a pitch from lefty Brent Headrick, Alonso watched the ball as he walked down the first base line.

The ball seemingly sailed over the left field foul pole.

He flipped his bat away, convinced he’d just hit his 30th homer of the season — and second of the night.

Instead, home plate umpire Ryan Wills called the ball foul, much to Alonso’s disgust.

After a lengthy replay delay, the call stood and to make matters worse for Baltimore, the Yankees scratched out two runs in the eighth en route to a 5-3 win.

A livid Alonso, who’d homered in the third inning off Will Warren, was forced to continue the at-bat.

He eventually went down swinging to keep the game tied.

As he walked back to the dugout, Alonso had words with Wills, but remained in the game.

(Editor’s note: Welcome, Jake Brahney, to the CTC writing team!)

OK, we won a game yesterday. If we win today, it’s called ‘two in a row’. If we win again tomorrow, it’s called a ‘winning streak’. It has happened before.

The Guardians entered Wednesday night looking for back to back wins for the first time since July 21st. They would need to do so well shy of full strength, as Chase DeLauter and Jo Adell were out of the lineup nursing injuries, and David Fry (fresh in from Columbus for injured Rhys Hoskins) just got back to Cleveland today. Unfortunate that 3 of our “best” options vs Lefties aren’t in the lineup, but that’s baseball, Suzyn…

A shorthanded lineup vs a LHP making his debut; what could go wrong?!

In any event, fans were treated to a Big Lefty Headliner of a Pitching Matchup tonight, as Cleveland’s Rookie All Star Parker Messick faced off against a former Guardian prospect making his MLB debut; Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson. To those familiar with Cleveland’s Farm System (or at least “Guards Twitter”), Wilkinson is hardly a new name. A 10th round pick in the ‘23 Draft, “Tugboat” had made waves in MiLB going from JUCO to dominating A/A+ ball in just a year. After a somewhat down 2025 (and knowing that Wilkinson would be Rule 5 eligible this upcoming Winter), the Guardians traded him and a Compensatory Draft pick to the Giants for Captain Clutch and Catching Savant, Patrick Bailey.

So far, it would appear that everyone is happy with the trade, as Bailey has shown his value behind the dish and at many times, at it, while Wilkinson has gone from AA to an MLB debut in just 3 months.

And how did that debut go?

I would call it “effectively wild”. Wilkinson struggled getting ahead in counts, but when he did get the Guardians to swing, he induced a lot of weak contact, often jamming guys inside and getting infield popups as a result. Tugboat left after 2 successful innings, facing 7 batters and giving up 1 hit. He was far from the story in game as many pumped him up to be beforehand.

Meanwhile, if Wilkinson is a Tugboat, Messick is an Aircraft Carrier. Through 3 innings he had 5 strikeouts on 9 swings and misses. He was cruising early, and it looked like another night where he might just need 1.

Unfortunately, the Guardians lack of focus this season reared its ugly head in the 4th. Devers lead off the inning with a double that could’ve been a single had Halpin picked up the ball cleanly (or not taken his time getting it in). Add in a Wild pitch that Hedges couldn’t get in front of, and the Giants had a man on 3rd without much doing. Messick was able to induce weak outs, however, with 2 outs, Rocchio couldn’t come up with one in the hole and the Giants took a cheap 1-0 lead. A quick double and fly out ended the threat at just 1, thanks in part to some great defense (or at least the threat of it) from Steven Kwan.

So the Guardians were trailing even though they had a great pitcher on the mound. Stop if you’ve heard this before. Would they do anything about it? Would the offense pick up the defense?

Well, in the bottom of the 4th, Cleveland started a 2 out rally when Angel Martinez squeaked under a glove and Bazzana rocked a double down the line in right. Bazz maybe hit it a little too hard (not a criticism, just an unfortunate happening) as the ball bounced right back to the RF, holding Martinez at 3rd. It was up to Angel Genao, who would hit a laser to LF but was caught on a dive by Victor Bericoto. A 2 run catch keeps the lead for San Fran after 4.

The deeper we went into the game, the more important that catch would be. The Guardians would threaten again in the 7th, thanks to a 2-out error by Adames, but couldn’t take advantage. With 2 on and 2 out and a 2-0 count, Brayan Rocchio popped one up on the infield and the Guardians would head to the 8th down 1-0.

They would “threaten” one more time (threaten like a toddler with a knife is technically a threat, maybe more to themself but by definition, it’s a threat) in the 8th. To everyone’s surprise, Houser stayed in to start the 8th, quickly walking Steven Kwan. Next pitch was a pass ball and just like that, all we needed were productive outs or hits from Jose/Lowe/Martinez…. I’m sure you know how this story ends. All 3 would strike out and the Guardians would continue their struggles to even make contact with men in scoring position.

Like so many other games over the past few months, the pitching did everything they could to keep the Guardians in the game, but the offense just couldn’t string together anything meaningful. Adrian Houser fit the mold of a classic 2026 Guard Killer, throwing 5 shutout innings out of the bullpen, earning himself the Win. Messick was the tough luck Loser tonight, going 6.2 IP with a career high 10 strikeouts on just 6 hits and 0 walks.

The Guardians will go for the series Win tomorrow afternoon (1:10 PM) when Gavin Williams takes the mound vs Landen Roupp.

The Pirates gave Paul Skenes extra time to get things back on track.

It didn’t work out that way, at least this time around.

Skenes lasted just 4 1/3 innings and 81 pitches on Wednesday, allowing three runs on four hits and four walks with five strikeouts, though Pittsburgh did secure a 4-3 win over the Tigers at PNC Park.

Skenes did throw 21 pitches at 97 mph or harder, which was better than the 96.5 mph high-water mark he hit in his last outing — a 65-pitch effort — against the Marlins on Aug. 11.

The right-hander was originally slated to pitch Sunday against the Red Sox, but was instead pushed back to face Detroit in the middle of the week. Manager Don Kelly clarified that Skenes was not dealing with an injury but was intended to give him a “few more days to recover.”

Skenes did last 15 more pitches this start, but the four free passes he issued matched a season high.

“I think there’s been a lot of good,” Skenes said, according to MLB.com. “I think there’s some stuff, the walks. It’s frustrating. Nobody wants to go out there and walk anybody. Nobody’s trying to. … Felt good. Just a little out of sync, I guess, kind of the whole outing, which probably makes sense a little bit with the longer rotation. But nice to be back.”

Skenes, the National League Rookie of the Year and Cy Young winner in 2024 and 2025, respectively, has a 3.95 ERA and 1.14 WHIP across 139 innings this season. That stands in contrast to his first two seasons, in which he recorded a 1.96 ERA and 0.95 WHIP.

Infielder Brandon Lowe said sky-high expectations had people far too worried about Skenes’ results in 2026. If Skenes finishes the year, he should break the 200-strikeout threshold again after he notched 216 last season.

“I think the world’s been spoiled on who Paul Skenes really is,” Lowe said, according to the Associated Press. “He had probably the best starting stretch to a career ever.

“And now he’s not the greatest pitcher on the face of the planet for a few months, and people were worried and freaking out a bit.”

Skenes added that getting things on track will come down to making sure he’s taking a look at “objective” things.

“Just objective numbers, watching the game, execution, all that stuff,” he said. “Not anything from the outside.”

As I searched for pictures of Aaron Nola to use for this recap, I found a picture of a rhinoceros instead. It turns out that there’s a zoo in France that has a rhino named Nola; I choose to believe that this is not coincidental, and that somewhere out there is a Francophone cheering group for Nola: “Courbe de l’articulation! Courbe de l’articulation!”, they cry as he unleashes the knuckle curve on hapless opponents. At any rate, Nola was as tough as a rhino’s horn tonight.

After a quiet first, the Phillies got rolling in the second. Luis Arraez singled to lead off the inning, and after the next two Phillies made outs, Brandon Marsh and Justin Crawford singled to load the bases. That brought up Garrett Stubbs, who grounded to short. He sprinted to first with the copious amount of enthusiasm he brings to every endeavor; the result was the umpire flinging his arms wide in that signal beloved by baserunners everywhere, and the Phillies leading 1-0. The next Phillies runs would come in more bombastic fashion: Arraez sent a ball flying into the right field seats for a two-run homer in the bottom of the third.

Meanwhile, Aaron Nola kept mowing down Marlins. Through five innings the Fish had two hits, and five of them had struck out at Nola’s hand, four on the knuckle curve. It couldn’t last forever: in the top of the sixth Javier Sanoja slapped a sinker over the left field wall; a textbook line-drive homer. But the solo shots won’t kill you, and this one was a survivable blow. What happened afterward was a little more worrying, as Nola allowed singles to the next two batters. Sequencing is a quiet but mighty force in baseball, and here it was the difference between a manageable solo shot and a tied game. Nola steadied himself, broke out the knuckle curve, and gave the next two Marlins bright red Ks to wear, Hester Prynnes for the national pastime. Nola pitched through the seventh, finishing, fittingly, by making a Fish flail at a knuckle curve.

In the bottom of the seventh, Kyle Schwarber singled and Trea Turner doubled. Schwarber headed home, but center fielder Jakob Marsee flung the ball homeward like an angler throwing a lure into the water; after a relay from the shortstop, Schwarber was called out at home. The Phillies challenged, and the replay showed that Miami backstop Joe Mack may have whiffed on his tag attempt. After a lengthy review, the umpires ruled that Schwarber had indeed made it home safely. Don Mattingly smiled serenely in the dugout as Citizens Bank Park erupted in cheers.

Jonathan Bowlan took over after Nola. He does have a curveball, but deploys it quite sparingly (just eight times this season); perhaps that’s for the best, as just about any curve would struggle to fill the shoes (tunnel?) of Nola’s tonight. He navigated through the seventh without allowing the Marlins to narrow the lead, thanks in part to an excellent catch by Marsh in foul territory.

With the Phillies up by a couple, the sequence that would follow was obvious to all: Jhoan Duran would emerge from the dugout with the traditional fanfare, he would bedevil the Marlins with his blazing heater, and would allow no more than perhaps a stray hit or two as he slammed the door. And that is exactly what happened. I take great pride, valued TGP reader, in writing each and every one of these recaps from scratch, but in truth I could copy-paste the Duran sections and nobody would notice. He is as predictable as a Christmas Story coming on TV every holiday season.

The Phillies are 70-58. They’ll return to action at 6:40 on Friday, as a series against the Cardinals begins.

Roki Sasaki faces Kyle Freeland as the Dodgers look to sweep the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on Wednesday.

WEDNESDAY GAME INFO

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Rockies
• Stadium: Coors Field
• Time: 5:40 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 (Spanish)

The Diamondbacks still don’t have many answers for the Ketel Marte situation. 

Arizona general manager Mike Hazen joined “Arizona Sports 98.7’s Wolf & Luke Show” on Wednesday and said he was set to meet with the star second baseman on Thursday, but didn’t divulge much more.

“I don’t have a lot of details. I know everybody is itching for details. I don’t have a lot that I can really share at this point in time. He’s obviously flying back here for an MRI tomorrow.” Hazen said.

“We are fully committed to helping in any way that we can figure out how this gets better and moves forward. … We have been that way since day one, and we always have been.”

Hazen added that he couldn’t say if Marte would play again in 2026, saying “there’s a lot of variables,” but that he’ “hopeful” the All-Star can get back on the field.

On Monday, Marte mysteriously didn’t show up to Fenway Park for the Diamondbacks’ game against the Red Sox after traveling with the team to Boston from Atlanta.

After Marte’s absence, Arizona manager Torey Lovullo appeared to be fighting back tears in his postgame press conference. 

“I just love for him and care for him, he’ll be OK,” Lovullo said after the game.

Arizona then placed him on the restricted list — a designation for players away from the team without a reason and without pay.

ESPN reported at the time that Marte was dealing with a “personal situation.”

It’s the second straight season Marte has ended up on the restricted list after landing there in 2025 when he returned to the Dominican Republic and missed three games.

On Tuesday, the Diamondbacks sent Marte back to Arizona for an MRI on his knee. 

“Look, players go through things. It’s a long season. Things happen,” Hazen said. “We deal with stuff that you never hear about … There’s no playbook. There’s no blueprint.”

BALTIMORE — Though their recent surge may help the Mets avoid going down as perhaps the most disappointing team in franchise history, Pete Alonso is a few hours south, having another season in which he’s been among the league’s best hitters.

And after a sluggish start with the Orioles, the first baseman has his new team in wild-card contention, and he is on the verge of another 30-homer season.

With a trip back to Citi Field less than a month away, Alonso said Wednesday he’s not seeking revenge on his former team, which didn’t want him back on a multiyear deal.

“Honestly, for me, nothing is spiteful,’’ Alonso said before hitting his 29th homer of the season, a solo shot, in the third inning of Baltimore’s 5-3 loss to the Yankees. He also appeared to hit another solo shot in the seventh inning, but it was ruled foul, which sparked controversy.

“During the free agent process, the Orioles were the front-runners the entire time. For me to be in a place where they see me here not for the short term but a long-term period of time, [and] not just a valuable piece from a production standpoint but a cornerstone of the franchise, I want to make good on their belief in me. I do that by playing well and helping win ballgames. It’s as simple as that.”

The Mets’ plan to replace Alonso and Brandon Nimmo with Jorge Polanco and Marcus Semien in the infield, and Luis Robert Jr. in the outfield, proved to be a disastrous miscalculation.

The team has stunningly gotten better following the trades of valuable pieces like Clay Holmes, Luke Weaver and other members of the bullpen.

Alonso has kept an eye on his former team and said he’s pleased Sean Manaea is pitching better, and Francisco Lindor is healthy and doing well.

But the series against his old team is too far away for him to give it much thought, especially as the Orioles try to get to the playoffs.

“We play the New York Yankees today in a huge divisional battle,’’ Alonso said. “Obviously, [the series versus the Mets] is not at the top of my priority list right now. I want to focus on today and every team we’re playing. I know it’s coming down the road pretty soon, but we have business to take care of every single day.”

Since the end of April, few have done that better than Alonso — just three players have an OPS higher than Alonso’s .915 over his past 96 games. He credits the improvement to getting comfortable in his new surroundings, as well as adapting to fatherhood.

“It’s a big change,’’ Alonso said. “Now, things are firing on all cylinders.”

The Orioles opened Wednesday a game out of the final AL wild-card spot.

“It’s a really exciting time,’’ Alonso said. “Any team where you’re only a game out of a playoff spot deep into August, a lot of people will take it. We haven’t played our best baseball collectively, but I feel as we’ve gained some momentum moving along in the second half, our best baseball is ahead of us. … We’ve done a really good job being resilient, not just individually, but as a group. I’m really proud of how the team has fought and faced adversity. It’s been really fun to be a part of.” 

The imaging Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz underwent in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning revealed a “best-case scenario,” manager Dave Roberts said before the series finale against the Rockies.

“There were no findings, so that was good,” Roberts said. “MRI was clean. It doesn’t change the fact that he had this sensation in his neck. But I think to keep working on it, give it some rest as far as throwing the baseball.”

Díaz officially went on the IL for “neck inflammation,” but early theories on the injury, before he went to a specialist on Wednesday, suggested the issue could be related to the area around the trapezius, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

Roberts said Wednesday that the results suggested the injury was more muscular, rather than nerve related.

Read more:Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz heads back to injured list because of neck inflammation

“I think he’d been feeling the tightness in his neck,” Roberts said. “But I think where it went to the other night, he hadn’t felt that sensation. So that’s what really checked him up.”

Roberts said he didn’t know exactly how long Díaz would be shut down from throwing, but he estimated that it probably would be only a couple of days.

The bullpen shuffle continued Wednesday, when the Dodgers activated right-hander Brock Stewart (right shoulder discomfort) from the 15-day IL. In a corresponding move, they designated right-hander Jonathan Hernández for assignment.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.