Category: MLB

My introduction to baseball fandom was through an invite to an Out of the Park Baseball sim-league run by some of my father’s friends when I was in high school. I was tasked with playing as a general manager of a fictional baseball team filled with fictional baseball players, and I was competing against my father and his friends who were all running their own teams.

To me, it was just like all the numbers-heavy roleplaying games I’d played throughout my childhood where part of the point is finding ways to optimize a system. I took that mindset into this league primarily made up of older baseball fans just having fun with their friends.

My ruthlessly optimized team quickly became the most dominant in the league.

Now as an adult, I have mixed feelings about the way in which I treated roster building like a math puzzle that could be solved. I probably did a disservice to the spirit of what was, basically, a beer-and-pretzels-style game. I was a child at the time, and everyone still had a good time, so there wasn’t any real harm done.

But I do regret how I went about it.

I mention all of this to give you a sense of the lens through which I am naturally inclined to think about baseball. I have always been one for whom following the numbers and their relation to wins is my first instinct when considering team decisions.

Given all that, I am shocked to discover that Rockies closer Jordan Romano has managed to almost singlehandedly shift how I think about bullpen management.

For almost two decades, I’ve bought into the notion that the best way to organize a bullpen revolves around exploiting hitter tendencies and looking to the leverage of each plate appearance. The idea of holding to reliever roles defined by the inning in which the player is allowed to pitch has always seemed far too simplistic to me.

The question I’ve always put to folks advocating for set closers and set up roles is this: Why save your best relievers for the final two innings? Why wouldn’t you want to use your best arms in the most important situations of the game, regardless of which inning that occurs in?

Watching the Rockies have 12 different relievers blow saves over the course of the past two seasons wore down my previously held belief. The sheer number of times the Rockies lost a lead in the late innings since the start of 2025 is mind boggling when taken into the context of how few leads they’ve even had.

The 2026 Rockies bullpen, in search of a means of blowing fewer leads, has undergone a transformation throughout the summer.

In April, when the starting rotation was consistently unable to make it through the fifth inning, a collection of long relievers were the most important feature of the bullpen. By June, both the effectiveness of those long-relief appearances and the need for innings had been reduced, so the Rockies were left with an amorphous collection of role-less relievers.

Through the first half, 10 different Rockies pitchers had been awarded a save for the team, and seven had blown a save opportunity. In July, Romano joined the big league team, and the Rockies bullpen usage changed immediately.

He was handed the reigns to the ninth inning in his first game with the team. He was given a fancy closer entrance in his eighth appearance for the team. By early September, Romano had cemented himself as the Rockies most effective reliever with a 2.00 ERA backed up by a 2.43 FIP.

Romano has pitched outside the ninth inning only once in his 19 games as a Rockie.

The closer entrance for Jordan Romano pic.twitter.com/luvw7SIgBk

— Christian (@coors_merchant) August 1, 2026

I should hate this. I should be pushing for Romano to be used in any important situation instead of being limited to the end of the game.

In reality, I find myself simply at ease whenever the ninth rolls around and the broadcast team cuts the final commercial break in favor of showing Romano’s entrance. The memories of so many games having flipped suddenly right at the end from a Rockies lead to a Rockies loss are starting to fade. I am no longer beset by a sense of mounting dread during the final few innings of most Rockies games.

I still want the Rockies to win. To that end, I want them to make roster building and tactical decisions that give them the best chance to do so. I’m not yet convinced that using your best relievers in a rigidly defined inning is actually optimal. What I have been convinced of, however, is that the emotional experience of a lead feeling safe heading into the final inning or two is worth being a bit illogical.

I wish that the younger version of myself had read the room better instead of chasing every last advantage in my old OOTP league. I’m glad that the current version of the Rockies has set aside this one portion of the modern baseball zeitgeist in favor of providing both some spectacle and peace of mind to a fanbase that has had to endure a lot of disappointment in recent years.

Romano is thriving as the Rockies closer. Warren Schafer has to do less hand-wringing when deciding how to line up his bullpen. I get to feel excited at the end of games instead of fighting that old sense of dread. All parties involved get something nice out of the current arrangement.

Should the Rockies eschew all modern analytics and stop trying to find other ways to give them better chances to win?

Of course not.

I’m just glad that they aren’t so beholden to pursuing every single marginal advantage that they aren’t willing to stick to a “sub-optimal role” for a player like Romano when he shows them that he is incredibly comfortable in it.

Should the Rockies go ahead and sign Romano to a big multi-year extension based on his 18 innings of work for the team? Absolutely not, but… if they happen to bring him back for next year, you won’t hear me complaining given how much more pleasant he has made it to be a fan of this team.

---

On the Farm

Triple-A:Tacoma Rainiers 5, Albuquerque Isotopes 2

This was a close game right up until the end as the Isotopes couldn’t hold a one run lead when it counted most.

While the Rainiers would get on the board first with a one out RBI single from Stuart Fairchild in the top of the fourth it wouldn’t be long before the Isotopes struck back. Roc Riggio (No. 13 PuRP) opened up the bottom of the fifth with his first Triple-A double and was driven in by Nic Kent on a grounder that was just barely missed by Rainiers second baseman Leo Rivas. Albuquerque would take the lead in the eighth when Riggio walked with the bases loaded to score Drew Avans.

The Isotopes would enter the ninth inning with a thin one run lead after great performances from starter Jake Brooks, and relievers Valente Bellozo and Mason Green. The ninth rolled around and TJ Shook was handed the ball. Shook would load the bases on a couple of walks and single before a two-out wild pitch would allow Fairchild of the Rainiers to score and tie the game.

When the Isotopes were unable to score in the bottom of the ninth the game went to extras where Evan Shawver took over on the mound. A pair of walks to open the inning combined with the automatic runner at second loaded the bases before a Nolan Jones sacrifice fly gave the Rainiers the lead again. That would ultimately be all the runs that were needed for a Tacoma victory but they tacked on another two before it ended for good measure.

Double-A:Reading Fightin Phils 5, Hartford Yard Goats 3

The Hartford lineup couldn’t dig the team out of a whole dug by their bullpen.

Bryson Hammer started the game for the Yard Goats and, other than four walks, pitched quite well. Hammer held the Fightin Phils to a single run over five innings while striking out five. When Hammer was done he was relieved by Davison Palermo who did not have nearly as good a day at the ballpark. Palermo set down the side in order in the sixth but allowed a two-run homer to Bryson Ware in the seventh. While Palermo came back out in the eighth, he was pulled after allowing another two runs. Nathan Blasick shut the door for the remainder of the game but the damage had already been done.

The Yard Goats came out the gates in the first with a run after Andy Perez doubled and then Jared Thomas (No. 8 PuRP) and Jack O’Dowd singled to drive him in. Hartford would take the lead in the bottom of the sixth with a string of hits to load the bases before a Zach Kokoska grounder and a Cole Messina walk drove in two. Despite a single in each of the remaining innings The Yard Goats scoring would end in the sixth and they’d ultimately drop to a 62-65 record.

High-A:Everett AquaSox 14, Spokane Indians 2

The less said about this blowout the better.

After a recent string of impressive pitching performances from Jordy Vargas hopes were high for him coming into this game. Vargas could threw 96 pitches to get through four and two thirds innings and allowed seven runs on nine hits and three walks. The majority of the runs came on a Cesar Quintas double in the third and an Aiden Taurek home run in the fifth but ultimately Vargas simply allowed far too traffic on the bases to be successful. Once Vargas was pulled the string of Luke Hansel, Austin Emener, and Justin Loer would come in to fill out the rest of the game. None of them was able to get avoid allowing the AquaSox to add on to their score.

At the plate both Wilder Dalis (No. 10 PuRP) and Max Belyeu (No. 23 PuRP) hit solo home runs which was essentially the end of the positives for the Spokane lineup. In total, Spokane hitters struck out fourteen times which at least meant that that teams struggles on the mound were not the only reason the team lost.

Low-A:Fresno Grizzlies 6, San Jose Giants 2

An early flurry of hits and consistent pitching brought the Grizzlies ten games above .500.

Three straight ground outs in the first from Fresno hitters was quickly forgotten in the second. Daniel Jackson (No. 12 PuRP) and Ronny Ugarte led of the inning with back-to-back hits before Jack Natili (No. 20 PuRP) walked the bases loaded. A triple from Cort MacDonald, a sacrifice fly from Juan Martinez, and a home run from Landyn Vidourek would score five for the Grizzlies before the inning would come to an end. Natili would go on to score an insurance run in the eighth after he doubled and came home on a wild pitch.

That insurance run was ultimately unnecessary due to the solid combined pitching from the Grizzlies. Luichi Casilla and Austin Newton threw four innings apiece. While Newton’s four innings of one-run pitching was solid, it paled in comparison to Casilla’s four scoreless with seven strikeouts. Ben Davis would throw the ninth and allow another run to the Giants on an Andy Polanco RBI single but at that stage the Grizzlies were so far ahead that it never got particularly stressful.

---

---

MLB players on salary cap, CBA talks, potential lockout, more | ESPN

Statements about the CBA negotiations from those directly involved are generally pre-prepared and crafted with a specific purpose in mind. The idea of getting any individuals actual personal thoughts on the process is implausible if their name is attached to the quotes. In order to get insights from players ESPN collected quotes from a two dozen players and anonymized them all. A fascinating look into how the players side is feeling heading into this pivotal offseason.

Running the bases with Colorado Rockies Jake McCarthy | Mile High Sports

The Rockies were 23rd in the league in terms of stolen bases last season but have risen up to 14th so far in 2026. Jake McCarthy and his team leading 26 stolen bases are the clear difference for Rockies baserunning this year. Drew Creasman talks with McCarthy about the year he’s had in Colorado and his mindset on the bases. It’s worth the read for McCarthy’s quote about his throwing arm in the outfield alone.

Rockies’ Cole Carrigg can’t give fans the bird, but Colorado needs his edge to win
| Denver Post ($)

Troy Renck offers his take on the Cole Carrigg benching situation that unfolded this past week. For his part, Renck sees disciplining Carrigg as a delicate line to walk in avoiding extreme outbursts while also not smothering the intensity that he plays with. If the quotes from Schaeffer, Josh Byrne, and Carrigg himself are any indication, the Rockies organization tends to agree with Renck’s assesment.

---

---

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

Carter Jensen made history last night, with his 6th leadoff homer of the season, but the Royals bullpen blew it.

However, it’s clear that rookie catcher Carter Jensen will not be of much concern. The standout KCMO product continues to shine for his hometown team.

And on Wednesday — in a 9-6 loss to the Marlins — Jensen set a single-season franchise record. In the first inning, Jensen recorded his sixth leadoff home run — a club record — off Miami Marlins starter Eury Perez. The blast traveled 414 feet into the Royals’ bullpen. It was Jensen’s 20th home run of the calendar year.

Royals Double-A prospect Hunter Owen received nice praise as being the organizations hottest pitching prospect.

A fourth-round pick out of Vanderbilt in 2023, Owen is a former member of Kansas City’s Top 30 prospects ranking, and he’s pushing himself back into prominence with a late charge at Double-A Northwest Arkansas. His 45 strikeouts over 27 innings were second-most in the Minors in August, and he racked up those K’s while posting a 1.33 ERA, .181 average-against and 1.19 WHIP over five starts. The 6-foot-5 southpaw hasn’t been big on velocity with a fastball only around 91-93 mph but managed to get whiffs across his four-pitch mix.

Noah Cameron wasn’t as sharp last night, but has been a part of something that has made Royals relievers strike more hitters out. (LOL after last night).

The bullpen session that Noah Cameron threw before his now notorious July 24 outing against Detroit — the seven scoreless innings in relief that kickstarted this successful run he’s on — was one of the best he’s ever thrown.

Luke Maile, who tries to catch as many bullpen sessions as his schedule allows, called it the best bullpen he’s caught all year. Cameron’s word for it was “ridiculous.”

Some of the Royals 2026 draft class has made their pro debut, Brian Burrows of Kings of Kauffman checks in on them.

Yirsandy Rodríguez of Royals Keep looks in on the adjustment Nate Pearson has been making in Kansas City.

Is Vladdy Jr. back?

Jacob Misiorowski had an impressive streak come to an end last night, but the Brewers still beat the Cubs.

Ronald Acuña Jr. is the fastest player in MLB history to get to 200 career stolen bases and home runs.

Who are the leaders for rookie of the year in the AL and NL as we head into the final month?

Uh, the Clippers may never be good again, after historic NBA punishment.

Ohtani has no timeline to return to the mound

Here is your song of the day: Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees

The San Francisco Giants wrap up this road series against the Pittsburgh Pirates this morning.

Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Blade Tidwell, who enters this morning’s game with a 4.54 ERA, 4.37 FIP, with 31 strikeouts to 13 walks in 37.2 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 10-6 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks last Friday, in which he allowed six runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and a walk in five innings.

As of the time this is being written, the Pirates have not yet announced a starting pitcher for this morning’s game. But you can head down to the comments for more up to date information.

Game #141

Who: San Francisco Giants vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

Where: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

When: 9:35 a.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

Triple-A: Jacksonville JumboShrimp (Marlins) 8, Norfolk Tides 4

It’s been a tough adjustment to Triple-A for Tides starter Juaron Watts-Brown, and it didn’t get much better here. Over 4.2 innings he allowed seven runs on six hits, four walks, five strikeouts, and three home runs. The relievers behind him were solid overall. The rehabbing Félix Bautista was one of those four arms that came out of the bullpen. He threw 26 pitches (15 strikes), recorded two outs, and allowed one run on a hit, two walks, and two strikeouts. The other three relievers—Yosver Zulueta, Gerald Ogando, and Yaramil Hiraldo—combined for 3.2 scoreless innings.

The Norfolk offense collected just four total hits, three of which did go for extra bases. Brandon Butterworth hit a solo shot in the eighth inning, his fourth of the season. Jeremiah Jackson launched a three-run shot in the eighth inning. Jud Fabian doubled and scored a run. Enrique Bradfield Jr. went 0-for-4 with a run scored.

Double-A: Chesapeake Baysox 5, Portland Sea Dogs (Red Sox) 4 – F/10

Joseph Dzierwa started on the mound, and had a second consecutive laborious outing. The lefty went four innings and allowed three runs on six hits, a walk, seven strikeouts, and a home run. His Double-A ERA has jumped from 1.89 two starts ago to 2.43 now. Still an impressive season for the former second-round pick. Bradley Brehmer tossed two shutout innings in support. Ryan Long followed with two innings of his own, in which he gave up a solo homer and struck out four. Brock Moore earned the win by throwing two perfect innings to close out out the Baysox victory.

Wehiwa Aloy drove in four of Chesapeake’s five runs on a pair of two-run homers, bringing his season total to 23 (eight at Double-A). Aloy’s round-trippers were the team’s only extra-base hits. Aron Estrada, Vance Honeycutt, Ethan Anderson, and Anderson De Los Santos had one single each. Honeycutt was responsible for the other RBI, a walk-off base knock to score Griff O’Ferrall in the bottom of the 10th inning.

High-A: Frederick Keys 5, Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets) 1

Four different Keys took the mound. They combined to allow just the one run on four hits, three walks, and 13 strikeouts. That one run was a solo home run allowed by Zac Lampton in the bottom of the eighth inning. Starter Evan Yates was the headliner, tossing five scoreless innings and striking out six to earn the win. Chandler Marsh and Teddy Sharkey recorded three outs and four outs, respectively, without giving up a run.

Frederick’s only extra-base hit was an eighth-inning, pinch hit home run for Andrés Nolaya. Jaiden Lo Re, Yasmil Bucce, and Jordan Sanchez each had one single and an RBI apiece. DJ Layton walked, stole two bases, and struck out three times. Ty Head had a single, a walk, a stolen base, and two strikeouts. Enddy Azocar had a tough day, going 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.

Low-A: Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (White Sox) 9, Delmarva Shorebirds 8

Several Shorebirds hitters filled up the box score. Eric Booth Jr. collected two hits, including a double, two RBI, and a run scored. Stiven Martinez had three hits, including a double, an RBI, and a run. Jimmy Anderson had a three-RBI day that included a single, a double, a walk, and a run scored. Miguel Rodriguez reached base three times with a single and two walks.

Iziah Salinas, drafted in the 17th round back in 2024, made his affiliate debut here. The starter worked one inning and allowed two runs on one hit, a walk, and two strikeouts. Isaac Silva was first out of the bullpen. He gave up five runs on six hits, two walks, and two strikeouts. Connor Gehr covered the final four frames. He was charged with two unearned runs on four hits, two walks, and three strikeouts.

Box Scores

Thursday’s Schedule

Norfolk: vs Jacksonville, 12:05. Starter: TBD

Chesapeake: vs Portland, 6:35 pm. Starter: Anthony Eyanson (6-1, 1.83 ERA)

Frederick: at Brooklyn, 4:00 pm. Starter: Boston Bateman (4-3, 3.46 ERA)

Delmarva: at Kannapolis, 7:05 pm. Starter: Brayan Orrantia (1-8, 5.76 ERA)

Hello, friends.

The 2026 Orioles rollercoaster ride continues. Over the last couple of days, we were reminded why there have been slightly more downs than there have been ups this season. Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s losses to the Rockies were particularly maddening, with such sad offensive outputs in Coors Field against the Colorado staff, with various shenanigans on the basepaths, on defense, and from the bullpen. The Orioles could not afford to waste that series but they wasted it anyway.

Check out my recap of Wednesday’s walkoff, 11-inning loss for more of those not-so-lovely totals.

After Wednesday’s results, here is the state of the race for the third American League wild card spot. The Orioles trail the Cleveland Guardians by 1.5 games. They are tied alongside of the Rangers and Blue Jays at that playoff position. There are three games to be played against the Guardians; the Orioles have to sweep Cleveland to secure the head-to-head tiebreaker. Six games remain against the Blue Jays. I think that the Orioles need to go 14-8 in their final 22 games. Maybe they need to go 15-7.

Following losses like the Orioles just had, it feels absurd to bring up the postseason situation. Yet, the expanded postseason field, foisted upon us by owners wanting more postseason TV money, in combination with the weakness of the American League contenders this year, keeps the Orioles in it. If there were only two wild cards, the Orioles would be six games out. It’d be over, if not mathematically official yet. They do have problems. So does everybody else. The odds are long but not insurmountable.

The Orioles just have to play better! They have to do it for three weeks running instead of just for a game or two. There are no unwinnable games from here to season’s end. It’s just, if things go badly, they will lose. If the offense continues to scuffle, they won’t win enough. If relievers alternate who is going to blow games each night and Craig Albernaz keeps pressing bad buttons, they won’t win enough. If the defense and baserunning keep costing them, that will also be a problem. Same if the starting rotation runs ragged with several of its pitchers nearing or already on career high counts for innings.

We are running a poll this week asking Orioles fans which of these problem areas you are most worried about down the stretch. Have you voted yet? If you haven’t, here it is:

After watching and having to recap yesterday’s game, my answer to this question is, “Yes.”

National television awaits the Orioles tonight. The powers that be who decide on Fox broadcasts have deemed this Orioles-Red Sox matchup to be worth airing for a wider audience. There will be no MASN broadcast, and the game will begin at 7:15 instead of the now-usual Monday-Thursday evening 6:35 start time. Brandon Young and Jake Bennett are the scheduled starting pitchers. Young, with a total of 147 innings pitched between Norfolk and Baltimore, is one of the guys who is past his career high (111 IP in 2024).

Orioles stuff you might have missed

Albernaz on Orioles schedule: “We know what’s ahead of us” (Baltimore Baseball)
Evidence from the just-concluded Rockies series is thin that the Orioles are productively acting on that knowledge.

Orioles takeaways: Kyle Bradish not concerned about growing workload (The Baltimore Sun)
Bradish is at 148 innings. His pre-surgery high was 168.2. If he makes three more starts, he probably won’t pass that, but if he makes four, he probably will. That depends on how the Orioles want to manage the rotation down the stretch, which might itself depend on whether they plausibly remain in the race.

Luis De León’s fastball focus once again saved his season. This time, it brought him to the big leagues. (The Baltimore Banner)
The not-great Triple-A performance from De León made the promotion a bit of an eyebrow-raiser, and unfortunately his first outing didn’t do anything to change that impression.

How lefty pitching prospects Boston Bateman and Caden Hunter have emerged for the Orioles (Press Box Online)
Hunter has been a real revelation as he’s pitched through three levels this year. I do hope he can keep the walk rate in check as he climbs the ladder further. A 4.1 BB/9 is a little higher than you’d like.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Today in 1999, Cal Ripken Jr. hit his 400th home run in the middle of a 11-6 victory over the then-Devil Rays. At the time, Ripken was just the 20th player to reach the milestone. Now, there are 59 players on that list. Former Oriole Manny Machado (393 homers) may be the next player to join the club.

There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2010-14 pitcher Troy Patton, 1987-90 infielder Rene Gonzales, 1956 pitcher Morrie Martin, and 1956-57 pitcher Sandy Consuegra.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: auto engineer Ferdinand Porsche (1875), actor Charlie Sheen (1965), and snowboarding legend Shaun White (1986).

On this day in history…

In 301, the republic of San Marino, a microstate located entirely within modern-day Italy, was founded. It is the oldest continuously-existing republic.

In 1260, the Mongolian army was defeated by Mamluks in the Battle of Ain Jalut in modern-day Israel. This was the first serious defeat dealt to the Mongols and marked the end of an era of expansion for their empire.

In 1838, Frederick Douglass escaped from being enslaved.

In 1939, France and the United Kingdom declared war on Germany, two days after Germany invaded Poland.

In 1981, the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, to which the United States is a signatory, although the treaty was never ratified here.

**

And that’s the way it is in Birdland on September 3. Have a safe Thursday. Go O’s!

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets (38-37/31-26)

NO GAME (WEATHER)

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (27-42/31-28)

BINGHAMTON 1, NEW HAMPSHIRE 0 (BOX)

As the scoreline would suggest, this was a well pitched game by both sides. The two teams combined for eleven hits (six for New Hampshire, and five for Binghamton), with the Fisher Cats pitching staff striking out eleven and the Rumble Ponies striking out seven. The big hit in the game was a John Bay solo home run in the seventh inning.

• SS Mitch Voit: 0-4
• 2B Marco Vargas: 1-2, 2 BB
• 3B Jacob Reimer: 2-4, 2B, 2 K
• DH Chris Suero: 0-4, 2 K
• RF Eli Serrano III: 0-3, K
• CF John Bay: 1-3, R, HR (3), RBI, 2 K
• C Kevin Parada: 0-3, 3 K
• LF JT Benson: 1-3, 2B
• 1B Jamari Baylor: 0-2, K
• RHP Noah Hall: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
• RHP Cristofer Gomez: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, W (2-0)
• LHP Felipe De La Cruz: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, H (3)
• RHP Bryce Jenkins: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, S (1)

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (25-40/31-31)

FREDERICK 5, BROOKLYN 1 (BOX)

The Brooklyn offense was fighting a losing battle throughout this one. They struggled as a unit, amassing just a single run and four hits on the day (also they walked three times). Their one run came late, when Colin Houck hit a home run in the eighth inning, when they were down 5-0.

• SS Sammy Stafura: 1-3, 2B, BB, E (8)
• 2B Elian Peña: 1-4, K
• CF Aiden Robbins: 1-3, BB, K
• RF Trey Snyder: 0-4, 2 K
• LF Yonatan Henriquez: 0-4, 2 K
• 1B Cole Mathis: 0-3, BB, 3 K
• DH Ronald Hernandez: 0-4, 2 K
• 3B Colin Houck: 1-3, R, HR (8), RBI
• C Chase Meggers: 0-3, 2 K
• RHP Emilio Obispo: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, E (1), 1 HBP, L (0-1)
• LHP Luis R. Rodriguez: 0.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 HBP
• RHP Rafi Vazquez: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
• RHP Calvin Ziegler: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 WP
• RHP Juan Arnaud: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP

Single-A: St. Lucie Mets (33-33/22-38)

ST. LUCIE 6, JUPITER 5 (BOX)

St. Lucie won a rollercoaster of a game, as they trailed for the majority of it only to make a comeback in the later innings. Jupiter led 3-1 through the third inning, and 5-1 through the fifth, with Branny De Oleo driving in the St. Lucie run with an RBI double in the second.

The second half of the game was much different than the first, however. St. Lucie were gifted their second run of the game, as Jeremy Rodriguez scored on an errant pick off throw in the seventh. Vladi Gomez made it a 5-4 game in the eighth with a two run single and Yovanny Rodriguez completed the comeback with a walk off, two run single in the ninth.

A special shout out to the quartet of Ernesto Mercedes, Cesar Rivera, Zach Crotchfelt, and Caden Wooster, who gave up one base runner in relief of Ethan Lanthier, keeping the game in reach for the Mets.

• LF Jake Ogden: 0-3, 2 BB, K, SB (2)
• DH Boston Baro: 0-2, R, 3 BB, K, 2 SB (2, 3)
• 1B Julio Zayas: 0-4, R, BB, 3 K
• RF Jack Toomey: 1-4, R, BB, 2 K
• C Yovanny Rodriguez: 1-4, R, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K, E (3)
• SS Jeremy Rodriguez: 1-3, R, BB, K
• CF Branny De Oleo: 1-1, R, 2B, RBI, 3 BB, SB (12)
• 2B Vladi Gomez: 2-4, RBI, 2 K
• 3B Yunior Amparo: 1-4, 2 K
• RHP Ethan Lanthier: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 WP
• RHP Ernesto Mercedes: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
• LHP Cesar Rivera: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• LHP Zach Crotchfelt: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• RHP Caden Wooster: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, W (1-0)

Rookie: FCL Mets (24-33)

NO GAME (SEASON OVER)

STAR OF THE NIGHT

Jacob Reimer

GOAT OF THE NIGHT

Ethan Lanthier

Note: the stats in this article are from Wednesday afternoon, before Chourio had four hits and his 21st homer on Wednesday night.

Jackson Chourio contains multitudes, as they say. When he’s on, he looks like the best position player on the Brewers, by far. He has a knack for rising to the challenge—in 12 postseason games, he is a .341/.362/.682 hitter—and he is, in my qualitative view, the one player on the Brewers who I never think has no chance no matter how good the opposing pitcher is. Simply: he can do things offensively that nobody else on the team can.

At the same time, he can be frustrating, certainly due in part to the confidence he has in his immense natural ability. There are times when it looks like he’s going to swing, no matter what. While I don’t think Chourio is outmatched physically by any pitcher in the league, he can get out-thought on occasion. Chourio’s splits with runners on base suggest that he tries to do way too much in those situations, to his and the team’s detriment. (More on that in a bit.)

Here’s where I remind you that he’s 22. 22-year-olds get outwitted. It happens. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It could also be concerning if we weren’t seeing tangible signs of improvement from Chourio.

It’s easy to occasionally feel like Chourio’s last two seasons have been, at minimum, mildly disappointing. In his second season, Chourio’s wRC+ dropped seven points (119 to 112) and his WAR was down from 4.0 to 3.0 via FanGraphs and from 3.9 to 2.2 via Baseball Reference. This season, injuries delayed the start of his season, and he hasn’t yet turned into the offense-carrying totem that many people hoped he would be by now.

And yet: those tangible signs of improvement exist. In a general sense, Chourio has ticked up this year. He’s surely going to set a new career high in home runs while playing fewer games than in either of his previous seasons:

• 2024: 148 games, 21 home runs
• 2025: 131g, 21 HR
• 2026: 104g, 20 HR (23 team games remaining)

This has led to an uptick in wRC+, which currently sits at a career-best 124. Chourio continues to be a solid baserunner: the advanced metrics have him about the same as the previous two years, while he is stealing bases at a moderate volume (15) and acceptable rate (75%), both right in line with what he’s done previously (coming into this season Chourio was 43-for-57 in stolen bases, 75.4%).

The most encouraging offensive sign for Chourio is in his plate discipline, something that has been an obvious point of difficulty at times during his young career. Last season, Chourio’s plate discipline was a real problem. His chase rate and walk rate were both in the bottom 12 percent among MLB hitters, which was a tangible drop from his rookie season when he was 26th percentile in chase percentage and 31st percentile in walk rate (6.8%).

This year, we’re seeing, at minimum, a bounceback to 2024 levels. Chourio still chases too much—he is 21st percentile this season—and that’s one of the biggest weak points in his game. But Chourio has worked the walk percentage back to a respectable 8.1%; he’s never going to be Barry Bonds, but for a player with such advanced bat-to-ball skills, you can live with an 8.1% walk rate.

Interestingly, even with the uptick in homers, Chourio’s isolated power (ISO) hasn’t really improved this season—it’s the same as it was last year (.193), which is just a few ticks above his rookie season (.189). He’s hitting more homers, though… so what explains that? Well, Chourio is hitting more homers, but he’s traded off some of his other extra-base hits, most notably the second-most important hits to a player’s slugging percentage: triples. Chourio hit four triples in each of his first two seasons, but doesn’t have any this season. He’s also a little behind his doubles pace from last year, when he hit 35 compared to 21 homers; this year, he has 23 doubles (a full-season pace of 30-31).

To be clear: it’s good to turn some of your doubles into homers. And when you add in the better plate discipline, Chourio’s OPS is up a significant 48 points over last season (and 27 points over his rookie year).

Chourio and the Brewers have also been able to highlight another strength this season: defense. Despite a certain lack of aesthetic beauty, Chourio has generally been a good defensive outfielder since coming to the big leagues. Outs Above Average had him as an excellent right fielder and mediocre left fielder in 2024, and as pretty good in both right and center in 2025 (though with way more attempts in center than right).

This season, Chourio has done far less moving around—91 of his 100 starts in the outfield have come in left. DRS sees him as a clearly good left fielder, and via Outs Above Average, he ranks behind only Chandler Simpson, Cody Bellinger, and Jarren Duran amongst left fielders.

Add all of this together, and Chourio is having his best season (when accounting for his missed games); extrapolate his WAR to the number of plate appearances he had in 2024, and you’d get 4.1 fWAR and 4.3 bWAR. That’s not a huge improvement over the highs he set as a rookie, but it’s an improvement.

There are still things to work on, obviously, and the biggest thing is Chourio’s bizarre splits this season with runners on or off base. Check it out:

• With nobody on base, Chourio is batting .327/.383/.534 for a 154 wRC+
• With men on base, he is hitting .219/.286/.393 for an 81 wRC+
• With runners in scoring position, he’s at .223/.307/.321 for a 68 wRC+

Interestingly, Chourio might be almost too passive with runners in scoring position—his walk rate actually increases from 8.4% with the bases empty to 10.2% with RISP. BABIP is also playing a huge role: Chourio has a sky-high .395 BABIP with no one on, but that drops to .256 with runners on base and .282 with RISP. Most tellingly, his power has evaporated completely with runners in scoring position: his ISO is .207 with bases empty, .174 with runners on, and .098 with runners in scoring position.

How much of that is bad luck? He’s only got 127 plate appearances with RISP plus 69 more with a runner on first, so it’s not like we’re dealing with huge samples here. It certainly seems like there’s a mental side to this; it feels like he’s pressing with runners on. There could be a ‘snake eating its tail’ aspect at play, too: perhaps Chourio knows how bad his numbers are with runners on, so he’s tightening up in those situations.

Figuring out how to get Chourio to relax with runners on base should be one of the team’s biggest goals over the next month—they’re going to need him locked in to make a deep run in the playoffs. He certainly has the ability, and to highlight just how rare Chourio’s accomplishments already are, let’s revisit a list I shared in this week’s Week in Review. When Chourio hit his 20th home run last week, he joined a list of just 16 other players to have three seasons of at least 20 homers before their age-23 season:

• Eight of those 16 players are in the Hall of Fame (Mel Ott, Ted Williams, Eddie Mathews, Mickey Mantle, Al Kaline, Frank Robinson, Orlando Cepeda, and Ken Griffey Jr.)
• One is one of the best players ever but isn’t in the Hall of Fame because of steroids (Alex Rodriguez)
• Five are active players who have Hall of Fame cases ranging from “lock or near lock” (Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Juan Soto) to “we have to at least discuss it” (Giancarlo Stanton, Carlos Correa)
• The remaining two are players whose careers were cut short due to various circumstances (Tony Conigliaro, Bob Horner)

It’s a good list.

The Phillies are finally coming home after a long but successful west coast road trip. Over that time, they’ve been able to cushion their lead in the race for the NL Wild Cards as well as narrow the deficit for the NL East. That second thing will take center stage this weekend, as the Phillies begin a critical four game series with the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park tomorrow. It will be the first four of seven total meetings between the teams over the next ten days, a stretch that will likely go a long way in deciding who will take the NL East crown.

On to the links.

Phillies News:

• In case you haven’t noticed, Bryce Harper has been extremely locked in of late. His teammates have certainly taken notice. ($)
• Speaking of Harper, Don Mattingly and the Phillies believe he’s held up well since making the shift back to right field. ($)

MLB News:

• The looming CBA negotiations and a discussion about a salary cap is becoming a bigger topic as the season nears its end. What do some (anonymous) players think about all of it?
• The surprising sale of the Angels to L.A. Rams owner Stan Kroenke has brought a bevy of new unanswered questions to the fold. ($)
• Position players pitching has gone from a goofy anomaly to common place as more and more managers deploy non-pitchers to pitch in mop-up duty.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders: W, 9-2 vs. Lehigh Valley IronPigs

CF Jarred Kelenic 1-4, BB, 3 K
3B Anthony Volpe 2-3, 2B, SB, HBP
LF Duke Ellis 0-0, BB
RF Jasson Domínguez 1-4, RBI, BB, SB
C J.C. Escarra 2-4, RBI, BB
2B Marco Luciano 1-5, RBI, 3 K
SS Oswaldo Cabrera 1-5, 2B, RBI, K
LF-3B Max Schuemann 3-5, HR, RBI
DH Yanquiel Fernández 3-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI — 24 on the year for Fernández
1B Tyler Hardman 0-4, 2 K

Clarke Schmidt 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K — solid in his second rehab start
Alex Cornielle 5 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR (win)
Bradley Hanner 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Eli Morgan 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Volpe and Domínguez pick up the offense right where we left off last night! 🔁#RepBXpic.twitter.com/ACZBlyIEvL

— SWB RailRiders (@swbrailriders) September 3, 2026

Double-A Somerset Patriots: W, 8-6 at Erie SeaWolves

SS Core Jackson 1-4, HR, RBI, BB, SB — first Double-A homer
CF Jace Avina 0-4, 3 K
2B-3B Roderick Arias 1-4, BB, 2 K
3B-1B Coby Morales 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K — oppo for his 21st of the season
1B Josh Moylan 1-1, HR, 3 RBI
2B Connor McGinnis 1-3, BB
RF DJ Gladney 2-5, 2B, 2 K
LF Jackson Castillo 2-3, 2 BB, K, fielding error
C Manuel Palencia 1-5, 2 RBI
DH Luis Durango 0-5, 3 K

Chase Hampton 2.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 3 K, 2 HR — after a strong outing last time, back to the struggle bus for Hampton
Kelly Austin 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (win)
Trent Sellers 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K (hold) — bang-up job by the ‘pen after Hampton departed
Yerry Rodriguez 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (hold)
Harrison Cohen 1 IP, 0 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 0 K (save)

Josh Moylan PULVERIZED this baseball for his @Yankees farm system leading 26th HR of the year! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/9hKjXHRzp5

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) September 2, 2026

High-A Hudson Valley Renegades:L, 5-0 at Wilmington BlueRocks

CF Jackson Lovich 1-3, BB, K, 2 SB
DH Maika Niu 1-4, 3 K
1B Kyle West 0-1, 3 BB, SB
C David McCann 0-4, 2 K, throwing error
3B Hans Montero 0-2, BB, 2 K, SB
2B Enmanuel Tejeda 0-4
LF Robbie Burnett 0-3, BB, K
RF Camden Troyer 0-3, BB
SS Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek 0-4, K — just two hits, both singles from HV on the night

Pico Kohn 3.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R (2 ER), 4 BB, 6 K (loss)
Jack Sokol 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Luis Velasquez 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Brady Kirtner 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Low-A Tampa Tarpons: W, 4-0 (7) vs. Dunedin Blue Jays — game called in the top of the seventh by rain, was meant to be a doubleheader but game 2 was pushed back to today

SS Dax Kilby 1-3, HR, 2 RBI — turned nicely on an inner-third heater for his fourth dinger
CF Yostin Pena 1-3, SB, CS — I could watch Pena highlights all day: hit a 109-mph single yesterday
RF Wilberson De Pena 1-3, HR, RBI
C Bear Harrison 0-3, K
3B Anthony Potestio 2-3, HR, RBI
LF Luis Puello 0-3, K
1B Tyce Armstrong 0-2
DH Brando Mayea 0-2, K
2B Luis Escudero 1-2, 2B

Tyler Boudreau 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K
Rafael Arias 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (win)
Brennan Stuprich 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (save)

🚨 🎙️Dax Kilby blasts a 2-run Shot (4)!⁰⁰102.8 MPH EV
395 FT#Yankees#RepBXpic.twitter.com/9aMbFcnGuU

— YankeesFarm (@YankeesFarm) September 2, 2026

Florida Complex League Yankees: Season over

Dominican Summer League Yankees: Season over

Dominican Summer League Bombers: Season over

Of all the Yankees moves (or non-moves) this summer, their decision not to add pitching at the trade deadline probably caused the most consternation. The team’s pitching staff paced the league in the first half, sure, but most fans looked at the club’s bullpen, and at the long list of names on the IL, and figured the Yankees could use an extra arm or two just in case, just to add a little depth if things got hairy.

Well, we’re here in September, and things have gotten hairy, but the Yankees’ pitching staff has still performed. Max Fried and Ryan Weathers hit the IL with an elbow issues, and Fernando Cruz’s injury left the late-inning crew thin, and yet the Yankees’ team ERA of 2.77 since August 4th leads baseball. Their depth has been tested, and they’ve aced the test.

All that said, outside of David Bednar, Brent Headrick, and Paul Blackburn, there’s no obvious pecking order in the Yankee bullpen. Aaron Boone has three clear favorite options, and then a bunch of question marks. Other than the matter of how to structure the team’s outfield, this might be the most pressing roster concern to sort out in the final month. So, who will emerge as the next most trustworthy reliever in Boone’s bullpen?

I think the most fun part of this question is that the answer could be anyone, thanks to the Yankees’ proclivity for getting the best out of unheralded pitchers. Anyone that is currently on the roster, or working on things in Triple-A, or rehabbing from injury, is liable to step in and surprise us, because Matt Blake and his staff have been so proficient at molding flawed pitchers into serious contributors.

That leaves us with loads of possible players who could emerge in September to establish themselves in the Circle of Trust before the playoffs begin. We could start with the young big leaguers coming back from injuries, Luis Gil, Clarke Schmidt, and Ryan Weathers. Gil, who missed most of this year with a shoulder problem, has returned as a reliever and looked intriguing, sitting 96 mph with his fastball in an outing on Monday night and generating six whiffs. Schmidt is coming off a longer layoff post Tommy John surgery, but also has a high-quality track record; his 3.07 ERA across 2024 and 2025 speaks to how effective he can be when healthy. Weathers morphed into one of the best starters in baseball after a midseason repertoire shift, and could be a dynamite bullpen weapon if he can make it back healthy. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see any of this trio become a key bullpen figure by the end of the month.

Then, there are the late-season scrap heap finds that the Yankees are actively working on. Last week, they dusted off Michael Fulmer, best known around here for swiping the 2016 Rookie of the Year award from Gary Sanchez, and also claimed John Schreiber off waivers. Fulmer has made three appearances with New York and flashed a somewhat interesting cutter-led arsenal, while Schreiber tossed a scoreless inning his Yankees debut Tuesday night and was a dependable middle reliever as recently as last year. It’s entirely possible both with will be off the roster before long, but would you be shocked if one of them benefited from working with Blake and proved they had something left in the tank?

From there, we have the arms in the minors that might seem like long shots, but have performed in the bigs before. The most interesting name is probably Angel Chivilli, who used a sharp changeup to dominate through the month of July before a six-run blowup against the Cardinals in early August ruined his season numbers. The Yankees also have Yerry De los Santos and Brendan Beck as possible options in Scranton. No, no ones wants the Yankees to be relying on these kinds of guys in October, and it’s unlikely any emerge as real options, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility they return to the bigs in September and show something. Elmer Rodríguez could’ve fit with this group of minors options, but he’s back with the big-league squad, and he too merits mention as someone that could earn Boone’s faith with a strong showing this month.

The fact of the matter is, the Yankees have some unsettled spots in the bullpen, and one month to decide who should fill them. Who do you think will step up? Will one or more of these guys find themselves adding to the Circle of Trust?

---

The Yankees are off today, getting some time to make the short jaunt down from Anaheim to San Diego. There will be plenty on the site to keep you busy, as Sam runs down the Yankees Plays of August, and Peter recaps Wednesday’s American League action. Later, Jonathan profiles Eric Plunk, the only player ever traded for the same Hall of Famer twice, while Andrés discusses Clarke Schmidt’s impending addition to the Yankee bullpen, and the rapid ascent of Yankee prospect Yostin Pena.

Today’s Matchup:

Offday.

Toledo Mud Hens 11, Indianapolis Indians 2 (box)

The Hens took advantage of 8 walks to crush Indy on Wednesday night.

The Carl Edwards Jr. experiment has been an absolute rollercoaster, but they got the good version in this one. The veteran right-hander gave up a run in the first, and then powered through four scoreless frames with six strikeouts to get this one to the sixth with a lead.

The lead was courtesy of a James Outman solo shot in the bottom of the second, a Corey Julks double in the fourth that led to him scoring, and then in the fifth, Max Burt doubled and stole third, scoring on a Jace Jung double.

So it was 3-1 through five innings. The game ended in the seventh for all intents and purposes, as the Hens scored seven runs in the bottom half. There were six walks and a hit batter in the inning, and the big blow was this grand slam by Burt that capped off a brutal inning for the Indians. It also wasn’t really a grand slam, but the umpires saw otherwise.

Max Burt does max damage with a grand slam to dead center…although it actually went under the railing. Indianapolis manager Eric Patterson got ejected arguing it. The Hens scored 8 runs in the 7th, with just one hit. pic.twitter.com/AJJ0Z7pzGf

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) September 3, 2026

Enmanuel de Jesus succeeded Edwards and collected seven outs, five by strikeout. Tyler Mattison finished the eighth, and Nick Sandlin allowed a run in the ninth.

Burt: 2-4, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2B, HR, K, SB

Jung: 1-4, R, RBI, 2B, BB, 2 K

Edwards Jr.: (W, 5-10): 5.0 IP, ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 6 K

Coming Up Next: The Hens get back at it at 7:05 p.m. ET, and you may still be able to Konner Griffin for one more game on the other side.

RHP Tanner Rainey has been outrighted to Toledo.

C/1B Josue Briceño has been placed on Toledo’s 7-Day Injured List.

— Emily Waldon (@EmilyCWaldon) September 2, 2026

Somerset Patriots 8, Erie SeaWolves 6 (box)

Max Alba was knocked around in this one, and the SeaWolves couldn’t manage a comeback. Fortunately, they still have a pretty good hold on a playoff spot with nine games left, but they do need to get back to winning right quick.

Somerset got to Alba for four runs in the first inning, and Dariel Fregio had to clean up the mess. Izaac Pacheco hit a solo shot, his 20th homer of the year for the SeaWolves, in the bottom of the second inning.

Fregio gave up a run in the third to make it a 5-1 game, but the SeaWolves fought back to tie it up in the bottom of the third.

Peyton Graham and Woody Hadeen started the inning with singles, and Zyhir Hope smashed a two-run double to center field. Hope stole third, but ultimately rode home on a two-run shot from E.J. Exposito. The infielder now has 23 homers on the season. 5-5 game.

Colin Fields allowed a run in the top of the fifth, partly due to his own bad pickoff throw, and the SeaWolves just couldn’t manage another push. Moises Rodriguez led it get away a little further when, after collecting five outs in the seventh and eighth, he allowed two runs in the top of the ninth.

Graham walked, took two bases on defensive indifference, and scored on an error on a Hadeen fly ball, but they couldn’t get any closer.

Hope: 1-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B, BB, 2 K, SB

Pacheco: 2-4, R, RBI, HR, K

Graham: 2-4, 2 R, BB, K, SB

Rodriguez: 2.2 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: The SeaWolves get back to work at 7:05 p.m. ET on Thursday. Their Southwest division lead is down to 4.5 games over Chesapeake with nine games remaining.

West Michigan Whitecaps 14, Dayton Dragons 6 (box)

The Whitecaps know the situation; win or go home. Still 1.5 games back of Great Lakes for a playoff spot, Ben Jacobs absolutely shoved in this one, and the Whitecaps offense went off to win again on Wednesday. Unfortunately, the Loons won as well, so there are just four games left to make a run at this.

If you read BYB you’ve heard a lot about the 22-year-old lefty this year, and he lived up to the billing again in this one. He gave up a two-run shot in the bottom of the third, but was otherwise dominant the Dragons, showing some really good sliders to go with the gnarly fourseam-splitter combo that is usually his bread and butter. Jacobs punched out 10 without allowing a walk in five innings of two-run ball in this one, and it’s great to see that in a game where his teammates really needed a good outing.

Ben Jacobs needs just 13 pitches to strike out the side in the 1st inning tonight. pic.twitter.com/CW3j23mrYW

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) September 2, 2026

The Whitecaps struck first in the top of the third. Stephen Hrustich cracked a solo shot with two outs, and Bryce Rainer smoked a sharp single to left. Edian Espinal ripped a drive to the wall in center field for an RBI triple, and Beau Ankeney doubled him home for a 3-0 lead.

Edian Espinal lines a triple to left center that scores Bryce Rainer from first. It’s Espinal’s 2nd triple of the game. pic.twitter.com/RobkmeTA33

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) September 2, 2026

Jacobs gave up the homer in the bottom half, but was lights out the rest of his night.

In the sixth, they got to work against the Dragons’ bullpen. Ankeney doubled again with one out, and a recently scorching hot, and the still somehow just 22-year-old Cristian Santana crushed a two-run shot to left for a 5-2 lead. Walks to Jackson Strong and Samuel Gil followed, and Carson Rucker grounded into a force of Gil at second. Nolan McCarthy singled in Strong, and it was 6-2 Whitecaps.

Cristian Santana crushes a 2-run homer to left to put the Whitecaps up 5-2. It’s his 15th home run of the season — 13 of which have come in his last 34 games. pic.twitter.com/iPXSfherdk

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) September 3, 2026

Luke Hoskins gave up a run in the bottom of the sixth to make it 6-3, but in the eighth the Whitecaps blew this one open. Santana reached on an error to start the inning and Strong walked again. Juan Hernandez blasted a three-run shot to center field and they tacked on another run in the inning to make it 10-3.

Juan Hernandez with a 3-run homer to center field to put West Michigan up 9-3 in a must-win game. It’s his 3rd home run of the season. pic.twitter.com/gzrxmEbF7J

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) September 3, 2026

In the top of the ninth, Espinal reached on an error on Dayton’s left fielder and reached third on the play. Ankeney singled him home. Santana struck out, but yet again, Strong drew a walk. Hernandez flew out, but Carson Rucker launched a three-run shot tucked just fair down the right field line to make it 14-3.

Ethan Sloan was a mess in the bottom half, allowing three runs, but it was already over.

Ankeney: 3-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 2B

Espinal: 2-5, 2 R, RBI, 2 3B

Rucker: 1-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR, BB, K

Jacobs (W, 5-2): 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 10 K

Coming Up Next: The ‘Caps have won four in a row, but they need to keep it going at 7:05 p.m. ET in Dayton on Thursday. Do it for Dan Hasty!

Lakeland Flying Tigers @ Bradenton Marauders (postponed)

Cameron Flukey’s last start of the season will have to wait. They were rained out on Wednesday, and will try to make this one up with a doubleheader on Friday. Thursday night’s game is set for 6:30 p.m. ET. In other news LHP Caleb Leys has been moved to the development list, while RHP Jhonan Coba has been activated by the Flying Tigers. Presumably we’ll see another start from Coba before the season ends on Sunday.

PHOENIX — It has been 131 days since they last saw one another.

It was back when the Philadelphia Phillies were playing their worst baseball of the season, while Atlanta was playing its best baseball.

The season wasn’t even a month old, and after losing for the 11th time in the last 12 games, the Phillies were already 10 ½ games behind Atlanta.

Now they meet again four months later, with the Phillies look nothing like the woeful team Atlanta last saw the final weekend of April.

The Phillies have a new manager in Don Mattingly, a completely reshuffled infield, a new right fielder, a three-time batting champion, and the confidence that they can go where no Phillies team has gone since 2008.

The Phillies (79-61) are four games behind Atlanta (83-57), but they also are the hottest team in baseball, winning 15 of their last 18 games.

The Phillies will open a crucial four-game series against Atlanta beginning Friday night at Citizens Bank Park, and after a three-game series against the Washington Nationals, they head to Atlanta for another three-game set.

By the time they leave Atlanta, the Phillies will have only 12 games remaining with a long, deep October run on their minds.

“I’ve got my batting titles," new second baseman Luis Arráez tells USA TODAY Sports. “I’ve got my All-Star Games. My Silver Slugger. All of the individual awards.

“What I want now is a World Series ring.

“I can’t tell you how bad I want that."

Arráez is doing everything in his power to make it a reality, with the Phillies going from a severely flawed team that could only slug its way out of trouble into one of the most complete powers in the game.

“I think we’re all excited for the challenge," Phillies DH Kyle Schwarber says. “We’re all excited getting back, hopefully the weather starts cooling down, get a little bit of fall weather feel, and it stars feeling playoff-y, and the fan base is going to be rocking and rolling, and look forward to a rowdy weekend."

The Phillies began to take off once Mattingly replaced Rob Thomson, but after losing 15 of 24 games in July, Dave Dombrowski, president of baseball operations, knew he had to do something to save their season.

He wound up making one of the boldest moves in his four decades as a baseball executive.

Dombrowski traded for a three-time batting champion, in a deal that required the shuffling of three players – including a two-time MVP – to new positions.

A month later, and voila: they are playing the best they have all season.

They are now making much better contact, striking out less, drawing more walks, scoring more runs, and playing their best defense of the year with Bryson Stott moving from second base to third base, Alec Bohm moving from third base to first base, Bryce Harper moving from first base to right field, and Arráez becoming a fixture at second.

“There’s no question the impact he’s had on us," Phillies veteran catcher J.T. Realmuto says. “He’s rubbed off on all of us. Obviously, what he does with the bat is impressive, but also what he does in this clubhouse and reminding us this is a fun game. He’s made a huge difference for us."

It’s not as if anyone else on the team can hit .315 with only 25 strikeouts in 527 at-bats this season like Arráez, but the more you watch, the more you learn, and the more you want to be more of a contact hitter.

“I don’t know if guys are going to do exactly what he does," Stott says, “because I don’t think many people can do what he does. But just being able to see it every day, and the professionalism in his at-bats, you want to be more like him."

Schwarber isn’t suddenly going to trade away his power for soft singles, but the added dimension Arráez brings is just what the Phillies badly needed.

“He just adds diversity to our lineup," Schwarber says, “and shows us that we can score runs in different ways. It doesn’t have to be by the home run. It can be just putting balls in play, moving giys around. We’ve got a lot of tools in the bag now.

“You can see the difference he’s made to our entire team."

Go ahead, take a peek for yourself at the Phillies before and after Arráez’s arrival:

• Batting average: The Phillies were hitting .237, ranked 12th in the NL before Arráez trade; they since are hitting .272, ranked 2nd
• On-base percentage: .305 (14th) before Arraez; .352 (1st) after Arraez
• OPS: .705 (12th) before; 757 OPS (2nd) after
• Runs per game: 4.39 (tied for 9th) before; 5.19 (2nd) after
• Walks: 336 (tied for 13th) before; 112 (1st) after
• Strikeouts per plate appearance: 4.24 (13th) before; 6.26 (1st) after
• Runners in scoring position: .259 (8th) before; .320 (1st) after

“I’d like to think I’ve made a difference," Arráez said, “but I’m just playing my game, trying to be myself. I trust myself to bring energy to the team.

“I’m blessed to be here. These fans are different. They are intense. I’d sure love to win here."

Dombrowski concedes that making the move for Arráez was one of the biggest gambles of his career, sending pitchers Ramon Marquez and Marty Gair to San Francsico for Arraez and reliever Caleb Kilian.

He was searching for a right-handed hitting outfielder, and ended up with a left-handed hitting infielder.

He also was asking three different players to switch positions for Arraez.

“It all started," Dombrowski says, “with Harper saying that he'd go to the outfield. If he said he didn't want to go to the outfield, I don't think we could have made a trade."

Well, not only has the deal worked offensively, with Harper coming off his best month since joining the Phillies and reaching base a career-high 35th consecutive game Wednesday, it has been a smashing success defensively. Stott is an upgrade at third base, Arraez is steady at second, Bohm has been a solid replacement at first base, and Harper looks natural returning to the outfield.

“I was pretty confident, honestly," Mattingly says. “I know there was a lot of talk about it, a lot of questions about it, but for me, I knew that Stott had been on that side of the diamond and knew what kind of defender he is. I’ve seen Bohm enough at first to know that he was going to be good.

"Harper played a lot of right field. I was probably more concerned about him from a physical standpoint than anybody, but we feel like we’ve kind of gotten over that hump and hurdle.

“So honestly, I’m not really surprised. ... I always look at these guys as baseball players. These guys are athletes. They’ve played all over. I was just confident that they were going to make the adjustments and be fine."

Considering the Phillies went 21-7 in August, their most victories in the month since 1955, and came within a 1-0 loss Wednesday to Arizona of their fifth sweep in six series for only the second time since 1900, they’re doing a whole lot better than fine."

No one has thrived more in the transition than Harper, the nine-time All-Star who is having his finest all-around season in five years. He is hitting .275 with 27 homers, 80 RBIs, a .903 OPS and an MLB-leading 100 walks. He hit .333 with a 1.069 OPS in August – the best by a Phillies player since 2007 – and drew 31 walks, the most by Phillies player without an intentional walk since 1955. He finished the nine-game road trip hitting .485 with a .575 on-base percentage.

“He’s always been incredible," Phillies starter Jesus Luzardo says, “and I think people lose sight of how good he really is."

Perhaps, folks forgot just how good the Phillies can be, too, only to subtly remind everyone now in the heat of a pennant race.

“We’re hitting our stride now,’’ Schwarber says. “All of the components are coming together. The offense. The starting pitching. The bullpen.

“This is the time of year where it’s all about.

“It’s our time."

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB's best deadline trade? Phillies' bold deal needed Bryce Harper's buy-in

WASHINGTON – Sometime soon, the Washington Nationals bullpen will tie, and almost certainly break a record it wants no part of.

Nationals relievers have blown 35 saves, second in major league history to the 37 suffered by the 2024 Chicago White Sox. You might remember those Sox: They were, according to the loss column, the worst team in major league history, dropping a record 121 games as the roster suffered a complete breakdown.

Yet these Nationals are not a bad team.

They wildly exceeded expectations thanks to a vastly improved offense, were above .500 as late as July 29 and made the decision much harder for first-year president of baseball operations Paul Toboni to part with prized players come the August trade deadline.

Toboni ultimately sold, but not before perhaps the most teachable moment of his first season served to ruin many late innings and lead to more than a few restless nights for he and rookie manager Blake Butera:

You can only skimp so much on relief pitchers.

NL EAST: Ronald Acuña Jr. becomes fastest to join 200-200 club

“The value of having homegrown relievers coming through the farm that you don’t have to spend huge dollars on necessarily but can lean on is really important,” Toboni said this week.

“But the opposite is true, too: If you don’t feel like you’re in that spot at any given point in time, you have to consider throwing free agent dollars at pitchers.”

That, the Nationals did not do.

Five of the seven relievers on their opening-day roster had one year or less of service time and six of the seven made between the major league minimum $780,000 and $825,000, according to salary data obtained by USA TODAY Sports.

Their most experienced arm, lefty Cionel Perez, posted an 8.31 ERA for Baltimore a year ago, made the club on a $1.9 million deal and was designated for assignment by May 4.

But the Nationals’ relief torment was just beginning.

Opening acts, closing nightmares

A bullpen disaster is often a top-down problem. After all, relievers incur no damage on nights they sit, feet up, in the bullpen while a starting pitcher mows down the opponent for the greater part of the evening.

Yet those nights are rare.

Nationals starting pitchers rank 29th in the major leagues in innings pitched, 53 behind their nearest divisional rival, the Mets. The uneven workload was exacerbated by the presence of veteran right-handers Miles Mikolas and Zack Littell, who often needed to work behind a reliever opening the game and weren’t very good once they did take the ball.

Both pitchers were designated for assignment in August, Mikolas toting a 5.82 ERA, Littell 5.21.

A shaky rotation foundation tends to have a downstream effect. The Nationals have utilized an opener roughly 30 times this season, which takes away resources from middle- and late-inning relief help.

Injuries have not helped: Four members of the opening-day bullpen – PJ Poulin (left flexor strain), Richard Lovelady (left triceps strain), Mitchell Parker and Ken Waldichuk (Tommy John surgery) – are on the 60-day injured list. Two more are on the minor league IL.

Plugging so many holes can lead to floods.

Such as the 10 runs they yielded in the final two innings to the San Francisco Giants, capped by a Bryce Eldridge walk-off grand slam against Parker. Or the six-run ninth inning Sunday, Aug. 31 in which Max Kranick and Tom Cosgrove combined for three walks, a hit batter and a two-run homer to turn a 2-0 gem into a 6-2 loss.

That was blown save No. 35, the black mark technically going on Cosgrove’s record; he was designated for assignment Thursday. Yet there’s only so much to fault the players – they are trying, very hard – as well as Butera, who pushes buttons furiously from the dugout for a club both shorthanded in arms yet with a lineup that for most of the season slugged sufficiently to keep things close and create ample high-leverage situations.

It’s a lot for a unit to take on, particularly one lacking experience and a true bell cow. Riding the emotional roller coaster can take its toll.

“Just try to be a little more neutral,” says right-hander Clayton Beeter, whose 12 saves lead the club yet has also absorbed the most blown saves – six – on the staff. “As a unit and a staff, we get high when things are going good and switch up when things go bad pretty quickly, in a lot of different ways.

“I try to talk to everybody and make them feel comfortable. I don’t try to tell anyone how to pitch or do what they do. I just know when I was young and coming up, it was nice to have people talk to me just like I was a normal dude and just give me a little comfortability of being in a new place in the big leagues.”

Trial by fire

When Beeter debuted with the New York Yankees in 2024, Luke Weaver was that dude for him. A great guy, he says of the current Pirates closer, who helped him a lot.

And there’s no shortage of paying it forward among the Nationals’ revolving door of relievers. In addition to Beeter, Nationals relievers say Orlando Ribalta, their 6-7, 28-year-old right-hander, has been key to spreading knowledge and advice.

And starting pitchers Jake Irvin and Cade Cavalli – the latter still going through his first full season due to injuries – are also sounding boards.

That more or less epitomizes the Nationals staff: Not terribly young but also inexperienced, relying on each other to avoid bumping around in the dark.

“We do have a younger staff. And I think that’s a good thing because we’re going through the same situations with each other,” says lefty Erik Tolman, 27, who made his major league debut Aug. 22 and has posted five scoreless outings since. “We get to talk to each other about how we feel, collaborate and come to a conclusion on what can get you a little bit readier for the next day.

“And we have a couple older guys on the team, always around to give advice. And when we’re not even asking they’ll come up to us and help us out.”

Tolman has certainly provided late-season inspiration for a club that’s gone 12-22 since July 29. He has survived a pair of Tommy John surgeries in addition to a freak injury suffered simply hopping over the baseline on his way to the mound at low Class A in 2023, tearing knee ligaments and his hamstring and rupturing his peroneal nerve.

“I think that’s why baseball relates to life so much,” he says. “In life, you fail so much. And this game is all about failure. And if you think positive and have positive thoughts, it goes a long way.”

Just keep swimming

Indeed, the bedraggled bullpen has been injected with late life from lefties Tolman, Will Dion and Jared Simpson, who all debuted this season; Dion came over from Cleveland in an August trade for All-Star lefty Foster Griffin.

Simpson made his major league debut Tuesday by inheriting a first-and-second, no-out fifth-inning situation against Atlanta.

Not exactly a break-him-in-gently situation. Yet Simpson induced a double play grounder from All-Star Drake Baldwin and a groundout from Austin Riley to preserve a 5-2 lead.

Simpson just kept going, pitching three perfect innings to earn the win in his debut. The Nationals intend to do the same, even if an ignominious record is attached to their bullpen.

“Honestly, try to worry about myself and perform to the way I know I can and in turn, that will help the team,” says Beeter of the September string to be played out. “Just try to simplify a lot of things.”

Or, as Tolman, a major leaguer for two weeks yet with a veteran perspective, puts it: “You hear it - in this game, you gotta have a goldfish mind. Just forget about the bad right away, and then you just gotta move on.

“It goes a long way.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nationals bullpen nearing an ugly record. Having a 'goldfish' memory helps.

The Pirates are making roster moves with one month left in the season. The Bucs recalled left-handed pitcher Brandon Eisert from Triple-A Indianapolis and selected the contract of catcher Christian Bethancourt from Indianapolis, adding him to both the 28-man roster and the 40-man roster.

Pittsburgh also moved catcher Endy Rodriguez from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. Rodriguez suffered a season ending left hip injury, and they made the move to make space for Christian Bethancourt. 

MLB teams get two extra players for September, as rosters expand from 26 to 28 players for the last month of the regular season. The Pirates add a pitcher and a position player, one that will give the bullpen an extra arm and the other some help at catcher, a position that has been dealing with injuries this season.

Eisert has struggled throughout his time in Pittsburgh. He has posted a 7.71 ERA over seven innings pitched, with a .345 batting average allowed and a 2.00 WHIP. Although his numbers have not been good, he still adds depth to a struggling bullpen.

Since Eisert was sent down to Indianapolis on August 4, he has been a lot better. He has a 2.08 ERA over 10 appearances and 13.0 innings pitched, 18 strikeouts to three walks, a .093 BAA and a 0.54 WHIP.

Bethancourt hasn’t played in the Majors since late 2024 with the Chicago Cubs. He does have 428 games of experience over eight seasons and is a solid third option for the Pirates to have behind Henry Davis and Rafael Flores Jr.

I don’t think any move that the Bucs made will help the Pirates make that improbable playoff run but it builds depth for a team that has dealt with some big injuries this season. 

New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: Gerrit Cole grew up an Angels fan, so it’s only natural that he would have something to say about the franchise’s recent sale to Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. However, the veteran approached the issue from a business standpoint rather than an emotional one, noting that the club’s ultimate price tag of $4 billion was remarkably high, especially when compared to the Padres, who were sold for $3.9 billion earlier this year despite being much more competitive in recent years. Said Cole: “It shows that there’s ability to get top dollar on both ends of the spectrum…I think that would speak to how healthy economically the game is functioning.” Definitely something to keep in mind as the MLBPA and the owners continue their standoff. 

NJ.com | Randy Miller: With rosters having expanded on September 1st, the Yankees’ additions were 3B Ryan McMahon and reliever John Schreiber. Here, Miller liaises with an anonymous scout who shares his evaluations on several players who were passed over, including pitching prospect and 2026 debutant Brendan Beck, and former regulars Anthony Volpe and Jasson Dominguez. The scout doesn’t really tell us anything new about the latter two, but his comments on Beck are interesting; he pegs him as a fifth starter and a trade chip of some value despite his relatively advanced age. Not bad for a guy who was drafted 55th overall, then had Tommy John surgery just six months after. 

The Athletic | Asli Petit: In a first for MLB, the Yankees now have an official tampon! Sequel, an upstart company founded by two women ex-athletes, has partnered with the club to offer free tampons in Yankee Stadium’s women’s bathrooms. I wouldn’t have guessed that the Yankees of all teams would be the first team to embark on such a partnership, but it’s a welcome change and an important step towards ensuring the inclusion of female fans. Hopefully more clubs will follow suit!

ESPN.com: The Yankees have struggled to close the gap between them and the Rays in the division race (though it’s certainly closer now than it once was). It’s still a long shot, but the Yankees have one thing going for them; the remaining strength of schedule. The Yankees’ upcoming opponents have a collective winning percentage of .489, markedly lower than the Rays’ slate of .517. The two teams are set to face off in the penultimate series of the season. Here’s hoping the Yankees can handle their business against their lackluster opponents leading up to that all-too-important matchup.

A couple of tweets to round out today’s roundup: first, a quick overview of how Spencer Jones has produced since his second call-up. I have never been more happy to eat crow, and I hope Jones forces me to continue my raven-based diet. 

Spencer Jones since being recalled from Triple-A:

.259 AVG
.519 SLG%
131 wRC+
80% Z-Contact%
22.2% Barrel%
.394 xwOBA

More contact, better barrel rates, more pull-side power too.

— Ryan Garcia (@RyanGarciaESM) September 2, 2026

Second, Clarke Schmidt inches nearer to his return, as he’s been reassigned from Double-A to Triple-A for his rehab. With the Yankees piggybacking Max Fried and Will Warren on Friday, it’s fair to wonder if Schmidt could also be a piggyback candidate should he rejoin the big league club according to schedule.

Today, the Yankees transferred the rehab assignment of RHP Clarke Schmidt from Double-A Somerset to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 2, 2026