TONIGHT’S GAME: The first-place Astros, who own a slim 1.0-game lead in the AL West, will try to even up their series tonight in the middle game of their three-game series vs. the Angels.
RHP Ethan Pecko will get the start for the Astros tonight in his Major League debut opposite RHP Walbert Ureña (8-8) and the Angels.
ABOUT PECKO: RHP Ethan Pecko, 23, has combined to post a 4.57 ERA (42ER/82.2IP) with 86 strikeouts in 20 games (18 starts) in the minors this season, including 17 games at Triple A.
The Astros sixth-round pick in 2023 out of Towson University (MD), Pecko has pitched in parts of four minor league seasons in the Astros system and currently ranks as the Astros No. 9 prospect per MLB.com.
THE TURNAROUND: After a slow start to the season, the Astros are 43-32 since May 22, which is the second-best record in the AL in that span.
On that date, the Astros were 20-31, 11 games under, which is their low water mark for the season.
THAT’S OFFENSIVE: Among American League teams, the Astros rank first in slugging (.411), first in total bases (1746), second in home runs (169), third in OPS (.729), and third in runs scored (577).
In the Majors, the Astros rank third in homers, trailing only the Nationals (180) and Yankees (172).
VS. THE ANGELS: The Astros are 6-5 against the Angels this season and need just one win this week to win their sixth consecutive season series against the Angels.
The Astros 144-93 (.608) all- time record against the Angels is their best against any single opponent in franchise history.
TONIGHT’S RADIO BROADCASTS: The Astros English radio broadcast can be heard on SportsTalk 790 featuring Robert Ford and Brian Bogusevic… the Spanish radio broadcast will feature Francisco Romero and Alex Treviño on TUDN 102.9 FM.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Astros dropped a 3-1 game to the Angels last night in the series opener in Houston, TX.
The Astros scored their only run on a solo homer by RF Cam Smith (1×3) in the 7th, which was one of three hits the club got on the night.
RHP Cristian Javier (2ER/4IP) started forHouston and struck out five in the outing.
ASTROS ROSTER MOVES: The Astros have selected RHP Ethan Pecko (#70) to the Major League roster and have transferred IF/OF Brice Matthews to the 60-day IL.
After last night’s game, the Astros optioned RHP Miguel Ullola to Triple A Sugar Land.
THE CLOSER: LHP Josh Hader, now in his 10th Major League season, has made 499 career appearances, needing just one more to become the 12th active Major Leaguer to reach 500 career appearances.
Hader has been stellar since returning from injury in early June, going 4-1 with a 0.90 ERA (3ER/30IP), 41 strikeouts, a .126 opponent average (13×103) and a 0.77 WHIP, while also converting all 17 of his save opportunities in 31 appearances.
THROWING STRIKES: LHP Steven Okert has not allowed a walk in 22 consecutive appearances (since June 28), which spans 22.0 innings pitched.
Some notes on his streak:
Okert is closing in on the club record for consecutive walkless apps. in a single season, which is 24 straight, posted by RHP Pat Neshek from April 8-June 2, 2015.
Only RHP Garrett Whitlock (27g) has had a longer streak of consecutive walkless apps. in MLB in 2026.
per Elias, Okert’s streak of 22.0 consecutive innings without a walk is the fifth-longest by a reliver in a single season in franchise history, and the longest since RHP Wilton Lopez had a streak of 22.1 consecutive walkless innings from April 8-May 17, 2012.
MVP-CALIBER: Yordan Alvarez holds the lead in all AL Triple Crown categories, ranking first in average (.318), first in HR (36) and first in RBI (88).
Additionally, he leads MLB in OPS (1.044), OBP (.431), SLG (.613), and TB (276).
In the AL, he ranks first in XBH (61), second in hits (143) and in walks (86), and tied for second in runs (82).
YOR-GONE!: DH Yordan Alvarez has hit 36 home runs this season, which leads the AL.
He’s just one homer shy of matching his career high in homers (37 HR in 2022) and is 11 homers shy of matching the franchise record for a single season, set by 1B Jeff Bagwell in 2000 (47 HR).
AUGUST HEROES: RF Cam Smith is hitting .356 (16×45) with four homers, eight RBI and a 1.072 OPS in 14 games this month.
2B Jose Altuve is also having a strong month, hitting .347 (17×49) with a .421 OBP and an .890 OPS in 14 games in August.
DOWN ON THE FARM: Several of the Astros minor league clubs are having success this season: • Triple A Sugar Land: In second half action, the Space Cowboys are in first place in the PCL East Division with a 31-15 (.674) record.
• Class A Fayetteville: For the second half, the Woodpeckers are in first place in the South Atlantic League North Division with a 27-20 (.574) record.
• Rookie Level FCL Astros: The Astros won the Florida Complex League championship, finishing with a 42-11 (.792) record in the regular season.
• Rookie Level DSL Astros: The DSL Astros Orange team finished with a 33-20 record and have clinched a spot in the DSL playoffs, which begin tomorrow.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Tuesday, August 19, 7:10 p.m. CT
Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX
TV: Space City Home Network
Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)
A former Yankees All-Star is getting closer to a big league return.
Left-handed pitcher Nestor Cortes Jr., who has yet to pitch in 2026 after undergoing offseason surgery for a tendor tear in his throwing arm, agreed to a deal with the Phillies on Wednesday, The Post’s Jon Heyman confirmed.
Philadelphia confirmed that Cortes’ deal, which was first reported by Fansided, is a major league contract and that he would begin his buildup with Single-A Clearwater.
Right-handed reliever Brian Keller was designated for assignment to free up a spot on the Phillies’ 40-man roster.
Cortes had posted a video to X on Tuesday showing himself throwing for major league scouts.
Cortes spent parts of five MLB seasons with the Yankees. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The well-traveled veteran posted a disappointing 6.29 ERA in 2025 — splitting the campaign between the Brewers and Padres — while missing time due to left biceps tendinitis.
But the Hialeah, Florida, native has previously been an All-Star-caliber pitcher, primarily during his run with the Yankees (2019-2024).
After two disappointing seasons in the organization, the Yankees re-signed Cortes to a minor league pact ahead of the 2021 campaign, and he cemented himself in the rotation.
He posted a solid 2.90 ERA as a swingman for New York that same year, and followed it up with a 12-4 record and 2.44 ERA in 28 starts in 2022 to earn his first All-Star nod.
Following an injury-riddled 2023, Cortes returned to make 30 starts for the Yankees before hitting the injured list weeks before the postseason.
The Yankees traded Cortes to the Brewers after the 2024 season, but injuries and inconsistency limited him to eight starts last season. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - AUGUST 19: AJ Smith-Shawver #32 of the Atlanta Braves walks off of the mound during a pitching change during the fifth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on August 19, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Matt Krohn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The toughest road trip of the season for the Atlanta Braves has gotten off to an incredibly inauspicious start, as the NL East-leading squad went into Minneapolis and ended up getting swept by a Minnesota Twins team just scuffling to stay alive in the crowded AL Wild Card race.
Things remained deadlocked until the third inning, which is when Minnesota pushed the first run of the game past the plate in pretty frustrating fashion. A walk, a soft single from Kaelen Culpepper and an even-softer bunt single from Luke Keaschall put AJ Smith-Shawver in a bases-loaded situation with Byron Buxton at the plate.
AJSS induced a ground ball out of Buxton but he hit it at such a pace and in such a spot in the infield where Jim Jarvis was unable to even get the runner at second base. Instead, everybody was safe and the Twins went up 1-0. Naturally, Josh Bell grounded into a double play in the very next at-bat and even more naturally, this came after the Braves were unable to score with two runners in scoring position during their half of the third inning. Frustration already abounded.
Following a quiet fourth inning for both teams, things picked up again in the fifth — though it was once again another source of frustration for Atlanta. Austin Riley got a two-out rally going with a walk and then Jim Jarvis joined him on the basepaths with a walk of his own. That set the stage for Ronald Acuña Jr. to potentially do something big at the plate and sure enough, Acuña came through by poking one into left field in order to tie the game at one run apiece. While Drake Baldwin was unable to keep the two-out rally going, there was at least a tiny sign of life from the offense.
That’s why the bottom half of the fifth was so frustrating. AJ Smith-Shawver had been doing fine up until this point, which is when he found himself in a ton of one-out trouble. Kaelen Culpepper’s second single of the game kept the Twins alive and then he was eventually joined on the basepaths by Luke Keaschall and Byron Buxton in order to load up the bases. Buxton got on after an eight-pitch walk so you just had the feeling that this AB against Josh Bell probably wasn’t going to go well either. Sure enough, AJSS walked Bell on six pitches and just like that, the Twins were back in the lead. Dylan Dodd was then called upon for relief and things got worse after Kody Clemens picked up a double to make it three runs in the fifth for Minnesota. Once the smoke cleared, the Twins were up 4-1 — a scoreline that really hasn’t suited Atlanta here in Minneapolis.
To Atlanta’s credit, they did respond once it was their turn to bat in the sixth. Perhaps spurred on by the exit of Taj Bradley, the Braves got to work immediately in the sixth by ambushing Kody Funderburk with a trio of singles to lead things off. The third single in that sequence came from Lane Thomas, who laser-beamed one into the grass in right field to make it a 4-2 game. Ozzie Albies sent one out to right for a sacrifice fly to make it a one-run game and then following a single from Mauricio Dubón off of Tommy Nance, a balk actually went Atlanta’s way for once. This time, Dubón essentially coaxed it out of Nance by taking a huge lead from first base. The balk tied the game up and it was officially “game on” from that point forward.
Now, I don’t believe in the whole “Commentators’ Curse” deal but hoo boy, Dylan Lee’s seventh inning would be the best example to make me believe that it’s an actual thing. Lee entered the game in relief of Victor Mederos after he left a man on second with one out and the commentators mentioned that Lee had not given up a hit in his last nine appearances. It took two pitches (or roughly the amount of time to discuss that stat) for Lee to give up an RBI single to Kody Clemens that put Minnesota in the lead. The Twins eventually picked up some insurance run with a Brooks Lee RBI single that brought home Clemens and now the Braves had to overcome yet another deficit in a series where it felt like the Braves were trailing for the entirety of all three games.
There was no comeback on the horizon, as the Braves ended up only getting one hit across the eighth and ninth inning and the eighth inning in particular was contentious. Maurico Dubón battled for nine pitches against Jeff Hoffman, only to get rung up by the home plate umpire on a check swing on a full count. He was incensed by the call (or at least the lack of going to the first base umpire in order to confirm the call) and argued furiously and Walt Weiss went out there and got himself ejected in order to make sure that Dubón didn’t get tossed.
It was honestly the one of the most casual ejections I’ve ever seen in a game — almost as if Weiss was seemingly like “Bro, just eject me,” and home plate umpire Carlos Torres seemingly responded with “Alright, you got it” and then Torres gave him the hook.
Anyways, that ejection was about as interesting as things got in the final two innings as the Braves went down in order from that point forward. Yoendrys Gómez closed them out for the third day in a row and the Braves went to go hop on the plane in the midst of a three game losing streak and having now lost five of their last six. Woof.
Atlanta has lost three games in a row on a few occasions this season but that was only the second time they’ve gotten swept this season and it came against a team that you could argue that the Braves have no business getting swept by. That’s baseball for you, though, and now the Braves have no choice but to continue searching for a way to break out of this current funk. They’ll have to hop over to Chicago for a make-up game against the White Sox tomorrow at 2:40 p.m. ET before facing off with the red-hot Brewers for three games. Things aren’t going to get any easier for Atlanta after what looked to be (on paper, at least) the “easier” part of this seven-day, four-city road trip.
Fort Myers, FL - February 21: Northeastern outfielder Cam Maldonado catches a fly ball for an out. (Photo by Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) | Boston Globe via Getty Images
A fun day of Minor League Baseball games for the San Francisco Giants affiliates. Here’s everything that happened on Tuesday, as well as the Dominican Summer League games from Monday.
All listed positions in the roundup are the position played in that particular game.
News
Lots of off-day movement that was officially announced before Tuesday’s games. As I talked about in the weekend roundup, outfielder Lisbel Diaz (No. 32 CPL) was promoted from High-A Eugene to AA Richmond. Taking his place in Eugene is outfielder Jose Ortiz, who is finally healthy. Speaking of good health, RHP Miguel Mendez, who came over in the Robbie Ray trade, finished his rehab assignment and was assigned to AA Richmond where he replaces LHP Tyler Switalksi, who was placed on the 7-Day IL.
Outfielder Damian Bravo was promoted from Low-A San Jose to Eugene, while infielders Dario Reynoso and Jose Ramos were returned to their proper levels (San Jose and Eugene, respectively) after brief emergency depth stints with AAA Sacramento.
Sacramento is losing one pitcher, as LHP Matt Wilkinson is getting called up for his MLB debut, but they’re gaining a pair: LHPs Reiver Sanmartin and Philip Abner. The former was optioned from San Francisco, while the latter was claimed off of waivers and optioned.
AAA Sacramento (69-49)
Sacramento River Cats beat the Tacoma Rainiers (Mariners) 9-5 Box score
After a day off, the River Cats returned home following a stint in Las Vegas, where the ballpark is what I affectionately like to call the Coors Field park of the Coors Field league. All numbers there should be taken with a little bit of a grain of salt.
Which made it all the more exciting that left fielder Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL) didn’t seem to notice that they’d moved back to a more standard hitting environment. Davidson continued his absolute destruction of the Pacific Coast League on Tuesday, hitting 2-4 with a double, a walk, and no strikeouts. The double was yet another case of Davidson showing off the power, as it left the bat at 108.3 mph.
Davidson, like so many prospects, does seem to really struggle when adjusting to a new league … but once he adjusts, he’s off to the races. So let’s update the splits once he started to figure out AAA:
First 22 games: 17-86, 0 home runs, 3 doubles, 10 walks, 21 strikeouts Next 6 games: 16-24, 4 home runs, 4 doubles, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts
Now, again, 5 of those torrid 6 games took place in Las Vegas, but still. Davidson is rapidly figuring out how to hit in AAA, and is up to an .839 OPS and a 120 wRC+, with just an 18.0% strikeout rate. His statcast page is basically a sea of red bars (red being good in this case), save for his pull percentage, which really makes you think about how much untapped potential there still is, despite the great numbers. And he’s doing it against hard stuff and off-speed pitches.
Given the rate the Giants have called up players, and given that Davidson will need to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft, it’s almost surprising that he’s still in AAA … even though I think that’s where he should be for, at the minimum, a little while longer.
Someone who will not be in AAA much longer is second baseman Marcelo Mayer, who is continuing his rehab. Mayer hit 1-3 with a walk and 2 strikeouts, before being lifted after 6 innings. Mayer’s numbers have been so-so with Sacramento: he’s 6-17 with 2 extra-base hits and 2 walks, but has struck out 9 times. But, while nice numbers are obviously always better, this is a rehab assignment, and the Giants are just looking to get him healthy and physically up to speed before, presumably, letting him play every day in the Majors for the rest of the season so they can see what they have.
The best day, however, belonged to someone that a lot of Giants fans have likely forgotten about: first baseman Will Brennan. The veteran, who was outrighted earlier in the year, has moved from the outfield to first base to accommodate the youth in the grass, and he’s been slumping lately. Not on Tuesday, though, as he hit 2-3 with a home run, a double, 2 walks, and a strikeout. What a day!
The lefty has a .794 OPS and a 107 wRC+ on the year, with just a 10.4% strikeout rate. Hopefully someone gives him another opportunity in 2027.
A nice game for designated hitter Nate Furman (No. 39 CPL) and catcher Adrián Sugastey. Furman, who recently returned from a short MLB debut, hit 2-4 with a double and a walk; Sugastey, who has adapted incredibly well to AAA since a recent promotion, hit 3-5 with an error.
It was a less fruitful day on the mound, particularly in the starting performance, as LHP Seth Lonsway struggled once more, giving up 8 hits, 4 walks, and 5 runs in just 3.2 innings, with only 2 strikeouts. Lonsway, who was a 6th-round pick back in 2021, has really had a brutal go of it in Sacramento: among the 60 PCL pitchers with at least 50 innings thrown this year, he’s 40th in ERA (6.14), 53rd in FIP (6.56), 56th in strikeouts per 9 innings (5.9), and 59th in walks per 9 innings (6.4). Given that he turns 28 in less than 2 months, he has to feel like his spot in the system is in peril.
But great relief appearances from RHPs Ryan Walker and Braxton Roxby, who each struck out 3 batters in perfect appearances, Walker in 1.2 innings and Roxby in 2. The strikeouts were a welcome sight for Walker, who hasn’t been able to reclaim his punchout stuff after being optioned … he has just 24 strikeouts in 26 innings with Sacramento, but he does have a sterling 1.73 ERA (albeit with a 3.89 FIP). As for Roxby, he continued his recent trend of dominance, which lowered his ERA to 3.42 (though his FIP is 4.74). In his last 9 games, Roxby has pitched 18 innings and allowed just 7 hits, 5 walks, and 1 run, while striking out 17 batters.
AA Richmond (66-47)
Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Chesapeake Baysox (Orioles) 7-2 Box score
The exciting news for the Squirrels was the arrival of one of the organization’s hottest prospects: outfielder Lisbel Diaz (No. 32 CPL). The farm’s home run leader made his AA debut on Tuesday while playing right field, and hit 1-4.
He also got in on a little bit of fun, as he scored the team’s 1st run when, as part of a double steal with second baseman Maui Ahuna (No. 33 CPL), he stole home. What a cool way to score your first run at a level!
Lisbel Diaz swipes home on a double steal to get the Squirrels on the board 💨 pic.twitter.com/28kpgm48bU
Unfortunately, later in the 2nd inning Ahuna would be thrown out on a play at the plate, and he left the game before the start of the 3rd, so presumably he suffered an injury. Hopefully it’s not a big one.
First baseman Charlie Szykowny had the best day, hitting 1-3 with a home run, a walk, and a strikeout.
Szykowny is trying to bounce back from an absolutely brutal July, in which he hit just 16-86 with 0 home runs and 26 strikeouts, en route to a .455 OPS. So far, so good: he already has more hits in August, as he’s gone 17-53 with 2 home runs, just 5 strikeouts, and an .862 OPS. The 2023 9th-rounder has a .731 OPS and a 92 wRC+ on the year, and his swing certainly gives you reason to believe that he could put it all together at some point … though he did recently turn 26.
Center fielder Trevor Cohen (No. 15 CPL) has cooled down a bit from his red-hot stretch, but had a solid game in this one, hitting 1-3 with 2 walks and a stolen base. The 22-year old from the 3rd round of last year’s draft has just a .751 OPS and a 100 wRC+ through his 1st 28 games at the level, but he’s stolen 13 bases and only has a 7.8% strikeout rate.
As with their older brothers in Sacramento, Richmond had a poor starting pitching performance but a strong bullpen (other than RHP Ben Peterson, who got rocked). The rough opening came from LHP Greg Farone, who allowed 10 baserunners in 5 innings (6 hits, 3 walks, and a hit batter), while giving up 4 runs and striking out 4.
Farone has been a lot better lately, especially from a strikeout and walk perspective. Even including this rough outing, he has 37 strikeouts to 10 walks since the start of July, after posting 58 strikeouts to 36 walks leading up to that. It’s looking like the 2024 7th-rounder, who has a 5.68 ERA and a 5.57 FIP, will repeat the level in 2027, which is no big knock, since it will only be his 3rd season in the pros.
RHP Logan Martin and LHP Jack Choate (No. 37 CPL) shined in the bullpen. Martin, who opened the year as a starter but now is working in relief, gave up a walk in a no-hit inning, lowering his ERA to 4.01 and his FIP to 4.55. Choate struck out the side in an inning of work, with just a walk allowed, lowering his ERA to 3.27 and his FIP to 4.00. Choate has an impressive 11.3 strikeouts per 9 innings this year, which is made all the more impressive when you realize that he doesn’t throw the ball hard. But he also is walking 6.1 batters per 9, which is an unsightly number for the 2022 9th-rounder.
High-A Eugene (69-45)
Eugene Emeralds lost to the Vancouver Canadians (Blue Jays) 10-5 Box score
The exciting news is that while Eugene lost an outfielder, they also gained one. When Lisbel Diaz (No. 32 CPL) jetted across the country to join Richmond, Jose Ortiz took his place.
Ortiz, who wasn’t on our CPL this year but was all the way up at No. 22 the year prior, has never had an issue with talent. He’s only ever had an issue with staying on the field, so it was especially exciting seeing him in Tuesday’s lineup. A 21-year old whom the Giants took in the 13th round back in 2023, Ortiz entered the season having appeared in just 63 games over his 1st 3 seasons.
His season debut was again delayed, as he didn’t get on the field until a pair of rehab games in the Complex League in July. And then we didn’t see him again for quite a while, making me think his season might be over.
But no! Ortiz was in Tuesday’s lineup for his 3rd game of the year, and his High-A debut. And he wasted absolutely no time showing what he’s capable of … while the rust was there (he struck out 3 times), Ortiz went 1-4 with a walk, and had one of the most sensational defensive plays from any Giants prospect this year while patrolling center.
Ortiz is, to my eye, the 2nd-best defensive outfielder in the system, after only Jonah Cox. And he’s not lacking with the bat, either. Let’s hope he can have a sustained run of health to end the year, because he really is an exciting prospect when he’s on the field.
The best day belonged to a fellow outfielder, right fielder Cam Maldonado (No. 34 CPL). Maldonado had an up-and-down campaign in Low-A this year, but has been lights out since getting promoted to Eugene. Tuesday was more of the same, as the 2025 7th-rounder hit 2-3 with a 3-run home run, a walk, a stolen base, and a strikeout.
Cam Maldonado is pretty good at this whole hitting thing!
Maldonado is only 9 games into his High-A tenure, but he’s already bopped 4 home runs at the level, and they’ve not been cheapies, either. That brings him up to 18 home runs on the year, which is tied for 3rd in the organization behind only Diaz and Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL). That’s all the more impressive when you remember that Maldonado missed nearly 3 weeks with an injury earlier in the year.
An uncharacteristically poor outing for shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL), who hit 1-5 with 2 strikeouts and 2 errors, though he did steal a base.
LHP Jacob Bresnahan (No. 11 CPL) was not nearly as sharp as we’ve grown accustomed to, as he struggled to put batters away. Bresnahan made it through just 4.2 innings while giving up 5 hits, 3 walks, and 2 home runs (which would have been 3 without Ortiz’s brilliance), with just 4 strikeouts. 5 runs were scored against him but, because of Level’s errors, only 1 of those runs was earned, so the game actually lowered his ERA, despite it being one of his worst starts over the last few months.
Those home runs remain the biggest thing for Bresnahan to address. The 61 hits he’s allowed in 92.2 innings? Elite, as evidenced by the fact that his .183 batting average against is 1st among the 43 Northwest League pitchers with at least 50 innings thrown this year. The run suppression? Stupendous, as his 2.72 ERA is also 1st. The strikeouts? Tremendous, as his 10.5 per 9 ranks 10th. The walks? Solid, as his 3.6 per 9 ranks 16th. But the home runs? Well, he’s allowing 1.2 per 9 innings, which ranks 27th. Something to work on, but a wonderful season nonetheless.
RHP Liam Simon found his control for a night, which was fantastic to see. Simon retired all 4 batters he faced, 2 by way of strikes, while throwing 10 of 13 pitches for strikes. Walks have been far and away his biggest issue this year, so seeing him not throw 4 balls all outing was absolutely fantastic. An electric 25-year old who has really struggled with injuries, Simon, who has a 5.63 ERA and a 5.53 FIP, has 60 strikeouts in 40 innings this year … but 35 walks.
Low-A San Jose (65-50)
San Jose Giants beat the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres) 9-2 Box score
First baseman Jeremiah Jenkins continued his all-or-nothing hitting approach this season, going 1-5 with a tremendous 3-run blast and also 3 strikeouts. A 23-year old slugger who was taken in the 14th round of the 2024 draft, Jenkins struggles to get hits … but when he gets hits, my goodness are they something.
The lefty is hitting just .243 on the year, with a 29.7% strikeout rate. But well over half of his hits have gone for extra bases … he has 78 hits this season, which includes 42 extra-base knocks and 16 home runs. That, plus a 16.0% walk rate, has given him an .856 OPS and a 113 wRC+ on the year, despite the issues he still needs to fix.
Also homering was designated hitter Angel Guzman, who hit 1-3 with a 2-run shot, a walk, and a strikeout. Guzman’s season has flown fairly under the radar, in part because injuries have limited him to just 40 games. But the 20-year old has been solid, posting a .923 OPS and a 129 wRC+ in the Complex League, and now a .763 OPS with a 107 wRC+ in Low-A. Hits have been a little hard for him to come by in San Jose … after having a .306 average in Arizona, he’s hitting just .236 with San Jose, but propping up his line with an outrageous 18.5% walk rate. Hopefully he can stay healthy and play regularly for the Baby Giants the rest of the way.
A few other nice days. Notably, shortstop Josuar González (No. 2 CPL) continues to make the Cal League look easy, as he hit 2-5 with a strikeout and a stolen base, bringing his OPS to 1.048 and his wRC+ to 159, with 4 stolen bases. González now has a 5-game hitting streak, and is 8-22 with 4 extra-base hits, 4 walks, and just 3 strikeouts in that time. I really hope we get to see him have a brief introduction to High-A before the season ends, because it truly feels like the 18-year old is way too good for Low-A.
Right fielder Tanner Mally hit 1-3 with a a hit by pitch, a stolen base, and an outfield assist, while center fielder Andy Polanco went 2-4 with a double and a stolen base, and left fielder Broedy Poppell hit 2-3 with a double, a walk, and a strikeout. Mally, who was a 17th-round pick last month and is the only 2026 draftee currently playing in the Giants system, has looked so comfortable since debuting. Polanco, a speedster with strong defense, has been finding his offensive groove after a very slow start to the year. Poppell, a 13th-rounder last year, has had a pretty mediocre season, but he’s certainly showed some signs.
RHP Trey Seeley, a 14th-rounder in 2025, had a quality game but not a dynamic one. Seeley went 6 innings in this game, and gave up 7 hits, 1 walk, and 1 hit batter, with only 3 strikeouts … but only gave up 2 runs. It’s been a very tough debut season for Seeley, who has just a 7.38 ERA and a 7.76 FIP between the ACL and Low-A. On the bright side, he didn’t give up any home runs in this game, which is a huge win, as he entered the game having ceded a comical 13 home runs in just 27.2 Low-A innings.
RHP Cooper McGrath had another nice game. He threw 19 of 28 pitches for strikes while tossing 2 shutout innings, with just a hit and a walk allowed, and 3 strikeouts. Last year’s 18th-round pick had an absolutely horrific start to his debut season, but has been much better lately. Check out the splits:
Monday: DSL Giants Black beat the DSL Nationals 12-2 (7 innings) [box score] Tuesday: DSL Giants Black beat the DSL Mariners 11-5 (7 innings) [box score]
And with that, the DSL regular season comes to an end, though the Giants Black team will continue play on Thursday in the postseason.
Left fielder Franco Willias ended a dominant year with a bang, hitting 5-7 with a triple, a double, a walk, a hit by pitch, a sacrifice bunt, and 2 stolen bases. Yeesh! Willias, a 21-year old righty, ended his 3rd — and certainly final — DSL campaign with a staggering 1.112 OPS and a 172 wRC+. He led the DSL with a .406 batting average, smacked 21 extra-base hits, and stole 34 bases in 50 games, while striking out just 12.9% of the time. Bring on Papago and the challenges of the Arizona Complex League and/or Cal League!
Also ending his final year in the DSL was shortstop Joniel Hernandez, who hit 2-5 with a home run, 4 runs batted in, and a strikeout on Monday, before taking Tuesday off. Hernandez, the Padres’ high-profile signing this year who was traded in the Robbie Ray deal, finished his debut DSL season with a .978 OPS and a 132 wRC+, with 7 home runs, 10 stolen bases, and just a 15.5% strikeout rate. Pretty freaking impressive for someone who turned 17 in March!
It’s certainly looking like when the 2027 Minor League season begins, Hernandez will be in the Arizona Complex League, Luis Hernández (No. 6 CPL) will be in Low-A, Josuar González (No. 2 CPL) will be in High-A, Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL) will be in AA, and Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL) will be in AAA. My goodness that is an embarrassment of middle infield riches!
Not much on the pitching front, but RHP Brayan Cabello and LHP Hector Dos Santos had good games. Cabello pitched a perfect inning, as the 22-year old finished his 5th season with a 1.24 ERA, but a 4.61 FIP. Dos Santos gave up a hit in 2 shutout frames with a strikeout, and the 20-year old ends his 2nd season with a 4.62 ERA and a 5.46 FIP.
Dominican Summer League Orange (31-24)
Monday: DSL Giants Orange beat the DSL Cubs Red 4-3 (8 innings) [box score] Tuesday: DSL Giants Orange lost to the DSL Blue Jays Blue 8-5 (7 innings) [box score]
And with that, we’re down to 5 teams. The Giants Orange squad also saw their regular season conclude, but they’re not postseason bound, so this is it for them.
We’ll highlight a trio of hitters and a pair of pitchers.
On offense, all 3 players appeared in just 1 of the 2 games. Second baseman Yoxander Benitez hit 2-3 with a double; the 19-year old ends his 3rd DSL season with an .814 OPS and a 112 wRC+, easily his best marks. Designated hitter Jeyson Moya had a perfect game, going 4-4 with a pair of doubles; the 19-year old has a .750 OPS and a 91 wRC+ in his 3rd season, and while those numbers are still fairly poor, they represent huge improvement over his 1st 2 years. And shortstop Israel Alfonse only hit 1-4 with 2 strikeouts, but smashed a home run; the 17-year old posted an .893 OPS and a 100 wRC+ over 8 games in his debut season, though he had a 35.7% strikeout rate and no walks. Small samples!
On the pitching front, RHP Jhon Leon struck out 5 batters in 2 scoreless innings, with just 1 hit and 0 walks, though he hit a pair of batters. The 22-year old posted a 3.98 ERA and a 4.12 FIP in his 3rd season. RHP Jose Trevizo tossed 3 no-hit, no-run innings, with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts. The recently-turned 18-year old impressed in his 2nd season, with a 3.52 ERA, a 3.63 FIP, and 40 strikeouts to 12 walks in 38.1 innings.
Home run tracker
18 — Cam Maldonado — [4 in High-A; 14 in Low-A] 16 — Jeremiah Jenkins — [Low-A] 13 — Charlie Szykowny — [AA] 7 — Joniel Hernandez — [DSL] 5 — Will Brennan — [AAA] 4 — Angel Guzman — [2 in Low-A; 2 in ACL] 2 — Israel Alfonse — [DSL]
Wednesday schedule
Sacramento: 6:45 p.m. PT vs. Tacoma (SP: TBD) Richmond: 3:35 p.m. PT at Chesapeake (SP: Trystan Vrieling) Eugene: 6:35 p.m. PT vs. Vancouver (SP: Ramon Marquez) San Jose: 6:05 p.m. PT at Lake Elsinore (SP: TBD)
Reminder that almost all MiLB games can be watched on MLB TV
If the Phillies had a wish list heading into the second half, shoring up the back end of the rotation would have been near the top.
Step one was getting Aaron Nola back to being a pitcher who can consistently give Philadelphia a chance to win each time he takes the ball.
That is exactly what he has done.
His latest start, Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park, was another clear example of the pitcher he can still be, even with diminished velocity and a big breaking ball in the ABS era.
It was key in the Phillies’ 4-1 win over the Miami Marlins.
The pitch that will keep Nola afloat in this league is his knuckle curve. The biggest factor is whether he can get into enough favorable counts to use it when he needs it most.
With two strikes.
Against Miami, the longest-tenured Phillie faced 25 hitters and got into 17 two-strike counts, tying his highest tally of the season.
Being on the attack, pitching with confidence and not falling behind allowed Nola to play his game. He struck out eight batters, tied for his second-most this season behind the nine he had in his last start at the Field of Dreams.
He also completed seven innings for the first time since July 5 in Kansas City.
That kind of rhythm becomes easier to find when the Phillies give him something to work with.
In the bottom of the second, Philadelphia manufactured a run with the bases loaded when Garrett Stubbs legged out an infield single. An inning later, Luis Arraez drove out his second homer as a Phillie, a two-run shot that gave Nola a three-run cushion.
That was meaningful against Sandy Alcantara, a former Cy Young winner who has routinely pitched well against the Phillies.
From there, Nola settled in.
He completed five scoreless innings before Don Mattingly sent him back out for the sixth. Nola allowed a leadoff homer, which has become a recurring issue in most of his starts, then allowed two more batters to reach with one out.
The score was 3-1. The tying run was on base. Griffin Conine, one of the hotter bats in the Marlins’ lineup, was at the plate.
That is where Nola’s breaking ball took over.
He opened the at-bat with two changeups, evened the count at 1-1, then threw three straight knuckle curves. The last one got Conine swinging for a huge second out.
Heriberto Hernández followed, another power bat who has hurt the Phillies before. Nola took a similar path, starting him with the curveball and finishing him with it for another strikeout.
He bent, but he did not break.
That gave Mattingly enough confidence to send him back out for the seventh, a valuable development for a bullpen that has been leaned on heavily this month.
The Marlins whiffed on 63 percent of Nola’s knuckle curves Wednesday. In the 51 knuckle curves he threw against them across his first two starts versus Miami this season, they whiffed on 35.7 percent.
That is a major difference.
Nola has now faced the Marlins three times this season and allowed just two earned runs over 18 2/3 innings. His surrounding pitch mix has changed each time, and changing looks has been a key part of his recent success.
Miami is no easy assignment, either. The Marlins entered Wednesday as a top-seven offense in baseball by batting average.
The more starts Nola stacks together like this, the more confidence the Phillies can have in handing him the ball during another postseason run. That confidence is growing.
Over his last five starts, Nola has posted a 2.51 ERA across 28 2/3 innings with 34 strikeouts. He has averaged more than five innings per outing over that stretch and has looked much more like the stabilizing arm the Phillies need behind their top three starters.
Nola handed the ball to Jonathan Bowlan in the eighth, and the inning got tense quickly.
Bowlan put two on with one out, bringing the tying run to the plate. Then Brandon Marsh scaled the wall in foul territory to take away a potential problem for the second out.
Bowlan finished the inning by striking out Conine, then screamed toward the Phillies’ dugout as he walked off the mound.
For a team trying to line up the bridge to Jhoan Duran, that has been under the microscope lately, too.
Duran handled the ninth for his 28th save, locking down a win built on exactly what Philadelphia needed.
And how about this?
The Phillies are now 12 games over .500 — for the first time in this rollercoaster of a season. They now sit 4.5 games out of first place in the National League East.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - AUGUST 16: Kyle Schwarber #12 of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrates with Brandon Marsh #16 after scoring in the sixth inning during the game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on Sunday, August 16, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Michael Turner/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Here are the lineups for the final game against Miami. Let’s discuss!
One day it’s the bats carrying the Mets and another it’s a starting pitcher or the rebuilt bullpen. It’s created at least something of a murmur for a team buried in the postseason race.
“I think it’s fun for the fans, right?” Mets owner Steve Cohen said before his team’s 4-2 victory over the Padres at Citi Field on Wednesday. “It’s creating a little excitement and hopefully it will carry through to the end of the year and give us good feeling into next year.”
Access the Mets beat like never before
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.
This series victory was the fourth in five the Mets have played since the Aug. 3 deadline. Overall, the Mets are 11-4 over that stretch. Even so, the improved play hasn’t produced dramatic headway in the NL wild-card race, where the Mets are 10 games behind for the final spot. The Mets were 13 games behind before starting this surge.
Such is life trying to climb over seven teams, including these Padres, who are positioned for the NL’s third wild card.
What is the underlying characteristic of this recent surge?
“It feels gritty to me,” interim manager Andy Green said. “It feels like the kind of club that is trying to scratch and claw and figure out a way to win a baseball game.”
Mets pitcher Robert Stock pitches in the third inning against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, at Citi Field. Robert Sabo for NY Post
A bullpen that lost four key veterans at the trade deadline — then closer Devin Williams to the injured list — has led the charge. On this day, Jonathan Pintaro, Nate Lavender, Austin Warren and Daniel Duarte combined for 3 ²/₃ scoreless innings before Kodai Senga surrendered a run in the ninth.
“The bullpen has been phenomenal with this much turnover, to see guys step on the mound and handle tough situations again and again,” Green said. “Pintaro getting a double play ball, and Lavender coming in again with an inherited runner and getting out of it on nine pitches, which is more than he’s been throwing to get out of innings, which is crazy.”
Mets right fielder Carson Benge (3) reacts after scoring on a two-run home run in the fourth inning against the San Diego Padres at Citi Field on Wednesday, August 19, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Robert Stock gave the Mets a second straight effective abbreviated start, allowing one earned run on two hits and three walks with six strikeouts over 4 ¹/₃ innings. In his previous start, against the Nationals, the right-hander did not allow an earned run over the same length.
The Mets have entrusted a rotation spot to the 36-year-old journeyman following the trades that jettisoned Freddy Peralta and Clay Holmes.
“Hopefully, I am improving,” said Stock, who underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in spring training. “The difference between Triple-A and the big leagues is very big. It’s a different strategy. Such incredible hitters that you have to figure out things along the way and constantly make improvements, and that is something I’m continuing to try to do.”
Carson Benge’s two-run homer in the fourth produced the game’s first scoring. Benge hit a shot just inside the left field foul pole for his 11th homer this season and second within the week.
Nobody had a better homestand than Benge, who threw out four base runners from right field over a three-game stretch. The highlight was Monday, when he nailed two runners at the plate in the same inning, becoming the first outfielder in franchise history to accomplish that feat.
“I feel like I’m in a good spot,” Benge said. “I feel like I am on time with just about every pitch, seeing the ball well. It’s a good place to be.”
Mets first baseman Jared Young (29) reacts after hitting an RBI single to score third baseman Bo Bichette (19) in the eighth inning against the San Diego Padres at Citi Field on Wednesday, August 19, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Fernando Tatis stroked an RBI double in the fifth that sliced the Mets lead to 2-1. Xander Bogaerts doubled against Stock to begin the rally. Stock was removed after Tatis’ double.
The Mets added insurance in the eighth. Bo Bichette grounded into an RBI fielder’s choice and Jared Young’s single increased the lead to 4-1.
MEts merch shop
47 Brand logo cap
1986 eco tote bag
Mets fiber beach towel
14-ounce sculpted relief mug
Customizable jersey
Color block logo backpack
New York Post receives revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and when you make a purchase.
Senga allowed one run in the ninth but earned his fourth save in as many chances since moving into the closer’s role with Williams on the IL.
“I think there’s a lot of things to kind of be excited by,” Cohen said. “The development of our young players is significant. That creates a nice foundation for next year.”
TORONTO, ON - AUGUST 13: Max Scherzer #31 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches during a game against the Boston Red Sox at Rogers Centre on August 13, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Jays made a roster move:
Brendan Cellucci was called up.
Matt Waldron was DFAed.
I’m thinking that Waldron clears waivers and stays with the team, but we won’t know that for a few days. He’s had a rough time in 4 outings with the Jays, putting up a 10.38 ERA in 4.1 innings, with 7 hits, 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. I think, at best, he’s an innings eater out of the pen.
Cellucci is a left-hander pitcher, who was drafted by the Red Sox, but the Jays signed him to a minor league contract before this season, pitching in New Hampshire and Buffalo. He has a 3.74 ERA in 40 games, 45.2 innings in the Jays system, with 22 walks and 48 strikeouts.
He has a ‘high 90s fastball and a good slider. Control is always the issue.
Tonight’s lineups:
Today’s Lineups
BLUE JAYS
RAYS
Brett Bateman – CF
Chandler Simpson – LF
Nathan Lukes – RF
Junior Caminero – 3B
Alejandro Kirk – DH
Jonathan Aranda – 1B
Kazuma Okamoto – 1B
Yandy Diaz – DH
Andres Gimenez – SS
Liam Hicks – C
Jesus Sanchez – LF
Cedric Mullins – CF
Josh Smith – 2B
Ryan Vilade – RF
Brandon Valenzuela – C
Richie Palacios – 2B
Charles McAdoo – 3B
Taylor Walls – SS
Max Scherzer – RHP
Drew Rasmussen – RHP
Lenyn Sosa is off the IL and was DFAed, cleared waivers and has been assigned to Buffalo. And Joe Mantiply is starting a rehab assignment in Dunedin.
Max Scherzer is on a nice little run, I thought I’d ask:
Aug 19, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets right fielder Carson Benge (3) reacts to hitting a two run home run against the San Diego Padres during the fourth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Mets continued their excellent play after trading away a bevy of players, beating the Padres 4-2. The Mets are now 11-4 since August 4th, and despite the season being more or less over, it is great to see the Mets’ young core and resurgent bullpen keep racking up the dubs.
Robert Stock started for the Mets today, and threw a ton of pitches in his first two innings, leading to three walks and a hit batsman. However, good defense and some luck saw Stock escape both innings, as well as have relatively quick third and fourth innings.
Michael King was equally as effective early on, not allowing a baserunner over the first three innings. Both teams looked fairly standard for days games after night games, a little more lethargic than you’d like. However, both teams woke up after slow starts.
A.J. Ewing collected the first hit of the day in the top of the fourth, lining single up the middle, just out of the reach of King. Francisco Lindor was up next, and he nubbed a ball that he thought might’ve been foul, but was picked up by Luis Campusano and turned into a 2-6-3 double play. Bo Bichette walked, putting one on with two outs for Carson Benge. Benge worked the count full before muscling an opposite-field home run just to the right of the left field foul pole to put the Mets up 2-0.
In the top of the fifth, Xander Bogaerts led off with a ball drilled off the wall in left field. Bogaerts slowed a bit while rounding first, but Brett Baty triple-clutched in the outfield, and so the throw to second base was just late enough to allow Bogaerts to slide in safely. With one out, last night’s culprit Fernando Tatis Jr. doubled over the head of Ewing with an RBI double.
That would do it for Stock, who was pulled for Jonathan Pintaro. After walking Jake Cronenworth, Pintaro induced a ground ball off the bat of Manny Machado, leading to a 5-4-3 double play and got through the inning While it would’ve been nice to see Stock be able to get through five, having thrown 40+ pitches in his first two innings, it’s impressive that he was able to make it into the fifth, capping out at 83 pitches total.
After his offense going down quietly in the bottom of the fifth, Pintaro was back out for the top of the sixth. But after allowing a leadoff double to Ty France, Pintaro was pulled in favor of southpaw Nate Lavender. Lavender looked great, striking out the first two batters to face him and inducing a slow ground ball for the third out.
King continued to look strong aside from that rough fourth inning. Over his first six innings, he allowed just three hits and one walk against four strikeouts.
The newly returned Austin Warren, on the Injured List since early July, was next up for the Mets. Like Lavender before him, Warren looked great, striking out two and showing no rust from six weeks on the shelf.
King came back out for the seventh and allowed a couple of baserunners on an infield hit and a fielder’s choice. Luis Robert Jr. then pinch hit for Cristian Pache, who came in for defense in the sixth for Baty. Robert drew a walk, which would lead to King’s departure from the game with two on and two out after 100 pitches. King was not pleased leaving the game, seen visibly saying “no way” as Craig Stammen reached for the ball.
Jeremiah Estrada was first out of the ‘pen for the Dads. Marcus Semien lined a single to right field, and Francisco Alvarez tried to score from second base. He slid in behind the throw, but the tag was initially missed, and Alvarez thought that he got his hand in, slapping the bottom of the plate. He was called out, and the replay was inconclusive enough to not overturn the call.
Daniel Duarte continued the new-look bullpen’s dominance, throwing a perfect top of the eighth inning, striking out two.
In the bottom of the inning, the Mets gave themselves some cushion. Ewing collected a one-hit walk, and promptly stole second. Lindor singled, putting men on the corners with one out. Bichette then hit what might’ve been an inning-ending double play, but saw the ball thrown away by Sung-Mun Song, who took over at shortstop after Bogaerts exited with a suspected hamstring injury, allowing Ewing to score and allowing the runners to advance to second and third. After a fielder’s choice got Lindor out at the plate, Jared Young singled home Bichette to extend the lead to 4-1.
Kodai Senga entered to look for his fourth save as the Mets’ interim closer. Senga did not look as sharp as he had in his prior three starts, allowing three-straight one-out baserunners, leading in a run scoring off the bat of pinch hitter Gavin Sheets. Austin Hays was next up for the Padres, and he grounded into a game-ending 4-4-3 double play, taking the series.
One final note: Luis Torrens is a tough dude. He fouled a ball off of his knee in the third that looked like it might take him out of the game. It didn’t. In the seventh, before his at-bat began, during his warm ups Bogaerts nailed Torrens in the face with his bat, knocking his mask off. He stayed in the game.
The Mets are off tomorrow before traveling to the Windy City for three with the White Sox.
His agent, Charisse Espinosa-Dash, told MLB Network's Jon Morosi on Wednesday, Aug.19 that the Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman is dealing with a personal matter and will have an MRI on his knee on Thursday, Aug. 20. She said Marte appreciates the "unwavering support" he's gotten from fans, teammates, the organization and manager Torey Lovullo, and wants to get back on the field.
It was the first public word from Marte's side since he didn't show up at Fenway Park on Monday, Aug. 17 and was placed on the restricted list. It also didn't explain much. A knee injury and a personal matter comingled with no indication of what they have to do with each other. It also did not address Monday's absence.
It cleared up very little about Marte's status and potential return to the team.
Marte was in Monday's lineup as the designated hitter. The Diamondbacks held the lineup card until roughly 20 minutes before the first pitch hoping he would turn up, according to MLB.com. Then they placed Marte on the restricted list and recalled Jose Fernandez from Triple-A to cover themselves.
Speaking to the Arizona Republic, which is part of the USA TODAY Network, general manager Mike Hazen said that Marte was still in Boston and that there was no indication when he would return to the team. Lovullo got emotional talking about it after an 11-1 loss. He said he had reached out to Marte twice that day and heard almost nothing.
"There was very little coming back," Lovullo told reporters.
Marte came out of an Aug. 14 game in Atlanta with left knee soreness and sat out the next day before returning to the lineup Aug. 16.
This is the second straight season Arizona has placed Marte on the restricted list. Last July it followed a burglary at his Phoenix-area home during the All-Star break. He apologized publicly after reports that teammates had been frustrated by the absence.
Arizona has shopped Marte a few times. Last offseason, they had a high asking price before pulling him off the market in January. He reached 10-and-5 rights in April, which gave him a full no-trade clause. In July, USA TODAY reported Marte was expected to veto any deal and that the Diamondbacks had told other clubs that.
The Diamondbacks are 66-61 after dropping the first two games in Boston, two behind San Diego for the last National League wild card. They close the series Wednesday afternoon and open a six-game homestand Friday against Cincinnati.
Lovullo told reporters he is still hopeful Marte plays again this season. "We need him."
PITTSBURGH, PA - AUGUST 19: Oneil Cruz #15 of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits an RBI single in the first inning during the game between the Detroit Tigers and the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on Wednesday, August 19, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Christopher Denver/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Skenes v. Jobe? Holy mackerel, what a matchup!
Well, indeed, on paper it looked to be a game in which the starters would go deep and we’d all be treated to a classic pitching battle. Instead, neither starter stuck around particularly long, the bullpens took over, and in the bottom of the ninth the Tigers gave the game away in a most dramatic fashion, losing 4-3 and dropping the series.
As mentioned, Jackson Jobe got the start for the Tigers. His first outing this year was fantastic: five innings with one hit. His first outing, not so much: he didn’t make it out of the fourth and he coughed-up six runs. Now, remember, recovery from Tommy John surgery means that your control will be a little wonky for a while, so I feel like any great outings the Tigers get out of Jobe this year are a bonus.
Facing the Tigers today was some scrub kid, Paul Skenes. He’s having a lousy year, by his standards: an ERA of almost 4, a WHIP above 1.1, and he’s walking almost 7% of all the hitters he’s faced. What a hoser! All jokes aside, he’s one of the premier pitchers in the sport — but since the middle of May he has struggled to go deep into games, often topping-out at five or six innings, while he previous triple digit velocity is rarely in evidence.
Skenes walked the first two batters to start the game, and a ground ball to first didn’t result in a double play, leaving runners at the corners. Alas, Dillon Dingler struck out and Brett Callahan popped up to the shortstop and that was that.
Pittsburgh got on the board in the bottom of the first: with one out Brandon Lowe walked, and an infield single pushed him up to second. An Oneil Cruz single cashed-in Lowe and it was a 1-0 game at that point.
Hao-Yu Lee (see notes below) led off the third with a single poked down the right-field line, and he aggressively and smartly took third on a Colt Keith single to left. After Gleyber Torres struck out, Kevin McGonigle lofted a fly ball to left field which was deep enough to score Lee and even the score. Dingler followed with a sizzling line-drive to left at 106 mph… and Brian Reynolds made a nice catch on it. Guy can’t catch a break these days.
The Tigers retook the lead in the fifth: Max Clark led off with a double, and Lee followed with a walk. After Keith struck out, Torres lofted a little fly ball to centre that dropped in, scoring Clark and moving Lee up to third. That was the end of Skenes’ day — as has been his custom in the past couple of months — and Old Friend™ Gregory Soto was brought in for a lefty-lefty matchup. On the first pitch McGonigle split the right-centrefield gap for a double; Lee scored, but Torres was cut down at the plate on a great relay for the second out.
Alas, Dingler then flew out to centre to end the inning.
Meanwhile, Jobe was having a decent start, if a little shaky with his control: through five innings he’d walked three batters and hit another. (Plunking, then later walking, the ninth-place hitter in a lineup isn’t exactly what you want to do, but sometimes it happens.) As mentioned above, control takes a while to reacquire after Tommy John surgery, but he made adjustments along the way, including going to his sinker more.
He ended his day after striking out Esmerlyn Valdez on a 99-mph four-seam fastball to end a nine-pitch battle leading off the bottom of the sixth, and his final line was 5 1/3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 3 K, 53 strikes out of 86 pitches. Tyler Holton was brought in to face Cruz and struck him out on three pitches; he gave up an infield single, but then struck out pinch-hitter Nick “No Relation to Thom” Yorke to end the inning.
Jacob Waugespack, who’s been having a fairly good go of it lately, hung a cutter to pinch-hitter Rafael Flores Jr. with one out and he did not miss, clubbing a long home run to left field to narrow the gap to 3-2. After a lineout to centre, Drew Sommers came in to face Lowe and he struck out on a slider after a couple of pretty wild outside pitches.
Kyle Finnegan took over to start the eighth inning, and it’s been a rough ride for him lately: coming into today’s game his last eleven appearances, spanning 8 2/3 innings, he’d given up nine runs and allowed four home runs. Things started off decently well, with a lineout to left and a strikeout, but then Cruz and Nick Gonzales walked. I gulped in anticipation of what might come next, but then Yorke flew out harmlessly to left field. Had it all along, folks! Had it all along.
The Tigers looked to add some insurance in the top of the ninth off triple-digit lefty closer Mason Montgomery: Zach McKinstry led off with a single, and Clark pushed him up to second with a single of his own, taking 99 mph the opposite way in a nice piece of hitting. With two outs the Pirates’ catcher tried to back-pick to first to nab Clark but the throw went into right field, pushing the runners up a base. Alas, pinch-hitter Eduardo Valencia grounded out for the third out and it was on to the bottom of the ninth, and it did not go well.
Kenley Jansen, who had not given up a home run since the end of June, served one up to Flores, who hit it a long way with one out to tie the score at 3-3, Flores’ second home run of the game. Then, with two out, of course, Lowe hit his 27th of the year off the right-field foul pole for the 4-3 win.
You know, I’m starting to think that this bullpen isn’t very good.
Observances and Notes
On Monday night, Hao-Yu Lee broke Yu Chang’s record for hits in a season by a Taiwanese-born player. Congrats!
Foolish Bailey did a great piece on the Tigers’ troubles this year when it comes to bullpen usage by AJ Hinch. All those Hinch-Haters out there, here’s some more fuel for your ever-burning fires — like you needed it!
The orbit of a star close to the supermassive black hole in the centre of the Milky Way might show how that black hole is spinning. Neat!
On this day in 1989, the Pan-European Picnic was held on the Austria-Hungary border, as a peace demonstration. During the proceedings, if people crossed from Hungary (then still Communist and under Soviet influence) into Austria, border guards were told to let them freely pass. It was partially a test to see what the Soviets’ response would be to a more open border, and since Moscow didn’t jump all over it, that emboldened leaders across all the Warsaw Pact nations to open things up even more — and the fall of the Berlin Wall a few months later was clearly the climax of those events.
Mets prospect Ryan Clifford has been added to the development list as he deals with a rough stretch at the plate at Triple-A Syracuse.
In his last 18 games, the first baseman/outfielder has just five hits in 67 at-bats (.075) with 35 strikeouts to nine walks and a .299 OPS. Since coming back from a few days on the IL at the start of the month, Clifford is 0-for-22 with 14 strikeouts and two walks, including striking out all five times in his last game on Sunday.
The development list was introduced in 2021 to help clubs monitor their prospects' usage and development, and allow the player the opportunity to stay with the minor league club while not being on the squad's roster.
This year, he has 31 extra-base hits (16 home runs) with 51 RBI and a .175/.267/.344 slash line for a .611 OPS in 431 plate appearances over 104 games. The biggest issue for the 22-year-old is strikeouts. He's gone down on strikes 175 times, representing 40.6 percent of his times up.
He struck out 148 times in 139 games during the 2025 campaign across 105 games at Double-A Binghamton and 34 at Triple-A, where he only struck out 35 times with 22 walks. At Binghamton, he smacked 24 home runs with 75 RBI while batting .243 with a .848 OPS, which earned him that promotion last August.
Clifford is just a few weeks removed from playing in the MLB Futures Game around the MLB All-Star break. At the time, he said he was looking to work on his consistency at the plate as he had plenty of pop – 16 long balls and 47 batted in 86 games – but was batting .196 with a .678 OPS and 129 strikeouts.
“I think the first half was kind of up and down, so I’m looking to, after the break, just maintain some consistency and stay out on the field and be healthy,” Clifford said at the Futures Game. “Look to cut down on strikeouts and keep the power up.”
You can watch Syracuse, who will have No. 2 prospect left-hander Jonathan Santucci on the hill, take on the Worcester Red Sox Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. on SNY.
BOSTON - JANUARY 16: Smashed vehicles and debris sit in a puddle of molasses on Commercial Street on Jan. 16, 1919, the day after a giant tank in the North End collapsed, sending a wave of an estimated 2.3 million gallons of molasses through the streets of Boston. Twenty-one people died and 150 were injured. (Photo by The Boston Globe via Getty Images) | Boston Globe via Getty Images
Today’s Lineups
DIAMONDBACKS
RED SOX
Ildemaro Vargas – 2B
Nick Sogard – 2B
Corbin Carroll – RF
Ceddanne Rafaela – CF
Gabriel Moreno – C
Wilyer Abreu – RF
Geraldo Perdomo – SS
Willson Contreras – 1B
Nolan Arenado – DH
Caleb Durbin – 3B
Tim Tawa – 1B
Mickey Gasper – DH
Jordan Lawlar – CF
Andruw Monasterio – SS
Jose Fernandez – 3B
Jarren Duran – LF
Ryan Waldschmidt – LF
Connor Wong – C
Brandon Pfaadt – RHP
Payton Tolle – LHP
Not been a good couple of days for the D-backs. While I’m sure MarteGate (2026 edition) hasn’t helped, the pitching staff allowing twenty runs in two games probably is the main issue. Still, a win today would mean a 3-3 road trip. And, I remind you, the majority of you (57%, to be exact) said that would be an acceptable result for these games in Atlanta and Boston. With Brandon Pfaadt on the mound for the Diamondbacks, got to feel hopeful about us allowing fewer runs than on Monday and Tuesday. Be nice to get the W, fly back to Arizona, and enjoy the off-day tomorrow.
Also want to tidy up something from a few days ago. You may remember, in the opener against the Braves, the D-backs went 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position – but still won the game, 2-0. There was some wondering as to where about that performance stood in the pantheon of Diamondbacks victories, but there was no easy way to look it up. However, we have samath, the master of “no easy ways”, who duly scraped franchise history to find out. Over to you, samath:
The 0-for-14 in a regulation win is indeed a Diamondbacks record. Only one game comes close: On May 9th, 2013 against the Phillies, they went 0-for-12 with RISP in a 2-1 win. They’ve gone 0-for-9 six times, most recently in a 3-1 win over the Padres on July 17, 2022. MLB-wide, it’s also the highest for 2026. Second place is the Guardians going 0-for-12 in a 4-2 win over the Brewers on June 18. The last game to beat that opener in Atlanta was the Mariners’ 2-0 victory over the Astros on August 18, 2023, within which they went 0-for-17 with RISP.
Here are the top five MLB failures with RISP in team victories which samath found, since the D-backs entered the league in 1998.
2023-08-18 – Seattle Mariners over Houston Astros: 2-0, 0-for-17
2006-09-15 – Oakland Athletics over Chicago White Sox, 4-2, 0-for-16
1999-05-29 – Los Angeles Dodgers over Atlanta Braves, 2-1, 0-for-15
2026-08-14 – Arizona Diamondbacks over Atlanta Braves, 2-0, 0-for-14
2017-04-22 – St. Louis Cardinals over Milwaukee Brewers, 4-1, 0-for-14
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - AUGUST 7: Payton Tolle #70 of the Boston Red Sox reacts in the bullpen before a game against the Athletics on August 7, 2026 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
TV: NESN
First Pitch: 4:10 p.m. ET
Payton Tolle is the perfect man for Boston to send to the mound as the Red Sox play for a sweep of the Diamondbacks. Coming off of three consecutive series losses, the lefty takes the mound as the hot hand of the rotation, most recently tossing a gem with eight scoreless innings in Toronto.
Here’s who the Red Sox will send to the plate behind him Wednesday afternoon at Fenway Park.
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 28: Dylan Crews #3 of the Washington Nationals at bat in the sixth inning during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Nationals Park on July 28, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/IOS/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It has been a brutal month of August for the Washington Nationals on multiple fronts. They lost key players to trades, James Wood got hurt and the losses have been piling up. However, Dylan Crews’ miserable play of late is another factor in the Nats struggles. When the team needed him most, Crews has been woefully ineffective.
After losing James Wood, Luis Garcia Jr. and Curtis Mead, the Nats needed guys to step up in order to pick up the slack. Abimelec Ortiz has done his part, bursting onto the scene. Brady House has not been perfect, but his .258 average and .704 OPS is acceptable.
However, Crews has not held up his end of the bargain. The Nats were clearly relying on him to do that and you can see that in where they put him in the lineup. Against lefties, Crews has been leading off and even against righties, he often hits third. Despite that faith, Crews is just 8 for 57 in August.
It is yet another disappointing chapter in a wildly frustrating Nationals career for the former second overall pick. One thing that makes it even worse is the fact that Crews was coming off one of the best months of his career. In July he posted an .801 OPS and walked 14 times. It sure seems like that plate discipline was a mirage because outside of August he has just 7 walks all season.
The biggest problem for Dylan Crews this season is the combination of chasing and whiffing. In 2026, Crews has a 32.8% chase rate and 30.6% whiff rate. Both of those numbers are well below average. It leads to him having to fight an uphill battle.
Coming into the season, one of the biggest issues Crews had was his ground ball heavy profile. This season, he has actually gotten a lot better at elevating the ball, cutting his GB% from 50.2% to 38.5%. Unfortunately, a lot of these flyballs are to straightaway centerfield, making it harder to clear the fences. With all the athletic center fielders in the game, getting hits up the middle is now harder than ever.
He still has some issues with his batted ball profile, but I think the biggest problem is his swing decisions. Crews just throws away too many at bats, especially in big moments where he knows he has to do something. Against the Mets there was an at bat where he struck out on 7 pitches and not a single one of them was in the strike zone.
That at bat sums up the Dylan Crews experience for me. He has the talent to be a good player, but everything seems to be moving too fast for him at the plate. You can see that with how often he falls behind 0-2. Whenever you watch Crews, you see a hitter on the defensive.
With this season’s playoff hopes being gone, this should serve as an audition period for Crews. Unless he heats up significantly down the stretch, his spot on the team should not be secure. Right now, he is the fourth best outfielder on this team behind James Wood, Jacob Young and Daylen Lile.
At the moment, he is closer to the likes of Andrew Pinckney and Sam Petersen than being the star fans thought they were getting. I still think there is a talented player in Crews, and he is a guy who could be a late bloomer. He has the exit velocities, athleticism and defense to be a good player. However, the bat leaves so much to be desired.
My pick for MLB's next post-hype breakout:
Dylan Crews (WSH)
.323 xwOBA 90.5 MPH Avg EV + Bat Speed Launch angle up 3.5°
Below is Dylan Crews' 2026 season compared to Jordan Walker's 2025 campaign before his breakout.
Is it possible that Crews becomes the next Jordan Walker type breakout star? I suppose, but it is certainly not something I would bet on. It is more likely that he is an athletic fourth outfielder who plays against left handed pitching. That can be a useful piece to a roster, but a massive disappointment given his pedigree.
Things can change quickly, but right now it just feels like things are over for Crews in DC. If you can get something worthwhile or even package him with other pieces to get a pitcher, it is something I would absolutely do. I have some hope for Dylan Crews, but I no longer have any real belief in him.
