Category: MLB

Three of four Dodgers minor league affiliates won on Friday.

Player of the day

Right-hander Christian Zazueta, the Dodgers’ top pitching prospect, had his best start since getting promoted to Double-A, with eight strikeouts in six scoreless innings for Tulsa on Friday night in Corpus Christi.

Zazueta in seven starts in Double-A has a 3.30 ERA in 47 strikeouts against only three walks, and doesn’t turn 22 until October.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

The Comets scored 11 runs in the first three innings in a rout of the Salt Lake Bees (Angels).

Ryan Ward hit a three-run home run. Alek Thomas drove in four. Noah Miller had three hits, including a pair of doubles.

Cole Irvin, who accepted a minor league assignment after clearing waivers, allowed two runs in five innings for his 10th win.

Double-A Tulsa

Taylor Young homered to back Zazueta in the Drillers’ win over the Corpus Christi Hooks (Astros). Young also stole a base.

Catcher Frank Rodriguez drove in Tulsa’s other two runs with an RBI single and sacrifice fly.

High-A Great Lakes

Charles Davalan and Chase Harlan homered in the Loons’ win over the Dayton Dragons (Reds). Jaron Elkins singled twice, walked, and stole his first base since joining High-A.

Following an opener, Sterling Patick struck out seven in five innings, and allowed one run in the win.

Class-A Ontario

The Tower Buzzers scored the first six runs of the game, but lost a high-scoring affair to the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres).

Joendry Vargas homered and doubled in the loss, part of a four-hit game. Easton Shelton walked three times and had a two-run single.

Transactions

Triple-A: After getting designated for assignment on Tuesday, catcher Chuckie Robinson cleared waivers and was sent outright to Oklahoma City. First baseman Matt Gorski was activated off the injured list.

Friday scores

• Oklahoma City 11, Salt Lake 5
• Tulsa 3, Corpus Christi 1
• Great Lakes 6, Dayton 1
• Lake Elsinore 10, Ontario 8

Saturday schedule

• 4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Isaac Ayon) at Dayton (JP Ortiz)
• 5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Aidan Foeller) at Corpus Christi (Andrew Taylor)
• 5:35 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Emmet Sheehan) at Salt Lake (Joel Hurtado)
• 6:45 p.m.: Ontario (TBA) at Lake Elsinore (TBA)

Omaha Storm Chasers 11, Toledo Mud Hens 2 (box)(Gm1)

Sawyer Gipson-Long continued to struggle in Game 1 of Friday’s doubleheader between Toledo and Omaha. He failed to reach the fourth inning for the third straight start and has only had one outing allowing fewer than four runs since July 7. SGL’s ERA has ballooned to 5.75 from 4.28 in that time, and opponents are hitting .429 against him in August.

He worked around a pair of unfortunate singles in the first, but Jacob Berry took him deep in the second to get the scoring started.

The wheels started falling off in the third. SGL hit the leadoff man on a full count, gave up a swinging bunt single and saw a triple go over Wenceel Perez’s head, ricocheting off the wall into right-center. A long sac fly made it 4-0, and back-to-back walks on nine pitches meant the end of the day for Gipson-Long.

Jack Little gave up a flare to right field to bring in a fifth run before getting out of the third. Little didn’t do great with the bases clear in the fourth. He gave up two runs on three hits, making it 7-0.

Toledo had some early chances to score and make this a game, but no one got the big hit. Max Anderson doubled off the wall in the first, but was stranded. In the second, Andrew Navigato had a hard-hit single to the left field corner that looked like extra bases off the bat. A Seby Zavala liner up the middle would have scored Navigato from second, but Jack Goodman grounded out to end the inning instead.

Those were the first at-bats for Goodman and Zavala with Toledo. Goodman spent most of the year with Single-A Lakeland but got called up earlier this week. Zavala recently signed after spending time with Triple-A Oklahoma City and Charros de Jalisco in Mexico.

Toledo’s offense was pretty quiet for the rest of the game. Brett Callahan was hit by a pitch in the fourth, but nothing came from it.

Goodman and Zavala got a bit of redemption in the fifth. Zavala led off with a walk, and Goodman hit his first Triple-A home run. It was a no-doubter into the street beyond left field. So, there’s a silver lining. Nine of the final 10 Toledo hitters went down after that.

Beau Brieske was the victim of a very unfortunate string of singles that led to a grand slam, turning it into a laugher. Two of the hits to load the bases were bloops. It was just one of those days for the Mud Hens. Troy Watson got the sixth. He worked around a two-out walk for a scoreless inning.

Cal Stevenson was the position player on the mound in the seventh. He had a little fun getting a strikeout with an 80-mph heater after lobbing in several 50-mph eephus pitches.

Anderson: 1-3, 2B (18)

Perez: 0-3, 2 K

Goodman: 1-3, HR (1), R, 2 RBI, K

Gipson-Long (L, 2-5): 2.2 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 K, HR

Omaha Storm Chasers 10, Toledo Mud Hens 3 (box)(Gm2)

Game 2 went just about the same way, except the blowup came in the second inning, and Toledo led briefly after a Jace Jung homer in the first. For what it’s worth, Jung stung a couple of balls in Game 1; they just went right to gloves. This one was an oppo shot that just kept going and going until it crept over the wall.

Lael Lockhart was the unlucky starter to take the loss. Toledo listed a TBD starter, so it was a planned bullpen game. Lockhart actually got through the first cleanly, but things went really bad in the second.

Seven of the first eight batters in the inning reached safely, including three doubles and a home run. Max Anderson booted one of those “doubles” to allow the tying run to score, but everything else was legit.

Tyler Gentry hit a solo homer in the bottom of the second, cutting the deficit to five runs.

Luke Taggart got the third and fourth for Toledo. Three hits turned into two more runs for the Storm Chasers in the former, but Taggart got through the latter frame without any damage.

Gentry got another RBI in the fourth, driving in Brett Callahan with a single into left. Toledo actually got the bases loaded in the fourth and fifth innings, but the big hit never came.

Tanner Rainey was the third pitcher for the Mud Hens. He worked around a pair of two-out squibbers in the fifth and went 1-2-3 in the sixth. Rainey was solid with four strikeouts. Scott Effross got the seventh. He gave up an unearned run on an error and two hits.

Anderson:1-3, 2B (19), BB

Jung: 1-4, HR (18), R, RBI, K

Gentry: 3-3, HR (9), R, 2 RBI

Lockhart (L, 2-3): 2.0 IP, 7 ER, 5 H, BB, 2 K, HR

Coming Up Next: It’s a 7:05 p.m. ET start on Saturday. Omaha leads the series, 3-1.

Erie SeaWolves 10, Altoona Curve 1 (box)

Erie fared a lot better than Toledo today—good pitching, good offense and a win.

Four home runs powered the SeaWolves Flagship City Kitties to a 10-1 win, but some decent pitching deserves some credit for holding Altoona to just one run on six hits and three walks. Most of those baserunners came against starter Carlos Pena, who worked 4.2 innings of one-run ball.

That one run came in the first and was unearned. An error by E.J. Exposito at third extended the inning, which should have been over in four batters. Instead, a two-out base hit brought the runner home, and Erie briefly trailed… but not for long.

Peyton Graham opened the bottom of the first with a solo homer. Thayron Liranzo also had a ground-rule double, but there was no follow-up.

Graham and Liranzo were at the center of a three-run third inning, too. Graham got things going with a ground-rule double, and Liranzo blasted a three-run shot after Josue Briceno walked. Andrew Jenkins had a bizarre triple that fell in the middle of three fielders near the foul line in right field. Jenkins didn’t end up scoring, though.

Pena was pretty good after the extended first inning. He retired eight of the next nine batters he faced before running into a little trouble in the fourth. The second out of the inning went off Pena’s leg before he made the play. He stayed in the game after being checked out by the training staff, but Altoona notched back-to-back singles before Pena got a strikeout.

Pena came back out for the fifth, but a pair of walks got the bullpen active. Zack Barnhart got the final out of the inning and pitched through the sixth.

Erie blew the game wide open with four straight singles in the bottom of the sixth. Exposito and Stephen Hrustich went through the left side, and Max Burt found fair territory on a tall fly ball to left that looked destined to land foul.

Patrick Lee bounced one to short to make it 6-1. The infield was playing in and made a good throw home, but Burt snuck his hand in there. If we’re being honest, he looked out, but it was going to be a tough one to overturn.

Graham hit into a fielder’s choice for another run, and his 55th steal of the season came on a wild pitch that scored Lee, pushing Erie’s lead to seven.

Colin Field came in for the seventh. He gave up a single but retired the other six batters over two innings of work.

Lee and Briceno both hit solo homers in the eighth for good measure. We’ll also ignore Zyhir Hope striking out four times and being the only SeaWolf without a hit.

Yoniel Curet got the ninth. He ended it on two strikeouts after giving up a leadoff single.

Briceno: 2-4, HR (8), 2 R, RBI, BB

Graham: 2-5, HR (6), 2B (17), 2 R, 2 RBI

Hope: 0-5, 4 K

Liranzo: 2-4, HR (11), 2B (8), R, 3 RBI, BB, K

Lee, P: 2-4, HR (3), 2 R, 2 RBI, K

Pena, C: 4.2 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:05 p.m. ET start on Saturday. The series is tied, 2-2.

West Michigan Whitecaps 14, Fort Wayne TinCaps 4 (box)

Ah, yes, a good ol’ 14-run drubbing from West Michigan. The Whitecaps scored in seven of nine innings and put up four crooked numbers in this one. Every player got a hit. Edian Espinal and Ricardo Hurtado each had a three-hit day, and Bryce Rainer, Beau Ankeney and Juan Hernandez all had multiple hits.

Despite a total of 16 hits, West Michigan only had three go for extra bases. Rainer had the first, starting the scoring with a double in the first. Hurtado also had an RBI single in the opening frame.

Espinal singled in Samuel Gil in the second and drove in Andrew Sojka with a sac fly in the fourth. Rainer’s second hit was an RBI single right after.

The sixth inning was the big one, with five runs crossing. Somehow, Ankeney’s three-run homer was one of just two hits in the frame. The first four batters reached via hit-by-pitch or walk, with Rainier picking up the RBI. Roberto Campos advanced all of the runners with a groundout after a pitching change, and then Ankeney did his thing.

Sojka tripled to leadoff the seventh and scored on a groundout from Hernandez. Fort Wayne traded run No. 12 for a double play, and Gil got West Michigan to a baker’s dozen with a single through the right side. Campos added the final run in the ninth with a single up the middle. Somehow, the TinCaps avoided throwing a position player. I’m not sure why.

Speaking of pitching, Jojo Ingrassia made his organizational debut. He was solid despite loading the bases in the first. A dropped third strike and two walks made things tricky, but he got out of it with a double play. Ingrassia flashed a 90-92 mph fastball that touched 94, an 86-mph changeup and an 84-mph slider. Command was spotty, but he went 1-2-3 in the second. He came out with one out in the third after 44 pitches.

Zack Lee inherited a runner from Ingrassia and gave up an RBI double to make it an earned run. He was otherwise good through the fourth. Win Scott went 1-2-3 in the fifth and worked around a two-out double in the sixth.

Fort Wayne finally put something together in the seventh, with Scott still on the mound. Scott left the game with the bases loaded, but an error helped extend the inning. Only one of the three runs that scored was earned. Ryhan Harvey pitched through the eighth, and Eliseo Mota faced the minimum in the ninth, ending the game on a double play.

Rainer: 2-5, 2B (18), 2 R, 3 RBI, BB, K

Espinal: 3-4, R, 2 RBI, BB

Ankeney: 2-5, HR (2), R, 3 RBI

Ingrassia: 2.1 IP, ER, H, 2 BB, 3 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:35 p.m. ET start on Saturday. West Michigan leads the series, 3-1.

(Gm. 1) Lakeland Flying Tigers 11, Dunedin Blue Jays 1 (box)

Another doubleheader! Unlike Toledo, Lakeland took Game 1 and did so in convincing fashion. The Flying Tigers scored 11 runs on 14 hits in just six innings—no need to play the bottom of the seventh when you’re up by double digits.

Carson Rucker delivered the first of three home runs, a two-run shot with Hayden Yost on second (walk, balk).

Three batters later, Angel De Los Santos hit his own two-run homer, and first outside of rookie ball. Anibal Salas tripled in Jesus Pinto a bit later, giving Lakeland an early 5-0 lead.

The Flying Tigers batted around in the first, bringing Yost back to the plate in the second. He singled, moved to second on a passed ball and scored after stealing third and forcing a bad throw. It’s his 15th stolen base of the season. Chris Meyers doubled in Rucker, who was hit by a pitch.

Meanwhile, Cale Wetwiska worked through 2.2 innings of scoreless ball. He gave up a pair of hits and walked two batters, but four strikeouts evens things out. Maddox Long took over for him in the third, getting the final out of the inning and working into the sixth. Long did about as well as Wetwisk, albeit with half the strikeouts.

After two quiet innings, Lakeland got back to scoring runs in the fifth. Rucker had another big hit, this time with the bases loaded. A bases-clearing double made it 10-0.

De Los Santos didn’t have to wait another six games for his second home run with Lakeland. He went deep again in the sixth with no one on base.

Jan Caraballo got the last out of the sixth and closed things out for the Flygers. He gave up a run in the seventh, breaking up the shutout, but who’s complaining about an 11-1 win? Not me.

Yost: 3-3, 3 R, BB

Rucker: 2-3, HR (11), 2B (8), 2 R, 5 RBI, K

De Los Santos: 3-4, 2 HR (2), 2 R, 3 RBI, K

Wetwiska: 2.2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K

(Gm. 2) Dunedin Blue Jays 6, Lakeland Flying Tigers 0 (box)

Game 2 didn’t go so well, though. Lakeland had just one hit and trailed 6-0 for most of the contest.

Malachi Witherspoon labored through 3.2 innings, giving up six earned runs on two hits and three walks. An RBI double in the first isn’t the worst thing, but following up with walk-HBP-walk-HBP to open the second is. Witherspoon got a ground ball to get the first out and traded another run for the second, but JoJo Parker hit a three-run homer off him to put Dunedin up by six.

At least Witherspoon bounced back by striking out the side in the third, and he would have gotten through the fourth if not for an error. Jose Guzman replaced him and worked through the sixth. He walked a pair but didn’t allow any hits.

Pedro Garcia worked around a double from Parker in the seventh. Parker had all three of the Blue Jays’ hits in this one. It’s an odd overall box score, but that’s what happens in Single-A doubleheaders.

Lakeland’s lone hit came from Jude Warwick in the sixth. It was a leadoff double to right field. At least it wasn’t a no-hitter…

Yost: 0-3, K

Warwick: 1-3, 2B (17), 2 K

Witherspoon (L, 3-5): 3.2 IP, 6 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 4 K, HR

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6 p.m. ET start on Saturday. The series is tied, 2-2.

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 6, Buffalo (Blue Jays) 3 – 10 innings

Of immediate interest to the big league club is that this was another rehab start for Chris Bassitt. There’s little to complain about in the results, as Bassitt pitched six innings without allowing a run, scattering three hits, two walks, and a hit batter. That looks about as stretched out as a guy is going to get on a minor league rehab assignment; this was his third start. I wouldn’t be surprised to see his next game in Baltimore.

Bassitt handed the baton off to my honorary hyphenated cousin, Juaron Watts-Brown, with a 3-0 lead in the bank. Watts-Brown blew the lead while pitching in the eighth, putting two men on base before giving up three runs on a single swing. That sent things into extra innings, where the Tides were able to plate their Manfred Man plus two more in the tenth.

If you thought that would be enough to close out the game without drama, you haven’t met Norfolk’s pitching staff. The Bisons loaded the bases with one out against previous Oriole Jose Espada. (Why is this team called the Bisons when the plural of bison is bison?) They didn’t get any closer.

Looking at the Tides lineup is depressing. There are only two guys worth mentioning and one of them is because I just can’t give up on Heston Kjerstad, even though the Orioles appear to have done so. Kjerstad had two hits and drew a walk and was picked off once. Creed Willems is down to a .766 OPS after a 1-5 night at the plate.

Norfolk box score.

Double-A: Chesapeake Baysox 5, Harrisburg (Nationals) 2

Despite being out-hit by the Senators by an 11-7 margin and only having four of their players get hits at all, the Baysox were able to win this one. Even tougher than that previous sentence sounds for Chesapeake is that their 1-6 hitters had just one hit combined across all of them. You might think that Harrisburg’s three errors would have helped, but no, none of the runs were unearned. Baseball can be weird and minor league baseball can get even weirder.

My guy Aron Estrada took an 0-4, as did recently-promoted Victor Figueroa. Wehiwa Aloy was also hitless, though his night included a walk and a sacrifice fly, as well as his second stolen base at this level.

For Baysox pitchers, Patrick Reilly made his third start back at the Double-A level after having Tommy John surgery last year. The runs column reads zero on the stat line, so that’s good. He had a whole lot of traffic, though, with nine hits and one walk over 4.2 innings. When the WHIP is over 2, that’s less good. But any starts for the rest of this year are really just about shaking off the rust.

Chesapeake box score.

High-A: Frederick Keys 2, Jersey Shore (Phillies) 0

These two teams combined for eight hits, four errors, 13 walks, and 23 strikeouts. Minor league baseball! Recent promotions and injuries have left this Keys lineup depleted compared to early in the season and it shows. Both of the Keys runs scored on groundouts. No one even got an RBI hit.

The starting pitcher who got this thing going towards the combined shutout was JT Quinn, the Orioles competitive balance round B pick from last year’s draft. Quinn’s 5.2 scoreless innings saw him give up just three hits and one walk, while striking out seven batters. He hasn’t raced to Double-A like Joseph Dzierwa and later Caden Hunter did, but he hasn’t acquitted himself badly at the level, sporting a 3.75 ERA and 1.13 WHIP for the season, with a K/BB rate near 5.

Frederick box score.

Low-A: Fredericksburg (Nationals) 5, Delmarva Shorebirds 3

A Shorebirds pitcher struggles early and the offense never does much the whole game is pretty much the whole season for Delmarva. They had a 1-0 lead after an RBI groundout in the third inning, starting pitcher Holden deJong gave up four runs while failing to complete the bottom of the inning, and they coasted along on the way to a loss. They’re 37-69. It’s rough down there.

Not rough is infielder Jaiden Lo Re, the fifth round pick from last year. Lo Re accounted for two of the five Shorebirds hits all on his own and scored two of their runs. Outfielder Jordan Sanchez also had two hits and drove in all three Delmarva runs. Lo Re has a .915 OPS after 45 games at this level, pretty good for age 19.

Delmarva box score.

Saturday’s Scheduled Games

• Norfolk: at Buffalo, 6:35. Starter: Luis De León
• Chesapeake: vs. Harrisburg, 6:35. Starter: Anthony Eyanson
• Frederick: at Jersey Shore, 7:05. Starter: Kyson Witherspoon
• Delmarva: at Fredericksburg, 6:35. Starter: Harrison Kreiling

That’s three players who were acquired at the trade deadline, and the fourth (De León) was recently promoted to the Triple-A level. An interesting night for pitching on the farm. Hopefully it turns out well for everyone. Experience as an Orioles fan teaches me that it will not.

Meet the Mets

The post-trade deadline Mets continue to be unstoppable, as they began their series against the Pirates with their fourth straight victory. The Amazins were buoyed by a three-run homer from Marcus Semien in their four-run third inning, along with five scoreless innings from Zac Thornton.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, NY Post, Daily News, MLB.com

The one negative from last night was Carson Benge leaving the game with wrist soreness after making a spectacular catch, though initial X-rays were negative.

An even bigger victory occurred off the field yesterday: Mrs. Met was voted into the Mascot Hall of Fame.

The Mets made a roster move yesterday, claiming infielder Gabriel Arias off waivers from the Guardians.

Okay, we’ll bite: what exactly would the Mets need to do to make an improbable playoff run the rest of the way?

Luke Weaver faced his old team last night, and if he had had his way he would have stayed with the Mets.

The Mets may have shipped off a lot of their former players, but the guys who are still here are maintaining the right mindset.

A number of the players acquired by the Mets at the deadline have connections with some of the players already in the organization.

Several of the pitchers in the Mets’ bullpen have something to prove the rest of the way.

Around the National League East

Tyler Mahle delivered a good performance in his Braves debut, but Raisel Iglesias blew the save and the Braves ultimately fell to the Yankees 3-2 in 10 innings to snap Atlanta’s eight-game winning streak.

The Phillies lost to the Blue Jays 5-4 on the same night in which they honored Chase Utley. Very sad, that.

Home runs from Daylen Lile and Harry Ford propelled the Nationals to a 5-3 win over the Reds.

The Marlins lost to the Angels 4-3 last night, with the final out coming on a play at the plate.

Around Major League Baseball

ESPN’s Jeff Passan outlined how the Tarik Skubal trade negotiations played out.

The Tigers may have traded Skubal, but he remains open to signing with them in free agency.

Longtime Athletics general manager David Forst has parted ways with the team.

The Red Sox have gone on a run that has little precedence.

The Twins have called up top infield prospect Kaelen Culpepper to assist with their playoff push.

MLB.com examined which contending teams have the best potential postseason rotation.

Reds pitcher Hunter Greene will be out for the rest of the 2026 season and perhaps even longer after undergoing elbow surgery.

The Dodgers’ losing streak is now at seven games after Edwin Díaz surrendered a walk-off homer to the Diamondbacks.

On the bright side for Los Angeles, Blake Snell is set to make his return next week.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Brian Salvatore previewed the weekend series in Pittsburgh.

Brian and Chris McShane recapped the Mets’ deadline action on the latest episode of Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World Series.

Lukas Vlahos provided a full grading breakdown of the trades the Mets made prior to the deadline.

Joe Sokolowski provided a post-deadline installment of This Week in Mets Quotes.

This Date in Mets History

The Mets traded for one of their more eccentric players in franchise history on this date in 1997 when they acquired Turk Wendell.

Pete Grathoff writes that the decision not to be aggressive sellers was a vote of confidence to the team.

Many fans clamored for the team to tear it down, trading most everyone and starting anew to build around Witt. But Picollo gave the team a vote of confidence, and they appreciate it.

“I think he’s not wrong with that, right?” second baseman Michael Massey said. “I think it’s been a group that was here for a long time. I think ‘24 kind of showed the potential that we have, and obviously last year wasn’t what we wanted, but we were still above .500 and right there in September. I think we were four games out.

“Obviously, this year the wheels kind of fell off a little bit. Part of that’s injuries, part of that just on us not doing a great job, us as players. But yeah, I agree, I think the core is here. I think this is a team that can definitely be right back in at this time next year.”

David Lesky writes about another impressive Noah Cameron start.

Overall, the data looked good. He threw his changeup more than anything after leaning heavily on his cutter in the last two starts. I think it was because he kept trying to find it. But he threw his slider second-most, throwing 22 of them and 23 changeups. For the season, he uses his slider about 10 percent of the time, and last night he used it 21 percent of the time. It’s because it was a dominant pitch, particularly late.

He got seven whiffs on it in 15 swings and allowed just three batted balls against it. Twins hitters saw 13 of them out of the zone, and they swung at eight of those. That’s pretty incredible. I mentioned it in yesterday’s newsletter, but the Twins are a fairly patient offense. To get a chase rate of 62 percent on one pitch and 42 percent overall is very impressive.

Bradford Doolittle at ESPN looks at how each team looks after the trade deadline.

As expected, the Royals didn’t do much at the deadline — there really wasn’t much for them to do. The healthy version of Kansas City’s roster looks moderately more complete than its current Stock Watch ranking suggests, but that’s not to say there isn’t work to be done. Even with the injuries in the rotation — some of which will carry over into next season (Cole Ragans, Stephen Kolek, Luinder Avila) — the Royals have a solid foundation in that group. The challenge will be to deepen the lineup and almost completely revamp the bullpen. It’s a lot to do given what is likely to be limited payroll flexibility and too few prospects pushing up from below.

Aaron Bummer elected free agency rather than assignment to the minors.

Clark Fahrenthold writes that Lucas Braun looked solid, giving up two runs in six innings in his debut for Omaha.

The city advances a proposal to spend $20 million in preparations for a Royals downtown ballpark.

The Kansas City Plan Commission approves rezoning for the project.

The A’s part ways with general manager David Forst.

White Sox manager Will Venable has to pull his starter after one out due to a mound visit blunder.

Tarik Skubal will make his Dodgers home debut on Monday against the Royals, and Blake Snell will return from injury the next day.

The Astros are looking to add right-handed hitting outfielders that have become available.

Former Royals outfielder Joey Wiemer joins the White Sox.

Giants third baseman Matt Chapman will have season-ending surgery.

Reds pitcher Hunter Greene will have right elbow surgery.

Red Sox pitcher Peyton Tolle strikes out 14 as Boston wins their ninth straight.

The Nationals release pitcher Zack Littell.

Are the Red Sox title contenders?

Who are the offseason trade candidates?

Chase Utley is inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame.

Buster Posey responds to a hot mic catching the producer saying he sucks on a TV show.

Glen Powell will play Lou Gehrig in an upcoming Richard Linklater movie.

An autopsy shows Memphis Grizzlies player Brandon Clarke died of a drug overdose.

The Raiders are already having scuffles in practice.

The biggest wellness trends of 2026.

Amanda Knox, once convicted and later acquitted of murder, is drawing heat for her new comedy show.

Burger King overtakes Wendy’s as the nation’s second largest burger chain.

Your song of the day is Boz Scaggs with Lido Shuffle.

As improbable as it seems, the Yankees won both a one-run game and an extra innings game in one fell swoop, Ryan McMahon’s tenth inning sac fly enough to sink the Braves, 3-2. Max Fried tossed 6.1 scoreless while his offense waited until the ninth inning to score their first runs. There were a handful of sparkling defensive plays to keep the bats in it long enough for the win, and it certainly looks like this recipe of shutdown pitching and sure-handed defense will have to continue until Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, and Giancarlo Stanton return.

Tampa Bay Rays (69-46) 2, Seattle Mariners (56-61) 1

Drew Rasmussen was dominant yet again, holding the Mariners scoreless for seven innings, allowing just two hits and two walks against eight strikeouts. Things could have gone sideways in the second, the Mariners loading the bases on a Julio Rodríguez single and walks by Josh Naylor and Cal Raleigh, but Rasmussen struck out Colt Emerson to strand all three in place. Starting with that punch out of Emerson, Rasmussen would go on to retire the final 16 batters he faced in order. It’s already Rasmussen’s seventh start of the year of at least six scoreless innings, two of those coming against the Yankees.

There wasn’t much offense to be found in general, all three runs in the game coming via the solo home run. Jonny DeLuca and Jonathan Aranda put the Rays up early with solo shots in the second and third, respectively. Rodríguez ended the shutout and cut the deficit to one with a two-out solo shot in the ninth, but that was all Seattle would muster. It’s the Rays fourth win in a row as they are now 13-4 in their last 17 games to remain 4.5 games up on the Yankees.

Other Games

Boston Red Sox (64-51) 13, Athletics (45-71) 1

For as stressful and exciting as their 12-11, 13-inning barnburner win over the White Sox on Thursday was, this was about as straightforward a win as the Red Sox could have asked for. On the day that the A’s parted ways with general manager David Forst, the roster he assembled got absolutely thrashed, 13-1, by Boston. The fact that they did it while hitting just one home run made it all the more impressive.

It started with one of the most dominant starts across all of MLB this season, Payton Tolle tallying a career-high 14 strikeouts across his six innings of one run ball. He allowed just two hits and no walks, the lone damage a Tyler Soderstrom solo home run in the fifth. He struck out the side in the second, fourth, and sixth, and the third was the only frame where he failed to punch out at least a pair. It lowers his season ERA to 3.20 as he makes a late charge in the AL Rookie of the Year race.

As for his offense, they did most of their scoring in the first half of the game, dropping five in the second and four in the fourth. Every member of the starting lineup had at least a hit — only Nick Sogard, Caleb Durbin, and Jarren Duran failing to record multi-hit games — Boston ending the day with 15 hits.

Boston has now won nine in a row and have lost just three games since July 1st, their 27-3 record over that span bringing them within a half-game of the Yankees for second.

Cleveland Guardians (58-59) 8, Chicago White Sox (59-56) 2

Noah Schultz recorded just one out and had to depart in the first inning, but it wasn’t due to injury. One batter after the pitching coach came out to check on Schultz, manager Will Venables made their second mound visit of the inning, which by the rules of the game necessitates the removal of the pitcher. The reliever they replaced him with, David Sandlin, got torched for six runs on seven hits and two walks in 5.1 innings, five of those runs coming in the fifth courtesy of a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded and an Angel Martínez grand slam. Martínez had already struck with a two-run single off Schultz in the first as he finished the day with six RBI. Steven Kwan went 3-for-5 with a solo home run while Chicago’s two runs arrived via solo home runs by rookies Braden Montgomery in the second and Munetaka Murakami in the sixth in this pivotal AL Central battle between first and second place teams.

Houston Astros (60-57) 6, San Diego Padres (60-57) 3

The Padres’ two blockbuster additions to the rotation at the deadline have not had the best starts to life in San Diego. First it was Casey Mize giving up eight runs on nine hits and three walks in 3.1 innings of a 10-4 loss to the Diamondbacks and tonight it was Robbie Ray coughing up four runs on seven hits and five walks in five innings against the Astros. Cam Smith had the big day on offense for Houston, with a pair of solo home runs as part of a 3-for-4 afternoon. Isaac Paredes went 3-for-5 and Christian Walker drew a pair of free passes while adding a two-run single in the third. Fernando Tatis Jr. went 2-for-5 with a solo shot. The Astros were in fourth place as recently as June 26th, but a 13-3 record in their last 16 while playing in the joke that is the AL West have them atop the division.

Thank goodness for the Threshers taking a doubleheader. Otherwise, we’d be looking at a clean sweep of the organization on Friday night. Let’s look at how the kids did.

Worcester 5, Lehigh Valley 4

In the last minutes of the trade deadline, the Phillies made a small deal by sending Seth Johnson to the A’s in exchange for Colby Thomas. It doesn’t seem like much since Johnson simply wasn’t good here, but Thomas was once ranked as the A’s third best prospect. He has stalled in his cameos in the big leagues, but he has been a minor league gem. He had two more hits last night for the IronPigs, but that was about all the offense that could be mustered. Paul McIntosh homered and Keaton Anthony had an RBI double, yet the pitching was a bit of a letdown. Tucker Davidson went 3 1/3 innings and allowed two runs, followed by Michael Mercado going 2 2/3 innings and allowing two runs and that was enough.

Richmond 10, Reading 9

A day after having a doubleheader, the pitching was a bit exhausted for both teams and it showed with 28 hits getting registered in total during the game. Gage Wood struggled on the mound, allowing four runs in three innings and only chalking up four strikeouts, but the backend of the bullpen allowed six runs to put the game away for the Fightin’ Phils. At the plate, there were multi hit games from several hitters, including Aroon Escobar, Pedro Leon, Raylin Heredia, Caleb Rickets and Raider Tello. Leon, Heredia and Ricketts all had home runs on the day, Ricketts tacking on three RBI on the day.

Frederick 2, Jersey Shore 0

For all the offense Reading had, the opposite was true of Jersey Shore in their shutout loss. Devin Saltiban had two hits, Robert Phelps and Mark Kolozsvary had one a piece and that was that. The pitching was actually alright for the BlueClaws, but a group of five pitchers allowed eight walks and that just isn’t going to get it done. They were simply outmatched on the mound by J.T. Quinn of the Keys (5 2/3 innings, 3 H, 0 R, 7 K).

Clearwater 3, Tampa 2
Clearwater 4, Tampa 3

A couple of nail biters in a doubleheader, the Threshers were able to come out on the winning end in both of them. In the first game, the Threshers were only able to scratch out four hits, but made them count when Noah Beltran hit a two out, two run single in the sixth inning to take the lead, followed by an RBI single by Matthew Ferrera that ended up being badly needed when the Tarpons scored once in the seventh before Brian Walters finished it off. Sean Youngerman got the win by throwing five innings and only giving up one run despite five walks. In game two, Yordanis Guerra had four innings of one run baseball on the mound, striking outs six in the process. He was aided by an offense that got on the board early thanks to a two-run home run in the first by Jack Hopko and a bases loaded walk later in the inning by Macon Winslow. Caden Bogenpohl continues to enjoy professional life, adding two more hits to his ledger and raising his average to .375. His pick is starting to look like a good one by the Phillies.

After the Braves got a gem of a start from Tyler Mahle in his Braves’ debut as the headline trade deadline addition, Chris Sale will look to produce more of the same in the Bronx from the rotation. Gerrit Cole will take the mound for the pinstripes, as he is more of a third starter at this stage of his career than the ace he once was, but still a plenty capable starter.

We all know how good Sale has been this season, with a 2.08 ERA, 2.46 FIP, and 2.92 xFIP. He won’t win the Cy Young this year, but he continues to be one of the best pitchers of the game as he pads his Hall of Fame resume at the age of 37. He’s been an absolute anchor that the Braves have desperately needed, as the starting rotation has crumbled around him this season, providing dominance and bulk innings. His slider continues to be one of the most effective pitches in the game and his fastball velocity is remarkably sitting at what is effectively a career high number (0.1 MPH behind his 23.1 innings at 21, which is his formal career high). This stint in Atlanta has just been a tremendous arrangement for the team and the player, with Sale providing crucial elite level pitching to Atlanta and solidifying himself as a future Hall of Famer, which was in question after so many injuries had derailed his career.

Gerrit Cole is another potential Hall-of-Famer for New York, though likely with some work to do in the final part of his career. At his peak he was one of the best pitchers in baseball, but hasn’t been that for a few years after dealing with some injuries. Cole is sitting at a 3.76 xFIP and a 3.65 FIP this year, which is still a very good pitcher, but a pretty significant drop-off from his dominant peaks. His fastball still sits around 97 MPH, but it has more average movement than the elite rise he used to get on it, while his slider has also lost a touch of its bite. Cole has always been a bit susceptible to the long ball, and a crater in his ground ball rate this year hasn’t helped. Let’s hope the Braves brought their power strokes, as that’s probably the best way to score on Cole, as he still strikes out a solid 9/53 batters per 9 innings and doesn’t walk many either.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Saturday, August 8, 3:05 p.m. EDT

Location: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, N.Y.

TV/Streaming: BravesVision

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan, La Mejor 1600/1460/1130 AM

Hello everyone and happy Saturday!

The Mariners may have lost a sleepy 2-1 game to the Rays yesterday, but the Alumni Home Run Derby provided plenty of fun as former Mariner Stefen Romero took the crown, defeating Austin Nola in the final round.

But truly, has there been a more fun moment this season than this?

In Mariners news…

• In case you missed it, the Mariners placed righty Cole Wilcox on the injured list and called up right-hander Nick Davila to take his spot.

Around the league…

• The A’s have “mutually parted ways” with general manager David Forst, who has been with the organization since 2000.
• The Reds announced that ace right-hander Hunter Greene will undergo elbow surgery, though the extent of the procedure is not yet known.
• Giants infielder Matt Chapman is likely to undergo season-ending surgery to repair a hernia and core muscle tear.
• The Twins have called up top infield prospect Kaelen Culpepper to make his big league debut.
• The Yankees have agreed to a minor league deal with old friend Mitch Garver.
• The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association has announced the winners of the 2026 Heart and Hustle Award, which goes to one player on each team who “exemplifies a true passion for the game and who best embodies the values, spirit and traditions of the game.”
• Jeff Passan at ESPN told the behind-the-scenes story on how the Tarik Skubal trade came down. Apparently, the Tigers felt increased urgency to deal him because they were afraid potential suitors would pivot to George Kirby.
• Bradford William Davis at eyeblack continued his exceptional investigative journalism in a recent article in which he laid out a whistleblower’s claims that identifying irregularities in the baseball are “nearly impossible.”
• A drama series featuring the New York Yankees is coming to Netflix with Jason Bateman’s Aggregate Films and Emmy winner Josh Wakely leading the project.

Anders picks…

• Sounder at Heart shared a letter written by a longtime Seattle Sounders fan to the club about why he’s considering giving up his Legacy Season Tickets after 17 years, citing lackluster investment in the team and worsening fan relations from the organization.

The Detroit Tigers outhit the Giants 11 to 5 on Friday night. They outwalked them too, 4 to 3, and earned 12 at-bats with a runner in scoring position while San Francisco had just 4. The visitors had hot bats in Kevin McGonigle, who reached base four times, and Spencer Torkelson, who reached thrice; and Dillon Dingler, one of the premier RBI men in the league, who quickly added to his robust total in the 1st inning.

But in baseball math, all that doesn’t necessarily add up to a win. A runner doesn’t mean a run. One big swing can outweigh 27 little ones, and for once, the Giants weren’t on the receiving end of that head-butt of truth in their 5-2 win.  

Hit home runs and never die. The Tigers had the knocks, 11 singles in all, but the Giants had the taters. Rafael Devers and Willy Adames both left the yard against right-handed starter Keider Montero: one claimed the lead in the 1st, and the other stretched it in the 5th.

Devers’s 24th was a two-fer — coming with two outs, in a two-strike count, and worth two runs. Montero sped his bat up with a four-seam fastball at the top of the zone in the previous pitch, and then tried to pull the rug out from under it with a slow-breaking knuckle curve. A 15 MPH difference is a tough adjustment for the hitter, the pitch probably would’ve been unhittable if it broke further down in, or out of, the zone… it didn’t. Montero hung it, and Devers crushed it.

The 2-run shot turned an early deficit into a lead that the Tigers would chase and nip at all evening. They had at least two runners on base in 6 of their 9 chances at the plate, bringing the tying run to the plate plenty of times.  The Giants pitching and defense did their best impression of a supple and lithe white ash, bending but not breaking, as the ol’ cliché goes. For once, they played as the frustrator (this is a word), rather than the frustrated.  

Adrian Houser gets a lot of credit for that, who pitched through the middle innings, after JT Brubaker handled the 1st. His only blemish came on a two-out flare from number-9 hitter Zach McKinstry that knotted the game at two runs a piece. The four-seamer on the hands didn’t deserve that outcome, and at the time, the RBI single felt like a harbinger of things to come. Paper cut after paper cut. Single run tallies all the way through to the end. A steady drip…drip…drip of baserunners eventually overflows a cup. 

But Houser turned off the tap. He retired six in order through the 3rd and 4th frames while the Giants retook the lead. He’d kept Detroit off the board through to the 6th, putting him line to earn his first win since May.

It definitely got dicey at times. McKinstry and McGonigle put Houser in a first-and-third conundrum after lead-off singles in the 5th. The prospect of a run felt certain with the heart of the order stepping into the box. Another single felt just as plausible.  The defense would trade an out, or outs, for a run, so a groundball would do, as would a deep enough flyball. Gleyber Torres got the ball in the air, but Jung Hoo Lee did an excellent job of charging the shallow-ish fly and releasing an accurate one-hopper to the plate. McKinstry bluffed home, then quickly retreated back to third as he watched the throw come in. With Dingler up, who is second to just Yordan Alvarez for in RBI totals, did the same thing. Again the ball drifted into foul territory, just over 200 feet from home. Lee charged in, caught it and got the ball back in quickly. Based on his arm’s reputation, evidenced by the previous throw, and the fact that the flyball bordered on a pop-up, neither runner chanced the advance. A nice sliding catch by left-fielder Grant McCray ended the threat.

In the 6th, Houser again worked around a pair of singles, ending his night with an 11-pitch epic against his ultimate foe: number-9 guy McKinstry, who had gone 2-for-2 with an RBI against the Giants right-hander. After five straight fouls in a 3-2 count, McKinstry conceded, flying out to center. Two more runners stranded.  

Overall the Giants did a nice job of keeping Detroit’s singles small. How do you do that? By countering with your own little excellences. Doing little things to cut their little things down, and keep them from growing. In a 3-2 count, Houser put six straight pitches in the zone to McKinstry. He didn’t give in, he didn’t let McKinstry’s stubborn fight-’em-off swings beat him.. 

McGonigle yanked a low-liner into right to lead off the 7th against Keaton Winn. Off the bat it looked like a potential double, but the way Lee aggressively chased down the baseball kept McGonigle from risking a sprint to second against the right fielder’s strong assist arm. Lee’s initial accurate relay home in the 5th rippled into the latter innings. That mattered considering it kept the double play in order — which Gleyber Torres promptly grounded into — and with two outs, the subsequent walk and single proved manageable. If Lee doesn’t hold McGonigle to a single, that inning snowballs. 

The Giants weren’t perfect. There were errors, throws to the wrong base, and free passes handed out — but they were perfect in managing their imperfections. Three of the four walks came with the bases empty. When Riley Greene took second on Drew Gilbert’s throw to third in the 7th, the individual error in judgment didn’t send the collective spinning off their axis into known oblivion. Sam Hentges didn’t implode, but countered by freezing Eduardo Valencia on a big 3-2 curveball. Another two runners stranded. 

Back in the 2nd, when Christian Koss couldn’t put the ball in play with runners and second and third and one out, Bryce Eldridge didn’t swing out of his boots trying to pick up his teammate. He recognized Montero, with a base to play with, wasn’t giving him anything to hit. He took the walk, which extended the inning and got Lee, arguably the best two-out hitter in the Majors, a chance to rake in the split.

He touched his cap, much obliged, and roped a 2-RBI single .

San Francisco earned back the lead, and perhaps against all odds, they held onto it.

But if recent history is any guide, now that the Giants won the first game in the series, fans are in for a rough couple of days. And since Saturday is a Fox broadcast, we won’t even have Mike Krukow’s dulcet tones to guide us through it.

Hickory starter Mason McConnaughey was alright, alright, alright, striking out three in four scoreless innings. Jormy Nivar (who I keep wanting to call Ramon Nivar) allowed three runs in 2.2 IP, striking out five and walking two. Michael Trausch struck out one and walked one in 1.1 scoreless innings.

Paulino Santana had a hit and a stolen base. Noah Franklin homered. Kaden Carpenter had a hit and a stolen base. Marco Argudin had a walk and a stolen base. Kolby Branch had a hit, a walk and a stolen base.

Hickory box score

Hub City starter Caden Scarborough was quite good, throwing 51 of 75 pitches for strikes in 5.2 IP, walking two, striking out five, and allowing one hit and one unearned run.

Maxton Martin was 3 for 4 with a double and a homer. Casey Cook was 2 for 5 with a homer.

Hub City box score

Aidan Curry started for Frisco, allowing three runs in four innings, striking out six and walking two. Eric Loomis allowed a run in two innings.

Malcolm Moore had a hit. Dylan Dreiling doubled. Arturo Disla had a hit. Rafe Perich had a hit.

Frisco box score

Round Rock stater Dalton Pence allowed two hits and one walk in five shutout innings, striking out six. Ryan Lobus struck out one in a scoreless inning. Michel Otanez struck out two and walked two in a shutout inning. Wilian Bormie allowed a solo homer in an inning of work, striking out one.

Logan O’Hoppe doubled. Cody Freeman had a hit. John Taylor had a hit and two walks.

Round Rock box score

DSL Rangers Red box score

DSL Rangers Blue box score

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The Toronto Blue Jays go for a series win as +140 road underdogs against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday, and they draw a huge opportunity in Aaron Nola, one of the worst starters in baseball this year.

Max Scherzer takes the ball for Toronto, but my card is all about attacking Nola, starting with Alejandro Kirk.

Read on for my Blue Jays vs. Phillies predictions and MLB picks for this Saturday, Aug. 8 matchup.

Blue Jays vs Phillies predictions

Blue Jays vs Phillies best bet: Alejandro Kirk Over 1.5 total bases (+130)

The Toronto Blue Jays have a great chance to hit against Philadelphia Phillies starter Aaron Nola, who has been one of baseball’s worst arms this year.

Nola has allowed an MLB-leading 28 home runs, and hitters are teeing off on his fastball. Normally I’d lean on Kazuma Okamoto, the club’s best fastball hitter, but he went 0-for-5 on Friday, so I’m turning to Alejandro Kirk and his contact-heavy profile.

Kirk does a great job thumping fastballs the other way, and he’s locked in, with 12 hits in his last 10 games and an .804 OPS over that stretch. I like his chances to rack up two hits against Nola’s hittable pitches, or better yet, to double to right field.

I’d play this down to +110.

COVERS INTEL: Nola’s four-seam fastball carries a -13 run value and yields a .727 slugging mark, arguably the worst pitch in baseball and right in the wheelhouse of a fastball hitter like Kirk.

Blue Jays vs Phillies same-game parlay (SGP)

For the same-game parlay, I’m all-in on a high-scoring night. George Springer Over 0.5 hits leads it off, and he’s blistering hot with 14 hits in his last 13 games.

I’ll add Over 9.5 total runs, with Scherzer and Nola both carrying ugly ERAs on a hot night at a bandbox, then cap it with the Blue Jays moneyline at plus money.

Blue Jays vs Phillies SGP

• George Springer Over 0.5 hits
• Blue Jays moneyline
• Over 9.5 

Blue Jays vs Phillies home run pick: Jesus Sanchez (+390)

Jesus Sanchez has become a reliable power threat since returning from an ankle injury, going 3-for-12 with a home run and a double.

He came off the bench on Friday and picked up a hit, and I love his upside on Saturday against Nola.

As noted, no pitcher in baseball allows more home runs than Nola, so Sanchez, with his uppercut left-handed swing, has a great shot to clear the wall at Citizens Bank Park.

Watch the four-seamer in particular, a pitch he slugs .514 against, and note that five of his seven homers have come off fastballs. Keep this to a quarter unit, even against Nola.

Blue Jays vs Phillies odds

• Moneyline: Blue Jays +140 | Phillies -160
• Run line: Blue Jays +1.5 (-140) | Phillies -1.5 (+120)
• Over/Under: Over 9.5 | Under 9.5

Blue Jays vs Phillies trend

Max Scherzer (7.92 ERA) and Aaron Nola (5.55 ERA) carry two of the ugliest ERAs among Saturday’s starters, pointing toward the Over 9.5. Find more MLB betting trends for Blue Jays vs. Phillies.

How to watch Blue Jays vs Phillies and game info

Blue Jays vs Phillies latest injuries

Blue Jays vs Phillies weather

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Sometimes, you gotta make the tough call to put the old steer out to pasture.

Rhys Hoskins has a 95 wRC+ this season. That, especially on the Guardians, is not bad. However, this includes a 79 wRC+ since June 1st, during which time he has struck out 37% of the time. Even more prominently, since June 1st of LAST season, Hoskins has a 57 wRC+ against LHP. Why has Hoskins forgotten how to hit southpaws on a team that needs him to be able to be the career 130 wRC+ against them he has traditionally been like no other? I don’t know. Because the baseball gods hate us, probably. It’s likely one of two options: 1. small sample size and he’ll eventually correct things, or 2. the canary in the coal mine that he is washed overall.

Regardless, Hoskins isn’t helping the Cleveland Guardians win baseball games in his current role of supposed lefty masher who plays first base when LHP are on the mound. He’s not a good defender. But, he is, from all accounts, great in the clubhouse. So great that the team is a game under .500 on August 8th. You can probably sense my skepticism that his clubhouse skills are indispensible to this team’s success.

I think it’s probably time to give Kody Huff a chance at a platoon first-base/occasional catching reps role. Huff has a .793 OPS against LHP and .914 OPS against RHP this season, but has traditionally hit LHP better than RHP as most RHH’s do. Most importantly, he has a higher OPS away from the Columbus bandbox than at home (.888/.879). Zach Meisel of the Athletic has repeatedly mentioned on the Selby is Godcast that the team “LOVES” Huff and it was a big reason they were willing to trade Jacob Cozart and Bo Naylor at the trade deadline. Great opportunity to potentially get Huff some experience with Austin Hedges and Patrick Bailey and make use of the 235 innings he has played at first base to hopefully leverage their way to an improvement over what Hoskins has done against left-handed pitching.

By September, if Huff struggles and Ralphy Velazquez continues his recent breakout, I would love to see the team give Velazquez reps in a first base/DH role and let him hit LHP. (Cooper Ingle cannot hit lefties, in case anyone is wondering about him in a full-time DH role). Ralphy has consistently hit LHP slightly better than he has RHP over the past two seasons. He’s a full-time hitter, eventually, and it would be great to give him a chance to experience big league pitching and potentially help a team trying to make the playoffs. But, for now, the team needs to take a shot at improving their roster in the Hoskins’ role, even at the risk to clubhouse chemistry, and Huff seems to be the best potential option.

The Detroit Tigers dropped the series opener to the San Francisco Giants on Friday night, 5-2, at Oracle Park. The good guys outhit the hosts, but were plagued by LOBsters while Kieder Montero coughed up five runs over six innings to earn his seventh loss of the season.

Making his first appearance for the Motor City Kitties since last season on Saturday evening is right-hander Jackson Jobe, who will be returning from Tommy John surgery after 14-plus months on the shelf. The freshly turned 24-year-old actually faced the Giants the last time he pitched in the big leagues, surrendering three runs on seven hits (one home run) and three walks while striking out four over 4 2/3 frames for a no-decision in a 4-3 win at Comerica Park.

Jobe’s rehab process stretched across five games over four levels of the minors — rookie ball to Double-A — resulting in a 1.76 ERA and 2.35 FIP over 15 1/3 innings of work, giving up 14 hits and four walks while striking out 17, plus one each of a hit-by-pitch, balk and wild pitch.

San Francisco, on the other hand, has fellow righty Landen Roupp taking the mound for his 23rd appearance this season. The 27-year-old has struggled over his last two games, posting an astronomical 9.72 ERA along with an ugly 5.85 FIP over 8 1/3 innings, allowing 10 hits (one home run) and seven walks while striking out seven and hitting a batter over that span, earning a pair of losses in the process.

Speaking of losses, Roupp’s 10 recorded defeats this season are tied for the National League lead as of Friday night.

Here is a quick look at how the two hurlers matchup for Game 2 on Saturday.

Detroit Tigers (56-60) vs. San Francisco Giants (49-67)

Time (ET): 7:15 p.m.
Place: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California
SB Nation Site:McCovey Chronicles
Media: FOX, Tigers Radio Network

Game 117: RHP Jackson Jobe (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Landen Roupp (7-10, 4.34 ERA)

JOBE (2025)

ROUPP

Another Trade Deadline acquisition took the mound for the San Diego Padres against the Houston Astros. The result was another disappointing outing and another loss for the Padres.

Robbie Ray who won his last start at Petco Park as a member of the San Francisco Giants made his debut with San Diego and allowed four runs on seven hits with five walks and two strikeouts over five innings pitched in what proved to be a 6-3 loss for the Padres. It was another disappointing result for a Trade Deadline acquisition after Casey Mize was roughed up in his first outing against the Arizona Diamondbacks where he allowed eight runs in nine hits in three-plus innings of work last week.

The San Diego offense tried to climb back into the game and cut the deficit to 4-3 scoring two runs in the bottom of the fourth and a run in the bottom of the fifth. The third run of the game for the Padres came on a monster solo home run off the bat of Fernando Tatis Jr. The hope was that blast would ignite the offense and San Diego would come back to win the game, but Yuki Matsui and Wandy Peralta each allowed a run in their combined four innings pitched and the Padres were unable to add to their run total.

San Diego plays the second game of the series tonight at Petco Park at 4:15 p.m.

Padres News:

• Ethan Salas has remained an offensive threat after his promotion to Triple-A and connected on his first home run for El Paso.

• Nick Pivetta broke his silence and talked with reporters about his rehab and his injury scare in his rehab appearance at Lake Elsinore.

Baseball News:

• The Arizona Diamondbacks walked off the Los Angeles Dodgers to extend the LA losing streak to seven games.

• The New York Yankees got a 10-inning win over the Atlanta Braves.

• Kevin Gausman had a solid debut with the Chicago Cubs who beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-4.

• The Boston Red Sox dominated the Athletics and earned a blowout win.

• Mike Trout hit a home run on his birthday and helped the Los Angeles Angles beat the Miami Marlins.

• Jose Soriano debuted with the Toronto Blue Jays and helped them beat the Philadelphia Phillies.