Category: MLB

The Milwaukee Brewers are looking to lock up a series victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday afternoon at American Family Field, as trade deadline acquisition Dustin May will make the start opposite Braxton Ashcraft for Pittsburgh.

After dropping Monday’s series opener by a 4-3 final, the Crew has rattled off a pair of 4-2 wins the last two nights with some solid pitching and timely hitting. They’ll look to make it three straight victories today.

May, 28, was a third-round pick by the Dodgers back in 2016 before debuting with them in 2019. He had a few solid albeit injury-riddled seasons to begin his career before struggling mightily in 2025 between the Dodgers and Red Sox. In 2026, he agreed to a one-year deal with the Cardinals, where he pitched to a respectable 4.38 ERA, 3.14 FIP, and 106 strikeouts across 109 innings before being shipped to Milwaukee on Monday. May made two starts against Pittsburgh while with the Cardinals this season, totaling 11 1/3 innings with six runs allowed and nine strikeouts.

On the other side, Ashcraft, 26, is a former second-round pick in his second major league season. He’s been solid this season, with a 3.96 ERA, 3.52 FIP, and 140 strikeouts over 127 1/3 innings, earning an All-Star selection as the replacement for Paul Skenes. Ashcraft faced the Brewers less than a month ago in Pittsburgh, pitching five innings with five runs allowed on five hits and two walks, striking out six in a no-decision as his offense bailed him out.

In the lineup, Brice Turang, Jackson Chourio, and Garrett Mitchell fill the top third of the order. Andrew Vaughn, Christian Yelich, and Luis Lara bring up the middle, with Gary Sánchez batting seventh as the catcher. David Hamilton and Cooper Pratt round things out.

First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. on Brewers TV and the Brewers Radio Network.

Mets lineup

Francisco Lindor – SS
Bo Bichette – 3B
Luis Robert – CF
Carson Benge – RF
Francisco Alvarez – DH
Marcus Semien – 2B
Eric Wagaman – 1B
Luis Torrens – C
Cristian Pache – LF

SP: Nolan McLean – RHP

Guardians lineup

Travis Bazzana – DH
Chase DeLauter – RF
Jose Ramirez – 3B
Nathaniel Lowe – 1B
Angel Martinez – LF
Brayan Rocchio – SS
Petey Halpin – CF
Patrick Bailey – C
Angel Genao – 2B

SP: Foster Griffin – LHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 1:10 PM EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

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We're fading one arm, backing another, and targeting a hitter to clear his hits, runs, and RBI prop.

Headlined by Ranger Suarez, here are my three favorite MLB player props for Thursday, Aug. 6.

Best MLB player props today

Player	Pick	Odds
Ranger Suarez	Over 5.5 strikeouts	-146
Bailey Ober	Under 3.5 strikeouts	+133
Brandon Lowe	Over 1.5 hits + runs + RBI	-101

Ranger Suarez Over 5.5 strikeouts (-146)

Boston Red Sox southpaw Ranger Suarez is in a great spot to eclipse his strikeout prop this evening, as he draws a Chicago White Sox team that has struggled against left-handed pitching this season.

Over the team's last 60 at-bats against lefties, eight hitters own at least a 22% strikeout rate, while five have struck out at a clip of at least 26.7%. On the season, five projected bats carry strikeout rates of at least 25.4%.

Suarez has been wheeling and dealing as of late. Over his last five starts, he owns a 30.3% strikeout rate, a 24.6% whiff rate, and nearly a 70% first-pitch strike rate.

Play this to -150, or alt this prop to 7+ strikeouts.

• Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: CHSN, NESN

Bailey Ober Under 3.5 strikeouts (+133)

Minnesota Twins right-hander Bailey Ober owns the third-lowest strikeout rate in Batters-Box's current season dataset. On top of that, he has posted just a 14.4% strikeout rate on the road and a 17.9% strikeout rate over his last five starts.

Ober now draws one of the toughest teams in baseball to strike out. Over their last six games, the Kansas City Royals sport a 15.4% strikeout rate and an 80.4% contact rate. Across their last 12 home games, those numbers are even better, with Kansas City boasting a 13.6% strikeout rate and an 83.5% contact rate.

Considering how frequently the Royals put the ball in play, Ober will have a difficult time racking up punchouts. 

I'd play this down to +120.

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: ESPN

Brandon Lowe Over 1.5 hits + runs + RBI (-101)

According to Batters-Box, Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe has cleared this prop in over 71% of his elite-rated road games. Across 107 elite ratings dating back to the last three seasons, he has gone Over 1.5 HRR in 63.55% of those contests.

This afternoon against Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Dustin May, Lowe owns nearly 95% arsenal coverage against the right-hander's entire pitch mix. Spanning his last 15 games, the Pirates slugger has posted a .290 batting average, 60% elevation rate, and 10% barrel rate.

Over the last 30 left-handed hitters May has faced, opponents have produced a 52.6% hard hit rate, 68.4% elevation rate, .394 xBA, .529 xSLG, and .414 xwOBA.

This is a massive misprice, even at -101. I'd be comfortable playing it down to -120.

• Time: 2:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: BREW, SNP

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For all the hemming and hawing over the Dodgers ruining baseball by accumulating many of the best players in the sport, they sure aren’t playing like it right now. They’ve gotten swept for two series in a row, looking more like a team who will have to play a wild card series rather than have a cakewalk to a third straight World Series.

The good news is the Dodgers will not lose on Thursday, but only because they don’t play.

Every team, no matter how good or bad, will have a stretch of the season in which they seemingly can’t get out of their own way, and look inept to the point of frustration over a reasonably long stretch of time. The Dodgers are in the throes of such a malaise right now, having lost six straight games.

Before getting drubbed by the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs, the Dodgers had not lost more than four games in a row this season. In this decade-long stretch during which the Dodgers have won five pennants, beginning in 2017, they’ve only lost six games in row five times:

Dodgers longest losing streaks, 2017-26

• 2017: 11 straight losses (Sept. 2-11)
• 2025: 7 straight losses (July 4-11)
• 2018: 6 straight losses (May 10-16)
• 2019: 6 straight losses (April 8-13)
• 2026: 6 straight losses (July 31-Aug. 5)*

*currently active streak

The Dodgers offense hasn’t exactly been humming during the losing streak, and has been rather ordinary even since the start of July. They scored more than one run five times in 54 innings over the last six games. The first four of those crooked-number frames gave the Dodgers the lead. Five runs in the eighth inning on Wednesday at Wrigley Field only served to give hope in a game that was already seemingly decided. Instead, the Dodgers lost by one run instead of a lot.

Yosshinobu Yamamoto and Tarik Skubal — the two pitchers on the active roster expected to be in the Dodgers’ ideal postseason rotation — each had productive, quality starts, combining to allow five runs in 14 innings. But they lost both starts, just like all six starters (or bulk pitcher, in the case of fill-in Cole Irvin on Friday) have during this woeful stretch.

Even with the good starts by Yamamoto and Skubal, Dodgers “starters” during the last six games have an 8.42 ERA, allowing 29 runs in 31 innings, including 13 home runs. That’s no way to live, with the team averaging seven runs allowed during the losing streak, giving up five or more runs five times in the last six games.

When the Dodgers allow five or more runs this season, they are 11-28 (.282). When they give up four or fewer runs, they are 58-18 (.763). They should look into doing more of the latter.

Over the last six games, the Dodgers played 105 half-innings. They led after 12 of them. Up next are the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field, who swept the Dodgers a month ago in Los Angeles. Not playing from behind most of the time would go a long way toward ending a losing streak.

Shhh. Don’t say anything. Don’t jinx it. But…there’s a chance that the Orioles could end today tied for an AL Wild Card spot.

It’s hard to believe such a thing could be true, after all the trials and tribulations and the often foolish play we’ve witnessed from the 2026 Orioles. But if they win this afternoon and the Guardians lose to the Mets, then the O’s would vault ahead of Cleveland and move into a tie with the idle Rangers for the third wild card spot. Even while still being under .500. Wild stuff.

But first things first: the O’s need to take care of business against the Angels, the worst team in baseball. The Birds have done so in the first two games of the series, even if their hitting performance wasn’t quite as potent as we’d like. But their pitching has been stellar, with Cade Povich and Trevor Rogers each delivering quality starts and a patched-together back of the bullpen locking things down late. It helps that the Angels can’t really hit, but let’s not pick nits.

Today the O’s have their most reliable starter, Brandon Young, on the mound as they try for the sweep. As a reminder, the Orioles are a whopping 15-3 in Young’s starts this season. The right-hander passed the 100-inning mark in his last start and carries an 8-2 record and 3.31 ERA. The Angels will be facing him for the first time in his career.

On paper, the Birds would appear to have the pitching advantage with Young taking on Ryan Johnson, a rookie righty with a 7.63 ERA. Johnson has been absolutely dreadful against every team he’s faced…except the Orioles. Back in June, Johnson faced the Birds in Anaheim and dominated them for six shutout, one-hit innings, striking out eight. It was by far the best outing of Johnson’s career, and the only time he’s ever pitched more than five innings. The O’s offense was absolutely pathetic in that game. It wasn’t the first or last time the Orioles had been shut down by a pitcher with a sky-high ERA. Hopefully we won’t see a repeat performance today.

Orioles lineup:

LF Dylan Beavers
1B Pete Alonso
DH Gunnar Henderson
3B Christian Encarnacion-Strand
SS Jackson Holliday
RF Leody Taveras
2B Jeremiah Jackson
CF Colton Cowser
C Yohel Pozo

RHP Brandon Young

Angels lineup:

LF Wade Meckler
DH Mike Trout
1B Nolan Schanuel
SS Zach Neto
3B Vaughn Grissom
C Moisés Ballesteros
CF Jose Siri
LF Josh Lowe
2B Oswald Peraza

RHP Ryan Johnson

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It’ll be Michael Wacha who gets the job done in my Twins vs. Royals predictions, as the All-Star has been lights out for the last month.

The Kansas City Royals welcome the Minnesota Twins to Kauffman Stadium as -117 favorites at Polymarket, which gives us some value right off the bat, as most sportsbooks are pricing them closer to -125.

With that in mind, let’s dive right into my MLB picks for Thursday, Aug. 6.

Who will win Twins vs Royals today: Royals moneyline (-121)

Welcome to the Michael Wacha show, people. 

The Kansas City Royals ace has allowed just four earned runs across his last 20 innings, which include three straight quality starts since he pitched a shutout frame for the NL All-Star team.

The success over this Minnesota Twins lineup just bolsters the cause for us tonight, too. Across 104 plate appearances, he’s limited Minnesota to a .241 xBA — Ryan Jeffers and Josh Bell are a combined 8-for-35 against him.

Bailey Ober goes for the Twins, and it’s safe to say he hasn’t had the best time against Kansas City in his career. Over 131 at-bats (we love that sample size), the Royals own a .284 xBA and .387 xwOBA against the righty, while striking out at just an 18% clip.

The swing-and-miss issues have been under a microscope for Ober this season, as his 17.2% K rate is the lowest of his career.

I’d bet this up to -130; let’s start off hot tonight.

Looking for more ML plays today? Dive into Jason Wilson’s MLB moneyline picks.

COVERS INTEL: Bailey Ober has a Bobby Witt Jr. problem, as most starters do. However, Witt is 12-for-28 with five extra-base hits against the big righty in his career, owning a .695 xSLG. 

Twins vs Royals Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (+109)

Aside from a strong pitching matchup, we’re running with the MLB trends on this wager. When Wacha is on the mound and is coming off five days of rest, the Under has been perfect, going 6-0 in that situation. The Royals are also a Top-10 Under team this season, hitting at a 54% clip.

On the other side, this number has hit in three of Ober’s last four starts. And while the Royals have barreled Ober throughout the course of his career, they are the worst team in MLB hitting with runners in scoring position. What does this all add up to? An Under.

If 8.5 is daunting for you, Under 9.5 at -140 or below is still a go.

Twins vs Royals weather

It'll be a scorcher tonight, with temperatures hitting 84 degrees Fahrenheit prior to first pitch. This shouldn't have much of an impact on game conditions, however.

Twins vs Royals odds

• Moneyline: Twins (+113) | Royals (-117)
• Run line: Twins +1.5 (-186) | Royals -1.5 (+170)
• Over/Under: Over 9.5 (+127) | Under 9.5 (-133)

Twins vs Royals trend

Not only are the Twins on a four-game losing streak, but the offense is scuffling, failing to score more than three runs in three of their last four games. Find more MLB betting trends for Twins vs. Royals.

How to watch Twins vs Royals and game info

Twins vs Royals latest injuries

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The Toronto Blue Jays are -120 favorites at Wrigley Field this afternoon, sending ace Dylan Cease to the mound against Chicago Cubs left-hander David Peterson. 

The pitching gap is enormous, and it headlines my Blue Jays vs. Cubs predictions in this makeup game.

Read on for my MLB picks for this Thursday, Aug. 6 matchup.

Blue Jays vs Cubs predictions

Blue Jays vs Cubs best bet: Dylan Cease Over 7.5 strikeouts (-115)

The pitching matchup is the whole game here.

Dylan Cease has been a true ace for the Toronto Blue Jays, with a 2.41 ERA, and he misses bats at an elite level.

His 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings translate to roughly eight-plus in a typical six-inning start, comfortably clear of this 7.5 number, and he has piled up 10 quality starts in 20 outings, so he pitches deep enough to get there.

The game script helps, too.

With a below-replacement lefty in David Peterson on the hill for the Chicago Cubs, Toronto will build a lead and let Cease attack the zone rather than nibble, exactly the setup that lets his strikeouts stack up. 

I’d play this until -125.

COVERS INTEL: Cease ranks third in MLB with 174 strikeouts and owns a 36.2% strikeout rate, one of the best marks in baseball.

Blue Jays vs Cubs same-game parlay (SGP)

Cease Over 7.5 strikeouts anchors my SGP from my best bet, and I’ll add the Blue Jays moneyline, backing the far superior starter over Peterson.

Ernie Clement going Over 1.5 total bases rounds it out, with Toronto’s steadiest hitter drawing a great matchup against a lefty who leaves too much over the plate.

Blue Jays vs Cubs SGP

• Dylan Cease Over 7.5 strikeouts
• Ernie Clement Over 1.5 total bases
• Blue Jays moneyline

Blue Jays vs Cubs home run pick: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (+575)

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is my long-shot swing, and the case starts with the man on the mound. Peterson is a soft-tossing lefty who gets hit hard, and his sinker has been demolished this year, yielding a .432 xwOBA, with his four-seamer (.339 xwOBA) not far behind. 

Guerrero, a right-handed bat who feasts on fastballs, holds the platoon edge and the profile to punish those pitches.

Vladdy’s season power numbers are down, but he can still do damage.

The wild card is Wrigley Field itself, where the wind dictates the home run environment. With it blowing out toward left field a little bit, this +550 price offers real value. 

Keep it to a quarter unit.

Blue Jays vs Cubs odds

• Moneyline: Toronto -120 | Chicago +100
• Run line: Toronto -1.5 (+145) | Chicago +1.5 (-170)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (-105) | Under 7.5 (-115)

Blue Jays vs Cubs trend

David Peterson has allowed 1.36 home runs per nine innings this season, a concerning rate that sets up the Vladimir Guerrero Jr. home run bet. Find more MLB betting trends for Blue Jays vs. Cubs.

How to watch Blue Jays vs Cubs and game info

Blue Jays vs Cubs latest injuries

Blue Jays vs Cubs weather

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The Chicago Cubs today recalled left-handed pitcher Braxton Garrett from Triple-A Iowa. In a corresponding move, right-handed pitcher Tyler Ferguson was optioned to Iowa. Garrett was acquired on Monday from the Miami Marlins. He will wear uniform No. 60.

Ferguson, 32, is 0-1 with a 3.45 ERA (6 ER/15.2 IP), 19 strikeouts, two walks and a 0.76 WHIP in 16 relief appearances with the Cubs this season.

Today’s BCB game preview will post at 11:30 a.m. CT.

Buried under the countless moves that the San Francisco Giants have made this week is the fact that the team released a whole bunch of injury updates on Tuesday.

Most notably, Matt Chapman had an MRI that revealed a core muscle injury, and is meeting with a specialist next week. Surgery is on the table, and it looks like his season could be over.

Victor Bericoto, who will likely be the primary replacement for Heliot Ramos when healthy, began a rehab assignment in AAA on Wednesday.

Speaking of Wednesday, the new guy, Marcelo Mayer, reported to the team on Wednesday and will have an evaluation. No word yet on how that went.

Jesús Rodríguez has been resting and rehabbing his elbow at home, and will be re-evaluated at the end of the week.

Joel Peguero threw a live batting practice on Tuesday. It’s possible that he returns before the season ends.

Jose Buttó is still only throwing on flat ground, but is throwing up to 120 feet. Doesn’t seem as likely that he pitches again this year.

Matt Gage is also throwing on flat ground, and is now throwing up to 60 feet. It looks like he successfully avoided surgery, which is huge.

And, of course, Trevor McDonald and Casey Schmitt are out for the year. McDonald underwent his Tommy John surgery earlier this week.

The Yankees fell in lackluster fashion on Wednesday, scoring just a single run en route to a 3-1 loss. Will Warren wasn’t as sharp as his previous outing, but when your offense is as hard-pressed as the Yankees’ lineup is to score multiple runs in a rally you’d have to be in phenomenal form to not walk away with an L. Unfortunately, that meant that they were at the mercy of the red-hot Rays and Red Sox on whether they lost ground for their transgressions, and both saw fit to punish them for slipping up.

Tampa Bay Rays (68-46) 4, Colorado Rockies (45-70) 0

Remember when the Rays lost four straight coming out of the All-Star break and it looked like the division was anyone’s to grab? That feels like a decade ago already, as Tampa’s turned on the jets ever since and won 12 of their last 16 to open up a 4.5 game lead for first place. The Rockies were looking to avoid a sweep on Wednesday, but despite outhitting the Rays they couldn’t cobble together a single run.

The Rays had no trouble converting on their chances, scoring right away in the first inning. Victor Mesa Jr. led the game off with a triple out to right field, and Jonathan Aranda knocked him in right away with an RBI single. After a Junior Caminero walk and Liam Hicks flyout, Chandler Simpson lined a single out to left to score Aranda and make it 2-0 Tampa. Mesa tripled again in the second, but this time with two outs and Tomoyuki Sugano was able to punch out Aranda instead of repeating history. Unfortunately for Sugano, Caminero greeted him with a homer to lead off the third, his 33rd blast of the year making it 3-0 Rays.

The Rockies had a couple chances early against Nick Martinez but couldn’t convert, stranding a two-out double in the second and a leadoff single in the third that made it to second on a stolen base. The fourth saw Mickey Moniak and Kyle Karros hit back-to-back singles to threaten a rally, but after former Yankee farmhand TJ Rumfield flew out to center Martinez induced a double play ball out of Jordan Beck to escape the jam. Martinez pitched a clean fifth before the Rockies threatened again in the sixth, getting two aboard with two out via singles and chasing Martinez from the game. New pitcher Tyler Wells came in and got Rumfield to chase on a high cutter to strand them both.

Tampa added an insurance run in the seventh, Taylor Walls working a walk before stealing second base and getting bunted over to third and home in consecutive at-bats. Colorado still had no punch with enough weight to challenge Tampa’s pitching, stranding a runner in the seventh and eighth before going down in order to close out the ninth.

Other Games

Boston Red Sox (62-51) 4, Chicago White Sox (59-54) 0: The White Sox fared much the same against Boston, though they came up with even less chances to break through the shutout. The Red Sox got on the board in the first inning of their game as well, Wilyer Abreu hitting a two-out single and advancing to second on a wild pitch before Willson Contreras singled him home. Boston stranded a runner at third in the second but came back for another run in the third when Abreu hit a solo home run and then the game entered a still period through the middle innings where neither side had much going (getting Déjà vu here).

Sonny Gray pitched six strong innings, striking out eight while walking just two, and the only real threat he faced came in the top of the third when he hit Sam Antonacci, walked a batter, and then Miguel Vargas slapped a single to third base. Antonacci attempted to run home after advancing to third as the throw was sent to first, only to get easily thrown out and get a tag stuffed into his face as he slid hard for home plate.

Boston doubled their lead late, a sacrifice fly in the seventh and a Caleb Durbin RBI single in the eighth pushing it to 4-0 for the home team. The Pale Hose didn’t have much bite left in their bats by that point, managing only a single in the eighth and a walk in the ninth before getting put away.

Cleveland Guardians (57-58) 5, New York Mets (49-66) 6 (10 innings): With the ChiSox falling Cleveland had a chance to capitalize, but the lowly Mets managed to get in their way. Brett Baty and Jorge Polanco both homered in the third inning and Jared Young added on an RBI single in the fourth to give the Mets a 3-0 lead, but it got erased by the fifth as Travis Bazzana knocked a run across in the bottom of the fourth and Nathaniel Lowe brought in two more in the fifth via baseknocks. Carson Benge briefly brought the Mets back into the lead with a solo shot, only for Patrick Bailey to give Cleveland their first lead of the night with a two-run single in the seventh.

Cade Smith’s attempt to convert the save in the ninth turned into a disaster as he walked a pair around a Polanco double to load the bases with two outs. Smith got a chopper hit to shortstop Brayan Rocchio for the potential final out, but it hit off his glove allowing the tying run to cross, and then in extras Bo Bichette immediately scored the Manfred runner while Steven Kwan bunted a pop out to lead off the home half of the 10th. The newly-acquired Jo Adell also popped out and Lowe hit a soft grounder to first to end it.

Houston Astros (59-57) 4, Toronto Blue Jays (54-61) 5 (10 innings): Houston also struggled to pick up a game against a last-place foe, falling in extras. They missed a golden opportunity in the first inning when a pair of walks and a Jose Altuve single loaded the bases with one out against Jameson Taillon, but Taillon was able to escape getting a pop up out of Taylor Trammell before striking out Christian Walker. He wasn’t as fortunate in the third, Altuve jumping on a middle-middle cutter for a solo shot before Walker doubled in another run and LaMonte Wade Jr. singled him home to make it 3-0 Houston.

Toronto made it a game in the sixth inning, however. Myles Straw hit a one-out double to start the rally, and after Nathan Lukes grounded out Kazuma Okamoto singled up the middle to put Toronto on the board. Jesús Sánchez was up next and worked a 3-0 count before getting a high fastball that he gave himself the green light for. It was a good decision as he crushed it, launching a two-run homer to tie the game at three. The Astros threatened to take the lead right back, getting runners on second and third with no out in the bottom half, but a pair of weak pop ups surrounded a strikeout to strand both of them. They wouldn’t get any more chances in the seventh, eighth, or ninth innings, and when extras rolled around Ernie Clement punished the first pitch he saw for a two-run blast.

Yordan Alvarez led off the bottom of the second with a hard-hit ball into the corner in right, easily scoring the Manfred runner, but he inexplicably jogged standing up into second base and got tagged out. The Astros challenged but the call was upheld, and despite Joe Espada’s protests (which resulted in him being ejected) the call stood and the next two Astros could only lift fly ball outs to end it.

This morning, the Athletics will face the Cincinnati Reds one final time, looking to avoid a sweep and finally snap their losing streak. Winning baseball games has proved elusive for the A’s over the past two months, as they have endured a free-fall down the standings.

Right-hander Mason Barnett will get the start for the Green & Gold, making his first career appearance against Cincinnati. The 25-year-old enters his 16th appearance and second start of the season with a 1-1 record, a 4.85 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP and 29 strikeouts across 29 2/3 innings pitched.

After initially pitching in relief following his call-up from Triple-A, Barnett recently moved into the rotation to fill a void created by injuries to several A’s starters. He will look to replicate his performance from his first start of the season, when he received a no-decision after allowing three runs on four hits over five innings against the Boston Red Sox.

In the first two games of this interleague series, the Athletics received quality outings from their starters, only to watch a reliever either blow the lead or surrenderer the go-ahead run in a tie game. Both times, the offense failed to mount a come back, saddling the reliever with the loss and wasting another strong effort from the starting rotation.

If the A’s want to avoid yet another sweep, they will need Barnett to make it three straight quality starts and the bullpen to either hold a lead or keep the game tied long enough for the offense to push across the go-ahead run late in the contest.

Here’s how the Athletics’ lineup looks today courtesy of manager Mark Kotsay:

This lineup reflects how much the A’s have been affected by injuries this season. Rookies Henry Bolte and Tommy White lead things off, while the bottom third of the lineup lacks the production typically expected from major league regulars. However, shortstop Alika Williams has been a pleasant surprise, showcasing an improved bat to complement his steady defense up the middle.

Starting shortstop Jacob Wilson is not playing today, a decision that raises questions about the severity of the injuries he has been dealing with. If the A’s want to avoid a sweep, they will need significantly more production from their offense. Max Muncy has the opportunity to provide a spark, while left fielder Tyler Soderstrom and right fielder Lawrence Butler will also need to deliver at the plate.

That lineup will face Reds’ left-hander Andrew Abbot, who enters his 24th start of the season with a 5-7 record, a 3.91 ERA, a 1.39 WHIP and 95 strikeouts across 122 innings pitched. The 27-year-old, who will be making his first start against the A’s, has been pitching well lately, despite going winless over his past seven starts. In his last outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he took the loss after allowing three runs on three hits and five walks over five innings.

The 2025 National League All-Star poses a tough matchup for a struggling A’s offense, which will need to capitalize on any opportunities it gets and any mistake pitches Abbot leaves over the plate.

And here’s Cincy’s starting lineup for the series finale:

Barnett will need to be careful when facing the Reds dynamic duo atop the lineup: shortstop Elly De La Cruz and National League Rookie of the Year candidate: first baseman Sal Stewart. The Reds have additional threats in former A’s player JJ Bleday and slugger Eugenio Suárez. Top prospect Hector Rodríguez will look to make an impact for the hosts as he searches for his first major league hit.

Let’s get back in the win column. Let’s go A’s!

Follow the Game:
Watch:
Athletics – NBCSCA

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Athletics – Talk 650 KSTE, A’s Cast

It still doesn’t make much sense. Not that the Boston Red Sox are trying to quantify it all.

The most unstoppable team in baseball, now owners of the hottest stretch in the 126-year history of the franchise, have morphed from a 32-46 disaster to a team nobody wants to face come October.

They earned their way to a buyer’s position at Major League Baseball’s trade deadline, made some of the biggest splashes – and only continue to win. They fired their manager and the ground under club president Craig Breslow grew very unstable – and now the embattled Yale graduate is looking like the second coming of Theo Epstein.

How did they get here, and what does it all mean? Let’s take a look inside a most unlikely summer that at least partially restored the shine to a storied franchise gone stale:

Aaron Nola stepped off the mound on Monday having delivered another quality start, his third in his last six games. He allowed three runs over six innings and departed with the Phillies down 3-0. But Nola had kept the Phillies stagnant offense in the game long enough for them to come alive against the Nationals bullpen in what would become a 6-3 win. Of course, he got to that quality start in typical Aaron Nola fashion though, as he surrendered two home runs to bring his league-leading total to 28 homers allowed, outpacing Nathan Eovaldi of the Rangers by four.

Since the start of July, Nola has a 4.37 ERA across 6 starts. It’s still not necessarily what you would want from someone like Nola, but it’s a welcome alternative to the 6.04 ERA he had in his first 17 starts of the year. The Phillies have been desperate for some stability in the back of their rotation, and for the most part, Nola has provided that over the last month.

He’s done it with a tangible adjustment that can be pointed to as the reason for his success. Nola’s usage of his changeup has slowly increased starting with his start on July 5th. He threw the pitch 19 times on 98 total pitches that night, or a 19% usage rate. Prior to that start, Nola had been using the changeup 16% of the time on average this season. In the games following that start, the usage has continued to climb, plateauing at 36.6% in his start on July 28th.

It’s perhaps no coincidence that he’s allowed three runs or less in all but one of those starts, and the one in which he allowed five runs on July 22nd was the lowest percentage of changeups (17.6%) since the trend began. Showcasing the offspeed offering has allowed Nola to keep hitters off of his fastball, a pitch that was getting demolished earlier in the season. Opponents are hitting .264 off of Nola’s four-seamer since the start of July as opposed to .388 combined in the previous months.

But of course, it will always be hard to trust Nola even when there is a clear adjustment to point to as a key to his success. He’s notorious for showing signs of promise before it all slips away in a barrage of balls going over the fence. Look no further than his .281/.325/.510 opponent’s batting line with two outs or his league-worst 10 home runs allowed with two strikes. Nola has cultivated a reputation of letting bad innings snowball into disasters, a trend that has accelerated since the start of his nightmare 2025 season. Even if he starts a game off well, it will always feel like he’s minutes away from disaster until he leaves with the quality start intact.

However, the Phillies have given themselves no choice but to put their trust in Nola and his adjustments. They opted not to address their already thin starting rotation at the trade deadline, instead choosing to roll with Nola and the newly recalled Andrew Painter to be their fourth and fifth starters. The pitching staff will ultimately live and die with its top three of Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler, and Jesús Luzardo. But after that, they need quality innings at a minimum, as every game will be important down the stretch and trying to find rest for an overtaxed bullpen along the way will be paramount. The Phillies need Nola to continue his recent string of success, serving as nothing more than at least a serviceable back of the rotation starter.

If that is an uncomfortable thought, it should be. But this is the route the Phillies and Dave Dombrowski chose when they did not trade for a starting pitcher at Monday’s trade deadline. Uncomfortable or not, they have to buy in to Nola’s new pix mix finally being the solution to his struggles, because they have left themselves no other option but to do so.