Category: MLB

It’s a new week here at BCB After Dark: the grooviest hang for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Thanks for stopping by. It’s always nice to see a familiar face. There’s no cover charge and the dress code is casual. We still have a few tables available. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Last week I asked you if you’d rather the Cubs re-sign Kevin Gausman or Matthew Boyd for next season. With the caveat that Gausman has made some noise about retiring, 48 percent of you would rather Gausman be back next year. One-third of you think Boyd is the better bet to re-sign and the rest of you think that the Cubs shouldn’t re-sign either one.

Here’s the part with the jazz and the movies. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. But if you don’t, you can skip it. Or you can skip the baseball part. You’re our guest.

We’re honored to feature another episode of Jazz Casual, the NET (forerunner of PBS) program hosted by jazz writer Ralph Gleason. Tonight’s featured performer is saxophonist Julian “Cannonball” Adderley. He’s got a heck of a band backing him up with his brother Nat Adderley on cornet, Joe Zawinul on piano, Sam Jones on bass and Louis Hayes on drums.

This is from 1961.

I went to see Coyote vs. Acme this weekend and I thought about that writing up, but I also watched the 1956 Douglas Sirk-directed melodrama Written on the Wind, and I know you’d rather I write about that. So . . . what’s that?

You know that there are a lot of people out there already who are writing about Coyote vs. Acme?

But Dorothy Malone won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Written on the Wind. Will Forte is not winning an Oscar.

OK, fine. Tonight we’ll talk about Coyote vs. Acme.

Let’s get one thing out of the way first. Coyote vs. Acme is a terrific film. Not only is it funny, which is what is most important, but it’s also fresh and different. It’s a sharp satire of modern life with an existential twist. I had to sit through five or six previews for animated family movies before the film started (which is sad because there were no children at the showing that I saw) and during the last preview I turned to my wife and said “My god. They’re all the same damn film.” Well, Coyote vs. Acme isn’t the same movie as every other family film on the market. It’s got a point of view that’s all its own. I know that Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is the gold standard for any animated/live action hybrid movie. I re-watched Roger Rabbit last week and I think Coyote vs. Acme belongs in the same breath as that classic. It’s that good.

In case you don’t know the history of the film, it started as an article in The New Yorker way back in 1990. There were several attempts to make a film out of it over the next 25 years, but they were always blocked by Warner Brothers, who owns all of the rights to the Loony Toons cartoons. About ten years ago, director James Gunn convinced Warner Brothers to make the movie. The fact that Warner Brothers was actively trying to lure Gunn away from Disney at the time was probably what convinced them.

So the film was made with a script from Samy Burch and directed by Dave Green. It was finished, shown to test audiences and it scored highly. But then Warner Brothers was bought out by Discovery and new CEO David Zaslav decided that it was one of three films, along with Batgirl and the animated Scooby-Doo film Scoob! Holiday Haunt that would be written off as a tax loss. To get that tax write-off, these films could never be shown to the public.

Batgirl was unfinished and still needed tens of millions of dollars of CGI effects and re-shoots before it was completed. It was also, according to those who’d seen the rough cut, terrible. The Scooby-Doo movie was almost finished, but no one thought it was much more than the kind of direct-to-video kids film.

But people had seen the completed Coyote vs. Acme and publicly said how good it was. So there was a campaign to get Warner Brothers Discovery to reverse its decision and release it or sell it to another distributer. That went on for over a year as many platforms offered to buy it, but WBD wanted to make a lot more than the $30 million they’d get as a tax write-off. Eventually, tiny independent distributer Ketchup Entertainment agreed to buy the film for $50 million.

We need to thank the people at Ketchup. Will Forte stars as Kevin Avery, a cynical, downtrodden cartoon accident lawyer. He’s takes the cases of cartoon characters who are injured in one way or another and settles with the giant Acme Corporation for a few hundred bucks every time. Since they’re cartoon characters, they aren’t permanently hurt when they get hit with a falling anvil, so each case is only worth a few hundred bucks. For Acme, that’s pocket change so they pay them out immediately.

Wile E. Coyote sees one of the ads for the law firm of Avery, Jones & Maltese (named after three legendary men behind the Loony Toons cartoons) and decides to make a claim. But Wile E. doesn’t just have one claim. As anyone who’s seen a Roadrunner cartoon knows, he has thousands of claims against Acme products that malfunctioned. On top of that, Wile E. Coyote refuses to settle. Against Kevin’s strong advice, he refuses every settlement offer, pitching this tiny strip mall law firm against the most powerful conglomerate in the entire world.

On Mr. Coyote’s side is Paige Avery (Lana Condor), Kevin’s intern and niece. She has all the “let’s change the world” energy of someone fresh out of law school. She’s the only one in the office who wants to win this case.

Acme is represented by John Cena playing Buddy Crane, a far more successful old law school classmate of Kevin’s. Buddy is a bully, as is the entire Acme corporation. He’s constantly belittling Kevin and trying to get them to settle. In lieu of a settlement, he’ll settle for destroying Avery, Jones & Maltese. Buddy is the villain, but Cena has some terrific comic chops. His interrogation of Tweety Bird in Tweety’s lisp, for example, is laugh-out-loud gold.

Coyote vs. Acme plays out as a legal conspiracy thriller and we soon find out why Acme is so eager to settle. There’s a wonderful sub-plot involving “Peter Lorre” (one of the many stars of the ‘40s that the Loony Toons cartoons used to put in their stories) and Tweety’s Granny. Dr. Lorre is the cartoon threatening to expose “Project Sisyphus,” which behind everything that Acme does.

There’s a ton of wicked satire in the film about how the system is rigged against the little guy by corporations that own everything, including the government. You have to consider the anti-corporate message and especially the anti-conglomerate message could not have gone over well with David Zaslav. Acme is all-powerful because they own everything. There’s no way to beat them. But Coyote vs. Acme does get in a shot by calling Warner Brothers “A wholly-owned subsidiary of the Acme Corporation.” Maybe that’s victory enough.

That brings back that “Projects Sisyphus,” or the Greek myth of a man condemned to roll a boulder up a hill for all of eternity, only for it to roll back down when it approaches the top. You should be able to see the parallels between Sisyphus and Wile E. Coyote, who is condemned to endlessly chase the Roadrunner and never catch him. But it also takes a cue from Albert Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus, who argued that meaning is not gained through victory but through the struggle. To slightly mis-quote Camus, “The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Wile E. Coyote happy.”

Not only is Wile E. Coyote Sisyphus, Kevin is as well. At the beginning of the film, he’s dead inside. It is only through taking on an impossible task that he can never win (along with the encouragement of his perky niece) does he find meaning and ultimately, happiness. Forte’s Kevin is the one character (well, maybe Wile E. Coyote) who has a real growth arc in the film and he pulls it off.

Coyote vs. Acme is primarily a comedy and not a philosophical tract, and it delivers in the comedy department. If you laugh at all the cockamamie devices that blow up in Wile E. Coyote’s face, they’re all here and more. Most of the Loony Tunes characters make an appearance and they all get to do their schtick. In fact, if you’re a Loony Toons fan, there are a ton of inside jokes that fly by so fast and furious you’ll probably miss some of them.

And that’s maybe the one sad part of Coyote vs. Acme. As I noted, there were no children that I saw at the showing that I saw, although admittedly it was a Sunday morning showing that was half-full. Four generations grew up watching these cartoons in the theaters or on television, but they are mostly unfamiliar to today’s kids who grew up on YouTube and a constant supply of new cartoons. Coyote vs. Acme is certainly funny enough even if you aren’t familiar with the Loony Toons universe, but it really goes to another level if you get the references.

Coyote vs. Acme is a little guy film that somehow took on an all-powerful corporation and won. No matter how much money it makes at the box office, Coyote vs. Acme is a winner.

Here’s the trailer for Coyote vs. Acme.

Welcome back to everyone who skips the other stuff.

The Springfield Cardinals, the Cardinals Double-A affiliate, announced they were changing their name for 2027. This continues a trend of minor league teams abandoning traditional names, especially ones tied to their parent club, in favor of unique and often offbeat nicknames.

So as of next year, there will be just nine teams left that share a name with their parent club.

Worcester Red Sox (Triple-A)

Dunedin Blue Jays (Low-A)

Iowa Cubs (Triple-A)

South Bend Cubs (High-A)

Syracuse Mets (Triple-A)

St. Lucie Mets (Low-A)

Fredericksburg Nationals (Low-A)

Palm Beach Cardinals (Low-A)

San Jose Giants (Low-A)

Dunedin, St. Lucie, Palm Beach and San Jose are owned by their parent club.

There are two others, the Reading Fightin Phils and the Lakeland Flying Tigers, that have names that sort of micmic their parent club.

The trend away from sharing a name with the parent club are driven by a few factors. The biggest was the affiliate “musical chairs” that used to happen before the minor leagues were re-organized in 2021. If a team called themselves the “Pirates” and then all of a sudden they were an Orioles affiliate, that was a problem. It’s not much of a problem anymore, but it was a big reason the trend started in the first two decades of this century.

Teams also want their own identity and branding to tie themselves to their community. On top of that, a lot of fans attending minor league games really have no idea what the minor leagues are, believe it or not. Gwinnett said one reason they changed their name from “Braves” to “Stripers” was because they found that many fans believed that it was actually the Atlanta Braves who would be playing in Gwinnett. Admittedly, these were probably not baseball fans who are just going with a larger group. But those people buy tickets and concessions.

Of course, the biggest reason why teams change their names is that they sell merchandise. I own a Smokies hat (Tennessee, not Knoxville) and a Myrtle Beach cap. I own Eugene and Boise caps from when they were Cubs affiliates. I haven’t bought Iowa and South Bend caps because they’re too similar to the Chicago Cubs hats I already own. Teams have “alternate” identities because they sell. Cute and goofy nicknames are also popular with children, who are the next generation of fans that the minor league should be trying to grow.

(They’re also popular with late-night talk show hosts.)

The Cubs affiliates have clearly resisted this trend. In fact, when South Bend went from a Diamondbacks affiliate to a Cubs affiliate in 2015, they changed their name from “Silver Hawks” to “Cubs” to further tie themselves to their new parent club. Iowa did the same thing back in 1982, going from “Oaks” to “Cubs,” but that was at least a decade before the off-beat name trend started. What’s more interesting is that the I-Cubs have resisted this trend and has kept their name the same for 44 years, even if they have had multiple “alternate” identities over the years, including throwback “Oaks” games.

(When the I-Cubs were founded, they were an Oakland affiliate, which helps explain the name, although they kept it through their stint as a White Sox affiliate and one year as a Cubs affiliate.)

So should the Cubs two affiliates change their name? Should one of them? Neither of them? Personally, I find it a bit frustrating to deal with Iowa and South Bend and having to call both of them the “Cubs” and keeping them and the parent club straight, although fortunately Iowa can be called the “I-Cubs.” (“SB Cubs” has never caught on.) It would make my life easier if South Bend went back to Silver Hawks or anything else, but they don’t ask me. I’d probably also be more likely to buy a cap if they were more different from the major league team’s. Do both need to change? Probably not. In my mind Iowa has seniority, but South Bend probably doesn’t see it that way.

So should Iowa, South Bend or both change their name? And if so, what? Give your suggestions in the comments.

Thank you for stopping by. We always like to see a friendly face. Please get home safely. Call a ride if you need one. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again next time for more BCB After Dark.

Payton Tolle is one of the best stories of the 2026 season. A thoughtful prospect writer brought him to my attention early last year, knowing my affinity for a good four-seamer, a thick ‘stache and a mien that would be equally at home on a small fishing boat off the coast of Bangor in 1890 as he is on a pitching mound. Tolle wears his emotions openly across his face and through his body; the joy, the devastation, the playfulness. To be pitching at the level that he is requires skill and effort, but part of Tolle’s charm is the authenticity woven within all that baseball work. Maybe this won’t resonate to anyone else, but there are a lot of guys who present as baseball players first and humans as a secondary classification. Tolle is distinctly a human playing baseball, and it’s one of the highest compliments I can pay (see also: Gutierrez, Franklin or Wilhelmsen, Tom, among others).

It came as little surprise, then, when Tolle cited the Turnpike Troubadors as one of his favorite musical acts. There’s the Oklahoma connection, of course, with both hailing from the Sooner State, but that same authenticity runs through every song Turnpike performs. And that’s courtesy of Evan Felker, the band’s lead singer and one of the finest songwriters of the generation.

No one here needs to read any more about the Seattle Mariners today. Honestly, we’re all probably good for the rest of the year on consumption of Mariners content, but regardless of their record this is still a community, and community means continuing showing up for one another. In gratitude for you all, I offer a selection of some of my favorite Turnpike Troubadors lyrics and songs. I hope that in the ragged place baseball usually occupies, maybe they’ll prompt that thrum of recognition in your chest that only good art can inspire.

“Come back from the dark somehow
Finally living in the here and now
No sign of a thundercloud following you
Don’t take it personal, the world don’t turn around you
Hold on to the moment like it’s heaven passing through” – Heaven Passing Through

“Oh now, it still beats steady
This heart I handed you for free
Should you ever need a thing
It won’t be hard to find me

Standing at the ready
With a dance or two still left in me
Wager that it won’t appear
That I’ve forgot who brought me” – Brought Me

“And I would buy for you a diamond
Or myself some gasoline
If I can’t afford you darlin’
Then I can’t afford to dream
And is it time I should be movin’?
Is it time I settle down?
Will I sit still or will I feel the wheels a-spinnin’ ’round?“ – Diamonds and Gasoline

“You can try to put the past behind
It’s on your clothes like burning pine
Is it gin or turpentine you keep in your canteen?
If pressure makes a diamond babe, I still might come out clean” – A Cat in the Rain

“Well, that old scene is always comin’ to me, I
I see you standin’ with your husband and your child
And you’re a picture of strength, and grace and beauty
And me, I’m just a fool in a supermarket aisle” – 7 & 7

“And we’re caught up in the riffraff, circlin’ ’round the sun
It takes a whole lot of blood and tears just to really love someone
But when it comes back around, that’s Heaven on Earth
You never know ’til the end, my friend, what your love is really worth” – Pay No Rent

“Death doesn’t leave with the best part of you” – On the Red River

See y’all tomorrow

Luke Keaschall was a much-needed spark plug, Walker Jenkins doinked his first MLB homer off the right field pole, Jeffers added two bombs of his own, his first since the last day of July, and Taj Bradley delivered one of his best starts of the season when the Twins most needed it. It was a fun night at the ballpark when the Twins really needed a win!

Let’s start on the offensive side. Facing Jackson Jobe, the former top pitching prospect in all of baseball, the Twins struck in the first inning, as they are wont to do of late, with a leadoff double from Keaschall eventually coming around on Kody Clemens sac fly. And then things went eerily quiet for Minnesota’s hitters, also as they are wont to do of late.

They had chances to add on before the game exploded, but still didn’t hit well with runners in scoring position despite the big number on the scoreboard. They went 2-9 with RISP against actual pitchers, with an added hit off of position player Zach McKinstry in the eighth to juice the stats. A leadoff double from Kaelen Culpepper in the third gave them a good run scoring opportunity, but a Jenkins pop out and Brooks Lee GIDP after a Keaschall single kept the game at 1-0 after three innings.

Clemens came back around and added a run on his own in the fourth inning, a no-doubt solo shot over the dock in right field to put the Twins up 2-0. They had another great opportunity to add on that inning with the bases loaded and just one out, but the rookies Culpepper and Jenkins both popped out to end the threat.

Then came the fifth inning when things finally broke open. Keaschall reached first base on an error by the Tigers’ third baseman. Hao-Yu Lee couldn’t get the grip on a soft grounder hit his way, trying to get it quickly to nab a hustling Keaschall. Keaschall then stole second easily off one of the best defensive catchers in baseball, Dillon Dingler. Keaschall had third easily in the same at-bat as well, but Clemens fouled off a pitch to send Luke back to second. Clemens eventually walked before Ryan Jeffers hit a three run blast to give the Twins their first comfortable lead of the night.

It won’t come through in the box score, but this entire scoring opportunity only came around because of Keaschall. His speed and hustle caused the initial error, while the young kid dancing around second base clearly got in Jobe’s head and caused him to lose Clemens on a walk and give Jeffers a heater he could handle.

Keaschall has been digging out of his self-imposed hole since his terrible April, but he’s simply done nothing but hit after that. Since May 1st, the young Twin has hit .298/.399/.434 for a 140 wRC+, 15th best in baseball, and he’s been even better lately with a .325/.423/.519 batting line since July 1st. That production delivered a 163 wRC+, fifth best among qualified batters in that stretch, trailing only likely NL MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong, likely AL MVP Yordan Alvarez, Pete Alonso, and Steven Kwan. His lack of defensive ability remains a huge question, but the kid can absolutely hit and should be Minnesota’s leadoff hitter for the next half decade, at least.

The Twins added more in the sixth off of Yilber Diaz, who you may remember from his Diamondbacks days a couple months ago when the Twins scored seven runs off him. Diaz has now pitched in three games this season, two of them coming against the Twins. Against non-Minnesota based teams, Diaz has a sparkling 0.00 ERA. Facing the Twins, that number is a less sparkling 37.13. I’m not an expert, but that seems too high.

Though, Diaz has no one to blame but himself. He walked Lewis, Jenkins, and Keaschall to load the bases for Brooks Lee, who delivered a sharp line drive to right field, scoring two. Lee then tried to advance to second base and got tagged out, but doing so allowed Keaschall to fly around the bases to score from first on a single. Keaschall Khaos!

On the pitching front, it was a great, uneventful night from Taj Bradley. He lost his command a bit as the game went on, with the solo homer he allowed, two of his three walks, and a hit by pitch all coming in the sixth or seventh innings, but he once again flashed the brilliance that has Twins fans and coaches alike dreaming of him pitching in October. He was overpowering Detroit hitters all night, touching 100 MPH into the seventh inning and racking up nine strikeouts, while showing the ability to induce ground balls to get out of jams.

Jeffers added his second homer in the 7th inning, another run off of Diaz, though that might have been a mercy to Detroit, putting the Twins up by eight and allowing them to use a position player for the eighth inning. That allowed rookie phenom Walker Jenkins to take a pitch about a foot in off the plate and force it off the right field foul pole, his first dong of (hopefully) many more to come. A homer is a homer no matter who it’s off of, but Jenkins is the first player in Twins history to have his first home run come off a position player. Just like we drew it up.

Nothing like an easy Twins win to start your week. Just five more to go this week, boys.

STUDS

• Taj Bradley: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 9 K
• Luke Keaschall: 2-3, 3 R, BB, 2B, Keaschall Khaos (trademark pending)
• Kody Clemens: 1-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, HR
• Ryan Jeffers: double dong night
• Walker Jenkins: first single dong night of career, dong doinked delightfully

DUDS

• NO DUDS TWINS WIN!!!!!

STANDINGS UPDATE

Who knows if this will be relevant next week, but for now it still is!

AL Central:

1. White Sox (72-64)
2. Guardians (69-68) — 3.5 GB
3. Twins (66-72) — 7.0 GB

AL Wild Card

1. Guardians (69-68)
2. Orioles (68-69) — 1.0 GB
3. Rangers (68-70) — 1.5 GB
4. Blue Jays (68-70) — 1.5 GB
5. Twins (66-72) — 3.5 GB

The White Sox and Orioles are still in action as I write this, so things will shift a bit. The Twins are still right in the thick of things though with head-to-head matchups with the White Sox, Guardians, and Rangers still to come. Making up 3.5 games in a month isn’t crazy, but leaping four teams to do so is another story. The Twins likely need to win every series (at a minimum) from here out, so tonight was a good start!

Shohei Ohtani’s status as a two-way star for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season took a turn over the past week.

Ohtani is expected to remain available as a designated hitter as the Dodgers continue their pursuit of a World Series three-peat. But, his status as a pitcher appears to be on pause after Dodgers manager Dave Roberts declared that Ohtani is not healthy enough to take the mound.

Ohtani hasn’t pitched in an MLB game since July 3, as he deals with knee inflammation and biceps discomfort.

Ohtani participated in a short bullpen session Aug. 28, in Detroit and threw close to 20 pitches, but it remains unclear when Ohtani will make his next start or bullpen session.

After hitting three home runs with Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday, the Mets decided Mark Vientos was ready to return from his rehab assignment for their series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.

Not only that, but interim manager Andy Green decided to ride the hot hand and slotted the slugger right into the lineup, batting cleanup as the DH in his first game back. Good thing he did, too, because Vientos stayed hot and rewarded his manager with a solo home run that ended up being the difference in New York's 3-2 win.

"It felt great," Vientos said about not only the home run, but being back with the team after a long time away. "Felt great to come back and contribute in some way and a home run is always cool so it felt great for sure."

The home run, Vientos' 12th in what's been a disappointing season, traveled 418-feet to center and reminded everyone of the raw power he possess.  

Despite playing in just 74 games, Vientos is now seventh on the team in home runs and just two away from being tied for third. If he keeps up his pace over the last few days, he'll be near the leaderboard in no time.

"He has such a powerful swing, he stays in the middle of the ballpark and he turns himself loose," Green said. "He can drive the ball out anywhere, he’s proven that… There’s only a few guys who can do that consistently and he can."

It's true, while Vientos is hitting just .212 with a .654 OPS, he does have power to all fields and is a dangerous hitter as evidenced by his breakout 2024 season in which he slashed .266/.322/.516 with 27 home runs in 111 games while adding five home runs in 13 postseason games that year and hitting an incredible .327 with a .998 OPS.

The key for Vientos is getting back to that hitter -- a chance he will likely get more of now following his big home run in his return. Even before re-joining the Mets, Green publicly challenged Vientos by saying he wasn't sure what his role would be once he returns, but that if he hits his role would increase.

Since those comments, Vientos has been on a power surge between the minor leagues and now the majors.

"Just trusting my ability, just trusting myself and seeing pitches trusting that I’ll recognize -- if it’s a spin or it’s a fastball -- and allowing myself to adjust to pitches and just putting bat to ball," Vientos said of what he's thinking at the plate.

"Happy to have him back," Green said.

The Texas Rangers scored eight runs while the Athletics scored one run.

Where has this kind of game been our whole 2026?

A part of the reason that the Rangers are in the mess that they find themselves in — currently trailing for an AL playoff spot — is the lack of success against teams below them in the standings and especially baffling, a miserable mark against teams trailing them in the American League West.

Tonight, however, they bullied the Athletics in a manner that finally matched expectations. With the A’s leading the season series 6-4, the Rangers arrived back home after a two-stop midwestern road trip and promptly dunked on their division rivals.

Though held off the board in the first inning, the Rangers scored runs in each of the next four innings with a couple in the second, a run apiece in the third and fourth frames, and then three more runs in the bottom of the fifth. As if to punctuate the beating, Texas piled on for a final run in the bottom of the eighth.

The Rangers got RBIs from five of the members of the starting lineup and pinned seven of the eight runs on Athletics’ starter Gage Jump in his turbulent 4 1/3 innings of work. Corey Seager was one of four Rangers in the starting lineup who didn’t contribute a hit but he walked twice and scored two runs. Meanwhile, Brandon Nimmo and suddenly red hot Cody Freeman each had two hits and two RBIs to lead the way.

The victory gives the Rangers their second in a row, their fifth victory in eleven games against the Northern California team, and a final win in what had been a trying month of August.

See ya in September!

Player of the Game: Fresh off his worst start in like ten years and easily his worst performance with the Rangers, Jacob deGrom bounced back in a big way. After giving up eight runs in 3 2/3 innings last week in Chicago, tonight deGrom went seven innings and allowed just one hit — a Lawrence Butler leadoff single in the top of the second — and walked none while striking out eight.

deGrom is likely still managing whatever old man hip thing he’s got going on, so he’s probably going to be prone to some Jekyll and Hyde outings but the Rangers could certainly use more vintage deGrom down the stretch and tonight he delivered one his best.

Up Next: The Rangers will try to get a streak going tomorrow night against these A’s with LHP MacKenzie Gore set to make the start for Texas opposite a pitcher to be named for the franchise to be named.

The Tuesday evening first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 7:05 pm CDT and you can catch it on the Rangers Sports Network.

Box Score

Luckily, you can only lose once per game.

Kyle Harrison struggled badly tonight, and by the time he was removed from the game with two outs in the fourth inning, things were already wildly out of control. On the other side, Clay Holmes came in as one of the hottest starting pitchers in baseball, and this one was decided early.

Holmes got things started with back-to-back strikeouts of Brice Turang and Jackson Chourio, for which he needed only seven pitches, none of which were balls. Jake Bauers drew a walk — but blew a challenge in the process — and William Contreras lined out to left to end the inning.

The white-hot Pete Crow-Armstrong led things off for the Cubs; you could tell how well he’s getting around on things when he blasted a fastball up and in foul down the right-field line, but Harrison struck him out a couple pitches later. Harrison, whose fastball velocity was in the low 90s in the first inning, couldn’t find the zone against Seiya Suzuki and walked him on five pitches, but Harrison picked up the second out on a popout in foul territory by Alex Bregman.

Unfortunately, Harrison then left sluggish fastballs right over the middle to both Tyrone Taylor and Nico Hoerner, and back-to-back homers gave the Cubs an early 3-0 lead. Michael Busch then ripped a double into the right-field corner and Carson Kelly jumped on the first pitch for an RBI single up the middle, and Harrison was in serious danger of not making it out of the first inning on this steamy Chicago night. Miguel Amaya finally did fly out to end the inning, but the Cubs had jumped all over Harrison and had an early 4-0 lead.

With one out in the second, the Brewers got their first hit, a Garrett Mitchell single up the middle (at 112 mph — Mitchell continues to hit it hard when he hits it). Things went poorly after that, though: with Mitchell running on a 3-2 count, Sal Frelick struck out looking — on a pitch that was outside the zone — and Mitchell was thrown out at second. It was a rough start for the good guys.

Harrison got two quick outs in the second, but Suzuki ripped a single into left, and another Harrison meatball to Bregman ended up in the bleachers, making it 6-0 Cubs. He just couldn’t locate the fastball tonight, but instead of missing outside the zone, he was doing something much worse: missing right down the middle. Taylor grounded out to end the inning, but the Brewers were in a deep hole against a locked-in pitcher.

For the second straight inning, the Brewers hit into an unconventional double play. After a one-out single from Cooper Pratt, Turang grounded one to Busch at first, who stepped on the bag and threw to second, where Pratt was tagged out.

In a good encapsulation of the Brewers’ night, Hoerner hit an easy ground ball to Bauers at first to start the bottom of the third, and Bauers booted it, fell down, tried to shuffle the ball to Harrison, and instead bounced the ball off the base while Harrison wiped out. Hoerner was safe, and Harrison got a visit from the trainer, though he stayed in the game; after a flyout to left, Kelly blooped a single to center and set up the Cubs to score again. Harrison was able to work out of the jam, though; with runners on the corners and one out, Harrison struck out Amaya and got Matt Shaw to ground out to first.

The Brewers were showing very few signs of being able to work their way back into the game. Chourio started the fourth with a “bad Chourio” strikeout in which strike three came on a pitch way out of the zone. Bauers reached for the second time when he lined a single up the middle with one out, and Contreras walked to put the first real pressure on Holmes that the Brewers had managed on the night. Unfortunately, Yelich and Mitchell both struck out chasing outside the zone, and the fleeting chance went by the wayside.

Bauers made a highlight-reel catch to rob PCA of a hit to start the bottom of the fourth, but things went bad again after that. Suzuki inflicted pain on Harrison in a different way — this one was at least not a bad pitch, but Suzuki went with it to the opposite field for a solo shot. Bregman, up next, did get a bad pitch and demolished it, and the Cubs were up eight.

The trouble didn’t end there for Harrison, who was firmly in “wearing it” mode. Taylor singled and Hoerner drew a 12-pitch walk; Harrison stayed in to face Busch, who he struck out, but was taken out with two outs in the bottom of the fourth with eight runs in and two runners on. Out of the bullpen was Chad Patrick… who couldn’t throw strikes. His first eight pitches all missed, most of them quite badly, and the Cubs had another run. Patrick finally found the strike zone against Shaw, and a fly ball ended the inning with the Cubs up 9-0.

There wasn’t much else to write home about. In the seventh, Cooper Pratt hit a two-run homer. DL Hall allowed one to Kelly, which made it an eight-run lead, allowing the Brewers to move to a position player on the mound. Tonight, that was Andrew Vaughn, who took over in the bottom of the seventh. The peculiar infield lineup also handed Joey Ortiz his debut as a first baseman.

Vaughn’s first pitch, a 47-mph “knuckle ball,” hit Amaya, and things went about as you’d expect from there. Chicago picked up three more runs off of Vaughn, Colin Rea gave one back in the eighth (a Chourio double followed by a Vaughn single), and Chicago got four more in the eighth. By the end of the inning, they had nine homers — a franchise record. The game mercifully ended at 17-3.

Yeah, let’s flush that one and move on to tomorrow! It’s a matchup of lefties on Tuesday night, with Robert Gasser starting for Milwaukee opposite Matthew Boyd for Chicago. First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. See you then.

The Tigers went to Minnesota to open a three-game series with their playoff hopes hanging by a thread. They did nothing to assuage their fans’ fears on Monday night, dropping said series opener by a 11-1 score.

Starting for the Tigers was Jackson Jobe, making his fifth start this year after recovering from Tommy John surgery. He’s struggled with walks: his past two starts have seen him walk three batters in sub-five-inning outings, throwing 86 pitches in each. His stuff has looked good so far, though.

Taj Bradley started for the Twins, and he’s been a solid part of their rotation this year; he started his career with a few years in Tampa, and they traded him to Minnesota midway through the 2025 season. His walk rate has really crept up this year to something you shouldn’t see in a starter: it was 3.8 per 9 innings coming into today. That wasn’t a problem tonight, though.

Minnesota got on the board in the bottom of the first: a leadoff double by Luke Keaschall was followed by a productive groundout and a sacrifice fly by Old Friend™ Kody Clemens. Did you know Clemens had over 20 home runs this year? I sure didn’t.

The Twins and Tigers traded nice 5-6-3 double plays in consecutive innings. You don’t see that too often.

Clemens wasn’t done, though: he mashed a high curveball into the right-field seats for his twenty-third home run of the year to lead off the bottom of the fourth, and the Twins were ahead 2-0. Kevin McGonigle had a rough inning in the field, too: a ground ball slipped under his glove, and on a throw in from the outfield which would’ve nabbed a runner at second base, he just straight-up dropped it. But a routine fly ball to left field got the Tigers out of the inning without further damage.

Keaschall led off the fifth by reaching base on an error by Hao-Yu Lee at third base, and he stole second. He drew a pickoff attempt by Jobe (heh) which plunked him, so let’s just say that the defence wasn’t great overall. Clemens walked at the end of a twelve-pitch battle, and Ryan Jeffers followed that with a three-run home run to make it a 5-0 game.

The Tigers got on the board against Bradley with a leadoff no-doubter home run by Lee, going 439 feet into the bullpen to make it a 5-1 game.

Gleyber Torres followed with a sharply-struck single and Colt Keith walked, and you had to wonder, hey, are the Tigers getting something going here? Well, McGonigle flew out to the wall in right field, advancing Torres to third, but alas, Dillon Dingler then hit into a double play and the inning was over. The above clip is, truly, the Tigers’ only highlight of the game.

Jobe’s night was done after five innings, and his final line was 5 IP, 6 H, 5 R (4 ER), 2 BB, 4 K. So, the control was a little better and the stuff looked decent, but those results just weren’t there. The Twins came into tonight’s game tied for the most runs scored in the American League, so they aren’t exactly pushovers.

Yilber Díaz followed, and while he has a lively arm, he apparently has some trouble controlling where that ball might just end up. He walked the leadoff batter, and after nicely fielding a popup, he walked the next two batters to load the bases with one out. Brooks Lee followed and he cleared said bases with a single; he got thrown out trying to stretch it into a double, but as the old saying goes, “That’s like closing the barn door after all the horses have run out.”

Meanwhile, Bradley hummed right along into the seventh, and put the maraschino cherry on top of the sundae by striking out Lee on his final pitch of the night; if you round up, it was a 100 mph four-seam fastball and moving all over the place. Tip your cap.

Díaz carried on into the eighth and served up a solo home run to lead off the inning, making it a 9-1 game. But then he got three straight flyouts, so, hooray, I guess?

That extra run allowed Zach McKinstry to take the mound, and John Peck made his Major League debut as a defensive replacement at third base amongst a flurry of defensive changes. McKinstry gave up some runs, of course, but at that point pretty much nobody cared.

Final score: Twins a lot, Tigers not enough

Numbers and Notes

• As mentioned, Kody Clemens has over twenty home runs. But did you also know he leads the American League with six triples? I sure didn’t know that, either.
• It’s been a while since Spencer Torkelson’s last home run. It was in that Baltimore game near the end of July that we shan’t discuss further.
• On this day in 1886, an earthquake estimated to be about 7.0 on the Richter scale hit Charleston, South Carolina. If you thought to yourself just now, “I don’t think South Carolina is on any major fault lines,” you’re right: but it’s close to a minor fault line in the middle of the North American Plate, and those cracks can definitely produce earthquakes.

Tonight’s game at Fenway Park was capital-B Baseball. Yesterday the Red Sox lost 16-1 to the Yankees in ways that were humiliating in line wit what losing to the Yankees naturally implies, especially around Labor Day. Just over a day later, they won as good a regular season game as you’ll ever seen. It was a 9-8 extra innings walk-off after several comebacks against the Mariners generally but specifically Randy Arozarena, who had a Randy Arozarena Game, and overtook all of Boston’s leads but the last one. The last one came on a Trevor Story single in the bottom of the 10th to end it. Before that, they played the hits: Mickey Gasper went deep again, because of course. Jarren Duran did too, because why not? Payton Tolle hugged a dude!

And yet all these feats were repeatedly and rudely refuted by the M’s, not just Randy but Cal Raleigh, whose sleeves are too short and seemed to have put it out of reach at 8-5 in the 7th:

But no. The Sox would and could not be denied. Story didn’t just have the hit to end it, he had the critical slap in the 8th to bring it within a run. After Aroldis did his thing in the top of the ninth (scare the crap out of us while being objectively impressive but [redacted]) Roman Anthony came out and hit a leadoff triple and scored on a sac to left to tie it. Once the Sox dispatched the top of the 10th and came back up, they moved the fake runner to 3d and the M’s walked ‘em loaded and went to a 3-1 count before this happened:

“Nine-eight in 10.” That’s great stuff, Obie. I can’t lie.

Mariners 8, Red Sox 9

Staying home when you feel sick: Randy Arozarena, +0.49 WPA
Going into the office and infecting your co-workers: George Kirby, -0.32 WPA

Game Thread Comment(s) of the Day

Manny Gonzalez worked four innings in 90-degree heat and humidity Monday night before his vision went blurry behind the plate.

The home plate umpire left the Padres-Reds series opener Aug. 31 at Great American Ball Park with heat exhaustion, MLB umpire supervisor Randy Marsh said. The game stopped for 14 minutes and finished with a three-man crew. MLB said Gonzalez suffered heat illness and was receiving care.

It was 90 degrees with 61% humidity at first pitch in Cincinnati.

As the Reds took the field for the top of the fifth, Gonzalez was in trouble. Third-base umpire Tom Hanahan got to him first. Reds head trainer Sean McQueeney followed, then medical staff from both clubs ran out. Gonzalez sat on the grass while they worked on him.

He walked off with the Reds' assistant trainer Tomas Vera, down to the medical area under the ballpark. He was also dehydrated and his blood pressure was up, according to reports.

Most of the delay was due to equipment change. D.J. Reyburn had been working first base. To call balls and strikes he had to put on the gear for working behind the plate, including his chest protector, mask and metal-toed shoes.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Robert Stock hasn’t found much middle ground in his starts, so his early success Monday night was a good sign for the Mets.

By the time the 36-year-old journeyman’s outing concluded, he had pitched the best game of his major league career, helping the Mets win their latest matchup against a first-place team.

Behind the right-hander’s 5 ¹/₃ scoreless innings, the Mets beat the Rays 3-2 at Tropicana Field.

The series is the Mets’ fourth straight against a division leader (White Sox, Brewers and Astros previously). The Rays began the night with the American League’s best record at 82-54.

Stock was torched for seven runs in his start against the Brewers last week but hardly resembled that pitcher on this night. Stock also had an outing in Pittsburgh last month in which he allowed eight earned runs.

Those two duds explain his 5.88 ERA even though he hasn’t allowed more than one earned run in any of his other four appearances since returning from surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome.

Stock is fighting to remain in the rotation as other options become available. Most notably, Justin Hagenman will be added to start Wednesday, giving Christian Scott extra rest, and Jonah Tong has shown big improvement at Triple-A Syracuse.

The Rays managed only five hits against Stock, who struck out five without walking a batter. The win was his third in a career that has spanned 63 appearances (nine as a starter).

Mark Vientos, fresh off a three-homer game on a minor league rehab assignment, gave the lineup a jolt with a seventh-inning blast in his return from the injured list. Vientos rejoined the roster on the day Luis Robert Jr. was claimed off waivers by the Orioles.

The Mets defense put Stock in peril in the fifth before saving him with the bases loaded: Christopher Morel’s leaping catch on Jonathan Arnada’s shot to left, which ended the inning, kept the shutout intact.

Jonny DeLuca and Richie Palacios each reached on an infield single in the inning. DeLuca’s grounder deflected off Bo Bichette’s glove, and Palacios hit a chopper that Francisco Lindor mishandled. But with the bases loaded, Stock got Taylor Walls to pop out and struck out Yandy Díaz before Morel’s leaping catch allowed him to escape unscathed.

Morel had a big play to conclude the following inning, throwing out Chandler Simpson attempting to stretch a single into a double.

Vientos’ double-play grounder in the fourth gave the Mets a 1-0 lead after Bo Bichette doubled and Carson Benge singled in succession.

In the seventh, Vientos delivered his 12th homer this season before Francisco Alvarez’s RBI single extended the Mets lead to 3-0. Morel and Marcus Semien each singled in the inning.

Liam Hicks and Simpson each stroked an RBI single in the eighth against Daniel Duarte that narrowed the Mets lead to 3-2. Chris Devenski retired Cedric Mullins for the inning’s final out with the tying run at third base. Kodai Senga earned the save with a scoreless ninth.

Ketel Marte apologized for going AWOL and creating days’ worth of drama around the Diamondbacks in his first public comments after all of it went down two weeks ago. 

Marte no-showed a Diamondbacks game in Boston, sending the team scrambling and raising questions about his status, with skipper Torey Lovullo expressing frustration over the lack of communication with his player during the peculiar situation. 

“In that instance, I failed him by not showing up,” Marte told reporters through an interpreter on Monday, according to the Associated Press. “That morning I woke up, my body was in pain and I just couldn’t react. No one made the decision for me. I’m the one who made the decision to not show up.”

The Diamondbacks second baseman also planned on standing in front of his teammates and apologizing to them for everything that has happened with the situation. 

“I’m going to stand in front of my teammates like a man,” Marte said. “I don’t want any of my teammates to go through what I went through that morning.”

Marte told reporters that the decision to skip the game was his and he made it after waking up in significant pain and was frustrated. 

“We’re human, we all commit mistakes,” he said. 

The Diamondbacks had initially put Marte on the restricted list after he failed to show up for the game in Boston but later moved him to the 10-day injured list due to mild left knee inflammation. 

The situation did have some bizarre twists and turns leading up to Monday night. 

Amidst all the confusion surrounding his absence, Marte was spotted gambling at Talking Stick Resort casino near the team’s complex during the ball club’s Aug. 21 game. 

Lovullo told reporters at the time that Marte was “free to do whatever he wants” and defended is player. 

Addressing that moment, Marte said he had been at the casino on his “personal time.”

The Athletics’ losing streak hit four games on Monday night. The team dropped their series opener in Texas against the Rangers 8-1. The starting pitching wasn’t great, the bats were silent against a generational talent, and that all adds up to another loss. The team is now 53-85 going into September. Pain.

Rangers jump on Jump

Lefty Gage Jump got the ball tonight, the 19th of the season for the rookie. The left-hander had an easy 1-2-3 bottom of the first but that was the highlight from his evening.

Texas would score in each of the next four innings, totaling seven runs. Jump clearly did not have his best stuff in this one and it became more evident the longer the game went. He’d ultimately make it to the fifth but was unable to finish that inning, departing with runners on the bases.

• Gage Jump: 4 1/3 IP, 6 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 91 pitches

Not a great night for Jump. Not a lot to say but to try and learn from it and move on. He’s now sporting a 5.15 ERA in his rookie season and a personal goal of his should be to get that number below 5. He’s lined up to take on the Mariners in Seattle this coming weekend.

Bats silent against deGrom

On the other side of the ball, the A’s offense was listless against Texas’ future Hall of Famer Jacob deGrom. Right fielder Lawrence Butler collected a leadoff single in the second but that was literally the entirety of the Athletics’ offense through the first seven innings. deGrom showed why he’s ticketed for Cooperstown when he hangs his cleats up. A vintage performance and you can’t do anything but tip your cap to him.

The final frames

Righty Chris Roycroft came on for Jump and finished the fifth, then proceeded to pitch the sixth and seventh as well before Jose Suarez pitched the eighth and gave up that eighth run. deGrom departed after his seven strong frames and the Texas bullpen did their job. The A’s managed to push across a run in the top of the ninth to break up the shutout thanks to a pair of hits and an Darell Heraniz sac fly, but that was it for the A’s.

Not a good night in any facet. Jump did not look like he had his best stuff and got knocked around again. The offense managed one hit for the first eight innings before pushing across a meaningless run in the ninth. That’s not going to cut it against a team that’s in playoff contention and has more motivation to win. September can not come soon enough.

The series continues tomorrow night, same time same place. For the A’s, it’s still technically up in the air. The team doesn’t have a scheduled starter and it would be J.T. Ginn’s turn up in the rotation. He’s already far exceeded his career high in innings pitched though and the team is skipping him this time around:

No word yet on who will take his spot.

The Rangers on the other hand know exactly who is getting the start in the middle game of the series. That’ll be lefty MacKenzie Gore, a high-upside southpaw who has had his ups and downs in his first year pitching in Texas. This’ll be his fourth start of the year against the A’s; he’s 1-1 and has allowed eight runs in 15 1/3 frames.

The Mets scratched out a 3-2 win over the AL-leading Tampa Bay Rays in their series opener on Monday night.

Here are the takeaways...

-- Making the most out of his opportunity with New York this season, Robert Stock put together the best start of his career against the Rays, recording his first major league win since 2019 and his first win ever as a starting pitcher.

The 36-year-old, able to flip the switch after a terrible start against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citi Field in which he allowed seven earned runs on 10 hits in four innings his last time out, was at the top of his game and managed to shut out the team with the best record in the AL for 5.1 innings.

-- As if that wasn’t impressive enough, it was also the first time Stock has thrown a pitch in the sixth inning as a starter. Of course, the right-hander has only made nine starts in his career (six of them coming this year), but if it wasn’t for interim manager Andy Green taking him out after just 72 pitches (50 strikes), Stock could’ve been out there even longer.

-- The excellent outing by the right-hander also came in the midst of a low-scoring affair with New York clinging to a 1-0 lead. Stock was put to the test in the fifth inning when a fly ball single and a ball deflected off of Bo Bichette’s glove at third put the first two batters on. Stock’s unlucky streak in the inning continued when Francisco Lindor, who made a nice play to end the third inning, couldn’t come up with an easy ground ball tailor made for a double play which loaded the bases with nobody out. 

-- But Stock didn’t flinch at all and kept going, getting a pop out and a strikeout for the first two outs of the frame. With a chance for the right-hander to exit the inning unharmed, Jonathan Aranda lined a ball to left field that had trouble written all over it, but the former Ray Christopher Morel, not known for his glove, made a beautiful leaping grab to end the inning and save three runs. Morel made another great play in the sixth with an outfield assist at second base.

-- For good measure, Stock went back out for the sixth and struck out home-run hitter Junior Caminero as the icing on the cake of a well-deserved outing which lowered his season ERA to 5.88. 

-- Offensively, the Mets didn’t have much luck in the beginning against Rays starter Ian Seymour who struck out seven batters his first time through the lineup. New York was able to put runners on first and third with nobody out in the fourth thanks to a leadoff double by Bichette and a single by Carson Benge and eventually pushed across a run on Mark Vientos’ double play. 

-- That was it for the Mets until the seventh inning when Vientos, in his first game back from the IL, led off with a solo home run off Seymour to double the team’s lead. The home run was Vientos’ 12th of the year and came after he hit three in his final rehab game for Triple-A.

A single later in the inning by Morel chased Seymour out of the game and brought in Casey Legumina who Marcus Semien greeted with a pop fly single that landed in no-man’s land. Francisco Alvarez came through with an RBI single two batters later which gave New York a 3-0 lead. 

-- Daniel Duarte gave both of those runs back in the eighth with his third straight appearance in which he’s been scored upon after nine straight scoreless appearances and a superb showing as the eighth inning guy.

-- Kodai Senga then came in for the save in the ninth of a one-run game and shut the door for Stock and the Mets, earning his fifth save in five tries.

-- Every single starter in the lineup had at least one hit, except for Lindor who went 0-for-4 from the leadoff spot. A.J. Ewing had two hits.

Game MVP: Robert Stock

The veteran journeyman recorded his first win in seven years.

He's here, he's there, he's everywhere!

Francisco Lindor makes the play! pic.twitter.com/QIUt8JTM7I

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 31, 2026

The Mets score a run as Mark Vientos grounds into a double play pic.twitter.com/uEXE5BZrii

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 31, 2026

Christopher Morel makes the leaping catch to get the Mets out of trouble in the 5th! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/5qxbaGQF7P

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 31, 2026

Robert Stock caps off 5.1 scoreless innings by striking out Junior Caminero! pic.twitter.com/BD7F59vD0q

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 1, 2026

Christopher Morel throws out Chandler Simpson at second! pic.twitter.com/fVGjZN5D6I

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 1, 2026

WELCOME BACK, MARK VIENTOS!

He returns to the lineup with a home run! pic.twitter.com/2ix2OKDjLV

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 1, 2026

Francisco Alvarez goes the other way to make it 3-0 Mets! pic.twitter.com/BOwVhfAUtW

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 1, 2026

What's next

The Mets and Rays continue their three-game series on Tuesday night with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 p.m. on SNY.

LHP Sean Manaea (4-6, 4.55 ERA) takes the mound for New York and will be opposed by former Met RHP Freddy Peralta (6-11, 5.11 ERA).