Category: MLB

I’m getting this together ahead of time in case I’m not back for game time.

Vlad is back in the lineup, as is Jesus Sanchez who is back along with Braydon Fisher. Lips and Macko are back in Buffalo

After getting out of the gates after the All-Star break with a strong road trip that saw four wins in six games, the White Sox started to falter. Losing four of five to the Houston Astros and New York Yankees, it looked as if the South Siders were starting to wilt under the pressure. Out of nowhere, the White Sox pulled two miraculous wins in extra innings out of their hat, and found a way to split the series with the Yankees.

Those two wins were absolutely critical and may turn out to be the difference in a tight AL Central that Chicago currently leads by two games. Unfortunately, their work is far from over as they now face off against the best team in the American League, the Tampa Bay Rays.

Just like they have for most of the past decade, the Rays have been one of the more underrated and underappreciated teams in the majors and will pose a real test for the White Sox. While the Rays don’t have an especially potent offense or pitching staff, they do have a 40-16 record at home — by far, the best in baseball. They will look to improve upon this year’s success at Tropicana Field when they throw out Nick Martinez to start tonight’s game.

Much like the Rays, Nick Martinez has flown under the radar this year and there should be much more noise surrounding his Cy Young candidacy. Martinez comes into Friday’s game with a 10-2 record and 2.45 ERA, good for second in the American League and fifth in all of baseball. With just three starts in which he’s allowed more than two earned runs, and never allowing more than three all year, the best way to attack Martinez in his current form is to find a way to elevate his pitch count and get him out of the game as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, that’s incredibly hard to do when Martinez is in the upper echelon of pitchers when it comes to allowing walks, with just 20 in 20 starts this year. He also limits hard-hit balls and is methodical as a pitcher. The one saving grace for the White Sox is that Martinez struggles to strike batters out, totaling just 67 in more than 117 innings of work.

As for the White Sox, it’s another “Fedde Friday”, as Erick Fedde takes the hill. While he hasn’t been great this season, he’s been exactly what you’d expect from a pitcher at the tail end of the rotation. Even his 5-6 record and 4.25 ERA don’t tell the whole story, as Fedde sports a 3-1 record and an ERA of 3.73 over his last seven starts.

To be quite honest, Fedde’s stuff isn’t anything to write home about. He’s been more than serviceable as a fifth starter, but it’s clear the Rays have the edge on the mound tonight. With that in mind, all Fedde needs to do is keep Chicago in the ball game and hope they can find the same late success as they have in their last two games. Although Chicago’s bullpen isn’t exactly the best, either, a battle between the bullpens is their best bet at taking the first game of this series.

Here are the starting lineup for the Chicago White Sox:

Here are the starting lineup for the Tampa Bay Rays:

First pitch is 6:10 p.m. CST. You can watch on CHSN or listen on ESPN Chicago 1000. Let us know your thoughts and predictions below!

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Brewers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

In this week’s Reacts survey, we asked fans how they’d like to see the Brewers handle Jacob Misiorowski’s workload down the stretch.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, nearly half of fans (47%) said the Brewers should be setting strict pitch counts and limits, while 38% said the team should spread his starts out more. The final 15% voted for the team to continue pitching him every fifth day as normal.

Misiorowski has already tossed 120 innings across 20 starts this season, putting him very close to his previous career-high of 141 1/3 innings reached last year (between Triple-A and MLB). The team has already started to pull back a bit on Misiorowski, as he’s been spaced out a bit between starts and had his pitch counts limited, with just 83 pitches on Sunday and 65 pitches in his previous start.

With the trade deadline on tap, it seems likely the Brewers will look to add another starter, and adding one would solve two problems at once — give some relief to Misiorowski, and add general depth to the rotation with two-plus months to go. Who would you like to see the team go after to help out?

Thanks for continuing to participate in these polls, and be sure to visit FanDuel Sportsbook for all of your sports betting needs.

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Brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.

After Freddy Peralta was scratched from tonight’s start due to increased trade interest (per manager Andy Green), Kodai Senga was named tonight’s starting pitcher against the Marlins.

Senga hasn’t started a game in over a month, and has exactly one (1) appearance with no earned runs either as a starter or reliever. His 8.85 ERA is a far cry from his stellar 2023 campaign or the start of 2025 before an errant throw landed him on the Injured List. With the expected departure of Peralta, Senga will likely get a few more opportunities to show that he’s got something left in the tank before he enters the fifth year of his contract next season.

Senga will be squaring off against Janson Junk for Miami tonight at Citi Field.

There is still no news regarding Peralta’s landing spot, but there are reportedly many teams involved, including the White Sox, Braves, and Phillies.

Ahead of the game, Cionel Pérez was placed on the 15-day IL, retroactive to July 30, with a left forearm strain. To replace both he and the traded A.J. Minter on the active roster, the Mets have recalled right-handed pitchers Jonathan Pintaro and Xzavion Curry from Triple-A Syracuse.

Happy Friday, everyone! It’s a warm evening in Baltimore as the Orioles and Phillies kick off a big series in what will surely be a rocking crowd filled with both Orioles and Phillies fans.

But first, some news if you missed it. The Orioles have announced that they signed Yennier Cano to a two-year contract extension with a club option for 2029. Those two years are his arbitration years, so this isn’t a big move. Good for them, I guess. The Orioles are weird. Anyway, on to tonight’s game.

Brandon Young is on the mound for the Orioles, sporting a sharp 3.13 ERA. The Orioles are 14-3 in games started by Young this year, which might make him the most valuable player on the team.

For the Phillies, it’ll be righty Andrew Painter on the mound. Painter is a 23-year-old rookie who was Philly’s top prospect coming into the season. He made the team out of spring training and made 12 starts and two relief appearances before he was demoted to Triple-A. His first go-round in the big leagues did not go so well, with a 7.06 ERA and 1.662 WHIP in 14 games. He was sent to the minors on June 17th and has made five starts with a 4.56 ERA. That doesn’t sound great, but he had four very good starts and one very bad one.

If Painter shuts down the Orioles, I know everyone in the comments will register their displeasure about how they rolled over for a guy with a 7 ERA. And while they technically wouldn’t be wrong, it’s worth keeping in mind that Painter is a recent top prospect with just 14 MLB games who was performing better in Triple-A. I would prefer, however, that the Orioles light him up like a Christmas tree and render this entire conversation moot.

The Orioles lineup is your typical vs righties lineup of late, however you choose to feel about that. Coby Mayo is in against the right-handed pitcher, which is fine with me. He has done better against them of late and it’s worth seeing if that’s real, in my opinion.

The Phillies lineup might be filled with aging guys, but it still has a lot of street cred.

Orioles lineup

Dylan Beavers (L) LF
Pete Alonso (R) 1B
Gunnar Henderson (L) SS
Taylor Ward (R) DH
Leody Taveras (S) RF
Jackson Holliday (L) 2B
Coby Mayo (R) 3B
Colton Cowser (L) CF
Yohel Pozo (R) C

Phillies lineup

Trea Turner (R) SS
Kyle Schwarber (L) DH
Bryce Harper (L) 1B
Alec Bohm (R) 3B
Brandon Marsh (L) LF
J.T. Realmuto (R) C
Bryson Stott (L) 2B
Gabriel Rincones Jr. (L) RF
Justin Crawford (L) CF

Let’s go O’s!

I was originally going to post this as a reply to DbacksEurope’s comment on the Place Your Bets thread, but I ended up rambling on a bit, so figured I should write it up here instead. Basically, the core was “Thank you AZSnakePit for reminding me that I am terrible in gambling.” Me, too. I don’t do it often, and when I do, expect to lose whatever I wager. It’s the price you pay for the entertainment, like buying a ticket to a baseball game or a movie. Indeed, I think gambling and watching sports are similar endeavors: you’re mostly watching things over which you have no control, and hoping for a particular outcome to take place. The uncertainty is the thrill.

However, personally, there’s a very large social aspect to both. If I gamble, it’s typically along with Mrs. SnakePit. We’ll sit beside each other at a slot machine, taking turns and agonizing over the spin of every reel, celebrating or commiserating as appropriate. Sitting by myself, pushing the button, just isn’t anywhere near as much fun. And the same goes, I find, for watching sports. I go to games with other people. If I’m at home and watching, I’m inevitably on the ‘Pit as well. I can’t remember the last time I watched any sporting event “in isolation”. I know some people watch other teams and game, but me? I’ll just wait for the highlights.

This is not to say there’s a “right” or “wrong” way, of course. But I think that sports and gambling are perhaps tied closer to each other than we’d like to think, in terms of the endorphins they release in our brains. And that may partly be why we now have MLB openly and blatantly touting for these companies. But remember, folks! Any player who gambles threatens the very fabric of baseball! We’ll have more on the topic, after this word from our latest sponsor, Kalshi. “It’s not gambling, it’s a prediction market”.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled Gameday Thread. 🙂 I’ll also embed the Confidence Poll today and tomorrow, in case anyone hasn’t yet voted, what with it being an off-day yesterday!

Mets Lineup

1. A.J. Ewing – LF
2. Francisco Lindor – SS
3. Bo Bichette – 3B
4. Carson Benge – RF
5. Luis Robert – CF
6. Jared Young – 1B
7. Brett Baty – 2B
8. Jorge Polanco – DH
9. Francisco Alvarez – C

SP: Kodai Senga – RHP

Marlins Lineup

1. Liam Hicks – DH
2. Xavier Edwards – 2B
3. Otto Lopez – SS
4. Kyle Stowers – 1B
5. Griffin Conine – RF
6. Heriberto Hernandez – LF
7. Jakob Marsee – CF
8. Joe Mack – C
9. Javier Sanoja – 3B

SP: Janson Junk – RHP

Broadcast Info

First pitch: 7:10 PM ET
TV: WPIX
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

Ohtani.

Freeman.

Mookie.

Yamamoto.

…Kiké?

Legends all. And the Red Sox will be facing the best team in baseball for a weekend. Just over a month ago this was a dreaded series. The Dodgers were going to crush the last place Red Sox like an egg. Until the Sox caught fire. As essentially the hottest team in the game, will the series go differently?

The Dodgers are 69-40 vs the Sox 57-51. There’s a bit of a gap. They’ve scored 562 runs and allowed 402. The Sox, with their elite pitching and defense, have scored 454 and allowed 404. So, you know, they’re hanging around. This will be the biggest challenge for the Sox so far. As it is for essentially the other 29 teams that aren’t the Dodgers.

Ranger Suarez is back for his second start off the IL. The last time back he looked just about as sharp as expected. He was only out for 4.0 innings so expect maybe 5.0 or 6.0 in start number 2. Edgardo Henriquez gets the start as an opener. A righty, he’s actually finished 6 games and started none until Friday. So it’s his first career start. He’s striking out about a batter per inning and has a large platoon split: .348 OPS against righties and .770 against lefties. With Wilyer Abreu’s reverse splits, this could be a fun first inning.

Payton Tolle is entering some uncharted territory in innings these days and might start to have a little bit of a leash to keep that total down a tad. Will it finally be the piggyback with Brayan Bello we keep hearing about? He’s facing one of the best pitchers on the planet in Yamamoto. The Dodgers ace was hit hard a few weeks ago against the Diamondbacks (6 runs, 6.0 innings) but followed that up with a complete game against the Yankees. He’s never faced the Red Sox.

Jake Bennett last pitched in a minor league park with a few thousand fans and now faces the juggernaut Dodgers in a packed house for Sunday Night Baseball. There hasn’t been a challenge he didn’t face well this season. Emmet Sheehan is a Boston College product out of Connecticut. He strikes out out at a good clip (26.3%) but has been hit hard. Opposing batters are slashing .245/.311/.462 against the righty.

The ageless Freddie Freeman leads the league in doubles with 27 and is slashing .301/.379/.485.

Ohtani “only” has 23 home runs this year and has stolen just 6 bases. He’s dealing with some knee soreness so this may be the best weekend to face him.

Mookie is struggling this season and in July. He had a good June but in July has a .584 OPS.

Kyle Tucker looks like a bust so far. Glad the Sox dodged that bullet!

Max Muncy is chugging along at .253/.347/.497 with 21 homers.

Coming off a 3-1 series against the Athletics helps Boston avoid a really bad road trip but this is an elite team and we’ll see how the race to the deadline goes.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Friday, July 31: Ranger Suarez (3.02 ERA / 2.50 FIP) vs. Edgardo Henriquez (2.79 ERA / 3.05 FIP)

Saturday, August 1: Payton Tolle (3,32 ERA / 3.39 is FIP) vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2.72 ERA / 3.31 FIP)

Sunday, August 2: Jake Bennett (2.74 ERA / 3.28 FIP) vs. Emmet Sheehan (4.95 ERA / 4.41 FIP)

When/Where to Watch

Friday, July 31: 10:10 PM ET on NESN

Saturday, August 1: 9:10 PM ET on NESN

Sunday, August 2: 7:20 PM ET on NBC/Peacock

The Cincinnati Reds will look to keep the good vibes rolling after yesterday’s walk-of win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the opener of this weekend’s four game series in Great American Ball Park.

On paper, the pitching matchup is about as delicious as one can be. Pirates ace Paul Skenes will start for Pittsburgh while Cincinnati will lean on Hunter Greene, who’s seen his name pop up in a litany of trade rumors so far with Monday’s deadline right around the corner.

(For the record, the most recent ‘rumor’ is that the Reds are planning to hold on to him, but who knows if a) that’s credible or b) if that’s merely a bargaining tactic.)

Ke’Bryan Hayes remains on the bench to start, thankfully, as does TJ Friedl. However, that means that Noelvi Marte is still in the lineup despite his struggles, so you get to pick your poison these days when it comes to the banged-up Reds offense.

First pitch is set for an early 6:10 PM ET start. Here’s how both clubs will line up for first pitch:

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Cincinnati Reds, July 31, 2026, 6:10 p.m. ET

The Pittsburgh Pirates are back in action against the Cincinnati Reds for the second game of their four-game weekend set at Great American Ball Park.

This game marks the 23rd start of the season for Pirates ace Paul Skenes. He is coming off a tough matchup in his last start on July 25 against the Chicago Cubs. He pitched 5.1 innings, giving up six hits and five earned runs in an 11-0 loss at home. The silver lining from his start is that he struck out 11 batters, so he hopes to bring that same swing-and-miss stuff against the Reds.

This marks Skenes’ third start this season against the Reds. He picked up a win on April 1 on the road when he pitched five innings, giving up three hits and one earned run, but got the no decision on June 26 at home when he pitched five innings, giving up six hits and four earned runs.

Hunter Greene is making his fifth start of the season after missing most of the year with an injury. He lost his last start on July 25 on the road against the St. Louis Cardinals, giving up eight hits and six earned runs in 5.1 innings.

Location: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, OH

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet Pittsburgh

Pitching Matchup: Paul Skenes (9-9, 3.65 ERA) vs. Hunter Greene (2-2, 7.06 ERA)

BD community, this is your gameday thread for today. Chime off in the comments section below.

The Yankees entered this game with 48-percent of their runs scored via the home run, which is third-highest in the majors. The Cubs entered this game with 51-percent of their runs surrendered coming via the home run, which is the highest in the majors. Those two facts plus the soft-tossing lefty Shota Imanaga combined to wake the Yankees bats up just enough, Amed Rosario and Spencer Jones crushing a pair of solo home runs to account for all the scoring in this contest. Will Warren rebounded from his worst start of the season to post his best start of the season en route to a 2-0 win in the opener over the Cubs.

The Yankees struck out ten times in six innings against White Sox starter Sean Burke on Thursday and that swing-and-miss followed them from the South Side to Wrigley. Ben Rice and Rosario struck out in the first, Jasson Domínguez and Anthony Volpe in the second, and Jones in the third as Imanaga retired the first 11 batters he faced. Fortunately, Warren picked a good day for a bounce-back start and was largely able to match Imanaga whiff for whiff. He struck out Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner to end the third, and then punched out Micheal Conforto, Dansby Swanson, and Pete Crow-Armstrong in the third to navigate around a Miguel Amaya double.

Imanaga made it two outs into the fourth before throwing his first mistake, and boy did it travel a long distance. Rosario pounced on a get-me-over 1-0 sweeper and launched it 450 feet just left of center for the game’s opening run. Initially brought back to platoon with Ryan McMahon at third, Rosario has actually been way worse against lefties (75 wRC+) than against righties (133 wRC+), so it was nice to see him finally put a charge into a mistake from a southpaw.

Imanaga made his second mistake in the fifth and that too was sent a long way.

Spencer Jones was handed a rare start against a lefty with Jazz Chisholm Jr. out of the lineup after departing Thursday’s game in the 11th with cramps, which opened a spot in right as José Caballero filled in at second. The 2022 first-round pick repaid that trust by crushing a middle-middle 0-1 sinker from Imanaga on a frozen rope into the seats in right, the ball leaving his bat at 109 mph and traveling 418 feet. It’s his second homer in his last three games and his first in The Show off a lefty.

Jones looks way more like he belongs at this level since his second call-up on June 5th and now has an OPS above .800 in this 27-game stretch.

Warren entered cruise control in the middle innings, retiring 12 consecutive batters, starting with the PCA punchout to end the third. He encountered his first spot of bother in the seventh, yielding back-to-back two-out singles to Alex Bregman and Happ. Despite his pitch count sitting at just 88, it was refreshing to see the urgency from Aaron Boone being proactive and retrieving his starter rather than risk the inning spiraling as is frequently the case when multiple runners reach against Warren. Paul Blackburn came on for the final out and induced a routine grounder from Hoerner that Volpe still almost turned into disaster, his nonchalance on the simple flip to second sailing high and pulling Caballero off the bag.

Umpires initially ruled Happ safe at second to load the bases, but the Yankees’ challenge fortunately overturned the call in a jiffy, ending the inning since Caballero got his foot down just in time.

Warren entered today’s outing with a 6.57 ERA in his previous eight starts with the bulk of his struggles coming when facing lefties, pitching out of the stretch, and facing the lineup for a third time. You worried that with five lefties in the lineup and the second best OBP (.340) in the majors, the Cubs would pose a particular threat for Warren, but he completely switched up his pitch mix today to excellent effect.

Entering today, Warren threw his four-seamer 38.1-percent of the time, sinker 27.6-percent of the time, changeup 10.8-percent of the time, and curveball a measly four-percent of the time. That got turned on its head today, Warren throwing 27-percent changeups, 26-percent four-seamers, 16-percent curveballs, and just eight-percent sinkers. Most encouraging was the uptick in changeups and curveballs, those two pitches the two most platoon-neutral offerings in his arsenal and therefore seemingly the obvious solutions to his struggles against lefties. Imanaga made it two outs into the seventh with just the two runs allowed, more than qualifying for a quality start, but Warren was simply the superior pitcher on the day, departing after 6.2 scoreless innings allowing four hits and no walks with seven strikeouts on 88 pitches.

Where there's a Will, there's a way. #RepBX | @warrenwilliam07pic.twitter.com/8ZhNWTKqbR

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 31, 2026

The Yankees created one final scoring opportunity in the eighth, Jones and pinch-hitter Austin Wells drawing a pair of walks to open the frame. However, Caballero bunted into a force out and Paul Goldschmidt and Rice struck out to strand them in place. Blackburn stayed in for the bottom of the eighth and struck out the side, all on absolutely filthy changeups, while David Bednar navigated around a Pedro Ramírez single to lock down the save and win, 2-0, in the ninth.

Paul Blackburn, K'ing the Side with Changeups. ⚔️⚔️ pic.twitter.com/7BhVW3xk6M

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 31, 2026

Once again, the pitching carried the day for the Yankees, the offense managing just four hits. Nonetheless, it’s just the start the Yankees needed in the final series of the road trip. Max Fried will look to keep the momentum rolling tomorrow night against David Peterson in a battle of southpaws. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 pm ET with the broadcast moving to FOX.

Box Score

Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:

📍Baltimore#RingTheBellpic.twitter.com/rhNURVVqda

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 31, 2026

For the Orioles:

In our Friday fits.

🕖 7:05 PM
📺 @masnOrioles & MASN+
📻 98 Rock 97.9 FM & WBAL 1090 AM pic.twitter.com/7Wtuz0WbD4

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) July 31, 2026

Let’s talk about it.

A watched stove eventually gets hot, folks. Join us in scratch/hug watch and other trade deadline speculation here as we approach Monday, August 3 at 6 pm ET.

In the meantime, here are some updates coming out of Truist Park per Mark Bowman.

Spencer Schwellenbach

Spencer Schwellenbach is with the team in Cobb County today to throw bullpens as he ramps up baseball activities. Bowman also is reporting that Schwelly is aiming to contribute to the big league club this season.

Schwellenbach is here to throw a couple bullpens in front of the coaching staff. He may be cleared to face hitters within the next week or two. Still a lot of hurdles to clear. But he remains hopeful he will be available to pitch at some point in September.

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) July 31, 2026

For context, the recently-returned (and then optioned) AJ Smith-Shawver was throwing bullpens on June 3 ahead of being cleared to face live hitters. He began his rehab assignment on June 30 and activated a month later on July 29 as the 27th man for Game 1 of the doubleheader versus the Mets.

Assuming everything progresses as it should, that does track toward a September return for Schwellenbach after his bone spur removal from his pitching elbow in mid-February 2026. Since we do not yet have the technology to just clone Chris Sale, having Schwelly back (that picks back up where he left off in 2025) would obviously be a huge boost to a rotation hoping to make a deep run in October.

Hurston Waldrep

Speaking of other arms that have made their way back up to the big league club, there’s still no major update on Hurston Waldrep, who hit the Triple-A injured list on July 21. He’s still being evaluated, which doesn’t bode well for the rest of 2025. He pitched 10.2 innings in three games with the Braves this year with an 8.44 ERA.

Weiss said Hurston Waldrep is still being evaluated and getting multiple opinions. The assumption over the past couple weeks has been he’s done for the season. So, the update will likely just provide a sense of when he could pitch again in the future.

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) July 31, 2026

Ha-Seong Kim

The rehab assignment clock will tick down to 0 tomorrow for infielder Ha-Seong Kim. It looks like the Braves value Jim Jarvis for his valuable defense and decent production at the bottom of the lineup in his 23 games played. We’ll see if Jorge Mateo is a casualty to make room for Kim’s return.

Ha-Seong Kim’s rehab assignment will expire tomorrow. When asked if they have discussed what Kim’s role might be, Walt Weiss made it a point to say how well Jarvis playing, especially defensively. My guess is Jarvis remains the SS, regardless of whether Kim stays in the…

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) July 31, 2026

The Yankees defeated the Chicago Cubs 2-0 in Friday's series opener at Wrigley Field. 

Here are some takeaways...

-- With their bullpen completely gassed, the Yankees needed Will Warren to step up in a big way, and the young right-hander was more than up for the task. Warren efficiently and effectively cruised his way through the Cubs lineup, mowing them down across 6.2 spectacular innings of work. 

Warren faced the minimum over the first few frames, as he quickly erased a one-out single with a double play in the first, then struck out four of the next six batters he faced before allowing a two-out double in the third, which was also pushed aside by a strikeout of Pete Crow-Armstrong.

The youngster continued to cruise, working with a lead for the first time, retiring the next 12 Cubs before giving up back-to-back two-out singles. Paul Blackburn came on in relief and got a replay-confirmed groundout to short to close Warren's book without any damage on his line.  

The 27-year-old allowed just four hits while striking out seven over 6.2 scoreless frames.  

-- Chicago starter Shota Imanaga did a good job of matching Warren's effort in the early going, but the Yanks got to him in the middle innings. After the lefty retired the first nine hitters he faced, including five strikeouts, Amed Rosario opened the scoring with a two-out solo homer in the fourth. 

-- Spencer Jones followed that up with a solo shot of his own an inning later, doubling the slim advantage. The young slugger had gotten off to a bit of a slow start at the plate in his return to the big league level, but he's now homered in two of his last three games. 

-- New York managed just two other baserunners against Imanaga across his 6.2 innings. 

-- The Yanks had an opportunity to tack on some big insurance runs after working a pair of walks against Chicago's bullpen leading off the eighth, but a botched bunt attempt and back-to-back strikeouts against the top of the order stranded them there. 

-- Blackburn struck out the side in the eighth after getting the big out to close the seventh, then David Bednar retired the top of the Cubs' order around a one-out single to close out the victory with his 23rd save of the season. 

-- Aaron Boone elected to keep Jazz Chisholm Jr. out of New York's lineup as a precaution after the slugging second baseman left Thursday's loss early due to cramping in his leg, but he was fully active and available off the bench.

Game MVP: Will Warren

The youngster was tremendous, shaking off his struggles on the mound of late. 

Highlights

Amed Rosario LONG gone! pic.twitter.com/OYXKTZVk6w

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) July 31, 2026

Spencer Jones goes yard! 💥 pic.twitter.com/BZarz9fylQ

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) July 31, 2026

What's next

Max Fried (4-3, 2.23 ERA) takes the ball against David Peterson (6-7, 5.80 ERA) as the Yanks and Cubs continue their weekend set on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. on FOX.