Category: MLB

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

The Detroit Tigers are priced as slim 52% moneyline favorites when they visit the Minnesota Twins tonight for an important American League Central clash. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. ET at Target Field. 

Detroit's offense has been atrocious lately, so my Tigers vs Twins predictions comfortably back Minnesota to grab another win after blowing out its divisional rivals on Monday. 

Read more in my MLB picks for Tuesday, Sept. 1. 

Who will win Tigers vs Twins today: Twins (49%)

For help understanding probabilities, see our odds calculator.

This will be a bullpen game for the Minnesota Twins, but that is not necessarily a negative. Andrew Morris has posted a 3.01 xERA over the last month across 11 relief appearances, and Minnesota’s bullpen owns a 3.85 FIP over the last week with minimal home run damage.

The biggest factor is the Detroit Tigers’ offensive collapse. Detroit has a 27 wRC+ over its previous six games and has scored just nine runs during that span.

Troy Melton is having a good season, but he has been more vulnerable lately, posting a 6.33 xERA over his last two outings while allowing 1.42 HR/9.

With the Twins carrying a 110 wRC+ recently, Minnesota has the clear edge.

Play this pick up to 55%.

COVERS INTEL: The Twins' bullpen has allowed only a 2.3% barrel rate in its last 15 2/3 innings. That's substantially better than their season average of 6.5.

Tigers vs Twins Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (49%)

With Detroit unable to score runs lately, the Under 8.5 presents value.

The Twins’ bullpen is holding its own, and its ability to limit hard contact and avoid major homer damage should prove key against the Tigers.

Detroit’s relief corps has also allowed just 0.82 HR/9 over the last week while posting a 4.10 xERA. That is not elite, but it is stable enough to support this angle.

This would require the Twins to do most of the scoring to push the Over, and I’m more comfortable with the idea of a lower-scoring contest at Target Field.

Play this pick up to 60%.

Tigers vs Twins home run prediction: Kody Clemens (19%)

Kody Clemens has been smacking baseballs over the last week, posting a 60% hard-hit rate and 13.3% barrel rate. During that span, he has clubbed two home runs while consistently putting the ball in the air, carrying a 66.7% fly-ball rate over his previous six contests.

That is notable against Melton amid his issues with the long ball, and the Tigers’ bullpen has also been vulnerable to air contact, posting a 44.7% fly-ball rate over the last week.

After homering Monday, Clemens has multiple paths to going deep again tonight.

Play this pick up to 25%.

Tigers vs Twins market report

Here is how the trading volume is coming in for Tigers vs. Twins tonight at Polymarket:

Tigers vs Twins weather

Weather at Target Field looks warm and clean tonight, with partly cloudy skies and temperatures falling from 86°F to 78°F. Winds are light around 3–6 mph, and rain chances stay low at 2–11%. No major delay concern, and the warm air could slightly help carry.

Tigers vs Twins odds

• Moneyline: Tigers 52% | Twins 49%
• Run line: Tigers -1.5 (40%) | Twins +1.5 (61%)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (52%) | Under 8.5 (49%)

Tigers vs Twins trend

The Detroit Tigers have hit the game total Under in 10 of their last 12 games (+7.80 Units / 59% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Tigers vs. Twins.

How to watch Tigers vs Twins and game info

Tigers vs Twins latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The Mets (62-76) continue their three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays (82-55) on Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. on SNY.

Here's what to know about the game and how to watch...

Mets Notes

• Sean Manaea looks to bounce back after a rough stretch on the mound, having allowed 14 earned runs in his last three starts (18.0 IP)
• Freddy Peralta makes his first start against his former team as he's gone 1-2 with a 5.60 ERA over five starts with Tampa Bay
• A.J. Ewing went 2-for-4 in Monday's series-opening win, giving him his first multi-hit game since Aug. 7

Today's Lineups

What channel is SNY?

Check your TV or streaming provider's website or channel finder to find your local listings.

How can I stream the game?

The way to stream SNY games is via the MLB App or MLB.tv.

In order to stream games in SNY’s regional territory, you will need to have SNY as part of your TV package (cable or streaming), or you can now purchase an in-market SNY subscription package via MLB or Amazon. Both ways will allow fans to watch the Mets on their computer, tablet or mobile phone.

How can I watch the game on my computer via MLB?

To get started on your computer, click here and then follow these steps:

• Log in using your provider credentials. If you are unsure of your provider credentials, please contact your provider.

• Link your provider credentials with a new or existing MLB.com account.

• Log in using your MLB.com credentials to watch Mets games on SNY.

• Select the SNY Mets game you wish to view from the Multimedia Center.

How can I watch the game on the MLB App?

MLB App access is included for FREE with SNY. To access SNY on your favorite supported Apple or Android mobile device, please follow the steps below.

• Download the free MLB App.

• Open “MLB” and tap on “Subscriber Login” for Apple Devices or “Sign in with MLB.com” for Android Devices.

• Type in your MLB.com credentials and tap “Log In.” 

• To access live or on-demand content, tap on the "Watch" tab from the bottom navigation bar. Select the "Games" sub-tab to see a listing of available games. You can scroll to previous dates using the left and right arrows. Tap on a game to select from the game feeds available. 

For more information on how to stream Mets games on SNY, please click here.

Meet the Mets

Robert Stock turned in the best start his career to help the Mets get past the Rays 3-2. Mark Vientos homered in his first game back from the injured list, and the Mets held on after building a three-run lead.

Choose Your Recap: Amazin’ Avenue, NY Post, Newsday, ESPN

The Orioles claimed Luis Robert Jr. off waivers from the Mets.

The Mets activated Mark Vientos off the 10-day IL to take Robert’s spot on the roster.

Justin Hagenman will pitch on Wednesday, giving Christian Scott an extra day of rest before his next start.

Devin Williams reflected on his first season with the Mets, saying it has been ‘all over the place’.

Nick Morabito is expected to be activated when rosters expand today.

Freddy Peralta, who starts tonight, looked back at his Mets’ tenure, saying it was the first time in his career he had really struggled like that.

The Mets gifted tennis star Daniil Medvedev 300 pieces of gum after his viral moment at the US Open.

Jonah Tong was named the Syracuse Mets’ Player of the Month for August.

Around the National League East

The Phillies narrowly edged the Diamondbacks 2-1 as Philadelphia ended a hot August with an all-around win.

Paul Casella looked at the Phillies’ postseason outlook heading into the stretch run.

The Phillies sent Tommy Pham to the White Sox.

Mark Bowman wondered whether this could be Chris Sale’s best season.

The Braves fell 7-3 to the Giants in a makeup game. After the game, Dylan Lee said he believes he’s tipping pitches, which might explain his second half woes for Atlanta.

The Nationals doubled up the Marlins 6-3. Daylen Lile, who was named NL Player of the Week, hit two home runs in the victory.

Around Major League Baseball

The Brewers continued to reign supreme in the latest MLB Power Rankings.

Anthony Castrovince explored 10 records that define Major League Baseball.

There may not be much at stake for the Mets in September, but there’s a lot at stake in general for the rest of the league.

The playoff picture is beginning to take shape as we enter September.

Sarah Langs looked at what it means to be in first place entering September.

In addition to adding Tommy Pham, the White Sox acquired Jake Cave from the Rays.

The Red Sox placed Willson Contreras on the IL with a hamstring strain.

One of Boston’s broadcasters apologized for comments he made about the Yankees on a recent broadcast, saying they ‘crossed a line’.

In his return to Chase Field, Ketel Marte spoke to the media about his recent absence and said he plans to address his teammates.

Rafael Devers hit his 30th home run of the year to help guide San Francisco past the Braves.

The Padres blanked the Reds 5-0.

The Red Sox came back to beat the Mariners 9-8 in 10 innings. Roman Anthony and Trevor Story returned to the lineup with a bang in the win.

The Orioles beat the Rockies 2-1 to improve their record to 69-69, the first time they’ve been .500 this year since April, when they were 15-15.

The Twins beat up the Tigers 11-1.

The Cubs walloped the NL Central-leading Brewers 17-3. The Cubs hit a Wrigley record nine home runs to cap off a record-setting August, where they hit 62 dingers.

The Rangers easily handled the Athletics 8-1.

In a battle of first place clubs, the Astros defeated the White Sox 6-3.

The Angels stunned the Yankees 10-1.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

I previewed the Mets’ series against the Rays.

Allison McCague brought us the position player meters for the week.

Linus Lawrence examined ten questions facing the Mets at the start of September.

Linus Lawrence provided a Monday Stat Party.

This Date in Mets History

Tom Seaver whiffed 10 Pirates in a 3-0 shutout win on this date in 1975. In the process, he secured 200+ strikeouts for the eighth straight season, becoming the first pitcher in MLB history to do so.

A Boston Red Sox broadcaster has apologized for suggesting that the team's pitchers should intentionally throw at New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm for his aggressive play during a blowout win over the weekend.

Radio play-by-play announcer WIll Flemming made a number of pointed comments about Chisholm, including calling him a "bush league player" after he swiped two bases in the eighth inning of the teams' game on Sunday, Aug. 30. The Yankees were leading 7-1 at the time.

Flemming went on to suggest that Red Sox pitcher Jovani Moran should intentionally throw at Yankees batter Austin Wells in retaliation.

Red Sox radio broadcaster Will Flemming says Boston's pitcher should drill Austin Wells and fight Jazz Chisholm Jr. because he thinks Chisholm is a "bush league player" that "doesn't play the game the right way" pic.twitter.com/wtXivJobxG

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 31, 2026

The comments added even more animosity to the longstanding rivalry between the two teams, and several Yankees players pushed back the following day,

"You've seen teams – actually them (last season) – do the same thing where they're pouring on runs. We didn't have nothing to say or nothing to do about it," Chisholm told reporters on Monday before the Yankees' game against the Los Angeles Angels. "That's just showing how unprofessional he is."

Added Yankees captain Aaron Judge: "He needs to stay out of that and not be telling people to throw at players and injure players. That's not what this game's about."

Here's what happened in Mets Land on Monday, in case you missed it...

• Mets squeak out 3-2 win over Rays with splendid pitching, timely hitting
• Mark Vientosreturns to Mets lineup with home run to help seal win: "It felt great"
• Robert Stock proud to "finally" pitch into sixth inning in career-long start against Tampa Bay
• Mets to call up RHP Justin Hagenman and OF Nick Morabito as rosters expand in September
• Orioles claim Mets' Luis Robert Jr. off waivers
• Rays' Freddy Peraltalooks back on Mets' tenure ahead of facing former club on Tuesday
• Mets promote 2026 third-round pick Aiden Robbins to High-A Brooklyn

As the minor league seasons start to wind down — with one week left for Low- and High-A, two weeks remaining for Double-A, and three for Triple-A — the Orioles’ four affiliates can clearly be delineated into the haves and the have-nots. The Frederick Keys and Chesapeake Baysox are surging, with the former headed to the league playoffs and the latter featuring a drool-worthy, prospect-laden rotation. The Norfolk Tides and Delmarva Shorebirds, meanwhile, are limping to the end of miserable seasons.

Here’s our weekly update of the latest goings-on in the Orioles’ minor league system.

Triple-A Norfolk Tides

• Last week’s results: 4-2 at Durham Bulls (Rays)
• Next week’s opponent: vs. Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Marlins)
• Second-half record: 21-33, last place (12.5 GB) in International League East
• Overall season record: 49-80

The Tides’ offense hit home runs this week — eight in all — but otherwise struggled, scoring just 22 runs and posting a .649 OPS. It was enough to win the series anyway. Ryan Noda and José Barrero socked two homers apiece, but each had only one other hit. Brandon Butterworth launched his first Triple-A dinger. The most realistic candidates for a September call-up, Heston Kjerstad and Enrique Bradfield Jr., were just OK. Kjerstad had six hits but no RBIs. Bradfield had more strikeouts (seven) than times reaching base (six). Will either make an appearance for the Orioles before the year is out? One guy who probably won’t is Creed Willems, who went 4-for-19 to drop his season OPS to .752.

The standout pitching performance of the week belonged to Cade Povich, who worked a 5.2 scoreless inning gem with 11 strikeouts. That’ll play. His reward was getting called up to the majors to pitch at Coors Field last night. No other Tides starting pitcher particularly stood out. Michael Forret, pitching against his former team, held the Bulls to two hits and two earned runs in five innings, but walked four. Juaron Watts-Brown continues to have a tough time at the Triple-A level, with a four-inning, four-run performance this week that inflated his Norfolk ERA to 7.84.

In the bullpen, lefty Andrew Magno added another two scoreless outings to his ledger, lowering his season ERA to 1.36. His 4.9 BB/9 rate is his biggest concern but he’s been otherwise effective, so it’s a little surprising he hasn’t gotten even a cup of coffee in the majors. Southpaw prospect Luis De León, who’s just been converted to relief, had one great outing (a perfect inning, 2 Ks) and one dud (two HRs, three runs in 0.2 IP).

On the other side of the field, former Orioles first-rounder Caden Bodine, part of the Shane Baz trade, made his Triple-A debut for Durham this week and was 8-for-15 with two homers. Bodine has exploded as a prospect in the Rays’ system, rocketing up four levels in one season with a combined .350/.415/.529 slash line. Baz has been solid enough for the Orioles, but Bodine is threatening to make the O’s regret that trade.

Norfolk season stats

Double-A Chesapeake Baysox

• Last week’s results: 4-2 at Harrisburg Senators (Nationals)
• Next week’s opponent: vs. Portland Sea Dogs (Red Sox)
• Second-half record: 31-25, second place (6.5 GB) in Eastern League Southwest
• Overall season record: 60-64

If you’re hoping to attend a Baysox game this year, this upcoming week is your last opportunity. It’s their final home series before they finish this season in Richmond. The Baysox are ending strong, currently in second place in their division, but with little hope of catching first-place Erie at 6.5 games behind and just 12 to play.

Aron Estrada just continues to get on base, with six hits and five walks this week. After a slow start this year with a .624 OPS in April, the 21-year-old infielder has an OPS of .850 or better every month since. I’d like to see him spend a week or two at Triple-A after Chesapeake’s season ends. First baseman Victor Figueroa had his best week yet at Double-A with eight hits, including three doubles and a homer, pushing his Chesapeake OPS over .800.

Ethan Anderson rejoined the Baysox for the first time since suffering an ankle injury in early July and was one of nine different hitters to homer this week. Wehiwa Aloy was another one, but was just 4-for-21 this week. Vance Honeycutt had one huge game, collecting 11 total bases in a four-hit effort on Friday, but was 1-for-15 in the rest of the series.

Let’s talk about this incredibly stacked Baysox rotation that features the Orioles’ #2, #3, and #4 prospects on MLB Pipeline — Anthony Eyanson, Joseph Dzierwa, and Caden Hunter, respectively — along with #14 prospect JT Quinn and former top-15 prospect Patrick Reilly, back from Tommy John surgery. Yet it was the one starter not among that group, lefty Sebastian Gongora, who had Chesapeake’s lone quality start this week. He held Harrisburg to two runs in six innings, including a homer by rehabbing MLB slugger James Wood.

The other five starters were solid, too, combining for a 3.32 ERA, though none worked more than five innings. Eyanson and Hunter each had eight strikeouts; Quinn and Reilly seven. Surprisingly it was Dzierwa who fared the worst, giving up four earned runs for the first time all season. His ERA rocketed all the way up…to 2.21.

Chesapeake season stats

High-A Frederick Keys

• Last week’s results: 5-1 vs. Asheville Tourists (Astros)
• Next week’s opponent: at Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets)
• Second-half record: 36-22, first place (1.0 game ahead) in South Atlantic League North
• Overall season record: 77-45

The Keys already clinched a spot in the Division Series by winning their division in the first half, and now they’re on the verge of winning the second half, too. If they do, I feel like they should be allowed to skip the Division Series and go straight to the next round of playoffs, but it doesn’t work that way. They’ll play against the second half runner-up.

Frederick is continuing to roll even after many of their first-half contributors like Dzierwa, Hunter, Figueroa, and Aloy got promoted to Double-A and Ike Irish suffered a season-ending injury. The addition of Enddy Azocar in the Adley Rutschman trade has helped a lot; he added another five hits this week and has a .986 OPS in 21 games since joining the organization. Jaiden Lo Re is fresh up from Low-A — he should be required to change his name to Jaiden Hi Re now — and went 3-for-17 with a homer in his first week with Frederick.

Boston Bateman was the Keys pitching prospect to watch this week. The 20-year-old lefty has battled some nagging injuries of late, but he looked no worse for the wear in a dominant performance: four scoreless innings, one hit, seven strikeouts. Frederick’s other top mound prospect, Kyson Witherspoon, did not appear this week.

Frederick season stats

Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds

• Last week’s results: 2-4 vs. Fredericksburg Nationals
• Next week’s opponent: at Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (White Sox)
• Second-half record: 21-39, last place (18.5 GB) in Carolina League North
• Overall season record: 44-82

The Shorebirds’ miserable season is almost over, as just one series remains on their schedule. But there’s not much reason to think that things will improve next year, because they rarely do for the Delmarva club. This marks their fifth consecutive season finishing in last place in their division, and their combined record in that span is 253-394, a winning percentage of .391. Ouch.

The Orioles’ first two 2026 draft picks, outfielders Eric Booth Jr. and Ty Head, are getting their feet wet at this level. Head, with five hits this week, is hitting .321 with an .891 OPS in 15 games. Booth is off to a slower start (.190 AVG, .535 OPS), which is not unexpected for an 18-year-0ld straight out of high school. Two other 2026 draftees, fifth-round shortstop Jimmy Anderson and 10th-round infielder Carlos Sanchez, have also debuted here. They combined to reached base 16 times this week. Overall, though, the Delmarva offense is in a sorry state. They scored a league-worst 15 runs this week and were shut out three times.

A few pitchers from this year’s draft class are with the Shorebirds as well: ninth rounder Collin McKinney, 15th rounder Braden Smith, and 17th rounder Diego Gutierrez, all right-handers. Gutierrez made his pro debut by striking out the side in a scoreless frame. Pretty good start!

Unfortunately, the Esteban Mejia experiment took a turn for the worse. The 19-year-old, who has a 9.06 ERA and 12.08 BB/9, had been seeing success with abbreviated outings of late, tossing three scoreless starts in a row. But this week he faced only three batters, walked all three, and left the game with a cracked fingernail.

Delmarva season stats

**

It was an all Rutschman-trade-prospects poll last week, and Enddy Azocar pulled in 58% of the vote to beat out Anthony Eyanson and Kyson Witherspoon. Azocar has been in the organization for less than a month and he’s already won two of these polls, joining fellow two-time winners Caden Hunter, Ike Irish, and Aron Estrada. One-time winners include Victor Figueroa, Payton Eeles, Braylin Tavera, Wehiwa Aloy, Jaiden Lo Re, Joseph Dzierwa, Luis De León, and Heston Kjerstad.

There weren’t a lot of showstopping performances this week, so it’s only a two-man ballot. Who’s your pick?

Hello and happy Tuesday, folks. Happy primary Election Day as well; go out and do your civic duty!

Very simple question of the day for ya: how we thinking about Roman Anthony and Trevor Story’s performance after a pair of games off the injured list?

Perhaps that’s a silly question for a number of reasons. Obviously, Anthony’s already gotten a handful of extra base hits already (as well as a great slide into home to tie things up against Seattle). Meanwhile, last night’s victory might as well have been the Trevor Story game. It’s hard to complain about what we’ve seen from those two in the last 48 hours, even if it’s been merely a minuscule sample size.

Instead of looking just at the surface level numbers, I wanna know what you’ve noticed while watching these games. Tell me how jazzed you are about how hard Roman seems to be hitting the ball, looking like the type of guy we know he can be. Let me know if you’re nervous about Story’s arm maybe not being as strong as it once was. Talk about how you’re encouraged that Trevor hasn’t whiffed at every low-and-away breaking pitch he’s seen—because that’s improvement! Ask your fellow commenters when you think Roman might be patrolling the outfield on a full-time basis again this season.

Be good to each other and go Sox.

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

Nine of the past 10 Texas Rangers victories have come by multiple runs, including an 8-1 smashing of the Athletics last night.

My A's vs Rangers predictions expect that trend to continue, with Texas a 64% home favorite against the league's worst team over the last 30 games.

Find out more in my MLB picks for Sept. 1, with first pitch at 8:05 p.m. ET.

Who will win A's vs Rangers today: Texas Rangers -1.5 (47%)

For help understanding probabilities, see our odds calculator.

The Athletics have not shown any ability to hit lefties the last couple of months, especially outside of their batter-friendly home ballpark.

They own a .199 average over 354 plate appearances, and their expected average of .208 isn’t much better.

Mackenzie Gore has pitched very well at home (2.99 ERA, 3.36 xFIP) and there’s no reason for that to change in such a strong matchup.

Athletics relievers rank 28th in OBP allowed over the last 30 days. They’re going with a bullpen game, which sets up nicely for the Texas Rangers.

Play to 50%.

COVERS INTEL:The Athletics are a league-worst 8-22 over the last 30 games with a -70 run differential.

A's vs Rangers Over/Under pick: Over 7.5 (49%)

The Rangers have played 28 home games against below .500 teams who were starting, or opening with, a pitcher whose ERA sits above 4.0. They’ve gone 19-8-1 to the Over.

With Athletics relievers bleeding baserunners, the Rangers should have plenty of traffic on the basepaths throughout and are in a good spot to do the heavy lifting.

Gore ranks in the 25th percentile in both barrel rate and hard hit rate. Playing a bad, injury-plagued Athletics team will help his cause, but it’s not as if he has a spotless profile and is immune to giving up damage. 

Play to 52%.

A's vs Rangers home run prediction: Jake Burger (17%)

Jake Burger is in nice form at the dish. He has piled up five extra-base hits over his last seven games, and has hit for plenty of power dating back further.

He leads the Rangers with a .341 ISO and 18.8% barrel rate over the last 20 games. He is the most consistent power threat on the roster, and he should get plenty of good pitches to hit against a steady stream of relievers out of a poor bullpen.

A's vs Rangers weather

This game will be played indoors.

A's vs Rangers odds

• Moneyline: A's 37% | Rangers 64%
• Run line: A's +1.5 (54%) | Rangers -1.5 (47%)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (49%) | Under 7.5 (52%)

A's vs Rangers trend

The Athletics have hit the game total Over in 17 of their last 30 games (+5.30 units, 16% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for A's vs. Rangers.

How to watch A's vs Rangers and game info

A's vs Rangers latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

As the dog days of August turn into September, the Los Angeles Dodgers hope to turn the rough patch that they’ve gone through around and finally start scoring again.

This is the third year in a row that the Dodgers have gone through a slide like this, something that Bill Plunkett of the OC Register posits has become the feature and not a bug. This season has been especially egregious. The Dodgers were last in all NL teams in runs scored since July 1, and went 13-14 in August.

With the team having the highest average age for position players, Plunkett wonders if we are expecting too much of the Dodgers lineup?

“No. I don’t think you can expect too much of us. And we like that. We like that you think we should be scoring more,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said to that. “If you were content with us scoring three, four runs then we wouldn’t have a very good offense. I’m okay with you guys expecting more out of us. We expect more out of ourselves.”

Mookie Betts thinks that maybe fans expect a little too much, that they will always hit like they have in the past, or that they should be able to hit any pitcher at any time.

“That was when guys were throwing 92, 93 when we did that. And we were younger, yes,” Betts said of the prime years of the Dodgers’ stars, exaggerating how quickly velocity has jumped in MLB.

“I don’t care who you are. You can be Shohei or anybody, the best player in the league. You’re not hitting 100 (mph) consistently every day. Nobody is doing that. We’re facing 97, 98 every day. Then the guys who are 92, 93 – there’s something to it. Sometimes we hit it. Sometimes we don’t. That’s part of the human element of the game. But I think that part is getting missed. Y’all expect us to score six or seven (runs) every day, you know what I’m saying?”

If the Dodgers are going to three-peat, they need the offense to at least do something. The offense did barely enough last year, and there’s no reason to expect that ‘barely enough’ could get them that coveted third ring in a row.

The pitching has been phenomenal as always, and as long as it stays that way, the offense is the only thing standing in the way of another World Series win. Only one little hiccup there, hitting is always harder in the postseason. It remains to be seen if the Dodgers can eek their way to another ring.

As it turns out, 2026 has been a surprisingly strong year for the Colorado Rockies bullpen.

Through August 29th, Rockies relievers have been worth 3.0 fWAR, which is 15th in MLB. Their 4.81 ERA is not terrific, but it comes in 26th in baseball. (Given that their xERA was 4.80, the bullpen has performed about as expected.)

And it’s not like this has been an easy season for the bullpen, which has logged 549.2 IP this season, the sixth-most in the league.

But they have performed better than expected.

In spring training, bullpen coach Matt Buschmann laid out his approach. As the Rockies near the end of their season, here’s what he’s seeing.

Pitching at elevation

The first thing he’s learned is that pitching at elevation is not unlike David Foster Wallace’s explanation of water in “This is water.”

It’s just the environment in which this team lives.

“I think once you’re in it a lot, it kind of goes away,” Buschmann said.

“There’s definitely some things about it, but it’s not as big a deal. From the pitcher’s perspective and what you can control, I think it’s very controllable. I think pitching at altitude becomes more (about) ‘What are you solving for?’ because a ball in play at altitude and with our field being so big, is a bit more of a penalty than a ball in play most other places.”

That imbalance requires more preparation on the part of Rockies pitchers.

“It’s just thinking through, ‘How do I attack hitters, knowing that a ball in play maybe costs a little more?” he said.

Buschmann is quick to complement the work of the Rockies bullpen staff and the way they’ve adjusted to playing at Coors and on the road.

“These guys handle it really well,” Buschmann said. “They understand how to pitch there. We’ve actually pitched at home compared on the road, pretty similarly. We get more two-strike swing-and-miss at home. So it’s not that guys don’t understand how to pitch at Coors. I think it’s just thinking through what is our attack plan, and how does that change? Because I think pitchers are going to execute fairly well in both places.”

For the record, Rockies relievers have a collective 5.91 ERA at Coors (29th worst) and a 5.14 road ERA (28th worst).

He’s also very aware of bullpen management.

“(With) relievers, you’re always managing workload,” Buschmann said. “There’s certainly injury risk in everything we do, but I think it’s more just output and ability and feeling good enough to execute and do these things, and so the fatigue more shows up in that. How good is this guy going to be? How good does he feel to go out and be his best? So managing that has been an interesting challenge.”

New technology

As one change brought in by the new front office, the Rockies are using technology to learn more about players and improve their performance — most notably, Catapult — and for that, Buschmann has worked with Brandon Stone, the Rockies manager of performance science and someone Buschmann knew from his time with the Toronto Blue Jays.

“Ultimately, we know everything that’s happening in a game,” Buschmann said. “We can measure every single thing in a game.”

The Rockies are in the process of learning how best to use that information.

“Now we’re trying to really measure ‘What do we do in between games?’ because we’re doing so much in between games, too. And when you get that total picture, you can you can basically understand ‘Here’s what’s expected of you from a workload perspective in the game.’ And if I know that, I know how to manage your workload in between games, and make sure the games don’t crush you, or they don’t fatigue you as much. And so the way to do that is to make sure your workload is high enough so that a game isn’t a big deal.”

The Catapult technology is helping the Rockies make better decisions.

“That’s helping us measure the throws and catch. It’s helping us measure not only their workload, but it’s helping us measure their strategy and how they’re going about workload. When we measure the strategy, little differences in strategy maybe tell us some underlying things that are going on. Maybe they’re tight in their lower half or upper half, and that just gets us ahead of things and makes sure we keep guys in their norm. And those things help measure when they’re outside their norm. And when they’re outside their norm in baseball, when you play every day, that can lead to kind of these small things over time end up to a big thing.”

Bullpen management

The changes aren’t limited to technology. Earlier in the season, the Rockies experimented with using bulk relievers, but they seem to have gone to a more-traditional bullpen strategy. However, Buschmann attributes that to improved length from the Rockies starters.

“Really, it’s just been a credit to our starters who, I think, have made adjustments,” Buschmann said, “and a lot of them have gotten more consistent and put together a good stretch here of our starters being being really good and getting deeper into games. And when you do that, you see the difference in how you can manage a bullpen, and maybe it lets you keep an extra leverage reliever instead of constantly worrying about length. Now you have extra leverage relievers, so each guy down there that can pitch in leverage isn’t necessarily always needing to be up.”

In addition to managing what’s happening with the Rockies, Buschmann has dealt with the bullpen churn that is part of an MLB season as relievers join the Rockies from Triple-A Albuquerque. For him, that goes back to veteran leadership.

“I think the biggest thing there is just the staples, the consistent guys, and Brennan Bernardino and Jimmy Herget and the veteran guys. It’s really fortunate for me that those guys have been there. They care about helping younger players, bringing them up, and they’re really good resources. They’ve both been in each situation you can think of, and so they were a really good resource for the younger guys to understand. ‘Here’s the expectation of you.‘ ‘Here’s you know how you need to prepare every day and to be your best.’ And so for me, it’s been leaning on those guys to make sure that they’re helping the younger guys come up.”

Another example is Rockies closer Jordan Romano, someone else Buschmann knew from Toronto.

“So it’s I knew it would be really, I think, hopefully impactful on some of the younger guys to see him prepare every day.”

Closing thoughts

It’s been a learning season for the new Rockies coaching staff, but Buschmann identified one lesson in particular he has stuck out to him.

“You can talk about pitching at elevation, you can have ideas, but then watching it day to day, there’s so much context there that now you’re truly informed through experience,” Buschmann said.

“I think what I’m most excited about is taking that experience and now building things and iterating our philosophy, building tools that are now informed by a year of experience and seeing it and seeing things work and not work. And so I’m really excited for that and just time — like a full offseason —with this group and what we’ve experienced. (Then we can) start to go and build the things we want to build, and hit the ground running in spring instead of hit the ground like, ‘Let’s learn, everybody.‘ I think that’s the most exciting place.”

This week on the internet

Okay, I thought this was funny.

MLB report cards for every team with 1 month to go | Bleacher Report

This seems to me a very reasonable grade for the 2026 Colorado Rockies.

Running the bases with Colorado Rockies Jake McCarthy | Mile High Sports

Speaking of Jake McCarthy, Drew Creasman spoke with the Rockies outfielder about how he approaches running the bases.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

It’s a big day for Viva El Birdos. Today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way to follow the Cardinals. 

You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.

I’ve given this app a test run over the past few weeks and it’s really helped streamline my experience when interacting with the community making it seamless to get notifications when there’s been a reaction or a comment in response to something we’ve shared. It also makes it much easier for you to share which is one of the many things that makes the Viva El Birdos community the best neighborhood in baseball.

A year ago we made some big changes to our community, including offering fewer ads and the addition of the Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and fewer ads with this app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.

You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below. 

Why should I download the app?

The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community: 

• All your favorite teams’ posts in one dedicated feed
• Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
• New game thread section, with an  experience that’s smoother and faster
• Fewer ads
• Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe

It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community.

How do I download the app?

Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. Today, the app is only available for US users.

It’s a big day for Battery Power. Today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way to follow the Braves. 

You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.

A year ago we made some big changes to our community, including offering fewer ads and the addition of the Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and fewer ads with this app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.

You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below. 

Why should I download the app?

The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community: 

• All your favorite teams’ posts in one dedicated feed
• Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
• New game thread section, with an experience that’s smoother and faster
• Fewer ads
• Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe

It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community. Whether you’re a Braves fan who loves all Atlanta sports (I salute you, brave sports fan) or you just so happen to be a Braves fan who roots for the Packers, Mavericks and Liverpool FC, we’ve got you covered.

Long story short, if you’ve enjoyed what we’ve been bringing you here not just on Battery Power but across the entire SB Nation network as a whole, then you’re going to love this. You’ll have all of your communities (or even just this one) easily accessible for you right there on your phone or tablet.

The blogs are right there, the comments (and a new focus on game threads) are there, The Feed is there and the conversation is there. I’ve enjoyed using it for the past few weeks before the official unveiling (and in fact, all of my Feed posts recently came from the app) and I’m sure that all of y’all are going to enjoy it if you give it a chance.

How do I download the app?

Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. Today, the app is only available for US users.

Off day yesterday. Light news day.

Jaylon Thompson covers John Schreiber joining the Yankees.

The reverse splits were attractive. Schreiber is not as effective against left-handed batters (opponents hit .326 against him) but he should help the Yankees down the stretch.

New York is responsible for the remaining amount on his contract. Schreiber is earning $3,715,000 this season.

The Royals will likely turn to young relievers in the bullpen. Guys such as Nate Pearson and Connor Thomas have gotten additional opportunities. Meanwhile, the Royals will see what they have in Carlos Duran — who was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline.

Ryan Blake at FanGraphs wrote about Jac Caglianone’s season.

Caglianone swings 77.3 mph on average, which is faster than all but five qualified batters in the majors this year. That hasn’t changed since last year. What has changed is he’s now getting way more from his contact, squaring up the ball 31.2% of the time (compared to 25.9% last year). Maybe it’s obvious, but a fast swing and flush contact is why he’s posted a 54.6% hard-hit rate and 105.6 mph EV50 — each top 10 in the majors. This is the sort of in-game power potential we were promised in his (brief) tenure as a prospect, and it’s respected enough around the league to earn him an invite to the Home Run Derby this year.

Unfortunately, that’s still pretty much the extent of what Caglianone does well at the plate, at least consistently. Again, it’s awesome he’s doing anything well, given his struggles as a rookie, and he could have a very successful career without changing much. But the rest of his profile lags behind, limiting him to a merely top-100 batter in 2026.

One reason is all that ultra-hard contact generally isn’t going that far. Caglianone has done well to lower his groundball rate from 50.6% last year to 46.3% this year, but most of his extra exit velocity is still coming on the ground. Hitting balls on the ground while improving the contact of those groundballs is a fine tradeoff, but well-hit singles are still just singles.

David Lesky is ready for the remaining games, even if the recent hot streak doesn’t catapult them into playoff contention.

So here we are, with 24 games to go, and it does feel like even the tiniest hope is essentially gone, but that doesn’t mean it’s still not fun to watch them play better baseball down the stretch. If they want to start another nine-game winning streak, I certainly won’t turn that down. We’ll get to it at the bottom with what’s up next, but they’ve got a challenge this week at home with three teams fighting for the postseason. The Marlins are currently 3.5 out of the last Wild Card spot. The Blue Jays are currently 1.5 out of the last Wild Card spot. And the Diamondbacks are one-half game ahead of the Padres for the third Wild Card spot in the NL. So everyone has something to play for.

Eli Nitz at Royals Keep examines whom the Royals could add once rosters expand.

Andrew Banks gives some love to Jac Caglianone.

The Cubs hit nine homers yesterday in a win over the Brewers. That’s a franchise record for the Cubs.

The Padres will call up top prospect Ethan Salas, a catcher. Sadly, Freddy Fermin’s bat continued to decline.

Jay Jaffe at FanGraphs examines Tristan Peters’ rise to stardom for the White Sox.

Old friend Carlos Hernández is expected to join the Cleveland Guardians major league roster.

Old friend Tommy Pham is joining the White Sox.

The Orioles picked up Luis Robert Jr on waivers.

The odd saga with Ketel Marte and the D-Backs appears to be ending.

Unforked in Crown Center is closing due to the new stadium development.

Missouri forward Mark Mitchell will return to Mizzou instead of transferring.

UCLA fired their AD over “financial deficit”.

Everton are picking up USMNT star Flo Balogun for a reported $52.3M transfer.

The Chiefs 53-man roster looked like this after cuts, but I think it’s already changed.

A jury found Duane “Keffe D” Davis guilty of “orchestrating” Tupac Shakur’s murder.

Your song of the day is Dirt Poor Robins with Holy Roller.

It’s a big day for Over the Monster. Today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way to follow the Red Sox. 

You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.

A year ago we made some big changes to our community, including offering fewer ads and the addition of the Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and fewer ads with this app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.

You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below. 

Why should I download the app?

The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community: 

• All your favorite teams’ posts in one dedicated feed
• Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
• New game thread section, with an  experience that’s smoother and faster
• Fewer ads
• Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe

It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community.

How do I download the app?

Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. Today, the app is only available for US users.

It’s a big day for Lone Star Ball. Today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way to follow the Rangers. 

You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.

A year ago we made some big changes to our community, including offering fewer ads and the addition of the Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and fewer ads with this app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.

You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below. 

Why should I download the app?

The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community: 

• All your favorite teams’ posts in one dedicated feed
• Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
• New game thread section, with an  experience that’s smoother and faster
• Fewer ads
• Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe

It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community.

How do I download the app?

Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. Today, the app is only available for US users.