Category: Baseball

A late rally fueled an exciting win for the Yankees on Monday over the rival Astros. A trio of big hits from Cody Bellinger, Spencer Jones, Jazz Chisholm, and a Luis García Jr. homer to cap things off in the eighth and ninth secured the 9-3 win in the Bronx. It was a full slate of games elsewhere, as there was plenty of action around the Junior Circuit.

With a satisfying Yankee win in the fold, let’s take a look at what else went down on a busy Monday.

Tampa Bay Rays (79-53) 3, Detroit Tigers (62-71) 0

Despite a relatively tight score, the Rays were in the driver’s seat for the entirety of this game. They took an early 2-0 lead, thanks to hits from Jonny DeLuca and Cedric Mullins. From there, it was the work on the mound that got things done.

The talented Freddy Peralta was on the bump for Tampa Bay, and made quick work of the Tigers’ bats in easily his best start yet for Tampa Bay since coming over from the Mets at the Trade Deadline. Across six innings of work, the veteran righty struck out four while allowing just a pair of hits while keeping Detroit off the board. Peralta had previously allowed 17 runs in 21.1 innings for the Rays (7.17 ERA), but they’ve been working with him on ways to get back to a semblance of the form that motivated the Mets to trade for the erstwhile Brewers ace this past offseason.

The Rays later added some insurance in the sixth inning thanks to a sacrifice fly, before the bullpen picked up right where Peralta left off. Kevin Kelly and Tyler Wells combined to pitch three scoreless innings out of the Tampa Bay ‘pen, locking down the shutout victory for their squad. They remain 3.5 games in front of the Yankees

Other Games

Miami Marlins (68-66) 4, Boston Red Sox (73-60) 0: Speaking of shutouts, the Red Sox were on the wrong side of one against the Marlins. The Fish put up a run in each of the first two innings, thanks to a Heriberto Hernández single and an error by the Sox, before Ryan Gusto tossed 5.2 scoreless frames. The BoSox had plated at least three runs in all but one game over the course of the past month, and they’ve been MLB’s best offense in August. This time, however, they obviously never dented home plate in the loss — though they still have a solid cushion in the Wild Card race.

Chicago White Sox (70-63) 10, Texas Rangers (66-68) 4: For the second day in a row, the White Sox plated double-digit runs against the Rangers. Brenton Doyle led the charge for Chicago in this one, tallying four RBIs in his two-hit night, highlighted by a three-run blast in the sixth inning that put his squad up by a big number, while surprising All-Star Tristan Peters homered in his fifth consecutive game. A trio of Sox pitchers each tossed three solid innings, with Sean Burke getting the start. The White Sox’ 70th win of the season keeps their division lead at 2.5 games as they continue to impress. Texas took a hit in the Wild Card, but Houston’s loss means that they’re still just half a game back of the also-sub-.500 Astros in the AL West.

AL Wild Card Rock Fight

Cleveland Guardians (68-66) 4, Los Angeles Angels (52-82) 3: Elsewhere in the Central, the Guardians netted a close one against the lowly Angels to complete a sweep. Down for much of this game, they plated a pair in the top half of the ninth to flip their deficit into a lead, thanks to huge swings from Steven Kwan and Travis Bazzana. The win—their seventh in a row—helped Cleveland keep pace with Chicago, and keep hold of the final Wild Card spot in the AL.

Baltimore Orioles (65-68) 8, St. Louis Cardinals (66-68) 7: The Orioles won a slugfest on Monday, with an early outburst doing much of the heavy lifting. They plated seven runs in the first two frames, with a three-run shot from Leody Taveras as well as Pete Alonso’s 32nd bomb of the year. The Cardinals made their big move in the fifth, when they plated six runs to tie things up at the time, but Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s double in the ninth was the difference-maker for the Orioles in their win. They currently sit 2.5 games out of the Wild Card.

The Athletics (53-81) 7, Minnesota Twins (64-70) 4;
Toronto Blue Jays (65-69) 3, Kansas City Royals (59-75) 0:

The Blue Jays made easy work of the Royals to snap Kansas City’s nine-game winning streak, with Nathan Lukes’ three-run homer being all the offense Toronto needed. The Jays remain three back in the wild card race. Elsewhere, a four-run seventh inning propelled the A’s past Minnesota, as the skidding Twins are even with the Mariners (6-0 losers to Philadelphia) and looking upward at four teams in their hope for position in the Wild Card race.

Good morning friends!

The M’s dropped the series finale in a sleepy 6-0 loss to the Phillies yesterday that saw the offense unable to even muster a threat against Jesús Luzardo.

It’s a Mariners off-day today as the team heads across the border to Toronto for a weekend set with the Blue Jays.

In Mariners news…

• Dan Szymborski at Fangraphs checked back in on Cal Raleigh’s season-long numbers after his three-homer game.
• Bryce Miller was reportedly available out of the bullpen yesterday, possibly signaling some changes on the horizon for the starting rotation.

Around the league…

• Giants infielder Willy Adames has been diagnosed with a UCL sprain. The team has not yet decided whether he will get surgery to repair it.
• Cubs right-hander Ben Brown faced a setback in his rehab from a neck injury, leaving his availability for the stretch run up in the air.
• Pirates catcher Endy Rodriguez underwent hip surgery, cutting his 2026 season short.
• TWG Global, the holding company run by Dodgers owner Mark Walter, issued a statement yesterday regarding a recent federal probe into the company.
• Buss Sports Capital — who recently sold its ownership stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to Dodgers owner Mark Walter — is joining Kwanza Jones and Jose E. Feliciano as part of the new Padres ownership group.
• With Dana Brown now gone, Patrick Dubuque at Baseball Prospectus poured one out for the end of an era in Houston. ($)

Anders’ pick…

• The 18th annual Run of Hope Seattle is coming Sunday, September 20 to support Seattle Children’s Hospital. Mark your calendar and get your race number!

Tomato, tomahto. You say pitchers’ duel. I say boring. You might counter point that I’d have viewed the whole thing differently if my team had the two runs. Or if it had held on to the four-run lead Tuesday. Or the lead on Saturday. In the end, it’s just a series of disappointments and questions about what might have been. I suspect none of this is going to do any long term damage to the Cubs. I never thought they had a very good chance of catching the Brewers and I don’t really think the Phillies are going to pass the Cubs. Recall that the Cubs have the tiebreaker and the Phillies will have to pass, not just catch the Cubs. While you might look at a bunch of games with the Brewers and see potential disaster. They have a similar bunch of games with the Braves and equal possibility of disaster. Or even switching spots with the Braves and wrecking them.

I’ve said it elsewhere in posts, at the end of the day I will hat tip Jed Hoyer and the terrific job he did bringing this team together. I continue to believe that this team has a non-delusional chance of winning the World Series. I also think, at best, they are running way on the outside against two (or more) very good horses on the inside. It’s not going to be easy and everything would have to break right. To think otherwise, you are into that delusional territory.

At the same time, one can raise an eyebrow at Jed. Pitchers with injury history are not any new market inefficiency. Yes, there is some value to picking up some discounted value for damaged goods. You are almost silly not to. I see the Brewers and Brandon Woodruff that way. A calculated risk at value for a guy who can be great but has injury issues. The problem is, so much of the Cubs pitching staff had injury history. At some point, you gotta get some horses who can pile up some effective innings. The Cubs got burned because seemingly every one of those guys with the injury history spent time injured. Compounding that, almost all of them had worst cased scenarios on the severity of their injury and/or the difficulty rehabbing the injury. At this late date, a key pitcher had his return pushed back due to a setback with his recovery.

You can give a guy kudos and a sideways look. There is a lot of good and some foreseeable missteps. Still, even with all of that. With one of the largest collections of pitcher injuries I’ve ever seen one team have, there was the Cub pitching rolling into Arizona. The club had a rough trip to Seattle and were looking to bounce back. The bright side? Arguably the team’s three best pitchers were lined up to start the three games in Arizona. Collectively they gave you 20 innings of one run baseball. Three Superhero awards for the starters in three days. That’s going to feel like it should be a sweep for the good guys. Worst case? Two out of three.

Darn. They only got one. That stings a little. This trip could easily have featured four wins and it’s not insane to imagine five or six. They got two. Three bullpen losses on the trip. Just when everything seemed to be settling down, old wounds reopened. Not optimal.

Still, this is a hat tip game. Diamondback pitching was fantastic. Diamondback defense was very good. Diamondback hitting was good enough. Come home, regroup. Get back after it.

THREE POSITIVES:

• Matthew Boyd threw six innings of one-run ball. Nice bounce back after a couple of rough ones. Final decision in fewer than 30 games, but in some order this series probably had your three pitchers for a three-game series.
• Pete Crow-Armstrong had the only extra-base hit out of two total team hits. He should have scored, save for a missed balk call that he forced with aggressive baserunning.
• Tyrone Taylor continues to impress. He had a single and stole a base.

Game 134, August 26: Diamondbacks 2, Cubs 0 (76-58)

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Matthew Boyd (.169). 6 IP, 20 BF, 3 H, 2 BB, R, 5 K (L 8-3)
• Hero: Trent Thornton (.045). IP, 4 BF, H, K
• Sidekick: Pete Crow-Armstrong (.017). 1-4, 2B

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Nico Hoerner (-.153). 0-4
• Goat: Alex Bregman (-.149). 0-3, BB
• Kid: Gabriel Arias (-.119). 0-3

WPA Play of the Game: Jordan Lawlar’s solo homer in the sixth off of Boyd. (.166)

Cubs Play of the Game: Pete Crow-Armstrong’s double leading off the top of the sixth. (.092)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 133 Winner: Clay Holmes received 61 of 62 votes. I did not think this was a unanimous choice situation. The Holmes start has long term implications. The Happ homer gave them their best chance of winning that game and was a terrific plate appearance.

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)

The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.

• Pete Crow-Armstrong +26
• Alex Bregman +20
• Ben Brown +13.5
• Carson Kelly +12.5
• Javier Assad/Trent Thornton +12
• Edward Cabrera -12.5
• Jameson Taillon -13
• Nico Hoerner -14
• Dansby Swanson -17
• Caleb Thielbar -18.5

Scoreboard Watching: Will return following Friday’s game.

Up Next: An off day Thursday, then 13 straight games. So we go to Fangraphs for the pre-stretch look at potential record. Fangraphs had the Cubs at 4-2 on the trip, winning three close ones in Arizona before the trip, if I recall. They have this stretch at 6-6-1, breaking down to 4-3 at home and then 2-3-1 on the road with a pure 50 percent in the opener of the road trip being a pure coin flip game.

The Reds come to Wrigley at 63-71. An unusual thing ahead of an off day, but both teams have listed starters on MLB.com. They are showing David Peterson (7-7, 5.17) for the Cubs. David is 4-1 with a 3.93 as a Cub, significantly turning around his season. Ironically, his ground ball to fly ball ratio has actually dropped a bit as a Cub. So the Cub infield defense is not solely responsible for the improvement. David pitched well in Seattle in one of the games that got away, allowing two runs over six.

The Reds start 24-year-old righty Rhett Lowder (5-8, 5.13). Rhett is holding pretty steady at 2-2, 5.54 over his last seven starts. He allowed three runs over six against the Diamondbacks and won his last start. The Cubs had more luck against Lowder as a starter (3 runs in 3 innings) than as a reliever (2 scoreless innings).

I’m betting the Cubs offense bounces back in a big way in this series. The Reds are sometimes a target for Ian Happ’s big weekends. The Reds are 25th (4.53) in bullpen ERA, 25th in bullpen WHIP (1.43) and have the seventh most bullpen losses (27). So the bullpen can be beat if you can get starters out of these games. Fangraphs really likes the Cubs in this series, with this first one topping out at about 65 percent. The Cubs have a tricky September, it would be very beneficial to grab three right away (though those would obviously be August wins).

It was a rough night for the Pharm, with two affiliates suffering defeats, and another being forced to think about a four-run deficit until the resumption of their rained-out game this afternoon. But Bryan Rincon continues to be red hot at the plate, with a a 1.075 OPS this month. And Gabriel Rincones Jr. had a homer; it was a wonderful night for Rincon(es).

Syracuse 11, Lehigh Valley 1

The IronPigs scored just a single run on seven hits; the Mets scored 11 on their 15. Gabriel Rincones Jr. was responsible for that lone Lehigh Valley run, homering for one of his three hits on the day. No other IronPig had more than one hit, and no IronPigs walked at all, though they did accrue 12 strikeouts. Starter Drake Fellows struggled mightily, surrendering 10 hits, three of them homers, in 4.1 innings of work. He walked just one but struck out just one as well; he allowed seven runs (though only six were earned). Tanner Banks pitched a hitless inning with 2 Ks. Michael Mercado had rough sledding in his inning, allowing three runs on four hits.

Reading 6, Binghamton 2

The Fightin Phils were done scoring after the fourth, but by then they had all they needed. Pedro León was two for four with three RBIs, and Bryan Rincon was two for three; both had homers. Cody Bowker got the win with a 5 IP, 3 H, 4, K, 1 ER performance. Like their AAA allies, the Phils didn’t take many free passes, with only Carson DeMartini taking one.

Wilmington 11, Jersey Shore 6

A six run Rocks explosion doomed the Claws in this battle of the Blues. Devin Saltiban was two for three with a walk and three RBIs, and Kodey Shojinaga drove in two runs despite not having a hit (via productive groundouts). The Theshers worked seven walks on the day, taking as many strikeouts. Six BlueClaw pitchers toed the mound, with four of them allowing runs; Sam Highfill was on the mound for that six-run inning, and so took the loss. The BlueClaws loaded the bases in the bottom of the 9th, all three baserunners reaching via walk, but couldn’t bring any runs across the plate.

Lakeland 3, Clearwater 0, Suspended in 4th

This one got rained out in the fourth, and will be finished this afternoon. The Thresher offense hadn’t done much before the suspension (two hits, singles from Reece Moroney and Will Gasparino). Starter Brad Pacheco struck out six Flying Tigers, but allowed three runs on four hits.

Team News

Lawlar’s homer, Rodriguez’s gem (with lucky break) lead D-backs to win
“Everything was working,” Rodriguez said. “It was one of those days where you just go out there and follow your catcher, throw what the catcher is calling. This is the best I’ve felt all year on the mound.” https://www.mlb.com/dbacks/news/jordan-lawlar-home-run-lifts-d-backs-to-win-over-cubs

Off the mat, D-backs snatch series win over Cubs thanks to Eduardo Rodriguez

“From a hitter’s standpoint, I can relate to it, it feels like standing in the box when somebody is just driving pitches in at you. They feel like they’re 10 feet tall and standing on top of you,” Lovullo said. “And that’s the feeling I think E-Rod has right now, that he can throw anything he wants, and there’s going to be weak contact or swing-and-miss.”

https://arizonasports.com/mlb/arizona-diamondbacks/off-the-mat-d-backs-snatch-series-win-over-cubs-thanks-to-eduardo-rodriguez

Torey Lovullo Addresses Pete Crow-Armstrong’s Outburst Over Balk No-Callhttps://www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/onsi/torey-lovullo-addresses-pete-crow-armstrong-outburst-balk-no-call

Diamondbacks Reveal New Starting Pitcher For Thursday Game vs Giantshttps://www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/onsi/diamondbacks-reveal-starting-pitcher-thursday-game-giants

Justin Martinez is blowing on his hand again

“Way different,” Martinez said of the experience. “Because this one took a little longer, and I got more time to prepare myself to compete. And now we’re here. “I was a little frustrated because I wanted to come back as soon as possible. But I understood that I had to be smart on this one because this is my second one. There’s no way I could have another one, you know? So I had to be really smart about it.”

https://arizonasports.com/mlb/arizona-diamondbacks/justin-martinez-is-finding-his-footing-again

This 6-foot-4 prospect has two 4-game home run streaks … this month!

https://www.mlb.com/dbacks/news/dbacks-prospect-avery-owusu-asiedu-hot-streak-august-2026?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage

Other Baseball

Reds reportedly place 3B Eugenio Suárez on waivers, the same day his grand slam pushes team to historic comeback

https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/article/reds-reportedly-place-3b-eugenio-suarez-on-waivers-the-same-day-his-grand-slam-pushes-team-to-historic-comeback-045658311.html

Crow-Armstrong, Cubs irate after umps miss pivotal balk callhttps://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/49737610/crow-armstrong-cubs-irate-umps-miss-pivotal-balk-call

Dodgers’ Skubal starts Friday in Detroit; Ohtani targeted for Sundayhttps://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/49736174/dodgers-skubal-starts-friday-detroit-ohtani-targeted-sunday

Five for Peters! White Sox LF ties rookie, club marks with HR in 5 straight gameshttps://www.mlb.com/news/tristan-peters-hits-a-home-run-in-a-fifth-straight-game

Schwarber becomes MLB’s 1st to 40 HRs, and joins elite company doing so
https://www.mlb.com/news/kyle-schwarber-reaches-40-home-runs

Anything Goes

This day in history:

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/august-27

This day in baseball:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/August_27

Rice is the oldest food we still eat today.

In 2003, scientists recovered 15,000-year-old burnt rice grains in Korea. This makes rice the oldest known food that we eat till the present.

The word “Checkmate” in chess comes from the Persian phrase “Shah Mat.”

Shah Mat means “the king is dead.”

Humans have just 1 bone fewer than horses.

Horses have an average of 205 bones or more while the adult human is set at 206. On average, horses will live for 25-30 years. 

Code red.

Five-alarm fire.

DEFCON 1.

Any term used to describe a crisis could be applied to the Dodgers right now, and that would be the case even if owner Mark Walter wasn’t under federal investigation.

Problems are stacking up, and with only a little more than a month remaining in the regular season, who knows if the Dodgers will be able to solve them before the start of the playoffs.

The Dodgers have offensive problems. They have defensive problems. They have bullpen problems. And in the wake of losing their first two games of their three-game series against the Atlanta Braves, they could soon have postseason bracket problems.

The concerns have become pronounced enough to where manager Dave Roberts has started to back off his recent tough-love approach, probably because maintaining that demeanor under these circumstances would create an overly negative atmosphere. 

“We had opportunities,” Roberts told reports at Truist Park following his team’s 6-5 loss on Wednesday.

The offense is stuck in neutral, the broken hand suffered last week by center fielder Andy Pages complicating the team’s efforts to emerge from an extended slump.

In Pages and catcher Will Smith, the Dodgers are missing two premium hitters who play premium defensive positions. Pages has been replaced by Alek Thomas and Will Smith by Hunter Feduccia and Ben Rortvedt, and at both positions, the substitutes represent major offensive downgrades.

Smith is on a minor-league rehabilitation assignment and should have about a month of major league game time to develop a rhythm in the batter’s box for the postseason. Pages won’t have any such luxury, as he could miss the remainder of the regular season.

Pages, 25, and Smith, 31, are particularly valuable to these Dodgers because some of their more experienced players are in obvious decline. Mookie Betts remains up and down, Freddie Freeman hasn’t homered since Independence Day, and Teoscar Hernández has basically been a Mendoza Line hitter for the last two months. Newcomer Kyle Tucker has just stunk.

In their last 30 games, the Dodgers have won a game by more than two runs only three times. They have scored an average of 4.2 runs per game in their last 39 games, down from 5.3 runs per game in their first 94 games of the season.

The effects of the diminished offense has been magnified by the team’s defensive shortcomings, which started becoming especially noticeable in the week leading up to the All-Star break. With Hernández in left field and Tucker in right, the Dodgers have two below-average defenders in their outfield. A defensive mistake by Hernández in the fourth inning on Wednesday turned the Dodgers’ 3-2 lead into a 4-3 deficit.

The Dodgers have played clean defense before, and they should be able to do so again. But will they be able to close out games?

When imploding $69-million closer Edwin Diaz was placed on the 15-day injured list last week, the Dodgers looked as if they would be able to manage the situation. They had other options. When Diaz was sidelined earlier in the season, Tanner Scott performed well in his place. The Dodgers also had a safety net in Roki Sasaki, the starting pitcher who was their primary ninth-inning pitcher in the playoffs last year.

So much for that.

Scott was the losing pitcher in each of the Dodgers’ first two games in this series against the Braves, reverting to the form from his disastrous first season with the team last year. As for Sasaki, he will be placed on the injured list with a ruptured blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand. 

Considering their variety of issues, it’s little wonder why the Dodgers have lost 13 of their last 15 games against teams with winning records. The only series the Dodgers won this month were against teams with sub-.500 records – the Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Braves are now within two games of the Dodgers for the No. 2 seed in the NL. Only the top two seeds in each league will receive a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Regardless of whether the Dodgers can hold off the Braves, they will show up in October with a fighting chance.

The reason: Their starting pitching.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell and either Shohei Ohtani or Tyler Glasnow will make up a postseason rotation that could be historically dominant.

If they don’t pitch up to that standard, the season could end with another emergency signal: Code blue.

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It was not the end to the homestand the San Diego Padres were looking for, but they did salvage the final game of the series against the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 3-0 win that allowed them to finish with a 4-2 record before heading out on the road to face the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cincinnati Reds.

Randy Vasquez delivered another strong outing for the Padres with five scoreless innings. He allowed just one hit over that time and did not allow a walk. Vasquez finished with two strikeouts. He was staked to a one-run lead in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a double by Jackson Merrill followed by an RBI-single from Luis Rengifo. That was all Vasquez and the rest of the San Diego staff would need to ensure the win.

The Padres did add runs in the bottom of the fourth and the bottom of the eighth innings, but the quartet of Kyle Hart, Griffin Canning, Yuki Matsui and Bradgley Rodriguez were able to keep the Pirates off the board. Pittsburgh had its chances against more than one of those pitchers but never could break through. The Pirates finished 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position in the game while the Padres finished 3-for-5.

Merrill was the offensive leader for San Diego and turned in a 2-for-3 day with an RBI, a run scored and a walk. Rengifo and Jake Cronenworth had the two other RBIs for the Padres and six players recorded hits in the game.

San Diego has an off day today before opening a three-game set with Tampa Bay on Friday.

Padres News:

• It takes all 26 players on an MLB roster to have a successful season, but some performances are more surprising than others. Who do you think has been the most impressive this season?

• The regular season is winding down for the San Diego minor league clubs and Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball tells you what you need to know about each team.

• Jeremaih Estrada returned to the IL and David Morgan was called up to take his place on the roster.

• Yu Darvish has started throwing bullpens but there is still no timeline for his return.

• Joey and Jesse Buss have an ownership stake in San Diego.

Baseball News:

• Kyle Schwarber reaches 40 home runs and leads the Philadelphia Phillies to a win over the Seattle Mariners.

• The Arizona Diamondbacks blanked the Chicago Cubs and earned a 2-0 win.

• Freddy Peralta threw a two-hitter and leads the Tampa Bay Rays over the Detroit Tigers.

• Hector Rodriguez hit two home runs and led the Cincinnati Reds over the San Francisco Giants.

• The Cleveland Guardians extended their win streak to seven games with a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Angles.

Boy, that was a memorable game for all sorts of reasons:

• Matt Olson’s homer off the pole
• Signs of life from Sean Murphy, including a dinger of his own
• Outbarreling the Dodgers 5-1
• Drake Baldwin having a huge game, but with his biggest hit coming on a defensive misplay by the Dodgers
• Didier Fuentes walking in the tying run, but then getting what he needs — and escaping a second inning as well
• Victor Mederos, pumped once again
• The “I failed to field it cleanly but knocked the ball in the only direction that would’ve stopped the Braves from scoring” by Mookie Betts.
• The original pinch run for Sean Murphy decision forcing Ha-Seong Kim to the plate for the first time in 15 days…

… and of course, Kim coming through with a solid, 100+ mph, nearly 75+ mph bat speed single to win the game.

Maybe the only competition was the Chadwick Tromp Game (Braves score two in the tenth to tie, including a Tromp RBI, then walk it off via Tromp in the 11th), but that came against the Nationals, so not quite the same level of juice. What do you think?

The Dominican Summer League season wrapped up last week, and it was not a good one for the DSL Twins. They finished with a 19-35 record, allowing just under 9 runs per game, the 3rd most in the league. While its always good to win games, individual player development is prioritized in the minor leagues, and there are a handful of players that have stood out over the past few months.

The Pitching

As a team, the DSL Twins finished with a 9.33 ERA, totaling 374 walks and 372 strikeouts in 395.2 innings. While the staff completely lacked any amount of consistent production, there are a handful of intriguing arms that have the tools to turn into notable prospects.

Fernando Hernandez was the most reliable arm for the DSL Twins, posting a 4.05 ERA and 3.19 FIP and tallying 16 strikeouts and 2 walks in 13.1 innings. Still, this was in 1-2 inning stints with a 1.5 month absence in the middle. There is a solid sinker/slider combo, but with Hernandez standing at just 5’10” and turning 20 soon, this isn’t the young, raw pitcher with dreamy upside.

Enmanuel Mena and Josangel Braffit are 18-year-old righties with intriguing fastball/slider combos, but both struggled with command. Camilo Made was a late signing that showed off some impressive stuff with a plus fastball and a pair of nice breaking balls in limited action at 17 years old. Struggled a bit with command, but has long levers at 6’5” that could hold some nasty stuff if he can get his body in sync. These three have flashed some real potential, but need to find more consistent strike-throwing.

Right-handers Yolcar Garcia and Alam Soriano are the other two pitchers I want to mention, both being command arms with less explosive stuff. Garcia stands at six feet tall with a cut fastball around 90 MPH and a pair of average breaking balls. Soriano posted a 1.04 ERA and 3.20 FIP over his last 6 appearances after struggling with homers early on. His fastball pops at the top of the zone at 90-92. Slider gets solid spin and a little late bite. They are less exciting prospects with below average strikeout numbers, but the command feel gives them a significant edge over many of the other pitchers on the Dominican roster. If you look back at old rookie ball stats from current major league pitchers, size and command have a stronger tendency to translate than stuff and strikeout numbers.

Lots of 2-3 pitch repertoires in this group with a lack of changeup usage. This IFA crop lacks pitching talent, but there is no shortage of intriguing bats.

The $1.5 Million Man

The Twins’ top 2026 international free agent signing was infielder Enmanuel Merlo at just under $1.5 million. MLB Pipeline’s 34th ranked IFA signing showed off impressive tools in his first season as a pro. Merlo is 6’1” with some big power potential in his frame. Extreme ground ball rates limited his power production this year, but he consistently registered 100+ MPH exit velocities. As a switch hitter, he looked more polished from the left side, totaling more walks than strikeouts. Maybe a little more raw power, but also more whiff from the right side.

Merlo posted a 115 wRC+ on the season, but he slashed .403/.526/.581 over his last 20 games for a 175 wRC+ with 15 walks and 10 strikeouts. The contact numbers and approach have improved tremendously throughout the season as he looks more and more like a big league hitting prospect. With a strong frame and a talented bat that’s already showing great development at 17 years old, Enmanuel Merlo looks like one of the Twins’ top rookie ball hitters.

He split time between short and third this year, showcasing quality actions with an average arm. He has the type of frame that will typically beef up and turn into a bat-first corner infielder. He’s a little lumbery as a runner. Might make more sense as a first baseman if the arm doesn’t play enough at third. I’m seeing a Josh Bell profile with a high likelihood for more defensive value. His bat has a chance to push him through the minors very quickly.

The Walk Merchants

17-year-old 2B Jendy Martinez produced probably the most eye-popping statline on the team this year, tallying a ridiculous 58 walks to just 18 strikeouts. Martinez is a smaller switch-hitter with quick feet. He was primarily a second baseman, but mixed in a little center field. While he lacks raw power, the contact skills and swing decisions are looking incredibly advanced. His swing is smooth and simple from both sides of the plate. Over the last 20 games, Jendy slashed .403/547/.597 with 21 walks and 3 strikeouts. He mixed on 22 stolen bags on the season. He is a long ways out, but showing off a very fun profile in year one.

SS Daiyer Barboza cooled off after being one of the hottest hitters in the league for the first month or so. The 17-year-old has advanced spin recognition and contact skills from the left side of the plate while showing off quality power potential. He totaled 52 walks and 29 strikeouts on the season and smacked 4 homers while slashing .272/.487/.412. At 6’2” with a leaner frame, Barboza has room to add some muscle and grow into more power. He runs well and has played primarily shortstop so far, but may not have the quick twitch of a major league shortstop. Still, there is potential for positive defensive value somewhere in the infield.

Juan Holmann missed the last month of the season with injury, but his 170 wRC+ led the team as he slashed .310/.533/.535 in 27 games. Holmann has more whiff issues, but his patient approach led to him walking and striking out at a 29.5% clip. He looks a bit more muscular than the other two and generates excellent bat speed in his 6’0” frame. His swing reminds me a lot of Kaelen Culpepper. The righty infielder stole 14 bags and split time across the infield, showcasing a strong arm and quality defensive actions. At 17 years old, Holmann has hit tool concerns but is a high-upside bat with some advanced physical tools.

Talented Outfielders

While Abel Sosa and Jhon Gonzalez finished with average production in their age 17 season, they are toosly and talented players that add some nice depth to the bottom of the system and have a real chance to reach the majors.

Abel Sosa played a mix of center and right field this year. The righty stands at 6’3” with a lean frame, but impressive bat speed and a chance to grow into some real power. His swing is efficient and fluid. He is a more aggressive hitter, but struck out at just a 14.9% clip this season. While the contact rates were good and he showed off some impressive power, the quality of contact lacked consistency. He slashed .293/.385/.420, which was good for a 98 wRC+. Also showed off some solid movement skills. Has a good arm and projects to fit nicely into a corner outfield spot. Sosa’s bat is raw but could be well worth the wait.

Jhon Gonzalez possesses an intriguing set of tools as well. The 6’0” lefty is an aggressive hitter that struggles with chase and has some bigger whiff concerns, but there is real power potential and some impressive athleticism. There are some moving parts in his violent swing which contributes to the whiff concerns, but his 21.2% strikeout rate remained respectable. Gonzalez has flashed solid bat speed and exit velocities for a 17-year-old, but high ground ball rates limited his power production. He stole 10 bags in 46 games and was the team’s primary center fielder, showcasing a good arm and some range. It’s early, but Jhon Gonzalez has impressive tools with potential to impact the game in multiple facets.

While the DSL Twins struggled to win games, it was a good season for the offense, which once again included a handful of notable bats. The 2025 IFA class fared extremely well in the Florida Complex this year, and that level will be an important checkpoint for this 2026 group when they head to the states next season.

Toledo Mud Hens 4, St. Paul Saints 2 (box)

The Hens built an early lead and held on in a contest that featured a lot of traffic on the bases, but not a whole lot of run scoring.

The Hens missed an opportunity in the second, but in the third they opened the scoring in this one. John Peck drew a walk with one out and stole second. Trei Crus doubled him in and Max Anderson launched a two-run homer to center field for a 3-0 lead. That shot was Anderson’s 14th of the season to go with his .894 OPS and improved plate discipline. Hopefully we’ll see him up in September.

Austin Gomber got the start, and he was pretty solid, allowing just a run in the fourth before leaving the game in the fifth. Enmanuel de Jesus gave up a solo shot to Walker Jenkins in the sixth, But Brant Hurter, Ty Madden, and Luke Taggart locked it down the rest of the way, with Taggart earning his first Triple-A save.

They got a little help in the eighth, when Bennett Lee was hit by a pitch and Cal Stevenson, pinch-hitting for Peck, singled. Cruz stepped to the dish for another RBI double to make it 4-2 where it ended.

Anderson: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, HR, BB

Cruz: 2-5, R, 2 RBI, 2 2B, K

Gomber: 4.1 IP, ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K

Coming Up Next: It’s an 8:07 p.m. ET start on Thursday with the series tied up.

Altoona Curve 6, Erie SeaWolves 1 (box)

The bats were quiet in this one, while Lucas Elissalt struggled through a long first inning and was lifted early for pitch count reasons as Altoona cruised to victory.

Elissalt got the first out of the game, but needed 15 pitches for the next two hitters, surrendering a walk and a single. A pair of singles followed to score a run, and then Elissalt punched the next hitters and got a pop-up to end the inning. Unfortunately he was over 30 pitches and the Tigers have a strict policy of shutting down a starter after an inning that long.

Yoniel Curet took over and he was rocked for three runs in the second and one in the third. Meanwhile, veteran lefty Nick Dombkowski was cooking through the SeaWolves lineup with six perfect innings and six strikeouts. He finally left the game in the seventh, and Woody Hadeen and Zyhir Hope singled with one out before Thayron Liranzo ground into an inning ending double play.

In the eighth, E.J. Exposito led off with a double, and a pair of ground outs were enough to score him, but that’s all the SeaWolves could manage.

Exposito: 1-3, R, 2B

Hope: 1-4, 2 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:00 p.m. ET start in Altoona on Thursday with the SeaWolves down 2-0 in the series.

Peoria Chiefs 5, West Michigan Whitecaps 4 (box)

Ben Jacobs was brilliant once again, but the bullpen blew a slim lead in the eighth to lose on Wednesday.

The lefty’s rapid rise toward the top of the Tigers’ farm system didn’t miss a beat in this one, as Jacobs pounded the zone for five innings of scoreless ball. He allowed just two hits and a walk, while punching out seven hitters on the night. He threw 47 of 66 pitches for strikes, and with the ‘Caps fighting for a playoff spot, they should’ve let him keep going.

The ‘Caps opened the scoring in the third. Stephen Hrustich drew a leadoff walk, and Carson Rucker and Jackson Strong drew one-out walks to load the bases. A passed ball scored a run, and then Bryce Rainer was hit by a pitch to reload the bases. Beau Ankeney and Edian Espinal struck out to end the threat and that would come back to haunt them.

Lefty Juanmi Vasquez allowed the Chiefs to tie it up in the sixth. Carson Rucker untied it with a solo shot in the bottom of the seventh. Unfortunately, Ryan Harvey gave up four runs, three earned, in the top of the eighth to take a 5-2 lead.

Espinal and Ricardo Hurtado singled with one out in the eighth, and Espinal scored on a wild pitch. Rucker cracked another solo shot in the bottom of the ninth, his third homer since his promotion, but that was as close as they’d get to a comeback.

With the loss, the Whitecaps are now a game behind Great Lakes in the East division. Also, longtime Whitecaps’ play-by-play man Dan Hasty announced on Wednesday that he’ll be leaving the position at season’s end. We’ll discuss this more as the season comes to an end, but for now we wish Dan well in all his future endeavours. He’s been the voice of the Whitecaps for 12 years now.

Rucker: 2-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 HR, BB, K

Espinal: 2-4, R, K

Rainer: 1-4, 2 K, HBP

Jacobs: 5.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, BB, 7 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:35 p.m. ET start in Comstock Park on Thursday.

Lakeland Flying Tigers vs. Clearwater Threshers (suspended)

Cameron Flukey, the Tigers first round pick back in July, was overpowering in this one before rain suspended play in the fourth inning. They’ll look to finish it at 4:00 p.m. ET on Thursday before playing their normally scheduled game.

Flukey averaged 95.5 mph and a whopping 20 inches of IVB in this one. He got five whiffs on nine swing on the heater, and got a whiff with both curveball and cutter as well. He threw 26 of 44 pitches for strikes, allowing a hit and a walk, but no runs, and striking out four. Flukey hasn’t allowed a run through three short pro appearances.

The Flying Tigers scored three in the first when Jude Warwick singled and Jordan Yost doubled to lead off the inning. Jesus Pinto struck out, but Zach MacDonald walked to load the bases. Cris Rodriguez smoked a two-run double, and MacDonald scored on an Anibal Salas sacrifice fly.

Paul Wilson handled the fourth inning, but his outing, as the Tigers look to finally stretch him out after a pair of injury plagued seasons, was interrupted by the standard August rains in Florida.

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel, so what was it that I said about the Yankees’ bullpen yesterday morning before we knew of the latest roster moves?

The Yankees’ bullpen deserves a lot of credit for exceeding expectations in 2026. There was plenty of eye-rolling in the offseason when it became clear that they were going with pretty much the same bunch that ended 2026, minus Luke Weaver and Devin Williams. Minimal offseason improvements were made.

And yes, there were absolutely misses. Camilo Doval and Jake Bird were terrible; they’ve since been traded. But while David Bednar’s success was expected … Brent Headrick, Paul Blackburn, and Fernando Cruz 2: Electric Boogaloo? They’ve helped this pitching staff stand up and carry the team during a wretched stretch for the bats. The bad news is that because said bats were, again, so wretched for so long, the Yankees were always playing close ballgames, and Aaron Boone had to ride the bullpen’s best like mid-2000s Joe Torre or else risk close games falling into the hands of Doval, Bird, Ryan Yarbrough, or whoever the 26th man happened to be that day.

Well, now the worm has turned. It’s more apparent for Cruz, who has surrendered 11 runs and five homers across his last 13.2 innings, but Headrick got hit hard last night as well. There is very little wiggle room at this point in the AL East race for the Yankees to be giving away ballgames when the offense actually shows up, but that’s what happened.

A few hours after that posted, the Yankees announced that Cruz was going on the IL with ominous right elbow discomfort. Annnnnd a few hours after that, Aaron Boone told reporters in the postgame that Cruz had a partially torn UCL. Zoinks. Cruz and Headrick were two of the 18 relievers in MLB to reach 60 appearances already, and barring a miracle, it doesn’t sound like the former will be adding to his total for the remainder of 2026.

Suddenly, here’s what the Yankees’ bullpen looks like at the moment:

RHP David Bednar
LHP Brent Headrick
RHP Paul Blackburn
LHP Tim Hill
RHP Yerry De los Santos
RHP Michael Fulmer
RHP Justin Topa
LHP Ryan Yarbrough

So that’s different! Further tweaks could be on the horizon, as Clarke Schmidt and Ryan Weathers are working their way back from injury as relievers and the team is tentatively expecting both to play a role. Luis Gil and Angel Chivilli could make returns from the minors as well. But even with Cruz’s recent scuffles, that group seems less reliable without him. There’s reason for optimism with Matt Blake’s apparatus here, but it’s hard to predict how, say, Schmidt and Weathers fare when neither have been relievers for a hot minute.

I think Schmidt and Weathers are talented enough to make it work if they are healthy enough to return to the big-league roster, and even Gil could provide some innings now that he’s been converted. Maybe it’s just a one-game one-off, but hell, even Fulmer looked good in his Yankees debut on Monday night. It’s hard to strike out a hitter as gifted as Triple Crown threat Yordan Alvarez on accident.

I go back and forth on this topic. I have enough confidence in the overall operation that I’ll say I’m not too worried yet. On a scale of 1-5, I’ll say about a 3.5 in terms of confidence. If neither Schmidt nor Weathers can be effective in a relief comeback, then it’s certainly dropping to a three or worse.

Regardless, I am still worried at how much Headrick and Bednar have had to pitch in 2026, and as alluded in the earlier excerpt, I am forever scarred by the playoff impact of Torre’s overuse of guys like Tom Gordon, Paul Quantrill, and Scott Proctor. Yes, it’s been a very long time since then, and even at their apex, Aaron Boone does not use his arms quite as freely. Hopefully, the 24 runs scored across the last few games portend a long-awaited offensive rebound and the bats can give the most-used arms at least a couple extra days off here and there.

Today on the site, Andrés will profile new Yankees reliever Justin Topa, Sam will run through the Rivalry Roundup, Jonathan will celebrate what would have been the 80th birthday of forgotten catcher Ed Herrmann, Peter will break down his Sequence of the Week, and Michael will recall some niche Yankee killers in recent memory.

Today’s Matchup:

New York Yankees vs. Houston Astros

Time: 7:05 p.m. EST

TV: YES Network, Space City Home Network

Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a handful of young pitchers with a lot of potential, and Khristian Curtis is one of them. The 24-year-old has only pitched in two games so far but both outings were very impressive.

His first outing was on July 18 against the Cleveland Guardians, where he threw for five innings. The right-handed pitcher allowed just two hits and struck out four batters allowing no runs. 

His second outing was on August 23 against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers. He pitched three innings, allowed no runs, struck out a batter and allowed only one walk. To have a scoreless game against the defending champion and one of the best teams in the league like the Dodgers is really impressive. 

Even though Curtis has only thrown eight innings, he did so against two playoff-caliber teams and didn’t allow a single run. That’s a really promising sign for someone that could easily be a part of starting rotation in the future. 

Curtis was just optioned back down to Triple A Indianapolis but is expected to be called back up when the rosters expand in September. Curtis started 12 games for Double-A Altoona before earning his Triple-A promotion on June 9 and has pitched in nine games, making five starts.

Even though Curtis was called back down I still think the righty can see some more action before the season is over. To throw eight scoreless innings as a young inexperienced 24-year-old is impressive, and I think he could be a nice piece to have especially for the start of the 2027 season. 

The young pitcher was ranked as the 21st prospect in the MLB pipeline before getting called up. Curtis was selected by Pittsburgh in the 12th round of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft out of Arizona State (Tempe) University. 

MLB Trade Rumors | Anthony Franco: The Yankees will be without one of their most trust bullpen arms for at least a little while, as Fernando Cruz was placed on the 15-day IL with right elbow discomfort. That was part of a series of pregame moves yesterday that saw veteran arm Michael Fulmer sign a big-league deal, reliever Bradley Hanner demoted, Elmer Rodríguez promoted for the spot start, and Kervin Castro open up a spot on the 40-man roster by going to the 60-day IL.

The news got worse in the postgame, though. Like Castro, Cruz is now staring down the possibility of season-ending elbow surgery. Per manager Aaron Boone, imaging showed that he had a partially torn UCL. He’ll be getting a second opinion, but there’s a very real chance that he winds up getting Tommy John or something along those lines, which would also all but doom his 2027 as well. Cruz will already be turning 37 in March, so while he’s under team control through 2028, he may have already thrown his last pitch in pinstripes. It’s a shame, as Cruz had a sterling 2.20 ERA through mid-July, but the wear and tear of heavy use in the first half (due in part to the Yankees’ offense struggling to break close games open) seemed to get to him. We wish him well.

New York Post | Joel Sherman ($): Heading into a big four-game set with the Red Sox this weekend, the Yankees face a near-unique problem: Boston is looking to start three lefties against them, plus another portsider in an opener role. It would be just the second time in my lifetime that New York faces four consecutive southpaw. If it feels like this happens more than usual, you’re right, as the team has seen the third-most PA against left-handed pitching in baseball this year, and critically since June 1st they’ve managed just an 87 wRC+ against ‘em. Boston is setting the table for the Yankees to be at a distinct disadvantage in this series, and while Cody Bellinger is back and hits lefties well, he can’t do it on his own.

FanGraphs | Jay Jaffe: Gerrit Cole’s Hall of Fame case was hurt somewhat by his time recovering from Tommy John surgery, as that year and a half cut away shots at many of the milestone numbers we see at necessary for enshrinement. The shortened COVID-19 season in 2020 did the same, especially considering what a peak Cole was coming off of after 2019. Still, while The Baseball Culture does need to adjust expectations for what a Hall of Fame pitcher looks like, he’s done everything he can to continue to build his case for Cooperstown in 2026, and remains a likely candidate depending on how he declines from his Cy Young form.

MLB.com | Mark Feinsand: It’s never too early to think about free agency, specifically the high end of a very soft class this year. Lefty Tarik Skubal is atop anyone’s list of the best available, but the rest doesn’t inspire very much. Randy Arozarena is probably the best position player of the crop, with Jazz Chisholm Jr. having lost a tonne of potential money with his performance this year.

Yahoo Sports | Teddy Ricketson: We close with a bit of a fun one, as Yankees Assistant Director of Baseball Operations Mike Pinsky will try to outwit, outplay and outlast the competition on the 51st season of Survivor this fall. Just don’t get voted out first, Mike.

The Yankees moved Fernando Cruz to the 15-day injured list Wednesday before even scanning his elbow, concerned enough that they felt he would require a break regardless of the MRI exam results.

The results represented a worst fear.

Cruz has a partial tear of his UCL, manager Aaron Boone said, and will seek further opinions.

But Tommy John surgery is on the table, which typically follows such a diagnosis.

The 35-year-old Cruz is out of the picture for 2026 and potentially for all of 2027, too, a blow to the team and a blow to a reliever who has both found himself and a home in The Bronx.

Something had clearly been wrong with Cruz, who was often dominant in his first year in pinstripes (striking out 72 in 48 innings) and was enjoying an even better follow-up season before hitting a wall in mid-July. After letting up the two-run home run to Jeremy Peña on Tuesday, he had given up nine earned runs in his previous 13 ²/₃ innings.

After the loss, Cruz met with trainer Tim Lentych at his locker and walked out with Lentych after talking with media. At the time, Cruz denied that there was any physical issue.

This offseason Cruz will enter his second season of arbitration and is under team control through 2028. If he successfully returns in 2028, the righty would be playing at 38.

Ryan McMahon is eligible to be activated from the IL on Sunday and could be ready then, but it is possible the Yankees wait until Tuesday, when the club can add a position player and pitcher.

“We might take it a couple extra days just with September 1st being around the corner,” Boone said before the Yankees’ 9-3 win over the Astros at the Stadium. “He might even play in a couple of rehab games prior to that. “But he’s trending in a good way.”

McMahon ran in the outfield before the game and has been taking ground balls at third.

Even on the day the Yankees placed him on the IL, McMahon had taken swings indoors with a Grade 2 thumb sprain.

An excellent defender, McMahon had started the season as an offensive liability but improved, posting a .731 OPS with seven home runs in his previous 61 games before the injury.

Without McMahon, José Caballero, who went 1-for-4 with a strikeout in the Yankees’ win on Wednesday, has received the bulk of work at third base and is just 2-for-21 in six games in the span.

Max Fried remains an option for one end of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Red Sox, which would mean he would have been sidelined for the minimum 15 days.

Fried is scheduled to throw a side session Thursday, and the Yankees will wait to see how he handles that before making a decision.

Aaron Judge, who hit Tuesday and has begun ramping up his baseball activity, threw in the outfield before the game.

Among the many roster moves the Yankees made on a day Cruz was placed on the IL and Elmer Rodríguez was activated, the club optioned Bradley Hanner, who allowed three runs in his first four major league innings.

Before the game, the Yankees held a moment of silence for Dolly Parton, who died Tuesday at 80.