Category: Baseball

BALTIMORE — Though their recent surge may help the Mets avoid going down as perhaps the most disappointing team in franchise history, Pete Alonso is a few hours south, having another season in which he’s been among the league’s best hitters.

And after a sluggish start with the Orioles, the first baseman has his new team in wild-card contention, and he is on the verge of another 30-homer season.

With a trip back to Citi Field less than a month away, Alonso said Wednesday he’s not seeking revenge on his former team, which didn’t want him back on a multiyear deal.

“Honestly, for me, nothing is spiteful,’’ Alonso said before hitting his 29th homer of the season, a solo shot, in the third inning of Baltimore’s 5-3 loss to the Yankees. He also appeared to hit another solo shot in the seventh inning, but it was ruled foul, which sparked controversy.

“During the free agent process, the Orioles were the front-runners the entire time. For me to be in a place where they see me here not for the short term but a long-term period of time, [and] not just a valuable piece from a production standpoint but a cornerstone of the franchise, I want to make good on their belief in me. I do that by playing well and helping win ballgames. It’s as simple as that.”

The Mets’ plan to replace Alonso and Brandon Nimmo with Jorge Polanco and Marcus Semien in the infield, and Luis Robert Jr. in the outfield, proved to be a disastrous miscalculation.

The team has stunningly gotten better following the trades of valuable pieces like Clay Holmes, Luke Weaver and other members of the bullpen.

Alonso has kept an eye on his former team and said he’s pleased Sean Manaea is pitching better, and Francisco Lindor is healthy and doing well.

But the series against his old team is too far away for him to give it much thought, especially as the Orioles try to get to the playoffs.

“We play the New York Yankees today in a huge divisional battle,’’ Alonso said. “Obviously, [the series versus the Mets] is not at the top of my priority list right now. I want to focus on today and every team we’re playing. I know it’s coming down the road pretty soon, but we have business to take care of every single day.”

Since the end of April, few have done that better than Alonso — just three players have an OPS higher than Alonso’s .915 over his past 96 games. He credits the improvement to getting comfortable in his new surroundings, as well as adapting to fatherhood.

“It’s a big change,’’ Alonso said. “Now, things are firing on all cylinders.”

The Orioles opened Wednesday a game out of the final AL wild-card spot.

“It’s a really exciting time,’’ Alonso said. “Any team where you’re only a game out of a playoff spot deep into August, a lot of people will take it. We haven’t played our best baseball collectively, but I feel as we’ve gained some momentum moving along in the second half, our best baseball is ahead of us. … We’ve done a really good job being resilient, not just individually, but as a group. I’m really proud of how the team has fought and faced adversity. It’s been really fun to be a part of.” 

The imaging Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz underwent in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning revealed a “best-case scenario,” manager Dave Roberts said before the series finale against the Rockies.

“There were no findings, so that was good,” Roberts said. “MRI was clean. It doesn’t change the fact that he had this sensation in his neck. But I think to keep working on it, give it some rest as far as throwing the baseball.”

Díaz officially went on the IL for “neck inflammation,” but early theories on the injury, before he went to a specialist on Wednesday, suggested the issue could be related to the area around the trapezius, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

Roberts said Wednesday that the results suggested the injury was more muscular, rather than nerve related.

Read more:Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz heads back to injured list because of neck inflammation

“I think he’d been feeling the tightness in his neck,” Roberts said. “But I think where it went to the other night, he hadn’t felt that sensation. So that’s what really checked him up.”

Roberts said he didn’t know exactly how long Díaz would be shut down from throwing, but he estimated that it probably would be only a couple of days.

The bullpen shuffle continued Wednesday, when the Dodgers activated right-hander Brock Stewart (right shoulder discomfort) from the 15-day IL. In a corresponding move, they designated right-hander Jonathan Hernández for assignment.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Jorge Polanco’s underwhelming first season with the Mets will end in surgery.

The veteran infielder was placed on the injured list Wednesday with left ankle bursitis.

Before the Mets beat the Padres 4-2 at Citi Field to complete a series victory, interim manager Andy Green indicated Polanco plans to undergo season-ending surgery for the ailment.

Green said Polanco, who arrived on a two-year contract worth $40 million, will likely enter spring training in a baseball progression.

“He’s battled this all year, something he’s had to deal with prior to the season,” Green said. “It’s gotten to the point he just can’t get freedom from the pain. He has gone out there grinding and tried to. He’s wanted to post for this team and it’s at a point now where surgery is actually his best option.”

Polanco, 31, owned a .431 OPS over 37 games this season.

Signed to play first base as Pete Alonso’s replacement, he appeared in only two games at the position.

Polanco’s first IL stint lasted three months (he originally was sidelined by a bone bruise in his wrist, but the persistent ankle issues prolonged his absence).

“He’s been an unbelievable teammate in the clubhouse and I know he’s felt the burden of producing for the team, city and for the fans,” Green said. “I know that has been heavy on him at times and just my observation from seeing him hit and watching him produce, it has affected him mechanically — the ability to load on that back foot the way he typically does. I don’t think he’s wanting to make excuses, so I am not sure he will even say that.”

Austin Warren threw a scoreless seventh inning with two strikeouts in his return from a right forearm strain. Warren had last pitched July 7.

Jared Young finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and has an .887 OPS over his last 35 games.

Utility man Eric Wagaman was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to take Polanco’s roster spot.

The Mets also recalled RHP Chayce McDermott and optioned RHP Jack Weisenburger.

Although the Colorado Rockies fared better in their second game against the Los Angeles Dodgers than they did in the first, they are still searching their first win during this home stand.

Tonight on Rockies Charity Night, they’ll try again.

Colorado has lost five straight at home, their second-longest losing streak at Coors this year (6, April 23-May 6). Overall, the Rockies have gone 8-9 over their last 17 games since July 31. Since June 1, 2024, Colorado is 7-30 against the Dodgers with the club being outscored by 105 runs (249-144) in that span. The Rockies are 5-15 at Coors Field in that span with Colorado’s starters posting a 7.36 ERA (95.1 IP, 78 ER).

Starting for the Dodgers is Roki Sasaki. This will be his 22nd start for the Dodgers in 2026.

The righty has a 4.46 ERA in 111.0 IP. He’s struck out 108, walked 45, and given up 21 home runs. Sasaki has a 1.29 WHIP.  His last start was against the Milwaukee Brewers where he earned a no-decision. Worth noting, he walked a career high-tying five hitters (fourth time).

Taking the mound for the Rockies will be LHP Kyle Freeland.

This will mark the 29th start of his career against the Dodgers. His 28 starts entering today are the most against the Dodgers by any active pitcher. Freeland has 12 quality starts against them since his first year in the Majors (2017). They are the most by any pitcher against the Dodgers in that span.

Currently, Freeland has an ERA of 6.27 in 120.2 IP. He’s struck out 98 while giving up 27 walks and 22 home runs with a 1.44 WHIP.

And now to the details.

First Pitch: 6:40 pm MDT

TV: Rockies TV

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

Lineups

For the visiting Dodgers:

And the home Rockies:

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The Red Sox had chances to pull away and also come back in a wild Wednesday afternoon at Fenway Park, culminating in a 7-6 loss in 10 innings.

From Mickey Gasper’s third straight game with a homer to another long ball allowed by Greg Weissert, the Red Sox still looked far better than the group that struggled for three previous series. 

Here’s three takeaways from Wednesday afternoon’s loss.

CARROLL’S CAROUSEL

Not that he would’ve been able to rob either of these, but Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll had quite the time trying to track these fly balls off the bats of Nick Sogard and Jarren Duran on a pair of solo blasts for the Red Sox. 

Enjoy these outfield routes. 

TOLLE SETS THE TONE
Payton Tolle looked sharp for the early innings of this start before the Diamondbacks forced him to labor by the fifth inning. The Red Sox starter let multiple hitters off the hook in two-strike counts and surrendered the lead in the fifth inning.

Tolle allowed three earned runs in five innings of work with 98 pitches on the afternoon while he struck out six Diamondbacks. 

While he took a step back from his previous run of starts, today feels like an easy outing to push past for Tolle as he should have one more start in August in an overall strong month. 

TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS VS. NL 

The Red Sox still won the series against Arizona after losing three consecutive series before then at the end of the 32-7 stretch that turned the season around. Boston should have the upper hand in the next two series when they host the Giants and visit the Marlins before a massive weekend series in New York with the Yankees to close out the month.

Last night was a lifeless performance for the Nats, who got shut out by the Rangers. Now they will look to even the series and take steps back in the right direction. The last thing we want is for a once promising season to totally implode the last two months of the season.

The Nats are making a couple of changes. CJ Abrams is back at shortstop, with Nasim Nunez sliding to second which pushes Jorbit Vivas to third. Andres Chaparro will man the DH position in this one. Jose Tena will start out in left, which pushes Daylen Lile to right field. Dylan Crews is out of the lineup. Keibert Ruiz is back behind the plate. Nats ace Cade Cavalli will get the ball. He dominated in his last start.

With a righty on the mound, the Mariners are making a few changes. Veteran  Joc Pederson is back in the lineup at first base. Wyatt Langford will DH, which moves former top prospect Jarred Kelenic to left field. Nicky Lopez will play second base and Elias Diaz is behind the plate. Kumar Rocker is on the mound.

Game Info:

Stadium: Globe Life Field

Time: 8:05 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

The Nats need to start showing some more fight down the stretch. It will be key for Blake Butera to show he can keep his players engaged as the season winds down. Tonight will be a good test. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!

This may be difficult to believe, but the Seattle Mariners still have a series in front of them to try to win. Sure, they may have nearly doubled their negative run differential last night, but the league standings do not care for the nuances in margin of victory; rather, they only consider which team scored the greater number of runs on a given day. Last night’s debacle counts for but one loss, despite the horrors. Today, the Mariners grace the baseball diamond once again.

Leading the attempt to even the series will be Logan Gilbert, who has somewhat quietly been the Mariners’ most productive starter for over a couple of months now. Dating back to his start on May 22, Gilbert’s FIP (2.89) ranks sixth in baseball among qualified starters. He’ll face off with a formidable opponent in righty Dustin May, whom Jake Mailhot covered in the series preview.

Lineups

Deadline acquisition Taylor Ward is back in the lineup as a DH after missing just under a week with leg soreness. He’ll get a soft landing at eighth in the order, with Brendan Donovan remaining in the leadoff spot against a righty.

News

Shannon Drayer provided an ounce of good news Wednesday. J.P. Crawford appears headed towards a return in his final year under contract.

Also mentioned is the shuffling of arms. Josh Simpson was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma, with Jhonathan Díaz taking his place. The club announced that Luke Raley was transferred to the 60-day Injured List to make room for Díaz on the 40-man roster.

Game Information

First Pitch: 4:40 p.m. PDT

TV:Mariners.TV with Rich Waltz, Ryan Rowland-Smith and sideline reporter Brad Adam

Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports with Gary Hill Jr. and Shannon Drayer

Washington Nationals @ Texas Rangers

Wednesday, August 19, 2026, 7:05 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / Rangers Sports Network)

The Shed

RHP Cade Cavalli vs. RHP Kumar Rocker

Go Rangers!

Game 3 with the Sacramento/Las Vegas A’s will see the Royals going for a series win before the day game finishes off the four-game set tomorrow afternoon. This evening will feature Seth Lugo versus Gage Jump. Lugo has had an up and down season with some pretty disappointing overall numbers. Jump is a lefty whose ERA looks similar to Lugo’s but with better peripherals. That means the lineup is going to have an extra righty with Massey sitting for KC today with Loftin leading off again.

Yesterday, the Athletics were three outs away from evening up this four-game series against the Kansas City Royals. However, the league-worst bullpen cost the team once again. Hogan Harris blew his sixth save of the season, allowing the Royals to tie the game before giving way to fellow reliever Elvis Alvarado, who surrendered Bobby Witt Jr.‘s walk-off bloop single.

With two games remaining in Kansas City, the A’s still have a chance to earn a series split, but they must first break their two-game losing streak tonight.

Roster Move

Before the game, the A’s injured list got a bit less crowded. Veteran left-hander Jeffrey Springs returns after missing three weeks because of hip discomfort. To make room on the roster, struggling reliever Seth Johnson was optioned to Triple-A, where he can work on regaining his form in a lower-pressure environment.

Springs will have an immediate opportunity to make an impact, as he will start for the A’s today. The 33-year-old southpaw enters his 23rd start of the season with a 3-11 record, a 6.17 ERA, a 1.48 WHIP and 88 strikeouts over 108 innings.

Springs was a solid starting pitcher in his first season with the Athletics last year. This year, things have gone south, as he has not won a game since April. In his most recent seven starts, Springs went 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA and a 1.93 WHIP.

When fellow veteran Luis Severino went down with an injury earlier this season, the team looked to Springs to provide a solid experienced presence in the rotation. Instead, Springs has pitched like one of the worst pitchers in the league, as only two MLB pitchers have allowed more home runs than him this season.

The fly-ball pitcher has especially struggled at Sutter Health Park, calling it “a recipe for disaster.” Yet, he has performed just as badly on the road, something he will try to remedy this evening in his second start against the Royals this season and eighth of his career.

Here’s how the A’s starting lineup shakes out tonight:

Jacob Wilson is out of the lineup for a third straight game. That shoulder injury has kept him sidelined in recent games. There is a real possibility that he will soon join the team’s lengthy season-ending injured list.

With the A’s on track for another 100-loss campaign, the objective for the rest of the season should be for the veterans to finish strong and for the youngsters to take advantage of extended playing opportunities.

If the Athletics want to win tonight, the team will need center fielder Henry Bolte and second baseman Jeff McNeil to continue their respective hot streaks. Additionally, this game gives Tommy White and Max Muncy another chance to position themselves as part of the A’s future plans. Finally, catcher Jonah Heim is feeling the effects of being pushed into an everyday role following starter Shea Langeliers’ injury. Not only does Heim have one hit in his past 20 at-bats, but he also committed a crucial catcher’s interference error that gave Kansas City a free baserunner in its game-winning ninth inning rally.

The A’s offense will face Royals right-hander Seth Lugo. The 36-year-old enters his 26th start of the season with a 5-7 record, a 4.59 ERA, a 1.38 WHIP and 108 strikeouts over 139 1/3 innings. Lugo has struggled lately, posting a 4.66 ERA over his past seven starts. The 10-year veteran received a no-decision in his last start against the Los Angeles Angels after allowing five runs on seven hits over 4 2/3 innings.

Over his career, Lugo holds a 2-0 record with a 4.66 ERA and 26 strikeouts in four total appearances against the Athletics. The right-hander will aim to earn his third win against the A’s, but given his current run of form, tonight presents a great opportunity for the A’s offense to put more runs on the scoreboard. The Green and Gold must take advantage of any mistake pitches Lugo leaves over the plate if they want to hand him his first defeat against them.

And Kansas City’s lineup:

All of the Royals’ regulars are in the lineup, spearheaded by the duo of Witt Jr. and right fielder Jac Caglianone. Left fielder Tyler Tolbert gets his first start of the series after his game-tying, pinch-hit two-run single in the ninth inning last night.

Win #50 is waiting for us! We need this one. Let’s go A’s!

Follow the Game:
Watch:
Athletics – NBCSCA

Listen:
Athletics -Talk 650 KSTE, A’s Cast

What more can be said about Jared Young? 

Young has more than taken advantage of his opportunity in the Mets’ lineup this season, and that continued again on Wednesday afternoon. 

The sweet-swinging lefty enjoyed himself another multi-hit showing. 

He flew out to right in his first at-bat of the day, but then ripped a two-out single behind Carson Benge’s two-run homer, which opened the scoring in the bottom of the fourth. 

Young was retired again his next time up, but tacked on a much-needed insurance run in the eighth. 

Left in the game for a tough left-on-left matchup with the dominant Yuki Matsui, the veteran saw just one pitch before ripping a two-out RBI single up the middle to make it a three-run ballgame.

“That was a huge swing from Jared to give us a little cushion there,” Andy Green said.

Kodai Senga had to work through his first scare in his new high-leverage role, but the Mets rolled a game-ending double play to secure a second straight series victory. 

For Young, that was just his eighth hit against a left-hander in 35 tries on the year. 

No matter who he faces, though, the slugger just continues to produce as he’s now hitting .270 with 20 XBH’s, 30 RBI, and a .880 OPS for the season. 

“It’s going to sound cliché, but I’m just keeping things simple,” he told SNY’s Steve Gelbs. “Doing my work in the cage with the coaches, listening to my teammates, and just going out and playing ball.” 

That simple approach certainly has worked for Young. 

The 31-year-old is enjoying the most consistent stretch of his big league career with a .332 average, 12 RBI, and a .880 OPS over his last 30 games.

With five years of club control remaining, Young figures to be playing himself into a role on the 2027 Mets roster. 

We might as well make it two in a row against the Rays. Getting 10 runs again would be a good thing too. Half a game out of a wild card spot seems unbelievable considering where we were at the start of the month.

Vlad is going to play a rehab game tomorrow in Dunedin.

The Jays are saying that Ernie Clement is ‘under the weather’ and that George Springer is getting a day off to rest his shoulder and allow Kirk to DH while Valenzuela plays behind the plate.

And there are a couple of former Jays watching the game today:

Go Jays Go.

Guardians vs. Tugboat. Oh boy.

Here’s the Giants’ lineup:

Here’s the Guardians’ lineup:

Rhys Hoskins to the IL, DeLauter and Adell still out with various ouchies. Looks like the bench is Patrick Bailey and David Fry (back for Hoskins), folks.

Let’s go, Guardians!

It’s game 4 of the St. Louis Cardinals 5-game series vs the Cincinnati Reds Wednesday evening as Matthew Liberatore will hopefully be the best version of himself as he’s the scheduled starter. The Reds will force Chase Burns onto the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 5:40pm central time and the game broadcast will be available via Cardinals.tv.

Go Rays!