ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 25: Tyler Glasnow #31 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches during the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on August 25, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Tuesday’s contest against the Atlanta Braves featured a disappointing ending where the Dodgers left the tying runner on third base in a 4-3 defeat, snapping their six-game winning streak.
Before the uneventful finish, Tyler Glasnow made his return to the mound, making his first start since May 6 against the Houston Astros. Although he allowed three earned runs in the first inning, Glasnow, like Tarik Skubal on Saturday, managed to settle in and didn’t allow another run the rest of the way. Glasnow ended his night tossing five innings against Altanta, allowing six hits and those three runs while striking out seven and not allowing a walk.
Glasnow discussed his change in sequencing after a laborious first inning, helping him settle into a groove where he struck out six over four shutout innings onward, per Courtney Hollmon of MLB.com.
“I think just switching up a little bit,” Glasnow said. “I think it was pretty fastball-heavy the first inning. A little bit predictable. Not a ton of hard-hit balls, but it’s just how it goes sometimes. But I think coming out in the second, I just felt more in rhythm and my slider was working a lot better. … The slider felt good today, too. So I just tried to start some guys off with it and throw it in middle counts and just not be so predictable.”
After spending parts of five seasons with the division rival Arizona Diamondbacks, Alek Thomas has had a nice start to his time as a Dodger. Thomas put the Dodgers on the board in the second inning of Tuesday’s matchup with an RBI single, and the outfielder has a .300 average with three RBI and a walk over his first three games with his new team.
Prior to the start of Tuesday’s game, Thomas spoke with Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA about getting acclimated with his new team and getting a first-hand understanding of how “next-level” the Dodgers really are.
“I’ve heard that everything is next-level, and it was very eyeopening to see that firsthand, even in the minor leagues. Everything has been just on another level to what I’ve been used to in the past. They’re in the future, it seems like. It’s been really great.”
Maddie Lee of the Los Angeles Times notes that Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to throw another bullpen either Thursday or Friday before he makes his return to the mound, which could be in a short start over the weekend in Detroit.
Ohtani is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Thursday or Friday, pitching coach Mark Prior said. Then Ohtani and the Dodgers will finalize next steps. But Roberts didn’t rule out the possibility of Ohtani making a short start Sunday in Detroit.
ATLANTA, GA - AUGUST 25: Ozzie Albies #1 of the Atlanta Braves singles in the eighth inning during the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on Tuesday, August 25, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Cole Carter/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Atlanta Braves won their second straight after Tuesday’s 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Atlanta jumped out front early, plating three runs in the first inning and later scoring the game-winning run in the eighth. Ozzie Albies came up big, knocking in Matt Olson to give the Braves the edge.
On the other side of the ball, Bryce Elder turned in a start that began shakily, but he ultimately settled in. Over six innings, he allowed three runs on eight hits. He recorded five strikeouts.
Tuesday’s win made for Atlanta’s 77th win of the year. They go for the series win tonight at 7:15 ET.
More Braves News:
The Braves currently have a 4.5 game lead over the division, but the NL East has taken some unexpected turns.
MLB News:
The Miami Marlins placed right-hander Pete Fairbanks on the 15-day injured list with right median nerve irritation. Lefty Dax Fulton was recalled in a corresponding move.
The Toronto Blue Jays placed right-hander Shane Bieber on the 15-day injured list with right teres major inflammation. The move is retroactive to August 21.
From the Feed:
Cast your vote here for Braves Player of the Game.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JUNE 12: A general view of Oracle Park prior to the game between the Chicago Cubs and the San Francisco Giants on Friday, June 12, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Bryan Kennedy/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Good morning, baseball fans!
At least, I hope it’s a good morning. The best mornings start with a great night’s sleep. So today, I thought we’d watch a video that the San Francisco Giants’ social media team put out recently where Dave Groeschner (vice-president of medical and performance) sits down to discuss how the Giants’ medical staff helps ensure the team gets the best sleep possible.
It is, essentially, an ad for Macini’s Sleepworld, the sponsor of the video. But it’s pretty interesting to see how the medical team prioritizes sleep as an important aspect of player health and performance. Most interesting to me, personally, is the sleep room that Mancini’s put together for the players inside of the ballpark. My co-workers and I have often said we wish our office had a rest room. Because sometimes when you’re not feeling well at work all you really need is just to be horizontal for a little while.
The sleep room that the Giants have features a couple of bunk beds and a gosh darn floating bed. The bed doesn’t float, but apparently it feels like you are when you are using it, which removes gravity as a factor and allows your body to release stress on your joints.
Gonna need every employer to catch up to the Giants on this front and institute a sleep room with a float bed as an employee perk.
What time do the Giants play today?
The Giants conclude this three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds this afternoon at 12:45 p.m. PT.
Happy Wednesday, everyone! As we barrel headlong towards the last month of the regular season, some teams are starting to take a look at their results and decide it’s time to make sweeping changes. We certainly haven’t seen the last big changes we’re likely to see over the coming weeks, but just in recent days, the Astros have parted ways with their GM Dana Brown, and the Marlins have parted ways with, well, their entire scouting department. As other teams (the Padres) are ready to tighten the purse strings for next season, the Dodgers might be doing shady things with their broadcast funds. Isn’t baseball fun?
Let’s just get right into today’s links, because there’s a lot to unpack.
I’m no financial expert, but this doesn’t seem great.
The Dodgers' local-TV deal is a profound competitive advantage. Because of a bankruptcy-court ruling, the team will shield more than $1.3 billion from rev sharing over 25 years. What you might not know: They further monetized it through debt deals with Mark Walter-owned insurers. pic.twitter.com/HhwHf09Uc9
Anyone else remember when betting on baseball was a bad thing?
Today, we’re partnering with five of the most iconic teams in baseball: Dodgers, Braves, Giants, Red Sox, and Padres.
Baseball fans have made Kalshi part of how they engage with the game. We’re excited to keep investing in them and in the sport. pic.twitter.com/xsvpCSaYIH
The bad news for the Royals: They have just 30 games to play and are 8 back in the wild-card standings. That’s a tough mountain to climb. The other daunting factor … seven teams are ahead of KC in the standings: the Guardians, Astros, Twins, Blue Jays, Orioles, Mariners and Tigers.
The good news: the middle of the American League playoff race is gooey and soft. There are just four teams with a winning record in the AL, and six make the postseason field. It’s quite possible the third and final wild-card team will have a losing record.
The hard truth: Baseball Prospectus has the Royals, who have a 58-74 record, with playoff chances equal with Bluto’s midterm grade-point average in “Animal House:” 0.0. It’s hard not to say that without the same contempt as Dean Wormer.
There was praise for Bridget Howard, who is in her first season as a sideline reporter for the Royals. But the story circled back to Hudler, who had been doing most of the games with Lefebvre for the past decade-plus. Viewers don’t know who will be the Royals’ game analyst until they tune to that day’s game. “Some viewers feel there are ‘too many cooks in the kitchen’ due to a large, rotating cast of secondary analysts,” Keely wrote. “Sideline reporter Howard is noted as a ‘promising’ addition who is still finding her own voice. Overall, one’s tolerance for Hudler appears to be the deciding factor in how one appreciates these broadcasts.”
The first step comes Wednesday. A proposal about funding for the downtown stadium is listed on the agenda with Kansas City’s Tax Increment Financing commission. The meeting is expected to provide more details about how the city will pay for its portion of the stadium.
Sonya Brown, a casual Royals fan, said she is watching the financial details closely.
“I’m getting ready to retire soon, and I don’t want to end up paying a lot of taxes on stuff,” Brown said.
The going interest rate for K.C.’s special obligation bonds, reports the Beacon, is 5.725%, compared to 4.25% for general obligation bonds. Applied to a $600 million loan, this means that Kansas City is going to be spending about $7 million a year extra on stadium bond payments in order to avoid a public vote. That’s money that, if it were used to finance other city spending, could cover about $117 million in different public needs, if the city had gone the voter-approval route for the Royals project. But you can’t put a price on not letting the people vote, or rather you can, and that price is $117 million.
This stretch has also included Kimbrel notching save number 441 in Saturday’s 3-1 victory over the Tigers, which narrowed the gap between him at fifth and Lee Smith at fourth to 37. Whether or not he moves up in the ranks remains to be seen, but the fact he’s even performing to the rate of being worthy of save opportunities should exceed many expectations for him in Kansas City – and that’s saying a lot considering the Royals have been putrid in closing out games in the ninth in 2026.
And amid the Royals’ current eight-game winning streak, it’s worth noting the impact he’s made to help improve this bullpen to a state where a stretch like this is even achievable.
The case centers on a lawsuit from Sen. Mike Moon, an Ash Grove Republican, Rep. Bryant Wolfin, a Ste. Genevieve Republican and conservative activist Ron Calzone, who argue that the law is unconstitutional and should be struck down.
Missouri lawmakers passed the law during a chaotic special session last year designed to keep both the Royals and the Kansas City Chiefs inside state lines. The funding package, called the Show-Me Sports Investment Act, allows the state to pay for up to 50% of new sports stadiums, but the state’s exact financial role in the Royals stadium remains unclear.
Tuesday’s arguments are poised to be largely procedural. Calzone and the two lawmakers will try to convince the state’s highest court that they have legal standing to bring the case after a Cole County judge dismissed the lawsuit earlier this year.
Australia bans AI-generated music from official charts. “The crackdown comes as a variation of Madonna’s pop hit “Like a Prayer” created by an Australian producer using AI-generated vocals and drums has spent 16 weeks in the Australian top 20, stoking debate about generative AI’s place in music.“
DENVER, CO - AUGUST 22: Colorado Rockies second baseman Willi Castro (3) prepares to bat in the first inning during a game between the Cleveland Guardians and the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on August 22, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
There has been talk in the Purple Row comments of late about platoons. The 2026 Colorado Rockies have used the platoon system for a while, or at least it has been more apparent this season. Looking for every measure to gain an edge and win ballgames, the Rockies are using platoons as much as they can in the lineup, hoping to put forth the best matchups night after night.
Back in May, I asked: Is the platoon system working for the Rockies? For the most part, I concluded that it was working in theory, as the Rockies were getting the necessary production from players facing opposite-handed pitchers.
However, because the Rockies’ offense has struggled recently, it seemed worth asking a follow-up question: Is the platoon system still working for the Rockies?
For this article, we’ll be looking at the platoon splits since the start of June.
Team splits
Since June, the Rockies offense as a whole ranks
fifth in batting average (.258),
sixth in on-base percentage (.329), and
second in slugging percentage (.443).
In addition, the Rockies have the
ninth-most hits (623), and
fifth-most runs scored (369).
In most positive cases, the Rockies are a top-10 team offensively across the board in baseball.
Facing right-handed pitching
As for facing right-handed pitching, Colorado is batting .261/.334/.467 with a league-leading .801 OPS since June 1. They also rank seventh in home runs (71) while being 13th in runs scored (245). Meanwhile, the strikeout rate is at a reasonable 21.1%, and the walk rate comes in at 8.9%, which is 10th-highest.
Those numbers have been fairly consistent over the summer months. The Rockies had a .268 AVG in June and are currently sitting at that mark in August. As for July, the average dropped down to .248 while the .298 OBP was noticeably lower than the other two months, which makes sense because that was a tough month for the Rockies. Still, the team has continued finding overall success against right-handed pitching.
Facing left-handed pitching
There have also been some positive developments since the start of June concerning production against left-handed pitching. Over the summer, the Rockies are slashing .251/.320/.399, which places them in the top 15 in all three categories. They have the fourth-most hits (213) and the second-most runs scored against lefties (124) while leading the league with 120 RBI. The strikeout total is sixth-highest in the league (218), but they have the fifth-most walks (79), and the actual strikeout rates (22.9%) and walk rates (8.3%) are roughly league average.
Now, the heavy lifting in that production came in June when the Rockies hit .286/.338/.435 against southpaws. In July, they hit .244/.333/.369 and are hitting .215/.280/.388 in August, while strikeout and walk rates have dropped to league average after being 25.5% and 6.1% respectively in June.
As we know, however, these stats tell only part of the story. While they look good on paper, do the individual players reflect the success?
The lefty hitters
The left-handed hitters have found plenty of success for the Rockies this season. On a given night, the Rockies typically have three regular left-handed hitters and the addition of two switch-hitters (more on them later). The current roster also has three additional lefties coming off the bench.
Across the board, the lefties are successful against right-handed pitching. Since the start of June, there have been nine players hitting .250 or better against righties, seven of whom are currently on the big league roster. Jake McCarthy (.301) and TJ Rumfield (.300) lead the qualified lefties in batting average and are regular contributors in most categories.
Since returning from injury that cost him a month of games, Mickey Moniak has settled in with a .492 slugging against right-handed pitching with eight home runs. One of the bigger surprises has been Brett Sullivan, who has just 76 plate appearances against right-handed pitching since June, but is slashing .289/.337/.605 with six home runs.
The same success can’t be said of the players when facing left-handed pitchers. McCarthy has continued to be phenomenal, batting .298/.359/.548 with four home runs. Rumfield has also continued to be steady, particularly in his ability to draw walks against left-handed pitching. However, the other regulars on the current roster are not doing much against same-sided pitching.
Moniak has a whopping 31.7% strikeout rate while hitting .216/.244/.351 with just one home run. He has been kept in the lineup out of necessity when facing lefties, but the production has still not come for him as it has against righties.
The lack of success for most of the lefties against same-sided pitching makes it understandable as to why the Rockies deploy platoons more often.
However, the plan is only as successful as the players doing the platooning.
The righty hitters
As expected, Hunter Goodman has been the Rockies’ best weapon against left-handed pitching. Among the right-handed options since June 1, he is slashing .309/.415/.529 with four home runs and 16 RBI. Losing him to injury has left a hole in the lineup that the other right-handed options haven’t been able to fill.Braxton Fulford has gotten opportunities but is still slashing just .190/.261/.286 against lefties since June, including .167/.167/.167 in August.
The other bright spot — who is also injured — is Kyle Karros. Coinciding with his breakout summer, Karros has batted .296/.405/.437 against southpaws with 10 walks against 12 strikeouts. Jordan Beck also tends to find his success against lefties, slashing .278/.381/.333, and has continued that role since being recalled. Newcomer Connor Norby has been a welcome surprise in his brief sample of playing time, batting .333/.429/.417 in just 16 at-bats against lefties.
However, Tyler Freeman and Ezequiel Tovar have mostly been empty at-bats against lefties and righties, making it hard to fill out and balance the lineup, a fact that extends to most of the right-handed hitters when facing the same side.
Outside of Karros’ excellent .313/.395/.554 slash and Norby’s .261/.346/.522 slash, the right-handers are struggling against righties. Goodman has an excellent .645 SLG, but that has correlated with a 33.1% strikeout rate. Strikeouts as a whole are rampant among the right-handed hitters not named Karros and Freeman.
With Goodman and Karros on the Injured List, Freeman in Triple-A, and the other options not exactly thriving on either side of the platoon, it’s showing cracks in the offense. More than ever, the Rockies need better right-handed hitters.
The switch-hitters
It’s worth pointing out how impactful it’s been having two switch-hitters in the lineup who are regularly consistent on both sides of the plate.
Willi Castro is having a career year, particularly in the power department, but his ability to contribute on both sides of the plate is especially useful. Castro is batting .240/.291/.417 as a right-handed hitter this season. It is the weaker side of his splits, but it’s passable enough to utilize him in the lineup. As a left-handed hitter against righties, Castro is slashing .281/.373/.525 and has nine home runs, which leads the lefties on the team. He tends to walk much more as a lefty, while the strikeouts are fairly similar on either side of the plate, albeit still a little higher than league average.
Since arriving in June, Cole Carrigg has played with his hair on fire since arriving in June, and his splits as a switch-hitter have been promising as well. When facing left-handed pitching, Carrigg — a natural righty — is batting .296/.324/.480 with two home runs and 17 RBI. When he flips to the more prevalent left side of the plate, Carrigg is still batting .252/.387/.432 with a 15.3% walk rate against a 17.5% walk rate.
The fact that both switch hitters are consistent and productive on both sides of the plate is a significant asset for the club. Castro and Carrigg have been a driving force for the offense all summer, and their ability to post up every night and compete regardless of the handedness of the pitcher is the type of switch-hitting production the Rockies haven’t had in a long time.
Is it working?
In general, there is still a viable reason for the Rockies’ utilization of the platoon system. The opposite-handed batters are finding success against their counterpart on the mound. However, the issue stems less from the actual act of match-up hunting through platoons but more from the platoon players not being effective hitters, especially against left-handers.
The Rockies offense is much better this year, but it has a lot of work to do that doesn’t necessarily involve the act of platoons.
So yes, the idea of platooning is still working for the team, especially when fully healthy. It’s the players themselves that have to start pulling their weight even more.
It was a heartbreaker for the Albuquerque Isotopes as they surrendered two runs in the bottom of the ninth to give Round Rock a 5-4 walk-off victory. Parker Mushinski started the game as the opener, tossing two scoreless innings; Jarrod Cande was responsible for the first two runs given up out of the bullpen, followed by Blas Castaño’s one run in two innings of relief. The pen held firm with two scoreless innings from Evan Shawver, but TJ Shook ended up with the loss after giving up a two-run double to end the game. Bryant Betancourt had another good night, going 2-for-4, while Sterlin Thompson also went 2-for-4 with two walks.
The Hartford Yard Goats had a quality offensive night, scoring eight runs on 12 hits en route to victory. Andy Perez and Jacob Humphrey each had three hits at the top of the order. Dyan Jorge had two hits and drove in three runs while the newly promoted Roynier Hernandez had two RBI as part of a 0-for-4 night. On the mound, Stu Flesland III made the start and allowed two runs through four innings before giving way to a bullpen that allowed just two hits and a walk with six strikeouts over five innings.
The Spokane Indians struggled to come through offensively all night but avoided the shutout by scoring a run in the ninth inning as they fell 6-1. Lorenzo Carrier had an excellent night, going 3-for-4 on the night. Not much else happened for the Indians as Blake Penso’s single in the ninth drove in the only run. On the mound, Everett Catlett kept things close after going five innings and allowing just one run. However, Justin Loer gave up three runs in the sixth inning, recording just two outs. Luke Hansel then took over and allowed two unearned runs in his 1.1 innings of work, giving up just one hit and allowing two walks.
The Fresno Grizzlies had a tough night on offense, mustering just five hits as they struck out 12 times and were shut out. Cort MacDonald led the offense with two singles, but the team went 0-for-8 with RISP. The pitching didn’t fare much better as Sandy Ozuna started the game and went just 2.2 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, followed by Manuel Olivares, who took the brunt of the damage. He worked 4.1 innings, but gave up five runs on seven hits.
This week, Evan Lang and I talk about the roster shuffling and promotions due to injuries as well as the removals of Michael Lorenzen and Edouard Julien.
I’m feeling in the mood for something different than what I usually do. I want to go full on listicle. A list article. Or maybe I just need to randomly ruminate?
I have been turning my back on the Cardinals games mid-game over the last few weeks. Especially it seems on Tuesday nights when I usually write… I suppose there were downward trends in June and July that led to our trade deadline results, but now that the pantry is stripped bare of starting pitching, it has become easier to not watch the games every inning.
Part of the downturn in entertainment value was certainly due to the offense not being able to do amazing comeback wins all season, but I think we all saw that one coming.
Which means I am not as apt to bother to go see them live, because of probabilities and whatnot (and intense heat indices). Money is always an issue, but it’s easier to spend time and currency on teams that don’t throw pitches that can be absolutely destroyed, and offenses that offend a little more often. I’ll probably go see some September baseball, because this is still a fun team to watch, but…
The bullpen is what it is at this point. Not the worst, but a nailbiter every time. It wouldn’t be so bad if our closer was a little more shutdown, but he would fit in on many teams as closer. This bullpen will however randomly give up games. And that alone will make it tough to be above .500, a make games not as easy to watch. It also drives down team morale of course, but no one can say how much that could matter, ephemera and random thoughts…
And! Just as we were certain this was one of the healthiest teams ever, nearly impervious… Welp!
Everson Pereira Aug 23 left hand contusion, indeterminate return date
Hunter Dobbins news seems impending at the time of this writing, stay tuned… but HunDo has a right flexor strain! oof… he is on the 15 day Injured List.
Max Rajcic underwent UCL reconstruction surgery, almost certainly done for the season.
And that’s your absolutely fantasticly wonderful injury rundown for August 26, 2026. Smdh.
Ok, what would I like to see the rest of the season, realistic expectations, if we are destined not to make the postseason?
JJ Wetherholt turns 17 HR into 20 HR. If JJ hits 20 HR, keeps doing what he’s doing with the elite defense and all… I think it will make the decision a little tougher for Rookie of the Year voters. Imagine an elite run prevention middle infielder that also hits 20+ HR a year and steals some bases? Of course if he can somehow hit the 20/20 club, that will help even more. What would bolster his Rookie of the Year campaign the most would be if he’s 20/20 and also hits .250 BA or more, which is still possible, if unlikely. But it would create a little more buzz…
Ivan Herrera is in a similar boat, because Wetherholt and himself have low BABIP and probably are better hitters than what their statlines look like. As absurd as it is, the true story on Herrera’s 2026 season revolves around something he cannot control… pitchers’ aptitude to hit him with a pitch. Only Steve Evans over 100 years ago has been hit more than Herrera, who has been hit 27 times so far. The all time Cardinals HBP record is 31. He might tie it, at least…
Alec Burleson: if he just keeps doing what he’s doing, he will get a few MVP votes. And that’s good enough!
Jordan Walker: 30 HR… he is only 3 away. He should reach the milestone! He is 24 years old. He almost certainly will reach 100 RBI, as will Burleson (both are just short by a few RBI); to add to that, he only needs two stolen bases to make it to 20. 30HR/100RBI/20SB guy!
Josh Baez, etc: if any of these players work out, that would be nice. Gorman is at the end of his rope, while Baez has certainly had an exciting beginning… will they K too much?
some may have chagrin about Masyn Winn but he has maintained the same OBP and run prevention that he has become known for. and that’s a fact, jack. And to back that up he is on pace to have his best RBI total of this career, if he can come back from the thumb fracture relatively quickly.
if the team can at least stay in the wild card race a few more weeks, I think that will advance the young team in a variety of ways, mostly experiential and mental, but still valuable. Confidence and perseverance are both key. If they narrowly miss the postseason despite injuries, that sure sets the mental table for next year, whatever happes with 2027.
Ultimately I would like to see the tides to turn and have this team continue to threaten for a postseason spot, just to keep things interesting to watch. But if they continue to crash and burn, there’s always the draft pick.
1995 in heavy metal…
1995 year in music, continued from last week, I have to get my heavy metal classics in… the first thing that I noticed in my research was that 1995 featured far fewer heavy metal releases, and the quality had started to dwindle. 1990-1994 were just totally stacked with just as many high-quality heavy metal albums as other genres. By 1995, however, heavy metal movements ran out of gas at least to some extent, with many advances and new styles having already happened. But there were still some absolute top-tier classics that stood out in 1995 Heavy Metal, so this week I bring you a Top 10 for 1995 heavy metal releases!
Zeni Geva – ‘Freedom Bondage’ this fantastically insane, punishing metal/noise rock album stole the show in 1995. I got to see them live in Davenport, Iowa one night in the 1990’s, and it was one of the most intense shows you could ever imagine! One of Steve Albini’s favorite bands, by the way… This album has to be heard to be believed, but it is full of heavy ultra-fuzzed-out guitars within a super tight rhythmic context, totaling ultimate rock n roll sonic devastation done tastefully (Japan) I could only find this one on youtube music as a playlist, but you can find the individual songs on youtube
Meshuggah – ‘Destroy, Erase, Improve’ early Meshuggah was death thrash crossover math metal insanity. So many hooks! In a somewhat off year in heavy metal, Meshuggah reinvented the wheel and created a new paradigm. There was an entire new genre titled ‘djent’ invented for this band! (Sweden)
Crowbar – ‘Time Heals Nothing’ New Orleans’ Crowbar is one of the heavyweight heavy metal bands of all time. This is, in my humble opinion, their best release. Or, at the least, their darkest, heaviest one. And by that I mean the lyrical content mixed with the crushing emotional tone and feel of the music on this collection of songs. You will just have to hear it to believe it! (New Orleans)
Death – ‘Symbolic’ it is difficult for me to put this at #4, after seeing it #1 overall on one site… but it is not my favorite Death album. It might have the best album cover, but… while this album is a set-in-stone classic, I have concluded that it is still at least somewhat overrated, compared to the rest of their discography. (Tampa Bay)
Fleurety – ‘Min Tid Skal Komme’ the hidden gem I uncovered in my research, occult maybe… if you want to hear one of the more talented black metal genre releases, a forgotten part of the past… this is worth your time! A lot is going on here… you have to hear this one. Multi-genre mastery! (Norway)
Morbid Angel – ‘Domination’ Tampa Bay was already on the map for a while in the death metal department, and Morbid Angel were veterans there by this point… this was their last album on Giant records. The Domination release also marked the end of the original David Vincent led era of Morbid Angel with some wicked fun backstory. Overall, it wasn’t quite as good as the prior releases, but it still had some huge hits and was a suiting finale for that first era; no regrets.
Dissection – ‘Storm of the Light’s Bane’ similar to Fleurety, this is one of the better old school black metal releases I have ever heard. It seems that the genre was entering it’s heyday at the time! Good stuff… what I think puts this Dissection release over some of the more obvious bands is how good the production sounds, especially for the time, top notch! I am no expert but I could see this album putting black metal on the map for many people. (Sweden)
Hieronymus Bosch – ‘The Human Abstract’ this album probably deserves to be ranked higher, because what I am discovering is just flat out mindbending… progressive death metal! Didn’t sound like anything else at the time. (Russia)
Mortem – ‘Demon Tales’ hooky blackened death metal! (Peru)
Down – ‘NOLA’ and to round out the top 10 a stoner metal supergroup classic encompassing the bands Corrosion of Conformity, 1/2 of Crowbar, and the singer of Pantera. (New Orleans, obviously)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - AUGUST 18: Wyatt Olds #75 and Adley Rutschman #31 of the Boston Red Sox celebrate after the Red Sox defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-4 at Fenway Park on August 18, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman missing time, the Red Sox have had to play musical chairs in the bullpen over the last few weeks. The music stopped while Raymond Burgos and Seth Martinez were standing, leaving Wyatt Olds and Alec Gamboa in the two remaining seats.
Ideally, neither pitcher is asked to pitch in high-leverage situations. When the Red Sox take a lead, the likes of Tyron Guerrero, Erik Miller, and Aroldis Chapman should be pitching. But there are times, such as Saturday against the Giants, when one of the low men on the totem pole will be given the ball in a close game. On Saturday, Olds entered the game with his team trailing by two runs in the top of the eighth. He ran into some trouble, but ultimately kept the Giants off the board and gave the Red Sox a chance to tie or win the game later (they did).
The offense gets the glory for grinding it out and scoring three runs in the ninth to win the game, but Olds deserves credit for giving them that chance. The low-leverage roles aren’t sexy, but they are important, especially in a thin bullpen. Chad Tracy can’t afford to throw Miller or Guerrero when trailing by three runs, with no off days in sight. He doesn’t want to extend his starter for additional innings when holding a healthy lead after six innings. Someone needs to pitch those innings, and in Gamboa and Olds, the Red Sox have a pair who have done the job admirably.
Gamboa’s stuff doesn’t jump off the page, but he has some qualities that make him a perfect innings eater. The most important is his control. He’s in the zone with his fastballs a lot. The strike rate on both his four-seamer and sinker is near 70%, which contributes to his low walk rate. They both feature solid velocity at about 96 mph, while 6.5 feet of extension helps them play up even more. Additionally, he has unique mechanics that present hitters with a different look.
Gamboa rocks back, hiding the ball before extending towards the plate and finishing his delivery. His arm angle is among the most vertical in the league at 62 degrees. That vertical release, coupled with some perceived cut on his four-seam fastball, might be aiding the incredibly low hard-hit rate against the pitch, despite locating in the zone frequently. Similarly, his sinker doesn’t have any outlier traits, but hitters have struggled to get it off the ground.
Gamboa has a slider as well, and like his fastballs, the stuff doesn’t jump off the page. Despite that, it induces chases at an incredibly high rate. That’s likely because of how many strikes he’s getting with his fastballs. Of pitchers with at least 250 pitches thrown, Gamboa ranks 2nd in percentage of pitches thrown while ahead in the count, behind only Josh Hader. Other pitchers nearby in the rankings include MLB saves leader Bryan Baker, Garrett Whitlock, Tyron Guerrero, and two-time Cy Young Award Winner Tarik Skubal. Pitching from ahead is a tried-and-true method of getting outs, and Gamboa has been able to do that.
Olds has only made a few appearances out of the Red Sox bullpen, but hasn’t allowed a run through 3.1 innings. If you’re looking for the opposite of Gamboa, you’ve come to the right place. Olds has electric stuff, but hasn’t been able to stay in the zone. He uses a fastball/slider combination, and each pitch is an outlier in its own way.
His four-seam fastball averages 97 mph and comes with above-average extension. Every pitcher on the Red Sox has above-average extension. I’m not sure why I keep writing it. You should just assume it unless you hear otherwise. On top of the velocity and extension, it has above-average vertical movement (16.5 inches) from a low release (5.4 feet, 33-degree arm angle). All of this combines for an incredibly flat approach angle, making it difficult to square up. The swinging strike rate currently sits at a solid 12% over a small sample, but the shape is solid enough to support a higher rate.
Olds’ slider is even more of an outlier. Here’s a look at vertical break and velocity from breaking balls across the league this season.
The harder you throw the ball, the less time it has to drop. Olds’ slider is averaging 11 inches of induced drop while being thrown at 88 mph. The closest comparisons this season are Brendon Little’s curveball, which is a tick slower with about one extra inch of drop, and Jacob Misiorowski’s curveball, which is slightly harder but doesn’t have the same bite. We’re dealing with an incredibly small sample, but so far his swinging strike rate is off the charts. Hitters struggle with shapes they don’t see often, and Olds has an outlier breaking ball.
The knock, as I mentioned, is his ability to throw strikes. His fastball zone rate is low at 40%. His slider strike rate is solid, but carried by the chases and whiffs he’s induced. The Red Sox have had success at helping pitchers find the zone, but Olds has been in the system since 2021 and has carried double-digit walk rates at every stop of his career. He’s also getting his first call-up in August with several other options on the shelf, so that might inform you of the Red Sox’s valuation of the reliever. Still, relievers get hot all the time, and his strikeout upside gives him an out when he gets into trouble and makes him an intriguing option for Chad Tracy in a pinch.
As I wrote this, Wyatt Olds began warming up to pitch the bottom of the tenth inning. This is the exact “pinch” I was referring to above. Let’s live react:
Otto Lopez: Does not strike out much; Olds immediately falls behind 1-0. Absurd swing by Lopez at 1-0 at a slider nowhere close. At 1-1, it’s a rare cutter from Olds that should be an out, but Monasterio makes a bad throw, and there are two runners on.
Heriberto Hernandez: Another cutter, this time for a pop-up. I guess I have to write about the cutter now.
Kyle Stowers: First lefty Olds is seeing today. Starts with a fastball down for a foul ball, bad location, good result. Another cutter, this one outside. I wonder if they think the cutter is the strike-getter he needs; they’ve all been around the zone. Another four-seam, fouled off to bring the count to 1-2. Another foul ball on a fastball. If he can elevate it, he’ll get a whiff, but he keeps throwing it down in the zone. The at-bat ends on a fastball in off the plate that was hit way down the line for a sacrifice fly.
Miguel Sanoja: Tying run on third base. You have to be careful with the slider in the dirt. Cutter, ball one to start. It’s close, but he can’t get a chase. Good four-seam on the hands for a foul ball. Another cutter, fouled off. I’d like to see the slider here at 1-2. Cutter misses. He loves the cutter tonight. Another cutter, this one isn’t close. 3-2, I want to see a slider. It’s all cutters. Another one fouled off. Oh god Gamboa is warming up I’m gonna have to rewrite this whole thing. Sanoja fouled off another cutter. Now he fouled off a fastball. Throw the slider, you lunatic. Do it. Do it please. He threw the slider, got a terrible swing for strike three, but the ball got away, and the run scored. You can’t make this up.
Olds really should have had four outs there if you count the error from Monasterio. He only threw two sliders, and both returned ugly swings. His fastball didn’t get whiffs, but he also couldn’t locate it up in the zone, which has basically been the story so far. The cutter was the real revelation as it led his arsenal, but he couldn’t quite find the zone with it. The stuff remains excellent, and the strikeouts are there, so I’m going to count that as a win. Poor defense let him down, but watch these two swings and tell me that isn’t something there.
Baseball is weird. It’s the only sport where you can be writing about two low-leverage relievers who happen to enter a game in the exact spot you say they might be a good fit for. Jarren Duran homered to blow the game open, and now Gamboa just needs to throw strikes to close it out. I was going to write a conclusion, explaining how when rosters expand, Gamboa and Olds might have a role. Instead, I’ll ask you to go back, watch the 10th and 11th innings from last night, and you can see them in the roles they might fill. Skip the part where Gamboa walks someone; that doesn’t fit the agenda.
Welcome to the steals report! I will be here every Wednesday to go over important stolen base trends so you can find more speed for your fantasy teams.
Stealing a base is as much about the opposing pitcher and catcher as it is the actual base runner themself. So, being able to spot which teams and pitchers specifically are being run on most frequently will help you to figure out who can swipe some bags over the next week.
Understanding who’s stealing bases is even more important this time of year because with so much of the season already gone, it’s difficult to find ways to rise up in most categories. Yet, steals often have the least volume of all the categories, so the breadth isn’t as wide and a few shrewd moves can help you earn a lot of roto points.
Last week, I highlighted Tyler Tolbert and Spencer Jones as stolen base streamers and they each swiped two.
Before we get to this week’s important trends, here is the stolen base leaderboard on the season so far.
There have been very few changes to this leaderboard over the past few weeks. So, I’m introducing a new, more timely one right here.
Second Half Stolen Base Leaders
Player
SB
CS
Chandler Simpson
13
2
CJ Abrams
11
1
Corbin Carroll
10
1
Andrés Giménez
9
1
Jake McCarthy
9
1
AJ Ewing
9
1
Esteury Ruiz
9
3
Tyler Tolbert
8
0
Otto Lopez
8
1
Pete Crow-Armstrong
8
1
Elly De La Cruz
8
2
José Caballero
8
1
Nasim Nuñez
8
4
A.J. Ewing is 11-for-12 as a base stealer since July 1st after struggling with his efficiency earlier this season.
Tyler Tolbert is stealing bases with a similar ferocity to Esteury Ruiz in a similar part-time role. Don’t forget about either if you need speed in a deep league.
Last Seven Days Stolen Base Leaders
Player
SB
CS
Otto Lopez
3
0
Jazz Chisholm Jr.
3
0
Corbin Carroll
3
0
AJ Ewing
3
0
Victor Robles
2
0
Shohei Ohtani
2
0
Ronald Acuña Jr.
2
1
Royce Lewis
2
0
Tyler Tolbert
2
0
Joshua Báez
2
1
Trent Grisham
2
1
After not successfully stealing a base between May 16th and August 9th, Shohei Ohtani has three in his last 14 games.
Joshua Báez’s current 162-game pace is for 59 home runs and 29 stolen bases. Not bad, right? No worries at all in how he’s gotten there so far.
Stolen Base Disappointments
Player
SB
CS
Jakob Marsee
20
12
Xavier Edwards
19
5
Zach Neto
18
11
Julio Rodríguez
17
3
Luke Keaschall
15
7
Gunnar Henderson
10
5
Willi Castro
9
5
Michael Harris II
8
3
Bryce Harper
7
5
Shohei Ohtani
7
3
Francisco Lindor
3
2
Ozzie Albies
2
4
Mookie Betts
1
2
While it’s been a strong season offensively, Xavier Edwards is pacing for his fewest stolen bases as a big leaguer.
Zach Neto has four stolen bases in his last 13 games. He only had four in his previous 55.
Fantasy Baseball Stolen Base Targets
The Mariners allowed the second most stolen bases for the second consecutive week, so a trend has begun to develop.
Eight bases were stolen against them across six different games. Cal Raleigh was behind the plate for five of those games.
He’s graded out poorly so far this season in Baseball Savant’s caught stealing above average metric despite being strong in that area for years. Also, the Mariners hadn’t allowed too many stolen bases before the last two weeks – 13th-fewest in the league as of August 12th – so this feels more like something that’s been identified recently.
On the other hand, it feels like Raleigh has rediscovered his mojo lately. He just homered in four straight at-bats across two games and no bases were stolen on him or the Mariners through these two games.
The internet is joking that perhaps this butt-slap from Pete Crow-Armstrong gave Raleigh his swagger back. The bit is strong right now and these small sample results do not lie. Regardless, I’m still not totally ready to buy-in on the Mariners as a stolen base target.
However, another team I want to call to your attention are the Tigers. Only on certain days though. Dillon Dingler is their primary backstop and he’s grown into one of the best all-around catchers in the game. Yet, Eduardo Valencia has hit so well of late that they’re doing anything to get his bat in the lineup despite being poor defensively.
He started at catcher one time last week and the Royals stole five bases. The most embarrassing of which came when Salvador Perez swiped his first in five years.
Salvador Perez channeled his inner Jarrod Dyson after recording his first stolen base since 2021! pic.twitter.com/ATBb9jJICm
Hope everyone had their sun dials out for that one. Pay to close attention to the day(s) when Valencia catches over the next week and stream literally anyone in the lineup against him. Anyone can be used literally in this sense if Perez is able to steal a base.
With day games against the Dodgers on Saturday and Sunday, it’s likely Valencia catches one of those.
Lastly, we’re still streaming steals against the Reds and Blue Jays as the worst teams at controlling the run game this season. Check out Tyler Tolbert,Pedro Ramírez, Victor Robles, Jake Cronenworth, or Tyrone Taylor if you’re looking for cheap speed.
Happy birthday to Ryan Brasier, and a mighty host of others.
Today in baseball history, in 1972 – At Wrigley Field, Ron Santo records his 2,000th career hit, a three-run home run off Ron Bryant. Santo’s hit, driving in his 1,200th run, is the margin of victory as the Cubs top the Giants, 10-9, and other stories as well.
1980 – At Milwaukee’s County Stadium, George Brett strokes four singles and a double in five at-bats as the Royals edge the Brewers, 7-6. The Kansas City third baseman’s 5-for-5 performance raises his league-leading batting average to .407.
1995 – Atlanta P Greg Maddux ties a major league record by notching his 16th consecutive road win, a 7-2 victory over his former team, the Cubs. Maddux now shares the record with Denny McLain, Cal McLish, and Rich Dotson.
1998 – Atlanta’sAndruw Jones steals his 20th base of the season, becoming the youngest player ever to have a 20 homer, 20 steal season. Cesar Cedeno was the previous record-holder.
1999 – Arizona defeats Florida, 12-2, as Randy Johnson wins his 14th game. Johnson fans nine Marlin batters in becoming the fastest pitcher to reach 300 strikeouts in a season.
Today in Cubs history:
1929 – In the eighth inning of a 5-5 game at Wrigley Field, Cubs 3B Norm McMillan hits a line drive down the left field line with the bases loaded. Reds LF Evar Swanson, shaded toward center, can’t find the ball, which he sees bounce off a gutter in foul territory. McMillan circles the bases and four runs score. Later, Cubs relief P Ken Penner picks up his jacket in the bullpen and discovers the ball in his right sleeve. It is Chicago’s 8th grand slam of the year.
1948 – The Cubs sweep two from the Braves, 5-1 and 5-2, despite a near-riot that holds up play for 20 minutes in the nightcap. The reaction by the fans comes when Jocko Conlan rules that a drive by Phil Cavarretta in the third inning is a ground-rule double, not an inside-the-park homer. Conlan makes his call after Braves LF Jeff Heath “loses” the ball in the Wrigley Field vines, though it is really by his feet. The fans shower the field in protest and Conlan bawls out some of Chicago’s finest for not taking any action. When play is resumed, Andy Pafko walks and Peanuts Lowrey hits a bases-loaded triple.
1966 – After seeing a caricature of himself on the scoreboard, an angry Leo Durocher calls the Astrodome‘s press box to have it removed. When nothing is done, the enraged Cubs manager rips the phone out of the dugout wall and tosses it onto the infield.
2001 – The Cubs defeat the Cardinals, 6-1, as Sammy Sosa hits two more home runs, his 50th and 51st of the season. In doing so, he joins Mark McGwire and Babe Ruth as the only players with four 50-homer seasons.
1968 – “Hey Jude” single is released by the Beatles in the US (Billboard Song of the Year 1968, Billboard 10th biggest song of all time 2013).
1999 – Michael Johnson breaks the 400 m world record with a time of 43.18 seconds.
2007 – The Rolling Stones close their two-year, 147-concert “A Bigger Bang” tour at the O2 Arena in London, England; the box office gross of the tour exceeds $558 million, a record at the time.
2025 – American pop superstar Taylor Swift (35) and American NFL football player Travis Kelce (35) reveal their marriage engagement in social media post, garnering 1.2 million ‘likes’ in under 10 minutes
Oct 2, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers general manager Matt Arnold talks to manager Matt Arnold before game two of the Wildcard round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs against the New York Mets at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
Note: I wrote this before last night’s game, which had, we shall say, some controversial managing in it. I stand by what I say here but the timing of this is objectively funny.
When it comes to end-of-the-year awards, the Brewers have cleaned up the past couple of years in the non-playing roles. Manager Pat Murphy and general manager Matt Arnold are both back-to-back winners in the awards for their respective jobs; Arnold is the only person to ever win the Executive of the Year award more than once (the award started in 2018 and thus has only been handed out eight times), and last year Murphy and Stephen Vogt in the American League became just the third and fourth skippers to ever win Manager of the Year award in consecutive seasons (Kevin Cash in 2020-21 and Bobby Cox in 2004-05).
Let’s start with Arnold. He’s got a tougher road in one obvious sense: while the Manager of the Year award is given to one manager from each league, there is only a single Executive of the Year award, thus the pool is twice as large. That being said, in a vacuum, Arnold has as good a case as anyone; yet again, the Brewers traded a franchise cornerstone before the season. Yet again, the Brewers are just as good, if not better, than they were last season. In addition to the Peralta trade, Arnold came out ahead in the big swap with the Red Sox, even if all three players sent to Boston are contributing (a reminder: Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio, and Anthony Seigler to the Red Sox for Kyle Harrison, Shane Drohan, and David Hamilton). At the trade deadline, Arnold chose not to deal for Tarik Skubal, but instead pivoted to Dustin May, a pickup that — barring his last outing — has looked quite good thus far.
I do not, however, think Arnold is going to win this award a third time running. There are a couple big reasons, whether justifiable or not.
First things first: while most Brewers fans and even some more sensible pundits think that Arnold made the right call by not trading for Skubal, there are a lot of people out there who think he was too passive. Add in that Skubal ended up with the Dodgers, the team that knocked the Brewers out of the playoffs last year, and the optics aren’t great. I am not here to re-litigate the decision to not trade for Skubal — I am firmly on the side of believing that it was the right call — I am here simply to state that among the people voting for this award — people who are not as plugged into the Brewers as we are — there is still a bit of a perception that Arnold blew it.
The second big factor is voter fatigue. People don’t like giving awards to the same person over and over again. Sometimes, there may not be an alternative that makes a whole lot of sense, but I think there are a couple of options that people will be able to talk themselves into instead of Arnold. One of those is the guy who did trade for Skubal, the Dodgers’ Andrew Friedman. Friedman won this award back in 2020, but that was a weird season. This year, his team should finish with one of the top two records in the league, he did trade for the biggest fish at the trade deadline, and he now presides over the farm system that most outlets see as the best in the league, even after trading for Skubal. The counterpoint here is that Friedman’s two very expensive free agent pickups, Kyle Tucker and Edwin Díaz, have both been quite bad.
Another option, and in my opinion the more likely one, is the Rays’ Erik Neander, who also won the award back in 2019. The Rays may not be quite at the level of the Brewers or Dodgers this season, but it looks like they’re going to waltz to the best record in the American League. Yes, their path has been made far easier by the absence of Aaron Judge, and yes, the AL Central and West divisions are embarrassing. But the Rays were far from a preseason favorite — ZiPS, PECOTA, and ESPN all predicted they’d finish last in the AL East, just to name a few quickly chosen projection systems.
That type of narrative is very often a harbinger of success for these types of awards. My prediction is that it leads to Neander supplanting Arnold as the reigning Executive of the Year.
It may very well also lead to Cash’s third Manager of the Year award, but as we do have separate AL and NL awards, that has no bearing on whether Murphy wins or not. In my opinion, Murphy winning MotY again is far more likely than Arnold winning a third straight EotY, but who could be standing in his way?
Well, let’s look at the other contending teams in the NL.
Dave Roberts hasn’t won a Manager of the Year award since 2016, his first season in charge of the Dodgers. It is hard to win Manager of the Year when your team is the perpetual favorite, and I’d say that continues this year, especially if the Dodgers don’t finish with the best record in the league. That’d be almost disappointing.
Walt Weiss of the Braves could conceivably be an option, but they’re sitting five games back of the Brewers for the best record in the NL this year, and while the Braves were bad in 2025, it’s not like it’s a shock that they’re winning that division.
Craig Counsell and the Cubs currently hold the top Wild Card spot. They’re a good team, and Counsell has done fine. But can you imagine giving this award to Counsell over Murphy if the Cubs don’t catch the Brewers before the end of the season?
Mike Shildt of the Padres and Torey Lovullo of the Diamondbacks have their teams in or around Wild Card position, but I don’t think either has a particularly good case.
A wild card in this equation is the Marlins’ Clayton McCullough. (Could you have named the Marlins manager if I didn’t tell you? I could not have.) Miami is a team that had almost no expectations this season but who are currently a couple games over .500 and not totally out of the Wild Card race. Heck, they would be right in the mix if they were in the AL. I don’t think McCullough will win, but the Marlins have definitely overperformed, and that sometimes leads to a surprise victory in this award.
There’s one name missing here, and it’s the one that could be the biggest threat to Murphy: Philadelphia’s Don Mattingly. When Dave Dombrowski fired manager Rob Thomson on April 27, the Phillies were 9-19. Since taking over as interim manager, Mattingly is 64-40 and has the Phillies in the number two Wild Card spot, nipping at the heels of the Braves at the top of the NL East.
Now, an argument here: if you told someone before the season that the Phillies would be 73-59 on August 25, I don’t think it would shock anyone. The reason Mattingly is in consideration for this award is because the Phillies played so badly early in the season that to get where they are now, they had to dig out of a pretty large hole. Mattingly is also a beloved figure in baseball, and this could be his last opportunity; Mattingly is 65, hadn’t managed a team in five years, and it’s not clear that he’ll be back with the Phillies next year (though he told reporters he is open to it).
Mattingly definitely has the nice story on his side, and that story will look even better if the Phillies come from way behind to catch the Braves for the NL East crown.
But let’s be real here: in a vacuum, Murphy wins this award easily, right?
As stated at the top, the Brewers yet again traded a franchise icon. They were yet again disparaged by projection systems and dismissed by national writers for not trying hard enough and not spending enough money. Yet again, they’ve not only defied those expectations, but done so with aplomb. The Brewers could do the remarkable feat of improving on their record five seasons in a row, despite winning the division in four of those seasons. Think about that for a minute, and you will realize how difficult that is to do. Milwaukee has a real chance at setting a franchise record in wins (they need to go 17-14 the rest of the way to do so) and, for the second consecutive year, finishing the regular season with the most wins in the league.
There are certainly some fans of the Brewers (and users of this site!) who are sick of hearing about the Brewers’ regular-season accomplishments. I get it. But these are regular season awards. Arnold probably is going to be a victim of voter fatigue, and sure, whatever, that’s fine. Murphy, though, should win Manager of the Year in the National League (with an obvious caveat about seeing how the remaining month of the season plays out), which would make him the first person to ever win three in a row. He might not; the Mattingly case might just be a bit too alluring for some voters to ignore. But as I write in late August, Murphy absolutely deserves it, whether he wins it or not.
SEATTLE, WA - AUGUST 25: Kyle Schwarber #12 of the Philadelphia Phillies bats during the game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on Tuesday, August 25, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Eric Hiller/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
You know, I kind of expected the team to not play well on Monday. A cross country trip that followed a highly emotional win on Sunday had all the makings of a letdown loss. Yesterday, they were just beaten by a good pitcher. That happens.
St. Lucie Mets catcher Yovanny Rodriguez (21) at bat in the third inning of the Blue Jays vs St. Lucie Mets game at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida, on July 29, 2026. (Photo by Carl Rizzo/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images
Jonathan Santucci had his best start since being promoted to Triple-A, but the offense was completely stymied by Chuck King and the IronPigs offense, leaving Santucci the tough luck loser. The southpaw allowed a pair of runs over five innings, scattering five hits, walking one, and striking out seven, but he got deGromed, with Ronny Mauricio’s fourth inning solo shot, his sixteenth of the year, the only run the offense could manage. Of note, Brian Metoyer threw a scoreless inning with a strikeout, giving him a 2.25 ERA in 8.0 innings, scattering 4 hits, walking 5, and striking out 16. In a bullpen that is carrying Daniel Duarte, Chayce McDermott, Jonathan Pintaro, and Jefry Yan, maybe we can find some room to give Metoyer the call.
Gary Gill Hill was having him quite the early morning until he wasn’t. The right-hander cruised for five innings, allowing three hits and striking out seven. Thanks to a solo homer by Eli Serrano in the second, a solo homer by Jefferson Rojas in the fourth, and a two-run shot by Chris Suero in the sixth, Gill Hill had a nice 4-0 lead to work with. In the sixth, after recording the first out of the inning, he gave up three consecutive singles and a double, ending his day, breaking up the shutout, and leaving the tying runs on second and third. Cristofer Gomez allowed one of those inherited runners to score but was able to navigate out of the inning without coughing up the lead. John Bay wasted no time to give the Rumble Ponies some additional cushion, leading off the seventh with a solo homer to make it a 5-3 ballgame. The very next batter, Corey Collins, crushed one of his own to make it 6-3. Despite additional hits, Binghamton was unable to cash in in that inning further, which was unfortunate as the Phils did not go down meekly and ended up taking the lead in the eighth inning and winning the ballgame. With the loss, Binghamton is now 3.5 games behind the Phils with the rest of the week to go.
Yonatan Henriquez continued his assault on the South Atlantic League with a solo homer in the top of the fourth- his tenth of the season and his fifth in the last calendar week- but the rest of the Brooklyn offense did not show up and that solo shot ended up being Brooklyn’s only run. Nicolas Carreno pitched well enough, allowing three runs over five-plus innings, but it be like that sometimes.
This was a weird ballgame. The Mets jumped out to a quick 5-0 early on, but the Tortugas tied the ballgame up by putting up a five spot in the bottom of the second, scoring five runs off of poor Cesar Ramirez, who failed to record a single out. Normally that kind of thing would produce a momentum shift, but the offense kept hammering out runs while Christian Rodriguez came in in relief and just shut down Daytona for three-plus innings. Seven Mets hitters had multi-hit games with Yovanny Rodriguez and Jake Ogden logging three-hit games; Rodriguez’ was particularly impressive, as he launched a pair of homers. Other names who had good nights were Aiden Robbins, who hit his third homer of the season, and the rehabbing Boston Baro, who is on his second rehab assignment after being shut down back in mid-May during his first.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - AUGUST 25: Leody Taveras #30 of the Baltimore Orioles looks to the dugout after hitting a two-RBI single against the St. Louis Cardinals in the fifth inning at Busch Stadium on August 25, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The 2.5-game gap between the Orioles and the final AL wild card spot remains. The Guardians won again, their fifth in a row, and continue to occupy that last spot in the tournament. But several other clubs in the chase (Rangers, Twins, Blue Jays) lost. Only the Rangers (one game back) stand between the O’s and the Guardians. Having fewer teams to leapfrog in the standings is a good thing, especially since the Orioles still have a three-game series with those Guardians left on their schedule.
Pete Alonso, once again, was the star in last night’s win. He went 4-for-4 with a home run, a double, and four RBI. What’s a bit worrying is that he was removed from the game in the fifth inning and seemed to be bothered by his ailing calf again. In the moment, MASN’s Rob Long reported from his spot next to the Orioles dugout that Alonso asked the training staff to take a look at his calf right before manager Craig Albernaz removed him from the game. After the game, a cagey—and somewhat rude—Albernaz told the media that Alonso was fine and that the move was “precautionary”. When pressed again and asked “So nothing’s bothering him?” He told the reporter to not put words in his mouth, even though Albernaz himself had referenced Alonso’s calf just moments earlier.
Two things can be true at once. Alonso is fit enough to play, but the calf is probably still bothering him to some degree. It’s late August. Most players are dealing with something, big or small, at this point in the season. Alonso has said repeatedly how important is to him to be in the lineup every day. So you need to find ways to get him off his legs when possible. Removing him from a blowout game makes sense, but Albernaz doesn’t need to lie about the reality. Some transparency, especially with matters that we can all see plainly with our eyes, goes a long way.
We should probably expect Alonso back in the lineup tonight. Whether he plays first base or DHs will be interesting.
Links
Injury updates on Helsley, Alexander and more | Roch Kubatko Blaze Alexander is on his way back. He played for Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday night, going 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout while playing third base in the 3-1 win. Ryan Helsley is much, much farther away. But he is throwing bullpen sessions of 15-20 pitches, so that’s something.
A new Holliday takes the field at Busch Stadium | MLB.com Matt Holliday made his name in St. Louis. He is in town with the Orioles this week to watch his son take that same field as a big leaguer. The series opener went well for him! Jackson was 3-for-6 with two runs scored and an RBI.
Tyler Wells turns 32 today. The Orioles picked the big righty from the Twins in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft, and then over the six subsequent seasons used him in a variety of roles on their pitching staff. Earlier this month he was traded to the Rays for pitching prospect Michael Forret.
Maikel Franco is 34 years old. Better known as a hot prospect in the Phillies system that never reached his ceiling, Franco came to Baltimore in 2021 as a stopgap solution at third base. It did not go well.
This day in O’s history
1962 – The Orioles beat the Yankees 2-1 thanks to home runs from Brooks Robinson and Jim Gentile as well as nine impressive innings on the mound from Robin Roberts. That win completes a five-game sweep of the Bombers
1966 – Down 2-0 in the ninth inning, Vic Roznovsky and Boog Powell hit back-to-back pinch-hit home runs to knot things up 2-2 with the Red Sox. The game goes to extras, where the Orioles prevail 3-2.
1973 – For the 13th straight game, the Orioles are victorious, beating the Royals 10-1. Paul Blair contributes to the effort with an inside-the-park home run.
2012 – The Orioles acquire pitcher Joe Saunders from the Diamondbacks in exchange for reliever Matt Lindstrom.
The Detroit Tigers snapped their six-game losing streak on Tuesday night with a 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays at Comerica Park. Jackson Jobe was not incredibly sharp, but combined with the bullpen, the pitching staff stymied the visitors’ bats while a two-run homer from Max Clark helped power the good guys to the win.
Getting the start for the Tigers in the series finale on Wednesday is right-hander Troy Melton, who has hit a bit of a rough patch recently after an impressive showing in 13 of his previous 14 appearances. Over his last two outings, the 25-year-old has allowed six runs — but only three earned — stretching across 10 innings of work, allowing 14 hits (two home runs) and four walks while striking out seven for a rough 5.48 FIP, with a pair of team losses and one of his own.
Melton’s longest appearance this summer came against the Rays when he saw them in St. Petersburg back on June 3, throwing eight frames of two-run ball on four hits (one home run) and two walks while striking out five for his second win in a 7-2 final.
For the visitors, fellow righty Freddy Peralta will take the bump looking to turn around what has been a rough season for two different teams. The 30-year-old has been brutal since his trade from the New York Mets to Tampa Bay, posting a 7.17 ERA and 5.76 FIP in four games stretching across 21 1/3 innings, allowing 23 hits (five home runs) and six walks while striking out 16 and hitting a pair of batters, taking two losses in the process.
Peralta faced the Tigers with the Mets in Queens back on May 12, tossing six frames of two-run ball on seven hits (one home run) and one walk while striking out seven for his third win in a 10-2 final. The discrepancy between his bWAR and fWAR for 2026 is interesting, as the former is listed at -0.9 while the latter is 1.0.
Here’s a look at how the two pitchers match up for Wednesday afternoon’s matinee in the D as the Tigers seek their first series win since taking two of three from the Cleveland Guardians.
Detroit Tigers (62-70) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (78-54)
Time (ET): 1:10 p.m. Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan SB Nation Site:DRaysBay Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 133: RHP Troy Melton (7-2, 1.60 ERA) vs. RHP Freddy Peralta (5-11, 5.33 ERA)
Eric Samulski
