Baseball News
The Guardians won a series yesterday against the Giants. Now, time to see if they can win a second straight series against the Rockies this weekend.
The plan is to get Chase DeLauter, fully functional Jo Adell and Colin Holderman back for this series. We will see.
Jeff McNerny and I recorded a Disgusting Baseball Podcast last night. It was fun.
Around MLB:
White Sox, Astros and Orioles lost, Rangers and Blue Jays won.
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The Milwaukee Brewers (-140) have flexed their muscles against quality competition this season, posting a 41-21 record against teams over .500.
With Milwaukee starting the heavy favorite to win the NL Cy Young, my Braves vs. Brewers predictions and MLB picks see the Brewers earning another victory against a good team on Friday, Aug. 21.
The Milwaukee Brewers are better positioned for success at the dish.
Eight of their projected batters have been posting double-digit walk rates against lefties over the last 30 games. That will not only help them get on base, but it'll pester Chris Sale and increase his pitch count.
They’ve also hit for a lot of power, producing an 11.8% barrel rate (99th percentile) and 41.4% hard-hit rate (89th percentile) during that span.
The Atlanta Bravessit 29th in OBP vs. righties over the past 30 games, which will make life even harder against Jacob Misiorowski.
Bet this to -150.
COVERS INTEL: The Braves have struck out at the seventh-highest rate against righties in August. That doesn't bode well going up against Misiorowski and his 100th percentile K%.This total is too low.
Sale is exceptional, but he's pitched into the seventh inning just once over his last 10 starts, and Milwaukee’s patience at the plate should chase him in six innings or fewer.
That would give Milwaukee plenty of opportunities to scratch together runs against a bullpen sitting 25th in xFIP over the last month.
Misiorowski isn't immune to power, allowing multiple homers in three of his last seven starts. He gives up a lot of fly balls, and the Braves boast the sluggers to capitalize.
I’d play the Over to -122.
Sale attacks right-handed bats with a steady dose of fastballs, and that’s good news for lefty-masher Gary Sanchez.
He's gone nuclear against four-seamers from southpaws, barreling up that pitch more than 22% of the time while posting a .684 ISO.
Sanchez has the ability to make Sale pay if he fails to locate his fastball, and that’s more likely if the Brewers can force the veteran into longer at-bats with their patience.
Bet this down to +480.
This game will be played in a dome.
Milwaukee has hit the moneyline in 34 of their last 50 home games (+9.25 units, 11% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Braves vs Brewers.
| Location | American Family Field, Milwaukee, WI |
| Date | Friday, Aug. 21, 2026 |
| First pitch | 4:10 p.m. ET |
| TV | BravesVision, Brewers.TV |
| Braves starting pitcher | Chris Sale (12-8, 2.16 ERA) |
| Brewers starting pitcher | Jacob Misiorowski (12-5, 1.75 ERA) |
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.
It’s been thirty plus years since I have been able to watch every single pitch of the season. From 1991 to around 1997 I saw practically every game. I got used to all the subtleties of each interaction. I heard every cliche. Watched the ups and downs of the season. In those days the Braves got to be so automatic that if they lost three or four in a row, I really started to wonder what in the world was going on. And then one of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, or John Smoltz would take the bump. After that, they would win like 14 out of 18 and it would be like that losing streak didn’t happen.
It’s fair to say, I was spoiled like a lot of us. But one thing started happening over the years. I lost to ability to care about one particular regular season game. And then I started learning about expected stats in places like this one, I lost it a little more. I just can’t get that up or down over one game.
Oh sure, there are exceptions. This happened right around 12:30 am after a long rain delay. It’s Danny Young pitching in a tie game in the eighth inning, the pitcher the Braves gave up on to bring Ray Kerr back. There was no reason for Young to even sniff this game. Yet there he was, and the Braves were within 1.5 games of the Phillies. This was pretty infuriating.
This one was so delicious. This lit everybody up. Matt Olson actually displayed emotion. The bullpen fell apart, in a good way. It put the Braves up seven games and ready to crush for another five weeks. It took four hours for me to come down from that.
But for the most part, I have my eye on October. Maybe I shouldn’t but I do. The Braves could still mess this up, but there’s a 0.7% chance of that per Fangraphs. They could lose the division, but my spoiled fandom has seen a lot of divisions. I want them to beat the Dodgers and win it all. So I spend a lot of time watching this team and piecing together how the Postseason might take shape. The next week has my attention for that.
So are you living every single win and loss? I can’t do it much anymore. Baseball feeds the soul for six months and it’s a steady stream for me. Baseball broadcasts are the original podcasts, and are great for listening while enjoying the outdoors or watching the little ones in the pool. I’m too old for any other way.
Welp. What a difference four days makes. On August 16, the O’s were clobbering the Rays 10-2 to complete three straight wins in St. Petersburg, vaulting into sole possession of the third American League Wild Card spot. As of last night, they’d dropped four in a row, including a home sweep by the Yankees, tumbling back out of a playoff spot in the process and falling to six games under .500.
This is who the 2026 Orioles are: a team that can look like the best club in baseball for three days and the worst for four, sometimes in the same week. The question this week of baseball raises for is not whether Baltimore is erratic (that’s not much of a question); it’s whether last week’s high was real, and whether this week’s low means the season is effectively over, even if the math says otherwise.
After three days in Tampa, we were riding high. It wasn’t expected, against the AL’s best team by record—far from it. On August 14, the Orioles won 6-5, buoyed by home runs by Colton Cowser and Gunnar Henderson and a two-run Dylan Beavers single. That night, Chris Bassitt, returning for action after two months on the shelf, pitched a stalwart 5 1/3 innings, and although Yennier Cano gave up three runs in the ninth, Cam Sanders and the team hung on for a narrow win. The next day, they won by a narrow 4-3 margin, in ten innings behind a solid Kyle Bradish, who went six innings with two runs allowed, and homers by Pete Alonso and Christian Encarnacion-Strand. Andrew Kittredge allowed the game-tying run in the ninth, but the Birds rallied in extras and Cam Sanders shut the door. Then came the laugher: on August 16, Jackson Holliday drove in three runs, Colton Cowser added a two-run homer in the sixth, and Trevor Rogers turned in six innings of two-run ball to close out the series, 10-2. Manager Craig Albernaz summed up the mood afterward: “For us, we really believe we can play with anyone.”
The series win pushed Baltimore to 61-63—sub-.500, yes, but nonetheless good enough in a jumbled Wild Card picture for the third and final spot, a half-game up on Texas and a full game up on Toronto, Cleveland, and Detroit. After a disheartening Trade Deadline that had you question whether this Orioles front office believes in the team anymore, it was a great moment.
Alas, the wheels soon came off. The Rays got the series finale back on the 17th, 7-6, in a game the Orioles should have had. Coby Mayo hit a 468-foot homer, Christian Encarnacion-Strand drove in four runs, and Baltimore led 6-4 into the seventh before Yennier Cano failed to get an out and the bullpen surrendered the lead.
A couple days later, the Yankees came to Camden Yards and swept. New York took Game 1 3-1, due to the offense’s total failure to back up a stellar Shane Baz, who struck out a season-high ten batters. The Yankees took Game 2, 5-3 on Wednesday in a game Baltimore arguably should have led in the seventh—that inning, a Pete Alonso fly ball down the left-field line was (wrongly) ruled foul, and the Yankees broke the ensuing tie with two runs in the eighth off Cam Sanders. Then, they got a lopsided 6-1 defeat on Thursday, with Gerrit Cole cruising and Kyle Bradish getting tagged for a pair of solo homers in the sixth. Dylan Beavers’ homer was the lone offensive highlight in that finale, much as as Coby Mayo’s had been two days earlier, with Baz on the mound.
It seems to me that the how of the wins and losses matters here, because this a specific, recurring failure mode. In three of the four losses, Baltimore’s offense either went cold against a plus starter (Cole, Rodón, and Yankees pitching generally), simply lacking thump besides a single big swing. In the other, a shaky bullpen turned a winnable game into a loss. Those are exactly the two questions that were hanging over this roster before the winning streak ever started, and the win streak didn’t dispositively answer either one. In fact, the team nearly lost the lead in Tampa in two of the three games; it was just well-timed hitting and a blowout that, in retrospect, obscured those weaknesses.
So: was the Tampa series a mirage or not? Truthfully, yes and no: this Orioles team is capable of exactly what Albernaz said, beating anyone on a given night, not to mention hanging with the pack in a decidedly mediocre AL Wild Card chase. But those wins ultimately were not proof that the team is good. A sub.-500 club that needs a hot week to sneak into a Wild Card spot in a weak field is, definitionally, a bubble team, and bubble teams have patent, obvious weaknesses.
As for whether Baltimore is really out of it: not numerically, not with more than five weeks left and half the AL still hovering within a couple of games of a playoff spot. But practically speaking, if the team’s ceiling is “beat a good opponent by doing just enough to cover for the weak bullpen” and their floor is “fail to hit decent starters, then blow leads,” they simply aren’t built for anything like a real playoff run. It seems that most of us in Birdland are well aware of this unfortunate fact.
Two months before the season even started, the Colorado Rockies made one of the best moves for 2026 and, hopefully, beyond.
That’s when the Colorado front office brought in a promising first baseman named TJ Rumfield — a prospect who’d never played in MLB — from the New York Yanakees for right-hander Angel Chivilli.
Entering Friday’s series with the Cleveland Guardians, Rumfield leads the Rockies in rWAR at 3.0. He is tied for second in doubles (25), third in RBI (60), tied for fourth in homers (13), and his line puts him among team leaders in every category: .292./372/.447 with an .820 OPS.
His eye at the plate is a key part of his effectiveness. Rumfield leads the team in walks with 48 (9.7% walk rate), while registering an extremely low strikeout rate of 14.3% (71 strikeouts in 497 plate appearances). All of his numbers are making him a strong candidate for the National League Rookie of the Year. He already won NL Rookie of the Month for May and June.
There’s no doubt that Rumfield is an excellent hitter, but a new stat from Statcast also could reveal more about his defense.
He’s an above-average defender by the basic stats as he’s only committed three errors in 893.1 innings. The 26-year-old Rumfield leads the Rockies in 10 defensive runs saved. In addition, Rumfield’s outs above average is tied with Atlanta’s Matt Olson with an MLB-leading six. He also has a Fielding Run Value of six.
Here’s one example of his skills on the right side of the infield.
As the first baseman, it’s no surprise that he leads the team in putouts at 826. However, a new stat gives more insight into how well a first baseman is able to catch the throws that come his way.
Until now, fans didn’t have many options to measure how well a first baseman receives throws. There are scoops, which record how many times first basemen catch throws in the dirt, but the stat doesn’t capture total scoop attempts. Instead, fans mostly used their eyeballs to gauge a player’s Go-Go-Gadget-like abilities to catch high, wide and low throws, indicating whether or not a first baseman was above-average at their position.
The new Statcast metric, simply called first base receiving, is calculated to factor in expected catches for on-target throws as well as those that make the first baseman reach, in addition to the speed of the runner. According to Baseball Savant, “Each throw from 2B/SS/3B is given an out probability based on inputs including throw location (high/low, wide/on-target, bounce/in-air), runner speed on play, and runner location from first base at the point the 1B catches the ball. Only throws within an 8 foot perimeter of the 1B bag are considered in the model.”
Here’s a look at the visual:
Rumfield’s two receiving outs above average puts him in a five-way tie for eighth, five behind MLB leader Alec Burleson of St. Louis. Rumfield is tied for first on one of the factors that makes up the stat — height, which makes sense with his 6-foot-5 frame.
Baseball Savant has the stat going back to 2021, which gives us a chance to look at how Rumfield measures up against the Rockies other first basemen over the last five years. While Rumfield’s sample size is small, with just 107 games at first in his rookie campaign, it’s interesting to see how he stacks up against the main first basemen in Colorado for the last few seasons: Michael Toglia, Elehuris Montero and CJ Cron.
| Name | Year | Hand | Height | Receiving OAA | On Target | Bounce | Scoops | Low | High | Wide | Outs | Opportunities | Avg exp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TJ Rumfield | 2026 | R | 6-5 | 2 | 1.6 | -0.3 | -0.4 | 0.5 | 1 | -0.9 | 387 | 411 | 93.8% |
| Michael Toglia | 2025 | L | 6-5 | 3 | 0.9 | 2.5 | -0.1 | 0.6 | -0.4 | -0.2 | 358 | 376 | 94.4% |
| Michael Toglia | 2024 | L | 6-5 | 0 | -2.2 | -0.2 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.08 | -0.4 | 430 | 449 | 95.8% |
| Elehuris Montero | 2024 | R | 6-3 | 1 | 0.5 | -0.4 | -1.1 | -0.3 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 226 | 235 | 95.8% |
| Elehuris Montero | 2023 | R | 6-3 | 1 | -1.1 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 214 | 219 | 97.1% |
| CJ Cron | 2023 | R | 6-4 | 1 | -1.1 | 0.6 | 0.4 | -0.4 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 203 | 214 | 94.3% |
| CJ Cron | 2022 | R | 6-4 | -2 | 1.4 | -2.3 | 0.5 | 1.2 | -2 | -0.7 | 555 | 590 | 94.40% |
| CJ Cron | 2021 | R | 6-4 | 4 | 0.2 | 0.7 | -0.5 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 552 | 579 | 94.6% |
While this is a new stat and Toglia, Montero and Cron have different seasons to compare, the thing that jumps out from this table is the variance from year to year. In 2021, Cron had a four receiving OAA, but the next year he was at -2. Toglia jumped from zero in 2024 to three in 2025. Montero is the only consistent player who had one in both his seasons at first in Colorado.
For the average expected out rate calculation, a ground ball that is thrown right on the money is 0.99, like this throw from Kyle Karros in March against Miami.
A throw that is hard to reach or scoop could measure a 0.01, like this one from Willi Castro on Aug. 4 against Tampa Bay.
For bounce, scoops, low, high and wide, going off a baseline of zero, positive numbers are obviously more favorable than negative. To better understand how high is high and how low is low, as well as the difference between a bounce and a scoop, here’s a diagram.
It helps to have examples to compare it to. Here’s a table with the receiving OAA leader Burleson, 2025 Gold Glove winner Matt Olson, and outfield convert Bryce Harper, who is in last place in ROAA.
| Name | Year | Hand | Height | Receiving OAA | On Target | Bounce | Scoops | Low | High | Wide | Outs | Opportunities | Avg exp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alec Burleson | 2026 | L | 6-0 | 7 | 2 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 505 | 527 | 94.60% |
| Matt Olson | 2026 | R | 6-4 | 0 | -1.4 | -1.6 | 1.5 | 1.3 | -0.6 | 0.2 | 491 | 520 | 94.50% |
| Bryce Harper | 2026 | R | 6-1 | -8 | -3.4 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.5 | -4 | -1.9 | 384 | 427 | 91.70% |
However, if you look at the cumulative stats from 2021-2026, Olson is second at 28 ROAA, just behind Freddie Freeman’s 29. So far, ROAA seems to be a stat that can fluctuate from year-to-year and might be best assessed with multiple years of data. Like WAR, it also accumulates over time with greater potential to increase and heavily favors longevity.
In terms of a lifelong baseball career, Rumfield is relatively new to first base. Rumfield was the third-ranked third baseman in the state of Texas as a high schooler before moving to the other side of the infield. He switched to DH and 1B in college at Virginia Tech, where he redshirted in 2019, had a shortened season in 2020 and only played one full year of college ball.
The Phillies drafted him in the 12th round of the 2021 MLB Draft and traded Rumfield to the Yankees later that year. As he worked his way through the minors, Rumfield played 364 games at first base and 63 as DH. All of this is to say that Rumfield could be the type of player who gets better and better at first base, especially with more and more MLB experience.
While ROAA is just one factor in a first baseman’s fielding, if Rumfield is the first baseman of the Rockies future, it will be an interesting number to keep an eye on.
Triple-A: Las Vegas Aviators 10, Albuquerque Isotopes 7 (11)
The Isotopes carried a 6-4 lead into the ninth inning, but the Aviators rallied back to tie it in the ninth and then win it in the 11th. Jose Cordova hit a solo homer, doubled and walked, Charlie Condon added two hits and scored a run, Ryan Ritter also pitched in two hits, while also driving in two and scoring one and Sterlin Thompson scored two runs on two walks and one hit. Roc Riggio and Nic Kent each chipped in sac flies. After Las Vegas took a 7-6 lead in the top of the 10th, but Kent scored on a passed ball to send the game to the 11th. That’s when Aviator Brayan Buelvas hit a two-run triple, which ended up being the game-winner.
Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats vs. Somerset Patriots, Postponed
Weather made this one a late scratch, but it will be made up on Friday as part of a doubleheader.
High-A: Hillsboro Hops 9, Spokane Indians 0
Spokane was out-hit 9-3 and gave up all nine runs in the fourth and fifth in a shutout loss on Thursday. On the bright side, Gabriel Hughes entered the game in the seventh and tossed three scoreless, hitless innings with five strikeouts. Jacob Hinderleider doubled, Tommy Hopfe and Robert Calaz each singled and the Indians drew three walks while striking out six times in the loss.
Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies 10, Stockton Ports 8
When Cort MacDonald tripled on a line drive to right field to score Daniel Jackson and Juan Martinez in the eighth inning, the runs put the Grizzlies up 10-7. In the end, that was enough to win the high-scoring game in the Rockies lone affiliate victory of the night on Thursday. On the night, MacDonald went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, while Daniel Jackson went 3-for-3 with a homer, a double, two RBIs, three runs scored and two walks. Ronny Ugarte scored two runs and drove in another two. All in all, Fresno combined for 15 hits.
The Purple Row Mailbag: August 2026 | Purple Row
Purple Row’s Skyler Timmins takes questions from the Purple Row community from all over the world about Rockies prospects, Ezequiel Tovar, front office operations, Rockies fans origin stories and more.
Everything you need to know about 2026 MLB Players’ Weekend | MLB.com
Celebrating players’ personalities and lives off the field, MLB Players’ Weekend will be back in action this weekend. Friday will showcase the players’ off-field interests, Saturday will highlight causes players are supporting and Sunday will feature players’ appreciation of the people who helped them reach The Show. The content will be on social media, local broadcasts and MLB Network throughout the weekend.
Rockies legend Larry Walker statue unveiling | 9News
The bigger news this weekend for Rockies fans will happen when the organization reveals the statue for Hall of Famer Larry Walker on Sunday. The statue will be located outside of Coors Field at the corner of 20th and Blake Street.
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The Phillies have been calling upon the services of Johan Duran a lot lately. The fire balling closer has appeared in four games over the last week and has seen his rest days start to shrink in number as the postseason race tightens.
Look no further than his appearances earlier this week for evidence of how much the Phillies will lean on him the rest of the year. Duran collected a save on Sunday but needed 33 pitches to do so. He was then immediately called upon again on Monday in another save situation, however this time he only needed 10 pitches. Duran received some rest on Tuesday, but he was back at again for his third save in four days on Wednesday. In those appearances, Duran threw a total of 61 pitches.
Duran has for the most part been durable. He did miss time earlier this season due to an oblique strain, but has been otherwise extremely reliable since arriving in Philadelphia at last year’s trade deadline. Still, it’s always worrying to put this much mileage on a reliever’s arm, as you run the risk of overworking him and sacrificing effectiveness.
But in Duran’s case, his earlier injury may actually be a bit of a blessing in disguise at the current moment, as he’s only thrown 45.1 innings this season so far, way down from the 70 he tossed last year. There’s obviously still a month to go in the regular season, but Duran is behind his 2025 innings pace due to missing that time earlier, as he was up to 55 innings by August 19th of last season. Therefore, it should give the Phillies at least some confidence that he should be able to hold up over an increased workload down the stretch.
Of course, total innings is only one worry. The other is general lack of rest in the day-to-day workings of a reliever. The rest of the Phillies bullpen is a prime example of what can happen when relievers are called upon in rapid succession with little time off. Duran hasn’t seen any velocity bleeding yet and his fastball has actually slightly ticked up as the season has progressed, but it will be something worth monitoring as he sees his usage increase.
The Phillies are going to ride Duran as much as possible while they look to secure a postseason berth, especially if they keep up their tendency of playing close games. But how do you feel about Jhoan Duran’s workload?
Good morning, LSB.
The Rangers beat the Nationals last night behind a dominant performance from Jacob deGrom.
Skip Schumaker says it was “vintage deGrom” in Shawn McFarland’s game story.
The win also featured deGrom’s 2,000th strikeout.
Jeff Wilson writes that the milestone wasn’t the most important part of the night for the Rangers’ ace.
Elsewhere the Rangers are planning to use the DH spot for load management for Wyatt Langford and Corey Seager.
Jack Leiter knocked out another rehab start in Round Rock.
One of the Rangers’ two-way players in Hickory struck out four in two innings in his A-Ball debut.
And Rangers Sports Network will be offering a delay-free in-park radio broadcast available through the BZZR app while inside GLF. Neat.
That’s all for this morning. Happy Friday!
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The Pittsburgh Pirates (+213) stroll into Chavez Ravine for a weekend series with the Los Angeles Dodgers (-223). Bubba Chandler duels Yoshinobu Yamamoto in a tantalizing starting pitching matchup for Friday's opener.
My Pirates vs. Dodgers predictions for August 21 think Chandler isn't getting enough respect, and will back Pittsburgh at a fair price.
The market is not accurately pricing in how effective Bubba Chandler has been lately. The flame-throwing youngster has allowed no more than three earned runs in any of his last six starts while turning in a 2.56 ERA and 2.39 FIP.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have also been the better-hitting team against RHP in the last 14 days (104 wRC+ to the Los Angeles Dodgers' 91 mark), so it would appear we have some value on the visitors.
Play the Pirates down to +190.
COVERS INTEL: Chandler has surrendered a 2.3% barrel rate over his last six starts. That would rank third among all starters on the season.Chandler has been tremendous, and L.A. is slumping. He's not the only starting pitcher who could find success in this matchup, however.
The Dodgers have cashed the Under in four consecutive Yoshinobu Yamamoto starts. Pittsburgh ranks just 23rd in runs above average per 100 splitters seen (-0.67), so he should be able to use his patented offering with aplomb.
Both bullpens rank Top 10 in FIP over the last 14 days (L.A. 3.37, Pittsburgh 3.53) and are refreshed after Thursday's off day, so run suppression is a likely outcome of tonight's ballgame.
The mild wind blowing out to left field could be a factor, but otherwise the weather isn't of much note.
The Pirates are 5-2 in Chandler's last seven starts. Find more MLB betting trends for Pirates vs Dodgers.
| Location | Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA |
| Date | Friday, Aug. 21, 2026 |
| First pitch | 10:10 p.m. ET |
| TV | SNLA, SportsNet Pittsburgh |
| Pirates starting pitcher | Bubba Chandler (6-8, 4.23 ERA) |
| Dodgers starting pitcher | Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12-7, 2.60 ERA) |
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.
The Mets open a three-game series against the White Sox in Chicago on Friday night at 7:40 on PIX11.
METS | WHITE SOX |
|---|---|
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
To watch Mets games online via PIX11, you will need a subscription to a TV service provider and live in the New York City metro area, or you can now purchase an in-market subscription package via MLB and Amazon This will allow fans to watch the Mets on their computer, tablet or mobile phone browser.
To get started on your computer, go to the PIX11 live stream website and follow the site's steps. For more FAQs, you can go here.
To get started on your computer, click here and then follow these steps:
MLB App access is included for FREE with SNY. To access a PIX11 game on your favorite supported Apple or Android mobile device, please follow the steps below.
Rangers 2, Nationals 0
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The Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles open a series in Baltimore with the home side as the -129 favorite, and the total sits at 8.5.
Freddy Peralta arrives with a 7.53 ERA in three starts since the trade to Tampa Bay, while Trevor Rogers counters with a 2.28 mark across 12 outings since June 1.
My Rays vs. Orioles predictions back the home team, and the Over on a total that hasn't accounted for what the visiting starter has become. Read my MLB picks for Friday, Aug. 21.
I like the Baltimore Orioles here and would play them to -145. This is a less-than-ideal matchup for inconsistent Tampa Bay Rays starter Freddy Peralta.
The Orioles put 40.5% of their batted balls in the air and walk at a 10.2% clip, the third-best mark in MLB, which isn't a profile that looks good for Peralta on paper. He's allowed an 18.7% home run per fly ball rate and 20 home runs in 128 innings.
The bat-missing ability that used to help him is gone too, as his strikeout rate has fallen from 28.2% to 21.5%, while in-zone contact has been climbing to 81.5%. The bottom 40 percentile hard-hit rate reflects that too.
This feels like a game when the power bats of Baltimore's lineup get going, and a few homers from the likes of Coby Mayo, Pete Alonso, and Gunnar Henderson make a difference.
COVERS INTEL:Freddy Peralta has thrown his changeup 21.6% of the time this season, up from 9.7% in 2021, and it's gone from a swing-and-miss pitch to a hittable one, allowing a .258 average and .403 slugging with the whiff rate down to 28.1%
Peralta's fastball is also vulnerable. The O's hit it at a top-10 rate, according to virtually any metric, and he throws it 53.5% of the time while yielding a .471 slugging percentage with a 50.2% hard-hit rate. That's another blinking signal for perhaps a multiple-homer effort from Baltimore's bats.
Meanwhile, the Rays own the best contact rate in MLB at 78.9% and the lowest strikeout rate at 18.7%. Trevor Rogers can't punish that, as he's grading in the 33rd percentile in strikeout rate and the 34th percentile in whiff rate.
This is playable to -110 given the two suspect arms involved.
Fifteen of the 20 homers Peralta has allowed have come against left-handed hitters across 83 innings. Those sluggers have posted a .270/.332/.477 slash line, and he's surrendered a 19.2% air pull rate. Gunnar Henderson is Baltimore's primary left-handed power bat, and Camden Yards is where Peralta's fastball problem gets highlighted even more given its relatively homer-friendly dimensions for lefties.
Play this to +330.
Temperatures are a bit cooler than previous nights in Baltimore, reaching the upper 70s, with no notable wind.
The Orioles have won six of the last seven head-to-head matchups with the Rays. Find more MLB betting trends for Rays vs. Orioles.
| Location | Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD |
| Date | Friday, Aug. 21, 2026 |
| First pitch | 7:15 p.m. ET |
| TV | Apple TV |
| Rays starting pitcher | Freddy Peralta (5-10, 5.27 ERA) |
| Orioles starting pitcher | Trevor Rogers (8-8, 4.15 ERA) |
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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Having wrapped up a road trip with a series victory in Baltimore, the Yankees are now set to return home this weekend. While every game at this stage of the season matters, the Blue Jays are coming to town seemingly rejuvenated in the playoff race.
These two teams met just last weekend in Toronto. The Blue Jays ended up taking two out of three, but all were close. (Seemingly every Yankees’ game is close because the offense can’t generate enough offense to pull away from teams.) With the AL a mediocre mess outside the top, Toronto has worked its way back into the playoff picture, so they’ll be hoping to continue what they did last weekend, while the Yankees will hope to try and keep cutting into their deficit to the Rays in the AL East standings.
Before things get going tonight, here’s a look at the expected pitching matchups for the next couple days.
Friday: Cam Schlittler vs. TBD (7:05 pm ET)
Obviously, Schlittler has been absolutely incredible this season and is on the shortlist for possible AL Cy Young winners. The only real negative about his year is the home/road splits, where he has a 3.95 ERA while allowing a .725 OPS in the Bronx, compared to 1.14 and .467 on the road. That being said, he is coming off an excellent outing at Yankee Stadium, striking out 11 Braves while allowing one run in seven innings. We shall see what this start has in store.
With Toronto having multiple starters on the IL on top of trading away Kevin Gausman at the deadline, they’ve been having some bullpen games, as we saw when the Yankees faced them last weekend. That’s presumably what the case will be in this game. The Yankees were held to just one run on four hits in that game, so it’s hard for them to fare much worse, should this indeed be a Johnny Wholestaff outing.
Saturday: Ryan Weathers vs. Dylan Cease (1:35 pm ET)
Injuries have prevented the likes of Weathers and Will Warren from exiting the rotation, as the Yankees still can’t get their theoretical A+ rotation all healthy at once. That being said, Weathers has absolutely held up his end of the bargain of late. Over his last four outings, he has a 0.69 ERA in 26 total innings. That included a one run in 7.1 innings against this very Blue Jays team last weekend.
We’ll miss a possible battle of Cy Young contenders by one day, as Toronto’s — Cease — will go on Saturday. The Yankees came out victorious in the game in total, but Cease certainly looked the part last Sunday. He struck out 10 Yankee hitters in 6.2 innings, allowing just two runs on two hits.
Sunday: Carlos Rodón vs. José Soriano (1:35 pm ET)
Rodón made his return from the IL earlier this week against the Orioles. He did well enough, going four innings while allowing one run on two hits, with the run coming on a homer. He did only throw 66 pitches, meaning he probably won’t be going for a full outing in this appearance either.
Despite trading Gauman, the Jays still picked up Soriano from the Angels to add to their rotation. For the season, he has a 3.29 ERA and a 3.78 FIP, with 2.76 and 3.88 marks since going to Toronto. The Yankees missed him when these teams met last weekend, and they also didn’t face him prior to the trade when he was still with the Angels. The last time the Yankees saw Soriano was last June, where he shut them out over seven frames.
The Mets had the day off yesterday after taking their series from the Padres, and having won 11 of their past 15 games, they’re set to play the first-place White Sox in a three-game series in Chicago this weekend.
That 11-4 record since the break is tied with the Rays for the best record in baseball over that span.
Awful Announcing ranked SNY’s booth third in baseball, which isn’t a slight but is factually incorrect, as GKR are the best.
Speaking of excellent Mets broadcasters, the team is set to honor Howie Rose with a retirement ceremony ahead of its final home game of the season on September 20.
The Good Phight writes that the Dodgers’ struggles present an opportunity for the Phillies.
Grand Holmes and the Braves shut out the White Sox to avoid what would’ve been a postponement-delayed sweep at the hands of Chicago.
Jacob deGrom looked fantastic as he struck out ten, walked one and gave up just one hit in six scoreless innings as the Rangers beat the Nationals.
The Mariners lost to the Brewers yesterday afternoon, but Seattle is set to call up Kade Anderson, one of the best pitching prospects in the sport.
Mark Walter’s financial dealings—as they pertain to his ownership of the Dodgers—have been an issue in the past, and those allegations have resurfaced in light of the probe currently affecting him.
The Yankees completed a sweep of the Orioles.
Zach Neto had quite the night at the plate as the Angels scored 18 runs in a win over the Astros.
The Reds committed a two-out error in the ninth inning, handing their rival Cardinals a victory in the process.
Reds rookie Sal Stewart has a shot at reaching the 100 RBI mark.
With a win over the Giants, the Guardians won a series at home for the first time since June. The American League Wild Card race is something else.
A great start from Shane Bieber helped the Blue Jays defeat the rival Rays.
It’s rare to find a series between two American League teams that has no playoff implications, but they do exist. The Royals beat the A’s for their fifth-straight win.
Here are MLB.com’s latest hitter power rankings.
We shared the latest episode of Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World Series.
Tom Seaver made a fantastic start at Shea Stadium on this date in 1977, but it would’ve been even better if he had made it for the Mets rather than against them.
In recent years, it’s felt like there’s always another exciting Brewers prospect knocking on the door.
When Jackson Chourio made his major league debut on Opening Day 2024, he was the No. 2 prospect in baseball and the best prospect the Brewers had had in years. A little over a year later, Jacob Misiorowski made his major league debut and quickly became one of the best pitchers in baseball. Brewers fans began this season clamoring for Cooper Pratt and Luis Lara, and both have more than held their own since arriving in Milwaukee.
Even with the graduations of those four prospects, along with numerous others, Milwaukee’s farm system is still considered to be one of — if not the best — in baseball. Reinforcements are coming, whether that be in September or at the start of next season.
There are six position players who stand out to me as realistic candidates to be the next top prospect to make their major league debut. Let’s take a look at them:
Fischer, a slightly older prospect (21 when drafted), played three years in college and was seen as a remarkably developed hitter heading into the draft. He’s putting up power numbers that we haven’t seen in the Brewers’ farm system in a long, long time, carrying a 1.021 OPS into the final weeks of August while hitting 37 home runs between High-A Wisconsin (20) and Double-A Biloxi (17).
Fischer seems like the perfect candidate for a late-season promotion, but — simply put — the issue is that he’s struck out way too much all year, especially with Biloxi (35.2%).
Now, a high strikeout rate doesn’t mean you can’t be a productive — even great — major league hitter. And, as some Brewers fans have pointed out, striking out a lot might be an acceptable tradeoff for a team that currently ranks last in the majors in home runs. However, successful sluggers who strike out a lot are usually either extreme outliers in another area or great at not chasing pitches out of the zone. That second profile is one you see in a lot of “three true outcomes” sluggers, guys like Kyle Schwarber and Munetaka Murakami, who have terrible strikeout and whiff rates but are selective enough to force pitchers to challenge them in the zone.
Fischer’s chase rate in Double-A does suggest that he could be that type of hitter, but you never know. For every Schwarber, Murakami, or Joey Gallo, there’s a Keston Hiura who can’t figure it out at the big-league level despite great production in the minors. Would the Brewers, an organization that has historically tended to be fairly conservative with prospect promotions and professed a “bites at the apple” approach, risk messing with the development of their massively talented 2025 first-round pick just to make a deeper run this year? I doubt it.
The final thing to consider with Fischer is the organizational depth chart around him. Fischer is a corner infielder whose eventual defensive home is probably first base. While Jake Bauers might end up priced out of Milwaukee after the season he’s had, the Brewers should still have Andrew Vaughn next year (arbitration results and lockout notwithstanding). They’ll also have Luke Adams and Blake Burke, both of whom have had great seasons with less concerning strikeout rates and are already in Triple-A.
Having said all this, Fischer is probably one of the least likely players on this list to be the next top prospect called up, but I also wouldn’t completely rule it out. He’s been electric all year, and 37 home runs are 37 home runs. If the Brewers decide the offense needs a spark down the stretch, there isn’t another player in the organization who has shown an ability to provide it quite like Fischer has.
Since changing his swing to prioritize getting the ball in the air more often, Burke has become an absolute monster at the plate. He destroyed Double-A pitching this year, hitting for average (.285), getting on base (.367), hitting 30 home runs, and, somewhat surprisingly for a first baseman, stealing 28 bases. His 23.6% strikeout rate also looks significantly better than Fischer’s, and Fischer is probably his main competition for the “power-hitting corner infielder” call-up should the Brewers decide they need that profile. Burke also has the advantage of already being in Triple-A, having been promoted a couple of weeks ago.
The immediate problem for Burke is finding somewhere to play.
Burke will be a first baseman, and coming out of college, a lot of scouts saw him as a future DH-only guy. While he’s been much better than that with Biloxi and should eventually be at least a fringe-average defender at first base, he doesn’t have great range and wouldn’t be able to play the outfield or third base at the level the Brewers would want. While Fischer, in practice, probably isn’t much more flexible than Burke, in theory he is. If Milwaukee needed a bat who could also play third base — or maybe even the outfield — in a pinch, Burke wouldn’t be the guy. Since the Brewers aren’t hurting for first basemen in Triple-A or the majors, that matters a little bit.
There’s something very Brewers about Adams potentially being the next guy promoted. He was a 12th-round pick in 2022, has never been considered one of the flashiest prospects in the organization, and has basically forced his way up the system’s rankings by getting on base and hitting the ball hard.
Adams sort of reminds me of Pratt and Lara in a way. Like Pratt and Lara, Adams has been surrounded by flashier, higher-ranked prospects who play his position, but he’s just kept producing and working, and it’s led to him knocking on the door of the big leagues.
Adams doesn’t have the prospect pedigree of Made or Fischer, and he hasn’t put up the same ridiculous power numbers as Burke, but he checks just about every other box. He’s already in Triple-A. He can play both corner infield spots. Most importantly, he has a .906 OPS with 13 home runs in 202 Triple-A at-bats. If the Brewers need a corner infielder or bench bat and want someone who has produced both in Triple-A and throughout his career, Adams is their guy.
If I had written this article this offseason, Williams probably would have been the obvious answer after the Brewers traded their ace from the previous season to acquire him and Brandon Sproat.
Instead, his first year in the Brewers organization has been relatively disappointing. Williams hasn’t hit particularly well in Triple-A, and, maybe more importantly, several players have seemingly passed him on the organizational depth chart.
He started the season in Nashville alongside Cooper Pratt. Pratt got called up first. When David Hamilton went down, the Brewers went with Lara and Greg Jones. Then, when Pratt and Ortiz both got banged up and seemingly created another opportunity to give Williams some run, he reaggravated his wrist and went on the IL.
Williams posted an .867 OPS in Double-A last year, but only a .718 OPS in 151 at-bats with the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate — a number roughly in line with his .724 OPS in 359 at-bats this year. I still really like Williams as a prospect. He can play both the infield and outfield, has power and speed, and gets on base even when he isn’t hitting particularly well. He’s versatile and has been productive enough that he’ll eventually get his call-up, but he hasn’t forced the Brewers’ hand thus far.
I know this is a little crazy. Jesús Made, the No. 1 prospect in baseball, whose OPS has hovered around .800 all year in Double-A, has played more games at the level than Adamczewski. In fact, Adamczewski had played just 16 games above Low-A coming into this season. By all conventional wisdom, if I’m going to pick a dark horse, someone below Triple-A and with less than 37 home runs, it should be Made, not Adamczewski.
But bear with me.
The case for Adamczewski is simple: he hits the cover off the ball. Against everybody, at every level. At every level in which he’s had more than 60 at-bats, he’s posted a .900 OPS — except for his .872 OPS in 46 games this year. That’s what his numbers look like while adjusting to what many consider the hardest jump in the minor leagues.
I’m not box-score scouting, either. He has a fast, compact swing that should be able to handle velocity while allowing him to adjust to off-speed offerings without throwing off his timing.
Legitimately beautiful swing:
To reiterate, this is my dark horse pick. I don’t think the Brewers are going to call up Adamczewski anytime soon. He came up as a second baseman but has played exclusively in the outfield with Biloxi, so it’s not like there’s a natural fit for him on the major league roster. I just think that if the Brewers wanted to throw a Double-A bat into the lineup and see if they could capture lightning in a bottle, Adamczewski might actually be their best bet for immediate production.
This might be a bad analogy, but you can think of Hardin a little like Adamczewski — a late-round pick who rose to become a top 10 organizational prospect not because of overwhelming raw talent or athleticism, but because of skill and consistent production. At least, all of that was true before the last two months. Hardin has been getting blown up since the start of July and now has a 5.14 ERA through 16 starts (though his 4.29 xERA and 3.43 FIP indicates some bad luck). Even with guys like Logan Henderson, Robert Gasser, Shane Drohan, etc. now in Milwaukee, Hardin probably wouldn’t get the call over Coleman Crow or Brandon Sproat.
If I had to guess right now, I’d say Adams.
He’s already in Triple-A, can play multiple positions where he could be called upon in case of injury, and has played well enough to deserve an opportunity. The Brewers have options at the corner infield spots, but they’re thin if anyone goes down, as we just saw when they had to sign and start guys like Jihwan Bae, Greg Jones, and Braden Shewmake. Andrew Vaughn has played double-digit games at third base, and Gary Sánchez has played first base. Adams wouldn’t be a downgrade.
Editor’s Note: Adams is currently on the injured list, and it isn’t completely clear how severe his injury is, though it seems likely we’ll see him back on the field in the next couple of weeks. He still seems like a solid candidate to join the team as Milwaukee’s 14th position player come September.
While that’s my answer, the more interesting takeaway might be that there isn’t an obvious one. Pratt and Lara have already graduated, and the Brewers still have several legitimate prospects who could realistically enter the major league conversation between now and next season. A year ago, Brewers fans were waiting for Pratt and Lara. Now they’re here, and there’s already another group coming up behind them.
And behind that group are Made, Peña, Fischer, Braylon Payne, Brady Ebel, and plenty of others. It’s a good time to be a Brewers fan.
The Atlanta Braves earned their 75th win of the season after Thursday’s 2-0 win over the Chicago White Sox. Grant Holmes and Austin Riley allowed Atlanta to avoid the sweep during the makeup game. Holmes got the start, lasting six innings and allowing just one hit. He walked three and struck out three.
Austin Riley drove in both of the Atlanta runs. He doubled in the third and singled in the seventh to give the Braves the edge. Though a makeup game, the Braves desperately needed this win following a tough series with the Minnesota Twins.
The Braves are back in action this afternoon, as the weekend series kicks off with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Pitching prospect Luke Sinnard has been promoted to Double-A and will suit up for the Columbus Clingstones.
Brett Sears struck out eight on Wednesday in Double-A. More in the minor league recap.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are transferring Ketel Marte from the restricted list to the 10-day injured list. He is currently dealing with inflammation in his knee.
Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson is likely done for the season. He has been dealing with a shoulder injury and is headed to Sacramento to see a doctor.
The San Francisco Giants placed righty Keaton Winn on the 15-day IL with right elbow neuritis. The move is retroactive to August 19.
Predict the outcome of the Braves-Brewers series here.