Category: Baseball

The best team in the American League does not know where it will be playing in three years, but it is one big step closer. After reaching an agreement on the structure of the financials on Friday, the Tampa Bay Rays' stadium deal is heading to a vote next week.

Tampa City Council will take up the final arguments on a $2.3 billion ballpark Aug. 27, with $976 million of it public money. That depends on negotiators delivering the documents first. Council Chair Alan Clendenin said Friday the agreements were in place and the vote would go forward. Hillsborough County will vote within hours of the Tampa City Council vote on Aug. 27 or the next morning, Chair Ken Hagan said. He put the odds of the project going through at 85%.

There are five or six documents, Clendenin said, including the non-relocation agreement, the clause that stops a team from taking public money and leaving anyway. St. Petersburg spent 20 years learning what that is worth. After announcing they were "Here to Stay," in September 2023, longtime owner Stuart Sternberg sold the team. Patrick Zalupski's group bought the team in late 2025, and CEO Ken Babby has run the stadium push since.

The Rays are 76-51, four games ahead of the Yankees with the best record in the American League. They are doing it on a payroll of about $90 million, 26th out of the 30 teams on opening day, in front of about 17,259 people a game.

The new building is supposed to fix that. The plan is a 31,000-seat domed stadium, the smallest permanent home in the majors, which is the point. The revenue is meant to come from the roughly 130 acres of apartments, hotels and restaurants around it rather than the seats inside it.

The plan puts that new ballpark across the street from the Buccaneers stadium and next door to Steinbrenner Field, the Yankees' spring training park where the Rays spent all of 2025 after a hurricane damaged Tropicana Field.

The plan is timed for ground breaking in September 2026 to be ready for first pitch in 2029. The Tropicana Field lease expires after the 2028 season. The Rays want to be in their new stadium by opening day 2029 and their timeline calls for shovels in the ground by September to make that happen. St. Petersburg mayor Ken Welch said that Tropicana Field could host the Rays for five to seven more years after the lease runs out if needed.

The county would cover $796 million of the public money. The city would cover $180 million. The Rays would put in more than $1.2 billion and eat any overruns.

The city's $180 million has been the sticking point and this is what had been reworked in the documents that will be voted on Aug. 27.

The Rays need four votes on the seven-member council. Bill Carlson is the fourth and he has not said yes. If the deal dies, Babby has warned the team could look at other options. Orlando has an organized group that wants to bring the Rays there. The new ownership group is based in Jacksonville and Babby had his minor league team there, making them familiar with the feasibility of a team there.

The Rays will be on the road in Detroit when the vote comes down.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What Tampa decides next week could determine Rays' future home: What to know about vote

It’s almost certainly too little, too late, but the Cincinnati Reds are beginning to get some of their bullpen arms back in form. Graham Ashcraft, for instance, threw a bullpen on Tuesday at Great American Ball Park and seems poised for a rehab stint as early as this weekend.

On Friday, though, the Reds got something more tangible. Tony Santillan was activated prior to the series opener in the Land of the Endless Strip Mall against the Diamondbacks after having thrown his most recent pitch for the Reds almost two months ago back on June 22nd.

Making way for Big Tone on the roster was Zach Maxwell, with the move technically post-dated to yesterday evening after the debacle against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The #Reds today activated RHP Tony Santillan from the 15-day injured list and optioned RHP Zach Maxwell to Triple-A Louisville (postgame 8/20). pic.twitter.com/M5r4x2NvJa

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) August 21, 2026

Santillan’s overall 5.23 ERA and 5.57 FIP on the season are ugly as sin, but he’d turned a corner in the month of June prior to landing on the shelf. He poured in 7 straight scoreless appearances in the month prior to yielding an earned run and walk in the game where he strained his oblique and hit the shelf, and the Reds will surely hoping it’ll be that guy that helps anchor their bullpen down the stretch.

The Atlanta Braves traveled up north to play the Brewers in a pitching matchup to drool over with Chris Sale and Jacob Misiorowski both on the mound.

The game started off with a sign that Misiorowski might not be invincible with Ronald Acuña able to draw a walk to lead off the game. That hope of scoring early was extinguished quickly by back-to-back strikeouts of Baldwin and Olson followed by Acuña being thrown out by his former teammate William Contreras to end the top of the first.

Sale got into some trouble in the first. He was able to get Chourio out, who has a strong history of doing well against him as well as forcing a groundout to Turang. However, the two other players that have a career OPS north of .800 in their careers against Sale, Contreras and Vaughn were able to pull off back-to-back singles. Fortunately, Sale was able to get Bauers to ground out to end the inning.

In the second inning, as many could probably guess, there was not much offense for the Braves. Dubón was able to single off Misiorowski, but that was the only baserunner in the top of the second. Chris Sale dominated the second by sitting down every hitter, to include a strikeout of Cooper Pratt.

The Braves were able to get a runner to second base in the third. After a Riley strikeout, Yastrzemski singled and was moved over to second on an Acuña groundout, but that was ended with a groundout from Baldwin. The third inning is where the Brewers got the better of Chris Sale. He gave up back-to-back singles to Lara and Chourio. Sale was able to strike out Turang, but Contreras singled to score Lara and then Vaughn scored Chourio from third on a play that just missed being a double play from Dubón and Albies. Sale settled down and struck out Bauers to end the third.

In the fourth, Matt Olson struck out on a Brewers challenge. Harris hit the ball hard, but Lara made a fantastic play in CF, and Ozzie Albies also flied out. Chris Sale looked like Chris Sale again in the fourth. He sat down the side to include a strikeout of Ortiz, one of the players who has a history of doing well against him.

There was some hope for some Braves in the fifth inning. After a groundout, Smith came through with a single. Riley struck out, but then Yastrzemski reached base for a second time with a walk to put two runners on for Acuña. Unfortunately, Acuña was not able to come in clutch and grounded out to SS. Sale struggled a bit in the fifth by his standards. Lara singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth but he somehow has not watched Acuña highlights because he tried to stretch it out to a double and got thrown out. Sale struck out Chourio, but then Turang and Contreras singled each to put two on with two outs. Vaughn grounded out though, so no more damage was done.

There was sign of life in the sixth. Baldwin struck out, and Matt Olson almost had a double, but there was a fantastic play in CF.

It is a true joy watching Luis Lara patrol the outfield pic.twitter.com/OVU95qr1Z1

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) August 21, 2026

Harris was able to make solid contact with two outs that resulted in a double, but he was not able to be brought in. Sale stayed in to pitch the sixth and it paid off. He was able to retire the side to include a strikeout of Ortiz after a failed challenge.

Antonio Senzatela relieved Misiorowski in the seventh. Dubón led it off with a single, but got thrown out on a bang-bang play at second. Smith grounded out and Riley popped up. Brent Suter relieved Sale. Sale finished the day with 6.0 innings where he surrendered eight hits, but only gave up two earned runs on zero walks, and six strikeouts. Suter led it off with two straight strikeouts to include the Brewers failing a challenge. He walked Chourio, but then got Turang to groundout to the mound.

Senzatela stayed in to pitch eighth, and that worked out for the Braves. Yastrzemski walked and then when Acuña hit a grounder there was some luck. Yastrzemski was out at second but then on a bad throw Acuña moved to second. Baldwin continued his struggles with a strikeout, but then Olson singled to put runners on the corners. Harris then singled to score Acuña and put two runners on. Albies then walked to load the bases, but the rally was killed when Dubón hit a 99.3 MPH line out.

Dylan Dodd pitched the eighth. He was a bit shaky, but got the job done. Contreras singled and Mitchell walked, but then Dodd was able to strike out Bauers and get Gary Sánchez to ground into a double play.

Trevor Megill came in for the save opportunity. He got Smith to groundout and Riley to fly out, but Yastrzemski continued his hot game with his fourth time reaching base with a single. This brought Acuña up to be the final hope. This led to Lane Thomas coming in as a pinch-runner and stole second base. Acuña could not pull it through though and struck out to end the game.

This was a tough loss. The Braves’ pitching was able to keep it close, and the offense could not capitalize on bases loaded late in the game. The bright spot outside of the pitching was Yastrzemski reaching base four times. He had no business batting ninth when he has been the third best hitter in the month of August. Maybe things would have been different if he was hitting higher in the order.

Hopefully the Braves can catch a spark, because they are trending the wrong way. Next game is tomorrow at 2:10 EDT where Bryce Elder will be facing Logan Henderson and his sterling 2.70 ERA.

Mets lineup

1. A.J. Ewing – CF
2. Francisco Lindor – SS
3. Bo Bichette – DH
4. Carson Benge – RF
5. Jared Young – 1B
6. Luis Robert Jr. – LF
7. Brett Baty – 3B
8. Marcus Semien – 2B
9. Francisco Alvarez – C

Sean Manaea – LHP

White Sox lineup

1. Chase Meidroth – 2B
2. Munetaka Murakami – 1B
3. Miguel Vargas – 3B
4. Randal Grichuk – LF
5. Colson Montgomery – DH
6. Brenton Doyle – CF
7. Luisangel Acuña – SS
8. Jake Rogers – C
9. Tristan Peters – RF

Sean Burke – RHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 7:40pm EDT
TV: WPIX
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

The San Francisco Giants head to Fenway Park today to begin a weekend series against the Boston Red Sox.

Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Logan Webb, who enters today’s game with a 3.50 ERA, 3.17 FIP, with 110 strikeouts to 32 walks in 139 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 7-1 win over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday, in which he allowed one run on four hits with seven strikeouts in six innings.

He’ll be facing off against Red Sox right-hander Sonny Gray, who enters today’s game with a 2.65 ERA, 3.48 FIP, with 117 strikeouts to 34 walks in 132.2 innings pitched. His last start was in the Red Sox’ 4-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday, in which he allowed six hits and a walk with seven strikeouts in seven innings.

Game #128

Who: San Francisco Giants (52-75) vs. Boston Red Sox (68-59)

Where: Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts

When: 4:10 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

With injuries and trades, this Nats offense is a shell of its former self. We saw that in the Rangers series where they were shut out twice. However, baseball waits for nobody and the Nats need to keep chugging along. They will look to improve their woeful divisional record against the Marlins.

With the injuries, this Nats lineup is nearly unrecognizable. Daylen Lile is leading off and Jorbit Vivas is hitting second. Nasim Nunez is at shortstop again as CJ Abrams recovers from his ankle injury. Jacob Young is back in the lineup for this one. After a brutal outing against the Mets, Brad Lord looks to bounce back.

Nationals 8/21

D. Lile LF
J. Vivas 2B
A. Chaparro DH
A. Ortiz 1B
B. House 3B
K. Ruiz C
D. Crews RF
N. Nuñez SS
J. Young CF

B. Lord SP

— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) August 21, 2026

The Marlins have had consistent production from their middle infield duo of Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards. However, Griffin Conine is a guy who has really taken off recently. This Marlins lineup may not have star power, but they punch above their weight. Ryan Gusto is on the bump for the Fish.

A new homestand begins tonight.

🤝: @PNCBank
📺: https://t.co/pMAEOPHNJ8
👂: @MarlinsRadio, @radiomambi710, @1043wqam
⏰: 7:10 PM ET
🏟️: Roof status: CLOSED#FightinFish // https://t.co/ZrOdIbYDTIpic.twitter.com/rOi8qbhv3X

— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) August 21, 2026

Game Info:

Stadium: loanDepot Park

Time: 7:10 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

The Nats need a spark of life this weekend. However, the Marlins have been a difficult foe for them all season long. Will the Nats tailspin continue or can they find something here? Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats.

The Yankees just completed their first sweep since the second week of July, taking all three games in Baltimore to finish their road trip 4-2. They return to the Bronx to kick off a grueling home stand with crucial series against the Blue Jays, Astros, and Red Sox. The next 10 days will provide a litmus test for this team’s ceiling and will go a long way toward deciding their fate in the division. The first challenge will be three games against the Blue Jays, whom they lost two of three against at the start of the week.

Cam Schlittler will look to further his AL Cy Young case coming off his previous strong start against the Blue Jays — 5.1 innings allowing a run on four hits and three walks against seven strikeouts. It’s a two-horse race between Schlittler and Dylan Cease for the league’s top pitching prize, and with the Blue Jays’ ace going tomorrow there’s extra motivation for Schlittler to lay down a marker tonight. In 26 starts, Schlittler is 10-6 with an AL-best 2.19 ERA (192 ERA+), 2.59 FIP, and 189 strikeouts in 152 innings.

Mason Fluharty will serve as an opener for the fourth time this season, the lefty more typically used in middle-to-late relief. He has made six relief appearances against the Yankees this season tossing 4.2 scoreless innings. He’s done well to limit damage against them and has not allowed a barreled ball to the 20 Yankees batters he’s faced. Fluharty is mainly a cutter-sweeper guy who will mix in an occasional changeup, his fastball averaging not much over 90 mph. In 67 appearances, Fluharty has a 3.71 ERA (120 ERA+), 3.66 FIP, and 56 strikeouts in 51 innings.

Former Astros starter Spencer Arrighetti is expected to follow Fluharty as the bulk reliever. The righty was acquired at the deadline for Daulton Varsho but has not yet pitched for Toronto after being placed on the 15-day IL with nerve irritation in his right foot. He’s got a six-pitch mix of four-seamer, sinker, cutter, curveball, sweeper, and changeup, the curveball by far his best weapon with a 38.7-percent whiff rate. In 17 starts with Houston, Arrighetti went 7-5 with a 4.60 ERA (91 ERA+), 5.07 FIP, and 87 strikeouts in 88 innings.

The Yankees tailor their lineup to the lefty opener despite the impending righty bulk guy. Paul Goldschmidt gets a rare start and leads off, followed by a pair of struggling bats in Amed Rosario and Heliot Ramos (though the latter at least got his first RBI in pinstripes the other day). George Lombard Jr. moves up to fifth in the batting order while Spencer Jones remains at seventh following his 3-for-4 with a homer last night.

The Blue Jays boast the worst lineup in the AL by wRC+ (92), but that didn’t stop them from winning their recent series against the Yankees in Toronto with New York scoring just one run in each of the first two games. Alejandro Kirk and Ernie Clement always seem to kill the Yankees. Meanwhile, Kazuma Okamoto represents a power threat further down and recently became the Blue Jays franchise record holder for home runs by a rookie with 26 on the year.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium – Bronx, NY

First pitch: 7:05 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES, Sportsnet, TVA Sports

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY) | SN590 THE FAN (TOR)

Streaming: Gotham Sports App, MLB.tv (out-of-market only)

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

📍Home #RepBXpic.twitter.com/cCOx7kGj3r

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 21, 2026

Hello, New York 👋 #BlueJays50pic.twitter.com/b3ChNki6zO

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 21, 2026

The St. Louis Cardinals road trip travels to Philadelphia for a weekend series against the Phillies. Jesús Luzardo is the scheduled starter for the Phillies while the Cardinals will start Hunter Dobbins. First pitch is scheduled for 5:40pm central time and the game broadcast will be available via Cardinals.tv.

⚾️ First Pitch: 7:10PM EDT – Fenway Park, Boston, MA

📺 TV: NESN

📻 Radio: WEEI

Happy Players’ Weekend from Fenway! pic.twitter.com/vUrD1dKD27

— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 21, 2026

Players Weekend is SO back 💪

⌚️: 4:10 p.m. PT
📍: Boston, MA
📺: @NBCSGiants
📻: @KNBR | KSFN#SFGiants | @CocaColagpic.twitter.com/SCHdjz6xmT

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) August 21, 2026

The New York Rangers made a smaller signing during this offseason that could end up paying dividends. 

On July 1, the Rangers signed Joe Veleno to a one-year, $1.2 million contract. 

Coming into the 2018 NHL Draft, Veleno had strong offensive potential, which is why he was selected late in the first round by the Detroit Red Wings.

However, six years into his NHL career and about to play for his fourth NHL team, that offensive potential has still not been unlocked. 

One Montreal analyst believes there’s promise for Veleno to make a real impact for the Rangers. 

“Maybe this is that fresh start on a team that, in my opinion, is in more of a rebuilding than retooling mode,” Jon Goyens said via The Montreal Gazette. “I think he can find himself quickly. It’s still the NHL and people want to win … but they’re far removed from their Presidents’ (Trophy) of a couple years ago.

“I think he has the opportunity to start in the middle of the pack, a top-nine role. After that, it comes down to executing and being consistent. If he can do that, there have been many NHL players who have started their career at 26. He just happens to have a few hundred games under his belt.”

In his most recent stint with the Montreal Canadiens during the 2025-26 season, Veleno played a bottom-six role, with his expanded two-way game helping him gain trust with Martin St. Louis and the Canadiens coaching staff. 

The 26-year-old forward served a role on the penalty kill, and his defensive reliability led to him playing 61 out of the 82 regular-season games. 

Veleno is likely to slot in as the Rangers’ fourth-line center, and his newfound two-way game can help him earn a regular spot in the lineup. 

If Veleno could also tap into his offensive potential to go along with his reliability in the defensive zone, the Rangers’ small signing would ultimately become their biggest offseason steal.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across Major League Baseball. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Yankees fans and fans across the country.

The New York Yankees are the New York Yankees. This statement means that getting into the dance isn’t enough outside extreme circumstances. And if we’re being honest, whatever their circumstances are, the Yankees should have enough firepower to go toe-to-toe with anyone in the American League.

The gap to the Rays makes it extremely plausible that the Yankees don’t win the AL East. Still, FanDuel has the Yankees as the likeliest World Series winner on the American League side, with +750 odds. Consequently, the Yankees show up as the favorites to win the Junior Circuit at +280 odds, just ahead of the Rays and Red Sox, in a trio of AL East clubs leading the pack

As the Yankees aim for their second AL pennant in the past three years, we asked, “What concerns you the most in this challenging effort?”

Virtually all the voters, 98 percent to be exact, acknowledged something that raised doubts heading into the playoffs, with the disappointment of last year lingering quite heavily. As much as we can talk about the grass always being greener and several opponents also sharing concerns, it’s important to understand your weaknesses heading into such a crucial period of the season.

In a way, this poll has many connecting points and is primarily attempting to assess one’s focal point of frustration. Part of the faltering offense is due to the key injuries (although the pitching staff still has notable absences); one can also connect it to the struggles of deadline acquisitions. Key injuries put a bigger strain on those very same key deadline acquisitions, and so on and so forth.

The injury to Max Fried is a heavy blow, but through adversity, this pitching staff has thrived all year long. It makes sense that the majority of voters would focus on the general failing of an offense that has scored three or fewer runs in 12 out of the Yankees’ last 21 games.

As contagious as a rolling offense is, a struggling one can carry the same effect. Your hitters who are performing well start to press because they feel they must carry the load all by themselves—we discussed the negative effects of this with a hitter like Ben Rice here, whose second-half struggles might undermine the narrative of his 2026 campaign. And the hitters who have been struggling all season, of whom there are far too many, seem to dig too deep a hole to climb out of.

We’d be remiss to write this article and not touch on the elephant in the room that is Aaron Judge and all that he represents to each of those options on the poll. Although this is a speculative theory, perhaps what led to such a discrepancy between votes for a faltering offense and key injuries was the optimism from a recent Judge update.

After an unsettling period of silence, Aaron Boone updated the media ahead of the series finale against the Orioles with news that Judge has hit off a tee two days in a row and appears to be slowly progressing toward a return. It makes sense that the Yankees will be conservative, eyeing October above all else with their prized superstar, but the optimism in his availability has increased.

Thoughts from Aaron Boone, starting with the latest on Ryan McMahon. #YANKSonYESpic.twitter.com/MsklwfRYzw

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) August 20, 2026

The Yankees’ offensive struggles run deep enough that even with Judge potentially available in the playoffs, one could still share some concern about this lineup’s ability to deliver when it matters most. That being said, it’s as much of a game changer as one could ever wish for.

Speaking of optimism, if we want a bit of that in the near future, a repeat look against a Blue Jays staff in the span of a week—a couple of series against the Astros and Angels, whose pitching is questionable, all present opportunities for this offense to come alive. Or at least, more realistically, produce somewhat consistently, which would already be a plus.

The Jays arrive in Yankee Stadium today to take on the current top wildcard. As things currently stand, it’ll be the last team above .500 they play this season. From Tuesday on out they play, in descending order of current record, the Rangers (63-65), Guardians (62-66), Tigers (61-66), Reds (61-67), Orioles (2x) (61-67), Mariners (60-68), Royals (2x) (55-74), and A’s (49-79). The Tigers do have a positive run differential, but then that’s a product of when Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize played for them and, well. So for the final quarter of the season they aren’t exactly facing murderers’ row. I’m not saying they’ll grab the third wildcard, but I am saying that the rule book says someone has to and they’re the only team in the hunt that’s shown any recent evidence of wanting it. A good showing in the Bronx and the promise of an easier path forward than their rivals would set them up nicely.

The first step, though, is going to be a tough one. It’s Cam Schlittler (10-6, 2.19) today, up against Mason Fluharty opening for (probably) the just activated Spencer Arrighetti (7-5, 4.60).

Here are the lineups:

---

Some minor roster news:

Josh Smith goes to the IL with hamstring inflammation and Brendan Cellucci is optioned. That opens spots for Spencer Arrighetti and Davis Schneider.

In other little bits of news, former Jay Jon Berti hung ‘em up today. Berti was an 18th round pick by the Jays back in 2011. It took him seven years to make his way up to the big club, and he only got a cup of coffee before being shipped off to Miami. To probably everyone’s surprise, he carved out a pretty solid career there, playing decent defence all over the field and stealing a bunch of bags, including a majors-leading 41 in 2022 when he was already 32 years old. All in all he hit .256/.333/.357 across eight seasons, posting 6.5 fWAR in 1731 PA. Happy trails, Jon.

Didi Gregorious also retired today, so if the league feels just a little less classy today it’s because there’s no longer an actual knight on the field.

Lastly, Dylan Cease is exhibiting a painting at the AGO. Personally, while it’s cool to have hobbies, I think it’s probably good for ol’ Dylan that baseball worked out as a day job. That said, if you’d like some Cease art merch, it will apparently be sold in support of the AGO’s charitable mission.

After having "a good day" throwing in New York on Thursday while the Yankees concluded their series in Baltimore with the Orioles, left-hander Max Fried will throw another side session on Saturday, manager Aaron Boone said prior to Friday's series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The session sets up a potential live batting practice for Fried, who was placed on the 15-day IL, retroactive to Aug. 14, with a bone bruise on his left elbow. In fact, after an initially grim outlook, it's still in play for the left-hander to return to the field following the minimum of 15 days which would be Aug. 29.

Fried has made just 15 starts this season after landing on the IL earlier in the year with the same injury and missing over two months. Still, when he's been on the mound, the 32-year-old, in his second year with the Yanks, has been fantastic once again with a 2.81 ERA in 86.1 IP and an opponent's batting average of .197 which would be a career-best.

New York enters Friday's division battle with a 72-55 record and second in the AL East, 4.0 GB of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Texas Rangers lineup for August 21, 2026 against the Anaheim Angels: starting pitchers are MacKenzie Gore for the Rangers and Reid Detmers for the Angels.

Texas begins a three game series at home tonight against an Anaheim team that has a terrible record, but that won three of four at home against the Rangers last week and just took two of three in Houston. Reid Detmers goes for the Angels. Detmers has had one great start against the Rangers this year, when he struck out 14 in a game where the only Ranger hit was a Jake Burger homer, and MacKenzie Gore allowed just one run in six innings but the Rangers lost when Justin Foscue threw an inning ending double play ball away to allow the walkoff run to score in the ninth; one really good start, last week, when he and Gore each allowed just one run and then the Rangers scored three in the top of the tenth, resulting in all the Angels pitching coaches getting fired the next day; and one not-good start, when he allowed five runs in four innings going up against Nathan Eovaldi, only for Eovaldi, Peyton Gray and Tyler Alexander to allow the Angels to score five runs in the seventh to tie the game before Wyatt Langford hit a walkoff single in the ninth.

Hopefully the Rangers will break the trend of scoring just one run in regulation in games Detmers and Gore go up against each other. The lineup below is what is officially posted, though Jeff Wilson says that Wyatt Langford says he’s playing left field tonight, not DH, so maybe this will change. UPDATE — It has changed.

The lineup:

Foscue — 2B DH

Seager — SS

Langford — DH LF

Nimmo — RF

Duran — LF 3B

Burger — 1B

Freeman — 3B 2B

Diaz — C

Carter — CF

7:15 p.m. Central start due to the game being on Apple TV. Rangers are -138 favorites.

The Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals begin a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park on Friday night. These teams squared off in St. Louis earlier this month with the Cardinals taking two out of three.

Jesus Luzardo will start for the Phillies. The lefty has been excellent in August with just three earned runs allowed in 21.2 innings.

Zeus starts the series ⚡#RingTheBellpic.twitter.com/ebS7KfeD5e

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 21, 2026

Hunter Dobbins is expected to start for the Cardinals. He’s 3-3 with a 3.42 ERA and gave up three runs (one earned) in five innings when he faced the Phillies last time.

Derby King returns to Philly pic.twitter.com/dTG3PEAbo7

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 21, 2026

Game time is 6:40 PM and will be televised locally on NBCSP.