Category: Baseball

The Cubs have signed shortstop Jackson Cluff to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Iowa.

In the eighth inning of the Pelicans game, there was a 32-minute delay as someone in the Pelicans dugout suffered a medical emergency. The person, and I don’t know who it was at the moment, was taken away in a ambulance. It was not anyone in the lineup as they all returned to the field for the ninth inning.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were caught hibernating by Toledo Mud Hens (Tigers), 2-1.

It was another strong start for Kohl Franklin, who pitched five innings and allowed just one run on five hits. (And according to Iowa broadcaster Jason Kempf, the run should not have counted.) Franklin struck out four and walked one.

Hoby Milner pitched the sixth inning. He gave up a leadoff single, but then retired the next two batters in order and the runner on first was then thrown out trying to steal. Milner struck out one.

Jaxon Wiggins pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning, striking out two.

Ethan Roberts came on for the ninth inning and took the loss when he allowed a two-out, walk-off double. Roberts allowed one run on two hits over two-thirds of an inning. He did not strike anyone out.

Matt Shaw started at second base and played five innings in a rehab assignment. Shaw was 1 for 3.

Catcher Owen Ayers was 3 for 4 with an RBI single in the first inning. He was also 2 for 2 in throwing out runners trying to steal.

Ayers RBI single.

Ayers throwing out two runners.

Knoxville Smokies

The suspended game from yesterday and the regular scheduled game in Pensacola were washed out again. The suspended game will be completed on Thursday followed by a seven-inning regularly scheduled game. Tonight’s second game has not been rescheduled and will only be if deemed necessary.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs crashed against the rocks by the West Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers), 9-0.

Starter Braylon Myers took the loss after getting rocked for six runs on six hits over four innings. Two of the six hits were home runs and one of the runs was unearned. Myers struck out two and walked no one.

Lance Alwood made his South Bend debut in the fifth inning. Alwood allowed two runs on two hits and a walk over his inning of work. Alwood struck out one.

Edwardo Melendez made his South Bend debut next and was much better. He allowed just one hit over three innings, but it was unfortunately a solo home run in the seventh inning. Melendez struck out five and walked just two.

South Bend had just three hits.

DH Kade Snell was 2 for 4 with a triple.

Catcher Brennan Hudson was 1 for 2 with a walk.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans lost to the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (Astros), 19-1.

Starter Jubrayker Salaya couldn’t find the plate and got blasted for four runs on two hits and five walks over just 1.1 innings. He also hit a batter. Salaya walked five-straight batters in the first inning and then hit the sixth one. He struck out one.

Pelicans pitchers walked 17 batters and hit two. And no, they did not use a position player.

Left fielder Caden Sorrell tripled in a run with two outs in the ninth to avoid a shutout. He was 2 for 5.

Shortstop Derniche Valdez was 2 for 4 with a double.

Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow is ready to return.

The All-Star made his final rehab start Wednesday night for the Oklahoma City Comets and was absolutely filthy on the mound. Glasnow retired 16-of-18 batters, including a consecutive stretch of 11 hitters.

The right-hander tossed 5.1 innings, allowing one run with nine strikeouts and one walk. Though, Glasnow didn’t give up the run he was charged with.

Manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday’s rehab start would be Glasnow’s final one before rejoining the rotation.

Prior to landing on the injured list with back spasms in May, the right-hander was 3-0 with a 2.72 ERA across seven starts.

Glasnow’s return signals an almost fully healthy rotation as the Dodgers are still waiting on Shohei Ohtani to return, but the two-way star has also made strides in his recovery.

Based on his performance for OKC, Glasnow looks primed to dominate in an already stacked unit that boasts Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell. Since he was traded to the Dodgers in 2023, Glasnow has dealt with injuries every season.

The good news is Glasnow appears to be fully ramped up and will aid the Dodgers in their quest of a third consecutive World Series title.

Though there are questions surrounding other areas of the team, the Dodgers’ rotation is unequivocally strong. LA will likely lean on the unit to carry it through October.

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The Texas Rangers didn’t score a run but the Washington Nationals scored six runs.

Everything that was fun and nice and enjoyable about last night’s game was immediately extinguished by tonight’s game. It was a complete reversal of an experience down to a nearly fully flipped final score.

The Rangers are hope vampires hunched over a desiccated corpse with a silly straw jammed in its neck.

Player of the Game: Did the Rangers have a good baseball player tonight? Kumar Rocker allowed two runs in five innings. That’s not bad. The problem is, once he allowed the first run, it felt like the Rangers were down 10-0 and it only got worse from there.

Up Next: The Rangers close out this series against the Nationals with RHP Jacob deGrom expected to make the start for Texas against LHP Andrew Alvarez for Washington.

The Thursday evening first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 7:05 pm CDT and will be telecast via the Rangers Sports Network.

Mariners 7, Brewers 5

Wednesday’s performance: Dominic Canzone, +0.17 WPA; Taylor Ward, +0.11 WPA; Andrés Muñoz, +0.09 WPA

Tuesday’s performance: Seranthony Domínguez, -0.05 WPA

Game Thread Comment of the Day:

The Athletics took on the Kansas City Royals in the penultimate game of their four-game series. For the second straight night, the A’s offense did its job, with the team holding a multi-run lead entering the final two innings, only for its arguably worst-ever bullpen to implode. While last night’s collapse felt like a small earthquake, tonight’s was more like a volcanic eruption of awfulness.

A’s Strike First

The A’s wasted no time putting last night’s heartbreaking defeat behind them, jumping on Royals starter Seth Lugo in the first inning. Leadoff hitter Henry Bolte singled and scored from first on Jeff McNeil’s RBI double. McNeil then scored on Zack Gelof’s RBI single, giving the Athletics a 2-0 lead after the top of the first inning.

Springs Avoiding Danger Early

Making his first start since coming off the injured list, A’s left-hander Jeffrey Springs prevented an immediate response by tossing a scoreless first inning. He ran into trouble in the second inning, issuing two consecutive walks before escaping the jam by retiring the next two hitters.

Springs’ command problems continued in the bottom of the third, as he issued his third walk of the game before hitting a batter with a pitch. The A’s southpaw escaped again, getting Maikel Garcia to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Fourth Inning Momentum Swing?

In the top of the fourth inning, A’s right fielder Lawrence Butler’s baserunning woes returned. After hitting a leadoff single, Lugo immediately picked him off first base.

The Royals cut their deficit in half in the bottom of the fourth. Designated hitter Salvador Perez’s RBI double brought home first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, who had led off the inning with a single. Springs kept the visitors in the lead by retiring the next three batters, stranding the tying run at third base.

Top of A’s Order Delivers Again

Seeking to extend their lead, the Athletics got back-to-back one-out singles from Donovan Walton and Max Muncy in the fifth inning. Bolte made it three straight singles against Lugo, with his base hit scoring Walton to put the A’s ahead 3-1. McNeil followed with a fourth consecutive single, scoring Muncy to give the A’s a 4-1 lead. Gelof’s RBI force out brought Bolte home for the A’s third run of the inning.

Springs Tires

The Royals scored a second run off Springs in the bottom of the sixth inning. With one out, Pasquantino hit his seventh home run of the season, a solo shot to right field. Springs’ outing ended after he allowed Carter Jensen’s two-out single. He allowed two runs on five hits over 5 2/3 innings, walking three while striking out one. Springs did a good job of pitching to contact, inducing six groundouts and three flyouts.

Bullpen Time

Right-handed reliever Scott Blewett replaced Springs and got the final out of the sixth inning, striking out Kyle Isbel with the tying run at the plate. In the seventh inning, the Royals turned to their bullpen, with right-hander Alex Lange replacing Lugo. A’s reliever Elvis Alvarado, who allowed the game-winning hit yesterday, rebounded by pitching a scoreless seventh inning.

A’s Bullpen Blows It Again

Alvarado did not return for the eighth inning despite throwing just 10 pitches in the seventh. Facing new A’s reliever Hayden Juenger, Garcia led off the bottom of the eighth with a single, advancing to third on Butler’s fielding error. Pasquantino’s third hit of the game, an RBI single, cut the A’s lead to two runs.

Juenger failed to retire any of the three batters he faced, exiting in favor of left-hander Drew Rom with two Royals on base and no outs. Isbel did not waste the opportunity, lining an RBI single with the bases loaded to make it a 5-4 game. The next batter, Isaac Collins, tied the game with a sacrifice fly that came close to being a go-ahead grand slam.

The Royals were not done against Rom. Kansas City took the lead on John Rave’s bases-clearing double. Rom finally recorded the third out, but not before the Royals had batted around and scored seven runs against the Athletics’ league-worst bullpen. What was A’s manager Mark Kotsay thinking putting these two scrap-heap guys in this high-leverage situation? For the second straight night and the third time in the past few weeks, the team’s bullpen allowed a big inning, turning a multi-run lead into a sizable deficit.

With two outs in the ninth inning, Muncy hit his sixth home run of the season, a two-run shot off Royals reliever Steven Cruz, to make it a 9-7 game. That was as close as the Athletics got in another defeat emblematic of what this season has become.

Where Do the A’s Go From Here

Given the number of heartbreaking and embarrassing defeats the Athletics have endured this season, there need to be consequences. Whether that means a managerial change or an overhaul of the majority of the bullpen before next season, something must be done to set the A’s up for success moving forward. At this point, it might be best for a lockout to wipe out next season, giving the Green and Gold a clean slate as the franchise begins its Las Vegas tenure.

In the meantime, the A’s have to play out the remaining 35 games on their schedule. With a competent bullpen, the Athletics could have won today and yesterday, setting themselves up for a chance at the series win tomorrow. Instead, the A’s must win tomorrow afternoon to avoid suffering a dreaded four-game sweep in this series between two last-place clubs. A’s rookie left-hander Gage Jump will look to play stopper again, while the Royals will counter with right-hander Randy Dobnak.

The Athletics have the only bullpen worse than the Royals by ERA in 2026. For the second night in a row, they let Kansas City take away a Sacramento lead. The Royals took the game 9-7 and set up a possible four game sweep for tomorrow afternoon.

The day started poorly for Seth Lugo who gave up three consecutive hits to the first three batters of the game. All three were hard hit ground balls that found holes. Henry Bolte, Jeff McNeil, and Zack Gelof hit the ball 110, 105.8, and 102.9 mph respectively while giving the Athletics a quick 2-0 lead. McNeil’s was a double as Jac Caglianone was playing near the right field line and Kyle Isbel was shaded into left field while Jeff hit the grounder to right center which was wide open. Lugo then settled in and got through the fourth with seeming ease.

The Royals had multiple opportunities to get to Jeffrey Springs, but failed to cash in a couple of them. Springs walked two batters in the second and then walked one and hit Jac Caglianone in the ribs in the third. Four free base runners in two innings with none coming around to score. Finally, in the 4th, Vinnie Pasquantino’s leadoff single set the table for their first score after Springs had a very awkward attempted pitch that he was not able to throw and balked Vinnie over to second base. Salvador Perez promptly jumped on a pitch and drove it to the left center gap to score him and make the score 2-1. That ribbie makes Salvy officially second all-time in RBIs at Kauffman Stadium behind only George Brett.

Jac Caglianone was pinch hit for with John Rave in the 5th due to ankle soreness. He evidently tweaked something hustling for a single in the first and they decided to pull him after hanging in there through four. It sounds like it was precautionary and not serious. That’s a good call with at this point in the season.

Lugo ran into his second round of trouble in the 5th inning. With one out and no one on Donovan Walton singled up the middle and the other Max Muncy did as well. Bolte followed that with a third consecutive single through the left side that scored Walton on a poor throw from Tyler Tolbert allowing the other two to move up to second and third. McNeil hit the fourth single in a row on an odd golf swing to score one more. A third RBI came when Gelof grounded out, but McNeil held up long enough to get him to first instead of a double play allowing Bolte to sprint home. A’s 5 and Royals 1.

Kansas City got some offense going in the 6th to try and close the gap. Vinnie pulled a solo home run to right with one out for his 500th career hit.

Then with two down, Carter Jensen singled and ended Jefferey’s night. Sacramento brought in Scott Blewett who gave up another single to Tolbert and another opportunity for the good guys with runners in scoring position. Kyle Isbel could not keep the rally going though, so the inning ended 5-2.

Seth did not come back out for the 7th, so he ended the night at 6IP, 9H, 0BB, 3K, and all 5 runs were earned. Alex Lange was the first Royal out of the pen and took care of the 7th with a tidy one two three. Elvis Alvarado did the same for the Athletics in the bottom half. Craig Kimbrel followed suit. The bullpens were just mowing everyone down after the single Blewett gave up.

There was finally some more offense in the 8th beginning when Maikel Garcia started the inning with a single off Hayden Juenger, but it turned into three bases on an error from Lawrence Butler. Pasquantino drove a ball at 109 MPH off the pad at the top of the wall to just miss a second home run on the night and bring in Garcia to cut the lead to two. It was the fourth time Pasquatch had reached base on the night. Salvy walked to follow that and Juenger left without recording any outs on the night. Drew Rom came out of the visitor’s pen next and got Jensen to line out to center. It was deep enough to move Vinnie to third, but that did not end up mattering as the next batter, Tolbert, walked to load the bases. Kyle Isbel jumped on the first pitch and hit a ground ball through the left side moving all the runners up one base and making it 5-4. Isaac Collins had come in to pinch hit for Nick Loftin back in the 7th and now had a chance to tie the game up, which he did by driving a ball to the warning track in center allowing all three runners to tag up. Now last night’s hero, Bobby Witt, had second and third with two outs so the A’s intentionally walked him to reload them for Rave. Rave cleared the bases with a double to the right field corner and gave the Royals their first lead of the night 8-5.

Maikel Garcia kept it going with his second hit of the inning by singling to right and plating Rave. The 8th ended with Pasquantino’s first out of the night. He was the 11th Royal hitter of the inning, and they managed 7 runs in the frame.

The Royals bullpen is also adept at giving up leads, but Steven Cruz has been very good since he blew up a bit on June 21st, so he came on to try and lock the game down in the 9th. It was no longer a save situation with the Royals having a 9-5 lead. He gave up more than one run for the first time since that June game though and made the 9th a little more interesting than KC wanted. After getting Carlos Cortes and Jonah Heim to begin the inning, Walton singled to right with two down. Max Muncy then got ahold of one to center for a 2-run home run to cut the lead 9-7. It went back to the top of the lineup and Henry Bolte who grounded it to third. He is the fastest player in baseball on the basepaths this year making it less routine than maybe it should have been, but he was thrown out and the Royals sealed the win.

Sometimes baseball is weird. Sometimes it’s sloppy. Sometimes, neither team looks exceptionally sharp. But all of the time, someone has to win. The way this game started, it looked like it would last as long as those classic four-hour Yankees-Red Sox July marathons at Fenway, and although this one clocked in at three hours and 15 minutes officially, it felt the same as a 2026 version of a slog.

Both starters struggled early in a mess of baserunners, command, defense and baserunning woes, and a few dingers. Locked up at three in the seventh, Pete Alonso seemingly crushed his second homer of the game for the lead, but the umpires took a page out of the book of last April’s controversy at George M. Steinbrenner Field with an Aaron Judge home run and decided to refute what seemed like obvious video evidence to keep the call on the field.

In keeping the call on the field, Alonso and all Baltimore fans were furious, but were left eating sour grapes as the Yankees scraped two runs across in the eighth in an untraditional fashion, taking the lead on a George Lombard Jr. infield RBI single to win this one, 5-3, to secure this series and the season series against Baltimore.

The Yankees haven’t scored a run in the first inning since the four-run first-inning explosion against Davis Martin and the White Sox on July 30th, but it briefly looked like it might end tonight after consecutive ground-ball singles by Trent Grisham and Ben Rice led off the game. You’d hope, with the heart of the order up, that you’d get at least one of them in, but Luis García Jr. hit into a 4-6-3 double play, and Heliot Ramos hit a weak groundout to strand Grisham. That’s been how it’s going.

Will Warren came out struggling to throw strikes, and it would be something that would bite him later in the inning. A beautiful strikeout of Pete Alonso was sandwiched between a pair of walks and another 3-2 count that ultimately culminated in runners on the corners with two outs. On 1-1, Gunnar Henderson bolted for second base, and Austin Wells made the unwise decision to throw through. That move, coupled with Jazz Chisholm Jr. committing to the tag, allowed Jackson Holliday to scamper home on a delayed double steal, a rarity in the big leagues. ‘Twas a rough defensive inning for Wells, as the runner got to third because he didn’t challenge a crossed-up 2-2 pitch to Samuel Basallo one pitch before a flyout.

Bassitt got away with some poor pitching in the first, but he didn’t in the second. Chisholm worked a nice, six-pitch walk, Spencer Jones chopped a single through the right side, and Ryan McMahon laced a ball to right for a game-tying RBI single before being thrown out trying to get to second, his third baserunning miscue in the last week. Oof. Thankfully for him and the Yankees, George Lombard Jr. got Jones in anyway with a 350-foot sac fly to right-center to give them a 2-1 lead.

More shenanigans ensued in the bottom half, as Leody Taveras’ beautifully executed bunt caused a minor collision between McMahon and Warren that thankfully didn’t lead to anything bad in-game or injury-wise. Grisham almost picked Taveras off on a glove-flash deke in center with one out, but Warren ended the inning himself anyway with a strikeout of Carlos Narvaez.

This slow-moving affair rolled into the third, where Rice worked a long at-bat against Bassitt before absolutely pulverizing a fastball on the outer half for his 34th home run of the season, and his second in the last three games, to make it 3-1 Yankees. García and Ramos added singles later in the inning, but Chisholm was robbed of a hit by Basallo before Jones struck out to end the inning.

Warren continued to labor through this one, getting the first out of the third before being dragged into a long at-bat by the Polar Bear, who answered Rice with his own towering shot to right-center to cut it to 3-2. A double by Henderson and a hit-by-pitch threatened to have things unravel further, but the right-hander got the next two to end the inning.

After taking about 90 minutes to get through three innings and change, things finally sped up in the fourth. Bassitt settled in and looked much better over the back half of the game, getting through 5.2 innings before being lifted for Grant Wolfram, who’d strand Chisholm on second after a single and a stolen base. Warren finished up a four-inning, two-run outing that simultaneously felt like it should’ve been better, but could’ve been worse.

Tim Hill got the fifth and one out of the sixth before giving way to Fernando Cruz. He got the first out, but got into a bad count against Dylan Beavers before having a 3-1 fastball mashed for a game-tying home run. Cruz has really been struggling of late, finally seeming to be bitten by his shoddy command. Even though he wound up stranding him, he got ahead of Leody Taveras 1-2 before hanging him a cookie of a splitter for a double. His fastball has never been highly regarded, so the regression in splitter command is really hurting him.

One-time Yankee Rico Garcia was rudely greeted by a 108 mph bullet single by Lombard, who advanced to second on a diving play by Basallo at first to retire Wells, but he bounced back to escape unharmed. Brent Headrick got the ball in the eighth, and all seemed well until Alonso smashed a ball down the left-field line for a go-ahead… foul ball? It looked fair live; it looked fair on replay too, but it was inexplicably called foul both on the field and in the replay room. That’s a bizarre one, but it kept the game tied after Pete struck out three pitches later.

Cam Sanders was next up for Baltimore, getting in trouble with his command. Two hit batsmen and a walk in between loaded the bases with two outs, prompting Craig Albernaz to go to the bullpen. Yennier Cano came in to face Lombard and got what he wanted, a weak ground ball, but with Lombard’s blazing speed, it was too slow. He beat out the go-ahead RBI infield single to make it 4-3 Yankees.

Two pitches later, Chisholm added some insurance on a ball that barely got away from Yohel Pozo, sliding in to make it 5-3. It looked like he hurt his hip/oblique on a back pick after the Lombard single (which would be the second infield injury of the game), but he looked fine on that play. While an insurance run is always appreciated, this one was especially so, as the Alonso would-be-homer now would not have changed the result of this game.

Suddenly, with the lead, Aaron Boone called on Paul Blackburn for the eighth. Basallo snuck a slow grounder through the left side with one out, and Beavers worked a two-out walk to put the tying run on base for Taveras, but Blackburn induced a first-pitch pop fly to send this baby to the ninth.

The Yanks would get a chance to tack on against Alex Hoppe, but went down in order after a strike-em-out-throw-em-out double play. David Bednar would take the ball, looking for save No. 29. He got a groundout from Colton Cowser, struck out a pinch-hitting Christian Encarnacion-Strand, and got a flyout from Holliday to win it. After being robbed in his last at-bat, Alonso was left in the on-deck circle.

The Yankees go for their first three-game sweep at Camden Yards since August 2019 tomorrow night at 6:35 p.m. It’ll be Gerrit Cole against Kyle Bradish on YES.

Box Score

BALTIMORE — As Pete Alonso’s towering fly ball to left field sailed over the foul pole, it sure looked like the Orioles had taken a late lead over the Yankees. 

But to the surprise of many at Camden Yards on Wednesday, the ball was called foul — and after a lengthy review, the call stood and the game remained tied. 

And these Yankees, while hardly overpowering, took advantage and won their third straight, 5-3. 

As Aaron Boone said, “We were able to hold on for dear life.” 

The winning rally in the top of the eighth featured just one hit, a bases-loaded infield single by George Lombard Jr. 

Heliot Ramos was hit by a pitch and Jazz Chisholm Jr. walked before José Caballero, hitting for the injured Ryan McMahon, was also drilled by right-hander Cam Sanders. 

Facing Yennier Cano, Lombard came through with the hit, and then with Austin Wells batting, Cano threw a wild pitch that scored Chisholm, who hustled to the plate despite the ball not getting far away from catcher Yohel Pozo. 

“I was ready for a ball in the dirt,” Chisholm said. 

“He was flying,” Boone said of Chisholm. “It shows what an instinctive base runner Jazz is.” 

Still, the eighth inning had a much different feel as a tie game than one in which the Yankees would have trailed by at least one run. 

Alonso, who walked down the line holding his bat before flipping it dramatically when he thought it was fair, said he “100 percent” thought the call would be overturned. 

But the MLB replay center said the replay official “could not definitively determine that the ball left the playing field in fair territory.” 

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

“The video room and the umpire called it foul,” Alonso said. “[Those] are the only opinions that really matter. And kudos to [the Yankees] for responding, for breaking the tie that next half inning and to Headrick for making some really tough pitches after a loud strike one.” 

Headrick, still effective despite being the most heavily used in a bullpen that’s been taxed, breathed a sigh of relief. 

“I’m a pitcher, so my vantage point was I thought it was foul,” the lefty said. “It could have gone either way. It went in our favor. We’ll take it. Once that happens, you really have to buckle down and get the out.” 

For a second straight game, the Yankees got just four innings from their starter, as Will Warren needed 90 pitches to get through four frames. 

Five relievers combined to give up just one run, as Fernando Cruz allowed a two-out homer to Dylan Beavers in the sixth. 

“They’ve been awesome,” Boone said. “The strength of the rotation and the bullpen is why we’re in this position.” 

The Orioles took the lead in the bottom of the first on a double steal, as Jackson Holliday scored from third when Austin Wells threw to second in a failed attempt to get Gunnar Henderson. 

Warren retired the next two batters to avoid further damage. 

Ryan McMahon delivered a run-scoring single in the second, which was followed by a sacrifice fly by Lombard. 

Ben Rice’s 431-foot solo homer in the third made it 3-1 and they had a chance to add to their lead when García and Ramos followed with singles. 

Chisholm then lined one to first, where Samuel Basallo made a nice diving catch and Jones struck out. 

Baltimore got a run back in the third, as Alonso went the other way for his 29th homer of the season to cut the lead to one run.

Sometimes when a ship is floundering, sitting dead in the water with no momentum, they just need a little help from a tugboat to make it safely into the harbor. In 2026, the San Francisco Giants are that sinking ship. Wednesday night in Cleveland, Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson was that tugboat.

Beefy 23-year-old rookie left-hander Wilkinson made his first major league start, delivering two efficient shutout innings against the lefty-heavy top of the Cleveland Guardians lineup. That set the table for a strong tandem outing from Adrian Hauser (4-7), who threw five shutout innings and lowered his ERA to 1.50 since being relegated to the bullpen June 26.

Then, after Hauser walked Steven Kwan to lead off the 8th, Dylan Smith entered the game and struck out five in a dominant two-inning save. Throw in a Superman catch by Victor Bericoto to end Cleveland’s biggest threat in the 4th inning and the Giants had just enough pitching and defense to pull out a win against one of the American League’s best starters, Parker Messick (9-8), who probably deserved better after striking out 10 Giants in 6.2 innings.

Wilkinson already looks like a folk hero. He’s 6-foot-1 and 250 pounds and his face gets completely red when he pitches. Leaping out the way of a Nathaniel Lowe grounder in the first, which led to a hilariously poor Willy Adames throw, you could already see the stuffed tugboats glimmering in the eyes of the Giants marketing department.

With Brandon Belt retired and Klay Thompson cruising the waters of Texas, there’s a serious nautical vacancy in the Bay Area. That is, until Brandon Aiyuk announces he’s going to jet ski to Washington D.C.

Tugboat came over in the Patrick Bailey trade earlier this season, along with the 29th pick in the draft, that became Carson Bolemon. He’s not considered one of the Giants’ top prospects and probably needs more time in the minors, after making just 10 starts for the Sacramento Rivercats in AAA (43Ks in 43.2 innings, 5.15 ERA). Still, he misses bats, he’s still only 23, and he got a lot of outs with his four-seam fastball Wednesday night.

The Giants had to add him to the 40-man roster this fall anyway, so there was no downside in giving him a shot — especially when slotted to face four left-handed hitters and two switch-hitters.

Houser was throwing quite hard after entering the game in the 3rd, touching 98 MPH on his fastball. He ended up giving up only four hits and two walks in 5+ winnings, but two of those hits were ground balls to second where Osleivis Basabe couldn’t quite make a play. The Guardians’ only extra-base hit of the game followed one of those singles in the 4th, but Bericoto’s catch ended the threat.

He got clutch pitches when he needed to. Houser induced a double-play ball to end the 5th, and got Brayan Rocchio to pop out after an Adames error extended the 7th inning. Tony Vitello probably shouldn’t have had him start the 8th, but in the end it only made Smith look more awesome when he struck out the side, culminating in a very weird play where Angel Martinez tried to argue a called strike three while also running to first.

Adames returned to the lineup after missing a week and delivered three of the Giants’ seven hits in his four at-bats. Rafael Devers doubled in the 4th and came around to score the game’s only run on Bericoto’s grounder into the hole that Rocchio couldn’t handle, for an RBI single.

That 4th inning could have been more promising for the Giants had it not been for their abject fear of Kwan’s throwing arm. After Devers advance to third on a wild pitch, he held on Bryce Eldridge’s medium-deep fly ball to Kwan. Two batters later, Jung Hoo Lee doubled into the left field corner and Bericoto opted not to test Kwan’s arm by trying to come home.

Lee had two hits in his return from a one-game absence, showing promising signs of life against a difficult lefty. Devers seems to face nothing but lefties these days, going 1-for-4 with that all-important double. Drew Cavanaugh struck out twice but did very well on his ABS challenges.

The one Giants left in the fog was Jonah Cox, who left the field wearing the Golden Sombrero after striking out in all four trips to the plate. Bessick tortured him with high fastballs all night before whiffing him the third time with a truly unfair changeup on the inside corner. For his 4th K, it was a curve in almost the same spot, made crueler by the ABS reversal of the original call.

Houser got a win, Smith got his most impressive save of the season, and the Giants won for just the fifth time in their last 16 games. But it makes sense that in a city where the river used to regular catch on fire, filling the town with smoke, it was a Tugboat that righted the ship.

A series of unfortunate events in the 7th and 8th innings sent the Orioles to their second straight loss to the Yankees with a 5-3 defeat.

With the game tied at 3-3, Pete Alonso stepped up to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the 7th. Lefty reliever Brent Headrick’s first pitch to the Polar Bear was a hanging slider that Alonso launched toward the left field foul pole. From the broadcast angle, it looked too close to call, and the on-field call was a foul ball. When the Orioles challenged the call, the replays sure made it look like the ball sailed over the top of the foul pole and should have been a home run. New York (the replay center) declined to overturn the call, and after Alonso struck out, the game went to the 8th still knotted at three.

The Orioles’ fortunes went from bad to worse as Cam Sanders took the mound in the top of the 8th. After Luis García Jr. lined out to start the inning, Sanders plunked Heliot Ramos and walked Jazz Chisholm to put the winning run in scoring position. The relief hero from the Rays series struck out Spencer Jones, but then grazed pinch hitter José Caballero to load the bases.

At that point, manager Craig Albernaz decided he’s seen enough from Sanders, and brought in Yennier Cano to get the final out of the inning. Against George Lombard Jr., Cano ran a sinker in on his hands, and the Yankees’ rookie weakly tapped the ball down the third base line. The ball was hit so slowly that Coby Mayo had no place at first and the Yankees took a 4-3 lead. Cano then bounced a splitter to Austin Wells and Yohel Pozo couldn’t find the ball as Chisholm raced home for the Yankees’ fifth run.

The Orioles would get the tying run on base in the bottom of the 8th after a one-out Samuel Basallo single and a two-out Dylan Beavers walk. However, Leody Taveras could only pop up a changeup to strand both runners. The Yankees couldn’t extend the lead in the top of the 9th, ending the inning on a strike-em-out-throw-em-out double play.

Facing New York closer David Bednar for the second night in a row, the Orioles couldn’t muster a comeback attempt. Colton Cowser grounded out to second for the first, pinch hitter Christian Encarnacion-Strand struck out for the second and Jackson Holliday lifted a lazy fly out to left to seal the loss.

For the second night in a row, sustained offense was hard to come by for the O’s. They took a lead in the first without getting a hit. Walks by Holliday and Gunnar Henderson turned into a 1-0 lead after Holliday moved to third on a Basallo fly out before the middle infielders executed a double steal of second and home.

Baltimore’s only other offense came via the long ball. Alonso hit his 14th opposite-field homer of the season in the 3rd to cut a two-run Yankees lead in half. Dylan Beavers tied the game in the 6th with a solo shot of his own, sending a towering fly into the left field bullpens. Outside of the two home runs, the offense was familiarly stagnant, with the Orioles going 0-for-6 with RISP and striking out 11 times.

Starter Chris Bassitt wasn’t especially sharp Wednesday night, but he did enough to keep the Orioles in the game. Early on, it seemed like the Yankees would put up a crooked number against the 37-year-old right-hander. Trent Grisham and Ben Rice started the game with nearly identical bouncing singles to right field. The early traffic didn’t faze Bassitt, however, getting García to bounce into a 4-6-3 double play before Heliot Ramos grounded out to second to end the inning.

The veteran righty couldn’t pull off a similar escape act in the 2nd inning. After being staked a 1-0 lead, Bassitt started the second frame by walking Jazz Chisholm Jr. on six pitches. Spencer Jones then continued the theme from the 1st inning, bouncing a single into right to move Chisholm to third.

Ryan McMahon then continued to pepper the baseball to right field, singling on a hard line drive to right that brought home Chisholm but was hit hard enough that McMahon got gunned down at second. With the game now tied and Jones at third, rookie George Lombard Jr. stepped up and launched a sac fly to right that put the Yankees up 2-1.

New York tagged Bassitt for another run in the 3rd thanks to the bat of the All-Star Rice. After a Grisham groundout started the inning, Rice got a 3-2 fastball and sent a towering blast 431 feet over the right-center fence. It looked like things would go from bad to worse after back-to-back singles from García and Ramos. However, Basallo came up with a diving snag at first for the second out, and then Bassitt struck out Jones to end the frame.

The Orioles’ righty then became a different pitcher. He worked a 1-2-3 inning in the 4th, including strikeouts of McMahon and Lombard. Bassitt struck out Grisham to begin the 5th and then rolled back-to-back unassisted ground outs to first for another scoreless frame. His streak of nine straight Yankees retired ended on a Chisholm single in the 6th. Bassitt finished his outing with a strikeout of Jones for his sixth punchout of the night. After Grant Wolfram entered and got the final out of the inning, it closed Bassitt’s line at 5.2 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB and 6 Ks.

The Orioles’ third-straight loss drops them 1.5 games back of the final Wild Card spot. Baltimore will try to avoid a sweep when Kyle Bradish faces Gerrit Cole tomorrow night.

Jays 6 Rays 7

So, the game changed on two fly balls to left.

In the bottom of the first, with one out, Junior Caminero hit a fly down the left field line, Jesús Sánchez was going into foul territory to get it, then it landed fair. Very weird, because a ball going foul will spin/slice further foul. Apparently it hit one of the lovely catwalks or something, landed fair and bounced over the wall for a ground rule double. It was weird. Not so much Sánchez’s fault, but it looked so strange.

A homer followed and it was 2-0 Rays.

In the fourth, after Max Scherzer loaded the bases on a walk, single, and walk, Richie Palacios popped one up to left. Sánchez was coming in on it, all looked good, and ummm he sort of ran by it, missing where the ball landed by 5 feet. Replays showed him glancing at at Andrés Giménez as he came in. Perhaps, he couldn’t find the ball again when he looked back. It is a white roof, and it would be hard to find the ball again. But…..it didn’t matter what Giménez was doing, it was Sanchez’s ball all the way. He should have been ignoring Andrés, calling him off, taking charge. There was no sign that he was calling the ball, and it almost looked like he was letting Giménez take it.

The inning went down hill from there, the Rays scored five, making it 7-1.

It seemed to put Scherzer off, there were a couple of run scoring bunts in the inning.

Scherzer went 4 innings, allowed 5 hits, 7 earned, 3 walks and 1 strikeout. I hate how baseball is scored. That Sanchez play should have been called an error, but it was too big a mistake to be called an error. Baseball scoring is stupid.

Braydon Fisher pitched a quick fifth with a strikeout.

Brendon Little got the first two outs of the sixth, giving up a ground ball single and getting a strikeout.

Paul Sewald got the last out, Junior Caminero on a strikeout.

Mason Fluharty pitched a clean eighth.

Tyler Rogers gave up a single in the ninth.

We tried for a come back:

• One in the fourth: Alejandro Kirk homered.
• Four in the fifth: With one out in the fifth, Josh Smith, Brandon Valenzuela and Charles McAdoo all singled getting us a run. Myles Straw (in for Brett Bateman, who seemed to picked up a hamstring issue, I hope it isn’t serious) walked. Nathan Lukes hit a sac fly. Kirk singled in our third run of the inning. And Kazuma Okamoto singled in one more and it was 7-5.
• One in the sixth: Daz Cameron (pinch hitting for Sánchez, because a lefty was in, not as punishment) hit a leadoff single. Two outs later, Charles McAdoo double bringing in one. It was 7-6, and we three innings.

But we only managed one walk the rest of the way. It was nice to see the comeback. Too bad it came up short.

We had nine hits. McAdoo, batting ninth, had three. Kirk had two. Okamoto, Cameron, Smith and Valenzuela had one each.

As well as Bateman coming out of the game with an injury (he will get an MRI tomorrow), Smith, after scoring, was down on the field in pain, but he stayed in the game. Apparently it was cramping.

Jay of the Day: McAdoo (0.34 WPA).

Other Award: Scherzer (-0.36, some of that ), Giménez (-0.19), Springer (-0.11), and Valenzuela (-0.09). And, of course, Sanchez for the fielding. I try to be fair, the Trop is an awful place for outfielders. And there have been many many fly balls lost in that roof, but he should have never taken his eyes off the ball. Once you do, you’ll never find it again.

Tomorrow we finish with Tropicana for the season. It is a 1:00 PM start time, eastern.

Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland left today’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers with two outs in the top of the fourth inning.

Freeland threw 66 pitches, 43 for strikes while allowing four runs (all earned) on six hits with one walk and five strikeouts. Three of the four runs came on two homers — a solo shot by Mookie Betts and a two-run homer by Kiké Hernández.

Recently-recalled Mark Manfredi entered in relief to make his MLB debut against Shohei Ohtani. He walked the Dodgers’ DH and gave up a single to Andy Pages, but got Teoscar Hernández to fly out and end the inning.

The reasons for Freeland leaving the game are not known at this time, but Purple Row will continue to follow this developing story.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

After coming inches away from giving up a late go-ahead home run, the Yankees scored two runs with two outs the next half-inning in the eighth to beat the Orioles 5-3 in Baltimore on Wednesday night.

New York improved to 71-55 and sunk Baltimore to 61-66. The Bombers went just 2-for-11 with RISP and left seven on base, but held the AL East bottom feeders to 0-for-6 with RISP and left seven Birds stranded

Here are the takeaways...

- George Lombard Jr., in the biggest spot of the night with the bases loaded and two down with the score tied in the eighth, came through with a swinging bunt RBI single to third off Yennier Cano, as the speedy rookie gave the Orioles no chance at first.  On the very next pitch, O's catcher Yohel Pozo blocked a ball in the dirt but didn't react to it bouncing away, allowing Jazz Chisholm Jr. to dash in from third to give the Yanks their two-run cushion back.

Lombard finished 2-for-3 with a strikeout and two RBI.

- Down a run in the top of the second, Chisholmworked a walk and Spencer Jones grounded a base hit through the right side to put runners on the corners and nobody out against veteran Chris Bassitt. Ryan McMahon dropped an RBI single to right, but was gunned down at second on a good throw from Leody Tavarez. Lombard tacked on a sacrifice fly to put the Yanks ahead, but the baserunning error capped what could have been a big inning.

- Ben Rice, who had just five hits in 52 at-bats (.096) in August entering Wednesday’s game, looked much better as he annihilated a Bassitt fastball 431 feet to right-center (110.2 mph off the bat) for a solo home run in the third to make it a 3-1 ballgame. He finished 2-for-5 with two strikeouts.

- Needing 15 outs from the bullpen and protecting a one-run lead, Tim Hill got the first four with ease, including a strikeout. Fernando Cruz got the first man he saw swinging, but after a 3-0 pitch below the zone was called a strike, Cruz left a sinker down and Dylan Beavers launched an opposite-field blast 389 feet to left to tie the game. Cruz surrendered a double on his splitter before getting the final out on a strikeout, but the damage was done.

Brent Headrick got the first two men in the bottom of the seventh, but his first-pitch slider right over the plate was clobbered by Pete Alonso down the left-field line well over the foul pole, but it was called foul. The call stood after a review despite many replays showing the ball to be fair, giving the Yanks a huge break and robbing Alonso of a possible go-ahead homer. Headrick recovered to get the slugger swinging to keep the game tied.

Looking to protect a two-run edge, Paul Blackburn allowed a one-out single and a two-out walk, but got a first-pitch pop-up to end the threat.

David Bedner, who needed eight pitches to get two strikeouts in a save on Tuesday, needed just 12 pitches with a strikeout to earn his 29th save of the season with little hassle.

- Will Warren got the start and walked two of the first three batters he faced in the first. After a blistering liner to deep center put runners on the corners with two down, the O’s stole the first run thanks to an ill-advised throw to second by Austin Wells on a double steal as Jackson Holliday glided home in the process. The catcher’s throw down to second proved costly as Warren got his second strikeout looking to end the frame.

Warren, who struck out two in the second, left a full-count fastball on the outside part of the plate to Alonso, and the slugger smoked it 423 feet (109.9 mph) to right-center for a one-out solo homer in the third. Warren then allowed a Gunnar Henderson double and hit Basallo to put two aboard, but got Coby Mayo fishing and Beavers to hit a lazy fly to strand two. 

Warren got his first 1-2-3 inning in the fourth, but that was all for the right-hander. He flirted with a lot of danger, leaving many pitches over the plate that the O’s couldn’t capitalize on. Warren’s final numbers: two runs on three hits and two walks with five strikeouts on 90 pitches (52 strikes).

- In the first, the Yanks appeared to have something cooking instantly as Trent Grisham and Rice grounded singles to the right side to start the first. But Luis Garcia Jr. bounced into a 4-6-3 double play and Heliot Ramos bounced out to second.

Garcia and Ramos tabbed back-to-back one-out singles in the top of the third to give the Yanks a third chance for a big inning. And Chisholm nearly got the big hit, but Samuel Bassallo made a diving grab down the first-base line to nab the sinking liner that was destined for the right-field corner and Jones went down swinging to strand two.

Garcia hit the ground running since coming over at the deadline, going 2-for-4 with a homer in his debut, but is now 9-for-47 (.191) with just one RBI in the 12 games since, after going 1-for-5 with a strikeout. Ramos is now4-for-42 (.095) in pinstripes after going 1-for-3 with a strikeout and a HBP.

- Wells tried to bunt for a hit his first time up, but Mayo made a great throw from third to get him by a half stride. He went 0-for-4.

- Chisholm finished 1-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base, 33rd of the season.

- Jones went 1-for-4 with three strikeouts, including one swinging with two on and one out in the eighth.

- Grisham finished 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout looking on a 3-2 pitch he would have been smart to challenge. He was also caught stealing to end the ninth. 

- McMahon finished 1-for-3 with a strikeout.

- Jose Caballero got hit by a pitch as a pinch-hitter for McMahon in the eighth.

- During the game, the MLB replay center issued a statement on the Alonso home run that wasn't: “After viewing all relevant angles, the Replay Official could not definitively determine that the ball left the playing field in fair territory. The call stands, and it is a foul ball.”

Highlights

Ryan McMahon gets the Yankees on the board pic.twitter.com/Wn53E76tNz

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 19, 2026

The Yankees take the lead courtesy of a George Lombard Jr. sac fly pic.twitter.com/oy4QdA8KG6

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 19, 2026

Ben Rice launches one DEEP in Baltimore! pic.twitter.com/57DL29rQ65

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 19, 2026

George Lombard Jr. comes through with an infield single and the Yankees lead! pic.twitter.com/qCODArWVc5

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 20, 2026

Jazz Chisholm Jr. comes in to score on the short wild pitch! pic.twitter.com/uounViE8tH

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 20, 2026

What's next

New York goes for the sweep on Thursday with another 6:35 p.m. first pitch. 

Gerrit Cole (3.22 ERA, 1.085 WHIP in 86.2 innings) gets the ball against Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish (3.65 ERA, 1.361 WHIP in 133 innings).

A fan let Willson Contreras have it — and the Red Sox first baseman returned the favor.

Contreras was booed by the Fenway Park crowd after getting thrown out jogging to first base in the bottom of the 10th inning in a 7-6 loss to the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

The 34-year-old antagonized the home crowd by putting his hand to his ear and was among the Boston players to engage in a longer altercation with a fan behind the dugout.

Contreras continued his back-and-forth with the fan after the final out, getting security involved as tensions escalated.

“Nothing,” Contreras said of what the conversation entailed. “He was inviting me to dinner. I was like, ‘Nah, I’m good with it.’”

It’s the latest testy moment of the season for him.

On April 8, during a loss to the Athletics, he was booed for not running out a grounder. He was suspended seven games for his helmet-throwing role in a benches-clearing brawl with the Nationals in July — not long after challenging a fan to fight on Instagram.

Contreras has been battling a nagging hamstring injury, which he has been upfront about.

“If you’re a smart fan, you know what’s going on,” he said of getting booed. “I’m not going to make any excuses because it’s not an excuse. It’s real. I just want to play through it.

“It’s just part of the game. I’m not gonna get hurt running on a ground ball. If you’re a real fan and you know baseball, there’s no case for me to hustle out of the box. I’m not 100 percent. We never are, but I’m taking care of my leg. If I have to run, I push it a little bit. If I don’t, my manager has my back. I talked to him and he gave me permission to do whatever it takes to take care of my legs and that’s it.”

Despite the incidents with fans, Contreras, who came to the Red Sox in an offseason trade with the Cardinals, is enjoying his first year in Beantown.

“I won’t change my mind about Boston or the fans,” Contreras said. “I think it’s the best place to play baseball. If I was 100 percent, they wouldn’t boo me because I was gonna hustle down the line. But that won’t change my perspective about being a Red Sox and being in Boston. I get goosebumps every time I think about Boston and I’m in the right place.”

The Red Sox sit at 68-59 in a tight American League East race, third in the division and 5 1/2 games ahead of the Twins for the second wild-card spot. They get a day off on Thursday after 16 straight days of games in which they went 8-8.

Contreras appears to be among those in need of the respite.

Tyler Glasnow continued to run roughshod through his minor league rehab assignment, including nine strikeouts and pitching into the sixth inning in his likely final start for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday night in Sugar Land, Texas.

Glasnow needed only 77 pitches to get through 5 1/3 innings, of which 54 were strikes. He allowed a one-out double to designated hitter Zach Dezenzo in the second inning but stranded him. Then Collin Price worked a walk to open the sixth inning, but that was it against Glasnow, who retired 16 of 18 batters.

That walk came around to score in the sixth after Glasnow left, charged to his ledger.

Of Glasnow’s 12 swinging strikes, six were induced by his knuckle curve, a pitch he threw 20 times on the night.

After missing over three months on the injured list with back spasms, Glasnow in his four rehab starts — three with Oklahoma City, one with Class-A Ontario — allowed two runs in 13 2/3 innings with 19 strikeouts against just four walks.

Glasnow on rehab struck out 41.7 percent of batters faced, including a whopping 54.8 percent over his last two starts, both in Triple-A.

What’s likely next for Glasnow is rejoining the Dodgers rotation on next week’s road trip, especially now that Justin Wrobleski is on the injured list, likely lining up to start against the Atlanta Braves in a series that runs Tuesday to Thursday.

The Dodgers are carrying five starting pitchers at the moment, not counting Emmet Sheehan who is active for now in a bullpen role. Glasnow is on the 60-day injured list and the Dodgers opened a 40-man roster spot on Wednesday with reliever Jonathan Hernández getting designated for assignment.