Category: Baseball

The Tigers’ woes continue as they dropped their Friday game to the Royals 5-2.

After a, shall we say, unpleasant series against the Pirates, the Tigers had a day to rest and reflect before heading to Kansas City to take on the Royals. Hopefully a break in the city of Hallmark and BBQ would be just what the doctor ordered to get the Tigers back in a winning mindset. To open the weekend series, they had Troy Melton on the mound, and he was up against Noah Cameron for the Royals.

Kevin McGonigle got a two-out single in the first, but the Tigers weren’t able to convert the early baserunner. In the home half, Bobby Witt Jr. singled with one out, but Melton turned around to induce two outs in the next two at-bats to keep the Royals off the board.

In the second, Spencer Torkelson got a one-out walk. He was then eliminated in a force out off the bat of Ben Malgeri, and a lineout ended the inning. It was another one-out walk in the bottom of the inning, this time for Nick Loftin. With two outs, Isaac Collins singled. But even with two baserunners on, the Royals couldn’t convert a run.

The Tigers continued getting runners on, as Hao-Yu Lee got a two-out single, but as with the previous innings, they couldn’t manage to get him home. Melton managed to keep the Royals off the bases entirely with a 1-2-3 bottom of the inning.

In the fourth, the Tigers had their walking shoes on. With two outs, Torkelson and Malgeri got back-to-back walks. Unfortunately, despite being in their best position to score a run all game, a groundout ended the inning and left two runners stranded. Things got a little rough for Melton in the bottom of the inning as Vinnie Pasquantino got a one-out double, then with another out, Michael Massey reached on a fielding error from McGonigle, which allowed Pasquantino to score and put the Royals on the board first. A groundout ended the inning, and the run wasn’t an earned run for Melton, but still a rough time.

The Tigers didn’t do much to help themselves in the top of the fifth, going 1-2-3. Kyle Isbel kicked off the home half with a solo homer. Carter Jensen walked, then Bobby Witt Jr. singled. A bit of a shaky turn for Melton, who seemed a bit shaken after the fourth. Chris Fetter headed out to have a chat with him. The pep talk seemed to do him some good because he turned around and got a strikeout and then induced a double play.

Cameron was done and the Tigers were about to face the 29th-place bullpen in baseball, starting with Jose Cuas. With two outs, a pinch-hitting Colt Keith walked. Then Spencer Torkelson walked for the third time in the game. Sadly, the new rookie wunderkind Brett Callahan came in to pinch-hit and couldn’t come in clutch, popping out to end the inning. Melton stayed in for the sixth and Pasquantino pretty much immediately hit a home run. Melton got the next two outs before giving up a walk to Isaac Collins. That was it for Melton for the day and Enmanuel De Jesus came in to get the final out of the inning. Melton’s final line was 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 2 HR on 94 pitches. It wasn’t the most ideal outcome from Melton, but he did get through most of six innings!

John Schreiber was the new Royals’ pitcher for the seventh. Max Clark took a leadoff walk. Gleyber Torres grounded out thanks to a super accurate toss from Pasquantino, who is on a mission to make me write his name as often as possible in this game. Zach McKinstry came in to pinch-hit and doubled, scoring Clark. A run! Steven Cruz came out of the pen and McGonigle singled to score McKinstry. Suddenly this was a one-run game. Dillon Dingler flied out to end the inning, he just wasn’t having a good game at the plate. In the bottom half, the Tigers gave back some of their advancements, as Tyler Holton gave up a leadoff home run to Carter Jensen. With two outs, Salvador Perez singled. But Pasquantino finally did the Tigers a favor and popped out to end the inning.

Colt Keith got the eighth started with a leadoff double. But three outs then followed to leave him stranded. Ty Madden was the new Tigers’ pitcher for the bottom of the inning. Michael Massey got a one-out double, then Isbel got a two-out double to score another run. Cool. Cool cool cool cool.

Nate Pearson was the next reliever out for the Royals. Javier Baez hit a leadoff double. With two outs, McGonigle walked. Jensen tried to challenge the ball call but it was upheld. McGonigle then advanced to second on defensive indifference. While they managed to get two runners into scoring position, the Tigers weren’t able to stage a comeback and the Tigers dropped the first game of the series.

Final: Royals 5, Tigers 2

The Mets blew a 4-0 lead and lost the series opener to the Chicago White Sox on Friday night in walk-off fashion, 6-4.

Here are the takeaways...

-- Sean Manaea’s night started great but ended on a sour note after allowing back-to-back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning that tied the game.

The left-hander had been cruising through the first five innings, allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out four, although he was living on the edge with a number of flyouts to center and right field dying at the warning track because of the wind blowing in.

He also escaped out of a jam, his first all night, in the fifth when he struck out Brenton Doyle with runners at second and third to end the inning.

-- However, disaster struck in the sixth after Manaea retired the first batter he faced. He went on to issue a walk to Munetaka Murakami after initially striking him out on a pitch that was challenged and overturned on ABS. 

-- Miguel Vargas, already with a seed of a double off Manaea earlier in the game, followed with a two-run shot hit just as hard to get Chicago on the board and cut New York’s lead in half. Randal Grichuk cut into it even more with a solo shot to center and Colson Montgomery completed the trifecta with a bomb to right field that tied the game.

Manaea managed to limit the damage there and finished six innings, but he was surely not pleased with himself following the blowup inning.

-- After scoreless outings by Nate Lavender and Daniel Duarte, who both continue to look impressive out of the bullpen, Jefry Yan started the ninth. Yan walked the leadoff batter and then, with two outs, allowed the final blow to Jake Rogers, who smashed a walk-off two-run home run that completed the comeback.

-- Before all of that, the Mets struck first against Sean Burke in the second inning thanks to Marcus Semien’s RBI single, which drove in Carson Benge, who stayed hot with a single to lead off the inning. 

-- Two more runs came around to score in the fourth after a misplay by Doyle in center field allowed New York to pounce. With runners on second and third and one out, Brett Baty had his second hit of the night, a two-run double down the right-field line that put the Mets ahead, 3-0. Baty and Semien finished a combined 4-for-8 with three RBI out of the seven and eight spot in the lineup.

-- An inning later, Bo Bichette muscled a solo home run just beyond the reach of Grichuk in left field. It was Bichette’s 13th long ball of the season.

-- A.J. Ewing and Francisco Lindor were 0-for-8 at the top of the lineup, and Francisco Alvarez's struggles continue after an 0-for-4 performance, including three strikeouts.

Game MVP: Jake Rogers

Obviously.

Highlights

Marcus Semien gets the Mets on the board first in Chicago! pic.twitter.com/XDzcNsx5ss

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 22, 2026

A two-run double for Brett Baty! 💪 pic.twitter.com/Yt918LzfLR

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 22, 2026

Sean Manaea gets the strikeout and gets out of trouble in the 4th pic.twitter.com/8PjBcRm3Fo

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 22, 2026

Bo Bichette's 13th home run of the year! pic.twitter.com/86aHCQTCY7

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 22, 2026

What's next

The Mets and White Sox continue their three-game series on Saturday night with first pitch set for 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

RHP Christian Scott (4-3, 3.51 ERA) will face off against RHP Luis Castillo (4-9, 4.99 ERA).

Fenway booed Rafael Devers in his first at-bat. He struck out. That was probably the nicest part of the night for San Francisco.

The Red Sox beat the Giants 6-4 on a cool Friday night at Fenway Park, and the game’s defining moment was the bottom of the third. Sonny Gray had just spent part of the top of the frame grinding through a bases-loaded jam—the stuff ace starters have to handle in August—and escaped with only Bryce Eldridge’s RBI to show for it. Then Logan Webb walked out for the bottom half and things fell apart in about 22 pitches. Hit batters, walks, hits, runs, all of it cascading at once.

Willson Contreras is a baaaaaaad man.

Two outs. Two men on. Contreras drove one 450 feet at 116 mph over the Green Monster, over Lansdowne Street, probably onto the Pike. The longest Fenway home run of the 2026 season. Then Webb faced his own bases-loaded jam, with a walk and a hit by pitch driving in two more. Five runs for Boston in the third. Webb was pulled at 2.2 innings; Roarke Sanmartin inherited the mess and got out of it. Didn’t matter. Sox led 5-1. Mr. Brightside this early into a game was kinda wild.

The Giants didn’t roll over, though. Right away in the fourth, Tyler Gilbert hit a two-run shot off Gray, and then Devers—the villain the whole crowd had been waiting to boo all night—stepped up and went back-to-back. Solo homer, dead center, his 26th. Just like that it was 5-4. Fenway got a little uneasy. Raffy got his moment. That was pretty much it for the Giants, though.

Gray held it together through six innings, 97 pitches, and the bullpen didn’t give an inch. Erik Miller shut the door in the seventh for his 12th hold. Alec Gamboa followed with a clean eighth for his first. Aroldis Chapman struck out three of the four batters he faced in the ninth for his 28th save. Zero hits allowed, six strikeouts combined. Chapman’s ERA sits at 1.90. The late innings are locked in, and Garrett Whitlock and Justin Slaten working their ways back only makes this scarier.

Wilyer Abreu added insurance in the sixth with an RBI triple off Trent Harris to push the lead back to two. Jarren Duran kept up his hitting streak with a triple into the triangle. Sonny Gray goes to 16-3. I feel like the ship is finally stabilizing as we get through August after the rough road trip to Toronto and Pittsburgh.

Studs

Willson Contreras (2 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 3 RBI, 2 BB)

Four hundred and fifty feet. One hundred and sixteen miles per hour. Over the Monster, over Lansdowne, onto the Pike. Every now and then a home run isn’t just a home run—it’s the moment the whole night turns on. This was that. OB went nuts in the booth, the ball probably still hasn’t landed, and Webb never recovered. Two walks on top of it, Contreras did real damage in two of his four plate appearances. The cut to Devers after Contreras’ shot is honestly a nice shot of schadenfreude.

Wilyer Abreu (4 AB, 1 R, 3 H, 1 RBI, 1 BB)

Three hits and the sixth-inning triple that gave Gray’s bullpen actual room to breathe. Abreu has been one of the most consistent bats in this lineup since the break—his numbers against right-handed pitching look nothing like they did in April—and he was in the middle of multiple Boston rallies all night.

Sonny Gray (6.0 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W 16-3)

Not a dominant outing—the back-to-back Gilbert-Devers shots in the fourth scared me a bit—but this was an ace doing what aces do. He navigated the early jam, absorbed some hard innings, and still gave six. Sixteen wins, three losses. Gray has quietly been the most consistent starter in the American League this year. Cy Young consideration? Are we far enough into the season to start that conversation?

The Bullpen (3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 6 K)

Miller, Gamboa, Chapman. Six strikeouts, no hits, nothing. Gamboa picking up his first hold. Chapman getting his 28th save with three punchouts on 20 pitches. After Gray handed them a two-run lead to protect, the three of them combined to make it feel like ten.

Duds

Andruw Monasterio (3 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 1 RBI, 1 BB, GIDP)

His RBI came on a bases-loaded walk, which is the whole story of his night. The Red Sox went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left nine on base, and Monasterio was in the middle of too many of those stranded-runner situations. One double play, zero hits. He’s been too good this season for one bad night to mean much, but this was a bad night.

Mickey Gaspar (3 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 1 RBI)

Reached on a hit-by-pitch to force in a run, but was otherwise invisible at the plate. The DH spot does not belong to him long-term. Roman Anthony’s rehab can’t end fast enough, even with the fun week Evil Mickey is having.

Play of the Game

Contreras. No other words needed.

All the Orioles needed to break their four-game skid was another game against the Rays. They took the opener of the weekend series with their division foe 5-3 on Friday night as Trevor Rogers twirled a gem, Pete Alonso hit the go-ahead homer, and the bullpen locked things down late.

The Orioles came out swinging, literally. Jackson Holliday doubled to left field on the very first pitch in the bottom of the first inning. And mere moments later he came in to score on a Pete Alonso single up the middle. Gunnar Henderson followed with a five-pitch walk, and it seemed like something big could be brewing for the Birds. But that momentum quickly dissipated when Tyler O’Neill struck out and Samuel Basallo hit into a double play to end the inning after just one run being scored.

Rogers was unable to put together a shut down inning in the top of the second. In fact, he put forth his only bad frame of the entire game. The Rays scored three times. Junior Caminero led off with a double down the third base line and then scored on a Chandler Simpson single. A few batters later, Kenny Piper hit his first career home run to put the Rays up 3-1.

That would end up being the only runs that Rogers gave up all night long. He got into a little trouble in the third inning, allowing three singles before escaping unscathed, but was otherwise pretty dominant. The lefty tied a season high with seven innings in which he gave up the three runs on six hits, a walk, and six strikeouts. It seemed as though he was getting stronger as the game wore on. His fastball got into the upper nineties in his seventh and final frame. That’s impressive for anyone, but particularly Rogers who has occasionally run out of gas late in a few of his other outings this season.

Baltimore chipped away at the Tampa lead in the bottom of the second inning. Dylan Beavers led off with a solo homer to center field, his sixth long ball of the season.

But most of the action came in the fifth inning. Coby Mayo was hit by a pitch to open the inning, then advanced to third on a Colton Cowser single followed by a Jorge Mateo throwing error. After a strikeout of Leody Taveras, Jackson Holliday came to the plate.

Holliday worked a 2-2 count against Rays starter Freddy Peralta. Then, it seemed like he failed to check his swing for strike three down and out of the zone. Holliday even started walking back to the dugout, but on the appeal to the third base umpire Dillon Wilson it was determine that Holliday had not swung. Rays manager Kevin Cash did not disagree, and after a chat with Wilson was ejected from the game. It was an understandable position to have since it did look like Holliday had gone too far, but the Orioles were due some favoritism after recent events. Holliday stayed in the game and drove in a run on a sac fly to center to tie the game.

Alonso made sure none of that really mattered anyway when he came up next and launched his 30th home run of the season to left-center. The two-run bomb to made it a 5-3 advantage for the Orioles, which would prove to be all they needed for the win here.

It wasn’t the busiest night on the bases for the O’s. They had just four at-bats with runners in scoring position, but that didn’t matter much thanks to the two long balls. As usual, when the Orioles hit home runs they win games. It’s how the team was built to win, it just hasn’t happened as often as they hoped it would this season.

Rogers was brilliant on the mound yet again. If the Orioles haven’t approached him about a long-term deal by now, they probably should. There is enough data to suggest he has figured something out about himself since joining the club. Maybe he would like to keep that going for a while longer. It’s something that will probably wait until the uncertain offseason that lays ahead.

Andrew Kittredge and Rico Garcia were called on out of the bullpen. They worked one scoreless inning each, striking out two apiece in the process. It’s been an up-and-down couple of weeks for the Baltimore relievers, but we will take the good performances when they come.

The Orioles continued success against the Rays is illogical. It’s also one of those oddities of sports. Perhaps having all of those former Orioles on your roster does make those matchups with their former team just a touch more difficult. The Rays are probably OK with that swap given their spot in the standings.

These two teams will be back in action on Saturday night. Brandon Young (9-3, 3.52 ERA) will be on the bump to face Shane McClanahan (9-6, 3.25 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:05.

---

Most Birdland Player, August 21. 2026

Who do you think was the Most Birdland Player in this Orioles win? Here are some nominees for your consideration, but feel free to name your own in the comments.

• Trevor Rogers (win, seven innings, three runs)
• Pete Alonso (2-for-4, home run, three RBI)
• Andrew Kittredge (mows down heart of Rays order in the 8th)

As was the case with their series loss against the Blue Jays that wrapped up at the start of the week, there wasn’t much offense on display tonight. However, Spencer Jones hit his second home run in as many days — a two-run moonshot to give them the lead in the second — while Cam Schlittler battled for six gritty innings as the Yankees secured a series-opening victory, 3-1.

Schlittler took an inning to dial in his command, issuing a leadoff single to Brett Bateman, a walk to Alejandro Kirk, and a single to Jesús Sánchez. However, a double play erased the Bateman single and an Ernie Clement grounder ended the inning, Paul Goldschmidt making a pair of important scoops at second. Things sharpened up a little in the second, Schlittler working a 1-2-3 inning on just six pitches.

We unusually saw a pair of substitutions in the bottom of the first. Amed Rosario worked a four-pitch walk and was immediately pinch-run for by Jazz Chisholm Jr., which was perhaps always the plan given the lefty opener and righty bulk reliever. Speaking of that opener, Mason Fluharty also walked Ben Rice, prompting John Schneider to call on Spencer Arrighetti to face George Lombard Jr., which paid off as Lombard struck out to strand a pair and make it 20 straight games without a first inning run.

The bottom of the second brought echoes of Wednesday night’s win over the Orioles. In a moment eerily similar to Pete Alonso’s home-run-turned-foul-ball that controversially was not overturned by replay, Spencer Jones hit a towering fly ball down the right field line that was called a home run on the field. None of the replay angles captured the moment the ball left the field of play given the height of the blast, so the call on the field stood as a two-run homer following Trent Grisham’s leadoff walk, giving Jones home runs in back-to-back games.

The imprecision with location returned for Schlittler in the third, Myles Straw and Kirk drawing a pair of walks. However, Schlittler finally found a consistent lane for his four-seamer and tallied his first strikeout of the night on four-straight heaters just above the zone to Sánchez. The fourth was more of the same, starting with a pair of singles by Clement and Kazuma Okamoto before a grounder advanced the pair into scoring position with one out. Schlittler got a huge strikeout of Charles McAdoo with overpowering four-seamers, but had to battle Straw for eight pitches before a popup to short ended the frame and stranded the pair.

There was a lot to love about the approach from the bottom of the Yankees order in the fourth. Lombard led off with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Grisham drew a four-pitch walk and Jones hit a swinging bunt to the right side to advance both runners into scoring position. José Caballero then worked a full count before driving the payoff pitch to deep center to plate Lombard as their third run.

Schlittler finally faltered in the fifth under the weight of all the extra work he was creating for himself. Bateman led off with a double into the corner in left. Schlittler then got to 1-2 against Kirk, but left a four-seamer in probably the only spot where Kirk could get a hit, grounding a low-and-away fastball through the hole on the right side to plate Bateman and break up the shutout. To his credit, Schlittler ended the threat there by getting Sánchez to bounce into the inning ending double play. He saved his best for last, striking out Clement and Valenzuela on a pair of filthy curveballs below the zone in the sixth.

It was a grind in more than one sense of the word for Schlittler. I’m sure he won’t be thrilled by the three walks. I also bet he’ll be even more annoyed that he was able to get to two strikes with relative ease, only to watch his command then abandon him when going for the strikeout. That invariably led to a lot of extra pitches being thrown and quite a few full counts, Schlitter expending way more energy early than he would have liked which likely prevented him from going really deep in this game. All this being said, we’ve gotten to the point where we have to nitpick the minor faults of a down performance relative to the standard of excellence that Schlittler has set. You can only be so critical of six innings of one-run ball, Schlittler allowing six hits and three walks with four strikeouts on 96 pitches.

The Yankees certainly needed that result from Schlittler given the lack of production after the Caballero sac fly. Goldschmidt and Heliot Ramos reached on singles in the fifth but back-to-back strikeouts by Rice and Lombard stranded them in place. Rice reached second in the eighth after a walk, but again consecutive strikeouts, this time by Lombard and Grisham, left the Yankees 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position while stranding six.

Brent Headrick came in for the seventh and retired the first two batters without much issue. He got to two strikes against Bateman, but grooved a four-seamer that the center fielder drove into the gap in right-center. Jones covered a ton of ground and almost made a stunning sliding catch, but the ball rolled out of his glove as he hit the ground and Bateman stood on third with a triple. However, Headrick made his best pitches of the inning against pinch-hitter George Springer and struck him out on a nasty splitter to strand the runner at third. Blackburn was handed the eighth and navigated around a one-out double by Sánchez that probably gets caught if it was Cody Bellinger instead of Ramos in left, but it was no harm no foul with Blackburn retiring the next two batters.

That handed the ball to David Bednar with a 3-1 lead to protect in the ninth. He allowed a leadoff automatic double that one-hopped the wall in left to Valenzuela on a well-located 2-2 heater, but retired McAdoo and Straw to pull within an out of the save. That brought leadoff hitter Bateman to the plate, 3-for-4 with a double and triple on the day, but he was no match for Bednar, who made him look silly on a splitter in the dirt for the victory-sealing strikeout.

It’s just the start the Yankees needed to this crucial 10-game homestand — especially because the Rays lost in Baltimore to shrink their AL East lead to three games. New York will look to keep the momentum rolling tomorrow, going for their sixth straight win with the ascendant Ryan Weathers facing off against Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 pm ET with the broadcast remaining on YES.

Box Score

Dodgers president Stan Kasten wants to make it clear that majority owner Mark Walter will not sell the team.

Following Walter’s decision to sell his majority stake in the Lakers, questions about his majority ownership of the Dodgers were raised amid his company’s financial difficulties, which include a federal probe of his businesses. But Kasten said it will have no effect on Walter’s majority ownership of the Dodgers.

“The Dodgers are not being sold,” Kasten said. “They’re not going to be sold. They’re not for sale. There’s no process that has been started to sell [the franchise]. Period. ... I just wanted this to be clear because this question keeps coming up. I understand the questions; I do. The Lakers thing was what we call sui generis, one of those one-of-a-kind things. Really has nothing to do with what’s happening with [the Dodgers] or the other teams.

“I wanted you to hear it definitively: We are not selling the Dodgers. We are continuing with our plans going forward, like we always have had them. This comes from Mark. He’s gung-ho about continuing to try to win, again, including next year, subject to whatever next year’s climate looks like.”

Read more:If Dodgers are put up for sale, previous runner-up Patrick Soon-Shiong is interested

Kasten added that he doesn’t expect the Dodgers’ operations to be interrupted, describing the franchise as “very stable, well-managed, and [with] very solid ownership.”

“I know nothing involving the Dodgers is part of the investigation,” Kasten said. “I’m promising you, when it’s over, you’re going to realize [things] are being mischaracterized. You don’t have to trust me, but I’m telling you.”

When Kasten was asked about reports Walter is trying to sell his stake in English Premier League team Chelsea FC and tried to cash out of lucrative TV deals with Charter Communications, he said they were mischaracterized.

“Those things don’t go together for a bunch of reasons I’m not going to get into today,” Kasten said.

Kasten took a similar tone when asked about reports of Walter having to repay insurance companies.

“I’m not in that part of the investigation,” Kasten said. “Things are going on behind the scenes, obviously, in connection with that. I’m not privy to all of them, don’t need to know, don’t want to know. But one thing we are all certain about: the sports portfolio is going to remain intact.”

Walter has additional ownership stakes in the Sparks, the Cadillac Formula One team, the Professional Women’s Hockey League and the Billie Jean King Cup tennis event.

Read more:The Dodgers are Mark Walter's crown jewel. Can he hold on to it amid federal probe?

“I can tell you from the guy running the team, knowing how the business runs and what it can support in terms of revenues and expenses — the Dodgers aren’t going anywhere,” Kasten said. “I feel that very strongly, and Mark feels even stronger than I do. I’m 74. I don’t know how long I’m going to be running it, but Mark, I think, is going to be running it a lot longer.

“I think Mark has done an extraordinary job as an owner, and all he’s ever cared about is providing the best experience in order to make us more money, to make this project successful,” Kasten added. “I think so far it has been; I expect that to continue far into the future.”

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Hottest Team in Baseball (71-58) won their seventh straight game with a 7-6 extra innings walk off victory against the St. Louis Cardinals (66-64) to pull within four games of the NL East leading Atlanta Braves.

The Cardinals opened the scoring against Jesus Luzardo with a two-out, two-run home run by Joshua Baez in the top of the first inning. It was Baez’s first home run since hitting three in his major league debut last Saturday.

Joshua Baez homers on the first pitch he sees in Philly! pic.twitter.com/SLJKbneh1M

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 21, 2026

The Phillies got back to even in the second inning with a lead-off walk by Bryson Stott and a pair of RBI doubles by Brandon Marsh and JT Realmuto.

And we're even 👏 pic.twitter.com/5WBmyPfciD

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 21, 2026

Alec Bohm gave the Phillies their first lead in the bottom of the third with an RBI single that scored Luis Arraez who reached on his 28th double of the season.

Back in front! pic.twitter.com/jDWbjGEGNW

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 21, 2026

The Cards jumped back in front with another two-run home run in the sixth, this time by persona non grata, Jordan Walker. Luzardo finished with 110 pitches over 5.2 innings pitched.

Jordan Walker continues to be public enemy number one in Philadelphia pic.twitter.com/knDiT3RJx2

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 22, 2026

It was the Phillies’ turn in the bottom of the inning as Bohm and Marsh singled, Realmuto hit his second RBI-double of the game, and Justin Crawford hit a go-ahead RBI sacrifice fly to make it 5-4.

For real?
For Real. pic.twitter.com/mY0bpfyvgA

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 22, 2026

Craw comes through with an RBI! pic.twitter.com/iFOuI3oZnE

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 22, 2026

Orion Kerkering got two outs in relief of Mayza in the seventh inning and came back out in the eighth. He allowed a lead-off single to Alec Burleson, got the next two outs and then hit Everson Pereira. Brooks Raley came in to pitch to the lefty, Bryan Torres, who laced an 0-1 single to right-center to tie the game at five.

Jhoan Duran pitched a scoreless ninth and the offense went down in order in the bottom of the ninth to take the affair to extras.

The Cardinals went ahead in the top of the tenth on a single by Jose Fermin off of Alex McFarlane.

With Bryce Harper as the ghost runner, Luis Arraez hit a single to right off of Luis Gastelum to put runners on the corners for Bohm, who sent a 2-2 sweeper to deep center field for a two-RBI triple to walk the thing off.

Alec Bohm walks it off with a 2-run TRIPLE!

The Phillies have won seven straight games 🔥 pic.twitter.com/AF6Eyg9eOF

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) August 22, 2026

Bohm is now tied with Kyle Schwarber for the team-lead in RBI with 74. He is slashing .371/.416/.529 in the month of August.

Andrew Painter is set to face Andre Pallante in the middle game of the series tomorrow night.

The bad news is that the Rays lost to the O’s… again. The good news is that the Rays only have to play the last place O’s two more times this season.

Playing for the fifth time in eight days, the Rays and O’s faced off in Baltimore opening a three-game set. After dropping three of four to the O’s at the Trop, the Rays were hoping to flip the script and return the favor at Camden Yards. Unfortunately, Pete Alonso had other plans.

Early on, it looked as though the Rays might in fact flip the script. Despite falling behind 1-0 in the first on a Pete Alonso RBI single, the Rays jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the top of the second inning. The Rays quickly tied it after Junior doubled and later scored on a Chandler Simpson RBI single. Then, later in the inning Kenny Piper hit his first big league homer. It was a blast to left-center field and gave the Rays a two-run advantage.

But, the pesky O’s just wouldn’t go away. Rays starter Freddy Peralta was unable to toss a clean, shutdown frame in the bottom half and the O’s cut the deficit to one run via a Dylan Beavers solo shot.

The 3-2 Rays lead would hold until the bottom of the fifth when the O’s broke out for three more runs. Peralta started the inning off by gifting the O’s a free baserunner, hitting Coby Mayo. Then, Coswer singled and just like that the O’s had men on the corners with nobody out. Nonetheless, Peralta was able to strikeout Leody Taveras and then had Jackson Holliday walking back to the dugout after two-strike check swing that was egregiously ruled a checked swing by the third base umpire. Not only did the call end Kevin Cash’s night as he was tossed for the first time this year, but it also gave Holliday new life at the plate and he didn’t waste it. A sacrifice fly tied the game at 3-3 and set the table for Pete Alonso to give the O’s the lead with two outs and a runner at first.

He wasted no time and launched a 2-2 fastball to the seats. His 30th homer of the year, seemingly all coming against the Rays over the last week. Just like that it was 5-3.

That score would hold and the Rays would eventually lose their fifth game in their last eight. Freddy Peralta went seven innings, surrendering five runs. He punched out six, walked one, and allowed seven hits. He was tagged with the loss, his 11th of the year. O’s starter Trevor Rogers earned the win tossing seven innings of three run ball. He punched out six, walked one, and allowed six hits.

Spencer Jones' two-run blast was the difference as the Yankees started their three-game series against the Blue Jays with a 3-1 win on Friday night in the Bronx.

New York has won five in a row and, after the Rays' loss to the Orioles earlier in the evening, are now 3.0 games behind Tampa Bay for first place in the AL East. 

Here are the takeaways...

-Toronto made Cam Schlittler work in the first, picking up two hits and a walk, but a double play and some nifty scoops by Paul Goldschmidt at first saved the Yankees and their ace a run. 

Schlittler didn't have his best stuff. His command was iffy -- he walked three batters -- and the Jays hitters were picking up hit after hit. The fourth inning saw Toronto start with back-to-back singles. A groundout moved up the two runners, but Schlittler got out of the jam again with a strikeout and a flyball. He couldn't do the same in the fifth. A leadoff double came home on a one-out single by Alejandro Kirk to put the Jays on the board.

The AL Cy Young front-runner finished strong, pitching a 1-2-3 sixth inning to pick up another quality start. 

He tossed 96 pitches, allowing one run on six hits and three walks while striking out four.

-In a moment reminiscent of the team's trip to Baltimore, Jones hit a towering fly ball toward the right field foul pole in the second inning. Unlike Pete Alonso's blast, it was called fair and the call stood after a chief review. The blast gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead. On the defensive side, the young outfielder almost made an outstanding sliding grab in the seventh, but the ball popped out of his glove as he hit the ground. Brent Headrick worked around that triple by blanking the Jays in the inning. 

Jones finished 1-for-3.

The Yankees bullpen of Headrick, Paul Blackburn and David Bednar kept the Jays off the board, working around baserunners to finish the win.

-The offense wouldn't muster much else. A sac fly by Jose Caballero in the fourth accounted for the only other Yankees run. Toronto outhit the Yankees, 9-4, with New York going 1-for-8 with RISP and left six on base. The Blue Jays were worse, going 1-for-14 with RISP and leaving nine on base.  

Game MVP: Spencer Jones

The pitching was great again, but the two-run blast was the difference.

Highlights

Fair ball!

Spencer Jones with a 43° launch angle home run into the second deck! pic.twitter.com/XBbcelULN7

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 21, 2026

What's next

The Yankees and Blue Jays continue their weekend series on Saturday. First pitch is set for 1:35 p.m.

Ryan Weathers (5-7, 3.56 ERA) will go up against Cy Young candidate Dylan Cease (7-5, 2.42 ERA).

The Dodgers  (77-51) host the Pittsburgh Pirates (63-66) for a brief one-series homestand starting Friday night at Dodger Stadium. 

Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12-7, 2.60 ERA, 0.89 WHIP) has been putting the league on notice, ranking 2nd in the majors in WHIP and 8th in ERA through 22 starts.

Bubba Chandler (6-8, 4.23 ERA, 1.37 WHIP) makes his first career start against the Dodgers. He collected a win out of the Pittsburgh bullpen in 2025 against the Dodgers.

Lineups

Tonight’s #Dodgers lineup vs. Pirates: pic.twitter.com/EQLOxJlq2r

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 21, 2026

130/162.

📺: @SNPittsburgh
📻: @937theFanpic.twitter.com/TWvl7Fkw8U

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) August 21, 2026

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Friday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Pirates
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Start time: 7:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ front office is confident in its stance that the team will not be sold by Mark Walter, CEO of the Guggenheim Baseball Management group.

After owning the Los Angeles Lakers for less than a year, Walter is in the process of selling the NBA team to former Disney CEO Bob Iger and American businessman Josh Kushner at a reported $12.5 billion valuation. Walter is also said to be in talks to sell his stake in Chelsea FC.

He serves as the principal owner and controlling partner of the Dodgers, while others, such as former Lakers star Magic Johnson and team president Stan Kasten, serve as minority owners.

Despite the flurry of transactions, coming as Walter is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for alleged fraud, Kasten insists the Dodgers are not being sold.

“The Dodgers are not being sold,” Kasten told reporters before the Dodgers’ game at Dodger Stadium on Friday, Aug. 21. “They are not for sale. There‘s no process that has been started to sell it.”

Walter and the Guggenheim group purchased the Dodgers in May 2012.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The Dodgers 'are not for sale,' team president Stan Kasten says

Young Mets slugger Mark Vientos began his rehab assignment Friday with Double-A Binghamton. 

Vientos took three at-bats, starting as the team's DH, finishing 0-for-2 with a walk and two strikeouts. 

It's the first time Vientos has seen the field since fracturing his right hand after being hit by a pitch back on July 9. In 73 games this season, Vientos is slashing .211/.256/.388 with an OPS of .644 to go along with 11 home runs and 35 RBI.

In that same game, Mets No. 1 prospect Jefferson Rojas had himself a day. The infielder went 2-for-5 with three RBI, two coming off his third home run in the Mets organization. The third RBI was on a single that gave the Rumble Ponies a 5-0 lead. 

Rojas has played 14 games in Binghamton and is slashing .281/.328/.544 with an OPS of .872. 

"That ball is way, way gone!"

Jefferson Rojas hits his third home run for Double-A Binghamton! pic.twitter.com/2wlqOc6x7P

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) August 21, 2026

Wenninger unhittable in Syracuse

For Triple-A Syracuse, Jack Wenninger had his best start in quite some time. The right-hander threw five hitless innings, walking two batters and striking out six.

Wenninger, the organization's No. 11 prospect, has had a tough first season in Triple-A. Even with the hitless outing, his ERA sits at 4.17 with a 1.38 WHIP. However, Friday is the second of back-to-back solid outings for the once-touted prospect. In his last start, Wenninger struck out eight batters in five innings of two-run baseball. 

On the offensive side, Syracuse received contributions from up and down the lineup. Nick Morabito went 1-for-5 with an RBI while Billy Amick came in to score in his four at-bats (0-for-4). Emilien Pitre went 1-for-4 with a walk while Ronny Mauricio drove in a run and finished 2-for-4. 

Hayden Senger was perfect at the plate, going 2-for-2 with two walks and driving in a run.

It felt like playoff baseball as the Cardinals and Phillies began a crucial 3-game series in Philadelphia. Hunter Dobbins took the mound for St. Louis while Jesus Luzardo started for the Phillies. It would be a classic back-and-forth affair, but Philadelphia would have the last laugh Friday night.

It’s been nearly a week since Joshua Baez made his historic Major League debut in Chicago and Friday night he reminded the world while he will be a force to be reckoned with. In the bottom of the 1st inning, Jordan Walker reached on a two-out error when Stotts made an errant throw which allowed Jordan to reach second. He’d be able to walk home from there as Joshua Baez jumped on the first pitch he saw and punished the 98 mph four-seam fastball 360 feet into the right field stands giving the Cardinals an early 2-0 lead.

I’m not the St. Louis Cardinals pitching coach, but here’s a pro tip: DO NOT WALK ANYONE. Hunter Dobbins did not follow this advice in the bottom of the 2nd inning as he handed out a leadoff walk to Stotts. He would score when the next batter Brandon Marsh doubled cutting the Cardinals lead in half at 2-1. That lead would vanish with the next batter as J.T. Realmuto also doubled tying the score at 2-2. It’s to Dobbins credit that he didn’t allow any more runs after the Phillies successfully moved Realmuto over on a sacrifice bunt, he got a ground out and a fly out to end the Phillies 2nd inning.

The Phillies would take a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the 3rd inning when Luis Arráez hit a one-out double. He scored on the next play when Alec Bohm hit a single, but Dobbins would get out of the inning when Stott grounded into a double play that became a double play when Oli Marmol challenged the safe call at first and it was overturned.

If you tried to imagine a nightmare scenario for the St. Louis Cardinals after Andre Pallante was delegated to the injured list Friday, it’s what happened in the bottom of the 5th inning Friday night when Hunter Dobbins had to be taken out of the game for an undisclosed injury after he threw one pitch to Trea Turner. The TV crew would later reveal the Cardinals said it was “right forearm tightness”. Manager Oli Marmol brought in Caleb Ferguson to take over mid-game duties for the Cardinals. After Ferguson walked Trea Turner, he got Bryce Turner to roll over an 80 mph slurve into a rally-killing double play. After a flyout to deep right-center from Arraez, the Phillies 5th inning was done.

If you’re wondering “hey, where are all the Cardinals offensive highlights?”, I was wondering the same thing as I watched Jesus Luzardo set down a dozen Cardinals-in-a-row. Well, that streak was shattered in the top of the 6th inning when Ivan Herrera reached on an infield single and then Jordan Walker gave the Philly crowd PTSD of the Home Run Derby when he absolutely destroyed a 97-mph four-seam fastball and sent it sailing 392 feet into the loving hands of the Phillies fans for a 2-run homer giving the Cardinals a 4-3 lead.

It didn’t result in a run, but an 11-pitch at-bat by José Fermín in the top of the 6th inning helped drive the pitch count of Luzardo up to 111 and get him out of the game. You won’t see it on a scorecard, but lengthy at-bats like the one from Fermín helped the Cardinals get into the Phillies bullpen.

Caleb Ferguson did a respectable job in his emergency fill-in roll for the ailing Hunter Dobbins, but he got into a bit of trouble in the bottom of the 6th inning when he gave up a leadoff single to Alec Bohm. He then struck out Stott looking, but gave up a single to Marsh after that giving the Phillies runners at first and second with just one out. That inspired manager Oli Marmol to send for Gordon Graceffo in the bullpen. He entered the game to face J.T. Realmuto. His second pitch was laced into left field for a RBI double tying the game 4-4 and giving the Phillies a chance to take the lead with two runners in scoring position and just one out. Crawford made good on that opportunity as he lifted a deep sacrifice fly to center scoring Marsh and giving Philadelphia a 5-4 lead. That’s all the Phillies would get after Trea Turner flew out to end the inning.

The Cardinals mounted a threat in the top of the 7th inning when Pedro Pagés led off with a single into left field. Nathan Church was brought into the game to pinch-run for Pedro and stole a base to get into scoring position with no outs. JJ Wetherholt smartly took a strike when he saw Church get the huge jump off of first, but unwisely took a called third strike for the first out. Ivan Herrera unfortunately struck out on a sweeper from Phillies reliever Kerkering which would have been ball four. Kerkering generously threw a wild pitch to the backstop to move Church up to third anyway with Jordan Walker at the plate. All Jordan Walker could manage this time around was a gentle pop-out to Bohm in foul territory behind first to end the Cardinals 7th inning.

St. Louis would have another opportunity in the top of the 8th inning when Alec Burleson came off the bench to pinch-hit for Joshua Baez. He quickly singled into right field. Burleson then advanced to second on a passed ball from Kerkering. Alec would move over to third base with just one out when Blaze Jordan grounded out. José Fermín unfortunately popped out unable to bring Burleson in for the second out. Everson Pereira was next up and he was nailed on the hand by a pitch from Kerkering giving the Cardinals runners at first and third with Bryan Torres coming up. Phillies manager Don Mattingly pulled Kerkering out of the game and brought in Brooks Raley to face Torres. Bryan came through like a champ when he slapped an 80 mph sweeper into center for a RBI game-tying single to make it 5-5. Jimmy Crooks tried to replicate the Torres slapper into center, but hit his too hard and flied out to center to end the top half of the 8th.

It was up to Justin Bruihl to keep the game tied in the bottom of the 8th. He got Stott out for the first out on a ground out to second, but the next batter Bryan De La Cruz hit a single into the right field gap that would have been a double against just about any other right fielder not named Jordan Walker who rifled a throw into second base which made De La Cruz rethink going to second. That would be a small, but important moment as Bruihl got Realmuto to ground into a force out at second that almost became a double play for the second out. If Walker had not held De La Cruz to a single, this would have played out differently. JJ Wetherholt ended the inning with a Winn-like play at short as he slid to grab a ball hit into the hole and then threw the ball while still on the ground to second for an inning-ending force out.

The Phillies brought in their closer to shut down the Cardinals in the top of the 9th inning. Jhoan Duran struck out Wetherhol and Herrera, but he did not strike out Jordan Walker. Jordan shattered his bat as the big half of it followed the ground ball to Turner at short and Walker beat the throw to first for a two-out single. That brought up Alec Burleson in a key spot. Alec did not make good contact and his dribbler up the middle ended up in an all-too-convenient spot right over second base where it was grabbed for the force out.

The Cardinals chose Luis Gastelum to hold the Phillies at bay in the bottom of the 9th inning. He would be dueling with the top of the Phillies lineup starting with Kyle Schwarber who he struck out with a wicked full-count changeup. Trea Turner was next. He struck out Turner out on three off-speed pitches that made Trea look helpless. All he needed to do was get Bryce Harper out to send the game to extra innings. He was successful getting Harper out on a weak groundball to second. To extras, we go!

The Phillies brought in Alex McFarlane to face the Cardinals in the top of the 10th. The free runner for St. Louis was Alec Burleson and Blaze Jordan was the first man up. He didn’t advance Burleson with a weak pop-out to short center. José Fermín came through like a champ with a clutch single into left field which scored Burleson who looked like he was running with his pants on fire giving the Cardinals a 6-5 lead. Everson Pereira seemed determined to lay down a sacrifice bunt even with a 2-strike count, but ended up pulling back the last bunt attempt and grounded into an inning-ending double play.

It was up to Luis Gastelum to nail the Phillies down in the bottom of the 10th. Marmol brought in Masyn Winn to short for his defense. The Phillies had Bryce Harper as the free runner to start their 10th. Luis Arraez was first up for Philadelphia. He ripped a two-strike single into right as the Phillies held up Harper at third fearing Walker’s arm. Edmundo Sosa was brought in to pinch-run for Arraez as he represented the potential winning run. Gastelum would have to face Alec Bohm next. He unfortunately broke all of our collective Cardinals hearts as he blasted a ball to the wall in deep center just out of the reach of Fermín which scored Harper and Sosa giving the Phillies a game-winning triple with the final score ending up 7-6.

The St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies will tangle again Saturday night as it’s Quinn Mathews starting for the Cardinals in place of Andre Pallante who was sent to the injured list. The Phillies will send RHP Andrew Painter to the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 5:05pm central time with the game broadcast available via Cardinals.tv.

It is Friday night.

The Orioles snapped their losing streak at four games by beating the Rays, 5-3. Trevor Rogers pitched seven pretty good innings, Pete Alonso hit his 30th homer of the season (and it actually counted this time), and the Orioles, well, we’ll see where they go from here. They won tonight and that’s all they could do for tonight.

YOU KNOW WHAT MUST BE DONE.

The Cincinnati Reds are in the Sonoran Desert on Friday night to take on Eduardo Rodriguez and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Rodriguez is a lefty, and the Reds simply have no way to prepare a roster for such events, so they’ve got no fewer than six guys in the starting lineup who probably shouldn’t be in an MLB lineup against anyone under any circumstances. Keep in mind that none of Spencer Steer, Rece Hinds, Noelvi Marte, or Christian Encarnacion-Strand are around to chip in for this development.

Nick Lodolo is on the bump for the good guys looking to build on his solid most recent outing even if there was an obvious glitch in the matrix between he and Terry Francona on whether or not he was supposed to be pulled at 75 pitches (or not).

It’s a late start, with 9:40 PM ET the set time for the game’s first pitch.

Here’s how both clubs will line up to begin: