The 24-year-old left-hander pitched five innings, allowing six hits, one walk, and two earned runs across 97 pitches, striking out five batters in the process.
"It was a gusty outing," asserted interim manager Andy Green of his greenhorn hurler. "He had to grind it out.
"Some at-bats turned into a lot of pitches... it was a hard-fought five innings for him."
Houston's batting order has some star power for pitchers to deal with, including AL MVP favorite and Triple Crown chaser Yordan Alvarez, who Thornton faced three times today.
Thornton struck him out, then got Alvarez to hit into two flyouts.
"[The Astros] have got good hitters, who worked pesky at-bats," Thornton said postgame. "I tried my best to throw good put-away pitches, and they hit them."
Thornton was then asked about his mentality as a rookie with the opportunity to prove he's good enough to be a core member of the team's starting rotation for the present and future.
"I just want to try to show up to the ballpark every day and be the same person, doing everything I can in every start."
New York, who were leading 3-2 entering the sixth inning, allowed four runs (one unearned, as a result of an errant throw home by first baseman Jared Young) on four hits in the sixth and seventh innings.
Jonathan Pintaro struggled in the sixth inning, and Jefry Yan was on the mound for Young's error in the seventh. They each threw 20 pitches.
Green, however, didn't seem upset when reflecting on their performances today.
"Pintaro is good, he's got the capacity to get lefties out consistently, he just left a pitch where he didn't want to," Green said. "The seventh inning was an ugly inning for us. It wasn't all on [Yan]... the error that brought in two runs; it's not a play we want to see happen."
He added: "Bullpens give up runs periodically. We've lived in a world where they hadn't been giving up runs for a long period of time."
For most of their games since the All-Star break, the Mets bullpen had become a relative strength, a group that produced the third-lowest ERA in the majors at 2.64 after the season resumed entering play Sunday. For most of this month, Jared Young had done enough with his bat to play his way into conversations about a role for next season.
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But across two innings Sunday, an afternoon when rookie Zac Thornton once again did more than enough during his start, both combined to sink the Mets in their 6-3 loss to the Astros at Citi Field. Jonathan Pintaro and Jefry Yan allowed an earned run each, while Young’s brutal throwing error in the seventh brought home another run. That was enough to send the Mets (61-76) to a fourth loss in five games.
“Ugly inning for us,” interim manager Andy Green said of the seventh. “Not all on [Yan]. … Obviously the play that brought in the last two runs, not a play that we want to see happen.”
Thornton, though, gave the Mets a chance. He needed 97 pitches to navigate five innings — a number inflated by a 12-pitch at-bat and a pair of eight-pitch at-bats — but still flashed more of his potential. After a leadoff homer from Jeremy Peña, Thornton allowed only one extra-base hit the rest of his outing.
“Good hitters over there,” Thornton said of the long at-bats. “They’re pesky, pesky at-bats — just trying my hardest to throw good put-away pitches, and they’re hitting them.”
He finished with six hits and a pair of earned runs allowed, while striking out five batters and walking none. His ERA across his first 11 MLB starts dipped to 2.93. He even added an extra fist pump after striking out Jose Altuve to end the fifth.
Mets pitcher Jefry Yan (84) reacts in the seventh inning of the Mets and Houston Astros baseball game at Citi Field on Sunday, August 30, 2026. Bill Kostroun/New York PostMets pitcher Zac Thornton (49) delivers the ball in the second inning of the Mets and Houston Astros baseball game at Citi Field on Sunday, August 30, 2026. Bill Kostroun/New York Post
Pintaro allowed Yainer Diaz to double with two outs in the sixth inning before LaMonte Wade Jr. crushed a pinch-hit two-run homer to give Houston a 4-3 lead. In the next frame, Yan loaded the bases with one out via a walk, infield single and hit-by-pitch, but he still managed to induce a grounder toward Young.
After Young stepped on first base for a force out, his throw sailed over the head of catcher Francisco Alvarez for his fifth error of the season. Green said he thought that play was handled correctly from a decision-making standpoint, just not from an execution standpoint.
The Mets couldn’t generate a response in the innings that followed, either. Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto launched back-to-back homers in the first inning — the fifth time in franchise history the Mets have started a game with consecutive home runs — to erase the damage from Peña’s leadoff blast and give the Mets a temporary lead. Bo Bichette followed with a single, but they managed just two hits the rest of the game.
And then everything unraveled once the bullpen took over.
Mets pitcher Jonathan Pintaro (91) waits for a new ball as Houston Astros pinch hitter LaMonte Wade Jr. (31) rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run in the sixth inning at Citi Field on Sunday, August 30, 2026. Bill Kostroun/New York Post
“Felt like a grindy outing — really gutsy,” Green said of Thornton. “Never felt as quite as sharp as he is sometimes, but when you look up and you say that about a guy and it’s five innings and two runs, you can’t help but be pleased that he’s got a way to fight through that outing and to do that.”
On July 6, 2025, the rain tarp covers the infield before a Chicago Cubs-St. Louis Cardinals game at Wrigley Field, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The Cincinnati Reds are set to wrap their weekend series in Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday night. They’re even going to have Joey Votto in the building as an on-field analyst seeing as the game is being carried nationally on both NBC and Peacock as the featured Sunday Night Baseball game of the week.
Unfortunately, it appears the game won’t be starting on-time at 7:20 PM ET.
As veteran ESPN reporter Jesse Rogers relayed shortly after 6:40 PM ET, the game’s going to be delayed due to rain in the Chicago area.
Just how long we’ll have to wait before Shota Imanaga throws the game’s first pitch remains to be seen.
What also becomes interesting is what impact this will have on Reds starter Chase Burns. He was already expected to begin seeing his total pitch counts reduced as a way of managing the load of getting through the entire season as a starter, and obviously having to stay warm for longer before even beginning the game could mean his already expected-to-be short night could end up even shorter.
According to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon, the game will start at 7:45 PM ET.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 30: Zac Thornton #49 of the New York Mets throws against the Houston Astros during the third inning at Citi Field on August 30, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Caean Couto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Mets struggled in multiple facets again in their loss to the Astros 6-3. Despite a decent outing from Zac Thornton, the Mets’ bullpen could not hang on to the fragile lead they were given, and the offense had no response.
On his third pitch in the first inning, Thornton gave up a lead-off home run to Jeremy Peña. After striking out the next two hitters, Thornton allowed a single to Jose Altuve on a line drive into center field, but recovered when Christian Walker grounded into a force out for the third out. The Mets punched back quickly against Astros’ rookie pitcher Ethan Pecko. Francisco Lindor led off with a home run on a full count, and Juan Soto followed with another dinger on the first pitch he saw. With no outs recorded, Bo Bichette smacked a ground ball into right field for a single. Unfortunately, the next three Mets batters went down in order to set the tone for the rest of the game. Nevertheless, after the first inning, the score was Mets 2, Astros 1.
With one out in the top of the second inning, Thornton hit Yainer Diaz with a pitch. After another out, Nick Allen bunted so softly that it took a minute for Marcus Semien to get to the ball and throw to first. By the time he did, Allen was safe, as was Diaz at second. Peña followed with an RBI single into center field that scored Diaz and moved Allen to third base. Fortunately, Yordan Alvarez flied out to mitigate the damage with the game tied. The Mets had no answers in the bottom of the inning, and the score remained 2-2.
Despite allowing a single to Walker at the top of the third, Thornton kept the Astros’ hitters from scoring again. At the top of the fourth, the Astros’ hitters continued to drive up Thornton’s pitch count, and with two outs, Allen drove a double into the left-field corner. Peña came to the plate next, but fortunately this time he grounded out to Lindor at short. Thornton worked a 1-2-3 fifth inning, which was his last.
The Mets’ offense was quiet for several innings until A.J. Ewing walked in the bottom of the fifth. He stole second base, and when Diaz’s throw bounced past Peña, Ewing advanced to third as well. Marcus Semien walked to bring up Luis Torrens. Torrens grounded into a double play for the first two outs, but Ewing scored. Francisco Lindor grounded out to end the fifth inning, but the Mets were ahead 3-2.
Jonathan Pintaro replaced Thornton at the top of the sixth inning. After allowing a two-out double to right field from Diaz, Pintaro gave up a 2-run home run to pinch-hitter LaMonte Wade Jr, also in right field. Allen looped a single into center field after the homer to keep the rally going briefly, until Peña struck out to end the half. At the bottom of the sixth, Bichette smacked a double into center field for the Mets’ first hit since the first inning. However, the Mets’ lineup could not find any other momentum, and the inning ended with an Astros’ lead, 4-3.
At the top of the seventh, Jefry Yan came in to pitch. After the first out, he issued a four-pitch walk to Isaac Paredes, then allowed a single to Altuve by deflecting a comebacker off his glove. Yan followed this up by hitting Walker with a pitch to load the bases. Daulton Varsho grounded out to first base, but Paredes scored on the play. Jared Young’s subsequent throw to home was very wide, allowing Altuve and Walker to score as well. Diaz struck out for the third out, but the score was now Astros 6, Mets 3.
Austin Warren replaced Yan at the top of the eighth and retired the batters in order. With one out, Soto and Bichette both walked at the bottom of the eighth. The Astros opted to swap Bryan Abreu for Steven Okert, a lefty, on the mound at this point. The gambit worked when Okert retired Carson Benge to strand the runners and end the eighth-inning threat.
Chris Devenski pitched the ninth inning for the Mets and worked a 1-2-3 inning as well against his former team. After a delay to work on the mound, Josh Hader retired the first two batters he saw. Ewing doubled on a line drive to center field, but Semien flied out to end the game with an Astros win, 6-3.
The Mets travel to St. Petersburg to start a new series against the Tampa Bay Rays tomorrow. Robert Stock will face Ian Seymour, and first pitch is scheduled for 6:40 PM.
Big Mets winner: Bo Bichette, 12% WPA Big Mets loser: Jonathan Pintaro, -28% WPA Mets pitchers: -38% WPA Mets hitters: -12% WPA Teh aw3s0mest play: Francisco Lindor’s home run, +10.5% WPA Teh sux0rest play: LaMonte Wade Jr 2-run home run, -31.8% WPA
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 30: Dustin May #21 of the Milwaukee Brewers hands the ball to manager Pat Murphy #00 as he is removed from the game against the Texas Rangers in the fifth inning at American Family Field on August 30, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Although the Brewers struck first in this one, they weren’t able to hold on for the sweep. Milwaukee dropped Sunday’s series finale with the Rangers by a score of 7-4 as Dustin May continued to struggle with his command and the Brewers’ offense couldn’t generate enough firepower to overcome the deficit.
May opened the top of the first by striking out Joc Pederson, but Corey Seager singled on the first pitch he saw to give the Rangers a runner on first. May got Wyatt Langford to pop out to first baseman Jake Bauers for the second out, but couldn’t get Brandon Nimmo for the third, walking him to put two on with two out.
Up next was Ezequiel Duran, who swung at the first pitch — a cutter down the middle — and hit a line drive into right field that fell harmlessly into the glove of Sal Frelick for the third out.
In the bottom of the first, the Brewers immediately mounted a rally of their own against Rangers starter Kumar Rocker. Brice Turang began the frame by taking a batter pitch clock violation, then worked an eight-pitch walk. Rocker couldn’t retire Garrett Mitchell, either, as Mitchell lined a low fastball into left field for a single. Up next was Jake Bauers, who ripped a hard ground ball into right field to score Turang, followed by Jackson Chourio, who singled into left to score Mitchell.
With runners on first and second and still nobody out, Rocker managed to bear down and retire Christian Yelich, Gary Sánchez, and Sal Frelick to escape the inning with only two runs allowed. Milwaukee wouldn’t be able to hold the lead for long, however. With two outs in the second, May allowed back-to-back doubles, the second a ground-rule double off the bat of Elias Díaz, to bring the Rangers within a run. In the third, he allowed a solo homer to Duran that tied the game at two.
Rocker ended up keeping the Brewers scoreless for the rest of his start, but that isn’t saying much. After getting rocked in the first — ultimately needing 35 pitches just to get back into the dugout — he was only able to make it through three innings. Rocker did rack up seven strikeouts, but he also walked four batters and was already sitting at 86 pitches by the time his afternoon was over.
Despite allowing a second double to Díaz in the fourth, May kept the game tied going into the fifth, when he would ultimately lose his command. He walked Corey Seager on five pitches, two of them not even close, then walked Wyatt Langford on seven. Even with May clearly looking like he was starting to fall apart, Brewers manager Pat Murphy elected to leave him in the game with Duran coming to the plate to see if he could escape the jam.
He couldn’t. May hung a sweeper above the zone, and Duran crushed it for a ground-rule double, already the Rangers’ second of the game. Both Seager and Langford scored to give Texas a 4-2 lead, one it wouldn’t relinquish.
Texas would go on to tack on three more insurance runs against the Brewers’ bullpen thanks to a Pederson homer off Grant Anderson in the sixth and a pair of run-scoring singles off Bryse Wilson in the seventh.
After Rocker’s exit, a collection of relievers — Alexander, Adam Macko, Jordan Montgomery, Jakob Junis, and closer Jacob Latz — combined to hold the Brewers to just three hits over the rest of the game.
Milwaukee did get two runs back in the bottom of the seventh thanks to Gary Sánchez’s 200th career home run, but that would be it for the Brewers’ offense, bringing the game to its final score: Rangers 7, Brewers 4.
Even after today’s loss, the Brewers still take two out of three from the Rangers and retain the best record in baseball. They’ll now head down to Chicago for a four-game set against the division-rival Cubs. Kyle Harrison is set to go for tomorrow’s series opener, while the Cubs have yet to announce a starter.
The final score will be an enormous talking point and understandably so. In a rivalry like Yankees-Red Sox, 16-1 sticks out, especially in the finale of a series with a tie-breaker at stake.
But some less-heralded news for the Yanks Sunday afternoon, beyond their rout, beyond the best outing of the year from Will Warren, might be how their right-handed hitters fared in a game started by a premier left-hander. It’s no secret the Yankees craved righty help at the trade deadline and, with Aaron Judge still on the mend now, it’s fair to wonder if there’s some pinstriped vulnerability against lefties.
For one day, at least, the Yankees provided a thunderous answer. They had five right-handed hitters in the lineup against Ranger Suarez, Boston’s $130-million lefty, and each one got something done. No one had a bigger hit than Heliot Ramos, who had been a disappointment since the Yankees acquired him from the Giants for two prospects as their righty deadline bat.
Ramos smashed a three-run homer in the fifth inning off Suarez, a laser into the left-field seats that turned a 2-0 game into 5-0. It was his first home run as a Yankee and 10th overall this season. He fairly flew around the bases, pounding his chest, and delivered several stinging high-fives to teammates in celebration once he crossed the plate.
“I mean, I thought he was going to do a cartwheel around third, so we definitely sensed it meant something,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “But it was a big blow.”
“It was super,” said Ramos, who entered the game batting .119 as a Yankee with a .461 OPS and one RBI in 20 games. “Super. Obviously, emotional. I’m an emotional guy. I’m always showing what I got in my heart. So it feels really good to produce for this team, to be a part of this team, to get things done and just, like, feel like I have my teammates’ back.
“Obviously, everybody was hyped for me. They know I needed this. They know how hard I've been working every day, just in the gym, just in the cages, trying to figure it out, trying to get my groove back.”
Ramos wasn’t the only one who thrived Sunday. Overall, the five Yankee righties who played – Ramos, Paul Goldschmidt, Amed Rosario, José Caballero and Ali Sánchez – combined to go 10-for-16 (.625) with 10 RBI, three homers and seven runs. Sánchez, the backup catcher, made his mark with a fifth-inning sac bunt that helped the Yanks score their first two runs.
The Yankees have had good success when lefties start against them this year – they are 31-18 in such games now and won two of the three games started by lefties in this series – but not having Judge’s right-handed thump as lineup bedrock has seen some of their hitting numbers backslide against southpaws.
With most of their best hitters, beyond Judge, are left-handed – Ben Rice, Luis Garcia Jr., Cody Bellinger – it’d be nice to have another righty weapon against, say, Payton Tolle in a potential Yanks-Sox playoff series. Or versus Shane McClanahan if the Yanks met Tampa Bay.
We’ll see what Ramos’ role will be a month from now and how he fits when Judge returns. His job now is to keep hitting.
He got off to a poor start with the Yankees, in part, Boone seemed to say, because the Yankees went through a long stretch of games started by opposing righties. “You’re coming to a new team, (Bellinger) on the IL and not the greatest matchups, day in and day out,” Boone said.
“It's really good to see him leave the yard,” Caballero said. “We've been messing with him a lot since he got here. He hadn't had his first Yankee homer, and he did (it) in a big series, a big moment.”
Recently, Ramos has gotten on base more – he was 2-for-2 with two walks Sunday and has reached base safely in eight of his last 12 plate appearances.
“I'm here, and I know I can do it on the big stage,” Ramos said. “I can help this team, and that's all I want to show. I know the type of player that I can be, and I just want to keep getting good at bats.
“Just keep showing it.”
He admitted he doesn’t know if he’ll remember much from his happy trip around the bases. “Honestly, blacked out,” he said. “But as soon as I hit it, I was like, ‘Oh, my God! I needed that.’”
You could say the same thing about the Yankees and the win. It gave them the season series over the Red Sox and the tie-breaker against their rivals, should that need arise. Not owning the tie-breaker last year against Toronto was crucial, you might remember, so this was a big day.
Especially for Ramos, who delivered the biggest blow in a game in which the Yanks scored their season-high in runs and their most against Boston at the Stadium since 1954.
WASHINGTON — Otto Lopez’s two run homer capped a six-run ninth inning and the Miami Marlins rallied past the Washington Nationals 6-2 on Sunday.
Esteury Ruiz bunted for a hit leading off the ninth against Max Kranick (0-1), Griffin Conine and Leo Jiménez each walked, and Tom Cosgrove replaced Max Kranick and hit Jakob Marsee to force in a run.
Joe Mack hit a sac-fly to center, bringing Conine across to tie the game. As Andrew Pinckney threw wildly to third trying to get Jiménez, the ball went into the dugout and Jiménez advanced to make it 3-2.
Heriberto Hernández walked, Marsee stole home on a double steal and Lopez hit a 400-foot homer into the Marlins bullpen to push the lead to 6-2.
Marlins starter Janson Junk allowed a run on four hits in 4 2/3 innings of work, and Dax Fulton (1-0) picked up his first career win.
Jorbit Vivas had two hits and two walks for the Nationals. CJ Abrams, making his first start at second base with the Nats, had a leaping catch on a line drive in the sixth.
Miami second baseman Xavier Edwards left the game with left elbow and left thumb discomfort following a collision with Vivas on a tag play during a steal attempt in the fifth. Edwards said after the game he was feeling better but will have imaging done on his left thumb on Monday.
The Nationals took a 1-0 lead after Nasim Nuñez hit an RBI double in the fifth. Daylen Lile made it 2-0 in the eighth on a sac-fly.
Washington’s Andrew Alvarez allowed two hits, walked three and struck out six in six-plus innings.
Yeah, yeah, Zebby Matthews is on the other team. But if you retire the first 17 and almost complete the game, you rate a photo op. | Getty Images
Other than the first inning Friday night, the White Sox had mostly been dependent on big help from the Twins to score runs this series, and this time the Twins forgot to help.
Particularly unhelpful was Zebby Matthews, who retired the first 17 Sox and only needed 89 pitches to get through the first eight innings, only losing his prospective Maddux when he went past 100 pitches in the ninth. There were a few moderately well-hit balls, none harder than 101 mph, but the perfect game was broken up in the sixth inning by a 78 mph Drew Romo bloop after only the second time Matthews had thrown three balls. That was followed by a 70 mph Sam Antonacci-sliced double, and would have meant White Sox runs had Matthews not done some fancy fumble recovery on Tristan Peters leadoff dribbler:
The first solid hit for the Sox was a 105 mph line shot by Peters (who else?) in the eighth.
In the bottom half, the Sox got their best play of the game, courtesy of Miguel Vargas:
Matthews would lose the shutout when Antonacci and Vargas singled in the ninth (Vargas running his on-base streak to 16, though his consecutive games with a walk ended at 10, one short of the team record) and Antonacci scored on a Braden Montgomery single off reliever Jeff Hoffman. But the slumping Colson Montgomery popped up to end the game, and that was that.
Colson was also a key to how the Twins got a big lead, though his misplay won’t show up in the records. That’s because in the first inning he threw a double play relay about a bazillion feet wide of first. You can’t anticipate a double play, of course, so on the books that was just a force out because the runner didn’t advance. But had the play been properly made an ensuing walk, Josh Bell single and and Trevor Larnach double wouldn’t have existed to bring in three runs.
The Twins added single runs in the third and seventh, the latter on a Luke Keaschall homer off José Urquidy, who otherwise pitched well and long enough (five innings, three hits, just the one run) to save the bullpen for the big upcoming series in Houston. That makes Urquidy’s Sox pattern terrible game, great game (vs. the Cubs!), terrible game, pretty darned good game — the good ones on the even-numbered appearances. They just have to figure out how to skip Uriquidy’s fifth time out and skip right to the sixth.
The Sox record is now 72-64, and with Cleveland walloping the Royals, the lead is back to the 3 1/2 games it was before the weekend series began, with the magic number sticking at 23. It’s now on to Houston for four games, Anthony Kay on the mound against Peter Lambert in the first one on Monday night.
The Mets (61-76) were bested in the team's series finale against the Houston Astros (69-68), their third straight series loss.
Here are the takeaways...
-- It was a battle of rookie pitchers between New York's lefty Zac Thornton and Houston's righty Ethan Pecko.
-- Astros star shortstop Jeremy Peña led off the game with a 435-foot home run. The Mets offense responded in kind during the bottom half of the first inning, when Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto socked back-to-back solo shots to take a 2-1 lead. Peña tied the game back at two apiece in the second inning with a single up the middle to score catcher Yainer Diaz, who reached base earlier in the inning after being plunked by Thornton.
-- After a leadoff walk in the bottom half of the fifth, A.J. Ewing stole second base after getting Pecko to burn both of his mound disengagements. Diaz's throw was wide of the bag and skittered into center field, allowing Ewing to move up to third. Marcus Semien walked to put runners on the corners, but catcher Luis Torrens grounded into a double play to kill the relay while scoring Ewing to retake the lead for the Mets, 3-2.
-- Thornton was sharp in his 11th career start, striking out five, walking one, and allowing two earned runs on six hits across five full innings and 97 pitches. Now through 61.1 innings, he sports a 2.93 ERA and 1.16 WHIP.
-- Facing right-handed reliever Jonathan Pintaro with a man on second basein the sixth, Astros lefty Lamonte Wade Jr. stepped to the plate as a pinch hitter and cranked a two-run homer to take the lead back. Bo Bichette laced a one-out double down the left-field line in the bottom half of the frame, but he was stranded there and the score remained 4-3.
-- Left-handed reliever Jefry Yan worked the Mets into trouble in the seventh inning. With one out and the bases loaded, Daulton Varsho hit a ground ball to first base. Jared Young stepped on the bag for the force out, but his throw to the plate sailed well over the head of Torrens, and two Astros runners scored as a result of the error, extending their lead to 6-3.
-- With two men on base and two outs away in the eighth, Carson Benge popped out as he represented the tying run in the last big chance. Astros closer Josh Hader surrendered a two-out double to A.J. Ewing, who really needed that as he laced it 104.3 mph off the bat into the right-center gap, en route to securing a scoreless ninth for his 21st save of the season.
Game MVP: Lamonte Wade Jr.
Wade's third pinch-hit home run of his career was the turning point in the ballgame, giving the Astros a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
The Mets will travel to Tampa Bay to take on the Rays on Monday, Aug. 31 at 6:40 p.m.
For the Mets, Robert Stock (7.40 ERA, 1.94 WHIP in 20.2 IP) will take the mound. The Rays are slated to send out southpaw starter Ian Seymour (4.21 ERA, 1.15 WHIP in 107.0 IP)
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 30: Ezequiel Duran #20 of the Texas Rangers hits a solo home run against the Milwaukee Brewers in the third inning at American Family Field on August 30, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Texas Rangers scored seven runs while the Milwaukee Brewers scored four runs.
Today’s game started with the Rangers failing to score on an opportunity with RISP in the top of the first inning and then Kumar Rocker allowing the first four Brewers to reach in Milwaukee’s half as the Rangers trailed 2-0 after the first frame for a third consecutive game in this series.
By this point, the gulf between the Rangers and Brewers felt so apparent that you would have been forgiven if you just tuned out and assumed the Rangers would lose and be swept. Instead, Texas showed a little resolve and, after a two-out rally from the bottom of the order, scored a run in the top of the second. An inning later, Ezequiel Duran’s 15th home run of the year tied the game.
A couple of innings after that, in the top of the fifth, it was Duran again who delivered with a two-run ground-rule double to give Texas their first lead of the weekend.
Meanwhile, there was only enough bullets for two more innings from Rocker after his usual first inning struggles. On the plus side, Rocker kept the Brewers off the board after the first four batters while the Rangers were rallying. However, it took 86 pitches for Rocker to complete his three innings, which meant the bullpen was in for a heavy workload.
Luckily, piecing together relief worked out. Tyler Alexander handled a couple of scoreless innings. Adam Macko contributed a scoreless frame. Jordan Montgomery was touched up for a two-run home run, but Jacob Junis and Jacob Latz nailed down the win.
The reason the home run off Montgomery wasn’t devastating was because the Rangers kept adding to their total with Joc Pederson hitting a solo home run in the sixth and Jake Burger and Cody Freeman driving in a couple of extra insurance runs on a pair RBI singles in the seventh.
Are the Rangers now better than the Brewers? No. Did the Rangers have a pretty miserable road trip against a couple of first place squads? Yes. Could the Rangers somehow still make the playoffs? Apparently so.
I’m mostly just glad I got to see the Rangers fight their way back from a poor start against a good team with a well-played game of baseball. Sometimes it doesn’t have to be any deeper than that.
Player of the Game: Surely no one would have believed coming into this season that Duran would become Texas’ best player but for better (the Solution’s ascension) or worse (the players above him in the pecking order being injured or disappointing or both), here we are.
Today Duran drove in three of the Rangers’ seven runs with one of them erasing another early deficit and the others acting as the big go-ahead blow in a comeback win. If there was one regular for the Rangers who looked like he could hang with the Brewers this weekend, it was Duran, and his efforts today was a primary reason for Texas avoiding a sweep.
Up Next: The Rangers head back home to open up a series against the Athletics. RHP Jacob deGrom is expected to take the mound for Texas opposite LHP Gage Jump for not-Oakland.
The August finale first pitch from The Shed is scheduled for 7:05 pm CDT and will be telecast via the Rangers Sports Network.
DETROIT — The first time he came to the plate Sunday afternoon, Teoscar Hernández epitomized everything that has been wrong with the Dodgers’ offense lately.
The following two trips up after that, however, the previously slumping veteran slugger injected the team –– and his season –– with some much-needed, long-awaited life.
In the Dodgers’ 6-1 win over the Tigers on Sunday, Hernández followed up the game’s ugliest at-bat (a three-pitch strikeout in the second inning in which he twice chased low curveballs from Framber Valdez) with the afternoon’s two most important swings.
Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernandez celebrates in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run against the Detroit Tigers in the sixth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan, on Sunday, August 30, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
In the fourth, he was in another two-strike hole before singling on a low sinker back up the middle, allowing Freddie Freeman to go from first to third and eventually open the scoring on Miguel Rojas’ sacrifice fly later in the inning.
Then, in the sixth, Hernández jolted the Dodgers’ offense awake with a tiebreaking two-run home run to deep left-center, jumping on an elevated changeup from Valdez for his first long ball since Aug. 3 and only the second of the team’s entire six-game, Atlanta-Detroit road trip.
“Especially when you’re not having good moments in a while,” Hernández said, “it feels really nice.”
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernández, right, scores a run as Kyle Tucker looks on after a wild pitch by Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Tanner Rainey during the eighth inning of a baseball game on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, in Detroit. AP Photo/Jose Juarez
Granted, the Dodgers’ offense is still far from fixed. Sunday was the first time since Aug. 10 they’d scored more than five runs in a game not played at Coors Field; and even then, they needed two run-scoring wild pitches in a three-run eighth inning to get there.
The team’s overall play also remains subpar; too overly reliant on dominant starting pitching performances, such as the seven-inning, one-run gem Tyler Glasnow produced Sunday, to keep pace in the race for a top-two National League playoff seed (they were tied with the Braves at the end of Sunday’s win).
Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, August 30, 2026, in Detroit. AP Photo/Jose Juarez
After all, the Dodgers not only need to win games more consistently now but also decide how much they can trust their recently underperforming core ahead of the postseason.
“With most of our guys, they have a track record, and that’s pretty telling,” manager Dave Roberts said pregame. “But then the question is, who are [still those] guys right now versus what they’ve been [in the past]?”
During his 22-game homer drought, he had batted under .200 and recorded twice as many strikeouts (28) as hits (14). Going back to his return from a hamstring strain in late June, his OPS was under .600 and his spot in the batting order had routinely dropped to as low as eighth.
With September call-ups looming next week, Hernández seemed like a candidate to potentially lose playing time, especially with the Dodgers likely to summon a left-handed bat from their minor-league ranks.
While the team recognized his clutch October history, it also needed to see performances like Sunday’s, too.
“Not to say that he’s lost confidence,” Roberts said, “but it makes you feel better to contribute to a win.”
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts watches the game during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, August 30, 2026, in Detroit. AP Photo/Jose Juarez
Hernández was not alone in that boat.
Everyone from Mookie Betts to Tommy Edman to Kiké Hernández and Kyle Tucker — not to even mention Shohei Ohtani and his 5-for-40 showing over the last 10 games — had been going through glaring struggles at the plate lately, too.
That’s part of what had made the club’s offensive slump so difficult to manage and resolve, despite the team’s growing urgency to finally find solutions, as Roberts described this week.
He said he had considered tinkering with his lineup construction, and making perhaps more profound changes to the distribution of playing time for some of his bigger stars.
But, this is also largely the same group that has won consecutive World Series for the franchise, including last year after battling through a similar second-half lull.
Thus, Roberts had settled on some middle ground entering Sunday’s rubber match at Comerica Park — waiting for something “to kind of spur” the offense, while also looking “at what I can do to help spur that, too.”
On this day, that meant showing patience with the core of his roster, and trusting someone like Hernández could supply a needed lift.
“We know we’re gonna be fine. Everybody goes through struggles. It happens to be for us right now,” Hernández said. “But today was a good day just to reflect on what we need to do, so we can continue to do the same thing [moving forward].”
SPLITTING THE DIFFERENCE: This is the 22nd of the Cubs’ 45 series in which they have split the first two games. There was no third game after one series. The Cubs were 9-11 in third games of the others, including 6-6 after losing, then winning. At home, they are 2-5 overall and 1-4 after winning, then losing. The lone win was vs. the Twins on July 19. They have lost to the Yankees and Tigers since then. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
LIGHTING UP: Tonight’s game will be the first of five in a row under the lights at Wrigley Field. The Cubs have played five straight night games at home, without a road trip in between, three times before: June 4-8, 2017 (3-2): won vs. Cardinals; won, won and lost vs. Marlins; lost vs. Rockies; Sept. 15-20, 2020 (3-2): won twice vs. Guardians; after day off, won, lost and lost vs. Twins; April 18-22, 2022 (1-4): won, lost and lost vs. Rays; lost twice vs. Pirates. So this will be the first time the Cubs have played five in a row in two series vs. National League opponents. Before 2017, the longest such streak had been four games, Sept. 12-15, 2005 (1-3): lost, won and lost vs. Reds; lost vs. Cardinals. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
LIKE NIGHT AND DAY: The Cubs are 46-29 in night games this season. They finished 49-38 last year. They are 18-12 at home under the lights this year. They wound up 21-11 a year ago. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
RUNS ON THE BOARD: The Cubs scored in six of the eight innings in which they batted yesterday. They had done that twice before this season. They also scored in six of nine twice. Their four innings with three runs each were the most of the same “crooked number” they have scored in any game this season. They scored two runs three times in three games. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: In a crazy game at Wrigley, the Cubs go down 6-1 to the Dodgers in the top of the third. They tie it up with a five-run third, two of the runs scoring on wild pitches by Tommy John. The game goes to extras tied 8-8, and the Cubs walk it off 9-8 on a home run by Jim Hickman in the 11th. It happened 54 years ago today, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 1972.
As you know, Shōta Imanaga really struggled in his last start last Sunday in Seattle, throwing 72 pitches and allowing five hits and two walks in just two innings. Fortunately, Craig Counsell got him out of there and the Cubs won the game.
Imanaga had a 2.67 ERA and 1.099 WHIP in 12 starts prior to that, covering 67.1 innings, including 10 strikeouts against the White Sox Aug. 17 at Wrigley Field. So let’s hope last Sunday was a one-off and he’ll be hack to that tonight.
Chase Burns was the Reds’ No. 1 pick (second overall) in 2024 out of Wake Forest, and he’s been Cincinnati’s best starter all year. He’s been a bit shakier recently, allowing five runs in two of his last four starts.
He has not faced the Cubs this year. His only career appearance against them was 1.1 scoreless innings of relief Sept. 20, 2025 in Cincinnati.
Burns throws hard. Cubs hitters often have trouble with guys like this. Hopefully today is better.
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The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.
You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).
At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.
The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.
You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
Aug 30, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernandez (37) celebrates at home plate with first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) after hitting a two-run home run against the Detroit Tigers in the sixth inning at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The start of Sunday’s game was delayed 58 minutes by rain, and the Dodgers offense was delayed by two months of mediocre hitting. But they scratched together enough to end a dismal road trip on a relatively high note, beating the Tigers 6-1 at Comerica Park to secure a series win in Detroit.
Freddie Freeman and Miguel Rojas were instrumental in the Dodgers’ first two scoring chances in the series finale. A Freeman walk and Rojas double put two runners in scoring position in the second inning, but Michael Tucker and Kiké Hernández each struck out to strand them. In the fourth inning, Freeman and Teoscar Hernández singled, putting runners on the corners, then a Rojas sacrifice fly gave the Dodgers a run.
It was the first time the Dodgers scored first in a game since last Sunday against the Pirates.
The sixth inning brought another Freeman hit, this time his 579th career double that moved him into sole possession of 24th place all-time, followed by Teoscar Hernández unloading on a pitch for his first home run in 27 days, snapping an 80-plate-appearance drought.
The Dodgers’ first multi-run inning since Wednesday in Atlanta gave the Dodgers another lead.
The eighth inning was almost unrecognizable, as the Dodgers just kept putting people on base and added something called — I had to look this up — “insurance runs.” Sure, two of them scored on wild pitches, but beggars can’t be choosers, and the Dodgers will take the runs wherever they can get them.
Tyler Glasnow was magnificent in his second start back, pitching on four days rest and was sharper than on Tuesday in Atlanta. He retired his first nine Tigers on Sunday and his last 10, completing seven innings with six strikeouts.
In between the Tigers strung together two singles in the fourth inning, with a wild pitch in between that allowed a run to score. Those were the only two hits against Glasnow, who also walked a batter.
As bad as the offense as been, the final four games of the road trip brought hope, as the Dodgers started all four of their projected playoff starting pitchers — Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell, and Glasnow (before considering when or if Shohei Ohtani might be available to pitch), and as a team allowed only five runs over the last four games.
Yes, the Dodgers were only 2-2 in those games and that’s a problem. But if they get any sort of offense to back this pitching staff, that’s their path to success in October. But for now, they’ll take a win to close out a ho-hum August.
The Dodgers are off on Monday before starting a nine-game homestand. First up is the St. Louis Cardinals, beginning Tuesday night (7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA) with Eric Lauer on the mound for Los Angeles.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 26: A general view of Wrigley Field with American flag and 150th anniversary banner prior to the matchup between the Chicago Cubs and the Washington Nationals on March 26, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Daniel Bartel/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images) | Getty Images
We know what Chase Burns has done for the Cincinnati Reds so far in 2026. He owns a stellar 14-3 record on the season, and even though pitcher win/loss is a mostly meaningless stat, it’s telling given just how bad the Reds have been more often than not this season. He has pitched to a 2.77 ERA across 25 starts, and the 139.2 IP he has logged so far is already a career high.
What we don’t know is just how much more the Reds plan on letting him show this year.
Burns hinted after his most recent start – perhaps his worst outing of the year on the road in San Francisco – that the club would likely begin to carve off some innings at the end of his starts that he’d have otherwise pitched through. The plan is not to shut him down for good, not to move him to the bullpen, and not to really ‘skip’ him in the rotation; rather, we might just see him tasked with chucking 75-80 pitches every fifth day instead of 95-100.
Our first real chance to see that plan develop will be everyone’s, as that comes on Sunday Night Baseball under the bright lights of a national audience in Chicago as the Reds and Cubs wrap their series in Wrigley. Despite being absolutely obliterated on Saturday, the Reds can still actually walk away with a series victory if Burns & Co. can fly their own W this evening.
First pitch is slated for 7:20 PM ET, and you’ll be able to view it on either NBC or streaming via Peacock.
Here’s how the Reds will line up behing Burns, including rookie Edwin Arroyo getting his first career big league start at the hot corner:
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - AUGUST 28: Teoscar Hernández #37 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates scoring a run in the eighth inning with Mookie Betts #50 while playing the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on August 28, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Tigers were in this one as long as their pitching held up, and that lasted about six innings. A good start from Framber Valdez got a bit spoiled at the end, and then the bullpen fell apart in the late innings. More to the point, the Tigers managed just two hits on the day. The offense’s slump is now about three weeks old after a great run from June 1 into early August.
The rubber match of this series featured Framber Valdez taking on Tyler Glasnow after the Dodgers decided against pitching Shohei Ohtani. The greatest player in the game, probably of all-time, is dealing with right biceps soreness and some knee issues, and it’s shown in his production at the plate recently as well as keeping him off the mound. The game was delayed about an hour due to light, but steady rain throughout the region.
Things started well for the Tigers when they finally peeled the tarp off the field. The top of the first saw Valdez racked up three quick ground outs of Shohei Ohtani, Tommy Edman, and Mookie Betts in an eight-pitch first inning.
Tyler Glasnow doesn’t throw quite as hard as his peak seasons, but it’s still a pretty great fastball. Gleyber Torres, Colt Keith, playing first base again with Spencer Torkelson on the bench, and Kevin McGonigle grounded out in quick succession in the bottom half.
The second started less auspiciously, as Valdez got ahead of Freddie Freeman 0-2, and then missed with four straight, though one probably could have been challenged by Dillon Dingler. The lefty bounced back by carving up Teoscar Hernandez on three pitches, whiffing him on a curveball down, but Miguel Rojas yanked a curveball into the left field corner for a double. Freeman held at third, but the situation wasn’t great. In a 2-2 count, Valdez doubled up on curveballs, and while Kyle Tucker appeared to check his swing, the third base umpire disagreed and rang him up. So it was up to Enrique Hernandez. Valdez spotted two good sinkers at the bottom of the zone to get ahead 0-2 and then dusted him with another one that was right down the middle to escape the jam and keep the Dodgers off the board.
Glasnow locked up Dingler with a good curveball for the first out of the bottom half. Brett Callahan grounded out to second, and while Zach McKinstry put up a better battle, he punched out to end the inning.
Ben Rortvedt flew out to open the third. Ohtani, who has done nothing in this series, finally hit a ball hard, but it was straight to Keith at first for the second out. Dingler challenged a first pitch to Edman that was called a ball and got that changed to a strike, and he grounded out to Javy Báez at shortstop. The Tigers went in order in the bottom of the third, with Max Clark hammering a ball to center that Hernandez ran down.
In the fourth, Valdez got Betts for the first out, but single from Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez followed. Rojas lifted a sacrifice fly to McKinstry in right field to plate Freeman, and it was 1-0 Dodgers. Tucker’s misery continued with a ground out to end the inning.
With a run on the board, things loosened up a bit. Gleyber Torres led off the bottom half with a single to center. A wild pitch advanced him to second, but Keith struck out swinging. McGonigle was up next, however, and he battled through a long at-bat and then drilled a one-hopper into left center field for a single to score Torres and tie the game 1-1. That knock was McGonigle’s 140th on the year, passing Al Kaline’s rookie mark.
Glasnow isn’t the quickest guy to the plate, and McGonigle tried to take advantage but was cut down by Rortvedt trying to steal second. Dingler drew a walk, but Callahan lifted a fly out to left to end the inning.
Valdez whiffed Enrique Hernandez with another good curveball to start the fifth, but Rortvedt lined a single to center as the lineup turned over. The lefty got ahead of Ohtani, and then fired a pitch that was classified as a 90.7 mph sinker up and in to get the whiff, but it looked like a changeup with late drop that tied the superstar into knots. Edman grounded out to end the inning.
Glasnow buzzsawed through the Tigers in a 1-2-3 bottom half.
Valdez was creeping toward 80 pitches as the sixth got underway, but he was throwing a heck of a game to that point. After a lengthy duel, he popped up Betts and Keith made the play. A 1-2 curveball down and in to Freeman was smoked down the right field line for a double. The Tigers were warming the bullpen with Tyler Kinley up as Teoscar Hernandez dug into the batter’s box. Unfortunately, Valdez left a changeup well up in the zone, and it got mashed to left for a two-run homer. 3-1 Dodgers.
Valdez got Rojas and Tucker, but the damage was done. He finished his outing at 105 pitches, but at the end of what could have been a really good outing, one bad pitch spoiled the start to a degree.
Báez and Torres grounded out in the bottom half as Glasnow continued to cruise for the most part. Colt Keith hammered a drive to right at 108 mph off the bat, but it was right to Tucker for the final out.
Tyler Kinley took over in the eighth for his second outing since the Tigers claimed him off waivers from the Braves last week. Enrique Hernandez greeted him with a solid single. Rortvedt tried to move him to second, but whiffed and Hernandez was leaning way off of first base and Dingler backpicked him. Kinley locked up Rortvedt with a curveball for the second out and Ohtani grounded out to first.
McGonigle was up first in the bottom half against Glasnow, who was still short of 80 pitches and looking very good. The star rookie lined out to left to start the frame. Dingler hit one hard as well, but right out to Enrique Hernandez in center. Callahan bit on an 0-1 curveball, and then grounded a fourseamer to Edman to end the inning.
Tanner Rainey was up next for the Tigers, and he got Edman to start the eighth. Mookie Betts, however, got a 3-1 fastball on the inner third and pulled it to left for a one-out double. Rainey then fell behind to Freeman as well and walked him. He dialed up 99 mph against Teoscar Hernandez, but was still wild. Dingler tried to backpick an aggressive Betts at second, but Torres whiffed on a poor throw and allowed both baserunners to advance. Rainey then drilled Hernandez to load the bases, and things were going off the rails.
Dave Roberts sent Max Muncy to hit for Rojas, looking for a big hit to put this one away. Rainey bounced an 0-1 slider that squirted away from Dingler, and Betts scored from third as everyone moved up 90 feet. Muncy pulled an RBI single through the right side, and now it was 4-1 Dodgers. This is the story on Rainey. He’s always had the stuff, but the 33-year-old has always had miserable command.
Rainey missed with two more pitches to Tucker and then fired one way wild that scored Teoscar. And then he walked Tucker too. That was finally the end of his day as Tigers fans let their displeasure be known. Kyle Finnegan took over and punched out two to mercifully end the inning. 6-1 Dodgers.
Kyle Hurt took over in the eighth for the Dodgers. Zach McKinstry banged a grounder up the middle but Mookie Betts made a great play to retire him for the first out. The right-hander fell behind against Hao-Yu Lee and eventually walked him. Max Clark got ahead in the count, but Hurt worked back even and whiffed him on a good changeup down, and Báez bounced out to Betts to send us to the ninth.
Jacob Waguespack took over for the Tigers, facing Ohtani to start the inning. Shohei watched a well located 2-2 heater down and away in the zone for strike three. Edman spanked one to left center field but Max Clark easily ran it down right before the warning track. Betts lined out to Callahan in left, and it was last call.
Seth Halvorsen and his triple digit gas took over to close this out for the Dodgers. Torres popped out. Keith grounded out. McGonigle flew out to center field, and the Dodgers had a 2-1 series victory. The Dodgers pitch really well and have a talented, deep bullpen, but even so the Tigers scored just four runs in the three-game series.
The Tigers head out to Minnesota to start a series with the Twins on Monday night. They’ll finish the week with a set in Cleveland, starting with a doubleheader on Friday.
