Category: Baseball

When Tarik Skubal last took the mound at Dodger Stadium, he did so for the first time as a Cy Young winner for the Tigers in the Dodgers’ home opener back in 2025. That wasn’t one of Skubal’s finest moments, allowing four runs in just five innings in what turned out to be a one-run loss against the reigning champs, and here he is, now on the other side. When Skubal was traded to the Dodgers at the deadline, the term embarrassment of riches never felt so appropriate, yet his immediate role is one not many envisioned for the standout lefty.

As you might see being the case with other big-name acquisitions at the deadline, Skubal is now being asked to put an end to the Dodgers’ worst form in the 2026 campaign—having lost eight out of their last nine games—dropping series against the Red Sox, Cubs, and Diamondbacks. It’s relevant to point out those specific teams not only for their quality but also that each of them is in the middle of very productive stretches.

However difficult to come by, wins have been as of late; it wouldn’t be easy to handpick a more appealing outlook than to have your most talented starting pitcher at home against a team that finished the month of July getting swept by the Colorado Rockies—one of four in the big leagues with already 70 or more losses.

If there is something to be wary about in this Monday matchup, it is that while the Royals may not be in top form, their starter Noah Cameron is. The talented left-hander who finished last season in the top 5 for the AL Rookie of the Year voting has completed eight innings in back-to-back starts and has allowed just one run and five hits over his last 23 frames. Struggling against left-handers has been a common theme for the Dodgers as of late, hoping to change that at home.

Monday’s game info

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

The Dodgers have combined a seemingly endless war chest with cutting edge analysis to identify a roster of talent that has helped them become a dynasty, including another title last year. But although they have the fourth-best record in baseball going into this series, they have gone into a slide, losing eight of their last nine games.

Kansas City Royals (49—70) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (70-48) at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA

Royals: 4.13 runs scored/game (24th in MLB), 5.07 runs allowed/game (27th)

Dodgers: 5.01 runs scored/game (4th), 3.84 runs allowed/game (5th)

Who’s hot:

• Shohei Ohtani is hitting .301/.365/.602 with 8 HR in his last 26 games.
• Jac Caglianone is hiting .378 with four home runs in his last 11 games.

Who’s not:

• Tommy Edman is mired in a 4-for-38 (.105) slump over his last ten games.
• Kyle Isbel is just 2-for-16 (.125) since coming off the Injured List.

Interesting matchups:

• Teoscar Hernandez is 6-for-11 (.545) with two home runs against Michael Wacha.
• Salvador Perez is 12-for-42 (.286) with four home runs and no walks against Tarik Skubal

Tarik Skubal makes his first start at Dodger Stadium since he was acquired from the Tigers. He is 5-9 with a 3.86 ERA in 19 games against the Royals in his career. Blake Snell returns to make his first start since mid-May when he had elbow surgery. The Dodgers have not yet announced a starter for Wednesday, but Lauer started last week against the Cubs, giving up six runs and 11 hits in four innings.

Edwin Diaz has blown the lead in each of his last two outings, and has given up five runs in four innings since coming off the Injured List. Only three teams in baseball have fewer blown saves than Dodgers relievers.

This is just the fourth time the Royals have visited Dodger Stadium, and they have only won two games there in nine tries. The Dodgers may be vulnerable right now, but seeing the Royals on the schedule may be just what they need to get back on track. The Royals will try to cobble together a pitching staff to face one of the top lineups in baseball, and pray they catch the Dodgers on an off-night.

What a quirk of the MLB schedule: the Braves wrap up a seven-game homestand, go to New York to face the Yankees, then immediately pop back to start a six-game homestand, which begins with the other New York team. Yeesh. To make it slightly sillier, the Braves just visited the Mets before that seven-game homestand began.

At 52-67 despite the season’s highest payroll, the Mets are… the Mets. That said, they’re not playing terribly right now: 5-3 in August, and 7-7 in the post-All Star Break portion of July, which included a series win over the Braves. For the season, the Mets have largely been marred by being the Mets, rather than anything else. They have the league’s third-biggest xwOBA underperformance and its fourth-biggest FIP underperformance. Put those together and it’s hard to avoid a miserable season, even if your team is in the top in, say, both xwOBA and xFIP-. What’s “changed” since the All-Star Break is a smaller-sample reversal of fortune — the Mets have a massive xwOBA overperformance and are outperforming both their FIP and xFIP. So, y’know, stuff to be aware of in the back of your noggin. The Braves are 4-6 against the Mets coming into this series, so they’ll need to sweep ‘em to avoid losing the season series to them for the first time since 2017.

On the hill to potentially aid in that endeavor will be Bryce Elder, who brings an 88 ERA-, 108 FIP-, and 99 xFIP- (1.3 fWAR in 126 2/3 innings) to the proverbial table. Elder is in the midst of a silly run over his last four starts, as he’s allowed four homers and has a 45/121/105 line in that span — the Braves have won three of those games. Overall, Elder’s season has been about inconsistent as his game-to-game slider command. He started out pitching well, but the summer saw a decrease in performance with an especially-large uptick in the rate of homers yielded. One of those clunkers came in his only start against the Mets this year, which was one of his worst: a 2/2 K/BB ratio and two homers allowed in four innings, with the Braves getting blown out.

A random fact: Elder hasn’t had a start with an ERA, FIP, and xFIP below 4.00 since May 16… though in terms of ERA, FIP, and xFIP each, he’s had six, three, and four starts below that mark, respectively, since that May 16 date.

Opposing Elder for the Mets will be Christian Scott, who is having a nice season at 71/81/89 (1.7 fWAR in just 74 1/3 innings). He’s been consistently strong all year aside from a disastrous season debut. The Braves did rough him up a bit in early July (two homers, a 7/4 K/BB ratio in four innings), but he dominated them a couple of weeks ago in New York (7/1 K/BB ratio in six innings), only for the Mets to lose that game as the Braves avoided a sweep behind Chris Sale. Scott has struck out five or more batters in eight straight starts, and hasn’t allowed a homer in his last five outings. In fact, of the seven homers hit off him all season, six came in a three-game stretch.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Monday, August 10, 7:15 p.m. EDT

Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA

TV/Streaming: BravesVision

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan, La Mejor 1600/1460/1130 AM

The two youngest players on the San Diego Padres roster are playing their best baseball when it means the most for the Friars.

Center fielder Jackson Merrill, 23, and right-handed reliever Bradgley Rodriguez, 22, are significantly younger than any other player, even rookie outfielder Jase Bowen, who is 25.

Merrill broke onto the roster in 2024 after impressing Padres coaches and players with his play during Spring Training. He was drafted in 2021 as the Padres’ first-round pick and spent three seasons working from the ACL Padres through the A and Double-A teams.

Invited to 2024 Spring Training camp as a shortstop, the toolsy then-19-year-old switched from the infield to the outfield at the start of camp without any previous pro experience playing in center. 

Making it look easy, Merrill was the starting center fielder on the opening day of the season. 

Rodriguez was signed out of Venezuela in 2021 as an 18-year-old. He injured his elbow in 2022 and did not play again until late in the 2023 season with the Venezuelan Winter League. He started 2024 in Single-A Lake Elsinore and finished the season with High-A Fort Wayne.

Rodriguez was invited to Spring Training in 2025 but started the regular season with Double-A San Antonio. He had two call-ups to San Diego during that season, making seven appearances for a 1.17 ERA.

Both Merrill and Rodriguez had short minor league careers. Merrill played in 202 games as a Padres prospect while Rodriguez appeared in 89 games and 123.3 innings over three seasons.

Jackson Merrill has early success

In his 2024 rookie season, Merrill played in 156 games with a .292 average and .826 OPS. He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting and was an All-Star in his first season. He was NL Rookie of the Month twice during the year. 

In his sophomore season, Merrill started well but suffered a hamstring strain in early April and missed almost a month due to the injury. In his first game back, Merrill suffered a concussion sliding into second base and went back on the injured list under the concussion protocol.

After spending a month and a half on the IL, Merrill was activated on June 22. 

The next two months allowed the center fielder to get back into the rhythm of the season, and then he suffered a sprained ankle and went back on the injured list on Aug. 23. Merrill returned on Sept. 1, finishing the season healthy.

For the year, Merrill played in 115 games around the three injuries. He didn’t have any sustained success; it wasn’t a quality test to determine if he would fall victim to a sophomore slump.

To begin the 2026 season, Merrill struggled through the first three-plus months, chasing pitches outside the zone, missing pitches in the zone, and exceeding his previous whiff and strikeout percentages. He looked the picture of a player experiencing said sophomore slump.

When the calendar changed to July, Merrill turned his season around.

Hitting .300/.330/.530, Merrill hit two doubles, seven homers and had 17 RBI. For the first eight games of August, Merrill is hitting .344/.382/.625 with a double, a triple, a home run and 10 RBI. He is chasing less often, striking out less and making hard contact. 

Merrill also has 23 stolen bases in 25 attempts.

In the Aug. 8 Padres daily newsletter, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported the 1.087 OPS accumulated by Merrill since July 19. During that time, he has 18 RBI and has scored 15 runs, the fifth-highest total in MLB.

Merrill is showing that his rookie season was not a fluke.

Bradgley Rodriguez is a budding star

During his 2025 season, Rodriguez also spent some time on the injured list. He made his debut in May with the Padres for one game then was sent back to the minors. From July to mid-September, Rodriguez had to be placed on the IL on July 9 and was activated on Aug. 22. After only three weeks back on the El Paso roster, Rodriguez was called up to the Padres for the second time. This time he pitched in six games, allowing one earned run over seven appearances in total.

Rodriguez had a 1.17 ERA for San Diego and a 3.19 ERA in 36.2 innings for El Paso and Double-A San Antonio. The most he has pitched as a pro is 61.1 innings in 2024. Between the minors and San Diego last year, he totaled 43.2 innings.

In 2026, Rodriguez has a 2.29 ERA in 51 innings pitched with 53 strikeouts to 16 walks. He began the season in lower-leverage spots and has been advanced to high-leverage situations, especially since the loss of both Jason Adam and Jeremiah Estrada to injury at times.

He has also pitched in multi-inning situations but it does appear that the Padres would prefer to protect him from the extended outings we have seen from both Adrion Morejón and Mason Miller.

In 2025, Rodriguez featured a fastball that averaged 98 mph, a sinker, a changeup and a cutter. He had an excellent 29% K rate but didn’t pitch enough with the Padres to qualify for league stats. 

In 2026, Rodriguez features his changeup 43% of the time, contrasting with his fastball that tops out at almost 101 mph (25%). He throws his 98 mph sinker 24% of the time and has a slider instead of a cutter (8%). He misses bats, gets lots of ground balls, and is in the 74 and 77 percentile in whiff and K rates in MLB.

In July, FanGraphs picked Rodriguez as the reliever to watch in the Padres bullpen. With his age and repertoire, Michael Baumann of FanGraphs is excited for his future.

Of the pitchers in the Padres pen, Jason Adam and Adrián Morejón are slated to reach free agency after the season. Morejon would be a huge loss and all Padres fans should hope the organization can figure out a way to extend him. 

Bradgley Rodriguez has already shown that he has what it takes to take his place as a valuable member of the bullpen.

For all the talk of the Dodgers ruining competitive balance in baseball, they’ve been neither competitive nor balanced of late. Their losing ways continued on the road last week, getting swept by the Chicago Cubs then losing two of three to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The only win in six games last week came after somehow escaping an impossible situation in the ninth inning on Saturday.

Bad baseball has been on display for a while now.

Batter of the week

Kyle Tucker has been a much better player on the road this season (19 extra-base hits, 131 wRC+), doing almost nothing at Dodger Stadium (13 extra-base hits, 73 wRC+). So it stands to reason he’d stand out during the road trip. Tucker homered twice, including a go-ahead shot in the eighth inning on Saturday, and tripled in a run on Sunday too.

Pitcher of the week

For the first time since May, Yoshinobu Yamamoto didn’t complete six innings, but he did hold the Diamondbacks scoreless for 5 2/3 frames, another solid start in a season full of them. Yamamoto this season has allowed three or fewer runs in 18 of 21 starts and has given up two or fewer 14 times.

Week 20 results

1-5 record
19 runs scored (3.17 per game)
31 runs allowed (5.17 per game)
.290 pythagorean win percentage

Year to date

70-48 record
591 runs scored (5.01 per game)
453 runs allowed (3.84 per game)
.619 pythagorean win percentage (73-45)

Miscellany

Never stop backstopping: For the second year in a row, the Dodgers lost both Will Smith and Dalton Rushing and had to turn to Ben Rortvedt. They also turned to fellow old friend Hunter Feduccia, trading for both catchers on Monday. By Wednesday, both Rortvedt and Feduccia started behind the plate for the Dodgers. They joined Eliezer Alfonzo and Chuckie Robinson, making this the second year since moving to Los Angeles that they’ve used six catchers in a season, along with 1976. This is the first year six different catchers have started for the Dodgers since World War II. In 1945, Mike Sandlock, Jon Dantonio, Johnny Peacock, Mickey Owen, Stan Andrews, Clyde Sukeforth, and Ray Hayworth all started behind the plate for Brooklyn.

Fill this out in triplicate: Edwin Díaz blew two saves in his two games pitched in Arizona, but somehow Saturday he escaped certain death after allowing two triples to open the ninth inning. Tying run was in and the winning run was 90 feet away with nobody out. Díaz stranded Corbin Carroll and the Dodgers won in the 10th. Díaz is the first Dodgers reliever to allow two triples since Ricky Trlicek in 1993, the first two allow back-to-back triples since Howie Reed in 1964, and the first such Dodgers reliever to earn a win after giving up two triples since George Jeffcoat for Brooklyn in 1936.

Last week messed around without a triple, double: The first five games of the road trip featured 41 hits but the Dodgers, but was all singles (33) and home runs (eight). A double by Andy Pages in the third inning on Sunday in Phoenix snapped a string of five straight games by the Dodgers without a double or triple, their longest such streak since August 22-26, 1990.

Transactions

Monday: Old friend Ben Rortvedt became a current friend again, acquired from the Mets for recently DFA’d pitcher Chayce McDermott.

Monday: Dodgers got pitcher Kris Bubic — currently working his way back from shoulder soreness and on the 60-day IL — from the Royals for Carlos Durán.

Monday: Hunter Feducciajoined the catcher reunion party, acquired with minor league pitcher Jacob Kmatz (now with Double-A Tulsa) from the Rays for minor league outfielder Jack Suwinski and $250,000 of international bonus pool space.

Monday: Dalton Rushing was placed on the injured list, and he might not catch for a while since he has a torn UCL. Word is still out on when he might be available as an extra lefty hitter. Emmet Sheehan was optioned after a bad start. Catcher Chuckie Robinson was called up for a day, and Jonathan Hernández added an extra arm in the bullpen. Tarik Skubal was activated and Wyatt Mills was designated for assignment.

Monday: Cole Irvin, who was designated for assignment on August 1, cleared waivers and was sent outright to OKC.

Tuesday: Rortvedt and Feduccia were each added to the active roster. Eliezer Alfonzo was optioned and Robinson was designated for assignment.

Thursday: Mills was claimed off waivers by the Washington Nationals.

Friday: Robinson cleared waivers and was sent outright to Oklahoma City.

Game results

• Monday: Cubs 10, Dodgers 5
• Tuesday: Cubs 5, Dodgers 1
• Wednesday: Cubs 7, Dodgers 6
• Friday: D-backs 4, Dodgers 3
• Saturday: Dodgers 2, D-backs 1 (10 innings)
• Sunday: D-backs 4, Dodgers 2

Player	PA	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BA/OBP/SLG
Tucker	24	5	8	0	2	3	.364/.417/.727
Rojas	6	1	3	0	0	0	.500/.500/.500
Ohtani	26	3	7	0	2	4	.292/.346/542
Pages	25	2	7	1	1	2	.304/.360/.478
Alfonzo	3	0	1	0	0	0	.333/.333/.333
Feduccia	9	1	2	0	0	0	.250/.333/.250
Betts	24	2	5	0	0	0	.227/.292/.227
Rortvedt	4	0	1	0	0	0	.250/.250/.250
T.Hernández	19	1	3	0	1	1	.158/.158/.316
Muncy	16	1	1	0	1	3	.071/.188/.286
Edman	24	1	4	0	1	4	.167/.167/.292
Freeman	23	1	4	0	0	1	.182/.217/.182
K.Hernández	9	1	1	0	0	0	.125/.222/.125
Call	3	0	0	0	0	0	.000/.333/.000
Totals	215	19	47	1	8	18	234/.284/.368

Pitcher	Record	IP	H	R	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
Yamamoto	0-0	5.7	3	0	3	6	0.00	1.059
Skubal	0-1	6	4	2	2	6	3.00	1.000
Sasaki	0-0	6	4	2	1	5	3.00	0.833
Wrobleski	0-2	7.7	13	11	6	7	11.74	2.478
Lauer	0-1	4	11	6	0	1	13.50	2.750
Hernández	0-0	4.7	1	0	0	3	0.00	0.214
Phillips	0-0	2.1	2	0	0	2	0.00	0.857
Scott	0-0	2	2	0	3	3	0.00	2.500
Dreyer	0-0, Sv	1.2	1	0	0	2	0.00	0.600
Hurt	0-0	3	3	1	2	3	3.00	1.667
Henriquez	0-0	3.7	3	3	3	7	7.36	1.636
Vesia	0-0	1.7	2	2	2	1	10.80	2.400
Díaz	1-1	2	5	4	3	3	18.00	4.000
Totals	1-5	50.3	54	31	25	49	5.36	1.570

Previous reviews: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11| Week 12 | Week 13 | no reviews for Weeks 14-15 | Week 16 | Week 17 | Week 18 | Week 19

Up next

The Dodgers are back home to run the Kevin Seitzer gauntlet, hosting the Royals and Brewers at Dodger Stadium. Blake Snell makes his return from the injured list on Tuesday.

Mon, 8/10	Tue, 8/11	Wed, 8/12	Thu, 8/13	Fri, 8/14	Sat, 8/15	Sun, 8/16
Royals	Royals	Royals	Brewers	Brewers	Brewers	Brewers
7:10	7:10	7:10	7:10	7:10	4:15	1:10
Skubal	Snell	Lauer	Sasaki	Yamamoto	Wrobleski	Skubal
Cameron*	Wacha	Lynch*	Drohan*	Gasser*	Misiorowski	Henderson
SNLA	SNLA	SNLA	SNLA	SNLA	Fox	SNLA

Neil Leibman, who has been part of the business side of the Texas Rangers organization since 2010, “will step down from his position with the club to focus on other business opportunities, effective immediately,” per a story in the DMN that addresses this announcement this morning. Leibman, who was part of the ownership group headed by Bob Simpson and Ray Davis that purchased the Rangers from Tom Hicks, will still retain his ownership interest in the team.

Leibman has held a number of roles with the organization, including being the team’s COO and president of business operations in the past. He had been the chairman for Rangers Sports Media & Entertainment Company, which is the entity dealing with the Rangers’ television broadcasts since those rights returned to the Rangers amidst the Bally Sports bankruptcy. I’m not entirely sure what his portfolio consisted of prior to his departure, aside from overseeing the television broadcast entities, as both the Grant article and Leibman’s bio on the Rangers’ website are not clear on that front.

Leibman has an ownership interest in BZZR, the entity that is now handling the streaming of Rangers games, but that is, per the announcement, not connected to his departure.

There is something happening in the National League MVP race. For the first time in what feels like recorded history Shohei Ohtani isn’t the betting favorite to win the award. While there is still a lot of season left, the man who is arguably still the best player in the world looks like he will fail to win an MVP award for the first time since 2022 and only the second time this decade.

To be completely fair, this has almost nothing to do with Ohtani. The Dodgers do-everything superstar is having a great season. He is leading the N.L. in OPS and OPS+ while sporting a 1.79 ERA and .946 ERA. Looking at the full picture of his career this is far from a step back in his surefire Hall of Fame career. But an injury suffered in early July has kept him off the mound for more than a month and may prevent him from pitching again until the postseason. For now the Dodgers will just have to settle for him being an outrageously elite hitter.

But with that tiniest of cracks, a new contender has emerged. Pete Crow-Armstrong, the 24-year old centerfielder for the Chicago Cubs, is having a career year. The All-Star has an MLB-leading 7.5 WAR and will almost certainly reach the 30/30 mark again this season (needing only four more home runs, he could do it this week) with the 40/40 club still an outside possibility. But like Ohtani, PCA isn’t in poll-position for MVP just because of his work at the plate. He is an elite outfielder. He set the record this season for most five-star outfield catches, a stat counting each time an outfielder makes a catch with a 25% or worse catch probability. The defending Gold Glove winner will likely win his second award this season.

What Ohtani and Crow-Armstrong are doing is nothing short of historic. There are other players who would be in the MVP conversation in a normal season, including Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber who leads the N.L. in home runs and Milwaukee Brewers ace pitcher Jacob Misiorowski who looks like a lock for Cy Young.

In this week’s Reacts question, we want to know who you think will actually win the award this year? Will PCA pull it off and take the crown or will the weight of Ohtani’s excellence hold court? Be on the lookout for results to this and all Reacts surveys later this week.

As I watch the Guardians slide down the W-L column, my drive to write these gets smaller. However, these are the times when focusing on the positives is most important! So somehow, some way, I’ve dug up three positive moments from the week that was.

Genao Makes Immediate Impact

Called up to make his Major League debut on August 5th, Angel Genao has already been making a huge impact at the plate – literally and figuratively. In just five games, he is hitting .368/.429/.526 with a home run and a walk. This includes his very first game in which he became the first player in franchise history with four hits in his debut. While the rest of the team hasn’t quite been there to pick him up, he hasn’t let that get to him and is continuing to produce every time he steps up to the plate. Yes, it’s only been five games, but it’s clear that the kid has talent and has worked hard to get to Cleveland. He could be a key contributor in getting this team to the postseason.

Trades Galore

When last week’s positives came out, I wrote about the team’s acquisition of Craig Yoho and Blake Perkins. Little did I know, that was not the only big move the Guardians would make prior to Monday’s trade deadline. After the Yoho/Perkins trade, the Guardians received outfielder Jo Adell from the Los Angeles Angels for catching prospect Jacob Cozart. Think they’d be done after that? You’d be wrong. They then traded Juan Brito and Alejandro Rivera to the Cincinnati Reds for Nathaniel Lowe. To round out the day, the team said goodbye to Will Dion, Josh Hartle, Nick Mitchell, and Kendeglys Virguez to make room for pitcher Foster Griffin from the Washington Nationals (imagine the shock that came with the “Griffin to Cleveland” notification). While we have yet to see many positive effects from these trades, it’s still very exciting to have some new faces on the team without having to give many up.

Messick Continues to Impress

In just his second season (first full season) Parker Messick has been lights out. A 2.72 ERA across 23 starts has been exactly what this team has needed in Tanner Bibee’s up-and-down season. He has struck out 136 hitters across 136.2 innings and has gone six or more innings nine times this season. With a bullpen as rocky as the 2026 Guardians’, this is a much-needed statistic. Here’s hoping he can continue to go late into games as the season progresses, especially if he is needed in a playoff situation.

According to Spencer Nusbaum, LHP Jackson Kent will be making his MLB debut this week. Kent has had a very strong season which saw him promoted from Double-A, and now the southpaw will get his second promotion of the year. The 23 year old is the top left handed pitcher in the Nats system according to MLB Pipeline and Baseball America.

The Nationals will promote lefty Jackson Kent for his MLB debut this week, per sources.

Jarlin Susana is also headed to High-A Wilmington and will pitch in an MiLB game for the first time in 11 months, per source.

More on two of the org’s top arms: https://t.co/oDJAxk4fVQ

— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) August 10, 2026

Kent is not the most exciting pitching prospect in the world, but he projects to be in a big league rotation for a long time. While he does not light up the radar gun, Kent has enough velocity to keep hitters honest, sitting in the 93-95 MPH range. However, his best pitch is a nasty changeup that generates whiffs over 40% of the time. He sells it really well out of the hand and consistently fools hitters.

Honestly, Kent’s profile is a lot like Jake Bennett’s. As we know by now, Bennett was traded to the Red Sox in a deal that sent back Luis Perales. With Bennett having a lot of success as a rookie, this deal has been relitigated a lot these past couple months. Kent has a chance to make fans forget about Bennett though.

He has a polished four pitch mix, with a slider and curveball to go with the fastball/changeup combo. Kent has also shown very solid command in the minors throughout his minor league career. The 2024 4th rounder has walked 2.82 batters per 9 since entering pro ball. 

For a guy with solid but not elite stuff, Kent has also been quite the strikeout artist. This season he has 105 strikeouts in 94.1 innings. Between his deceptive delivery, the nasty changeup and having enough juice on his heater, Kent can really rack up the strikeouts when he is on his game.

Jackson Kent is going to be a very, very fun Nats debut

A lefty starting pitcher who has a high K and ground ball rate

Should stick in the rotation for the future https://t.co/Q4ddGQltYepic.twitter.com/OxWeF11g9u

— Kev (@klwoodjr) August 10, 2026

However, one problem I have noticed with Kent is that when he is off his game, it can get really ugly. That is a big reason why his ERA in Triple-A is an unspectacular 4.38. In his 13 AAA starts, he has allowed 5 or more runs three times. On the flip side, he has also gone at least five innings while allowing 2 or fewer runs 7 times in AAA.

When you have average stuff, it can be tough to survive when you are not executing. However, as Kent gains more experience, I do think he will limit those blowup starts. Kent’s ability to get whiffs, limit hard contact and keep the ball on the ground are all traits that should give him a long big league career.

Last month, I wrote about how I wanted to see Kent in the big leagues rather than veterans such as Littell and Mikolas. A month later, Kent is taking Littell’s spot in the rotation. Even if there are bumps along the way, it will be more interesting at the very least.

With vets like Mikolas and Littell under performing, I would like to see the Nats insert some fresh blood and give Jackson Kent a shot at some point https://t.co/FZmq0Gk0zL

— federalbaseball (@federalbaseball) July 19, 2026

Kent may not have top of the rotation upside, but his ceiling is much higher than Littell. A mid-90’s heater and a nasty changeup from the left side is an exciting package. The former high school football player from Illinois is going to get his shot at the big leagues. Hopefully the lefty brings that same bulldog mentality to the mound this week.

For a while, Kent got overshadowed by other pitchers in the organization. However, he beat most of those guys to the big leagues and is now a true top 10 prospect in the system. He is a meat and potatoes middle of the rotation arm, but there is plenty of value in that. I am excited to see the Nats top left handed pitching prospect on the mound in the big leagues.

Every series this time of the year is important, but even more so for the St. Louis Cardinals as they prepare to host the Philadelphia Phillies who currently possess the final Wild Card spot in the National League that the Cardinals are chasing.

Here are the pitching matchups according to MLB.com:

Monday, August 10: Andrew Painter (RHP 1-8, 6.48 PCL, 63 SO) vs Hunter Dobbins (RHP 2-2, 3.60 PCL, 36 SO)

Tuesday, August 11: Cristopher Sánchez (LHP 15-4, 2.65 ERA, 174 SO) vs Andre Pallante (RHP 12-6, 3.63 ERA, 90 SO)

Wednesday, August 12: Zack Wheeler (RHP 10-3, 2.69 ERA, 132 SO) vs Kyle Leahy (RHP 8-4, 3.45 ERA, 99 SO)

Andrew Painter is 1-8 for the season and winless in his past 3 starts. His most recent outing was on August 5 vs the Nationals where he tossed 4 innings allowing 3 hits and 1 earned run in a no-decision. Cristopher Sánchez has been dominant with a 15-4 record including 3 wins in his last 3 starts including August 6 vs the Nationals where he completed 5 innings allowing 6 hits and 2 earned runs with 6 strikeouts in the victory. Zack Wheeler is 10-3, but no victories in his past 3 starts. His last appearance against the Blue Jays was interesting as he was accused by the Blue Jays of using an illegal delivery.

Who are the Philadelphia Phillies players to watch?

Kyle Schwarber – Currently leads the Phillies with 35 home runs, 68 RBI’s and a .247 average

Bryce Harper – Bryce is tops in RBI’s with 71 along with 25 home runs and a .256 average

Trea Turner – Currently has 17 home runs, 47 RBI’s with a .249 average

Brandon Marsh – Marsh has 16 home runs, 52 RBI’s with a .274 average

Who’s on the Philadelphia Phillies injured list?

Tanner Banks (LHP): 60-day IL with a left forearm strain.

Brad Keller (RHP): 60-day IL recovering from right elbow UCL surgery.

Johan Rojas (OF): 60-day IL after undergoing season-ending right elbow UCL surgery.

Rafael Marchán (C): 10-day IL with left knee patellar tendinitis.

Aaron Nola (RHP): Day-to-day with a right knee contusion after being struck by a comebacker, though X-rays were negative and he hopes to avoid an IL stint.

Andrew Painter (RHP): Day-to-day due to left hamstring tightness, but expected to make his Monday start vs the Cardinals

Derek Hill (OF): Day-to-day with a shoulder issue

There’s no way to overemphasize how crucial this 3-game series vs the Phillies is for St. Louis if the Cardinals have any aspirations at post-season play this season. Going into Sunday play, the Cardinals trail the Phillies by 3.5 games for the final NL Wild Card spot with the Padres and Marlins also ahead of St. Louis. The Phillies are 5-5 in their last 10 games going into Sunday and the same can be said for the Cardinals. St. Louis needs to take advantage of Painter’s start Monday as he’s returning from hamstring issues. Winning Monday night’s game before the tougher pitching matchups on Tuesday and Wednesday is essential. Anything less than at least a series victory vs the Phillies will make any Wild Card hopes an even bigger uphill battle.

The Jays start a four-game series against the Red Sox tonight and then three games with the Yankees, all at home. So it is a tough week. Of course they play the Rays and Yankees on the road next week, so it doesn’t get easier.

Starting Pitchers:

• Today: Sonny Gray (14-2, 2.78) vs. Jameson Taillon (2-6, 5.96).
• Tuesday: Patrick Sandoval (1-0, 3.38) vs. Dylan Cease (7-5, 2.28).
• Wednesday: Ranger Suarez (4-3, 3.32) vs. José Soriano (9-6, 3.24).
• Thursday (an afternoon game, 3:00 Eastern): Payton Tolle (7-6, 3.20) vs. Max Scherzer (1-4, 7.25).

I’d think the Jays would need to, at very least, split the series to continue to think they could make the final Wild Card spot, but 3 of 4 would be better.

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Trey Yesavage talks to a doctor about his knee today. I don’t want to guess what is going on, but I would think that he’s either going to need to rest it for a bit, or there will be surgery. If surgery, I doubt he’ll be back this year.

He’s had some bad luck, this year, missing some time at the start of the season. He’s started 18 games. Hopefully, all the injury stuff will get out of his system this year and he’ll have a long healthy career from here on out.

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Here’s a stat I wasn’t ready for this season:

Clutch* leaders since 2020 via @fangraphs…#BlueJays Andres Gimenez: 6.19
Bryson Stott: 4.83
Joc Pederson: 4.58
Alex Verdugo: 4.54
Jorge Polanco: 4.09

*how much better or worse a player does in high leverage situations than he would have done in a context neutral environment pic.twitter.com/h6uRGa9pkA

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) August 10, 2026

I tend not to think of these things as an ‘ability’. I mean, if you could hit great, why would you not do it all the time. Andres has a .238/.281/.363 batting line. If you can turn it on and off, I’d think you’d want to have a little more space between your numbers and the Mendoza Line. But then, keep it up Andres and, you know, if you would like to hit better with bases empty too, I’m all for that.

Career he is some better with RISP (.756 OPS) than his career numbers (.691) but then most guys are some better with RISP..

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Johnny King is a step closer to the majors, the Jays moved him up to the Fisher Cats (he’s just turned 20). In Vancouver he had a 3.21 ERA with 50 walks, 112 strikeouts in 84 innings.

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The Blue Jays posted this picture of Max Scherzer and Steve Carlton together. Max is 10th all-time in strikeouts, Carlton 4th. Together they have 7652 strikeouts.

7,652 Ks in this picture 🤯

Celebrating Steve Carlton (Number 4) and Max Scherzer (Number 10): Two of the top 10 strikeout leaders in @MLB history! pic.twitter.com/AB9DoRj8DM

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 10, 2026

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They haven’t all been wins, but the Jays games have been more fun to watch in the last week or so. Having the new guys to watch doesn’t hurt. One of my favorite things about baseball is watching young players come up to the majors. Bateman has a shot to show he deserves a chance to be the center fielder next year. Smith really looks like he can be a useful bat in the outfield. And I”m interested to see how Soriano and Taillon can do after they get some more time with Pete Walker.

It was long ago etched in the Red Reporter constitution that the writer of any particular article was encouraged – obligated, even – to cherry pick some stats to support their argument. Today, that’s no different, and the Cincinnati Reds once again got to wake up with the worst offense in all of Major League Baseball on Monday morning.

Their collective 90 wRC+ ranks last, ahead of (behind?) the Toronto Blue Jays (91) and Colorado Rockies (92). Similarly, they also rank dead last in OFF (Offensive Runs Above Average), a metric that combines their collective work at the plate and on the bases – they check in at a robustly negative -54.9 on the season.

If you cut the PA threshold for individual players at 170 for the season, you’ll find that the Reds have not only the worst hitter in the sport by wRC+ (Ke’Bryan Hayes at 12), they also have the two worst hitters in the sport as TJ Friedl ranks 2nd worst at 36. Noelvi Marte checks in with a mark of 52 that earns him spot #8 on that leaderboard, meaning the Reds account for three of the eight worst hitters in the sport among that robust 332 player sample.

Pair that with the poor grades that FanGraphs gives their overall team defense, and it’s unsurprising to find that their total 7.0 fWAR from position players is also the worst among the 30 MLB franchises so far this season. Only the lowly Rockies (7.3) rank anywhere close, while some of Cincinnati’s NL Central rivals rank 1st (Chicago Cubs, 26.4), 7th (Milwaukee Brewers, 16.8), and 8th (Pittsburgh Pirates, 15.7).

And if you’re still one of those baseball fans who doesn’t give a hoot about any of those stats, just know that their team batting average of .229 also ranks – you guessed it – as the lowest in the sport, too.

Frankly, it’s a wonder that the people in charge of building this roster still get the opportunity to do it again day after day.

It’d be wrong to say that the Pittsburgh Pirates’ collapse during the past couple of weeks is unprecedented because, let’s be honest. This particular franchise’s losing ways are almost always precedented. It has four winning seasons since 1992.

That reality doesn’t make the sudden fade from MLB postseason contention any less stunning after months of building legitimate buzz. 

Just 15 days ago, Fangraphs gave the Pirates 47.6% odds to qualify as a likely wild-card team. The path was crowded with National League foes such as the Washington Nationals, Miami Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres all within two games in the standings for the final NL wild-card spot. But manager Don Kelly’s club seemed set up to play meaningful games down the stretch. 

Required reading MLB wild card standings: Which teams hold final playoff spots?

As of Monday morning, that number has plummeted to 7.7% following four consecutive series losses to the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets. The Pirates are now four games under .500 and 5½ games back of the final playoff spot with five teams ahead of them in that race. 

All this despite GM Ben Cherington acting as a buyer for once at the MLB trade deadline, notably adding dominant reliever Luke Weaver in a trade with the Mets. 

Weaver has barely seen the mound. His only appearance since his Aug. 3 acquisition came Friday night with the Pirates trailing. He allowed a hit and a walk but kept a run from crossing in his debut, which became a 6-4 loss to his former team. 

Why 2012 still haunts Pirates

The slide is starting to become evocative of 2012, when fans awoke on Aug. 1 to their team sitting third in the National League overall with a 60-44 record. Then-GM Neal Huntington had just acquired reliever Chad Qualls, first baseman Gaby Sanchez and outfielder Travis Snider to make a postseason push. Spirits were high. 

By Aug. 15, they’d fallen to the second wild-card spot at 64-53. And by the end of the month, they were out of playoff position entirely. 

The swoon continued into September until manager Clint Hurdle’s club finished 79-83. It was Pittsburgh’s 20th consecutive losing season, which still stands as the longest such skid for any team in the NFL, NHL, NBA or MLB. 

The 2026 team didn’t start from quite as high a perch – it was just 54-52 before this tumble began in earnest. Still, the hope was that even that relative mediocrity would be enough in MLB’s expanded postseason bracket that includes seven teams in each league. 

No dice. The previously dangerous offense has scored two or fewer runs in seven of the 15 games since July 26 amid injuries to key contributors Ryan O’Hearn, Oneil Cruz and Konnor Griffin. And the pitching staff gave up at least four runs in five of seven games during the past week since the deadline. 

Reigning Cy Young winner Paul Skenes will make his latest attempt to right the proverbial ship Tuesday night in Miami, but it’s been months since he’s been a stopper consistently. The Pirates have lost 12 of his 15 starts since May 12. 

That will have to change if this team is going to get back into it and avoid that 2012 team’s fate. 

Either way, the good news from history for Pirates fans is that their two decades of nightmares ended the following year. Andrew McCutchen led the team to 94 wins, a memorable wild-card victory against the Cincinnati Reds and a hard-fought NLDS loss to the Cardinals in five games. 

Today’s club could use a similar shot in the arm. It hasn’t posted a winning season since 2018 and hasn’t appeared in the playoffs since 2015. 

Pirates playoff odds

Postseason odds per Fangraphs:

• Monday, July 27: 47.6%
• Monday, Aug. 10: 7.7%

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pirates' playoff odds are collapsing. It's bringing back memories of 2012.

After a quick jaunt up to the Bronx, the Atlanta Braves are now back at home to play the team from Queens again. Despite the fact that the New York Mets have been mired in the cellar for most of this season, they have continued to give the Braves fits and it’s to the point now where this can’t possibly be considered a “gimme” series for the Braves. It sure would be nice if they can take it but as we’ve seen before, it’s likely not going to be easy!

Meanwhile, the homestand will continue with the Braves welcoming in an Arizona Diamondbacks team that’s well and truly in the thick of the Wild Card race to the point where this could be a potential Postseason preview if the Braves don’t end up with the bye in October. There’s definitely a very interesting week ahead of the Braves.

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August 10-12: New York Mets

Current Record: 52-67 Projected Record (via FanGraphs): 74-88

Depending on your outlook, you’re either annoyed that this’ll be the final series of the season against the Mets or relieved that they won’t have an opportunity to trip up the Braves in September. Either way, the season series wraps up this week and the only way that the Braves can end up winning the season series is if they pull off a sweep this week.

A sweep sure would be lovely but at the same time, it doesn’t help matters that the Mets are actually on a nice run of form in recent days. They’re coming off of a successful road trip where they swept the Guardians (most of the AL is a hot mess) and then took a series over the Pirates (who are starting to fade, themselves), so the Mets are surely feeling pretty confident about their chances heading into this series. In fact, the Mets are actually a game over .500 since the break, so they’ve certainly began to figure things out a bit. It’s still much too late for their Postseason hopes but the team with the second-highest payroll in baseball has to have something to hang their hats on, right?

Anyways, the Mets will be sending the trio of Christian Scott, Nolan McLean and Zac Thornton to the mound this week in order to match up with Bryce Elder, Martín Pérez and Tyler Mahle, respectively. None of these pitchers have exactly dominated the Braves but they’ve been frustrating enough to where Atlanta has only one two of the five games that these guys have collectively started against them — with both wins coming in games that Christan Scott started. That hasn’t meant that things were easy street against Scott either — one of those wins was a 1-0 nailbiter. Even when the Braves do manage to knock these guys off, it’s tough.

As far as hitting goes, you’ll be “pleased” to hear that the Mets have also been hitting the ball pretty well lately. Since the last time these two locked horns, the Mets have collectively hit .251/.315/.430 with a 108 team wRC+. For comparison’s sake, the Braves have been hitting .254/.301/.474 with a 109 wRC+ since these two had their most recent encounter.

As usual, the names to watch are Francisco Lindor, Marcus Semien, Jared Young, Francisco Alvarez, Carson Benge and the sleep paralysis demon known as Bo Bichette. If the Braves can keep most of those guys quiet then they should be fine — or in typical Braves/Mets fashion, the Mets will probably absolutely clamp down on Atlanta’s lineup with their pitching and make it a moot point. It’s all on the table. Please win this series, Braves.

(P.S.: Jefry Yan is coming. He’s gonna throw serious heat and he’s going to do his little wacky celebration. Hopefully the Braves get hits off of him so we don’t have to see it against Atlanta but just be prepared for it! I think it’s hilarious but I can see how the traditionalists might be going on a rant this week. Let the guy celebrate.)

Monday, August 10 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision)
Tuesday, August 11 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision, Gray TV)
Wednesday, August 12 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision)

August 14-16: Arizona Diamondbacks

Current Record: 63-56 Projected Record: 85-77

Hoo boy, it’s been a hot minute since the Braves have seen the Diamondbacks. You have to go all the way back to early April in the third series of the season, which is when Atlanta went into the desert and claimed a split of a four-game series. It was the first sign that this was probably going to be a good team since it sure felt like Atlanta could’ve come away with more than just a split (and maybe even a sweep if things had bounced differently), so it sure felt like a good omen that the Braves would eventually go on the heater that they did to start the season — though nobody could’ve predicted the extended heater that helped propel the Braves into a massive lead in the NL East.

As far as the Diamondbacks go, they’ve played themselves into a pretty good spot to where they’re currently a game ahead of the Padres for a Wild Card spot and tied with the Phillies on win percentage when it comes to owning one of those wild card spots. They’re also very similar to the Phillies in multiple ways — they’re both 6-4 in their last 10 games, they both have paltry run differential numbers (the Diamondbacks are +5, the Phillies have a completely even run differential, amazingly), they’re both 60-59 in Expected Win/Loss record and they’re both under .500 against teams with winning records this season.

They’re both similar in that their hitting has been a bit underwhelming while their pitching staff has been keeping them alive for the most part. Brandon Pfaadt and Eduardo Rodriguez have been standout performers for the D-Backs so far since the break and they both played a big role in helping to keep the Dodgers quiet over this past weekend series. They’ll both likely be pitching against the Braves during this weekend’s series so the Braves will have to be prepared for some fierce competition from the mound once Arizona comes to town.

Despite pitching being this team’s calling card, the Dimaondbacks can still hit the ball. Nolan Arenado has been pretty productive since the All-Star break and he’s been joined by guys like Ildemaro Vargas, Geraldo Perdomo, Gabriel Moreno and Ryan Waldschmidt. It’s been a hot-and-cold season for Arizona at the plate during this season and right now it appears that they’re closer to the hot side than not.

The only other weird quirk right now is that Arizona’s essentially been spinning their wheels in the mud since the calendar flipped to August. Sure, they just got done beating the Dodgers over a three-game series but at the same time, they’ve alternated between a win and a loss for their past eight games. If the pattern holds up, they’ll drop a home series against the Rockies but then proceed to come to Atlanta and win this series. Hopefully the Braves will be able to break the pattern (and take the series no matter what type of form the Diamondbacks happen to be in heading into this series) but we all know that baseball is a goofy sport, so don’t be shocked if that pattern is still in play coming into this series.

Friday, August 14 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision)
Saturday, August 15 at 7:15 p.m. ET (FOX)
Sunday, August 16 at 1:35 p.m. ET (BravesVision)