Category: Baseball

Manny Gonzalez worked four innings in 90-degree heat and humidity Monday night before his vision went blurry behind the plate.

The home plate umpire left the Padres-Reds series opener Aug. 31 at Great American Ball Park with heat exhaustion, MLB umpire supervisor Randy Marsh said. The game stopped for 14 minutes and finished with a three-man crew. MLB said Gonzalez suffered heat illness and was receiving care.

It was 90 degrees with 61% humidity at first pitch in Cincinnati.

As the Reds took the field for the top of the fifth, Gonzalez was in trouble. Third-base umpire Tom Hanahan got to him first. Reds head trainer Sean McQueeney followed, then medical staff from both clubs ran out. Gonzalez sat on the grass while they worked on him.

He walked off with the Reds' assistant trainer Tomas Vera, down to the medical area under the ballpark. He was also dehydrated and his blood pressure was up, according to reports.

Most of the delay was due to equipment change. D.J. Reyburn had been working first base. To call balls and strikes he had to put on the gear for working behind the plate, including his chest protector, mask and metal-toed shoes.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Robert Stock hasn’t found much middle ground in his starts, so his early success Monday night was a good sign for the Mets.

By the time the 36-year-old journeyman’s outing concluded, he had pitched the best game of his major league career, helping the Mets win their latest matchup against a first-place team.

Behind the right-hander’s 5 ¹/₃ scoreless innings, the Mets beat the Rays 3-2 at Tropicana Field.

The series is the Mets’ fourth straight against a division leader (White Sox, Brewers and Astros previously). The Rays began the night with the American League’s best record at 82-54.

Stock was torched for seven runs in his start against the Brewers last week but hardly resembled that pitcher on this night. Stock also had an outing in Pittsburgh last month in which he allowed eight earned runs.

Those two duds explain his 5.88 ERA even though he hasn’t allowed more than one earned run in any of his other four appearances since returning from surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome.

Stock is fighting to remain in the rotation as other options become available. Most notably, Justin Hagenman will be added to start Wednesday, giving Christian Scott extra rest, and Jonah Tong has shown big improvement at Triple-A Syracuse.

The Rays managed only five hits against Stock, who struck out five without walking a batter. The win was his third in a career that has spanned 63 appearances (nine as a starter).

Mark Vientos, fresh off a three-homer game on a minor league rehab assignment, gave the lineup a jolt with a seventh-inning blast in his return from the injured list. Vientos rejoined the roster on the day Luis Robert Jr. was claimed off waivers by the Orioles.

The Mets defense put Stock in peril in the fifth before saving him with the bases loaded: Christopher Morel’s leaping catch on Jonathan Arnada’s shot to left, which ended the inning, kept the shutout intact.

Jonny DeLuca and Richie Palacios each reached on an infield single in the inning. DeLuca’s grounder deflected off Bo Bichette’s glove, and Palacios hit a chopper that Francisco Lindor mishandled. But with the bases loaded, Stock got Taylor Walls to pop out and struck out Yandy Díaz before Morel’s leaping catch allowed him to escape unscathed.

Morel had a big play to conclude the following inning, throwing out Chandler Simpson attempting to stretch a single into a double.

Vientos’ double-play grounder in the fourth gave the Mets a 1-0 lead after Bo Bichette doubled and Carson Benge singled in succession.

In the seventh, Vientos delivered his 12th homer this season before Francisco Alvarez’s RBI single extended the Mets lead to 3-0. Morel and Marcus Semien each singled in the inning.

Liam Hicks and Simpson each stroked an RBI single in the eighth against Daniel Duarte that narrowed the Mets lead to 3-2. Chris Devenski retired Cedric Mullins for the inning’s final out with the tying run at third base. Kodai Senga earned the save with a scoreless ninth.

Ketel Marte apologized for going AWOL and creating days’ worth of drama around the Diamondbacks in his first public comments after all of it went down two weeks ago. 

Marte no-showed a Diamondbacks game in Boston, sending the team scrambling and raising questions about his status, with skipper Torey Lovullo expressing frustration over the lack of communication with his player during the peculiar situation. 

“In that instance, I failed him by not showing up,” Marte told reporters through an interpreter on Monday, according to the Associated Press. “That morning I woke up, my body was in pain and I just couldn’t react. No one made the decision for me. I’m the one who made the decision to not show up.”

The Diamondbacks second baseman also planned on standing in front of his teammates and apologizing to them for everything that has happened with the situation. 

“I’m going to stand in front of my teammates like a man,” Marte said. “I don’t want any of my teammates to go through what I went through that morning.”

Marte told reporters that the decision to skip the game was his and he made it after waking up in significant pain and was frustrated. 

“We’re human, we all commit mistakes,” he said. 

The Diamondbacks had initially put Marte on the restricted list after he failed to show up for the game in Boston but later moved him to the 10-day injured list due to mild left knee inflammation. 

The situation did have some bizarre twists and turns leading up to Monday night. 

Amidst all the confusion surrounding his absence, Marte was spotted gambling at Talking Stick Resort casino near the team’s complex during the ball club’s Aug. 21 game. 

Lovullo told reporters at the time that Marte was “free to do whatever he wants” and defended is player. 

Addressing that moment, Marte said he had been at the casino on his “personal time.”

The Athletics’ losing streak hit four games on Monday night. The team dropped their series opener in Texas against the Rangers 8-1. The starting pitching wasn’t great, the bats were silent against a generational talent, and that all adds up to another loss. The team is now 53-85 going into September. Pain.

Rangers jump on Jump

Lefty Gage Jump got the ball tonight, the 19th of the season for the rookie. The left-hander had an easy 1-2-3 bottom of the first but that was the highlight from his evening.

Texas would score in each of the next four innings, totaling seven runs. Jump clearly did not have his best stuff in this one and it became more evident the longer the game went. He’d ultimately make it to the fifth but was unable to finish that inning, departing with runners on the bases.

• Gage Jump: 4 1/3 IP, 6 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 91 pitches

Not a great night for Jump. Not a lot to say but to try and learn from it and move on. He’s now sporting a 5.15 ERA in his rookie season and a personal goal of his should be to get that number below 5. He’s lined up to take on the Mariners in Seattle this coming weekend.

Bats silent against deGrom

On the other side of the ball, the A’s offense was listless against Texas’ future Hall of Famer Jacob deGrom. Right fielder Lawrence Butler collected a leadoff single in the second but that was literally the entirety of the Athletics’ offense through the first seven innings. deGrom showed why he’s ticketed for Cooperstown when he hangs his cleats up. A vintage performance and you can’t do anything but tip your cap to him.

The final frames

Righty Chris Roycroft came on for Jump and finished the fifth, then proceeded to pitch the sixth and seventh as well before Jose Suarez pitched the eighth and gave up that eighth run. deGrom departed after his seven strong frames and the Texas bullpen did their job. The A’s managed to push across a run in the top of the ninth to break up the shutout thanks to a pair of hits and an Darell Heraniz sac fly, but that was it for the A’s.

Not a good night in any facet. Jump did not look like he had his best stuff and got knocked around again. The offense managed one hit for the first eight innings before pushing across a meaningless run in the ninth. That’s not going to cut it against a team that’s in playoff contention and has more motivation to win. September can not come soon enough.

The series continues tomorrow night, same time same place. For the A’s, it’s still technically up in the air. The team doesn’t have a scheduled starter and it would be J.T. Ginn’s turn up in the rotation. He’s already far exceeded his career high in innings pitched though and the team is skipping him this time around:

No word yet on who will take his spot.

The Rangers on the other hand know exactly who is getting the start in the middle game of the series. That’ll be lefty MacKenzie Gore, a high-upside southpaw who has had his ups and downs in his first year pitching in Texas. This’ll be his fourth start of the year against the A’s; he’s 1-1 and has allowed eight runs in 15 1/3 frames.

The Mets scratched out a 3-2 win over the AL-leading Tampa Bay Rays in their series opener on Monday night.

Here are the takeaways...

-- Making the most out of his opportunity with New York this season, Robert Stock put together the best start of his career against the Rays, recording his first major league win since 2019 and his first win ever as a starting pitcher.

The 36-year-old, able to flip the switch after a terrible start against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citi Field in which he allowed seven earned runs on 10 hits in four innings his last time out, was at the top of his game and managed to shut out the team with the best record in the AL for 5.1 innings.

-- As if that wasn’t impressive enough, it was also the first time Stock has thrown a pitch in the sixth inning as a starter. Of course, the right-hander has only made nine starts in his career (six of them coming this year), but if it wasn’t for interim manager Andy Green taking him out after just 72 pitches (50 strikes), Stock could’ve been out there even longer.

-- The excellent outing by the right-hander also came in the midst of a low-scoring affair with New York clinging to a 1-0 lead. Stock was put to the test in the fifth inning when a fly ball single and a ball deflected off of Bo Bichette’s glove at third put the first two batters on. Stock’s unlucky streak in the inning continued when Francisco Lindor, who made a nice play to end the third inning, couldn’t come up with an easy ground ball tailor made for a double play which loaded the bases with nobody out. 

-- But Stock didn’t flinch at all and kept going, getting a pop out and a strikeout for the first two outs of the frame. With a chance for the right-hander to exit the inning unharmed, Jonathan Aranda lined a ball to left field that had trouble written all over it, but the former Ray Christopher Morel, not known for his glove, made a beautiful leaping grab to end the inning and save three runs. Morel made another great play in the sixth with an outfield assist at second base.

-- For good measure, Stock went back out for the sixth and struck out home-run hitter Junior Caminero as the icing on the cake of a well-deserved outing which lowered his season ERA to 5.88. 

-- Offensively, the Mets didn’t have much luck in the beginning against Rays starter Ian Seymour who struck out seven batters his first time through the lineup. New York was able to put runners on first and third with nobody out in the fourth thanks to a leadoff double by Bichette and a single by Carson Benge and eventually pushed across a run on Mark Vientos’ double play. 

-- That was it for the Mets until the seventh inning when Vientos, in his first game back from the IL, led off with a solo home run off Seymour to double the team’s lead. The home run was Vientos’ 12th of the year and came after he hit three in his final rehab game for Triple-A.

A single later in the inning by Morel chased Seymour out of the game and brought in Casey Legumina who Marcus Semien greeted with a pop fly single that landed in no-man’s land. Francisco Alvarez came through with an RBI single two batters later which gave New York a 3-0 lead. 

-- Daniel Duarte gave both of those runs back in the eighth with his third straight appearance in which he’s been scored upon after nine straight scoreless appearances and a superb showing as the eighth inning guy.

-- Kodai Senga then came in for the save in the ninth of a one-run game and shut the door for Stock and the Mets, earning his fifth save in five tries.

-- Every single starter in the lineup had at least one hit, except for Lindor who went 0-for-4 from the leadoff spot. A.J. Ewing had two hits.

Game MVP: Robert Stock

The veteran journeyman recorded his first win in seven years.

He's here, he's there, he's everywhere!

Francisco Lindor makes the play! pic.twitter.com/QIUt8JTM7I

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 31, 2026

The Mets score a run as Mark Vientos grounds into a double play pic.twitter.com/uEXE5BZrii

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 31, 2026

Christopher Morel makes the leaping catch to get the Mets out of trouble in the 5th! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/5qxbaGQF7P

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 31, 2026

Robert Stock caps off 5.1 scoreless innings by striking out Junior Caminero! pic.twitter.com/BD7F59vD0q

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 1, 2026

Christopher Morel throws out Chandler Simpson at second! pic.twitter.com/fVGjZN5D6I

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 1, 2026

WELCOME BACK, MARK VIENTOS!

He returns to the lineup with a home run! pic.twitter.com/2ix2OKDjLV

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 1, 2026

Francisco Alvarez goes the other way to make it 3-0 Mets! pic.twitter.com/BOwVhfAUtW

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 1, 2026

What's next

The Mets and Rays continue their three-game series on Tuesday night with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 p.m. on SNY.

LHP Sean Manaea (4-6, 4.55 ERA) takes the mound for New York and will be opposed by former Met RHP Freddy Peralta (6-11, 5.11 ERA).

Rafael Devers belted his 30th home run of the season on Monday, Aug. 31 as the San Francisco Giants went on to defeat the Atlanta Braves, 7-3, at Truist Park just outside downtown Atlanta.

Devers hit a solo home run in the 1st inning, setting the tone for his Giants. He plastered the 87-mph cutting pitch from the Braves' Bryce Elder, sending it 403 feet to right field.

Both teams went back and forth with Atlanta taking a 3-2 lead through five innings before San Francisco notched four runs in the top of the sixth, including an Osleivis Basabe home run, to take a commanding 6-3 lead. Jonah Cox added a solo homer to extend the lead and seal the deal in the ninth.

The Giants record is 57-81 after their victory against the Braves.

Rafael Devers hits milestone in MLB career

It was the fifth time in Devers' 10-year MLB career that he has hit at least 30 home runs in a season, though the year marks the first time in his career with back-to-back seasons of 30 home runs or more.

Devers' career-high for home runs in a seasons is 38 in 2021 as a member of the Boston Red Sox.

Devers has now hit a 50 home runs in a San Francisco uniform during his time with the Giants.

Devers is batting .251 with splits of .328/.485/.814 in the 2026 season. He's added 131 hits and 78 RBIs.

The Giants have 24 games remaining on the schedule.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rafael Devers notches fifth season with 30 home runs in Giants' win

On the eve of the final month of their 2026 season, the Mets got the best start of Robert Stock’s career in their series opener against the Rays tonight in St. Petersburg. Having entered the game with a 7.40 ERA in five major league starts this season, Stock cut his ERA by well over a run by throwing five-and-one-third scoreless innings against the American League East-leading Rays.

Stock struck out four, didn’t walk anyone, and threw 72 pitches, 50 of which were strikes. He gave up five hits along the way, but the most impressive part of his outing was the fact that he got out of quite a jam in the bottom of the fifth inning. After giving up a leadoff single to Cedric Mullins, he gave up a smoked infield single to Jonny DeLuca, who hit a line drive that tipped off the end of Bo Bichette’s glove at third base and ricocheted to Francisco Lindor—who unfortunately couldn’t turn it into an out by air or via a throw to first base—at short.

That play was no fault of Lindor’s, but the next one was. Richie Palacios hit a chopper to the vicinity of second base, where Lindor was in perfect position to turn a double play. Instead, he botched the play and saw the ball bounce off his glove. Officially, it was ruled a hit, but even though you can’t ever assume a double play in official scoring, Lindor certainly should’ve been charged with an error.

That left the bases loaded, and that set things up for Stock to really shine. He induced a foul pop out and struck out the formidable Yandy Díaz for the first two outs of the frame. And he escaped the jam with an unexpected defensive gem by Christopher Morel, a bat-first player who managed to get back and reach a well-hit line drive that looked destined to go over his head, in left field.

As for the Mets’ scoring, Mark Vientos got them on the board when he grounded into a double play with nobody out and runners on the corners in the top of the fourth. Vientos plated the Mets’ second run of the night in much more convincing fashion when he drilled a home run to left-center field in the top of the seventh. And later in that inning, Francisco Alvarez brought home the Mets’ third run of the night with a single that plated Cristian Pache, who had entered the game as a pinch runner for Morel earlier in the inning.

And speaking of Morel and his unexpected defense, he notched an outfield assist to end the bottom of the sixth inning with Nate Lavender on the mound in relief of Stock. Chandler Simpson tried to stretch a single into a double, but Morel threw him out at second by a wide margin.

With a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth thanks to scoreless appearances by the aforementioned Lavender and Dedniel Núñez, the Mets’ bullpen bent but didn’t break. Daniel Duarte, who’s been excellent in his time in the big leagues this year, gave up two runs on three hits. He recorded just two outs and had runners on second and third before giving way to Chris Devenski, who thankfully got a ground ball back to himself that he managed to corral and turn into an inning-ending and run-saving out.

After old friend Steven Matz put up a zero in the top of the ninth, the Mets handed their one-run lead over to Kodai Senga. He issued a leadoff walk, but after getting a ground out and a fly out, he struck out Yandy Díaz looking to end the game and earn the save—preserving a win for Stock, his first since 2019.

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ANAHEIM, Calif. — After doing what his manager told him to do and stealing two bases in the eighth inning of a six-run game Sunday, Jazz Chisholm Jr. woke up Monday morning in the center of a controversy.

The Yankees second baseman was labeled by Red Sox broadcaster Will Flemming as a “bush league player” who “plays the game the wrong way.” Flemming indicated that Chisholm was out of line because the Red Sox had elected not to hold him on at first base — which is the very development that led Aaron Boone to tell Chisholm to take off.

Flemming later added that the Red Sox should throw at Austin Wells, who was at the plate when Chisholm took off, and that pitcher Jovani Moran should start a fight with Chisholm as retaliation for the steals.

“Lost for words,” Chisholm said Monday at Angel Stadium. “I did not expect that when I woke up. But people show you who they are.”

Flemming spoke with Boone on Monday to offer his apology and also posted one to social media, saying he “crossed a line.” Chisholm said he had not heard from Flemming and did not care to.

“The unwritten rules, they’re called unwritten rules because you’re not really breaking any rules,” Chisholm said. “You’ve seen teams — actually them, last year, do the same thing, where they were pouring on runs and we didn’t have nothing to say or do about it. That’s just showing how unprofessional he is. That’s all it is.”

While Boone said he accepted and appreciated Flemming’s apology, he stood behind his decision to tell Chisholm to run. As first reported by Yankees play-by-play man Michael Kay on his radio show Monday, Boone had initially told Chisholm not to run after he walked with no outs in the bottom of the eighth with, at the time, a 7-1 lead.

But once the Red Sox did not have first baseman Nick Sogard hold Chisholm on at first, Boone changed course and told him to run.

In between, Boone yelled over to Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy in the visiting dugout, telling him that he couldn’t have it both ways — and to either hold Chisholm on or he’d be running. When the Red Sox did not budge, Chisholm got the green light to run in what became a nine-run inning.

“It was important to know that this came from me,” Boone said. “I was not planning on running with that lead, had they played it straight. I was pretty animated and vocal with their dugout, just as far as, if they weren’t going to play it straight, I wasn’t just going to sit back. Absolutely not. I don’t think they were going to not take their at-bats in the ninth inning. So I kind of object to some people saying, ‘Well, that’s waving the white flag.’ So they weren’t going to try to score in the ninth?

“Look, I’m an old-school baseball guy, I’ve been around doing this forever. I respect some of the unwritten rules, I really do. I think they’ve evolved and changed though some. At the end of the day, I got to do what’s right for my team and try not to get so caught up in what the other team’s doing. I felt like we did the right thing.”

At stake for the winner of Sunday’s game was the season series, meaning home-field advantage in the playoffs should the Yankees and Red Sox end the regular season tied. Plus, the Yankees bullpen had been on fumes of late, and tacking on runs gave Boone a better chance of not having to use David Bednar if the Red Sox started to threaten in the ninth, which was important for his availability in their next series that began Monday against the Angels.

While Boone took a measured tone on Flemming, the broadcaster’s comments irked Aaron Judge.

“[Flemming] needs to stay out of that and not be telling people to throw at players and injure players,” Judge said. “That’s not what this game’s about. A situation like that, that game determines home-field advantage in the playoffs. It’s a six-run game. They put a couple guys on and hit a big homer, all of a sudden, we’re getting our bullpen guys up in a tight spot. In a situation like that where they’re not holding on Jazz, if you’re not going to hold him on, what’s going on here? Conceding, not conceding? It’s a six-run game, still a close ballgame.

“Not too happy hearing broadcasters talking about trying to injure and hurt a player. He needs to clean that up.”

The Yankees spent the previous week engaged in high-visibility home series against two of their most hated rivals: the Astros and Red Sox. They ultimately came out ahead in the aggregate thanks to grabbing three of four from Boston. And did they ever enjoy Sunday afternoon’s 16-1 drubbing. A happy flight across the country brought them to sunny Orange County, where they will engage in a decidedly less intense three-game set with the Angels.

The Perry Minasian Era in Anaheim ended with a decisive thud in June, when the Halos let go of their general manager of the past seven seasons as they trudged through another lost campaign. The Angels sit in the basement of the AL West once again, entering this series with a 52-85 record. The equally moribund Athletics have occasionally slipped past them in the race to the bottom every so often, but an active seven-game losing streak rectified that real fast. They remain the worst kind of bad team: a bad team that isn’t even fun to watch. Not to mention the fact that Mike Trout, All-Star that he was this season, is in year four of an extended decline from the ranks of the league’s elite players.

With all that said, tonight’s pitching matchup promises plenty of talent. Elmer Rodríguez, just a few weeks removed from his 23rd birthday, will make a second start in his latest big-league cameo. It’s easy to forget that this will only be the righty’s sixth start up in the Show, considering that MLB debut in Arlington came all the way back in April. All the while, he’s continued to pitch well in International League play, earning these additional opportunities when mainline guys like Max Fried have hit the shelf. Last time out against Houston, Rodríguez earned his first MLB quality start—though the offensive explosion which would have earned him his first MLB win came an inning later than it needed to. At least it happened at all. He gets another shot at it tonight.

Rodríguez’s opponent on the mound is a young man who has quietly pieced together a great rookie season: 22-year-old Walbert Ureña. Ureña made the Angels’ pitching staff out of spring training as a reliever, and pitched in their season opener before being optioned back to the minors. He came back in mid-April and quickly earned a spot in the rotation which he isn’t due to relinquish anytime soon. With September on the horizon, Ureña boasts a 2.94 ERA; and the peripheral stats back it up. Sure, he throws hard, but his changeup has been the X-factor: a dead fish-type offering which misses bats and avoids the barrel on contact. Batters have posted a meager .156 batting average and .251 slugging percentage against it.

In other words, this ain’t your average late-season battle between two young hurlers who were virtually unknown outside of prospect circles before 2026. It’ll likely be one worth staying up late on the East Coast for. Join us! Let’s have some fun.

Ureña will face a lineup that begins with a lefty stack; Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger, and Luis Garcia Jr. will make up the top. Amed Rosario hits cleanup ahead of a second trio of lefties: Trent Grisham, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Spencer Jones. José Caballero takes shortstop and Austin Wells does the catching.

How to watch

Location: Angel Stadium — Anaheim, CA

First pitch: 9:38 pm ET

TV: YES, ABTV

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280; KLAA 830, Angels ES

Streaming: MLB.tv

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

Roster moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ 40-man roster is at 40.

• Reinstated from the 10-day injured list: INF Ketel Marte (left knee inflammation)
• Optioned to Triple-A Reno: INF Jose Fernandez

Well, there is is. Not exactly the best-kept secret as far as roster moves go, but after the initial drama, followed by the resulting ripple of shock-waves through the organization, media and fandom, here we are. Marte is back. He spoke to the media before the game. I don’t have much to say in regard to his comments. They basically sound like what I would want to hear: “I’m going to stand in front of my teammates like a man. I don’t want any of my teammates to go through what I went through that morning… I’m going to stand up in front of them, ask for forgiveness. We’re human, we all commit mistakes.” But actions speak louder than words.

Some folk (on Twitter, natch) are Shocked and Appalled™ that Marte didn’t have anything to say to fans. I’m entirely unbothered by that. He didn’t “wrong” me, so I do not feel he needs to apologize. Torey Lovullo and his team-mates? Absolutely. But the amount of impact Marte’s actions had on me, personally? You would need an electron microscope to spot that. I was more bothered this weekend by putting together an elliptical machine, which took “Some assembly required” to previously unknown heights. If the company would care to offer an apology for that, my DMs are open. But Marte? Nah. We’re good.

It will, however, be very interesting to see what kind of reaction he gets from the crowd, when he comes to the plate in the first or second inning tonight. I’ve a feeling it’ll be a mix: if I had to make a prediction, probably equal amounts of cheers and boos, but a majority of polite applause and/or indifference. It’s going to be difficult to draw much conclusion, especially as I’ve a feeling there will be a lot of Phillies fans at Chase tonight, whose opinions on the topic are not exactly relevant. [Last time Philadelphia played here, the series averaged around 36,500, although that was a weekend set.] Hitting a home-run will probably help soothe any ruffled feathers!

Phillies close out an awesome August with a tight win in the desert originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

PHOENIX – August is over. What a month it was for the Phillies.

They completed it with a tight, 2-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Monday night.

The victory left them with a final August record of 21-7, the best in the majors. What could have been better than that, especially after the team sputtered to a 9-15 record in July?

“Twenty-two and six would have been all right, too,” manager Don Mattingly joked.

Entering the final month of the regular season, the Phils are tied with the Chicago Cubs for the top National League wild-card spot and are just four games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves in the NL East with 24 games to play. The Phils and Braves play seven times in the next two weeks, starting with the opener of a four-game series Friday night at Citizens Bank Park.

While the Phils hope to chase down the Braves, they remain focused on the step in front of them and that meant Monday night’s series opener against the Diamondbacks, who are right in the thick of the wild-card chase.

“It’s day-to-day business at this point,” Mattingly said. “You can’t worry about tomorrow. Just take care of today. Arizona is a difficult club. We have to win games. It’s as simple as that. We can’t look past anyone.”

The Phils earned Monday night’s win with a solid start from Aaron Nola, excellent bullpen work and a couple of big hits from Bryson Stott and Bryce Harper.

Stott belted a 464-foot home run, the longest of his career and the eighth-longest in the majors this season, in the second inning, and Harper extended his on-base streak to 33 games with an RBI double in the third.

That was the extent of the Phillies’ scoring, but the pitching made it all stand up.

Nola picked up the win with five innings of one-run ball. He has a 2.50 ERA in his last seven starts.

The right-hander threw 92 pitches through five innings. He took the mound in the sixth with a one-run lead and quickly gave up a single and a walk. Mattingly went to Alex McFarlane in a pressure situation and the 25-year-old rookie right-hander delivered three outs to keep the lead intact.

McFarlane was most impressive coming back from a 3-1 count to strike out Nolan Arenado on a 99-mph fastball and a sweeper for the second out.

“For a kid who debuted a month ago, the demeanor he has on the mound in a situation like that is pretty incredible,” catcher Garrett Stubbs said. “Arenado’s a really good hitter. You want to attack him and not be afraid of him. In that moment, you look out at him on the mound and he didn’t show anything but wanting to attack the zone.”

Nola was impressed by McFarlane’s work.

“That’s pretty special right there. Pretty awesome,” Nola said. “I left him in a tough spot, two guys on and no outs. He navigated through it really nicely. The strikeout of Arenado was pretty awesome. He’s got a lot of composure out there. He doesn’t really pitch like a rookie. He fills up the zone. I know he had a couple of three-ball counts, but that didn’t faze him. He’s electric.”

McFarlane knew who he was facing.

“Seeing Arenado in the box is a great thing,” he said. “The respect I have for that guy, watching him over the years. He’s a great hitter and Hall of Fame player. I love the opportunity to face those guys. It was great.”

McFarlane has allowed just one earned run in his first 10 1/3 innings in the majors. He has pitched four times in the first seven games of this road trip and racked up four scoreless innings. He hasn’t allowed a hit. He’s walked two and struck out five.

“He’s handled everything we’ve thrown at him,” Mattingly said. “We’ve put him in some tough spots lately. That was probably the toughest spot tonight. His stuff plays. When he’s in the zone and attacking, he’s pretty good. He doesn’t seem to be overwhelmed by anything at this point.”

As the games get bigger, McFarlane could be a serious factor for the Phillies.

“This was a big game,” Mattingly said. “He was a factor tonight. He’s got stuff. He’s throwing strikes for the most part. He’s got weapons. When you throw 102 (mph) with a good slider and can sink it, as well, you’ve got weapons.”

After McFarlane, the Phillies got a scoreless seventh from the tandem of Orion Kerkering and Brooks Raley. Jose Alvarado walked a tightrope but put up a zero in the eighth and Jhoan Duran survived two infield hits in the ninth to notch his 29^th save. He got the final out with the potential tying run on third.

The Phils have won 14 of their last 16.

Now, it’s on to September. Jesús Luzardo gets the ball Tuesday night.

ROSTER ADDITIONS

Rosters expand to 28 on Tuesday. The Phillies will add two players, catcher Rafael Marchan and right-handed reliever Grant Holman. Marchan, who went on the injured list in late July with left knee tendinitis, had been on a rehab assignment at Triple A Lehigh Valley.

Holman, 26, was claimed by the Phillies off waivers from Detroit in May. He pitched in 20 games at Lehigh Valley and had a 3.12 ERA with 25 strikeouts and five walks in 26 innings.

Holman, who has big-league time with the Athletics, has packed a lot of suitcases in 2026. The Phillies are his fifth organization this year. He was waived four times.

And so it ends…

Just as the Atlanta Braves were on a hot streak, the San Francisco Giants took the power back in this makeup game with a 7-3 win.

The Giants’ Rafael Devers set the tone with a home run in the top of the first inning. Matt Olson answered right after in the bottom half with an RBI groundout to bring Drake Baldwin in and put the Braves on the board.

A Michael Harris II home run then gave the Braves a 2-1 lead in the second inning.

San Francisco wouldn’t let them have the last word, however, after knocking in an RBI single of their own in the top of the fifth to tie things back up.

A back-and-forth matchup formed right after, as the Braves reclaimed the lead with an RBI single from Baldwin to drive in Sean Murphy. But then the Giants answered back in the very next inning with a homer to tie the game at 3-3 in the sixth.

A pattern was forming here… but who would break it?

Unfortunately, Braves Country, it was the Giants.

San Francisco drove in four more runs to shut the Braves down, turning what had been a competitive back-and-forth matchup into a 7-3 final. More importantly, the loss snapped the Braves’ seven-game win streak just before they head out on their road trip to Washington.

You can’t win them all, and it was a decent showing from the Braves’ offense early on as they tried to regain their lead every time San Francisco answered back. And they almost had a promising ninth inning, opening the frame with two runners on base and no outs.

It just wasn’t enough to force a comeback, however, as the Braves ultimately fell into the losing column.

But what about the defense?

Pitching through 5.1 innings, Bryce Elder allowed eight hits and gave up five runs, along with three walks and three strikeouts. His ERA climbed to 4.11, and Elder is showing a different version of himself than the one Braves Country was getting adjusted to seeing at the beginning of the season.

So now, it’s a question of what exactly the problem is: Is it mechanics? A lack of confidence? Or is it something completely different that encompasses all of the above?

At this point, one could just hope that Elder figures it out before his next outing and that he and Greg Maddux can come up with a new plan of attack on the mound.

The Braves had a seven-game win streak going into this one, so while the loss stings, it doesn’t erase what they were able to build over the past week. Now, the focus shifts to Washington and finding a way to get back to the version of this team we witnessed just a week ago.

Until then, Braves Country, look forward to a series in Washington and the Braves’ chance to bounce back.

On September 1st, major league rosters expand to 28-players, and tomorrow the Mets are reportedly calling up right-handed pitcher Justin Hagenman and right-handed outfielder Nick Morabito.

The plan for Hagenman is to have him start on Wednesday against Tampa Bay, giving an extra day of rest to the Mets’ young trio of Christian Scott, Nolan McLean, and Zac Thornton heading into the weekend series with the Giants.

Hagenman appeared in nine games for the Mets in 2025, starting one game, and did not pitch vey well, putting up a 4.48 ERA over 23.2 innings. Hagenman fractured a rib during spring training and has been on the shelf all year. Wednesday’s start will be only his fourth game of the 2026 season, getting one rehab start in St. Lucie, Binghamton, and Syracuse, giving up home runs in two of those games.

Hagenman was not promised any starts beyond Wednesday, according to Gary Cohen on the Mets’ broadcast.

Morabito appeared in five games for the Mets earlier this season, before A.J. Ewing emerged as the Mets’ everyday center fielder, and was hitless in 11 plate appearances. At Triple-A Syracuse, Morabito hit .254/.355/.388 with 13 home runs and 42 stolen bases.

Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:

For the Diamondbacks:

Let’s talk about it.

The Yankees are getting closer and closer to receiving their captain back.

Aaron Judge traveled with the team for their West Coast trip against the Angels and Padres so that he can continue ramping up his baseball activities. 

Manager Aaron Boone said prior to Monday’s opener that the team feels good about where he’s at, and a potential return for New York’s next homestand appears to be on the table.

“It’s possible,” the skipper said. “I’m not gonna put a date on it, but those things are in play, it’s just getting the durability and workload build up on him is the biggest thing now.”

Judge has been sidelined since late-May due to a stress fracture in his rib. 

The slugger has been progressing steadily in his recovery over the past few weeks, and he recently told reporters that he hoped to not require a minor league rehab assignment. 

He also skipped the assignment when he missed 42 games to a toe injury two years ago, but did briefly appear in Triple-A coming back from an oblique strain in 2019. 

Judge had 17 homers, a .375 OBP, and a .907 OPS over 59 games before going down. 

The Yankees' offense has been up-and-down with him sidelined, but they enter play on Monday coming off a strong series in which they broke through for 26 runs to take three out of four from the rival Red Sox.