Umpire reminding White Sox and Twins what the goal is. | Getty Images
The White Sox will be going for a series sweep and fifth straight victory this afternoon against a Twins team that has lost four in a row and has been very generous in the first two games.
Jordan Hicks will be playing the role of opener for the Sox for only the second time, his first having been a clean inning against the Rays on August 1. Will Venable has been treating who follows as a state secret, but in the normal rotation course it would be José Urquidy, who in three games since being acquired from the Pirates and brought up from Charlotte has sandwiched a brilliant outing against the Cubs between two horrible ones versus the Tigers and Rangers.
The Twins counter with Zebby Matthews, a righty with a 4.86 ERA that would seem to indicate that someone on the Sox besides Andrew Benintendi should get a hit. Matthews is coming off two good starts, though, giving up just two runs to the A’s and Braves in 12 2/3 innings. He faces a Chicago lineup that has only scored thanks to Benintendi or Twins incompetence since the first inning on Friday.
Hicks et al. take on a Twins lineup that didn’t score after the first two innings in either of the first two games of the series and is a pathetic 1-for-18 with runners in scoring position even including those innings. And, to the White Sox benefit, Sox killer Byron Buxton remains on the bench with a hip injury sustained on Tuesday.
First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. Central with the temp around 80° and wind 10 mph right to left. Usual broadcast suspects.
The Dodgers' game against the Tigers on Sunday has been delayed because of rain in the Detroit area. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
The Dodgers’ game against the Tigers on Sunday at Comerica Park began in a rain delay.
First pitch was at 11:35 a.m. PDT following a 55-minute delay.
Dodger manager Dave Roberts was anticipating a potential delay a couple hours before the original game time.
“Then it’s supposed to kind of be isolated around 5:30 [2:30 p.m. PDT,]” Roberts said of the storm forecast. “So there is that window 2-5 p.m. [11 a.m.-2 p.m. PDT], that looks promising.”
Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow took the mound opposite Tigers left-hander Framber Valdez.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 22: Luis Robert Jr. #88 of the New York Mets celebrates hitting a two-run home run during the third inning against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on August 22, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Astros inability to address their poor offensive outfield production for the past 2 seasons continues to dog them as they come down the stretch, fighting for their playoff lives, clinging to a very narrow 2-game lead over the Texas Rangers in the AL West with the Seattle Mariners lurking 4 games back.
There are 2 days remaining to get a player in your organization to make them playoff eligible on your roster. It’s time the Astros strike.
Luis Robert Jr. is not a player I would want to see the Astros sign for a full season. He is oft injured and has underperformed for 3 straight years. Now 29 years old, the odds of his suddenly being fully healthy and returning to his All-Star form are very low.
However, that isn’t the case here. The Astros don’t need him for a whole year. They need him for (hopefully) two months.
That short time period is exactly why the Astros should put in a waiver claim for him, as it has been reported Robert Jr. has been placed on waivers by the New York Mets.
Robert Jr.’s numbers this season are underwhelming. .228 AVG .308 OBP .716 OPS. Still, 10 HR in 189 AB is a very strong HR rate. 51 K in 189 AB is worrisome.
But at this point in the season, it’s not about what his season looks like. It’s about trying to catch lightning in a bottle. You want someone who can be hot and hot now.
In the month of August, Robert Jr. has put up very strong offensive numbers. .282 AVG, .338 OBP, .887 OPS with 6 HR and 11 RBI in 71 AB. He is 20×71 and has walked 7x. The 20K are still ugly, but that is still a production level the Astros have nothing close to in their outfield this season.
Is it possible he could find some rejuvenation being on a team with playoff aspirations? Certainly.
Is it possible he could maintain that level of production through September and October? It’s certainly possible, and there is only one way to know. That’s to place a bet on Robert Jr. for the last month (and hopefully an extra month of postseason) and call. There’s literally nothing to lose.
Back in July, I looked back at some 1926 Washington Senators 100-years-to-the-day history that happened to match up with a present-day Minnesota Twins afternoon at Wrigley Field. I didn’t expect it to happen again, what with the ‘26 Nats being a rather mediocre bunch.
But as famed poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once scribed: “I shot an arrow into the air—it fell to earth I knew not where”.
Believe it or not, on this day in 1926, the Senators were also tangling with the Chicago White Sox (this contest being at old Comiskey Park) and the adventures of Firpo Marberry & Goose Goslin continued!
With both clubs hovering around .500 and decidedly out of any AL pennant consideration, the ChiSox sent Hollis Thurston to the bump to battle Washington’s Stan Covelski.
The Nats started the scoring in the top of the fourth inning when Buddy Myer singled & Joe Judge walked. An Ossie Bluege knock brought home Myer, and a grounder from Muddy Ruel produced an error from CHI SS Bill Hunnefield, plating Judge. 2-0 WAS.
The Sox got one back in B6 when an Eddie Collins single off Covelski brought in Johnny Mostil. 2-1 WAS.
But in B8, Myer again singled and this time trotted home on a Goose Goslin round-tripper! 4-1 WAS.
Sure, the Sox would scratch two more across on Covelski with RBI from Bibb Falk & Bill Barrett, but the FME (Firpo Marberry Experience) sauntered in and whiffed Willie Kamm to extinguish the threat. 4-3 WAS.
But when Firpo came back out for B9, he was immediately greeted by a Johnny Grabowksi triple—then a Thurston (yes, the opposing SP swinging for himself in the ninth!) single to tie the game. Three batters later with the sacks full of Sox, Collins knocked in Thurston and the South Siders celebrated.
Your final: Chicago White Sox 5, Washington Senators 4.
Our current Twins edition may not have a Goose—but they did at one point have a Roden(t)! Let’s hope they don’t Firpo this series away like 100 years ago.
CINCINNATI, OH - AUGUST 04: Jacob Wilson #5 of the Athletics bats during the game between the Athletics and the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on Tuesday, August 4, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Colten Strauss/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Once upon a time, a team ahead of the curve in analytics noticed how undervalued a skill it was “not to make outs”. They made a movie based on the 2002 Athletics and 24 years later the same organization has produced hitters who would be great a cyber crime because they are elite hackers.
The A’s resistance to being more discerning, more attentive to OBP, more committed to “grinding out at bats” is shown in many different ways and has several implications. More broadly, it helps to explain why even when healthy the A’s lineup sputtered in the middle of the pack offensively despite a lineup that looked far more potent on paper.
Opposing Pitchers
Recently we have seen numerous games in which the A’s allowed opposing starting pitchers to throw around 12 pitches/inning and the impact of that is seen in some less direct and obvious ways. The earlier you knock out a SP the more you bat against the “soft underbelly” of a team’s bullpen.
By hacking early and often, the A’s have too often allowed SPs to get through 6-7 innings which in turn enables managers to lean only on their best relievers to get a game to the house. It also means fewer “high stress” innings for SPs, boosting their effectiveness throughout a start.
Walks
Walks are the stat that most directly show levels of patience, discernment, and OBP. On the surface the A’s are just around average with regard to drawing walks, but a look under the hood shows that their ranking of 17th out of 30 teams is deceiving.
Much of their “ok” BB rate comes from one batter, Nick Kurtz, whose 434 PAs produced an 18.2% BB rate. Around 8% is league average and yet here are some BB rates A’s hitters have amassed:
Jacob Wilson: 3.6%
Alika Williams: 3.6%
Colby Thomas: 3.3%
Tommy White: 2.7%
Joshua Kuroda-Grauer 1.6% (1 BB in 62 PA and it was issued by a position player)
Outs
A lack of walks is not the only casualty of a hacktastic approach to hitting. There is also how the at bat becomes so much easier for the opposing pitcher.
In the case of Wilson, it’s not just the few walks that dragged down his 2026 performance. Wilson’s “chase rate” ranked in the 4th percentile leading to far more incidences of “getting himself out”.
In 2025 Fidgety Guy’s chase rate was 22nd percentile and he batted .311/.355/.444, 116 wRC+. Hacking at the 4th percentile level the numbers plummeted to .266/.298/.388, 83 wRC+.
Max Muncy has actually maintained a passable 7.5% BB rate in 2026. Trouble is he swings at so many bad balls that when he’s not walking he’s often striking out, something he has done at a 32.6% clip this season. A good case in point was the bottom of the 5th last night when Muncy saw 5 pitches, all of them out of the strike zone, swung at 4 at them and struck out.
Tommy White is another master at “getting himself out,” with a chase rate also at the bottom of the league. He may have two 4 hit games, but by putting so many “bad balls” in play he has not been able to tap into much power as his average exit velocities are also among the worst in the league. His slash line of .261/.279/.331, 61 wRC+ tells the tale of a batter lacking in discipline or discernment leading to mostly soft singles and a lot of outs.
Pedagogy
Whether A’s coaches and instructors aren’t preaching patience and discernment or the hitters aren’t listening is an open question. However, one answer is found in the basic philosophical shift of the organization. “Moneyball” informed us that one internal rule was a hitter was expected to show a 10.0% or better BB rate before earning a promotion.
Thomas was promoted from A+ after posting a 4.6% BB rate, then from AA after showing a 6.5% BB rate.
Wilson had a 2.2% BB rate at AA, apparently enough to warrant a promotion to AAA, where his BB rate was 7.8%.
Tommy White was called up from AAA where he was walking all of 4.8% of the time. His BB rates prior ranged from 6.2% to 8.5%.
Kuroda-Grauer’s BB rate across AA and AAA this season was 5.8%. JKG is an interesting one in that he came up and took the league by storm so you could argue what he is doing is working for him. Wilson’s 2025 and 2026 seasons, however, tell the cautionary tale of how things can shift if you don’t. My personal prediction is that either Kuroda-Grauer will show more plate discipline in 2027 or his stats will take a dive like Wilson’s did.
No doubt injuries have impacted the A’s offense, more so as the season has progressed. But they were having trouble scoring away from SHP from the git go and if you’re wondering why a good starting point would be to look at the A’s swing decisions.
Exhibit A is the much beleaguered Lawrence Butler, who has put together some of the A’s very best PAs since the All-Star break. His willingness to work deep counts and take close pitches off the plate have led to a .288/.379/.508, 141 wRC+ line in the 2nd half. And it comes with a 13.0% BB rate.
“Swing hard, early and often” is not a winning strategy no matter who you are. It’s one thing to chase a slider down and away because you didn’t pick up the spin. It’s another to approach every at bat with a “swing first, ask questions later” mindset. There are many reasons the A’s offense isn’t meeting its on paper potential, but an excellent starting point would be to address the lack of commitment, across so many hitters, to “hunting hittable strikes” — and spitting on the rest.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - AUGUST 07: Drew Rasmussen #57 of the Tampa Bay Rays looks on against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on August 07, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Olivia Vanni/Getty Images) | Getty Images
DETROIT, MI - AUGUST 28: Enrique Hernández #8 of the Los Angeles Dodgers scores a run in the sixth inning during the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on Friday, August 28, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Izzy Rincon/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Dodgers end their road trip from hell with one last chance at a salvage game on a Sunday in Detroit, their final game of a losing August.
Starting lineup
Shohei Ohtani DH Tommy Edman 2B Mookie Betts SS Freddie Freeman 1B Teoscar Hernández LF Miguel Rojas 3B Kyle Tucker RF Kiké Hernández CF Ben Rortvedt C
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 24: Braxton Ashcract #35 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches during the first inning of a game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on August 24, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals, August 30, 2026, 2:15 p.m. ET
The Pittsburgh Pirates are finishing their three-game set and nine-game road trip, they take on the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in the Sunday matinee matchup.
The Pirates are giving the ball to Braxton Ashcraft, who has been remarkable as of late. He last pitched on August 24 against the San Diego Padres, going six innings and giving up four hits and one earned run. He did not factor in the decision as the game went to extra innings, but he has not given up more than one earned run in each of his last three starts.
The Cardinals are turning to Matthew Liberatore, who has struggled in his last four starts. Liberatore has picked up a loss in each of the last four contests, including his last appearance on August 25 against the Baltimore Orioles at home. Liberatore pitched four innings, giving up eight hits and eight earned runs in the team’s 13-1 loss.
This is a good opportunity for the Pirates to take advantage and strike early so that they can force the Cardinals to go to their bullpen, which is taxed after a long series.
Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO
Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet Pittsburgh
Pitching Matchup: Braxton Ashcraft (13-5, 3.59 ERA) vs. Matthew Liberatore (5-12, 5.44 ERA)
BD community, this is your gameday thread for today’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Chime off in the comments section below.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 29: Cody Freeman #39 of the Texas Rangers celebrates in the dugout after hitting a solo home run against the Milwaukee Brewers in the fifth inning at American Family Field on August 29, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) | Getty Images
TORONTO, ON - AUGUST 25: Seth Lugo #67 of the Kansas City Royals looks on during the game between the Kansas City Royals and the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Tuesday, August 25, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Peter Sarellas/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Kansas City Royals are unbelievable right now; they have won 13 of their last 15 games and winning a lot of games they typically lose.
For example, the first two games of this series, before Carter Jensen hit the 2-run homer in the 9th on Friday, didn’t it feel like a walk off 2-run homer was coming? Because we have seen the movie so many times in Cleveland before. Or yesterday when they were down 2-0 and didn’t have much going on offensively in the first half of the game? I’m not complaining though! Just pleasantly surprised. Let’s keep this thing going for as long as possible!
Seth Lugo starts today, he’s been shaky lately, but his last start he clawed through 5 innings of 1 run ball in Toronto, stranding plenty of runners. Hopefully we get the 2024 Seth Lugo today.
The Guardians are still in control of the final wild card spot, 1 game ahead of the Orioles, with their 68-68 record, they are 6.5 games in front of the Royals. The Guardians also sit just 4.5 games behind the White Sox in the division.
The Guardians are starting lefty Parker Messick today. Messick is a 25-year-old, he is in his first full year in the majors, second overall. He has solid numbers, posting a 2.50 ERA in 155 innings this season, with 156 strikeouts. The Royals have never faced him before. Quick scouting report on Messick, 6-pitch mix, fastball, changeup, sinker, curveball, cutter and a slider. Mainly fastball/changeup. Not overpowering stuff, sits at 94 on average. His fastball run value this year is 25, which is really really good, hitters are just hitting .153 against it this season.
Here are the Guardians starters for today.
Guardians 8/30
S. Kwan CF C. DeLauter RF J. Ramírez DH J. Adell LF N. Lowe 1B T. Bazzana 2B A. Genao 3B A. Hedges C B. Rocchio SS
The Royals are 16-10 in the month of August, with this being their final game of the month, it is their first winning month of the season. They are 24-16 since the All-Star Break. They are 5-4 versus Cleveland this year, and 3-2 against them on the road. The Royals are 4-1 on this road trip as well.
First pitch today is set for 12:40 p.m. CT. The game can be watched on Royals.TV.
TORONTO, ON - JULY 01: A general view of Rogers Centre prior to the game between the New York Mets and the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday, July 1, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Colton Hall/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The last game of the three game series with the Mariners. Another win would be nice.
Yesterday’s celebration for Buck Martinez was great and getting a win after didn’t suck either.
I’m busy till game time so getting the thread together early. I don’t have the lineups yet, but it is Max Scherzer vs. Logan Gilbert.
Gilbert is 3-1 with a 3.03 ERA in his last five starts. Max? He’s 0-3 with a 4.62 ERA in his last five starts. So it looks like we are the underdogs. Max only threw 5.2 innings in his last two starts. He’s gotta go deeper into today’s game. Our bullpen has worked hard lately (really all season).
But our offense is looking some better the last couple of games.
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 23: Will Warren #98 of the New York Yankees pitches during the game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on August 23, 2025 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
If nothing else, the Yankees have maintained the status quo after splitting the doubleheader on Saturday. Playing at home, though, the expectation was always to gain ground on the Red Sox, and to do that, they’ll need to win again on Sunday. Perhaps more importantly, the season series is on the line, as is potential home-field advantage in a Wild Card Series matchup. If the Yankees and Red Sox end 2026 with the same record, then head-to-head record will be the tiebreaker, and they are in a dead heat. So this may determine whether it’s a playoff showdown at Fenway or Yankee Stadium.
Winning a baseball game automatically requires you to score runs, but I should correct myself and say run(s)—after all, the Yankees showed us on Friday night that even one can be enough if your pitching is flawless. Speaking of one, that’s how many runs the Yankees scored in their first 20 innings of this series before exploding in the second half of yesterday’s doubleheader.
The common thread for the overwhelming majority of those 20 innings in which the Yankees’ offense’s sole productive action was a Paul Goldschmidt solo shot was their continued struggles against left-handed pitchers as of late—held in check by Patrick Sandoval and Jake Bennett, the former of whom one can’t even claim is having a good season in the first place; he recently returned from a two-year absence due to injury. Sure, we could also point to the scoring they did off the since-demoted Raymond Burgos, but he came in for mop-up duty, well outside the circle of trust for high-leverage spots in the Red Sox bullpen. L
Now, given that the Red Sox have approximately 27 left-handed starters in their five-man rotation, we’ll get to see another one of them this Sunday in Ranger Suárez. The former Phillie has delivered exactly what the Sox thought they were getting when they inked him to a lucrative long-term deal this offseason—of all Boston’s starters having productive campaigns, it was only Suárez who represented them in the All-Star Game this past July.
Even considering Saturday’s blowout win, this has been a series of very little slugging for the Yankees, with three extra-base hits in as many games, including just one in 17 innings of hitting last night. One of the keys to success for Suárez, particularly this season, has been his ability to limit slugging, considering he tends to run a high BABIP, once again over .300. Across 23 starts with the Red Sox, Suárez has allowed a .340 SLG, in line for a career low as a qualified starter. There were some concerns about his move to Fenway Park, the land of doubles, but the veteran lefty has been able to navigate that reasonably well, although we should note his 2.67 ERA is significantly better than at home, over 4.00.
The Yankees will once again try to find success with a righty-heavy lineup against the southpaw, though that has remained hard to come by. Of note, Ben Rice is getting the day off while fellow lefty Luis García Jr. mans the DH spot with Paul Goldschmidt at first. Also, George Lombard Jr. will be on the bench following his injury scare last night; José Caballero will play shortstop.
How to watch
Location: Yankee Stadium – Bronx, NY
First pitch: 1:35 pm ET
TV/Streaming: YES, NESN
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 – NYY | WEEI 93.7, WCCM 1490 AM (SP), WESX 1230 AM (SP) – BOS
Tampa, Florida: New York Yankees' starting pitcher Luis Gil leaving the game against the NY Mets in the top of the 3rd inning during Spring Training at George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida on February 21, 2026. (Photo by J. Conrad Williams, Jr./Newsday RM via Getty Images) | Newsday via Getty Images
The Yankees made another roster move on Sunday, adding a potential weapon to the bullpen.
Luis Gil was called back up to the majors after completing his rehab assignment with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in a new role. He started his recovery journey in the bullpen earlier this month with the Hudson Valley Renegades, where he allowed two hits and recorded two strikeouts over three innings pitched, then gave the Yankees enough confidence for his return to the lineup after closing out August in Scranton with a 1.23 WHIP through five games.
Luis Gil made his 1st appearance out of the pen for Triple-A Scranton tonight, and he looked solid!!
Gil struck out 2 batters in a scoreless 6th inning, and the fastball Velo touched 97.6 mph👀
Yerry de los Santos was sent down to Scranton with hopes to give the Yankees more flexibility after burning through a few of their arms this weekend. During his appearance in the series finale against Houston, Santos gave up a home run and recorded a strikeout in the seventh inning that sealed the loss for the Yankees. He attempted redemption in his two appearances during the doubleheader against the Red Sox, allowing a hit and striking out two on Saturday.
Despite initially starting the year as an option for the rotation, the short stretch of time remaining in the regular season forced Gil to transition into a relief role in order to aid a depleted Yankees bullpen. With the news of both Fernando Cruz and Ryan Weathers joining the IL in the same week, they’ll need all the help they can get to propel the final postseason push.
Injuries have indeed been a plague that has infectiously impacted several stars throughout this roster, but there is light at the end of the tunnel, or at the end of the regular season in this case. With Gil joining the roster, the Yankees will have as fresh a bullpen as they can stock ahead of a series finale with Boston that carries hefty postseason implications for whoever can take it. If both the Yankees and Red Sox hypothetically finished the regular season with the same record, the winner of Sunday’s game would secure home-field advantage in the Wild Card series.
Aaron Boone will surely be happy with today’s decision to call him up if Gil can get through an inning or two unscathed in his debut. He’ll offer a much-needed boost to the bullpen for the Yankees’ upcoming West Coast road trip, beginning with the Angels in Los Angeles on Tuesday before taking on the Padres later next week.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 29: Willson Contreras #40 of the Boston Red Sox follows through on his eighth inning RBI triple against the New York Yankees in game two of the doubleheader at Yankee Stadium on August 29, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Each game in a 162 game season counts the same, except for when they don’t. With the season series against the Yankees split at six games a piece, today’s game determines the tiebreaker. There’s still a month to go, but we’re barreling towards a rematch of last season’s Wild Card matchup, and home field could come down to the tiebreak. With a win today, the Red Sox would be two games behind the Yankees, but the tiebreak makes it more like one and a half. With a loss, they’d fall four games back and need the Yankees to stumble in the last month to steal home field for a potential playoff series.
It’s Ranger Suarez for the Red Sox, who hasn’t been great since returning from the injured list, but he’s been known to step up in big games. The Yankees will throw Will Warren, who has a 4.39 ERA on the season and a 4.32 over his last five starts. He’s has a 9.00 career ERA against the Red Sox in four starts, including a 5.2 inning, 5 earned run appearance back in June.
Additionally, Roman Anthony and Trevor Story are back from injuries. Mickey Gasper and Anthony Seigler were optioned to make room for the two. Shoutout to both of them for their contributions over the last month. Especially Bryant University Alum Mickey Gasper. Some of the countries finest writers and baseball players come out of Bryant. Anthony will lead off as the designated hitter, while Story is starting at shortstop and hitting 8th.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 19: Dustin May #21 of the Milwaukee Brewers pitches in the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at American Family Field on August 19, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Milwaukee has already won the first two games of this weekend’s series against the Texas Rangers, so they’ll go for the sweep today as Dustin May takes on Kumar Rocker.
May, acquired at the start of the month from the Cardinals, went six-plus innings and allowed no more than two earned runs in each of his first two starts. His third start, a 7-5 loss to the Mariners in which he allowed all seven runs in the first two innings, went less smoothly. So did May’s fourth start, which he was removed from after taking a 106 mph comebacker off his back after just one pitch. Overall, he’s 1-1 with a 5.87 ERA and 1.37 WHIP over 15 1/3 innings in his first four outings as a Brewer.
The question with May is his command. If he’s able to hit his spots early and establish the outer corners of the strike zone, he should bounce back and put up a line closer to his first two outings. If he struggles with his command, can’t establish the zone, and because of that can’t generate swings and misses (he had just two on 66 pitches against Seattle), there’s a chance it ends up looking more like his third start.
Pitching for Texas is Kumar Rocker, the third overall pick in 2022, who hasn’t quite lived up to that billing in his first professional season. With that being said, his path to the big leagues was somewhat expedited — he missed almost the entire 2023 season due to Tommy John surgery, then made his major league debut in September of the following year. Rocker never made more than six appearances at any one minor league level before reaching the majors, and this is his first year with more than 65 innings pitched as a big leaguer.
All that is to say that Rocker is a talented, still-young (26) pitcher who’s probably better than his numbers suggest, although those numbers haven’t been great so far: 4.41 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 8.31 K/9, 3.62 BB/9.
One more stat that might be relevant regarding Rocker: he’s struggled pretty badly against teams that rank in the top 10 in pitches seen per plate appearance. In eight starts this season against those teams — two against the Tigers and one each against the Reds, Dodgers, Cubs, Guardians, Diamondbacks, and Orioles — Rocker has allowed 24 earned runs in 33 innings, good for a 6.55 ERA. The Brewers rank second in baseball in pitches seen per plate appearance.
Today’s lineup looks a little different. Brice Turang in the leadoff spot isn’t anything new, but he’s followed by Garrett Mitchell and Jake Bauers. With William Contreras out of today’s lineup, Jackson Chourio will hit cleanup. Rounding out the bottom half of the lineup are Christian Yelich, Gary Sánchez, David Hamilton, and Joey Ortiz. With Hamilton at third and Bauers at first, Andrew Vaughn will sit for the third straight game against the right-handed Rocker, while Luis Lara and Cooper Pratt will also get the day off,
As usual, you can catch today’s game on Brewers. TV, WTMJ 620, or the Brewers Radio Network. First pitch for today’s series finale is set for 1:10 p.m.
