Here’s the Guardians’ lineup:
Here’s the Angels’ lineup:
Let’s go, Guardians! Go for seven in a row!
GUARDIANS AT ANGELS: Rodriguez vs. Cantillo, discussion
Mariners Game #134 Preview and Discussion: PHI at SEA, 8/26
Can the Mariners break out the brooms? They look to sweep away the Phillies and close out a 5-1 homestand Wednesday afternoon.
Bryan Woo returns after taking an additional few days between starts to resolve shoulder discomfort that cropped up during his last outing on August 16. He’ll get the ball in the friendly confines of T-Mobile Park, where he has put up a 2.45 FIP and .208 opponent wOBA this season.
The Phillies will trot out lefty Jesús Luzardo to try to preserve a game from their trip to the Pacific Northwest. Luzardo is turning in a fantastic season for Philadelphia; you can read more about that and Wednesday’s pitching matchup in the series preview.
Lineups
The Mariners are rolling out…a lineup for Wednesday afternoon’s series finale (the lovely graphic is courtesy of Bee). Cole Young is not starting for only the second time this season; Brock Rodden will shift over to second base in his absence, with Weston Wilson, Jhonny Pereda and Patrick Wisdom all getting starts in the field. Cal Raleigh, riding a hot streak on this homestand, moves back up to the cleanup spot as the designated hitter.
Game Information
First Pitch: 1:10 p.m. PDT
TV:Mariners.TV
Radio: Ol’ Reliable
Yankees send Fernando Cruz to IL, sign Michael Fulmer
The Yankees shook up their roster today, sending Fernando Cruz to the IL with right elbow discomfort and signing veteran Michael Fulmer to a major-league deal. They also recalled Elmer Rodríguez to start tonight’s game, and optioned Bradley Hanner to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
The IL trip comes after a period of declining effectiveness for Cruz. The right-hander coughed up a lead in two of his last three appearances, including giving up a game-tying home run as a part of last night’s bullpen fiasco, and has a 5.17 ERA since the All-Star Break. It’s unclear how serious this ailment is, but in any case it’s obviously a major concern with the Yankees fighting for playoff position.
In steps Fulmer, somewhat shockingly. Perhaps best known around these parts for robbing beating Gary Sanchez in the 2016 AL Rookie of the Year race, Fulmer had faded into obscurity, missing the 2024 season after undergoing elbow surgery and making just six appearances in the majors since. He was last seen with the Angels, contributing 3.2 scoreless innings. He can still run his fastball above 95 mph, to go along with a sweeper, curve, and change. Maybe Matt Blake can wring something out of the 33-year-old, or, maybe he’s just here to occupy space until the Yankees can get the likes of Max Fried and Clarke Schmidt back.
Fried looks like he could be back this weekend to face Boston, but until then, the Yankees needed another starter, so up comes Rodríguez for at least one spot start. The top pitching prospect has had a slightly uneven season, looking respectable but shaky in four major league starts, and posting a sparkling 2.59 ERA in the minors but with a surprisingly poor 4.3 BB/9 rate. Hopefully, he can hold things down while the Yankees pray that their injured arms recover and return.
Murphy back at catcher and Dubón hits cleanup as Braves face Dodgers
There is no sugarcoating it, the Atlanta Braves have been struggling on offense this month. Only three teams have scored fewer runs in the month of August and only five teams have a lower wRC+. The Braves will need to change course if they want to win their division because they have a tough remaining schedule.
Tonight could go a long way in proving the offense is not dead if they could tag tonight’s starter, Roki Sasaki, with a decent amount of runs.
There have only been four Braves players with a wRC+ above league average in the month of August, and interestingly Walt Weiss continues to bat two of them low in the lineup. Austin Riley has a wRC+ of 110 this month, and Mike Yastrzemski has a 123, yet they are nowhere near the heart of the order. It may behoove Weiss to consider shaking up the lineup and shift the hot hands up to secure more at-bats and help knock in more baserunners. Almost a full month of a struggling offense should be enough data to make a change.
The Braves are scheduled to face Roki Sasaki who has only faced five hitters on the roster in his young career and none of them in more than three at-bats. Ozzie Albies has done well having two hits to include a solo HR. Austin Riley is 1-2. Matt Olson, Sean Murphy, and Michael Harris have yet to record a hit against Sasaki in very limited action, although Olson has walked twice.
With Jim Jarvis being optioned it has taken away the daily question of who would get the start at SS. The main question these days is who is going to get the start at DH.
For some reason Riley and Yastrzemski are still low in the order despite being in the top four in wRC+ on the team over the past month. Another interesting move is that Harris has been moved down for Mauricio Dubón to hit cleanup.
The Dodgers will be coming in blind against AJ Smith-Shawver as only two of them have ever faced him. One is backup catcher Ben Rortvedt who is hitless in two at-bats, and Alex Call who has a .400 average in five at-bats.
Fortunately for Smith-Shawver and the Braves, the Dodgers have not exactly been hot offensively either this month. They are nineteenth in runs scored and twentieth in wRC+.
Turns out neither of the two players on the Dodgers that have faced Smith-Shawver will be getting the start tonight. The only difference in the lineup from last night is that Alex Call will be replaced with Teoscar Hernández in left field with Alek Thomas jumping up one spot to seventh in the order.
It is surprising to say the least that there will be a Dodgers lineup this late in the season with only three hitters with an OPS over .750.
First pitch is at 7:15 EDT.
Yankees reliever Fernando Cruz has partial tear of UCL; Tommy John surgery is on the table
The Yankees announced a handful of roster moves prior to Wednesday night's game against the Houston Astros, highlighted by placing reliever Fernando Cruz on the 15-day IL.
Following the team's 9-3 win, Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed that Cruz has a partial tear of his UCL. The right-hander will get a second opinion, but Tommy John surgery is on the table.
"He's going to go through and get second opinions and stuff," Boone said. "That's what we got right now."
Cruz allowed a game-tying two-run homer to Jeremy Peña on Tuesday night, and has had his struggles since late July. In his last 16 games, Cruz has allowed nine earned runs and five home runs in 13.2 innings, seeing his season ERA rise from 2.20 to 3.13 during that span.
He was seen leaving the clubhouse following Tuesday's loss with a trainer.
Here's the full list of moves:
• Placed Cruz on the 15-day injured list with right elbow discomfort• Optioned RHP Bradley Hanner to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
• Recalled RHP Elmer Rodríguez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
• Signed RHP Michael Fulmer to a major league contract and selected him to the active roster
• Transferred RHP Kervin Castro to the 60-day injured list
The Yankees announced earlier in the day that Rodriguez would make the start on Wednesday. The 23-year-old has made four starts in the majors this season, pitching to a 4.76 ERA.
Fulmer, a former Mets first-round pick, spent his first six seasons with Detroit before bouncing around the league a bit. Most recently, he pitched in three games for the Los Angeles Angels this season without allowing a run.
Baseball gonna baseball: Rays 3 Tigers 0
In my mind, I had this game in the loss column even before first pitch.
The Rays offense looked half asleep yesterday against a lesser pitcher, and today they would be facing Troy Melton, he of the 1.86 ERA. Those of you with good memories will recall that Melton had pitched a gem against the Rays back in June, going eight innings and scattering a few hits. He’s a pitcher, Brian Anderson reminded us, who is good across the game but actually gets better second and third time through the line up, so it’s not like you can just wait until he tires out to get your offense going.
And for the Rays, Freddy Peralta had looked a little better in recent starts but you really had to squint to see the effective pitcher he’d been prior to this year.
So just based on the pitching matchup, this game had the worst win chances for the Rays of the series.
Of course, then, they won. Because you never know with baseball.
The Rays first got on the board in the second inning. Simpson singled, and DeLuca doubled him home. DeLuca got to third on a sac bunt and scored when Cedric Mullins hit a ball down the line for an RBI and what looked like a double for the speedy Mullins. Alas, though, Mullins overshot the base, and was tagged out.
The Rays got their third run in the sixth inning. Jonathan Aranda doubled, and Junior Caminero singled, to put men on the corners.
Liam Hicks seemed to get all of a pitch but it fell just short of a home run. But the park contained it, and he had to settle for a very long sac fly that scored Aranda. Rays 3, Detroit 0
Peralta got through 6 innings and wow was he good today. No runs, no walks, two harmless hits, and ten whiffs. I don’t know whether this is Rays finding tweaks or the Tigers not matching up well against him or just the randomness of baseball but whatever the explanation, more of this please. It was a really effective, efficient, keep your fielders engaged as you mow through batters kind of outing. If this version of Freddy Peralta is sustainable then I will maybe allow myself to think this team could get somewhere in the postseason (if they make it there of course, let’s not court the evil eye with overconfidence).
Maybe good pitching is contagious; after Peralta left the game the final three innings were covered by Kevin Kelly and Tyler Wells, who preserved the two-hit, no walk game. And the whole thing done in just a blink over two hours! Be still, my heart!
In sum, the Rays come away with a series win, thanks to perfect pitching, sharp defense and just enough offense
Cincinnati Reds vs. San Francisco Giants – Nick Lodolo vs. Logan Webb
Terry Francona opted to shuffle his lineup for Wednesday’s series finale against the San Francisco Giants, and the Cincinnati Reds will have a new leadoff hitter in rookie Hector Rodriguez. Each of Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart have been pushed down the batting order, for whatever reason, because apparently that’s going to jump start the otherwise putrid offense.
Lefty Nick Lodolo gets the start on the day for the Reds looking to bounce back after being bonked around good by the Arizona Diamondbacks in his most recent outing. He’s got a 5.04 ERA for the season and man, would it ever be good to see him finish strong so there’s at least a modicum of optimism about the 2027 starting rotation heading into a winter of consternation.
First pitch will be thrown by Giants starter Logan Webb at 3:45 PM ET.
Here’s how both clubs will line up to start:
Rays suffocate Tigers with pinpoint pitching
On Wednesday afternoon the Detroit Tigers looked to continue their recent success and extend their winning streak to… well, two games is still a streak, right? Unfortunately, they were stymied by some return-to-form pitching and just enough offence from the best team in the American League as they lost 3-0. Also, it’s really, really tough to win a game when you can only eke-out two singles in an entire game.
Making his 12th start of the year for the Tigers was Troy Melton, and he has been sensational so far. His previous two starts have been a little shaky, though, surrendering three runs apiece in each and not going as deep into games as he had been in late July and early August. But overall his WHIP was a touch above 1 and his ERA was below 2 coming into today’s start, and I can’t wait to see how he continues to develop and refine his craft.
Freddy Peralta, the longtime Milwaukee Brewer, started for the Rays. He came to Tampa at the trade deadline after a disappointing first half with the Mets, who had traded for him in January. His previous five seasons in Milwaukee were very good, with an ERA typically in the mid-3’s, more than ten strikeouts per nine innings, and severely limiting home-run power. But this season the walks were up, the whiffs were down, and especially since coming to the Rays, his home-run rate has skyrocketed. He’d have a great game today, however.
In the top of the first Melton had a bit of trouble settling down, as has been the case this year: with one out he clipped Jonathan Aranda with a pitch and Junior Caminero followed with a single. But a ground ball to Spencer Torkelson at first base resulted in an inning-ending 3-6-1 double play, with Melton covering first.
The Rays got on the board in the second: the speedy Chandler Simpson’s grounder ticked off Melton’s glove for an infield single, and Jonny DeLuca’s double scored him all the way from first. A bunt pushed DeLuca up to third, and Cedric Mullins’ single scored him to make it 2-0.
Both Peralta and Melton then started mowing down batters, one after another, with Melton featuring lots of ground-ball outs and a boatload of different pitches. But a leadoff double and a single, at 101 and 110 mph off the bat respectively, put runners at the corners for the Rays in the top of the sixth. A fly ball to right, probably knocked down a bit by the wind, served as a sacrifice fly to put the visitors up 3-0. Melton got a lineout and groundout to limit the damage, though.
Here’s a nice sliding catch by Max Clark. (Look, this game was a little light on highlights.)
Meanwhile, Peralta allowed only his second baserunner in the bottom of the sixth, with a Brett Callahan single with two out. Did the Rays fix him? Perhaps.
Analyst Lance Brozdowski had thoughts last week, and some of this came to fruition today.
Peralta departed after six innings for tough sidearmer Kevin Kelly, who continued to be tough to the Tigers. Melton had a nice, easy seventh inning, after which his day was done with the following line: 7 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 4 K. Tyler Kinley made his Tigers debut after being cut loose from Atlanta and signed by the Tigers, getting a popout and a pair of groundouts.
Kyle Finnegan came in for the eighth and looked pretty good, allowing a single but getting the next three batters.
Tyler Wells, a tall, tough righty, came in for the bottom of the ninth and got the Tigers to meekly go 1-2-3 to end the game.
The Tigers have a day off on Thursday and then welcome Tarik Skubal and the Dodgers to town for a three-game weekend series. Skubal is scheduled to pitch Friday night, and that is going to be absolute bedlam down at the ol’ ball yard.
Notes and Numbers
- With his second-inning single, Dillon Dingler got a hit in his fourth consecutive game. That might not sound like much, but it’s been a rough go of it lately: before this modest streak began, he was 2-for-45 in his previous 11 games.
- Rays pitchers walked exactly one (1) Tiger this entire series: Colt Keith, in the eighth inning on Monday night.
- There’s a YouTube channel that has posted old All-Star games, and I watched a bit of the 1975 one here. The number of truly great players in this game is fantastic, of course, but what struck me was Jim Kaat’s lack-of-a-windup. The link points to the start of his appearance in the game, and it is… well, I’ll just let you watch it. Joe Morgan is completely befuddled, and Johnny Bench’s smile of confusion tells you all you need to know.
- Antoine Lavoisier was born on this day in 1743 in France. He was one of the most important chemists of history, discovering the element oxygen and proving that it was a key component of combustion. He also helped to build the metric system, which is the superior system of measurement, no matter what nutter says otherwise. Alas, in the wake of the French Revolution, and with his prominent status as part of the prior ruling-class, he met his fate at the guillotine’s blade in 1794.
Florida State baseball announces 2027 fall ball roster
Excitement is at a high in Tallahassee during the last week of August. School is back in session, Florida State football kicks off this weekend, and the annoyance of move-in is over. The start of the school year also marks an important day for the FSU athletic department, as rosters can be officially announced with student-athletes enrolled in classes.
On Tuesday, head coach Link Jarrett and FSU baseball released its 2027 fall ball roster, with six weeks until the Noles hit the road to take on Auburn in a scrimmage in Pensacola.
The Seminoles will bring eight freshmen to campus after their top two high school prospects, Kaden Waechter and Landon Thome, signed with their pro clubs after being selected in the MLB Draft in July. Jarrett also added eight college transfers and five players from the JUCO ranks to supplement the rest of his returning roster.
Not listed on FSU’s roster, but reported by Brett Nevitt, is the addition of AJ Nessler, a LHH outfielder from Pitt. Nevitt reported that Nessler is one of a few athletes who benefited from a court ruling in California that allowed class of 2022 players an extra year of eligibility. Nessler, a graduate of, where else but, Jesuit High School in Tampa, slashed .304/.417/.468 in 2026 while playing in 59 games for the Panthers.
Florida State baseball’s entire fall ball roster, courtesy of Seminoles.com, can be found below:
- 1B So. Nick Barron
- 1B/LHP Sr. Jackson McKenzie
- C Sr. Kaden Frommelt
- C Jr. Coy Clements
- C So. Marvin Montenegro
- INF So. Will Bavaro
- INF Jr. Jace Estes
- INF Sr. Cal Fisher
- INF Fr. Deacon Avery
- INF Fr. Gavin Byrd
- INF Jr. Cooper Malamazian
- OF Sr. Brody DeLamielleure
- OF So. John Stuetzer
- OF Fr. Ben Kuglitsch
- OF So. Isaac Pamaran
- OF So. Ty Peeples
- OF Fr. Genson Veras
- LHP Sr. Payton Manca
- LHP 5th Jacob Marlowe
- LHP 5th Kevin Mebil
- LHP Sr. Cooper Whited
- LHP Fr. Spencer Krasner
- LHP Fr. OB Osceola III
- LHP Jr. Cayden Suchy
- RHP Sr. John Abraham
- RHP Sr. Chris Knier
- RHP Jr. Cade O’Leary
- RHP So. Cam Odom
- RHP Jr. Braxton Varnes
- RHP Jr. Rhett Vaughn
- RHP Jr. Emery Dawkins
- RHP So. Otto Espinoza
- RHP Fr. Brayden Harris
- RHP Jr. Sebastian Lippman
- RHP Jr. Jordan Martinez
- RHP So. Isaiah Shayter
- RHP Fr. Donovan Thiery
How to watch San Francisco Giants vs. Cincinnati Reds
The San Francisco Giants wrap up this series against the Cincinnati Reds this afternoon from Oracle Park.
Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Logan Webb, who enters today’s game with a 3.75 ERA, 3.33 FIP, with 112 strikeouts to 35 walks in 141.2 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 6-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Friday, in which he allowed five runs on six hits with two strikeouts and three walks in two and two thirds innings.
He’ll be facing off against Reds left-hander Nick Lodolo, who enters today’s game with a 5.04 ERA, 5.40 FIP, with 59 strikeouts to 31 walks in 75 innings pitched. His last start was in the Reds’ 9-0 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks last Friday, in which he allowed six runs on 10 hits with two strikeouts and two walks in three and a third innings.
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Game #133
Who: San Francisco Giants (54-78) vs. Cincinnati Reds (62-71)
Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California
When: 12:45 p.m. PT
Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area
National broadcast: n/a
Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. San Diego Padres: Bubba Chandler vs. Randy Vasquez
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. San Diego Padres, August 26, 2026, 4:10 p.m. ET
The Pittsburgh Pirates are eyeing a sweep as they take on the San Diego Padres in the series finale on a Wednesday afternoon inside Petco Park.
The Pirates have had a flair for the dramatics in the first two games of the series. In Monday’s opener, the Pirates took it to 12 innings and pulled out a 3-2 win thanks to an RBI single from Nick Gonzales, who was serving as the designated hitter and leadoff man during the contest.
Last night, Paul Skenes looked like himself, pitching six scoreless innings and giving up just three hits in the 1-0 victory. The Pirates didn’t get on the board until the ninth inning, when Oneil Cruz launched a homer into right field off of Padres All-Star closer Mason Miller, who hadn’t given up a home run in over a year. Mason Montgomery closed it out for his sixth save of the season as the Pirates raised the jolly roger.
Now Bubba Chandler (6-8, 4.38 ERA) gets the ball against Padres starter Randy Vasquez (9-6, 4.19 ERA) to give the Pirates their first sweep since the Milwaukee Brewers visited PNC Park from July 11-12.
Location: Petco Park, San Diego, CA
Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet Pittsburgh
Pitching Matchup: Bubba Chandler (6-8, 4.38 ERA) vs. Randy Vasquez (9-6, 4.19 ERA)
BD community, this is your gameday thread for today’s game against the San Diego Padres. Chime off in the comments section below.
Pittsburgh Pirates at San Diego Padres
Pittsburgh Pirates (65-69) at San Diego Padres (71-62), August 26, 2026, 1:10 p.m. PST
Watch: Padres.TV
Location: Petco Park – San Diego, Calif.
Listen: 97.3 The Fan
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Giants place Adrian Houser on the IL, call up Braxton Roxby
For the second day in a row, the San Francisco Giants have placed a starting pitched on the Injured List with a potentially devastating injury. On Tuesday, it was lefty Carson Whisenhunt, who left Monday’s start with elbow discomfort and is now headed for Tommy John surgery. And on Wednesday, it was righty Adrian Houser, who left Tuesday’s game with elbow discomfort and will now hope for better news than his teammate.
The Giants officially placed Houser on the 15-Day Injured List with a right forearm strain. Taking his place on the roster is right-handed reliever Braxton Roxby, who had his contract purchased from AAA Sacramento. To make space on the 40-man roster for Roxby, the Giants moved Whisenhunt to the 60-Day IL.
The hope is that Houser, who is under contract for next year, has avoided a catastrophic injury. He sounded fairly optimistic after the game, which is a good sign. We’ll have to wait and see.
As for Roxby, this will be his chance to make his MLB debut. The 27-year old was an undrafted free agent following the truncated 2020 draft, and came to the Giants in the Taylor Rogers trade before the 2025 season. He has just a 4.11 ERA and a 4.92 FIP with Sacramento this season, but has been pitching very well over the last month or two.
He’s a four-pitch pitcher, who this year has relied fairly heavily on a slider, sinker, and cutter, with his four-seam fastball — which averages 94.6 mph — being used quite a bit less frequently than that trio. The fastball and slider have really stymied AAA hitters this year, while the cutter has been hit fairly hard and the sinker has been demolished. It will be interesting to see what pitch mix the Giants have him throw.
Either way, it’s exciting to welcome another player to the big leagues. And hopefully good news awaits Houser on the injury front.
D-backs vs Cubs Discussion
Some things about last night’s game. Justin Martinez threw a pitch in the ninth inning recorded at a velocity of 103.3 mph. That was the fastest ever thrown by a Diamondback, breaking his own record of 103.0 mph, set in September 2024. Before Martinez made his 2023 debut, in the Statcast era (so 2008-2022), only five pitches by an Arizona pitcher had reached 100 mph. They topped out at 100.8 mph, thrown by Rubby De La Rosa in 2015 (it hit Cristhian Adames, ouch!). Since then? 704. The great majority (627) hurled by Martinez, but Juan Morillo (61), Carlos Vargas (11) and Thyago Vieira (5) – anyone remember the last two? – have also hit triple digits.
The big blow, of course, was Ryan Waldschmidt’s walk-0ff home-run. It was the 16th such where the D-backs were trailing at the moment of impact, and the eighth when down to their final out. Among the sixteen, Waldy and Ryan Roberts are the only Arizona players with more than one. Just two of those trailing walkoff homers came when the D-backs were down by more than one – both hit by Roberts! Of course, we all remember his walk-off slam against the Dodgers in 2011. But you might have forgotten the other one. The following year, he came up against Oakland with two outs in the ninth, Arizona trailing 8-6, and also went deep, with a three-run shot.
samath also did some digging. Waldschmidt is the first MLB player to hit two lead-flipping 9th-inning walk-off home runs in the same season since the Orioles’ Manny Machado in 2017. He’s the first player with two such walk-offs in any inning in the same calendar month since the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez in April 2007. Those are the only two in the past forty years, though it might not stay that way for long. The arrival of the Manfred Man has made this kind of walk-off more common. If the away team score the ghost runner in the top half, as is more likely than not, then a home-run in the bottom would very likely qualify.
[Dolly seemed to work her magic from the top of the GDT last night, so let’s see if she can bring us a series win. Maybe she’ll end up being canonized alongside St. Penelope!]
What we learned as adaptable Phillies blast Mariners, back Luzardo's gem
What we learned as adaptable Phillies blast Mariners, back Luzardo's gem originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
SEATTLE — All series long, the Phillies saw a common thread from each opposing Mariners starter.
Fastballs, fastballs and more fastballs.
Logan Gilbert used his 49 percent of the time Monday, up nine percentage points from his season average. George Kirby used his 40 percent Tuesday, up 12 percentage points. Bryan Woo came in averaging 47 percent.
Lots of numbers, lots of heaters.
And before Wednesday’s series finale, Don Mattingly saw the same challenge coming again.
“Their starters are all similar. They remind me of Pittsburgh, where you get four or five guys and they’re all the same,” Mattingly said pregame. “They’re not exactly the same, but they’re all have good stuff, good velocity, they speed you up. They seem to pitch good in this ballpark.”
Woo would actually throw his fastball 57 percent of the time Wednesday.
It became very clear what the Mariners were doing. They were going right after a Phillies lineup that had built a patient, walk-oriented identity in August, leading to a jump in on-base production and a steep drop in chase.
For two nights, the Phillies had no answers. Seattle’s plan on the mound was working.
“The challenges are the same because you still gotta hit it,” Mattingly said. “It’s back to game planning. What can you handle? What can’t you handle? Where do you want to try to take? What are you given?”
On Wednesday, the Phillies handled the heat.
They jumped Woo early, backed Jesús Luzardo’s gem and thumped the Mariners 6-0 to salvage the final game of their three-game set at T-Mobile Park.
SEE IT, HIT IT
Woo entered the start as the best American League starter at home, carrying a 1.96 ERA in 10 starts in Seattle. Over his previous seven home starts, his ERA was 0.79.
But the Phillies looked ready to jump on him early and often.
In the first, Kyle Schwarber battled away a couple of Woo fastballs before getting a slider low in the zone and driving it to right-center for a ground-rule double.
After Trea Turner struck out, Bryce Harper took a big swing at a first-pitch four-seamer at the top of the zone and fouled it back. Woo came right back inside with the same 98 mph fastball.
Harper took the same kind of swing and pounded one the other way to left-center, just over the outstretched glove of Julio Rodríguez for his 27th home run of the season.
The next inning, Philadelphia stayed with the same approach.
Bryson Stott doubled, Brandon Marsh walked and two batters later, Justin Crawford worked a gritty nine-pitch at-bat. He kept fouling balls off, waiting for another fastball, then slapped a run-scoring single through the right side.
Crawford is now hitting .329 with runners in scoring position, showing the kind of pesky, ground-ball-oriented approach that made him so difficult to defend in the minors.
And that brought up the Phillies’ leadoff man.
SCHWARBARIAN’S 40TH
As he did in his first at-bat, Schwarber battled Woo.
This time, he hunted the fastball, got one up in the zone and drove it into the right-field seats for his 40th homer of the season.
He just keeps slugging.
It is Schwarber’s second straight season with 40 or more, after he led the majors last year with 56. It is his fourth 40-homer season in the last five years, all with the Phillies.
That ties Ryan Howard for the most 40-homer seasons in franchise history. Howard had four straight from 2006 to 2009.
Schwarber makes the five-year, $150 million deal he landed in the offseason look like a no-brainer. The Phillies are thrilled.
He encapsulates so much of what Philadelphia values, on and off the field, and can lift the offense in more ways than one.
Sometimes, literally.
It was Schwarber’s 380th career homer.
Getting to 500 could very well be his ticket to Cooperstown one day. And if that happens, it almost certainly will come in a Phillies uniform.
ROAD LUZARDO ROCKS
Interestingly enough, Luzardo entered with a 1.95 road ERA, one point lower than Woo’s home ERA.
Something had to give.
In this case, it was Woo, not Luzardo.
The Mariners did not have a hit until there were two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Luzardo got ahead of hitters, his sweeper generated chase and he located his four-seam fastball. That was especially important against Cal Raleigh, who had homered four times in the first two games of the series.
Luzardo struck him out all three times he faced him.
You could see the confidence Luzardo had on the mound Wednesday. He even tried an ABS challenge, something he has said he would usually try to avoid.
He continues to dominate away from home. After seven scoreless innings, one hit and nine strikeouts, Luzardo now carries a 1.80 ERA on the road, fourth best in MLB.
It also raises an interesting October question.
If the Phillies make the postseason, could they line up their rotation so Luzardo takes the ball away from home?
With the way he has pitched on the road, and with the kind of flexibility the Phillies hope to have, it at least becomes part of the conversation.
BRYCE KEEPS ON KEEPIN’ ON
It was a big day for the Phillies’ right fielder.
Harper homered, extending his on-base streak to 29 games. He doubled, too.
He also took extra bases away from Rodríguez in the first inning, making a leaping catch in front of the right-field wall.
Mattingly noted before the game that Harper is still dealing with some soreness, something the Phillies are managing as he continues playing every day.
“We still watch it physically in general because he’s nicked up,” Mattingly said pregame. “He’s playing every day, but his jumps, to me, we’ve seen a couple plays even in this series where the jumps are good.”
Harper has looked increasingly comfortable since moving back to right field after the Luis Arraez trade. The Phillies have seen him go into the gap, toward the line and make throws from the outfield.
Mattingly does not sound like a manager holding his breath out there.
“I’m comfortable, and he looks comfortable out there,” Mattingly said pregame. “He’s had enough reps over time. It’s just getting him back to being comfortable.”
The soreness, though, is something Harper is expected to deal with.
“Any kind of tendonitis-type scenario, some days you feel good,” Mattingly said. “Every once in a while, you take a misstep, you feel a little swelling, soreness.”
That makes what Harper is doing even more important, and impressive.
He is still producing. He is still getting on base. He is still making plays in right field after spending years away from the outfield.
And he is still helping validate the move that put him back there in the first place.
Harper and the Phillies will stay out west to face the Angels for three games beginning Friday, then head to Arizona to finish a 10-day road trip.