Category: Baseball

The Phillies salvaged the final game of their three-game series with the Blue Jays thanks to Derek Hill’s walk-off single in the 12th inning. Hill’s heroics helped lessen the sting of a blown three run eighth inning lead that led to extras and having the winning run thrown out at home to end the 11th inning. This incredibly stupid ballgame wrapped up in a nice, crisp, three and a half hours. 

The day started off well, with Jesús Luzardo not allowing a baserunner until the fourth inning and Kyle Schwarber finally ending his 17-game home run drought with a three-run shot in the third.

Ladies and gents… A SCHWARBOMB! pic.twitter.com/QOn004EGH4

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 9, 2026

Luzardo surrendered a run in the fourth on an RBI single from Alejandro Kirk after a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. double and wild pitch. The Blue Jays then climbed within one in the fifth, plating another run off of Luzardo with a Brett Bateman two out single with runners on the corners. 

But Schwarber came through again, blasting his second homer of the game in the bottom of the fifth to push the lead to 4-2. Alec Bohm tacked on a fifth run in the sixth with a two out RBI single that scored Bryson Stott from second. 

May we interest you in another Schwarbomb? pic.twitter.com/Bxtzr2A2QN

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 9, 2026

Luzardo went back out for the seventh at 87 pitches and a three-run lead and easily struck out the side on 13 pitches to end his day with 12 punch outs across seven innings with two runs allowed. 

The fun began in the eighth, when Orion Kerkering was the first man tasked with holding the lead for Luzardo. He retired the first two hitters with relative ease before allowing back to back singles to Kirk and Kazuma Okamoto. Ernie Clement then took a 95 MPH sinker to deep left field for an RBI double, cutting the lead to 5-3. With lefty Brooks Raley warming in the bullpen, Don Mattingly elected to leave Kerkering in the game to face the lefty hitting Andres Gimenez. Gimenez promptly repaid that decision with a back breaking single to right, scoring two runs and tying the game at 5-5 with two outs in the eighth inning. Kerkering was able to get Myles Straw to groundout to end the inning, but the damage was done as the boos rained down at Citizens Bank Park. 

Jhoan Duran worked around a walk and a single to pitch a scoreless ninth, thanks to a double play turned by Luis Arraez and Trea Turner. But the Phillies failed to score in the ninth, sending the game to extras yet again. Tim Mayza entered for the tenth and stranded the ghost runner, giving the Phillies a golden opportunity to win in the bottom of the tenth. Stott bunted ghost runner J.T. Realmuto over to third before Toronto elected to intentionally walk Brandon Marsh to face Bohm. He promptly popped out in foul territory before Hill lined out to right to send the game to the 11th. 

That’s where yet again the Phillies bullpen was able to strand the ghost runner, this time it was Raley entering the game three innings after he originally warmed up. Bohm somewhat redeemed himself on a great sliding play to catch a popped up bunt before Raley was able to retire the next two hitters, once again stranding the ghost runner. The Phillies half of the 11th started with Schwarber being intentionally walked and Turner popping up a bunt attempt. But Blue Jays pitcher Braydon Fisher dropped the ball, yet still recovered to throw Hill out at third to leave runners on first and second and one out. Bryce Harper then worked a walk to load the bases and the Phillies elected to use Garrett Stubbs as a pinch runner for Schwarber at third. Arraez lofted a ball to shallow right field, and Stubbs broke for home but was gunned down by Nathan Lukes, sending the game to the 12th. 

This time the Phillies bullpen could not strand the ghost runner, as Caleb Killian allowed a single to Bateman that gave Toronto runners on the corners with no outs. Jesús Sanchez grounded into a double play that was upheld after a review despite a Turner bobble, but the go ahead run scored on the play. Killian then got Kirk to pop up to end the inning with the Phillies now down a run.

The bottom of the 12th started with a single from Realmuto, putting runners at the corners with no outs. After a lengthy on-field transmitter related delay, Stott worked a 3-0 count before Jays pitcher Lazaro Estrada battled back to make it full. But Stott won the battle, singling to right to score ghost runner Arraez and re-tie the game at 6-6.

Stotty ties it up pic.twitter.com/TZ9KRTEs9n

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 9, 2026

Marsh was able to move Realmuto to third with a deep fly ball, setting the Phillies up once again to win the ballgame if they could just get a ball out of the infield. With Bohm due up, Toronto manager John Schnedier elected to intentionally walk the struggling Bohm to load the bases with one out. Hill made him pay by singling up the middle on the second pitch he saw, delivering a walk-off win.

HILL CALLS GAME! pic.twitter.com/DXOVFgXm3f

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 9, 2026

Sunday’s game between the Houston Astros and the San Diego Padres is a battle between two starting pitchers who are finally finding their footing in the rotation. Cristian Javier and Randy Vasquez have both looked sharper after a recent rough stretch. 

Both teams come into tonight’s game looking to secure a series win. The Astros won the opener 6-3, and the Padres took Saturday’s affair 3-2. The Houston bats took the night off as Michael King silenced them for six innings.

Scoring opportunities have been limited, as each game has been tightly contested.

Taking the mound: Cristian Javier (HOU) vs Randy Vasquez (SD)

The Astros will send Javier (1-2, 6.59 ERA) to the hill in the series finale. The club has been dealing with starting pitching depth all season. Javier spent time on the injured list with a shoulder strain. But he is healthy and beginning to pitch better after a slow start following his activation off the IL in July.

Javier posted a 3.79 ERA in July while splitting time between the bullpen and the starting rotation. At first, the right-hander was shaky with his control and velocity, which is a bad combination for a pitcher.

However, Javier began throwing in the mid-90s, as opposing teams could make solid contact off him. Astros manager Joe Espada was desperate for a pitcher to step up under pressure following multiple injuries to his starting rotation. His choices were limited, but he chose Javier for a spot start in late July. 

He delivered an outstanding performance that earned him another start. Javier limited the damage by showcasing great command with his cutter. He kept the ball low in the strike zone. 

Slowly, the Padres have revamped their starting rotation, as Vasquez (7-6, 4.19 ERA) has fortified his place with several quality outings in late July. The hope is he can provide added support in the chase for the final Wild-Card berth.

Friars manager Craig Stammen is hoping for an extended outing from Vasquez, who has trouble pitching deep into games. If not, it will put a tax on the bullpen that may have limited options for tonight’s game. Let’s hope Vasquez can duplicate his six-shutout-inning performance against the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier this week.

Keep in mind, he is not a power pitcher. Vasquez must avoid contact, with only 65 strikeouts in 101.0 innings pitched. The right-hander relies on ground-ball outs and the field’s dimensions to keep a deep drive in play.

Vasquez should be aided by the early evening start. Once the sun sets, the marine layer coming off the bay should temper how far flyballs will travel in Petco Park. 

Both starting pitchers have found their game, so do not be surprised if we witness a well-pitched game this evening. Each starter wants to take advantage of the pitcher-friendly environment.

If Javier or Vasquez revert to their former self, you can expect a high-scoring affair. Both lineups are built to draw walks and fill the bases. One mistake to a power hitter could put a crooked number on the scoreboard. 

Today’s lineups

Sunday night showdown. pic.twitter.com/gKKlgTtubP

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 9, 2026

8/9 ⚾ Astros Lineup is Out!
Provided by mlbstartingnine (@DailyMLBLineups for link)

📊 Live Line: Astros +106 • O/U 9.0#Astros#AstrosLineup#MLBpic.twitter.com/1NsjdFfg2N

— MLB Daily Lineups (@DailyMLBLineups) August 9, 2026

Despite the fact that the Atlanta Braves were hot coming into this wekeend’s series with the New York Yankees and also that the Yankees themselves continued to be mired in a rut at the plate since losing Aaron Judge, this was still going to be a tough series up there in the Bronx. It always tends to be tough for Atlanta no matter which part of New York that they’re visiting and this weekend’s results proved to be another example.

Despite the offensive woes, the Yankees are doing some serious pitching and it was on full display over the course of this weekend. Every run that the Braves scored was either scraped-and-clawed for or just a moment of brilliance via the homer. As such, Atlanta’s pitching staff needed to match New York’s level or this could’ve gone sideways. We ended up getting a series that was tight, tense and also weird at times. Let’s get into it, shall we?

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Friday, July 7

Yankees 3, Braves 2

This one was (relatively) fun until it wasn’t! The story in the early portion of this contest was Tyler Mahle showing Braves Country just what he had to offer as a starting pitcher. Mahle proceeded to throw six shutout innings while striking out nine batters and going stride-for-stride with old friend and current Yankees starter Max Fried. The game stayed scoreless through seven innings largely because these two dominated while they were out there.

Circumstances changed in the eighth inning and initially it seemed like it would be the Braves starting the series off with a statement win. The deadlock was broken in the eighth inning by none other than Austin Riley, whose leadoff dinger broke the deadlock and then Matt Olson seemingly provided some insurance in the ninth inning when he led off that frame with a dinger of his own. Life was good, life was grand!

Then Raisel Iglesias entered the game for the save and the shakiness that he dealt with against the Marlins earlier this week followed him up to New York City. Iggy did get the leadoff man out which should’ve elicited a sigh of relief but instead, he ended up with George Lombard Jr. at third base thanks to a throwing error that was nobody’s fault but his own after he attempted to throw out Lombard at first instead of eating what would’ve been a tough play. Still, Iglesias was one out away from escaping with the save until he stumbled against Austin Wells for a double that put the Yankees on the board. Amed Rosario got on with a walk and then the recently-struggling Ben Rice came through with an RBI single to make it 2-2 and eventually send us to extras once Dylan Dodd finally put out the fire.

After Luis García Jr. decided to torment the Braves as a Yankees player (after doing so as a Nationals player not too long ago) by making a spectacular running catch to end Atlanta’s half of the tenth inning, Ryan McMahon went ahead and delivered the final blow by hitting a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded and one out to end a game that the Braves seemingly had in their back pocket. Blah.

Saturday, July 8

Yankees 5, Braves 4

Let’s fast-forward to the fifth inning. It’s 2-1 Braves heading into the bottom half of the inning and Chris Sale is moving along merrily. That changes immediately after George Lombard Jr. gets on with a leadoff walk after he managed to get two straight pitches overturned that home plate umpire Dan Merzel had initially called strikes. Sale’s dander was already up as a result of that and it was surely high after the light-hitting Spencer Jones picked this moment to hit his first big-league triple in order to plate Lombard and tie the game at 2-2.

Then, while Sale was dealing with Austin Wells with one out, Merzel called a balk on Sale and that allowed Jones to score the go-ahead run from third base. Sale was absolutely livid and Walt Weiss did his job by making sure that he went out there and got ejected instead of Sale. The apparent reasoning was that Sale didn’t declare that he’d be pitching out of the windup after having declared for the batter before Wells. Weird, but okay!

Anyways, Sale was done after six solid innings (which he ended with a 99.2 mph heater) and the Yankees celebrated his departure by giving Victor Mederos a very rude welcome to the game in the seventh. George Lombard Jr. once again made his presence felt as he hit an opposite-field blast to make it 4-2. Ronald Acuña Jr. countered with a dinger of his own in the eighth inning but then Ben Rice continued his unfortunately-timed revitalization by homering off of Danny Young to lead off the eighth. Atlanta nearly got something going in the ninth after Dominic Smith plated Mike Yastrzemski with a single but that was as close as they got and the series was dropped.

Sunday, July 9

Braves 2, Yankees 1

This one got off to a hilarious start because Chris Sale decided to let Dan Merzel hear some more of his thoughts about what happened during the previous afternoon. In a genius (and deranged) move, Sale got himself thrown out before Sunday’s game even started. Better to get thrown out of a game you’re not playing in than to have gotten the ol’ heave-ho while he was pitching on Saturday, right?

Anyways, I highly doubt that this fired up the Braves or anything like that but Grant Holmes apparently must still have a massive chip on his shoulder because he delivered another strong start. Fresh off of mitigating the Marlins for six innings earlier this week, Holmes proceeded to blank the Yanks as well for another six scoreless innings.

Holmes only struck out two batters but he only gave up three hits while he was out there. Considering how much of a problem the home runs have been for Holmes this season, the fact that he was able to keep New York so quiet (their own offensive struggles, aside) in that ballpark made for very impressive viewing.

The Braves needed Holmes to do what he did because Cam Schlittler was dealing while he was on the mound. Atlanta was left chasing ghosts until the seventh inning, which is when Matt Olson once again delivered a breakthrough blow. He turned around a 100-mph heater (Schlittler’s tenth pitch of the day that officially hit 100 on the gun — he had 12 other pitches that could’ve been rounded up to 100) and laser-beamed it into the seats in right field for a solo homer. Trent Grisham then responded with a dinger of his own off of Didier Fuentes in the bottom of the eighth inning and just like that, they were bound for extra innings in the Bronx. Raisel Iglesias did bounce back with a very quiet ninth inning that got the Braves to extras and that’s got to be mentioned.

The tenth inning ended up being pretty straightforward! Michael Harris II brought home Ha-Seong Kim with a leadoff single and was called upon to make sure that that one run stuck. This time, Tyler Kinley got the call to finish things off and this time, there was no drama or issues as he mowed down the Yankees in order to salvage a win for the Braves in the Bronx.

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The best way that I feel like I can describe this series is that it felt like it was a big-time boxing match where it went the distance and was decided by the judges. There was very little separating these two ballclubs over the course of the weekend and it was extremely easy to envision a world where the Braves could’ve come out of the Bronx with the series win. It also could’ve gone incredibly poorly with the Braves getting swept, so I’d say that despite the disappointment from the first two games, Atlanta shouldn’t feel terrible about at least avoiding the sweep.

With that being said, this was definitely a frustrating one to watch. Iggy’s meltdown on Friday, the ump show on Saturday (and right before Sunday) and then the pitchers’ duel on Sunday definitely made for some tense viewing throughout and one of those series where it felt more like a grind than anything filled with thrills. Still, you’ve got to give props to the pitching staff for making sure that the Braves stayed in it while New York’s pitching staff seemingly dictated things throughout the week.

Tyler Mahle made a strong debut in a Braves uniform, Chris Sale was Chris Sale and Grant Holmes has continued to pitch like he’s got a chip on his shoulder. If Holmes in particular can continue to pitch like this then that’d be huge for the Braves. Now would certainly be the ideal time for Holmes to continue being able to get deep into games and maybe all the speculation surrounding the rotation could provide plenty of motivation for Atlanta going forward.

We’ll see if that’s the case as we start to get into the middle portion of July. Bryce Elder will be getting the ball to start the series against the New York Mets and hopefully he’ll be able to pick up where he left off and the Braves will be able to show that they can beat the other New York team for once. For now, Atlanta’s coming back home after an eventful three days in the Bronx and looking to put their feet back on the gas.

The Colorado Rockies dropped yet another rubber match—putting their record in such contests at 3-13 this season—in their series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals. After a solid win last night, the Rockies were looking to win their second series of the second half. However, lack of clutch pitching and hitting kept that goal out of reach.

Lorenzen labors

Right-handed starter Michael Lorenzen—riding a string of difficult starts—wasn’t at his best today. Lorenzen yielded four runs—only two of which were earned—and was fortunate to have not given up more. The veteran pitcher gave up eight hits and three walks while only striking out one batter.

Lorenzen gave up a walk and two singles in the first inning to let the Cardinals get on the board. He gave up another two runs in the third inning, but both were considered unearned due to a fielding error by Willi Castro. The third would be the most difficult inning for Lorenzen. After giving up a leadoff single to Iván Herrera—who reached second due to the aforementioned fielding error—he gave up a walk, back-to-back flyouts to advance and score a runner, and a double.

“He was inefficient with his pitches, not a ton of command with the fastball,” concluded manager Warren Schaeffer after the game. Lorenzen had thrown 85 pitches going into the fifth inning.

Lorenzen started the fifth inning with his first pitch—a middle-middle sinker—getting taken deep on a no-doubt home run by Alec Burleson, followed by a single. He did record an out in the fifth, but after that his afternoon was over and Tanner Gordon was called into relief duty.

Bullpen bends, finally breaks

Tanner Gordon pitched admirably for most of his 3.1 innings of relief work this afternoon. He started his outing by inducing an inning-ending double play in the fifth to keep the Cardinals from pulling further ahead, and spent most of the rest of the afternoon keeping the game tied and the Rockies within striking distance. Gordon pitched a clean, 1-2-3 sixth inning and a scoreless seventh despite giving up two singles.

Unfortunately, things began to fall apart in the eighth inning. Gordon gave up back-to-back singles and a sacrifice bunt to put runners in scoring position with one out. After a three pitch strikeout using only changeups to record the second out of the inning, it looked like the Rockies might escape unscathed.

The Rockies then turned to the left-handed Parker Mushinski to end the inning. Unfortunately, Mushinski gave up a bases clearing double to Cardinals rookie JJ Wetherholt. Wetherholt then reached third on what was ruled a fielding error by Rockies center fielder Cole Carrigg. A single by Iván Herrera—his fourth hit of the game—would drive in the third run of the inning before the bleeding could be stopped.

Offense unable to take advantage of ten hits, two home runs

Much like their first game of the series, the Rockies were unable to take advantage of relatively plentiful baserunners. The Rockies had ten hits and drew three walks this afternoon while only striking out five times. However, six of those hits were singles and the Rockies went 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

Jake McCarthy had another solid day at the plate, going 2-for-5 with a leadoff double in the first inning. He came home as the Rockies’ first run of the day on a Hunter Goodman single.

The Rockies would not score again until the sixth inning. Willi Castro sharply doubled with two outs and was driven home by Brett Sullivan when the latter hit his fifth home run of the season.

Hunter Goodman led off the top of the eighth inning with a home run of his own—his 34th of the season. Mickey Moniak followed up with a single and Brett Sullivan drew a walk, but the Rockies were unable to pull ahead and entered the bottom of the eighth with a short-lived tie game.

Unfortunately, the Rockies went down quietly in the ninth after the Cardinals pulled ahead. With two outs it looked like TJ Rumfield might have been able to keep the inning alive, but a great catch by Cardinals left fielder Everson Pereira ended both the Rockies’ hopes and the ballgame.

Coming Up Next

The Rockies are headed to the desert for a three game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Right-handed rookie Gabriel Hughes will have the start tomorrow against a yet-to-be-announced Diamondbacks pitcher. First pitch is scheduled for 7:40 PM MDT.

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The Texas Rangers scored five runs but the Baltimore Orioles scored ten runs.

Put that broom away, Herbie. There will be no sweeping today. The Rangers are forced to wallow in a thin layer of filth thanks to the pitching going sideways and the lineup pretty much being one and done in the series finale.

Today’s starter Kumar Rocker not only didn’t have it but he also shot himself in the foot by failing to cover first base on a first inning ground ball that would have ended an early Baltimore rally with no damage if he’d been there to beat the runner after Jake Burger had made a diving stop. Instead, the Orioles scored a run on the infield single and old friend Leody Taveras followed with a two-out RBI double to put the O’s up 2-0.

Unlike Jacob deGrom last night, Rocker didn’t settle in after his first inning hiccup. Instead, Rocker allowed three more runs in the top of the second on a couple of home runs. Even though the bullpen has seen some heavy usage of late, Rocker lasted just three innings and ultimately gave up six runs on seven hits and a couple of walks to pair with five strikeouts.

After a leadoff walk in the top of the fourth, Rocker gave way to Jordan Montgomery for his first appearance in a Rangers uniform since Game 2 of the 2023 World Series. The 2023 playoff hero returned to the mound for his first big league action overall since Sept. 2024.

Unlike Cody Bradford’s return earlier this week, the best you can say about Montgomery’s reappearance after a long rehab is that he absorbed four innings to help the Rangers manage the load that was placed on the bullpen. Otherwise Montgomery allowed three earned runs on two, two-run home runs with one of the runs placed on Rocker’s ledger.

It was nice to see Montgomery back regardless. The Rangers wouldn’t have won a World Series without him. Unfortunately, today, he was regulated to mop-up long relief duty in an otherwise lost cause partially of his own making.

It’s fair to say the Rangers rebounded from their miserable previous week but a sweep and extended winning streak felt like the kind of opportunity that could have spring boarded them to more sustained success with a couple of series against the bottom feeders in the division coming up. But these Rangers are allergic to sustained success so we will settle for a series win.

Player of the Game: That would be Brandon Nimmo, whose third inning three-run home run momentarily made it seem like perhaps the Rangers were back in this one until the Orioles quickly extinguished hope.

Up Next: The Rangers jet off for a two-series West Coast road trip starting with a four-game set in Anaheim beginning tomorrow night. The series opener will feature a couple of left-handers with LHP MacKenzie Gore expected to make the start for Texas opposite LHP Reid Detmers for the Angels.

The Monday night first pitch from the Big A is scheduled for 8:38 pm CDT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network.

After dropping last night’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Minnesota Twins came into today’s game looking for a series win against MLB’s top team. The rubber match looked to be lopsided, giving the Twins an uphill climb towards a victory. However, it turned out to be a pleasant pitching duel to finish out the border battle.

Minus a rude welcome for Connor Prielipp courtesy of a Jackson Chourio homer to open up the home half of the first, the first handful of innings were pretty quiet. The first couple dozen of pitches from Brewers starter Jacob Misiorowski were as advertised: hot, hot, hot – that is, north of 100 miles per hour. The Twins offense were held to one hit until the fifth inning, when Brooks Lee hit his 17th homer of the year to tie the game at one run apiece.

Prielipp held Milwaukee to a walk and a single over the next three innings, and both baserunners were wiped away, caught stealing by Victor Caratini. The Brew Crew got to Prielipp again in the bottom of the fifth, including a homer by Jake Bauers to lead off the frame and an RBI double from old friend Gary Sanchez to give them a 3-1 lead.

The Twins continued to chip away and start chasing The Miz in the top of the sixth. After Josh Bell drew a walk, Kody Clemens hit his 20th bomb of the season, making it a 3-3 tie. This chased Misiorowski from the game after the end of the inning: 6 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, BB, 9 K. Prielipp was essentially lock-step with The Miz throughout his appearance: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 B, 7 K.

Prielipp walked the first batter in the home sixth and was given the hook, making it a bullpen game from both sides here on out. Tommy Nance, A. J. Minter, and Andrew Morris each had scoreless outings for the Twins. Meanwhile, Minnesota batters wasted two prime scoring opportunities in the seventh and eighth. Aaron Ashby came in to pitch the seventh for Milwaukee. A fielding error, single, and walk (with a couple of strikeouts in there) loaded the bases with two outs for Royce Lewis, who struck out swinging. Abner Uribe made his own trouble in the visitor’s eighth, walking off the mound with the bases loaded after Austin Martin grounded out.

Trevor Megill, another old friend and now-closer for the Brewers, shut the Twins down in the ninth. Morris stayed in and walked Sanchez to start the home half of the frame. Derek Shelton decided to bring in Kody Funderburk who dragged the Brewers to extra innings, leaving two runners on base. D. L. Hall brushed away the Twins with help from Luis Lara, who made his second leaping, game-saving catch during the game. Yoendrys Gomez intentionally walked Garrett Mitchell, struck out William Contreras, but Bauers slapped a single to left field, driving in the winning run.

The loss was the Twins’ fourth walk-off loss of the year. Three of the walk-offs came during this road trip. This time, Minnesota batters left nine runners on base as a team and were 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Same as it ever was.

W: D. L. Hall (1-0)
L: Yoendrys Gomez (2-2)

STUDS

• Connor Prielipp: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 B, 7 K
• Brooks Lee: 2-4, HR
• Kody Clemens: 1-3, 2-run HR
• Victor Caratini: 2-3, BB, caught two runners stealing

duds

• Royce Lewis: 0-5, 4 K, including one K with bases loaded
• Austin Martin: 0-2, grounded out with bases loaded

COTG

• Kirillofffan19 brings up a good point about Kreidler (which could be applied to most Twins batters right now)

The Twins finally head home and will host the Baltimore Orioles for a three-game set. It’s another crucial series as the Orioles are also in the thick of the American League Wild Card race. Baltimore has southpaw Trevor Rogers scheduled to take the mound while Minnesota will counter with Dean Kremer. First pitch is at 640p Central. Thank you and have a great evening!

The San Diego Padres approached the MLB trade deadline by winning five of six games against the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants. Altogether, they had won eight of nine and got themselves back into the fight for the final Wild Card playoff spot.

That allowed president of baseball ops, A.J. Preller, to do what he loves to do. Wheeling and dealing at the deadline, Preller kept all his major league talent and turned two top 10 prospects along with a top 15 prospect into two rental starters that made the “pitching chaos” approach over the past two weeks no longer necessary.

By adding right-hander Casey Mize and left-hander Robbie Ray, Preller solidified a starting rotation that was undeniably in tatters with injuries and poor performances. Both Mize and Ray boast sub-4.00 ERAs for the season and are also both performing at their peak for the year coming into the deadline.

After securing two of the better pitchers available for trade, the Padres asked Randy Vásquez to start their second game in the series against their main competition for the last playoff spot, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Vásquez followed rotation leader Michael King, who gave up three runs on five hits and four walks in the first game of the series. With the offense stymied by Dbacks starter Brandon Pfaadt, King saw his record go to 6-8 for the season with a respectable 3.45 ERA in his 130.1 innings pitched.

Vasquez came in for game two, the day after the deadline, and threw a six-inning gem. He allowed no runs on two hits, and the offense supported him with seven runs before he departed. 

Right-hander Casey Mize had a disappointing Padres debut, and it was the worst start of his career. After skipping his previous scheduled start because Detroit didn’t want to risk injury before the deadline, Mize changed teams and traveled before pitching for the first time in eleven days. He refused to use that as an excuse.

The Padres rebounded behind the game four starter, Walker Buehler, and a stellar bullpen outing to capture the last game and split the series.

Overall, it was a 7-3 record over the ten games, and that kept the Friars to within one game of the Wild Card standings.

Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta make rehab starts

While the Padres are fighting for playoff relevance, their two injured starters, Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove, made rehab starts for Single-A Lake Elsinore. Musgrove had a 2.2-inning outing, allowing a run and was reportedly fine after the game and the next day. He is scheduled to make another rehab start on Sunday.

Pivetta, on the other hand, walked off the field before the end of the first inning of his outing. He reportedly experienced discomfort or tightness in his elbow and left of his own accord. Padres manager, Craig Stammen, updated fans and the media with the report that Pivetta threw an additional 20-30 pitches in the bullpen after his outing, stating his arm felt better. He will be reevalutated before another rehab outing is scheduled. This could put his contract status at jeopardy as he has a player option for next season only if he returns from the disabled list before Aug. 22. Otherwise, that option becomes a team option.

Should Musgrove and/or Pivetta come back to the team this season, the rotation would look significantly better for a playoff run than when the “pitching chaos” approach was begun. Injury and poor performance dictated the strategy with the Padres starters frequently exiting games well before completing five innings, in many instances.

Roster changes and injury reports

Right-hander Matt Waldron was designated for assignment when reliever Jeremiah Estrada returned from the injured list. Estrada had been dealing with right knee inflammation since being placed on the IL on June 5. Waldron was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays,

RHP David Morgan was sent on a rehab assignment to Triple-A El Paso. He is working his way back from a June 29 IL stint for left knee inflammation.

Trading RHP Miguel Mendez opened up a roster spot to add trade acquisition Casey Mize. LHP JP Sears was optioned to El Paso to add Mize.

Catcher Rudolfo Durán was optioned to El Paso to add utility player Gage Workman, acquired from Detroit along with Mize.

RHP Germán Márquez was designated for assignment when LHP Robbie Ray, acquired from the Giants at the trade deadline, was added to the roster. The seven day window to trade/claim Marquez opened on Aug. 5.

First baseman, outfielder and DH Gavin Sheets has been dealing with plantar fascitis and has seen minimal action for the last several days. It has been reported that he is wearing a boot when not in action and had his first start since July 26 on Thursday.

Worst to almost first

The Padres offense, which was ranked dead last in many offensive categories for two months, ended July with the second best batting average in baseball at . 269. They also had the second best OBP at .348. Their slugging percentage ended up at .429, eighth best. All that gave them the third best team OPS at .777.

Their 31 home runs were only good for 13th and their 125 RBI ranked fifth.

A remarkable turnaround that was necessary if the organization wanted to have a chance to reach the playoffs for the third consecutive season.

While that was going on, the team ERA ranked 25th at 4.77

If the two parts could come together in August with reasonable performances then the Friars figure to have a chance to overtake the Diamondbacks, at least.

Defense has been consistent

The defense is fourth in fielding percentage and eleventh in OAA (outs above average) in the MLB. First baseman Ty France leads all defenders on the Padres with six OAA.

Offensive inconsistency

The series against the Diambondbacks was just the latest example of the Padres offense having trouble adjusting to pitchers mid-game or taking advantage of an unfamiliar rookie.

Veteran Brandon Pfaddt had their number in the first game versus the D-backs. He has a 1.88 ERA in July.

The second game featured dominance by Randy Vásquez and the offense was efficient against Eduardo Rodriguez, who has a 3.45 ERA for July.

Then, in game three, the Padres went up against rookie Mitch Bratt. The 23-year-old came into the contest with an ERA of almost 6.00. He held the Padres to one hit in seven scoreless innings, his best performance as a professional. The Padres struck out nine times and didn’t score until the ninth inning. It ultimately wouldn’t have mattered due to the eight runs Mize allowed, but it is a recurring issue for this team.

On the last game of the series, the Padres faced a pitcher very similar to the rookie of the night before. Lefty Kohl Drake came into the game with a high ERA and little experience. He featured a similar pitch mix to Bratt. The difference seemed to be that the Friars looked passive and tentative against Bratt but were aggressive and more selective versus Drake.

As a result, they had 12 hits and five runs with only four strikeouts while securing the series split.

This is nothing new; the in game adjustments need to be more consistent if this offense wants to avoid more of these types of games.

Adrián Morejón is grateful

Padres’ lefty reliever Adrián Morejón made it clear he wasn’t interested in leaving the Padres, at the trade deadline or after the end of the season. It remains to be seen if the new ownership group will allow money to pay Morejón in the offseason. A.J. Preller agreed the organization needed to keep Morejón for the rest of the 2026 season.

The Padres would have had no chance to succeed this season without him. Kevin Acee, in his daily newsletter for Aug. 7, relayed the effort Morejón made to thank A.J. Preller for not trading him on Monday afternoon.

“And after that, now we continue winning,” Morejon was quoted as saying.

The four-pitcher effort to finish off the D-backs series is the perfect example of how Morejon and his fellow bullpen members have saved this team over the past two plus months.

The Royals have signed veteran closer Craig Kimbrel, according to New York Post reporter Jon Heyman. Kimbrel was designated for assignment by the Rays last week, and was released by the Mets earlier this year.

Kimbrel is a potential future Hall of Famer with 440 career saves, fifth-most all-time. He has pitched in 17 seasons with the Braves, Red Sox, Cubs, White Sox, Dodgers, Phillies, Orioles, Astros, Mets, and Rays. He was Rookie of the Year in 2011, led the league in saves in each of his first four MLB seasons with the Braves, and is a nine-time All-Star.

But his last effective season came in 2023, when he was an All-Star with the Phillies. He has a 4.78 ERA in 104 games since then, and has a 4.81 ERA in 33 games this year between the Mets and Rays, with 32 strikeouts and 16 walks in 33.2 innings. Kimbrel’s fastball sits at 93.6 mph, and he also throws a sweeper, curve, and sinker.

The Royals have been desperate to find enough arms to cover innings as pitchers continue to populate the Injured List. But bringing in a 38-year-old seems a curious move for a team that should be auditioning arms for next season. Beggars can’t be choosers, though, and so far, many of the options they have acquired have not gotten the job done. Kimbrel’s numbers haven’t been good enough for two other teams, but they may be welcome for a team struggling to find anyone that can get hitters out.

The St. Louis Cardinals wrapped up a 3-game series on Sunday against the Colorado Rockies badly needing a series victory before they welcome the team they’re chasing in the Wild Card race, the Philadelphia Phillies, to town. Michael McGreevy had a rough start, a good middle and a not great finish, but the Cardinals provided him a little run support for a change although a late rally would be necessary.

Sunday’s game started out very similar to Saturday’s game at Busch Stadium as the Colorado Rockies got off to a fast start when Jake McCarthy hit McGreevy’s 2nd pitch into right field for a leadoff double. Carrigg followed that with a bunt single giving the Rockies two on with no one out to start the game. Michael McGreevy would fortunately get Rumfield to hit into a double play, but McCarthy would eventually score when Hunter Goodman came through with a two-out RBI single giving the Rockies another early lead of 1-0.

St. Louis would answer in the bottom of the first when JJ Wetherholt drew a leadoff walk followed by Iván Herrera who reached on an infield hit. Two batters later, Jordan Walker smacked a RBI single scoring JJ and tying the game 1-1.

As Michael McGreevy settled into the game and kept the Rockies off the scoreboard in the middle innings, the St. Louis Cardinals bats gave him a lead in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Iván Herrera singled to left and then Alec Burleson walked. Jordan Walker lifted a fly ball to very deep center for the first out, but both runners moved up on his out giving St. Louis runners at 2nd and 3rd with just one out. Jimmy Crooks then hit a sacrifice fly to right which scored Herrera before Masyn Winn was not fooled by an 83 mph changeup that he crushed off of the left-centerfield wall scoring Burleson and giving the Cardinals a 3-1 lead.

One of the loudest contacts in Busch Stadium this season happened in the bottom of the 6th inning when Alec Burleson greeted a 91 mph sinker and launched it 441 feet deep into the right-centerfield stands increasing the Cardinals lead to 4-1. BOOM!

That 4-1 lead wouldn’t last long for St. Louis as Michael McGreevy got hit hard in the top of the 6th inning. With two outs, Castro ripped a double off of the wall in right which was followed by Brett Sullivan connecting with a 91 mph McGreevy sinker and depositing it over the right field wall for a 2-run homer reducing the Cardinals lead down to just one run at 4-3. Justin Bruihl would finish the 6th and also pitch the top of the 7th for St. Louis without allowing any more runs during his watch.

Many of the St. Louis faithful know the trepidation of the Cardinals entering the late innings with only a one-run lead. That’s why we were encouraged that the Cardinals bats threatened to increase that lead in the bottom of the 7th when JJ Wetherholt led off with a solid single to center followed by another from Iván Herrera giving St. Louis runners at first and second with no outs. No runs would be scored unfortunately after those two hits were wasted after a flyout and two groundouts.

That sinking feeling after missing a great scoring opportunity in the bottom of the 7th inning was realized in the top of the 8th inning when the Rockies Hunter Goodman connected with a 95 mph George Soriano sinker and sent it 394 feet into the left field stands tying the game at 4-4.

The St. Louis Cardinals seemed determined to not wait until the bottom of the 9th inning to overcome the Coloradoans. Masyn Winn and Nathan Church led off the bottom of the 8th with back-to-back singles and then José Fermín laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt moving Winn and Church up to scoring position and second and third with just one out. Unfortunately, Bryan Torres struck out on 3 pitches for the second out which left the Cardinals 8th inning fate in JJ Wetherholt’s hands. The Rockies went to the bullpen and brought in lefty Parker Mushinski. JJ made Colorado understand they made a mistake immediately as he unloaded on Mushinski’s first pitch which was a 92 mph four-seam fastball and blasted a triple (that the official scorer somehow declared a double and an error) off of the centerfield wall scoring both Winn and Church giving the Cardinals a 6-4 lead. Iván Herrera added another invaluable single into left-center scoring Wetherholt and upping the St. Louis advantage to 7-4.

The top of the 9th inning was Riley O’Brien’s responsibility as he had to face Cardinals killer Jake McCarthy first. He lined out to newcomer Pereira in left field for the first out. Carrigg was next up and he was robbed by a nice play from JJ Wetherholt up the middle that also included a nice stretch by Alec Burleson that was confirmed after a Colorado challenge. Rumfield was the Rockies last hope, but he lined out to Pereira who made a great diving catch in left to seal Colorado’s fate.

The St. Louis Cardinals begin a crucial 3-game homestand against the Philadelphia Phillies Monday night at Busch Stadium. Hunter Dobbins gets the start for the Cardinals while the Phillies will give the ball to Andrew Painter who’s returning from hamstring issues. First pitch is scheduled for 6:45pm central time and the game broadcast will be available through Cardinals.tv.

The Cubs finished up a stretch of 17 games without an off day with a 12-5 mark, which is likely better than any of us had hoped for when this run began.

And they did it emphatically, with yet another solid outing from Matthew Boyd and the bats going strong. All of that resulted in a 10-2 Cubs victory over the Royals, taking the series.

The Cubs wasted no time in taking the lead in this one. With one out, Michael Busch doubled and then the bases became loaded on infield singles by Alex Bregman and Ian Happ.

Michael Conforto’s sacrifice fly made it 1-0 Cubs [VIDEO].

Boyd breezed through the first two innings, recording his first six outs on just 15 pitches. Then the Cubs made it 3-0 in the third. Busch singled with one out, his second hit of the game. After a fly out by Alex Bregman, Happ also posted his second hit of the game, a single, with Busch stopping at second.

Conforto singled in the Cubs’ second run [VIDEO].

Happ stopped at second on that hit, and then scored on this single by Nico Hoerner [VIDEO].

In the bottom of the third, Bregman flashed some glove on this low line drive [VIDEO].

The Cubs made it 4-0 in the fourth. Miguel Amaya led off with a single. Tyrone Taylor attempted a bunt, which resulted in a force play at second. Pete Crow-Armstong also hit into a force play. Busch followed with his third hit of the game, a single, with PCA stopping at second.

Bregman’s second hit of the day, a single, scored PCA [VIDEO].

Boyd then made his only real mistakes of the day in the bottom of the fourth, a one-out single by Salvador Perez, followed by a ball hit by Starling Marte that was absolutely demolished for a 413-foot two-run homer.

In the fifth, Boyd had a chance to show off some defense. With a runner on first and nobody out, Kyle Isbel attempted a bunt. Boyd caught it and turned it into a double play [VIDEO].

The Cubs began to put the game out of reach in the sixth. PCA led off with a walk, which he got in part helped by this ABS challenge [VIDEO].

A ground out by Busch advanced PCA to second, where he scored on Bregman’s third hit of the afternoon [VIDEO].

Happ, who also had three hits on the day, then smashed his 20th homer of the year to make it 7-2 [VIDEO].

I really, truly hope this is the beginning of one of Happ’s patented late season hot streaks. He went 5-for-13 in this series with a double and two home runs.

The Cubs put the game away in the seventh. Hoerner led off with a double and Swanson walked.

Miguel Amaya then hit a three-run homer, his fourth [VIDEO].

Boyd completed seven innings, throwing 98 pitches (64 strikes), a really good performance on a very hot day in Kansas City (90 degrees at game time).

About Boyd’s outing, from BCB’s JohnW53:

Matthew Boyd’s quality start was his sixth of the season, tying Colin Rea for second most among Cubs pitchers. Shota Imanaga has 10. Seven others have a combined 17, for a team total of 39, about one of every three for the season.

Here’s more on Boyd’s outing [VIDEO].

Ryan Zeferjahn threw the eighth and struck out a pair, including getting Bobby Witt Jr. on a 99 mile per hour four-seamer. So far, Zeferjahn looks like an excellent acquisition by Jed Hoyer.

Royals infielder Josh Rojas threw the ninth and allowed a leadoff single to Tyrone Taylor, but that was it. The Cubs thus matched their season high with 18 hits. More on that from John:

They had 18 twice before, in an 8-7, 10-inning win over the Phillies on April 23 and in a 16-2 rout of the Jays on June 19. Both were at home.

Their most on the road before this game were 17, in a 10-2 win at St. Louis on July 28.

Javier Assad came in for the ninth to wrap things up. He retired the Royals 1-2-3 on just five pitches. Here’s the final out [VIDEO].

A few more game notes from John:

This is the Cubs’ 16th game of the season with at least 10 runs scored — about one of every 7.5. They had 22 last season, 11 in 2024 and 24 in 2023.

Today’s win was the Cubs’ 48th straight with double-digit runs, since a 12-11, 10-inning loss at Arizona on April 16, 2024. Before that, they had won 32 in a row, so now they are 81-1 since they were outslugged by the White Sox, 17-13, on Aug. 27, 2021.
…
The Cubs scored three runs in the sixth and three in the seventh, allowing none. They have scored 84 runs in the sixth, eight more than in their second-best inning: the seventh, with 76.

The Cubs are +34 runs in the seventh, their best, and +23 in the sixth, their second best.

Overall the Cubs left 11 runners on base — but at the same time, went 7-for-15 with RISP, which is a really good showing in that situation. Well done on all counts. The Cubs win another series and, as noted, went 12-5 in the 17-game stretch without an off day, just an outstanding performance. At this writing the Brewers and Twins are in extra innings, tied 3-3.

Lastly, as noted on the Marquee broadcast, the Cubs have now won eight straight road series — something not accomplished by the franchise since 1912 (!) — well done!

And so the Cubs will certainly enjoy their off day Monday, then will open a three-game series against the Nationals in Washington Tuesday. Shōta Imanaga will start the series opener Tuesday. At this writing the Nats do not have a starter listed at MLB.com, though it was mentioned on the Marquee broadcast that Jake Irvin will start for Washington on Tuesday. Game time Tuesday is 5:45 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.

It was hard to tell which was hotter, the Kansas City August weather, or Cubs bats.

Cubs hitters rapped out 17 hits and 10 runs as Chicago took the series on Sunday with a 10-2 win over the Royals. The Randy Dobnak magic that had worked so well in his first four starts was put on hiatus for this start. The right-hander went five innings, giving up ten hits and four runs, but it was the bullpen that made it a laugher, giving up six runs in four innings of work.

The Cubs got to Dobnak with a run in the first on a Michael Conforto sacrifice fly. In the third, Dobnak gave up back-to-back two out RBI singles to Conforto and Nico Hoerner to make it 3-0. Alex Bregman had an RBI single in the fourth to give the Cubs a four-run lead.

The Royals would get some of those runs back on a two-run home run by Starling Marte off Cubs starter Matthew Boyd. Michael Massey followed that up with a two-out triple, but Tyler Tolbert was unable to bring him home.

Starling Marte homers to get the Royals on the board! pic.twitter.com/UzrQ44STxO

— Royals.TV (@kcroyalstv) August 9, 2026

Easton McGee came in for the sixth and gave up six runs in just two innings of work. He allowed a two-run home run to Ian Happ in the sixth, and a three-run home run to Miguel Amaya in the seventh. Lucas Erceg worked around two singles to pitch a scoreless seventh, then it was infielder Josh Rojas on the mound for eighth to make this a true laugher. It was the sixth pitching appearance by a Royals position player this year, and the first by someone other than Tyler Tolbert.

The Royals managed just six hits on offense, going 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position. They lose the three game series to the Cubs an fall to 49-70 for the year. They head to Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers for a three game set beginning tomorrow evening.

The post-trade-deadline Mets are fun to watch.

Sean Manaea pitched a gem, and the Mets offense scored early and often as New York defeated the Pirates 11-1 Sunday in Pittsburgh. The Mets are 5-1 since their deadline selloff, taking back-to-back road series against teams that still have playoff hopes in the Guardians and now the Pirates.

Registering his fourth consecutive quality start, Manaea finished with a season-high 11 strikeouts, zero walks and just three hits allowed. Those 11 strikeouts also matched Manaea’s best mark in a Mets uniform.

Manaea came out with some of his best stuff of the season, striking out five Pirates batters in the first two innings, matching a career best. His fastball velocity was consistently in the low to mid 90s as the veteran continues his midseason turnaround. Manaea was mowing down batter after batter, recording six consecutive strikeouts before giving up a solo home run to Jake Mangum in the third inning.

While Manaea looked like an ace, the Mets lineup got RBIs from six different players, plating at least one run in four of the first five innings. Bo Bichette reached base six times, Jared Young had three hits, Luis Robert Jr. and Francisco Alvarez each homered, as the Mets have put up 42 runs on their current road trip.

Pirates pitching wasn’t up to the task against the suddenly surging Mets. They gave up 15 hits, seven walks, and two hit-by-pitches as the Mets consistently had traffic on the bases.

New York jumped on Pirates starter Jared Jones in the first inning with some good at-bats and a bit of luck. AJ Ewing led the game off by drawing a walk on seven pitches to lead off the game before Francisco Lindor took a pitch off the foot. Bichette lined a ball 110.9 MPH up the middle to load the bases and set up Carson Benge. The rookie outfielder missed Saturday’s game with a bruised wrist, but quickly made an impact with a check-swing single to score Ewing. Robert Jr. scored Lindor on a sacrifice fly to put New York up 2-0 and give Manaea a little cushion before even taking the mound.

New York added on in the third inning with Robert Jr.’s two-run home run. Young followed that up with a two-out triple, his second triple of the road trip. Marcus Semien singled Young home, contributing to Jones’ bad day at the office.

Jones’ implosion got worse in the fourth inning, when the Mets put the game out of reach. Jones hit Alvarez with a pitch, then walked Ewing and Lindor. The Pirates replaced Jones with Evan Sisk, but it didn’t help much. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Bichette launched a double to left field to clear the bases. Young knocked Bichette home to put the Mets up 9-1.

Alvarez shook off the hit by pitch, which he took off his oft-injured hands, and eventually crushed his solo home run in the fifth inning for good measure. The solo shot gave the Mets double-digit runs for the 12th time this season. Bichette and Robert Jr. couldn’t help but pad their stats in the seventh inning. Bichette doubled to left field before Robert Jr. got his fourth RBI of the day on a two-out single.

Bichette finished 5-5 with two doubles while everyone in the Mets lineup reached base at least once except Brett Baty, who went 0-5 with three strikeouts.

With the dust settling on Manaea’s gem and the lineup’s relentless attack, Jack Weisenburger made his MLB debut out of the Mets bullpen in the eighth inning. The 28-year-old had just gotten the call earlier today before pitching two shutout innings to close out the laugher. Weisenburger and Manaea’s effort helped interim manager Andy Green preserve the bullpen heading into a three-game series in Atlanta.

The Braves series starts Monday at 7:15 PM EDT with Christian Scott taking the mound for New York, and Bryce Elder starting for Atlanta.

SB Nation GameThreads

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Box scores

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Win Probability Added

FanGraphs.com

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Bo Bichette, +13% WPA
Big Mets loser: Brett Baty, -3% WPA
Mets pitchers: +11% WPA
Mets hitters: +39% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Luis Robert Jr. home run, +15% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Jake Mangum home run, -4.7% WPA

The Mets had everything working in Sunday's series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates and won the rubber game, 11-1.

Here are the key takeaways...

-- A day after getting shut out, New York’s offense broke out in a big way and returned to its recent form on this road trip with an 11-run and 15-hit performance. 

Bo Bichette led the pack by going 5-for-5 (his second five-hit game of the season) with two doubles, a walk, three RBI and three runs scored. His bases clearing double was the big hit that blew the game wide open in a four-run fourth inning.

-- Before that, the Mets had already mounted a big lead thanks to two runs in the first and three more in the third where Luis Robert Jr., who entered the day as a career .406 hitter in 18 games against the Pirates, unloaded a two-run shot to put New York ahead, 4-0. The home run traveled 408 feet to right center field – a rare spot for a right-handed hitter at PNC Park.

Robert finished 2-for-5 with a game-high four RBI and a run scored. He drove in three of the Mets’ first four runs after lifting a sacrifice fly in the first inning and he knocked in the team’s final run with an RBI single in the sixth.

-- Jared Young also had a great day at the plate with a three-hit performance, including a triple (his second three-bagger of the road trip), that was aided by a defensive miscue. He also drove in a run and scored a run.

-- Carson Benge, back in the lineup after a day off on Saturday to recover from wrist soreness after crashing into the left field wall on Friday, seemed completely unaffected by the injury scare and stayed hot, getting things started for New York in the first with a bases loaded check-swing single through the massive hole on the left side of the infield.

The rookie went 2-for-5 and has had multiple hits in his last three games and at least one hit in every game he’s started on the road trip. He’s up to a .272 average on the season with a .744 OPS.

-- Francisco Alvarez got in the mix with a solo shot, his 13th of the year, in the fifth for his only hit of the game, although he walked and scored twice. Marcus Semien also drove in a run with a single and went 1-for-4 with a walk.

-- A.J. Ewing went hitless in six at-bats at the top of the lineup but scored two runs on two walks. Behind Ewing, Francisco Lindor also didn’t have a hit until he singled in the ninth, but like Ewing he scored twice. 

In the first inning, Lindor was hit by a pitch on the foot and was briefly looked at by trainers before being good to go.

-- On the mound, Sean Manaea pitched like an ace. The left-hander went seven innings and allowed one run on three hits while striking out a season-high 11 batters and walking none. At one point Manaea struck out six in a row before it was broken up by Jake Mangum’s solo home run, the only run the Pirates scored.

It was Manaea’s best start of the season and he looked like the 2024 version of himself. The veteran southpaw has looked a lot better lately and lowered his season ERA to 4.13 in 25 games (11 starts).

-- Jack Weisenburger made his MLB debut and pitched the final two innings where he struck out two and allowed one hit.

Game MVP: Sean Manaea

Manaea gets the nod for his dominant performance and because the Mets offense split the vote between them.

Highlights

That'll play!

Carson Benge gives the Mets an early lead with an RBI single pic.twitter.com/dcC4EOTNrz

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 9, 2026

A Luis Robert Jr. sac fly puts the Mets up 2-0 pic.twitter.com/whUVfB7W7Q

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 9, 2026

Luis Robert Jr. goes boom! 💥 pic.twitter.com/zP47iSHa9V

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 9, 2026

Jared Young with a triple as the ball gets past Jake Mangum in center field pic.twitter.com/nbcpwVsbFe

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 9, 2026

Marcus Semien is swinging 3-0 and giving the Mets a 5-0 lead pic.twitter.com/nBOXWd8N5i

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 9, 2026

Bo Bichette clears the bases! pic.twitter.com/DcKRmgDJLH

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 9, 2026

Jared Young extends the Met lead! pic.twitter.com/ocZMk1kVej

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 9, 2026

Francisco Alvarez launches his 13th home run of the year! pic.twitter.com/IhlCzLI4Q9

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 9, 2026

What's next

The Mets continue their road trip on Monday night when they begin a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves starting at 7:15 p.m. on SNY.

RHP Christian Scott (3-3, 3.15 ERA) takes on RHP Bryce Elder (8-6, 3.69 ERA).

The Red Sox are playing a few men short, and it’s come at a difficult time. The 13-inning, marathon game on Thursday night required Brayan Bello to throw three innings, limiting his availability today. It also led to Greg Weissert being optioned to bring up Raymond Burgos to provide length, which he did for two days before being optioned for Seth Martinez. Martinez isn’t exactly a trusted arm at this point; bringing him in to a close game would only be done by necessity.

On Sunday (and Saturday), the lack of rotation depth caught up to the Red Sox. With no starter available, the Red Sox needed six pitchers to get 27 outs. It nearly worked, as the Red Sox led the game after eight innings. Unfortunately, Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman are human, and both scuffled on Sunday. Whitlock nearly pitched a scoreless inning, but a bloop single and double just out of the reach of Jarren Duran tied the game. In the ninth inning with the game tied and two outs, Aroldis Chapman had Donovan Walton picked off, but Willson Contreras’ throw to second wound up in the outfield, and the inning continued. Max Muncy promptly doubled, and the Athletics had a lead. While the defense let Chapman down, he wasn’t particularly sharp. Whitlock and Chapman are each in the top five in appearances since the second half began, and pitch exclusively in high-pressure situations. Those two will continue to be effective, but the Red Sox need more length from the rotation to navigate a difficult stretch of the schedule.

Of course, the offense can bail out the bullpen on any given day. Today, that didn’t happen. They managed to score four runs on Sunday, but lacked any power and primarily moved station to station, taking extra bases with their speed. Small ball has shown up in big moments for the Red Sox, but it’s actually the home run ball that’s propelled the turnaround. Since the All-Star break, the Red Sox have 33 home runs, the third most in baseball over that span. Today, Wilyer Abreu hit a ball that looked like it had a chance, but was caught in right field for a sacrifice fly. Besides that, the contact was mostly weak, and Boston didn’t record a single extra-base hit. That meant the team couldn’t turn to Seth Martinez for a reprieve, and the high-leverage arms faltered on the same day, giving the A’s a 5-4 victory. It’s the first time the Red Sox have lost on back-to-back days since June 21st and 22nd, and the first series they’ve dropped since the end-of-June series against the Nationals.

Sonny Gray will go tomorrow against the Toronto Blue Jays. The next off day is still a week away, but Adley Rutschman could be returning to add some thump to the offense.

Three Studs

Brayan Bello (4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 K)

Eli White (3-4)

Tyron Guerrero/Jovani Moran (2 IP, 0 ER)

Three Duds

Willson Contreras (0-2, 2 HBP, Error)

Jarren Duran (0-3)

Ceddanne Rafaela (0-5)

Milwaukee Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski struck out his 200th batter of 2026 Sunday, Aug. 9. Only one other pitcher has ever gotten there faster.

It took Misiorowski 129⅓ innings. Spencer Strider did it in 123⅓ in 2022.

The list of pitchers he joins is impressive. Strider again in 2023 (130 innings), Randy Johnson in 2001 (130⅔ innings) and Gerrit Cole 133⅓ innings in 2019.

It is also a red flag.

Strider had Tommy John surgery in 2024. Cole had a reconstruction with an internal brace in March 2025 and lost a season. Johnson is the only one who did this and stayed healthy, and he was 37.

Misiorowski is 24, and the Brewers have the best record in baseball. Milwaukee has never won a World Series. Down the stretch, the Brewers have to balance that drive versus keeping their star healthy.

He went six innings against the Minnesota Twins on Sunday, giving up three runs on four hits and a walk with nine strikeouts. He punched out No.200 in the third inning, and that was the exact moment he surpassed his work load for last season.

Misiorwski threw 129⅓ regular-season innings last year between Triple-A and the big leagues, plus 12 more in October. He matched that Sunday in the third inning. There are seven weeks left and he's at 133 innings.

The Brewers have already flinched. They scratched him July 12 in Pittsburgh with arm fatigue. He skipped the All-Star Game after making the team for the second straight year. He came back July 21 following a 12-day layoff, and they pulled him after four inning and 65 pitches.

Traditionally, the process is to add 20% to 30% to last year's total to protect a young arm. That would get Misiorowski 12 more starts of five innings. The Brewers have said they will tailor it to how Misiorowski feels and it pitching.

What makes this unique is what Misiorowski can do with the innings he does pitch. Against the Rockies last month, 66 of his 83 pitches hit 100 miles an hour. He touched 104.7 mph. He threw 33 fastballs at 103 or better, more than twice as many as anyone had ever thrown in a game since tracking began.

Over his last 15 starts, he has a 1.05 ERA with 144 strikeouts in 94.1 innings.

The Brewers have their best roster in franchise history and arguably the best pitcher in baseball right now. Every inning they let him go this regular season is one they may want in October.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jacob Misiorowski reaches 200 strikeouts as Brewers watch innings grow