Category: Baseball

The Cubs split their six games this past week, taking two of three in Washington, then losing two of three at home to the Cardinals. They’ll have to pick up the pace this week if they still retain hopes of catching the Brewers in the NL Central.

Here’s who was hot and not for the Cubs over the past week.

Three up

Seiya Suzuki continues his consistent pounding of the baseball

Suzuki batted .333/.385/.750 (8-for-24) over the six games with four doubles, two home runs, seven RBI and six runs scored. His numbers have been remarkably consistent all year, and indeed, over his five years with the Cubs. The team should make it a top priority to retain him for the next few seasons.

Here’s his three-run homer that won Friday’s game [VIDEO].

Alex Bregman’s bat came alive in DC

Bregman hit four home runs in the first two games against the Nationals, including the first three-homer game of his career in Wednesday’s win.

Over the week he batted .300/.440/.900 (6-for-20) with the four homers, eight RBI, five walks and six runs scored.

He currently leads all NL players with 557 plate appearances this year.

Here are the three homers on Wednesday [VIDEO].

Clay Holmes was just outstanding in his first Wrigley start

Holmes had a rough first game as a Cub in Kansas City, but was lights-out against the Cardinals Friday at Wrigley, throwing 6.2 one-hit innings and recording 11 ground-ball outs out of his 20 total outs.

That’s the guy the Cubs thought they were getting when they traded for him. Keep that up and it will be a very good trade, even if Holmes is a rental only.

Check out how much he used the sinker and sweeper [VIDEO].

A hat tip to Javier Assad, who had another solid relief appearance and posted his second save of the year. His reward: Getting sent back to Triple-A Iowa despite posting a 2.35 ERA and 1.043 WHIP in 16 games and 61.1 innings since May 5.

Personally, I hope Assad is back soon.

Three down

Pete Crow-Armstrong is in another funk

PCA did hit two home runs over the week, but had only one other hit and batted .107/.107/.357 (3-for-28) in the six games. A bit more concerning: No walks and 10 strikeouts. He’d become so good at drawing walks and it appears the league might have adjusted. Now he’ll have to adjust back.

I think he’ll adjust back, but it might take a bit of time.

Edward Cabrera, yikes

You all likely saw his rough outing on return from the injured list on Sunday. After the game Cabrera said he had a blister issue which might have caused the command problems where he issued three walks in the fourth inning. Blisters have been a problem for Cabrera throughout his career.

I’m not sure what the answer is here but I think the first thing the Cubs should do is skip Cabrera’s turn the next time through the rotation.

Michael Busch might need a reset

Busch batted .200/.238/.200 (4-for-20) with no extra-base hits and six strikeouts in the first five games of the past week before Craig Counsell gave him Sunday off. Busch has hit only one home run in his last 112 plate appearances dating to July 21 and has batted just .243/.277/.295 in those PA, over 25 games.

Hopefully, the off day Counsell gave him on Sunday will help Busch get back to where he was. He has reached a career high in walks and his .353 OBP is good, but more power would help.

A disappointing series defeat at the hands of the Colorado Rockies to finish of a homestand that had a lot of promising moments left a sour taste in the mouths of a lot of Dbacks fans and gave some a reason to be less than optimistic that the next series would be better as they would go from facing one of the worst teams in the NL to the second best team record wise in the Atlanta Braves.

The offense would have to turn things around and start coming up with more hits in crucial opportunities with runners in scoring position as the Braves and their top 10 offense would be one that could be hard to go toe to toe with, but the Dbacks would at least have their 3 best starters toeing the rubber and giving them their best shot at limiting Atlanta’s fire power.

Big Game Brandon

With the offense ending the homestand with a brutal 3-12 w/ RISP and 15 base runners left on in a 6-4 loss against Colorado, the bats decided it would be even funnier a second time (spoiler, it wasn’t) and went 0-14 in their run scoring opportunities and leaving 10 runners on in Friday’s affair and doing it with potential Cy Young winner and future Hall of Famer in Chris Sale would not be the best recipe for success.

Thankfully for the offense and Diamondbacks fans’ sanity, that lack of clutch hitting would not be the talk of the game, as that honor would go to Brandon Pfaadt with his 7 shutout innings while allowing only 2 hits, striking out 7 and walking none. This would be the 4th straight start in which Pfaadt would not allow an earned run thus lowering his ERA on the season to 3.11 (was at 5.92 before his demotion to Triple A Reno) and his ERA since being recalled to 1.18.

After back-to-back starts in which Brandon Pfaadt outmeated both Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Chris Sale and blanking 2 top 10 offenses in all of baseball, the fellas and I discussed if this version of Brandon Pfaadt is truly his new evolution and not just a hot stretch for the righty.

Gabe mentioned that this isn’t like a starter who has a low ERA but their underlying metrics that would suggest they are getting lucky and would be due for some regression, Pfaadt has a FIP of 3.80 and an expected ERA of 3.58, showing that he has truly just been that effective since being recalled. Brandon was in agreement with Gabe but also mentioned what even Pfaadt acknowledged on Saturday’s broadcast, that being how the whole team deserves praise, from James McCann and Gabriel Moreno calling the games from behind to dish, the coaching staff for working with him and his mechanical changes to the pitching strategies and analytics that they use to setup each game plan for these offenses.

Corbin Quad-roll

Its been no secret to Diamondbacks fans or any baseball fan that has been paying attention throughout 2026 but Corbin Carroll has been going through one of the worst stretches we’ve seen since his sophomore slump in 2024 as his numbers since June 1st has Corbin’s slash at  .217/.315/.458 for a .773 OPS and a 108 wRC+. The OPS and wRC+ would usually be really solid numbers and one that most fans would take in a heartbeat, but when you consider his .287/.381/.535 for a .916 OPS and a 148 wRC+ from Opening Day through May 31st it really puts into perspective just how much of a drop Corbin’s offensive numbers have seen.

With these struggles in mind, we discussed the actual possibility that Corbin could be the 4th player in MLB post integration to have a 20/20/20/20 season (SB, 2B’s, 3B’s and HR’s) and why that mark would be so impressive when you factor in his mid season slump. Corbin ended this series in Atlanta sitting at 17 steals, 26 doubles, 15 triples and 18 home runs, which means that with around 6 weeks left to play there is a really good chance that Corbin could make it a possibility.

Gabe, Brandon and I all pointed out that this upcoming series against the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park could be a great opportunity for Carroll to add on a few more triples and home runs thanks to the park’s dimensions that can play in favor of Corbin. Gabe mentioned that the 420 foot corner in Right-Center field could be Corbin’s best place to aim at in hopes of triples, while Brandon notes that the short right field wall and “Pesky’s Pole” measuring just 302 FT from home plate sit as the best place for Corbin to potentially add a few more homers and get to 20 before leaving Boston.

With 3 left handed starters slated to take the bump for Boston in this 3 game series, that could be another boost for Corbin to boost up those stats as he has crushed left handed pitching this entire season with him slashing .426/.481/.691 with 5 triples for a 1.172 OPS and a 216 wRC+ in 77 at-bats.

Arena-Doesn’t Look Good

Outside of Sunday’s unfortunate 3-5 loss that not only denied the Snakes of a series sweep but also saw them drop a game in the Wild Card race to the Phillies and Padres who are going blow for blow and win for win with the Diamondbacks, the Dbacks could have potentially lost Nolan Arenado at a time that they really can’t afford to lose the future first ballot Hall of Famer.

After a groundout to end the 4th inning the veteran 3rd baseman was replaced in the field with utility man Ildemaro Vargas as fans would hold their breath that whatever was wrong with Nolan was just a small tweak or something that was more of a precautionary move. What was originally reported as “left trunk discomfort” was then clarified by D’backs longtime reporter Jody Jackson to be an intercostal muscle concern and that Arenado would get an MRI to diagnose the severity of the injury.

An injury of this type could mean that Arenado could potentially miss anywhere from 2 weeks to 3+ months due to the severity of the strain.

This had the fellas and I hoping that this was more of a precautionary move and that Nolan could miss minimal time, but if the injury is more serious than we expect then we all agreed that this could potentially be a blow that we look back on and go “yeah that’s when things started to slip away from us”. The production that the Dbacks have gotten out of Arenado this year would be one that would be hard to replace both offensively (20 HR, 62 RBI and a .768 OPS) and defensively (3rd least amount of errors and 7th overall in OAA among all third baseman in baseball).

We all agreed that lacking his offense would hurt no doubt, but lacking his defensive ability at third might be the most noticeable change since guys like TIm Tawa, Illdemaro Vargas or even Jose Fernandez (if recalled from Reno) can be serviceable replacements, but we might see those tough plays that Nolan converted into outs or those for sure doubles he turned into infield singles could be something that we miss and might even be the difference in a win or loss, and we all know how critical every win is in this close NL Wild Card Race.

Heading up to Bahston

The Diamondbacks road trip doesn’t get any easier going forward as they head into Beantown for a 3 game matchup against the red hot Red Sox, who own the best record in all of baseball (29-11) since July 1st. The Red Sox have 2 really solid LH starters going for theme in Ranger Suarez (3.25 ERA) and Peyton Tolle (2.97 ERA), but Brandon mentioned that the Boston Starters are where the Snakes will have to rely on most of their damaging being done, as the Red Sox have the best ERA from relievers in all of Major League Baseball with a 2.98 mark.

It may be a tough task ahead for The Diamondbacks but as we’ve seen from them over the last week and a half, they have proven that they can hang with some of the best teams in baseball and were just a few clutch hits here and there from sweeps of both the Dodgers and the Braves, so there is hope for the D’Backs to continue their winning ways and keep pace with the Phillies and Padres.

Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now!

We also wanted to remind everyone that we did officially announce the big Dispatch Giveaway that includes a baseball bat signed by Paul Goldschmidt (JSA Authenticated), 3 Giveaway Hats, 3 Replica jerseys and 3 Dbacks baseball cards that one lucky winner will receive. The winner will be announced before the first pitch of Friday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, so if you haven’t yet entered then this tweet below will provide you with all the information needed to get yourself a chance to add to your Dbacks collection!

On August 17, 2003, Jorge Posada went 0-2 with a pair of walks and the Yankees won 8-0. He turned 33 that day. The win moved the Yankees to 4-0 on his birthday when he was in the lineup (winning World Series titles in 1999 and 2000). They advanced to the Fall Classic in 2003, though they ignominiously fell to the Marlins. The next year, they lost 8-2 to the Twins (!!!) on Posada’s birthday. Two months after that loss, the unthinkable happened in the ALCS-that-shall-not-be-named. Coincidence? I think not.

Random anecdote aside, I am an unabashed Jorge Guy. I authored his entry for the Pinstripe Alley Top 100 Yankees of All-Time and I was one of the biggest Posada boosters on the staff, ranking him at No. 11 on my personal list. I have no regrets. In this house, we respect switch-hitting catchers who hit for power and average and who look like they would crawl barefoot over broken glass to win a baseball game.

Long after the Yankee dynasty ended, Posada was my guy when I played MLB The Show. For some reason, I murdered breaking balls when hitting left-handed with him. My now sister-in-law, who’s since become a Blue Jays fan (sigh), used to gleefully shout “Hip Hip, Jorge!” when the Yankee backstop went yard while we watched the Yanks play, even against Toronto.

I have a ton of fond memories of Posada and he’ll always be one of my favorite Yankees. It’s a pleasure to wish him a happy birthday (though I am about 99 percent sure he’ll never read this).

Name: Jorge Rafael Posada
Born: August 17, 1970 (Santurce, Puerto Rico)
Yankees Tenure: 1995-2011

Having written 3,000 words on Posada, it would be both repetitive and long-winded if I just dug back into his biography. Instead, I’ll use his birthday as a chance to reminisce on my two favorite moments in his long, decorated career. My apologies to The Flip Play, as I’ve seen enough fielding nincompoopery from Yankees over the years that I no longer take it for granted that Posada remained alert and in position to field Jeter’s absurd flip to the plate and tag Jeremy Giambi.

When I say Posada struck me as the type who would crawl barefoot over broken glass to win a game, I think back 20 years ago to a game against the Rangers, one we featured in our Top 25 Games of the Past 25 Years series.

After an inning and a half, the Yankees found themselves trailing 9-0. It would have been extremely easy for them to pack it up and head for the showers as soon as possible. Instead, we got a comeback for the ages, and Posada’s imprint was all over it. An RBI single in the third, a sacrifice fly in the fifth (the latter cut the deficit to 10-5). In the top of the sixth, future teammate Mark Teixeira obliterated him at home plate. Posada held onto the ball and saved a run from scoring.

Finally, trailing 13-12, in the bottom of the ninth representing the winning run, Posada put the finishing touches on one of his finest performances, in one of the most entertaining Yankees games in my lifetime. Take it away, John Sterling.

If you want to nitpick Posada, I guess you can point to his career postseason OPS being more than 100 points lower than his regular season (.745 vs .848). I’ll point out that he was playing in the playoffs after donning the tools of ignorance for months and absorbing incredible punishment. But it’s a fair criticism.

That doesn’t mean he is bereft of signature playoff moments. So, let’s talk about The Grady Little Game. We all know it. One of the greatest baseball games ever played in the playoffs.

The eighth inning. The only reason there was even hope was Jason Giambi’s two home runs off Pedro Martinez and Mike Mussina’s three shutout innings in relief of Roger Clemens.

Then, Bernie knocked in Jeets. 5-3. A Godzilla double put runners on second and third for Posada who was 0-for-3 on the night. For his career, Pedro owned Jorge. Posada strode into the box that night 10-for-53 (.189) in his career against the Hall of Famer including the postseason, having whiffed 30 times.

Channeling his inner Wee Willie Keeler, Sado hit it where they weren’t. The wounded duck off his bat fell into a devil’s triangle in shallow center field. Bernie scored easily, waving Matsui around to follow him. Posada, as he rolled into second base, unleashed a primal scream as millions wanted catharsis in real time. We all know how the game ended. But Aaron Boone doesn’t get his chance at immortality without that eighth inning and one of the greatest single moments of Posada’s career.

The New York Yankees know a thing or two about having all-timers behind home plate. Posada is not the first pinstriped backstop to make himself forever part of franchise lore. Hopefully, he is not the last. I’m not old enough to have seen Thurmon Munson, let along Yogi, or Bill Dickey, legends all. For me, Jorge remains the gold standard of Yankees catchers in my lifetime. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I am going to see if I can dig up MLB The Show 09.

Happy 56^th birthday, Jorge Posada.

As the regular season nears its end in MLB, it’s time to turn the focus away from who can reach the playoffs and instead hone in on who can win it all. In modern baseball it’s clear that not all division winners are the same, and a 100-win Wild Card team shouldn’t be the underdog against a 92-win division champ.

But wins and losses alone don’t give the full picture at the end of the regular season. As of publish the Detroit Tigers would be on the outside looking in on the playoffs. While just a game out of the final Wild Card spot, there are two other teams still ahead of them trying to catch the Baltimore Orioles, including the last place Toronto Blue Jays. Normally this could just be chalked up to a sub-par A.L. Central, but the Tigers might not be as bad as their record indicates. Detroit has a +83 run differential, meaning they have scored 83 more runs this season than they have allowed. That’s good enough for second best in the A.L. behind only the New York Yankees.

Run Differential has been a good indicator for which teams can win a World Series, but that may just be a correlation as the most talented teams that win the most tend to have the best run differential. But for a team like Detroit, could they play spoiler in the postseason if the ball bounces their way a few more times than it has in the regular season? If enough of those one-run losses turn into wins the Tigers might have a real shot at making a deep postseason run. If the standings hold, that last Wild Card spot would play the Boston Red Sox who sport a run differential of +81, remarkably close to where the Tigers sit. If they get by Boston, all of a sudden the path to the ALCS looks a lot easier with the Chicago White Sox (+47) waiting for them.

There are, to be fair, a whole lot of “ifs” in that scenario. But if run differential supports arguments for who is the best, it’s not too far of a leap to have it explain the future for the rest of the postseason as well.

Be on the lookout for results to this survey and the rest of the SB Nation Reacts surveys later this week.

Right-handed reliever Ron Marinaccio was designated for assignment by the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 3rd as the NL Central rivals of the Cincinnati Reds needed 40-man roster spots for other acquisitions. The Reds, meanwhile, had openings on their own 40-man roster after dealing away Caleb Ferguson and Nathaniel Lowe, and scooped up Marinaccio off waivers to help add depth to their beat-up bullpen.

That marriage simply did not work out.

The Reds themselves designated Marinaccio for assignment on Monday morning, doing so after the righty walked 3 and served up a dinger in an ugly 5-run 9th inning performance on Sunday in the series finale against the Miami Marlins. He allowed earned runs in each of his four appearances with the Reds (10 ER total in just 5.1 IP), and now finds himself back on the waiver wire.

The Reds announced the move prior to Monday’s doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, noting that they were adding reliever Zach McCambley to the roster as the 27th man for the day while adding lefty Kent Emanuel to both the 40-man and active rosters to replace Marinaccio.

Emanuel, 34, is a veteran of two separate big league seasons with two different clubs. Back in 2021, he broke in with the Houston Astros and pitched to a 2.55 ERA (albeit with a 5.49 FIP), in a small 17.2 IP sample. He bounced through the systems of the Philadelphia Phillies, Pirates, and Marlins after that before returning to the big leagues with Miami for another 17.2 IP stint in 2024. He threw in indy ball in 2026 before landing with Louisville for a single 6.0 IP outing, and now finds himself back in the bigs with Cincinnati.

Emanuel will start the first game of Monday’s doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals as the two clubs begin a five-game series.

The state of the pitching staff right now is, shall we say, not very bueno.

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A fresh week is here, so let's get after it!

Here are my MLB moneyline predictions for tonight's slate, which include a double-dip selection of the St. Louis Cardinals in their doubleheader vs. the Cincinnati Reds.

Before we dive in, be sure to check out all of our MLB picks on Monday, Aug. 17.

MLB moneyline picks for August 17

Matchup	Pick
Cardinals vs Reds (Game 1)	-113
Orioles vs Rays	+147
Marlins vs Phillies	+223
Cardinals vs Reds (Game 2)	-117
Tigers vs Pirates	-106
Diamondbacks vs Red Sox	+133
Padres vs Mets	+113
A's vs Royals	+174
Braves vs Twins	-122
White Sox vs Cubs	+147
Dodgers vs Rockies	+239

Prices courtesy of Polymarket as of 8-17.

Expert MLB moneyline picks for August 17

Cardinals vs Reds Game 1: Cardinals (-113)

Cardinals win probability: 53%

Are the St. Louis Cardinals coming off a big series win over the Cubs? Of course, but that should not shy us away from backing the team clearly performing at a higher level. The Cincinnati Reds own a 69 wRC+, .247 wOBA and .611 OPS over their last 12 games, while the Cardinals have posted a 122 wRC+, .344 wOBA and .782 OPS during that same stretch.

To add insult to injury, the Reds send out Chase Petty, who owns a 9.00 ERA, 8.88 xERA, and 2.25 WHIP over his last three starts.

It is the Cardinals or nothing in Game 1.

Orioles vs Rays: Orioles (+147)

Orioles win probability: 40%

The Tampa Bay Rays have been dangerous all season long, and they still are, owning a 132 wRC+ over their last 12 games. However, their lack of hard contact, which has been an issue throughout 2026, is a concern against a lineup generating a 45% hard-hit rate and 11% barrel rate over its last 12 games, while sporting a 117 wRC+.

Shane McClanahan has been regressing over his last three outings and is coming off an IL stint. Brandon Young has also scuffled, but the Birds have been swinging a hot bat. At nearly +150, this is worth dabbling on. 

Marlins vs Phillies: Marlins (+223)

Marlins win probability: 31%

From a moneyline price standpoint, nobody should be looking to pay $2.28 for a team to secure a regular-season win, especially when Janson Junk has been tossing some filth over his last five outings. The former punching bag owns a 3.97 ERA over his last five, but in his last three starts, he has posted a 1.93 ERA and 1.14 WHIP.

We all know how great Cristopher Sanchez has been this season. However, he has struggled with walks, and the Miami Marlins have been pretty disciplined at the dish, owning a 10% walk rate over their last 12 games. If they can get ducks on the pond and drive them in, they have a chance.

Cardinals vs Reds Game 2: Cardinals (-117)

Cardinals win probability: 54%

Real simple: I am not backing an ice-cold offense just because its starter has some solid underlying metrics across his last three starts. On the other side, the Cardinals have a pitcher who owns a 1.80 ERA and 1.07 WHIP over his last five outings.

Take the hot team in both games today.

Tigers vs Pirates: Tigers (-106)

Tigers win probability: 52%

Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski owns a 9.72 ERA, 7.43 xERA, and 2.16 WHIP over his last three starts. Meanwhile, Framber Valdez has improved over his last three, owning a 2.75 ERA while limiting opponents to a 5% barrel rate.

The Tigers' bats have gone cold, but there is no reason to trust an arm with a near 10.00 ERA.

Go Tigers.

Diamondbacks vs Red Sox: Diamondbacks (+133)

Diamondbacks win probability: 43%

The Boston Red Sox's fall from grace has been very sad to watch, but getting the Arizona Diamondbacks at +133 with Mitch Bratt on the bump feels like a steal.

The Arizona southpaw has a 1.50 ERA, 2.49 xERA, and 0.89 WHIP over his last three starts, and has also done a great job limiting hard-hit balls and barrels.

Brayan Bello has had a great turnaround over his last five. However, the Red Sox offense continues to cool off, and there is far more value on the Diamondbacks with how hot their bats have been as well.

Padres vs Mets: Padres (+113)

Padres win probability: 47%

The San Diego Padres being a short underdog on the road feels a little odd. Their lineup is on fire, owning a sub-20% strikeout rate, while posting a 127 wRC+ and .808 OPS over the last 30 days. They draw New York Mets right-hander Nolan McLean, who has a 4.15 ERA over his last three starts.

Walker Buehler has been solid for the Friars over his last five starts, posting a 3.20 ERA while limiting hard-hit balls and barrels.

At +113, the Padres are the pick.

A's vs Royals: Athletics (+174)

Athletics win probability: 36%

Question for the reader: should the 2026 Kansas City Royals ever be a $1.78 favorite? No.

Sure, Michael Wacha owns a 2.45 ERA and 0.98 WHIP over his last three starts, while Mason Barnett has an 8.78 ERA during that stretch.

However, the Athletics' offense has been heating up over their last six games, owning a 131 wRC+, .820 OPS, and .217 ISO. The Royals, during that same stretch, have posted just a 58 wRC+, .112 ISO and .255 wOBA.

Give me the dog.

Braves vs Twins: Braves (-122)

Braves win probability: 55%

Braves southpaw Martin Perez has been lights out over his last five starts, owning a 1.08 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. With Bailey Ober on the rubber for the Twins, the Braves are the lean here.

Ober sports a 5.41 xERA over his last three starts while allowing a near 15% barrel rate to opposing hitters. With how dangerous the Atlanta bats can be, they should be able to handle anything Ober offers.

White Sox vs Cubs: White Sox (+147)

White Sox win probability: 40%

Sure, some will see Luis Castillo and rush to bet the Chicago Cubs this evening. But are we forgetting that Shota Imanaga has a 4.71 xERA over his last three starts? Both starters could be in for a long evening with how hot both lineups have been.

Tonight will come down to which bullpen can hold it down, and the Cubs' bullpen has been atrocious all season, owning a 4.47 xERA and 4.52 FIP while allowing a 41.41% hard-hit rate.

The never-say-die Chicago White Sox look tasty on the North Side.

Dodgers vs Rockies: Rockies (+239)

Rockies win probability: 30%

Reread the first sentence for the Marlins vs. Phillies breakdown.

The Los Angeles Dodgers' offense has been very cold over their last 12 games, posting just an 87 wRC+, .293 wOBA, and .660 OPS. The Rockies have been no better, but at least they are drawing more walks and limiting strikeouts.

Tomoyuki Sugano is a punching bag, but he has done a great job limiting walks and hard-hit balls as of late. Blake Snell is back and looked fantastic in his first start coming off the injured list, but I am hoping for some regression here. If he does, I like the Rockies to take advantage.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

What a wonderful show we have for you this week, not only did we have the faboulously talented Stefan Caray, but we also witnessed the return of the GREAT Scott Plaza! Gabe and I were there too. Kidding aside, this episode featured a couple of conversational elements some readers had been asking for, there is discourse and disagreement, and there is a lot more of a conversational flow rather than a direct interview style. Yes, its an hour long, but none of us noticed the length of time until about 45 minutes into the episode, and we hope you find yourself just as engaged!

Stefan, of course, is the son of the Cardinals lead broadcaster Chip Caray, but also has spent years earning his stripes in Amarillo and is ready for whatever the future holds. He will be on the broadcast during the next homestand when the Cardinals take on the Baltimore Orioles.

This weeks show, we talk about the unforgettable Baez debut, Alec Burleson, Blaze Jordan vs Nolan Gorman, and we finish the show with a conversation centered around Jordan Walker and what another hot stretch could mean for the Cardinals playoff push down the stretch.

I apologize for no transcript again this week, I was up well past midnight last night editing this episode and by that point, in order to function properly the next day I had to sacrifice the transcript again. If anyone knows of any transcript editing tools that are cheap/free and are reliable, please share them with me, Id love to continue providing one, It is just an extensive project on top of the already extensive process that comes along with the scheduling, prep, recording, and editing process that already takes place. Thanks in advance!

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2026 MLB Playoffs Tiebreakers: The American League Wild Card race is a free-for-all right now, particularly as it relates to the third and final seed.

The Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins are all within a game or so of the final Wild Card spot. The Seattle Mariners, who Fangraphs projects as having the best winning percentage in the American League the rest of the way, are just a few games back.

The Houston Astros are in first place in the American League West, up by two games on the Rangers and fourgames on the Mariners, so the A.L. West is still in play, which puts Houston in among the potential Wild Card vie-ees.

The Chicago White Sox are currently in first place, up by 5.5 games in the American League Central, but are arguably playing over their heads and could fade, putting them in the Wild Card mix and Detroit, Cleveland and Minnesota in the hunt for the American League Central.

Given all that, it seems like a good time to review the tiebreaker rules for the playoffs, and where things stand for the Rangers in regards to those tiebreakers. Yes, its certainly possible that the Rangers fall apart down the stretch and are just playing out the string the final week. Its also certainly possibly (though, I think its fair to say, less likely) the Rangers go on a heater and are in a solid place in terms of the playoffs come the final week, or weekend, of the season, and thus we won’t have to worry about tiebreakers because Texas is safe.

So yeah, this could all be moot. But its a Monday off day in the second half of August, so let’s look at it.

First as a reminder, we no longer have Game 163s when teams are tied for a playoff spot. No winner-take-all technically-regular-season-but-effectively-a-playoff +1s after the final weekend. If there’s a tie at the end of the year, we go to the tiebreaker system.

MLB.com has the full rundown of how the tiebreaker system works, which you can read in full, if you’d like.

If there’s a tie between two teams, the team with the best head-to-head record advances.

If the head-to-head record is a tie, then the team with the best record in games among division opponents advances. That would theoretically mean that the Rangers, playing in the weak A.L. West, would have an advantage if they were tied with an A.L. East team, since the East has the teams with the three best records in the A.L. right now. However, the Rangers have been ass against A.L. West teams this year, so that doesn’t really help them.

If both teams have the same intradivision record, then whichever team has the best record against American League* teams post-All Star Break advances.

* Because we are talking about the American League playoffs. If we were dealing with the National League playoffs, it would be the National League playoffs.

If both teams have the same post-ASB record against the American League, then you go to each team’s last game against an A.L. opponent before the All Star Break. If one team won and the other team lost, the team that won advanced. If both teams won their last game against an A.L. opponent pre-ASB, or both teams lost, you go to the game before that, and if necessary keep repeating until you get to where one team won and the other team lost.

The Rangers beat the Astros in the final game before the All Star Break, incidentally, so they have that going for them, on the off chance that particular tiebreaker comes into play.

If three teams are tied, and they have identical records against each other, then you use the above tiebreaking system, beginning with intradivision record, except that you don’t use an additional game if the additional game was between two of the teams.

If three teams are tied, and they do not all have the same records against each other, then if one team won the season series against each of the other two teams, that team advances.

If no team won the season series against the other two teams, then whichever team had the best overall winning percentage against the other two teams advances.

If two of the teams are tied for the best winning percentage, the third team is out, and the two remaining teams apply the two-team tiebreaker methodology listed above.

If all the teams have the same winning percentage, then the system outlined above when all three teams have the same record against each other is applied.

If four teams tie, then the same system as with three teams is used, except that, if two or three teams of the four teams are tied for the best record after a step, then the other team(s) are dropped, and you shift to the two- or three-team tiebreaker method.

If your brain hasn’t been broken by all that, let’s look at where the Rangers stand in terms of tiebreakers against their potential opponents:

Against Houston:

The Rangers lost the season series against Houston, 4-9. If the Rangers are in a two-way tie with Houston, Houston advances.

Against Seattle:

The Rangers have clinched the season series with the Mariners, being up 7-3 with three games in Seattle to go. If the Rangers are in a two-way tie with Seattle, the Rangers advance.

However, Seattle has clinched the season series against the Astros, 9-2, with two games in Seattle to go.

So if there’s a three-way tie for the American League West, if the Rangers and Astros both sweep Seattle, the Rangers would have the best record in the games amongst the three teams (14-12 for Texas, 12-14 for Seattle, 13-13 for Houston), and would advance.

Against Detroit:

The Rangers lost the season series to the Tigers, 2-4. If the Rangers are in a two-way tie with Detroit, Detroit advances.

Against Minnesota:

The Rangers are 0-3 against the Twins this season, and play their final three games of the season in Minnesota. Thus, the Rangers would lose any tiebreaker against the Twins unless they were three games back of Minnesota heading into the final weekend, and then swept the Twins. That would mean the season series would be tied 3-3, and we’d go to intra-divisional record.

Against Cleveland:

The Rangers won the season series against Cleveland, 4-2. If the Rangers are in a two-way tie with Cleveland, the Rangers advance.

Against Toronto:

The Rangers have clinched the season series against Toronto, being up 4-0 with three games in Texas in late September to go. If the Rangers are in a two-way tie with Toronto, the Rangers advance.

Against Baltimore:

The Rangers won the season series against Baltimore, 4-2. If the Rangers are in a two-way tie with Baltimore, the Rangers advance.

Against the ChiSox:

The Rangers are trailing in the season series with the White Sox, 1-2. They have three games in Chicago against the White Sox next week. They need to sweep to win the season series, and go 2-1 to split the season series.

Boston, the Yankees, and the Rays are far enough ahead that the chances of them ending up in a tiebreaker with the Rangers is slight. Still, in the interest of being thorough, we’ll talk about them, as well.

Against Boston:

The Rangers are trailing in the season series with the Red Sox, 1-2. They have three games against Boston in Arlington in mid-September. They need to sweep to win the season series, and go 2-1 to split the season series.

Against the Yankees:

The Rangers lost the season series to the Yankees, 2-4. If the Rangers are in a two-way tie with the Yankees, the Yankees advance.

AgainstTampa:

The Rangers are trailing in the season series with the Rays, 1-2. They have four games against Tampa in Arlington in early-September. They need to win at least 3 of 4 to win the season series against Tampa. Otherwise, Tampa will win the season series.

Worcester: L, 6-9 (BOX SCORE)

One thing you may notice reading Sunday’s Minor Lines is that offense was aplenty, but the pitching was pretty lackluster. In most cases, it’s not much of a cause for concern. But in the WooSox’s loss to Buffalo (Blue Jays AAA) in the series finale, it may have altered a trajectory a little bit.

Let me explain: John Holobetz has been serviceable across two levels this season in addition to working his way up the organization in 2025. The 24-year-old makes his bread and butter in the top end of the strike zone with a 94 MPH heater that has some room for development, but the righty was pitching well enough that it was feasible he could become an option down the stretch and develop the pitch while in the Majors, as it’s clear he has good control of that pitch and a reliable repertoire. With Patrick Sandoval struggling in the bigs, it looked possible that he could be called on to help out at some point this season.

On Sunday, Holobetz gave up six runs on six hits in just eight outs. His ERA stands at almost 6 in Worcester, albeit in an extremely limited sample size. But we’ve seen this movie a few times, folks; I don’t want to see a guy debuting while struggling to keep runners off the basepaths in Triple-A, even against a talented Buffalo lineup. One does not have to roam far mentally to wonder if Anthony Eyansson would be seeing some time in Worcester by now had he not been dealt at the trade deadline as part of the Adley Rutschman deal, but one would also take some respite in the fact that Craig Breslow has been incredibly good at scouting pitchers in his time with the Red Sox organization thus far and that another Eyansson may not be far behind. Is it Holobetz, whom the team acquired for Quinn Priester in 2025? Almost certainly not in the same way; they’re not the same caliber of talent, won’t be used the same way, and don’t have the same strengths. But, if Sandoval continues to struggle, the Sox will need to call on someone down the stretch.

Also, to those wondering why shortstop wasn’t addressed during the busy trade deadline the club had, the likely reason if not the biggest benefactor of that had his first action since May on Sunday. He went 1-2 with a double. In this floundering lineup, at his best, Trevor Story is someone who can add some pop. But Story can be streaky as well, so here’s hoping September 2026 Story can be similar to end of 2025 Story – a guy who the team counted on to get a big hit or at least be a sound fielder.

While the WooSox took some time to drum up some offense on a rehabbing Spencer Arrighetti, who the Blue Jays acquired for Daulton Varsho, a home run by a raking Mikey Romero (at least lately) and a very late shot by Jason Delay should have sealed the deal for Worcester, but instead they were left scrambling to overcome an early deficit given up by Holobetz and Devin Sweet. But, it’s better that type of performance happens in Worcester than in Boston, er, Pittsburgh this weekend.

Portland: L, 6-8 (BOX SCORE)

Jack Winnay’s seventeenth homer of 2026 and sixth in Double-A. One other single early in the game. Two more hits by a slumping Will Turner and Henry Godbout, just the infielder’s second since his promotion last week. There was not a ton of offense Sunday, but the team made the most of drawing five walks in the finale against Binghamton (Mets AA) and plating those walks, as they went 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Sadly, though, this was a bullpen game, Reidis Sena didn’t make it out of the first before giving up a home run, Morgan McSweeney allowed four runs and as many hits, and the Sea Dogs’ lack of later offense came back to bite them as the RumblePonies broke a 6-6 tie in the eighth and stayed on top.

Salem: L, 5-8 (BOX SCORE)

Jose Bello at least made it through four innings in Delmarva (Orioles A) but he let two home runs out of the park and, stop me if you’ve heard this before, left Salem playing catchup earlier than desired. Kleyvar Salazar put the game within striking distance with his tenth home run of 2026 in the seventh inning, but that hit was the only one with runners on the RidgeYaks achieved all afternoon, and that puncher’s chance become very slim as the game grew longer.

Coming out of the corn and playing the Twins may have been a salve the Phillies needed after looking like they would rather have been anywhere else that St. Louis this past week.

Three up

Alec Bohm – Vegetables are a good thing to eat. As a father of younger children, I know the pain of getting them to eat vegetables, coming up with all kinds of creative ways to make sure they get their nutrition. I myself prefer my vegetables raw, not particularly caring for them to be cooked, but I’d imagine that’s the best way to eat them anyway. Whilst in Iowa, the Phillies were surrounded by corn. Maybe that surrounding did something to Bohm as he hit .550/.571/.900, buoyed by his five hit game Saturday night. Listen, whatever it takes, man.

Aaron Nola – Listen. Nola has been pretty good of late. The expectations placed on his game have changed dramatically over the years as we have had to watch him adjust to this portion of his career. His start in Iowa where he allowed one run over five innings is about all we can ask of him at this point. Should he continue to do this through the rest of his contract – five to six innings each time, keeping the team in the game, maybe mixing in a few stellar outings – that deal may not turn out so bad after all. It’s a big ask.

Left handed aces – Cristopher Sanchez is an ace, there is no doubt. John Stolnis made the case that Jesus Luzardo should be considered the same. Combined this week, they showed why the Phillies will be a tough out if they should make the playoffs as they each had sterling starts on the mound.

Three down

Zack Wheeler – There are times when the ace has a clunker and this week was it. Wheeler’s start in St. Louis wasn’t the one we would have expected, landing him amongst the shattered ruins of bad weeks, but a bounceback start at home is likely imminent. It would have been nice of him to have a better start, but he didn’t.

J.T. Realmuto – An unsightly one hit over the week means there are triple slash lines that might be considered NSFW. Might be time to start asking that question again about sitting him more often, especially in these dog days of the baseball schedule.

Baseball – I get that money is a thing that MLB craves from wherever they can get it. Any kind of money they can get for whatever they can market and sell, they are going to chase. But to place the Field of Dreams game on Netflix, where a lot of people couldn’t watch it? Silly.

Welcome to another week A’s fans!

The recent homestand went so-so as the A’s first got swept by the Rays before winning a series against the Rangers. Considering Texas is in our division if we were going to win a series it’s good we won the divisional matchup.

Now the club is back on the road and set for their last road four-game series of the season. Kansas City is up first and the A’s have an excellent chance to win back-to-back series for the first time since June. At 51-74 the Royals are way out of the playoff picture and just a couple games ahead of the A’s. If the Green & Gold can come away with a 3-1 series win, they’d leapfrog them for third-worst record in the AL. The goal this year needs to be to not finish last in either the division, the league, and the entire sport. We got four very winnable games coming up and the club needs to show up. Rookie right-hander Mason Barnett starts things off tonight for us. Time to rack up some wins!

Have a great start to your week everyone.

A’s Coverage:

• A’s Take Series Against Rangers, Win 5-2
• A’s place Soderstrom on 10-day IL with left hip impingement; Hernaiz recalled
• Late Blast Lifts Rangers Over Athletics
• Jeff McNeil Leads A’s to 8-3 Victory Over Rangers
• Why The New GM Needs To “Clean House”
• 111 games, zero errors: Wilson sets MLB record at shortstop
• A Seemingly Rock Bottomless Glass
• MLB Trade Grades: A’s Have Quiet Trade Deadline
• A’s Top Prospect Jamie Arnold Sets Career High in One of His Best Double-A Starts
• Fustercluck 2026: The Real Reasons For A Disappointing Season
• Signs Of Hope And Signs Of Hopeless
• Athletics prospect Ryan Lasko says feeling in his legs returning
• Cuban’s investment group purchases minority stake in Athletics
• Chan Ho Park joins A’s group; 1st Korean to buy stake in MLB club
• Blogfather Saves The Day With Pearls Of Most Excellent Advice

MLB News and Interest:

• Tommy John, whose surgery blazed a trail for countless players, dies at 83
• Los Angeles Dodgers place Justin Wrobleski on injured list
• Dansby Swanson headed to IL after exiting Chicago Cubs’ loss
• Nolan Arenado Likely To Undergo MRI For Torso Injury
• Ranking every MLB farm system, 1-30
• Paul Skenes’ start moved back as Pirates rest struggling ace
• Báez’s borrowed cleats from historic debut heading to Cooperstown
• 10 unheralded players stepping up for postseason contenders
• Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, Phillies Interested In Teruaki Sato
• Family affair: Brewers’ Carsten Sabathia III hits first pro homer with Hall of Famer dad in stands
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

That would be our luck. Hopefully not this year:

Agree or disagree?

Makes sense: