Category: Baseball

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Scottish Premiership: Rangers turning up the pressure at Pittodrie

The Detroit Tigers evened up their three-game home series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday afternoon with a narrow 2-1 walk-off victory. Keider Montero threw 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball and the bullpen did its job, while Kevin McGonigle drove in Javier Báez in the ninth to seal the deal.

Thanks to that triumph, the Olde English D has a chance to take the series from one of the best teams in the majors on Sunday with left-hander Framber Valdez on the mound. The 32-year-old is coming off a very borderline quality start last time out but has still put up an ugly 5.71 ERA and 5.74 FIP over his last three outings since throwing a pair of seven-inning gems to open August.

Against the Tampa Bay Rays in his last appearance, Valdez threw six frames of four-run ball (three earned) on eight hits (one home run) and two walks with nary a strikeout to speak of to take the L in a 4-1 final at Comerica Park.

For the Dodgers, right-hander Tyler Glasnow will toe the rubber after some discussion that Shohei Ohtani might get the start. According to reports, the Japanese phenom came out of yesterday’s bullpen feeling less than 100%, and it has yet to be determined if the four-time MVP will even pitch again this season.

As for Glasnow, the 33-year-old hurler will be making his ninth start of the 2026 campaign and second since returning from the injured list after missing nearly four months due to lower back spasms. He tossed five innings of three-run ball in his last outing against the Braves in Atlanta, allowing six hits while walking nobody and striking out seven for a no-decision in an eventual 4-3 loss.

Here is a look at the pitching matchup on paper for the series finale on Sunday afternoon.

Detroit Tigers (63-72) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (81-55)

Time (ET): 1:40 p.m.
Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
SB Nation Site:True Blue LA
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Game 136: LHP Framber Valdez (8-9, 4.35 ERA) vs. RHP Tyler Glasnow (3-0, 3.02 ERA)

VALDEZ

GLASNOW

Hello, friends.

The Orioles have managed to creep closer to a wild card spot yet again. Thanks to losses by the Guardians and Rangers yesterday and the O’s holding on to take down the Athletics, the team is now just a game back of the third wild card, with only Cleveland standing between the Orioles and a postseason position. The head-to-head tiebreaker will belong to the Guardians unless the Orioles sweep them next week. There are 26 games left to play this season.

Check out Andrea’s recap of the Saturday night game for more of the lovely totals. This link will probably appear after this article has posted due to the game ending late on the east coast.

Separate from the outcome of last night’s game, I’m feeling bad about Samuel Basallo after watching what he did in the game. In the middle of going hitless, he reacted to one of his at-bats by doing this in the dugout afterwards:

It’s rough to watch a guy showing that much negative emotion in the dugout. For all that there have been struggles from the team this year, we haven’t seen a ton of this. Gunnar Henderson has had some after at-bat reactions, of course, but nothing like this slamming and punching.

Seeing this is something that makes me down on manager Craig Albernaz more than any tactical choices he makes. It’s the skipper’s job to keep everybody on an even keel as much as possible so that they aren’t spiraling into negativity in a way that hurts their performance. The staff should be on top of how Basallo is feeling well enough that somebody can cut things off before it gets to that point, and once he started in on this, I think somebody should have intervened rather than view it as useful blowing off steam.

More concerning about something that might carry over into today is that Basallo ended up inadvertently blocking a pitch with his bare hand in last night’s game. Trainers checked him out and he stayed in the game afterwards, but after grounding out in the following inning, Basallo was removed in favor of Yohel Pozo. On MASN, Ben McDonald speculated that it could have been a benching after Basallo didn’t run out the ground ball. I’m not in a position to know as I write these words. I hope there’s not a broken finger.

Basallo would probably not be catching a day game after a night game anyway, so we might be waiting until Monday to get a clear idea of what’s really going on.

This three-game set in Sacramento is set to conclude starting at 4:05 Eastern today. Chris Bassitt is scheduled to pitch for the Orioles. As of this writing, the Athletics do not have a starting pitcher listed.

Orioles stuff you might have missed

Six players the Orioles could call up when rosters expand (The Baltimore Sun)
Yesterday’s Bird Droppings featured a different outlet considering the list of possible callups. The Sun takes a turn today.

Encarnacion-Strand goes from under-the-radar acquisition to unsung hero (School of Roch)
CES has already driven in more runs than more than one player who’s been around a lot longer than he has this season.

Possible Arizona Fall League prospects (Orioles On The Verge)
This week, MLB announced that Orioles prospects will be on the Peoria Javelinas alongside of prospects with the Cardinals, Padres, Mariners, and Reds. The Arizona Fall League begins on October 3. Rosters will be announced later; On The Verge guesses who the O’s might send.

Fully healthy in 2026, Caden Hunter’s velo ticks up and the strikeouts are coming (Steve Melewski)
On pretty much nobody’s radar going into the season, Hunter has raced through three levels this season and he’s gotten some decent results so far in Double-A too.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Today in 2013, the Orioles traded Xavier Avery for Mike Morse, who had -1.0 bWAR in 76 games with the Mariners before this trade. He put another -0.5 on the board in just 12 games with the O’s.

One lone former Oriole was born on this day. Happy 52nd birthday to 2001 reliever Kris Foster.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: author Mary Shelley (1797), nuclear physicist Ernest Rutherford (1871), baseball Hall of Famers Kiki Cuyler (1898) and Ted Williams (1918), Maryland-born comedian Lewis Black (1948), and tennis player Andy Roddick (1982).

On this day in history…

In 1535, the pope of the time, Paul III, excommunicated England’s king Henry VIII, though since this was held in suspension, Henry had to be re-excommunicated several years later.

In 1836, the city of Houston was founded.

In 1967, Thurgood Marshall became the first African American Justice on the Supreme Court after being confirmed by the Senate. The vote was 69-11. Many Southern senators voted against him; many others abstained.

**

And that’s the way it is in Birdland on August 30. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!

This is being written before the Phillies game even starts on Saturday night, which means that someone is going to come up with some crazy end game heroics. It’s what happened last night, so let’s try and see if it happens again.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Missed this yesterday, but Larry Christenson passed away on Friday at the age of 72. He was one to be remembered for those that watched the 1980 World Series champions.
• Edmundo Sosa hit another home run with two outs in the ninth inning for the Phillies ($). How do they keep getting away with this?
• Everywhere he goes, Alex McFarlane still has a little bit of the U.S. Virgin Islands with him ($).

MLB news:

• I’ve heard of players faking their age to get signed early, but coming up with fake death certificates? That’s a whole new level of strange.
• What did Bruce Willis say in “The Jackal”? Something about so and so can’t keep his women safe? Well, it looks like the Braves can’t keep their pitchers safe.
• Remember when a lot of people got worked up over the Mets making a deal to acquire Luis Robert, Jr. this offseason? Yeah, that really hasn’t turned out too well for them.

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Sunday’s MLB slate offers plenty of value across the board, with several plus-money underdogs joining a handful of dependable favorites in matchups featuring clear offensive, pitching, and bullpen edges.

Read on for my MLB moneyline predictions and MLB picks for Sunday, Aug. 30.

MLB moneyline picks for August 30

Matchup	Pick
MIA vs WSH	49%
COL vs ATL	68%
BOS vs NYY	50%
SEA vs TOR	49%
KC vs CLE	39%
LAD vs DET	56%
SD vs TB	62%
CWS vs MIN	49%
TEX vs MIL	39%
PIT vs STL	51%
HOU vs NYM	47%
BAL vs ATH	43%
PHI vs LAA	64%
CIN vs CHC	45%

Prices courtesy of Polymarket as of 8-30.

Expert MLB moneyline picks for August 30

Unless specifically noted in the text, all stats are from the past seven days and can be found on Fangraphs. 

Marlins vs Nationals: Nationals (49%)

Nationals win probability: 49%

I’m grabbing the Nationals at plus-money behind Andrew Alvarez. Washington holds the offensive edge over Miami (98 wRC+, .178 ISO vs. 87 wRC+, .106 ISO). Miami’s bullpen is laboring with a 4.72 SIERA and a weak 5.9% K-BB%, giving the Nats the late-game hammer at home.

Rockies vs Braves: Braves (68%)

Braves win probability: 68%

Atlanta owns the clear offensive advantage with Tyler Mahle hosting Mason Adams. The Braves' bats are producing (112 wRC+, .336 wOBA) compared to Colorado's miserable road splits. While Atlanta's bullpen has command issues, Colorado's pitching staff lacks the straight heat to exploit them over nine innings.

Red Sox vs Yankees: Yankees (50%)

Yankees win probability: 50%

I like the Yankees at this pick'em price behind Will Warren. New York’s power profile (114 wRC+, .181 ISO) across the last seven days significantly outpaces Boston’s quiet bats (91 wRC+, .133 ISO). Ranger Suárez faces a stiff road test, and New York's bullpen (4.14 SIERA, 11.4% K-BB%) provides enough late-inning support to edge this rivalry. 

Mariners vs Blue Jays: Blue Jays (49%)

Blue Jays win probability: 49%

I'm backing Toronto as a home underdog behind Max Scherzer. The Blue Jays' offense is rolling with a 113 wRC+ and .331 wOBA, while Seattle continues to strike out in bunches (94 wRC+, 27.1% K%). Even against Logan Gilbert, Toronto’s superior contact and run creation make them live at a solid price. 

Royals vs Guardians: Royals (39%)

Royals win probability: 39%

 At this lopsided price, I have to take Kansas City behind Seth Lugo. The Royals enter as a top-five offense over the last week (123 wRC+, .351 wOBA, .168 ISO). Cleveland’s bullpen is lockdown (2.20 SIERA), but their lineup has zero pop (.085 ISO), making KC’s price far too generous.

Dodgers vs Tigers: Dodgers (56%)

Dodgers win probability: 56%

Tyler Glasnow gets an ideal matchup against a Detroit offense in a deep freeze (38 wRC+, .226 wOBA, 25.4% K%). Framber Valdez can keep Detroit afloat early, but the Dodgers hold a massive late-inning pitching edge, anchored by a bullpen dealing with a 3.34 SIERA and 18.1% K-BB% in their last two weeks. 

Padres vs Rays: Rays (62%)

Rays win probability: 62%

Drew Rasmussen and the Rays hold the upper hand against a slumping Padres lineup (83 wRC+, .285 wOBA). Over the last 14 days, Tampa Bay pairs disciplined contact with an airtight bullpen boasting an MLB-best 0.77 WHIP and 3.07 SIERA. Robbie Ray’s shaky command tilts the late-inning leverage squarely toward the Rays.

White Sox vs Twins: White Sox (49%)

White Sox win probability: 49%

I’m taking Chicago at plus-money. The Pale Hose offense is surging at the top of the league over the past week (141 wRC+, .372 wOBA, 13.3% BB%). Zebby Matthews faces a tough assignment, especially with Minnesota’s bullpen in shambles (4.56 SIERA, 2.16 WHIP, 10.26 ERA). There is value on the road dog today. 

Rangers vs Brewers: Rangers (39%)

Rangers win probability: 39%

Kumar Rocker offers Texas substantial upside at a heavy-underdog price. The Rangers' bats match Milwaukee stride-for-stride in current form (122 wRC+, .212 ISO vs. 124 wRC+, .120 ISO). With both bullpens performing well, getting this price for an offense generating elite extra-base power is a beautiful thing. 

Pirates vs Cardinals: Cardinals (51%)

Cardinals win probability: 51%

Matthew Liberatore catches the coldest lineup in baseball. Pittsburgh is generating virtually nothing at the plate (34 wRC+, .225 wOBA, 30.3% K%). Even with Braxton Ashcraft throwing well, the Pirates cannot score enough to justify backing them at a near pick'em price, leaving the Cards with the clear edge at home.

Astros vs Mets: Astros (47%)

Astros win probability: 47%

Houston is mispriced as an underdog behind Ethan Pecko. While their surface bullpen ERA looks ugly, their underlying 2.94 SIERA and 22.8% K-BB% scream positive regression. Facing a Mets lineup slumping at 86 wRC+, Houston possesses the late-game pitching advantage to steal this on the road.

Orioles vs Athletics: Athletics (43%)

Athletics win probability: 43%

The Athletics offer tremendous home-dog value behind Jeffrey Springs. The A's lineup has quietly outperformed Baltimore over the past week (115 wRC+, .348 wOBA vs. 97 wRC+, .305 wOBA). Facing Chris Bassitt, the A's have more than enough offensive firepower to exploit Baltimore's staff and cash a strong plus-money play. 

Phillies vs Angels: Phillies (64%)

Phillies win probability: 46%

Zack Wheeler provides an overwhelming starting pitching advantage against Yusei Kikuchi and a weak Angels lineup (81 wRC+, .284 wOBA). Philadelphia pairs starting reliability with a lockdown bullpen (3.16 SIERA, 19.4% K-BB%, 0.85 WHIP). The Phillies control this matchup from the first pitch through to the final out. 

Reds vs Cubs: Reds (45%)

Reds win probability: 45%

In a battle of this past week's top-three offenses (Cubs 135 wRC+, Reds 129 wRC+), Chase Burns provides the higher strikeout ceiling against Shota Imanaga. Chicago's bullpen has been prone to the long ball (2.33 HR/9, 4.14 SIERA), giving Cincinnati’s powerful lineup (.212 ISO) tremendous value to cash at plus-money.

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.

For a player who has been so improbable, the Dodgers must now do the impossible.

When it comes to pitching, they must shut Shohei Ohtani down.

Despite suffering a knee ailment and biceps soreness this season, Ohtani is slowly trying to take the mound for the first time in more than two months.

Stop. Just stop.

The Dodgers have no business sticking Ohtani back on the mound. He belongs out there no more than Kiké Hernandez does.

There’s no two ways about it — the Dodgers should not plan on jamming Ohtani back into the starting rotation.

Read more:Shohei Ohtani still 'not 100%' and will not pitch Sunday against the Tigers

The Dodgers should thank him for his passion, applaud him for his 1.79 ERA in his first 14 starts, promise to return his resin bag next season, and ask him to go to work on that bat.

As much as the fans want to see all Ohtani, all of the time, the next couple of months are not about celebrating a novelty, they’re about winning a championship, and Ohtani can best get that done by avoiding another injury to himself on the mound and directing all of his efforts at the plate.

Recently, his hitting needs all the help it can get. After Saturday’s loss in Detroit, it had been a startling nine games since Ohtani homered or collected an RBI. During that span he had more than twice as many strikeouts as hits (13-5).

In this final month he needs to concentrate on getting his swing right and not worry about bullpens or openers or piggy-backs or any of the numerous machinations involved in getting him back on the mound.

Bottom line, the Dodgers need him more at the top of the order than in the middle of the diamond, and for now, he shouldn’t be in two places at once.

Bottom, bottom line, there is a sense that the Dodgers agree.

Ohtani threw about 20 pitches in a bullpen session Friday and wasn’t 100%, and that set off alarm bells with the Dodgers’ bosses.

While guessing that Ohtani’s balky left knee would not allow him to be 100% by October, manager Dave Roberts openly wondered Saturday whether a pitching comeback is worth the effort.

“Obviously, where we’re at right now with the pitching, the starting pitching certainly being a strength, his value offensively is hugely important, and so we can’t compromise that in any fashion,” Roberts told reporters in Detroit. “So, if throwing potentially cuts into that, that’s not worth the squeeze. So that’s something for me. Very, very bullish on making sure we don’t compromise the hitting.”

Did you hear that? Not worth the squeeze? Exactly.

Are you listening, Ohtani? He’s always been the ultimate team player, so if the Dodgers asked his permission to shut him down, he would agree, right? Right?

Keeping Ohtani off the mound for the rest of the season is a radical view, certainly — c’mon, you’re paying the dude $700 million to hit and pitch! — but it’s a view backed by common sense.

Point One: The Dodgers won a World Series in 2024 with Ohtani strictly hitting, so it can be done.

Point Two: Last postseason, even with his three-homer, 10-strikeout gem in the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Ohtani had a playoff ERA of 4.43.

Playing in the postseason is hard. Pitching and hitting in the postseason is nearly impossible. That magical Brewers clincher was his only shining moment.

Point Three: They recently acquired Tarik Skubal specifically to reduce the need for Ohtani, and they now have a nearly unbeatable rotation without Ohtani.

With Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow having returned strong from injuries, they have four starters who easily can dominate a series.

Check out the current seven-game span of games started by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Skubal, Snell and Tyler Glasnow.

They gave up as many as three runs only twice. They pitched less than six innings only once. Their ERA was 2.38.

Read more:Tarik Skubal shines in emotional return to Detroit as Dodgers end three-game slide

Point Four: The struggling Dodgers offense desperately needs Ohtani to get right at the top. Who is going to get the big hit if he doesn’t? Entering the last month, the candidates are few.

Not a slowing Mookie Betts. Not psyched-out Kyle Tucker. Not aging Teoscar Hernández. Maybe Freddie Freeman, but he hasn’t hit a home run since July 4. And maybe Max Muncy, if they pitch to him.

Will Smith will be returning this week after a prolonged absence, and that will help, but not enough.

If anything happens to sideline Ohtani the hitter, the Dodgers are sunk, period.

And if he pitches, lots could happen to him.

The knee. The elbow. Whatever it was that has kept him off the mound since July 3. So much can go wrong if he’s pitching, and any pitching injury could have the double whammy of sidelining him as a hitter.

“I think 100% for me as far as an offensive player, that’s very important,” Roberts said. “As a pitcher, for me, given the strength of our staff, our team, I don’t think that’s as important. I think it’s important for us not to compromise his health in any capacity. But for me, it’s just his presence in the batter’s box is hugely important to him.”

Yes, Ohtani wants to pitch. Yes, the Dodgers promised him he could pitch. But that was before the injuries and the acquisitions and the slump.

Everything is different now. The landscape has changed.

The Dodgers no longer need the arm so badly that they can risk the bat.

Barely 20 bullpen pitches at the end of August? He’s clearly not going to be 100% by October, so shut him down and let him swing.

Shohei Ohtani is 32 and finishing his ninth season. He’s not a kid anymore.

He’s not infallible anymore.

Having him pitch and hit for a second consecutive October indeed would be a great story.

But having him use his bat to lead the Dodgers to a three-peat would be a better one.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Ketel Marte, who abandoned the Arizona Diamondbacks two weeks ago and has yet to show his face at Chase Field, is expected to walk through the clubhouse Monday, apologize to his teammates, address the media and then try to save the team's season.

He has embarrassed the organization, infuriated a faction of the clubhouse, damaged the credibility of the front office and manager Torey Lovullo. Yet, he has has the ultimate power.

If Marte performs well, and the D-backs earn a playoff berth, he could save Lovullo’s job and spare Mike Hazen, president of baseball operations.

If he struggles, the D-backs miss the postseason again for the eighth time in nine years, no one is safe.

Marte has that kind of power, thanks to the Diamondbacks enabling him over the years.

Now, their careers may depend on him.

The Diamondbacks could have stopped Marte’s behavior years ago, but always looked the other way. They could have traded him last winter and several times in the past, but instead gave him two contract extensions, believing that would change things.

He instead has made the Diamondbacks look like puppets.

Show up when you want. Bring your buddies on the road. Agitate hotel security. Frustrate teammates with your buddies eating alongside them in the clubhouse dining room. And play when you desire.

It’s the Marte Rules.

One rule for him, one for the 25 other players.

“I’ve never seen anything like it," one Diamondback player told USA TODAY Sports.

If you’re not going to discipline Marte, how are you going to fine any player who shows up late for a team meeting? If you want to jog to first base instead of running out ground balls, how can you be pulled out of the game? You want to take a day off when you’re perfectly healthy, who can stop you?

The Diamondbacks believe that if they retaliate against Marte, or discipline him beyond brief stints on the restricted list when he went AWOL each of the past two years, they will lose him.

So, they instead choose to coddle him, indulge him, and tell the world how much they love him.

“One of the things that makes Ketel such an extraordinary player," Lovullo said, “is that he goes to the beat of his own drum."

Well, by sitting back and letting him carry him on, Marte has ravaged the organization’s image and reputation, and with 10-and-5 rights, he now has the ultimate control.

The Diamondbacks can’t even trade him now without his permission.

He’s scheduled to return Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies at Chase Field, and all eyes in baseball will be watching the drama, curious to see if the D-backs just act like all is forgiven.

Former D-backs pitcher Greg Swindell tweeted last week: “D-backs should not put up with what’s going on with Marte ... D-backs should not allow him back."

Oh, he’ll be back, and likely carrying on like nothing happened when he returns.

He’s got the power, and we’ll now see if the Diamondbacks continue to stand by, acting helpless to stop it.

The Yankees opened this series against the Red Sox with a narrow 1-0 win, but they’d need more offense than that to do well in the scheduled doubleheader lined up on Saturday. The first game was a dud as they got shutout and let the game fully get away from them in the ninth inning, but they bounced back to take the nightcap 9-2 and managed to avoid using David Bednar for a night after pouring it on with five runs in the bottom of the eighth. Now perhaps the most important game of the season lays before them as the final game against the Sox today will determine who wins the season series: with both teams in position to face each other in the Wild Card Round, having the tiebreaker to give them home field advantage for those 2-3 games is a massive deal. The Yankees’ three game lead for the first slot would suddenly be a lot thinner if they lose tomorrow, but if they take it then they’ve got a sizeable gap to work with for the final month of play.

Before we get to the business on the field, let’s go over what’s in store earlier in the day. I’ve got the Rivalry Roundup covering the Rays gaining a half-game after a comeback win, Jonathan recounts the career of Johnny Lindell and his days with the 1940s Yankees on his birthday, and Scott talks to Scranton manager Shelley Duncan after he crossed the 1,000 games managed milestone on Friday. Then after the game, John will pop in to deliver the weekly social media spotlight.

Today’s Matchup:

New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox

Time: 1:35 p.m. EST

TV: YES Network, NESN

Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

Questions/Prompts:

1. How long of a leash does Will Warren get for today’s game after the bullpen had to work overtime yesterday?

2. How concerned are you about George Lombard Jr. after he exited yesterday’s nightcap with an apparent knee injury?

ESPN: In case you missed the report on Pinstripe Alley, the Yankees had to pull rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr. from the nightcap of their doubleheader against the Red Sox. He appeared to tweak something on a check swing during an at-bat in the second, and though he remained in the game for a couple innings, he was replaced on defense in the fourth. Diagnosed with “right knee discomfort,” he underwent testing; based on initial results, manager Aaron Boone classified Lombard as “day to day.” We’ll have to wait and see if it’s any worse once more is known, but that’s the latest report.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Recovering from 2025 Tommy John surgery, right-hander Clarke Schmidt made his first rehab appearance of the 2026 campaign for the Somerset Patriots. He was joined by fellow Yankee Ryan McMahon, who went down on August 19th with a Grade 2 left thumb sprain.

Schmidt threw 20 pitches, 16 of them for strikes. He pitched 0.2 innings and allowed two hits (one of them being a homer) and two runs, striking out two. The goal is for him to rejoin the Yankees as a reliever in the middle of September, while McMahon should be available sooner than that, likely on September 1st when rosters expand to 28 players. The third baseman will travel with the team out west as they begin their road trip tomorrow in Anaheim.

MLB Trade Rumors | Mark Polishuk: The Yankees signed former top prospect Jarred Kelenic to a minor league contract on Saturday. The 27-year-old outfielder has spent the 2026 campaign with the Chicago White Sox and the Texas Rangers, posting a 76 wRC+ in 83 plate appearances between the two American League squads.

Kelenic was with the Rangers until this week, when he cleared waivers and rejected an assignment to their Triple-A team. After being taken by the Mets with the sixth overall pick in 2018 and being the top prospect traded to Seattle in the Edwin Díaz trade, Kelenic’s career has had more valleys than peaks, and he has been labeled by most as a bust to this point. The Yankees are going to take a look at him as a depth outfielder.

NBC Sports: Manager Aaron Boone announced that Elmer Rodríguez, who beat the Houston Astros on Wednesday, will stay in the rotation for at least one more turn and start on Monday against the Los Angeles Angels. The right-hander, owner of a 4.70 ERA in 23 MLB innings this year with the Bombers, tossed his first quality start against the Yankees’ decade-long nemesis, surrendering three runs in six innings.

MLB Trade Rumors | Connor Byrne: Between Game 1 and Game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheader, the Yankees designated Justin Topa for assignment to activate left-hander Max Fried, the starter for the nightcap, from the injured list. Topa did his job, giving New York three innings with a 0.00 ERA (he did allow an unearned run) in his short stint with the MLB team, but he became a victim of the roster crunch and his short-term future is now uncertain. He’ll likely be placed on waivers, and if he goes unclaimed, the organization will surely be happy to welcome him in Triple-A. It remains to be seen if he accepts, though.

The Mets’ Luis Robert Jr. gamble could be coming to an unceremonious end — but only if someone is willing to pay for it.

Robert was placed on waivers Saturday, The Post’s Joel Sherman confirmed, giving him 48 hours to potentially land with a contender and still be eligible for their postseason roster.

The outfielder pinch hit in the eighth inning of the Mets’ 6-2 win over the Astros at Citi Field and can continue to play while on waivers.

If a team decides to claim him, they’d owe the approximate $3 million remaining on his contract for this season plus a $2 million buyout.

If other MLB teams decide that Robert, 29, isn’t worth the approximately $5 million, a likely outcome based on his struggles, he’d end up back with the Mets.

They acquired Robert from the White Sox in January, hoping the deal would bring a missing piece for a contending season, but Robert missed time due to an injury in addition to underwhelming at the plate. The Mets spiraled toward a lost year. And then they unsuccessfully tried to trade Robert ahead of the deadline.

Through most of the early-season free fall, Robert was out of the lineup with a lumbar spine herniation. At the time of his injury, which ultimately sidelined him until July 20, he was hitting just .224 with a .656 OPS.

Once he returned, his batting average dipped to as low as .189 — and his OPS as low as .597 — after the Mets’ Aug. 5 game.

And while he’d hit .311 with a .994 OPS across 19 games since then, entering play Saturday, Robert has still collected just 10 homers and 23 RBIs even after his recent uptick in production.

His path to playing time also became complicated. The Mets have received strong contributions from rookie outfielders Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing, who both factor into their long-term future more than Robert.

Juan Soto returned from a left calf strain Saturday, too, and while the Mets will ease him back into the lineup as designated hitter initially, he’ll factor into the defensive equation in 2027 and beyond.

Robert could be owed $20 million next season via a club option, but the Mets — or any team he’s claimed by — would likely pay the $2 million buyout instead.

Their decision to waive Robert could help solve that outfield logjam.

It would also save the Mets money. But if not, if the two days pass without him getting claimed, it becomes just another footnote in a disappointing year, another sign of the Mets admitting an offseason mistake.

This game, with Mitch Bratt starting the second game of a rare Saturday doubleheader before a Sunday off day, felt like it was gonna be a long shot even against the lowly San Francisco Giants, and so it was. Merrill Kelly pitched a gem in the early game to secure us the series split and to pull us briefly ahead of the San Diego Padres for the third wild card spot, so winning this one would have been gravy anyway, but alas, it was not to be.

The Giants started AA hand Yunior Marte today, and he walked Lars Nootbaar to start things off, but Nootbaar was quickly erased when Corbin Carroll hit a hard liner right to Bryce Eldridge at first base for an unassisted double play. Perdomo then rolled over to second for the third out. Bratt, meanwhile, started his day by walking Jonah Cox on four pitches, earning him an immediate mound visit so he could be reminded of where the strike zone actually was. That proved effective enough, as he got through the rest of the first with only eight more pitches thrown, but unfortunately Jonah Cox turns out to be a very speedy baserunner and he stole second and third before Eldridge singled him home with a grounder to left. 1-0 San Francisco

The middle of our lineup sat down in order against Marte in the second, but Bratt settled down quite well in the bottom half, only needing five pitches to retire the Giants. We broke through against Marte in the third, tying the game thanks to a one-out Ildemaro Vargas single followed one out later by a Lars Nootbaar bloop double into shallow left that left fielder Grant McCray dove for and missed. 1-1 TIE

Bratt pitched around a one-out Jonah Cox single (and subsequent stolen base) in the bottom of the third to put up another zero, and then retired the side in order in the fourth, with a total of 44 pitches thrown through four innings. It actually seemed to be shaping up to be a genuinely good and efficient Mitch Bratt outing, despite that first-inning blemish.

Sadly, however, that ended once the bottom of the fifth rolled around. Bratt gave up a leadoff single to McCray and then walked the next batter before a perfect sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position and earned Bratt the hook, perhaps because he’d completed his second time through the San Francisco order and Torey Lovullo felt like that was quite enough. Geraldo Carrillo came in to relieve him and, uncharacteristically, it went rather badly. He wound up going walk-single-single-walk to the first four batters he faced before finally buckling down and recording the final two outs of the inning, but by then three more runs were in and there was your margin of defeat. 4-1 San Francisco

We were well into the Giants’ bullpen at this point, and managed to get another run across courtesy of singles by Max Kelper, James McCann, and Vargas in the top of the seventh. 4-2 San Francisco

Sadly, however, that was all we were going to get, and meanwhile the bullpen was unable to do its usual job of putting up zeros and keeping things close. Derek Law, called up today from Reno and making his first major league appearance since 2024, threw a very nice scoreless sixth but allowed a run to score in the seventh, and Justin Martinez and Dennis Santana combined to allow two more runs (unearned, but runs nonetheless) to cross the plate to take the score to its final resting place of 7-2 San Francisco

Loss Probability Added, courtesy of FanGraphs

Cioppino: None
Rice-a-Roni: Geraldo Carrillo (2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, -19% WPA), Nolan Arenado (4 AB, 0 H, -12% WPA), Ryan Waldschmidt (3 AB, 0 H, 1 K, -10% WPA)

Perhaps because it was the second game of a doubleheader, or perhaps because this one just didn’t seem to be going well from the get-go, we wound up with a rather sparse 159 comments in the Game Day Thread at time of writing. Most of the comments that went red were embedded in existing and often off-topic side conversations, so I’m going to award Comment of the Game to Diamondhacks for this one that, along with being a hilarous callback to a comment from the afternoon GDT, also feels like it works right now completely unmoored from its proper context:

As you wish!

On that note, you will not have the option to join us tomorrow, as we have a rare (and deeply weird) off day tomorrow. So stop by on Monday when we are back home at Chase Field, hosting the Phillies with firs tpitch scheduled for 6:40pm AZ time. No starting pitchers have been announced yet for either club, so I guess it will just have to be a surprise. Have a good Sunday, everyone….sorry that this was the note we ended the weekend on.

On the bright side, even after tonight’s loss we remain tied with San Diego for the third wild card spot going into tomorrow’s off day, and Corbin Burnes pitched two perfect innings in Reno this afternoon, needing only seventeen pitches to record six outs against the Sacramento River Cats, so at least one of the long-awaited rotation reinforcements is getting closer to his long-overdue return.

As always, thanks for reading, and as always, go Diamondbacks!

Another day, another comeback as the Philadelphia Phillies (76-60) took their second straight victory against the Los Angeles Angels (52-84).

Cristopher Sanchez pitched one of his best starts of the season, allowing two hits and a walk over seven innings with eight strikeouts in a no decision.

The Phillies got on the board first against Angels’ starter, Ryan Johnson, in the second inning with lead-0ff single by Alec Bohm, a walk by Bryson Stott and an RBI-hit by Brandon Marsh.

Sanchez, Johnson and company held serve for seven innings until Jonathan Bowlan allowed a game-tying solo homer by Zach Neto in the bottom of the eighth.

Jhoan Duran preserved the tie and brought the game to extras, where the Phillies pulled ahead with an RBI double by Schwarber and a two-RBI single by Trea Turner.

Duran did allow another run to score on a fielder’s choice by Wade Meckler, but held on to put things away on a pair of fly outs.

The Phillies go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon as Zack Wheeler faces off against Yusei Kikuchi.

Twelve days ago, Max Fried landed on the injured list.

The initial reaction was that it could be it for him this year, the second time he’d been sidelined with the same bone bruise in his left elbow.

Less than two weeks later, the left-hander was back on the mound for the Yankees in The Bronx.

Fried looked like himself Saturday night, though it wasn’t a long outing in a 9-2 victory that earned them a split of the day-night doubleheader against the Red Sox. He struck out four, walked three and allowed one earned run over 3 ²/₃ innings while throwing 63 pitches.

“I was sharper earlier than late, but nice to get back out there, get your competitive juices going,” he said. “At the end of the day, us being able to win the game was really big.”

Fried allowed a solo homer to Nick Sogard in the third inning but didn’t let Boston do any more damage. The Red Sox did put two runners on in the third with one out, but Fried retired Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu to end the threat. He ended his evening on a high note by striking out Caleb Durbin and Andruw Monasterio.

“I thought, overall, he threw the ball pretty well, gave us enough there at the start,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I thought he was pretty good overall. He kind of featured everything and had a feel for everything, so that was good to see.”

The one concern with Fried’s outing was his four-seam fastball’s velocity was a bit down. On the year, he has averaged 95 mph on that pitch, which on Saturday was at 93.8 mph. His cutter also was down, from 92 to 90.8. Oddly, his sinker was slightly up.

“It’s not something that I’m too worried about,” Fried said. “I feel like I was still able to make some good pitches, keep them off-balance, and I was feeling good.”

The hope is that Fried is back for the remainder of the season. He said this latest IL stint was the result of one pitch irritating the elbow. He doesn’t expect to miss any more time.

“I feel great,” Fried said. “Very, very confident.” 

As we head into the final month of the season, this year’s past frustrations are just that, past. For all their flaws in construction and execution, the Orioles now have the chance to seize control of their playoff destiny, stack some wins, and grab the third and final Wild Card spot for good. Today, they got two pieces of good news: Cleveland, the team currently holding onto that last spot, just lost, 8-3, to the lowly Royals. The other piece of good news: the Birds just won the series against the Athletics with a hard-fought win in Game Two.

Very little about today’s 5-3 win was easy. It was one of those games where the Orioles scored a few runs early, then had to hang on for dear life while the starter got tired and the bullpen got weird. The O’s posted four runs in the first six innings before Shane Baz, nearly unhittable for five, flagged, walking three batters, giving up two singles, and hitting a guy, all in a dreadful sixth inning. After him, several relievers struggled: Alex Hoppe, Rico Garcia, Cam Sanders, even closer by default by default Andrew Kittredge. But they just held on. And while the offense has been frustratingly touch-and-go all season, Orioles hitters did just enough tonight.

Athletics starter Jack Perkins doesn’t have a ton of experience as a starting pitcher, but he has an interesting arsenal featuring a great changeup and a slider. Perkins started off strong: he pitched a 1-2-3 first inning and faced the minimum in the second, as Christian Encarnacion-Strand walked and Samuel Basallo hit into a double play.

But the Birds opened the scoring in the third, when Perkins walked leadoff man Coby Mayo on four pitches, then fired wildly over to first—he thought Mayo was going to steal?—and the ball got away. Mayo hustled to second, narrowly avoiding being thrown out. A Colton Cowser deep fly moved Mayo to third, setting up Leody Taveras for an RBI situation. Taveras delivered: he cranked a high changeup to center for a ground-rule double. 1-0 Orioles.

After wasting a two-on, no-outs situation in the fourth, the Birds dispensed with the small ball in the fifth, as Cowser took Perkins yard to deep center. 2-0, O’s.

As for Shane Baz, who is leading all pitchers with 14 losses, you wouldn’t know he’s been the O’s’ bad luck charm from how nasty he came out of the gate tonight. His stuff darted all over the place in a nine-pitch first inning. Excellent team defense all night didn’t hurt his chances, either. Still in the first, Baz benefited from CES looked like he was moving at 2x speed in order to ring up Henry Bolte, the fastest guy in MLB by foot speed, on a grounder to third. And in the second, Gunnar Henderson turned in a play that had everyone on the diamond smiling, ranging to his backhand, way behind the basepaths, to field and throw out Tommy White.

In the middle innings, Baz got two timely double plays, the first erasing a Jonah Heim single in the third, the second allowing him to face the minimum in the fourth. He also pitched a three-up, three-down fifth.

The sixth inning ended Baz’s scoreless run and saw both teams put up tons of traffic on the basepaths. First, Jack Perkins exited and José Suárez, an erstwhile starter for the Angels, allowed a three-hit, two-run Baltimore rally with two outs. Dylan Beavers and Coby Mayo (both hot at the plate lately) singled, and Taveras doubled, plating his second and third RBIs of the night. 4-0, Birds.

It felt like a roomy lead, given how unhittable Baz was looking, but the righty ran out of gas quickly, throwing a dreadful sixth inning where he walked three batters, gave up two singles, hit a guy, and loaded the bases with Athletics twice. Considering all that, for Baz to leave with a line of 5 2/3 innings, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB and, most importantly, a potential W, seemed pretty fortunate.

Yet holding onto a 4-2 lead proved trickier than you might expect—although if you’ve watched this team at all this year, you know that bullpen meltdowns are none too rare. Reliever Alex Hoppe came in with two outs in the sixth and the bases full of Athletics, then threw three straight balls before getting another highlight-reel play from CES to keep the score intact. For a guy in there for his bat, Encarnacion-Strand is playing fantastic defense right now at the hot corner.

More bullpen shenanigans followed, but none proved fatal. Rico Garcia loaded the bases in the seventh, and it took Yennier Cano getting two vintage strikeouts to get out of it. Cam Sanders allowed a third Athletics run in the eighth, and the breathing room was shrinking.

Help came late in the form of Colton Cowser, who manufactured a fifth run with what was as close to a Little League homer as you get, other than the real thing. Cowser scorched a ball 104 mph at Athletics second baseman Zack Gelof. The ball squirted by, and right fielder Lawrence Butler made a terrible throw to first. The ball sailed past the infielder, then stopped at the feet of catcher Jonah Heim, who accidentally kicked it into the dugout. As the hijinks unfolded, Cowser was rounding the bases. He stopped on third, but not for long: a wild pitch by pitcher Elvis Alvarado, facing Leody Taveras, allowed Cowser to scamper home.

A 5-3 Orioles lead felt a lot better, entering the ninth, and Andrew Kittredge was just up to the task. The righty allowed two singles, but got a well-timed grounder to third. CES—who else?—was there to fire to first and close this thing out.

If you’re into such things, check out the latest Wild Card standings, in which your Orioles have moved back ahead of the Blue Rays and the Rangers and now sit just one game back of the third spot.

So, Camden Chat, who is your Most Birdland Player of the night? Shane Baz, who broke the losing streak and got his first win since June 12? The notorious CES, who pounded the ball all night, is hitting .357 in his last week, and made three highlight reel plays? Leody Taveras, who quietly drove in three of the team’s five runs and stood at the plate for the wild pitch that plated the fifth? Colton Cowser, still flashing the power and in the mix for most of his team’s scoring, too?

Seattle’s see-saw season has seen more sawing downward under the sea level of .500 than it has seen not doing that, and coming into today’s game they were sitting seven games below that level. The last few weeks, in small amounts, have seen the Mariners tepidly challenge that perception. Coming into the series in Toronto, the ebb and flow was slightly in their favor with a 6-4 record of their last 10 games. With the loss in game one yesterday, that evened it to 5-5. An oddity of their recent play has been some truly atrocious and at times historically terrible blowout losses sometimes paired with wins that have been either comfortable, or at least objectively less anxiety-inducing.

So with the game one loss being truly, terribly, awful, the wider royal we could hopefully find forgiveness for the optimists among us believing in the possibility that today’s game could be one such win in that pairing. And if you want to take a half glass full approach: it still was (almost) true! For the first almost exactly half of this game the Mariners were not only in the lead, they were shutting out their opponent.

For the first four and a half innings the Mariners weren’t doing so much that everything felt perfect, but it was fine, comfortable, and even a little fun. Also definitively far from perfect tonight, Toronto starter José Soriano would go on to have a Quality Start and then some I’m sure Blue Jays fans also found fine, comfortable, and even a little fun, and the first inning matched that tone. Less than ten pitches and out on contact, the top of the Seattle lineup went down in order. Josh Naylor continued that trend to start the second inning, but Cal Raleigh would follow it up with a very Cal In Toronto thing and give Seattle fans a little bit of the aforementioned fun and Soriano some of the aforementioned less than perfect. It was Cal Raleigh’s 19th home run of the season, and put Seattle on the board first.

Soriano escaped the second after that with a ground out and then a called strikeout to Cole Young and then Taylor Ward. The third would see J.P. Crawford, returned from the IL, single to start the inning. Brock Rodden dampened that moment with a fly-out, and then Randy Arozarena washed it away entirely when he hit into an inning-ending double play. The fourth inning is when fun baseball would dare rear its ugly, threatening head at Mariners fandom once again.

Not at first, of course. Canzone laced a 100.3 mph line-out right at 2B Charles McAdoo, and Julio went down swinging on a 2-2 count to quickly make it two outs. Josh Naylor next landed a single, and Soriano had trouble locating the zone for a few batters and walked Raleigh and Young, setting things up for Taylor Ward. A lot of the conversation around Ward since his mid-season acquisition has been about the lack of a return on that trade, from a double-edged threat of inconsistent health and nearly non-existent offensive contributions when healthy. After his first at bat, this pivotal moment provided perfect opportunity to at the very least muffle those shouts to a whisper, if but for a day longer.

Taylor Ward did not disappoint! It was fun, even! A sharp liner to left and two runners scoring later, and the Mariners were ahead 3-0 on the RBI single.

Next up to bat was Crawford, and he grounded into a force-out to end the inning, but the bases loaded opportunity hadn’t been wasted. Seattle’s rookie year pitcher in only his second game and first road game, Kade Anderson, would now be able to go on in the game with a lead comfortable enough to leave room for anything around Quality.

Kade Anderson never reached that quality start in terms of innings, no surprise given his stated pitch limit of roughly 80 pitches, but he was that good in terms of damage allowed. Anderson struck out the first Blue Jay batter of the day, Brett Batemen, on a 2-2 fastball above the zone, and tackled the next two batters with outs on contact from pitches that were honestly far too middle. Kade only gave up a walk in the third, losing a 3-2 battle to Kazuma Okamoto. Well, lost on the edges, and it could have easily gone his way.

Kade faced four batters in the third, giving up his first hit, a single on a very well executed bunt from Myles Straw, and escaping the inning with an Alejandro Kirk swinging strikeout. In the fourth the Blue Jays would once again threaten the rookie pitcher, with a one pitch George Springer double and a full count Okamoto walk, before he would escape with a fly-out and a pop-out to McAdoo and Clement, respectively.

Anderson would start his half of the fifth inning beautifully, striking out Daz Cameron on three pitches, but the inning would go on to end without him. Myles Straw singled on a meatball slider and Brett Bateman walked on a 3-1 count, and Kade’s night was done as Eduard Bazardo came in. Bazardo wasn’t able to hold those inherited batters, and so Kade’s final line was 4.1 IP, two earned runs given up on three hits, with three walks and three strikeouts, and 54 of his 85 pitches for strikes with eight whiffs.

For what it is worth, Kade Anderson seemed to suffer a little rookie squeeze on his strike zone, with a few pitches that Raleigh could have challenged, but there were also times where Anderson did himself no favors either in being too wild or too center.

As far as I’ve told you so far, for about exactly half of the baseball game, all was overall well for the Mariners. Kade Anderson did about as well as you could expect, Raleigh was properly pestering Jays in their own roost. Then, the second arguably more important half of the baseball game happened, and all of those good things mattered none, at least in terms of outcome.

Of course it didn’t immediately fall off of a cliff. After Bazardo came in he handed Kirk his second swinging strikeout of the night, getting him to swing under a 3-2 fastball on the top shelf. Vladdy then got some 3-2 revenge and worked a walk to make it full with the two inherited batters. Then eternally-annoying-to-the-Mariners George Springer worked yet another full count, this one finished off by a wild pitch from Bazardo that walked in one run by force and with some less than stellar plate coverage from Eduardo himself allowed another to score and bringing the Jays within one run.

José A. Ferrer started the sixth for Seattle, and was the one to give up the lead. McAdoo walked to start the inning but Ferrer recovered enough to get Ernie Clement to line out and Daz Cameron to ground out. Myles Straw worked it full and walked, a phrase I long grew tired of typing, Bateman singled in McAdoo, and Alejandro Kirk finally exacted revenge for his earlier flailings by driving in Straw with a single of his own. Carlos Vargas took over for and finished the inning for Ferrer, and comfortably finished the rest of the game the Mariners needed from the ‘pen, putting in 2.1 innings of work and striking out two without allowing a hit or a walk.

Flowers to Vargas for being one of the lone bright spots in the back half of this game, because it certainly wasn’t the hitting. Soriano finished a full seven innings and racked up six of the Mariners’ ten strikeouts. Silver linings and flowers in the cracks of asphalt floors can do little to distract from the dark cloud that settled over the game though, the reasons for why a close loss felt so toothless. Why a close season feels so lost. The top three of the order (Arozarena, Canzone, and Rodríguez) all went hitless with five strikeouts and only one walk among them. The only hitters with multi-hit nights were Naylor and Raleigh.

Maybe today was the game that was needed to correct that back and forth rhythm into a direction that favors the last month trend towards a playoff appearance. Maybe by resetting the luck halfway through the game instead of in between them, that will allow them to salvage tomorrow’s game from falling victim to another loss and so a series sweep. If that is the case, I will gladly take the joys in the first half of signs of life in Raleigh’s bat and continued proof from Anderson that he could probably hang at this level. However I won’t be surprised if it means none of those things, because in a lot of ways today very much felt like being on the see-saw, because the Mariners falling off today felt exactly like falling on one’s ass.