Category: Baseball

The San Diego Padres scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning of Colorado Rockies starter Gabriel Hughes and that was all the offense they would need to get a 3-1 win at Petco Park on Wednesday. The win gave the Padres a two-game sweep of the Rockies and extended their current winning streak to five games.

San Diego got to Hughes in the bottom of the fourth after back-to-back singles by Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado. Ty France was then hit by a pitch on his left elbow and that loaded the bases for Jackson Merrill. The center fielder stepped to the plate and put a ground ball through the infield to give the Padres a 1-0 lead. Luis Rengifo grounded out to the right side for the first out of the inning, but that allowed the second run to score to put San Diego ahead, 2-0. Gavin Sheets followed with a sacrifice fly to bring home France and the Padres went ahead 3-0 and Merrill advanced to third base. Xander Bogaerts flied out to end the inning.

San Diego had three of its six hits in the bottom of the fourth inning and made them count. Fernando Tatis Jr. led off the game for the Padres with a double to left field, but was stranded there after a ground out, strikeout and a fly out. San Diego went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position on the day and left four runners on base.

The Padres pitching staff made the runs hold up. Kyle Hart started the game and went 2.2 innings allowing two hits and a walk with three strikeouts before giving way to Griffin Canning. The right-hander came into the game and had an impressive performance. Canning went three scoreless allowing just one hit and recorded four strikeouts. Wandy Peralta got touched up for a run in the top of the seventh inning. He allowed back-to-back singles and then got Mickey Moniak to pop out to third base for the first out of the frame. Peralta was replaced by Bradgley Rodriguez who got a strikeout but then allowed an RBI-single to former Padre Brett Sullivan, which made the score, 3-1. Rodriguez then got Jake McCarthy to flyout to end the inning.

Adrian Morejon threw a ton of pitches in his inning of work on Tuesday, so he was unavailable to work the eighth inning on Wednesday. Jeremiah Estrada, who was activated from the IL prior to the game, made his return to the mound and allowed a leadoff walk to start the top of the eighth. Estrada then recorded three consecutive strikeouts to end the inning. Mason Miller came on for the top of the ninth and recorded two strikeouts and a lineout on 15 pitches to end the game and earn his 28th save of the season.

San Diego gets back on the field tonight when the San Francisco Giants come to Petco Park tonight for the first game of a four-game set at 6:40 p.m.

Padres News:

• Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball provides the latest updates on the San Diego farm system complete with performances and moves that were made throughout the organization.

• The biggest piece of news to come out of the Padres’ farm system was that catcher Ethan Salas was promoted from Double-A to Triple-A to join the El Paso Chihuahuas. He proceeded to record three hits in his Triple-A debut.

• San Diego had a busy week finishing a 10-game road trip and returning home to take on Colorado for a quick two-game series. In that time the Padres were also able to sign 29 players after the MLB Draft, which included their top draft pick Coleman Borthwick.

• Pitcher Matt Waldron was designated for assignment to make room for Estrada when he returned from the IL.

• Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune has seen enough after the Padres’ five-game win streak and believes the team will be buyers at the trade deadline. Has the team done enough to convince the Friar Faithful, some of which were ready to sell at the deadline, to agree?

• Several Padres players could be attractive to teams at the deadline, but they may not be available after the recent five-game win streak which has pulled San Diego within 1.5 games of the third Wild Card spot. For those players whose names have been linked to the rumors they understand it comes with the job.

Baseball News:

• The Texas Rangers linked up with the Los Angeles Angels for an AL West trade that sent catcher Logan O’Hoppe and Chase Silseth to the Rangers for minor-leaguer Angel Arredondo.

• Ivan Herrera came through with a walk-off hit to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs.

• The Baltimore Orioles mounted a massive comeback to beat the Detroit Tigers. Tarik Skubal recorded his 1,000th strikeout of his career in what could have been his final start with Detroit.

• Edwin Diaz returned for the Los Angeles Dodgers and locked down their 4-2 win over the Seattle Mariners.

• The Toronto Blue Jays knocked off the Washington Nationals, 5-2.

• The San Francisco Giants dominated the Milwaukee Brewers in a 16-3 win.

• The Miami Marlins bounced back in a big way after their sweep at the hands of the Padres with a sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies.

• Eduardo Rodriguez led the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 3-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But, will they, before the season is done?

On the one hand — no. They don’t really have other options (at least not right now), they haven’t done it yet, and Riley has at least shown temporary signs of righting the ship, even if they’ve evaporated as quickly as they appeared.

On the other hand — whatever hope there was that Riley was getting back on the horse has been arrested, and perhaps deferred indefinitely again. To the extent that the Braves are legitimately concerned about their offense, doing something about Riley’s playing time is a perhaps-sour, but nonetheless lower-hanging fruit than a bunch of other things they could try.

Riley went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in the day game yesterday, and 0-for-3 with three strikeouts and a hit-by-pitch in the nightcap. He had a sub-.300 wOBA and sub-.200 xwOBA in the Orioles series. Basically, he hit well in the three series wrapping around the All-Star Break, and has gone back to struggling in the two series since. Whereas his good stretch involved less chasing and relatively more swinging at strikes, an excellent collective sign, he’s spent his time at the plate since more or less swinging at everything. In some ways, that’s better than taking strikes and swinging at balls, but the swings haven’t exactly been on target.

Combine Riley’s continuing-and-apparently-not-interrupted-by-three-good-series offensive issues without any real defensive improvement (he’s been marginally below average or worse at third base in every year of his career per Statcast’s OAA-based measure, aside from his tiny handful of innings at third in his debut year), and the only real upside is the hope that he suddenly figures it out on a go-forward basis. Again, it looked like maybe that was going to be the case a couple of weeks ago, but any optimism from that time has been seriously dented over the last week.

So, will the Braves take some sort of action to shore up their lineup given all of this? Or is ride-or-die with Riley, figuring that if they survived 430-plus PAs with him not producing, what’s 200 more?

I choose to look at the Cubs’ 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Cardinals this way.

As you know, the Cubs have had an inordinately large number of injuries to the pitching staff, to the point where there have now been five pitchers who have appeared in exactly one game for the team and several others who have been riding on the DFA train. I give Craig Counsell a tremendous amount of credit for managing this staff and bullpen to the point where the Cubs are in command of the top NL wild card spot and still in the running for the NL Central title.

They are missing a lockdown closer since Daniel Palencia went down. Wednesday night, Counsell tried Trent Thornton in this role. Thornton has generally pitched pretty well this year and going into this game was second on the team in saves… with three. He had not blown a save opportunity as a Cub.

Welp. It didn’t work this time. What are you gonna do?

Before the disaster mentioned in the headline, this was a spectacularly good pitchers’ duel. Matthew Boyd, who has been lights-out since returning from his knee injury, threw seven shutout innings, allowing four hits and two walks, striking out five. He was in real trouble only in the sixth, when two singles followed by a two-out walk loaded the bases.

Boyd got Blaze Jordan to pop up in foul territory to end the inning [VIDEO].

More on Boyd’s evening from BCB’s JohnW53:

Boyd is the second Cubs pitcher to throw seven shutout innings this season, and the first on the road. Shota Imanaga did it at home vs. the Diamondbacks on May 2 and vs. the Twins on July 19.

Boyd gave up four hits, matching Imanaga vs. the Diamondbacks. He gave up six vs. the Twins.

Boyd’s start was the Cubs’ 153rd of its kind vs. the Cardinals since 1901 and the 22nd since 2000. Each of the last five has been at St. Louis: Kyle Hendricks in 2019 and 2022, Marcus Stroman later in 2022 and Hendricks again on July 12, 2024. Hendricks pitched 7.1 once; the others all were 4.0. Hendricks gave up seven hits in 2019. The others all were five-hitters.

And still more on Boyd’s outing [VIDEO].

Since returning from the knee injury, in seven starts Boyd has a 1.93 ERA and 1.143 WHIP.

But the Cubs couldn’t do anything with Dustin May, either. May allowed just one Cubs hit in five innings, this automatic double by Alex Bregman in the fourth [VIDEO].

Then May was lifted after the fifth having thrown only 70 pitches and was spotted with his teammates in the dugout — a literal hug-watch!

This prompted waves of speculation on social media that May had been traded in the middle of the game. This hasn’t happened — yet. May seems very likely to be dealt somewhere by Monday’s deadline, so this was almost certainly his last start for St. Louis.

Anyway, the Cubs couldn’t do anything with Cardinals relievers Justin Bruihl, Ryne Stanek, George Soriano or Riley O’Brien, who combined for four hitless innings, though the Cubs did pile up four walks between the sixth and ninth.

Cubs relief pitching did well to send the game to extras. Jacob Webb and Caleb Thielbar combined for two scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth, striking out five. Here’s the popup that sent the game to extras [VIDEO].

For a time, it looked like the Cubs would pull this one out. Dansby Swanson was the placed runner in the 10th. Nico Hoerner, who had been given the night off, pinch hit for Miguel Amaya and laced a line drive that was hit, unfortunately, right at JJ Wetherholt for an out.

Pete Crow-Armstrong then launched his 24th home run [VIDEO].

That was PCA’s 65th career home run. It was his first ever in extra innings. Now, that would have been a great way to lead this article, wouldn’t it?

It was not to be. Seiya Suzuki singled after the home run, just the Cubs’ third hit of the night, but Michael Busch hit into an inning-ending double play.

And then, the disastrous bottom of the 10th. A single and walk loaded the bases after the placed runner, and Thornton did get one out on a force at third that scored one run. This game is still winnable at this point, but Thornton gave up a two-run double to Ivan Herrera and that, as they say, was that.

Not the end of the world. But the Cubs need Palencia back, or who knows, maybe Ben Brown (who’s reported as symptom-free and beginning to throw in Arizona) can throw some lock-down relief for the big league team in a few weeks.

The Cubs didn’t lose any ground to either the Brewers or Phillies, as both those teams also lost Wednesday.

Here are Craig Counsell’s postgame remarks [VIDEO].

The Cubs still have a chance at a series win in the finale Thursday afternoon in St. Louis. Javier Assad will start for the Cubs and Andre Pallante goes for the Cardinals. Game time is 1:15 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network. The BCB game preview will post at 11 a.m. CT.

The trade deadline is rapidly approaching and with it are the expectations of moves. We’ve already seen the opening salvo of deadline season last weekend with the Nationals and Red Sox swinging a swap of former Phillies prospect and noted “guy traded for Cristopher Sánchez” Curtis Mead heading to Boston in exchange for Connolly Early. The moves should start to come fast and furious as continue through this week and into the weekend leading up to Monday’s deadline. 

Despite what their recent performance may have you thinking, the Phillies will likely be active. They currently occupy a postseason spot and should be expected to at least make it into the tournament. There is no scenario in which they sell, but the degree to which they buy will be the major question. They’ve been connected to a handful of targets at least tangentially, so they are set up to be at least medium tier players in the market. However, we also know that they likely have more holes than resources in which to fill them, and that’s before even taking into account the extremely light market for hitters at this year’s deadline. 

There’s been some discussion of where the Phillies should focus their efforts. Should they go out and just get a fifth starter, or should they take advantage of a deeper starter market and get someone who could start a playoff game? Should they get a legit bullpen set-up man or a couple of options that allow Don Mattingly to play the matchup game? Should they get one of the “better” hitters on the market or should they search for bargains? That’s just a few of the opportunity costs the team will have to keep in mind as they search for upgrades.

So, how aggressive should the Phillies be at the trade deadline? Should they pursue one big upgrade while sacrificing others? Or should they go for a more spread-out approach and try for multiple patches? Or should they simply try to acquire the best players in their price range regardless of if they play a major position of need?

Rays 3, Rangers 0

• Well, that was a weird one.
• MacKenzie Gore gave up a double and a pair of homers in the first inning. The Rangers were down 3-0 with one out in the first, and it seemed like we’d be seeing Marco Gonzales, and maybe Ezequiel Duran, pitching in this game.
• Then Gore didn’t allow another hit, ultimately going seven full innings. The only batter he allowed to reach after the second homer, reached on an HBP.
• Ben Peoples also didn’t allow a hit in an inning of work. So the Rangers have seven straight no hit innings going by their pitchers.
• The Rangers, meanwhile, had four hits. All four hits were doubles.
• Per B-R, its the 21st time that a team has had four hits in a game, with all four hits being doubles.
• However, the last time it happened was just five days previous. On July 24, the Royals had four hits, all doubles, in a 2-1 loss to Detroit.
• Remember how, after the last game, I marveled that the Rangers won with a .129 xBA?
• The Rays won this game with a .128 xBA. They did the Rangers 1 better. Or .001 worse, I guess.
• Per Statcast, Gore allowed just three hard hit balls in the game. Those were the three hits that the Rays had in the first inning.
• It does illustrate that Gore was really, really good after that bad beginning.
• Baseball is strange, sometimes.
• MacKenzie Gore touched 96.3 mph with his fastball. Ben Peoples reached 97.7 mph with his fastball.
• Jake Burger had a 110.2 mph double and a 100.7 mph fly out. Brandon Nimmo had a 100.3 mph double.
• Two down, four to go.

The Mets open a four-game series against the Marlins at Citi Field on Thursday night at 7:10 on SNY.

Mets Notes

• Nolan McLean has a 2.17 ERA in 58.0 innings over his last 10 starts dating back to May 31
• A.J. Ewing is hitting .292/.356/.469 (.825 OPS) with five homers, eight doubles, and seven stolen bases over his last 35 games
• Luke Weaver has allowed one earned run since April 30 -- a span of 31.0 innings across 29 appearances

Today's Lineups

Meet the Mets

The Mets split a doubleheader with the Braves and look to win the series overall after a win on Monday. In the first game Carson Benge drove in the go-ahead run and Sean Manaea was solid in the victory. In game two Christian Scott was great but the offense couldn’t figure out Chris Sale so they lost by a final score of 1-0.

Choose your recapGame 1: Amazin’ Avenue, Daily News, MLB.com, Newsday, NY Post

Game 2: Amazin’ Avenue, MLB.com

Jorge Polanco still continues to struggle since returning from the IL and its looking like the Mets still don’t have an answer at first base.

It’s no secret Freddy Peralta has struggled this season but teams still believe he could help them should they acquire him at the deadline.

Reliever Luke Weaver is stuck in limbo not knowing what his fate will be come the trade deadline but he remains zen about the situation.

Mookie Wilson is still honored to have been a part of history 40 years later.

Around the National League East

A.J. Smith-Shawver returned to the mound for the first time since undergoing Tommy John but he was optioned back to Triple-A after his start in game one of the doubleheader.

The Marlins managed to sweep the Phillies after losing twelve straight.

The Phillies’ skid continued while their star continues to feud with their GM.

The Nationals dropped the final game against the Blue Jays to lose the series.

Around Major League Baseball

Tarik Skubal earned his 1,000th career strikeout in what could be his last game in a Tigers uniform.

The Dodgers are seen as the favorites to land Skubal with Shohei Ohtani sidelined from the rotation.

The Angels traded reliever Chase Silseth and catcher Logan O’Hoppe to the Rangers for minor league third baseman Angel Arredondo.

Mason Miller picked up another save for the Padres but his days could be numbered in San Diego.

The Twins placed Byron Buxton on the IL with the same hip injury that forced him to miss some time earlier in the month.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

On the latest episode of A Pod of Their Own, Juan Soto’s injury and the upcoming trade deadline were discussed.

This Date in Mets History

On this date in 1890, the great Casey Stengel was born.

Well, that was a horrible way to lose a baseball game. You just can’t lose when your ace has a four-run lead late. You just can’t lose when you twice survive five-man infield plays with a runner on third in extras. You just can’t lose when you’re an out away from a win and your third baseman and catcher (or perhaps a coach) is too focused on getting cute with the runner at third than getting the actual batter out at the plate. But that’s what happened last night in Chicago. It was extremely stupid, and it cost the Yankees a game in the standings, too.

Here’s what else was going on around the American League’s best yesterday.

Tampa Bay Rays (63-44) 3, Texas Rangers (55-53) 0

The Rays hit two homers and scored three times in the bottom of the first, and that was pretty much the ballgame. That’s a testament to both how good Tampa Bay pitching was against Texas and how nicely MacKenzie Gore rebounded after that rocky beginning. The Rays now lead the AL East by 2.5 games thanks to the Yankees’ idiocy last night.

Three of the first four Rays batter reached base with a hit, with Yandy Díaz belting a leadoff homer, Jonathan Aranda doubling, and Ryan Vilade boosting the lead over Gore to 3-0 with an impressive 420-foot shot off the C-ring of the catwalk. Tampa Bay was then held hitless for the next 7.2 innings as Gore fanned nine on the night, walking none. But it was to no avail.

I’m not going to act like what the Rays did was exciting or particularly compelling baseball. They were just quite efficient. Casey Legumina retired five of the six batters he faced as the opener, Ian Seymour did his Ian Seymour thing as the “bulk guy” and threw up zeroes until departing with one down in the sixth, allowing just two hits and a walk. Garrett Cleavinger, Kevin Kelly, and Bryan Baker were nearly perfect in recording the final eight outs, with Kelly striking out the side. Despite four doubles, the Rangers never seemed very close to making this a game.

Of note: The Rangers made a trade to bolster their roster after the game ended, trading a 19-year-old infielder in A-ball named Angel Arredondo to the Angels (duh) for bullpen righty Chase Silseth and disappointing catcher Logan O’Hoppe. For as “whatever” as Texas looks, they do lead the AL West over Houston and Seattle, so might as well supplement, right?

Other Games

Boston Red Sox (56-51) 4, The Athletics (45-63) 2: Boston gained a game on the Yankees as well, closing to within 4.5 games of the top Wild Card spot. This is the problem with giving away games when the biggest rivals rarely lose, especially on the same day. Solo shots by Jonah Heim and Lawrence Butler kept this one close, and the A’s had a golden chance to win it when Butler doubled off Aroldis Chapman in the bottom of the ninth with the score at 2-2. He was bunted to third, only to be stranded there when both Tyler Wilson and Jeff McNeil struck out. Boston’s Andruw Monasterio promptly hit a two-run homer against José Suarez to begin the 10th, and Greg Weissert pitched a perfect 10th for the save.

Imagine winning a road game in extras! Couldn’t possibly be the Yanks.

Seattle Mariners (53-56) 2, Los Angeles Dodgers (68-40) 4: We may be nearing the end of our coverage of the defending AL West champs in the Rivalry Roundup, at least for now. The Astros beat the Angels handily and are a game and a half up on the third-place M’s, who got blanked over six innings of one-hit ball by … Eric Lauer. LA built a 4-0 lead on a homer by Andy Pages, a couple RBI infield hits, and a booming double from Shohei Ohtani in the sixth to plate Dalton Rushing. In his first game back after a long IL stay, Edwin Díaz allowed his old Mariner friends to score and bring the tying run to the plate with two down in the ninth, but he got pinch-hitter Luke Raley to line out to save it.

Cleveland Guardians (56-54) 6, Cincinnati Reds (50-57) 1: The Ohio Cup goes to Cleveland this year, as they won their fourth of six games against Cincinnati this year. Joey Cantillo needed 89 pitches to get through four scoreless for the Guardians, so Stephen Vogt needed six of his relievers to combine for the final five. Fortunately, the shaky Reds defense and poor control from Brady Singer led to four Cleveland runs in the fifth, two on bases-loaded walks after an RBI single by Travis Bazzana. Kyle Manzardo at least went yard off Chase Petty in the seventh for another more conventional run.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers sit as a heavy -144 moneyline favorite for tonight's series finale against the Seattle Mariners at Dodger Stadium. 

With Roki Sasaki starting to improve, my Mariners vs. Dodgers predictions expect L.A. to take the rubber match. 

Read more in my MLB picks for Thursday, July 30. 

Who will win Mariners vs Dodgers today: Dodgers moneyline (-144)

It's been a rough campaign for Los Angeles Dodgers righty Roki Sasaki, but he is finding his best lately. The Japanese phenom has posted a 2.64 FIP over his last two appearances, allowing just 0.71 HR/9 during that span. 

Sasaki has limited opponents to a 36.9% hard-hit rate, and he hasn't allowed a single barrel between those two starts. The Seattle Mariners aren't exactly thriving offensively either, sitting around the league average over the last week. 

As for Bryce Miller, he's been hit around lately. The right-hander sports a 6.38 FIP over his last 11 frames, allowing 2.45 HR/9. 

Sasaki gives Los Angeles a better path than the full-season numbers suggest, and the Dodgers’ recent offensive form gives them a strong chance to add to Miller’s struggles.

I'll play this pick up to -160. The run line is also a secondary option. 

COVERS INTEL: The Dodgers are swinging it well, posting a 118 wRC+ in their previous five contests. 

Mariners vs Dodgers Over/Under pick: Over 8.5 (-108)

This total sits at 8.5, and the Over still has a reasonable path despite Seattle’s bullpen being in strong form. Despite their shortcomings, the Mariners have been respectable offensively, posting a 103 wRC+ over their last six games, and they get a late-game boost against a Dodgers bullpen that owns a 6.54 FIP over the last week.

Seattle’s relief corps has been excellent with a 1.86 FIP during that same span, but the Dodgers’ lineup has the better early-game path against Miller.

If Los Angeles does damage before the Mariners’ bullpen becomes a major factor, Seattle only needs to chip in against L.A.’s shaky relief group.

With enough vulnerability on the Dodgers’ side late, I lean Over 8.5.

I'll play this pick up to -130. 

Mariners vs Dodgers weather

Weather looks ideal at Dodger Stadium tonight, with clear skies and temperatures falling from around 80°F into the low 70s. Winds should be light to moderate early before settling down later, and there is no rain concern. Conditions should have minimal impact, though the warm early air could slightly help carry.

Mariners vs Dodgers odds

• Moneyline: Mariners +138 | Dodgers -144
• Run line: Mariners +1.5 (-144) | Dodgers -1.5 (+138)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (-108) | Under 8.5 (+104)

Mariners vs Dodgers trend

The Seattle Mariners have hit the Game Total Over in 15 of their last 25 games (+7.25 Units / 26% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Mariners vs. Dodgers.

How to watch Mariners vs Dodgers and game info

Mariners vs Dodgers latest injuries

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T-minus four days until the trade deadline, and of course all of the conversation is revolving around who Tarik Skubal would be traded to, if he is, and will it be the Dodgers. The conversation has ramped up with Shohei Ohtani revealing that he is dealing with a biceps issue.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic says that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Dodgers “bully their way” into getting Skubal, as they often do with big name players.

Is it really bullying if you simply have a better package to send to the team that is offering up their player to be traded or is it just sour grapes, as usual? As he also likens the Kyle Tucker to just another “flavor of the month”, it leads one to assume that it is the latter.

Of course, the Dodgers are one of the very few teams who could weather an injury to a superstar like Ohtani and still be in World Series contention. And they also have the luxury of being able to keep their intentions close to the vest before the trade deadline, and after.

Max Ralph on Dodgers.com covers thoughts of how the current state of Ohtani’s body impacts the team now and in the foreseeable future.

“The knee is getting better and the goal is to get to the 100% mark,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “But I do have to focus on the hitting side, the position-player side of things. … It is still July, so I think the conversation [about pitching] will be a little different if we’re in August or September.”

One of the biggest additions to the team would be the return of Will Smith to the backstop and lineup. There was good news on Tuesday, when manager Dave Roberts announced that Smith was finally pain free and resuming some baseball activities.

Joaquin Ruiz covers that and other injury updates here.

Edwin Diaz, one of the other flavors of the month the Dodgers acquired in the off season, made his return to the team on Wednesday evening, which also coincided with his bobblehead night.

“I want to help this team to win,” Díaz said. “I’ve been on the sideline for a long time. Just can’t wait to get back.”

Diaz made seven appearances with the team before his injury, posting a not so great 10.50 ERA. It was not the start that neither he nor the team envisioned.

“There were some games I felt great, and there were some games I was trying to battle with the soreness and everything,” Díaz said. “At some point, I understood I needed to get everything done and check my arm, check my body, and if I have something, go and remove it.”

Diaz returns to help a bullpen that has struggled a bit as of late. Jack Harris of the California Post covers more details of Diaz’s return and the recent bullpen woes here.

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The Atlanta Braves return home tonight as a -138 moneyline favorite for their series opener against the Washington Nationals. 

However,  my Nationals vs. Braves predictions see value in the visitors due to their impressive offense. 

Read more in my MLB picks for Thursday, July 30. 

Who will win Nationals vs Braves today: Nationals moneyline (+133)

Jake Irvin returns to the hill tonight after missing over two months with a shoulder injury. He'll be on a short leash, which means the Washington Nationals bullpen will likely be called upon earlier. That's not a bad thing, either. 

Washington's relief corps owns a 3.45 xERA across the last week while allowing just 0.31 HR/9. They're also up against an Atlanta Braves offense carrying a 77 wRC+ across their last seven contests. 

As for Atlanta starter Grant Holmes, he has posted a 6.16 xERA over his previous two appearances, allowing a 40% hard-hit rate during that span. The Nats are raking right now, collecting a 143 wRC+ in the last two weeks. 

The Nats’ pen holds down a cold Braves lineup, and Washington’s bats capitalize against Holmes early. 

I'll play this down to +100. 

COVERS INTEL: Holmes has been worse at home this season, posting a 5.05 FIP, giving the Nats a clear path to generate runs. 

Nationals vs Braves Over/Under pick: Under 9.5 (+108)

With a relatively high total of 9.5, the Under still has appeal. Washington has the better offensive path, but this doesn’t need to turn into a full-blown shootout for the Nationals to cash as an underdog.

The Braves are around league average offensively at home, and their current form makes it difficult to project them for a huge performance at the plate. Atlanta should still have chances, but this total requires both lineups to contribute consistently.

The concern is Atlanta’s bullpen, which has struggled with a 6.03 FIP over its last 26 2/3 frames while allowing 2.03 HR/9. Still, if most of the scoring comes from Washington, this can stay Under 9.5.

Play to -110. 

Nationals vs Braves weather

Weather should be favorable at Truist Park tonight, with clear skies and temperatures falling from the upper 80s to the upper 70s. Winds look light, and there is no rain concern. The warm early conditions could slightly help carry, but overall weather should not be a major factor.

Nationals vs Braves odds

• Moneyline: Nationals +133 | Braves -138
• Run line: Nationals +1.5 (-150) | Braves -1.5 (+144)
• Over/Under: Over 9.5 (-113) | Under 9.5 (+108)

Nationals vs Braves trend

The Washington Nationals have hit the Moneyline in 31 of their last 50 away games (+21.65 Units / 42% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Nationals vs. Braves.

How to watch Nationals vs Braves and game info

Nationals vs Braves latest injuries

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The Ohio Cup is officially Cleveland’s for the 2026 season. Yippee.

The Cleveland Guardians beat the Cincinnati Reds in last night’s series finale 6-1 behind a four-run fifth. Joey Cantillo was scoreless, but had a high pitch count and only threw four innings. Erik Sabrowski, having not pitched in nearly a week, earned the win. The team has a much needed off day before they start a two series homestand. Cleveland will host the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend and the New York Mets to start the post trade deadline portion of the baseball season.

Tom Hamilton said, on last night’s broadcast, that the team is “actively trying to improve” at the trade deadline but could not elaborate further.

AL Central Update

The time to scoreboard watch is now. As the Guardians were defeating the Reds, the New York Yankees gave up a four run lead late in the game against the Chicago White Sox, tying the game at 4-4 going into the ninth. The White Sox ultimately walked it off in the twelfth inning.

The Detroit Tigers were humiliated by the Baltimore Orioles. Behind Tarik Skubal, who threw his 1000th strikeout yesterday, the Tigers gave up a seven run lead to lose 10-9 in extras.

Kansas City did Cleveland a solid. The Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 4-0. Minnesota remains 1.5 games back from Cleveland for that last Wild Card slot. Yesterday’s loss came on the heels of Byron Buxton being sent to the IL again.

Trade Updates

The trade deadline is days away, and there are some moves starting to trickle in. At the time of writing, it was announced by Jeff Passan that the Rangers are acquiring RHP Chase Silseth and catcher Logan O’Hoppe from the Los Angeles Angels. The Rangers are reported to be optioning O’Hoppe to Triple-A Round Rock Express.

Right handed starter Dustin May is on hug watch as he was seen hugging several of his Cardinals teammates after his start last night.

Jon Morosi reports that the Dodgers are eyeing Tarik Skubal, because of course they are.

Good morning, baseball fans!

Just when we thought that the San Francisco Giants’ 2026 season couldn’t get any worse, a slew of injuries have been taking players out left and right over the last week. Casey Schmitt and Trevor McDonald are done for the year. And Harrison Bader decided to scoot through it, and made his injury worse. So who knows when we’ll see him again now.

We’re really going to need to start wrapping them in bubble wrap, and telling them to stay the heck away from Jeremy Affeldt so they don’t get any more creative ideas for how to get injured in their off time. (I kid, of course. No one can match Affeldt on that front.)

Honestly though, at this point, we should really just be preparing ourselves for the worst news possible at any given moment when it comes to this team. Natural disasters, civil unrest, dive-bombing squadrons of seagulls, the four horsemen of the apocalypse, the bullpen…yeah, it’s all happening.

What do you think the next bad news to plague the Giants will be?

What time do the Giants play today?

The Giants head down south to begin a four-game series against the San Diego Padres tonight at 6:40 p.m. PT.

Randy Dobnak threw 7 scoreless innings, and Salvador Perez tripled for the first time since 2022, in Royals 4-0 win.

And in the fourth, Royals captain Salvador Perez hit a leadoff triple — his first since the 2022 campaign. Perez chugged around the bases before belly-flopping into third base with his trademark smile. “Somebody told me it was four years ago,” Perez said. “So yeah, I saw the center fielder and kind of the ball got away from him. And I was touching second base. You know, I was thinking I can make it. So I go for it.”

Here are the key stakeholders involved in the Royals new stadium project

Vinnie Pasquantino was placed on the Injured List yesterday with a sore wrist

Almost three weeks after Vinnie Pasquantino returned following surgery on a right hamate fracture, the Royals first baseman is on the injured list again as he deals with right wrist soreness.

Kansas City on Wednesday placed Pasquantino on the 10-day IL, calling up outfielder John Rave from Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move. Pasquantino exited Tuesday night’s 3-2 loss to the Twins in the ninth inning with right hand soreness after it had progressed throughout the game. He had felt some discomfort on a diving play at first base in Detroit over the weekend, and that discomfort hadn’t subsided.

Maikel Garcia felt pain in first rehab start and has gone back to KC for further evaluation

Maikel Garcia (left hand muscle strain) faced a setback in his rehab assignment, and is headed back to Kansas City for further evaluation.

Garcia went 0-for-3 with a strikeout and played five innings at third base on Tuesday night in his first rehab game with Double-A Northwest Arkansas. During his last at-bat, Garcia felt similar discomfort in his hand that had initially caused his injured list stint a month ago.

Some actual positive injury news, Kyle Isbel, who is rehabbing is on track to return in early August

Royals center fielder Kyle Isbel continued his Minor League rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha on Wednesday as he nears his return to the Major League club after being sidelined by plantar fasciitis in his left foot.

Isbel, who has been on the injured list since June 10, has played in seven rehab games so far with Omaha and is ramping up his workload, especially in center field as he gets ready for a return that could come as soon as the first week of August when the Royals return home after their road trip.

David Lesky posted his top 25 prospects in the Royals organization

Caleb Moody of Kings of Kauffman had some thoughts on what the Royals should do at the trade deadline

Angels trade catcher Logan O’Hoppe to Rangers, along with reliever Chase Silseth

Tarik Skubal notched his 1,000th career strikeout in potentially final start for Tigers, as they also blew a huge lead and lost to Baltimore

Chris Sale remains unbelievably talented for someone his age.

Here is your song of the day, Take it Easy by the Eagles