Baseball News
Texas Rangers @ Tampa Bay Rays
Wednesday, July 29, 2026, 5:40 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / Rangers Sports Network)
Tropicana Field
LHP MacKenzie Gore vs. RHP Casey Legumina (followed by LHP Ian Seymour as the bulk pitcher)
Go Rangers!
It’s over. We are so back. It’s over. We are SO back. It’s over. We are SO BACK! Like a tennis rally that seems to go on forever and you can only watch in increasing awe as it plays out, the Orioles veered between these two extremes on Wednesday afternoon. They played some absolutely atrocious baseball and deserved to lose, no question. They played some amazing baseball and deserved to win. In the end, as ever, deserve has nothing to do with it. There’s only what happened, and what happened is the Orioles took 12 innings to win a 10-9 game.
All of this craziness occurred in a game that “everyone” expected going in would be a pitcher’s duel. The starting pitchers, back when it began, were Tarik Skubal for the Tigers and Trevor Rogers for the Orioles. Each of these guys has been pitching great for the last little while (Skubal for longer than Rogers) and each is a pending free agent. The losing team would lose the series and be highly likely to trade their guy. That was the narrative going into the game. There were real stakes for these fringe wild card contenders.
The Orioles started sending this thing into “it’s over” in the third inning. After two perfect innings from Rogers to begin the game, the bottom third of the Detroit lineup started a rally, a single and then a double to set up Detroit with no one out and men on second and third. Teams who are not the Orioles often capitalize on such situations. Tigers #9 hitter Javier Báez did so, hitting a single into right field that easily scored a run.
In un-Oriole-like fashion, Tyler O’Neill in right field hit the cutoff man while throwing home and the batter, Báez was hung up between first and second base. Rogers chased Báez into a rundown. Gifted with this “free” out from this rundown, Pete Alonso threw the ball into left field, allowing the runner to score from third base. They held a 2-0 lead and got a third run later in the inning on a sacrifice fly. Three runs went onto Rogers’s ledger, though only two were earned.
Orioles defense struck again in the fifth inning. Leody Taveras played a single into a triple. No error was charged here, but it was an egregious misplay and it gifted Detroit with a runner on third and no one out. Báez cashed that in quickly by hitting a single, and after a double and another sacrifice fly, a fifth Tigers run crossed the plate.
If that wasn’t hopeless enough, more unbelievably bad defense in the sixth inning brought two more Tigers runs home. Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Henderson committed errors on back-to-back plays; both of these guys scored. Rogers pitched through this inning and that closed the book on him with seven runs allowed, only four earned. The Orioles have the league lead in unearned runs and are on pace for possibly the worst defensive season in franchise history by that measure.
The Orioles trailed, 7-0, with Skubal on the mound and cruising into the late innings. There were two outs in the top of the seventh inning, the Orioles had Henderson on third base, and Coby Mayo was at the plate trying to try to do anything to chip away at that massive deficit. The game was so over, and with it, essentially, were their hopes of doing anything other than selling before Monday’s trade deadline.
Then, suddenly, it wasn’t over. Mayo walked and Taveras singled, chasing Skubal, who was at 92 pitches. Detroit brought in reliever Kyle Finnegan, who faced the minimum three batters and retired none of them. Jackson Holliday pinch hit for Chadwick Tromp and delivered a two-run single, then Taylor Ward followed with another single to score two more. Almost in the blink of an eye, the insurmountable 7-0 lead was narrowed to 7-5.
The very next inning saw the Orioles tie it up, with a little help from the Tigers defense. Henderson led off with a walk. Dylan Beavers followed by hitting a grounder to second baseman Gleyber Torres that Torres decided to try to throw to second base instead of getting the sure out at first. He couldn’t beat Henderson to the bag. No outs were recorded on the fielder’s choice.
Eventually, these runners were on second and third with one out. Mayo crushed a pitch to deep center field, like “it would have been a home run in 25 other stadiums” deep center, and this went over the head of Báez in center field. Báez was in a horrible position to play the bounce off the wall and it was ultimately left fielder Riley Greene who threw to third base to try to stop Mayo from safely reaching for a game-tying triple. It didn’t work. Mayo’s hit made it 7-7.
There was still only one out, but neither Taveras nor substitute catcher Yohel Pozo could bring Mayo home. That’s where the score stayed until the game went into extra innings. That’s when things got truly weird.
It’s so over: Beavers popped out on the first pitch, failing to get the zombie runner Henderson over to third base. Encarnacion-Strand hit a line drive to shortstop and Henderson was caught going just a little too far; rookie Kevin McGonigle made the catch and doubled up Henderson.
We are so back: Tyler Wells needed only three pitches in the bottom of the tenth to get a groundout, intentional walk, and ground ball double play. Staying back, the Orioles got two runs in the top of the eleventh. Taveras bunted the Manfred Man over to third base, generally a bad choice for the road team in extra innings and doubly bad when the no-bat catcher Pozo was due up. Pleasantly, Pozo delivered a sacrifice fly, and after him, Holliday slashed a single into left field for a 9-7 Orioles lead.
It’s so over: Manager Craig Albernaz brought in Rico Garcia for the bottom of the eleventh. Garcia served up a game-tying home run to Spencer Torkelson, the first batter he faced. There has been an unfortunate amount of that this week. Remaining in “it’s so over” territory in the top of the twelfth, Alonso struck out and Henderson delivered a fly ball that could only advance the runner to third base with two outs. They were on the verge of failing to score and then having to get who knows what reliever to pitch a scoreless inning.
Then, once more, we are so back: Colton Cowser, maligned (often unfairly) as one of the least clutch guys around, worked a full count before ripping a single up the middle. That made it 10-9 Orioles, which was, at last, the final score. Even this was not without excitement; the speedy McGonigle was the Manfred Man for Detroit, and Grant Wolfram began the inning by walking Ben Malgeri, who I just re-confirmed is a real baseball player. Two outs later, with the runners moved over to second and third, the Orioles turned to Andrew Kittredge to get the last out. He did it. An easy groundout, Henderson to Alonso for the game-ender, no bad throws, nothing else weird, just the end of one of the wildest Orioles victories of the year.
This game went down as just the third time since 2020 that a team came back from a 7+ run deficit in the sixth inning or later. It’s also the largest Orioles comeback win since June 30, 2009, when they mounted a nine-run comeback to beat the Red Sox. The 2026 Orioles have many problems. A lack of fight is not one of them. These guys are really something. That something is not always good, but it’s always something.
The Orioles are still three games below .500 even after all of this. Whether they gain ground in the wild card race depends on whether Cleveland beats the Reds later on Wednesday. There is a lot more work to be done in the standings and they are going to need to find a way to tighten up some of their problems, particularly their defensive problems but also their “bring in relief pitchers because they were good earlier this year even though now they clearly aren’t still good” problems.
If the Orioles had blown this game, it would feel like they had no chance to come back in the standings. Now, they have a chance. It’s a small chance, but still a chance. That’s better than last year. We will have to wait out the Thursday off day and then three games against the Phillies to see where they stand heading down to the deadline.
The Orioles could blow that series and end up sellers anyway. They could play well in the series and have Mike Elias still decide to pull the plug, like he did in 2022. They could play well and have Elias fail to substantially reinforce a contender, or maybe even they could play well and Elias pushes some chips in. Baseball is great and terrible because we don’t know.
A lot is riding on Friday’s game against the Phillies, and Saturday’s, and Sunday’s. Brandon Young is set to start the 7:05 series opener. The Phillies haven’t listed a starter for Friday yet.
**
It is a longtime Camden Chat tradition to proclaim a Most Birdland Player after each Orioles victory. During that June 30, 2009 comeback win I mentioned above, the entire team was proclaimed to be Most Birdland. What is Most Birdland? Each person must decide for themselves. Sometimes, this is the most valuable player of a game. Sometimes, this is not. Let us know your choice in the comments.
Wednesday notes…
Cubs lineup:
Cardinals lineup:
Matthew Boyd has been nails since returning from the knee injury suffered while playing with his kids. Oddly enough, the enforced layoff might have actually helped him.
In six starts since his return: 2.31 ERA, 1.200 WHIP. That’ll play.
Boyd has not faced the Cardinals this year. Current Cardinals are a small sample size 8-for-3o (.267) against Boyd with one home run (Jordan Walker) and 11 strikeouts.
Dustin May was a Top 100 prospect before 2020 but injuries prevented him from making any sort of regular starts until last year, which he split between the Dodgers and Red Sox. He came to the Cardinals as part of the deal that sent Willson Contreras to Boston.
His last start against the Cubs was April 22, 2025 at Wrigley Field, that whacked-out game where the Cubs scored five runs off him in the first inning, including a homer by Pete Crow-Armstrong, then had to come back to win in extras.
He was going along okay this year but has a 7.66 ERA and 1.970 WHIP over his last six starts. He did throw well in his last outing against the Reds last Friday (six innings, one run).
Here is the weather forecast for the area around Busch Stadium.
Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. It’s also streaming on Peacock (outside the Cubs and Cardinals market territories).
Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
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The Milwaukee Brewers have won the NL Central in three consecutive seasons. With a commanding six-game lead over the Chicago Cubs as the second half gets underway, they are in prime position to secure their fourth division title in a row.
As the Aug. 3 MLB trade deadline nears, Milwaukee has a clear mission: How can it finally capture the National League Pennant that has always eluded them? For Hall of Famer CC Sabathia, it's crucial that the Brewers make an impact trade.
Last season, the Brewers fell short when the Los Angeles Dodgers swept them in the NLCS. They lost in the NL Wild Card series in consecutive years before that. They came closest to a World Series berth in 2018, but fell to the Dodgers in seven games.
Milwaukee already boasts Jacob Misiorowski, who is making his case as the frontrunner for this year's NL Cy Young Award, and an MLB-best team ERA (3.41). Sabathia believes it can get even better with potential additions to the rotation and bullpen.
Sabathia's bold prediction?
"The Brewers make a big trade and go out and give the Dodgers a run for their money," he said. "I think that has to happen."
Milwaukee will look to continue its second-half surge this weekend when it faces the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday Leadoff at 3 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN.
New episodes with CC and Ahmed Fareed drop every Wednesday on NBC Sports NOW, NBCSN, YouTube, and wherever you get your podcasts.
It took twelve innings to watch the Tigers officially lose this one, but the real downfall really started when Tarik Skubal exited the game in the seventh. The final score was 10-9 for the O’s.
The Tigers were feeling mighty fine after their blowout win on Tuesday and hoping to ride that wave into a series win during the Wednesday day game. To get there, they’d have Tarik Skubal on the mound in potentially his last start with the Tigers? Who knows, but the hot stove is certainly hot. He would be up against Trevor Rogers for the Orioles.
Tarik Skubal got the game started in historic fashion, wasting no time getting his 1000th career strikeout on the first batter he saw.
Pete Alonso then singled, but two outs followed to end the inning in short order. The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning, so they would not be repeating their one run in every inning feat from Tuesday night.
Coby Mayo got a one-out single in the second, but Skubal was on his game and got the next two batters in order. In the home half, the Tigers went three-up, three-down.
The Orioles went 1-2-3 in the top of the third. In the bottom of the inning, Spencer Torkelson singled and it was another big Tigers’ milestone as it was his 500th career hit.
Matt Vierling doubled, then Javier Baez continued to be red hot since his return with a single to score two runs. He ended up on second thanks to a throwing error from Pete Alonso. With one out, Kevin McGonigle hit a sac fly to score Baez.
Skubal was cruising by the time they reached the fourth, getting the side out in order. In the home half, Dillon Dingler singled, but three outs followed to leave him stranded.
Three-up, three-down on repeat for Tarik in the fifth. Matt Vierling got the bottom of the inning started with a triple, but he appeared to hurt himself somewhere between second and third, with Zach McKinstry coming in to pinch-run and ultimately replace him in the game. Baez then singled, scoring McKinstry.
Gleyber Torres doubled, then with one out, Hao-Yu Lee hit a sac fly to score yet another run. By the time the end of the inning came around the Tigers were up 5-0.
Skubal kept making it look easy through the sixth, with another 1-2-3 inning. In the home half Riley Greene reached on a fielding error, then right on his heels, Eduardo Valencia reached on a throwing error. That was now three errors in a single game for the O’s, and the Tigers were keen to make sure they regretted every one. McKinstry doubled, bringing in two more runs.
Gunnar Henderson got a leadoff single in the seventh. A great diving stop from McGonigle, combined with a super accurate catch from Torkelson, got the first out of the inning and definitely saved getting another runner on the basepaths.
With two outs, Coby Mayo walked, bringing A.J. Hinch in, but Skubal remained in the game. This was the first inning of the game that Skubal showed signs of struggle with his command. Leody Taveras then singled to score the first Orioles’ run of the game. That was all she wrote for Skubal, possibly for the last time as a Tiger, and his final line (after the inning finished…. so spoilers) was 6.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K on 92 pitches. He got a standing ovation for the second time in the game and received high-fives from the whole dugout. If it was his last start, which feels unfortunate and likely, it was a good start to say goodbye on. Kyle Finnegan came in to replace him. After an unbelievably long at-bat, Jeremiah Jackson worked a walk. The bases were loaded with two outs, and a pinch-hitting Jackson Holliday coming up. Holliday singled, scoring two runs. Holliday stole second, and then Taylor Ward singled, bringing in two more runs. At this point, it would have made more sense to just leave Skubal in, it couldn’t have possibly been worse. Finnegan was pulled, finally and Drew Anderson came in to replace him. A pop out ended the inning but the damage was certainly done as the Orioles pulled within two.
Rogers’s day was done in the home half, replaced by Anthony Nunez. A pinch-hitting Colt Keith got a one-out triple. With two outs, Riley Greene was intentionally walked. With two on, though, the final out of the inning came, leaving the runners stranded.
In the top of the eighth, Henderson got a leadoff walk. A pinch-hitting Dylan Beavers reached on a fielder’s choice where Gleyber Torres opted to throw to second, didn’t get the out, and everyone was safe. With one out, Mayo tripled and suddenly the game was tied. The Tigers did finally get out of the inning but needless to say the damage was done and Skubal’s final game was pretty soundly squandered. Yennier Cano was the new pitcher in the bottom of the inning and he got the Tigers out in order.
Kenley Jansen was the new Tigers’ pitcher for the top of the ninth. Ward got a one-out walk. It took some work, but Jansen did manage to best the O’s to get out of the inning unscathed. Tigers went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning against Tyler Wells. The game was headed to extras.
Jacob Waguespack came in from the Tigers’ bullpen. A pop-out and a double play with the ghost runner got the Tigers out of the inning. Riley Greene was intentionally walked again with one out, then Valencia hit into a double play to end the inning, all with a runner on third.
Mayo got a leadoff walk in the eleventh. Taveras laid down a pretty perfectly placed sac bunt to advance both baserunners into scoring position. Yohel Pozo hit a sac fly to right, allowing Christian Encarnacion-Strand to score. While the tag did look close, it seemed clear the run was safely in. That was it for Waguespack, who was replaced by Drew Sommers. Holliday singled, scoring another run. Sommers did finally get out of the inning, but the Tigers would need to score at least two runs in the home half to stay alive. Rico Garcia came in to pitch, and because the baseball gods have a sense of humor, Torkelson hit a home run to score two and tie the game up. And it was Tork’s 100th home run, no less, his second milestone of the game. With two outs, James Outman was hit by a pitch. The O’s went back to their bullpen for Grant Wolfram who got the final out of the inning and keep us going into the twelfth.
With two outs in the twelfth, Colton Cowser singled, scoring a run. That was it for Sommers who was replaced by Brenan Hanifee. He got the final out of the inning, but once again the Tigers were behind, and they’d need to wake up their bats if they wanted to win it. Ben Malgeri got a leadoff walk in the home half to put two on. Greene grounded out to bump both runners into scoring position. The Orioles went back to their bullpen for Andrew Kittredge. He got the final out of the inning and of the game, and the Tigers took the L.
It has been a frustrating season for Vinnie Pasquantino, and last night was just another setback. Pasquantino exited Tuesday night’s game against the Twins with hand soreness, and today the Royals placed him on the Injured List with right wrist soreness. Pasquantino previously missed a month after suffering a hamate fracture in mid-June. To replace him on the roster, the Royals called up outfielder John Rave.
Pasquantino has struggled to get going in 2026, getting off to a very slow start. He hit .165 in April and couldn’t get over the Mendoza Line until mid-May. He started to hit towards the end of the month until he injured his wrist on a swing during a June game against the Astros. He returned to the lineup in mid-July, and while he has hit .282 (11-for-39) in the 11 games since returning, he has not hit for power. Players with wrist and hand injuries commonly have a loss of power upon returning. For the season, Pasquantino has hit .232/.318/.345 with six home runs in 79 games, the tenth-lowest slugging percentage among all qualified hitters.
Rave appeared in nine games earlier with the Royals, hitting .222/.333/.611. The 28-year-old left-handed hitter was batting .285/.396/.481 with 13 home runs and 18 steals in 77 games for Omaha.
Jac Caglianone is likely to move back to first base to fill in for Pasquantino, with Salvador Perez also likely to see some time there.
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The New York Yankees took the first two games of this series, and they're -145 favorites to earn another win in Game 3 at Rate Field.
With Cam Schlittler dealing, my Yankees vs. White Sox predictions and MLB picks believe the value again lies with the road team on July 29.
Davis Martin has had a rough go of late. His ERA is 6.0 over the last 30 days, and his underlying numbers (5.45 xFIP, 5.69 SIERA) indicate the poor results are warranted.
It’ll be tough for him to get back on track against the New York Yankees. They rank second in ISO vs. right-handed pitching, and Martin’s ERA sits at 6.14 over seven starts against Top 10 opponents.
The Chicago White Sox will have a difficult time keeping up facing Cam Schlittler, who slots in the 99th percentile in Pitcher Run Value.
Back New York to -160.
COVERS INTEL:Martin's 90.3 average exit velocity is likely to get him into trouble against a powerful Yankees attack.Schlittler’s gotten dinged up a little more frequently of late, but his process is as strong as ever. He has struck out 32.2% of batters in his past five starts while posting a 2.80 xFIP.
His success should continue in Chicago. The White Sox rank 18th in average vs. righties this season, and 24th during the month of July.
It’s a struggle for them to string together hits, and Schlittler’s 0.83 HR/9 output doesn’t give them an escape via power.
If Martin doesn’t get blown up, this game should stay Under.
Bet to -120.
Temperatures are expected to land in the low 70s with winds blowing east. No real impact.
New York has hit the game total Under in 13 of the last 19 games (+6.60 units, 31% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Yankees vs. White Sox.
| Location | Rate Field, Chicago, IL |
| Date | Wednesday, July 29, 2026 |
| First pitch | 7:40 p.m. ET |
| TV | Prime Video |
| Yankees starting pitcher | Cam Schlittler (10-6, 2.07 ERA) |
| White Sox starting pitcher | Davis Martin (9-5, 3.49 ERA) |
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
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Blue Jays 5 Nationals 2
That was a fun game.
Until the sixth inning, we were losing 1-0. Well, from the fourth inning until the sixth inning we were losing 1-0.
We tied it in the sixth. George Springer walked to lead off the game. Two outs later, Ernie Clement doubled him home.
And we went ahead in the seventh. With one out, Kazuma Okamoto singled. An out later, singles from Alejandro Kirk and Daulton Varsho scored him.
Thankfully, we got three more in the eighth. Davis Schneider doubled with one out. Very happy for him, he’s had a rough go, hopefully that hit will be the start of good stuff. Yohendrick Piñango singled to give us runners on the corners. Myles Straw came in to pinch run for Lips, smart move as he’ll be coming in on defense anyway.
Straw decided to steal second. He was called safe. Nationals challenged and it wasn’t overturned. But it was very close. I am sure that if it was an out call on the field, it would not have changed on review. I was less than pleased with the baseball IQ shown. We had an insurance run on third and one out. A fly ball would have given us a big run.
Nathan Lukes struck out. Okamoto doubled both home (a bloop double, that the center fielder almost made the catch on). Then Springer singled home Okamoto.
It went from a one run lead to a four run lead.
Tyler Rogers, who got the last out of the seventh, stayed in the game for the eight. He sat for a long time (Dan said 17 minutes) and he wasn’t sharp in the eight.
James Wood led off with a double. Luis García Jr. singled him in, making it 5-2 . José Tena walked bringing the tying run to the plate. And bringing Louis Varland into the game looking for a six out save.
Varland got a force out at third, an amazing play by Andrés Giménez, making a diving stop to his right and throwing to third for the force. He didn’t have time to turn to second and go for the double play. Good on Clement for being close to the bag at third.
A Varland walk put the tying run on first. But a strikeout and a fly out ended the inning. and catching one after he slipped (he seems good at making catches after slipping).
There was a dumb moment in the first. Jays had runners on first and third with one out. Springer struck out, on the third strike pitch, Okamoto was thrown out trying to steal second. I think, it was an effort for a double steal, he goes to second, stops and Lukes at third comes home. But it was very poorly executed.
I’m sort of burying the lead….Trey Yesavage was excellent. 6.2 innings, just 3 hits, 1 earned, 3 walks and 4 strikeouts. Very little was hit hard of him. After six innings, he was at 87 pitches. I was glad John left him out there to start the seventh. He gave up a lead off single. Then a sac bunt and a strikeout. Then John put in Rogers, who got a ground out.
There was a lot of terrific defense today. Varsho made a couple of excellent catches in center. One in the first inning with a runner on, catching the ball right at the top of the wall. I don’t think it would have been a home but would have been close. And catching one after he slipped (he seems good at making catches after slipping). Giménez and Nasim Nuñez (even though he made an error) put on a show at short
We had 12 hits, and 4 walks and should have scored more. Okomoto had 3. Lips, Kirk, and Varsho had 2 each. Lukes (with 2 walks) and Giménez (0 for 4) had the 0 fors.
Jays of the Day: Varland (0.23 WPA, he didn’t seem happy with getting water poured on him while talking to Hazel. He threw his glove hard at, I think, Straw for doing it), Yesavage (0.23), Okamoto (0.19, and good play at first base), Varsho (0.15) and Davis Schneider (0.10, for a double and a walk).
Other Award: Rogers (-0.11, maybe the long offensive inning cost him), Lips (-0.11, but a nice catch in left), Lukes (-0.09) and Springer (-0.09).
Tomorrow is an off-day. Friday the Cardinals come to Toronto. There might be a trade or two by then.
DETROIT (AP) — Trade deadline target Tarik Skubal and Detroit fans gave each other a warm farewell Wednesday, just in case this was the two-time Cy Young Award winner’s final appearance in a Tigers jersey.
Skubal was cheered at every opportunity by a crowd of 34,406 while taking a shutout into the seventh inning against Baltimore. His first standing ovation came when he struck out leadoff hitter Taylor Ward on a 3-2 changeup to record his 1,000th career strikeout.
He reached the mark in 857 innings, breaking Max Scherzer’s franchise-best mark of 944 2/3 innings.
He got another ovation when Tigers manager A.J. Hinch removed him after Leody Tavares’ RBI single with two out in the seventh.
With Detroit lingering below .500, the Tigers could deal their ace ahead of next Monday’s trade deadline. Skubal is eligible for free agency after the World Series. He has a $32 million salary, a record total in arbitration, after the team offered $19 million, and is expected to sign a massive contract in the offseason.
The 29-year-old lefty said earlier this month that it was his preference is to finish the season with the Tigers to compete for a World Series championship, which has eluded the franchise since 1984.
“Going into spring training and the whole offseason, I’ve never been more motivated to try and win a World Series for this city, the team that drafted me and helped develop me,” he said on July 23.
Detroit has bounced back in June and July but still entered Wednesday at 51-57, 3 1/2 games out of the last AL wild card.
Skubal had experimental surgery on May 6 to remove a loose body from his pitching elbow and returned to pitch on June 13.
“The way the surgery went is exactly how it was supposed to go,” he said in July. “I don’t know if remarkable is the word I would use.”
Tigers ace Tarik Skubal looms as arguably the biggest domino to fall as the 2026 MLB trade deadline nears. With arguments for and against Detroit moving the star 29-year-old, Hall of Famer CC Sabathia is clear on what he believes needs to happen.
As the Tigers (51-57) fade in the AL Central and Wild Card races, Sabathia believes now is the ideal time for Detroit to acquire "all the pieces" it needs to replenish its farm system and MLB roster. A potential deal for Skubal could see the Tigers "run through" a team's farm, with multiple top prospects and MLB-ready talent likely coming back to Detroit in any deal for the two-time defending AL Cy Young Award winner.
That's why Sabathia is adamant about the rare opportunity Detroit has in front of it, saying it "makes no sense" to keep Skubal when the chance to re-tool on the fly is on the table.
In what could have been his final start for the Tigers on Wednesday, Skubal allowed three earned runs and struck out six across 6.2 innings against the Orioles. Will this truly be his last appearance with Detroit?
We have until 6p ET on Monday, Aug. 3 to find out.
New episodes with CC and Ahmed Fareed drop every Wednesday on Peacock, NBC Sports NOW, NBCSN, YouTube, and wherever you get your podcasts.
The Cincinnati Reds used the 9th overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft on shortstop Steele Hall, then just 17 years of age, out of Hewitt-Trussville High School in Alabama. Hall had just recently reclassified to be a high school senior and therefore draft eligible, but the Reds had been scouting him as a potential #1 overall pick in the 2026 draft even before that.
Safe to say, the Reds have long been high on this kid, and his first taste of pro ball in 2026 has shown precisely why.
In 58 games for the Reds in Arizona Complex League play, Hall hit .288/.387/.518 (.904 OPS) with 10 homers and 24 steals, flashing both a patience at the plate and developing power while doing almost all of that at just 18 years of age. He turned 19 at the end of last week, and it turns out the Reds had a nice little present waiting for him.
According to Sam Dykstra of MLB Pipeline, the Reds have promoted Hall up to Class-A Daytona, and he’s expected to finish out the season with the Tortugas in Florida State League play.
Thanks to both his elite play and promotions elsewhere, Hall has risen to the #2 spot in MLB Pipeline’s rankings of the top prospects in the Cincinnati system (behind only Alfredo Duno), and they currently rank him as the #47 prospect in the game overall.
After trouncing the Braves in the first game of their series, the Mets’ pulled off a less dramatic win, taking the matinee 3-2 with a nightcap to follow.
The first four and a half innings of this game looked very similar on both sides of the ball. Both teams committed errors, both allowed some baserunners on questionable defensive alignments, but both pitchers got out of jams and kept the games scoreless.
AJ Smith-Shawver was making his first start after Tommy John Surgery and mostly looked very strong. A.J. Ewing reached twice and stole two bases against Smith-Shawver, but otherwise, he kept the Mets fairly in check.
That would change in the bottom of the fith.
Tyrone Taylor led off the inning with a walk, which was followed by a Brett Baty line drive that skipped off of Matt Olson’s glove, and put runners on first and third with no outs. Francisco Alvarez then drilled a ball off the base of the wall in left, scoring Taylor and sending Baty to third, while Alvarez just barely got into second. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Ewing scored Baty, and the Mets were up 2-0.
That would be it for Smith-Shawver, who was pulled for Didier Fuentes with one out. Fuentes walked Lindor to put two on, but a Bo Bichette pop out and a Carson Benge strikeout ended the scoring at two.
Sean Manaea similarly avoided trouble for his first five innings, working around some soft contact, walks, and a hit by pitch without allowing a run.
However, Manaea’s luck would run out in the top of the sixth, when a Matt Olson two-run homer tied the game before letting their lead last for one defensive out. However, three quick outs followed the dinger, and in five pitches, Manaea closed out the fifth.
Overall, Manaea’s six innings of five hit, two run, four strikeout, two walk ball got the job done, even if this wasn’t a pretty effort at times. Manaea has slowly righted his season somewhat, but not likely enough to make him a deadline target.
Victor Mederos began the sixth inning on the mound for Atlanta, and was greeted by Jared Young’s second hit of the game. After retiring the next two batters, he was pulled for lefty Dylan Dodd, who struck out pinch hitter Marcus Semien to end the frame.
Huascar Brazobán was first out of the ‘pen for the Mets and got three quick outs.
Dodd pitched the seventh for the Braves, and walked both Ewing and Francisco Lindor, but he looked like he was about to get through it when he got Bichette to line out to right. However, Carson Benge took an up and in fastball down the right field line to score Ewing and push Lindor to third. Young was then plunked by the first pitch he saw and, with the bases now loaded, Dodd was out of the game.
Old friend Danny Young was next in for the Braves, facing Jorge Polanco from the right side. Polanco, who got down a sacrifice bunt earlier in the game, struck out looking for what feels like the 600th time since he returned to end the inning.
The Mets had to get six more outs to win the game, and they first entrusted Luke Weaver to get them there. A strikeout and a double play got them halfway there. Both Weaver and Brazobán bolstered their trade value with excellent performances today.
Tyler Kinley pitched the bottom of the eighth for the Braves, and good outfield defense prevented the first two batters from reaching base. An Alvarez ground out turned the game over to Devin Williams to close it out.
Williams got the first two batters to fly out to shallow right and left fields, respectively. Mauricio Dubón lined a single up the middle to keep the Braves alive. Pinch runner Jorge Mateo stole second on an overturned out call, putting the tying run into scoring position. However, the slumping Riley couldn’t deliver, striking out to end the game.
This is the first time the Mets won more than two in a row since a four-game winning streak that ended May. Could they match that streak tonight?
Christian Scott will face Chris Sale in the nightcap, starting at 7:10pm tonight.
Big Mets winner: Carson Benge, +20.0% WPA
Big Mets loser: Bo Bichette, -15.0% WPA
Mets pitchers: +41.0% WPA
Mets hitters: 9.0% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Carson Benge’s game-winning double, +21.6% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Matt Olson’s two-run jack, -21.0% WPA
The opening game of Wednesday’s doubleheader at the New York Mets was a bit of a good news, bad news situation for the Atlanta Braves.
The good news was that AJ Smith-Shawver’s 2026 debut largely went well and appeared likely to give the Braves rotation an immediate upgrade.
The bad news is the offense didn’t do much in terms of run support for the 23-year-old.
Matt Olson provided the Braves’ only runs with a sixth-inning homer in the 3-2 afternoon loss at Citi Field, snapping Atlanta’s streak of three straight series wins coming out of the All-Star break.
With the game tied at 2 in the seventh, Carson Benge’s two-out RBI double proved to be the difference after Dylan Dodd (2-1) issued consecutive one-out walks to A.J. Ewing and Francisco Lindor.
The Braves were not lacking in chances for more runs, going down in order just twice in nine innings. However, they finished 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, stranded five runners and were largely unable to find much success against Mets starter Sean Manaea and the bullpen behind him.
Manaea allowed five hits and two runs over six innings and Huascar Brazoban, Luke Weaver and Devin Williams each followed with scoreless innings to stifle the Braves, who have scored three or fewer runs in four straight games after scoring six-plus in six of the first eight coming out of the break.
Atlanta had the tying run at second with two outs in the ninth after Mauricio Dubón delivered a two-out single and pinch runner Jorge Mateo swiped second. But an Austin Riley strikeout squandered one final scoring chance and clinched the defeat.
Smith-Shawver didn’t factor into the decision or make it through five innings in his season debut, the latter of which isn’t especially surprising considering he was on a pitch count of sorts. But he was effective for much of his debut, navigating traffic in each of his first four innings to post four scoreless frames.
Things came apart a bit in the fifth, though, as he allowed the first three batters to reach on a walk, a single and a double to plate the game’s first run. A sacrifice fly by the next batter ended his outing after 4 1/3 innings over which he allowed two runs on four hits, struck out four and walked two.
Still, he immediately looked to be an upgrade to the rotation, sitting 97 and touching 98 mph with his fastball and balancing that with effective offspeed offerings. Especially as he continues to rebuild his stamina, he has the look of being a better option than a number of starters the Braves have been forced to rely on this season.
After a glacial start at the plate, Atlanta equalized in the very next inning when Drake Baldwin led off with a double and Olson extended his team lead with his 28th homer — seventh-most in the majors — to tie the game.
Other than that, though, the Braves couldn’t break through.
They’ll have another chance to do that Wednesday night in the Mets finale before heading home to kick off a four-game set against the Washington Nationals on Thursday.
Texas Rangers lineup for July 29, 2026 against the Tampa Bay Rays: starting pitchers are MacKenzie Gore for the Rangers and Casey Legumina opening for Ian Seymour for the Rays.
Texas will try to make it two in a row against Tampa, who has a righthanded pitching opener going in front of a lefthanded pitching pseudo-starter. That’s why Joc Pederson and Evan Carter are on the bench. Lefthanded hitting Alejandro Osuna is in the lineup, though, which helps explain why the Rangers are reportedly looking for a righthanded hitting outfielder at the trade deadline.
The lineup:
Langford — DH
Duran — 3B
Nimmo — RF
Burger — 1B
Foscue — 2B
Lopez — SS
Cauley — CF
Osuna — LF
Diaz — C
5:40 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are +120 underdogs.
Mark Walter, owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Lakers, is under federal investigation.
The federal probe is examining whether the empire of the billionaire and chief executive of Guggenheim Partners was involved in fraud from private-credit deals. An employee of Walter’s reportedly raised red flags over suspicious revenue booking.
But there’s more worry surrounding the sports mogul.
The health of the 66-year-old is also a topic of concern for some inside Walter’s business empire, according to the Wall Street Journal. In the middle of the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series run, Walter reportedly suffered a stroke and was notably absent from the team’s festivities after the team had been crowned champions.
Walter was present for the Dodgers’ 2025 World Series win at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, but didn’t join the team for the trophy presentation in the Bronx in 2024. Now, it’s been revealed he was dealing with a medical emergency at that time.
The Dodgers did not respond to a request for comment.
The recovery process from the stroke was reportedly arduous for Walter as he struggled to speak clearly for months. According to executives and investors involved with Walter, they felt that his mental sharpness had declined since the stroke.
Other sources told the Wall Street Journal that there was no evidence of Walter’s health emergency affecting his decision-making for the business empire.
Since spearheading that $2.15 billion purchase, however, Walter has developed a reputation as a largely hands-off owner, leaving day-to-day operations to team president Stan Kasten and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.
In recent years, he has been an increasingly rare presence around the club, as well, making only a handful of public appearances during regular season play each year.
“They make all the decisions,” Walter quipped after last year’s World Series, when asked how much he trusts his “baseball people” to run the franchise. “I just tell them yes.”
Walter has been a more constant fixture during the Dodgers’ annual postseason runs, and also accompanied the club on its season-opening trip to Tokyo last season –– only five months after his stroke reportedly occurred.
Still, his absence from the 2024 World Series celebration was notable, with the team not disclosing at the time why he was unable to be present for their title-clinching victory at Yankee Stadium in New York.
In the two years since, Walter has had a couple of public flubs in Dodgers-related speaking appearances.
During the team’s trip to the White House in April 2025, the Chicago-based businessman briefly mispoke when he said the organization had “committed $100 million to help Chicago –– or, LA fire” relief efforts, before brushing off the slip with a chuckle.
Last week, during the team’s return trip to the White House, Walter appeared to become confused about which notes he was supposed to be reading from during a prepared speech, before manager Dave Roberts briefly stepped in to assist.
Walter’s interactions with the press in recent years have almost exclusively been limited to impromptu scrums following playoff games –– most recently, in the wake of last year’s Game 7 triumph in Toronto, after he went on stage to accept the Commissioner’s Trophy.
Walter was last seen around the team immediately after the White House trip last weekend, talking to Roberts and other members of the organization on the field during batting practice before a game against the New York Mets at Citi Field.
Last year, of course, Walter further expanded his footprint in the Los Angeles sports market by purchasing a controlling stake in the Lakers at a $10 billion valuation through his TWG Global group. Dodgers executive vice president and chief marketing officer Lon Rosen became the Lakers’ president of business operations months after that sale, while Friedman and fellow Dodgers executive Farhan Zaidi have served in advisory roles for the basketball team.
Walter’s portfolio also includes ownership of the Sparks’ WNBA franchise, TWG Motorsports’ Formula 1 racing team, a partial stake in Chelsea Football Club of the English Premier League, and the entire Professional Women’s Hockey League (which he founded in 2023, and whose trophy is named the “Walter Cup”).
