PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 07: Phillies legend Chase Utley is shown during his Wall of Fame induction ceremony before the game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Toronto Blue Jays on August 7th, 2026 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
On a night when the Phillies inducted Chase Utley onto the Wall of Fame, neither the weather nor the team performed up to the standard of the former star. The game was delayed almost two hours due to rain, and once it was played, Zack Wheeler had a shaky start, and the offense couldn’t take advantage of ten walks as the Phillies dropped a 5-4 decision to the Blue Jays.
Wheeler hasn’t been his best in recent starts and that continued on Friday. His command wasn’t great and he gave up solo runs in the second, third, and fourth innings. It’s possible he was distracted by the Blue Jays’ insistence that he was not maintaining contact with the pitching rubber. He certainly didn’t seem to appreciate the Blue Jays’ complaints.
The Phillies matched the Jays’ output in the early innings. J.T. Realmuto’s single combined with an error by Toronot right fielder Jesus Sanchez gave the Phillies their first run in the second, and Bryce Harper’s RBI single tied it at two in the third.
But they wasted some prime scoring opportunities after that. In the fifth, Bryson Stott led off with a walk and Justin Crawford followed with a double, giving the Phillies runners at second and third with nobody out. But Blue Jays starter Jose Soriano rebounded to strike out Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Harper.
Things fell apart for Wheeler in the sixth. He got the first out of the inning but then gave up a single to Josh Smith. He followed that by walking Brett Bateman – Wheeler’s fifth walk of the night – before Nathan Lukes ended a 15-pitch at bat by singling to right.
With Wheeler’s pitch count at 115, that ended his night. Tim Mayza entered and gave up a sacrifice fly but was able to limit the damage after that.
In the seventh, the Phillies had another great opportunity to score when they loaded the bases on three walks, but a Luis Arraez fly out ended the inning with all three runners still on base.
After Caleb Kilian gave up a solo home run to Josh Smith in the eighth (that’s now two of three bad appearances by Kilian since he arrived), the score was 5-2 and it felt like the game was as good as over. But the Blue Jays did their best to let the Phillies back in it. In the ninth, Trevor Rogers walked the first two batters before Schwarber loaded the bases on catcher’s interference.
Trea Turner made it 5-3 with a fielder’s choice ground out, and Bryce Harper cut it to 5-4 with an infield single that probably should have been converted into an out. Arraez re-loaded the bases with a walk, but with the infield in, Alec Bohm’s weak groundball resulted in a force out at home (which Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk almost botched).
It was left to Brandon Marsh with two outs. The Jays almost left first base uncovered on his ground ball to second, but Rogers got over to cover just in time to record the out and end the game.
They’ll be back at it on Saturday evening. Presumably, Utley will stick around to watch that one, and hopefully, the Phillies can do a better job of honoring his legacy the second time around.
The Yankees offense struggled for eight innings, but came alive to rally and defeat the Braves, 3-2, in extra innings on Friday night in the Bronx.
Despite being down two runs in the ninth, the Yankees rallied. A one-out infield single from George Lombard Jr. and a two-base error by Braves closer Raisel Iglesias allowed the Yankees rookie to reach third base. Austin Wells drove him in with a two-out double. Amed Rosario walked, bringing up Ben Rice. The young slugger hit a bullet off the right field wall, tying the game. Luis Garcia Jr. would ground out to send the game to extra innings.
But Garcia would make up for it in the 10th. With two outs and the ghost runner on third base, Ronald Acuna Jr. lofted the ball into right field that looked destined to drop in, but Garcia raced out and made an over-the-shoulder catch to keep the game tied.
In the bottom of the 10th, Jose Caballero struck out on a foul bunt before Spencer Jones was intentionally walked to bring up Lombard. Against the right-hander Tyler Kinley, Lombard walked to load the bases for Ryan McMahon. McMahon fought back from an 0-2 count and hit a sac fly to drive in the winning run.
The Yankees snapped Atlanta's eight-game winning streak. With the Red Sox's win earlier in the evening, the Yankees remain just 0.5 games ahead of Boston for second in the division and the top Wild Card spot.
Here are the takeaways...
-Following a nearly two-hour rain delay, Max Fried took the mound facing off against his former team for the first time. The southpaw allowed two runners to reach (walk, single) before retiring Matt Olson, but Maricio Dubon hit a single up the middle, and Trent Grisham gunned down Ozzie Albies trying to reach third base before Drake Baldwin scored at home.
From there, Fried cruised through 6.1 innings (90 pitches/57 strikes), allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out seven. But it wasn't enough as he left the game with the score tied at 0-0.
-The Yankees were no-hit through three innings by new Brave pitcher Tyler Mahle -- who entered the game with a 5.13 ERA -- before Heliot Ramos broke it up with a leadoff double in the fourth. But the Yankees couldn't capitalize, withGarcia (foul out) and Jazz Chisholm Jr. (pop up) unable to even move Ramos to third. Jones hit a long fly ball to dead center field, but Dubon made a leaping catch at the wall to secure the third out.
McMahon hit a one-out double in the fifth, but he was also stranded after Wells lined out to center and Grisham struck out looking.
They had another chance in the eighth after back-to-back, two-out walks by Ramos and Garcia. Paul Goldschmidt was called off the bench but struck out swinging to end yet another Yankees threat.
-Behind Fried, Fernando Cruz gave up the first run of the game when Austin Riley launched a solo shot to lead off the eighth inning. Cruz made three outs, but allowing the home run was the difference and continued the right-hander's recent struggles.
In his last seven games, Cruz has an ERA of 5.40 (four runs in 6.2 innings).
Tim Hill allowed a leadoff solo shot to Olson in the ninth to push the Braves' lead to 2-0.
-Rice finished 1-for-5 with three strikeouts and is now 2-for-22 over his last seven games and 7-for-55 over his last 15 games with just one home run over that time. Hopefully the tying single gets him out of his funk.
Lombard, in his third game with the Yankees, went 1-for-4 with a strikeout, a walk and the run scored.
Game MVP: Ryan McMahon
McMahon not only drove in the winning run, but he was the only Yankee to have more than one hit, finishing 2-for-3 with a walk.
Highlights
Ryan McMahon makes a great play and fires to Luis García Jr. at first to get the out! pic.twitter.com/eiUEleUspq
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - AUGUST 07: Logan Gilbert #36 of the Seattle Mariners pitches during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at T-Mobile Park on August 07, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Olivia Vanni/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Rays 2, Mariners 1
Anagrams: Julio Rodríguez and Eduard Bazardo, +.03 WPA
Bananagrams: Taylor Ward, -.17 WPA but let’s be clear, every single member of the offense could be in this category tonight, as not a single one aside from Julio had a positive WPA. They, to put it gently, stink.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - AUGUST 7: Brett Bateman #21 of the Toronto Blue Jays hits a double in his first at-bat in his major league debut in the third inning of a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on August 7, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) | Getty Images
That was stressful, especially after yesterday’s nightmare ending. It was close all game, with the Jays just edging out to what seemed like a comfortable lead in the late innings before nearly throwing it all away again in the ninth. In the end they hung on by a fingernail.
The deadline additions played a huge role tonight:
Jose Soriano showed both why he’s had some struggles and why he can be so effective in spite of that. His sinker and curveball generated plenty of ground ball contact plus some swings and misses. His four hits and three walks against three strikeouts over 4.2 doesn’t stand out, but there was a lot to like and he left his team in a position to win.
Josh Smith was 3-4 with a home run on his 29th birthday. The homer was a moonshot to centre field, giving hope that the power outage that’s wrecked his season was related to his first half injuries and might be behind him. He also stole a base
Brett Bateman’s first MLB plate appearance, indeed his first swing at his first pitch, was a double crushed off the top of the wall the other way. Then he worked a pair of walks later in the ballgame.
Matt Waldron, who was a minor league signing and not a trade acquisition, worked a solid eighth inning with a strikeout.
They Jays took an early lead in the second inning on an Andres Gimenez solo home run. It would be short lived, though. In the bottom half, Soriano issued a two out walkd and Jesus Sanchez badly misplayed a ground ball single, letting it get past him to the wall and allowing the runner to score from first. That established a pattern. In the third, Brett Bateman took his first MLB pitch, a Zach Wheeler fastball at the top of the zone, and lined it high off the left field wall for a double. He advanced on a ground out and came around to score on an Alejandro Kirk sac fly, staking the Jays to their second one run lead. Again it was erased in the next half inning, as Kyle Schwarber doubled down the left field line and came around to score on a Bryce Harper single.
Their third lead of the night came in the fourth. Josh Smith hit a two out single, Bateman worked a walk, and Nathan Lukes hit a grounder into right. Smith comfortably beat the throw home to put Toronto in front 3-2. That lead would hold up for a while. Soriano worked around a walk in the home half with the help of a double play. After a Sanchez double was stranded in the top of the fifth, he got himself into a jam by issuing a leadoff walk and then a soft line double that put men on second and third. He rallied with back to back strikeouts before giving way to Mason Fluharty, who punched Bryce Harper out to end the threat.
The Jays added to their lead in the sixth. Smith singled again, and Bateman’s second walk of the night advanced him to scoring position. At that point, Zach Wheeler was at 101 pitches after an uncharacteristically wild performance that featured a season high five walks. Lukes gave him an absolute war, battling him for 14 pitches before lining the 15th into right for an RBI single to make it 4-2. Lazaro Estrada preserved that margin in the bottom half, working a scoreless inning around a walk.
Old friend Tim Mayza, who’d finished off the sixth after Lukes knocked Wheeler out, set the Jays down in order in the seventh. Estrada got one out but then issued his second walk. Brendon Little took over and after a lineup walked the next two batters he saw, loading the bases with two out. He got Harper to fly out softly to centre, though, escaping the jam.
One more insurance run came in the eighth on a Josh Smith solo home run to centre field off Caleb Kilian. Matt Waldron made his Blue Jays debut in the eighth, recording a clean inning with a strikeout. George Springer singled and stole second in the top of the ninth, but was stranded.
That brought it down to Tyler Rogers for the save attempt. It didn’t go smoothly. He walked the first two batters, and Schwarber ticked Kirk’s glove on a check swing for a catcher’s interference to load the bases and bring the winning run to the plate. Treat Turner hit a one hopper to first, which Okamoto fielded and threw to second. The Jays had a chance for a double play, but Gimenez bobbled the transfer and they only got the out at second. Next, Harper hit a grounder into the second base gap. Clement got there but bobbled it, allowing the runner at third to score and putting the tying run at second and the winning run at first. A walk loaded the bases and put both in scoring position. A couple of tough fielding plays narrowly got the Jays out of it. First, Rogers managed to get a chopper that Clement fielded behind the mound. His throw narrowly beat Turner home, forcing him for the second out. Next, Brandon Marsh hit a grounder similar to Harpers’ into the second base hole. Clement fielded it cleanly, but Okamoto had gone for the ball before turning back to cover and didn’t look likely to make it back in time to beat Marsh. Luckily, Rogers had gone to cover himself and narrowly won the race to the bag for the game ending out.
Jays of the Day: Lukes (0.15), Smith (0.12), Bateman (0.10), and while no individual reliever qualifies all of them except Rogers can share a nod for quality relief work
Less so: Okamoto (-0.12)
Tomorrow we get the most exciting pitching matchup of 2018, as Max Scherzer (1-4, 7.92) faces Aaron Nola (3-9, 5.55). First pitch is set for 6:05pm ET.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - AUGUST 7: Iván Herrera #48 is congratulated by Jimmy Crooks #8 of the St. Louis Cardinals after hitting a solo home run against the Colorado Rockies in the third inning at Busch Stadium on August 7, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Colorado Rockies kicked off a nine-game road trip tonight with the first of a three-game set against the St. Louis Cardinals. In the first matchup of the series, the Rockies and Cardinals found themselves in a one-run battle for most of the game.
While the Rockies out-hit the Cardinals by a wide margin and got productive outings from starter Ryan Feltner and the bullpen, they unfortunately struggled to get runners across and dropped game one because of that. Double plays and runners left on were the story of this game.
Small ball to start the night
A little action in the first inning wasn’t enough to change the numbers on the scoreboard. Despite a leadoff double from Jake McCarthy, the Rockies couldn’t get anything more going. Leahy struck out the side to close out the inning. The Cards went down just as easily, with Alec Burleson’s walk representing their only baserunner of the inning.
The action warmed up a bit in the second inning. TJ Rumfield and Willi Castro kicked things off with a single each, putting runners on the corners. The baserunners set up Troy Johnston to give the Rockies an early lead, as Johnston’s groundout to the shortstop scored Rumfield.
The 1-0 lead didn’t last long. The Cards responded quickly with hits of their own. Jimmy Crooks singled, followed by a Mason Wynn double. A Nathan Church sacrifice fly tied the game at one all, scoring Crooks. With Wynn on third, Bryan Torres sent another sac fly to left field to give St. Louis an early 2-1 lead.
Double plays and other problems settle in
The Rockies lost this one because of their inability to advance runners and because they halted their momentum in key opportunities. Those issues started early. To kick off the third inning, McCarthy managed a single. Cole Carrigg followed that up by grounding into a double play.
The Cardinals added another run in the third. Iván Herrera tagged a solo shot to left field to give the Cardinals a 3-1 lead. That small two-run lead would sadly prove to be insurmountable for tonight’s Rockies offense.
Feltner would go on to talk about that homerun in his postgame comments. He noted it as a pitch that got away from him. “I threw him a sweeper the pitch before. Then I threw him a worse one the next pitch. Just threw him a worse version of the same pitch and he put a good swing on it.”
The Rockies looked like they might get back in it in the fourth inning. Rumfield singled to start it off and was moved to third by a Castro double. With runners on second and third and nobody out, the Rockies didn’t get as much production as the opportunity presented.
Ezequiel Tovar struck out before another Johnston groundout RBI brought the game to 3-2. That’s all Colorado would muster, as Edouard Julien grounded out to conclude the push.
Pitching does its job
Aside from some early traffic and the home run that got away, Feltner had another solid outing. He finished after 5.1 IP, surrendering three earned runs on just four hits, with three walks and two strikeouts. While his mistakes did put the Rockies behind early by a small margin, the starting performance is one that felt like it could have resulted in a win if it was paired with just a little more run support.
Warren Schaeffer echoed that sentiment in his presser, noting that “Felt was really good today. Just one mistake to Herrera on the hanging sweeper. Other than that, I thought he mixed well, he kept guys off balance, got us into the sixth inning and definitely gave us a chance to win.”
As he has in recent games, Feltner used a wide mix of pitches to his advantage, pulling out his four-seamer (29%), changeup (22%), sinker (15%), slider and curveball (14% each), and sweeper (5%). Feltner primarily used his four-seamer early (40% of pitches his first time through the order) before going to that wider arsenal.
Much to the Rockies’ dismay, starting pitching got the job done for the other side as well. Leahy allowed a fair amount of contact, giving up eight hits. He also found a way to limit any damage, giving up just two runs along with eight strikeouts in his five innings of work.
Colorado’s bullpen kept things competitive as the early 3-2 score held the rest of the way. Brennan Bernardino, Jimmy Herget, and Nick Frasso all were solid in relief. None of the three allowed a hit, and they combined for five strikeouts across 2.2 innings. Schaeffer praised Frasso in particular after the game, celebrating a “big inning for him. That was great. Get his first big league punchout ever? I thought he looked great. He’s got nasty stuff. Good slider, good changeup, crossbody. High velo.”
A late-inning push is all for not
With nothing doing through most of the game, the Rockies turned to their bench for a spark. In the top of the seventh, Kyle Karros pinch hit for Troy Johnston (o-for-2 with two RBI) and Jordan Beck replaced Edouard Julien (0-for-2 with a strikeout). Karros flied out and Beck singled, but McCarthy and Carrigg would go down swinging to end the inning.
With Karros and Beck subbing in defensively, the Rockies would again look to their bench in the eighth inning, replacing Mickey Moniak with Tyler Freeman as a pinch hitter and later replacing Rumfield with Brett Sullivan as a pinch runner.
The ninth inning ended the game in a way that was emblematic of the whole performance. Tovar drew a walk to start the inning (Colorado’s first of the game), but Karros hit into a double play before Beck grounded out harmlessly to shortstop.
When all was said and done, the Rockies notched 10 hits to the Cardinals’ four. But the Rockies left seven runners on base and were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. The hitting was working, just not quite enough when it mattered.
Up Next
It’ll be a southpaw battle in St. Louis on Saturday night.
Riding the high of a complete game gem, Kyle Freeland is set to start for the Rockies. Freeland is 3-10 in 20 starts this year with a 6.81 ERA and 93 strikeouts. His last outing was his best of the season, as he went the distance and gave up just one run with eight strikeouts in an 8-1 win.
Matthew Liberatore will start for St. Lous, bringing in a 5-8 record in 22 starts with a 4.97 ERA and a 1.491 WHIP. He looked sharp in his last outing, going six innings and giving up zero runs and one hit, but failing to get the decision as the Cardinals scored four late in a 5-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
A date has been set for pitcher Tarik Skubal’s home debut as a Dodger.
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced what the pitching rotation will look like for the upcoming week, with Skubal taking the mound on Monday, Aug. 10 and Blake Snell returning to the rotation to start on Tuesday, Aug. 11.
Los Angeles traded away outfielder Zyhir Hope and a pair of right-handed pitchers — River Ryan and Brady Smith — for Skubal.
The Hayward, California, native has not pitched in a regular-season game at Dodger Stadium. He has pitched in a Dodger uniform already, producing six strikeouts while allowing four hits, two earned runs and a home run in six innings pitched against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Aug. 4.
Tarik Skubal stats
Skubal has compiled a 7-6 overall record in 17 starts this season. He's struck out 122 batters in 102.2 innings pitched.
How long will Tarik Skubal be a Dodger?
Skubal will have the opportunity to become a free agent after making $32 million this season.
“I would love to play my whole career in Detroit,” Skubal said on the "Pardon My Take" podcast. “Hopefully those negotiations can pick back up in (November) once the playoffs are done.”
CLEVELAND, OH - AUGUST 04: Cleveland Guardians left fielder Angel Martinez (1) doubles to drive in a run during the third inning of the Major League Baseball interleague game between the New York Mets and Cleveland Guardians on August 4, 2026, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Well, well, well. You’re welcome, by the way. (Hopefully this doesn’t jinx what was maybe a season-altering win). I was lucky enough to be at today’s game in-person, and I got to witness a really funny game, start to finish.
Let’s start with the first inning. The White Sox had Noah Schultz going for them (bad this year). For once, it looked as if the Guardians were poised to take advantage of a lopsided pitching matchup. Kwan singled to start the game, but then DeLauter struck out. Jose got to a 1-2 count, but managed to shake off two balls, pushing the count full. He then ripped a ball up the middle for a single, moving Kwan to third. Adell got to 2-2, but then got hit by a Schultz fastball. The White Sox pitching coach came out to talk to Schultz while Vogt was looking at Adell. Bases loaded, one out. Angel Martinez up. First pitch whiffed on. Second pitch… smoked to left, driving in two Guardians runs early.
Then, in a truly bizarre series of events, White Sox manager Will Venable went out to chat with his starter. Unfortunately for him, he apparently hadn’t realized that his pitching coach had been out to the mound already that inning. Oops! MLB rules dictate that you can only visit the mound twice in an inning, with the second mound visit necessitating a pitching change. Oops! Big whoop at home plate with Vogt getting after the HP ump. To make this even funnier, the White Sox didn’t have anyone warming when this happened. So, the game was delayed for a good 5 minutes while they got their bulk reliever up and moving. By the way, the White Sox used 7 relievers last night in a 13-inning classic against the Red Sox. Oops!
Anyway, the inning ended without a fuss, as White Sox reliever David Sandlin put down the next to Guardians rather quickly.
All quiet until the bottom of the 2nd, when Messick gave up a solo homer to Sox rookie Braden Montgomery. 2-1 Guardians.
Quiet, again, until the 5th. Through this point, Messick was more-or-less making quick work of the White Sox lineup. 54 pitches through 4. Only giving up 2 hits. So, the Guardians had the top of the order up in the 5th. Still against David Sandlin, by the way. Kwan led off the inning with a groundout, but each of the next three Guardians reached base (single, walk, HBP). Martinez up, again. He swung at the first pitch he saw and deposited it roughly 422’ into the right field seats. 6-1 Guardians.
Hoskins singled right after, and then Rocchio lined out. But, Hedges came up clutch, driving in Hoskins with an RBI-single. 7-1 Guardians.
Perhaps the funniest event of the night came in the 6th. Which, for what it’s worth, is saying a lot, given what had already transpired.
Kwan led off the 6th inning, still against David Sandlin. Got to 2-2, but then fouled off two decent pitches. Then, on the 7th (a curveball right down broadway), he hit that pitch right off the foul pole in RF, breaking a 324-AB homerless streak.
Messick gave up a solo homer in the bottom of that inning to Murakami, but did not surrender any further runs for the rest of his outing.
His final line: 7 IP, 4H, 2ER, 1BB, 8K. Both runs came off solo homers. His ERA stayed at 2.57.
Franco Aleman came on for the 8th, and got into some trouble. Single, K, K, walk. At this point, he was already nearly at 20 pitches. Antonacci (pinch-hitting for lefty specialist Randal Grichuk), hit a ball fairly well to left (which had me fooled), but was caught near the track.
Aleman came out again for the 9th. K, lineout. But, then, 3 straight singles. Up to 39 pitches at this point, and the White Sox had momentum, the bases loaded, and their leadoff hitter up to bat. Luckily, Aleman struck him out on 5 pitches.
While the Mets, who won again on Friday night, have begun to hit their stride during this four-game winning streak, especially offensively, it’s the team’s rookies and young players that are leading the way.
Yes, Marcus Semien had the big blast against the Pittsburgh Pirates with a three-run shot, his second in as many games, but A.J. Ewing and Carson Benge, who had to leave in the fourth inning with wrist soreness, combined for five hits, which was half the team’s total.
Defensively, Ewing and Benge also each made spectacular plays in the outfield as the Mets and their fans have grown accustomed to seeing. In fact, Benge’s web gem was too good as his sliding catch at the wall in left field resulted in him jamming his wrist, which caused the soreness that took him out of the game.
“He sacrificed his body and that’s all you can ask for from your outfielders,” Semien said.
Interim manager Andy Green said after the game that Benge’s X-rays were negative and that the team will see how he feels on Saturday. Hopefully it’s nothing major so the red-hot rookie can be back out there helping to lead the charge as he has the entirety of New York’s win streak.
Over the last four games, Benge is 7-for-17 with two home runs, a triple, five RBI, six runs scored and a stolen base. Looking back even further, the youngster is slashing .304/.362/.470 in his last 30 games and has looked totally comfortable wherever the Mets put him in the outfield.
As for Ewing, he went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and a steal on Friday night atop the lineup and is 6-for-16 with three doubles during the team’s four-game win streak.
“The talent is through the roof,” Semien said about the pair of rookies. “I know the organization knew that. A.J. started the year in I think Double-A, so it’s exciting for him to come up here and produce right away because you don’t always see that. But those guys have been a spark in our lineup for sure.”
On the pitching side, after Sean Manaea turned in a great performance on Tuesday to kick off this streak, Christian Scott, Nolan McLean and Zac Thornton have all followed suit and have shown varying degrees of dominance.
On Friday, it was Thornton who probably turned in the best outing of them all after he went five scoreless innings with a rain delay in between.
“I felt really good despite that delay. Still felt the same,” the left-hander said.
Thornton, who rebounded nicely after a difficult start his last time out, needed just 63 pitches to get through those five innings and likely would’ve pitched deeper into the game had it not been for the delay, which caused him to use some of his bullets while trying to stay warm.
He now has a 2.52 ERA in seven starts and is the latest Met rookie to prove his worth.
“I think this is awesome,” Thornton said of the win streak and how the team is playing right now. “We got a ton of energy, a ton of grit and energy in this clubhouse, guys that are hungry for it, guys that are hungry to win. We’re playing for each other so it’s awesome to see.”
New York still has a long way to go in the standings and will need nothing short of a miracle to make the playoffs, but after such a letdown of a season, the rookies are not only helping the team win, but giving fans a reason to be invested once again.
"Four wins in a row. Anytime you win four in a row, there’s definitely good vibes," Semien said. "I think the way we’re winning, with the offense, is a good sign. You think about kinda the grind the offense had been on in the first half and the way we’re winning games is definitely gonna bring good vibes."
Aug 7, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Payton Tolle (70) pitches against the Athletics during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images
Eric Canha/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Payton Tolle struck out a career-high 14 in six innings, Wilyer Abreu drove in three runs, and the Boston Red Sox won their ninth game in a row with a 13-1 rout of the Athletics on Friday night.
The Red Sox are just the seventh team since 1920 to win 27 or more in a 30-game span, and the only team to begin their run under .500.
Tolle (7-6) was the first Red Sox pitcher to fan 14 since Chris Sale on May 8, 2019. He was perfect through four innings, and allowed one run on two hits.
Jarren Duran’s two-run homer over the Green Monster in left field opened the scoring and sparked Boston’s five-run second inning. Jake Rogers had an RBI double, and Abreu added a two-run double.
Abreu’s 380-foot double to right would have been a homer in every MLB ballpark except for Fenway Park, per Statcast.
Three more came across in the fourth off the bats of Andruw Monasterio, Abreu, and Masataka Yoshida. Yoshida and Caleb Durbin each added one more to get the Red Sox into double-digit scoring for the second consecutive game.
Jack Perkins (2-8) gave up five runs on five hits in three innings. He struck out three and walked three.
Tyler Soderstrom’s leadoff homer in the fifth ended Tolle’s no-hit bid.
Up next
Athletics LHP Gage Jump (4-7, 4.59 ERA) gets the start opposite Red Sox LHP Jake Bennett (7-4, 2.90) in the middle game of the series.
A staggeringly bad gaffe by manager Will Venable (center) saw him remove Noah Schultz (left) from Friday’s loss just 23 pitches in, hamstringing his bullpen and baffling catcher Edgar Quero (right). | (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Those who believe managers don’t win or lose games, players do, clip and save this recap.
In a move we would have thought cordoned off in the Terry Bevington Hall of Shame, manager Will Venable triggered a puzzling chain of circumstances that saw starting pitcher Noah Schultz bounced from his Friday night start after just one out, 23 pitches — and no fault of his own:
Just one batter after pitching coach Zach Bove had trotted out to the mound to settle Schultz down after hitting Jo Adell with a pitch, Venable did same after Schultz surrendered a two-run single to soft-swinging Angel Martínez.
Oops.
While perhaps not on par with Bevington calling to the bullpen without having gotten a reliever up warming, Venable’s boner resulted, by rule, in Schultz being forced to leave the game. Given the gaffe, it had the effect of an injury substitution, in that just-recalled reliever David Sandlin was sprinting to get warm and enter the game, as no White Sox hurler was up in the pen with the game just 23 pitches old.
At another point in the game, or in another circumstance, perhaps Venable’s boo-boo would not have crushed so hard. But in the fumes of a sweep in Boston, with last night’s loss wiping out the bullpen (seven of the team’s eight relievers were used, covering 8 ⅓ innings), it could not possibly have been timed more poorly.
But was this loss all on Venable? Of course not, the players still have to play the game, even if they landed in Chicago at 5 a.m. and grabbed only snatches of sleep before suiting back up on Friday.
Usually when a team puts up eight runs or more in a game and wins by a hefty margin, it’s due to the whole team contributing. There are the rare occasions where a player takes over a game by himself, but that’s usually reserved for the Shohei Ohtani’s of the world. Unfortunately the White Sox were on the tail end of one of the most rare and sad butt-whooping’s a team can have: They got spanked by a nobody.
No disrespect to Martínez, but he’s hit .228 over 861 at-bats in his short career. He is not a player teams ever game plan for or fear — but that might change after what Martínez did to the White Sox on Friday night.
Of course, it all started in the first inning, when the Cleveland Guardians loaded the bases before Schultz could even get two outs. After a first strike, Schultz decided to try to slip a cutter by Martínez ,right down the middle. Even a player who can’t hit .230 can do something with that ,and his two-run single put the Guardians up, 2-0.
For the next few innings, the game was pretty boring if we’re being honest with ourselves. Unfortunately, the game was also clearly too boring for Sandlin who after being rushed in for Schultz had sat down 12-of-14 Guards to restore order to the contest. That is, until he loaded that bases in the fifth inning for … Martínez. Surely he couldn’t do it again, right?
Wrong.
Sandlin saw Schultz’s cutter down the middle bring in two runs for Cleveland in the first and wanted to see if it was a fluke or not. So the righty decided to throw one of his own, just to see which cutter down the middle was better. All fans in attendance found out pretty quickly that Schultz’s was superior, as Martínez, tonight’s Angel of Death, took the pitch 422 feet to right-center field. The bat flip that ensued was cool, and the sassing of Sox catcher Edgar Quero probably turned on the most yahoo of Wahoos fans, but the game being unofficially ended in the fifth inning was not:
When the dust settled from the seams getting knocked off the baseball, Martínez had just two hits on the night — but they were two big ones, as he brought six runs home all by himself. Both teams struck for a run in the sixth, but the game was already over at that point.
While the loss is just one loss, with Minnesota and Cleveland (obviously) also winning, this seems much bigger than that. We may be in the early stages of August, but if the White Sox fail to answer the call this weekend, the alarm bells may be going off sooner rather than later.
MVP Braden Montgomery: 2-for-3, BB, R, RBI, K
Runners-Up Trevor Richards: 2 ⅓ IP Erick Fedde: IP, K Munetaka Murakami: 1-for-4, HR, R, RBI Luisangel Acuña: 2-for-4, K
Cold Cat Will Venable: Little League managerial error that wasted Noah Schultz and put needless wear on his pen
Runners-Up Noah Schultz: ⅓ IP, 3 H, 2 ER, K, HB, LOSS (3-9) Colson Montgomery: 0-for-4, 3 K Chase Meidroth: 1-for-5, 2 K Brenton Doyle: 0-for-4, K
Aug 7, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Kevin Gausman (12) delivers a pitch against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images
Denny Medley/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Kevin Gausman provided exactly what the Cubs hoped for when they acquired him from the Blue Jays last weekend, pitching seven sharp innings in his Chicago debut in a 6-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.
The 35-year-old right-hander gave up an RBI single to Isaac Collins in the first inning and Carter Jensen’s homer in the fifth, but he otherwise held Kansas City in check. Gausman (6-10) retired 12 of 13 at one point and ended up allowing two runs on four hits and a walk.
Caleb Thielbar allowed a pair of runs in the eighth for the Cubs before Trent Thornton escaped the jam, getting Nick Loftin to fly out with the tying run on first base. Jacob Webb breezed through the ninth for his seventh save.
The Cubs gave Gausman the support he needed in the second, when Seiya Suzuki followed Pete Crow-Armstrong’s RBI single with a two-run single of his own. Chicago wound up plating four runs off Daniel Lynch IV (4-3), who had pitched out of the bullpen all season but was getting the start for a Kansas City rotation waylaid by injuries.
Lynch only lasted 1 2/3 innings, striking out two and walking two, before Royals manager Matt Quatraro went to his bullpen.
Alex Bregman added an RBI single in the seventh for Chicago. Pedro Ramirez went deep in the eighth.
Gausman won his final start for Toronto last Saturday, allowing just one run while pitching into the sixth inning against St. Louis. But he had otherwise struggled the past few weeks, going 1-5 with a 5.17 ERA in his final seven starts for the Blue Jays.
Up next
RHP Clay Holmes (4-4, 2.39 ERA) makes his Cubs debut Saturday night following his trade from the Mets. It also will be his first start since May 15, when he fractured his right fibula on a sharp liner by the Yankees’ Spencer Jones.
RHP Seth Lugo (4-7, 4.41) tries to bounce back from a dismal start against the Rockies when he takes the mound for Kansas City.
The catch of the year in professional baseball might have come in the Double-A Southern League on Friday night.
Brewers prospect Mark Coley II took away a home run with some extra drama, denying one of baseball’s top-100 prospects in one of the best plays of the 2026 season on a ridiculous second effort.
Braves outfielder Eric Hartman — the No. 73 overall prospect and the Braves’ second-best on MLB Pipeline — was suiting up in his fourth game at the Double-A level after crushing 24 long balls at High-A when he smashed a full-count offering deep to right-center field at Synovus Park in Columbus, Georgia.
Coley, patrolling center, tracked the ball to the wall and made a well-timed jump, leaping at the wall and getting a glove on the high-flying shot as it came back toward earth.
But Coley could not collect it on the first go, knocking the ball back onto the warning track.
As he fell to the dirt, though, Coley caught the ball with his glove while on his backside for what was an incredible F8 putout in the scorebook.
Mark Coley II of the Biloxi Shuckers looks on during the game between the Chattanooga Lookouts and the Biloxi Shuckers at Keesler Federal Park on Thursday, July 2, 2026 in Biloxi, Mississippi. Minor League Baseball via Getty
Coley helped save his starter, Manuel Rodriguez, who would have served up back-to-back-to-back home runs had the catch not been made.
It harkened back to Nationals center fielder Jacob Young, who made a circus catch at the wall — using his foot to catch a rebound — last September against the Mets’ Brett Baty.
Dewayne Wise, notably in 2009, saved White Sox hurler Mark Buehrle’s perfect game with a near-identical catch as Coley, though Wise caught his second effort with the bare hand.
Hartman later did get a measure of revenge, doubling to center on a play Coley was unable to catch.
Coley didn’t factor in at the plate for Double-A Biloxi in an 0-for-3 night during a 4-2 loss, but his defense turned plenty of heads.
The hip-hop icon was "unable to make" the Chicago White Sox's postgame concert planned on Friday, Aug. 7 due to "unexpected travel issues." That resulted in the concert's cancellation, the White Sox said.
Jun 24, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; Texas A&M Aggies left fielder Caden Sorrell (13) doubles in a run against the Tennessee Volunteers during the eighth inning at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
Iowa right-hander Tyler Schlaffer and catcher Daniel Campos were placed on the development list to make room for the returning Antoine Kelly and Kevin Alcántara.
Starter Kohl Franklin, who is still working his way back from elbow surgery, went three innings and gave up three runs on just two hits. However, two of the three runs were unearned. Franklin walked two and struck out three. It was Franklin’s first appearance for Iowa since 2024.
Paul Campbell pitched the next three innings without allowing a run and got the win. Campbell gave up just one hit. He walked two and struck out four.
DH Chas McCormick hit a solo home run in the fourth inning, his tenth on the season. McCormick went 2 for 4 with a walk and two runs scored.
Catcher Owen Ayers was 2 for 4 with a walk. He scored twice and drove home one.
Second baseman Owen Miller went 2 for 5 with an RBI.
Shortstop Ben Cowles was 2 for 4 with a stolen base. He drove in two.
Left fielder Jordan Nwogu’s first Iowa hit was a two-run single. He was 1 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.
Luis Martinez-Gomez started and took the loss after getting knocked around for six runs on five hits over 4.2 innings. Two of the six runs were unearned. Two of the five hits were home runs. Martinez-Gomez struck out five and walked three. He also hit one batter.
Knoxville managed just three hits, but one of them was a solo home run in the ninth inning by second baseman Drew Bowser. It was Bowser’s third Smokies home run and eighth overall. He was 1 for 3 with a walk.
DH Miguel Useche went 1 for 2 with a double and two walks. Useche scored one run.
Starter Alfredo Romero turned in a good outing, giving up just two runs on four hits over five innings. Romero struck out four and walked two.
The wheels came off in the sixth inning when Romero was relieved by Eli Jerzembeck. Jerzembeck, who took the loss, pitched just two-thirds of an inning and he surrendered four runs on two hits and three walks. He struck out just one.
South Bend managed just four hits, all singles. First baseman Josiah Hartshorn was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Myrtle Beach Pelicans
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans split a doubleheader with the Columbia Fireflies (Royals), losing game one 6-5 and winning the nightcap 14-3.
David Avitia started game one and gave up four runs on five hits over three innings. He struck out five and walked two.
Sam Mettert walked the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the seventh and then allowed a walk-off sacrifice fly. The final line on Mettert was one run on one hit and three walks over 1.1 innings. He struck out one.
First baseman Jan Reyes went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored.
DH Jose Silva went 1 for 2 with an RBI double and a walk. He scored twice.
— Myrtle Beach Pelicans (@Pelicanbaseball) August 7, 2026
Noah Edders pitched the first three innings of game two, allowing just one run on three hits. He did struggle with control as he walked five while striking out three.
Cubs tenth-round pick Luke Alwood made his professional debut in the fourth inning and got his first professional win. Alwood struck out the first four batters he faced before giving up a one-out double in the fifth. But he got out of that inning with another strikeout and a pop up. Alwood’s line was no runs on one hit over two innings. He struck out five.
Center fielder Caden Sorrell hit his first professional home run to lead off game two. Sorrell was 2 for 4 with a walk. He had two overall RBI and two runs scored.
Third baseman Derniche Valdez continues to smack the ball around after getting glasses about five weeks ago. Tonight he hit his eighth home run of the year with a man on later in the first inning. Valdez went 3 for 5 with three RBI and three runs scored.
DH Ivan Cespedes cranked a two-run home run in the third inning, his eighth on the year and third with the Pelicans. Cespedes was 1 for 3 and was hit by a pitch. He scored twice.
Left fielder Ethan Conrad was 2 for 4 with a walk. He scored once and drove in one.
Right fielder Eli Lovich went 3 for 5. He scored twice and had one RBI.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 7: Leody Taveras #30 of the Baltimore Orioles is tagged out at home plate by Elias Díaz #35 of the Texas Rangers during the ninth inning at Globe Life Field on August 7, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Orioles have struggled to score for Shane Baz all season. Baltimore followed that trend tonight against the Texas Rangers, but they nearly made things right in the ninth. Christian Franklin’s first Major League hit could have evened the score at two, but replay failed to overturn an out call at home plate. In the end, the Orioles dropped a winnable game to another wild card contender with a 2-1 result in Texas.
Leody Taveras started the ninth with an infield single. Coby Mayo went down swinging for the first out, but Christian Franklin picked a great time for his first Major League hit. Franklin punched a ball down the right field line, and Taveras raced all the way home. Texas right fielder Brandon Nimmo corralled the ball and hit the cutoff man. Nicky Lopez took the ball and fired home, and Taveras was ruled out at the plate.
The Orioles immediately challenged, and the replay revealed multiple questions. Rangers catcher Elias Díaz swung his arm to make the tag, but his glove did not appear to immediately make contact with Taveras. A portion of Díaz’s arm touched Taveras before he reached home plate, but the glove appeared to miss the runner. To further complicate the matter, the ball appeared to come loose as it made contact with the ground. The ball never completely escaped the mit, but it easily could have been trapped against the ground.
In the end, the replay crew in New York took the coward’s way out. The call on the field stood, and the Rangers held their 2-1 advantage. The call spoiled what should have been a special moment for Franklin. It’s a moment that he’ll always remember, but it should have been so much more.
Don’t take it from me, take it from former Oriole and MASN commentator Ben McDonald.
Meanwhile, Baz delivered the type of start Baltimore envisioned when they acquired him from Tampa Bay. Baz pitched all eight innings and took only the third complete game loss for an Oriole in the last 15 years. He finished the game with 8 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, and 9 K.
Baz had been absolutely cruising along until a hiccup broke his rhythm in the sixth. Elias Díaz managed a swinging bunt toward the right side of the infield, and Baz failed to make the play. Díaz received credit for an infield single, but the avoidable incident gave Texas some life.
Nicky Lopez advanced Díaz into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, but the small ball stopped there. Joc Pederson ambushed an elevated cutter and drove a no doubter 414 feet down the right field line. Just like that, Baz lost the shutout and the lead. The long ball marked the latest example of Baz facing some adversity on the mound and failing to immediately recover.
The Orioles found their way onto the board in the top of the second. Leody Taveras got ahead in the count before smacking a 3-1 fastball to right-center field for a double. Coby Mayo followed with a line drive up the middle, and Taveras raced home to provide Baltimore a 1-0 advantage. Both teams went on to post zeros in the third, fourth and fifth innings.
The Orioles wasted multiple opportunities to build on their early lead. The bottom of the order came through with a pair of two-out singles, and Gunnar Henderson worked a walk to load the bases for Pete Alonso in the fifth. Texas starter froze Alonso with a 2-2 splitter, and the Orioles left the bases loaded.
Tyler O’Neill worked a one-out walk in the sixth, and Dylan Beavers singled to place a runner in scoring position. Taveras struck out on three pitches, and Mayo failed to come through against lefty reliever Tyler Alexander.
Gunnar Henderson, Pete Alonso, and Jackson Holliday combined to go 0-for-11 from the top of the order.
The late call added insult to injury. Baz outdueled Eovaldi, but the offense fell flat once again. The Orioles dropped to 56-60 with the loss. They’re two games back of the final wild card spot.
