NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 13: Max Fried #54 of the New York Yankees pitches during the game against the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium on August 13, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
On Friday night, the Yankees came away with a win over the Red Sox despite not getting much in the way of offense. That was because they got a stellar start from Cam Schlittler and some big time defense from the likes of Cody Bellinger. In Saturday afternoon’s game, they still didn’t get much offense, but the other aspects also weren’t as sharp leading them to drop the second game of the series.
However, there’s no time for them to lick their wounds. The Yankees will be back in action tonight in the second game of today’s doubleheader.
In this game, Max Fried will get the start in his return from the injured list. Fried was placed on the IL earlier this month with a bone bruise, but he only ended up missing the minimum amount of time before returning tonight. As for the rest of the lineup, lefties Luis García Jr., Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Austin Wells are all starting after coming off the bench this afternoon.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox will be using pitcher Alex Gamboa as an opener in this game. The rookie southpaw has a 1.31 ERA in 20.2 innings on the season, including one previous game as an opener. Expect familiar face Brayan Bello to get some work in this one too, as he’s been working as a bulk guy for much of the second half.
We hope you’ll come join us in the game thread, so here’s everything you need to know on how to catch the action.
How to watch
Location: Yankee Stadium – Bronx, NY
First pitch: 7:15 pm ET
TV: FOX
Streaming: FOX One app
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 – NYY | WEEI 93.7, WCCM 1490 AM (SP), WESX 1230 AM (SP) – BOS
Aug 29, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk (30) steals second base against Seattle Mariners second baseman Cole Young (2) during the sixth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Mariners 3 Blue Jays 4
That was a terrific celebration for Buck Martinez. Seeing Tony Fernandez’s widow started me tearing up, and it didn’t stop until the first pitch of the game.
Congratulations, Buck. You deserve that.
The Jays got a very nice start from José Soriano. Seven innings, just five hits, two walks and six strikeouts, with three earned runs. He gave up a Cal Raleigh home run in the second. And he had some trouble with two outs in the fourth. Single, walk, walk, single (bringing in two runs). The first single was a very softly hit infield single that Charles McAdoo couldn’t get to quickly enough. Too bad, he could have been out of the inning without anything bad happening.
But still a good outing.
On offence, we waited until the fifth inning to get on the board and then took the lead in the seventh.
In the fifth: With one out, Myles Straw singles. Brett Bateman walked. After Alejandro Kirk struck out, Vlad took a six-pitch walk. Then George Springer walked on a wild pitch, Straw scored, but Bateman didn’t slow down rounding third and scored. The funny part was that Cal Raleigh got the ball back to pitcher Eduard Bazardo in plenty of time to tag the runner, but Bazardo apparently didn’t know he was coming. You would have thought he would have figured it from the catcher throwing him the ball in such a rush. I’m not sure if Bateman was very smart or very lucky.
In the sixth: McAdoo led off with a walk. Two outs later, Straw walked. Bateman singled home one. And Kirk singled home our fourth run. We could have had more. Vlad lined one to left field (116.3 mph) but right at the left fielder. Oh, I missed the big news: Kirk stole second in there, beating the throw to second.
We only had five hits on the day, but it was enough. Kade Anderson looked terrific, starting for the Mariners. They have a good pitcher there.
After Soriano’s seven innings, Tyler Rogers started the eighth. He got two strikeouts and then gave up a walk to Julio Rodríguez. John brought in Mason Fluharty to face the lefty Josh Naylor. Naylor managed a single, but Fluharty struck out Raleigh to end the inning.
Louis Varland got his 31st save, going ground out, strikeout and fly out. Very democratic to do one of each. Really nice job.
The first out of the ninth was a very nice play. Ground ball wide of first, Vlad got to the ball, made a nice toss to Varland, who barely beat Cole Young to the bag.
Jays of the Day: Varland (0.16 WPA), Springer (0.21), Bateman (0.17) and Kirk (0.09). Let’s give honourable mention to Straw for 2 hits and a walk. And Rogers, Fluharty and Soriano.
Other Award: Clement (-0.14).
Tomorrow we have game three with the Mariners. It is a 1:30 Eastern start time. Max Scherzer (1-7, 7.02) vs. Logan Gilbert (11-7, 3.36).
Aug 29, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) hits a solo home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the second inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
MIAMI, FL - AUGUST 25: Alec Gamboa (68) of the Boston Red Sox pitches a ball during a game between the Miami Marlins and Boston Red Sox on August 25, 2026 at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida.(Photo by Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Alec Gamboa serves as opener as the Sox and Yankees play the second game of the day. The Sox turned on the gas in the ninth but the Yankees burned through a lot of their bullpen and bench in Game 1. Feels like the Sox still have the juice though.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - AUGUST 29: Andrew Benintendi #23 of the Chicago White Sox hits an RBI single against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning at Target Field on August 29, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The White Sox have rolled into Target Field and won what might have been described as a “must-sweep” series, the kind of outcome that you have to root for given the mathematical state of things, but that might deliver you a few side-eyes depending on how genuinely you think it’s going to happen. Today, it was a 3-2 Sox victory that saw Andrew Benintendi deliver three key hits, and Bailey Ober watch his bullpen cough up a loss despite another needle-threading outing.
Ober managed five innings, striking out five Sox and allowing just two hits. One was a first-inning single to Benintendi, scoring the opening salvo after Ober walked his first two men. The other was a Benintendi double in the fourth that came around to score on an error by Kaelen Culpepper. Ober notched just 80 pitches this afternoon, but has a 4.37 ERA in a bizarre season.
And while the Twins got to Erick Fedde for similar numbers — 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4K, nearly identical to Ober’s line — the Sox had the edge. A Josh Bell sacrifice fly and a Walker Jenkins RBI groundout were enough to match Chicago for a pair, but Andrew Morris couldn’t keep Benintendi off the bases, and the veteran’s sixth-inning homer split the difference.
Fellow veteran Sean Newcomb went three innings in relief, and Bryan Hudson locked down the save.
The most hilarious outcome for this season is that the Twins, now just 64-72 and only three games ahead of the fifth-place Royals, wind up in last place, where a great many fans anticipated them being after last season’s post-deadline performance demonstrated just how quickly rock bottom can be reached. It would be a deliriously roundabout way to reach that outcome, but it’s exponentially more likely than Minnesota suddenly righting the ship and going on a generational tear.
I’m pretty sure most of Twins Territory has accepted that the jig is up. Now, shades of 2022, 2024, and 2025 are being drummed up again, as a team floating in the realm of contention by the skin of their teeth finally sees the bottom drop out completely.
LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 13: Shane Drohan #55 of the Milwaukee Brewers pitches during the game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, August 13, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Nicole Vasquez/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Brewers are raiding a three-game winning streak, as well as a four-series winning streak entering tonight’s game. They have the chance to extend both of those tonight in the second game of their series against the Rangers.
Shane Drohan gets the start tonight for the Brewers. Though the plan is to move him to the bullpen to manage his innings, he remains in the rotation for at least one more start. He’s coming off of a five-inning start against the Braves, where he allowed two runs, eight hits, and three walks while striking out five. Drohan has a 3.84 ERA and 3.33 FIP overall this season, but that jumps to a 4.58 ERA and 3.71 FIP as a starter. If the Brewers are limiting his innings, the bullpen should be in good shape to take an extra inning or two tonight.
The Brewers will have a tough challenge ahead of them tonight as they face Cal Quantrill of the Rangers. He is finishing up an incredible August tonight, posting a 0.72 ERA and 2.40 FIP over five appearances (25 innings). He has not allowed more than one run in an appearance since July 22nd, which was a three-inning relief appearance against the White Sox where he allowed two runs. He began the season in the bullpen but has shifted to the rotation since late June. This is Quantrill’s fifth career appearance against the Brewers. He faced the Brewers twice last season, allowing three runs in 8 2/3 innings pitched. Overall this season, he has a 2.90 ERA and 4.02 FIP with 60 strikeouts in 83 2/3 innings.
The Brewers will make a couple changes in the lineup tonight. The top four remains the same, with Brice Turang, Jackson Chourio, Jake Bauers, and William Contreras starting. Garrett Mitchell moves up to fifth with Christian Yelich sliding back to sixth. Luis Lara gets the start over Sal Frelick in right, and Cooper Pratt is back in the lineup at shortstop. David Hamilton rounds it out at third base, with Joey Ortiz on the bench.
Tonight’s game is at 6:15 p.m. on FOX, but is the secondary broadcast. It will be broadcast in Wisconsin and Texas, as well as some surrounding markets. It will also be available on the Brewers Radio Network, as usual.
The Cubs celebrated 150 years since becoming a National League franchise before Sunday’s game, with many of the team’s icons present.
Then the current Cubs put on an offensive show, with its newest potential franchise player, Pete Crow-Armstrong, solidifying his claim on this year’s National League MVP award. PCA hit three home runs, also singled, and had a chance at a fourth homer in the eighth inning. He got a standing ovation after grounding out against a Reds position player in that at-bat, and how often do you see that?
Alex Bregman, Carson Kelly and Seiya Suzuki also homered for the Cubs and all of that helped the team to a 17-5 blowout of the Reds.
The fun started in the first inning, after Kevin Gausman set the Reds down in order in the top of the frame.
Gausman, though, was also susceptible to the long ball on an afternoon with the wind blowing out at 13 miles per hour. A double by Tyler Stephenson was followed by … sigh… yet another home run by Eugenio Suárez against the Cubs, the 39th career blast for him against the North Siders, making it 3-2.
But the Cubs came right back in the bottom of the inning. Tyrone Taylor led off with a single and went to second on a single by Pedro Ramirez.
That one clanged off the right-field foul pole, homer number 35 for Pete, and a 6-2 Cubs lead.
Again Gausman got taken deep in the third. After he walked De La Cruz, Sal Stewart homered and it was 6-4. That, though, would be as close as the Reds would get.
The Cubs added one in the fourth. PCA came up for the third time in four innings, with people cheering for another homer. Instead, he singled, then went to third on a single by Suzuki and scored on this single by Bregman [VIDEO].
So that’s 3-for-3 and four RBI for PCA in just four innings.
One more run scored off Gausman in the fifth to make it 7-5, and Gausman was removed after the fifth having thrown 102 pitches. It wasn’t a great outing, but with Cubs hitters smacking the ball all over the yard, it didn’t need to be.
The Cubs then began to pour it on in the bottom of the fifth. Taylor and Ramirez singled and Kelly went deep [VIDEO].
It’s now 10-5 Cubs, where it was in the seventh and that’s when the Cubs had even more offensive fun. Taylor and Kelly drew one-out walks, bringing up PCA again [VIDEO].
PCA three-homer game facts from John:
Pete Crow-Armstrong is the 30th different Cub since 1901 to hit three homers in a game. He is the third to join the club this season, after Dansby Swanson on July 1, at home vs. the Padres, and Alex Bregman, on Aug. 12 at Washington. Michael Busch did it on July 4 of last year at home vs. the Cardinals. So they have done it four times in less than 14 months, while playing 211 games.
The previous four had come over 23 years: Brant Brown in 1998, Moises Alou in 2003, Dioner Navarro in 2013 and Rafael Ortega in 2021.
The 30 players have done it a total of 45 times. Sammy Sosa leads, with six; followed by Ernie Banks, four; Dave Kingman and Aramis Ramirez, three; and Kris Bryant, Hank Sauer and Alfonso Soriano, two. PCA is the 23rd with one.
But the Cubs were not done in that inning. Suzuki walked and Bregman was hit by a pitch. One out later, Nico Hoerner came to the plate. He had gone 0-for-4 up to this point, but his single scored Suzuki to make it 14-5 [VIDEO].
At first it looked like Bregman had caught the ball, but he immediately threw to first. He knew he hadn’t, and on replay you can see the ball hit the dirt first. Nice grab.
With a nine-run deficit the Reds brought in backup catcher Jose Trevino to throw the bottom of the eighth. Taylor blooped a single to right, his fourth hit of the game. Ramirez flied to center, and then Taylor scored on a double by Kelly [VIDEO].
That brought up PCA. As you can imagine, with a 15-5 lead he was absolutely, positively trying to hit a home run. Who could blame him in that situation? Instead, he grounded out and left to a huge ovation.
Colin Rea, who hadn’t pitched since a week ago Friday (and only once since Aug. 15) threw two scoreless innings to finish things up. Here’s the final out [VIDEO].
A note on the three-run homers by PCA and Kelly from John:
The three-run homers by Carson Kelly and Pete Crow-Armstrong raised the Cubs’ total this season to 30 with two men on base, breaking the team record for such homers, set in 2017. They hit 28 in 2008, 27 last year and 26 in 1930.
Their 30 this year are the most by any team. The Nationals went into today with 26; the Mariners, 24; and the Brewers and Yankees, 23.
It was a fantastic day in and around Wrigley Field, both during and before the game. Here’s the full 150th anniversary pregame ceremony, which was well done, and it was wonderful to see all these Cubs greats together on the field:
The Cubs will go for the series win against the Reds Sunday evening at Wrigley Field — remember, this was originally a 1:20 p.m. CT game, it was moved for NBC, which is featuring it on Sunday Night Baseball at 6:20 p.m. CT. Announcers will be Jason Benetti, Anthony Rizzo and Jeff Brantley.
Starters for the game Sunday: Shōta Imanaga for the Cubs and Chase Burns for the Reds. Let’s hope the Cubs can start another winning streak here.
ARLINGTON, TX - AUGUST 18: Cal Quantrill #44 of the Texas Rangers celebrates during a game against the Washington Nationals at Globe Life Field on August 18, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Bailey Orr/Texas Rangers/Getty Images) | Getty Images
SAN FRANCISCO — The first game of Saturday’s doubleheader ended, and the Oracle Park stadium crew quickly got to work. From employees cleaning the seats to the grounds crew getting the field ready in a pinch, it was a clean slate for a new game.
The Giants approached it the same way, and a rejuvenated squad pulled off the 7-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 2 of the doubleheader at Oracle Park to split the series with their division rivals.
Yunior Marte made his MLB debut and was nothing short of impressive.
The 23-year-old right-handed pitcher allowed three hits, one run (one earned), two walks, and struck out three through 4 2/3 innings.
And unlike Game 1, San Francisco’s bullpen and offense didn’t let the starting pitcher down.
Rafael Devers and Bryce Eldridge came through in big ways, which was pretty fitting on Jeff Kent night. It was a four-hit, four-RBI night for Eldridge. Devers had two apiece.
Jung Hoo Lee, whose bobblehead was a hot commodity in Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader, also came up big when needed with an RBI single in the seventh.
Jason Foley ran into trouble in the top of the seventh. He allowed three hits and one run (one earned), but the rest of the bullpen held it down.
Here are the takeaways from the win in Game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheader:
Marte debut
Yunior Marte, who was part of the trade that sent Mike Yastrzemski to the Kansas City Royals last year, made his MLB debut on Saturday.
And no, it is not the same Yunior Marte that was on the Giants in 2022.
The young Dominican righty warmed up to “Suave” by El Alfa, which translates to “smooth” in English.
Marte struggled to find the strike zone early, walking the first batter he faced and tossing eight balls in his first 16 pitches in the first inning. He settled in a bit the rest of his outing, throwing just three balls in his next trip to the mound.
And the rest of the way, he was pretty suave.
Marte tossed 4 2/3 innings of 1-run baseball, allowing three hits, one earned run, two walks, and striking out three. He might have pitched a scoreless outing had outfielder Grant McCray read a fly ball better in the third inning.
Yunior Marte got a standing ovation from the home crowd after a strong performance in his MLB debut 👏 pic.twitter.com/Kt2PSnd6za
He received a standing ovation from Giants fans as he headed for the dugout. The TV broadcast turned to what appeared to be his friends and family, who were proudly waving the Dominican flag and visibly emotional.
Hello, offense
It appeared that the Giants’ offense only was aware of one of the two games scheduled on Saturday. The bats didn’t show up in Game 1, outside of a lone run in the eighth inning as the Giants lost 7-1 against the D-backs.
But Bryce Eldridge helped get the team going early, bringing in the first run for San Francisco in the first inning.
Arizona responded, tying the game in the third inning after Grant McCray misread a fly ball that otherwise would have kept the Diamondbacks off the board.
But two innings later, McCray helped make up for it at the plate. He got the ball rolling in the fifth inning, and the Giants batters loaded the bases for slugger Rafael Devers. Devers delivered with an RBI single to give the Giants a 2-1 lead.
Eldridge joined the party, knocking in a two-RBI single in the following at-bat that extended the team’s lead to three.
Bet you didn’t have Andrew Benintendi as the only Sox player to get any hits. | Getty Images
Andrew Benintendi had three hits and was involved all three White Sox runs. The rest of the team had zilch. Didn’t matter, because the Twins are really bad, resulting in a 3-2 game and series win for the White Sox.
Benintendi’s first hit was an RBI single in the first, a 78 mph squib through a drawn-in infield that was only drawn in because Bailey Ober walked Sam Antonacci and Munekama Murakami to start the game, with Antonacci taking third on a Miguel Vargas fly out.
Erick Fedde gave up runs in the first and second to give Minnesota a 2-1 lead, walks being key in both cases because the Twins can’t hit much with Byron Buxton hurt.
Benintendi’s second hit was a leadoff double in the fourth, after which he scored when rookie shortstop Kaelen Culpepper, perhaps having watched too much World Cup, decided to kick around Chase Meidroth’s absolutely routine grounder to make it 2-2.
Benintendi’s third hit was a homer in the sixth, which would stand up as the game-winner:
Meanwhile, Fedde settled down to throw scoreless ball through the fifth, Sean Newcomb had an excellent relief stint of three innings with two singles and no walks, and Bryan Hudson tossed a 1-2-3 ninth for the save.
As his luck — or skill — would have it, Culpepper followed up the costly error by striking out, fouling out, and then ending the game on a grounder to first. Definitely not his day, so let’s be kind and show his one moment of competence — oh, OK, make that excellence — on a Braden Montgomery grounder with two on (via walks, of course) in the seventh.
Twins pitchers tried to help the Sox, issuing six walks, but when you go 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position, the walks don’t help enough. Twins batters tried to help as well, going an even worse 0-for-7 with RISP.
Heck, even Twins catcher Victor Caratini did his best to help the Sox by running his team out of challenges early, one of his calls on a pitch not even close — challenges they could really have used in the eighth and ninth, when two very bad calls against them had to stand.
The win runs the White Sox record to an amazing 72-63, a season-high nine games better than .500. With Cleveland again trailing Kansas City, there’s a chance that the magic number drops to 24 to 23 in another hour or so.
Either way, the White Sox are eyeing a sweep tomorrow, with Jordan Hicks playing the role of opener versus Zebby Mathews, who sports a 4.86 ERA but has had good performances his last two times out.
Sox MVP Andrew Benintendi: single, double, HR, two RBI, 1 run
Runners-up When Benintendi had the only hits and RBIs in the game? Fuggedaboudit
Soiled stockings The rest of the offense, in a team effort
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 28: Sal Stewart #27 of the Cincinnati Reds hits a solo home run in the fifth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on August 28, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Sage Zipeto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cincinnati Reds played baseball against the Chicago Cubs on Saturday afternoon up in Wrigley Field. We won’t get into the nitty gritty of what kind of score ended up on the scoreboard – that’s the kind of thing that teams who are in playoff chases get to care about.
Over here at Red Reporter, we get to follow the exploits of one Sal Stewart as the season dwindles to a close. And thankfully for us, Sal keeps providing us with the good stuff.
Sal swatted a 105.9 mph hammer some 431 feet into the left-center seats at Wrigley for his 30th homer of the season during Saturday’s game. In the process, he became just the 14th big league rookie to ever post a season with at least 30 homers and more than 100 runs batted in, while also joining inner-circle Hall of Famer Frank Robinson as the only rookies in Reds history to hit at least 30 dingers.
As MLB’s Sarah Langs pointed out, 9 of the aforementioned 14 rookies with 30/100 seasons came after the Rookie of the Year Award began in 1947, and all 9 of those rookies took home the award at season’s end.
Pretty rarified air Sal finds himself in these days. I wonder if the front office of the Reds can put anyone else around him and build a winner while he’s in a Reds uniform the next few years…
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - AUGUST 29: Joshua Báez #22 of the St. Louis Cardinals hits a home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the third inning at Busch Stadium on August 29, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Saturday’s matchup between the Cardinals and Pirates had an odd feel to it. Pittsburgh was planning on having a bullpen game and with Kyle Leahy on a strict pitch count limitation, St. Louis was, too. Eventually, it would be mistakes and who could make the most of opportunities that would decide which team would walk away with a win. In the end, the Cardinals and Pirates would join forces to try and defeat Pittsburgh, but neither was successful.
Kyle Leahy only made one mistake in the top of the 1st inning, but that mistake traveled 364 feet when he threw a 91 mph slider to Brandon Lowe who sent it over the fence in right for a 1-0 Pirates lead. The Cardinals would pull even in the bottom of the 3rd inning when Joshua Baez hit his first Busch Stadium home run which barely snuck over the left field wall tying the game 1-1.
Kyle Leahy was pulled from the game after 3 innings as his pitch count hit 51. He was replaced by Brycen Mautz for the top of the 4th inning. He gave up what looked like an innocent single to left to Lowe, but Joshua Baez misplayed it as the ball got past him which resulted in a two-base error and Lowe standing at third base with no outs. He would score two batters later when Gonzalez singled to center giving Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead.
Pittsburgh would threaten again in the top of the 5th inning. Mautz walked Reynolds to leadoff the inning. He advanced to second on a wild pitch then advanced to third when O’Neil Cruz singled to right. With runners on first and third with just one out, Brycen struck out Mangum. A hanging breaking ball to Flores Jr. would doom Mautz as he blasted it deep into the bleachers in left-center for a 5-1 Pirates lead.
Just when it looked like Saturday’s game would go down the drain as a big dreary disappointment, the Pittsburgh Pirates decided to join the Cardinals in trying to defeat themselves. In the bottom of the 6th after Alec Burleson popped out, Jordan Walker smoked a ball directly to Gonzalez at short, but it went right through him into left field for an error (the first of many in the 6th). Nathan Church grounded into a fielder’s choice which resulted in another error by Gonzalez giving the Cardinals runners on first and second with just one out. The most outrageous error of the 3 by Pittsburgh happened next when Jose Fermin flied to centerfield, but O’Neil Cruz just completely blew the play which allowed Jordan Walker to score cutting the Pirates lead to 5-2. Sadly, that’s all the runs the Cardinals would get after Gorman and Baez both popped out to end the Cardinals 6th. Even with the Pirates helping, St. Louis couldn’t make much of the nearly unprecedented blunder-fest.
Cade Winquest made his Major League debut in the top of the 7th and his first effort was impressive. He made Bryan Reynolds look ridiculously bad striking him out on 3 straight pitches, the last one a wicked 79 mph curveball. Nasty (in a good way). He would end the 7th inning with 2 strikeouts and a pickoff.
The Cardinals offense was so pathetic for the first 2/3 of the game, they didn’t get their 3rd hit until the bottom of the 7th inning when Jimmy Crooks led off with a double down the right field line. The slumping JJ Wetherholt was unable to move him over as he broke his bat and popped out to short center. Ivan Herrera didn’t do anything productive either as he flew out to center. Perhaps it was peer pressure of not coming through with positive offense that led Alec Burleson to ground out to third to end the Cardinals 7th with no runs.
THIS TEAM IS SO FRUSTRATING TO WATCH ON DAYS LIKE THIS.
Back to positive thoughts. Cade Winquest looked impressive in the top of the 8th inning, too. The movement on his curveball is a sight to behold. Groundballs, strikeouts and not allowing hard contact are a reason to be pleased about his debut. Ryan Fernandez was brought in to handle the top of the 9th inning for St. Louis. His goal was to keep the Cardinals within reasonable striking distance for the bottom of the 9th in case the St. Louis offense decided to wake up and he was not successful. With two outs, he walked Lowe. Reynolds followed that with a single and Gonzales doubled to give the Pirates an extra run they likely would never need making it 6-2.
The St. Louis Cardinals would need to do something in the bottom of the 9th that they had not done in any of the previous innings Saturday. A come-from-behind win would require multiple back-to-back hits and a bit of luck. Lefty Mason Montgomery came in to close out the games for the Pirates. Oli Marmol sent up Thomas Saggese to pinch-hit for Nolan Gorman. It only took 3 pitches for Saggese to strikeout. Joshua Baez was next to face the 99 mph heat from Montgomery. He worked the count full before flying out to deep left-center for the second out. Ramon Urias was the Cardinals last hope Saturday. He struck out on a check swing strike 3 which was appropriate considering how the rest of the game went. A big bummer effort, Cardinals.
The St. Louis Cardinals wrap up their homestand before a long west coast swing as they’ll host the Pirates again on Sunday. Matthew Liberatore will give it a go for the Cardinals while the Pirates will start Braxton Ashcraft. First pitch is set for 1:15pm at Busch Stadium and the game broadcast will be available via Cardinals.tv.
On Friday, the San Francisco Giants had a couple of guests before they played the Arizona Diamondbacks. San Jose Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith made a special visit to Oracle Park and participated in batting practice in a Bay Area crossover.
Celebrini nearly hit a long ball, but fell just short hitting the Levi's Landing sign in right field:
The Sharks and Giants often team up for Bay Area Unite events and collaboration events, so we'll likely see Celebrini and Smith visit the stadium on the sea again in the relatively near future, which the Giants hinted at themselves:
With Celebrini earning himself one of the NHL's biggest contracts and Smith competing in Drake Maye's charity softball game back in May, then visiting the Giants on Friday, the Sharks' young stars have certainly been keeping themselves busy ahead of their third season in the NHL.
ATLANTA, GA - AUGUST 27: Los Angeles pitcher Shohei Ohtani (17) throws in the outfield prior to the start of the MLB game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves on August 27th, 2026 at Truist Park in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Shohei Ohtani is expected to pitch again in a game for the Dodgers at some point, possibly soon. But it won’t happen on Sunday, or Tuesday, manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Saturday afternoon at Comerica Park in Detroit after a loss to the Tigers.
“In total, Sho hasn’t come out of it well, the arm, the knee. If any pitcher was feeling like this, we wouldn’t run them out there,” Roberts told reporters, as shown on SportsNet LA. “For us, it’s take tomorrow off the table, let’s get back to LA, let’s kind of figure out where his body is at, and go from there.”
“I don’t think he’s 100 percent. That’s the hard part right now is trying to figure out if he’s not 100 percent, overall body, is it worth giving him an inning to build up, or not,” Roberts said Saturday morning, as shown on SportsNet LA. “It’s more of when [Ohtani might pitch], and does it have to be [Sunday]. Internally, we’re trying to discuss it.”
“To be quite frank, I just don’t see everything getting to 100 percent by the end of the season,” Roberts added. “But then again, there are a lot of pitchers who aren’t 100 percent, but are still viable. It’s just not an exact science.”
Ohtani won’t pitch on Tuesday either, Roberts said. But he will continue to hit, and will be in Sunday’s starting lineup in Detroit.
Ohtani this season has a 1.79 ERA and 2.59 xERA with 95 strikeouts and 26 waks in 85 2/3 innings. Among major league pitchers with at least 80 innings this season, Ohtani ranks second in ERA, fifth in xERA, and 14th in strikeout rate. He completed at least six innings in 13 of his 14 starts.
It’s unclear how many pitching starts during the regular season might get, but considering his first outing would be one inning, he might not be able to build back up to five innings by the postseason. Because Ohtani is a two-way player, he doesn’t count against the active-roster limit of 13 pitchers, which will increase to 14 pitchers on Tuesday, September 1. That means any innings Ohtani throws are innings the rest of the Dodgers pitching staff doesn’t aren’t burdened with.
“For Shohei, knowing that any inning is additive is important, and it was a formula that worked,” Roberts said on August 14.
Tyler Glasnow was always going to pitch on Sunday, whether following Ohtani’s one inning or not. Now, Glasnow will start. The right-hander returned Tuesday from three and a half months on the injured list with back spasms with seven strikeouts in five innings allowing three runs in Atlanta, and will be pitching on four days rest against the Tigers.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 28: Danny Jansen #9 of the Texas Rangers hits a solo home run against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on August 28, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Texas Rangers lineup for August 29, 2026 against the Milwaukee Brewers: starting pitchers are Cal Quantrill for the Rangers and Shane Drohan for the Brewers.
Texas will try to score some runs today. Ideally multiple runs. They have the righty-swinging crew going.
The lineup:
Foscue — 2B
Seager — SS
Langford — LF
Nimmo — RF
Duran — CF
Burger — 1B
Jansen — C
O’Hoppe — DH
Freeman — 3B
6:15 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are +145 underdogs.
