Category: Baseball

The Yankees came oh-so-close to a scintillating sweep of the Braves, but the offense sputtered once again in another extra-innings loss yesterday. Even so, the series victory over Atlanta did serve as proof of concept. Thanks to their stellar pitching, this offensively limited version of the Yankees very much can beat the best teams in baseball. It may not always look pretty, but the Yankees have a chance to win every night because of their staff, and it does beg the question: how good can this team be once (if?) the offensive cavalry arrives?

It’ll be a relatively quiet day on the site, matching up with the team’s offday. In the morning, Kevin recaps Sunday afternoon’s American League action, and Matt profiles Gerald Williams, an outfielder and World Series champion with the Yankees. Later, Peter discusses how Paul Blackburn’s sinker has unlocked the rest of his game, and Madison puts out the call for this week’s mailbag.

Today’s Matchup:

Offday

Questions/Prompts:

1. Has Cam Schlittler re-established himself as the AL Cy Young favorite?

2. The Mariners are in town this week. Where does Seattle rank among the most disappointing teams in baseball this season?

Perhaps some time in October, the Milwaukee Brewers will regret not trading for Tarik Skubal. For the moment, they're the best team in the major leagues, and have one would-be Skubal pawn to partially thank for it.

The Brewers ascended to No. 1 in USA TODAY Sports' power rankings thanks to two one-run victories over the Minnesota Twins in a taut battle of Upper Midwest playoff contenders. Their series-clinching victory came in 10 innings on a Jake Bauers walk-off single, but it was a catch by right fielder Luis Lara in the top of the inning - his second fantastic grab of the day - that prevented a huge inning and put Milwaukee in position to win.

Lara, 21, was among the players the Brewers roped off from Skubal talks, having signed him to a team-friendly extension and identifying him as a key part of their future. Ranked by Baseball America as the game's No. 35 prospect, he boosted Milwaukee on a day Jacob Misiorowski made history but couldn't close the deal.

No matter. Milwaukee's 74-44 record gives it a three-game edge over Atlanta for best in the NL as the Brewers maintain a 5 ½-game lead over the relentless Chicago Cubs.

A look at our updated rankings:

1. Milwaukee Brewers (+1)

• Four games at Dodger Stadium may evoke bad memories of last October - or a boost toward the next one.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers (-1)

• 9-15 over last 24 games. Still no reason for concern?

3. Tampa Bay Rays (+1)

• Now 25 games over .500, but Griffin Jax's elbow discomfort a pop-up concern.

4. Atlanta Braves (-1)

• Nearly swept in Yankee Stadium.

5. Chicago Cubs (+1)

• Craig Counsell slots PCA in at DH for two games, the better to save his legs for the stretch.

6. New York Yankees (-1)

• Cody Bellinger performing baseball activities, Aaron Judge receives semi-positive news. Sky, not yet falling.

7. Boston Red Sox (-)

• Lose consecutive games for the first time since June 30-July 1 - against the Athletics, no less.

8. Arizona Diamondbacks (+1)

• Starters held Dodgers to three earned runs in 19 2/3 innings of series victory.

9. Chicago White Sox (-1)

• Hagen Smith, fifth overall pick in 2024, pitches two scoreless relief innings in major league debut.

10. Philadelphia Phillies (-)

• Jesus Luzardo with a 2.25 ERA over his last 100 innings pitched.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Pirates fans and fans across the country.

This week’s question asked you about Mitch Keller. The Bucs pitcher is down for the rest of the year with an injury, and before getting hurt, he was having a terrible season with a 6-8 record, 5.26 ERA, and a 1.37 WHIP. We asked you of you thought Mitch had tossed his last game as a Bucco. Here is what you said:

Only one quarter of Bucs fans think that Mitch has pitched his last game as a Pirate. In all likelihood, teams are going to want to see him in action if the Bucs are going to shop him, but stranger things have happened.

Don’t forget to head over to FanDuel for the MLB Playoff odds. As of this morning, the Bucs are +1260, so if you feel they can somehow still pull this thing off, there’s a hefty payout in it for you.

Thanks for voting. Be back soon!

The Athletic | Brendan Kuty: I wish I believed in anything as much as Aaron Boone believes the Yankees’ offensive woes will just magically fix themselves. Since Tuesday, the day their big trade deadline acquisitions made their debuts, the Yankees have scored just 12 runs in five games. Boone acknowledges this team can be really good but needs the offense to improve in order to get there as the starting pitching, at least, has held things down extremely admirably. Yet, there doesn’t seem to be any answer to the problem outside of hoping and praying Aaron Judge returns as soon as possible.

MLB Trade Rumors | Mark Polishuk: Some notes from around the AL East, but the key point of focus here is Aaron Judge being cleared to begin some upper-body training and light running drills earlier this week. While he’s still got a long way to go and there’s still no timetable for his return, it’s at least some glimmer of hope that hadn’t previously been there for a long time. Though, Brian Cashman reiterated yesterday that he will need to be 100% before they think of bringing him back as they don’t want to risk him injuring something else in a rush to come and save this team. Some of those words are paraphrasing by yours truly, but that’s the gist of it.

MLB.com | MLB.com Staff: When the Yankees signed Antonio Gomez as an international free agent in 2018, they did so as a catcher. Eight years later, Gomez was making his season debut for Single-A Tampa as a pitcher and came out dealing. Ranked with a 70-grade arm, Gomez threw a scoreless inning in relief, averaging 99.9 mph on his fastball and touched or passed 100 mph five times in his 15 pitches of work. Though he transitioned to the mound last season while with Double-A Somerset, he was hurt to start the year, thus making his debut in Tampa.

NJ.com | Keith Sargeant: It’s always a cringeworthy moment when a bat or ball makes its way out of the playing surface and strikes someone. That’s exactly what happened earlier in June when a New Jersey woman was attending a game against the Cleveland Guardians. She’s now suing the Yankees, Yankee Stadium, and companies that her complaint identifies as being involved with the stadium’s protective netting system, for what’s described as “preventable” injuries. They claim the netting was lower in her section than others after a José Ramírez bat made its way into the stands.

Turkish Super Lig club Corum are discussing the final details with Rangers for the transfer of Mohamed Diomande, with the 24-year-old midfielder expected in Istanbul on Monday for a medical and contract talks. (Ertan Suzgun on X)

Corum are closing in on a move to sign Rangers midfielder Mohamed Diomande for a fee of around £4.5m. (Rangers Review)

Çorum have made an official offer of £4.8m to Rangers for Mohamed Diomande. (Yagis Sabuncuoglu on X)

The bid rejected by Rangers for striker Youssef Chermiti was from Galatasaray for £22m, which would have been a club record sale. (Rangers Review)

Frosinone's asking price of £17.1m for Farès Ghedjemis has coolled the interest of quite a few clubs, including Rangers, in the 23-year-old winger. (Foot Mercato)

Rangers are exploring a deal for 20-year-old Aston Villa right-back Kosta Nedeljkovic. (Daily Record)

Rangers are considering taking Serbia right-back Kosta Nedeljkovic from Aston Villa on a season-long loan. (The Herald)

PSV Eindhoven head coach Peter Bosz insists Rangers transfer target Couhaib Driouech was left out of their Eredivisie opener against Fortuna Sittard due to a lack of fitness as the Ibrox club look to strike a £7m deal. (Daily Record)

After having a £6m bid rejected, Rangers remain in talks with PSV Eindhoven over a deal for 24-year-old winger Couhaib Driouech, with Burnley and Celta Vigo also interested. (Sky Sports)

Read the rest of Monday's Scottish gossip.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Padres fans and fans across the country.

The San Diego Padres fanbase has been through a lot this season. It started with early season reports that San Diego had the worst farm system in the MLB. That transitioned to an MLB offense that was ranked near the bottom of the league in every statistical category, a pitching rotation decimated by injury and a patchwork of arms that was unwatchable at times. Despite all of that, rookie manager Craig Stammen had his team playing well and at one point 11 games over .500. Talk at the time was that how the Padres were winning games was unsustainable. Then the crashed happened. San Diego hit the skids and had a losing streak that saw them fall below .500 as the team headed into the All-Star break.

Coming out of the break, the conversation among fans, Padres front office personnel and the baseball world turned toward what the team should do at the MLB Trade Deadline. The Padres had hoped to come out of the All-Star break and jump right into a winning streak that would compel San Diego president of baseball operations and general manager to buy at the deadline, or at the very least keep what was in place. Instead, the Padres dropped two games to the Kansas City Royals and three games to the Atlanta Braves and started their post-All-Star road trip 2-5 heading into a three-game series at Miami.

The Padres went on to sweep the Marlins and finished their road trip 5-5 and headed back to San Diego for a homestand against the Colorado Rockies and the San Francisco Giants. There was still no indication what the Padres would do at the deadline and with a two-game sweep of the Rockies and taking three out of four games against the Giants, Preller and his team became buyers. However, there was still talk San Diego could try to be a buyer and possibly sell some pieces to improve the poorly ranked farm system. By the time the deadline had come and passed, the Padres had acquired two of the top starters available and a utility player and kept the roster intact.

San Diego added starters Robbie Ray, who had just got the win for San Francisco when the two teams met, and Casey Mize and Gage Workman from the Detroit Tigers. It was good to see Preller address the rotation, which proved to be the most glaring need at the deadline, but he paid the price for adding two rental arms, further depleting his farm system. Some people were unhappy with the decision not to trade players in the final years of their contracts like Adrian Morejon or Ty France. Some were unhappy that players with options at the end of the year like Michael King were not traded. But throughout baseball Preller and the Padres were lauded for the work they did at the Trade Deadline.

The Padres Reacts Survey question from this week asked respondents to give their take on the deadline moves. There were multiple options to choose from, including “Great,” “Good,” “Fair,” “Poor,” and “Terrible.” The majority were right in the middle with no one getting too high and no one getting too low. After seeing the first two starts from Ray and Mize the responses might look different, but both players were out of routine and are expected to bounce back in their next outings. The Padres, Preller and the Friar Faithful all hope so or this could turn into one of the worst deadlines of Preller’s tenure.

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The Yankees keep waiting for Jazz Chisholm Jr. to take off.

With 44 games left in the season, it has yet to actually happen.

At a time when the Yankees are going through a brutal stretch offensively — including Sunday’s 2-1, 10-inning loss to the Braves — without Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton, they could sorely use someone to spark the lineup. Chisholm has the skill set to make that happen, except he has not been able to put things together consistently all season, finishing Sunday batting .216 with a .691 OPS through 109 games.

“I think all year, just struggling to really get dialed in,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s never had that real hot streak, which he’s certainly capable of. We’ve seen over the last couple years, where it’s two, three, four weeks of impactful damage, speed, getting on, things like that.”

Chisholm went 1-for-3 with a walk Sunday (while also committing a throwing error on a chopper-turned-infield-single that he could not cleanly grip out of his glove).

Though he is certainly not alone in his offensive struggles, the pending free agent is as capable as anyone on the Yankees of single-handedly changing a game.

He just has not been able to do it often enough.

“I’ve been feeling OK,” Chisholm said. “Hit it hard, get out. Sometimes not even making contact. But every day, going out there and grinding, trying to make things happen for the team.”

After throwing 48 pitches in 2 ²/₃ innings Saturday night in his first rehab start with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Carlos Rodón (left elbow inflammation) will likely make another this week before returning to the Yankees.

“I watched his outing this morning, thought he looked pretty good, thought he threw the ball pretty well,” Boone said. “So I would assume we’ll probably have another one for him at least.”

Cody Bellinger, now two weeks removed from suffering a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, has been running and hitting, though it is unclear if he could beat the four-to-six week timeline he was given.

“It seems like he’s doing pretty well, but until we get to that finish line …” Boone said.

Clarke Schmidt, who experienced forearm cramping during his live bullpen session Tuesday, has played catch but has yet to throw a bullpen session since then.

“I think we’re good, but we got to get to that point where he’s back on the mound, which hopefully is the next couple days,” Boone said.

Giancarlo Stanton (right calf strain) did some more running in the outfield Sunday at what appeared to be a pretty good intensity, but he still did not run the bases.

Anthony Volpe got his first start at second base at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday night and handled all three ground balls hit to him cleanly. He was back at shortstop Sunday as he gets eased into the new position that could be how he gets back to the big leagues, whether that is this year or next.

Chris Sale, apparently still annoyed at the balk called on him Saturday that scored the go-ahead run, was ejected before first pitch Sunday.

PITTSBURGH — Robert Stock’s rough most recent performance likely won’t prevent him from remaining in the Mets rotation.

Interim manager Andy Green indicated Sunday that he was leaning toward sticking with Stock, who allowed eight earned runs over three innings against the Pirates the previous night. The right-hander was pitching for the Mets for the second time since undergoing surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome during spring training.

“I think more than likely we’re anticipating him making his next start,” Green said before the Mets beat the Pirates 11-1 at PNC Park. “We’re still kind of being a little bit patient before fully committing to it.”

The Mets have Christian Scott, Nolan McLean and Zac Thornton aligned to face the Braves over the next three days. Thursday is a scheduled off-day, giving Green the option of skipping Stock’s rotation spot Friday. But Green said he would like to keep deploying five starters.

“I don’t think [skipping] is our best choice given the load a lot of the young guys have carried into their first full season in the big leagues,” Green said. “As much as we would like to get those guys back on the mound quickly, the extra day is good for them.”

Stock, 36, allowed one earned run over five innings against the Marlins in his first start for the Mets.

Carson Benge returned to the lineup after missing Saturday’s game with a bone bruise in his left wrist. Benge finished 2-for-5 with an RBI, reaching base three times.

Jack Weisenburger pitched the final two innings scoreless in his major league debut and allowed one hit with two strikeouts. The right-hander was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday to give the Mets a fresh arm — Xzavion Curry was optioned.

“He’s worked really hard to get here and anytime you see a debut and it goes well like that, it’s amazing to see,” Sean Manaea said.

Weisenburger became the eighth Mets player this season to debut in the major leagues, joining Benge, A.J. Ewing, Nick Morabito, Thornton, Matt Seelinger, Nate Lavender and Jefry Yan.

The Cincinnati Reds just got swept by a Washington Nationals club that was behind them on the periphery of the National League Wild Card standings at the outset of the series. It’s a Nats club that just spent the last two weeks selling off pieces of importance to other clubs as they prepped for the future, a club with clearly more intent on both short and long term determination to be comfortable in their own dealings than the Reds.

Cincinnati is now 5 games under .500, again. They are back in last place in the NL Central and 6.0 games out of the final Wild Card spot, again with 6 teams they’d need to leapfrog to get there with a miracle. And they are devoid of Hunter Greene, again, as he’s now out for the rest of 2026 (and likely all of 2027, too).

With any last ditch effort at postseason ball now completely in the crapper, here’s what Cincinnati Reds fans have to look forward to for the rest of the season.

Chase Burns hitting an innings limit and being shut down

The brightest of bright spots on the 2026 club has been Chase Burns, who has emerged fully as a legitimate ace and signed a long-term contract to be part of the club for a long, long time.

He’s going to hit an innings limit quite soon, though. And when he does, he’ll either be shifted to a sparingly-used reliever or shut down altogether.

Cool!

Zero top pitching prospects being called up

The Cincinnati Reds have no top pitching prospects, and certainly don’t have any in the upper minors who are knocking on the door to get late-season cameos.

So, don’t look forward to that!

Zero top hitting prospects being called-up

We’ve gotten Hector Rodriguez to the roster in the wake of Nathaniel Lowe being dealt away at the deadline, and that’s cool. He’ll hopefully play a whole lot more than Noelvi Marte and TJ Friedl for the remainder of the season, but you never know.

Edwin Arroyo and his .568 OPS will likely be back in September, but will he get a shot to play at all as the club continues to evaluate Matt McLain’s status for the fifth consecutive season?

Alfredo Duno is still at least a year away, and that’s all the Reds have atop their system at the moment. Peaks and valleys, amirite?!

Nick Krall crossing his fingers, arms, toes, legs, and eyes that Ke’Bryan Hayes figures out how to hit a lick

Krall made one of the most egregious mistakes in recent memory in taking Ke’Bryan Hayes (and the $36 million owed to him) off the ledger of the Pittsburgh Pirates a year ago, and the Reds still seem hell bent on letting him get as many PA as he can to show he’s a better hitter than literally any other professional baseball player on the planet even though he is not.

As they do their damnedest to prove that he’s not a sunk cost, expect to see Hayes in the lineup and at 3B more often than you’d like to smell your shoes for the rest of 2026.

Whether Christian Encarnacion-Strand will sock more homers for Baltimore than Hayes will for Cincinnati

CES already has 3 dingers and a 118 OPS+ for the O’s in just 16 games since being promoted to play 3B for them. Hayes, meanwhile, has somehow tripped into 4 dongs for the Reds over the course of his 2026 season.

Who ends up with more for their respective club while manning the hot corner?

Sal Stewart getting to a hundred arby-eyes

Sal Stewart is cool as hell on the baseball field and I love him for it. Hopefully he socks 35 dingers and drives in 120 runs and we all get to re-learn just what it’s like to have a certain sect of baseball fans talk about arby-eyes once more. Don’t you miss the days of that discourse?

Whether ownership decides to do something, anything to alter the miserable direction of the franchise

Oh, will we be watching ever so intently!

The Milwaukee Brewers — fresh off a solid 5-2 homestand to push them to 74-44 on the season — are headed back to the West Coast after visiting the Giants and Angels last week. This time, they’ll face two slightly more formidable opponents in the Padres and Dodgers. First up is San Diego, currently in a fight for an NL Wild Card spot alongside the Phillies and D-backs (among several others). At 62-57, the Padres have turned things on in recent weeks to put themselves firmly into the playoff race.

The Brewers have lost several position players in recent days, as shortstop Cooper Pratt hit the IL on Sunday with a hamstring strain and Joey Ortiz is considered day-to-day with neck tightness. The team also lost prospect Jett Williams, who, in his first at-bat back from injury, re-injured his hand while swinging. Outfielder Sal Frelick is also out, though he’s on his way back as he began a rehab assignment over the weekend. Pitchers Joel Kuhnel (on rehab), JoJo Romero (mid- to late August), Rob Zastryzny (TBD), Brandon Woodruff (out for season), Brian Fitzpatrick (out for season), Quinn Priester (out for season), and Angel Zerpa (out for season) are all on the IL.

San Diego’s injured list currently includes pitchers Joe Musgrove (on rehab), Nick Pivetta (exited rehab outing last week), David Morgan (on rehab), Jason Adam (late August or early September), Lucas Giolito (late August), Bryan Hoeing (out for season), and Yu Darvish (considering retirement). Outfielders Ramón Laureano (likely out for season) and Samad Taylor (close to a rehab assignment) are also out, as well as utility man Miguel Andujar (late August).

Jake Bauers leads Milwaukee with 21 homers, though Jackson Chourio’s four-homer week has him closing in with 21 on the season. Brice Turang, William Contreras, Garrett Mitchell, Andrew Vaughn, Christian Yelich, Ortiz, Luis Lara, and David Hamilton round out the regulars, with Brandon Lockridge, Gary Sánchez, and new addition Jihwan Bae serving as depth. As a team, the Brewers are hitting .253/.337/.398 (.735 OPS ranks seventh), with 109 homers (last), 585 runs (fifth), and 117 steals (fourth).

Despite an ice-cold start offensively, the Padres have turned it around a bit offensively in recent weeks. Manny Machado, who’s hitting just .212 for the year, leads the team with 23 homers, good for a .420 slugging percentage. He’s followed by Jackson Merrill (18 homers), Ty France (16 homers), Gavin Sheets (15 homers), and Fernando Tatis Jr. (11 homers). Xander Bogaerts, Luis Campusano, Freddy Fermin, Jake Cronenworth, recent former Brewer Luis Rengifo round out the regulars, with Austin Hays, Jase Bowen, and Sung-Mun Song, providing depth. As a team, the Padres are hitting .236/.313/.382 (.695 OPS ranks 25th), with 124 homers (20th), 497 runs (22nd), and 119 steals (third).

Aaron Ashby leads the Brewers with 55 appearances and 13 wins this year, as he’s also turned in a solid-but-not-great 3.56 ERA. Abner Uribe (2.05 ERA) and Trevor Megill 92.58 ERA) are once again the anchors of the bullpen, while Chad Patrick (3.32 ERA) provides long relief. With a six-man rotation, the Brewer bullpen is rounded out by DL Hall (2.60 ERA), Antonio Senzatela (7.71 ERA), and recent addition Lyon Richardson (no appearances). As a staff, the Brewers have a 3.47 team ERA (second), including a 3.46 starter ERA (third) and a 3.49 bullpen ERA (fourth). They’ve struck out 1,156 batters (second) over 1,055 2/3 innings.

Closer Mason Miller (0.91 ERA, 29-for-30 in save opportunities) anchors San Diego’s bullpen, with Adrian Morejon (2.89 ERA) also starring. Wandy Peralta (3.45 ERA), Bradgley Rodriguez (2.21 ERA), Yuki Matsui (2.40 ERA), and Jeremiah Estrada (3.55 ERA) have also been solid, with Kyle Hart (4.18 ERA) and Griffin Canning (6.65 ERA) rounding things out. As a staff, the Padres have a 4.18 team ERA (17th), including a 4.69 starter ERA (27th) and a 3.68 bullpen ERA (fifth). They’ve struck out 956 batters (20th) over 1,041 innings.

Probable Pitchers

Monday, August 10 @ 8:40 p.m.: RHP Logan Henderson (6-1, 2.70 ERA, 3.09 FIP) vs. RHP Casey Mize (4-7, 3.40 ERA, 2.81 FIP)

Henderson has made 10 starts for Milwaukee in year No. 2, totaling 50 innings with a 2.70 ERA, 3.09 FIP, and 62 strikeouts. He’s coming off his third consecutive winning performance, as he went six innings on 83 pitches, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out eight. The right-hander has never pitched against San Diego.

Mize, the No. 1 overall pick by the Tigers back in 2018, was acquired by the Padres at the trade deadline. While he has a solid 3.40 ERA, 2.81 FIP, and 86 strikeouts across 90 innings this season, he got roughed up in his San Diego debut last week, allowing eight runs on nine hits and three walks over just 3 1/3 innings in a loss to the D-backs. Mize has made two starts against Milwaukee, with a 1-1 record, 3.18 ERA, and eight strikeouts over 11 1/3 innings. That includes a winning performance this year, as he went six frames with one run allowed and seven strikeouts.

Tuesday, August 11 @ 8:40 p.m.: LHP Kyle Harrison (9-2, 2.84 ERA, 2.90 FIP) vs. RHP Walker Buehler (6-5, 5.07 ERA, 4.37 FIP)

Harrison, who made his return from the IL last week, has made 18 starts for Milwaukee this season, totaling 88 2/3 innings with a 2.84 ERA, 2.90 FIP, and 111 strikeouts, good for second on the team behind Jacob Misiorowski’s 204. Harrison went five scoreless innings before being pulled due to calf cramps in his return from the IL, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out 10 on 69 pitches. The left-hander has made four career starts against San Diego, with a 5.57 ERA and 20 strikeouts over 21 innings, though his best outing came as a Brewer back in May, when he went five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts to pick up the win.

Buehler, a former star with the Dodgers, has struggled since missing the entire 2023 season due to injury. He’s made 23 starts for San Diego this year, with a 5.07 ERA, 4.37 FIP, and 95 strikeouts across 108 1/3 innings pitched. The 32-year-old righty went four innings against Arizona his last time out, allowing one run on six hits and a walk while striking out three. Buehler has made three regular season appearances against Milwaukee in his career, all while with Los Angeles. In those games, he’s 1-1 with a 2.93 ERA and 21 strikeouts across 15 1/3 innings.

Wednesday, August 12 @ 3:10 p.m.: RHP Dustin May (6-7, 4.30 ERA, 3.26 FIP) vs. LHP Robbie Ray (10-7, 3.24 ERA, 4.49 FIP)

May, who was acquired at last week’s trade deadline from the Cardinals, has a 4.30 ERA, 3.26 FIP, and 111 strikeouts across 115 innings this season. He made his Brewer debut against the Pirates last week, spinning six innings with two runs allowed on three hits and three walks, striking out five en route to his first win in a Milwaukee uniform. The right-hander is a familiar foe of the Padres from his time with the Dodgers, as he’s made 15 appearances (12 starts) totaling 79 innings with a 3-5 record, 3.30 ERA, and 69 strikeouts. That includes two starts while with the Cardinals this season, totaling 15 innings with three runs allowed (two earned) and 16 strikeouts, including a complete game, one-hit, one-walk shutout in June.

Ray, another trade deadline acquisition (from the Giants), has also made one start since joining the Padres. He wet five innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and five walks, striking out two in a loss. The left-hander has 23 appearances (22 starts) this season, with a 3.24 ERA, 4.49 FIP, and 109 strikeouts over 127 2/3 innings, and he also has a league-worst 62 walks issued (he led the NL with 73 a year ago). Ray has made six starts against Milwaukee, with a 3-1 record, 2.62 ERA, and 42 strikeouts over 34 1/3 innings, including a pair of no-decisions while with San Francisco last year (10 innings, five earned runs, four strikeouts).

How to Watch & Listen

Monday, August 10: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Tuesday, August 11: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Wednesday, August 12: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Prediction

The Padres have played better in recent weeks, especially on offense, but the Brewers are still the better team. Give me Milwaukee to eke out two of three.

PITTSBURGH — Bo Bichette drew a fifth inning walk for his only plate appearance Sunday without a hit.

“We’ll give him one more,” interim manager Andy Green joked after the 11-1 victory over the Pirates at PNC Park. “He had five and I think he shouldn’t have walked and set his career high and gotten six hits.”

Bichette’s 5-for-5 performance with three RBIs led a lineup that has produced at a high level on this road trip, helping the Mets win five of six games.

Bichette, who owns a mediocre .685 OPS — certainly not what the Mets envisioned when signing him to a three-year contract worth $126 million — has waited much of the season for a day like Sunday.

“It’s definitely not up to my standards, for sure,” Bichette said of his season. “I had two really bad months that I can’t take back, so right now I am just focused on being the best version of myself, finishing strong.”

Bichette’s first-inning single loaded the bases with nobody out, helping the Mets establish an early 2-0 lead. He singled again in the third and was on base when Luis Robert Jr. blasted a two-run homer. In the fourth, Bichette delivered a bases-loaded double that accounted for his three RBIs. Following his walk in the fifth, he concluded his day with a double and a single.

The Mets received a homer from Francisco Alvarez and three hits from Jared Young in winning a second straight series. Bichette had a key hit in Cleveland on Wednesday, when he stroked a go-ahead single in the 10th inning that stood as the margin of victory.

Bichette was asked about the team’s collective mindset following the Mets becoming sellers before last Monday’s trade deadline.

“I think the trade deadline was kind of a turn-the-page moment,” Bichette said. “It’s in everybody’s best interest to come out here and try to get better every day, try to win, become a better team, become better individuals. That is our focus.”

Bichette has prided himself on his ability to make contact throughout his career, and Sunday’s performance underscored that aspect of his game.

“It’s always been part of my game, but I think you get in trouble when you chase them,” Bichette said. “But it’s something I look at for sure.”

PHOENIX — So much for that.

A day after the Dodgers snapped their season-worst seven-game losing streak, they picked up another “L” on Sunday, losing 4-2 to the Diamondbacks.

Manager Dave Roberts challenged his hitters to play up to their talent level, but what he got was more of the same, as LA was kept in check by Diamondbacks starter Eduardo Rodriguez.

The Dodgers were limited to two runs and five hits over seven innings by Rodriguez, and they finished the game with six hits.

The two-time defending World Series champions scored seven runs in their three games in Arizona. They have averaged five runs per game, but that number has dropped to 3.2 over their last nine contests.

“I think this series it was very clear that we weren’t hitting the fastball, and we were exposing ourselves to the changeup with the secondary specifically,” Roberts said. 

The Dodgers will start a couple of two-time Cy Young Award winners in Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell over the next two days when they host the Royals, but the quality of their pitching won’t matter if they continue hitting like this.

“Are the Royals going to exploit the fastball that we’re not hitting and the changeup below?” Roberts said. “I don’t know. But we have to make adjustments. I think, for me, that’s sort of what I see as a group — we’re just not making adjustments.”

Justin Wrobleski put the Dodgers in a 4-0 hole after two innings, but the bullpen kept them in the game. With the team down by two runs, Andy Pages led off the eighth inning with a single, only for Freddie Freeman to ground into a double play.

The Dodgers have grounded into 99 double plays this season, the most in the majors.

“It’s baseball, ups and downs,” Freeman said. “We’re just going through it. No one’s worried here.”

Roberts shared his sentiments.

“We’ve still got a really good ballclub,” Roberts said. “There’s certainly [no] panic.”

That doesn’t mean there isn’t urgency.

Following his team’s 2-1, 10-inning win Saturday, Roberts demanded more offensive production.

“I think it’s hard to win when your margin for winning is a razor’s edge,” he said. “It’s not like guys aren’t trying, but it’s a tough way to pitch when you have to be perfect.

“We’re just better than this. As we always say, it’s not a try league. We gotta get it done.” 

Fernando Tatis is hot and the Padres are riding the wave.    In a rubber match affair on Peacock, San Diego won by a final score of 7-2.     The loss means that Houston still hasn’t claimed a series at Petco since 2015.   

It took Tatis until May 30th to register his first home run of the season.    However, after Sunday Night, he now has 11 for the year and has hit 3 home runs in his last 5 games.    In the bottom of the fourth inning, Tatis would deposit a change up from Cristian Javier (L, 1-3) into the left field stands, putting the Padres ahead by a score of 4-2, and they’d never trail again.     For the night, Javier would go five innings, allow 8 hits and 4 earned runs.   

One bright spot in the loss was Daulton Varsho.    Varsho entered Sunday night on a 2-18 skid since joining the club at last week’s deadline.    He would launch his first home run as an Astro with a two out, two-run blast in the top of the 2nd inning.    

The homer brought home Taylor Trammell.     That was really the only costly mistake that pitcher Randy Vasquez (W, 8-6) would make.    Vasquez was pulled after just 62 pitches over the course of 5 innings.    

A pair of former White Sox would do damage in later innings.    In the 6th, Gavin Sheets would launch a solo shot off of AJ Blubaugh.     In the 8th, Austin Hays would connect on a 2-run dinger off Bryan King, which brought in Jase Bowen, making it 7-2.     The Padres would hit 4 home runs on the night.    All runs were scored via the long ball for the ballgame.    San Diego would retire 22 straight Astros hitters.    

In terms of the rotation, Manager Joe Espada indicated that the club for the next couple of weeks would “just kind of go day to day”     Hayden Wesneski will open the Giants series at Oracle Park tomorrow night.    First pitch is set for 8:45 CDT.    Wesneski has won his first two outings since returning from Tommy John surgery.     

Odds & Ends:

All three contests in San Diego were complete sellouts.    Sunday’s crowd was announced at 40,160.  

Christian Walker’s 11-game hitting streak has come to an end.    

Even with the loss, the Astros still maintain their division lead as the Mariners and Rangers each lost on Sunday.    

Billy Amick may not be among the most highly-regarded prospects the Mets acquired in their trade deadline sell-off, but he’s certainly already making a name for himself in the organization.

The power-hitting corner infield prospect has been on an absolute tear with Binghamton since coming over from the Twins as part of the A.J. Minter deal.

Amick launched a three-run shot in the bottom of the sixth on Sunday afternoon, helping the Rumble Ponies to a weekend series sweep and their seventh consecutive victory. 

The youngster also drew a walk and stole his third base of the season.

Amick has now homered five times over his first seven games with the team, driving in 13 runs and racking up an impressive 1.387 OPS over that span.

Two of those home runs came in back-to-back innings on Thursday, giving him his fifth-career multi-homer game. 

Amick has struck out 11 times through 24 AB's, but he's also hitting .333 and has reached at a .429 clip. 

The 23-year-old slugger they call “Billy Barrels” is now up to 28 homers on the Double-A season, which puts him among the top-10 of all minor leaguers. 

While he has some flaws to his game, there’s no denying Amick has some big-time pop. 

It’ll be interesting to keep an eye on how that translates as he continues to progress through the system.