Category: Baseball

It began with a ball struck with authority, Luis García Jr. thundering his second double of the game off the right field wall. 

It included the kind of well-aimed luck that has eluded them, Austin Wells’ pop-up into shallow right-center somehow not winding up in a Seattle glove. 

And for the first time in a long time, there were bunches of hits — legitimate, real, pitch-to-bat-to-outfield-grass trajectories, the kind your grandparents fondly remember witnessing when they were young. 

The frigid Yankees lineup finally broke through, stacking five knocks and one walk together to score four runs in the seventh inning to seize a 4-1 comeback victory over the Mariners in front of 41,407 frustrated, then frenzied, fans in The Bronx on Tuesday. 

“Still, obviously, we got a long ways to go,” manager Aaron Boone said after the Yankees (67-52) won for the third time in four games, a span in which Tuesday’s was the lone contest not decided by one run. “But hopefully this is us moving the needle to get closer to the offense we can be.” 

So many games for the past several weeks have followed a script that featured excellent Yankees pitching, inept Yankees hitting and resulting late-game tension because neither side could create distance. 

That is how the series opener began, the Yankees down 1-0 — courtesy of a Randy Arozarena sixth-inning home run off an otherwise excellent Ryan Weathers — after six and a half innings, during which the home team managed three hits, none of which came with runners in scoring position. 

Until the game flipped with Seattle starter Bryan Woo removed. Against righty Michael Rucker, García scalded a leadoff double. Jazz Chisholm Jr., who even in this season of struggles has struggled acutely recently, found a hole on the right side of the infield to put runners on the corners. 

A George Lombard Jr. strikeout felt as if it would be the first step to another backbreaking inning, but after a Spencer Jones walk, Ryan McMahon lined a go-ahead two-run single through the left side of the infield to turn a one-run deficit into a one-run lead. 

“I was just trying to stay inside the baseball,” said McMahon, who volleyed a curveball the other way for the 500th RBI of his career, “give us a good chance to try to get some runs in.” 

After Wells’ bloop single off Eduard Bazardo reloaded the bases, Trent Grisham found the same hole that McMahon exploited, smacking a single between third baseman Brendan Donovan and shortstop Colt Emerson to drive in two more. 

Suddenly, the Yankees had a rally, a lead and a legitimate big inning: They had not scored more than two runs in a frame in more than a week, since last Monday’s 13-7 loss to the Cardinals in which they scored three in one inning and four in another. 

“Just a lot of tough at-bats,” Boone said of the Yankees attack, which scored more than three runs in a contest for just a third time in their past 11 games (a stretch in which they incredibly have won six times). 

“Stacking them, that’s super important,” McMahon added of the hits. “That’s how you score runs and something we got to do a little bit more.” 

Regardless of the offensive output in every other inning — the Yankees scored in just the seventh and wasted a second-and-third rally in the first inning and a one-out double in the third — they escaped because their pitching remained typically brilliant. 

After Weathers’ dominance, Tim Hill recorded four groundouts, Brent Headrick struck out two in a clean eighth and David Bednar — with the help of a hobbled Chisholm, who had hurt his ankle on the previous play and then ranged into the hole to field a ground ball and record a force out at second base — secured save No. 27. 

Apart from one frame, the blueprint remained the same for a team that still is not scoring enough and still is relying heavily upon nearly untouchable pitching. 

Part of this blueprint is the Yankees are now accustomed to playing tight games, which might matter in October. 

“I hope it serves us well in the end,” Boone said after comeback win No. 30.

If the Wrigley Chewing Gum company weren’t so deeply associated with the arch-rivals of the St. Louis ballclub, they’d probably offer the Cardinals the opportunity to be the new face of Doublemint Gum, on account of all the double killings they turned tonight. In the absence of an endorsement deal, the Redbirds will have to settle for winning the game.

The Phillies put runners on the corners on the first, but didn’t convert them into runs. And the same was true in the second, as the Phillies put runners on the corners and saw the inning end on a Justin Crawford 6-4-3 GIDP. The Cardinals soon found themselves in a comparable situation, putting runners on first and third against Cristopher Sánchez on singles from José Fermin and Masyn Winn. And the Redbirds, wanting to be gracious and considerate hosts, chose not to upstage their visitors and promptly hit into a 5-4-3 twin killing. The Phillies, however, misunderstood this kind gesture, thinking that home team was trying to upstage them with a GIDP slightly fancier than the standard 6-4-3. “We can match that,” said the Phils. And so it was that in the next inning they did indeed replicate the 5-4-3 DP, via grounder from Bryce Harper.

The assembled masses, Philadelphia Phaithful and toasted ravioli-eating St. Louis partisans alike, cried “stop! No more!” But their calls went unheeded. The Cardinals, their dander up and their ire drawn, one-upped the Phillies by hitting into a 4-6-3 version of the pitcher’s best friend. to conclude the bottom of the third. The arms race was on. Your faithful recapper sprinted to his bookshelf, removed his copy of the Dickson Baseball Dictionary, flipped to the entry on double plays, and groaned upon realizing that only four synonyms were listed; one was used two sentences ago, and the others weren’t distinct enough to be of use (technically you can shorten double play to just double, but isn’t that confusing?)

In the fourth inning, the first two Phillies batters, Luis Arraez and J.T. Realmuto, made outs, thus ensuring the chain of double plays would at last be broken. But while the double plays ended, offense was still hard to find. In the top of the fifth, Alec Bohm sent a slider flying to center, where Everson Pereira leapt and came down with it elegantly; poetry in motion, and frustration in action for the Phillies. The Cardinals proved no more adept at scoring in their portion of the fifth, and then in the sixth the double play chain began again, with the Phillies matching the 4-6-3 their avian foe hit into earlier.

The Phillies faced the Redbird bullpen in the seventh, with Brady Pallante departing after six scoreless, with four hits and just two Ks. His replacement, George Soriano, quickly induced two outs, then allowed a single to Brandon Marsh and a walk to Bohm. That brought up Justin Crawford, who lined out. The scoring drought continued.

The Phillies, too, turned to their bullpen, with Alex McFarlane taking over for Sánchez (6 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 7 K). He walked his first batter, who then promptly stole second. Had he not, the subsequent grounder would’ve resulted in yet another double play; as it was, it was just one out. Winn lined to right, and the game finally had its first run.

Kyle Schwarber walked to lead off the eighth, with Derek Hill called in to pinch run. Hill promptly made the most of his role, stealing second. Trea Turner worked a walk as well. That brought up Bryce Harper, who battled across nine pitches before earning his free pass. Thus, Luis Arrarez had the bases loaded, no outs, and the perfect opportunity to break his hitless streak. Though the opportunity couldn’t have been better, the result could have been: Arraez grounded gently to first, whereupon the ball was tossed to home for the first out, and then back to first for the second. Yet another double play, and one exceptional enough that the Cardinals certainly wouldn’t top it.

Tim Mayza took over for the bottom of the eighth, facing Pereira first. Not content to have robbed what was almost a homer, Pereira decided to hit one of his own, sending it out to center to put the Cardinal lead at 2-0.

The Phillies had Stott-Marsh-Bohm for their final stand in the ninth. Stott struck out, Marsh lined out, and Bohm grounded out.

The Phillies are 64-57. The final game of the series will commence tomorrow at 2:15.

Red Sox 3 Blue Jays 5

Despite Dylan Cease not having his usual great start, it turned out to be a good game. Cease went 5 innings, allowed 5 hits, 4 walks, and 7 strikeouts, but gave up 2 home runs. Neither one was crushed; one just barely cleared the wall. For anyone else, it would be pretty good, but we’ve come to expect more from Cease.

We used a lot of guys in the pen:

• Chase Lee got five outs, giving up a hit and two walks.
• Brandon Little got the last out of the seventh, striking out the lefty.
• Braydon Fisher pitched a quick eight, giving up just a walk.
• Spencer Miles got the save, giving up a double on a ball I expected Myles Straw to catch, but I think Straw thought the wall was closer than it was.

On a day they rested Louis Varland and Tyler Rogers, our pen was terrific.

Our offence? Well, we did get five runs, which is like other teams scoring 12.

We had 10 hits. No homers, just two doubles for extra-base hits. Bateman, Straw and Kirk had two hits each. Clement was the only Jay not to reach base, and he hit into two double plays. It just wasn’t his day. But he did get an RBI.

We scored:

• One in the third: With two outs, Lukes singled, McAdoo walked, and Bateman doubled in Lukes.
• Two in the fifth: Andrés Giménez started it with a single. Straw hit into a force at second. Lukes put down a nice bunt. And McAdoo hit a sac fly. And Bateman in another.
• One in the sixth: Springer led off with a walk. Kirk singled him to third. Clement hit into a force at second (but not a double play) and Springer scored.
• One in the eighth: Springer again led off, this time with a single. Kirk hit into a force at second. Josh Smith came in to pinch run. After Clement popped out, Giménez was hit by pitch, right on the knee. It looked very painful. And Straw doubled home Smith.

We should have scored more, but the double plays hurt. And Vlad, with Bateman on first, lined one into the right field corner, but Wilyer Abreu did a great job getting to it before it made the back wall and made a perfect throw into second, getting Vlad. I thought it was a double off the bat, but the play in the corner was great. Likely Vlad had turned at first and didn’t see the pickup, but we’d have been gett off with him sticking at first.

And there was some amazing Jays defense. In particular, Giménez made a super play on a ground ball to his right, diving, popping up and throwing a perfect bounce throw to first—just an amazing play. Charles McAdoo looked far better at third than I expected. Kirk threw out a runner stealing, terrific throw.

Jays of the Day: Bateman (0.26 WPA, I thought he did a great job in the post-game interview with Hazel), Kirk (0.17, plus the throw), Straw (0.16, maybe subtract a little for the missed catch in the ninth), Lee (0.12) and Fisher (0.12). Honourable mention to Spencer Miles for the save.

Other Award: Clement (-0.15), Vlad (-0.12) and Cease (-0.12).

Tomorrow is game 3 with the Red Sox—another 7:00 Eastern start. Ranger Suarez (4-3, 3.32) vs. José Soriano (9-6, 3.24), making his second start for the Jays.

The Yankees are struggling offensively. The Yankees do not hit with runners in scoring position. The Yankees have been too homer-reliant. All three of these tenets are true, especially since the injury bug swept through the Bronx and left them more vulnerable than they’ve been in several years.

All of their wins and losses are decided by one or two runs. They get excellent pitching, but regardless of the quality of the opposing starter, they often fail to dent home plate due to their middling healthy power options and their woes with RISP. Since June 18th, they have been batting an absolutely dreadful .170 in these situations, by far the worst in baseball. They are also striking out a league-high 29.4 percent in these spots, limiting opportunities for productive outs.

This game was going like all the others. They squandered three massive opportunities with runners in scoring position off Bryan Woo early on before going down in order in three consecutive innings. Now trailing 1-0 after one measly run scored off a sharp Ryan Weathers, they got one more chance in the seventh and didn’t let it go to waste. Two unlikely sources provided two great pieces of hitting to small ball their way to a four-run inning and a 4-1 win.

Weathers started this one out looking to continue the good vibes he’s had on the bump lately and quickly retired the first two he faced before jumping ahead 0-2 on Julio Rodríguez before throwing four straight balls and walking him. Things might’ve gotten hairy with a Dominic Canzone grounder that hit the second base bag if not for a stellar barehanded play by George Lombard Jr., who continues to be a savant defensively.

Woo’s always done well against the Yankees, but he labored to put up a zero in the first. A one-out walk by Ben Rice and a two-out double by Luis García Jr. set things up for Jazz Chisholm Jr., who worked a nine-pitch at-bat that included a 400-foot foul ball, but he flew out to the warning track in left-center field. Woo threw 32 pitches, allowed three batted balls of at least 101 mph, and didn’t get a single whiff, yet didn’t allow a run. Maybe the fact that he threw the five hardest pitches of his entire career that inning helps.

An infield single and a two-out walk to Weston Wilson gave Seattle a chance with a runner in scoring position in the second, but a nice stab by García at first on a Colt Emerson grounder ended a lengthy top of the second. Lombard led off the second with a single but was stranded after Taylor Ward’s leaping catch robbed Ryan McMahon of extra bases and the rookie was gunned down by Cal Raleigh trying to steal his first MLB bag.

A much quicker 1-2-3 third inning by Weathers gave the offense another chance to work off Woo, who they continued to get good swings off of. Austin Wells just yanked a long foul ball before grounding out, and Trent Grisham doubled into the corner at the end of a long at-bat, but the RISP woes continued as Rice struck out and Heliot Ramos grounded out to strand the runner.

Both offenses had their chances in the first few innings as the two starters labored, but once they got in a groove, neither threatened. Weathers retired 10 in a row, while Woo went from throwing 73 pitches in three tough innings to coasting through the final two, settling in after looking doomed early. Two struggling offenses certainly looked the part on Tuesday night.

By the laws of the game, someone had to score first, and the first blow was struck in the sixth on an opposite-field home run by longtime Yankee killer Randy Arozarena, one of the only hitters not currently loathed in Seattle for lack of production. After a week full of balls dying on the warning track, seeing a swing like that get out felt like a bigger gut punch than we actually saw on the scoreboard. Weathers departed after walking Dominic Canzone, finishing 5.2 strong innings but being in line for the loss.

Tim Hill got the last out of the sixth before Seattle went to their bullpen, going to José A. Ferrer against the top of the order, who went down quietly. Hill got through the seventh quickly in what’s been maybe his best outing since April, allowing the offense to wake up in the seventh.

García roped a leadoff double off Michael Rucker and was singled to third by Chisholm. Lombard struck out, Spencer Jones walked to load the bases with one out, and you just sat there wondering if they could finally break through. McMahon, likely still steaming from the robbery earlier, answered.

His two-run single made it 2-1 and chased Rucker. With two on and one out, Eduard Bazardo gave up a first-pitch blooper to Wells that Ward seemed terribly positioned for, setting up Grisham for a two-run knock of his own to left field to make it 4-1. Rice and Ramos stranded the remaining runners, but the Yanks finally did their jobs at the plate.

Brent Headrick was the first to come out and protect the newfound lead, doing so expeditiously. Seranthony Dominguez got this game to the ninth with a weird 1-2-3 inning that saw Chisholm overturn a strikeout before getting picked off a solid 15 seconds later. That’s been his season in a nutshell. Lombard also worked a long, 12-pitch at-bat for good measure.

David Bednar came on for the save against the heart of the order with a three-run cushion. He K’d J-Rod, allowed Canzone to reach on an infield single, got a nice force out from Jazz on a redemption play, and K’d the once-MVP candidate Raleigh to lock down his 17th consecutive save. With the loss by Boston, the Yankees are now three games clear of their rivals to the north, but would need a favor from the lowly A’s to gain ground in the AL East.

The Yankees go for the series victory tomorrow night at 7:05 pm in the middle game of this three-game set against the Mariners. It’ll be Will Warren against Bryce Miller on ESPN.

Box Score

Tuesday night was a good ole pitchers duel at Busch Stadium with St. Louis Cardinals Andre Pallante matching the Phillies Cristopher Sanchez nearly pitch-for-pitch, but it would a couple of dramatic Cardinals late inning at-bats (and clutch relief appearance, too) that would eventually win the day for St. Louis.

The first 4 innings were a dead heat between Sanchez and Pallante. The Phillies had only managed 3 hits and the Cardinals only had 4. Both teams were bailed out by double plays that ended scoring chances. It reminded me of some classic National League games I remember growing up as a kid in the 70’s and that’s not a complaint. In the top of the 5th inning, Pallante received a major defensive assist from new centerfielder Everson Pereira. Alec Bohm of the Phillies connected with an 88 mph Palante slider and blasted it to deep center when Pereira hit the wall at full stride, slammed into the wall and held onto the ball. I fully expected his next move would be to reveal a big “Superman” emblem on his chest.

To give credit where credit is due, Cristopher Sanchez of the Phillies was as good as advertised. The Cardinals had a lone scoring chance in the bottom of the 2nd inning when José Fermín and Masyn Winn singled giving St. Louis runners at first and third with just one out, but a double play ended that opportunity. For the first 6 innings, neither pitcher was budging. It’s a major compliment to Andre Pallante to say that he was a worthy competitor with the nasty stuff that Sanchez was dealing Tuesday night. Manager Oli Marmol removed Andre after 6 full innings and his stat line was solid. 6 innings allowing just 4 hits, no runs while striking out 3 and walking 2. Not exactly the equal of Sanchez performance, but close where it mattered which is on the scoreboard.

The St. Louis Cardinals bullpen took over in the top of the 7th when George Soriano entered the game. He got off to a good start striking out Realmuto and Stott, but allowed a hard single by Marsh past JJ’s glove into right field followed by a walk to Bohm. The Cardinals were fortunate that the bullet that came off of Crawford’s bat went straight to Jordan Walker’s glove in right field to end the Phillies scoring threat in the 7th.

The Phillies called on their depleted bullpen in the bottom of the 7th as Alex McFarlane took over for the excellent Sanchez. Jordan Walker gave St. Louis some hope as he drew a leadoff walk to start the Cardinals 7th and then he stole second. Alec Burleson struck out, but José Fermín moved Walker to third as he grounded out to short for the second out. It was Masyn Winn’s turn to play the role of potential hero as he stepped into a 100 mph sinker and drove it into right-center for a RBI single giving the Cardinals a precious 1-0 lead.

After George Soriano escaped the top of the 7th inning, it was Caleb Ferguson’s turn to tackle the top of the 8th inning with Kyle Schwarber and the rest of the top of the Phillies lineup coming to bat. He gave up a leadoff walk and that groan you might have heard at that moment was from ALL OF US. The Phillies pinch-ran for Schwarber with Hill who stole second base even though Pages had a rapid release and JJ Wetherholt made a nice swipe tag that barely missed getting him out. Ferguson then walked Trea Turner and the collective scream you might have heard was ALL OF US. Unbelievably, Caleb managed to walk Bryce Harper to load the bases with no outs. Hold on a second, I need to go sign up for some anger management classes. Back in a sec.

After a very ticked off looking Oli Marmol unceremoniously removed Ferguson from the game, Ryne Stanek was brought in to try and douse the developing dumpster fire. He managed to miraculously get Arraez to ground into a double play to Alec Burleson who fired the ball to home for a force with Pages firing it back to him. Wonderful! When Realmuto flied out to deep center for the final out of the Phillies 8th, all was right in the (Cardinals) universe again.

Here’s something I haven’t been able to say often enough this season. The Cardinals actually added an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th inning. Everson Pereira gave a long ride to an 87 mph slider from Phillies reliever Tim Mayza that landed in David Freese land in dead center field giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.

In the 9th inning, it was Riley O’Brien’s baby as he had to shut down the Phillies to close out an unexpected victory for the Cardinals. He had the bottom half of the Philadelphia lineup to deal with starting with Stott who Riley struck out with no difficulty. Next up was Brandon Marsh who ripped a line drive that conveniently landed in Alec Burleson’s glove. Alec Bohm’s meager groundout to Masyn Winn ended the game for a huge St. Louis victory.

The St. Louis Cardinal wrap up their homestand before heading off to Chicago with a game Wednesday afternoon against the Philadelphia Phillies. Kyle Leahy gets the nod from the Cardinals while Zack Wheeler will start for the Phillies. First pitch scheduled for 1:15pm central time at Busch Stadium and game TV broadcast will be available via Cardinals.tv.

Yankees 4, Mariners 1

Eastbound and Down: Bryan Woo, 0.28 WPA

Weston and Wilson: Michael Rucker, -0.47 WPA

Game thread comment of the day:

Alright Fritz. Fine.

It’s Tuesday night here at BCB After Dark: the grooviest hang for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in out of the heat. There are cool people in here. There’s no cover charge. We have a few tables still available. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Last night, I asked you which team was most likely to claim the second National League Wild Card? The vote wasn’t too close as 50 percent of you picked the Phillies. The Diamondbacks just snuck past the Padres for second place, 23 percent to 22 percent.

On Tuesday nights, I don’t generally do a movie essay. But I always have some time for jazz, and that time is now.

Tonight we are honored to have trumpeter Freddie Hubbard in 1989 performing “The Night has a Thousand Eyes.” Peter Washington is on double bass, James Williams plays piano and the drummer is Tony Reedus.

Welcome back to everyone who skips all that jazz.

Rick Sutcliffe said something on social media a couple of weeks ago that’s stuck with me.

I’m the kind of person who thinks that managers get too much credit when things go well and too much blame when things go poorly. I do believe that managers make a difference, both good and bad, but the influence is normally small. I do think a bad manager can do a lot more damage to a team than a good manager can help one. Sometimes what we think is a good manager is just someone who isn’t quite as crappy as the guy before him.

But in this case, I gotta agree with Sut. I don’t need to tell you that this year’s Cubs team was decimated by pitching injuries. Things were ugly in May. But Counsell kept the boat afloat through the storm and managed to find some starters and relievers who could keep games close enough for the offense to win. When Pete Crow-Armstrong struggled early in the year, he didn’t bench him against left-handers. Bregman did get off to a poor start to his Cubs career (at least by his standards), but Counsell stood by him and now he looks like his same old self. Hoerner’s mid-season struggles seem to be over. I know a lot of you wanted the Cubs to bench Ian Happ and yes, Counsell did give him an off-day here and there. But the rested and refreshed Happ is starting to look like his old self as well.

Everyone says Counsell is a wizard with the bullpen. Except Counsell. He thinks that’s overstated. But he’s been forced to use 13 different pitchers to record saves this year. He’s put together a bullpen with chewing gum and piano wire.

Now, with the Trade Deadline passed, the Cubs have several reinforcements for those injured players just as the injured players returned. And over the past several weeks, the Cubs have been the best team in the National League, at least as far as wins and losses go. And I don’t think any other metric really matters.

So I’ve got to give Counsell an “A.” But what do you give him?

Thank you for coming in. We always enjoy having you stop by. Get home safely. Call a ride if you need one. Recycle and cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow for more BCB After Dark.

Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing went through the second-opinion carousel — “opinions on opinions,” as he put it — after his elbow started bothering him on Aug. 2 while playing catch in the outfield before a game against the Red Sox.

“We then come to an agreement that surgery is not necessary,” Rushing said Tuesday. “So, we’re going to rehab the muscle on the inside of my forearm. And the details as to timeline, I don’t really have any for you. But at the same time, I can say it feels 10 times better than it did a week ago. And as soon as I can be throwing a baseball, I will be.”

Rushing said that Sunday was the first time he’d felt pain while throwing — “didn’t feel a pop or anything, but felt pretty serious as it kind of tightened up on me a little bit.”

Manager Dave Roberts said last week that Rushing’s MRI scan showed a slight ulnar collateral ligament tear. Rushing added Tuesday that something similar had appeared on previous scans, without symptoms.

“It’s something we’ve known about, but it hasn’t gotten worse over the years,” Rushing said. “And so it puts my arm in just a fine spot, and obviously, we just worry about the muscle.”

Strengthening the surrounding muscle and addressing the inflammation in the area should help stabilize and take pressure off the inside of his elbow.

On Monday, Rushing started swinging, which he said didn’t bother his elbow. His eventual throwing progression will give him and the Dodgers more information on his availability the rest of the year and any potential offseason interventions — “I don’t think [surgery] will be necessary,” Rushing reiterated when asked specifically about the offseason.

While Roberts said last week that he thought the chances of Rushing catching again were “very small,” Rushing was more optimistic.

Read more:Shaikin: The Shohei Ohtani Economy: A two-mile ride to Dodger Stadium, for $85

“Yeah, if I can throw, I’m going to be able to catch,” he said. “So I’m not too worried about it. And two months at least of playing baseball, and that’s what I’m going to worry about at the moment. And when the season’s over with, and we have another World Series, then we can worry about what the next step is.”

Klein hopes to avoid surgery

Dodgers reliever Will Klein hopes to avoid surgery to remove the loose bodies in his right elbow.

“We’re going to rehab and let the inflammation calm down and get back to where it’s manageable this year and try to build back up and see where that puts us,” he said. “It’s feeling a lot better right now. So that’s encouraging.”

Klein has been on the injured list since the start of the month, with what the Dodgers called right elbow discomfort. The Athletic was the first to report a more specific diagnosis.

Klein said he’d known about the small pieces of bone in his elbow, which had previously been manageable. But they’d calcified and become larger, causing inflammation.

His exact timeline to return is in flux, but Klein is scheduled to start throwing weighted plyo balls this week.

“I’m going to do everything I can to get back and pitch again this year,” he said.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Yankees offense was held in check for six innings before exploding for four runs in the seventh en route to a 4-1 win over the Mariners on Tuesday night.

Here are the takeaways...

-Weathers was dealing again. The southpaw mowed down the Mariners lineup, allowing just one hit and two walks in the first five innings, even retiring 10 straight batters at one point. 

The game changed in the sixth when Randy Arozarena took Weathers deep with a one-out short-porch homer. It's Arozarena's 18th career home run against the Yankees.

Weathers went 5.2 innings (106 pitches/62 strikes), allowing the one run on two hits and three walks while striking out four. 

-Bryan Woo came into Tuesday's game with a 4.31 ERA (a 6.27 ERA on the road), and those numbers improved because of the Yankees' lifeless offense. 

To the Yankees' credit, they were on Woo's pitches early, narrowly missing home runs on a number of at-bats, but the right-hander threw five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out five. 

-The Yankees' best chance came in the seventh. A leadoff double from Luis Garcia Jr. and a single from Jazz Chisholm Jr. put runners on the corners with no outs. George Lombard Jr. struck out and Chisholm stole second. Spencer Jones walked in front of Ryan McMahon and the Yankees third baseman hit an opposite-field single to drive in two. Austin Wells dropped a single in to load the bases for Trent Grisham. The veteran outfielder did his best McMahon impression, going opposite field to drive in two more.

-After Weathers, the Yankees bullpen kept the Mariners bats down. The combination of Tim Hill, Brent Headrick and David Bednar pitched 3.1 scoreless innings. Here's how it broke down:

• Hill: 1.1 IP
• Headrick: 1.0 IP, 2 K
• Bednar: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 K

-Lombard went 1-for-4 and continued to show his major league-level defense. 

Game MVP: Ryan McMahon

McMahon's two-run single gave the Yankees the lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Highlights

George Lombard Jr. with the barehand! pic.twitter.com/gxgFmsM48H

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 11, 2026

BIG MAC.

Ryan McMahon gives the Yankees the lead! pic.twitter.com/4bJK82tLxc

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 12, 2026

Trent Grisham brings home two more! pic.twitter.com/0wXb61cAcX

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 12, 2026

What's next

The Yankees and Mariners continue their three-game set Wednesday night. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.

Will Warren (8-6, 4.18 ERA) takes the mound against Bryce Miller (4-6, 3.08 ERA). 

Pope Leo XIV was famously in the stands at the 2005 World Series, back when the Chicago White Sox were a team that won things. He's kept the faith since, which for a Sox fan is saying something.

The Dolton native turned first American-born pope got his tribute Tuesday night when the White Sox hosted the Cincinnati Reds. There were over 40,000 pope hats, enough for the fans and even players, handed out before the game. There was even a special one made for the White Sox mascot South Paw. The pointed mitre in black and green with a Sox logo on it were such a popular idea they had to expand it. Initially it was a typical "first 1,500 fans," but ticket sales tripled withing a day of the announcement.

Former Mets general manager Jim Duquette has one simple solution for David Stearns to fix the Mets’ issues next season.

Sign Tarik Skubal in free agency.

During an appearance on the latest episode of The Post’s “The Show” podcast with Jon Heyman, Duquette identified the Mets’ rotation as his biggest concern and questioned whether Stearns’ approach to building a pitching staff can work in the Big Apple.

“My biggest concern is in their rotation,” Duquette said. “… The philosophy that David Stearns has had just doesn’t work in New York. There’s too many variables if you don’t get some certainty in the rotation, like what the Yankees have and the Dodgers have.

“They have to sign Skubal. I don’t see any other way out of this if they don’t get Skubal.”

Skubal, who was traded to the back-to-back reigning champion Dodgers before the deadline, is expected to garner a record-breaking deal on the open market this winter. 

The southpaw has won the American League Cy Young in each of the past two seasons, and has posted a 2.93 ERA across 18 outings so far in 2026. 

The big-spending Dodgers and Yankees, who also pursued Skubal before the deadline, are expected to be in the mix for his services this offseason.

The Mets’ rotation has been a sore spot for the team this season, posting a 4.46 ERA heading into Tuesday’s play, which was the ninth-worst mark in baseball. 

The failed experiment with Freddy Peralta, who was traded to the Rays after a disastrous stint in Queens, didn’t help. 

Peralta, who was expected to slot in as the Amazin’s ace after coming over from Milwaukee, pitched to a 4.99 ERA with the Mets in 22 starts before the trade.

Blake Snell looks for his first win of the season, facing the Royals and veteran Michael Wacha.

Tuesday’s game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Royals
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
• Start time: 7:10 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

The Atlanta Braves lost a disappointing game one to the New York Mets last night and we looking for a rebound behind Martín Pérez who struggled against the Mets in July. Interestingly, Pérez faced the same opponent he did last month, Nolan McLean who pitched a great game.

Pérez had a solid first inning. In the past Francisco Lindor had absolutely dominated him, and so had Bo Bichette. Lindor singled but Francisco Lindor got Bichette to ground into a double play to end the top of the inning. The first did not go any better for the Braves as McLean sat them down in order.

For some reason the Mets had Luis Robert hitting cleanup, so he led off the second with a pop up. Initially it looked like Jim Jarvis made a great play to get Benge out, but after review he hit a single. After another induced pop up, things got a little messy with a walk to Alvarez. Pérez was able to settled down and strike out off-season acquisition Polanco to end the top of the second. It looked like the Braves may get something going in the second when Harris led off with a single, but then he was caught stealing followed by two more outs.

Pérez got through the third unscathed in terms of runs. He walked his nemesis Lindor, but that was the only offense by the Mets. The third was another inning much like the second. Yastrzemski led off with a walk to look like the Braves may get some offense, but then that was the only base runner.

Pérez continued to look sharp in the fourth. Benge had his second single of the night off of him, but Pérez sat down the rest of the hitters to include a strikeout to Alvarez, avenging the walk he gave up earlier. The Braves continued to look anemic in the fourth. Even Harris, the only payer with a hit to this point for the Braves, struck out. The side was retired. Pérez avenged his teammates in the fifth though, and did he exact same thing. The Mets were sat down in order.

The Braves finally broke through with a single swing of the bat when Albies smoked a no doubter to the chop house on the second pitch he saw to make the score 1-0. It was the only offense of the inning, but it was all that was needed.

In the sixth, we saw some more strand rate magic for Martín Pérez. After a Lindor groundout he gave up a walk followed by a single to put runners on the corners, but then got Benge to ground into a double play, preventing any runs. It is a good thing he did, because yet again the Braves were sat down in order in the sixth.

Didier Fuentes came in to pitch the seventh. Martín Pérez avenged his last start against the Mets with 6.0 innings of four hit ball that were all singles and lowered his season ERA to 2.96. Fuentes sat down all three hitters to include a strikeout. The Braves finally looked like an offense that wanted to win in the seventh after McLean was removed. Olson walked and then advanced on a wild pitch, Harris moved him over to third on a groundout. Albies then walked. Dubón then did what he does best, have clutch contact by recording a sac fly to make the score 2-0. Lane Thomas then came in to pinch hit and walked. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, but then Robert made a fantastic leaping grab at the wall to rob Riley of a two RBI double.

Dylan Lee came in to pitch the eighth and did Dylan Lee things by retiring the side to include a strikout to lower his ERA to 1.99. The eighth inning is where the Braves iced it. Jarvis was retired but then Baldwin walked. Acuña hit the balled extremely hard, but Robert made another fantastic read on the ball. Then, Matt Olson stayed red hot and hit an absolute tank of a two-run bomb to make the score 4-0. His HR went 423 feet.

Harris singled and Albies did his signature pop up to end the eighth. Iglesias came in the game and had no problem sitting down three hitters with a four run lead. He had struggled some this season in those situations so it was nice to see him come through.

The key to the game was Martín Pérez limiting hits and the offense coming through against the bullpen. The Braves look to do it again tomorrow.

ATLANTA — August’s dog days have nothing on Nolan McLean. 

At a time of the season when concerns about a rookie starting pitcher’s workload might arise, the right-hander appears on his game. But that alone couldn’t get the Mets a victory Tuesday night. 

With their previously sizzling bats cold, the Mets lost 4-0 to the Braves at Truist Park for their second loss in eight games on this road trip. 

McLean surrendered one hit — a homer to Ozzie Albies — over six innings, allowing one run on a night he retired 16 straight batters to begin the game. He struck out three and walked two while extending his workload for this season to a career-high 136 ²/₃ innings. Last year he combined to pitch 113 ²/₃ in the minors and major leagues. 

“I think a lot of it is working out in between your starts, not changing the routine even if you don’t feel the best,” McLean said of his crispness. “Just getting in the weight room and getting after it to keep the strength up. And then early in the year we talked about throwing too much in between starts and just being mindful of your chronic workload in between starts as well.” 

Interim manager Andy Green indicated that McLean, at 85 pitches, might have returned for the seventh inning if the Mets had the lead. 

“[But] he’s thrown a lot of pitches his last number of outings, so 85 pitches, six innings, one run and one hit, that’s a good day’s work for him in August in his first year,” Green said. 

McLean’s rebound from a shaky start last week in Cleveland was a welcome sign. Thursday, he had his worst start of the season, surrendering five earned runs over five innings. 

Overall, he’s pitched to a 3.42 ERA in 24 starts this season. 

“There’s still a lot of work to do,” McLean said. “There’s a lot of games left this season. I wouldn’t say the body of work is finished. I can learn every time we go out there and each lineup is completely different, too. So, I think it proposes a good challenge every time we go out there on how to navigate lineups multiple times through the order. The goal is to keep learning from that.” 

The Mets had averaged 7.1 runs over the previous seven games, but on this night were stifled by lefty Martín Pérez. They were also shut out in their other loss on this road trip, Saturday in Pittsburgh. 

A.J. Ewing’s full-extension, diving catch racing toward the foul line in left field deprived Mauricio Dubón of a hit to conclude the second inning. McLean raised his right arm to celebrate the play. 

Albies homered leading off the home fifth, jumping on an 0-2 fastball and clearing the right field fence to give the Braves a 1-0 lead. 

The Mets wasted an opportunity in the sixth, putting runners on the corners with one out before Carson Benge grounded into an inning-ending double play against Pérez, who before the night concluded extended his scoreless streak to 18 innings. The lefty allowed four hits and three walks over six innings, departing after 82 pitches. 

“[Pérez’s] change-up was really special,” Green said. “We didn’t make the appropriate adjustments to it. He only left a couple of them up.” 

Jefry Yan walked Matt Olson and Albies in the seventh. Dubón’s sacrifice fly extended the Braves lead to 2-0. The lefty Yan was removed with two outs in the inning after walking Lane Thomas. 

Chayce McDermott allowed a two-run homer to Olson in the eighth that sank the Mets into a 4-0 hole. Olson’s homer was his 35th this season, which tied him for the major league lead with Kyle Schwarber, Yordan Alvarez and Junior Caminero.

When Dalton Rushing and Will Klein initially went down with injuries over the last couple weeks, there was fear they could each need surgery and that their seasons were potentially finished.

On Tuesday afternoon, however, both Dodgers players struck considerably more optimistic tones while discussing their recoveries, holding out hope of making full returns this year without going under the knife.

“The main worry is getting back on the field for the last however many weeks of the season,” said Rushing, the backup catcher who suffered a slight tear to the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow.

“I’m gonna do everything I can to get back and pitch again this year,” added Klein, the right-handed reliever battling bone spurs/loose bodies in his elbow.

For now, Rushing seems like the slightly safer bet to be back in some form –– though his chances of catching again this season remain up in the air.

While his elbow injury won’t preclude him from hitting (he said he has already resumed swinging a bat barely a week removed from going on the IL), the road to regaining full arm strength (a requirement to play behind the dish and throw out base runners) will be a longer one.

Manager Dave Roberts previously said Rushing would be shut down from throwing for roughly 4-6 weeks, and described the second-year slugger’s chances of catching again this year as “very small.”

On Tuesday, however, Rushing expressed more confidence in his chances of getting back to 100% in time for the playoffs; grateful that after several rounds of medical evaluations, “we came to an agreement that surgery is not necessary.”

“We’re going to rehab the muscle on the inside of my forearm,” said Rushing, who added that while his UCL has been flagged in medical imaging before, he’s never actually dealt with an injury in his elbow. 

“The details as to timeline [to return], I don’t really have any for you. But at the same time, I can say it feels 10 times better than it did a week ago. And as soon as I can be throwing a baseball, I will be.”

If Rushing can’t return to catching –– the Dodgers added two other catchers at the trade deadline as insurance, and remain confident that Will Smith will eventually come back from his neck injury –– the former top prospect could still serve as a left-handed bench bat for a right-handed-heavy Dodgers offense down the stretch.

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But first, he is eager to get into a throwing progression, see how his arm responds, and exhaust every effort possible to remain an option behind the plate.

“If I can throw,” he said, “I’m gonna be able to catch.”

Klein is also hopeful of being able to throw again this year, even after he was diagnosed with some calcified bone debris in his right elbow.

Typically, such injuries require a clean-up procedure –– which in Klein’s case, would likely sideline him for the rest of the season.

Since going on the injured list at the start of August, however, Klein said his arm is already feeling “a lot better,” with his inflammation subsiding to the point where he can resume a plyoball throwing program in the coming days.

“Try to build back up,” Klein said of his plan, “and see where that puts us.”

Klein didn’t want to blame all of his recent struggles on his elbow injury (he allowed 13 runs, eight of them earned, in his final six outings before going on the IL). But he acknowledged it had impacted his ability to cleanly finish his throw.

“Some of the ‘snap’ wasn’t there like it had been early on in the year,” said Klein, a 2025 World Series hero who had a 2.29 ERA in his first 30 appearances on the season. 

His goal now is similar to Rushing’s: Rest up, let the injury continue to heal and come back just in time to reclaim their spots on the team’s roster.

That’s no guarantee. With Klein’s status specifically, Roberts said he was “hoping” but “wouldn’t say hopeful.” But, given where both players were when they first got hurt, it’s at least something to cling to.

“We’ve got two months, at least, of playing baseball,” Rushing said. “That’s what I’m going to worry about at the moment.”