It’s one of the biggest two-year rebounds among modern-era teams that lost at least 110 games.
USA TODAY analyzed ballclubs two seasons after a 110-or-more-loss season and found that Chicago currently has the third-best, year-2 winning percentage in the modern era (1901 or later).
Better than the White Sox’s current .524 winning percentage is the Baltimore Orioles, who went 52-110 in 2021 and then posted a 101-win, .623% season in 2023.
The 2013 Houston Astros also held a better second-year season: After going 51-111 in 2013, Houston went 86-76 in 2015, good for a .531 winning percentage.
All told, only four of the 21 previous 110-loss teams with a completed second season finished above .500.
Chicago could be the fifth to join that subset if it doesn’t suffer a collapse in the final weeks of the season. To surpass .500, the White Sox will need to go at least 16-20 the rest of the way.
The other two clubs that improved to a winning record were the Boston Braves/Bees in 1935-37 and the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2021-23. The 1932 Boston Red Sox also managed to reach .500 in 1934 but did not pass it.
Every other team had a losing record in year two.
However, it’s notable that 20 of the 21 teams analyzed did improve upon their 110-loss record two years later. The one that didn’t: the New York Mets, who went 51-111 in 1963 and then 50-112 in 1965.
In terms of postseason success, only the 2023 Diamondbacks went on to win a multi-game playoff series; Arizona went on to lose the World Series to Texas that year.
The 2015 Astros and 2023 Orioles also reached the postseason, but neither won a multi-game series (Houston did win the AL Wild Card game, however).
So, if the White Sox were to make a deep playoff run reminiscent of their 2005 World Series win — the last time Chicago won a postseason series — they’ll need to buck another trend. But, as it turns out, this team is already used to ignoring historical precedent.
Methodology: Modern era (1901 or later) teams with 110 losses or more and their corresponding record two seasons later were pulled from the MLB Stats API. The 2025 Colorado Rockies team that went 43-119 were excluded from the analysis because they have yet to reach their year-2 season. The 2026 White Sox record is current through August 19 games.
TORONTO, ON - MARCH 28: Oakland Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers (23) celebrates his grand slam with teammates, outfielders Denzel Clarke (1) and Tyler Soderstrom (21), and infielders Max Muncy (3) and Nick Kurtz (16), as Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk (30) looks on in the top of the seventh inning of an MLB game between the Oakland Athletics and the Toronto Blue Jays on March 28, 2026, at Rogers Centre in Toronto, ON. (Photo by Mathew Tsang/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Happy Thursday everyone! Friday is right around the corner.
Things have gone south of south recently for our A’s. Alone in first place in the American League West as late as May 26th, the club has since cratered. With how bad the AL was this year even hovering around .500 would have been enough to be playing meaningful baseball in September. Instead the club is the last team in the sport still looking for their 50th win as the Athletics own the worst record in the sport. Calling a minor league stadium their home add insult to injury, and currently they’re hoping to avoid a four-game sweep to the Royals this afternoon.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The team had the bones of a good squad. The A’s were a darkhorse playoff contender in many people’s minds, but what happened? Let’s briefly look back at the fate of all of our Opening Day starters.
Catcher Shea Langeliers: All-Star starter, now out for the year
First baseman Nick Kurtz: All-Star “starter”, now out for the year
Second baseman Jeff McNeil: 14% worse than league average, now playing first base part-time
Third baseman Max Muncy: struggled, demoted, returned, demoted again, now learning the outfield
Shortstop Jacob Wilson: took a step back this year, now injured and likely heading for shoulder surgery
Left fielder Tyler Soderstrom: was having a solid season, now out for the year with hip surgery
Center fielder Denzel Clarke: struggled before injuries cost him majority of season
Right fielder Lawrence Butler: hitting .211 after rushing back from double knee surgery
DH Brent Rooker: struggled before injuries cost him majority of season
If you had told me at the beginning of the year that that would be the ultimate fate for the Opening Day starting nine, I’d have called you a pessimistic jerk. That couldn’t happen to all of them by August. Alas, we’re living in the worst reality concerning our A’s. While the pitching was always suspect the offense was supposed to be a massive strength this season. Instead the club is middle of the pack in the league in most offensive categories.
There’s room for optimism though! We know how talented this position player group is when they’re healthy and firing on all cylinders. That evidently wasn’t in the cards this year with injuries affecting nearly every single Opening Day starter. Injuries are apart of the sport and every team deals with them, but the injury bug would not leave the A’s clubhouse this year. That just compounded the problem areas of the team and made the weaknesses much harder to overcome.
It’s going to come down to how lucky are the A’s. None of the injuries seem to be cause for long-term concern but you never know. No team is this unlucky back-to-back years so just getting all of our guys back next season should improve the club. The new general manager would be smart to remember how bad the injuries got this year though and act accordingly. Just because the A’s are a young team doesn’t mean they don’t need serious major-league quality depth.
We got the game starting here soon with first pitch at 11:10. Have a great day A’s fans.
Almost certainly won’t be seeing De Vries make his big league debut this season now:
Change of plans. Just been told that Leo De Vries is now being placed on the 7-day IL with a shoulder issue…. https://t.co/sGl778P549
— Bill Moriarity – A's Farm (@AthleticsFarm) August 19, 2026
Won’t be long until we see Arnold at the big league level:
Check out A’s top pitching prospect and our prospect of the day Jamie Arnold talking to Chris Townsend on A’s Cast Live @athleticscast24 from earlier today… https://t.co/jXuHil3Wg2
— Bill Moriarity – A's Farm (@AthleticsFarm) August 20, 2026
Recent first rounder Drew Burress is looking legit so far:
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 16: A detail of a Wilson glove and Los Angeles Dodgers hat in the dugout during a game against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium on April 16, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Between Easton Shelton’s record-breaking performance and Tyler Glasnow demolishing Triple-A hitters, there is plenty for us to talk about in action on this past Wednesday across the Dodgers’ minor league affiliates.
Player of the day
What do you say of a hitter with more runs batted in than games, one who broke a team’s record with time to spare? Easton Shelton had another one of his dominant performances, now reaching 105 RBI on the season, putting him past Cody Bellinger’s 2015 campaign for the most ever by an Ontario Tower Buzzers player.
Easton Shelton made Dodger Prospect history and surpassed Cody Bellinger’s 103 RBIs in California League season (2015)!
Right after Shelton’s 35th home run of the season to hit 104 RBIs, he launched a double in his next at-bat to bring in two more runs and now sits at 106 🤯 pic.twitter.com/sPYZwpxujf
For the second time this month, Shelton homered in back-to-back games. Even though the batting average has taken a hit as of late, no pun intended, the production is still very high given the amount of power he brings to the table.
Triple-A Oklahoma City
Tyler Glasnow made it clear he is ready to return to the big leagues, as he toyed with the Space Cowboys in an outing in which he allowed just a lone hit and run. Pulled after 5.1 innings and short of 80 pitches, Glasnow struck out nine, but that one run was enough for him to be the losing pitcher of record in a 2-1 defeat.
On the other side of the pitching matchup, Jason Alexander might not have been as dominant, but he was even more effective with five scoreless. The only run the Comets would score came on a Hyeseong Kim solo shot in the ninth inning.
As ready as Glasnow is to be back in the bigs, reliever Ben Casparius is not, once again allowing multiple walks in an outing, responsible for the other run the Space Cowboys scored.
Double-A Tulsa
Holding the Sod Poodles to just one run through nine, with multi-inning scoreless appearances out of the bullpen from Carson Hobbs and Jacob Kmatz, the Drillers still couldn’t avoid the 4-1 loss in extras. Starter Zach Root had a knack for navigating through trouble, allowing just one run in four innings despite a 2.00 WHIP in the game.
What’s unsettling about this loss is that even though the Drillers had a terrible offensive performance as a team, it’s not as if the whole lineup was lost all the way through. Each one of the nine hitters reached safely at least once; they just failed to do so when it mattered most.
High-A Great Lakes
The Loons scored more runs than the Drillers and Comets combined, but they also found a way to be underwhelming through the vast majority of the game in a 6-5 loss. Each side had a five-run rally early in the game, and in the seventh, an RBI single allowed to cleanup hitter Kerrington Cross cost the Loons the win.
Virtually all of the Loons’ scoring came from shortstop Emil Morales, with a grand slam in the fourth, one of four hits Morales recorded in the game. Meanwhile, none of the other batters in the top five of the Loons’ order recorded a hit in this one.
Class-A Ontario
Need an RBI? Call 0800-Easton Shelton, and he’ll provide immediate assistance. The young first baseman now sits alone with the most runs driven in for a Dodger player in the California League, overcoming one of the more notable Dodger prospects of the last 15 years, Cody Bellinger.
Leading the way as the Tower Buzzers overcame an early 3-0 deficit, Shelton hit a solo shot in the fourth and then added a couple more RBI in the fifth to hand Ontario their first lead in this one.
Getting a day off from the field, Joendry Vargas shined as the team’s designated hitter as well, the only other player besides Shelton to record a multihit game.
Transactions
The Tulsa Drillers placed left-handed pitcher Luke Fox on the IL.
Wednesday’s scores
Sugar Land 2, Oklahoma City 1
Tulsa 1, Amarillo 4
Fort Wayne 6, Great Lakes 5
Ontario 7, Inland Empire 3
Thursday’s schedule
4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Will Gagnon) at Fort Wayne (Carson Montgomery)
5:00 p.m. PT: Tulsa (Aidan Foeller) vs. Amarillo (Avery Short)
5:05 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (Gavin Stone) at Sugar Land (Mike Burrows)
5:35 p.m. PT: Ontario (TBD) vs. Inland Empire (Jack Bowery)
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - AUGUST 19: Yandy Díaz #2 of the Tampa Bay Rays celebrates his two-run home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning of the baseball game at Tropicana Field on August 19, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Yankees kept pace in a crowded American League playoff picture Thursday, felling the Orioles 5-3 on the strength of an eighth-inning rally to take their third straight. It was a mixed bag for their competition, with an intra-division matchup between the first place Rays and a Blue Jays squad still very much in the mix the marquee showdown.
Among the (many) other AL Wild Card hopefuls not listed below, Tigers closer Kenley Jansen blew a save opportunity and was walked off by the Pirates, Kody Clemens led the Twins to a sweep of the first-place Braves, and the Rangers were shut out by the Nationals, ceding the ever-changing last Wild Card spot to Minnesota in the process.
Tampa Bay Rays (76-50) 7, Toronto Blue Jays (62-66) 6
The AL-best Rays continued their torrid pace Wednesday, squeaking out a one-run victory against the Blue Jays, who still sit within a game of the third AL Wild Card spot despite the loss. It was not a banner day for two name-brand starting pitchers. Drew Rasmussen, the Rays’ ace who earned his second consecutive All-Star nod this year and carried a 2.78 ERA into play Wednesday, allowed just one run entering the fifth before imploding. After starting the frame with a strikeout, he allowed six of the next seven batters to reach first base in a textbook station-to-station rally that scored four more.
Fortunately for him and his Rays, Rasmussen was staked to a 7-1 lead before that inning got out of hand. Max Scherzer, the 42-year-old future Hall of Famer in the midst of a lost season, was torched yet again. Yandy Díaz started the party in the first with a two-run blast that traveled 414 feet out to center. The Rays’ offense exploded in the fourth, tacking on five more runs with some small ball of their own that ended Mad Max’s night. Wednesday’s game brought his ERA to 7.40 through 11 starts, calling into question the viability of inserting him every fifth day for a team clinging to its playoff hopes.
Nine-hole hitter Charles McAdoo brought the Blue Jays to within one with an RBI double in the sixth, but that’s where the score would stay. Three Rays relievers combined to throw 3.1 scoreless innings after McAdoo’s double, with Bryan Baker working around his own leadoff error in the ninth to secure his 36th (and a Rays record 25th straight) save of the season.
The two teams will face off in a rubber match at 1:10 ET Thursday, with Ian Seymour and Shane Bieber slated to start for the Rays and Blue Jays, respectively.
Other Games
Chicago White Sox (66-60) 3, Chicago Cubs (74-54) 0
The White Sox blanked the Cubs to avoid a sweep at the hands of their crosstown rivals. After Sean Newcomb pitched two innings to open the game, José Urquidy was the star of the show, holding the Cubs to two baserunners across six innings of work.
The South Siders struck first in the sixth on an RBI single off the bat of Andrew Benintendi, adding a pair of insurance runs in the eighth on a double from rookie Braden Montgomery. The pair of former Mets acquired by the Cubs at the deadline were their bright spots, with Tyrone Taylor recording both of their hits and Clay Holmes limiting the White Sox to one run in 5.1 innings.
Up next, the White Sox will keep their interleague run going, hosting a scuttling Braves squad for a one-game makeup before the Mets come to town for a three-game weekend set.
Arizona Diamondbacks (67-61) 7, Boston Red Sox (68-59) 6
The Red Sox came within a run of sweeping the Diamondbacks, falling just short in extras. After they were staked to an early 2-0 lead on homers by Nick Sogard and Jarren Duran, starter Payton Tolle and reliever Greg Weissert allowed five unanswered runs, punctuated by a two-run homer off the bat of the newly acquired Lars Nootbaar in the sixth. Mickey Gaspar answered back in the bottom half of the inning, swatting a three-run dinger to knot things up at five. That’s where the score would stay until the 10th, when Arizona scored two off Jovani Morán before the Red Sox were able only to plate their Manfred Man as old friend Jonathan Loáisiga closed things out.
After a day off Thursday, the Red Sox will continue their homestand, hosting a feeble Giants squad for a three-game series.
San Francisco Giants (52-74) 1, Cleveland Guardians (61-66) 0
Those feeble Giants toppled a playoff hopeful Wednesday, riding their much-maligned pitching staff to a shutout victory. Adrian Houser pitched five innings of bulk relief, with rookie Victor Bericoto knocking in San Francisco’s only run while Willy Adames collected three hits.
Parker Messick was excellent for Cleveland, holding the Giants to a single score in 6.2 innings of work to drop his season ERA to an exemplary 2.54. But his offense went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, dooming his strong showing. The two teams will decide the series tomorrow.
Houston Astros (64-63) 3, Los Angeles Angels (50-77) 2
The Astros surged above .500 with a narrow win against the Angels. The scoring kicked off with a third-inning homer off the bat of Houston’s Christian Vázquez. After the Halos took a one-run lead in the top of the fourth, Houston answered back with a pair of their own runs in the bottom half of the inning, taking a 3-2 lead they would not relinquish. A series of five Houston relievers twirled 5.1 innings of scoreless ball to secure the victory, with Josh Hader pitching around a leadoff walk to notch his 18th save of the year.
So much feast and so much famine in 2026. 10-game winning streaks, a 10-game losing streak. A few prolonged winning periods. A few prolonged losing periods. On the net, the winning has significantly outweighed the losing, but still frustrating. The Cubs have dropped four of seven. A speed bump not particularly notable. But it is exactly the kind of reason why I haven’t gotten overly excited as the Cubs got within striking distance of the Brewers. It’s been a long time since the Brewers have had an extended downturn. Probably a few years. Maybe I’m forgetting a stretch or two. They aren’t going to come back to us. We have to run them down.
A week like this. The Cubs have scored 22 runs over seven games is why we have trouble keeping up with them. You might have noted the Brewers scored 22 runs in a game this week. It happens. It happens. It happens. I could fill a jar with donations every time I have to type those words. A journeyman not quite starter shut the Cubs down for six innings in this one. He wasn’t particularly stretched out, but the Cubs got no traffic and really didn’t make him work. And he was able to get deep into the game. It happens.
It always feels like either the Cub offense is completely overmatched or everyone is running for the bat rack looking to get some swings in while they are routing someone. The nine games before this seven, the Cubs were 8-1 and scored 67 runs. That stretch includes a series against the back-to-back champs. Wild. It comes. It goes. It’s gone right now.
Off day Thursday, then gotta gear back up. The Fangraphs team schedule feature shows upcoming probabilities. I’m amused looking ahead with them. They aren’t particularly accurate. Though in fairness, they are probabilities and if you really understand probability, a 60/40 matchup can look like a huge edge, but of course there is a lot of variance in there. Anyway, this upcoming six game trip to Seattle and Arizona looks at best like two wins. That’s taking a 50.6 percent game as a win when that’s basically a coin flip. Two teams fighting for playoff spots. They aren’t going to go away easily. It’ll be into September probably before anyone might show any amount of let up. Maybe the Reds series at Wrigley right before the end of the month, but I’m not banking on that.
I didn’t talk much about this game. But the team didn’t accomplish much of anything. I’m still impressed with Clay Holmes. And Alex Bregman played a good shortstop third base, to be sure. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a third baseman field so many balls in front of the shortstop. But it was a day where you saw all of the skills that have led to a previous gold glove there. Actually, you would expect that maybe he’d have won one or two more.
Let’s hit the numbers and then turn the page and try to forget this one.
Three Positives:
Tyrone Taylor had a single and a double (and a baserunning blunder) before leaving the game.
Seiya Suzuki took two walks.
Clay Holmes was less sharp than the last time, but allowed only one run over 5.1 innings.
Mini hat tip to one of my favorite pitcher accomplishments. Caleb Thielbar faced one batter and recorded two outs thanks to a pickoff.
Game 128, August 19: White Sox 3, Cubs 0 (73-53)
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
Goat: Ryan Rolison (-.179). 0.2 IP, 5 BF, 2 H, BB, 2 R
Kid: Alex Bregman (-.121). 0-4
WPA Play of the Game: Pete Crow-Armstrong batted with a runner on second and no outs in the sixth inning, the Cubs trailing by one. He lined out to right field and Tyrone Taylor was out trying to advance to third. (.177)
Cubs Play of the Game: Colson Montgomery batted with a runner on first and no outs in the fourth. He struck out and Braden Montgomery was caught trying to steal second. (.090)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Game 127 Winner: Alex Bregman 69 of 82 votes.
Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)
The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.
Pete Crow-Armstrong +27
Alex Bregman +21
Shōta Imanaga +14
Trent Thornton/Carson Kelly +13.5
Phil Maton -10
Edward Cabrera -12.5
Jameson Taillon -13
Dansby Swanson -17
Caleb Thielbar -18.5
Scoreboard Watching: (will return following Friday’s game)
Up Next: The Cubs face the Mariners (59-67). As crazy as it is, the Mariners are only three games out of the last wild card spot. No caps here as the Twins are presently holding that third slot at two games under. I wasn’t sure we’d see a wild card with a losing record at three wild cards, but here we are. Almost everything that could go wrong for the Mariners has this year. But they are still 33-29 at home. So, no real push over.
Matthew Boyd (8-2, 4.02) will be next up for the Cubs. He got rocked last time out against the Cardinals, allowing seven runs over 5.1 innings. He’ll look for a bounce back here. Emerson Hancock should be due for the Mariners. Hancock (7-7, 3.30) has been quite good. Even better over his last seven (2-3, 2.89, 37.1 IP). So this is a tough matchup. He won his last game at Houston, allowing two runs over seven.
When the Cubs get into the Mariner pen in this series, the Mariner pen is 20th in team ERA (4.24). They’ve converted just 28 of 48 save opportunities. The Mariners have used fewer innings out of the bullpen than any other team, by a comfortable margin. The Cub bullpen, for instance, has thrown about 80 more innings (in three more games). So expect the Mariners to be patient with their starters.
The Mariner offense is 27th in team OPS. So this is where you rely on your pitching staff to shut it down.
It’s not going to be easy, but go find a couple of wins.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - AUGUST 19: Nick Sogard #20 of the Boston Red Sox turns a double play over Corbin Carroll #7 of the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at Fenway Park on August 19, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) | Getty Images
On Monday here at Over The Monster, Jake Reiser already asked “how do the Red Sox incorporate Roman Anthony, Trevor Story, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa?” But as we’re learning from this roller coaster Red Sox season, roster construction is both a complex and fluid beast that evolves by the day, and yesterday was a particularly interesting one.
But as compelling as it is to focus on all the guys coming back, something really interesting happened yesterday with all the guys who don’t want to leave. Namely, Nick Sogard, Jarren Duran, and Mickey Gasper all hit a home run. This is pretty amusing because you could argue that all three of these guys are at the top of the list in terms of people about to lose playing time when the cavalry comes back.
Gasper feels like the first man off the roster when somebody gets added. So what does he do this week? Hits a home run in every game of a three game series after have only having two major league home runs in his entire career (and none with the Red Sox). How about Jarren Duran? Do you think he feels Roman Anthony breathing down his neck? He went deep in the third inning yesterday.
And then there’s Nick Sogard, who is under pressure from the return of both Story and Kiner-Falefa, and led off the scoring with a home run of his own in the bottom of the first inning. But even before that long ball, Tyler Milliken was noting how much of a winning ballplayer Sogard has become, and I agree. At this point, Sogard needs to survive the upcoming roster tsunami. He does way too many little things to not be included as the bench/utility guy when all the dust settles.
Either way, isn’t it fascinating how human beings work? The guys on paper who all stand to get less playing time soon (or even get completely displaced off the roster) end up swinging the hottest sticks.
So with rehab assignments underway and a roster reshuffle immanent, where do you guys in the OTM community stand on this ever changing topic today? Use this thread to talk about that and whatever else you’d like, and as always, be good to one another.
Two first place clubs, the Chicago White Sox (66-60) and the Atlanta Braves (74-53) take the field in the Windy City this afternoon. The Sox lead the AL Central by four games over the Twins. The Braves lead the Phillies by 4.5 in the NL East. This game was originally scheduled for June 11 but was rained out.
The Braves arrive in Chicago after a difficult three-game series against the Minnesota Twins. Atlanta dropped all three games as they struggled to get the timely hit the entire series scoring just seven runs in the three games. Yesterday, they did plate four, but starter AJ Smith-Shawver was not good. The 23-year-old righthander allowed four runs in just 4.1 innings. For a team averaging just under 3.2 runs per game over their last 12 games, the results on the mound were simply not good enough.
Run production has rarely been a problem for the White Sox this season. Their issues have more often been on the mound. Yesterday, though, a trio of hurlers combined on a two-hit shutout of Pete Crow-Armstrong and the Cubs in a 3-0 win. It was a bullpen game for the ChiSox. Jose Urquidy came on in relief of Sean Newcomb to start the third and threw six shutout innings allowing just two hits while striking out eight. Grant Taylor pitched the ninth for his seventh save. Braden Montgomery drove in a pair with a double in the eighth to secure the win.
Anthony Kay (9-5, 4.01 ERA) takes the ball for Chicago while Grant Holmes (7-5, 3.82 ERA) is expected to start for Atlanta. In his most recent outing, Kay allowed three runs over 5.1 innings last Saturday in Motown. It continued a stretch in which the southpaw has not allowed more than three earned runs in any of his last ten starts and has allowed three runs just three times in those ten outings. Right-hander Grant Holmes was torched in his last start allowing six earned runs over just 3.2 innings last Saturday against the Diamondbacks. Prior to that start, however, Holmes had not allowed any runs in his previous two starts (12 innings) and had not allowed more than three earned runs in an appearance since May 1.
Lets dive into today’s matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game Details and How to Watch: Braves vs. White Sox
Date: Thursday, August 20, 2026
Time: 2:10PM EST
Site: Rate Field
City: Chicago, IL
Network/Streaming: MLB.TV, BravesVision, CSN
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The Latest Odds: Braves vs. White Sox – August 20
The latest odds as of Thursday courtesy of DraftKings:
Moneyline: Atlanta Braves (-108), Chicago White Sox (+101)
Spread: Braves -1.5 (+149), White Sox +1.5 (-181)
Total: 8.5 runs
Starting Pitchers and their Stats: Braves vs. White Sox for August 20
White Sox: Anthony Kay Season Totals: 121.1 IP, 9-5, 4.01 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 98K, 44 BB
Braves: Grant Holmes Season Totals: 117.2 IP, 7-5, 3.82 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 97K, 51 BB
Who’s Hot? Who’s Not! Braves vs. White Sox
Lane Thomas is 4-9 in his career against Anthony Kay
Matt Olson is 2-10 over his last 3 games and has struck out once in each of the three
Drake Baldwin saw his 6-game hitting streak snapped last night (0-5)
Miguel Vargas is riding a 6-game hitting streak (10-24)
Munetaka Murakami last night snapped a string of 6 straight games in which he had struck out at least once
Braden Montgomery picked up a couple hits yesterday and has now hit safely in 5 of his last 6 games (8-25)
Anthony Kay has struck out 4+ batters in 4 of his last 5 starts
Grant Holmes has struck out 4+ batters in 4 of his last 7 starts
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Top Betting Trends & Insights: Braves vs. White Sox
The White Sox are an MLB-best 76-50 on the Run Line this season
The Braves are 67-60 on the Run Line this season
The OVER has cashed 59 times in games involving Atlanta this season (59-62-6)
The OVER has cashed an MLB-best 71 times in games involving the White Sox this season (71-53-2)
Expert picks & predictions: Braves vs. White Sox for August 20
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for today’s game between the Braves and the White Sox:
Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is recommending a play on the White Sox on the Moneyline.
Spread: Rotoworld Bet is staying away from a play on the Run Line.
Total: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total OVER 8.5.
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 01: Spencer Jones #78 of the New York Yankees slides into third base covered by Kevin McGonigle #7 of the Detroit Tigers during the eighth inning at Yankee Stadium on July 01, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Caleb Bowlin/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Tuesday night’s series opener against the Orioles followed the exact same script that we’ve seen the last several weeks with the Yankees. A comatose offense, an elite pitching staff, a close game late, and a battle of the bullpens where every run matters. In the seventh inning, when the Yankees ultimately found the go-ahead runs with a two-run single by Trent Grisham, I thought about some things at the start of the rally.
Spencer Jones started it with a single off Shane Baz, representing the go-ahead run. With the team’s innate struggle to score runs of late, I immediately thought of the possibility of the guy who is regarded as the fastest player on the team being put in motion to give you three cracks at a runner in scoring position. Instead, over the next two at-bats, Jones stayed put, only advancing to second on George Lombard Jr.’s single.
This wound up not mattering due to Grisham’s heroics, but what if he didn’t come through against the lefty? While trying not to fall victim to Michael Kay’s fallacy of the predetermined outcome, if Jones ran on a relatively poor thrower in Carlos Narvaez and got to second, he would’ve scored easily on the slow grounder through the left side.
It’s not the first time I’ve felt something like this watching the Yankees (try to) hit. As much as the optics look bad when you mess up on the basepaths, the Yankees are just not good enough offensively to trust themselves to get runners over and hit them in right now. With the most athletic roster they’ve had in quite a long time, the Yankees need to lean into their speed and use it to push the envelope offensively, even if it means risking more outs on the bases.
For much of the season, it was part of the Yankees’ identity to leverage their speed. Through the Fourth of July, the Yankees were second in all of baseball in stolen bases with 92, leading all American League teams by at least 10. They had a teamwide Baserunning Runs (BsR) of 5.8, which was already their highest since 2017 while at the season’s halfway mark. It was a stark reversal from years past, when baserunning was perhaps the least important aspect of the game to them.
Fast forward six weeks, and things have changed. Since July 5, they’ve slowed their pace of stolen bases to eighth in baseball with 28, but the more stark decline is going from one of the best baserunning teams in baseball to the worst, recording -1.6 BsR in six weeks, a number that rivals the old, unathletic Yankees teams we saw a few years ago. This is coming with the most athletic roster the team has ever had, particularly with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton on the shelf due to injury.
There have been times when the Yankees are not as willing to push the envelope on the basepaths, likely due to the game situation. With the offensive struggles, they don’t want to risk giving away outs, which might make them intuitively less aggressive in certain situations. This doesn’t stop the speedy guys who get great jumps from stealing, but it tries to eliminate risk. Despite this, the team’s success rate has declined from a rate of 77.9 percent to just 70 percent while attempting just 1.08 stolen bases a game, compared to 1.34 before. Declining both efficiency and quantity is a no-go.
The decrease in BsR may also be correlated with the flip side, being too aggressive to try and steal a run. Two recent examples include Ryan McMahon attempting to advance to third last week against Seattle on a botched relay to ensure Jazz Chisholm Jr. scored, and this near-perfectly executed play by José Caballero to stay in a rundown long enough to get Chisholm to score an insurance run.
Both of these plays symbolize a team that wants to ensure they can get a singular run, at the expense of a larger rally, due to their current capabilities, but the second one was significantly wiser than the first and is the sort of thing you want to see. Not only did Charles McAdoo get the tag on by only a millimeter, but if Caballero didn’t slip on the rundown, he would’ve been safe at second while simultaneously scoring Chisholm. These are the kind of plays and the kind of players that you want to do this with.
The Yankees don’t have baserunning savants that can make slower players threats on the bases like Antoan Richardson did with Juan Soto last year in Queens, but they do have speed. On any given night, they boast at least three plus-plus runners: Chisholm, Caballero, Jones, and Lombard. These guys have some problems getting on base, for sure, but there have been situations almost nightly where they can contribute.
Getting thrown out trying to steal a base is brutal, especially for an offense that is struggling to score, but the upside is tremendous. One of these fast players leading off an inning with a walk or single and immediately getting into scoring position gives you three opportunities with RISP. Chisholm leads MLB in steals of third base, where the Yankees as a team are the best in baseball at (24-for-27). Those are especially valuable with less than two outs.
There’s also a formula that shows it’s worth it to have some risk attached. Look at the AL East-leading Rays. They almost always lead the league in outs on the bases and currently sit fifth this year while also being picked off a league-high 16 times. They get thrown out at home more than anyone but the Nationals. For a team that’s seen as the beacon of fundamental baseball, they make these mistakes way more often than the Yankees, but they do it with a method of aggressiveness that overall makes them a net positive.
Baseball Savant has more complex baserunning stats that show another side to this. The most aggressive teams in the sport at taking the extra base are among the best in their version of Baserunning Runs, while teams that are more passive are towards the bottom. The only thing that really stands out here with the Yankees is that they have -4 BsR on steals of second, which tracks with their mediocre 73 percent rate of successful steals. Part of that is likely dragged down by Cody Bellinger’s struggles this year (9-for-15) and Caballero’s propensity to overslide and get picked off.
All of this is an exercise in measuring risk. Is the benefit of trying to take the extra base and maximize RISP opportunities for an offense that consistently strands them worth the downside of giving away outs in an already perilous situation? For at least the time being, it just might be.
DENVER, CO - AUGUST 18: Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tanner Scott (66) reacts after a defensive play to end the game in the ninth inning during a game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on August 18, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Edwin Diaz’s time with the Los Angeles Dodgers has not been what any of the parties had hoped for. Diaz on Tuesday went on the IL for neck inflammation, his second stint on the IL with his new team so far this season.
On Wednesday, Diaz went for neck imaging, and the MRI showed the “best case scenario”, according to manager Dave Roberts. He went on to say that the injury seems to be more muscular than nerve related.
“I think he’d been feeling the tightness in his neck,” Roberts said. “But I think where it went to the other night, he hadn’t felt that sensation. So that’s what really checked him up.”
Roberts surmised that the closer would not be shut down very long for throwing, that it could only be a couple of days.
Maddie Lee of the L.A. Times has more information on the injury here.
Patrick Saunders of MLB.com also covers the Diaz injury, as well as who will be the closer while he is out. That man is Tanner Scott.
“His stuff, right now, today, is as good as it’s been all year,” manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday before the finale of a three-game series against the Rockies at Coors Field. “Right now, it’s easy to say that he’s our best reliever and most consistent reliever. I certainly see him as our closer.”
Scott already has the team-high saves for the season with 17, in 19 opportunities.
“Man, Tanner doesn’t complain,” the skipper said. “He’s always ready, wants to pitch, wants to help his teammates, his team, and certainly, given how last year went, for him to come back and right the ship.”
Hunter Feduccia was out of the Dodgers lineup on Wednesday, after he left Tuesday’s game early feeling ill.
“We’re just trying to hydrate him,” Roberts said after Tuesday’s game. “He’s got this stomach bug or food poisoning, something like that. He was scuffling all game, and he went as long as he could go. Obviously, he’ll be down (Wednesday). But he gave us a great effort.”
With Feduccia out and a lefty on the mound, the Dodgers did a little lineup shuffling. Freddie Freeman was moved down to the four slot, and Max Muncy and Tommy Edman were both given the day off, although both were available off the bench.
Owen Perkins of the OC Register covers some more details on Diaz as well as other updates to the lineup here.
The National League Most Valuable Player award race is going stupid hard right now. It is the definition of a dead heat, with Pete Crow-Armstrong and Shohei Ohtani vying for every inch of territory for an award that most (myself included) had already declared for Ohtani in early June. We have walk-off home runs, questions about how much half a season of pitching matters and ESPN features interviewing MLB players about what they think. It’s an NL MVP industrial complex, and I’m here to add my two cents. Maybe three, and (spoiler alert) I don’t think this race is as close as people are making it out to be.
Buckle up, because this will be a distillation of a number of personal passion points in baseball analytics and discourse. Frankly, I think Ohtani is obviously the MVP, and I reject the arguments being made in PCA’s favor. And I’m going to convince you I’m right with the fire of 1000 suns.
If I wanted to bet my two cents instead of putting them in writing, Crow-Armstrong (-165) and Ohtani (+140) are essentially tied on FanDuel, with only a narrow edge for PCA because of a recent, visible surge (all these stats are current as of Wednesday morning). Ohtani’s odds have tailed off because he hasn’t been pitching lately, but he did rack up 3.0 pitching WAR with a 1.79 ERA before his injury in early July and has thrown down a .949 OPS just for fun; because, ya know, he’s Shohei Ohtani.
The fact that Crow-Armstrong is even in this race is astounding, given that a player who is essentially Yordan Alvarez and Paul Skenes rolled into one should really never not win the MVP award. But Ohtani not even pitching 90 innings this year has apparently flipped things in favor of PCA, whose centerfield defense has captured the imagination of millions and whose chase for 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases has vaulted him narrowly above Ohtani. So has voter fatigue, given Ohtani has won the last three NL MVP awards, and PCA giving him a challenge is bound to give him bonus points.
You could argue that a 40-40 season, of which there have only been six in MLB history, should automatically grant you the MVP award, but you’d be surprised. Ohtani won it with his 50-50 2024, Ronald Acuña Jr. did too in 2023 with his 40-70 campaign and Jose Canseco won it in 1988 with the first ever such season. But the middle three: 1996 Barry Bonds (fifth in MVP voting), 1998 Alex Rodriguez (ninth in MVP voting) and 2006 Alfonso Soriano (sixth in MVP voting) all didn’t even come close. A-Rod and Bonds led their leagues in WAR those seasons too, but it didn’t matter at the time.
This might just be me, but I don’t think a 40-40 season (which PCA does not have yet, mind you) is more impressive than half a season of Cy Young pitching and a 155 wRC+ Silver Slugger-tier masterclass. Stolen bases are a supremely overrated statistic in baseball, and PCA’s 30+ stolen bases have only added about TWO runs for the Cubs all year. Ohtani added 21 runs as a pitcher in 82 ⅔ innings.
Now, you will retort, PCA plays some of the best centerfield defense we’ve ever seen, and you’d throw my run value crap right back at me and say “PCA has racked up 24 fielding runs above average!” You will also say that, because of this fielding prowess and because Ohtani does not play in the field, PCA’s WAR (we’re using fWAR for all of this because I like it better) blows Ohtani out of the water, with PCA’s 8.4 beating Ohtani’s 7.1 and running away fast — Ohtani is not accumulating any pitching WAR while PCA continues to farm fielding stats.
Here’s the thing about fielding stats, though: PCA is obviously a generational centerfielder, all you have to do is watch one single Chicago Cubs game to know that, but these metrics leave a lot to be desired. I need you to trust me through this next part and not fall asleep:
fWAR, which we’re using (and which the recent ESPN article about this debate used, weirdly, since ESPN’s own leaderboards use bWAR) is based on Outs Above Average (OAA, which PCA leads the league by far in). bWAR, the other flavor, has Ohtani closer to PCA because it is based on Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), which PCA is 10th in the majors in, behind two other centerfielders: Ceddanne Rafaela and Andy Pages.
OAA really just measures how a defensive player turns batted-balls into outs. DRS, calculated by the Fielding Bible, supposedly measures a whole lot more than that, but they also do not make it easy to check their work given we have an idea of how their formula works … but it also isn’t actually published anywhere. Still with me? Okay. What that all means is that PCA is maybe the best defensive player in the league. But it’s definitely not a slam dunk, and I think pro-PCA arguments cherry-pick fielding data that fits their agenda.
Ohtani, meanwhile, has no such fielding data to cherry-pick. He is disadvantaged by his position, given that you have to be a better hitter as a DH than you do as a CF to accumulate WAR, and these metrics aren’t built to parse that Ohtani is literally a pitcher as well. That reality is flying completely under the radar in this discussion.
PCA and Ohtani are both having roughly equal hitting seasons. Crow-Armstrong is indeed a much more impactful baserunner and fielder, and Ohtani (again) is a pitcher who just hasn’t pitched in a while. This whole debate boils down to your opinion about which thing is more valuable: half a season of godlike pitching or elite centerfield defense and baserunning? Even ignoring underlying contact-quality stuff that suggests Ohtani is actually a much better hitter and would lead me to believe he will have a better final month-and-a-half, I will take half a season of godlike pitching, please and thank you.
Finally, there’s the conceptual argument, which I will briefly make because I think it hammers the Ohtani case home. Is it humanly possible to disagree more about the definition of a word than sports fans disagree about what “valuable” means, specifically as it pertains to “most valuable player” awards?
Some smart alecks will tell you that “valuable” just means “the player with the most value to their team,” but that is probably best defined by trade value, or the guy who would command the largest return in a trade. That is not how MVP awards have ever been doled out, and a far better title would be “Best Player” or, if you want to be needlessly verbose (I usually do), “player who had the best season.”
Put simply: I don’t think it’s possible to be prime Jacob deGrom for half a season and peak Paul Goldschmidt for a full season AS ONE SINGULAR PERSON and not have “the best season.” I mean that with all due respect to PCA, but 82 ⅔ innings of that pitching just knocks everything else out of the picture for me. Ohtani is, for all the stats, the most unique, the most impressive, the most completely ridiculously impossibly stupidly good. The most, say it with me now, valuable.
“Oh, what a (couple of) night(s)!” as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons (almost) sang!
A historic lead-off and walk-off home-run Monday night by Pete Crow-Armstrong, followed by another lead-off HR by PCA and a pair of game-tying and game-winning RBI singles by Alex Bregman Tuesday definitely gave the two games a play-off feel.
I think it is normally is best for the Cubs if the hitting and scoring is scattered among the players, keeping everybody either hot, or at least really warm. And that causes a lot of stat-juggling over two games to determine the best performer over the period.
It’s cut-and-dry (and no surprise) in this article. Crow-Armstrong and Bregman combined to go 10-for-19 with four walks, three runs scored, six RBI, two doubles and three home runs.
PCA led the way, with the three home runs, going 5-for-8 with three walks, three runs scored, four RBI and a double. While PCA was the showman, Bregman was the workman, churning out five hits in nine AB with a walk, a double and the two huge RBI singles.
There were a few more key hitters over the two games. Seiya Suzuki and Michael Busch each joined PCA with a first-inning solo home run on Monday and Tuesday. Nico Hoerner went 4-for-5 with 2 RBI on Monday. And Carson Kelly, who entered the game late Tuesday for Miguel Amaya, hit a lead-off double in the bottom of the ninth and eventually scored the winning run.
On the pitching side it was a mixed bag, but overall a good pair of starts. Shota Imanaga pitched extremely well Monday, as he allowed just two hits and walked three over six innings while striking out 10. However, he had to give up his obligatory home run — unfortunately it was of the three-run variety, but the Cubs were able to overcome it. Kevin Gausman had to battle a painful-looking cramp on his glove hand, which shortened his outing to 4.1 innings. He allowed the Complimentary Starting Pitcher Solo Home Run (CSPSHR from now on), but otherwise scattered seven hits and two walks while striking out five.
But the two big pitching performances were Javier Assad’s emergency scoreless three innings in relief of Gausman. And Jacob Webb picking up his fifth and sixth wins of the year with a scoreless inning of work in each game.
Yeah, what a couple of nights, huh?
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Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): Gausman ‘doing well’ after exiting start with cramp in non-pitching hand. “”“I kind of couldn’t even put it in my glove there in the fourth before I got some electrolytes in me. … It’s pretty frustrating, to be honest. First start here as a Cub. Obviously, not what I’m trying to do.”“
Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Jacob Webb Showed Off Some Serious Stones in the 10th Inning Last Night. “Getting through an extra-innings inning without allowing that free runner at second base to score is an ENORMOUS thing.”
Josh Davis (ClutchPoints): Jon Heyman is absolutely right on gripping Pete Crow-Armstrong vs. Shohei Ohtani MVP race. “In one of the greatest MVP races ever, PCA and Shohei each had 4 hits and 2 HRs last night. But PCA homers were a leadoff HR and walkoff HR vs. rival White Sox. Their season stats/achievements are debatable but PCA fairly leads due to incredible narrative/unmatched dramatics”
Chris Pownall (DaWindyCity): Pete Crow-Armstrong believes he has answered Cubs’ biggest concern. “Pete Crow-Armstrong understands exactly what went wrong late last season. His blunt explanation should leave the Chicago Cubs feeling much better about what awaits them this October.”
Robert Calvin Bland (January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby “Blue” Bland, was an American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. He was described as “among the great storytellers of blues and soul music… [who] created tempestuous arias of love, betrayal and resignation, set against roiling, dramatic orchestrations, and left the listener drained but awed.” The inspiration behind his unique style was a Detroit Preacher, CL Franklin, because Bland studied his sermons. He was sometimes referred to as the “Lion of the Blues” and as the “Sinatra of the Blues”.
Bland was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1981, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2012. He received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame described him as “second in stature only to B.B. King as a product of Memphis’s Beale Street blues scene”. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Bland at number 163 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.
Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - JUNE 14: A view of the field after the game between the Cleveland Guardians and the Detroit Tigers was postponed due to pending severe weather at Progressive Field on June 14, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The San Francisco Giants conclude this three-game road series against the Cleveland Guardians this morning.
Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Landen Roupp, who enters today’s game with a 4.31 ERA, 3.62 FIP, with 128 strikeouts to 60 walks in 129.1 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 5-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Friday, in which he allowed four runs on five hits with five strikeouts and three walks in five and two thirds innings.
He’ll be facing off against Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams, who enters today’s game with a 3.74 ERA, 3.59 FIP, with 190 strikeouts to 45 walks in 149 innings pitched. His last start was in the Guardians’ 7-5 loss to the San Diego Padres on Friday, in which he allowed five runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and four walks in four and a third innings.
DENVER, CO - AUGUST 05: TJ Rumfield #7 of the Colorado Rockies bats during the game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on Wednesday, August 5, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Casey Paul/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
It’s not controversial to say that the past few seasons of Colorado Rockies baseball have not featured a good offense. A team doesn’t lose more than 100 games based purely on an inability to pitch. It has also failed to score runs.
Watching the 2026 team, however, the offense has seemed different.
At this point in mid-August, the sample size is large enough to make meaningful comparisons between seasons and determine if that anecdotal understanding is backed up by the data.
To start, the obvious number to consider is runs scored. At the very fundamental level, the only thing that really matters for the offense is if it scored runs. Everything beyond this is just a building block describing how a team is trying to score runs.
Earlier this season, I wrote about the gap between Rockies run scoring at home vs. on the road and how it was smaller than it had ever been in franchise history. What I failed to mention in that piece is the simple fact that the 2026 Rockies are scoring more runs overall than their recent counterparts, a point illustrated by considering the Rockies runs per game.
The 2026 Rockies are scoring 4.81 runs per game, which is a full run more than they did in 2025 (3.69). What’s more, this jump in runs needn’t be caveated by a shift in the overall league offensive environment. The league-average runs per game last year was 4.45 and has slightly increased this year to 4.48 (so far).
The bottom line is this: The Rockies have made undeniable improvement in their ability to score runs this season. If you wanted to stop reading now and just move on with your day, secure in your knowledge that the Rox lineup is actually improved, you’d be fine to do so.
The more interesting question, though, is what parts of the Rockies profile are fueling this improvement?
That answer isn’t easily encapsulated in one graphic. Rather, it is encompassed by a variety of positive trends.
Consider first the Rockies offensive events per game.
The most notable thing about the chart above is the steep decline in the orange line as it reaches 2026. That orange line represents Rockies hitters’ strikeouts per game.
That’s right, Rockies hitters are striking out much less this year.
For all three of the club’s previous 100-loss seasons, their hitters’ strikeout numbers had been hovering somewhere between nine and ten per game, while the league average had hovered around eight and a half. Addressing this strikeout issue has been the stated goal of seemingly every Rockies hitting coach this decade. We have written about it many, many times here at Purple Row.
At long last, Brett Pill and the Rockies lineup appear to have made a tangible dent in the problem. This year, Rockies hitters are striking out 8.57 times per game on average, which is only a smidge above the league rate of 8.35.
Hallelujah!
Less stark than the reduction of strikeouts, is the uptick in all of walks, hits, extra base hits, and even stolen bases per game.
Where the league as a whole has seen slight decreases in all of those categories, other than walks, the Rockies have seen slight increases in all of them.
You read that correctly.
The Rockies went from below league average in every category in 2025 to either at or above league average in all of them this season — again, other than walk rate, which is just below league average.
The caveat to every conversation about Rockies offense, however, is Coors Field.
Raw totals of events like hits and runs are obviously inflated by playing at Coors. The Rockies being roughly league average in raw totals indicates that they are still below average in terms of true talent if one were to adjust for their home ballpark.
wRC+ is an attempt to take the full offensive package of a player or team, including park adjustments, and compare that to an anchored league average figure (100). If we take a look at Fangraphs team stats, we can filter by just the Rockies and compare their past few seasons. Consider, then, the Rockies’ wRC+ over the last decade.
All of the improvements to component parts have added up to a Rockies offense that is much improved over last season. In just one year, they’ve gone from an unthinkable 26% below league average to just nine percent below average.
What’s more, the league run environment adjustments accounted for in wRC+ indicate that this could be the best Rockies offense since 2016. That’s not to say that their lineup has been more valuable in total — the defensive prowess of those late-teens Rox is hard to understate — but at the plate, the 2026 Rockies may be roughly in the same range as the last playoff teams this franchise fielded.
The main takeaway from all of this is just that the numbers back up what we’ve been seeing: Practically every facet of the team’s offensive profile has improved a little bit. Taken as a whole, the Rockies lineup is significantly improved over from where it was a year ago.
Now let’s all ponder what this front office and coaching staff can do with another full offseason to have their developmental changes really sink in. The Rockies aren’t likely to continue improving at this rate, but they only have a small hole to dig themselves out of instead of the gaping crater that they did just last year.
Pacific Coast League baseball at it’s finest was on display in this slugfest.
Four pitchers took the mound for the Isotopes and none of them went unscathed. Valente Bellozo started the game and had the best performance of the night having allowed only three runs in his three innings of work. He was relieved by Mason Green, Jeff Criswell, and Evan Shawver each of whom allowed two runs or more in fewer than three innings each.
The Isotopes hitters had much more fun as they collected 14 hits among them and walked nine times. All told each of Ryan Ritter, Edouard Julien, Sterlin Thompson (No. 16 PuRP), Chad Stevens, and Drew Avans reached base at least three times. Oh, and Roc Riggio (No. 13 PuRP) hit his first Triple-A home run after his promotion last week. The lineup accomplished all of that and still the Isotopes were outscored by four runs. That’s just how the PCL works.
When Hartford starting pitcher Stu Flesland III exited the game before the eighth inning the Yard Goats were winning this game.
Flesland III only allowed two runs on five hits and two walks in his seven innings pitched but saw the lead evaporate with eight Patriot runs scoring in the final two innings. The first three of those were allowed by Nathan Blasick in the eighth and the final five by Victor Juarez in the top of the ninth to put it out of reach.
All the way back in the first inning a three run homer by center fielder GJ Hill had put the Yard Goats ahead. From that point forward the only other run they were able to scrape by came from a sacrifice fly from Cole Messina in the bottom of the sixth. All the while the Patriots were chipping away at the lead until that eventual late inning outburst that sealed the Yard Goats loss.
Spokane lost this game due to the combination of Everett Catlett struggling to find the strike zone in his four innings of work and the Indians lineup failing to record a hit with runners in scoring position.
By the time Catlett was relieved by Case Williams the damage had already been done. Catlett allowed four runs on five hits and five walks on 93 pitches in his four innings. The Spokane bullpen did it’s best to keep the game close with the only other run coming on a ninth inning double allowed by Ismael Luciano but the lineup was not able to mount a comeback.
In terms of the offense, the obvious standout was second baseman Wilder Dalis (Pre-season No. 24 PuRP) who reached base four times but was never able to come around to score. Spokane managed to load the bases with two outs in both the bottom of the sixth and the bottom of the ninth and failed to cash in any of the baserunners. In the sixth, Robert Calaz (No. 26 PuRP) grounded out to end the inning and strand all three runners and then in the bottom of the ninth Ethan Hedges did the same.
Fresno took an early lead in the bottom of the first when Ports pitcher Corey Braun walked Juan Martinez with the bases loaded and then allowed Daniel Jackson to score on a wild pitch. Even after the Ports were able to stop escape the first without any more runs crossing the plate, the Grizzlies held onto the lead for the remainder of the game.
Fresno pitchers combined to allow only six hits and three walks while striking out eight over nine innings. No Grizzlie pitched more innings than starter Sandy Ozuna who managed to get through four with a solo home run to Alex Sosa being his only substantial blemish. Ethan Cole got finished the final three frames of the game for Fresno and only allowed a single hit.
At the plate almost everyone had a pretty good day, partially due to Ports pitchers failing to find the strike zone. Martinez walked a total of three times, Jack Natili (No. 20 PuRP) and Daniel Jackson (No. 12 PuRP) both walked twice themselves alongside collecting two hits, Landyn Vidourek and Cristian Arguelles each had a couple hits and stole a base, and Sebastian Blanco hit his first Low-A home run.
In case you missed the news on Tuesday, Hunter Goodman was officially placed on the injured list after having missed the past several games. The shoulder strain was originally thought of as something that would just need a couple days of rest but as those days started to add up Warren Schaeffer could no longer wait to have a second catcher on the roster. Thomas Harding doesn’t indicate that the diagnosis has changed substantially so ideally Goodman can return after the requisite 15 day period.
I know you can’t get enough of Cole Carrigg and Zac Veen so here’s another piece on the pair of Rockies rookies from Kyle Newman. It compares the excitement and talent both bring to the field with the contrasting paths they’ve taken to reach this point as well as their mindset going into games. Especially interesting is Carrigg’s quotes on attempting to harness his emotions a bit more without losing the competitive fire that comes with them and Veen’s efforts to not take this opportunity for granted given the challenges he’s overcome to get here.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - AUGUST 19: John Rave of the Kansas City Royals has ice water dumped on him after they defeated the Athletics at Kauffman Stadium on August 19, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Reed Hoffmann/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Before the comeback last night, Jac Caglianone left the game with a sore ankle.
That hot streak continued in the first inning of the Royals’ 9-7 win over the Athletics, as Caglianone collected an infield single. Two innings later, Caglianone was hit by a pitch. But in the fifth inning, John Rave unexpectedly pinch-hit for Caglianone, who the Royals later announced had right ankle soreness. Manager Matt Quatraro said the issue first bubbled up over the weekend when the Royals played the Angels.
With new stadium renderings out, there is an interesting thing going on with Crown Vision in the new ballpark.
Eric Hosmer shared a rather cool story about his final game as a Royal.
The Royals scored 7 in the bottom of the 8th inning last night to collect win 9-7 over the Athletics.
The 108.9 mph single Vinnie Pasquantino hit off the top of the right-field fence was hit so hard that it literally made a dent in the padding, a physical reminder of the mark the Royals’ first baseman left on Wednesday’s game.
Inches shy of his second homer of the night, the single still represented one of the three hits Pasquantino logged in the Royals’ 9-7 win over the A’s at Kauffman Stadium, their second consecutive late-game comeback win following Tuesday’s walk-off victory. The Royals have now won four straight dating back to Sunday — one vs. the Angels and three against the A’s — ahead of Thursday’s series finale.
Preston Farr looks into what happened to recently demoted Royals reliever Lucas Erceg.
Philip Ruo of Royals Keep argues why the Royals won’t compete in 2027.
On the other hand, Cory Moen of Royals Keep argues WHY the Royals will compete in 2027.
Pete Alonso hit a go-ahead homer last night, but that’s not what replay said. You be the judge.
Aaron Nola dominated the Marlins last night, continuing his recent resurgence.
The Minnesota Twins move into WC spot after sweeping Braves. WHAT?
Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson (awesome nickname) threw two scoreless innings in his debut yesterday in Cleveland.
Brewers’ prospect’s father catches first pro homer after saying it would happen.
Here is your song of the day Upside Down by Jack Johnson
GREENVILLE, SC - JULY 26: Greenville Drive outfielder Enddy Azocar (44) during a High A Minor League baseball game between the Hub City Spartanburgers and the Greenville Drive on July 26, 2026 at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C. (Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Trey Gibson gave up a lead off homer to rehabbing big leaguer Sal Frelick to begin the game, but then sailed through the first four innings with no other damage. He ran into more trouble in the fifth, where he allowed another run, and then served up three more in the fifth. His final line (six innings, five runs, 10 hits, one walk, seven strikeouts) isn’t great, but it was enough for the win. Luis De Léon made his first relief appearance of the year and managed to toss a scoreless inning despite issuing three walks. Codi Heuer took the save after tossing two shuout innings.
Brandon Butterworth gave the Tides an early lead with his three-run homer in the bottom of the second inning, his first long ball at Triple-A. Their other four runs all came in the third inning, when they sent all nine baters to the plate and benefitted from three errors by the Sounds. Jud Fabian and Payton Eeles had two hits each. Fabian’s night included a double, an RBI, and two runs scored. Rece Hinds also doubled and scored a run. Enrique Bradfield Jr., Creed Willems, and Heston Kjerstad each went hitless and walked once.
Have you heard of Joseph Dzeriwa? He’s pretty good! Tossed five innings here and allowed just one run on two hits, a walk, and three strikeouts. His Double-A ERA is down to 1.89 across 76.1 innings. Gerald Ogando may have been even more impressive in relief, striking out five in his two shutout innings. Tyson Neighbors, on the other hand, had a tough night, giving up three runs without recording an out. Jeisson Cabrera came on as a fireman and allowed two of the inherited runners to score before ending the inning. Alex Pham was called on to keep things tied in the ninth inning, but was unable to do so. He gave up three runs on two hits (including a home run) and a walk.
Fernando Peguero led the Chesapeake offense with a 3-for-4 night that included a two-RBI single in the eighth inning, plus a stolen base. Vance Honeycutt, playing in his second game at Double-A, went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base as the DH in the game. Griff O’Ferrall added two hits and an RBI. Tavian Josenberger doubled, walked, stole two bases, and scored twice. Wehiwa Aloy went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.
High-A: Frederick Keys 12, Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals) 9 – Game 1 – F/7
The Keys scored 12 runs on 18 hits and four walks in just seven innings of baseball. Enddy Azocar outpaced everyone with four hits, including a home run, and three runs scored. Jordan Sanchez had two hits, two RBI, and three runs scored. Leando Arias led the team with four RBI, three of which came in on his second-inning home run. DJ Layton doubled, walked three times, and scored twice. Ethan Anderson, on a rehab assignment, had two hits. Braylin Tavera had three hits. Both Colin Yeaman and Yasmil Bucce hit two doubles. Bucce also drove in four runs.
There was less good news on the pitching side of things. Christian Rodriguez allowed four runs across his five innings of work. Brendan Parks worked one inning and allowed one run, but also struck out three. Chandler Marsh took the ninth inning and gave up four runs before wrapping up the game.
High-A: Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals) 8, Frederick Keys 4, – Game 2 – F/7
Randal Diaz, who didn’t play in the first game of the day, was Frederick’s most productive hitter in the night cap. He had two hits, a home run and a double, drove in two runs, and took a walk. Azocar singled, walked, stole two bases, and scored a run. Arias had an almost identical line, but stole just one base. Braylon Whitaker went 1-for-2 with a double and a walk. Layton walked and stole a base.
Evan Yates started on the mound. He went five innings but also allowed six runs (five earned) on six hits, two walks, and four strikeouts. His ERA jumped up to 4.30 on the year. Ben Vespi worked the final two innings in which he gave up two runs but neither was earned.
Delmarva had plenty of runners on base in this one. As a team they collected 11 hits and six walks, which presented them with 14 at-bats with runners in scoring position. Jaiden Lo Re led the team with three RBI as part of his 2-for-5 performance that included a double. Stiven Martinez left the park with his 11th home run of the year, a solo shot in the fourth inning. He also walked twice and scored twice. Ty Head had two hits, a stolen base, a run scored. Eric Booth Jr. went 1-for-4 with a single, a walk, an RBI, a run scored, and two strikeouts.
The Shorebirds starter, Holden deJong, severed up four runs on five hits, three walks, and six strikeouts over 4.1 innings during his up-and-down start. Jake Dykhoff took the win by giving up just one run (unearned) on four hits, a walk, and one strikeout over 4.2 innings.
