Category: Baseball

We are closing in on September call-up season, and to be honest, it snuck up on me. On September 1, rosters expand from 26 players to 28, meaning the Kansas City Royals can add two more guys to the Major League roster. Last September was an exciting time; the Royals called up then-#2 prospect Carter Jensen, and we got to see the young catcher start his career on a high note.

I don’t think the Royals will call up someone quite as high-profile as Jensen this season. Most of their top prospects are lower in the minor league system and farther away from the majors. Still, the opportunity to evaluate fresh talent is always exciting, and we’re doing our best to stay excited and engaged around here. So, who are some of the players Kansas City might call up this September?

Guys we’ve already seen

Josh Rojas – Rojas is the only minor-league position player currently on the 40-man roster, making him a logical candidate to come up. However, as fun as his first game as a Royal was, this wouldn’t be the most thrilling addition.

Lucas Erceg – The Royals could really use 2024 Erceg back. It’s hard to say whether a brief stint in Omaha fixed his mechanics, but perhaps a quick mental reset was all he needed.

Mitch Spence – Spence issued more walks than strikeouts over the 9.1 innings we’ve seen from him in Kansas City. His Triple-A numbers don’t exactly blow you away either, but he’s on the 40-man, and the Royals are almost certainly going to add at least one arm.

Easton McGee – I have no memory of McGee’s 5.1 innings that he’s pitched for the Royals. The internet tells me he surrendered two home runs in just four appearances. He does manage to rack up a decent number of strikeouts, at least.

Carlos Durán – Durán would easily be the most electric arm of this group to get the nod. He might not always know where the ball is going, but he throws absolute heat and has put up impressive strikeout numbers in the minors.The Royals have prioritized getting big guys who throw the ball hard and Durán fits this mold. 

You can never have too many pitchers

Nolan Hoffman – Acquired from the Phillies in August, the southpaw generates plenty of groundballs alongside a solid strikeout rate, though command remains an issue. Hoffman also had more walks than strikeouts during his few innings with the Philadelphia Phillies this year. 

Luke Little – Little is a 6-foot-8 lefty who sits at 95 mph with truly wild command. A staggering 21.1% of the batters he’s faced in the majors this season have reached base via walk or hit-by-pitch. I kind of want to watch the chaos.

Steven Zobac – Zobac is currently in Double-A, but the Royals added him to the 40-man roster over the offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. Unfortunately, he was placed on the Injured List earlier this month, and with his injury past, they probably won’t rush him back.

Tony Gonsolin – Gonsolin just started his rehab assignment, striking out three over three scoreless frames. A September 1st call-up might be overly aggressive, but he could be an option later in the month as injuries pile up elsewhere. I’m ready to be way too excited about Gonsolin for 2027. 

Extra bats

Brett Squires – Squires has posted an OPS right around .900 across both Double-A and Triple-A this season. He primarily plays first base, a position that’s already crowded on the big-league club. I think he will be mashing overseas in a few years, but you never know.

Gavin Cross – Cross just returned to Omaha following an injury and immediately homered in his first game back. His overall numbers may look just okay, but he’s hitting .332/.386/.629 with 12 home runs in his last 46 games. He’s been locked in since July and would easily generate the most buzz among the fanbase if he gets the call.

Lucas Braun – Acquired from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Lane Thomas and Bailey Falter, Braun looks like a candidate to compete for rotation starts next season. Getting a brief MLB look at the end of the year would make a lot of sense.

Carson Roccaforte – Having just earned a promotion to Omaha, a September jump for Roccaforte seems unlikely. Still, the center fielder could push for a roster spot next spring thanks to his elite defense and some power that produced 30 home runs at Double-A. I wonder how close Roccaforte is today to giving the Royals the same production they get out of Kyle Isbel. 

Who would you like to see the Royals call up next week? Let us know in the comments!

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It's a small seven-game MLB slate on Thursday, but one that's headlined by a massive National League matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves.

Our Covers experts bring you the best MLB picks on the board, including one for that much-anticipated battle between Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Chris Sale in Atlanta.

MLB expert picks for today

Pick	Odds
Josh Inglis: Royals moneyline	-104odds/odds
Jon Metler: Dodgers moneyline	+100odds/odds
Dustin Saracini: WAS/COL o9.5	-113odds/odds

Prices courtesy of Polymarket.

Josh Inglis' expert pick: Royals moneyline

Price: 51¢ at Polymarket

The Royals failed to record their 10th straight win, but have a big edge today as a slight road dog in the series finale. This Blue Jays offense has been broken all year, and more than 21% of their wins have come while scoring three or fewer runs, like last night, and they could be giving up runs and not having the offense to make up for it.

Spencer Arrighetti lasted just 10 outs in his Jays debut and threw 61 pitches while giving up three runs. His bullpen is more than depleted. I really don't know who's going to be available today, as six bullpen arms threw more than 30 pitches yesterday or have thrown on back-to-back days.

It could be Arighetti to Simeon Woods Richardson for 21 outs, but SWR has thrown 21, 20, and 29 pitches in his last three appearances. The Jays don't have the arms to keep this a low-scoring affair and also have zero left-handed options out of the pen. I have this fair price at 56%.

• Time: 7:07 p.m. ET
• How to watch: Sportsnet

Jon Metler's expert pick: Dodgers moneyline

Price: 50¢ at Polymarket

This is about as close to appointment television as you can get, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto facing Chris Sale in a matchup between two of the NL's best teams. The Braves are going for the sweep today, and I've been on the wrong side of their wins in this series, but I'm going back to the Dodgers on the moneyline. The Dodgers are trading at 50 cents on Polymarket, but I make them closer to a 53-cent favorite, giving us enough of an edge to get back on the Dodgers.

Sale is one of the best pitchers in baseball, but I think the swing paths of several Dodgers hitters give them a better chance to generate offense than the market is pricing in. Sale's sweeping slider can be a nightmare for hitters, but Mookie Betts' compact hands and Freddie Freeman's short, inside-out swing give this lineup the tools to handle his breaking stuff and generate just enough offense to get the job done.

• Time: 7:15 p.m. ET
• How to watch: FS1

Dustin Saracini's expert pick: Nationals/Rockies o9.5

Price: 53¢ at Polymarket

How about some matinee baseball? And how about some early afternoon offense? That's exactly what we're looking at in this pitching matchup between the Rockies and Nationals. Gabriel Hughes, who comes into this one for Colorado having coughed up 22 runs across his last five starts, will be in tough against a team with the third-highest wRC+ in baseball coming off an embarrassing 13-1 loss.

It doesn't get better for Nats starter Jake Irvin, whose 45% hard-hit rate, 5.38 xERA, and .464 xSLG are among the worst in baseball. With a Washington bullpen that ran through five arms last night, this could get ugly quick. I'd play this up to 55 cents at Polymarket

• Time: 1:05 p.m. ET
• How to watch: Rockies.TV/Nationals.TV

More MLB best bets for today

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Friday Jr. has arrived, and we just have seven games to sink our teeth into this evening.

Here are my MLB moneyline predictions for today's small slate, featuring some underdogs in great spots on Thursday, Aug. 27.

Before we dive in, be sure to check out our MLB picks to see where our experts see value!

MLB moneyline picks for Aug. 27

Matchup	Pick
COL vs WSH	+119
BAL vs STL	-121
HOU vs NYY	+146
KC vs TOR	-107
MIL vs NYM	-219
LAD vs ATL	+109
AZ vs SF	-103

Prices courtesy of Polymarket as of Aug. 27.

Expert MLB moneyline picks for Aug. 27

Rockies vs Nationals: Rockies (+109)

Rockies win probability: 44%

It is basically Friday, so why not kick the weekend off early by taking an underdog with some bite?

The Rockies have had a strong week, with Hunter Goodman going back-to-back games with a home run.

Offensively, they sport a .334 wOBA, .749 OPS and 103 wRC+ over their last six games. During that stretch, Washington has just an 82 wRC+, .126 ISO, and a hard-hit rate just under 30%.

Both starters on the mound in this matchup have been pretty brutal, to say the least. Nationals right-hander Jake Irvin has been allowing a ton of hard-hit balls all season long while holding a 5.70 ERA.

Gabriel Hughes has similar numbers, but at least he limits hard-hit and barreled balls, which is why the Rockies (+109) are the look here.

Orioles vs Cardinals: Orioles (-121)

Cardinals win probability: 53%

Let's keep this one nice and sweet. If you have not been paying attention, Pete Alonso and the Baltimore Orioles have been on a heater this week — scoring 21 runs over the past two nights.

Sure, they won 8-7 last night, but I would not even put you in front of this freight train.

Trevor Rogers has had his ups and downs this season, and his most recent outings have been a little queasy, as he owns a 4.04 xERA over his last three starts. However, over his last five, he has a 2.85 xERA and a 3.55 xERA overall on the road this season.

The Cardinals are far better against southpaws, but there is a more attractive bird playing today.

Astros vs Yankees: Astros (+146)

Astros win probability: 41%

There is no interest in paying above $1.60 for Gerrit Cole and the Yankees to secure a win here.

Astros right-hander Hayden Wesneski has strong underlying metrics pointing to improvement, including a 2.78 xERA, 40% hard-hit rate, and 8.89% barrel rate over his last three starts.

This is also a strong matchup for Yordan Alvarez if Cole actually throws to him and does not walk the Astros' biggest offensive threat.

Either way, at nearly +150, it is worth the risk.

Royals vs Blue Jays: Royals (-107)

Royals win probability: 52%

Tears of joy are currently falling, as we get to take advantage of Blue Jays right-hander Spencer Arrighetti, who has been god-awful all season long.

To give the man some credit, he does own a 3.82 xERA across his last three starts. However, during that stretch, he has a staggering 6.75 ERA and 1.50 WHIP.

The Royals' lineup is filled with left-handed power, and with Arrighetti owning a 13.50 ERA, 9.10 xERA, and 8.14 xFIP against the last 30 lefties he has faced, it is the Royals today.

Brewers vs Mets: Brewers (-219)

Brewers win probability: 66%

Jacob Misiorowski. Is that enough? No?

Sean Manaea. Still need more? Fine. 

The Mets and Brewers' bats have racked up similar numbers over the last week, but their pitchers are in different galaxies at the moment. If you live under a rock, the Brewers' right-hander has been wheeling and dealing all summer long.

The Mets' seasoned left-hander currently holds a 5.29 xERA over his last five starts while allowing nearly a 50% hard-hit rate and nearly a 20% barrel rate to opposing hitters. Take the run line. 

For more plays on this game, check out our Brewers vs. Mets predictions.

Dodgers vs Braves: Dodgers (+109)

Dodgers win probability: 48%

Game of the night, as 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Braves southpaw Chris Sale take the mound this evening.

Some may argue the books know something, but football is on; they are asleep. The Braves have had a strong week against the Dodgers. However, you do not get too many games where the Dodgers are underdogs. Take the dog.

Diamondbacks vs Giants: Giants (-103)

Giants win probability: 50%

Both Jose Cabrera and Landon Roupp have been pretty untrustworthy this season, but with how hot the Giants have been over the last week, snagging them at $1.03 to secure the win this evening feels worth backing.

Over their last six games, the team in the Bay has a 129 wRC+, .352 wOBA, and .802 OPS while generating over a 47% hard-hit rate and 12% barrel rate.

Giants.

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RHP Mike Burrows made his third major league rehab appearance with Sugar Land on Wednesday night and tossed 4.1 innings, allowing seven hits and three runs while walking two and striking out seven.

His seven strikeouts marked a high with Sugar Land on his Major League rehab assignment and was his first game with at least seven strikeouts since April 25, when he struck out seven against the New York Yankees while with Houston.

Burrows began his night by retiring the first two batters in the last of the first, but a two-out infield single brought up Joey Meneses, who hit a two-run home run to left field to give Las Vegas an early 2-0 lead.

Burrows bounced back to face the minimum in the second inning before striking out the side in the third and throwing a scoreless fourth to record three straight innings without allowing a run.

In the 5th, he surrendered a leadoff home run to Johnathan Rodriguez before retiring Meneses on a fly ball to center. Burrows was then lifted from the game after 4.1 IP.

Burrows is likely to return to Astros when rosters expand September 1st.

Burrows threw 77 pitches, 52 for strikes. He induced 4 groundball outs and 2 flyouts.

It should be noted that last night’s game took place at Las Vegas Ballpark. The park is known for being an extreme homer haven, with balls soaring through the hot desert air. Last night’s game temperature was 104 degrees.

Every game not started by Cade Cavalli has just become constant pain and misery. Last night, the team stooped to a low, losing 13-1 against the 52-81 Colorado Rockies. Since the trade deadline, this team lost all the spirit and soul that made them an exciting team to watch in the first half. Was it all worth it? I guess only time will tell.

There have been plenty of ugly defeats recently, but last night takes the cake. They came out flat, uninspired and not ready to play. That is an assessment that Blake Butera agrees with me on, saying the team “did not play all that hard” last night.

He has been hesitant to call out the team’s effort during this skid, but he had no choice tonight. While the Rockies were hustling and taking the extra base, the Nats were sluggish. The most notable example of that came when a ball fell in the twilight but Andres Chaparro could not score because he was jogging around the bases and Jose Tena almost got thrown out at second because he was ball watching.

The honeymoon period is officially over for this new regime after the way this month has gone. It may have been a smart move on paper to sell, but the fact the team can’t win a single game that isn’t started by Cade Cavalli is making things awkward. Fans are asking if it was all worth it to break up the best offense in the league for decent but not elite pitching prospects.

From a watchability perspective, things have sure taken a massive hit. That is not just due to the loss of talent either. They also just are not playing the same type of hard charging baseball that made them a likable bunch. Losing 13-1 against the Rockies is not a talent related issue, it is an effort problem as well. 

You can see when a lot of these hitters get out, they are not even mad anymore, just resigned. In particular, that is something I am seeing with CJ Abrams, who is really going through it right now. He is a player who is at his best when he is feeling good and has something to play for beyond just doing his job. Right now, you can see how discouraged he is.

That is not excusing Abrams’ poor performances, but I get why he is unhappy right now. In the midst of a career year, he was asked to change positions while the team around him was collapsing and he had to carry an even bigger offensive load with James Wood out.

Do I wish Abrams handled this all a little better? Yes I do, but it is a tough situation for him and the rest of the team. Vibes are contagious and so is hitting. Right now the Nats do not have any of that for 80% of the games they play.

It is only 80% because that magic comes back every time Cade Cavalli takes the ball. They have been winning when he starts, but that is the only time they win. The last time the Nats won a non-Cavalli start was August 9th. If you take out the Cavalli starts, the Nats have lost 12 games in a row.

The main feeling I have right now is sadness. To see such a promising season totally go up in smoke is such a shame. It felt like the Nats had a direction for the first time since 2019, but that feeling is gone. Maybe that will come back next season with guys like Ben Grable and Connelly Early leading the way, but for now that trade deadline is leaving a bad taste in Nats fans mouths.

Since the Curtis Mead trade the Nats are 9-21 and since the deadline and the James Wood injury they are 7-15. We knew that there would be a fall-off after losing all this offensive talent, but I did not realize it would be this significant. For me, that shows this collapse is more than just the talent that went out of the building.

It also speaks to a leadership void in the clubhouse. Since Mead, Garcia and Griffin left, nobody has stepped into their shoes on or off the field besides Andres Chaparro. The charisma that Garcia brought and the exceptional baseball knowledge that Mead and Griffin brought are badly missed in the clubhouse right now.

As we enter the final month of games, the Nats are a team that is trying to pick up the pieces of what once was a promising season. It feels like we are back to square one where the team is trying to find an identity and there are no signs of contention in sight. Just a month ago, this team did have an identity and a core of offensive pieces, but that has been broken up. 

In the short term, the impact has been disastrous. However, these moves were made with a long term vision in mind. Paul Toboni better be right about these moves being fruitful in the long term because this is ugly. I still have belief in this regime but the honeymoon period is over. They need to win back a weary fanbase and show that this team can become relevant again in 2027 and beyond.

34 Years Ago Today

On August 27, 1992, the Blue Jays acquired David Cone from the Mets in a trade. This was the first of two times the Jays traded for Cone. In exchange, Jeff Kent and Ryan Thompson were sent to New York.

At the time of the trade, the Jays held a 72-55 record, leading the Orioles by two games in the AL East. They finished the season 24-11 after the trade.

Kent played for the Mets until the end of July 1996, after which he was traded to Cleveland. He later joined the Giants, where he blossomed into a star. And recently, he became a Hall of Famer.

He was a solid player for the Mets, hitting .279/.327/.453 with 67 home runs in 498 games—a strong performance for a second baseman.

Thompson played for the Mets through the 1995 season, posting a .239/.300/.417 line with 39 home runs over 283 games.

Cone posted a 4-3 record with a 2.55 ERA in eight games (seven starts) down the stretch for the Jays. He started twice in the ALCS, going 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA, and made two starts in the World Series, finishing with no decisions and a 3.48 ERA.

Winning the World Series ultimately validated the trade for the Blue Jays. Kent likely wouldn’t have received the playing time in Toronto needed to reach the level he achieved with the Giants.

The Jays acquired Cone again at the start of the 1995 season, but that year did not turn out as successfully.

26 Years Ago Today

Darrin Fletcher belted three solo home runs against the Rangers, propelling the Jays to a 6-4 victory. That season, Fletcher hit 20 home runs in 122 games.

Fletcher was a favorite of mine—a left-handed-hitting catcher with decent power. While he wasn’t known for his defense and his arm was below average, pitchers still seemed to like throwing to him.

The win improved the Jays’ record to 68-62, leaving them third in the AL East and 5.5 games back. Ultimately, they couldn’t close the gap and finished the season 83-79, still in third place.

We had some good players on that team:

Teams in need of some late-minute help for their playoff push may be in luck.

The Reds placed third baseman Eugenio Suarez and outfielder TJ Friedl on outright waivers, per The Athletic, opening the door for them to land with a contender for the final month of the season.

Teams can claim either player and assume the remainders of their respective contracts, but they otherwise would stay with Cincinnati if there are no takers in a 48-hour window.

The Reds could also still release both players if they go unclaimed.

While the trade deadline is the final time teams can trade for players since the elimination of the waiver trade period, these kind of moves open the door for players to find new homes.

The Angels caused a stir in 2023 when they placed six players on waivers and five landed with new teams, while the Yankees also lost Harrison Bader to the Reds due to the same mechanism.

Los Angeles’ tactic deviated from the norm due to the startling amount of players placed on waivers and that some of them had been enjoying solid seasons.

The two players the Reds could lose are not having strong seasons, and The Athletic reported that Cincinnati is considering possible financial savings.

Friedl and Suarez are reportedly also not expected to be with the team in 2027.

Suarez, the bigger name of the two, is slashing just .208/.295/.410, although he has 19 homers and 57 RBIs.

The 35-year-old reportedly is owed less than $3 million for the remainder of the year, and has a $16 million mutual option for the 2027 season.

Suarez, a righty, owns a .715 OPS versus righties and a .668 OPS against lefties, which does not offer much value to contending teams.

Friedl, 26, owns a .476 OPS across 253 plate appearances this year and is unlikely to be offered a contract by the Reds in arbitration, per The Athletic.

His shocking OPS makes him one of the worst players in baseball this year since Washington’s Nasim Nunez’s .547 mark is the lowest among qualified players.

The Reds (63-71) entered Thursday nine games back in the NL wild-card race.

Good morning! A few days ago we showed you a poll in which Willson Contreras finished in fourth in an early look at the AL MLVP race. But he wasn’t the only Red Sox player who received votes in that poll. Ceddanne Rafaela, who’s not all that far from Bobby Witt, Jr. in the AL bWAR race, was also named on the ballot. Wilyer Abreu wasn’t, but he’s fifth in the AL in bWAR, just behind Ceddy and ahead of Willson and he could get a vote or two when the real voting concludes.

It wouldn’t be the first time that three Red Sox players received MVP votes in one season, if they all end up on the list. But it is very rare that the Sox land three position players on the list. Last year’s AL MVP race saw Garrett Crochet and Aroldis Chapman receive votes. In 2021, Rafael Devers finished 11th, Xander Bogearts 12th, and Nate Eovaldi 15th. You have to go back to the dominant 2018 team to find three position players who received votes, with Mookie winning the hardware, of course and Chris Sale rounding out the vote-getters. In light of the fact that the roster sure looked weighted towards pitchers from day one — not to mention the fact that the Sox spent much of the season as one of the lowest-scoring teams in baseball — it would be quite the achievement for three hitters to match that 2018 team.

Talk about awards voting and whatever else you want in this space and, as always, be good to one another.

Morning, all!

Former Ranger manager Jeff Banister was involved in a shouting match between Arizona Diamondbacks’ coaches and the Chicago Cubs on Monday after Arizona accused the Cubs of stealing signs.

Apparently the secret to Justin Foscue’s success, like the secret of flying in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, is to not think about it too much.

And speaking of classic literature, Nathan Eovaldi’s return from the IL is a deep, dark mystery that no one has any answers about just like Yossarian’s liver in Catch 22.

And, similar to The Mist, you may think the authors of the 2026 Ranger season are setting up some sort of miraculous ending that gets the protagonists to safety but you would be wrong.

Makenzie Gore followed up Jacob deGrom’s uncharacteristically poor outing with a poor outing of his own, giving up four runs on eight hits and four walks last night.

Dylan Drieling is making AA pitching his bitch.

Shutout wins, high-scoring wins—the Dodgers’ minor-league affiliates had it all in an eventful Wednesday with five games since the Comets had a doubleheader on the schedule.

Player of the day

It didn’t lead to a victory, and just 58 pitches show he still has some ways to go early, but it’s difficult not to get too excited about what Gavin Stone has been doing in Oklahoma City.

Stone has allowed just four hits in 11.2 innings across four starts, and in his previous two outings, we’re talking about a single baserunner in seven innings, walking none and allowing just one hit.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

Stone continues to impress with yet another scoreless outing. Sadly, shortly after Stone was removed from the game, reliever Nick Robertson imploded in the sixth inning to give up the lead. And while the Comets stayed in it thanks to a Hyeseong Kim sac fly in the same frame, they were outscored in the eighth to take the 5-4 loss.

Speaking of talented young pitchers, one of the main differences in the Comets shutting out the Chihuahuas in the other game of this doubleheader was the performance of Bobby Miller. The young right-hander followed a scoreless start from Christian Romero with three scoreless frames out of the bullpen, punching out five and walking none. Cleanup hitter Ryan Fitzgerald hit a two-run bomb as part of a six-run effort.

Double-A Tulsa

Outhomering the opposition four to zip, it’s actually a wonder that the Drillers didn’t build a bigger lead than this final result of 8-4, beating the Rockhounds on the road. Josue De Paula hit his 26th bomb of the campaign and was joined by a ferocious bottom of the order, as ninth-hole hitter Joe Vetrano and seventh-hole hitter Logan Wagner each hit a long ball.

While De Paula made the most out of his sole hit, the other top prospect in the Drillers outfield, Mike Sirota, had a disappointing performance, hitless in five at-bats with three punchouts. On the pitching side, Aidan Foeller walked a batter per inning, but still kept the zeroes on the board through four frames.

High-A Great Lakes

As both teams seemed to score at will in Class A, the story was the opposite down in the home of the Loons. The Great Lakes required just a pair of runs to shut out Lansing on the back of outstanding pitching from Will Gagnon and the bullpen.

One out short of completing five full innings, Gagnon left the win to reliever Seamus Barrett, who overcame his awful 2026 campaign in which he has allowed more runs (47) than innings pitched (44), recording a scoreless frame.

Leadoff hitter Eduardo Quintero scored both runs for the Loons, one on a fielder’s choice and the other on a wild pitch. Quintero also stole his 43rd bag of the year, joined by Emil Morales, who also stole a base and was the only Loons player with multiple hits.

Class-A Ontario

With three separate players recording multiple stolen bases—Javier Herrera, Abel Lorenzo, Kellon Lindsey, each of them without getting caught once—the Tower Buzzers put forth a dominant offensive effort to beat the Ports in a game with 22 runs.

Third baseman Caleb Johnson got the party started early with a three-run shot, and by the end of the third, the Tower Buzzers already led 8-0 on their way to scoring 13 runs. In deflating news, shortstop Jonedry Vargas left this game early after getting hit in the wrist. While sometimes you see a player try to carry on for an inning or two before getting replaced in situations such as this one, Vargas was immediately replaced by a pinch runner.

Starter Jack O’Connor and none of the relievers who followed him delivered what one might call an efficient performance, but Ontario had such a cushion, it still held on to the W with relative ease.

Transactions

The Comets activated right-handed pitcher Chris Campos off the IL.

Wednesday’s scores

• Oklahoma City 4, El Paso 5
• Oklahoma City 6, El Paso 0
• Midland 4, Tulsa 8
• Great Lakes 2, Lansing 0
• Stockton 9, Ontario 13

Thursday’s schedule

• 4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Brooks Auger) vs. Lansing (Samuel Dutton)
• 4:35 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (Cole Irvin) vs. El Paso (JP Sears)
• 5:00 p.m. PT: Tulsa (TBD) at Midland (TBD)
• 7:05 p.m. PT: Ontario (TBD) at Stockton (Colin Fitzgerald)

Welcome to Thursday A’s fans!

The team has an off day today to recuperate and prepare to welcome their next series opponent to Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento. That opponent is the young, and heating up, Baltimore Orioles.

It wasn’t long ago Baltimore had seemingly waived the white flag on 2026. They’ve been hurt by injuries almost as tough as the A’s have this year. At the trade deadline last month the team made arguably the biggest trade on the position-player side of things this year when they sent former #1 pick, All-Star and long-time catcher Adley Rutschman to the division-rival Boston Red Sox for a bevy of prospects.

When they made that deal they were only 2 1/2 games back of the third and final Wild Card spot, but Baltimore was also aware that they were four games under .500 with four teams to leapfrog. It was a sensible decision considering they have a younger catcher in Samuel Basallo locked up to a long-term deal. Rutschman wasn’t the only one dealt, getting shipped out along with outfielder Taylor Ward, reliver Taylor Wells, and starter Dean Kremer. Stock up on young prospects this year and hope for better health and luck next season seemed to be their approach at the deadline.

Since then however Baltimore has played themselves back into things, jumping two teams in the Wild Card race and now just two and a half games behind the Cleveland Guardians for that final playoff spot. They’re coming into this series on a two-game winning streak and looking like a team that’s ready to make a push for the playoffs. It’ll be the A’s job this weekend to be a brick wall and help put those dreams of September baseball further out of reach of the Orioles. And for the A’s, staying out of last place in the league is a motivating factor as well.

We don’t yet have official starter schedules for the series but we have a good idea of some of the arms that’ll be taking the mound this weekend. Friday night’s series opener is likely to see lefty Jacob Lopez. Who he faces is still undecided. It’ll be one of right-handers Brandon Young or Shane Baz. Young has been what the Orioles had hoped Baz would be, though neither are an intimidating matchup on the mound for the A’s. They’re beatable.

Thanks to the off day it could be either right-hander Jack Perkins on Saturday, which would keep the A’s rotation in order, or it could be the veteran lefty Jeffrey Springs, who would be pitching on regular rest. We’ll just have to wait and see how Mark Kotsay and the coaching staff want to approach Baltimore this weekend.

No game today but on the bright side the weekend is almost here. Have a great one guys.

A’s Coverage:

• This key change(up) could unlock big success for A’s prospect
• A’s Take Series With Finale Win Over Twins 7-4
• A’s Even Series with 4-2 Victory
• Separating The Wheat From The Chaff Not So Easy
• Amidst The Despair: The Position Player Talent Is There
• What Are The Next Steps For The A’s? ($)
• Where Each A’s Player’s Contract Stands Entering Offseason
• Why Athletics Will Have Scary Offense in 2027
• Red-hot Bolte looking to build on lessons from rookie season
• Underdog Athletics prospect Cole Conn playing like a big dog for Aviators
• Why The New GM Needs To “Clean House”
• A Seemingly Rock Bottomless Glass
• MLB Trade Grades: A’s Have Quiet Trade Deadline
• This key change(up) could unlock big success for A’s prospect
• Fustercluck 2026: The Real Reasons For A Disappointing Season

MLB News and Interest:

• Astros owner says manager Joe Espada will finish season
• Giants’ Carson Whisenhunt Diagnosed With UCL Tear
• Sasaki exits in 4th inning with right middle finger blister
• Cubs set club record with 30th unanswered run over 3 games
• Ranking the top 10 free agents this offseason
• ‘No excuses’: Pratt pulled for not hustling before Brewers lose on throwing error
• Padres minor league coordinator released from ICE detainment
• Cubs, Austin Wynns Agree To Minor League Deal
• Yimi García Undergoes Thoracic Outlet Surgery
• The hottest hitting prospects right now — one for each club
• Farm systems with the best catching prospects
• From the Bronx to the beach, Yankees exec is headed to TV
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

A couple notable A’s prospects that are heading to the Arizona Fall League:

Early returns are fantastic for the Athletics’ first round pick this year:

Jeff McNeil coming on strong to end the season:

Very true:

A late rally fueled an exciting win for the Yankees on Monday over the rival Astros. A trio of big hits from Cody Bellinger, Spencer Jones, Jazz Chisholm, and a Luis García Jr. homer to cap things off in the eighth and ninth secured the 9-3 win in the Bronx. It was a full slate of games elsewhere, as there was plenty of action around the Junior Circuit.

With a satisfying Yankee win in the fold, let’s take a look at what else went down on a busy Monday.

Tampa Bay Rays (79-53) 3, Detroit Tigers (62-71) 0

Despite a relatively tight score, the Rays were in the driver’s seat for the entirety of this game. They took an early 2-0 lead, thanks to hits from Jonny DeLuca and Cedric Mullins. From there, it was the work on the mound that got things done.

The talented Freddy Peralta was on the bump for Tampa Bay, and made quick work of the Tigers’ bats in easily his best start yet for Tampa Bay since coming over from the Mets at the Trade Deadline. Across six innings of work, the veteran righty struck out four while allowing just a pair of hits while keeping Detroit off the board. Peralta had previously allowed 17 runs in 21.1 innings for the Rays (7.17 ERA), but they’ve been working with him on ways to get back to a semblance of the form that motivated the Mets to trade for the erstwhile Brewers ace this past offseason.

The Rays later added some insurance in the sixth inning thanks to a sacrifice fly, before the bullpen picked up right where Peralta left off. Kevin Kelly and Tyler Wells combined to pitch three scoreless innings out of the Tampa Bay ‘pen, locking down the shutout victory for their squad. They remain 3.5 games in front of the Yankees

Other Games

Miami Marlins (68-66) 4, Boston Red Sox (73-60) 0: Speaking of shutouts, the Red Sox were on the wrong side of one against the Marlins. The Fish put up a run in each of the first two innings, thanks to a Heriberto Hernández single and an error by the Sox, before Ryan Gusto tossed 5.2 scoreless frames. The BoSox had plated at least three runs in all but one game over the course of the past month, and they’ve been MLB’s best offense in August. This time, however, they obviously never dented home plate in the loss — though they still have a solid cushion in the Wild Card race.

Chicago White Sox (70-63) 10, Texas Rangers (66-68) 4: For the second day in a row, the White Sox plated double-digit runs against the Rangers. Brenton Doyle led the charge for Chicago in this one, tallying four RBIs in his two-hit night, highlighted by a three-run blast in the sixth inning that put his squad up by a big number, while surprising All-Star Tristan Peters homered in his fifth consecutive game. A trio of Sox pitchers each tossed three solid innings, with Sean Burke getting the start. The White Sox’ 70th win of the season keeps their division lead at 2.5 games as they continue to impress. Texas took a hit in the Wild Card, but Houston’s loss means that they’re still just half a game back of the also-sub-.500 Astros in the AL West.

AL Wild Card Rock Fight

Cleveland Guardians (68-66) 4, Los Angeles Angels (52-82) 3: Elsewhere in the Central, the Guardians netted a close one against the lowly Angels to complete a sweep. Down for much of this game, they plated a pair in the top half of the ninth to flip their deficit into a lead, thanks to huge swings from Steven Kwan and Travis Bazzana. The win—their seventh in a row—helped Cleveland keep pace with Chicago, and keep hold of the final Wild Card spot in the AL.

Baltimore Orioles (65-68) 8, St. Louis Cardinals (66-68) 7: The Orioles won a slugfest on Monday, with an early outburst doing much of the heavy lifting. They plated seven runs in the first two frames, with a three-run shot from Leody Taveras as well as Pete Alonso’s 32nd bomb of the year. The Cardinals made their big move in the fifth, when they plated six runs to tie things up at the time, but Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s double in the ninth was the difference-maker for the Orioles in their win. They currently sit 2.5 games out of the Wild Card.

The Athletics (53-81) 7, Minnesota Twins (64-70) 4;
Toronto Blue Jays (65-69) 3, Kansas City Royals (59-75) 0:

The Blue Jays made easy work of the Royals to snap Kansas City’s nine-game winning streak, with Nathan Lukes’ three-run homer being all the offense Toronto needed. The Jays remain three back in the wild card race. Elsewhere, a four-run seventh inning propelled the A’s past Minnesota, as the skidding Twins are even with the Mariners (6-0 losers to Philadelphia) and looking upward at four teams in their hope for position in the Wild Card race.

Good morning friends!

The M’s dropped the series finale in a sleepy 6-0 loss to the Phillies yesterday that saw the offense unable to even muster a threat against Jesús Luzardo.

It’s a Mariners off-day today as the team heads across the border to Toronto for a weekend set with the Blue Jays.

In Mariners news…

• Dan Szymborski at Fangraphs checked back in on Cal Raleigh’s season-long numbers after his three-homer game.
• Bryce Miller was reportedly available out of the bullpen yesterday, possibly signaling some changes on the horizon for the starting rotation.

Around the league…

• Giants infielder Willy Adames has been diagnosed with a UCL sprain. The team has not yet decided whether he will get surgery to repair it.
• Cubs right-hander Ben Brown faced a setback in his rehab from a neck injury, leaving his availability for the stretch run up in the air.
• Pirates catcher Endy Rodriguez underwent hip surgery, cutting his 2026 season short.
• TWG Global, the holding company run by Dodgers owner Mark Walter, issued a statement yesterday regarding a recent federal probe into the company.
• Buss Sports Capital — who recently sold its ownership stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to Dodgers owner Mark Walter — is joining Kwanza Jones and Jose E. Feliciano as part of the new Padres ownership group.
• With Dana Brown now gone, Patrick Dubuque at Baseball Prospectus poured one out for the end of an era in Houston. ($)

Anders’ pick…

• The 18th annual Run of Hope Seattle is coming Sunday, September 20 to support Seattle Children’s Hospital. Mark your calendar and get your race number!

Tomato, tomahto. You say pitchers’ duel. I say boring. You might counter point that I’d have viewed the whole thing differently if my team had the two runs. Or if it had held on to the four-run lead Tuesday. Or the lead on Saturday. In the end, it’s just a series of disappointments and questions about what might have been. I suspect none of this is going to do any long term damage to the Cubs. I never thought they had a very good chance of catching the Brewers and I don’t really think the Phillies are going to pass the Cubs. Recall that the Cubs have the tiebreaker and the Phillies will have to pass, not just catch the Cubs. While you might look at a bunch of games with the Brewers and see potential disaster. They have a similar bunch of games with the Braves and equal possibility of disaster. Or even switching spots with the Braves and wrecking them.

I’ve said it elsewhere in posts, at the end of the day I will hat tip Jed Hoyer and the terrific job he did bringing this team together. I continue to believe that this team has a non-delusional chance of winning the World Series. I also think, at best, they are running way on the outside against two (or more) very good horses on the inside. It’s not going to be easy and everything would have to break right. To think otherwise, you are into that delusional territory.

At the same time, one can raise an eyebrow at Jed. Pitchers with injury history are not any new market inefficiency. Yes, there is some value to picking up some discounted value for damaged goods. You are almost silly not to. I see the Brewers and Brandon Woodruff that way. A calculated risk at value for a guy who can be great but has injury issues. The problem is, so much of the Cubs pitching staff had injury history. At some point, you gotta get some horses who can pile up some effective innings. The Cubs got burned because seemingly every one of those guys with the injury history spent time injured. Compounding that, almost all of them had worst cased scenarios on the severity of their injury and/or the difficulty rehabbing the injury. At this late date, a key pitcher had his return pushed back due to a setback with his recovery.

You can give a guy kudos and a sideways look. There is a lot of good and some foreseeable missteps. Still, even with all of that. With one of the largest collections of pitcher injuries I’ve ever seen one team have, there was the Cub pitching rolling into Arizona. The club had a rough trip to Seattle and were looking to bounce back. The bright side? Arguably the team’s three best pitchers were lined up to start the three games in Arizona. Collectively they gave you 20 innings of one run baseball. Three Superhero awards for the starters in three days. That’s going to feel like it should be a sweep for the good guys. Worst case? Two out of three.

Darn. They only got one. That stings a little. This trip could easily have featured four wins and it’s not insane to imagine five or six. They got two. Three bullpen losses on the trip. Just when everything seemed to be settling down, old wounds reopened. Not optimal.

Still, this is a hat tip game. Diamondback pitching was fantastic. Diamondback defense was very good. Diamondback hitting was good enough. Come home, regroup. Get back after it.

THREE POSITIVES:

• Matthew Boyd threw six innings of one-run ball. Nice bounce back after a couple of rough ones. Final decision in fewer than 30 games, but in some order this series probably had your three pitchers for a three-game series.
• Pete Crow-Armstrong had the only extra-base hit out of two total team hits. He should have scored, save for a missed balk call that he forced with aggressive baserunning.
• Tyrone Taylor continues to impress. He had a single and stole a base.

Game 134, August 26: Diamondbacks 2, Cubs 0 (76-58)

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Matthew Boyd (.169). 6 IP, 20 BF, 3 H, 2 BB, R, 5 K (L 8-3)
• Hero: Trent Thornton (.045). IP, 4 BF, H, K
• Sidekick: Pete Crow-Armstrong (.017). 1-4, 2B

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Nico Hoerner (-.153). 0-4
• Goat: Alex Bregman (-.149). 0-3, BB
• Kid: Gabriel Arias (-.119). 0-3

WPA Play of the Game: Jordan Lawlar’s solo homer in the sixth off of Boyd. (.166)

Cubs Play of the Game: Pete Crow-Armstrong’s double leading off the top of the sixth. (.092)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 133 Winner: Clay Holmes received 61 of 62 votes. I did not think this was a unanimous choice situation. The Holmes start has long term implications. The Happ homer gave them their best chance of winning that game and was a terrific plate appearance.

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 +26
• Alex Bregman +20
• Ben Brown +13.5
• Carson Kelly +12.5
• Javier Assad/Trent Thornton +12
• Edward Cabrera -12.5
• Jameson Taillon -13
• Nico Hoerner -14
• Dansby Swanson -17
• Caleb Thielbar -18.5

Scoreboard Watching: Will return following Friday’s game.

Up Next: An off day Thursday, then 13 straight games. So we go to Fangraphs for the pre-stretch look at potential record. Fangraphs had the Cubs at 4-2 on the trip, winning three close ones in Arizona before the trip, if I recall. They have this stretch at 6-6-1, breaking down to 4-3 at home and then 2-3-1 on the road with a pure 50 percent in the opener of the road trip being a pure coin flip game.

The Reds come to Wrigley at 63-71. An unusual thing ahead of an off day, but both teams have listed starters on MLB.com. They are showing David Peterson (7-7, 5.17) for the Cubs. David is 4-1 with a 3.93 as a Cub, significantly turning around his season. Ironically, his ground ball to fly ball ratio has actually dropped a bit as a Cub. So the Cub infield defense is not solely responsible for the improvement. David pitched well in Seattle in one of the games that got away, allowing two runs over six.

The Reds start 24-year-old righty Rhett Lowder (5-8, 5.13). Rhett is holding pretty steady at 2-2, 5.54 over his last seven starts. He allowed three runs over six against the Diamondbacks and won his last start. The Cubs had more luck against Lowder as a starter (3 runs in 3 innings) than as a reliever (2 scoreless innings).

I’m betting the Cubs offense bounces back in a big way in this series. The Reds are sometimes a target for Ian Happ’s big weekends. The Reds are 25th (4.53) in bullpen ERA, 25th in bullpen WHIP (1.43) and have the seventh most bullpen losses (27). So the bullpen can be beat if you can get starters out of these games. Fangraphs really likes the Cubs in this series, with this first one topping out at about 65 percent. The Cubs have a tricky September, it would be very beneficial to grab three right away (though those would obviously be August wins).