BOSTON, MA - AUGUST 23: Ceddanne Rafaela #3 of the Boston Red Sox makes a catch on Andrew Knizner #19 of the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Fenway Park on August 23, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
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.
Jun 6, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers mascot Rangers Captain high fives before the start of the game against the Cleveland Guardians at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
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.
GLENDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 13: Gavin Stone #35 of the Los Angeles Dodgers walks on the field during spring training workouts at Camelback Ranch on February 13, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images) | Getty Images
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.
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)
May 10, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Athletics manager Mark Kotsay walks back the dugout against the Baltimore Orioles during the seventh inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
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 couple notable A’s prospects that are heading to the Arizona Fall League:
AFL update! Just heard the A's are currently planning on sending the following players to the AFL in October. Some names could still change: Devin Taylor, Cole Conn, Davis Diaz, Braden Nett, Ryan Magdic, Jackson Finley, Jay Dill, Ben Hansen.
— Bill Moriarity – A's Farm (@AthleticsFarm) August 26, 2026
Early returns are fantastic for the Athletics’ first round pick this year:
Drew Burress mashes his 6th homer in 18 pro games for the @stocktonports 🚀
The eighth overall pick in the 2026 Draft (@Athletics) has a 1.112 OPS and leads the Single-A Cal League in roundtrippers since his debut. pic.twitter.com/KTysqkUv0I
Next #athletics GM is going to have 23 to 25 decisions to make on who among this current roster will be around on Opening Night in Las Vegas come 2028, but Lawrence Butler rocking the sunglasses at 915pm under the nighttime sky for a postgame interview gives him a leg up
DETROIT, MI - AUGUST 26: Freddy Peralta #51 of the Tampa Bay Rays pitches against the Detroit Tigers during the second inning at Comerica Park on August 26, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
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.
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.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - AUGUST 23: Willy Adames #2 of the San Francisco Giants hits a home run at Fenway Park on August 23, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Andy Kuno/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images) | Getty Images
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.
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. ($)
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).
RICHMOND, VA - AUGUST 08: Bryan Rincon #4 of the Reading Fightin Phils looks on during the game between the Reading Fightin Phils and the Richmond Flying Squirrels at CarMax Park on Saturday, August 8, 2026 in Richmond, Virginia. (Photo by Matthew Mitrani/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
It was a rough night for the Pharm, with two affiliates suffering defeats, and another being forced to think about a four-run deficit until the resumption of their rained-out game this afternoon. But Bryan Rincon continues to be red hot at the plate, with a a 1.075 OPS this month. And Gabriel Rincones Jr. had a homer; it was a wonderful night for Rincon(es).
Syracuse 11, Lehigh Valley 1
The IronPigs scored just a single run on seven hits; the Mets scored 11 on their 15. Gabriel Rincones Jr. was responsible for that lone Lehigh Valley run, homering for one of his three hits on the day. No other IronPig had more than one hit, and no IronPigs walked at all, though they did accrue 12 strikeouts. Starter Drake Fellows struggled mightily, surrendering 10 hits, three of them homers, in 4.1 innings of work. He walked just one but struck out just one as well; he allowed seven runs (though only six were earned). Tanner Banks pitched a hitless inning with 2 Ks. Michael Mercado had rough sledding in his inning, allowing three runs on four hits.
Reading 6, Binghamton 2
The Fightin Phils were done scoring after the fourth, but by then they had all they needed. Pedro León was two for four with three RBIs, and Bryan Rincon was two for three; both had homers. Cody Bowker got the win with a 5 IP, 3 H, 4, K, 1 ER performance. Like their AAA allies, the Phils didn’t take many free passes, with only Carson DeMartini taking one.
Wilmington 11, Jersey Shore 6
A six run Rocks explosion doomed the Claws in this battle of the Blues. Devin Saltiban was two for three with a walk and three RBIs, and Kodey Shojinaga drove in two runs despite not having a hit (via productive groundouts). The Theshers worked seven walks on the day, taking as many strikeouts. Six BlueClaw pitchers toed the mound, with four of them allowing runs; Sam Highfill was on the mound for that six-run inning, and so took the loss. The BlueClaws loaded the bases in the bottom of the 9th, all three baserunners reaching via walk, but couldn’t bring any runs across the plate.
Lakeland 3, Clearwater 0, Suspended in 4th
This one got rained out in the fourth, and will be finished this afternoon. The Thresher offense hadn’t done much before the suspension (two hits, singles from Reece Moroney and Will Gasparino). Starter Brad Pacheco struck out six Flying Tigers, but allowed three runs on four hits.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - AUGUST 26: Starter Eduardo Rodriguez #57 of the Arizona Diamondbacks pitches against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Chase Field on August 26, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Team News
Lawlar’s homer, Rodriguez’s gem (with lucky break) lead D-backs to win “Everything was working,” Rodriguez said. “It was one of those days where you just go out there and follow your catcher, throw what the catcher is calling. This is the best I’ve felt all year on the mound.” https://www.mlb.com/dbacks/news/jordan-lawlar-home-run-lifts-d-backs-to-win-over-cubs
Off the mat, D-backs snatch series win over Cubs thanks to Eduardo Rodriguez
“From a hitter’s standpoint, I can relate to it, it feels like standing in the box when somebody is just driving pitches in at you. They feel like they’re 10 feet tall and standing on top of you,” Lovullo said. “And that’s the feeling I think E-Rod has right now, that he can throw anything he wants, and there’s going to be weak contact or swing-and-miss.”
“Way different,” Martinez said of the experience. “Because this one took a little longer, and I got more time to prepare myself to compete. And now we’re here. “I was a little frustrated because I wanted to come back as soon as possible. But I understood that I had to be smart on this one because this is my second one. There’s no way I could have another one, you know? So I had to be really smart about it.”
The players in this ranking do not have extensive NHL experience and are all 23 and under. Therefore, players like Jimmy Snuggerud, Dalibor Dvorsky, and Logan Mailloux, among others, won't feature in this ranking for those reasons.
The order of these rankings reflects a mix of their ceilings and potential, as well as how they've performed over the past year with their respective clubs.
Although his offensive production in the AHL was low, when he was called up to the NHL late in the 2025-26 season, he fit like a glove.
Playing alongside veteran Colton Parayko, Lindstein looked very comfortable as a puck mover, defending the rush and in his own zone. In 17 games, Lindstein posted two goals and four points. According to naturalstattrick.com, the Blues outscored their opponents 11-6 with the 21-year-old on the ice at 5-on-5. In the same scenario, the Blues owned 57.24 percent of the expected goals and a Corsi For percentage of 52.54 percent.
He then returned to the Springfield Thunderbirds, where he recorded three assists in nine playoff games.
The 29th overall pick of the 2023 NHL draft doesn't have any singular traits that stand out, but he plays a solid all-around game. At six-foot, 197 pounds, Lindstein is about average size for a defenseman. He isn't overly physical, but he doesn't shy away from it either. He has the frame to defend the hard areas of the ice.
On the offensive side, Lindstein isn't an elite skater, but it's not a weak point either. He is confident enough in his speed to pick and choose when to step up into the rush and get back into position if need be.
Lindstein likely won't ever become a top-pairing defenseman, but that is fine for St. Louis. With Philip Broberg locked in long-term as the team's No. 1 left-handed defenseman, Lindstein can serve on the second pairing, where he should thrive.
At the time of the selection, Lindstein was deemed a safe, projectable NHLer, and now, three years later, he is still just that.
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The Baltimore Orioles (65-68) continue their late season push for the playoffs this afternoon in St. Louis where they will go for a sweep of their three-game series against the Cardinals (66-68). Last night the O’s wasted a big early lead but rallied late to earn their fourth win in their last five games, 8-7, over a Cardinals’ team that has now lost their last five.
Baltimore appeared headed for a comfortable victory after erupting for seven runs early, highlighted by a three-run homer from Leody Taveras and a two-run blast from Pete Alonso. The Orioles built a commanding 7-0 lead, only to watch the Cardinals storm back with a massive sixth-inning rally. Alec Burleson, Jordan Walker, and Nathan Church led the comeback, combining to drive in five runs during the rally that tied the game at 7. The Orioles got up off the mat in the ninth. Christian Encarnacion-Strand ripped a tiebreaking RBI double, scoring Gunnar Henderson to ultimately win the game for the visiting Orioles, 8-7.
With the win, Baltimore remains 2.5 games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the final Wild Card spot in the American League while the Cardinals fell to six games behind the Padres for the final Wild Card spot in the National League.
Baltimore will hand the ball to left-hander Trevor Rogers (9-8, 4.14 ERA) this afternoon to close out the series. In his most recent start, Rogers went seven innings against the Rays and allowed six hits and three runs. While striking out six. IN four August starts, Rogers has allowed nine earned runs in 23 innings (3.52 ERA). As of this morning, the Cardinals had yet to announce their starter.
Lets dive further into tonight’s game and find a sweat or two.
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Game Details and How to Watch: Orioles vs. Cardinals
Date: Thursday, August 27, 2026
Time: 2:15PM EST
Site: Busch Stadium
City: St. Louis, MO
Network/Streaming: MLB.TV, MASN, Cardinals.TV
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
The Latest Odds: Orioles vs. Cardinals
The latest odds as of Thursday courtesy of DraftKings:
Moneyline: Baltimore Orioles (-116), St. Louis Cardinals (+108)
Pete Alonso is having an August for the ages - .391 batting average with 9 HRs and 22 RBIs
Ivan Herrera is 2-3 in his career against Trevor Rogers
Trevor Rogers has pitched at least 6 innings in 7 of his last 8 starts
Trevor Rogers has had 6+ Ks in 6 of his last 7 starts
Leody Taveras is 3-17 over his last 4GP
Jordan Walker is 2-15 over his last 4GP
Alec Burleson is riding an 12-game hitting streak (16-46)
JJ Wetherholt is riding a 4-game hitting streak (6-15)
Colton Cowser has had 2 hits in each of his last 3GP (6-10)
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: Orioles vs. Cardinals
The Orioles are 69-64 on the Run Line this season
The Cardinals are 72-62 on the Run Line this season
The OVER has cashed 67 times in Baltimore’s 133 games this season (67-62-4)
The OVER has cashed 57 times in St. Louis’ 134 games this season (57-70-7)
Expert picks & predictions: Orioles vs. Cardinals
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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 Orioles and the Cardinals:
Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is recommending a play on the Orioles on the Moneyline.
Spread: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Orioles on the Run Line.
Total: Rotoworld Bet is staying away from a play on the Game Total of 8.0
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Any term used to describe a crisis could be applied to the Dodgers right now, and that would be the case even if owner Mark Walter wasn’t under federal investigation.
Problems are stacking up, and with only a little more than a month remaining in the regular season, who knows if the Dodgers will be able to solve them before the start of the playoffs.
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, left, talks with Max Muncy prior to a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday, August 22, 2026, in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
The Dodgers have offensive problems. They have defensive problems. They have bullpen problems. And in the wake of losing their first two games of their three-game series against the Atlanta Braves, they could soon have postseason bracket problems.
The concerns have become pronounced enough to where manager Dave Roberts has started to back off his recent tough-love approach, probably because maintaining that demeanor under these circumstances would create an overly negative atmosphere.
“We had opportunities,” Roberts told reports at Truist Park following his team’s 6-5 loss on Wednesday.
The offense is stuck in neutral, the broken hand suffered last week by center fielder Andy Pages complicating the team’s efforts to emerge from an extended slump.
In Pages and catcher Will Smith, the Dodgers are missing two premium hitters who play premium defensive positions. Pages has been replaced by Alek Thomas and Will Smith by Hunter Feduccia and Ben Rortvedt, and at both positions, the substitutes represent major offensive downgrades.
Smith is on a minor-league rehabilitation assignment and should have about a month of major league game time to develop a rhythm in the batter’s box for the postseason. Pages won’t have any such luxury, as he could miss the remainder of the regular season.
Kyle Tucker of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts to his ground out with the bases loaded to end the seventh inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, August 21, 2026, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. Getty Images
Pages, 25, and Smith, 31, are particularly valuable to these Dodgers because some of their more experienced players are in obvious decline. Mookie Betts remains up and down, Freddie Freeman hasn’t homered since Independence Day, and Teoscar Hernández has basically been a Mendoza Line hitter for the last two months. Newcomer Kyle Tucker has just stunk.
In their last 30 games, the Dodgers have won a game by more than two runs only three times. They have scored an average of 4.2 runs per game in their last 39 games, down from 5.3 runs per game in their first 94 games of the season.
The effects of the diminished offense has been magnified by the team’s defensive shortcomings, which started becoming especially noticeable in the week leading up to the All-Star break. With Hernández in left field and Tucker in right, the Dodgers have two below-average defenders in their outfield. A defensive mistake by Hernández in the fourth inning on Wednesday turned the Dodgers’ 3-2 lead into a 4-3 deficit.
The Dodgers have played clean defense before, and they should be able to do so again. But will they be able to close out games?
When imploding $69-million closer Edwin Diaz was placed on the 15-day injured list last week, the Dodgers looked as if they would be able to manage the situation. They had other options. When Diaz was sidelined earlier in the season, Tanner Scott performed well in his place. The Dodgers also had a safety net in Roki Sasaki, the starting pitcher who was their primary ninth-inning pitcher in the playoffs last year.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tanner Scott walks back to the dugout after giving up the go-ahead run to the Atlanta Braves during the eighth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, in Atlanta. AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser
So much for that.
Scott was the losing pitcher in each of the Dodgers’ first two games in this series against the Braves, reverting to the form from his disastrous first season with the team last year. As for Sasaki, he will be placed on the injured list with a ruptured blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand.
Considering their variety of issues, it’s little wonder why the Dodgers have lost 13 of their last 15 games against teams with winning records. The only series the Dodgers won this month were against teams with sub-.500 records – the Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Braves are now within two games of the Dodgers for the No. 2 seed in the NL. Only the top two seeds in each league will receive a first-round bye in the playoffs.
Regardless of whether the Dodgers can hold off the Braves, they will show up in October with a fighting chance.
The reason: Their starting pitching.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell and either Shohei Ohtani or Tyler Glasnow will make up a postseason rotation that could be historically dominant.
If they don’t pitch up to that standard, the season could end with another emergency signal: Code blue.
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SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 26: Bradgley Rodriguez #72 of the San Diego Padres celebrates during the eighth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Petco Park on August 26, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It was not the end to the homestand the San Diego Padres were looking for, but they did salvage the final game of the series against the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 3-0 win that allowed them to finish with a 4-2 record before heading out on the road to face the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cincinnati Reds.
Randy Vasquez delivered another strong outing for the Padres with five scoreless innings. He allowed just one hit over that time and did not allow a walk. Vasquez finished with two strikeouts. He was staked to a one-run lead in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a double by Jackson Merrill followed by an RBI-single from Luis Rengifo. That was all Vasquez and the rest of the San Diego staff would need to ensure the win.
The Padres did add runs in the bottom of the fourth and the bottom of the eighth innings, but the quartet of Kyle Hart, Griffin Canning, Yuki Matsui and Bradgley Rodriguez were able to keep the Pirates off the board. Pittsburgh had its chances against more than one of those pitchers but never could break through. The Pirates finished 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position in the game while the Padres finished 3-for-5.
Merrill was the offensive leader for San Diego and turned in a 2-for-3 day with an RBI, a run scored and a walk. Rengifo and Jake Cronenworth had the two other RBIs for the Padres and six players recorded hits in the game.
San Diego has an off day today before opening a three-game set with Tampa Bay on Friday.
Padres News:
It takes all 26 players on an MLB roster to have a successful season, but some performances are more surprising than others. Who do you think has been the most impressive this season?
PHILADELPHIA, PA - MAY 10: Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks plays defense during the game against Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers during Round Two Game Four of the 2026 NBA Playoffs on May 10, 2026 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
NBA basketball is approaching closer than it might seem. As the final holdouts from free agency have agreed to deals, we’re only about a month out from Media Day and the start of training camp. With the full 82-game schedule plus NBA Cup groupings having been released, now’s a good a time as any to break it down into segments and evaluate each part of the Sixers’ upcoming journey.
These segments have been broken down into approximately 20 games to look at the season quarter-by-quarter. It’s important to remember that 82 games is a slog, with stretches of it that are more often defined by how the team itself is doing rather than their opponents — especially one with as many new moving parts as this Sixers roster.
Still, it’s time to go through section by section of the Sixers season and see what they’re up against. The first portion will be broken down to the first 21 games of the season, taking us right up to Thanksgiving, mainly because games 20 and 21 are a back-to-back.
The Sixers will play the minimum 14 back-to-backs this season and will have four of them in this first quarter of the season. The other thing that jumps out about the first quarter of the season is how Eastern Conference-heavy it is. Only two of the Sixers’ first 21 opponents play in the West: the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers.
The schedule will probably always lean that heavy with NBA Cup group games taking place in this part of the season. The Sixers will kick off group play this year on Oct. 30 at home against the New York Knicks, their second game against the reigning champions in the first 10 days of the season.
They’ll obviously start the season taking on the Knicks at Madison Square Garden before hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers for the home opener. Their first weekend of the season brings their first back-to-back, hosting the Milwaukee Bucks then the Detroit Pistons. Assuming health, it will be interesting to see how the Sixers attack back-to-backs with their older stars. One would imagine Joel Embiid and LeBron James won’t be playing both legs of them, and the Bucks-Pistons combo will be a first look at if the Sixers stagger guys between nights, or just go for it all on one night.
That back-to-back is conveniently two home games, but the other three in this early part of the schedule will require travel. After the Sixers host the Knicks they’ll shoot down to Charlotte to take on the Hornets. After the Indiana Pacers come to town on Nov. 15 the Sixers will take a train or bus up to Brooklyn to take on the Nets on the 16th. After their final game of Cup group play on Nov. 27, the Sixers will head to Houston for the 28th as they’ll finally start to face some Western Conference opponents.
A theme you might have noticed is that the Sixers won’t just be playing a lot of Eastern Conference teams early, but they’ll be seeing some of them multiple times early in the season. This was the case last year as well as they played the Celtics three times within the first month of the season. This year, they’ll see the Pacers three times before the month of December, while having played the Knicks, Cavs, Pistons and Bulls twice.
Three of those teams — the Cavs, Knicks and Pacers — are in the Sixers Cup group as well as the Miami Heat. That’s a strong group that doesn’t present any obvious weak link. It’s very possible that a team that just added Giannis Antetokounmpo or won the East 14 months ago is the worst team in this group. The Sixers haven’t had any NBA Cup success in its short history and this will be a tough year for their new-look group to break that trend.
Two more games to keep an eye on this early in the year will be Nov, 10 and 12 against the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors. While it’s a home game, this will be Jaylen Brown’s first game against his old team and, unsurprisingly, will be nationally televised. The interest in that second game is still pending a league investigation, but the Raptors could be an interestingly scary team.
This first stretch of the season will be a good litmus test for how much better and deeper this Eastern Conference is. Only six of their opponents in this stretch didn’t make the playoffs last year, and at least two of them in the Heat and Pacers will be trying to change that this season.
It’s one of the Sixers’ lightest stretches of the season in terms of travel with Houston and Chicago as the two furthest opponents, but the four back-to-backs are the tied for the most in any quarter segment of the season. To start the season the Sixers will find out just how good their conference is.
10/20: @Knicks 10/22: vs. Cavs 10/24: vs. Bucks 10/25: vs. Pistons (B2B) 10/28: @Pacers 10/30: vs. Knicks (Cup) 10/31: @Hornets (B2B) 11/2: vs. Bulls 11/4: @Pistons 11/6: @Cavs (Cup) 11/8: @Bulls 11/10: vs. Celtics 11/12: vs. Raptors 11/15: vs. Pacers 11/16: @Nets (B2B) 11/18: @Magic 11/21: vs. Bucks 11/23: vs. Trail Blazers 11/25: vs. Heat (Cup) 11/27: @Pacers (Cup) 11/28: @Rockets (B2B)
ATLANTA, GA - AUGUST 26: Ha-Seong Kim #7 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates with teammates after hitting a walk-off single in the ninth inning during the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Truist Park on August 26, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Boy, that was a memorable game for all sorts of reasons:
Matt Olson’s homer off the pole
Signs of life from Sean Murphy, including a dinger of his own
Outbarreling the Dodgers 5-1
Drake Baldwin having a huge game, but with his biggest hit coming on a defensive misplay by the Dodgers
Didier Fuentes walking in the tying run, but then getting what he needs — and escaping a second inning as well
Victor Mederos, pumped once again
The “I failed to field it cleanly but knocked the ball in the only direction that would’ve stopped the Braves from scoring” by Mookie Betts.
The original pinch run for Sean Murphy decision forcing Ha-Seong Kim to the plate for the first time in 15 days…
… and of course, Kim coming through with a solid, 100+ mph, nearly 75+ mph bat speed single to win the game.
Maybe the only competition was the Chadwick Tromp Game (Braves score two in the tenth to tie, including a Tromp RBI, then walk it off via Tromp in the 11th), but that came against the Nationals, so not quite the same level of juice. What do you think?
