Category: Sports News

After the toughest road trip of the season saw the Atlanta Braves mostly continue an ill-timed downturn in form, the team is now back home — only to go from facing the current best team in baseball for three games to hosting the two-time defending World Series champions and current NL West leaders in the form of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The obvious hope is that Atlanta can make something happen at home against the Dodgers, who are finding their groove again after having suffered a downturn, themselves over the past few weeks. If they can do so, then they’ll have an opportunity to (hopefully) beat up on a Colorado Rockies team that has had some real struggles trying to gain a foothold at Truist Park in recent years and have just been having yet another rough season, overall.

Of course, all of this hinges on Atlanta’s lineup waking up and getting the job done at the plate. The pitching staff has been carrying a lot of the load lately but as we’ve seen, it’s very hard for this team (or any team, really) to win games if they’re only scoring one or two runs a game. Let’s see if things can change for the lineup, starting with the week ahead for Atlanta.

August 25-27: Los Angeles Dodgers

Current Record: 80-51 Projected Record (via FanGraphs): 99-63

Returning from the tough road trip that the Braves just had, just to run into the Dodgers at home feels like Odysseus returning to Ithaca only to have a bunch of angry suitors waiting for him so they can usurp the whole place. Indeed, it’s pretty rough to go from that road trip to having to deal with the newly-revitalized Dodgers, who will be coming into Atlanta rolling on a six-game winning streak.

IF there’s a silver-lining, I’d say that Los Angeles has not fared well against teams with winning records so far here in August. Again, they’re on a six-game winning streak and they’ve swept three teams this month but those nine wins came against the cellar-dwelling Royals, the moribund Rockies and a Pirates team that has spent the second half of the season fading fast. Meanwhile, Los Angeles dropped a series against the surging Red Sox, got swept by the mercurial Cubs, lost a series to the Wild Card-contending Diamondbacks and then got beaten three-out-of-four by the baseball-leading Brewers. If Atlanta plays to their potential then they are just as capable of joining those winning teams when it comes to getting their licks in on the Dodgers.

That’s not to say that the Dodgers are going to roll over just because they’re facing a winning team — these are still the Dodgers, after all. With that being said, this is a team that looks as vulnerable as ever in their quest to become the first team since 2000 to win three World Series in a row. Since the All-Star break, the Dodgers have a team wRC+ of 96 and have only hit .249/.311/.406 as a unit in that span. For comparison’s sake, the Braves have been slightly better since the break with a .247/.306/.418 slash line alongside a 98 wRC+.

Sure, Shohei Ohtani is still Shohei Ohtani and guys like Max Muncy, Andy Pages and old friend Freddie Freeman are going to be tough to deal with as usual. Outside of that, this team has looked nothing like a juggernaut at the plate. Mookie Betts has struggled mightily compared to what he usually does at the plate and it’s been just as tough for guys like Teoscar Hernandez, Tommy Edman and Kyle Tucker. With the way Atlanta’s pitching staff has been going lately, this is certainly a manageable task for the Braves as long as they can keep the first guys mentioned quiet as well.

On the other side of things, LA’s pitching staff has also looked not-so-juggernaut-like in recent times. Unfortunately, that can’t be said for 2025 World Series hero and Thursday night’s starter Yoshinobu Yamaoto, who has remained very tough to deal with. Since the break, he’s given up two runs or fewer in five of his six starts and in that sixth start, he gave up three runs. He’s been incredibly consistent and has established himself as the ace of the rotation, so you can look forward to another fun ace-on-ace matchup between him and Chris Sale on Thursday. Roki Sasaki will be going on Tuesday against AJ Smith-Shawver and he’s also been pretty consistent for the Dodgers as well, so those figure to be two games where we could be seeing some low scoring with precious few runs coming across the plate for both sides.

Meanwhile, the Braves have found themselves “lucky” enough to be the opponents for Tyler Glasnow’s return from a back injury. Before his injury, Glasnow was looking very good for the Dodgers and he even has an eight-inning, one-hit shutout outing under his belt this season back on April 23. The obvious hope for Atlanta is that they’ll be able to catch Glasnow while he’s rusty (and that Bryce Elder has a good day instead of an enigmatic day) and actually give him a rude welcome back to the regular season. Otherwise, these could end up being three more games where the Braves are going to have to use more energy than a data center just to produce a one-run inning at any given moment.

Tuesday, August 25 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision, Gray TV, TBS)
Wednesday, August 26 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision, MLB Network)
Thursday, August 27 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision, FS1)

August 28-30: Colorado Rockies

Current Record: 50-80 Projected Record: 63-99

Atlanta will finally end their seven-game stretch of playing first-place teams by taking on a Colorado Rockies team that is once again having a terrible go of it. By the time the Rockies come to town, they will have likely clinched their eighth-straight losing season (and their fourteenth losing season out of the past sixteen seasons, mind you) and hopefully Washington’s strong lineup will have exhausted a Rockies pitching staff that has had a lot of trouble trying to keep any lineup in particular quiet.

During the second half, Colorado’s pitching staff is sitting on a 5.84 ERA (123 ERA-) and a 5.08 FIP (115 FIP-) as a unit and if you’re wondering if Coors Field is playing a role in inflating that number, it is not. Colorado’s staff ERA is only slightly better on the road since the break, with a road ERA of 5.48 and a road FIP of 4.83 — that ERA number is the fourth-worst mark in all of baseball and their road FIP since the break is good for the second-worst number. The Braves will likely be seeing the trio of Tomoyuki Sugano, Kyle Freeland and Ryan Feltner this weekend.

None of these fellas have been particularly great since the break and Feltner in particular has been getting bopped all over the place to the tune of a 9.10 ERA and 7.10 FIP in six starts and 28.2 innings during the second half. It’ll simply be a matter of avoiding finding themselves in a situation where Jordan Romano gets called upon since he’s quite clearly been the best pitcher for the Rockies lately — and he’s the closer.

At the plate, the only consistent threat that the Rockies have had lately is Willi Castro. I’d include Hunter Goodman in there as well but he’s been on the IL since August 15 with a left shoulder strain and it doesn’t look like he’ll be coming back in time for this series. Brett Sullivan has been on a tiny bit of a run with the bat since taking Goodman’s place behind the plate but outside of that, the Rockies don’t have too many guys who could be considered as serious threats.

Colorado’s lineup has mustered up the second-worst offense in the NL during the second half of the season and it’s not a particularly surprising development. The Rockies are basically fighting to avoid 100 losses this season and hopefully Atlanta can get them closer to that century mark with a strong performance this weekend.

Friday, August 28 at 7:15 p.m. ET (BravesVision)
Saturday, August 29 at 4:10 p.m. ET (BravesVision)
Sunday, August 30 at 1:35 p.m. ET (BravesVision)

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Someone has to win as the Cincinnati Reds visit the San Francisco Giants to open a weekday series at Oracle Park.

The Reds have lost three straight series, three of the last four games, and are 3-7 in the last 10. The Giants are even more dismal, riding a four-game losing streak and a 2-8 mark in their last 10.

The Giants are the perfect "get well" team for Cincy. That’s why my Reds vs. Giants predictions and MLB picks have the Reds rolling as -150 favorites on Monday, Aug. 24.

Who will win Reds vs Giants today: Reds -1.5 (+114)

The Cincinnati Reds are 10.5 games better than the San Francisco Giants and have a better road record than the hosts have at Oracle Park.

The Giants are also coming off a cross-country trip after getting swept in Boston over the weekend, while the Reds are in the middle of a West Coast swing. Cincinnati is 37-30 against sub-.500 teams, while the Giants have a losing record against losing teams.

The moneyline is too steep to take the Reds straight up, so we’ll surrender the runs.

San Francisco’s last eight losses have been by an average of three runs, so it’s not a huge sacrifice.

Play to +105.

COVERS INTEL:Chase Burns has not allowed a home run in August, spanning four starts and 23 1/3 innings. Burns has a fastball velocity in the 92nd percentile in MLB, and 31 of the 70 outs he's recorded this month have come via strikeout.

Reds vs Giants Over/Under pick: Under 7.5 (-121)

The Reds are deploying Burns against a Giants lineup that may be missing half its starters.

Matt Chapman, Marcelo Meyers, and Casey Schmidt are already on the injured list, and now Willy Adames left Sunday’s game after injuring his elbow on a swing and likely won’t play. Meanwhile, Victor Bericoto left the game after crashing into a wall. 

Bryce Eldridge will also miss this series on bereavement leave, meaning the Giants will be scrambling to assemble a lineup of bodies warm enough to swing bats, let alone compete.

The Reds have been shut out twice in the last six games and scored once or fewer five times in the last 10.

Play the Under to -130.

Reds vs Giants home run prediction: Sal Stewart (+561)

Reds first baseman Sal Stewart leads the team with 27 home runs and is two RBI shy of 100 on the year.

The Giants are starting left-hander Carson Whisenhunt, and Stewart destroys southpaws. His .291 average against lefties is 36 points higher than against righties, and his .903 OPS is 124 points higher. He homers every 16.7 at-bats against lefties, compared to every 19.3 against right-handers.

Whisenhunt has a 9.37 ERA, 2.265 WHIP, and .977 OPS against him over the last month. His barrel and hard-hit rates are both well below average, so Stewart should find something to drive against him.

Reds vs Giants weather

Oracle Park will feature winds blowing out toward center field. However, as BallparkPal notes, the effect doesn't translate to more scoring. Instead, expect swirling effects to deaden fly balls and prevent the outward wind from generating much in the way of extra scoring. Temperatures will be in the low 60s.

Reds vs Giants odds

• Moneyline: Reds -150 | Giants +144
• Run line: Reds -1.5 (+113) | Giants +1.5 (-117)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (+113) | Under 7.5 (-117)

Reds vs Giants trend

The San Francisco Giants have hit the Game Total Under in 20 of their last 35 games at home (+4.50 Units / 12% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Reds vs. Giants.

How to watch Reds vs Giants and game info

Reds vs Giants latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The final full week of August begins with one MLB wild-card race deadlocked at the playoff cut line and another featuring several contenders still within striking distance.

In the American League, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have created breathing room atop the wild-card standings. The final spot is far less secure: The Cleveland Guardians and Texas Rangers enter Monday, Aug. 24, with identical 65-66 records, leaving the projected postseason field vulnerable to changing with virtually every result.

The National League race has more separation, but hardly feels settled. The Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres currently occupy the three wild-card positions. The Arizona Diamondbacks, however, begin the week only two games behind San Diego, with the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals still trying to remain within reach.

With the regular season ending Sept. 27, every series carries greater weight for teams trying to move into the picture or protect their place in October. Here are the latest MLB wild-card standings, projected playoff matchups and key postseason races in both leagues.

MORE: Five series that could impact MLB playoff race, including final Yankees-Red Sox showdown

For a tantalizing 24-hour period, the Twins were in the playoffs after sweeping Atlanta. One weekend trip to San Diego later, and those good vibes were gone as the Friars did the sweeping. Fortunately for the Twins, all the other teams vying for that last spot in the Wild Card were similarly mediocre last week, so they only dropped a half-game out of the third wild card spot, compared to last week. This week will start easy with a trip to Sacramento to face the league-worst Athletics, and then the ChiSox will come to town hoping to solidify their hold on the AL Central crown.

The Past Week on Twinkie Town:

• Check out The Feed, where you can add your discussions about the Twins!
• We’re starting a new segment called Daily Questions! Provide your opinion on the Twins and debate with the community!
• Game threads and recaps are back! Commiserate with your fellow fans as we experience the season together.
• Zach Koenig reminds us of the one good memory from 2016 – Brian Dozier.
• Aidan O’Brien looks at why Twins fans should be excited about Emmanuel Rodriguez when, not if, he gets called up this season.

Elsewhere in Twins Territory:

• Bobby Nightengale at the Star Tribune explores how the Twins could follow the Padres’ example in rebuilding trust with their fanbase.
• Dan Hayes at The Athletic looks at why the Twins were excited to trade for Dean Kremer and how that move has already been paying off.
• John Shipley at the Pioneer Press catches up with former Twin Randy Dobnak, who’s finding success with the Royals this season.
• Matthew Trueblood at Twins Daily looks at why Trevor Larnach is now in a slump.

In the World of Baseball:

• With about one month to go in the regular season, the top-four spots in the American League – barring a 2025 Mets-esque collapse – seem pretty certain, with the Rays, White Sox, Yankees, and Red Sox. After that, the Astros and Rangers keep flip-flopping for the AL West lead, and the Guardians currently hold the 3rd wild card spot, although the Blue Jays, Twins, Orioles, Mariners, and even the Tigers (along with whoever doesn’t get the AL West crown) could easily compete for that playoff spot as well.
• The National League is a bit more neat, with Milwaukee, Los Angeles, and Atlanta still comfortable holding the top spots in their divisions, and then Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Diego rounding out the next three. The Diamondbacks and Marlins seem to be the only other teams really in range, although the Cardinals could surprise us.
• We’re getting close to award season, and Bradford Doolittle at ESPN looks at who the frontrunners are for the major awards.
• The 2025 No.3 overall pick, Kade Anderson, made his debut for the Mariners on Saturday and Ryan Blake at Fangraphs evaluates his start and his prospects.
• Yesterday, Atlanta and Milwaukee faced off in the Little League Classic, and Courtney Hollmon at MLB.com looks at how Michael Harris II delivered for the fans.

For most of Jacob Young’s time as the Nats starting center fielder, it was assumed that he was destined to be replaced. Young was a 7th round pick and not a very highly touted prospect. With top prospects like Robert Hassell and Dylan Crews coming, Young was just keeping the seat warm until the big boys were ready to take it away.

However, as the bigger names have stagnated, Young has only ascended. This season he is having by far the most complete year of his career. The 27 year old has always been an elite defender in center field, and that remains the case, with Young posting 12 outs above average. Progression with the bat is what has really taken Jacob Young’s game to the next level though.

This season Young has 10 home runs, a feat that was seen as unthinkable for him prior to this year. Following the Nats new hitting philosophy, Young is hitting the ball harder and in the air more often. That is allowing him to do much more damage. His .703 OPS and 95 wRC+ is more than serviceable given his glove.

The idea was that Crews and Hassell would pass Young because their bats were much better. When the new regime came in, most people thought that Crews and Hassell could be two big beneficiaries. However, it was Young’s bat that took the big step, not those highly touted prospects. 

Those two may have more natural ability, but Young seems to be outworking them. That is no knock on their work ethic, more a testament to Young. After having a dreadful offensive season in 2025, he took it upon himself to go to Driveline and totally overhaul his approach to hitting.

That has helped Young become a valuable contributor. Meanwhile, Hassell is out of the organization and Crews is still stuck in neutral. The gritty placeholder now has a firmer place in the team’s future than even Dylan Crews, who was supposed to be a franchise altering player.

In two of the last three seasons now, Young has had 2 win seasons. He may not hit the ball 112 MPH or have top 100 prospect pedigree, but at a certain point you can no longer argue with the production. Right now he is a better hitter and fielder than Dylan Crews.

This season, we have been talking more about his bat, but Young reminded us just how incredible his defense is yesterday. He scaled the wall like spiderman and made an insane acrobatic catch. I don’t think there is a better outfielder at making plays at the wall than Young. Over the past few years, he has made about a dozen plays that have genuinely blown my mind.

When you talk to Young, it is easy to see why he has overachieved his whole career. Even in post-game interviews, he is very thoughtful and curious. He seems like the type that will leave no stone unturned to get better. I remember last year when he showed up to camp jacks. It may have been misguided, but it was an example of him wanting to do whatever it takes to improve.

Seeing how far he has come at the plate just shows you how hard he is working. Last season, I thought about Young similarly to Nasim Nunez, a bench guy at best. This Barry Svrluga tweet summarized my thoughts well.

Almost exactly 12 months later, Young is having a better year than all of those guys. In my mind at least, Young has passed Dylan Crews on the outfield pecking order. Heading into 2027, I would be content with a Lile, Young, Wood outfield, which is not something I thought I would be saying entering this year.

A lot of people have taken what Jacob Young has done this season for granted, but I am not going to. He does not have flashy offensive tools, but he is a good ball player who always brings something to the table. That is more than you can say about the highly touted options who have tried and failed to unseat him.

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A brand new week is here! Let's kick it off with three of my favorite home run props and predictions for tonight's MLB slate, highlighted by Munetaka Murakami and Kyle Schwarber

Here are my favorite MLB picks for Monday, Aug. 24.

Best MLB home run props today

Player to hit a HR	Odds
Munetaka Murakami	+325
Kyle Schwarber	+307

Home run pick: Munetaka Murakami (+325)

"This guy writes up Munetaka Murakami every single day!"

Correct.

The No. 1 hitter on Batters-Box today is the South Side slugger, and he draws a heavy fly-ball pitcher in Texas Rangers right-hander Kumar Rocker, who has struggled against left-handed hitters all season long.

The last60 left-handed hitters Rocker has faced have generated a 71.1% elevation rate, while owning a .367 xBA, .625 xSLG, and .383 xwOBA against him.

The Chicago White Sox rookie has the team's highest barrel rate over the last 10 games, while posting a .263 ISO and .457 xSLG.

Through 56 elite ratings this season, he has left the yard nearly 34% of the time. He also covers almost 80% of Rocker’s pitch mix.

Take this down to +300.

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: CHSN, RSN

Home run pick: Kyle Schwarber (+307)

Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber is coming off a monster weekend at the dish, looking to keep that momentum rolling into the new week.

Schwarber draws Seattle Mariners right-hander Logan Gilbert, who has allowed the last 30 left-handed hitters he has faced to produce a 43% line-drive rate, while owning a .331 xBA and .476 xSLG.

Schwarber owns a .549 xSLG, .302 ISO, 45.5% hard-hit rate, and 18.2% barrel rate over his last 10 games. Across his last 30 at-bats against right-handed pitching, the big fella is generating a 52.4% hard-hit rate and 28.6% barrel rate.

Hard to pass up this price for KYLE SCHWARBER to go yard while he is on this type of heater.

Play to +275.

• Time: 9:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: SEAM, NBCSP

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The Sox’ contingent of rehabbing big leaguers has been a mixed bag in the minors so far. Roman Anthony seems fine, more or less, hitting moon shots, working walks, and working his way back. Trevor Story and IKF, on the other hand, look lost at the plate. So what’s next for this trio? Story and IKF will head to Boston today to be reevaluated, and they could potentially rejoin the team for the upcoming series against the Marlins. Anthony, though, will head southwest from Portland to Worcester and make his first appearance with the WooSox on Tuesday. Could he return before the weekend? “I wouldn’t completely rule it out,” Chad Tracy said. “But I still think he’s in the building-up phase of outfield and continuing to get at-bats. So, I won’t completely rule it out, but he’s definitely going to continue on Tuesday in Worcester.“ (Ian Browne, MLB.com)

Trevor Story certainly didn’t look like a big leaguer down in Worcester. And complicating matters with respect to his return is the fact that Nick Sogard has looked great in Fenway. “You can’t say enough about it,” Tracy said of Sogard’s receet play. “You’re getting power swings on the left side, powerful swings on the right side. You’re getting great defense. It’s been enormous, the at-bats he’s taken.” (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)

Unfortunately, Garrett Crochet isn’t nearly as close to returning, though he is making progress, having recently started “playing catch from 90 feet with greater intensity.” As a result of his injury, he has officially lost his ability to opt out of his contract in 2030, and the Sox now hold an option on him for the 2032 season. “I’ve long since accepted it,” Crochet said. “Regardless of that, my goal is to come back and help the team in any way that I can.” (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)

When Crochet does return, he’ll find himself paired with a new battery mate of course. Luckily, new catcher Adley Rutschman is getting great reviews for the way he handles the staff. (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)

As amazing as this season has been, it isn’t hard to think about what this team would look like Garrett Crochet in the rotation, especially come playoff time. As it stands, though, we’ll get a little preview of the Sox playoff rotation this week, as Ranger Suarez, Payton Tolle, and Sonny Gray will face the Marlins in that order. (Rodney Knuppel, NESN)

Jake Bennett may or may not make a postseason start. He’s been great relative to expectations this season, but is starting to struggle a bit. Those struggles continued in the early stages of yesterday’s game, but he was saved by some great defense. (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)

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

The Royals are red hot; they’ve won eight straight. Even with all of that winning, though, they’ve merely created a second tier of “not in the playoff hunt” by having significantly more wins than the Athletics and Angels, but far fewer than the rest of the American League. Still, I come to you, wanting to dream a little about the playoffs.

So, yes, the Royals aren’t in it. In fact, they’d need to win 23 of their remaining 30 games just to finish the season with a .500 record. That said… a .500 record seems like it would probably be good enough to squeak into the postseason; the Guardians currently hold the final spot while a game below .500. 23 out of 30 would be a .767 winning percentage; that’s a 124-win pace over a full season. That’s ridiculous. But, well, the Royals don’t have to do it over a full season, just over the next month or so. When they started this eight-game winning streak, they needed to win 31 of their last 38 to reach .500, and they’ve played 1.000 since then. Compared to that, 23 out of 30 isn’t that crazy is it?

OK, yeah, it’s still pretty crazy. But here’s a question for you: how many more games would the Royals have to win in a row before it stopped seeming crazy? 10 in a row would mean they needed to win 21 of their final 28; that’s a .750 winning percentage to finish out the year. If they swept the rest of August, they’d have won 14 in a row and need to have a 17-7 September. That doesn’t seem completely unreasonable. If they got halfway through September without losing a game, they’d have won 26 in a row and only need to finish 5-7 to reach .500.

A couple key things to remember, here: I’m not asking you if you think the Royals can achieve any of those winning streaks. Just how long the streak would need to be for you to start dreaming about the playoffs again. Also, if they at least swept the rest of August, they’d hold tie-breakers over the Twins, Mariners, Tigers, and Guardians. With a really strong shot to also hold one over the Blue Jays. That’s a lot of teams in front of them that they’d beat out for a final playoff spot, should it miraculously come to that.